Economic Forecasting Essay

Short-term borrowing from the Federal Reserve funds is always increased because of a reduction in the discount rate.   The Federal Reserve System has been consistently reducing the discount rate in recent years, due to which short-term borrowing has been rising so as to maintain liquidity. In the year 2004, short-term borrowing from the Federal Reserve funds equaled $212.132 million, that is, $212132000.   When the discount rate was further reduced, short-term borrowing in 2005 was $290.663 million (or $290663000).   The difference between the short-term borrowings of 2004 and 2005 was $78531000. In the year 2006, short-term borrowing from the Federal Reserve funds increased yet again because of a reduction in the discount rate.   Short-term borrowing in 2006 equaled $245.595 million (or $245595000) (Citigroup Annual Report, 2006).   The difference between the short-term borrowing of 2005 and 2006 was $45068000. So as to predict the short-term borrowing for years 2007 and 2008, we calculate the average difference in short-term borrowings from 2004 to 2006: [78531000 + (-45068000)]/2 = 16731500. In 2007, therefore, short-term borrowing is predicted to be 245595000 + 16731500 = $262326500 (or $262.3265 million).   In 2008, short-term borrowing is predicted to be 262326500 + 16731500 = $279058000 (or $279.058 million). Income tax and Citibank annual income rate Reductions in corporate tax increase the net income of Citibank.   With a reduction in corporate tax from 35 to 30, the net income of the company in the year 2004 amounted to $17,045 million; in the year 2005, it amounted to $24,589 million; and in the year 2006, the net income was $25,538 (Citigroup Annual Report). The net increase in income from 2004 to 2005 was 24,589 – 17,045 = 7544 million $. The net increase in income from 2005 to 2006 was 25,538 – 24,589 = 949 million $. Thus, the average increase in net income = (7455 + 949)/2 = 4202 million $. Without taking into consideration the other variables that may have an influence on net income, we can predict Citibank’s net income in the year 2007 to be 25,538 + 4202 = 29,740 million $.   In the year 2008, the net income of the company – without due consideration of other variables – would be 29,740 + 4202 = 33,942 million $.

Lady Macbeth is one of the most striking characters in the play Essay

Lady Macbeth is one of the most striking characters in the play. What are your feelings toward this character and how do they change as the play progresses? What makes Lady Macbeth so striking in her first few scenes is her manipulative, vindictive nature. She is a very controlling character yet we see her troubled mind reveal itself as the play progresses. Her most famous scene, Act 5 scene 1, allows the audience to see how she has truly been affected by the murders in which she had been involved. She is sleep walking and revealing unconsciously her emotions toward the untimely deaths of King Duncan, Banquo and the Macduff household. I have little sympathy for this character because if it were not for her driving Macbeth to the murder of Duncan, he most probably would not have become so obsessed with his infatuation of becoming king. As we see in Act 1 scene 5 she is extremely ambitious about the prospect of Macbeth’s power increasing. She talks of murder without an ounce of guilt and merely worries over her husband being too gentle to actually commit the execution of the king. She refers to him being â€Å"too full o’the’milk of human kindness† and states that he is in fact ‘without ambition’ and so would not carry out the deed properly. Her personality could, however, be extremely ambitious regardless of the state of power that her husband is in, the situation could have brought out the most of her desire. In each of her scenes we see a new side to her personality. During Act 1 scene 5 we see her praying to evil spirits in her soliloquy for her to become more masculine and evil, with any feminine attributes and natures to be stripped from her, implying that she also may need a little push to make her ambitious enough to commit the murders. This also suggests to the audience that her conscious would probably not let her commit those crimes alone. She asks the evil spirits to â€Å"Come to my woman’s breasts/And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers.† However, when Macbeth arrives home, he refers to her as â€Å"my dearest love† she then immediately sets about manipulating him and goading him into the murder. When she learns of Duncan coming to dinner, she administrates ideas of looking above suspicion. She tells him â€Å"look like th’innocent flower/But be the serpent under’t.† Shakespeare uses very expressive language here with contrasting imagery of a flower (which represents good) and a serpent (which represents evil). This could also be interpreted as a metaphor for Macbeth’s relationship with his wife in that when Lady Macbeth is plotting murderous schemes and manipulating her husband, Macbeth is presented in a good and vulnerable light. The same applies for when Macbeth decides to take the murders further and the audience gains sympathy for his wife. Macbeth is left with little to say and is interrupted by his wife on several occasions in that scene, providing the audience with a clear insight into Shakespeare’s intentions for the hierarchy within the relationship. That hierarchy being where Macbeth is more or less controlled by what Lady Macbeth tells him to do, almost like a spell of her own. This provides strong evidence for those who believe that Lady Macbeth herself is a witch of some kind. In Act 1 scene 6 Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle with other various guests and originally comments on the pleasant air that it gives off, referring to it as â€Å"Nimbly and sweet†. This presents the audience with a dose of dramatic irony as they know that what really lies inside the castle itself is as evil and twisted as it’s inhabitants. He also refers to Lady Macbeth as â€Å"Our honoured hostess.- The love/That follows us sometime is our trouble†. The problem with Lady Macbeth in this scene is that she is elaborately polite and good natured that it could easily appear to be insincere. She tells Duncan that she has checked and double checked that everything is sufficiently in order. She tells him she will pray for him constantly and speaks of loyalty and gratitude for past kind deeds. Shakespeare is rather repetitive when it comes to Lady Macbeth’s lines, she speaks continuously of her homage to him and the effort they are making for him. This is in an obvious bid for her to gain their trust and it does indeed work. Duncan reacts graciously towards this most probably due to his age and gratitude for the effort made. Act 1 scene 7 sees Lady Macbeth belittling her husband in an attempt for him to agree whole heartedly to killing the king of Scotland. She uses foul phrases with appalling imagery such as telling Macbeth that while she was breast feeding her baby she would: â€Å"while it was smiling in my face/Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums/And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn.† She tries to come over as very menacing and heartless at this point in the play, making a point of the fact that if she had promised to kill her own child she would do so, however, after the murder of Duncan, she contradicts herself rather strongly as she comments on being able to kill her father. In Act 2 scene 2, Macbeth returns from killing the king to discuss the event with his wife. Shakespeare uses this as an opportunity for the audience to feel sympathy as we see his grief and guilt. We also get to see a very new side to Lady Macbeth, she admits that if he had not looked like her own father she would have done the deed herself, showing that underneath her hard exterior, there are elements of compassion and guilt that though she expresses little, she still feels them just like any other human being. The audience then sees her snap out of her sensitive phase and channel her emotions into reassuring and controlling her husband. She tells him to dismiss his hallucinations about the dagger and to return them to frame the guards who were guarding Duncan’s room. â€Å"These deeds must not be thought/After these ways; so, it will make us mad.† The audience could consider this as foreshadowing of what occurs as the play progresses as both Lady Macbeth and her husband experience mental disturbances because of the horrific crimes they committed. Hands are used as a metaphor throughout this scene and as an extended metaphor throughout the play. Macbeth refers to his as â€Å"hangman’s hands† and uses phrases such as â€Å"ravelled sleeve of care†, whereas Lady Macbeth is far more literal and tells him to â€Å"wash this filthy witness from your hand.† This could be interpreted as the hands representing guilt and so each character handles the guilt in different ways; Macbeth is very open about his guilt and remorse by using dramatic devices such as personification and metaphors, for example: â€Å"Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor/Shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more. † Lady Macbeth, however, deals with her culpability in a different way in that she pretends to feel nothing towards the situation but it obviously haunts her as we see in her final scene in Act 5 scene 1 where she sleep walks and hallucinates. Shakespeare illustrates this well when Lady Macbeth mocks Macbeth for being so gentle: â€Å"My hands are of your colour, but I shame/To wear a heart so white.† She also says rather flippantly, â€Å"A little water clears us of this deed./How easy is it then! Your constancy/Hath left you unattended.† Shakespeare’s intention for this scene, I think, was to show us that there is a sensitive, guilty side underneath her shell of ambition and malevolence. Act 2 scene 3 sees Macduff discovering Duncan’s murder with great astonishment. He alerts the whole castle including Banquo, Malcolm and Donaldbain of the king’s death and so Lady Macbeth enters. She acts very much â€Å"like th’innocent flower† by pretending to be oblivious to what had happened in the previous scene, â€Å"What’s the business/That such a hideous trumpet calls to parley/The sleepers of the house?† Then with immense dramatic irony, Macduff replies calling her â€Å"gentle lady† and commenting on the fact that the talk of murderous deeds is too tender for a woman’s ears. The audience would find this somewhat amusing as they know that Lady Macbeth is solely responsible for the murder of Duncan and so would not in any way find the subject too sensitive or painful. She reacts in a way similar to that when she was attending to Duncan in Act 1 scene 6, where she is very elaborate in her efforts to help, creating a suspiciously false air about her. She then dramatically faints and is carried out, she is lucky that the people around her are so affected by the murder that they do not overtly notice her over the top antics. Lady Macbeth experiences a loss of power and control in Act 3 scene 2, where Macbeth arranges his next murder without her involvement. Shakespeare has her character showing compassion to her husband’s ‘sorriest fancies’ when he complains of insecurity about his dangerous thoughts and deeds. She tries to make him forget what has happened by instructing him: â€Å"Using those thoughts which should indeed have died/With them think on? Things without all remedy/Should be without regard; what’s done, is done.† The audience at this moment does not know that Lady Macbeth doesn’t practice these ideas herself and in fact reveals her guilt subconsciously. My feelings toward Lady Macbeth at this time are cold and my sympathy leans toward Macbeth as we see him feeling very remorseful and suicidal. He mentions, â€Å"Better be with the dead/Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,/Than on the torture of the mind to lie/In restless ecstasy.† However as we see a new side to Macbeth where he is plotting murders without her it does make me wonder would he have killed Duncan without her influence? Lady Macbeth presents herself as the gracious hostess once more as she invites the lords to dinner in Act 3 scene 4. At the beginning of the scene the audience is presented with the news of Banquo’s slaughter. Lady Macbeth suspects this but is not directly informed as her husband has somewhat distanced himself from her, implying that he does not need her influences for villainous thoughts any more, he can do it all by himself now. This scene manages to arouse some sympathy for Lady Macbeth as we see her power lessening downfall. This could be what ultimately leads to her suspected suicide. The audience gets to understand that Shakespeare did not want to present Lady Macbeth as a character who takes pleasure in the sight of bloodshed and gore, but one who craves power and enforces her ambitions upon those she can manipulate. We also see a role reversal here for the second time in the play. She already has upset the natural order of marital hierarchy from the beginning of the play where she presents herself in the dominant role which was extremely uncommon for that period. Then as the play progresses she becomes part of a downward spiral where she loses power and the status within the marriage as she becomes the more recessive figure next to her now dominant husband. The ghost of Banquo makes an appearance at the dinner table in this scene but of course only Macbeth can see (another one of his deluded hallucinations). He becomes extremely unsettled by this and begins to shout at the ghost with a fiery passion that stuns the rest of his guests. â€Å"Thou canst not say I did it; never shake/Thy gory locks at me!† Ross initiates the lords standing up and leaving their new king in peace to rest and collect himself but Lady Macbeth being â€Å"th’innocent flower† that she pretends to be assures the lords that he is fine and is just unwell. The audience feel some sort of consideration for her as we can see her husband’s mental health deteriorates and her power disintegrate. She snaps at Macbeth â€Å"Are you a man?† as she quite obviously feels utterly embarrassed by his reactions to the ghost. She tries to use this as an opportunity to regain her status above Macbeth which is understandable as she feels defeated but is selfish considering her husband’s state. In the most dramatic scene in Lady Macbeth’s presence on stage, the audience is given the opportunity to see the REAL Lady Macbeth as her subconscious takes over her physical state. At the beginning of her last scene, Act 5 scene 1, the doctor and gentlewoman are analysing her recent behaviour, â€Å"She has light by her continually, ’tis her command.† As light is a common metaphor for purity this insinuates that she doesn’t want to be considered evil and wants to redeem herself but can’t because she is too involved to dig herself out now and so her subconscious speaks the words she cannot. â€Å"Out damned spot! Out, I say! One, two. Why then ’tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier, and afeard? What need we fear? Who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?† This is one of the most remembered speeches in Shakespeare’s literature and is so because of its quirky formation. Shakespeare has used very disjointed language with punctuation separating every short phrase. This translates to her being very edgy and emotionally unstable. She then reels off a list of other people for which she feels responsible for their deaths as well as her husband. She refers back to the common theme of hands which has occurred throughout the play. â€Å"What, will these hands ne’er be clean?† â€Å"All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. O, O, O.† She still refers to her hands as being â€Å"little† and the need for them to be ‘sweetened’ and so this indicates the want for her to be filled with good and that she is feeling genuine guilt and mental anguish. This anguish finally leads to her suicide by unspecified means. Shakespeare probably chose not to present the death of Lady Macbeth on stag e to add to the impact of her exit and last scene and also to be slightly ambiguous. I think a dying scene would have been effective for Lady Macbeth’s last scene, she could perhaps have given a soliloquy explaining how she truly was feeling. To conclude, it is evident that Shakespeare had Lady Macbeth’s emotional state disintegrate as the play proceeded to in effect show the downfall of a control freak. It is undecided whether or not she is pretending to be the controlling evil person which her persona appears to be but that is in a way irrelevant as it was certainly influential enough to drive her husband to multiple homicides. She was certainly a brave character for going against the ‘Chain of Being’ in which God was considered to be ultimately at the top with monarchs under that and other members of society such as lords and townsfolk following after, but at the bottom were women and so she was courageous to consider herself to be above even monarchy! Though wrong it is admirable, especially considering what was said if the chain of being was to be disrupted, that chaos would arise, disrupting the natural order of life on earth and in the heavens which is seen as inexcusable. I personally think that Lady Macbeth was blamed for a lot that wasn’t entirely her fault. It is implied that because Macbeth ended Banquo’s life and slaughtered Macduff’s wife and children in a desperate bid for the throne, he was emotionally capable of murdering Duncan all by himself. In the first two acts we have little sympathy for Lady Macbeth as Shakespeare only provides the audience with her vindictive exterior, at this time we cannot see what she is truly thinking and feeling. It is only as the play progresses that we understand WHY she turns out to be the way that she is, that she has a very ambitious character and so enforces that upon her husband. She feels that Macbeth becoming king will benefit them both and sees killing the existing king as the fastest way to get to the throne. She then becomes gradually defeated as Macbeth’s ambition and obsession with becoming king begins to soar and spiral. She is then over-ridden with guilt and eventually feels that she cannot bear the guilt that torments her troubled mind and so decides to end it all.

