Two Myths of Globalization Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Two Myths of Globalization - Assignment Example Globalization refers to the increasingly close economic ties among countries. These ties include trade, travel, immigration, shared information sent over the Internet, increased investment in foreign countries, cross-cultural exchanges of students and knowledge, availability to quality education, and an advanced pace of technological advance. Globalization is also closely tied to corporations that operate in many countries at once, as well as to international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank that enable to help finance the process of globalization and to result in an increased financial outcome. I am here to show my support for the phenomenon that is globalization. The phenomenon that has changed the world, possibly and positively forever. As Gottesman puts it "If we want to make sense of globalization, we should stop comparing apples (the mature industrial country economies) with oranges (the economies of what used to be called the underdeveloped countries, which are now variously called developing countries or newly industrializing countries- NICs for short).(Gottesman) There are those who oppose globalization. ... to quote Persson who appropriately says "Globalization is a powerful force but we need to learn to live with the increased global competition." (Persson pg 4). I understand why people fear that globalization causes social ills but when weighed against the benefits it becomes clear that globalization is the clear winner. Fears of the negative impact of globalization can be aptly called false alarms. What about the global satellite TV channels which are beamed across the world. Thanks to globalization these channels have helped increase the empathy of the young in rich countries for the effects of poverty, famines, and civil wars in poorer areas of the world. It is because of globalization that we are more aware of what is going on in the world around us. To be honest, without globalization most of the NGO's that rally against it would fail to gather and organize themselves across the world!! Why would an individual sitting in Pakistan help an NGO called Greenpeace if they didn't know what Greenpeace stood for How this individual is aware of Greenpeace is a result of what can most simply be called Globalization? The people who stand up against globalization benefit from it just as much as everyone else. The adverse social effects of globalization are mistaken. Globalization, in fact, has helped reduce poverty and the use of child labor, fosters women's rights, promote respect for democratic norms, enriches culture, and even sustains the environment. Multinational corporations are not wreaking havoc by leveling wages and labor standards across the globe. In fact, they raise them.  

Fact-Finding Techniques for Requirements Discovery of Business Systems Essay

Fact-Finding Techniques for Requirements Discovery of Business Systems Analysis and Design - Essay Example Denscombe (2007) observes that for success to be registered in any project there is a need for an accurate data collection through specific methods that are to be used. The methods used in finding this information are referred to as fact finding techniques. There are various fact finding techniques including use of interviews, observation, and use of questionnaires among other techniques. Using interviews The interview is one of the fact finding techniques whereby the analysis is done through the collection of information from different persons in an interactive way. In an interview, the research always needs to find the desired facts through talking with the respondents. The facts found are supposed to be verified and clarified. In conduction interviews, enthusiasm should always be generated and the end user is always involved in the process. The identification of the requirements has been often very important before the conduction of interviews. Interviews do involve soliciting of ideas and opinions from the respondents. In interviews as a fact finding technique, there can be the use of unstructured interview. The interviewee id depended on in the provision of a framework and the direction of the discussion. It is generally not done for a specific goal. Structured interviews are done with an aim of getting answers to specific questions that are put down by the interviewer. In interviewing, open and closed ended queries are often used. The open ended questions do allow the interviewee to offer answers as he or she deems while the closed ended questions do have restrictions. Reasons for selecting interviews By using interviews to find the facts, the analyst is always presented with an opportunity of motivating the interviewee to be able to respond to the questions openly and freely. This is because the interviewer and the analyst are always in touch on a one on one basis. The analyst can probe the interviewee for more answers that are thought to be relevant and useful. Due to the physical contact between the analyst and the interviewee, there can always be a re-wording of the questions suppose the interviewee does not understand or get the required concepts. This is an advantage that all the other fact finding techniques does lack. Throughout the interview process, the analyst is in a position to analyze the interviewee’s non verbal communication and body language. This is a vital aspect in the whole analysis of the facts obtained from the interview. (Shelly, Cashman & Rosenblatt, 2009). Implementation of the method In order to carry out a successful interview and obtain the needed data, it is important to have a systematic and a well organized interview. This involves a lot of processes. For instance, selection of interviewees is an important aspect. Those going to be interviewed need to be selected carefully to ensure that the one chosen will offer the desired responses and data. It is important to have end users that are reliabl e. The analyst should have prior knowledge about the interviewees to avoid a lot of conflicts and inconveniences during the actual interviewing process. Preparation for the interview is a major aspect. This can be done through an interview guide. During the actual interview process, the problem that has mooted the interview process should be summarized. The interviewee is also offered some incentive for participating in the interview process. This is to encourage honest response. The analyst’

How Abortion Harms Womens Health Essay Example for Free

How Abortion Harms Womens Health Essay Advocates of legalized abortion downplay or deny the health risks associated with abortion. However, the research indicates that abortion isolates women and can often cause physical and psychological suffering. Physical complications Abortion can cause both short-term and long-term physical complications, and can significantly affect a womans ability to have healthy future pregnancies. Physical complications include cervical lacerations and injury, uterine perforations, bleeding, hemorrhage, serious infection, pain, and incomplete abortion.[3] Risks of complications increase with gestational age and are dependent upon the abortion procedure. [4] Long-term physical consequences of abortion include future preterm birth and placenta previa (improper implantation of the placenta) in future pregnancies.[5] Premature delivery is associated with higher rates of cerebral palsy, as well as respiratory, brain, and bowel abnormalities. One recent large-scale evaluation published in Pediatrics, has concluded that preterm birth is the most frequent cause of infant death in the U.S.[6] Pregnancies complicated by placenta previa result in high rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, perinatal death, and maternal morbidity.[7] While the question of whether abortion can increase the risk of breast cancer is hotly debated, a number of scientific studies have indicated that induced abortion can adversely affect a womans future risk of breast cancer. Further, it has been clearly shown that induced abortion in young women causes the loss of a protective effect from a first, full-term pregnancy which when followed by a delay in child bearing, has the net effect of an increased risk for breast cancer.