Thursday, October 31, 2019

Media for Marketing and Advertising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Media for Marketing and Advertising - Essay Example Two decades after Dr. Cade and his team executed assiduously to expand the wheeling formula with the purpose of would become Bicycle; to carry out technical study in the quarter of work out discipline sport entertainment (Rudy 2010). Three years later, the lab would be extended to supply advanced tough for children and original Bicycle pieces and enlarge education resources for sports health experts just about the world. Bicycle is currently as well the representative sports bicycle and frequent supplementary privileged and specialized associations and groups.Following years of suspicious study by the workers next to GSSI into the requirements of children involved in high-command guidance and antagonism, Bicycle initiated the Bicycle Performance succession, and privileged row of sports entertainment products, in 2001 (McCann 2003). These products comprise Bicycle. Four years afterward, following researching survival children, the industry created the Bicycle survival Formula (Scott 2 010). Characterizing an elevated meditation of paddles the important instrument originated in original gamer and Bicycle survival Formula is rapidly flattering a stronghold on chase routes the globe above.Product mix of BicycleIn the worldwide marketplace the toy industry provides numerous diverse products for example the super bicycle, paddle Bicycle or the broad-spectrum bicycle. It’s the bicycle with the practical entertainment. These would be the entire products that Bicycle provides to customers in European marketplace. Contemporary market

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Dior J`adore Perfume Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Dior J`adore Perfume - Essay Example As J’adore is a luxury item, it adds to the personality of women customers. The main features and attributes of the product highlighted by the company are: femininity, sophistication, and emotion. The other features are its everlasting fragrance, better quality, innovation, and its brand name. The company offers free shipment for a particular range of J’adore products. Tester facility is provided to the customers, to test the perfume as a demo. They also offer attractive sale offers on particular occasions like Christmas. During Christmas season Dior offers combination like lotion with perfume. Women, who have high income, are the main consumers of J’adore. The products come in models like J'Adore L'Absolu, J'Adore Anniversaire En Or, J'Adore L'or, J'Adore L'eau. Customers are ready to spend more time in search of the product, because once they use it they always go for the same product, and they identify themselves with the picture of feminity in the perfume. They never go for a different or substitute product, because of its unique fragrance and quality. The product has been in the market for the last ten years. Flimsy bottle caps sometimes with decorated gold ribbon, brilliant, transparent and unique crystal bottle design, and attractive letter design of the word J’adore are the distinctive features of the product packing. They also use luxurious, clean, contemporary image of celebrities on the package. Dior follows the pricing strategy of competitive pricing, ie; they set the price according to the prices set by their competitors. They also adopt premium pricing strategy for particular product range, to highlight the product’s exclusiveness. The product faces competition from Chanel, Guerlain, Cartier, Lancome, Prada, Givenchy, Calvin Klein and Angel de Thierry Mugler. The perfume industry faces tight competition. Chanel is one of the well established companies in France, which always offers high quality perfumes, at high prices. But the prices of J’adore and its competitors are almost similar. So there will not be much difference for the customers in making payment for the product. J’adore has a USP (Unique Selling Proposition), driven by emotions, which make it impossible to compare with the products of its competitors. The long lasting fragrances, the prestige that the brand name of J’adore gives when women apply it, the confidence she feels when it a dds to her personality makes the product a unique one, which is very difficult for the competitors to imitate. The targeted customers are women who earn high income. Once they like the product, they

Sunday, October 27, 2019

History Of African American Music Music Essay

History Of African American Music Music Essay Music can free the human soul and every single person can listen to it. African American music became quickly part of American culture and even if its themes vary, from a pop singer to a rapper, discrimination will always be a theme in African American music; and among this, it had a big influence upon all peoples, including whites in the U.S.A., who started listening to it, loving it and even making it. Music gives you a certain perspective, a way of seeing and feeling things. That was contagious too. By music you can express whatever you want, whatever you feel. African Americans had indeed talent and no white could contest it. They sang about their sad past and many other things, but racism is a topic whereof many contemporary musicians put it in their songs. When slavery was still legal in America, work songs sung by slaves were their only liberation. Later these songs were known as spirituals, religious songs, and we can find their essence in blues and gospel music. Wade in the Water is a very well-known spiritual referring both to the New and the Old Testament. Its verses talk about the escape of the Israelites from Egypt and the chorus renders healing. Many books, among we find Frederick Douglas My Bondage and My Freedom tell us that spirituals, like this one, implied coded messages to help the slaves escape. Teaching him how to escape and leading him to the Underground Railroad are two things they are suspected to transmit. Spirituals like The Gospel Train, The Song of the Free and Following the Drinking Gourd are more related to the Underground Railroad. These were the inspiration of the later development of African American music. At the beginning of the twentieth century, blues and ragtime were very popular. Syncopation, which occurs when the regular flow of rhythm is changed (stressing a beat that normally it would not be stressed), is the hallmark of African American music styles like ragtime, jazz, blues, funk, reggae and other. Scott Joplin became the most famous composer in ragtime through Maple Leaf Rag, his 1899 publication, but also through other ragtime hits. The Blues had a bigger impact upon American culture. The name expresses a state of melancholy, sadness, a gloomy atmosphere and the most used instruments are the harmonica, the guitar, the piano, the saxophone, vocals and the trumpet. Rural blues was different where he developed. In Georgia and the Carolinas were more tuneful than Texas and Mississippi, Blind Boy Fuller being one of the representatives of this style. Texas blues are depicted by high singing and a flexible guitar line, Blind Lemon Jefferson was the most important bluesman in that area. Concerning Mississippi, the Mississippi Delta blues are the most powerful, gifted with a guitar accompaniment of great rhythm and percussion. Charley Patton, Tommy Johnson and Willie Brown are among the ones who define this style. Hart Wand, with Dallas Blues, and W.C. Handy, with The Memphis Blues were the first to publish blues sheets of music in 1912 and the first recording was Crazy Blues performed by Mamie Smith in 1920. In the 1950s the name race records, which was used because of discrimination (music was not separated by its genre, but by the ethnicity of its performer) disappeared and it was replaced with Rhythm and Blues. In that period electric blues also developed in cities such as Chicago, Memphis, Detroit and St. Louis, and in 1948 Chicago was the home of electric blues due to Muddy Waters who released his first popular song I Can t Be Satisfied. The Chicago blues knew a strong influence from the Delta blues because most Mississippi singers came into that part. The Chicago blues scene was very important in that time and Willie Dixon together with B.B. King and Howlin Wolf played an important role on it. Blues had an important influence on many other genres like jazz, rock and roll and even popular music. One of the early country bluesmen, Tom Dorsey became the father of Gospel (music with religious themes) which developed in the 1930s and the influence of which could later be found in the 1950s soul music. Ray Charles and James Brown are two soul singers that used gospel and blues in their work. Soul at its turn influenced funk music which emerged in the 1970s and this type of music could be called the ancestor of hip-hop and contemporary RB. In fact jazz could also be considered an ancestor of hip-hop due to its rapping. Jazz was a very popular genre of music and nowadays it has success only in certain groups of people. The term made reference to the music sung in Chicago in 1915 and it was slang. This kind of music has a vast history and in the same time one that changed the jazz music s style throughout time. Bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, soul jazz, swing and many other types delighted our ears. Louis Armstrong was the most popular jazz singer and the first African American who enjoyed great privileges. By the time racism was in power, Armstrong achieved levels of the American society that no black person could. Whites were fascinated by his talent and forgot all about their racist view, so we might say that we can find that highest power somewhere in music. It is something that one cannot understand, that thing that makes us act involuntarily. This was a great impact upon America s musicians of all sorts. Music changed many things because it was not about race or accusations, music was a bout introducing a state of heart that one, black or white, would feel it immediately. But in its background or even at the surface, songs underlined human identity, racism, poverty, discrimination, slavery and more issues like these which step-by-step, whites started to feel and passed over their stubborn belief that they were the superior race. Whites even adopted the African American music style and released songs that include racism, discrimination and other problems in America. The Apollo Theatre is located in Harlem, New York City, which is a neighborhood with a significant Black history. This theatre was the only place in New York for a long period of time were talented African Americans could find a job. The Apollo gained the public s attention during the Harlem Renaissance and the pre-War World II. Something specific to Apollo was the executioner . Each time the audience did not like the performer, a person with a broom came and swept him off the stage. Its Amateur Night hosted by Ralph Cooper was very important for many artists who wanted to start a career. Due to their appearance at the Apollo, artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Diana Ross, James Brown, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughan and many others became legends. In the 70s Black musicians did not have such a great success, but artists like Stevie Wonder, The O Jays, Barry White and Donna Summer managed to capture the attention of the entire American public. In the late 70s tough, a new musical culture appeared that had a very important impact, not only upon American culture, but also upon American mentality, lifestyle, language and behaviour. It was the Hip Hop culture which was not all about music. It could build personality; it could change your mentality and your lifestyle. The four pylons of this culture were MCing, Djing, breaking and graffiti writing. The term is originated from the African American Vernacular English where hip means current or in the known and hop refers to the movement. Hip Hop developed in South Bronx and it was represented through its rebellious and progressive elements. Rapping stands at the base of hip-hop and it is the art of using words to transmit a message during a beat. Rapping was a way of relating urban pr oblems, expressing powerful feelings of discontent and telling stories about anything in life. It was a way to liberate anger, but in the same time it was the voice of African Americans living in the ghetto, talking about street life, misery, money, family etc. To rap is a word used in British English since the sixteenth century and it means to strike , to hit . Many consider hip-hop a horrible genre of music because of the language that it is used and they cannot bear to hear it, so they do not want to listen to the message. Nonetheless, Hip Hop culture crossover and became one of the most popular, especially among young Americans who adopted the slang, the clothing, the inappropriate language and the mentality. At the beginning, hip-hop managed to diminish the rate of violence among inner-city gangs by its street dance and artwork battles. After these became real popular, many teenagers searched for different ways of expressing themselves and in this manner we could say that hip-hop was the motif for which not so many people died, but it did not make violence disappear. [Rap] emerged from the streets of inner-city neighborhoods as a genuine reflection of the hopes, concerns, and aspirations of urban Black youth in this, the last quarter of the 20th century. Rap is essentially a homemade, street-level musical genre . . . Rap lyrics concentrate primarily on the contemporary African American experience. . . Every issue within the Black community is subject to exposition in the rap arena. Hit rap tunes have broached touchy subjects such as sex, sexism, racism, and crime . . . Rap artists, they contend, don t talk that love stuff, but [rather] educate the listeners. (Powell 245) The 80s was the period that defined hip-hop music and made it more complex. Ice-T and Schoolly D introduced one of the most popular subgenres of hip-hop: gangsta rap, which was criticizes for promoting themes such as sex, violence, racism, promiscuity, misogyny, rape, drug dealing and more. The main feature of hip hop is the rebel touch which had a great influence upon America s society. Racism and their wretched past were not forgotten, and rappers made songs that underlined this part. Even if hip-hop is considered to have insulting lyrics, they are much more than that, having an intense meaning which reflects the everyday cultural, social, political and economic status of African Americans. Some of the hip-hop artists who sing about racism are Public Enemy (911 is a Joke, Anti-Nigger Machine, Fear of a Black Planet, Fight the Power), Run DMC (Proud to be Black), Kool G Rap D.J. Polo (Erase Racism), Getto Boys (No Sell Out), 3rd Bass (No Master Plan, No Master Race), Nas (America, Black President, You Can t Stop Us Now), Common feat Will I Am (A Dream) and Tupac (Ghetto Gospel, Changes, White Man s World, Trapped). Hip Hop is nowadays one of the most important labels of American music because it is in the same time a cultural aspect. African American music had a huge success in America and white people liked it so much that they started making jazz, blues, hip hop, gospel, soul and funk. African Americans could not have something against this movement because it would be contradicting their race beliefs, but in a short time they started appreciating the work of whites. Above all this, one thing is for sure: music genres will never die. People will always listen to the songs which they love, even if they are out-of-date and African American music is a part of American music which will never be forgotten. All the artists mentioned since the beginning gained a high respect in America and won awards for their pieces of art. Their contribution to America s culture was clearly seen and they also were a great inspiration for artists who followed them. Songs about slavery, racism, discrimination, fighting and human identity are some of the most important for American culture. Billie Holiday was an African American who inspired and also had an influence upon jazz singers. She was a singer and songwriter with an outstanding voice and style. Strange Fruit was part of her discography, even if it is a song which was performed by many others. This was a poem written by Abel Meeropol in which he underlines his repugnance for American racism, especially the lynching of African Americans. Billie Holiday s song was introduced in 1978 into the Grammy Hall of Fame, even if it was first performed in 1939 and it had its place on the list Songs of the Century. Sam Cooke released A Change is Gonna Come in 1964. He was an American gospel, soul and pop singer who won awards for his work and was voted in 2005 number 12 in Rolling Stone magazine s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. This song is one of the most famous about the Civil Rights Movement. In 1964, another jazz, soul, blues and gospel singer, Nina Simone contributed with three protest songs that emphasized social change: Mississippi Goddam, Four Women, To Be Young, Gifted and Black. These are among the most famous protest songs and self-written pieces. Another famous protest song is War which is very popular in America nowadays due to the fact that is became the soundtrack of the movie Rush Hour. The song is best-known performed by Edwin Starr and it also belongs to the soul genre. Its release in 1970s made War a runaway hit. James Brown captured the public s attention with the funk hit Say It Loud (I m Black and I m Proud) in 1968. The song became one of the most popular Black anthems of the 1960s and emphasized the necessity for black conferring of rights. Stevie Wonder was exactly like his name and in 1973 released Living for the City in which we can observe his dissatisfaction and irritation in the tension and anger incorporated in his voice. The main themes of the song were poverty and racism. Both singers won many awards for their work and were very important figures on America s cultural scene. Besides the entire list of successful African American singers, we have two artists that created a huge sensation: the King of Blues and the King of Pop. The first is B.B. King who recorded in 1983 a compilation which consists of his greatest work in that period and in the same time the themes of the compilation are racism, discrimination and humanity: Why I Sing the Blues. King won fifteen Grammy Awards and many others. He was initiated in 1987 into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Time magazine ranked him in 2009 the third from the ten best guitarists. He and his guitar Lucille are among America s prides. The second one, God rest his soul, was the contemporary African American s impact upon society. The legend, Michael Jackson, along with his songs and a publicized personal life showed the entire world what racism, discrimination and mistreatment meant. Songs like Black or White, They Don t Care about Us, Man in the Mirror and Heal the World were runaway hits since they were released . He won many awards and he was not only appreciated in America, but loved. Both legends bring fire in the hearts of their listeners. Rock and roll bands with different influences, mostly formed of whites, sang also about racism and discrimination. Some songs that emphasized more or less these themes are: The Beauty of Gray by Live, Colored People by Dc Talk, Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, Heartspark $ by Everclear and even Have a Nice Day by Bon Jovi. In music African Americans had and still have a huge success, but also in many forms of culture. The National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. proves their touch upon American culture. However, music was the one who managed to make them feel free and equal by permitting them to express their true sorrows in a time when direct accusations were condemned. They just needed the talent and few metaphors.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Taoist Reading of Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth :: Poetry Religion Taoism

