Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Term Paper on Poverty

Term Paper on Poverty Prejudice, affluence, and poverty in America are linked issues. Works by four authors discussed in this essay, Takaki, Fallows, Olds, and Gioia, help us to understand how the social issues of class and race are intertwined, making an analysis of both necessary for an adequate understanding of any one individually. While the authors discussed here approach the issues from different angles, their works taken side by side clearly show us how prejudice helps the affluent shrug off responsibility toward the poor, offering ‘explanations’ as to why some groups (or persons) remain in poverty and others do not. Additionally, it is argued that those living in affluence – and thus those with the means to significantly address the poverty issue – may, in fact, have a reduced awareness of the existence and reality of poverty. As a result, not only is poverty per se not addressed (we don’t address what we don’t see), but the existing myths and prejudices that help to maintain class divisions, both in society at large and embedded in our legal and social structures, remain unchallenged. However, it is only by examining both the objective nature of the current era together with prejudice and the self-justification of the affluent that one can understand how prejudice, affluence, and poverty are intertwined. The nature of money, according to Gioia’s poem titled simply â€Å"Money†, shapes the reality of life for both the rich and the poor, according to how much they have or don’t have. Gioia’s poem reminds us of the many meanings we accord to money, how we need it and spend it, and how it functions in our economy. One of the clear messages in Gioia’s poem is that money, itself, does not discriminate. It is what it is regardless of who has it, but for those who have it, it grows and multiplies. For those who don’t have it, or don’t have enough of it, it does not. If money itself does not discriminate, how do we account for the gap between those who are affluent and those who are poor? What prevents some from getting it, while others have enough for it to grow? How we answer this question, and the logic behind our answer, is very connected to policy decisions we make concerning poverty, and how effective we are in addressing it. One of our traditional explanations for the why the poor are poor and the rich are rich, according to the American ideology, is that the poor are those who have not worked sufficiently to gain money. Likewise, those who have money, according to the same ideology, are those who have been frugal, worked hard, saved, wisely invested, and who have otherwise ‘lived right’. Takaki, in his article â€Å"Race at the End of History†, provides a summary of how this is embedded in our ideology: â€Å" The American dream still holds promise to all us as Americans. Everyone, regardless of race, can make it into the mainstream through hard work and private effort. † (p. 387). This kind of definition, and the ideology behind it, makes it possible to approach policy issues in such a way that places overwhelming responsibility on those who are poor for their own plight. As Takaki points out, our emphasis is on the fact that success is to be achieved through ‘private’ means, rather than government assistance (p. 387). Addressing poverty then becomes a question of getting those who are not working hard enough, not ‘living right’, to do so. This definition of poverty allows us to say, those who have a lion’s share of wealth deserve that wealth, and those who are in poverty, deserve that poverty. Viewed this way, there is no reason, then, to seriously listen to claims of ‘glass ceilings’ or discrimination, or to look in any other way at prejudices built into our social and legal structures that unfairly increase the odds for some, and reduce them for others. How is it that, in the face of evident continued poverty among certain ethnic or racial groups, we continue to believe in this ideology? Surely, by now enough evidence of systematic discrimination, glass ceilings, and other obstacles for specific racial and ethnic (and gender) groups has shown us that the American dream as summed up by Takaki is based at least partially on a myth. Yet many people still agree with, for example, what Takaki suggests (p. 385) Francis Fukuyama’s explanation is: that poverty is a matter of cultural difference. Parillo, in â€Å"Causes of Prejudice†, and Fallows in â€Å"The Invisible Poor† each help us to understand forces at work that help to perpetuate the myth even in the face of a contradictory reality. Parillo points to prejudice and the continuation of prejudice through the socialization process. Defining prejudice as â€Å"an attitudinal ‘system of negative beliefs, feelings, and action-orientations regarding a certain group or groups of people’† (p. 548), Parillo argues that, through the socialization process, prejudicial views consciously or unconsciously adopted during childhood can then continue into adulthood, and translate into prejudicial choices and behavior in work, social life, and life choices. Additionally, widespread and generally shared prejudicial beliefs and attitudes toward specific groups can be implicitly (or explicitly) reinforced by society at large through, for example, the legal system and cultural norms (p. 557). New generations may not be alert to these subtle reinforcers of prejudicial attitudes and practices, and therefore may not question them. The prevailing stereotypes and prejudices are thus maintained and continued as they are adopted by new generations, and as they continue to be sanctified by the surrounding legal and societal framework. If children acquire their beliefs from their parents through socialization, what prevents them from questioning those values? Surely, we are not all sheep, that unthinkingly accept everything we hear. One explanation that Parillo offers (pp. 550-551) is ‘Self-Justification’, that we need â€Å"reassurance that the things we do and the lives we live are proper, that good reasons for our actions exist. † One way in which this surfaces, he argues, is through a dominant group convincing itself that it is superior to other groups, causing them to associate less frequently or not at all with those groups it deems inferior. Fallows article â€Å"The Invisible Poor† clearly shows how this phenomenon is a reality of our current era of ‘tech wealth’, describing the invisible social barrier between rich and poor people – a barrier so great as to make the poor ‘invisible’ to the rich. Within the tech wealth era, according to Fallows, the production of wealth involves fewer ‘blue collar workers’, so that those directly benefiting from it are not confronted with the realities, struggles, and needs of those less like them. In terms of economic background, there is more similarity between the ‘workers’ producing and benefiting from the new wealth. Second, the nature of work within the tech industry isolates those within it into an insulated world. Long working hours, a minimal amount of leisure time, and social lives primarily focused around those within the same world further contributes to the lack of awareness and connectedness to the rest of the world around them. Third, he points to the ‘racial meritocracy’ of the tech industry, with workers and contributors coming from all corners of the globe. He argues that this racial mix among the tech wealthy leaves them out of touch with the more basic and traditional racial tensions among the less wealthy, and the ways in which those in minority groups not associated with the tech wealthy are still disadvantaged. While Fallows offers a great deal of support for these specific phenomena of the tech wealth era as objective phenomena, which may indeed be at work, combining an analysis of these phenomena with Parrillo’s analysis of prejudice and self-justification offers a fuller understanding of our current era. Sharon Olds, in her poem â€Å"From Seven Floors Up† shows, for example, how even if there are objective forces at work such as those discussed by Fallows, there is still an attitudinal factor at work: when those more affluent are confronted with the reality of poverty, they are looking from seven floors up, through prejudice and self-justification, will more likely (however unwittingly)do not believe it could be a reality of their lives. In sum, given that money itself does not discriminate, and given the overwhelming evidence that there are obstacles to wealth other than the personal failure to achieve the ‘American Dream’, we must look for a fuller explanation of the gap between the rich and the poor. The relationship between affluence and poverty consists not only of objective forces such as new forms of wealth production or characteristics of new economic eras, but more concretely of prejudice. The very real obstacles to wealth encountered by specific societal groups, and embedded in our social and legal structures ,are not only due to the transference of values from one generation to the next, but due to the continued need for self-justification among the affluent. The product of self-justification, prejudice, is the link between affluence and poverty that needs to be analyzed and addressed if social policies concerning poverty are to be effective.

