Jemima J essays

Jemima J essays Jemima J by Jane Green is a classic story of ugly ducklings and swans for the Internet age. Jemima Jones is an employee at the Kilburn Herald, a small London newspaper. As she eats her way through her disappointments, her model thin, fly-by-night flat mates treat her like a maid. Two people touch Jemima very much in this story, Geraldine, a money-hungry, gorgeous co-worker who uses Jemima's writing abilities to her advantage. Then there is the striking and talented Ben Williams is also a co-worker. However, he also happens to be the love of Jemima's life, unfortunately, he is ignorant to the fact that Jemima has any feelings for him. As the Kilburn Herald goes online, she meets Brad, a wonderful California hunk, in an Internet chat room. After that day, everything changes for Jemima. To Brad, she is known as the slim, hip, spellbinding, glamorous, "JJ". Brad and her talk for some time and come to the conclusion that they should meet, there is only one major problem, Jemima isn't not the JJ that Brad thinks that she is and she much change in order to meet his expectations. Once Jemima is in California there are many people and events that help her to realize that California is not that place for her and that Brad is not the man he led her to believe he was. The theme of Jemima J is: outer beauty isn't worth all of the pain and struggle. Throughout the novel, Jemima struggles with her appearance. Whether it is getting passed over for assignments at work for a less-talented, more attractive Geraldine, getting treating like a maid by her roommates or getting the surprise of her life in California when she finds out just how vain Brad is. As the novel begins Jemima tells the reader a little about herself and her daily routine. This routine includes getting up in the morning only to feel horrible about her looks, going to a caf for breakfast and looking at magazines at the faces and bodies of the stunning mo...

The Fourteen Points of Woodrow Wilsons Plan for Peace

The Fourteen Points of Woodrow Wilsons Plan for Peace November 11 is, of course, Veterans Day. Originally called Armistice Day, it marked the ending of World War I in 1918. It also marked the beginning of an ambitious foreign policy plan by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Known as the Fourteen Points, the plan- which ultimately failed- embodied many elements of what we today call globalization. Historical Background World War I, which began in August 1914, was the result of decades of imperial competition between the European monarchies. Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Russia all claimed territories around the globe. They also conducted elaborate espionage schemes against each other,  engaged in a continuous arms race, and constructed a precarious system of military alliances. Austria-Hungary laid claim to much of the Balkan region of Europe, including Serbia. When a Serbian rebel killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, a string of events forced the European nations to mobilize for war against each other. The main combatants were: The Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, TurkeyThe Entente Powers: France, Great Britain, Russia The U.S. in the War The United States did not enter World War I until April 1917 but its list of grievances against warring Europe dated back to 1915. That year, a German submarine (or U-Boat) sank the British luxury steamer,  Lusitania, which carried 128 Americans. Germany had already been violating American neutral rights; the United States, as a neutral in the war, wanted to trade with all belligerents. Germany saw any American trade with an entente power as helping their enemies. Great Britain and France also saw American trade that way, but they did not unleash submarine attacks on American shipping. In early 1917, British intelligence intercepted a message from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to Mexico. The message invited Mexico to join the war on the side of Germany. Once involved, Mexico was to ignite war in the American southwest that would keep U.S. troops occupied and out of Europe. Once Germany had won the European war, it would then help Mexico retrieve land it had lost to the United States in the Mexican War, 1846-48. The so-called Zimmerman Telegram was the last straw. The United States quickly declared war against Germany and its  allies. American troops did not arrive in France in any large numbers until late 1917. However, there were enough on hand to stop a German offensive in Spring 1918. That fall, Americans led an allied offensive that flanked the German front in France, severing the German armys supply lines back to Germany. Germany had no choice but to call for a cease-fire. The armistice went into effect at 11 a.m., on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. The Fourteen Points More than anything else, Woodrow Wilson saw himself as a diplomat. He had already roughed out the concept of the Fourteen Points to Congress and the American people months before the armistice. The  summarized Fourteen Points included: Open covenants of peace and transparent diplomacy.Absolute freedom of the seas.The removal of economic and trade barriers.An end to arms races.National self-determination to figure in adjustment of colonial claims.Evacuation of all Russian territory.Evacuation and restoration of Belgium.All French territory restored.Italian frontiers adjusted.Austria-Hungary given opportunity to autonomous development.Rumania, Serbia, Montenegro evacuated and given independence.Turkish portion of the Ottoman Empire should become sovereign; nations under Turkish rule should become autonomous; Dardanelles should be open to all.Independent Poland with access to the sea should be created.A general association of nations should be formed to guarantee political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike. Points one through five attempted to eliminate the immediate causes of the war: imperialism, trade restrictions, arms races, secret treaties, and disregard of nationalist tendencies. Points six through 13 attempted to restore territories occupied during the war and set post-war boundaries, also based on national self-determination. In the 14th Point, Wilson envisioned a global organization to protect states and prevent future wars. The Treaty of Versailles The Fourteen Points served as the foundation for the Versailles Peace Conference that began outside of Paris in 1919. However, the Treaty of Versailles  was markedly different than Wilsons proposal. France- which  had been attacked by Germany in 1871 and was the site of most of the fighting in World War I- wanted to punish Germany in the treaty. While Great Britain and the United States did not agree with punitive measures, France won out. The resultant treaty: Forced Germany to sign a war guilt clause and accept full responsibility for the war.Prohibited further alliances between Germany and Austria.Created a demilitarized zone between France and Germany.Made Germany  responsible for paying  millions of dollars in reparations to the victors.Limited Germany to a defensive army only, with no tanks.Limited Germanys navy to six capital ships and no submarines.Prohibited Germany from having an air force. The victors at Versailles did accept the idea of Point 14, a League of Nations. Once created, it became the issuer of mandates which were former German territories handed over to allied nations for administration. While Wilson won the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize for his Fourteen Points, he was disappointed by the punitive atmosphere of Versailles. He was also unable to convince Americans to join the League of Nations. Most Americans- in an isolationist mood after the war- did not want any part of a global organization which could lead them into another war. Wilson campaigned throughout the U.S. trying to convince Americans to accept the League of Nations. They never did, and the League limped toward World War II with U.S. support. Wilson suffered a series of strokes while campaigning for the League, and  was debilitated for the rest of his presidency in 1921.

Global strategy of Netflix Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global strategy of Netflix - Essay Example An evaluation of the environment of Netflix’s business is essential in order to undertake suitable strategies for the growth of internet based entertainment services of Netflix. Netflix’s business required the company to expand to international markets to take advantage of the change in lifestyle and entertainment of the households. The political environment and the state laws were important considerations for Netflix as they had to acquire licenses from the owners of TV shows as well as movie studios for streaming their services through the internet. The environment in the industry underwent technological advancement as increasing number of electronic devices like the cables; fiber optics appeared in the stores. This allowed the households to connect the internet to the household TVs for the purpose of viewing. The social changes also showed inclination of the customers towards easy access to the streaming movies and TV shows on the internet rather and reduced the crow d of the theaters (Fitzroy and Herbert, 2007, p.47). The internet based entertainment industry witnessed intense rivalry between the several players as they launched their services on unlimited streaming of videos, TV shows and movies to be watched by the customers. Netflix had to adopt business strategies keeping their competitive position in mind. There were new entrants in the industry looking to capture the market. Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video are the products of the new entrants that challenged the business of Netflix with similar services.

Strategic delimma, the quality improvement , equal work load and Case Study

Strategic delimma, the quality improvement , equal work load and quality and patient safety - Case Study Example gaged throughout the project by striving to build trust among team members through team building, strengthening interpersonal relationships and motivating team members by recognizing their contribution to the team (Allio, 2006). I order to get the team underway, Jeff should personally communicate with the expected team members and discuss with them the mission and objectives of the project for them to buy in. After that, he should organize another meeting where they will discuss in detail about the project and progress working on the project with interested members. The committee could have avoided the last minute rush on its project thereby avoiding the conflict on the deadline day of the project. The workload could have been managed easily through cooperation taking in to account the request by one of the team members to be absent for some time at a crucial stage in the project. The committee could work a little bit harder and faster to avoid this scenario. AT the very beginning of the committee’s life, the leader should have come up with a detailed pan on how the workload will be managed. This plan would take in to account significant issues such as the departure by some members at crucial points in the project, including Mariana’s request. The team should include Mariana’s name on the report because of the contribution she has made so far and her desire to do more work to cater for her time off. It was not Marian’s choice to quit the committee at such a point since it was a leadership failure to plan for her absence despite being forewarned. Kyle should reorganize the remaining members in the committee and device a plan for working out the remaining part of the project without Mariana’s contribution. This will facilitate completion of the project within the desired time despite encountering planning problems in the initial strategy of the project. In order to foster strategic thinking in this situation, I will devise an action plan with details

