Loren Baritz’s “God’s Country and American Know-How” Essay

In Loren Baritz’s â€Å"God’s Country and American Know-How†, it briefly describes the birth of our nation, characteristics, and theories through out America’s history. â€Å"America would become god’s country† (435) is not only the title of the summary but the basis of our founding father’s thoughts. In the begin only few words were spoken of the outside world, problems consisted within our borders that had to be dealt with. These included Indians, witches, and worst of all shrewd Yankees. The â€Å"new world was puny† (436) and could not be the protector of the free world. World War One was a large factor that increased American thinking of the â€Å"invincible war machine†(440) these thoughts continued up till World War Two, Americans now knew they we were superior, with the development of nuclear weapons technology has proven their superiority on the battlefield. JFK, Eisenhower, and George F. Kennan are just some of the examples Loren quotes from, but these great men show the change in American views and opinions. â€Å"We went to war in Vietnam in the name of ideas, of principles, of abstractions.†(438), this statement is only the beginning of America’s â€Å"city on a hill† (435) beliefs. Soon after the Vietnam War began the thinking changed from â€Å"United States could not be beaten in war† (440) to â€Å"Vietnam should have taught us that we could not continue to play the role of moral advisor and moral enforcer to the world† (437). Loren shows the readers not only the birth of our nation, but how Americans have gone from isolated to protector of free nations, and a World Power. By supporting his thoughts with quotes and grave description this story will not only open your mind to your thinking but to the thoughts of the nation we live in today. Works Cited Baritz, Loren. â€Å"God’s Country and American Know-How† Real Culture; contexts for critical reading and writing. Ed. Diana George and John Trimbor. 5th Ed. New York: Parison Longman, 2004. 434-41

Themes in Yeats’ Poetry

Themes in Yeats’  poetry You can find many themes in Yeats’ poetry. Pick what suits your own study from the themes, comments and quotes listed below. There are 86 quotes used to illustrate themes on this page (although some of them are from poems outside the current OCR selection for AS Level). You will need only a short selection of these. 1. The theme of death or old age and what it leaves behind. Death of Patriotism, leaving selfishness as the norm: ‘Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone, It’s with O’Leary in the grave’ [September 1913] Death as useless sacrifice, Home Rule might be granted: ‘Was it needless death after all?For England may keep faith For all that is done and said’ [Easter 1916] A man in old age alienated vibrant youthfulness: ‘The young in one another’s arms, birds in the trees – Those dying generations – at their song’   [Sailing to Byzantium] Death of innocence: ‘ The ceremony of innocence is drowned’ [Second Coming] The self in old age, forsaken by beauty: ‘when I awake some day to find they have flown away’ [Wild Swans] Death chosen out of a sense of despair: ‘A waste of breath the years behind, in balance with this life, this death’ [Airman] Death and destruction during civil war: ‘A man is killed, or a house burned †¦ the empty house†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [Stare’s Nest] Demise of the Aristocracy and despair at the vanity of human grandeur: ‘We the great gazebo built’ [Memory] Old age and the remnants of a confined life: ‘Picture and book remain’ [Acre] In old age, contempt for the present, defiant admiration for ancestry: ‘Cast your mind on other days That we in coming days may be Still the indomitable Irishry’   [Under Ben Bulben] Facing death with contempt for overstated ceremony: ‘No marble, no conventional phrase’ [Under Ben Bulben] Death provides a sanctuary from conflict and hatred: ‘Savage indignation there Cannot lacerate his breast’ [Swift’s Epitaph] 2. The theme of disintegration, chaos, sudden change: They have gone about the world like wind’   [September 1913] ‘scatter wheeling in great broken rings Upon their clamorous wings’ [Wild Swans] ‘I have looked upon those brilliant creatures, And now my heart is sore. All’s changed’ [Wild Swans] ‘this tumult in the clouds’ [Airman] ‘All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born’   [Easter 1916] ‘Enchanted to a stone To trouble the living stream’ [Easter 1916] ‘Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world’ [Second Coming] ‘Consume my heart away; sick with desire And fastened to a dying animal It knows not what it is’   [Sailing to Byzantium] ‘A man is killed, or a house burned, Yet no c lear fact to be discerned’ [Stare’s Nest] 3.Yeats poetry explored nature under four headings: Transience in nature’s beauty: ‘A shadow of cloud on the stream Changes minute by minute’ [Easter 1916] ‘By what lake’s edge or pool Delight men’s eyes when I awake some day To find they have flown away? ’ [Wild Swans] ‘The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas, Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long Whatever is begotten, born, and dies’ [Sailing to Byzantium] ‘But a raving autumn shears Blossom from the summer’s wreath’   [Memories] Paradoxically, Yeats saw nature as immortal in comparison to humans: ‘Their hearts have not grown old; Passion or conquest, wander where they will, Attend upon them still. [Wild Swans] The radiance of nature’s beauty: ‘I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;’ [Inisfree] ‘The trees are in their autumn beauty, Th e woodland paths are dry, Under the October twilight the water Mirrors a still sky’   [Wild Swans] ‘The long-legged moor-hens dive, And hens to moor-cocks call’ [Easter] ‘An acre of green grass For air and exercise’ [Acre] The unattractive side of nature: ‘The bees build in the crevices Of loosening masonry, and there The mother birds bring grubs and flies’   [Stare] ‘while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds’ [Second Coming] 4. Yeats explored the theme of immortality in various spheres.You can contrast the following quotes and issues with the many quotes and references to mortality highlighted in the quotes for themes one, two and three above. Politics—in a paradoxical way the Rising has changed politics and this force for change has become an immortal and steadfast national symbol: ‘Now and in time to be, Wherever green is worn, Are changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is bornâ⠂¬â„¢ [Easter 1916] Natural beauty—the swans as a species are ageless in comparison to Yeats: ‘Their hearts have not grown old; Passion or conquest, wander where they will, Attend upon them still. ’ [Wild Swans] The cycles of history [perpetually repeating millennial patterns]: ‘And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? [Second Coming] The soul and art transcend time: ‘Once out of nature I shall never take My bodily form from any natural thing, But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make to sing†¦ Of what is past, or passing, or to come’ [Sailing to Byzantium] 5. The quest for truth is fundamental, whether experienced through the emotional self, reason, imagination or at the expense of sanity. Intuitive truth: ‘I hear it in the deep heart’s core’ [Inisfree] The pursuit of national ideals at the cost of public ridicule: ‘â€Å"Some woman’s yellow hair Has madde ned every mother’s son†: They weighed so lightly what they gave’ [September 1913] Pursuit of beauty and truth by a questioning spirit: ‘Among what rushes will they build, By what lake’s edge or pool Delight men’s eyes when I awake some day To find they have flown away? [Wild Swans] Truth believed in by political fanatics: ‘Hearts with one purpose alone Through summer and winter seem Enchanted to a stone’ [Easter 1916] Truth that is fanatical and yet unemotional: ‘Too long a sacrifice Can make a stone of the heart’ [Easter 1916] Truth that is emotional, imaginative and philosophical: ‘A lonely impulse of delight Drove to this tumult in the clouds; I balanced all, brought all to mind’ [Irish Airman] Truth that is prophetic and yet based on historical cycles: ‘Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand’ [Second Coming] Cold, rational analysis of falsehood leading to t he truth: ‘We had fed the heart on fantasies, The heart’s grown brutal from the fare; More Substance in our enmities Than in our love’ [Stare] Truth attained through educating the imagination with art: ‘Nor is there singing school but studying Monuments of its own magnificence’ [Sailing to Byzantium] Truth that is philosophical, the wisdom of old age: ‘Dear shadows, now you know it all, All the folly of a fight With a common wrong or right. The innocent and the beautiful. Have no enemy but time’ [Memories] Truth that eludes reason and imagination: ‘Neither loose imagination, Nor the mill of the mind Consuming its rag and bone, Can make the truth known’ [Acre] Contrast between a passionate confession and political truths: ‘And maybe what they say is true Of war and war’s alarms, But O that I were young again And held her in my arms’ [Politics] Truth that is sentimental, defiant, emotional: ‘Cast your mind on other days That we in coming days may be Still the indomitable Irishry’ [Ben Bulben] 6. Yeats had various visions of the model Irish society.Primitive, Celtic, peasant and rural: ‘I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made’ [Inisfree] Romantic, patriotic and heroic: ‘Yet they were of a different kind, The names that stilled your childish play, They have gone about the world like wind’ [September 1913] Pastoral and aesthetic: ‘But now they drift on the still water, Mysterious, beautiful’ [Wild Swans] Comely and simple: ‘My county is Kiltartan Cross, My countrymen Kiltartan’s poor’ [Irish Airman] Aristocratic, classical and youthful: ‘and speak of that old Georgian mansion, †¦ recall That table and the talk of youth, Two girls in silk kimonos, both Beautiful, one a gazelle’ [Memories] Heroic, feudal and ancestral: ‘Sing the peasa ntry, and then Hard-riding country gentlemen, The holiness of monks, and after Porter-drinkers’ randy laughter; Sing the lords and ladies gay That were beaten into the clay Through seven heroic centuries; Cast your mind on other days That we in coming days may be Still the indomitable Irishry’   [Under Ben Bulben’s Head] 7.Yeats explored conflicting dualities, often counterbalancing the ideal and the real: The beauty of nature versus the sombre monotony of city existence: ‘I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey’ [Inisfree] The meanness of municipal policy versus the generosity of patriots: ‘For men were born to pray and save: Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone’   [September 1913] Mortality of the self versus immortality of the swan species: ‘And now my heart is sore†¦ Their hearts have not grown old’   [Wild Swans] Major Robert Gregoryâ €™s ambiguous approach to fighting for his country; this involves inversion of emotion: ‘Those that I fight I do not hate, Those that I guard I do not love’ [Irish Airman] The immortality of political heroes versus the fickleness of politics: ‘Yet they were of a different kind, The names that stilled your childish play’ [September 1913] ‘Yet I number him in the song; He, too, has resigned his part In the casual comedy’   [Easter 1916] The inversion of the relationship between commitment and morality: ‘The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity’   [Second Coming] Soul versus Body and Nature versus Art: ‘O sages †¦be the singing-masters of my soul.Consume my heart away†¦ Once out of nature I shall never take My bodily form from any natural thing’   [Sailing to Byzantium] Love versus hatred, moral inversion: ‘More substance in our enmities Than in our love†™Â   [Stare] Time versus beauty: ‘But a raving autumn shears Blossom from the summer’s wreath†¦ The innocent and the beautiful Have no enemy but time’   [Memories] Love versus politics as a shaper of human destiny: ‘How can I, that girl standing there, My attention fix On Roman or on Russian Or on Spanish politics’ [Politics] The contemporary versus the historical, the plebs versus the aristocracy, the masses versus ancestors: ‘Base-born products of base beds †¦ Still the indomitable Irishry’   [Under Ben Bulben] Two contradictory positions on the duality of life and death, one neutral, the other favouring death as a refuge from the stresses of life: ‘Cast a cold eye On life, on death’ [Under Ben Bulben] ‘SWIFT has sailed into his rest; Savage indignation there Cannot lacerate his breast’   [Swift’s Epitaph] 8. Yeats made various protests against reality during his life: Alienation from city life in London: ‘While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey’ [Inishfree] Despondency at short sighted and self-serving civic attitudes regarding the 1913 lockout and hypocritical religious devotion: ‘ You have dried the marrow from the bone?For men were born to pray and save: Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone, It’s with O’Leary in the grave’ [September 1913] Hurt at disrespect for the memory of political martyrs: ‘You’d cry, â€Å"Some woman’s yellow hair Has maddened every mother’s son†: They weighed so lightly what they gave’ [September 1913] Disillusionment at war: ‘Those that I fight I do not hate, Those that I guard I do not love;’ [Airman] Disgust at insincere nationalism, patriotic bluster: ‘Being certain that they and I But lived where motley is worn†¦ The casual comedy†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚   [Easter 1916] Criticism of political fanaticism: ‘Too long a sacrifice Can make a stone of the heart. ’ [Easter 1916] Disillusion at war, lack of civic responsibility and an apocalyptic spiral: ‘Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The lood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity’ [Second Coming] Disenchantment at materialism, hedonism and neglect of art: ‘Caught in that sensual music all neglect Monuments of unageing intellect’ [Sailing to Byzantium] Anger at the inhumanity of political ideologies: ‘We had fed the heart on fantasies, The heart’s grown brutal from the fare: More substance in our enmities Than in our love’ [Stare] Rage at the pettiness of national politics: ‘for men were born to pray and save’ [September 1913] ‘Conspiring among the ignorant’ [Memories] Fierce resistance in old age to the demise of the mind: ‘Grant me an o ld man’s frenzy, Myself must I remake’ [Acre] Mockery of world affairs: ‘How can I, that girl standing there, My attention fix On Roman or on Russian Or on Spanish politics? ’ [Politics] Yeats Fascistic or class hatred against the Irish working class: ‘Scorn the sort now growing up All out of shape from toe to top, Their unremembering hearts and heads Base-born products of base beds’ [Ben Bulben] Dislike of pompous burials: ‘No marble, no conventional phrase’ [Ben Bulben] Contempt for materialistic and unthinking people: ‘Imitate him if you dare, World-besotted traveller’ [Swift]

