Hegemony and Modern Culture

Hegemony and modern culture (TV documentary script) [Shots of banks, shops, people walking down shopping streets Grafton Street, the Mall in Tralee, Oliver Plunket Street in Cork as voice over speaks] â€Å"Not since the time of Antonio Gramsci has the notion of hegemony been so relevant in Ireland today. But what is hegemony? [Image of Gramsci] Hegemony is the phrase adopted by Antonio Gramsci from Marx to explain how social structures evolve. [Scenes of Regina Cali prison] Antonio Gramsci was born in Italy in 1891. After university, in deference to the fascist Mussolini ruling government he became involved in left wing activity.As a result of this he was arrested in 1928. While in the Regina Cali prison he studied the whole idea of hegemony. He wanted to find out why the weaker forces do not fight back, why do they bow down to their oppressors. He adapted the meaning of hegemony. He realized that it is not just concerned with how the ruling classes operate (as Marx had proposed). Gramsci felt that â€Å"what was missing was an understanding of the subtle but pervasive forms of ideological control and manipulation that seemed to perpetrate all repressive structures†1.He also found that the weaker group had their part in it by accepting the ruling class’s authority. This is the kernel that we are concerned with. This is the theory that we are going to apply to modern culture in Ireland today. Not just why modern culture is imposed but what are the subtle manipulations of this culture and also what is our part in acquiescing to them. [Cut to images of Irish legends Cuchulainn, Fionn mac Cumhaill, Deirdre of the sorrows] We used to have a culture rich in language, dance, storytelling, education, generosity and a love of the simpler things in life.It had evolved from years of myths and legends passed down from generation to generation. We lived by a code of traditions and values. Later we became colonised by England we were robbed of our language an d as a result the stories that made up our culture. Nevertheless we fought back until we gained our independence but already serious changes had occurred in our culture- the culture of money had crept in . Yeats commented on it in September 1913 What need you, being come to sense, But fumble in a greasy till And add the halfpence to the pence And prayer to shivering prayer, untilYou have dried the marrow from the bone; For men were born to pray and save; Romantic Ireland's dead and gone, It's with O'Leary in the grave. 3 [Images of cash tills and money] Consumerism has been growing steadily ever since, but its more than consumerism it’s a greed, an insatiable desire, an endless hunger for the next shiny object. The care for our fellow human beings has been replaced by this self propulsion . Recently we have been woken from a glut of consumerism, obsessed by the price of property and handbags and plunged into an abyss of recession. Now is the time to question what happened?Wha t is our culture? Who are the forces that change it and what is our part in adopting this culture as our own? Firstly what is our culture? Culture is anything that engages us socially. It is the media, television, newspapers, magazines, books, internet, art, music and dance. It is all of these and it is more. It is the way we think, the way we live and the things we believe in. Today in Ireland what is most prevalent is the culture of consumerism. Buoyed by the economic boom that was known as the Celtic tiger consumerism grew and grew. Borrowing increased as sales increased on luxury cars.Items such as handbags became known as must haves, the prices of houses escalated at an astonishing rate. Consumer spending increased by 36% in the period 1999 to 20042. As a nation we became gripped with a greed for goods. Where did this come from? Everyday we are bombarded with images of products and goods. The average person sees over a hundred ads a day. The media is littered with advertising. Most fashion magazines and television stations are run by the revenue generated by advertising. So we can observe how Gramsci’s theory is working, we are being governed by the media to buy these products.But what about the other side, why do we comply so easily. Is it because as a colonised state we are easily duped and behave like sheep. There is clearly proof for this . Because consumerism is our new God, we work all hours to acquire more money. Modern life is riddled with apathy. People don’t revolt any more and this is an essential part of Gramsci’s model. In order for a social structure to grow it needs to revolt. We did in the 1920’s when we gained our political freedom so why not again? Because people today are too busy being distracted by the media.Throughout the media we are shown the perfect way to live, what we need to purchase it, to attain that lifestyle and most importantly what we should be thinking. Open the supplement to The Sunday Times newspaper, not only will it tell you what artists are cool and current it will also give you a meter to what’s hot and not. There is usually a spread on a designer or artist with a photo shoot of their house. The following page has a guide as to where you can purchase items that are similar. We are filling our lives and our homes with products in the hope that they will give us an identity, a look a