Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Doha Rounds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Doha Rounds - Essay Example Noteworthy is that a decision action has been avoided due to many considerations, and the Global Economic Crisis (GEC) is one of the most outstanding factors that probably demotivates some countries. This has undoubtedly altered the framework wherein the Doha Round is placed and is prone to lead the concerned countries rethink and reconsider the future. Admittedly, there was a disagreement and a divide on various issues between some countries with respect to agriculture, industrial tariffs and non-tariff barriers, services, and trade remedies.1 The countries concerned range between developed ones under the auspices of European Union (EU), the United States (US) and Japan and the major developing ones represented by India, Brazil, China, and South Africa. As a matter of fact, the Doha Round commenced at a ministerial-level conference in the Qatari capital, Doha in 2001. After that international meeting, other ministerial conferences were held in Cancun, Mexico (2003), Hong Kong (2005). Moreover, it is important to underline that many negotiations tackling the same summit took place in Switzerland (in 2004-2006-2008). Parallel to that, some meetings were led in Paris, France (2008) and Postdam, Germany (2007). Accordingly, the Doha Round turned out to be the first major multilateral trade negotiation, yet it failed. Such collapse marks a historic reversal in the steady progress vis-Ã  -vis the liberalization of world trade over the coming years. The most recent round of negotiations took place two years ago on July 23-29, 2008. It also failed as long as the participating countries were unable to reach a consensus and a compromise on agricultural import rules. 2 Also, there was a conflict and a heated debate between the U.S, China, and India so that they could accept the negotiation modalities. It is also worthwhile mentioning that during the preparatory process, two major developing

Monday, October 28, 2019

Chinese Ccot Essay Example for Free

Chinese Ccot Essay CAC Global trade patterns and domestic economic affairs was significant to the world. It affects how well the country is running and makes it under control. Global trade patterns and domestic economic affairs has changed and continued in China from 500 to 1750. As time progressed, trade patterns and the economy became sophisticated and prominent. Many people began to depend and on the economic issues. Currency has changed into silver which became a huge demand. Today, the global trade patterns and domestic economic affairs is the way due to history. Due to unfortunate circumstances involved changed in currency and a look of diffusion, Chinese economy shifted a bit. As China developed lost contact with foreign regions and faced different conflicts, they changed trade patterns and domestic affairs. From the time period of 500 to 1750, the change and continuity of the use of Silk Road/Indian Ocean basin, the use of currency, and exporting goods stimulated in the global trade patterns and domestic economic affairs. China has prospered from the Silk Road from a long period of time. Once the Silk Road was established, it led to establishments of other intricate network of trade routes. It was a trade route across land masses which connected East, South, and Western Asia. Trades on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the great civilizations and it helped lay foundations for the modern world. Many goods such as jewelries, spices, medicines, textiles, and etc were traded. The Silk Road was a source of cultural and economic diffusion between Asian and European societies. The Silk Road was always active and it became very prominent in the later years. However, due to bubonic plague (Black Death) that traveled, many merchants died and got ill. Also, there were many bandits there who stole stuff so many people started to not use the road. Also, soon, the maritime trade got popular so many people got involved in the seafaring trade in the ocean. The Silk Road became less used and slowly lost fame. Due to the diffusion that went in and out, its disconnection had a significant fee on China. China lost contact with foreign people and lost relationship with the outside world of global ideas, cultures, and technology. China especially became limited in foreign affairs with the Europeans. Not many people traded and not many people came into the Silk Road so it led to the downfall of Chinas economy. The continuity that occurred was that the Silk Road was still being used. Even though all these disasters were occurring, people were still using the Silk Road to trade and to traveling. China depended and used the barter system for a long period of time. The barter system was trading item for an item and relying on interpersonal relationships for business. However, under the Ming dynasty, the currency was changed into silver. Silver was being imported and exported from many regions into China, where thriving domestic economy demanded increasing quantities of silver. The demand of silver was so high that Europeans exchanged silver for Chinese gold which they got more profit from in Japan. The Ming dynasty in China only accepted silver and nothing else. All taxes were to be paid with silver and traded with silver which led to the frantic demand of silver. The monopolization of silver led many people to get silver because only silver was accepted. However, the silver became overpriced since it was used as currency which led the Ming dynasty to not release silver in public. his lack of circulation had a huge impact on the economy which led to the downfall of the Ming dynasty. The change in currency damaged the Chinese economy so the currency changed. However, they used the currency to make the economy running by changing currencies. From the time period from 500 to 1750, China always has been manufacturing and producing their own needs. They imported goods they didnt have or things that couldnt be grown in their region but it wasnt common. Also, China always been exporting because of the amount of resources they had(huge). Their goods changed as time progressed and they imported/exported different goods. The Chinese people exported luxury times, slaves, jewelries, corn, and etc from different time periods. However, they were always exporting goods which circulated and stimulated the world economy today too. China supported silver during the Ming dynasty which became in very high demand. China exported large amount of goods of luxury items in order to pay for the silver. The continuity that occurred was always has using the Indian Ocean Basin for trade and exporting goods. It was their maritime trade route which has been continuous like the Silk Road. Chinese cargos constantly roamed around the Indian Ocean Basin. exporting and selling goods all over the world, stimulating the world economy. Chinas global trade patterns and domestic economic affairs changed and continued from 500 to 1750. China always had resources and goods available. China didnt have to import often because most of the products were often produced or grown in China. However, China exported tons of things under the Indian Ocean basin. Not only did they only use the Indian Ocean Basin but also the Silk Road. The Silk Road was an important factor in trading and in diffusion. However, due to diseases, maritime trade, and bandits, the Silk Road lost fame. The change of in currency into silver under the Ming dynasty also had a big impact on Chinas economy. These factors had a significant impact in the circulation of global ideas, traditions, and technology. These factors also led to the change and continuity of global trade patterns and domestic economic affairs from 500 to 1750.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

The Mental Health Effects of Maquiladora Work on Mexican Women :: Essays Papers

The Mental Health Effects of Maquiladora Work on Mexican Women: Sources of Stress and its Consequences â€Å"The U.S.-Mexican border es una herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. . .†-- Gloria Anzaldua Introduction Submerged in the impoverished urban border culture which they helped create, the maquiladoras draw young women north from all over Mexico’s interior. The women migrate with hopes of acquiring jobs in the booming foreign-owned factories and are plunged into a new border â€Å"country† that is far from a promised land. Maquiladoras are a financial endeavor for foreign industrialists who hope that by situating factories in Third World countries they will substantially cut production costs. The industrialists have been accused of taking advantage of Mexico’s cheaply accessible labor force and less restrictive health and safety codes in order to achieve these lower production costs. While preliminary surveys on the effects of maquiladora work on women’s physical health show little to no adverse side effects, researchers and advocates are not completely convinced that long term health effects will prove positive. The emotional and psychological stresses of working in a maquiladora are tremendous and should be examined just as seriously as the physical effects. The female workers live a life of insecurity, instability, oppression, submission, and exhaustion. They face jolting lifestyle changes and even when working full time, have trouble making enough money to cover basic living costs. They are pawns in a First World economic strategy that hopes to wring as much cheap labor out of the women as it can, paying female workers in Mexico’s northern states an average of only four dollars a day for workdays that typically run from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.. High levels of stress accountable to both working in the maquiladora itself and the to lifestyle it promotes attribute to depression, substance abuse and even physically manifested ailments. This paper will examine the different sources of stress that affect the mental health of female maquiladora workers in an attempt to understand the overa ll health issues of the border culture. Overview of Potential Stressors Affecting Mental Health A great majority of maquiladora employees are young women who have migrated to the border area from â€Å"supporting agricultural [regions]† (Cravey, 6). Migration, itself, is a complicated process which could have profound affects on the mental health of maquiladora workers. Migration has been found to have negative effects

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Enlightenment Movie Study

The Enlightenment Movie Study Guide Part One 1. What other names is often used when referring to the Enlightenment? The Enlightenment is often referred to as the Age of Reason 2. What was Sir Issac Newton's role in the Enlightenment? Identified other natural laws to explain the workings of the universe 3. What changes did they encourage for social progress? Religious tolerance, education reforms, and prison reforms 4. What long-standing political belief did Enlightenment thinkers question? Monarchs rule by divine rightPart Two 5. What important idea did John Locke write about in the Two Treatises of Government? He argued that government should protect people's natural rights to life, liberty, and property 6. What was Voltaire's role in the Enlightenment Era? He wrote plays, novels, and essays attacking slavery, religious intolerance, and other social and political injustices. Passionate advocate for â€Å"Freedom of Speech† Part Three 7. What important political idea did Monte squieu introduce? Introduced the concept of â€Å"Check and balances† . How did Jean-Jacque Rousseau ideas differ from other Enlightenment philosophers? Criticized what he saw as the Enlightenment's excessive reliance on reason, argued  that people should trust their instincts and emotions Part Four 9. Explain the Main Idea behind Rousseau's Social Contract? He explained that government should be based on a contract that allows people to rule themselves by adhering to the general will 10. Analyze which Enlightenment philosopher expressed the most democratic ideas.Use at least three facts from the movies to support your answer. Charles de Montesquieu was a 18th century French philosopher who expressed the most democratic ideas during his time. He divided power between the king and parliament, much like the president and congress. He advocated dividing the government into three independent branches: the executive, legislative and judicial. He had a strong belief for equal dis tribution of power amongst the branches. Therefore, he introduced the concept of â€Å"Checks and Balances. †

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Sex deformities at birth or at any other time