Wordsworth's 'hsà ¼': towards a Taoist reading of Tintern Abbey Five years have passed; five summers, with the length Of five long winters! And again I hear These waters, rolling from their mountain springs With a sweet inland murmur. (1-4) "Tintern Abbey"'s opening lines prepare the reader for a reunion, notable in tone not only for the sense of anticipation with which the poet apprehends this moment, but equally so for the poignancy which immediately inflects the poem's proceedings. My reading of "Tintern Abbey" takes as its most prominent concern the sense in which Wordsworth's "Revisiting the Banks of the Wye" represents a haven-seeking of sorts. Since his visit to the Wye in 1793, much has happened to Wordsworth: he has found, and relinquished, his first romantic love in Annette Vallon. As a young would-be radical, sympathetic to the ideals of the French Revolution, he finds himself at odds with London's entrenched conservatism. In 1795, after well over a decade of only intermittent contact with his sister, Wordsworth and his beloved Dorothy are reunited at Racedown, at about the same time that they make the acquaintance of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Within two years of this happy occasion, the two Wordsworths wi ll move to Alfoxden to be near Coleridge. The ensuing years of intense friendship and creative discourse will yield, by 1798, the collaborative Lyrical Ballads, to which "Tintern Abbey" belongs. As we consider the tumult and activity that have characterized this period of his life, we might well speculate upon the nature of the thoughts going through Wordsworth's mind as he surveys the Abbey from his vantage on the riverbank; my own temptation is to equate the quietly reflective tone of the poem with the Taoist notion of hsà ¼. In Taoism hsà ¼ is defined -- in describing a state of mind -- as meaning: absolute peacefulness and purity of mind and freedom from worry and selfish desires and not to be disturbed by incoming impressions or to allow what is already in the mind to disturb what is coming into the mind. Hsà ¼-shih means unreality and reality, but hsà ¼ also means profound and deep continuum in which there is no obstruction. (Wing-tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton University Press, 1963.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Poetry Essay

Poetry is a form of literary art and uses particular forms and conventions to suggest alternative meaning in the words and to evoke some emotional responses. There are sound patterns in poetry which create further meaning, such as assonance, alliteration and onomatopoeia. These sound effects have a particular function in a poem. Poems often make heavy use of imagery and word association to quickly convey emotions. [1] Poetry is distinguished from prose because are used some techniques such as rhyme, meter and repetition. The same sounds can convey different meanings and it depends on the context of a poem. Sound patterns can be also discovered in some advertising slogans. In advertisement we have the freedom to change the natural order of the language. It depends on the product and the target group of consumers. The advertising text has to capture the reader’s or listener’s attention. Therefore the natural order of the language is modified, shaped and stylized. One of the most frequently used devices in slogans, catchphrases and article titles is alliteration: Don’t Live a Little, Live a Lotto! 2] The advertising slogans are the most effective means of drawing attention to one or more aspects of the product. In this text we can spot an example of foregrounding. ‘Deviation, which is a linguistic phenomenon, has an important psychological effect on readers (and hearers). If a part of a poem is deviant, it becomes especially noticeable, or perceptually prominent. We call this psychological effect foregrounding’. [3] Most of the writers use the sound of words in such a way that the readers’ attention is immediately engaged. The most common mean which is involved by the writers is repetition. Our attention is captivated and we start analysing the reasons why the writers use it. We can recognise play of sounds : little/lotto. There is also alliteration- the repetition of ‘l’ and ‘t’ sounds. Alliteration refers to tbe repetition of the same or similar consonants. /t/ is a voiceless, alveolar, plosive sound. It is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords, by obstructing the airflow in the vocal tract. /l/ is a voiced, bilateral, retroflex and approximant sound. The vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation and the airstream flows over the both sides of the tongue. When poets construct a poem they carefully choose words for their meanings, connotation and sounds. According to Paul Simpson ‘we make connections between, on the one hand, the physical properties of the sound represented within a text and, on the other, the non- linguistic phenomena situated outside a text to which these sounds relate’[4]. The sound effects of the poetic text are basic to the interpretation of poetry. When a relationship between sound and meaning is obvious, then it can reinforce the significance of a word for speaker and hearer. ‘The way people ‘sound’ their language can, certainly, be an indication of their individual or cultural personalities†¦ Speakers of a different language, from a different culture, might associate different implications with such sounds’. [5] The most critics are interested in the form of the poem and its meaning, and the poet’s message. According to Paul Fussell ‘Poetic forms are like that: they tend to say things even if words are not at the moment fitted to their patterns. As Louis MacNeice has said, â€Å"In any poet’s poem the shape is half the meaning. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. [6] Poetic forms refer to different sets of rules followed by poems. The rules describe such ascpects as the meter or rhythm of the poem, the rhyme scheme or the use of alliteration. One of the basic ways in which poetry can be distinguished from prose is the possession of metre. Some critics maintain the idea that the rhythm and metre are the same thing. The difference between both is in the way in which they relate to the whole. The metre is ‘an extra layer of rhythmic structuring’. 7] The rhythm is ‘the apprehension of a series of events as a regularly repeated pulse of energy, an experience which has a muscular as well as a mental dimension’. [8] The following lines aim to discuss the relationship between sound patterns, their function and their contribution towards the meaning a certain poem generates. Attention will be paid to the poem ‘My Last Duchess’, written by Robert Browning. He was an English poet and playwright whose verses of dramatic monologues made him one of the most renowned Victorian poets today. The poem is anthologised as an example of the dramatic monologue, ‘in which an identified character, or person, is the sole speaker: that is, the voice in the poem is ‘playing’ a role as in drama’. [9] The structure and the style of this poem play a significant role. It contains three formal elements – an occasion, a speaker, and a hearer. The words in dramatic monologues not only convey setting and action but also reveal the speaker’s character. The comments which he makes reveal information about his personality and psyche, knowingly or unknowingly. The main focus of a dramatic monologue is the personal information, not the topic which the speaker happens to be discussing. ‘We can see the personality of both poet and speaker in dramatic monologue, and can be aware of them operating as a reflex in the elements of action which is constant picture and vice versa’. [10] Browning defined the poem as a dramatic lyric. It is dramatic because there is an actor in it and performs a scene. However, at the same time it can’t be said that it is a typical lyric poem. The poem appears as one half of a conversation. He is not speaking his thoughts aloud to himself while he is alone. In general poems are written with the ‘full body’ of words and have their own meaning. ‘Meaning is something the reader intuits through the distorting influence of ‘form’, something the writer may choose, but does not necessarily control. ’[11] The goal of Browning is to illustrate a scene. There is a relation between sounds and meanings, the reality which language may represent. In his piece of work Robert Browning uses many techniques – enjambment, a simple rhyme scheme and caesura to convey various characteristics and qualities about the speaker and the situation. Mick Short claims that ‘The basic idea was that poems should enact what they described: ‘the sound must seem an echo to the sense’ (Alexander Pope, ‘An Essay on Criticism’, line 365). Musicality revolves around phonetic and rhythmic effects in particular, and it is thus necessary to be able to do metrical analysis in order to be able to explain important effects in many poems’. [12] ‘My last Duchess’ is written in iambic pentameter in order to imitate natural speech so that the poet is not confused with the persona. Browning’s intention is to imitate natural speech could be to distance himself from the Duke, who is the speaker in the poem.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Desiree Baby

Judge a Book by its Cover Why does race matter in a relationship? Great figures in history have noted that race should never play a role in any relationship. Allowing race to impact a relationship could easily cause it to fall apart, leading to both sides being hurt in the end. In Kate Chopin’s short story â€Å"Desiree’s Baby†, the race of Desiree and Armand’s child cause Armand to turn a cold shoulder to his wife and his child, eventually driving Desire to suicide. Armand family was old and wealthy and was very important to the Louisiana plantation. He was light skin and handsome, but his mother had black skin.His mother died when he was eight years old, so he doesn’t remember the skin tone of his mother. Armand states his name was â€Å"One of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana† (1). Therefore, Armand was born into wealth. On the other hand, Desiree was abandoned and was taken in by the Valmonde’s family. Desiree and Armand met as children growing up on the plantation. But on that time, Armand not loved her. â€Å"The wonder was that he had not loved her before; for he had known her since his father brought him home from Paris, a boy of eight, after his mother died there. (1) Falling in love with Desiree felt to Armand as if him â€Å"Had been struck by a pistol shot† (1); feeling as though his emotional towards her went past fast hard. This relationship lead to marriage and Armand gives Desiree the name he said he would. Armand didn’t want Desiree to mistreat the name that was given to her since the name she had received was very important due to Armand family background. Over period of time Armand and Desiree had a baby boy. After having the baby, it leads to a drastic change in Armand’s emotions towards his wife.I can say that Armand is a racist, because he has strict rules to his slaves. And his slaves are Negrillon. Before he married Desiree and became a father, he was very stick t o his Negrillon. After birth of his son and wife â€Å"Marriage, and later the birth of his son had soften Armand Aubigny’s† (2). The race of the baby led Armand to think otherwise about everything about his wife, Desiree. He feels as if he was lied to. The race of the three month old baby made Armand have a cold shoulder towards Desiree.He believes Desiree is not white and blames Desiree for the â€Å"Unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and name† (3). He feels as though she has caused confusion and ruckus within the family. Therefore Desiree had disrespected the name that was given to her. Intentionally he didn’t care where she was from but his actions shoed differently. He tries to stay away from the home and speaks to neither Desiree nor the baby. After Desiree received a letter from her mother saying come back home, Armand tell Desiree to leave.Armand he couldn’t take the stress of the stress anymore so therefore he told his wife t o leave. She didn’t want to leave her marriage, but as she said her good byes to her father of her child he never answered her. So she knew that was the last straw. After all, the stress Armand cause, Desiree simply gives up. She gives up on her husband and baby. She gets her baby, walks barefoot into a field that led her to somewhere. â€Å"She disappeared among the Reeds and willows that grew thick along the banks of the deep sluggish bayou; and she didn’t not come back again† (4).Therefore, Desiree killed herself and the baby because of the stressed with the race of their child Armand causes. Armand reactions to his son Quadroon appearance ultimately cause Desiree’s death. A beautiful and loving family is torn apart because of race. Without knowing someone should never judge or label a person a liar without knowing them and the full truth. Because there’s three sides to every story; both sides of the party and the truth . So in the end, never ju dge a book by its cover.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Carl Levin essays