brand.But it goes further than this. Behind this cult of consumerism is a need for something stronger, the constant seeking that can never be found. In order for it to fill us it would have to be spiritual. We have made a false God of the media. Looking to it to sustain us, to give us direction and it can’t because it’s not based on spiritual principals. Our increasing lack of faith in Catholism had edged us more towards our readiness to believe in something else, something that makes us feel good, safe, and important. All the things the media claims to do.Social net working sites convince us we are important, that people are interested in what we say and want to see photos of us. The whole thing is ego based revolving around the church of me. As individuals become more obsessed with themselves, encouraged by the media (‘because we’re worth it’) to buy more products, watch more programmes that reiterate the ideology of Me and read more papers that tell you what to buy, community spirit is wasting away to nothing. In order for us to get any way out of this mess we need to look to Gramsci once again. We need to revolt.We need to stop consuming for the wrong reasons. We need to think about our purchasing. We need to become consciously aware of what we are doing. We need to start asking questions? Where is my money going? Is it helping communities or causing farmers to lose their farms? Why do they sell Riverock a Coca-cola product instead of Kerry Spring in the college canteen? Because that’s the reality; every time you p urchase something you set a chain of events into motion . Now we’re aware of our power there is no going back. We need to start a revolution.Some trailblazers have already started with Fair-Trade leading the way with putting a conscience into consumerism. In the field of fashion people like Kellie Dalton are paving the way forward for fashion with a conscience. Her work and the work of others at Redress. ie are helping make fashion more ethical. Hopefully with this growth in conscience a sense of community can once return to our shores and this will replace the endless seeking of self in the wrong places. [cue Titles Accompanied with Rage against the Machine â€Å"Take the Power Back†]Sources 1 http://www. nternationalgramscisociety. org 2 HYPERLINK â€Å"http://www. davy. ie/content/pubarticles/wmc20070730. pdf† http://www. davy. ie/content/pubarticles/wmc20070730. pdf 3 â€Å"September 1913† WB Yeats HYPERLINK â€Å"http://www. re-dress. ie/† htt p://www. re-dress. ie/ Irish Times Magazine, (Saturday Oct 31, 2009) The Sunday Times Style Supplement (Sunday Oct 25th, 2009) Cultural Theory, An Introduction, Philip Smith and Alexander Riley (Blackwell Publishing) pgs 35 – 37 HYPERLINK â€Å"http://www. victoryiscertain. com/gramsci† http://www. victoryiscertain. com/gramsci http://links. org. au/node/1260

Forgiveness: Jesus and Lord Essay

A definition for forgiveness could be — giving up my right to hurt you, for hurting me. It is impossible to live on this fallen planet without getting hurt, offended, misunderstood, lied to, and rejected. Learning how to respond properly is one of the basics of the Christian life. The word â€Å"forgive† means to wipe the slate clean, to pardon, to cancel a debt. When we wrong someone, we seek his or her forgiveness in order for the relationship to be restored. It is important to remember that forgiveness is not granted because a person deserves to be forgiven. Instead, it is an act of love, mercy, and grace. Admiting that you are hurt, but willing to give up claims for restitution. Offering forgiveness is hard for us. When we are hurt or disappointed, we want to be repaid for the grief and inconvenience that we’ve suffered. It only seems right. But the Bible says, forgive as the Lord forgave you. Through Christ, all our sins are taken away freely and completely. To forgive as the Lord forgives requires that we let others off the hook with no compensation requested or paid. We don’t understand the value of forgiveness because we are flawed not just in our relationships but also in our thinking. It takes strength to put aside our thirst for vengeance and offer mercy instead. It takes a loving heart to work through angry feelings and reach out to embrace those who have hurt you. It takes wisdom to understand that no one is faultless and entitled to claim the moral high ground in a dispute. Genesis 45:4-8 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, â€Å"Come close to me.† When they had done so, he said, â€Å"I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.[a] 8 â€Å"So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Genesis 50:20 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 1 Samuel 24:3-7 3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, â€Å"This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said[a] to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’† Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, â€Å"The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.† 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way. 1Samuel 26:8-11 Abishai said to David, â€Å"Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won’t strike him twice.† 9 But David said to Abishai, â€Å"Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless? 10 As surely as the LORD lives,† he said, â€Å"the LORD himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11 But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let’s go.