Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Concepts - Essay Example The references that will be used are from Zen studies and its philosophical concepts, and also the famed work of Japan’s famed swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Zen is the Japanese name of schools that belong to Mahayana Buddhism. Zen emphasizes the role of sitting meditation in pursuing enlightenment for the benefit of others, thus emphasizing compassion. Though considered simply a practice by most of its Western practitioners, Zen is in fact nothing less than a school of Buddhism; thus, it can even be considered a religion. It was only during the last century or so that Zen began to be viewed by Westerners as a philosophy, a way of life, a part of work, an art form, among others. Satori is a Zen philosophical term for reaching enlightenment. The word literally means "to understand." To emphasize further, it refers to "deep" or lasting enlightenment. Satori can be found in all life experiences for it is wrapped in all daily activities. Hence, the goal is to unwrap the meaning behind each moment in able to attain satori. Ross (1960) posited that the â€Å"awakening of Zen is satori, and the satori of Zen is recognizing the real noumenon of a person, his original feature, not necessarily recognizing the real substance of various acts† (p.45). The Zen Buddhist experience commonly recognizes enlightenment as a transitory thing in life, which is similar to the English term epiphany, and satori is the realization of a state of such epiphany as enlightenment. Since all things are regarded as transitory according to Zen philosophy, the transitory nature of satori is not limiting. On the contrary, such epiphany has a tremendous effect on Western philosophical u nderstanding of enlightenment. The transitory nature of satori owes much to the influences of Taoism on Chan Buddhism in China, from which the Japanese Zen came from. Taoism is a mystical philosophy that emphasizes the purity and importance of the moment. This emphasis on the importance of

Indirect free kick Essay Example for Free

Indirect free kick Essay There are fouls and misconduct happen during and sometimes after the match in football. When a player kicks or attempts to kick another opponent is one of the offences, however there are other ways of make an offence and that’s by tripping an opponent which can be used by using your hands to throw them down, using the legs which is a common one, however, it is also an offence to just stand in front of them or behind them. There are more offences and they are jumping at an opponent, charging them in a violent or in dangerous way, charging them from behind using boot feet, attempting or striking to strike at the opponent, holding and pushing an opponent and finally it is also an offence to handle the ball for example carrying it, striking it or using their hand or arm which is then followed up by giving the other team an indirect free kick. When a player has the ball and he makes a back pass to his goalkeeper directly, and the goalkeeper holds the ball with his hands or has any contact with his hand then the other team will be rewarded with an indirect free kick. This rule was put it in place recently in 1992 which was done because it stopped the goalkeeper from wasting time and holding the ball from opportunities to the other team and by also taking possession of the ball with the hands. This also stopped the goalkeeper from having more than 6 seconds limit of goalkeeper possession. Another reason for this rule to be put in place was because it made the games more interesting and less boring. In order for a team to score a goal, the whole ball passes over the goal line, in between the goalposts and under the crossbar. As you can see in the picture to the right, it shows that the whole ball has to pass otherwise even if it’s touching the line a little bit; it’s considered as play on with no goal. There have been some recent changes in football because a lot of times the referee is blamed for not making the right decision about the ball going in or not so therefore FA has introduced a new referee which is called an assistant referee and his job is to stand on the goal line to make sure and have a better view of the ball going in or not. They have done this because it ruins the fair play between the teams especially when the games are very important. In order for a team to win a match, the team has to have more goals than the other team and if it ends up being equal, then the game ends as a draw which means neither of the teams won. In some games there might be extra time provided because one team has to win so therefore they play with extra time.  A goal can be scored from anywhere on the play, from anyone who is playing and that included the goalkeeper too. Goals are also scored from penalties and free kicks. However a goal cannot be scored directly from a throw in so therefore it has to be touched by someone else after the throw in order to score a goal. A goal cannot be counted if the referee has not blown his whistle for the game to restart. Another way a goal cannot be scored is if you are taking an indirect free kick because it’s indirect so therefore the ball has to be passed to someone in your team and then you can score.

Environmental Degradation Pollution

Environmental Degradation Pollution The global South has unquestionably been one of the regions that have experienced greater impact of environmental degradation. The former economic success in this area has resulted to environmental problem industrial waste pollution. As these countries get more involved in multilateral environmental agreement and voluntary agreement, the protection of the environment in the region has effectively become globalize in nature and has affected business and international trade. The introduction of the environmental management system standard is one of the prerequisite for business to enter into western market. This has been a greater challenge to this region due to their insufficient capital and the stern conditions attach to business. This paper looks at the impact of environmental degradation on global South in terms of how environment degradation affects human security, clean water, human health, social relation, and the freedom of choice and action. This research paper also provides r ecommendation that be adapted by the both developing and developed countries in controlling the adverse effects of the environment degradation. Introduction Since 1980s, the environmental matter as trade barriers between the North and the South countries has feature prominently in the world international forums Developing countries that struggles to improve their economies and attract more investors to enhance their economies is term as pollution haven. The word pollution haven as proposed by Zarsky (1997, 1999) is a claimed that the South have reduced and relaxed their environmental regulation to attract foreign investors. The southern countries which are endowed with lots of natural resources has long been staying under poverty and the only way to be out of this situation is opening up their economies and speed up industrialization development through the foreign investors. On the other hand, the North countries business feared that if the developing countries lower cost of operation through labour intensive and resources then they stand a chance to lose value or capture the market. The developed countries argued that they have more severe and effective regulations on environmental (Duchin et al., 1995, Xu, 2000) compare to the developing countres, but the World Trade Organization has pro tected the exported products from developing countries. The North claims that this is unfair business and they requested global environmental standard to form level playing field (Chudnovsky and Lopez 1999; Xu 2000). This claim however was seen as another form of trade barriers by the developing countres. The environmental problems such as climate change and ozone layer depletion is global issue rather than situated in a particular place. We see integration of the consequences of market and the failure of government in the change of global environmental. There is a lot divergence tendency due to disparate impacts across the locations in a manner of governance response. This disparate come from a greater vulnerability of developing countries and at the same time from the circumstantial factors. Even if the environmental impacts were equally distributed