An Investigation of Vietnam’s Barriers of Economic Growth and Development Essay

Over the past few decades, Vietnam has made remarkable recovery from the damage of war and political reforms. Under Vietnam’s communist party, the country’s economy has transitioned from a centrally planned economy to a socialist-oriented market economy. Making it a multi-sectored commodity economy regulated by the people, whilst under state management and ownership. Numerous reforms, along with the modernization of the financial system, have led to rapid growth for Vietnam economically. In 2010, the Gross Domestic Product (PPP) of Vietnam was $275,639 million and ranked 40 out of 182 listed countries according to the International Monetary Fund. This is most likely due to rapid industrialization that has and is taking place. Industry and construction contributed approximately 40.9% of GDP in 2010 whereas the share of the agriculture sector has fallen to 21%. Although the rise in GDP has brought about a decline in poverty, larger school enrolment rates, bettered infrastructure, etc, this rapid growth rate has also brought with it negative factors that may hinder subsequent economic growth and development. For instance, Vietnam is facing large budget and trade deficits. In 2010, the current account balance (CAB) of Vietnam was -8.51 billion US dollars based on the International Monetary Fund, with the country’s trade deficits amounting to US$12.4 billion. CAB value, being a negative, shows that the amount spent on imports coming into Vietnam is higher than that earned from the country’s exports. The problem is that the imports are of a higher value than the exports and this is the consequence of relying on a narrow range of primary products (This point on low value exports will be elaborated on, under cultural factors). Similarly, the government is blowing its budget, causing the fiscal deficit to rise to 7.4% of GDP in 2010, which shows the extent at which the government’s total expenditure has exceeded the revenue that it generates. This overshot the government’s target of 6.2%. On one hand, the government expenditure on basic social and physical infrastructure is a necessity for any developing country. However, this continual over-spending can place the government in a state of debt, which may interfere with economic growth and development. Also, the corrupted state misspends and embezzles a good share of export earnings, foreign investment and revenue (To be covered later under political instability). In order to taper down trade deficits, the government has been forced to devalue the Vietnamese currency (dong) to the exchange rate of 17,961 dong : US$1. However, the dong is continually being devalued. According to Le Dang Doanh of the Economic College of Hanoi, â€Å"devaluation might temporarily help to reduce Vietnam’s imports, but it will also boost inflation because the imported fuel will rise.† Doanh’s views are very apt as devaluation of the exchange rate will make exports more competitive and appear cheaper to foreigners. This will increase demand for exports whilst making imports more expensive. Hence, reducing the demand for imports. However, this devaluation has caused a rise in the inflation rate in Vietnam. In January 2011, the consumer-price index rose to 12.17%. This is higher than the 11.8% increase in December 2010. Bring about higher prices for education services, food, housing and building materials within the country. These high prices are not easily met by the poorer of the country. It is no surprise, therefore, that Vietnam’s per capita GDP (PPP) of $3,123 (ranked 128) by the International Monetary Fund, meaning that the average income of a person living in Vietnam is approximately $8.70 per day. This is equivalent to earning US$3.20 a day according to nominal per capita GDP. One reason for this is that Vietnam’s rate of growth of population is higher than that of its GDP. Vietnam, with a growing population of over 89 million, is the 13th most densely populated country in the world. The Human Development Index (HDI) re-illustrates Vietnam’s lower development and welfare. It weighs real national income per year, the adult literacy rate, average years of schooling, and life expectancy in ranking a country in terms of development. The closer the HDI value is to 1, the more developed the country is said to be. The 2010 HDI value of Vietnam is 0.572, ranking the country 113 out of 169 countries with comparable data. Having a HDI value between 0.5 and 0.8, Vietnam is said to have â€Å"medium human development†. However, this value still remains below the average HDI value of East Asia and the Pacific (0.650) and that of the world (0.624). On a scale from 0 – 1, the index for health is 0.869, education is 0.480 and income is 0.448. Additionally from the 2010 report, 21.45% of the population is living below US$1.25 per day and 25,632 per million of the population is affected by natural disasters. It appears that the prime reason for the relatively low HDI value of Vietnam seems to be due to the decline in infrastructure and income amongst its citizens. This brings us to the next section of my investigation. Along with the problems arising in Vietnam, its current economic situation could have been and still remains a result of the various factors below: Income Poverty The Vietnam government has made effective attacks on poverty, reducing the countries share of income poverty from 58% to 21.45% in 1993-2010. Due to industrialization and reforms, more jobs and opportunities were created. The rise in income for people working in industrial zones resulted in more than a third of the population being pulled out of poverty. However, the increasing number of people moving into the city areas has caused property demands, and hence prices, to rise. Additionally, inflation is increasing the prices of staples remarkably, making it difficult for low-income urban and rural residents. In fact, a study in 2006 by the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences concluded that even higher growth rates will be required than in the past as poverty is still deep and widespread, and the remaining millions of people vulnerable to poverty fall far below the poverty line. This prevalent income gap in Vietnam, particularly the income disparity between the rural and urban areas not only lowers the basic standard of living in the country due to inequitable development, but also reduces consumption. This drop in consumption, coupled with the investment fever of the higher income-earners, might cause deflation. Although deflation may seem to help lower-income citizens to purchase more goods, price drops will hamper profits of firms and, hence, the overall economic growth of Vietnam. This will lead to even lower income distributed to workers, and even retrenchment, as companies would need to cut down costs. As a result, economic development is hindered, as the government will not have sufficient funds to spend on improving infrastructure in the country. Therefore, the basic standard of living subsequently drops. Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, is already feeling the negative effects of this lack of infrastructure due to the poverty cycle as it is constantly plagued by power blackouts (See lack of infrastructure below). Political Structure/Corruption To date, the government continues to maintain control of the largest and most important firms in the country. The government recently issued new limitations for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on the extent at which they can diversify away from their core business. Conversely, policy changes tend to take a long time to be put into effect and SOEs will take an equally long period of time to respond to such directives. One way to overcome this conservatism, the minimal or gradual change in society, is if the government gives up political control of the economy and diminishing the bureaucratic nature of commerce in Vietnam. However it is unlikely that the Communist leaders will allow this to happen. Additionally, Vietnam relies heavily on SOEs to generate wealth for the nation. Under each company, workers enjoy the same share of benefits from growth despite any disparity in productivity. Therefore, there is no incentive for workers to perform better at their job and the economy will not be able to reach high growth rates or attract foreign investors. Public officials and state employees, thus, resort to getting extra money any way they can. The current state structure creates loopholes for corrupt people to plunder state budget. Already, there have been cases where government officials have been arrested for squandering a significant share of investments that come into the country. The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index placed Vietnam 116th out of 178 countries, with a transparency score of 2.7. Corruption and lack of political transparency causes citizens to lose confidence in their leaders and weakens national unity. Possible uprisings may occur and instability hinders national construction and defense (Continued in lack of infrastructure below). Lack of infrastructure Vietnam’s energy-generating capacity is not at a high enough level yet to support its production in industrial zones. However, at the moment the government budget is not enough to solve the electricity supply problem. First of all, if fewer goods are produced due to lack of electricity to operate machinery efficiently, economic growth will decrease. Furthermore, power surges disrupt the everyday lives of citizens, transportation, etc. Lowering the standard of living in Vietnam. As mentioned above, the bureaucracy of official procedures stops the country from building the roads, power stations and other public works due to the slow speed at which such changes take effect. These factors are needed to maintain efficient production of goods and services and, hence, growth rate. Particularly, the lack of road systems hinders economic development, as it is difficult for citizens to gain access to different areas of the country. Cultural Factors Initially an agriculture-based economy, Vietnam depends on seafood and rice as main exports for the country. Many of these low-value products are the livelihood of people living in rural areas. The school attendance is much lower in rural areas as compared to urban areas and this lack of education leads to the lack of skills necessary to carry out jobs in industrial zones. Therefore, their focus on agriculture has translated to the country over-depending on primary products as its main exports. This narrows the range of products, which can be purchased through international trade. This negatively impacts potential economic growth. On the other hand, an increasing number of people living in urban areas own cars and factories are producing goods constantly in order keep up with the ambitious growth targets of Vietnam’s Communist leaders. The emissions from choking traffic and constant construction are starting to take a toll on the environment. The pollution, therefore, impedes the economic development of the developing country. In conclusion, we can see that despite Vietnam’s improving economic growth, numerous debts accumulating in the country and the devaluation of currency can hinder further potential growth rates. These factors overlap with the Communist Party’s political control of the economy and the slow change of economic policies, lack of infrastructure to support capital production and exporting low-value products, which in turn hinder economic growth. Additionally, over-population, growing income gaps between rural and urban areas, inefficient building of infrastructure and environmental damage created by excessive and rapid industrialization, have impeded on economic development by lowering the basic standard of living of the country. In order for Vietnam to grow and develop economically in the future, the political structure needs to allow a more efficient change in both social and economical policies. More importantly, the country needs to stop prevalent corruption and give firms incentives to generate more economic growth and, thus, attract more foreign investments for the country. Sources -http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPOVERTY/Resources/WDR/English-Full-Text-Report/ch2.pdf -http://www.arcadia-asia.com/commentaries/201003-Arcadia%20Market%20Commentary.pdf -http://www.viet-studies.info/kinhte/vietnam_OxfordAnalytica.pdf -http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPRS1/Resources/383606-1106667815039/gov_spending_vietnam.pdf -http://www.economist.com/node/11041638?story_id=11041638 -http://www.icsead.or.jp/7publication/workingpp/wp2006/2006-18.pdf -http://www.economywatch.com/economic-statistics/country/Vietnam/