Sometimes, a boy may be born with small pennies (micropenis) or they may have the penis missing at all. My people have continuously referred to the sex organ to determine the sex of the child and therefore boy without penies may mistakably be taken as a girl. However, research has proved that there are may other factors that should be considered in determining the sex of a child.A boy may be born with micropennis or without a penies due to a number of defects including cloacal exstrophy which affects the bladder.   It may also b due to an accident at birth like a mishandled circumcision, which is normally referred to as ablation penis. The issue of concern around such cases is whether these children should be taken as a boy or a girl.The theory underlying ablation penies is that when a boy is born without a penies or loses penis as a result of circumcision, the child can be brought up as a girl and by the time they reach puberty, oestrogen can be introduced in her body to induce de velopment of female characteristics.   In this paper we are going to review one of study on ablation penis which was research by John Money in 1975.John/Joan caseThe 1975 study has been considered as a study of opportunity since the set involve twin brothers with one brother acting as control for the study.   The study was about John who penis had been distorted in a botched circumcision and was later reassigned as a female while his brother acted as the control for the study.In his work Money had encountered the two twins who had been born in 1960s. When they reached the age of 7months, the boys were recommended to undergo circumcision since they were developing phimosis, a condition which leads to narrowing of the opening of the foreskin. While undergoing circumcision, one of the boys, John was severely burned by an electrocautery knife in his pennies which was completely destroyed. (Money, 1975)This incident would affect the life of the boy in severe way. One of the psychiatr ist postulated that the boy would no be able to consummate marriage since he would be incapacitated to have a heterosexual relationship. This would severely affect his relationship with other people especially the fellow boys and therefore he will be forced to live apart from others. Something had to be done to change his course of life.When Money learned about the plight of the boy, he suggested to the parents that the boy to be reassigned as a grail. Money recommended that the boy should undergo a surgical process to create a female genitalia organ by removing the male penis and should be raise as a girl.   When the boy reached 17 months, surgeons removed his testes reshaping the scrotum like a vulva. Henceforth, John became Joan and was raised like a girl by his parents. John/Joan did not experience any trauma or suspicion. (Money, 1975)John Money, who had done extensive research on the hermaphroditic children, based his argument on that at birth infants are sexually neutral an d malleable for a window period which last from birth to about 18-24 months. It is during the window period that sexual identity is formed and fixed.   According to Money social imprinting and learning are the most important factors that affect psychosexual development. This assertion was inconsistent with many researches that had been done on acquisition of language.Therefore in this case John/Joan was the subject of study while his brother was the control. The twins were evaluated on regular bases at Hopkins. At puberty, Money reevaluated their psychosexual development and confirmed in his 1975 publication that John/Joan behavior confirmed her as a girls and no one would conjecture that Joan had been born as boy.   Joan behaviors were like that of a little girl and were remarkably different from that of her/his brother. (Money, 1975)Money publication was important in the field as is confirmed that plasticity could be used in gender as well.   This confirmed that an infant wh o had been born as an unambiguous male could be successfully reassigned as a female and henceforth grows as a normal girl. Money’s publication formed the basic practice for pediatricians taking care of infants with ambiguous genitalia. The study showed that genetic make and prenatal endocrinology does not have an effect in assignment of sex.However, a follow up of the study revealed that Joan had exhibited male behaviors contrary to Money’s publication. For example it was revealed that Joan stood up when urinating and she was rejecting by her girlfriends. She was alienated by other girls.Later exploration of the case or what had happened to Joan/John revealed the failure of the process. His twin brother revealed that John had never shown any feminine characteristics.When Joan reached fourteen years, psychiatrist advised his father to reveal the childhood ordeal when John told his mother that he would kill himself if he was taken to Hopkins to be administered with hormo nes. John request for mastectomy which was performed and he became a male again.   He has since then lived as a husband, father and a breadwinner for the family.ConclusionThe case of John/Joan reveals important factor that should be considered when refashioning infants with ambiguous genitalia.   Although this case had shown initial success, the later results which contradict the earlier findings assert that there must be a thorough assessment of sex reassignment before considering their success.These results show that contrary to what has been assumed, children usually observe the pattern of their sexes. Though Joan was supposed to live as a girl, her behaviors never changed and she exhibited male behaviors.ReferencesMoney, J. (1975): Ablatio penis: Normal male infant sex-reassignment as a girl. Archives of Sexual Behaviors, vol. 4: 65-71

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Honda Automobile Manufacturer

Honda Automobile Manufacturer Introduction Value chain in a company consists of activities that aim to take in inputs and convert them into outputs that are of high quality in order to cater for the needs of the end consumer. Value chain activities are important to an organization because they add value and quality to the end product so that a consumer can use the good/service and obtain satisfaction (Kourdi 2009, 133).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Honda Automobile Manufacturer specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Value chain activities are often conducted by numerous departments which all work together to produce quality products and services. Some of the departments that work together in order to add value to raw materials/goods as they move down the industry value chain include; the exploration department, manufacturing department, inbound and outbound distribution department, sales and marketing department, after sales department and the admin istration department (Worthington Britton 2009, 45-50). The need for creating value along the distribution chain has forced supply chain management managers to integrate planning and use proper strategies to ensure that raw materials, work in progress and finished goods reach where they are needed at the right time and in good quality (Wisner et al 2008, 22). Additionally, supply chain experts need to develop contingent strategies and tactics that will alow their distribution networks obtain high degrees of flexibility as goods move either forward or backwards. The company The Automobile Industry is a good example of an industry that uses supply chain management activities to add value to vehicles and automobile parts and come up with a diversified range of products that can be used by various consumers in a wide range of industries (na, 2011). The level of investment and capital required to run activities in the automobile industry is quite high and it thus becomes necessary for c areful planning to be incorporated so that goods and services can flow from vendors, the factory floors where cars are assembled to automobile showrooms around the world. Honda is an Automobile manufacturing company that operates in over 150 countries and produces close to14 million internal combustible engines annually making it the world’s largest internal combustible engine manufacturer and motor cycle manufacturer. The company has been in existence for over 60 years and has built one of the largest global networks in the automobile industry and is now the worlds 6th largest automobile maker. The company currently has over 180,000 employees and made over $ 120billion in gross revenues in 2010, the company’s expansion and operations have been able to run smoothly due to the abundant assets and owners’ equity that the company has to finance it expansion activities (Andrew 2010, 91-94).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Structure of the Organization The company has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, which coordinates the company’s activities with its branches and car dealerships. The Headquarters serves as the central decision maker with all leader functional units being located in Tokyo. The company uses regional heads who are well experienced business executives to communicate the intentions of the corporate heads and coordinate all supply chain activities where the company has vested interests. These business executives then head all other regionalized functional units within their regions such as China, United States, Pakistan, Canada, England, Japan, Belgium, Brazil, New Zealand, Indonesia, India, Thailand, and Turkey. Figure 1 Typical example of supply chain activities within the automobile industry. Vision, Mission Strategic objectives Vision Honda plans to being the most respected, responsible and be st performing among automobile manufacturers in the world by building vehicles and engines that are highly reliable and of high quality. Honda further aims to produce highly efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly automobiles and engines. Honda desires to become the most recognized automobile company that will not only become competitive but also a successful force for progress within the automobile industry. Honda’s mission is to fundamentally make a difference in the world and especially the Automobile industry. Mission Honda has defined its mission as an organization which intends to operate from a global viewpoint. Honda is dedicated to supply products of the best quality, yet at a sensible price globally to satisfy all of its clients. Hondas mission is to build good reliable automobiles that will be used across the world to meet consumer needs and initiate satisfaction (Worthington Britton 2009, 77).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Hon da Automobile Manufacturer specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company maintains that in order to produce high quality and dependable motor vehicles the company must always advance with ambition and youthfulness, value sound theory and continuously build up fresh ideas (Taylor 2008). Strategic objective Honda believes that in its day to day operation it will incorporate strategies and tactics which will ensure the company is Performance Driven because this fact will ensure that the company will fulfill its promises through continuous improvement in the use of more safer, dependable operations within the automobile industry that will develop superb vehicles and engines. Success of the organization The last decade has seen Honda grow from an average automobile manufacturer to a respected one. The acquisition of a good corporate leader and strategic reliance has seen the company overtake Nissan to become the 2nd largest manufacturer in Japan a nd overtake Chrysler to become the world’s 6th largest manufacturer worldwide. The company through its Acura brand, which is considered a very good luxury car model the company has penetrated the American market and is a successful brand in North America. The company has also expanded its business and entered into the Aero engine industry making it a more attractive company worldwide, increasing its marketing share, revenues, profits and improved the company image worldwide (Mohamad 66-71). PESTEL analysis Political-legal Analysis The largest markets of Honda are in Japan, North America and Europe they are considered politically stable and the fact that Japan is among the G8, has paved way for the penetration of Japanese products into these markets due to good political relationships between Japan and the governments of these regions (Allison Kaye 2005, 133-140). The good political relationship between Japan and these countries has created less legal hurdles in the path of H onda. Social-Economic analysis The success of Honda can be attributed to the fact that the company creates luxury vehicles that target mostly developed countries and regions such as Europe and North America. These regions are known to be economically stable. Also the citizens have high disposable income and good family structure that is favorable to Honda as an automobile manufacturer. Technological environment Japan is one of the most advanced countries in terms of technology enabling the country increase output and produce products that are highly dependable and of high quality. Project management and operations management technology from Japan is a key component that has lead to success of Honda in the Automobile industry.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Competitive intensity Threat of new entrants Barriers are placed by existing companies and regulatory authorities to prevent new entrants from making abnormal profit flows for existing companies some of the threats include government policies, exploiting cost advantages, access to distribution and capital requirements. In this case, the Automobile industry is known to be very capital-intensive since acquisition assembly plants and equipment can be very expensive. Intensity of competitive rivalry among existing firms firms within the same industry always compete for the available market share either through powerful competitive strategies, innovation, structure of industry costs, switching costs or degree of product differentiation and so on. There are many car manufacturers worldwide thus increasing the level of competition in the industry. Threat of substitute products or services consumers opt to go for substitute products if quality is better, price is relatively better or the cost of switching is favorable. There are relatively fairly many substitutes for motor vehicles except for motor cycles, airplanes, trains and Ships. This therefore means that the Automobile industry becomes more competitive for Honda. The bargaining power of customers the bargaining power of buyers depends on the number of buyers within the industry who purchase from the available suppliers, differentiation of products, and the profit margin of buyers especially if they are resellers, switching costs that are associated with switching brands and the importance quality and service to the buyers. Currently, there are very many brands of automobiles thus increasing bargaining power of buyers and increasing the intensity of competition. The bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers who provide raw material can determine the profitability and viability of an industry by setting prices of implements which in turn affect the profit margins. The concentration and number of suppliers affec t their bargaining power, the importance of the industry to them, the ability of suppliers to integrate forward and the role of quality and service in the industry, but the ability of Honda to produce some of its raw materials increases its competitive advantage (Stadtler 2008, 74). SWOT analysis Strength Honda has a considerably good corporate culture; a culture of quality, reliability and innovation that has enabled it to become a global manufacturer of automobiles. The company also has good leadership structures and leadership that is capable of steering the company into the future. The availability of adequate resources has also contributed to growth and expansion (Kourdi 2009, 66).  Honda has one of the most sophisticated internal combustible engine technologies in the world. The company has the capacity of building over 14 million engines annually, which is way above many manufacturers in the industry. Thus, it can produce and deliver many automobiles giving it an advantage over other companies which cannot match up and do the same (Douglas 2008, 146). Not only can Honda produce many engines but the company also has a well developed quality control system that has enabled it rise the levels of quality within the company’s products. Weaknesses Although the company has adequate resources, its resource base is not enough to compete with the likes of Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors and this limits Honda’s ability to compete equally within the industry. Due to the capital intensive nature of this industry companies like Toyota have been able to pursue their expansion strategy more effectively (Wheelen Hunger 88). Opportunity The company is yet to penetrate the Asian market especially India and China but through mergers and strategic alliances, the company can double its sales in Asia and boost its position in the global Automobile market (Wheelen Hunger 2002, 61-62). Threats More established automobile makers like Toyota, Volkswagen an d General Motors are more likely to react to the actions and recent success of Honda and develop strategies that may hinder or affect Honda’s business. Thus, it is necessary that the company undertakes continuous research to improve their business (Michael 81-83). Key Drivers for change The competitive nature of the industry can be used by the management as the key driver of change; this is because when other competitors decide to take on Honda it will require the company also to retaliate by intensifying competition. Parameters such as sales, market share and company image can be used by management as key performance indicators that may be of use to detect if changes are needed (Kourdi 2009, 216). Conclusion Consumers and buyers today purchase value and attributes of products and therefore it is necessary that all activities of the integrated supply chain industry be geared towards increasing value for the resellers and end consumers. Honda being the 6th world’s large st Automobile manufacturer has a long way to go if the company is to realize its vision. Thus, it is necessary for the company to continuously improve the functions of each functional department in order to satisfy its customers and have a sustainable business. References Allison, M. Kaye, J., 2005. Simplified strategic planning: a no-nonsense guide for busy people who want results fast. Worcester, MA: Chandler House Press. Andrew, H., 2010. The definitive Handbook of Business Continuity Management. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. Douglas, L., 2008. Supply chain management: processes, partnerships, performance. New York: Supply Chain Management Inst. Kourdi, J., 2009. Business Strategy: A Guide to Effective Decision Making, 2 editions. New York: Economist books. Michael, P., 1990. The competitive Advantage of Nations. Northampton, MA: The Free Press. Mohamad, J., 2009. Inventory Management: Non classical views. Florida: CRC Press. Na, 2011. Honda Worldwide, History. Honda. Retriev ed from www.World.honda.com Stadtler, H., 2008. Supply chain management and advanced planning: Concepts, models, software, and case studies. New York: FastBook Publishing. Taylor, A., 7 March 2008. Americas Most Admired Companies: Honda. CNNMoney.com. retrieved from www.CNNMoney.com Wheelen, T. Hunger, D., 2002. Strategic management and business policy. New Jersey: Prentice hall. 2002. Print Wisner, J. et al, 2008. Principles of Supply Chain Management. New York: Cengage learning. Worthington, I. Britton, C., 2009. Business environment, 6th edition. Melbourne: Pearson Education.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Liberal Party Essays

