Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Culture report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Culture report - Essay Example The most important day observed by Germany is designated as â€Å"The fall of the Wall† with great zeal every year. This day signifies for the reunion of German, which played an imperative role in the national development of Germany. Another significant event, which takes place in Germany, is Christmas, which marks the birth of Christ (Lueschen, Blood and Lewis). Therefore, religion plays a significant role in shaping the culture in Germany. At the same time, German culture is inclined towards collectivism because of this reason German people often under weigh the rights of an individual versus those of many. Along with this, gender and racial discrimination is at par in German atmosphere (Lueschen, Blood and Lewis). In parallel, the value of German language in world history cannot be negated. Therefore, this paper is providing some of the German customary greetings, which include Hallo (hello), Guten Morgen (good morning), Guten Tag (good day) and Guten Abend (good

Monday, October 28, 2019

Death and Absurdism in Camuss The Stranger Essay Example for Free

Death and Absurdism in Camuss The Stranger Essay In his novel The Stranger1, Albert Camus gives expression to his philosophy of the absurd. The novel is a first-person account of the life of M. Meursault from the time of his mothers death up to a time evidently just before his execution for the murder of an Arab. The central theme is that the significance of human life is understood only in light of mortality, or the fact of death; and in showing Meursaults consciousness change through the course of events, Camus shows how facing the possibility of death does have an effect on ones perception of life. The novel begins with the death of Meursaults mother. Although he attends the funeral, he does not request to see the body, though he finds it interesting to think about the effects of heat and humidity on the rate of a bodys decay (8). It is evident that he is almost totally unaffected by his mothers death – nothing changes in his life. In other words, her death has little or no real significance for him. When he hears Salamano, a neighbor, weeping over his lost dog (which has evidently died), Meursault thinks of his mother – but he is unaware of the association his mind has made. In fact, he chooses not to dwell on the matter but goes to sleep instead (50). It is when he is on the beach with Raymond Sintes and M. Masson and they confront two Arabs (who have given Raymond trouble) that Meursault first seems to think about the insignificance of any action – therefore of human existence. He has a gun and it occurs to him that he could shoot or not shoot and that it would come to the same thing (72). The loss of a life would have no significance – no affect on life as a whole; and the universe itself is apparently totally indifferent to everything. Here he implicitly denies the existence of God, and thus denies morality, as well as the external meaning (if it may be so distinguished from the internal or individual existential meaning) of life and death. (This latter, existential meaning is later affirmed, as we shall see. ) Meursault kills one of the Arabs in a moment of confusion, partially out of self-defense, but does not regret it eve though it means going to prison and, ultimately, being executed. He has the fatalistic feeling that whats done is done, and later explains that he has never regretted anything because he has always been to absorbed by the present moment or by the immediate future to dwell on the past (127). In a sense, Meursault is always aware of the meaninglessness of all endeavors in the face of death: he has no ambition to advance socio-economically; he is indifferent about being friends with Raymond and about marrying Marie; etc. But this awareness is somehow never intense enough to involve self-awareness – that is, he never reflects on the meaning of death for him – until he is in prison awaiting execution. Of course, the meaning of anothers death is quite difference from the meaning of ones own death. With the former, one no longer sees that person again; with the latter, ones very consciousness, as far as we know, just ends – blit! – as a television picture ends when the set is switched off. Death marks all things equal, and equally absurd. And death itself is absurd in the sense that reason or the rational mind cannot deal with it: it is a foregone conclusion, yet it remains an unrealized possibility until some indeterminate future time. The meaning of death is not rational but, again, is existential – its implications are to be found not in abstraction but in the actuality of ones life, the finality of each moment. Before his trial, Meursault passes the time in prison by sleeping, by reading over and over the newspaper story about the (unrelated) murder of a Czech, and by recreating a mental picture of his room at home in complete detail, down to the scratches in the furniture. In this connection, it must be admitted that he is externally very sensitive and aware, despite his lack of self-understanding and emotional response. This is evidence by his detailed descriptions. He is especially sensitive to natural beauty – the beach, the glistening water, the shade, the reed music, swimming, making love to Marie, the evening hour he like so much, etc. He even says that if forced to live in a hollow tree truck, he would be content to watch the sky, passing birds, and clouds (95). After his trial (in which he is sentenced to be executed), he no longer indulges in his memories or passes the time in the frivolous way he was accustomed to spend Sundays at home. At first, he dwells on thoughts of escape. He cannot reconcile the contingency of his sentence (Why guilt? Why sentenced by a French court rather than a Chinese one? Why was the verdict read at eight pm rather than at five? etc. ) with the mechanical certainty of the process that leads inevitably to his death (137). When he gives up trying to find a loophole, he finds his mind ever returning either to the fear that dawn would bring the guards who would lead him to be executed, or to the hope that his appear will be granted. To try to distract himself from these thoughts, he forces himself to study the sky or to listen to the beating of his heart – but the changing light reminds him of the passing of time towards dawn, and he cannot imagine his heart ever stopping. In dwelling on the chance of an appeal, he is forced to consider the possibility of denial and thus of execution; therefore, he must face the fact of his death – whether it comes now or later. One he really, honestly admits deaths inevitability, he allows himself to consider the chance of a successful appeal – of being set free to live perhaps forth more years before dying. Now he begins to see the value of each moment of the life before death. Because of death, nothing matters – except being alive. The meaning, value, significance of life is only seen in light of death, yet most people miss it through the denial of death. The hope of longer life brings Meursault great joy. Perhaps to end the maddening uncertainty and thus intensify his awareness of deaths inevitability (therefore of the actuality of life), or, less likely, as a gesture of hopelessness, Meursault turns down his right to appeal (144). Soon afterwards, the prison chaplain insists on talking to him. Meursault admits his fear but denies despair and has no interest in the chaplains belie in an afterlife. He flies into rage, finally, at the chaplains persistence, for he realizes that the chaplain has not adequately assessed the human condition (death being the end of life) – or, if he has, the chaplains certainties have no meaning for Meursault and have not the real value of, say, a strand of a womans hair (151). Meursault, on the other hand, is absolutely certain about his own life and forthcoming death. His rush of anger cleanses him and empties him of hope, thus allowing him finally to open up completely and for the last time to the benign indifference of the universe (154). He realizes that he always been happy. The idea of death makes one aware of ones life, ones vital being – that which is impermanent and will one day end. When this vitality is appreciate, one feels free – for there is no urgency to perform some act that will cancel the possibility of death, seeing as though there is no such act. In this sense, all human activity is absurd, and the real freedom is to be aware of life in its actually and totally, of its beauty and its pain. ALBERT CAMUS THE STRANGER WHAT IF THE PAST HAS NO MEANING AND THE ONLY POINT IN TIME OF OUR LIFE THAT REALLY MATTERS IS THAT POINT WHICH IS HAPPENING AT PRESENT. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, WHEN LIFE IS OVER, THE EXISTENCE IS ALSO OVER; THE HOPE OF SOME SORT OF SALVATION FROM A GOD IS POINTLESS. ALBERT CAMUS ILLUSTRATES THIS EXACT VIEW IN THE STRANGER. CAMUS FEELS THAT ONE EXISTS ONLY IN THE WORLD PHYSICALLY AND THEREFORE THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF MEANING IN ONES LIFE IS ALONE REVEALED THROUGH THAT EVENT WHICH HE OR SHE IS EXPERIENCING AT A PARTICULAR MOMENT. THESE THOUGHTS ARE PRESENTED THROUGH MEURSAULT, A MAN DEVOID OF CONCERN FOR SOCIAL CONVENTIONS FOUND IN THE WORLD IN WHICH HE LIVES, AND WHO FINDS HIS LIFE DEPRIVED OF PHYSICAL PLEASUREWHICH HE DEEMS QUITE IMPORTANTWHEN UNEXPECTEDLY PUT IN PRISON. THE OPENING LINE OF THE NOVEL SETS THE TONE FOR MEURSAULTS DISPASSION TOWARDS MOST THINGS. THE NOVEL IS INTRODUCED WITH THE WORDS: MAMAN DIED TODAY. OR YESTERDAY MAYBE, I DONT KNOW (3). ALTHOUGH THE UNCERTAINTY ORIGINATES WITH AN AMBIGUOUS TELEGRAM, IT SEEMS THAT THE TON MIDDLE OF PAPER OR THEIR EMOTIONS IN GENERAL. HE DOES NOT FOLLOW CONVENTIONAL SOCIAL BELIEFS NOR DOES HE BELIEVE IN GOD, NOR SALVATION. MEURSAULT HOWEVER LOVES HIS LIFE. IT IS A PURE LOVE DERIVED FROM ENJOYING HIS EXISTENCE ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, RARELY LOOKING BACK AND NEVER LOOKING FORWARD. HIS LOVE IS NOT DEPENDENT ON DOING WHAT SOCIETY OR SOME RELIGION HAS DEEMED CORRECT, BUT ON WHAT HE FEELS HE WANTS TO DO DESPITE WHAT MOST WOULD CONSIDER COMMON. WORK CITED CAMUS, ALBERT. THE STRANGER. TRANS. MATTHEW WARD. NEW YORK: VINTAGE INTERNATIONAL, 1989. IN ALBERT CAMUS’ â€Å"THE STRANGER† THE â€Å"STORY OF AN ORDINARY MAN WHO GETS DRAWN INTO A SENSELESS MURDER† IS TOLD. TAKING PLACE IN ALGERIA THIS MAN, MEURSAULT, IS CONSTANTLY IN A CLIMATE OF EXTREME WARMTH, AS ARE ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREIN. THE SUN, THE SOURCE OF LIGHT AND THE CAUSE OF THIS WARMTH, IS THUS A VITAL AND NORMAL PART OF HIS LIFE. IT BRINGS WARMTH AND COMFORT YET IT CAN ALSO CAUSE PAIN AND SICKNESS. THROUGHOUT MOST OF HIS LIFE MEURSAULT HAS LIVED WITH THE CONFLICTING FORCES OF THE SUN AND LIGHT, AS A FRIEND AND FOE. HOWEVER IN CHAPTER 6 THESE FORCES BECOME UNBALANCED AND THE SUN BECOMES AN AGGRESSOR CAUSING MEURAULT PHYSICAL PAIN AND JOLTING HIM INTO VIOLENT ACTION. ALTHOUGH THE SUN BECOMES INCREASINGLY AGGRESSIVE AS THE NOVEL TRANSPIRES, IN THE BEGINNING ITS FORCES WERE BALANCED CAUSING SOME GOOD AND SOME BAD EFFECTS. THE MOST EVIDENCE OF THE SUN AS A FOE IS FOUND DURING MEURSAULT’S MOTHER’S WAKE AND FUNERAL. DURING THE WAKE MEURSAULT IS CONSTANTLY â€Å"BLINDED† BY THE BRIGHT LIGHT. THIS COMBINED WITH â€Å"THE WHITENESS OF THE ROOM† â€Å"[MAKES HIS] EYES HURT. † HOWEVER, THIS SAME LIGHT ALSO CREATES A â€Å"GLARE ON THE WHITE WALLS†¦. MAKING [HIM] DROWSY† AND ALLOWING HIM RESPITE FROM THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS MOTHER’S DEATH. SO, ALL AT ONCE LIGHT WAS GOOD AS WELL AS BAD FOR MEURSAULT. AGAIN, DURING THE FUNERAL â€Å"WITH THE SUN BEARING DOWN† THE HEAT WAS â€Å"INHUMAN AND OPPRESSIVE,† CAUSING MEURSAULT GREAT PHYSICAL DISCOMFORT. YET, IN THE SAME TOKEN, THE HEAT IS ALSO â€Å"MAKING IT HARD FOR [MEURSAULT] TO †¦ THINK STRAIGHT† THEREBY ALLOWING HIM AN ESCAPE FROM HIS MOTHER’S DEATH. NOT ALL OF THE SUN’S EFFECTS HAVE A FLIP SIDE HOWEVER; THROUGHOUT THE NOVEL â€Å"THE SUN [DOES MEURSAULT] A LOT OF GOOD,† BY WARMING HIM AND MAKING HIM FEEL ALIVE. THUS, ALTHOUGH BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SITUATIONS COME FROM THE