between the North and South countries, the developing countries could still suffer most in the virtue of the fact that they come from a lower economical base. The impacts of the environmental degradation the (IPCC (2001) observed are expected to be greater in south countries in terms of loss of life and relative effects on the investment and the economy in general. These disparate impacts are exacerbated by the disparities in the nature of the remedial actions. The willingness of the developed countries to the environmental improvement and for the goods and services whose production has resulted to environmental degradation, generally exceed that of the developing countries in terms of their ability to pay. Thus in the shadow of markets, the gain-cost analysis, that is, the benefits of producing the carbondioxide by driving automobiles in the North highways may outweigh the cost of drought in the South countries. This wealth-based theory is contrast to the call for equal entitlement to clean and safe environment (Boyce, 2002). In the real sense, efficiency is not the only criterion to social decisions that include the decisions to invest in the mitigation and adaptation to the global environmental degradation. The influence of politics also promotes actions on some importance matters and inaction on others. For example, the 1997 Montreal protocol on ozone depletion proposed a worldwide phase out of the use of chlofluorocarborns was rejected by America and Canada on the ground that the scientific evidence are uncertain and the treaty would impose heavy spending on the US economy. As the rate of the carbondioxide emitted to the environment continues to rise, the focus of the international has shifted from prevention to adaptation. This change increases probability of outcomes that varies across countries, showing differences in their ability to cater for measures required to adapt to climate degradation. The main issue in the international climate talks is the right of allocating the properties to the carbon absorptive capacity of the atmosphere. These relay both barrier and an opportunity to some countries. For instance the principles allocation stemmed from the historical emission levels which in the real sense been greatly contributed by the industrialized countries in the world in the North. This principle is not acceptable by the less developed countries that per capita emission is very little. Environmental degradation and Human Security The environmental degradation arise in the 29th century as the main issue of political controversy, its influence on the developing countries national security policy is however more recent. Environment degradation has been the focus in the developed countries especially United State but the idea of national security entered the public discourse reentry. The early research of the impact of environment degradation on human security is general and subjective in nature, it reveal the imaginable association between environmental change and the national or human security. However, the direction of association and the degree of linkage remains an issue of debate. There is also clear recommendation on how to translate this linkage into policy guidance on the environmental degradation. The environmental degradation is linked to their overall influence of the survival of human, well-being and productivity. Human being and social linkages has become the focus that is to be secured from the environment threat. The change in the environment can impose direct and immediate impact to the life humankind. For instance, the scarcity of water may not lead to conflict but still engender threats by causing the dehydration related disorders, reduction of the production of food, and disheartening the livelihood opportunities. The environmental degradation causes threat to human survival, well-being and dignity. The environmental degradation posses a variety of impacts that ranges from economic productivity to political wavering among others. The environmental degradation can also affects a diversity of issues ranging from families, communities, social organizations, various identity group, diasporas, government and biological species of various kinds. While some of the environme ntal threats are localized, others are extensive ands trans-scale in nature. Research shows that conflict can be driven by natural resource degradation and scarcity and by competing to be in charge of places where there are abundant resources. Some of the countries of concern are Afghanistan, Iraq, the great lake regions, Somalia among others. The connections between the environmental degradation and human security are vast and complex. The ecological impact of mass movement of refugees or warfare is an example mostly experienced in the developing countries. However, the environmental issues can be a major concerns for dialogue, non-military mechanisms for communication, and greater unified understanding. The research on the human security has mainly focus on the Southern world (poor countries) as the main victim and the scoundrel of the environmental threats. However, the attitudes of consumption of the North countries is main contributor to many human insecurity on the scarce and plenty resources in the Southern countries. The conflict over diamonds in Sierra Leone in 1990s, for example, was extensive because the markets for diamond in the developed countries were unaware to the origin of those diamonds. It is clear that the start of violent conflict has no hearty connection with the environmental threat. The environmental factors are rarely the single contributors of conflict, but ethnicity, ideology, and power politics are all directly linked. However, environmental degradation increases the magnitude and the period of conflict, that is, the attempts to develop strong empirical forecasts of conflict on the ground on the environmental threats have had a poor response of success because of the connection of social, economic and political factors that are involved. Environmental degradation and clean water Although most of the developing countries do not have enough industries to create considerable water pollution, smog and heavy concentrations of airborne particles are common incident in major cities of the less developed countries. There are few industries in the less developed countries as compared to the more developed countries and hence due to the small number of industries in the developing countries, they less often contribute to severe water problems. The more severe problems of water is cause by the trans-boundary pollution since the neighboring countries especially the developed countries, produces airborne pollution due to excess emission from their extensive industries. The northern and northwestern parts in Afghanistan for example received large amount of pollutants that come from the Aral sedimentary basin. Extensive industrializations in the developed countries here as we see pose detrimental impact to the less developed countries. It has been documented that the pesti cides originating from the developed countries finds their way to the neighboring developing countries through the air current or rainfall. The chemical weapons that were used for example during the war between the Afghanistan and the Soviets had caused a serious damage to the environment and the fragile ecosystem in general in the neighboring developing countries. The use of these chemicals weapons has polluted the soil in most of the area of the countries where this war occurred. It is worth noting that billions of people worldwide, the vast prevalence of who live in developing countries lack access to clean drinking water. Lack of providence to quality water has caused lots of forecaster of infant and child survival in various developing countries. Many incidences of parasitic and contagious disorders are carried in the organic water pollution, which are the by-products of the animals waste. The effects of pollution whether known or not are caused by usage of the pesticides. The organic pollutants used in the industry and in agricultural farms find there way into the human and the animals fatty tissue where they caused severe parasite related disorders in human and animals respectively. Export dependency has a negative influence on the quality of the domestic environment of the developing countries that include the quality of the drinking water in those countries. Thus, the association between the universal dependence and the water