Wedding Dance

Our third posting on a short story by an author from the Philippines will be on a writer from the Ilocos province, Amador Daguio. Dagui was born in 1912 in the Ilocos province. His father was an officer in the national police of the Philippines. He lived with his uncle in Manila while attending high school as there were no high schools in his home area. During this period he became very lonely and was driven to write poetry to express his feelings, one of which was published in a national publication while he was still in high school. In 1932 he graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines.He returned to the area where he grew up and worked as a teacher and married a local woman. During WWII he joined the resistance and would eventually publish a well regarded collection of poems about his experiences during the war years. He is primarily known as a poet but also wrote some wonderful short stories. In 1953 he received a Fulbright grant to study at Stanford University in California where he studied the short story. For Twenty Six years after returning from the USA he taught at the University of the East and the University of the Philippines.He passed away in 1966 and in 1973 he was awarded the National Cultural Award. â€Å"The Wedding Dance† was first published in 1953 by Stanford University in an annual publication of works by participants in their literary programs. It is a very moving and beautifully written story that lets us see a way of life most know little about and is set in a nearly forgotten culture, that of the tribal people of northern Luzon. Marriage in this culture was seen as more or less a contract between a man and a woman for the purposes of producing children.If after seven harvests, there is no child, either party is free to break the bond and seek another spouse. A childless couple was seen as a very sad matter and often the masculinity of the husband was considered suspect. As the story opens the man is telling his beloved wife he is sorry this has to happen, he is sorry he must take another wife as she has proved barren (leaving aside medical fact it might be him). He offers her part of their land but she refuses. He tells her she should go to the wedding dance for his new marriage to show she is accepting of what is happening.She refuses all but some beads he gave her. She is still the most attractive woman in the community, the best homemaker and the best at growing crops. It is really a heartbreaking story as I could sense the man did not want to do this but community pressures and cultural norms were driving him to divorce a woman he truly loved for one he cares little about. The ending is beautifully done and leaves opens what will happen to the wife. She really seems like a â€Å"perfect wife† and one cannot help but feel the man is foolish and to make it worse, he knows it. ? The Wedding Dance by Amador T.Daguio is about Awiyao and Lumnay, a long married couple from the Mountain tribes. Awiyao is going to marry another woman, Madulimay, because Lumnay was not able to give him a child. Awiyao went back home to see Lumnay because he didn't find her among the dancers at his wedding. He wanted Lumnay to dance at his wedding for the last time but she cannot. On their moment, there are many flashbacks about how Lumnay did her best to have a child, through offering to the god, Kabunyan; and how Awiyao and Lumnay's love was as strong as the river; but â€Å"it is just that a man must have a child†, and he had to leave her.He promised her that if he fails to have a child, he will come back to her. She wanted to protest against the written rule that a man can marry another woman, so Lumnay went to the wedding dance. But while seeing her husband married to another woman, she could not take it anymore and just went to the mountain to clear away the beans she had thought about. And so Lumnay, waiting for Awiyao a long time, thought of Awiyao's promise as she cle ared away the growing bean plants. ? Wedding Dance Our third posting on a short story by an author from the Philippines will be on a writer from the Ilocos province, Amador Daguio. Dagui was born in 1912 in the Ilocos province. His father was an officer in the national police of the Philippines. He lived with his uncle in Manila while attending high school as there were no high schools in his home area. During this period he became very lonely and was driven to write poetry to express his feelings, one of which was published in a national publication while he was still in high school. In 1932 he graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines.He returned to the area where he grew up and worked as a teacher and married a local woman. During WWII he joined the resistance and would eventually publish a well regarded collection of poems about his experiences during the war years. He is primarily known as a poet but also wrote some wonderful short stories. In 1953 he received a Fulbright grant to study at Stanford University in California where he studied the short story. For Twenty Six years after returning from the USA he taught at the University of the East and the University of the Philippines.He passed away in 1966 and in 1973 he was awarded the National Cultural Award. â€Å"The Wedding Dance† was first published in 1953 by Stanford University in an annual publication of works by participants in their literary programs. It is a very moving and beautifully written story that lets us see a way of life most know little about and is set in a nearly forgotten culture, that of the tribal people of northern Luzon. Marriage in this culture was seen as more or less a contract between a man and a woman for the purposes of producing children.If after seven harvests, there is no child, either party is free to break the bond and seek another spouse. A childless couple was seen as a very sad matter and often the masculinity of the husband was considered suspect. As the story opens the man is telling his beloved wife he is sorry this has to happen, he is sorry he must take another wife as she has proved barren (leaving aside medical fact it might be him). He offers her part of their land but she refuses. He tells her she should go to the wedding dance for his new marriage to show she is accepting of what is happening.She refuses all but some beads he gave her. She is still the most attractive woman in the community, the best homemaker and the best at growing crops. It is really a heartbreaking story as I could sense the man did not want to do this but community pressures and cultural norms were driving him to divorce a woman he truly loved for one he cares little about. The ending is beautifully done and leaves opens what will happen to the wife. She really seems like a â€Å"perfect wife† and one cannot help but feel the man is foolish and to make it worse, he knows it. ? The Wedding Dance by Amador T.Daguio is about Awiyao and Lumnay, a long married couple from the Mountain tribes. Awiyao is going to marry another woman, Madulimay, because Lumnay was not able to give him a child. Awiyao went back home to see Lumnay because he didn't find her among the dancers at his wedding. He wanted Lumnay to dance at his wedding for the last time but she cannot. On their moment, there are many flashbacks about how Lumnay did her best to have a child, through offering to the god, Kabunyan; and how Awiyao and Lumnay's love was as strong as the river; but â€Å"it is just that a man must have a child†, and he had to leave her.He promised her that if he fails to have a child, he will come back to her. She wanted to protest against the written rule that a man can marry another woman, so Lumnay went to the wedding dance. But while seeing her husband married to another woman, she could not take it anymore and just went to the mountain to clear away the beans she had thought about. And so Lumnay, waiting for Awiyao a long time, thought of Awiyao's promise as she cle ared away the growing bean plants. ?

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

A Critical Regulatory Issue in Health Care Essay

Health care legal issues today are an uphill climb due to not having a full understanding of case laws and why we have them. One of the most controversial issues today is prescribed marijuana for the terminally ill. This has been a legal battle for years in the health care industry, especially for those who suffer from chronic illnesses such as cancer. Marijuana is an illegal drug that many physicians and patients believe it aids in relieving pain and side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, which is very debilitating for many patients and cause many more issues for the patient. The states of California and Oregon have investigated the medicinal uses of marijuana closely. The differences in states approval or disapproval can be seen clearly with these two states. California for example views marijuana as a â€Å"Schedule I drug, meaning it can be possed and used to aid in survival and pain reduction for terminally ill patients. Yet, Oregon can legally permit physicians to prescribe the drug under Schedule II and patients can use the drug to end their lives.† (George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H. 2006) The real question is whether or not the U. S. Congress had authority constitutionally and the autonomy to make a decision, since this would fall under the Commerce Clause. U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the clause gave them the power, the right, and the ability to regulate marijuana grown at home for personal medically related uses as it had â€Å"to regulate the amount of wheat a farmer grew on his farm for personal consumption.† (George J. Annas, J. D., M.P.H. 2006) The fact of the matter is this, it could have been prescribed legally by a physician was irrelevant. This is a very slippery area for the health care industry and all those who prescribe medical marijuana are under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) of 1970. The CSA set standards and regulations for controlled substances in one of a five schedules that is based on the potential for  dependence and abuse. Also it puts our legal system at a crossroad when considering; what is possession of an illegal drug and tho se who distribute or deal illegal drugs. This places the system in an area for a litany of legal battles which have included the health care system on what is considered legal and what is not legal. Of course this opens the can of worms on assisted suicides. The ruling of that would have to come from the U. S. Attorney General to determine whether prescribing drugs for suicide was not a â€Å"legitimate medical practice†, â€Å"As required by the CSA and writing such a prescription could therefore result in revocation of one’s registration certificate with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and federal criminal prosecution.† (George J.Annas, J.D., M.P.H. 2006) Supreme Court rulings in cases of assisted suicide are an issue because they try and keep a general consensus at state level. The state court officials who are part of the executive branch are responsible for administering specific statues and are allowed to interrupt the meanings of cases involving the CSA. Therefore, it is very important to learn and know the statues and laws of the state in which the individual resides since the laws vary from state to state. The question of what constitutes a legitimate medical practice is open to interpretation and can be argued that the CSA prohibits doctor assisted suicide with the use of controlled substances. The use of Schedule II drugs is not a â€Å"legitimate practice†, thus causing the ruling in the state of California but, not in Oregon. This decision was reached because states have the right under federalism basic principle to regulate the practice of medicine and it is a state-regulated activity. The U. S. Congress does not have authority to make it federally regulated under the CSA. However, 20 states in the U. S. allow medical marijuana usage for terminally ill patients. This number is expected to grow, although, 20 states ruled it legal for medical purposes; it is still illegal under Federal Law. The issue of assisted suicide controlled substance abuse and medical marijuana have some interesting outcomes because the laws of the land take a strong stance to decriminalize marijuana as some state have already; it will reduce the number of prisoners in the prison population. From a medical stand point the benefit of prescribing the drug far outweighs not prescribing it because of the fear physicians have about being prosecuted and having their medical licenses revoked. However, the street  pharmacist would be able to have the same benefit of protection under the CSA, since we give longer sentences for drug dealing than we do murder. All things considered, the objective behind medical marijuana and the benefits it provides to the terminally ill or a person who suffers chronic pain shows a positive sign that it helps to relieve and aid in pain management. It’s time for public health officials, state regulators, and health scientist to bring (make) changes in health care when it concerns medical marijuana. Medical marijuana can be manufactured as a controlled substance and regulated to meet the standards in quality care and quality control. The standards can be met by establishing and monitoring results through follow ups and collection of clinical evidence. Medical marijuana has been a hot topic for years and will continue to be a hot topic in the years to come, yet it still benefits the people who need it. In many cases, people will continue to self-medicate to help with pain relief. Marijuana is an herb that is natural and in many cases safer than pain killers offered by large pharmaceutical companies. It has been proven that marijuana slows down response and gives the person the munchies. Yet the drugs from pharmaceutical companies can cause much worse damage from liver and kidney malfunctions as well as heart problems. So, which is better? George J. Annas, J. D., M. P. H. (2006) Congress Controlled Substances and Physician Assisted Suicide—Elephants in Mouse Holes, The New England Journal of Medicine

Monday, July 29, 2019

Empowerment and innovation change in workplace Essay

Empowerment and innovation change in workplace - Essay Example While performing the employee empowerment program care should be taken to provide maximum satisfaction to the employees. This will result production hike and thereby the customer satisfaction can be maximized. If there are technical difficulties in implementing empowerment program, then a cultural change is essential for the whole organization. The authorities must try to learn the requirements of the employees for dedicating themselves to promote result oriented work. People have different views regarding the nature of empowerment programs to be implemented. For different organization the structure of empowerment will be different. These variations are according to the requirements of each organization. The developmental background and the processing of procedures for empowerment implementation are entirely different with respect to organizational point of view. Moreover the working media, the type of work carrying out and the time frame of work are the various aspects which are to be considered before designing and implementing employee empowerment programs. The need of empowerment in an organization is a kind of work redesigning process. Before redesigning is carried out in an organization the authorities must make sure decisions regarding the innovations to be employed in the work front. They must make a confirmative effort to find out the section of the organization which needs the innovation. The organization expects well cooperated performance from the employee side. For achieving this feat the working environment of the natural work group should be enhanced considerably. Since the concept behind the working classes is highly complicated it should be dealt with utmost care. The very important part that we can observe in social work group empowerment is social interaction. These enable employees to socialize on works entrusted to them. The interaction should be purely task based. If

