Australian Export Opportunities to South Korea

Australian Export Opportunities to South Korea Hasting Helical Francesca Carolina Moorage Ash Jane Decorum Cindy Guan Sophia Alai Introduction Where once, the South Korean society solely relied on the produce of their country as a source of goods, they are slowly turning towards imports from other nations, such as Australia for their goods and services. Australia is renowned for their agricultural excellence, and hence has become a major exporter of foods to South Korea. In this essay, discussions about how South Korean culture may influence the nature and the sessions made in regards to food consumption.Additionally, the theories of family and social influence of Australia and South Korea will be applied, with an aim to reveal possible opportunities for the South Korean food industry to further improve its standings in South Korea. Family Family is one of the most important aspects in life for South Koreans. The Korean community is well-known for their large and tight knit families, with an average of 2. 97 persons per household, in comparison to an Organization for Economic Co- operation and Development (COED) average of 2. 63 in 2009 (COED, 2010). This is nearly due to the high level of multinationals families in Korea.Many Koreans regard the well-being of the family, as a whole, more important than that of individual members (ANTA, 2013). Food is also a predominant feature in the Korean culture; they often gather around for extravagant feasts with family and friends, especially on occasions such as New Years and Christmas. Therefore providing food to the family of the best quality is a high priority need. Traditionally, men of the South Korean society are the breadwinners of the family, while women tend to stay at home and take care of family matters. The female employment rate in Korea, at 52. %, in 2009 was below the COED average of 59. 6% (COED, 2010), therefore reflecting the homemaker role that women play in the family. In the eyes of the developed cou ntries club (COED), South Korea is considered a arbitration, and despite the public policies that still uphold the patriarchal family system, the sex ratio (number of boys per 100 girls) has been remarkably decreasing in the last two decades. It seems that the drop in son preference was triggered by normative changes in the society, in comparison to individuals whose socioeconomic resistances had changed (Chunk & Guppy, 2007).Therefore, a potential target market for women arises. At this rate, there is a strong possibility that more women in the South Korean society. Gender takes the centre stage of numerous brand narratives. Researchers conducted in Australia and New Zealand show that the female partner/wife is generally involved in the decision making process (Coffman et al, 2010). Keeping young singles/ married couples in perspective, marketers who used to target men are now targeting women through meaner of educating them about the importance of eating healthy, ND family well-be ing.For example, introduction of diet Pepsi or diet coke, was made to attract men towards diet soda, so that they could monitor their calorie intake. But this claimed to be unsuccessful. To the contrary, when women were targeted towards consuming lower calorie drinks like Dry. Pepper Ten, Pepsi Max, Coke Zero, etc. , it was observed that women were the major consumers, and they religiously rejected the notion that â€Å"diet cola [was] for men† and that â€Å"it's not for women. (Avery, 2012) Social Influence Social influence marketing is composed of a combination of the use of social media ND the day-to-day interactions consumers go through which may impact purchase decisions made by buyers (Murray, 1991). Social media plays a large role in influencing consumers, as content created by everyday people is readily available online through blobs, forums, websites, social networks and flogs. Egg Product reviews on Youth. Consumers can also be influenced by their everyday experie nces and interactions with different people through word-of-mouth communication, viral marketing and buzz agents.Word-of-mouth communication is the result of consumers sharing information and personal experiences of products purchased tit friends, family, colleagues etc. This is one of the more effective ways of marketing as potential buyers are more likely to trust a close acquaintance over an advertisement (Longer, Henning ; Weidman, 2013). Word-of-mouth communication has dramatically increased over time in Australia with the use of social networking sites such as Faceable and Twitter.However, Faceable is not the social media site that is most popular among South Koreans as it has only 3. 6 million users. The most popular social networking site in South Korea is Keyword, which has 19 million unique visitors every month and generates 1. Billion views. Viral marketing is a combination of word-of-mouth communication and social media. This form of marketing is referred to as Moralâ₠¬  because once released, the information spreads like a virus to a large audience in a relatively small time frame.It provides an advantage for mass communication through social networks. As homogeneity is the main focus in South Korean culture this would largely affect the social influence on consumers and potential buyers, as the need for homogeneity would encourage and friends. The general population's need for homogeneity paired with the powerful LOL of social networking will therefore result in viral marketing being a very effective meaner of socially influencing consumers in South Korea (Lee & Trim, 2008).However this method would probably not be as successful in Australia due to the general culture being one that favors individualism and uniqueness as opposed to the idea of homogeneity, which is more widely accepted in South Korea. Buzz agents are consumers recruited by companies to aid in promoting their products. These agents endorse various products by encouraging other consumers to purchase certain products while out on shopping trips, by suggesting which products shop winner should carry that they do not already stock, and by taking certain products to large gatherings in order to promote them to a large audience (Coffman et al, 2010).This would be more effective in South Korea than Australia as the Korean culture embraces family and attachment, and South Koreans often host large gatherings for family and friends which can act as a platform for word-of-mouth communication as well as marketing via buzz agents. Export Opportunities Up to 70% of South Koreans food requirement relies purely on imported goods (Food Business, 2011). Due to a large focus on the wellbeing of Korean consumers, the organic food industry has seen a huge growth in South Korea (Mackinac, 2006).Consumers are interested in purchasing organic Australian products as they are perceived to be of high quality and safe for consumption, however should be reasonably priced in order to keep interest in Korean consumers. Haiku Australia successfully landed their biggest export deals to date for Australian-made organic retail goods to Korea, exporting a three hundred thousand dollar shipment of organic Someone noodles (Free, 2009).Recent changes in the food sector has seen a rise in the mount of consumer groups who take into consideration the image and quality of organic food when they are purchasing or planning meals (Food Business, 2011). The gradual development of the Bilateral Free Trade Agreement alongside a large and yet growing demand for organic products is seeing that Australia has more opportunities to export food to the South Korean region, where government regulations are great barriers for Australian exporters (Mackinac, 2006).Produced from high-quality wheat, Haiku Noodles Australia is an extremely successful exporter of noodles. Currently, they export a great amount of their goods o Korea with a statement from Sarah Woodward stating that the organizat ion ‘received accolades for securing Australia's largest export order for organic retail products (organic Someone noodles) to Korea' (Wallboard 2009: 24).Success came upon the company as they assured their Korean consumers that their noodles were produced Without the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides or insecticides, food additives or genetically modified ingredients, creating a perception in the consumer's mind of clean and safe food (Holstein 2012). Companies seeking the food industry in South Korea have great opportunities stressed, especially when taking a close look as dietary demands (Archives of Surgery: 2004).This trend has seen opportunity arise in meat, dairy and processed product food sectors (Holstein 2012). Additionally, as South Korea has such a low self- sufficiency rate in regards to food production, of only 26%, it is fair to assume that a country with such self-sufficiency rates rely on other countries with a high self- sufficiency rate to supply to pro vide products for their country (Holstein 2012). Although are attractive opportunities that are in this market, there are also barriers hat make it challenging to penetrate the market in South Korea.Such barriers include strict regulation that South Korea has concerning organic certification (Mackinac 2006), although this is seeking to be maintained with the Gaillardia Government's efforts of negotiation with an aim to equalize the prospect of Australian companies exporting to Korea in order to be at the same standard and reputation as its greatest competitors, the United State and Europe by developing the Korea- Australia Free Trade Agreement in 2011 (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2011).Networks with Korea will consequently be developed, maintained and threatened (201 1), including the reanalysis of correct regulations concerning export tariffs (ITS Global et al. 2008) South Korean life revolves mainly around family, being an important aspect of one's life. It is a cultur al aspect of a Korean family to have the father to be perceived as the breadwinner for the family. It is essential that Australian companies wishing to export deliver products that are not only of high quality, but satisfy the family as a whole rather than Just the individual consumer.Marketers also need to keep in mind the collectivist culture of South Korean families and consider it as a social unit. (Choc amp; Yon, 2001). A company can create the perception off family meal' whilst looking at marketing strategies and campaigns. Social influence plays a significant role on the purchase decision made by consumers. In order for an Australian company to apply this theory into their exporting endeavourers could apply in their marketing technique by changing the image of their product.As the perception of organic food changes and becomes more desirable, people tend to agree with the opinions and desire of people around them. Creating a likeable brand allows for consumers loyal to your b rand influence potential consumers around them. Conclusion Being a collectivist and family-oriented society, there is huge potential in the South Korean food industry for Australian exporters. South Koreans are increasingly becoming aware of the benefits of healthy eating, and providing that to their families and friends.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

