Brief history of the industrial revolution in America Essay

Brief history of the industrial revolution in America - Essay Example One of the events that shaped America history is the 15th amendment that prohibited discrimination or denying the right to vote by American on the excuse of race or colour (Berkin, Miller, Cherny, and Gormly, 78). This event happened after the whites had passed a legislation that disallowed people of black origin not to vote in elections. Black human rights activists, who put pressure on the government to amend the legislation opposed this move. As a follow up to the 15th amendment, a 19th one was made on the constitution that allowed women to vote in national and local elections. These amendments were made under the congressional reconstruction, which saw the southern states divided into military districts. Under this period, Andrew Johnson was impeached for violating the tenure of office act by removing Staton but the main reason was his defiance for reconstruction of the congress; 18th amendment was also enacted in 1930’s , and it banned production and sale of alcohol in Un ited States of America. Although this amendment received huge support from the masses, there were not enough police officers to enact it, and therefore the leaker takers found a way to brew their own beer. With time, the authorities found out that prohibition of production and sale of alcohol contributed a lot to law breaking, this led to the abolishment of the regulation. During the period from 1877 to 1913, United States grew in terms of industrialization to become the leading industrial nation with well-organised railroads, labour and industries; the income of non-farm workers grew by about 75 per cent by 1900 and grew further by 33 per cent by 1918. The first industrial revolution that occurred in America saw production move from artisan to factories, while the second revolution saw the expansion of the factories to in terms of size, coordination and organisation to industry level, which was facilitated by advancements in technology and improvements in transport

Single Soldiers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Single Soldiers - Essay Example The truth is that single soldiers make up more than a third of the United States’ army (BOSS site). These soldiers are fighting machines, dedicated to god and country. Nevertheless it helps them to have support at home and not to be all alone. The Army has recognized this, creating Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS). According to its website: BOSS provides an avenue for single Soldiers to surface issues and to take part in activities but does not set policy and other guidance on issues. BOSS is intended to enhance command authority, prerogative, and responsibility in maintaining standards of conduct, good order, and discipline, not to dilute. This is an excellent first step in recognizing the problems faced by single soldiers. Drawing such people together into a cohesive unit in order to address their quality of life issues and their morale is a key development in the history of the evolution of the army. These individuals, often young, need sustenance. The Army can provide this too. There are other unique challenges faced by the single soldiers. The benefit structure the army provides is geared towards soldiers with families. This is true of other armies around the world. An excellent example was recently reported in Canada. Canada may have a much smaller standing army than the United States, but there too the problem of single soldiers has surfaced in a public and contentious manner. The families of four unmarried soldiers that were killed in Afghanistan stepped forward recently to file human-rights complaints in that country. They say that the government discriminated in favour of married troops by paying a $250,000 death benefit. According to the Canadian Press: A federal human-rights tribunal rejected the complaint of Lincoln and Laurie Dinning because Veterans Affairs abruptly decided to recognize their sons girlfriend as his common-law spouse,

History Germany Essay Essay Example for Free

History Germany Essay Essay How far do you agree that the new Weimar Republic was seriously threatened by political extremists in the years 1919-24? (30 marks) Between the years 1919 and 1924 the Weimar Republic experienced many threats against its new democratic regime, however it could be argued that none of the threats ever truly had the ability or support required to overthrow the new state, therefore rendering the attempts by the political extremists as not that threatening. The Weimar Republic saw the end of the Kaiser’s rule and the start of a new semi presidential and representative democratic ruling. Even dating back to the formation of Germany in 1870, the foundation of German Politics and power has always lain with the elites and middle class of the population. With the new Weimar Republic these elites were supposed to lose their power and control due to the democratic regime, however this did not actually happen. Therefore any political extremists that threatened the system, and in turn threatened the elite’s power, were dealt with in harsh manners. During the trials from the 1920 Putch over seven hundred people went to trial however only one person was convicted and given five years in prison. Since the Putch would have been an act of treason, and under German law, the punishment should have been death, however the fact there was so little convictions and such lenient punishments suggests just how strong the elite’s power still was and how strong the Weimar Republic would have been with the elite’s power backing it, but they would only do this as long as things were benefiting them. The Kapp- Là ¼ttwitz Putch of 1920 did lead to an exposure of the army’s reluctance to support the Weimar Republic due to the fact the army was ordered to act by Noske, the Defence Minister, however the leaders of the military refused to get