John Rofle Essay Example

John Rofle Essay Not much is known about Rolfes early life except that he was born around 1585 and was probably the son of a small landholder in Norfolk. In June 1609, Rolfe and his wife sailed for North America aboard the Sea Venture, as part of a new charter organized by the Virginia Company. The ship was caught in a hurricane in the Caribbean and wrecked on one of the Bermuda islands. The group finally arrived in Virginia, near the Jamestown settlement, in May 1610, and Rolfes wife died soon after their arrival. Native Americans living in the region around Jamestown spoke the Algonquin language, and were organized into a network of different tribes led by Chief Powhatan. One of the chiefs daughters was Matoaka, who as a child was nicknamed Pocahontas (Little Mischief). The English settlers at Jamestown had known of Pocahontas since 1607, when she was only around 10 years old. Captain John Smith later wrote that the young princess rescued him from death when Powhatan held him captive in December 1607. In 1613, the English captured Pocahontas and held her for ransom. While in captivity, she studied English, converted to Christianity and was baptized with the name Rebecca. John Rolfe is credited by Ralph Hamor, then Secretary of Virginia, with the experiment of planting the first tobacco seeds that he obtained from somewhere in the Caribbean, possibly from Trinidad. I may not forget the gentleman, worthie of much commendations, which first tooke the pains to make triall thereof, his name Mr. John Rolfe, Anno Domini 1612, partly for the love he hath a long time borne unto it, and partly to raise commodity to the adventurers Rolfe gave some tobacco from his crop to friends to make a triall of, and they agreed that the new leaf had smoked pleasant, sweete and strong. The remainder of the crop was shipped to England, where it compared favorably with Spanish leaf. John Rolfe died sometime in 1622. Although a third of the colony was killed in the Indian uprising of that year, it is not known how Rolfe died. In a life that held much personal tragedy, he had given the colony its economic base. From, Brant Albritton We will write a custom essay sample on John Rofle specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on John Rofle specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on John Rofle specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

3 Cases of Poorly Constructed Short Lists

3 Cases of Poorly Constructed Short Lists 3 Cases of Poorly Constructed Short Lists 3 Cases of Poorly Constructed Short Lists By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, the writer is under the misapprehension that the statement includes a list of three words and/or phrases; in fact, each sentence includes a compound list item and a simple list item (or at least is better rendered so that it does), for a total of two items. Discussion of each example explains the problem, and a revision after each sentence resolves the problem. 1. These projects provide the needed insight as to where these measures work, don’t work, and why. One solution for this sentence is to express the elements completely: â€Å"These projects provide the needed insight as to where these measures work, where they don’t work, and why they don’t work.† However, a simpler, more concise solution is to combine work and â€Å"don’t work† into one element: â€Å"These projects provide the needed insight as to where these measures work or don’t work and why.† 2. Many lament a system that is unfair, discriminatory, and one where the American Dream is out of reach. Sentences such as this, as with the first revision in the previous example, can often be repaired by supporting the middle element of the list with phrasing parallel to that of the first and last elements, but the final element is problematic, too, so the simplest approach is to pair unfair and discriminatory: â€Å"Many lament a system that is unfair and discriminatory, and one where the American Dream is out of reach.† (Those words may seem redundant, but in context they are distinct.) 3. The convergence of increased regulation, the need for modernization and innovation, combined with an exponential increase in cyber risk, creates a major challenge for insurance companies.   The complication in this sentence is that â€Å"combined with an exponential increase in cyber risk† is treated as a list item rather than a related but distinct parenthetical. In addition, the second item, with its â€Å"a and b† structure, is already complex. But the simple first item and the complex second item can easily be bridged with a conjunction rather than a comma to become syntactically valid: â€Å"The convergence of increased regulation and the need for modernization and innovation, combined with an exponential increase in cyber risk, creates a major challenge for insurance companies.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Is She a "Lady" or a "Woman"?Expanded and ExtendedThe 7 Types of Possessive Case

FINANCIAL INFORMATION COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENT Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

FINANCIAL INFORMATION ASSIGNMENT - Coursework Example nancial statements as it provides reliance upon the business which is conducted by the company during the year and the user of the financial statement, which can be a shareholder, lender, prospective investor or even employee of the company, can place faith in the fair statement of the affairs presented in it. The ratios of the company, that summarize the performance of the company during the year and previous year, are provided and an in-depth analysis over the results based on the calculated ratios is carried out. The company has maintained its ratio of profitability since the last year as the company had a gross profit and net profit margin of 7.76% and 3.96% last year respectively which was increased marginally to 8.1% and 4.1% respectively. This shows that the company is showing a good bit of increase in its already good profitability. The liquidity management of the company is in good health if we consider the particular industry to which the company belongs to as the retail business sector operates with low liquidity. The company has maintained a current ratio of around 0.75 in both the years. The gearing ratio is quite satisfactory as the company has managed to keep the gearing debt to equity ratio below the standard 1 which indicates that the company is more dependent on equity finance as compared to debt finance which is a good sign for any company. The share price of the company at the end of the current financial year was  £4.2 per share while the share price at the end of the 2009 financial year was  £3.33 per share. Therefore the increase in the share price since then is over 20%. The return on Equity has declined marginally in the year 2010 as compared to 2009 even though the profit margin of the company has increased. The main cause of the decline is the decline in the Assets leverage. The assets of the company have increased but not in the same proportion as compared to last year. If the Return on Equity is calculated by ignoring the equity

Microfinance - how government regulations affect microfinance in Literature review

Microfinance - how government regulations affect microfinance in Brazil - Literature review Example The governments of the nations have a crucial role to play from the regulatory and financing points of view. A lot of measures are required to make this form of financing a sustainable one. This requires the scope of the microfinance schemes to be further widened. There are several challenges that the governments of the countries opting for these kinds of schemes face. There is lack of mobility in the credit and a lot of reliance on the government as the source of the funds. The competitive environment of the microfinance sector is a lot biased towards the public sector organisations. Therefore the government needs to ensure all forms of transparency in the way the markets and the competitive forces work. Several works have been conducted over the years on various aspects of microfinance. A review of the literature would provide an insight into the microfinance sector and the regulatory framework within which the Brazilian microfinance companies work. Microfinance companies are consi dered to be feasible alternatives for banks as well as informal sources of credit. Collaterals are used to ensure the timely repayment of the funds. The specific feature of microfinance is that instead of an individual liability toward the lending institution, there is a cooperative liability towards the lender. This method guarantees that the funds are repaid on time or the payments are paid at regular intervals. If the individuals repay the loans on time, they get incentive to get loans of higher amount the next time which makes the borrowers credit worthy. The individuals opting for these kinds of schemes are forced to save for themselves so that the there is enough collateral for the amount of loan that they have taken. Due to the joint liability feature of the microcredit the risk of default is less because the people of a particular locality know each other well and they can estimate the repayment capacity and the chances of default of their co-borrowers. Along with this each of the parties in the loan can monitor each other. Therefore the basic economic problems like moral hazard or adverse selection can be removed through this feature of microfinance institutions in Brazil (Morduch, 1999, p. 1569). Though chiefly deployed by the NGOs of Brazil, the government is equally active in the developing nations in the promotion of the microfinance institutions and setting up of a stringent regulatory framework for the proper functioning of the industry. The government also has a significant role in granting credit of lump-sum amounts to the microfinance institutions. The study of various situations where the system of microcredit has been implemented has been conducted by the researchers. The results have shown that the schemes have positively affected the economies in which they were being implemented. The repayment rates had been quite high in those countries. This has been possible because of the structure of the model which entails extreme scrutiny of the b orrowers of the funds. The capital that is provided as the loan is also used effectively which necessitated the repayment on time. About 15 million households represent the informal sector in the Brazilian Economy. However, the microfinance institutions have been able to bring less than three hundred thousand under its purview. This means that apart from 2.5% of the prospective market, the remaining has remained untapped. There have been several attempts on part of

