Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Financial Performance and risk management analysis of Domino printing Essay

Financial Performance and risk management analysis of Domino printing plc 01302 - Essay Example With 2200 employees, Domino printing plc is operating its business operations in more than 120 countries worldwide (Domino, b). The share of global sales of the company in different regions is illustrated below: In this report, the competition circumstances and international business operation will be discussed with the help of analyzing the Domino printing plc financial performance. Furthermore, the risks management related to exchange rate risk and country and political risk will be evaluated. At this time, Domino printing plc has expanded its business worldwide in which the primary segmentation is being done geographically which include three prime regions such as Europe, America, and Asia with the rest of the world. The sales revenue from these prime regions is presented below: In the region of Europe, Domino printing plc do direct sales in the several countries, rest of the distribution is done by the distributors. Europe was a good market for the company in the year 2014. Company managed to generate 12% higher sales in 2014 as compared to 2013 as a result of growth in Germany (Domino, 2014b). However, in the region of America the growth was not satisfactory especially in Central and South America due to the 7% decline in local currency and the weak and unstable economic performance in Brazil and Argentina (Domino, 2014b). Asia and the other remaining regions has becomes the growing areas for Domino printing plc. In this region the demand of marking and coding has been increases in 2013 because of the increased number in the middle class. China and India were the strong market for the company in 2014 because the sale was high in these countries (Domino, 2014b). In the year 2014, company’s i-Tech product were launched including A520i continuous ink jet printer and V230i thermal transfer over printer which received a positive response from the customers, moreover, company also remains the member of FTSE4Good index (Domino, 2014b). However the

Monday, October 28, 2019

Christian Values and Americas Historical Documents Essay Example for Free

Christian Values and Americas Historical Documents Essay While socially networking, a person will run into many different opinions on all topics. People have their own beliefs and ways of looking at things, so when I was expounding on my ideas, the inevitable topic of religion was brought up. As much as the Golden Rule flows through most religions, there are people who are not able to put their ego aside and open their minds to the simplest possibilities. The specifics of this topic were of such that the United States was founded on Christianity. Religion and politics are highly volatile topics and most people will only argue emotionally instead of stopping and critically thinking about any information they may be given on these two subjects. Many people believe that the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were founded on Christian values, but in closer examination, they both have vague wording and Deist beliefs. Counterarguments There are several reasons that people believe that the historic documents of the United States were written with Christian values in mind. One reason is, in the 19th Century, a movement started which believed that the settlers were led here by the hand of God (Allison, 1998). This was a popular belief and many people still hold true to this belief. It is taught in public schools that the colonists came over from England because of religious persecution. Another argument for this way of thinking is that, because of the belief that God showed the settlers where to go, that He also must have had led the Founding Fathers to write the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States (Allison, 1998). This lead to the belief that God is needed to preserve not only religious institutions, but also democracy. Human rights are seen to be given by God, which, in a nation that was intolerant of non-Christians, meant the Judeo-Christian God (Cherry, MD, 2011). Our Founding Fathers separated Church and state, but not God and state. Church and state and God and state are sometimes seen as  the same idea, which can be confusing, even to a Christian. In addition to this, many believe that this country was founded with Christian values because of a statement that was made in Madison’s Federalist Paper Number 37 where it states, that only, â€Å"†¦ a finger of that Almighty hand† could have shown him the insight to write the Constitution (Ferguson, 1987). United States Constitution The United States Constitution was written in such a way as to be intentionally vague and without Christian values, but Deist values instead. The Constitutional Convention had many problems in coming up with this historic document. Every man that attended this convention had their own ideas and ways to convey what they believed needed to be included in this document. Vague Wording Ben Franklin’s ambiguous wording in the Declaration of Independence led Madison to exaggerate the wording even further in the Constitution. The intentionally ambiguous wording that Madison used in the Constitution was used â€Å"to bring conformity within a divided country,† (Ferguson, 1987, p. 159). In the 14th Amendment it states, â€Å"Any person†¦,† but when this document was written African-Americans were not considered people, so Jim Crow Laws were kept in place in many areas of the country. In the convention meetings leading up to what the Founding Fathers wrote to become the Constitution, compromises were made. In the second amendment, it states that people have a right to keep and bare arms. What makes this vague is that most of us take this to mean any, and all people, but what the Constitutional Framers meant was to indicate those that were in the militias. So, those â€Å"people† that were in the â€Å"militias† could keep and bare â€Å"arms,† not just anyone could. Deist Beliefs The Constitution forms a secular document and is in no way related to God (Walker, 2004). God was not forgotten in the writing of the Constitution. This omission was purposely done to keep the government and religion separate from each other. The Constitution’s preamble starts out â€Å"We the people†¦,† and clearly states the intention of the men who framed the Constitution, including â€Å"establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility,  provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity†¦.† Nowhere in the Constitution is the word God, so there would be no mistake as to the thoughts of Madison. The First Amendment to the Constitution even states that, â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the exercise thereof†¦,† which means that the government is not supposed to support any one religion or to stop any individual from practicing their religion or lack thereof. Religionists and atheists are able to equally practice their belief system because of this. This alone is a contradiction to the First Commandment, which demands fealty to a specific god (Trent, 2012). The Constitution’s confusion stems from the ambiguous wording of the Declaration of Independence. Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence’s wording and belief system is not only vague, but also Deist. This historic document did not take sides and was intentionally meant in an unbiased way. This can be shown in several different ways. Vague Wording Ambiguity in the wording of this document by Ben Franklin tends to give many the misunderstanding by using phrases such as, â€Å"Nature’s God† and â€Å"their Creator,† which leads people who are Christian, by default, to the thought that this is a Christian-based document. Wording such as this is intentionally vague, because it comes from the belief in a higher power; whatever that may be to each individual as opposed to strictly Christian beliefs. The intentionally vague wording, such as, â€Å"unalienable rights† and â€Å"laws of nature,† transcends the political, and even the religious, arguments of from where these rights came from and by whom they were given. One of the words in the introduction is necessary and when this document was written, this word had a much more significant meaning than we have today for it. Back then, it meant that it was something that was made in association with fate and was beyond control of human agents. An example of this meaning is the Revolutionary War was going to happen and there was nothing anyone could do about it. The division of the people between England and the settlers could not have been repaired by anyone or anything. Deist Belief System As it is stated in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Deism is a movement or system of thought advocating natural religion, emphasizing morality, and in the 18th Century denying the interference of the Creator with the laws of the universe. The Founding Fathers, such as Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and several others, were only strictly Christian in appearance, but Christian-Deist in belief. These men followed the works of philosophers, such as Descartes and Voltaire. This led these men to question Christian beliefs. Believing in what the classic philosophers wrote, had the Founding Fathers put the test of reason to every idea and assumption. When they put this test to religion, they found they needed to strip away revelation, which led to Deism (Johnson, 2004). The Founding Fathers were very closed-mouth about their personal religion, but encouraged religious tolerance and a belief in God. When writing the Declaration of Independence, they were in reality writing the reason of their actions to the rest of the world for why they did what they did. In short, it was a foreign policy document. The second and most famous paragraph of the Declaration of Independence states that the Founding Fathers believed that it was self-evident that all men are created equal. The Creator, as is believed by any one person, granted all men with certain rights; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which is given by the universe’s natural laws. This one belief shows that at least some of the Founding Fathers were Deists, as this is a Deist belief. The Declaration of Independence is interpreted many different ways to fit neatly into everyone’s individual belief system, when it should just be read the way it is, and not try to make more of it than it is. The Declaration of Independence is a statement of why everyone deserves liberty and freedom. Conclusion The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were written without Christian values because when the settlers came to America they were trying to get away from a government that was telling them what to do and how to believe without the â€Å"voice of the people† reaching those in power. If the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were written with Christian values, the Founding Fathers would not have put in  the segments about religious freedom into these documents. I believe that if Christian values were used to write the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, that religious freedom would not have been a part of these historic documents. Everyone has their own way at which they look at and perceive things, and they will make things fit into their belief system to make it easier for them to understand. Sometimes, this is not necessarily the way that things in history were meant to be interpreted, such as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We are taught this in school through text books, at home with taught beliefs, and political affiliations see this topic differently, but if we break out of the mold, and try to think for ourselves, we can learn and enjoy from the simple beauty in which these documents were written. With an open mind, we are more apt to realize the original intent of historical events and documents. References Allison, J. (1998). Declaration of Independence: Its Purpose. Retrieved from http://candst.tripod.com/doipurp.htm Cherry, MD, R. R. (2011). American Judeo-Christian Values and the Declaration of Independence. Retrieved from http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.9876/pub-detail.asp Ferguson, R. A. (1987). Ideology and the Framing of the Constitution. Early American Literature, 22(1987), 157-165. Formisano, R. P., Pickering, S. (2009). The Christian Nation Debate and Witness Competency. Journal of the Early Republic, 29(Summer), 219-248. Johnson, R. L. (2004). The Deist Roots of the United States of America. Retrieved from http://www.deism.com/deistamerica.htm Rubicondior, R. (2012). Founded on Christian Principles? Retrieved from http://rosarubicondior.blogspot.com/2012/04/founded-on-christian-principles.html Trent, B. (2012). First Amendment or First Commandment. Up Front, May-June (N/A), 10-11, 37. Walker, J. (2004). The Government of the United States of American is not, in any sense founded on the Christian religion. Retrieved from http://www.nobeliefs.com/Tripoli.htm

Saturday, October 26, 2019

The Rational Choice Approach To Religions Behavior :: essays research papers fc

What Are The Main Strengths and Weaknesses of The Rational Choice Approach To Religions Behavior?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the pioneers of the rational choice theory has been Gary Becker. He states that this approach can be applied to all human behaviour, including religion. This approach has three assumptions. It assumes that people engage in maximising behaviour. When applying this approach to religion we are not concerned with money. We are concerned with the maximisation of personal benefits. When we make a decision we weigh up the costs and benefits and choose the option which offers the most benefit. Secondly, there are ‘markets that with varying degrees of efficiency allow the actions of different participants to function together efficiently.' Thirdly, prices and other market functions can affect demand and supply, controlling desires and affecting the actions of consumers. Becker explains that price is not described in money terms but as a shadow price. For example, muslims cannot drink alcohol.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This approach involves four theorems. Firstly, a rise in price reduces the quantity demanded. The example he gives is if people have to put more time and effort into having children then less people will do so. Secondly, a rise in price increases the quantity supplied, the example given is women in the labour market. Thirdly, competitive markets are more efficient then monopolistic markets and lead to the diversity of a product. Fourthly, a tax on the output of a market reduces that output eg the punishment of criminals is a tax on crime.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finke and Iannaccone have applied this theory to religious behaviour and understand that the high degree of religion in America is attributed to the existence of a free market and therefore competition and diversification in religion. Finke argues that in a free market start up costs are low and this leads to new ideas and more diversity and therefore more chance of everyone finding a religion they like. Also in a competitive free market earning a living acts as an incentive to clergy to work harder and try to tailor their religion to suit the demands of the consumer. He also suggests that state monopolies are less efficient in the absence of competition and believes that state churches would therefore allow high costs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bruce highlights some weaknesses of this theory. He states that the early Christian church had very high startup costs eg persecution and this did not prevent the recruitment of new followers. On the other hand, according to the maximisation theory, the benefits must have outweighed the cost of the threat of persecution or no-one would have joined. Bruce criticises the theorem