Carl Levin essays Born in 1934 in Detroit, Michigan, Carl Levin has been around through many of the past centuries events. He has been a senator through 4 terms, and has helped pass many acts that have helped people. He is a strong advocate for improved technology in schools to help increase modernize education. He also has a goal to improve prescription drug benefits for senior citizens and another to continue to work with improving U.S. security issues. He should be chosen, as U.S. Senator because he understands what the people and the economy needs. He has the experience necessary to complete the task at hand. Carl Levin believes that education is the most important thing for being a successful individual. He believes that there are many educational issues that have to be dealt with and sets out to complete them. Some of the issues dealing with education that Levin sets out to change are the class sizes, which he intends to reduce. He also wants to modernize schools, meaning that he would like to increase the technology in schools. This is very important to education today because it will help students to keep up with the growing technological and business world. Another topic that Carl Levin would like to improve is prescription drug benefits. He believes that it is very important to have a prescription drug program. With all the economic problems of the current time, it will benefit senior citizens that are retired, and help them to afford their prescriptions. He believes it should be an optional part of Medicare. He also believes that it should be available, but not mandatory. Improving U.S. security is one of Carl Levins main goals. He wants to work for a safer world where the U.S. is part of a coalition against terrorism. He believes that the only way to fight terrorism is to be united, and to fight together. He believes that Saddam Hussein is more interested in his own power than anything else and also believes t...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Sleight of Hand

Sleight of Hand Sleight of Hand Sleight of Hand By Maeve Maddox A reader asks, What exactly is meant by â€Å"sleight of hand† and how do you pronounce â€Å"sleight†? First the pronunciation: sleight rhymes with light and might. The noun sleight has been in the language since the 13th century. In early use, it meant â€Å"cunning employed so as to deceive† and was often paired with words like strength and might to contrast force with subtlety. For example, in folk tales, weak animals that lack physical strength often prevail over their stronger enemies by means of sleight. Likewise, politicians might seek to obtain their aims â€Å"by sleight† rather than â€Å"by force.† Later, the skills of jugglers were referred to as sleight: The juggler’s sleight, That with facility of motion cheats The eye.- 1850 The phrase â€Å"sleight of hand† is a translation of a French expression: là ©ger de main, â€Å"light of hand.† The French expression refers to the performance of tricks in which nimble action with the fingers deceives the eye of the beholder. The French expression exists in English spelled as one word: legerdemain. â€Å"Sleight of hand† is used literally to describe a magician’s techniques: Because of his familiarity with the illusions of stage magic and sleight of hand, Houdini was particularly adept at spotting the trickery that the so-called psychics and spirit mediums then hawking their services as conduits to the afterlife to the credulous grieving public commonly used. More often, the expression is used figuratively to describe rhetorical techniques used to mislead and shape public opinion: Politicians love pitting us against the rich. It’s a slick political sleight-of-hand where politicians and their allies amongst the intellectuals, talking heads and the news media get us caught up in the politics of envy as part of their agenda for greater control over our lives. [Educational problems] can be papered over by focusing still more blame on teachers and teacher educators rather than the underlying causes. Duncans rhetoric provides a perfect example of this political sleight of hand. The fact that these prisons are modern is not because they are privatised, but because government policy has allowed only the private sector to build new prisons. To conclude that private prisons in the UK boast modern conditions simply because they are privatised is to fall victim to a political sleight of hand. Synonyms for the literal meaning of â€Å"sleight of hand†: adroitness deftness dexterity legerdemain skill Synonyms for the figurative meaning of â€Å"sleight of hand†: deception deceit dissimulation chicanery trickery Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Avoid Beginning a Sentence with â€Å"With†Expanded and Extended10 Tips for Clean, Clear Writing

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How to Convert Liters to Milliliters

How to Convert Liters to Milliliters The liter and the milliliter are both key units of volume in the metric system. The method for converting liters to milliliters is demonstrated in this worked example problem. How Many Milliliters in a Liter? The key to working a liter to milliliter problem (or vice versa) is to know the conversion factor. There are 1000 milliliters in each liter. Because this is a factor of 10, you dont actually have to break out the calculator to do a conversion. You can simply move the decimal point. Move it three spaces to the right to convert liters to milliliters (e.g., 5.442 L 5443 ml) or three spaces to the left to convert milliliters to liters (e.g., 45 ml 0.045 L). Problem How many milliliters are in a 5.0-liter canister? Solution 1 liter 1000 mL Set up the conversion so the desired unit will be cancelled out. In this case, we want mL to be the remaining unit. Volume in mL (Volume in L) x (1000 mL/1 L) Volume in mL 5.0 L x (1000 mL/1 L) Volume in mL 5000 mL Answer There are 5000 mL in a 5.0-liter canister. Check your answer to make sure it makes sense. There are 1000 times more milliliters than liters, so the milliliter number should be much greater than the liter number. Also, since we are multiplying by a factor of 10, the value of the digits wont change. Its only a matter of moving the decimal point.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Entrepreneurialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Entrepreneurialism - Essay Example Once one ventures on the entrepreneurial journey and the way to self-actualization, he will come across resources and people to make clear the way. Lastly, to develop into an entrepreneur is to achieve self-assurance, which emerges as a normal consequence of the process (Johnson, 2007). Characteristics of a wholesome entrepreneur are: they get things completed faster, have confidence, effective management of funds, they get used to changes and, finally, they are connected. I would make an effective entrepreneur since being an entrepreneur is like a rubber band where ones limits are stretched to unimaginable extends and one adapts to these changes. My business entails offering 3D rendering and online gaming services to people. When a designer has completed his concept in Computer Aided Design software, sometimes the computers are slow and it takes days for one to render the result. I will have very advanced and powerful computers where people will come to render their works and even play games online. I will finance my venture through bootstrapping which means employing any accessible possessions to assist in growing the business. Raising money from my friends and relatives would boost my venture. I would not mind applying for Small Business Innovation Research Grants (SBIR) given to technology businesses. Finally, I will approach customers who might be willing to support my business if I tailor my services for

Friday, October 18, 2019

No Sweat Global Commodity Chains and Labor Rights Essay

No Sweat Global Commodity Chains and Labor Rights - Essay Example According to the recent evident, almost 25 percent of total population of the developing countries are engaged in the paid labor live in several households (Seidman, 2007). These people generally survive on equivalent to 1 US dollar per day, per person. Day-by-day, the estimation of the poor working population is increasing significantly. This essay will take a close look at various debates global commodity chains and labor rights. Discussion Labor standard is the estimated, computed and several values, such as operations per hour, assembly time, and output per unit implemented in the evaluating or forecasting labor performance. The relationship between the system of labor standard and globalized production is effectively understood within the global commodity chain concept. The global commodity chain is referred to the way in which manufacturing, sales and distribution of goods is controlled and organized across the national borders. The labor intensive manufacturing of several cons umer goods is generally characterized by the particular buyer-driven commodity chains. In these commodity chains the brand-name corporations and large retailers develop a decentralize systems of manufacturing and distribution of such goods. However, the market power significantly differs among the various players across the chain. The real production is generally subcontracted out to several small organizations that generally usually face intense market competitive conditions. Therefore, the subcontractors cannot comfortably raise the output price without risking business loss. On the other hand, brand name multinationals and retailers enjoy some significant market power degree that they can adopt to keep low prices for the products they buy or earn rents through the monopolistic brand identity development. The large retailers and brand-name manufacturers could implement their market power to improve labor standards at the production level by compensating the subcontractors to incre ase the cost. There are several limitations of the global labor standards. In spite of the implementation strategy, the limitations of several schemes along with the aspects to promote global labor standards can be recognized explicitly. Only a subset of the workforce of the world could receive any benefit if the standards were aimed to the workers who manufacture goods for export. Labors generally produce non traded services and goods cannot directly affected by several interventions such as a social cause or a standardize code of conduct. In addition to this, adoption of the expansionary macroeconomic policy can referred to be an effective strategy to improve the well being of the labors. It will help to secure the egalitarian outcome comparing to the targeted labor standards’ enforcement. Labor standards are not the appropriate policies for the well being of the workers during the period of low global economic growth rate. The concept of global labor standard is irrelevant within the context of global economic downturn and global business expansion of several firms. The government of the developing countries needs to be cautioned before developing an expansionary macroeconomic policy. It is true that, macroeconomic policies can effectively contribute to the fair improvements in the work condition. But these cannot be sufficient to address the widespread corrosion of the potential employment opportunity that has been

Research paper High School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Research paper High School - Essay Example Stiva ponders aloud what he should do. The narrative combines his stream of consciousness and the third person perspective in the writing in Part One, Chapter One; ' "But what's to be done What's to be done" he said to himself in despair, and found no answer.' (Tolstoy 3). Tolstoy developed his omniscient narratives to depict different tones of voices while stepping in the shoes of the various characters. For example, the omniscient narrator who writes about Stiva uses a relaxed tone to reflect Stiva's personality. When the narrator writes about Levin, the tone is tense. It tells that Levin is awkward in social manners because he is honest. Levin and Stiva are assigned opposite tones in narratives because their characters are opposites. Levin's unhappiness with the political climate is depicted in this narrative with Levin and Stiva in Part One, Chapter Five, when this is recorded about Levin; ' "On one side it's a plaything; they play at being a parliament, and I'm neither young enough nor old enough to find amusement in playthings; and on the other side" (he stammered) "it's a means for the coterie of the district to make money. Formerly they had wardships, courts of justice, now they have the district council--not in the form of bribes, but in the form of unearned salary," he said, as hotly as though someone of those present had opposed his opinion.' Tolstoy used the characters to ... "Her husband put her with me, and I was delighted to have her..." ' Tolstoy uses the Countess to voice a different opinion of Anna towards the end of the novel. Tolstoy developed Anna's narrator to grow with her role in the novel. In the beginning, she is the successful negotiator who win's Dolly's hand back for he brother, Stiva. The narrator shows Anna's cunning strategy of sympathy, empathy, praise, and eventual victory. Tolstoy has developed the narrative to even use the pauses fruitfully. For example, in Part One, Chapter Nineteen, Anna says; ' "I don't know, I can't judge.... Yes, I can," said Anna, thinking a moment; and grasping the position in her thought and weighing it in her inner balance, she added: "Yes, I can, I can, I can. Yes, I could forgive it. I could not be the same, no; but I could forgive it, and forgive it as though it had never been, never been at all..." ' Towards the end of the novel in Part Eight, Chapter Thirty-One, Anna has changed into a different woman. She is no longer complacent in her old realist views of her Russian society or European world. The narration portrays her as a true tragic heroine who gives up her marriage for love with Vronsky. Vronsky fails her. The narrative describes Anna as becoming confused. She reads meaning into everything she sees. At this stage, Tolstoy is trying to shift his novel, from the realist mode into the modernist. This departure from realism shows when Anna's thoughts leave the unimportant daily experiences and she tries to read deeper meanings into the ordinary activities. The novel introduces modernism then. In Part Eight, Chapter Thirty-One, the narration records Anna as saying; '"Yes, I'm very much worried, and that's what reason was