Investigating circuit city comany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Investigating circuit city comany - Essay Example This article basically illustrates the mistakes that Circuit City undertook before its eventual demise and how its archrival, Best Buy, continued to thrive on the contrary. Circuit City’s failure was not as a result of the downturn in the economy only; its principal failure was in its bad management over the course of the years. The article is well written as it gives us an idea of where Circuit City once was at the peak of the industry and how it slowly succumbed to the changing market, eventually giving up its position as the market leader to Best Buy. The writer also shows the differences in Best Buy and Circuit City; two companies which took entirely different approaches leading to one prospering to be the market leader and the other having to liquidate. The author also used simple and easy to understand writing style and vocabulary that is easy to comprehend. In this article, the writer seems to have one goal in mind and that is to give a clear explanation of Circuit City ’s failure. ... However, this article clearly illustrates this by providing the reader with an insight into what really happened to the second best electronic merchandise store. Circuit City to Shut Down By Parija B. Kavilanz This article also gives a detailed account of Circuit City’s filing for bankruptcy, the approval of the motion to liquidate its remaining stores and all the events that followed the decision to liquidate all the company’s assets. This article outlines how the company had been forced to close shop following its inability to pay up its debts, which shows that the values the company had adopted prior to this had all failed in achieving the company’s future objectives. What led to the unfolding of these events is also a question that is well documented in this article. Therefore, this article offers a reader the ending to the sad story of the now defunct Circuit City. The writer of this article had the intention of telling his readers how the company’s m ismanagement run the company down until it closed business. The whole process of how the company started by closing a number of shops and laying off workers is also illustrated in this article. This article shows the outcome of the stalled negotiations of Circuit City with its creditors and lenders; liquidation. The article gives a picture of the events that unfolded following the decision to liquidate all Circuit City’s assets. All the efforts that the company had undertook to save it from going under had all been in vain as Circuit City was forced to close shop. The liquidation process was from then on, all systems go! The author also uses a brilliant technique of leaving the reader in suspense by informing us that despite all the miscues that Circuit City took there was still hope that the company