Liberal Party Essays Liberal Party Essay Liberal Party Essay a) Explain why the liberal party achieved a landslide victory in the 1906 election (12 marks) There are several reasons why the liberals won the general election of 1906. The first being due to the changes in the social and political structure of the country. The three reform acts from 1832-1844/5 allowed more adult men to vote and by 1885 a majority of voters were working class. This meant that political partied needed to appeal to this group if they were to stand any chance of winning a general election. There were changes to the voting system with less and less people able to vote more than once, boroughs and counties were treated more equally and constituencies were made more equal sizes. In 1872 there was also the introduction of the ballet boxes which aimed to keep the electorates vote a secret which along with the 1883 corrupt and illegal practises act reduced briberies. Secondly the Boer War also had an effect on the general election of 1906; Joseph Chamberlains appointment as colonial secretary whose Job it was to strengthen the empire. South Africa was mportant in these plans as it had the most valuable land on the continent not only because of its prime trading location but also because of the recently discovered goldfields. Agreements in 1881 and 1884 gave the Boer states independence but they faced interference from imperialist Britain which escalated hostilities. These and other factors eventually led to war with the Boer states. Views were split on the subject but as the war went on the Conservatives were being increasingly blamed for their military incompetence. The war also allowed the Liberals to start a revival as it ook views off the internal cracks in the party and gave it a united front as most Liberals disagreed with the war. The Boer War created other issues for conservatives. There were Chinese workers in South Africa and despite the Conservative government having little to do with it the Liberals could portray them as exploiters of workers. due to the long hours, poor pay and lack of rights they had. This harmed the Conservatives reputation with middle class voters because of the humanitarian issues but more importantly badly damaged their reputation with working class. Thirdly another major event that had an impact on the election was the retirement of Lord Salisbury who had been so influential in the revival of the Conservatives and the alliance with the Liberal Unionists. Salisburys successor, Balfour can be seen as another reason for the revival of the Liberal Party. As soon as Balfour was appointed the Unionist alliance began to break. The first reason was the 1902 education act. This angered non-conformists as if there was Church of England or Catholic school in the area they lived in they would in part directly fund it. This not only provided the Liberals with support from the non-conformists but also angered many of the non- conformist Liberals in the Liberal Unionist Party. Balfour is also partly to blame for Chamberlains attempt to implement the tariff reform in 1903. Although Balfour had to many people questioning his authority. This controversial policy split the unionist alliance so much so that many voters turned to the Liberals. b) The constitutional crisis in the years 1909-1911 strengthened the liberal party explain why you agree/ disagree with this view (24 marks)

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Take Advantage of List Topics to Write About US History

Take Advantage of List Topics to Write About US History Take Advantage of List Topics to Write About US History There are many moments that serve as turning points in history. They shape political decisions, create positive or negative national moods and work as catalysts for other changes on regional or international levels. In the US history, there were loads of such moments: Cold War, the assassination of JFK, 9/11, etc.   They are still remembered and discussed because they left a trace that will never fade away. If you are tasked with a history essay, it’s great to write about the events like that. But the thing is that there are already so many papers that research these questions that you will hardly be able to offer some new perspectives or ideas. But that doesn’t mean that you have nothing to explore. There is also contemporary American history that contains as many turning points as other periods. They are truly important for changing the national mentality and forming new beliefs. That’s why we’ve arranged a 20 sample list topics to write about when you get a history assignment. You will surely be interested in some of them because many of the mentioned below events have happened and are happening in your plain view. 2003 Iraq Invasion: the Criticism of the Lack of Rationale behind the Final Decision The Launch of Facebook in 2004 The 1st Afro-American President in the US – Barack Obama How Osama Bin Laden Was Tracked and Killed in 2011 Federal Law on Same-Sex Marriages The Death of Pop Icon – Michael Jackson 2007 Shooting by a Korean Student That Started the Discussion on Gun Control Laws The Consequences of Hurricane Katherine First Women in Submarines: 2010 Ban Lift The US Attack on Libya: The Operation Called â€Å"Odyssey Dawn† Arizona and Its Restrictive Laws Against Illegal Immigration Passed in 2010 The 2013 Shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School The Death of Freddie Gray and Baltimore Protests That Followed It Obama Visit Cube and First Steps to Improving American-Cuban Relationships ISIS Attacks within the US throughout the Period from 2010 till 2017 Boston Marathon Terrorist Attack in 2013 Milwaukee Riots and Events Prior to Them Starting from Dontre Hamilton’s Death in 2014 The Immigration Policy of Donald Trump How an American Mortgage Market Crisis in 2007 Developed into a Global Financial Decline in 2008 The 1st President without Prior Government or Military Service – Donald Trump As you can see, the US history starting from 2000 is quite rich in events of different nature. But despite their diversity, they all greatly influenced the American society. Writing a History essay or research paper on one of them is significant because you are a direct witness of the most of them. So, you can rely not only on the articles or research works of others but also on your own independent opinion. Choose one of the topics and create a historically significant academic paper.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Acuscan Critical Thinking Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Acuscan Critical Thinking Case Study - Essay Example Using the Wilson Marketing data as the basis for the product development and its features, Pat and Cliff insisted that the product had to be delivered. âž ¢Using the company profit reports, Pat and Cliff insisted that the prevailed opportunity for the company to launch a new product was the only chance. âž ¢Pat and Cliff use the profit reports to focus on potential new product development rewards even when the budget for the new product demanded an additional 15% cut across the board. âž ¢ Kelly’s external redesign had merits to the company and the customers since it offered them a less obtrusive design. Data suggested that such a move would satisfy the unmet customer needs. AcuScan 11 could be made by improving only one feature of the existing product thus mirroring Pat’s argument about the iScanner 1.1 (UOP, 2003). However, the AcuScan 1.1 could have been improved and build upon the existing reputation and quality recognition. Question 7 âž ¢ Competitors have entered the marketplace (Paul & Elder, 2006)âž ¢Dissimilar expectations about profits, brand, quality and competition coexist within numerous departments. âž ¢ Kelly’s department now earns the most money for the company because of its role in service. âž ¢ Kelly’s department would be responsible for the new product development. âž ¢Pat, Cliff and Chris needed to consider that Kelly’s department had suffered budget cuts and staff reductions.Question 8  Despite the numerous challenges that the company was going through, there was still a room for improvement.  