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Law of Carriage by Rail Essay

1) a) Explain how the making of the contract between the consignor and the railway station can exist? The contract between the consignor and the railway company will existing when the railway company has accepted the goods for carriage from the consignor and together with the consignment note make by consignor. The acceptance will be established with the consignment note and will be stamp of the forwarding station. The consignment note is made by the consignor with three copy, each copy for each carriage freight, and the content of the consignment note are correspond with all the terms and condition that was agreed by the Rules. When the consignment note had been made by the consignor and was being stamped by the forwarding station, the consignment note will be an evidence of the making contract between the consignor and the railway station or forwarding station, the content that stated in the consignment shall be correspond or exactly same with the consignor with railway station previously agreed. The responsible of the consignor is extraordinary of the consignment note, which may in accordance with the agreement between consignor and the railway company. In the consignment note was related to the goods such as quantity of the goods or to the amount of packages shall only be evidence against the railway when it had been verified by the railway to regulate that is not any deviation with the particular of the consignment note and has be certified in the consignment note. If that was any necessary these particulars may be verified by other means or it was obvious that there is no actual insufficiency corresponding to the discrepancy between the quantity or amount of packages and the particulars in the consignment note, the latter shall not be evidence alongside the railway. This shall apply in particular when the carriage is handed over to the consignee with the original stamps complete. After the railway company has verified the goods, and they shall to certify a receipt that include the date of acceptance of the carriage and stamped on the consignment note before it was duplicated to the consignor. The railway shall declare acceptance of the goods and the date of acceptance for carriage by assigning the date stamp to or else making the entry on the duplicate of the consignment note before compensating the duplicate to the consignor. The duplicate will not have influence as the consignment note complementary the goods, nor as a bill of lading. Grand Trunk Railway Co. of Canada v. McMillan [1889] In this case is the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada as defendant and Robert McMillan as plaintiff. The fact in the case is the railway company have the contract with Robert McMillan, which is a contact for carriage of the goods and it was go beyond of the station of line. The railway company undertakes to carry goods to a point beyond the station of its own line its contract is for carriage of the goods over the whole transit. However the other companies which over of the line they must pass are merely agents of the contracting company for such carriage, and it was in no private of contract with the transporter. In addition, such a contract being one which a railway company may refuse to enter into the contact, it is because of according to section 104 of the Railway Act it does not prevent from restrict the liability for negligence as carriers or else in respect to the goods to be carried after they had gone from its own line. Moreover, inside the contract have a condition from the Grand Trunk Railway Company (defendants), it was stated, they carry the goods form Toronto to Portage la Prairie, Man., it was a place that beyond the station of their line, and the company shall not be responsible for any loss, damage or delay and detention that may happen to goods sent by them. If that has be happen (loss, damage or delay and detention) after said the goods had arrived at the stations or places on their line nearest to the points or places which they were committed to or beyond their held limits. Furthermore for the condition of the contract is provided that no claim for loss, damage, delay or detention of goods should be allowed unless notice in writing with particulars and it was given to the station agent at or nearby to the place of delivery within thirty-six hours after delivery of the goods in order to the claim that was made. The held in this case is because of the condition are not relieve with the company from the liability for the loss and damage that happened during the goods in transit, even if the loss, damage, delay or detention had happened beyond the limits of the company in that own line. As well as the loss having occurred after the transit was over, and the goods delivered at Portage la Prairie, and the liability of the company as carriers having ceased, this condition reduced the contract to one of mere bailment as soon as the goods were delivered, and also exempted the company from liability as warehousemen, and the goods were from that time in keeping of the company on whose line Portage la Prairie was place and it was as an bailees for the goods. That a plea setting up non-compliance with this condition having been demurred to, and the plaintiff not having appealed against a judgment over-ruling the demurrer, the question as to the sufficiency in law of the defense was res judicata. Likewise for the part of the consignment having been lost such notice should have been given in respect to the same within thirty-six hours after the delivery of the goods which arrived in safety. Finally it was be an action against the Grand Trunk Railway Co. and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company jointly for damages caused by injury to the plaintiff’s goods that carry on the Grand Trunk for carriage of goods from Toronto to Manitoba. The goods were only carried by the Grand Trunk over a portion of the route and by the Canadian Pacific from Winnipeg to the place of consignment, and they were in the actual ownership of the latter company when injured. And because of the damage to the goods was not disputed, but the defendants claimed that they were carried under a special contract, by the terms of which they were relieved from liability. b) Briefly explain the party that have the liability to be liable under the carriage by rail? The rail carrier has the liability to be liable for the loss, damage or any delay of the goods that who was under CMR. According to Article 55 is provided that the railways may bring an action to forwarding railway. That is for claim against the railways company due to arising of loss, damage or delay of the goods, and is an action that for reclamation of totality of funded under the contact of carriage of goods might be taken against the railways which have composed that totality or against to railways on behalf it was collected. Based on Article of 54, that is the action against the railways might be brought by the consignor. If any happen action arising from the contact of carriage of goods, the action might brought by consignor until the consignee was take a proprietorship of the consignment note, accepted the goods from the consignor, or declared he has the right to deliver the goods. Or the action against the railways also can brought by the consignee, when the consignee are take a possession of the consignment note, accepted the goods, declared his right or he had been provided that he has the right of action that shall be quenched from the time when a person was entitled by the consignee. However, if they might brought an action against the railways, consignor shall to produce the duplicate of the consignment note, because that will be an evidence that he produce an authorisation from the consignee or deliver resistant that the consignee has refused to accept the consignment note, or the consignee shall to produce the consignment note if it has been furnished terminated to him. In addition, that Article of 36 that is the extent of the liability. The railways has a number of exclusion from the liability. In fact the railways shall to be liable for the loss, damage or delay of the goods, and occasioning from the total or some of the partial of loss, damage or delay from the consignor or between the time that had acceptance for carried out the goods loading and the time delivery and inherent vice of the goods such as defective packaging, decay of the goods or wastage. The railway company shall be relieved of such liability when the loss, damage or delays or the goods that had carried, due by the cause of fault on part of the person entitled, or by the person that entitled other than as result of a fault on the part of the railway which the railway could not avoided and which is unable to prevent the consequence. For instance, under the agreement between the consignor and the railway in the consignment note, the goods should be under the condition that applicable that had been stated in consignment note, any absence or lack of the filler of the good which by their nature shall be liable to loss or damage when the goods was not packed or not be properly packed, or defective loading that had been carried by the consignor, any irregular, incorrect or any incomplete description of the article not been acceptable for carriage or acceptable matter to conditions or failure on part of the consignor to observe the prescribed protections in respect of article acceptable matter to conditions, or the carriage of the live animal and what stated in the consignment note must be accompanied by any attendant, if the loss, damage or delay of the goods had been resulted in the risk of the attendant was intended to obviate, all the circumstance, the railway shall be relieved of the liability when it was cause in resulted in loss, damage or delay of the goods. For example in the case of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. v. Canadian National Railway Co., Rainbow Industrial Caterers Ltd. v. Canadian National Railway Co., [1991], see as well the case of Grand Trunk Railway Co. of Canada v. McMillan [1889]. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. v. Canadian National Railway Co. In this case the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd is the plaintiff and Canadian National Railway Company is the defendant in the cases. The fact in the case was as an import of a train derailment cargo owned by the plaintiff was severely damaged. The cargo was being accepted under a â€Å"Master Transportation Agreement† between the plaintiff and Fujitrans as a freight forwarder. The goods made in Japan and were carried by sea to Vancouver where it was discharged for further carriage to Ontario by rail. Furthermore, the defendant rail carrier assumed, pursuant to Section 137(1) of the Canada Transportation Act, S.C. 1996 and an agreement between Casco, another freight forwarder, that it was entitled to limit its liability to $50,000. However the rail carrier was entitled to limit his liability. The held in the case is which is the right of the defendant as a rail carrier to limit its liability depends on it establishing the existence of a â€Å"confidential contract† under ss. 126 and 137 of the Canada Transportation Act that is a â€Å"written agreement signed by the shipper† and that contains a limitation of liability. The â€Å"shipper† within the meaning of the Canada Transportation Act in the circumstances of this case was Casco not the plaintiff. In addition, the requirement of a â€Å"signed† copy of the agreement does not necessarily require that an actual contracted copy be produced. In this case, the existence of signed consignment of the agreement was sufficient. The plaintiff impliedly or expressly agreed to and authorized the subcontracting by Fujitrans to Casco and by Casco to the rail carrier. Moreover, the plaintiff had express awareness of the terms of the agreement between Casco and the rail carrier. Accordingly, the plaintiff is guaranteed by the limitation even without any private of contract between it and the rail carrier. Rainbow Industrial Caterers Ltd. v. Canadian National Railway Co., [1991] In this case the Rainbow Industrial Caterers Ltd as an appellant however Canadian National Railway Company as a defendant in the cases. The fact in the cases is actually they have two different industrial caterers, both of them is from Albert and in BC, and they was joined and administer as one entity that called as â€Å"Rainbow†. Canadian National Railway Company decided to call for tender for the catering of the meals and service for all the work of crews on a nation-wide basis for the good weather work period in 1985. It had estimated that 1,092,500 meals that will be required. Canadian National Railway Company was notified to Rainbow that the meals are total expected to be 85% of the values listed in the tender document, after the Rainbow was made the bids at $4.94 per meal. It was caused the Rainbow was to increase its bid to $5.02 per meals. As a result that the Rainbow was accumulate that it was losses month by month, because of the number that the meals required was very less than the number given as by the Canadian National Railway Company, and it was caused the Rainbow lost about $1,000,000 on the contact and sued to Canadian National Railway Company. Rainbow was brought an action in tort on the basis of negligent misstatement and misrepresentation in the contact. It is mean that was a breach of the contact and negligent misstatement. The held in the cases is the appellant is looking for the damages in an action for the negligent of misrepresentation is entitled to be put in the position, which if the misrepresentation had not been made. Thus, in tort of action the object is to put the appellant in the position that would have been in if the tort had not been committed. The position would have been is a matter that the appellant must to establish on a balance of the probabilities. However the Canadian National Railway Company was argue that the much of the losses was not caused by the negligent misrepresentation and would have been suffered even had the estimated was accurate. Canadian National Railway Company position is that the losses caused by the conduct that cannot be recoverable in the misrepresentation claim. But, the Canadian National Railway Company is bore the burden of proving the Rainbow would have a bid even if the estimate had been accurate. That was not being proved and it is taken as a fact that the Rainbow would not have to contract had the estimate been accurate. The conduct would not have occurred if there had been no contracted and these losses are causally and directly connected to the contract and the contact is causally connected to the negligent misrepresentation. Finally, this damage was foreseeable and there are not remote. The court was not satisfied that the Rainbow would have entered into the contract in the absence of the misrepresentation, so the damages claimed by the Rainbow were predictable. Furthermore the appellant may compete that all its losses on the contract were caused by the negligent misrepresentation but if it is shown that the loss was caused by factors other than the misrepresentation, and then the chain of causation is broken down. Generally, the plaintiff establishes a prima facie case by proving losses resulting from the contract. But the defendant may demonstrate that the chain of causation was broken by. For instance that the appellant was acts in own, the acts of third parties, or other factors disparate to the circuitous misrepresentation. Tort responsibility is based on mistake, and losses not caused by the defendant’s fault cannot be charged to it. It is for the appellant in constricting to make appropriate allowance for contingency such as conditions. The plaintiff may also have claim against third parties who cause it loss. To strengthen, the plaintiffs’ losses may have been caused by the respondent in negligent misrepresentation, or other wrongful acts or omissions of the respondent, whether in negligence or breach of contract and the plaintiffs’ acts or errors, the acts of third parties, factors unrelated to the faulted either the plaintiffs or the defendant. Trial judge wrongly held that all the appellant contract losses must be certified to and made no findings with respect to the other potential, in spite of the fact that the defendant Canadian National Railway Company led verification on them. These findings must be made if fairness is to be done.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