Child Beauty Pageants Must Stop Essay

A child beauty pageant is a beauty contest featuring contestants younger than 13 years of age. Divisions include talent, interview, sportswear, casual wear, swim wear, western wear, out-fit of choice, decade wear, and evening wear, typically wearing makeup as well as elaborate hairstyles. The debate about child beauty pageants in Australia is getting particularly ugly. Ever since the US group ‘Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant’ announced plans to hold its first Australian competition in Melbourne, the cries of protest from parent groups, psychologists and children’s rights organisations have been loud and fierce. â€Å"Would you stand your two daughters side by side in the lounge room and tell one of them that she’s more beautiful than the other?† Pull The Pin organiser, Catherine Manning said. For most people that’s a resounding no, and the reason is obviously not just because of the impact you have on the girl that you tell isn’t the most beautiful, but you’re also sending a really strange message to the girl that you tell is the most beautiful. Adolescent and child psychotherapist, Collett Smart, states that â€Å"it’s cruel to judge little girls on their appearance. To say to a young girl, no, you’re not pretty enough.† It’s harmful to a young girl’s self-esteem to tell her that she simply isn’t pretty enough and that’s the only reason she didn’t win the pageant. It starts to lead to three of the most common mental health problems in girls and women; eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression. In 2002, Stacey Weiner conveyed a study for a column she was writing on seventh-grade girls who viewed idolised magazine images of women, reported a drop in body satisfaction and a rise in depression. In 2005, a study conducted by Anna Wonderlich, of the University of Minnesota, eleven women who took part in child beauty pageants were compared to eleven women who did not. The study found pageant contestants score higher on body dissatisfaction, interpersonal distrust and greater impulsiveness. Child psychologist, Dr. Robert Reiner, stated in 2006 that many parents whose children took part in pageants were attempting to live through their young daughters and were often ‘very pushy parents who, for a variety of reasons didn’t get what they wanted when they were children’. In all the studies shown, 1 in 3 professionals all conveyed that child beauty pageants have major impacts on the well-being of these children, from low self-esteem to depression to eating disorders from such a young age. Savanna Jackson made headlines in the Herald Sun on June 7th 2012, because a three-year-old girl should not be allowed to have a spray tan, on a monthly basis. Lauren Jackson, Savanna’s mother, spends roughly $4,670 a month entering Savanna into beauty pageants. Lauren thought that when she reached the age two, that she would start giving Savanna tanning sessions so the other girls wouldn’t have an unfair advantage. Mrs Jackson first entered her daughter into a ‘natural pageant’ at 10 months, which allows little or no make-up. After Savanna won, her mum began entering her into ‘more glamorous’ pageants. She said that Savanna loved the attention and being on stage made her happier than she had ever been before. What more could a parent want for their child than seeing them happy, however, it starts to become a little concerning when Lauren tells the Herald Sun that her three-year-old daughter wears more make up than her 26 year old mother. Karen Nussbaum, a member from Minor Consideration, a non-profit foundation to give guidance and to support young performers, says that most stage mothers claim their child wanted to enter the pageant on their own. Do children under the age of 10 really know what is best for them? For example, in 1996, 7 year old Jessica Duboff died when her parents let her fly a plane across the country just because she wanted to do it. The Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant, made famous in the reality TV show Toddlers & Tiaras, is travelling from Texas this month so Australian children can compete in formal wear, photogenic and congeniality contests. A controversial article published by the ABC on April 6, 2012 by Stephanie Corsetti, interviews Australia MP’s and gets their opinions. Federal Labour MP Anna Burke is supporting the private members bill and calling for a national ban on the event. Anna says â€Å"dressing them up, fake tans, fake teeth known as flippers, even fake books and bums on three-year-olds is a bit of a ridiculous situation.† It makes us start questioning; do we actually want to promote this in Australia? Promoting something that is not emotionally and mentally stable for young people especially children under the age of 10. In another perspective, for those who believe child beauty pageants should not be banned, owner of Universal Royalty Beauty Pageants, Annette Hill, stated â€Å"if you are looking at children in a sexual way, you should be ashamed of yourself and something is wrong with you. It’s all about a beautiful dress, a beautiful child with lots of personality performing on stage.’ Brendan O’Neill wrote an opinion piece published by the ABC on August 4, 2011 which stated â€Å"the pageant-bashers see SEX, a little whore, a walking, talking temptation for the predatory paedophiles who apparently lurk in every street and alleyway in Australia.† There needs to be a limit on these horrendous child beauty pageants. Change the age to at least 13/14 years old or limit the amount of make-up used etc. That is approach Sally Belinda Broad took. Direct of Australian Kids Pageants. â€Å"our events are ‘natural’ pageants where anything fake is disallowed and age appropriate appearance and performance is encouraged.†