Is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick first published in 1968. The main plot follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter of androids, while the secondary plot follows John Isidore, a man of sub-normal intelligence who befriends some of the androids. The novel is set in a post-apocalyptic near future, where the Earth and its populations have been damaged greatly by Nuclear War during World War Terminus. Most types of animals are endangered or extinct due to extreme radiation poisoning from the war. To own an animal is a sign of status, but what is emphasized more is the empathic emotions humans experience towards an animal. Deckard is faced with â€Å"retiring† six escaped Nexus-6 model androids, the latest and most advanced model. Because of this task, the novel explores the issue of what it is to be human. Unlike humans, the androids possess no empathic sense. In essence, Deckard probes the existence of defining qualities that separate humans from androids. The book's plot served as the primary basis for the 1982 film Blade Runner. Setting Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? takes place in 1992 (2021 in later editions), years after the radioactive fallout of World War Terminus destroyed most of Earth. The U. N. ncourages emigration to off-world colonies, in hope of preserving the human race from the terminal effects of the fallout. One emigration incentive is giving each emigrant an â€Å"andy† — a servant android. The remaining populace live in cluttered, decaying cities wherein radiation poisoning sickens them and damages their genes. Animals are rare and people are expected to keep them and help preserve them. But many people turn towards the much cheaper synthetic, or electric, animals to keep up the pretense. Rick Deckard owned a sheep, but it died of tetanus, and he replaced it with a synthetic sheep. The main Earth religion is Mercerism, in which Empathy Boxes link simultaneous users into a collective consciousness based on the suffering of Wilbur Mercer, largely an endless walk up a mountain in which stones are thrown at Mercer, the pain of which the users share. The television appearances of Buster Friendly and his Friendly Friends, broadcast twenty-three hours a day, represent a second religion, designed to undermine Mercerism and allow androids to partake in a kind of consumerist spirituality. It is revealed that neither Mercer nor Friendly are actual humans despite popular belief. edit]Androids Androids are used only in the Martian colonies, yet many escape to Earth, fleeing the psychological isolation and chattel slavery. Although made of biological materials and physically all but indistinguishable from humans, they are considered to be pieces of machinery. Police bounty hunters, such as Rick Deckard, hunt and retire (kill) fugitive androids passing for human. Often, Deckard's police department will collect and analyze the corpses of suspected â€Å"andys† to confirm that they are, in fact, artificial. Earlier androids were easier to detect because of their limited intelligence. As android technology improved, bounty hunters had to apply an empathy test — the Voigt-Kampff — to distinguish humans from androids, by measuring empathetic responses, or lack thereof, from questions designed to evoke an emotional response, often including animal subjects and themes. Because androids are not sympathetic, their responses are either absent or feigned, and measurably slower than a human's. The simpler Bonelli Test, used by another police department in San Francisco, measures the reflex-arc velocity in the spinal column's upper ganglia, but is very painful to the subject, as well as the results taking longer to produce. Plot summary The novel follows bounty hunter Rick Deckard through one day of his life, as he tracks down renegade androids who have assumed human identities. The novel begins with Deckard feeling alienated from his wife who, he feels, is misusing her mood organ by choosing inappropriate moods, like depression. Deckard meets Rachel Rosen when travelling to Rosen Industries to test the validity of an empathy test on the new android type: the Nexus 6. Rachael is an attractive female android Deckard initially believes to be human. Rachael believes herself to be human as she has memories implanted from the niece of her manufacturer. She attempts to turn Deckard away from bounty hunting. Deckard becomes confused about humanity, morality and empathy. He is arrested after attempting to retire the second android and taken to what appears to be a fully functional and publicly accessible police station—but it is not a police station Deckard knows about. Deckard escapes with fellow bounty hunter Phil Resch after deducing that the station is staffed by androids. His moral quandary deepens after working briefly with Phil Resch, who Deckard learns is a particularly callous fellow bounty hunter. Deckard's story is interwoven with that of J. R. Isidore, a driver for an animal repair shop who cannot qualify to leave Earth due to his low IQ. Isidore lives alone in a nearly entirely empty apartment building with little outside contact other than his Empathy Box. Pris Stratton, an android identical in appearance to Rachel, moves into the building and the lonely Isidore attempts to befriend her. Pris and her friends get Isidore to help them trap Deckard as he comes to retire them. Once Deckard realizes the size of the challenge ahead, he enlists Rachel to help him, and they proceed to have sex. By Deckard's having sex with her, Rachel hoped to stop him from bounty hunting, but he will not and drops her off. Deckard nevertheless succeeds in killing the androids, causing Isidore to break down from the loss of his only friends, and earning him a citation for the record number of kills in one day. He returns home and his wife reports having seen Rachael Rosen kill his real pet goat. He understands that Rachael was taking revenge and is thankful that the loss is only financial; the android could instead have killed his wife. He travels to an isolated desert to meditate and has an epiphany. He also finds a toad, thought to be extinct and considered to be Mercer's favorite animal. Deckard brings it home, where his wife discovers that the toad is in fact synthetic. Deckard is not glad but â€Å"prefers† to know the toad is artificial.

Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery

There is no such great thing to experience by any individual but to feel that he has freedom. Humankind struggle for liberty can be rooted when the world was outshined by war. These battles made possible for the more powerful forces to suppress and restrain the weak ones. One race that is known in the past that experienced great slavery and condemnation is the Africans-Americans. The history speaks for itself how these people lost their independence for a long time, thus even though the fighting was over the attitudes of being a slaves can still be reflected with their living.Cruel days had gone but it leaves a legacy of profound impact to the minds of people that they had been unknowingly past down to the succeeding generations, thus creating a chains of psychological slavery. The attitudes of a slave are still lingering in the personality of those black people even at our present times; furthermore it can be observe with their manners towards every aspect of their life such as to t heir work, personality, community, their color and their family. During the old times, work for the black Americans were a formed of punishments. They toil not for them selves but for their superiors.Forced labor is a form of slavery in that period, furthermore they have to exert immense effort in order for them to survive, with these practice they begin to hate job. They have been physically and emotionally traumatized by the whole thing, as a result they develop anger. They are still contented on being member of staff and afraid to put up on their on, thus revealing their slavery toward labor. Even though work in our present society is looked upon with pride for the reason that it becomes our bread and butter in order for us to survive, however this is not true for our black fellowmen.Being a serf to a chore, would also influence every aspect of a person. The authors identify this through connecting it with their persona and to their socialization with the population where they be long. The dilemma they’ve been through caused them to have inferiority towards them selves thus affecting their view about themselves. They lose their own confidence, neglecting their abilities, hence making them aloof to mingle with the crowd. Black Americans were isolated before in gatherings, moreover they experienced great color discrimination.Although these scenes is gone today, still the black Americans have fear to mingle with people around them, specially to the white ones. They still have fear to be humiliated because of their color and become a laughing stock by every one, thus the opportunity for friendship is lost. Another though is their attitude towards their property, during the old days, the black people were not entitled to have wealth they can have unlike the other races. They are being questioned, and sometimes what they have were taken from them for no reason at all.The social-political opportunity for them was also impossible, with these family relation w as also affected. With the hardships they have gone through they develop a great love for their family because their family is the only thing they have. The authors uncover the reality of what our fellow black American experienced. The outlooks that they have nowadays is really the residue of what they’ve been through. It leaves them an emotional shock, therefore leaving them a deep mental damage. They may not be free as what we think.â€Å"Our objectives should not be to cry stale tears for the past, nor to rekindle old hatreds for past injustices. We should seeks enlighten our path of today by better understanding where and how the lights were turned out yesterday. † (Douglass F. , Tubman H. , Crow J. , Claus S. , Blyden E. , and Lynch W. , 1996). Knowing the history is not a reason to remain in the dark, rather to make one self out to liberation. Several approaches were mentioned and can be of great help. In order for us to be free, one must know their own self.Iden tifying your strengths as well as your weaknesses is said to be the start of the emancipation process, thus recognizing these, you can devise a plan on how to improve your strong points and how to eliminate the frail one. From these steps, love for your self will rise up, as a result you will not do anything that will hurt or abuse your self in any way. Together with love, the courage and faith will follows. Confidence to fight and voice out what you think is right, and the freedom to express what is inside of your soul. The final stage is having an optimistic outlook towards life, thus believing that everything is possible to happen.Attaining positive views about one self will extend to the outside environment. Getting along with friends is now at easier; hence the door for socialization will become widely open as well as the chance to great breaks in life. The freedom from being a slave to the cruelty of life will carry out. Religion was also touch in breaking the chains of this p sychological slavery. At the end of the day, God is still the most powerful being that they can turn to. Having a deep faith to the divine power was used as an instrument to escape from captivity. However psychological confusion arises.In the midst of burdens and trouble, the only thing important to the black American was to be free. They will try and do anything that comes to their mind, furthermore they have many options to choose but the doubt of success to freedom is still there. Even God was being doubted at that time. In spite of, they still end up with a solution which is to start from their self and from then on the light of liberty can be seen. No one can put them out of the cage of slavery except their own self. The author is right that in order to be liberated from any slavery, the first step should start from the self.Believe in your capabilities, that you can be successful in any path you wish to take to. Trust, love and respect are essential to destroy the link of bein g a serf. We should not live with our past experiences, rather we should view the past as a test and from that test, there is a lesson learned that enable us to become a better individual. It is imperative for us to realize that at the final of each day, we will end up alone; therefore no one has the right to control our life but our self. Being tough and firm can make us free from the slavery of the world.

Homeowners file a tort claim against a theme park Case Study

Homeowners file a tort claim against a theme park - Case Study Example to 7 p.m. There was nary a moment of peace for the village residents since then because of: Roads clogged with traffic. On opening day of the amusement park itself, roads to and from the village were impassable, such that the milk tanker that regularly picks up milk from the dairy farm of Farmer Green could not get in. When the tanker came the next day, the 1,500 liters of milk it was supposed to pick up the previous day was already spoiled, which translated to a big loss for Farmer Green. Noise. Screams from the Haunted House and rides at the park prevent Ms. Bourne, who works night shifts at hospital, from sleeping at home by day. Mr. Goode, who runs a wildlife sanctuary nearby, also says the noise causes distress to his animals. Carelessness in garbage disposal. The daily garbage from the theme park is collected in man-made waste bays placed alongside the road, which often contain more than the amount of garbage that they can hold. Such overloading caused one waste bay to fracture, spilling rotten food that pollutes Farmer Green's land. Errant water from a multi-level log-flume water ride. Water from this facility seeps through a crack and collects behind the wall separating the park from the railway tracks. As the water level increased, the pressure toppled the wall and caused a landslide that busted a sewer pipe owned by the local water company. Principles of Tort The tort law is characterized by a loose set of relatively abstract principles, which allow maximum discretion to be exercised by reference to common-sense values (Hocking & Smith, 1996).4 Thus, the judgment on whether the Ashenhurst Village residents...In criminal law, the state is portrayed as the bigger offended party than the plaintiff such that if a defendant is proven guilty the state metes out the appropriate punishment. It is different in tort cases, in which the plaintiff, whose more popular assignation now is â€Å"claimant,† is the victim of the alleged wrong. There seems no doubt that the management of the Ashenhurst amusement and theme park has a duty of care in seeing to it that its operations do not cause harm to the village residents, some of whom assume a â€Å"sufficient relationship of proximity and neighborhood† with the park. The main offenses for which the park could be held liable are the torts of negligence and nuisance as well as for intentional and statutory torts. The traffic and noise from the rides are forms of nuisance, whereas the water seepage from the water ride and the overflow of garbage from the park amount to acts of negligence. As for intentional tort, the law says the theme park management is liable for this offense if it acted the way it did although it could have reasonably foreseen the harm that it would cause (Barker & Padfield). Based on the Occupier’s Liability Act in UK, the park is also answerable for statutory tort if it never attempted to take health and safety measures to avoid causing harm to its neighbors. However, it has to be proven if the park management breached its duty of care as determined by the accepted tests and principles of tort.