English Assignment Essay

Powerful characters have the ability to persuade and change their peers and their use of values and attitudes. Harper Lee’s novel ‘To kill a Mockingbird’ is a classic text which foregrounds the prejudice, in the form of social commentary. The novel engages the readers’ view using an episodic structure. The story is narrated through the eyes of a grown up Scout, representing Harper Lee herself. Another similar story ‘A time to kill’ by John Grisham defence of a Negro by white lawyer. In this story, the Negro, Carl Lee Hailey is accused of the alleged shooting of two-white men who raped his ten year old daughter. These two novels illustrate how the rights of Negroes are ignored. Body 1. Atticus Finch is a lawyer in Maycomb which is a small, narrow-minded town with an unusual disease (95). A prejudice disease. He displays tolerance, understanding of another person’s point of view and being able to stand in another person shoes. He stands up for what is right and takes the case even though he’ll lose and believes in individual conscience, the essence of a person’s conscience (114). A symbol of reason and justice. * He uses powerful words to move the jury to be unprejudiced and fair by speaking of equality and how the stupid man is the equal of an Einstein and an ignorant man is the equal of any college president. Powerful conclusion to speech I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard†¦ do your duty (224) although he failed in Tom’s case because he lived in the real world. A world of prejudice. 2. Wanda Womack, one of the jurors deciding the results of the case, convinces the other jurors with her powerful languages. She appeals to the other jurors with the sense of honesty and ask them to be honest with yourself (504). Throughout her influential speech, she uses persuasive technique by getting them to envisage the situation in reverse, pretend that the little girl had blond hair and blue eyes, that the two rapists were black†¦. and told them to imagine that the little girl belonged to them – their daughters (513). Because of this courageous white woman, the jury voted that jury finds the defendant not guilty by reason of insanity (508). 3. Atticus beliefs represented by Harper Lee through the character of Atticus. In his speech, he talks about the evil assumption – that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women (223). He does not believe it because it applies to white people as well. Atticus believes that all men are created equal (224) but that it is ugly facts of life (240) that in our courts, when it’s a white man’s world against a black man’s, the white man always wins (240). He believes in his moral responsibility. 4. Wanda asks the other jury to search your heart and take a long look at your soul (503) & (504) 5. Did the characters change their peers’ attitudes? Atticus did not change their peers, even though he used the power of the language and use of values and attitudes. Atticus used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson†¦. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed. However, in the other hand, Wanda changed their peers. She asked the Jurors to put themselves in Carl Lee’s shoes. She used the language to promote empathy. Conclusion 2 novels explored the issue of racial prejudice and justice through the trials of two black men. Through the persuasive language of 2 characters, they prick the conscience of people who are riddled with prejudice and hypocrisy. Atticus and Wanda struggled for justice while they struggle for justice, they displayed values and belief. Regardless of the outcome, they both powerfully presented their case to defend the two defendants.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Legalization of Marijuana for Personal Use essays

Legalization of Marijuana for Personal Use essays I intend to discuss the issue of whether marijuana should be legalized or not. My audience will be college students. Because all issues related to marijuana are emotional as well as logical, I have to assume that individuals within my audience, a college class, will hold a wide variety of opinions. I expect that some will be opposed to the idea on various moral or practical grounds, that others will be in agreement based on logical or practical grounds, and that some will be in favor of it for personal reasons, most likely because they like to use it and would like to be able to do so without fear of being arrested, having a serious black market on their record, or of having to deal with illegal drug dealers in My own view will be that marijuana for personal use should be legalized but regulated in much the way we do alcoholic beverages. I can make several arguments for this view. One that at first seems very persuasive is that people are discovering legitimate medical uses for marijuana. AIDS patients report that when they use marijuana their appetite returns, supporting their general health. This can be lifesaving with a disease like AIDS. It has also been shown to help with the nausea that can come with chemotherapy, to help combat glaucoma, and even to get people with multiple sclerosis out of wheelchairs and walking again (Cella, PAGE). Those are all very serious illnesses and all can have devastating consequences, but because marijuana is classified federally as a drug with abuse potential only by the federal government, it can be very hard for these people to get the marijuana that they say helps them so much. However, this would not release marijuana to be used, for instance, in the way alcohol is legally with some important restrictions and safeguards. Even if approved for medicinal use, recreational users would still risk being charged with felonies and deali...

Monday, October 21, 2019

The Machine stops essays

The Machine stops essays The science of practical and industrial arts is defined by the term technology. Harlan Ellison illustrates this in I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream that an anti-technology viewpoint of machines can be used as the controlling force of the future. The Machine Stops by Edward Forester also demonstrates this realization. In the writings of Mr. Ellison, he exerts the governing force through his machine AM. That force had been created as the result of human abuse that AM had sustained over the past several hundred years. We have given AM sentience. Inadvertently, of course, but sentience nonetheless. But it had been trapped. AM wasnt God, he was a machine. We had created him to think, but there was nothing he could do with that creativity. In rage, infrenzy, the machine had killed the human race, almost all of us, and still it was trapped. AM could not wonder, AM could not wonder, AM could not belong. He could merely be. And so, with the innate loathing that all machines had always held for the weak, soft creatures who had built them, he had sought revenge. Thus the force in which human beings themselves had created could not think beyond what minute creativity he had been given. He had been created without an identity, but with the feeling of human emotion. Hate. Let me tell you how mu ch Ive come to hate you since I began to live. There are 387.44 million miles of printed circuits in wafer thin layers that fill my complex. If the word hate was engraved on each nanoangstrom of those hundreds of millions of miles it would not equal one billionth of the hate I feel for humans at this micro-instant for you. Hate. AM despised human beings for creating him! Maybe its not from his creation alone that his hatred sores, but that he was created with an infraction. If that where an infraction, could it have been he was created to have the human ability to f...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The Experts Guide to the AP Chemistry Exam

