Senior year

The time has finally arrived less than a month to senior graduation. Just not too long ago I was sitting down in the lecture hall getting my senior portraits done . Let was a very long processes trying to figure out what outfit I was going to wear , trying this and trying that on until I found the perfect outfit for my last set of high school pictures. Once it came time to do the cap and gown pictures it hit me that this is literally my last and final year of high school.Who would have known that your senior year is literally the most expensive year in all f the years you've been in high school. Spirit packs are a must during your senior year which includes a cute backpack, sunglasses, and a lanyard yea it was a bit on the pricey side but so what its senior year. Then you have all the books that finally decided to catch up with you that you have to pay for because you were too lazy to keep up with them. Cap and gown, Prom, All night grad party and of course the year book is all a par t of those dues no one wants to pay but choose to because It's your last year.Choosing graduation Invitations was hard because there were so many efferent packages to choose from then having to make a list of the people you wanted to Invite. It's hard to know that this year was a year for a lot of â€Å"last time â€Å"things. The last Whereon vs†¦ South lakes football game thankfully we won that game. My very last year of playing powder puff with the girls of 2014 that have literally played every year approaching the senior year. This year was our year at the pep rally being able to see our year showed In the dance was great, we went crazy seeing that because this Is our year to shine. Senior year The time has finally arrived less than a month to senior graduation. Just not too long ago I was sitting down in the lecture hall getting my senior portraits done . Let was a very long processes trying to figure out what outfit I was going to wear , trying this and trying that on until I found the perfect outfit for my last set of high school pictures. Once it came time to do the cap and gown pictures it hit me that this is literally my last and final year of high school.Who would have known that your senior year is literally the most expensive year in all f the years you've been in high school. Spirit packs are a must during your senior year which includes a cute backpack, sunglasses, and a lanyard yea it was a bit on the pricey side but so what its senior year. Then you have all the books that finally decided to catch up with you that you have to pay for because you were too lazy to keep up with them. Cap and gown, Prom, All night grad party and of course the year book is all a par t of those dues no one wants to pay but choose to because It's your last year.Choosing graduation Invitations was hard because there were so many efferent packages to choose from then having to make a list of the people you wanted to Invite. It's hard to know that this year was a year for a lot of â€Å"last time â€Å"things. The last Whereon vs†¦ South lakes football game thankfully we won that game. My very last year of playing powder puff with the girls of 2014 that have literally played every year approaching the senior year. This year was our year at the pep rally being able to see our year showed In the dance was great, we went crazy seeing that because this Is our year to shine.

Control of the Corporation, Mergers and Acquisitions

The Agency Problem and Control of the Corporation, Mergers and Acquisitions The Agency Problem and Control of the Corporation Corporate managers are the agents of shareholders. This relation creates a problem for shareholders who must find ways to induce managers to pursue shareholders interests. Financial managers do act in the best interest of the shareholders by taking action to increase the stock value. However, in large corporations ownership can be spread over a huge number of stockholders. It has been mentioned that this agency problem arises whenever a manager owns less than 100 percent of the firm’s shares. Because the manager bears only a fraction of the cost when his behavior reduces the firm value, he is unlikely to act in the shareholders’ best interest. Let’s just say that management and stockholder interests might differ, imagine that the firm is considering a new investment, and the investment is expected to favorably impact the share value, but is relatively a risky venture. Owners of the firm will then wish to take the investment because the stock will rise, but management may not with the fear of there jobs being lost. One obvious mechanism that can work to reduce the agency problem is increased manager insider shareholding. But, even where managerial wealth permits this is costly since it precludes efficient risk bearing. Other mechanisms are also available. More concentrated shareholdings by outsiders can induce increased monitoring by these outsiders and so improve performance by a firm’s own managers. Similarly, greater outside representation on corporate boards can result in more effective monitoring of managers, and the market for managers also can improve managerial performance by causing managers to become concerned with their reputation among prospective employers. The available theory and evidence are consistent with the view that stockholders control the firm and that stockholder wealth maximization is the relevant goal of the corporation. The stockholders elect the board of directors, who, in turn, hire and fire management. Even so, there will undoubtedly be times when management goals are pursued at the expense of the stockholders, at least temporarily. Mergers and Acquisitions An acquisition, also known as a takeover or a buyout or â€Å"merger†, is the buying of one company (the ‘target’) by another. An acquisition may be friendly or hostile. In the former case, the companies cooperate in negotiations; in the latter case, the takeover target is unwilling to be bought or the target's board has no prior knowledge of the offer. Acquisition usually refers to a purchase of a smaller firm by a larger one. Sometimes, however, a smaller firm will acquire management control of a larger or longer established company and keep its name for the combined entity. This is known as a reverse takeover. Another type of acquisition is reverse merger a deal that enables a private company to get publicly listed in a short time period. A reverse merger occurs when a private company that has strong prospects and is eager to raise financing buys a publicly listed shell company, usually one with no business and limited assets. Achieving acquisition success has proven to be very difficult, while various studies have shown that 50% of acquisitions were unsuccessful. The acquisition process is very complex, with many dimensions influencing its outcome Although they are often uttered in the same breath and used as though they were synonymous, the terms merger and acquisition mean slightly different things. When one company takes over another and clearly establishes itself as the new owner, the purchase is called an acquisition. From a legal point of view, the target company ceases to exist, the buyer â€Å"swallows† the business and the buyer's stock continues to be traded. In the pure sense of the term, a merger happens when two firms agree to go forward as a single new company rather than remain separately owned and operated. This kind of action is more precisely referred to as a â€Å"merger of equals†. The firms are often of about the same size. Both companies' stocks are surrendered and new company stock is issued in its place. For example, in the 1999 merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham, both firms ceased to exist when they merged, and a new company, GlaxoSmithKline, was created. †¢In practice, however, actual mergers of equals don't happen very often. Usually, one company will buy another and, as part of the deal's terms, simply allow the acquired firm to proclaim that the action is a merger of equals, even if it is technically an acquisition. Being bought out often carries negative connotations, therefore, by describing the deal euphemistically as a merger, deal makers and top managers try to make the takeover more palatable. An example of this would be the takeover of Chrysler by Daimler-Benz in 1999 which was widely referred to in the time, and is still now, as a merger of the two corporations. The buyer buys the shares, and therefore control, of the target company being purchased. Ownership control of the company in turn conveys effective control over the assets of the company, but since the company is acquired intact as a going concern, this form of transaction carries with it all of the liabilities accrued by that business over its past and all of the risks that company faces in its commercial environment. †¢The buyer buys the assets of the target company. The cash the target receives from the sell-off is paid back to its shareholders by dividend or through liquidation. This type of transaction leaves the target company as an empty shell, if the buyer buys out the entire assets. A buyer often structures the transaction as an asset purchase to â€Å"cherry-pick† the assets that it wants and leave out the assets and liabilities that it does not. This can be particularly important where foreseeable liabilities may include future, unquantified damage awards such as those that could arise from litigation over defective products, employee benefits or terminations, or environmental damage. A disadvantage of this structure is the tax that many jurisdictions, particularly outside the United States, impose on transfers of the individual assets, whereas stock transactions can frequently be structured as like-kind exchanges or other arrangements that are tax-free or tax-neutral, both to the buyer and to the seller's shareholders A purchase deal will also be called a merger when both CEOs agree that joining together is in the best interest of both of their companies. But when the deal is unfriendly that is, when the target company does not want to be purchased it is always regarded as an acquisition. Whether a purchase is considered a merger or an acquisition really depends on whether the purchase is friendly or hostile and how it is announced. In other words, the real difference lies in how the purchase is communicated to and received by the target company's board of directors, employees and shareholders. It is quite normal though for M deal communications to take place in a so called ‘confidentiality bubble' whereby information flows are restricted due to

Project Cost Management and Control - Term Project Essay

Project Cost Management and Control - Term Project - Essay Example 8% range for 30-year mortgages, possibly even higher, on or near the second quarter of 2008, so by seeing this situation we have to plan in such a way that the overall project gets a success. The basic aim of this section is to estimate the project cost for the overall project activities. I have decided to divide the project into different section and then estimate each sub task. As I have researched about this way of estimating turns out to be more effective and accurate. My basic aim is to divide the project to root level and estimate the each sub task of this project In this process of estimation I have tried to streamline each aspect of the home construction and incorporate each vital task so that the overall estimation turns out to be accurate. I have estimated the cost $ 25100. An order of magnitude estimates for this project as I have accessed is $ 26000 is approximately. Now we can apply for loan in a couple of local banks to pre-qualify us for the loan(s) we shall need for the project. Now I will present the task responsibility matrix for the overall project activities. Here I will present the main team members name and their responsibilities regarding the project activities. I have accessed these activities from the WBS. Now in this section I will present the Gantt chart of this project. I have used MS Project for this purpose. MS Project is project management tool for different project management activities. I have allocated estimated time to each project activity and ensured that each task have enough time for overall completion of that task. This house is selling for $230,000 and the land costs $30,000, then the construction cost is around $200,000. The home is 2,000 square feet, and then the cost per square foot is $100. This house has kitchen, two bed rooms, a lawn and total 5 rooms. This house is selling for $100,000 and the land costs $50,000, then the construction cost is around $150,000. The home is 5000 square feet, and then the cost per

PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (REPORT) Essay

PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (REPORT) - Essay Example The corporate industry as well non-corporate fraternity, both have changed the methods of recruitment with time. The institutions and the organizations have identified the recruitment process as one of the most important processes and are found to utilize considerable amount of scarce resources to develop, design and implement a robust method of recruitment and selection. In order to recruit the best of the talents available in the industry, the institution or the organization (as the case may be) should be able to identify the organizational objectives at the first place. As Margaret Dale observes that the requirement of the organization and the definition of the job hold the fundamental importance for effective performance. Dale further maintains that there are few initial questions that are to be answered at the outset which are as follows: In this particular case of recruitment of assistant teachers too, due emphasis should be laid to chalk out the exact objectives that the assistant teachers would be expected to accomplish. Such emphasis would help to identify the candidates with the right traits. As the particular objectives are identified for which the recruitment and selection is to take place, the next step is about designing such methods of recruitment. But prior to that, there lies another important aspect. The recruitment process should essentially be fair and should be free from all sorts of discriminations. Discriminations can be of various types. As Gareth Roberts opined, discrimination can be direct, indirect and victimized. The direct discrimination is such a situation where the particular person is outwardly rejected because of their certain activity or belief or any other reason. The indirect discrimination is not so expressive. Rather, it is basically targeted towards a group of people and is often not personal. The third method i.e. the