Financial Crisis Recovery Essay Example for Free

Financial Crisis Recovery Essay 1997-1998 Financial Crisis The weaknesses in Asian financial systems were at the root of the crisis that caused largely by the lack of incentives for effective risk management created by implicit or explicit government guarantees against failure. The weaknesses of the financial sector also were masked by rapid growth and accentuated by large capital inflows, which were partly encouraged by pegged exchange rates. In the mid-1990s, a series of external shocks began to change the economic environment the devaluation of the Chinese Renminbi and the Japanese Yen, rising of U. S. interest rates which led to a strong U.S. dollar, the sharp decline in semiconductor prices; adversely affected their growth. The crisis began in Thailand when the Thai baht collapse of in July 1997 with a series of speculative attacks on the baht extended after quite a few decades of outstanding economic performance in Asia. As the U.S. economy recovered from a recession in the early 1990s, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank under Alan Greenspan began to raise U.S. interest rates to head off inflation. This made the U.S. a more attractive investment destination relative to Southeast Asia, which had been attracting hot money flows through high short-term interest rates, and raised the value of the U.S. dollar. For the Southeast Asian nations which had currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar, the higher U.S. dollar caused their own exports to become more expensive and less competitive in the global markets. At the same time, Southeast Asias export growth slowed dramatically in the spring of 1996, deteriorating their current account position. Many economists believe that the Asian crisis was created not by market psychology or technology, but by policies that distorted incentives within the lender–borrower relationship. Impacts of the crisis to the South East Asia Most of Southeast Asia and Japan having currency depreciation, devalued stock markets and other asset prices, and a precipitous rise in private debt. It were resulting large quantities of credit became available generated a highly leveraged economic climate, and pushed up asset prices to an unsustainable level. These asset prices eventually began to collapse, causing individuals, financial institutions and corporations in the affected countries were bankrupt. A change in market sentiment could and did lead into a violent of currency depreciation, insolvency, and capital outflows, which was difficult to stop. In the year after collapse of the baht peg, the value of the most affected East Asian currencies fell 35-83% against the U.S. dollar (measured in dollars per unit of the Asian currency), and the most serious stock declines were as great as 40-60%. Lenders led to a large withdrawal of credit from the crisis countries, causing a credit crunch and further bankruptcies. Foreign investors attempted to withdraw their money; the exchange market was flooded with the currencies of the crisis countries, putting depreciative pressure on their exchange rates. As a result, short-term economic activity has slowed or contracted severely in the most affected economies like inflation and rising in unemployment. It impossible that the government doing nothing when the crisis happened to their country. To prevent currency values collapsing, countries governments raised fiscal spending in domestic interest rates to exceedingly high levels (to help diminish flight of capital by making lending more attractive to investors) and to intervene in the exchange market, buying up any excess domestic currency at the fixed exchange rate with foreign reserves. But when interest rates were very high, it can be extremely damaging to an economy that is healthy, wreaked further havoc on economies in an already fragile state, while the central banks were hemorrhaging foreign reserves, of which they had finite amounts. As a strategy to maintain competitiveness, policies to strengthen the country’s balance-of-payments account were pursued. For example, exports were encouraged and imports were discouraged, the latter through an increase in import taxes on certain goods and services. Measures to increase exports for providing handouts directly to people affected included reducing the cost of doing business through such means as tax incentives to boost the manufacturing, agriculture, and services sectors. In the case Malaysia for example, there are policies regarding 1997 crisis: Denial and hesitation, the Malaysian government denied that there was a crisis in the first place; Tight fiscal and monetary policies, and restructuring the banking system; Government proposed to use regional currencies instead of the US dollars in inter-ASEAN bilateral trade; and Financing the recovery programs with the total cost of all measures was RM62 billion. While in the case of Indonesia, the government providing assistance to the poor like efforts to shield poor and vulnerable sections of society from the worst of the crisis, by deepening and widening social safety nets and devoting substantial budgetary resources to increasing subsidies on basic commodities such as rice; measures to increase transparency in the financial, corporate, and government sectors; and steps to improve the efficiency of markets and increase competition. Another example of helping the poor and needy, government must be fair and redistribute the wealth equally to them according their basic necessities of life. In Malaysia, the practicing of zakat system and waqaf contribution to help the poor and needy indirectly will benefit the society. Moreover, Bank Rakyat and ar-rahnu market on Islamic pawn-broking will help the small and medium enterprise to expend their business. Government also must allocate the budget expenditure for subsidizing mainly on education, healthcare and housing for the people. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that provides financial assistance and advice to member countries. It was created out of a need to prevent economic crises like the Great Depression. With its sister organization, the World Bank, the IMF is the largest public lender of funds in the world. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations and is run by its 186 member countries. Membership is open to any country that conducts foreign policy and accepts the organizations statutes. The IMF is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the international monetary system, the system by which international payments among countries take place. A core responsibility of the IMF is to provide loans to member countries experiencing actual or potential balance of payments problems. This financial assistance enables countries to rebuild their international reserves, stabilize their currencies, continue paying for imports, and restore conditions for strong economic growth, while undertaking policies to correct underlying problems. Unlike development banks, the IMF does not lend for specific projects. It thus strives to provide a systematic mechanism for foreign exchange transactions in order to foster investment and promote balanced global economic trade. To achieve these goals, the IMF focuses and advises on the macroeconomic policies of a country, which affect its exchange rate and its governments budget, money and credit management. The IMF will also appraise a countrys financial sector and its regulatory policies, as well as structural policies within the macroeconomic that relate to the labor market and employment. In addition, as a fund, it may offer financial assistance to nations in need of correcting balance of payments discrepancies. The IMF is thus entrusted with nurturing economic growth and maintaining high levels of employment within countries. The large financial packages which the IMF has arranged for countries affected by the Asian crisis and its result have stimulated a debate both among policy-makers and academics as to their costs and benefits. The IMF’s role in providing financial assistance to its members in overcoming short-term balance-of-payment difficulties generally has been evident. Advantages and disadvantages of IMF The IMF offers its assistance which it conducts on a yearly basis for individual countries, regions and the global economy as a whole. However, a country may ask for financial assistance if it finds itself in an economic crisis, whether caused by a sudden shock to its economy or poor macroeconomic planning. A financial crisis will result in severe devaluation of the countrys currency or a major depletion of the nations foreign reserves. In return for the IMFs help, a country is usually required to embark on an IMF-monitored economic reform program, otherwise known as Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs). An IMF loan provides a cushion that eases the adjustment policies and reforms that a country must make to correct its balance of payments problem and restore conditions for strong economic growth. Supporters argue that the IMF can also impose necessary reforms on an economy. Reforms such as privatization, fiscal responsibility, control of Money supply, and attacking corruption. These policies may cause short term pain, but, are essential for preventing future crisis and long term development. Substantial financial advantages are attached to IMF credits because debtor countries benefit from lower debt service costs. Moreover, commercial banks often demand agreement with the IMF before lending is resumed and generally will charge lower interest rates to countries with an IMF program. The benefits attached to the IMF loan can be regarded as a compensation for the policy adjustments which the debtor countries carry through. At the same time, thanks to the unique role the IMF can play, the costs involved for the creditor countries seem to be rather limited, as the opportunity costs of forgoing the proceeds of alternative investments are relatively small. By temporarily providing finance and at the same time fostering adjustment, member countries could overcome external problems without overly detrimental measures either for their own population or for other countries. The interest rates charged by the IMF in normal circumstances can be relatively low, because the special role of the IMF in the international financial system reduces the risks for the IMF itself as well as for the creditor countries which have provided the resources. Because of its special position the IMF can mitigate the risks attached to its loans. Helped by its low funding costs, the IMF can charge debtor countries lower interest rates than private sector participants which have to charge high spreads because of the sovereign risks involved. Over time, the IMF has been subject to a range of criticisms, generally focused on the conditions of its loans. The IMF has also been criticized for its lack of accountability and willingness to lend to countries with bad human rights record. On giving loans to countries, the IMF makes the loan conditional on the implementation of certain economic policies. These policies tend to involve: * Reducing government borrowing Higher taxes and lower spending * Higher interest rates to stabilize the currency. * Allow failing firms to go bankrupt. * Structural adjustment. Privatizations deregulation, reducing corruption and bureaucracy. The problem is that these policies of structural adjustment and macroeconomic intervention make the situation worse. For example, in the Asian crisis of 1997, many countries such as Indonesia, Korea and Thailand were required by IMF to pursue tight monetary policy (higher interest rates) and tight fiscal policy to reduce the budget deficit and strengthen exchange rates. However, these policies caused a minor slowdown to turn into a serious recession with mass unemployment. The IMF have been criticized for imposing policy with little or no consultation with affected countries. Jeffrey Sachs, the head of the Harvard Institute for International Development said: In Korea the IMF insisted that all presidential candidates immediately endorse an agreement which they had no part in drafting or negotiating, and no time to understand. The situation is out of hand. It defies logic to believe the small group of 1,000 economists on 19th Street in Washington should dictate the economic conditions of life to 75 developing countries with around 1.4 billion people. Because the IMF lends its money with strings attached in the form of its SAPs, many people and organizations are vehemently opposed to its activities. Opposition groups claim that structural adjustment is an undemocratic and inhumane means of loaning funds to countries facing economic failure. Debtor countries to the IMF are often faced with having to put financial concerns ahead of social ones. Thus, by being required to open up their economies to foreign investment, to privatize public enterprises, and to cut government spending, these countries suffer an inability to properly fund their education and health programs. Moreover, foreign corporations often exploit the situation by taking advantage of local cheap labor while showing no regard for the environment. The oppositional groups say that locally cultivated programs, with a more grassroots approach towards development, would provide greater relief to these economies. Critics of the IMF say that, as it stands now, the IMF is only deepening the rift between the wealthy and the poor nations of the world. Indeed, it seems that many countries cannot end the spiral of debt and devaluation. The relatively low interest rates charged by the IMF can lead to moral hazard behavior on the part of the debtor countries. This is largely reduced through the tough policy measures which the IMF imposes as a condition for its programmers. In practice, most countries do not turn to the IMF if not forced by adverse circumstances. Decisions about which countries may borrow money are made by rich countries. Poor countries have little say about loans and the conditions attached to them. The IMF will only lend money to countries if they agree to certain conditions. These conditions increase poverty. The livelihoods of people in poorer countries are destroyed by unfair competition from foreign goods and services. The IMF does not give good financial advice. Countries have suffered by following it. IMF East Asia Case The IMF was involved in one of the worst East-Asian economic crises thus far. Everything started when Thailand was experiencing difficulties in meeting foreign liability obligations so the IMF intervened by suggested to devalue the Baht. The same suggestion was made to Indonesia, Korea and the Philippine. Soon, South Korea and Taiwan jumped in the trend and Hong Kong and Singapore dollars faced speculative attack. The crisis spread all the way to South America where Brazil and Argentina currency came under attack, but they both stood their grounds and refused to devalue which might have prevented a global financial crisis. Other aspects of the handling of the case that were looked down upon were the issue of the bail-out and the political situation of the borrowing country had once again been ignored. Thailand had already borrowed from the IMF and they were bailed-out very publicly which gave an incentive for surrounding countries to follow very risky projects or decisions, believing that the IMF would be a safety net as opposed to a lender of last resort. This is what happened in South Korea when large, unprofitable investment projects were undertaken, largely due in part to the conglomerates of businesses that are close to the bureaucracy but more importantly, sponsored by the IMF. Likewise, Fund officials protested that many East-Asian countries needed a reform in the banking system and governance, where bad banking, nepotism and corruption do not help create stable and efficient economies. During August December 1997, the International Monetary Fund signed three emergency lending agreements with Thailand (August), Indonesia (November), and Korea (December). These programs established packages of international financial support at an unprecedented cumulative sum of approximately $110 billion, based on the financing commitments. During the period August to December, the IMF programs failed dramatically to meet the objective of restoring market confidence. In all three countries, the exchange rate was expected to stabilize, but in fact quickly depreciated far below the targets set in the program, and this despite a very sharp increase in interest rates. Foreign investors remained unconvinced about the debt servicing capacity of the private debtors despite the announced availability of IMF loans, and continued to demand the repayment of short-term loans as they fell due. The IMF programs failed to achieve their goal of maintaining moderate economic growth in the Asian countries. The programs also failed on several intermediate goals, including the preservation of creditworthiness, the continuation of debt payments, and the stabilization of the exchange rate at levels that prevailed upon the signing of the original lending agreements Indonesia was deeply affected by the 1997–1998 crises, more so than its East Asian neighbors. Its economic contraction was deeper and more prolonged. It was the only one to experience a (temporary) loss of macroeconomic control. Eight years have passed since the collapse of Suharto’s New Order regime on the heels of the economic crisis of 1997–1998. During that time, Indonesia’s economy contracted by over 13% in 1998 alone. This followed three decades of virtually uninterrupted rapid economic growth and led to deep social and political crises. Although countries such as South Korea and Thailand were able to overcome their economic crises in a few years, Indonesia’s crisis resolution has been complicated by political instability, at least until 2004, and by a slower recovery. Indonesia was formally under International Monetary Fund management from 1997 to the end of 2003. But the presence of the IMF actually increased the severity of the Indonesian economy, not more than one year after that; there were capital flight out of the country that led to massive unemployment, compounded by the drastic decline in the exchange rate. At the end of 1998 more than 50% of Indonesias population lives below the poverty line. One of the IMFs policy prescriptions is to close 16 banks and it caused the anger of people and withdraws their money in national banks and some foreign banks. In May 1998, due to an agreement between the IMF and Suharto, the government revoked subsidies for food, and raises the price of oil and electricity. This policy had a strong opposition from the people and not long after that, Suharto regime fell. During Megawati regime, in August 2003 the government finally decided not to continue the IMF program and choose to enter the post-program monitoring. The government option raises the consequences that are not much different. IMF can still continue to dictate economic policy in Indonesia because the government still had to consult every economic policy that will be taken with IMF. The Indonesian government announced that they would pay the remaining debt to the IMF, totaling U.S. $ 7.8 billion, within 2 years. It seems to be the correct political decision to break away from the economic policy interventions that has continued since the crisis in 1997. 