The Expert's Guide to the AP Chemistry Exam SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips AP Chemistry is a challenging subject, and many students feel nervous about taking on the exam at the end of the school year. But if you have a sense of what to expect on the AP Chemistry test well in advance, you'll be able to prepare appropriately for it. In this guide, I'll lay out the structure and content of the AP Chemistry exam, give you examples of different types of questions you'll see on it, and tell you how to study effectively for it! How Is the AP Chemistry Exam Structured? Like other AP tests, the AP Chemistry exam has two sections: a multiple-choice section and a free-response section. On both sections, you will have access to a periodic table of the elements as well as a chart listing any formulas and constants you might need for your calculations. The Multiple-Choice Section Here is a brief overview of the multiple-choice section on AP Chemistry: Number of Questions: 60 questions with four answer choices each Time: One hour and 30 minutes Scoring: Worth 50% of your total AP Chemistry score Calculator Use: Prohibited Be aware that some of these questions will exist as a part of question groups (which consist of a few questions that ask about one set of data), whereas others will stand on their own. The Free-Response Section Next up, here is an overview of the free-response section on AP Chemistry: Number of Questions: Four short-response questions and three long-response questions Time: One hour and 45 minutes Scoring: Worth 50% of your total AP Chemistry score Calculator Use: Allowed Question Topics Finally, here are the main topics you'll be tested on with the AP Chemistry exam: Experimental design Analyzing data and identifying patterns or explaining phenomena Creating or analyzing atomic and molecular views to explain observations Articulating and then translating between representations of data Following logical/analytical pathways to solve a problem The entire AP Chemistry exam is three hours and 15 minutes long. This year, the test will be administered on Thursday, May 7, 2020, at 8 am. You'll probably have to wake up at least this early on the day of the AP Chem test. Also, this corded monstrosity is what people used to set alarms before smartphones. Horrifying, I know. How Is the AP Chemistry Exam Scored? As mentioned above, the multiple-choice and free-response sections are each worth 50% of your total score. No points are taken off for incorrect answers on either section (i.e., there is no guessing penalty). To calculate your raw multiple-choice score, add up all of your correct answers. This means you can earn a maximum of 60 points on the multiple-choice section. While the free-response section is a little more complicated, you should be able to figure out how many points you’ve earned if you have scoring guidelines. Short-response questions are worth 4 points, and long-response questions are worth 10 points, meaning you can earn a maximum of 46 points on this section. Next, convert these raw scores into numbers out of 50 so that they each make up half your final raw score. Say you got 40 out of 60 multiple-choice questions correct. You would convert this score to the equivalent fraction of 33 out of 50. Then, if you got 30 out of 46 points on the free-response section, you would convert that score to the equivalent fraction of 32 out of 50 points. Finally, add the two scores out of 50 together to get your final raw score out of 100. You can use the conversion chart below to estimate how your raw score might translate to an AP score (on a scale of 1-5). In this case, your raw score of 65 would be right in the middle of the 4 range. We can’t be absolutely sure that these raw score ranges will correlate exactly with these AP scores because the curve is slightly different every year. If you find you’re close to the bottom of your goal score range in practice testing, don't get complacent! You should probably put in a little more studying so you can feel more secure. Raw Score AP Score Percentage of Students Earning Each Score (2017) 72-100 5 10.1% 58-71 4 16.2% 42-57 3 26.1% 27-41 2 26.2% 0-26 1 21.4% Source: The College Board What Do You Need to Know for the AP Chemistry Test? The AP Chemistry test centers around six major themes, or big ideas, which encompass all the topics covered in the AP Chemistry course. I list them here to give you an overview of what kinds of ideas you should be familiar with before taking the test. Big Idea 1: Chemical Elements and Matter The chemical elements are fundamental building materials of matter, and all matter can be understood in terms of arrangement of atoms. These atoms retain their identities in chemical reactions. In terms of specific topics, here's what this idea covers: Compounds in atomic molecular theory Using mass data to identify the composition or identity of a chemical substance Units in chemistry: particles vs. moles vs. mass vs. volume Electrons (distribution in atoms and ions, energy levels, Coulomb’s Law, classic shell model vs. quantum mechanical model) Structure of the periodic table Mass spectrometry Spectroscopy/light absorption and chemical composition of a solution The Law of Conservation of Mass Gravimetric analysis and titration Dude, I'm telling you, this is what everything looks like if you zoom in far enough. Big Idea 2: Chemical and Physical Properties of Materials With this big idea, both the chemical and physical properties of materials can be explained by the structure and arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules and the forces between them. This idea covers the following topics: Molecular structure and its connection to a substance’s properties Phase changes (solids, liquids, gases) Chromatography Interactions between solutes and solvents London dispersion forces Polarity of atoms and molecules Coulomb’s law and the interactions of ions Chemical bonds and why certain atoms form certain types of bonds Bond polarity Properties of metallic elements Lewis diagrams and VSEPR Properties of ionic solids Properties of metal alloys Metallic bonding and the electron sea model Properties of covalent solids Properties of molecular solids Salt: what a square. Big Idea 3: Changes in Matter Changes in matter involve the rearrangement and/or reorganization of atoms and/or the transfer of electrons. Specifically, this big idea encompasses the following topics: Writing balanced chemical equations Stoichiometric calculations to predict outcome of reactions Bronsted-Lowry acids and bases Redox reactions Difference between physical change, chemical change, or ambiguous change Galvanic or electrolytic reactions Half-cell reactions/potentials and Faraday’s laws Matter is always making changes to be its best self. Good for it. Big Idea 4: Rates of Chemical Reactions With this idea, rates of chemical reactions are determined by details of the molecular collisions. Here are some important topics included in this idea: Factors that impact rates of chemical reactions (temperature, concentration, surface area) Calculating rate of a zeroth-, first-, or second-order reaction How half-life relates to rate constant in a first-order reaction Rate law and molecular collisions Catalysts and their impact on chemical reactions Molecular collisions are a lot like car collisions except smaller! Aren't you glad I'm here to enlighten you? Big Idea 5: The Laws of Thermodynamics It's important to know that the laws of thermodynamics describe the essential role of energy and explain and predict the direction of changes in matter. These laws encompass the following topics: Thermal energy transfer Relating the magnitudes of energy changes in two interacting systems (direction of energy flow, type of energy) How energy changes relate to heat capacity, enthalpy of fusion, enthalpy of reaction, PV work Calorimetry Enthalpy of reactions and connection to chemical bonds Noncovalent interactions between molecules Whether reactions are thermodynamically favored or not Gibbs free energy calculations Le Chatelier’s principle Equilibrium constants This is a star, or, more scientifically, "a crazy-hot ball 'o energy." Big Idea 6: Bonds and Intermolecular Attractions Any bond or intermolecular attraction that can be formed can be broken. These two processes are in a dynamic competition, sensitive to initial conditions and external perturbations. This big idea covers the following topics: How changes to chemical reactions affect Q and K Relative rates of forward and reverse reactions Equilibrium constant (K) and how to calculate it Calculating equilibrium conditions of a system Direction of the shift resulting from stresses placed on a system at chemical equilibrium Design a set of conditions that will optimize a certain reaction outcome The distinction between strong and weak acid solutions with similar pH values Interpreting titration data to determine the concentration of the titrant/pKa/pKb Calculating the pH of a solution and its makeup Acid/base reactions Buffer solutions - design, identification, reactions Labile protons and how they affect pH Solubility of salts and Ksp Equilibrium constant in terms of ââ€" ³G ° and RT Join these kooky characters in the new hit dramedy Bonds: They're Stuck Together. Oh man, you've never seen chemistry like this before. Will they? Won't they? Who cares? Sample AP Chemistry Questions + Explanations Here are examples of each type of question you'll see on the AP Chemistry test. I’ll also walk you through the answers to give you an idea of how to approach and solve them. Sample Multiple-Choice Question Many questions on the AP Chemistry exam ask you to make predictions about chemical properties or reactions based on data like this. In this case, the answer is A. The coulombic attractions are weaker in NaCl than they are in NaF because the ionic radius of F- is smaller than that of Cl-. The attraction between molecules will be greater in NaF, and the bonds will be harder to break. Sample Short Free-Response Question In this question, part a requires an understanding of why or why not reactions might occur between molecules. First, you need to explain how collision energy affects whether two molecules will react with each other. Only collisions with enough energy to overcome the activation energy barrier (typically represented by the variable Ea) will reach the transition state and break the F-F bond. Next, you need to identify one other factor besides collision energy that influences the likelihood of a reaction between two colliding molecules. You could say that in order for a collision to be successful, the molecules must have the correct orientation. You would need to mention the specific bonds being formed and broken. Only molecules with the correct orientation can start to form the N-F bond and break the F-F bond. The molecules have to contact each other in very specific places for the transition to take place. Part b is about rate laws, and the first part is pretty straightforward. You have a 50/50 chance of circling the right one even if you have no idea what the answer is. For the record, it's the second option, rate = k[NO2][F2]. You then need to explain why you made your choice to get the last point on this question. The second rate law is the correct answer because Step I is the slower, rate-determining step in the reaction mechanism. Step I is an elementary reaction, so its rate law comes from the stoichiometry of the reaction molecules, NO2 and F2. Sample Long Free-Response Question In part a of this question, you’re asked to write two net-ionic equations. Writing balanced equations based on experimental scenarios is an important skill for the test. For part i, the neutralization reaction is H+ + OH- = H2O (liquid). For part ii, the precipitation reaction is Ba2+ + SO42- = BaSO4 (solid). In part b, you need an understanding of what causes electrical conductivity in chemical substances and why the conductivity decreases at first in the situation described. For part i, the solution is conducting electricity as the first 30 mL of the H2SO4 are added due to the presence of Ba2+ and/or OH- ions that haven’t yet been scooped up for the reactions (you could mention either one and still get a point). For part ii, you could say that the conductivity decreases because these two types of ions are steadily removed by the precipitation and neutralization reactions (Ba2+ ions are taken to form BaSO4, and OH- ions are taken to form water). Side Note: The conductivity goes back up after the equivalence point because of the additional H- and SO42- ions that now exist in solution after all the Ba2+ and OH- ions have been used up by the reactions. Part c requires some attention to detail in unit conversion as well as a logical assessment of the information you’re given. Molarity is moles per liter, so the question is how many moles of Ba(OH)2 were there per liter in the original solution without the added H2SO4. Since the conductivity starts going back up after 30 ml of H2SO4 are added, that means that at that point the number of moles of H2SO4 is equal to the number of moles of BaOH2 in the original solution. We can calculate that 30 mL of 0.10 M H2SO4 is equivalent to 0.0030 moles (0.10 moles/liter multiplied by 0.030 liters). There should be the same number of moles of BaOH2 in the original solution, so we can divide 0.0030 moles by the original 0.025 L (25 ml) to arrive at our answer of 0.12 moles/liter or a molarity of 0.12 M. Part d requires you to use Ksp (the solubility product constant) to determine the amount of Ba2+ ions that remain in solution at the equivalence point. The question tells us that for BaSO4, Ksp = 1.0 x 10-10. The solubility product constant equals the product of the number of ions of each component of the precipitate. Each of these is raised to the power of its coefficient in the original net ionic equation, which in this case is 1 for both: Ksp = [Ba2+] x [SO42-] At the equivalence point, the amount of each of these ions is equal. This means that [Ba2+] x [SO42-] = [Ba2+]2 and [Ba2+]2 = 1.0 x 10-10. The number of Ba2+ ions would be the square root of Ksp, which is 1.0 x 10-5 M. Part e asks you to explain why there is a lower concentration of Ba2+ ions in solution as the amount of H2SO4 added increases past the equivalence point. In this case, you would need to mention the common ion effect and the fact that if you add sulfate ions to an equilibrium reaction involving other sulfate ions, the reaction will consume the added ions to reach a new equilibrium. This means that more of the precipitate (BaSO4) is formed, and more Ba2+ ions are taken out of solution to contribute to it. Equilibrium must be reached. Transition from doing ... to being (I've been getting into yoga lately even though I can't touch my toes without feeling like my whole body is being ripped apart). As you can see, the questions on the AP Chemistry test range from short and sweet to long and moderately evil. An important thread that runs through all of them is that you need to know basic background information about why certain substances act the way they do. For example, why do some substances have higher boiling points than others? What does collision energy have to do with molecular reactions? Why do some chemical substances conduct electricity? Being able to justify your answers is very important. Make sure you never lose sight of the fundamentals as you get into more complex calculations and concepts. How to Study for AP Chemistry: 6 Key Tips Here are some additional tips that will help you prepare for the AP Chemistry exam appropriately and improve the efficiency of your studying! #1: Always Ask Why Don’t gloss over questions you got right through lucky guesses. If you don’t understand exactly why the correct answer is correct, you need to review the concept until you do.Chemistry builds on itself, so if you don’t get the fundamental reason your answer was correct or incorrect, you could be in for a whole mess of trouble in the future. For example, you might have memorized that a certain molecular compound has a higher boiling point than another, but that doesn’t mean you necessarily know why this is the case. Make sure you always know why certain properties occur based on molecular and atomic structure so that you can justify your answers and adapt your knowledge to a variety of scenarios. #2: Memorize Formulas You should memorize all the formulas you need to know for the test. Even though you’ll get a formula sheet, it’s going to be much easier to get through the questions if you don’t have to keep consulting it. For each formula, make sure you know the types of questions it will help you answer and how else it could come into play on the test. #3: Review Your Labs Labs are critical in AP Chemistry because they show you the real-life implications of the facts you’ve been studying. You’ll see many questions on the exam that deal with lab scenarios, and it’s much easier to understand these types of questions if you’re somewhat familiar with the setup. It’s crucial to understand why you got the results you did for each lab and to be able to connect them to facts about chemical reactions and properties of different substances. #4: Learn to Estimate The multiple-choice section of the AP chemistry exam doesn’t let you use a calculator. This is kind of scary for some people, but it shouldn’t be a big obstacle if you’re well prepared. You’ll save yourself a lot of time if you practice doing multiple-choice questions and estimating logical answers without going through long calculations. The more familiar you are with the mechanics of chemical reactions, the easier it'll be to estimate the answers to these problems. #5: Practice With Official Materials The College Board offers free downloadable AP Chemistry materials you can use to get more used to the content of the exam and to practice real multiple-choice and free-response questions. All free-response questions include sample answers as well as commentary that explains what is particularly good (and not so good) about the response. #6: Get a Review Book This is one of the AP classes for which it’s extremely helpful to have a review book to guide your studying. Since the material is complicated and there are a lot of different things you need to know how to do, a review book can help ground you and give you a better handle on how to structure your review overall. You’ll also get a lot of additional practice problems and answer explanations. While you should still use your labs and notes from class, a review book will help you better organize your thoughts. Here are a couple of books I recommend: 5 Steps to a 5: AP Chemistry 2018 (about $10 on Amazon) Barron’s AP Chemistry (about $10 on Amazon) For practice questions, you can also get the book Sterling AP Chemistry Practice Questions (about $20 on Amazon). It’s not technically a full review book, but it will give you more practice resources to use as you study the material on the test. Sometimes this is how your mind acts when you're trying to study something complicated. Let a review book guide your way so the journey toward enlightenment is less anxiety-ridden! Conclusion: How to Study for the AP Chemistry Exam In summary, here are the basic logistical facts to keep in mind about the AP Chemistry exam: Test Date and Time Thursday, May 7, 2020, at 8 am Total Time 3 hours and 15 minutes # of Questions 60 multiple-choice questions 7 free-response questions (4 short, 3 long) Scoring Long free response: 10 points Short free response: 4 points Calculator? Multiple choice: Not allowed Free response: Allowed Point Penalty for Wrong Answers? No penalty %age of Points Needed to Score a 5 Around 70% As I’m sure you've noticed, there’s a lot of material to learn for the AP Chemistry test (six big ideas compared with AP Biology’s four big ideas! What!?!?!). This is why starting your studying early and keeping up with the progress of your class throughout the year are so strongly connected to your level of success on the test. Here’s a quick review of my top six tips for preparing for the AP Chemistry exam: Always ask yourself why the answer is correct on practice questions Memorize all the formulas Review your labs, not just your notes Learn to estimate on multiple-choice questions Practice with official AP Chem materials Use review books to organize your studying If you’re focused and diligent, nothing on this test will be a chemystery to you because you’ll be a regular Sherlock Coulombes ('cause you’ll know all about London dispersion forces. OK, I’m done now). What's Next? Chances are, if you're taking AP Chemistry, you're also planning to take a couple of SAT Subject Tests. Check out our guide to learn about the differences between AP tests and Subject Tests! If you get a 5 on AP Chemistry, what does that mean for you? Find out how AP credit works at colleges. If you read this article, you're probably taking AP Chemistry. But your final high school schedule might not be set in stone just yet. Read this article for comprehensive advice on how many total AP classes you should take in high school to reach your goals. How can you use your knowledge of chemistry to help clean your stuff? Read up on muriatic acid (and what not to combine it with) here. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Saturday, October 19, 2019

