Cultural Wedding Ceremony Comparison

Every country has their own way of marrying two people that want to spend the rest of their life together. Each has their own unique ritual of how they go about a wedding ceremony. African and Chinese cultures both have very intriguing ways of how they proceed with their ceremony. It is found that there are many differences between the two of these cultures. This is a result of their own independent beliefs and traditions which causes them to go about their own unique ritual, although there are few similarities between the two countries. In the Chinese culture the wedding date is chosen based upon astrological signs and birthdates.Every Chinese ceremony commences on the half an hour which is the belief that will guarantee good fortune for the new couple. The night before wedding day the bride is bathed in citrus-infused water in another belief that it will cleanse her of her evil influences. This is the only way in which the two ceremonies are similar because they both consist of the bride being bathed before the wedding, although which is done in their own individual style. The bride in a Chinese wedding will be seen wearing three different dresses throughout wedding day.These dresses include a traditional white dress, a traditional Chinese bridal dress, and a cocktail dress. Also the groom will be placed through a series Mitchell2 of tests and stunts to prove that he is worthy to claim his future wife. When the bride arrives at the grooms’ home she is always greeted with firecrackers, gongs, and is forced to jump over an iron basin lit with charcoal to represent prosperity and to again cleanse of all evil spirits. The Chinese culture with also uphold their traditional tea ceremony. The bride will serve tea to her parents as a sign of respect.The Chinese wedding ceremony is always filled with symbolism. Their ceremony represents a ladder that the new couple will climb to success. On the other hand the African wedding ceremony is a tradition that stems a ll the way back to the days of slavery when slaves were not allowed to marry. Their marriage ceremony is a ritual well-known as â€Å"jumping the broom†. This ritual was created to represent the beginning of their new life together. The new couple will jump over a broom at the same time and are pronounced married after they have done so. The broom is often decorated with ribbon and tulle.On wedding day the bridesmaids bathe the bride in hammam before dressing her previous to the ceremony. During a libation ceremony a prayer is said and an elder presents water and liquor as an offering to god and their ancestors for their blessing. Then the groom will ask permission from the brides’ mother to marry her daughter while presenting her father with gifts to symbolize his ability to care. Another tradition is the tasting of the four elements during the ceremony. The four elements consist of lemon for sour, vinegar for bitter, cayenne for hot, and honey for sweet. The four tas tes are a symbol of the different moods of married life.Sometimes tribes will mound the couples’ wrists with plaited grass when walking down the aisle, and others just hold hands. Mitchell3 The difference between these two countries with their ceremonies represents their freedom of independent beliefs, which leads to separate traditions. Although, the similarities between the two ceremonies are also intriguing. Both wedding rituals consist of a lot of symbolism. Most of the symbolism that is present for both cultures also represents their beliefs, and every time their beliefs are symbolized is how their cultures are shown to be unique.

King Lear Imagery Seminar

Symbolism/Imagery/Allegory in King Lear * The Storm (Imagery)Pathetic Fallacy: By acting irresponsibility, Lear as a King and then as a father causes a universal upheaval in the order of the universe. This upheaval is reflected and reinforced by the use of imagery (Pathetic Fallacy). The storm is a part of the universal disorder and is presented in a very artistic manner. The storm is significant as it stands for external as well as internal human naturepresents the inner nature of human beings * In Act 3, Lear rushes from a fight with his daughters into a raging thunderstorm.The combination of thunder and lightning is pretty much what is going on inside Lear's mind, from his fury at his daughters to his impending madness. At one point, Lear admits there's a â€Å"tempest in [his] mind† that's not unlike the storm that rages on the heath (3. 4. 4. ). In other words, the literal storm on the heath is a pretty accurate reflection of Lear's psychological state. * One can argue th at the storm parallels Britain's fall into political chaos. Remember, Lear has divided his kingdom, civil war is  brewing, and the King (Lear) is being treated pretty shabbily by his daughters and some of his other subjects.Alternatively, the powerful storm in which Lear gets caught up is a dramatic demonstration of the fact that  all  humans, even kings, are completely vulnerable to overpowering forces like nature. * The beasts (Imagery): The bestial images and the images of darkness also convey the impression of disorder in the universe. The bestial/animal imagery is partly designed to show man’s place in the chain of being, and bring out the sub-human nature of evil character. It is also used to show man’s weakness compared with animals’ and partly to compare man’s life to the life of the jungle.Because of the bad behaviour of Goneril and Regan, Lear hates them and calls them worse than monsters â€Å"More hideous when thou show’st theeln a child than sea monster. † Then turning to Goneril, he calls her â€Å"gilded serpent† when he comes to know her reality. She is often called â€Å"tiger† and â€Å"sharp-toothed† (vulture), while Regan is called â€Å"most serpents like†. To reveal the evil nature of both sisters, bestial imagery is employed very often as they are called â€Å"adderas† by Edmund. * Moreover in King Lear, the animal imagery is organized around compatible or somewhat foolish i. . deer, cat, dog, rat, cow, serpent, geese, snakes, dragon, foxes, and sparrows. They help to draw the moral drift of the play. They are set up to reinforce or to oppose each other. * Images of darkness and disease: The images of darkness and diseases are used to show chaos and disturbance in nature. In the play, one is conscious all through of the atmosphere of buffeting, strain, and strife, and, at moments, of bodily tension to the point of agony. So naturally does this flow from th e circumstances of the drama and the mental suffering of Lear.This sensation is increased by the generally floating images. To show the human body in torture, the words like â€Å"tugged†, wrenched beaten†, â€Å"scalded†, â€Å"tortured† and â€Å"finally broken on the rake†, are used. Lear, in his agonized remorse, pictures himself as a man wrenched and tortured by an â€Å"engine†. He realizes his follies and he beats his head that lets his folly in. Goneril has the power to shake him with her tongue, the hot tears break from his heart. Lear cries that his heart â€Å"will break into a hundred thousand flaws†.Albany wonders how far Goneril’s eyes may pierce. Gloucester’s flawed heart is cracked, and finally it â€Å"burst smilingly. Kent longs to â€Å"tread† Oswald into mortar. Lear cried painfully â€Å"It is more than murder†. The Fool declares man torn into pieces by gods. Gloucester also cries, â₠¬Å"As flies to wanton boys, are we to gods; they kill us for their sport†. The sense of bodily torture continues to the end. Lear tells Cordelia that he is bound â€Å"Upon a wheel of fire that my own tears do scald like molten lead†. The use of verbs and images of bodily torture are almost continuous and they are used to draw the direct picture as in the treatment of Gloucester; who is equally â€Å"blind† like Lear when it comes to telling the difference between his â€Å"good† son (Edgar) and his bad offspring (Edmund) – Gloucester can't tell that Edmund has manipulated him into believing Edgar wants him dead. Later, Gloucester doesn't even recognize his son Edgar, who has disguised himself as â€Å"Poor Tom† the beggar.Eventually, Gloucester's eyeballs are plucked out, making his literal blindness symbolic of his inability to â€Å"see† the truth about his children. Finally, â€Å"he is bound to a chair, plucked by the beard, his hair is ravished from his chin, and with his eyes blinded and bleeding, he is thrust out of the gates to smell his way to Dover†. * In  King Lear, there's a whole lot of talk about literal vision and metaphorical blindness, especially when it comes to fathers â€Å"seeing† their children for who they really are. When Lear mistakenly believes that Cordelia is disloyal and orders her â€Å"out of [his]  sight,† his pal, Kent, gives him the following advice: â€Å"See better, Lear† (1. 1. 14). In other words, Kent implies that Lear is â€Å"blind† to the fact Cordelia is the â€Å"good† daughter while Goneril and Regan are a couple of evil spawn. We can take this a step further by saying that the root of all Lear's problems is his lack of good judgment – he foolishly divides his kingdom, stages a silly love test to determine which daughter cares for him the most, etc. After Lear is booted out by Regan in her palace, he exclaims: †Å"We'll no more meet, no more see one another: but yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter; or rather a disease that's in my flesh, which I must needs call mine: thou art a boil, a plague-sore, an embossed carbuncle, in my corrupted blood. (2. 4. 29). When Lear goes off on Goneril, he insists she's more like a â€Å"disease that's in [his] flesh† than a daughter (his â€Å"flesh and blood†). Goneril, he says, is â€Å"a boil, a plague-sore,† a nasty little â€Å"carbuncle† and so on. In other words, Goneril, is kind of like a venereal disease. ) Lear is really good at insults this is a pretty elaborate way for Lear to tell Goneril that she  makes him sick. On the one hand, this passage is in keeping with just about everything else Lear says about women (especially Goneril and Regan) – Lear frequently associates women with sexual promiscuity and pretty much blames all the problems in the world on the ladies. * Something similar is at work inà ‚  King Lear. When Lear imagines that  his body  is diseased, we can't help but notice that his  kingdom  is also not doing so well.After all, it's just been hacked up into pieces by Lear and, with Goneril and Regan (and their spouses) now in charge, it's quickly becoming a  corrupt  place. What's more, civil war (not to mention a war with France) is on the horizon. In King Lear's mind, the corruption of his kingdom is caused by Goneril and Regan so, it's not so surprising that he refers to Goneril (in the passage above) as a â€Å"plague-sore. † * Nakedness vs. Clothing (Imagery): When Edgar disguises himself as â€Å"Poor Tom†, he chooses to disguise himself as a naked beggar.Then, in the big storm scene, Lear strips off his kingly robes. Lear has seen Poor Tom (naked) and asks, â€Å"Is this man no more than this? † Then, presumably to find out if man is indeed â€Å"no more than this†, he strips down to his birthday suit. Shakespeare seems to be implying that all men are vulnerable. In fact, man is nothing more than â€Å"a poor bare, forked animal† (3. 4. 10). Donning rich and opulent clothing (like Goneril and Regan do), then, is merely a futile attempt to disguise man’s true, defenceless nature. Nothingness (Symbol): Shakespeare plays on the word â€Å"nothing† and the idea of nothingness or emptiness throughout  King Lear. Here are a few significant moments from the play: In Act 1, when Lear stages his love test and asks Cordelia â€Å"What can you say to draw a third [of the kingdom] more opulent than your sisters? â€Å", Cordelia replies, â€Å"Nothing. † Lear can't believe what he's hearing. â€Å"Nothing will come of nothing,† he tells her. â€Å"Speak again. † (In other words, you'll get absolutely  nothing  from me unless you speak up about how much you love me. By the way, the phrase â€Å"Nothing can come of nothing† is a variation on the famous ph rase â€Å"ex nihilo nihil fit† – that's Latin for â€Å"from nothing, nothing comes,† which is an ancient Greek philosophical and scientific expression. The word â€Å"nothing† shows up again in the play when the Fool tells Lear he is nothing without his crown and power: â€Å"now thou art an O without a figure. I am better than thou art now; I'm a fool, thou art nothing† (1. 4. 17). According to the Fool, King Lear is a zero and is no better than a â€Å"shealed peascod† (an empty peapod).The Fool also calls the retired king â€Å"Lear's shadow,† which suggests that Lear, without his crown, is merely a shadow of his former self. The idea is that Lear, (whose status has changed since retirement) is  nothing  without his former power and title. To sum up, imagery plays an important part in King Lear. The play is a complex work and makes use of imagery effectively to convey the themes, and to give poignancy to the action. The disru ption caused by Lear’s initial inability and refusal to â€Å"see better† is reflected in the images of darkness, animalism, and disease.

