Afghan-war prisoners Essay

Some insurgents’ failed attempt on an US military convoy was provocation enough for them to gun down 16 civilians, leaving another 25 severely wounded. The groups – dead and alive, contained woman and children. It is an event of March 4, 2007, took place in Iraq, on the Jalalabad highway in eastern Nangarhar province. The day next US army again responded the terrorist attack by 2000-pound aerial bombing in the civilian area, killing five women and three children. This happened at the Kapisa outpost. These are regular features in Iraq; between January 2006 till date, more than thousands of civilians were killed by US attack. Back home, US authorities are no less active under the ‘anti-terrorism’ movement. Ahmed Alenany, an Egyptian physician, was picked up from the road of New York City and was detained for five months, charged with overstaying, in spite of his valid ground of filing for its extension well before the expiry. His fault was that the police found two pictures of WTO in his car and he held a roadmap when arrested. That was one bubble on the sea. The United States securely took away 650 Afghan-war prisoners to their military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they are reportedly passing their days in small single-person cells. India: On July 2005, four Kashmiri youths went to attend a wedding in Vilgam, Kupwara, and while out in the open at night for smoking away from the disapproving adults, three of them were gunned down by the Indian army all on a sudden. Later army admitted its mistake and wanted to compensate, though there was enough effort to suppress this news. India is also experiencing zero tolerance in counter-terrorism, especially after the militant attack on its parliament on December, 2001. They have even created a special law, â€Å"POTA† , which is capable of detaining anyone under the slightest suspicion on any ground of terrorism, that would later arrest 131 Muslims for the Godhra carnage of Hindus in 2002, who later retaliated with the killings of 2000 Muslims throughout the Gujrat state, were mostly able to slip past this law. China: Charged for â€Å"crimes of terror† and â€Å"incitement to separatism†, the popular religious leader Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was arrested in Sichuan on a night in December 2002 and sentenced to death. He was linked to the series of bombings. Same fate met his co-defendant Lobsang Dhondup, even quicker as he was executed. Now the open secret was that the authorities were up against his activities all the time, as he was a known supporter of the Dalai Lama. Egypt: This country has a track record of arresting hundreds of people either for their proximity to the Muslims, or for possessing â€Å"suspicious† literature. In a known case, 94 such victims, allegedly belonging to an â€Å"Islamic Group† though none heard about its name), were arrested in May, 2001. It was before the September 11 attack and after the attack, they were charged additionally for plotting to kill the government officials! The hapless victims belong to almost all rank and file – Doctors, engineers, professors, to name a few. They were dragged into the military courts whose norms, understandably conform to the trial standards set internationally. Accordingly, 51 were convicted! Georgia: Armed by the US support Georgian authorities have targeted the Chechens at Pankisi Gorge, a place which Russia also labelled as a â€Å"haven for the terrorists†. Here the governmental approach to the human rights violations is indicative of non-caring, as it is echoed by the words of its President Eduard Shevarnadze, who, right after extraditing five Chechens to Russia (October 5, 2002) without holding any court, said, â€Å"International human rights commitments might become pale in comparison with the importance of the anti-terrorist campaign†

Copland Summary Essay

Aaron Copland is a 20th century composer who was giving lectures at Harvard in 1951-1952. He was giving a lecture on the idea that listening is a great talent or gift one can posses. Copland believes that these listeners have the ability to listen, hear, and enjoy a piece of art based on an enjoyment factor or in primal terms, emotion. He also says that listeners should be able to evaluate critically such art, and come to their own conclusion or opinion. As you continue to read through his lecture, Copland states that in order to listen with skill, you need to be open-minded and reflect on the experience you felt. While closely paying attention to the experience, nothing should be telling the listener what they are going to hear. They should be able to comprehend the art and feel the, â€Å"Floodlight of one’s imagination,†(Paragraph two, Copland). While maintaining this ability to keep and open mind, a listener should be professional. However, at the same time retain an amateur status. This allows for a dual perception. It creates a lack of judgment and innocence, allowing for a more emotional interpretation. Copland believes that all artists alike find listeners pivotal in the artist community. This spiritual lending of ones self to art should concentrate the sentiments, not physically distance it self. Generally speaking, Copland finds the reaction of music intriguing. He ponders what this talented listener absorbs in art. Does he/she understand? If so, what in particular do they understand? He approaches the meaning of music or art, which he decides that it is many sided and will always be debated. This is because there are simply to many interpretations to consider. Music has become to, â€Å"professionalized.† A listener sees the natural beauty of such art, not the origins, and exercise of it. They rely on, â€Å"instinctive comprehension.†(Paragraph 12, Copland) They simply don’t weigh the personalization of music. Above all else, Copland says we all listen on a, â€Å"elementary plane of musical consciousness.†(Paragraph 13, Copland). However intuitively we all listen, it should always revolve and come back to the personal experience felt at the time. The primal impulse felt that feeds our evaluation and perception. Concluding that Copland believes we all hear, listen, enjoy or dislike and art piece based on emotion. The way it was originally suppose to be perceived. For this is all fundamentally we hear music Copland states. In addition to Copland’s theory of listeners, I pose my own question on the professionalism of music itself. I believe that the death of creativity in music is dripping away, in particular to mainstream, popular music. This brings a major significance considering that this is what the, â€Å"masses† deem okay. The great amounts of skill and precision have almost completely eroded away in artist. Everything has become digitalized, simple, and what seems as if it’s mindless. Aside from, I find this problematic because back in 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, writing and creating music took skill. The artist took time to perfect their instruments, learn them, and appreciate them. Because of these processes, I firmly believe this is why GOOD music was created. Actual work went in to it. Now days anyone can simply hop onto a computer, lay down a beat in 4/4, and fulminate about nonsense. I am not stating there is no skill in ALL digital forms of music; for example, an artist of the name Big Chocolate creates music with extreme time signatures, which takes musical skill to pull off correctly. To conclude, the main reason I pose this question is because I find it interesting that the death of the artist is happening. It is no longer art, but just mere product at that point, which I find depressing. When I listen to the radio, and only hear the beat and rhythm of a girl saying banana, in 4/4, and a man â€Å"rapping† with no fluency, or even sense, I ponder why this is acceptable.