Characteristics Of Mega Events Criminology Essay

Characteristics Of Mega Events Criminology Essay Mega-events, such as the Olympics, are highly prized by national and civic planners, and simultaneously hold political, economic and cultural happenings Boyle and Haggerty, 2009. They are global spectacles, used by nations to impact directly on urban generation and international standing (Alhert, 2006). Their nature is one that is non-routine, and of limited duration, requiring management of large movements of visitors, co-coordinators, and athletes. Characteristics of mega-events makes them exceptional (Fussey and Coaffee, 2012), demanding organisation and planning that requires significant alteration to the governance of the host city or country. This, and the vulnerability that follows from this, makes them a key target for security practices. The pressures faced by host nations from international committees, such as the International Olympics Committee (hereafter the IOC) plays a significant role on the domestic security arrangements (quote) The appeal of hosting the Olympics is one that invokes inspirational images of athletes competing in idyllic settings (Burbank et al, year). The Summer Olympic Games have been called sport mega-events, because of their scale (Roche, 2009). London 2012 alone saw an extra 260,000 visitors to the capital (The Week, 2012). They are highly visible, deeply symbolic occasions that take place in large cities, combining intensive media coverage with astringent security and surveillance strategies (Boyle and Haggerty, 2009: 257). The exceptional nature of these events requires examination of the threats they face, the worlds counter-terror measures, extensive surveillance technologies, and how these intensified measures are often legitimized in perpetuity as part of the legacy of the games (Coaffee etl, 2011:3314). Further to this, the essay will go on to show how surveillance technologies are subsequently deployed across large swathes of populations, highlighting the prominent point of the public and private sector surveillance. (THIS IS HOW I HAVE ARRANGED THIS ESSAY! WHEN YOU FINISH READING CAN YOU LET ME KNOW IF YOU THINK I SHOULD TALK ABOUT HOW I USED DIFFERENT PHILOSPHERS THEORIES, OR SHALL I JUST KEEP THAT IN THE MAIN BODY?) Traditional Risk Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a shift in national and international threats. Where national borders were considered then to be the primary area to be secured (Quote!), more recently, ballistic missiles have taken a side line to more topical city threats, such as dangerous backpacks on the London Undeground, high-jacked aircrafts and attacks on subways. The way cities are demonised in terrorist rhetoric, for example, means mega-events intersect with a range of complex global processes. ( am I making sense So theres a link between the threats to these cities and then going on to them hosting mega events!) The scale of the Olympics makes them susceptible to these inherent complexities, most notably seen in the terrorist attack on the Israeli national team in the 1972 Munich Olympics. Such events demonstrate to the extremes of societal risks that are observed in their duration. With this said, traditional hazards, such as the adaptation and logistics of mega-events through infrastructure seen in the construction of venues, present external risks, as they alter the urban environment, and have ecological impacts. (Bubank et al, 2002). These risks have moved away from natural hazards towards man-made risks (Beck, 1992), and are ever-present, regardless of political context. New types of Risk Deterritorialization contributes to the global development of the Olympics, which in turn, gives way to global telecommunication, international travel and the migration and passage of goods across borders (Jennings, 2012), all elements that lead to the contagion of risk. This Olympic globalisation has produced a global industry of risk assessment and risk management. In 1996 the Atlanta Olympics saw the Clinton Administration along with his counter-terror team anticipate a plan for a hijacked plane being flown into the main stadium (Clarke, 2004). Post 9/11, the climate of insecurity (Yu et al. 2009: 392) has affected security planning further, and games that are perceived to display a high-risk naturally leads to an advanced security posture, with the planning of London 2012 being the most recent instalment. Some scenarios may seem bizarre and outlandish to a non-security expert (Peter Ryan, 2002), and would be considered unthinkable, for example, UFO invasion on the Olympic Park (Kawash, 1997). For the security officials, considering all scenarios, (check commas please!) however absurd, has now become common practice. The extremity of these scenarios is displayed in the U.S, where most military arguments about the future are an obsession with sci-fi, and a ruined future of a cityscape (Graham, 2010). New innovations, like the Boston Dynamics-built AlphaDog LS ( Rundle, 2012), a robot able to cope with all types of landscapes, reinforce these concerns. The attitude of thinking the unthinkable means even the more extreme precautions are permitted in light of perceived threats. All precautions are seemingly accepted by the public. As technology advances, host nations face growing pressure to meet the challenges presented to them by new forms of security vulnerabilities (Corer, 2012). Cyber-terrorism is one such example of new and growing threats. The 2008 Beijing Olympics was faced with 12 million cyber-attacks per day (Ormsby, 2010). This type of threat to the Olympics illustrates the change in both security and globalisation risks very clearly. Taking note of the 2008 Olympic cyber-attacks, the UK government took on an initiative to introduce new cyber-security plans for the London 2012 games, through IT networks, to help prevent internet crime (Home-Office, 2010). In terms of security risk, there was a conscience effort made to ensure the UK government would not over-regulate and restrict the internet. Further to this, the proliferation of real-time risk management technology, an innovation developed from previous games in Athens and Salt Lake City (Quote) into the 2012 Olympics, demonstrated how the UK con sciously put international efforts in the heart of strategies improving cyber security (Ashford, 2012), which is evidence of a consideration of the globalisation risks and effects. Foucaults position on governance, one generated from the governed rather than imposed by the government ( year)) was seen to reconceptualise the role of government. The Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude (2012) quoted that the internet has flourished because it has been shaped by its users, not by governments, with this said, focus should be mainly on the network structure of the internet, where the information-sharing groups collectively form a basis for governance (Beresford, 2003). Conceptually, management of these network structures and sharing-groups which lead to cyber terrorism should focus on deterrence, rather than punishment; once the attack has occurred, no legal punishment will suffice. In short, punishment achieves little, and the impacts of cyber terrorist attacks are much worse, due to the difficulty in stopping viruses spreading around the globe. Again, this is a risk born from the effects of globalisation. Counter Terrorism Threats to mega-events are present in different forms, seen in a diverse range of groups that target them. Right-wing extremists were charged with the intent to cause explosions around the Olympic site in Sydney 2000, and ethno-nationalists who attacked the power supply to the opening ceremony in Barcelona 1992 (Fussey and Coaffe, 2012) are just two examples of threats to mega-events that embody an atypical nature. The threat of international terrorism at a mega-event was first seen with a series of aircraft hijackings and continuing onto the 1972 Munich Olympics when Palestinian Militants Killed 11 Israeli athletes, as previously mentioned. This was the first instance where Olympics and Terrorism were linked in popular consciousness (Cottrell, 2009). It was symbolic, in its demonstration of how terrorism is an eminent threat to all major events internationally. Cities bids for the Olympics have had to demonstrate how well they are able to deal with international terrorism in its many forms. Most recently, the bidding team for London 2012 had to project the citys anti-terrorist resilience before the IOC and international audiences. This practice acts also as insurance in gaining support for large security budgets, estimated to be around US$1.7 billion, in addition to new powers of surveillance and social control. In light of London 2012, UK police and local authorities referred to the hosting of the event as the greatest security challenge that the UK has faced since the Second World War (Graham, 2009). Since 9/11, the war on terror has taken front stage and formed a shadow around the world. The security steps that were taken forward to the London Olympics from Athens 2004 and Bejing 2008 promised to be on an unprecedented scale. Several contextual issues were highlighted about the risk of London 2012 being the site of major terrorist incidents. The recognition of London as a world city has bought it to the forefront of tourism, drawing in visitors and terrorists alike, granted for differing reasons (Ghaffur, 2007) (PLEASE CHECK THIS LINE!). The threat of terrorism to London, and the need for Olympic security, was exhibited in a very short space of time; the debate of security for London 2012 began on July 7th 2005, following the London suicide bombings, just a day after London won the Olympic bid. Londons transport system was overcome by four suicide bombers in an attack that killed 52 people (Guardian, 2010). These events were significant in illustrating the vulnerabilities of London and the Olympics to external threats and contingencies. Further to this, the attacks showed the spatial and temporal displacement of terrorism, where attacks do not need to necessarily take place at the time of the event to cause an impact. One of the more unusual aspects of the international side of sport mega-events is that rather than the more well known international terrorism, many groups that do target events have more local socio-political motives, for example the Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (Reference ETA, year), contrasting to the more evident international element of the games. Such acts cause instability to the usual global security models used to police these events, (Fussey and Coaffee, 2012). The home-grown radicalism that was blamed for the 7/7 bombings in London can be seen as an example of an act with a local socio-political motive, caused by global issues another effect of globalisation which came to global attention, and had a profound effect on the 2012 Games. Security coming home. The Olympic Games of 2004 were an example of the interaction between surveillance and social control. There was intense monitoring in Athens, which saw interconnected networks of electronic surveillance gadgetry that were web-like, in that it spanned out and was able to expand into the whole city, for example through vehicle tracking devices and motion detectors ( Samatas, 2007)THIS IS MY EXAMPLE TO CLARIFY!These forms of control reflect the idea of Panoptican, from the political philosopher Jeremy Bentham (year) which was later advanced conceptually by Foucault (1997), where he stated that in the contemporary service of social control, the state takes on an all-seeing observation role, probing and monitoring the activities of all citizens. Given the existing level of public and private surveillance in the UK, the superpanoptic approach that was piloted in Athens 2004 was easily integrated into the heart of the 2012 Olympics. London has more public and private CCTV cameras than any other city in the world, and through this, the idea of total surveillance became realistic (Reenie, 2008:4). The 2012 mega-event was a stimulus to the process of totalitarian intrusiveness. (SOUND OK?) Policing has the general role of dealing with disorderly conditions in neighbourhoods, and is present in myriad police strategies, ranging from order maintenance to zero tolerance strategies (Eck Maguire, 2006). The work of the police today is very much influenced by the private sectors and cooperations (Boyle paper) and total-security now becomes part of the spectacle of mega-events. London 2012 saw the Metropolitan Police take conscious measures in ensuring their first steps would be to put technological footprints across London. Advancements in CCTV saw new software that was able to integrate all of Londons CCTV cameras, all able to follow individuals around the city (quote.), putting forward this idea of a surveillance ring (Coaffee, 2004) to allow tracking of the movements of traffic and people. Further to new measures being implemented, such as advanced facial and iris recognition software, able to identify suspects and connect multiple crime scenes (Quote), many public transport vehicles, along with the VIP buses that were used in the London games, had been equipped for the authorities to recognise if drivers were acting erratically, a trend often seen in hijacking. Here, however, lay a fundamental question in what act could be deemed as erratic, and what qualifications personnel should have to make such decisions, and control it. All of this fits well with Foucalts early work on governmentality, and how power only exists when put into action (219) and that it is belonging to institutions rather than the individuals that allow the institutions to function. Put simply, measure to prevent certain behaviour leads to the control of individuals. These technologies (can you tell the ones above?) have been used as a medium to exercise the big-brother state. New machinery that is used allows the incorporation of the police/military apparatus in London, under the pretense of keeping the country safe from terrorism (Morgan, 2008). In keeping with public reassurance, it now does matter too much as to whether or not the security systems actually work, but rather what their proclaimed standards are. Work from Oscar Rays (year) has shown that a large amount of money was spent on equipment in Athens, which did not work. What did work, however, was the aftermath of it being used for surveillance in Greek society. These notions were once again observed in 2012, where governments and security-related interest groups often magnified in the public mind the terrorist threat and climate of fear, all in aid of justifying the use of these control strategies that are used to counter anti-social behaviour and danger from other public spaces, and gain support to introduce identity cards that link citizens to a state held database (Coaffe and Murakmi Wood, 2006: 565). As the Olympics are for a limited period, it is assumed that they are only a temporary security zone, lasting for the duration of the games. This, however, is not the case. As these events are now a recognised target for security threats, society now gives leeway to governments, even if these protections transgress from the constraints that are normally accepted by the citizens, as a result of securtization (Waever, 1995). The London Olympics and its security did not exist in isolation, but in a continuum of the increasing state of security and surveillance. Extra powers the state may acquire are often met with scepticism by citizens, in fear they may become permanent. However, these security measures can be concealed in an object that is seen as the norm for such prestigious events, for example the stadium. IS THIS OK LINKS WITH THE NEXT POINT! The architectural methods of Secure by Design (quote) . They also extend to the outer surrounding areas, where explosives may be hidden; litter boxes and drains (Coaffee, 2010). These methods are far from temporary, but this reconfiguration spreads beyond the time of the event under the title of legacy, where counter-terrorism design features are used to embed security in community areas, thus legacy is often used to legitimate broader and more long-term goals. The advantage of many of these regeneration progammes is that they become a catalyst for the transformations of parts of the city, as was seen in London. The official Olympics website (2012) stated that neglected sections of East London would be redesigned into the East Village, a complex designed to be converted into thousands of affordable homes, a community centre, and grounds for local residents to enjoy sports. THIS BIT IS NOT FINISHED! BUT SO FAR IS IT OK? I AM GOING TO GO ON TO EXPLAIN ABOUT ETHNIC CLEANSING PROGRAMMES. ITS GOOD SO FAR, YEAH. These sort of modifications are not temporaryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Military Urbanism- Security Sports have often been linked to the wide discourse of urban growth and regeneration (Schimmel, year!), aiding in a new form of Foucaults Boomerang effect, which has been fuelled by the extending neoliberal globalisation. A form of this affect is the way military and security complexes now try and apply defence-style technologies to the domestic sites of the city. This is mirrored well in light of the Olympics, where high tech security surveillance technology, originally from the battle-field, is now used in mega-events. Military-security complex works in two ways. The first is by implementing direct military-type approaches to security. The failed work of the contractor G4S for London 2012, and the mobilisation of British troops, demonstrated how traditional military approaches will always remain necessary. In this instance, the military were asked to provide an extra 3, 500 troops to guard the London Olympics. These games show that despite new technologies, the Olympic Games continue to appear over-reliant on the armed forces. (Guardian, 2012) The second way is by using the forces of existing military personnel. Working with these approaches does not necessarily mean that one is moving away from the past, ignoring the strength of military practices, but rather adding a contemporary twist to the traditional militaristic and urban transformations (Graham, 2010). These contemporary security strategies work through the blurring of boundaries between military and civilian spheres. With this, there is the entry of military technologies, strategies and logics for the surveillance and control of populations in and around the stadium. London 2012 saw the RAF use drones, carrying laser-guided bombs and missiles, including the Hellfire air-to ground weapons. Urban Militrisation/New Military Urbanism- GLOBALISATION BIT this is keeping with the same subject but globalisation bit. This growing interaction between sports mega events and the military-industry complex also allows analysis to be viewed through the window of globalisation, and marketing. The use of security technologies in mega-events is a multi-billion dollar industry. Lobby groups work hard to convince state leaders into becoming booming homeland security markets, because these markets of technology are growing very rapidly in times of economic decline. These practices allow security companies to pilot and display their exemplary security technologies, in the hope that it will lead to them being transferred into a more routine social environment. This trend was recognised by an analyst for the US-based Security Industry Association: the Olympics not only showcase world-class athletes, they showcase world class security technologies and services from our industry (Bristow, 2008). Israel is one such example. Recognised as the worlds leading participant in the security and surveillance industrial co mplex (Brzezinski, 2004), the countrys long history in dealing with suicide bombers, along with its highly developed and hi-tech economy, gives it the capacity to exploit the climate of fear that surrounds todays major sporting events. With this said, Israels representatives are heavily involved in the planning and facilitation of mega-event security. London 2012 was an example of this as Israeli initiaitves saw aircrafts being used for crowd surveillance, an expertise often used by the Middle Eastern country for population control (Kosmas, 2012). Security companies are not the only organisations that benefit from the Olympics. More international impact is in the form of commercial sponsors, the worlds largest growing form of marketing (IEG Network, 2001). Sponsers are very willing to invest in the games, as they believe the spirit of the spectacle means that spectators are regularly exposed to promotional messages under favourable conditions, where the customers can be relaxed and absorb corporate messages. (Abratt et al, 1987). A by-product of being a sponsor is the ability to temporarily relocate some of the staff to the host nation and allow investments to be made. This is a clear example of globalisation. The paradox here, however, is that once a hallmark is made between the cooperate sponsors and the games, their worldwide officers and staff become targets, which could lead to reluctance to participate. Further to this, the host nations terrorism threat level provides another reason why sponsors may refuse to participate in the events. This causes a massive crossover with countries looking like safe havens of security for a world-wide spectacle. In short, sponsors will be reluctant to participate in events happening anywhere that does not have a high counter-terrorism mechanism. IS THIS ALL OK SO MAYBE SOMEWHERE IN HERE I SHOULD ALSO ADD THAT IS IS THE PRIVATE SECTOR TAKING OVER? WHAT DO YOU THINK?! SO IM TALKING ABOUT SPONSERS HERE AND THE FACT THAT THEY WILL NOT BE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN ANYWHERE THEY THINK DOESNT HAVE A HIGH COUNTER TERRORISM MECHANISM! Conclusion NOT COMPLETE AGAIN!! ONLY FIRST PARAGRAPH! Mega-events present a special case for understanding the relationship between large-scale security practices and globalisation. It is an illustration of threats related not only to terrorism, but also to organised crime and political protest (Giuillanotti and Klauser, 2012). Securing the spectacle goes beyond the infrastructure, and into the economic sector, national reputation, and the impact of humans (Coaffee and Johnston, 2007). Cities that host mega-events are now expected to show a strong form of anti-terrorist resilience before international audiences (Boyle and Haggerty, 2009). Long after the event has left, surveillance technologies, urban redevelopment, and other transformations, may all remain in place as security enforced measures that structure, frame, and film everyday social life. Mega-events foster a legacy of knowledge, networks, and habits that have a bearing on the lives of not just those who attend, but the citizens of the city, long after the event. These events also display the invisible and visible security all in one, where the likes of infrastructure have an outward projection of security, through embedded electronic devices, hiding the other form ofà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.cleansing programmes! I ASSUME THIS BIT NEEDS TO BE FINISHED, HAHA. The line between free speech and human rights. Policing the police might take on a role of citizen duty. If the average citizen can be filmed why can the police not? While CCTV is now an every day norm of British society, what is becoming more common is the use of camera phones and social networking. AND THIS BIT! Each mega-event is part of an extensive process, where by the institutions and officials learn and advice on security lessons to their successors. The new hosts hope to improve on their predecessors and each hope to deliver spectacular security (Boyle and Haggerty, 2009), with this comes militarization and coordination that is needed to extend into time and place.