A Chip off The Old Block-Bluster Essay

Background to the problem Mr Something runs a small business called A Chip off The Old Block-Bluster. Mr Something is the makes of Blockbusters son. He has only left him a little bit of inheritance and wanted him to produce a business that was just as good as his. He currently has a shop in slough High Street. He only gets a few customers a day. He keeps track of people’s record manually and would like to use his father’s money to set up an electronic system that only requires a few manual entries. The Current System Mr Something currently uses cards to manage his business. He has 2 types of cards. 1 card is his business card to hand out to people to show where his shop is, his name, telephone, his email and his fax. The other type of card is a customer card. The customer card has the shop logo on it and the customers name on it. It is a card made out of card and is laminated to protect it from damage. If the customer does not have a card, he issues one to them for a price of 20p if they wish to rent DVD’s again. He collects their name, address, DOB and home number. The card can have data printed on it with a permanent ink. It shows when the DVD must be returned by. The ink can be erased using a special spray and a cloth. This is costly and takes some time. It can sometimes irritate the customer depending on how long it takes. He creates the card by designing it on Microsoft publisher and printing it off using a dot matrix printer and laminates it. He also keeps a paper record. It has a table with the same details as on the card and the name of the DVD rented and the date it must be returned by. He writes it by hand using a pen while the customer is renting the DVD. If the DVD is not returned by the date set for return, then he uses mail merge to send a letter to the customer saying that the DVD must be returned by 4 days after the letter has been sent and if not, there will be a higher charge. If it continues then the police will be involved. Mr Something calls it the record sheet. The record sheets are stored in a briefcase that is locked and is stored in a cupboard that is overhead that is also locked. This reduces the chances of burglars getting their hands on the customer’s details. Problems with the system The current problems with the system are: * It takes time for Mr Something to enter in the customers details onto the record sheet. * The laminated cards that he gives to his customers are easily damaged by peeling away the laminated layer * The cleaning liquid is expensive to buy and therefore makes little profit * The manual methods take very long which hold up the customer. The end user’s requests The end user would like: * a computerised system * a homepage that can navigate through the whole system easily * searches that can be easily used * a window that can search through records * something that can add files to the records file * something that can show the charges of overdue DVDs Possible Solutions A non-ICT solution could be to use cards. There could be three files, one for members, one for DVDs and one for loans. But this could lead to problems as cards can get damaged as easily as log books, and they aren’t very practical. Cards can also get lost, and this solution is quite time consuming. Cards could also be quite expensive. Word processing and presentation programmes are unsuitable for this solution. Word processors couldn’t store the information properly, although a table could be made to store the files. Reports and queries cannot be made on a word processing document. The information could not be structured properly. Presentation software couldn’t be used as they are made really for displaying information to an audience. Both of these solutions could not be used to store structured data. A spreadsheet programme could be used. Rows and tables could be made to store the data. However, this could be quite repetitive. Three different tables would have to be made. Each DVD would have to be repeated every time it was lent. This would be quite frustrating and time consuming. Using a relational database seems like the best solution for the DVD rental. It can be used to store lots of data and reduce the amount of repetition of it. Queries can be used to extract data quickly and easily. This could be used to find overdue DVDs, solving the problem of undetected overdue fines. Separate tables can be made easily, which can be linked in a relationship. Wizards can be used to make queries and reports quickly without mistakes. Databases also contain validation tools which stop input errors. Length check can be used on the fields to stop mistakes. Primary keys can be made to number DVDs and members. Objectives The system should have the following: * it should be neat and tidy for easy reading * There should be a report to show the overdue DVDs and their price. * Charges should be calculated automatically. * The navigation should be easy with clearly labelled command buttons. * The system should be able to save data on customers and DVDs without confusion.

Monitor and control Project Work Speech or Presentation

Monitor and control Project Work - Speech or Presentation Example The reasons that justify proper control and monitoring of projects and the inputs and outputs of a project that are managed are to be discussed. The Project Control Cycle is also explained during the presentation which ends with concluding remarks on the when, where and how of project monitoring and control. Reasons For Project Monitoring and Control Because it is not realistic that things will at all time progress in accordance to the laid down plan, project monitoring and control becomes necessary for all projects (Watt 9). This is so especially for large projects which are likely to face more changes, recommendations and requests during the process of implementation. Even if there are a lot of preparation and planning for a project, it is necessary to prepare for twists within the initial plan because this is bound to be experienced. More importantly, the monitoring and controlling projects are necessary because it enables the project manager to detect any alterations, changes or deviations from the initial plan of the project. Through this detection, the project manager is allowed to react to the deviation of the plan through proper decision making. The changes which are to be expected to the plan of a project include the human resource, materials, equipment, time, tasks, money and space. The people or expertise that is responsible for implementation of a project is likely to change in terms of motivation, creativity and overall performance. Therefore project monitoring becomes important because project managers are able to detect such changes and as a result employ ways in which the human resource can be motivated to be more creative, communicative and interactive. Through the motivation of the human resource, the project manager will promote the efficiency at which the completion of the project is to be achieved. Changes in equipment or machines include technological changes which may affect the speed at which the project is to be completed. Additionally, new equipment may be required to execute specific aspects of a project. This reflects changes in cost which must be anticipated by the project manager and dealt with due consideration of the cost benefit factors of the project. The time at which the project is to be completed may be extended (Maheshwari and Howard 15). Therefore project motoring and control is necessary to detect the changes and constraints in time and ensure that the deadlines of implementing the project do not deviate significantly from the time that was allocated for the project in the initial plan. Tasks are also likely to change in the course of the project. This will lead to change requests from the stakeholders of the projects. The requests for change include extension of space, change of equipment and increased compensation. This is a justification of project monitoring and control. It is argued that â€Å"the change requests are evaluated and approved or rejected in the Perform Integrated Change Control p rocess† (Mulcahy 122). It is necessary to screen a project through a procedural process to aid decision making for possible abandonment, pursuance, acceptance or rejection of the project proposal idea (Olawale and Ming 513). This is another significant justification for monitoring and co

Causes and Effects of Unemployment and Examination of Government Essay

Causes and Effects of Unemployment and Examination of Government Policies to Reduce It - Essay Example There are four major categories of Unemployment: Cyclical, Classical, Frictional and Structural (Politics.Co.Uk, 2011). Each of these categories of unemployment has different roots. Cyclical unemployment is mainly linked to variations in the business cycles. It often takes place when the economy is passing through a recession. In such a phase, the demand for goods and services decreases in the economy, which results in firms cutting down on output and laying off workers. This is considered to be the chief cause of Unemployment. The 2007-08 global recession resulted in soaring cyclical unemployment in the United Kingdom with the unemployment figures going past 2.5 million in May 2010, the highest for almost two decades (Kornacki, 2011). The second important category of Unemployment is Classical unemployment. It is also known as Real Wage Unemployment. It takes place when an attempt is made to synthetically keep the wages above the equilibrium formed between the supply and demand curve s. For instance, economic institutions such as a strong trade union may influence the movement of wages beyond the equilibrium resulting in surplus labour supply and thereby causing Classical Unemployment. Frictional Unemployment is the third category of Unemployment. This type of unemployment is related to people being in between jobs. It is considered to be the time phase between jobs or when a worker is switching from one job to another. It is believed to be an everlasting phenomenon in the economy as there are always employers finding workers and workers searching jobs. Mismatch between workers and employers often occur in the economy due to disparity of interests between them with regard to factors such as payment, location, mind-set, etc. The last major category of Unemployment is the Structural Unemployment. It is usually caused due to mismatch of skills and location. For instance, there may be jobs available which require certain type of skills; however, if the workers do no t possess the appropriate skills, then this results in unemployment. Structural Unemployment in the coal mining industry of the United Kingdom rose sharply in the early 1980’s as new technology in the form of Nuclear energy came into the picture. In the case of a mismatch of location, jobs may exist in some other part of the country but workers might not be able to move there due to personal or other reasons (Himmelweit et al, 2001). There are benefits as well as costs of unemployment. The prime benefit associated with this phenomenon is that it keeps the inflation down, which too has severe effects on the economy. The other benefits in the view of the employers are that workers are available to employ; and they would work hard as well, due to the fear of getting unemployed. There are mainly two types of costs of unemployment, individual and social. With regard to the individual, unemployment paralyzes the individual’s ability to tackle financial requirements related t o oneself or one’s family, resulting in stress and diseases which can lead to severe depression as well. Socially, higher unemployment means lack of utilization of economic resources, particularly labour. Moreover, unemployment also leads to social evils such as

