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Monday, September 30, 2019

Fundamental Problems of Economic System Essay

Before we further move on we have to know about the sources of economic problems and a brief about the economic system. 1. 2. 1 Scarce Means and Unlimited Wants Want is Want is an effective desire for a thing, which can be satisfied by making an effort for obtaining it. We have unlimited wants and as one want gets satisfied another arises. For instance, one may have the desire to buy a car or a flat. Once the car or the flat is purchased, the person wishes to buy a more spacious and designable car and the list of his wants does not stop here but goes on one after another. As human wants are unlimited, we have to make a choice between the most urgent want and less urgent wants. Thus the problem of choice arises. Means also known as resources are limited. Means are the ways to derive the satisfaction of the various wants. For instance, money is an important means to satisfy many of our wants. As stated, means are scarce and as such these are to be used optimally. In other words scarce or limited means are to be judicially used and economized to get the maximum satisfaction. Another problem which is to be viewed is that resources have alternative uses i. e. the same resource can be used for more than one purpose. For example, money can be used either buying a laptop or a play station, all depends on how you perceive the urge of the desire or want you want to satisfy. 1. 2. 2 An Economic System or Economy The term economic system can be defined as a set of techniques by which a society decides and create balance between resources and unlimited human wants. It therefore clearly signifies that being a part of social system not only natural resources but also man made resources also get included in the economic system. The economic system thus comprises of people and institutions like banks, markets etc. The set of parameters thus used to determine the components of economic system is very dynamic and depends upon various factors like social, political, geographical and climatic etc. This shows that we can distinguish the two economies, no economy in the world will be same. The difference can be judged on the basis of control of the economy For Example: The economic system of the country can also be based on the basis of involvement of society, more involvement of society in the economy and the decision are taken with a view of society and equitable distribution of wealth is characteristic of Socialist Economy. Contrarily if the economy is decentralized and the power lies in the hands of private enterprises then the said economy is capitalist economy. Primarily the difference is done on the basis of the control but other things like growth, production of the economy can also be used to judge the economic scenario of the two economies, the production done in a fiscal year, purchasing power of the people and employment are primarily the factors considered. 1. 2. 3 Economic Agents Economic agents are the key units of the economic system, the whole economy revolves around them. Producers, consumers, institutions and various other bodies come under this category. The agents are considered to be the most critical part of the economy as they guide and drive the economy by their actions. Check your progress A 1. What is an economic system? Ans. Economic system or economy is known a set of principles by which problems of economics are addressed, such as the economic problem of scarcity through allocation of finite productive resources. The economic system thus comprises of people and institutions like banks, markets etc. . 3 FACTORS OF PRODUCTION Production process is an end to end activity which means that there is a relational pedagogy between input and output. Factors of production also known as productive inputs are the resources employed to produce goods and services, thus it constitutes the input part of the production process. Factors of production involve in the production process and improves the working of the process but do not form the ultimate part of the product. Factors of production can be broadly classified as: 1. Land . Labour 3. Capital 4. Entrepreneurship 1. 3. 1 Land In economics, land includes all natural resources which are free gift of nature. Thus, by land economists do not mean only agricultural soil, but also other natural resources such as minerals, water, climate and forests. Payment for use of land per period is called Rent. Land as factor of production implies the ground used to built and start the production moreover it serves as a pool of various minerals and valuable natural resources which facilitates the human mankind. Land is a fixed factor of production and thus it is not possible to increase. Land helps to facilitate the production only if the efficient workforce is used to generate the maximum output out of the limited resource. This means optimum utilisation of resources. 1. 3. 2 Labour Labour represents all physical and mental abilities which people can make available for production of goods and services. Labour is usually measured by the time spent in working during a period. Reward made per period of labour is called Wages. Labour is a non homogeneous factor of production. There are set of people in the underlying category which can be distinguished as skilled and unskilled worker. The workers that are skilled and educated are used in the operations of a more complex job requiring special skills and training and the other category belongs to the lower level working operations. The two factors which highlight the labour are efforts put in and performance which correlates the efficiency. The efforts put in by a labour can be modified with the motivational analysis that can help the person to make the worker work produce more. As land is the natural or passive factor in all production, so labour is the human or active factor. All the production results with the action of labour thus it can be said that labour is producer of all wealth. In economics the labour and capital is said to be the primary factors of production and from their union all of the production comes. 1. 3. 3 Capital Capital, which is not in itself a distinguishable element, but which it must always be kept in mind consists of wealth applied to the aid of labour in further production, is not a primary factor. There can be production without it, and there must have been production without it, or it could not in the first place have appeared. It is a secondary and compound factor, coming after and resulting from the union of labour and land in the production of wealth. Capital refers to man made resources of production. Labour plays an integral role in the capital formation, here too state of labour effects and relates with the capital formation an efficient worker will generate additional capital with additional production. Here the term investment arise which is the amount of capital formation in a year. The capital formation with a viewpoint of economy will include the accumulated part of the production process. The production is a continuous process and hence a halt can hamper the production in a big way, thus there is always some production in progress and some products add to the production of other products appreciating the value of the products will lead to the capital formation. 1. 3. 4 Entrepreneurship Entrepreneur represents a special human resource which provides his entrepreneurial abilities to the enterprise. Entrepreneur plays a crucial role in a free market economy it integrates all the factors of production land, labour and capital to produce the output with a view of anticipating all the losses if the output fails in the free market. Entrepreneur always is in the risky situation as he is the one who bears all d cost of inducing the other factors of production into the production process and the profits are the rewards of the entrepreneur at the end of everything. Nowadays Venture Capitalists and other financer are willing to diversify the risk of the new entrepreneur. The existence of the entrepreneurship as a part of factor of production is still debatable. Check Your Progress B 1. List the major factors of production? Ans. Major Factors of production are as follows: a. Land b. Labour c. Capital d. Entrepreneurship 1. 4 FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS OF AN ECONOMY Every economy has to face some problems as scarcity of resources having alternative uses in relation to demand give rise to the choice problem. The allocation of resources is the fundamental problem of the economy. These Fundamental problems are: 1. What to produce? 2. How to produce? 3. For whom to produce? 4. The choice between current consumption and growth through saving and investment. 1. 4. 1 What to produce? This question arises from the fact of limited resources in the society now apparently society has to decide which goods have to be produced and in which quantities, now it is clear that some of the goods have to be produced and some have to be foregone. This lead us to take an intermediate solution of what we must produce and what we must not as the goods that are foregone also have some wants associated with it which leads some of the customers dissatisfied. Another problem attached with the production is allocation of resources like for example if we have to produce product A and product B, both of them will require the exhaustion of the resources, here the problem of allocation of resources comes into picture as to how much resources we must allocate to which product. This is necessarily not an issue of the developing countries as developed countries can also face the problem of allocation of resources. 1. 4. 2 How to Produce? This is the problem of choosing method or technique of production which means that what combinations of factors a society decides to produce goods. For example if the economy decides to produce product A then how the production will take place and allocation of resources has to be decided. A combination of factors in appropriate amount for the production is known as the technique of production. The things that come into consideration while taking the decision of how to allocate the factors and which factors to be used can be decided with the current economic scenario. For example in developing countries where there is abundance of labour and relatively lesser amount of capital there we can use Labour Intensive Technique for the production and similarly in developed countries where labour is relatively less and capital is more, then Capital Intensive Technique can be adopted for the production purposes. The basic criteria of choosing the different types of technique in the different kind of scenario would be based on 1. Availability of the supplies of resources 2. Prices of the different resources which must lead to most cost effective way of production. The problem here is that the scarcity of resources which requires that the available resources must be used judicially and efficiently, if not economy has to face the inefficiency and thus productivity will hamper. 1. 4. 