involved and instead remained neutral. This therefore would have planted a seed of doubt into people’s minds as to how good the Republic would be as not even the army were going to protect it, which then would lead some people to feel unprotected and vulnerable, and  could have led to people turning against the democratic system and instead turning back to the old ways of running the country. Yet, this was not the case therefore suggesting that the Kapp- Là ¼ttwitz Putch did not pose as being that significant of a threat. The Munich Beer Hall Putch could be argued as being doomed from the start and therefore never truly being a serious threat. From the beginning and throughout it never had the support of the German people, with only a small number of people supporting their cause. Seeckt also used his powers to command the army to resist the Putch and with the combination of the Bavarian Police and the army the Putch was crushed easily with minimal deaths. However, in the end Hitler was arrested on charges of treason (again meaning the punishment under German law should have been death) and he only received a five year prison sentence yet he was released after just nine months. This again showed that the political power was with the elites and that the Weimar Republic was not as strong as first thought, yet the public were still willing to keep the democratic state in place and give it a chance to work. Therefore it could be argued that as long as people had a belief in the Weimar Republic and were willing to support it then any attempts by political extremists would never have been that successful and therefore they were never truly much of a threat. In conclusion, although the Weimar Republic did indeed experience many threats from political extremists, with some seemingly serious threats against it which showed the many flaws in the system such as the power of the elites and the army’s standing in the new regime, yet none of the attempts had enough public support backing them to have a serious impact. They just didn’t have enough public support as people, especially of the working classes, believed in their new democratic system, and wanted to give it enough time to start to evoke changes that would benefit them in the long run. Therefore the attempts could not have had enough of an impact to name them as being serious threats against their new democratic state.

WTO Agreement on Agriculture India

WTO Agreement on Agriculture India Abstract: The possible welfare gains and likely beneficiaries for the facilitation of agricultural world trade formulated by the Agreement on Agriculture remains a matter of debate and concerns. Therefore the impact of the Agreement on Agriculture on production, price structure and trade in agricultural sector needs proper introspection and evaluation from Indian perspectives. The paper attempts to evaluate and analysed the impact of the agricultural reforms brought about by the Agreement on Agriculture on the Indian agricultural economy and its position in world trade. What is Agreement on Agriculture (AOA): The Agreement on Agriculture was formed on April 1994 at Marrakesh, Morocco as a part of the final Act of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations which came into force on 1st Jan. 1995. This was a result of the long drawn talks on General agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) aimed at opening up of International markets and also to reform world trade which was highly distorted. A major reason for the formation of the Agreement on Agriculture was the need to reduce excessive surplus production in agricultural sector in the global commodity markets during the 1980`s and early 1990`s. This was caused by the rising levels of support and protection in a number of developed countries as some of the largest agricultural exporters competed on the basis of their government`s ability to subsidised production and exports of agriculture while limiting access to their markets to keep out foreign agricultural products from their domestic markets. Therefore the core objective of AOA wa s to establish a fair and market oriented trading system which was to be implemented for a period of 6 years in developed countries and 9 years in developing countries. With this, agriculture was brought under the new rules of world trading system for the first time. There are 3 main features of the Agreement: Market Access Domestic support. Export subsidy. The market access required that tariffs for agricultural product fixed by individual countries be reduce to equivalent tariff in order to allow free trade and encourage liberalisation in world trade. Under this, the AOA required the conversion of all non tariff barriers into tariff barriers. This process was known as Tariffication. This was to be implemented for a period of 6 years for the developed countries and 10 years for the developing countries, least developed countries were exempted from undertaking such reductions. Domestic support was targeted to reduce the subsidies given by governments within their country for agricultural production and related activities. The total domestic support should be below the level of de minimis within a maximum period of 3 years for developed countries and 5 years for developing countries. This was to reduce price distortion and unfair competition in agricultural world trade. Export subsidy aims to reduce subsidies of export related to agricultural products and to ban the introduction of new subsidies. This aimed to protect small and marginal farmers in home countries especially in developing countries. Another highlight of the Agreement was the provision of special and differential treatment for the protection of the interest of the developing countries. In addition, there are provisions of Special Products and Sensitive Products, which are to be exempted from stringent discipline of the above provisions of tariffication process. Provision of Special Products designates a