Codfish market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Codfish market - Essay Example There has been a decline in the production of codfish from the staggering 810,000 in 1968 to the 750,000 of 2008. The pricing per block of codfish has increased over that period because of the decreased supply of cod fish in the market. 4. Based on the (limited) information available in the posted sources, and your general economic knowledge, what factors have probably shifted the demand (curve) for cod, up or down, between 1968 and 2008? The demand of cod has been affected by the Canadian government policy on its production. The 1992 ban that closed the Northeast fishing beds affected the availability of cod in the fish market ultimately becoming inexistent until two decades later. 5. Based on the data in Figure 3 in the 1973 article, identify years in which the demand for cod must have shifted (compared to the year before) and which way it must have shifted. Looking at the entire twelve-year period, rather than year-by-year, is it clear what happened to demand between 1960 and 1971? The years where demand shifted include 1960-1962 the demanded of cod shifted upwards. From 1963-1965 the demand shifted upwards while 1965-1967 the demand shifted downwards. From 1969-1971 the demand for cod shifted upwards. Newfoundland, in 1968, produced 810, 000 metric tons of Atlantic cod. This figure represents the world’s total of cod at the time. The area produced 100% of all the Atlantic cod in the world. In 1992, Newfoundland produced almost zero metric tons of Atlantic cod. 7. One normally expects a competitive market to generate efficient levels of production. Do you think Canadian cod production was efficient from 1948-68? If a single firm had owned exclusive rights to the fishing grounds, then would this have likely led to the same or different levels of production? Would that solution have been more or less efficient? Which market failure(s) apply to this

INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW - Essay Example p570) . A letter of credit instrument is generally issued by a bank against two types of bills, they are demand bills and usance bills (Massood, A. 2008).To decrease the credit risk to sellers in both domestic as well as foreign trade practice is the most important purpose of letter of credit.. When a bank issues a letter of credit in favor of a customer, it surrogates its creditworthiness for that customer (Borcky. R. 1999). There are two types of letter of credit; they are standby letter of credit and documentary letter of credit. Documentary letter of credits can again be categorized into revocable and irrevocable. The revocable letter of credit is particularly rare in usage. Irrevocable letter of credit can be confirmed or unconfirmed letter of credit. Every type of letter of credits has its advantages as well as its disadvantages for the buyers and sellers. The charges of each type of letter of credit may vary according to its characteristics. The more the bank assures payment, higher will be the charges of it (Borcky. R. 1999). Without an agreement between the concerned parties, an irrevocable letter of credit cannot be cancelled before a particular date. A revocable letter of credit can be changed anytime without previous discussions by the bank which issues it. A confirmed letter of credit includes backing by the issuing bank and its correspondents promising payments of all drafts. At the same time an unconfirmed letter of credit will not have any guarantee that the bank will make payments on drafts in case of non payment from the buyer. A stand by letter of credit is a conditional obligation by the issuing bank that it will make payment to the chosen beneficiary if the banks client fails to execute as per the terms of the contract (Letter of credit. 2009). Letters of credit are more or less separate transactions. They are totally different from bank guarantees. The

Term Paper _Cost Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Term Paper _Cost Accounting - Essay Example In this novel the authors have used their creativity to talk about the managerial issues faced by employees in the western working environment and the possible repercussions of the prevalent state of affairs that are required to be addressed on immediate basis in the corporate sector before it’s all too late. Theory of Constraints The authors add the element of surprise and interest in the story by subjecting Alex Rogo to â€Å"cross-road† situation where he has to save his job in a period of just 90 days bearing in mind that his domestic life is also not running smoothly as his marriage is turning out to be disaster as well. Under such intricate scenarios the authors try to explain and introduce the famous â€Å"Theory of Constraints†. The Theory of Constraints is one the most widely used theories in the business environments today as it is applicable to a wide variety of processes involved in Operations and Project management. Bottlenecks Identifying bottleneck s at the right time is also another aspect addressed in the book. Bottlenecks and their identification are very important managerial tasks that the corporate governance looks to be performed at the right time by its managers. The bottlenecks refer to the blockages and hindrances that a particular department faces during the process of accomplishing the desired goals. Bottlenecks ultimately end up bringing loss of numerous working hours and costing huge percentages of revenues every year for a lot many companies in the corporate world. The idea of bottlenecks and means of identifying and improving on them are also described by using the personality of Alex Rogo and his team in the novel. The advantages of rectifying bottleneck activities and enhancing the efficiency of the system on the whole, were portrayed in the novel in terms of the goals achieved by Alex Rogo and his team, yielding huge benefits. Socratic Method An outstanding feature of the story is the Socratic Method, a magic al tool that solves the problem without any outside assistance being craved for, used by the authors. A character, Jonah, introduces this methodology to Alex and his team in the novel. The Socratic Method is to ask a question regarding a problem to the people affected. This question will initiate a series of questions that the affected would answer themselves and ultimately will reach a solution to the problem. This method was not only fruitful for Alex in his professional life but it also turned the tables in his favor in his domestic life with his wife. The rhetoric used in the novel by the authors involves the reader in the story and makes one feel as if the situation is being experienced or witnessed in real time and this consequently enhances the learning and experience. Activity Based Costing In relation with theory of Constraints various vital concepts of Management and Cost Accounting were also discussed in the book such as the severity of Activity Based Costing (ABC) in ide ntifying the weak links or inefficient practices in the process chains and why Traditional Cost Accounting (TCA) should not be used. ABC focuses on â€Å"what needs to be done?† while TCA is more concerned about â€Å"how it needs to be done?† because of being process focused ABC enables the companies to identify bottlenecks and to reduce costs at every stage in the production process while TCA is just about getting a task done in a conventional method without questioning the

Student Support in Open and Distance Learning Essay

Student Support in Open and Distance Learning - Essay Example Quoting Nonyongo (2002), Tait (2003) said the UNISA was not successful due to low success in terms of completion and throughput rates, the correspondence nature of programmes in comparison with well-functioning distance education, and inadequate learner support which is exacerbated by the lack of a co-ordinated regional network of learning centers. From here, Tait (2003) emphasizes the dangers of developing distance education without learner support. In contrast to UNISA, Tait (2003) describes the Open University UK established in 1969 with modern distance education endowed with a range of teaching and learning media and forming an integrated student support system. The characteristics of the systems included a personal tutor for each student (one tutor for every 25 students), tutor feedback, computer-mediated tutorials, 260 study center networks, residential school experience at a minimum of one week, and career advice. Tait (2003) then explains the main reasons for having student support integrated in an ODL system. First, the students want support. Second, drop-out rate can be reduced; and third, the nature of learning is such that the use of the Web has expanded the potential for learning outside or independently of teaching materials provided. He then summarizes the rationale for student support as being cognitive, affective, and systemic altogether. In other words, learning is both supported and developed; it relates to emotions supporting learning and its success; and the students themselves help manage the rules supporting their persistence (Tait, 2000). In particular, Tait (2003) espouses Michael Moore's (1993) theory of transactional distance as a framework that may be used to understand student needs in a web-based learning environment. Accordingly, Moore believes that the space between the learner and the structure of teaching must be mediated by dialogue, giving the chance to the learner to participate actively in his learning. Tait (2003), however says, the theory needs to be challenged as all theories do by the application of new cases. As the article opened up, I get the feeling that Tait (2003) is plugging for the Open University of UK because he worked there as faculty. As the article progressed, however, he presented many points valid from experience, and he became more credible. Words like, "power of mere asynchronous text to create and sustain interpersonal engagement" is true to the experience of many in this cyber-age. This now highlights the truism that face-to-face interaction may also suffer from various "distance" like psychological, interpersonal, cultural, linguistic, environmental, and the like. Tait (2003) is well-versed with his topic on student support in web-based learning environments. Prior to this writing, he had already written scholarly publications on student support and distance learning from 1996 to 2000 to 2002. By the time he wrote this reflective item, Tait (2003) had already sharpened his arguments over much. In fact, although he was espousing Moore's (1993) theory of transactional distance, he was laying it down for examination and possible criticism. It appears that Tait (2003) is ready for new developments. I would rate the article a 4 because of his readiness