China and Usa: a Comparison of Their Monetary Policies

University of International Business and Economics China and USA: A comparison of their Monetary Policies. Mid-term Project School of International Trade and Economics BY Rebecca Bogiri Professor: LIN GUIJIN Beijing, China 2 December 2009 China and USA: A comparison of their Monetary Policies. By: Rebecca Bogiri December 2009 Abstract The monetary policies of USA and China is analyzed here from the perspective of their implementing bodies, their choice of instruments, and their means of setting their interest rates. The analysis reveals that there are immense differences between the two countries resulting from the nature and degree of influence from their respective domestic political systems. The paper concludes that China has a complex political economy that represents a hybrid of private ownership and state control. Therefore unlike the USA, its monetary policies are subject to political influence. Keywords: Monetary policy; Monetary policy instruments; Balance Sheet; China; USA Author’s email: becky. [email  protected] com ContentsPage Abstract †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 1 Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 USA Monetary Policy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 China Monetary Policy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 Comparison of China and USA’s monetary policies †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 1. Introduction Monetary Policy is the process by which the government, central bank, or monetary authority of a country controls (1) the supply of money, (2) the availability of money, and (3) the interest rate, in order to attain a set of objectives oriented towards the growth and stability of the economy. This paper refers the above theme to two countries: China and USA. As such, there are three broad objectives. The first is to discuss monetary policy generally as carried out in the USA. The second is to discuss monetary policy generally as it is carried out in China. The third is to compare and analyze the way monetary policy is implemented in the two countries. 2. USA Monetary Policy How is the Federal Reserve structured? The Federal Reserve System (called the Fed, for short) is the nation's central bank. It was established by the Federal Reserve Act[1] and consists of the Board of Governors in Washington, D. C. , and twelve Federal Reserve District Banks. The Congress structured the Fed to be independent within the government. Therefore although the Fed is accountable to the Congress and its goals are set by law, its conduct of monetary policy is insulated from day-to-day political pressures. This reflects the conviction that the people who control the country's money supply should be independent of the people who frame the government's spending decisions. What makes the Fed independent? Three structural features give the Fed independence in its conduct of monetary policy: the appointment procedure for Governors, the appointment procedure for Reserve Bank Presidents, and funding. Appointment procedure for Governors:  The seven Governors on the Federal Reserve Board are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. Independence derives from a couple of factors: first, the appointments are staggered to reduce the chance that a single U. S. President could â€Å"load† the Board with appointees; second, their terms of office are 14 years–much longer than elected officials' terms. Appointment procedure for Reserve Bank Presidents: Each Reserve Bank President is appointed to a five-year term by that Bank's Board of Directors, subject to final approval by the Board of Governors. This procedure adds to independence because the Directors of each Reserve Bank are not chosen by politicians but are selected to provide a cross-section of interests within the region, including those of depository institutions, nonfinancial businesses, labor, and the public. Funding:  The Fed is structured to be self-sufficient in the sense that it meets its operating expenses primarily from the interest earnings on its portfolio of securities. Therefore, it is independent of Congressional decisions about appropriations. How is the Fed â€Å"independent within the government†? Even though the Fed is independent of Congressional appropriations and administrative control, it is ultimately accountable to Congress and comes under government audit and review. Fed officials report regularly to the Congress on monetary policy, regulatory policy, and a variety of other issues, and they meet with senior Administration officials to discuss the Federal Reserve's and the federal government's economic programs. The Fed also reports to Congress on its finances. Who makes monetary policy? The Fed's FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) has primary responsibility for conducting monetary policy. The FOMC meets in Washington eight times a year and has twelve members: the seven members of the Board of Governors, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and four of the other Reserve Bank Presidents, who serve in rotation. The remaining Reserve Bank Presidents contribute to the Committee's discussions and deliberations. In addition, the Directors of each Reserve Bank contribute to monetary policy by making recommendations about the appropriate discount rate, which are subject to final approval by the Governors. Objective of Monetary policy Monetary policy has two basic goals: to promote â€Å"maximum† sustainable output and employment and to promote â€Å"stable† prices. These goals are prescribed in a 1977 amendment to the Federal Reserve Act. In the long run, the amount of goods and services the economy produces (output) and the number of jobs it generates (employment) both depend on factors other than monetary policy. These factors include technology and people's preferences for saving, risk, and work effort. So, maximum sustainable output and employment mean the levels consistent with these factors in the long run. But the economy goes through business cycles in which output and employment are above or below their long-run levels. Even though monetary policy can't affect either output or employment in the long run, it can affect them in the short run. For example, when demand weakens and there's a recession, the Fed can stimulate the economy temporarily and help push it back toward its long-run level of output by lowering interest rates. That's why stabilizing the economy, or smoothing out the peaks and valleys in output and employment around their long-run growth paths—is a key short-run objective for the Fed and many other central banks. USA Federal Reserve – Balance Sheet |ASSETS |LIABILITIES |Gold and Foreign Exchange |Currency | | |Held by public | | |Vault cash | |Federal Reserve Credit |Bank Deposits | |Loans & Discounts | | |Government Securities | | |Other credits | | Source: Federal Reserve Bulletin, May 1996. Monetary policy instruments The Federal Reserve has three instruments for controlling the money supply. They are: 1. Open Market Operations 2. The discount rate; and 3. The required reserve ratio. When using Open market operations, the Fed buys or sells government securities to affect the leve l of the money supply. For example, if the Fed wishes to increase the money supply by $2 million, it will purchase government securities worth $ 2 million. The Fed’s assets increase by $ 2 million under the securities heading. In order to pay for the government security, the Fed writes a check on itself. In return for the bond, the seller receives a check instructing the Fed to pay the seller $ 2 million. The seller then takes the check to his bank, which credits the depositor with $ 2 million, and then deposits the check at the Fed. The bank has an account with the Fed, which is now credited with $ 2 million. Thus the Fed’s liabilities increase by $ 2 million under the heading of bank deposits, as the commercial bank has just increased its reserves by $ 2 million which are held by the first instance as a deposit at the Fed. Another monetary policy instrument used to affect the level of the money supply is the Discount rate, which is the interest rate charged by the Fed to banks that borrow from it to temporary needs for reserves. Increasing the discount rate discourages banks from borrowing from the Fed, while lowering the rate encourages banks to borrow from the Fed and thus increase the money supply. The required reserve ratio refers to the percentage of total deposits that the Fed requires individual financial intermediaries to keep at the Fed as reserves. The significance of the required reserve ratio is that it affects the money multiplier, and thus the level of the money supply. For example, if the Fed wants to increase the money supply, it can do so by reducing the required reserve ratio. Because there are now less reserves and more money is available for the banks to be able to meet their customer’s demand for cash. This increases the money multiplier, which also has a positive effect on the level of the money supply. Required reserves do not pay any interest, so increases in the required reserve ration has undesirable side effects on bank profits. Open market operations are nearly always the favored tool of choice by the Fed. The Fed Open Market Operations in 2008 summarizes all monetary policies and tools used by the Fed for that year. The two tables below shows the changes in the federal funds target rate, and the primary credit rate, and the interest paid on the required reserves and excess reserve balance.. These were operational measures taken by the Fed to influence the Federal funds rate. It is evident that the Fed rapidly and continually decreased the federal funds rate and the primary credit rate throughout 2008. Furthermore, on October 8th 2008 the Fed started to pay interest on despository institutions’ required and excess reserves balances as authorized to under the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act[2]. [pic] [pic] 3. China Monetary Policy Body in charge of Monetary Policy: Monetary policy in China is conducted by the People’s Bank of China. Article 12 of the Law of the People? s Republic of  China  on the People? s Bank of China provides † the People? s Bank of China is to establish a monetary policy committee, whose responsibilities, composition and working procedures shall be prescribed by the State Council and shall be filed to the Standing Committee of the National People? s Congress. The Monetary Policy Committee shall play an important role in macroeconomic management and in the making and adjustment of monetary policy. â€Å" Rules on Monetary Policy Committee of the People? s Bank of China stipulates that the Monetary Policy Committee is a consultative body for the making of monetary policy by the PBC, whose responsibility is to advise on the formulation and adjustment of monetary policy and policy targets for a certain period, application of monetary policy instrument, major monetary policy measures and the coordination between monetary policy and other macroeconomic policies. The Committee plays its advisory role on the basis of comprehensive research on macroeconomic situations and the macro targets set by the government. The Monetary Policy Committee is composed of the PBC? Governor and two Deputy Governors, a Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council, a Vice Minister of the State Development and Reform Commission, a Vice Finance Minister, the Administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the Chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission, the Chairman of China Securities Regula tory Commission, the Chairman of China Insurance Regulatory Commission, the Commissioner of National Bureau of Statistics, the President of the China Association of Banks and an expert from the academia. The Monetary Policy Committee performs its functions through its regular quarterly meeting. An ad hoc meeting may be held if it is proposed by the Chairman or endorsed by more than one-third of the members of the Monetary Policy Committee. Objective of Monetary policy: The main objective of the Chinese monetary policy is to maintain the stability of the value of the currency (the Renminbi), and thereby to promote economic growth. People’s Bank of China – Balance Sheet ASSETS |LIABILITIES | |Credits to FI |Deposits of FI | | |Central Bank Reserves | | |Excess Reserves | |Foreign Exchange Reserves |Central Bank Bills | |Securities |Deposits of Treasury | | |Currency in Circulation | Source: AE502 Macroeconomic Analysis Monetary Policy Instruments The People’s Bank of China in conducting Monetary policy has several instruments at its disposal which include: 1. The reserve requirement ratio 2. The Central Bank base interest rate 3. Rediscounting 4. Central Bank Lending 5. Open Market Operations 6. Other policy instruments as specified by the State Council In essence, the monetary instruments listed above correspond to the descriptions given under the Fed’s monetary policy heading. However, the main tool of choice for the PBC is the reserve requirement ratio. For example, in the PBC 2008 Annual Report on Monetary Policy it was reported that in order to sterilize excess liquidity in the first half of 2008, the reserve requirement ratio was decreased cumulatively by 3 percentage points on 5 occasions. Furthermore, a lower required reserve ratio was applied to rural credit cooperatives (RCCs) and financial institutions in the quake-hit areas. Furthermore, in the second half of 2008 with the heightened international turmoil and in order to ensure ample liquidity in the banking system, the PBC further reduced the required reserve ration of financial institutions on another four occasions resulting in a cumulative decrease of 2 percentage points for large financial institutions, and a cumulative decrease of 4 percentage points for smaller financial institutions. According to PBC calculations, by the end of 2008 a total of 800 billion yuan of liquidity was released into the economy. The choice of the reserve requirement ratio as the mail policy instrument is not coincidental to China which runs a high current account surplus. There is a large and growing demand for the RMB, and to maintain the RMB at the desired level the PBC issues RMB to meet this demand thereby increasing the money circulating in China. To keep inflation and economic growth under control, the PBC sterilizes its foreign exchange market interventions by buying back some of the RMB it issued to buy US dollar. In particular, it does so by selling low yield government securities to state-owned banks. So far, the banks have been able to absorb those low yield bonds in part because the interest rates paid on them bank deposits are also maintained at artificially low rates. Nonetheless, the increases in foreign reserves are not fully neutralized. Over the last five years broad money supply in China has been growing at above 15% per annum while real economic growth has averaged about 10. 5%. [3] Furthermore unlike more developed market economies, China is reluctant to raise domestic interest rates to slow its domestic growth. Doing so might mean attracting more capital inflows, which would in turn, require further money issuance to stabilize the exchange rate. That is precisely why the PBC instead changes the reserve requirement ratio on an ongoing basis to control the expansion of money and credit. 4. Comparison of China and USA’s monetary policies There are three main differences between China and the United States where monetary policy is concerned: independence of the monetary policy implementing body, choice of instruments to use in implementing monetary policy, and direct or indirect means of setting interest rates to effect monetary policy. Furthermore, these three differences are inter-related and country specific. The first major difference between the Federal Reserve System (the Fed) and the People’s Bank of China (PBC) concerns their independence from national politics. The intention of Congress when designing the Federal Reserve Act was to keep politics out of monetary politics. The Fed is totally independent of other branches and agencies of the government. Furthermore, it is self financed and therefore is not subject to the congressional budgetary process. On the other hand, the PBC is not independent from national politics in China. The PBC reports directly to the State Council which serves as China’s cabinet as well as its highest executive body. Moreover, monetary policy in China is aimed at limiting the appreciation of the renminbi (RMB), while eeping economic growth at a sustainable pace and inflation under control plus preserving a fragile banking system. The Fed in contrast implements a monetary policy that has a dual objective of maximum employment and price stabilit y. The second difference regards the choice of the monetary policy instruments used by the Fed as opposed to the PBC. The choice of instruments used in implementing monetary is essentially the same, except that the PBC has the an additional instrument; namely â€Å"additional instruments as specified by the State Council. † It is therefore no surprise that this ‘extra instrument’ arises from the lack of independence on the part of the PBC. The third difference between the Fed and the PBC lies in the way they set the interest rates. The Fed sets its federal funds rate indirectly by setting a specified target rate and then using the the tools of monetary policy (open market operations, discount window lending, and reserve requirements) to achieve that target rate. As a result, the changes in the federal fund rates trigger a chain of events that affect other short term interest rates, long term interest rates, the amount of money and credit in the economy, plus other macro-economic variables such as employment, growth and the prices of goods and services. In contrast, the PBC has a direct influence on its interest rate because of the extra instrument described above. Because there is provision for other policy instruments as specified by State Council, this allows the PBC to set interest rates directly, and thus have a direct impact on the its balance sheet. 5. Conclusion There are major differences in monetary policy and central banking in China and the USA. China has a complex political economy that represents a hybrid of private ownership and state control. Therefore, the PBC’s monetary policies, choice of instruments and methods of implementation are quite different from that of the Fed. Monetary policy in China aims at curbing the appreciation of the RMB while keeping economic growth at a sustainable pace, inflation under control, and preserving a fragile banking system. This is contrasted with the Fed’s monetary policy with the dual objective of maximum employment and price stability. Different monetary policy objectives, coupled with the degree of political independence on the part of the Fed and the PBC greatly influence the choice of instruments used and the method of implementing monetary policy in the two respective countries. 6. References Federal Reserve Bank of New York Domestic Open Market Operations During 2008 Federal Reserve Bank of New York: â€Å"Annual Report Domestic Open Market Operations during 2008† Federal Reserve Statistical Release 19 November 2009 Ian Sheldon, â€Å"US-China Trade Policy: Who gains from a rise in the Yuan? † at http://aede. osu. edu/programs/Anderson/trade Luc de Wulf and David Goldsbrough, â€Å"The Evolving Role of Monetary Policy in China†, IMF Staff Papers WP/04/125 Michael Moskow and Cathy Lemieux â€Å"China up close: Understanding the Chinese economy and financial system†, at www. chigacofed. org People’s Bank of China Monetary Policy Annual Report 2008 Peter Stella, â€Å"The Federal Reserve System Balance Sheet: What Happened and Why it matters† IMF Staff Papers WP/09/120 Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act 2006 (USA) Federal Reserve Act 1913 (USA) Law of the People’s Republic of China on the People’s Bank of China 1995 (China) http://www. frbsf. org/publications/federalreserve/monetary/structure. html http://www. pbc. gov. cn/english/huobizhengce/MPC. asp http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Monetary_policy ———————– [1] 1913 [2] 2006 [3] China close up (2008)