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Grapes of Wrath :: essays research papers

The Grapes of Wrath   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In The Grapes of Wrath the author John Steinbeck describes the life of a migrant family who must leave their land in Oklahoma in order to find work in California. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck clearly expresses that Nature and Man are one. The family is known as the Joads and they later come to realize that fear is not only for themselves but for the sake of the people in the world. The author makes these thoughts known through the different characters in the novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this book Tom Joad is the main character. He starts off just finishing prison for killing a man and feels he is just going to take it easy and be careful. In the beginning he comes off as if he feels no remorse for his crime and hopes to find what he wants and needs. Tom also is portrayed as if he doesn’t take any mess and one in mostly independent. During his spare time he came to the agreement with himself that one must set their personal concerns aside and have peace with one another. Another character is known as Jim Casy. He is a preacher but quite different than normal preachers. He preaches the Emersonian doctrine of the Over soul. For instance he feels that a man’s soul is breaking away from some larger soul and in death this individual soul is reunited with the larger Over soul. This belief by Casy helps him come to see that this is the only way for the migrants to succeed as a whole. Jim also inspires others to do whats right and see life from a different perspective.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rose of Sharon is portrayed as ill girl who is pregnant and waiting to give birth at any point in time. She comes off as having a bad-tempered and always complaining. Her family is in Great Peril but she only fears if it affects her baby.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Compare and Contrast Driving in the Winter and Driving in the Summer

New drivers may believe that driving an automobile is similar in every season, but experienced motorists are likely to know that winter and summer offer different pleasures and challenges. The most obvious daistinctions between the seasons are the temperature, precipitation and amount of daylight. Each of these variables can change driving conditions dramatically. Indeed, some drivers even refrain from driving in certain weather. Fortunately, both seasons do have advantages so drivers can enjoy the road if they respect the effects of different seasons. Summer heat is cause for caution. Drivers must beware of blinding sun and take care to use sunglasses or pull down visors. Hot, humid weather may also cause windshields to fog up. Using air conditioning to maintain comfortable environment for passengers and pets is also often sensible. Parents may also find melted crayons or plastic toys if the car is left in the heat too long. On the other hand, leaving the air conditioning on too long can even cause the car to overheat. Additionally, the temptation to take long drives may lead to driver fatigue. All of these potential hazards mean drivers should be careful driving in the summer. While summer heat can be difficult to cope with, winter weather including rain, dark skies and hail or snow storms are sure to challenge even the most experienced drivers. Drivers often experience limited visibility during precipitation or heavy fog, which requires them to slow down or even wait out the worst weather. Special equipment such as chains may be needed. Another difficulty is the potential for cars to freeze overnight. Drivers must also watch out for icy on roads that can cause skidding and accidents. Summer and winter can both cause dangerous conditions; however, there are opportunities to enjoy the open road in both seasons. Summer allows time for leisurely drives with high visibility, mild weather and to special destinations such as the beach. Roads that may be impassable in the winter are typically open in the summer as well so that drivers can enjoy unusual terrain. In contrast, while winter driving may be limited by less light and harsher weather, driving through a snowy landscape or holiday light displays are uniquely beautiful experiences. Further, winter driving is associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings that reunite families. It is clear that in rain or shine, there are risks and rewards to taking to the road.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Performance Enhancing Drugs Speech (Issues)

Lets be honest here, taking drugs to improve performance isn’t a spur-of-the-moment mistake, its a well planned and thought out way of cheating. It’s not like they are sold over the counter at your local chemists (or are they? ) People often say they don’t want to see druggies representing their country (wherever they are from) and so they should be banned for life, but can athletes that take performance enhancing drugs be labeled as druggies. Their physically fit in shape and generally healthy, everything a typical idea of a druggie isn’t.Lifetime bans could produce fewer convictions, because harsher punishment means greater â€Å"burden of proof† First, the reality is that a lifetime ban represents the harshest possible punishment for an athlete, for it takes away their livelihood, often without a fall-back plan (ask a 26-year-old cyclist what their second career option is, for example). It is, literally, a case of â€Å"off with their heads†, because you may as well do this. Now, in order to do this fairly, you have to be absolutely, 100% certain that you are punishing a person who deserves it.And sadly, the science is, as of this moment, not able to provide those guarantees, and there is always some doubt if an athlete wants to contest the origin of a doping positive. So ask the following: â€Å"If there is a 2% chance of a false positive test, then how comfortable are we issuing lifetime bans? † Then ask: â€Å"If there is a 10% chance of the positive dope test being the result of contamination of supplements, then are we comfortable with a lifetime ban? Now, imagine being the decision maker who has to evaluate a legal case where the athlete says: â€Å"I do not contest the positive dope test, but my defence is that it came from a supplement (or meat). I was therefore not cheating. † Can you confidently judge and condemn this person as a cheat? Given the science of anti-doping today, and the complexi ty of these cases, I'd argue that you simply cannot make this decision, and if your punishment option is to hand out a lifetime ban, I'd argue that you're far less likely to find dopers guilty when presented with this defence!We do not want our young people looking up to people who use drugs, but we also do not want to give those who are in admired positions of proposed authority to be forgiven of their sins. However, we are more than willing to allow those who use illicit street drugs a second and third, sometimes even a fourth chance at resolving themselves from what, these days, is being regarded as a disease instead of what it started out as- a very poor personal choice on the person who is now using.Steroids are not safe. We all know this. Use of these sorts of drugs, when not prescribed for an actual ailment, cause more damage than good. We do not like when our heroes are found out to simultaneously be human as well as talented. It is far easier to see this sort of behavior wh en it is displayed by a rock star or a spoiled rich kid, but when it is our heroes, we want to punish them severely, and more so than we would if the person in question were some street hooligan with no hope for a future.We will gladly help the hooligan, because that makes us a hero. We have helped a person lift themselves out of a personal and spiritual poverty and in the process have been given the chance to tell the world that because of something that we did, whether it is directly or indirectly, that person is now, in the eyes of better society, whole again, and it was all due to something we did for them.We are more willing to uplift an entire population of people who cannot even remember their name rather than allow those who could be the example of having done the bad thing, and now, after a lot of work and LOTS of apologizing, be the example that they were cut out to be. I say let them have a second and third chance at it all. And why not? We let crack heads, meth heads, al coholics and wife beaters do it. Why not someone who has access to the media who can truly be the role model that they did not ask to be when they signed those multi-million dollar contracts?

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Articles Of Confederation essays

Articles Of Confederation essays The Articles of Confederation, from 1781 to 1789, provided our virgin country with an efficient form government, transferring power from a monarchy to a democratic republic. The Articles were a segway, a necessary step to drawing our modern constitution. It gave our country its first taste of moderate federal control and regulation. The Articles offered its people liberty and extended basic and natural human rights, it provided equality and allowed the people to express their opinions in the form of directly elected representatives like an effective government should. However, The Articles of Confederation failed to secure our country. It left our nation utterly defenseless and divided without the existence of a standing national army and grievances among states. The national government could not spark our economy, which had fallen into recession because of the hindrances of these Articles. The Congress of the United States under the Articles of Confederation was not given the power or the authority to tax. Shackled by war debts the government was forced to beg for concessions from each individual state. However, this was merely done on a voluntary basis. The government owed a substantial amount of money, some back-pay to members of her continental army. In a letter from Delegate Joseph Jones he writes George Washington, the discontent of the army...that justice is not intended...in complying with the requests [for bonus and back pay]. He continues that there is an inability of Congress to pay their demands unless furnished with the means by the several states. The federalists had financial impotence. The writers of these Articles failed to recognize the needs of the national government, blinded by their quest for unbridled individual liberty. In late 1782, the Congress proposed a tax, or impost, on imported goods. However, haunted by the demon they created, the states rejected that idea. As stated by the...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Drama †English Literature Essay (100 Level Course)