Influx of Migrant Workers Is Not a Good Move Essay Example for Free

Influx of Migrant Workers Is Not a Good Move Essay In today’s competitive world of development, Malaysia perceives a huge aim of becoming an industrialized country in this region. In order to accomplish the mission, the workforce definitely is being empowered and one of the methodologies used is importing migrant workers. This is a good step indeed for Malaysia’s development; however in the present the issue of migrant workers flooding our country is uttered to be tormenting. Despite the fact that the influxes of foreign labors are such assisting shoulders to our country’s competitiveness in industrialization, I believe that their invasion to Malaysia is not a good move. Those who opposed to the decision agreed that the increment of crime cases and social problems in our country are the doings of our Malaysians itself. This is because there are over 20 million numbers of Malaysians in this country, compared to only 1.9 million of registered migrant workers here. However, this fact is conventional. There are many crime cases are proven done by foreign labors such as robbery and murder that donated to the increasing of the already huge numbers of crimes done caused by Malaysians. For instance in the famous local television program 999 on 7th of April 2011, they had revealed that Kota Bharu Police Contingent had made a raid in a budget hotel near Kota Bharu and they managed to catch a couple of foreign workers having illegal sexual intervention as well as possessing drugs. People should understand the word of ‘increment’. When a little number of crimes is done frequently, it will surely contribute to the increment of crime cases to our country and its possibility to be severer is high. Next, the opponents also claimed that our Malaysians are too picky compared to migrant workers in terms of hunting jobs. This is because they believe that many employers offer low payment to Malaysians as much as to the foreign labors. However, in this situation we cannot put the blame on our people only. According to Evelyn Devadason of East Asian Bureau of Economic Research, there are a total of 1.9 million registered foreign workers, constituting approximately 21 per cent of the workforce (2011). The total, added with another millions of unregistered foreign labors is enough to make the job opportunities amongst Malaysians flounder to be restricted. In a project paper entitled Migrant Labor in Malaysia: Impact and Implications of the Asian Financial Crisis written by Syarisa Yanti Abubakar, she mentioned that NEAC (National Economic Action Council) reported at 1998 that the crisis or poverty amongst Malaysians was caused by limitations imposed on labor absorption and income-earning opportunities (2002). One of the factors of the limitation was because of influx of foreign labors. Employers tend to hunt migrant workers because they do not demand expensive payment. However, by without anyone realizing the opportunity of our Malaysians to get a job becomes narrower. In addition, not all of Malaysians are picky when it comes to finding a job. It is just that the chance for them to work is closed due to influx of migrant workers. Apart from that, the opponent of the notion of invasion of migrant workers is a good move agreed that issues regarding the problems caused by migrant workers can be settled in a very civilized manner. Small issue can be brought over into a disputation by without causing conflicts among countries. Nevertheless, the influx of migrant workers into our country can still bring negative impacts between Malaysia and its collaborating countries. Many parties are inclined to take any issues, be it small or big, diminutively by without grasping that relationship between Malaysia and partnering countries such as Indonesia, Myanmar and Philippines can be affected. For example, the case of abuse of an Indonesian maid, Nirmala Bonat few years ago had contravened a conflict between two countries. Not only that, few cases happened over migrant workers in Malaysia had also caused inconvenience among Malaysians who stayed overseas due to threats. A bond-breaking can lead to economic downturn to both countries involved. In conclusion, this essay has shown that the influx of migrant workers is not a good move at all. Government and private parties should reconsider about taking more migrant workers into our country so that any more serious issues will not occur as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. It is reasonable to have migrant workers as assisting shoulders to our country’s development but there should be limitation in terms of numbers of them. Regarding the already flooding issue of problems caused by influx of migrant workers, equal treatment for them must not only be provided but also enforced so that all parties will get the win-win situation.

Binge Drinking in the UK: Causes and Effects | Essay

Binge Drinking in the UK: Causes and Effects | Essay Drinking ourselves to death? This essay will look into the question as to whether we are a nation that is on the verge of drinking ourselves to death, despite the ever increasing health warnings raised by the government and the National Health Service, about the consequences of consuming too much alcohol. A vast majority of individuals still seem to be regularly binge drinking without thinking about the devastating damage that they are doing to their bodies. It will also examine the ever demanding costs of alcohol related incidents that the National Health Service have to deal with upon a daily basis. It will look at the alcohol ‘strategies’ made by both the Labour government in 2004 and the Conservative government in 2010, to help tackle the problems related to alcohol. Furthermore I will look to evaluate whether the current alcohol policies proposed by the present government are helping to tackle the ever increasing problems related to binge drinking. It will also examine the tricks that the media use to try and persuade individuals to consume an unsafe amount of alcohol. Along with shocking evidence that a unit of alcohol is unbelievably cheaper that a bottle of water! The first section of this essay will discuss the current problems relating to binge drinking. Secondly I will look to evaluate as to whether the policies that have been imposed by the Labour government and Conservative government are actually helping to resolve the problems, caused by individuals choosing to consume considerable amounts of alcohol. Thirdly I will expose the ‘tricks’ that the supermarkets and media use in order to encourage individuals to consume unsafe amounts of alcohol. Along with this I will add some recent research conducted by myself to find out about the unit price of a number of different wines and spirits. The last section of this essays will discuss as to whether I believe the current binge drinking problem has spiralled out of control. Plus if the government has in fact left the long list of consequences attributable to alcohol related accidents and violence, far too late to tackle. Firstly the main point to be raised about the irresponsible drinking habits of individuals in Britain. Are they young adults who choose to pre-drink before going out clubbing, sometimes these young individuals can be under the drinking age? Or young individuals who are choosing to drink more than the recommend safe amount. The nation seems to have an irresponsible relationship with alcohol consumption, which leads to individuals choosing to binge drink as the result. The true reality of the impact of the nation’s irresponsible drinking habits can be highlighted in research, which was conducted by The Home Office in 2010. It is estimated that in a community of 100,000 people each year: 2,000 people will be admitted to hospital with an alcohol related condition. A 1,000 people will be victims of alcohol related violent crimes. Over 3,000 will be binge drinking. (Drugs and Alcohol Unit, 2012: 6) Sadly those who choose to drink to the extent where they became paralytic are often t he ones, who end up needing medical treatment. Moreover it is the Accident and Emergency departments throughout Britain that are consistently clogged, mainly at night, with individuals that have been injured or have become ill due to the result of excessive alcohol consumption. The Police also have to deal with individuals that choose to repeatedly drink irresponsibly. It is believed that at peak times 70% of all admissions to Accident and Emergency are in fact alcohol related (Cabinet Office, 2004: 9).This means that there is ever increasing pressure being put upon these services trying to deal with real emergencies. The Labour Government calculate the cost of the health service treating alcohol misuse to be  £1.7 billion per annum (Cabinet Office, 2004: 12). Clearly there is a number of points to be raised about individual’s irresponsible attitudes when it comes to alcohol consumption. Furthermore the admissions to hospital because of alcohol related violence and accidents could in fact start to rapidly increase. In a report by the Home Office, almost two million people more than six percent of men and two percent of women, were consuming more than what is regarded as the safe level of alcohol. (Baggot, 2004: 203) What these individuals do not realise is that by drinking alcohol to the extent they do, may causing them to develop extreme health complications in the future. They could develop kidney failure, liver damage and a number of different forms of cancer. Secondly this section will look to identity some of the policies the government have imposed in order to tackle the nation’s irresponsible drinking. Before the government can introduce a new set of policies they need to identify the aims. Moreover, in order to justify a national alcohol policy there needs to be an acceptance that alcohol has a profound effect upon society as a whole and that in the interest of the public good there is a need to combine the regulation of alcohol use with actions to attenuate the actual or potential consequences (Ratistrick, Hodgson and Ritson, 1999: 19). In order to impose a new set of policies the government needs to consider a number of different circumstances, as to which interventions will work to prevent the current problem. The government may consider imposing a set of polices within the interest of protecting the basic rights of individuals, whilst considering the overall safety of the public. Sometimes governments can make mistakes. The shocking decision that was made in 2000 when the Labour government, introduced plans to alter the licensing laws proposing a dramatic relaxation in those provisions covering hours of sale in England and Wales(Baggot,2000: 206). Probably one of the biggest mistakes that any government has made regarding the effects it has had upon increased binge drinking and consequently public health. On the other hand the current government has imposed some ambitions that they believe will help curb the problem with the nation’s irresponsible drinking habits. They have three main ambitions these include, a change in behaviour so that people think it is not acceptable to drink in ways that could cause harm to themselves or other. Along with a reduction in the amount of alcohol fuelled violent crime and a reduction in the number of adults drinking above the NHS guidelines (Drugs and Alcohol Unit, 2012: 5). There has been slight improvements in the reduction of alcohol fuelled violent crimes when Police Forces have imposed alcohol removal zones in certain towns and cities. Where any individual caught with alcohol in these areas will have it removed. Although this scheme seems to be working to reduce the number of crimes occurring due to alcohol, the same cannot to be said for the majority of the country. Recently the Home Office have introduced a series of posters highlightin g the problem of drinking too much alcohol too early. They hoped that the posters would highlight that drinking before going out clubbing, can cause you to become ill and miss out on the fun later on. However it seems that the message is not getting through. There are still many individuals choosing to drink above the recommend safe guidelines. Thirdly the media maybe one of the contributing factors to the nations binge drinking. With a constant stream of adverts that show individuals enjoying alcohol in a number of different social situations. There seems to be a cultural representation of the drinking mirror society in a way that shapes and reinforces the public discourse on alcohol related problems. (Ratistrick, Hodgson and Ritson, 1999: 145) However not all the blame can be put upon the media. Supermarkets and independent shops are just as much to blame, by advertising ever increasingly cheap deals. Whether the deals be three boxes of beer for  £21 or two bottles of wine for  £10. They are still encouraging purchases of a vast amount of alcohol. Pubs and clubs may also be blamed for the ever increasing spiralling out of control of the binge drinking nation. Pubs and clubs sometimes have deals on certain spirits or beers. Some clubs even advertise cheap entry and cheap drink deals to lure individuals into drinking va st amounts of alcohol. On the other hand the argument here is that some young people do not seem to worry about what binge drinking does to themselves or others. (Wechsler and Wuethrich, 2002: 157) Furthermore some health professionals have argued that there needs to be a stricter unit price. The Conservative Government did state that they were going to impose a minimum unit price of 50p, however this is yet to come into force. After conducting some research of my own on Monday 3 rd. February 2014 it came back with some surprising results. In order to work out the unit price, an individual needs to divide the price by the number of units. For example a  £4.99 bottle of wine has 9.8 units, meaning each unit costs 50p, along with  £ 1.93 bottle of cider has 10.6 units , meaning that each unit costs 18p. Shockingly a unit of alcohol costs less than a bottle of water at  £1.00 or a packet of chocolate at 70p. Lastly in this essay I have researched as to whether the nation is in fact drinking itself to death. Firstly the fact that it costs the National Health Service  £1.7 billion in order to treat incidents related to alcohol is shocking. However as highlighted in the third section of this essay the government has imposed some policies to try and tackle the binge drinking problem. Although some of these policies seem to be helping to reduce the problem slightly, others seem to be having the reserve effect. Moreover it is clear that there should be a reduction of the licensing laws. On the other hand perhaps imposing that minimum unit price of 50p may help to reduce the current binge drinking culture. Bibliography Baggot. R, 2000, Public Health Policy and Politics, Hampshire, Palgrave Cabinet Office, Strategy Unit, 2004, Alcohol Harm and Reduction Strategy, H.R.S.O, London Drugs and Alcohol Unit, 2012, The Government’s Alcohol Strategy, London, Home Office Ratistrick. D, Hodgson. R and Ritson, 1999, Tackling alcohol Together the Evidence Base of a UK policy, London, Frist Association Books Wechsler H and Wuethrich, 2002,  Dying to drink confronting Binge drinking on college campuses USA, St. Martin’s Press

