Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Social Organized Crime Perspective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Organized Crime Perspective - Essay Example They also operate through a hierarchical-based relationship. The paper explores some of the speculative and empirical theories that explain organized crime and their criminal behavior in terms of a social institution. Alien Conspiracy Theory According to this theory, outside influences are responsible for the organized crime to prevail in US society. Ethnicity is in the basis of alien conspiracy theory of the organized crime. Haller (1990) argues that organized crimes largely succeed forming lucrative partnerships based on common needs and rational business decisions. Alien conspiracy theory states that Sicilian immigrants are largely responsible in giving a shape to the US organized crime. Though many disagree with this and put forward their argument that even before the significant Italian immigration during late nineteenth century and thereafter, crime organizations did function in most of the US city. Italian mafias only exploited the situation to their advantage and augmented th e crime horizons (Shanty, 2008). Culture Deviance Theory Usually lower-class people violate the law due to their unique culture that is in conflict with the culture of the upper class and all criminal laws are formulated keeping upper class in focus. The lower-class life-style usually rejects government authority. It is easy for them to fall in trap of thieves, drug dealers, and law-breakers. Culture deviance theory suggests that when conventional lawful ways are blocked, it is obvious for youth belonging to the lower-class to get attracted and become a part of an organized crime group (Lyman &Potter 2007). Rational Choice Theory Classical school of criminology developed rational choice theory. According to this theory, people have free will and can take their decisions rationally. Ditto applies to the organized criminals who guided by their free will willingly choose crime activities. This theory proposes that every criminal fully knows about the risk and rewards associated to thei r wrongdoings. As they are aware about the financial benefits so they also know about the level of punishment that will be meted to them in the event they are trapped or captured. Conversely, those who do not commit crime decide so because they do not find it worth the benefits. The criminals rationally think about their likely success or failure rates for doing a particular crime and accordingly they plunge into the act (Lyman &Potter 2007). Socialization Process in Illegitimate Businesses Five major community functions such as socialization, production-distribution-consumption; mutual support; social participation and social control have been identified to understand organized crime as a social institution (Lyman &Potter 2007). The existence of organized crime depends on production-distribution-consumption dynamics of the community. The existence of organized crimes emerges from the failure of legitimate market to serve huge consumer population. In that sense, there is a great sim ilarity between legitimate and illegitimate businesses. Organized crime has a good interfacing with the community as they provide assistance to the community and at the same time take advantage of opportunities that are available. Organized crime devises roles for themselves in production-distribution-consumption function of the society. The gaps in community functions make a way for organized crime to exist and flourish. That is how the legal and illegal business activities functions side by side. Thus, organized crime becomes an instrument in socializing its

Monday, October 28, 2019

Women Entrepreneurs May Be Defined Business Essay

Women Entrepreneurs May Be Defined Business Essay The Indian women are no longer treated as show pieces to be kept at home.They are also enjoying the impact of globalisation and making an influence not only on domestic but also on international sphere.Women are doing a wonderful job striking a balance between their house and career. Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman Managing Director of Biocon Ltd., who became Indias richest woman in 2004, was educated at the Bishop Cotton Girls School and Mount Carmel College in Bangalore. She founded Biocon India with a capital of Rs.10,000 in her garage in 1978 the initial operation was to extract an enzyme from papaya. Her application for loans were turned down by banks then on three counts biotechnology was then a new word, thecompany lacked assets, women entrepreneurs were still a rarity. Today, her company is the bigget biopharmaceutical firm in the country. Neelam Dhawan, Managing Director, Microsoft India, leads Microsoft India. She is a graduate from St. Stephens College in 1980,and also passed out from Delhis Faculty Of Management studies in 1982. Then she was keen on joining FMCG majors like Hindustan Lever and Asian Paints, both companies rejected Dhawan, as they didnot wish to appoint women for marketing and sales. STATUS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN INDIA Women entrepreneur as defined by the Government of India is an enterprise owned and controlled by a women having a minimum financial interest of 51 % of the capital and giving atleast 51 % of the employment generated in the enterprise to women.   On the basis government offers incentives and concessions to women entrepreneurs.   However, women entrepreneurs severely criticize this definition which sets out a condition of employing more than 50 % women workers.   