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Space Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Space Analysis - Essay Example Here, most of the people are unknown to each other and they are related on the basis of their category (Minton, 2012). The case study here is based on Sulzer-Areal in Winterthur, Switzerland. The main focus of the study is to understand how the free area meant for iron and steel factory complex has been converted into public space (King, 2011). The old industrial area of Sulzer-Areal (Fig 1) is located in the center of Winterthur, Switzerland. In the year 1834, it was first built by the Sulzer brothers and the area is spread over twenty hectares till Zurich road and railway. The industrial area reflects the golden days of mechanical engineering in Switzerland. In 1980, a law was passed to expel the heavy industries out of the main city area of Winterthur and from then on, lots of suggestion has been proposed for Sulzer-Areal. The place was much into a state of transition from 1990 and in 1992, the idea of complete demolition of the area was rejected. The owner of the space, Sulzer Immobilien AG group, proposed a very high budget and international project called the ‘Megalou’ for the complete restructuring of Sulzer-Areal (King, 2011). But due to recession, the entire project lost its luster and was left with no tenants and investors. The situation demanded a rethinking, as the operation of the space was not possible because of the huge investment required. So, it was decided to make some superficial changes in the existing buildings and convert it into a public space that will help to rebuild the area in the future. The industrial buildings were slowly transformed into districts. Now the area is a mix of educational institutes, residential complexes, workplaces and leisure. Thus, the area now has a whole new and exciting charm as a public space (King, 2011). The entire study of the Sulzer-Areal case study has been done by keeping in focus certain points that will help the reader understand how the entire

Saturday, July 27, 2019

The National Fire Academy and CDP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The National Fire Academy and CDP - Essay Example The institution also encompasses training programs that aid FEMA and DHS in prevention, mitigation and preparedness for fire and other emergency services (Giustina, 2014). Other institutions are incapacitated to offer such services, owing to their costs and audience inabilities. Individuals with substantial involvement in fire and prevention and control, emergency medical services, and other fire management-related courses are qualified to apply for various courses within the institution. Firefighting career is a tough profession, and individuals need to sacrifice themselves in order to fit in this challenging career. Initially, individuals could such climb careers through training and experience. However, as the world improves in aspects such as technology and other fields, individuals in the fire fighting profession ought to better their knowledge through rigorous training programs. Most individuals currently advance to degree levels of education. National Fire Academy offers management-training programs and they ought to select eligible candidates for such professions carefully. The institution should select individuals that have completed the basic training program for fire and other related emergencies’ preparedness, prevention and response. This will enhance improving their knowledge on fire and disaster management, hence placing them in a better position for response in case of fire and other related disasters (Giustina, 2014). Additionally, these individuals will have background information of their training prior to the management training. The Center for Domestic Preparedness is another institute under FEMA, tasked with the responsibility of training individuals for preparedness and response to disasters that result from weapons of mass destruction, (WDM) ( Burke, 2006). The institute offers its training through

Friday, July 26, 2019

Virtual and Social Media of Wikis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Virtual and Social Media of Wikis - Essay Example Wikis are hosted by a third party, and is largely popular for people who like to browse, input comments on certain topics and share information through simple means. The creation of wikis mainly caters to an audience who want to have a chance to interact with particular web contents. People practice virtual and social media communication by accessing wikis. Wikis are made to help people come to know about things he has the least knowledge about. It also empowers viewers to remove from the site they are viewing topics which they consider off. People interact with each other by sharing information, comments, and suggestions through this software. People then get the chance to add on to their knowledge, but also develop their interactive skills when accessing Wikis. On a personal level, wikis enhance communication and interaction among web fanatics. On a business level, wikis enable companies to develop networks which consequently simplify work and increase productivity. Businesses gain inputs from viewers while getting important messages across the targeted group, giving them a chance to successfully market their products, services or even ideas. Bigger companies use Wikis to collaborate with clients and manage production on major projects. Wikis, as in any other technology, has its strengths and downsides. One of its strengths lies in the fact that it serves its purpose very well, it is very engaging and it never fails to trigger participation from the target audience. Information written on the web may be altered or modified by anyone. It is useful as well as easy to use; it is not structured or prohibiting. It enhances interaction and gives the audience the enjoyment of participating in information sharing. Wikis are also very flexible. It bends according to the needs of the user.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Employment loyalty at Rhythm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Employment loyalty at Rhythm - Essay Example Thus, the discussion below focuses on the more important results from statistical analysis of the survey data. The response rate to the survey consisted 37 percent in the 31-40 age-group, 30 percent in the 21–30 age group, 27 percent within the 41–50 age-group and seven percent in the over 50 age-group. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the respondents’ country cultural constraints, all the respondents were males. A vast majority of the cohorts, 67 percent, were married with children and 27 percent were single, but seven percent of the respondents did not present a response to the question about their marital status. Seven percent had a postgraduate master’s degree as attributed to increased proportion of postgraduate level education in Saudi Arabia. A very significant proportion of the respondents included in the survey did not answer the questions about their area of expertise, job title and department worked at in Rhythm, and this was probably because of a fear of recognition in a company, which is not a firm with a very large number of employees. Only twenty percent of the respondents were willing to share information about their total work experience and number of years at Rhythm as illustrated in Figure 4.1.5 and Figure 4.1.6. The longest serving employee at Rhythm had served for 15 years with the company after having joined Rhythm with only one year of experience. However, because a vast majority of respondents did not answer the previously mentioned questions, it will be difficult to draw valid conclusions about stability of employment offered by Rhythm. Forty eight percent of Rhythm employees were deeply involved with their company and considered their organisation’s problems as their own, as illustrated in the figure below. This is a healthy ratio and the previously mentioned figure suggests a high degree of employee involvement in Rhythm. Only 26 percent of the respondents indicated that they did not have a

Is Schizophrenia a Biological Disorder Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Is Schizophrenia a Biological Disorder - Essay Example Because of the scarcity of evidence that can be relied upon the disease is difficult to be identified with symptoms only. Because of its unpredictable nature also because of lack of knowledge about its causes this disease is rightly called cancer of mental illness. Some scientists believe that researchers were successful in finding out the biological background of the disease in 1990s. The modern diagnostic equipment are somewhat useful in identifying the biological root causes of the disease. But the whole truth is yet to be discovered. This disease was recognized and treated in its primitive forms about 3,000 years ago. Although the present name schizophrenia was not used in those days it was called dementia, and late demence precoce etc. But later on a German psychiatrist, Emil Kraepelin presented a theory to call it a single disease quite similar to dementia praecox. But the theory of Kraeplin was rebuted by Eugene Bleuler. Bleuler thought that it is not a single disease similar to dementia praecox. According to symptoms clinical picture schizophrenia is divided into five subtypes. A person suffering from schizophrenia may not have symptoms of a single category so the usefulness of this division to subtypes is still considered a not very effective and reliable Schizophrenia is quite common disease it accounts for almost 50 percent of most of mental disorders. This syndrome is equally common in men and women. ... A person suffering from schizophrenia may not have symptoms of a single category so the usefulness of this division to subtypes is still considered a not very effective and reliable Prevailing views about Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is quite common disease it accounts for almost 50 percent of most of mental disorders. This syndrome is equally common in men and women. It is observed that disease may attack patient in his or her 30s. But this is not a hard and fast rule. It can appear in the later age of the patient also. It is also said that most of the patients of this disease live in poorer areas of the cities. Some scholars think that the patients suffering from this disease can not survive financially in well off or middle class areas because of the disease so they have to move to the poorer areas. Others have a different view, they think that this disease most commonly cause by stress and anxiety related to financial problems, that is why most of the patients are from poorer areas of the cities. Common Symptoms Traditionally it is not easy for a therapist to assess and diagnose the person with this syndrome. The doctor would have to carefully review the symptoms prevalent in the patient. The doctors have to rely upon the information provided by the people closely affiliated to the patient. The doctors also confirm their assessment by keeping the person under observation and results of mental status are also used for getting correct diagnosis. Therapist mostly focus on thoughts disorders, deception. Patient can get preoccupied by illusions relate religion or beliefs. Many people with schizophrenia have disturbances in expressions and emotions. The patients may no feel no regard or connection with

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Media Log Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media Log - Essay Example There have been several improvements in the legal standing of the gay and lesbian community, however, it is in a slow pace. The laws concerning them are dragging in the legislation department to be approved. Although the society recognizes their existence, the gay and lesbian community now seeks to enjoy the same rights and privileges that the heterosexual people have. The Stonewall event commemorates and reminds the people the stand and the clamors of the gay and lesbian community, that they, too, are human beings who deserve a fair position in the society. They, too, are humans, and deserve to be treated as such. They, too, have rights the same as the heterosexual community. The gay and lesbian community deserves to be included in the many laws against discrimination and other laws that prevent them from exercising their rights. There is a need to further educate the lawmakers in revising laws in order to accommodate the needs and the rights of the gay and lesbian community. This article tackles the issues that the same-sex encounter in their plight to be accepted as legal partners, same as legal marriages of the heterosexual community. It brings out in the open the voices of the children of gay parents wherein they have also been in the middle of the fight towards their parents’ plea to legalize their marriages. The gay and lesbian community’s children insist that the same sex marriage will not only benefit adults but it will also provide the children equal benefits and privileges as the children from heterosexual marriages. The children’s worries center on issues of custody, financial aid and visitation rights. For example, there is no legal child support requirement in the event one partner leaves the child in care with the other. Another example cited is in the event when one of the gay parents is sick, the