Current Events in Business Research Essay

INTRODUCTION There are six basic stages to the research process. Stage 1 is clarifying the research question. This would be the process in identifying the problem that is prompting the research. Stage 2 is proposing research, which would be the act of identifying the resources necessary to do the research. The third stage is designing the research project, or deciding which method to use to gather the information. Stage 4 involves data collection and preparation, which is gathering the data and making it ready to be evaluated. Stage 5 would be the data analysis and interpretation stage. Stage 5 is defining what the data is saying about the problem. The final stage, stage 6 is reporting the results. This is breaking down the interpretation into a presentation that shows the meaning of the data collected. (Cooper & Schindler, 2014) This is the process used by Paramount Pictures recently when it was in contract negotiations with the DVD rental company, Redbox. THE DILEMMA As the major Hollywood studios took sides for and against Redbox, Paramount Pictures was staying neutral. The studio had signed a first-of-its-kind trial deal guaranteeing that its titles will be available from the fast-growing $1-a-night DVD rental company through the end of the year. During that time, Paramount would study the effect of Redbox rentals on its total home-entertainment revenue, examining whether there is any decrease in the sales of its DVDs at stores that house Redbox kiosks. Under the terms of the agreement, Paramount would have the option at the end of the year to trigger a five-year deal with Redbox similar to ones recently struck with  competitors Sony Pictures and Lionsgate. The estimated value of the agreement was $575 million. Redbox President Mitch Lowe agreed because Paramount movies performed better at the box office that year. A Paramount agreement would give the studio a share of rental revenue, meaning it could earn more than $575 million if its movies prove popular. Sony and Lionsgate are selling their discs wholesale to Redbox. Though it doesn’t have a formal deal with the company, Walt Disney Studios allows its wholesalers to sell discs to Redbox as well. (Fritz, 2009) â€Å"There has been a lot of debate in the industry about the impact Redbox is having and will have, and we felt the best way to make a decision is by getting the information,† said Paramount Vice Chairman Rob Moore. â€Å"Then we can make an informed decision based on what we will have learned over the next four months.† Guaranteed access to Paramount’s movies was important for Redbox. The studio released two of that summer’s biggest movies, â€Å"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen† and â€Å"Star Trek.†(Fritz, 2009) A movie that plays well in the theaters tends to do well when it is available to rent. Rental revenue could also provide a much-needed boost to the bottom line of Paramount. Lowe said he was confident that providing detailed data to Paramount would help resolve the heated disputes in Hollywood about his company’s effect on the entertainment business. Lowe has previously said his company’s research found that DVD sales dropped less than 1% in stores that installed a Redbox kiosk. â€Å"Many studios do their own analysis that we know is not as reliable and is aimed at coming to the answer they want to hear,† he said. â€Å"We find that when we can form a relationship with a studio and share real data, it results in a positive step forward.† Moore said he hadn’t reached any â€Å"definitive conclusions† as to what steps he would take if the data showed that Redbox rentals do in fact reduce overall revenue. So, the dilemma that Paramount has is w hether or not partnering with Redbox will reduce its sales income more than it will increase its rental revenue. THE PROCESS Paramount and Redbox did the research to determine whether or not rentals available the same day to buy decreased the sales revenue any more or less than those studios who decided to wait 28 days to make them available. Despite some content executives recently having touted the benefits of a  28-day window for DVD titles, Coinstar Inc.’s CEO Paul Davis said the company’s own research showed Redbox Automated Retail LLC kiosks have a minimal impact on DVD sales. â€Å"We did a major study, a little over a year ago, with a major studio and a major retailer and we found that the impact on new product sales as a result of our $1-a-night being out there, day and date, was less than 1%,† Redbox worked closely with Paramount, and they did a lot of testing as well, and the fact that they decided to go with day and date (of release) I think speaks volumes.†(James, 2010) CONCLUSION After reviewing the data collected by themselves and Redbox in 2009, Paramount Pictures made their decision. In June, 2010, Paramount exercised its option to extend its revenue-sharing license agreement with Redbox, which gives Redbox access to Paramount’s newly released DVDs and Blu-ray titles on the same day they are released in the sell-through market. Paramount’s extended agreement with Redbox runs until the end of 2014, though the studio will had the option to terminate the agreement early at the end of 2011. (James, 2010) As a result of the research, Davis thought that studios that have the 28-day window might opt to tweak their Redbox agreements to get certain DVD titles out for rental sooner. â€Å"Especially as more and more data gets out there and †¦ as the studios that have opted for the 28-day window, as they have a year or so to look at the data, see how it’s impacted their new product sales †¦ it could move that we get some titles earlier,† he said.(James, 2010) The process that Paramount and Redbox used, and the data they collected, could prove to be useful data to the other studios as to whether or not they should wait the 28 days. Reference Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2014). Business Research Methods (12th ed.). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.. Fritz, B. (2009, Aug 26). COMPANY TOWN; paramount to give redbox a spin. Los Angeles Times Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/422289074?accountid=458 James, S. B. (2010). Impact of day-and-date redbox rentals on DVD sales less than 1%. SNL Kagan Media & Communications Report, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/869743836?accountid=458

Machete and Tron Review Essay

In this film Robert Rodriguez decided to pay tribute to B-movies of the 70’s and 80’s (the unsteady zooms, the clumsy edits, the continuity errors between shots), this is very apparent in the genre of the movie, exploitation films include excessive violence, gore, nudity and way too many corny lines. Art Direction wise the film also follows a 70’s 80’s kind of vibe, the cast also reminds us of that era. Costume design is amazing, all characters have a distinct very cartoony costume to them, the cheesiness doesn’t end here, the amount of weapons cannot be accounted for other than all the uzi’s minigun’s etc. etc. our main character can turn any household object, gardening tool or surgical instrument into a weapon of mass destruction! Special Effects are ABSURD (in the good way) what really stuck in my head is when our main Hero guts someone takes his intestines and jumps out a window using them as a rope! The Blood spurts and body parts cut off or crushed aren’t few either. Sound Effects have their parts of cheese; the most memorable one to me was when Torrez (played by Steven Seagal) pulls out his Samurai Sword (the effect is actually from the 1974 movie Six Million Dollar Man). Machete is a film that embodies all of the facets a 1970s blaxploitation film would have, but with the Hispanic culture. This is Mexploitation, with a resonant grindhouse feeling, complete with film reel scratches and fake political ads. But the violence and action in this is so extraordinary and unapologetically gruesome, with the extremity of it all not being taken seriously at all. The things they do in this film, guaranteed you haven’t seen most of them ever done before. Corkscrews, high-heels, weed-whackers, and, of course, machetes, are only a very small listing of all the tools and weapons used to dispatch characters in Machete. It’s over the top, absolutely ridiculous scenes that pop up every five minutes and make for a joyous film experience. There are too many be-headings, blood-splattering gunshots, and limb removals to count†¦. Don’t even get me started on the stabbings. The end Battle climaxes the gore, blood, and absurdity of the film. I’m going to get more in some of the Characters; Danny Trejo, the star of Machete, has a face that’s so rough, craggy, and etched with hard living that it’s like a natural rock formation. With a tattooed torso as thick as a refrigerator, and long oily black hair that frames his simmering coal-fire eyes, Trejo, like Mickey Rourke, is a freakishly hypnotic camera subject. Depending on which angle he’s shot from, he can look like the world’s toughest biker, a Native American shaman, or a very angry carp. As Machete (pronounced †ma-chet-ay†), Trejo is so badass he’s funny. Yet the movie, codirected by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis, never treats him like a joke. When he slashes people with his machete, which he favors because he’s a true warrior (as opposed to the wimps who hide behind their guns), he’s an unholy ethnic avenger out of a ’70s walking-tall fantasy. Robert De Niro plays the role of Senator John McLaughlin; the character is your typical jackass Texas cowboy senator. Sartana Rivera is you basic torn cop that is realizing that some laws shouldn’t be enforced because they are just laws, Jessica Alba fits well in this role. In a side note her Nude shower scene was a fake she was digitally stripped naked, it was a decision she and Robert Rodriguez made together, which would serve his vision for the film, as well as honor her personal convictions regarding nudity. Torrez played by Steven Seagal , is a drug lord portrayed as if he thinks of himself as a Samurai, he even has his own Katana (the samurai Sword) Michelle Rodriguez plays the Role of Luz, at first she looks pretty normal but in the end scene she is reincarnated as the Mythical â€Å"SHE† leather pants, small top, eye patch and one hell of a Machine gun. Lindsay Lohan shines as April Booth, daughter of Michael Booth, she has 2 costumes in the hole film first one is, well, being Naked!!!! And the second is a full dressed Nun that surely comes with a Machine gun! Cheech Marin plays as Padre Cortez, your favored pastor; he uses 2 shotguns to blow off people’s heads off. Tron: Legacy Put together the old Tron with reminiscent Skintight suits with neon like lines that glow, new tech machinery called Light Runners, and some new and improved Light cycles(new gen Bikes)created out of sticks, think about the film score and music and you realize that it should be done by Daft Punk, I guess Kosinski realized this early on because when he was asked why he ecided to have Daft Punk do the film score, he replied, â€Å"How could you not at least go to those guys? †. The score is a mix of orchestral and electronic elements, this fits right on with the artistic feel of the movie. Daft Punk have created a sonic masterpiece worthy of the legacy of Tron. Their brilliant layering of ambient electronica with orchestral symphonics is every bit as avant garde in creating atmospheric digital soundscapes as Wendy Carlos’ score was for the origin al Tron. I only wish that they had incorporated some more of Wendy’s memorable themes. You can kind of hear a few familiar notes that recalls Tron’s theme in â€Å"Adagio For Tron† but that’s pretty much the only hat tip to Wendy’s vintage score. Like the film itself, Daft Punk have taken the music of Tron to a whole new aesthetic level by incorporating their unique style of techno synthpop along with their influences of electronic film composers like Vangelis on â€Å"Arrival† to the ominous Carpenter-esque â€Å"C. L. U. † and synthesizing them with traditional orchestral composers like Bernard Hermann and Max Steiner. â€Å"The Grid† is the only track with any words put to the music. With Jeff Bridges providing a voiceover for the first half of the track, the song acts as an introduction for anyone who may have missed the first film. As â€Å"The Grid† fades out and â€Å"The Son Of Flynn† opens with an arpeggiated synthesizer, listeners get their first taste of Daft Punks blend between their own unique sound and classical music. Although the majority of the tracks on â€Å"Tron: Legacy† utilize an excellent balance between the two styles, some of the tracks sway one way or the other, drastically changing the mood of the piece. Tracks like â€Å"The Game Has Changed† offer an almost exclusively classical instrumentation while transforming the percussion section into a series of powerful electronic hits, rattling the eardrums and taking focus off of the ominous strings hidden beneath. Although the London Philharmonic Orchestra provides all of the string arrangements, their true feature comes on â€Å"Adagio for Tron. † Sounding a bit like Hans Zimmer’s â€Å"Hummel Gets the Rockets† from the soundtrack for â€Å"The Rock,† Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk use his track as a means of showing off their prowess with orchestration, complete with a simple, yet beautiful cello solo. As the mood darkens, the music dives deeper into the electronic realm while still maintaining at least some aspects of a symphonic orchestra. Tracks like â€Å"End of Line† pull entirely from the electronic realm except for a sustained string part which would typica lly get lost in a Daft Punk mix, but because of their extraordinary presence on the rest of the album, they remain surprisingly noticeable.