[8] Physical complications from chemical abortion with the drug RU-486 include hemorrhage, infection, and missed ectopic pregnancy (a potentially fatal complication). Since 2000, at least 8 women have died from RU-486 due to hemorrhage and infection.[9] Psychological complications A pro-choice research team in New Zealand, analyzing data from a 25-year period and controlling for multiple factors both pre- and post-abortion, found conclusively that abortion in young women is associated with increased risks of major depression, anxiety disorder, suicidal behaviors, and substance dependence.[10] This is the most comprehensive, long-term study ever conducted on the issue. Other studies also conclude that there is substantial evidence of a causal association between induced abortion and both substance abuse and suicide.[11] A review of over 100 long-term international studies concluded that induced abortion increases risks for mood disorders enough to provoke attempts at self harm.[12] Researchers have also identified a pattern of psychological problems, known collectively as Post- Abortion Syndrome, in which women may experience depression, anxiety, anger, flashbacks, guilt, grief, denial, and relationship problems. Post-Abortion Syndrome has been identified in research as a subset of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.[13] Further, studies analyzing the effects of induced abortion in adolescents have shown that those who abort reported more frequent problems sleeping, more frequent marijuana use, and an increased need for psychological counseling, when compared to adolescents who give birth.[14] Moira Gaul is director of womens and reproductive health at the Family Research Council. She has a Master of Public Health degree with an emphasis in maternal and child health. Consequences for women There is extensive evidence of physical, mental and emotional consequences for women and their families when pregnant mothers use abortion to end an inconvenient pregnancy. Major Articles and Books Concerning the Detrimental Effects of Abortion reports that in the short term (eight weeks after the abortion), there are numerous indicators of emotional distress: 44 per cent of women who have abortions complain of nervous disorders, 36 per cent have trouble sleeping, 31 per cent regret their decision to abort and 11 per cent have been prescribed psychotropic drugs. But it is the longer-term problems that bear more scrutiny. Using the most conservative estimate of post-abortion syndrome, or PAS, Dr. Brenda Major in the Archives of General Psychiatry in 2000, found 1.6 per cent of women who have an abortion will suffer from PAS, a variant of post-traumatic stress disorder. In Canada, that would mean approximately 50,000 women are suffering emotionally due to their abortions. Dr. Hanna Sà ¶derberg’s studies suggest the number could be closer to 60 per cent. Either way, there are many women with PAS. In Canada, the 1977 Report of the Committee on the Operation of the Abortion Law cited a five-year study in two provinces that found women who had an abortion used medical and psychiatric services much more often than others; in fact, 25 per cent of women who aborted made at least one visit to a psychiatrist compared to just 3 per cent of other women. Alcoholism and drug abuse are higher among women who have abortions than those who don’t. The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology noted in December 2002 that later alcohol and drug use during subsequent pregnancies could place newborn children at higher risk of congenital defects, low birthweight and even death. In all, there are nearly two dozen studies that link abortion to alcohol and drug abuse. Extrapolating from research conducted by Dr. David Reardon of the Elliott Institute, as many as 5,000 Canadian women will â€Å"begin abusing drugs and/or alcohol as a means of dea ling with post-abortion stress.† In 1996, the British Medical Journal reported that the suicide rate for women â€Å"after an abortion was three times the general suicide rate and six times that associated with birth.† This confirmed earlier studies and has been replicated since. Reardon says â€Å"one reason for the strong abortion-suicide link exists in the fact that in many ways, abortion is like suicide. A person who threatens suicide is actually crying out for help. So are women who contemplate abortion. Both are in a state of despair. Both are lonely. Both feel faced by insurmountable odds.† So it is no wonder that abortion does not solve the perceived problem: that of the inconvenient pregnancy. Post-abortive women are more prone to suicide, cigarette smoking, divorce, low self-esteem, sexual dysfunction, eating disorders and reduced maternal bonding with future children, resulting in child neglect or abuse. Women who have had abortions are more likely to be on public assistance, because their pathologies (promiscuity, inability to form healthy relationships, drug and alcohol abuse) are likely to make them single parents. In 2004, Thomas Strahan, a researcher with the Association of Interdisciplinary Research in the United States, found that abortion hurts women economically: â€Å"The repeated utilization of abortion appears to lead not to economic prosperity or social well-being, but to an increasing feminization of poverty.† But post-abortion health problems are not merely emotional. The Elliott Institute has collated the best available data on the physical risk complications of abortion and it reports that â€Å"approximately 10 per cent of women undergoing elect ive abortion will suffer immediate complications, of which approximately one-fifth (2 per cent) are considered life threatening.† The most common immediate major complications include infection, excessive bleeding, embolism, ripping or perforation of the uterus, anesthesia complications, convulsions, hemorrhage, cervical injury and endotoxic shock. Minor complications include infection, bleeding, fever, second-degree burns, chronic abdominal pain, vomiting, gastro-intestinal disturbances and Rh sensitization. In the Canadian context, that means 10,000 women a year suffer complications and 2,000 face potentially life-threatening major complications. Other problems manifest themselves over time. There are more than 30 studies that show a correlation between abortion and breast cancer, with women who had abortions more likely to get breast cancer. Women also face increased risk of cervical, ovarian and liver cancer. The risk for these four cancers are linked to the unnatural disruption of hormonal changes accompanying pregnancy. Untreated cervical damage increases the chances of getting cervical cancer. Between 2 and 3 per cent of all abortion patients suffer perforation of the uterus; this often leads to complications in subsequent pregnancies, the need for a hysterectomy and other complications, including osteoporosis. Smaller cervical lacerations can also cause problems, including cervical incompetence and subsequent labour complications. Abortion also increases the risk of placenta previa in later pregnancies, which is life-threatening to both mother (excessive bleeding) and unborn child (perinatal death), and increases the chance of fetal malformation. Women who have abortions are more than twice as likely to suffer subsequent labour complications, including premature delivery. Pre-term delivery increases the risk of neo-natal death and handicaps. Abortion increases the risk of ectopic pregnancies and pelvic inflammatory disease, both of which can reduce future fertility or threaten the life of the mother. Recent nation-wide data is unavailable in Canada, but Alberta and Nova Scotia statistics indicate that repeat abortions account for about one-third of all procedures. Repeat aborters vastly increase their risk of complications and this has serious consequences for those who routinely utilize abortion as birth control; it also costs the health care system. Perhaps most worrying is that women who have abortions are more likely to die prematurely. Reardon notes, â€Å"Women who abort are approximately four times more likely to die in the following year than women who carry their pregnancies to term† – and that † women who carry to term are only half as likely to die (pre-maturely) as women who were not pregnant.