Drama – English Literature Essay (100 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers Drama English Literature Essay (100 Level Course) If the 15th century was comparatively poor in poetry and prose, it was rich in plays. It saw the flourishing of Medieval Drama, which would pave the way for the great Elizabethan theatre.Medieval Drama developed from liturgical ceremonies; the origins of medieval plays may in fact be found in the rituals of the Church. The clergy had always tried to convey the chief events of the Christian religion to an illiterate populace by means of dramatic performances. In Italy, for instance, St. Francis had represented Christ’s nativity with a real child in the cradle, surrounded by real people and animals. Easter performances had been even more impressive. After music was introduced into churches in the 6th century, and words were later fitted to the melodies, a dramatic dialogue began to emerge, initial ly in the form of an alternating chant between priest and choir. Little by little, processional and scenic effects were added, which, by in creasing dramatic action, also required more complicated stage properties. All of this produced a gradual evolution from liturgical drama to Miracle and Mystery Plays1. Latin was slowly replaced by the vernacular, and secular elements became increasingly common. As the Miracle Plays grew in popularity, performances inside churches be came more and more difficult because of the growing size of the audience. So the plays were removed from the churches and began to be performed out of doors, first in the church courtyard and then in other open spaces of the town. Research Papers on Drama - English Literature Essay (100 Level Course)Assess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite Religion19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraMind TravelQuebec and CanadaMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductOpen Architechture a white paperRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in Capital

Sunday, October 20, 2019

JavaScript Nesting IF Statements

JavaScript Nesting IF Statements Nesting if/else statements helps to organize and isolate conditions in order to avoid testing the same condition twice or to minimize the number of times various tests need to be performed.   By using if statements with both comparison and logical operators, we can set up code that will be run if a specific combination of conditions is met. We dont always want to test the entire condition in order to run one set of statements if the entire test is true, and another if it is false. We may want to choose between several different statements, depending on which particular combination of conditions is true. Suppose, for example, that we have three values to compare and wish to set different results depending on which of the values are equal. The following example shows how we can nest if statements to test for this (in bold below) var answer;if (a b) {  Ã‚  if (a c) {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer all are equal;  Ã‚  } else {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer a and b are equal;  Ã‚  }} else {  Ã‚  if (a c) {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer a and c are equal;  Ã‚  } else {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  if (b c) {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer b and c are equal;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  } else {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer all are different;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }  Ã‚  }} The way the logic works here is: If the first condition is true (if (a b)), then the program checks for the nested if condition (if (a c)). If the first condition is false, the program bumps to the else condition.If the nested if is true, the statement is executed, i.e. all are equal.If the nested if is false, then the else statement is executed, i.e. a and b are equal. Here are a few things to notice how this is coded: First, we created the variable answer to hold the result before we started the if statement, making the variable global. Without that, we would have needed to include the variable on the front of all of the assignment statements, since it would be a local variable.Secondly, we have indented each nested if statement. This allows us to track more easily how many nested levels of statements there are. It also makes it clearer that we have closed the right number of blocks of code to complete all of the if statements that we opened. You may find that it is easier to put the braces there first for each if statement before you start writing the code that belongs inside that block. We can simplify one section of this code slightly in order to avoid having to nest the if statements quite as much. Where an entire else block is made up of a single if statement, we can omit the braces around that block and move the if condition itself up onto the same line as the else, using the else if condition. For example: var answer;if (a b) {  Ã‚  if (a c) {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer all are equal;  Ã‚  } else {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  answer a and b are equal;  Ã‚  }} else if (a c) {  Ã‚  answer a and c are equal;} else if (b c) {  Ã‚  answer b and c are equal;} else {  Ã‚  answer all are different;} Nested if/then statements are common in all programming languages, not just JavaScript. Novice programmers often use multiple if/then or if/else statements rather than nesting them. While this kind of code will work, it will quickly become verbose and will duplicate conditions. Nesting conditional statements creates more clarity around the programs logic and results in concise code that may run or compile faster.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Holidays Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Holidays - Personal Statement Example There will be lot of music, dance and typically dressed couples participating in events cheerfully. A special luncheon or dinner with Halloween dishes is line up enticing everyone to have their pie. Winner in various event get goodies and gift coupons. The hour or two we spend down for that celebration will be refreshing al-together. Back to my personal life I have only taken my sons trick-or-treating in the neighborhood twice in his 8 years and both times he was too young to catch up with the enjoyment and enthusiasm. Now-a-days we head to a carnival hosted by a mall or the city instead. It wouldn't matter much in our neighborhood these days, though. I've noticed that with each passing year more and more porch lights are turned off on that night and if we're home, we may only get a handful of trick-or-treaters. I think it makes me a little sad that my kids won't have that same experience that I did... of going to see all my neighbors and seeing their reaction to a costume that my mom and I worked. My Kids won't have the excitement knowing that this certain neighbor always makes cupcakes and this certain neighbor always gives out afull-sized candy bar. The happiest thing about "Thanksgiving day" is that it brings us a couple of holidays to come out and refresh, mingle with friends and family members.

Ethnicity (Oxford Reader) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethnicity (Oxford Reader) - Research Paper Example To the instrumentalist it is more like a resource, which one can gain by following his or her interest. To others is a social construction used by people to forge their identity. This paper discusses the different points of view on ethnicity and points out to the point of view I find to be most convincing. Though there is a tendency to link ethnicity with conflict, the two entities are completely different. However, ethnic conflict is a common phenomenon that arises due to factors such as political divides that are based on ethnic communities and identities, economic inequalities arising due to scarcity of resource hence as well as cultural differences. Cultural differences could be based on language or religion. Another source of ethnic conflict is unequal distribution of political reward where more political rewards being given to one ethnic group than others in a polyethnic state. Additionally, national identity and ideology are common source of ethnic conflict (Hutchinson and Smith 1-10). From a long time back, people use the term ethnicity to demonstrate some form of commonness in addition to demonstrating solidarity. Among the Greeks, ethnicity is associated with the term ethnie, which means, ethnic category, ethnic network, ethnic association, ethnic network or ethnic community. To the Schermerhorn ethnie is a myth of common ancestry, common culture, or some form of link to homeland (Hutchinson and Smith 10-14). Currently, there are different approaches to ethnie. Primodialism is one such approach, which defines ethnie as naturally given socially creating bonds. However, this definition is problematic since it is static and naturalistic hence lacking exploratory power. Sociobiloogists view ethnie as an explanation for kinship-based grouping with genetic reproductive capacity. This approach is also problematic since it tends to reduce social and cultural behaviors to biological drives. Additionally, it tends to be speculative when dealing with large

Friday, October 18, 2019

Hobbes and Locke views on the State of Nature Essay

Hobbes and Locke views on the State of Nature - Essay Example The egoism in man, is a presupposition of Hobbes which leads him to the description of nature as a constant power struggle. In a natural state, that is, in a physical state, men are generally equal in strength, mental capacity and experience (Solomon, Ed, 1992, p. 178). He asserts that everyone has a natural and equal right to everything. However, if man was without government the conflict from desire would lead to a state of war of every man against every man: Hereby it is manifest, that during the time men live without a common Power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which called Warre; and such a warre, as is of every man, against every man(Solomon, Ed, 1992, p. 179). Fortunately, however, Hobbes argues that "passion" in the form of a "fear of death", and the desire to live a long and peaceful life, has allowed man to use "reason" in order to form laws which combined, provide the basis or foundation of a civil society, allowing man, therefore, to escape the state of nature-- the universal "strife": â€Å"The Passions that encline men to Peace, are Feare of Death ... and Reason suggesteth convenient articles of Peace, upon which men may be drawn to agreement.(Solomon, Ed, 1992, p. 180) It is at this point, that the political philosophy of Hobbes can now be understood, given that the foundations have been established, namely, that if the end of man is security, then the state itself is necessary. In particular, for the purposes of securing peace, Hobbes argues that of the three forms of government, monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, monarchy is the most effective at realizing this end of a peaceful society. In keeping with the notion that the state itself, is a like a human body-- or, one might refer to the state in this sense, as the political body. Monarchy is like the mind of a body, which rationally maintains the desires in a sense of harmony. The desires, in terms of the analogy of the state with the body, amount to the people who th e monarch is sovereign over. Hobbes argues that for the purposes of peace, monarchy is necessary. The interests of the monarchy and his subjects, Hobbes argues are exactly alike, thus, what is good for the monarchy (the mind), is also good for the people (the body), given that they are all connected with the aim of self-maintenance: â€Å"It is manifest, that men who are in absolute liberty, may, if they please, give Authority to One man, to represent them everyone.† (Solomon, Ed, 1992, p. 184) Thus, if the Monarch is rich and secure, so too is the people, given that his wealth is derived from theirs. Further, there will be no argument and disagreement in making decisions, and that decisions will stand more firm. As an analogy again, with the body, one could see for example, that when someone is confused or in a state of inner turmoil mentally, often the body suffers as a result. If there is only one decision maker, namely, the monarch, then there is no suffering amidst the b ody as a whole. In terms of fear then, which was raised earlier in the context of Hobbes view of human nature, or his psychology, Hobbes argues that rather than fearing the sovereign which is reasonable and the regulator of the passions-- the body should

