Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Portugal Exploration Essay
Introduction            The Portuguese Exploration highlighted the country’s ascendancy to economic growth and power. Explorations are never easy endeavors. New lands will be discovered, wherein achieving success is indeed very uncertain. Moreover, the mere fact that the country needs to supply all the materialsâ€â€from food to ship repairs, are too expensive. However, although explorations are masked by doubt and hopeless skies, its outcome can lead to enormous wealth and benefits that will enable the nation to experience abundance in succeeding years to come. When Portugal never gave up its hopes and dreams regarding land discoveries, such big decision resulted to positive results. At the onset of the 16th century, Portugal pioneered explorations in the whole course of Europe, thus, discovering more and new routes to Africa, the Atlantic, Asia and even South America (â€Å"Portugal†n.d).            In the beginning, nobody has expected Portugal to literally conquer the world. The nation was then torn with poverty and to a certain extent, economic deterioration (Arnold 2002, p. 22). Given this situation at hand, domination is totally taken out of the picture. If Portugal cannot even feed its own people, then it would be readily impossible for it to support the demands of land explorations and discoveries. However, this did not prevent the nation from pursuing its dreamsâ€â€from materializing the aim to make its name within the torn pages of history books. It turned out that Portugal’s seemingly hopeless case is one of its greatest blessings. Since the country was in its severe state, it has no other choice but to continue with the explorations. If success seems to be impossible within the domain of land-based expansion, then there is still hope when such is done overseas (Arnold 2002, p.22). As Arnold (2002) explained, Portugal’s navigation success basically replaced the land-based orientation of wealth and power that was established by the evolving Spanish (empire) (p. 22). Factors determining Portugal’s exploration success            There are different factors that are attributed to Portugal’s exploration successes. These three are highly characterized by maritime development as well as the undying support given by the Portuguese government. The first factor has something to do with Portugal’s geographic position (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). Portugal can be seen along the west side of the Iberian Peninsula (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). Livingstone implied (1993) that the nation is readily blessed with its strategic location (p. 41). It possesses rivers that are long enough to be navigated (Livingstone 1993, p. 41). It has â€Å"favorable winds (Livingstone 1993, p. 41)†that can take ships into their planned journeys or destination. The last but not the least is the existence of raw and organic harbors which creates a perfect and highly suitable setting for maritime development (Livingstone 1993, p. 41).            If one has to take a closer look, this aspect alone puts Portugal into a great advantage over its rivals or competitors. Once and for all, circumnavigating the world requires not only human skills, nature also plays an important role. Although, exceptional navigation talents are expected to arise, there is no doubt that if nature decides to intervene, the course would be more difficult and complicated as expected. It can be also implied that Portugal’s geographical design enabled the latter to discover more efficient routes from any angle. The crew can easily explore more unknown areas since they have good reference points that are essential in establishing maps.            On the other hand, the second factor can be traced to Portugal’s developing â€Å"maritime economy (â€Å"Portugal, n.d).†The ports of Lisbon and Oporto became the cente of commerce and trade for the country (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). Mostly of the financial means that were used to support the voyages came from these trade districts (â€Å"Portugal,†n.d). However, aside from financing the navigation plans, Maddision (2006) also mentioned that the bays and coast cities of Portugal is abundant enough to supply the needs and demands of the local residents (p.22). Aside from trading per se, it can be seen that Portugal has other ways of gaining incomes, profits and revenues. But then again, perhaps the greatest contributions of the maritime industry are the vast knowledge and information that Portuguese fisherman has learned due to their constant and continuous immersion with the Atlantic seas (Maddison 2006, p.22). Their mastery of sea winds, tides and weather (Maddison 2006, p.22). It allowed Portuguese explorers and navigators to conduct more research on navigation. Yet, more than anything else, they were able to build ships that can withstand the pressures and hardships brought forth by unfathomable oceans (Maddison 2006, p.22). They created â€Å"lateen sails†and in the long run, they combined it with â€Å"square sails†which allowed them to sail through the South Atlantic and further discover more ways or routes in the Cape area (Maddison 2006, p.22).            Lastly, the third determinant of the Portuguese exploration’s success stems from the fact that its monarchy readily showed support and encouragement for these plans (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). The government ensured that â€Å"tax privileges†and insurances are available for both the ship owners and navigators (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). As a matter of fact, it is not only the king that readily lent a helping hand to make these undertakings possible. Even members of the aristocracy assured that they can be pillars of strength and encouragement (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). Obviously, without the system’s support and permission, the voyages would not happen. As previously mentioned, even if there are enough materials and supplies if the monarchy is not open to the idea, then Portugal’s domination may not come into place. The essential role of the Portuguese government, in this aspect can be briefly understood in several points. Once and for all, the tax regulations enabled the nation to satisfy the prerogatives of exploration and at the same time ensure a healthy lifestyle for its local citizens. Second, the monarchy served as a strong influence for both the explorers and local residents. If the king refused such plans, then the public would not be able to recognize its value and importance. Since local residents are the ones who are chiefly involved in production works, the explorers would have a hard and difficult time convincing these people about their dreams and visions, if the king per se, would show doubts regarding the matter. Moreover, the monarchy is in charge of making decisions on how they can possible benefit from the discoveries that they madeâ€â€to be more specific, the Portuguese government is in charge of devising strategies on how they can possible gain profits and revenues on new routes and land areas. This is important for unless the people know that they benefit from it, they would continue to support such plan. A Brief History of Portugal Exploration            In order to further reasons behind the success ad failure of the Portuguese exploration, it is best to have a brief discussion or outline of the nation’s navigation history. As mentioned earlier, the contributions of Portugal in the world can neither be questioned not taken for granted. Even though it has eventually declined in the long years to come, it cannot be discounted that Portugal is one of the few nations that have managed to maintain and still control its colonies by the end of the 19th century (Diffie & Winius 1977, p. 4). The mere fact that it was able to sustain such set-up exemplifies its power and strength.            Diffie and winius (1977) explained that Portugal was inspired by the accomplishments of the Han and Roman Empires (p.4). However, since it cannot fully embarked on land-based conquests and imperialism, discovering other lands became the last recourse, and as discussed, nature’s blessings made a way for the nation embarked on long journeys and voyages.            The foundations of the Portuguese exploration can be traced to as far as 1415 (Wiarda 200, p. 21). In those times, Ceuta was then considered as the center of spice trade in the west (Wiarda 2000, p.21). Portugal has managed to put Ceuta under its control and thus the urge to control more lands became irresistible. While Ceuta was then an important investment for Portugal, Wiarda (2000), however noted that Portugal’s main goal by that time was to spread Christianity to Morrocco (p.4). Within the aspect of colonialism, religion is an indespensbale tool. The Portuguese readily used the matter to interact with the natives. Due to language barriers, it would be hard for both the colonizers and the colony to understand or communicate with each other. Thus, the concept of having a Supreme Being bridged the gap between the two races.            But on a closer examination, the downfall of Morocco, inspired many of Portuguese warriors and soldiers to bring more honor, glory and prestige to their very own mother country (Wiarda 200, p.187). In addition to that, Prince Henry who happened to be the very first supporter of Portuguese explorations have heard stories from prisoners about lands and areas that were still undiscovered (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). The capture of Morocco allowed Prince Henry to have his first taste of the African cost (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). Having said this, indeed, his curiosity was further heightened. The excitement and passion to conquer more lands became stronger than ever. Prince Henry â€Å" The Navigator†           The success in Ceuta encouraged Prince Henry to show his undying support to explorations. Prince Henry can be best described as someone who knew how to transform his visions and ideals into realistic issues and concerns. The prince knows that explorations may not necessarily yield to positive results. But this did not discourage him. Despite of the fact that there is a strong enthusiasm and excitement on Prince Henry’s part, Wiarda (2000) stated that this does not mean that that the young leader was already aware of explorations’ benefits and advantages (p.21). According to Wiarda (2000) Prince Henry’s primary concern by then was the budding market for exotic and wild animals (p.21). But in the long run, explorations’ commercial benefit was slowly embedded into the prince’s young mind.            On the other hand, the materialization of Prince Henry’s dreams came into the picture during the reign of Joao II (Wiarda 2000, p. 21). The foundations of an exploration plan have been successfully laid out. Gallagher (2003) noted that the first move was to discover a route from Africa that can easily lead to India (p.5). With all these endeavors, the monarchy assured that they will handle all the transactions and see to it that it profiteering activities would be efficiently managed (Gallagher 2003, p. 80). The competition against Spain led Portugal to keep its navigation development in extreme secrecy (Gallagher 2003, p.5). Even the voyages per se were kept confidential (Gallagher 2003, p5).            During those times, Cape Bojador was seen as the end of the world (Wiarda 2000, p.187). Since there is already a signal pr permission from the monarchy to explore more, Prince Henry in return, challenged his men to go beyond the limits of Cape Bojardor (Wiarda 2000, p. 187). The whole crew landed in Madeira in 1420 and seven years after, the Portuguese explorers made their first step in Azores (Keefee et. al 1977, p.60). This was also the time when Portugal finally confirmed that Cape Bojador was not the world’s end point (Keefe et.al 1977, p.60). This is simply the start of Portugal’s domination. Even though the so-called Navigator died in 1460 (â€Å"Portugal,†n.d), his legacies was continued and still promoted by the succeeding Portugal rulers.            Historians and members of the academe outlined several distinct reasons regarding Prince Henry’s obsessions. One of this is the urge to know more lands beyond Cape Bojador (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). In an era wherein bigger colonies equate to more economic successes, going beyond Cape Bojador’s geographical limitations is an outright advantage. Another reason is Portugal’s aim to develop trade relations to other areas or counties (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). There is also the aim to study the strength of their rivals and at the same time, ensure that battles will be waged against those who opposed Christianity and therefore ensure that the religion would proliferate (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). Reasons for Exploration            In general and not only for Portugal, there are three determinants of why explorations happen or occur. The first one has something to do with the spice trade (Roupp 2001, p. 236). Spices such as nutmeg, mace, ginger, cinnamon and paper are pretty popular in the European regions trade (Roupp 2001, p. 236). The Ottomans were able to take control of the Eastern Mediterranean barter trade (Roupp 2001, p. 236) Because of this, European envoys had no other choice but to look for alternative routes. Since spices are very much in demand, there is no doubt that to become a spice supplier would indeed result to an increase in profits and revenues. The supply is low and the demands are high. Therefore, those who are able to satisfy the demand can also ask for a higher price. This argument are also supported by Kiple and Omelas (2000, p.436).            Kiple and Omelas (2000) mentioned that many European countries, most especially those which are engaged in exploration are also seeking for a new route to get a steady supply of spices (p. 436). This according to the two, prompted competing nations to further improve their navigation tactics and skills. The competition is stiff and they cannot remain calm. However, as for this case, since Portugal has already explored the areas beyond Cape Bojador, the challenge became an easy feat for the country.            During the initial steps, it was the Arabs that has total control over the matter (Wolpert 1999, p.45). However, a small fleet, headed by Vasco de Gama made the Arabs surrender (Wolpert 1999, p.45). According to Wolpert (1999), although De Gama’s success enabled Portugal to establish a monopoly over spice trade (p.45). His triumph and glory is more than enough to pay from all the expenses that were spent during his journey (Wolpert 1999, p.45).            Roupp (2001) also noted that technology can be also considered as one of Portugal’s motivating force for explorations (p. 236). The technological aspect means that as man continue to develop materials and tools to satisfy their needs, this brought them other opportunities. As for the case of Portugal, since they are able to build ships and sails that are highly capable or navigating the earth, soon they found it that if they can further enhance these materials and incorporate several functions such as incorporating military weapons like the cannons, for example, they can easily defeat their enemies and those who are creating conflicts and hindrances (Roupp 2001, p. 236).            Lastly, Roupp (2001) stressed that curiosity levels were readily high during the Renaissance period and thus, it became a motivational force for many nations to explore more of the unknown world (p.236).            