† That includes accidental deaths, suicides and homicides, among other causes. The evidence that abortion harms women – and their loved ones – is overwhelming. But the harm goes beyond individuals. Societal costs No one knows for sure how much abortion costs taxpayers through the country’s socialized health care system. With the exception of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which do not cover the entire cost of abortions committed in private facilities, the provinces pay for abortions in both hospitals and free-standing facilities. LifeCanada estimates that the cost just for the surgical abortion procedures is $80 million (an average of $800 multiplied by 100,000 abortions). Because of under-reporting of abortion, there is reason to believe the cost is actually greater. In 1995, the Library of Parliament Research Branch said determining the cost of abortion is a â€Å"complex and inexact process.† But that is only the surgery. The number of follow-up visits for immediate complications is not made public (if tracked at all) and so those costs are unknowable. There is also the cost of long-term problems including fertility treatments, psychiatry and drug/alcohol treatment. There are other costs, as well; that of missing students, consumers and taxpayers. The loss of 100,000 children every year means smaller classrooms and closed schools. In 2005, People for Education, an advocacy group, reported that the rate of school closures in Ontario has more than doubled in recent years. Between 1986 and 1995, an average of 24 Ontario schools were closed every year, but between 1999 and 2005, it was an average of 52 schools per year. Remarkably, that is despite attracting the bulk of the country’s immigrants. The fact is that Canada is an aging country in which many smaller communities and older neighbourhoods no longer have the children and teens to sustain elementary and high schools. According to the Canadian Council on Learning, â€Å"The steepest declines tend to occur in small, rural and remote school districts.† It cites as an example British Columbia, where 10 school districts have seen their enrolments fall by at least 15 per cent since 200 1, seven of which are rural districts with smaller populations. From 1997-2005, 11 of 13 provinces and territories experienced a drop in enrolment, with six of them seeing declines of at least 10 per cent. The problem is worst in Atlantic Canada. Dr. Gerald Galway of the Faculty of Education at Memorial University in St. John’s gave a presentation to the 2009 Atlantic School Boards Conference entitled, â€Å"Where have all the children gone?† In it, he noted that school enrolment in Atlantic Canada has fallen precipitously over the past several decades. While intra-provincial migration accounts for some decline in population, he mostly blames falling fertility rates. Notably, in Newfoundland, enrolment has declined every year since 1971, except in 1984 (with the introduction of Grade 12). In fact, the school-aged population has been cut in half since 1971, from 160,000 to 80,000. Over the long term, more communities will lose their schools and policy makers will have to make difficult decisions on how to provide quality education in sparsely populated areas. There are also ramifications for public finance. Pierre Fortin, a professor of economics at the Università © du Quà ©bec à   Montrà ©al, says there will be â€Å"a marked deterioration of public finances† because of increased health care costs and pension liabilities as the number of seniors grows rapidly and income tax revenues decrease due to fewer workers. The result is fewer taxpayers supporting more retirees. By 2015, there will be more seniors over 65 than children under 15; it is estimated that by 2030, those over 65 will comprise 25 per cent of the population. According to the 2008 documentary The Cost of Abortion, the cumulative financial loss of nearly 50 million abortions in the United States from 1973-2007 was $37 trillion in GDP over the course of 35 years. That’s lost production and lost consumption due to the 50 million missing children and (later) workers. Assuming that Canada would have suffered a proportionate loss, the Canadian GDP over the past four decades would be in the neighbourhood of $4 trillion – or $100 billion per year. That represents about 7 per cent of the current Canadian economy. In other words, the economic activity of a population not decimated by abortion would be equivalent to more than twice the stimulus package Ottawa announced in January. But after 3.2 million abortions over four decades, the missing children translate into missing economic activity. The cheapening of human life The greatest cost imposed on a society that permits abortion is the devaluing of human life and the diminishment of family life. Abortion does not stalk the nation alone; but rather, as part of the larger culture of death. Since the legalization of abortion, contraception, gay sex and divorce in the 1960s, there has been a decline in marital stability, with growth in sexual activity outside marriage and other sexually deviant behaviour and new assaults on human life. There are more ways to chemically eliminate newly conceived life with the abortifacient morning-after pill and abortion drugs like RU-486. With pregnancy made easily avoidable, is it surprising that courts (and later Parliament) ignored the reproductive role of marriage when they redefined the institution to include same-sex partners? In 2003, the Liberal government passed legislation opening the door to destructive embryonic stem cell research, cloning and other scientific experimentation that treats human life as raw m aterial to be harvested and exploited. If inconvenient human life can be eliminated by mothers and doctors, why not create convenient lives for scientists and other researchers? And lastly – though not yet – is euthanasia. Once the principle is established that inconvenient human beings can be killed, the question becomes who’s next. The answer, if the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Oregon and Washington are harbingers, is the terminally ill, the disabled and the old. Of course, we’ve already had Tracey Latimer and Sue Rodriguez and dozens of others whose names weren’t quite national news. But these are renegades, operating outside the law. Perhaps, though, not for long. Twice in the past four years, Bloc Quebecois MP Francine Lalonde has introduced a private member’s bill to legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Public opinion leans toward so-called â€Å"mercy killing.† The principle of eliminating inconvenient people is well established. The great corrupter Abortion corrupts every institution that promotes or even countenances it. Two examples are government (and politics) and the medical profession, although one could also look at the failure of religious leadership, the denigration of the law and so much more. As Fr. Alphonse de Valk noted in his 1979 pamphlet The Worst Law Ever, the medical profession didn’t take long to become fanatical in its support for abortion. In fact, de Valk said â€Å"the one group which obviously has suffered most from the 1969 law is the medical profession.