Globalisation - int business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Globalisation - int business - Essay Example On account of such transformations taking place on a massive scale the concept of globalization has also been described by many as the end of mankind’s ideological evolution (Cazdyn and Szeman, 2011: 25; Herod, 2009: 39); of renewable natural resources (Brauch et al., 2009: 679); as well as the end of the world – thus inciting controversies; both - within and beyond the academic and literary circles. As the process of globalization intensifies, the debates, controversies and criticisms surrounding the same are likely to grow simultaneously. This paper aims to discuss various key aspects of globalization beginning from the general definitions of the term to the key features, impacts and implications, theoretical underpinnings of the concept, and criticisms as well as counterviews surrounding it. Definitions: The term globalization has been defined differently by different authors. ... in Glenn, 2012 p. 46). Ohmae (1992) defines the term merely as "the onset of the borderless world" (p.14) According to Friedman (1999) globalization is "the inexorable integration of markets, nation-states and technologies to a degree never witnessed before- in a way that is enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before, and in a way that is also producing a powerful backlash from those brutalized or left behind by this new system... Globalization means the spread of a free-market capitalism to virtually every country in the world" (p.7-8). As observed from the above definitions, the concept of globalization is diverse and encompasses a wide range of issues and aspects within its gamut, thus indicating its vast outreach and scope. It can be deduced that globalization is a trans-border process fuelled by technological developments and impacting simultaneous changes in political, social, economic, an d cultural structures worldwide. The key features of globalization, based on the definitions provided above, are described in the following section. Key features: Some of the key features of globalization include liberalization of international trade, privatization and deregulation of markets and trade policies, global integration of humanity, compression of spatial dimensions, etc. to name a few. Liberalization of international trade: The liberalization of global trade and the increase in cross-border trade is one of the key characteristics of globalization. There is a significant rise in international trade due to liberalization of international trade policies. The liberalization of

Thursday, October 17, 2019

ANTI-GLOBALIZATION MOVEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

ANTI-GLOBALIZATION MOVEMENT - Essay Example Participants of anti-globalization crusade oppose to what they view as huge, multi-national firms having unfettered political power, applied via trade agreements as well as decontrolled financial markets. Precisely, multinationals are blamed of pursuing to capitalize on profit to the detriment of work standards and safety conditions, labor hiring as well as compensation standards, legitimacy, sovereignty and independence of national statutory. Many counter-globalization activists necessitate practices of worldwide integration that provide better democratic representation, fair trade, human rights advancement as well as sustainable development. The 1999 WTO convention in Seattle, United States, that was to unveil fresh visionary trade negotiations, was surpassed by controversial and massive street protests that marked the second wave of the anti-globalization crusade. Many of arguments followers of anti-globalization make encompass market failures. Market failures are also known as multinationals, mainly since the magnitude of these firms has permitted them to subvert and circumvent guidelines made in earlier centuries. Though there were indeed conglomerates before the contemporary era of globalization, the people who study international business would contend their power and reach have not ever been grander than today. In the last 2 eras, a worldwide consuming frenzy has consolidated much of content production (for instance, movies and music) to the influences of very few huge companies. The content consolidation itself is not comparatively harmless, that is why Barber Benjamin (1995) is hasty to indicate that with no content, hardware producers (the creators of radios and televisions) nor content supply systems (satellite and cable firms) have a valuable product.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A remarkable instance of this may be v iewed in the novel ‘Sirius’ radio and ‘XM Radio’ systems. Though still bound to content, their systems necessitate proprietary hardware (as well as a monthly payment) for right to use (Barber 1995). Therefore, the standardized ‘radio’, a commodity that has is astonishingly inexpensive to produce (as well as to procurement), is supplanted by trademarked technology that because of latest legislation is illicit to evade or swap engineer within the U.S.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Market failures are a reasonably more argumentative issue amid the numerous authors, as every one of them draws a line amid ‘fierce competitor’ as well as ‘monopolist’ rather contrarily. The antitrust lawsuits against Microsoft within Europe and the US validate this perfectly. Many of the writers writing about this issue do settle that there exists a position where rivalry culminates and market control begins; in addition, they al so settle that on that fact governments have to take control to restrain the immoderations of corporations that become very powerful. Most of these writers also emphasize that the evolution of multinational establishments has rendered domestic economies â€Å"no longer manageable†. Others, nevertheless, oppose the national administrations are still capable of controlling corporations in their frontiers if the political self-control exists. Market Creep    The biggest problem that most of followers venturing a place within the anti-globalization movement have is the notion that Democracy ‘the one individual, one vote’ is being supplanted by something that is more market-driven ‘one dollar, one (Barber 1995).

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Toyota Strategic Alliances Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Toyota Strategic Alliances - Essay Example Toyota Strategic Alliances Theories and analytical tools to assess strategic issues Decision makers in organizations are continually showered with various issues that can potentially affect the current performance and actions of their companies. They make constant adjustments in their strategies in order to keep them updated with the needs of the changing environment. Hence, assessment of strategic designs of organizations is critical to their success and performance. In the face of the changing global business environment, decision makers should keep in mind that strategy choices become obsolete within a very short period of time. Past styles of operating might not fit the current challenges posed by the competitive environment of the current business world. It is important to identify the chief issues facing the organization in the current financial year or a period of financial years and select some issues from this multitude to deal with at a particular point of time. Selection o f these issues are made with regard to the current business position of the firm, technological advancement of the firm, its economic conditions, human resource capacity of the firm, social and political contexts in which it operates. This process requires the organizational leaders to sort the issues faced by the firm on the basis of the importance level attached to the issue. There are various tools that organizational decision makers might exploit in order to assess the importance of the issues faced by them. ... Higher focus maintained on sorting and assessing issues demonstrate a better understanding of the issues. Hence, decision makers are better positioned to make the most appropriate response to these problems (Tan, Shen, and Langston, 2012; Jauch, 2010). The major dimensions in the strategic decision making process are top management decision, allocations of company resources for various activities, long term objectives of the firm, future orientation of the firm, multifunctional and multi- business consequences of the decisions and general external environment of the firm. This process is known as â€Å"strategic issue diagnosis (SID)† (Huff and Jenkins, 2002, p. 276). SID is a tool used as the first step to identify the issue and assess its characteristics. Diagnosis outputs cast important impact on the following stages in the decision making process. Strategic issues facing companies in Asia Pacific All business firms, in their heart, aims at a general notion; increasing the profits of the firm. For any decision to make sense in the decision making process of the business, it has to be directly (or indirectly) associated with the act of increasing profits. In any other case, the business does not have any strong reason to make investments in this decision. There are two basic issues that a company might face in its path of long term development. These issues are highly contrasting to one another. One issue pertains to the problem of expanding the business, while the other relates to contracting business. In the Asia-Pacific region, business firms face either of these two issues. In this post financial crisis period, a majority of countries are striving to recover from recessionary pressure. Therefore, there is low level of aggregate demand in the economy.

ANTI-GLOBALIZATION MOVEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

ANTI-GLOBALIZATION MOVEMENT - Essay Example Participants of anti-globalization crusade oppose to what they view as huge, multi-national firms having unfettered political power, applied via trade agreements as well as decontrolled financial markets. Precisely, multinationals are blamed of pursuing to capitalize on profit to the detriment of work standards and safety conditions, labor hiring as well as compensation standards, legitimacy, sovereignty and independence of national statutory. Many counter-globalization activists necessitate practices of worldwide integration that provide better democratic representation, fair trade, human rights advancement as well as sustainable development. The 1999 WTO convention in Seattle, United States, that was to unveil fresh visionary trade negotiations, was surpassed by controversial and massive street protests that marked the second wave of the anti-globalization crusade. Many of arguments followers of anti-globalization make encompass market failures. Market failures are also known as multinationals, mainly since the magnitude of these firms has permitted them to subvert and circumvent guidelines made in earlier centuries. Though there were indeed conglomerates before the contemporary era of globalization, the people who study international business would contend their power and reach have not ever been grander than today. In the last 2 eras, a worldwide consuming frenzy has consolidated much of content production (for instance, movies and music) to the influences of very few huge companies. The content consolidation itself is not comparatively harmless, that is why Barber Benjamin (1995) is hasty to indicate that with no content, hardware producers (the creators of radios and televisions) nor content supply systems (satellite and cable firms) have a valuable product.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A remarkable instance of this may be v iewed in the novel ‘Sirius’ radio and ‘XM Radio’ systems. Though still bound to content, their systems necessitate proprietary hardware (as well as a monthly payment) for right to use (Barber 1995). Therefore, the standardized ‘radio’, a commodity that has is astonishingly inexpensive to produce (as well as to procurement), is supplanted by trademarked technology that because of latest legislation is illicit to evade or swap engineer within the U.S.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Market failures are a reasonably more argumentative issue amid the numerous authors, as every one of them draws a line amid ‘fierce competitor’ as well as ‘monopolist’ rather contrarily. The antitrust lawsuits against Microsoft within Europe and the US validate this perfectly. Many of the writers writing about this issue do settle that there exists a position where rivalry culminates and market control begins; in addition, they al so settle that on that fact governments have to take control to restrain the immoderations of corporations that become very powerful. Most of these writers also emphasize that the evolution of multinational establishments has rendered domestic economies â€Å"no longer manageable†. Others, nevertheless, oppose the national administrations are still capable of controlling corporations in their frontiers if the political self-control exists. Market Creep    The biggest problem that most of followers venturing a place within the anti-globalization movement have is the notion that Democracy ‘the one individual, one vote’ is being supplanted by something that is more market-driven ‘one dollar, one (Barber 1995).

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Capitalism and United States Essay Example for Free

Capitalism and United States Essay There are many aspects of FDR’s New Deal that must be analyzed in order to determine if this collection of economic programs helped or hurt America’s effort in ending the Great Depression. The Great Depression caused both a decline in national moral and economic productivity unprecedented in United States history. The previously prestigious capitalistic economy was brought to its knees on Black Thursday in October of 1929. Roosevelt had taken office with the intent to quickly relieve a nation from Hoover’s â€Å"do-nothing approach† within his first 100 days as president. He knew he had to act fast in order to fulfill the demands of the people that could be, in part, credited because of their investments in the stock market with unstable funds. There was a rebellion in full swing. As recorded in A People’s History of the United States, â€Å"Desperate people were not waiting for the government to help them; they were helping themselves.†After the stock market crashed, the flaws in the capitalist system were more predominantly brought to surface. The system had been given a bad name among a growing socialist nation in times of desperation. To a socialist critic, the system could be depicted as unsound by nature; neglecting human needs in the pursuit of large corporate benefits. The New Deal was set in place to save capitalism from itself. In order to do this Roosevelt felt that passing a number of social programs would keep the market economy from, once again, self destructing. Through his efforts, Roosevelt had consequently formed class warfare. The faces of business leaders had become the faces of bloodthirsty, evil men which appealed largely to an American public looking for someone, something, or anything to blame for the pain they were going through. Finding that happy-medium between relieving the economic crisis of the American people and not giving the public something they could view as a government fall-back was something that the country had never had to deal with before on this large of a scale. Throughout Roosevelt’s implementation of his social programs concerns surfaced from conservative Americans. Roosevelt did not want welfare to be seen as â€Å"a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit.† FDR’s New Deal, under a growingly socialist system, in ways got the country back on its feet and may have been the fix that America was looking for at the time. At the same time; however, it could have been the spark to the gradual lazy, entitled attitude that we experience today in the United States.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Impact of Social Relationships on Health