certain number of products of the developing countries that would be exempt from tariff reduction requirements and other disciplines in order to protect and promote food production, livelihood security and rural development worldwide. The idea was to protect the developing countries and least developed countries from unfair competition in world market and to create a world trading system where each individual country can come together and trade on equal footing without any discrimination and distortion by the more advantageous countries of the world. However, the possible welfare gains and likely beneficiaries for the facilitation of agricultural world trade formulated by the Agreement remains a matter of debate and concerns. Therefore the impact of the AOA on production, price structure and trade needs proper introspection and evaluation from Indian perspectives. The structure of the Agreement on Agriculture as it exists today seems to be slightly imbalanced, since it enables countries subsidising the agriculture sector heavily to retain a substantial portion of their subsidies up to the end of the implementation period while those countries which were not using these measures earlier are prohibited to use these measures in future beyond the de-minimis  [1]  limit. Therefore, ways to bring about more equity into the structure of the Agreement has to be sought. Indian Agricultural Economic scenario: Until the liberalisation of 1991, India was largely and intentionally isolated from the world markets, to protect its economy and to achieve self reliance. India`s foreign trade was subjected to import tariffs, export taxes and quantitative restrictions. So far it had followed an inward looking economic policy until the attempts to liberalise its economy. The Green revolution which was introduced in 1990`s further brought about reforms in agricultural sector and increase its production. This in a way opened the gate for participation in the world economy through the production of excess agricultural goods. Thus, India`s economy shifted from subsistence economy to production for exports in the world market. At present, Indian agriculture contributes to 24% of GDP, however agriculture exports accounts for less than 1% of world trade in agricultural commodities while a major share of the world`s exports are supplied by developed countries which accounts for around 64%. Impact of AOA on India: Indian agriculture is characterised by an overwhelming majority of small and marginal farmers holding less than two hectares of land, less than 35.7% of the land, is under any assured irrigation system. Farmers, therefore, require support in terms of development of infrastructure as well as extension of improved technologies and provisions of requisite inputs at reasonable cost. There is no doubt that during the last 30 years, Indian agriculture has grown at a reasonable pace, but with stagnant and declining net cropped area it is indeed going to be a difficult task to maintain the growth in agricultural production. The implications of the Agreement would thus have to be examined in the light of the food demand and supply situation. The size of the country, the level of overall development, balance of payments position, realistic future outlook for agricultural development, structure of land holdings etc. are the other relevant factors that would have a bearing on Indias trade policy in agriculture. Implications of the Agreement on Agriculture for India should thus be evaluated from the impact it will have on the following: i) Whether the Agreement has opened up markets and facilitated exports of products; and ii) Whether India would be able to continue with its domestic policy aimed at improving infrastructure and provision of inputs at subsidised prices for achieving increased agricultural production  [2]  . With India being under balance of payments, it has not undertaken any commitments under the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) which constrain it from following its developmental policy with regard to agriculture or which entail any action immediately. The only commitment India has undertaken is to bind its tariffs on primary agricultural products at 100%; processed foods at 150%; and edible oils at 300%  [3]  . However, it is needed to study the implications of removal of quantitative restrictions on market access, subsidy to farmers and tariffs on imports. One of the major impacts of the Agreement was that India has been maintaining Quantitative restrictions (QRs) on certain agricultural import products. Under the provision of the market access, such QRs will have to be eliminated latest by April 1st 2001. Immediate outcome was increased import of cheap and highly subsidized agricultural products which resulted in decline of domestic agricultural prices in India since 1999-2000. This adversely affected small and marginal farmers who resorted to selling off their agricultural lands to corporate and MNC`s at a very nominal prices. This further distorts domestic agriculture and rural structure of the economy that are mostly dependent on agriculture for survival. For example in Andhra Pradesh farmers were then hit by a crash in international prices, low rates of tariff applied on imports of commodities like edible oils, sugar, etc. and the removal of quantitative restrictions. Therefore a separate WTO cell was set up as these states felt that the central government were not doing enough to protect the interest of such states from the adverse impact of the Agreement. It aims to adapt state government policies to changing events and to influence future government negotiating positions. This clearly suggests that the AOA was more beneficial for the developed countries as it furthers opened up new market opportunities for them to exploit with their chea p agricultural products. However, It is also argued that with the opening up of world markets under the provision of Market access and the lifting of QRs on