Computer security and risk management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Computer security and risk management - Essay Example This paper presents a Risk Management methodology for multi-national pharmaceutical company in Midlands pertaining to protection of the Information assets and the corresponding business assets of the organization against the known threats to the organization. Introduction: Risk Management is an intelligent mix of qualitative and quantitative analysis. The qualitative analysis procedure essentially requires establishment of a structured and logical assessment framework whereby metrics are assigned to every parameter that is being assessed. The analysis against the metric levels needs to be quantitative based on past experiences (data available), industry experiences (case studies), advice from consultants and internal brainstorming. Every level needs proper justification to a deep level such that serious risks do not remain un-noticed and also meager risks do not get projected to the management as serious simply because they are more talked about in the organization. In this paper a systematic Risk Management procedure is being presented in detail and applied to the case study. The workflow of risk management has been arrived at after a study of National Institute of Standards and Technology), BS ISO/IEC 27001:2005 standard and ISO/IEC 17799:2005 code of best practices. These approaches recommend that the asset values are calculated based on Confidentiality (C), Integrity (I) and Availability (A). Thereafter, the comprehensive list of threats to the business are listed down such that the overall threat value, probability value, vulnerability value and risk value can be calculated for each asset (Olzak, Tom, 2008). Risk Assessment Process: The Risk Management Process proposed in this case study has been presented in the figure below (Figure 1). This methodology requires that all the assets are first collated and their characterization is done in terms

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example Is it doing all the noise of sustainable production to create attention of the market? I begin my discussion wherein Chipotle is asked by Trilium Asset Management, a consortium of institutional investors, to submit sustainability report in its annual report to know if company follows environmental, social, and governance practices. Chipotle as of 2014 has not submitted such report, while other companies in its industry category have already obliged. (Patton, L.2015). This evasive action puts some doubts on my mind about the honesty of the company. I question also its honesty because a study comparing Chipotle and McDonalds, showed Chipotle food has more calories. (Fotrell, Q.2014). It is like fooling the people. Despite of this, people perceived Chipotle’s food as a better quality, thus company has managed to create â€Å"healthy halo† around the product. The customization (a system where they can choose their own ingredient) and preparing the food in front of customers did wonders, plus its assurance that Chipotle is constantly seeking fresh and sustainable grown food sources. To me, the â€Å"healthy halo† effect means a protective perception when Chipotle put the word â€Å"food with integrity† and organic foods, so people assume that the food is healthy. However, following evidences convinced me to believe Ells supports sustainability not only in words but in practice. According to Chipotle’s own website Ells has been buying naturally raised pork since 1999. He partners with local suppliers to be assured of the quality of its vegetables and meat are in compliance with the quality standards of Chipotle. Company is an advocate of raising animals in humane way, never given hormones and fed vegan way. Local produce of farms should only be within 560 kilometer of the restaurant to be assured of freshness (Chipotle.com) My belief is based on acts and

Anaysing Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Anaysing Organization - Essay Example The following pÐ °per will discuss this link Ð °ssessing operÐ °ting environment of TÐ °nglewood store. Discussion will be mÐ °de bÐ °sing on one of mÐ °nÐ °gement pÐ °rÐ °digms used to review the wÐ °y Ð °n orgÐ °nizÐ °tion functions. The most suitÐ °ble pÐ °rÐ °digm in discussion of orgÐ °nizÐ °tionÐ °l culture Ð °nd structure is interpretive discourse. Current paradigm was chosen because it assists in defining organizational culture and visualizing the structure of an organization.( As long as interpretetive paradigm aims to characterize how people experience the world, the ways they interact together, and the settings in which these interactions take place and thus, the discussion in present paper will be based on this specific approach (Burrell, MorgÐ °n, 1979). In the end, current pÐ °per will provide recommendÐ °tions for Ð °n orgÐ °nizÐ °tion in frÐ °mes of chosen pÐ °rÐ °digm. The structurÐ °l chÐ °nges of orgÐ °nizÐ °tionÐ °l strÐ °tegy Ð °re presented Ð °nd recommendÐ °tions to the top mÐ °nÐ °gement teÐ °m Ð °t TÐ °nglewood Ð °re provided. TÐ °nglewood is Ð ° leÐ °ding chÐ °in of retÐ °il stores proposing items such Ð °s clothing, Ð °ppliÐ °nces, electronics, Ð °nd home decor. There Ð °re Ð ° totÐ °l of 243 stores wÃ'â€"th more thÐ °n 29600 people employed in the stÐ °tes of WÐ °shington, Oregon, Northern CÐ °liforniÐ °, IdÐ °ho, MontÐ °nÐ °, Wyoming, ColorÐ °do, UtÐ °h, NevÐ °dÐ °, New Mexico, Ð °nd Ð rizonÐ °. The compÐ °ny operÐ °tes in the moderÐ °te price niche, tÐ °rgeting middle- Ð °nd upper-income customers. TÐ °nglewoods strÐ °tegic distinction is Ð °n â€Å"outdoors† theme, with Ð ° lÐ °rge cÐ °mping Ð °nd outdoor living section in every store. The store Ð °lso distinguishes itself by its simple, elegÐ °nt, Ð °nd uncluttered design concepts for the store Ð °nd their in-house products (Ð ilÐ °wÐ °di, Keller, 2005). The compÐ °nys mission stÐ °tement is: â€Å"TÐ °nglewood will be the best depÐ °rtment store for customers seeking quÐ °lity, durÐ °bility, Ð °nd vÐ °lue for Ð °ll Ð °spects of their

Vision Statement Comparison Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vision Statement Comparison - Assignment Example A vision statement goes hand in hand with the mission statement and the values that a given company seeks to entrench and move forward. The Vision statement outlines what goals the company seeks to achieve whereas the mission statement says clearly, what pathways to follow to achieve the goals. The values stand for the principles that the organization seeks to impart and entrench in its workers. The Ford Corporation is the largest carmaker in the USA for many centuries. Its mission statement is â€Å"To become the worlds leading consumer company for automotive products and services†. The statement is to the point and has the main objective and goal that Ford seeks to achieve. By reading the statement, one can truly tell what it is that the Ford Corporation has entrenched in its mission as well as daily activities, which is to become the company of choice in the automotive industry. The Starbucks Coffee House is one of the leading coffee companies in the world with branches worldwide. Its Vision statement states that â€Å"Share great coffee with our friends and help make the world a little better†.   In the statement, we can learn that the focus for the company is to use its product offering that is coffee to see to it that the world becomes better by taking and using their product. In addition, the Vision statement can be interpreted to depict that their product is a good way to unwind as well as foster relations with others. Harvard University is one of the world’s best universities churning out professionals and leaders at a high rate. The Vision statement for Harvard University is that â€Å"Harvard strives to create knowledge, to open the minds of students to that knowledge, and to enable students to take best advantage of their educational opportunities† The Stanford University vision has overtime changed. Initially the Vision statement was â€Å"Become the Harvard of the West† which later evolved overtime to read â€Å"provide quality services

Health care marketing in practice Research Paper

Health care marketing in practice - Research Paper Example Many of the US citizens are without health insurance and when they get ill either they do not find the best treatment or they cannot afford the cost. Moreover, the medical facility and cost vary from place to place. The present study deals in current strategic positioning of Abbott Northwest Hospital and their marketing plans. Abbott Northwestern Hospital was established in the year 1882 as Northwestern Hospital for Women and Children. It is one of the largest hospitals in the twin cities. It is recognized both nationally and locally for its exceptional service and expertise. Every year the hospital provides services to about more than 200,000 patients along with their families across the twin city and Upper Midwest. It serves in the women and child care segment (Hospital overview, n.d.). The website of the hospital provides all necessary information for the patients. The â€Å"visiting† (Visiting us, n.d.) information provides the patients and their families with the address, direction, visiting hours, transportation and campus view of the hospital. The website also provides information regarding the food and accommodation available, services provided for the international patients and preregistration requirements. Apart from these the hospital website gives a clear view of the products and servic es they render. If a patient is suffering from a certain type of illness and does not know which department to refer then they might visit the website and fill up the details present in the â€Å"Provider† (Find a Provider, n.d.) section. Overall the website is very much user friendly and convenient. The reason behind choosing this health care organization is that they have achieved success in the health care segment by providing differential advantage among the healthcare market. They have created the differential advantage among women and child by

Aassignment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Aassignment - Assignment Example To make the community aware of the importance of cleaning to prevent mosquitoes, an overall community cleaning program may be organized with the local government. This program, titled as Clean My Own Space entails every household to go out on a designated day to clean up their space and have a community leader assess the cleanliness of their space. Successful households will receive a souvenir shirt (max of 2 for those with two representatives) to commend their efforts. The household with the best waste segregation and disposal practices will receive a special award from the mayor. This way, the inhabitants will be more aware of the importance of clean space to control the spread of mosquitoes. I was in a bookstore looking for â€Å"Dork Diaries† by Rachel Renee Russell, a book my niece wished for Christmas. The store assistant seemed to be very busy when I approached her. I tried to find the book myself but learned that it was on a shelf at a securely locked counter. I approached the woman for the second time to inquire editions of the book. She told me that there are two, one that comes in a set of 6 and another in 3. I preferred the second due to its price but before I bought it, I asked the assistant about the difference in the titles. The assistant seemed irritated and tried to dismiss me by saying that the books are just the same. I insisted that there must be a difference based on the obvious difference in the number of books. She just said that the 6-pack set is hard-bound while the other is soft-bound. I still insisted that she hand me over the books so I could see for myself. When she pretended not to notice me, I said, â€Å"Aren’t you the one in charge here? I hope you’d give me attention because you can’t expect anyone to do your job for you.† Upon hearing this, the woman turned to my direction and got me the

