Saturday, August 31, 2019

Native American Genocide Essay

In this paper, I will argue that the act of genocide as here defined, has been committed by the United States of America, upon the tribes and cultures of Native Americans, through mass indoctrination of its youths. Primary support will be drawn from Jorge Noriega’s work, â€Å"American Indian Education in the United States. † The paper will then culminate with my personal views on the subject, with ideas of if and how the United States might make reparations to its victims. In lieu of the well known and brutal â€Å"Indian Wars,† there is a means of cultural destruction of Native Americans, which began no later than 1611. This method was one of indoctrination. Methods included the forced removal of children from their cultural milieu and enrollment of these children in â€Å"educational programs,† which were intended to instill more European beliefs. As the United States was not formally a Nation, until 1776, it would not be fair to use evidence, before this year in building a case against it. The most damaging, to the United States, are parcels of evidence that are drawn from events after 1948, the year of the Convention on Genocide. Beginning in 1778, the United States Board of War, a product of the Continental Congress appropriated grants for the purpose of, â€Å"the maintenance of Indian students at Dartmouth College and the College of New Jersey? â€Å" The young people who had returned from the schools are described by Seneca leader, Cornplanter as, â€Å"?ignorant of every means of living in the Woods, unable to bear either Cold or Hunger, [they] knew neither how to build a Cabin, take a Deer, or kill an Enemy, [they] spoke our Language imperfectly, were therefore neither fit for Hunters, Warriors, nor Counselors; they were totally good for nothing† (Noriega, 376). Grants given to other schools was just the beginning. In 1820, the United States made plans for a large scale system of boarding and day schools Noriega, 377). These schools were given the mission to, â€Å"instruct its students in ‘letters, labor and mechanical arts, and morals and Christianity;’ ‘training many Indian leaders'† Noriega, 378). In the case of boarding schools, Native American children would be forcibly stripped from their homes as early as five years old. They would then live sequestered from their families and cultures until the age of seventeen or eighteen (Noriega, 381). In 1886, it was decided, by the United States federal government that Native American tribal groups would no longer be treated as ‘indigenous national governments. ‘ The decision was made, not by the conjoint efforts of the Native American tribes and Congress; but, by the â€Å"powers that be† the United States Legal System. This self-ordained power allowed Congress to pass a variety of other laws, directed towards, assimilating, Native Americans, so that they would become a part of â€Å"mainstream white America† (Robbins, 90) By this time the United States Government, had been funding over a dozen distinct agencies, to provide mandatory ‘education’ to all native children aged six through sixteen. Enrollment was enforced through leverage given by the 1887 General Allotment Act, which made Natives dependent on the Government for Annuities and Rations (Noriega, 382). The practice of indigenous religions by these students was prohibited (Noriega, 380). Students were compelled to undergo daily instruction in Christianity. In addition, only the use of English was accepted within these schools. â€Å"The food was not sufficiiently nourishing? health supervision was generally neglected? A sincere effort was made to develop the type of school that would destroy tribal ways† (Noriega, 382). While being held captive at these schools, the students were forced to learn an idealism completely foreign to them. They would study histories, which had no significance to there lives. â€Å"The books talk to him [the student] of a world which in no way reminds him of his own,† (Noriega, ). This is exactly how the students must have felt; as if they were in another world. To compound the torture, the ‘students’ at these institutions were forced to work as maintainers and farmers in order provide for the continued existence of the very establishments, which were destroying them. The methods of forced labor were considered, by the educators to be a â€Å"means of ‘developing’ the native ‘character,’ and as a way of financing further expansion of the system itself† (Noriega, 379). The â€Å"rigid military style† enforced by the schools contributed to the assimilation of the Native Americans’ culture. The students began to not only â€Å"think white† but also to, â€Å"work white† (Noriega, 384). To this point, I have provided enough evidence to make a hypocrite of the United States. However, it is my intent to prove that the United States has performed a criminal act under International law. I will do so by describing genocidal acts committed well after the time of the convention on genocide. The government was not satisfied with only educating the Native American youths, they wished to implant their victims as â€Å"a virus, a medium through which to hurry along a calculated process of sociocultural decay† (Noriega, 379). They turned their victims into witless traitors spreading their insipid ideas, and fracturing the cultural infrastructure. The apotheosis of this implantation project is clearly delineated in â€Å"The Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act† of 1975. In this act, the United States Government declared that â€Å"educated† Native Americans’ should be used to staff the â€Å"various programs aimed at them by federal policy makers† (Noriega, 356). These are the same programs which, â€Å"the government has always viewed as the ideal vehicle[s] by which to condition Native Americans to accept the values, and thus the domination of Euroamerica† (Noriega, 387). Through the implementation of this act, â€Å"nothing really changed? the curriculum taught in Indian schools remained exactly the same, reaching exactly the same conclusions, indoctrinating children with exactly the same values as when the schools were staffed entirely by white people† (Noriega, 387). In this way, the government attempted to mask the face of evil with one of familiar physical origin. It is a classic story of a â€Å"wolf in sheep’s clothing. † These violent acts have not ended, even with the convention on genocide. Indeed, the United States is guilty of committing a law, which it has promised to not only abide by, but also, to help enforce. Does this represent the â€Å"Mainstream American Culture† we so want to instill into the minds of Native Americans? We should begin taking a look at our own culture and worrying about its problems, before we start thinking about spreading it like a dreaded disease. The fact that Native Americans have arrived at this point with any of its culture left intact, is an astonishing feet in itself. It shows a character, which is ostensibly lacking, or at least not shown, within the â€Å"European† and â€Å"American† cultures. Perhaps the United States should be more the pupil than the pedagogue.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Can Appointments Redefine Success?

It is difficult today to manage a handful of business cards. The great way to deliver business values and to increase in the customer loyalty is one to one appointments. There is no particular formula or not any kind of competition for setting appointments. Personal or face to face appointments can redefine success as the discussion is not done on the phone and does not involve any confusion. Organizations today are emphasizing on the personal or face to face meetings.This oldies the customer relations with the company and has great potential in closing the final deals. Major decisions, strategies and consulting is possible with a personal appointment. These are small things that can play a vital role in the success of the company. Below are benefits of appointments and face-to face meetings- Develop a personal relationship. Definitely, you can create relationships with a phone call, but it is more effective with a personal meeting. Impressive presentation will surely help develop a good relationship.Once you succeed in developing a relationship, you are more likely to make a sale. Easier to present your material- Once the appointment is set, you are sure that there would be confusion as you can present your material In person than it is over the phone. Further, In a face-to face meeting, you can get the prospect's undivided attention. Handing the Information- In today's technological era, it is very easy to email Information and many of us Ignore the Importance of handing somebody a hard copy. Deal In person and surely, you will get the success.Surely, setting an appointment can help redefine your success. You need to be keen on setting an appointment. Some simple tips can work wonders and can add to the success graph of the company. If you want to generate BIB appointments for the company's benefit, then keep on Improving the methods and the tools you are using to set appointments. Share what Is going on In your mind. Talk to people and discuss the ideas abou t the business leads and how to set appointments for further lead generation. If you have something out of the box, share It with others.Be yourself ND believe In your Ideas. If you are willing to take the business to a new level, hire people who can take the pressure and capacity. They can work hard to make your dream true. Working with people having lesser capableness will stop the growth and you will be out of the competition. Show confidence In your team and they will feel the need to prove their capableness and trust to you. They will succeed If they are working as per their rules and comfort. They should know that you have faith In them. Identify the weak points In your BIB appointment setting team.Check the telemarketing efforts and understand the reason of the failure. After Identifying the problems In the team, It Is easy to come up with a solution. After the problem Is solved, the team along with the business moves easier and faster. You should be able to strike the balanc e of creatively and business. Creative Ideas can give you some new ways to Implement business Ideas. People who can Implement these Ideas In reality are also Important for a business team. Face to face appointments will surely help you In success by evolving confusions.Develop good relationships and success will be simply yours. By b2bmarketingstrategies set, you are sure that there would be confusion as you can present your material in person than it is over the phone. Further, in a face-to face meeting, you can get the era, it is very easy to email information and many of us ignore the importance of handing somebody a hard copy. Deal in person and surely, you will get the success. Company's benefit, then keep on improving the methods and the tools you are using to set appointments. Share what is going on in your mind.Talk to people and discuss generation. If you have something out of the box, share it with others. Be yourself and believe in your ideas. If you are willing to take t he business to a new level, hire dream true. Working with people having lesser capabilities will stop the growth and you will be out of the competition. Show confidence in your team and they will feel the need to prove their capabilities and trust to you. They will succeed if they are working as per their rules and comfort. They should know that you have faith in them.Identify the weak points in your BIB appointment setting team. Check the telemarketing efforts and understand the reason of the failure. After identifying the problems in the team, it is easy to come up with a solution. After the problem is to strike the balance of creativity and business. Creative ideas can give you some new ways to implement business ideas. People who can implement these ideas in reality are also important for a business team. Face to face appointments will surely help you in success by avoiding confusions. Develop good relationships and success will

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Attitude Towards Women Essay