Assignment 5-2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assignment 5-2 - Essay Example Mistakes are relatively low on cost and therefore, less serious. Creative or lateral thinking is an alternative perspective on the situation; and thus the problem and solution states can be interpreted differently from how most people see it. This leads to an alternate style of responding to the problem. A novel solution can often seem more interesting, and people are likely to become involved in the process with more enthusiasm; thereby leading to a greater chance for success. Which style of information processing should be used in a given situation or is more likely to succeed should be chosen carefully by the person seeking to solve a problem they face in the workplace. In the present scenario, vertical processing and problem solving techniques were used to resolve a reoccurring problem in the office. It was noted that attendance of employees dropped drastically when there was a particular type of sporting event involving major regions or the country. During the previous sport sea son, there was a distinct drop in the productivity of the set-up. When another season was due; this history became a major concern for the manager. It was decided that a few key employees should be involved in finding a solution to the problem of reduced productivity. Upon discussion, it was found that the younger employees are more likely to want to take a day of to watch sports. After this conversation, it was decided that certain key playing days should be announced half – day working on the promise that other day’s would not be affected. Accordingly, a notice was circulated amongst the staff so that they feel motivated enough to come for the rest of the days without taking an unannounced (impromptu) holiday. On understanding the process of using lateral thinking it was believed that there could be other alternatives to the solution to this problem. First of all the assumptions made when evaluating the problem were tested. The manager found that the assumption that all productivity dropped on these target days was untrue. Only certain members of the staff were implicated in this situation. The other assumption that distraction was due to the game was also challenged, since the rest of the staff was not interested in abstaining from coming to work, or working at the same level a s any other day. If a reasonable number of staff were not planning to watch sports, they could easily continue work. But it is rather unfair to give free time only to a few employees because they want to watch a sport. Thus, a more right question needs to be asked by the manager as to what options are there so that it is a win – win situation for all. A new and alternate approach to the situation is to tune the cafeteria television to the Sports channel, and allow the employees watch the game for its said time-period. This option, though unconventional, at least keeps the employees at work, and only those who wish to see them do view the sports. Also, in the even t that another employee needs them to be around when getting a task done; this work will not stagnate due to the unavailability of the employee in question. Although any screen which can be connected to the office can be used to relay the match to the employees; it makes logical sense to select the one in the cafeteria, as the noise and cheering will not trouble other employees who may not be interested in the game. The vertical process comes most naturally to most employees, since

Thursday, October 17, 2019

The Ethical Dilemmas Associated to Black Friday Directed at Wal-Mart Case Study

The Ethical Dilemmas Associated to Black Friday Directed at Wal-Mart - Case Study Example Every community and town where Wal-Mart is started has absorbed many workers consequently creating employment opportunities (Shaffer, 2007). Wal-mart has regulated the prices of its products by ensuring the customers purchase goods at low and fair prices, which will influence them to come back and shop at Wal-mart. Basis of Ethical Conflict By offering low prices to customers than the other retail shops, this has made customers not to shop from other retail shops apart from Wal-mart. It because of this that numerous retail shops have collapsed financially and closed down (Shaffer, 2007). Wal-mart has employed many people, which is a convenient way of creating employment, but they pay their employees poorly. Employees at Wal-mart receive salary below the standards of any USA citizens. Many workers are paid peanuts that they even have difficulties in sustaining and meeting all their basic needs. Half of the employees at Wal-mart have not enrolled in the health benefit plans, and many o f them depend on the health benefit plan of their parents. This has resulted to the oppression of the other citizens since they have to pay large sums of taxes in order to compensate for wal-mart workers. This is because many of Wal-mart workers are not able to pay for the health benefit plans. ... The company has hired many public relations experts to polish the allegations made by many activists and politicians. It has also hired many FBI and CIA retired officials to monitor the workers who are against the company. A reasonable sum of money, which has been used to polish the company’s name, can be used to increase the salary of the workers and enroll them in health benefit plans. Countless improvements have taken place at an instance while there are economic problems to the American economy. The lowering of prices is something that has been used to by many competitors, and this does not hinder them from selling their goods normally. This is the main reason that Wal-mart has come up with new strategies of offering large amounts of discounts to people who purchase heavily at their retail shop. It is because of this reason that Wal-mart should stop afflicting their employees but increase their salaries as well as enroll them in future health care plans. What Impacts Did L egal Pressures Have On The Situation? Many legal pressures do not find Wal-mart to be oppressing the employees because Wal-mart gives the government a substantial amount of revenues. On the other hand, the legal channels find Wal-mart to be assistive since they have created numerous employment opportunities globally (Shaffer, 2007). The other issues that the government find Wal-mart to be assistive, is how they have reduced their prices drastically to ensure that their goods are affordable to the average paid employees. The legal channels suggest that there is no way Wal-mart is oppressing its employees, yet it is offering low prices to its citizens for them to afford their products. Now and then, citizens praise Wal-mart because most of the goods they need

Explain the process of market segmentation. Why is it thought Essay - 1

Explain the process of market segmentation. Why is it thought necessary for a firm to target specific segments of the market - Essay Example In this era, there is no such thing as a standardized product which is suitable for use by all people. Hence, no firm seeks to target the whole market at large and it is highly difficult to target a large potential market with the same product and the same marketing strategies. No products except maybe staple foods such as fruits, vegetables, bread, butter, and other important dietary supplements are aimed at targeting the whole population of consumers and are standardized products. All other products or services are differentiated and conformed to the needs and wants of various target groups (Greenberg and McDonald, 1989, pp. 95-96). Differentiation refers to adapting the characteristics and marketing of your product/service to fulfill the needs and wants of a particular target market. In order to select the target market for product/ service, a firm must indulge in the process of market segmentation (Greenberg and Mcdonald, 1989, pp. 110-112). Market segmentation is the process of dividing the larger potential market into smaller groups according to similar characteristics. The segmentation can be upon the basis of several variables depending upon the product/service the business is offering and how it plans to target its potential audience. Several advantages of market segmentation enable a business to perform more efficiently and make the business’s selling/ marketing strategies more effective. The first advantage of market segmentation is that segmenting the potential market allows the business to be more focused upon a certain group of customers. This prevents duplication of resources and enables the business to directly target the segment that is more likely to be interested in their product/service offering rather than wasting time and resources upon targeting a massive market that may not be interested in the product/service at all (Yankelovich, 1964, pg. 75-77). Market segmentation allows the business to see the

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The Ethical Dilemmas Associated to Black Friday Directed at Wal-Mart Case Study

The Ethical Dilemmas Associated to Black Friday Directed at Wal-Mart - Case Study Example Every community and town where Wal-Mart is started has absorbed many workers consequently creating employment opportunities (Shaffer, 2007). Wal-mart has regulated the prices of its products by ensuring the customers purchase goods at low and fair prices, which will influence them to come back and shop at Wal-mart. Basis of Ethical Conflict By offering low prices to customers than the other retail shops, this has made customers not to shop from other retail shops apart from Wal-mart. It because of this that numerous retail shops have collapsed financially and closed down (Shaffer, 2007). Wal-mart has employed many people, which is a convenient way of creating employment, but they pay their employees poorly. Employees at Wal-mart receive salary below the standards of any USA citizens. Many workers are paid peanuts that they even have difficulties in sustaining and meeting all their basic needs. Half of the employees at Wal-mart have not enrolled in the health benefit plans, and many o f them depend on the health benefit plan of their parents. This has resulted to the oppression of the other citizens since they have to pay large sums of taxes in order to compensate for wal-mart workers. This is because many of Wal-mart workers are not able to pay for the health benefit plans. ... The company has hired many public relations experts to polish the allegations made by many activists and politicians. It has also hired many FBI and CIA retired officials to monitor the workers who are against the company. A reasonable sum of money, which has been used to polish the company’s name, can be used to increase the salary of the workers and enroll them in health benefit plans. Countless improvements have taken place at an instance while there are economic problems to the American economy. The lowering of prices is something that has been used to by many competitors, and this does not hinder them from selling their goods normally. This is the main reason that Wal-mart has come up with new strategies of offering large amounts of discounts to people who purchase heavily at their retail shop. It is because of this reason that Wal-mart should stop afflicting their employees but increase their salaries as well as enroll them in future health care plans. What Impacts Did L egal Pressures Have On The Situation? Many legal pressures do not find Wal-mart to be oppressing the employees because Wal-mart gives the government a substantial amount of revenues. On the other hand, the legal channels find Wal-mart to be assistive since they have created numerous employment opportunities globally (Shaffer, 2007). The other issues that the government find Wal-mart to be assistive, is how they have reduced their prices drastically to ensure that their goods are affordable to the average paid employees. The legal channels suggest that there is no way Wal-mart is oppressing its employees, yet it is offering low prices to its citizens for them to afford their products. Now and then, citizens praise Wal-mart because most of the goods they need

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Summarize the teaching and work on application from the Bible, book 1 Research Paper

Summarize the teaching and work on application from the Bible, book 1 Timothy (only chapter 1) - Research Paper Example At issue are the men who are straying from the gospel of salvation by faith in Christ Jesus. Paul’s treatment of doctrinal issues related to the law are more fully expounded in Romans and Galatians (and assuming he is the author, the book of Hebrews), but he uses a short discussion of the Law as a springboard to shift the discussion to its proper place, salvation by faith. â€Å"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.† (1 Tim 1:15-16) In other words, if Paul can find salvation in Christ, he who persecuted and killed believers, anyone can. Starting in verse 4, Paul explains the goal of pastoral care: â€Å"†¦furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Psychology and Positive Reinforcement Essay Example for Free