2008 Financial Crisis Triggered by events in The US and EU The cause or trigger of the 2008 global financial crisis was the boom of the United States housing bubble which peaked in approximately 2005–2006. Since banks began to give out more loans to potential home owners, housing prices began to increase. The increase in house price and improvement of construction activity started around 1992. At that time the Federal Reserve was holding its policy interest rate at an unusually low level by the standards of the past few decades. The good times lasted until 2005, when monetary policy was tightening after another spell of low interest rates. Over that period, construction activity contributed 1/5 percentage points annually to the growth rate of real GDP, and the share of employment in construction and finance, out of the total workforce, rose from 10 ¼ percent to 11 ¾ percent. That is, over this period, of the 27.4 million people added to work rolls (which ended 2006 with a total of 136 million), 4.8 million were directly related to construction and fifi nance. Finally, the nation was left with an excess stock of housing. A contraction in construction transpired to wind down the inventory overhang, which is often a feature of economic slowdowns and recessions. In addition to that, easy lending standards also contributed to the Real estate bubble. Loans of various types (e.g., mortgage, credit card, and auto) were easy to obtain. As part of the housing and credit booms, the number of financial agreements called mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDO), which derived their value from mortgage payments and housing prices, greatly increased. That kind of financial innovation attracted institutions and investors around the world to invest in the U.S. housing market. As housing prices declined, major global financial institutions that had borrowed and invested heavily in subprime MBS reported significant losses. While the housing and credit bubbles were expanding, US Government was going a process called financialization. US Government policy from the 1970s onward has emphasized deregulation to encourage business, which resulted in less oversight of activities and less disclosure of information about new activities undertaken by banks and other evolving financial institutions. Thus, policymakers did not immediately recognize the increasingly important role played by financial institutions such as investment banks and hedge funds, also known as the shadow banking system. These institutions, as well as certain regulated banks, had also assumed significant debt burdens while providing the loans described above and did not have a financial cushion sufficient to absorb large loan defaults or MBS losses. These losses impacted the ability of financial institutions to lend, slowing economic activity. The U.S. Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission reported its findings in January 2011. It concluded that the crisis was avoidable and was caused by: 1. Widespread failures in financial regulation, including the Federal Reserve’s failure to stem the tide of toxic mortgages; 2. Dramatic breakdowns in corporate governance including too many financial firms acting recklessly and taking on too much risk; 3. An explosive mix of excessive borrowing and risk by households and Wall Street that put the financial system on a collision course with crisis; 4. Key policy makers ill prepared for the crisis, 5. Lacking a full understanding of the financial system they oversaw; and systemic breaches in accountability and ethics at all levels.[35][36] Table 1 The Causes and Impacts of Global Financial Crisis Taken from Takatoshi Ito â€Å"Comparison of the Financial Crises: Japan and Asia in 1997-1998 vs. U.S. 2008-09† The Collapse of World Trade Although the crisis is originally from financial sector, trade had great implication that hit countries around the world. Exports collapsed in nearly every major trading country, and total world trade fell faster than it did during the Great Depression. From a peak in July 2008 to the low in February 2009, the nominal value of world goods exports fell 36 percent; the nominal value of U.S. goods exports fell 28 percent (imports fell 38 percent) over the same period. Even a country such as Germany, which did not experience their own housing bubble, experienced substantial trade contractions, which helped spread the crisis. The collapse in net export in Germany contributed to the decline in their GDP which put the country into recession. In the fourth quarter of 2008, Germany’s drop in net exports contributed 8.1 percentage points to a 9.4 percent decline in GDP (at an annual rate); Japan’s net exports contributed 9.0 percentage points to a 10.2 percent GDP decline. Real exports fell even faster in the first quarter of 2009. The Decline in Output Around the Globe The financial crisis was rapidly transmitted to the real economy. The financial disruption was so strong and swift in most countries so that their confidence level in economy fell as well. Confidence levels are measured in different ways across countries, but they were generally falling throughout 2008 and reached recent lows in the fall of 2008 and winter of 2009. As noted, world GDP is estimated to have fallen roughly 1.1 percent in 2009 from the year before. In advanced economies, the crisis was even deeper; the IMF expects GDP to have contracted 3.4 percent in advanced economies for all of 2009. For OECD member countries, GDP fell at an annual rate of 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 and 8.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009. Despite the historic nature of its collapse, the U.S. economy actually fared better than about half of OECD economies during those quarters. The decline in industrial production across major economies, each of these economies in January 2009 was more than 10 percent below its January 2008 level, and Japan faring far worse relative to the other major economies. Impact on Developing Countries The impact of the crisis on developing countries will affect different types of international resource flows: private capital flows such as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), portfolio flows and international lending; official flows such as development finance institutions; and capital and current transfers such as official development assistance and remittances. The World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies foresees a 15% drop in FDI 2009. FDI to Turkey has already fallen 40% over the last year and FDI to India dropped by 40% in the first six months of 2008. FDI to China was $6.6 billion in September 2008, 20% down from the monthly average in year 2008 so far, and mining investments in South Africa and Zambia have been put on hold. The crisis has led to a drop in bond and equity issuances and the sell-off of risky assets in developing countries. The average volume of bond issuances by developing countries was only $6 billion between July 2007 and March 2008, down from $ 15 billion over the same period in 2006. Between January and March 2008, equity issuance by developing countries stood at $5 billion, its lowest level in five years. As a result, World Bank research suggests some 91 International Public Offerings have been withdrawn or postponed in 2008. However, not all developing countries were effected tremendously by 2008 financial crisis. In South East Asia we may take a look Indonesia performance towards the 2008 financial crisis. Indonesia experienced a significant macroeconomic shock at the end of 2008. But, of course, Indonesia was not on its own. Indeed, Indonesia was one of the least affected countries in South East Asia. Although GDP growth slowed markedly to 4.4% in the first quarter of 2009, it did not experience the collapse in growth experienced by countries such a Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. Indonesia’s growth in recent years has been driven predominantly by non-tradeables rather than tradeables, and, although the crisis reduced growth across the board, sectors such as transport and communications, and utilities have continued to grow in double digits. At the same time, the tradeable sector which has performed best is agriculture, which, at 4.8%, has experienced its strongest growth since the East Asian crisis, helping to compensate for the effects of the crisis. Indonesia has learnt from 1997 crisis so that they can manage 2008 financial crisis well. The Role of International Institutions of The G-20 The G-20, which includes 19 nations plus the European Union, is the the main nations of much of the coordination on trade policy, financial policy, and crisis response. Its membership is composed of most of the world’s largest economies and makes up nearly 90 percent of world gross national product. The first G-20 leaders’ summit was held at the peak of the crisis in November 2008. At that point, G-20 countries committed to keep their markets open, adopt policies to support the global economy, and stabilize the financial sector. The second G-20 leaders’ summit took place in April 2009 at the height of concern about rapid falls in GDP and trade. Leaders of the world’s largest economies pledged to â€Å"do everything necessary to ensure recovery, to repair our financial systems and to maintain the global flow of capital.† Furthermore, they committed to work together on tax and financial policies. Perhaps the most notable act of world coordination was the decision to provide substantial new funding to the IMF. U.S. leadership helped secure a commitment by the G-20 leaders to provide over $800 billion to fund multilateral banks broadly, with over $500 billion of those funds allocated to the IMF in particular. In September 2009, the G-20 leaders met in Pittsburgh. They noted that international cooperation and national action had been critical in arresting the crisis and putting the world’s economies on the path toward recovery. They also recognized that continued action was necessary, pledged to â€Å"sustain our strong policy response until a durable recovery is secured,† and committed to avoid premature withdrawal of stimulus. They launched a new Framework for Strong, Sustainable, and Balanced Growth that committed the G-20 countries to work together to assess how their policies fit together and evaluate whether they were â€Å"collectively consistent with more sustainable and balanced growth.† Further, the leaders committed to act together to improve the global financial system through financial regulatory reforms and actions to increase capital in the system. It set up emergency lines of credit (called Flexible Credit Lines) with Colombia, Mexico, and Poland, which in total are worth over $80 billion. These lines were intended to provide immediate liquidity in the event of a run by investors, but also to signal to the markets that funds were available, making a run less likely. In each of these countries, markets responded positively to the announcement of the credit lines, with the cost of insuring the countries’ bonds narrowing (International Monetary Fund 2009b). The IMF also negotiated a set of standby agreements with 15 countries, committing a total of $75 billion to help them survive the economic crisis by smoothing current account adjustments and mitigating liquidity pressures. IMF analysis suggests that this program discouraged large exchange-rate f in fluctuate in these countries (International Monetary Fund 2009). These actions as well as the very existence of a better-funded global lender may have helped to keep the contraction short and to prevent sustained currency crises in many emerging nations. The Government Responses The U.S. executed two stimulus packages, totaling nearly $1 trillion during 2008 and 2009. The U.S. Federal Reserves new and expanded liquidity facilities were intended to enable the central bank to fulfill its traditional lender-of-last-resort role during the crisis while mitigating stigma, broadening the set of institutions with access to liquidity, and increasing the flexibility with which institutions could tap such liquidity. United States President Barack Obama and key advisers introduced a series of regulatory proposals in June 2009. The proposals address consumer protection, executive pay, bank financial cushions or capital requirements, expanded regulation of the shadow banking system and derivatives, and enhanced authority for the Federal Reserve to safely wind-down systemically important institutions, among others. The response of the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and other central banks was taken shortly and dramatic. During the last quarter of 2008, these central banks purchased US$2.5 trillion of government debt and troubled private assets from banks. The governments of European nations and the USA also raised the capital of their national banking systems by $1.5 trillion, by purchasing newly issued preferred stock in their major banks. In October 2010, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz explained how the U.S. Federal Reserve was implementing another monetary policy —creating currency— as a method to combat the liquidity trap. By creating $600,000,000,000 and inserting this directly into banks, the Federal Reserve intended to spur banks to finance more domestic loans and refinance mortgages. However, banks instead were spending the money in more profitable areas by investing internationally in emerging markets. The bank bailout, more formally called the Troubled Asset Relief Program, failed to achieve the ultimate goal. The goal of these bailouts from the perspective of the largest financial institution is billions of dollars in taxpayer money allowed institutions that were on the brink of collapse not only to survive but even to flourish. The legislation that created TARP, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, had far broader goals, including protecting home values and preserving homeownership. Congress was told that TARP would be used to purchase up to $700 billion of mortgages and to obtain the necessary votes, Treasury promised that it would modify those mortgages to assist struggling homeowners. However, almost immediately, as permitted by the broad language of the act, Treasury’s plan for TARP shifted from the purchase of mortgages to the infusion of hundreds of billions of dollars into the nation’s largest financial institutions, a shift that came with the express promise that it would restore lending. Treasury, however, provided the money to banks with no effective policy or effort to force the extension of credit. There were no strings attached: no requirement or even incentive to increase lending to home buyers, and against our strong recommendation, not even a request that banks report how they used TARP funds. It raised the issues on accountability in providing the bailouts. Lesson Learnt from 2008 Crisis There are several lessons that can be learnt from 2008 financial crisis. Those lessons are stated below : 1. Aggregate volatility is part of market system. There is a need to have more depth study of aggregate volatility. 2. Long lived large firms (such as financial institutions) may not be fully trusted. We should rethink the role of reputation of firms in market transactions. In addition, we need to revisit the key elements of the economy of organization so that reputation should be derived from the behavior not merely from the asset. 3. Economic growth will only take place if there is real increase in the real commodities not financial commodities. 4. People mistakenly equated free markets with unregulated markets. 5. Policy makers should be flexible in their policies and guided by overall national objectives. 6. All trading countries should diversify both their exports composition as well as export destination. 