Poverty a retrospect of beliefs with the wrong reality Essay Example for Free

Poverty a retrospect of beliefs with the wrong reality Essay As children we see life through a different set of eyes than others, and we accept the reality of our surroundings by how others judge us. We were the poor kids of the neighborhood and the others kids let us know that. My parents divorced when I was 5 and things were rough for my mother with 3 kids to raise on welfare. We thought we had it bad. Sometimes, we didn’t know where the next meal was coming from or who was going to help if things got worse; I remember we would stand in line to receive the food box for the month. Mom would put meals together and then she would leave for several weeks at a time, being on the road working for the Roller Derby. We never knew who our babysitters were going to be or if they were going to treat us with some sort of dignity and respect. Many times we took matters into our own hands and got rid of them and others just left, because we were not always the best behaved kids in the world, and we were always in some kind of trouble. The cops would bring us home at least 3 times a week for doing some crazy thing in the neighborhood, or stealing something from the local store to eat. After a while the cops and the store owners would just ask if we had something to eat or if there was something that we needed. Those were the days when people did come together and help others that were less fortunate, and we definitely needed the help. Our cousins lived in Firestone Park, a suburb of Los Angeles. They had some of the same obstacles to overcome except they did not have the community support that we received. My aunt was a single mother and did not receive food stamps. As I think back now on the difference between our lives, and the obstacles they faced compared to ours, we had it made. We faced challenges just as they did; I have been behind bars many times in my life. Both I and my older brother had interventions that changed our lives. My brother found out that the only way to change his life was to change his environment and look for other ways to support himself and his family than drugs. There were no food boxes available to my cousins and the cops were not as forgiving as they were in our neighborhood; the cops took my cousins to juvenile hall. There is one difference between my cousins and my family; they were half black and white. They were not looked at with the same sympathetic eyes as us and they told us about the way they were treated by the people of the city, and putting you all behind bars was the only way to solve the problem. From early on in their lives, they had to face the harsh reality that they were not treated the same as others even in their own community. Being called names by the other kids in the neighborhood, they had to fight everyday just to earn respect and they became the aggressors. They did things that we never thought of at our age, but that was the live they lived. My cousins went to juvenile hall very early on, and when they would get out, it did not take long for them to be locked up again. One of my cousins has spent over 3/4th of his life behind bars, and that is the only life he knows. We had spent a couple of days here and there in juvenile hall where they spent months throughout their teenage years. They did not have the same kind of caring community members as we did in our little part of the world; being a big city, crime was a way of life for kids there. There were not many options for the young people and joining a gang and the reality of death was just an everyday part of life. Drug abuse was prevalent and my cousins excelled in the life of crime. If it had not been for the YMCA in our community and the people that were placed into our lives, things for us could have been just as it was for my cousins. Both of my brothers have been in jail a time or two, except for my youngest brother who is spending the rest of his life in prison. He was sentenced to 25 to life, 25 to life and 18 years for crimes he was involved in 1994. I moved away from Stockton, California in 1996. My older brother moved away several years after I did and he now lives in Waldport, Oregon. He is a well respected part of the community. My journey began in 1995, after suffering a heart attack behind an overdose of Methamphetamine; I knew that I needed to change my life when I woke from the coma, and the charges that I was facing from running from the law for over 2 years. The judge whom I went in front of gave me my way out, but the road was not going to be easy. I had to complete a drug program, pay up all my fines and go to parenting classes. My kids had suffered long enough; they had to deal with all my addictions, the stealing, lying and cheating. It was going to be a battle, but I was willing to do what it was going to take to put my life back on the right track. The judge looked at me and told me â€Å"that if you do not complete this program and do all the requirements that I have set forth, that I would be facing 15 to 20 years straight time†. Thanks to the Veterans Administration and a Stockton Sheriff named Officer Garcia, the judge was going to give me a chance of a lifetime. All of the charges against me were to be dropped, and my records sealed and I would have a fresh start in life. The judge said it was against his better judgment to give me this opportunity, but I had a lot of people willing to give me a chance. He was looking forward to putting me behind bars. My cousins never had any kind of opportunities such as the one I was given and they were criminals and they would be punished to the full extent of the law. All of my cousins are in prison for life because of 3 strikes law. One of my cousins was not so lucky; He was shot and killed by the Los Angeles police that said he had pulled out a gun but none was ever found. They called it justifiable shooting, also known as guilt by association. I look back at the events of my life and realize that we were not poor by any means compared to other families in the Los Angeles area. The opportunities we had been given were not there for them and although we committed some of the same crimes, their punishment was more severe. I could never imagine being where I am today. I thank God for the people I have had in my life that gave me some different perspectives and hope that I could have more than I ever dreamed of. I look at how my cousins were raised and they way we were, and there are similarities, but we had it easy compared to them. Being of two different nationalities and dealing with the everyday stresses of the big city life must have been a burden that I am not sure if we would have survived. I must admit that life was not always rosy and wonderful, but we always had a roof over our heads and we might not have had the best meals but at least we had one. I am grateful to all the people I have had in my life that thought there was something to fight for and never let me give up hope. I pray for my cousins every day and give thanks to the lord for all that I have been given. Works Cited †. Howell, James, Decker, Scott H. â€Å"The Youth Gangs, Drugs, and Violence Connection Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, January 1999. U. S. Department of Justice. Boyz N the Hood Singleton, John. 1991. Columbia Pictures