Desition making Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Desition making - Case Study Example Operating several subsidiaries expanded production in the market. Steve Rendl, the assistant accountant manager for the Commercial Equipment Financing Division of GE Capital Canada, reviewed a loan request for $270,000. Rendl had to decide on the loan request then pass it for approval by the senior account manager (Silk and Grasby 135). The loan issued to the tune of $30,000 to $1 million to purchase transport trucks, trailers, paving equipment and heavy machinery. The company was under duress to make much profit applying the selling strategy of find, Win, and Keep new and existing clients. The company’s client Clark Carriers Ltd intended to purchase two new Freightliner transport trucks, and four new 53-foot trailers and mobile satellite by submitting the loan request. The company had a large customer base in North and Latin America, Europe as well as Asia-Pacific region. With the net earnings of over US$15 billion, Capital was the major competitor in every market field achieving record net earnings of US$3.6 Billion. The Company expects 20 percent after –Tax profit from its subsidiaries, and if the profit falls below 20 percent, there must be justification for that. The transportation industry in southern Ontario had been profitable from 1985 to 1988 until a massive recession in 1989.The Company faced numerous tribulations during the recession going bankrupt and lowering the prices to remain

The difference between the economy in Qatar and Germany ( personal Research Paper

The difference between the economy in Qatar and Germany ( personal opinion ) - Research Paper Example Qatar has a huge natural reserve of gas unlike Germany which depends on other centuries. Oil and gas has diversified the economy of Qatar which gave development in area like chemicals, cement, steel, fertilizer industries and banking. The country largely depends on oil and gas reserve whereas Germany depends on service industry. The 70% of GDP depends upon the service sector. Qatar is a Muslim country and the official language is Arabic whereas the Germany has German as German as official language with no specific religious concentration. Germany is a highly developed nation and has been a world power since centuries. In comparison, Qatar is a country which has developed in recent years and has no historical value. Qatar is now the riches country in Islamic world and has been a pearl fishing country before its concentration on oil and gas. The country Germany specializes in engineering and specializes in fields like automobiles, metals, chemical goods and machinery. Germany is the le ading producer of solar power technology and wind turbines in the world. The country also holds large international trade fairs and congresses in many of cities like Berlin, Frankfurt and Hanover. In this area, Qatar lacks behind as it is not into engineering sector. In case of production of goods and services the country lags behind. Germany is a leader in manufacturing, educational and service sector while Qatar is only leading in gas and oil supply. Qatar is back in educational system with a very few universities and academies and the population of the country is low in educational standards. Germany is a renowned car producer with famous brands like Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz and BMW whereas Qatar is a consumer of these classy cars. Germany is a country which huge corporate like Adidas, PUMA, Siemens, Allianz, Daimler whereas Qatar has no huge corporate. Germany is a permanent member of United Nations Security Council while Qatar is not. Germany is the founding member of the EU a nd also is a part of all international organizations. As per ( Thomas White) â€Å"While rooted in its past, Germany is also a cosmopolitan and dynamic country offering something for everyone†. Qatar is a recently developed country and it is still developing. The country is currently is under â€Å"Qatarization† and in which the Qatari nationals are given priority in positions of authority in all large companies. Since more and more Qatari nationals who are educated in foreign countries are returning home they are given preference in occupation. Qatar has a market economy and has much freedom score and is rated 27th freest in 2013 index. It has much improvement in government spending and monetary freedom comparing to other 15 countries in Middle East region and is ranked at 2nd among them. Qatar’s economy is â€Å"mostly free† with stable economic freedom. As per (Heritage) â€Å"As reflected in the country’s steady improvement in economic freedom since 2008, the Qatari government has pursued reforms to improve the entrepreneurial environment and broaden the economic base beyond oil and gas†. Although, the country is rich, it has a lack of educated work force in economy. Most of the working population is expatriates from India, Philippines and other South Asian countries. However, Germany as a developed nation has a social market economy. It is competitive economy which oppresses socialism. In it

Personality Theorist Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Personality Theorist - Research Paper Example (1905-1967) was a very renowned American psychologist. Born in Perth, Kansas, Kelly belonged to a very strict religious family. They were constantly on the move from one area to another. As a result much of the schooling which he had was mostly either home or from a variety of schools. Finally, when he was thirteen he was sent to a boarding school in Wichita. He studied for three years at Friends University and a final year at Park College, graduating with a degree in Physics and Mathematics. However, during these years Kelly’s interest started moving towards debates and discussions, developing into a popular orator. Later he studied at a variety of institutions such as Universities of Kansas, Minnesota, and Edinburgh, before graduating with a Ph. D. in psychology from University of Iowa in 1931. After completing his education Kelly entered the job market during the time of the Great Depression. During this time period he worked at Fort Hays Kansas State College and developed his theory and techniques. Kelly worked hard on his clinic and it was then when he developed most of his future ideas. When the Second World War broke out Kelly accepted a post in Aviation psychology branch of the US Navy and served there throughout the war. After the war he spent some time teaching in the University of Maryland. In 1946 he joined Ohio State University where he made important contributions to his theory. Because of his important theoretical contributions and hard work in the profession of clinical psychology, Kelly was made the president of clinical and consulting divisions of American Psychological Association for 1954-55 and 1956-7. In 1965, he started research in Brandeis University and died soon after in March 1967. The Theory Kelly developed a theory of personality known as the Personal Construct theory. It is this theory which became the foundation of the field Personal Construct Psychology. The main focus of this theory is the way in which individuals constru ct and reconstruct the meanings of their lives. This theory was first founded in 1955 discussed in detail in his book, ‘The Psychology of Personal Constructs.’ Although the implementation of this theory has expanded over the years, it still predominantly focuses on individuals, families and social groups. The prime aspect or the foundation idea of Kelly’s theory is that people are like scientists. â€Å"A person's processes are psychologically channelized by the way in which he anticipates events.†Ã‚  (Kelly, 1955, p.46) . This means that people to create the meaning of things or events themselves. They are constantly doing this so efficiently that according to Kelly they are like scientists constructing meanings. Thus, the individuals are making hypotheses which are called as constructs. What are constructs? Constructs are the ideas or meanings which people attest to the events or things in the society. They differ from person to person. These constructs indicate the meaning which the individual construct of events or happenings of the surroundings. Constructs also indicate the view a person is likely to construe of a certain event. Thus, these define the individual himself and indicates how his brain functions like a scientist. A construct has two extreme points like happy-sad etc. An individual normally places eventsor people between these scales and retains such ideas about them. These constructs are formed in the very early stages of life and

Art History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 12

Art History - Essay Example The pieces of art portray the intersection between the cultural history of the artists and the immediate societies, the respective histories, medium, as well as the specific geographical locations. The Ajanta art, for instance, portrays the Indian culture before 1200. This art was started in the 2nd century B.C. It was nevertheless given up in by the 7th century A.D. This art is a product of its context considering that pieces of art, in this case, have been considered the finest instances of Indian art based the Buddhist religious art. Buddhism as a religion was a very important part of the Indian culture during that time. It was thus essential for the religion and its values to be presented in a visual way (Kleiner 433). In light of the religious importance, the art shows figures of Buddha as well as a depiction of the Jataka tales. Using carvings was particularly a great way of ensuring that the message portrayed could last for a very long time and be passed from one generation to another. A useful example of the Ajanta art is painting of Padmapani as shown in fig.1. Another example of art is the Fresco Painting from the Romanesque Europe created during the early Medieval Europe. The method used to produce this art was mural painting, which involved the use wet lime plaster. Water was used for the pigment in merging with the plaster. Upon setting the plaster, the painting was then integrated to the wall. This type of art is attributed to the later Byzantine period (Kleiner 409). It depicts a lot regarding the mobility of techniques and styles of art. A good example is the Chora Monastery restoration and decoration, which depicts the Byzantine artists’ great skills and versatility. The context in which the art was created was religious since a cycle of Life of the Virgin as well as Christ’s Infancy and Ministry of are shown. These religious incidences