7. World financial system is becoming fragile so that there is a need to reform the current financial system. Islamic based economy system has great opportunity to alter the existing financial system. Islamic perspective From Islamic perspective, the approach that most suitable which is providing handout to the poor and directly to people affected by financial contracts. There were horrible gaps between the rich and the poor all over the world, which remained existent all the time, even after the fall of the planned economy. It goes without saying that the position in developing and under developed countries is even worse. This uneven and unjust system of distribution needs to be reformed on a conceptual basis. The entire world today is crying on the present financial crisis, but few people have realized that this is basically a crisis of rich people who were playing with loads of wealth, and all of a sudden, their income faced a steep fall. So far as poor people are concerned, they have been living in perpetual crisis all the times, but no one care for them, The present crisis should not be examined within the relatively narrow confines of debt; rather, it is fundamentally a question of social justi ce, a concept that is paramount in Islam. Social justice includes three aspects, namely a fair and equitable distribution of wealth; the provision of basic necessities of life to the poor and the needy; and protection of the weak against economic exploitation by the strong. The debt burden, however, is increasing inequality between rich and poor countries and is tantamount to exploitation. It also means that poor countries are often unable to provide the most basic services for their citizens. The huge debt that currently burdens poor countries has arisen from loans that have charged interest and have not shared risk between the lender and the borrower and have, therefore, contravened the two most fundamental principles of Islamic finance. Islamic commands to refrain from charging interest and to share financial risk seek to avoid the concentration of wealth and the economic exploitation of the weak and thereby prevent situations such as the current debt crisis from arising in the first place. The core belief in Islamic finance is that money should not in itself be an earning asset; therefore, Islam prohibits any and all forms of interest. There are also other systems which prevent an economic crisis of pandemic proportions to arise; contractual relationships in business, finance or trade must be based on trust and familiarity of networks of common experiences (takaful) which implies that debts cannot be repackaged and resold as assets globally to faceless investors while profit must be redistributed directly to the poor (zakat) in the Holy month of Ramadan to build and strengthen social safety nets through institutions of charity welfare and education. Over and above zakat, all Muslims pay zakat fitrah to the poor, during the month of Ramadan, either through state collection centers or direct contributions to the poor. There is a trend within rural areas to identify destitute families and the disabled within the underserved rural areas of the State where they reside. Over the last few years, increasing realization of a topic poverty during an economic crisis creating the new poor among the Muslim working classes and a bnormally high repayment rates through unlicensed loan-sharks and licensed money-lenders have made national banking institutions which serve the poorer rural communities shift their services to the Ar-Rahnu market or Islamic pawn-broking market. Currently four Islamic financial institutions, Bank Rakyat (The People’s Bank); the Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam Malaysia (Islamic Foundation of Economic Development, Malaysia); Permodalan Kelantan Bhd (Kelantan Investment Co.); and the Agro bank offer such services to the rural and urban working classes. It has established an Ar-Rahnu X’Change Franchise Network, where it plans to provide an Ar-Rahnu franchise throughout the country, managed by reputable cooperatives of the working classes. Given the acute dependency of the working classes on ready cash in times of emergency and the high rates of interest in regular pawn-broking market, there seems to be few alternatives except to expand the Ar-Rahnu market among Muslims and non-Muslims and charge the poor for ‘safekeeping’ services, rather than interest. Despite the fact that loan disbursements of Bank Rakyat alone is among the services which have contributed to Bank Rakyat’s amazing rise as a successful national cooperative bank, giving out higher than normal dividends to its share holders, loan sharks are virtually setting up desks outside flats and apartment buildings of the Muslim poor in towns and cities to offer cash and carry’ facilities to the desperately poor. This lucrative market speaks volumes of the rise of atopic poverty among those on or below the poverty line, the inadequacy of zakat and disbursements of zakat, the high dependency on regular income earners among the middle classes for welfare driven services and products and unclear nature of the rising wealth of the Muslim and non-Muslim upper classes in Malaysia The Islamic finance can bring on significant gains in money released into public capital and infrastructure. The redistributive mechanisms of surplus are instituted into welfare based institutions such as free or subsidized education, health and child care, education, and even publicly directed employment. Its principles may differ from modern welfare economics except the gains at the far end of the redistributive machinery are similarly directed towards the poor. The policies of the New Economic Policy in Malaysia, state welfares in Brunei, or publicly instituted employment as in MENA countries are more Islamic than regul ar, except they are part of the post-colonial ‘reformist’ policies of Muslim states which preceded the modern up-beat drive towards Syaria’ah compliant finance. Islamic finance, however, has not demonstrated a clear connectivity with redistributive justice as in the post-colonial political economy except through instituted deductions of zakat from dividends of shareholders. Profits from credit or financial corporations are not necessarily redistributed through zakat. Furthermore, for borrowers, the appreciated value of assets and services as forecasted and built into systems and rates of repayments which compensate for the lack of interest and, in reality, repayment rates may even out with the regular—rates are generally fixed in advance unlike regular interest rates which are more flexible, varying according to market conditions. However, it does allow more capital to be released into projects immediately, allowing a more extensive amount of goods and services to be produced, without the worry of serving loans. One, however, has to be assured of significant productivity even in the early stages of the loan but payments of zakat accruing from successful investment, from the financier or production from the borrower are fixed at a low rate of 2.5%. It is also consensual rather than forced (as in income taxation) and Muslim countries in general pur sue income tax collections as the more important thrust of national revenue. There are generally two disparate systems at work in Muslim countries Islamic finance and post-colonial welfare instituted economics. The welfare inputs in Islamic countries which are operational today proceed whether or not there are institutions of Islamic finance in the country. In Malaysia, Brunei, and the MENA countries discussed in this paper, components of welfare economics in heavily subsidized education, health, housing, farming, and welfare for the poor, are part of a post-colonial legacy of social reform to institute economic parity across groups and classes. In these Muslim nations, the public sector has played an important role in employment for Muslim or indigenous citizens, often acting as a social safety net in times of economic crises. However, these welfare driven policies are subject to much criticism since they favour the poor, encourage low productivity, and a non-competitive public sector. As Islamic institutions of welfare catch on with progressive social educa tion through media and networks and become an alternative system of welfare for poorer Muslims through zakat and other contributions, welfare increasingly becomes a social responsibility of the Muslim middle classes. There is hardly any data on how the profits earned by larger corporations of Islamic finance actually become instituted into a system of welfare economics based in Islam. Private investment trusts of political elites or national trusts controlled by them. In a properly instituted system of redistribution, through wages, salaries, educational, and health subsidies and so on, there should be very little wealth differential between the owners of political Capital and citizens but economic disparities are significant in these Muslim countries and it has been shown how gains among the lowest 20% may be offset by higher or equivalent gains among the top 20% income earners of these nations. The production of stable professional middle classes in these nations has led to an enrichment of social capital and welfare driven redistributive institutions through social networks but Islamic conscientisation had sometimes moved this ‘spiritual gain’ as an objective reality. The belief i n ibadah or ‘to do good’ may outweigh the call for greater transparency in the use of national collections of zakat and so on. Many Muslims in Malaysia pay both income tax and zakat, rather than ask for exemption from income tax. They also maintain Islamic voluntary organizations with personal funds, donate to mosques and charities, and make endless food contributions to orphans and the poor. There is very little data gathered on the actual amounts paid privately or anonymously and state-directed contributions, although increasing, are not reflective of actual payments contributed by the middle classes towards Islamic charitable institutions. On the other hand, Muslim based banking and financial institutions are obscure in their social responsibility towards the poor, including their own clients who may be victims of topic poverty during times of economic crises. In conclusion, Islamic institutions of trusts which are state directed or privately administered by banking and credit agencies contain more humanistic principles of investment and redistribution of profits except that there is a missing component—between the principles of redistribution of surplus or profits in Islam finance and the actual mechanisms to provide welfare to the people who are not share-holders or stake-holders. In Malaysia, Brunei, and the MENA countries of the Middle East and North Africa, state agencies assume trusteeships over compulsory collections like the zakat but do not have any institutional mechanisms to enforce private corporations local or foreign to contribute towards the welfare of the poor. Conclusion The first Financial crisis was began in July 1997 when the Thai baht collapse with a series of speculative attacks on the baht extended after quite a few decades of outstanding economic performance in Asia and most of Southeast Asia and Japan having currency depreciation. There some approach to help financial recovery, It is impossible that the government doing nothing when the crisis happened to their country. To prevent currency values collapsing, governments raised fiscal spending in domestic interest rates to exceedingly high levels. And last approach Government providing handouts directly to people affected and providing assistance to the poor like efforts to shield poor and vulnerable sections of society from the worst of the crisis The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that provides financial assistance and advice to member countries. It was created out of a need to prevent economic crises like the Great Depression. The large financial packages which the IMF has arranged for countries affected by the Asian crisis and its result have stimulated a debate both among policy-makers and academics as to their costs and benefits. However, IMF has also been criticized for its lack of accountability and willingness to lend to countries with bad human rights record Debtor countries to the IMF are often faced with having to put financial concerns ahead of social ones The cause or trigger of the 2008 global financial crisis was the boom of the United States housing bubble which peaked in approximately 2005–2006. The impact of the crisis on developing countries will affect different types of international resource flows: private capital flows such as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). However, not all developing countries were effected tremendously by 2008 financial crisis, Indonesia was one of the least affected countries in South East Asia. The G-20, is the the main nations of much of the coordination on trade policy, financial policy, and crisis responses. The first G-20 leaders’ summit was held at the peak of the crisis in November 2008. The bank bailout, more formally called the Troubled Asset Relief Program, failed to achieve the ultimate goal From Islamic perspective approach that most suitable which is providing handout to the poor and directly to people affected by financial contracts the present crisis should not be examined within the relatively narrow confines of debt, rather it is fundamentally a question of social justice, a concept that is paramount in Islam. The practicing of zakat system and waqf contribution to help the poor and needy indirectly will benefit the society. And this is the best approach that government should do by providing help directly to the poor and people affected by financial contract namely firms and banks. If government reduced the amount tax to be paid, cost of production will decrease level of employment and production will increase. Meanwhile, banks will bail out to save company and people indirectly reduced the worry of public causing the level of borrowing and consumption raises. So, as a result, it can stimulate the capital investment of the economy to increase the economic growth and level of GPD. References Fadillah Putra, â€Å"Economic Development and Crisis Policy Responses in Southeast Asia (Comparative study of Asian Crisis 1997 and Global Financial Crisis 2008 in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines)† (2008), Public Administration Department, Brawijaya University Federal Reserved Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter †What Caused East Asia’s Financial Crisis?† 98-24; August 7, (1998) Hussein Alasrag, â€Å"Global Financial crisis and Islamic finance† (2007) http://www.muftitaqiusmani.com/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=41:present-financial-crisis-causes-and-remedies-from-islamic-perspective-catid=12:economicsItemid=15,retrieve on 11 November 2012 http://www.academia.edu/1133515/Global_Financial_Crisis_An_Islamic_Perspectiv e, retrieve on 4 November 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932008#cite_note IMF_Loss_Estimates-31, retrieve on 4 November 2012 Mohamed Ariff, Syarisa Yanti Abubakar,†The Malaysian Financial Crisis: Economic Impact and Recovery Prospects† (1999) The Developing Economies, XXXVII-4: 417–38 Reinhart, V. (2011). A year of living dangerously : The Management of the Financial Crisis in 2008. Journal of Economic Perspective.25 (1). Pg 71-90. Ibid Recovery from the Asian Crisis and the Role of the IMF, IMF Staff (2000) http:// www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/international- monetary-fund imf.asp#axzz2EQhoHzz9, retrieve on 4 November 2012 http://www.nrcc.org/default/Issues2012/2012_Issues_Book_Chapter_Financial_Crisis_Bailouts_and_Financial_Reforms [ 1 ]. Federal Reserved Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter: What Caused East Asia’s Financial Crisis? 98-24; August 7, 1998 [ 2 ]. Federal Reserved Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter: What Caused East Asia’s Financial Crisis? 98-24; August 7, 1998 [ 3 ]. www.wikipedia.com [ 4 ]. www.wikipedia.com [ 5 ]. www.wikipedia.com [ 6 ]. Federal Reserved Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter: What Caused East Asia’s Financial Crisis? 98-24; August 7, 1998 [ 7 ]. www.wikipedia.com [ 8 ]. Mohamed Ariff, Syarisa Yanti Abubakar, (1999) The Malaysian Financial Crisis: Economic Impact and Recovery Prospects: The Developing Economies, XXXVII-4: 417–38 [ 9 ]. Economic Development and Crisis Policy Responses in Southeast Asia (Comparative study of Asian Crisis 1997 and Global Financial Crisis 2008 in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines) Fadillah Putra, Public Administration Department, Brawijaya University [ 10 ]. Recovery from the Asian Crisis and the Role of the IMF, IMF Staff (2000) [ 11 ]. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/international-monetary-fund-imf.asp#axzz2EQhoHzz9 [ 12 ]. http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/sick-cn.htm [ 13 ]. Reinhart, V. (2011). A year of living dangerously : The Management of the Financial Crisis in 2008. Journal of Economic Perspective.25 (1). Pg 71-90. [ 14 ]. Ibid [ 15 ]. Ibid [ 16 ]. Ibid [ 17 ]. Wikipedia. Financial Crisis 2007. Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932008#cite_note-ssrn-8 [ 18 ]. Wikipedia. Financial Crisis 2007. Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932008#cite_note-IMF_Loss_Estimates-31 [ 19 ]. Ibid [ 20 ]. Greenspan-We Need a Better Cushion Against Risk. Financial Times. March 26, 2009. Taken from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9c158a92-1a3c-11de-9f91-0000779fd2ac.html. [ 21 ]. FCIC Report-Conclusions Excerpt-January 2011. Taken from http://c0182732.cdn1.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/fcic_final_report_conclusions.pdf [ 22 ]. CRISIS AND RECOVERY IN THE WORLD ECONOMY. Taken from http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/economic-report-president-chapter-3r2.pdf [ 23 ]. Ibid [ 24 ]. Ibid [ 25 ]. Ibid [ 26 ]. Ibid [ 27 ]. Ibid [ 28 ]. Velde, D. W. (2008). Effects of the Global Financial Crisis on Developing Countries and Emerging Markets. Policy responses to the crisis. INWENT/DIE/BMZ conference in Berlin, 11 December 2008. [ 29 ]. Ibid [ 30 ]. Ibid [ 31 ]. Ibid [ 32 ]. Ibid