† Hebrews 12:15 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshipping Him in awe. â€Å"When either the Hebrew Bible or Christian Scripture sanctions â€Å"the fear of the Lord,† it is referring to what Eugene Peterson describes as â€Å"a fear that pulls us out of our preoccupation with ourselves, our feelings, or our circumstances into a world of wonder.† Not dread but astonishment. Not terror but reverence. Not shaking-in-your-boots panic, but enraptured-with-love fascination. Thus we begin to understand why Scripture says: â€Å"Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him† (Psalm 33:8 NRSV). â€Å"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Proverbs 9:10). â€Å"Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2 Corinthians 5:11). The God who has showed himself in history as Jesus of Nazareth is not a thug who threatens and pushes people around. He is the God who creates such beauty in the world that we stand speechless, upholds us in our crisis moments so that we do not â€Å"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses†(1 Timothy 6:12) Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. – William Feather Don’t be discouraged. It’s often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock. – Author Unknown Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down. – Charles F. Kettering The kingdom of God has been subject to violence Ephesians 6:11-12 New International Version (NIV) 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. . ( 2 Timothy 2:3-7) Endure with us , like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. he was born in San Diego on November 9, 1918. Chadwick had her first swimming competition win at the age of ten, and at the age of eleven competed in her first â€Å"challenging† competition, a rough water swim. She placed fourth in the event. Chadwick’s biggest contribution to swimming history occurred on August 8, 1950, when she crossed the English Channel in 13 hours and 20 minutes, breaking the then-current world record held by American swimmer Gertrude Ederle. One year later, Chadwick crossed the English Channel yet again, from England to France; this time, in 16 hours and 22 minutes, thus making her the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions, and setting a record for the England-France journey. In 1952, Florence attempted to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. As she began, she was flanked by small boats that watched for sharks and were prepared to help her if she got hurt or grew tired. After about 15 hours a thick fog set in. Florence began to doubt her ability, and she told her mother, who was in one of the boats, that she didn’t think she could make it. She swam for another hour before asking to be pulled out, unable to see the coastline due to the fog. As she sat in the boat, she found out she had stopped swimming just one mile away from her destination.[2] Two months later, Chadwick tried again. This time was different. The same thick fog set in, but she made it because she said that she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind while she swam. In 1954, she attempted to become the first person to swim across Lake Ontario but gave up after becoming ill a few hours into her swim. Canadian Marilyn Bell, succeeded the next day. She died on March 15, 1995. You must also have confidence in your weapons. Our weapons are â€Å"mighty through God,† we are told. God has told you how to win; and just as surely as you follow his instructions and trust in him for results, he will cause you to wear the victor’s crown. Our cause is a righteous one. Have faith in that cause, and know that right must triumph. But remember that you cannot win unless you put your faith into your fighting. â€Å"This is the victory that overcometh the world, even your faith.† Believe that you will win. No matter how weak you are, no matter how great your foe, no matter what may confront you, go into the conflict with that courage that is born of faith. Believe that God will give you the victory. Do no consider defeat at all. Let your faith mount up, and say: â€Å"I can win, and I will win. In God I will conquer.† Throw away your doubts. Make an end of them. Trust in God. His word is true. You can believe it if you will, and believing it, you shall be more than conqueror through him that loves you. God is concerned that a great number of devote Christians are at the verge of frustration and discouragement because their efforts to bring the power of God to bear on situations and circumstances around them are not yielding any tangible result. They have prayed, fasted and diligently sought the face of the Lord and yet the conditions remain the same. Some have actually concluded that God has abandoned them. In fact others are beginning to doubt whether Christianity is true or not. Their love for the Lord is going cold. If this is your condition, then you are one of those for whom God has prepared this message. Be assured that God has not forgotten nor forsaken you, rather He has been waiting for you to be ready for the truth you are about to hear. Indeed, it should be a concern to all of us that there is so much struggling with the Christian life today and the power of God seems to flow only in trickles in people’s lives. If we acknowledge that God is still God and that He never changes, then we will understand that the ————————————————-