Vignette Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Vignette Response - Essay Example The ethical considerations of counseling someone who has come in need of help are put to task when a member of a group believes that the person in need of help is a danger to the overall community. In order to best address the problems presented by this scenario, they must be divided for their individual needs and the responses for which they require. The first problem facing the counselor in this situation is how to help leader X deal with his difficulty with internet pornography. In dealing with this issue, the methods through which the counseling takes place must be directed at the bets possible outcome for the client. The second problem that is being faced is concerned with the expectation that leader Y has that personal information concerning leader X is relevant to the performance of leader X’s leadership and capability within the church. This concern suggests that revealing the personal information about leader X is the course of action that leader Y has come to expect. However, ethical concerns must be addressed and considered when trying to decide whether or not to reveal information about leader X. ... The key to determining if the behavior is pathology of a behavior is through the amount of control over the behavior the client can exhibit (Franklin and Fong 41). In this hypothetical, it must be assumed that the client has lost his ability to control his behavior because he is allowing it to affect his relationships. Another aspect of a pathological behavior towards sex is that it might indicate a need to separate from intimacy with a spouse. According to Franklin and Fong â€Å"Sexual acting out is a factor of the addict’s loneliness and anger† (41). The perception of a lack of control is often a symptom of being at war within the mind, the need to rebel and continue the behavior in conflict with the need to stop the behavior and confront whatever issue has led to this pathology. One of the first methods of counseling someone who has developed a sexual pathology is through finding out the core problems that have led to this separation from intimacy. It is possible th at this separation occurred long before marriage or the pathology began. Therefore, psychotherapy can be very beneficial in getting to the core of the reasons behind the behavior (Roukema 176). One of the most important forms of psychotherapy that can be suggested to leader X is that he become a part of group therapy. According to Cairnes and Adams, group therapy has shown a great deal of success in dealing with issue of sexual addiction. While there is no definitive research as to why it works, it is assumed that a series of human experiences, including but not limited to the instillation of hope, universality, imparting of information, altruism, and the recapitulation of the family group, can lead to effective relief from the need to indulge in the

In what ways did the New Right attempt to undermine social democratic Essay

In what ways did the New Right attempt to undermine social democratic approaches to poverty and welfare provision - Essay Example The beliefs were allowed to shape all the political, economic and social policies following strict Darwinism (Neoliberalism, n.d). Neo-liberalism is a political dimension consisting of two detached aspects that occasionally complement or say the opposite of each thought. The new political belief by the neo-liberals emphasizes the significance of the market mechanism being superior as an avenue for the allocation of resources. On the other hand, there is an emphasis on the significance entity conscientiousness and freedom as a way of allocation, apart from the market forces. Thus, their notion supports limited intervention in the financial system by the regime. The suggestion affronted by the neo-conservatives premises on the formulation of conditions for the optimum efficiency of the private sector in the economy. Neo-conservatives are likely to be inclined on calling for a repeat in affirmation of conventional values on driving societal issues and oppose multicultural setting of the society (Wedd, 2000). The documentation above is evidence that while the neo-conservatives are against government intervention in the market, they would support government interference on issues related to the way of life, which include morals and the way of life. For the market neo-liberals, the mechanism of the market can adequately address these issues. On poverty, the social democratic hold that a welfare state is brought about by the existence of a capitalistic societal setup. Further, it is believed that a capitalistic setup creates the stage for inefficiency and wastage. In such a state, the profits margins from businesses do not account for the welfare of the destitute, the poor and the disabled who end up suffering. The general belief of the social democratic approach is that the societal members who are strong ought to take care of weak societal members. For this reason, the social democrats have a

Write about short fiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Write about short fiction - Essay Example In many ways, this adds to the subject of self-identity echoed by other writers as well. The story is written by Jhumpa Lahiri who is an Indian American author. She has been an experience writer from debut short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies and won the 2000 Pulitzer Fiction Prize. Her reputation and experience has not been hidden in her work of Hell-Heaven as a short story. Hell-Heaven talks about the struggles of living in the America with a Bengali culture. The struggle is shown in this short story from the characters Pranab Kaku and Usha. They both make decisions that make them prefer one culture over the other. Jhumpa Lahiri in her book Hell-Heaven explores geographies of intimacy and the manner in which various spaces control intimacies, re-form intergenerational intimacies and disrupt traditional narratives of intimacy. The author specifically focuses on second-generation immigrants of Bengali, detailing the unique challenges or experiences they encounter from a banished sense of the â€Å"familiar† intimacy of their motherland and the similar narratives of advances with which their fathers struggled. The woman in this short story is fundamentally responsible for depicting the boundaries of the old and new geographies of intimacy. This is a story that looks at simple human emotions like loneliness, jealousy, love and describes how various individuals change drastically over time due to geographical. The title is taken from this paragraph from the story Hell-Heaven: â€Å"He used to be so different. I don’t understand how a person can change so suddenly it’s just hel l-heaven† (p, 112). In Hell-Heaven, Pranab Chakraborty, is an MIT graduate student, Boston is considering returning to his motherland in Calcutta because of being homesickness. Through this thought, one can argue that despite the many privileges that these individuals in the Diaspora may have,

Organic vs Non-Organic Essay Example for Free

Organic vs Non-Organic Essay What should I eat? That is the question on millions of American minds in the recent years. For years we have fallen for hype, forgoing one food type in favor of another, only to hear months or years later were doing it all wrong. More recently, the nations attention has turned to organic foods in our quest to eat healthy, get slim and live a long and active life. Pesticides, websites and newspapers warn, are leading to an unhealthy America. The use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, otherwise known as DDT, is brought up time and time again. Prior to 1973, the use of DDT was widespread and our main weapon against the war on pests. We now know the use of DDT led to massive effects on wildlife and humans (DDT- a Brief History, 2012). Who’s to say one of the many other pesticides and insecticides we spray today won’t take a similar turn down the road, articles ask? While it’s true any pesticide we use in traditional farming can lead to health problems in humans if consistently exposed, safeguards are put in place and testing is standardized by the United States government to prevent illness and death from the foods we eat. The same cannot be said about organic produce and meat. Organic foods do not have to withstand the same amount of rigorous testing as non-organic and what testing does take place is not even standardized (Tenser, 2013). This can lead to an increased threat of health problems for those who thought they were making the healthier choice. Studies have shown there is no real significant advantage, health wise, in choosing organic over non-organic and that label, and the higher price that accompanies, might not actually be worth it. Proponents of organic foods say they are free from pesticides and hormones used by companies to produce larger animals faster, thus leading to increased profits. Several of the pesticides used today have come under scrutiny of regulatory agencies. More of the vitamins and complex micro nutrients our bodies need to survive are retained when synthetic pesticides are not used. Using natural and biological pest control, organic foods are safer and a healthier alternative to commercialized fruits and vegetables. In actuality, it’s all a myth. There is no organic product on the market today that is free of synthetic pesticides. Over the years, the soil has retained some of the pesticide runoff, which keeps all foods today from being completely free of chemicals (Hom, 1992). The increase in manure usage that accompanies the shunning of synthetic fertilizers leads to an increased risk of E. coli and Salmonella outbreaks (Griswald, 2013, p. 1). This is because manure consists of a greater amount of bacteria and its use runs the risk of cross contamination. The rise in organic farming has led to many of the food borne illnesses that plagued much of the 2000s. The use of hormones is grossly overstated; commercial chicken is not injected with hormones, contrary to what organic food suppliers want you to believe. The use of hormones does nothing to help the chicken become larger or grow faster. Hormone use would simply be a waste of money since no profit is gained from it (Poultry Housing Tips, 2012). In regards to the argument fruits and vegetables grown organically have more of the vitamins and nutrients retained in them, this is true, however a person focused on a well-rounded and healthy diet has no fear of missing certain nutrients their body needs. Not to mention, often times a scrubbing of soap and water cleans off all pesticide residue from any fruits and vegetables you are going to enjoy. If you can afford them, buy them, recommends New York University professor Marion Nestle, PhD (Zelman, n. d. ). Spending a few dollars more for that organic chicken will save mountains of hospital bills down the road, organic food marketers say. Consumers of organic foods spend on average $4000 more a year, convinced the extra expenditure is well worth it in the long run. Also, by spending more, youre told you’re helping save the environment; by not using synthetic pesticides the soil and streams cannot be contaminated. It is true a lean toward more organic farming leads to a more stable growing environment and an increase of local food production (Berger, 2013, p. 1). Still, organic foods are often trucked across state lines to groceries throughout the country. What the use of natural agents saves environmentally is canceled out by the exhaust spewed into the atmosphere and the fossil fuels used during the journey. The cost of organic foods is just not worth the payout. There have been many studies showing there is no real health benefit to eating organic foods (Watson, 2008). Fruits such as bananas and oranges and vegetables such as peas are not eaten whole; they require peeling which means they require less pesticide, meaning the higher price tag on the organic bananas just aren’t worth it. And as the price of organics rises, organics are seen as a status symbol, an â€Å"elitist stratification. † Organic food marketers capitalize on the class divide, marketing organics as a way to lead the beautiful, healthy life of the wealthy. They stress organics are healthier, better, worth the cost (Sprague, 2013, p 1). This is just simply not the case. A well rounded diet is all anyone needs to stay healthy and lead an active life. With this in mind, the higher price tag is just not worth the hype. It has been shown time and time again that organic foods do not have a greater health benefit compared to commercial foods. The label doesnt justify breaking the bank. A well rounded diet is just as beneficial to a healthy society, with or without the use of synthetic pesticides. Organic foods are not the guiding light they claim to be. There is one tried and true method to end most health concerns. Eat a varied diet. Getting all the vitamins and nutrition you need is up to you, not up to a label. References Berger, A. (2013). Organic foods are a healthier alternative. In Points of view reference center (p. 2). Retrieved from http://web. ebscohost. com. proxy. devry. edu/pov/ detail? sid=9b34ea84-d9c3-4c4a-8cf5- 2fe5b8ae172f%40sessionmgr112vid=1hid=113bda ta=JnNpdGU9cG92LWxpdmU%3d#db=pwhAN=43286303 DDT- A brief history and status. (2012, May 9). Retrieved May 25, 2013, from http://www. epa. gov/pesticides/factsheets/chemicals/ddt-brief-history-status. htm Griswald, A. (2013). Organic food: Overview. In Points of view reference center (p. 1). Retrieved from http://web. ebscohost. com. proxy. devry. edu/pov/ detail? sid=e32326f0-2d1a-4489-9176-71e40074d5be%40sessionmgr113vid=1hid=113bda ta=JnNpdGU9cG92LWxpdmU%3d#db=pwhAN=43286302 Hom, L. (1992). About organic produce. Retrieved May 25, 2013, from http://www. ocf. berkeley. edu/~lhom/organictext. html Poultry housing tips. (2012, April). Retrieved May 25, 2013, from The University of Georgia website: http://www. poultryventilation. com/sites/default/files/ tips/2012/vol24n4. pdf Sprague, N. (2013). Organic food is unnecessary and the current food.