Mellor on the Chances of Effects :: Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Mellor on the Chances of Effects* ABSTRACT: In the Facts of Causation (1995), D.H. Mellor includes, as a part of his theory of causation, an account of the chance that a cause gives its effect. He proposes that this chance can be analyzed as a certain kind of conditional, a closest world conditional with a chance consequent. I show that there are problems with Mellor’s account, but also attempt to show how these can be remedied. This analysis highlights important issues concerning the concept of components of single case objective chance. Mellor takes the chance he is concerned with to be objective single case chance measured by the probability calculus. It is not frequency nor credence, although it has important connections to both frequencies and credences.(1) According to Mellor facts which have chances can have more than one chance, for example, by having them at different times. Suppose we have two unstable atoms A and B in close proximity, each of which has a low chance of decaying, and suppose that atom A, if it decays, may bombard atom B with its product, thereby driving atom B into a state in which its chance of decaying is quite high- much higher than otherwise (see figure 1). Suppose this in fact happens, and let us consider the chance E that atom B will decay at a later time tE, when an observation will be made. The chance of E changes—increases, in fact—at tb, the time at which B is bombarded. Thus E has two chances, at different times. Mellor also holds that chances are contingent, but not on the fact that they are "chances of" (in our example, E), since they can exist when that fact does not. Atom B may not decay at t0, but it still had a chance of doing so prior to that time; so the chance existed but the state of affairs that it was about never did. Since chances are contingent, they must therefore be properties of other facts, facts without which they would not exist. The chance E that atom B will decay at time t0 is a property of facts about the structure and nature of that atom, together with facts concerning the nature and proximity of atom A. Mellor writes this chance as "chQ(E)" where Q is the fact or conjunctive fact of which the chance is a property. Applying this to the case of causation, the chance of the effect is a property not of the effect but of another fact, the cause C or the conjunction of C and S, where S is the circumstances in which C causes E.