Friday, October 18, 2019

JetBlue Airway Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

JetBlue Airway - Case Study Example The service provided can be obtained by reservation via the internet at www.jetblue.com, an airline representative or a toll free number. JetBlue has established itself as a strong brand in providing excellence in service for its customers. The company is based out of John F. Kennedy airport and employs about 8, 390 people. JetBlue provides its airfare services for 50 destinations in 21 states across the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Caribbean. Domestic operations account for approximately 97.1% of its capacity during the year ending December 31, 2006. The focus of JetBlue is in serving areas that have a high demand with high priced travel and are may not be serviced properly by the airline industry. JetBlue flies to these destinations 502 times a day and fosters an environment of excellence by ensuring that all employees have an opportunity at promotions and can go for higher education, are well trained and happy coming into work every day. This practice has been a cont ributor to Jet Blue's financial success during the hard economic strenuous times in the United States following the events of September 11, 2001. JetBlue Airways Corporation has maintained much success in a market economy that has been troubled. Through their strategic success in marketing on radio, television, internet and press releases JetBlue has become a household option for the market of flyers that want a low cost option with the highest excellence in service. Their frequent low airfare service has increased to new heights as new destinations are added based on consumer demands and more flights enable the customer to feel satisfied and happy with excellence provided by the company. JetBlue is a company that has excelled due to their ability to react quickly to the changes demanded by their consumer markets separating themselves from the losses in an airline industry sector that is in trouble and attempting a bounce back for several years. (Annual Report 2006) 3 Mission Statement JetBlue's mission statement is to provide all clients with a superior level of service in every aspect during the travel experience. JetBlue's mission is to bring the humanity back to air travel. 4 Vision Statement The air travel industry has gone through its ups and downs since the September 11 attacks in 2001 and several of these organizations have done very little to improve the customers experience. Unlike the rest JetBlue has been the first airline to establish a bill of rights for the customers. The strategy to have a bill of rights was developed by management

Discuss the theory of purchasing power parity, by considering its Essay

Discuss the theory of purchasing power parity, by considering its various forms and examining critically its assumptions and the - Essay Example The rate of exchange between two currencies can be termed as equilibrium when there is an equivalence in the purchasing powers of these countries at the domestic level (Taylor & Taylor 2004, p. 135). The theory of Purchasing Power Parity The formula for calculating purchasing power parity is as follows: S=P1/P2, where S refers to the rate used to exchange currency one with currency two, P1 is the price that good â€Å"x† costs when purchased in currency 1, and P2 is the price at which good â€Å"x† sells when purchased in currency 1. Based on the Purchasing Power Parity, there is an adjustment in the exchange rate in order to ensure that similar goods in two countries can be bought at the same price when the same currency is used to express the value of the good. There tends to be various forms that the Purchasing Power Parity takes. Some of the most common forms that this theory takes include the absolute Purchasing Power Parity and the Relative Purchasing Power Parity (Apte et. al., 2001). The concept of Absolute Purchasing Power Parity holds that the rate of currency exchange between two countries remains the same as the price level ratio in these countries. The absolute PPP borrows from the law of one price. Based on one price law, the cost of a certain product should remain constant across several countries. The similarity in price should be  in accordance to the currency value in the economies of both countries. This should take consideration of all other prices, such as trade regulations and other factors affecting market demand and supply, which should remain the same between these countries. The absolute Purchasing Power Parity also holds that there the purchasing power of the foreign and the domestic policy should remain the same. This means that there should be no variation in price when a consumer wants to exchange a foreign currency for a domestic currency, or a domestic currency for a foreign currency (Almas 2012, p. 1093). In orde r to meet the premises for the absolute Purchasing Power Parity, several conditions have to be fulfilled. One condition that must be met is free trade of the goods from each country in the international market. The other condition is that there ought to be a compromise of the price index of the price index for each of the two countries, which will be involved in the exchange of goods. Absolute PPP can result from the differences that exist in weighing, regardless of the fact that the law of one price can hold for certain goods across nations. While determining the absolute purchasing power parity, there is a tendency to examine the changes taking place in the level of the prices, which can be calculated easily (Apte et. al., 2001). Relative purchasing power parity can also be regarded as another form that the theory of PPP takes. Relative PPP focuses on the changes in the inflation rates, which may be anticipated, in relation to changes in the exchange rates between countries. The r elative purchasing power parity explores the change and variations in prices that take place between two countries. Relative PPP posits that there tends to be a change in the exchange rates in order to ensure that the variations and differentials, which inflation causes, can be compensated for and covered (Almas 2012, p. 1097). In the relative purchasing power parity, the formula that explains the relationship is as follows: S1/S0= (1 +

Thursday, October 17, 2019

A Practical Manual for Job Hunters and Career Changers Case Study

A Practical Manual for Job Hunters and Career Changers - Case Study Example If you love what you do and are naturally good at it- your talent will shine through and the money will follow. We should just concentrate on bettering ourselves at different aspects of the job and the rest will take care of itself. A career needs to be planned, as any top executive will tell you, and making the right choices will pay dividends in getting you to the right places so you can climb the corporate ladder and make a name for yourself. This paper will look at the salary data for three jobs of my choice and compare them in terms of overall suitability and usefulness as career choices. Discussion After a good introspective thinking session about my skills and abilities and the jobs I would like to be in, I have selected (1) College Teacher (2) Investment Analyst and (3) Business Process Consultant as the three professions I would most like to be in, in that order. Teaching is my first choice because I have an innate ability to learn and pick up facts quickly as well as to exp lain them to others in a way they would understand. Investment Analyst would be my second choice because I am good with numbers and have some interest in finance and how it runs the corporate world. The last choice would be Business Process Consultant in case I do not get into the first two professions of my choice. This again is a good choice for one who is good at dealing with people and processes and knows a bit about business problems in different areas and how to overcome bottlenecks or kick-start processes. It helps one understand what are the threats and opportunities to handle and how to use the company’s strengths and overcome its weaknesses to survive in a competitive environment, how the world works and what impacts on opinions. I think it is something we should all show a little interest in. All the professions I have chosen need some college and university education but what really matters is the long-term interest in these professions. Without this one would be a rolling stone (Bolles, 2011). Median, 25th and 75th Percentile Base Wages and Total Compensation (NYC) Profession 25th Percentile Median or 50th 75th Percentile College Teacher $14, 398 $17, 515 $21,786 Investment Analyst $53,767 $61,790 $82,401 Business Process Consultant $101,290 $114,367 $128,530 SOURCE: www.salary.com. Accessed on 23 Sep 2011. 1. Which jobs are paid more or less? Is this what you would have expected? Why or why not? What factors could explain the differences in the salaries? Yes, the price that a job commands in the marketplace is both a reflection of the demand and supply for that particular set of skills as well as the training and experience that is required to enter into a particular profession. For example, in the education sector, the basic qualification considered for a college professor is a Bachelors Degree. Similarly, for an Investment Analyst, the basic educational qualification would be a Business or Finance Degree. For a Business Process Consultan t this would be a degree in Project Management along with an innate sense of planning, organizing and problem-solving. Most definitely the cost of a college education is also included in starting pay considerations. As one gains experience in these fields, the pay also increases with promotions, bonuses, and further perks.  

The difference in Representation and Performance in Gender in the Dissertation

The difference in Representation and Performance in Gender in the Musical Genre of the 1930s in contrast to that of the Popular Musicals of the late 1970s and early 1980s - Dissertation Example However, it is not as simple as it looks. The films of Hollywood in the early 1930s at times turned the Horatio Alger myth on its head. The film Wild Boys on the Road (1933) followed the youth in Depression-era as the story of the film focused on them looking for work instead of success. They usually had dashed images of hope, poverty, crime, rape and also the accidental amputation. The heroines of that time no longer got ahead by being good girls that usually married a rich husband. The film Red Headed Woman (1932) and Baby Face (1933) the women were shown with the role of selling their bodies to the highest bidder of the time or using their wiles to trade from a mailroom clerk in order to become the head of the company. Buhler believes that â€Å"the Operetta-style topic also represents the musical place in the film where both characters can exist happily together.† (Buhler, 2000:197). On the other hand the heroes of the films did show dogged determination in their way to su ccess, but some of them did give up in trying finding their desired success through the legitimate means and were usually outside the law in order to achieve their goal. The gangster films that were made were Little Caeser (1931), Public Enemy (1931) and Scarface (1932). Some other films that were made during that period implied a critique of the capitalist system that was there in some of the countries. This system showed the depicting people struggling everyday against the establishment institutions which were the government and other big businesses. Although most of these films ended up in punishing the ones who transgressed the middle-class morality or the civil law, the audience sympathy to a greater extent went with those particular individuals who were fighting against the... This "The difference in Representation and Performance in Gender in the Musical Genre of the 1930’s in contrast to that of the Popular Musicals of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s" work outlines contrast analysis of the shows of different periods and how the gender was represented at those times. The Gold Diggers of 1933 was directed by two people, Mervyn LeRoy and Busby Berkeley, the first one dealt with the plot and the latter was for the musical numbers. If the backstage story of the film was not integrated with action and if the songs were cut out completely without harming the continuity, the film could not have gained the worth it had in the minds of the audiences of that time. Even though Berkeley’s dance was had extravaganzas of the early 1930s era, it could have been impossible to settle them into the movie but on the screen they did have the origins which were dated back to the 19th century stage spectacles. These evolved from the revues that wer e popular on the Broadway in the teens and the twenties. They were not only a series of unrelated acts like vaudeville shows but were a series of the musical and comedy specialties which were structured around a loosely defining theme. These themes many only have been about the female body’s decorative display. The intimations of the chorus numbers Berkeley did on stage were shown in style, where the showgirls become more of the factory assembly lines or the airplanes which brought in more attraction for the audiences throughout the country.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

A Practical Manual for Job Hunters and Career Changers Case Study

A Practical Manual for Job Hunters and Career Changers - Case Study Example If you love what you do and are naturally good at it- your talent will shine through and the money will follow. We should just concentrate on bettering ourselves at different aspects of the job and the rest will take care of itself. A career needs to be planned, as any top executive will tell you, and making the right choices will pay dividends in getting you to the right places so you can climb the corporate ladder and make a name for yourself. This paper will look at the salary data for three jobs of my choice and compare them in terms of overall suitability and usefulness as career choices. Discussion After a good introspective thinking session about my skills and abilities and the jobs I would like to be in, I have selected (1) College Teacher (2) Investment Analyst and (3) Business Process Consultant as the three professions I would most like to be in, in that order. Teaching is my first choice because I have an innate ability to learn and pick up facts quickly as well as to exp lain them to others in a way they would understand. Investment Analyst would be my second choice because I am good with numbers and have some interest in finance and how it runs the corporate world. The last choice would be Business Process Consultant in case I do not get into the first two professions of my choice. This again is a good choice for one who is good at dealing with people and processes and knows a bit about business problems in different areas and how to overcome bottlenecks or kick-start processes. It helps one understand what are the threats and opportunities to handle and how to use the company’s strengths and overcome its weaknesses to survive in a competitive environment, how the world works and what impacts on opinions. I think it is something we should all show a little interest in. All the professions I have chosen need some college and university education but what really matters is the long-term interest in these professions. Without this one would be a rolling stone (Bolles, 2011). Median, 25th and 75th Percentile Base Wages and Total Compensation (NYC) Profession 25th Percentile Median or 50th 75th Percentile College Teacher $14, 398 $17, 515 $21,786 Investment Analyst $53,767 $61,790 $82,401 Business Process Consultant $101,290 $114,367 $128,530 SOURCE: www.salary.com. Accessed on 23 Sep 2011. 1. Which jobs are paid more or less? Is this what you would have expected? Why or why not? What factors could explain the differences in the salaries? Yes, the price that a job commands in the marketplace is both a reflection of the demand and supply for that particular set of skills as well as the training and experience that is required to enter into a particular profession. For example, in the education sector, the basic qualification considered for a college professor is a Bachelors Degree. Similarly, for an Investment Analyst, the basic educational qualification would be a Business or Finance Degree. For a Business Process Consultan t this would be a degree in Project Management along with an innate sense of planning, organizing and problem-solving. Most definitely the cost of a college education is also included in starting pay considerations. As one gains experience in these fields, the pay also increases with promotions, bonuses, and further perks.  