Negative Effects Of Fdi In Host Countries Economics Essay

In last decennaries the importance of Foreign Direct Investments ( FDI ) has increased significantly due to globalisation procedure, which offers immense chances for largely developing states to make faster economic growing through trade and investing. FDI assists foreign investors in using their assets and resources more expeditiously every bit good as host states in acquisition of better engineerings and acquiring involved in international production and trade webs ( Athukorala, 2003 ) . Developing states have started to see FDI as a beginning of economic development and modernization, income growing and employment. These states have liberalised their investing governments and followed other policies to pull more FDI. They have attempted to happen the ways of prosecuting those domestic policies that will let them to drive maximal benefits from transnational endeavor presence in the domestic economic system ( OECD, 2002 ) . The purpose of this survey is to analyse the impact of FDI on the economic system of host states. The first portion of the work will be addressed to the relationship between foreign investings and the economic growing of the host states. The survey will reply the inquiry why some states benefit from FDI more than other states, and what these authoritiess should recognize in order to maximise their benefits from the presence of foreign houses. The undermentioned parts will be devoted to more certain issues, such as positive and negative effects of FDI in the host states. Since there is a wide literature on the positive impacts of foreign investings, the chief focal point in this work is emphasized on the negative impacts. The survey shows that although MNEs bring many benefits to host states and the authoritiess are seeking to pull more and more investings, the negative effects of FDI in the economic system of host states should non be neglected. Any indifference to these issues may ensue in negative spillover effects, balance of payment shortages, double economic system, pollution and etc. Brief information about the negative impacts of FDI, particularly, Dutch Disease effects, on the economic system of Azerbaijan is besides given at the terminal of the survey in order to convey a practical illustration. This portion is besides provided with charts for more ocular description of the effects.FDI and Economic GrowthGlobal economic events of past decennaries driven by technological advancements, regional integrating and realignment of economic policies and systems have changed the perceptual experience of host state authoritiess of how FDI can lend to their economic and societal intents. They became more interested in the function of FDI in their states to understand its benefits and costs, and to uncover what should be done by national disposals to see that benefits of FDI influxs to their economic and societal demands will be maximized ( Dunning, 1995 ) .Theory on FDI and growing relationshipIn theory there are contradictory positions about the growing effects of FDI. T he chief principle behind the particular inducements to pull FDI is the belief that they produce outwardnesss in the signifier of engineering transportations and spillovers ( Carkovic and Levine, 2002 ) . Romer ( 1993 ) argues that FDI can ease the transportation of technological and concern know-how to less developed states and heighten the productiveness of all houses in the host state. However, some theories province that foreign investings will damage resource allotment and decelerate the economic growing due to merchandise, monetary value, fiscal and other deformations in less developed states ( Boyd and Smith, 1992 ) . Despite these contradictory theories, some theoretical accounts suggest that FDI will advance the economic development under peculiar policy conditions ( Carkovic and Levine, 2002 ) .Factors of FDI influenceThe extent to which the foreign investing can lend to the economic growing depends on a assortment of factors. One of them is the host state features, called â€Å" absorbent capacity † , – a capableness of the host economic system to profit from technological spillovers from the more industrialised states and the ability to roll up and best utilize engineering and cognition ( Narula and Portelli, 2005 ) . The chief determiner of the â€Å" absorbent capacity † is the quality of establishments, peculiarly, the regulation of jurisprudence and the belongings rights protection. Trade openness, which is a step of the competition degree in the local state, besides positively influences the degree of FDI part to growing. States with more unfastened trade policy have less market deformations, high degree of efficiency and competition which enhance the spillover effects of FDI ( Balasubramanyam et al. , 1996 ) . A trial between FDI and end product growing in 24 states in 1971-1985 old ages conducted by Nair-Reichert and Weinhold ( 2001 ) besides reveals that the grade of state ‘s trade openness had a immense impact on the efficiency of FDI in the host state. The degree of technological edification and human capital stock in the host state is besides one of the chief factors of FDI impact on growing. It has been found that FDI raised the growing in those states that reached a minimal threshold degree of technological edification or the stock of human capital ( Borensztein et al. , 1998 ; Xu, 2000 ) The engineering spread between MNE and domestic houses in the host states is the chief property for the outgrowth of engineering spillovers. A high engineering spread along with a low competition reduces the spillover effects to the host state ( Kokko et al, 1996 ) . Other determiners include economic power, industry, type of FDI, and regional integrating, industry specialisation, market size, R & A ; D, geographical location, FDI policy of host state and etc ( OECD, 2002 ) .Maximization of FDI benefitsIn order to harvest the benefits of FDI authoritiess of host states need to implement some policies, such as betterments of the general macroeconomic and institutional models ; creative activity of a regulative environment that is contributing to FDI influxs ; and upgrading of substructure, engineering and human competencies to the degree where the full possible benefits of foreign corporate presence can be gained ( OECD, 2002 ) . International co-operation might help and reenforce the investment-related attempts of host states since the policy actions recommended above can non easy be pursued by authoritiess – particularly by hapless states – moving entirely ( OECD, 2002 ) . Foreign investors play a important function in engendering economic growing and lending to accomplishment of sustainable development ends. Consequently, the manner MNEs behave and are ruled is of import in maximization of the FDI benefits for economic development. Foreign affiliates must heighten engineering transportation, better human capital direction patterns, and supply transparence and competition. They should besides forbear from seeking freedoms from national environmental, labour and wellness criterions ( OECD, 2002 ) .Positive effects of FDITrade effectsFDI influences economic growing by increasing entire factor productiveness and the efficiency of resource usage in the host state. It increases the capital stock of the host state and therefore raises the end product degrees. The chief trade-related benefit of FDI is that it contributes to the integrating of host states into the planetary economic system by breeding and hiking foreign trade flows every bit good as the consti tution of multinational distribution webs. This, in bend, implies that host states will prosecute a policy of openness to international trade to profit from FDI ( OECD, 2002 ) .Human capital partFDI ‘s part to human capital in host states is important. MNEs addition workplaces, thereby cut down the unemployment in the host state. They normally provide higher rewards and working conditions due to their higher productiveness which is explained by greater technological know-how and modern direction accomplishments that enables them to vie efficaciously in foreign markets. The transportation of technological and managerial know-how through affiliates besides gives rise to direct benefits and increases fight in host states. For illustration, domestic employees can travel from foreign to domestic houses. Local houses might increase their productiveness through larning from foreign houses by coaction. ( OECD, 2008 ) . The presence of MNEs may besides do a utile presentation consequen ce, coercing the authorities to put in instruction more, as the demand for skilled labor by these houses is really high ( OECD, 2002 ) .Spillover effectsMNE ‘s normally possess a higher degree of engineering, particularly â€Å" clean † , which is the chief factor of their higher productiveness. One of the positive effects of FDI is that it generates important technological spillovers in the host states. MNE ‘s normally provide proficient aid, preparation and other information to increase the quality of the providers ‘ merchandises ( OECD, 2002 ) . Local houses might increase their productiveness as a consequence of deriving entree to modern, improved, or cheaper intermediate inputs produced by MNE in upstream sectors. Gross saless of these inputs by MNE might be accompanies by proviso of complementary services which might non be available through imports ( Javorcik, 2004 ) . Local sub-contractors can besides profit from MNE ‘s international contacts, therefore deriving more entree to foreign markets. FDI can besides increase research and development enterprises of local companies ( Tormenting, 1995 ) .Competition degreeFDI exerts a important influence on the competition degree in the host state. The presence of MNEs assists the economic development by exciting the domestic competition and thereby taking to higher productiveness, invention, lower monetary values and more efficient resource allotment ( OECD, 2002 ) .Management and administration practisesFDI through acquisition of local houses result in the alterations in direction and corporate administration. MNEs by and large impose their ain company policies, internal coverage systems and rules of information revelation. This consequence improves the concern environment and develops the corporate efficiency. Furthermore, different instances show that foreign investings besides create a more crystalline environment in the host state as MNEs encourage more unfastened authorities policy, raise corporate transparence and aid in the battle against corruptness. ( OECD, 2002 ) . Since foreign investings supply needful resources to developing states such as capital, engineering, managerial accomplishments, entrepreneurial ability, trade names, and entree to markets, they are of import for these economic systems to industrialise, develop, and make occupations cut downing the poorness degree in their states. Therefore, most developing economic systems recognize the possible value of investings and have liberalized their investing governments and conducted investing publicity activities to pull FDI from developed states ( Athukorala, 2003 ) .Negative effects of FDIHerding out consequence of FDIFDI can hold both herding in and herding out effects in host state economic system. The chief negative consequence of herding out consequence is the monopoly power over the market gained by MNEs. Empirical grounds in that respect is assorted. Econometric trial by Agosin and Mayer ( 2000 ) covering 39 states for a long period ( 1970-1996 ) demonstrated that herding out and herding in was detected in 10 economic systems, but in 19 the consequence was impersonal. Herding out consequence did non be in Asia, but it was rather obvious in Latin America. Another survey of 83 economic systems over the period of 1980-1999 found no impact of FDI on host state for 31, herding out for 29 and herding in for 23 states ( Kumar and Pradhan, 2002 ) . This diverseness might be due to the fact that assorted economic systems attract different types of FDI. Countries that pull largely domestic market-seeking investings will see herding out as the constitution of foreign subordinates consequences in tough competition with domestic houses. But for export-oriented investing, it might be less so ( Bhalla and Ramu, 2005 ) . MNE with lower marginal costs increases production relation to its domestic rival, when amiss competitory houses of the host state face fixed costs of production. In this environment, foreign houses that produce for the domestic market draw demand from local houses, doing them to cut down the production. The productiveness of local houses falls as their fixed costs are spread over a smaller market which forces them