Discusion of Political Meetings

During the second semester of government class, I was given an assignment to attend three public meetings. I chose to attend a City Council meeting, a Republican Party meeting, and a Democratic Party meeting. The first meeting I attended was a City Council meeting at City Hall. The purpose of this meeting was to determine what actions the city of Havre should take regarding the recent legalization of medical marijuana use in Montana. The setting of this meeting was semiformal. The meeting was called to order and the city council members began discussing business.The council began the meeting by discussing current zoning districts. There was a lot of confusion regarding the zoning of businesses in Havre. There are several different zones in Havre, including Residential, Commercial General, and Commercial Intermediate. Currently, there are areas where zones overlap. In addition, there are businesses that are currently being allowed to operate in incorrect zones. They didn’t know which businesses or how many this applied to. The council members agreed that they needed to get a map that showed the current layout of the zoning districts.The inconsistencies with current zoning left the city with no way to regulate any medical marijuana businesses opening up in Havre. Since businesses in Havre are already being allowed to operate in areas that weren’t zoned for them, the city could not stop a medical marijuana business from opening anywhere in Havre. Secondly, there wasn’t a zone currently defined that would apply to a medical marijuana business. It soon became clear to the city council that before they could even begin to address the issue of medical marijuana, they needed to get the zoning issues figured out.One of the council members mentioned that the issues regarding zoning was first brought to the City Councils attention two years ago when a casino had been considering opening up in the old Tip Top Video location. He mentioned that businesse s in Havre were allowed to open up anywhere regardless of which zone it was and that it only became a problem when a business asked first. Another issue regarding medical marijuana businesses in Havre was how to regulate them. Currently, there was no way of knowing how many were operating in Havre.The city did not require businesses to have a license and so that limited the city’s options. Other communities that required licenses were having an easier time regulated these businesses. By the end of the meeting, the council was in agreement that there should be a moratorium placed on new businesses opening up in the wrong zones until these ordinances could be figured out. The city council agreed that the city not only needs to keep a closer eye on where new businesses were opening up but become more aware of businesses that are operating in the wrong zone.A motion was made for a moratorium to be placed to not allow for zoning variances for all businesses, including medical mari juana, for the next 60 days. It was seconded and passed. At the end of the meeting, people were allowed to express their concerns and opinions. Rowlie Hutton discussed the availability of drugs in the community and his concern that medical marijuana would only make the current problem worse. He also offered to pray for the city council members so that they would be able to make the right decisions.The owner of a gun business in Havre expressed his concern that medical marijuana businesses would be allowed to operate in undisclosed locations. He felt that there needed to be more regulations and requirements for them. It is clear that the issue of medical marijuana is complicated and emotional. The second meeting I attended was a Democratic Party meeting. This meeting was very informal. The first issue of business was their budget. Currently, there was a balance of $2016. 00 in their checking account. They seemed pretty excited about that. Upcoming elections and candidates were discus sed.They wanted to set up two separate candidate forums in the newspaper as quickly as possible, before the primary election. Holding a forum at the high school auditorium was suggested. . It was also recommended that the radio stations to broadcast it live. The Harvest Dinner Committee also presented their report. A group of five people was needed to set up tables and chairs. It was suggested to schedule the dinner after Festival Days, but as early in October as possible. The agenda was set up for a dinner at 6:00, speeches at 7:00 and silent auction at 8:00.Senator Baucus, Senator Tester, and Governor Schweitzer were to be invited to speak. The dinner menu was also discussed as well as setting up a decorating committee. The placement of candidate signs was also discussed. It was implied that the Democrats always use the right size signs and always place them in the proper place. While the Republicans, on the other hand, never follow the rules at all. Several other topics were disc ussed including plans for the Fourth of July, the drilling of water wells and the new transportation system. The final meeting I attended was the Republican Party meeting on May 13.After the welcome, the treasurer’s report was given. There was $3473. 84 available so they would be able to afford their monthly services. The upcoming Hill County GOP Convention in Billings was discussed. At this meeting new areas of business were brought up. First, campaign contributions to candidates were discussed. Candidates are allowed to accept up to $800. 00 in donations from any political parties. They decided to give $2920. 00 in donations to the candidates. The $150,000 debt of the State GOP was discussed. Each county was to raise $500. 00 to help pay off the debt.They decided they would donate $100. 00 for the next five months. Other new business included plans for the Fourth of July, a vacation raffle, the booth at the Great Northern Fair, and Festival Days. After the new business, old business regarding the redistricting and apportionment meeting and Primary Election were talked about. An update on the candidate was also given. The meeting was adjourned after a period of open comment. I found that all the meetings I went to were interesting.I was surprised to see how different the Republican and the Democratic meetings were. For xample, the democrats spoke poorly of the Republicans and accused them of not following the rules. The democrats also seemed less organized then the Republicans. At the Republican meeting, I was asked why I was there and even asked to join or help out at some of their functions. I never paid much attention to elections before or even thought about how much goes on behind the scenes. Both of these parties, obviously, play an important part in every election. After attending, the meetings of both the Democratic and Republican Parties, I do see the importance of volunteering.