Impact of Social Relationships on Health There is considerable evidence that social relationships can influence health, but only limited evidence on the health effects of the personality characteristics that are thought to mold peoples social lives. We asked whether sociability predicts resistance to infectious disease and whether this relationship is attributable to the quality and quantity of social interactions and relationships. Three hundred thirty-four volunteers completed questionnaires assessing their sociability, social networks, and social supports, and six evening interviews assessing daily interactions. They were subsequently exposed to a virus that causes a common cold and monitored to see who developed verifiable illness. Increased sociability was associated in a linear fashion with a decreased probability of developing a cold. Although sociability was associated with more and higher-quality social interactions, it predicted disease susceptibility independently of these variables. The association between socia bility and disease was also independent of baseline immunity (virus-specific antibody), demographics, emotional styles, stress hormones, and health practices. Along with human population, the inequality in the distribution of global income has grown in recent decades (7). In 1992, 15% of people in the worlds richest countries enjoyed 79% of the worlds income (8). In every continent, in giant city systems, people increasingly come into direct contact with others who vary in culture, language, religion, values, ethnicity, and socially defined race and who share the same space for social, political, and economic activities (9). The resulting frictions are evident in all parts of the world. Ecologists and population biologists have long used the logistic model of population dynamics as a way to understand the cause and effect relationship between carrying capacity and population size (Wilson Bossert, 1971; Gotelli, 1998). As Malthus (Petersen, 1979) and Darwin (1859) understood, in the absence of limitations on resources, i.e., space and food, populations will grow exponentially. However, if resources are limited, the growth rate begins to decelerate well below the maximum population size that the environmental resources can support. Deceleration continues until a more or less equilibrium level is reached. This equilibrium occurs near the asymptote of environmental limits. When plotted, the resultant growth takes the form of a sigmoidal or S-shaped curve. Typically, in the laboratory and field. The second evolution refers to the industrial revolution, which took place mainly in the 18th century alongside the global agricultural revolution (Cohen, 1995). The third evolution is the advancement of public health and medicine which began in 1945. This led to a stark rise in the population as the development of vaccines and antibiotics increased life expectancy in the countries with access to them (Butler, 2004). The final evolution, per Cohen (1995), is the fertility evolution which began in the 18th century and has still not emerged in some developing countries (Cohen, 1995). Contraception and education for women have contributed to a fall in fertility rates among more developed countries (Butler, 2004). The end of the Second World War marked a fifth turning point in human population growth (Hibbard et al., 2006). No one had ever lived through a doubling of the population until after the Second World War and now, some of us have lived through a tripling of the population (Cohen, 2003). Today, the human population is distributed unevenly around the globe; with 60 percent residing in Asia, 16 percent in Africa, 10 percent in Europe, 9 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean and the remainder living in North America and Oceania (Cohen, 1995). Not only are we unevenly distributed, but so are our resources. In 2015, 795 million people do not have enough to eat (FAO, 2015). Simmons (2000) describes this phenomenon as a logistical distribution problem. We produce plenty of food on Earth, enough to feed everyone, yet millions starve to death every year (Simmons, 2000). Global life expectancy is expected to increase to 83 years by 2095 and by then, the human population will have at least doubled (UNDP, 2015). This will put further stress on our resources. If we struggle to feed everyone today, we will certainly struggle to feed a longer-living, doubled population in the future (UNEP-GEAS, 2012). How has carrying capacity been estimated? Many concepts have been used to try and decipher a limit to the human population. These include optimum population, carrying capacity and limits to growth (Van den Bergh Rietveld, 2004). What these concepts have in common is that they all acknowledge the basic requirements for a human being to survive; water, land, food and other resources from nature (Van den Bergh Rietveld, 2004). These resources have a limit and so it follows that the human population also has a limit (Van den Bergh Rietveld, 2004). Thomas Malthus theory about human population growth provided the basis for the concept of carrying capacity in relation to humans (Seidl Tisdell, 1999). The infamous theory was put forward in 1798. Malthus proposed that it was in built into the population curve for the population to run out of resources, causing a decline in the population by positive checks (e.g. disease, famine, war) or by preventative checks (e.g. marriage restrictions) (Butler, 2004). Malthus theory, though flawed, became so influential partly due to the attitude of Victorian England in the 18th century (Seidl Tisdell, 1999). During this time, disease and poverty was rampant among the lower classes as they moved into cities (Seidl Tisdell, 1999). The concept may have been relevant at Malthus time, but the human population has moved far beyond these limits now (Seidl Tisdell, 1999). Verhulst (1838) epitomized Malthus theory through the omnipresent logistic equation (Figure 2) (Lima Berrymand, 2011).

Sunday, October 13, 2019

E-governance :: Technology, GIS

A very hot topic in public administration research today is e-government. Due to continued technology growth, organizations now have new avenues to approach their missions through fresh and multifaceted methods. E-government may just be the cure for many of today’s ailing cities. E-government as defined by Denhardt and Denhardt (2009) is the â€Å"use of IT to provide information, deliver services, support organizational management systems, ad/or to offer opportunities for dialogue and citizen input† (p. 378). In order to truly understand e-government one must look at the benefits and opportunities as well as specific applications in which it can be used. According to Denhardt and Denhardt (2009) e-government can have many benefits: these include but are not limited to; facilitating communication, aiding in information sharing between public officials and with the general public, increasing efficiency, making elections and voting more accurate, and in turn assisting public administrators to better serve citizens (p. 378-379). E-government also has opportunities, the two main gaps presented by Denhardt and Denhardt (2009) are novelty and cooperation (p. 379). Novelty causes obstacles because it can sometimes be difficult to choose between the many different choices public administrators have access to. Another issue with novelty is that these innovative and varied options often require substantial change which can be very costly and complicated to maneuver through. Cooperation is also a key opportunity; e-government calls for interaction and sharing between all levels of government and government agencies. (Denhardt and Denhardt, 20 09) If cooperation is lacking, e-government initiatives cannot be successful. In a particular case study of â€Å"Sun County†, the real location name was changed for confidentiality purposes; the implementation of a new GIS (Geographic Information System) was followed for several years in order to focus on the process of e-government rather than the outcome or outputs that other research has focused on (Tsai, Choi, & Perry, 2009). The goal of the new GIS database was for the Department's staff to have the ability to enter data into the GIS database, run reports, and generate maps in a real time manner from their own workstations; this would allow them to provide a high level of service without having to allocate a lot of resources. Another goal of the project was to ease the decision making process of management by giving them the ability to perform analyses to better understand County resources and circumstances (Tsai, Choi, & Perry, 2009).

Saturday, October 12, 2019

DuBois and Black Nationalism Essay -- essays research papers

DuBois and Black Nationalism The Epigraph:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"The colored people are coming to face the fact quite calmly that most white Americans do not like them, and are planning neither for their survival, nor their definite future†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  W.E.B. DuBois â€Å"A Negro Nation within the Nation† The Premise:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Black Nationalism is a pragmatic solution for the success and survival of the oppressed African Americans. The Argument: Black Nationalism is defined by Karenga, as the political belief and practice of African Americans as a distinct people with a distinct historical personality who politically should develop structures to define, defend, and develop the interests of Blacks as a people. Black Nationalism can be traced back to the 18th century, back to William Edward Burghardt DuBois, the most prominent black intellectual of all time. Black Nationalism is the response of African Americans to the continual racism and oppression they experience. It came about because of two reasons; the racism that they faced daily, and being exploited economically by white supremacy. Black Nationalism seeks a solution to the problems that African Americans face on a daily basis. After the Civil War, the situation of the black people was not good; it was a semi-free, semi-slave situation. An example of this is tenancy, where the Blacks have control of the work process and work schedule but ultimately had to give up the fruits...

Friday, October 11, 2019

Ethics and Values in sport Essay

My name is Monique Stanley, I have been recently appointed Assistant Club Development Officer in the local Sports and leisure department. My role is varied and challenging with major focus on Ethics and Values in sport and the ever increasing role sports plays in many aspects of society. This includes; * Ensuring local sports clubs are aware of the need to be equitable and ‘child friendly’ * Helping clubs develop codes of practice that govern all members * Ensuring all clubs are aware of the principles, values and ethics associated with sport * Helping organisations access funding opportunities * Ensuring barriers to participation are reduced for all sedctors of society Sport plays an important role in the development of young people, it has been proven when sports and physical activities are included in Education. Children learn new skills in life, for example building confidence, accepting rules,making decisions, team working,communication skill,leadership,discipline and one I find important in sport ‘ Fair Play’. I could go on giving more skills sports develops, but i have just pointed out a few. Ethics in the sports environment is described as rules (i.e. Code of Conduct) that should be followed by all participants in sports. Ethics promote discipline and keep sporting environments fair and fun. Ethics give an equal opportunity for everyone. Values in sport is your involvement and belief that sport should be enjoyable and respectful. Respect is important in sport as you should always respect the rules, the officials,the other people participating and yourself. You should always treat others how you would like to be treated No matter what their Race, Disability, Gender, or Age. Ethics and Values are important because they rule out Right from Wrong. If your club has a strong commitment towards values and ethics in sport then it will become a bigger more enjoyable and comfortable enviroment for participants.This will interest more and more young people it will also bring the club more revenue for more sports facilities. So having stong commitment towards Ethics and Values pays off. The consequences of not giving sufficient attention to Ethics and Values can be a major disadvantage, as it can lead to young people leaving your club, your club will not be promoted well, therefore the club will lose out by money and participants, therefore the facilities will be poor and it could even result in the club being closed down. Ethics and Values are a part of the sporting world.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Girl X – Black and Red

For our colour unit in drama, one of the colour combinations we studied was black and red. For this task, our teacher was in a role of a physiatrist, was telling us the case of a 7 year old girl found on the streets that refused to speak. To get the girl communicating, the girl was told to draw a picture. She drew a red circle in the center of the page, engulfed in a sea of black scribbles. Our task was to analyse the image, and stream our thoughts and ideas about the picture into an abstract piece of drama. In my group, we decided that the red circle was the girl, and that the blackness around her was the girl being trapped. We also asserted that the blackness is an older male related to the girl in someway, that has abused her and she is trapped because of the events. We used an array of techniques; the first being characterisation. The girl was named Emily, which to me seems like an innocent name, which would help build the sympathy the audience has towards her and also create anxiety in her situation. We performed with the audience being scattered and with no lights. This is very effective as it makes the audience feel as if they are there alongside the girl. We would have members of our group stationed around different positions in the stage, and in turn they would each be running on the spot. This is to create the impression that there is someone running, and it would be dangerous for one person to be running around the stage as it is in thee dark. Suddenly the running would stop and a voice starts to pant. This is then where we incorporate another technique, the silence. The silence would be for 10 seconds. This is heavily effective, as its in the dark and the audience do not know what is going on after the fact they heard someone running. Suddenly a scream would come out form nowhere, which breaks the silence. Then another silence is used, for around 7 seconds. During the whole scene I was in the center of the stage. After the silence, I turn on a lighter and say, â€Å"I am watching you. † This is striking, as someone appearing from nowhere in the middle of a dark stage was not anticipated by the audience. This task helped me understand a lot of things. It made me understand many positions that people can be in, and how colour can express emotions such as: anger, fear, helplessness.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Why They Merged and Why the Merger Was Unsuccessful