One of the most prominent themes in the Canterbury Tales is the attitudes of the pilgrims towards women. There are two distinct sides in the dispute: that women are simply objects of lust that must never be trusted, and that women are highly respectable and loving. The Shipman’s Tale starts off this debate with his depiction of women, which was less than favorable. The woman who is depicted in this tale is the wife of a merchant. She is not treated well by her husband, but certainly is not trustworthy or honorable herself. She sells her body to the best friend of her husband for a measly 100 francs. Her faithfulness to her husband was worth only a few extravagant garments for her to wear. It is her greed for these material goods that drives her into cuckolding her unsuspecting husband. Her worldly desires are more important than her marriage, and in the end she is hardly punished at all. She does manage to keep her husband from finding out, by saying that the Monk was simply repaying his debt and she used the money to buy some clothes. So, she gets away with a crime that would have dealt her a far greater punishment. This outcome, while it certainly wasn’t perfect for the wife, was much less than she deserved (Rossignol). The Prioress steps in with the next tale, and takes a much different view. The Prioress herself is a very humble and well-mannered woman, as she is described in the General Prologue. She is also extremely compassionate towards all of God’s creatures. Her tale is a tribute to the greatest woman of all, the Virgin Mary. While it is a tribute to the Virgin, the focus of the story is more on the little boy and his widowed mother. The mother is greatly distressed at her son’s disappearance, and is eventually led by Jesus himself to the place where her son has been tossed. The idea that Jesus himself was consorting with this woman and answering her prayers makes a strong statement. Jesus certainly would not aid an evil person, so this widow must have been virtuous and humble (Rossignol). And upon her finding of the little boy, the miracle of the Virgin Mary is presented. The boy, who had praised her and loved her throughout his short life, now sang because of the grain placed on his tongue by Mary herself. The story praises a woman who is unmatched in virtue by any mortal man, and shows a widowed mother to be humble and virtuous herself. Certainly a different view than was displayed in the Shipman’s Tale. The tales of Chaucer himself followed the Prioress’ Tale. The first of which, the Tale of Sir Thopas, didn’t take as strong stance on any attitude towards women as did the two tales that preceded it. It did, however, portray women to be objects of lust and affection which could put a man in grave danger. This is what the reader might expect from Chaucer, since he does place himself among some of the other rascals of the group in the General Prologue. The other rascals (the Reeve and Miller especially) had already told stories that depicted women as objects of male desire. Sir Thopas, the knight, left his hometown of Flanders because he had become bored with the local maidens. On his adventure, he dreamt of a beautiful Elf Queen, with whom he fell desperately in lo ve (Ruud). He searched the forest in search of her, and vowed to never stop until her found her. When he met the three-headed giant who stood in his way, he went back home to prepare to fight. He was ready to risk his life to gain the love of the Elf Queen. The Elf Queen in this story is an object of lust and desire, much like the merchant’s wife in the Shipman’s Tale. Since the story is cut short, though, the reader never gets a chance to see what this Queen is really like. All that is seen is that she has captured the heart of this young and noble knight, which has him risking his life in search of her. After Chaucer’s first sorry tale is cut short, he moves on to the Tale of Melibee. In this story some different attitudes towards woman are actually discussed verbally amongst the characters. Melibee talks of how all women are evil and none are good. But, his wife Prudence responds to that by saying that Jesus would never have been born to an evil woman, nor would he have appeared to a woman after his resurrection. So, not all women could be evil. This point is accepted by Melibee, as her point has been clearly made. Also, she points out women who have saved the lives of their husbands and who were truthful to them. As this argument continues, Prudence continues to sway Melibee to accept her argument. She does this with good intentions as well. She does not want her husband to go to war with these enemies of his which certainly could put them all in danger. By the end of the story, she has convinced him so thoroughly that he ignores the advice of his counsel, and follows her advice almost to the letter (Ruud). He does, however, give his enemies a bit of a verbal chiding against her wishes. It is quite possible that he did this simply to maintain himself as the sovereign lord of his estate, and to show Prudence that she has not gained complete mastery over him. This story takes an opposite approach towards women than Chaucer did in the Tale of Sir Thopas. But, since Chaucer does portray himself in the tales as a dunce, it is possible that this character is simply to doltish to make up his mind and take a solid stance on the issue. The Nun’s Priest has the final say in the matter. The Priest is traveling with the Prioress, so before reading this tale one might think that he will be afraid to offend her. This story deals extensively on this issue, and has to main points which reveal the Priest’s attitude towards women. Chauntecleer quotes a Latin phrase that he says means that women are the bliss of men. However, the phrase actually said that women are men’s ruin. So why did Chauntecleer lie to Pertelote when he told her this false translation? Well, quite possibly because he didn’t want to upset her any further, and because he was about to spend the whole morning having sex with her. If he had upset her further, she may have turned him away. Chauntecleer also began to compliment her looks along with changing the meaning of the Latin phrase because he loved her and he wanted to make love to her. So, this is in fact showing that women are the bliss of men, since Chauntecleer is going out of his way to please Pertelote (Scala). By afternoon of the same day, the story takes quite a turn. Pertelote had criticized Chauntecleer for being so cowardly after his dream, and he flew down from his safe perch because of her insults. Because of this, his vision soon came true, and he was captured by the fox. If it had not been for Pertelote berating him because of his cowardice, he would have stayed in his perch in safety. Now, the true meaning of the Latin phrase is also shown as true, as Pertelote has caused the ruin of the great Chauntecleer. There is one substantial difference in this story, however. When Chauntecleer is taken away by the fox, Pertelote shrieks and is quite distressed, as the story emphasizes. She expresses genuine concern for Chauntecleer, unlike the wife in the Shipman’s Tale and Dalilah in the Monk’s Tale. So, the Nun’s Priest’s point on the matter is quite simple. Women are the bliss of men, but, whether intentionally or not, also bring about the ruin of the men they love. Works Cited Rossignol, Rosalyn. â€Å"‘The Shipman’s Tale’.† Critical Companion to Chaucer: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007.Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. Rossignol, Rosalyn. â€Å"‘The Prioress’ Tale’.† Critical Companion to Chaucer: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007.Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. Scala, Elizabeth, and Michelle M. Sauer.†Ã¢â‚¬ËœThe Nun’s Priest’s Tale’.† In Sauer, Michelle M. The Facts On File Companion to British Poetry before 1600. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. Ruud, Jay. â€Å"‘The Tale of Sir Thopas’.† Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

How would a standardized terminology ( of your choice) directly impact Essay

How would a standardized terminology ( of your choice) directly impact your nursing practice Provide a rationale and one example - Essay Example With a CPR, it is easy to identify with a plethora of data and informational records of different patients with similar conditions. In reference to (McGonigle and Mastrian 2015) such detailed data and information provide knowledge about specific patients’ conditions in detail since different patients respond differently to similar disease conditions (McGonigle and Mastrian 2015). As a result, it will provide me with a conscience and wise judgments about patient care at different situations. For instance in the case with tonsillitis, if there is a CPR, it is easy to access data information about the disease for different patients. Upon careful study of the information, it would be easy to compare his conditions with other previous similar conditions of different patients. Subject the knowledge; I would be able to effectively communicate my patient’s condition to other nurses and other health care providers with the clear conscience of nursing possible interventions. In addition, I will gain improved patient care on tonsillitis conditions and appropriately comprehend nursing care outcomes with greater adherence to standards of nursing care. This will enhance my nursing competency as a nursing practitioner (McGonigle and Mastrian

Yesterday Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Yesterday - Essay Example (Carchiolo, Longheu, & Malgeri 2002). This essay evaluates the functional efficiency of Web 2.0 technology in the classroom, with particular emphasis on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and Ning.com. Past research into Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSLC) argues that the implementation of such platforms in the classroom engenders an environment of positive interdependence, as students are motivated by a shared desire to succeed. (Kravcik et al., 2004) An article in Educational Technology & Society titled ‘An educational mobile blogging system for supporting collaborative learning’ (Huang, Huang & Jeng, 2009, Web) advanced methodological research for to determine the efficacy of implementing Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSLC) in collegiate educational environments. While typical conceptions of the classroom place the educational environment at direct odds with handheld devices such as cell-phones, ipods, and BlackBerry’s, this research argues that these devices might actually not be as detrimental to education as is commonly determined; when used in teacher-directed ways they might indeed have a positive benefit for the learning exper ience. The study took place among a group of collegiate sophomores in Taiwan: â€Å"There were 5 groups and each group was assigned a topic. The topics included Arrays, Stacks, Queues, Linked Lists and Tree.† (Huang, Huang & Jeng, 2009, Web) The study used web blogging through RSS feeds; that is, a twitter-like mechanism that updated quickly when students or the professor uploaded new information to the platform. The platform also stored these uploads in an accessible database. In essence, the professor would lecture in class, and periodically post discussion topics on the RSS server. The students then were able to collaboratively respond to the discussion topics and gain direct help and feedback on issues which they were confused. At the end of the

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Midterm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 1

Midterm - Essay Example This means that people and business organizations are on a continuous journey that requires them to experience various processes and practices consciously or unconsciously. In this case, business organizations are expected to be abreast of the changing factors that can affect their profitability and other management aspects. This paper examines the concept of change and how it can be used by organizations to create and enhance their effective performance and success. It focuses on a Chinese Company, Alibaba Holdings, which has navigated its path to reach its current levels of excellence in business performance. The company has recently been listed on the New York Stock exchange in a bid to remain competitive and enhance its market position (Lianna, Jessica & Ryan, 2014). Currently, the pace by which globalization has been taking toll on businesses has quickened tremendously. Business executives and owners have been increasing their call for flexibility, agility and innovativeness from various business functions (Robertson, 2006). This development is aimed at positioning businesses strategically to tackle the rising challenges in competition and other factors in the external and internal environment. Amidst all these persistent calls, one thing has often been largely ignored, that is, organizations are creatively designed in order to search for competitive advantages that are sustainable. In addition, the fact that stability in business practices is just not desirable and effective, but attainable as well, has been an issue buried deeply in managerial psyche, but has been bolstered by periods of practice and theory (Christopher & Edward, 2006). It is important to understand that the popularity that is often associated with efforts for process improvement that range from overall quality management to various kinds of sigma provides are enough evidence for

Monday, August 26, 2019

Attraction of Developed Markets for Emerging Market Brands Essay - 1

Attraction of Developed Markets for Emerging Market Brands - Essay Example This paper illustrates emerging markets as the markets or nations that have economies classified as being in their relatively early development stages. These nations’ financial markets are less developed compared to the major financial centers from all over the world. However, these markets are becoming increasingly integrated and sophisticated into the international and developed markets. The emerging markets spread across the globe and they differ extensively in their cultures, political, and economic behavior, as well as in factors that drive their market growth. There has been an increasing attraction of the developed markets for the emerging market brands, though they face numerous challenges. Emerging markets face numerous challenges in their efforts of joining and competing in the developed markets. Agtmael stated that limited financial resources and the lack of international experience force the emerging markets into becoming low-cost equipment manufacturers and provid ers for the developed markets. The result is that the developed markets consider the products within the emerging markets as commodities and competitive, which leads to lower performance levels of the emerging markets, as well as the products within these markets. An additional obstacle for emerging markets venturing into the developed markets is that the developed markets are the negative stigma that consumers in these markets have on products from the emerging markets. Most of the consumers within the developed markets, as Agtmael states, are usually not willing to pay the market price of emerging commodities. This forces the companies within the emerging markets to lower their sales prices to make sales. In return, the companies get little or no income, and at times, they make losses on the products they provide to the markets. The negative stigma of the developed markets makes it difficult for the brands within the emerging markets to grow and join the developed markets. Emergin g market brands seek to join the developed markets for various reasons. The different reasons are mainly to benefit from the greater developed market. The main reason is to gain a greater market. Developed markets have more customers compared to the emerging market. These markets provide a wider range of consumers for the products that exist within the markets compared to the developing markets. The developed markets usually have more participants, who are willing and committed to trading business activities.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Gender isues in employment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gender isues in employment - Essay Example "It is a people business. Tourism is the largest employer of any industry in the world now; its growing by leaps and bounds. And tourism is the largest employer in San Francisco. This gives women a chance to hone their management skills." (Armstrong, 2006) Employment opportunities in the hospitality profession abound all over the world. In the majority of West European countries women predominate in the hotel staff but unfortunately, only a small number of women are in management positions. Purcell postulates that there are three mutually-reinforcing but distinct elements which influence the allocation or denial of particular work to women: labour cost, sexuality and patriarchal prescription (Purcell, 1996) A study by Kattara in 2005 on career challenges of female managers in Egyptian hotels found out that the majority of female managers were not in situations that would lead them to the positions of general managers. â€Å"The study detected several factors preventing female managers from reaching the glass ceiling. The stepwise multiple regression showed that 35.5 percent of the variance in the existence of challenges could be explained by four factors; gender discrimination, relationships at work, mentor support and lack of network access† (Kattara, 2005) In the hospitality sphere there also exists a strong gender-segregation in work. Burgess, in her research, claims that there exist considerable discrepancies between the career development and salaries of men and women in the hospitality industry. The most prestigious and, therefore, better-paid job positions are occupied by men (Burgess, 2003).. Female employees tend to work in housekeeping, the kitchen or in the food and beverage departments. While there tends to be an equal amount of men and women in front office, top managerial positions still tend to be held by men. There appears to be a constant conflict between mutually beneficial