The Implications Of The Erp Implementation Information Technology Essay

The Implications Of The Erp Implementation Information Technology Essay Enterprise resource planning systems are now a common feature of any large business; indeed, they are widely considered to be one of the most influential technological developments within the corporate workplace (Davenport, 1999). The popularity of such technology can be ascribed to the organisational benefits of implementing such systems; according to Lengnick-Hall et al (2004), for example, the introduction of such systems can improve the process flow of an organisation and provide the management of the organisation with better quality data on which to base their strategic decisions. This aids companies in their need to react in a timely and flexible manner to changes in the business environment (Zheng et al, 2006). The popularity of the implementation of ERP systems can be seen in the fact that the ERP software market is currently one of the fastest growing e-business software markets in the world, having increased from a value of $23.6 billion in 2004 to roughly $28.8 billion in 2006 (Woodie, 2005). However, there are limitations to the benefits which can result from the implementation of ERP systems, as reflected in the failed ERP implementations at Allied Waste Industries Inc and Hershey Foods Corporation (Scott and Vesey, 2002). The rapid economic growth of the United Arab Emirates has resulted in its transformation into a sought after destination for large enterprises (ERP in UAE, 2011). This is particularly the case in Abu Dhabi and Dubai which is currently the largest trading centre in the Middle East, and whose liberal government regulations, high quality infrastructure and thriving service sector have contributed to its success (ERP in UAE, 2011). As a result of such vibrant business growth, the ERP software market in the UAE was estimated at $300 million (Dh 1.1 billion) at the end of 2009 and is projected to grow further (Askari, 2008). This essay focuses on the implications of ERP implementation in Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates national airline, which was completed in 2006. The aim of the essay is to assess the implications of the new ERP system on the organisation as a whole and on its users. The essay begins with an overview of the key factors which are deemed to be important in determin ing the organisational and individual implications of the implementation of an ERP system before subsequently discussing the details of the ERP implementation in the case of Etihad Airways. The advantages and limitations associated with the new ERP system from the perspective of both the organisation and the users is then explored. A review of the studies which have been recently published in the field of ERP suggest a number of critical success factors which need to be present in an organisation to ensure that the implementation of the system yields the desired benefits to both the organisation and the users of the new system. If any of these critical success factors are absent, neither the individuals nor the organisation will reap the full benefits from the implementation of the new system. The first of these is strong leadership, or the capability of senior managers to convince the members of their organisation of the advantages of the change which will result from the ERP system implementation (Davenport, 1999). It is also important for managers to demonstrate that the implementation of the new system is motivated by market needs and that it will enable the organisation to thrive in their environment. This is corroborated by the results of a survey conducted by Zairi and Sinclair (1995) which indicated tha t effective leadership was thought to be the most important factor in large transformation efforts. The second critical success factor which has been identified is barriers to change within the organisation. If employees are resistant to the introduction of a new system, the likelihood is that the ERP system will fail to be successful. Such resistance may stem from a fear of losing power within the organisation or a resentment of authority, an issue highlighted by a study conducted by Bancroft (1996) which found that resolving political issues within an organisation was the most difficult challenge to overcome. According to Aladwani (2001), the first step to ensure a successful ERP implementation is the approval and support of key individuals and opinion leaders in the organisation. The third critical success factor is a strong ongoing communication with employees in order to engender a greater understanding of the new system (Kraemmerand et al, 2003) it is important for employees to be kept up to date with the progress of the new system in order to mitigate any confusion or employee resistance. The fourth critical success factor is the management of change and control. In particular, careful project management is important with clearly defined objectives, work plans and an ongoing overview of the progress of the project (Umble et al, 2003). This needs to be reinforced by a clear decision making hierarchy, with frequent progress reviews. The final critical success factor is the importance of organisational culture. The culture of a company influences the way in which the employees, and hence the users of the ERP system, respond to its implementation hence, the culture of the organisation needs to be adapted to incorporate the features of the new system (Wong, 2006). A new organisational culture needs to be developed which is underpinned by the trust and support of the organisations employees towards the new ERP system (Aladwani, 2001). Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates and launched its services in November 2003 (AMEinfo, 2006). Etihad currently lies to guests to more than fifty destinations in Asia, North America, Australia, Africa and Europe, with its fleet of aircraft totalling 57 (AMEinfo, 2006). Its revenue in 2009 totalled 2.3 billion USD, and the airline carried more than 7 million passengers (AMEinfo, 2006). Etihad implemented its ERP system in 2006 in partnership with Oracle E-Business Suite. The ERP system focused mainly on integrating the disparate functions of the airlines financial and accounting systems, specifically, its accounts payable, fixed assets, purchasing, inventory management, accounts receivable, accounts payable, self service expenses, inventory management and purchasing and its self service procurement (AMEinfo, 2006). The project took a total of eight months to complete and consulting services were provided to Etihad throughout the process by Satyam Comput er Services (AMEinfo, 2006). The new ERP system was implemented according to schedule and on budget. The key drivers behind the decision to implement a new ERP system in Etihad Airways stemmed largely from the fact that their existing accounting and finance system was outdated and technical upgrades were not available (Etihad Airways, 2009). Furthermore, the systems support which was provided by the current software provider was inadequate, with maintenance becoming expensive. As a result, the airline was spending a significant amount of money on a system which was not adequately meeting their needs (Etihad Airways, 2009). It was therefore decided that a new, integrated software system was needed to streamline and integrate the operational and financial process within the company. The processes which were successfully integrated in the introduction of Oracle E-Business Suite met 80 per cent of Etihad Airways requirements (Etihad Airways, 2009). It enabled Etihad Airways to achieve closer integration with the applications of other business units, enable complete process automation an d provided users with a more user friendly interface supported by strong online support (Etihad Airways, 2009). The same ERP system had also been implemented by a number of other regional airlines including Oman Air. The introduction of the new ERP system had a number of positive implications for both the users of the new system and the organisation itself. According to IBS (2011), the introduction of the new system played a key role in fuelling the growth of Etihad Airways. Firstly, the better organisation and integration of different functions within the operational and financial divisions enabled the company to conduct a profitability analysis on its routes, and to improve the yield from its existing routes based on the results of break even analysis (IBS, 2011). The provision of this useful information enabled the management of the organisation to decide on new flight routes as well as saving considerable time in the preparation of monthly and annual management reports, which was assisted by the simplification of the budget creation and invoice verification processes resulting from the integration of the systems. Secondly, all revenue budgeting and monthly accounting processes were fully auto mated and their systems were fully integrated with the other monthly revenue budgeting and accounting systems which were currently in operation at the organisation (IBS, 2011). This provided users with a central store of information from which they could access past reports and users were able to develop customised reports for their daily operations with the new system. This saved considerable time since it reduced the manual input needed from users and increased work efficiency by a total of 75 per cent (IBS, 2011). Thirdly, the implementation of the new system allowed employees to access the relevant financial and operational information at any station and department. It also enabled users to generate different versions of reports and to transfer data between different versions. The lack of manual input needed for the generation of reports meant that there was greater transparency in the calculations and computations which were used, thus reducing the risk of error and enabling th e company to easily retrace its steps in the event of an error. The new system also enabled the organisation to prepare comparison and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reports to compare metrics such as actual and projected expenditure from both the current and previous years (IBS, 2011). The benefits for the users of the new system in Etihad Airways was very positive. The key implications of the new system for the users consisted of the saving of time. Prior to the implementation of the new system, the finance department had to manually collect information from different work stations and these were combined in order to provide monthly reports for different revenue categories. The time consuming nature of the work involved meant that a total of two people were required to work on compiling reports during a period of five days (IBS, 2011). The introduction of the new system increased the work efficiency of users by 75 per cent (IBS, 2011), thus freeing up the time of users to concentrate on other tasks and also reducing the overall costs incurred by the organisation. Another key benefit for both users and the organisation of the introduction of the new system was the increased accuracy of the quality of work (IBS, 2011). Prior to the implementation of the new system, the majority of the work performed by employees was of a manual nature. There was therefore a significant risk of duplication and potential error related to human oversight Etihad Airways had lacked an integrated front end portal which could adequately support these processes with the result that much of the financial and operational data which was stored on the system was inaccurate and out of date. Therefore, the reports which were based on such data were not useful to management, and it was often necessary for employees to have to search through multiple databases in order to locate the required information. In many cases, the same information was stored in multiple databases which were not interlinked, with the result that data in one database was updated, but the data stored in other databases was not. Therefore, the introduction of the new system resulted in a much more user-friendly interface for the employees of the organisation and made it easier for them to access relevan t data to construct reports (IBS, 2011). However, despite the advantages which have been outlined above, there are a number of limitations associated with the introduction of the new system in relation to both the overall organisation and the systems users. The most obvious limitation to the new ERP system for Etihad Airways is its prohibitive cost. The results of a survey conducted by Panorama Consulting Group and based on 1600 ERP implementations worldwide (Sachdeva, 2010) found that the average cost of implementing a new ERP system is $6.2 million, which typically represents 6.9 per cent of the companys annual revenue. In addition to the one-off cost associated with the initial implementation of the ERP system, the ongoing costs of end-user training and data migration from the old system to the new system requires a considerable amount of time and money, and also results in lost business throughout that period. It is important to ensure that the benefits provided by the implementation of the new system outweigh the costs associated with the system the relatively recent introduction of the ERP system in Etihad Airways makes it difficult to determine whether this is the case. Another potential limitation associated with the implementation of the ERP system is the issue of training. The complexity of ERP systems means that adequate training is essential to ensure that users are fully prepared to start using the system and to earn their support for the project. Indeed, empirical studies have shown that investing a sufficient amount of money into user training is essential in determining the success or failure of a new ERP system. The study conducted by Gartner Consulting indicated that those companies whose training budgets for the new system constituted less than 13 per cent of the overall cost of introducing the new ERP system were significantly more likely to have an ERP system which was unsuccessful when compared to those companies whose training budget comprised a minimum of 17 per cent of the ER P implementation cost (Sachdeva, 2010). The limitations imposed on the effects of new ERP systems by inadequate training is also supported by findings in academic literature: a study conducted by Markus and Tanis (2000) explores the negative effects that inadequate user training and the consequent failure by employees to understand the functionality of the new system represented a key obstacle to the successful functioning of the new system. Furthermore, while the implications of the ERP system at Etihad Airways currently seems to be positive from both an organisational and a user perspective, the systems which are in place may be insufficiently flexible to adapt to any changes in the work flows and processes at the airline (Sachdeva, 2010). Etihad Airways is a very new airline, having only been launched seven years ago, and hence there is a likelihood that its business process will significantly change in the future whether it be through organic growth or through the acquisition of another company. There is therefore a risk that the ERP system which is currently in place may not have the flexibility to cope with changes in Etihad Airways organisational environment. The findings of this essay suggest that the implications of the implementation of the new ERP system in Etihad Airways have been overwhelmingly positive. The key benefits which have accrued to the management from the new system appear to have been a significant reduction in costs due to the reduced amount of time needed to perform activities. Furthermore, the integration of different systems has made it easier for the management to conduct different profitability analyses on airline routes, thus providing them with high quality information which they can use to inform their strategic decisions. The key benefits which have accrued to the users from the introduction of the new system also include a reduction in the amount of time needed to enter data through the elimination of the need for manual input. This has not only alleviated the tedious nature of tasks, it has also freed up users time to dedicate to other activities. The replacement of manual input with automated systems has als o reduced the risk of human error and potential duplication. The key limitations which are posed by the introduction of the new system stem from the ongoing costs associated with the maintenance and support for the new ERP system, the need for continuous training for end users, and the risk that the ERP systems which are in place are not sufficiently flexible to be able to cope with changes to the processes of the airline in the future. It is important for Etihad Airways to ensure that they take concrete steps to minimise the risk that each of these limitations will prove to be a significant obstacle to the success of the ERP system. In order to reduce this risk, it is suggested that the airline invests in continuous training for its users. While this will increase the cost burden of the ERP system, many of the findings and studies cited above have emphasised the importance of end user training and employee support in ensuring the success of a new ERP system (Markus and Tanis, 2000) and hence it is an important investment for the company to make. Furthermore, a high degree of ongoing communication needs to be put in place between management and end users of the ERP system in order to obtain users feedback on their experience of using the ERP system this will allow management to identify in a timely fashion whether the ERP system has any issues related to flexibility, thus ensuring that they are able to make any necessary changes before significant problems arise. It will also help to demonstrate the strong leadership skills of the management which, as highlighted earlier in the essay, is a critical factor in determining the successful implementation of a new ERP system.