3 For Whom to Produce? This is the problem related with the issue of the distribution of the national product among the society. Society is a very vast term and includes a lot of components and consumers which include the ultimate consumers of the national produce thus it is very critical to state an effective distribution strategy, society thus itself decides how much is to distributed in what quantities. In a free market economy it is the income of the individual which is the deciding factor that how much he can purchase out of the available resources, Higher the income higher is the power to utilise the resource in his favour. The distribution strategy is also not free to operate in the economy on the basic principles of demand and supply there are certain factors which governs the marketing mechanism like from socialist perspective focus is on the providing basic necessities to all and generate motivation in the people to generate additional income by doing additional work, Similarly there has o be different strategies to be adopted in case of different economic structure. The problem of distribution does not have an easy way out it implies that there is always conflict of ideologies in setting up of the distribution strategy. 1. 4. 4 The Problem of Growth Economic growth suggests that there is an increase in the production of goods and services on a continuous basis. Growth thus i mplies that the economy must move on with increase in the substantial amount of the investment. Capital formation is thus necessary and for the expansion of the stock there has to be a sacrifice in the present level of consumption. If all the stock is used up and nothing is there for the future use, there will be no capital formation and thus no growth. 1. 4. 5 Choice between Public and Private Goods 1. Public Goods: It is those types of goods that can not be restricted and bounded by the use of an individual. The basic characteristic of these types of goods are: a) Consumption of the good by one person does not lead to the reduction in the availability for the consumption of others. b) No body can not get excluded from using the good. Free to air television channels are the examples of these types of goods. These are the goods available to all and anybody can see without getting obstruction in a way these goods comes as a right to a person. These goods satisfy a collective want of the society. 2. Private Goods: These types of goods are the just opposite of what we have just read Public Goods. The main characteristics or the Private Goods are: a) Consumptions by one consumer prevent simultaneous consumption by other consumers. b) It is reasonably possible to prevent a class of  consumers from consuming the good. Private goods are produced and marketed with a perspective of profit and it just satisfies an individual want. Bread can be one of the examples of Private Goods. 1. 4. 6 The Problem of Merit Goods The merit goods are those goods which follow the concept of need, rather than ability and willingness to pay. For example: Health Services it helps the society on the whole and caters the need at individual level, but since it is a costly merit service the same has to be privatised which results in the acquisition of services only by those whom have the power to pay the more money. Thus Merit Goods merit remains effective till it helps the individual as well society on a holistic level. Check Your Progress C 1. What is capital formation? Ans. Capital formation is the term used to coin the additional things added into the economy on account of growth. Capital stock added in the financial year counts on account of capital formation when it comes to real and tangible products and in case of services the additional value generated by rendering services that appreciates the value of Gross National Product. 1. 5 PRODUCTION POSSIBILITY CURVE Production possibility curve is also known as Production Possibility Frontier or Transformation Curve. Production Possibility curve is a curve which depicts Graphical  representation  of the alternative combinations of the amounts of two goods or services that an economy can produce by transferring resources from one good or service to the other. As the total productive resources of the economy are limited, the economy has to choose between different goods. The resources can be put into different types of goods it is therefore necessary to decide which product to be produced more and which has to be less. Assumptions underlying: 1. Given or fixed amount of resources available in the economy. 2. Given resources are being used fully and with utmost efficiency. 3. Technology does not undergo any change. Production possibility curve can be drawn with the help of a schedule that can be depicted between the two goods which can be produced with the full utilisation and efficient employment of given resources. This can be drawn on the basis of schedule for example we take Cloth and Tanks. Production Possibilities| Cloth| Tanks| A| 0| 15| B| 1| 14| C| 2| 12| D| 3| 9| E| 4| 5| F| 5| 0| This schedule when depicted on a graphical format takes a convex shape and depicts the optimum number of combinations of the two products with the given level of resources in hand. 1. 6. 1 Resource Allocation in a Capitalist Economy Capitalism, broadly speaking, is the economic system in which financial considerations dominate. It is a system in which the quest for financial reward is the driving force shaping what is done, by whom, how, where and when. This concept basically works on two dimensions: freedom of economic choice and freedom of enterprise. Freedom of choice means that in a world of scarce resources the individual is free to make his own decisions. Freedom of enterprise is usually more narrowly defined as the freedom to own and operate a business. Price Mechanism plays an important role in the role of determining the process of buying and selling. Market forces determine the price and quantity to be produced in the economy with the interaction demand and supply. In such economy the goods and services produced in the society with the aim of generating profit and thus the resources are allocated to the goods which provide better results on account of profit. The biggest concern een and faced in this type of economy is of income inequality, due to the price mechanism and profit motive the goods are not supplied to the poor and the philosophy rich is become richer and poor becomes poorer prevails. 1. 6. 2 Resource Allocation in a Socialist Economy Socialist economy is a structure of the economy which aims at providing great er equality and giving the working class greater ownership over the means of production. In a socialist economy or a socialist state believes that socialism is the most equitable and socially serviceable form of an economic arrangement designed to achieve human potentialities. Socialist economies are characterized by the means of production owned by the state or by the workers collectively called socialism. The authorities decide in a planned economy how the resource must allocate in a profitable manner which benefits the society at large, market forces are not allowed to influence the decision at all. It is the government who takes control of all the resources and decides what to produce and in what quantities. They produce with the perspective of the society at large and not with the view of the earning profit. 1. 6. 3 Resource Allocation in a Mixed Economy A Mixed Economy is an economy in which the decisions are taken in the combined manner some is taken by the market forces and some are taken under government regulation. The mixed economy as an economic ideal is supported by social democrats as a compromise between classic socialism. The production process is governed in a semi segregated manner, Critical sectors which are important with respect to the country as a whole is kept in hands of the government and rest consumer goods are kept open in the economy to kept work accordingly to the market mechanism. Check Your Progress D 1. What is production possibility curve? Ans. Production Possibility curve also known as Production Possibility Frontier is a curve which shows the combination of two or more goods or services that can be produced while using all the available factor resources efficiently. For Example: We can allocate the resources in the production of the cloths and tank. 1. 7. LETS SUM UP Knowledge has many branches and economics is an important and useful branch of knowledge because problems of poverty, unemployment, lack of growth, inflation which face all economies are best explained and explored and being solved with the help of Economics. An economic system can be defined as a â€Å"set of methods and standards by which a society decides and organizes the allocation of limited economic resource to satisfy unlimited human wants. The precise nature of economic system varies from society to society. Because , Economic system is the economics category that includes the study of respective systems. Means of production are the inputs used for production. The key term production is likely to be explained as the creation of an item or a production that gives maximum satisfaction to the people. Means of production can be classified into groups of homogenous (products having same features and can be substituted) and heterogeneous (products having different features from one another) units. There are various types of productive resources which are also generally called factors of production. Economists traditionally classify productive resources into four types: (a) Land – Includes all natural resources which are free gift of nature. Payment for use of land per period is called rent. b) Labour – Represents all physical and mental abilities which people can make available for production of goods and services. Reward made per period for labour services is called wages. (c) Capital – Refers to sum total of all man – made resources of production. Its formation in a year is called investment. (d) Entrepreneur – represents special human resource which initiates and organises the production process by combining other resources such as labour, capit al and land. In every economy, scarcity of resources gives rise to four fundamental problems of economy. These are: (i) what to produce – means which goods and in what quantity are to be produced, (ii) how to produce – means which methods of production are to be used for the production of goods and services, whether, labour or capital intensive, (iii) for whom to produce – means how the goods produced are to be distributed among the people, (iv) how much to grow – means how much to be saved and invested for increasing the productive capacity of the economy. The problem of what to produce is generally illustrated with the help of Production Possibility Curve (PPC) which is based on some simple assumptions. It gives an idea to the economy about what to produce and in how much quantity with full utilisation of its resources with given techniques of production and thus simultaneous increase in production cannot take place without reducing any one product. With economic growth only, it is possible to move PPC outwards and make simulataneous increase in production of all goods. Allocation of resources is different in every economic system. In capitalist economy, it takes place through relation between supply, demand and price forces wherein the means of production are owned by private sectors. Accordingly, it is the demand pattern in the economy which finally determines the resource allocation. In a socialist economy, the means of production are owned by government which tries to reduce income and wealth inequalities. Individual economic units are restricted in their decisions on the basis of economic rationality. In a mixed economy, both individual economic units and authorities take part in decision making process where even private sectors sometimes work under the government regulations such as price controls, subsidies and so on.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Static Ram and Dynamic Ram