International Globalization Marketing Plan of Batik Essay Example for Free

International Globalization Marketing Plan of Batik Essay Our mission is to establish a Global Batik Boutique industry with world-class quality in fashion design to support corporate clients and stylist society of upper market. We would like to be known as an industry driven by social values. We strive to be a â€Å"Choice of Retailer† in developing long-term Batik business relationships with our customers, which are founded on our ability to help identify the style-fashion and recommend the best wares and look’s for our customers. We strive for continuous improvement in providing â€Å"New Design† and â€Å"Good Quality† materials selection through a â€Å"Right-on-Time † fashion delivery. Batek Empat Kawan Sdn Bhd need to grow their revenue by exporting Batik products and expanding into new markets segmentation. With faster communication, transportation and financial flows, the company is planning penetrate into United Kingdom Consumer market on establishment of Batik made garment products . 1. 0 Company Background Batek Empat Kawan Sdn Bhd (BEK Sdn Bhd ) is a Malaysian owned company, a batik fashion and boutique consulting firm head quarters in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, specializing in all kind of batik design garment products. BEK Sdn Bhd incorporated in 2001, has an Sales Office and Manufacturing plant at Kajang.

Competition in America :: essays papers

Competition in America Accusing American society of being too competitive is a broad allegation, though competition is no doubt an essential part of our daily lives. It is evident in the law-making authorities of our country, in addition to state and local leaders. It is apparent in everyday business, whether in the stock market or in simple business advertisements. Sporting events contain enormous amounts of competition, but this friendly competition sometimes gets out of hand. Our society would be nothing without certain forms of competition, though sometimes competition turns into rivalry. Political leaders are always under some pressure from competition. Every four years or so, the President of the United States must try to hold his office from newcomers hungry for his seat in the oval office. Recently, George W. Bush visited Florida to show his support to some of the victims of Hurricane Floyd, probably earning him some brownie points for the next election. In turn President Clinton decided to declare a state of emergency on parts of North Carolina. Though the hurricane hadn’t even hit them yet, it freed up money for them in case they needed it. Competition like this is surely noticeable in other political areas, sometimes creating heated debates like the one between Scott Harshbarger and Paul Cellucci. The debate was filled with insults and offensive comments between the two, and personally turned away any interest I had in politics. Companies compete every day, in the stock market and out. Rising stock prices, profit gains, and increasing capital growth force companies of similar character to increase their productivity and wealth as well. Computer companies are especially guilty of this competitiveness. Every time a new, faster computer chip is introduced, every company tries to better it. These kinds of revisions are essential for economic growth, and likewise do not have a noticeably negative effect on our society. Every day there seems to be a new 10-10 number that you can dial to save on long distance phone calls. I personally don’t understand it, but there is obviously a market for long distance phone bill savings. This kind of competition is simple and innocent, but is becoming confusing. Sporting events have become more popular, and respectively more competitive. Little League is probably one of the worst areas for competition- not coming from the players, but from the parents.

Emotional devleopment in children Essay -- essays research papers

Emotional development is a major factor in the overall development of a child. It is believed that emotional and social development are very closely entwined. Child experts and psychologists agree that emotions are vital in a child’s life and to be able to promote a healthy social development a child must learn how to correctly find solutions to interpersonal problems. Moreover, research shows when parents display higher levels of warmth and positive interaction children are more likely to exhibit social competence, higher self-esteem, and emotional understanding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Play is an important part of emotional-social development. Play can act as a way for children to reveal their innermost feelings and express thought. As defined by the text, play is â€Å"voluntary activities done for enjoyment or recreation that are not performed for any sake beyond themselves.† Children move through different levels of play as they mature. One form of play which scientists have become increasingly interested in is imaginative play. With imagination children learn how to be creative. Many children between ages 3-5 create imaginary friends for themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though play is often accepted and encouraged by western industrialized cultures it often times is not accepted by families of other cultures. Parents of such westernized cultures tend to support freedom of expression, independence, individuality, etc., known as individualism. On the other ha...

Siddhartha and The Razor’s Edge Essay -- Essays Papers

Siddhartha and The Razor’s Edge The book Siddhartha and the movie The Razor’s Edge are two similar yet different stories. Each these two works explore man’s search for truth, self, and life’s true meaning. The main characters of these stories are very different people, yet they are in search of similar goals. The main character of Siddhartha is Siddhartha. The main character of The Razor’s Edge is Larry Darryl. Larry and Siddhartha go through several stages of their lives, which range from rich to poor and back again. Siddhartha was a Brahmin’s son, of the upper class in India. He is loved throughout his community. He is revered by all that knows him. He spends his day in meditation and thought. He brings joy to all, but in his heart & soul he isn’t happy. He feels that he can learn any more from the wise men of his village because he has acquired all of their knowledge and they don’t know everything. Most importantly they do not know Atman. A group of Samanas enters his village and intrigues him. He decides to leave his village to become a Samana. He tells his best friend Govinda and he decides to come too, but first Siddhartha must tell his father. He goes one day to tell his father, but his father won’t allow it. Siddhartha stands in his father all night until his father lets him go. When Siddhartha and Govinda join they began to learn their â€Å"tricks.† Siddhartha lived without possessions or a home. He learned to fast, think, and wait. He began exiting his body through meditation and entering objects and animals. Soon he realizes that he must leave because they are only learning to escape pain (Self), and they can’t teach him any more. When he and Govinda leave Govinda tells Siddhartha of Gotama (the enlightened one) and they go to see him. When Govinda leaves he tells the leader of the Samanas and he becomes angered. Siddhartha hypnotizes (a trick that he learned from the Samanas) the leader and he allows them to leave. They find Gotama and all of his followers in Jetavana grove. They are taken by his enlightened aura. After hearing him speak Govinda swears allegiance to Gotama. Siddhartha takes everything that Gotama says to heart, but realizes that he must follow his own path. Siddhartha begins to look at the world differently. He isn’t concerned with the other realm he begins to focus on the world as it is. ... ... you live your life there is no earthly reward, he then goes back to America. Each story is it’s own yet the same. Larry wants to feel fulfilled in life and he is searching for a way to do so. Siddhartha wants to become enlightened. Each trekked through India searching for answers. Larry and Siddhartha were both of the upper class. Both men were loved by all who came into contact with them. They both forged special relationships with women living unholy lives. Each walked out on their respective lives in search of truth. Both men reduced their living standards by freewill at one point in their lives. Certain teachers/guides have helped them find enlightenment. Each man learned and practiced a form of meditation. The two men were very similar and were after similar goals, they just took different paths. The Razor’s Edge and Siddhartha are two works that take you on life journeys. I really didn’t see any similarities the first time I saw the movie, but the next time I watched it I really noticed the similarities. In the end they both found enlightenment in some way. Larry realized there were no rewards in life and Siddhartha became Buddha.