to endorse up their mean cost curves. When the productiveness lessening from this demand consequence is big plenty, entire domestic productiveness can decrease even if the MNE transportations engineering or its firm-specific plus to local houses ( Aitken and Harrison, 1999 ) . In general, herding out might take topographic point due to two grounds: 1 ) when domestic houses disappear because of higher efficiency and better merchandise quality of foreign subordinates, and 2 ) when they are wiped out because these foreign affiliates have better entree to fiscal resources and/or engage in anticompetitive patterns. In the first instance, the net impact on public assistance is positive as houses with higher efficiency and better merchandise quality contribute to the economic development of the host state. But in the 2nd instance, there is welfare loss and authoritiess intervene through different channels in order to assist the local houses. For illustration, they might set up or subsidise funding for domestic little and average houses ( Bhalla and Ramu, 2005 ) .Negative pay spilloversWage spillovers of the FDI are considered to be largely positive as workers of MNEs can go forth their workplace and go enterprisers in hereafter, which will increase the fight of d omestic houses. However, it might do negative effects every bit good, particularly, if MNEs hire the best workers due to their high rewards and thereby go forth lower-quality workers at the domestic houses ( Lipsey and Sjoholm, 2004 ) . In response to that domestic houses can increase or copy MNEs ‘ rewards unnaturally to forestall their high-quality employees from altering the workplace in favor of foreign houses. But this action can take to competitiveness lessening of them as MNEs have productiveness advantages over the domestic houses. Gorg and Greenaway ( 2001 ) reviewed six surveies on pay spillovers and reported that three panel surveies of those surveies found negative spillovers, while two cross-sections studied showed positive 1s. One possible ground of the negative consequences in some underdeveloped states is that the spread between MNE and domestic houses is really big for one party to act upon another. Furthermore, the labor markets in some underdeveloped economic systems are excessively segmented for rewards in one party to act upon another ( Lipsey and Sjoholm, 2004 ) .Net income repatriationWhen MNEs make investings in foreign states their chief aim is to maximise their net income. Some advantageous features of these states, such as inexpensive labor force, natural resource copiousness or high quality expertness, let MNEs to heighten their economic public presentation. MNEs on a regular basis repatriate their net incomes from investing to the history of their parent companies in the signifier of divide nds or royalties transferred to stockholders every bit good as the simple transportation of accumulated net incomes. It besides helps them avoid larger revenue enhancements by utilizing transportation monetary values. However, this net income repatriation consequences in immense capital escapes from the host state to the place state and negatively affects the balance of payment of the former. Thus the host states frequently set bounds on the sum of net incomes that MNEs can repatriate in order non to hold balance of payment shortages or reduced foreign exchange militias. Such policy can bring on these MNEs to put net incomes in different undertakings within the host state ( Billet, 1991 ) . But there is besides a possibility that such restrictions might deter MNEs from puting in these states, which will travel FDI to the states with less net income repatriation restrictions. For illustration, a study of main executive officers from 193 American MNEs revealed that about 70 % of them viewed net income repatriation as a chief factor positively actuating the FDI behavior of them ( Kobrin et al ) . One of the biggest FDI receiving systems in the universe, India, permits 100 % net income repatriation for foreign investors in most sectors ( NRI Repatriation ) .Double economic system consequenceFDI, particularly, made in the underdeveloped states can take them to hold a double economic system, which has one developed sector largely owned by foreign houses and developing sector owned by domestic houses. Since the state ‘s economic system becomes excessively dependent on the developed sector, its economic construction alterations. Often this developed sector is the capital- intensive, while another one is labor-intensive. Therefore, double economic system consequence hampers the economic development of states as most of their citizens are located in the non-developed labor-intensive sector. This consequence is seeable in most oil-rich states, where foreign investings made in the oil and gas sector resulted in the resource roar and left the agribusiness and fabrication sectors underdeveloped. That negative consequence of FDI can take to Dutch Disease consequence in natural resource copiousness states. Dutch Disease theoretical account postulates that a resource roar, largely after the immense investings in the sector, diverts state ‘s resources off from activities that are more contributing to growing in long tally. First symptom of this phenomenon is an grasp of the state ‘s exchange rate caused by resource roar, which in bend causes a contraction in the fabrication exports ( Bulte et al, 2003 ) . The flourishing resource sector draws capital and labours off from fabrication, taking its costs to lift ( Neary and new wave Wijnbergen, 1986 ) . The consequence is that the fight of state ‘s non-tradable trade goods rise, while that of tradable – fabrication trade goods falls in the universe markets, cut downing the possible for export-led growing of industries in the long tally. Since fabrication sector is regarded as the chief â€Å" engine of growing † , its diminution causes accordingly a growing diminution in state ‘s economic system in the l ong tally ( Sachs and Warner, 1999 ) . One possible solution to the job is a variegation of the economic system by puting in different sectors.Balance of payment consequenceEmpirical surveies reveal that a bidirectional relationship exists between foreign investings and imports. An addition in FDI influxs from the place state will ensue in an addition in imports in the host state from the place state. It can be due the fact that the MNE purchases inputs from its traditional providers or increased rising prices rate speeded up by foreign capitals in the place state. As more investing flows in, the host state economic system becomes more and more dependent on the production engineering of MNE ‘s place state. The host state will hold to import more inputs and intermediate goods from the MNE ‘s place state, which might restrain the development in the domestic industry. If these investings are non export-oriented, the host state can endure from trade shortages ( Chaisrisawats uk S. and Chaisrisawatsuk W, 2007 ) .Infrastructure development restraintFDI constrains basic substructure development by deviating resources from public investing in substructure. Since FDI is attracted largely to wealthy parts of the host state, the substructure in these parts will necessitate a greater attempt to be improved, particularly striping the poorer parts and the rural parts ( Yamin and Sinkovics, 2009 ) .Environmental issuesA big volume of FDI is concentrated in natural resource sectors of developing and less developed states. Most of these states have a less rigorous or non-existent regulative government. Sometimes states intentionally attempt to relieve or loosen their regulative demands to pull FDI. However, while these states can profit from positive effects of investing, the negative effects of FDI on host state ‘s ecosystems and environment might convey catastrophe in the long tally ( Gray, 2002 ) . The solution to these jobs is to raise host state capacity to modulate and build international environmental criterions. NGO ‘s and other civil society groups from place and host states can besides play a important function in the betterment of authorities ordinances and addition of MNE ‘s duty on environmental issues ( Mabey and McNally, 1998 ) .Other possible negative impactsFDI can do political, societal and cultural agitation and divisiveness in the host states by debut of unaccepChart values, which include advertisement, concern imposts, labour patterns and etc, and by direct intervention of the MNEs in the political government or electoral procedure in the host state ( Dunning, 1995 ) . For illustration, some least developed states with the economic system excessively dependent on powerful transnational endeavors are threatened of fring political sovereignty ( OECD, 2002 ) .Case Study: Dutch Disease effects in AzerbaijanAzerbaijan had had a reasonably developing eco nomic system with a consistent one-year GDP growing above 10 % until 2005. However, after a big sum of FDI ‘s in energy sector, the economic state of affairs critically changed and grew significantly in 2005-2009 old ages due ( Chart 1. GDP of Azerbaijan. Chart 2. GDP growing ) . Its oil and gas grosss fuelled the economic system and promoted a rapid rise in life criterions. But despite this prosperity, some negative impacts of huge foreign investings, particularly, Dutch Disease effects, became seeable over clip. Large capital influxs and grosss shortly demonstrated its impact on high rising prices degree ( Chart 3. Inflation rate ) and the national currency of Azerbaijan – AZN has appreciated against USD Dollar and Pound Sterling, while its value against Euro has been volatile during 2006-2010 old ages ( Chart 4. Currency Exchange ) . As exports increased, the state started to run balance of payment excess ( Chart 5. Balance of Payment ) . The fight of non-tradable trade goods have risen during this period in Azerbaijan. Particularly, oil roar fuelled banking sector, existent estate and building. However, the growing rate of tradable sectors of Azerbaijan was small ( Traveling Dutch ) . Main non-oil exports of the state agribusiness and metals sector have non seen a important growing, intending state ‘s fight is non turning. In fact the state became dependent on oil sector, as it accounts for 90 % of exports and 60 % of GDP part ( Chart 6. GDP composing by sector ) . Current prognosiss predict that the oil roar of Azerbaijan will be comparatively ephemeral and oil production will get down to diminish in 2012, which will hold a prodigious negative impact on the economic system ( Going Dutch ) . Dutch Disease effects have a important impact on the poorness rate of the state. Although life criterions have mostly improved, a high degree of poorness persists, particularly, in rural countries. About 42 % of the rural population live below the poorness line, and 13 % of hapless people live in utmost poorness ( Rural poorness in Azerbaijan ) . Despite the big GDP part of industry sector, chiefly oil and gas sector, laborforce represented by this sector is the least – by 12 % . However, agribusiness with the biggest laborforce business histories for 6 % in GDP part ( Chart 7. Laborforce business by sector. ) . This implies that chief laborforce of the state is located in less competitory and less efficient sector, and the economic system must be diversified and fight of fabrication merchandises, owned by domestic houses, must be increased to minimise the high degree of poorness.DecisionAlthough there are contradictory ideas about the impact of FDI on the economic growing, it is loosely believed that investings positively contribute to the economic development of host states. However, states do non profit from the investings at the same degree. Foreign investings are non advantageous or disadvantageous by themselves. Their part depends on the policy and behavior of host state authoritiess and MNEs. The same foreign investing may convey tonss of benefits to one state, while it might be rather harmful for the other. Therefore, it does non intend that if you get more FDI, your economic system will hike. For illustration, Azerbaijan ‘s economic system grew significantly due to foreign investings, but if the authorities does non diversify the economic system and take steps against the negative effects of FDI, its economic system will be worsened in long term. The rising prices is increasing, non-oil sector is barely turning, and the economic system is going more and more dependent on the oil and gas sector, owned largely by foreign houses. The survey implies that an appropriate policy and bit by bit improved â€Å" absorbent capacity † of authoritiess will minimise the negative effects of FDI and let these economic systems to harvest the benefits of investings at the upper limit.