In the meantime, if one has to critically assess it, it is apparent that the goal for profit and revenues best explains the intensity of Portuguese explorations. As readily discussed, the passing years allowed Portugal to diversify its economic hold and control. Prince Henry’s focus on the exotic animal market shifted into another realm since the monarchy has also recognized the other benefits of voyages and expeditions. It can be also remembered that Portugal is also one of the pioneers of the slave trade in Africa. Since they have discovered more lands in the said continent, colonization was reshaped. From goods that are bartered, human trade became popular too. The cheap labor rendered by captured slaves and prisoners were seen as a good source of profit and income. Moreover, there is also the spice trade which further strengthened Portugal’s domination. Since they basically spearheaded the exploration quests and technology, they have readily capitalized on it. The return of investments was more than what they have expected. Portugal’s Failure            Although Portugal was basically at the apex of its exploration successes the country failed to see certain events that would eventually lead to its bitter downfall.  Perhaps this can be best explained by the country’s inability to manage all its colonies (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). It has been carefully discussed in this paper that Portugal was able to discover more lands. This readily means that once they have settled in those areas, they have to efficiently supervise all the activities that occur in it. This situation should not come as a surprise or it is rather expected.            First of all, it is pretty impossible for Portugal to directly manage its colonies since they are miles away from each other. The empire has to send its people to those areas in order to ensure that everything falls in their proper places. But distant lands prohibit simultaneous coordination and interaction among the leaders. For the monarchy, it is pretty hard for it to establish appropriate solutions and regulations for their colonies unless they have actual experience of the problem that is being manifested in a particular area. It would take months and years before updates and reports can be handed to the King. The moment that actions are ratified and certain laws are promulgated, there is a strong tendency that the problem has already become worse or the approaches used are no longer applicable.            In addition to that, viceroys and appointed leaders have to be financially supported by the monarchy. This is done to ensure that area rulers have enough supply of food and other materials to sustain their everyday lives and activities. But of course, the financial support came from the local residents’ taxes and hard-earned money. In the long run, there are also instances wherein the monarchy can no longer back-up and support these needs. This is most especially true if Portuguese leaders have already built their families in their respective colonies. As a result, the profits and revenues that they have collected from their colonies are barely enough for them to extend their stays and manage their specific domains.            It is also important to note that distance issues are also prone to illegal activities. Appointed leaders could be tempted by the seemingly lucrative activities that are present in their colonies. When monitoring, coordinating and interacting are rarely practiced, then there is no doubt that Portuguese found itself on the losing end.            The last but definitely not the least is the death of King Sebastian (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). This sad event proved to be a golden opportunity for Spain. King Philip II, who was the Spain’s rulers and King Sebastian’s uncle took over the latter’s position. What happened to Portugal then was that, it became Spain’s province (â€Å"Portugal†n.d). Relatively, the techniques and strategies that Portugal created and developed were exploited by Spain. Thus all the forthcoming success was now done in the name of Spain instead of Portugal. Conclusion            Portugal is basically engulfed with the sweet promises of explorations and land discoveries. Although Roupp (2001) suggested that curiosity plays an important role, this aspect is outlasted by the need for profit and revenues (p.236). Once and for all, since Portugal has captured Ceuta, they have already recognized that if they can discover more lands, they can use the domain’s working force to their own advantage. They can ask the natives to produce goods that are widely popular in the European market. Moreover, it is pretty impossible to conclude that Portugal simply tried to know new routes for curiosity’s sake alone. The spice trade for example and the country’s domination and supremacy on the said area are manifestations of the unrelenting drive for both economic and geographic expansion.            However, since offshore management was not efficiently executed, such led to the downfall of what was once considered as the globe’s superpower. References Arnold, D. 2002. The Age of Discovery, 1400-1600. Routledge: USA Diffie, B and Winius, D. (1977).  Foundations of the Portuguese Empire. Minnesota, USA:    University of Minnesota Press Gallagher, A. (2003). Prince Henry the Navigator: Pioneer of Modern Exploration. New          York:  Rosen Publishing Group Inc Keefe, E. et. al (1977). Area Handbook for Portugal. Washington, DC: U.S. Government          Printing Office Kiple, K and Omelas, K. 2000. The Cambridge World History of Food. Cambridge        University Press: Edinburgh Livingstone, D. 1993. The Geographical Tradition: Episodes in the History of A Contested       Enterprise. Blackwell Publishing: USA Maddisson, A. 2006. The World Economy. OECD: France â€Å"Portugal†n.d. University of Calgary. Retrieved 18 March 2008 from            http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/portuguese.html Roupp, H. 2001. How to Prepare for SAT II. Barron’s: New York Wiarda, I. (2000). Handbook of Portuguese Studies. USA: Xlibris Corporation Wolpert, S. 1999. India. University of California Press: Berkeley Â
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Modern Cinema Is a Boon Essay
Cinema is a major source of recreation in most countries of the world especially in India where the majority of people live below poverty line. It provides us with entertainment and sometimes educates us too. Depending on the quality of films produced by the directors, one could label cinema as a curse or a boon. Bombay is the main centre of film city. Films are mainly produced in Bombay. There are hundreds of them produced every year. India is known to be the highest producer of movies in the world. Indian cinema provides us with a good view of the glamour and glitter of the affluent Indian society and also the poverty and misery in the slums of this country. Hence, it more or less, with a few exceptions, presents a fairly authentic picture of the lives of Indians. It educates the public with the help of stories that depict conflicts between the good and the evil in our society. There is some sort of a moral lesson behind these stories and the society is often greatly influenced by these values. Some of the stars acting in film become role models for the youth who are usually quite impressionable at their age. Hence, a great responsibility lies with the makers of cinema. They have to form their ideas after careful research and thinking and the public too has to be able to sift out the best from the film, if at all they want to be influenced. But the cinema can become a curse when the movies are full of mindless sex and violence. This could colour the mind of the young boys and girls who watch these movies with great interest. Cinema can become an addiction and these films could sometimes distract the youth so much that they might lose interest in their studies and other work that requires serious concentration. Cinema has an attraction that one often finds young boys and girls getting so attracted to the cinema that they begin to harbour a craze about joining the film industry themselves. Very few talented people make a name for themselves in the tinsel world and quite a few unfortunate ones waste many a precious year trying to make it big in that world of money and glamour. The cinema can remain a boon for us as long as those who view it keep a balance between what they believe in and what the cinema may be thrusting down their throats. Cinema should be enjoyed and used as a means of correct entertainment and education.
Monday, July 29, 2019
An Economic Look At Guatemala
The population of Guatemala has been quickly spread outing over the past 20-50 old ages harmonizing to information provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1960, the population was a modest 4,099,721. By 1985, nevertheless, its population had grown to 7,580,844 with no mark of decelerating down. Today the population is 13,550,440 and its growing rate is decelerating down towards a more modest per centum. In 1985, a growing rate of 3.1 % was recorded along with a high birthrate rate of 5.7 per adult female. Today, the growing rate has been reduced to 2.0 % with a birthrate rate of 3.4 per adult female and is expected to go on decelerating down through 2025. This current birthrate rate is still much higher than the norm which is around 2 and indicates that Guatemala s population is go oning to increase albeit a little more easy than experienced in the 1980 s. The current age pyramid, as can be seen in figure 1 below, indicates that a big per centum of the population is less than 20 old a ges of age and a much smaller part are more than 65 old ages of age. This shows there was still really strong growing in recent old ages which produced many immature kids and grownups. The gender dislocation of the current population is about even with a male population of 6,685,453 and a female population of 6,864,987. At the expected growing rate degrees, Guatemala s population is expected to duplicate by 2050. There are several factors that contribute to Guatemala s high growing rate tendency which are really typical symptoms of less developed states. Guatemala s economic system s largest industry is in agribusiness which creates a high inducement for households to bring forth many childs to assist work on the land. This is evidenced by the higher birthrate rate of rural adult females versus urban adult females. On mean, rural adult females have 2 more kids than urban adult females. Besides, there is a really big economic spread between the rich and hapless. In order to keep themselves in their older age, Guatemala s aged rely on their kids to take attention of them. This means that the aged will hold more security if they have more kids. Birth control techniques are besides non promoted by Guatemala due to their strong Catholic background. Due to Guatemala s hapless economic status, many older people do non hold entree to proper medicine which causes them to decease at a younger age. Thes e many factors have resulted in the really high growing rates experienced in Guatemala over the past 50 old ages. HEALTH A ; WELFARE: In chiefly the rural countries of Guatemala, there are high rates of enteric diseases and infant mortality due to the inadequacy of Guatemalan wellness services. Conducive factors to these jobs are famine and minimal usage of sanitation. To help those with these medical jobs, there are infirmaries that provide free health care in communities that are reasonably big, and there are besides a assortment of private infirmaries. These infirmaries are maintained by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance. To assist better rural dweller s wellness s, there were rural wellness Centres established in 100s of parts during the 1980 s. Since the 1980 s, there has been betterments in these Centres, yet many of the persons of the rural countries of Guatemala are malnutrition and are in demand of medical attending but lack the entree. ( Stansifer, C. , Griffith, W. , A ; Anderson, T. ( n.d. ) . Guatemala. Retrieved September 29, 2010, from lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.histo ry.com/topics/guatemala gt ; ) . With respects to the wellness and public assistance of the people in Guatemala, The grade of major infective diseases is high. Such diseases are nutrient or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid febrility vector borne disease: dandy fever febrility and malaria H2O contact disease: swamp fever ( 2009 ) ( Guatemala People 2010. From lt ; www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/guatemala/guatemala_people.html gt ; ) . Harmonizing to gapminder.com, the current infant mortality rate per 1000 births is 28.63 ( Indicator gapminder infant deathrate. ( n.d. ) . Retrieved October 1, 2010, from lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //spreadsheets.google.com/pub? key=phAwcNAVuyj0NpF2PTov2Cw ) and the maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births is 88.28703 ( Maternal Mortality Ratio 1800-2008. ( n.d. ) . Retrieved October 1, 2010, from lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //spreadsheets.google.com/pub? key=pyj6tScZqmEcVezxiMlWaRw gt ; ) . From the 1800s to the 1980s, the life antic ipation at birth went from being 26 old ages to 57 old ages and so increased to 71 old ages by twelvemonth 2000. Energy: Following the 1996 Peace Accords, which ended about 40 old ages of civil struggle, Guatemala has enhanced their substructure sing to electricity and telecommunications. Electricity, sanitation services, and H2O have been improved and have resulted to an addition of over 40 % . Prior to the Peace Pact of 1996, many of the autochthonal, hapless, and rural persons were non likely at all to be the receiving systems of new substructure connexions as they are presently twice every bit likely to be. The usage of telephones, chiefly cellular phones, has increased from 4.2 of denseness in 1997 to 19.7 of denseness in 2001. Furthermore, since the terminal of the civil war, there has been an addition in public phones for rural locations. ( Ike-Okoh, C. ( 2010, April 19 ) . Retrieved October 9, 2010, from lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //businessdayonline.com/index.php? option=com_content A ; view=article A ; id=10232: do-not-ignore-the-need-for-infrastructure-reform A ; catid=44: busines s-intelligence A ; Itemid=318 gt ; ) . Using both renewable and non-renewable resources, the state has the ability to bring forth energy on its ain. Using air current, Sun, biogas, hydro, energy harvests, bioethanol, and biodiesel, Guatemala could bring forth around 13,800 MW. ( Rivera, M. ( 2010, March 27 ) . Sustainable Energy for Guatemala [ aˆÂ ¦ ] . Retrieved October 9, 2010, from lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.reeep.org/index.php? id=51 A ; content=2659 gt ; ) . The state s authorities has created a programme specifically for the enlargement of energy beginnings for the indigens and for fuel variegation providing a long-run solution. Economy: Guatemala is the most to a great extent populated and largest state in Central America. With respects to the economic system in Guatemala, agribusiness is the most of import because through agribusiness they obtain most of their money. Their chief merchandises of exporting are java, bananas, and sugar. They presently are exporting 75 % of these goods to assorted states and their Gross Domestic Products ( GDP ) are at about 15 % . This shows Guatemala s overall economic end product. Furthermore, other goods and services in this state include winter veggies, fruits, dress, fabrics, cut flowers, and touristry. The private sector which supplies about 85 % of GDP controls Guatemala s economic system. On the other manus, the authorities merely has a limited engagement in the economic system which is to airdromes, docking and other ports, public utilities, and legion development-orient fiscal establishments. With respects to the stabilisation of macroeconomics, Guatemala has had of import betterments since the 1996 Peace Pact. These betterments have been made through