Behavioral Assignment

For example if the company is performing admirably, your payments are not going to increase, but if you compare this situation With an equity investor, the market will incorporate to the stock price these results and your remover will be higher. On the other hand if the company Starts having some problems and cannot achieve its goals, your payments will remain the same.This situation only changes when the default risk increases, and this doses â€Å"t happen in a very quick span of time In the case of equity, the scope for disagreement is larger and more sensitive, because the payoffs are uncertain and depend on the beliefs of the fundamental value of the company. It can be also seen below that equity payoffs are linear with respect to investor beliefs in relation to underlying asset value; however, debt up-side payoffs are fixed at some constant rate, ND are consequently non-linear (I. E. Concave) in the investor beliefs about the fundamental value.Source: Hong & Serer 2011 b) Safe debt has less default risk than risky debt, which means that its payoffs are more protected and the payoff graph has a more concave shape. The more secure an asset is, the less sensitive the investors are to the beliefs about fundamentals. The upside is here more bounded and is less sensitive to disagreement. When a bond is more risky there is a greater probability for default and the investors are more sensitive to the changes in the fundamental value of the company. Beliefs start having a greater influence on the asset valuation.In the following formula we can see that if the default probability is very low, the safe debt payoff will also be lower and less sensitive to disagreements. C) When optimism increases investors start seeing debt more as a risk-free asset that has less upside with reduced resale option. Rising optimism leads to larger misprinting. In this scenario the optimistic investors will continue to buy the bonds from the pessimistic investors, so there will be more optimistic investors holding the asset and the disagreement among the investors will be owe, and lead to a lower price volatility.The bond will also have less turnover. The pessimistic investors won t become optimistic, they just want to sell their bond. The model suggested by Hong and Serer(2013) considers a two-date trading model with dates t -?O, 1, N risky assets and the risk-free rate as r. The dividend delivered by the risky asset at time t=l is given by the equation: , where represents the cash flow beta of asset I, and is the state of the macro economy.There are two groups of investors: 1) The optimists (group A), who believe that the economy will be better in t=l -b EAI[z = +h 2) The sometimes(group B), who believe that the economy will be worse – 3) So the expected difference between optimists and pessimists is given by: EAI[z] – BE[z] = When is small (I. E. Low macro disagreement) , the equilibrium price will depend both on the optimists and pessimists valu ation, equaling However, when X is large (high disagreement about future macroeconomic conditions), the demand of pessimists (given by ) is so low that it will hit short sale constraints.Thus, the equilibrium price will be determined only by optimists' valuation, since the pessimists will be sidelined from the market: . This equilibrium price is higher than the unconstrained price, which means that the stock N will be over-priced, due to high macroeconomic disagreement about fundamental factors, when compared to the traditional CAMP model prediction. As predicted by the dividend equation: , the higher the beta of the stock, the higher the effect of the disagreement about its future cash flows will be.Thus, short-sale constraints will occur with higher probability for high-beta, high risk stocks. Short-sales constraints might be binding for some investors due to institutional reasons. An example are mutual funds, which are prohibited to worth stocks directly by certain government act s and regulations. According to the arguments above, misprinting is more pronounced for high- beta stocks or for periods of higher disagreement. Thus, stocks from higher beta sectors such as technology, consumer retail, automotive, construction are more likely to experience overpricing and bubbles.Higher disagreement occurs either at times, when market optimism prevails -? continuous bull markets, combined with expansionary monetary policy for prolonged period, or when market pessimism prevails – crisis times, described by high volatility ND panic sell-offs, causing stocks to be undervalued. Bubbles are often hard to detect and ascertain, but tend to form most often when certain industry sectors are experiencing a technological revolution. Bubbles, crashes and financial crisis have been a repeating occurrence for long (e. G. He South Sea Bubble, canals and railroads in the 1 sass, the Internet in the sass) (Predetermine & McKee, 2012). A technological revolution in an industr y causes a boom in asset prices; however, as the momentum of the bubble increases, the rise in prices cannot be justified anymore by fundamentals as people continue to make ever-rising valuations. It is difficult to identify an asset's true fundamental value, and this is especially true for new technologies that have may seem as the next big thing, but have uncertain long-run prospects.Similarly, pastor & Versions (2008) argue that bubbles in stock prices can occur after technological revolutions if the productivity of the technology to be implemented is unknown and subject to learning. This affects both the level and volatility of stock prices. Critically, stock prices of innovative firms initially rise due to optimism and DOD news about the productivity of the firm due to the technological innovation, but eventually fall as the technology risk alters from affecting only the firm to being systematic (Pastor & Versions, 2008).The bubbles can only be observed retrospectively, and are most greatly amplified in revolutions than involve high uncertainty and fast adoption. For example the expansion of both railroads in the sass and internet infrastructure in the 1 sass was characterized by overstatement that ultimately depressed prices on an aggregate level as additional projects had negative returns due to industrialization.Also, in the case of the internet bubble, investors were lured in to invest by promising companies such as Amazon and America Online, but later companies had often no idea how to be commercially viable and essentially were riding the bubble (Dominant, 2014). Bubbles may hence be amplified by speculation and the idea that individuals observe and adopt the behavior of others (Levine & Jack, 2007). Especially in the case of the internet bubble optimists tend to push up the asset price, whereas more pessimistic investors cannot counterbalance this due to short-sale constraints (Predetermine & McKee, 2012).Thus genealogical revolution tends to lead to projects with initial profits, and leads to overoptimistic tendencies for the whole industry. As prices exceed fundamentals and new entrants/projects turn sour, the bubble eventually collapses. In the case where there is only one share of the asset available and there is one optimist and one pessimist in the market, the pessimist will sell the asset to the optimist at a price higher than the mean evaluation of the two investors.Here the single optimistic buyer can absorb the entire supply of one share. The average price is 75, thus the traded price will be in the range 75. The traded price rises when there are two homogeneous groups Of investors, I. E. When there are more optimistic traders in the market. They will bid up the price until it reaches the valuation of the optimists, I. E. 100. This will be the traded price. Thus, as according to Miller (1977) without short selling the price of the asset is increased if there is a divergence of opinion.In such a market the demand for the asset will come from the traders who have the most optimistic expectations of its value. The most optimistic investor tends to win the bidding and their evaluation of the asset ends up being its actual price. This can be also seen in the diagram below. Supply is inelastic at N, so the price is higher than the equilibrium rate. Only optimistic traders will trade at the prices where the demand curve meets the inelastic supply curve.Also, as seen in the diagram, different investors have different demand curves; the most optimistic one will have the highest valuation. (Source: Miller, 1977) Due to the binding short selling constraint, less optimistic traders who would like to short an asset cannot do so. Thus this is necessary for optimists to be able to set prices. Also volume is crucial. The more optimists there are will signify that the asset's price will be bid up to the valuation of optimists. This is especially true when the asset is scarce (e. . Only one or a few exist), as in this case there will be ample demand by the optimists (who may be a minority in the market) bid up and set the prices. The price of a security is higher the greater the divergence of opinion about the return from the security (Miller 1977). So we can say that if there is a big divergence of opinion in the market, the price will be even higher because the price only reflects the optimistic investors, and this also causes more volatility and more risk to the stock. Since the annual discount rate is a variable, and the time to maturity T is a constant, we can apply the rule: Then the expected value that the optimist attaches to the bond is given by: , 51 once The expected value Of the pessimist is given by: b) The difference of the natural logarithms of their attached values is: In According to the result, there is a positive correlation between the bond maturity T and the level of the disagreement between the investors, so the longer the bond maturity T, the higher the disagreement between the optimist and the pessimist will be. ) According to Miller (1977) the greater the disagreement the higher the rice. As we saw in the previous step bonds with longer maturity have greater disagreement, which leads to stronger misprinting because the price of the bond will only be affected by the optimistic investors (since pessimistic investors cannot affect the prices because of short-sale constraints). Thus, misprinting will be more pronounced at the long end of maturities, than at the short end.Also the longer the maturity of the bond the higher the expected return, according to a regular bond yield curve. If misprinting is more pronounced, the price of bonds will go up, causing a shift downwards in the lied curve, so average realized bond returns should be lower than the expected. A) Investor B starts with rational beliefs at t-?O, so his expectation of an upward move is â€Å"10=0. In case of an upward move at node u his expectation of an upward move TTL is given by : , A further move up to position u will give: A move down to position dud gives: An initial downward move to d yields: Going another node down to ad: And moving up in the second period to du gives: b) Investor Bi's beliefs about the value of the stock seem irrational at point ‘dud' and ‘du' since at ‘dud' his expectation of an upward move is , while at ‘du' it equals . Actually these positions represent one and the same point on the binomial tree, where the fundamental value of the asset should be constant. Behavioral assignment Even though according to Prospect theory the individualistically function is concave in the gains region, implying that they are risk averse, its shape changes to convex for very small probabilities. Usually people treat the outcomes based on a reference point, usually their current wealth, from which they evaluate gains and losses. For that reason a certain gain of $1 0 is not perceived as bringing any significant utility to let's say average middle-class individual, while the possibility, even though small, of winning SIS 000 would actually bring a quite significant change to his wealth.The opposite goes for the perceived utilities and the utility function, when in the loss region. Even a small probability of losing a significant amount ($10 000), which will severely affect the wealth of the individuals is misperceived as relatively high and undesirable as opposed to the certain, but small loss of $10, which will not affect the wealth of the person around his reference point.Some r eal life analogues of the conducted experiment might be buying a lottery ticket, where the individual even gets a small, but negative payoff, on average, or establishing a start-up business, where an entrepreneur invests capital with the hope Of receiving higher return in time, instead of investing the money in a bond or a bank deposit at a risk-free rate. Examples for certain small losses might be a person buying insurance policies and paying a small premium, but avoiding the risk of theft, road accident etc. Q.The distribution is not normal, but rather positively skewed, with higher percentage of positive earnings surprise than negative. There is also bunching at the O value, inferring a high probability that the average of analysts' forecasts coincides with the actual earnings reported. This distribution of recast errors actually implies that analysts have a downward bias when producing their estimations. A reason for this might be that analysts have asymmetric loss function, imp lying that they can be more harshly punished for under-prediction than for over-prediction.This is due to reactions of investors who, in most cases, have prospect theory utility functions, rather than conventional expected utility functions I. E. Their losses hurt more than gains of the same magna etude increase utility. In terms of the earnings surprise this means that when the actual earnings miss analysts' projections, he negative returns on stocks in the following days are much more pronounced due to investors unwilling to hold the stock and selling with larger volumes.In the opposite case of a positive surprise, investors' utility function is less steep in the gains region and the magnitude of increased purchases of the stock is less pronounced. Boon and Woman (2002) estimate at least six reasons for the analysts' downward bias when producing forecasts: internal pressures for earning higher brokerage commissions, pressure from management of companies that analysts cover, herdin g behavior to follow other analysts' projections, pressure from large institutional investors that analysts work with, conflicts with analysts' personal investments or unintentional cognitive biases of the analysts.Other plausible reference points in terms of expected earnings might be results from past quarters + some premium/discount, depending on how the company performed in the most recent quarter, or the earnings reported by companies, operating in the same industry I. E. Competitors. Investor A If the stock goes up, he would be keener to sell in order to realize his gains. The Prospect Theory utility function, which is concave in the region of gains, wows us there will be a point where an increase in his profit will bring very low marginal utility, so at this point the investor would be keen to sell.If we assume that the investor bought when , the more the stock rises and moves into more concave regions, , until it reaches the point of sell: If the stock goes down, he will hol d the stock because he won ‘t accept his loss and try to hold it until the price of the stock returns to the price where he bought the stock (his reference point). He would be more concerned with the potential value of losses and gains than the total wealth outcome, so he would be more inclined to sell when the stock was in the gain-making region, and less likely to sell and more likely to hold at the loss-making region.This is an observation of the disposition effect, tested by Dean (1998). Investor B If the stock goes up he will like to buy more shares. As an optimistic investor, he would trade more because of the profits that he is making, and the belief that he has information that others don t and that if the stock its going up, the momentum is likely to continue. If the stock goes down, he will like to sell because for him the market it's telling him that this stock its not worth holding anymore.The most important thing for him in order to make a decision for buy or sell is to receive a signal from the market and as an overconfident investor he would think that he has information that the market doses ;t and could benefit from that In other words he will consider the pure noise from the stock price movement as a signal and overweight it () The two investors could trade when the price of the stock rises, relative to their reference point because in that point investor A is more willing to sell and realize the gain and investor B is more willing to buy, because of the overestimated weight on the signal.Also they could trade when the price goes down and reaches a certain point when investor A no longer can hold the position (has sustained huge losses) and investor B could get a signal from the market, that the stock is already undervalued. A) 1 . Overstatement – empirical data show that there are cases when Coos truly believe that certain investment policies are creating value for the company. However, their beliefs are quite often in discrepan cy with the broad view of market participants, which is reflected in the stock value.These investment incentives are more pronounced in companies, that are cash rich, nice Coos will not be constrained by lack of funds and allocate the available cash according to their overconfident beliefs. 2. Corporate Financing – instead of opting for the more rational choice of choosing sustainable mix of debt and equity financing, combined with the use of the company's outstanding cash, overconfident Coos tend to use larger percentage of financing with cash or debt, since they consider equity financing excessively costly and believe that the market is undervaluing their company. . Overbidding in acquisitions – scholarly research has found evidence that overconfident Coos overestimate their ability to generate returns for their company. This is why such Coos have a tendency to overpay for target companies and undertake mergers that actually bring lower than expected value. A proof f or this might be found in market reactions after announcement, where the negative return after the announcement is more pronounced for companies, whose managers are considered as overconfident by investors.In the last two decades U. S firms spent more than $ 3. 4 trillion on mergers, and if CEO ;s were thinking only about the interests f their shareholders probably they would have acted in a different way, because their actions caused losses amounting to roughly $220 billion (Maintained, Tate 2007). B) CEO overconfidence does not necessarily have to be a bad thing, since this aspect is quite closely con nested with affinity to taking higher risk.Higher risk, in turn, might lead either to more pronounced negative or positive outcome for the company, and thus also allowing for a beneficial outcome to shareholder interests. Also, such individuals, for reasons connected with their genetics or upbringing, are among the most successful and influential people n society. As discussed in the paper â€Å"CEO overconfidence and innovation† by Galas, Simoom (2011 more confident Coos tend to disregard the risk of failure and thus more eagerly indulge in R&D and innovation strategies, which eventually bring higher value to shareholders.Real life examples of such Coos might be Steve Jobs (Apple Inc. ), Leon Musk (Tests Motors). Question 5 In the presented case, an overoptimistic person will tend to have higher anticipatory utility during his youth, but eventually as time progresses the actual realization will with a high probability be less than his anticipations, so e will get lower realization utility. The total utility he gets will depend on the weights he puts on those two utilities.If you educate your child to be overoptimistic, in the future for example when he receives his pension fund he will expect certain amount of money, let's say $1,000 per month, but instead if he actually receives $900 he will feel as if he lost $100, regardless if that amount of money r epresents a good income for him or not. On the other hand if he receives $1 r 1 00 he won ‘t feel the satisfaction of having more money. The feeling when you lose is deeper than when you win.