Social Media Effecting Political Democracies World Wide Media Essay

Social Media Effecting Political Democracies World Wide Media Essay This paper will attempt to distinguish the connections between democratization and information and communications. The relationship will be addressed by focusing mainly on how the advancement of technology, in this case social media, has effected, and is effecting, political democracies world wide. In order to discuss the connections of democratisation and social media I will first attempt to provide a definition for democracy and the process of democratization. The essay will further discuss different scenarios in various countries that have either led to the declination of political empires, or assisted the rise of a political party, through the involvement of social media. Furthermore, these views will be supported by discussing the contrasting views of a cyber-utopian versus a cyber-cynic, i.e. Clay Shirky versus Evgeny Morozov, respectively. Democracy and its roots In order to understand democracy, it needs to be defined and like most concepts it is relative, like Clinton once quoted depends on how you define democracy. According to Ivo Mosley democracy is government by and for all the people which literally means the people rule'. However the definition has evolved through history, which is why it is necessary to backdate to its origins tracing it into the present. (Charles Tilly, 2007, Democracy, Cambridge University Press, New York). The word democracy originates from a Greek word demokratia and literally means people-power and this in itself is ambiguous. The ambiguity of the term aroused questions such as; did the power actually belong to the masses or specific qualified individual citizens? Many theorists believed that the word demokratia was a term exploited by enemies of democracy, said to be the elite class who were against being out voted by laymen who were classed to be economically and socially inferior. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/greekdemocracy_01.shtm) However, over the centuries democracy rose, fell and varied in character, where and when it multiplied (Charles Tilly, 2007). In the 18th century despite not being defined as democracy, the US showed interest in experimenting with the doctrine of natural freedom and equality. Their Constitution administrated a government elected by the masses and took into account to protect civil rights and liberties to some extent. (Jacqueline Newmyer, Present from the start: John Adams and America, Oxonian Review of Books, 2005, vol 4 issue 2). By the 19th century many European regimes adopted the Greek democratic model. They made effort to provide equality and citizen rights. Democracy, as a concept, can be molded according to local needs, however is not a blueprint that can be copied and pasted in all regions of the globe. It did, however, gain popularity around the 20th century; after WWII many new countries came into being due to decolonization, when democracy as a concept caught on, not because it was a norm the world valued, but because it was used as a weapon against the threat of communism. This was also the basis of the onset of the cold war. It was the war of ideologies, and democratization of the newly independent states begun. As Potter stated why has democratization been a strong impulse in some countries, a weaker or non-existent impulse in others? (1997, Democtatization, Blackwell, pg.1) He then defined democratization as political changes moving in a democratic direction (pg 3). Webster (2011) stated in his lectures that democracy is on the march, majority of the worlds states are now democratic. Amartya Sen (1999) defined democracy as A un iversal value. According to freedom house (2006) 47% of countries in the world are classified as free. Though the statistics show that the concept of democracy is being enforced around the globe, it is difficult to adapt in some parts of the world. North Korea being one of the controversial cases where they state that the country is officially the democratic peoples republic of Korea. According to modern economists North Korea is strikingly different as it is cut off from the existing world as they live in their own separate reality, where the leaders of the country maintain complete control and the masses have restricted freedom of expression; anyone opinionated against the regime can be detained. Many theorists including Potter and Barber discuss the existence of different political regimes in terms of strong and week democracies, also known as liberal and partial economy that lead to either the rise or the fall of economies. The USA being a prime example a capitalistic and democratic country enforcing democratization on nations as a tool to gain world dominance, or even to maintain their existing status as the global super-power. However the means of public expression, which is being enhanced through the internet and its various means of communication, is becoming a more accurate form of democratic thought. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Orkut, Hi5, Twitter, and even blogs has evolved to allow civil society to become more active in the governance in its countries. It has encouraged the process of bringing about a tool that enhances democracy through the true will of the people, even in strong dictatorship regimes. Within research, academics have attempted to explore civil society to explain processes of democratization by reference to societal context (laurence white head, 2002, democratization, theory 7 experience, oxford univeristy press). Macmillan defines civil society as the part of society that consists of organizations and institutions that look after people, their health and their rights. It does not include government of the family e.g NGOs, research institutes, e.t.c. http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/civil-society This leads to an interesting concept explored by Habermas which reflects suspicions on markets ability to answer democracys needs the public sphere concept that aids civil society to communicate. It focuses on social democratic perspective on information and society. Where citizens can get together and freely express their opinons. Webster lecture 2011). Benkler (2007:123) foucses on internet as one of the strong mediator to public sphere. which then gi ves birth to the rise of social media in playing a vital role in deciding the faith of these democratic nations. Gary C. Gibson December 20, 2007 a bloggist defined Democracy is about individual liberty and political primacy; corporatism and other forms of neo-authoritarianism such as socialism are about the primacy of collectives under the authority of elites. Another bloggist Rahman Haq March 21, 2008 stated Democracy is a beautiful concept not particularly for its denotative implication that puts the majority opinion into context but rather due to the values and ideals that constitute the bundles of liberties derivative of the concept. While Rayne Brit may 13 2008 commented that One of the most fantastic parts about democracy is freedom of speech everyone likes freedom of speech unless someone speaks in contradiction to them. But that is the beauty of our constitution it allows diversity of opinion. http://www.helium.com The key elements in this process of a public sphere are communication and information. How important are these to democracy and what is the link between them? The power of Communication/Information and the birth of social media In the modern society we live in, communication and information have rapidly built great importance and brought about a turning point in different sectors. (McNair, 2006:1). The information society plays a vital role in the development of the modern social analysis (webster, (2004), The Information Society Reader Routledge). The fast paced wide spreading of globalization and the rising of the network society have led this modern society to heavily depend on them, impacting the society to rely on informative communication networks that possess knowledge and views to either built or unbuilt trust, the decisive source of power. Power being the utmost important process in the society. (Communication Power, Manuell). According to Webster (2004, 2) in the wider society, the idea that we are entering a new information age, or knowledge society, is a common place. Max Weber defines social power as the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will, despite resistance, regardless of the basis on which this probability rests (1978,53). The ideology of social democracy a leftists political philosophy, which seeks to reform capitalism in line with principals of social justice, while upholding capitalistic approach of production, instead of creating a an entirely new socialist economic system has been the essence of debates of information. When analyzed it prominently points out the disadvantages of capitalism when providing information to its viewers: thereby suggesting that the market creates diversion, gossip and trivia, while being inadequate to supplying reliable news. In retaliation, the social democratic approach would recommend the state to intervene to make sure that the information requirements delivered to the public could be adequately met. Hence, it is understood as social democratic because of the inclination of the state intervention. A policy as such could be considered, by many, an inescapable introduction to tension seen as many of the advocates are impressionable to the growing of the spin within the literate society, the development of what they have galvanized as an antagonistic market to its inadequacies. Moreover Webster criticizes the argument that the market cannot be relied upon to produce information required to support a healthy democracy. A clear example that supports the argument of subjective and questionable informative medium is the invention of Wikipedia. A popular multilingual encyclopedia promoting free content and writers to contribute to this content from around the world. What makes it interesting is that anybody can edit an article, given the right references, using a wiki markup language eventually leading to a well balanced article including all the pros and cons. Even though Cass Sunstein10 and Brian Leither, 11 oppose citing Wikipedia, Sunstein (in Webster about Sunstein, 2006:2), states Wikipedia as an example of collective intelligence. Thus, indicating the decrease in the necessity of a public sphere. Ludovic Denoyer, Patrick Gallinari, Volume 40 Issue 1, June 2006 ACM New York, NY, USA This clearly emphasizes on Friedrich Hayeks theories of defending the free market system. He supported the principle that every human has rights and is free to make their choices. He argued against that the public sphere concept as he believed that all actions made by the consumers give messages to the market that are later adapted by them, he argued in favor of capitalism, Hayek (2002:8). Jimmy Wale stated Hayeks work is central to my own thinking about how to manage the Wikipedia project. However John Gray (1948) belonged to the conservative group who argued that free market can destroy order. He argued it is most obvious that changing the diverse world economy, on the basis of the singular model of the free market, would be an impossible task to carry out. The diversity of cultures around the world should be a self-evident reflection of the global varied economies. Thereby it would be safe to state that all economic systems are imperfect; no one system is universal, thus any attem pt to do so would result in a disaster. Yet the fantasy that the free market can and should be adopted throughout the world became for a while a litmus test of sound thinking, not only on the neo-liberal right but also in the ranks of the center left. http://www.scribd.com/doc/7221539/John-Gray-on-Free-Markets-Not-for-the-First-Time In the modern Information Age that we have entered, there is an effort to enhance brainpower by globally providing informarmation services and by implemention the power of computation as and when needed http://www.cnri.reston.va.us/what_is_internet.html. Technological innovations have given birth to information and communication mediums like television, radio, telephone etc. but one of the most powerful and upcoming media tool, a contribution to the network society is the Internet. This is considerably different from the old traditional ways, this allows more interactivity and many-to-many communication, rather than one-to-many. (THE PUBLIC SPHERE, SOCIAL NETWORKS AND PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA, Petros Iosifidis, 31 January 201). This impacts the youth mainly gen Y and Z the focal users of this platform when they find overflowing information and rely on just this medium for rational. Murru (2009, p. 143) contributes to this thought by adding, in online contexts anyone can potentially take the role of speaker with practically no cost, thus multiplying the source of news and freeing the flux of communication and information from any sort of system control (economic or political). Webster (2010) discusses that this overflow can lead to fragmentation of users creating information cocoons that filter undesirable information. According to Losifidis (2010) the ever existent Habermasian concept of the national public sphere as discussed earlier is now said to have given birth to a multi-dimensional platform of online and social networks. The idea of networking is not new; Websters dictionary dates the term to 1940. However these networks are now rapidly growing to become significant in engrossing and influencing citizens and also playing a vital role in the communication process within which realistic and legitimate discussion takes place. He further argues that the internet and new media in terms of social media is being mis represented by extreme exaggeration and it represents technological optimism due to reasons like chaotic open to all policy, censorship, inclusiveness, partisan content, and most importantly the absence of the very essence of the public sphere extensive dialogue and critical discussion. As social media is the new phenomenon taking over the world it is giving birth to new jargons like infosphere, blogosphere, twittersphere. Participants find this platform as an ideal place to start discussions mainly on public debate and social change. Stumpel (2009) in contrast emphasizes that these new online forums, which allows people to unite in discussions to exchange veiws and knowledge either political or economical even critical in nature portrays a patten of similarity to Habermass concept of the public sphere. He argues that forums like facebook, twitter, myspace and other net spheres are public places that are outside state control where public-minded rational consensus can be developed. This widespread of information is worrysome for some. Webster (2004:76) stresses that the society must prevent them from being misled as technological developments are always socially mediated. Fukuyamas fears that over flow of information in the society will substitute the traditional community based on religion, tradition, race or culture with the modern community based on a formal social contact among rational individuals (ibid:7) But can the Net act as a public sphere where critical discourse can emerge and influence political action? The power of Social media and it effect on democracy As we experience the rise of the communication platform, there seems to be a tremendous increment in the participants to engage in public speeches which is portrayed through blogsphere and more interestingly different events