Psychology and Positive Reinforcement Essay For this project if I had to design a study investigating the relationship between alcohol and violence, I would use the experimental method. The experimental method involves manipulating one variable to determine if changes in one variable cause changes in another variable. This method relies on controlled methods, random assignment and manipulation of variables to test a hypothesis (Cherry, n. d. ). The reason for this method is so I can put the test subjects in a controlled environment and monitor the affects of the alcohol and see if the alcohol consumed by the test subject allows them to display forms of violence. By using another method with the experimental method to get more results out of this study, I would also use survey research. Survey research is one of the most important areas of measurement in applied social research. The broad area of survey research encompasses any measurement procedures that involve asking questions of respondents. A survey can be anything that forms a short paper-and-pencil feedback form to an intensive one-on-one in-depth interview (Trochim, 2006). I would combine these methods to determine the outcome of the study and support my investigation of the relationship between alcohol and violence. For example, I would get four test subjects that would consist of two groups, two men and two women. I would have all subjects fill out a form that displays likes and dislikes and what makes them happy/ unhappy. I would then have one subject from each group would consume alcohol but all the drinks would be the color red each subject will be by themselves for the first hour in different rooms. After that hour they would be placed in room together and exam how the gamma-aminobutyric acid displays the affects of using their dislikes on their behavior after the consumption of alcohol. The strengths of this study would be finding the chemical in alcohol and what chemical inside of the human body that triggers the violent display. Also strengths for this method would be compilation of verifiable data and ethical compliance. But with all strengths you do have weaknesses; those weaknesses for these methods would be not having accurate reports for these methods and distortion of unreliable case studies. Also you may have test subjects that do not reflect the general population and him or her in fact have their own social issues that may reflect violence from the outcome of alcohol. The ethical consideration for this research would be no children, women that are pregnant, separation of a person with a criminal background and non-criminal background, test subjects are only to consume a certain amount of alcohol by their size and weight, and the test subjects are only to be tested in a controlled environment. The difference between negative and positive reinforcement is that negative reinforcement; is when a certain stimulus/item is removed after a particular behavior is exhibited. The likelihood of the particular behavior occurring again in the future is increased because of removing/avoiding the negative stimuli (Stangor, Chapter 7, 2010). For example: My son has choirs to do every day after school and does not like to do them. He does his choirs because if he does not he would not be able to play his video game. Positive reinforcement: is a very powerful and effective tool to help shape and change behavior. Positive reinforcement works by presenting a motivating item to the person after the desired behavior is exhibited, making the behavior more likely to happen in the future (Stangor, Chapter 7, 2010). For example: My daughter studied very hard on her spelling test and receive an A for passing it, for receiving that A on her test I gave her ten dollars for studying and doing a great job on her test. Using negative reinforcement on my son not doing his choirs helps him understand that you will not get anything in return for not doing your job after school. Using positive reinforcement for maintaining a positive path you will be rewarded for your accomplishments. The ethical standards are displaying a positive for doing something positive and a negative result for a negative behavior. For example, you cannot throw a rock at a car window and expect to get ice cream in return. That would be rewarding a person for doing a negative action. Also you cannot reward a person for cheating on a test by copying off of someone, excepting credit for someone else’s work instead of your own. When displaying these reinforcement methods it helps to create modifications of the behavior that’s displayed by the children from my example. When using these methods it creates a pattern for learning responsibility. Learning responsibilities helps form other positives paths to encourage a person to be more motivated nd become successful. The theory that best fits my psychological thought would be the behavior theory and also the developmental theory. The behavior theory also known as behaviorism is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. The developmental theory: Theories of development provide a framework for thinking about human growth, development, and learning (Trochim, 2006). The way I see psychology I believe that it starts with these theories first. Understanding human behavior and the development of behavior helps me better understand the mentality of people. Psychology is a very broad field that deals with all aspects of life, from a social stand point, economical stand point and environmental stand point. Psychology helps us understand why we do the things that we do, for example culture of honor. A term that is defined by responding to insults with aggression or catharsis observing or engaging in less harmful aggressive actions that will reduce the tendency to aggress later in a more harmful way (Stangor, Chapter 14, 2010). These psychological theories of behaviorism cannot be studied without developmental theories to help understand these patterns and create determination to why we do things. Give us a better understanding, in other words casual attribution; determining the causes of people behavior (Stangor, Chapter 13, 2010). Our social cognition is set to predict behaviors, but how can we predict behaviors if we do not develop ways to understand it. Basically prejudging or stereotyping these behaviors. It is nothing in psychology that would have me to believe that the research that is provided is not true. Everything that I have studied, I either have done or seen done; our attitude another behavior that we exhibit and in my opinion would be the core to behaviorism. It displays any feelings that we have towards people, work ethic, environment, and our social representation. First I would have to define the disorder by observing the dysfunctional pattern of thought, emotion, and behavior. Next I would exercise the bio-psycho-social model of the illness; to help me understand the disorder. Using the DSM-IV-TR, I would look for any psychological history and use of the Axis IV check for social or environmental problems, such as homelessness, divorce, school problems, or other stressors present. Also I would use Axis I and V to determine if this person is suffering from mood, anxiety, or learning disorders; is this person at risk of hurting him or herself and others (Stangor, Chapter 13, 2010). The disorder I have discovered that my client has is anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder is a psychological disturbance marked by irrational fears, often of everyday objects and situations. The treatment I would use to help my client would be antianxiety medications; drugs that help relive the fear of anxiety. Also I would use biomedical therapies; treatments that are designed to reduce psychological disorder by influencing the action of the central nerves system. This method would involved the use of medication but also include direct brain intervention with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT0, psychosurgery, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (Stangor, Chapter 13, 2010). These methods of therapy would help my client be more at ease with their disorder. The ethical obligations of the psychological professionals would be that. Psychiatrists are physicians with specialized knowledge of mental illness and its treatment. Psychiatrists share the same ethical ideals as all physicians and are committed to compassion, fidelity, beneficence, trustworthiness, fairness, integrity, scientific and clinical excellence, social responsibility, and respect for persons. Psychiatrists endeavor to embody these principles in their diverse roles as diagnosticians, treating physicians, therapists, teachers, scientists, consultants, and colleagues (Principles of Ethics and Professionalism in Psychiatry, n. d. ).

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Ideology Of The Ruling Party Politics Essay