Moral Saints Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Moral Saints - Essay Example The role that morality should play in our lives is a topic that garnered attention from many philosophers. Wolf (419-439) is among the scholars who focused on the way human beings apply morals on their life. She states that human beings should not strive to live a saintly life as this was be too good to the extent of denying themselves happiness. She advises that human beings should treat others not as a means but an end. The implication of this is that people should strive to be happy and make other happy by treating them fairly and with respect. For instance, they should do as much good as possible, save lives and avoid killing. This coincides with the idea of Mill that human beings should strive to save lives as failing to do so is tantamount to killing (Bendle 36). On this note, there is a concession that good actions should not be in striving to saints but in treating others in a fair manner for mutual happiness. Human beings should weigh their private or personal projects on the way their consequences on others. Wolf (429) agrees with the idea of Mill that rational moral would guide people in their actions with one another. Mill proposed the principle of utilitarianism in determining the morality of actions in the society (Bendle 40). In his argument, human beings should weigh their actions on the consequences they have on the people whom they affect. In the principle of utilitarianism, the best action is one whose consequences do overall good to the society. This is similar to the idea of Wolf that one should do as much good as is possible, unlike the absolute saints who should strive to do good only. On the other hand, this contradicts the idea proposed by Kantianism on the universality of moral laws that bind each person. Kant proposes that each person must do act according to the moral laws. For instance, if lying is bad it remains bad in

Average amount of people late to work on a daily Essay

Average amount of people late to work on a daily - Essay Example The one chosen was had a population of 2,000 with 525 households. Only adults participated. Most people in the area had families living with them and lived just outside the base. Others had to travel to their work. Observations were also conducted directly on people living on their daily reporting routines to job. The questionnaires would then be filled by the researchers on the topics they could observe without bias. 250 questionnaires were received back, 172 of the total were completely filled, 50 were partially filled and 28 were damaged. The 172 were used to conduct the analysis. NB: those who work on weekends not included. Data was collected for only a week. This cannot give the final trend of the militia’s lateness. Therefore the data given should be compared with other research done before coming up with the final opinion. We had to ask why they failed to reach their workplaces in time. This had numerous response as they tried to justify themselves for their shortcomings. Some reasons were observed by the researchers in their data collection process. In the end we compiled the logical reasons putting others as one point while disintegrating others (Moses, 1996).The reasons given were mostly the same and they are numbered below. Lateness to work has caused many to lose their jobs, demoted to a lower position or have their salary being cut down. Warnings are always given before these consequences are faced. Those who fail to heed are the ones who suffer. When excuses are given, they should be genuine in order not to face one of the above. Sometimes people cheat to be given an excuse for coming late. They normally face a tougher punishment for doing this. These reasons are the ones which were faced by greater number of respondents. Some were minor reasons which only affected a few and could be done away with if one became serious with their work. In the event of collecting data, some of the reason were also faced by the

Explain what managing human resources means Essay

Explain what managing human resources means - Essay Example ty of employees ensures that an organization has diverse and has a useful knowledge base to ensure that the company puts a competitive edge to her competitors. Diversity in an organization can be achieved by ensuring that the employees and other staff working within and throughout an organization are a representation of the wider society. Human resource management (HRM) is the unit within an organization that deals with the workforce. It can be said to be the process of managing the workforce of an organization. It provides guidelines on how people are to work. An effective HRM ensure that the workforce is effective and productive for the overall accomplishment of the objective and goals of an organization (Bell, 2011 p. 30). It helps in full utilization of employees through a comprehensive and strategic management of the people as well as the working environment. An organization relies on good HRM to have a strong and effective team of employees. HRM aims at ensuring that the company remains loyal to the employees by making them feel the job there are doing is part of their personal life. Research has shown that HRM is the heartbeat of any organization; over eighty percent of the company success is attributed from the activities and skills of human resources. These activities include how the company attracts employe es, how it trains and develops them and finally how effective is it in retaining the quality workforce. HRM helps the organization create a good environment for employees to work in as well as ensure there is respect and dignity between employer and employees. The main responsibility of HRM in an organization whether small or large corporate bodies is the welfare of the workforce. It must ensure that there is relatively low turnover of employees as this make the company waste a lot of resources ad can even lead to stagnated growth in case of a technical organization. It inspires and motivates employees to reduce turnover. This could be through

Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality Essay

Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality - Essay Example A CT scan may also reveal how much of the colon is inflamed. 2) The second differential diagnosis is Crohn’s Disease. The data that supports this diagnosis includes bloody diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue, insidious onset, arthritis (painful knee joints), rash (erythema nodosum), fever, and abdominal pain or tenderness. Also, the onset age is between 15 and 25; males are more likely to develop the disease than females, and people are put more at risk if there is family history of the disease. The lab/diagnostic tests I will need to rule in or out Crohn’s Disease are CT scan, to look for thickening of the colon; CBC, for anemia; pANCA, as ASCA in Crohn’s may differentiate from UC; biopsy; and an IBD serology 7 panel. 3) The third differential diagnosis is infectious colitis/diarrhea/gastroenteritis. The data that supports this diagnosis includes bloody diarrhea, weight loss, anorexia, dehydration, pale skin, abdominal pain or cramps, fever, elevated WBC in stool, an emia, and hyperactive bowel sounds. This disorder is common in all ages, but especially in individuals who have a long history of stomach problems or have tender arthritis. The lab/diagnostic tests I will need to rule in or out infectious colitis/diarrhea/gastroenteritis are testing stools for WBC/leukocytosis; Ova + parasite to exclude amebiasis; toxin assay to rule out c diff; cultures to rule out salmonella, shigella, e.coli and campylobacter; and urinalysis, BUN, specific gravity, and electrolytes. 4) The fourth differential diagnosis is Ischemic colitis. The data that supports this diagnosis includes bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain LLQ tenderness, elevated WBC, and anemia. Ischemic... Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality Patients often expect slow delivery of service. They have a lack of confidence that providers will really help, especially if the patient is poor. For this reason, patients may feel less confident about U.S. providers who are Latino. Physicians in Mexico are revered: â€Å"What is said is done, no questions asked.† Questions are not asked for fear of insulting the provider. This includes questions about the patient’s prognosis. Patients from Mexico and many underdeveloped countries are accustomed to providers who wear white coats. American providers who dress casually may have to prove themselves more. There are exceptions to this. Uninsured and underinsured Latino patients are in survival mode. Maintaining the most basic needs, such as affording food and paying for housing, take over their everyday lives. Most of these people are close to becoming homeless and some are already homeless. As such, preventive care is viewed as a luxury, something that only the rich can afford. This attitude is only strengthened by previous experiences in Latin American countries, where treatment was almost nonexistent due to a major lack of financial resources. For most individuals, healthcare in Latin America was unaffordable and unattainable, and most experience the same problem in the U.S. Latinos in the United States are without health insurance. Even though there are a large amount of preventive services available at free or reduced costs, patients and providers do not always know about these services.

Reading Response Questions for One.Life 8 & 9 Essay

Reading Response Questions for One.Life 8 & 9 - Essay Example In my view, the church is the perfect place to worship and pray. In addition, the church makes Christians have the desire to know more about the old devotional traditions of the Christian faith, and to become fully engaged in their renaissance today. There are various strengths and weaknesses in the church. Some of the strengths include the church enabling people explore how Jesus Christ prayed, how various denominations pray (Orthodox Christians, Anglicans and Roman Catholics) and how the Psalms teach Christians to pray. Other strengths of the church is empowering believers and making them understand that praying as a church is an important part of spiritual formation. The main weakness of the church is incorporating modernity into worship whereby God is no longer given the due respect as He was being given in the early church during the time of apostles of Christ. If I were in the capacity to change, I would ensure that every single believer follows the word of God to later, remaining holy since God is Holy. Chapter 9 of the book covers the life that believers lead in their ministry of serving God. According to the chapter, believers need to live a committed and dedicated life; however, they later get it hard to maintain the committed life (McKnight, 2010). The main reason as to why believers fail to maintain the life is the mixing of money and possessions with the church. I agree with the chapter since it speaks of the practical life that believers face every day. The chapter strikes me when it introduces the issue of leading a committed life and mixing possession and money with the church; something that drifts believers (me, for that matter) away from Jesus. There are various reasons that make people find the committed life difficult to follow. Such reasons include peer pressure whereby a believer with non-believer friends would be swayed away. In addition, some people have the

MPH503, Infertility and Public Health, Mod 3 SLP Essay

MPH503, Infertility and Public Health, Mod 3 SLP - Essay Example It can be assured from evaluating what was in the program, whether or not it met all the standards but the only way to know for sure that the information was absorbed is to in some way ask, and a post test answers those questions. Secondly, it is needed to know whether or not the instructors established a rapport with the audience (Griscli & Jacono, 2007). This can be known early by assigning someone to watch the reaction of the audience during the education. If the speaker does not engage the audience, they will not appreciate and learn the material involved. This is also very important in participant satisfaction. Other things that need to be determined are participant satisfaction, whether the participant felt that the objectives were met, and participant relevance. These thing can be best determined by a survey given to the participants at the end of the program asking questions directly related to this (Chambers, 2008). It is a good idea to not give the credit for attendance until the test and survey are completed. This will give you better information. The one item that is difficult to evaluate is "are they able to take this information back to their units and put it into practice?" Leaders are finding this to be the most difficult answer to get. There are some ideas, such as having supervisors evaluate the use of the information or evaluating practice to determine if the newer ideas have been added. Any of these things are quite difficult and quite controversial at this time, however. This leads us to the recommendation that there be more concentrated study on how to insure that educational programs are used as well as learned. Though our program has traditional objectives, there may be a need to change how those objectives are written (buinesstraining) and how they are evaluated. In conclusion, evaluation of educational