Financial Difficulties Facing Power Companies in Brazil :: Energy, electric, Utilities

Due to the size of the losses and their impact on the income of power distribution utilities, this issue has become a matter of much concern to these enterprises which must estimate them properly and draw up solutions to curb them effectively. Another pressing problem on the power market is payment in arrears . Over the past decade, the capacity to make prompt payment for essential services has been dropping sharply in Brazil, whether they are provided by the Government or by public utilities private enterprises. With rising unemployment and shrinking income, many consumers are forced to postpone payment of their electricity bills, particularly in view of steady tariff increases, which rose an averagea total of 231.24% between 1995 and 2004 . (ANEEL, 2004), well over the inflation rate, as a result, it is estimated that unpaid electricity bills in Brazil reached R$ 3.15bn (US$1.3bn) in 2002. The composition of these overdue payments, as per customer group, shows that R$760mi (US$304mi) was caused by unpaid electricity bills from medium and large clients, supplied with high and medium voltages (Group A); R$1,6bn (US$640mi) corresponding to debt built up by residential consumers, small commercial and industrial companies, much from Government facilities, and street-lighting, all supplied by the low voltage network (Group B); and R$800mi (US$320mi) owed by Governments. AGAIN? WHERE THE GOVERNMENT IS? An important point issue is the strong relatiosnships between electricity losses and unpaid bills. These two phenomena are so closely linked that a reduction in one may prompt an increase in the other. A customer caught stealing power is connected up properly to the grid and is then charged for the stolen power, in addition to a fine, payable in installments. If the costumer fails to pay thiese unpaid electricity billss and/or fails to pay the installmentscharges, the power supply is interrupted after some a short time. A customer without power may well return to stealing, again becoming again a loss problem. This same cycle may also be triggered by unpaid electricity bills: when customers have their power supply cut off because they are unable to pay their bills, they may start to steal through clandestine connections, with similar consequences. The cycle may start with unpaid electricity bills. A customer unable to pay his/her bill has his/her power supply cut off, which ca n lead him/her to steal. In other words, a more severe reaction by public utilities in relation to unpaid electricity bills may have as an unintended and undesirable consequence to turn a defaulters into a â€Å"thieves†f.