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Investegating business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Investegating business - Essay Example Along with much other industry airline industry is also expanding its business in Qatar. Airlines are one of the fast expanding industries in the world. British airways are the largest airline company based on its international flights, fleet size, destinations. The company is based in London. This Airline Company gets a strong backing of UK Govt. It was established in 1972 by UK Government. From that time it has became a strong player in this industry. It gets a huge support from the government for maintaining its efficient and effective service. British Airlines has a strong presence in UK. It is doing its business for a long time. Therefore nationally and internationally its presence is strongly felt. The company has a strong brand presence. It deals with many international flights and gives a memorable experience to its customers by providing excellent services. It is counted as a leading brand in the airlines industry. The company has an excellent global presence as it provide flights to almost every country of the world. It covers nearly 150 international destinations of six continents of the world. The fleet size of British Airways is over 260 aircrafts. The company is having a strong and prosperous partnership with United Airlines. British Airways forms one world airline. It is the third largest airline company. The company is facing a strong competition from Cash Rich Middle Eastern Airlines. This airline company is becoming very popular day by day by offering equivalent services and facilities like British Airways. This intense competition limits the market share of British Airways. It is losing its customers of its competitor. The company is also facing the problem of poor employee relation which is not properly handled by the company. In British Airways change and innovation in the service offered is slightly slow. The important marketing

Friday, August 23, 2019

Macroeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Macroeconomics - Essay Example Briefly identify and explain three methods intended to encourage economic growth for the typical firm in Hong Kong. Currently, various methods are being enacted by the government to encourage economic growth of the. These include: Adoption of free trading market policies Free markets have increased exports resulting in an increased revenue and surplus trading balance that increases the GDP, overall. Modern technological & labor advancement Boosting the technological sector has not only resulted in grooming of Hong Kong as a financial hub but has also increased the quality & quantity of production which has upgraded the manufacturing sector. Increased adoption of technology has improved the performance of labor, considerably. Adapting limited taxation strategy to attract Foreign Direct Investment Limited-tax policies, upgraded infrastructure and lenient incorporation procedures has played a major role in attracting Foreign Direct Investment. This capital inflow has not only increased revenue but has also decreased the unemployment level. Foreign Direct Investment is a major contributor to economy’s growth. ... ic growth is encoraged by productivity promotion, in accordance with the supply side of the economy, then there will be an increase in aggregerate supply as well as aggregerate demand resulting in a non-inflationary growth. Briefly describe Singapore’s economy (background, GDP, growth rate, etc.) Singapore is an open, trade-oriented economy which has a corruption-free government, skilled work-force, highly developed infrastructure with a good manufacturing sector mainly lead by electronics and biomedical manufacturing industries. GDP (2009): $182.23 billion GDP real growth rate (according to IMF 2009): negative 1.3% GDP real growth rate (according to CIA world of fact book 2010): 14.6% Per capita GDP (2009): $36,537 In 2009, the manufacturing sector with 26.3% and services sector with 69.1% has boosted Singapore’s economy. Briefly identify and explain three methods intended to encourage economic growth for the typical firm in Singapore. Following are few different metho d being used, to increase the economic growth for a typical firm in Singapore. Shifting towards service oriented economy Growth in the service sector increases the growth of overall economy. Financial services facilitates investment while telecommunications and power generation services helps to run a successful market economy. Birth of efficient-markets Establishment of efficeint markets, where prices are determined by supply and demand with few restrictions on trading of goods and services and adoption of free trade has increased healty competition, resulting in significant increase in exports and surplus balance of trade which ultimately boosts the economic growth. Approbation & implementation of business friendly policies Singapore Government has adapted business friendly policieswith a

Thursday, August 22, 2019

The tone of the poems Essay Example for Free

The tone of the poems Essay This phrase is an example of how the smaller things are often the best and I think that this is why Bennet used young boys and girls instead of just soldiers. Another reason is, I think, the anger felt at the association of two such different things the innocence of children and war. Bennet may have written it to make people to reconsider their views on war and the glorified heroes by adding a different dimension to them. In the line blood reds, cloud whites and ocean blues Bennet neglects to mention the land. He includes the sky and the sea but the earth isnt present. This is linked to the second stanza which begins with nature creating pain for the humans biting, stinging clouds of dust but ends with man taking control. I think that these lines may signify that the earth is being destroyed by humans. As nature is another beautiful casualty of the war, like children, I believe that Bennet may be suggesting that the innocent are the first to suffer. Also, he uses words such as biting and stinging to describe the winds. There are very derogatory adjectives so it may imply that Bennet is saying that war changes people and forces them to become things theyre not. This is also similar to The Man He Killed as war is like a charade or a game. When they were forced to pay the ultimate price it can relate to as the man who was killed was in his place which suggests that he had no choice. Strange people and foreign land both evoke similar images of a faraway place that is unknown to many people. Young children generally like familiarity but by the use of foreign it suggests that it is very upsetting for them. It can also signify that they were far away from home and there was nobody they know. The flags that caress them is their only comfort but by then it is too late. It is purely ironic that the flags which represent the politicians that killed them are the only thing to offer them some peace. This can be compared to quaint and curious war is because both poets are suggesting that war is odd and that it does not work in simple ways. Strange people is another likeness to The Man He Killed the first stanza is about the way in which they could have been friends if war didnt get in the way and the same applies for the people in Coming Home. I think that Bennet used that line to illustrate the bewilderness that can follow war as things change. Floating and seek the stars evokes an image of childlike fantasies of flying and going to the moon. These dreams could have been fulfilled if they hadnt died so young and I believe that Bennet, by constantly reminding of their deaths in subtle ways, is trying to recreate the families pain when they cant ever forget them. Glistening seems like something is finally recognising their sacrifice and they are being welcomed back home. It is as though the flags and the tarmac are the only things that care about them and I think that Bennet is implying, through no people being mentioned, that we dont overly mind their deaths. I think that Bennet was very bitter towards humanity when he wrote this as he does only refer to them with contempt: the government who sent them to fight. The final stanza of Coming Home is, compared to the rest of the poem, very calm and peaceful. Illuminates reminds me of someone suddenly understanding something or becoming enlightened. I think that it is a final reminder that we need to switch on about war as he considers it needless and waste of life. The calm nature of the setting moon could be a symbol of hope for the future as, despite nature being corrupted earlier in the poem, it has come through and shown itself here. This suggests that Bennet still believes that we do have the power to stop destroying things. By ending the poem where he did, I think that Bennet wants us to remember the soldiers who died for us and to know that, if we want it, a better future is available for us. The title and the tale of The Man He Killed suggest that two people were involved the murderer (he killed) and the poet. However it becomes clear that the poet is the killer when he recounts the story in first person. I think that the poet is ashamed of the act as he wants to remain anonymous. This suggests that the murder haunts him and that the needs clarification about the necessity of it. Its also shown by the because - as he needs to cast about for a reason. These two quotes hint that the poet is doubt about the true nature of war. The first and last stanza also suggests that, as he is thinking of what could have been, he, like Bennet, considers war to be a waste of life. The rhyming of the poem adds a more playful feeling to it and I think that the poet may have placed it in as a shield around his actual feelings. He may have done this because he was a soldier and is aware that they arent particularly supposed to have those sorts of thoughts. This is shown by ranged as infantry as he is impressing on us that he wasnt a person when he did it; he was a killing machine. The phrase off-hand like implies that the act of going to war isnt thought over or deliberated about, he just went. I think that he could be suggesting that people at home believe war is so easy you go, kill a few men, come back. However by reading the rest of the poem about his feeling suggest that it can leave you in moral turmoil. However the continuation of the rhymes suggests, I believe, that the poet is trying to make us aware of the underlying threat of the people who think that its one big joke.  In conclusion, I find that The Man He Killed is more touching than Coming Home because its in first person and therefore I could sympathise more with his feelings. This is a complete turn around from my first impressions on the poems as The Man He Killed seemed childish to begin with but when you look deeper the true message is there. Despite the differences in the poems, both poets agree on their final message to the readers: war isnt glorious or heroic; its a complete waste of life.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Japanese Industrialization and Economic Growth Essay Example for Free