† In the 1960s, the Canadian Medical Association lobbied for widening the abortion law to permit abortions to save the life or protect the health of the mother (albeit with a broad understanding of mental and emotional health). By 1973, it endorsed abortion on demand. Two years later, it amended the Hippocratic Oath to remove the reference against abortifacients that had been in place for 2,500 years. In 1977, it attempted to make abortion referrals mandatory, even in cases in which doctors were morally opposed. That battle continues more than three decades later. Over the past 40 years, medical professionals have been harassed over their opposition to abortion and most medical schools screen applicants to keep pro-lifers out. Nurses have been fired, removed from certain duties and refused work because of their pro-life views, as have pharmacists. In order to make â€Å"choice† available to those seeking abortions, the choice of health care professionals to act according to their consciences has been compromised and even excised. Abortion has also corrupted the political process. Parliament fashioned a dishonest and untenable amendment in 1969 – the therapeutic abortion committees which sanctioned the killing of the unborn. The Supreme Court threw out the minimal restrictions in 1988 and ordered Parliament to write a new abortion law. The Mulroney government twice introduced legislation to address the abortion issue, but the limits were once again giant loopholes that would not have restricted abortion. Since then, abortion has been permitted within the vacuum created by the absence of a law. Politicians are scared of the issue. Many provincial politicians refuse to answer questions about abortion, claiming it is a federal matter (which it is as a matter of criminal law, but not as health policy). Many federal politicians hide behind the false notion that the 1988 Morgentaler decision established a right to abortion. (It did not, with only one of seven justices suggesting such a right.) In the 2000 federal election, then-prime minister Jean Chretien declared that Canada had â€Å"social peace† on the issue of abortion; in reality, it was the silence of timorous politicians enforced by a rigid media censorship of any substantive debate on the topic. That censorship is widespread. Since 1995, British Columbia has had a legislated bubble zone prohibiting any pro-life speech near abortion facilities. In 1994, the Ontario government asked for and received a â€Å"temporary† injunction prohibiting pro-life speech near five abortion mills; that injunction remains in place today. In Quebec, a limited bubble zone is in place in several municipalities. Such censorship has moved to university campuses, where pro-life groups are denied club status and pro-life speakers or demonstrators are prevented from making their presentations. To protect abortion from any criticism or resistance, genuine human rights, such as freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of conscience, are curbed. Such illiberal and intolerant measures are deemed necessary to defend â€Å"choice.† Conclusion These are but a few of the consequences of a broad abortion licence, a quick overview of the toll of abortion. Sold to a willingly ignorant public as a matter of personal choice, abortion has had terrible consequences for society and, tragically, the women who choose abortion thinking it is a solution to their perceived problems. The enormity of the consequences, one would presume, would lead to a massive re-thinking of unrestricted legal abortion. But instead of either sober reflection or a vigorous debate on abortion’s societal and individual ramifications, there is silence. And more death. And more suffering. Forty more years and millions more deaths are too great a cost for a dearth of necessary leadership to oppose abortion. But someday, these costs and consequences will be too great to ignore. Until then, we will continue to pay in blood, treasure, women’s health and a myriad of other ways. Is Abortion Safe? Psychological Consequences Clinical research provides a growing body of scientific evidence that having an abortion can cause psychological harm to some women. Women who report negative after-effects from abortion know exactly what their problem is, observed psychologist Wanda Franz, Ph.D., in a March 1989 congressional hearing on the impact of abortion. They report horrible nightmares of children calling them from trash cans, of body parts, and blood, Franz told the Congressional panel. When they are reminded of the abortion, Franz testified, the women re-experienced it with terrible psychological pain They feel worthless and victimized because they failed at the most natural of human activities the role of being a mother.[106] The emergence of chemical abortion methods poses a new possibly more devastating psychological threat. Unlike surgical abortions, in which women rarely see the cut up body parts, women having chemical abortions often do see the complete tiny bodies of their unborn children and are even able to distinguish the child’s developing hands, eyes, etc. [107] So traumatic is this for some women that both patients and researchers involved in these studies have recommended that women unprepared for the experience of seeing their aborted children not take the drugs. [108] Long-term psychological implications of this experience have not been studied. Researchers on the after-effects of abortion have identified a pattern of psychological problems known as Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS). Women suffering PAS may experience drug and alcohol abuse, personal relationship disorders, sexual dysfunction, repeated abortions, communications difficulties, damaged self-esteem, and even attempt suicide. Post-Abortion Syndrome appears to be a type of pattern of denial which may last for five to ten years before emotional difficulties surface. [109] Now that some clinicians have established that there is an identifiable patterns to PAS, they face a new challenge. What is still unknown is how widespread psychological problems are among women who have had abortions. A Los Angeles Times survey in 1989 found that 56% of women who had abortions felt guilty about it, and 26% mostly regretted the abortion.[110] Clinicians’ current goal should be to conduct extensive national research studies to obtain data on the psychological after-effects of abortion.[111] With the growing awareness of Post Abortion Syndrome in scholarly and clinical circles, women with PAS can expect to receive a more sensitive appreciation of the suffering that they endure. Fortunately, a growing network of peer support groups of women who have had abortions offers assistance to women who are experiencing emotional difficulties. Many post-abortive women have also been speaking out publicly about their own abortion experiences and the healing process they went through.. Women or family members seeking information about this particular outreach can contact American Victims of Abortion, 419 7th Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C., 20004. Physical Consequences after abortion DEATH: According to the best record based study of deaths following pregnancy and abortion, a 1997 government funded study in Finland, women who abort are approximately four times more likely to die in the following year than women who carry their pregnancies to term. In addition, women who carry to term are only half as likely to die as women who were not pregnant.(16) The Finland researchers found that compared to women who carried to term, women who aborted in the year prior to their deaths were 60 percent more likely to die of natural causes, seven times more likely to die of suicide, four times more likely to die of injuries related to accidents, and 14 times more likely to die from homicide. Researchers believe the higher rate of deaths related to accidents and homicide may be linked to higher rates of suicidal or risk-taking behavior.(16) The leading causes of abortion related maternal deaths within a week of the surgery are hemorrhage, infection, embolism, anesthesia, and undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies. Legal abortion is reported as the fifth leading cause of maternal death in the United States, though in fact it is recognized that most abortion related deaths are not officially reported as such.(2)

Government Intervention in Education and the Environment