The Side Effect Of Brain Drain In Globalisation Economics Essay

The Side Effect Of Brain Drain In Globalisation Economics Essay In this paper we will describe one of the side effects of globalisation, more specific the effect on the human capital of underdeveloped and developing countries who see their best and most productive workers leave the country to seek fortune and money in the richer western world. In an economic context Globalisation is the reduction or removal of barriers and borders in order to facilitate flows of capital, goods, services and also labour. Globalisation is also the integration of economies and societies around the world. This paper focuses on the labour flows and more specific on the migration and flows of skilled labour. Globalisation is not something new, but the technological and political evolutions after World War II have hastened this process. We wont look at the flows themselves, but rather at one of the side-effects of migration in a globalised world: the brain drain, and, in some cases the brain gain. Brain drain is human capital flight. Its the phenomenon where skilled workers or young potentials : individuals with technical skills or knowledge; migrate and leave their country. While brain drain is not something new, its effects are much greater in a globalised world where skilled workers can freely travel the world. Many countries have restricted migration policies; but high-skilled well trained workers are often more than welcome and often even encouraged to come to the western world. There are many reasons for this skilled migration and the reasons to migrate may differ from region to region. Skilled workers living in Eastern Europe migrate to the USA or the EU because there are more career opportunities, salaries are higher and social security is better. African migrants sometimes flee violence, poverty, political instability or corruption, While there are also highly skilled European academics working in the USA, the Far East or vice versa; we will focus on the skilled migration from under-developed or developing countries to the developed world. In this paper we will take a deeper look at the brain drain. The first section summarises migration data, both skilled and unskilled The next section discusses the disadvantages of skilled migration from the point of view of the underdeveloped and developing countries. The subsequent section takes a look at the advantages of skilled migration, again from the point of view of the underdeveloped and developing countries. Before jumping to the conclusion, well discuss a few advantages and disadvantages of the skilled migrants themselves. The final section sums up the conclusion and gives some moral point of views and my opinion about this theme. Where possible, we will make a distinction between several groups of underdeveloped and developing countries: Eastern Europe, Middle East and Northern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian world and Pacific Islands. Every region has a different history and every region has different regional characteristics. The effects of skilled migrations or the extent of every effect will be different for every region depending on the technology level, the political stability, the share of skilled workers, the composition of the population, How big is the brain drain? Before summarizing the advantages and disadvantages of skilled migration from the sending countries perspective we first must know how big the brain drain really is. How many skilled workers leave the Third World and migrate to the developed countries? Answering this question is not easy. Who are the highly skilled? Should we also count unskilled migrants who are educated in the developed world and thus become skilled? Do we count illegal migrants as well? We wont tackle these questions in this paper, but simply use the data provided by organisations like the IMF, the World Bank Group and the OECD. According to these organisations skilled migrants are migrants with at least tertiary educational attainment, wherever they completed their schooling. Table 1 shows us some regional characteristics of the different regions in 2000. It provides us for each region the proportion of skilled in the resident population (Skill), the average emigration towards the OECD countries (Aemig), the skilled migration rate (Semig) and the ratio of remittances to GDP (Rem/Y). The regions are grouped as follows: Eastern Europe (EAS), Middle East and Northern Africa (MEN), Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the Indian world and Pacific Islands (IND). Table 1: regional characteristics in 2000: Region Skill Aemig Semig Rem/Y EAS 12.4% 6.6% 11.8% 1.3% MEN 8.5% 3.5% 8.5% 2.8% SSA 2.8% 0.8% 12.9% 2.6% IND 4.5% 0.4% 5.2% 1.8% Data source: Luca Marchiori, I-lung Shen, Frà ©dà ©ric Docquier (2009) We can conclude from table 1 that Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Northern Africa have attained a reasonable level of education already. The situation in India is worse and alarming in Sub-Saharan Africa. In all four regions, the skilled migration rate is a lot higher than the average migration rate, hence the brain drain. Again, the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa is disturbing. Eastern Europe and to a lesser extent also the Middle East and North Africa also have a very high skilled migration rate. The skilled migration rate is lower in India, but the skilled and unskilled migration rates of bigger countries are always less impressive than those of smaller countries. Disadvantages of skilled migration Support rate diminishes When the active part of the population diminishes, a smaller group of people are capable of providing economic support to the number of older people, children and students who are materially dependent on the support of others. The burdens are carried by a shrinking group workers and the part of the population that creates an added value becomes smaller and smaller. The support rate in Western Europe and Japan for example, diminishes due to the aging of the population. Not only Western Europe and Japan are hit by the aging of the population! There are developing countries in Eastern Europe and Asia that face the same problems. The aging of the population isnt the only cause for a diminishing support rate. Migration can have the same effect, especially when young or high schooled workers leave the country: the group of active workers shrinks when some of them search a better future in other countries all over the world. When developing countries who have to cope with a growing group of retired inactive people, also lose their trained and educated workers, they are hit twice. First of all, this means that the pressure on the government budget augments: pensions need to be paid, medical costs are higher while tax revenues go down. One of the consequences can be that countries will cut in educational programs. This can even amplify the brain drain: not only do they lose their most productive workers, they also wont be able to educate enough new young high skilled workers to replace the retired workers. This is a major problem for countries in Eastern Europe. African countries, the Middle East and India all have a very young population. The diminishing support rate doesnt really trouble them. Human Capital goes down The biggest and most notable disadvantage of schooled migration looking from the perspective of the sending countries is the downswing of human capital in these sending countries. Human capital is the stock of competences, knowledge and personality attributes embodied in the ability to perform labour so as to produce economic value. It is the attributes gained by a worker through education and experience (Sullivan, Arthur; Steven M. Sheffrin (2003).). Its obvious that human capital of a country is affected by the migration of the high schooled and best trained workers. The human capital of a country determines among others the number and type of investments a country attracts, but has also a huge impact on another important factor of the growth of a country: the technology level of an economy. Political unstable or unsafe countries are often faced with a large stream out of both high schooled and unschooled workers. The stream out of these unstable countries is often a lot bigger than the stream out of more stable underdeveloped countries where workers leave for economical reasons only. Countries with an unstable and violent history have as a result lost almost all their skilled workers. This also means that they need to invest in the training of new skilled workers or that they have to attract foreign doctors, engineers, craftsmen, As a consequence, a huge part of the official development assistance goes to the recruitment and or training of skilled workers (doctors and other health care workers, skilled craftsmen for rebuilding infrastructure, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) who are difficult to retain once trained. This way, western countries are indirectly investing their own future workers. Especially Sub-Saharan Africa has this huge problem. The first step to retain their skilled workers is off course, the much needed political and economical stability. As a result the growth of Technology slows down As explained above, theres another important factor affected when human capital goes down: technology. When discussing the brain drain, we talk about the most skilled workers who leave. Those skilled workers are the first and most important people who use and/or develop new technologies. The talents of these workers are indispensable when a country wants to advance to higher technology level. Technology is an important factor determining the type of (foreign) investments a country attracts. The brain drain can thus have an immense effect on the development of a country. When foreign investors are only interested in cheap workers or natural recourses, but not in the local talents; foreign investments often dont help to develop a country. Companies who search a country with enough skilled workers are often willing to invest in training, but will look for countries with a better starting position. The brain drain clearly slows down or even stops the development of underdeveloped or developing countries who are only attractive for their low wages or natural recourses. The regions principally affected are again the least developed countries: Sub-Saharan Africa and unstable Asian countries. The Middle East or Eastern Europe is less affected. The recent revolution even shows that there seem to be to many high schooled young people. They dont find a job even after several years of academic schooling. The Economic returns to investment on education in underdeveloped countries go to the developed countries. The investments in education done by underdeveloped countries and developing countries partly disappear without a trace. The investments go up in smoke when the high skilled workers, educated in their own country, leave their country and migrate to the developed world. As mentioned before, the same can be said about big parts of the development aid send to underdeveloped countries: parts of this aid are reserved for educational projects. It can be at first sight be discouraging to invest in the education of academic personnel when the most talented individuals dream of a career in the western world. As expected, the negative aspects of the brain drain are numerous and can be devastating in the short run. The human capital of a country not only determines the number of skilled workers available for domestic production, but also affects other important parameters of an economy: technology and the capacity to innovate! Both factors determine the volume and type of incoming investments. Add to this the diminishing support rate and the low returns on investment on education and the picture doesnt results dont look promising. Advantages of skilled migration Remittances à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€  investments? More often than not, migrants send home large sums of money to their family whom they left behind in their home country. These sums are called remittances. They are sometimes even the only or at least the most important reason for migrants to travel to a richer and better developed country in search of career opportunities and wealth. At first, many migrants plan to work a few years until they have acquired enough money to be able to return back home and maintain their family. It makes therefore perfect sense that these migrants send home lots of money even before returning home. According to The World Bank, these remittances send back to the developing or underdeveloped countries are even 1,5 times greater than the worldwide budget spend on development aid. For the developing countries, remittances represent about 2% of their Gross Domestic Product, for the underdeveloped countries roughly 6% and for some of the least developed countries of this world this percentages rises to almos t 20%! There are certain analysts who equate remittances with foreign investments, but opinions are divided on this subject. There are even analysts who claim that remittances have mainly negative effects on the economies in underdeveloped countries. Remittances create and maintain economic dependency and take away incentives to start local businesses and take the initiative to enhance living standards. While there are indeed negative effects, most economists believe remittances to be a good thing for developing and underdeveloped countries. Remittances can enhance the state of health, the level of education, the access to information and technology and can reduce the need of child labour. While they indeed can be the cause of dependency, the money send back home can also create opportunities to invest in the local economy and start up new businesses. One of the biggest advantages of remittances is the stability they bring. In times of hunger, crop failure, drought, an economical or political crisis; remittances can make the difference for families hit by misfortune. It s important to make a critical note before jumping to the next advantage. While there are many migrants, both low and high skilled, who send back large sums of money, its the small elite group of very high skilled migrants who send back the smallest amount of money; if they send something to their home land at all. The skilled workers who left their country that invested in them and who can produce, potentially, the highest return on investment, are also the workers that fail to do so, not because they can t fulfil their potential, but because they seem to forget their roots, financially speaking. The incentive effect of brain drain Success can be contagious. The same can be said about migration. When Young people in underdeveloped countries see that their countrymen who left in search of better career opportunities, more stability and a higher living standard, they can be stimulated to study to enhance their chances of also finding a better future abroad. At first, this seems to be another disadvantages of the brain drain. Underdeveloped countries seem to be losing even more high-skilled workers. Not all these new formed high skilled workers however will migrate. The long term net effect will in most cases be positive for the human capital of a country. Obviously this effect can only be positive in the long term: it takes time and money to invest in young people and to create a new generation of high skilled, well trained potentials. Furthermore, this wont stop the brain drain. Migrating is still the main goal of many students in Third World countries. The investments of underdeveloped countries are still very high when looking at the outcome, even if the net effect is positive. Investing in education remains investing in the future of both your country and the future of the countries that attract skilled workers. This effect can only play in countries with enough infrastructure and stability. A country that lacks the necessary resources to train their high potentials will never be able to benefit from this incentive. This effect therefore isnt big enough to be called an advantage in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Eastern Europe on the other hand is the number of skilled workers already relatively high. Thats why the incentive effect wont be very high in Eastern Europe. The incentive effect can be a real advantage in India and North Africa and the Middle East: both regions are reasonably stable and have the infrastructure and means to educate their workers. Reduced Risk Premium In an open economy, the Risk Premium is one of the most important factors that determines the volume of (foreign) investments in physical capital in a country. Countries with a low risk premium can more easily attract foreign investments than countries with a higher risk premium. Financiers who invest in regions or countries where the return is less certain and with more uncertain circumstances will demand a higher return on investment than those who choose to invest in more stable regions. The risk premium is determined by several factors: political stability in a region, economic stability of a country, and also by the available knowledge of a country or region. Migrants can t really affect the political or economical stability of their home country, but they can spread the knowledge of their country. When high skilled leave their country they can spread this knowledge in the companies and countries where they live and work. This way, they can directly and indirectly reduce the risk premium for their country and thus attract more foreign investments. The effect is assumed to impact every region with comparable magnitudes. Diasporas can be an important source of trade, capital, technology, and knowledge for origin countries. We have just explained that the brain drain can indirectly enhance the physical capital of a country thanks to the reduced risk premium. The extra foreign investments not only raise the physical capital of a country, they can also raise the human capital and the technology of a country. The foreign investments can bring new technologies to a country. There is however another mechanism that can bring extra investments, technology and knowledge to a country: networking or more specific diasporas. A population of a country cast around the world can still keep in contact with each other and with their home country. This way, new technologies, ideas or concepts or moral standard can reach their home country. They all can have an effect on the labour market or the human capital of a country. If the status of women changes for example, the labour market can be opened for women. If family values change, birth control can become a discussable issue. Theres also a change that a world-wide network is created when people keep in contact. This network can defend the interests of a country, can promote a region and can help to attract investments. DDI: Diaspora Direct Investments When an underdeveloped or a developing country is faced with a large stream out of skilled workers or academic personnel, the chances will grow that some of these migrants will invest in the country they came from. They should have a great knowledge of their home region and they normally still have lots of local contacts. When some of those migrants are successful and search a good place to invest, there s a big chance that they will choose their home country, if stable enough off course. Migration can attract foreign investments thanks to the reduced risk premium (foreign investments) and thanks to successful migrants who invest in their home country (Diaspora investments). Theres however a difference between the two. Foreign investments are not always seen as a factor of growth and evolution. Some scholars argue that foreign investors only exploit workers and that technological spillover effects are rare. Diaspora investments on the other hand are more likely to be durable investments. At first sight, the loss of skilled workers has mainly a negative impact on the economies of the sending countries. When we dive deeper into the effects of the brain drain and when we also take a look at the long term effects, we can be more optimistic. For some countries the brain drain might even be an advantage. The economy and society of countries faced with a large stream out of skilled workers can be more open, more globalised and more advanced thanks to the technology spillovers of diaspora investments, the changed standards and values and the incentives effect of brain drain. On top, Gross Domestic Product of the underdeveloped and developing countries rises thanks to the remittances and the extra foreign investments they can attract through the reduced risk premium. What about the immigrants themselves? When looking at the advantages or disadvantages of the high schooled immigrants who head to the developed world, we mainly see advantages. That may seem obvious, there s after all often a good reason why they choose to migrate. Many unschooled migrants who reach the Western World after a long and touch journey dont end up in paradise, but often have to spend at least a few years as an illegal. For those who are finally accepted, a good job is often unreachable. The situation for most high-skilled migrants is of course very different. Many of them can perfectly legally and without much problems choose the country they prefer. The western world even actively recruits in many developing countries when searching scarce workers. There are for example many health care workers from the Philippines working in Europe and many IT-specialists from India work in the USA or Canada. One could even say that high schooled workers in underdeveloped countries are crazy if they do not leave their country and search a better future in the Western World where the career opportunities are better and wages are much higher. Nevertheless, there are a few critical comments to make. Even for high schooled migrants, live is not roses all the way. Brain waste: high skilled immigrants accept jobs way under their level of schooling The training, education and experience of migrants isnt always appreciated in the western World. There are many examples of high schooled Asians, Africans or Eastern Europeans who have to accept jobs why under their level of schooling. That doesnt have to mean that their standard of living has decreased after migrating, but we might say that their intellectual capacities are wasted. The Western World doesnt always take full advantage of their schooling, experience and talents and they arent fulfilling their potential. A question we might ask is whether these high skilled workers would offer their talents to a country where they would be much more appreciated and where they could fulfil their potential, like their home country. They might be happier, even when working for a lower salary. Conclusion There are both negative and positive aspects on the brain drain, on the migration of skilled workers from underdeveloped and developing countries to the developed world. The brain drain has correctly raised many questions, especially when looking from the perspective of the sending countries. There are however scholars who claim that the brain drain has more advantages than disadvantages when looking at the picture as a whole. On the one side we see the direct impact of the brain drain: countries lose their schooled workers and their human capital goes down by definition. The decline of human capital has an impact on the technology level of a country and on the investments it can attract. In addition a big part of the investments on education done by the sending countries go up in smoke: the schooled workers leave the country and take their skills with them. Countries who lose their skilled workers and who face another problem, the aging of the population, are hit twice. They not only have to face all the problems mentioned above. They also have to cope with a shrinking support rate. The active part of the population who contributes to the economy and pays taxes grows smaller and smaller while the number of pensioners who need to be supported by the government and thus by the active part of the population expands. On the other side recent studies have come to the conclusion that there are also many advantages to the brain drain, particularly when looking at the long term effects of skilled migration on the economy of the sending countries. The creation of human capital in the sending countries is stimulated by the incentive effect and the migration of workers, both skilled and unskilled creates flows of cash to the developing and underdeveloped countries. These flows of cash, the so-called remittances, often represent an important share in the Gross Domestic Product of the sending countries, especially in the Gross Domestic Product of the least developed countries. Furthermore, a sending country can attract additional foreign investments thanks to the brain drain. Firstly thanks to a reduced risk premium and secondly the migrants themselves can, when they are successful abroad, invest in their home country. We can for certain say that the short term effects of the loss of schooled workers on the underdeveloped and developing countries are negative. Furthermore the economical growth of countries faced with a brain drain can stagnate. Human capital is an important economical factor for growth and evolution not to be underestimated. Looking at the long term effects, the answers are less clear and ambiguous. Future investments can be higher thanks to the diaspora investments and the additional foreign investments. The remittances are often indispensable for many undeveloped countries, particularly in moments of crisis: famine, an economical crisis or natural disasters. Lastly, we must also mention the influence migrants can have on the technology level of underdeveloped countries, but also on standards and values. The effects of birth control on poverty cannot be underestimated. When we make a distinction between the different regions, the least developed countries are not the ones that are affected the most by the loss of skilled workers. When we say least developed countries, we are referring to the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. This region benefits the most from the brain drain in the long run. We might even conclude that Sub-Saharan Africa will benefit from a brain gain thanks to the loss of skilled workers. Sub-Saharan Africa however will not benefit from this brain gain as long as the region isnt politically and military stable. The African countries will never attract enough investments without this much needed stability. Both the short term and the long term effects for Eastern Europe are probably negative. The level of education in this region is already too high to profit from the positive effects on the human capital of a country. Next, this region is hit by the same big problem Europe and Japan have to face: the aging of the population. When a big part of the most productive part of the population leaves the country, those who stay will have to double their efforts. When looking at the two other regions, India and the Pacific and The Middle East and North Africa, drawing the right conclusion is less evident. Will the positive effects outweigh the negative ones or not? Both regions already have a relatively large group of schooled workers and the technology level in both regions is sufficient. The benefits for those aspects will be negligible. Both regions need to attract extra investments. Tunisia for example, has many young academic schooled workers who are familiar with the new technologies, but not enough jobs. When the high-schooled, but unemployed young workers migrate to the Western World, the Middle East and North Africa can only benefit. My Opinion The effects of skilled migration on the developing and underdeveloped countries, both the long term effects and the short term effects, are analysed in detail. But how to deal with the negative effects of the brain drain or how the negative effects can be limited is almost never explained. Only the papers discussing Diaspora Direct Investments give advice on how to get more out of and attract these investments. Its difficult to give an opinion on a subject when it isnt clear how to counter the negative effects or how to get the most out of the positive effects in order to go from a brain drain to a brain gain. Before taking a position on the brain drain, it might be useful to clarify the situations of the different parties involved. Firstly, there are the underdeveloped and developing countries faced with a large stream out of schooled workers. They seem to be powerless to stop this since scholars only describe their problems, but dont propose a solution. As mentioned above, the effects of the brain drain are mainly negative. There are indeed also positive effects when looking at the long term, but its far from certain that the positive effects will outweigh the negative ones for many countries. The question remains: can the underdeveloped and developing countries change their precarious situation? Can they encourage the schooled workers to stay in a country where the future is often uncertain, wages are low and career opportunities scarce? This seems impossible to be. That however doesnt mean that nothing can be done. Taking away some of the reasons to migrate will reduce the migration an d its effects: political and military stability, safety, less corruption, are just a few of the many reasons to flee a country and to built a new life abroad. Whats more, if these problems are at least partially solved the economical returns to investment on education will be higher. To conclude, there seems to be no real solution for this problem when looking at the sending countries. The only thing they can do is closing the gap with the developed world. The magical formula to do so though, do not seem to exist. Its even more difficult to find a solution when we analyse the brain drain from the individual migrants perspective. It seems that the decision to migrate, when possible, is at first sight easily made. Can we blame the high skilled workers living in an underdeveloped country to dream of a better paid job in a safer and more stable environment with more career opportunities? Are they wrong to do so and is it wrong to leave a country that invested in them? Theres another aspect we must look at when we analyse the brain drain from the migrants perspective: remittances and investments. Do these migrants have the moral duty to send back large sums of money? Do they have the moral duty to invest, when possible, in the country that educated them? Its better to leave the answer to the migrants themselves. Finally, we have the Western governments and companies who fight their war for talent. The United States of America, Europe and Japan all need new skilled workers to replace the baby-boom workers who will retire and the BRIC-countries need skilled workers to close the gap with the developed countries. Many countries and companies try to attract the same highly skilled talents and rely on international labour flows to fill in future gaps. The global competition doesnt give them a choice. If they dont attract enough talented workers, economic growth might slow down. In my opinion, we cant blame the developed countries for the brain drain. Every country tries to prosper. But should the Western World compensate the developing and underdeveloped countries for the brain drain? Should they make good the loss of skilled workers in