Education and Economics Essay

I. Introduction: The conventional theory of human capital developed by Becker (1962) and Mincer (1974) views education and training as the major sources of human capital accumulation that, in turn, have direct and positive effect on individuals’ life time earnings. In the Mincerian earning function, the coefficient of school years indicates the returns to education, i. e. , how much addition in earnings takes place with an additional school year. There exists a wide range of literature that estimated the rates of returns to education for different countries [Pascharapoulos (1980; 1985; and 1994); Pascharapoulos and Chu Ng (1992)]1. In Pakistan, most of the nationally representative household surveys do not contain information on variables, such as, completed years of schooling, age starting school, literacy and numeracy skills, quality of schooling, and technical training. Due to the unavailability of completed school years, one can neither compute the potential experience nor observe the effect of an additional year of schooling on individual earnings. Therefore, the available literature in Pakistan is lacking in estimating the returns to education by using the Mincerian earning function2. In recent years, the government of Pakistan has started nation-wide survey, Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS), to address the imbalances in the social sector. This survey ? The authors are Senior Research Economist and Research Economist at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Islamabad. 1 Pascharapoulos (1994) provide a comprehensive update of the estimated rates of returns to education at a global scale. He observed high social and private profitability of primary education (18%and 9% respectively) in all regions of world. The private rate of returns at this level were found highest in Asia (39%) as compared to other regions. He also noted a considerable increase in total earnings by an additional year of education in all regions of world; 13% in Sub-Saharan Africa; 10% in Asia; 12% in Europe/Middle East/North Africa; and 12% in Latin America/Caribbean. 2 At national level, only two studies are available in Pakistan that used the Mincerian earning function approach to examine the returns to education [see Shabbir and Khan (1991) and Shabbir (1994)]. However, both these studies are based on twenty years old data set. 2 provides rich information on the above mentioned variables that were missing in the earlier household surveys. This study uses the data of PIHS to examine the returns to education by using Mincerian earning function and thus aims to fill the vacuum that, due to the lack of appropriate data, exists in the literature on returns to education in Pakistan. In this paper we will first estimate the earning function with continuous school years with the assumption of uniform rate of returns for all school years. It is argued that different school years impart different skills therefore we extend our analysis to examine the addition in earning associated with extra years of schooling at different levels of education, i. e. , how much increase in earnings takes place with an extra year of schooling at different levels, such as, primary, middle, matric, intermediate, bachelors and masters. By doing so we overcome the problem that exists in the available literature in Pakistan. To our knowledge no study has yet adopted this method to examine the returns to education in Pakistan3. The impact of technical training and school quality on the earnings of fixed salaried and wage earners will be examined in this study. Based on the available data in Pakistan, most of the studies, for example, Haque (1977), Hamdani (1977), Guisinger et al (1984), Khan and Irfan (1985), Ahmad, et al (1991); and Ashraf and Ashraf (1993a, 1993b, and 1996) estimated the earning functions by defining the dummy variables for different levels of education4. These studies observe low rates of returns at different levels of education as compared to other developing countries. However, a positive association between levels of education and earnings and an inverse relationship between the degree of income inequality and educational attainment has been noted. In order to examine the inter- 3 Most of the studies on returns to education in Pakistan used dummy variables for different levels of education where the rates of returns at different levels of education are computed by the estimated coefficients. 4 In Pakistan, the data on education in most of the nationally representative household surveys have been reported in discrete form that denotes the completion of different levels of education, such as, ‘primary but incomplete middle’, ‘middle and incomplete matric’, and so on. 3 provincial differentials in returns to education, Shabbir and Khan (1991) estimated the Mincerian earning function by using a nationally representative sample, drawn from the of Population, Labour Force and Migration Survey (1979) for the literate wage earners and salaried males. Later Shabbir (1994) estimated the earning function on the extended sample of the same data set. These studies found 7 to 8 percent increase in earnings with an additional year of schooling. Although the results are consistent with those of comparable LDCs but may not reflect the recent developments in Pakistan’s economy as these studies are based on the data set which are 20 years old now. Since 1979, the economy of Pakistan has passed through various changes, especially after the inception of the Structural Adjustment Programme in late 1980s. For example, the literacy rate has increased from 26 percent to 45 percent and enrolment at primary level has increased by 67 percent. Public and household expenditures on education have also increased [Economic Survey (1998-99)]. Moreover, due to the fiscal constraints, the employment opportunities in the public sector have started shrinking and the economy is moving towards more openness with stronger role of private sector in recent years. In this scenario, it becomes imperative to re-test the role of human capital as both private and public sectors are moving towards more efficiency and productivity. This study is important from three standpoints. First, in order to estimate the effect of education on earnings, the most recent and nationally representative household survey data is used which provides detailed information on the variables that were missing in previous surveys. Second, it uses the splines of education in the earning function to examine the additional earnings associated with extra school years at different levels. Third, this study investigates the role of some important factors such as, technical training, school quality, and literacy and numeracy skills on earnings for the first time. 4 The rest of the paper is organised as follows: section 2 presents an overview of the education sector. Section 3 outlines the model for empirical estimation and describes data. Section 4 reports the results. Conclusions and policy Implications are presented in the last Section. II. The Education Sector in Pakistan: An Overview: Education plays an important role in human capital formation. It raises the productivity and efficiency of individuals and thus produces skilled manpower that is capable of leading the economy towards the path of sustainable economic development. Like many other developing countries, the situation of the education sector in Pakistan is not very encouraging. The low enrolment rates at the primary level, wide disparities between regions and gender, lack of trained teachers, deficiency of proper teaching materials and poor physical infrastructure of schools indicate the poor performance of this sector. The overall literacy rate for 1997-98 was estimated at 40 percent; 51 percent for males and 28 percent for females; 60 percent in urban areas and 30 percent in rural areas. These rates are still among the lowest in the world. Due to various measures in recent years, the enrolment rates have increased considerably. However, the high drop-out rate could not be controlled at primary level. Moreover, under-utilisation of the existing educational infrastructure can be seen through low student-institution ratio, (almost 18 students per class per institution) low teacher-institution ratio (2 teachers per institution) and high studentteacher ratio (46 students per teacher). The extremely low levels of public investment are the major cause of the poor performance of Pakistan’s education sector. Public expenditure on education remained less than 2 percent of GNP before 1984-85. In recent years it has increased to 2. 2 percent. In addition, the allocation of government funds is skewed towards higher education so that the benefits of public subsidy on education are largely reaped by the upper income class. Many of the highly educated 5 go abroad either for higher education or in search of better job opportunities. Most of them do not return and cause a large public loss. After mid-1980s, each government announced special programs for the improvement of the education sector. However, due to the political instability, none of these programs could achieve their targets. The Social Action Program was launched in early 1990s to address the imbalances in the social sector. This program aims to enhance education; to improve school environment by providing trained teachers, teaching aids and quality text books; and to reduce gender and regional disparities. The Phase-I of SAP (1993-96) has been completed and Phase-II is in progress. The gains from the Phase-I are still debatable because the rise in enrolment ratio has not been confirmed by the independent sources. Irrespective of this outcome, government has started work on Phase-II of SAP. In this Phase, government is paying special attention to promote technical and vocational education, expanding higher education in public as well as in the private sector, enhancing computer literacy, promoting scientific education, and improving curriculum for schools and teachers training institutions in addition to promoting primary and secondary education. Due to low levels of educational attainment and lack of technical and vocational education, Pakistan’s labour market is dominated by less educated and unskilled manpower. A considerable rise in the number of educational institutions and enrolment after 1980s is not yet reflected in Pakistan’s labour market. This might be due to the fact that most of the bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes emphasise only on academic education without developing specific skills. The sluggish demand for the graduates of these programs in the job markets leads to unemployment among the educated and the job market remains dominated by the less educated. In this scenario, it becomes important to explore the role of education for the economic benefit of individuals. 6 III. Theoretical Model and Estimation Methodology: We start with the human capital model developed by Becker (1964) and Mincer (1974) where natural logarithm of monthly earnings are the linear function of completed school years, experience and its square. In mathematical form the equation can be written as: ln Wi = ? 0 + ? 1 EDU i + ? 2 EXPi + ? 3 ( EXPi ) 2 + Ui (1) where ln Wi stands for natural logarithm of monthly earnings, EDUi represents completed years of schooling, and EXPi is the labor market experience of ith individual. ?1 implies the marginal rate of return to schooling. A positive value of ? 2 and negative value of ? 3 reflects the concavity of the earning function with respect to experience. Ui is the error term, assumed to be normally and identically distributed. It has been argued in the literature that different school years impart different skills and hence affect earnings differently. Therefore, it is misleading to assume a uniform rate of return for all educational levels. Most of the previous studies used dummy variables to capture the effect of different levels of education. In order to examine the effect of school years at different levels of education, van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989) divided the years of schooling according to the school systems of Cote d’ Ivore. Similarly Khandker (1990) also used years of primary, secondary and post-secondary schooling in wage function for Peru. Both studies found significant differences in returns to education at different levels of education. Following van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989), we divide the school years into seven categories according to the education system of Pakistan. In Pakistan, the primary education consists of 5 years of schooling; middle requires 3 more years; and by completing 2 more years of schooling after middle, an individual obtains a secondary school certificate i. e. , Matric. After matric , i. e. , 10 years of schooling, students have a choice between technical and formal education. Technical education 7 can be obtained from technical institutions which award diploma after 3 years of education while the certificate of intermediate can be obtained after two years of formal education. After the completion of intermediate certificate, students can enter either in the professional colleges for four years or in non-professional bachelors degree program for two years in a college. Those who choose non-professional degree can pursue their studies in a university for masters for two more years. At this stage the graduates of professional and non-professional colleges complete 16 years of education. They can now proceed to the M. Phil. or Ph. D. degrees. In order to examine the returns to education at different splines of education, we estimate the following extended earning function. ln Wi = ? 0 + ? 1Yrs Pr imi + ? 2 YrsMid i + ? 3YrsMati + ? 4 YrsInteri + ? 5 YrsBAi + (2) ? 6 Yrs Pr of i + ? 7 EXPi + ? 8 ( EXPi ) 2 + Ui where YrsPrim, YrsMid, YrsMat YrsInter YrsBA YrsProf are defined as: YrsPrim = D5EDUi YrsMid = D8EDUi YrsMat = D10EDUi YrsInter = D12EDUi YrsBA = D14EDUi YrsProf = D16EDUi where D5 = 1 if where D8 = 1 if where D10 = 1 if where D12 = 1 if where D14 = 1 if where D16 = 1 if 0< EDU ? 5 5< EDU ? 8 8< EDU ? 10 10< EDU ? 12 12< EDU ? 14 EDU > 14 The coefficients associated with YrsPrim, YrsMid, YrsMat YrsInter YrsBA YrsProf in equation 2 imply an increase in income with one year increase in education at respective levels. For example, the returns to five completed years of education at primary level will be 5*? 1. Similarly, the returns to for six, seven and eight of education will be 5*? 1+? 2, 5*? 1+2? 2, and 5*? 1+3? 2 respectively. On the same lines we can compute the returns to education at each level as: 8 Returns to Primary =5*? 1 Returns to Middle =5*? 1+3*? 2 Returns to Matric= 5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 Returns to Intermediate=5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 +2*? 4 Returns to Bachelor’s =5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 +2*? 4 +2*? 5 Returns to MA/Prof=5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 +2*? 4 +2*? 5 +2*? 6 The data are drawn from the nationally representative Pakistan Integrated Household Survey 1995-96. In order to assess the performance of the Social Action Programme (SAP), the government of Pakistan has launched the series of Pakistan Integrated Household Surveys (PIHS), a collaborative nation wide data collection effort undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS). So far two rounds have been completed. The first round of the PIHS is different from other round on two counts. Firstly, the information on employment and wages is available only in this round. Secondly, only 33 percent of the sample used in the first round is being repeated in the subsequent rounds. This implies that all of these rounds are independent cross-section data sets and can not be properly linked with each other to be used as panel data. Therefore, the appropriate sample can only be drawn from the first round of PIHS. This round was conducted in 1995-96, which covers 12,622 households and more than 84,000 individuals. The 1995-96 PIHS provides a detailed information on completed school years5. In addition, this survey contains information on age started school. This information is particularly important for our study to calculate the potential experience of a worker. The indicator for experience used by Mincer (1974) is a good proxy for U. S. workers as they start school at the uniform age of six years6. However, this assumption does not hold in Pakistan, as in this country there is no uniform age to start school. In urban areas, children as young as three years start going to school whereas in rural 5 This is the only nation-wide data set that provides this particular information. Similarly no other survey contains information on public and private school attendence and year starting school. 