policies and structural reorganisations to promote territory economic integrating every bit good as advancing growing. The addition of higher economic growing and low public debt in recent old ages was due to robust remittal. However, Guatemala is susceptible to external daze due to its unfastened economic system. Because of this, Guatemala s economic system is unpleasantly impacted by the planetary economic crisis. Therefore, remittals, falling exports, and capital influxs are grounds for Guatemala s economic system to quickly decelerate down. When taking into history, income disparity in this state, there is merely 2.6 % of income inequality with respects to labor and developing experience, 15 % of income inequality with respects to instruction in human capital, 6 % of direct consequences of gender and cultural favoritism, 2.5 % of income disparity between freelance and paid workers, 3.6 % of income spread between informal and formal divisions, and 2.4 % of non-labour net incomes. Among the three classs used to break up non-labour income, factor payments have the largest engagement, explicating 1.1 % of income derived functions. ( Alejos, L. A. ( n.d. ) . Contribution of the determiners of income inequality in Guatemala. Retrieved October 8, 2010, from lt ; www.uwcades.org/papers/alejos2003.pdf gt ; ) . Last, the disparity of the country of life is calculated to be 3.4 % . Table 1 on page 8, indicates the contributed determiners at a national degree of income disparity. ( Alejos, L. A. ( n.d. ) . Contribution of the d eterminers of income inequality in Guatemala. Retrieved October 8, 2010, from lt ; www.uwcades.org/papers/alejos2003.pdf gt ; ) . Obstacles: Guatemala is a really developing state in many countries such as political relations, economic sciences, and instruction which creates obstructions to sustainable development. The authorities of Guatemala is a really immature democracy that has been formed through many old ages of civil war. In order for Guatemala to make, keep, and implement governmental policies that will lend to the state s well-being, it must hold a dependable and trusty authorities. Currently, authorities functionaries are easy bribed and policies are formed with a really colored influence. Drug trafficking, money laundering, and illegal foreigner smuggling are all major jobs in Guatemala that leads to a more corrupt and less stable society. The deficiency of a proper instruction, particularly for rural kids, proves to be a immense job in making a more productive economic system. Almost half of Guatemala s economic system is dependent upon agribusiness. Thus, many rural households grow up working on farms instea d than acquiring a proper instruction. The deficiency of installations, particularly in rural countries, besides hinders Guatemala s ability to educate their young person. Guatemala s economic system is undiversified and relies chiefly on agribusiness, and in peculiar java beans. The clang in the agricultural markets, the down monetary values for java beans, and the widespread planetary recession in 2001 has proved how delicate Guatemala s development is due to its dependance on a individual industry. In order to hold sustained development, Guatemala would necessitate to educate its population and diversify its economic system. It would besides necessitate a dependable and responsible authorities to supply the proper leading in the face of so many challenges. ( Guatemala. ( n.d. ) . USAID from the American People. Retrieved October 11, 2010, from lt ; www.usaid.gov/policy/budget/cbj2004/latin_america_caribbean/guatemala.pdf gt ; ) . Figure 1: Degree centigrade: UsersArteeDesktopIntroduction to Environmental StudiespopulationPyramid.php.jpg Beginning: U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base. Table 1: Contribution of the determiners of income inequality at a national degree Beginning: Contribution of the determiners of income inequality in Guatemala. Luis Alejandro Alejos. October 2003.
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Employment Relations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words
Employment Relations - Assignment Example Employment relations theories The study of employment relations has led to several theory perspectives that have helped explain the nature of employment relations. The following is some of the perspectives draw. The first is Unitarianism, a perspective based on workplace conflicts between the employees and the manager. This theory explains that conflicts at the workplace are inevitable, and they should be seen as a unifier and not a dissolvent (Lloyd and Newell, 2001: 357). In the organization, the employee carries the same interest as the manager and that is to see the organization thrive. In case of disagreement the two parties agree to disagree for the benefit of the organization. The main cause for conflicts according to Bryson (2005: 1111) is a clash of personality, promotion, lack of communication skills and dissidents deviation. This can be easily solved by the management through finding the problem and solving it. In Taylor’s scientific management theory (1974:44) he s tates that employees have limited ambitions and tend to act immature and avoid their responsibilities whenever they can. Companies that choose to subscribe to Taylor’s theory set clear roles and directives on assignments undertaken at work. The approach here gives management an upper hand because it has great authority on the workers (Taylor: 1974: 47). The other theory applicable in this case is the human relations theory where workers are viewed as individuals who are self motivated and have a sense of self-fulfillment in the organization. In this theory workers are granted the autonomy to operate in a manner that they feel the job satisfaction (Gennard and Judge, 2005: 76). Organizations that adopt this approach create a self-governing environment and allow employees to govern themselves. The second set of assumption is pluralism and unlike Unitarianism pluralism believes that work conflict is necessary and healthy for the organization. Businesses are made up of different complex groups with each group carrying different interests (Daniel, 2006: 36). The management and employees are considered been in different groups here. The assumption here is that there different forms of authority making conflict inevitable. The conflict is taken as a positive factor because it is this situation that sheds light on the employee’s grievances. Conflict also forces management to come up with innovative ways to handle the disagreements. Pluralists according to Daniel (2006: 36) agree with the two competing sides because it is believed to result to amicable solutions. This is because management not only comes up with conflict solutions but also fair solutions that keep their power balanced. Dunlop’s system theory is one of the greatest approaches used by most pluralists (Hollishead et al., 2003: 19). This theory states that employment relations are made up of a wide sub-system that determines how parties involved in the work environment can keep out con flicts at the workplace. There are four elements according to Hollishead et al. (2003: 23) that are important factors in employment relations, and that are the actors, the environment, set rules and ideologies that are binding. Another theory recently drawn is the strategic choice theory
State Education Standards (my state is Florida) Essay
State Education Standards (my state is Florida) - Essay Example The standards that have been mentioned in each of the documents are logical, realistic and attainable. For student achievement standards the bureau of student development has provided a thorough analysis of the standard. The best part that makes the state department’s claim commendable is the practicality of the standards it expects of its students. A detail report in the stream of Language Art shows how scientifically and strategically the standards are fixed for each grade. Specific requirements of standard for each grade are mentioned like â€Å"Grades 11-12: Reading----Standards/Benchmark†. As the document is in the form of a table based on class grades one can easily navigate through it. Standards seem to be listed as objectives though it is not mentioned specifically. The performance standard of teachers is mentioned in detail. Florida stresses on recruitment of teachers with the skill and resource of teaching non-English speaking students. The requirements in terms of teaching standard are described distinctly especially for ESOL teachers. The document is presented in point form and the objectives are mentioned in specific terms. As there are no sub-headings and as the analysis is content based navigation becomes a little cumbersome to reach a specific detail. The document of the national standards of education of the state of Florida is comprehensive and inclusive of all the different departments of education. It provides a concise but complete view of the standards fixed for each of the different branches. The document presents the content in a very systematic pattern in bullet points with headings and sub-headings for each point. Adopting this technical approach has not only made the document to the point but has also made it easy for one to navigate through it for related points or links. There are no specifications of the standards being regarded as objectives but it seems so in
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Can Cheaters Win the Game Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Can Cheaters Win the Game - Essay Example nhancement substances, of which are taken knowingly or unknowingly.1 It is now a known fact that sports people will use all means to gain a competitive advantage in order to win games. This now begs the question can cheaters win games. Firstly, they are several arguments that would revolve around this question. I feel that cheating is dependent on the given situation or circumstance of the sport being played. Feezell asks the question, â€Å"What is it that makes us think that cheating is wrong?†2 To get a better comprehension, let us look at some examples. Feezell goes on to state: â€Å"From the examples given, we can determine what could be wrong with the arguments presented by the skeptics concerning cheating†. In sports, it is interesting to note that most forms of cheating are hardly strategic matters as skeptics would at times suggest. For instance, a sport requires score keeping hence making the participants to keep scores fairly.3 Should they fail, then that is considered cheating and is wrong? Examples of this kind of sports include golf, tennis matches, and basketball games. Then if a particular sport has strict eligible requirements for its players in which umpires or referees are required, to not violate the rules, the hiring of the officials must not be biased because if it is, this then creates an unfair advantage for a particular team, which would then be a clear form of cheating.4 Sports that require equipment and are restricted on the type of equipment required by the rules would be considered cheating. For example, usage of a corked bat when playing baseball or substituting illegal apparatuses in field events is considered cheating. That being said, what do these cases of paradigm cheating have in common (Feezell, 2). All cases illustrate intention from the players as well as coaches to gain a form of unfair advantage by altering particular conditions of competitive fairness. Therefore, about judgme nts pertaining cheating, a decision must be
Friday, July 26, 2019
Herzberg Theory of Motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Herzberg Theory of Motivation - Essay Example The term 'Job Satisfaction' refers to one of the extent to which an individual likes his or her job. As defined by Schermerhorn, Hunt and Osborn, "Job satisfaction is the degree to which individuals feel positively or negatively about their jobs. It is an attitude or emotional response to one's tasks as well as to the physical and social conditions of the workplace." (Schermerhorn, Hunt and Osborn, 2002) Feedback is the objective information about individual and collective performance. Subjective information like 'you are doing well' does not qualify the criteria of the objectivity and thus can not be called an ideal feedback. (Miner, 1988) .Feedback serves two functions; that is instructional and motivational. Besides providing the instructions for further improvement, feedback should also be aimed to motivate the employees rather than condemn them. (Tosi, Rizzo and Mero, 2000) Being so important for the organizational culture, organizational behavior researchers have laid a great stress in determining the factors which influence the employee satisfaction. As a result, a number of theories regarding the issue have been evolved. Herzberg theory of motivation is one of them. ... As a result, a number of theories regarding the issue have been evolved. Herzberg theory of motivation is one of them. (Szilagyi and Wallace, 1983) The Herzberg theory of motivation is based on the fact that the satisfaction level of an employee is deeply affected by two broad categories; hygiene factor and the motivation factor. Herzberg asked the employees to report the times they felt very satisfied with their jobs and the times they felt discontented. He noted all the factors which led to increase the job satisfaction of the employees and same for the dissatisfaction. On the basis of this study he gave this theory, which is also known as motivator-hygiene theory, which identifies different factors as foremost causes of job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. (Philip and Duncan, 1982) According to this theory, hygiene factors are those factors which cause job dissatisfaction. He noticed that these tasks are more related to the work environment, rather than the nature of work itself. Some of the common hygiene factors are as follows: Organizational policies Quality of supervision Working conditions Base wage or salary Relationships with peers Relationships with subordinates Security (Luthans, 2006) Herzberg asserts that these factors are though responsible for job dissatisfaction, yet their presence does not guarantee the job satisfaction. Lets take the example of salary, if the employees are under paid, their satisfaction towards their work will be lesser. However, if they are appropriately paid, even then this will not bring the job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is achieved through a number of other factors like: Achievement Recognition Responsibility Advancement Growth (Luthans, 2006) The factors which
Thursday, July 25, 2019
World Religions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2
World Religions - Essay Example uism, Jainism, and Buddhism refer to the notion of karma in their principal beliefs, but the meaning of karma introduces some different features in the dimension of this religions and cultures. It is important to mention that there are a number of divergent and similar feature in the concepts of karma regarding this particular religions. It is interesting to investigate the peculiarities each of them and understand is basic features. Hinduism is considered to be widespread religion of South Asian people and karma is regarded as one of the principal notions in this particular belief (Smith, n.p.). The word itself refers to the Vedic texts with the basic meaning â€Å"ritual action or labor†(Smith, n.p.). The matter is that ritual of work belongs to â€Å"the construction of a religiously viable self†(Smith, n.p.). To such extend the notion of action presupposes some consequences in the present and future to the particular person. Jainism represents karma as the â€Å"net of our previous choices†that creates the experience of the present moment (Long, 84). Consequently, our current choices produce the future circumstances of our existence (Long, 84). It is important to mention that according to Jainism beliefs we all create the universe with suggesting our choices in a collective form (Long, 84). Kama consist of people’s mind, speech and body that presupposes his/her proceedings. What is more karma is regarded as an abstract substance that surrounds the soul and people’s consciousness. In the dimension of Buddhism karma first and foremost refers to the people’s intentions as they are regarded as the principal stimulators of people’s actions and proceedings (Jà ¼rgensmeyer, 70). Intention is considered to be an â€Å"essential element in moral decision making†according to Buddhism religion (Jà ¼rgensmeyer, 70). That is why they construct a principal concept of karma in this particular case. What is relevant to mention is one big similarity concerning this