Federal Express (Canada) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Federal Express (Canada) - Case Study Example Further, FedEx which is known and trusted for its integrity, according to Birla (2005), breaks its promises of refunding the company and, therefore, this paper addresses the alternative strategies that could foster any organizations thrive. This report is based on the inconveniences experienced by ‘Desktop Innovations’ (DI) as a result of poor service provision by the Federal Express Company (FedEx). The Desktop Innovations office manager (Anita Kilgour) wrote a letter to the FedEx Company following their late delivery of one package and their failure to prompt necessary communications. In her letter, the office manager detailed the problems encountered in using the FedEx to convey packages to Simpsonville, South Carolina from Kitchener, Ontario. The letter states that of the two packages supposed to arrive at Simpsonville for a trade show, only one package was received and the other one was lost on the way. It was later discovered that the missing package had lost its shipping bill at Memphis and was sent back to Toronto. This resulted in loss of huge amounts of money amounting to $1200 on the booth Charlotte show and fee. Time was also wasted and an accumulation of up to 3 hours on phone calls by the off ice manager to FedEx office as a follow-up of the missing package. Furthermore, the FedEx Company which was trusted of its high integrity in product delivery had incredibly failed to respond to the manager’s fears and even failed to keep their promise of refunding or crediting the company as per their rules of commitment. In her later, Anita Kilgour reported the missing package and also complained of the misconduct of the FedEx Company for failing to abide by their promises, which of course had made it gain trust over other organizations. Anita tried making a number of phone calls to the office to follow up on the progress in search of the missing package but unfortunately she always

An Organizations Performance and Macro-environmental Factors Essay

An Organizations Performance and Macro-environmental Factors - Essay Example The macro-environment of a business is understood through assessing the four factors, a process regarded as the PEST (Political, Economical, Social, and Technological) analysis (Thompson, 2002). This paper is a critique of Abercrombie and Fitch, which is a retail organization dealing with textile products such as men and women wear. It presents a PEST analysis as well as a competitive audit of the organization, with GAP Inc. Tommy Hilfiger Corporation and Urban Outfitters as the main competitors. The paper also presents an analysis of the threat of new entrants, the power of buyers, substitute products, bargaining power of suppliers and competitive rivalry, as well as an internal analysis of the organization. It highlights primary support services, as well as a SWOT analysis the firm. The organization has been faced with political influences although they have not affected its productivity. It operates under the UK employment laws that protect the rights of all people who have attained the age of employment. The organization has been faced with various cases involving individuals who feel that they have been marginalized in employment opportunities. Discrimination of potential employees can have negative impacts on the organization. Moreover, there are laws that protect consumers from unscrupulous businessmen, which are meant to prevent low-quality products from entering the UK market. However, the organization is not affected by government influence since its products are of high quality and it also adheres to the required quality. Employees are hired according to merit and therefore there are no cases. The organization has not fallen victim of terrorist activities or military  invasion since the UK is a politically stable nation (James, 1998). The organization operates under the protection of the WTO and it has experienced a steady growth.

Serpico Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Serpico - Essay Example Fresh-faced and eager Serpico is ready for his first day on the beat where he is paired with an older, more experienced officer. On the very beginning, Serpico observes how the older man steps into a neighborhood coffee shop and gets the two of them fed for free. Even though he knows this is petty crime, he is somewhat troubled and is determined to set things right. As time passes, Serpico starts working as an under-cover cop, dressed in plain clothes, sporting a beard and love beads. His duty is to bust all sorts of criminals but unlike others from the department, Serpico cannot be bribed and nor can his honesty be bought and thus, they genuinely ostracize him. Serpico is generally happy though, with lots of friends outside the force, girlfriends and everything is just fine except for the impounding irritation he feels associated with the police corruption. He is determined to do something about it and along with a colleague from his early days, officer Bob Blair, Serpico sets out t o put things right. He tries raising the problem of corruption with those in authority but all goes in vain, until he meets a reporter from New York Times, who helps put light on the scenario. Serpico is further alienated, while some peers turn against him. The authorities try their best to keep the matter internal and all Serpico can do is apply for transfers, until his dream of becoming a detective is fulfilled. He receives the final blow when, after being transferred to the narcotics, he is shot in the face, the reason being reluctance from his partners' side to come and save him. When he recovers from the injury, he resigns from the NYPD and immigrates to Switzerland. Serpico, in the movie, breaks the 'code of silence.' The blue code of silence is an unwritten oath amongst police officers in the United States not to report on another colleague's misconduct or crimes. Serpico goes against the system by reporting the flaws in the police department and breaks the code. The intensit y of breaking the code of silence is understood when the entire department turns against Serpico. Crime always starts at a small scale and if it is ignored, it is injected in the system as a slow poison, infecting the system and yet, at the same time, making people either ignorant or too lazy to make amendments. They do not realize it and corruption becomes a part of the system, almost impossible to separate. In such a situation, when a person talks about righteousness, truth and honesty, and rejects the idea of being a part of the corruption, the code of silence, a promise to withhold what is believed, is broken. Serpico is complete alienated because when he speaks against the system, he is opposing everyone he works with. Since everyone else has either joined hands with the misconduct and crimes, or is ignoring its existence, Serpico happens to be the only one supporting the cause. The nature of the code of silence was such that none had spoken against the department before Serpic o, and what he did to bring out in the spotlight the amount of errors the officers were making, was ground-shaking for the authorities. However, once that Serpico had chosen to fight for what he believed in, it was vital to get those in more superior positions to take action against it so as to not let his efforts go futile. But the authorities want to hush him down, so that word does not get out, the unspoken truth

Read the article, then provide a critical review of the article, Assignment

Read the article, then provide a critical review of the article, summarize the article and provide your critical interpretation of the article - Assignment Example Unproven recent house bubbles and low-interest rates have brought about froth in house markets and result in a financial instability. The task remains for central banks to maintain a balance between igniting another house price bubbles and a need to raise economic status from the ground. Riksbank also experienced the dilemma. Fluctuations of the house prices and their effects on real outcomes of the economy, households spending, health of financial intermediaries and the mortgage borrowing have been re-examined majorly on their sources. Macroeconomics has recently questioned the role of the housing finance and also the implication of house price and monetary policy on house price fluctuations. Data from such long history has been collected, the first covers non-financial businesses for 17 economies, disaggregated bank credit data and real estate lending. The second data covers 14 to 17 economies unearthed long-run house prices from 1870-2012. Policy trilemma of international macroeconomic is used, to provide sources of exogenous variation in domestic monetary conditions and perturbations of domestic interest rates. Also to estimate the impact of monetary conditions on real estate on house prices an instrument variable, IV strategy, was used (Jorda, Schularick & Taylor 5). Trilemma is used to identify perturbations of domestic interest rates that are unrelated to domestic economic conditions. Only one or two of the three trilemma policies will be selected, capital mobility, fixed exchange rates or monetary policy. Exogenous fluctuations effects on the link between mortgage credit price on house price busts and booms are measured using strategy IV. Trilemma when measuring exchange rates uses a base year of some country such as the U.S that does not take into consideration other economies when formulating their foreign monetary policy choices. As a result of the

Development of an Assessment Plan for the Howard Univ College of Article

Development of an Assessment Plan for the Howard Univ College of Liberal Arts Undergraduate Program - Article Example The mission of the Howard University College of Liberal Arts is to provide its graduates with an education that is rooted in â€Å"Pursuit of knowledge, social justice, artistic expression and intellectual freedom† (Howard University, 2013). It seeks to foster creative and critical thinking in artistic and scholarly arenas. Furthermore, it intends on providing solutions to human and social problems. Nurturing cultural diversity is part of its mission. The College intends on building responsibility towards the global community. The assessment plan will dwell on measurement of critical thinking and oral and written communication skills. Since critical thinking has been mentioned as one of the goals in the Liberal Arts College, then the analysis will openly indicate whether this goal is being achieved. Measurement of written and oral communication skills will assist in artistic expression as well as creativity, which are all cited in the College’s mission. They will contri bute towards achievement of the knowledge, intellectual freedom and social justice goals, as well. ... Technical correctness is not such a valuable trait, and using curriculum-specific tests would reinforce it. Instead of such an approach, students need to be tested on their ability to inquire and question various situations. Critical thinking, oral and written communication skills are the parameters that are most relevant to rational inquiry. 2. Tools and Instruments for assessment i) CLA CLA (Collegiate Learning Assessment) is designed to measure a range of tertiary competencies that include problem solving, written communication competencies, analytic reasoning and critical thinking. The measurement of such broad abilities makes the assessment applicable to almost all types of colleges. Furthermore, the measures cut across different disciplines. One should note that this is not an assessment of intellect or any content abilities. The test is designed in such a way that it gives students holistic tasks to which they must respond. Some of the tasks may focus on written communication while others dwell on work sample performance. Usually, those questions come from real-world scenarios such as education, policy and daily work practice. The concerned students must employ analytic and critical thinking skills in the situation. They must them communicate these decisions in proper written English and then justify their choices (Hatfield, 2009). Usually, the test is administered online and the responses to the essay-type questions will be scored online through particular software. Humans need to participate in marking the performance- type questions. However, they must have undergone thorough training so as to grade the answers on the basis of certain standards. An example of a task is the argument type assignment, which asks