Interactive Teaching Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9750 words

Interactive Teaching - Coursework Example It also provide with the literature review of great historical leaders who contributed a great deal towards improving and introducing new techniques of teaching in elementary schools. It also sheds light on the most effective method of teaching, practical approach. Introduction Interactive Teaching techniques have been existed worldwide as the foundation of formal educational system. It establishes the base for future education. It prepares students in fundamental skills and awareness and can be defined as prior to formal education that comes after that. Most important characteristic of interactive teaching strategy is getting affiliated with peers and creating an identification of children with society and nation. For decades, classroom management has been an issue and many effective teaching lessons have gone array due to student disruption. This critical review of the literature analyzes the elements that can be identified in a successful and effective classroom teaching techniques. Research consistently has shown that traditional lecture methods, in which professors talk and students listen, dominate college and university classrooms. It is therefore important to know the nature of active learning, the empirical research on its use, the common obstacles and barriers that give rise to faculty members' resistance to interactive instructional techniques, and how faculty, faculty developers, administrators, and educational researchers can make real the promise of active learning. Background During science, social studies, and writing time, in my first year of teaching, it has been noticed many students getting off task. They sometimes appeared bored, as if they were not really interested in doing their assignment.... As the report declares most important characteristic of interactive teaching strategy is getting affiliated with peers and creating an identification of children with society and nation. For decades, classroom management has been an issue and many effective teaching lessons have gone array due to student disruption. This critical review of the literature analyzes the elements that can be identified in a successful and effective classroom teaching techniques. According to the paper findings during science, social studies, and writing time, in my first year of teaching, it has been noticed many students getting off task. They sometimes appeared bored, as if they were not really interested in doing their assignment. Some students found any excuse to get up from their desk, go to the bathroom, get a drink, sharpen their pencil, or just roam about; anything other than doing their work. Other students were consistently blurting out, made rude comments to classmates, exhibited disrespect and showed inappropriate behavior. A few students created severe disruptions including tantrums in class. This created management issues and students produced minimal work of low quality. In today’s dynamic and diverse school environment, engagement and creating interest of students is an issue. For students to achieve success academically and in life, they must have access to the opportunity to receive a quality education in a school environment conduct ive and creative to learning.

Why Was the Nile River Important for the Rise of Successful States in Essay

Why Was the Nile River Important for the Rise of Successful States in North Africa - Essay Example Most of the history of Nile River has a connection to Egyptian civilization. Were it, not for river Nile, there would not be the rise of successful states in North Africa and particularly Egypt. The river originates1 from the Blue Nile and White Nile tributaries originating from Ethiopian highlands and Lake Victoria respectively. The river flows in the northern direction for about 2000 kilometers through the Sahara. Nile River is 10 kilometers wide and supports thousands of people in strips of arable land. The river Nile valley can be regarded as a narrow and long oasis where human beings live, thanks to the river. It is the longest river so far in the world. There are several ways through which Nile River was crucial for the rise of successful states in North Africa. This paper will discuss the importance of river Nile in the rise of successful states in Northern Africa. First, due to River Nile, the people living on both banks of the river can be able to produce abundant harvests. There was a myth of the miracle in river Nile. The annual flooding of the river was much beneficial to farmers along the river. Annual flooding was advantageous to the farmers around the river as there was silt deposit after the flooding. When the river flooded, it left nutrients to the farms which were essential for growing healthy crops. The river was rising in the summer from the rains in Ethiopian highlands and central Africa between September and October. The flooding was recurrent, and farmers could predict the seasons of agriculture (Erik & Reynolds,  2012). The deposits of silt left by the river enriched the soil. This land was referred to as the fertile land. The flooding of the river could not be seen as life threatening but life enhancing. Unlike the flooding of Mesopotamia Rivers, Nile’s flooding could be predicted and used to be gradual. Although an organized irrigation system was still necessary, the villages along the Nile River made an effort without state i nterventions. Abundant supply of the food was one of the factors that led to civilization. The civilization in Egypt was rural with a majority of small population centers located along the narrow band of river Nile. The river splits 2into two branches before emptying into Mediterranean Sea. River Nile forms a delta which is a triangular shaped territory, commonly referred to as the Lower Egypt. The river created a large area; several miles wide at the banks. The created area was capable of producing plenty of harvests. The most famous cities in Egypt developed at the delta of river Nile. Up to date, a large population of people in Egypt is crowded at the banks of river Nile. The surplus food, grown along river Nile, led to prosperity of cities. Trade was established between cities, and leading trade items included agricultural products, fish, goats, sheep and cattle (Keim, 2009). The flooding enabled the Egyptians to grow wheat, beans, barley, lentils, leeks, peas, and onions. They were also able to grow fruits such as figs, dates, grapes and melons. This is an indication that the Egyptians were able to enjoy bread, wine and beer in abundance. The presence of fish in river Nile improved the food security along the river. The other reason as to why Nile River was vital for the rise of successful states in North Africa is that it served as a unifying factor. It was used as a means of transport along the cities near the river. In the ancient times, using river Nile was one of the fastest ways of travelling through the land. The river helped to make transport and communication along the states developed in North Africa. The winds originating from the north helped to push the sail boats south. Most travelers headed downstream. When people were travelling downstream, they used paddles or long poles

Baby talk Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Baby talk - Research Paper Example This paper presents an analysis of Baby talk. In particular, it presents 15 baby talk words from a chosen child named Firas who is aged 2 years and 5 months. Additionally, this paper presents a morphological, phonological and syntactic analysis of the baby talk words in the data list. This section of the research paper is structured with reference to Jones (1986), pages 178 to 180 in the East Cree Baby talk file. Finally, this paper presents a conclusion of the findings with reference to the chapter 11, First language acquisition, of the text book. Firas is Arabic, and is brought up with Arabian parents and caretaker in the Middle East. This baby talk represents the Arabic language which has been applied from the 19th century. The Arabic language is characterised with numerous examples of baby talk items that display pharyngeal spirants. However, these are commonly seen as elements that are acquired late in Arabic. For example, labial categorical are present in Arabic baby talk and could be the primary categorical to be acquired by the Arabic young children. This is regardless of the fact that they are insignificant at the adult stage. Phonology - entails the study of speech construction in a language, which includes the trend of fundamental speech elements and the established rules of how to pronounce words identified as phonology. The least element of sounds that compose a language is referred to phonemes. In particular, the word â€Å"Mbuwa† which is Firas’s Arabic baby talk word that stands for drink, consists of five phonemes, the â€Å"mb† stands for one phoneme /mb/, the â€Å"u† maps to the short sound/Ã… ­/, the â€Å"w† stands for /w/ and finally, â€Å"a† to its fundamental sound /ÄÆ'/. Morphology - is the advanced stage of language that entails the study of tiny elements of meaning –morphemes. Morphemes entail foundational words, such as, â€Å"Food†, â€Å"dog†

MBA, Total Quality Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

MBA, Total Quality Management - Essay Example The process of driving the organization towards realization of these goals entails among other things proper planning. Management undertakes the planning in terms of short-term vision as well as long-term vision; whenever an organization adopts either short-term goals or the long-range vision, continuous improvement is vital in order to realize that long-term objective. Nevertheless, changes in management practices have seen a substantial shift of the management practices from long range planning to more simplified planning structures, which concentrate on very short term goals that are easy to achieve and evaluate. In order for any business to remain relevant and objective, the periodical evaluation and analysis of performance is critical. This paper therefore intends to critically analyze the existence of the short-term goals as well as the continuous improvement. It shall evaluate the threat posed by short term goals to the process of continuous improvement and if there be any, ev aluate by what ways are the short terms planning overtaking the long term planning. Moreover, this study will verify the proposition that the continuous improvement strategies are being eroded for the sake of the short-term goals within organizations. ... Most management carries out their tasks with the short, achievable and evaluative goals, which in many cases are not long term. This may be necessitated by the prevailing frameworks through which the organization is working as well as the economic frameworks within the global perspective. Continuous Improvement is one of the best-acknowledged measures in total quality management practices within the globe and has indeed been seen to lead companies to realize high performances and quality production by firms (Zangwill and Kantor, 1998, p.910). It sets an outline of programs through which the performance of the firms may be evaluated over time. It is thus seen to form a basis of linking short-term goals as well as the long-term goals of an organization. However, an emergent concern whether the practice is under threat by the short-term goals as our study is investigating. The management of firms and other organizations are usually seen to be guided by frameworks of goals and objectives . The goals that take longer to be realized and which require greater efforts are the so called the long-term goals while those that are more immediate, the short term ones. Firms usually have a clear distinction of these goals for the ease of evaluation and performance. Nevertheless, the ‘length’ of these goals depends on the nature of the company as well as the time frame that is so called short term or long term. In many cases, what may be short-term for one company may be very different and be referred to as long term for the case of another company; there is therefore no clear cut point as to the time frame within which the objectives