Technology and Workers Rights Essay Example for Free

Technology and Workers Rights Essay Whether it is over a cup of coffee with friends at the local Starbucks, in a crowded lunch room at work, or on a coworker’s Facebook wall, employees are talking about their jobs, especially to one another. New trends in modern technology, such as the recent explosion and popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, continue to constantly change the way employees can engage, share, and voice their work related concerns. According to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), an independent government agency charged with mediating disputes between management and labor unions, this new trend has become an important reminder that sometimes harsh criticism by employees is protected by federal law at work, at home, and now on the Internet. Although social media provides another forum for employees to exercise their protected collective activities, such as share complaints or address concerns to improve working conditions and pay, employers must make sure newly developed social media policies give due consideration to employees’ rights that are protected under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The New York Times recently published that under the NLRA, â€Å"employees have the right to join together, with or without a union, to exercise their protected collective activities to share complaints, address concerns with employers, and negotiation to improve their working conditions and pay.† The NLRA also protects employees’ rights to discuss work-related issues with other employees that was first made into federal law back in 1935. Basically, criticism of an employer’s practices about wages, hours and working conditions is protected no matter how it is expressed, as long as it is ‘protected, concerted activity.’ The NLRA says that â€Å"protected† is any statement about wages, hours or working conditions, and â€Å"concerted† means the employee’s statements were engaged in with or on the authority of other employees. Workers need to be aware that statements made through this type of forum have to be directed to other employees or to the company on behalf of the employees – not just personal gripes. However, employers need to understand that it doesn’t matter where or even how the employee makes these statements as long as it is â€Å"protected† and â€Å"concerted†. As popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter continue to influence the way co-workers communicate on the job and outside the workplace, companies feel they do have the right to legally monitor their employees’ activities online, in order to ensure a most professional and lawsuit-proof workplace. â€Å"Bosses can penalize employees for what they deem as â€Å"inappropriate† post, videos and pictures on social-networking sites, even if a worker uses those sites during non-working hours†, states Lewis Maltby, author of the workplace rights book, Can They Do That? Though the most frequently cited justification for workplace monitoring is to prevent employee theft, sabotage, and violent incidents on the job, companies have also voiced concerns that they run huge risks with employees leaking â€Å"trade secrets† or other confidential and proprietary information about their people, products, and services to outside competitors online. In his book, The Naked Employee, author Frederick Lane, a workplace expert on the impact of technology and society, points out â€Å"employers are increasingly more interested in hiring employees who will not expose the company to additional costs and liability, while not hiring employees who will increase their cost through negligence, misconduct, and wrongdoing† (28). But the biggest threat companies are now beginning to fear is the line between an honest online discussion that may lead to defamation of a company, which can be blurry in certain situations, making it even more difficult to distinguish the truth. Although computers have revolutionized employees’ workplaces in ways that earlier generations could not have imagined, U. S. companies, such as retail giant Wal-Mart, may realize they are in catch-up mode with modern technology, due to new challenges brought on by the recent explosion of social media sites. The NLRB found that employers facing this growing trend need to establish social media policies that do not infringe on workers’ rights. For example, the NLRB learned that one company mandated it’s employees to stay away from controversial topics such as religion and politics, and adopt a professional tone in the use of their social media, while other companies had gone so far as to blatantly forbid their employees from posting anything potentially misleading about the company online, and even told their employees to be careful about â€Å"friending† other co-workers on Facebook. The Washington Times reported that in June of this year along, â€Å"the NLRB also found that six of the seven corporate social media policies it examined included provisions that failed to pass regulatory muster, proving to be too vague or intrusive on their workers’ rights to free expression online.† NLRB General Counsel, Lafe Solomon, cited other companies, including DIS H Network and Target, have also maintained similar corporate social media policies that at least partially violated provisions of the NLRA. This delicate balance became strikingly apparent in a recent case filed with the NLRB by a non-union employee fired from a non-unionized emergency medical response team. The employee filed a charge with the NLRB against the company for wrongful discharge after losing her job for posting negative comments about her boss on Facebook. According to the employer, the posting violated a company policy that prohibits employees from making negative remarks on the Internet about the company or its employees. However, the employee claimed that the policy and her discharge from the company violated the NLRA by denying employees their right to engage in the protected, concerted activity of sharing complaints about working conditions with fellow workers. The case settled before an actual hearing with the company agreeing to revise its policy to eliminate any social media restrictions on its employees that could be in violation of the NLRA. In the initial complaint against the company, the NLRB cl aimed the employer’s policy was overly broad and prohibited employees from writing personal personal depictions of the company online without permission or posting any disapproving comments. Cases such as these should serve as a reminder to every employer that the NLRA applies to unionized and non-unionized workers alike. But in this increasingly technologically savvy world, the larger questions looming for both employers and employees alike should be what are the boundaries of an employee’s privacy, and who is more entitled to draw that line. â€Å"Companies should protect themselves and their employees by setting clear expectations on proper social media use in the office,† says Dean Debnam, CEO of Workplace Options, a public policy polling company that surveys American workers. â€Å"However, employers must be cautious of how far they take these regulations. While social media polices are not a problem, survey results show that employees do not support any intrusive measures, such as demanding access to passwords.† As new avenues of self expression created by social media and newly developed technologies evolve, employees should definitely be mindful as to what constitutes a legitimate basis for termination. Companies’ rights to dismiss employees at will, unless that is some statute, like the Labor Act, prohibits a particular act of retaliation, should not be taken lightly. In this tough economy where companies feel that image is still everything, even applicants who have applied for jobs may find out later they have been denied employment, due to messages communicated to their friends on social networking sites they thought were private and password protected. The bigger notion that’s scary for some employees is that once you are hired, you may find that your employer has taken drastic steps to make sure that access to your privacy extends well beyond company working hours. Lane agrees that workplace monitoring is a major problem, because â€Å"technology makes it possible for employers to gather enormous amounts of data about employees, and often goes far beyond what is necessary to satisfy safety or productivity concerns (3-4). Few rights are as deeply treasured by American citizens as their freedom of speech. As the Internet and social media sites becomes more mainstream within the workplace, employers must find better ways to draft and implement employment policies that protect the company from things such as legal disputes and charges of discrimination, while at the same time making sure employee’s rights under the NLRA and other federal employment laws are protected and preserved. Works Cited Buddenberg, Roger. â€Å"Can Workers Vent on Facebook? – Lawyers’ Tips on Social Media for Workers.† Omaha World Herald (NE) 10 Oct. 2011. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. Devaney, Tim. â€Å"Tweeting Workers ‘Friended’ by NLRB; Memo Warns of Restricting Rights.† Washington Times 26 June 2012. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sep. 2012. Kim, Susanna. â€Å"NLRB Backs Workers Fired After Facebook Post Ripping Boss.† ABC News, 10 Nov. 2010. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. Lane, Frederick S. The Naked Employee: How Technology is Compromising Workplace Privacy. New York: Amacom, 2003. Print. Petrecca, Laura. â€Å"More Employers Use Tech to Track Workers.† USA Today. USA Today, 17 March 2010. Web. 6 Sept. 2012.