Environmental Values Paper Essay

Ecofeminism like other groups advocating the ideals of feminism is a particular distinction applied to women whose great efforts are directed towards the interrelations of society and nature. Greta Claire Gaard (1993) pointed out that the term ecofeminism is â€Å"more descriptive of a concern with cultivating an ecological ethic that goes beyond concepts of social justice† (p. 18). Ecofeminism is defined as â€Å"a value system, a social movement, and a practice, which offers political analysis which explore the links between androcentrism and environmental destruction† (p. 18). In other words, what Claire Gaard is pointing out is that ecofeminism is an awareness that starts with the understanding that the abuse of nature is closely â€Å"linked to Western Man’s attitude toward women† (p. 18). That is, according to Claire Gaard, there is a parallel in men’s thinking between their right to exploit nature, on the one hand, and the use they make of women on the other. Pluralism and environmental pragmatism on the other hand is not new to many of us. Thus, these two were not given much introduction in this paper though they are equally important topic. The most important principles of ecofeminism The most important principle of ecofeminism is to ensure that progress is tempered by an ethic of care for nature, and to create â€Å"sustainable level of progress that respect the needs of nature as well as the true needs of humans† (Meyer, M. K. & Prugl, E. 1999, p. 227). The first principle which emphasized on the care of nature is very important amidst the issue of climate change, globalization, maintaining ecological balance. Today, we are all aware of the enormous environmental problems created by human exploitations and abuses of nature. This includes deforestations through illegal cutting of trees and illegal farming, over fishing, exploitations of mineral reserves, conversion of lands to industrial and residential use, and so forth. Added to these are the burden of carbon dioxide emission of millions of cars around the world which are fast building greenhouse gasses that are creating global warming and climate change. With out ecological balance, our planet is doomed to become like a huge furnace that is no longer fit to live with. The ecofeminist emphasis on the ethic of care for the nature is consistent with the call of ecological scientists for everyone to help preserve our planet through taking care of our environment. Although this principle implies a double meaning, but they are right to say that progress should not be an excuse for environmental abuses and degradation. The other important principle of ecofeminism is to create ‘sustainable level of progress that respects the needs of nature as well as the true needs of humans. ’ Concern for the needs of nature may be different from simply preserving the nature it self, and sustainable level of progress requires careful intervention on the part of the government to implement protective laws that will ensure balance between the uses of ecological product and the sources. That is, with greater demands for these ecological products and with little efforts to replenish them, most of what we have now will soon become extinct. Emphasis on sustainable progress based on the needs of nature and true human needs is very important because it determines our future and the future of our mother earth. The most important principle of pluralism Pluralism confronts us in all aspect of our lives. Plurality pervades our society and it encompasses the different political, ethical, philosophical, religious, and cultural belief of any given society. Two most important principle of pluralism according to Timothy J. Demy and Gary P. Stewart (2000) is the so-called ‘distributive justice and the retributive justice (p. 75). The pluralist principle of distributive justice includes the emphasis on equity, equality, and need. As Barbara Mellers and Jonathan Baron explain, distributive justice is concern with fairness which defines the â€Å"apportionment of rewards, with the goal of facilitating social interaction† (p. 90). In other words, the pluralist principle of distributive justice is concern about equality and that justice and fairness is equally serving to all races regardless of beliefs and all barriers imposed by racist and discriminatory segment of the society. This is very important in our society for us to be able to live peacefully and meaningfully. The other most important pluralist principle is the retributive justice. Retributive justice according to Demy has to do with punishment of the crimes committed. In other words, crimes deserve punishment, â€Å"what one sow is what one reaps. † I believe that this important principle in order for the society to maintain order, peace, and security. State punishments of crimes committed are just as they are within the definition of the law. Retributive justice makes our society orderly, peacefully, and securely for everyone. The most important principle of environmental pragmatism There are perhaps several important principles of environmental pragmatism but due to space limitation, I only discuss in this paper the most important one. This principle is that, â€Å"the environmental issues have important value and ethical components that must be addressed in the formulation of environment policy† (Minteer, B. A. & Manning, R. E. 2003, p. 220). This principle is true not only in the context of the writer but in the context of the reality that confronts us, regarding the problem of global warming and climate change. In this context, environmental issues are very important in the formulation of environment policy because it concerns the future of our society and the future of our world. Which principle best complement my values and ethical beliefs regarding environmental issues. While ecofeminism provides us understanding about how sustainable level of progress can be attained with out abusing the environment, and the principle of pluralism showed us the way to live a peaceful life and secure life, but it is the principle of environmental pragmatism that best complement my values and ethical beliefs regarding environmental issues. I would like to emphasize further this view by entreating everyone wherever part of the globe to be environmentally conscious. As for me, I firmly believe that all environmental issues are important issues that can affect our lives not only in our generation but also the next generations and onwards. We must all be aware of the impact of pollution that we tossed up in to the atmosphere and try to do our part to stop the things that pollutes our society, and our planet. Let us rally our selves in support of the effort of preventing global warming and climate change to get worse.I believe it not to late yet to act on this problem. References Demy, T. J. & Stewart, G. P. (2000) Politics and Public Policy USA: Kregel Publication Gaard, G. C. (1993) Ecofeminism USA: Temple University Press Mellers, B. A. & Baron, J. (1993) Psychological Perspective son Justice USA: Cambridge University Press Meyer, M. K. & Prugl, E. (1999) Gender Politics in Global Governance USA: Rowman & Littlefield Minteer, B. A. & Manning, R. E. 2003, p. 220 Reconstructing Conservation USA: Island Press