Government Intervention in Education and the Environment Why do governments intervene? Illustrate your answer with reference to two of the following: health care, education, housing, the environment. Introduction The following paper will analyse the rationale behind government intervention in the areas of education and environment. Government intervention as the term signifies refers to the involvement of the government where it comes to the designing and implementing policies. Generally speaking government intervention takes the form of regulation. It might appear strange that in this competitive and privatised capitalist set up ‘government intervention’ is still a term which exists. Despite a negative tone attached to government intervention, it is imperative to have certain sectors regulated. This paper will evaluate government intervention in the areas of environment and education. At times government intervention is required to achieve economic efficiency. Economic efficiency is achieved when nobody can be made better off without someone else being made worse off. Such efficiency enhances prosperity by ensuring that resources are allocated and used in the most productive manner possible. One potential cause of inefficiency is where circumstances mean that the private returns which an individual or firm receives from carrying out a particular action differ from the returns to society as a whole. Market failureis a description of a situation where, for one reason or other, the market mechanism alone cannot achieve economic efficiency. Traditionally the goods and services provided by the public sector have been to make basic amenities available to the public. These have included health and medical services, education, law and order, transport. A recent estimate provided by Kable[1] suggested that a fifth of the public sector services could be delivered through outsourcing. Government Intervention in Education Government intervention in the education sector has been justified on various grounds. It has been argued that in the real world, there are many instances in which private markets fail to produce the socially optimal quantities of goods and services. Various forms of market failures can be identified when considering education, namely, Capital market imperfections: The private purchase of schooling, especially of higher education, is beyond the means of many poor families. Most credit markets do not provide an effective solution because of strong imperfections that reduce participation, particularly among very poor people. In principle, the budget constraints can be overcome by borrowing, given the high private returns to education. However, there are high risks for both borrowers and lenders in educational financing, and banks would not accept the promise of future earnings as collateral. Incomplete information: Market failure also relate to the problems of uncertainty and incomplete information. Households may not know the existence of services in education, or they may not be aware of the private returns to education, which have a long gestation period. As a result, they tend to under-invest in education. Externalities: Some of the benefits from education accrue not only to its direct recipients but also to society at large. Literacy, for example, lowers the transaction costs amongst individuals; womens education brings external benefits for fertility control and child health and nutrition. In deciding how much to purchase, individuals compare only the personal benefits and personal costs. Private provision, or full cost-recovery, would result in under-investment in education. Principle-agent: It is generally the case that in a household, parents are the relevant decision-making unit and not the child. For example, in education, the important issue is the perceived balance between the costs and benefits to the parents of sending their child to school. Since only some portion of the returns to schooling will accrue to parents, there may be rational (if regrettable) reasons for households to under-invest in schooling, notwithstanding its apparently high economic returns. According to a paper published by the World Bank, in the absence of market failures, there may also be a case for government intervention on grounds of equity and merit goods: Equity: Not all groups in society can afford the direct and indirect costs associated with investing in education. The government therefore plays a role in promoting equality of opportunity. If education was provided under market conditions, only those who could afford to pay would be able to enroll. Not only would there be under-investment from the social point of view, but income inequalities would be preserved from one generation to the next, since education is itself a determinant of lifetime income. Merit goods: Education is often considered a type of good with special merit that is not readily quantifiable and that might be under-supplied if left to the market. Basic education, for example, is an important channel through which governments advance nation building in addition to imparting basic literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills. From the late 1960s central government began to take more interest in the policies being carried out at the local level. In education as well, there was growing central government interest in standards2 and the curriculum, 3 as the debate moved from equality and selection to the performance of schools. The 1970s brought reforms which set the pattern of change for the future. The Labour government considered the introduction of a needs-based central grant in the 1977 green paper on local government finance. The advocates of interventionism or government interference with the market protest that they do not want socialism, but rather to retain private ownership of the material factors of production, free enterprise, and market exchange. But they assert that these institutions of the market economy could be easily misused, and are often misused, by the propertied classes for an unfair exploitation of the poorer strata of the population. To prevent such an outcome they want to restrain the discretion of the individuals by governmental orders and prohibitions. The government should interfere with all those actions of the businessmen which it considers as detrimental to the public interest; in other respects, however, it should leave the market alone. Government Intervention is essential for education and environment. Consider the scenario where education was fully privatized, it would result in an increase in illiteracy. Education would become competitive and the objective of organizations would be to make money rather than impart education. This would mean that economically poor people in the society would have fewer prospects to gain education. For instance the recent Skills for Life initiative have been devised to improve the literacy and numeracy levels of the people. This has only been possible to implement because the government has taken action. Had the education sector been completely privatized it would have become another money-making mechanism which would not have benefited the society. However, arguments against total government control are that the private sector can help the public sector to provide the services with the use of modern technology. Government Intervention and the Environment Usually regulation is needed where the good is classed as a public good. Government regulation is an alternative method of seeking to protect and preserve the quality of the environment. Regulation however does not always lead to ideal outcomes, and it can be enormously expensive. Regulation is not always based on market systems, so it is subject to all the problems associated with lack of information and lack of incentives that have plagued the socialist nations. For instance, in the case of global warming, emissions from carbon dioxide from efficient burning of all fuels case no harm where they are emitted. No one’s rights are being violated by the invasion of harmful pollutant, yet these emissions are building up in the atmosphere. Thus this may require that in the future regulations must take this into account. Consider the scenario where the environmental resources are left in the hands of the private sector. Needless to say the resources would be depleted much faster. If there wasn’t government control in terms of dumping waste and pollution the industrialized societies would have led to a faster depletion of the ozone layer in the pursuit of making profits. There are undoubtedly major benefits for governments to intervene in certain areas, however, public-private sector partnership is required to reach optimum level of success. Some argue that governments must just serve as watchdogs and ensure that environmental policy is adhered to and that companies are made responsible for their actions. Taking responsibility towards protecting the environment would achieve a lot more than the government intervening all the time. It is a general belief that profit-seekers and corporations are too greedy and self-interested, the thinking goes, to give much thought to preserving wildlife, forests and wilderness. It can be argued that no one likes pollution, but getting rid of pollution requires resources. The more resources society devotes to lessening pollution, the fewer resources are