The Acquisition Team

The Acquisition Team is an information-based organization that is composed of more specialists than in the traditional command-and-control organization. Members of an acquisition team consist of multi-organizational as well as cross-functional, i. e. contractors, suppliers, acquisition professionals (Engelbeck, 2002). The focus of this paper is to present the students selection of a business opportunity offered by the Department of Energy and found at http://www. fbo. org/. This student will analyse the posting and then â€Å"reverse engineer† the notice to create the ideal agency’s acquisition team that could have prepared this solicitation. This student will also cite and summarize the FAR provisions for the formation of the acquisition team, describe the nature and specifications of the project, identify every area of expertise needed on the acquisition team, using the â€Å"Bodies of Knowledge† diagram in Engelbeck, Chapter 2, as a basis, and justify the involvement of each team member by describing his or her specific contribution to the solicitation/ request for proposal and later steps of the procurement process. Finally, the student will describe the steps to follow and ensure that the solicitation notice is complete, clear, and accurate before submitting it for posting on the FedBizOpps. gov Website. FAR Provisions for the formation of the acquisition team. The dissemination of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in 1984 replicated the Congress' intention to create a structure that was uniform for Executive Branch federal contracting. Prior to the introduction of the FAR, civilian agencies and the defence services had different and self owned set of regulations. The FAR is codified at Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations. It consists of regulations and rules as articulated by the United States federal government that governs the procurement processes for the government. The FAR contains the standardized procedures and policies for acquisitions by any and all federal government agencies. After the circulation of the FAR, the standardization goal was destabilized by the diverse agency-specific supplements (Vacketta, 1999). The FAR enforces the implementation of nearly every decision-making plan related to procurement. It is also within the FAR mandate to accomplish every stage of the process of acquisition. FAR 1. 102 (d) stipulates that: The function of every member of the Acquisition Team is to ensure the exercise of individual initiative and effective business decision while providing the best value product and service that meet the needs of the customers (Acquipedia, 2012). It further explains the scope and procedure of the acquisition team. This consists of the federal government team members responsible for integration tasks constraint and contracting negotiations including the requiring activity, the paying agent team, the contracting officer, financial management and others. Summary of the FAR Provisions for Acquisition Team Opportunity: Supply of Silicon Drift Detector Summary of Opportunity Opportunity is typically defined as the occasion and time that present favourable circumstance to attain precise goals. The details of opportunity identified on http://www. fbo. org/ are as presented below: a. Opportunity title / project location: Supply of Silicon Drift Detector b. Solicitation Number: RC238923 c. Agency: Department of Energy d. Office: Brookhaven National Laboratory (DOE Contractor) e. [Office] Location: Brookhaven f. URL: https://www. fbo. gov/? s=opportunity&mode=form&id=a95ff19f0cbf7a7448fbd5503527130b&tab=core&_cview=0 Nature and Specifications of the Project This is a short-term project in which a federal government body requires the supply of Silicon Drift Detectors. The Contractor is required to deliver 1 Silicon Drift Detector to the US Department of Energy. The project requires fixed pricing terms. The Silicon Drift Detector should be delivered within 180 days upon the signing of the contract at the Department of Energy office, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven. The timings are required to be identified by the COR Feb 01, 2013 11:59 pm Eastern: Provision 333 — Machinery Manufacturing/333999 — All Other Miscellaneous General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing, many others as stipulated in AMS – Form – 010, rev. 5, should be considered for the entire process involved in the solicitation and acquisition. Technical specifications of the Hitachi Vortex Silicon Drift Detectors are that it must have a cylindrical Snout. The length of the snout should be 638 millimetres. The detector must be Ultra High Vacuum compatible with active detection area of not less than 500mm2. The unit must be usable indoor/outdoor with 12. 5 ?m window. The detector must operate with power supplies operating at 220-240 volts. Area of Expertise Required The â€Å"bodies of knowledge†, for this project consists of contracting, finance, engineering, logistics, legal, test and evaluation and cost estimates as identified by Engelbeck (2002). The areas of expertise are as outlined below: Contracting expertise will be required since it will facilitate the selection process of a contractor or vendor of Silicon Drift Detectors. The expertise includes communication skills that will enhance the process of dealing with the customer and the supplier. This will help develop trust among the acquisition team. The drafting of the contract will become easy relative to the project priorities. Risk allocation will be easily identified in managing beforehand to make the deal successful. Financial expertise will be required for the project in establishing the financing terms and budgets related to the project. This expertise will facilitate the valuation of the project for the valuable price to be considered for solicitation. Engineering expertise will be required since it will facilitate the classification of technical stipulations required for the project at hand. References for at least three successfully-manufactured, assembled, tested and delivered single-element detectors with similar complexities as the quoted product must be provided. Logistics is a central part of the project since it specifies the items and timings for the project delivery. It will also facilitate the control of the inventory and related costs to be effective in controlling extra costs. Any project under FAR should be incorporated to the law governing the situation hence Legal considerations will be critical as the terms and conditions must be aligned to FAR. Test and evaluation are as important as any other consideration because failure to create standards for the project will make it impossible to create effectiveness in the project. Evaluation is important to be considered as it will facilitate the future course of actions. Cost estimates are critical as they present the bottom-line of project. All the financials related to this project are based on cost estimates. The cost estimates are an underlying factor to the evaluation of the quality standards. Involvement of Team Members Contemporary, the integration of team members is fundamental to acquire the quoted product with the required specifications to effectively complete the processes and projects on time. The contribution of each member in the team will create synergy. Their presence during the project will act as a positive energy for team success. The involvement of each team member is based on their area of expertise: The end user is the definitive team member. In this case, the end user is the staff at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The staffs represent the Department of Energy which offers valuable resource for the Silicon Drift Detectors being procured. The Program Manager will make sure that the ensuing agreement meets the long- and short-range requirements of the project’s mission and that the design produce the intended results. The contracting officers will make sure that all contract activities comply with relevant laws, regulations, executive orders, and other applicable measures including approvals and clearances. Financial managers will ensure the provision of information needed by the team to make decisions on the amount of money available. The legal counsel will ensure continuous provision of guidance related to legal compliance and interpretation of regulations and laws. All team members will provide necessary and continuous support throughout the project lifecycle. Steps for Solicitation Completion There are a number of steps that will be applied to make sure that the solicitation notice is clear, complete, and accurate prior to submission for posting on the FedBizOpps. gov Website. Prior to finalization of the draft solicitation, the officer in charge of contracting may issue a draft solicitation to obtain questions and comments from a group of potential (but not eligible) candidates before releasing the final solicitation. This will help to better refine the solicitation and clarify any vagueness. Posting the draft solicitation will allow exchange with industry in the form of questions, suggestions, corrections and comments that can improve the final solicitation. The contracting officer will also make a request for a review of the draft solicitation by the counsel and project officer in harmony with procedures prior to release. Upon review, the contracting officers should then seek and obtain the concluding approval from the agency leadership (Gouder, 2007).