Vietnam and Singapore's Special Education Compared with that of the US Research Paper

Vietnam and Singapore's Special Education Compared with that of the US - Research Paper Example It is then noteworthy to look into the special education systems of these two countries and compare them with that of America’s. Regarding its history, Singapore’s SPED progressed irregularly. The major initiators were charitable organizations. As time passed, the government passed legislations and formed departments for proper facilitation. In 1947, Trafalgar Home was founded. It was for children with leprosy. In 1949, a center catering to crippled children was founded by the British Red Cross Society. By 1951, the same society also offered education for the deaf. After five years, a school was put up by the Association of the Blind. In 1957, there focus was given to those with cerebral palsy with the formation of Spastic Children’s Association. In 1962, the Singapore Association for Retarded Children (now known as Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore) was created. This association widened the horizon of special education by not only involving t hose with physical and sensory needs but those with intellectual disabilities as well (Tan, â€Å"Education in Singapore: Special Needs). Concerning its government, Singapore was colonized by Britain in 1819. However, during World War II, it was captured by the Japanese. In 1945, it was freed by British soldiers. In 1946, Singapore became a separate crown colony. On June 3, 1959, it was made a self-governing state in the Commonwealth of Nations. In 1963, it joined Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak to form Malaysia. After two years, Singapore separated from Malaysia and became a sovereign state as well as a member of the United Nations. In the same year (1965), it was proclaimed as a republic (â€Å"History of Singapore Colonization†). As for Vietnam, there are no distinct SPED- related organizations in its history. The education in Vietnam during feudal and colonial periods lacked stability leading to haphazard structures. Traditionally, it is a country built on Confucian-or iented education. However, it was replaced by French-Vietnamese education during its colonization at the end of 19th and first half of 20th centuries. This kind of education immobilized the rights of the Vietnamese since it was for the purposes of serving the colonizers. During their independence in 1945, their president, Ho Chi Minh advocated against illiteracy and formed an education system towards independence and rehabilitation. Within a year, there were 75,000 literacy classes and almost 96,000 teachers serving 2.5 million citizens. Since then the government maintained a public education. However, during the US air force attacks in 1965-1972, a number of schools were destroyed. Gradually, education was much influenced by North-American domination. In April 1975, Vietnam’s regions were reunited and they were able to achieve full independence. Several reforms were made concerning education. Included in the changes from 1986 to 2005 was the categorization of learning activi ties corresponding to students’ abilities. Specialized schools were established for gifted children (â€Å"Education in Vietnam: Development History, Challenges, Solutions† 2). The United States’ SPED history when it comes to its legislation is quite ample. These developments are also valuable since other countries are adapting these provisions. In the early 1900s, its education system offered compulsory education. However, many children with special needs were not welcome in numerous schools. Most of the rights of children

Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism and Impressionism Assignment

Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism and Impressionism - Assignment Example The paper "Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism and Impressionism" examines various artists and their art styles, the depiction of different subject matter, influence of art to everyday life and history. The focus of this study is on Neoclassicism and Romanticism to Realism and Impressionism in Europe and The United States. In Goya’s work, â€Å"Third of May†, the victims are placed in the center of the canvas, and flooded with piercing white light that jumps out at the viewer. The victims are surrounded in blood red, yellow ochre and highlighting white, while the soldiers remain faceless and shrouded in subdued colors of black and grey. Artistic statements that go against the conservative grain or the status quo relating to religion, sexual and gender rights, politics, war, erotica, or portrayals of violence usually stand a good chance of offending some segment of society that wants to silence any voice that opposes them. The most memorable artist of late to embody thes e threats is Robert Mapplethorpe. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Mapplethorpe had a very broad portfolio of work, but it was his images of erotica and sexual expression that caused controversy and legal scandal in the United States and abroad in England. Mapplethorpe’s graphic images were included in an exhibit that had been funded by the National Endowment For The Arts, which caused an uproar to many who claimed that taxpayer money was being used to fund potentially obscene.His images of defecation became the center of many legally heated discussions

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Report - Essay Example The high level of mechanization at the plant is evidence that the plant produces vehicles in large numbers. The sell of this vehicles make them firm play a major role in the global economy. The firm also employs a large labor force which contributes to the global economy. In reference to its cleanliness, the plant is very sparkling clean and everything is put in place so as to enhance the work inside the company. Mistake cannot be tolerated since accidents are bound to happen which may prove to be very fatal. The company does not build similar plants in the United States. The question to this would be why this plant located in Brazil other than the U.S and the answer would be that the plant is generally more automated than those compared to the U.S, they are flexible than any other plant. The main unique factor about the company’s relation and location to suppliers would be that of bankruptcy. Visteon which was part of the unit of the Ford group used to be second in world supply. The company has a diverse range of suppliers who supply a range of services and goods. It has programs on diversity of suppliers so as to achieve its ultimate success. In reference to time and technique, the company was designed so as to avoid time wastage and hence duplicate the work output by the workers. This was very helpful and it made the company grow. Ford has a no definite number of suppliers reason being that the suppliers are diverse and also wide spread. In refrence to Visteaon 2009 revenue, the company in 2004 had a sale of about $18.7 and 70,000 employees. In the year 2009 it was delisted from the stock exchange after it’s the companies shares had dropped significantly. $1.2 billion in profits were made in the year 2010 by the supplier group. Ford was sold some assemblies and components. The first is ford wheel hub assembly. The second is the Atlanta assembly. Finally is the explorer black light assembly.

, BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS (CM1010-07E) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

, BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS (CM1010-07E) - Essay Example A clear heading and numbering system should be used; usually no more than three levels are preferred in order to maintain simplicity. The abstract is best written in the present tense and gives an overall summary of the entire report; the introduction is best written in the future tense and lets the reader know what they are going to read; the body is then written in the present telling the reader what they are reading, and the conclusion is best written in the past telling the reader what they have read. The style and tone of the report is important and it must be written with its intended audience in mind. If the intended reader is not apt in the specific topic area then the style and tone, together with the language must be kept more simpler than if the reader was well conversed or an expert in the area. Verbosity does not say more; it is better to write simply, clearly and to the point with correct grammar and transitional

Reading Important Essay Example for Free

Reading Important Essay 1. Reading is fundamental to function in todays society. There are many adults who cannot read well enough to understand the instructions on a medicine bottle. That is a scary thought especially for their children. Filling out applications becomes impossible without help. Reading road or warning signs is difficult. Even following a map becomes a chore. 2. Reading is a vital skill in finding a good job. 3. Reading develops the mind. 4. Reading is how we discover new things. 5. Reading develops the imagination. 6. Reading develops the creative side of people. 7. Reading is key in developing a good self image. Non-readers or poor readers often have low opinions of themselves and their abilities. 8. Good reading skills improve spelling. 9. Ideas written down have changed the destiny of men and nations. 10. The power of written ideas communicated through reading is a foundational reason why some governments oppose free and honest communication. Illiterate people are easier to control and manipulate. They cannot do their own research and thinking. They must rely on what they are told. Words are the building blocks of life. You are, right now, the result of words that you have heard or read and believed. What you become in the future will depend on the words you believe about yourself now. People, families, relationships, and even nations are built from words. Think about it. Why is Writing Important? It seems like a silly question, but it is very important to be able to express yourself well. Our writings precede us, or introduce us. For example, when we apply for a job or to enroll in a school, we need to submit a resume and sometimes a cover letter, or when sending e-mails to someone we don’t actually know well or haven’t met yet (work partners, customers, or even responding on behalf of the company you work for). If we make a bad (or illegible) impression, the outcome for us may not be favorable. Poor writing may cost a lot; it may lead to misunderstanding and misconstruing due to sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling problems. We need to write well for the following reasons: To translate, communicate, and materialize our ideas and thoughts into accessible documents that are useful to ourselves and others To report our work in informative, concise, and professional formats Another important reason is that when writing, we are sending a message to our readers about who we are. Therefore, we need to be clear, focused, and accurate so as not to be misunderstood, underestimated, or ignored.