available for all other goods and services. If someone else ws prepared topay to get rid of the pollution then undoubtedly one would experience an increase in utility at no cost to oneself. On the whole, rich countries are less polluted than poor countries, not more. The reason is that wealth increases both the demand for a healthier environment and the means to bring it about. Environmental regulation has been necessary to achieve this, to be sure, because pollution is indeed an externality. But it is not true that the problem has been left unattended in the rich world that things are therefore getting worse, and that CSR initiatives have to rise to the challenge of dealing with this neglect. Strong environmental protection is already in place in Europe and the United States. In some cases, no doubt, it needs to be strengthened further. In some other cases, most likely, it is already too strong. Overall, the evidence fails to show systematic neglect, or any tendency, once government regulation is taken into account, for economic growth to make things worse. Government regulation is an alternative method of seeking to protect and preserve the quality of the environment. Regulation however does not always lead to ideal outcomes, and it can be enormously expensive. Regulation is not always based o market systems, so it is subject to all the problems associated with lack of information and lack of incentives that have plagued the socialist nations. For instance, in the case of global warming, emissions from carbon dioxide from efficient burning of all fuels case no harm where they are emitted. No one’s rights are being violated by the invasion of harmful pollutant, yet these emissions are building up in the atmosphere. Thus this may require that in the future regulations must take this into account. As a general rule, however, correcting market failures is best left to government. Businesses cannot be trusted to get it right, partly because they lack the wherewithal to frame intelligent policy in these areas. The right policy on global warming is not clear-cut even at the global level, to say nothing of the national level or the level of the individual firm or consumer. Devising such a policy, and sharing the costs equitably, is a political challenge of the first order. Settling such questions exceeds both the competence and the proper remit of private enterprise. Conclusion From the preceding paragraphs it can be concluded that the government plays an important role when it comes to decisions relating to public goods like health, safety education and environment. It can be seen that if the public goods are left completely in the hands of private sector it would not yield beneficial results. Profit being the main motive private sector would not care enough for the rate at which natural resources were getting depleted or the quality of education. Moreover, not all sections of the society will be privy to the same quality of education. Thus government intervention is vital in ensuring that economic development occurs uniformly and consistently in the country. Thus government intervention is essential when considering key goods like education and environment Even though arguments presented have suggested that governments tend to be bigger polluters than private sector companies, however, government has a duty towards the society to provide good quality educ ation and a cleaner environment. Thus government intervention is important; however the level can vary depending on the development levels. Thus in summary government could play a role of watchdog more to achieve economic efficiency. BIBLIOGRAPHY Goodstein, E.S., Economics and Environment, (2004), John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Gwartney, James D., Stroup, Richard L., and Sobel, Russell S., Economics Private and Public Choice, (2000), Ninth Edition, The Dryden Press. Hammer, Jeffrey S. 1996. The Public Economics of Education. Public Economics Division, Policy Research Department, World Bank (mimeo). Hoxby, Caroline M. 1994b. Does Competition between Public Schools Benefit Students and Taxpayers? National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 4979. James, Estelle. 1984. Benefits and Costs of Privatized Public Services: Lessons from the Dutch Education System. Comparative Education Review 28(4): 605-624. 1 Footnotes [1] Kable (organisation) provides technological research and analysis on the UK government and public sector.

The Poetry of Judith Wright Essay -- Judith Wright Poems compare Contr

The Poetry of Judith Wright Abstract This report discusses the influences of Australia as well as the universal impact on the poetry of Judith Wright. It contains an evaluation of both the techniques and the "plot" behind the poems "Remittance Man, "South of My Days" and "Eve to her Daughters" as well as a comparison between the three poems. Australia, as Wright ¡Ã‚ ¦s homeland, has had a significant effect on the content of her poems but references to English scenes are also consistent as well as general references to the universal world. Eve to Her Daughters. ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Poem Summary The poem  ¡Ã‚ ¥Eve to Her Daughters ¡Ã‚ ¦ tells of original sin and gives advice to the women (her daughters) of today from Eve regarding men. The first stanza describes the consequences of the fall but Eve ¡Ã‚ ¦s acceptance of it. The second and third stanzas describe Adam ¡Ã‚ ¦s rebellion against the punishment and the  ¡Ã‚ §insult ¡K the trick They had played on us ¡Ã‚ ¨,  ¡Ã‚ ¥They ¡Ã‚ ¦ being God and Satan whom Adam has grouped together as a united opposition. Adam was discontent with the new life and strove to build a new Eden and put God  ¡Ã‚ ¥out of business ¡Ã‚ ¦. The third and fourth stanzas tell the audience about Adam ¡Ã‚ ¦s attempt to understand how the world works and to disprove God ¡Ã‚ ¦s existence. In his quest to unravel everything he decides that if it  ¡Ã‚ §cannot be demonstrated [it] does not exist ¡Ã‚ ¨. In this process he proves that humans themselves cannot exist and  ¡Ã‚ §refuses to accept the conclusion ¡Ã‚ ¨. The conclusion of the poem is in a sarcastic tone as a final message to Eve ¡Ã‚ ¦s  ¡Ã‚ ¥daughters ¡Ã‚ ¦ that everybody has faults and they always work out. She suggests that Adam is too stubborn to accept this and through this he has turned himself into a shapeless enigma that  ¡Ã‚ §doesn ¡Ã‚ ¦t exist. ¡Ã‚ ¨ ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Universal References The biblical references to Eve, Adam, Abel and Cain, as well as God and Satan are not linked to Judith Wright ¡Ã‚ ¦s homeland or any country in particular but in particular her Christian upbringing. The poem reflects feminist ideas as many of her poems do and also encourage thought by including hidden questions within the poem to challenge her audience. In the third stanza there is mentioned a number of ideals that modern people are striving for such as  ¡Ã‚ §multiplied opportunities for safe investment and higher education ¡Ã‚ ¨ as well as advanced technologies and communications. This stanza has ... ...  Ã‚  Australian References The very first line of  ¡Ã‚ §South of my Days ¡Ã‚ ¨ tells us that the poem is about Australia as it is Judith Wright ¡Ã‚ ¦s home country ( ¡Ã‚ §part of my blood ¡Ã‚ ¦s country ¡Ã‚ ¨). The  ¡Ã‚ §tableland ¡Ã‚ ¨ described in lines 2 and 3 are distinctly Australian as well as the trees mentioned in line 4. In stanza 2 the use of the word  ¡Ã‚ §yarn ¡Ã‚ ¨ is also Australian. Stanza 3 is one of  ¡Ã‚ §Old Dan ¡Ã‚ ¦s ¡Ã‚ ¨ stories about a cattle muster, another distinct Australian reference especially with the inclusion of a drought mentioned and the Hunter Valley. Stanza 4 is another story containing references to particular places such as Tamworth and the Bogongs, as well as specific references to Australian legends such as the Cobb & Co. mail service and Captain Thunderbolt the bushranger, all of which are uniquely Australian. Conclusion The balance between Australia and the universal in the poetry of Judith Wright is fairly even though it does lean more towards Australian poetry. The main references in her poetry are towards England, Australia and the Bible, all of which she had grown up with and had obvious strong influences on her. The love of her country Australia is evident in many of her poems.