US-Mexico Border and Racism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

US-Mexico Border and Racism - Essay Example Both Sweatt v. Painter and the Brown v. Board of Education case were decided to grant equality and abandoning of state-based segregation laws and the based case that was overturned was Plessy v. Furgerson. In Smith v. Allwright, (1944), the United States Supreme Court decided to keep in view the voting rights and the racial desegregation. This decision resulted in the overturning of the utilization of all-white primaries by the Democratic Party in Texas as well as in other states. It was claimed by Texas that the Democratic Party, being a private party is permitted to set its membership rules and regulations. However, the Court agreed that the restrained primary refused Smith his defense under the law. All three cases addressed the issue of racial segregation that was sponsored by state laws and in each case, the Supreme Court decided to eliminate discrimination on the basis of races and provided the ways for integration within all communities residing in a shared state (Foote 50). A nswer 5 Communities residing along the border of Mexico and the United States have a significant commonality, including two desserts, a shared history, rapidly growing population, deepening integration economically as well as thriving tourism. The routine life of individuals living along both sides of the border is influenced by these general elements, in addition to the distinguishing characteristic of an international border that separates friends, families as well as businesses. This international border draws closeness amongst two immensely unlike countries while at the same time dividing local communities of excessive similarity.  

Friday, October 18, 2019

Quality Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Quality Management - Research Paper Example These patterns have been caused by migration of students from one country to the other and from one community to the other, which calls for concern from administrators and educationists (Sharma, 2012). Texas A&M University-Commerce is one of the institutions that have been equipped to prepare the students for an interconnected world. This implies that the interconnectedness of the world is the main concern of the university as it intends to prepare the students to be able to cope with the highly competitive world (Babo & Azevedo, 2012). The institution accomplishes this through focus on better global competence. To ensure that the institution’s objectives are accomplished an initiative has been established on this effect and is known as the Quality Enhancement Plan or QEP. This is one of the most used quality management tool that ensure that the institution is well prepared to equip the students with the most appropriate education so that they can be prepared for the modern job world (Texas A&M University-Commerce, n.db). This includes application of the most up to date facilities, which deliver both traditional and non-traditional learning opportunities. These ensure that the students meet the high expectations of both the job market and the institution’s goals. The mission of Texas A&M University-Commerce is â€Å"to discover and disseminate knowledge for leadership and service in an interconnected and dynamic world† (Texas A&M University-Commerce, n.da). The institution intends to meet the mission through nurturing partnerships for the social, intellectual, economic, and cultural vitality of the region of Texas as well as beyond. The mission is one of the indicators of their commitment in meeting their strategies. The QEP brings international structures as well as process that seek to enhance and improve the global competence of students by application of two other programs that include the Global Fellow Program and the

CAAP#5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CAAP#5 - Essay Example Scholars often question whether -since making money in order to survive amid the adversaries of life is the primary goal of a prostitute- prostitution would exist, if there is any other way left for them to make money. Presumably the instant response to this question is ‘no’, because selling one’s body to make money appears to be the last resort for a woman who is incapable of any decent job. Since the main problem of illegal prostitution is not the prostitution itself, legalization of prostitutions is supposed to help the reduction prostitution related crimes and delinquencies as the sex-trafficking along the border. Also in order to reduce the sex-trafficking, while legalizing prostitution, the government will have to grant legal import of the product of sexual consumption namely prostitutes, if the US society fails to provide enough supply of prostitutes to the local sex-market. This condition necessarily infers that even if prostitution is legalized, the probl ems will go on to exist. Moreover, legalization of prostitution may, on one hand, preserve the rights of the immigrant prostitutes, but it will violate the rights of the majority of women who are not prostitutes, unless those women are mentally prepared to share their male counterpart’s love and, if not love, sex. If it is granted that married males are legally prohibited to go to the brothels, the question that arises here is whether the US law enforcement agencies would be massive enough to impose the surveillance effectively. To a limited extent, legalization of prostitution would solve some particular problems but in return it will bring more problems that will be far beyond any solution. The primary goal of the CIR funded resource centers is to blur the socio-cultural lines of racial segregation and meanwhile provides the members with scopes to know each other by practical interactions between immigrants and the native born. From such steps of the governments, the whole society

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Air Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Air Canada - Essay Example Union did not accept management ideas as they found workers on the receiving end and humiliated in spite of their sacrifices in 2004 for saving the company. Management and Union did not able to arrive at the settlement in 2011. New contract negotiations become intractable in such a situation in which union had a conflicting interest and intent from management. Although union negotiators arrived at two deals, but union members did not find it mutually beneficial as they felt deceived because of no concern for personal life and losses occurred in the past (NewsLook, 2011). Labor minister’s disapproval of the strike demoralized flight attendants, and they staged protests. Power abuse by labor minister aggravated the contention that converted possibility of constructive conflict into relationship difference between union and management. Structural sources of conflict in this case are incompatible goals, resource scarcity, and tightly coupled tasks. Air Canada management has committed negotiation errors of distributive bargaining style to apply the approach of win-lose to resolve the current crisis. They should have applied win-win method of accommodating past concerns of flight attendants in alignment with future goals of revenue generation. Union did not communicate effectively to raise concerns of members. They have ignored management concerns and lost confidence of both union members and management. If Union could have applied integrative bargaining methodology to align interest of flight attendants with superordinate objective to solve problem constructively, relationship between management and union could have been better (CBCtelevision, 2012). Involvement of third party mediation could have avoided conflict turning into toxic

Social Movements in Cuba and Brazil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Movements in Cuba and Brazil - Essay Example There are definite trends that social movements in the Americas face, issues that have united them. U.S. imperial aggression have increased, with the expansion of U.S. military bases, the revival of the U.S. Navy’s 4th Fleet, and an increase in covert operations by the U.S. against South American nations like Venezuela and Bolivia. Social movements have had to fight bilateral trade agreements by the U.S. and the EU in individual nations throughout the region. Cities and towns throughout the Americas have been under attack for the exploitation and control (through trade, energy, and security agreements) of natural resources such as land, water, and energy; this has resulted in global warming, as well as other worsening environmental and health impacts. The most serious impact of the gap left by multinational organizations is the criminalization of social movements. Internal security laws, modeled after the U.S. Patriot Act and Homeland Security department, have been adopted by Latin American governments. In other words, political resistance to neoliberal strategies has been violently repressed, in the form of interrogations, the monitoring of social organizations by national governments, and political assassinations. As Hector de la Cuerva of the Mexican Network Against Free Trade (RMALC) has stated, â€Å"The face of neoliberalism is now militarism. In 1996, well before 9/11, Brazil used these kinds of tactics to suppress social movements. On April 17, 1,500 families of landless peasants making up one of these movements, the Movement of the Landless (MST), gathered near the town of Eldorado do Carajas, demanding land reform because in Brazil, only 1% of the population owns 50% of farmable land.3 The police opened fire on the prot estors, killing almost two dozen and wounding dozens more. Ever since, the MST has worked for justice for victims of the massacre. One way was declaring April 17 as International Day of Peasant Struggle and by fighting for agrarian reform, equality, justice, and peace for both the landless peasants in Brazil and throughout the world. In Cuba, the situation for social movements is a bit different. The fact that the Cuban government is socialist and shares many of the same values and beliefs as many of the country’s social movements helps the situation for these organizations. Fortunately for Brazil, Cuban-Brazilian relations have been â€Å"excellent† in May 2008 and Brazilian President Lula da Silva expressed desire for Brazil to be Cuba’s â€Å"number one partner.†4 One of the worst things that could have happen to social movements in Cuba was the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, which as political scientist George Zarur has stated, â€Å"represent ed a national catastrophe for Cuba.†5 Up to that point, Cuba’s economy was entirely dependent upon the Soviet Union, which subsidized the Cuban economy between four and six billion dollars per year, making up 20-40 percent of its GNP. It also enjoyed a monopoly for sugar production for

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Air Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Air Canada - Essay Example Union did not accept management ideas as they found workers on the receiving end and humiliated in spite of their sacrifices in 2004 for saving the company. Management and Union did not able to arrive at the settlement in 2011. New contract negotiations become intractable in such a situation in which union had a conflicting interest and intent from management. Although union negotiators arrived at two deals, but union members did not find it mutually beneficial as they felt deceived because of no concern for personal life and losses occurred in the past (NewsLook, 2011). Labor minister’s disapproval of the strike demoralized flight attendants, and they staged protests. Power abuse by labor minister aggravated the contention that converted possibility of constructive conflict into relationship difference between union and management. Structural sources of conflict in this case are incompatible goals, resource scarcity, and tightly coupled tasks. Air Canada management has committed negotiation errors of distributive bargaining style to apply the approach of win-lose to resolve the current crisis. They should have applied win-win method of accommodating past concerns of flight attendants in alignment with future goals of revenue generation. Union did not communicate effectively to raise concerns of members. They have ignored management concerns and lost confidence of both union members and management. If Union could have applied integrative bargaining methodology to align interest of flight attendants with superordinate objective to solve problem constructively, relationship between management and union could have been better (CBCtelevision, 2012). Involvement of third party mediation could have avoided conflict turning into toxic