have contributed to the public taking collective action by using these advance technology mediums. In 2001, when the congress voted to protect the President of Philippines President Joseph Estrada and set aside crucial evidence against him, the citizens of Philippines in anger protested against their corrupt president. Just as the decision was announced, they arranged a rally Go to EDSA wear black to mourn the death of democracy through simple forwarded text messages which later counted close to seven million. Shortly millions of people arrived, causing a shutdown of traffic in Manali. This ability of the public to arrange such a tremendous response threatened the legislators of the country and they allowed the evidence to be presented. In 3 days on this protest Estrada was gone. this was the first time social media had aided to play a part in a democratic nation to lead to a downfall of a national leader. Estrada himself blamed the text-messaging generation for his downfall. (clay shirky) Since then this strategy has been on the roll. A similar case took place In Spain in 2004 after the Madrid train bombing where text messages aided to the downfall of Spanish Prime Minister Josà © Marà ­a Aznar who inaccurately blamed basque separatists for the act while the protesters who belived that it was the doings of Al Queda forwarded the phrase who did it and arranged anti-govenment rallies on the day before the spring election http://mason.gmu.edu/~cuytioco/papers/edsa2cellphones.pdf. The Communist Party lost power in Moldova in 2009 when massive protests coordinated in part by text message, Facebook, and Twitter broke out after an obviously fraudulent election. It is widely discussed by many theorists that the internet has provided an open channel of free communication of information that has come to be known as social media tools, which would include the very popular social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Facebook initially being invented as a means for introduction amongst university students and further networking is now rapidly becoming notorious for open communication for people to connect their political views and thoughts. Another example is that of the Twitter Revolution In Tunisia, in reaction to a street hawker setting himself on fire, for which it was banned in the country. The revolt was being rallied and coordinated through the social site ultimately bringing protesters to the streets, and tolling up to 70 people being shot by the police.. Consequently, the revolution led the president of Tunisia to abandon his post. Tunisia has only been the initial instigation of this fire which is spreading throughout the Middle East and Northern African countries. These sites are now fuelling younger generations to turn away from broadcast media one-to-many communication of information and through the inclination towards these sites finally becoming more involved in voicing their opinions via the many-to-many communication of information amongst themselves. A further result of this is evident in the reaction of the Libyan government as they have banned the social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, from their local internet services on state orders. The radical action can be interpreted that even the libyan state is beginning to recognize the extent to which these media tools are evolving to becoming a loud voice echoing in the public spheres. One of the main roles that has been played by the social media is that of a watchdog and whistleblower. Furthermore in many other cases public has taken aid from these social media tools to succeed in their protests. Another social media phenomenon that is gaining popularity widely in whistle blowing is through viral media. A prime example is the major protest and lawsuits the Catholic Church faced for child abuse and rape. In 2002 The Boston Globe exposed sexual abuse in the church that spread like viral online in just a few hours. Furthermore there are so many cases now that can be found on a new social platform Wikileaks. According to BBC it is a whistle blowing website now actively effecting news. Anonymous submission are published and leaked on different area of debate. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10757263 According to shirky (2010) The potential of social media lies mainly in their support of civil society and the public sphere. As I mentioned earlier that these tools can either aid or fail in helping the activists protest, many such cases have failed to produce positive results like in March 2006 in Belarus streets were full of protest which was arranged partly by email against their President Aleksandr Lukashenkos for vote rigging however the activists failed which led to the president to actively control social media. Similarly in 2009 during the month of June when the green movement was rising the activists in Iran tried very hard by using to protest against the miscount of votes for Mir Hossein Mousavi by using all sorts of technological coordinating tools but failed miserably. The use of social media tools text messaging, e-mail, photo sharing, social networking, and the like cannot be foreseen or predicted to any foretell outcome. Thus, any attempts to create an outline on their respective effects in the political arena are more often than none to duelling anecdotes. Let us take a look at Barrack Obamas presedentail online campaign of 2004 for instance. Castells (Volume II, 2004:379) states that it is also highly used in politics by describing Obamas internet campaign as an example. The use of social media tools enabled Obama to initially overcome a large portion of the presidential nominating race; and his ability to embrace the social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, was considered different which became advantageous to his campaign. This approach was considered so successful that according to Professor Thomas Patterson of Harvard University, Mr Obamas use of social media tools has led to mobilise younger generation. This has been consi dered a group which has traditionally been uninterested in politics, according to. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7412045.stm This makes us wonder do these digital tools enhance or destroy democracy? Cyber-Utopians vs. Cyber-Cynics Cyber-utopian optimist Clay Shirky in his paper The Political Power of Social Media, that appeared in the foreign affair magazine, (http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2011/01/politics_and_internet) makes a great distinction between the insturmental view and the environmental view of inetrnet freedom. He describes the instrumental approach as a means to avoid states from aiding censorship of external websites like, youtube, google, e.t.c. and thereby focuses more on the public spheres, emphasizing on the citizens speech and all the uses of digital media by private and social standards. An example that supports this was the call for anti-censorship software by Hillary Clinton, Americas secretary of state, in January 2010. This would particularly support the usage of sites such as Wikipedia and Google in states like Iran; give Burmese activists the freedom to blog without interference to blog; allow the Chinese public to utilise the use of instant messaging systems without being mon itored, among many others. However the challenges of anti-censorship software programs like Freegate and censorship-circumvention softwares like Haystack portray the hardship to weaponize social media to pursue country-specific and near-term policy goals. Many would argue that instrumental media overestimates the value of one-to-many form of communication information i.e. broadcast media while at the same time underestimating the value of many-to-many form of media communication of information i.e. social media tools including the internet. Instrumental media does provide a modest benefit to the freedom of information that it provides -confidential government information can get leaked through the open channels of information however it does not extend to the freedom of speech or assembly, which in turn the internet does provide. The popular belief about social media is a long-term tool to strengthen the civil society and the public sphere. The environmental view is the contradictitary outlook to internet freedom. A ground basis for internet freedom and environmental view is the gradual development of the public sphere which works like a forum of open to all opinions while relying on conversation information and media. Contrary to the Wests self-acclaimed view of holding the source code for democracy, the environmental view would assume that minor change occurs in political spheres without adoption of the ideas and opinions which circle in public sphere. The viewpoint professes that the access to information does not play as big of a vital role as the access to conversation. Furthermore, a public sphere is more likely to emerge as a result to the masses dissatisfaction towards economic factors in a country rather than some obscure political ideals. In contrast to Shirky, the cyber-cynic Evgeny Morozov disagrees, and states that while social media may have helped, its not clear how much it actually contributes. According to an article in the Guardian that analysed Morozovs The Net Delusion, he argues that, if read between the lines when praising technology and its advancements, you can decypher a misinterpretation of the internets political role and potential, through the combination of ignorance and a sense of utopianism. This idea was further elaborated to state that if careful measures are not ensued, the democratising power of new media will not promote democracy and freedom of thought, but an entrapment of authoritarian regimes around the globe. Critisizng cyber-utopianism, Morozov further believes that contrary to popular belief the internet is not emancipatory, and supports it through the arguement of the widely misguided belief in the example such as the one of Twitter-powered Green Movement of Iran in 2009 (pointing out figures that on the actual eve of the said elections, the participating numbers did not rise above 20,000 users), stretching it to larger heights of naive hopes that international exposure through the new media will bring a diminishing result of violence in areas around the world such as that of Africa and the Middle East. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/09/net-delusion-morozov-review Morozovs arguement emphasizes the insignificant contribution of the social media tools whereas Shirky promotes the idea that however small the contribution may be the governments should accept it and promote the communication of many-to-many as it is an aspect of democracy. With the growing numbers of the West where social networks such as Twitter and Facebook are used among the masses, in the East it is only a smaller percentage that have access, or the ability, to use it. Having said that, no matter how insignificant the numbers may appear to be at this point in time Shirkys arguement brings more to the debate as it is an escalating factor which supports the point that the public sphere, through social media tools, do play a rising role in todays democratic states around the world. Morozovs arguement supporting misguided beliefs about the cyber-utopians who cannot bring about any change in world, can also be refuted that in the short-run it may not display acute figures of revoluti on supporters, or how it affects political stance, but in many countries where the social media tools is used on a day-to-day basis it surely can take the initial step to creating awareness which could, in the long-run, create a stir in a mass so large that it cannot be ignored by any democratic country. These tools probably do not hurt in the short run and might help in the long run and that they have the most dramatic effects in states where a public sphere already constrains the actions of the government. Through the promotion of pro-democratic tools put forth by the government it is also aiding authoritarian governments to track down any revolts, while infiltrating social networks and propogating their own agenda, and out-smarting their beleaguered citizens. However, the debates tend to culminate in stalemate whenever put to discussion. Access to information is far less important, politically, than access to conversation. Authoritarian governments stifle communication among their citizens because they fear, correctly, that a better-coordinated populace would constrain their ability to act without oversight. Add to essay where ever required According to Marsha Mcluhan this world is now a global village. With the spread of globalization or as Herbert Schiller (1919-2000) would term it as Americanisation there has been a rise in the technological advancement hand in hand.Webster (2010, chapter 2:20) states that globalization is leading towards the irrelevance of a public sphere, or even to the establishment of multiple public sphere. Globalization of democracy said to be western and a form of imperialism. Fernand braudel commented (1902-85) thorugh globalization there is a homogeneity of cultural practices. A more tolerant framework within the society. Yet events like the Danish Cartoonist in 2006 who drew the forbidden drawing of the Holy prophet in an insulting manner led to unrest around the world or like the event posted up on Facebook in 2009 draw Muhammed day yet again let to unrest in the muslim world speacially Pakistan where the govenment was part of the protest to delete such an offensive page makes one think ho w far true are these motions of tolerance. However thinkers like Ronfeldt (in Allison, 2002:39) claims that the internet will not divide the world, but that it will provide community, democracy, empowerment, wealth and peace. Robins and Webster (1999:226) speak of a cyberculture on the internet with its endless circuit of communication that will create global cities. The cyber-culture has also given birth to e-democratisation which leads to e-govenment and e voting. however democracy demends to surville if all votters are eligible. it aso questions wheather bloggers are now acting as e democracts. However some critizise it by calling it couch potate politics.. Castells (2001:117) further adds that digital divide is a result of virtual communities that is another form of escapism. Conclision Carruthers (2000:201) argues that the global distribution and access of all modern technologies (telephone, radio, television and the internet) must first be continued and improved before we can truly speak of its global or universal effects However, if one scrutinizes the numbers involved in the actual protests, or what leads up to them, according to Morozovs The Net Delusion one cannot be entirely sure as to the extent of influence the uprising has towards the respective governments in the countries in question; the revolt in Iran in 2009 which was caused by Twitter it was said, however according to numbers tracked the number of users on the set day of election did not rise over 20,000. Shirkys arguement refutes these statements though stating that the numbers are escalating and the masses have found an efficient and free channel to communicate amongst themselves, and the result . This instrumental view of the matter where the state intervenes with censorship may cause a further uproar and more use of softwares created to slip through the crack; softwares such as Freegate and Haysmarket. It only seems to be a matter of time before the time bomb of the social media tools will explode and cause an uncontrolable uproar that even the strongest of states cannot even handle.