What is the difference between static RAM and dynamic RAM in my computer? Your computer probably uses both static RAM and dynamic RAM at the same time, but it uses them for different reasons because of the cost difference between the two types. If you understand how dynamic RAM and static RAM chips work inside, it is easy to see why the cost difference is there, and you can also understand the names. Dynamic RAM is the most common type of memory in use today. Inside a dynamic RAM chip, each memory cell holds one bit of information and is made up of two parts: a transistor and a capacitor.These are, of course, extremely small transistors and capacitors so that millions of them can fit on a single memory chip. The capacitor holds the bit of information — a 0 or a 1 (see How Bits and Bytes Work for information on bits). The transistor acts as a switch that lets the control circuitry on the memory chip read the capacitor or change its state. A capacitor is like a small bucket that is able to store electrons. To store a 1 in the memory cell, the bucket is filled with electrons. To store a 0, it is emptied. The problem with the capacitor's bucket is that it has a leak.In a matter of a few milliseconds a full bucket becomes empty. Therefore, for dynamic memory to work, either the CPU or the memory controller has to come along and recharge all of the capacitors holding a 1 before they discharge. To do this, the memory controller reads the memory and then writes it right back. This refresh operation happens automatically thousands of times per second. This refresh operation is where dynamic RAM gets its name. Dynamic RAM has to be dynamically refreshed all of the time or it forgets what it is holding.The downside of all of this refreshing is that it takes time and slows down the memory. Static RAM uses a completely different technology. In static RAM, a form of flip-flop holds each bit of memory (see How Boolean Gates Work for detail on flip-flops). A flip-flop f or a memory cell takes 4 or 6 transistors along with some wiring, but never has to be refreshed. This makes static RAM significantly faster than dynamic RAM. However, because it has more parts, a static memory cell takes a lot more space on a chip than a dynamic memory cell.Therefore you get less memory per chip, and that makes static RAM a lot more expensive. So static RAM is fast and expensive, and dynamic RAM is less expensive and slower. Therefore static RAM is used to create the CPU's speed-sensitive cache, while dynamic RAM forms the larger system RAM space Inside This Article 1. Introduction to How Caching Works 2. A Simple Example: Before Cache 3. A Simple Example: After Cache 4. Computer Caches 5. Caching Subsystems 6. Cache Technology 7. Locality of Reference 8. Lots More Information |[pic] |If you have been shopping for a computer, then you have heard the word â€Å"cache. † Modern computers have both L1 and L2 caches, and many now also have L3 cache. You may also have gotten advice on the topic from well-meaning friends, perhaps something like â€Å"Don't buy that Celeron chip, it doesn't have any cache in it! † It turns out that caching is an important computer-science process that appears on every computer in a variety of forms. There are memory caches, hardware and software disk caches, page caches and more. Virtual memory is even a form of caching.In this article, we will explore caching so you can understand why it is so important. A Simple Example: Before Cache Caching is a technology based on the memory subsystem of your computer. The main purpose of a cache is to accelerate your computer while keeping the price of the computer low. Caching allows you to do your computer tasks more rapidly. To understand the basic idea behind a cache system, let's start with a super-simple example that uses a librarian to demonstrate caching concepts. Let's imagine a librarian behind his desk. He is there to give you the books you ask for.For t he sake of simplicity, let's say you can't get the books yourself — you have to ask the librarian for any book you want to read, and he fetches it for you from a set of stacks in a storeroom (the library of congress in Washington, D. C. , is set up this way). First, let's start with a librarian without cache. The first customer arrives. He asks for the book Moby Dick. The librarian goes into the storeroom, gets the book, returns to the counter and gives the book to the customer. Later, the client comes back to return the book. The librarian takes the book and returns it to the storeroom.He then returns to his counter waiting for another customer. Let's say the next customer asks for Moby Dick (you saw it coming†¦ ). The librarian then has to return to the storeroom to get the book he recently handled and give it to the client. Under this model, the librarian has to make a complete round trip to fetch every book — even very popular ones that are requested frequentl y. Is there a way to improve the performance of the librarian? Yes, there's a way — we can put a cache on the librarian. In the next section, we'll look at this same example but this time, the librarian will use a caching system.A Simple Example: After Cache Let's give the librarian a backpack into which he will be able to store 10 books (in computer terms, the librarian now has a 10-book cache). In this backpack, he will put the books the clients return to him, up to a maximum of 10. Let's use the prior example, but now with our new-and-improved caching librarian. The day starts. The backpack of the librarian is empty. Our first client arrives and asks for Moby Dick. No magic here — the librarian has to go to the storeroom to get the book. He gives it to the client. Later, the client returns and gives the book back to the librarian.Instead of returning to the storeroom to return the book, the librarian puts the book in his backpack and stands there (he checks first to see if the bag is full — more on that later). Another client arrives and asks for Moby Dick. Before going to the storeroom, the librarian checks to see if this title is in his backpack. He finds it! All he has to do is take the book from the backpack and give it to the client. There's no journey into the storeroom, so the client is served more efficiently. What if the client asked for a title not in the cache (the backpack)?In this case, the librarian is less efficient with a cache than without one, because the librarian takes the time to look for the book in his backpack first. One of the challenges of cache design is to minimize the impact of cache searches, and modern hardware has reduced this time delay to practically zero. Even in our simple librarian example, the latency time (the waiting time) of searching the cache is so small compared to the time to walk back to the storeroom that it is irrelevant. The cache is small (10 books), and the time it takes to notice a mis s is only a tiny fraction of the time that a journey to the storeroom takes.From this example you can see several important facts about caching: †¢ Cache technology is the use of a faster but smaller memory type to accelerate a slower but larger memory type. †¢ When using a cache, you must check the cache to see if an item is in there. If it is there, it's called a cache hit. If not, it is called a cache miss and the computer must wait for a round trip from the larger, slower memory area. †¢ A cache has some maximum size that is much Computer Caches A computer is a machine in which we measure time in very small increments.When the microprocessor accesses the main memory (RAM), it does it in about 60 nanoseconds (60 billionths of a second). That's pretty fast, but it is much slower than the typical microprocessor. Microprocessors can have cycle times as short as 2 nanoseconds, so to a microprocessor 60 nanoseconds seems like an eternity. What if we build a special memo ry bank in the motherboard, small but very fast (around 30 nanoseconds)? That's already two times faster than the main memory access. That's called a level 2 cache or an L2 cache. What if we build an even smaller but faster memory system directly into the microprocessor's chip?That way, this memory will be accessed at the speed of the microprocessor and not the speed of the memory bus. That's an L1 cache, which on a 233-megahertz (MHz) Pentium is 3. 5 times faster than the L2 cache, which is two times faster than the access to main memory. Some microprocessors have two levels of cache built right into the chip. In this case, the motherboard cache — the cache that exists between the microprocessor and main system memory — becomes level 3, or L3 cache. There are a lot of subsystems in a computer; you can put cache between many f them to improve performance. Here's an example. We have the microprocessor (the fastest thing in the computer). Then there's the L1 cache that c aches the L2 cache that caches the main memory which can be used (and is often used) as a cache for even slower peripherals like hard disks and CD-ROMs. The hard disks are also used to cache an even slower medium — your Internet connection The computer you are using to read this page uses a microprocessor to do its work. The microprocessor is the heart of any normal computer, whether it is a desktop machine, a server or a laptop.The microprocessor you are using might be a Pentium, a K6, a PowerPC, a Sparc or any of the many other brands and types of microprocessors, but they all do approximately the same thing in approximately the same way. If you have ever wondered what the microprocessor in your computer is doing, or if you have ever wondered about the differences between types of microprocessors, then read on. In this article, you will learn how fairly simple digital logic techniques allow a computer to do its job, whether its playing a game or spell checking a document!A microprocessor — also known as a CPU or central processing unit — is a complete computation engine that is fabricated on a single chip. The first microprocessor was the Intel 4004, introduced in 1971. The 4004 was not very powerful — all it could do was add and subtract, and it could only do that 4 bits at a time. But it was amazing that everything was on one chip. Prior to the 4004, engineers built computers either from collections of chips or from discrete components (transistors wired one at a time). The 4004 powered one of the first portable electronic calculators. [pic] | |Intel 8080 | The first microprocessor to make it into a home computer was the Intel 8080, a complete 8-bit computer on one chip, introduced in 1974. The first microprocessor to make a real splash in the market was the Intel 8088, introduced in 1979 and incorporated into the IBM PC (which first appeared around 1982). If you are familiar with the PC market and its history, you know that the PC market moved from the 8088 to the 80286 to the 80386 to the 80486 to the Pentium to the Pentium II to the Pentium III to the Pentium 4.All of these microprocessors are made by Intel and all of them are improvements on the basic design of the 8088. The Pentium 4 can execute any piece of code that ran on the original 8088, but it does it about 5,000 times faster! Microprocessor Progression: Intel The following table helps you to understand the differences between the different processors that Intel has introduced over the years. Name |Date |Transistors |Microns |Clock speed |Data | |Microprocessor Progression: Intel The following table helps you to understand the differences between the different processors that Intel has introduced over the years.Name |Date |Transistors |Microns |Clock speed |Data width |MIPS | |8080 |1974 |6,000 |6 |2 MHz |8 bits |0. 64 | |8088 |1979 |29,000 |3 |5 MHz |16 bits 8-bit bus |0. 33 | |80286 |1982 |134,000 |1. 5 |6 MHz |16 bits |1 | |80386 |1985 |275, 000 |1. 5 |16 MHz |32 bits |5 | |80486 |1989 |1,200,000 |1 |25 MHz |32 bits |20 | |Pentium |1993 |3,100,000 |0. 8 |60 MHz |32 bits 64-bit bus |100 | |Pentium II |1997 |7,500,000 |0. 35 |233 MHz |32 bits 64-bit bus |~300 | |Pentium III |1999 |9,500,000 |0. 25 |450 MHz |32 bits 64-bit bus |~510 | |Pentium 4 |2000 |42,000,000 |0. 8 |1. 5 GHz |32 bits 64-bit bus |~1,700 | |Pentium 4 â€Å"Prescott† |2004 |125,000,000 |0. 09 |3. 6 GHz |32 bits 64-bit bus |~7,000 | | Compiled from The Intel Microprocessor Quick Reference Guide and TSCP Benchmark Scores Information about this table: †¢ . †¢ rises. †¢ Clock speed is the maximum rate that the chip can be clocked at. Clock speed will make more sense in the next section. †¢ Data Width is the width of the ALU. An 8-bit ALU can add/subtract/multiply/etc. two 8-bit numbers, while a 32-bit ALU can manipulate 32-bit numbers.An 8-bit ALU would have to execute four instructions to add two 32-bit numbers, while a 32-bit ALU can do it in one instruction. In many cases, the external data bus is the same width as the ALU, but not always. The 8088 had a 16-bit ALU and an 8-bit bus, while the modern Pentiums fetch data 64 bits at a time for their 32-bit ALUs. †¢ MIPS stands for â€Å"millions of instructions per second† and is a rough measure of the performance of a CPU. Modern CPUs can do so many different things that MIPS ratings lose a lot of their meaning, but you can get a general sense of the relative power of the CPUs from this column.From this table you can see that, in general, there is a relationship between clock speed and MIPS. The maximum clock speed is a function of the manufacturing process and delays within the chip. There is also a relationship between the number of transistors and MIPS. For example, the 8088 clocked at 5 MHz but only executed at 0. 33 MIPS (about one instruction per 15 clock cycles). Modern processors can often execute at a rate of two instructions per clock cy cle. That improvement is directly related to the number of transistors on the chip and will make more sense in the next section.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