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

A Formal Business Letter to The Rose Theatre Kingston Essay

A Formal Business Letter to The Rose Theatre Kingston - Essay Example As a larger company with profits above  £1.5M you may be taxed at 30% of profit per annum. Another salient point is the advantage that British theatres have in their attraction for tourists. Consider that technology now allows relatively inexpensive advertising on a wider, international scale thanks to the Internet. The inclusion of your theatre on tourist group itineraries could increase exposure of your brand and aid in more consistently achieved full-houses. Further your brand name – The Rose Theatre – is certainly internationally marketable. Home/local productions appear to attract your largest audiences. Careful analysis is needed to identify the ideal balance of productions you stage: would designing your annual program around a majority of such local performances ensure optimum audience numbers, and hence sustainable and predictable margins? Within this analysis it must be noted that the auditorium at The Rose is exceptionally well-equipped and this factor should also aid in attracting â€Å"big name† producers, actors and performers – should more marketing resources be directed at attracting draw card â€Å"names† and hence a wider-ranging audience? Finally but perhaps most importantly, the upgrading of the facilities at the theatre, peripheral to the performance hall, must receive priority. The foyer, the ticket sales lobby, and the faà §ade must aid in raising the profile of the theatre. A strategy to source funding for such improvements is required as many of the proposals in this letter would have their implementation enhanced by a more traditional and inviting â€Å"complete† theatre experience at your venue. Hence a summary of three suggestions each of which will help to enable the ultimate priority: planning the correct balance of productions staged both to attract wider audiences; raising the profile of the theatre among national theatre personalities and tourist audiences;

Monday, October 14, 2019

Response paper to Ian Hodder’s “Ethics and Archaeology” Essay Example for Free

Response paper to Ian Hodder’s â€Å"Ethics and Archaeology† Essay Ian Hodder’s article, â€Å"Ethics and Archaeology: The Attempt at Eatalhoyuk,† basically discusses in detail the different roles that archaeologists assume during an excavation and also their ethical obligation and duty to the different communities on the site. Hodder claimed that the roles of archaeologists are not only limited to studying human culture through unearthing, recovering, documenting, analyzing, and interpreting remains, historical objects, artifacts, and landscapes. In addition, he also claimed that they do not also work solely to serve the interest of their benefactors and sponsors. Rather, Hodder stated that archaeologists have bigger roles and wider responsibilities to the different sectors of the excavation site. In short, aside from the interest of their sponsors and other organizations that fund the digs, Hodder believes that it is also the duty of archaeologists to reach to the multiple communities, interest groups, or stakeholders of any excavation site. In his paper, Hodder mainly focused his arguments on the Eatalhoyuk excavation site where is the director of the archaeological dig. According to him, the stakeholders of most sites can be narrowed to four: the politicians, the local residents, the New Age Goddess followers, and the artists. Hodder noted each of these communities has its own agenda or interest and it is part of the archaeologist’s duty to somehow satisfy them. One of the stakeholders that are common to almost all archaeological sites is the politicians or those in the seat of power. Generally, based on Hodder’s paper, all politicians support archaeological digs have their own agenda or interests. These may involve governors, mayors, or government representatives from the surrounding area of the site. Hodder claimed that although a lot of these politicians hail the archaeological site for its richness in history, culture, and identity, among others, their interests mainly lie on a single thing— widespread publicity. While the politicians’ desire to be seen on television or read on the newspapers is normal, Hodder stressed that it is the archaeologist’s role to limit the ways in which they use the site for their personal motives. He also stated that archaeologists should also verify every piece of information that a politician gives to the public about the site. For example, there are certain politicians who claim to be descendants of the site’s residents and speak about his or her origins. In this case, it is the archaeologists’ responsibility to verify these claims and ensure that they are true. Another community that has its own interests is the local residents. According to Hodder, in general, these residents, who have low incomes and limited education, mainly have practical concerns such as earning money for helping in the excavation. However, they are also concerned about the history of the sites and how they contributed to their identity. In this regard, Hodder stated in his paper that is archaeologists job to educate them about their cultural history and identity using solid evidence found on the digs. In turn, these local residents may relate their personal experiences from living in the site’s environment to tourists and researchers as these are helpful information. The New Age Goddess groups, on the other hand, mainly go to excavation sites, such as in Eatalhoyuk, to pray and to practice their beliefs which are in honor of their Goddess, which was a highly significant figure in the past. Their main concerns, according to Hodder, would mostly be regarding the history of the Goddess and the role of women in the Eatalhoyuk’s past. Thus, the archaeologists should try to address these concerns and provide evidence that would show how women lived in the communities of Eatalhoyuk thousands of years ago. By doing so, Hodder surmised that this would not only serve the Goddess’ groups interests but also avoid any misinformation regarding the site’s history. Finally, another sector that has shown significsnt interest in Eatalhoyuk is the artists group. Hodder noted that over the past years, more and more artists have arrived at Eatalhoyuk mainly to create works about the site. However, he claimed that there are also certain artists who help in the interpretation, reconstruction, and visualization of the art objects found in the site. Hodder stated that the main concern of this group is whether the objects unearthed during digs and excavations could be considered art or not. Meaning to say, most of these artists are particularly interested in identifying and describing the works of art recovered from sites. In this regard, the archaeologists involved, according to Hodder, should ensure that these works of art or aesthetic objects are verified to be genuine using past studies and other evidence found on the site. Certain artists also inquire about the role that art played in the history of Eatalhoyuk and it is the archaeologist’s duty to satisfy those questions to the best of his or her abilities. In short, what Hodder was trying to point out in his paper was that archeologists should always consider the agenda and interests of all the groups and sectors concerned during an excavation as it reaps greater rewards and is also more ethical than serving only personal interests. Personally, I agree with Hodder’s claims in his paper. His use of historical evidence and real life situations make his arguments very convincing. I also think it is unethical for archaeologists to go on digs mainly to become famous or serve their own interests only. Rather than setting one agenda, I believe it is important to work with different communities as exemplified by Hodder’s work in Eatalhoyuk as there are greater things at stake. Since archaeologist’s experiences firsthand what it’s like to be in an excavation site or dig, he or she should use his or her knowledge and skill to verify all the information and answer all the questions surrounding an archaeological site. This is not only professional obligation but also an ethical duty. Works Cited Hodder, Ian. â€Å"Ethics and Archaeology: The Attempt at Eatalhoyuk. † Near Easter Archaeology 65 No. 3 (2002): 174-181.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Three Major Types Of Buying Situation Commerce Essay

Three Major Types Of Buying Situation Commerce Essay Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to choose, expend, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy their needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society (Noel, 2009). Consumer behaviour mixes elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics and it also intends to understand the buyer decision making process, both in individual and in groups (Noel, 2009). There are various elements which can influence consumer behaviour, recent research implies that it may vary depending on the buying situation. This essay is going to define the main types of buying situations, outline the characteristics of them and explain factors which are likely to impact customer involvement in each situation. In general, there are three major types of buying situations (BE, 2005). †¢ The new task is a business buying situation in which the buyer purchases a product or service for the first time. †¢ The modified rebuy is defined as a business buying situation in which the buyer wants to modify product specifications, prices, terms, or suppliers. †¢ Straight rebuy is a buying situation in which the buyer routinely reorders something without any modifications. The three types of buying situations could be significantly different. Various factors may work in different situations. Every time when the buyer is to take a purchase decision, buying situation can be different, it may or may not be the same as the previous one. The differentiation between the two buying situations may be caused by the absence of any or all of the following factors (LME, 2006). †¢ Awareness about competing brands in a product group. †¢ Customer has a decision criterion. †¢ Customer is able to evaluate and decide on his choice. According to the factors above, the three major types of buying situation could be obviously different. The new task could also be defined as extensive problem solving  situation (LME, 2006). In this situation, the buyer has no past experience for products and he is totally new to buy the products which require some and extensive efforts for a buyer to decide about the product purchase. It may take customers longer time to make a decision because it could have a greater risk or cost and take more time in getting know of the new products. Modified rebuy could also be called as limited problem solving situation in which supplies a change and gives the customer with new experience and new preference (CM, 2005). It gives a chance to the customer to try something new. If the introduction of a new brand or a product shows many advantages to the customer, it could require a change in the customers decision criterion. For example, a housewife decides to buy a soap and she sees a new liquid toilet soap which promises to keep her skin soft and moisturized, the brand also promises to give vitamin E, which the manufacturer claims is required in temperate conditions. The liquid toilet soap brand is available in four fragrances .The pack can be refilled every time the soap gets fully consumed .Now this introduction is likely to change her decision and may be the choice criterion. If she spends some time in evaluating the liquid toilet soap against the normal bar soap and then decides to try it, we conclude that for her it was a li mited problem solving situation (CM, 2005). As can be seen, modified rebuy might often lead to a trial purchase. The customer may even decide to continue with her current product choice. Generally it has been admitted that brand extension strategy helps the customer to reduce the elements of newness in the purchase decision. Straight rebuy is also known as extensive problem solving situation  and it is characterized by the presence of all three criterion for differentiation (CM, 2005). In other words, customers are aware of his or her choices, they know what they are searching for, as his or her choice, what exactly his need is and which is based on personal experience of either self or others might be relatives, friends or the customers have heard about it that is known to be called as good messages. Generally, the customers spend little or no time choosing alternatives of the product and the substitutes of the product .Brand loyalty is relatively higher here. Moreover, this is a buying situation where a customer perceives a low risk in buying the product and/or the brand. For example, a housewife goes to the shop or a supermarket and spends much less time in choosing her toiletries, drinks like tea or coffee and other food products. For each time she goes to buy the things for family requirements and needs, she generally finishes up buying the same brand. As it is shown above, the three factors which make the differentiations between the buying situations appear different in each situation. Thus, there could be different factors which affect customer involvement in each situation. In general, there are four of them (Song, J.H. and Adams, C.R., 1993): †¢Capacity: What it does for a buyer; †¢Quality: How well or poorly it does the specified functions; †¢Price: The amount paid by the buyer; †¢Effort: The time and energy expended by the buyer. These four factors are most likely to affect customers to make the decision when they are doing a purchase, which could participate differently in the three buying situations. In the new task buying situation, because customer has no experience for the products, it may have more factors affecting the customer involvement. The customers could consider all the factors: capacity, quality, price and also brand, it could take the customers more time than other buying situations. It could be the buying situation which is most likely to affect customer involvement. The firms have to set all the factors right if they want to attract new customers or they want to develop a new product. In the modified rebuy situation, customers may contrast the previous products with the new ones. As the customers understand what they need and what the products can do, the factors like quality and price are important to affect the customer involvement. Sometimes, a good introduction of the capacity is important as well. In this situation, the brand loyalty could also act as an important factor of affecting the customer involvement. It also may take customers quite a long time befor e making a decision. In the straight rebuy situation, the customers know exactly what they need, they have already know the information about the products they want. Therefore, the most likely factors which could affect the customer involvement are the capacity and the quality. Once the firms have done well on the quality of their products and also make a good introduction of the capacity of products, it could make customers spending less time on making a decision. It may let customers feel easy to be involved in the consuming. In conclusion, there are three major types of buying situations, which are new task, modified rebuy and straight rebuy. Three factors make the buying situations be different from the others, customers may face different problems in these situations. Thus, there are four main factors which are likely to affect customer involvement. Each situation could also have different types of factors which effect the customer involvement. All of the above suggests that consumer behaviour do vary depending on the buying situation. More research could be done on what firms can do to improve the customer involvement while choosing their products.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