imports of certain agricultural products, prospects on exports have increased which lead to an increase in price of domestic agricultural commodities, this would mean that farmers would get benefits which in turn would encourage investment in the resource scarce agricultural sector. Also, with the decrease in production subsidies as well as export subsidies, the international prices of agricultural commodities will rise and this will help in making India`s exports more competitive in world market. Given the agro diversity of India, it has the potential to increase agro exports in a big way. A.V Ganesan  [4]  , suggested the idea of using the price incentive as a driving force to increase productivity as farmers are introduced to world markets there will be growing pressure from the farmers to gain higher prices for their produce and to narrow the gap between the domestic and external prices. Both the pattern of production and price expectations will increasingly be influenced by the demands and trends in world markets. Therefore, the price incentive could be used to give a strong boost to investment in agriculture as well as adoption of modern technologies and thereby to the raising of agricultural production and productivity. Furthermore, freedom to export agricultural products without restrictions will also need shedding the long-nurtured inhibition against their imports. Thus the Agreement on Agriculture is believed to provide a link between domestic reforms and international reforms by providing constraints that channel domestic policy change in the right direct ion. India had a history of food price inflation which makes it difficult to export agriculture processed products. The food price inflation was at the level of 11% during 1991-98, though the level has come down to 4.5% during 1998-2006  [5]  . Therefore, if increase in cheap imports further reduces the food price, it will not improve the condition of the farmers but instead their condition will deteriorate unless substantial gains are made through food based manufacturing export-enhancing strategies. However, with agriculture subsidies and export promotions, developed countries still continue to dominate the world agriculture market. More than 67 per cent of world food exports during 2001-03 originated from the high-income countries, while countries such as India where more than 65 per cent people survive on agriculture, contributed only 1.1 per cent of food exports. For example, In India, the dairy sector has been hit hard by subsidized exports from the EU. In 1999-2000 India import ed over 130,000 tonnes of EU skim milk powder. This was the result of EUR 5 million export subsidies that were provided to EU producers. EU subsidies to butter exports are also extortionately high. Consequently, butter oil import into India has grown at an average rate of 7.7% annually. This has had a dampening effect on prices of ghee in the domestic market. Ironically, India is the biggest producer of milk in the world. What is more worrying for India is that there are now signs of declining productivity growth for many agricultural products in India which will have severe implications for the majority of the population  [6]  . To ensure the welfare of our farmers from the affect of the lifting of Quantitative Restrictions, high import tariffs of commodities has to be maintained. The Agreement does not in any way constrained the ability to restrict the import of commodities since India has already reserved the right to impose high levels of import duties of 100%, 150% and 300% on primary products, processed products and edible oils respectively. Also due to India`s balance of payments (BOP) reasons certain products are allowed to remain under the QR`s category. With appropriate tariffication process, the adverse impact of such QRs can be rectified. In earlier years, a number of agricultural and horticultural products placed on the free list of imports have been brought to the peak rate to ensure adequate protection to Indian farmers. India has a negative total aggregate measure  [7]  (below 10%) of domestic support which implies that there is no compulsion to reduce tariff. India is under no obligation to reduce its domestic support. Also, India does not provide any export subsidies which requires reduction commitments under the export subsidy commitment. The Agreement on Agriculture lists several types of subsidies to which reduction commitments apply. However, such subsidies are virtually non-existent in India as exporters of agricultural commodities do not get direct subsidy. The Agreement allows unlimited support to activities such as (i) research, pest diseases control, training, extension, and advisory services; (ii) public stock holding for food security purposes; (iii) domestic food aid; and (iv) income insurance and food needs, relief from natural disasters and payments under the environmental assistance programmes. Moreover, investment subsidies given for development of agricultural infrastructure o r any kind of support given to low income and resource poor farmers are exempt from any commitments. Most of our major rural and agricultural development programmes are covered under these provisions. Therefore, the Agreement does not constrain our policies of investments in these areas. It is expected that reduction in domestic support and export subsidy by the developed countries will lead to a decrease in production in their countries and will eventually give scope for expansion of exports from the developing countries which will create a balanced export and import situation in the world trading system. India, with its cheap labor, diverse agro-climatic conditions and large agricultural sector can definitely gain through expansion of international trade in agricultural product. India`s agricultural exports have been growing since 1995and at present it is a net food exporter constituting greater share for exports in agriculture than manufactured exports. Therefore, India