Homicide Investigation Essay Example for Free

Homicide Investigation Essay More work goes into a homicide investigation than what the media alludes to. Television shows like Law and Order, and CSI show an over glorified series of basic investigations as well as highly dramatic interrogation in which each homicide case is solved within a one-hour episode. In reality, a homicide investigation is 20 times more complex than what is aired on prime time television. Cases can take years to solve, and a large number remain open indefinitely. From start to finish, a homicide investigation begins when the first responder arrives on the scene, and ends when the perpetrator is placed behind bars. The goals of an investigation are to see if the death of a person was caused by a criminal act of another individual, as well as determining the person responsible for causing the death. The earlier an investigator arrives on the scene of the crime, the more likely the case is to be solved. â€Å"Medically, death is determined by the cessation of three vital functions: heartbeat, respiration and brain activity. (Hess and Orthmann ) Normally, the first sign of death is when the person has stopped breathing. If a person dies shortly before, or in the presence of an officer, the officer should always try to revive the victim. The person’s pulse should be checked for after breathing has ceased since certain drug over doses cause extremely shallow breathing, and can give the allusion that a person is deceased. The two most important pieces of physical evidence in a homicide investigation are the murder weapon and the victim’s body. Videotaping, photographing, and sketching the crime scene, as well as taking notes are crucial actions in an investigation as well. The evidence that is found must be properly handled and packaged. Physical evidence can be found in an abundance of different places, such as: on the victim, on the suspect, or at the scene of the crime. If the victim is still living, and brought to the hospital, the hospital then becomes a separate crime scene. Discovering the body of the victim, as well as identifying it can help the police tremendously. In some cases, the body of the victim is not found. The perpetrator could have performed any number of disposal techniques such as, dissolving the body in a vat of acid, cutting up the body, burying the body, or burning the body. In cases where the body is buried under ground, the police can use a few different technologies in order to locate it. Magnetometers, metal detectors, ground-penetrating radar, and infrared thermography are the newest technological advances in the police arsenal. Also, cadaver dogs are highly useful since they are specially trained to locate a body by identifying the scent of decomposing human flesh. Once the body has been located, police must identify it. Multiple identification of the deceased victim made by family, friends, or co-workers is ideal since human error is much more likely when under stress. If the victim is disfigured beyond recognition, police examine fingerprints or DNA, which are the two most reliable forms of identification. Fingerprints do not always have available matches in the IAFIS, which is a â€Å"national fingerprint and criminal history system that responds to requests 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to help our local, state, and federal partners—and our own investigators—solve and prevent crime and catch criminals and terrorists. (FBI. gov) DNA analysis allows investigators to rule out that the victim is not a specific person in the event that fingerprints cannot be matched. Investigators must estimate the time of death, or TOD, of a victim in order to acquire an accurate time frame in which the homicide occurred. This estimation is important since it could prove that the suspect could have b een at the scene during the estimated time frame, as well as to the victim’s family for Social Security, and insurance purposes. The post mortem interval (PMI) is the time between when the victim’s death, and when the corpse was discovered. â€Å"Understanding the processes that occur in a body during the PMI can help investigators estimate a time of death. † There are many methods in which forensic scientists can estimate the TOD, but none of them are fool proof. As a result, pathologist can usually find a good estimation of the victims TOD within a few hours of the actual event. When a person first dies, their body stays limp until Rigor Mortis sets in nywhere from ten minutes to several hours afterwards, depending on environmental conditions. Rigor Mortis (Latin for â€Å"stiffness of death†) causes the joints of the body to stiffen as a result of partial contraction in skeletal muscles. The smaller muscles, like those found in the face, are usually affected first. Maximum rigor is normally reached within 12 to 24 hours, and can keep the body rigid for around three days until the muscles begin to decompose. In some cases, usually when the victim is holding something at the TOD, the victim’s hand will tightly close around the object. This is called a cadaveric spasm, and while associated with rigor mortis, the condition is only found in specific muscle groups instead of the entire body. A cadaveric spasm can sometimes help investigators determine if the death was a result of a suicide or a homicide. If a victim is found with a gun in his hand, and the gunshot wound was not inflicted from his own weapon, it is more likely he was trying to defend himself against an armed assailant. Knowing if a person is alive or dead is a very important part of the first responding officer’s job. If the victim is pronounced dead, investigators must find the murder weapon in order to have solid proof that they were killed by someone else. If a body is discovered after a homicide has been committed, investigators must identify it, and determine the time of death, which can be estimated by looking at a number of signs. With all of this work for investigators to do, how can one homicide case be completely solved within a one hour time slot on television?

Feminism in Indian English Literature

Feminism in Indian English Literature First, the phase of imitation is prolonged and the dominant tradition and the international roles have affected the social roles. Secondly, the phase of protest was established against the standards values of life which also includes demand for autonomy. Lastly, Self-discovery is a phase, where search for identity was the main aim of the writers to project in their writings, as they experienced freedom from self-dependency. Thus the critic supplanted the traditional definition of feminism especially in literature by a new paradigm for manifesting the evolutionary aspect of womans consciousness as reflected in literature specifically in the British novel through three stages of progression- the feminine, the feminist and the female. While the post-colonial enigma gradually changed into a neo-colonial consciousness in India, the creative writers specially the woman factionalists resorted to examining the role of modern Indian women vis-Ã ¢-vis family and society differently and more positively. The second generation of Indian women novelists like Anita Desai, Shashi Deshpande, Bharati Mukherjee and Shobha De specially exhibits a steady progression in context of the three stages advocated by Elaine Showalter. Their female protagonists display a psychic transformation traversing and evolving gradually but firmly through the respective stages of imitation of tradition, protest and advocacy of rights, and eventually introspection leading to self-discovery which metamorphisezes them into strong, independent, expeditious women willing to encounter the onslaughts of life not merely as a minority group but with the cognizance of being powerful sustaining force for society as a whole. It has been observed that the position of women in India has been subjected to varieties of changes over the past few years. From equal status with men in the prehistoric times through the less equality which was prevalent in the medieval period. The promotion of womens rights had been taken up by many reformers in India in order to emancipate their position. In the contemporary times, women have been at high post in the nation like India, that includes, the post of President, Prime Minister, Speaker of Lok Sabha and Leader of opposition party respectively. Not only that women have done exceptionally well in different spheres of life, be it academics, teaching, defense, media or entrepreneur etc. In Ancient India, many scriptures had written about the situation of the women, where she enjoyed equal status as that of men. Not only in the sphere of rights but also in the field of education, were women given equal opportunity. Vedas like Rigveda and Upnishads, wrote about women sages and seers, Gargi and Matreyi. After the medieval period the position of the women got deteriorated and evil practices like Sati, child marriage, ban on widow remarriage became part of social life in India. The conquest of India by the Muslims brought in practice like purdah and Jauhar. The conditions were difficult and stringent for Indian women, and few women excelled in the field of literature, politics, religion and education. To name some women who excelled in different field, Razia Sultan who ruled over Delhi, Durgavati, the Gond Queen, Chand Bibi fought against Mughal forces of Akbar and defended Ahmednagar, Nur Jahan established imperial power and was a real force behind the Mughal throne. Mirabai,a female saint-poet was an important Bhakti movement figures. Many reformers during the British rule also worked for the upliftement of the women, and some of the freedom fighters included women in forefront like Bhikaji Cama, Dr Annie Besant, Vijaylakshmi Padit, Kasturbha Gandhi and Rani Laxmibai If we talk about defining women empowerment, it simply means giving the women crucial authority. It has been proved since time immemorial that women are more responsible when tackling a situation, so delegating authority with confidence is the first step towards women empowerment. It also means to give rights and power to women to face the challenges of life. When we analyze empowering women, it emphasizes on inspiring women with the courage to break free from the barriers of patterns of society or religious norms that kept traditionally women suppressed. It is known fact that women, particularly in India are still backward and they are not aware of their rights that the constitution has endowed. The mission of many reform institutions in India is to make them aware of all these facts and fight against the torture and all evil things caused to them by the society and the husbands and other people is called Women Empowerment. Women empowerment is instilled by many with the aim of giving power to women to make their own decisions in their lives. It includes social, economic, legal, and political and health empowerment. It is a central issue which is growing at a slower pace. In India, Women Empowerment was a challenging task and one needs to acknowledge that gender based discrimination and due to this social malice was prevalent for many years. The malice cannot be removed by adopting few laws or policies, as many of them though may be on paper, but are not implemented in actual terms. The power structural forces of the society never tried to uplift the status of women at different levels and the growth of the women was stunted. At this juncture of complexities related to the rights of women, the situation can only be improved, once the social attitude is revamped and the prevalent evil practices against the women should be banned. This can be brought in by womens access and control over the decision making. Further increasing the social interaction on women at different levels in the society. In India, women are marginalized at every level of the society whether in economic, social or political participation and gender disparity is crept in the life of people that The rise of the novel in India was not purely a literary phenomenon. It was a social phenomenon as much, rather the fulfillment of a social need. It was associated with social, political and economic conditions which were comparable to those which favoured rise in England. The rise of novel and appearance of it in nineteenth century India as it did in eighteenth century England synchronized with the rise of individualism and with all the consequent political and social reorientations which followed. The eighteenth century was an age of anarchy from a political point of view, torn as it was by wars, conquests and annexations.The character of Indian novel is bound to vary from language to language and is bound to be conditioned by the regional, linguistic and cultural peculiarities characteristic of the writer and his environment. But the Indian novel, whether in English or in any other Indian languages, has an individual quality, a distinctiveness which calls for serious critical attention and the Indian novel in English has this distinctiveness much more than the novels in other languages of the country, a distinctiveness which transcends all the peculiarities characteristics of different linguistic and cultural milieus. Though this would mean our accepting the Indianness of the Indian novel in English as one of the important frames of reference in all critical studies of the genre, one has to guard oneself at the same time, against the danger of the `Indianness becoming, with t he writer and the critic alike, an obsession, an unhealthy pre-occupation with orientalism, lush scene painting and with a desire to pander to the national self esteem of the Indians or gullibility of European intellectuals. A novel written by an Indian writer will certainly be Indian without any conscious effort on the part of the writer to the extent to which it depicts Indian life and culture, reflects faithfully the life and spirit of the Indian ethos and grapples with the problems and tensions generated by the rather unique way in which an individuals life and character are determined by home, family and society in the Indian social milieu. It can be peculiarly Indian in respect of its form, narrative techniques employed and the manner in which it adapts the English language to the native sensibility. It can be much more characteristically Indian in its moral and spiritual content and in the values and ideals it upholds and it may even show another worldliness, a predilection for myth and fantasy, a tendency to turn ones back on the here and now and show a basic hunger for the unseen- all deriving from the Indian writers unconscious affiliation with the world of legends, fables and puranas. But any deliberate attempt made by the writer to make his novel Indian or to design it for a Western audience will make it artificial and unreal. Though no Indian writer writing in English can be absolutely free from being conscious of the Western reader, he can at least avoid designing his work specifically for a Western audience. He may write for a Western audience as much as for an Indian audience but he must write as an Indian with India in his bones, of course, but without a conscious or deliberate effort to make his work distinctively Indian. Indian fiction in English has emerged as a separate entity for the study of the rapid change and development in social, economic, political and psychological facets of Indian society.