Dante’s Inferno Notes

A huge and powerful warrior-king who virtually embodies defiance against his highest god, Capaneus is an exemplary blasphemer–with blasphemy understood as direct violence against God. Still, it is striking that Dante selects a pagan character to represent one of the few specifically religious sins punished in hell. Dante's portrayal of Capaneus in Inferno 14.43-72–his large size and scornful account of Jove striking him down with thunderbolts–is based on the Thebaid, a late Roman epic (by Statius) treating a war waged by seven kings against the city of Thebes.Capaneus' arrogant defiance of the gods is a running theme in the Thebaid, though Statius' description of the warrior's courage in the scenes leading up to his death reveals elements of Capaneus' nobility as well as his contempt for the gods. For instance, Capaneus refuses to follow his comrades in a deceitful military operation against the Theban forces under the cover of darkness, insisting instead on figh ting fair and square out in the open. Nevertheless, Capaneus' boundless contempt ultimately leads to his demise when he climbs atop the walls protecting the city and directly challenges the gods: â€Å"come now, Jupiter, and strive with all your flames against me! Or are you braver at frightening timid maidens with your thunder, and razing the towers of your father-in-law Cadmus?† (Thebaid 10.904-6).Recalling the similar arrogance displayed by the Giants at Phlegra (and their subsequent defeat), the deity gathers his terrifying weapons and strikes Capaneus with a thunderbolt. His hair and helmet aflame, Capaneus feels the fatal fire burning within and falls from the walls to the ground below. He finally lies outstretched, his lifeless body as immense as that of a giant. This is the image inspiring Dante's depiction of Capaneus as a large figure appearing in the defeated pose of the blasphemers, flat on their backs Ser Brunnetto Latino = Round Three- Violence Against NatureOne of the most important figures in Dante's life and in the Divine Comedy, Brunetto Latini is featured among the sodomites in one of the central cantos of the Inferno. Although the poet imagines Brunetto in hell, Dante-character and Brunetto show great affection and respect for one another during their encounter in Inferno 15.Brunetto (c. 1220 – 1294) was a prominent guelph who spent many years living in exile in Spain and France–where he composed his encyclopedic work, Trà ©sor (â€Å"Treasure†: Inf. 15.119-20)–before returning to Florence in 1266 and assuming positions of great responsibility in the commune and region (notary, scribe, consul, prior). Such was Brunetto's reputation that chroniclers of the time praised him as the â€Å"initiator and master in refining the Florentines.† While Brunetto's own writings–in terms of quality and significance–are far inferior to Dante's, he was perhaps the most influential promoter in the Midd le Ages of the essential idea (derived from the Roman writer Cicero) that eloquence–in both oral and written forms–is beneficial to society only when combined with wisdom.We understand from this episode that Brunetto played a major–if informal–part in Dante's education, most likely as a mentor through his example of using erudition and intelligence in the service of the city. Apart from the reputed frequency of sexual relations among males in this time and place, there is no independent documentation to explain Brunetto's appearance in Dante's poem among the sodomites. Brunetto was married with three–perhaps four–children. Many modern scholarly discussions of Dante's Brunetto either posit a substitute vice for the sexual one–linguistic perversion, unnatural political affiliations, a quasi-Manichean heresy–or emphasize a symbolic form of sodomy over the literal act (e.g., rhetorical perversion, a failed theory of knowledge, a pr oto-humanist pursuit of immortality).Geryon = Round Three- Violence Against Art(fraud) giant with three heads and bodies Geryon, merely described in Virgil's Aeneid as a â€Å"three-bodied shade† (he was a cruel king slain by Hercules), is one of Dante's most complex creatures. With an honest face, a colorful and intricately patterned reptilian hide, hairy paws, and a scorpion's tail, Geryon is an image of fraud (Inf. 17.7-27)–the realm to which he transports Dante and Virgil (circles 8 and 9). Strange as he is, Geryon offers some of the best evidence of Dante's attention to realism. The poet compares Geryon's upward flight to the precise movements of a diver swimming to the surface of the sea (Inf. 16.130-6), and he helps us imagine Geryon's descent by noting the sensation of wind rising from below and striking the face of a traveler in flight (Inf. 17.115-17).By comparing Geryon to a sullen, resentful falcon (Inf.  17.127-36), Dante also adds a touch of psychologic al realism to the episode: Geryon may in fact be bitter because he was tricked–when Virgil used Dante's knotted belt to lure the monster (Inf. 16.106-23)–into helping the travelers. Dante had used this belt–he informs us long after the fact (Inf. 16.106-8)–to try to capture the colorfully patterned leopard who impeded his ascent of the mountain in Inferno 1.31-3. Suggestively associated with the sort of factual truth so wondrous that it appears to be false (Inf. 16.124), Geryon is thought by some readers to represent the poem itself or perhaps a negative double of the poem. Pier della Vigna = Round Two- Violence Against ThemselvesLike Dante, Pier della Vigna (c. 1190 – 1249) was an accomplished poet–part of the â€Å"Sicilian School† of poetry, he wrote sonnets–and a victim of his own faithful service to the state. With a first-rate legal education and ample rhetorical talent, Pier rose quickly through the ranks of public servi ce in the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, from scribe and notary to judge and official spokesman for the imperial court of Frederick II. But his powers appear to have exceeded even these titles, as Pier claims to have had final say over Frederick's decisions (Inf. 13.58-63).While evidence of corruption casts some doubt on Pier's account of faithful service to the emperor, it is generally believed that he was indeed falsely accused of betraying Frederick's trust by envious colleagues and political enemies (Inf. 13.64-9). In this way, Pier's story recalls that of Boethius, author of the Consolation of Philosophy, a well known book in the Middle Ages (and a favorite of Dante's) recounting the fall from power of another talented individual falsely accused of betraying his emperor. Medieval commentators relate that Frederick, believing the charges against Pier (perhaps for plotting with the pope against the emperor), had him imprisoned and blinded. Unable to accept this wretched fate, Pier brutally took his life by smashing his head against the wall (perhaps of a church) or possibly by leaping from a high window just as the emperor was passing below in the street.Pier's name–Vigna means â€Å"vineyard†Ã¢â‚¬â€œundoubtedly made him an even more attractive candidate for Dante's suicide-trees. As an added part of the contrapasso for the suicides, the souls will not be reunited with their bodies at the Last Judgment but will instead hang their retrieved corpses on the trees (Inf.  13.103-8).MinotaurThe path down to the three rings of circle 7 is covered with a mass of boulders that fell–as Virgil explains (Inf. 12.31-45)–during the earthquake triggered by Christ's harrowing of hell. The Minotaur, a bull-man who appears on this broken slope (Inf. 12.11-15), is most likely a guardian and symbol of the entire circle of violence. Dante does not specify whether the Minotaur has a man's head and bull's body or the other way around (sources support both possibilities), but he clearly underscores the bestial rage of the hybrid creature. At the sight of Dante and Virgil, the Minotaur bites himself, and his frenzied bucking–set off by Virgil's mention of the monster's executioner–allows the travelers to proceed unharmed.Almost everything about the Minotaur's story–from his creation to his demise–contains some form of violence. Pasiphaà «, wife of King Minos of Crete, lusted after a beautiful white bull and asked Daedalus to construct a â€Å"fake cow† (Inf. 12.13) in which she could enter to induce the bull to mate with her; Daedalus obliged and the Minotaur was conceived. Minos wisely had Daedalus build an elaborate labyrinth to conceal and contain this monstrosity.To punish the Athenians, who had killed his son, Minos supplied the Minotaur with an annual sacrificial offering of seven Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls. When Ariadne (the Minotaur's half-sister: Inf. 12.20) fell in love wit h one of these boys (Theseus, Duke of Athens: Inf. 12.16-18), the two of them devised a plan to slay the Minotaur: Theseus entered the labyrinth with a sword and a ball of thread, which he unwound as he proceeded toward the center; having slain the Minotaur, Theseus was thus able to retrace his steps and escape the labyrinth CentaursThe Centaurs–men from the waist up with lower bodies of horses–guard the first ring of circle 7, a river of blood in which the shades of murderers and bandits are immersed to varying depths. Armed with bows and arrows, thousands of Centaurs patrol the bank of the river, using their weapons to keep the souls at their allotted depth (Inf. 12.73-5). In classical mythology, the Centaurs are perhaps best known for their uncouth, violent behavior: guests at a wedding, they attempted–their lust incited by wine–to carry off the bride and other women; a fierce battle ensued, described by Ovid in all its gory detail (Met. 12.210-535), i n which the horse-men suffered the heaviest losses. Two of the three Centaurs who approach Dante and Virgil fully earned this negative reputation.Pholus, whom Virgil describes as â€Å"full of rage† (Inf. 12.72), was one of the combatants at the wedding. Nessus, selected to carry Dante across the river in hell, was killed by Hercules–with a poisoned arrow–for his attempted rape of the hero's beautiful wife, Deianira, after Hercules had entrusted the Centaur to carry her across a river (Nessus avenged his own death: he gave his blood-soaked shirt to Deianira as a â€Å"love-charm,† which she–not knowing the shirt was poisoned–later gave to Hercules when she doubted his love [Inf. 12.67-9].) Chiron, the leader of the Centaurs, enjoyed a more favorable reputation as the wise tutor of both Hercules and Achilles (Inf. 12.71).Punishments of Each Ring -First Ring- For violence against neighbors. Made to boil in blood, and shot by arrows if they et out higher than they are deemed worthy. Fitting because those torturedmust boil in the blood they creted in life by violence.Chief sinner: alexander the great, who was violent against many of his countrymen as a tyrant.  · -Second Ring- For those violent against themselvesthey are turned into trees and are immobile. They are tortured and pecked at by Harpies. They will never be returned to their bodies because they didnt properly appreciate them in the first place.Chief Sinner: Pier della Vigna, who felt so ashamed by the lies of shcemers, took his own life.  · -Third Ring-For those violent against God. Three circles:  · Blasphamers – Just on hot sand · Sodomites – Also rained upon my fire  · Violent against art – also with purses around thier necksChief Sinner: Capaneus, Besieged Thebes. He is very defiant, still, and says hell shall never break him.Allusions  · Phlegethon-Literally a â€Å"river of fire† (Aen. 6.550-1), Phlegethon is the nam e Dante gives to the river of hot blood that serves as the first ring of  circle 7: spillers of blood themselves, violent offenders against others are submerged in the river to a level corresponding to their guilt. Dante does not identify the river–described in detail in Inferno 12.46-54 and 12.100-39–until the travelers have crossed it (Dante on the back of Nessus) and passed through the forest of the suicides. Now they approach a red stream flowing out from the inner circumference of the forest across the plain of sand (Inf. 14.76-84).After Virgil explains the common source of all the rivers in hell, Dante still fails to realize–without further explanation–that the red stream in fact connects to the broader river of blood that he previously crossed, now identified as the Phlegethon (Inf. 14.121-35).  · Polydorus-If Dante had believed what he read in the Aeneid, Virgil would not have had to make him snap one of the branches to know that the suicide-s hades and the trees are one and the same–this, at least, is what Virgil says to the wounded suicide-tree (Inf. 13.46-51). Virgil here alludes to the episode of the â€Å"bleeding bush† from Aeneid 3.22-68. The â€Å"bush† in this case is Polydorus, a young Trojan prince who was sent by his father (Priam, King of Troy) to the neighboring kingdom of Thrace when Troy was besieged by the Greeks.Polydorus arrived bearing a large amount of gold, and the King of Thrace–to whose care the welfare of the young Trojan was entrusted–murdered Polydorus and took possession of his riches. Aeneas unwittingly discovers Polydorus' unburied corpse when he uproots three leafy branches to serve as cover for a sacrificial altar: the first two times, Aeneas freezes with terror when dark blood drips from the uprooted branch; the third time, a voice–rising from the ground–begs Aeneas to stop causing harm and identifies itself as Polydorus. The plant-man expla ins that the flurry of spears that pierced his body eventually took the form of the branches that Aeneas now plucks. The Trojans honor Polydorus with a proper burial before leaving the accursed land.Old Man of Crete-Dante invents the story of the large statue of an old man–located in Mount Ida on the Island of Crete–for both practical and symbolic purposes ( Inf. 14.94-120). Constructed of a descending hierarchy of materials–gold head, silver arms and chest, brass midsection, iron for the rest (except one clay foot)–the statue recalls the various ages of humankind (from the golden age to the iron age: Ovid, Met. 1.89-150) in a pessimistic view of history and civilization devolving from best to worst. Dante's statue also closely  recalls the statue appearing in King Nebuchadnezzar's dream in the Bible; this dream is revealed in a vision to Daniel, who informs the king that the composition of the statue signifies a declining succession of kingdoms all inf erior to the eternal kingdom of God (Daniel 2:31-45).That the statue is off-balance–leaning more heavily on the clay foot–and facing Rome (â€Å"as if in a mirror†) probably reflects Dante's conviction that society suffers from the excessive political power of the pope and the absence of a strong secular ruler. Although the statue is not itself found in hell, the tears that flow down the crack in its body (only the golden head is whole) represent all the suffering of humanity and thus become the river in hell that goes by different names according to region: Acheron, Styx, Phlegethon, Cocytus (Inf. 14.112-20).Phaethon and Icarus-As he descends aboard Geryon through the infernal atmosphere, Dante recalls the classical stories of previous aviators (Inf. 17.106-14). Phaethon, attempting to confirm his genealogy as the son of Apollo, bearer of the sun, took the reins of the sun-chariot against his father's advice. Unable to control the horses, Phaethon scorched a la rge swath of the heavens; with the earth's fate hanging in the balance, Jove killed the boy with a thunderbolt (Ovid, Met. 1.745-79; 2.1-332).Daedalus (see Minotaur above), to escape from the island of Crete, made wings for himself and his son by binding feathers with thread and wax. Icarus, ignoring his father's warnings, flew too close to the sun; the wax melted and the boy crashed to the sea below (Met. 8.203-35). So heartbroken was Daedalus that he was unable to depict Icarus' fall in his carvings upon the gates of a temple he built to honor Apollo (Aen. 6.14-33). Experiencing flight for the first, and presumable only, time in his life–aboard a â€Å"filthy image of fraud,† no less–Dante understandably identifies with these two figures whose reckless flying led to their tragic deaths.