Japanese Industrialization and Economic Growth Essay Japan achieved sustained growth in per capita income between the 1880s and 1970 through industrialization. Moving along an income growth trajectory through expansion of manufacturing is hardly unique. Indeed Western Europe, Canada, Australia and the United States all attained high levels of income per capita by shifting from agrarian-based production to manufacturing and technologically sophisticated service sector activity. Still, there are four distinctive features of Japans development through industrialization that merit discussion: The proto-industrial base Japans agricultural productivity was high enough to sustain substantial craft (proto-industrial) production in both rural and urban areas of the country prior to industrialization. Investment-led growth Domestic investment in industry and infrastructure was the driving force behind growth in Japanese output. Both private and public sectors invested in infrastructure, national and local governments serving as coordinating agents for infrastructure build-up. * Investment in manufacturing capacity was largely left to the private sector. * Rising domestic savings made increasing capital accumulation possible. * Japanese growth was investment-led, not export-led. Total factor productivity growth achieving more output per unit of input was rapid. On the supply side, total factor productivity growth was extremely important. Scale economies the reduction in per unit costs due to increased levels of output contributed to total factor productivity growth. Scale economies existed due to geographic concentration, to growth of the national economy, and to growth in the output of individual companies. In addition, companies moved down the learning curve, reducing unit costs as their cumulative output rose and demand for their product soared. The social capacity for importing and adapting foreign technology improved and this contributed to total factor productivity growth: * At the household level, investing in education of children improved social capability. * At the firm level, creating internalized labor markets that bound firms to workers and workers to firms, thereby giving workers a strong incentive to flexibly adapt to new technology, improved social capability. * At the government level, industrial policy that reduced the cost to private firms of securing foreign technology enhanced social capacity. Shifting out of low-productivity agriculture into high productivity manufacturing, mining, and construction contributed to total factor productivity growth. Dualism Sharply segmented labor and capital markets emerged in Japan after the 1910s. The capital intensive sector enjoying high ratios of capital to labor paid relatively high wages, and the labor intensive sector paid relatively low wages. Dualism contributed to income inequality and therefore to domestic social unrest. After 1945 a series of public policy reforms addressed inequality and erased much of the social bitterness around dualism that ravaged Japan prior to World War II. The remainder of this article will expand on a number of the themes mentioned above. The appendix reviews quantitative evidence concerning these points. The conclusion of the article lists references that provide a wealth of detailed evidence supporting the points above, which this article can only begin to explore. The Legacy of Autarky and the Proto-Industrial Economy: Achievements of Tokugawa Japan (1600-1868) Why Japan? Given the relatively poor record of countries outside the European cultural area few achieving the kind of catch-up growth Japan managed between 1880 and 1970 the question naturally arises: why Japan? After all, when the United States forcibly opened Japan in the 1850s and Japan was forced to cede extra-territorial rights to a number of Western nations as had China earlier in the 1840s, many Westerners and Japanese alike thought Japans prospects seemed dim indeed. Tokugawa achievements: urbanization, road networks, rice cultivation, craft production In answering this question, Mosk (2001), Minami (1994) and Ohkawa and Rosovsky (1973) emphasize the achievements of Tokugawa Japan (1600-1868) during a long period of closed country autarky between the mid-seventeenth century and the 1850s: a high level of urbanization; well developed road networks; the channeling of river water flow with embankments and the extensive elaboration of irrigation ditches that supported and encouraged the refinement of rice cultivation based upon improving seed varieties, fertilizers and planting methods especially in the Southwest with its relatively long growing season; the development of proto-industrial (craft) production by merchant houses in the major cities like Osaka and Edo (now called Tokyo) and its diffusion to rural areas after 1700; and the promotion of education and population control among both the military elite (the samurai) and the well-to-do peasantr y in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Tokugawa political economy: daimyo and shogun These developments were inseparable from the political economy of Japan. The system of confederation government introduced at the end of the fifteenth century placed certain powers in the hands of feudal warlords, daimyo, and certain powers in the hands of the shogun, the most powerful of the warlords. Each daimyo and the shogun was assigned a geographic region, a domain, being given taxation authority over the peasants residing in the villages of the domain. Intercourse with foreign powers was monopolized by the shogun, thereby preventing daimyo from cementing alliances with other countries in an effort to overthrow the central government. The samurai military retainers of thedaimyo were forced to abandon rice farming and reside in the castle town headquarters of their daimyo overlord. In exchange, samurai received rice stipends from the rice taxes collected from the villages of their domain. By removingsamurai from the countryside by demilitarizing rural areas conflicts over local water rights were largely made a thing of the past. As a result irrigation ditches were extended throughout the valleys, and riverbanks were shored up with stone embankments, facilitating transport and preventing flooding. The sustained growth of proto-industrialization in urban Japan, and its widespread diffusion to villages after 1700 was also inseparable from the productivity growth in paddy rice production and the growing of industrial crops like tea, fruit, mulberry plant growing (that sustained the raising of silk cocoons) and cotton. Indeed, Smith (1988) has given pride of place to these domestic sources of Japans future industrial success. Readiness to emulate the West As a result of these domestic advances, Japan was well positioned to take up the Western challenge. It harnessed its infrastructure, its high level of literacy, and its proto-industrial distribution networks to the task of emulating Western organizational forms and Western techniques in energy production, first and foremost enlisting inorganic energy sources like coal and the other fossil fuels to generate steam power. Having intensively developed the organic economy depending upon natural energy flows like wind, water and fire, Japanese were quite prepared to master inorganic production after the Black Ships of the Americans forced Japan to jettison its long-standing autarky. From Balanced to Dualistic Growth, 1887-1938: Infrastructure and Manufacturing Expand Fukoku Kyohei After the Tokugawa government collapsed in 1868, a new Meiji government committed to the twin policies of fukoku kyohei (wealthy country/strong military) took up the challenge of renegotiating its treaties with the Western powers. It created infrastructure that facilitated industrialization. It built a modern navy and army that could keep the Western powers at bay and establish a protective buffer zone in North East Asia that eventually formed the basis for a burgeoning Japanese empire in Asia and the Pacific. Central government reforms in education, finance and transportation Jettisoning the confederation style government of the Tokugawa era, the new leaders of the new Meiji government fashioned a unitary state with powerful ministries consolidating authority in the capital, Tokyo. The freshly minted Ministry of Education promoted compulsory primary schooling for the masses and elite university education aimed at deepening engineering and scientific knowledge. The Ministry of Finance created the Bank of Japan in 1882, laying the foundations for a private banking system backed up a lender of last resort. The government began building a steam railroad trunk line girding the four major islands, encouraging private companies to participate in the project. In particular, the national government committed itself to constructing a Tokaido line connecting the Tokyo/Yokohama region to the Osaka/Kobe conurbation along the Pacific coastline of the main island of Honshu, and to creating deepwater harbors at Yokohama and Kobe that could accommodate deep-hulled steamships. Not surprisingly, the merchants in Osaka, the merchant capital of Tokugawa Japan, already well versed in proto-industrial production, turned to harnessing steam and coal, investing heavily in integrated sp inning and weaving steam-driven textile mills during the 1880s. Diffusion of best-practice agriculture At the same time, the abolition of the three hundred or so feudal fiefs that were the backbone of confederation style-Tokugawa rule and their consolidation into politically weak prefectures, under a strong national government that virtually monopolized taxation authority, gave a strong push to the diffusion of best practice agricultural technique. The nationwide diffusion of seed varieties developed in the Southwest fiefs of Tokugawa Japan spearheaded a substantial improvement in agricultural productivity especially in the Northeast. Simultaneously, expansion of agriculture using traditional Japanese technology agriculture and manufacturing using imported Western technology resulted. Balanced growth Growth at the close of the nineteenth century was balanced in the sense that traditional and modern technology using sectors grew at roughly equal rates, and labor especially young girls recruited out of farm households to labor in the steam using textile mills flowed back and forth between rural and urban Japan at wages that were roughly equal in industrial and agricultural pursuits. Geographic economies of scale in the Tokaido belt Concentration of industrial production first in Osaka and subsequently throughout the Tokaido belt fostered powerful geographic scale economies (the ability to reduce per unit costs as output levels increase), reducing the costs of securing energy, raw materials and access to global markets for enterprises located in the great harbor metropolises stretching from the massive Osaka/Kobe complex northward to the teeming Tokyo/Yokohama conurbation. Between 1904 and 1911, electrification mainly due to the proliferation of intercity electrical railroads created economies of scale in the nascent industrial belt facing outward onto the Pacific. The consolidation of two huge hydroelectric power grids during the 1920s one servicing Tokyo/Yokohama, the other Osaka and Kobe further solidified the comparative advantage of the Tokaido industrial belt in factory production. Finally, the widening and paving during the 1920s of roads that could handle buses and trucks was also pioneered by the grea t metropolises of the Tokaido, which further bolstered their relative advantage in per capita infrastructure. Organizational economies of scale zaibatsu In addition to geographic scale economies, organizational scale economies also became increasingly important in the late nineteenth centuries. The formation of the zaibatsu (financial cliques), which gradually evolved into diversified industrial combines tied together through central holding companies, is a case in point. By the 1910s these had evolved into highly diversified combines, binding together enterprises in banking and insurance, trading companies, mining concerns, textiles, iron and steel plants, and machinery manufactures. By channeling profits from older industries into new lines of activity like electrical machinery manufacturing, the zaibatsu form of organization generated scale economies in finance, trade and manufacturing, drastically reducing information-gathering and transactions costs. By attracting relatively scare managerial and entrepreneurial talent, the zaibatsu format economized on human resources. Electrification The push into electrical machinery production during the 1920s had a revolutionary impact on manufacturing. Effective exploitation of steam power required the use of large central steam engines simultaneously driving a large number of machines power looms and mules in a spinning/weaving plant for instance throughout a factory. Small enterprises did not mechanize in the steam era. But with electrification the unit drive system of mechanization spread. Each machine could be powered up independently of one another. Mechanization spread rapidly to the smallest factory. Emergence of the dualistic economy With the drive into heavy industries chemicals, iron and steel, machinery the demand for skilled labor that would flexibly respond to rapid changes in technique soared. Large firms in these industries began offering premium wages and guarantees of employment in good times and bad as a way of motivating and holding onto valuable workers. A dualistic economy emerged during the 1910s. Small firms, light industry and agriculture offered relatively low wages. Large enterprises in the heavy industries offered much more favorable remuneration, extending paternalistic benefits like company housing and company welfare programs to their internal labor markets. As a result a widening gulf opened up between the great metropolitan centers of the Tokaido and rural Japan. Income per head was far higher in the great industrial centers than in the hinterland. Clashing urban/rural and landlord/tenant interests The economic strains of emergent dualism were amplified by the slowing down of technological progress in the agricultural sector, which had exhaustively reaped the benefits due to regional diffusion from the Southwest to the Northeast of best practice Tokugawa rice cultivation. Landlords around 45% of the cultivable rice paddy land in Japan was held in some form of tenancy at the beginning of the twentieth century who had played a crucial role in promoting the diffusion of traditional best practice techniques now lost interest in rural affairs and turned their attention to industrial activities. Tenants also found their interests disregarded by the national authorities in Tokyo, who were increasingly focused on supplying cheap foodstuffs to the burgeoning industrial belt by promoting agricultural production within the empire that it was assembling through military victories. Japan secured Taiwan from China in 1895, and formally brought Korea under its imperial rule in 1910 upon the heels of its successful war against Russia in 1904-05. Tenant unions reacted to this callous disrespect of their needs through violence. Landlord/tenant disputes broke out in the early 1920s, and continued to plague Japan politically throughout the 1930s, calls for land reform and bureaucratic proposals for reform being rejected by a Diet (Japans legislature) politically dominated by landlords. Japans military expansion Japans thrust to imperial expansion was inflamed by the growing instability of the geopolitical and international trade regime of the later 1920s and early 1930s. The relative decline of the United Kingdom as an economic power doomed a gold standard regime tied to the British pound. The United States was becoming a potential contender to the United Kingdom as the backer of a gold standard regime but its long history of high tariffs and isolationism deterred it from taking over leadership in promoting global trade openness. Germany and the Soviet Union were increasingly becoming industrial and military giants on the Eurasian land mass committed to ideologies hostile to the liberal democracy championed by the United Kingdom and the United States. It was against this international backdrop that Japan began aggressively staking out its claim to being the dominant military power in East Asia and the Pacific, thereby bringing it into conflict with the United States and the United Kingdom i n the Asian and Pacific theaters after the world slipped into global warfare in 1939. Reform and Reconstruction in a New International Economic Order, Japan after World War II Postwar occupation: economic and institutional restructuring Surrendering to the United States and its allies in 1945, Japans economy and infrastructure was revamped under the S.C.A.P (Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers) Occupation lasting through 1951. As Nakamura (1995) points out, a variety of Occupation-sponsored reforms transformed the institutional environment conditioning economic performance in Japan. The major zaibatsu were liquidated by the Holding Company Liquidation Commission set up under the Occupation (they were revamped as keiretsu corporate groups mainly tied together through cross-shareholding of stock in the aftermath of the Occupation); land reform wiped out landlordism and gave a strong push to agricultural productivity through mechanization of rice cultivation; and collective bargaining, largely illegal under the Peace Preservation Act that was used to suppress union organizing during the interwar period, was given the imprimatur of constitutional legality. Finally, education was opened up, partly through making middle school compulsory, partly through the creation of national universities in each of Japans forty-six prefectures. Improvement in the social capability