quality is interceded by several factors. The quality of water and health is very crucial and they are connected with other factors that are a function of international processes. Hebert, 1994 observed that virtually every physical quality of life including clean water mostly improved by the level of economic development of a country. The development of a country depends on its position in the world system. An important concept is how it organized its economy. The more lateral to the world economy the more likely the country is to depend on an agrarian economy. Environmental change can have a detrimental impact on peoples lives ands the changes may even transcend into the future to affects the lives of the cohort to come. Water as a resource here provides a good example of these various impacts and their multifaceted interaction. The research revealed that over 2 billions people resides in water stressed basins and are cross-country, multi- -subjects effects and multiple impacts. Environmental degradation and social relation The distribution of power related variables, like income, education, race and ethnicity are related to the environmental stresses. The societies, which comprise of people, illiterate people or come from the marginalized racial and social groups, will tend to have greater environmental threats than their friends whose residents are literate, wealthy, or belong to historical prevailing racial and ethnical groups. A research on this issue found that the inverse linked between the average incomes and the toxic harmful may occur from the market dynamics where the poor people are drawn to this location because of the properties of low values. A community with greater power dipatities has more environmental degradation. The disparity of power affects the strength and the duration of pollution and depletion of resources. This study were focused by the research suggesting that the environmental degradation related with income and that the developed countries have reached to an extend beyond which more income gains are linked with the improvement of the environments. The only way to attained conducive environment in most countries is by becoming rich (Beckerman, 1992). Torras and boyce (1998) investigate the impacts of social relation on the environmental quality. They analyzed the vitiations in air pollution in various countries, water pollution, and the percentage of the pollution in relation to access to clean water and sanitations facilities. Apart from the per capita income and the ration of income distribution, their research included adult literacy and political rights and the civil liberties concerning the distribution of power. In less developed countries, the coefficient on the rights and literacy variables revealed the expected signs in all system. The results found that higher literacy and the greater rights were linked conducive environmental quality. By controlling other variables, the calculate effects of income inequality were found to be incompatible. It was suggested that either rights or literacy incarcerate the most aspect of power disparities or the quality of the income distribution data is poor. The weaker results was however , found on the developed countries, indicating that literacy and rights are most significant especially when there are low average income. Other research has also shown that the political right can be vital factor to determine the outcomes of the environment. Scruggs (1998) observe greater rights of having a significant favorable effects on sulphure dioxide concentrations, weaker effects on particulates and adverse effects on the dissolve oxygen concentration. Further study concerning the impact of power disparities on the environmental quality which come from case study of the fifty United States by Boyce et al. (1999) shows that state with more equal distribution of power had well-built environmental policies which result to conducive environment. Rapid environment degradation has exerted lot of pressure on the economic sustainability of the less developed countries. This has resulted to the failure of these countries achieving their sustainable development as targeted. In Pakistan, for example about sixteen percent of the land mass is subject to salinisation from excessive water with the same problems as this occurring in most parts of Asia and African countries. Mismanagement of irrigation alone in Pakistan cost over $200 millions in a year in reduced yields. In India, pumping of groundwater has enabled intensification of agricultural products; however, there is a big dropped of water tables from approximately 10 metres to about 15 metres below the earth surface in the year 1970 to between 400 and 450 metres by 1990. Many areas in developing countries have wells and boreholes that have been left and the entire communities moved to other better areas (Roy Shah, 2002). Lack of environmental and pollution control has resulted to reduction in farming and disorders, which cause the decline in the economic growth in most regions of the developing countries. This is due to overspending of their little savings in the treatment of the patients suffering from pollution related diseases or purchase and imports of foods to filled the gap or feed the population. Such environmental degradation can have impacts on the social attitudes and may result to unrest by the affected communities. In 1990s, for example South Korea experienced over seventy anti-pollution unrest. China on the other hand has faced local protests due to rapid increase in pollution. Developing countries has experienced a reduction of natural resources over the past years because of liquidated consumption. The research reveals that if the gains from the natural resources are put in physical capital and human capital to promote growth, then there will be a continued progress to enhance the wellbeing. It is important to save the profits that are derived from a boom of natural resource such as rapid increase in oil price. If this is wisely saved then it might be a better opportunities in the future to invest such profits efficiently to physical or human capital hence reducing more pressure on the resource base. Environmental degradation and health risk Majority of the people in developing country are poor and are directly exposed to severe environmental health threat and hazards from polluted air, water and animal-transmitted disorders such as bird flu, anthrax and the rest. There have been many concerns over the environmental improvement for the last decades with about eighty percent of people from developing countries are now able to access clean drinking water. However, the access to sanitation by these poor people has remained lower at an approximate of forty four percent. this may be a reason as per to why water pollutions remained the key problems. According World Bank (2005) most rivers in the developing countries are fifty percent lower than the WHO standard requirement. The environmentally related diseases in developing countries are now much greater than that from malnutrition. The research as founded that most of the women and children suffered greatly from the indoor air pollution resulting to millions premature deaths every year across the less developed countries. Children and illiterate women in poor households in the developing countries suffer 4 times as much from the indoor air pollution compare to men in the higher households (Das Gupta et al. 2004). The health of human as well as that of animals is increasingly related in the developing countries when people meet animals especially when they moved out to wildlife site or into areas with intensive farming. Here wildlife acts as a mass where the pathogens come from as with avian bird flu and possible SARS and HIV/AIDS. The high rate of environmental degradation has posed the developing countries to high vulnerable risks and this will rise with rapid change in climate. The developing countries has over the past years experience range of climatic changes. Livelihoods and the social networks have adapted ways to cope with the severe natural disasters. Management and control of floods has been essential in the fishing and farming practices by poor residents of the developing countries. Despite these efforts, the natural disasters have become more frequent and severe leading causing loses of life, conflict and the destructions of properties. Environmental degradation is considered as the main cause of high rate of poverty in the less developed