The Ideology Of The Ruling Party Politics Essay India with a population of around a billion and an electorate of over 700 million is the worlds largest democracy and, for all its faults and flaws, this democratic system stands in marked contrast to the democratic failures of Pakistan and Bangladesh which were part of India until 1947. Unlike the American political system and the British political system which essentially have existed in their current form for centuries, the Indian political system is a much more recent construct dating from Indias independence from Britain in 1947. The current constitution came into force on 26 November 1950 and advocates the trinity of justice, liberty and equality for all citizens. In stark contrast with the current constitution of Japan which has remained unchanged, the constitution of India has been one of the most amended national documents in the world with more than 80 changes. Many of these amendments have resulted from a long-running dispute involving the Parliament and the Supreme Court over the rights of parliamentary sovereignty as they clash with those of judicial review of laws and constitutional amendments. Indias lower house, the Lok Sabha, is modelled on the British House of Commons, but its federal system of government borrows from the experience of the United States, Canada and Australia. THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH The head of state in India is the President. This is normally a ceremonial role, originally modelled on the British monarch to advise, encourage and warn the elected government on constitutional matters. The President can return a Parliamentary Bill once for reconsideration and, in times of crisis such as a hung Parliament, the role is pivotal. The President can declare a state of emergency which enables the Lok Sabha to extend its life beyond the normal five-year term. As members of an electoral college, around 4,500 members of the national parliament and state legislators are eligible to vote in the election of the President. The Indian Presidency has recently attracted special attention because for the first time a woman now occupies the role: Pratibha Patil who was formerly governor of the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. There is also the post of Vice-President who is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of both houses of parliament. The Vice-President chairs the the upper house called the Rajya Sabh. The head of the government is the Prime Minister who is appointed by the President on the nomination of the majority party in the lower house or Lok Sabha. Currently the Prime Minister is Manmohan Singh of the ruling United Progressive Alliance. Key features of the Prime Minister (head of government): Commander in Chief of the military and acts as ultimate military authority. Through the cabinet proposes the bulk of legislation to the House of the People Acts as the head of the Majority party in the House of the people and is installed. No term limit and can be removed through a vote of no confidence. Key Features of the President (head of state) key features: elected to 5 year terms. Ceremonially appoints the Prime Minister Appoints the Cabinet Ministers Can dissolve the Lok Sabha after the Prime minister loses a vote of no confidence. Can declare national state of emergency or Presidential rule of a state. Ministers are then appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and these ministers collectively comprise the Council of Ministers. THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH The lower house in the Indian political system is the Lok Sabha or House of the People. As set out in the Constitution, the maximum size of the Lok Sabha is 552 members, made up of up to 530 members representing people from the states of India, up to 20 members representing people from the Union Territories, and two members to represent the Anglo-Indian community if it does not have adequate representation in the house according to the President. Currently the size of the house is 545 made up of 530 elected from the states, 13 elected from the territories, and two nominated from the Anglo-Indian community. By far the largest state representation is that of Uttar Pradesh with 80 members. At the other end of the scale, three states have only one representative each. There are certain constituencies where only candidates from scheduled casts and scheduled tribes are allowed to stand. Each member except the two nominated ones represents a geographical single-member constituency as in the British model for the House of Commons. Each Lok Sabha is formed for a five year term, after which it is automatically dissolved, unless extended by a Proclamation of Emergency which may extend the term in one year increments. This has happened on three occasions: 1962-1968, 1971 and 1975-1977. Elections are a huge and complex affair which nationwide are held in five seperate rounds taking a total of 28 days. Link: Lok Sabha The upper house in the Indian political system is the Rajya Sabha or Council of States. As set out in the Constitution, the Rajya Sabhahas has up to 250 members. 12 of these members are chosen by the President for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature, science, and social services. These members are known as nominated members. The remainder of the house currently comprising 238 members is elected indirectly by the state and territorial legislatures in proportion to the units population. Again, of course, the largest state representation is that of Uttar Pradesh with 31 members. The method of election in the local legislatures is the single transferable vote. Terms of office are for six years, with one third of the members facing re-election every two years. The Rajya Sabha meets in continuous session and, unlike the Lok Sabha, it is not subject to dissolution. Link: Rajya Sabha The two houses share legislative powers, except in the area of supply (money) where the Lok Sabha has overriding powers. In the case of conflicting legislation, a joint sitting of the two houses is held. If there is a conflict which cannot be resolved even by the joint committee of the two houses, it is solved in the joint session of the Parliament, where the will of the Lok Sabha almost always prevails, since the Lok Sabha is more than twice as large as the Rajya Sabha. POLITICAL PARTIES In India, political parties are either a National Party of a State Party. To be considered a National Party, a political party has to be recognised in four or more states and to be either the ruling party or in the opposition in those states. Ever since its formation in 1885, the Indian National Congress (INC) and its successor has been the dominant political party in India. For its first six decades, its focus was on campaigning for Indian independence from Britain. Since independence in 1947, it has sought to be the governing party of the nation with repeated success. As a result, for most of its democratic history, the Lok Sabha has been dominated by the Indian Congress Party which has been in power for a great deal of the time. However, since the Congress Party lost power in 1989, no single party has been able to secure an overal majority in the Lok Sabha, making coalitions inevitable. Also, unlike Japan where the Liberal Democrat Party has been in power almost continuously, Congress has had (usually short) periods out of power, between 1977-1980, 1989-1991 and 1996-2004. The original Congress Party espoused moderate socialism and a planned, mixed economy. However, its spin-off and successor, Congress (I) I in honour of Indira Gandhi now supports deregulation, privatisation and foreign investment. While the Congress Party has historically dominated Indian politics, the leadership of the Congress Party in turn has been dominated by one family: Jawaharlal Nehru, Indias first Prime Minister, served for 17 years; his daughter Indira Gandhi later became Prime Minister; his grandson Rajiv Gandhi was also Prime Minister; currently the widow of Rajiv Gandhi, the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi holds the position as Congress President although she has refused to accept the post of Prime Minister; and her son Rahul Gandhi is a Member of Parliament, while her daughter Priyanka Gandhi is an active political campaigner. The Indian Congress Party is the leading party in the Centre-Left political coalition called the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) which embraces a total of 16 parties. The other major, but more recently-established, political party in India is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Created in 1980, it represents itself as a champion of the socio-religious cultural values of the countrys Hindu majority and advocates conservative social policies and strong national defence. The BJP, in alliance with several other parties, led the government between 1998-2004. The Bharatiya Janata Party is the leading party in the Right-wing political coalition called the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). When it was originally founded in 1998, there were 13 parties in the coalition but currently there are eight. A Third Front is a grouping centred on the Communists. THE JUDICIAL BRANCH The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in civil, criminal and constitutional cases. The court consists of up to 26 judges, including the Chief Justice of India, all of whom are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. They serve until the age of 65. THE STATES India is a huge country both demographically and geographically and consequently it operates a federal system of government. Below the national level, there are 28 States and seven Union Territories. The largest of Indias states is Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the north of the country. With over 175 million inhabitants, UP is the most populous state in India and is also the most populous country subdivision in the world. On its own, if it was an independent nation, this state would be the worlds sixth biggest country. Only China, India itself, the United States, Indonesia and Brazil have a higher population. In Indian general elections, it fills more than one-seventh of the seats in Indias Parliament and, such is the states caste-based and sometimes violent politics that, currently a quarter of UPs MPs face criminal charges. Over the years, India has evolved from a highly centralised state dominated by one political party to an increasingly fragmented nation, more and more influenced by regional parties and more and more governed locally by unstable multi-party alliances. In the General Election of 2009, Congress and the BJP faced each other in only seven of the 28 States; elsewhere, one of the two national parties faced a regional party. CONCLUSION Politics in India is much rougher and much more corrupt that in the democracies of Europe and North America. Political assassination is not uncommon: the revered Mahatma Gandhi in 1948, the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, and the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 were all killed by assassins. Communal, caste and regional tensions continue to haunt Indian politics, sometimes threatening its long-standing democratic and secular ethos. Recent years have seen the emergence of so-called RTI activists tens of thousands of citizens, often poor, sometimes almost illiterate, frequently highly motivated who use the Right To Information legislation of 2005 to promote transparency and attack corruption in public institutions. In the first five years of the legislation, over a million RTI requests were filed and so threatening to authority have some of the RTI activists become that a number of have been murdered. (B) The ideology of the ruling party Political parties in India love to talk about ideology. Each political party is supposed to have an ideology. So even if a political party does not have any ideology, it will never say so. If you were to ask probing questions about a partys ideology to a staunch loyalist of the party, you would either be bombarded with a short, nebulous and high-sounding label or be told that the ideology is too complex for anyone to understand so quickly and one would need to spend a few years in the party to really understand the ideology of the party. The mystification of ideology goes back in Indian history to Gandhi. From around 1920 to 1947, Gandhi ruled over Indian political scene through the ideological direction that he provided to Congress. Gandhian ideology was supposed to be very simple, based as it was on just two simple principles of truth and non-violence. Yet, it was not so simple. Nobody, during Gandhis time (and even after his death), could claim to have understood Gandhian ideology completely. Followers of Gandhi would claim their degree of understanding of the ideology based on the years they had spent with Gandhi. Ideology of Gandhi consisted of all that he spoke over the years. If there was an internal inconsistency or contradiction in his utterances or actions, it was not for a Gandhian to question it. All that an ordinary mortal could do was to just look with reverence at all that Gandhi did. If Gandhi deviated from what he had said in the past, it was hailed as development of Gandhian thought and was acclaime d as an experiment with truth. On the other hand, if anyone else moved a step beyond literal words of Gandhi, it was condemned. Gandhi was surely a great leader. But his ideology did not live past him. Even his brightest follower, whom he liked most, did not follow his ideology. Nehrus dreams of modern India had nothing Gandhian about them. As long as Gandhi lived, for Congressmen, sole source of ideology was Gandhi. After Gandhis death this position passed on to Nehru. After Nehru, there was a brief interlude when Lal Bahadur Shastri in his position as the sole fountainhead of Congress ideology proclaimed Jai Jawan, Jai Kissan. Soon after the interlude, Indira Gandhi stepped in. Her vision of socialism was a departure from Gandhi, Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Such departures did not bother Congressmen who, by that time, knew only one ideology Boss is always right. Less than a decade after Indira Gandhis death, a Congress Prime Minister initiated reforms and demolished licence-permit-quota-raj built assiduously by Indira Gandhi and Nehru. The same Congressmen, who had been declaring their unflinching loyalty to Nehru-Indira ideology, now were the champions of economic reforms, liberalization and globalization. Temples of modern India, built as part of Nehrus vision, were to be sold as part of disinvestment and Congress was applauding. The irony is that the author of economic reforms has now become the prime minister of India with support of socialist and communist parties. He continues to talk of reforms in the same breath as reservations for backward classes in private sector. Ideological contradictions have never bothered Congress. The party has evolved through contradictions and probably that is its greatest strength. Irrespective of all that Congress leaders may shout from public platforms, the essential ideology of Congress is pragmatism. Cynics might say that pragmatism is a lofty word for collective unbridled pursuit of self-interest. But that is just another way of looking at Congress, which claims to be a party that knows how to rule. It is a party that knows how to mould itself to suit the circumstances. If it sees wide support for Hindutwa, it will jump to the Hindu bandwagon. One cannot forget that Rajiv Gandhi took the lead in production of TV serials like Ramayan and Mahabharat; and Sardar Patel took the initiative for reconstruction of Somnath temple. On the other hand if Muslim fundamentalism is the flavour of the month, Congress can even get parliament to pass a law that overrules a Supreme Court judgement. Being on the right side of the ideological divide, in line with changing times, is a natural gift of the Congress. The party can be different things to different persons and no one can afford to make a categorical statement about the ideology of Congress. As they say, it is so profound and complex that you will need to devote a lifetime to understand it and may be even then you would still not have understood it. Of course, if you are fortunate enough to become President of All India Congress Committee and Prime Minister of India, every statement you make will be accorded the status of Biblical truth. There are a large number of Indian parties, which are just clones of Congress. Most of them are regional parties. They have failed to become national parties because (a) they are unable to match the brand goodwill that Congress enjoys and (b) they do not have the resources that Congress commands. Many of them are successful in their region because their leaders are able to maintain a closer (compared to Congress and other national parties) contact with local aspirations and are able to better satisfy the collective unbridled pursuit of self-interest of the breed that is known in todays India as political workers. The importance of this breed cannot be overemphasized. Socialist thinkers (Ram Manohar Lohia and others) drew from this breed and created a sub-breed called socialists. This sub-segment is characterized by extreme individualism. For socialists, the pursuit of self-interest is hardly collective. Socialists get together and separate at such a quick pace that one loses track of who is in which party. Their individualism gets a collective tinge in the form of catering to family ties and caste interests. India is probably the only country where all socialist parties are casteist. There are also caste-based parties whose only ideological commitment is catering to the interests of one or more set of castes. Such caste-based parties also often paint themselves with socialist colours. Caste as a reality of Indian politics has not spared even the communists. Yet, it must be admitted that communists remain the only group in Indian political jungle with a fairly well defined ideology. Of course, having an ideology is different from following it. Communism, as propounded by Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin or Mao Tse Tung, is a dictatorship of the proletariat. Its existence in a free democracy with mixed economy is an anachronism. For the past five decades, Indian communist parties have been trying to come to terms with existence in a democratic society. Till the collapse of Soviet Union, at least one of the Communist parties received indirect financial and moral support from Soviet Union. The fall of Soviet Union was a big blow for Indian communists in more ways than one. To survive, almost all communist parties have turned lobbyists for organized labour. Most public sector units and a few large private sector industries have communist trade unions. These trade unions pro vide the funds for running of communist parties in India. Dictatorship of the proletariat has, hence, turned into pressure tactics and lobbying for more and more benefits for the pampered unproductive workers of unprofitable public sector industries. If providing these benefits makes it necessary to impose higher taxes on the proletariat, the communists do not mind it. According to Marx, industrialization was a necessary perquisite for communism. Indian communists have, however, led to a virtual stoppage of industrialization in the two states of Kerala and West Bengal where they have ruled for a long time. The communist political worker is not much different from the general breed of self-interest driven political workers. A few years back, an erstwhile close friend moved from being a full time worker of a communist trade union to Bharatiya Janata Party via Hindujas (a well-known business family). He was welcomed with open arms by the top brass of BJP. Today, he is part of the topmost echelons of BJP. Most people are surprised by, what they see as, his ideological somersault. The fact is that in the ideology-less world of Indian politics, there is a good demand for expert players who can play this game with aplomb without any pangs of conscience. Till a few years back, BJP did not recruit from the floating pool of such expert players. RSS used to provide BJP with all the manpower that it needed. Even today bulk of BJPs manpower needs are met by supplies from RSS. For past seven decades or so, the organizational structure of RSS with its roots spread across the length and breadth of the country has been inspiring a new and different set of volunteers to step into public life. This set did not come into public life for the gains of power or for amassing wealth. Before BJPs rise to power in some states, they used to endure great hardships. The zeal and commitment of RSS workers was praised by even their adversaries and critics. RSS workers were fired by an ideology, often called as Hindu nationalism, that could best be described as a mix of nationalism and strong religious sentiments. RSS did not invent Hindu nationalism. The ideology is more than a century old. Towards the end of nineteenth century, Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Swami Vivekanand, working independently, built a religious-political movement that in due course became the foundation of Indias freedom struggle. Both of them were bitterly opposed by the orthodox elements of Hinduism at that time. They espoused a version of Hinduism, which was progressive and reformist. This was unacceptable to Shankaracharyas and other authorities of Hindu community. In a way, Dayanand-Vivekanand combine represented one ideology and Shankaracharyas represented quite an opposite ideology. In the initial years, RSS represented the former, but it never spelled its ideology in explicit terms. To an extent, RSS felt that ideological confusion would help it attract all sections of Hindu society, so all ideological debates were forbidden. Its aim to become an omnibus diluted its ideological focus. RSS chose to replace ideology with emotion. Senior leaders of RSS preached that organizations are built on the basis of bonds of heart and not on the basis of intellectual debate. Bonds of heart are useful for building a large voluntary organization, but they are of no use when one has to govern or take key decisions in fields of economic or strategic policy. This explains the floundering of BJP as a party of governance. RSS was built to be a fighting machine. The operating software of this machine does not have the capability to deliberate on profound complicated issues. Action rather than thought is the key focus of RSS as well as BJP. It is hence not surprising that RSS, as well as BJP, lacks clarity on all ideological issues. As an example, let us take the case of Common Civil Code. For more than five decades, RSS and all its offshoots have been demanding a common civil code. In this long period it has never occurred to them to prepare a draft of the proposed common civil code. I have asked senior leaders of Sangh clan about what they want in the common civil code. Their stock reply is that as and when they are in a position to pass such legislation, they will appoint a group to prepare such a draft. In other words they acknowledge that they do not even know what should be the broad contours of the code for which they have been shouting for half a century. Lack of depth marks every single ideological plank that RSS and BJP claim as their essential identity. Of course, I have not spent a lifetime working with the Sangh clan and Sangh loyalists would be quick to shout that I lack the essential qualification to comment on their ideology. Have we heard that before? Yes, Congressmen say the same. In a way, BJP has just become a clone of Congress. What Gandhi is to Congress, Guru Golwalkar and Dr. Hedgewar are to BJP. BJP officially claims to follow the ideology of EKATM MANAVWAD (translated by them as Integrated Humanism), propounded by Deendayal Upadhyay. I have yet to meet a BJP leader who can explain the ideology in some depth. You may, of course, try to work as an apprentice with some BJP leaders and hopefully before the end of your life you would know what integrated humanism is all about. The ideological vacuum in BJP is filled by one universal ideology Boss is always right. So, just as Congressmen look up to Sonia Gandhi as the fountainhead of ideology, BJP cadres look up to Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani. RSS, which claims to be the mother organization of BJP, has lost its moral high ground. RSS still supplies bulk of manpower for BJP. But, for a BJP leader, utterances of Atal-Advani are more important than the noises coming from RSS headquarters at Nagpur. Ideological somersaults committed by Atal-Advani have often confused laymen. Diehard BJP loyalists have, however, been quick to change tacks as and when the bosses jumped. These loyalists have risen in BJP hierarchy and live a life of luxury with all the trappings of power. As BJP leaders have got used to a life of luxury, a major change has come about. Word has gone around that the right channel to get into BJP goes via RSS. As a result, the profile of volunteers entering RSS has undergone a sea change. Emotionally charged, ideologically inspired zeal and commitment are now history. Career-oriented would-be politicians with dreams of power and luxury are entering RSS en route to BJP. They ask no questions and are too willing to jump with every somersault of the leadership. The conversion of BJP into a Congress-clone or a club for collective unbridled pursuit of self-interest signals a national crisis. A decade back, BJP (and Sangh clan) was seen to be the great hope for India. Today, BJP is just another party of petty politicians. India has lost all hopes from her political class, which is intellectually, morally and ideologically bankrupt. A country without hope is in a danger zone. India cannot remain in this zone for long. A new ideology and a new political party, which will be the torchbearer of the new ideology, is the need of the hour. As the new ideology and party take shape, we can either curse our luck for living in this hour of crisis of ideology or we can work for heralding the new sunrise. (C) The strength of opposition The opposition in a democracy plays as important a role as the government. For a strong and sensible government to work in a proper way, according to the will of the people, and equally strong and sensible opposition is a must. Such an opposition is the secret of the success of democracy in England, the oldest democracy of the word. There is mainly one strong political party is opposition. In this lies the strength of democracy in that country. On the other hand, in Indian there are a number of opposition parties constantly quarreling among themselves. This is the greatest weakness of Indian democracy. In India there is no strong, united and healthy opposition. There are various reasons for it. No industrial revolution has taken place in this country. The result is that the working class is not politically conscious and, therefore, it is disunited and weak. The opposition parties do not have any clear cut programmes and policies. Their approach is often communal, sectarian or regional. Their leaders are confused and have no idea of their aims and objectives. They quarrel for power and there are frequent splits. There are often defections on a large scale. People do not have faith in such parties, and so they fail to secure a majority in the elections. In the legislature itself, their leaders indulge in destructive criticism to gain their political ends. They keep party interest above national interest. The role of opposition in a democracy is very important. The opposition accelerates the growth of the county or retards its growth by untimely agitations. For example, the violent agitations in Gujarat, Bihar, Assam and Punjab resulted in great loss of life and propensity and failed entirely to gain their objectives. The Governments policy of State Trading in Food grains was wrongly criticized for political reasons. The result was that procurement targets could not be reached and wheat had to be imported to build up comfortable buffer stock. This was essential to hold the price-line. Such a destructive approach is against the national interest. The role of opposition in a democracy should be healthy. It should criticize the Government policies in the national interest and not for part gains. The opposition parties must come together and merge on the basic of similarity in their ideologies. Universal illiteracy and universal poverty, unhealthy linguist, regionalism, racism and casteism characterize Indian life. They are all obstacles in the way of the growth of a cohesive social and political life in the country. There is a mushroom growth of political parties due to the selfishness and lack of far sightedness of their leaders. Parties can come together on the basis of common ideology. But in India the party alliances are opportunistic, the only common ground between them being their hostility to the Government. Obviously, such alliances are bound to be short lived. For example, the Janta Party was a coalition of a number of political parties. So it, could not rule the nation for any length of time. It was thrown out of power due to the inter-quarreling of the opposition parties. In a democracy the aims of the Government and the opposition should be the same- the good of the people. The opposition should criticize the government to implement its manifesto. It should criticize the government only to make it more efficient and honest. Criticism should be based on sound principles. Opposition parties should keep in mind that they may be called upon by the people to form the Government by any time. They should, therefore, function in a responsible way. Prior to 1967, the opposition was divided into an array of small parties. While the Congress garnered between 45 percent and 48 percent of the vote, no opposition party gained as much as 11 percent, and during the entire period, only two parties won 10 percent. Furthermore, in each election, independent candidates won between 12 percent and 20 percent of the vote. The oppositions first significant attempt to achieve electoral unity occurred during the 1967 elections when opposition party alliances won control of their state governments in Bihar, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, and West Bengal. In Rajasthan an opposition coalition prevented the Congress from winning a majority in the state legislature and forced it to recruit independents to form a government. The Congress electoral debacle encouraged even more dissidence within the party, and in a matter of weeks after the elections, defections brought down Congress governments in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. By July 1967, state governments of two-thirds of the country were under opposition rule. However, opposition rule in many cases was short-lived. The aftermath of the 1967 elections initiated a climate of politics by defection in which the Congress, and to a lesser extent the opposition, attempted to overthrow governments by winning over their state legislators with promises of grea ter political power and outright bribes. Needless to say, this period seriously undermined the ability of most parties to discipline their members. The increase in opposition-ruled state governments after 1967 also prompted the Congress to use Presidents Rule to dismiss opposition-led state governments with increasing frequency (see Emergency Provisions and Authoritarian Powers, this ch.). Although the centrist and right-wing opposition formed a grand alliance during the 1971 parliamentary elections, it was not until the general elections of 197