Improving Education Healthy Lifestyle Malaysia Health And Social Care Essay

Improving Education Healthy Lifestyle Malaysia Health And Social Care Essay Healthcare systems are facing major challenges as they struggle to meet increasing demand with limited resources. Demographic changes, changing disease patterns, illegal immigrants, industrialization, issues of quality and efficiency, shortages or misdistribution of human resources, financial constraint, inadequate research and globalization are the major challenges faced by Malaysias healthcare system as it prepares to restructure itself. Globalization can be described as the integration of economic systems, capital movements and opportunities for different peoples through better information and communication technologies. But locally it has come to mean the increased insecurity and powerlessness that people (particularly poor people) feel in the face of global processes. Impact of globalization on populations health is predictable since globalization will change trade processes and also social and cultural shift. The future healthcare must transform the healthcare system, by making it more integrated, disseminated and virtual. The Malaysian future healthcare system will need to align with and support national health vision and goals. The services must be seen in the context of achieving the vision and the value it adds in achieving national health goals. Existing and the health system of the future must be guided by clear guiding principles and philosophy as well as being robust. Malaysia will develop one of the most advanced health systems of the world by harnessing the power of information and multimedia technologies to transform the delivery of healthcare. Hypertension Hypertension is one of the most common worldwide diseases affecting humans. Because of the associated morbidity and mortality and the cost to society, hypertension is an important public health challenge. 33% of the Malaysian adult population suffering Hypertension and it is including overall gender, race and ages (Lim, Morad et al, 2004) Over the past several decades, research widespread patient education and a concerted afford on the part of healthcare professional have led the decreased mortality and morbidity rates from the multiple organ damage arising from years of untreated hypertension. Hypertension is the most important modifiable risk factors for coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive cardiac failure, end stage renal failure and peripheral vascular disease . Many interrelated factors contribute to these mechanisms and may differ between individuals, such as the rennin-angiotensin system, endothelial dysfunction, salt intake, obesity, genetics and low birth weight (Beevers et. al 2001). The significance on the high blood pressure condition will be more critical, which may lead to the complex complication such as stroke, increase mortality rate and also increase risk of cerebral haemorrhage. The increasing prevalence of the Hypertension due to ageing process, the identification of the risk factors and diagnosis will able to control the Hypertension among the elderly people ( Ong, Oung et al , 2010). In view to improve the healthcare system to be more healthy, the responsibilities of the healthcare provider will focus on the preventive strategy as it will be able to decrease the prevalence of Hypertension in the general population. The main issue to be focused will be on the unhealthy eating habits among the population, lack of physical activity, genetic factor, unhealthy lifestyle, stress and other contributing factors related.. Prevention From Intervention Strategy The prevention and management of Hypertension is to reduce morbidity and mortality by the least intrusive means possible. This maybe accomplish by achieving and maintaining the systolic blood pressure below 140mmHg and diastolic blood pressure below 90mmHg and lower if tolerable, while controlling other modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The treatment to lower levels maybe useful particularly: 1. To prevent stroke 2. To preserve renal function 3. To prevent or slow heart failure progression The above goals maybe achieved by non-pharmacological and pharmacological methods. Before we consider any active treatment of establish hypertension, there is an even greater need to look at the prevention of the disease. Without planning prevention, the hypertension problem will always remain and it will only rely solely on the detection of existing high blood pressure. Primary prevention provide an attractive opportunities to interrupt and prevent the continue costly cycle of managing hypertension and its complications. This primary prevention (non-pharmacological treatment) can be achieved by the following manners: Lifestyle Modification There is no direct randomized evidence demonstrating that reducing blood pressure through lifestyle measure will reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease but it seems likely since trials have shown that benefits of anti-hypertensive treatment are determined primarily by the blood pressure reduction. The benefits of the lifestyle modification are summarized as below To lower the blood pressure in the individual patient. To reduce the need for anti-hypertension drugs and maximize the efficacy To address the other risk factors presence For primary prevention of hypertension and associated Cardiovascular disorders in population. Although there are difficulties in achieving and maintaining proper lifestyle changes, a systemic team utilizing health care professionals and community resources when possible can assist in providing the necessary education support and follow up. Smoking Cessation Cigarette smoking is one of the most powerful risk factor for cardiovascular disease and avoiding of tobacco in any form is essential. There is significant raise in the blood pressure accompany the smoking of each cigarette. All hypertensive patients who smoke should receive appropriate counseling for smoking cessation and nicotine replacement therapy should be considered. Those who continue to smoke may not receive the full degree of protection against cardiovascular disease from anti-hypertensive therapy. The cardiovascular benefit of discontinuing tobacco use can be seen as early as within 6 months in all age groups and by 2 years; they are probably at the same risk with non smoker. Manson et al 1992, Doll et al 1994 (Breen J, 2008) state that Smoking cessation is probably the most effective lifestyle measure for the prevention of a number of cardiovascular diseases . Weight Reduction Excess body mass is correlated closely with an increase of blood pressure. Excess body weight increases the risk of hypertension (Stamler, 1991). Usage of nonpharmacological therapy can be used to reduce the weight loss as it has been proven that it is also able to reduce the blood pressure level (Kuller, 2009). The responsibilities on the weight reduction should be begin with own awareness by the high risk population. However with the frequent advertisement by the healthcare provider in the electronic advertisement will be able to create the depth understanding on the important of the reduction of weight. The losing of weight should not drastically occurs, as it lead to the haemodynamic status in the cardiovascular circulation Diet changes In Malaysia, most of the adult and elderly ages develop habit to take heavy supper meal late of the night and sometimes it is contain of high saturated fat that might lead to increasing fat deposition among the population. Fast food consist of high carbohydrate and high sodium contain in prepared foods, that also introduce to the risk of Malaysian population to develop Hypertension. This unhealthy dietary habit only lead to the high statistic of incidence Hypertension. Increasing fruit and vegetable, higher intake of calcium, magnesium or potassium has contributed to the beneficial effects of some of this diet. Regular fish consumption may enhance blood pressure reduction in obese hypertensive patient and yield additional benefits on the lipid profile. Hence all hypertensive patients should be advised to eat more fruit and vegetables, fish and to reduce their fat intake. This diet habit should be developed by providing continuous awareness among the high risk population with providin g them a pamphlet at the public area and introduction on the preparation of low salt diet copyright in the compact disc or download into the website, as it will assist the public on the good eating habit on their own convenience. Physical activity Sedentary patients should be advised to take up moderate level of aerobic exercise on regular basis such as a brisk walk or swim for 30 45 minutes, 3 4 times a week. Regular aerobic exercise reduces BP in nonmotensive and hypertensive individuals (Cooper et al 2000).When compared with more active and fit individuals, sedentary individuals with normal blood pressure have 20 50% increase of developing hypertension. Regular exercise activity has been documented to lower the systolic blood pressure by about 4 8mmHg. Isometric exercises such as heavy weight lifting can have a pressor effect and it should be avoided. Patient with cardiac while other serious health problems need a more thorough evaluation, often including a cardiac stress test and may need referral to a specialist or medically supervised exercise program. Prioritization the Health Issue Policy Government and private healthcare should consider on the development of the policy for the benefit for all. Reinforcement of the government policy will enhance the public oriented program on the important of preventive the hypertension rather than treat the hypertension. Target Group The prioritization will be focus on the high risk group of population, such as executive, professional, new graduate adolescence, obesity individual and genetic. These groups are exposing to the risk of hypertension. The fast pace in the working environment , compounded the fact that work was physically demanding and influence the workers on the limited role (Rafnsdottir and Gudmundsdottir, 2004) especially on their well being activities. The proactive intervention will be able to assist the healthcare provider to prepare the public towards the reduction of the prevalence hypertension, especially in managing obesity, improve diet and increase physical activities. Activities and Reward Program Suggested that all the organization or company focus to improve the healthy well being environment such as formation of the mini gymnasium in order to encourage the involvement of the workers after duty or during break. Nevertheless, it will encourage high commitment to improve their healthy lifestyle without prejudice. Rewards program introduced to the actively participation in the gymnasium will be boost the enthusiasm among the workers in the organization. Thus, it will reduce risk of incidence hypertension and increase healthy life style among the population in cosmopolitan era. Broadcasting Involvement of the broadcasting in promoting the important of healthy lifestyle will enhance the awareness among population on the management of preventing hypertension. Billboard along the highway, public area also able to assist the improvement of knowledge among the public. Public Talk Should be conducted at all ages, begin with primary school students, elementary schools, universities, seminars, workshop and promotion using bunting and banner, as it will create continuous understanding of the disease. Conclusion In 2006 The Third National Health and Morbidity Survey, The Prevalence of hypertension among adult 30 years old and above was 43% has increase 30% compared to 10 years ago (Merican, M, I., 2008). This figures shows that the hypertension can be considered serious illness which may effect the healthy well being among Malaysian population. Furthermore it can cause potentially life threatening if not detect and treated early. Awareness on the hypertension will be no ending as this condition might occur at any level of ages. Contribution of the public towards reducing the hypertension prevalence and early identification of the risk factor enable the well being lifestyle among Malaysian.