The most notable discoveries in biology, medicine and pharmacy during Essay

The most notable discoveries in biology, medicine and pharmacy during the Golden Age - Essay Example Some of the well-known physicians and thinkers are Al-Razi and Ibn Sina and they developed a healthcare system with hospitals running for 24 hours and treatment based in Ayurveda and Unani (Allsen, 1984, p, 67-69). Another renowned Islamic scholar Ibn Sina authored Canon of Medicine a seminal work that was printed many times and read in Europe. The scholar Ibn Al-Haitham wrote extensively on the subject of ophthalmology while Ishaq Ibn, another scholar wrote a treatise Practical Medical Deontology. Al-Tabari wrote, another scholar wrote the Paradise of Wisdom that linked diverse subjects namely, psychotherapy, counselling, psychology and medicine (Atiyeh & Hayes, 1992, p. 45-61). The scholar Zakariya Raziwas who served as the chief surgeon in the hospitals of Baghdad and Cairo, wrote the well-received Ahlaq al-Tabeeb. This was a book on medical ethics in which he discussed the model role of the physician and specified the methods to distinguish between measles and small pox and the method of treating these diseases (Lombard, 1975, p. 123-128). Raziwas also wrote the kitab-al Hawi fi al-tibb also called as the Comprehensive book of medicine with 23 volumes where each volume discussed specific parts of the body and their related diseases (Sonn, 2011, p. 81-89). This book was used as a textbook in several European universities until the seventeenth century. Another book he wrote was the Kitab Tibb al-Muluki where he discussed dieting and moderation and the manner in which diseases can be controlled through dieting (Meri, 2005, p. 63). Pharmacy: Medieval Islam produced many scholars who wrote about medicines obtained from plants and body parts of various animals. The Islamic scholar Yuhanna b. Masawayh wrote a treatise on the medicinal effects of Cannabis sativa Linnaeus or hemp and Papaver somniferum Linnaeus, poppy. He suggested using the drug to relieve pain from fevers, eye and toothaches

Article Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 15

Review - Article Example or agricultural usage, the resultant man caused fire event releases massive amounts of bio-mass particulates and aerosols into the atmosphere above Amazon. The pressing concern is how this pollution is affecting cloud formations and how the loss of those clouds may be causing a shift in the weather patterns that could threaten the entire Amazonian ecosystem. Scientists Ilan Koren, and Lorraine Remer from the Weizmann Institute collaborated with Karla Longo from the Brazilian Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies to construct a research model to better understand how smoke changes clouds in the Amazon. Smoke changes the size and number of cloud droplets, which affects the cloud density and the visual â€Å"brightness† of cloud formation. In theory this smoke layer, stabilizes and creates layers within atmosphere that directly suppresses updrafts that fuel cloud formation. Clouds are better at reflecting sunlight back into space than smoke, the scientist’s hypothesis considers that fires in the Amazon likely allow more solar energy than normal to enter the Earth’s climate system and are contributing to far reaching examples of climate change. The scientists collected data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) system at NASA’s Goddard Space Center. The MODIS satellite data was compiled and analyzed over an 8 year period (from 1998 to 2006). The research initially focused on how smoke influenced clouds on a day to day basis. But, as the study progressed the scientists noted that since 2000, there were large fluctuations in the density and proliferation of smoke between the years. Some years were relatively clean, and in other years the atmosphere was being highly polluted by the smoke from the man caused fires. When this was noted the scientists bi-furcated the research and looked at additional MODIS data from AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) to look at look at the daily and monthly averages in the number of

Face-Vase Illusion An Explanation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Face-Vase Illusion An Explanation - Essay Example Well, what do they do? Usually they draw a house and some trees in the foreground, with a field, sky and some birds flying, in the background. Ever wondered why children do not draw the picture of only a house, or only a tree, or a field or perhaps the sky only? Why do they choose to draw some things constituting the foreground and some things constituting the background in a picture? It would not be wrong to say that to a great extent, children do not do this deliberately, but in a way are naturally responding to the way human brain likes to perceive things. It is a psychologically valid fact that human brain has a natural tendency to differentiate between a foreground and a background, while perceiving things. Even when a flat picture is placed before the eyes, the human brain, responding to this natural tendency, tries to develop an idea of depth by establishing or identifying some things as foreground, while taking the other things to be constituting the background in that pictur e. This is the way it is. To explain as to why the brain does this may require a complex explanation. Yet, to explain the illusion under consideration, it will be appropriate to agree to the fact that human brain always sees things in terms of a foreground and a background.

Tourism and Holiday Leisure Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Tourism and Holiday Leisure Design - Essay Example The basic design of the tourism and holiday leisure product has to take into consideration the size of the product on offer, the facilities available and/or the quantity and level of services. This is to say that the tourism design package can either be big or small depending mainly on the tastes of the customers. The type of facilities available will also determine how the tourism product is designed. For instance, if the facilities are world-classes and top of the range tourist sites, then the design should reflect this. In some places the level of tourism services is very low while in some areas it is quite high. Therefore, the design of the tourism leisure product or service is likely to differ depending on the priority of tourism in a particular area (Williams and Buswell, 2003). The presentation of the tourism product available in a particular place will depend on the standard of services available. To keep people interested in the tourism package on offer, the standards of ser vice must also be high. Good services in the tourism sector are very important as they determine how well people respond to the tourism offers. If the services are poor, then most likely people will avoid that particular tourism destination and opt for one where they will get satisfactory services. Most product designs in the tourism sector include a wide range of vacation options. Also included in the designs of most travel and tour packages is consumer protection. Vacationers are normally out to enjoy themselves and the problem of insecurity is usually the last thing they would want to deal with (Pikketmaat and Weiermair, nd).  

Chinas Stocks Head for Weekly Gain on Policy Outlook, Europe Article

Chinas Stocks Head for Weekly Gain on Policy Outlook, Europe - Article Example According to the article, the stocks experience the biggest gain during the week in question influenced by signs that the Greek debt problem will be resolved and speculation and rumors about expected policy changes by the government. The European Union has been reeling under a string of debt crisis in several of its members the most notable being Greece, Portugal, Ireland and recently Italy. This crisis has had an effect on stocks across the globe. Although Europe’s problems may seem less of a concern to China, the truth is that what happens in Europe affects China in a big way. This is because the EU is the largest export market for China’s goods. The EU accounts for 25% of China’s exports. In the first nine months of 2011, trade between China and Europe rose 21.8% year-on-year to stand at $372.12 billion according to statistics from Chinese authorities. The EU debt crisis has a direct bearing on China’s economy because a reduction in demand here means a reduction in China’s export. Since China’s economy is export-based, any reductions in the number of exports have the net effect of slowing down the country’s economic growth. This is exactly what the crisis in Greece, Spain, Portugal and most recent Italy has done. This paper is going to evaluate the relationship between the EU debt crisis and the performance of China’s stock exchanges. The paper will find that when there is a crisis in Europe, the demand for China’s goods in these region goes down which affects the performance of the exporting companies leading to lower export earnings. The lower earnings drive the prices of the stocks involved down. On the contrary, positive indicators on the EU economic performance drive up the value of the stock in the market as people become more optimistic.

The Stopped voyages and the Stopped Social Improving Essay

The Stopped voyages and the Stopped Social Improving - Essay Example Apparently, the initiation of the voyages marked a great Chinese historical period in cultural exchanges and trade. The number of ships in each fleet that Zheng led to the Western Sea had about 40 to 60 ships and over 27,000 people. In each envoy, Zheng acted as the business representative and herald of the Ming court. The voyages navigated through various countries where Zheng stopped and presented gifts to the rulers as a perfect way of enhacing cooperation and relationships. Unfortunately, in 1424, Yongle Emperor who was the sponsor of the expensive voyages was murdered in a skirmish touching the Mongols. Zheng could hardly undertake any other voyages, and set out for his last voyage in 1429 before the Hongxi Emperor who succeeded Yongle Emperor banned the voyages in 1433 on the grounds that they were a misappropriation of resources and money. While the emperor did this to circumvent China from external influence, it limited china’s development by cutting trade with the outside world, and advanced Europeans could easily target China (Jessie, 2). It is evident that Chinese voyages had cr eated great contribution to the Chinese culture and Economy and the decision of stopping more voyages was undeniably wrong. The Chinese society could have been improved much better if Hongxi Emperor did not stop the voyages. The voyages greatly contributed to growth of trade between China and the outside world as well as spreading Chinese culture to the outside world, factors that contributed to the growth of China. In the ships, there was a myriad of special Chinese products that were meant for the foreign countries such as India and coast of Africa. These included skein, newly established celadon, enamelware, gauze, and brocade. Noteworthy, during the Tang Dynasty, people in China had already understood the technology of making glass to be heat resistant through addition of