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

The Implementation of International Treaties (with Specific Reference Essay

The Implementation of International Treaties (with Specific Reference to the United Nations Convention for Biological Diversity - Essay Example ‘Implementation’ in legal terms refer to the different regulations, laws, policies, and various other initiatives and measures adopted for fulfilling the obligations as made mandatory under an environmental agreement (Donald, 2002). Implementation of environmental policies, at a global level, is liable to face more issues than implementing at a national level. This is owing to the fact that global implementation depends on mutual collaboration between different countries that have their own set of political, socio-economic and environmental issues, and are under voluntary obligations to follow the treaties; hence it is difficult to hold them responsible for failure in adhering to and implementing the convention guidelines. States with emerging economies may find that implementation of global environmental policies lacks feasibility. Such countries would prefer to allocate public funds for promoting socio-economic growth, instead spending money on safeguarding and regulat ing environmental resources. In developing nations (often, also observed in developed countries) increasing populations and demands for bettering the quality of life, a pressure develops on state governments to relax environmental protection norms. Keeping the challenges and the need for environmental protection in mind, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was created in 1992 for promoting worldwide sustainable environmental development. CBD is an international body that evolved from the Earth Summit (June 1992), also known as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro. The chief aims this Convention are: â€Å"conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights over those resources and to technologies, and by appropriate funding† (Convention On Biological Diversity, 1992, p. 3). The Convention takes into account many issues that range from safeguarding natural resources, to making â€Å"use of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices relevant to the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components†(ibid, p. 2), arranging for incentives in cases where there have been sustainable use of environmental resources, and transfer of science and modern technology. In this context, this research paper will study and analyse the 1992 Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) in order to review the issues faced while implementing global environmental policies. In recent years, countries have become dependent on different international bodies to promote cooperation between States at a global level on various aspects (Lane, 2006). International treaties have turned into foundation stones for various multilat eral regulatory efforts along with being an institutionalised kind of global collaboration, a process based on notions of shared sovereignties (Sharma, Chettri, Gurung and Shakya, 2007). Increased institutionalised collaboration in the recent years has created a complex mosaic of agreements at the global, regional and bilateral levels (Kim, 2003). Even after 2 decades since its inception, CBD continues to be one of the most important global

Monday, July 22, 2019

Purpose of Schools Essay Example for Free

Purpose of Schools Essay School is an institutional mechanism that tries to share knowledge and/or be an agent for social action. Looking back to the ancient history of schools, some schools of ancient Israel for example feel that the main purpose of education was to ‘produce faithful members of a nation – a son who would bring pride to his family and his people and glory to God. ’ In ancient Greece, the school was to produce a productive citizen, wise and mature and Rome followed the example of Greece. However, there are some schools which are just for education, where basic knowledge is shared based on the age through a planned curriculum. There are schools which apart from providing knowledge through planned curricula do bring in social change through actions. I believe that a school has got to play the role of both i. e. sharing knowledge and also be an agency for social action. An example that can be cited following both is the ancient Hindu school called ‘gurukul’ , where apart from knowledge through planned curricula, there are learning sessions on various social norms and values that are normally practiced in the society. The purpose of a school is thus to orient students to socialize by understanding the background, culture and values of that area which would further add to their individual growth and understanding for nurturing good citizens. Apart from this, there is a need for the schools to see to it that students are able to gain proper knowledge which should further help them to able to attain further education and employment. Thus, we can say that the main purpose of schools is to provide education which would enhance the knowledge, skills and attributes of students and make them responsible citizens of the country. Even though schools as educational institutions have their own limitations of access to knowledge, funds to provide the services to students etc. based on the need and following the goal that the educational institution wants to achieve, teachers have to redesign their teaching strategies/pedagogy.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Production of Wine From Fruits and Value Addition

Production of Wine From Fruits and Value Addition Production of wine from fruits and value addition by blending medicinal plants Vinayaka B. Shet, Sagar  S.D., Bollamma,  M.N., Mary Teena  J. Abstract: Wine is an alcoholic beverage typically made of fermented fruit juice. The fruits used in the study were Wild Grapes, Guava, Sapota, Fig, Pomegranate, Kokum, and blends of Guava with Kokum and Sapota with Ginger, Tulsi, Tinospora and Coleus aromaticus. The musts of the fruits were extracted, pasteurized and subjected to anaerobic fermentation by inoculating with baker’s yeast with an initial pH of 3.5- 4 and initial sugar concentration of 18-20ËÅ ¡Brix at room temperature. Then wine was subjected to malolactic fermentation using Oenococcus oeni. The residual concentration of all the samples was found to be less than 1g/L, fixed acidity in terms of tartaric acid equivalent was found to be in the range of 13.93g/L to 3.31g/L, radical scavenging activity in terms of ascorbic acid equivalent was found to be in the range 0.15-0.5mg/ml, percentage of alcohol was found to be in the range of 8.5-9.8%. Key words: Wine, Acidity, Residual sugar, alcohol 1. Introduction Wine is a popular drink being enjoyed all over the world. Historians believe that wine was being made in Caucasus and Mesopotamia as early as 6000 BC. Rig-Veda amply testifies that the wine is perhaps the oldest fermented product known to man. It has been made in India for as many as 5,000 years. In developing countries like India 20-30% of fruits produced are wasted due to lack of proper utilization, post-harvest and processing technology. By converting the waste into value added products like wine is a smart solution for this problem (Reddy et al., 2009). Wine is an alcoholic beverage typically made of fermented fruit juice. Any fruit with good proportion of sugar may be used in producing wine and the resultant wine is normally named after the fruit. The type of wine to be produced dictates the fruit and strain of yeast to be involved. Preservatives used in wine making include sulphur-dioxide potassium sorbate, sorbic acid and metabisulphides. Wine is one of the functional fermente d foods and has many health benefits. These include anti-ageing effects in red grape skins, improvement of lung function from antioxidants in white wine, reduction in coronary heart disease, development of healthier blood vessels in elderly people, reduction in ulcer-causing bacteria, destruction of cancer cells by protein present in red grape skins, prevention of stroke by keeping the arteries clean by polyphones in red grape skins, decreasing ovarian cancer risk in women and making the bones stronger. Epidemiological evidence has been provided showing that constituents in fruits are beneficial to human health and contribute to the prevention of degenerative processes caused by oxidative stress (Bansal et al., 2009). Fruits contain many different dietary phytonutrients with strong antioxidant capacities; such as: phenolics, which include flavonoids and phenolic acids; carotenoids; and vitamins. Dietary intake of plant phenolics are inversely related to coronary heart disease and ac t as anti-ulcer, antispasmodic, anti-secretory, or anti-diarrheal agents in the gastrointestinal tract. Certain flavonoids have been shown to inhibit the activity of free radical generating enzymes aldose reductase, which cause diabetic cataracts and tumor growth in modelled systems .The concentration of some minerals in wine is important due to health impact of minerals, their role in the stability of wine, possibility of toxicological risks and food regulations. The mineral profile of wines has also been proposed as a possible fingerprint that could be used to characterize wines based on their geographical origin (Bisson et al., 2002). Fruits like guava and pomegranate are easy to culture, possess high nutritive value and its products like juices, beverages nectars, etc. are largely appreciated by the consumers. Average energy contribution to total energy intake is estimated to be 10- 20% among adults. These fruits are difficult to keep for long and are utilized either as fresh or processed juice and specialty products. High rate wastage of these fruits necessitates the need for alternative preservation a post-harvest technologies. Evidences have shown how fruit consumption can play an important role in the prevention of many diseases linked to oxidative stress such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases. These biological activities have been mainly attributed to phenolic compounds, such as anthocyanins and elligitanins. In general fruit wines are processed in the same way as wine made from grapes and significant compositional changes take part during wine making. Likewise phenolic compounds are not only health promoti ng bioactivities but also greatly contribute to the sensory properties of stuff by alternating colour taste (Gurvinder et al.,2011).Fruit juices contain water and 20% carbohydrates, 1% organic acids and trace amounts of organic acids, phenolics, vitamins, minerals and nitrogenous compounds. The sugars, organic acids and phenolics give the juice its flavour, while the vitamins, minerals and nitrogenous compounds are, in many cases, essential to yeast growth and fermentation. Wine has a similar composition, but has much lower levels of sugar (none in dry wines), 8-13% alcohol and a greater range of minor components (Mena et al., 2012). 2. Materials and methods 2.1 Crushing All the glass wares, strainers and fruits were washed with 50ppm Potassium metabisulfite solutions (KMS). Crushing of the fruits was carried out by hands and pestle-mortar (where required). The fruit paste (must) along with the seeds and the skins was pasteurized at 70-80ËÅ ¡C for 15 minutes. After pasteurization, the must was filtered using strainers and 500ml of the juice was extracted (Ganjyal et al., 2005). 2.2 Blending medicinal plants To incorporate medicinal value, must was blended separately with Ginger, Tulsi, Tinospora and Coleus aromaticus. ( Shipra et al.,2012, Subir kumar et al., 2005,) 2.3 Estimation of initial sugar concentration Initial sugar was estimated for all the must using a hydrometer. Initial sugar was measured in terms of ËÅ ¡Brix. Final sugar concentration was adjusted to 18ËÅ ¡Brix. In order to bring the sugar concentration to the required value, table sugar was added to carry out chapitalization (Gurvinder et al.,2011). 2.4 Adjustment of initial pH The required pH for this procedure is approx. 3.5. Initial pHHhhhhHoinjn of the fruit juice was checked using a pH meter. If the pH was found to be above 3.5, it was adjusted by adding tartarate crystals (Oliveira et al., 2011). 2.5 Innoculum preparation After adjusting the sugar concentration and the pH, all the juices were kept for fermentation. For this 1g of yeast was added in 10 ml of distilled water for regeneration. This solution was acclimatized to the juice for 10 minutes and then it was added to the flask containing the juice. 2.6 Alcoholic batch fermentation To prevent contamination, 50ppm KMS was added to the fermentation apparatus. The mouth of the flask was fitted with a cork + U-shaped airlock assembly to maintain anaerobic condition. The airlock was half filled with KMS solution. The flask is fit with an airlock to prevent the entry of oxygen and to facilitate release of carbon dioxide and hence maintains the anaerobic condition. All the wine samples were kept at room temperature (25-30ËÅ ¡C) for batch fermentation. 2.7 Malolactic fermentation The culture of Oenococcus oeni was procured from NCIM, pune in freeze dried form. To each of the fermented wine samples, 0.1 ml of the culture was added and kept for malolactic fermentation for 7 days (Edwards et al., 1989). 2.8 Analytical methods Initial sugar concentration in terms of Brix was determined using hydrometer. The residual sugar concentration was estimated on daily basis using the DNSA method. Acidity of the wine was determined by titration method. The radical scavenging activity of the wine samples was calculated using DPPH assay. The percentage of ethanol present in the wine samples was estimated using GC. 3. Results and discussion 3.1 Estimation of initial sugar concentration Initial sugar concentration plays major role in fermentation and alcohol concentration. Soon after crushing fruits estimation of initial sugar concentration was done using a hydrometer. Then concentration was adjusted to 18 Brix by chapitalization. (Fig.1).The initial sugar concentration ( ºBrix) was found to be highest in sapota (15.2 ºBrix) and lowest in guava (1.3 ºBrix). The sugar concentrations were made up to approximately 18-20 ºBrix by adding table sugar. Fig. 1: Initial sugar concentration. 3.2 Estimation of residual sugar The residual concentration of all the samples was found to be less than 1g/L and hence there is no chance of contamination at the time of wine storage. (Fig.2) Shelf life will be more. 3.3 Estimation of acidity The fixed acidity in terms of tartaric acid equivalent was found to be highest in pomegranate (5.87g/L) and lowest in sapota and ginger (3.31g/L).(Fig.3) Fig.2: Residual sugar Fig.3:Acidity of the wine 3.4 Radical Scavenging Activity The radical scavenging activity of the wine samples was calculated using DPPH assay and was found to be as follows in terms of ascorbic acid equivalent. The radical scavenging activity for all the samples in terms of ascorbic acid equivalent was found to be in the range 0.15-0.5mg/ml. (Fig.4). Fig. 4 Radical scavenging activity 3.5 Ethanol Estimation The percentage of ethanol present in the wine samples was estimated using ceric ammonium nitrate reagent and the resulting percentage was obtained. The percentage of alcohol for all the wine samples was found to be in the range of 9.0-10.5%. The highest ethanol content is present in pomegranate. (Fig.5) 4. Conclusion After analyzing the wine that was produced from different fruits and blending combination it was found that the residual sugar concentration was less than 1g/L. The fixed acidity was maximum in Guava wine 5.87 g/L , Wild grapes showed the maximum radical scavenging activity, 0.496 mg/ml and the maximum ethanol content of 10.3% was found in pomegranate. The fixed acidity of most of the fruits was found to be less than 5.5g/L. Quality of the wine can be improved further to match market requireme Fig.5: % of ethanol in wine. References Bansal N, Soni R. and Soni S.K, 2009. Standardization of conditions for fermentation and maturation of wine from Amla (Emblica officinalis Gaertn), Natural Product Radiance. Vol. 8(4), pp.436-444. Bisson L.F0, 2002, â€Å"An Introduction to Wine Production, University of California, Davis. Edwards.G.C and Beelman, 1989,Inducing malolactic fermentation in wine, Vol. 7, pp. 336-360. Ganjyal G.M., Hanna N.A. and Devadattam .D.S.K., 2005, Processing of sapota, pp. 326-330, Journal of Food technology. Gurvinder S.K and Pooja, 2011, Status of wine production from guava (Psidium guajava L.): A traditional fruit of India†, African Journal of Food Science, Vol. 5 (16), pp. 851-860. Mena P., Vilaplana A.G., Martà ­ N., Viguera G.C.,2012,â€Å"Pomegranate varietal wines: Phytochemical composition and quality parameters†,pp. 108-11. M.E.S Oliveira, Pantoja.L, et.al., 2011, Fruit wine produced from cagaita(Eugenia dysenterica DC) by both free and immomibilised yeast cell fermentation. Reddy V. L and Reddy V.S, 2009, Production, optimization and characterization of wine from Mango (Mangifera indica Linn.), Natural Product Radiance., Vol. 8(4), pp.426-435. Shipra Bhargava, Kshipra Dhabhai, Amla Batra, Asha Sharma and Bharti Malhotra, 2012, Zingiber Officinale : Chemical and phytochemical screening and evaluation of its antimicrobial activities, Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 4(1), pp. 360-364. Subir kumar Das and Vasudevan D.M, 2005, â€Å"Tulsi the Indian Holy Power plant†, Natural Product Radiance. Vol. 5(4), pp.279-283.