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Chapter review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Chapter review - Essay Example In Chapter 9, Poets and Revolutionaries: Three Women of Calcutta, she reveals the lives and insights of three strong-willed and talented women in the city, Aparna Sen, a film maker, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, a poet and Veena Bhargava, a painter. The chapter discussed their careers and their womanhood. In this chapter, you’ll be able to see their individuality and how they achieved their independence and uniqueness. This chapter provided Bumiller the contrast she needed in showing the different lives of the women in the rural villages and the women in the cities. Her interviews with the three successful women of the city showed that none of them think they faced problems because of their womanhood. This is in contrast to the other women she was able to interview during the previous chapters. It shows here in this chapter that these three women were leading their lives not very different from their Western counterparts. They grew up having dinners with their families. They also have differences with themselves to the point that sometimes they question their own actions, choosing between their family life and their careers. Though they might not have any problems or issues that they encounter that will make them feel oppressed and exploited, far different from the other women of India living outside the cities, they have the common problem of the dilemma of doing one thing over another. This can be seen in the sacrifices that they have to make in order to become successful. The women in this chapter were only a few of those that were able to define their personal and social identities. They were able to master control over their lives, sometimes even the control over the men. Much different from the women of the rurals, where most are slaves to a very oppressing and explo itative society. Here, it showed how they used the many issues of oppression and exploitation of other women of India to push their own
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian Woman's Rights in Their Own Country Essay
Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian Woman's Rights in Their Own Country - Essay Example In most of the Islamic countries, women are not allowed to drive; this is for the sole reason that they are not supposed to be bare faced- they are expected to cover the parts of their body that are awrah (meant not to be seen) (Alsarraf 56). Following this situation, only the hand and the eyes are not considered awrah and are supposed to be concealed to the public. This has made the women who profess Islamic culture to avoid driving since with the cloak cloath called abaya and the face-veil, niqab it is impossible to engage in driving. Kuwait though has rescinded over this law and have let their women drive just like any other person without the discrimination of gender. It will be noted that most of the Islamic countries are hinged on patriarchal and men are the central authority in everything and are given first priority.Whereas in other Islamic countries there is strict regulation on the right of the women to vote in the elections, women in Kuwait enjoys the right to vote followi ng the repeal of the sections that barred women from such constitutional rights. Following the 2005 amendments, Kuwaiti women have the rights to equally vie for the elective position; parliamentary and local elections. Following the precedent set by the 2005 ruling, in 2009 the Kuwait’s constitutional court also ruled that the women, just like men could possess passport without the approval of their husbands. Initially, women were not allowed to get hold of the passport without the approval of their husbands.
Insanity of War Essay Example for Free
Insanity of War Essay Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut were two of the most influential anti-war authors of the twentieth century. Heller and Vonnegut served in Second World War; Heller flew sixty missions as a bombardier and Vonnegut was awarded the Purple Heart as an infantry scout. Throughout the Vietnam War, these two authors were idolized for the heroic anti-war masterpieces that they wrote. College students throughout the country carried the novels Heller and Vonnegut wrote everywhere they went. Heller first published his book in 1961, right in the midst of Civil Rights Movement, a perfect time for a book that challenges the power of bureaucracy. Vonnegut published his novel eight years later in 1969, during the Vietnam War, a controversial period for American citizens. One student was quoted saying, Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller were part of a vanguard of writers my friends and I idolized (Golly). Through the use of complex structures, highly effective literary styles, and character portrayal, Heller and Vonnegut helped to reveal the insanity of war. Heller and Vonnegut both use a complex structure when writing their satirical anti-war novels. When writing Catch-22, Heller intentionally created a narrative that is hard to follow. While Heller admits that Catch-22 was meticulously structured in order to seem chaotic, he disagrees with the readers that claim Catch-22 is formless (Merrill 34). Merrill also claims that Heller says the real structure is artfully camouflaged (34). He speaks the ideas of multiple characters and tells the story in an unconventional manner. While the majority of the novel is written from the ideas, actions, and feelings of John Yossarian, the protagonist, Heller uses other characters to tell the story from a different perspective. An example of this comes in Chapter 6, aptly named Hungry Joe, where Heller writes the ideas and feelings of Hungry Joe (Heller 51). Another comes in the twentieth chapter, where the narrative comes from Corporal Whitcomb (Heller 198). Heller also uses an unorthodox chronology while writing Catch-22. Multiple times during the text Heller makes obvious jumps in time, be it forward or back. Heller uses the number of missions to help the reader follow the chronology of this insane structure. On the twenty-first page, Doc Daneeka declares that the colonel want fifty missions (Heller). He then declares that the Twenty-seventh Air Force only requires forty missions and later on the same page they are required fifty-five missions (Heller 58). Vonnegut also uses a complex structure when writing his book, Slaughterhouse-five, but rather than switching from character to character, he changes between past, present, future. Vonnegut uses a chronological scheme that is difficult to follow as well; he actually starts the narrative during the second chapter. He starts the novel, on page twenty-three, by talking about the past and tells us that the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, was born in 1922 (Vonnegut). Seven pages later, he jumps to 1944 describing his position of assistant chaplain and his first time being unstuck in time (Vonnegut 30). Then, during the fifth chapter, starting on page eighty-eight, he talks about the past again. When he was twelve years old, he went on vacation to the Grand Canyon that he hated (Vonnegut). In addition to using a complex structure, Vonnegut uses the phrase So it goes over one hundred times (Slaughterhouse-Five). These writing structures both work to expose the insanity of war. Heller creates a chaotic atmosphere by writing through numerous characters and through a chronology that is anything but in a logical order. While Vonnegut employs the death of over a hundred people within Slaughterhouse-Five and uses an intensely paced, chronological mess (Vonnegut). They both write chapters and paragraphs that follow the same disorganized style. With the structures that Heller and Vonnegut use, they both create a chaotic atmosphere for their readers, similar to that of war. They attempt to place the readers in a situation that makes them feel similar to the authors, when they were in the military. Heller and Vonneguts literary style is to create tension in the mind of the reader by shifting the narrative around from character to character and to and from different time periods. They do this in order to draw the readers closer to the soldiers and bombardiers of the Second World War. By doing so, they cause the readers to begin to wonder what will be happening next in the story; much like the way the soldiers of Catch-22 do on the fictional island of Pianosa and the Slaughterhouse-Five soldiers in the German city of Dresden (Heller, Vonnegut). The overall pace of Catch-22 is slow; Heller is very descriptive and builds the setting and atmosphere. There is, however, parts of Catch-22 that are intense and fast paced. Heller uses this slow pace to build tension before the novel climaxes. Catch-22 becomes faster as it approaches the climax and the end of the novel. This change of pace ties directly to war; at first everything is slow, then suddenly, the characters are in the middle of a firefight or bombing mission, then it quickly ceases. Slaughterhouse-Five uses a slightly faster pace throughout the novel; Vonneguts narrative is much shorter and does not go into as much depth as Hellers story does. However, this is the same feeling that many soldiers of the Second World War felt. The soldiers and bombardiers do not always know what is happening next or, in regard to the current Iraqi war, which is the enemy and which is not. Heller employs another literary device, called a motif, a recurring theme or device in literature, and in the novel written by Heller, the motif was catch-22. Heller incorporates many forms of the catch-22 throughout the novel. The main catch occurs when Yossarian must continue flying missions. Obviously anyone willing to risk their lives by flying these missions is crazy. The only way to be granted permission to stop flying the missions is to ask the commanding officer, but he cannot grant permission to be grounded unless it is asked of him. However, anyone sane enough to ask a commanding officer to be grounded is clearly not insane because they have regard for their lives. Therefore, they must continue flying missions. In short, any circular argument that always works in favor of the bureaucratic system that puts it in place is a catch-22. These circular arguments trap soldiers within the chaos of war; they have no way to escape it because of the system that placed it. There is several other catch-22s in the novel Catch-22, such as the open and close case against Clevenger in which all they need is something to charge him with and how they can only meet up with Major Major Major Major in his office when he is not in his office. Vonnegut also employs the literary device motif, within his novel. He uses the phrase So it goes over one hundred times in Slaughterhouse-Five (Slaughterhouse-Five). He first uses the phrase So it goes when talking about Gerhard Mullers, a cab driver, mother, who was incinerated in the Dresden fire-storm (Vonnegut 2). During chapter nine, Vonnegut writes about how Billys wife, Valencia, dies of carbon monoxide poisoning after an accident she caused while driving to the hospital Billy was taken to after a plane accident he was involved in (Vonnegut). In the prior situation, Vonnegut ended to text with So it goes, this shows how the insanity of war causes death to mean so little to some people. The last use is on the second to last page, two hundred fourteen; he uses it after the death of Edgar Derby, an old, poor English teacher, who was arrested, tried, and shot for stealing a teapot (Vonnegut). Vonnegut uses the phrase So it goes to equalize all death. Through equalizing all death, Vonnegut brings forward how some bureaucratic systems feel about war and their effects on life. Vonnegut writes to point out the insanity of war; he shows his readers what war can cause and how his characters and their lives are affected. Hellers characters display insanity throughout Catch-22. An example of this occurs on page seventy-five, when the following conversation takes place: In sixty days youll be fighting Billy Petrolle, the colonel with the big fat mustache roared. And you think its a big fat joke. I dont think its a joke, sir, Clevenger replied. Dont interrupt Yes, sir And say sir when you do, ordered Major Metcalf. Yes, sir. Werent you just ordered not to interrupt? Major Metcalf inquired coldly. But I didnt interrupt, sir, Clevenger protested. No, and you didnt say sir, either. Add that to the charges against him, Major Metcalf directed the corporal who could take shorthand, Failure to say sir to superior officers when not interrupting them. (Heller) This conversation shows just how crazy some of Hellers characters are. Through his dialogue, Heller shows the insanity of his characters and the absurdity of war. Conversations similar to this occur a dozens of times throughout Catch-22. Another example of Heller portraying insanity occurs when the IBM machine in control of the military ranking system gains a sense of humor. After only four days of enlistment, Private Major Major Major, one of Hellers more awkward characters, becomes Major Major Major Major (Heller). This mistake portrays another chaotic situation that war created. The bureaucratic system causes confusion and people lose control of their responsibilities. The actions of war depicted in Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-five, caused a large amount of death. The center of the book, the German city of Dresden, is approximated to have had at least thirty-five thousand and some sources say up to one hundred thousand casualties in the infamous firebombing of Dresden during the Second World War (Bombing of Dresden). A few characters from Slaughterhouse-five share the same insanity of those from Catch-22, such as Roland Weary, who is intent on glorifying himself and uses the fact that he saved Billy multiple times to do it (Vonnegut). Although the characters from Slaughterhouse-five dont carry on crazy dialogues, they still portray madness through their actions, like when Wild Bob inquires if Billy is part of the regiment that he is colonel of, even though all his men are dead (Vonnegut). Heller and Vonnegut use their characters in a way that proves that war does really take a toll of a persons mental situation. Through their motifs, Catch-22 and So it goes, Heller and Vonnegut show that bureaucratic systems and death do not mix well. Systems like this shouldnt have control over such a life altering things, especially since they carry the attitude So it goes throughout the war. It really is insane for a system to be in place in which someone has absolute control over anothers life. And the ability of these people to have a So it goes attitude is as pure madness. The structure in Slaughterhouse-five and Catch-22 are very similar in that the both follow a chronology that is nowhere near in order. This is significant because it puts the reader into the insanity of war. The have the same confusion that soldier does until they realize what is really going on. Through the use of characters, motifs, and confusing chronologies; these brilliant antiwar authors capture the insanity of war.