6 Mincer defined experience as (Age-education-6). 9 areas the school starting age is higher. 7 This information enables us to construct potential experience as (age-schools years-age starting school). Although experience is still a proxy for actual experience but it is relatively better measure than age and the Mincer type potential experience. In addition to education and experience, various other factors, such as quality of schooling, technical training and quality of schooling have significant impact on earning8. It has been argued that because of the market-oriented approach adopted by the private schools, the graduates of these schools earn more as compared to the graduates of public schools9. According to Sabot (1992), Behrman, Ross, Sabot and Tropp (1994), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996a), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996b), and Behrman, Khan, Ross and Sabot (1997), the quality of education has positive, significant and substantial impact on cognitive achievements and hence on post school productivity, measured by earnings. These studies observed higher earnings of the graduates of high quality school than those who attended a low quality school. A recent study by Nasir (1999) found considerably higher earnings for the private school graduates. These schools, however, charge higher fees. â€Å"Estimates of average annual expenditure per pupil in both government and private schools indicates that the total cost of primary level in rural areas is Rs. 437 (Rs 355 for government schools and Rs. 1252 for private schools), compared with Rs. 2038 in urban areas (Rs. 1315 for government and Rs. 3478 for private schools). This means that the cost of primary schooling is almost three times that of public schools in urban 7 The issue of age starting school has been highlighted by Ashraf and Ashraf (1993) and because of the nonavailability of this information, they used age as proxy for experience. 8 See Summers and Wolf (1977); Rizzuto and Wachtel (1980); Behrman and Birdsall (1983); Booissiere, Knight and Sabot (1985); Knight and Sabot (1990);Behrman, Ross, Sabot, and Tropp (1994); Behrman, Khan, Ross and Sabot (1997). 9 Various studies found the effectiveness of private schools to acquire cognitive skills [Colemen, Hoffer and Kilgore (1982); and Jimenez, Lockheed, Luna and Paqueo (1989)]. For Pakistan, Sabot (1992), Behrman, Ross, Sabot and Tropp (1994), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996a), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996b), and Behrman, Khan, Ross and Sabot (1997) found a significant variation in the cognitive skills among children with same number of school years. These studies conclude that some of the differences are due to the family characteristics while some are due to the quality of schooling. 10. areas and nearly four times in rural areas. The differences in cost of schooling also reflect the degree of quality differentials in public and private schools, and between urban and rural schools. A relatively better provision of school facilities and quality of education in private schools is causing a continuous rise in school enrolment in urban areas† [Mehmood (1999) page 20]. The PIHS provides information on the type of school attended10. On the basis of this information we can identify workers according to the school they attended and therefore examine the effect of type of school on individual earnings. In order to capture the quality of education an individual received, a dummy variable is included in the model that takes the value ‘1’ if individual is a graduate of private schools and ‘0’ otherwise. The effect of post-school training on earning has been found positive and substantial in many developing countries [see Jimenez and Kugler (1987); van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989); Khandker (1990); and Nasir (1999)]. The PIHS contains information on years of technical training. This information helps us to examine the effect of technical training received on individual earnings. We use completed years of technical training as independent variable in the earning function. The existence of vast gender gap in human capital accumulation is evidenced by various studies in Pakistan11. The PIHS reports vast gender disparities in literacy and enrolment rates. The literacy rate among females is half than that of males’ literacy rate for whole Pakistan. This difference has increased to three-folds for rural areas. The gender difference is however smaller for the gross enrolment rate at primary level. For the higher levels of education, this difference 10. The coefficient of private school may also capture the effect of socio-economic background of workers. The data, however, does not contain such information, therefore we are unable to separate the effect of parental characteristics from the effect of private schools in worker’s earnings. 11 Sabot (1992); and Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996b); Sawada (1997); Shabbir (1993); and Ashraf and Ashraf (1993a, 1993b, and 1996) 11 shows an increasing trend. Similarly vast gender gap has been observed in returns to education where males earn more than the female workers [Ashraf and Ashraf (1993a, 1993b and 1996) and Nasir (1999)]. In order to capture the effect of gender, a dummy variable is introduced in the model that takes the value ‘1’ for males and ‘0’ otherwise. The regional imbalances in the provision of limited available social services are more pronounced in Pakistan. Rural areas are not only underdeveloped in terms of physical infrastructure but also neglected in gaining basic amenities. Haq (1997) calculated the disaggregated human development index for Pakistan and its provinces. He noted that nearly 56 percent of population is deprived of basic amenities of life in Pakistan; 58 percent in rural areas and 48 percent in urban areas. According to the 1995-96 PIHS, the literacy rate in urban areas is 57 percent and in rural areas it is 31 percent. The gross enrolment rate was noted 92 percent in urban areas and 68 percent in rural areas. Because of these differences low returns to education are observed in rural areas [Shabbir (1993 and 1994) and Nasir (1999)]. To capture the effect of regional differences, a dummy variable is used that takes the value ‘1’ if individual lives in urban areas and zero otherwise. The four provinces of Pakistan exhibit different characteristics in terms of economic as well as social and cultural values. Significant provincial differentials in rates of returns to education have been noted that reflect not only the differences in market opportunities but also indicate uneven expansion of social services across provinces [Khan and Irfan (1985); Shabbir and Khan (1991); Shabbir (1993); Shabbir (1994); and Haq (1997)]. The effects of these differences are captured through the use of dummy variables for each province in the earning function, Sindh being the excluded category. 12 For the purpose of analysis we restrict our sample to wage earners and salaried persons. Our sample contains 4828 individuals. Among them, 4375 are males and 453 are females. Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics of some of the salient features of the important variables. According to the statistics in table 1, average age of the individuals included in the sample is 34 years with 18 years of experience. A typical worker in the sample has completed approximately 10 years of education. A majority is graduated from public schools. Most of the workers live in urban areas. On average an individual earns Rs. 3163 per month. In our sample, there are only 22 percent individuals who received technical training. The average years spent for training are less than one year. A majority of wage earners belong to Punjab, followed by Sindh and Balochistan. Table1 Mean, Standard Deviation and Brief Definitions of Important Variables Variables W Age EDU EXP RWA MALE Urban Private Training Punjab Sindh NWFP Balochistan Mean SD Variables Definitions 3163. 34 3397. 39 Individual’s monthly earnings in rupees consist of wages and salaries. 34. 07 12. 36 Age of an individual in years. 9. 53 4. 36 Completed years of schooling. 18. 14 11. 80 Total Years of labour market experience calculated as (age-school years-age starting school). 2. 37 1. 07 Categorical variables, contains 4 categories of literacy and numeracy. 0. 91 0. 29 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual is male. 0. 60 0. 49 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to urban area 0. 04 0. 19 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual is a graduate of private school 0. 35 0. 87 Completed years of technical training 0. 38 0. 49 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to Punjab 0. 31 0. 46 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to Sindh 0. 15 0. 36 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to NWFP 0. 16 0. 36 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to Balochistan 13 IV. Empirical Results The estimated results of equation 1 and equation 2 are reported in table 2. The highly significant coefficients of school years and experience indicate the applicability of human capital model for Pakistan. An additional year of schooling raises individual’s monthly income by 7. 3 percent, which is very close to the prior studies. 12 13 The coefficient of experience shows substantial increase in wages with each additional year. The concavity of age-earnings profile is evident from the negative and significant coefficient of experience squared. The results reveal that an individual with five years of experience earns 31 percent higher wages as compared to non-experience worker. The highest level of earnings is achieved with approximately 30 years of experience. These estimates are relatively low compared to prior studies14. The positive and significant coefficients of gender (0. 401) and regional dummies (0. 178) strengthens the a priori expectation that males earn more than females and earnings are higher in urban areas as compared to rural areas. These estimates are consistent with earlier studies [see Arshaf and Ashraf (1993), Khan and Irfan (1985)]. Furthermore, significant inter-provincial differences in individual’s earnings can be observed in the estimated model. Many studies indicate substantial differences in earnings across school levels. For example, van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989) noted that an increase of one year in elementary, high and university education causes an increase of 12 percent, 20 percent and 22 percent respectively in 12 The estimated coefficients of school years by Shabbir and Khan (1991), Shabbir (1991), Shabbir (1993) and Shabbir (1994) are found to be in the range of 6 percent to 9. 7 percent. 13 The returns to education are calculated by taking the anti-log of 0. 092 (estimated coefficient of completed school years) and subtracting from 1. To convert into percentage, multiply the value by 100. For details, please see Gujrati (1988) page 149. 14 The difference in the returns to experience could be due to the approach adopted by these studies. Most of the studies used age as a proxy for experience [see for example Khan and Irfan (1985); Ashraf and Ashraf (1993); and Nasir (1999)]. Shabbir (1991) used the Mincerian approach to calculate experience. The present study uses actual age of starting school and actual years of education. These information enable us to calculate total years of labor market experience. This approach is also not the perfect alternative for actual experience, as we do not have information about the starting time of the first job. But when compared with other approaches, it is more precise in measuring experience. 14 earnings. In order to examine the returns to education across different school years, we include the information on schooling according to the education system of Pakistan (equation 2). The results reported in column 3 of table 2 show a positive and significant impact of school years at each educational level on earnings. For example, an increase of one year in education at primary level increases the earnings by 3 percent. Similarly, at middle level, one year of schooling brings about an increase of 4 percent in earnings and the total returns to schooling at middle level are 27 percent. Table 2 Earning Function with and without Levels of Education Variables Coefficient s 6. 122 0. 072* 0. 058* -0. 001* 0. 178* 0. 401* 0. 127* -0. 113* -0. 203* 0. 412 t-ratios Coefficient s 6. 380 0. 058* -0. 001* 0. 150* 0. 264* 0. 098* -0. 112* -0. 166* 0. 027** 0. 040* 0. 050* 0. 057* 0. 071* 0. 082* 0. 429 t-ratios Coefficient s 6. 342 0. 058* -0. 001* 0. 152* 0. 262* 0. 096* -0. 108* -0. 164* 0. 052* 0. 007 0. 025* 0. 038* 0. 047* 0. 063* 0. 075* 0. 429 t-ratios Constant EDU EXP EXP2 Urban Male Balochistan NWFP Punjab RWA Yrs-Prim Yrs-Mid Yrs-Mat Yrs-Inter Yrs-BA Yrs-Prof Adj R2 148. 91 46. 71 26. 49 -19. 20 10. 31 13. 98 4. 94 -4. 34 -10. 21 – 92. 03 23. 85 -16. 84 7. 87 8. 15 3. 40 -4. 06 -7. 75 2. 03 5. 07 8. 69 11. 41 16. 85 21. 98 – 89. 25 23. 84 -16. 88 7. 98 8. 09 3. 32 -3. 91 -7. 63 2. 41 0. 45 2. 45 5. 02 7. 28 11. 47 15. 57 – * significant at 99 percent level. ** significant at 95 percent level. One can note higher returns of additional year of schooling for higher educational levels from this table. For example, the returns to masters and professional education (Yrs-Prof) are more than five- 15 times higher than that of primary school years (Yrs-Prim). The results exhibit a difference of 15 percent between primary graduates and illiterates, the excluded category. This category includes illiterates as well as all those who have not obtained any formal schooling but have literacy and numeracy skills15. To further explore the earning differential between primary school graduates and those who never attended school but have literacy and numeracy skills, we have constructed an index RWA that separates illiterates from those who have literacy and numeracy skills. This index takes the value ‘zero’ if individual does not have any skill; ‘1’ if individual has only one skill; ‘2’ if individual has two skills; and ‘3’ if individual has all three skills. We re-estimated equation 2 with this new variable and the results are reported in column 5 of table 2. According to our expectations, the coefficient of RWA is found not only large (0. 05) in magnitude but also statistically significant at 99 percent level. This indicates that the individuals with all three skills earn 15 percent more than those who have no skill. On the other hand, the coefficient of Yrs-Prim dropped to 0. 007 and became insignificant16. The differential in the earnings of illiterates and those having five years of primary education was 15 percent (0. 03*5=0. 15). This differential however, reduced to approximately 9 percent (0. 007*5+0. 053=8. 8) when we include those who have no formal education but have literacy and numeracy skills. These high returns to cognitive skills indicates the willingness of employer to pay higher wages to the able workers as compared to those who have five or less years of schooling but do not have these skills. Now we examine the effect of technical training and quality of schooling on earnings, first in separate equations and then in a single equation. The impact of technical training on earnings is examined by including years of apprenticeship as continuous variable in our model. The results are reported in column 1 of table 3. The results show a positive and significant impact of technical 15 There are 48 wage earners in our sample who have education less than primary but do not have any of these skill. Whereas we found 76 wage earners who do not have any formal education but have at least one of these skills. 16 This result is consistent with van der Gaag and Vijierberg (1989). 16 Table 3 Earning Functions : Impact of Technical Training and School Quality (Separate Functions) Variables Constant EDU EXP EXP2 Urban Male Balochistan NWFP Punjab Train.