Australia’s Recent Economic Performance

The macroeconomic policies of a country are the most important policies and these policies play significant role in the economic growth of the company. These also decide the economic position of the country as well as decide the direction of the economy of the country. There are several different types of the macroeconomic policies and among them most important policies are fiscal policy, monetary policy as well as exchange rate policy (Barbieri and Pezzini, 2001). The fiscal policy of a country helps to allocate the budget of the country’s necessary development and other requisites. The monetary policies of the government help in allocating the fund in correct investment option so that the country can able to achieve the desirable economic growth. In addition to that the exchange rate policy helps the government to maintain the rate of domestic currency as compared to the standard international currency. In Australia the government put great emphasis on developing effective m acroeconomic policies in order to ensure the desirable high growth rate for the country (Brittle, 2010). This report is an attempt to analysis the macroeconomic policies of Australia, which help in improving the growth of the country.  Ã‚   The Australian Government has taken significant economic policies, which help the country to establish substantial growth for the country. The government of Australia has been at the front position for utilizing the fiscal policies in order to minimizing the macroeconomics effects of the financial crisis, which influence the global economy (De Menil, Portes and Sinn, 2008). The Australian Government can do so as the debt of the country is minute compared to the international standard. Even after many years of fiscal deficits, the net government debt is remaining lower than 10% of the GDP of the country. This compares positively with the debt ratio of the United Nations Government of around 70%. The country has implemented sustainable fiscal policies, that needs the debt of public does not enhance connecting to the GDP in long term. The gross domestic product of Australia has expanded up to 0.7% in December 2015, in comparison to upward revised 1.2% growth in previous quarter and the market consequences (Fender, 2012). The expenditure on consumption is positively contributed to the expansion, net exports and investment also contributed to the growth of GDP.   The growth of economy is around 3% by accelerating from the upward revised 2.8% in September quarter and thus beating the expectation. Therefore, it is considered to be the fastest growth since the third quarter of the year 2012. The growth rate of GDP in the country is around 0.88% from the year 1959 to 2015. The growth rate reached to 4.50% in the first quarter of the year 1976 and recorded low at the rate -2% in second quarter of the year 1974. The current economic performance of the country is good and is supported by high production level (Freebairn, 2003). It is also a significant contributor of the five sectors that is expected to drive the future global development: education, agribusiness, mining, wealth management, and tourism. The structural reforms of the government of Australia can face decade of deficits due to the increase in the spending on the older households. The repaying costs will fall on the younger households. The Australian GDP is seemed to be expanded for the last quarter of the year 2015 and it also seems to be upward rising in with the growth percentage of the 2.7 percent and thus the expectations are seemed to be fastening the expansions that are required for the proper enhancement of the resources for the utilisation of the resources in the Australia. The growth rate of the country Australia is enhanced at the third quarter of the 2012 whose GDP annual growth is seemed to be fastening the expansion of at the rate of the 9 percent. Thus the bureau of the statistics also shows the growth of the economy in the country of the Australia also helps in the development of the economy of the country of the Australia. Thus the country Australia’s national GDP seems to be increasing at the next year of second year of at the low interest rate of the GDP and thus it also shows the growth of the -3.50 percent which also helps in the creation of the statistics of the Australian Bureau of the statistics (Abs.gov.au, 2016). The structural ref orms of the government of Australia can face decade of deficits due to the increase in the spending on the older households. The repaying costs will fall on the younger households. Hence,   the Australian economic centre seems to be dominated by the services sectors and thus it also helps in the increment of the success of the of the other sectors including the mining sectors that are require for the proper enhancement of the percentage at the rate of 13.5 % and thus it also helps in showing the key developments in the commodity of the exports and the imports and thus it also helps in the proper increment   of the investments in   the infrastructural services for the proper enhancement of the sectors data. Thus the Australian GDP also shows the actual values of the Australian GDP shows the historical and the forecasting of the economic calendars that are related to the new releases of the year.