for economic growth In short, from a domestic point of view, the social capability for importing and adapting foreign technology was improved with the reforms in education and the fillip to competition given by the dissolution of the zaibatsu. Resolving tension between rural and urban Japan through land reform and the establishment of a rice price support program that guaranteed farmers incomes comparable to blue collar industrial workers also contributed to the social capacity to absorb foreign technology by suppressing the political divisions between metropolitan and hinterland Japan that plagued the nation during the interwar years. Japan and the postwar international order The revamped international economic order contributed to the social capability of importing and adapting foreign technology. The instability of the 1920s and 1930s was replaced with replaced with a relatively predictable bipolar world in which the United States and the Soviet Union opposed each other in both geopolitical and ideological arenas. The United States became an architect of multilateral architecture designed to encourage trade through its sponsorship of the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (the predecessor to the World Trade Organization). Under the logic of building military alliances to contain Eurasian Communism, the United States brought Japan under its nuclear umbrella with a bilateral security treaty. American companies were encouraged to license technology to Japanese companies in the new international environment. Japan redirected its trade away from the areas that had been incorporated i nto the Japanese Empire before 1945, and towards the huge and expanding American market. Miracle Growth: Soaring Domestic Investment and Export Growth, 1953-1970 Its infrastructure revitalized through the Occupation period reforms, its capacity to import and export enhanced by the new international economic order, and its access to American technology bolstered through its security pact with the United States, Japan experienced the dramatic Miracle Growth between 1953 and the early 1970s whose sources have been cogently analyzed by Denison and Chung (1976). Especially striking in the Miracle Growth period was the remarkable increase in the rate of domestic fixed capital formation, the rise in the investment proportion being matched by a rising savings rate whose secular increase especially that of private household savings has been well documented and analyzed by Horioka (1991). While Japan continued to close the gap in income per capita between itself and the United States after the early 1970s, most scholars believe that large Japanese manufacturing enterprises had b y and large become internationally competitive by the early 1970s. In this sense it can be said that Japan had completed its nine decade long convergence to international competitiveness through industrialization by the early 1970s. MITI There is little doubt that the social capacity to import and adapt foreign technology was vastly improved in the aftermath of the Pacific War. Creating social consensus with Land Reform and agricultural subsidies reduced political divisiveness, extending compulsory education and breaking up the zaibatsu had a positive impact. Fashioning the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (M.I.T.I.) that took responsibility for overseeing industrial policy is also viewed as facilitating Japans social capability. There is no doubt that M.I.T.I. drove down the cost of securing foreign technology. By intervening between Japanese firms and foreign companies, it acted as a single buyer of technology, playing off competing American and European enterprises in order to reduce the royalties Japanese concerns had to pay on technology licenses. By keeping domestic patent periods short, M.I.T.I. encouraged rapid diffusion of technology. And in some cases the experience of International Business Machines (I.B.M.), enjoying a virtual monopoly in global mainframe computer markets during the 1950s and early 1960s, is a classical case M.I.T.I. made it a condition of entry into the Japanese market (through the creation of a subsidiary Japan I.B.M. in the case of I.B.M.) that foreign companies share many of their technological secrets with potential Japanese competitors. How important industrial policy was for Miracle Growth remains controversial, however. The view of Johnson (1982), who hails industrial policy as a pillar of the Japanese Development State (government promoting economic growth through state policies) has been criticized and revised by subsequent scholars. The book by Uriu (1996) is a case in point. Internal labor markets, just-in-time inventory and quality control circles Furthering the internalization of labor markets the premium wages and long-term employment guarantees largely restricted to white col lar workers were extended to blue collar workers with the legalization of unions and collective bargaining after 1945 also raised the social capability of adapting foreign technology. Internalizing labor created a highly flexible labor force in post-1950 Japan. As a result, Japanese workers embraced many of the key ideas of Just-in-Time inventory control and Quality Control circles in assembly industries, learning how to do rapid machine setups as part and parcel of an effort to produce components just-in-time and without defect. Ironically, the concepts of just-in-time and quality control were originally developed in the United States, just-in-time methods being pioneered by supermarkets and quality control by efficiency experts like W. Edwards Deming. Yet it was in Japan that these concepts were relentlessly pursued to revolutionize assembly line industries during the 1950s and 1960s. Ultimate causes of the Japanese economic miracle Miracle Growth was the completion of a protracted historical process involving enhancing human capital, massive accumulation of physical capital including infrastructure and private manufacturing capacity, the importation and adaptation of foreign technology, and the creation of scale economies, which took decades and decades to realize. Dubbed a miracle, it is best seen as the reaping of a bountiful harvest whose seeds were painstakingly planted in the six decades between 1880 and 1938. In the course of the nine decades between the 1880s and 1970, Japan amassed and lost a sprawling empire, reorienting its trade and geopolitical stance through the twists and turns of history. While the ultimate sources of growth can be ferreted out through some form of statistical accounting, the specific way these sources were marshaled in practice is inseparable from the history of Japan itself and of the global environment within which it has realized its industrial destiny. Appendix: Sources of Growth Accounting and Quantitative Aspects of Japans Modern Economic Development One of the attractions of studying Japans post-1880 economic development is the abundance of quantitative data documenting Japans growth. Estimates of Japanese income and output by sector, capital stock and labor force extend back to the 1880s, a period when Japanese income per capita was low. Consequently statistical probing of Japans long-run growth from relative poverty to abundance is possible. The remainder of this appendix is devoted to introducing the reader to the vast literature on quantitative analysis of Japans economic development from the 1880s until 1970, a nine decade period during which Japanese income per capita converged towards income per capita levels in Western Europe. As the reader will see, this discussion confirms the importance of factors discussed at the outset of this article. Our initial touchstone is the excellent sources of growth accounting analysis carried out by Denison and Chung (1976) on Japans growth between 1953 and 1971. Attributing growth in national income in growth of inputs, the factors of production capital and labor and growth in output per unit of the two inputs combined (total factor productivity) along the following lines: G(Y) = { a G(K) + [1-a] G(L) } + G (A) where G(Y) is the (annual) growth of national output, g(K) is the growth rate of capital services, G(L) is the growth rate of labor services, a is capitals share in national income (the share of income accruing to owners of capital), and G(A) is the growth of total factor productivity, is a standard approach used to approximate the sources of growth of income. Using a variant of this type of decomposition that takes into account improvements in the quality of capital and labor, estimates of scale economies and adjustments for structural change (shifting labor out of agriculture helps explain why total factor productivity grows), Denison and Chung (1976) generate a useful set of estimates for Japans Miracle Growth era. Operating with this sources of growth approach and proceeding under a variety of plausible assumptions, Denison and Chung (1976) estimate that of Japans average annual real national income growth of 8.77 % over 1953-71, input growth accounted for 3.95% (accounting for 45% of total growth) and growth in output per unit of input contributed 4.82% (accounting for 55% of total growth). To be sure, the precise assumptions and techniques they use can be criticized. The precise numerical results they arrive at can be argued over. Still, their general point that Japans growth was the result of improvements in the quality of factor inputs health and education for workers, for instance and improvements in the way these inputs are utilized in production due to technological and organizational change, reallocation of resources from agriculture to non-agriculture, and scale economies, is defensible. Notes: [a] Maddison (2000) provides estimates of real income that take into account the purchasing power of national currencies. [b] Ohkawa (1979) gives estimates for the N sector that is defined as manufacturing and mining (Ma) plus construction plus facilitating industry (transport, communications and utilities). It should be noted that the concept of an N sector is not standard in the field of economics. [c] The estimates of trade are obtained by adding merchandise imports to merchandise exports. Trade openness is estimated by taking the ratio of total (merchandise) trade to national output, the latter defined as Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P.). The trade figures include trade with Japans empire (Korea, Taiwan, Manchuria, etc.); the income figures for Japan exclude income generated in the empire. [d] The Human Development Index is a composite variable formed by adding together indices for educational attainment, for health (using life expectancy that is inversely related to the level of the infant mortality rate, the IMR), and for real per capita income. For a detailed discussion of this index see United Nations Development Programme (2000). [e] Electrical generation is measured in million kilowatts generated and supplied. For 1970, the figures on NHK subscribers are for television subscribers. The symbol n.a. = not available. Sources: The figures in this table are taken from various pages and tables in Japan Statistical Association (1987), Maddison (2000), Minami (1994), and Ohkawa (1979). Flowing from this table are a number of points that bear lessons of the Denison and Chung (1976) decomposition. One cluster of points bears upon the timing of Japans income per capita growth and the relationship of manufacturing expansion to income growth. Another highlights improvements in the quality of the labor input. Yet another points to the overriding importance of domestic investment in manufacturing and the lesser significance of trade demand. A fourth group suggests that infrastructure has been important to economic growth and industrial expansion in Japan, as exemplified by the figures on electricity generating capacity and the mass diffusion of communications in the form of radio and television broadcasting. Several parts of Table 1 point to industrialization, defined as an increase in the proportion of output (and labor force) attributable to manufacturing and mining, as the driving force in explaining Japans income per capita growth. Notable in Panels A and B of the tab le is that the gap between Japanese and American income per capita closed most decisively during the 1910s, the 1930s, and the 1960s, precisely the periods when manufacturing expansion was the most vigorous. Equally noteworthy of the spurts of the 1910s, 1930s and the 1960s is the overriding importance of gross domestic fixed capital formation, that is investment, for growth in demand. By contrast, trade seems much less important to growth in demand during these critical decades, a point emphasized by both Minami (1994) and by Ohkawa and Rosovsky (1973). The notion that Japanese growth was export led during the nine decades between 1880 and 1970 when Japan caught up technologically with the leading Western nations is not defensible. Rather, domestic capital investment seems to be the driving force behind aggregate demand expansion. The periods of especially intense capital formation were also the periods when manufacturing production soared. Capital formation in manufacturing, or in infrastructure supporting manufacturing expansion, is the main agent pushing long-run income per capita growth. Why? As Ohkawa and Rosovsky (1973) argue, spurts in manufacturing capital formation were associated with the import and adaptation of foreign technology, especially from the United States These investment spurts were also associated with shifts of labor force out of agriculture and into manufacturing, construction and facilitating sectors where labor productivity was far higher than it was in labor-intensive farming centered around labor-intensive rice cultivation. The logic of productivity gain due to more efficient allocation of labor resources is apparent from the right hand column of Panel A in Table 1. Finally, Panel C of Table 1 suggests that infrastructure investment that facilitated health and educational attainment (combined public and private expenditure on sanitation, schools and research laboratories), and public/private investment in physical infrastructure including dams and hydroelectric power grids helped fuel the expansion of manufacturing by improving human capital and by reducing the costs of transportation, communications and energy supply faced by private factories. Mosk (2001) argues that investments in human-capital-enhancing (medicine, public health and education), financial (banking) and physical infrastructure (harbors, roads, power grids, railroads and communications) laid the groundwork for industrial expansions. Indeed, the social capability for importing and adapting foreign technology emphasized by Ohkawa and Rosovsky (1973) can be largely explained by an infrastructure-driven growth hypothesis like that given by Mosk (2001). In sum, Denison and Chung (1976) argue that a combination of input factor improvement and growth in output per combined factor inputs account for Japans most rapid spurt of economic growth. Table 1 suggests that labor quality improved because health was enhanced and educational attainment increased; that investment in manufacturing was important not only because it increased capital stock itself but also because it reduced dependence on agriculture and went hand in glove with improvements in knowledge; and that th e social capacity to absorb and adapt Western technology that fueled improvements in knowledge was associated with infrastructure investment. References Denison, Edward and William Chung. Economic Growth and Its Sources. In Asias Next Giant: How the Japanese Economy Works, edited by Hugh Patrick and Henry Rosovsky, 63-151. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 1976. Horioka, Charles Y. Future Trends in Japans Savings Rate and the Implications Thereof for Japans External Imbalance.Japan and the World Economy 3 (1991): 307-330. Japan Statistical Association. Historical Statistics of Japan [Five Volumes]. Tokyo: Japan Statistical Association, 1987. Johnson, Chalmers. MITI and the Japanese Miracle: The Growth of Industrial Policy, 1925-1975. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1982. Maddison, Angus. Monitoring the World Economy, 1820-1992. Paris: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2000. Minami, Ryoshin. Economic Development of Japan: A Quantitative Study. [Second edition]. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan Press, 1994. Mitchell, Brian. International Historical Statistics: Africa and Asia. New York: New York University Press, 1982. Mosk, Carl. Japanese Industrial History: Technology, Urbanization, and Economic Growth. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2001. Nakamura, Takafusa. The Postwar Japanese Economy: Its Development and Structure, 1937-1994. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1995. Ohkawa, Kazushi. Production Structure. In Patterns of Japanese Economic Development: A Quantitative Appraisal, edited by Kazushi Ohkawa and Miyohei Shinohara with Larry Meissner, 34-58. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979. Ohkawa, Kazushi and Henry Rosovsky. Japanese Economic Growth: Trend Acceleration in the Twentieth Century. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1973. Smith, Thomas. Native Sources of Japanese Industrialization, 1750-1920. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. Uriu, Robert. Troubled Industries: Confronting Economic Challenge in Japan. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996. United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Report, 2000. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Citation: Mosk, Carl. Japan, Industrialization and Economic Growth. EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. January 18, 2004. URL http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/mosk.japan.final