The India Video essays

The India Video essays In the video describing ancient India the filmmakers goal was to educate the audience by showing various places that still exist in India and describing the cultures of those times. The tone of the coverage was serious and straightforward with no biases made from the individuals interviewed. They all spoke from an educators point of view, which helped the videos credibility. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to understand what the commentators were saying due to their thick accents and the audiences limited knowledge on the subject. The text is a much better coverage source because one can read, and if necessary reread, the text at leisure to learn and understand the ancient Indian civilizations. This type of video should not play a large role in the overall education process for several reasons. The video was extremely difficult to understand, everything was explained very fast and no time was given to pause for note taking, and the names and places mentioned were not spelled f or the audience so there was no way one could look up the information when they returned home. The filmmakers goal to educate the audience was fulfilled to some degree. There were many interesting facts and explanations mentioned throughout the video. One of these interesting facts being that a man should marry at age twenty and his bride should be one-third his age, with the man promising sex and wealth and women had no independence in the Brahamian society. The filmmaker also covered a large period of time, starting with early paintings before 8000 BCE and ending with architecture and culture well after the nineteenth century AD. He included various landmarks such as the Arc and Temples, the Harrappan, Aryan, and Ashukas cultures and customs, and several religions like Hindu, Buddhism, and Mormonism and how they pertained to India. However, one problem that seemed to arise is that the video seemed to be on an interme ...