countries. They suffered most as they struggle adapt with this severe natural disasters. For instance, the slums residents occupied land, which is highly vulnerable to environmental hazards such as pollutions, landslides, and flood. Such areas are further aggravated by the damage to the protection assets like coastal mangrove, coral reefs and riverine wetlands which in results to high exposure to floods as seen in some countries such as Bangladesh, Siere Leon and the rest. North countries like United State, Canada, or South countries such as China and India are the some of the emitters of greenhouse gases. A part from just emitting of these gases, these countries just as the rest of other countries in the world will experience some of the greatest impacts of climate change. Already countries such as Asia face about ninety percent of the environment degradation related risks in the world and more than a half a million people died every year. Development aid investment in the developing countries has been seen vulnerable to environmental degradation. It is predicted that two degrees rise in temperature is expected in the futures and this will reduce incomes from farming by twenty five percent. The study recommends urgent need be carried out to check the rate of energy pollution from both domestic and industries and proper investment that adapt to land use, infrastructure and other structures to environmental degradation. The world economy environmental impact in the developing countries is exacerbated with its impact felt beyond the core centers of development. For instance, China is now one of the leading cement consumption countries with an increased importation of timber. This has resulted to an increased in revenues collection in the exporting countries but at the same time increasing the rate of natural depletion. Such depletion makes those areas vulnerable to environmental disasters such as high rate of pollution, landslide and climate change. Environmental degradation and Human freedom of choice and action Environmental degradation has several impacts on the way people reason and act. The most affected group are the residents from the less developed countries. Its is believed that the developed countries are the key contributors of the environmental degradation. Owing to their rich environment and level of technology, they are able to minimize the magnitude of adverse effects that result from environment degradation. The impacts of human activities on environment have rise in the past few decades. While most of these changes can be considered as beneficial to humankind, there much increase of the adverse effects. Analysis of these effects their consequences to people have not been possible because of many factors that also contributed to the change in the ecosystem. Some people particularly who are perplexed by these relative wealth, the problems is scarcely noticeable. Yet millions of other people especially from the less developed countries experience great detrimental disasters of t he environmental degradation. The environmental degradation such as pollution is now not necessary measures that can be used to gauged the linked between the human and the environment. The dependent of a person on an environment services focus directly the profound processes that underlie the origin of the earth. The environment is an essential component that extensively provides life and support to all organisms. The effects of the environmental degradation to humankind can be either direct or indirect. The direct effects through some biological or ecological ways. For example, the impairment of the water cleansing capacity of wetlands may have detrimental impacts to those who drink that water. On the other hand building of dams may increase the breeding of mosquitoes that eventuality may led to malaria related disorders. Indirect effects on the other hand create problems on humankind in a more complex causation, which includes, social, economic, and the political routes. At these situations, people normally take response in making decision, which actually could lead to a better way of adapting to these detrimental disasters. For instance, when land under cultivation become saline, the crop production are reduced and hence this might lead to malnutrition in human, retardation of the child growth, and vulnerability to infectious disorders. When this detrimental climate change exacerbate beyond the threshold power and ability, political tension might arise leading to stagnating or reduction of the country economy. This dynamic interaction can severely jeopardize the various features of humankind. The impacts of the environmental degradation vary from one place to another. The effects is much greatly felt by the developing countries, that is, literate, poorly resourced and disadvantaged societies are particularly the most vulnerable to these global climate change. Most of the less developed countries heavily relied on the integrity and functions of local ecosystems and may lack means to the services of the ecosystems. Insolvency due to the impacts of the environmental degradation might at a time cause a downward spiral for such group of people. In general, the availability of ecosystem tends to reduce human ability to achieved well being status. It is worth noting that the linkages of environment conditions and the flow of services to the social being or people are quite varied and multifaceted. Most of the environmental degradation is pre-arranged but many are unintentional consequences of the human activities. The intervention of human in nature has experienced surprised consequences, where some have harmed and exacerbated the disadvantaged one. Equitable and sustainable of the society depends on the association with the environments and abilities of a person to make sound decision and act immediately where possible to avert the problems from occurring. The four important categories of ecosystem that are helpful to human are provision, regulating, cultural and supporting services. The provision functions of the environment provide goods and services that sustain different aspects of human. However, the reduction in food, fiber and other essentials products has severe impacts in the life of humankind. The regulating functio ns affects human life in various ways, this include the environment purification of air, fresh water availability, reduced floods or drought, stability of the local and regional climate among others. On culture, the environment provides human with totemic species, trees, scenic landscape, geological functions, rivers or lakes. These affect the human recreational, educational and spiritual aspects. Reference: Brown, Lester. Redefining Security, Worldwatch Paper, Vol. 14, Worldwatch Institute: Washington, 1977. Clark, William C. and Munn, R.E. (Eds). Sustainable development of the biosphere. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1986. Deudney, Daniel. The case against linking environmental degradation and national security. Millennium, 1990. Pearce, F. (1994). Siberia at the crossroads. Popular science, 245 (2), 36 pp ADB. Asian environment outlook, Manila: Asian Development Bank, 2005. Homer-Dixon, T.F. Environment, scarcity, and violence. Princeton Univ. Press: Princeton, 1999. Satterthwaite, D. and Steele, P. (eds). Reducing Poverty and Sustainin the Environment, The Politics of Local Engagement, London: Earthscan, 2005. Wheeler, D. Who suffer from Indoor Air Pollution? Evidence from Bangladesh, World Bank Policy Research working paper 3428, 2004. DFID. Climate change and Poverty: Making Development Resilient to Climate change, London: DFID, 2004. FAO. Towards a Food-secure Asia and Pacific: Regional Strategic Framework, Bangkok: FAO Asia Pacific Regional Office, 2004. Pearce, D. Investing in Environmental, wealth for Poverty Reduction. New York: UNDP, 2005. Jodha, N.S. Rural Common Property Resources: Contributions and Crisis, Economic and Political Weekly, 1990. Mayers, J. and Vermeulen, S. Company-community Forestry Partnerships: From Raw Deal to Mutual Gains? London: IIED, 2001. World Bank. Environment Strategy for the World Bank in the East Asia and Pacific Region, 2005a. UNEP. An Overview of Our Changing Environment, GEO Year Book 2004/5, Nairobi, 2004, World Bank. Little Green Data Book 2005. Washington: The World Bank, 2005b. Zhen Liu. China: the Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project, paper for the World Bank, Shanghai Conference on Poverty Reduction, 2004.