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Risk and return strategies

Risk and return strategies Portfolio management is principally about risk and return strategies. Introduction Portfolio management is principally about risk and return strategies. Portfolio management is concerned with the construction and management of investment assets. There are two principal school of portfolio management: passive and active. A passive and active term refers to the method by which the assets are selected for inclusion into the portfolio. A passive portfolio includes the market portfolio; consist of shares in all companies quoted on the stock exchange, or a selection of group of stock e.g. all technology stocks. Passive portfolio therefore does not make any attempt to research each stock and decide if it should be included or excluded from the portfolio. There is no technical or fundamental analysis carried out in order to beat the market portfolio. Passive equity portfolio management is all about long-term buy and hold strategy, usually tracking an index over time. This is designed to match the market portfolio performance. Active portfolio management on the other hand uses research, analysis (both fundamental and technical), economic factors and also an element of subjective judgement in selecting stock into the portfolio. It is believed that the stocks are undervalued and will out perform the market portfolio in the future. Planning The planning stage of portfolio management involves a written investment policy statement. A clearly defined investment policy that includes the preferred management technique, hence, active or passive indexed portfolio management. It also outlines the portfolio goals; level of returns and defined risk tolerances for the portfolio. The planning also involves rebalancing strategies and means of effective internal and external communication of those goals. Asset Analysis Aside from inside knowledge asset selection advice is based on two principal types of investment analysis: technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis is based on studying past trends in share prices in the belief that patterns can be discerned in their movements which can be used to predict future movements. This uses graphs of historical share price variations and it is often referred to as â€Å"chartists† analysis. Fundamental analysis concentrates on the study of the underlying position of the company. Such details as its strengths and weaknesses and future opportunities and threats, also uses ratio analysis in evaluating a particular stock. Asset Selection and Combination Stock selection as part of Active portfolio management has very limited impact on the return investors earn, as a result of stock markets being efficient. The efficient markets hypothesis (EMH) holds that a stock market is efficient if the market price of a company’s share quickly and correctly reflects all relevant information as it becomes available (Lumby, S., Jones, C., (2004)). In asset selection and combination we need to remember that investors are risk-adverse and select their portfolios by the mean/variance criteria (i.e. they are markowitz efficient investors). However, asset combination does result in an increase portfolio returns as a result of how the investment are combined and allocated within the available asset classes. The combination of stocks vs. bonds vs. cash, large companies very smaller ones, UK companies vs. overseas stocks and value companies vs. growth companies. Evaluation of Performance Portfolio performance evaluation involves return measurement (weight average return) over several periods. Performance measures such as market timing and security analysis. Style analysis is used to describe a portfolio by evaluating how its returns act, rather than by using a simplistic concept of what the portfolio included. Its objective is also to provide a superior mean of performance measurement for stocks and also the skills of the fund manager. Style analysis uses an asset class factor model: Ri = bi1Fi1+bi2Fi2+ †¦ + binFin+ei Where Fi1 †¦ Fin are return factors and bi1 †¦Ã‚   bni are sensitivities to the factors. All factors are return factors to the portfolio. The factors used in the portfolio are stock index, bonds, value stock, growth stock etc. There are many ways to evaluate the performance of a portfolio, style analysis is one of the newest techniques and it allows us to explain how portfolio returns behave. It is also a useful mean of stock selection for the portfolio.   Re Balancing Rebalancing the portfolio is critical for the financial future. Rebalancing involves buying low and selling high. This process ensures that the portfolio is in line with the initial portfolio asset allocation plan. As the economic conditions change some assets within the portfolio will appreciate faster then others and their weighting within the portfolio will change from the initial allocation plan. This will result in an out of balance portfolio and will need rebalancing by selling high performing stock and buying low performing ones. Indexing – Advantages and Disadvantages As the stock markets are efficient there are various advantages in index funds over actively managed funds as a portfolio management method. EMH theory states that security markets are extremely efficient in processing individual stock information; so undervalued shares are difficult to consistently identify and purchase. Another advantage is the lower expenses in managing an index fund over an active fund. Also lower trading costs versus actively managed funds where stocks are typically traded more frequently and finally, lower capital gains taxes resulting from shares being sold less often. Disadvantages of indexing are in terms of tracking error suffered as a result of changing economic climax where certain stock will out perform expectations. This could result in the portfolio becoming out of balance and rebalancing results in transaction costs and subsequent errors in tracking the underlying index. Active Portfolio Management An Active investor is one that is not passive. Active portfolio manager’s portfolio will differ from that of a passive manager. This is due to that fact that active managers will act on perception of mispricing in stock market, and as such perceptions change frequently, such managers tend to trade frequently, hence, the term ‘active’. Efficient Market Hypothesis would disagree that such mispricing exist in the market and that the stock market is efficient. Therefore, active portfolio manager’s returns are lower then that of passive managers, due to the increase cost of actively managing the portfolio. If the markets are semi-strong or strong form efficient then active portfolio management in terms of fundamental or technical analysis are waste of time as they will not provide a potential gains in discovering the undervalued stocks. Only if the market were weak form efficient than it would permit fundamental analysis to uncover potential gains. Therefore, active portfolio management is an unrewarding exercise and can lead to waste of both effort and money. Passive vs. Active There are various advantages of passive portfolio management over that of active. We have already discussed the EMH and how that would suggest that active management has very little value in terms of portfolio selection in a semi-strong form of market efficiency.   So passive portfolio management costs much less than active management. This give passive investors an increase net returns as the management costs are lower. Passive portfolios are also more tax efficient with their ‘buy and hold forever’ approach result in low income tax costs. Active portfolio often attracts capital gains tax from sell of short-term appreciated gains in stocks. Passive mutual funds have a inherently low turnover of securities and thus are exposed to fewer realised capital gains. Passive portfolios have predictable styles. A passive investor knows exactly what types of securities he or she is invested in. Active managers, on the other hand, can vary the composition of their portfolios significantly over time a problem known as style drift. Conclusion Actively managed portfolio will try to deliver excess returns over the passive portfolio by actively forecasting future returns on individual stocks. However, in reality they do not obtain significant excess return of the market portfolio, which is the primary indexing for the passive portfolio management.  Ã‚   This is in accordance with the efficient market hypothesis that states that stock markets are semi-strong or strong form efficient, with stocks being priced correctly.   Index funds are arguable more successful portfolio management method on the believe that markets are significantly efficient and active manager will not be able to gain excess returns, after taking into account the excessive costs involved in active management. Passive management seeks to deliver the return and risks associated with the chosen index. Evaluation of index funds performance is in terms of how closing the portfolio tracks the underlying index in terms of returns. The costs associated with index funds are in rebalancing the portfolio. It assumes that when the economic condition changes and the assets weight within the portfolio can be redefined automatically. However, in rebalancing the portfolio involves physical selling of high stocks and selling low stocks, which involve transaction costs. This result in tracking errors driven by transaction costs, funds cash flows un-invested, treatment of dividend by the index and index composition changes. Finally, the liquidity of the underlying index stocks can have an impact on transaction costs and subsequently the tracking error encountered by the portfolio. References Bibliography http://www.cypram.com/passive.html Lumby, S., Jones, C., (2004), Corporate Finance – theory and practice 7th edition, Thomson ACCA Paper 3.7 (2001) Strategic Financial Management, The Financial Training Company http://www.nseindia.com/content/press/jul2003b.pdf#search=tracking%20error%20and%20methods%20of%20indexing