‘Desiree’s Baby’ by Kate Chopin Essay

At a glance, ‘Desiree’s Baby’ published in 1893 By an American writer Kate Chopin, depicts the miscegenation in Creole Louisiana during the antebellum era. The Antebellum period in American history is generally considered to be the period before the civil war and after the war of 1812. The technological advances and religious and social movements of the Antebellum Period had a profound effect on the course of American history, including a population shift from farms to industrial centers, sectional divisions that ended in civil war, the abolition of slavery and the growth of feminist and temperance movements. Though Kate Chopin is known to be a writer of American Realism and naturalism, the story ‘Desiree’s Baby’ is strenuous to classify, because it is extremely short. Kate Chopin often wrote about subjects that were extremely sensitive, and many of them still strike as a nerve in the United States today. In this story Kate Chopin highlights a compelling critique of the class and racial prejudice that permeated the behaviors of Antebellum South. There are many perspectives to the story including racial and ethnic abuse, shades of patriarchy and discrimination by class. There are also political and semiotic panoramas to this story, according to Ellen Peel. In addition, through the relationship between Desiree and Armand, Chopin expounds the precarious status of both those without a family and those of biracial descent. Undoubtedly, the story despite of its brevity, highlights the disruption of meaning. The character mainly responsible fo this disruption is, Desiree. She acts as a synergist to the whole subversion of meaning. The whole political and semiotic perspective, combined together gives the looming shadows of race, sex and class discrimination. According to Ellen Peel, this whole charade of disruption reaches its climax when Desiree, who everyone including her knew as white, gives birth to a baby boy that has shades of black. She is eventually rejected by her husband due to the fact that she belongs to a black race. Later in the story Armand, Desiree’s husband reveals that he himself is black from his mother side.  The story takes place in an antebellum Creole community. Looming shadows of patriarchy, slavery and racism were the accepted and adopted crisis of that era. Everyone had accepted the categorized and distributed system. Racism was at its peak and the worst part about it was that the undermined people had accepted this fact, as mentioned in the story, â€Å"Negroes had forgotten how to be gay, as they had been during the old master’s easy-going and indulgent lifetime.† Furthermore, as Emily Toth has inferred, in the story of the three dualities parallel each other. Clearly, the symbol of the multifaceted society is the character Armand Aubigny. He is self-confident because of some minor yet major facts encapsulating him being white, being a male and being a master over several slaves. In order to get a grip on how this poignant story depicts various perspectives and drawbacks lets follow through the whole story. The tale begins when Madame Valmonde is going Desiree and her newly born baby. On her way, she reminisces about when Desiree herself was a baby. Monsieur had found her asleep at the gateway of Valmonde. Though many people believed that a band of Texans had abandoned her, but Madam Valmonde stuck to the theory that providence sent her this child as she lacked any children of her own. Like a queen and king in a fairy tale, they were delighted by her mysterious arrival and named her Dà ©sirà ©e, â€Å"wished-for one,† â€Å"the desired one.† The beginning of the story points towards no bitterness but a good and happy side to the story. Though the racial and slavery crisis were tremendous but the fact that even the masters of that particular society adopted a homeless child, knowing that she belonged to a black origin, shows signs of kindness and humanity. It also depict the ulterior motives behind adoption, which was the lack of her own children. But neither in the beginning nor in the end, has it ever mentioned the feelings of resentfulness from mother to her daughter or vice versa. Desiree seemed a blessing in disguise for them and they raised her as their own daughte r. Desiree grew up to be beautiful, gentle and affectionate and sincere too. She turned out to be exactly like their perfect daughter. Skipping the eighteen years of Desiree’s life, Chopin has directly jumped to the love part of the story, where Armand Aubigny saw Desiree standing next to the stone pillar of the gateway and he falls in love with her instantly. Although, he had known her for years since first arriving from Paris after his mother’s death. â€Å"That was the way all the Aubignys fell in love, as if  struck by a pistol shot. The wonder was that he had not loved her before; for he had.† This love part of the story, highlights many things. The way it is shown that Armand fell in love with Desiree delineates the male dominance and pride in that society. It also depicts the lack of maturity and a bit ruthlessness in the prescribed culture. Monsieur Valmonde takes a practical approach and wants Armand to get ensure first that Desiree origin was unknown but Armand is so deeply in love with her that he doesn’t care about her origin. He decided that even if she hasn’t a family name, then he would give her his own and soon as depicted in the story, they get married. Living deeply in the roots of a society where slavery and racism is all-in-all, accepting a girl despite of her known origin highlights true signs of love as Armand doesn’t care before marrying whichever origin she belongs to. Another important universal truth and human nature has been highlighted here. Not only in the era of antebellum but since the world has started, it is but human nature to fight for what he truly loves and believe and there are so many examples and incidents in the history which show that once that thing is achieved, a person starts to lose interest in it and that is what is overshadowed by the intensified love. As soon as the story builds up its plot, a major transition is portrayed. Armand, other household staff and eventually Desiree too, see some unusualness in the complexion of the baby. She isn’t sure about the underlying problem and on confronting to her husband she finds out that the child is not while and hence she doesn’t belong to a white origin. Desiree couldn’t believe him because this was a total disastrous surprise for her. The fact that is portrayed here is the significance of the facts. The issue regarding Desiree’s origin was already present but her husband didn’t care. But confronting the truth of her origin suddenly changed every bit of him. The narrow-mindedness and injustice of that society is delineated again. What if there’s some friend of mine and we are very much close. Someday if I find out, that he originates from a family who were slaves. Would it change anything between me and him? What if someone asks the same question from Armand? The difference would be obviously seen and that is the whole point and the major transition in the story. The reasonless transition of a character from being attached and so full in love with a person to rejecting her. As described by Ellen Peel, that there are moments of surprises and transitions in the story. So, the  first surprise comes when he interprets his baby’s appearance, concluding the fact that the child and its mother are not white. This fact revealed a major flaw and weakness in her husband’s character. There’s another perspective to this transition as well as it can be inferred that Desiree seems to invite projection: Madam Valmonde wanted a child so she got deceived by herself and the urge to be a mother. That doesn’t change the fact that she denied symbolism. She was a true believer and that too contradicts the writer’s beginning enlightenment. Secondly, Armand too got fooled by himself for believing that they could safely project their desires onto Desiree. In this manner, it is illustrated that even though Desiree didn’t look like from black origin but the discovery to her origin made her black. In this regard, a person who look white but has a tiny drop of black blood is considered black. As Joel Williamson believes, that the ‘one-drop-rule’ has a stand point but it eventually leads to the invisible blackness crisis. At this point in the story, two major panoramas can be looked upon too, miscegenation and disruptiveness. Disruptiveness is also a semiotic point of view explained by Ellen Peel. There’s a complex perspective to Desiree’s nature and its relevance to society. She doesn’t herself produce flaws as the flaws were there before she was even born but the role she plays is to reveal them which makes her disruptive. Another major transition to the story presents itself in the end of the story. Armand finds out that the black genes come from the baby through his own mother who was black. After Armand kicks out his wife and child, in the abusive storm of racialism and cruelty, he comes across a letter to his mother by his father, â€Å"I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.† As Ellen Peel believes that the heart of darkness lies within the self and so do I, the letter, unveils Armand’s shadowed face to himself. At this point, a big shift occurs when Armand is actually is in a position where he left his wife and child. Also, Armand had rejected his own blood because he was a product f rom a white man and a black woman and after the unveiling of the letter he finds himself in the same place as his child. This revelation shakes the whole picture of the story and the main dominant and brutal figure, Armand as he is now in the same position as his son. The famous quotation, ‘What  does around, always comes around ‘: Could be the best way to explain his situation. Though the whole plot is shaken but that only highlights the issue of society at a micro level. Neither it describes the change factor nor does it propose any possible solution. In the nineteenth century, sexual relations between two people of different races, or miscegenation, bore a distinctly deprecatory connotation. As seen by the quadroon slave child who fans Dà ©sirà ©e’s own baby, interracial relations did occur with relative frequency, but such children often ended up as slaves under the theory that even one drop of African or black blood made a person black rather than white. Likewise, many biracial people who happened to inherit pale skin and European rather than African features were able to in corporate at least temporarily into white society, passing for white if they chose. In Armand’s case, he did not even have to hide because he did not know his status. Some people who passed as white, like Armand, even successfully entered the Southern ‘ruling’ class, which was not only putatively white but also rich from owning plantation lands. Meanwhile, whereas most people fell on one side of the social divide between black and white, those of mixed descent lived on the border of social acceptability. Thus, the quadroon boy serving the quadroon master is ironic but also representative of the biracial group as a demographic sector of the population. Another irony of Chopin’s story is that although Dà ©sirà ©e is probably of Caucasian blood after all, only she and her innocent baby suffer from the accusation of miscegenation, whereas the mixed-race Armand Aubigny will probably not face any consequences for either his racial descent or his cruelty to his wife. This patently unjust state of affairs occurs not only because Armand will probably take the secret to his grave but also because, as Chopin informs us in the third para graph, Dà ©sirà ©e’s status is as much a question of familial class as of racial class. Although her presumed European ancestry places her above the slave class in the hierarchy of Louisiana, being white is not sufficient to place her in a class equal to that of the Aubignys. Note also that although Armand can echo his father in forgiving a beloved woman for her societal status, Armand can never be his father’s equal because he cannot forgive her presumed racial heritage. By contrast, Madame Valmonde is portrayed as loving, kind, and eminently ethical in her refusal to condemn Dà ©sirà ©e for her questionable blood. In addition to hinting at Armand’s  family secret, Chopin hints at his cruelty toward his slaves and creates an obvious parallel between his treatment of them and of his wife, who was by the legal code of the era barely higher than property. Whereas his father is described as â€Å"easy-going and indulgent,† Armand lives too strictly by the social mores of his era and not enough by a true moral code. Despite her name, Dà ©sirà ©e is only desired insofar as his standards are exceeded, and when he burns their wedding corbeille, it is the physical manifestation of the destruction of their wedding vows, in which he presu mably would have promised to cherish and care for her until death. In this manner, his seemingly ardent love shows itself to be shallow and undeserving. Another view to this story is a very different idea by Gary H, Mayer, who believes that this story originates and explains the general semantics or in other words, the story revolves around observation-inference confusion. An inference is nothing more than a mere guess which could be really destructible for anyone, according to Gary H, Mayer. According to him, the main sick character Armand, highlights a semantic error called ‘allness’, which happens when a person believes that he/she happens to know everything. Delving into the story, it can be seen that there’s a sequence of conclusions without any solid reasons by the characters. Adding icing to the top, it can also be delineated that the story represents a series of rational decisions. The decision of instantly falling in love. The decision of kicking Desiree and the child out of the house and most importantly the very first decision in the story where without any thinking, Desiree is fondled. Another weakness of human nature can be seen if we take into account a much deeper perspective to the story, which is to judge people by appearance. Armand loved Dà ©sirà ©e’s outer beauty, not her inner beauty. She was like a trophy to him. When the trophy became tarnished in his eyes, he removed it from its shelf and discarded it. He also rejected his child, for its skin exhibited a taint of impurity. Finally, like other Old South plantation owners, he viewed the blackness of his slaves as a defect that colored even their souls. However, conversation between Dà ©sirà ©e and Madame Valmondà © indicates that he apparently found time for La Blanche, the slave woman whose name (French for white) suggests that she was of mixed heritage, with light skin that made her a tolerable sexual object for Armand. Dà ©sirà ©e, speaking of the loudness of her baby’s crying, says, â€Å"Armand heard him the  other day as far away as La Blanche’s cabin.† To put it briefly, the whole panorama to this short little story contains versatility in it. The beauty of Kate Chopin is that she has presented this story as a symbol as well as a lesson that should be learnt. The extent of understanding differs for the readers as some readers would find it only a depressing tragedy. Unarguably, this story portrays the racial and gender based differences in the society. Though it should be mentioned that in the present day, this major issue has been eradicated to great extent but traces can still be found at a very micro level. Overall, the human weaknesses and tantrums and can cause to such differential crisis but society as we speak, has transformed into a better example of humanity. References Peel, Allen. â€Å"Semiotic Subversion in Desiree’s Baby.† Pegues, Dagmar. â€Å"Fear And Desire: Regional Aesthetics and Colonial Desire in Kate Chopin’s portrayals of The Tragic Mulatta Stereotype.† Mayer, Gary. â€Å"A matter of behavior: A semantic analysis of five Kate Chopin stories.† Khamees, Raghad. â€Å"Desiree’s Baby.†< http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3088548-desiree-s-baby>