A Case Study on the Mental Health Problems of Ora and Will

A Case Study on the Mental Health Problems of Ora and Will When it comes to the amount of energy invested referring to Ora a lot of her energy is probably drained through her health problems and her family relationships when it comes to her husband. She has been diagnosed as overweight, having anxiety and depression, she has an eye condition she doesn’t know if there is a cure, and she has colitis. All those things can really put stress on you, it can’t be healthy to deal with so much especially when it seems like there is no real way to fix it. It also mentioned the resentment she is feeling towards her husband who always criticizes her calling her lazy and complaining about her housekeeping. When dealing with so many conditions it would be very helpful to have some type of support and she isn’t getting that from her husband. Now the little bit of energy that is being returned is the fact that she has food stamps and Medicaid to help when it comes to your basic needs and although it is probably not a lot it is still som ething. When it comes to the amount of energy invested referring to Will his health is probably the most draining. He is labeled â€Å"borderline retarded† and â€Å"borderline schizophrenic†. When it comes to having a learning disability, it can’t be easy because you are constantly judged and treated differently. You are often disrespected and not taken seriously because of it so that would be very stressful for anyone. Also, to have a mental disorder like schizophrenia makes things worse because people see you as a monster and want nothing to do with you or they pity you and treat you as if you are incapable of doing anything for yourself which I bet is annoying. Now the bit of energy that is returned is probably from his job. He’s a night watchman and before that he had other jobs, all paying about minimum wage but it is a steady income and that must be a little bit of relief to at least get the house food. As well as he’s good at cleaning and fixing thi ng so he will have the car fixed soon and that will make it easier to get to work. I feel this can be used as a tool to help first get everyone in the family proper tests and exams to see if they have these mental issues or if it honestly was discrimination. If so then the proper resources could be provided to help the children when it comes to school and the adults can go through programs that help you adjust to every day life. I think counseling should be an option just for them to voice out all their stress and have a sense of relief even if only temporary. Another thing to consider is if there are any resources that can be used to fix their utilities, cooking on a couple of hot plates can’t be healthy or that sanitary. If they could cook food properly I feel that would make a big difference, it wouldn’t fix anything but it would be a start.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Marketing and Sales Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Marketing and Sales - Essay Example Finally the study will try to focus on different aspects of green technology required to manufacture an environment friendly phone. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Market Segmentation 4 Important Market Segments 5 Mainstream Segment and Niche Segment 6 Different Market Segments for Mobile Devices 7 Feature of Cell Phone for Green Buyer 9 References 11 Market Segmentation Business market can be described as heterogeneous environment. Consumer behavior plays a cordial role to justify the use of various market segmentation techniques. It is pretty much obvious that no product or service creates appeal for all customers. The companies need to understand the requirement of potential customers to design successful segmentation strategy. In simple words segmentation means filtering the target market according to income level, usage pattern, lifestyle, purchase pattern of customers. Price discrimination model of economics suggested that market segmentation increases the profitability r atio for the business (Gill & Crichton, 2011). Conceptual framework of any business strategy depends on understanding, fulfilling or even exceeding the needs of target segment. Centrality of market segmentation strategy depends on establishing equilibrium between product driven segmentation and market driven segmentation. ... Brand Asset Valuator model created by Young & Rubicam can be used as basis for product centric segmentation. (Source- Bavconsulting) Brand Asset Valuator model emphasizes on DEREK model to analyze performance of a particular brand. DEREK stands for D- differentiating factor of the product, E- energy of the brand in terms of meeting future market demand, R- relevance of the product in accordance with customer demand, E- esteem about the brand. Previous success stories for the brand, K- Customer knowledge about the product. Important Market Segments International Data Corporation (IDC) has divided consumer market of mobile in six segments in terms of usage pattern. 1- Tech Evangelists (Customers prefer to purchase new product integrated with state of art technology), 2- Impulse Buyers- (Customers who purchase the product in accordance with demand of situation), 3- Experimental Adopter- (Customer who like to purchase new product after series of experimental usage), 4- Pragmatic Purchase rs- (Customers who are very much rational in terms of purchase decision and they purchase the product after cost benefit analysis), 5- Green Buyers- (Customers who prefer product offered in an eco-friendly way and they try to create a social message of decreasing environment pollution by purchase), 6- Disengaged Functionalists- (Price sensitive consumers who prefer to purchase product satisfying their fundamental needs) (Deans, 2012). Market segmentation for the mobile device can be done in accordance with purchase and usage potentiality of customers. There is range of potential customers: young vs. old, affluent vs. modest income, heavy users vs. light users, technology lover’s vs. technophobes, etc who can be targeted by the mobile manufacturing

Thursday, September 26, 2019

A Corporate Entrepreneurship Analysis of Sony Essay

A Corporate Entrepreneurship Analysis of Sony - Essay Example The term can be defined alternatively as the development of internal markets and relatively small and independent units designed to create internal ventures and expand innovative staff services, technologies and methods within an organization (Pinchot, 1985). It has been established that successful companies have one thing in common and that is an entrepreneurial style of management (Katz & Shepherd, 2004). Stevenson and Gumbert (1985) attribute the sustenance of a high level of performance by big companies such as Sony and Hewlett Packard to their entrepreneurial behaviour. Company overview Sony corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate that originated in the wake of World War II. The company made history after it built Japan’s first tape recorder and named it the Type-G. In 1958, the company changed its name from Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company to the present day Sony. The Sony Corporation has diversified its operating scope to cover almost all the ar eas of the entertainment and the telecommunications sectors. Sony Corporation is the parent company of the Sony Group. As the parent company of the group, its main task is to make strategic business plans for the group through research and development, designing, and marketing of products. As pointed out earlier, Sony Corporation has diversified its scope in to most entertainment and telecommunication sectors. The company has done this through its subsidiaries. One such example of the subsidiaries is the Sony Chemical and Information device Corporation which is responsible for manufacturing as well as the engineering and research and development for the mass production of products (Sony Corporation, 2012). According to the fortune 500 2012 list of companies, Sony Corporation is ranked 87th (CNN, 2012). The Sony group not only focuses on electronics, gaming, and entertainment, it also offers financial services. The subsidiary company that is responsible for the financial services bus iness of the Sony group is the Sony Financial Holdings. With its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, the company controls the operations of Sony Life, Sony Assurance, Sony bank, and Sony Bank holdings. This subsidiary is the most profitable of all of Sony’s subsidiaries accounting for about 50% of Sony’s global earnings (Sony Corporation, 2012). The company was enjoying high profit returns up until early 2000’s when it started experiencing financial difficulties. These financial difficulties were due to several reasons. The first reason was the global financial crisis. The crisis made it difficult for the company to procure materials for manufacturing, cope with debt and maintain its work force. Secondly, the company’s milk cow, the play station, started to face steep competition from rivals Microsoft with their X-box gaming model. With the sales of the play station reducing, the company’s profits suffered similarly. The last main cause of the companyâ⠂¬â„¢s decline in profits was due to natural disasters. Japan has been victim to natural disasters, mainly earthquakes. The company’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, was hit by the devastating earthquake and therefore it became financially challenging for the company to make a comeback. The company however made a comeback in December 2011. Though the market capitalization of the company had dropped by over 50%, its net worth had increased from $17.6 billion in March 2002, to $35.6 billion in December 2011. This comeback can be attributed to the entrepreneurial behaviour of the company in promoting innovation and creativity that has enabled the company to realize and

International Arbitration Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Arbitration - Research Paper Example It is not a surprise that the research compares the two, though they are more of a single state, China and Hong Kong have different ways of tackling international cases and in this research states the differences and similarities, the advantages and disadvantages that arise because of those differences and similarities. In Hong Kong, the court ensures minimum interference in international arbitration and everything to do with supervising legal matters of international arbitration is done by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center and the other bodies within it. The company took over all the responsibilities in international arbitration that would have been carried out by the Hong Kong court. The case is different for China where the People's court is also in part responsible for dealing with international arbitration though it also has an independent body with which it works. So this is meant to give all these details and come up with the best means of court's involvement in international arbitration and cases of the like. Research results will be based on the literature that is available about the two states but also on the answers and responses that will be received from the interviews and questionnaires that will be distributed. This research is meant to explain China's and Hong Kong's courts' supervision and assistance in internationa... The research will also try to compare the local arbitration procedures to international procedures in order to assist in getting a difference between the procedures of handling local cases and those of handling international cases. The research aims at pointing out areas that need improvement and therefore come up with suggestions to improve the Chinese court's involvement in international arbitration as compared to Hong Kong's. The Objective of the Research With detailed information on the involvement of the court of the people's republic of China in international arbitration, this research will also bring to light the position of Hong Kong's court in international arbitration. Just as for the people's republic of China so shall it be for Hong Kong, the research seeks to find out Hong Kong's courts involvement in terms of supervision and assistance in international arbitration. From the findings a comparison will be made of the two involvements i.e. the involvement of the court of People's Republic of China in international arbitration and the involvement of the Hong Kong court in supervising international arbitration. Therefore the main objective of this research is to compare the involvement of the two courts in international arbitration, analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the degree of the court's involvement in international arbitration and from these come up with suggestions on what the court could do to improve international arbitration. Both for the people's republic of China and for Hong Kong. The Scope of the Research The scope of the study will be the court of the People's Republic of China and the Hong