Management in the Arts Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management in the Arts - Research Paper Example It has come up with different technologies of artificial pitches and excellent customer service which help the customers to avail their services. ‘Goals’ is a company which has established courts having floodlights and these courts have a spacious area. Moreover the services of pavilion are provided to the customers for refreshment purposes along with the facilities of parking. Service/ Products Heathrow Goals is located in an area with high population so that it can attract a wider range of crowd. The services that the center provides are associated with the services of the company ‘Goals’. It provides the service of booking the pitches for matches of football along with kid parties. The teams can sign up to leagues or tournaments organized by the Heathrow Goals. It provides different facilities for the teams who are enrolled in these leagues or tournaments. It has around 12 all weather pitches which help the customers with different environment of day and night. These pitches are well developed by the Heathrow Goals with rubber crumb artificial grass. The pitches also have the facility of floodlights so that the individuals can play up to the time that they want to. The Heathrow Goals also has luxury sports bar along with a private function room for parties. A mega screen is located on the pitch which attracts the teams to the centers. And lastly it also provides the facilities of shower and changing rooms for the sportsmen. Finances   The finances of the Goals clearly show that their popularity and sales is increasing every other day. With the help of the facilities that it provides it is seen that people are getting attracted towards the centre even more. In the years 2009 it was seen that the sales of the company were increased by 6% which clearly showed the strength of finance of the company. The company aims to four more centers during the year of 2011. In 2010 it was seen that five such centers were opened and made functional by the company to generate huge profits. It also opened its centre out of the United Kingdom in the famous state of Los Angeles. It is believed that with the current facilities the company would be further able to excel in the year of 2011 and currently the number of sales is enough for the company to fulfill its goals. Premises   Heathrow Goals is located on the Shepiston Lane, Heathrow with 12 day night courts for the footballers. The premises of Heathrow goals contain a bar for the footballers along with changing rooms and shower. The pitches in Heathrow Goals are almost 12 joined together but separated by the pavilion ends. It also has separate rooms where kid parties can be arranged. History   The history of Goals can be traced back to 1987 when the first 5-a side centre was established. Keith Rogers was the co founder of Anchor International Limited which created this first centre. Keith Roger was able to successfully expand the business until it was sold to 3i at the pri ce of 28 million pounds in the year of 1999. After selling Anchor International Limited, Keith Rogers carried out an MBI (Management buy in) on an existent business so that he could flourish his concept of 5-a side business. The company that he carried out an MBI on was backed by HBOS Plc and Dunedin and soon after staff upgrading started. New information technology systems were introduced in the business to help the business. After

The US military's role in domestic disaster response. Is it an Research Paper

The US military's role in domestic disaster response. Is it an effective use of resources or danger to civil liberties - Research Paper Example This same assistance was provided during the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2009 typhoon which flooded the streets of Manila, the Christchurch, New Zealand Earthquake, and other global disasters. The utilization of military disaster relief has not however been welcomed by some politicians, with most critics defining such relief as an ineffective use of military resources and as an interference with the civil liberties of citizens. Others have been quick to point out however that providing disaster relief is not a waste of military resources and in fact is a necessary function of the US military, an adjunct to their peace and order function. This paper shall now review this issue, specifically on the US military’s role in domestic disaster response and whether or not it is an effective use of resources or a danger to civil liberties. Disasters are significant and widespread events which involve the loss of life and which cause significant damage to property and infrastructures (Weeks, 2007). Accidents on the other hand are at a smaller scale with less lives and property lost. In these situations, failure of communication seems to be one of the more persistent issues often faced, along with the inability to establish clear links with other agencies. Disasters imply the significant loss of life and it usually occurs without warning (Weeks, 2007). It also has a significant impact on society, including its culture and geography. These events are difficult to assess because of the widespread impact they cause. The major challenges which first responders often face are difficult areas to evaluate. Much preparation must be carried out in order to evaluate disaster situations because they involve a significant amount of elements which cannot be easily controlled and observed (Weeks, 2007). Marret and Brimmer (2008) discuss that the military has increasingly found itself managing disasters and

Inta Omri by Oum Kalsoum Essay Example for Free

Inta Omri by Oum Kalsoum Essay Enta Omri is Egyptian singer and songwriter Oum Kalsoums best known work. The song Enta Omri has been revived and reinterpreted many times over the past few decades. Even then, no one can compare to the original recordings of Oum Kalsoum, who was the best singer to come from the Middle East. Many contemporary Western artists and musicians have been significantly influenced by her work. Famous artist known to be admirers of her body of work range from such stars as painter Salvador Dali to rock star Bono. Today, her popularity has not faded and the recordings of her songs continue to sell very well in the Middle East, with about one million records sold each year. The song Enta Omri has significantly influenced Oum Kalsoum as an artist. The lyrics of her subsequent songs followed the theme of Enta Omri, centered on the topics of love, longing for someone, or the loss of a loved one, much like the topics prevalent on country music today. Her musical performances are also very long by todays standards. While the official recording of the song Enta Omri is about an hour, her live performances could last for several hours. The people listening to her songs are mesmerized by Oum Kalsoums vocal range, who had one of the deepest singing voice for females. References: 1. Shira. Inte Omri: You Are My Life. Retreived on November 28, 2008. 2. You Tube. Omm Kalthoum-Inta Omri.Retreived on November 28, 2008. 3. Imeem. Inta Omri by Yahel. Retreived on November 28, 2008. 4. Egypt State Information Service. Umm Kolthoum. Retreived on November 28, 2008. 5. Al-Ahram Weekly. The Voice of Authority. Retreived on November 28, 2008. 6. Al-Ahram. Umm Kuthoum Superstar. Retreived on November 28, 2008. 7. OumKalthoum. org. Oum Kalthoum. Retreived on November 28, 2008. 8. Al-Masriq. Umm Kulthum. Retreived on November 28, 2008.

The Importance of Agricultural Sector in Economics

The Importance of Agricultural Sector in Economics THE IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 1.0 INTRODUCTION Agriculture is an important sector to the country’s economic development. It was one of the highlighted issues during Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s as Malaysia’s Prime Minister. Abdullah strongly believed that this industry can generate wealth and reduce poverty particularly among those from rural areas. One of the major thrusts of the Malaysian economic development since her Independence in 1957 has been and continues to be the rural development programmes. The rural sector plays a pivotal role in the country’s economic growth, social and political development. The Malaysian economy depended on the rural sector in the early development stage for agricultural input and output and hence the country’s export earnings and growth in the 1960s and 1970s. Agriculture sector can be generalized into two categories – industrial commodities and food sub-sector. Industrial commodities under Ministry of Primary Industries (KPU) provision is responsible in ensuring high quality production of pepper, palm oil, rubber, cocoa and wood and timber. On another note, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry (MOA) must oversee crop production, livestock and fisheries activities. Like any other developing economies, the growing economic importance of the manufacturing sector implies that the rural sector has fulfilled its role as the supplier of labour, land and capital required for industrial. 2.0 THE IMPORTANCE OF ECONOMIC IN AGRICULTURAL The agricultural sector has contributed to the growth and major contributors to national income and export earnings. The agricultural sector initially derived from increase production of livestock, fisheries and other miscellaneous crops. The NAP provided for a comprehensive and coordinated long-term policy for an effective development of the agricultural sector. The NAP called for agricultural-industrial linkage through the expanded development of agro-based industries, mainly in processing, storage and handling of agricultural commodities to increase their value-added before export. There is some of importance of economic in agricultural sector: 2.1 Diversifying and shielding the economy Agricultural is consideration a vital to the economy of Malaysia. It play a role in diversifying and shielding the economy from external shock. The increase in earnings of major commodities, particularly palm oil as food commodities, enable sector to retain its workforce and withstand the economic downturn. There also important in especially in diversification to improve the economy activity in Malaysia. This is some of example that can help for increasing the economy such as: Integration of cattle in palm oil plantation Intercropping Mixed farming Processing activities 2.2 Development of rural area We will bring development to rural areas by promoting the agricultural sector by reducing imbalance in urban-rural development especially in the less developed states. Rural development generally refers to the process of improving the quality of life and economic well-being of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Rural development has traditionally centred on the exploitation of land-intensive natural resources such as agriculture and forestry. However, changes in global production networks and increased urbanization have changed the character of rural areas. Increasingly tourism, niche manufacturers, and recreation have replaced resource extraction and agriculture as dominant economic drivers. The need for rural communities to approach development from a wider perspective has created more focus on a broad range of development goals rather than merely creating incentive for agricultural or resource based businesses 2.3 Increase food production The sector contributed not only as a supplier of raw material to the resource based industries, but also in term of food production. Food production capacity is faced with an ever-growing number of challenges, including a world population expected to grow to nearly 9 billion by 2050 and a falling ratio of arable land to population. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations or FAO. These crop losses would be doubled if existing pesticide uses were abandoned, significantly raising food prices. Even after harvest, crops are subject to attack by pests or diseases. Bugs, rodents or molds can harm grains. In addition to increasing crop yields, crop protection products used in stored products can also prolong the viable life of produce, prevent huge post-harvest losses from pests and diseases, and protect food so it is safe to eat. The crop protection industry’s primary aim is to enable farmers to grow an abundant supply of food in a safe manner and pre vent costs from increasing. Food production processes benefit from continual advancements in agricultural technologies and practices; in fact, a population now nearly twice as large has more food available per capita than 40 years ago. 2.4 Improve balance of trade The food import bill has been a long standing problem in Malaysia. The commercial balance or net export, is the difference between the monetary value of exports and imports of output in an economy over a certain period, measured in the currency of that economy. It is the relationship between a nations imports and exports. A positive balance is known as a trade surplus if it consists of exporting more than is imported; a negative balance is referred to as a trade deficit or, informally, a trade gap. The balance of trade is sometimes divided into a goods and a services balance. There is some factor that improving balance of trade in economy Malaysia: The cost of production such as land, labour, capital, taxes and incentives in the exporting economy. The cost and availability of raw materials, intermediate goods and other inputs Exchange rate movements Multilateral, bilateral and unilateral taxes or restrictions on trade Non-tariff barriers such as environmental, health or safety standards The availability of adequate foreign exchange with which to pay for imports. 2.5 Economic in Malaysia restructuring The Second Malaysia Plan stepped up government involvement in the economy, with the main goal of increasing Malay economic interests, especially in the areas of manufacturing and agricultural. In order to avoid directly hurting Chinese economic interests, the plan focused on huge economic growth, with the goal of expanding both the Malay and non-Malay shares of the economy in absolute terms, while increasing the Malay share in relative terms as well. The Second Malaysia Plan hoped to achieve greater reduction in poverty and increase the involvement of the Malays in the private sector by imposing certain restrictions on private firms that would benefit Malay employment and economic ownership. 3.0 Future Prospects and Challenges Internally, the agriculture sector continues to face inefficiencies arising from structural defects such as land fragmentation, labour shortage and increasing cost of inputs. As a consequence, productivity, yield and profitability from smallholdings continue to lag behind plantations. Paddy farming continues to face chronic inefficiencies arising from the Government’s policy to continue guaranteed minimum price for paddy and structural defects. As a result of government intervention in price setting and distribution, structural defects have become institutionalized and resistant to change. It becomes even more difficult to effect a change now because subsidies to paddy farmers have become politicized as used as vote gathering tools. Inputs to agriculture production such as capital and labour will continue to be constrained in response to demand for these very same inputs by Malaysia’s fast expanding manufacturing sector. This is already resulting in the slowdown of capital investment in the agricultural sector which would eventually trickle to naught and may trigger capital outflow from this sector. Externally, the price of agriculture commodities will continue to be exposed to swings and shifts in demand due to the interplay of substitutionary and complementary products. Supply and output of commodities as from time immemorial continue to be subject to the vagaries of climate, pestilence and seasonality. Trade barriers and protectionist agricultural policies will continue to shield agriculture from reforms in many countries, distorting the free market and institutionalize market defects and inefficiencies. Conclusion Agriculture occupies a dominant position in the Malaysian economy. Since the era of British colonial government, agriculture has assumed the important role of being the backbone and driving force behind the strength and success of the Malaysian economy. Agricultural exports such as rubber, oil palm and cocoa are a major source of export earnings and have significantly contributed to the development of the agricultural sector and the economy as a whole. Agriculture is also an important sector in economy of Malaysia because of its food contributions, particularly rice for home consumption. Moreover, the sector continues to be the largest source of employment in the country. Today, marketing, processing, distribution of agricultural products etc. are all accepted as a part of modern agriculture. In the course of economic development, agriculture employs majority of people. This means raising the level of the national income and standard of living of the common man. The rapid rate of gro wth in agriculture sector gives progressive outlook and further motivation for development. As a result, it helps to create proper atmosphere for general economic development of the economy. Thus, economic development depends on the rate at which agriculture grows. References Zulkifly Hj. Mustapha. 1988. Evolution of Malaysian Agricultural Development. In Malaysian Agricultural Policy: Issues and Directions. ed. Fatimah Mohd. Arshad et Al. Serdang Idris Jala. (2013, September 30). The Star, Business News: Agriculture is a sector that is still important to Malaysia’s economy. Azmi Shahrin Bin Abdul Rahim, 2005. A critical assessment the contribution of agriculture sector in the growth of the Malaysin economy.