Two Tail Hypothesis Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Discuss the role of social medias influence (Twitter, Facebook, and Essay - 2

Discuss the role of social medias influence (Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube) in the lives of children and young teens today - Essay Example The AACAP states that â€Å"60% of 13 to 17 years old have at least one profile on a social networking site† (Aacap 1). Social networking websites have several features and one of the most important features is news and information. Information available on these websites includes academic related information as well as news regarding current events (Strader 98). When children access these features they end up developing insight regarding what is happening in the world around them. This feature even helps them in learning more than what is offered at schools. Social media is even helping children develop and sustain social relationships. Social media such as Facebook allows children to communicate online with other individuals including children from their own schools. OKeeffe states that â€Å"social media allow teens to accomplish various tasks including staying connected with friends† (OKeeffe 1). This helps children in remaining in constant contact with friends at all times. This increase in time spent with friends even leads to increase in the sustaining of relationships with individuals who exist in the virtual as well as the physical world. Social media is even helping children in keeping themselves entertained. Social media such as YouTube allows children to share pictures, videos, music and projects with other social media users (Harlen 122). YouTube helps children in finding their favorite songs and movies and children access these entertaining elements to keep themselves busy and entertained. Children even share their own videos and songs over YouTube to express themselves in front of other social media users. OKeeffe states that social media helps in the â€Å"enhancement of individual and collective creativity through development and sharing of artistic and musical endeavors† (OKeeffe 1). There are

Internal Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Internal Analysis - Essay Example Weaknesses of Stilsim: The determination of the internal strengths and weaknesses will help in the analysis of the firm and in identifying the value chain activities. There are a plethora of weaknesses that strike the company's internal processes and some of major ones are mentioned here. There are some basic problems with the leadership of the company. The higher level of the company is faced with lack of communication and information dessimination. Although, Bill Simmons, the CEO of the company is extremely competent and experienced, the rest of the leadership is the contrary. Due to the lack of communication, other business processes are affected as information is not circulated on time. There are three offices that function in three different areas, the information between the three locations are not circulated. This lack of information makes the branches work independently with hardly any synchronization. Adding to the weakness is with the corporate culture of the company. There issue is with the absence of focus among the employees of the company. There is no investment over the development of employees and their skills, there are no trainings provided. The company works on old-fashioned work practices and the employees perform repetitive tasks without any variations or enrichment. Employee guidelines and their job descriptions are not formally documented. As a result of these factors, the employees are not well motivated and satisfied. They do not feel a sense of belonging to the company and have rare understanding of the business value. The lack of employee loyalty also creates demoralization and rivalry among the employees. With the passage of time and the advent of information technology, businesses have to keep up to date with the technological evolutions and maintain their systems in accordance with the advancements in technology in order to gain and maintain a competitive edge. One of the significant weaknesses found with Stilsim was with its techn ological implementations. Most of the systems were old and obsolete. The company does not have temporary methods of work and management which makes causes a great hindrance while competing with other companies. Strengths: The major strength of Stilsim lays in its vast experience of two and a half decades in the industry. Despite the weaknesses, the fact remains that Stilsim has been around for the longest time and by the nature of the business, this is a significant strength. There are loyal customers that have been seeking services from Stilsim and refer the company to others. The experience has led Stilsim to develop a vast network in the industry and even though the employees are not fully satisfied, they are highly experienced as they have been serving the company for a long time. Value Chain Analysis As described before, the value chain comprises of the activities that add value to the end product of the company and help it develop a competitive advantage. According to Porterâ €™s Generic value chain, the primary activities in the value chain of an organization include inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing & sales and service respectively. The support of the activities is through the infrastructure of the firm, the human