Airasia Berhad Strategy Analysis

Airasia Berhad Strategy Analysis Introduction AirAsia Berhad (AirAsia) is the leading low cost airlines in South East Asia, which has expanded rapidly since 2001. The company is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and has successfully positioned itself in customers mind through the simple slogan â€Å"Now Everyone Can Fly†. The company is currently valued at approximately RM2.7 billion and has a total of 60 aircrafts that fly to over 50 domestic and international destinations with over 400 domestic and international flights daily (Euromonitor International, 2009). The operation for the short and long haul are handled by AirAsia and its sister company, AirAsia X Sdn Bhd (AirAsia X) respectively (AirAsia, 2009). AirAsia aims to establish itself as a leading low cost carrier in market by valuing its customers through cost advantages created by operational effectiveness and efficiency. More customers are able to fly taking into consideration the low fare charges as AirAsia capture segments of customers that previously could not afford the airlines fare. Whether the strategy exploits the companys key resources Each organisation is unique in terms of it resources and capabilities and the key to success merely depend on its ability to find or create a competence that is distinctive (Teece, Pisano and Shuen, 1997). The Resource Based View (RBV) combines two perspectives, the internal analysis of phenomena within an organisation and an external analysis of the industry and its competitive environment (Eisenhardt and Martin, 2000) and (Collis and Montgomery, 1995). It goes beyond the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis by integrating internal and external perspectives. The ability of an organisations resources to present competitive advantages could not be determine without taking into considerations the broader competitive concept. Barney (1995) indicated that organisations resources and capabilities must be evaluated in terms of value, rarity, inimitability and organisation. Furthermore, Carpenter and Sanders (2009) suggested that in order for a company to gain co mpetitive advantage, they should possess resources and capabilities that are valuable, rare, inimitable, nonsubstitutable and exploitable (VRINE model). The value of the resources and capabilities interacts with the market sources and will differ based on time and industry. The three fundamental market forces; scarcity, demand and appropriability determines the value of a resources and capabilities (Collis and Montgomery, 1995). In order to answer the question of value, organisation could identify whether the resources and capabilities are able to meet market demand. As for AirAsia, the organisation relies on its human resources and management capabilities wherein these two components have satisfied the value requirement, as it has been able to meet the demand for the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) market. Resources and capabilities owned by AirAsia are homogenous in the market but aspect such as work culture and innovative routes make it difference from the competitors. For example, any ideas to improve the operations are welcome from all level of employees and in terms of route, AirAsia try penetrate new routes and will go to locations that others given up. In RBV concept, AirAsia can be characterised as a competitive parity company based on its valuable but not rare resources and capabilities. In airline industry, things like aircraft and fast turnaround time are easily imitated by others. Nevertheless, one of AirAsias distinct characteristic is path dependency wherein a characteristic of capabilities is developed and accumulated through a series of time (Dess, Lumpkin and Eisner, 2008). AirAsias work culture of openness between employees as well as the leadership from its Chief Executive Officer is something have been built up over a period of time which is difficult to duplicate. Moreover, the high capital requirement for market entry is another factor that leads to difficulty to imitate the resources and capabilities. It is undeniable that competitors can imitate the said resources and capability, however, it will take time and in the meantime, AirAsia will gain the competitive advantages. Controlling and exploiting the resources and capabilities provides competitive advantages to the organisations (Carpenter and Sanders, 2009). AirAsia has exploited it resources and capabilities, which is reflected in their financial performance. AirAsia has gradually increased its performance throughout the years. AirAsias s net profit for the 3rd quarter of 2009 totalled RM130 million ($38.4 million) which is sustained by rising passenger numbers and income from add-on services. The profit achieved was a turnaround from a RM466 million ($137 million) net loss in the same period last year (www.airasia.com). The fit of the strategy to current industry conditions The competitive environment consists of many factors that are particularly relevant to an organisations strategy. Analysing the external environment particularly the industry is a starting point for firms to develop a strategy. Porters five forces include the overall structure rather than focusing to any one element. However, the forces are not stagnant which tendency to change may occur. AirAsia operates within the airline industry and forces that are driven in the industry would identify the strength and weaknesses of the organisation. Rivalry among established companies Risk of entry by potential competitors Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Substitute Products High Due to market growth High Full service airline might want to consider going low cost Low Price is at the cheapest. Low Limited provider in the market. Low There is competition train, bus, car travel etc There is potential market in the Asia for LCC due to the rapid economic and disposable incomes growth. This seems to be a profitable opportunity to tap. Infrastructure such as high-speed trains and highways has yet to meet the high standard level and therefore customers tend to choose the air as mode of transportation. Hence, threats of substitutes are low as the geographical structure of Asia has made air travel the viable, efficient and convenient mode of transportation. Looking into this scenario, AirAsia entered the airline industry concentrating on the LCC and noted that at the initial stage there were less rivalry but as the industry grows, the rivalry among established firms become higher partly due to price issues. AirAsias main competitors are Firefly, Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia. Knowing the increase of competition in the market, AirAsia applied the adaptation process (Hanan Freeman, 1984) by expanding its operation to long haul services to various destinations. Moreove r, AirAsia realise the price is destructive and try to avoid direct price competition and try to create a friendly competition environment. As there is positive trend in the airline industry, full service airline carriers have refocused its operation related to costs and yields as it is seen as a requirement to maintain profitability (Graham and Vowles, 2006). There is possibility of new entrance of LCC, which creates further competition in the industry.For example, Firefly was set up by Malaysia Airline System Berhad (MAS) is a part of LCC industry in Malaysia that has adapted AirAsias low cost concept. However, it would not be a threat to AirAsia as Hanan Freeman (1984) highlighted it is difficult to imitate as tacit amount of knowledge is required on the targeted firm. The government barriers air service agreement and high capital requirement could act as barriers to entry. Due to significant growth within the industry, demand for additional aircraft has increased and suppliers will be in a powerful position. It was reported that Asia accounts for 40% of new aircraft orders for Boeing and Airbus and seat capacity on LCC worldwide has more than doubled in the past four years (Shameem, 2006). Due to few players, Boeing and Airbus, and lack of competition in the market, the bargaining power of suppliers are low. Consequently, there is not much competition in terms of pricing occurring between the two companies so an airline carrier will have to accept an offer from one of the suppliers. The bargaining power for buyers is low as there is no room to bargain for cheaper tickets as AirAsia provides the lowest price compared to other carriers. The biggest threats for AirAsia are the rivalry and risk of entry with the existing and potential competitors. LCC business is viable and there is healthy profitability provided AirAsia continuously improves itself and is flexible in the challenging market. The sustainability of the differentiators Porter (1996) indicated that to outperform rivals, an organisation need to deliver greater value to customers and build comparative value at a lower cost. The airline industry is at the growing stage and therefore stiff competition from existing and new LCC is expected in the future. In order to sustain its competitive advantage, AirAsia needs to leverage its competency in creating cost advantages. At present, AirAsia differentiates by providing substantially low fares with no frills concept and by offering innovative routes. Murray (1988) indicated that there is uncertainty for sustainable differentiation to be achieved through product innovation and suggested that the area that could be concentrated for the said differentiation is quality and service. While,Porter (1996) highlighted that positioning are successful based on activity system and simple consistency between each activity aligning with the organisation strategy. AirAsia builds it brand name by providing a good quality service at a low price. Furthermore, AirAsia focuses on branding through campaign and advertisement such as recent sponsorship deal with an American football team, Oakland Riders. During inception, AirAsia focused on internal destinations and have further entered the international destinations. AirAsia X is differentiated by its long haul LCC as customers would not need to look at different carriers to reach different destinations at a lowest price. It is based on the same no frills service model wherein the price is 80% lower than its competitor together with additional services that requires customer to pay additional payment such as food, entertainment and others. AirAsia also seek to create excitement amongst their customers with the range of innovative and personalized service such as self check-in. Customer loyalty is build by the differentiation, which could act as a defence against rivalry (Eng, 1994). Due to AirAsias success in the industry, competitor might want to adapt the companys business model. However, AirAsia had some advantages over its competitors by the advantage of experience and its brand enjoyed good recognition. AirAsia gain from the first mover advantage in South East Asia which allows it to establish itself before competition perceive further in this low cost segment, apart from competition that already exists across segments (low cost vs. full service carriers). AirAsia has the strength to lay down the rules and framework in the industry for business and operational suitability. Whether the elements of the strategy are consistent and aligned with the strategic position Strategy works as a driver in a firm in achieving goals and objectives (Carpenter and Sanders, 2009). AirAsias five strategy elements are as follows: Arenas (where will be active and with how much emphasis) * Low cost airline.  · specific markets-price sensitive customers (including first-time fliers) * Main base is located at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Its affiliate airlines, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia fly from Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Indonesia, respectively. Vehicles (How to get there?) * Internal development via new routes. * Strategic partnership. Differentiators (How to win?) * Low cost short and long haul with no-frills. Customers have the choice of customizing services without compromising on quality and services. * Create new segment in airline travel based on value and service. Staging and Pacing (what will the speed and sequence of moves?) * AirAsia flies to over 60 domestic and international destinations with 50 routes, and operates over 400 flights daily from hubs located in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. * AirAsia has flown over 55 million guests across the region and continues to spread its wings to create more extensive route network through its associate companies, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia. Economic Logic (How do returns be obtained?) * Low operation cost through flying with one type of aircraft, uses secondary airport locations etc. * Low cost incentive with various choices of destinations. Porter (1996) presented three generic strategies that an organisation could use to overcome the five forces and achieve competitive advantage. Adopting a suitable strategy depends on the organisations industry, customer characteristics and capabilities (Murray ,1988) and (Eng ,1993). However. In the LCC segment, cost is the competitive priority and it determines market position. In lieu of this, AirAsia has applied the focused cost leadership strategy wherein it targets on specific markets; price sensitive customers as well as lowering its overall costs (Flouris and Walker, 2005). Murray (1988) disagrees that cost structure is vital in relation to the output performance compared to the price sensitivity. Factors such as economy of scale and quality of management teams within the organization could be the benchmark for cost leadership. Under the cost leadership strategy, level of operation efficiency is vital as it assist in achieving cost advantages than the rivals by searching continuous areas for cost reduction along its value chain that leads to economies of scale (Eng, 1993). AirAsia increases its efficiency through increased route network and its operating activities by adapting cost optimising techniques such as quick turnaround times and maximizing of flight utilisation for its aircrafts (Shari, 2003). AirAsia took advantage from the existence of e-commerce which is easier technique in providing information. The cost related to web is very low compared to other methods like advertisement on television. AirAsia has taken advantage from this method to reduce the cost of operations. Malaysia government has supported AirAsia through the opening of the LCC terminal in Kuala Lumpur International Airport, which enhanced its competitive edge by reducing costs and better logistic planning (Euromonitor International, 2009). Competitors tend to know how big the market is and how good the opportunity is in Asia. Therefore, there is threat by competitors, which could imitate AirAsias low cost base. Most of the competitors have the same concept of no frills and low price strategy and will continuously try to reduce its costs than AirAsia in order to gain sustainability in the market. The challenge for AirAsia is to reduce cost effectively which is difficult for the competitors to copy. Possible issues associated with implementation Strategy formulation and implementation are interdependent with the objectives being a coherent set of strategy elements and implement levers (Carpenter and Sanders, 2009). In order to succeed in the LCC segment, AirAsia will need to maintain its low cost elements in their business design, as it is critical to the long-term success. The main reason is because the more gaps arise between the competiting airlines, the more flexibility will be available to offer lower price and gain market share. An extended route system will most certainly be a key differentiator and to sustain its competitive advantages, resources and capabilities need to be analysed further. With the growth in the LCC, it will create opportunity to others to enter the market. Competition between carriers using the same business model will inevitably be intense. There were studies resulting that adapting one or more forms of generic strategy will enable organisation to outperform better (Murray, 1988). However, Eng (1993) indicated that Porter discouraged organisations to combine the said strategies as it is inconsistent as for example differentiation is related to cost. One of the major pitfalls against attempting to differentiate is by trying to combine low cost and differentiation strategy by starting to add frills in its business model. By applying this strategy, carriers have lost their source of competitive advantage by narrowing the strategic cost gap. Every frill or service adds to cost and reduced the strategic cost gap, thus curbing the flexibility to offer innovative price deals. Around the world, it has been observed that low cost airlines pursuing a generic b usiness design have emerged as the most successful. Conclusion AirAsias success is based on the no-frills, low fare, simple and convenient option air travel. The company has managed to deliver low fares by consistently keeping cost low through high efficiency in every art of the business and maintaining simplicity. The company has indicated that synergies between the internal and external factors could develop a competitive advantage. This has allowed AirAsia to position and be the market leader for LCC in South East Asia. The brand name is a major strength to AirAsia wherein a lot of effort is being done. For example, initially when considering to enter the UK market, the company has collaborated with Manchester United and later with referees of Football Association of England. At the moment, they also collaborated with a giant American football club, Oakland Riders to create brand awareness for the local public in order for them to enter the USA market in the future. Bibliography AirAsia offers a new take on the long haul, low cost airline sector (February 2009) Euromonitor International. (assessed on December 2, 2009) Barney J.B. (1995) Looking Inside for Competitive Advantage Academy of Management Executive. 9(4): pp. 49-61 Carpenter, M.A., Sanders W.G. (2009) Strategic Management: A Dynamic Perspective Concepts and Cases Edition. 2nd Edition. New Jersey: Pearson International Edition Collis, D. J.,Montgomery, C. A. (1995) Competing on Resources Harvard Business Review. pp. 118-128 Dess, G.G., Lumpkin, G.T., Alan, B.E. (2008) Strategic Management. 4th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Eisenthardt, K., Martin, J.A. (2000) Dynamic Capabilities: What Are They? Strategic Management Journal. 21: pp. 1105-1121 Eng, L.G. (2003) Using Generic Strategies: Some Caveats Singapore Management Review. 15(2) : pp. 43-48 Flouris T., Walker T.J., (2005) The Financial Performance of Low Cost and Full Service Airlines in Times of Crisis Canadian Journal Administrative Sciences. 22(1) : pp. 3-20 Hanan M.T., Freeman J. (1984) Structural Inertia and Organisational Change American Sociology Review. 49(2): pp. 149-164 Local Company Profile: AirAsia Sdn Bhd-Travel and Tourism-Malaysia (October 2009) Euromonitor International. (assessed on December 1, 2009) Murray A.I. (1988) A Contingency View of Porters â€Å"Generic Strategies† The Academy of Management Review. 13(3) : pp. 390-400 Graham B., Vowles T.M. (2006) Carriers within Carriers: A Strategic Response to Low-Cost Airline Competition Transport Reviews.: pp. 105-126 Porter M.E. (1996), What is Strategy Harvard Business School. pp. 61-78 Shameem A. (September 26, 2006), AirAsia Taked Flights on Low Cost Carriers Business Week (Online) Available from http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/sep2006/gb20060929_437421.html (assess on December 2, 2009) Shari M. (September 1, 2003) A Discount Carrier Spread its Wings Business Week (Online), Available from: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_35/b3847132_mz033.htm (assessed on December 2, 2009) Teece, D.J., Pisano G., Shuen, Amy (1997) Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management Strategic Management Journal. 18(7): pp. 509-533 www.airasia.com (assess on November 12, 2009)