They point out that this is discriminatory and any enterprise set-up by women should qualify for the concessions offered to women entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs are no longer as hard to find as they were a few decades ago.   However, a lot still remains to be done before the impediments in their way, in the form of unfavourable policies, hostile attitudes or lack of opportunities, are removed and women can function shoulder to shoulder with men.   Non-government organizations promoting women entrepreneurship play a critical role in removing obstacles.   Women as entrepreneurs have to play a key role in the overall economic development of the country.   It is estimated that presently women entrepreneur comprise 10 % of the total entrepreneurs in India with the percentage rising every year and it is likely in another five years, women will comprise 20 % of the entrepreneurial workforce.   This figure is given by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) as 39.4 %. With corporates eager to associate with women-owned businesses, and a host of banks and NGOs keen to help them get going, there has rarely been a better tim e for women with zeal and creativity to start their own business.   Traditionally, women in India were associated with tiny enterprises called 3Ps Pickles, Pappads and Pepper.   In urban cities of India, more and more women are successfully running day care centres, placement services, floriculture, beauty parlors and fashion boutiques.   Of late, technically and professionally qualified females are launching their small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in click and portal areas like information technology, multimedia, telecommunication and some have become very successful knowledge entrepreneurs.   Even in rural areas, self-help groups (SHGs) are empowering women to start their own business enterprises. Endowed with the famous female intuition that helps them make the right choices even in situations where experience and logic fail, the Indian women have innate flair for entrepreneurship.   Although men and women may be motivated by different goals and expectations, women entrepreneurs are just as competent, if not better, than their male counterparts.   Connie Glaser reports in her famous book When Money Isnt Enough, that male entrepreneurs are motivated by the potential to earn lots of money, while women start their own companies (SMEs) because they seek greater control over their personal and professional lives.   The capabilities and environment with which men and women operate are completely different.   Moreover, women have a few problems in pursuing their SMEs which their male counterparts do not.   If we really want to promote entrepreneurship among women we have to necessarily differentiate entrepreneurship on the basis of sex. Let us look at the key changes for the Indian women entrepreneurship over the last five decades.   Women entrepreneurs of The Fifties, took to entrepreneurial business activity where there was no income generating male or took charge of enterprise her husband had left.   In The Sixties, many women educated in schools and colleges began to have business aspirations and set-up SMEs.   Women entrepreneurs of The Seventies, was the critical mass of women who educated professionally and some set-up their own SMEs in emerging and new areas.   The women entrepreneurs of 50s, 60s, and 70s had accepted both their social and occupational roles.   They played the two roles and tried to balance both.   However, in The Eighties, the women were educated in highly technological and professional disciplines and they set-up their more sophisticatedly managed SMEs.   In The Nineties, women entrepreneurs were qualitatively different breed of women.   They were qualified, capable, compet ent and assertive.   They made better choices of opportunities and ideas, and set-up SMEs which they managed to grow their professionism. Women in The Nineties have often questioned their traditional coding of their roles and have become conscious of the voice of their identity.   The women entrepreneurs of The 21st Century, set-up businesses in IT, Telecom, and financial sectors and they were pioneers and mavericks.   In this millennium, the Indian women world has to cross a major threshold and enter an unknown land.   They have to walk a path where none existed with the sense to discover and fathom new heights with their effectively managed and technically sophisticated SMEs. Among the 94.57 lakhs SMEs owned by men functioning in India, 86.92 % are unregistered and registered units amount only to 13.08 %. In the total number of SMEs owned by men in India more than forth-fifths of the SMEs (86.92%) are unregistered. PERSONAL ENTREPRENEURIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MALE AND FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS General Characteristics   General characteristics of the Indian male and female entrepreneurs that have been noted in this study areas follows: Female Entrepreneurs Women tend to be more cautious and avoid risky ventures that would increase their vulnerability and expose them to possible loss of savings, more so when the impetus to become an entrepreneur arises from circumstances such as loss of job, divorce or death in the family. Business ventures are therefore kept small and products are quite diversified, rather than specialized. Activities are focused on household commitments, namely, to improve living conditions and consumption levels of their families and to educate their children, rather than focused on profit-driven motives. Hence they tend to choose businesses that allow them to balance family and business responsibilities. Sectors to which they gravitate generally exhibit lower growth potential and lower profits. Womens attraction to the services sector is thought