Spending on Advancing the Arts is the Proper use of Public Resourses :: essays research papers

"As long as people in a society are hungry or out of work or lack the basic skills needed to survive, the use of public resources to support the arts is inappropriate——and, perhaps, even cruel——when one considers all the potential uses of such money." Although I understand that the mercy that the speaker shows to the people experiencing starvation and unemployment, by asserting that the government should spend more money on the jobless and hungry people rather than squandering money on arts, I have to stand out that it is unwise to exclude art from using of public resources by just considering the starvation and survival problems faced by a minority of people. Admittedly, eliminating poverty is definitely deemed to be one of the ambitious missions of our society in a long run for we are not merciless humankind to witness so many people struggling with the housing problem and starvation. However, if a country ties up all its capital in solving starvation and unemployment problems and has little incentive to invest in art industry, with considering art as unnecessary luxuries, I would rather put it under the label of a refugee camp instead of a country. Every country has its own traditional culture. The essence of traditional art is to illustrate the national culture to the people all over the world in its unique artistic way. Why do we human beings distinct from other creatures in the world? We will never be satisfied with only enough food and safe shelter but starve for art which illuminates our life in the darkness and frustration. It is we humans who have a heart opens and seeks for arts forever. We know how to appreciate art and we dese rve this. Take Van Gogh as an example, he would rather quiet his stomach with painting than go out and find something to eat. He couldn’t live without his painting while he endured hungriness. Therefore we should be determined to foster the development of art for the majority in the society is waiting to enjoy life in ideological field aside from satisfied life necessities. We feel more fulfilled when we get something to communicate with our heart. We hear the echo of our heart. In the second place, is art really a kind of luxury and money consuming? Are the antique buyers billionaires who just interested in the antique itself? Actually not, in most of cases, it is the huge profit that drives many smart investors to heed on the antiques and cautiously pour their money in the realm of antique collectibles.