The Nature And Role Of The Financial System Finance Essay

The Nature And Role Of The Financial System Finance Essay Financial system is a mechanism where economic exchange activities can be done. The economic activities can be done through the interaction between financial institutions and the financial market. The purposes of this interaction are to mobilize fund and providing payment facilities for the financing of commercial activities. With the emergence of Islamic finance, the dual financial systems being introduce. In dual financial system the conventional financial systems operating side by side with the Islamic financial systems. The Islamic Financial system consists of the role of four essential mechanisms: The Islamic banking institutions, Takaful, Islamic Capital Market and Islamic Money market. The structure of this financial system may consist of specialized and non-specialized financial institutions, of organized and unorganized financial markets, of financial instruments and services which facilitate transfer of funds. It also comprises of procedures and practices adopted in the Islamic financial markets. The operation and mechanism of the financial system is scrutinized by Bank Negara Malaysia advisory board and Securities Commission Syariah Advisory Board to ensure compliance of Islamic rules and regulations. The Islamic financial institutions which are govern and control under Bank Negara Malaysia are the organizations that mobilize the depositors savings, and provide financing, acting as creditor or in the form of capital venture or financing in the form of profit and loss sharing (PLS). They also provide various financial services to the community, particularly business organizations. The activities will be dealing in financial assets such as deposits, loans, securities or dealing in real assets such as machinery, equipment, stocks of goods and real estate. The activities of different financial institutions may be either specialized or their function may be overlap. They may be classified base on the basis of their primary activity or the degree of their specialization with relation to savers or borrowers with whom they customarily deal or scope of activity or the type of ownership are some of the criteria which are often used to classify a large number and variety of financial institu tions which exist in the economy. Financial institutions are divided into banking and non-banking institutions. The banking institutions traditionally participate in the economys payments mechanism, i.e., they provide transactions services, their deposit liabilities constitute a major part of the national money supply, and they can, as a whole, create deposits or credit, which is money and Banks, subject to legal reserve requirements, can advance credit by creating claims against themselves. Financial institutions are also classified as intermediaries and non-intermediaries. As the term indicates, intermediaries intermediate between savers and investors; they lend money as well as mobilize savings; their liabilities are towards the ultimate savers, while their assets are from the investors or borrowers. Non-intermediary institutions do the loan business but their resources are not directly obtained from the savers. All banking institutions are intermediaries. Many non-banking institutions also act as intermediaries) and when they do so they are known as Non-Banking Financial Intermediaries. The Evolution of Financial Intermediaries in Malaysia In this section, our task is to survey the landscape and identify the institutional players. By describing what financial intermediaries look like today, it is also revealing to see how financial intermediaries have evolved over the last century. Institutional Players The banking system in Malaysia, which is the major component of the financial sector, consists of Bank Negara Malaysia, commercial banks, Islamic banks, International Islamic banks, Investment bank, other non bank institutions and money brokers. Which are all regulated and supervised by Bank Negara Malaysia.  Ã‚  Ã‚  The other non-bank institutions are supervised by other government agencies. These institutions can be divided into four major groups, consisting of the development finance institutions, the saving institutions, the provident and pension funds, and a group of other financial intermediaries, comprising of building societies, unit trusts and property trusts, leasing companies, factoring companies, credit token companies, venture capital companies, special investment agencies and several financial institutions such as the National Mortgage Corporation (Cagamas) and Credit Guarantee Corporation. The traditional banking system role has been to make long-term loans and fund them by issuing short-term deposits.  [1]  But banking systems are prohibited from engaging in securities market activities such as securities underwriting or the sale of trust funds. Therefore, the current design of non-bank financial institution are allowed to deal in the securities market a part of providing services which are similar to the banking system. The contribution of each non-bank financial institutions: insurance companies and pension funds; they receive investment funds from their customers, both of these institutions place their money in a variety of money-earning investments. Leasing companies; they purchase equipment/asset and then lease to businesses for a set number of years. Factoring companies; provide specialized forms of credit to businesses by making loans and purchasing accounts receivable at a discount, usually assumes responsibility for collecting the debt, specialize in bill processing and collections and to take advantage of economies of scale. Market makers; as an agent that offer to buy or sell security (trading in securities),  [2]  storage the securities and insured the securities against loss, provide margin credit,  [3]  cash management account services.  [4]   Trust funds; pool the funds of many small investors and purchase large quantities of securities, offer a wide variety of funds designed to appeal to most investment strategies, allow the small investors to obtain the benefits of lower transaction costs in purchasing securities and reduce the risk by diversifying the portfolio. The National Mortgage Corporation; is to promote the secondary mortgage market in Malaysia, with the issuance of secondary mortgage securities, Cagamas Berhad performs the function of an intermediary to bring together the primary lenders of housing loans and investors of long-term funds. Evolution The evolution of financial intermediation in Malaysia is reflected in Table 1. Table 1 shows the major financial intermediaries by assets and also by percentage share (in parentheses) from 1960 to 2000. To the extent that we can view the pace of financial intermediation as a horse race, there seem to be a clear winners and losers. For example, in terms of relative importance the winners are unit trust, Cagamas Berhad, leasing companies, factoring companies and venture capital companies. Commercial banks and finance companies are losers. These findings raise some interesting questions. First, what caused the change in the mix of financial intermediaries? In this section, we will examine this evolutionary process via three factors. Deregulation of Interest Rate Interest rate deregulation that affects loan pricing takes its earliest form.  [5]  Canada, in 1960, was the first to deregulate its interest rate. Other countries deregulated in the 1980s or thereafter.  [6]  This deregulation allows more freedom and activity to the banks and other institutions to issue new depository products as well as diversified short and long term credit instruments.  [7]  Leightner and Lovell (1998) state that some relaxation to the banks portfolio were part of the liberalization that enables bank to diversify investment to private as well as the foreign equity.  [8]  This made possible with the establishment of the foreign exchange market and the expansion of the underwriting activities of the financial intermediaries. Liberalization in Japan and Germany for instance, brings new paradigm to the roles of the banking institutions. The bank in Germany and Japan is no longer to be a creditor, but can also be the equity holder and in the board of d irectors and management. Liberalization of the banking industry, for example in Malaysia and some other countries, take banking institution into a new dimension that is the establishment of Islamic banking.  [9]  The increasing demand on the interest free banking offer by the Islamic financial institutions leads many conventional banks to offer Islamic counter or rather known as dual banking. This development happens to Muslim and non-Muslim countries. The results show that the individuals prefer to diversify their investment other than deposits. In particular, they invest in securities such as stocks, bonds and unit trusts. Therefore, new investment in unit trust for the small saver altered permanently the financial landscape. The Institutionalization of Financial Markets Institutionalization refers to the fact that more and more funds in Malaysia have been flowing indirectly into the financial markets through financial intermediaries, particularly pension funds, trust funds and insurance companies rather than directly from savers. As a result, these institutional players have become much more important in the financial markets relative to individual investors. What caused institutionalization? Quite simply, it was driven by the growth of these financial intermediaries, particularly pension and unit trust.  [10]  Pension fund growth was encouraged by government policy. Tax laws, for instance, encourage employers to help their employees by substituting pension benefits for wages. This is good for employees because they do not pay taxes on their pension benefits until they are received after retirement. Unit trusts gained considerably from these changes in pension plan laws. Defined contribution plans were allowed to include unit trust on the menu of assets for which plan members could choose. In addition, the increasing attractiveness of specialized funds such as bond funds and index funds has also fueled unit trust fund growth. The Transformation of Traditional Banking The fact that banks are exposed to the non-performing loans that stood at 9.1% for the periods of 1997 to 1999 and it seems to us that banking is a declining industry. However, first, the so-called decline of commercial banking is limited to a decline in the relative importance of commercial banking. As shown in Table 1, the decline of commercial banks assets as a fraction of total intermediated assets from 43.4% in 1980 to 41.3% in 2001. Table 1 also shows that banking industry assets actually increased between 1960 and 2000. In other words, bank assets have actually increased just not as fast as the assets of other financial intermediaries. Second, many of the new innovative activities in which banks engage are not reflected on bank balance sheets as assets even though they add significantly to bank revenue.  [11]  These include, for example, trading in interest rate and currency swaps, selling derivative instruments and issuing credit guarantees. Third, banks have a strong comparative advantage in lending to individuals and small businesses.  [12]  Finally, banks have joined forces with a number of other types of financial intermediaries.  [13]  For example, banks have combined with unit trust funds, merchant banks, insurance companies and finance companies. Bank acquisitions of non-bank financial intermediaries are part of broader consolidation of the entire financial services industry. Diagram 1: Structure of Regulatory Framework Minister of Land and Co-operative Development Licensing of : Brokers Representatives Trading Adviser Representatives Fund Managers Representatives Minister of Finance Minister of Domestic Trade Consumer Affairs Securities Commission Act 1993 Securities Industry Act 1983 Registrar of Companies Securities Commission Future Industry Act 1993 Companies Act 1965 Cooperative Act 1993 Kuala Lumpur Stock exchange (KLSE) BNM Islamic Banking Act 1983 Licensing of Dealers Representatives Investment Adviser Representatives Fund Managers Representatives Securities Clearing Automated Network Sdn Bhd (SCANS) Malaysian Central Depository Sdn Bhd (MCD) Kuala Lumpur Commodity Exchange (KLCE) Malaysian Futures Clearing Corporation Sdn Bhd (MFCC) Kuala Lumpur Options Financial Futures Exchange (KLOFFE) Malaysian Monetary Exchange (MME) Malaysian Derivative Clearing House Sdn Bhd (MDCH) Table 1: Malaysia: Assets of the Financial System, 1960-2000 As at end of (RM million) 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 Banking System 2,356 (66.3) 7,455 (64.1) 54,346 (73.3) 223,500 (69.8) 829,900 (66.8) Central Bank 1,114 (31.4) 2,422 (20.8) 12,994 (17.5) 37,500 (11.7) 148,900 (12.0) Commercial Banks 1,232 (34.7) 4,460 (38.4) 32,186 (43.4) 130,600 (40.8) 513,600 (41.3) Finance Companies 10 (0.3) 531 (4.6) 5,635 (7.6) 39,400 (12.3) 109,400 (8.8) Merchant Banks 2,229 (3.0) 11,100 (3.5) 36,900 (3.0) Discount Houses 42 (0.4) 1,292 (1.7) 4,900 (1.5) 21,100 (1.7) Non-Bank Financial Intermediries 1,197 (33.7) 4,167 (35.9) 19,807 (26.7) 96,900 (30.2) 413,100 (33.2) Provident and Pension Funds 733 (20.6) 2,717 (23.4) 11,370 (15.3) 51,800 (16.2) 217,600 (17.5) Life and General Insurance Funds 103 (2.9) 439 (3.8) 2,476 (3.3) 10,300 (3.2) 52,200 (4.2) Development Financial Institutions 113 (1.0) 2,193 (3.0) 6,000 (1.9) 25,100 (2.0) Savings Institutions 267 (7.5) 645 (5.5) 2,463 (3.3) 10,000 (3.1) 32,300 (2.6) Other Intermediaries 93 (2.6) 233 (2.0) 1,305 (1.8) 19,800 (6.2) 85,900 (6.9) Total 3,553 11,622 74,153 320,400 1243,000 Source: Bank Negara Malaysia, Annual Reports (various issues) Financial Markets Financial markets are the centers or an arrangement that provide facilities for buying and selling of financial claims and services the corporations, financial institutions, individuals and governments trade in financial products in these markets either directly or through brokers and dealers on organized exchanges or off-exchanges. The participants on the demand and supply sides of these markets are financial