Self Marketing Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Self Marketing Plan - Assignment Example Part of my responsibility is making sure there is enough staff for the upcoming shift based on census and call out and to notify the supervisor in charge. Staffing is one of the job responsibilities of a nurse manager/nurse administrator. Other job responsibilities include financial management and budgeting which is an area I would need more experience in, recruiting, interviewing and training new employees. I have oriented several new RNs that have joined our unit and I very much enjoy teaching one on one or in small groups. Completing performance evaluations, determining what services the healthcare facility will provide, and ensuring that all employees’ licenses and certifications are up to date would also be my responsibility. I would do well with these responsibilities because I am organized, and have already thought of several changes I think would be beneficial to the patients and staff if they were to be implemented on our unit. Based on my knowledge, skills and t6he experience I have gained so far, I expect to be compensated a salary within the range of 80,000-120,000. I would engage in various activities to prepare myself for this role in order to ensure that I am always in good shape to offer my services. For instance, I would ensure I keep myself abreast with current hospital policies, medical knowledge, and current healthcare issues. I would also look for a role model or mentor that I could speak with and learn from especially in the beginning. I anticipate having to continuously educate myself on changing policies and healthcare issues as well as adapt to budget cuts and new staffing. I think there’s always opportunities for personal and career growth within each job description even if it’s just improving or excelling at daily job assignments and responsibilities. In general, I consider myself a friendly person so I think I would

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Interactive media (critical reflection) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Interactive media (critical reflection) - Essay Example the audience has an opportunity of interacting with the actors and has a participative role whereby, they can offer their opinion on the theme of the work presented. Interactive theatre therefore has served to bring a paradigm shift in the traditional media landscape specifically in theatre. The interaction level in interactive theatre varies depending on the willingness of the audience to participate. This paper will offer a critical reflection on different aspects of interactive theatre and its relevance to culture and its pertinent effects on the media landscape. Interactive theatre offers the modern audience an opportunity to participate in emerging debates centred on material that is presented in theatres. Considering a theatre comprises of a large audience, the participation of the audience must be organized in a certain manner. The level of interaction varies on the decisions made by the actors and the contribution of the audience. In some cases, the audience is expected to complete the plot of a certain story while in others the audience is expected to offer a critical review of how the material was presented. The level of interaction is critical in making interactive theatre achieve its intended purpose. This form of theatre seeks to integrate the views of the audience with those of the producers and the actors. Passive spectators are transformed into active participants in interactive theatre (Evans 2013, p. 192). In a bid to understand the cultural relevance of interactive theatre, it is important to highlight the UNESCO definition of culture. According to this body, culture denoted, â€Å"A set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of a social group.† With such a definition of culture, if interactive theatre is to be culturally relevant, it must contribute to the spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of the society. Interactive theatre, exhibits a high level of cultural relevance (Jacobson & Hwang

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Financial Projections - Essay Example These marketing researches provide decision makers ins and out of customers in the market, how would they behave towards the products and services offered by the business, what would be the demand for the offered products and services once the marketing campaigns are incorporated (Gorla et al., 2010; Hersey & Clanchard, 1969). Once the strategic targets that organizations tend to achieve are identified, organizations then line up their resources to achieve those targets. This is the reason that marketing research plays an important role in financial projections as it enables decision makers to identify the set of product development efforts and marketing tactics required to make the offered product a success story (Handlechner, 2008). Marketing is also involved in financial projection as the decision makers develop projections to be achieved in the next in such a manner that it motivates shareholders and external investors to provide more financial strength to the company. The added financial strength is then invested on further product development and improvement

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Design Experiment Ecology - effect of acid rain on plat growth - Assignment Example These substances are highly toxic to the living world and directly affects plant and other small organisms thereby, indirectly influence the proliferation of other organisms as well. The present study is designed to understand the effect of acid on plant growth. The study requires 2-3 weeks. The amount of acid added to water, for watering the plant is inversely related to the growth of the plant, which is calculated as the height of the plant. Excess of acid adversely affects the physiology of the plant which should be displayed in the form of pigmentation of the plant, more yellow leaves should appear in the plant which is treated with higher acid concentration as compared to the plant treated with less concentration of acid and with tap water. Hence, survival of the plant is directly related to the concentration of the acid given to the plant. The process will also demonstrate the appropriate pH of water required for the plant growth. Make two acidic solutions with two different concentrations, using water and H2SO4. pH is measured with the help of a pH strip. Adjust the pH of one of the solutions as pH = 2 while adjust the pH of the other solution as pH = 4. Pour equal amount of water/ acid solution simultaneously in all the three sets, A, B and C. Plant A should be provided with an acidic solution of pH 2 and plant B should be provided with the acidic solution of pH 4 while plant C should be provided with same amount of tap water. Growth of the plants was monitored and recorded on a regular basis with the help of measuring tape. The experiment continued for two weeks and observations were recorded in the following table for the comparative analysis of the impact of acid on the growth of plants. Control plant, C was watered with tap water and its growth was also recorded in the following table- Acidification of rain-water occurs

Validity, Credibility, & Reliability Essay Example for Free

Validity, Credibility, Reliability Essay When seeking out the validity, credibility, and reliability of a source there can be a vast array of sources to compare when seeking this answer. For example, when validating a source we can research the author and his or her background pertaining to the data in question. Data within a claim can be meant to sway the reader one way or the other, with this in mind, I look at who and what there is to gain from this claim. I can use the gun ban debate stewing in Washington for a great example. President Obama has been pushing for tougher regulations and bans on specific fire arms and related accessories based upon the elementary school shooting in Connecticut implying that this will contest the amount of damage and casualties occurred in mass shootings when statistically more people are killed by drunk drivers in society compared to mass shootings, but yet anyone over the age of 21 can purchase any amount of alcohol. However, even statistics can be swayed depending on the pool of interested parties involved. Some methods I use to determine the reliability of data is to first seek the source from which the data is from. Typically I then seek out other sources in which I can compare that specific data against to validate the data is solid and not transparent. I then will analyze the different sources to be sure there is somewhat of a streamline when these sources are compared.