How Television Viewing Affects Children Education Essay

How Television Viewing Affects Children Education Essay Television is one of the greatest inventions of all time. Through television we have witnessed history in real time. The technology of television has broadened our horizons by bringing faraway places into our homes, revealing the diversity of science and nature, and exposing us to sights and sounds that we can only dream about. Television has the power to inform, inspire, and unite. As adults, we are aware of the mesmerizing effects of television. Television has become a staple in our lives. In fact, most of us have televisions in every room of our house. The average family has the television on for 6.2 hour s each day. As adults, television can influence what we buy, where we go, and what we eat. With the television having such an impact on our lives, it is bound to have an effect on our childrens lives. Todays children are exposed to violence, sex, and drugs through television. How much does television influence children? We are able to make informed decisions and understand the r amifications of our actions, but children are not. So, is television viewing harmful for children? This has been the question and debate for parents since the television was first introduced in the 1940s. To make an informed decision, it is important for us to understand the positive and negative effects of television viewing for children. With the recent explosion in satellite and digital TV, we now have access to a plethora of both good and bad quality content. Parents should seek out good quality TV and whenever possible, enjoy them together as a family. Some studies indicate that television viewing properly used in moderation can stimulate a childs education and creativity. Television today offers children a wide variety of wonder, amusement, and education. The mysteries of the deep sea, the wonders of outer space and the animal varieties in the natural world can delight children and stimulate their imagination without exposing them to any danger. Kids may be entertained for hours with programs that engage their sense of seeing and hearing. Parents are able to go about their daily routines at home, knowing that their children are safe and occupied in one location. Programs designed to teach children such as Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer Expose Children to vocabulary, math, science, history, art and diversity before they go to school. Because of its ability to create powerful touchstones, TV enables young people to share cultural experiences with others. T.V. can teach children important values and life lessons. News, events, and historical programming can help make young people more aware of other cultures and people. Television viewing is also beneficial for the family. Shared viewing gives family members of all ages an opportunity to spend time together. Despite its advantages, too much television can be detrimental. Children under 6, including two-thirds of infants and toddlers, watch an average of 2 hours a day. Kids and teens 8 to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen, and almost 2 additional hours on the computer and playing video games. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids under 2 years old not watch any television and that those older than 2 watch no more than 1 to 2 hours per day. The first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. TV and other electronic media can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development. As kids get older, too much screen time can interfere with activities such as being physically active, reading, doing homework, playing with friends, and spending time with family. Children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching te levision are more likely to be overweight. Health experts have long linked excessive TV watching to obesity. While watching TV, kids are inactive and tend to snack. Theyre also bombarded with ads that encourage them to eat unhealthy foods. The problem isnt just how long children are watching TV but, what they are watching. The average American child will witness 200,000 violent acts on television by age 18. Kids may become desensitized to violence and more aggressive. TV violence is often perpetuated by the good guys as fun and an effective way to get what they want. Young kids are particularly frightened by scary and violent images. Behavior problems, nightmares, and difficulty sleeping may be a consequence of exposure to media violence. TV is full of programs and commercials that depict risky behaviors ,such as sex and substance abuse,risky and fun. For example, studies have shown that teens who watch lots of sexual content on TV are more likely to initiate intercourse or particip ate in other sexual activities earlier than peers who dont watch sexually explicit shows. A recent study by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth found that youth exposure to alcohol ads on TV increased by 30% from 2001-2006. As mentioned earlier, parents should search for high quality TV programs for their kids. How do you choose good TV? David Kleeman, Director of the American Center for Children and media, says ask yourself the following questions: Does this program actively engage my child, physically or intellectually? Television viewing doesnt have to be passive. It can prompt questions, kindle curiosity, or teach activities to pursue when the set if off. Do I respect this program? Parents dont have to like every show their children like. But parents should trust that a programs creator understand and respect how children grow and learn. Does my child see others like himself or herself on television? Young children believe that television reflects the real world. To not see people like themselves may diminish their self-worth. How do the makers of this program regard my child? Some program creators see young people as consumers to be sold to. Others see them as students to be educated, as future citizens to be engaged in the community, or simply as children. whose work is play. Parents should monitor the childs television viewing. They should limit the amount of time that the child watches TV. To avoid the negative aspects of television and commercials, parents can record shows without the commericals or buy childrens videos or DVDS. Is Television Viewing Harmful for Children? In my opinion, no. What could be harmful for children is what they watch and for how long. Childrens advocates are divided when it comes to solutions. Although many urge for more hours per week of educational programming, others assert that no TV is the best solution. Some say its better for parents to control the use of TV and to teach kids that its for occasional entertainment, not for constant escapism. Many parents and teachers have different views and this debate will carry on for centuries to come. There is powerful research and opinions on both sides of the debate. Ultimately the decision is up to the parent. Armed with information and knowledge the parent can make the correct decision for them, their children and their family. As a teacher, I can share with the parents my knowledge of TV viewing and its effects, both positive and negative. In the classroom, I can encourage play, reading, and social interaction. I can introduce chil dren to our world through play, field trips, and books. I can provide the children with healthy snacks and encourage them to make healthy decisions regarding food, exercise, and television viewing. I can provide parents with information and resources that is offered by the school and the community. Children are influenced by those around them. They emulate what they see. As teachers and parents, we should be good role-models. How can we expect children to not smoke, drink, act violent ,eat poorly, or watch too much television if we are doing those things? Television cannot be blamed for problems with children. It is ultimately up to the parents to monitor their child, communicate with their child and instill in their child values and beliefs that help them make good decisions in their life.

File Sharing on the Internet Essay -- Computers Technology Essays

File Sharing on the Internet When we think of pirates, we see scruffy men with unshaven chins, a bandana, a gold earing, a black patch on one eye, and a wooden leg, men with guns in hand, riding the seas in their wooden ship proudly flying the terrifying skull and crossbones. Well, pirates these days look much different. In fact, you may be sitting by one right now. They are ordinary people who have come to enjoy the technologies the Internet provides. These pirates are boys and girls, women and men, who habitually root themselves in their desk chairs with eyes fixed on the computer screen. But today's pirates have something in common with the pirates of days lost in history. Both steal what doesn't belong to them. Today's pirates sail the Internet on the prowl for a treasure chest of downloadable files. In the age of technology and information, the Internet has become widely used for a variety of reasons. I, like many other college and high school students, love to download things off the Internet. Everything is right there in front of me. With a few clicks of the mouse and some intelligent searching strategies, a world of information awaits my curious mind. There's much to be found: movies, computer games, books, reference guides, almost anything you want is there to download. My favorite thing to download is music, and it's easily accessible on the Internet. I admit I am one of those who indulges in the popular practice of downloading music from servers. At first, the hot thing was to use Napster. If I heard a good song on the radio, I would remember what it was called and who sang it so that I could download the song and have it available to hear whenever I wanted. After a while, record companies realized that thi... ...ongs from CDs I don't have, and as soon as I have the means I plan to finish collecting their CDs. I am like the many Wilco fans and other music fans who aren't trying to cheat record companies and artists by getting the CDs online for free. In light of everything, today's pirates, like those of the past, are in control and can't be stopped. Only by taking drastic measures and infringing on people's rights to copy CDs legally for legitimate purposes will the pirating be stopped. However, pirating music is not all that bad, and in many ways is actually good for artists, record companies, listeners, and especially people who love music. Sources cited: Levy, Steven. "Turning Off the Music Tap." Newsweek 13 May 2002: 40. On-line. Proquest. 10 Oct 2002. Available at http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?Did=0000001189692564&Fmt=3&Deli=1&Mtd=l&Idx=4&Sid=13&RQT=309.