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Observing the Moon's Phases Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Observing the Moon's Phases - Assignment Example It takes almost one month (twenty seven days) for the moon to go around the earth, in direction relative to the stars; however, the moon takes almost twenty nine days to orbit around the earth relative to the sun; this is because as the moon goes around the earth, the earth at the same time is travelling around the sun; thus the moon will make an extra distance to make one round in regard to the sun (Wlasuk, 5). Looking at the moon at the same time each week and making sketches was of great help in understanding changes, in the moon’s phases, the moon rises from the west and sets east while the sun rises in the east and sets west. From the sketches, the moon moved approximately 92 degrees each week. Twice in the observation month moon appeared, start of the initial week, and the end of the second week; this happened when the moon was fully lit and facing the earth. That usually happens when the earth seats between the sun and the moon (this is referred to as the full moon) and the when the moon is between the earth and the sun (new moon). After one week since the observation of the full moon that occurred when the sun was opposite to the moon and rising in the west, at the exact moment when the sun was setting, the moon entered the quarter moon shape. From the earth, the moon was seen as a half circle because that was the only visible part that was lit. Naturally, that was the last quarter and it appeared after the full moon and before the new moon. After that, the moon became completely dark. This occurred because the moon moved between the sun and the earth and the moon’s side facing the earth darkened. This is referred to as the new moon phase. That phase of the moon was usually not observable. However it was possible to make an outline of the moon as part of the sunlight reflected off the earth and hit the moon. At that point, the sun and the moon were on the same side of sky (Wlasuk, 12). After the new moon, a week later the first quarter pha se of the moon was seen. Other phases of the moon were also seen, these phases developed in between the weeks. After the new moon, the beginning of that week a smaller phase less than half the moon was seen that phase of the moon is referred to as the crescent. Another observation made was that this phase was brighter due to gentle light reflected by the earth. That phase was known as the waxing crescent, and it appeared just after the new moon. The begging of the second week, after the first quarter moon phase, a bigger moon phase than half size of the moon was seen. This phase is referred to as gibbous. Waxing gibbous was a more illuminated and increasing phase of the moon that appeared just before the full moon phase. At the start of the third week, after the full moon phase appeared, gibbous phase reappeared; on the other hand, that phase was less illuminated and decreasing than observed previously. Waning gibbous was seen just after the full moon. After the last quarter of the moon, crescent phase was seen. This phase is known as waning crescent phase as it has decreased illumination and it appeared just before the new moon. In conclusion, it takes about a month for the moon to go around the earth, during this period the moon’s phase changes from fully lit to completely dark and back to full illumination again, moving about 13 degrees every twenty four hours and 92 degrees each week. The first quarter is about 7 days old while the full moon is 14 days old; the last quarter is

Monday, October 14, 2019

Critical thinking Essay Example for Free

Critical thinking Essay RENE DESCARTES (1596-1650), A FRENCH PHILOSOPHER AND MATHEMATICIAN, IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS MEDITATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY. THIS FORM OF PHILOSOPHY IS A BODY OF WORK IN WHICH HE ATTEMPTS TO WIPE AWAY ALL HIS PRESUMPTIONS, REBUILDING HIS KNOWLEDGE FROM THE GROUND UP, AND ACCEPTING AS TRUE ONLY THOSE CLAIMS WHICH ARE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN. IT WAS ESSENTIAL THAT THE FOUNDATIONS TO HIS BELIEFS WERE SOLID; IF ANY ONE OF THEM WERE AT ALL IN DOUBT, HE WOULD LOSE CREDIBILITY FOR HIS ENTIRE STRUCTURE OF KNOWLEDGE. THUS, DESCARTES CREATED A METHOD IN WHICH HE WOULD ELIMINATE THOSE BELIEFS WHICH HE COULD NOT BE ENTIRELY CERTAIN OF. HE CALLED THIS METHOD – THE METHOD OF DOUBT. BY USING THE METHOD OF DOUBT, DESCARTES QUESTIONED EVERYTHING THAT HAD ANY POSSIBILITY OF UNCERTAINTY, UNTIL HE WAS ABLE TO PROVE THAT IT WAS CERTAIN OR UNTIL HE BECAME CERTAIN THAT THERE WAS NO CERTAINTY (DESCARTES 1641, 1-4). HE COMPARED IT TO â€Å"THAT OF A MAN WHO TAKES ALL THE APPLES OUT OF A BARREL ONE BY ONE, INSPECTS THEM, AND THEN PUTS THE SOUND ONES BACK† (WILLIAMS 1978, 59). DESCARTES BELIEVED THAT ALL KNOWLEDGE IS RELATED AND THEREFORE DECIDED HE WOULD REBUILD THE EDIFICE OF KNOWLEDGE BASED UPON THE CORE TRUTHS THAT REMAIN AFTER THE USAGE OF THE METHOD OF  DOUBT (DESCARTES 1641, 1). IN-ORDER FOR DESCARTES TO BE ABLE TO ELIMINATE THOSE BELIEFS WHICH HE COULD NOT BE ENTIRELY CERTAIN OF, HE WOULD HAVE TO START FROM SCRATCH BY DISCARDING ALL THAT HE HAD PREVIOUSLY KNOWN. HE STARTED BY QUESTIONING EXISTENCE -DO I EXIST? DOES GOD EXIST? HE PROVED HIS EXISTENCE BY STATING THAT IN ORDER TO HAVE THESE DOUBTS, HE MUST EXIST. THE FACT THAT HE IS ABLE TO CONTEMPLATE HIS OWN EXISTENCE IS PROOF THAT HE EXISTS. THIS IS WHERE HE BRINGS IN THE PHRASE, â€Å"I THINK, THEREFORE I AM†. THIS IS THE LOGICAL ARGUMENT FOR KNOWING WE EXIST (DESCARTES 1641, 4-6). HE PROVES THAT  Professor Keton THERE IS A GOD BY USING THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT- â€Å"SOMETHING LESSER CANNOT CAUSE SOMETHING GREATER. † GREATER/LESSER IS REFERRING TO QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCES NOT QUANTITATIVE. FOR EXAMPLE, A MONKEY IS ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL AND IS TO BE HELD TO DIFFERENT STANDARDS THAN A PERSON. DESCARTES SAYS, â€Å"I HAVE AN IDEA OF A PERFECT BEING- IT’S AN INFINITE BEING WHOS OMNIPRESENT, OMNIPOTENT, ALL GOOD GOD. † THEN HE THINKS, â€Å"SINCE I AM FINITE I CANNOT BE THE SOURCE OF THE IDEA OF AN INFINITE BEING. † HE REALIZES THAT FINITE VS. INFINITE IS A QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US AND GOD. THROUGH POINTS ONE AND TWO, HE COMES TO THE REALIZATION THAT AN INFINITE BEING HAD TO HAVE COME FROM A DIFFERENT SOURCE, AND THE ONLY INFINITE SOURCE IS A PERFECT BEING. HE THEN CONCLUDED THAT GOD MUST HAVE PUT THIS IDEA IN HIS HEAD, THEREFORE GOD MUST EXIST (DESCARTES 1641, 14-16). DESCARTES KNEW IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT AND IMPRACTICAL TO EXAMINE ALL OF ONE’S BELIEFS ONE BY ONE, SO HE GROUPED BELIEFS TOGETHER WHICH ALLOWED HIM TO QUESTION AND INQUIRE WHOLE CLASSES OF BELIEFS AND PROVE OR DISPROVE THEM BASED ON THEIR DERIVATION OF THE SAME SOURCE, SUCH AS OUR  SENSES, IMAGINATION, OR ABSTRACT KNOWLEDGE (REASON). DESCARTES ARGUES THAT OUR SENSES CANNOT BE TRUSTED BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE DON’T PERCEIVE THINGS CORRECTLY; IT CAN BE DUE TO MIRAGES, HALLUCINATIONS, OR DREAMS (DESCARTES 1641, 1-2). MANY TIMES WE BELIEVE THINGS HAVE ACTUALLY HAPPENED WHEN IN REALITY IT WAS JUST A MIND TRICK. THIS BRINGS US TO WHY WE CAN’T TRUST OUR IMAGINATION. OUR IMAGINATION COMES FROM OUR EXPERIENCES IN THE REAL WORLD WHICH STEMS FROM OUR SENSES, WHICH WE HAVE JUST DISCOVERED WE CANNOT TRUST. DESCARTES BELIEVED THAT A LACK OF COMPLETE CERTAINTY IS A GOOD REASON TO DOUBT. THIS WAS THE PRINCIPLE OF THE METHOD OF DOUBT, ALSO KNOWN AS ‘RADICAL SKEPTICISM’ (DESCARTES 1641, 1-2). I PERSONALLY THINK THIS METHOD IS A PLEASING APPROACH TO VALIDATING SUPPOSEDLY KNOWN FACTS THAT MAY NOT BE FACTUAL AT ALL. MANY THINGS WE BELIEVE AS FACTS ARE ACTUALLY THEORIES OR STATEMENTS HANDED DOWN TO US FROM PREVIOUS GENERATIONS WITH NO EVIDENCE AS TO WHY THEY ARE Professor Keton FACTS. ANYTHING THAT HAS EVEN THE SMALLEST PERCENTAGE OF DOUBT SHOULD BE QUESTIONED AND INQUIRED UPON UNTIL IT IS ABLE TO BE PROVEN AS FACT. THIS CONCEPT IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE CONCEPT OF ‘INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY’. JUST LIKE A PERSON HAS THE STATUS OF ‘INNOCENT’ UNTIL THERE IS SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF EVIDENCE TO PROVE HIM GUILTY, SO TOO BY ANYTHING, IF ONE WOULD WANT TO CHANGE THE STATUS QUO OF SOMETHING, ONE SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO BRING SUITABLE SUPPORT TO PROVE HIS THEORY. WHENEVER ONE WANTS SOMEONE TO PROVE TO THEM OTHERWISE, ONE WILL ALWAYS ASK FOR VALID REASONING AND EVIDENCE. THE REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE THE HUMAN MIND WAS CREATED IN WHICH WE LIKE TO QUESTION AND UNDERSTAND THE DEPTHS OF THINGS. IF WE HAVE ANY SORT OF DOUBTS IN OUR MINDS. THAT SOMETHING IS TRUE OR WHY SOMETHING IS TRUE, WE LIKE TO ASK IN ORDER TO BRING OUR CURIOSITY TO REST. FOLLOWING THIS OBSERVATION, IF ONE DOESN’T HAVE A REASON TO DOUBT SOMETHING, ONE AUTOMATICALLY FEELS SATISFIED WITH THE OUTCOME BECAUSE THEY KNOW IT IS THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH, AND CANNOT BE PROVEN OTHERWISE. IN CONCLUSION, I COMMEND DESCARTES’ REASONING AND THE FACT THAT HE WANTED TO ESTABLISH AN UNBIASED FOUNDATION IN ORDER TO INSURE THE CERTAINTY OF THINGS. ALTHOUGH MANY OF THE THINGS DESCARTES HAD QUESTIONED WERE THINGS HE ALREADY KNEW TO BE TRUE, HE FOLLOWED HIS METHODOLOGY. IN ORDER TO BRING REASONING AND CERTAINTY TO HIS BELIEFS. DESCARTESS FOUNDATIONAL PHILOSOPHY RESTS CENTRALLY ON THE METHOD OF DOUBT, WHICH REQUIRES A FIRST-PERSON OBSERVATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE THINKING INDIVIDUAL AND THE SURROUNDING WORLD HE OR SHE PERCEIVES. I BELIEVE THIS IS A GREAT APPROACH TO PHILOSOPHY, AND IT HAS ALSO HAD GREAT INFLUENCE UPON LATER PHILOSOPHERS, INCLUDING KANT AND HUSSERL (WILLIAMS 1978, 124). Professor Keton REFERENCES DESCARTES, RENE. 1641. MEDITATIONS ON FIRST PHILOSOPHY. TRANSLATED BY JONATHAN BENNETT. 2007. WILLIAMS, BERNARD. (1978) DESCARTES: THE PROJECT OF PURE ENQUIRY. NEW YORK: PENGUIN.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Influence of Organization Justice on OCBs

