Facts and History About the Country of Cambodia

Facts and History About the Country of Cambodia The 20th century was disastrous for Cambodia. The country was occupied by Japan in World War II and became collateral damage in the Vietnam War, with secret bombings and cross-border incursions. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge regime seized power; they would murder approximately 1/5 of their own citizens in a mad frenzy of violence. Yet not all of Cambodian history is dark and blood-drenched. Between the 9th and 13th centuries, Cambodia was home to the Khmer Empire, which left behind incredible monuments such as Angkor Wat. Hopefully, the 21st century will be much kinder to the people of Cambodia than the last one was. Capital: Phnom Pehn, population 1,300,000 Cities: Battambang, population 1,025,000, Sihanoukville, population 235,000, Siem Reap, population 140,000, Kampong Cham, population 64,000 Cambodias Government Cambodia has a constitutional monarchy, with King Norodom Sihamoni as the current head of state. The Prime Minister is the head of government.  The current Prime Minister of Cambodia is Hun Sen, who was elected in 1998.  Legislative power is shared between the executive branch and the bicameral parliament, made up of the 123-member National Assembly of Cambodia and the 58-member Senate. Cambodia has a semi-functional multi-party representative democracy. Unfortunately, corruption is rampant and the government is non-transparent. Population Cambodias population is about 15,458,000 (2014 estimate).  The vast majority, 90%, are ethnic Khmer. Approximately 5% are Vietnamese, 1% Chinese, and the remaining 4% includes small populations of Chams (a Malay people), Jarai, Khmer Loeu, and Europeans. Due to the massacres of the Khmer Rouge era, Cambodia has a very young population. The median age is 21.7 years, and only 3.6% of the population is over the age of 65. (In comparison, 12.6% of US citizens are over 65.) Cambodias birth rate is 3.37 per woman; the infant mortality rate is 56.6 per 1,000 live births.  The literacy rate is 73.6%. Languages The official language of Cambodia is Khmer, which is part of the Mon-Khmer language family. Unlike nearby languages such as Thai, Vietnamese and Lao, spoken Khmer is not tonal. Written Khmer has a unique script, called abugida. Other languages in common use in Cambodia include French, Vietnamese, and English. Religion Most Cambodians (95%) today are Theravada Buddhists. This austere version of Buddhism became prevalent in Cambodia in the thirteenth century, displacing the combination of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism that was practiced previously. Modern Cambodia also has Muslim citizens (3%) and Christians (2%). Some people practice traditions derived from animism as well, alongside their primary faith. Geography Cambodia has an area of 181,040 square kilometers or 69,900 square miles. It is bordered by Thailand to the west and north, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east and south. Cambodia also has a 443 kilometer (275 miles) coastline on the Gulf of Thailand. The highest point in Cambodia is Phnum Aoral, at 1,810 meters (5,938 feet). The lowest point is the Gulf of Thailand coast, at sea level. West-central Cambodia is dominated by Tonle Sap, a large lake. During the dry season, its area is about 2,700 square kilometers (1,042 square miles), but during the monsoon season, it swells to 16,000 sq. km (6,177 sq. miles). Climate Cambodia has a tropical climate, with a rainy monsoon season from May to November, and a dry season from December to April. Temperatures dont vary much from season to season; the range is 21-31 °C (70-88 °F) in the dry season, and 24-35 °C (75-95 °F) in the wet season. Precipitation varies from just a trace in the dry season to over 250 cm (10 inches) in October. Economy The Cambodian economy is small, but growing quickly. In the 21st century, the annual growth rate has been between 5 and 9%. The GDP in 2007 was $8.3 billion US or $571 per capita. 35% of Cambodians live below the poverty line. The Cambodian economy is based primarily on agriculture and tourism- 75% of the workforce are farmers. Other industries include textiles manufacturing, and extraction of natural resources (timber, rubber, manganese, phosphate, and gems). Both the Cambodian rial and the US dollar are used in Cambodia, with the rial mostly given as change. The exchange rate is $1 4,128 KHR (October 2008 rate). History of Cambodia Human settlement in Cambodia dates back at least 7,000 years, and probably much farther. Early Kingdoms Chinese sources from the first century A.D. describe a powerful kingdom called Funan in Cambodia, which was strongly influenced by India. Funan went into decline in the 6th century A.D., and was supplanted by a group of ethnically-Khmer kingdoms that the Chinese refer to as Chenla. The Khmer Empire In 790, Prince Jayavarman II founded a new empire, the first to unite Cambodia as a political entity. This was the Khmer Empire, which lasted until 1431. The crown jewel of the Khmer Empire was the city of Angkor, centered around the temple of Angkor Wat. Construction began in the 890s, and Angkor served as the seat of power for more than 500 years. At its height, Angkor covered more area than modern-day New York City. Fall of the Khmer Empire After 1220, the Khmer Empire began to decline. It was attacked repeatedly by the neighboring Tai (Thai) people, and the beautiful city of Angkor was abandoned by the end of the 16th century. Thai and Vietnamese Rule After the fall of the Khmer Empire, Cambodia came under the control of the neighboring Tai and Vietnamese kingdoms. These two powers competed for influence until 1863, when France took control of Cambodia. French Rule The French ruled Cambodia for a century but viewed it as a subsidiary of the more important colony of Vietnam. During World War II, the Japanese occupied Cambodia but left the Vichy French in charge. The Japanese promoted Khmer nationalism and pan-Asian ideas. After Japans defeat, the Free French sought renewed control over Indochina. The rise of nationalism during the war, however, forced France to offer increasing self-rule to the Cambodians until independence in 1953. Independent Cambodia Prince Sihanouk ruled newly-free Cambodia until 1970 when he was deposed during the Cambodian Civil War (1967-1975). This war pitted communist forces, called the Khmer Rouge, against the US-backed Cambodian government. In 1975 the Khmer Rouge won the civil war, and under Pol Pot set to work creating an agrarian communist utopia by exterminating political opponents, monks and priests, and educated people in general. Just four years of Khmer Rouge rule left 1 to 2 million Cambodians dead- about 1/5 of the population. Vietnam attacked Cambodia and captured Phnom Penh in 1979, withdrawing only in 1989. The Khmer Rouge fought on as guerrillas until 1999. Today, though, Cambodia is a peaceful and democratic nation.