Analysis of Africas Economy

Analysis of Africas Economy Several economists around the world are wondering whether the majority of Africans are benefiting from investment and profits originating from the continent. African leaders have been in the media claiming that Africa is experiencing one of the highest economic growth rates in the recent past. However, a growing gap between the rich and the poor, increase in cost of living and cost of consumer goods has disproportionate effects on working people as well as the poor. Countries such as Nigeria and Ghana that have reported to be undergoing economic growth are experiencing internal crisis linked to a rising cost of living and need to increase government expenditure on infrastructural development (Ndulu 5). Despite the fact that Nigeria was named as the largest economy in Africa, its women, youth, farmers and workers are increasing their demand for access to quality life, resources and wealth. Furthermore, several alarming reports indicate that the economic growths in various parts of Africa are more complicated than the leaders’ indicate. As result, a research was conducted to unearth the issues behind the economic problems, how African governments and leaders can address them (Ndulu 37). The major problem investigated is the interconnection between economy, social and political leadership with the current economic situation across Africa. It was crucial to analyze case studies and literature reviews containing information on African Economy. They analyzed relevant trade publications, annual economic reports, newspapers, magazines and on-line databases. Because of the time factors, the researchers relied mostly on web for data because it is faster and economical. Volunteers from public and private sectors, African economists, workers, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and African Development Bank provided necessary literature through the publications. The large pool of participants allowed the researchers to obtain wide range of data that was then crosschecked against other data to ascertain its validity. It was necessary to analyze data from various African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa. Nigeria was preferred because it is the economic powerhouse of Africa while Ghana is on the right path to democracy in Africa. Kenya seems to growing both democratically and economically while Democratic Republic of Congo was considered because it has vast natural resources. It was also necessary to compared the economies of such countries, analyze the various natural resources found in those countries, evaluate various sources of income. Finally, analysis of the relationship between democracy and economic growth, natural resources and economic growth and the relationship between economic growth and living standards of individuals was crucial (Ndulu 179). The research process indicates that African economy is likely to grow up to 4.7% during this year and accelerate to 5% in 2015. However, the growth in economy does not translate to infrastructure development, job creation, improved standards of living as well as reduction of high poverty level as well reducing inequality in Africa (African Development Bank 1). West African countries like Nigeria and Ghana continue to experience highest levels of economic levels ranging between 6.7% 7% and are likely to increase further by 2015. The economic growth is due to investment in minerals and oil, democratic governments and good leadership. East Africa is equally experiencing economic growth that has increased up to 6% from last year (Economic Commission for Africa 39). Kenya’s economy has grown due to increased consumer spending; Tanzanians economy has grown due to higher consumption and investment in natural gas. Lastly, Uganda economy is being enhanced by development in telecommuni cations, transport, construction as well as construction of burgeoning oil industry. In the southern region of the continent, the growth is likely to go up from 3.6% to 4.2% due to increased investments and rising mineral mining in South Africa. Economic growth in Africa will be weakest in North Africa due to political instability in the regions and fleeing of investors (Ndulu 193). The research notes that Africa economy is driven by exports, mineral exploitation and commodity production, but the rate is not yet optimal. This is because job creation is weak and the growth has not addressed poverty issues, poor living standards and rising inequality(Westenholz-Bless Achola 97).. The informal sector is still very large yet opportunities remain limited for those seeking employment. This is evident by high rates of youth unemployment as well as wide gender disparities in employment and earnings. Furthermore, increased pressure on labor markets due to increase in population pressure means no any sufficient impact can be felt by the majority citizens. The researchers established that weak job creation is brought about by overreliance on agriculture and mining as source of employment. Overreliance on farming leaves various countries susceptible to weather-related shocks. In addition to this, civil wars continue to pose a huge threat to economic activities in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Somalia (Ndulu 200). Though Nigeria is believed to be the economic powerhouse of Africa, the country has serious unresolved problems linked to distribution of wealth and living conditions of the majority Nigerians. According to the graph below, most Nigerians are unsatisfied with their government because the rates of poverty and unemployment are highest in Nigeria compared to other African countries despite the fact that it is the economic power house of Africa (see figure 01). Furthermore, the rate of employment seems to be increasing yearly. Unequal distribution of resources in the country has led to an internal conflict in northern part of the country. The conflict was associated with the majority northerners, who are poor, led to stagnated economic growth in the region. There has been other instances of bombing and abduction of schoolchildren in Nigeria as way of protesting against unequal distribution of resources and declining job opportunities. This has compelled most youths to engage in criminal activities to obtain money to cater for their expenses. Source: University of Twente. Nigeria Energy Study Report, Enabling Urban Poor Livelihood Policy Making: Understanding the Role of Energy Services. May 2014, Figure 01. Africans must rise up and determine their own destiny without any fear. From the results of the findings, there is a clear relationship between a peaceful democratic country and economic growth. Countries like Ghana and South Africa have experienced economic development due to peaceful elections and responsible leaders who encourage investors to invest in the countries. Rwanda that was on brink of self-destruction due to civil war in 1994 is now experiencing high rates of economic growth due to good leadership. This is a clear indication that security of a country is directly related to economic growth. Security ensures everyone gets an opportunity to go to work, students go to school and other economic activities take place. In addition to this, it gives the country a humble time of producing quality goods to sell abroad. As result, the country obtains revenue from the economic activities that lead to economic growth (Hughes, Mills Street, 01). Africans must also avoid overreliance on minerals and farming as the main source of livelihood. Countries like Uganda and Kenya have created job opportunities in sectors like road construction, trade activities, and telecommunication sector and transportation industry. The situation shows various job opportunities that can be created outside the traditional ones. In order to avoid uncertainties that come with climatic changes, Africans should utilize their rivers and lakes to create irrigation schemes. They should borrow irrigation technology from Israel that is a desert country yet it produces more food than it can consume. Lastly, Africans should observe family planning methods. The report indicated that most parents give birth to more children than they can take care of. This increases pressure on the limited resources in the continent (Hughes, Mills Street 1). Works Cited African Development Bank. Nigeria Economic Outlook. 2014. Web. 15 May 2014. Economic Commission for Africa. Economic Report on Africa 2008: Africa and the Monterrey Consensus: Tracking Performance and Progress: Overview. Addis Ababa: Economic Commission for Africa, 2008. Print Hughes, Ian. Mills, Greg. Street, Michael. â€Å"The solution to Africas woes lies with Africans, not the west.† The Observer mag. 10 March 2013. Web. 12 May 2014. Ndulu, B J.The Political Economy of Economic Growth in Africa, 1960-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print. University of Twente. Nigeria Energy Study Report 2005, Enabling Urban Poor Livelihood Policy Making: Understanding the Role of Energy Services. 2005. Web. 12 May 2014. Westenholz-Bless, Claire. Paul P. W. Achola.Fundamentals of Social Research Methods: An African Perspective. Cape Town, South Africa: Juta Legal and Academic Publishers, 2007. Print.

The Power of Media in the Digital Age Essay examples -- Exploratory Es

The Power of Media in the Digital Age      Ã‚   Across from my old high school, where once a pool hall seduced us away from classes, there is now a trendy bar and grill frequented by the recently-graduated. I visited this establishment to reflect upon the nature of media, culture and what it means to be literate in the 21st century. The implications for teachers, libraries and society in general may be daunting, but they hint at excitement, too. There I was, an English major, a man of the book as it were, all ready to cast aspersions left, right and center at these clearly illiterate, shallow young hipsters. Within sight of my old high school library, I was ready to join the crowd of experts and decry the decay of our culture, the inevitable devolution to a monosyllabic, non- print bunch of video heads. This was culture at its lowest brow, with no concept of canonical values or the means to access them. Media shaped these minds and what a mess had been made. Such doom and gloom scenarios are common enough. Fortunately, I paused and took a slightly deeper look at what I was really seeing.    The room featured eight television sets, three of them nearly theatre size, with no two featuring the same show. There were a few sporting events, CNN Headline News on one, at least two different music videos, while a number of the sets were broadcasting an interactive trivia game played by patrons on small portable keyboards. Sprinkled throughout the bar were a variety of entertainment newspapers, some magazines and at least one person was reading a book in the relative solitude of a corner. People talked with others around them and interspers... ...the media-cultural soup around them to worry about what is media and culture. The question of literacy in the face of such change is still up in the air at this time, but is worthy of further discussion. Digital media, however, continue to be the major shapers of the path of our culture. We can argue that the bus is going too fast, but we do not necessarily want to make this observation from behind in a cloud of dust at the stop.       Works Cited Ayer, Pico. "History? Education? Zap! Pow! Cut!". Echoes 12. Toronto: Oxford UP. 2002 Burke, James. The Knowledge Web. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1999 De Kerckhove, Derrick. The Skin of Culture. Toronto: Somerville House. 1995 Manguel, Alberto. A History of Reading. New York: Penguin Books. 1996 Postman, Neil. Technopoly. New York: Vintage Books. 1993   

The Uncertain Future of Cloning :: Science

The Uncertain Future of Cloning One of the most crucial aspects of today’s society is the advancement of scientific capabilities. There are many people in the world today that would not be alive if it were not for science. Over the last four decades there have been tremendous improvements that have enhanced the ease of human life. With all of these scientific improvements, there are still those that oppose the results that occur from science. One of the more controversial scientific advancements is the application of cloning into human life. The question that arises for those in the scientific field is, how can science improve, while staying within the boundaries of what the majority wants? Many scientists would like to be able to practice their trade freely, without the limitations set by the government. There are also some scientists that are eager to clone a human being. Most people agree that cloning does have positive affects on human life. The belief is that cloning will open the door for new medical improvements and cures. The scientists lobbying for cloning believe it will eventually enable them to reproduce injured, or non-functioning body parts. A couple that is unable to reproduce on their own using conventional methods, would be able to create their own offspring by cloning. A reference in defense of cloning, that also confronts inaccurate beliefs of many people states, â€Å"Neither evolution nor the old-fashioned human sex act is in any way threatened, nor is the family or human society. Most fears about human cloning stem from ignorance† (Pence). While scientists do not want any limitations set on their work, many people feel that there are not enough limits set on the scientific field. Although there are multiple advantages to cloning, there is equal or more opposition. Some people believe that cloning of human beings takes the place of God, which makes the procedure unethical. One excerpt in opposition of cloning states, â€Å"The natural processes of evolution are thwarted, because natural selection is by-passed. This may seem attractive in thoroughbred horses, but in humans it really may be that only the rich are able to clone themselves† (Dileo). After multiple failures to clone a lamb, scientists were finally successful.

NTFS filing system Essay

NTFS is the newer filing system from Windows only Windows 2000 and higher use NTFS and FAT32. Which file system is intended primarily for use in large USB flash drives? I think it would be NTSF it a little more better an newer when it comes to the new OS out there like windows 8/7/ and maybe Vista XP just in case you have application that might run better on vista and XP. Plus since USB didn’t come out until Windows 98 well that when I first saw a USB port Which file system provides support for larger hard drives and better security in the form of encryption and permissions that restrict access by unauthorized users? NTFS is use for security encryption. FAT32 has no security encryption that one reason why Microsoft made NTSF so people can some type of security encryption. It is available in all versions of Windows developed for business environments from Windows 2000 onwards. Encryption is the process of encoding messages or information in such a way that only authorized parti es can read it. Encryption does not of itself prevent interception, but denies the message content to the interceptor There is also the Encrypting File System EFS on Microsoft Windows is a feature introduced in version 3.0 of NTFS that provides file system-level encryption. The technology enables files to be transparently encrypted to protect confidential data from attackers with physical access to the computer. EFS is available in all versions of Windows developed for business environments from Windows 2000 onwards .By default, no files are encrypted, but encryption can be enabled by users on a per-file, per-directory, or per-drive basis. Some EFS settings can also be mandated via Group Policy in Windows domain environments. Cryptographic file system implementations for other operating systems are available, but the Microsoft EFS is not compatible with any of them. Why FAT32 is preferred over NTFS file system? I didn’t know people like FAT 31 over NTFS until I took this class.so when I look it up in my text book to see why would someone would preferred FAT32 over NTSF in its because it is recommended for hard disks only if the hard disk must also be accessed by dual- booting with an older version of Windows like Windows 95, 98, or Me. Then I understand since NTSF is not supported by Windows 95, 98, and Me. As with most old software it won’t support new technology unless the new tech is made for the old software but I see people preferred NTFS since it more up to date if someone ask me which one is better FAT32 or NTFS I would tell then to get NTFS.