institutions, agents, brokers, dealers, borrowers, lenders, savers, and others who are interlinked by the laws, contracts, covenants and communication networks. Financial markets are sometimes classified as primary (direct) and secondary (indirect) markets. The primary markets deal in the new financial claims or new securities and, therefore, they are also known as new issue markets. On the other hand, secondary markets deal in securities already issued or existing or outstanding. The primary markets mobilize savings and supply fresh or additional capital to business units. Alt hough secondary markets do not contribute directly to the supply of additional capital, they do so indirectly by rendering securities issued on the primary markets liquid. Stock markets have both primary and secondary market segments. Very often financial markets are classified as money markets and capital markets, although there is no essential difference between the two as both perform the same function of transferring resources to the producers. This conventional distinction is based on the differences in the period of maturity of financial assets issued in these markets. While money markets deal in the short-term claims (with a period of maturity of one year or less), capital markets do so in the long-term (maturity period above one year) claims. Contrary to popular usage, the capital market is not only co-extensive with the stock market; but it is also much wider than the stock market. Similarly, it is not always possible to include a given participant in either of the two (money and capital) markets alone. Commercial banks, for example, belong to both. While treasury bills market, call money market, and commercial bills market are examples of money market, stock market and government bonds market are example s of capital market. Keeping in view different purposes, financial markets have also been classified into the following categories: (a) organized and unorganized, (b) formal and informal, (c) official and parallel, and (d) domestic and foreign. There is no precise connotation with which the words unorganized and informal are used in this context. They are quite often used interchangeably. The financial transactions which take place outside the well-established exchanges or without systematic and orderly structure or arrangements constitute the unorganized markets. They generally refer to the markets in villages or rural areas, but they exist in urban areas also. Interbank money markets and most foreign exchange markets do not have organized exchanges. But they are not unorganized markets in the same way the rural markets are. The informal markets are said to usually involve families and small groups of individuals lending and borrowing from each other. This description cannot be str ictly applied to the foreign exchange markets, but they are also mostly informal markets. The nature, meaning, and scope of activities of these types of markets will be discussed later in the book. As mentioned earlier, financial systems deal in financial services and claims or financial assets or securities or financial instruments. These services and claims are many and varied in character. This is so because of the diversity of motives behind borrowing and lending. The stage of development of the financial system can often be judged from the diversity of financial instruments that exist in the system. It is not possible here to discuss individually the nature of various financial claims that exist in the financial system. The financial assets represent a claim to the payment of a sum of money sometime in the future (repayment of principal) and/or a periodic (regular or not so regular) payment in the form of interest or dividend. With regard to bank deposit or government bond or industrial debenture, the holder receives both the regular periodic payments and the repayment of the principal at a fixed date. Whereas with regard to ordinary share or perpetual bond, only periodic payments are received (which are regular in the case of perpetual bond but may be irregular in the case of ordinary share). Financial securities are classified as primary (direct) and secondary (indirect) securities. The primary securities are issued by the ultimate investors directly to the ultimate savers as ordinary shares and debentures, while the secondary securities are issued by the financial intermediaries to the ultimate savers as bank deposits, units, insurance policies, and so on. For the purpose of certain types of anal ysis, it is also useful to talk about ownership securities (viz., shares) and debt securities (viz., debentures, deposits). Financial instruments differ from each other in respect of their investment characteristics which, of course, are interdependent and interrelated. Among the investment characteristics of financial assets or financial products, the following are important: (i)liquidity, (ii) marketability, (iii) reversibility, (iv) transferability, (v) transactions costs, (vi) risk of default or the degree of capital and income uncertainty, and a wide array of other risks, (vii) maturity period, (viii) tax status, (ix) options such as call-back or buy-back option, (x) volatility of prices, and (xi) the rate of return-nominal, effective, and real. DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF A CAPITAL MARKET (THE ECONOMIC FUNCTIONS OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS) The previous section gave a brief overview of the major types of financial institu ­tions. To understand why financial institutions exist and the economic services that they provide, it is important to understand the different ways in which funds are transferred within an economy between businesses, government, and households (economic entities) that need to borrow funds (borrowers) and those that have sur ­plus funds to lend (investors). In a very simple economy without financial institutions, transactions between, different borrowers and lenders are difficult to arrange. Borrowers and savers incur significant search and information costs trying to find each other. Transactions be ­tween borrowers and savers may also be limited, because few financial contracts in ­volve only two parties. Similarly, risks are great, since individual entities have little or no knowledge of each other and little ability to monitor each others actions. Also, the transactions costs may be so high that small entities may be unwilling to supply funds. Investors also have little ability to diversify their risk, due to the high cost of many financial contracts. Supplier of funds: surplus (savings) units Lenders: Housesolders, companies, governments, rest of the worlds Demand of funds: deficit unit Borrowers: Housesolders, companies, governments, rest of the worlds Financial Markets Financial institutions help to reduce transactions, search, monitoring, and infor ­mation costs. They provide risk management services and allow investors to diversify their risk and hold portfolios of financial assets by creating ways of indirect financing. Financial institutions also play important roles in an efficient payment system be ­tween entities and in managing pure risk (insurance). The upper panel of Figure 1 shows the role of financial institutions as intermedi ­aries between borrowers and lenders. The term primary securities refers to direct financial claims against individuals, governments, and non-financial firms. A simple economy without any financial insti ­tutions would accommodate only direct financial claims or financial contracts. In ef ­fect, a borrower gives an investor a financial contract or direct financial claim or se ­curity that promises a stake in the borrowers company (i.e., shares of stock) or future payments returning the amount invested plus interest (i.e., a bond, or some other sort of IOU). These are examples of direct or primary securities. As an economy develops, markets emerge for trading direct securities. Some function as auction markets, where trading is carried out in one physical location, as occurs on the New York Stock Exchange; others function as over-the-counter mar ­kets, where trading is carried out by distant contacts, perhaps over the phone and computer, as on the National Association of Security Dealers Automated Quotation (NASDA Q) system. Loans made directly with borrowers are another example of a primary or direct security, where a direct contract is made between a borrower and a bank or other individual lender. Table 1.2 provides examples of primary securities in the first column. The financial assets owned by banks, insurance companies, and mu ­tual funds, such as loans, bonds, and common stock, are all direct securities, where the lenders give funds to the borrowers, and the lenders receive financial contracts guaranteeing repayment of funds plus interest or shares of ownership in the bor ­rower companies. Investors lend funds in return for a direct or primary security. Secondary securities, in contrast, are financial liabilities of financial institu ­tions-that is, claim against financial institutions. In Table 1.2, financial institu ­tions liabilities-deposits, policyholder reserve obligations, and mutual fund shares-are secondary securities or claims against financial institutions. In effect, fi ­nancial institutions created secondary securities that offer advantages over primary securities or direct financial claims. EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SECURITIES Primary Securities Secondary Securities Commercial loans Savings deposits Mortgage loans Transaction deposits Consumer loans Certificates of deposit Government bonds Insurance policyholders reserves Corporate bonds Mutual fund shares Corporate common stock Pension fund reserves Table 1.2 shows this type of indirect financing. Unfortunately, like most fields, finance sometimes uses confusing terminology. Readers should carefully avoid confusing the use of the words primary and secondary in this dis ­cussion with their use in other contexts. For example, students who have previously stud ­ied corporate finance or investments may have encountered the terms primary and sec ­ondary markets; primary markets are those for originally issued securities, and secondary markets handle resale of securities. In the context of this chapter, primary and secondary distinguish between issuers of securities and not between changes in securities ownership. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY MARKET In a market economy the existence of financial markets can greatly ease the process of exchanging loanable funds for financial claims. A firm that wants to borrow money can go to the market in the knowledge that those with funds to lend will be there. The process is made easier still if specialist traders are known to be actively participating in the markets, buying and selling financial claims on their own account, thereby smoothing over days on which trading is thin or when there is an excess of potential borrowers or lenders. Further economies are achieved if agents or brokers can be employed to enter the market representing the customer to buy and sell securities. The existence of the market serves borrowers and lenders alike by reducing the search costs which each has to incur to get in touch with the other, and also maintains confidence in market prices. Markets do not always have a physical location. A market for loanable funds might consist of nothing more than a list of know n dealers who can be contacted by letter or telephone. The International Stock Exchange is the centre of the securities market. It has both a physical trading site which is used for a very small number of securities, and a highly developed system of trading which takes place in a number of locations via computer linkages. The discount market is another traditional financial market, but one which operates without a physical site at all. This market operates by representatives of the discount houses maintaining close daily contact with the leading banks, either by telephone or personal visits, to determine where trading opportunities are. Two types of financial markets exist for real and financial assets, and it is important to distinguish between them. A primary market for financial assets deals in new issues of all types of loanable funds. Transactions in primary markets result either in the creation or in the extinction of financial claims. The creation of a new loan causes the transfer of cash from a lender to a borrower in exchange for a financial claim on the latter. The claim is extinguished when the cash, usually interest and principal, has been repaid to the lender. A secondary market is a market in old issues. Transactions in secondary markets do not create or extinguish financial claims. Cash does not pass between borrowers and lenders, but existing issues simply change hands. The borrower remains unaffect ed by the transaction while the lender transfers the right of repayment to another. The main economic function of the secondary markets is to support the operations of the associated primary markets for new issues by providing liquidity to lenders. In the absence of a developed secondary market an individual saver might be very unwilling to lend out money for long periods of time, except at rates of high interest too high to be attractive to borrowers. If the chances of making a sale when necessary are unacceptably low, no lender would commit funds. Therefore an active secondary market is essential for an active primary one. However, there is no guarantee that the lender will receive back in sale proceeds the full amount at the time they are sold, since markets fluctuate all the time, and prices are not constant. Secondary markets also contribute to the efficiency of the primary market by providing pricing information. In the share market, for example, the current prices of traded securities significantly reduce the problem of setting a price on new issues with similar risk profiles, and information from the secondary market will also influence the attitude of potential participants in primary markets. Figure 3.2 illustrates the connections between primary and secondary markets. Not all primary markets have secondary markets associated with them and some securities are issued for which there are no secondary markets