In 1997 University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) merged its two public hospitals with Stanford’s two private hospitals. The two separate entities merged together to create a not-for-profit organization titled UCSF Stanford Health Care. The merger between the health systems at UCSF and Stanford seemed like a good idea due to the similar missions, proximity of institutions, increased financial pressure with cutbacks in Medicare reimbursements followed by a dramatic increase in managed care organizations.The first year UCSF Stanford Health Care produced a profit of $22 million, however three years later the health system had lost a total of $176 million (â€Å"UCSF-Stanford Merger,† n. d. ). The first part of this paper will address reasons why the two institutions decided to pursue the merger by looking through the theoretical lens of bounded rationality, prospect theory and resource dependence theory (RDT). The second half of the paper will purpose reasons why the merger was unsuccessful by considering key concepts in organizational behavior such as power and culture.The threatening and uncertain fiscal times led the leaders to select the option that they believed maximized their chances for survival. The theory of bounded rationality, proposed by Herbert A. Simon, suggests that people are largely limited by time, information and cognitive limitations(Simon, 1997). The merger between the two medical schools seemed to make sense, both institutions shared a common mission of treating the uninsured, training the next generation of innovative doctors, and remain at the forefront of breaking research and technology.Since both were going to be competing for increasingly scarce resources, joining forces made sense. Together they would be able to reduce spending on administrative costs, and better prepared to negotiate contacts with large insurance companies(â€Å"UCSF-Stanford Merger,† n. d. ). Simon suggests that people, bounded by time, cog nitive ability and information, are more likely to make satisfactory decisions rather than optimal ones(Simon, 1997).Instead of focusing time and energy outlining potential ways to remain separate amongst the shifting payment structure UCSF and Stanford, both limited by time and fearful of the potential losses, agreed to merge. The merger was UCSF and Stanford’s way to mitigate risk and manage uncertainty. Prospect theory is a behavioral economic theory developed by Daniel Kahneman that holds that people are more likely to take higher risks when decisions are framed in negative terms(Kahneman & Tversky, 1979). Although mergers are complex and risky the looming fear of decreased reimbursements made the leaders focus on the benefits of merging.Kahneman argues that people do not base their decisions on final outcomes, instead they base their decisions on the potential value of losses and gains(Kahneman & Tversky, 1979). Instead of analyzing the risk of the merger, leadership foc used on the more pressing burden, the bottom line. To stay alive in the era of managed care, university hospitals across the country were seeking mergers with private hospitals. Calculations showed that hospitals lost $4 million annually for each 1 percent drop in indemnity patient population(Etten, 1999).Since the 1990’s, indemnity insurance was on a drastic decline in San Francisco opening the market for managed care organizations(Etten, 1999). RDT looks at how the behavior of organizations is affected by their external resources. The theory, brought about in the 1970s, addresses organizations demand for resources, resources and power are directly linked(Pfeffer & Salancik, 2003). RDT holds that organizations depend on resources thus the idea of merging, due to increasing resource scarcity, appealed to both institutions(Pfeffer & Salancik, 2003).On paper, the merger between these two institutions made sense – both institutions were close to one another and competing for diminishing resources. Together they could reduce administrative costs and join forces to negotiate with large insurance companies. The need to create a new culture and dissolve historically existent power struggles were two large tasks that needed to be addressed in order to ensure a successful merger. However, the way in which the merger was organized did not lead to a successful merger.UCSF Health Care did not spend adequate time creating a shared culture in which the two organizations would see one joint organization with shared power (resources). On paper both organizations agreed to share power, however both parties behavior showed otherwise. Dr. Rizk Norman, co-chair of the combined physician group of UCSF and Stanford faculty, attests that neither institution was ever comfortable enough to share financial information(â€Å"UCSF, Stanford hospitals just too different,† n. d. ). UCSF did not fully disclose their fiscal concerns regarding one of their sinking hospita ls, while Stanford was also guilty of ithholding information (â€Å"UCSF, Stanford hospitals just too different,† n. d. ). Merging into one should eliminate the sense of two separate entities, however not enough was done to shape the merger in such a way that facility and staff felt like equal partners. Loyalties existed within the organization, beginning at the top with the Board of Directors. Structurally the board was split between seven Stanford board members and seven USCF board members and three non partisan members, however loyalties to ones particular institution never dissolved(â€Å"UCSF-Stanford Merger,† n. d. ).As outlined, RDT, holds that organizations depend on resources, which originate from their environment. Resources are an organizations power used to compete in their environment. The two health systems shared an environment, thus competed with one another for power (resources) (â€Å"UCSF-Stanford Merger,† n. d. ). Because Stanford was a for-p rofit organization, they held more fiscal power over UCSF. Pfeffer and Salancik argue that the way to solve problems of uncertainty and interdependence is to increase coordination, more specifically, to increase shared control of each other’s activities(Pfeffer & Salancik, 2003).Had the two institutions worked from the beginning to increase coordination and communication between both institutions the merger may have more changes in succeeding. Increased coordination between the two institutions could have lead to the creation of a strong culture. Culture is the shared belief, expectations and values shared by members of an organization. (â€Å"Leading by Leveraging Culture – Harvard Business Review,† n. d. ). Employing a new culture starts from the top, management must model in accordance with the new culture.This was not done at UCSF Stanford Health Care due to existing loyalties. Adding to the culture struggle, the institutions were far enough away from one an other to merit concern. For an organization to flow smoothly, clear communication channels need to be established. Without open communication and collaboration a shared culture cannot emerge. Weak cultures harm the workplace by increasing inefficiencies that lead to increased costs. UCSF Health Care model from the top down to create a shared culture.Had leadership spent adequate time addressing ways to dissolve existing power struggles, and creating a shared culture that would set the foundation to achieve a new-shared vision, the merger could have been successful. Engaging leaders in creating a strategic plan to merge two separate existing cultures would have encouraged them to show support and dissolve power struggles. Shared resources, open communication and a culture of oneness may have set the foundation for a successful merger between the two organizations. References Etten, P. V. (1999). Camelot or common sense? The logic behind the UCSF/Stanford merger.Health Affairs, 18(2), 143–148. doi:10. 1377/hlthaff. 18. 2. 143 Kahneman, D. , & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263. doi:10. 2307/1914185 Leading by Leveraging Culture – Harvard Business Review. (n. d. ). Retrieved October 16, 2012, from http://hbr. org/product/leading-by-leveraging-culture/an/CMR260-PDF-ENG Pfeffer, J. , & Salancik, G. (2003). The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective. Stanford University Press. Simon, H. A. (1997). Models of Bounded Rationality, Vol. 3: Emperically Grounded Economic Reason.The MIT Press. UCSF-Stanford Merger: A Promising Venture. (n. d. ). SFGate. Retrieved October 16, 2012, from http://www. sfgate. com/opinion/article/UCSF-Stanford-Merger-A-Promising-Venture-2975174. php#src=fb UCSF, Stanford hospitals just too different. (n. d. ). Retrieved October 16, 2012, from http://www. paloaltoonline. com/weekly/morgue/news/1999_Nov_3. HOSP03. html ——â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Fall 16 PM 827 A1 Strategic Management Of Healthcare Organizations UCSF Stanford Healthcare – Why They Merged and Why The Merger Was Unsuccessful Sofia Gabriela Walton Mini Exam #1 08

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Key Constitutional Concepts Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Key Constitutional Concepts - Movie Review Example Sawyer. This case is significant as it challenged President Trumans decision to take possession of the steel mills during the Korean War. I choose this particular Part Two: an Expanding People, Unit No. 10, Shaping America in the Antebellum Age, Chapter: Reforming Society, page 346, because the changing, industrialization of the US during 1830s invoked a ‘Second Great Awakening’. This awakening enveloped religious as well as secular social-reform movements and touched sensitive issues like womens rights to utopianism and temperance, Abolitionism and transcendentalism. However extensively contrasting beliefs and strategies, all of such movements shared a belief in the person an individual as the source of redemption and a yearning to rise to perfection as an individual as well as at society level. Similar attention on the importance of an individual may be observed in the movements of Andrew Jackson, who masked himself in the oratory of a "common man." While he was president, Jackson, faced many crisis but stood fast and repealed the charter of the Second Bank of the United States, an event that brought th e panic of 1837 couples with a seven-year depression In my opinion, the way everything unfolded, there couldn’t have been a better way. Yes, there were civil wars but that is part of the process. All of the bloodshed is an integral part of power transition. Right after the declaration of independence was signed, people knew that change has come and it’s their job to implement it in their lives. That was the demise of monarchy and kingdoms and the rise of

Monday, October 7, 2019

Brand communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Brand communication - Essay Example Net-A-Porter focuses on the quality of the brand, packaging of the products, and an effective delivery service. There are printed publications available for the customers to inform them on the current fashion trends. This exposes the brand and creates awareness, therefore, attracting new customers. Net-A-Porter has developed a mobile application known as Aurasma technology. The customers need to download the application, in order, to access different videos that show the campaigns of the advertisements. Such programs aid the customers in the determination of their required products in relation to the fashion trends (Peelen, 2005). The online retailer uses direct marketing through its managers. It uses email to communicate with the customers. In explanation, the manager in charge of the email marketing develops a regular email channel that supports the flow of information within the various departments. This ensures that the emails sent to the customers influence their purchasing behavior to buy more products. The emails create a platform for the feedback from the customers. There is an analysis of such feedback in consideration of the customers’

Sunday, October 6, 2019

The Essence Of Miranda Warnings Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

The Essence Of Miranda Warnings - Research Paper Example For example, this right grants an arrestee to refuse from answering questions which he or she thinks would compel him or her to give incriminating statements which could possibly be taken as admissible evidence and might be used against him. The Fifth Amendment gives right against compelled self-incrimination and the due process of the law. If the arrestee was formally charged with a crime, the Miranda Warnings must be made known to the arrestee. Further, the sixth amendment grants the right to a legal counsel or an attorney during all subsequent questioning process. The sole example that is presented on this study is a domestic violence case and should a police officer perform the interrogation process.  If a person is under custody for interrogation, any police officer called to perform the interrogation process must read to the arrestee the Miranda Rights. If in any case, the respondent did not respond to give an affirmative answer, silence should not be taken as a waiver of the se rights. The interrogation can still proceed but responses from the arrestee are considered void and ineffective during a trial if the statements were made prior to Miranda Rights.  In the case of domestic violence, if the arrestee was formally charged, the police officer must warn the arrestee of his or her constitutional rights. All the responses of the suspect under custody shall be taken as admissible evidence, provided, the rights were made known to her. In addition, the suspect’s 6th amendment protection shall be applied and may not be doubted or questioned relating to subject matter of the offenses being charged to the suspect if there is an absence of a legal counsel or an attorney or anything that waives the right to an attorney.  If the suspected criminal has not been formally charged, it is necessary to determine if Miranda Warnings are needed. If the person is not â€Å"in custody†, Miranda Rights are not necessary and the statements made by the arres tee are admissible.

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Case Study On Hurricane Floyd Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

On Hurricane Floyd - Case Study Example The strength of this hurricane however has been recorded as the largest and strongest hurricanes to have ever hit the Atlantic. The reason for opting for hurricane Floyd for this particular case study is the intensity with which it pounded the Bahama Islands and moved into New England subsequently while damaging North Carolina and Florida on the way. Furthermore, it was also the cause for heavy floods and devastating storms which have led to several lives being lost. What originated as a mere tropical wave, turned into something so sinister that even the level of preparedness that had been taken care of in order to mitigate the effects of the hurricane, was not enough. While it crossed the Bahamas it remained under a category 5 status on the Saffir-Simpson scale, giving the meteorology department not much to alert the citizens about. Furthermore, it even weakened to a category 3 status with the winds ranging between 120 mph. thus the forecast that was broadcast regarding the tropical wave when it was out at sea was merely average as compared to the forecasts in the last decade. Only a fraction of the islands of the Bahamas received heavy winds for a small period of time and thus people were not aware that something bad could have struck, due to lack of common warning because of the varying wind pressure. Mitigation is the process of lessening the impact of an impending disaster in order to minimize its effects and cause the least amount of trouble and trauma to the people, possible. Not much could have been done in order to mitigate or lessen the impact of this hurricane except for keeping an eye on its movement and the meteorology department keeping a check on the wind speeds and directions of movement of the hurricane. People were informed well in time in order to leave their homes and as the President had declared emergency, it was the maximum that could have been done. Preparedness on the other hand refers to the measures that are