Binary Phase Shift Keying BPSK Modulation Demodulation Computer Science Essay

Binary Phase Shift Keying BPSK Modulation Demodulation Computer Science Essay This experiment is based on the Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) modulation/demodulation technique. The aim of the experiment is to gain familiarity with the components of a simple data transmission system, gain experience using an experimental communication system and studying its performance under the influence of white noise and also, to compare experimental results with theoretical deductions. Bandpass modulation, of which BPSK is a type, is a process whereby, a sinusoid usually called a carrier wave, is modulated or have its characteristics changed by a digital pulse baseband signal in other to enable wireless based transmission. In BPSK modulation, the phase of the carrier waveform is shifted to either 0Â ° or 180Â ° by the modulating data signal. To effectively model the transmission channel, the AWGN generator is used which adds the effect of noise to the signal at the receiver in other to properly characterise what obtains in real systems. SNR measurements are taken after the noise is added before the receiver and results of each stage of the experiment are presented. 2.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results obtained from the experiment and brief discussions are now presented. 2.1 The frequency of the waveform was measured to be 1.493kHz 2.2 The amplitude of the waveform was measured to be 3.608V 2.3 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGADesktopLAB RESULTSPart 2.bmp Fig. 1: Square Waveform from NE555 timer circuit. The timer circuit produces a sequence of ones and zeros which together with the resistors and capacitor, produces a square waveform. It can be observed that the square top and bottom are not perfectly straight but with ripples, this is due to the resonance effect presented by the capacitor. Also, the rising pattern of the top is due to the voltage rise time in the capacitor. 2.4 The frequency of the message sequence is measured to be 374Hz 2.5 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 4 5.bmp Fig. 2: Message sequence at the output of the frequency divider. The SN74LS74 integrated circuit implements a second order frequency divider, 2n (n=2). Hence the frequency of the timer circuit is divided by four. Hence, this is also evident in the frequency of the message sequence in 2.4 above. 2.6 The cut-off frequency of the 2nd order Butterworth low pass filter is given by; The cut-off frequency is the frequency at which the magnitude of the transfer function drops to 0.7071 of its maximum value which represents the point at which the power in the circuit is 3dB less than the maximum value. 2.7 The frequency of the sinusoid at the output of the filter was measured to be 1.328kHz. 2.8 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.Wordpart 8.jpg Fig. 3: Output of the first and second Butterworth LPF. A B A Output of first filter; B Output of second filter The Butterworth lowpass filter is used to generate the sinusoidal carrier required for the baseband signal. The Butterworth filter has a gentle roll-off, has no ripple in the pass or stop band hence, it has a monotonic response. To maximise the smoothness of the sinusoid, we use two of such filters in series. 2.9 The RC highpass filter is used to remove the DC components of the sinusoid (since it will only allow frequencies from the cut off frequency upwards) and convert it into a non-return to zero one. The cut-off frequency is given by: 2.10 The frequency of the modulated signal was measured to be 1.408kHz. 2.11 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 11.bmp Fig. 4: Output of the RC filter and the inverting amplifier circuits. A B A RC filter output B Inverting amplifier output The outputs of the RC filter and the inverting amplifier differ by a phase shift of 180Â °, to fulfil the requirement for BPSK where we need antipodal modulated signals. Since the gain of the inverting amplifier is unity, there is no change to the amplitude of the inverted carrier. 2.12 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 10 12.bmp Fig. 5: BPSK signal at the output of the adder circuit. A The analogue switch produces a 0Â ° shifted sinusoid when the message signal is high (a 1) and a 180Â ° shifted sinusoid when the message signal is low (a 0). The two outputs streams are combined in the adder circuit which has a gain of unity so that no modification is made to the signal amplitude. The result of this is a stream of 1s and 0s represented by the sinusoidal waveform in fig. 5 above. Point A depicts the sudden phase change as the bits changes to connote a transition from a high to a low and vice-versa. If we begin with a 1, then the fig. 4 would represent 10101010. 2.13 The bandwidth of the noise signal is 500kHz. 2.14 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 14.jpg Fig. 6: BPSK signal with white noise. The AWGN channel helps to simulate what can typically obtain in real communication environments and it was observed that in real systems, the signal is not really as elegant as presented in fig. 5 but the addition of noise means the receiver will require some form of intelligence and signal processing in other to correctly detect the transmitted message. 2.15C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 15.jpg Fig. 7: BPSK noisy signal at output of RC lowpass filter. The cut-off frequency of this filter is given by; hence it will cut off signals above 15.92kHz. It was observed that after the application of this filter, the noise level was significantly reduced as evident comparing fig. 6 and 7, since the noise contained a large amount of frequency components higher than 15.92kHz due to its bandwidth of 500kHz. 2.16 The signal at the output of the integrator takes the shape of a sawtooth waveform. This is because integrating a square waveform produces a sawtooth waveform. 2.17 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 16 17.bmp Fig. 8: Output of the integrator circuit. A B The multiplier and integrator circuit represents a matched filter implementation at the receiver. Point A represents the zero point i.e the beginning of a new symbol or bit in this case, when the integrator is re-set. As such, when a 1 changes to a 0, we have a re-set to zero point and the direction of the triangular shape changes to the opposite. Point B is the integration phase proper. It is not smooth due to the effect of noise in the system. Also, the rise is a direct result of the capacitor charging. 2.18 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 18.jpg Fig. 9: Pulse application to integrator. A B A Integrator output; B Reset Pulse As displayed on fig. 8 above, the reset pulse is applied to the integrator at the symbol transition instant which is seen to be the beginning of every half cycle to reset the integrator to zero. 2.19 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 19a.png Fig. 10: The Reference Signal C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.Word19b.jpg Fig. 11: The Sampling Pulse C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 19c.jpg Fig. 12: The Reset Pulse The reference signal is obtained from the SN74LS74 frequency divider of the transmitter thus it is the originally transmitted message sequence. The sampling and reset instances are done at the same time that is at the half cycle. 2.20 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 20.jpg Fig. 13: Output of the Comparator. This is where the original baseband signal is regenerated. From fig. 8, when the output of the integrator is positive, an output voltage of 5 volts is produced at the comparator and when the integrator output is negative, a 0 volt output is obtained. This resulted in fig. 13 above showing the alternating 5 and 0 volts or 1s and 0s which depicts our detected signal. The frequency of the detected signal is 1.419kHz. 2.21 The length of the delayed version of the data symbol produced at the receiver is 1.804ms 2.22 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 21 and 22 Greeen channel 2 yellow channel 1.bmp Fig. 14: The Delayed pulse and Original data signal. A B A- Delayed Pulse; B Original Pulse Comparing the original data signal against the delayed version, it is observed that though they are of the same period, B has longer duration positive half cycle while A compensates with a longer negative half cycle. Also, the time delay between them is about a half cycle. 2.23 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 23 yellow delay green comparator.bmp Fig. 15: Input Signals to the XOR circuit. A B A Delayed original signal; B Detected signal The detected signal B is compared against the delayed version of the original signal A, because B generally, B would have experienced some delay and hence to effectively ascertain if an error occurred, its best to compare it against a delayed original as represented by A. The exclusivity of the circuit lies in the fact that when A B are the same, a 0 will be produced while when they are different denoting an error, a 1 will be produced. 2.24 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 24 green 2 yellow 1.jpgFig. 16: Input Signals to the first NAND gate. A B A Sampling Pulse; B XOR Output A NAND gate will only produce a zero when both inputs are high. Hence a zero is obtained when the sampling instant coincides with a high output from the XOR circuit. 2.25 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 25 yellow chn1 5v dc green chn2 1st input.png Fig. 17: Input Signals to the second NAND gate. A B C A Input 5Vdc; B Output of first NAND gate; C Zero point Since a NAND gate will produce a high when both inputs are not the same and when they are both 0, a 5V dc (always high or 1) is applied to one of the inputs and the output of the first NAND gate to the other. Hence, at the points where B comes down to zero (C), the output of the NAND gate will record a high which implies an error has occurred. 2.26 To estimate the BER; Where Vs (rms value of signal amplitude) =514mV, Vn (rms value of noise amplitude) = 0-10dB W (AWGN channel bandwidth) = 500kHz T (modulated Signal period) = 656.25ÃŽÂ ¼s SNR received signal to noise ratio BER bit error rate or error probability. Table 1 below presents the values. Table 1: Summary of Results Fig. 18: BER Performance Plot 3.0 CONCLUSION The BER performance plot of fig. 18 shows that the behaviour of the experimental system is within the bounds of predicted theoretical results. For instance, as quoted in the lecture notes, at SNR= 10.4dB, the BER is about 1.510-6. From fig.18 above, a similar point, of SNR=10.3806dB gives a BER of 1.48810-6. Hence confirming the accuracy of the results obtained from the experiment. The plot confirms that as the signal-to-noise ratio increases, the error probability reduces in line with conventional knowledge. In addition, the process of using a baseband signal to modulate the phase of a sinusoid was observed, converting it into a bandpass signal for transmission ease. Also, the use of Additive White Gaussian Noise to simulate the channel provides an insight into what might be expected in a live system environment, under varying degrees of noise exposure. Finally, because the received data sequence will most likely be displaced from its true positions as demonstrated experimentally, the use of a time delayed version of the original transmitted sequence to compare and check for errors was justified.