PR Crisis Case Studies in Real Time

Open any public relations textbook and the section on crisis management will include examples of how organisations have demonstrated â€Å"best† or â€Å"worst† practice. And, it’s not just the textbooks, as recent incidents (eg Tiger Woods or Toyota) have seen plenty of advice from PR â€Å"experts† through online and social media. But, just as with the dead tree versions, these case studies are simplistic fictions. Heroes and villains are the main narrative, with a modernist approach reinforcing a recommended crisis management strategy. There’s just one way to communicate during a crisis – regardless of the organisation, the situation, the social context or the significance of the incident. This is the Tylenol way – presented as the right approach thanks to the swift action taken by Johnson & Johnson. The reality (as previously clarified at PR Conversations as a misleading myth) isn’t allowed to get in the way of the lesson. After all, it promotes a way that PR, and organisational management, can be in control and preserve reputation through a few simple steps. Every case study reinforces the mantra – Exxon Valdez is presented as the epitome of poor crisis management; too slow to respond. Likewise Coca Cola and the Belgium â€Å"mass hysteria† case. Whilst the Pepsi â€Å"needle in a can† crisis is hailed, Perrier’s benzene example is criticised. The nature of textbooks is that authors synthesise cases into easy to understand advice that students can repeat in assignments, and practitioners can recall if they ever find themselves handling a crisis. It’s a comfort blanket of how to†¦, what not to do†¦, common mistakes and miracle cures. In the social media world of 24:7 global connections, the right way is repeated – only at warp speed. Tell it fast becomes tell it before you know anything. Tell it all means let the media and its rent-a-quote experts speculate about worst case scenarios. Be open – means unlimited social media engagement (regardless of what the legal or other ramifications may be). Have the CEO (or celebrity if a personal faux pas has occurred) lead communications with mandatory appearances on chatshows, a tour of news stations, and a YouTube apology. Mea culpa – the universal panacea: â€Å"I’m sorry if†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – anyone resisting the calls is bullied until they comply. The pound of flesh must be paid. They have to apologise publicly even if what’s occurred is a matter of private relations or affects only a few people – who could be communicated with directly, where contrition would be far more sincere and genuine. Everyone is a critic – retweeting endlessly, without checking the veracity of any source. Citizen journalism enables individual examples to be retold and extrapolated, without any attempt at verification if used by journalists and treated as absolute fact by social media networks. Crisis case studies in real time seem little different to those that have been carefully crafted for retelling in the textbooks. There is little evidence of the public relations profession reflecting or considering how cases could be handled differently in a post-modernist, complex and chaotic world. A few authors, such as Dawn Gilpin and Priscilla Murphy (Crisis Communications in a Complex World), challenge the simplification of turbulent reality. Isn’t it time that their views were at least presented alongside the â€Å"only way† propaganda that is taught on PR courses and espoused in both academic and practitioner texts? And even more important – shouldn’t more of us be speaking out against those PR and media experts influencing public and client expectations with naive views based on an unrealistic belief that all crisis situations can be easily managed and controlled? Let’s have more real life PR case studies that actually reflect the real time nature of managing contemporary crises. And we all might learn something new.

“I know why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou

The poem I chose to analyze was â€Å"I know why the Caged Bird Sings† by Maya Angelou. I chose this poem because even at first read, I noticed that there was a deeper meaning behind this poem and I instantly connected to it. The poem compares the life of a free bird and how different it is from the life of a caged bird. The free bird has the ability to be free and do what it pleases, while the caged bird is limited as to what it can and can't do. As I read this poem, I was confused as to why Angelou decided to write about birds, but by the end of the poem, I understood who the birds were supposed to be representing. After reading the poem I made the assumption that there were two birds, a free bird and a caged bird. The caged bird had â€Å"clipped wings and his feet were tied† (Angelou), so he only had the ability to sing, whereas, the free bird had the opportunity to fly anywhere he wanted, and eat whatever he pleased. In the first stanza, lines 1-3, Angelou describes the adventures of the free bird when she says, â€Å"A free bird leaps on the back of the wind†¦ and dips his wing in the orange suns rays.† These lines help me, the reader, picture a bird flying across a horizon, and just how free the bird is. Reading further ahead, Angelou says, â€Å"And dares to claim the sky as his own.† This line helps me further understand the extent of the freedom the free bird has. The second stanza Angelou describes the life of the caged bird, and how â€Å"his wings are clipped and his feet are tied.† The imagery in these lines helps me picture just how trapped the caged bird is. The caged bird has been stripped of its natural ability to fly and walk. Because of these restrictions, the only thing left for the caged bird to do is sing. Similar to the second stanza, in the third stanza, Angelou describes the singing of the caged bird, saying it is â€Å"fearful trill.† She also says, â€Å"†¦his tune is heard on a distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. Through these lines one can infer that the caged bird is singing is very loud, and through this trill one can hear the fear as well as the desire to be free. As the poem goes on, Angelou again emphasizes her point on how trapped the caged bird is. Line 19 says, â€Å"A caged bird stands on the grave of dreams† (Angelou). To me this line means that the caged bird is so confined to the caged life, that he has given up on all his dreams and buried them in a grave because he knows he will probably never get the chance to achieve them.. However, I was confused as to why the caged bird continued to sing about being free if he had already given up on his dreams. Did the caged bird's struggles describe Angelou struggles? Something that seemed interesting to me in the poem was how the caged bird sang â€Å"a fearful trill of things unknown† (Angelou). The caged bird has never been free, and has never experienced freedom, but still desires it. This led me to believe that even though the caged bird doesn't know exactly what it feels like to be free, he knows that anything will be better than the condition he is in now. After reading the poem for a second time, I wondered why Angelou decided to write about this topic, and if the birds represented something deeper. With further research I found out that Maya Angelou wrote this poem in 1983. During this time, segregation and racial differences between blacks and whites were still prevalent in America. Using this information, I concluded that the â€Å"free bird† used in the poem refers to the dominant white race, while the â€Å"caged bird† represents the oppressed black race. I can also infer, that since Angelou is a black women, she is referring to herself as the caged bird described in the poem. At this particular time period, whites were given more freedom and more rights compared to the blacks. The black people were segregated against and weren't given the same opportunities the whites were given. Due to this, one can infer that Angelou, being black and a woman, wasn't given the same opportunities, and therefore felt trapped like the caged bird. She felt as if the only thing she had the ability to do was use her voice and speak out about what was happening to her and how it made her feel. This is also why Angelou decided to write this poem. It was a way for her to use her voice to get her message out and express how she feels trapped in a society that is dominated by white males. The life of the privileged white male is representing the life of the free bird. The free bird can â€Å"claim the sky† (Angelou) and eats â€Å"fat worms† (Angelou) while the caged bird is not only enslaved in the â€Å"narrow cage† (Angelou), but has also been stripped of the ability to fly. Similarly, the black people during this time period, have been stripped of their fundamental rights as human beings, and are being oppressed by the whites. Singing, or writing, is the only way to validate their existence. The only right that these blacks posses is the right to use their voice and express themselves. In addition to being apart of the black minority, Angelou was a women. Women were given even fewer rights as compared to men, and often were looked down upon all over there world. Her voice was used as a way to demand attention to show the world the challenges she has to face as a black women. The poem † I know why the Caged Bird sings† is symbolic of the hardships Maya Angelou had to face during the time period when the black community was discriminated against. Angelou knows why the caged bird sings because she is the caged bird. She didn't possess the same freedom as the white people, and at the same time, the caged bird didn't possess the same rights as the free bird. Singing about freedom was the only way the caged bird could express its feelings, and writing was the only way Angelou could express her opinions. This poem is very meaningful to me because like Angelou I too often feel like the caged bird. I feel trapped in a society where I am a part of a minority group. Sometimes I feel as if my beliefs and opinions are overlooked and my feelings are not taken into account equally. This poem shows me how using your voice in order to express your thoughts can be a very effective way of commuting an idea, just as Angelou has done.