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Conflict in The Victory by Anne Stevenson :: Victory

Conflict in The Victory by Anne Stevenson " I thought you were my victory /though you cut me like a knife" (Stevenson 1-2) The opening lines of Anne Stevenson's poem The Victory set a tone of conflict. This poem, at its surface, expresses a mother's thoughts on giving birth to a son. Stevenson describes the mixed feelings many mothers have upon the delivery of their first born. The final release from pregnancy and birthing pains, coupled with the excitement of bringing a live creature into this world, at first seem a victory to the new parent. The author goes on to confute the event as a victory. Using words such as "antagonist" (5), "bruise" (6), and "scary"(13), she shows the darker side of childbirth. The mother has felt her own life's blood flowing that a stranger might live "The stains of your glory bled from my veins." (6-8). That she sees her own child as a stranger is evident in lines nine and ten, where the child is described as a "blind thing" (9) with "blank insect eyes"(10). The mother portrays her baby as a bug, not even human. In the last section of the poem, two questions are asked, attesting to the mother's internal conflict. "Why do I have to love you?/ How have you won?" (15-16). These unanswerable queries are some of the fundamental questions of our human existence. Below the topmost layer of meaning in The Victory, is an underlying theme that any parent or guardian will easily relate to. Children are born out of the great pain their mothers endure. They are helpless in one sense, yet they command the care of their parents. Stevenson describes the intrinsic helplessness of infants with the words "Blind"(9) and "Hungry"(14). Yet, this poem does not refer to new born babes alone. Birthing pains do not cease with the delivery of a child. The conflict described in this poem is felt by parents of adult children as well. All parents give of their lifeblood, at least in the emotional sense, in raising and maintaining their offspring. The Victory is a poem written as if by a mother only just delivered of a new born son, yet the themes expressed in its lines apply to all the