Influence of Organization Justice on OCBs 1. Introduction Questions regarding the organization justice and OCBs have received considerable attention by the researchers in the areas of industrial psychology, human resource management and organizational behavior during last few decades. Much more studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of organizational justice on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Researchers have been emphasizing the relationship of organization justice with OCBs across the world through different moderating variables. The article which I have chosen for review is The Effects of Leader-Member Exchange on Organizational Justice and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Empirical Study written by Noormala Amir Ishak and Syed Shah Alam and published in European Journal of Social Sciences in 2009. As it is reflected in the topic, the author in this article analyzed the impact of three types of organizational justice on five dimensions of OCBs. The author also assesses the mediating role of Leader-Member Exchange in the relationship of organizational justice and OCBs. In the first part, the paper under discussion will to be summarized and in the second part, the relevance of the article to the Management will be discussed. In last part of critical review, first the article has been summarized and the critical remarks have been pen down. 2. Relevance to the Management Organizational Justice The issue of organizational justice and OCBs has attained ample attention of research community under the umbrella of organizational behaviors from last 4 decades. The work of Folger and Greenbergs (1985) is considered to be pioneering in this area of research, which received considerable attention in academic circles. It was followed by the study of Cropanzano, et al. (2001), whose primary focus was to explore the perception of justice and fair dealings among workers on work places. Later studies found organization justice to have a strong link with HR factors such as perceived organizational support, leadership behaviors and leaders-member exchange, empowerment, communication and socialization (H. Zhang, 2006; Jahangir, et. al, 2004) and employees attitudes such as job satisfaction, job commitment, turnover intentions, employee deviance, job stress (Zhang, 2006; Karriker and Williams, 2009; Aquino, et al., 1999). Researchers in the area of organizational justice classified these fa ctors into three dimensions: Distributive, Procedural and Interactional (Colquitt, 2001; Greenberg, 1993). These dimensions of justice have been reviewed in following sections. i) Distributive Justice: Distributive justice refers to the extent to which employees perceive the fairness of their work outcomes (Adam, 1965; Homans, 1968). Distributive justice is derived from equity theory provided by Adam (1963, 1965). The theory argues that people compare the ratios of their perceived input (e.g. contribution) and output (e.g. financial and non-financial rewards) with those of others at the workplace. If there is imbalance, the individuals whose ratio is greater than the other is perceived as underpaid whereas the individuals whose ratio is lesser is perceived as overpaid. Equal ratios are strongly associated with positive employees behaviors towards their jobs and organizations (Greenberg, 1990). Individuals who perceive themselves as comparatively low paid, attempt to reduce their distress by attempting to transform the inequitable situation to comfortable equitable position. These attempts may either be behavioral (e.g. altering job input and/or output) or psychological (e.g. alteri ng perception of work input/or ouput) (Walster, et al. 1978). Keeping in view the equity theory, later studies found that underpaid individuals decrease their contribution and individuals overpaid increase their contribution to achieve the organizational goals (Greenberg, 1982). ii) Procedural Justice: Thibaut and Walker conducted a series of study in early 1970s on the reaction to dispute-resolution process which further lead them to the development of procedural justice theory (Thibaut and Walkder, 1975). Procedural justice was conceived as extent to which individuals recognize the fairness of procedures and systems that govern the allocation of rewards (Leventhal, 1980; Lind and Tyler, 1988). Leventhal (1980) provided a variety of rules which allocation procedure must satisfy in order to be perceived as fair. These rules are consistency, bias-suppression, accuracy, correctability, representativeness and ethicality. Leventhal concluded that perception of procedural justice will be positive if these rules are sufficiently satisfied by the reward allocation procedure. Greenberg (1986) commented that individuals believe that reward resulting from unfair processes are themselves unfair but only when such outcomes are little beneficial. On the other hand, outcomes that provide more be nefits are perceived as fair irrespective of the fairness of outcome allocation procedure. When procedures are transparent and people are being informed about them, they recognize that they are being treated fairly (Beugre, 1998). iii) Interactional (Interpersonal and Informational) Justice Extending the previous theories of procedural justice, Bies and Moag (1986) differentiated between formal procedures (e.g. consistency, bias-suppression, accuracy) and the social aspects of fairness (e.g. treatment with courtesy) and introduced third dimension of organizational justice termed as interactional justice. According to the Bies and Moag (1986), interactional justice refers to the extent to which employees are treated with dignity and respect. Interpersonal treatment is found to have a significant impact on the employees perception of organizational justice as well. Employees perception is promoted when the justifications regarding the situation are clearly, truthfully and adequately explained and when employees are treated with courtesy, dignity and respect (Bies, Shapiro, Cumming, 1988). Organizational Citizenship Behaviors Employees Readiness to exert extra efforts beyond their formal job duties has long been identified as an essential predictor of organizational performance. It is noted in the work environment that the readiness of employees to exert cooperative efforts ultimately leads to the effective achievements of organizational goals. Exploring further this area, Katz and Kahn (1978) revealed that the rewards that motivate such unprompted, informal input are different from those that encourage task proficiency. Such theories provided an arena to the follower researchers; among them, Organ (1988) first introduced the concept of OCBs. Citizenship is a behavioral component that is believed to have a promise to improve organizational productivity by improving the attitudes of employees, creating harmony, cooperation and coordination among employees and minimizing disagreements (Bateman and Organ, 1983; Smith et al, 1983). OCB is defined as an optional and extra role, beyond the formal job, without e xpecting any reward that improves organizational functioning (Organ, 1988). Behavior such as helping an absent co-worker, willing to perform extra duties whenever required, playing vital role in the organization functions even without assigning the duty and resolving unconstructive interpersonal conflict (Organ, 1990). Organ (1988) introduced five dimensions OCBs i.e. Altruism (helping the specific others on the organizational tasks), Conscientiousness (efficient use of time, extra role with respect to the attendance, abiding by organizational rules, break time etc), Courtesy (get the update information and providing it to others to avoid work related problems), Sportsmanship (avoids complaining, Maximum use of time for organizational profitability), Civic Virtue (participating in committees and volunteer work for organizational functions). Followed study by Farh et. al., (1997) investigated two types of organizational behaviors i.e. positive contribution and preventing to engage in activities that are harmful to others. Leader-Member Exchange Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory suggests that quality of the exchange relationships that have been between employees and their leaders promise the highly productive attitudes of employees (Gerstner and Day, 1997; Graen and Uhl-Bien, 1995). LMX theory is unique among leadership theories in its focus on the dyadic exchange relationships between supervisors and each of their subordinates (Gerstner and Day, 1997). High-quality exchange relationships are based upon the mutual trust, respect, and obligation that generate coherence between an employee and his or her supervisor. Low-quality exchange relationship, on the other hand, are characterized by formal, role-defined interactions and predominantly contractual exchanges that result in hierarchy-based downward influence and distance between the parties. Social Exchange Theory Social exchange theory by Blau (1964) assumes that a reciprocal relationship between two humans or parties can be established. In other words, if one party renders its services or anything to the other, the receiving party would be obliged to perform the same or similar function for the former, in the days to come. If this sort of reciprocal relations are carried over the period, these would result in a social bond. This bond gives birth to trust, reliance and confidence between the parties. For instance, if an employer treats his employees with care and respect, the employees would behave, in return, in the same gentle and tender way. The treatment of employees may be in the form of better performance or undertaking their duties in an honest manner. Various studies on related topics such as organizational justice (Cropanzane et. al, 2001), leadership (Graen and Scandura, 1987), psychological contract (Rousseau, 1989, 1998), and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) (Organ, 1988 , 1990) conducted in different cultures have supported this theory empirically. Arguably, the reciprocal nature of human relations is more important in traditional cultures like Pakistan. The requiting norm of this theory reflects from the behaviors of Pakistani people. So, the social exchange theory provides a theoretical basis for conducting a study on behavioral aspect of relations between workers and owners, in context of Pakistan. In the light of above-mentioned theories, it is concluded that fair organizational practices promise the productive and favorable employees attitude. Under the social exchange theory there is reciprocal relation can be seen between firm and its employee when employees who are being treated fairly found to be involved more in some extra activities beyond their formal job duties to improve the firms effectiveness. Leader-Member exchange is one of the leadership theories which conclude that employees perform more if there is best dyadic relationship between leader and his follower. The article under discussion is found to be under the umbrella of study of organizational behaviors which is central theme of Human Resource Management. The study of organizational behaviors deals with behavioral issues of employees with the objective to improve the employees behaviors to accomplish the organizational goals efficiently. 