Egyptian Culture Essay

The Culture of Egypt is one of the most ancient cultures and has five thousand years of history. It can be said that it is one of the richest cultures of the world as ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations. Egyptian culture is known to have a significant influence on other cultures such as Europe, the Middle East and Africa. However, soon after the Pharaonic era, Egypt came under the influence of Hellenism, then Christianity, and later, Arab and Islamic culture. Modern Egypt continues to have the ancient Egypt’s culture including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in Ancient Egypt (Wikipedia n. ag, 2007). Ancient Egyptian In the ancient Egyptian culture religion played a very important role. In fact without the ancient Egyptian Religion, there would perhaps not much reason for today’s increasing tourism. The great Pyramids of Egypt’s are a major attraction. These huge structures would not exist, nor the fabulous temples, the tombs on the West Bank of Thebes and their mummies, or the colorful decorations on these structures that have attracted travelers to Egypt over the past three thousand years or more. Behind every aspect of Egyptian life, as well as the art, and the cultural accomplishments it is important to understand the religious forces that formed the cultural aspects of ancient Egypt. Religion The spiritual or the religious world that was formed by the ancient Egyptians was a richly fascinating one which remains unique in the history of human religion. Although Egyptian religion was often covered in layers of myth and ritual, it on the other hand permeated the ancient civilization of the Nile and eventually shaped, sustained and directed Egyptian culture in almost every way. In fact if we look at the ancient history, people were more worried of the afterlife than the day to day life. Egyptians believed that they could enjoy life after death that made them to prepare for their death and burial. For instance, they construct pyramids and tombs for kings and queens. Other Egyptians had similar tombs. Additionally, it was very important in order to have a good afterlife for one to not only worship the Egyptian gods, but also live by a rules and regulations that would be judged after death. Ancient Egyptians also believed that the bodies of the dead had to be preserved for the next life and so they mummified the bodies. Even though there was a substantial amount of stability between various areas of Egypt and over the religion’s long existence, there were several changes over the past years and changes in the theology. For instance, while some 1,500 gods and goddesses are known by name from ancient Egypt, many of them were not worshipped at any one time or in any one place. As a result it is possible for one to observe variations over the years and cultural differences. Eventually, several changes took place in the religious aspects. For example, the burial practices of the Egyptians, which were definitely affected by their religious ideologies, went from simple mastabas in the very early periods and during the Predynastic Period, to monumental pyramids during the Old and Middle Kingdoms. This tradition of pyramids and tombs reduced preferring instead to have hidden tombs with no superstructures at all. Perhaps part of the reason for this was the security of the tomb and its content of valuables, though it did not do much to stop the tomb robbers. Another reason behind this was the Egyptian religion’s movement towards Osiris. The god Osiris also seems accountable for another major change in Egyptian religion through its long history along with the popularity it gained. Osiris was a democratic god who without a doubt became more and more popular because the theology surrounding him allowed even common Egyptians the chance of immortality after their death. Believes and Values There are certain beliefs and rituals that still remained. For instance, there seems to have always been a sun god from the earliest of times, however his worship too changed over time, and sometimes significantly. The sun god Re was worshipped at Egypt’s earliest shrines and his worship most likely reached a high point during the late Old Kingdom, when kings not only built their pyramids, but also specialized temples to worship the sun god. Additionally, the rituals main part was the offerings, but there were certainly numerous other rituals, together with many daily functions such as washing and clothing the gods. There are a few rituals that were major celebrations, for example, the statue of one god might be taken to visit the cult center of another. The advantage with this system was that it was mostly during these festivals that common Egyptians probably came closest to their gods, since at other times they were forbidden from the sanctuaries that housed the cult statues. A value system in the Egyptian culture formed a great part as it is even almost the same way that it is today. It can be said that most of the value systems present today in the modern day is adopted form the ancient Egyptian culture. Undoubtedly, the value system had both a secular and religious side. In terms of religious believe, as in many religions today, each person was judged upon death for his or her actions during life, and either condemned to be a member of the damned or the blessed (Watson n. pag). Another aspect of the culture comes with the style of traditions. For instance, the ancient Egyptians were the first civilization to regard marriage as a legal relationship. Marriage in ancient Egypt was a religious obligation. The ancient Egyptian laws prepared the marriage relationship and indicated all rights and duties for the couples. Many of the old marriage contracts have been found, and they were registered and signed by three officers. These ancient Egyptian laws gave the right of divorce to women as well as men, and the wife had great respect and a high degree of prestige (El-Bialy n. pag, 2003). Even today these cultures have been adopted by many other cultures. Egyptology In the recent years, the Egyptian culture has had a great impact on the archaeology and the study of Egypt’s ancient heritage. The field of Egyptology has itself become a major scientific subject of great interest in Egypt and also around the world. It began in Arab Egypt during the Middle Ages, but was later led by Europeans and Westerners in modern times. However in the recent decades the study of Egyptology, has been taken up by Egyptian archaeologists such as Zahi Hawass and the Supreme Council of Antiquities he leads. With the discovery of the Rosetta Stone (a tablet written in ancient Greek) Egyptian Demotic script, and Egyptian hieroglyphs, has in part been credited for the recent stir in the study of Ancient Egypt. Greek which is a well known language, gave linguists the capability to decode the mysterious Egyptian hieroglyphic language. The ability to decode hieroglyphics facilitated the translation of hundreds of the texts and inscriptions that were earlier impossible to read, giving insight into Egyptian culture that would have otherwise been lost to the ages. This stone was discovered on July 15, 1799 in the port town of Rosetta, Egypt, and has been held in the British Museum since 1802 (Wikipedia n. pag, 2007). Economics Today, the major economic activities of Egypt depend on agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transportation and communication and others. Tourism is a major source of revenue today. Ancient Egyptian farmers relied on the annual floods of the Nile River to irrigate their fields and renew their top soil. Conclusion Finally, it can be said that the rich Egyptian culture has an impact on the various modern day cultures. It was the birth place of one of the world’s first civilizations which arose about 5000 years ago. Egyptians developed one of the first religions to emphasize life after death. Besides, they also build many cities where many skilled architects, doctors, engineers, painters, and sculptors worked. Islam is the official religion of Egypt as about 90 % of them are Muslims. Tourists from all parts of the world travel to Egypt to see such wonders as Great Sphinx, an enormous pyramids etc. For people throughout Egypt, the beliefs and traditions of Islam form a unifying bond. In fact it is one of the richest cultures in the world.

Article Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Article Analysis - Research Paper Example The predictions of the economic theory presented in the article will also be carried as well as a discussion of the relevance of the economic theory to the ideas presented in the article. Travernise (2011) reports that about 2.6 million people slipped into poverty in the USA in 2010 as reported by the Census Bureau bringing the number of Americans living below poverty to 46,2 million people. This has been the highest figure in 52 years according to the records obtained from the bureau. According to the economists, the median income level of the household fell to records last seen in 1996 and this scenario shows that such statistics were last recorded during the great depression when the statistics had taken such a long period to rise. The report states that about 15.1 percent of the Americans were living below the poverty datum line which was pegged at $22, 314 for a family of four in 2010 and this level has been the highest since 1993. This came on the heels of President Barrack Obama’s bid to push for the jobs bill meant to foster employment creation to alleviate the levels of poverty especially among various people from the different parts of the country. T here has also been a widening gap between the haves and the have nots and this trend is likely to continue unabated if sound economic reforms have not been put in place. The minorities in particular were hardest hit as the report shows that blacks in particular experienced the highest poverty rate of 17 % up from 15 % in 2009, the rate for the Hispanics rose from 25 % to 26 % while the poverty rate for the whites rose from 9.4 % to 9,9 % in 2009. The trend shows that the whites were least affected and it seems that the gap between the rich and the poor is continuing to rise. The economists suggested that joblessness or unemployment was the main culprit leading to such unbelievably high rates of

International business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International business - Research Paper Example The analysis has been done in terms of the nations’ political and economic climate, their methods of marketing and distribution and also the labor climate in the two countries. Economic and political climate for foreign business Singapore has an extremely successful and developed free market economy. It also offers a corruption free and open environment where prices remain stable and the per capita GDP growth also remain high in comparison to other developed nations. The economy’s high dependence on exports of products like electronic and information technology products, pharmaceutical and growth in financial services make it a popular place for conducting business. The nation has demonstrated a GDP growth of 7.1% between the years 2004 and 2007 (CIA, â€Å"Economy - overview:†). On the other hand Hong Kong also demonstrates a free market economy which depends highly on international finance and trade. The nation’s open economy was however greatly affected by the global economic recession which makes it a less popular place, in comparison to Singapore for doing business. The residents of Hong Kong can establish RMB denominated savings accounts, the RMB denominated corporate, and the Chinese government bonds have also been issued in the nation. Moreover, the RMB trade settlement has also been allowed in Hong Kong. The nation has a GDP growth rate of 3.8% between 1989 and 2010, however the growth gradually slowed down in the year 2009 (CIA-a, â€Å"Economy - overview:†). It is apparent that the higher GDP growth of Singapore in comparison to Hong Kong coupled with a free market economy makes it more popular for conducting business operations. Also the nation’s growth in the financial sector and high dependence on trade and finance compliments the same. Methods for marketing and distribution With improvement of the Singapore economy there has been an increasing amount of affluent consumers who are able and willing to spend and consume more. In addition to this a number of new shopping malls like the VivoCity, Ang Mo Kio Hub and Central have emerged which have further added stimulus to the retail sector since 2007. The existing shopping malls like Centrepoint, White Sands and Tampines Mall have also been revamped, with the new extensions established to accommodate more number of retailers for remaining competitive. The inflows of new retailers in the selling spaces have further attracted more consumers who have been increasingly visiting them. This had boosted their growth further in 2007 (Laposte, â€Å"Singapore†). There are two different categories of consumers in the country Hong Kong. There are the local consumers, who account for 6.5 million numbers, while on the other hand the tourists, who are avid lovers of the luxury items. The tourism sector generates greater than ten billion USD of income every year. It must be noted that tourists who come for shopping in Hong Kong are primarily Chi nese from Mainland. The distribution network comprises of many medium and small family-type enterprises which try to remain in groups. The larger stores like the Lane Crawford, Sogo or display a very upscale image while the supermarkets and the neighboring stores like Wing on, Jusco and Sincere remain more profitable for making bulk products. The second market is more dominated by duopoly by Wellcome and Park'n shop. Hong Kong also has a number of discount stores