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Cultural studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Cultural studies - Essay Example Saddam’s death also brought to the fore the long and protracted problem that is the US-Iraq war, now fast losing popularity because of the failure of the Bush administration to locate weapons of mass destruction. These weapons they claimed, are the reason they launched an attack against Saddam a few years ago. But most importantly, the death sentence should provoke reflections on fundamental conceptual differences between peoples. We in the West take human rights for granted; we believe these are cherished ideals to be fought for, as they are the foundation of a robust democracy. On the other hand, in Islamic countries, libertarian values may not be as important. Order and religion is primordial, and individual rights must bend in favor of the stability of the State. We ask, which paradigm is more correct? But perhaps the more crucial question to ask is: who is to say which paradigm is the more correct? In a sense, the quotation â€Å"One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter† does not necessarily have to refer to a particular man. In its broad sense, it refers to divergent paradigms and disparate value systems, and to take it one step further, the tragedy that is wrought when these systems collide. This paper will discuss the conflict between Western perspective and Eastern perspective with regard to the crucial issue of human rights. Indeed, we have been quick to label those who advocate measures that to our minds are repressive, as dictators or terrorists or right wing conservatives, when in fact, they are merely acting in accordance with the cultural norms of their community. The converse of that, of course, is that far too many leaders justify brazen acts of oppression and injustice as a cultural norm and should thus fall outside the scrutiny of the international community. How indeed does one balance these competing interests? The concept

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Impact of ICT in libraries over the last 25 years Essay

Impact of ICT in libraries over the last 25 years - Essay Example In past few years the operational structure of each area of life has transformed and emerged as more organized, disciplined, managed, and easy to handle structures. Influence of the new technology emergence can also be seen on the traditional structures of library system. New technology at libraries (public, academic) has offered a better way of knowledge handling, management. The vital transportation is about the widening the knowledge and information access. The aim of this research is to assess and examine the main technological changes which have occurred in the library environment over the past twenty five years. In this paper I will examine the two main kinds of libraries (public and academic libraries). The main concentration in this research will be given to the effect on the library services in respect to the following areas, materials circulating, library budgets, library infrastructure, and staffing and library security. Before we start our discussion about implementation of ICT in library we should know the basic concepts. ICT (information and communications technology - or technologies) is a collection or combination of two terms, one is information and while other is communication technology. ICT consists of any communication device or application, encompassing: television, cellular phones, radio, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and many more, also there are diverse services and applications connected with these devices, for instance videoconferencing and distance learning. ICTs are normally spoken of in a specific perspective, for example ICTs in education, health care, or libraries (TechTarget, 2004). However this paper will concentrate on libraries. Oliver (2003), has outlined the emergence of ICT technology in our life. (Oliver, 2003), stated that Information and communication technology is a force that has

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Management Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Management Finance - Essay Example Behavioral issues of standard costing include planning and operational variances which further includes materials, sales and labor variances. Planning and operational variances mean when plans or standards of a budget are normally depending on the expected environment where targets are decided. But in reality if the environment is not same as the expected one then the actual performance is compared with the standard performance to measure the changed conditions. In planning variance, we compare the set up standard with the revised standard and in operational variance we compare the actual output with the revised standard. The other important behavioral issues of standard costing involve Variable overhead variance and fixed overhead variance. Variable overhead variance can be defined as the difference between the standard or planned variable overhead cost which is allowed for the actual output and the variable overhead cost that has actually occurred. The variance is also called as ex penditure variance as the variable overhead cost can vary with change in production thus a change in expenses amount can also be the reason of such variance (Drury, 2008, p.432). It can be expressed as follows- Fixed overhead is the portion of total overhead cost variance which can be occurred due to the difference between the standard cost of fixed overhead allowed for the output which is produced in actual. And the actual fixed overhead cost incurred. Fixed overhead variance can be derived as- Fixed overhead further expands itself as a. Budget or Expenditure Variance and b. Volume variance. Budget or expenditure variance is known as that portion of fixed overhead variance which occurs because of difference between actual fixed overheads and planned or budgeted fixed overheads during a particular period of time. It can be derived as follows- Volume Variance is the portion of fixed overhead variance which happens due to the difference between standard costs of fixed overhead which i s allowed for the actual output and the planned fixed overheads for the particular period in which the actual out has been produced (Drury, 2008, p.438). Volume variance can derived as follows- Apart from measuring the variance analysis, we should also focus on the relationship between variance analysis and behavioral issues that occurs in an organization. Variance analysis measures the performance ability of the managers (Izhar, 2001, p.294). Managers know that their performing ability is judged by the variance analysis and their risk and reward depend either on adverse or on favorable result of variance analysis. Thus they have two ways, either they will work hard to achieve the standard amounts or they can manipulate the planned amounts. For this reason the organization should distinguish between controllable cost and uncontrollable cost. Controllable cost can be defined as those cost which can be controlled by the managers if they are efficient enough like cost of labor. It is a controllable cost and if management is efficient then they can reduce the labor cost by reducing number of the inefficient labors. They will hire only those labors that are skilled and efficient in the production line. Uncontrollable costs are those costs which cannot be controlled by management like cost of raw materials. Management cannot influence the cost of raw materials in the market (Bhattacharyya, 2011, pp. 539-540). Thus if the managers are judged by planning variance then they will be discouraged and de-motivated. It

Saturday, September 21, 2019

A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay Example for Free

A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay Genre is a term that is used to classify or describe a type or form of literature. While this sounds like a simple concept, it in actuality is a very complicated classing system. The reason for the complication is that literature does not always follow the typical characteristics set up by that type of genre. For example, one of the characteristics in the genre of tragedy is that there is a tragic hero, who is in a position of power. In the classical tragedy this is true, as can be seen in Sophocles Oedipus Rex because the tragic hero is Oedipus, who is the king of Thebes. In the Renaissance tragedy this is not always the case such as in Shakespeares Hamlet, the tragic hero is only a prince. Where this characteristic is completely abandoned is in the modern tragedy by Eugene ONeill, Desire Under the Elms, where the character playing the tragic hero is a farmer and it is difficult to determine which character is the true tragic hero. Yet all these plays are tragedies, despite their variations . Another aspect of genre that makes the concept difficult to define is that there are parts of plays that fall into other genres. An example of this is seen in parts of Desire Under the Elms, such as the party scene at the Cabot home. Although this play is a tragedy, in this scene there is comedy occurring in the witty remarks from the partiers and in the silly jig Ephraim dances. As one can see the simple concept of genre poses many complications when utilized to define a piece of literature. Genre is divided into two categories, which are representational genre and narrative genre. The first category, representational genre, consist of the number and types of voices in the piece of literature. (handout) There are three types of representative genre. The first type is Narrator, which is when one speaker talks directly to the audience and that speaker is responsible for telling the whole story to the audience without the aid of other opinions or sides to the story of the other persons involved. An example of this is when a comedian is doing stand up. The audience gets to hear the funny story of lets say when the comedian learned to ride a bike and his father let go to soon and the comedian fell etc. The comedian has the responsibility of telling this story to the audience, but the audience only hears the comedians side of the story. Another type of representative genre is Dialogue, which consist of more than one character speaking with each other. In this form, the audience acts as a third party and only gets to overhear and not have someone speak to them directly. An example of this is in Desire Under the Elms because the characters just converse with each other. The final type is Narrator plus Dialogue and this is a combination of the first two. The characters speak to each other but there is one character who acts a narrator and tells the audience what is going on. This is exemplified in a new sitcom called Titus. In this sitcom the characters talk to each other, but the main character Titus has side conversations with the audience where he reflects on the events. The other category of genre is the narrative genre in which the type of plot is described. These can be combined as is shown in my earlier example of comedy showing up in tragedy or a romantic comedy. The categories of the narrative genre are tragedy, comedy, romance, and satire. The first category tragedy starts with a problem that the tragic hero must solve, be it revenge taken or the truth discovered, and ends with the resolution to the problem where the tragic hero is banished or killed. The purest example of a tragedy is Oedipus Rex because there is a problem that the hero must solve and he is banished in order to solve the problem. Another type is the comedy in which there is a less significant problem that the characters try to solve and the story ends happily with the characters uniting in a marriage or party. A Midsummer Nights Dream exemplifies this because there is a plague due to the fighting of Titania and Oberon and there are young lovers trying to overcome the attempt at separating each other. The characters try to solve these problems and at the end there is a marriage and a party. Romance is another form of narrative genre in which the all begins well the characters are separated but the solution is they reunite and live happily ever after. This can be seen in the young lovers mentioned in A Midsummer Nights Dream. Finally, Satire is a category in which an existing story is spoofed. An example of this is the movie Naked Gun which satirizes the old cop movies. In comparison to other types of literature courses, the study of genre has advantages in that it helps to classify literature in ways that make it easy to see the typical characteristics. This can aid in comparing different works of literature and provide a starting point in analyzing literature. The problem with studying genre is that because it is so vague and that the works do not purely follow the guidelines in the genres it is difficult to define genre. Also, it is difficult to define the works using genre because there are so many different types of genre that different parts of the works can fall into. Teahers Note: Youre welcome to your opinion, but this part would certainly be stronger with an upswing at the end, maybe reviewing some of the insights gained by what youve written here.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Un Global Compact Politics Essay