to be linked to the view that women are inherently maternal and see themselves as providers for their families, hence their predisposition to enter this sector. The creative capacity of women, which is seen to be greater than that of men, allows them to be more responsive to market conditions, thereby contributing to their survival. Not unrelated to this is the tendency of women to underestimate their skills compared to men. As a result, they are more eager to avail themselves of opportunities for self-improvement through skills upgrading and confidence building. Male Entrepreneurs Male entrepreneurs are generally perceived to be more self-confident and possess better business skills. Men tend to be more profit-oriented, and are greater risk-takers with expectations of greater financial returns. Overall, men have access to a better support system, partly because of their longer experience in the business arena, but more so because of the strength of their networking, and the male bonding phenomenon, variously known as the old boys club. In addition, men generally hold positions of power in organizations and political institutions and have greater control over the decision-making processes (loan approvals etc.). Men enjoy a clear advantage with respect to accessing credit and investment capital, and acquiring market information, which together facilitate their entry into more profitable, high growth sectors. The mobility of men tends not to be as constrained by domestic responsibilities. Difference between Personal Entrepreneurial Characteristics    Based on general information gathered from respondents the main differences in personal entrepreneurial characteristic between female and male entrepreneurs are as follows: Female Entrepreneurs Many female entrepreneurs are said to be in business out of economic necessity. Women tend to underestimate their skills in comparison to men. They are very eager to take advantage of opportunities such as seminars, bazaars, etc. to help them to upgrade their skills and business capabilities, as well as to build up their level of confidence. Women tend to be more cautious in their approach to business in the sense that they are more patient than men, and are willing to wait for a longer period of time for their businesses to grow. Motivation between men and women seems to be different. Women tend to operate in small business and maintain a clear focus on their additional duties and obligations to their family/household. Hence, their main priority is in having adequate finance in hand to meet family commitments, even if they do not obtain an income or salary at month end. Women tend to be largely in the services sector. One view advanced by a key informant is that as women are inherently maternal and intrinsically see themselves as providers for their families, they have a predisposition to enter this sector. Women tend to start businesses that they can manage adequately and financially, bearing in mind that they may also be heading the household in the absence of a male figure. In this case, womens time has to be appropriated prudently between business and familial responsibilities. Women tend to have an aversion to debt, particularly if they have started their business from a position of disadvantage. The view suggests that women entrepreneurs tend to avoid potentially risky business activities that may increase their vulnerability and expose them to the loss of their savings sometimes life savings. A possible additional risk for women could be the fear or embarrassment of being viewed as a failure within the context of a perceived male-dominated society. Womens creative capacity is seen to be greater than that of their male counterparts. Women can diversify more quickly than men in order to remain viable within the market even though this market is small in many cases and they are seen to be more flexible than men as well. Male Entrepreneurs Male entrepreneurs are perceived to be more confident than their female counterparts. They have a better support system, principally because they have more experience in business activities. They are perceived to possess more and better business skills than women. They are seen to be more systematic than women. They tend to be more enterprising in terms of taking higher risks with the expectation of attaining higher financial returns on their investments. Challenges of women entrepreneurs Women are subjected to discrimination in their entrepreneurial endeavours due to various gender-related causes. This discrimination has adversely impacted on their ability to raise or secure capital, to acquire and further managerial talents, and to capture market opportunities. Women are often subjected to greater scrutiny as they approach traditional lending institutions for assistance. This has resulted in many women being discouraged from venturing into business activities on their own. However, it needs to be mentioned that those women who have done so have been quite successful at managing and operating the respective businesses. This refers in particular to women who have been successful in areas such as basketry, food vending, hair dressing, clothes designing, and food manufacturing such as pepper sauces, making syrup and the packaging of various spices. No clearly defined policy framework existed for SME development. In this case, in the views of key informants, there seemed to be gender discrimination in favour of male entrepreneurs. One example given speaks to the issue of males obtaining loans more easily and readily than women from commercial banks to finance their business ventures which, in some cases, were similar to those of women. The Indian Governments recent policy framework has sought to redress some of these imbalances. A wide range of credit facilities is available. However, SMEs persons including women, experience numerous difficulties in accessing funds. There is a lack of readily available information on opportunities for investing in SMEs.   