Comparing Satire in 100 Years of Solitude and The House of the Spirits :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Use of Satire in 100 Years of Solitude and The House of the Spirits A major preoccupation with contemporary South American novelists, as seen with Gabriel Marquez's "100 years of solitude" and Isabelle Allende's "The house of the spirits", is the traditional and long lasting conflict between the Liberals and the conservatives. Although a common preoccupation with Marquez, Allende, and various other Latin American novelists the manner in which this preoccupation is expressed varies considerably depending on the author. In "100 years of solitude", Marquez looks to satire in all it's forms, to express this preoccupation. This is contrasted with Allende's "The House of the Spirits" in which she uses conflict in ideologies between generations as her method of exposition, as seen for instance in the conflict between Esteban Trueba (a true conservative) and his grandaughter Alba. To see how Garcia and Allende treat political issues we must first examine why they chose to examine them. When Marquez wrote his first works Colombia suffered the second greatest American fratricidal war of the twentieth century, as a result of the assassination of the popular Liberal leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, in 1948. His novels examine in his words "... motives for that violence." The importance of politics in the Novel is reflected in the choice of title 100 years of solitude which correspond to the 100 years between the formation of Colombia, in 1830 to 1930 when Conservative homogeny ended. Allende on the other hand was the niece of the first Socialist president in Chile who was killed following the Coup. The Oxford Dictionary defines satire as a piece "...in which prevalent follies or vices are assailed with ridicule or serious denunciation." This is exactly what Marquez has done. Hyperbole is well used in the novel in the form of 'Magical realism'. Marquez believed that ' Magical Realism' "...provides a magnifying glass so readers can understand reality better..." (as quoted in Playboy interview). We first see this used in the opening pages of the novel where Marquez describes the world as "...so recent that many things lacked names, and in order to indicate them it was necessary to point." This parallels the political naivety of the newly formed Colombian republic. Macondo is a garden of Eden ".

Monday, August 19, 2019

YouTube’s Effect on the Music Industry Essay -- digital media, innovati

Digital media has had a vast effect on American society, and it continues to revolutionize the way things work. One of the main outlets for innovation in digital media is the website, YouTube. It has paved a way for the sharing of videos to a multitude of audiences. More specifically, it has profoundly affected the way the music industry works, by providing independent artists a way to release and share their music to a mass audience without the help of a major record label. Often called â€Å"The YouTube Effect,† it has become a phenomenon in the music industry. Bindu Swetha (2013) noted, â€Å"YouTube was launched in 2005 by former PayPal owners Chad Hurley, Steven Chen and Jawed Karim. Prior to YouTube, there was no website that enabled users to share their favorite videos on a website† (para. 1). The fact that YouTube was the first website to allow people to post and share videos is one of the reasons YouTube has had so much success. YouTube users can upload content to the site and share it for millions to see. Christopher Cayari (2011) found that, â€Å"YouTube has become the third most visited website in the world – behind Google and Facebook† (YouTube Has Affected Music section, para. 2). In October 2008, YouTube attracted 100 million American viewers a day, estimated to be over two-thirds of the Internet users in the United States (comScore, 2008). Cayari (2011) said that YouTube is a technology that challenges the way we perceive music, musician and audience (YouTube Has Affected Music section, para. 3). When you take a look at the number of musicians who have gained recognition simply by using YouTube, you can see the truth in Cayari’s statement. A few of the artists who are well-known for making their start on YouTube include Ty... ... References Cayari, C. (2011). The YouTube Effect: How YouTube Has Provided New Ways to Consume, Create, and Share Music. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 12(6). Retrieved November 8, 2013, from http://www.ijea.org/v12n6/v12n6.pdf comScore, press release. (2008, December 9). YouTube attracts 100 million U.S. online video viewers in October 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2013 from http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2008/12/YouTube_Reaches_100_Million_US_Viewers Miller, D. (2011). Celebrating YouTube's Influence on Music. Music Business Journal, 02. Retrieved November 8, 2013, from www.thembj.org/2011/02/celebrating-you-tubes-influence-on-music/ Swetha, B. (2013, May 28). How YouTube Has Changed the Music Industry. Buzzle.com. Retrieved November 8, 2013, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-youtube-has-changed-the-music-industry.html

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Carribbean Mist :: essays research papers

Caribbean Mist Web Project Recommendation Report Overview This report provides Caribbean Mist Inc. Tanning Spa, with a well detailed recommendation for a web site that would cater to the company’s needs. In order to create a good web site and write a good report we need to have a general understanding of your needs. From our extensive research we can see that the main goal for the company’s web site is to attract more customers and provide customers with more information regarding your services. Both goals are addressed in the recommendations for the web site so that it will achieve its full potential. In this report we will analyze and contextualize our team’s field research so that we can give recommendations for a web site that meets the standards of Caribbean Mist. After looking over what we had gathered from our research we began to see what Caribbean Mist is looking for in this web site and what restrictions and standards you are forced to comply with. The report provides recommendations for advertising for the web site, web site design, where to host the web site, and the context on the web site. Each recommendation is well stated and provides descriptive steps or actions, supported by research, that the company must perform in order to fulfill the recommendation. Along with the description, we will provide a rationale on why the option we chose will best suit your needs. Lastly, each recommendation presents Caribbean Mist with a step by step procedure of what needs to be done and how long it will take. To assist Caribbean Mist with our recommendations, we have also i ncluded a cost analysis of each recommendation that is given so that you will know exactly how much each step will cost and how much money will be needed to get the project started. Analysis Our team executed a number of things to produce our recommendations. We did field research, an interview, and market research. Our field research consisted of an in-depth observation of Caribbean Mist while they were open for business. This gave us a better idea of what types of customers come into Caribbean Mist and how often. We also conducted an interview with the manager to get a better idea of what Caribbean Mist wants in a web site. We conducted market research by examining other tanning company web sites to see what is popular in the industry.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Critical study of how music uniquely expands our understanding of experience Essay