The Parallel Paths of Overprotected and Neglected Children

The Parallel Paths of Overprotected and Neglected Children Commercials and posters flood our daily lives by projecting images of helpless children who are in desperate need. Many people are aware of the children living in poverty, orphans, and abusive households. The media portrays neglected children who suffer from malnutrition, starvation, and the absence of love. In return, the advertised organization seeks for a small contribution of a dollar a day to help make a childs life better. However, what about the child who endures the exact opposite of neglect? Less attention is veered towards the silent abuse of parents who control their child to the extreme that they are actually hindering their development and performance by not allowing their child to grow and experience life healthily. Does a child who is overly cared for and overly protected by their extremely overprotective parent still possess a better life than the child who is neglected? Or is the overprotected child just as helpless as the neglected? Significance: The children today are the future and faces of tomorrow. A childs future is greatly influenced by his or her parents. A parent who is abusive restricts a child from possessing a healthy lifestyle and developing healthy relationships with other individuals. However, a parent who is over controlling will limit a child from developing essential skills necessary to govern and direct their own life in a positive and healthy manner. Yet many fail to acknowledge this and assume that parents are just being loving and caring; emotions that all parents and guardians are expected to express. Therefore, many people do not listen to these children and believes that their problems are not as severe as the children who suffer from physical or verbal abuse. This is significant to human development because many children suffer from the limitations their overprotective parents impose and do not have access to the same amount of help and assistant as children with abusive parents. Problem Statement: Through my research, I hope to raise public awareness of this silent abuse. Most importantly, I hope to reach out to parents who are over controlling, as well as abusive, and have them place their childs interests before their own. If a parent, who is over protective of their child, cares about their child deeply, then they should care more about their childs wellbeing rather than their own personal desires and expectations of their child. Literature Review: Parents who overprotect their child to the extreme can prevent their child from acquiring the basic fundamental skills of life. As a result, the child can become emotionally handicap and rely on his or her parent throughout their life. As stated by Cossentino, children in this situation are not able to develop a knowledge of independence and remains bound to the parent while the parent is bound in a cycle of overprotection (The Overprotected Child). This dangerous cycle leaves the child and parent bonded together in such a way that it is unhealthy for both members. The child relies on their parent immensely that the parent is responsible to attend to every single matter of the childs life; from basic chores, resolving a conflict, to communicating with acquaintances of the child. This often stifles the growth and development of a child, who cannot live without authority. Thus, the parent cannot leave this cycle because the parent raised the child in this manner. Children lack a knowledge of resolving conflicts and have a high chance of being rejected by their peers due to low confidence and an inability to stand up for oneself (Cossentino). With parents always protecting them, the child will never be aware of how to stand up for oneself and is unable to confront the realities of life. These children have the inability to be very social among others besides their own parents, which causes them to develop a low self-esteem as well as low self-confidence. The inability to make decisions on his or her own can cause a child to be unprepared for the future and is unable to live without a parent or authority figure. As stated by Cossentino, children will lack life-experiences of decision making, life skills, age appropriate freedom, and conflict resolution. An overprotected child becomes bound to a parent in a way that is similar to how a baby is bounded to its mother for the rest of its life. The child is completely unprepared for freedom and responsibility, finding it hard to exercise self-discipline and is more vulnerable to getting emotionally hurt. As argued by Guthrie and Matthews, Overprotecting parents can lead children to develop Peter Pan Syndrome (No More Push Parenting, 44). The Peter Pan Syndrome affects people who do not want or feel unable to grow up. In other words, people with the body of an adult but the mind of a child. Peter Pan was a fictional character who refused to grow up and had a never-ending childhood. Those with this syndrome do not know how or do not even want to stop being children and start being adults. These people are unable to grow up and take on adult responsibilities; they see the adult world as very problematic and glorify being a child, which is why they want to stay in that state of privilege. Children who have been neglected on the other hand are in complete control of their life and are forced to survive on their own. Neglected children do not have an authority figure and may be more likely to replace the unknown feeling of love with hate and anger. Children tend to try and please their parents to gain affection. However, when they cannot please their parents, they become filled with rage and take their anger out destructively (Nguyen). The violence neglected children seek for may be towards other individuals or other substances, but for some, they seek to hurt themselves. Children repress rage only to become depressed and suicidal (Watkins, A3). These children possess a great amount of emotion built up inside them that it becomes unbearable and hard to deal with. Thus, they try to fill the void of love in their life with other things or someones acceptance. As Andron stated, Children with low self-esteem search for someones acceptance, which usually winds down a damagin g path eventually set up for death or become life-threatening (23). More than likely, they fall under peer pressure or experiment with drugs and alcohol, anything to make them feel accepted. Because they lack a knowledge of what is normal or who to trust, they are more vulnerable to perpetrators and are often abused by their peers. One form of violence an individual may express is through school. For example, the University of Texas massacre in Austin left 18 dead while the Columbine High School took a death toll of fifteen, and the highest toll of thirty-three lives was the Virginia Tech massacre (Watkins, A3). When an individual commits a crime, he or she is questioned for the reason of their action. However, few people turn to the parents or even glance at the childs home life. Children turn to destructive manners for coping as a way to test if their parents really care for them or not (Nguyen). By hurting oneself, an individual tests the love of a parent, or to see if anyone else bothers to really care. Many parents are incapable of seeing the damaging effects of placing their own needs before their childs. They fail to see the atmosphere and living situation they created and forced their child to endure. Most importantly, they fail to treat and raise their child healthily. By overprotecting to the extreme, a parent not only shields a child from pain, but also robs the child of their adulthood by keeping them from developing friendships, intimate relationships, and independent skills along their journey of life. Thus, through neglect, a child is forced to learn how to survive through life on their own without the protection of a parent, without the love and guidance a parent has to offer, and without the comfort of a real family. Therefore, what is worse: overprotection or abandonment? Methodology: By listening to the personal stories of my volunteered subjects, I hope to obtain data that reflects whether or not both children, who are on opposite ends of the spectrum, share the same difficulties. The individuals I will choose will be children and their parents who reside in Cambodia. Cambodia is a poverty-stricken country and the home to many neglected children who roam the streets begging for food. Sadly, because of this, it will not be difficult to find a neglected child to speak with. The difficulty will be trying to find the parent or guardian of the neglected child and persuading him or her to share their own personal story. In addition, families who are wealthy have higher expectations for their children and try to mold their child into what they want by controlling every aspect of their childs life. Because of this, I will listen to the stories of a child is in a more well-off family and his or her parents story .