MacBeth †The Tragic Hero

MacBeth – The Tragic Hero Free Online Research Papers I do not think that Macbeth fits into Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero. In defining a tragic hero, Aristotle clearly states that a tragic hero must be ‘renowned and prosperous’, not all good, nor all bad, and must realize his tragic flaw at the end of the play. While Macbeth definitely has a tragic flaw, he does not fit into these three categories. At first glance Macbeth might appear both wealthy and famous; at a closer look one would realize that when Macbeth and Banquo first stumble upon the three weird sisters they are both simply nobleman; equal in status to six other men mentioned in the play. Although Macbeth is a nobleman like many others, he is one of the most beloved by the king and trusted by the people. Duncan (the king) shows his favoritism to Macbeth when he makes him Thane of Cawdor (as the witches had predicted), and the inhabitants of Cawdor are thrilled to gain this trusted leader. Despite these facts, Macbeth is not very well known or rich at the point. Macbeth does eventually become king. If he had earned his kingship the way he did his thaneship, I would consider him ‘renowned and prosperous’, yet Macbeth became king by killing is faithful king Duncan, and his good friend Banquo; both acts that deserve decapitation, not royal placement. Aristotle said that a tragic hero should fall from royalty ; Macbeth does die as the king, but I believe that he truly ‘falls’ the first time he so much as thinks about murdering Duncan. It is hard to call a person (or character) all good or all bad, no matter what their actions prove; despite this, Macbeth’s actions are as close to all bad as one can get. Duncan’s murder was clearly cruel and unnecessary; yet because Macbeth is so ambitious to become king, it is somewhat justifiable, if the audience feels pity for Macbeth. Macbeth commits his second ruthless act of killing Duncan’s guards. Macbeth could have easily done without killing the guards, but his paranoia had already set in, and he wanted to make sure how much he adored Duncan. He explains this crime by saying â€Å"The expedition of my violent love outrun the pauser reason.† Assuring everyone that this was a crime of passion for the love of his king. While this too can be viewed as necessary to thwart off suspicion, this crime is hypocritical, and makes a mockery of the deceased king. After Duncan’s death, Macbeth is awarded the position of king; still he is not satisfie d. Macbeth is haunted by the witches prediction â€Å"Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none†, and in order to secure his position as king will last through generations Macbeth hires three murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. The fact that Macbeth kills his best friend without a second thought is horrendous, but Macbeth commits this crime to soothe his guilt stricken mind, so this murder can also be dismissed by the audience, because it was to save Macbeth’s sanity. After he kills Banqo, Macbeth becomes very suspicious of Macduff as well, and is desperate to have him killed. Macbeth discovers that Macduff is in England, and can not be harmed at that location; outraged Macbeth sends for murderers to kill Macduff’s wife, children, and servants. Before this one, Macbeth only murdered when he had a reason too. Killing the innocent family of Macduff takes away any pity the audience has for Macbeth, and makes him a horrible murderer. This last murder bring s me to believe that perhaps Macbeth’s tragic flaw wasn’t only ambition, but a thirst for blood as well. Aristotle’s tragic hero must also realize how his or her tragic flaw has led to their downfall. It is possible that when Macbeth says: â€Å"Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury. Signifying nothing.† He is recognizing how little he has done with his life. I think that this speech spoken by Macbeth is only signifying is disrespect for life, and how short and worthless it is to him. Because life means so little to Macbeth I think that it is easier for him to take it from other people, and not understand their pain. All in all I do not think that Macbeth does not fit Aristotle’s mold of a tragic hero. Aristotle suggests that after seeing a play including a tragic hero, one should feel uplifted; while watching Macbeth slaughter innocent people I felt disgusted by his evil deeds. Perhaps Shakespeare did not write Macbeth to cleanse people, but to make people see how doing evil things may bring them what they want, but will never bring them happiness. 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The Roaring 20's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Roaring 20's - Essay Example The US senate also rejected to agree the Treaty of Versailles which formally ended WW1 and provided for the creation of the Group of Nations. The Senate decided to reject the Treaty from the fear it may lead to the engagement of the US in future European conflicts. Americans merely do not need to cope with, nor tolerate the issues of Europe and overseas. (Pietrusza 5-10) As soon Americans place war just behind their minds that helped them to neglect the issues of European matters, and concentrate on the nation, their area, and themselves. American citizens identified themselves in a time of change, both the socially and culturally. Several think that values had crumbled entirely. Prior to The First World War, females wore their hair lengthy, had dresses touching their ankles, and very long silk cotton stockings. In the 20s, they put on shorter, tight clothes, and folded their silk tights right down to their knees. They wore fancy lip gloss and various makeup products. Ultimately, lad ies were even allowed the right to votein nineteenth Amendment. Women were never considered as an important part of the society up to that period, in American society. As soon as the women had the authority to vote, they didn't merely sit back again. The ladies of 20's worked for equal rights for both males and females in community (Pietrusza 10-15) On other hand there were numerous problems running rampant in the whole country after results of World war. Most of all Red Scare issue appeared to be the greatest problem raised. Red Scare that was noticed as a foreign communist conspiracy which was held responsible for numerous protest actions and union exercises in the years of 1919 and 1920. A lot of Americas additionally kept an eye on the growing actions of the Klu Klux Klan who were involved in terrorizing people from other countries including blacks, Jews as well as Roman Catholics. (Pietrusza 25-35) Books, fine art, and new music also mirrored the nations altering values. There were a lot of well-known writers, playwrights, music artists and performers which left their tag in the 20s. Sinclair Lewis published Main Street (1920), which reflects what he thought to be the boring lives and narrow oriented behaviors of individuals in a little town. One of the very best American authors to come up from the 20s was Ernest Hemingway. The most noted appreciated works of Hemingway includes "In to the trees" and "Across the trees" .A lot of Hemingway's best works delivered the conduct and encounters of the era's so named "last generation." During the 20's, Jazz was getting very famous. Whenever the turntable was switched on, Americans simply just had to party. It was a fresh experience of enjoyment, and satisfaction which arrived together with the origins of jazz tracks in USA. With jazz getting major, Americans move far from classic music and dancing and began discovering other kinds of new music for example jazz. The pleasant, light, simple sensation associated wit h jazz tunes was just an addition of American emotions through the 20's; wondrous and totally free spirited. (Pietrusza 40-43) Radio also popped the gates for innovative enjoyment for example evening programs for viewers to hear to. Mothers and fathers and their kids would remain close to the radio tuning in to such nightly funny shows as "Amos

LEAN THINKING (Manufacturing Lean Tools) Assignment

LEAN THINKING (Manufacturing Lean Tools) - Assignment Example In other words, demand requests supply hence pulls the supply out of the company. It can, therefore, be argued that the market fuels the needs that stimulate the company to make an individual product, which in turn emerges as a reaction to the pull action of demand. A company is not in a position to develop complete knowledge of the market as well as its players, which are marked by the dynamism and changeability of their needs and actions (Sharma & Agrawal, 2009). As a result, planning for organizational activities becomes risky endeavour and hence cannot be carried out for very long spans of time. The basis for the application of the pull strategy is hence an unstable context where the same business processes cannot be successfully reiterated (Sharma & Agrawal, 2009). Business competitiveness is not established with the creation of rigid cost structures that are steadily reduced with time. This means that the competitive force associated with pull strategies lies in the ability of the pull strategies to react to the market in rapid action. Additionally, experience in production and communications is not hyped (Sharma & Agrawal, 2009). Rather, knowledge is created in flexible responses as per the manufacturing processes, and also to informatio n and communications. For that reason, the competitiveness of pull systems is dependent on the ability to react afore the competition to the varying needs of demand. This applies not only to material flows but also to the flows of information and communications. It, therefore, appears that for the business sectors that experience elevated degrees of competitive intensity, only pull type policies are applied, considering the impracticality of long-term planning as well as the accentuated dynamism of demand and competitors. However, this does not occur because, the type of pull strategy has to be recognized on the basis of the details of each business process. For controlled competition economies, pull