In this regard, women who are starting from a perceived situation of disadvantage in the market especially if they are operating at the periphery of the formal economy are constrained in relation to maximizing their economic potential. The absence of an entrepreneurial culture has permeated all levels of society.   This has resulted in the SME sector being regarded as a less attractive investment option in India. When combined with other barriers, few women find SMEs an attractive career pursuit. Female entrepreneurs may lack business management, marketing and accounting skills.   These skills may be very weak. This may be compounded by the lack of resources and in some cases the will to upgrade these skills. The educational system does not include entrepreneurial education, training and development in the curricula as a crucial area for national economic development. Women who would otherwise benefit from this educational emphasis are inevitably denied early access to the rudiments of business in India6. Major Problems of Women Entrepreneurs The major problem observed are as follows : Women face intensive financial constraints as loans not easily available to them being females a gender bias. Women have over-dependence on intermediaries, middlemen and brokers who exploit rather than helping them. Women face the problem of scarcity of raw materials and depend upon suppliers and middlemen who exploit them charging higher prices. Cut-throat competition in entrepreneurship creates more hurdles to women entrepreneurs. In the case of women entrepreneurs, the cost of production goes high as compared to industries run by their male counterparts.   This creates problems of marketing due to high prices. Women have low mobility as compared to male entrepreneurs because of social hurdles, family responsibilities and discrimination by family members. Women give more priority to family ties and relationships than economic aspects.   This prevents them from becoming successful in entrepreneurship. India being a patriarch society, female daughters dont have rights over the property of their father and hence discriminated by financial institutions. Female entrepreneurs cannot get sales tax number without a male partner which causes a great problem for them.   This is male chaunism that is also in the beginning of the 21st Century. Because of lack of information networks, education and training, potential and existing female entrepreneurs are exploited by unscrupulous agents and brokers7.   There are numerous other problems and challenges which discourages women to undertake entrepreneurship and self-employment as a career option in India as well as many other developing countries of the world.   The government must come-up with clear policies in favour of women entrepreneurs so that female entrepreneurship development can be promoted and further encouraged making them as equal partners in the society.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Comparing Hinduism and Buddhism Essay -- Papers Compare Contrast Relig

Comparing Hinduism and Buddhism Hinduism and Buddhism have different similarities and are in some ways connected to each other. Some of the practices of the two religions are similar in various ways and there are several examples to show this. Hinduism first started in India around 1500 BC. The word Hindu comes from the Sanskrit word sindhu, or river. The Hindu community define themselves as "those who believe in the Vedas", or also "those who follow the way, or dharma, of the four classes and the stages of life. The four classes being the varnas and the stages of life being the ashramas. Like Hinduism, Buddhism also started in India. It is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who is called the Buddha or the Enlightened One. Buddhism started a monastic movement in the Brahman tradition. It is generally agreed that the Buddha was born in 563 BC in Kapilavastu to the ruler of a small kingdom. He grew up with luxuries and had a sheltered life. When he was 29 he came to realize that hi life up to this point had been so empty. He let go any earthly attachments and soon set out to find peace and enlightenment trying to steer away from the cycles of rebirths. He started practicing Yoga and "adopted a life of radical asceticism." He soon gave up this way of thinking and focused on "a middle path between the life of indulgence and that of self-denial." After a time of great inner struggle, he began to wander to different places and preach and organized a monastic community know as the sangha. The Buddha started the movement for all different peoples and denied that a person's spiritual worth is a matter of birth. The Buddha left no written word. His ideas have been put into writings though... ...under the Gupta Empire. In the 16th century in Bengal, a sect of erotic mysticism was founded. This celebrated the union of Krishna and Radha in a Tantric theology heavily influenced by Tantric Buddhism. In the 19th century many reforms have taken place to bring traditional Hinduism to reconcile with the social reforms and political ideals of the day. Leaders of these reforms are greats such as Mohandas Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo Ghose. Bhimrau Ramji Ambedkar even revived the myth of the Brahmans who fell from their caste and the tradition that Buddhism and Hinduism were once one in order to "enable Untouchables to gain self-respect by 'reconverting' to Buddhism." Today both religions are still greatly worshiped and have millions of followers. Buddhism and Hinduism are connected in many ways and still continue to flourish after many, many centuries.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