Business Essays Corporate Governance

Business Essays Corporate Governance Corporate Governance Executive Summary The main goal of the report is to evaluate the current corporate governance of a certain organization. In this report, the company that has given emphasis is a food retailing company which operates in UK. This company has been able to have effective corporate governance. However, there are still issues that should be given attention in order to ensure that the company is implementing effective corporate governance. The report includes the analysis of the corporate governance structure of the company as well as the issues concerning the board of the organisation. Furthermore, this report also analyses the positive and the negative aspects of the corporate governance implemented in the organisation.All in all it can be concluded that the company has been able to have as strong and systematic corporate governance to ensure quality output. Late in the 1980s, it became apparent that a fundamental shift in the power relationship between a firm’s shareholders and its professional managers was taking place. Shareholders increased their control over the firm’s professional managers, demanding that managers respond more quickly to poor financial performance and to changes in the competitive environment. Stockholders were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with management’s slowness and the ineffectiveness of their actions in trying to adapt to new environmental conditions. Many stockholders became convinced that management did not keep the shareholders’ interests in mind while developing and implementing new strategies. Numerous stories have appeared in the business press chronicling the efforts of shareholders to exert control over corporate management. Fortune magazine’s January 11, 1993, issue featured a cover story by T. Stewart titled â€Å"The King Is Dead,† proclaiming the death of the imperial corporate presidency (Chaganti Sherman, 1998). An increasing number of chief executive officers have been forced to relinquish control of their organizations to others who will more quickly implement massive corporate change. According to Stapledon (1996), corporate governance can be defined as a system that is used in order to direct and control companies. As a matter of fact, this idea applies to all business sectors all throughout the world such as the banking institutions, financial corporations and other types of businesses such as the retailing industry. In particular, corporate governance refers to the examination of the control of a company as utilized by its directors. In accordance to theory, the directors of public companies are held responsible for their action by their shareholders (Davies, 1999). On the other hand, the authority of the shareholders to influence the behavior of the company directors is limited in practice and is rarely exercised. This then provides directors of considerable power to take action as they see fit. However, this is not always the case as it appears to be relatively different form that of the government in which the action of the officials is slightly restrained b y certain actions of the people it governs. Corporate governance, as a term, has come to imply good, in the non-moral as well as the moral sense. Its non-moral applications include efficient decision making, appropriate resource allocation, strategic planning, and so on (Monks Minow, 2001). Nonetheless, in its moral sense good corporate governance has come to be seen as promoting an ethical climate that is both morally appropriate in itself, and consequentially appropriate in that ethical behavior in business is reflected in desirable commercial outcomes (Francis, 2000). Thus, the links here are with due diligence, directors duties, and the general tightening of corporate responsibility. Corporate governance should set a proper example of good intent, and provide for those lower in corporate hierarchies the clear message that it is â€Å"do as I do† as well as â€Å"do as I say† (Francis, 2000). Middle and lower management find it hard to be ethical when it seems that the top of the corporate hierarchy have no commitment. The message of sincerity will always filter down, and no amount of deception will foster the view that a board is ethical when it plainly is not. Additionally, the commitment to ethical corporate governance by a board will enhance the prospects of an ethical infrastructure within the organization. That ethical infrastructure is a manifestation of the commitment, a means of preventing and resolving ethical problems, and an impressive demonstration of sincerity. Primarily, the objective of this paper is to analyse the corporate governance implemented in the company. Herein, the company that will be given emphasis is a food retailing company. Overview of the Company Kay (1995) stated that food retailing in Britain is dominated by six chains and that the oldest and largest is the company that will be analysed in this report. The founder started the company by establishing its first grocery store in south London over a century ago, and the family tradition and the philosophy of good quality products at competitive prices have remained central to the firm ever since. Conservatively managed, the company came to the stock market only in 1973 and since then has expanded steadily from its loyal, and mostly southern, customer base. Founded in the year 1869 in London, John and his wife established their first shop, a dairy business in an area called Drury Lane. Because of the fact that Drury Lane was considered as one of the underdeveloped areas in the city back then, the shop managed to gain recognition in the area as it had products that were inexpensive despite the fact that they were of high-quality. Due to the business’ resounding success, two more shops later on opened at other streets. In the year 1882, the firm already had four shops that were in operation. But this didn’t stop the owner from further expanding his business. Hence, he unveiled his plans to have a storehouse in a town in northwest London in order to accommodate his growing number of supplies. At the same time, it was in this place that the first brand product of the company, namely bacon kilns, was made. Consequently, it was in the same year that the company opened its first branch in a town called Croydon. Unlike the other towns, Croydon was prosperous. And so, the shop here sold superior quality products. Not to mention, it looked much better than the previous shops that had opened. From here on, Sainsbury would continue to grow. At present, this food retailing has been able to hold on to the lead in the market. As a matter of fact, the company is pretty much advanced in many aspects, especially with regards to technology and of course, its fresh products. The company was the first to be able to use scanning and computerized stock control technology. In addition, it had implemented certain techniques such as sales-based ordering. All-in-all, these factors contributed greatly to the company’s competitive advantage that it is currently enjoying. Not to mention, its computerized energy management has helped bring down the consumption of energy. Moving on, the firm has a wide range of products. In fact, during the year 1994, its number of products multiplied more than twice its original number. And as of the moment, the business continues to pride itself with its specialty in fresh foods such as fruits, breads and low-fat milks. Even up to now, their customers continue to demand for even better products which the company efficiently responds to. The corporation is now mainly concentrated on their business in the UK (United Kingdom). This includes the supermarkets, the bank and its recently acquired stores which sells bells. Moreover, the company now has other products which are not food-associated such as home equipment, beauty products, clothing apparel and other general merchandise. As of March 2004, figures indicate that the firm is operating at least 583 supermarkets and it also has 50 banking centers which are housed in the stores themselves and as a result, the workforce has ballooned to about 153,000 people. Nature and Style of Governance It can be said that the company has a very good framework that has been established in order to deal with different corporate matters. In fact, there is usually a properly structured program that is further reinforced by company policies and other procedures for the proper guidance of the directors in their daily duties. Consequently, the company has a clear reference guide to its business operations and corporate governance. The Board of Directors which oversee the businesses and the decision-making routines as well as the financial aspect of things, keeps watch. In addition, this includes the maintenance of the standards with regards to corporate governance in the corporation’s different sectors. The Board is made up of ten directors; two are executive while six are non-executive. Because of this, there is a fair division of responsibilities and other tasks among them. And while the non-executive directors are independent from the others, they are still able to contribute their experience and knowledge during Board discussions. Without a doubt, The Board is in-charge of caring for the company’s operations, assets, and its shareholders. All-in-all, the board aims to work with these factors in the hopes of maximizing performance. Because of this, it is The Board that is responsible for the finalization of budgets and strategic plans. And in order to ensure the firm’s competent operations, The Board conducts a monthly review of the company’s businesses in relation to its financial movements. Furthermore, there is a company law that obliges The Board of Directors to carefully prepare each year, a financial report that would have to be accurate and reliable reflecting the true state of the company. All things considered, The Board of Directors is the one that is responsible for the proper safekeeping of accounting statements and to ensure that these records are precise and truthful. In addition, the board is in-charge of guarding the company’s other assets as well as making the necessary steps in order to prevent complications such as fraud and other types of risks. Aside from the board of directors, the company also has other committees as part of their corporate governance. Just like the board, other committees have a well-established reference guide which also discusses their duties and their scope of authority within the corporation.Composed typically of independent directors who are non-executive, the remuneration committee handles the outline for the company’s remuneration policy which would eventually be reviewed by the board. Moreover, this group is also responsible for the various remuneration packages that are given to executive directors. On the other hand, there is also a nomination committee which is also made up of mostly non-executive directors. The responsibility of this group is to recommend to The Board on which people should be appointed as directors. Finally, there is also a group known as the audit committee. Compared to the other two, the members of this committee is purely composed of non-executive directors. This group’s duty is to make proper recommendations with regards to the company’s accounting policies as well as overseeing financial control within the corporation (Sternberg, 1998) . For this reason, the committee usually receives and reviews financial reports and other statements delivered to them. Then, they make a comprehensive report before they submit it to The Board. Of course, there is also the group’s evaluation of the risks involved which has always been done to assist with the company’s next business move, and have further control of the corporation’s different operations. Issues Concerning the Board The board of directors is responsible for ensuring that the organization always has the best business performance and corporate governance. However, there are several issues that concern the board. One of which is in terms of the level of skill and care expected of the directors, specifically the non-executive directors. All non-executives should take note of the following comments in the Report, which could well foreshadow the approach of a court: â€Å"It must be recognised that non-executive directors may bring different skills to a board, some quite specialised, and that such persons may have limited accounting experience. However, accounting is not so complicated that such directors should be excused responsibility for the accounts. Accounting issues can be clearly explained so as to be understood by sensible laymen. If accounts are gone through carefully, explaining significant items in them, laymen should be able to ask pertinent questions and make informed judgments thereon. If, after all this, the layman cannot understand the companys accounts, then he ought not to be a director of that company. Often it is the director with little accounting experience whose common sense may lead him to question what those with accountancy experience may let pass. The accountings issues in respect of which some make criticisms were nearly all ones which involved no accounting complexity and what was acceptable and what was not should have been obvious to any reasonable director possessed of the facts who sensibly applied his mind to the issue. In most instances, those directors who decided to adopt the accounting were in a better position than the auditors to determine whether the treatment applied was acceptable or not. Those directors were thus not entitled to suspend their own independent judgment and rely upon the fact that the auditors failed to prevent them from adopting an unacceptable course. Another issue that concerns the Board is in terms of inadequate financial information. There are time that some of the members of the board, never prepared or presented to the Board any consolidated budgets or managements accounts which brought together the budgets and results of all the divisions in the Group. The absence of consolidated management accounts facilitated the practice of unacceptable year end adjustments being made by the accountant directors, unbeknown to most of the other directors, to create extra reported profits. In the last few years, the first the board as a whole knew of the results to be published was when the preliminary or interim announcement was circulated for information at the close of the board meeting that invariably occurred the day prior to announcement. In effect, the board as a whole never discussed the details of the results or what lay behind them. The main boards lack of understanding of the composition of the reported results was an extraordinary state of affairs which no director should ever have tolerated. Positive Aspects of Governance The Board has been able to attain complete control of all matters regarding the company. Their self-perseverance and obligation to their duties and finally, their obedience to the company laws all contribute to the development of the corporation. As such, The Board constantly believes that all the data pertaining to financial information and other facts regarding to their operations that are currently being used is reliable. The Board’s authority is clearly recognized within the company. And because of this, it is able to have a solid grip on the corporation’s actual operations, stakeholders and its financial concerns. Needless to say, because of the corporation’s proper structure and its commitment to the stakeholders and to the community as well, the board of directors has proven that it can efficiently handle both its ethical and legal responsibilities. Furthermore, the company is currently maintaining good relations and open communications with its investors. As a matter of fact, shareholders are regularly invited by the corporation whenever there are gatherings to discuss trade updates. Moreover, whenever there is an annual general meeting, investors get the chance to meet The Board members themselves. And of course, for private investors, they can also access the company’s website for various shareholder services. Undoubtedly, the company has good consideration for all of its stakeholders; past, present and future. There definitely seems to be a very well planned framework in the firm’s corporate division. It has good policies and procedures with regards to financial matters and operational concerns. Its procedure of assessing the different kinds of situations that come up is certainly a good move on their part. Not to mention, they have maintained good relations with their stakeholders. And finally, The Boardâ€⠄¢s authority is unsurpassed. Clearly, these facts prove the strength of the company’s corporate governance structure. Negative Aspects The weakness on this case however, is the fact that it cannot always be assured that there are no losses or other errors which may result from mistakes and inconsistencies by one of the committees or employees involved. In addition, having diverse populations, there can be a possibility of having internal problems between members who have different culture and beliefs. In addition, some problems occur in terms of giving value to the companies’ shareholders. There are times that the shareholder is not given the enough information about the status of the company, specifically that shareholder which have a small part in the business. This happens when the board of directors does not give value to their shareholders. Other negative aspects include the imperfection of financial reporting procedures which may definitely result in ineffective corporate governance. Recommendation Corporate governance is said to be one of the most important aspects to be considered in an industry. Hence, it is recommended that the company should be able to determine the most appropriate and effective corporate governance structure and approach so as to ensure that the business will adhere to all social responsibilities, legal and ethical aspects. In addition it is also recommended that this food retailing industry should give value not only to its customers and employees but most especially to the shareholders who have trusted the company and its capabilities. The company must be able to align carefully their corporate governance approach with its organizational objectives. Conclusion Corporate governance is a process which is concerned about how corporations are managed, how managers are governed, what questions face by boards of directors and the accountability a corporation has to shareholders. In this case, it can be seen that the food retailing industry has been able to implement effective corporate governance which guides the organization to become more competitive in the marketplace. Accordingly the issues concerning the board include the level of skill and care expected of the directors and inadequate financial information. In order for the organization to address the issue, the members of the board are trying to create a resolution for these issues. In terms of positive aspects, the members of the company have been able to contribute well in ensuring competitive performance of the company. The board of directors of this organization ensures that all their actions are legal and adheres to business ethics. In addition, they also ensure that their social responsibility is also incorporated with their accountabilities. Although the company has positive aspects, it also has its negative aspects. One of which adheres to the notion that, because of the mistakes and inconsistencies of the individual involved, it cannot always be assured that there will be no losses or errors that will occur. In ability to handle diversities and differences is also a negative aspect that can be attached with the company’s corporate governance practice. Lastly, inability to ensure shareholder value is another negative aspect of the company. It is said that the shareholder is regarded as the central stakeholder of each industry. It can be concluded that in order for the company to have a competitive business performance, the company must start from within, from its corporate governance. Reference Chaganti, R., Sherman, H. (1998). Corporate Governance and the Timeliness of Change: Reorientation in 100 American Firms. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Davies, A. (1999). A strategic approach to corporate governance. London: Gower Publishing Limited. Francis, R. (2000). Ethics and Corporate Governance: An Australian Handbook. Sydney, N.S.W.: University of New South Wales Press. Kay, J. (1995). Foundations of Corporate Success: How Business Strategies Add Value. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Monks, R.A.G. and Minow, N. (2001). Corporate governance. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishes Ltd. Stapledon, G. (1996). Institutional Shareholders and Corporate Governance. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Sternberg, E. (1998). Corporate governance: accountability in the marketplace. London: The Institute of Economic Affairs.