Aviation Security Essay -- Aviation

Airport Security around the world is an integral part of the modern times, the global web of people traveling for fun, business, adventure, and commodities are a way of life for many. Goods that were once scarce, or not available in certain parts of the world, merely twenty years ago for the general population are now easily attainable. Businesses are known to have meetings take place in various locations worldwide for their representatives. With all this moving of people from around the world who watches out for their safety as they access the plane from the different gates at the various worldwide Airports. Security personnel are the most recognizable entity prior to passengers accessing planes. Everybody knows theses personnel, they’re always telling people to take off their shoes, belts, all metal objects out of pockets, everyone rolls there eyes making snide remarks, or uploading videos to â€Å"Youtube† showing how the Airport Security groped then during a pat down. These personnel who make people feel as if they need to be stripping down to near nakedness, or in some special cases where people do come to the metal detector in bikinis, prior to getting to the terminal gate. Most will think. Wow! What a waste of money Airports are losing in paying these people, but do you know those security personnel are the last, and only, line of defense between the passenger and potential disaster in the air at thirty thousand feet. For every snide remark a passenger makes, they are thwarting a potential threat by locating someone’s knife, box cutter, lighter, or other item b eing detected through a pat down security check or a handheld metal detector; or though an X-Ray machine where bags are screened and objects that could cause potenti... ...or their alternative - patdowns. They will also be subject to random full screening so terrorists don't exploit the program to get on planes.† (Daniel Prendergast and Joseph Straw NEWS; Pg. 14) these measures should make flying bearable, maybe even brining the fun back to flying. In conclusion one should be aware of the important job of the aviation security professional. They are not recognized or respected by many but for the amount of planes that go in the air everyday, there are rarely any instances in the skies. Bibliography: †¢ The Daily Telegraph (London) November 29, 2010 Monday Edition 2 National Edition Predictable security at airports 'makes it easier for terrorists BYLINE: David Millward SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 11 †¢ FLYING TO GET FRIENDLIER, & COSTLIER, FOR 'TRUSTED TRAVELERS' BYLINE: By Daniel Prendergast and Joseph Straw SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 14

Nelly Dean of Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights :: free essay writer

Wuthering Heights - Nelly   In the book Wuthering Heights, the author, Emily Bronte, made Nelly the narrator. Many have questioned why Bronte would do so. Nelly never really had a life of her own because she lived at Wuthering Heights all her life.   Therefore, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange was her life.   Nelly was more than a servant, and had a personal relationship with most of the characters,which is why her story is so efficient, and her lack of knowledge not as important.   She really loved them, and she shows it when she says, "I kissed Hareton good-bye; and since then he has been a stranger: and it's queer to think it, but I've no doubt he has completely forgotten all about Ellen Dean, and that he was ever more than all the world to her and she to him!" (Wuthering Heights Pg. 81)   Hareton probably doesn't remember her, but that shows the lack of appreciation everyone had for her.   No one praised her like   Heathcliff and Edgar praised Catherine, but no one hated her like Hindly hated   Heathcliff.   In fact, she's the "middle man" that makes the transition from   Wuthering Heights to Thrushcross Grange so smooth.   If she had not been the narrator we wouldn't know what went on at Thrushcross Grange.   Nelly manages to know what went on at Wuthering Heights because of her good relationship with everyone.   So even though Nelly is not present there, she still has the capabilities to know what's going on.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There really isn't a mother figure in the story, but Nelly's role sure imply that she's the mother.   It's odd that every time a lad is born, the mother died during the birth, which led to Nelly's "mother like" role.   She didn't only play her "mother like" role with Hareton and Cathy, (the two lads who's mothers died during labor) but she also played her role with Heathcliff and Catherine.   When Heathcliff retaliated against Hindly and decided not to eat due to his pride; Nelly brought him some food and made sure he was okay. She also aided Catherine when she was mad at Edgar.   Nelly's role is so important, and an example of it is when Nelly visited Wuthering Heights and Hareton was throwing   rocks at her and cursing at her.   This would not have happened if Nelly was there, and Hareton would have learned how to read.

The Narrator as Literary Device in “Luck,” by Mark Twain

Mark Twain uses the narrator as a literary device in his short story, â€Å"Luck.†Ã‚   The author first uses his own voice to give the story an air of authenticity.   He then changes narrators, building on the original air of authenticity to create a second authentic narrator.   By using the literary device of a first person point of view for both narrators, Twain is able to manipulate not only the actions that take place in the story, but he is also able to manipulate the reader’s understanding of, and his or her opinion of, the characters and events in the story. The narrator that an author chooses creates the perspective of the story.   The narrator is rarely synonymous with the author; however, it is not an unheard of occurrence for the two to be identical.   Twain is briefly the narrator of this story, given that he manipulates the readers’ perspective by declaring this story to be a true one and not â€Å"a fancy sketch† (Twain page). He increases this authenticity by signing his initials to the statement, thereby injecting himself into the action of the story.   Because this practice is not a common one in fictional stories, although it was more common at the time that this story was written than it is now, Twain’s â€Å"appearance† in his own fictional work gives it a suggestion of being a work of nonfiction. The first person narrator that Twain chooses to tell the majority of the story is ostensibly a unnamed clergyman, formerly a â€Å"cornet† (second lieutenant) in the British army under a lieutenant-general the first narrator gives the pseudonym â€Å"Scoresby.†Ã‚   Simply by setting the fiction of the need for a pseudonym for the lieutenant general, Twain has created the suggestion of literal truth for the story about to follow.   The second narrator, however, is an unreliable one. By stating that Scoresby’s success comes solely from luck, it is clearly apparent that the clergyman’s opinion would differ from that of the lieutenant general.   There is some question as to why these opinions would differ, at least from the clergyman’s perspective.   While it should come as no surprise that Scoresby would certainly prefer to characterize his success as deriving from skill, the clergyman could have one of three reasons for having a different opinion.   All of these reasons extend from his knowledge of how Scoresby came to be a member of the military.   First, it is possible that Scoresby is truly an inept, but lucky, man. The reader is left to reason for him or herself whether Scoresby could possibly be that fortunate.   Twain relies on the knowledge that many people have had surprising luck in their lives, or know of people who have had such luck.   By failing to mention names of actual battles and by failing to provide the â€Å"real† name of the lieutenant general in question, the series of events might seem plausible. Second, clergyman might be operating from a feeling of guilt that he allowed Scoresby to cheat his way into the military without speaking up about his role in that cheat.   His guilty feelings might color his perspective on Scoresby’s actual successes.   After all, having gotten into a military school, it seems logical that Scoresby might have learned some practical knowledge and skills no matter how he came to be enrolled. The narrator appears to be unwilling to acknowledge this fact, however.   Finally, the clergyman might be operating from the desire to have his name attached to that of a successful man.   By crediting himself for getting Scoresby into the school while at the same time denigrating the lieutenant general’s own skills and knowledge, the clergyman makes himself more important in his own military role–at least in his own eyes. Twain uses the role of the narrator as a literary device for controlling the reader’s perspective of the subject of the story.   By injecting a first person narrator into the action of the story, Twain creates a situation whereby the reader’s perception is easily manipulated.   Ultimately, however, the reader is left to decide on the authenticity of the story, due to the unreliability of the narrator.   Ã‚  In the end, the reader must decide on the actual role of both the narrator and of the possible role of luck over the course of Lieutenant-General Scoresby’s career. Work Cited Twain, Mark.   â€Å"Luck.†   Publication.   City: Publishing House, date.

A Trip to an Unfamiliar Place

Adwoa A Adu 10/1/12 English 101 Final Draft A Trip to an unfamiliar place It all started when I was called to see the principal of my school (high school), we were actually five girls involved and we were travelling to England because we had an exchange program with a school in Kent, England called the Weald of Kent Grammar School for girls. I was so excited because it was my first time travelling outside Africa and it did have a good impact on me. In all, we were about thirty students chosen and these students should be good academically and also have good morals.Before we left for England there were a lot of preparations we did while we were inn school, we learnt some new dances, poems in French and other dialects in my country Ghana, this part of learning dances was funny because it was so hard for since I am not a good dancer but I made it through at the end. We also learnt other cultures because we were going to have some presentations in the school and we didn’t forget d iseases that are killing Africans like Malaria, AIDS, Tuberculosis and so on, we did researches on these when we went back home on vacation. We came back to school from our vacation with our luggage ready to leave for England.From school to the airport was very boring, it was about an hour and thirty minutes’ drive, we left school around 6pm and arrived at the airport 8:30pm our plane was taking off at 12 midnight so we hanged around the airport for a couple of hours. My dad was there with so was other parents with their daughters. I had mixed feelings at the time my dad was there till he left because I was sad and the fact that I was leaving him and happy because I was travelling to a place I had never been before. We checked in at 10pm and the plane took off at 12 midnight.It was boring in the plane so I slept from Ghana to Morocco where we made a transit and we took another plane from Morocco to London Airport where the Weald of Kent girls picked us from they took us to th eir school and we met the families we were going to live with I met my own family too and we went to their house. My first day with them was a feeling I can’t really express with words but I will say I was very shy because I hadn’t come into contact with British or the Whites before but after my third day I got along well with them and felt very happy living with my new family, they were very wonderful people.Except for weekends, every morning I went to school with Laura and Laura was the student I had come to live with her family. My first day at Weald of Kent Grammar School was exciting because first of all, I was marveled at the site of the school beautiful building it was and the grass are kept short and clean. Classes with them was great, we had a Social Studies and Japanese classes and I loved it I learnt some new words in Japanese language. We had classes the first week from Monday to Friday and on the weekend I spent at home with my family.The next week we went with the principal of the school to tour the city of London we went to the Buckingham Palace where the Queen of England lived, there were a lot of people around because a parade was being held in front of the palace. From there we went on to see the London Eye it’s a huge Ferris situated on the River Thames in England, we also cruised on the River Thames it was fun and a good experience. We also took some pictures in front of the Westminster Abbey this is a collegiate church of St Peter, a very large one situated in the city of Westminster my friends and family loved the pictures when I showed it to them back in Ghana.There were a lot of great thing we saw like the clock Tower in Westminster, the Tower of London, very beautiful malls where we shopped in fact I really enjoyed myself with my colleagues. In the second week, Thursday precisely, we went back to school and I attended a French class which we watched a movie we were to analyze, I loved it so much and the reason that made me enjoy their classes is their way of teaching and learning, it’s marvelous, very easy to follow the teacher, very easy to understand and it’s ok to ask questions.They have a lot of facilities that makes learning easier compared to my school in Africa where we don’t get such opportunities but if we adapted such strategies will make going to school fun and easy. On Friday night, a farewell ceremony was held at the school premises because we were leaving the next day on that night we did some African dances, recited African poems, some cultural presentations and they also gave us some performances since it was an exchange program.When I got home that Friday night, I packed all my stuff ready for tomorrow I was very sad but I spent some time with the family we talked about Ghana compared to England and the wished to visit one day. The next morning we all met at the school and a bus took us to the airport, indeed this trip was a very memorable one which is al ways in my memories especially because of the way the teachers at the school taught and how they taught us to learn changed my perception about learning and that was a very good impact it had on me and I wish to go on a trip to England the second time.