Regulatory Paper: EMTALA

The health care industry has many regulations to ensure proper care is given, information is protected, and organizations are operating properly. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act statue of 1986 is no exception. In the following the EMTALA law will be explained with its purpose, how it is enacted, key points of information about the law, consequences for failing to abide the law, and how this regulation affects many different aspects, including the management of employees, resources, patients and the health care sector itself.Established in 1986, by Congress, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act as part of Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985 (ACEP, n. d. ). EMTALA was initially created to prevent what is known as â€Å"patient dumping†, the transfer of uninsured or underinsured patients from private to public hospitals solely based on the patients’ inability to pay. The intent was to ensure everyone had access to emergency medical treatment and is now known as one of the most comprehensive regulations regarding the guarantee of medical care in a hospital, in addition to emergency care (Emergency, 2001).Investigations of violations of the law are the responsibility of the HCFA and the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (Emergency, 2001). Any hospital or physician not complying with requirements of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act can face strong consequences and large fines. The fine for negligently violating EMTALA can reach $50,000 for a hospital or physician, except hospitals who have less than 100 beds, whose fine is limited at $25,000 (ACEP, n.d. ).A non-direct consequence consists of the hospital or physician being revoked from eligibility of the Medicare program (O’Shea, 2007). Although this consequence is not very likely to occur, it still is a very serious possibility. The American Medical Association conducted a Patient Care Phy sician Survey in 2001 with the following facts (O’Shea, 2007): In a typical week of practice more than 95% of emergency department physicians will provide EMTALA covered care.More than 30% of all physicians will provide EMTALA covered care in a typical week. On average, EMTALA covered care makes up 22. 9 hours of an emergency medicine physician’s week and 9. 7 hours of a surgeon’s week. These are important facts for employees to understand because it shows how often EMTALA covered care will be presented to a hospital each week. As with most things in life, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act has both positive and negative effects on the different aspects of the health care world.EMTALA provides the additional tasks of ensuring employees are properly trained and properly handling and executing situations. It can be debilitating on resources as the patients are uninsured or underinsured and will not have the ability to pay for the services obtained. For patients, EMTALA is a very positive regulation that provides the ability to receive the health care services needed, without the added stress to produce insurance coverage or the money before they are able to receive care.As far as the affect of health care in general it can be debilitating and overwhelming because many patients who lack health insurance coverage attend the emergency room because they have the right to an exam rather than utilizing a primary care physician who could deny services due to nonpayment. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act is a complex law that has the intention of protecting the patient, regardless of who they are or what they may possess.Although many may suggest that there is room for improvement, based on the amount of money lost from nonpaid bills of patients’ care protected by EMTALA, it nonetheless serves the purpose of its intention. Employees should be able to understand what the law is, the law’s purpose and who enacts it , key facts about EMTALA, consequences of failing to comply and how the regulations affect management of employees, resources, patients and health care.

Class Discussion Wills and trusts Essay

What consequences might there be if a will’s custodian fails to turn the will over to the probate court after the decedent’s death? If a will’s custodian fails to turn the will over to the probate court after the decedent’s death, the court may compel the custodian to produce the will this is if requested by the potential beneficiaries of the will, and if the custodian fails to produce the will, he or she may be subject to criminal charges (Herskowitz, 2014). When would a personal representative have to institute an ancillary jurisdiction proceeding? A personal representative would have to institute an ancillary jurisdiction proceeding if the decedent owned, at the time of death, real property in a jurisdiction from the jurisdiction they lived in. This is required because other jurisdictions are not allowed to make distribution decisions about real property outside of their jurisdiction. The purpose is to transfer the title of the real property to the jurisdiction the trustor lived in to keep the estate together. (Herskowitz, 2014). What steps might have to be undertaken to find the will of a decedent? To find the will the steps the family of the deceased should take are: 1. Search the decedents’ home and office first (ie: dresser drawers, file cabinets, desk drawers, closets, the refrigerator, the freezer, books, under mattresses, and the attic) 2. Search the safety deposit box if one exists. 3. The family can also check with all family members, an attorney or family friend that may have the will. (Herskowitz, 2014). What steps are required to prove a lost will? The person contending that the original will was lost must present a copy of the will, a proof of the wills execution and validity, by either, producing witnesses who will authenticate that the copy is a true and correct copy of the will or, a â€Å"self-proving† affidavit at the end of the will to the probate court. (Herskowitz, 2014). Sources Herkowitz, S. D. (2014). Wills, Trusts, and Estates Administration, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Critical Review of Poor-Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion Essay