Music has long existed in our society as a form of culture, entertainment and the like. In fact every civilization known to exist had had a great deal of benefits from music. There are lots of people who see music as nothing more than plain entertainment however there are those who holds in the claim that music gives us something more than entertainment per se. There are claims that music could affect us in a number of ways. Music has considerable effects on one’s mind, body and emotions. Music that are abundant in beats in a way could fuel one’s body, music carried out with feelings could affect one’s emotional status and could either make one cry with misery or laugh with joy, classical music could stimulate the mind, and so on and so forth. There are people who are greatly aware of the effects music could wrought on a person and this could greatly be seen on our everyday experiences. Movies, films, news, see the importance and know the effects music could have on every individual and thus music is key parts in every movie made nowadays. Have you ever seen a movie that doesn’t have an original sound track or a movie that did not make use of background music? Ever seen a documentary and the like who did not use music in the background while portraying the videos or documents they have? Having seen some of the uses music could have it may now suffice to say that music is indeed an important aspect in our lives and it plays fundamental role in today’s society (as well as on societies which existed thousand of years ago). As was stated music is an essential part of every culture, of every society and thus it is of no surprise that music is seen as a part of our everyday routines. Music could have fundamental effects on one’s emotion. Think of an instance wherein certain music affected you emotionally. Say you heard a certain song and it evoke within you some sort of emotions like pain, happiness and the like. I remember for an instance a conversation I have had with a friend of mine. He always loves to listen to the lyrics of Ever After of Bonnie Bailey and Come Around by Rhett Miller. He told me that he love listening to Ever After because that used to be their theme song (of his ex girlfriend) and he loves singing Come around because he can relate to that particular song. Thus, seemingly music indeed has certain effects on our emotions. I even remember claiming that my friend is such a masochist because he loves listening to sad songs such as Come Around when he has a choice to do otherwise. Similarly music has certain ways of affecting one’s mood. However it is not really known how do music affects a person physiologically and psychologically as well. Thus, a question may arise as to how do certain music affects a person’s mood. In order to determine how music affects a person’s mood one must first know the root as to how music inspires a person’s emotion. There are two contrasting viewpoints who tried to answer this particular puzzle. These views are called emotivist and cognitivist. For an emotivist they believe in the notion that we feel certain emotions as a form of response everytime we hear certain music. The cognitivist on the other hand believes otherwise. The cognitivists believes that there is more to humans than emotions and thus they believe that we get to decode certain musical emotions on a rational level, thus it shows that the cognitivists do not really believe that we really get to experience musical emotions. In order to see whether the beliefs of the emotivists are correct or not an experiment needs to be conducted in order to see if there are certain music models which could draw out coherent physiological reactions from different kinds of people. This experiment is needed in order for us to see if we really do experience emotions when exposed to a particular music. It is in this regard that a study had been conducted by Krumhansl wherein two groups of student were used. These particular groups of students each partake different activities. The activity went as follow: One group of 40 students dynamically rated the levels of sadness, fear, happiness, and tension in six sample pieces intended to evoke sadness, fear, or happiness. They did so by adjusting a slider on a computer while the music was playing. A separate group, consisting of 38 college students, was hooked up to physiological sensors monitoring a variety of cardiovascular, electrodermal, and respiratory responses which recorded their change over time. Both groups heard the six musical samples with a 90-second pause in between each. The physiological measures taken from the second group were compared with the degree of sadness, fear, happiness, and tension reported by the first group. Both the physiological measures and emotional ratings were recorded as they changed during the course of the piece. Therefore, correlations could be drawn between the intensity of certain emotions and physiological symptoms. (Boswell) The results shown by the experiment was in accordance to the side of the emotivists. Each of the musical selections was rated as having the intended emotion, and consistent physiological responses were found for each measured emotion: sad music was correlated with a decreased heart rate, lowered finger temperature, increased blood pressure, and decreased skin conductance level; happy music with faster and shallower breathing, and fear-invoking music with a slower pulse, faster breathing, and decreased finger temperature. These effects were consistent during the duration of the pieces. (Boswell) This is further proof that the emotivists position was indeed supported by the said experiment. The fact that there was a coherent physiological modification that was produced by the different music used in the said experiment were behavioral evidence enough that those college students indeed experienced certain emotions all throughout the time they were exposed to the music used. This result contradicted the claim that emotions could only be transmitted once a person gets to recognize a certain passage present within a particular music. Another study was made by Sloboda. Sloboda attempted to identify the exact musical composition which brings about definite physical emotional responses. Examples of the said responses are tears, trembling, and the like. The study made use of questionnaire which was dispersed to five hundred British citizens. However, only eighty-three persons send back the survey. It is an important thing to know that those eighty-three persons who answered the survey were experts in terms of music, particularly classical music. The said survey had went on as follow: Participants were instructed to indicate the frequency with which they experienced certain physical responses as an effect of music within the last five years, as well as the piece of music and, if possible, the specific part of the piece or musical event that provoked it. In addition, they were asked to say whether the response was consistently evoked. (Boswell) A huge number of the partakers claimed that they were able to experience certain physical emotional responses such as mirth, trembling, tears, lump in their throats and the like for the last five years of their lives. However the survey showed that women are more prone to experiencing tears as compared to men. Men on the other hand, especially those already on their thirties, claimed that they experienced more laughter than compared to other age. Just as was the case on the experiment conducted by Krumhansl, the survey conducted by Sloboda also showed a great deal of consistency to each piece of music they were exposed to. This particular survey also showed the extent of the consistency in that the reactions remained consistent even though they have heard the certain musical piece for more than fifty times. A further point of interest is that there are particular melodic constructions which showed to have consistent effects upon the partakers of the said survey. Appogiaturas for one were consistent in bringing tears into surface. The experiment also showed that a series of changes in terms of harmony incite trembling, whereas quickening brought about faster heart beats. However, if there is a certain drawback in the said study is the fact that it was conducted with the use of questionnaires. We could have no way of knowing if the person who answered it had answered truthfully or if s/he is merely bluffing. Thus, in a way we have no way of making sure that the partakers of the said survey indeed experienced the particular emotions and physical responses they reported they have experienced for the past five years. Another factor is the fact that those who participated in the survey were all expert on the field of music and thus we could not really deduct from this survey alone that the rest of the world would also act or feel the same way. However there are certain studies which had been conducted which show that very little difference exists between those who have musical expertise and those who have none. In addition, the records stated by the partakers of the said survey regarding their experiences of physical signs of emotions are not really unusual. Thus, in a way we could say that the study conducted by Sloboda also supported the position held by the emotivists. We should also take into account the fact that the physical responses reported by the survey partakers are in fact common in all human beings since we all share the same autonomic response system. However, we should also take note of the fact that our capability to utilize the said system in order for us to feel or experience certain emotions brought about by music is in a way, a learned process. This particular claim is supported by the fact that very young children do not really get to experience the said responses. Even those adults who have different kinds of music as compared to ours are not likely capable to experience the said responses brought about by the music we listen into. Thus, Sloboda claimed that the link between musical compositions and emotions is a learned process which is also dependent on one’s culture. However, this does not necessitate that we do not really get to experience or fell certain emotions from listening to certain music. It only tells us that we may not be able to relate nor are we likely to experience certain emotions from listening to other music that are completely different from ours. Fact is, Sloboda even claimed that if we are to be exposed to music completely different from ours we could still get to relate to that music although it would take time. Therefore even though the link between musical compositions and emotions is a learned process, evidences and studies still show the stand held by the emotivists that we are indeed capable of feeling or experiencing certain emotions simply by listening to a particular music. Thus those who participated in the studies conducted have steadily testified that they have indeed experienced true emotions when they listened to certain music. The researches conducted also accounted for the fact that very little difference in terms of recognizing emotions could be seen between those who have musical expertise and those who have none. Thus this accounted for the emotivists view that we could indeed experience certain emotions simply by listening to certain music, although it is still not clear what inclines us to be affected in certain ways. Research conducted claims that there is really no ground in saying that somewhere in our brains there could be located a region dedicated mainly to process musical data. In contrary, the errand of musical processing is extended to the whole region of our brains. Thus whereas the right brain is responsible for the emotions evoked while listening to music, the left brain is quite responsible for looking at music in a more rational ground thus it tends to critically examine music. There are even proofs which show that the primeval region within our mid brain is the one responsible for our emotions we experience while listening to music. Thus a primeval region within our midbrain engages itself with the task of realizing and appreciating music in an emotional way. However, the specific region wherein music is being developed (if ever there is one) is yet to be known. A study which involves this particular interest was conducted by Schmidt and Trainor. Schmidt and Trainor studied whether or not frontal brain electrical activity correlated with intensity and positivity or negativity, or valence, of emotion. The study showed that the left frontal brain is the one responsible for experiencing positive emotions whereas the right frontal brain is the one responsible for experiencing negative emotions. Thus, emotions such as happiness, interests and the like are product of the left frontal brain whereas emotions such as horror, revulsion, pain and the like were made by the right frontal brain. Therefore it would suffice for us to say that when listening to happy tunes our left frontal brain is likely to be triggered whereas listening to desolate songs would trigger our right frontal brain. It also follows that the intensity of music could affect the intensity of the frontal activity. The hypothesis stated above had already been confirmed. A careful selection of music which would likely draw out positive emotions triggered the left frontal brain whereas a careful selection of music which would likely draw negative emotions triggered the right frontal brain. Thus, the frontal activity of the brain increases every time the intensity of certain music also increases. Thus in a way this is also another proof which supports the emotivist view that listening to certain music could make a person experience certain emotions. Thus a similarity between music and language could be seen. Both language and music alike is inclined to be interpreted subconsciously. Thus, this seems to show that humans have a biological structure which enables music to draw emotions from each of us. And though this particular structure is yet to be known, researchers concluded that the said structure is not composed of a single area on the brain. On the contrary, researchers believe that such structure is made up of an interaction of the different systems which could be found within our brain. It is due to music’s many uses that music is also deemed to have considerable effects on the field of medicine. There are certain accounts taken from the Bible, artifacts, as well as studies that show that music could have considerable effects on a person’s health and well-being. In fact, there are historical inscriptions taken from Egypt, Greek, China and other known civilizations which praise music’s ability in medical matters. Music is widely considered to have medical importance and it is in this regard that music even such a term such as music therapy. After World War II the United States of America even see to it that music therapy would be used on wounded soldiers who were tormented by physical as well as emotional traumas taken from the war. Physicians and nurses alike saw how music helped alleviate some of the soldiers or veterans pain by merely engaging themselves on musical activities. It is on this regard that hospitals started employing musicians to help better their patients’ status. Music had been very helpful in bettering the patient’s emotional as well as psychological status and as many people learned of these certain benefits derived from music, National Association for Musical Therapy came to existence. The need for musical therapy became wide range to the point that the National Association for Musical Therapy or NAMT allied themselves to other musical organizations which in turn resulted into the foundation of the American Music Therapy Association or AMTA. The ranges of music therapy vary widely in that it not only caters to emotional sickness since it also proved to be beneficial in sickness suffered under physical injuries. Music therapy helped people in terms of their perceiving pains. There are a number of reasons why they consider music as an effectual means in limiting perceived pains. First, music could divert a person’s mind from the pain at hand or from the pain a person perceives. Second, music could help in terms of giving a person some kind of control. Thirdly, music could help counter pain since it could help a person in releasing endorphins which are necessary in giving a person some sense of well-being. Fourth, slow music could help a person in terms of relaxation in that it slows a person’s breathing. Take a person with leukemia for an example. Let’s say Person A needs to undergo a certain surgery necessary to cure his leukemia. One should admit that surgical procedures are indeed frightening and thus Person A could not help but be afraid of what’s on store for him and thus Person A’s blood pressure continues to rise and this in turn has a crucial effect on Person A’s healing process. This particular thing could also heighten Person A’s awareness or perception of pain. One’s pain could not be measure by anyone and thus there is no standard in terms of the amount of pain a person could have. It is in this manner that music therapy comes into the picture. We have already enumerated the reasons why music therapy is considered beneficial in medicine and thus in this manner one could be lead to speculate that music therapy could indeed lessen one’s pain perception because it could work in certain ways in order to lessen a person’s perceived pain. Disturbance or diversion could help in certain ways in lessening one’s sense perception and thus it could help moderate the pain a person undergoes. This pain moderation could be redirected to the cognitive section which could be seen in the Gate-Control Theory of Pain. Pleasant music naturally applies or concentrates on a person’s pleasant stimulus which in turn concerns the capability of the information processing system. Since the music would be busy attending to the pleasant stimulus of a person it naturally follows that the person’s occupation would be diverted from the pain-causing stimulus. It is ion this regard that music is considered important in distracting a person because distraction presents a person with an escape by means of imagination which in turn is a crucial means in lessening stress, nervousness and fear which are important factors which constitutes pain. Thus enjoyable imagination could promote some sense of control to a person which could decrease a person’s nervousness and feeling of being powerless. Thus since music helps transfer our attention away from painful experiences it provides us with a strategy we could use when we undergo painful experiences, may it be physically or emotionally.