Monday, July 22, 2019
Francisco Pizarro Essay Example for Free
Francisco Pizarro Essay Francisco Pizarro was born in 1474 in Trujillo, Spain. In 1502 he arrived in the Spanish colony of Hispaniola where he later joined the expedition to settle Panama in 1519. I can say that Pizarro’s victory over the Incas is considered to be the most shocking and the most incredible military accomplishments in history. Pizarro wanted to be famous, so he thought it would be great to conquer the great Inca Empire. His own personal goals were to become wealth and to be known as great. This time, he intended to conquer the Incas just as Hernando Cortez had crushed Mexicos Aztecsand he couldnt have picked a better time. In 1525, Pizarro and two ships set sail for Peru. He returned to Panama, where he lived, with gold, llamas, and Indians. In 1528, Francisco Pizarro returned to Spain to get permission from Charles V, king of Spain, to conquer Peru for Spain. Charles supplied him with funds for the expedition. Pizarro returned to Panama and organized the expedition. He had a tiny army of 100 foot soldiers and some 60 cavalry. In 1530 he reached Peru and went to inland in Andes, to in town where the Inca ruler, Atahualpa, was staying. However, Atahualpa was in a civil conflict with his half-brother, Huascar and he had just recently won the war against his brother when Pizarro arrived, and the empire was still unstable. Pizarro ambushed the ruler, forced him to collect an enormous payment, and then executed him. Although the Incas mounted significant resistance to Pizarro, they were soon broken. Soon, by November 1533 the conquistadores were in control of Cuzco, the Inca capital.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
The Fundamental Arguments Of Nature Versus Nurture Philosophy Essay
The Fundamental Arguments Of Nature Versus Nurture Philosophy Essay Nature is generally considered the part of a person that is a genetic inheritance, the fundamental identity that determines the choices someone will make. Nurture is the environmental factor to someones development: his or her socioeconomic standing, privileges, disadvantages, opportunity, access, etc. The blank slate, or tabula rasa, theory presented by John Locke during the 17th century states that everyone is born with nothing and is shaped by his or her environment; in other words, Lockes theory supports the nurture side of the nature versus nurture debate. On the other hand, ones genetic disposition to intelligence determines how one will interact with the environment. These two sides propose that they each hold the ultimate verdict to a persons personality and all of the psychological aspects that go along with it. Of course, both the idea of nature and the idea of nurture contribute to the human psyche but they do so at varying degrees in each individual: that is to say, one m ay feel the effects of nature more persistently than the effects of nurture and vice versa. Because of the inconsistent nature of clinical psychology, there is no absolute value for ones percentage of influence being that of nature or nurture but there are instances in which there is no denying that each theory plays a role in human development. A study of leadership suggested that varying degrees of socioeconomic status, perceived parental support, and perceived conflict support determined how much genetic or environmental influence affected someones leadership position; these findings are consistent with the conceptual argument proposing that the presence of adversity and conflict allows for a greater influence of genetic differences in capabilities related to leadership (Zhang et al.). That is to say, depending on the environmental stresses involved, the genetic aspect of the debate took more or less control. A study dealing with low-income mothers perception of their childrens obesity revealed that most of the mothers believed that because of their childrens genetic heritage, no matter what diet, the children could not lose weight; on the other hand, the mothers, with equal force, blamed themselves and/ or other environmental factors on their childrens weight problems (Hughes et al.). Despite the fact that the mothers fi rst argument logically disproves their second argument, the mothers have a vested interest in both aspects of the nature versus nurture debate. They are very unsure as to what degree they have made mistakes and to what degree genetics has influenced their childrens weights. The science is not all there but, for now, it is safe to assume that both sides of the debate carry different percentages of the weight. We all know of cases of people brought up in horrendous circumstances who somehow transcend these to display compassion and tendernessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Conversely, people brought up in seemingly balanced households may be capable of the most horrific crimes (Gaba). Without delving too deeply into clinical psychology, Gaba has made a sizable case for the nature aspect of the debate. Oprah Winfrey stands to be a great example of the rags to riches fable. She was not only a poor, black Mississippian but she had also been sexually abused in addition to getting into trouble as a teen (Walker). Oprah is now one of the most prominent figures in todays society, easily reaching the millions, if not billions, with her successful television and business career. In his autobiography, Stephen Fry describes his stealing compulsion despite coming from an upper-middle class family. At boarding school he would take money from other students even though his parents set up a deal with a local shop owner where Stephen could take as much money as he liked (Fry). His environment provided him with non-thieved money yet Frys nature caused him to develop kleptomania. Psychological studies veer off into the impact of environment. The increasing recognition of genetic propensity to mental health disorder suggests that the advent of genetic therapies in the not-too-distant future may eventually provide alternative biological means of treatment (McVicar, Clancy). In other words, because mental health is a part of the nature piece of the debate, the drugs used to facilitate the mental illness are the environmental aspect. In this case, nurture controls nature. The relationship between an individual and his or her environment is a cause towards that persons mental stability and there are many instances of environmental influences on physical as well as psychological health (McVicar, Clancy). On the other hand, some environments bring forth mental instability for some people. Homelessness tends to wreak havoc on the mind and may bring about a psychological disorder that could have been at bay under a different environment. Mental illness is a source of complication for the nature versus nurture debate because certain peoples genetic dispositions will cause them to develop psychological disorders no matter what the circumstance while others experience trauma which causes them to develop mental disorders while still others inherit genetics that will see them through any difficult episode. There was a study that addressed the environmental and genetic impacts on alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine dependency: the control was Vietnam-era twins from the United States and the researchers concluded that alcohol and nicotine dependency were based primarily on genetic factors but that cannabis dependency was a mixture of genetic and environmental influence (Xian et al.) The contributors of this study fully recognized that their findings do not cross over to different cultures or different time periods within the history of the United States. They do, however, mention that they had a large sample that was pretty much consistent throughout their observations. This simply shows that human science and understanding of the mind is so very complex that it will take an indefinite amount of time to fully understand the human condition on a scientific level. On the issue of drug abuse, the government likes to bombard the television with antidrug campaigns that endorse the environmental influence as the main perpetrator in the case of evil drug use. Conversely, alcohol advertisements are out there on full display, usually showing that drinking is a very natural state of socialization. The study of nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis dependency would support alcohol and discourage the use of drugs. If drugs are an environmental cause, they can therefore be more easily combated because ones environment is more easily controlled than ones genetic inheritance. If drinking and smoking, i.e. nicotine use, are genetically controlled, they are much more difficult to wane out of society. Those in favor of the legalization of marijuana, or, at the very least, comedians, like to argue that drug use is generally less harmful to other people because alcohol is major factor of death by car. Both alcohol and drug abuse are harmful to the individual, most ca n agree to that, but if drug abuse is, indeed, less harmful to the outside world, alcohol is the more harmful of the two substances. Here is the problem with the nature versus nurture debate: if humans are genetically predisposed to like alcohol but they are environmentally enticed to take pleasure in drugs, which is the lesser of two evils? Nature cannot be controlled; people are stuck with the hereditary cards they have been dealt. On the same note, nurture is around at all times, it will have an influence no matter what the case. People who are introverts will stay introverts if they keep to their cabins millions of miles away from human contact. If some introverts are introduced into society at as quiet intellectuals, some will choose to stay, some will choose to go. There are two different paths and which path one will take is dependent on ones emotions which are directly connected to genetics. This argument likes to runs circles around itself until there is no telling which wa y is up. Environment pressure cannot be overlooked simply because genetic bias is the basic groundwork for ones behavior. Environmental experiences come into contact with, and influence individualsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ some individuals may possess genetic risk and protective factors that exacerbate, or partially insulate them from, the effect of negative environmental experiences (Petrill). The key word here is experience. At the first touch of experience, ones genetic impulses take control. Babies do not automatically latch on to their mothers breast for milk but through genetic imperative and experience do they become more accustomed to their environment and learn different techniques by which they may derive their food. Some would argue that music is a genetic inheritance but because of time and effort involved in mastering scales, finger patterns, rhythmic beats, and all of the other skills required to be a master of music, the environmental concept of experience definitely outweighs the geneti c basis for music inheritance. It takes roughly 10,000 hours, or 10 years, to truly be an expert in any given field (Gladwell). Wisdom is the fundamental basis for knowledge. Young people who endlessly fill their heads with historical, scientific, philosophical, theological, and other types of knowledge do not have the experience to back up their findings whereas the older someone ages, the more likelihood there is that his or her wisdom will be deemed more valid simply because he or she possesses more experience. Masters teach pupils for a reason; there will be a day when the student usurps the master but that is because the student has enough experience to do so. Reinforcement theory is the process of shaping behavior by controlling the consequences of the behavior (Cengage). Instead of using physical punishment as a form of reinforcement, parents will try to encourage their children to stop throwing large jars of liquid pickles at the local grocery store in return for an ice cream sandwich. The child is genetically predisposed to throwing a temper tantrum, looks around his environment, sees jars of pickles, and throws them to the ground screaming in sordid agony about not being able to finish watching his favorite television show three times over that day. The mother then introduces another environmental factor, in this case the ice cream bar, to stop the effects of the double-teaming of the effects of nature and nurture. She is unable to control his demented wailing and so chooses to try even further reinforcement therapy by offering a life-time supply of ice cream for the next seven days. He accepts because now the environmental stimulus h e is now receiving is stronger than his genetic malfunction earlier that minute. This just goes to show that for each individual, that nature versus nurture debate is extraordinarily inconsistent within the span of a human life but also inconsistent within just a few seconds. There is no scientific way to determine how much influence nature or nurture has within one human mind but there is evidence to suggest that both exist in their metamorphic forms.