is likely to gain if the EU, the US, Japan and other major agriculture subsidisers significantly reduce their farm subsidies. For example, United States spent US$ 4 billion as subsidy to support its 25,000 cotton producers (US$160, 000 per producer) in 2003. It is also argued that in countries such as United States, subsidies are enjoyed by a selected few; mostly producing corn, wheat, cotton, soybean, and rice, while growers of 400 other crops hardly get any such subsidy. It would benefit India if other countries decrease tariffs to its farm exports on products such as cotton, basmati rice, fish or meat etc. However, the share of Indian exports in agriculture is sliding down as compared to manufacturing. These labour-intensive exports are expected to grow much faster and potential areas include textiles and food processing translating into benefits across a large group of farmers and contributing to stabilising their incomes. India has demonstrated comparative advantage in almost all the products it exports, and even in those products it imports. Therefore, India enjoys a large range of products where it could successfully enhance its capacity to export. The rural-urban divide is increasing steadily in India but India cannot resort to other balancing measures such as subsidy like the developed countries are doing. This is due to large population of India as majority of the population is dependent upon agriculture for livelihood. Therefore the solution for solving the rural-urban divide lies in large scale employment generation through industrialization and expansion of agriculture processing and exports. In the short term the Agreement on Agriculture may not affect India much because both its domestic support and export subsidy are negative I,e less than the minimal 10% in product specific domestic support. Moreover, the safeguards provided in the Agreement for the developing countries protect India from any major impact of liberalization of the world trade. However, in the long term, due to advantage of cheap labor that India enjoys, the cost of production are lower than any other countries, therefore in spite of its lower productivity as compared to the developed countries, the prices for agricultural product eg.as in the case of rice, tea, sunflower oil and cotton, will still remain lower than the world price. As a result, import to Indian markets will not be attractive as the domestic market prices in such products remain lower than the international standard. Hence, the impact of large scale imports due to liberalization of the world economy will not be much. Doha Ministerial conference and the deadlock: The Uruguay Round of AOA had a built in provision for review and renewal of its policy to consider not just increased trade but also such objectives as food security, diversified rural development and the reduction of inequalities between developed countries and developing countries and the least developed countries. In general, to assess in-depth the effects of the URAA on trade, on agricultural policy and on protection levels. This was to be decided at the next round of multilateral talk to be held at the fourth WTO ministerial conference in Doha, Nov. 2001 which was targeted to be completed by Jan. 2005. India`s stand at the conference included Non trade concerns which include food security and environmental protection. India is particularly concern with food security which includes not only adequate supply of food but also stability in its supply. India was of the stand that no profound change has been made in subsidy position of the developed countries even after the agreement. When the AoA was introduced in Uruguay there were so many expectations however the results failed to reach the expectations of many countries. In the Doha round, the concerns of the developing countries and the developed countries differed. The developing countries wanted to focus only on the implementation (or non implementations) and review of the Uruguay agreement. Developed countries perspective, however, was for new issues ( eg :Singapore issues), viz, investment, competition, trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement, besides environment and internationally recognised core labour standards. The Doha round clearly shows that India`s interest in the negotiation remain at variance from the interest of the least developed countries as India has a much more favourable agricultural condition than any of these countries. Many of these countries are net importers of food and the subsidy in the exporting countries makes them better off. Moreover, under the Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative of the European Union, the LDCs have quota and duty-free access to the EU market, a facility that was never available to India. Also, India depends highly on its service sector industry; therefore, the situation has become highly tense for India, particularly in view of the fact that the developed countries have managed to link agriculture subsidy with the market access in services and industry. If the European Union needs to do more on agricultural tariffs, and the US needs to do more on reducing agricultural subsidies, then India also needed to do more on industrial tariffs. This is a tr icky situation for India. The Doha Development Round of trade talks was targeted to be concluded by January 2005. However, the progress thereafter has hardly been in the positive direction. There was a deadlock of Doha Ministerial conference and it was left for further work and resulting negotiations. The reason for the failure of the negotiations mostly falls on the role of the United States, which departed from Cairns group and joined EU, the later having too ambitious agenda on including investment and competition. Countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada (of Cairns Group) favour a totally market oriented approach and oppose trade distorting subsidies and protectionist regimes