The Un Global Compact Politics Essay The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) is a worldwide initiative started by the United Nations in order to encourage businesses to take up more sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to also report their implementation. It consists of ten guiding principles pertaining to the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. It is the worlds largest corporate citizenship initiative with over 7700 members in 130 countries. UNGC is a unique platform that gives a strategic edge to its participants to advance their corporate commitments to the sustainability. UNGC is endorsed directly by the CEOs. It has been structured as a public-private initiative. The UNGC is a policy framework to advance the development as well as implementation, and also the disclosure of sustainability principles and practices. It offers its participants an array of specialized work streams, management tools and resources, and special programs and projects which have been designed to advance sustainable business models and markets in order build a more sustainable global economy.UNGC has two main objectives: First; Mainstream the ten principles in business activities around the world and Second; Catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals. TheUN Secretary-General at that time Mr. Kofi Annan in an address to The World Economic Forum announced the UNGC on January 31, 1999. Itwas officially launched at UN Headquarters in New York on July 26, 2000. The first two principles pertain to human rights. The next 4 principles deal with labor standards businesses should follow. The next 3 deals with environment protection and the last one advocated anti-corruption. The Global Compact is a voluntary initiative and a company that wants to subscribe to the Principles has to make a clear statement of support and has to include references in its annual report or in any other publically available documents detailing the progress it has made in adhering to the Principles. The company also needs to submit a brief description of this report to the Global Compact website. If the company fails to submit this description within two years of signing to be a part ofthe Compact (and after that every two years), the company will be removed from the list of participants. The participants to UNGC intend to lead through good example and setting a high moral tone. The main purpose of the Global Compact is to focus on the moral purpose of business. Kofi Annan summarizes it well in a quote: Let us choose to unite the power of markets with the authority of universal ideals. Let us choose to reconcile the creative forces of private entrepreneurship with the needs of the disadvantaged and the requirements of future generations. Then ten principles are as follows: Human Rights Principle 1:Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights within their sphere of influence; and Principle 2: Make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses. Labor Principle 3:Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; Principle 4: The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor; Principle 5: The effective abolition of child labor; and Principle 6: The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. Environment Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges; Principle 8: Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility, and Principle 9: Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies. Corruption Principle 10:Business should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery. Is the Global Compact a Product of Occidental Liberalism? International regimes are defined as social institutions around which actor expectations converge in a given area of international relations. Being true for any social institution, the participants discretion to act on issues that fall within the realm of the institution is by themselves limited by the international regime. The occidental international economic order that emerged post the Second World War was a highly advantageous combination of factors that led to long and sustained economic growth. The economic power was distributed worldwide in such a manner that it favored an open approach to organizing international economic relations. Worldwide there existed an ideological consensus regarding the role state should play to ensure domestic employment, price stability and social security. The body of economic analysis and policy prescriptions at that time prescribed the governments to act in this manner. Most of the major corporations were national in scope and the international e conomic relations more or less comprised of transactions amongst separate and distinct national economies. The Bretton Woods institutions, the GATT and the United Nations were the few international organizations that had been put in place to express and support the post WWII compromise of embedded liberalism. Major changes have taken place in the last half-century that has undermined the effectiveness of this set of understandings and arrangements. However, Globalization is the single greatest factor that has brought about these changes. Globalization has led to a complete disconnection between the world of production and the world of finance leading to an overall change in the system of institutional relationships. This has led to two disequilibria in the worlds political economy. The first disequilibrium exists between the economic sphere, and the broader frameworks of shared values and practices of which the economic sphere is a part. The second disequilibrium exists within the international governance structures. The major capitalist countries can withstand even the worst effects of this imbalance since they have the domestic and the institutional capacity to protect themselves but the rest of the developing world is extremely vulnerable, and this vulnerability has been further exacerbated by the neo-liberal orthodoxies of the so-called Washington consensus. Therefore, the international community has to devise the kind of institutional equilibrium that used to exist in the post WWII international economic order. The international community has to focus here on the long-term interaction between two key actors in the global economy, the multinational corporations (MNCs) and multinational Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). The key players of civil society have started to increasingly target MNCs and the international trading system as leverage to pursue social and environmental concerns. This dynamic interplay between the two creates a potential for to bridge the disequilibrium between economic globalization and the international governance structures. The United Nations Global Compact is one such initiative that challenges the international business community to help the UN in implementing the social values of human rights, environment and labor. John Gerard Ruggie who is the Kirkpatrick Professor of International Affairs at the Harvard Universitys Kennedy School of Government says that the basic problem is that MNCs, acting as non-territorial spaces and management, have given rise to global governance gaps and governance failures. Ruggie is well known in academic circles for coining the term embedded liberalism, that he uses to describe the post-WWII coupling of multilateralism with the aim to achieve domestic stability; and for having emphasized the roles that ideas play in world politics. He has explored the emergence of such gaps in governance in several of his works (e.g., Ruggie, 1998b, 2003, 2004). Ruggie helped UN Secretary- General Kofi Anan in designing and establishing the UN Global Compact, as the Assistant Secretary-general and Chief Adviser for strategic planning to Kofi Annan. Without speculating on the importance of Ruggies role in the creation of the compact, the speech Kofi Annan used to launch the Global Compact at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 1999, strongly suggests that John Ruggies influence was substantial. It appears that Kofi Annans suggestion that: Globalization is a fact of life. But I believe we have underestimated its fragility. The problem is this. The spread of markets outpaces the ability of societies and their political systems to adjust to them, let alone to guide the course they take. History teaches us that such an imbalance between the economic, social and political realms can never be sustained for very long. Seems to have been directly informed by Ruggies work on embedded liberalism (e.g. 1982, 1998b) According to Ruggie (2003), theà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨ten principles of the UNGC are drawn from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, theà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨ILOs Fundamental Principles on Rights at Work and theà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Rio Principles on Environment and Development. The UNGC is based on beliefs that have been universally recognized byà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨governments, thus spelling out the goals of the whole international community. The UNGC partners with members of the corporate world and the civil society to reduce the gap betweenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨dreams and reality It aims to become an agency for the promotion of social customs. Thus, UNGC is another measure to the growing number of responses to globalizationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨challenges that also partner with the private sector. The Challenge The UNGC is based on an ideology of the benefits of open markets. Various high-ranking UN officials describe the UN Global Compact as the only remotely viable means of hauling billions of people out of utter poverty. The term open markets sounds nice, but in the real world they translate into the skewed rules created by the WTO that benefit the developed nations at the expense of developing countries, poor farmers, consumers and the environment. It is apparent that most of the UN officials along with the corporate and government officials believe that globalization is principally beneficial and all it needs is just a bit of tinkering here and there. An editorial in the Washington Post on the UN Global Compact read that globalization only needs a softener to dull its sharp edges and increase the allocation of its benefits. In his speech to corporate leaders in 1999 at Davos, Switzerland, the Secretary General of UN Mr. Kofi Annan warned of a threatening backlash against globalization, he advocated that recognition of human and labor rights, and environmental principles are absolutely essential to avoid any threats to the open global market, and especially the multilateral trading regime. Mr. Annan by proclaiming that globalization must be protected by putting a more human face on it, and by declaring that social values need to be advanced as part and parcel of the globalization process, has clearly taken sides with the corporate agenda at a time when this agenda itself is increasingly under scrutiny. In order to keep it simple and attractive for companies, the ten principles of the UNDC are basically one-liners. They are just an example of the minimalist code of corporate conduct. The ten principles do not provide adequate guidance to corporations about the conduct that is expected from them and their responsibilities. Most of the UN Global Compacts ten principles cannot be defined with the precision that is required for creating a practical code of conduct. The ambiguity of the ten principles is in essence counter-productive from the perspective of both the sincere as well as the insincere corporate citizens. The language with which the principles are defined is so general that insincere corporations can easily side step or conform to the principles without doing anything to promote human rights or labor standards. The Secretary General of UN along with various agency heads have displayed very poor judgment by letting numerous known and proven human rights, labor rights and environmental violators to sign up with the UNGC. Specific partners of the Compact include companies like Shell (Oil major), Nike (Human rights violator), Rio Tinto, BP (Oil Major), Novartis, Aracruz, Daimler Chrysler, BASF, Bayer and DuPont (environment troubles). In a few of these cases, the choices are blatantly violating UNs own guidelines that read, Companies which violate human rights are not eligible for partnership.Many other companies are part of the compact that are not accused explicitly of such clear violations, but they are giants of industries like oil and petroleum, genetical engineering and heavy chemicals. People broadly oppose the impact of these companies on the community, the workers and the environment. Additionally, the International Chamber of Commerce, which mostly represents big businesses, has been a major force for the corporate side of the UN Global Compact. The International Chamber of Commerce more than often lobbies for diminishing the impact of international agreements that governs their members behavior-accords that are often brokered by the UN. One often sees Public-private partnerships being used for specific projects with definite goals. The UNs is however is using this term much more generally. One would normally assume that a partnership is created only when all the partners have the same goals. Its tough to understand why UN is partnering with corporations that have completely different goals. Modern corporations acknowledge that there are various other stakeholders than their shareholders, but in concrete terms they are only accountable to their shareholders, on the other hand the UN is based on a promise to promote ethical principles and is accountable to the people. Sometimes the UN and corporate agenda concur; but most of the times they are at odds. The Director of UNICEF Carol Bellamy once said that it was dangerous to assume that the goals of the private sector were somehow synonymous with those of the UN, because they most emphatically were not. It is quite obvious to everyone that its not possible to forge a partnership with an institution whose interests are antithetical to yours own. It is not possible for the UN to simultaneously regulate as well as partner with the same corporations. Its not that The UN can avoid all interactions with corporations; it has to interact with then when it needs to buy goods and services or to hold the corporations accountable, but UN should take care not to partner with them except when the organizations share its goals. Every company wants to project certain values and a certain image. Disney wants to represent wholesome family entertainment. McDonalds advertises itself as fast, friendly food. Nike is associated with the joy of sports and Shell, Chevron and BP and other oil companies promote their own commitment to environmental stewardship. But, to many people, Nike also means sweatshops in poor Asian countries, McDonalds often signifies unhealthy junk food that causes obesity and, Disney means sweatshops and promotion of stereotypes, Shell is linked with various human rights violations and environment destruction, and the whole oil industry is notorious for global warming, greed and abuse of its power. When Kofi Annan joins the CEOs of such companies on the main stage, or whenever a UN agency partners with such corporations in a joint venture, the message that is sent out to the public is very disturbing. As it is described in the UNDP guidelines, whenever a UN agency is engaged in a public relations activity within the framework of a corporate relationship, a mutual image transfer inevitably takes place. The image transfer that takes place tarnishes the pure UNs image, and gives the chance to big corporations to bluewash their bad image by associating themselves with the UN. When pharmaceutical majors like Novartis and Aventis are seen by the public as a part of the UN Global Compact, the public gets an impression that the UN has officially endorsed their products despite the enormous controversy surrounding these companies. The UN represents values such as world peace, security, human rights, environment consciousness and global well being. These values should remain distinct from the commercial values of companies. Once the image of UN is tarnished with corporate logos, the compromising of its noble values may follow. The most crucial aspect relating to the Global Compact is accountability. The reluctance of U.S. based companies to enlist with the Global Compact focuses on the issue of accountability. In todays environment of increasing skepticism about the true motives of the corporations, the legitimacy of the UN Global compact comes into question if it operates without a traditional accountability structure. The Global Compact does not have a monitoring or an enforcement mechanism. This means that the companies that enlist with the Compact get a chance to declare their commitment to UN principles without making any promise to follow up on them. The corporate partners of the UNGC have made it explicit that such a lax arrangement is precondition for their participation. Maria Livianos Cattui, the secretary-general of the ICC recently said that businesses would not agree to any suggestion that involves external assessment of their performance, whether it is by any special interest groups or by any UN agencies. The Global Compact is not a qualification the corporations have to meet; it is merely a joint commitment to shared social values. It is imperative that the Global Compact does not become a tool by which the governments burden business with prescriptive regulations. The critics on the Global Compact fall into two major categories and both need to be addressed. Most scholars researching on codes of conduct regard the Global Compact as just another code of conduct without any accountability, its merely a public relations document. The question that arises is that how can the public know that a business that claims to be following the principles prescribed under the Global Compact is actually doing so? These scholars argue that an independent monitoring group that translates general principles into operating standards with quantifiable and objective measures is the only way to insure that the companies are held accountable. A much more fundamental criticism arises from the Non Governmental Organizations and other organizations that are critical of economic globalization. Their view is that the Global Compact is a cover-up story that provides legitimacy to an idea, which has yet to prove itself. They argue for the creation of a mandatory legal framework that guarantees that the companies are held accountable even to the least advantaged in the global economy. Another difficulty with the accountability issue is the ambiguous nature of the Global Compacts principles on human rights. Is it possible to reach a consensus that genuinely captures the expectations of society? Most of the companies are in broad agreement with the Global Compacts principles relating to human rights, but there is a fear amongst them that enlisting with the Compact would create societal expectations that these companies are obligated to correct human rights abuses. Where and how can a line be drawn on the responsibilities of companies in the area of human rights? Few MNCs have come to understand that it is imperative for them to become proactive and live up to the expectations of society in a global economy, but these companies also understand that these expectations in the area of human rights are often unclear. In the litigious business environment of the United States, companies display reluctance in signing the Compact without having a clear idea of what their re sponsibilities are and what is their accountability. The Global Compact is not a state focused corporate citizenship program, but in spite of that nations are amongst the key stakeholders from which the Global Compact requires support. Blackett suggests that it might be necessary to highlight the role of governments in successfully implementing the Compact principles. But till now the UN has failed to work out a proper role of governments in ensuring that the participant of the Compact live up to their commitments. On the contrary, the Shanghai Declaration has suggested that businesses could use UNGC to set demands and exert undue influence over governments. If this go too far and the businesses start dictating the business of the Global Compact Office and international law generally, then even this partnership might face a crisis of legitimacy among states and other stakeholders.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Christian Explanation of Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot :: Waiting for Godot Essays