Social struggles and cultural crisis have been the subjects of various books over the years. They have resulted into an abundance of works done by social and theoretical experts as well as literary and media practitioners. One society crisis that these writers have discussed is the issue of poverty, the people involved in this situation, and the issue of poor-bashing they are faced with. However, only a few of these sources have really created their work using their own or personal experiences. The perspective coming from people who belong to the poverty block is significantly helpful and useful. This is because their personal experiences and battles ignite the search for truth and manifest the real issue that the poor people are the targets of a well-designed and orderly crusade of discrimination and exploitation. All it needs is a real presentation and argument of the issue for the public to realize that these poor people do not welcome being blamed for a condition that only society dictates.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Included in these first-hand writers is Jean Swanson (2001) who tackled the existing yet unfamiliar issue of poor-bashing in her book entitled â€Å"Poor Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion.† Swanson’s presentation of poverty, particularly poor-bashing, is a well-attested discussion that turned out to be a depiction of the real emotional expressions of the poor people and the author’s own cry from her heart.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The book is a passionate disclosure by anti-poverty activist Swanson of poor-bashing, a condition of the society that continuously fails to claim general information despite its existence and utilization as an anti-poverty tool for the past two decades. A seasoned anti-poverty activist, Swanson employed her personal experiences and various interactions with the rest of the poor people in her country to present the real issues brought about by poor-bashing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Swanson (2001), the term of poor-bashing hides the actual origins of poverty and the pain it inflicts to poor people. It degrades the employed people while taking away the pressure and responsibility from the rich members of the society. The Swanson book critically presents a new approach of writing poverty with the provision of the personal stories, ideas, and analysis of the poor about poverty. The book disputes the position that there is no one to be blamed for the condition of the poor people but themselves. The book serves as an expressive style of poor-bashing which was introduced in our terminology use and traditions. It is also an instrument for academic progress and direction (Swanson, 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The term poor-bashing was defined by Swanson as a condition when poor people are pictured, neglected, accused, sponsored, sympathized, and wrongly blamed for being intoxicated, and contented of having big yet unmanageable families and settling as unemployed individuals depending on the welfare and financial assistance from the government. Aside from the said societal presentations, the poor people are likewise subjected to poor-bashing by the institution. A manifestation of low financial assistance rates for the promotion of social welfare is a type of poor-bashing by the establishment. Swanson added that having or allowing the existence of poverty when the society can possibly do away with it is also another poor-bashing kind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Poor-Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion† critically looked into how low-income people and even those belonging to below poverty line are marginalized and maltreated by the state, media and the corporate world. However, Swanson pulled off some entertainment when she pictured how the term poor-bashing, which was used to represent people who are dependent on financial assistance and benefits, actually better fits to demonstrate the behavior of the sluggish rich members of the society. In presenting the many points of the book, Swanson featured several realistic voices and emotions of the poor, such as those of single mothers, a side that has not been focused on by other works. These single parents are made to experience poor-bashing when they are shown as people struggling to give food, clothes, and shelter to their kids because of an unforgiving and unacceptable financial condition. The structural and personal poor-bashing of single mothers denied them the chance to decide better for themselves and their children, thereby negatively affecting their way of living.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An interview by Swanson with a single mother revealed that the latter did not prefer to be financially dependent and always on the welfare of other people. According to Swanson’s interpretation, the society where the single mother belongs and her partner in particular are the ones that actually put her life and that of her children where it is now. The poor-bashing applied to single mothers is just one of the pieces of evidence of the wide gap between the rich and the poor. Accordingly, in Swanson’s country (Canada) and in most parts of the world, statistics proves that the poor people tend to share only a small percentage of wealth while the rich people enjoy the biggest portion. It is generally perceived that people who have a share as that of the rich are assured of a dependable education and stable job. This is not because poor people are legally restricted to be a part of the majority, but it is because there are laws that are apparently in favor of the rich than the poor. This results in more options and opportunities available for the rich than for the poor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Swanson’s book unveiled the orientation of poor-bashing in a clean, strong manner. One example is the author’s analysis of how the media, particularly the reporters, function when they cover and tell stories about poverty. Swanson called this as the media â€Å"poornography† where the media utilizes many attacks to get and present poverty stories. In the book, media â€Å"poornography† depicts poor people as sufferers. Swanson said that this is part of the journalistic approach to â€Å"putting a face on the problem.† However, this media portrayal does not change the problem. This is because the said media approach fails to determine the real causes of poverty. Charity, financial aid, and welfare dependency offered to poor people oftentimes do not offer a solution to the poverty problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Despite the strengths of the book and that of Swanson’s arguments, they did not allow readers to draw their own conclusions and realize for themselves the main points of the issue of poor-bashing. Instead, the author dwells and banks on rhetorics about the need to solve the problems of classism, racism and sexism. Although these issues are valid, they made the book feel and look out of focus. The non-stop utilization of poor-bashing term or affiliation, apparently to picture evident situations pertaining to the problem, actually created a feeling for the public to be subjected to reader-bashing. This is simply because the book is all but representation of the poverty problem and poor-bashing in particular but without drawing a definite solution on how to address the said condition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The book which depicts the poor as unworthy, lazy, possibly involved in criminal acts and a threat to stability of the society deviate attention away from the real problem of poverty. This is because it diverts the true reasons of poverty and unemployment into the poor people who are presented as victims of inequality. The book’s individualization of the causes to poverty and unemployment distracts focus on the actual solutions to the problem. These realities include legalities and corporate decisions that are designed to produce and promote the undermining of wages and employment conditions of the poor. The book turns out to be just an endless discussions of who are the poor yet deserving people. This eventually encourage self restriction instead of self-esteem among poor people. Even the book’s presentation of the creation and multiplication of profit and wealth among the undeserving rich is overdue and uncalled for.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In challenging poor-bashing, it should be understood by the poor that they are not to be blame for their conditions. There are factors to be considered such as an apprehension of the economic system that actually cause poverty and how treatment of poverty is supported by the government. One must learn and realize that there is enough profit and wealth to end poverty, for both the rich and the poor to share. People in turn, should benefit from poor-bashing and poverty. Poverty is a condition that entails government policy and the poor people that are subjected to poor-bashing actually benefits because they become cheaper in the labor market. Sometimes, the poor has to challenge bashing created not by poverty but by the condition resulting from the conditions of racism or sexism. The poor just have to dispute the depictions created by the term, myths, media, and the government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Instead of stating proposals to address poor-bashing, the book should have encouraged the poor people to understand the underlying policies of the government, corporations, and media. These plans of action actually create confusion and exclusion and promote inequality and the feeling of blame. It is essential to unite crusades about poor-bashing with alliance against racism and other negative conditions of the society. It requires a lot of understanding and ultimately the need to build an organization of thoughts and actions. A concrete step is to end the kind of notion and feeling that group people into being poor or those on welfare dependency. This will not justify treating them badly and blaming them for poverty. There should be an end to blaming poverty to the poor or other oppressed people. In this manner, an adaptable and effective policies, laws, and economic system can be worked out that will allow poor people to productively compete against each other. Poverty should have a different and justifiable image. In the end, resolving poor-bashing requires addressing the issues of unequal distribution of wealth and income among all members of the society. With this, putting the blame of poverty on the poor would be stopped. Reference Swnson, J. (2001). Poor-Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion. Toronto: Between the Lines.   

Challenges To Singapore’s Education

Challenges To Singapores Education At the Teachers Day Rally last September, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong outlined the challenges to our education system. A key imperative was National Education. Many Singaporeans, especially pupils and younger Singaporeans, knew little of our recent history. They did not know how we became an independent nation, how we triumphed against long odds, or how today’s peaceful and prosperous Singapore came about. This ignorance will hinder our effort to develop a shared sense of nationhood. We will not acquire the right instincts to bond together as one nation, or maintain the will to survive and prosper in an uncertain world. For Singapore to thrive beyond the founder generation, we must systematically transmit these instincts and attitudes to succeeding cohorts. Through National Education, we must make these instincts and attitudes part of the cultural DNA which makes us Singaporeans. The Prime Minister set up a committee, chaired by Mr Lim Siong Guan, to study how to introduce N ational Education into our education system. The Committee has worked out a plan to do so. To take the next step forward, we need the full commitment of every teacher and principal. National Education is not just a book subject. It must appeal to both heart and mind. Unless you are personally convinced of its importance, committed to the cause and have the knowledge and passion to teach National Education competently and whole-heartedly, the plan will fail. Lessons from Other Countries Singaporeans are not unique in needing National Education. Other countries take National Education as a matter of course. Japan is a tightly-knit, cohesive and group-oriented society, with a long history and a strong sense of unique identity. Yet Japanese schools start early to teach pupils Japanese culture, values, history and geography, and even the politics and economics of Japan. As pupils get older, they also learn about the cultures and histories of other countries. In so doing, they understand even better what makes them uniquely Japanese. Japanese schools go to great lengths to instill group instincts and a sense that every student is an equal member of the group. They have strict regulations on school uniforms, school bags and shoes. Students are grouped into teams called ‘hans’. Members of each han play together and eat together. They take turns to perform specific responsibilities, whether it is the daily cleaning of school premises or serving lunch. Academically stronger students are expected to help their weaker friends. Those who do not are ostracised. Students organise the school sports day themselves. Competition is based mainly on team events; there are few or no individual events. All students participate, including those with disabilities. Japanese schools do all this not because they believe that all students are the same in every respect or have identical abilities. But they want every student to be equally valued as a member of the group, recog nised for his strengths, and for what he can contribute to the group. And so it goes for Japanese society. In US schools, every child is taught the American heritage – George Washington, the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights movement. Students take part in community service. Learning to be a responsible citizen begins young. It is a deliberate inculcating of American political and social values and ideals, to ensure the next generation grows up with these ideas deeply ingrained. It is a process of indoctrination like any other, no less so because the children are brought up to cherish American values of individual liberty. And it is so successful that many Americans are completely convinced that American values are universal values of mankind.