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Schizophrenia Essay -- Schizophrenia Essays
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that Encarta (2001) describes as an illness that results in delusional thought patterns, hallucinations, and inappropriate effect. It literally means â€Å"split-mind’, but is not a multiple personality disorder. According to DSM-IV (1996) schizophrenia is categorized under the diagnostic code, ICD-9-CM or International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification of 295.xx. Symptoms of schizophrenia can be positive, which occur during the active phase, and negative, which are present before the onset of the disorder. Positive symptoms of the disease include delusions of grandeur (a belief that one is a famous admired individual), delusion of control (when they believe something wants to control them), delusions of broadcasting (belief that another can read their minds or their thoughts are being aired on the radio), delusions of persecution, and thought withdrawal (belief that their thoughts have been removed from thei r brain). Negative symptoms include anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure), alogia (disorganized speech), and flat affect (when the individual does not show any emotion even in situations that strong reactions are expected). According to the DSM-IV (1996) one must fall under these explicit categories in order to be diagnosed with schizophrenia: A.     Characteristic Symptoms: Two (or more) of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a one-month period (or less if successfully treated): 1.     Delusions 2.     Hallucinations 3.     Disorganized speech (e.g.. Frequent derailment or incoherence) 4.     Grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior 5.     Negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia, or avolition Note: Only one Criterion A symptom is required if delusions are bizarre or hallucinations consist of a voice keeping up a running commentary on the person’s behavior or thoughts, or two or more voices conversing with each other. B.     Social/occupational dysfunction: For a significant portion of the time since the onset of the disturbance, one or more major areas of functioning such as work, interpersonal relations, or self-care are markedly below the level achieved prior to ... ...mily members of the sick individual as most schizophrenics are released into their family’s care. It helps the family members learn to see â€Å"early warning signs†of probable relapse as well as different methods of problem solving. Self-help groups are for both the schizophrenic individual as well as their families. These groups are not led by professionals, but rather are groups of schizophrenics and their families leaning on each other for psychological support. Works Cited American Psychiatric Association (1996). Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-IV (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. (1, 22, 23, 147-152) â€Å"Schizophrenia†. Encarta Encyclopedia(2001). Ireland: Microsoft Co. Searles, Howard F. (1956). The Effort to Drive the Other Person Crazy-An Element of the Aetiology and Psychotherapy of Schizophrenia. New York University School of Social Work-Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. 133-148. Taylor, Edward H. The Biological Basis of Schizophrenia (1986). New York University School of Social Work-Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. 51-57. National Institute of Mental Health. Schizophrenia (1999). Retrieved from http://www.medhelp.org/NIHlib/GF-359.html
Who Should be Considered a Hero in Anglo-Saxon Culture and Today? Essay
Who Should be Considered a Hero in Anglo-Saxon Culture and Today? Today, many children would consider Superman, Spiderman, Batman & Robin, and even possibly Arnold Schwarzenegger in his old film The Terminator as great superheroes. These comic strip heroes even impress adults as courageous men because we cannot get over their legendary and their supernatural skills. For example, Spiderman is well known for the spider webs that emerge from his manly wrist. On the other hand, heroes are not just defined by comic strips or cartoons. Firefighters, police officers and even our fathers or mothers are heroes in many of our lives. The characteristics that we describe our heroes as having today are quite similar to those of heroes in Anglo-Saxon culture. Since the Anglo-Saxons were one of the Germanic tribes who invaded England, they were people who had their own language, values and culture. In the Anglo-Saxon adventurous and popular legend Beowulf, the valiant Beowulf is known to be the Superman during the Anglo-Saxon period. In Anglo-Saxon culture and literatures, the characteristics of a hero are to be bold, strong, fearless, loyal and showing indifference to pain. In addition, Beowulf’s faith and confidence in himself and his role as a warrior in the society are other important factors in being a hero. When Grendel’s mother seeks revenge and runs back to her swamp, Beowulf speaks with confidence to go after her: â€Å"let us go at once to look on the track of Gendel’s kin. I promise you this: she will not be lost under cover, not in the earth’s bosom in the mountain woods nor at the bottom of the sea, go where she will. This day have patience in every woe -- as I expect you to†(25). In additio n to this, Beowulf is, beyond doubt, ... ...ffers slightly from generation to generation, from culture to culture, and from individual to individual. But heroes or heroines are still admired for their bravery, great deeds, or noble qualities. The fearless deeds accomplished by Beowulf are not necessarily required for a person to be considered as a hero or heroine today. Albert Einstein is an American hero because he accomplished many great achievements in science. All the passengers who died on the September 11th flights are also looked upon as heroes or heroines because they faced a horrific terrorist act close up. Fathers can be called heroes in their sons’ eyes because they simply admire their dads. Hence, the word â€Å"hero†has many meanings today. The Anglo-Saxon ideal of a hero was comparatively narrow and limited. Today heroism is defined more broadly. How broad will the term become in the next 25 years?
Friday, July 19, 2019
Breaking The Rules in Rostands Cyrano de Bergerac :: essays research papers
Cyrano de Bergerac, written by Edmond Rostand, is a play about a poetic swordsman with a bad temper, an attitude, and a hideously long nose. As one reads along in this drama, one will find that the people are different in the way they speak, dress, and socialize. With the characters in this book living in 17th century France, it is not a wonder that their customs are far removed from ours today. Cyrano de Bergerac has three cultural themes: attitude, social ranking, and dress. The attitude of this play is very interesting. Looking closely, one notices that most of the characters in Cyrano de Bergerac are very formal in the way they address others. They always seem to keep their opinions to themselves, or if they do share it, they do so in a very inoffensive way. Cyrano, however, is very loud and obnoxious. He likes attention and he wants to be the superior. He doesn’t care if other people think he is rude or boastful as long as they are afraid of him. In Cyrano’s first appearance, he frightened an actor off a stage. In Act One, a man asks Cyrano, â€Å"Why do you make so many enemies?†(24). The man starts naming some of them, and after a few, Cyrano replies, â€Å"Enough. I’m overjoyed.†Cyrano’s attitude, it seems, is quite different than that of his peers. Social ranking was extremely important during the 17th century. The musketeers, officers, tradesmen, and managers were highly respected. The poor, pickpockets, and common folk were not. Cyrano was egotistical and poor, which made some people despise him. He was also a poet and a swordsman, which made others intrigued by him. The ladies thought of him as a hero and a gentleman. The men were simply afraid of him. Obviously, Cyrano evoked mixed opinions. Style of dress was a significant factor in Cyrano de Bergerac. Men wore frills, ribbons, lace, and gloves. Women wore dresses with petticoats and jewels. Cyrano was a poor man, therefore, he didn’t have the fancy attire like the other men. In Act One, he claimed that he clothed himself in independence and security, and that what shining gems he owned, he wore inside (20). Breaking The Rules in Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac :: essays research papers Cyrano de Bergerac, written by Edmond Rostand, is a play about a poetic swordsman with a bad temper, an attitude, and a hideously long nose. As one reads along in this drama, one will find that the people are different in the way they speak, dress, and socialize. With the characters in this book living in 17th century France, it is not a wonder that their customs are far removed from ours today. Cyrano de Bergerac has three cultural themes: attitude, social ranking, and dress. The attitude of this play is very interesting. Looking closely, one notices that most of the characters in Cyrano de Bergerac are very formal in the way they address others. They always seem to keep their opinions to themselves, or if they do share it, they do so in a very inoffensive way. Cyrano, however, is very loud and obnoxious. He likes attention and he wants to be the superior. He doesn’t care if other people think he is rude or boastful as long as they are afraid of him. In Cyrano’s first appearance, he frightened an actor off a stage. In Act One, a man asks Cyrano, â€Å"Why do you make so many enemies?†(24). The man starts naming some of them, and after a few, Cyrano replies, â€Å"Enough. I’m overjoyed.†Cyrano’s attitude, it seems, is quite different than that of his peers. Social ranking was extremely important during the 17th century. The musketeers, officers, tradesmen, and managers were highly respected. The poor, pickpockets, and common folk were not. Cyrano was egotistical and poor, which made some people despise him. He was also a poet and a swordsman, which made others intrigued by him. The ladies thought of him as a hero and a gentleman. The men were simply afraid of him. Obviously, Cyrano evoked mixed opinions. Style of dress was a significant factor in Cyrano de Bergerac. Men wore frills, ribbons, lace, and gloves. Women wore dresses with petticoats and jewels. Cyrano was a poor man, therefore, he didn’t have the fancy attire like the other men. In Act One, he claimed that he clothed himself in independence and security, and that what shining gems he owned, he wore inside (20).
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Role of Finance Companies
Role of Finance Companies Traditional role of Finance Companies The finance companies are much smaller in scale compared with commercial banks, and they are also saddled with more restrictions which will be discussed later in the report. Traditionally, they relied on their personalized and flexible services to attract clients. This is because there are always consumers who are rejected by the commercial banks because adding these consumers to their portfolios would be uneconomical for these commercial banks as their economies of scale cannot offset the transactional costs these clients would bring because of the small margins these smaller consumers bring. These mainly include people or companies who do not have the capital to meet the relatively higher capital requirements of the commercial banks compared to finance companies. One example would be the current business account for companies. The major banks such as DBS and OCBC also offer low startup requirements, but charge a monthly management fee if their balances fall below $10,000 , not a big amount for businesses but possibly a stretch on new and small scale businesses. Hence, finance companies plug that gap with much lower balance requirements that would be more attractive to these business owners. Another example would be home loans by which finance companies offer a wider range of interest rates for a different range of financing needs compared to commercial banks who offer more generic rates on a whole. Emerging opportunities for Finance Companies Financial companies are however, now exploring new opportunities that they have not been able to capitalize on before. For example, Hong Leong has recently been awarding underwriting rights by the MAS, a traditional stronghold of commercial banks. This has redefined the boundaries that a traditional finance company in Singapore held due to regulations under the finance companies’ act. Wealth management, a relatively fast growing new segment in Singapore, has seen Hong Leong also wrestling in with a slice of the pie that many expected the commercial and investment banks monopolize. Industry Performance Finance companies form a small and unique portion of the financial services sector here in Singapore. A large part of their income comes in the form of interest income from loans and also commission fees for services that they offer. By focusing on domestic opportunities, they have managed to avoid exposure to the credit crisis that many others in the sector have been affected by. This has thus helped all 3 firms in the sector to post stellar results over the past year. As shown below, Singapore’s GDP growth YoY was 7. 7%, a slight moderation from the 8. % in 2006. This represents opportunities as the need for financial services increase as people in Singapore gain affluence. Growth of profit for Finance Companies Growth on EBIT ranged from a low of 38. 7% to a high of 65. 2% riding on increased receivables for all 3 finance companies. This is exceptional considering the cloud that has shrouded the financial sector in recent times. In dollar terms, their p rofits grew by SGD$43million to a total of over SGD$150million. Also, operational efficiency was a strong driver of the profit growth. Revenues remained rather stable and it was the decreased operating costs that led to higher profits according to the financial reports released. This could be due to reasons such as improved technical systems or improved employee proficiencies. Growth of property & construction revenue segment There is a strong focus on the â€Å"heartland†consumers and increased demand for housing, particularly in HDB flats, has led to opportunities that finance companies have leveraged on to cement their stake in this niche market. Although commercial banks also offer housing loans, finance companies are able to adapt each individual loan to consumer’s requirements because they enjoy greater flexibility especially for smaller loans that larger financial institutions do not want to accommodate to enjoy the relatively small returns. Looking at the breakdown of loans and advances of Finance Companies, we can see a large part is driven by the building and construction sector in Singapore, which was booming last yea. The building sector was driven by the construction of the 2 integrated resorts and a booming property market last year. A key driver of the industry, construction growth, which represents a large portion of finance companies’ interest income, grew at a rate of 20. 3% in 2007, compared to 3. 