War of 1812

Several forces led Americans to declare war on Britain in 1812. France and Britain, Europe’s two most powerful nations, had battled almost continuously since the late 1700s. Hostilities began during the French Revolution, and then continued as Britain led the efforts to stop French expansion under Napoleon I. In 1803, the continuing tension in Europe escalated into a full-scale conflict, the Napoleonic Wars. As fighting between the British and French increased, each side took steps to prevent the United States from trading with the other. The great causes of complaint against Great Britain, your committee need only say, that the United States, as a sovereign and independent Power, claim the right to use the ocean, which is the common and acknowledged highway of nations, for the purposes of transporting, in their own vessels, the products of their own soil and the acquisitions of their own industry†¦. † (Document 1). European warfare directly affected American trade and the economy. American presidents from Jefferson to Madison tried to keep the United States impartial during these conflicts, but both France and Britain completely disregarded the rights of neutral countries. Another conflict occurred in North America itself, which was clashing with a native population committed to protecting its lands from intruders. In both the North and South, the threatened tribes united to resist white infringement. They began as well to build connections with British forces in Canada and Spanish forces in Florida. Therefore, the Indian conflict on land became intertwined with the European conflict on the seas, and ultimately helped cause the War of 1812. In 1805, at the Battle of Trafalgar, the British virtually destroyed the French navy. Since France was no longer a threat to the British at sea, Napoleon designed what he called the Continental System, which closed the European continent to British trading. Napoleon also issued decrees banning British ships and neutral ships at British ports from leaving their cargoes at any European port controlled by France or its allies. The British government responded by establishing a blockade of the European coast. The blockade required that any goods being shipped to Napoleon's Europe be carried either in British vessels or in neutral vessels stopping at British ports. In the early 19th century, the United States had developed one of the most important merchant marines in the world, which controlled a large proportion of the trade between Europe and the West Indies. However, the conflicts in Europe threatened that control, because American ships were caught between Napoleon's decrees and Britain's blockade. Both of the belligerent powers were violating America's rights as a neutral nation. Yet most Americans considered the British, with their greater sea power, the worst offender, since the British vessels frequently stopped American ships on the high seas and seized sailors off the decks, making them victims of â€Å"impressment. † The British navy received low pay, had terrible ship conditions, and few volunteered. As a result, most had to be â€Å"impressed† into the service. Many deserted and emigrated to the United States to join the American merchant marine or the American navy. To justify this loss of men, the British claimed the right to stop and search American merchantmen and reimpress deserters. Public outrage over impressment grew increasingly after the incident between the American naval frigate Chesapeake and a British vessel, the Leopard. In June 1807 the Leopard approached the Chesapeake and demanded to search the ship for British deserters. The Chesapeake’s commander, James Barron, refused, and the Leopard opened fire. Numerous American sailors were killed or wounded during the attack, and the Chesapeake surrendered. When news of the Chesapeake-Leopard incident reached the United States, there was a great cry for revenge. But Jefferson and Madison tried to maintain peace. Jefferson ordered British warships to leave American waters and demanded an end to impressment. The British did make some apologies and restitution for the Chesapeake-Leopard incident, but continued to claim the right to seize American ships and inspect them for deserters. To avoid war and maintain neutrality, Jefferson persuaded Congress to pass the Embargo Act of 1807. It prohibited American ships from leaving the United States for any foreign port anywhere in the world, a policy that banned trade with Europe. British and French aggression hurt New England more than any other section of the country, but its merchants did not want to go to war with the British. Twenty out of thirty-two New England representatives voted against war with England in 1812 (Document 5). Britain was the region's most important trading partner, and the profits were extremely important. The Embargo was a growing political problem, and Jefferson decided to back down. A few days before leaving office, he approved a bill ending the embargo with what he called â€Å"peaceable coercion. † Consequently, Congress replaced it in 1809 with the Non-Intercourse Act, which forbade trade only with France and Britain. This measure was also overturned in 1810 by Macon's Bill No. 2, which reopened American commerce with all nations, but authorized the President to prohibit commerce with either belligerent if it should continue violating neutral shipping. In an effort to force the United States to reimpose the Embargo against Britain, Napoleon announced that France would no longer