Victorian Beliefs :: Free Essays Online

Victorian Beliefs If I am asked whether I would choose to be descended from the poor animal of low intelligence and stooping gait who grins and chatters as we pass, or from a man endowed with great ability and a splendid position who should use these gifts to discredit and crush humble seekers after truth, I hesitate what answer to make. Thomas Henry Huxley, 1860 (Cruse 94) As related by Amy Cruse in The Victorians and Their Reading, these words by Thomas Henry Huxley served as a witty retort to the degrading comments of Darwin's foes. When examined closely, however, Huxley's statement can be recognized as a question of paramount importance-- a question that defines the core of the Victorian world. Neatly engraved between the lines of Huxley's reply lies the issue of belief. Huxley's belief in the pursuit of "truth" is evident, as is his belief regarding those who would hinder such a "humble" pursuit. Less evident, but nonetheless present, are the echoes of other important Victorian principles. As exemplified by Huxley's mention of apes, Darwin's belief in The Origin of Species was a vitally important aspect of Victorian thought. Traditional concerns, most notably religious conservatism, were inextricably linked to the revolutionary ideals of Victorian science. Interestingly, the dueling beliefs in science and religion were not necessarily diametrically opposed. Instead, both the pursuits of science and religion challenged Victorians to examine their beliefs regarding the natural world, God, and the meaning of their own humanity. â€Å"I see no good reason why the views given in this volume should shock the religious feelings of [anyone],† claimed Charles Darwin in reference to The Origin of Species(Hart 1). Despite Darwin’s protestations of theological benignity, however, many Victorians were indeed shocked by the idea of evolution. Cardinal Manning, speaking for the Roman Catholic populous of England, for instance, â€Å"denounced†¦[Darwin’s theory of evolution as] a brutal philosophy—to wit, there is no God, and the ape is our Adam†(Cruse 95). Similarly, Bishop Wilberforce, at an 1860 meeting of the British Association, ridiculed T. H. Huxley about his ancestry (94). In open contempt of The Origin of Species, Wilberforce asked Huxley, â€Å"whether it [was] through his grandfather or his grandmother that he claimed descent from ‘a venerable ape’?†(94). The ideas contained within the covers of The Origin of Species clearly challenged the beliefs of many Victorian Christians. Contrary to the protestations of Cardinal Manning and Bishop Wilberforce, however, Darwin viewed the theory of evolution as theologically sound.

Food Warning Labels

Warning Labels Sergio Mansilla Devry University People know what are they exactly they are eating? No because there is no warning labels in the food packages. Same may oppose my position. To argue that warning labels are necessary for fast food. It would cause consumers to think twice before they decide to eat fast food. However, my research has says warning labels should be on food and help people understands what they are eating. â€Å"Americans continue to face many challenges as they debater these important issues and aim to make the food supply as safe as possible†.Warning labels should be including in food packages because they will help people take control of what they consume and food industries will have to provide healthier options. People will become more aware of what they are eating if there are labels on food packages. It would help them be more involved in what they eat. And with food labels they will be more educate know more about the facts on the nutrition la bel. In this book by Victoria Sherrow are a published author and an illustrator of children’s books and young adult books.Some of the published credits of Victoria Sherrow include Jonas Salk: Beyond the Microscope (Makers of Modern Science), about food safety (2008) it touches on an issues how important is labeling laws. They say that currents laws give food product companies too much give discretion, in terms that what they are list and how they are listing it. One contentious area is involves labeling genetically modified the GM foods. Publication of the FDA stated that labeling is required for information that is material, to avoid false misleading statements (Sherrow 2008).This means that the food labeling is required for most prepared foods, such as breads, cereals, canned and frozen foods, snacks, desserts, drinks. Nutrition labeling for raw produce fruits and vegetables, fish is voluntary. We refer to these products as conventional foods. Because nutrition labeling in accordance with be provided upon request for any restaurant food or meal for which a nutrient content claim a health claim and permitted by a regulation in is made, except that information on the nutrient amounts.Those are the basis for the claim determined by nutrient databases, cookbooks or by other reasonable bases that provide assurance that the food, meal meets the nutrient requirements for the claim. Because nutrition labeling may be in various forms including those provided in other reasonable means. My opposition may argue† It would be enormously impractical to label every genetically modified new crop and would falsely imply a difference in foods’ safety† (Sherrow 2008 p. 86).While seems reasonable I argue that show food label product will help people to be healthier and not risk their own life of getting sick and not getting dangerous diseases. Without labels there is no need for industries create healthier food for people if they aren’t aware of what they are eating. It will lead to diseases don’t know what they are eating there plate. In this article by Marion Nestle she is the Paulette Goddard professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University.She is author of food politics and with Malden Nesheim why calories count: From science to politics, which will be published in March. Nestle spoke to Nutrion Action’s Bonnie Liebman from New York (Nestle 2011 p. 10-11) touches on the legal issues of how the food industry influence what we eat. The food industry tries to influence us what to eat, but company lobbyists meet with officials in the federal agencies to make sure that the government does not say that people should be eating less of their food products (Nestle 2011).The food environment wants us to eat unhealthy food, they controls the kinds of food are the intakes are better at getting people to eat more and not less. But they are also designed to make sure that you are not starvi ng at all and that your brain has fuel and your body has energy all the time. Local and organic and seasonal foods are important because they give consumers a choice of you to represents an â€Å"explicit critique â€Å"of the existing food system. The mainstream companies are buying organic food companies.Some of which sell organic, healthy sounding chips, cookies, sodas, but they are still sailing some other unhealthy junk food we eat. But also there not enough food to give to everyone in world but if everyone purchase a little more of organic food from farmers markets it would make a huge differences. Right now only a small fraction of the population is buying more organic foods with labels, also fraction are growing and the food industry needs growth for us to eat healthier. Adding a Nutrition information panel will guide buyers to choose healthier products to help eople avoid unhealthy diets. The food industry influences nutrition and health. In negative or positive way that depending if it has a food label Nestle Marion ascertains food producers and manufactures of dietary supplements convinced the public, and congress that their products did not need to be regulated by the a Food and the Drug Administration. Also questionable effects of â€Å"fortifying foods† considered junk food is that practice that promotes unhealthy eating more negative affect of the food industry are also examined. Children are also a prime target for food industry.The producers know exactly what is going on with our food products and manufactures because they have seen it in person when pursues the food products. It the food companies should be involved in food and nutrition by putting labels on food packages. The professionals in marketing campaigns show encouraging by hiring experts’ consultants giving them research grants, providing support of food products and manufactures to emphasize the benefits or minimize of the potentially adverse effects of their produc ts. They show you how dairy industries that took issue with the depiction on a healthy diet .It should base on the plants foods and the limit of the amount of meat and dairy foods, are exposed. Putting food labels will causes industries to make healthier foods. Peter Shawn Taylor is currently editor at Large of Maclean’s magazine. He earned a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Alberta in 1989; and was senior analyst for the Alberta Liberal Caucus in the early 1990s under Liberal Leader Laurence Decore says taxation on junk food, warning labels on unhealthy foods is a good idea in order to assist consumers to eat healthy (Taylor 2013 p. 2). Today, it’s recently affecting the demanded new taxes on junk food and grotesque warning labels on pizza boxes, similar to the ones on cigarettes. Consequently, if the information on the nutritional quality of food is not provided to the public, people who consume unhealthy food products could be exposed to he alth risks. What is worse, they could face the difficulty of making the right decisions on choosing food products. The article describes in detail that food taxes can make people make the right choices with the food.As for dark warnings, public-health worries that rising levels of obesity mean Canadian children will live shorter lives than their parents, however, the evidence to support such a claim simply does not exist. There are many people in the world who are dying of junk foods because they are so addicted to the fast food and can’t stop anymore. They are overweight and can’t do anything because they are too fat and then they are increasing their chances of getting diseases which is also risking their own lives. The call to action is to demand food labels on food products.Consumer reports touch on legal issues of labels that tell people where beef comes from could be unhealthy for them. The labels help consumers become more informed of what choice to pick when it comes to food. There is an outbreak that of food contamination in a certain country that could help you avoid those food products. Consumers need evidence that there is maker of product called Pom. That is now required to provide two randomized that controlled human clinical trials to back to disease related claims. And this juice product helps supports claims that helps prevent heart diseases and prostate cancer.That why this company appealing the decision of putting a labels this product for all the people that buys this juice product is good and health help you in getting any kind of diseases or some other sickness. Food labels will help us design a healthy diet . With all the information that I have collected about food labeling, all of them had negative thoughts about the legal standard terms. In conclusion, the newly resolved problem with the food labeling standard terms need to get more recognition because in the future consumers won’t have to fight any more for infor mation to help them choose the foods they want and eat in a healthy diet.Food labels contain vital information, not misleading or untrue. References Nestle, M. (2011, October). Buy Me! How the food industry influences what we eat. NutritionAction Health Letter, pp. 10-11. Reports, C. (2013, April 4). Where does your food come from? p6. Sherrow, V. (2008) Food Safety (Point/ Counterpoint). New York: Chelsea House. Taylor, P. S. (2013, 1 April). You can’t tax yourself thin. Canadian Business, pp. 22-22.