National Waste Law

National Waste Law â€Å"It is unfortunate that the difficulties of interpreting the pronouncements from the EC are compounded by the failure of the national authorities to agree a common approach to the definition of waste.† Critically assess whether case law shows a â€Å"common approach† to the definition of waste. Introduction In OSS Group Ltd v Environment Agency, an appeal case concerning the question of when lubricating oil ceased to be waste, it was apparent that the Environment Agency (the Agency) and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) held different views about the definition of waste and, specifically, when a waste ceased to be a waste. The Agencys view was that if the intended use of the material was combustion, the material remained a waste until the material had been burned, irrespective of whether the waste material was similar to a raw material. DEFRAs view was that while the combustion of waste lubricating oil was a recovery operation and therefore the waste oil would remain waste until combustion was completed, material burned as fuel that was recovered from waste lubricating oil was not being discarded, and therefore was not a waste, where the material had the same characteristics as a virgin material. The judge in the original case, Burton J, concluded that t he Agencys view was correct, and that even where a waste ceased to be waste after processing, it would revert to being a waste when burned. While the differences between the Agency and DEFRAs views may not have seemed particularly significant, in practice they resulted in a situation where a recovered substance could be both a non-waste and a waste depending upon the proposed end-use of the product. This was the situation faced by Solvent Resource Management (SRM), who produced, for onward sale, product grade distillates (PGD) from recovered solvents. As a saleable product, PGD was a non-waste; however, when the material was used as a fuel in SRMs plant, it reverted to being a waste even though there was no intention by, or requirement for, SRM to discard the material. Carnwath LJ provided some clarity in the appeal by OSS, where he concluded that the Agencys view was too narrow, and OSSs products could be burnt other than as fuel. Carnwath LJ considered that a â€Å"practical common sense† approach was required that was consistent with the aims of the WFD. He went on to conclude that: â€Å"†¦in the light of this judgment, it may be possible for [the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] and the [Environment Agency] to join forces in providing practical guidance for those affected. It is unfortunate that the difficulties of interpreting the pronouncements from Luxembourg are compounded by the failure of the national authorities to agree a common approach.† Evidently, Carnwath LJ considered that a common approach to the definition of waste was not being taken. Through a consideration of the European and national case law relating to the definition of waste, it is intended that this paper will demonstrate that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) takes a consistent approach to the definition of waste, that being that any material or substance can be waste within the meaning of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD), while Member States and national authorities (including national Courts) do not take a consistent approach to the definition of waste. Article 1(a) of the WFD defines ‘waste as: â€Å"†¦any substance or object in the categories set out in Annex I which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard†. The categories set out in Annex I cover items that would typically be considered waste and would therefore require discarding, such as out of date or off-specification products, materials spilled or contaminated, unusable parts, and various production residues. However, the WFD ensures that the definition is wide by specifying an additional category, which refers to: â€Å"any materials, substances or products which are not contained in the above categories†. Additional information on the materials and substances that are waste is provided in the European Waste List. However, the introductory notes to the list state that â€Å"the inclusion of a material in the list does not mean that the material is a waste in all circumstances. Materials are considered to be a waste only where the definition of waste in Article 1(a)†¦is met.† Determining whether a substance or object is indeed a waste will therefore depend wholly on the waste holders intention or requirement to ‘discard the material. Varying approaches have been taken to determining whether something has been discarded, or whether the holder intends or is required to discard it. The Advocate General in his opinion in Tombesi considered that if a material was consigned to a recovery operation, it was an indication that it had been discarded and it was therefore a waste. He stated that: â€Å"Under the Directive the sole question is whether the substance in issue is subject to a disposal or recovery operation within the meaning of Annex IIA or B† The need to identify whether something had been discarded had effectively been bypassed by considering that all materials consigned to a recovery or disposal operation were waste. If it was identified that a material had been subject to an Annex IIA or B operation, it could be concluded that the material was discarded and was therefore waste. This approach was not supported in the judgment from the ECJ, however. The Advocate Generals approach in Tombesi was followed in other subsequent cases, for example Inter-Environnment Wallonie v Regione Wallone, where it was concluded that substances that were subject to a recovery process would normally be waste, and in Mayer Parry Recycling Ltd v Environment Agency, where the UK court held, on the basis of Tombesi, that scrap metal that was to be reused without being subject to a recovery process was not a waste. The so-called ‘Tombesi-bypass presented problems, however, since a number of the specified recovery processes could also be normal industrial processes using ordinary raw materials that would not be classified as wastes (e.g. coal (fuel) combusted in a power station to generate electricity would not be classified as a recovery process). In ARCO Chemie Netherland Ltd vMinister von Volkshuivesting, the Advocate Generals opinion in Tombesi was not followed. It was considered that a substance consigned to a recovery operation listed in Annex IIB of the WFD was not necessarily to be considered as a waste, and it was first considered necessary to establish whether the material in question constituted waste (i.e. whether or not it had been discarded). The approach taken in ARCO and subsequent cases was different to that of the previous cases, and the need to establish a holders intention or requirement to discard a material became the determining factor when identifying whether a mate rial or substance was waste. The underlying concept of the ECJs approach to the definition of waste was stated in ARCO as follows: â€Å"Whether [a material or substance] is waste must be determined in the light of all the circumstances, by comparison with the definition set out in article 1(a) of the Directive, that is to say the discarding of the substance in question or the intention or requirement to discard it, regard being had to the aim of the Directive and the need to ensure that its effectiveness is not undermined.† Essentially, the definition of waste therefore turned on the term ‘discard. In his judgment in OSS, Carnwath LJ defined ‘discard, as he had done previously in Mayer Parry Recycling Ltd v Environment Agency, as follows: â€Å"The term ‘discard is used in a broad sense equivalent to ‘get rid of; but it is coloured by the examples of waste given in Annex I and the waste catalogue, which indicate that it is concerned generally with materials which have ceased to be required for their original purpose, normally because they are unsuitable, unwanted or surplus to requirements †¦Ã¢â‚¬  He noted, however, that it was clear that this was â€Å"only part of the story†, and referred to a number of cases subsequent to ARCO where the ECJ had attempted to provide objective criteria that could be used as evidence that a holder of a substance or material intended to discard that material and, therefore, the material should be considered as waste. Some of these criteria were summarised by Lord Reed in the conclusion to his judgment in Scottish Power Generation Ltd v Scottish Environmental Protection Agency: â€Å"[F]or example, whether the material is produced intentionally; whether further processing is required before the material can be used; and whether the material is certain to be used[;]†¦whether the material is commonly regarded as waste; and whether, if it is used as fuel, its use as fuel is a common method of recovering waste. Since the status of a material has to be assessed on the basis of a comprehensive assessment of the circumstances of the particular case, it follows that none of the factors mentioned is conclusive in itself. The fact†¦that a material is produced intentionally, requires no further processing before it can be used, and is certain to be used, cannot be taken in isolation as determinative of its status.† He went on to consider the criteria that could be used to assess when a substance ceased to be waste: â€Å"The danger which is typical of waste is a danger of harm to human health or the environment caused by the manner of its disposal. The [WFD] seeks to address that danger by making waste subject to supervision designed to ensure that it is recovered or disposed of in a manner which is controlled so as to protect human health and the environment. Once a material has been classified as waste, it therefore remains subject to that supervision at least until that objective has been achieved. It is only then that the material may cease to be waste†¦When it is claimed that what was waste has ceased to be waste†¦it is accordingly necessary to assess whether that claim is well founded. That assessment requires consideration not only of whether the material in question can and will be used without further processing in the same way as a non-waste material, but also of whether the material can be used under the same conditions of environmental protection as the non-waste material with which it is otherwise comparable, without any greater danger of harm to human health or the environment. Other factors†¦may also be relevant in considering whether waste has been subjected to a recovery operation or merely to pre-treatment†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The general approach taken by the ECJ to the definition of waste, that is that any material or substance may be waste where it has been or is required or intended to be discarded, is therefore considered to be consistent throughout the case law reviewed. However, as demonstrated in the remainder of this paper, the insistence of the ECJ that whether or not a material is waste, or ceases to be waste, must be determined on the basis of whether or not its holder intended or was required to discard it, even where this has no practical relevance, results in varying approaches being taken by Member States and national authorities to the definition of waste. In 2007, the Commission of the European Communities published a document intended to be used by Member States in interpreting the judgments from the ECJ. In Annex 1 to the document, a number of examples of wastes and non-wastes are given; however, the examples are introduced as follows: â€Å"†¦There are many other examples that could have been used, and even the examples here may vary across the EU in some circumstances, notably if there is no certainty of use for a given by-product, or on the contrary, if use is certain for a material in a region or Member State, where this is not the case across the whole EU.