The Christian Explanation of Waiting for Godot    "The human predicament described in Beckett's first play is that of man living on the Saturday after the Friday of the crucifixion, and not really knowing if all hope is dead or if the next day will bring the life which has been promised."  Ã‚   --William R. Mueller  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the five decades since Waiting for Godot's publication, many of the countless attempts to explain the play have relied on some variation of this religious motif proposed by William Mueller. Though Beckett's open text invites the reader to hunt for an interpretation, statements as decisive as this one overstep the search and leave little room for any other possibility. His idea has a compelling textual basis, but its finality violates the spirit of the play. Kenneth Tynan suggests that "Beckett's Waiting for Godot is a dramatic vacuum...It has no plot, no climax, no denouement; no beginning, no middle, and no end." Such an idea forces any analyst of this enigmatic masterpiece to tread lightly and makes definite criticism nearly impossible. Before examining an explanation as conclusive as Mueller's we must acknowledge that we cannot hope to determine "the meaning" of this play. Neither the text nor its author makes a claim to any intrinsic meaning, yet a new meaning is born each tim e a reader or viewer partakes of the play.   Ã‚  Ã‚   With such cautions in mind, we can now approach Mueller's religious hypothesis with a safe detachment. The first utterance of Godot phonetically brings God to mind, and evidence throughout the play assures the reader that this path is a valid one to follow. On the most mundane level, Vladimir supports Mueller's premise with his guess at the timeframe of the play: "He said it was Saturday. I think"(10). We discover, however, that even this statement hides beneath the uncertainty as Estragon challenges, "But what Saturday? And is it Saturday? Is it not rather Sunday? Or Monday? Or Friday?" (11). His questioning reasserts that this work defies explanation and reminds us that we are following only one possible solution to an unsolvable problem.      Ã‚  Ã‚   If we read this drama with the intention of fitting Mueller's theory to the play (or perhaps the play to his theory), a vast number of previously unnoticed interpretive opportunities arise. Though the nondescript tree can be universally symbolic, when viewed from a religious standpoint it conjures an image of Christ's cross.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Center, Left, and Right in Turkish/Greek/Italian Politics :: Politics Political Italy Turkey Greece Papers