UK Education in Chaos :: social issues

UK Education in Chaos The British education system at one time was considered as one of the world's finest, admired and emulated by nations spanning several continents. Now it is in a state of disarray, reduced to nothing less than a complete shambles and plagued with corruption thanks to the implementation of the so-called Curriculum 2000. "Luck of the draw" is becoming an increasingly influential factor in today's exam lottery. This article's title draws on the sarcasm of a Warwick undergraduate contributing to the A Level newsgroup. Having been fortunate enough to take his A Levels back in the good old days when Edexcel was a reputable name, he was sceptical about the validity of students' current grievances. But the present state of the exam system means that come results day, such seemingly bizarre statements could be taken seriously. In all fairness, Edexcel were made the scapegoats [or "escape goats" as Jade from Big Brother would say] after a minor error by their printing company for a Maths paper resulted in disastrous consequences back in January. The media blitz that followed had everyone jumping on the bandwagon, venting all their fury at the exam board. Following the Yarm School head teacher's reporting of the unanswerable Maths question to the Beeb, suddenly allegations against poor old Edexcel reached new heights as they were blamed for more farcical errors. But with a sudden exponential increase in exam papers, these mistakes were inevitable. In fact such cock-ups had begun the previous summer, when in a much less publicised event, Question 1 in an AQA Physics A Level paper was impossible as it lacked essential data. From personal experience AQA's shoddy marking and virtually non-existent customer service means they deserve as much if not more criticism than Edexcel, with over 1 in 3 teachers finding AQA's marking quality unsatisfactory last year for some subjects. However, neither is at fault as much as the government, recklessly implementing these changes so that 24 million scripts had to be marked when teacher shortages.are clear. So why has Curriculum 2000 resulted in the introduction of these primary-school errors? Maybe because the endless module combinations and numerous resit opportunities have meant exam boards cannot sufficiently check through each and every one of the hundreds of different exam papers. AQA's report for January's A Level Literature paper casually mentioned how some of the options set had not been attempted by any candidates.

Language Settings and Social Classes in Blood Brothers :: Blood Brothers Willy Russell Social Class Essays

Mickeys first line in the scene is "mother are you going to open the bleeding door or what" he is only seven and is swearing already which indicates that he could have had a rough upbringing and we already know that the mother is not very well off. The mother replies "Mickey?" questioning who it is Mickey then replies "whats up mam did you think I was the rent man." the mother is obviously avoiding the rent man due to financial struggle. He explains how he has been playing cow boys and Indians which shows he must not have many tows and has learnt to use his imagination. His mother asks where had he been playing "not down the rough end I hope" which shows she doesn't consider herself to be of a lower class. he tells her he was up near the big houses she tells him how she doesn't like him up there but she doesn't give him a reason he questions her and she tells him to shut up which is a lower class word (lower standard English) then they goon to talk about how his mum used to work up there and she cuts the conversation short as if she doesn't want to talk about it. Mickey then goes back out and starts to play again then Mickey breaks in rhyme The poem is indicating that he wants to be just like his brother he looks to him like the farther he never had. The way he says the poem seems like he actually wants to be able to spit in someone's eye form 20 yards he thinks its acceptable and it seems like Sammy has been practicing. Sammy has a den which shows he could be escaping the reality of his life. Sammy draws pornographic pictures of ladies in the swimming pool which shows he is aware of sex and the male and female anatomy. Mickey swears in the poem "bleeding" again is the typical language because of his class and the area he is living in. at the end he shoots an imaginary Sammy which could show signs of jealousy or he could just be shooting Sammy as the unfairness. The fact that in the poem Mickey mentions how Sammy is allowed to play with matches and goes to bed late which shows that there mother doesn't really have control over what her children do. All the things Sammy did seemed acceptable by the young people in the working class area. Act 2 scene 2 Eddie approaches Mickey first in the scene confident and forth coming and says "hellow" the w is elongating the vowel so he is using

“Religion was more important than politics in the failure of King and Parliament to reach a settlement. 1646-1649”, Assess the validity of this statement Essay