Prehistory of Bangladesh

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh GED 100: Bangladesh Studies Afsana Anjum Lecturer Room: 602 The course is concerned with the political, cultural, social and economic history of Bengal that dates back to 320 B. C. with the line drawing towards the present. Daily lifestyle, society, religion, culture, wealth of Bengal in other words how this nation gradually evolved into today’s Bangladesh is the main structure of this subject.With that, land formation, agriculture system, industry, trade and commerce, religious activities, language and literature, sculpture, art architecture- in one word all sort of activities of the people of Bengal that evolved from thousand years ago is the theme of this subject. We are trying here to find the root and trail to our present standing point in world civilization. Grading: 100 Points Unit 1: Environmental Background: weather and climate, land formation, river system, flora and fauna, mineral resources, demography, culture and religionUnit 2: Prehistory of Bangladesh Unit 3: Early historic Era (500 BC- 320 AD): Mshasthangarh and Wari-Bateshswar Unit 4: Late Historic Era-1 (320 – 550 AD): Gupta Era Unit 5: Late Historic Era-2 (525 – 750 AD): Sasanka, Gopachandra, Dharmaditya, Samachardeva, Khadga, Rata, Deva Unit 6:Early Medieval Era (750 – 1230 AD): Pala, Chandra, Sena, Varman Unit 7:Medieval Period (1204 – 1650): Sulatanate and Mughal Unit 8:Coming of Europeans and East India CompanyUnit 9:Liberation Movements: Beginning of Communalism, Birth of East Pakistan (1947), Language Movement (1948 – 52), Juktafront Electiuons (1954) , Six Point movement (1966), Mass movement of 1969 and Election in 1970, Liberation War (1971) Unit10: Political history of Bangladesh from Independence Unit 11: Bangladesh: achievements and challenges Unit 12: Review: what we've learned. References Books Banglapedia, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Bangladesher Etihas, 2006, Dr. Rahim, Dr.Chowdhury, Dr. Mahmud a nd Dr. Islam (Nouroj) History of Bengal- Vol 1 & 2 (Dhaka University) History of Bangladesh- Vol1, 2 & 3 (Asiatic  Society of Bangladesh) A History of Bangladesh- Williem Van Schendel History of Bengali speaking people- Nitish Sen Gupta Geography of Bangladesh, 1991, Haroun Er Rashid, UPL Bangladesh on the threshold of twenty first Century- Edited by Fakrul Alam & A. M. Chowdhury (Asiatic Society of Bangladesh) Bengali Literature, V C Ghosh, Oxford University PressEconomic Geography of Bangladesh- Dr. Harun ur Rashid Online Wikipedia: www. wikipedia. com http://bpedia. org/ http://www. banglapedia. org/httpdocs/bangla/index. htm http://countrystudies. us/bangladesh/ Internet History Sourcebooks Project: http://www. fordham. edu/halsall/ Project Gutenberg: http://www. Gutenberg. org/wiki/Main_Page http://www. historyguide. org/ancient/lecture18b. html http://www. hyperhistory. com/online_n2/History_n2/a. html

Healthcare Policy Analysis Essay

Its finally happening!We get to manage our own health care .Our issues with Healthcare and insurance is finally looking up in a positive way .Finding a doctor won’t be such a hassle nor will it be someone else telling you who you have to pick . Insurance won’t be so high and even has made it possible to carry insurance without it breaking our pockets each month .This new way of insurance marketing is a great idea . I feel this will save our pockets and cost of health care can finally go down .The facts are exceptional and putting a great attitude in a lot of people to feel good about going to a physician again . For the first time in most states, small businesses and consumers who do not have affordable health insurance through an employer will be able to select coverage with the confidence that they will be offered a plan, and that their premiums will predominantly reflect its value, rather than their health, gender, or occupation. Also for the first time, individuals with incomes under $92,000 for a family of four will be eligible for subsidies to help pay their premiums for plans sold through the exchanges. It is essential that federal and state governments continue to work hard to ensure that all Americans who lack health insurance can begin shopping and signing up for coverage nine months from now.What a marketplace indeed . A health insurance marketplace otherwise known as health insurance exchange .This is a government regulated and standardized health care plans in the United States. Individuals may purchase health insurance eligible for a tax reduction . All exchanges must be fully certified and operational by January 1, 2014, under federal law. The federal government has spent $2.2 billion to help states establish their health insurance exchanges, which require creating websites to let millions of small businesses and individuals in every state buy health insurance from qualified health plans.Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have received conditional approval from HHS to operate a state-run marketplace in 2014. These states are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho,  Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and Washington. HHS’ approval of these marketplaces is conditioned on the states addressi ng a short list of issues highlighted in the review process. This Issue Brief examines issues related to managed competition and the use of a health insurance exchange for the purpose of addressing cost, quality, and access to health care services. It discusses issue that must be addressed when designing an exchange in order to reform the health insurance market and also examines state efforts at health reform that use an exchange. The basic component of managed competition is the creation an organized marketplace that brings together health insurers and consumers (either as individuals or through their employers).The sponsor of the exchange would set â€Å"rules of engagement† for participating insurers and offer consumers a menu of choices among different plans. Ultimately, the goal of a health insurance exchange is to shift the market from competition based on risk to competition based on price and quality. Among the issues that need to be addressed if an exchange that uses managed competition has a realistic chance of reducing costs, improving quality, and expanding coverage: Everyone needs to be in the risk pool, with individuals required to purchase insurance or face significant financial consequences; effective risk adjustment is essential to eliminate risk selection as an insurance business model forcing competition on costs and quality; the insurance benefit must be specific and clear without standards governing cost sharing, covered services, and network coverage there is no way to assess whether a requirement to purchase or issue.has been met; and subsidies would be necessary for low income individuals to purchase insurance. The public plan option is shaping up to be one of the most contentious issues in the health reform debate. Proponents also believe a public plan is necessary to drive private insurers toward true competition. Opponents view it as a step toward government run health care and are wary of cost shifting from the public plan to private insurers. There were three key events significantly impacted the legislative session. Obamacare Became the Law of the Land,With the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the individual mandate and President Obama’s reelection, supporters and opponents of the health reform law now  accept that like it or hate it the Affordable Care Act is here to stay. This reality shifted the political tone at the Capitol, resulting in less of the fierce rhetoric from years past. Most of Colorado’s Republican lawmakers remain opposed to federal health reform, but several bipartisan bills were passed to help facilitate a smooth implementation of the law. Colorado democrats took control of both chambers and the balance of power remained the same in the colorado Senate, with Democrats holding a 20-15 seat majority. Control of the Colorado House of Representatives, however, shifted from Republicans to Democrats, who picked up five seats for a 37-28 seat majority.With control of both chambers and a Democratic governor the Democrats wielded significant power in getting their agenda passed. The economy saw slow But steady progress and difficult budget discussions and painful cost cutting dominated previous legislative sessions, but this year’s Joint Budget Committee had an easier task. Colorado’s economic recovery outpaced the nation , and General Fund dollars were up 5.5 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2013-14. With more money in state coffers, legislators restored cuts and made new investments in health care and other programs. The budget passed on a party-line vote, with Democrats praising it as a smart and strategic approach to state spending and Republicans saying it isn’t prudent enough and doesn’t spend money in the right places. Open enrollment in the Affordable Care Act’s new state insurance exchanges begins in October 2013, with coverage beginning in January 2014. For the first time in most states, small businesses and consumers who do not have affordable health insurance through an employer will be able to select coverage with the confidence that they will be offered a plan, and that their premiums will predominantly reflect its value, rather than their health, gender, or occupation. Also for the first time, individuals with incomes under $92,000 for a family of four will be eligible for subsidies to help pay their premiums for plans sold through the exchanges. It is essential that federal and state governments continue to work hard to ensure that all Americans who lack health insurance can begin shopping and signing up for coverage nine months from now.With some help from our key players health care just might work this time . Thank Obama and his team for another shot in a another chance at good h ealth . Fronstin, Paul and Ross, Murray N., Addressing Health Care Market Reform Through an Insurance Exchange: Essential Policy Components, the Public Plan Option, and Other Issues to Consider (June 2009). EBRI Issue Brief, No. 330, June 2009. Available at SSRN: http://www.ebri.org/http://ssrn.com/abstract=1426184 https://www.statereforum.org/exchange-governance http://www.apihealthcare.com/hwie?_kk=hie&_kt=afa5ea9c-2ead-4efc-84dc-d7e709e1a31b&gclid=CLKB_7aQpLkCFY9AMgodsVcA6Q Molly Voris of the Washington Health Care Authority shared the state’s enacted Exchange enabling legislation. Access the legislation here: http://www.statereforum.org/sites/default/files/final_5445.pdf T. S. Jost, Health Insurance Exchanges and the Affordable Care Act: Eight Difficult Issues, The Commonwealth Fund, September 2010. References Oapi healthcare (2013). Welcome | State Refor(u)m. Retrieved from https://www.statereforum.org/ T. S. Jost, Health Insurance Exchanges and the Affordable Care Act: Key Policy Issues, The Commonwealth Fund, July 2010.