6% in 2006. The bull run in the property market, as mentioned, has also contributed to the sector’s good performance. Property agents have described in particular, the HDB resale market as the kingpin of the real estate sector. Projected unit sales are estimated to be at 30,000 by industry players. Average prices rose 17% for 2007. This, coinciding with a new government initiative to encourage singles to live with their parents by providing a grant of up to $9000, has led to a boom for the property market domestically in recent times. The government’s policy to target an eventually population size of 6million citizens would lead to an increased demand for housing as more and more immigrants look to plant their roots here. Thus, we can expect housing loans to continue to be a strong driver of performance for finance companies into the foreseeable future. Increase in SME initiatives The government’s initiative to increase SME competitiveness and promote entrepreneurship has also facilitated the expansion of this revenue segment for financial companies. The founding of organizations such as SPRING help to spur and stimulate the growth of target sectors for these financial companies. Initiatives such as the Micro Loan Programme under SPRING create direct market share for these finance companies for those who are rejected by the commercial banks for loans. A look through the Hong Leong Finance website shows at least 11 initiatives directed at SMEs alone. This shows the importance of this particular revenue segment to finance companies. Therefore, the future of this key driver of finance companies’ success looks to be rosy given the support that SMEs receive domestically from the government. It is also important to note that finance companies give incentives by positioning themselves as service providers for smaller enterprises who require greater flexibility in terms of financing requirements. As mentioned earlier in the report, this is due to the fact that it is uneconomical for commercial banks to process some enquiries and loans because they are uneconomical given the scale of operations. Summing up, the performances of finance companies have been exceptional with impressive growth figures. However, as the recession worries and full effects of the sub-prime issues slowly uncover, finance companies may yet be exposed to underlying issues that may influence performances in the near future. Next, we shall examine some of the trends in the finance company sector and try to identify key issues that may offer insights into what we can expect from these finance companies in the future given what we have already discussed. We would also examine a key player to try and gain insights into how these finance companies operate. TRENDS AND ISSUES IN THE FINANCE COMPANIES SECTOR: SINGAPORE 1. Consolidation within industry One of the most pervasive trends identified in the last decade in the finance companies sector is the consolidation of the industry. This is evident from the number of finance companies that have ceased operations. Some of these companies were forced out of the industry due to regulatory changes, while others, like OCBC Finance, simply merged with their principal companies. Since 1996, 19 finance companies have surrendered their finance companies’ license, with only 3 main finance companies remaining by the end of 2007. Accordingly, the assets and liabilities of finance companies as a whole have declined dramatically over the past decade, before stabilizing and increasing steadily over the past 3 years to around 10 billion dollars. Finance companies’ assets decreasing before stabilizing and recovering, and consolidation. 1. 1 Regulatory changes One of the catalysts for this consolidation is no doubt the regulatory changes that MAS has put into effect. Since December 1994, the Finance Companies Act was revised to raise the minimum capital requirement for finance companies from $0. to $50 million, and existing finance companies were given until 2003 to gather the required amount. This effectively meant that finance companies which did not have the required capital had to either merge with other players in the industry including banks, or raise the required capital. Hong Leong Singapore Finance, the finance company in Singapore today, is the result of such a merger between Hong Leong and Singapo re Finance. Examples of mergers with their parent banks include Maybank Finance, and Overseas Union Trust, which of course was subsequently absorbed into UOB. It could be argued that even without regulatory changes, mergers and acquisitions are inevitable for the smaller companies to survive. Regardless, the changes put into place by MAS has forced the industry to evolve into one with lesser, but stronger players. 1. 2 Increasing competition In 1998, then DPM Lee Hsien Loong remarked in a parliamentary session that the rationale behind these regulatory changes was to â€Å"enable finance companies to have the resources to compete more effectively and increase public confidence in them. Hence, another major reason for the consolidation in the industry can be attributed to the increasingly intense competition from commercial banks and other financial institutions which provide similar services. Loans and other services catered to SMEs, which the full banks typically deemed unprofitable, were traditionally the strong suit of finance companies. From data gathered on the 3 existing finance companies, loans and services to SMEs forms over 40% o f their portfolios. However, in the past decade, many commercial banks have started divisions to tap into the SME market made popular by finance companies. Finance companies thus now have to contend not only with each other, but commercial banks as well. This means that badly run finance companies simply could not contend with the competition and were targets for other finance companies’ acquisitions to boost their own ability to compete. 1. 3Niche markets Finance companies are usually able to compete with commercial banks because they offer services to niche markets (usually SMEs) which then form a large part of their portfolio. In today’s financial markets, Hong Leong Singapore Finance is known to target clients within the SME, consumer housing and the silver industry. Sing Investments and Finance has loans in the construction and property development sectors amounting to 68% of their loans portfolio. However, the population of such niche markets are usually much smaller than mainstream financial markets, and companies need to be able to capture a larger market share within the niches to be able to offer products with a competitive edge over commercial banks. Under the basic tenets of economics, this means that a only a small number of firms are needed to satisfy demand in such niche markets. Hence, there is necessarily a trend towards consolidation of similar firms within the separate niche markets in a ‘survival of the fittest’-style competition, which is the situation being faced with today. 1. 4 Global mergers and acquisition trends Mergers and acquisitions have been widespread and plentiful in recent times, and although this directly impacts the trend of mergers within the finance companies sector, there are also indirect effects to be discussed. One must consider that the increasing prevalence of large, merger companies necessarily means that the pool of smaller companies, of which finance companies cater to, is steadily decreasing. Such large merger companies usually go to commercial banks for the more sophisticated and diverse range of credit options which finance companies are simply unable to provide, either because of regulatory restrictions from the Finance Companies Act, or because they do not have the resources to do so. Again, this results in a net effect of finance companies having to merge themselves to operate effectively and efficiently to capture this diminishing pool of available business. TRENDS AND ISSUES IN THE FINANCE COMPANIES SECTOR: INTERNATIONAL International finance companies Unlike in Singapore, a legal definition of ‘finance company’ exists, there is no clear definition on what constitutes a finance company in the overseas financial markets. However, there is a general consensus that finance companies provide mainly lending services to consumers and small businesses. As with finance companies in Singapore, international finance companies typically target these clients that the major banks overlook, or have specializations in specific industries that make them more attractive to customers seeking credit services within these industries. Unlike Singapore, where only 3 such companies now operate, there are literally thousands of such companies overseas catering to different industries and customer bases, and it will be definitely be out of the scope of this report to discuss each one in detail. Also, the nature of the finance companies sector is such that they are more influenced by regulations and performances of industries within the countries in which they operate, and less affected by global financial trends. A simple example of this is in Singapore, where finance companies have been fairly shielded from the turmoil in overseas financial markets led by the subprime crisis in the US. Instead, they have been doing well, largely owing to the boom in the local property, auto and SME markets. It is thus more appropriate to examine the issues and trends of nternational finance companies in the context of the local markets which they serve, rather than to identify and global trends that affect all financial markets. Hence, we have decided to focus our attention on finance companies operating within 3 countries where financial markets are relatively mature and established, and whose activities are more transparent and in the limelight. These are Australia, Japan and USA. 2. Fin ance companies in Australia The finance companies scene in Australia is thriving, and has witness continued growth in the last 3 years. Another good year was recorded in 2006/2007 with both business and personal lending continuing to grow. Finance companies in Australia have long been a significant sector in the Australian financial services market, offering a wide range of products including business leasing, fleet leasing and personal lending. Such companies provide an alternative source of borrowing to the banks, building societies and credit unions. The two largest finance companies operating in Australia are Esanda and Capital Finance, which collectively represents almost 40% of the sector’s operating profits after tax. Some of the key issues which have impacted profits in the last 2 years include: ? asset growth of 7. 1% leading to an increase in interest income ? increased competition leading to reduced margins and fee income ? increased bad debts expenses ?reduced profits on motor vehicle lending 2. 1 Australia – Reliance on Auto Industry and Industry Trends The auto industry is a major driver of performance of the finance companies sector in Australia, no doubt because the majority of the finance companies are exposed to the sector. This may be in the form of lending to consumers and businesses to purchase their motor vehicles, financing auto dealers’ purchase inventories, or providing fleet management businesses. The growth of finance companies coincides with the auto industry’s boom in the past 5 years, with 4 consecutive years of record sales up to 2005. Provision of loans to purchase large cars dropped 18 percent largely due to the change in consumer purchasing habits from the price hikes in oil. Instead, smaller car sales were up 21 percent, contributing to increased revenues for finance companies. However, the increased affordability of new cars in the last 5 years has created difficulties for finance companies which provide fleet management services, such as BMW Finance and ORIX, since such companies suffer reduced profits on the sale of cars at the end of their lease. In recent times, the focus of many of the larger finance companies have shifted to diversification of services. This is similar to Hong Leong Singapore Finance’s strategy in Singapore, which is to take on the major banks at their own game, such as providing property and construction facilities. GE Money’s expansion into credit cards, mortgages and on-line savings provide another example of Australian finance companies’ diversification. Just as the finance companies are expanding their services to include services provided by major finance players such as banks, so are the majors entering into sectors traditionally dominated by finance companies. This includes areas such as lending secured on receivables, consumer and low-doc lending. This has increased competition among Australian finance companies, which is further crowded by new entrants such as Aussie Home Loans’ plans to target car and personal lending markets. . 2 Australia – Growth in Assets, Personal and Business lending Total assets of the finance companies surveyed increased 7. 1 percent to $37. 5 billion, slightly down from 8. 1 percent growth in the previous year, but this still represents a strong rate of growth. This trend has been observed for the past 4 years, and can largely be at tributed to lending growth in the business and personal sectors. Even though finance companies in Australia only accounts for 5 percent of total Australian loans and advances, their market share is considerably higher in traditionally key markets of business lending and personal lending. This is estimated to be around 10 and 15 percent approximately. Since finance companies in Australia are typically not exposed to the housing mortgage market, they are not affected much by the decline in the housing market that is being experienced in global markets. However, the quality of the assets seem to be an issue for finance companies. Total bad and doubtful debt expense increased 32 percent from 2006. Even when viewed in context in the growth of receivables, the ratio of bad debts to average receivables increased. Hence, unlike in Singapore, it does seem that Australian finance companies suffers somewhat from increase in credit losses. However, this is to be expected since finance companies typically engage in less secure lending to less credit worthy customers in exchange for a higher margin. It must also be said that the amount of credit losses increases pales in comparison with the subprime losses that major international banks have faced even with supposed tighter credit checks. 3. Finance companies in Japan In early 2007, the consumer finance industry of Japan was valued at a total of ? 0 trillion with annual growth of 4%. The key factor influencing this previous growth in the industry might be traced to the equity and real estate bubble burst in the early 1990’s which lowered the collateral of several consumers. This provided a large market segment seeking uncollaterized loans, which were only provided by the consumer finance companies. At the same time, consumer finance companies had an advantage over the banks as they had a wider network of loan offices and had a reputation for quicker loan approval. 3. Japan – Regulatory elimination of ‘grey zone’ lending Significant change is expected in the consumer finance sector of Japan, as new regulations affecting consumer finance companies were passed in December 2006, and are to be withheld by the year 2009. The main crux of the new regulation would be that it lowers that maximum allowed interest rate chargeable on uncollaterized consumers. While the interest rate cap on consumer loans were capped at 20% by the Interest Rate Restriction law, the Capital Subscription law stated that a rate of 29. 9% could be charged, in the event that a written consent to the charges was provided by the consumer. Due to this law, several consumer finance companies in Japan have been providing loans to poor credit clients, at interest rates charged within the ‘grey zone’ (20%-29. 9%). What this new legislation entails would be that these consumer finance companies will need to adapt and reinvent themselves, as they can no longer depend on the ‘grey zone for survival’. What can be expected would be shakeout of the smaller consumer finance companies, consolidation as well as diversification of products. 3. 2 Japan – Regulatory Changes The Japanese Diet revised legislation regarding the Money Lending Business (MLB) law. A previous ceiling of 29. % for consumer loan interest rates set by the Capital Subscription law was repealed and reduced to 20%. This coincides with the ceiling set by the Interest Rates Restriction law, which has an interest rate cap of 20% per annum for such loans. Even then, this cap is only applicable for loans of up to ? 100,000 and below. Fo r loans with principal amounts ranging between ? 100,000 and ? 1,000,000, the cap is only 18% per annum. Loans with principal amounts over ? 1,000,000 are charged a maximum interest rate of 15% per annum. At the same time, the Bank of Japan has in recent years opted to abandon their zero-interest rate policy. At the moment, their interest rates have been set at 0. 