Biblical References in Grapes of Wrath Essay -- essays research papers

In his novel Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck integrated many biblical references and values throughout the book. This provided a more intriguing and complex style of writing that he used to tell about the Dust Bowl of the early 1900’s and the arduous journey the Joad family and many others took to reach California. The first biblical reference is revealed when the Joad family leaves for California. â€Å"the rest swarmed up on top of the load, Connie and Rose of Sharon, Pa and Uncle John, Ruthie and Winfield, Tom and the preacher. Noah stood on the ground, looking up at the great load of them sitting on top of the truck (Steinbeck 113)† This passage relates to the loading of animals into Noah’s Ark in Genesis 7:15 where it is written that the animals went into the ark in pairs. In the book, Steinbeck uses the truck to represent the ark while the family represents the animals going into the ark two by two. Although it is depicted in the Bible that the animals went in as couples, male and female, there were not enough female characters for Steinbeck to be able to have them get into the truck in couples. Steinbeck might have made Noah’s name Noah for this purpose to give an allusion that this passage was to mirror the act of Noah’s Ark. The second reference to Noah’s Ark is revealed near the end of the novel. â€Å"The rain began in gusty showers†¦for two days the earth drank the rain, until the earth was full†¦the rain beat on steadily†¦level fields became lakes†¦streams broke†¦and spread out over the country (Steinbeck 432-434).† This passage illustrates the great rain that comes to California and floods the valleys and over the fields. It floods the tents and homes of the Okies and causes them to move elsewhere to find shelter from the rain... ...till-born baby. The image when Uncle John floats the dead baby down the flooded steam is a reference to baby Moses when he is places into the Nile in a basket. Both babies were sent off into the world with the same message in mind, to tell of the plight of the people, which for the Joad’s was the harsh living conditions and lack of food and home, while for the Israelites was the inhumane murder of their baby boys. â€Å"‘Go down an’ tell em’. Go down in the street an’ rot an’ tell em’ that way. That’s the way you can talk’ (Steinbeck 448).† Steinbeck uses biblical allusions and references throughout his novel, from the very beginning to the climax and the end. The novel becomes a more meaningful and complex book with the use of these allusions and causes it to relate more and more with the Great Depression where many problems with authorities and social problems arose. Biblical References in Grapes of Wrath Essay -- essays research papers In his novel Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck integrated many biblical references and values throughout the book. This provided a more intriguing and complex style of writing that he used to tell about the Dust Bowl of the early 1900’s and the arduous journey the Joad family and many others took to reach California. The first biblical reference is revealed when the Joad family leaves for California. â€Å"the rest swarmed up on top of the load, Connie and Rose of Sharon, Pa and Uncle John, Ruthie and Winfield, Tom and the preacher. Noah stood on the ground, looking up at the great load of them sitting on top of the truck (Steinbeck 113)† This passage relates to the loading of animals into Noah’s Ark in Genesis 7:15 where it is written that the animals went into the ark in pairs. In the book, Steinbeck uses the truck to represent the ark while the family represents the animals going into the ark two by two. Although it is depicted in the Bible that the animals went in as couples, male and female, there were not enough female characters for Steinbeck to be able to have them get into the truck in couples. Steinbeck might have made Noah’s name Noah for this purpose to give an allusion that this passage was to mirror the act of Noah’s Ark. The second reference to Noah’s Ark is revealed near the end of the novel. â€Å"The rain began in gusty showers†¦for two days the earth drank the rain, until the earth was full†¦the rain beat on steadily†¦level fields became lakes†¦streams broke†¦and spread out over the country (Steinbeck 432-434).† This passage illustrates the great rain that comes to California and floods the valleys and over the fields. It floods the tents and homes of the Okies and causes them to move elsewhere to find shelter from the rain... ...till-born baby. The image when Uncle John floats the dead baby down the flooded steam is a reference to baby Moses when he is places into the Nile in a basket. Both babies were sent off into the world with the same message in mind, to tell of the plight of the people, which for the Joad’s was the harsh living conditions and lack of food and home, while for the Israelites was the inhumane murder of their baby boys. â€Å"‘Go down an’ tell em’. Go down in the street an’ rot an’ tell em’ that way. That’s the way you can talk’ (Steinbeck 448).† Steinbeck uses biblical allusions and references throughout his novel, from the very beginning to the climax and the end. The novel becomes a more meaningful and complex book with the use of these allusions and causes it to relate more and more with the Great Depression where many problems with authorities and social problems arose.

Experience of the Attawapiskat Cree to Ojibwa in relation to the Canadian Government

The Attawaspiskat Cree and Ojibwa are a first nations group living in parts of Canada, mainly northern Ontario. The main languages spoken by these first nation groups are Mushkegowuk Cree and Ojibway. I will compare and contrast the experience of the Attawapiskat Cree to Ojibwa in relation to the Canadian Government. This will include analyzing the treaties introduced by the government towards the Cree and the Ojibwa: in particular, treaty 9 will be discussed. In addition, to these treaties the government has divided the first nation community into two different groups: status-Indians and non-status Indians. Within these two groups further division has been accomplished by the allocation of lands know as reserves to status-Indians and independent ownership for non-status Indians. This allocation of lands in reserves for status-Indians and independent ownership for non-status Indian is based on the policies developed through dependent and independent tenure. The laws permitting only status-Indians to live in reserves have fragmented the community and changes in culture and traditions have been rapid since the arrival of the government. The arrival of the Canadian government in the early nineteen-hundreds was the last major encapsulating factor the Cree and the Ojibwa were to face after the Hudson Bay Company and the church. The methods adopted by the government were aimed at changing the social, economic, political and religious practices held within these societies. One of the first efforts undertaken by the Canadian government was to legalize any action it would take in the regions occupied by the Cree and the Ojibwa. Therefore, in 1905 and 1906 treaty 9 was signed with the people of Cree and the people of Ojibwa. With the introduction of treaty 9, logging, hydroelectric development, minerals, construction of road and railways started. This treaty also introduced new land policies, which allowed non-Indians to exploit the resources used before only by the Indians. Commissioner Scott who represented the government promised the Indians that treaty 9 would not affect the way of living for the Indian people, rather the government would help in times of need: â€Å"There will not be any legislation governing trapping, hunting animals and hunting birds and fishing, if you are in favour of the treaty. If something happens to you as to sickness or need of help the government will help you, all the people from Albany, Attawapiskat, Winisk, Fort Severn, will have this help† (Cummins 2004, 36). However, during the famine of 1909, 1928, 1930-31, 1934-36 and 1946-48 in Attawaspiskat, assistance from the government was little or non-existent. Therefore, the main reason for the treaty was to extinguish aboriginal rights and to take away the land owned by the Indians. Following treaty 9 many different treaties were introduced by the government which further deteriorated the economical conditions present within the Indian community. These treaties had assured for the Cree and the Ojibwa, that provision would be made for the supply of seed, cattle and agricultural implements as these nations had exhibited an interest in starting farming for economic interest. Additionally, some other treaties had guaranteed distribution of fishing nets, net twins, guns and ammunition so as it can enable the Indians to hunt for subsistence activities, with participation with the new economy. However, the government provided insufficient amenities which were unable to economically improve the position of the Cree and Ojibwa. In addition, federal legislation – especially the Indian Act – teamed with federal and provincial policy and actions, rendered it arduous for Aboriginal people to undertake other economic interest. (http://www. ainc-inac. gc. ca/ch/rcap/sg/sh45_e. html). It is essential to define the terms land tenure and land use in order to understand how these systems are used as an encapsulating factor for the Ojibwa and the Attawapiskat Cree. Land use is the physical exploitation of land, where as land tenure are the policies which govern the use of land and is based on social, political and exploitative patterns of a group. Example of social, political and exploitative patterns would include the ways of accommodation, such as living in micro or macro bands and occupying a river drainage or a good fishing site; notion of land ownership; and hunting patters, respectively. Since the incursion of Euro-Canadians in all aspect of Indian life, there have been changes in the traditional land tenure policies held within these societies for centuries. The government has divided the Ojibwa and the Cree into two different categories: status Indians and non-status Indians. Status Indians are those individuals who according to the Indian Act appear on the governments list of registered Indians. Status-Indians are solely dependent on governmental aid and live on lands turned into reserves by the government; they are also exempted from any provincial or federal programs such as income tax and property tax. Non-status Indians are those who have lost their Indian status by governmental enfranchisement. These people cannot live on reserves; land setup by the government for status-Indians, but they can independently own land and must pay taxes. The reserves are created by the Indian Act as, â€Å"the minister may, when he considers it desirable constitute new bands and when a new band has been established from an existing band or any part thereof, such portion of the reserve lands and funds of the existing band as the minister determines shall be held for the use and benefit of the new band†. (Driben 1986: 114). Therefore, to create a reserve there must be, a new band who has requested the government to be turned into a reserve. Hence, if approved the government would allocate an existing reserve or some land. Once designated as a reserve, individuals cannot have the title to the land and cannot exercise the freedom to move fluidly in different areas or groups. One major set back by the government to the Ojibwa people living in Aroland are the economic government policy adopted towards them. In 1971, the provincial plan for economic development was revealed, which concluded that land and resource development should take place only in places which demonstrate a potential for growth. Therefore, the problem arouse when Nakina, a town less than 25 kilometres from Aroland became the centre of growth, this has shifted any incentives from private and government sectors to economically invest in Aroland. The government of Canada has introduced two types of land tenure for the Cree and the Objiwa, dependent and independent land tenure. In dependent land tenure two aspects must be fulfilled, first that region must be made into a reserve, and second, the people occupying the region must be status-Indians. Once the region has become a reserve it falls under the jurisdiction of the ministry of Indian Affairs. Therefore, by the Indian Act, the ministry has the authority to possess land, prevent the transfer of land between bands, and to allocate land as they see fit. The economic impact of the dependent tenure has its benefits and disadvantages. These benefits include that the ministry of Indian affairs will provide aid for economic development. Such aid can be in forms of loans to bands, groups or individuals. Moreover, the Indians are not required to pay property tax or income tax on the money they earn by working on the reserves. A disadvantage would be that the reserved land cannot be sold or leased unless it is surrendered to the government, and once the land has been surrendered to the government, it is controlled and owned by the government not the Indians. The social impact of dependent tenure is the segregation caused by the subdivision of Indians into status and non-status Indians. Therefore, to choose dependent tenure would segregate the community into one group, that comprising of status-Indians only. By the Indian act, non-status Indians are considered to be trespassers if they enter a reserve and can be fined and imprisoned for doing so. On the other hand, Independent Land Tenure is a more euro-Canadian form of land policy. Indians in independent land tenure can buy property. But if the people opt for Independent Land tenure they cannot form any kind of reserve. Since Independent tenure is regulated under provincial government, the federal government would not be involved. Once the provincial government sells the people the land they occupy, the individual will get the title to the land and also some benefits as stated by the minister, â€Å" Firstly, a surface right, which permits a landowner to enjoy the current use of his land. Secondly, a productive right, which allows an owner to make a profit from the current use of his land. Thirdly, a development right, allowing the owner to improve his property. Fourthly, a pecuniary right, whereby a landowner benefits financially from development value both effectively granting the right not to develop and sixthly, a disposal right, allowing an owner to sell or will his land† (Driben 1986: 105). The economic advantage of independent tenure is that Indians can participate in government programs, can be endowed with equity that can be employed to obtain mortgages and loans from banks and other financial institutions. Additionally they can have provincially tax-supported services such as fire protection, construction of roads, as well as other provincial benefits. In conclusion, the arrival of the government in the early nineteen-hundred marked a beginning which has rapidly cause change and encapsulated the Ojibwa and the Cree. Treaty 9, also known as the James Bay treaty, has let the government occupy two-third of northern Ontario from the Indians. An encapsulation method adopted by the government was to divide the Indians into different groups; this was done by dividing the people into status-Indians and non-status Indians. Further, physical sub-division was accomplished by the government through dependent and Independent tenure. Laws forbidding non-status Indians to enter reserves were strictly enforced and any economic incentives approached by the Indians were tentatively dealt with. Therefore the nineteen hundred has been a drastic change for the Ojibwa and the Cree, and it has transformed them from a simpler life of hunting for subsistence to that of trading and has made them conform to the external pressure to acculturate. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cummins, Brian D. 2004. Only God Can Own the Land. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada Inc. Driben, Paul. 1986. Aroland Is Our Home – An incomplete victory in Applied Anthropology. New York: AMS Press. Martin, Calvin. 1978. Keepers of the Game. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press. Schmalz, Peter S. 1991. The Ojibwa. Toronto, Buffalo, and London: University of Toronto Press. Krech, Shepard. 1981. Indians, Animals, and the Fur trade. Athens: The University of Georgia Press. .