of EU and Japan. While EU remained against fast track approached to liberalization. Developing countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, ASEAN etc highlight significance of role of agriculture in their economies and seek to preserve domestic policy flexibility to guard food security concerns. Overall assessment: In India, more than half of the population is still dependent upon agriculture for subsistence even after governments continued attempt to bring about increase in industrialization and technological advancement. Therefore, agriculture remain a core importance for the sustenance of the population and also constitute a major share in the countrys economy. Agricultural self reliance forms a vital underpinning for the growth of the GDP of any agrarian developing economies since good agricultural production provides purchasing power to a large majority of a population, which in turn spurts industrial growth. Self-sufficiency in food production has, therefore, specific developmental perspective as opposed to a purely commercial perspective. Hence, it is important that the developing countries like India need to be provided with the requisite flexibility within the AOA to pursue their legitimate non-trade concerns of food security. More specifically, developing countries need to be allowed to provide domestic support in the agricultural sector to meet the challenges of food security and to be able to maintain the need of rural employment. Investment in Indian agriculture has been declining for quite some years. In the context of international trade, there is an added urgency to reverse this trend and increase investment in research, integrated market development, storage and ware-housing facilities, road development, creation of facilities for efficient and quicker transport and development of scientific systems of standard setting and grading. Public expenditure on research and technology, infrastructure creation and rural development will raise Indias AMS. More importantly, up-to-date information on domestic and international prices and demand should be made available to farmers through various awareness programmes and training. India also need to raise the quality of agricultural products to internationally accepted standards, i e, those of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (for food additives, veterinary drug and pesticide residues, contaminants, methods of analysis and sampling, and codes and guidelines of hygien ic practice). The AOA is criticised on being insensitive to human development or improving standards of living, and being too insistent on liberalization. The model of agricultural trade liberalization promoted by the AOA also encourages industrialized and export-oriented agricultural production, favouring trans national commodity traders and processors over small-scale farmers thus in spite of all the provisions provided under the Agreement, it is further attacked on not taking into consideration the problems faced by the small and marginal farmers. The success of the agreement to a certain extent also depends on how far the developed countries are willing and committed to the cause of helping the developing countries for development through a process of fair and unrestricted trade in agriculture. It is also argued that the agreement did little to liberalised trade and to improve market access and reduce protection as protection in many countries remain very high and allowable export subsidies st ill threaten the stability of world markets. Conclusion: Global agricultural policies affect many economies in a similar way. Developing countries may be more vulnerable to distortions and changes in global trading policies in the agricultural sector, but they also determine the implications of agricultural trade liberalisation in some countries. Vulnerability of countries arising from global policies and trade liberalisation agenda maybe inherent to their economy such as; Strong dependence on agriculture for income, employment and foreign exchange earnings, heavy dependence on food imports and food aid and relatively high degree of sector openness. These conditions may render a countrys economies vulnerable to trends and instability levels of world agricultural prices, long term changes with respect to access barriers to exports markets and global policies affecting the competitiveness of imports in domestic markets. With liberalisation of agricultural sector much priority is been given for increasing international trade which is no subst itute for inducing a domestically oriented agricultural growth. Indeed most food is produced for local consumption in developing countries and only a small proportion is traded internationally, which means that a solely trade-oriented approach has little relevance for many developing countries. Therefore agricultural reforms in International trading system like the AOA may not have much impact on a countrys economic growth particularly the developing countries if the reforms are implemented without proper analysis of own countrys economic strategic position. Since agriculture constitute the major share of many developing economies, the implementation of such reforms and also the participation in world trade without proper precautionary measures may result in crisis which such developing countries may not afford. Therefore, it is necessary to build up a strong domestic market scenario which is in line with external prices, with appropriate policies to ensure the protection of their e conomies from the unnecessary and unfair competition in world markets. However, if such reforms are disciplined in its implementation and also each country is serious enough to make such commitments for the welfare of the world trading system, it might lead to a balanced and equal world markets. This would in a way solve the problems of poverty, inequalities and lead to increased productivity and improve the standard of living of the world population.