RMB recent development :: essays research papers

Update for Recent development in Chinese Yuan 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The expectation or speculation about a Chinese Yuan revaluation started from the beginning of 2003. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Why we say 2003? Because the Non-deliverable forward of USD against Chinese Yuan started to fall into discount from premium at the beginning of 2003. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Non-deliverable forward is a type of derivative in the foreign exchange market where by the home currency is not delivered (or settled, transferred) at maturity, instead the difference of market rate against the contract rate is settled with a reference currency (usually USD). 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  China has a very restricted money market and therefore commercial loans are not readily accessible in short tenor such as overnight or 1 week, the most common interest rate benchmark in China is a 1-year bank lending rate, which currently stands at 5.31%, if we compare the Chinese interest rate with the US rate of the same tenor (1 Year US rate is approximately 2.35%), in foreign exchange market, assumed that Chinese Yuan is convertible, the USD should be at a premium against the Chinese Yuan. In the non-deliverable market, however, the USD is trading at a discount against Chinese Yuan after January 2003, which obviously is not logical from an interest arbitrage point of view. The reason is that the assumption that Chinese Yuan is freely convertible is void, the USD discount ( for instance 1-year non-deliverable forward discount of USD is 2400 pips or 0.24 Yuan) is an implied expectation of Chinese Yuan revaluation in one year’s time as perceived by the m arket. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The expectation that Chinese Yuan would appreciate and happen in foreseeable future was advocated by major US Investment Bank such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. International organizations such as IMF started to talk more about the issue ever since 2 years ago. In the recent years, there was a very fast expansion of Chinese export into the United State. The most recent number of US July trade deficit announced last Friday was $50.1 billion, though lower than the June historical record of $55.8, still formed as a threat for financing of these huge deficit through capital account surplus by the US. Furthermore, the July US trade deficit with China set another monthly record at $14.9 billion as imports increased 3.7% from June and exports fell 2.6%. US manufacturers and politician still blamed China’s policy of pegging its currency against the US dollar for the soaring bilateral deficit.

Factors of Career Choice

career choice Contents 1. Introduction 1. 1Role 1. 2Objective and Subjective Constraints 1. 3Key Theories of Occupational Choice 1. 3. 1Developmental Theory 1. 3. 2Structural Theory 1. 3. 3RIASEC Model 2. Factors of Occupational Choice 2. 1Family and Class 2. 2Neighbourhood and Peer Group 2. 3School and Education 2. 4Race 2. 5Gender 2. 5. 1Horizontal and Vertical Segregation 2. 5. 2Pay 2. 5. 3Hours Worked 2. 5. 4Orientations to Work 3. Solution of Constraints and Obstacles to Occupational Choices 4. Conclusion 5. References 1. Introduction â€Å"The occupational choice debate is concerned with the degree of choice individuals have over their eventual occupation. † (Module Handbook) The process of occupational choice is â€Å"psychologically based and examines the way in which the individual develops and passes through a series of stages during which the self-concept grows as abilities, aptitudes and interests develop. † (Watson T. J. 2008) This assignment is attempting the factors that may prevent or affect people’s occupational choices and how we can overcome them. . 1Role Role plays an important part in human-being, it can influence a person’s behaviour and decision making. Role may be achieved or ascribed. â€Å"The concept of an achieved and ascribed role is important in occupation choice. † (Module Handbook) Stark (2007) states that â€Å"An achieved role is a position that a person assumes voluntarily which reflects personal skills, abilities, and effort. An ascrib ed role is a position assigned to individuals or groups without regard for merit but because of certain traits beyond their control. (wikipedia) An achieved role can be changed and gained through putting efforts by a person, e. g. educational qualifications. On the other hands, an ascribed role is unchangeable. This role is assigned to you by your parents or family, e. g. height, gender, rich or poor, status, etc. The role of a person can influence one’s occupational choice. In general, people who have advantages in their ascribed role, it perceived to have advantages in their career path or development as well. Some people can act as model, and some cannot, because of the height of a person. Fortunately, people’s achieved role can break this normal pattern. If people can put efforts and reach to higher educational level, they can also earn the opportunity on their career development and work as middle or top level management in a company. People cannot change fundamental elements but can change their path through their effort. Thus, people’s achieved and ascribed role can alter the decision when they are making decision on occupational choice. 1. 2Objective and Subjective Constraints If we wish to product a model or theory which identifies the various factors that influence the individual’s occupational choice, we must consider both objective and subjective constraints. The individual has certain tangible resources such as cash, skills, knowledge or physique, which are objective constraints. The individual has certain intangible minds of motives, interests and expectations, such as to achieve power or gain job satisfaction, which all are subjective constraints. These are psychological factors of personal achievement. 1. 3Key Theories of Occupational Choice . 3. 1Developmental Theory Eli Ginzberg (1951) defines â€Å"an individual never reaches the ultimate decision at single moment in time but through a series of decisions over [time]. † (module handbook) It is the Developmental Theory of occupational choice. â€Å"E. Ginzberg looks at occupational choice as a cumulative process of decision making, taking place in three stages closely linked to tho se of emotional and intellectual development. Fantasy choice is followed by a period tentative choice, then finally there is a period of realistic choice. † (White S. 968) People’s occupational choice do not occur only at the moment on the decision making, but â€Å"is an extended process which may begin as early as ten or twelve and continue well beyond the choice of a first job. † (White S. 1968) Fantasy choice is occurring at the age between 6-11 when the children have no ideas about the real-life situation, all things are fantastic and delivered to them by their parents. When the children grow at the age of 11-17, the knowledge of the real world increases, they aware of themselves and the outside environment, and they makes tentative choice on the basis of their own interests. . 3. 2Structural Theory The structural theory is that the entry points of the occupational structure are impacting on ambition of people. According to Keil et al, they include family ba ckground and value, neighbourhood and peer group, school and education, gender and race. 1. 3. 3RIASEC Model Holland (1973/1985) developed a psychological approach â€Å"to identify people’s occupational preferences and helps fit a person’s choices and organizational characteristics. † (module handbook) It is referred to as RIASEC. RIASEC indicates Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional. By the research of Taiwan’s high school students, we found that â€Å"the R type is a very typical male-oriented type of career† and â€Å"girls, on the other hand, were more interested in the A-type fields and tended to choose artistic fields as their careers. † (Tien H. L. , Wang Y. F. and Liu L. C. 2009) 2. Factors and Obstacles affecting Occupational Choice People do not enter the occupational structure with equal opportunities. There are many factors and obstacles that can influence the choice-making on occupation of people, we are now focus on the factors in structural theory, including family and class, neighbourhood and peer group, school and education, race and gender. 