5%. It is yet to be seen if there will be any increase in this rate, as it will probably depend on the performance of the Japanese economy as it adapts to this change, as well as the USA downturn. But essentially, with the bottom line raised and the top lines lowered, consumer finance companies are seeing their margins diminishing. The amendment also includes tighter entry restrictions for consumer finance companies, return of excess interest payments made to consumers, as well as restricts the maximum debt a consumer may hold to only one-third of his annual income. At the same time, the lid has been left open for more restrictions to be implemented between now and 2009, during which enforcement for the new regulation is going to be implemented. 3. 3 Japan – Effects on Performance In response to the new legislation, the industry has been suffering since. An estimated loss for the combined consumer loan sector for the fiscal year of 2006 has been made at ? 3 trillion. This can be directly attributed to the diminished market segment as well as several requests for refunds of excess loans from existing consumers. With stock prices of the 4 major players in the industry tumbling even before the announcement of the December 2006 ruling, mostly as a pre-emptive reaction, the situation is dire. This has left the consumer finance companies with the option of either leaving the market, or restructuring themselves to suit the new environment. The two main strategies for remaining in the sector would be expansion and diversification. 3. 4 Japan – Expansion At moment, there is estimated total of 10,000 registered money-lenders in Japan. Of these, there are only 4 major players (Aiful Corp. , Acom Co. , Promise Co. Takefuji Corp. ) that are currently listed on the Japanese stock exchange, whilst the rest are all individually casting small shadows. However, considering the increased requirements for operations as well as the diminished margins, it is now harder to maintain operations as a small player. More sophisticated risk management and cost-cutting are all necessary aspects that need impleme ntation for survival. It is expected that a large proportion of these smaller companies will eventually consolidate to be able to mount a substantial fight for survival or be forced to cease operations. Current estimates are that the eventually, Japan will only be left with 3,000 consumer finance companies. Already, that trend is starting to take shape. The current estimate of 10,000 registered money lenders have already dwindled from a previous figure of 14,000 as of February 2007. Two of the larger players, Acom and Promise have also taken a step further than anyone else in the industry, by negotiating partnerships with major banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group respectively. This strengthens their competitiveness, as these consumer finance companies will be able to provide the bank with their expertise in handling smaller and riskier consumer loans, whilst the banks will be able to support these companies as they transcend into a more developed state. 3. 5 Japan – Diversification of Products Traditionally, the Japanese consumer finance companies could be classified into two main group; those dealing in consumer loans; and those providing credit card services. While the former group has been hit hard directly by the new regulation, the latter has been relatively unscathed. The main reason would be that interest rates for credit cards were already below the 20% limitation. Consumer finance companies are now finding that there is an unexplored market that they can now explore, to make up for their losses in the consumer loan segment. To compound incentives for this strategy, the credit market has yet to truly blossom in Japan yet, due to a prior preference for cash instead. For example, credit card shopping only accounts for 10% of consumption in Japan, and this is relative to the 25% figure for the United States. 3Finance companies in USA There are many companies in the USA which provide consumer and business finance services in all sectors of the financial markets. Being the world’s largest financial market, USA has a very diverse group of finance companies that cater to auto, personal, small enterprise, insurance, and mortgage lending, among others. Citi Financial, HSBC Finance, GE Money, Prudential Finance, Zurich Financial, and Capital One are just a few examples of such finance companies. Just as in Singapore and other nations, these finance companies typically serve clients who are either too small or have poor credit ratings to obtain loans from the larger banks. The consumer finance industry in the USA is too large to be discussed in full detail in this report. Hence we will only be discussing a particular type of finance company which in the past year has come under scrutiny from all corners of the financial markets – subprime mortgage lenders. While major commercial and investment banks have all taken in losses amounting to USD 170b from writing down Colleteralized Debt Obligations and Mortgage Backed Securities, mortgage finance companies in the USA have mostly been responsible for the origination of such losses. 3. 1 USA – Subprime mortgage lending by finance companies Subprime mortgage lending by finance companies enabled consumers in the USA with poor credit histories to obtain loans to purchase homes with higher interest rates than that charged by banks. These consumers were previously unable to obtain such loans from the major banks and lenders due to their poor credit histories. To entice consumers to accept such higher interest rates, these finance companies typically include ‘teaser rates’ during the initial periods of the loan where the interest rates were lower, and the rates were then subsequently increased significantly after the introductory period. Because many consumers could no longer afford the high interest payments after the introductory period, many were forced to refinance their subprime loans with another subprime loan. This was acceptable pre-2005 since housing prices were on the rise, and this meant that home owners were building equity which enabled them to refinance loans easily. However, after 2005, home prices started to decline and fell below the value of the loan, and thus could not be used as collateral for refinancing. A steep rise in defaults and foreclosures caused more than 100 finance companies in the US to file for bankruptcy beginning late 2006. Even New Century Financial Corporation, then the nation’s second largest mortgage lender, was not spared. Excessive risk taking and making loans to subprime customers meant that such finance companies were exposing themselves to moral hazard excessively. 3. 2 USA – Securitization of subprime loans Many a subprime finance company did not actually hold on to the subprime loans as assets after making them. Instead they securitized, or sold off the loans to issuers and special purpose vehicles. These financial vehicles bought these loans and other investment grade instruments and repackaged them into the CDOs and MBSes that were to blame for the credit problems in financial markets today. These instruments were subsequently bought up by investment and commercial banks, and hedge funds, due to the impression that the risk from the subprime loans have been adequately spread out. However, this was not the case, since once defaults and foreclosures started to hit the issuers, the values of the CDOs were compromised, resulting in huge write downs by banks. What followed was a large credit crunch in financial markets, the effects of which are still unresolved today. Hence, what was supposed to be a mortgage finance sector problem has been spread to all areas of the financial markets through loans securitization, which was started by finance companies in the US. Regulatory Issues The Finance Companies Act (Cap. 108) was established in 1967 to regulate the growing finance companies sector. Listed in the Act are several restrictions that limit the activities of the finance companies. The purpose of these limitations is to protect investors, by controlling the exposure of the company to riskier asset classes and transactions, since finance companies are less able to diversify such risks away than the major banks. These limitations may include capital structure requirements, restrictions on dealings, necessary approval for expansion and others as well. In essence, the provisions within the Finance Companies Act require that finance companies seek MAS for approval to engage in activities other than the most basic lending and depositing services. Since the major banks have a similar set of banking rules and regulations to adhere to, we will be focusing our discussion on a few key regulatory provisions which are specific to the Finance Companies Act. One regulation of particular interest has already been briefly mentioned in the previous sections of this report. In s7 of the Finance Company Act, there are strict capital requirements in place for finance companies. S7 provides that a registered finance company will need a minimum of $50 million in issued and paid up capital. What this requirement does is to limit the industry to only the stronger players. This requirement, as put in place since January 1995, might be responsible for the running out of the several smaller finance companies, and serves as well as a substantially high barrier to entry. S23 of the Finance Companies Act lists out some of the prohibitions of dealings by finance companies. In particular, s23(1)(e) and (f) aims to limit the amount of risk which the finance companies are able to take. This is done by restricting the issuance of substantial loans which exceed 50% of their total credit facilities, and also by prohibiting unsecured loans and advances exceeding S$5,000. It can be seen from these regulations that MAS understands the higher risk nature of the customers served by finance companies, and tries to protect both the customers and the companies from over-exposure to such risks. While s23(1)(b) prevents investments in foreign currency, gold and other precious metals, and s23(1)(c) prevents any acquisition of shares, stock, debt and other convertible securities in foreign denominations, exemption from these restrictions might be granted as stated under s23(2)(a)&(b). S23(2)(a)&(b) states would be that concessions in these aspects might be granted depending on the ruling of MAS. Furthermore, s53 gives room for the authorities to exempt a finance company for some or all of the provisions in the Act. We feel that this shows that MAS recognizes that not all finance companies are ready to take on such dealings yet, but that they are not shutting the door on such transactions in the future. Prospects & Future developments of Finance Companies Effects of the credit crunch In the short run, we would expect that finance companies would experience a udden growth in their revenue segments due to commercial banks tightening credit. The sub-prime meltdown in the United States has severe implications for all industries. However, rather than affecting the finance companies negatively, we foresee that there is a possibility that they might profit from it instead. With several banks being hit severely, we are currently observing the beginnings of a credit crunch as banks start to tighten their credit and adopting a more conservative stance in negotiating loans. This would even be true in Singapore, as we uncover the extent of Asian banks exposure to collateralized debt obligations. DBS Bank has already booked S$200 million worth of write-downs while UOB has S$45 million worth of write-down. These commercial banks have reportedly tightened credit measures with more reluctance to take on risky debts. What this might imply would be that more consumers will have their loan applications rejected from banks, and will therefore look to finance companies for their capital needs instead. At the same time, the market for loans is expected to grow by 13% in 2008. While this is lower than the 20% growth recorded in 2007, it represents that the market is still expanding despite the tightening of credit by major lenders. At the moment, the total loans made by finance companies are sitting at S$8,389 million. The total loans made by commercial banks, however, stands at S$201,424 million. The above figures indicate that if banks were to lose even a small percentage of their market share in loans to finance companies, this would translate to a potentially significant percentage of loans growth for these finance companies. Hence, if finance companies are able to take advantage of the loss in confidence of the banks, and the tightening of credit by said banks to capture the market left behind by the banks in the wake of the sub-prime crisis, there will be room for growth. Consolidation of the segment In the long run however, we adopt a more pessimistic stance towards the development of finance companies. One of the trends that we mentioned was that of consolidation of the finance companies in the past decade. Three such finance companies remain and have performed relatively well over the past few years or so. However, commercial banks are encroaching into traditional strongholds of these finance companies, such as SMEs and smaller personal loans which were once considered unprofitable to service. This is as commercial banks now want to profit from the higher yielding consumer base that these finance companies rely on as they continue to look into other profitable segments that they have neglected in the past. DBS, OCBC and UOB have in the past decade started moving towards these opportunities that they had forgone in the past. There is also increased competition from new entrants such as GE Money and SingPost who now offer consumers more consumer finance choices instead of the remaining 3 finance companies. This increased competition may reduce revenues in the future, especially for Singapura Finance and Sing Investments, since Hong Leong is far and away the major player in this sector and may be able to better cope with these changes. These 2 smaller firms might find it more difficult to continue to perform as well when banks use their financial muscle and influence to try and break into this market. Thus, we foresee a real possibility of further consolidation and perhaps a change in the structure of the future finance company here in Singapore. Hong Leong Finance is special, in the sense that it is much bigger than the other finance companies in the scene. To brand it as a finance company in the same breath as the other 2 does not do Hong Leong’s reputation justice. However, when compared to the commercial banks, they still do not measure up as significant competition. The other 2 finance companies seem to stand little chance should the commercial banks and corporations start infringing on this niche segment that they have survived on. The implications of these is the sign that the finance companies are in a sunset industry and with the exception of Hong Leong, finance companies might struggle to eke out an existence once competition gets more intense. It may revert to a situation where the smaller firms have to merge or be acquired by a larger finance company, in this case, Hong Leong, or risk not being able to survive in the segment. Hong Leong, as mentioned, is unique in the sense that it is such a dominant force in the finance company sector, but yet unable to make the step up to be on the same level as even the smaller commercial banks. In the near future, we could see Hong Leong forming an entire classification on its own, as the alternative to the commercial banks. Following the entry of commercial banks and other competitors into its traditional revenue segments, Hong Leong has been actively looking for other opportunities to diversify its revenue generating segments. We have mentioned some of these earlier in the report. Recently, Hong Leong was commissioned to take up underwriting duties which provides it with a new area of development where they could vary their income sources. It has also established a wealth management arm in light of the growing sector in Asia as a whole.
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