interfere with American shipping. Madison announced that an embargo against Great Britain alone would automatically go into effect early in 1811 unless Britain renounced its restrictions on American shipping. This new embargo persuaded England to repeal its blockade of Europe. Nonetheless, the repeal came too late to prevent war. As stated by Congressman John Calhoun, â€Å"The question†¦ is reduced to this single point-which shall we do, abandon or defend our own commercial and maritime rights, and the personal liberties of our citizens employed in exercising them? These rights are essentially attacked, and more is the only means of redress†¦. I know of one principle to make a nation great†¦ and that is to protect every citizen in the lawful pursuit of his business†¦. Protection and patriotism are reciprocal†¦ if [the British] persist in such daring insult and injury to [the United States], it will be bound in honor and interest to resist. † (Document 2). Did the United States actually have a choice other than to resort to war? Western and southern representatives in Congress, most notably Henry Clay of Kentucky and John Caldwell Calhoun of South Carolina, led a pro-war faction that became known as the War Hawks. They argued that British officers from Canada were encouraging Native American peoples to rebel against the United States. For many years, frontiersmen had fought interior tribes with little help from the federal government. The War Hawks now felt they could enlist federal aid against Native Americans and their British allies by supporting a war to stop British interference with American trade on the seas. In addition, the War Hawks wanted to acquire more land. The United States could seize the territories of Canada and Florida in a war with Great Britain. Thus, representatives from the South and the Western Frontier voted strongly in favor of war with Great Britain (Document 5). Since the American Revolution, the United States had been provoked by the failure of the British to withdraw from American territory along the Great Lakes. Their backing of the Indians on America's frontiers and their unwillingness to sign commercial agreements favorable to the United States also upset Americans. Ever since the Revolution most Indians had continued to look to England for protection. The British in Canada, for their part, had relied on the Indians as partners in the lucrative fur trade. The 1807 war crisis following the Chesapeake-Leopard incident revived the conflict between Indians and white settlers. This conflict involved William Henry Harrison and Tecumseh. Harrison was an advocate of development in the western lands. Jefferson offered the Indians a choice: they could convert themselves into settled farmers and become a part of white society, or they could migrate west of the Mississippi. In either case, they would have to give up their claims to their tribal lands in the Northwest. The separate tribes were helpless by themselves against the power of the United States so the British authorities in Canada were willing to help. This further enraged Americans and led to war. There were several circumstances and events, which led to the War of 1812. Britain continually violated America’s rights as a neutral nation. It created a blockade. It also established a policy of impressments. In addition, the British incited the Indians to attack Americans for western territory. The United States continually tried to remain neutral. However, according to Hugh Nelson of Virginia,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ to demonstrate to the world†¦ that the people of these states were united, one and indivisible†¦ to show that our republican government was competent to assert its rights, to maintain the interests of the people, and to repel all foreign aggression†¦ My conduct as your representative has been regulated entirely by these great and important considerations. † (Document 7). This clearly shows that war was inevitable. It was important that for once we as a country came together and asserted ourselves as a unified nation.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Buffer System

Buffer systems * prevent major changes in pH of body fluids by removing or releasing H+ * act quickly to prevent excessive changes in H+ concentration. Body’s major extracellular buffer system is â€Å"bicarbonate-carbonic acid buffer system†. There are 20 parts of (HCO3) to one part of (H2CO3). —- [20:1]. When the ratio is no longer maintained, it will result to acid-base imbalance. Carbon dioxide is a potential acid; when dissolved in water, it becomes carbonic acid. Lungs under the control of medulla control the CO2, and thus the carbonic content of ECF.They do so by adjusting ventilation in response to the amount of CO2 in the blood. A rise in PaCO2 is powerful response to stimulant. Respiratory Compensation * is a mechanism by which plasma pH can be altered by varying the  respiratory rate. * breathing  is altered to modify the amount of CO2  in circulation. Kidneys regulate bicarbonate level in the ECF; they can regenerate bicarbonate ions as well as reabsorb them from renal tubules. Renal compensation for imbalances is relatively slow (a matter of hours or days). The kidneys have two important roles in the maintaining of the acid-base balance: 1. to reabsorb bicarbonate 2. to excrete hydrogen ions into urine. Bicarbonate Buffer System * 2 components (H2CO3) carbonic acid, a weak acid and (NaHCO3) a weak base. * 1. If a potential pH change is created by a strong acid, the ff. takes place: HCL + NaHCO3 NaCl + H2CO3 (strong acid) (weak acid) 2. If a potential pH changes is created by strong base, the ff. reaction takes place: NaOH + H2CO3 H2O + NaHCO3 (strong base) (weak base)