2. 1Family and Class When the children at the age of 6-17, which is in the stage of fantasy choice and tentative choice, they depend on their parents mostly. Thus, the patents’ expectations for educational achievement, beliefs and behaviors will affect the children’s future development. The Parent Socialization Model developed by Eccles and colleague (1982) has highlighted the important role parents play in the development of children’s achievement choices. The belief of parents â€Å"will then influence parenting behaviors and expectations, which, in turn, will affect child outcomes such as educational and career choices. † (Jacobs, J. E. , Chhin C. S. and Bleeker M. M. 2006) Moreover, as the family background of a person on his or her ascribed role cannot be changed, family network and status also play important role on occupational choice. The structure of a family an individual faced when he or she was growing up may affect the individual’s social skills and lead to human capital investments† and â€Å"parental education appears to have an indirect effect on children’s occupational status through children’s education. † (Tsukahara, I. 2007) Grieco (1987) shows â€Å"how this can be helpful both to the employee, wh o gains support from family members both inside and outside work and is sustained in steady employment, and for employers, whose recruitment costs are kept low and who can look to employees’ relatives to help train them and teach them to â€Å"fit in†. (Watson T. J. 2008) Even not every people will choose the same career as their parents, most people appear to have a high probability to make similar choices. Rather, parents’ education also appears to have an indirect effect on children’s occupational choices through the children’s education. For example, if the parents perceived a positive effect on the professional occupations, the children will then also have a positive effect on the professional occupations in future. 2. 2Neighbourhood and Peer Group People can enjoy social experience through the contact of neighbourhood and peer group, such as friends and teachers. As these peer groups always recognize in people’s earlier stage, such as school life, they have long-term consequences for one’s belief and value. â€Å"Teachers, parents, peers, and others may influence youths’ achievement and interests long before educational and occupational decisions are made. † (Jacabs, J. E. 2006) These peer groups can provide people social support and encouragement; however, the groups may also provide somehow of negative impact if wrong perception and information are provided. 2. 3School and Education Formal schooling operates alongside the general cultural and family socialization process. † (Watson T. J. 2008) Willis (1977) states education â€Å"as a form of preparation for the way those particular individuals will need to live with their subservient roles once they enter paid employment. † (Watson T. J. 2008) The jobs which people choose were influenced by the level of educational qualifications they achieved. The more professional of the jobs, the more skills and abilities are needed, and the more rewards (both monetary and non-monetary) can earn. On the contrast, there are more limitations on occupational choice for people who have lower educational level. 2. 4Race Race or Ethnic Discrimination is also undoubtedly playing a major role in occupational attainment. The research project conducted by Cardoso P. and Marques J. F. (2008) about The Perception of Career Barriers Inventory found that African and Afro Portuguese students score significantly higher than Euro-Portuguese students on Ethnic Discrimination. The Ethnic Discrimination â€Å"results highlight how, at the early stages of development and at crucial career decision moments, when these beliefs are structured, a negative influence on vocational behaviour development can occur. † (Cardoso P. and Marques J. F. 2008) Melamed (1995) concluded that â€Å"discrimination accounted for between 55% and 62% of the variance in the differential career success of men and women in a British sample. † (Brown D. 2002) Although the wide-spread prevalence of race discrimination in most countries, the limitations and difficulties in career choices and development of these minority groups are still high. . 5Gender Gender will be a major factor in the career choices. Due to the role conflicts between men and women, a study found that â€Å"women in Israel, Germany, the United States, and Japan assigned lower importance to the centrality of work in their lives than did men†¦.. this is the result of women’s orientation to o ther life roles, primarily because of women’s concern regarding participation in the family role. † (Brown D. 2002) By the survey report of â€Å"Third Quarter Economic Report 2010† in the section of â€Å"Labour Force Participation Rates by Sex† (www. enstatd. gov. hk), the data shows the participation rates of male employees is 68. 9% and female employees is 52. 2% in the third quarter of 2010. The number of women who engaged in labour force is still lower than men. We are now analyzing the gender by three sections: horizontal and vertical segregation, pay, and hours worked. 2. 5. 1Horizontal and Vertical Segregation Horizontal segregation is the term â€Å"used to describe the tendency to discover men and women in different types of occupation. (Module Handbook) For example, by the survey of â€Å"annual percentage of male and female managers by job function†, â€Å"female managers are mainly in the functions of â€Å"personnel & training† and â€Å"conference & banqueting†, whilst management posts in the areas of â€Å"property & security†, â€Å"food & beverage†, and â€Å"control & finance† are mostly held by men† in 1999 in Hong Kong. (Ng C. W. and Pine R. 2003) By the survey report of â€Å"Women and Men in Hong Kong: Key Statistics† in the section of â€Å"Employed Persons by Industry and Sex† (www. censtatd. gov. k), the female employed persons were mainly engaged in the public administration, social and personal services sector (35. 9%), while data of the male employed persons was different, with the financing, insurance, real estate, professional and business service sector being the largest sector (18. 2%) in 2009. Vertical segregation is the term â€Å"used to describe the situation where, the higher one progresses in an organizational or professional hierarchy, the fewer the number of females one encounters. † (Module Handbook) Morrison et al. 1987) coined a term of â€Å"glass ceiling† to â€Å"describe the difficulties women face in climbing to the top of the corporate ladder. † (Ng C. W. and Pine R. 2003) Although the percentage of women who studied law and medical and health subjects is over 60%, the opportunities to promote is still obstruct by the â€Å"glass ceiling†, such as traditional value and family responsibility. (Ming Pao Newspaper) For example, by the survey of â€Å"annual percentage of male and female managers by job level†, â€Å"only 7. 2% of senior General Manager positions were held by women† in 1999 in Hong Kong. Ng C. W. and Pine R. 2003) According to the record of Hong Kong Listing Companies, there is only 9% of women in the top management level who mostly were entered by the role of family members. (Ming Pao Newspaper) By the survey report of â€Å"Women and Men in Hong Kong: Key Statistics† in the section of â€Å"Employed Persons by Occupation and Sex† (www. censtatd. gov. hk), the figures show there are 96,500 women and 229,800 men in the Managers and Administrators role, while there are 398,800 women and 149,600 men in the Clerks role. R 2. 