Friday, October 11, 2019

Nutrition Essay

Holozoic nutrition (Gr. holo means-whole ; zoikos means-of animals) is a method of nutrition that involves the ingestion of liquid or solid organic material, digestion, absorption and assimilation of it to utilize it. It includes taking in the complex substances and converting them into simpler forms. Example, proteins can be broken into amino acids. This method suggests phagocytosis where the cell membrane completely surrounds a food particle[pic] Parasitic Nutrition is a mode of heterotrophic nutrition where an organism (known as a parasite) lives on the body surface or inside the body of another type of organism (known as a host). The parasite obtains nutrition directly from the body of the host. Since these parasites derive their nourishment from their host, this symbiotic interaction is often described as harmful to the host. Parasites are dependent on their host for survival, since the host provides nutrition and protection. As a result of this dependence, parasites have considerable modifications to optimise parasitic nutrition and therefore their survival. Saprotrophic nutrition (pron.: /sà ¦prÉ µÃ‹Ë†trÉ’fÉ ªk/) is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of dead or decayed organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs or heterotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi, for example Mucor and Rhizopus. The process is most often facilitated through the active transport of such materials through endocytosis within the internal mycelium and its constituent hyphae.[1] Autotrophic Nutrition The term autotroph has been derived from two Greek wards-auto means self and troph means nutrition. In this mode of nutrition, the organisms prepare their own food from simple raw materials like water, carbon dioxide and mineral salts in the presence of sunlight. Chlorophylls present in the chloroplast or green plants are the site of food production. Accordingly all green plants are the examples of this category. The process by which they synthesize food is known as photosynthesis. Some nongreen becteria like sulphur bacteria can use energy which they derive from some chemical reactions occurring in them. With this energy they manufacture their food. This process is called chemosynthesis. Thus the autotrophs include both the photosynthetic and che4mosynthetic organisms. Heterotrophic Nutrition The word heterotrophy has been derived from two Greek words-hetero means different and troph refers to nutrition of food. The organisms which derive their food from others are known as heterotrophic organisms. They depend for their food on other organisms, hence they are called consumers. All animals, human beings and non-green plans like fungi come under this category. They consume complex organic food prepared by autotrophs or producers and break it into simple from to derive nourishment. Thus the difference between heterotrophy and autotrophs is basically in the mode of production of food. Due to lack of chlorophyll, heterotrophs cannot synthesize their food while autotrophs can perform photosynthesis.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Asian Countries Essay

Many Asian countries such as Singapore, HK, and South Korea have achieved tremendous economic growth in the last forty years of development. One of the key success factors has been macroeconomic stability in these countries. Multiplier effect — population Talk aboit the characteristic of Asian countries-past 40 years –deveoping country –vast raw material 1.  Economic growth is defined as an increased in the level of production of goods and services by a country over a certain period of time. Economic growth can be in terms of real economic growth or potential economic growth. I agree with the author that one of the key factors that have allowed many Asian countries to have achieved economic growth has been macroeconomic stability such as low inflation, low unemployment rate and stable exchange rate in the currency market. However these Asian Countries have achieved tremendous economic growth are also due to other supporting key success factors such as globalisation and political stability enjoyed in these countries which I will explain in this essay. 2.Low Inflation I agree that macroeconomic stability due to low inflation is one key success factor that leads to economic growth in many Asian countries. Inflation is defined as the sustained increased in general price level. When there is low inflation in these Asian countries, it helps to ensure a competitive export industry. This implies that its exports will have a higher price competitiveness over their trading partner hence its export will increased. For example, Singapore, a small and open economy with no natural resources depends mainly on its trade for its economic growth. Hence having a low inflation allows Singapore goods to be relatively cheaper than foreign goods and this cause the net export of Singapore to increase.Low inflation protects domestic industry away from foreign goods competition as the price of the domestic goods is cheaper than foreign goods will cause the demand for imports to fall. Thus low inflation would result in an increased in net export (X-M Low inflation also leads to an increase in the investment expenditure. Since Singapore has low inflation ,it implies that Singapore tends to be more stable and there is less uncertainty, firms and foreign direct investors will find it easier to estimate the costs and revenues of  investments. Hence when inflation is low it will give a good business sentiments and this leads to an increase in investment expenditure. Since net export (X-M) and investment expenditure are components of aggregate demand when net export (X-M) increased and investment expenditure increased, AD will also increase. ( Graph figure1 ) As seen from figure 1,when AD curve shift right from AD1 to AD2 the general price level increase from p1 to p2 and real GDP increases from Y1 to Y2.Thus,Singapore experience real Economic growth as a result of macroeconomic stability due to low inflation. Thus, I agree with the author that one of the key success factors leading to economic growth in many Asian countries is due to macroeconomic stability. 3. Low unemployment Another key success factors that leads to economic growth has been macroeconomic stability due to low unemployment rate. Unemployment is defined as the number of people who is willing and able to work but is unable to find a suitable job and is contantly searching for a job. Asian countries for example Singapore have a low unemployment rate. The low unemployment rate allow the economy in Singapore to produce a larger amount of output and implies a large amount of people in Singapore have income. Thus, having low unemployment rate that the consumers in Singapore have higher spending powers due to higher disposable income and more people having the ability to spend as they holds a job. Thus consumption level in Singapore will increase. In addition, when the unemployment rate in Singapore is low, the government will be able to collect more tax revenue. Also, lesser unemployment benefits is needed to be given to the unemployed and these tax revenue and unemployment funds could be used by government to improve the infrastructure of Singapore which would attract more foreign direct investor. Since consumption( C ) ,(G) government expenditure and (I) investment which are components of AD, when C,G and I increase, AD will also increase. An initial increase in AD will leads to a more than proportionate increase in the real national income through the multiplier process. However for Asian countries like Singapore the mulitiplier size is small due to a small population size and large leakage of the circular flow of income. Hence the extent of shift of the AS curve is greater than the extent of  shift of the AD curve. As seen from figure 2 ,when AD curve shift from AD1 to AD2 and AS curve shift from AS1 to AS2 , the general price level decrease from P1 to P2 and the real GDP increases from Y1 to Y2.Thus , there is econonomic growth where hence there will be increased in real GDP thus there is in the short run there is real economic growth in the short runwhereas In the long run, the increase in investment expenditure will cause an increase in potential economic growth due to the increase in productivity and productive capacity as a result of the increase in capital goods. Hence , Asian countries like Singapore experience real economic growth in the short run and potential economic growth in the long run as a result of macroeconomic stability due to low unemployment. Thus I agree with the author that macroeconomic stability due to low unemployment is one of the key success factors that leads to economic growth in many Asian countries. 4. Stable exchange rate Another key success factors that leads to economic growth in many Asian countries like Singapore has been macroeconomic stability due to stable exchange rate. Stable exchange rate provides good business sentiments for firms and investor as the outlook of the economy is optimistic. Also, stable exchange rate is important especially to investors who depend heavily on importing raw materials for production of their goods. This is because stable exchange rate allows these firms and investors to estimate ahead the costs of operations and the returns in the long run. Thus having stable exchange rate in Asian countries like Singapore provide confidence to investors and hence stable exchange rate serve as an incentive to attract foreign director investor. Since investment expenditure is a component of AD when investment increased, AD will increased in the short run and AS will increase in the long run as investor brings in new technology and more efficient production methods which helps to i mprove the productivity and increase the productive capacity. As seen in figure 3,when AD curve shift right from AD1 to AD2 and AS curve  shift right from AS1 to AS2 ,the general price level decrease from P1 to P2 and the real gd* increases from Y1 to Y2.Since real GDP increased,it implies that there is economic growth. For Asian countries like Singapore, where we are small and open with no natural resources we depend heavily on foreign direct investment apart from trade to achieve economic growth.( Investment revenue statistic how much Investment contribute to GDP†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦)Thus, I agree with the author that macroeconomic stability due to stable exchange rate is one of the key success factors that leads to economic growth in many Asian countries. 5.Globalisation However, to achieve tremendous economic growth in many Asian countries based solely on macroeconomic stability is not enough, hence there are other supporting key success factors such as globalisation and political stability that helps to contribute to the tremendous economic growth in many Asian countries. Globalisation is a phenomenon where the markets of global economy become more integrated. With globalisation it also means that there will be faster diffusion of ideas, information, and technology across the world. Globalisations have led a reduction in trade barriers. Globalisation helps to increase international trade between countries which is especially important for countries like Singapore who depends heavily on export revenue for economic growth. Globalisation has allow the production costs to lower because countries specialise in goods which they have comparative advantage in producing and allow them to import the cheapest raw material helps them to lower their cost of pro duction. Singapore has no natural resources this means that Singapore import all of its raw materials. Thus, the process of globalisation helps Singapore to lower its cost of production and allow the price of its final goods and services to be cheaper. This will increase the price competiveness of Singapore exports as they are relatively cheaper than foreign goods. Since the export revenue will be higher than the import expenditure net exports(X-M) will increased. Net export is a component of AD, thus AD will also increased. As seen from figure 4,when AD curve shift right from AD1 to AD2 the real GDP increases from Y1 to Y2.Thus,Singapore experience Economic growth as a result of macroeconomic stability due globalisation. and real GDP will increased hence economic growth is achieved. Thus globalisation is undeniable playing as key success  factors that leads to economic growth in many Asian countries. 6.Political Stability Political stability provides the outlook of the economy of the country. Many Asian countries like Singapore has very good governance with strict rules and regulations together with the sound infrastructure making it a conducive place for investment. When there is political stability there will be good business sentiments as investor are able to plan ahead their expected costs of operations of the business and the returns in the long term. Politically stable country means the likelihood of civil war or political war is low hence the operation of the firms will be stable and there will be low risk of facing the possibilities of shutting down. Hence foreign direct investors are attracted to politically stable country because of the stability of the business outlook. Since investment expenditure is a component of AD an increase in Investment expenditure will lead to an increase in real GDP and help Singapore to achieve economic growth. Thus Asian countries that are politically stable acts as a key success factors to support other factors to help Asian countries like Singapore to achieve economic growth. 7.Conclusion I agree with the author that one of the key success factors has been macroeconomic stability that leads to economic growth in many Asian countries. However with macroeconomic stability alone, without globalisation and political stability in these Asian countries,it is unable to achieved tremendous economic growth.This the tremendous economic growth is achieved as these key success factors exist together and support each other.If not the tremendous economic growth if based on macroeconomic stability will only be in the short terms but globalisation and political stability allows the tremendous economic growth to last in the long run.