3 Lessons Learned Bird Sings :: essays research papers

Many people in the world have troubles. Lie Marguerite there are many who have troubles. Though we always get saved by our elders and without them we would be scrap metal, but like most elders, Mrs. Flower in the book “I know Why the Caged Bird Sings,'; help out this troubled person by teaching her 3 lessons about way of life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The troubled person Marguerite has a trouble that she can’t speak because she got assaulted 5 years ago. It is awful that a stranger raped a young person at age 8. Marguerite has to have felt very bad and got a shock, and also because of the assault she hasn’t spoken for 5 years. What kinds of friends does she have? What would people think about her? But because Mrs. Flower taught her why to speak, it looks like she is finally going to speak again like most people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also because of the assault Marguerite has doesn’t done 2 other things in her life, one of them were to tolerate people. She probably never tolerated strangers even though it never said. How would a person have any friends if they can’t tolerate any stranger. She is being very mean, you could say to a person who wants to be her friend. But of course she won’t let him/her be her friend because she can’t tolerate any stranger. It is not right to take out your anger on somebody else, but we all understand why.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 3rd thing that the assault had changed her life with was “mother wit.'; Mother wit is common sense. Marguerite of course did not have any common sense because she never used to talk. But if she had talked, she first would not have learned any lesson from Mrs. Flower, because each of them tie in to each other. An other person who wasn’t very good at teaching this common sense was her granny. She always used to harass her.

white fang :: essays research papers

White Fang By Jack London   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  White Fang, by Jack London is an amazing tail of survival and the wild. White fang is a wolf born into a cruel life, but endures it and becomes stronger because of it. He finds hate, but then finds love in the epic tail of this amazing animal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Two men, Henry and Bill go sledding with six dogs. Each night they camp in the merciless wilderness, a dog is killed by a wolf pack. The wolves come closer to camp every night, until there are three dogs left. One of the wolves is different and bigger then the rest, a she-wolf, who’s use to people and afraid of guns. One day the men’s sled overturned and got caught up in trees. They had to untie the dogs to fix things. One of the dogs saw the she-wolf and took off after her, only to be ambushed by a dozen wolves. The dog ran for his life, while Bill went with his gun to save him. Bill and the dog both became a meal to the wolves. A couple of nights later, so did the rest of the dogs. The only thing that saved Henry was sheltering in the middle of a fire he’d made. By the time the fire had died, other men came with sled dogs to his rescue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The she-wolf had taken off with her pack, only to abandon them to be with her one-eyed mate. They traveled to an Indian camp and stayed a few nights, then found a cave where the she-wolf had her five puppies. The father loyally went out hunting for them and let them eat before he did. Sometimes food got scarce though and all but one pup died from hunger. The father also died from tangling with a sphinx. The last pup was curious one day, While his mother was hunting, he went out of the cave and got his first kill, baby birds. He also fought with the mother bird, but lost the battle from getting pecked. Later a hawk ate that bird. Then the pup walked up to a stream and accidentally fell in. he was quickly swept downstream. Downstream the cub swam to shore and was met by a weasel and her babies. The pup attacked and was nearly killed by the mother weasel, but his mother came to the rescue. She killed the weasel and they ate it.

Confessions of Faith

Vonetta Scott The Colonial Encounter in Africa Confession of Faith Cecil Rhodes was an English-born South African businessman. Rhodes enters politics in the Cape Colony for his health and wealth. What is confession of Faith of the colonial encounter that’s in Africa? â€Å"In Confessions of Faith,† the great imperialist and wealthy diamond mine owner Cecil Rhodes stresses his opinion of the importance of the English people. He tries to justify English imperialism and bringing the world under English influence by making several claims. He talks about, (what is a good chief in life? In Rhodes case by asking that question, Rhodes wants to do something useful for his country. He was controlling the diamond production. He had parlayed his territories Zambia and Zimbabwe. Rhodes argued about the way the English children are brought into this world, saying that the English people are limiting their children. Rhodes says that there should be more English children in his country so they can retain America. In addition, he states that the uncivilized part of the world should come under English rule so there would be an increase in the rate of employment and put a stop to all wars.He said the English race is the finest race in the world. He states that taking others territory is a way to help and increase more of their kind which would make the world a better place to live in. Rhodes thinks that this will make the Anglo-Saxon race never end. Rhodes also thinks that the more English people in the world along with less other race like the British and the Irish that again there would be end of wars. Rhodes wanted nothing more than to serve his country. He believes that the Anglo-Saxon should rule the world.Rhodes wants to render himself and his race to his country. He argues that the Anglo-Saxon race is superior to all other races in the world. Rhodes thinks that any other race should not exist. Humans being born that are not going to be raised in the Anglo-Sax on race are a waste to him. He wanted to make the British Empire a superpower in which all white countries in the empire would be represented in the British colony. Rhodes argues this because he thinks that the British will rule the world. Rhodes was upset about it because he said the British do not rule America.To summarize, the absorption of the greater portion of the world under the rule simply means the end of all wars. This objects one should work for are first, and furtherance of the British Empire. The bringing of the whole uncivilized world under British Empire leaves the recovereyof the United States, the making of the Anglo-Saxon race but for only one Empire. Rhodes feels that there needs to be more English race in America, so there can be no more wars. To let the Irish and the German stay in their own country because, he describes them as low class.He deplores the way they have failed to develop America into a fine country. Rhodes wants to keep America finer without the p rejudice. Rhodes made his point clear in this article and he goes into detail on what races do wrong. Rhodes thought that his race was better even though he did respect the Germans. Rhodes arguments support nationalism as well as imperialism by the way he speaks about each race. I don’t believe that there was or could be a competition to bring out the best in the races because, each race has a unique spirit and identity that can’t be duplicated by other races.