5. 2Pay â€Å"Full-time working women earn 82. % of men’s hourly pay. † (Module Handbook) According to â€Å"Women and Men in Hong Kong: Key Statistics† in the section of â€Å"Median Monthly Employment Earnings of Employed Persons by Age Group and Sex†, the median monthly earnings of female employed persons in Hong Kong was HK$8,500 in 2009 while that for males was HK$12,000. (www. censtatd. gov. hk) By the survey of , over 70% of people indicated that Hong Kong is still have sex discrimination in career environment which men’s paid are more than women even they are on the same positions. . 5. 3Hours Worked Even the labour market participation of women has increased dramatically in many countries, the hours worked of women are still lower than men due to the different orientations to work. Hakim (1996, 2000) states that â€Å"whereas in general men prefer to work, women show a heterogeneous set of work-life orientations: some women prefer to work, others want to stay at home and almost half of them prefer to combine work and family life. † (Doorewaard H, Hendrickx J and Verschuren P. 004) The data indicated that although many women are entered or re-entered into the labour market, they are still want to have work-life balance, especially for those women who are married and have children, it is also the barrier of women in the career path both actually or in people’s traditional perceptions. 2. 5. 4Orientations to Work Orientations to work to different people are varying. People seem to be motivated to work by a mixture of options, e. g. earning money, developing their careers, gaining status, etc. According to Crompton and Harris (1998), â€Å"it is not only influenced by someone’s own choice and motivation, but also by the constraints of the situations in which one lives and works. † (Doorewaard H, Hendrickx J and Verschuren P. 2004) It can simply distinguish into three types of work orientations: job orientation, money orientation and people orientation. Watson (1994) said â€Å"life circumstances and the specific circumstances prevailing in the work situation influence what they are looking for and what they expect to get. (Martin E. 2004) Hence, orientations to work are also barriers to occupational choice if the job itself cannot fit in one’s orientation. 3. Solution of Constraints and Obstacles to Occupational Choices It is no doubt that the work pattern and norm is constantly changing around the world, however, this change can help to overcome some of the constraints of occupational choices. The past few decades have been marked by a significant gr owth in women’s labour force participation in most countries. Although women play a stronger economic role than in the previous decades, men are usually the primary breadwinners in families. Women, who function as secondary earners, tend to have part-time and other nonstandard employment. † (Kan M. Y. 2007) Those nonstandard employments, such as part-time job, temporary jobs, psychological contract, will be more common in the future work. â€Å"The nature of formal contracts has altered, with more short-term contracts†¦.. sub-contracting and out-sourcing arrangements have become more common and are part of a set of strategic HRM options. (Westwood R. , Sparrow P. and Leung A. 2001) Furthermore, the increasing of feminine management style in both government and private companies where a more flexible and â€Å"feminine† approach to management, such as flexible work family arrangements, â€Å"Family Friendly Working Practices† in Hong Kong. This style helps women who want to balance between work and family life. Additionally, the work pattern of â€Å"10 years in employment and 10 years out† which is a flexibility approach for people who want to have a break for few years and return to work, e. . female returners who seek to re-enter the workforce after a few years of unpaid care-taking responsibilities. At the time of making occupational choice, people are still young and lack of knowledge and experience. â€Å"People make choices based on imperfect knowledge and uneven distribution of knowledge and at a young age. † (Module Handbook) To prevent in making wrong decision and lack of confidence from the students, school and teachers can arrange some experienced people to share their real experience and give more support to them. Luzzo (2000) proposes â€Å"to help students think about the role that perceived barriers play in the career planning and exploration process, and to identify effective resources and strategies for coping with such barriers. † (Cardoso P. and Marques J. F. 2008) 4. Conclusion Every people have different choices on career and different orientations to work. And, there are some subjective and objective variables affecting the process of choosing the career. People have to identify them clearly in hope to find the most suitable job for them which is fitting with their interests, intentions and abilities. owever, those obstacles can be overcome through the changing work pattern and work management. In fact, many of these trends of future work are already with us today. We are all in the moment of changing atmosphere. 5. References Brown D. (2002). â€Å"The role of work and cultural values in occupational choice, satisfaction, and success: A theoretical statement†, Journal of Counseling and Development, Vol. 80, Issue 1, PP. 48-56 Cardoso P. and Marques J. F. (2008). â€Å"Perception of career barriers: The importance of gender and ethnic variables†, International Journal for Educational & Vocational Guidance, Vol. 8, No. 1, PP. 9-61 Doorewaard H. , Hendrickx J. and Verschuren P. (2004). â€Å"Work orientations of female returners†, Work, Employment and Society, BSA Publications Ltd, Vol. 18(1), PP. 7-27 Eccles J. S. (1994). â€Å"Understanding Women’s Educational and Occupational Choices: Applying the Eccles et al. Model of Achievement-Related Choices†, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18(1994), PP. 585-609 Jacobs, J. E. , Chhin C. S. and Bleeker M. M. (2006). â€Å"Enduring Links: Parent’s expectations and their young adult children’s gender-typed occupational choices†, Educational Research and Evaluation, Vol. 12, No. 4, PP. 395-407 Kan M. Y. (2007). Work Orientation and Wives’ Employment Career s: An Evaluation of Hakim’s Preference Theory†, Work and Occupations, Sage Publications, Vol. 34, No. 4, PP. 430-462 Martin E. (2004). â€Å"Who’s kicking whom? Employees’ orientations to work†, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Vol. 6, No. 3, PP. 182-188 Module Handbook – Management, Work and Society, University of Huddersfield, January 2011 Ng C. W. and Pine R. (2003). â€Å"Women and men in hotel management in Hong Kong: perceptions of gender and career development issues†, International Journal of Hospitality Management, 22(2003), PP. 5-102 â€Å"Third Quarter Economic Report 2010† (2010), Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Government Tien H. L. , Wang Y. F. and Liu L. C. (2009). â€Å"The Role of Career Barriers in high School Students’ Career Choice Behavior in Taiwan†, The Career Development Quarterly, Vol. 57, Issue 3, PP. 274-288 Tsukah ara, I. (2007). â€Å"The Effect of Family Background on Occupational Choice†, Labour: Review of Labour Economics & Industrial Relations, Vol. 21, Issue 4/5, PP. 871-890 Watson T. J. (2008). â€Å"Sociology, Work and Industry†, Fifth Edition, Routledge Westwood R. , Sparrow P. nd Leung A. (2001). â€Å"Challenges to the psychological contract in Hong Kong†, International Journal of Human Resources Management, 12:4, PP. 621-651 White, S. (1968). â€Å"The Process of Occupational Choice†, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 6, Issue 2, PP. 166-184 Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, [retrieved on 18 February 2011] â€Å"Women and Men in Hong Kong: Key Statistics† (2010), Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Government â€Å" †, Ming Pao Newspaper [retrieved on 15 February 2011] â€Å"70% , 3,500? †, Wen Wei Po [retrieved on 15 February 2011]