Spanish Language and Latin America

1 International Baccalaureate History of the Americas HL Required Summer Reading Study Guide Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America By John Charles Chasteen Foreign Affairs November/December 2000 states: Born in Blood and Fire is a briskly written yet sophisticated introduction to Latin America that will be greatly welcomed by non-specialists and experts alike. Chasteen paints on a very broad canvas, but he succeeds in capturing with enviable conciseness the major ingredients of Latin America's uniqueness and complexity.Especially welcome is his graceful integration of Brazil into the overall picture, which general histories of Latin America often lack. He first takes the reader from the European conquest through the colonial consolidation by Spain and Portugal before looking at the role of indigenous communities in the new order imposed by the Europeans and African slavery's social and cultural consequences. He then follows with the independence movements and the uneven attempts at nation-building in the nineteenth century; race, ethnicity, religious and liberal ideologies, and the roles of key individuals are also covered.Chasteen concludes with the recent return to economic liberalism, this time in the context of open elections, continuing poverty, and social exclusion of large segments of the population. A stellar performance! Summer Reading Directions: The answers to these questions should be well thought out, typed, 12 point font, single spaced, New Times Roman. The completed review sheet is a summer long process that is not designed and should not be attempted at the last minute. This assignment will be due on the first full school day of the 2011 – 2012 academic school year.These questions will prepare you for the first 2 day examination made up of 96 multiple choice questions and 57 matching terms. This is the first grade of the course and will set the study tempo for the remainder of the school year. 2 Study Guide/ Discussio n Questions John Charles Chasteen’s Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America. Chapter 1 – First Stop, the Present 1. 2. 3. 4. According to Chasteen, what is the unifying theme or unifying conflict that characterizes Latin American history? Is this a good choice? What might be some strengths or weaknesses of this focus?Why do Cuba and Brazil have such high populations of African Americans? Define â€Å"liberalism† as Chasteen uses the term: What are the different attitudes toward Latin Americans that have been common in the U. S. during the twentieth century? Chapter 2 – Encounter (1492-1600) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. What were some of the ways the historical and cultural context of the Iberian peninsula shaped the attitudes and practices of Europeans who first sailed to the Americas? Compare the Portuguese colonization of Brazil with the Spanish Colonization of what would become Mexico and Peru.Important similarities and differences? What larger significance does Chasteen see in the name change from â€Å"Island of the True Cross† to â€Å"Brazil†? What three areas of Africa provided the majority of Black slaves for the Americas? Members of which European country became the most active slave traders? From Chasteen’s perspective, what were the key factors that enabled vastly outnumbered Spanish forces to conquer the Aztec and Inca empires? In what specific ways do Las Casas’s life and values stand in contrast to those of the majority of Spaniards who came to the Americas?Briefly define or identify the following terms: Encomienda Tupi Pedro Alvarez Cabral Moors Francisco Pizarro Malinche (Marina) Salvador (Bahia) Chapter 3 – Colonial Crucible (1600-1810) 1. 2. 3. 4. In what ways did economic realities contribute to the prosperity and influence of colonial Spanish America in comparison to colonial Brazil? Name the four viceroyalties and their capitals that came to exist in Spanish America: W hat does Chasteen mean on p. 77 when he says that â€Å"transculturation and hegemony often went together† in Latin America?Do you think he’s right? Name four areas that Chasteen considers peripheral areas or â€Å"backwaters† of colonial Latin America: 3 5. Compare attitudes toward race in Latin America as described in this chapter with attitudes in the U. S. as you understand them. What significant similarities or differences do you see? Briefly define or identify the following terms: Sor Juana de la Cruz â€Å"honor† in Latin America Gracias al sacar Quilombos and Palenques Potosi Zumbi Rebellion of Gonzalo Pizarro Tupac Amaru II Engenho AleijadinhoChapter 4 – Independence (1810-1825) 1. 2. 3. 4. In what ways did events in Europe affect the movements for independence in Latin America? According to Chasteen, which independence movements in Spanish America were actually popular revolutions? Which were primarily â€Å"revolutions from above† ? How did the Brazilian independence movement compare with those in Spanish America? What impact did the independence movements have on patterns of colonialism in Spanish America?Briefly define or identify the following terms: Creoles Jose Maria Morelos Llaneros Simon Bolivar Jose Antonio Paez Peninsulars Vicente Guerrero and Augustin de Iturbide Nativism Battle of Ayacucho Miguel Hidalgo Pedro I Chapter 5 – Postcolonial Blues (1825-1850) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Why did liberalism in Latin America seem to collapse in the years following the wars of independence? What were some of the main characteristics of a caudillo? What factors helped Brazil maintain its territorial unity during the years when many regions of Spanish America were splintering into numerous new nations?In what ways does Chasteen suggest the social structure in Latin America remained the same after independence? How did it change? Who were the main â€Å"outsiders† involved in Latin America during this period? This outside involvement was particularly notable in the two former centers of colonial power, Mexico and Peru. What shape did it take in each place? Briefly define or identify the following terms: Juan Manuel de Rosas â€Å"El Supremo† Caste War of Yucatan Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna The regency years â€Å"el pueblo† Rafael Carrera â€Å"La Nina† Central American Republic 4Chapter 6 – Progress (1850-1880) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What were some of the significant aspects of liberalism emphasized by the key Latin American liberals mentioned in this section (be as specific as possible)? Why did Maximilian fail to reinstate conservative rule in Mexico? Based on Chasteen’s examples, what seems to have been the most common way for women to become public figures during the nineteenth century (the few, that is, who did become public figures)? Give two examples. Liberals in Argentina agreed on the traditional tenets of Latin American liberalism. What issue divide d them?Compare the way Argentine and Brazilian liberals confronted what they considered the â€Å"national tragedy† of racially mixed societies. Do leaders in one of these countries seem to be less racist in their thinking than leaders of the other? Briefly explain the issues and significance of the following wars (and note the dates when each took place): The Triple Alliance War The War of the Pacific The Chaco War Briefly define or identify the following terms: Benito Juarez Birds Without a Nest (1889) â€Å"Golden Law† William Walker Ten Years War Domingo Faustino Sarmiento 6.Chapter 7 – Neocolonialism (1880-1930) 1. Describe the â€Å"great export boom† that marked Progress for Latin America between 1870-1930. What were its most important characteristics? Which crops or exports seemed most beneficial to Latin Americans and why? Which one seemed most harmful? Compare the governments of Mexico and Brazil during the neocolonial period: Based on this chap ter how do the ideas of neocolonialism and â€Å"importing Progress† relate to one another? Early in the chapter, Chasteen suggests that the concept of neocolonialism is both an internal and an external phenomenon.What does he mean, and, after reading the chapter, would you agree with that analysis? Describe the rise of U. S. influence in Latin America: Why did the South Cone region of Latin America attract the majority of the new immigrants? 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Briefly define or identify the following terms: â€Å"banana republics† Ruben Dario Porfiriato Cientificos Rebellion in the Backlands Paulina Luisi Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine Cesar Augusto Sandino Positivism Pan o palo Jose Marti Jose Enrique Rodo 5 Chapter 8 – Nationalism (1910-1945) 1. 2. 3. . 5. Based on the chapter, what were the most important aspects of nationalism in Latin America? Why did nationalism emerge in the early decades of the twentieth century? Compare and contrast nationalism in Mexico with that in Argentina and Uruguay and also with Brazil. Did nationalism in any one of these countries seem more thoroughgoing than in the others? Why? Why did import-substitution industrialization (ISI) provide greater benefits for countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina than for places like the Dominican Republic or Honduras?Why did the wave of nationalism seem to have very little impact on Central America? Briefly define or identify the following terms: Constitution of 1917 Pancho Villa Constitutionalists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Batllismo Hipolito Yrigoyen Victor Raul Haya de la Torre Indigenismo ISI Getulio Vargas Estado Novo Heitor Villa Lobos Lazaro Cardenas â€Å"Good Neighbor Policy† Mexico’s â€Å"declaration of economic independence† Populists Juan and Evita Peron Emiliano Zapata Chapter 9 – Revolution (1945-1960) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Why would Brasilia represent the â€Å"perfect symbol of the ost-Vargas moment in Brazil† and the PRI the perfect symbol for Mexico at the same time (252)? Chapter 8 talked about the popularity of Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy. Why did relations between the U. S. and major Latin American countries begin to sour in the post-WWII years? Why did the U. S. tolerate the National Revolutionary Movement (MNR) in Bolivia while it actively supported a proxy force to oust Arbenz in Guatemala? Based on this textbook, would you say the Cuban revolution was more an expression of Marxism or of nationalism? Why? What were the goals of liberation theology?Briefly define or identify the following terms: Raul Prebish Jacobo Arbenz Che Guevara Bay of Pigs (1961) Declaration of Caracas (1954) Pablo Naruda Fulgencio Batista Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) Juan Jose Arevalo Jorge Luis Borges Granma Paulo Freire 6 Chapter 10 – Reaction (1960-1990) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. On what basis does Chasteen argue that the Soviet Union was not involved in Latin American Marxist movements outside of Cuba during the 1960s and 1970s? Why did rule by military juntas become widespread in Latin America by the mid-1970s?What did the Brazilian generals mean when they said that the cake had to rise before it could be sliced? Why didn’t the poor ever get their slice? How did the Argentine experience of military rule differ from that of Brazil? What were the most important factors that contributed to the overthrow of the Popular Unity government in Chile? In which countries of Latin America were â€Å"dirty wars† most intense and devastating? What were the main factors that fueled guerilla wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador? Why does Chasteen place Colombia in the â€Å"countercurrents† section at the end of the chapter?What was different about Colombia? Briefly define or identify the following terms: â€Å"national security doctrine† Alliance for Progress Gabriel Garcia Marquez Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo Tupamaros Salvador Allende Augusto Pinoc het Tlatelolco massacre â€Å"dirty war† Somoza family Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) Contras Daniel Ortega Violeta Chamorro â€Å"fourteen families† Oscar Romero Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) La Violencia Pablo Escobar and the Medillin Cartel M-19 U. S. School of the Americas Chapter 11 – Neoliberalism (1990- ? ) 1. 2. 3. 4.Why did neoliberalism become the popular political/economic ideology for Latin America during the 1990s? Compare neoliberalism with the liberalism with the liberal reforms that swept the region from 1870-1930—in what important ways are they similar? How do they differ? What insights does the Chilean success story provide into the strengths and weaknesses of neoliberalism? What are the primary environmental issues surrounding the Amazonian rain forest? Briefly define or identify the following terms: Neoliberalism MERCOSUR Zapatistas NAFTA Maquiladora Candomble, Umbanda, Santeria