† Clearly, the position of the Commission in considering that a material might be waste in one Member State but not in another would appear to be wholly inconsistent with the aims of the WFD, and therefore inconsistent with the approach taken by the ECJ to the definition of waste. The seventh recital of the WDF is particularly noted in this regard: â€Å"Moreover, discrepancies between Member States legislation with regard to waste disposal and recovery may affect the quality of the environment and the smooth operation of the internal market†¦Ã¢â‚¬  While the ECJ may be consistent in its approach, the Commission of the European Communities does not appear to be adopting an approach consistent with the aims of the WFD. Varying approaches to the definition of waste can also be seen to be taken by the Member States. In the case law this is apparent in relation to Member States failure to fully implement aspects of the WFD, and in submissions made by Member States on these and other European and national cases. In relation to Member States implementation of the WFD, the following examples highlight well the varying approaches adopted. Germany historically excluded certain categories of recyclable waste from the scope of its domestic waste legislation, while the United Kingdom excluded agricultural waste from its definition of waste. Similarly, and more recently, Italy was found to have failed to fulfill its obligations under the WFD by excluding from its national legislation materials such as excavated earth and rock, food scraps and leftovers, and substances intended for recovery. Italian legislation historically also excluded substances or objects that were considered to be capable of economic reuse. It distinguished between ‘waste and ‘residues, and provided for simplified procedures for the collection, transport, treatment and reuse of residues. Moreover, certain materials with specific commodity characteristics were excluded from the relevant legislation altogether. In Tombesi, ARCO, Castle Cement, Palin Granit Oy, Mayer Parry, Saetti, and Thames Water v Bromley Magistrates Courtsubmissions to the Court were made by various Member States governments. Their submissions highlight the differing approaches adopted by the Member States, and as an example, a brief discussion of the submissions made in Tombesi is provided. The Danish government considered that the concept of waste included all residual products, defining residual products as those that are not the primary goal sought by the production process, do not have a constant economic value, and their use depends on the markets available for them. The French government agreed that waste included residues, and considered that waste continued to be waste until it was recovered. The Italian government argued that the definition of waste in the WFD placed too much importance on the subjective element of the intentions of the waste holder, and that it was legitimate to employ the possibility of use a s a basic criterion and exclude from the notion of wastes substances that have recognized properties and are normally traded on markets. The Netherlands and UK governments took an intermediate view, with the Netherlands highlighting that secondary raw materials would not be waste, while the UK government argued that something was a waste when it left the normal commercial cycle or chain of utility and was consigned to a recovery operation. The Member States approach to the definition of waste clearly varies significantly. As a final example of the approach taken to the definition of waste, it is useful to return to the OSS case and contrast this with other similar cases that have been concerned with a material derived from waste that was subsequently used as fuel. Such cases include ARCO, Castle Cement v Environment Agency, Scottish Power Generation Ltd v Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Saetti v Frediani,and Lcopower BV v Secretary of State. On the facts of each case, materials in the first three cases were considered likely to be wastes despite the ‘recovery processes that the materials had been subjected to, while the materials in the remaining two were not considered to be wastes. The OSS case followed the general approach taken in ARCO, where it was statedthat â€Å"[t]he operations to which a substance is subsequently submitted are not of crucial importance to its classification as waste†. However, in Castle Cement, which concerned a material recovered from waste solvents and liquids derived from waste sources by Solvent Resource Management, the fact that the material was burned as fuel was an important consideration in determining that the material remained waste. This was in spite of the fact that it had been produced to a specification specifically for use as fuel. This can be contrasted against Saetti, where petroleum coke, which was produced to a specification although was considered to be waste by its producer, was held not to be waste. In Scottish Power, the waste-derived fuel was again made to a specification; however, here it was considered that since the material could not be used as fuel in the same conditions of environmental protection as the raw material it was replacing, it must be considered waste. In relation to the materials characteristics, however, in Castle Cement, Stanley Burnton J considered that: â€Å"Whether material is ‘waste cannot depend on whether any particular holder of it stores and uses it in an environmentally and otherwise safe manner. Its categorisation should depend on its qualities, not on the qualities of its storage or use.† This view can itself be contrasted with the ECJs approach to the definition of waste, which depends not on the quality of the material but on the intention or requirement of the holder to discard that material. In conclusion, while it appears from the case law that the ECJ has, on balance, taken a consistent approach to the definition of waste, its insistence on relying on the holders intention or requirement to discard the material has resulted in Member States and national authorities (including the national Courts) taking, unsurprisingly, an inconsistent approach to the definition of waste. The self-proclaimed ‘clarification document published by the Commission of the European Communities collates and prioritises the judgments from the ECJ, but it is questionable whether the approach taken is consistent with the overall aim of the WFD. Stanley Burnton J confessed to finding parts of the ECJs judgments ‘Delphic and, while apparently consistent throughout the relevant cases, I would tend to agree. The third recital of the WFD states the following: â€Å"Common terminology and a definition of waste are needed in order to improve the efficiency of waste management in the Community.† Perhaps it should read â€Å"†¦and a workable, comprehendible definition of waste†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ? References ARCO Chemie Netherland Ltd vMinister von Volkshuivesting and EOPN [2003] Env LR 40 (Case C-418/97) 15 June 2000 Bell, S. and McGillivray, D., Environmental Law (Oxford: OUP, Sixth Edition, 2006 Castle Cement v Environment Agency [2001] EWHC Admin 224 Commission Decision 2000/532 of 3 May 2000 ( [2000] O.J. L226/3 ) replacing Decision 94/3 ( [1994] O.J. L5/15 ) establishing a list of wastes pursuant to Article 1(a) of Council Directive 75/442 ( [1975] O.J. L194/39 ) on waste and Council Decision 94/904 ( [1994] O.J. L356/14 ) establishing a list of hazardous waste pursuant to Article 1(4) of Council Directive 91/689 ( [1991] O.J. L377/20 ) on hazardous waste, as amended by Council Decision 2001/573 ( [2001] O.J. L203/18 ) of 23 July 232001 amending Decision 2000/532 as regards the list of wastes Commission of the European Communities v Italy (Cases C-194/05, C-195/05, and C-263/05) 18 December 2007 reported in EU Focus 2008, 225, 15-17 Commission of the European Communities v United Kingdom [2004] All ER (D) 279 (Case C-62/03) 16 December 2004 Commission of the European Communities, 2007. Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the Interpretative Communication on waste and by-products. Brussels, 21 February 2007, COM(2007) 59 final Commission of the Eurpoean Communities v Germany [1996] 1 CMLR 383 (Case C-422/92) 10 May 1995 Council Directive 2006/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 on waste Criminal Proceedings against Niselli (Case C-457/02) Criminal Proceedings against E. Zanetti and Others [1990] I ECR 1509 (Case C-359/88) 28 March 1990 Euro Tombesi and Others [1997] 3 CMLR 673 (Joined Cases C-304/94, C-330/94, C-342/94, C-224/95) 25 June 1997 Icopower BV v Secretary of State (Unreported May 14, 2003) cited in OSS Group Ltd v Environment Agency [2008] Env LR 8 Inter-Environnement Wallonie v Regione Wallonne [1998] All ER 155 (Case C-129/96) 18 December 1997 Mayer Parry Recycling Ltd v Environment Agency [1999] 1 CMLR 963 OSS Group Ltd v Environment Agency [2007] Env LR 19 OSS Group Ltd v Environment Agency [2008] Env LR 8 Palin Granit Oy v Lounais-Suomen Ymparistokeskus [2003] All ER (EC) 366 (Case C-9/00) 18 April 2002 Saetti v Frediani [2004] Env LR 37 (Case C-235/02) 15 January 2004 Scottish Power Generation Ltd v Scottish Environment Protection Agency (No.1) [2005] SLT 98 OH Thames Water Utilities v Bromely Magistrates Court [2008] Env LR 3 (Case C-252/05) 10 May 2007