Free Essays on Japan Subdued

The original version was titled Japan Subdued and was published in 1961. After receiving important information, Herbert Feis revised his book in 1966 and titling it, The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II. His goal was to inform his readers about every aspect of the war. He briefly summed up everything into 200 pages. Also, revealing first hand information from the White House and the Pentagon. That is what separates his first edition from his second. His purpose was to show his audience the events leading to the end of the war and diplomatic arrangements in the east Asia. June 7, 1893, Louis and Louise Feis gave birth to Herbert Feis in New York, NY. He achieved his A.B. in 1916 and Ph.D. in 1921 from Harvard University. During World War I Herbert Feis served in the U.S. Naval Reserve and became lieutenant junior grade. He authors books ranging from economic affairs, forgein policy and aid, as well as humanitarian issues. His job experience could be as long as this paragraph. He was an adviser on the international economic affairs, department of state and consultant for various corporations. In 1964, became consultant for what is now a media giant, National Broadcasting Co. Finally, was head of the economics department at the university of cincinnati from 1926-1929. Became a visiting professor at Harvard and Columbia universities in his later years. He won the Pulitzer prize in history for Between War and Peace in 1960. Also, was inducted into Princetonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Institute for Advanced Study in 1960. Personally, I would not thin k a man with the intellect such as his, could be bias towards anything. He was open-minded and very concerned about the economy. The economy was the only thing he was bias for. In his resume, it seemed he favored economical affairs rather than political affairs. Mr. Feis was well qualified to write this book. The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II was a revised 5 years l... Free Essays on Japan Subdued Free Essays on Japan Subdued The original version was titled Japan Subdued and was published in 1961. After receiving important information, Herbert Feis revised his book in 1966 and titling it, The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II. His goal was to inform his readers about every aspect of the war. He briefly summed up everything into 200 pages. Also, revealing first hand information from the White House and the Pentagon. That is what separates his first edition from his second. His purpose was to show his audience the events leading to the end of the war and diplomatic arrangements in the east Asia. June 7, 1893, Louis and Louise Feis gave birth to Herbert Feis in New York, NY. He achieved his A.B. in 1916 and Ph.D. in 1921 from Harvard University. During World War I Herbert Feis served in the U.S. Naval Reserve and became lieutenant junior grade. He authors books ranging from economic affairs, forgein policy and aid, as well as humanitarian issues. His job experience could be as long as this paragraph. He was an adviser on the international economic affairs, department of state and consultant for various corporations. In 1964, became consultant for what is now a media giant, National Broadcasting Co. Finally, was head of the economics department at the university of cincinnati from 1926-1929. Became a visiting professor at Harvard and Columbia universities in his later years. He won the Pulitzer prize in history for Between War and Peace in 1960. Also, was inducted into Princetonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Institute for Advanced Study in 1960. Personally, I would not thin k a man with the intellect such as his, could be bias towards anything. He was open-minded and very concerned about the economy. The economy was the only thing he was bias for. In his resume, it seemed he favored economical affairs rather than political affairs. Mr. Feis was well qualified to write this book. The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II was a revised 5 years l...

Types of Fixed Price Contracts

Types of Fixed Price Contracts Fixed price contracts are a bit self-explanatory. You propose a single price to accomplish the work being sought. Once the project is complete the government customer pays you the agreed to price. Your cost to complete the work does not factor into how much you are paid. Types of Fixed Price Contracts Firm Fixed Price or FFP contracts have detailed requirements and a price for the work. The price is negotiated before the contract is finalized and does not vary even if the contractor needs to expend more or less resources than planned. Firm fixed price contracts require the contractor to manage the costs of the work in order to make a profit. If more work than planned is required then the contractor may lose money on the contract. Fixed Price Contract with Incentive Firm Target (FPIF) contract is a firm fixed price type contract (as compared to a cost reimbursable). The fee can vary depending on whether the contract comes in above or below planned cost. These contracts do contain a ceiling price to limit the government’s exposure to cost overruns. Fixed price with economic price adjustment contracts are fixed price contracts but they contain a provision to account for contingencies and changing costs. An example is the contract may contain an adjustment for an annual salary increase. Computing Fixed Price Fixed price contracts can be lucrative or cause a big loss to a company. Computing the proposed fixed price follows a similar to cost plus contract pricing. Study the request for proposals carefully determining the scope of work to be completed, labor categories of personnel needed and materials to be procured. A conservative approach to scoping the work (resulting a higher proposed cost) is preferred to offset the risk level of the work taking more effort and money than planned. However, if you propose too high a price you could lose the contract by not being competitive. Start computing the fixed price you will propose by creating a general work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project. Using the work breakdown structure you can estimate the number of labor hours by labor category needed to complete each phase of the project. Add in the materials, travel and other direct costs to the labor (priced at your labor rates) to get the proposed contract cost. Add fringe, overhead and general administrative rates to the appropriate costs to get the proposed project cost. Fee is then added to the planned cost to obtain the final fixed price you will propose. When deciding the fee take careful account of the amount of risk you have in the project not going at least as well as planned. Any risk of cost overruns should be factored into the fee. If you feel confident you can complete the work in the proposed costs then you can reduce your fee to be more competitive. For example, if the contract is to provide mowing services on base then you can estimate the amount of labor that will be required fairly accurately since the amount of mowing is well defined. If the contract is to develop a new, renewable fuel type for tanks then your risk of incurring more costs than planned is much greater. Fee rates can range from a couple of percent to 15% depending on the risk level. Note that the government and your competitors are also computing the project risk level and the related fee so be reasonable and realistic in your computations. Proposing the Fixed Price Here is where the couple of fixed price contracts come into play. When finalizing the price you will propose know the fee type required in the request for proposals. If an economic adjustment is allowed then you will need to propose what this percentage will be for each year of the contract. This is also called the escalation. Modify the computed fixed price to match the request for proposals and submit your winning proposal.