Job Searching in the 21st Century Myths and Realities no. 14 Essay

Job Searching in the 21st Century Myths and Realities "Find your dream job online!" "Electronic job search revolution!" Of all the hype surrounding the Internet, one of the biggest claims may be how information technology is changing the way people look for jobs. A huge number of electronic job resources are available: resume posting sites, job vacancy databases, employer websites, discussion boards and newsgroups, industry salary and information sites, and general career information sites. The Internet gives job seekers access to vast amounts of information about vacancies and employers, 24-hour availability, broader geographic reach, networking, career development advice, and simplified resume distribution (Dikel 2001). For recruiters and employers, the Internet can speed up the hiring process, provide a large pool of applicants, and reduce advertising and other costs (Pearce and Tuten 2001). But how effective is online job searching? Are traditional methods now a waste of time? Like everything else in cyberspace, online job hunting i s constantly changing. For example, a 1999 Fortune magazine cover announced "I got my job online-and soon so will you" (Useem 1999). Now a 2001 article advises: "Enjoy being unemployed? Keep job hunting online" (Fisher 2001). And measuring any kind of Internet use is a perilous process--a variety of conflicting statistics can be found. This publication investigates some myths and realities of job searching in the 21st century. Out with the Old? Are job seekers flocking to online search methods? Approximately 100,000 sites offer resume posting and classified ad services; estimates of the number of resumes on the Web range from 2.5 million (Pearce and Tuten 2001) to 20 million (Corsini ... ...e." December 13, 2000. http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/professional/article/0,,5971_534601,00.html Kuhn, P., and Skuterud, M. "Job Search Methods: Internet versus Traditional." Monthly Labor Review 123, no. 10 (October 2000): 3-11. Li, C.; Charron, C.; and Dash, A.. "The Career Networks." Cambridge, MA: Forrester Research, 2000. http://www.forrester.com "Net Playing Role in Job Searches." May 15, 1999. http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/professional/article/0,,5971_153281,00.html Pearce, C. G., and Tuten, T. L "Internet Recruiting in the Banking Industry." Business Communication Quarterly 64, no. 1 (March 2001): 9-18. Useem, J. "For Sale Online: You." Fortune 140, no. 1 (July 5, 1999): 66-78. "Web Expands Role in Corporate Recruiting." March 29, 2000. http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/professional/article/0,,5971_330331,00.html

Balanced Scorecard Study – Samsung

Kashun Davis TMAN 680 Fall 2012 Balanced Scorecard: Samsung Samsung is the technology-based organization that will be the subject for my Balanced Scorecard. Founded in 1938 in Seoul, South Korea, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of finished electronic products and device solutions worldwide. They offer consumer products, including mobile phones, tablets, televisions, Blu-rays, DVD players, home theaters, multimedia players; home appliances, such as refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, etc; Laptops and personal computers.The company also designs and manufactures integrated circuits for digital information storage in consumer electronics. It has operations in Korea, U. S. , Europe, Asia, Africa, Africa and China. Because of the large size of the Samsung Corporation, I will focus on Samsung smartphones, one of their technology-intensive business units. The vision of Samsung: â€Å"Samsung is dedicated to developing innovative technologies and efficient processes that create new markets, enrich people's lives, and continue to make Samsung a digital leader. Their mission statement, â€Å"At Samsung, we follow a simple business philosophy: to devote our talent and technology to creating superior products and services that contribute to a better global society. Samsung’s net sales have risen from 158. 9 billion in 2007 to 220. 1 billion in 2011. Their total assets grew from 280. 8 billion in 2007 to 343. 7 billion in 2011. Unfortunately their total liabilities went from 181. 7 billion in 2007 to 202. 6 billion in 2011. Stockholder’s equity almost doubled from 80. billion in 2007 to 141. 1 billion in 2011. Samsung’s net income also increased from 12. 9 billion in 2007 to 21. 2 billion in 2011. It’s also not strange to see their employee base increase due to their explosive growth over this five-year time span. They had 254,000 employees in 2007 and now have over 344,000 employees in 2011 (â€Å"About Samsung,† 2010). Their electronics division has 190,500 employees at the end of 2011. With respect to the Smartphone business unit out of the 1. billion mobile phones sold worldwide in 2011, Samsung accounted for 330 million of those units. Their Galaxy S II sold more than 20 million units since its launch in 2011. In 2012, Samsung launched the Galaxy S III and expects to strengthen their brand and increase market share in the mobile phone arena (â€Å"About Samsung,† 2010). The balanced scorecard is defined as a management system that maps an organization’s strategic objectives into performance metrics in four perspectives: financial, internal processes, customers, and learning and growth (NetMBA, 2002).The four perspectives mentioned above construct the balanced scorecard framework. To create a balanced scorecard for Samsung’s Smartphone business division this framework has to be applied. First, I will assess the mission, vision, c hallenges, and partners of the company. The vision of Samsung: â€Å"Samsung is dedicated to developing innovative technologies and efficient processes that create new markets, enrich people's lives, and continue to make Samsung a digital leader. Their mission statement, â€Å"At Samsung, we follow a simple business philosophy: to devote our talent and technology to creating superior products and services that contribute to a better global society. Samsung