Foreigh Currency Risk Test

FOREIGN CURRENCY RISKQ1. Jack is a UK based car exporter who exports luxury cars and has a competitor in Germany; he has recently seen a change in foreign currency that pound ( £) of UK has strengthened against euro (â‚ ¬) of Germany. What is the type of risk does Jack face in his business? (MCQ) Credit Risk Translation Risk Economic Risk Transaction Risk(2 marks) Q2. Yarn Co is multinational business & wants its foreign subsidiary financial statements. They are making exchange losses when the accounting results of its foreign subsidiary are translated into the home currency. Which type of currency risk does Yarn Co face? (MCQ) Netting off Risk Translation Risk Economic Risk Hedging Risk(2 marks) Q3. Saito Co, a USA based fish exporter has competition with Sakkara Co based in Bangladesh. He believes he faces an economic risk in the business. What type of impact does it have on Saito Co? (MCQ) Direct Impact Indirect Impact Political Impact Economic Impact(2 marks) Q4. The current spot rate of UK ( £) to USA ($) is  £3:$1.5. The interest rates per annum are UK 5% & USA 9%. What will be the two-month forward rate (to the nearest two decimal places)? (FIB) £ :$1(2 marks) Q5. The current spot rate of UK ( £) is  £3. The inflation rate per annum of UK is 3% & the expected future six-month spot rate is  £3.06. Calculate the foreign annual inflation rate? (FIB)%(2 marks) Q6. Which of the following statements relates to International Fisher Effect? (MCQ) The exchange rates of countries depending on inflation rates The exchange rates of countries depending on interest rates Prices are same to different customers in an economy Nominal interest rate differentials between countries provide an unbiased predictor of future changes in spot exchange rates.(2 marks) Q7. Which of the following differences will result in an Expectation Theory? (MRQ) The difference in Inflation Rates Difference between Spot & Forward Rates The difference of Interest Rates Difference between Spot & Future Rates(2 marks) Q8. Select the appropriate theory with the following statements. (P&D)Depreciation of forwarding rates will be due to high-interest rates Differences in nominal rates due inflation rates A commodity is priced same in every country The forward rate is a fair predictor of the spot rate in the future EXPECTATION THEORY PURCHASING POWER PARITYTHEORY INTERNATIONAL FISHER EFFECT INTEREST RATE PARITY THEORY(2 marks)Q9. Patio Co. operates in the USA. They will be receiving a payment of  £2,500 from customers in four months' time. Calculate Patio Co.'s receipts in four months' time? Use the following rates. (MCQ)Spot Rate  £1.4/$ –  £1.6/$4 Month Forward Rate  £1.8/$ –  £2.0/$ $1,786 $1,563 $1,389 $1,250(2 marks) Q10. Fray Co is a USA based company ; imports Robots from China. The usual credit period is three months. Fray Co has to pay  ¥60,000. Calculate the loss/gain of the payment on forwarding contract? (MCQ)Spot Rate  ¥1.321/$ –  ¥1.521/$3 Month Forward Rate  ¥1.654/$ –  ¥1.854/$ $7,085 (Loss) $9,144 (Loss) $9,144 (Gain) $7,085 (Gain)(2 marks) Q11. PXG Co, a UK based company has made $3,600 sale to its USA customer on credit. The current  £/$ exchange rate is  £6.4/$12.8. It is expected that UK  £ will strengthen by 15%, by the time USA customer pays. Calculate the receipts in  £? (MCQ)  £244.57  £281.25  £489.13  £562.5(2 marks) Q12. The dollar is quoted at a $0.067 premium for the forward rate. The current exchange rate is $/ ¥ 1.0005 +/- 0.0045. What will a $4,900 payment convert at forwarding rate? (MCQ)  ¥4,876  ¥4,920  ¥5,224  ¥5,274(2 marks) Q13. A UK based company Bib Co will receive a foreign payment of $2,000 in four months' time. The spot rate is $1.1/ £ – $1.4/ £. Calculate the income in four months' time using money market hedging? (MCQ) Borrow DepositDollar ($) 4% 5%Pounds ( £) 3% 2%  £1,414.4  £1,419.4  £1,800  £1,807(2 marks)This information is used for Q14, Q15 ; Q14.A USA based company has to make a payment of  £95,000 in nine months' time. The spot rate is  £2.2/$ –  £2.5/$. Following details are: Borrow DepositDollar ($) 7% 5%Pounds ( £) 5% 3%Q14. Calculate the foreign payment using money market hedging? (MCQ) $37,164 $42,232 $43,816 $44,449(2 marks) Q15. Calculate the foreign payment if the nine-month forward rate is  £2.37/$ –  £2.71/$? (FIB)$ (2 marks) Q16. Calculate the gain/loss for the company for not leading the payment? (MCQ) $4,365 (Gain) $4,365 (Loss) $3,816 (Loss) $3,816 (Gain)(2 marks) Q17. Following statements relate to Forwarding contracts. (HA)An immediate binding contract TRUE FALSEThe forward rate is variable in nature TRUE FALSEThe timing of the contract is unknown TRUE FALSE(2 marks) Q18. A company wants to reduce its transaction risks when conducting business with foreign receivables/payables. Following statements are said by the directors during this years' AGM. Select the appropriate statements to reduce the risk. (MRQ) â€Å"The company should hold back its payments for few months†, this technique is Leading â€Å"The company should continue as normal† â€Å"I have some friends offshore who work in a bank, I may able to arrange a foreign account for the company† said by a director â€Å"The company should deal in the foreign currency only† (2 marks) Q19. Juab Co is a manufacturing company ; has a foreign supplier who supplies raw materials. Recently the supplier has now become a customer as well, who purchases Juab Co.'s finished products and sells in his respective country. Which technique of reducing risk is applicable for Juab Co? (MCQ) Money market contract Leading & Lagging Forward market hedging Matching & Netting(2 marks) Q20. Which of the following statements are true in relation to futures? (MRQ) Currency futures are standard contracts A high premium is paid initially Futures are available in all currencies offered by the bank Future contracts are binding (2 marks) Q21. A company wants to hedge itself from any currency risk. They have decided to hedge themselves using currency futures. They have to make a payment in May of $36,000. The futures have a contract size of $15,000. Which of the following futures will they select? (MCQ) Buy three futures on March Sell two futures of March Buy two futures of June Buy three futures of September(2 marks) Q22. Select the appropriate option in relation to futures. (HA) Transaction cost is lowest ADVANTAGE DISADVANTAGEContracts are limited to some currencies ADVANTAGE DISADVANTAGEThe exact date does not have to be known ADVANTAGE DISADVANTAGE(2 marks) Q23. Picots Co is UK based company which has a lot of foreign customers. It will be receiving a payment from USA based customer of $500,000 in five months. The company has been advised to use derivatives to hedge themselves against any currency risk. If they opt for currency options which of the following are correct? (MCQ) Buying a USA $ call option in the UK Buying a USA $ put option in the UK Buying a UK  £ call option in the USA Buying a UK  £ put option in the USA (2 marks) Q24. Which of the following statements relate to currency options? (MRQ) In future the market becomes favorable and the company will face a loss because it is bound to the contract They are negotiated Cannot be traded in all currencies Easily arranged & Flexible (2 marks) Q25. Which of the following is incorrect for swaps? (MCQ) It is negotiated between two parties having their own spot rate It has a nominal cost It is an over the counter deal It has multiple markets (2 marks) Q26. Which of the following has a refundable cost? (MCQ) Currency Futures Forward Contracts Currency Options Currency Swaps(2 marks)FOREIGN CURRENCY RISK (ANSWERS)Q1. CEconomic risk is the variation in the value of the business due to unexpected changes in exchange rates. This is an indirect impact on Jacks business. Q2. BThey are making exchange losses when the accounting results of its foreign subsidiary are translated into the home currency. This is an indication of Translation Risk. Q3. AIt is a direct impact on Saito Co as the USA being home currency strengthens then foreign competitors Sakkara Co in Bangladesh is able to gain sales at your expense because your fish have become more expensive in the eyes of customers both abroad and at home. Q4.  £3.02Interest rate parity theory = 3 Ãâ€" (1+(9% Ãâ€" 2/12))/(1+(5% Ãâ€"2/12)) =  £3.02 Q5. 7%Purchasing power parity theory = 3 Ãâ€" (1+(x% Ãâ€" 6/12))/(1+(3% Ãâ€"6/12)) =  £3.06X% = 7% Q6. D The exchange rates of countries depending on inflation rates (Purchasing Power Parity Theory) The exchange rates of countries depending on interest rates (Interest Rate Parity Theory) Prices are same to different customers in an economy. The law of one price. (Purchasing Power Parity Theory) Nominal interest rate differentials between countries provide an unbiased predictor of future changes in spot exchange rates. (International Fisher Effect) Q7. When these two will become equal, Expectation Theory arises. Difference between Spot & Forward Rates Difference between Spot & Future Rates Q8.Depreciation of forwarding rates will be due to high-interest ratesINTEREST RATE PARITY THEORYDifferences in nominal rates due to inflation rates INTERNATIONAL FISHER EFFECTA commodity is priced same in every country PURCHASING POWER PARITY THEORY The forward rate is a fair predictor of the spot rate in the future EXPECTATION THEORY Q9. DReceipts =  £2,500 à · 2.0 = $1,250 Q10.Payment (Forward) =  ¥60,000 à · 1.654 = $36,276Payment (Spot) =  ¥60,000 à · 1.321 = $45,420Gain = $9,144 Q11. AFuture Rate = $12.8 Ãâ€" 115% = $14.72Receipts =  £3,600 à · 14.72 = $244.57 Q12. DThe Spot rate = $0.996/ ¥ – $1.005/ ¥ -/+ 0.0045The dollar is at a premium so subtract it as if dollar strengthens then yen will weaken in the forwards market. The new Spot rate = $0.929/ ¥ – $0.938/ ¥ – 0.067Payment = $4,900 à · 0.929 =  ¥5,274 Q13. BBorrow Foreign Currency = $2,000 à · [1 + (4% Ãâ€" 4/12)] = $1,974Convert Foreign to Local = $1,974 à · 1.4 =  £1,410Deposit (Interest) = (1,410 Ãâ€" 2% Ãâ€" 4/12) =  £9.4Total Receipts =  £1,410 +  £9.4 =  £1,419.4 Q14. DDeposit Foreign Currency =  £95,000 à · [1 + (3% Ãâ€" 9/12)] =  £92,910Convert Foreign to Local =  £92,910 à · 2.2 = $42,232Deposit (Interest) = ($42,232 Ãâ€" 7% Ãâ€" 9/12) = $2,217Total Payments = $42,232 + $2,217 = $44,449 Q15. $40,084Payments =  £95,000 à · 2.37 = $40,084 Q16. B Q17. An immediate binding contract TRUE The forward rate is variable in nature FALSEThe timing of the contract is unknown FALSE Q18. â€Å"The company should hold back its payments for few months†, this technique is Lagging (Incorrect) â€Å"The company should continue as normal† This refers the company should take no action (Correct) â€Å"I have some friends offshore who work in a bank, I may able to arrange a foreign account for the company† said by a director. This statement indicates opening a foreign bank account. (Correct) â€Å"The company should deal in the foreign currency only† The company could deal in home currency rather in foreign currency (Incorrect) Q19. DThis technique attempts to match the same foreign currency receipt & payments due at the same time. The netting of the intra debit & credit balances saving transaction cost & reducing risk. Q20. Currency futures are standard contracts, fixed limits specified (True) A high premium is paid initially, this is applicable in options (False) Futures are available in all currencies offered by the bank, Only in few currencies (False) Future contracts are binding, they have to be closed (True) Q21. CThe Futures can be bought or sold only four times a year which are March, June, September & December. Future contracts can be signed relating to a month after the date of receipt. They will buy two futures each of $15,000 and the remaining $6,000 can be hedged using other techniques. (E.g. forward contracts)Q22. Transaction cost is lowest ADVANTAGEContracts are limited to some currenciesDISADVANTAGEThe exact date does not have to be knownADVANTAGE Q23. BPicots Co will want to sell the USA $ when they receive the payment which is why they will use USA $ put (sell) option bought in the UK. Q24. In future the market becomes favorable and the company will face a loss because it is bound to the contract, this statement relates to future contracts They are negotiated, this statement relates to options (Correct) Cannot be traded in all currencies, it is a disadvantage hence this statement relates to options (Correct) Easily arranged & Flexible, this statement relates to swaps Q25. DIt has no markets; it is a tailor-made an agreement between two parties.Q26. A Currency Futures, An initial margin cost which is refundable Forward Contracts, has a transaction cost Currency Options, A non-refundable premium cost Currency Swaps, No initial cost