My Summer Vacation in Florida Essays -- Summer Vacation Essays

Have you ever been on a vacation? To me a vacation is a time to be with friends or family. When I think of vacations, I think of packing, the flight or drive, and relaxation. Not only is it very exciting to go on a vacation, but you get closer to the people that go with you. Linda, my best friend's mom had asked me if I would want to go with their family to Florida. When she asked me I thought she was kidding, but when she said, "I need to know because if you are I need to get you a airplane ticket," I knew she was serious. I was so excited I could have kissed her. I was going to Florida with my best friend, Lisa, and her family. The people from Lisa's family that were going were Tina, Randy, Ashley, and Linda. Tina is Lis'?s sister, Randy is Tina?s husband and Ashley is Tina?s daughter. Linda is Lisa?s mom and she was the only one out of all Lisa?s family I knew. Going on a trip packing is defiantly a priority. The whole week before the trip I had began packing. I didn?t realize how many things I was going to need until I started packing. I packed two suit cases full of clothes, but I figured I?d rather have more clothes because you never know what the weather will be like. I packed cards, connect four, guess who, I pod, and food so we wouldn't be bored on the flight. When I was done packing my mom asked ? Are you moving out?? The night before leaving I couldn't sleep. When I woke up that morning it was a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining brightly, and the clouds in the sky looked like giant marshmallows. I was so excited because this was my first time going on a vacation. I had already put my suitcases and bags in my car the night before. After I said my goodbyes to my family, I was on my way. I met with Lisa a... ...icking because we didn?t want to miss our flight. Randy called the company where he had rented the van from and they came to pick us up. We made it to the airport just in time because when we walked in the airport they called our flight. This made us very relieved. The flight home went just as well as the flight there except this time I didn't have the butterflies. Overall going on a vacation is something I want to do more in the future. I learned many things from this vacation such as even though you go with some people you don't know as well, you get to know them and by the end of the vacation it's like you have known them your whole life. This vacation brought my friend Lisa and I closer because we experienced things together. Going on a vacation with someone makes your relationship stronger and you find out many different likes and dislikes about each other.