not only makes smartphones, but they also create components like displays and integrated circuits that also go into competitor’s smartphones, such as Apple’s iPhone. Samsung’s competitors in the mobile phone market are Apple, Microsoft, Google, HTC, Nokia, and Blackberry. Samsung doesn’t make their own proprietary software and hardware as Apple, Google, and Blackberry.Samsung exclusively uses Google’s Android Mobile OS for their phones. Another challenge Samsung faces, is that their mobile phon es are not only in competition with other phones that have different software platforms, but they are in even stiffer competition with other phones that also use Google’s Android Mobile OS. This market in itself is very fragmented from the fact that more than 4,000 distinct smartphone models exist that uses the Android operating system (Valazco, 2012). Fortunately for Samsung they command 25. % of the smartphone manufacture market putting them on top. LG, Apple, Motorola, and HTC own 18. 4%, 16. 3%, 11. 2%, and 6. 4% of the smartphone manufacture market respectively (â€Å"comscore reports July,† 2012). With respect to the balanced scorecard framework, a strategy map will assist with connecting the four perspectives and how they relate to each other. The strategic measures chosen for the Learning & Growth Perspective were chosen based on information listed in the Samsung’s annual report. Samsung’s employees have grown over the past few years. Samsung†™s social etwork presence is currently greater than their competitors, but there is always room for improvement. Samsung invested $8B USD in R&D, which this funnels down to organizational capital and learning from their competitors. With respect to the Internal Process Perspective $8B USD were invested into R&D for innovation. Customer Satisfaction is never perfect in any organization, thus leaving room for improvement. Not to mention customer satisfaction can translate into sales. Management of operations was chosen because process improvement is always needed in an organization.The customer perspective measurements are strengthening the brand, gaining OEM market share, and exceeding customer expectations. All of these links to financial success within the organization, thus focusing on these measures is vital to the growth Samsung expects to see in the future. Stockholder equity, net sales, and net income all affect the customer, internal, and learning & growth perspective measu res and vice versa. This provides a top to bottom and bottom to top flow balanced measures. Learning & Growth Perspective| Objective| Measure| Target| Initiative|Grow Human Capital| # Of Employees in Samsung Electronics Division| 200,000 employees| Aggressive Recruitment and Retention Program| Improve Information Capital| Social Networking Effectiveness| 6 Million Twitter Followers; 40 Million Facebook Likes| Aggressive & Interactive Social Networking Campaign| Build Organizational Capital| Submittal of Employee Ideas| 5,000 Employee Ideas Submitted| Conduct Organizational Learning Study of Samsung Mobile Division (Amiri, 2010)| Learn from our Competitors| Mobile OEM Market Share| Increase Mobile OEM Market Share by 20%| Analyze competitors customer base and meet the needs of that customer base through innovative mobile technology | Internal Process Perspective| Objective| Measure| Target| Initiative| Manage Innovations| Successful Research & Development Projects| Double R&D Project s| Allocate more capital to R&D projects and their implementation| Manage Customer Relations| Customer Satisfaction| Double and Sustain Customer Satisfaction scores| Aggressive ustomer service training for employees| Manage Operations| Value Added & Non-Value Added Operations| Increase Value Added Operations and Reduce/eliminate non-value added operations| Lean Six-Sigma Process Improvement Initiative (Qun, 2012)| Customer Perspective| Objective| Measure| Target| Initiative| Strengthen Samsung Smartphone Brand| Market Share| Increase Market Share| Aggressive Marketing Campaign| Gain Smartphone OEM Market Share| OEM Market Share| Increase Mobile OEM Market Share by 20%| Analyze competitors customer base and meet the needs of that customer base through innovative mobile technology| Exceeding customer needs and expectations| Customer Satisfaction Scores | Customer Retention| Double Customer satisfaction scores & retention | Customer Loyalty & Rewards Program | Customer Perspective| Obj ective| Measure| Target| Initiative|Increase Stockholder Equity| Stock Price| Increase from $489/share to $510/share| Increase Market Share| Increase Net Sales| Net Sales| Increase from 135B to 170B| Aggressive Marketing Campaign| Increase Net Income| Net Income| Increase by 15%| Make Operations Efficient and reducing costs| Sources About Samsung. (2010). Retrieved from http://www. samsung. com/us/aboutsamsung/corporateprofile/ourperformance/samsungprofile. html Amiri, A. , Jandghi, G. , Alvani, S. , Hosnavi, R. , & Ramezan, M. (2010). Increasing the Intellectual Capital in Organization: Examining the Role of Organizational Learning. European Journal Of Social Science,  14(1/2), 98-108. comscore reports July 2012 U. S. mobile subscriber market share. (2012, Sept 04). Retrieved from http://www. comscore. com/Insights/Press_Releases/2012/9/comScore_Reports_July_2012_US_Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share NetMBA. (2002). Netmba business knowledge center.Retrieved from http://www. netmba. com/accounting/mgmt/balanced-scorecard/ Samsung Group. (2011). Samsung profile 2011. Retrieved from http://www. samsung. com/us/aboutsamsung/corporateprofile/download/Samsung_Profile_2011-EN-final-revise. pdf Qun, Z. , Irfan, M. , Khattak, M. , Abbas, J. , Xiaoning, Z. , & Shah, M. (2012). CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR SUCCESSFUL LEAN SIX SIGMA IMPLEMENTATION IN PAKISTAN. Interdisciplinary Journal Of Contemporary Research In Business,  4(1), 117-124. Valazco, C. (2012, May 15). Techcrunch. Retrieved from http://techcrunch. com/2012/05/15/3997-models-android-fragmentation-as-seen-by-the-developers-of-opensignalmaps/