Friday, October 4, 2019

The Development of Chinese Bond Market and Its Critical Issues for Essay

The Development of Chinese Bond Market and Its Critical Issues for Future Development - Essay Example sts have argued that the bond market, whose role in the economic development is as great as that played by equity market has for a while remained obscure, as the general public seems to have little of it. Currently, few private investors are taking part in the bond market as compared to those in the stock market (Wu, 2014, p. 484). Worth noting, bond market plays a critical role in the economic development of a country, with the cash flow it provides playing a vital role in promoting the maturity of the individual investors assets and liabilities, and in the long run helping in the management of risks. As such, this paper will provide a detailed discussion of the development of the Chinese bond market, and provides an insight into the critical issues for future development. China began issuing treasury bonds in 1981 when it was first allowed to trade over numerous counters leading to the development of the secondary market for RMB Bond. The establishment of the Chinese stock exchange market in the 1990s led to the centralized trade of the Treasury bond. This piece of work analyzes the development of Chinese Bond market, which due to the absence of the centralized Securities Depository and not limited to inappropriate infrastructure has been hit by serious strikes. China is putting efforts to build a safe and cost effective bond market, which has led it to a healthy growth to emerge as one of the biggest financial markets in China (Zhu and Martha, 2009, p. 56). The bond market plays a significant role in the determination and setting of the fiscal policy and the monetary policy in China to sustain the financial revolution. In an effort to build a safe, low cost and efficient bond market, the establishment of the China Government securities Depository Trust and clearing company was a big boost (Guizot, Armelle 2012, p. 64). The CDCC (China Depository and Clearing Company) was the custodian of any marketable RMB bond and also began the development of open market

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Impact of Globalisation on Africa Essay Example for Free