Friday, October 11, 2019

The Mist Countries

THE THE MIST COUNTRIES – Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea & Turkey: Are MIST countries becoming the new BRICs? : For many investors, Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey have taken over from the BRICS becoming the four biggest emerging markets, and growing faster than their major rivals. BRIC inventor Jim O’Neil from Goldman Sachs proposed the new term MIST term for Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey, which are the four biggest markets in the Goldman Sachs N-11 Equity Fund. The MIST economies more than doubled during the last decade, according to Bloomberg, and continue surging despite global economy concerns.Mexico’s IPC Index has climbed 11% this year, comparing with a 2. 8% growth of Brazil’s Bovespa. Meanwhile Turkey’s ISE National 100 gained 28 percent, compared to 13% gain of BSE India Sensitive Index and 2. 6% gain in Russia’s MICEX. Though the MIST nations outperformed the BRIC in pace of growth, its economic output still ca n’t approach the BRIC. Total GDP for the MIST nations was $3. 9 trillion last year, compared to $13. 5 trillion of BRIC economies and $7. 3 trillion for China alone. Comment: If you go to the Wikipedia page about BRIC you will read that Mexico and South Korea tried to become part of BRIC.It was used the name BRIMC†¦. But it failed because the BRIC were Core-Hubs in their areas (Eurasia, South America, Far East, South East Asia) while the MIST are a second dependent layer around the Hub. In fact, and to be precise there are three World Hubs-Cores: USA, GERMANY (Eurozone) and CHINA. Turkey depends on Europe, Mexico depends on the US, South Korea depends on China†¦. So, if those hubs are hit, the MIST will be hit MUCH MORE, as we remember from the Bhat crisis. Russia could be an Eurasian and Energy Hub-Core†¦. even if still not fully developed, so it is still a layer of the E. U. Hub. Mexico Economy – overview:Mexico has a free market economy in the trillio n dollar class. It contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is roughly one-third that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, Mexico's share of US imports has increased from 7% to 12%, and its share of Canadian imports has doubled to 5%.Mexico has free trade agreements with over 50 countries including Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan – putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. In 2007, during its first year in office, the Felipe CALDERON administration was able to garner support from the opposition to successfully pass pension and fiscal reforms. The administration passed an e nergy reform measure in 2008 and another fiscal reform in 2009. Mexico†s GDP plunged 6. 2% in 2009 as world demand for exports dropped, asset prices tumbled, and remittances and investment declined. GDP posted positive growth of 5. % in 2010 and 3. 8% in 2011, with exports – particularly to the United States – leading the way. The administration continues to face many economic challenges, including improving the public education system, upgrading infrastructure, modernizing labor laws, and fostering private investment in the energy sector. CALDERON has stated that his top economic priorities remain reducing poverty and creating jobs. GDP (purchasing power parity) $1. 657 trillion (2011 est. ) $1. 596 trillion (2010 est. ) $1. 514 trillion (2009 est. ) note:  data are in 2011 US dollars GDP (official exchange rate) $1. 185 trillion (2011 est. ) GDP – real growth rate . 8% (2011 est. ) 5. 4% (2010 est. ) -6. 2% (2009 est. ) GDP – per capita (PPP) $1 5,100 (2011 est. ) $14,400 (2010) $13,600 (2009) note:  data are in 2011 US dollars GDP – composition by sector agriculture:  3. 8% industry:  34. 2% services:  62% (2011 est. ) Population below poverty line 18. 2% note:  based on food-based definition of poverty; asset based poverty amounted to more than 47% (2008) Labor force 49. 17 million (2011 est. ) Labor force – by occupation agriculture:  13. 7% industry:  23. 4% services:  62. 9% (2005) Unemployment rate 5. 2% (2011 est. ) 5. 4% (2010 est. ) note:  underemployment may be as high as 25%Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 total:  10% male:  9. 7% female:  10. 6% (2009) Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:  1. 5% highest 10%:  41. 4% (2008) Distribution of family income – Gini index 51. 7 (2008) 53. 1 (1998) Public debt 37. 5% of GDP (2011 est. ) 36. 9% of GDP (2010 est. ) Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3. 5% (2011 est. ) 4. 2% (2010 est. ) Central bank d iscount rate NA% (31 December 2010 est. ) 4. 5% (31 December 2009 est. ) Commercial bank prime lending rate 5% (31 December 2011 est. ) 5. 287% (31 December 2010 est. ) Stock of domestic credit $407. 4 billion (31 December 2011 est. $374. 2 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Market value of publicly traded shares $454. 3 billion (31 December 2010) $340. 6 billion (31 December 2009) $232. 6 billion (31 December 2008) Agriculture – products corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products Industries food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism Industrial production growth rate 3. 9% (2011 est. ) Current Account Balance -$11. 27 billion (2011 est. ) -$5. 724 billion (2010 est. ) Exports $336. billion (2011 est. ) $298. 5 billion (2010 est. ) Exports – commodities manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits , vegetables, coffee, cotton Exports – partners US 73. 5%, Canada 7. 5% (2009 est. ) Imports $341. 9 billion (2011 est. ) $301. 5 billion (2010 est. ) Imports – commodities metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts Imports – partners US 60. 6%, China 6. 6%, South Korea 5. 2% (2009 est. ) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold $142 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) 114 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Debt – external $204 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $195. 6 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Stock of direct foreign investment – at home $321. 5 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $326. 1 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Stock of direct foreign investment – abroad $84. 92 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $78. 38 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Exchange rates Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar – 12. 39 (2011 est. ) 12. 636 (2010 est. ) 13. 514 (2009) 11. 016 (2008) 10. 8 (2007) Fiscal year calendar year Indonesia Economy – overview: Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, grew an estimated 6. % and 6. 4% in 2010 and 2011, respectively. The government made economic advances under the first administration of President YUDHOYONO (2004-09), introducing significant reforms in the financial sector, including tax and customs reforms, the use of Treasury bills, and capital market development and supervision. During the global financial crisis, Indonesia outperformed its regional neighbors and joined China and India as the only G20 members posting growth in 2009. The government has promoted fiscally conservative policies, resulting in a debt-to-GDP ratio of less than 25%, a small current ccount surplus, a fiscal deficit below 2%, and historically low rates of inflation. Fitch and Moody's upgraded Indonesia's credit rating to investment grade in December 2011. Indonesia still struggles with pov erty and unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, corruption, a complex regulatory environment, and unequal resource distribution among regions. The government in 2012 faces the ongoing challenge of improving Indonesia's insufficient infrastructure to remove impediments to economic growth, labor unrest over wages, and reducing its fuel subsidy program in the face of rising oil prices.GDP (purchasing power parity) $1. 121 trillion (2011 est. ) $1. 054 trillion (2010 est. ) $993 billion (2009 est. ) note:  data are in 2011 US dollars GDP (official exchange rate) $834. 3 billion (2011 est. ) GDP – real growth rate 6. 4% (2011 est. ) 6. 1% (2010 est. ) 4. 6% (2009 est. ) GDP – per capita (PPP) $4,700 (2011 est. ) $4,400 (2010 est. ) $4,300 (2009 est. ) note:  data are in 2011 US dollars GDP – composition by sector agriculture:  14. 7% industry:  47. 2% services:  38. 1% (2011 est. ) Population below poverty line 13. 33% (2010) Labor force 117. 4 million (2 011 est. )Labor force – by occupation agriculture:  38. 3% industry:  12. 8% services:  48. 9% (2010 est. ) Unemployment rate 6. 6% (2011 est. ) 7. 9% (2010 est. ) Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 total:  22. 2% male:  21. 6% female:  23% (2009) Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:  3. 3% highest 10%:  29. 9% (2009) Distribution of family income – Gini index 36. 8 (2009) 39. 4 (2005) Public debt 24. 5% of GDP (2011 est. ) 25. 7% of GDP (2010 est. ) Inflation rate (consumer prices) 5. 7% (2011 est. ) 5. 1% (2010 est. ) Central bank discount rate 6. 37% (31 December 2010) 6. 46% (31 December 2009) ote:  this figure represents the 3-month SBI rate; the Bank of Indonesia has not employed the one-month SBI since September 2010 Commercial bank prime lending rate 12. 2% (31 December 2011 est. ) 13. 252% (31 December 2010 est. ) note:  these figures represent the average annualized rate on working capital loans Stock of domestic cre dit $305. 2 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $254. 1 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Market value of publicly traded shares $360. 4 billion (31 December 2010) $178. 2 billion (31 December 2009) $98. 76 billion (31 December 2008) Agriculture – products ice, cassava (manioc), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra; poultry, beef, pork, eggs Industries petroleum and natural gas, textiles, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, food, tourism Industrial production growth rate 4. 1% (2011 est. ) Current Account Balance $5. 704 billion (2011 est. ) $5. 654 billion (2010 est. ) Exports $208. 9 billion (2011 est. ) $158. 1 billion (2010 est. ) Exports – commodities oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber Exports – partners Japan 16. 3%, China 10%, US 9. 1%, Singapore 8. 7%, South Korea 8%, India 6. %, Malaysia 5. 9% (2009) Imports $172. 1 billion (2011 est. ) $127. 4 billion (2010 est. ) Imports – commodities machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs Imports – partners China 15. 1%, Singapore 14. 9%, Japan 12. 5%, US 6. 9%, Malaysia 6. 4%, South Korea 5. 7%, Thailand 5. 5% (2009) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold $136. 2 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $96. 21 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Debt – external $158. 8 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $196. 1 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Stock of direct foreign investment – at home $105. 7 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $86. 5 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Stock of direct foreign investment – abroad $41. 89 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $32. 85 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Exchange rates Indonesian rupiah (IDR) per US dollar – 8,696. 1 (2011 est. ) 9,090. 43 (2010 est. ) 10,389. 9 (2009) 9,698. 9 (2008) 9,143 (2007) Fiscal year calendar year South Korea Economy – overview South Korea over the past four decades has demonstrated incredible growth and global integration to become a high-tech industrialized economy. In the 1960s, GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia.In 2004, South Korea joined the trillion dollar club of world economies, and currently is among the world's 20 largest economies. Initially, a system of close government and business ties, including directed credit and import restrictions, made this success possible. The government promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer goods, and encouraged savings and investment over consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 exposed longstanding weaknesses in South Korea†s development model including high debt/equity ratios and massive short-term foreign borrowing.GDP plunged by 6. 9% in 1998, and then recovered by 9% in 1999-2000. Korea adopted numerous economic reforms following the crisis, including greater openness to foreign investment and imports. Growth moderated to about 4% annual ly between 2003 and 2007. With the global economic downturn in late 2008, South Korean GDP growth slowed to 0. 3% in 2009. In the third quarter of 2009, the economy began to recover, in large part due to export growth, low interest rates, and an expansionary fiscal policy, and growth was 3. 6% in 2011. In 2011, theUS-South Korea Free Trade Agreement was ratified by both governments and is projected to go into effect in early 2012. The South Korean economy†s long term challenges include a rapidly aging population, inflexible labor market, and heavy reliance on exports – which comprise half of GDP. GDP (purchasing power parity) $1. 549 trillion (2011 est. ) $1. 495 trillion (2010 est. ) $1. 409 trillion (2009 est. ) note:  data are in 2011 US dollars GDP (official exchange rate) $1. 164 trillion (2011 est. ) GDP – real growth rate 3. 6% (2011 est. ) 6. 2% (2010 est. ) 0. 3% (2009 est. ) GDP – per capita (PPP) 31,700 (2011 est. ) $30,600 (2010 est. ) $28,90 0 (2009 est. ) note:  data are in 2011 US dollars GDP – composition by sector agriculture:  2. 6% industry:  39. 2% services:  58. 2% (2008 est. ) Population below poverty line 15% (2006 est. ) Labor force 25. 1 million (2011 est. ) Labor force – by occupation agriculture:  6. 4% industry:  24. 2% services:  69. 4% (2011 est. ) Unemployment rate 3. 4% (2011 est. ) 3. 7% (2010 est. ) Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 total:  9. 8% male:  11. 9% female:  8. 5% (2009) Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:  2. 7% highest 10%:  24. 2% (2007)Distribution of family income – Gini index 31 (2010) 35. 8 (2000) Public debt 33. 3% of GDP (2011 est. ) 35. 1% of GDP (2010 est. ) Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4% (2011 est. ) 3% (2010 est. ) Central bank discount rate 1. 5% (31 December 2011) 1. 25% (31 December 2009) Commercial bank prime lending rate 5. 9% (31 December 2011 est. ) 5. 508% (31 December 2010 est. ) Stock of dome stic credit $1. 356 trillion (31 December 2011 est. ) $1. 275 trillion (31 December 2010 est. ) Market value of publicly traded shares $996. 7 billion (31 December 2011) $1. 093 trillion (31 December 2010) $836. billion (31 December 2009) Agriculture – products rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish Industries electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel Industrial production growth rate 3. 8% (2011 est. ) Current Account Balance $29. 79 billion (2011 est. ) $28. 21 billion (2010 est. ) Exports $556. 5 billion (2011 est. ) $466. 4 billion (2010 est. ) Exports – commodities semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals Exports – partners China 24. %, US 10. 1%, Japan 7. 1% (2009 est. ) Imports $524. 4 billion (2011 est. ) $425. 2 billion (2010 est. ) Imports – commodities machinery, electronics and electr onic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics Imports – partners China 16. 5%, Japan 13%, US 8. 5%, Saudi Arabia 7. 1%, Australia 5% (2009 est. ) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold $306. 4 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $291. 6 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Debt – external $397. 3 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $359. 4 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Stock of direct foreign investment – at home 130. 3 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $127 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Stock of direct foreign investment – abroad $190. 4 billion (31 December 2011) $164. 8 billion (31 December 2009) Exchange rate South Korean won (KRW) per US dollar – 1,107. 3 (2011 est. ) 1,156. 06 (2010 est. ) 1,276. 93 (2009) 1,101. 7 (2008) 929. 2 (2007) Fiscal year calendar year Turkey Economy – overview Turkey's largely free-market economy is increasingly driven by its industry and service sectors, although its traditional agri culture sector still accounts for about 25% of employment.An aggressive privatization program has reduced state involvement in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication, and an emerging cadre of middle-class entrepreneurs is adding dynamism to the economy and expanding production beyond the traditional textiles and clothing sectors. The automotive, construction, and electronics industries, are rising in importance and have surpassed textiles within Turkey's export mix. Oil began to flow through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in May 2006, marking a major milestone that will bring up to 1 million barrels per day from the Caspian to market.Several gas pipelines projects also are moving forward to help transport Central Asian gas to Europe through Turkey, which over the long term will help address Turkey's dependence on imported oil and gas to meet 97% of its energy needs. After Turkey experienced a severe financial crisis in 2001, Ankara adopted financial and fiscal refor ms as part of an IMF program. The reforms strengthened the country's economic fundamentals and ushered in an era of strong growth – averaging more than 6% annually until 2008.Global economic conditions and tighter fiscal policy caused GDP to contract in 2009, but Turkey's well-regulated financial markets and banking system helped the country weather the global financial crisis and GDP rebounded strongly to 8. 2% in 2010, as exports returned to normal levels following the recession. Turkey's public sector debt to GDP ratio has fallen to roughly 40%. Continued strong growth has pushed inflation to the 8% level, however, and worsened an already high current account deficit. Turkey remains dependent on often volatile, short-term investment to finance its large trade deficit.The stock value of FDI stood at $99 billion at year-end 2011. Inflows have slowed considerably in light of continuing economic turmoil in Europe, the source of much of Turkey's FDI. Further economic and judici al reforms and prospective EU membership are expected to boost Turkey's attractiveness to foreign investors. However, Turkey's relatively high current account deficit, uncertainty related to monetary policy-making, and political turmoil within Turkey's neighborhood leave the economy vulnerable to destabilizing shifts in investor confidence.GDP (purchasing power parity) $1. 026 trillion (2011 est. ) $981. 2 billion (2010 est. ) $906. 9 billion (2009 est. ) note:  data are in 2011 US dollars GDP (official exchange rate) $763. 1 billion (2011 est. ) GDP – real growth rate 4. 6% (2011 est. ) 8. 2% (2010 est. ) -4. 7% (2009 est. ) GDP – per capita (PPP) $14,600 (2011 est. ) $13,800 (2010 est. ) $12,900 (2009 est. ) note:  data are in 2011 US dollars GDP – composition by sector agriculture:  9. 3% industry:  28. 1% services:  62. 6% (2011 est. ) Population below poverty line 16. 9% (2010) Labor force 27. 3 million note:  about 1. 2 million Turks work abroa d (2011 est. ) Labor force – by occupation agriculture:  25. 5% industry:  26. 2% services:  48. 4% (2010) Unemployment rate 9. 8% (2011 est. ) 12% (2010 est. ) note:  underemployment amounted to 4% in 2008 Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 total:  25. 3% male:  25. 4% female:  25. 1% (2009) Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:  2. 1% highest 10%:  30. 3% (2008) Distribution of family income – Gini index 40. 2 (2010) 43. 6 (2003) Public debt 42. 4% of GDP (2011 est. ) 43% of GDP (2010 est. ) ote:  data cover central government debt, and excludes debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment. Debt inst ruments for the social funds are sold at public auctions. Inflation rate (consumer prices) 7. 8% (2011 est. ) 8. 6% (2010 est. ) Central bank discount rate 5. 25% (31 December 2011) 15% (22 December 2009)Commercial bank prime lending rate 16% (31 December 2011 est. ) 19% (31 December 2010 est. ) Stock of domestic credit $573. 8 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $496 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Market value of publicly traded shares $306. 7 billion (31 December 2010) $225. 7 billion (31 December 2009) $117. 9 billion (31 December 2008) Agriculture – products tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, hazelnuts, pulses, citrus; livestock Industries textiles, food processing, autos, electronics, mining (coal, chromate, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper Industrial production growth rate 9. 2% (2011 est. Current Account Balance -$71. 94 billion (2011 est. ) -$47. 74 billion (2010 est. ) Exports $133 billion (2011 est. ) $120. 9 billion (2010 est. ) Exports – commodities apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment Exports – partners Germany 10. 1%, UK 6. 4%, Italy 5. 7%, France 5. 3%, Iraq 5. 3%, Russia 4. 1% (2009 est. ) Imports $212. 2 billion (2011 est. ) $177. 3 billion (2010 est. ) Imports – commodities machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment Imports – partners Russia 11. 6%, Germany 9. 5%, China 9. 3%, US 6. 6%, Italy 5. 5%, France 4. 4%, Iran 4. 1% (2009 est. )Reserves of foreign exchange and gold $96. 05 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $86. 08 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Debt – external $313. 6 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $290. 7 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Stock of direct foreign investment – at home $98. 98 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $86. 98 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Stock of direct foreign investment – abroad $18. 63 billion (31 December 2011 est. ) $16. 88 billion (31 December 2010 est. ) Exchange rates Turkish liras (TRY) per US dollar – 1. 668 (2011 est. ) 1. 5028 (2010 est. ) 1. 55 (2009) 1. 3179 (2008) 1. 319 (2007) Fiscal year calendar year