Harsh Issues in A Streetcar Named Desire :: Streetcar Named Desire

Harsh Issues in A Streetcar Named Desire      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, is a play which deals with many harsh issues like spousal abuse, rape, and insanity. The play is mainly about Blanche and her sister Stella. Blanche arrives at her sisterÕs house after being fired from the school where she taught and after loosing the big family house. She says she is on a leave of absence, but Stella and her husband, Stanley, soon find out the truth. Throughout the play Blanche acts as someone she isnÕt, in order to hide her past and hope that someone will desire her. Her escape is futile for her past is uncovered, and her last chance to meet a man is destroyed.The main theme of this play is the uselessness of escape. Blanche arrives at her sistersÕ house acting like someone she isnÕt. Her dirty past, and her motives for puting on this act are quickly discovered and Blanche ends up in a nut house.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Blanche arrives at her sistersÕ home she says that she has come to stay with them temporarily because she has lost the family estate (she could no longer support it financially). Blanche has an air of superiority, indirectly commenting on where her sister lives and acting as if she has more class. When Stanley meets Blanche he is quickly suspicious of how she obtained all of her clothes, furs and jewelry. In the third scene Stanley is drunk after a poker night and hits his wife. They reconciliate the same night and Blanche puts on an act of how terrified she is, even after being reassured by two people the event wasnÕt a big deal. In scene four Blanche tells her sister about one of her rich friends that could send her some money and get her out of her bind. This is a lie, later on Stanley finds out that this man is not rich, and just an old aquantance of Blanche. Later on Blanche has a converstaion with Stella, which Stanley over hears, where she speaks of Stanley calling him primitive and saying he has animal like behaviors. This turns Stanley against Stella, even though he says nothing to her face. Blanche meets Mitch one of StanleysÕ friends, and one day she explains to her sister that she wants to decieve Mitch so that he wants

Accounting Management Technique for Google Essay

Google, Inc. has been one of the fastest growing and profitable companies in the world. Since its inception in 1998, it has revolutionized the way the world uses the Internet. Though Google has its hands in many different projects, the classification of industry under which Google falls is simply the Internet search process. Initially, Google strived to be the â€Å"perfect search engine† (About google, n.d.). Today, they have evolved to become that and more, with application developments that are user-friendly, their form of electronic mail, and their streamlined and sleek method of helping other businesses reach their target markets with simple advertisements. Google is renowned for their exemplary customer service and providing one of the top-sought-after workplaces in the world (Smith, 2011). With simple guidelines for their practices, Google is the industry leader in user-friendly web applications. Their ten keystones for their business are all customer-focused and are aimed at being the best and fastest. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) would be the best management technique for Google to implement. Though Google is in business to make money, there are a lot of soft features associated with Google that go unaccounted for in every other management technique. Since Google is so human-dependent from the creator of the application to the end-user, it follows naturally that a management technique like the BSC would be most effective. See more: Foot Binding In China essay The financial performance should be considered, but the non-financial information like customer satisfaction, efficiency and effectiveness of the internal processes and the learning and growth portions of the BSC are most applicable to the operations at Google. Google’s fate and financial success rest heavily on their human resources. The employees they choose to hire have to be top-notch to keep Google at the top of their game. Google depends on their employees to provide superior customer service, to work in ways that are most efficient, and to keep on the edge of the needs of the people so that they can develop new ways to serve them. Being able to manage these non-financial factors effectively determines the fate of Google. References About google. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.google.com/about/ Blocher, E., Stout, D., & Cokins, G. (2010). Cost management: a strategic emphasis. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Smith, J. (2011, December 15). The best companies to work for. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2011/12/15/the-best- companies-to-work-for/

Later Adulthood Development Report Essay

As adults enter the stage of later adulthood, many changes will begin to develop for each person. The aging process includes transitioning from work life to retirement, changes to roles, social positions, social policies, determining living accommodations with healthcare needs, and relationships with families and peers. The stage known as the golden years comes with great challenges while adjusting to the many changes in a person’s life. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Transition from work to retirement The transition from a working life to the retirement years can be a difficult process for aging adults as giving up higher salaries for the amount paid for Social Security is drastically different. Forcing retired adults to look for supplement income during this stage at a lower status than previously held in a prior position. Most companies offer a pension or 401k plan to help employees plan for a better retirement as it is almost impossible to live on Social Security alone. This change also plays a large factor on how the individual views their personal self-worth. Instead of priding themselves in the knowledge of an occupation, retirement forces the person to give up that role in search of another source to occupy their time. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Transition from work to retirement Cont. Retirement can be an enjoyed time for some older adults as they see it as the first time since childhood they are able to do the things they want in life without worrying about the limits caused by a profession. Others will struggle to figure out to do with all the extra time during each day. Depending greatly on the attitude a person had toward the many years spent  employed and the ability to continue financially supporting the extracurricular items they would like to partake in during retirement. Personal well-being plays a large factor in how the adult will handle the retirement years and determine additional health issues a person may face. With a solid retirement plan continuing to support the person financially, this can be a joyous time while others learning to live on a fixed income will notices significant changes to their overall health. These changes are brought on by depression, a feeling of no longer being needed, or the bored from not having a specific task for every day living. (Allen, Clark, & Ghent, 2004). Changes in role and social position As aging progresses people begin to lose their role and social positions caused by the changes to activities, each person is involved in and illnesses the elderly develop. The lack of physical and mental activities begins to decrease psychomotor skills that affect various aspects of daily living. When people start aging the changes in the ability to see and hear begin to decline making it appear as if the person suffers from a decline in mental competency, which may not be the case and it just takes an older person longer to process the information that is given to them. Physically the changes to a person’s body will begin in middle adulthood with the most noticeable happening in later adulthood. Physical changes in muscle tone and height along with a slower understanding of the world around them creates the perception of the older adult as a weaker person in the eyes of their loved ones and is the time when health issues become more noticeable. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Changes in role and social position Cont. As reaction times slowdown, the elderly begin to lose privileges like driving because the reaction time is greatly affected and is thought to be the cause of additional accidents. Driving is, usually, the first task removed from a person when they are no longer able to operate a vehicle safely without endangering the lives of others. Once a person begins to experience this normal task being taken away from them it causes the person to become dependent on families or friends to help with their daily needs, and decreases the feeling of self-sufficiency, which causes the change to the role a person has in society. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Changes in  marriage, family and peer relationships Later adulthood is the time in life when changes in marriage, families, and peer relationships are affected the most by the loss of someone close to that person. â€Å"Most people 70 years of age or older are widowed, divorced, or single† (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010, p.619). Losing a spouse or close friend can create a sense of loneliness, which causes depression, anxiety and the emptiness feeling can become overwhelming. Depression also leads to psychological effects that will deteriorate a person’s health causing the chance for a terminal disease to become much higher. The weaker appearance of older adults causes family and remaining peers to step up in the role of making sure the person’s wellbeing is being met. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Living accommodations and healthcare needs Declining health and depression are two of the largest reasons families look into assisted living homes for aging loved ones. Making sure that the healthcare needs of the elderly are met becomes a priority for every family as the roles begin to reverse from the parent being the primary caregiver of their children to the children being responsible for meeting the needs of aging parents. Diseases such Alzheimer’s and dementia are very difficult for not only the older person but for their families as well. As a person with this disease is no longer able to live on their own without the fear of something bad happening while no one else is around to watch over them. The disease affects all normal aspects of a person’s life, creating confusion, aggressive behaviors, incontinence, and the inability to meet the daily needs without supervision making it necessary to find a facility that will meet the needs of the patient. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Finding a facility that w ill meets all the needs of the older adult and have a level of care that the family desires can be difficult to find. Researching all facilities in the area will help keep a peace of mind for the family and reassure that their loved ones are receiving the care they need. Medical programs Healthcare for older adults is expensive, and since many are living on fixed incomes, they rely on programs such as Medicaid and Medicare to meet their  medical needs. Due to the economic status of the government and the high cost of medical care, both of these programs now provide limited services to older adult. The quality of medical care older people will receive will also be lessened as many primary care physicians focus their practice on younger generations, creating an inability to correctly diagnose problems in older adulthood. Treating younger people allows the physicians to make more money off the current Medicare programs because of the limitations in place to restrict additional procedures when needed. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Social policies affecting older adults Social policies were created to aid the aging population meet medical, daily and income needs. The Older Americans Act of 1965 was created to ensure that older adults receive benefits of income, adequate housing, community services, and nutrition programs. (Gelfand, & Bechill, 1991). The Supplement Security Income program was designed to provide additional income after retirement for the individuals that worked the required amount of years to receive full benefits. Medicare plans are split into a two-part system that will pay for limited medical expenses incurred after retirement. Part A of the plan pays for limited care during hospital stays, nursing homes, and home health care when needed, while Part B covers physician expenses and out-patient services. Throughout the years, many changes have been made to the policies because of changes in presidency and budget cuts to the federally funded programs. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Conclusion The changes that occur for the older adult population make it necessary for extensive planning during the middle adulthood stage, for retirement and reflecting on how each individual will provide their basic needs when the time comes. Plans will help to ease the stress of aging, put less of a burden on family members, and make sure that the elderly receive the medical attention they need without relying on government assisted programs. Maintaining a presence in social groups will help the overall mental and physical status of the aging population. The future is up to each person to control how they want to live during the last stage of life. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). References Allen, S. G., Clark, R. L., & Ghent, L. S. (2004). Phasing into retirement. The Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 58(1), 112-127. Gelfand, D.E., & Bechill, W. (1991, Summer-Fall). The evolution of the older Americans act: a 25-year review of the legislative changes. Generations, 15(3), 19-22. Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2010). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment (8th ed.). Mason , Ohio: Brooks Cole/Cengage.