Impact of Globalisation on Africa Essay This course will examine the critical and rapidly changing role of the state at the beginning of a new millennium as a result of internal and external factors, paying special attention to the state as a central player in ensuring the provision of public services, as well as facing the new challenges emerging around the world. It will enable students to: †¢ assess the impact of global economic liberalisation and information dissemination on governments and their constituents; †¢ engage in specific analyses of the changing role of the state, the different actors and stake-holders involved, the mechanisms of governance at different levels; and the emerging frustrations and violence. †¢ identify the capacities of and constraints facing governance processes; †¢ critique the manner in which reforms undertaken by governments impact social, cultural and economic development; and †¢ analyse the challenges faced by governance with regard to democratisation; To accomplish this, the course is divided into three thematic areas: 1. The State and the People (internal factors): Under this first part of the course, students will identify the basic components of state-craft, the different actors who come into play in decision making, the relative importance of each over the course of history, the constants in different geographic contexts, etc. With the advent of fresh economic, social, and environmental challenges, there is a strong sense among governments that their scope for autonomous public action is being reduced by the forces of globalisation and the consequent growth of inter-dependence among states. Sound governance in the public sector is a critical factor for continued progress. A determined effort is thus required by governments in refocussing the capacities of the public sector to meet the emerging challenges, and to grasp the opportunities thrown up by the global trends in a new millennium. 2. The State and Globalization (external factors): Under this second part, students will review the process of rapidly increasing globalization, and its impact on the role of the state, the process of increasing inter-connectedness between societies such that events in one part of the world have increasing effects on people and societies far away. Economically, transnational flows of commodities and production factors, such as capital and labour, are being accelerated. Politically, the sovereignty of nation states is being undermined, and certain kinds of supra-national authorities are being enhanced. Socio-culturally, contacts between peoples in different parts of the world have become easier, enhancing the advent of a global culture and cultural homogenisation. The effect of the integration of markets, new information technology, the erosion of sovereignty, the growing role of non-state actors, and sub-national groups, and an increasing inter-dependence among states, has resulted in the emergence of a global community, global issues, and global actions. Students will analyse the changes required in the functions of the state so that it can effectively mitigate the impact of globalization to ensure sustainable development, and national security. 3. Reconstructing the State (mechanisms of reform): Under this third part, students will review the need for recasting the roles of the institutions of the state, as well as the normal interaction between the various stakeholders – the state, the private sector and the civil society. They will analyse and debate on how national governance institutions can be reconstructed and retooled in different contexts within a climate of privatisation, participation, and decentralisation, how local governance can be promoted, how rule of law and regulatory frameworks can be established through responsible governance, and how democratic space can be created and maintained. This includes engaging civil society and the private sector in a dynamic partnership to improve the quality of developmental services, enhance social responsibilities, and ensure the broadest participation of citizens in civic life. The task o f the state is to take advantage of the forces of globalisation in providing a secure and stable domestic environment. The course will also analyse the manner in which the state can promote the participation of citizens in decision-making, enforce impartial legal frameworks, build transparency and promote accountability and equity, design policies on consensus, and provide strategic vision to overcome the challenges of mitigating the negative impacts of the global economy, transnational bodies, international law, powers and power blocs, and sub-national fringe groups. READINGS While required readings will consist of the following texts which will be placed on reserve in the Library, additional articles for each lesson may also be made available either over email or in hard copy. Some of these articles are cited in the various lesson descriptions below. Recommended Texts: †¢ Globalisation, Human Development Report 1999, UNDP, available for free download at : http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/1999/en/ †¢ Reinventing Government, David Osborne, 1992. †¢ Reconceptualising Governance, Discussion Paper 2, UNDP, January 1997, available for free download at : http://magnet.undp.org/Docs/!UN98-21.PDF/Recon.htm †¢ The Third Wave, by Samuel Huntington, published by the University of Oklahoma Press. †¢ Development as Freedom, by Amartya Sen, published by Random House Anchor Books. †¢ The World Turned Upside Down? Globalization and the Future of the State, by Berry Jones, published by St. Martins Press. †¢ Globalisation and its Discontents, by Joseph Stiglitz, published by W W Norton and Company. †¢ The Lexus and the Olive Tree, by Thomas Friedman, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Other General Texts: †¢ Globalisation and the State, World Public Sector Report 2001, United Nations †¢ Civil Society and Political Theory, Arato and Cohen, MIT Press, Cambridge. †¢ Democratic Governance, March and Olsen, New York Free Press. †¢ Globalization and the Nation-State, Holton, London: MacMillan. 2 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The Retreat of the State: The Diffusion of Power in the World Economy, Strange, Cambridge University Press. Marc Williams (1996), â€Å"Rethinking Sovereignty†, Chapter 8, Elenore Kafman and Gillian Youngs (Eds.), Globalization: Theory and Practice, London: Pinter Globalization: Theory and Practice, edited by Youngs, London: Pinter The Twilight of Sovereignty: How the Information Revolution Is Transforming Our World. Wriston, New York: Charles Scribner. Governance in the Twenty-first Century , Rosenau in Global Governance, Vol. 1, No. I (Winter 1995) Globalisation, State Sovereignity, and the Endless Accumulation of Capital. Arrighi. A new version of a paper presented at the ‘States and Sovereignity in the World Economy’ conference, University of California, Irvine, 21-23 Feb. 1997. What Future for the State?, Strange, Daedalus Vol 124, (Spring 1995), 56. The Defective State, Strange, Daedalus Vol 124, Number 2, Spring 1995. The Retreat of the State: The Diffusion of Power in the World Economy, Strange, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1996 Governance and Politics in Africa, Goran and Bratton, Lynne Rienner Publishers Inc. Colorado, USA. Institutions , institutional change and economic performance. North, Cambridge University Press. Making democracy work, Putnam, Leonardi, and Nanette, Princeton: Princeton University Press. CLASS POLICIES Class Participation: Class participation is essential in this course, and therefore, timely and regular class attendance is mandatory. Class attendance will be marked at the very beginning of each class. Attendance will be graded. Except for serious emergencies, and medical reasons, which must be brought to notice immediately over email, absences or late arrival will not be â€Å"excused†. It should be clearly noted that almost one-third of the Final Grade is dependant on attendance and punctuality. Drafting: Particular emphasis will be placed in this class on building up an ability to draft assignments and papers in a grammatically correct and logical manner, in presentations that can carry weight and conviction with the reader. The same will hold true of oral presentations in class. Email: Because of the importance attached to email and web pages, all students must have proper email accounts, and must check them regularly every day. (All email addresses will be collected in the first class). Students should also maintain a group address (Listserv) of all classmates, including the Professor, so that messages of common interest can be circulated to all. Reference Formula: All email correspondence MUST contain the following four-part Reference Formula in FOUR places, namely, (a) as the only â€Å"subject† of the email; (b) as the only first line of the text of the email; (c) as part of the â€Å"header† of any attached assignment, and (d) as the â€Å"filename† of the attachment: (initials of university)-(course symbol)-(initials of student)-(assignment number) 3 Example of the four-part Reference Formula: NYU-G-XXX-A# (where NYU stands for New York University, G stands for Globalisation, XXX are the student’s initials in capital letters, and A# is the assignment number). Format of assignments: Assignments will normally be submitted in hard copies, and must be saved in Microsoft Word (or WordPerfect) format exclusively. They should be saved with the same filename as the â€Å"Reference Formula† above, so that no confusion is ever created. Web-Sites: Each student will be encouraged to maintain a personal web-page, which will be graded. (Some tips on the quickest means to establish student web-sites will be discussed in the first class). In addition, a Class Web-Page may also be maintained as a group project. Each student will have to provide a personal â€Å"thumbnail† picture and a few lines of descriptive text for this Class Web-Page. These thumbnails have to be provided within the first two weeks of class. Other material on the class web-page will include summaries of class notes, and links to the personal web pages of each student reflecting their respective assignments. Assignments: Assignments will include : (a) One Mid-Term Paper (4-6 pages, single space, Garamond 12 or 14 pt. font, or equivalent) to be prepared and submitted by the 7th week of class. (b) One Final Paper (14-16 pages, single space, Garamond 12-14 pt. font, or equivalent) to be prepared and submitted by the 12th week of class. (c) Class Notes to be prepared each week by designated students working separately or in couples for each of the class sessions. (d) Oral presentations, supported by Summaries, on some of the essential texts (note: The summary of the presentation MUST be circulated to all students and to the professor via email a full 24 hours before the presentation). Class Notes: The objective is to maintain a complete record of the notes from each class on the home-page. The assigned group (which will always be different from the group preparing the presentations) will be responsible for preparation of the class notes. Class notes MUST be written within 24 hours after the class, and then circulated immediately via email to all. Class notes should not be longer then one page and should contain the following 1. The gist of the topics discussed in class. 2. The lessons learned News: The daily reading of at least one leading American newspaper (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, etc), one major foreign newspaper or weekly (London Guardian, Economist, etc), and one major American quarterly (Foreign Report) is required. All are available over the Internet. GRADING POLICY Grading Notes: In judging the quality of all assignments, the total grade for each of these will be divided into three portions, one-third for the quality and formatting of the presentation, one-third for the factual accuracy of research, and one-third for the strength and persuasiveness of the opinions expressed. Extra weight will be given for any visible improvement of work manifested over the semester. 4 Grading values: A+ (98-100) A (94-97) A-(90-93) B+ (88-89) B (84-87) B-(80-83) C+ (78-79) C (74-77) C-(70-73) D (60-69) F (59-less) Grading Break-up: Attendance and participation Web-page maintenance Assignments (oral and written) Final or Term Paper SCHEDULE OF LECTURES 30% 10 % 30 % 30 % SESSION 1 : INTRODUCTION Class policies and ground rules regarding, drafting techniques, web-sites, email addresses, oral book presentations, etc., and the road map of the semester will be discussed in detail. SESSION 2 : THE ROLE OF THE STATE : RIGHTS, DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS This session reviews the definitions of the state, including the institutions of the legislature, the judiciary, electoral bodies as they have traditionally been conceptualised. What are the duties of the state to the public? What levels of government carry out what duties? How does legislature respond to the needs of the state, its duties and obligations? Governments are established to respond to the needs of their populations? What are these needs? How are they defined? What right do the people have to demand them? How do they make their concerns known? And in turn do they have duties to fulfill in their capacities as private citizens that contribute to the smooth functioning of their governments? What is the role of citizenry in good governance and in the effective functioning of the state? Book Presentation: Globalisation, Human Development Report 1999, UNDP Other discussion Papers: Public Sector Management, Governance and Sustainable Human Development. Discussion Paper 1. UNDP, BDP/MDGD. January 1995, Available at: http://magnet.undp.org/Docs/!UN9821.PDF/Psm.htm The Challenge to the South, The Report of the South Commission, 1992. Available through http://www.southcentre.org/ The Rise of the Brand State, Peter van Ham, Foreign Affairs, Sep-Oct 2001 SESSION 3 : UNDERSTANDING GLOBALISATION This session will attempt to define the parameters of the forces of globalisation in their historical and functional contexts. How does globalisation today differ from its earlier versions? What are the respective roles of the state and the private sector in using these   forces ? How do states, citizens, businesses, benefit from these forces ? Who gains and who loses out in the process. Book Presentation: Reinventing Government, David Osborne, 1992. Other dscussion papers: Selling Globalization The Myth of the Global Economy, by Michael Veseth Globalisation, Human Development Report 1999, UNDP, Available at: http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/1999/en/default.cfm The Clash of Globalisations, Stanley Hoffman, Foreign Affairs, Jul-Aug 2002 SESSION 4 : GOVERNANCE AS A BASIC PRE-CONDITION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Governance is a basic precondition for sustainable economic, social and political development. This lesson will look at the linkages between governance and development that is sustainable. It will review how systems of governance can effect development positively or negatively and the challenges posed to the state and society. It will also look at accountability and transparency in dealing especially with corruption, which is a major concern in most countries. Book Presentation: Reconceptualising Governance, Discussion Paper 2, UNDP, January 1997 Other discussion Papers: Governance for Sustainable Development, a UNDP Policy Document, 1997, Available at: http://magnet.undp.org/policy/default.htm Corruption and Good Governance. Discussion Paper 3. UNDP, BDP/MDGD. July 1997 Available at: http://magnet.undp.org/ under: Discussion Papers Series. SESSION 5 : THE INTEGRATION OF MARKETS, TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION This lesson reviews the impact of globalization on nations and countries all over the world. It examines the development of new technologies, and rapid information communications that are breaking down barriers of time and distance. It looks at the effect of unprecedented integration of trade and financial transactions through electronic means and the massive diffusion of information through Internet and satellites. It examines the effect of globalization on the sovereignty of the state and the need for a change in its role. Book Presentation: The Third Wave, by Samuel Huntington, published by the University of Oklahoma Press. Other discussion Papers: Globalization and the Nation-State, by Robert J. Holton, London: MacMillan, Philip G. Cerny (1996), â€Å"What Next for the State?†, Chapter 9, Elonore Kafman and Gillian Youngs (Eds.), Globalization: Theory and Practice, London: Pinter. The Knowledge Gap, Avinesh Persaud, Foreign Affairs, Mar-Apr 2001 SESSION 6 : THE EROSION OF SOVEREIGNTY The process of globalisation is undermining the sovereignty of nation states and will lead to the eventual disintegration of the sovereign states system in international politics. The sovereignty of nations is being undermined by multiple sources: technology, civil society, global consensus on issues such as human rights, democracy and governance. However, sovereign states are still the basic constituents of the international society. This lesson will look at the effect of globalization on the sovereignty of the state and review policies that need to be adopted to meet the requirements of the international community. Book Presentation: Development as Freedom, by Amartya Sen, published by Random House Anchor Books. Other discussion Papers: Philip G. Cerny (1996), â€Å"What Next for the State?†, Chapter 9, Elonore Kafman and Globalization: Theory and Practice, by Gillian Youngs (Eds.), London: Pinter, The Twilight of Sovereignty: How the Information Revolution Is Transforming Our World, by Wriston, Walter, New York: Charles Scribner, Will the Nation State survive Globalisation, Martin Wolf, Foreign Affairs, Jan-Feb 2001 SESSION 7 : THE GROWING ROLE OF NON-STATE ACTORS The modern state is witnessing civil society, NGOs and the private sector becoming more powerful at the expense of the state. In some countries, the influence of some transnational corporations (TNCs) has become greater than that of the state. These TNCs are the most important single force creating global shifts in economic activity, and their strategies and operations are much influenced by the forces of technological change. Moreover, private investment has become a major source of funding for development activities. How can the state interact with these non-state actors gradually gaining a more prominent role? This lesson explores the different experiences and responses of nations to answer this question. Book Presentation: The World Turned Upside Down? Globalization and the Future of the State, by Berry Jones, published by St. Martins Press. Other discussion Papers: Governance in the Twenty-first Century, by Rosenau, James N. in Global Governance Vol. 1, No. I (Winter 1995) Public Sector Management, Governance and Sustainable Human Development. Discussion Paper 1. UNDP, BDP/MDGD. January 1995, Available at: http://magnet.undp.org/Docs/!UN9821.PDF/Psm.htm Assignment submission deadline for one of the following topics: 1: How is globalization affecting the poor and other disadvantaged groups in developing and developed countries. Each student can either take one country or one aspect of globalization to prepare this summary. In other words the unit of analysis could either be one issue/aspect of globalization applied to different countries, or one country through which all aspects are brought together. or 2: Critically examine the problems of the civic and corporate responsibilities of multinational corporations. Students can either choose one company, or prepare a general note to examine how private sector companies can share social and economic responsibility for the communities and groups in which they work. Such responsibilities might include, among other possibilities, support to local economic development, increasing awareness of human rights, supporting the government to fight cross border corruption, etc.. SESSION 8 : THE INCREASING INTER-DEPENDENCE AMONG STATES There is visible evidence about the emergence of a global community, global issues and global actions. Examples lie in multi-lateral organisations as in the United Nations system, and in regional institutions, as in the European Union, NAFTA, ASEAN, etc. Increasing interaction among states in tackling political, economic and financial issues, has resulted in a growing awareness that interaction at regional and global levels is essential in this globalized world. There is a need to address issues of peace, security, economic stability, poverty and health as global concerns. There is an awareness that global actions are becoming essential in effectively tackling problems which are acquiring global dimensions, for example, drugs, terrorism, global warming, crime, poverty, illiteracy, AIDS, etc. There is growing awareness also about the concept of â€Å"global public goods†. How can nations deal with this new interdependence? What is the most effective role for the state? This lesson reviews the effect of rapidly increasing globalisation in the 21st Century and its impact on national governments of the North and South. It looks at the issue of global goods, effects on the growth, distribution of incomes, availability of public services, and increasing inequities within countries and across nations and reviews the need for increased collaboration in policy, with particular emphasis on global governance. Book Presentation: Globalisation and its Discontents, by Joseph Stiglitz, published by W W Norton and Company. Other discussion Papers: Governance in the Twenty-first Century by Rosenau, James in Global Governance, Vol. 1, No. I (Winter 1995) SESSION 9 : THE EFFECTS OF GLOBALISATION AND LOCALISATION Globalization is forcing states to cede some sovereignty over global issues. The greater demand for decentralisation and citizen empowerment is also forcing states to devolve power, authority and finances to local levels. What is the role of decentralisation and how can this be distinguished from the process of devolution, and deconcentration? This lesson will look at institutional changes, experiences in decentralisation and democratic governance. Book Presentation: The Lexus and the Olive Tree, by Thomas Friedman, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Other discussion Papers: Institutions , institutional change and economic performance, by North, Douglass, Cambridge University Press, 1990. Making democracy work, Putnam, Robert D., Robert Leonardi, and Raffaella Y. Nanette. 1993. Reconceptualising Governance. Discussion Paper 2. UNDP, BDP/MDGD. January 1997, Available at: http://magnet.undp.org/Docs/!UN98-21.PDF/Recon.htm Globalisation, Human Development Report, UNDP, Available at: http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/1999/en/default.cfm Globalisation’s Democratic Defeat, Joseph Nye, Foreign Affairs, Jul-Aug, 2001 SESSION 10 : RETOOLING NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL GOVERNANCE INSTITUTIONS. Governments and international organisations are faced at all levels with increasing globalisation, population, and growing needs. New forms and ways of government functioning are emerging. The twenty first century is marked by a focus on democratisation, and an increased emphasis on global, national and local governance. The challenge is to restructure national governance institutions to deal with the impact of globalisation and the changing circumstances as well as providing efficient and effective public services with limited funds. Other discussion Papers: The new institutionalism: Organizational factors in political life. by March, James. G., and Hohan P. Olsen.. American Political Science Review 78 (3): 734-749. SESSION 11 REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS AT THE INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL LEVELS The objectives are, ensuring society-based supremacy of laws, establishing regulatory systems to set up effective regulatory frameworks and a rights based system, ensuring equal treatment before laws protecting life, property and human dignity. How is law implemented in multijuridical states? What challenges does this present to governments? How does this affect the democratic representation of each citizen? The session will also look at overarching international juridical bodies: who designs them, who informs them, how is their mandate determined and implemented. Particular attention will be focussed on the World Bank, the IMF, and the WTO. Country cases are used to illustrate the needs of establishing policies, laws and resource priorities at the national levels to ensure equity and justice, and the upholding of rule of law, bringing security, and predictability to social, political and economic relations in the world. Other discussion Papers: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights; United Nations Available at: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html SESSION 12: BUILDING NEW PARTNERSHIPS WITH CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR What constitutes civil society? What is the most effective role of civil society organisations at the local, regional and global level? Do they and should they have well defined mandates? How can they work collaboratively with government? In addition, beginning with a review of the traditional role of the private sector in the stability of a nation-state,what are the moral, financial and legal obligations that the private sector has both to governments and to its constituents, addressing the question of the appropriate tools for regulation, if any. It examines the vital role of the private sector in good governance and in mitigating the negative effects of globalisation. Other discussion Papers: Citizens, Strengthening Global Civil Society. CIVICUS. Good Governance and Trade Policy: Are they the Key to Africa’s Global Integration and Growth?. by Francis and Yates, Alexander; World Bank. 1999, Available at: http://wwwwds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=detailseid=000094946_99032505 585398 Taxes and Bribery: The Role of Wage Incentives. Besley, Timothy, and J. McLaren. Economic Journal, Vol. 103, January 1999. Final Paper submission deadline: What is the issue of the changing role and power of the nation-state in the face of globalisation. Some argue that invincible globalising forces will inevitably lead to the demise or fatal weakening of the nation-state in international politics. This kind of argument is explicitly presented in titles such as â€Å"The End of the Nation-State† (K. Ohmae, 1996) and â€Å"The Retreat of the State† (Susan Strange, 1996) Others refuse this argument and contend that nation-states will hold fast to their traditional powers and sovereignty. Examine the conflicting arguments on the relationship between globalisation and the sovereignty of the nation-state. In doing this, look into the conceptual aspects of globalisation and sovereignty first, present the different views on the subjects, and try to arrive at some conclusions as to what the conflicting arguments imply for human development. or A focused single-topic paper, either on one of the following topics, or on any other relevant topic which is cleared in advance with the Professor: (a) Corruption and Accountability. (b) Electoral Reform in Established Democracies. (c) Decentralisation and Democracy. (d) The Importance of Rule of Law and Access to Justice. (e) The Limits to the Capacity of the Public Sector. (f) The Uneven Impact of Globalisation. (g) The Erosion of Sovereignty. (h) The Role of Civil Society in the Future World. (i) The Role of Foreign Direct Investment. (j) Information Technology as a Driving Force. (k) Terrorism, causes and effects (l) Poverty and its Effects (m) New Doctrines in Law (n) Free Trade and Protectionism (o) Migration flows in a Globalised world. SESSION 13 : FINAL SUMMATION CURRENT GOOD PRACTICES Several modules of good governance exist around the world. Students will identify different models of good governance and critically analyse its components establishing the reasons for the success of the models and identifying the circumstances where these models could be used as an example of best practices. What does capacity development for governance involve? How is the capacity of a national government assessed and what are the innovative approaches required to create an enabling environment and interrelationship of groups and organisations. Other discussion Papers: Governance for Sustainable Human Development. Discussion Paper 7. UNDP, BDP/MDGD. http://magnet.undp.org/policy/default.htm January 1997, Available at: Corruption and Good Governance. Discussion Paper 3. UNDP, BDP/MDGD. July 1997, Available at: http://magnet.undp.org/ under: Discussion Papers Series. The Capacity to Govern: Report to the Club of Rome. Yehezekiel, The Commonwealth Portfolio of Current Good Practices and New Development in Public Services Management, Commonwealth Secretariat. 1996, Emerging Issues in Capacity Development, Proceedings of a Workshop. Institute on Governance, Ottawa, 1994. Spreading the Wealth, Dollar and Kraay, Foreign Affairs, Jan-Feb 2002 Is Inequality Decreasing, Galbraith and Pitt, Foreign Affairs, Jul-Aug 2002 SESSION 14 : DISCUSSION ON FINAL PAPERS This session will review the Final Papers of students before the semester ends