1. Summary of the Article Objectives of the Study The study focused on OCB and examined the influence of organizational justice on OCB. The study is expected to address these two issues: (1) to investigate the influence of organizational justice types on OCB; and (2) to examine the role of LMX as a mediator in the relationship between organizational justice types and OCB. Research Design Research Framework On the basis of literature review, the following research model has been established by the author to explore the relationship between organizational justice and OCB with the moderating role of LMX. Hypothesis for this study are as under: H1: Organizational justice types have significant positive relationships with OCB. The impact of interpersonal justice and informational justice are stronger on OCB than the impact of distributive justice and procedural justice. H2: Organizational justice types have significant positive relationships with LMX. H3: LMX mediates the relationship between organizational justice types and OCB in such a way that the impact of organizational justice on OCB will be smaller (partial mediation) or non-significant (full mediation) in the presence of LMX. Sampling: Data has been collected from non-supervisory employees, employed in the participating domestic commercial banks. A package containing two survey questionnaires: ?one questionnaire (Set A) was to be answered by the subordinate and another (Set B) to be answered by the supervisor in charge of the subordinate ?was distributed to participating banks. The subordinates were also given questionnaire items measuring organizational justice and LMX. The supervisors were given questionnaire items rating the subordinates OCB and in-role behavior. A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed to 80 branches. A total of 339 completed questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 97%. Measurement: Citizenship behaviors of employees were measured by 24-item OCB scale developed by Podsakoff et al. (1990) was utilized to assess five dimensions of OCB. Organizational justice was measured using the 20-items adapted from Colquitt (2001). LMX was measured by the scale extracted by previous literature. Results: Table 1 reports the means, standard deviations, and zero-order correlations for all variables. Using Pearsons correlations it was found that procedural and distributive justice were significantly correlated with only one OCB dimension-altruism while Interactional justice and LMX were found to be significantly related to all OCB dimensions. Contrary to expectation, the results from Table 2 in which results are given of linear regression, it was found that only interactional justice has a significant relationship with OCB (altruism and consideration). Thus, hypothesis 1 was only partially supported. LMX was then regressed on organizational justice (Table 3). Distributive justice and interactional justice were found to have significant relationships with LMX. Hypothesis 2 was thus partially supported. OCB dimensions were then regressed on LMX. There had to be a significant relationship between the two in order to proceed to the next step of mediation testing. It was evidenced (Table 4) that LMX showed significant relationships with altruism and sportsmanship. Hypothesis 3 was also partially supported. Table 5 shows the results of the tests required for mediated regression analyses. The conditions for mediation were met for altruism but not for sportsmanship and consideration. Hypothesis 4 was thus partially supported. We found that the relationship between interactional justice and OCB which was significant in became insignificant once we included LMX as a mediator. We found that LMX fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and altruism. Conclusions: Results shows that there is positive relationship between interactional justice and two dimensions of OCB i.e. altruism and consideration which is similar to the findings of Moorman (1991). Distributive and procedural dimensions of organizational justice have not been found as a predictor of citizenship behaviors of subordinate. When subordinates feel that they feel that there is interaction justice between them and their supervisor, they found to be involved more in citizenship behaviors. The findings also noted that this relationship strengthened when there the role of LMX is included in the model. These results are consistent with social exchange theory where it entails unspecified obligations, did not specify the exact nature of future return for contributions, is based on individuals trusting that the exchange parties will fairly discharge their obligations in the long run, and allows exchange parties reciprocate through discretionary, extrarole acts (Blau, 1964; Konovsky and Pu gh, 1994; Moorman, 1991; Niehoff and Moorman, 1993). The study provides some insight for managers that in order to develop the citizenship behaviors among employees, the role of supervisors should not be ignored. Supervisors should be emphasized more so that they may build mutual interest and good dyadic relations with their subordinates. Managers need to always be supportive towards their employees and listen to their concerns and ask for their input on decisions affecting them. Open interactions with the employees will enhance their motivation toward their work and will lead them to perform in their work as well as performing OCB. The study provides evidence that interactional justice has greatest impact on OCB through the presence of LMX. This is especially true when the subordinates see their superiors giving them support and encouragement to them at work. In an environment in which relationships are important, superiors emotional support and guidance appeared to assist subordinates in attaining higher levels of performance. In res ponse subordinates are likely to perform some extra role beyond to their job in order to benefit other employees and organization. The study reported here is not without its limitations. The results pertaining to organizational justice and OCB may be susceptible to common method variance. The study conducted was also cross-sectional, which does not allow for an assessment of causality. Thus our results are mute where issues of causality are concerned. Critical Review: As discussed earlier, the featured article addresses one of the theories of leadership and organizational behavior. Earlier studies have been investigated the relationship of organizational justice and citizenship behaviors directly and through different moderating variables. Recently a study conducted by Karriker and Williams (2009) found the relationship between organizational justice and OCBO through OMX as mediating variable and the relationship between organizational justice and OCBS through LMX as mediating variable. Another justification of featured study is review of OCB literature by Podaskoff et al (2000) that suggests cultural influences on OCB as a future research agenda. Exploratory findings of Organ and Ryan (1995) also suggested that OCB may be evaluated and interpreted differently in different cultures/nations. They identify individualism/collectivism and power distance as potentional source of variation in research findings obtained in US context. For example they su ggest initiative in workplace may be different in high power distance countries as employees may limit themselves to what they are told. They also mentioned the possible impact of cultural differences on measurement of OCB (Organ and Ryan, 1995). Organization justice and OCBs have received ample attentions by the researchers as it is found to be positively linked with individual and organizational productivity. Vital role of organizational justice in creating citizenship behaviors has been emphasized by researchers in different aspects (Farh et al., 1990; Konovsky and Pugh, 1994; Moorman, 1991; Moorman et al, 1993; Niehoff and Moorman, 1993). Employees perception regarding fairness of outcomes and procedures has been considered as a major motivational basis for developing citizenship behaviors among employees (Organ, 1990). A study conducted by Moorman et, al., (1998) found that there is positive relationship between procedural justice and perceived organizational support and between perceived organizational support and three of the five organizational citizenship behavior dimensions. However, by including the effects of POS as a mediating variable, we found stronger support for a fully mediated model of the effects of procedural justice on OCB. Findings of this study provided support to earlier studies by Organ and Ryan, (1995) which revealed that fairness at workplace play major role in creating citizenship behaviors among employees. Researchers have also been attempting to examine the relationship between organizational justice and OCB through mediating variables. In this respect, Konovsky and Pugh (1994) analyzed the mediating role of trust between justice and performance relationships using the supervisor as proxy for the organization, rather than directly addressing the individuals level of trust in the organization itself. The study examined the mediating role of trust in supervisor between the relationship of procedural justice and OCB and found full support for this relationship. Extending this framework, Aryee et al. (2002) investigated the mediating role of trust in the supervisor and trust in the organization and found support for mediating role of trust in the organization between organizational justice (distributive, procedural and interactional) with job satisfaction, turnover intent and organizational commitment while trust in supervisor found to have mediating relationship between interactional justice only with OCBO and OCBS. Moorman and Niehoff (1998) conducted a study to measure the relationship of procedural justice with OCBs through mediating role of perceived organizational support (POS) and found that POS fully mediate between the relationship of organizational justice and OCBs. Masterson et al (2000) found support for the mediating role of POS in the relationship of organizational justice and OCBO. Karriker, JH and ML Williams, (2009) conducted a study to find the relationship of organizational justice on OCBS (citizenship behaviors that benefit to supervisors) and OCBO (citizenship behaviors that benefit to the organization) and found full support between system-referenced justice outcomes and OCBO and mixed support for agent-referenced justice perception and OCBS. Specifically, system-referenced distributive and procedural justice were not found to have significant impact on OCBO, yet agent-referenced distributive justice had a significant direct relationship with OCBS, and agent-referenced distributive and procedural justice had significant indirect relationships with OCBS. In addition, interpersonal justice found to have direct impact on OCBO. Here, in this study the relations of interpersonal justice only have been measured with OCB rather than full model of interactional justice including interpersonal and informational justice perceptions. Impact of system-referenced dis tributive and procedural justice was not supported in this study while one dimension of interactional justice i.e. interpersonal justice was found to have direct relationship with OCBO. Trust between employees and their supervisors is found to be strong predictor of OCB in the context of work environment. Leadership behaviors and level of OCBs have also been under the discussion of researchers in the area of social sciences. In this regard, Pdosakeff et. al, (1998) examined the aggregate effects of the set of transformational leader behaviors on OCBs noted found the indirect relationship between leader behaviors and OCBs. The study suggests that to find the support between leader behaviors and OCBs, organizational trust and employees satisfaction have to be included in the model as transformational leader behaviors impact both trust and employees performance while on the other hand only trust is significantly related to the OCBs. In contrast, transactional leader behavior on OCBs found to be positively related to two dimensions i.e. altruism and sportsmanship while no effect has been found between transactional leader behavior and other three dimensions of OCB. Mast erson et al. (2000) explored that high-quality LMX relationships lead employees to engage in behaviors that are directly related to their supervisors, such as in-role behavior and organizational citizenship behaviors. They found that LMX mediated the relationships between interactional justice and both job satisfaction and supervisor-focused citizenship behaviors, OCBS. Extending the research on the said area, the authors attempted to shed light on organizational justice and OCB directly and through the mediating role of LMX. Findings of the study opened some new avenue for social sciences researchers. Karriker and Williams (2009) investigated the relationship of organizational justice with OCBO through the mediating variable of organization-member exchange (OMX) and relationship of organizational justice with OCBS with the mediating role of LMX. The authors applied the model with some valuable changes in Malaysian culture and provide useful insight for managers to improve the level of OCBs. Over all the study is very well organized, address an unattended area; but the study seems to be failed to discuss the literature on organizational justice due to which reader may face difficulties to build logical connection between organizational justice and OCB. Further the study could not properly differentiate between the dimensions of OCBs that benefit to the individual and that benefit to organization. The author made good attempt to collect the data from respondents and their supervisors but the problem in this scenario that there may some intergroup conflict that may bias the result. To improve the accuracy regarding OCB data, peer review should also be incorporated in the data. As for as statistical tools are concerned, Zero-order Correlations, Linear and Mediating Regression test have been applied to analyze the data. The data should also be analyzed through Structure Equation Model (SEM) that is commonly used for the model where mediating and moderating variables are included in the model.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