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Following the Wrong Footsteps :: essays papers

Following the Wrong Footsteps For much of Public School's history, the academic standards had little to do with whether or not you were a male or a female. Much of one's placement in a classroom or school depended on the age or academic standing. Other issues such as the consolidation of schools and the Americanization of immigrants were given a higher placement of importance. The subject of gender was almost taken for granted and when the issue did intrude, historically the reaction was one of arbitrary response. The public was much more concerned with the development of their men than the equality of their children (Pollard, 1993.) As time allowed more men and more women to be schooled together, it was evident that a woman's presence alone would not ensure an equally beneficial education. The school systems continue to follow a gendered curriculum, created mainly by men in order to serve men. It is the reinforcement of the gender biases and assumptions through their methodical distribution and teaching of stereotypes and ideas that put the education of men and women on two separate levels. There is no example to follow when it comes to the equal education of children because even though they receive the same education, it is far from equal. It is this along with the lack of recognition towards women who have achieved greatness both in and out of education that creates an outsider status for the female student (Lasser, 1987). The main problem in attempting to accomplish gender equity is the fact that the teachers being sent off to teach children in gender equitable terms are not trained to do so. Gender equity issues are virtually ignored in most university level education classes and any strategies created to decrease gender-biased classroom behavior are basically non-existent. Most efforts to remove this problem are geared toward working teachers when the focus needs to be on the upcoming generation of teachers presently in school (Miller, 2001). Teacher Expectations and Learning Environments In addition to poor teacher training; culture stereotypes and the expectations of these teachers are what diminish a girl's self-esteem and confidence. This is turn continues to cheat girls out of the education they deserve (Miller, 2001). What has created this phenomenon of discrimination is not something of a natural occurrence, but one of social distortion.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Essay --