Of Mice and Men Quotes

Of Mice and Men Quotes The following Of Mice and Men quotes represent some of the most significant elements of the novel, including the themes of nature, strength, and dreams. Additionally, Steinbecks use of vernacular language and colloquial dialects is evident in many of these passages. A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan Mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees- willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool. This passage, which serves as the novels opener, establishes from the very beginning the importance of land and nature to the text- specifically, an idealized version of nature. The river runs â€Å"deep and green,† the water is â€Å"warm,† the sands are â€Å"yellow†¦in the sunlight,† the foothills â€Å"golden,† the mountains â€Å"strong,† and the willows â€Å"fresh and green. Each adjective is positive and healthy. Taken together, these descriptions create a romanticized image of the natural world. The passage suggests that the natural world is epic and powerful, the animals and plants living blissfully and peacefully according to their natural rhythms, coming and going as they please, untouched by man’s destructive hand. â€Å"There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys coming down from the ranches to swim in the deep pool, and beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle-up near water. In front of the low horizontal limb of a giant sycamore there is an ash pile made by many fires; the limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it.† Untouched, that is, until the beginning of the second paragraph, when into this scene come â€Å"boys,† and â€Å"tramps,† who wreak all manner of havoc on this natural scene. The path through the willows soon becomes a â€Å"path beaten hard as the men walk all over it, ruining it of its proper tenderness. There is an â€Å"ash pile by many fires,† which suggests more harm to the landscape, both in that it implies the area is well-traveled, as well as because fires are damaging to the ground upon which they burn. Moreover, these frequent visits have â€Å"worn smooth† a tree limb that the men have used as a bench, deforming it. This paragraph introduces the uneasy balance, central to the novel, between an idealized version of the natural world and the actual version in which people live- in other words, the world of mice and the world of men. The more the world of men tries to attain or possess the world of mice, the more they harm it, and consequently the more they lose it. â€Å"That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it. You get another mouse that’s fresh and I’ll let you keep it a little while.† This statement, made by George to Lennie, reveals Lennie’s gentle nature, as well as his inability to prevent his physical power from bringing destruction upon those smaller than him. Throughout the novel, Lennie is often seen petting soft objects, ranging from a mouse to a rabbit to a womans hair. In this particular passage, nothing of consequence comes of Lennies actions- he is simply touching a dead mouse. However, the moment foreshadows another scene: later in the novel, Lennie attempts to stroke Curleys wifes hair and accidentally breaks her neck in the process. Lennies unintended but inevitable acts of destruction serve as a metaphor for humanitys destructive nature. Despite our best laid plans, the novel suggests, humans cannot help but leave behind a ruinous wake. I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads. Hunderds of them. They come, and’ they quit an’ go on; an’ every damn one of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ‘em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’ I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It’s just in their head. They’re all the time talkin’ about it, but it’s just’ in their head.† In this speech, a farmhand named Crooks rejects Lennie’s notion that he and George will one day buy a piece of land and live off of it. Crooks claims that he has heard many people make these sort of claims before, but that none of them have ever come to fruition; rather, he says, â€Å"it’s just in their head.† This statement encapsulates Crooks’ (justified) skepticism about George and Lennie’s plan, as well as a deeper doubt about anyones ability to attain whatever idealized sanctuary they have envisioned for themselves. According to Crooks, â€Å"[n]obody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. Whether the dream is eternal spiritual salvation, or just a few acres to call your own, nobody can actually achieve it.  Ã‚   ‘We’ll have a cow,’ said George. ‘An’ we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens†¦an’ down the flat we’ll have a†¦little piece alfalfa- ‘For the rabbits,’ Lennie shouted.‘For the rabbits,’ George repeated.‘And I get to tend the rabbits.’‘An’ you get to tend the rabbits.’Lennie giggled with happiness. â€Å"An’ live on the fatta the lan’.’ This exchange between George and Lennie takes place at the end of the novel. In it, the two characters describe for each other the farm they hope to live on one day. They plan to have rabbits, pigs, cows, chickens, and alfalfa, none of which they currently have access to on the barley farm. The dream of having their own farm is a refrain to which the pair often returns throughout the book. Lennie seems to believe the dream is realistic, even if currently out of reach, but for most of the book, it is unclear whether George shares that belief or simply considers it an idle fantasy that helps him get through the day. By the time this scene occurs, however, George is preparing to kill Lennie, and he clearly knows the farm dream will never become reality. Interestingly, even though they have had this conversation before, only now does George assent when Lennie asks him if they can have rabbits- a recurring symbol throughout the book- on the farm. Given that he is about to shoot Lennie, this juxtaposition implies that, for the characters of Of Mice and Men, the more they hope to attain in the real world, the further from it they must travel.

The Periodic Properties of the Elements

The Periodic Properties of the Elements The periodic table arranges the elements  by periodic properties, which are recurring trends in physical and chemical characteristics. These trends can be predicted merely by examing the periodic table and can be explained and understood by analyzing the electron configurations of the elements. Elements tend to gain or lose valence electrons to achieve stable octet formation. Stable octets are seen in the inert gases, or noble gases, of Group VIII of the periodic table. In addition to this activity, there are two other important trends. First, electrons are added one at a time moving from left to right across a period. As this happens, the electrons of the outermost shell experience increasingly strong nuclear attraction, so the electrons become closer to the nucleus and more tightly bound to it. Second, moving down a column in the periodic table, the outermost electrons become less tightly bound to the nucleus. This happens because the number of filled principal energy levels (whi ch shield the outermost electrons from attraction to the nucleus) increases downward within each group. These trends explain the periodicity observed in the elemental properties of atomic radius, ionization energy, electron affinity, and electronegativity. Atomic Radius The atomic radius of an element is half of the distance between the centers of two atoms of that element that are just touching each other. Generally, the atomic radius decreases across a period from left to right and increases down a given group. The atoms with the largest atomic radii are located in Group I and at the bottom of groups. Moving from left to right across a period, electrons are added one at a time to the outer energy shell. Electrons within a shell cannot shield each other from the attraction to protons. Since the number of protons is also increasing, the effective nuclear charge increases across a period. This causes the atomic radius to decrease. Moving down a group in the periodic table, the number of electrons and filled electron shells increases, but the number of valence electrons remains the same. The outermost electrons in a group are exposed to the same effective nuclear charge, but electrons are found farther from the nucleus as the number of filled energy shells increases. Therefore, the atomic radii increase. Ionization Energy The ionization energy, or ionization potential, is the energy required to remove an electron from a gaseous atom or ion completely. The closer and more tightly bound an electron is to the nucleus, the more difficult it will be to remove, and the higher its ionization energy will be. The first ionization energy is the energy required to remove one electron from the parent atom. The second ionization energy is the energy required to remove a second valence electron from the univalent ion to form the divalent ion, and so on. Successive ionization energies increase. The second ionization energy is always greater than the first ionization energy. Ionization energies increase moving from left to right across a period (decreasing atomic radius). Ionization energy decreases moving down a group (increasing atomic radius). Group  I elements have low ionization energies because the loss of an electron forms a stable octet. Electron Affinity Electron affinity reflects the ability of an atom to accept an electron. It is the energy change that occurs when an electron is added to a gaseous atom. Atoms with stronger effective nuclear charge have greater electron affinity. Some generalizations can be made about the electron affinities of certain groups in the periodic table. The Group IIA elements, the alkaline earths, have low electron affinity values. These elements are relatively stable because they have filled s subshells. Group VIIA elements, the halogens, have high electron affinities because the addition of an electron to an atom results in a completely filled shell. Group VIII elements, noble gases, have electron affinities near zero since each atom possesses a stable octet and will not accept an electron readily. Elements of other groups have low electron affinities. In a period, the halogen will have the highest electron affinity, while the noble gas will have the lowest electron affinity. Electron affinity decreases moving down a group because a new electron would be further from the nucleus of a large atom. Electronegativity Electronegativity is a measure of the attraction of an atom for the electrons in a chemical bond. The higher the electronegativity of an atom, the greater its attraction for bonding electrons. Electronegativity is related to ionization energy. Electrons with low ionization energies have low electronegativities because their nuclei do not exert a strong attractive force on electrons. Elements with high ionization energies have high electronegativities due to the strong pull exerted on electrons by the nucleus. In a group, the electronegativity decreases as the atomic number increases, as a result of the increased distance between the valence electron and nucleus (greater atomic radius). An example of an electropositive (i.e., low electronegativity) element is cesium; an example of a highly electronegative element is fluorine. Summary of Periodic Table Properties of Elements Moving Left → Right Atomic Radius DecreasesIonization Energy IncreasesElectron Affinity Generally Increases (except Noble Gas Electron Affinity Near Zero)Electronegativity Increases Moving Top → Bottom Atomic Radius IncreasesIonization Energy DecreasesElectron Affinity Generally Decreases Moving Down a GroupElectronegativity Decreases

Strategic planning and contro Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Strategic planning and contro - Assignment Example Finally, an action plan will be provided, which will reflect my way of enhancing mu abilities for accomplishing the task objectives in future. From the overall project, I have developed an in-depth idea about Mobile Inc. By means of conducting the market research, the position of the company among the competitors as well as in the global economy was also understood. As per my understanding, it was necessary to conduct a SWOT analysis of the company in order to identify the external opportunities and threats to the entity as well as recognise its internal strengths and weaknesses. There are many external threats to the organization including fear of the competitors and various economical factors that might have further increased risks for the company in the global context. Moreover, various opportunities were also identified that would have helped the company to prosper and develop a competitive advantage over the competitors. However, the internal strength of the company revealed the efficiency of its human resource management and the workforce that led the company further to run effectively. Certain strategies were also r ecommended in order to achieve the long-term objectives of the company and an estimated cost was provided for the implementation of recommended strategies in the projected year. Moreover, in order to prepare the forecasted ratios and group financial statements, I had to analyze the financial report of the company as well as conduct a thorough market research in order to collect the relevant data. An in-depth research was conducted as well as the lecture notes were followed in order to prepare the project. Accordingly, I had to conduct a SWOT analysis of the company i.e. of Mobile Inc. in order to find out the external opportunities and threats as well as relate those with its internal strengths and weaknesses. In subsequence, detailed