An Analysis of The End of Something Essay -- End Something

An Analysis of The End of Something  Ã‚   One area of literature emphasized during the Modernist era was the inner struggle of every man. Novels written before the 20th century, such as Moll Flanders and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, dealt with external conflict, a conflict the reader could visualize in an action. Along with other writers of Bohemian Paris, Ernest Hemingway moved away from this process and began using outward actions as symbols for the inner conflict dwelling inside the protagonist. Hemingway's short story The End of Something is an example of how trite dialogue and simple descriptions accentuate the mental strife of the character Nick. The story's plot is not complex: Nick and his girlfriend Marjorie are canoeing down a river they once knew as children. Once on the bank of the river, the two of them partake in the same activities but do them in silence. When Marjorie tries to begin a conversation, Nick is not responsive. Marjorie asks Nick if there is a problem, and Nick says he is not in love anymore. Marjorie then leaves, and the story ends with Nick lying down by himself while his friend Bill (who enters the story several sentences after Marjorie leaves) eats a sandwich while looking onto the river. However basic the story's sequence is, Hemingway's literary innovations are dominant within the text. Through experimentation with tempo, language, and plot structure, Hemingway garners an emotional response out of the reader, leaving him shocked that so much content could be captured in so simple a story. Most authors read at a relatively steady rate throughout their story, with dialogue sections running faster than descriptions. Hemingway breaks this conventional nature in The End of Something. The... ...mes up and asks how things went with Nick. Hemingway quickly describes Bill's entrance, but ends the paragraph with "Bill didn't touch him, either." This one line is Hemingway's entire story; Marjorie felt like there was something between the two of them, while Nick wasn't touched. Hemingway re-emphasizes this in the last line of the story, when Bill takes a sandwich and looks at the fishing rods. While Nick is caught up in the moment and sad about what he did, Bill, representing Nick's life, is not moved. The End of Something is a simple story about two youngsters breaking up. Its four-page length would lead some to believe the story to be light and easily something to glance at instead of thoroughly read. However, Hemingway does a wonderful job of turning the four pages about a common occurance into an event that any reader can feel and will never truly end.

Friday, October 11, 2019

What are the greatest challenges facing planet Earth in the 21st Century?

Throughout the 21st century it is easy to see that more and more challenges confront the Planet. It would be difficult to say which is the most important or serious as each concerns a different part of the world. It is clear that the planet is changing and it is happening at alarming rate. People around the world are suffering from Poverty and malnutrition while others fear about the demand for natural resources and how much time we have before they run out. Population growth is a huge matter in countries such as China and India where as in Australia depletion of the ozone layer is a big worry. However, we have been aware of the most of these problems for a while and for me the biggest challenge to face the earth yet is climate change. A big cause of climate change is global warming from greenhouse gases and carbon emissions. Human impact is causing more greenhouse gases to be produced by burning fossil fuels and deforestation and this is causing them to get trapped in the Earths atmosphere making the temperature rise. It is now a fact that the world is getting hotter and Earth is the hottest it has been in at least 400 years, and possibly even the last 2,000 years. Studies show that the global surface temperature has increased by approximately 0.3-0.6à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C over the last century. This may seem like a small difference but it has big consequences. These temperatures will continue to increase and by the end of the 21st century average global temperatures may increase by 1.4-5.8à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C. Besides resulting in more hot days, many scientists believe an increase in temperatures may lead to changes in precipitation and weather patterns. Ocean waters will become warmer and this may result in more intense and frequent tropical storms and hurricanes. The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years and will continue to increase with global warming this will not only cause catastrophe for human population but also to the unchangeable fragile environment. Sea levels are also expected to increase by 0.09 – 0.88 m in the next century, mainly from melting glaciers and rising seawaters. You can read also Waves Most of the world's population lives on or near the coasts. Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide. If the polar ice cap were to melt then sea levels world wide would increase by 20ft, Shanghai home to 40 million people would be underwater, the Bay of Bengal, Calcutta, India home to 60 million people would be completely gone. Think of the impact of a few hundred refugees and then imagine 100 million the planet will be destroyed if something is not done. Global warming may also affect wildlife and species that cannot survive in warmer environments and these may become extinct. At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming, moving closer to the poles. Coral Reefs are suffering from coral bleaching the process caused by loss of algae that colour and nourish them. Also, human health is also at stake, as global warming may result in the spreading of certain diseases such as malaria, the flooding of major cities, a greater risk of heat stroke for individuals, and poor air quality. India's worst heat wave in 50 years killed more than 2,500 people in May 1998. Britain in 2006 suffered from major heat waves throughout the summer, 1 year later floods have swept all over the country. All challenges that face the planet interlink with each other and relate to one another. Rapid population growth is not only a challenge to other humans but also to the environment. As the population increases there is more demand for food and this is also a problem with global warming. There will be more droughts making it hard to grow crops and importing from other countries will start to become more expensive. Some policies have been introduced in the past to try and control the population such as Chinas one child policy. However, such policies have not been accepted by other nations as they seem to breech human rights. Other nations such as Singapore now suffering from an ageing population are trying to increase their population which is not helping the population crisis. Cities are growing larger and larger the natural land around them is being turned into homes and office buildings. Cities are becoming more and more overcrowded and job opportunities are harder to find with a rising number of the population becoming unemployed. The Economic trend from 1975 to 2003 showed that from 1979 to 1989 the average Unemployment rate was 4.7%; 1990 to 2000 the average unemployment rate was 5.1% reaching 5.5% between the period 2000 and 2007 therefore the rate of unemployment is increasing gradually, this will continue increase will the population growing and will cause many problems. With urbanisation occurring it is using more and more lumber and other natural resources for the buildings. The environment is being scarred and this is also increasing global warming. Deforestation is not the only problem but as the population increasing the demand for energy is rising. Natural Resources are quickly disappearing. All over the world we are digging up to try and find Coal, oil and gas and we are using our resources at alarming rates. The burning of fossil fuels in factories to make products and power, and the fuels used by trucks, automobiles and jet planes have caused acid rain and a great increase in carbon dioxide and pollution in the atmosphere. However, with natural resources running out there could be a positive outcome. Scientist are trying hard to develop new ways to use clean energy sources which come renewable energy sources that are better for the environment such a solar and hydroelectric. About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. This is one person every three and a half seconds or a 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring almost every week. Yet there is plenty of food in the world for everyone. The problem is that hungry people are trapped in severe poverty. Part of poverty is caused by lack of social services. Education and heath services are nearly non existent in poverty stricken nations which causes much of the problem. This leads to diseases such as Phenomena, Malaria or Tuberculosis, 2 of these diseases are highly contagious and with help could be put under control but instead have millions of people die each year. Poverty however, it is not the individuals fault. They are not lazy or have made poor decisions but instead there country is most likely been exploited by MEDCs or TNCs or they have a corrupt government. Transnational corporations are globalizing mainly in poorer countries as it is better for them. The laws on the environment and labor are less stringent meaning they are able to bypass certain rules, however this leads to labor exploitation. Countries that suffer from poverty is also because they have a lack of natural resources they have nothing to offer companies to locate to there country. The don't have oil like the America or farmland like Australia. The physical environment could be very much a desert like Mali or Sudan; it could be land locked like Laos which means that it is hard for things such as trading to take place. In Australia one of their biggest concerns is the depeletion of the ozone layer. It is caused by a build up of man-made chemicals in the atmosphere. One of the main chemicals is generally known as CFC or chloroflurocarbon. We use CFC's as refrigerants, aerosol spray propellants, as solvents in electronic chemistry, and in the expansion of polystyrene foam. This CFC's drift into the atmosphere and release chlorine. Through these reactions the ozone is broken down. This affects both the humans and the eco systems. Even minor problems of ozone depletion can have major effects. Every time even a small amount of the ozone layer is lost, more ultraviolet light from the sun can reach the Earth. This leads to damage of the cornea and other aspects of the eye and is a big cause of skin cancer. It also, inhibits growth of certain plants such as rye and wheat and stresses marine ecosystems as high levels of UV kill plankton. In Conclusion, it has been shown that the Planet does not face just one issue but has a number that concern the planet. Global Warming is the challenge that associate with other concerns like ozone depletion and rapid population growth but poverty is a matter that we have been facing to decades now. People are now becoming more and more aware of the issues facing the planet are trying to do something about however a lot more will need to happen if we want to reverse the damage we have done.