Natural Disasters and Their Effect on the Macro Economy Essay

Natural Disasters can have both a positive and negative impact on the local, national and the global economy. However it is rare, but not out of the question, to see the positive impact it may have on an economy. For instance, when disaster struck in Haiti from the 7. 3 magnitude earthquake in 2010, between 200,000-250,000 people were killed. That is 2 percent of the total Haitian population of only 10 million. Comparatively New York City alone totals nearly as much as the entire population of Haiti with about 8. 2 million people (U. S. Census Bureau, 2010). The Inter-American Development Bank estimated that it cost 8.5 billion dollars in damage to Haiti’s economy. The earthquake caused the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to contract 5. 1 percent that year. Considering that Haiti’s economy only produced 12 billion dollars in 2008, 8. 5 billion dollars is a huge deficit to the overall production and functionality of their economic and social growth. That is less than a tenth of a percent of U. S. GDP of 14 trillion dollars, but Haiti’s GDP per capita is only 1,300 dollars compared to over 40,000 dollars per person in the U. S. (CIA. gov). With all of this said, Haiti brought in nearly fifteen billion dollars through donations. So although there was catastrophic and disastrous losses to both the social and economic stimulus, on donations alone, Haiti was able to receive three billion dollars more than even their best year in 2008 with only twelve billion dollars. Proposing a theoretical situation, if an earthquake destroyed capital stock but left the labor force intact, the real rental price of capital would increase. The real rental price equals the marginal product of capital and having less capital stock available raises the marginal product of capital and therefore, raises its real rental price. This situation would also make the labor force larger in relation to available capital. Since this would lead to a declining marginal product of labor as workers have less equipment to use, the real wage would decrease as well. Due to rising world population, climate change, and environmental degradation, natural disasters are increasing in frequency. They are also becoming costlier and deadlier, according to Swiss Re, a reinsurance company; the U. S. suffered a cost of 145 billion dollars in 2004, which was up from 65 billion dollars in 2003. In 2009, natural disasters cost insurers about 110 billion dollars. In 2010, the cost was double that, at 218 billion dollars. So as you can see, in the past 10 years there have been jumps nearly doubling the cost that a country suffers to natural disasters from year to year. According to the World Bank, there are several factors that affect a country’s vulnerability to natural disasters: its geographic size, the type of disaster, the strength and structure of its economy, and prevailing socioeconomic conditions. In a globalized economy, all these factors, as well as others, also play into how the world’s finances will be affected. A common belief is that short-term economic hits after a disaster, even those as large as this year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan or Hurricane Katrina in the U. S. in 2005 are more than offset by the reconstruction boom that follows. However this is only in countries that are large and rich enough to have short-term stabilization to the immediate economic hit. The nature of the disaster and the size of the victim count in an economy are key when determining whether or not natural disasters have a negative impact on macroeconomic growth. So in a country such as Haiti and their disastrous earthquake, although a lot of money was pumped into the economy in order to help in the rebuilding, that does not do much when they are still in need of the proper man power that can produce new development or ideas for rebuilding the structures that were destroyed. Incidences of natural disasters have increased by 30 percent since the 1960s, and risk-modeling companies have raised the likelihood of a Katrina-like event happening once every 20 years, rather than once every 40 years (SKOUFIAS, 2003). Because of the possibility of large natural disasters happening more often as well as more frequent smaller natural disasters occurring, how will the economy be affected? Especially if before the reconstruction both socially and economically is finished from the original disaster, another strikes in the same area. Another problem that is faced with economic downfalls due to natural disasters is how other countries may view the stability of that country. For example, 75 percent of Haiti’s national income came through the export of retail apparel to the United States. If Haiti were to have any kind of smaller disasters before they can properly rebuild their economic and working communities, then other countries will only see them as a reoccurring high-risk investment and will no longer look to invest in Haiti, only deepening their turmoil from an economic stand point. Droughts cannot be forgotten either. 2010 set records as the hottest year in one of the hottest decades in history. Climate change, exacerbated by the effects of El Nino, sparked off a series of global heat waves. In Pakistan, temperatures rose to 128. 3 degrees Fahrenheit on May 26, the highest temperature seen in Asia. Russia was plagued by a series of wildfires, destroying crops and woodland, and blanketing cities in smog. People across Europe had to be hospitalized for heat strokes and dehydration as air-conditioning failed to bring relief. Asia had one of the most severe droughts across the globe. The drought caused an estimated 3. 5 million dollars in immediate damage, both to agriculture and to the country’s hydroelectric sector. There are also other uncounted losses, but still very real costs from the drought: a drought can lower the overall productivity of land due to erosion and topsoil loss. It can reduce the numbers in livestock herds, which most of Asia relies on for everyday living needs as well as economic income. Before the end of the summer, the death toll would rise into the thousands. 15 million people were evacuated, and over a million homes destroyed. Nearly 34 million acres of crops were affected by floodwaters, with at least two million completely destroyed. By August, direct damage from the floods was estimated at $41 billion. This is something that affected the worldwide agricultural need and demand (PreventionWeb, 2010). Proving the destructive power of natural disasters, even in highly developed nations, Hurricane Katrina crushed the gulf coast. Just east of the Bahamas on August 24, 2005 a small, unlikely tropical depression intensified into a tropical storm which was given the name Katrina. This storm slowly made its way to Florida’s southern coast on the 25th where most experts believed the storm would dissipate. Unfortunately, Katrina’s path took it over the everglades allowing it to maintain its category 1 standing that it had acquired before it first made landfall, then entered the Gulf of Mexico. The warm waters of the Gulf fostered the rapid development of Katrina (Kempler 2010). The above image shows Hurricane Katrina at the height of her power. Estimates had Katrina making landfall as a category 4, but thankfully it weakened a bit and before it rolled in as a strong category 3. Katrina became been responsible for an estimated 1,800 deaths, as well as 100 billion dollars total in damages, of which about 60percent were uninsured losses. Some economists would put the total economic loss at around 250 Billion dollars (Amadeo 2011). That made Katrina the most destructive natural disaster ever to hit the United States. With all of Katrina’s destruction, the short term effects on the economy were very evident. Only one year after the disaster the United States, the economy was back to normal. In the first three quarters of 2006 the United States had GDP growth of 5. 6 percent, some of the most rapid growth in recent years (Herman 2006). Even though the nation as a whole made a quick economic recovery after Katrina, locations that were struck directly, like New Orleans, did not make the turnaround quite as rapidly as hoped. The first few months after Katrina the United States economy went into a downward trend. The GDP growth rate dropped from the 4. 2 percent that it had experienced in the first three quarters to 1. 8 percent in the last quarter of 2005. The reason for this impact goes beyond the destruction of property and the primary economic concern; the loss of goods and production capabilities (Herman 2006). Perhaps the most important resource that the gulf region produces is oil. The gulf makes up about 30 percent of America’s oil production and distribution. The effects of Katrina resulted in the destruction of 113 offshore platforms, and nearly 500 oil and gas pipelines (Amadeo 2011). The loss of this production led to a drastic increase in gas prices soaring to over 4 dollars per gallon. This drastic rise in prices created a panic, and people rushed to the gas stations to fill up before prices rose again, creating massive lines and much talk about the gloomy forecast of economic woes come. The only positive result from the increasing gas prices was when the Federal government opened the strategic petrollium reserves. This increase in gasoline prices surprisingly did not have as much of an impact as speculators feared, other than people’s outlook on the situation. There were some effects.mthough mostly food price centered. The three main goods that saw a notable impact were the prices of bananas, rice and sugar (Leibtag 2006). The primary reason for the increase in the rice and sugar prices is because the Louisiana Mississippi area is responsible for 85 percent of the sugar cane production, and 14 percent of the rice production in the United States (Leibtag 2006). The drastic loss in production from that area was softened by short-run increases in the other producers of those crops. This ability to increase short-run production is a factor that contributes to the resiliancy of free-market economies. Though the nationwide effects were not all that staggering, the effects in New Orleans the months following Katrina were devastating. With 80 percent of the city flooded, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee the city of New Orleans, many never to return again (Blackburn 2010). This drastic loss in population coupled with the destruction of approximately 200,000 homes and businesses led New Orleans and the surrounding areas into a dire economic situation. In the first few months after Katrina, Louisiana lost 12 percent of the state’s 214,000 jobs (Herman 2006). One result of the loss of jobs was a drastic raise in mortgage delinquancy rates (Herman 2006). This inability to pay is more than likely a contributing factor to the very low rate of return from people who were forced to evacuate their homes by Katrina. Those that did find the resolve to return to stay were in a desperate situation. New Orleans, whose primary industry is tourism, suffered great losses after the storm. They desperately needed to be able to find a way to bring back the American and foreign tourist in order to fuel the creation for more jobs. The drop in tourism is best reflected by the attendance rates in New Orleans famous Mardi-Gras and Jazz Festivals. Both events had roughly a 30 percent drop in attendance from previous years (A year after Katrina, New Orleans desperately seeking tourists 2006). Part of the reason for the delay in the return of the tourism industry is the mass clean-up that had to take place first. Before anyone could return and maintain normal operations, there was still 118 million cubic yards of debris to be cleaned up.