The Center, Left, and Right in Turkish/Greek/Italian Politics The politics of the countries of Turkey, Greece and Italy are fairly diverse in relation to each other, as well as within themselves. The political parties of each country are also many in number and varied in nature. In this essay, I will provide a brief overview of the government of each country Turkey, Greece and Italy followed by an examination of the current political parties that exist in each of those countries, looking especially at where the left, center, and right fall with respect to each country. An overview of the politics of Turkey Turkey gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1923, but it did not formally draft a constitution until 1982, when it initiated a four-branch government. Currently, Turkey's government is composed of a President, who is elected every seven years and serves as the executive branch; a unicameral (one-house) legislative branch; a Grand National Assembly composed of 450 members; a Prime Minister, who functions similarly to the Vice President in the U.S.; and a judicial branch that is independent of the governmental structure. Turkey is a democratic and, more importantly, a secular state, despite the prevalence of Islam. The current President of Turkey is Ahmet Necdet Sezer, and the current Prime Minister is Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Political parties in Turkey As of 1996, there are currently 22 registered political parties in Turkey, most of which are small. The main parties that make up the political center are the Motherland Party (ANAP) and the True Path Party (DYP), both of which swing more toward the right; and the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Democratic Left (DSP), both of which swing more toward the left, despite the contrary nature of their names. To the far right is the National Action Party (MHP), an ultra-nationalist party. ?The ANAP party was founded in 1983 and governed Turkey from 1983 to 1991, though as of the 2002 election, its representation was much less, especially in Parliament.[1]? In the 1980s, however, it was the ANAP party that instituted many important transformations in Turkey, including "introducing free-market reforms, downsizing the public sector," and it was under this party that Turkey "applied formally to join the European Economic Commission" (EEC then, more like the current EU).[2]? Like the ANAP, the DYP was also formed in 1983, and is a conservative party that "draws support from the countryside. The Center, Left, and Right in Turkish/Greek/Italian Politics :: Politics Political Italy Turkey Greece Papers The Center, Left, and Right in Turkish/Greek/Italian Politics The politics of the countries of Turkey, Greece and Italy are fairly diverse in relation to each other, as well as within themselves. The political parties of each country are also many in number and varied in nature. In this essay, I will provide a brief overview of the government of each country Turkey, Greece and Italy followed by an examination of the current political parties that exist in each of those countries, looking especially at where the left, center, and right fall with respect to each country. An overview of the politics of Turkey Turkey gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1923, but it did not formally draft a constitution until 1982, when it initiated a four-branch government. Currently, Turkey's government is composed of a President, who is elected every seven years and serves as the executive branch; a unicameral (one-house) legislative branch; a Grand National Assembly composed of 450 members; a Prime Minister, who functions similarly to the Vice President in the U.S.; and a judicial branch that is independent of the governmental structure. Turkey is a democratic and, more importantly, a secular state, despite the prevalence of Islam. The current President of Turkey is Ahmet Necdet Sezer, and the current Prime Minister is Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Political parties in Turkey As of 1996, there are currently 22 registered political parties in Turkey, most of which are small. The main parties that make up the political center are the Motherland Party (ANAP) and the True Path Party (DYP), both of which swing more toward the right; and the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Democratic Left (DSP), both of which swing more toward the left, despite the contrary nature of their names. To the far right is the National Action Party (MHP), an ultra-nationalist party. ?The ANAP party was founded in 1983 and governed Turkey from 1983 to 1991, though as of the 2002 election, its representation was much less, especially in Parliament.[1]? In the 1980s, however, it was the ANAP party that instituted many important transformations in Turkey, including "introducing free-market reforms, downsizing the public sector," and it was under this party that Turkey "applied formally to join the European Economic Commission" (EEC then, more like the current EU).[2]? Like the ANAP, the DYP was also formed in 1983, and is a conservative party that "draws support from the countryside.

Socio and Economic Factors in Global Business Essay -- GCSE Business M

Socio and Economic Factors in Global Business When a company decides to take their business international, there are many different sociological and economic factors that they need to take into account. There are differences in management styles, international laws and treaties that regulate international business, as well as cultural customs that come into play. Each of these are significant and needs to be taken into account in order to minimize potential problems. Many times, lack of knowledge can create serious problems. Although there are a myriad of socio- and economic factors, this paper will focus on three key ones: 1) political barriers; 2) labor practices; and 3) cultural barriers. Additionally, real world examples will be offered on how some businesses have successfully overcome these barriers. Political Barriers For purposes of this discussion, political barriers refer to the geo-political situation of a country, as well legal barriers such as tariffs, taxes, etc. Countries set up barriers to foreign entities conducting business within their borders (especially imports and exports) for several reasons. Duties and taxes can create some government revenue. If there is a high tariff then there will be less exporting, therefore more of that product in the country, thus making the price of that product in the country lower since there will be a greater supply. So trade barriers can be helpful to a country. On the contrary, trade barriers can have a negative effect on a country as well. Consumers will have to pay a higher price on imports, and for similar products produced in the country the price will rise due to consumers buying the imported products. In order to regulate the barriers on international trade, there have been organizations formed. GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), W TO (World Trade Organization) and NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) are just a few examples (Czinkota, 1999). Other considerations in overcoming political barriers are the governments themselves. Conducting business in Cuba is virtually impossible for American companies probably until the fall of the Castro regime. Domestic and international pressure on human rights, governments considered to be corrupt or "illegal" may also hamper an organization’s ability to do business in certain regions of the globe. Although these factors... ...zed crime, etc (Fortune Small Business, 2000). Conclusion This discussion has highlighted but a few socio- and economic factors that must be considered when deciding to conduct business in a foreign country. As one can demise, the risks are there, but the potential for profit is very alluring. With prior proper planning, the risks can be limited. However, it will serve businesses well to incorporate economic factors into their overall global business strategies. References Czinkota, M., Ronkeinen, I., Moffett, M. (1999) International Business. Fort Worth: The Dryden Press DSN Retailing Today (2001, June 5). Open trade in billion-man market creates empire of opportunity. Economist (1997, June 21). 99% perspiration. Vol. 43, Issue 8022. Fortune Small Business (2000, April). East meets Mex. Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture’s Consequences. Beverly Hills, Ca: Sage Publications. Orange County Business Journal (2001, April 23). OC companies do business in China over tea, gestures. Winter, D. (May 2000). Facing globalization. Ward’s Auto World. Vol. 36, Issue 5. (www.doc.gov) (www.opic.gov) (www.usatrade.gov)

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Issues in Church and Sacraments

Summary Issues in church and sacraments are practical atheism, deeply upright, deeply crooked, putting our faith to work and catholic devotions. Practical Atheism Is one who does not believe In God. It came from the Greek word â€Å"ethos† which means â€Å"without God† late Pope Paul VI labeled this as an Insidious wolf In sheep's clothing because It hides under a mantle of religious faith but worships wealth, power and the self. Atheism is out and opens, while practical atheism hides the religiosity of people.Most people may appear religious like the practical atheism but the truth is hey don't focus mainly on God but on instead they just focus on themselves since they Just need a God who they can manage and hear their prayers cause the truth is they're not interested in a God who will teach them about truth and Justice. This disrespectful for God is not that obvious in the sense that practical atheist only uses God for their self-interest focusing only for one's self . Idolatry is worshipping an idol; a false image of God Is an idol.Idolatry is worshipping something that projects to one's self Like In times of solving a problem or granting wishes. We control God even though based on the scripture that we are created In the Image and likeness of God but the saddest part Is that we are the one who Is re-creating God In our Image. Practical Atheism Is preoccupied with money, obsessed with wealth and material success. Self-centeredness, self-garnishment, distorted priorities and corruption as a way of life in a nation of fervent church-goers are the signs of practical atheism. Deeply upright, Deeply Crooked explains something about facing the reality.The Philippines is said to be the most religious country in all Asia and also one of the most immoral countries in all Asia, if not the most immoral. Philippines is also known to be the second most corrupt country in Asia this survey is an example of how deeply the Philippines is upright and at the same time how deeply crooked this could be. People's entire concept is based on†investing† in heaven an example of this Is by donating something to a religious organization and assuming that they are already exempted from having to live exemplary lives.Hearing masses, going to confession and receiving the sacraments are the practice that we do and Imagining Like we are just taking a bath to cleanse our sins for going back again to the normal routine like lying, cheating, and stealing with a punishment that is inflicted in return for a wrong doing. The principle here is simple; form is everything like the practices that we are doing but the substance on why we are doing this is nothing. Putting our Faith to Work gives details about on how do we put our faith to work realizing the fact that our churches are filled on Sundays, and yet people very often do not seem to act like Christians at all.We must stress that it is not our Catholic faith that is wrong. We have convert peopl e to Christianity for church membership, rather than for discipleship. We have taught people to seek the kingdom of heaven but we failed to urge them to build a better society. We have drawn our members to our churches for worship but have not sent them out to the world for service. The Catholic faith that we have propagated has been directed more toward celebrating In the Church than a Christian living in the world.The problem, however, does not lie inside our churches people go out of the church that trouble begins. We need to put our Christian faith to work in all choices that we make we must make our Christian faith at the center of our lives in and out of the church. Catholic Devotions expresses the people's personal experiences like when we talk about devotions that has been a greater part of our lives especially in religion that may attract others. Different people have different perspectives that may lead to different religions even if there is only oneGod or worst establish ed a religion because of differences in beliefs. We only express our faith in God in God according to our background and culture. Catholics know more about devotions, rituals novenas that turns out to be a practice and little about scriptures and the teachings of Jesus. Belief is different from faith; a belief without the right faith is fanaticism and gives security, but true faith involves insecurity. We do not need faith when we are so sure of our beliefs. What's it all about making the grade but missing out on learning?Going to class is seen as a duty by most students, rather than an opportunity that they should be thanking for. They are more concern about the grades, assignments, projects and how to pass the subjects than what they have really learned. Learning is necessary and shouldn't be taken for granted. Homework should never be done only because it is needed; if the only reason that a student completes his or her requirement for the sake of getting a grade then it is not a good result because you didn't learn something from it you Just memorize.Figuring out Life's Most Important Questions, students do everything that is required so that they can land to the right Job. Career motivations, questions about the best way to help society in knowing who am l, how shall I live are the questions and things that are important to be talking about at this stage in our lives. Students don't want to e told on what to believe or how to live their lives. Guidance and encouragement is needed to help us figure out life's most important questions for ourselves not to Just be talking about it but also to act on it as well.