Selection of a Cloud Computing Provider Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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NHS omputer System Failures Affecting Patient Care Assignment

NHS omputer System Failures Affecting Patient Care - Assignment Example Computers have assisted man ever since their inception. This assignment describes the infusion of Information Technology in the field of health and medicine that has led to the rebirth of the said field. Technological advancements that have affected the field of health were described in the assignment and have affected the human society as a whole directly and have mostly proved to be beneficial rather than hazardous. The researcher focuses on analysis of the NHS OR NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE that is an organization that was established in UK. The core idea behind the establishment of National Health Services-NHS was to provide high quality of healthcare to all the patients. This was specially intended keeping in mind that no patient should be made to suffer because of his financial stature. Thus apart from very few procedures the NHS unanimously provides medical services to all its patients that are UK residents. Since its inception, there was always one issue or the other that inhibit ed the successful growth of the system, such as the delaying of computerized scheduled patient operations, subscription of timely and accurate medicines, failing to detect and ensure treatment of cancer patients within two weeks and those of emergent nature within four hours. The researcher analyzed and investigated problems, that were mentioned above and provided his own opinion on success of the National Health Services organization as well as some gave some recommendations and solutions found to solve the problems.

The Human Genome Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The Human Genome Project - Essay Example The Human Genome Project began in 1990, with the aim of establishing the DNA sequence of the whole euchromatic human genome in a period of 15 years . At the initial stage, the project was filled with scepticism from scientists and even ordinary people. One major issue raised was whether the enormous finances involved in the project would result in corresponding benefits. Nonetheless, the great success of the project is clear, the completion of Human Genome project brought a new age in medicine and also resulted in major advancements in the forms of technology applied in sequence DNA . The U.S National Institute of Health (NIH) and Department of Energy funded the launch of Human Genome project in 1990.   The labs of this project worked with international collaborators and they were able to resolve 95% of the sequence of DNA in human genome in a period of 15 years. Similarly, John Sulston in association with his colleagues at the MRC‘s laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambrid ge in the UK were working at mapping the genome of the nematode worm for a number of years. From their findings, they revealed that sequencing the entire genome of the worm was feasible . Human Genome Project in the US, it progressed well in its operations. In the United Kingdom, the MRC approached the Wellcome Trust and proposed for a new partnership to enable them get funds to facilitate the worm sequence project that John had proposed. After this proposal, things began to move quickly because the Wellcome Trust embarked its operations.