(Amadeo 2011) Thanks to efforts by FEMA, the Red Cross and many church ministries across the country, there was much help to be found. However, despite the efforts of all these groups, New Orleans a year after the incident was still working its way very slowly towards full recovery. With the aid that had come into the city, organizations were able to rebuild infrastructure and make great improvements to both education and government. In fact, post Katrina New Orleans has experienced steady growth in almost every way, including education levels, over the last 6 years as shown by the chart below Though it took about a year for it the effects to show and recovery to really make a strong step forward, the relief money that came into New Orleans and the other areas affected by Hurricane Katrina did what the nation was hoping it would; help restore one of Americas cultural and industrial centers. The economic turnaround in New Orleans shows how an initial investment in the form of government aid, insurance claims, and private donations can improve the economy of an area affected by a natural disaster. If this idea can hold to be true with the most costly natural disaster in American history, it should work with other costly natural disasters as well. Though maybe part of New Orleans success lay in the restructuring of their government and school systems in addition to the monetary support. Though the economy of the areas affected improve without bringing down the rest of the nation’s economy, suffering this type of event might not prove to be true in countries with weaker economies. Also, if a disaster like this was to hit a city like Los Angelas or New York, like Irene almost did, it is still speculator to say if there would be similar results. One thing can be said for certain, America’s ability to maintain long term economic growth despite short term impacts, like Katrina shows the resiliency of America as an economic super-power. Other economic super powers, like Japan, are trying to find this same formula for economic recovery. In the case of Japan’s 9.0 magnitude earthquake on March 11, 2011, the loss of clean water, electricity, infrastructure, production lines, financial institutions, and more than 15,000 lives caused what the Prime Minister of Japan called the â€Å"The most difficult crisis for Japan† since World War II. However difficult it has been, people have been recovering from the loss of loved ones, injury, and the general trauma of the disaster. Perhaps the greatest and most uncertain long term effects brewing are the econ omic impacts on the world market. Many large industries and economic functions have been hurt, causing price inflation in those industries throughout the world. Since March 11, 2011, nations around the world have had to adjust their consumption in accordance with the loss of production in Japan. Several car companies, such as Toyota and Honda, had their production of car parts slowed, and electronics producers experienced the same effects (Syed, 2011). This has been felt worldwide. For example, Toshiba, who produces roughly 30 percent of the world’s computer chips that store data in smart phones, cameras, and laptops, closed down several factories due to economic losses and physical damages. Events like this are what caused the average price of a chip with eight gigabytes of memory to rise from 7. 30 dollars to around 10 dollars just three days after the earthquake and tsunami struck (Helft, 2011). Obviously, the price of computer chips is not the only price that has risen. Because computer chips are more expensive, new phones, laptops, televisions, cars, cameras, electronic billboards, and complex machinery will have a rise in price to cover the cost of parts and production. This effect will be felt for months, and maybe even years in an already instable world economy. Many of these products are produced in Japan; the world export market has been greatly affected because of that. Japan’s exports have decreased, causing increased economic uncertainty. The macroeconomic result of this is that investors tend to pull away from the increasing risk of pumping money into Japan and look for safer and smarter industries and nations to try to grow their profits (Kihara, 2011). One of the most fascinating things about today’s economy is that everything is so globally connected. Because of this and the slow in Japanese exports, the United States level of consumption of Japanese goods dove 3.4 percent following the earthquake (Guardian. uk, 2011). If this trend continued throughout the year, then the Japanese economy would have lost 4. 2 billion dollars from 2010 levels of United States consumption alone (State. gov, 2011). The disaster and surrounding effects not only caused a decrease of funds going into Japan, but the economic instability caused by the earthquake was devastating in its timing. Japanese and other Asian stock markets plunged as the news of the disaster spread, and this is coming on the heels of the U. S.stock market falling nearly 2 percent the date before. Not only that, but the earthquake caused struggling European stocks to fall to three month lows (CBSnews. com 2011). This goes to show that natural disasters can cause a myriad of negative factors in an economy, and that a spike in uncertainty can be one of the most demoralizing. That uncertainty does not just surface in the stock markets, but also in global financing. The Japanese currency, the Yen, had a significant surge the day after the massive earthq uake struck (Bloomberg. com, 2011). This is said to be credited to the immediate cleanup, repair, and reconstruction needs that Japan incurred following the damages. The long-term effects of the boost in the value of the Yen are still unknown, but it has made the Yen rise in demand in recent months, despite fluctuations since the initial rise in trading worth (Bernard, 2011). The Yen is currently becoming stable once again, eight months after its spike in March then fall in April. Japan has done well in its recovery considering that the Yen hit recent year record lows in April. This graph shows the trading value of the Yen in the past year (Forexblog.org, 2011). The value of the Yen is not the only financial issue at stake. Japan is one of the major foreign holders of U. S. government and corporation debt. With Japan’s Debt-to-GDP ratio at 200 percent, and massive amounts of government spending looming in the rebuilding of the thousands of buildings and roadways lost, Japan is in great need of more money (CIA. g ov, 2010). Because of this, the current interest rates that U. S. corporations are paying on their international loans could increase in an effort to generate more revenue in Japan (Nanto, 2011). In turn, corporations would not be able to borrow as much money for new capital investment, thus hurting the consumption and job creation in the United States at a time when jobs are greatly needed with unemployment rates near nine percent (BLS. gov, 2011). Jobs are a big issue in Japan too. With many of the more than 15,000 killed and nearly 6,000 injured people being a part of the Japanese work force, and tons of cleanup and construction to be done, companies and the government have had to hire thousands of new workers to satisfy the demand for work (Japanese National Police Agency, 2011). After a brief climb in unemployment because of the direct aftermath of the earthquake, numbers dropped to a recent history record low of 4. 1 percent (Tradingeconomics. com, 2011). Once organization was restored, Japan began to utilize its workforce to combat the challenge of rebuilding cities. It is perhaps a gruesome yet effective means of increasing job demand in a nation when its economy was unsettlingly devastated. Since the record drop in unemployment, Japan has had what could be considered a â€Å"Recovery boom. On November 14, 2011, a news article stated: Gross domestic product grew at an annualized 6 percent in the three months ending Sept. 30, the fastest pace in 1 1/2- years, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. At 543 trillion yen ($7 trillion), economic output was back to levels seen before the March 11 earthquake, the report showed. Japan’s return to growth after three quarters of contraction was driven by companies including Toyota Motor Corp. making up for lost output from the disaster. A sustained rebound will depend on how much reconstruction demand can offset a slowdown in global growth as Europe’s debt crisis damps global confidence and an appreciating yen erodes profits (Sharp, 2011). The fact the Japan is now back to its pre-earthquake GDP level is remarkable. It initiates again the idea of what is known to economists as â€Å"The Broken Window Fallacy. † The theory is that an economy can create jobs and achieve higher employment levels though the destruction of the current goods that exist. However, the destruction comes at a cost of replacement that, in the end, is not going to create a net gain, but will instead create a loss or â€Å"quick-fix† break even because businesses will be stimulated, but run less efficiently in the long run. Only time will tell if Japan’s growth over the last few months is simply a rebound or if the disaster caused a rethinking of how things should be done and built, therefore creating a more efficient, productive Japanese economy. Economists will be watching closely to spot trends. Another disaster that could have the same categories of effects on a much smaller scale is Hurricane Irene. The northeastern U. S. experienced the worst flooding since the existence of many towns and buildings of the region. Since only three months have passed since Irene made landfall on the New England area on August 28, 2011, the long term impact of the estimated 45 billion dollars in losses are still speculative (Morici, 2011). Given the current status of the American economy, any damages of the storm are probably being felt most nationwide right now, if compared to the time table of Japan’s economic fall and rise with respect to the earthquake in March. The U. S. may see a slight drop in unemployment and a rise in capital investment as part of the restoration of Irene’s damages, but most likely, no real growth will come out of it. However, the increase in consumption in order to rebuild the damaged parts of the northeast may spark a rise in consumer confidence, and that is what America desperately needs. A natural disaster in a third world country might bring in more money in aid than that country’s economy could have ever produced on its own, making a very positive economic impact. But, as far as the number go, in a developed nation like the United States or Japan, natural disasters cause little more than a large scale broken window fallacy case study. A hurricane, earthquake, or other disaster can bring forth events that build intangible benefits such as consumer confidence, improved organization of infrastructure, or more efficient ideas, but most real development and confidence comes from ingenuity, not devastation. However, it is hard to argue against the fact that necessity is the mother of invention, or in this case, restructured success. Works Cited