A camp focused on not only torture but death. something so permanent, so final. thousands of prisoners thrown in this camp every day just to be killed (about 800,000). With no rhyme or reason, besides the thought of the jews being completely worthless and not even deserving of living on this earth and breathing the air. The logic in this time is completely lost, they jews were treated no better than dirt under the guards shoes. On a list of the nine worst concentration camps Treblinka is the second. ( the first being the worst.) This camp in particular has gas chambers made to look like showers. even including shower faucets and tile.With pipes running across the ceiling which of course was designed to appear as pipes for the water when in reality the pipes were filled with carbon monoxide gas ( a deadly gas). When the prisoners piled in they were gassed to death.The guards often referred to the tunnels to the chambers as â€Å" the road to heaven†. The other prisoners were sometimes just machine gunned or even â€Å"spilled onto the railroad platform† Bodies were often thrown into huge ditches located east of the chambers. Containing nothing but filthy, scrawny, and hopeless bodies. Five thousand to seven thousand Jews arrived each day increases to about 12,000 a day, though thousands were dead on arrival. This camp was the the last camp whose sole purpose was â€Å"extermination†. It was only fifty miles from the large city of warsaw, which blows my mind that people will still fully confidently try to convince people that the camps never happened. It became known as Treblinka I when the death camp, Treblinka II, was built. The camp was laid out in an irregular rectangle, 400 m by 600 m, surrounded by barbed wire and anti- tank spanish hors... ...revolt took place, approximately two hundred managed to break out. Only sixty of those who escaped were alive at the end of the war to tell the world about the horrors of the awful, terrific camp called Treblinka. When this final gassing was completed, the camp area was ploughed over and trees were planted. The camp was turned into a farm, a guard then settled with his family to protect the crime scene. Perhaps because people were very interested in the rumors they were hearing about what the germans had been conducting in this camp. I would find it hard to believe too, in order to take in all the cold hard facts I also would want to see it with my own eyes. It was because of all the other people who also felt this way that the retired guard felt obligated to â€Å"protect and or guard† the historical area of land where the unforgettable and unbelievable took place.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

How do the poets represent the importance of roots in their poetry? E

How do the poets represent the importance of 'roots' in their poetry? Consider how the social and cultural identity of the poets is paramount to the development of the main themes. Other Cultures ============== How do the poets represent the importance of 'roots' in their poetry? Consider how the social and cultural identity of the poets is paramount to the development of the main themes. The four poems that I will be comparing all describe how the poets feel about their roots, background and cultural heritage. Although they are all based on the same issue, they have many different features that are quite different. John Agard is the author of 'Half-Caste'. He was born in Guyana and then moved to Britain in 1977. In 'Half-Caste' the poet is feeling discriminated and he wants to put across that he is one person and by calling him half-caste, they are taking away half of his identity. The author of 'Search For My Tongue' is Sujata Bhatt. She was born in India in 1956 and then moved to the USA in the 1960s. She now lives in Germany. In 'Search For My Tongue' the poet can speak two different languages, her original language and her second language, English. She is saying that her original language is being forgotten, but then discovers that it is returning and progressing. 'Nothing's Changed' was written in South Africa in 1997 by Tatamkhulu Afrika. The poem is autobiographical and was written after apartheid had been abolished in 1994. In 'Nothing's Changed' the poet is saying that even though apartheid had been abolished, he still feels that racism is still around him and he feels that nothing has changed. Moniza Alvi wrote 'Presents From My Aunts In Pakistan'. She was born in Pakistan in ... ...ates this she also wants to be able to feel the same way about her new home in Britain. Even though she says she is, 'of no fixed nationality', the poet still knows in her heart that she wants to celebrate and be proud of her roots in Pakistan. From reading and understanding the four poems, I have learnt that people from ethnic backgrounds can face terrible hardship and that even after large amounts of discrimination drilled into their heads, they still feel proud of their roots and identity. However I have also learnt that by having their roots discriminated against, losing their roots or even not knowing what exactly their roots are, can deeply sadden the people and make them irritated. People react differently to these and we should acknowledge that to make people in situations like those in the poems to feel happier and at ease with themselves.

Effective resource allocation among the various economic systems Essay

Effective resource allocation among the various economic systems Introduction Efficient utilization of economic resources by different economic systems            An economic system is scenario whereby goods and services produced in a country or an entity and the resources within are distributed within the existing subsystems. The subsystems in this context entail the combination of agencies, entities and consumers that make an economic structure of a certain community. Or the various sub structures within an entity. The interlinking capacity within these subsystems is the one which makes information and resources to flow between them. One characteristic of a subsystem is the utilization of resources between the involved structures. Normally the inherent trait in resources is the fact that, they are scarce and as such efficiency is imperative for an economic system to survive with the little resources.            In an economic setting there are four defined factors of production, which are, land, capital, labor and entrepreneurship. All this factors have the quality of scarcity, and unless utilized effectively there is larking quality of disorganization within an economic system. The various economic systems in the world economy have their own way of utilizing these scarce resources. This essay will argue the characteristic of effective sharing of resources within command, free enterprise, mixed and transitional economies. Also the essay will argue on effective resource allocation in private and public sector initiative and also private finance initiatives.            In a capitalistic economy, the most crucial form of economic system is the free enterprise economy. This form of a system is free or rather shielded from government interference. The economy promotes free flow of ideas and implementation. This does not mean that the government is never involved when a situation calls. Hence it is a free enterprise regime where there is a minor possibility of government intervention. The inherent characteristic in this kind of a model is that, those who labor must gain. Ownership and creation of means of production is entirely left to the system. In this type the resource allocation is dictated by the market price. If an individual cannot afford it, then they cannot access the service or the product. Hence it is like a form of a system that favors those who can fit. Though it has the capacity to make economies grow fast and large, it is normally a case of survival for those who are fit (Harrison, 2002).            Contrasting that with a command economy, this type of a system has its factors of production controlled by the government. Therefore, planning is undertaken by the central government making it a planned economy. In this kind of an economy there are directives, rules, and laws to be followed. The bench mark is against a set target by the government. Governments that use this system do come up with a central plan upon which they base in order to allocate resources. Hence there is always a priority factor in resource allocation. To effectively allocate resources, the government simply identifies priority areas on which to allocate more resources than the non-priority areas. In command economies, there is a very efficient capacity to bring resources together. As such certain segments achieve much than others. A lot of one thing is normally produced and less of the other. This economy can utilize itself to come up with mega projects and spur innovation in areas that the government wants (Harrison, 2002).            In the real world though, many economies find it easier to utilize the capabilities of free enterprise and command economy to allocate resources. This creates a scenario of a mixed economy. Hence this mix brings in both the markets and government as the custodians of resource allocation. While markets depend much on living choices of the people, the government tries and force allocations. This happens through the use of taxes and regulations. Both the institutions utilize synergy and hence co exists between each other when it comes to resources allocation. There are instances where in a mixed economy; the markets are more dominant in resource allocation than the government and vice versa in other economies. Hence the mixed economy will tend to try and achieve equity while promoting economic growth at the same time. It is bringing the characteristics of both markets together to achieve positive efficiency in resource allocation (Nee, 1992).            An economy can find itself in need of shifting from a command system to a free market system. In such a scenario the economy finds itself in a unique situation of transition. Hence it gets involved in a transitional economy. Transition is changing from one form to another. Transitional economy, changes from command to free market hence initializing a form of liberalization in an economy. Hence it attempts to allow markets to allocate resources thorough pricing and the government lays back. In this type of an economy resources allocation change drastically, there is an element of government control, but an effort to support free market. Hence it is characterized by dropping of trade barriers and privatizations. It falls close to a mixed economy but outside the maturity of a mixed economy. Hence in this economy the government still dominates in resource allocation and direction. It is a work in progress format of a system (Lavigne, 2002).            Apart from the free markets system and command market existing, these economies can harbor other subsystems such as private finance initiatives or public private partnerships. These are entities whereby the public uses private sector to offer a certain service over a certain period under concessionary terms. Under this system this partnership utilizes resources by making a case for fair cost and transfer of risks to another party. This system effectively utilizes resources by spreading risks and looking for quality service that is offered by the government. Hence the government will take care of funds and the private sector takes care of the rest. In other instances the private solely finances the projects. This partnerships frees some resources to be utilized somewhere else, achieving resource efficiency (Buyya, 2002).            In conclusion all the types of economies have the capacity to effectively allocate resources. But the most efficient economy does not utilize one form of economic system. The best economies are those which utilize all the discussed economic systems above, apart from the transitional economy which is solely for countries that are shifting. References Harrison, M. (2002). Coercion, compliance, and the collapse of the Soviet command economy. The Economic History Review, 55(3), 397-433. Lavigne, M. (1995). The economics of transition: from socialist economy to market economy. London: Macmillan. Nee, V. (1992). Organizational dynamics of market transition: hybrid forms, property rights, and mixed economy in China. Administrative science quarterly, 37(1).Buyya, R., Abramson, D., Giddy, J., &Stockinger, H. (2002). Economic models for resource management and scheduling in grid computing. Concurrency and computation: practice and experience, 14(13†15), 1507-1542. Source document