â€Å"Religion was more important than politics in the failure of King and Parliament to reach a settlement. 1646-1649†, Assess the validity of this statement. In January 1649, King Charles I was executed after being charged with high treason due to political and religious reasons, some of which contributed to his refusal in accepting the peace settlements given to him by Parliament. Charles’ refusal to compromise was supported by the division that had emerged within Parliament on how to fight the civil war between the Political Presbyterians and Political Independents. The main factors of the failure to reach a settlement were religion, politics, Charles’ intransigence, the New Model Army and the emergence of radical ideas; all of which eventually concluded to Charles’ execution. One of the main reasons why Charles and Parliament failed to reach a settlement was due to religion, especially with the division between the Political Presbyterians and Political Independents. The differences between the two were that Political Presbyterians favoured a negotiated peace with Charles and did not approve of the New Model Army, and were also drawn more closely to the Presbyterian Scots whereas the Political Independents were in favour of a more considerable measure of religious toleration and disliked the authoritarianism of Scottish Presbyterianism. This division throughout Parliament meant that they had failed to reach a settlement negotiating peace terms that was to be decided upon them. In July 1646, the Political Presbyterians had presented Charles with the Newcastle Propositions as their plan for settlement which consisted of severe terms such as Charles was to accept Presbyterianism for three years in England, Parliament was to have control of the militia for 20 years, and the Triennial Act was not to be abolished and to have regular parliaments. Charles rejected these terms of the Newcastle Propositions and instead offered counter-proposals suggesting that the Political Presbyterians would have a three year trial run and reduced parliamentary control over the militia to ten years. Smith1 says that â€Å"there was a good deal of influential opinion† when writing the Newcastle Propositions and was under the impression that Cromwell had expressed his input with these terms. As a result of this, it caused division in the army and more within Parliament as the Presbyterians responded by organising rallies in favour of peace on 26th July. The emergence of radical ideas links with religion as a reason for the failure to reach a settlement in the year 1646 to 1649 as the ideas of the Levellers and Diggers were starting to break through. The Levellers were based in London that needed to gain support by taking advantage of the army’s adjutators movement, which therefore led to their concern that increased within the army, radicalising them. The development of the Leveller movement was the result of economic distress which was cause by the civil war, particularly in London, in a time of political and religious uncertainty. At the end of April 1647, eight cavalry regiments chose men as representatives for the adjutators and met with the senior officers. The Levellers ideas, under their leader John Lilburne, had clearly influenced the policies of Henry Ireton and Oliver Cromwell condemning them as â€Å"grandees†, which expressed them having deceived what people were fighting for in the first place; driving them to accept a less moderate approach to their negotiations with the King in years to come. The Levellers had come up with a pamphlet called the â€Å"The Case of the Army Truly Stated†, which led on to the Putney Debates in October and November of 1647. The Putney Debates had the main focus on the ideas of the Levellers for the extension if the franchise which had provoked a fiery argument between John Wildman and Ireton. Still Ireton spoke for the grandees which did include Cromwell and â€Å"insisted that the franchise should be restricted to those with a permanent fixed interest in the kingdom† as Seel 2 says, and that the vote should go to those who possessed property or there would otherwise be a â€Å"disturbance to a good constitution of the kingdom†. This was seen as important because the views of the religious radicals made settlements more difficult and furthermore increased the tension of division among those in the army and in parliament. The politicisation of the New Model Army also played a significant role in the failure to reach a settlement in the years 1646 to 1649 between Charles and Parliament. What made the army politicised was the concerns of their wages of  £3 million in arrears and the possibility of being faced with the charges of committing offences from the First Civil War, as Parliament had not passed an indemnity act. The army presented Charles with the Heads of The Proposals in 1647, which links back to religious division in parliament, , under Cromwell and Ireton’s influence, putting forward more stricter terms such as religious toleration was to be more effective to a wider degree and that the army was to be controlled by parliament for only ten years instead of twenty, making the army seem like a political force however historian Coward 3 has put forward the argument that â€Å"the army was not apolitical when it was first established.† Despite these terms, Charles still refused to accept them which then led to the Vote of No Addresses in January 1648 and settled that no more future negotiations were to be made with Charles. The importance of this factor was important as the army had felt that they had been pushed to resort to drastic methods and realised that it was most likely that Charles would never accept them. Another important factor that contributed to the failure to reach a settlement was Charles’ intransigence. In July 1646 the Newcastle Propositions were offered to Charles, which still would have granted him much power if he’d have accepted them, but refused to accept them. At the end of December 1647 after refusing both the Newcastle Propositions and the Heads of Proposals, Charles made his escape from confinement at Hampton Court where he would sign the Engagement with the Scots, in which Charles had agreed to allow Presbyterianism in England for three years only if they would grant him a Scottish invasion that would enable him to return back to power. With the possibility of the invasion going ahead, the chances of another civil war had increased. In April 1648 the New Model Army met at Windsor to pray before facing their enemies and declared that Charles was a â€Å"man of blood†, which soon would be one of the religious reasons for Charles’ execution in January 1649. Furthermore another political reason such as the Presbyterians’ offer of the Newport Treaty to Charles, who was now being held captive on the Isle of Wight, was sent to him as a matter of desperation to end the Second Civil War and prevent another one from occurring. However, the army and Ireton were not prepared to allow these negotiations to be undertaken and were forced to act, Kishlansky 4 says â€Å"Ireton had always been the Army’s strategist, the penman who could write the stirring propaganda of the Army’s declaration† and that he demanded a â€Å"purge or dissolution of Parliament and a trial of the King†. For the Newport Treaty to continue, a vote in Parliament took place on 5th December which had 129 for the continuation, and 83 against it, leading Ireton to act immediately and organise the army led by Colonel Thomas Pride who purged Parliament of those who were in favour in negotiating with the King; through this action taken against Parliament, the Rump would take over and conclude that Charles was to be put to trial. In conclusion, the failure to reach a settlement in the year 1646 to 1649 was due to the main religious factors such as the Windsor Prayer meeting of April 1648 where Charles was seen as â€Å"a man of blood†, the religious division in Parliament between Political Presbyterians and Political Independents and his agreement with the Irish which reinforced his support of Catholicism and his defeat in the two civil wars which came across as God’s judgement on his cause. Nevertheless, the main political reasons were down to Charles’ intransigence, fear amongst those in Parliament and the army that Charles would agree to the terms of the Newport Treaty, and fear of him starting another civil war. Overall the main reason for the failure of reaching a settlement was because of religion, although politics became very important in years to come as Presbyterians and Independents became concerned and needed a settlement for the sake of the kingdom.

Anylasis of three extracts

The three extracts I am comparing are written by three different authors. The first extract I am going to tell you about is written by a famous author called ‘Terry Pratchett'. The second extract is written by a children's author ‘Charles Dickens'. And finally, the third extract I am going to explain, is written by another well-known author, ‘Eoin Colfer'. With these three extracts, I am going to inform and describe how the characters and settings are developed. In the first extract the characters are well described using many adjectives. For example ‘Mr Horsefry' was described as a ‘youngish man, not simply running to fat but vaulting, leaping and driving towards obesity. He had acquired at thirty and impressive selection of chins, and now they wobbled with angry pride. ‘ I can picture this man with so many chains and not being able to speak properly. This is a funny description and makes the reader want to read on and see what else the reader writes about Mr Horsefry. Terry Pratchett' also writes that Mr Horsefry is: ‘Despite his expression, which was that of a piglet having a bright idea, and his mode of speech, which might put you in mind of a small, breathless, neurotic but ridiculously expensive dog, Mr Horsefry might have been a kind, generous and pious man. In the same way, the man climbing out of your window in a stripy jumper, a mask and a great hurry might merely be lost on the way to a fancy-dress party, and the man in a wig and robes at the focus of the courtroom might only be a transvestite who wondered in out of the rain. When I read this description I was laughing, and I could imagine a man dressed up as a woman who has god knows how many chains and seeing him wondering in the rain. Also listening to him when he speaks, it would be difficult to understand him because his chins would get in the way. This is a very good and clear description of ‘Mr Horsefry' and enjoyable to read and if someone reads this description they would know what ‘Mr Horsefry' looks like and what his personality is like. Also in this extract, it is a shame that ‘Terry Pratchett' didn't describe the settings as much as he describes ‘Mr Horsefry'. For example the quote, â€Å"Ah, this would be . . . what is it now . . . the glass ceiling? † said lord Vetinari brightly. â€Å"No, my lord. That is something else. I believe you may be thinking about the ‘Agatean Wall†. This quote tells me what the ceilings and the walls may look like, but it doesn't tell me what else the place looks like. The writer could have described what the canary looked like or what time of year it was, for example was it in the middle of winter, or was it in late summer. But I don't know because this wasn't explained in the extract. However ‘Terry Pratchett' could have explained this in the beginning of the story or later on in the story, I'm not to sure. Describing the setting would make the story a lot better and when the reader reads this extract they would be able to picture what is going on and where the characters are, as that is what happening now, I am confused where the characters are and I am thinking of a completely different place to what the writer is thinking of when he wrote this book. In the second extract ‘Charles Dickens' describes the character, ‘The Ghost of Christmas Past' as: ‘It's hair, which hung about its neck and down its back, was white, and if with age; and not yet the face had not a wrinkle in it, and the tenderest bloom was on the skin. The arms were very long and muscular; the hands the same, as if it hold were of uncommon strength. Its legs and feet, most delicately formed, were, like those upper members, bare. It wore a tunic of the purest white; and round its waist was a lustrous belt, the sheen of which was beautiful. It had its dress trimmed with summer flowers. But the strangest thing about it was, that from the crown of its head there sprang a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible; and which was doubtless the occasion of its using, in its duller moments, a great extinguisher for a cap, which it now held under its arm. ‘ This is a brilliant description of the sprit and I can picture what ‘The Ghost of Christmas Past' looks like. I know exactly what her hair, skin, feet, legs and what she was wearing. This is also a very clear description as well. It is easy to understand and easy to see what the ghost looks like. In this extract ‘Charles Dickens' does not describe the setting as much in detail as he did with the character ‘The Ghost of Christmas Past'. For example the quote: ‘Not the curtains at his feet, nor the curtains at his back, but those to which his face was addressed. The curtain of his bed drawn aside;' this quote tells me a little bit about Cosmos room and the curtains. However I find this quote quite confusing as I am not to sure whether or not the curtains are in Cosmo's room and where else are the curtains. Also I am not sure where he is, is he in his room? Or is he somewhere less? For example, is Cosmo in a huge empty mansion? Or is he in some hall way? Who knows? That is why it is important to tell the reader where the character is otherwise the reader gets lost. The finial extract is written by anther well known author ‘Eoin Colfer'. He has developed his characters in his story by using a few adjectives. He describes a character, Cosmo who is a young boy aged fourteen years old as: ‘Cosmo receives his schooling from education software, his teeth were whiter that white and his hair was lustrous and flake-free, but his insides felt like they were being scoured with a radioactive wire brush. Eventually Cosmo realized that the orphanage was slowly killing him. It was time to get out. ‘ ‘Eoin Colfer' didn't use as much adjectives as the other writers did. The description of Cosmo was not that clear, as I didn't know exactly what he looked like. However the quote: ‘†¦ aby Cosmo was discovered swaddled in an insulated Cheery Pizza envelope on Cosmonaut Hill in Moscowtown. The state police swabbed him for DNA, search for a match in the Satellite mainframe and came up blank. Nothing unusual about that, orphans turn up every day in the city. So the newly christened Cosmo Hill was dipped in a vaccine vat and sent on a tube to the Clarissa Frayne Institute or Parentally Challenged Boys Freight. ‘ This quote tells me that Cosmo was an orphan and was found on ‘Cosmonaut Hill in Moscowtown'. This quote many not tell me what Cosmo looks like but it does tell me about how he was found. So this is a pretty good description of where he was found. Also in this extract ‘Eoin Colfer' has used many descriptive words to develop the setting. For example the quote: ‘Satellite City was not part of any welfare state, so the institution had to raise funds any way they could. Clarissa Frayne's speciality was product testing. Whenever a new modified food or untested pharmaceutical product was being developed, the orphanage volunteered its charges as guinea pigs. It made perfect financial sense. The orphans got fed and cleaned, and the Frayne Institute got paid for the privilege. This quote tells me about the orphanage and ‘Clarisse Frayne'. This quote may not describe the settings as much as the other stories did but it tells me a lot about the orphanage, but at least that is something. So overall I have realised that it is important to describe the character in the stories, otherwise the reader would think of something else that the writer may not be thing of. Also this is the same for the settings. You have to explain but the area is like and where the characters are. This is important as well so that the reader can picture what is going on without getting confused.