Evaluating Course Management Systems (CMS) Vendors Assignment

Evaluating Course Management Systems (CMS) Vendors - Assignment Example CMS aids organizations in managing content deployed through the internet. Organizations use web CMS in integrating the presence of their web with their other operations (Deo, 2010). This ensures that the content is current, relevant and refreshed. CMS also allows business to gain greater return and extract value from web channel, web communication and web marketing endeavors (Deo, 2010). This paper seeks to identify three CMS vendors, and compare and contrast their purchase and maintenance cost. This paper will identify three Course Management Systems Vendors; compare and contrast the functions and explain how they meet the needs and expectation of users. The first CMS vendor is the Database Vendors. This vendor include dynamic websites in which content is stored and separated from other particulars like format, style, supporting data and access rights. For example the Oracle which has had their own CMS offerings developed. This type of CMS vendor is expensive compared to the others if both maintenance and purchase. Database Vendors have understated and significant misalignment consumer group who has restricted their success in the product class (Deo, 2010). The customer model also has direct access to competent trained IT professionals who directly communicate within the organization to content producers. The second CMS vendor is the Internet Service Provider; this includes website hosting and registration of commodity business with competent and intense price which also allows switching costs. Businesses using this vendor are mainly interested in means of adding value to customers and help in what may avoid switching between vendors. This CMS vendor delivers products of content management and site building and delivery of site hosting, domain registration and site development. The products of this vendor are however conceived poorly because they are not the major game of the operation. Purchase and maintenance costs are however relatively low compared to Data base Vendors (Deo, 2010). The third CMS vendor is the Enterprise CMS Majors. This includes vendors like Vignette and EMC Documentation which produces document management among other manipulation tools and content aggregation. This vendor is used in managing non-web content. The vendor suits organizations moving documents for collaborative authoring within the organization for carefully publishing and version control (Deo, 2010). The vendor then allows content to be expanded and published in the internet. However, the application’s development path makes them completely proprietary and complicated. Installation of Enterprise CMS Major requires change management, extended timeline, financial expense, detailed training, and a committed organization in order to ensure success. This makes the cost of purchase and maintenance relatively high compared to the other types of vendors (Deo, 2010). Generally, all the three discussed CMSs are effective and meet the needs of users in vario us ways. The users benefit from these three CMSs due to their features such as: production of web pages (Chaudhari, 2009). They produce, edit and deploy web pages; systemization of web pages; turns production and web management into a system of activities delivering efficiency; simplification of website production activities. They internalize technical, communication and design complexity in the production of websites; user management as they manage users at different levels. It regulates who sees what on the site and who can edit and

Social Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Social Media - Essay Example On the other hand, companies are able to create pages in these social networking sites, where customers are able to access information, which is significant for mediating marketing. Therefore, social media harnesses and promotes effective communication among customers and the company offering various products. There some of the negative influences of social media to the company, whereby it can make information that the company does not want to reach customers to be viral (Associated press, 2012). Therefore, the company can suffer from negative publicity due to negative reviews from a single customer. For example, a customer may be impatient about delivery of certain foods or services that they have ordered online, and they may result to making negative reviews about the company. In fact, this would result to negative publicity, which makes potential customers lose confidence on the company, however, this problem can be resolved by ensuring that content posted on the company account has been regulated, whereby only the reviews that has been approved can be displayed in order to avoid ruining the company’s

Organisational Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Organisational Culture - Essay Example During the last days of Enron and WorldCom, there was no trace of any organisational culture (Cameron & Quinn, pp. 36-37, 2011). People would go on to establish their own boundaries, rules and approaches and a former employee at Enron labels those days as a â€Å"roller coaster ride at the height of craziness†. On the other hand, employees of companies like Google, Nike, UniLever, Procter & Gamble, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Wal-Mart, Merck, Levis Strauss and others are more likely to know what their companies stand for and what is their way of doing things (Yanow, Ybema & Sabelis, pp. 13-14, 2011). This paper is an attempt to explore the concept of organisational culture, more importantly, with the practical example of Semco, a Brazilian success story. Most of the paper will focus on introducing the company and explaining in culture with different elements of its culture. Furthermore, the paper will also briefly attempt to apply a few models and theories of organisational culture on t he company allowing having a better understanding of Semco’s organisational culture. Discussion Company History and Profile Semco was a small bureaucratic company from Brazil, founded in the year 1953, started off with specializing in the business of manufacturing centrifuges for the vegetable oil industry. During the1960, the company jumped into the business of hydraulic pumps, load pumps, axles and other components for the naval industry, considering the growth of Brazilian naval industry. Antonio Kurt Semler, an Austrian engineer and the founder of the company always wanted his son Richardo Semler to take interest in the company’s operations and take over... This essay stresses that Semco is a fascinating company and what makes it so interesting and attractive is its organisational culture, which is almost one of its kinds. Even as of today, there are many American and European companies which are researching on Semco, trying to understand the real cause of its success and planning to apply its concepts, approaches, theories and models in their organisations as well. Over the past three decades, under the leadership of Semler, Semco has created such an organisational culture, which is exactly in line with the ideas and vision of its founder. This report makes a conclusion that Semco is about realizing the true potential of individuals, helping them in being as creative as possible and doing something different. Even, when the companies, which are highly centralized and extensively controlled by the senior management, want to generate new ideas, be creative, and create something new, they make autonomous teams and allow them to work freely. Semler has just expanded that idea from a few occasional work teams to the entire company. Semco has successfully created an organisational culture, which has the capacity to support the organisational goals of the company. Ironically, the most important goal of the company is not to bind their employees with goals, targets and other managerial â€Å"mumbo jumbo†. Therefore, the company does not need any radical changes in its culture in the near future; however, the company has to ensure that it is also ready for circumstances.