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Therefore, it would be difficult for the government of Australia for next ten years (Tawadros, 2016). Therefore, the commonwealth government is funding to adopt and implement new policies. Apart from this, government of Australia is still to respond the scale of the budget challenges. These challenges are difficult to overcome as the government does not have enough funds to purchase the reform. The sustainability of economy depends on the government policies (Friedman, 2000). The policies implemented by the government are reducing the superannuation tax, changing the capital gain tax and the negative gearings,   introducing broad property levy and broadening the goods and service tax.   The country has significant economic policies, which help substantial economic growth of the country. The GDP of the country is stable from the last several years as well as improved substantially in last few years.   a). The companies providing incentive for work to the employees and innovation via reduction in organization and income tax might constrain the desired policy setting and outcomes. The strategies can affect the policy setting of the country (Relative fiscal capacities of the States 2006, 2006). The government can have a significance influence on incentives that affects investment, innovation and taking decisions whether the workforce should participate or not and all the drivers for development. The incentives are influenced by disciplines imposed by the competitive markets. The reduction in the income tax can affect the income source of government (Gruen, 2005). The approach of the government to the fiscal policy is significant to imparting credibility and certainty to the market through application of the macroeconomic policies. The creditability policy contributes to the reduced uncertainty and thus creating more attractive business environment. The disciplined fiscal policy with credibility over medium terms allows the business to make decision regarding investment with greater confidence. The rates of payments which include their adequacy should be balanced against the impacts on the incentives for the employees to get off the welfare (Gruen, 2005). Therefore, the economic policy settings through the welfare and tax system impact on the work incentives and it should be frame in such a way that avoids the discouragement of employees.  Ã‚   When the government of the country reduced the income tax rate along with the tax for the companies, the government do so for promoting the business activities of the countries. When the income tax reduced for the individuals of the country the citizens have more money and they can expense more thus, the cash flow in the market is increasing and there is more liquid money in the market so the growth of the market is increasingly increased and from the growth rate of the market the economy of the country use to be booste d significantly. In case of reducing tax for the companies the companies have more liquid money, which the companies can invest in the future development of the companies and it help in prospectus growth and development of the country and its economy. The economy is boosted by these particular novel policies, which is different from the traditional economic policies. By these economic policies the government of country use to take substantial risk as by this policy the taxation income of the country will be reduced and the wealth of the country will be reduced initially but at the same time it open huge potentiality of growth and economic development of the country. The policy of reducing income tax and the company tax is innovative taxation policy of the government of the country that substantially help the country to improve its economic growth and development. At the time when the countries, in order to encourage the investment and growth of the companies of the country reduce the income tax rate as well as company taxes, which lead to deficit in the budget as the tax collection from the income tax Act of the countries as well as from the others taxes which are levied to the companies performing their business activities within the constituency of the country. By reducing the taxes the wealth collecting from the taxation will be reduced initially, however, it encourage the companies within the country to do more investment as well as this policies encourage the companies to do expansion for the growth and development of the company (Gumus, 2011). Therefore, in order to proceeding expansion the companies have to use several government facilities and have to provide taxes for availing the facilities and so that the taxation wealth of the country will be increased. Besides this, it helps in the growth of the market as due to this policy of go vernment to reduce company and income tax the market use to be growing substantially (Nagel, 2000). Moreover, in this way the economy of the country will be growing. In case of reducing the income tax, the taxpayer citizens of the country will get more money in their hand so they incline to buy more or they use to expense more in this case the market use to grow substantially (ItoÃÅ'„ and Rose, 2008). Therefore, by the help of this policy the government can be able to improve the economy of the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   b). When the central bank of the country takes initiatives for lowering the interest rate, it plays significant role stimulating the economic activities within the country as several organizations use to take finance from the banks in order to improve their business activities so that the companies can be able to establish desirable growth and development (Kincaid and Shah, 2007). The decrease in the interest will help in the development of the economic activity of Australia. The price growth can also be controlled of the houses so that the middle and low income group family can afford for the houses. Therefore, the affordability of the houses can be improved with the lower rate of interest and decreasing the rate of price of the houses. It has been concluded that the housing policy in the country is inappropriate that affected the housing affordability of lower income and middle income group of the people. It has been forecasted that the rise in the price of the houses imposes negat ive impact on the people of the country. The decrease in the rate of interest of the houses will encourage the lower and middle income group of the people. The increase in the rate of interest and decrease in the   price of the houses will enable to afford houses. The tax amount should be reduced and the combination of the Negative gearing and capital gain tax has contributed problems to the affordability of the houses all across the country. The decrease in the interest rates and price of the houses will help to increase in the investment in houses and attracts more number of investors towards purchasing of houses in the country. The complexities in the changes in the price of the houses have created difficulties in front of the government of the country. However, decrease in the rate of interest and decrease in the principle price will increase the affordability of the houses among the investors and other people. In the following policy banks play an important role as they provi de loan to the people for different purposes as well as for the housing in the country.   The policies and factors should help in the growth and appropriate development of the country.                Therefore, in case of lowering interest rate by the central bank of the country a boom in the market can be evident as the economic activities by the companies use to be improved substantially by the governmental policy of the country. At the time, when the price of the housing is growing the lowering in the interest rate help in improving the affordability of the housing as the customers of the housing can obtain the house in lower rate of interest and thus the tendency of buying a new house will be increased and maximum number of people incline to buy new house thus, a boom can be evident in the real estate industry (Monacelli and Perotti, 2010).   The government of Australia should undertake reforms on the spending and revenue side. The government is focusing on cutting down the spending. The government has reduced the budget for the foreign aid and the savings have been proposed for primary care, welfare through the changes in arrangement in the benefits and eligibility threshold and primary care. The revenue measures can help the government to improve the budget deficit and other policies.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Barbieri, S. and Pezzini, M. (2001).  OECD territorial reviews. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Brittle, S. (2010). Ricardian Equivalence and the Efficacy of Fiscal Policy in Australia.Australian Economic Review, 43(3), pp.254-269. De Menil, G., Portes, R. and Sinn, H. (2008).  Economic policy. [Oxford]: [Blackwell]. Fender, J. (2012).  Monetary policy. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Freebairn, J. (2003). Economic policy for rural and regional Australia.  Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 47(3), pp.389-414. Friedman, B. (2000).  Monetary policy. Cambridge, MA.: National Bureau of Economic Research. Gruen, D. (2005). The Evolution of Fiscal Policy in Australia.  Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 21(4), pp.618-635. Gruen, D. (2005). The Evolution of Fiscal Policy in Australia.  Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 21(4), pp.618-635. Gumus, I. (2011). Exchange Rate Policy and Sovereign Spreads in Emerging Market Economies.  Review of International Economics, 19(4), pp.649-663. ItoÃÅ'„, T. and Rose, A. (2008).  International financial issues in the Pacific Rim. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Kincaid, J. and Shah, A. (2007).  The practice of fiscal federalism. MontreÃÅ' al: Published for Forum of Federations = Forum des feÃÅ' deÃÅ' rations and iacfs by McGill-Queen's University Press. Monacelli, T. and Perotti, R. (2010). Fiscal Policy, the Real Exchange Rate and Traded Goods*.  The Economic Journal, 120(544), pp.437-461. Nagel, S. (2000).  Handbook of global economic policy. New York: Marcel Dekker. Relative fiscal capacities of the States 2006. (2006). Canberra, A.C.T.: Commonwealth Grants Commission. Tawadros, G. (2016). Asymmetric monetary policy rules in Australia.  Applied Economics, pp.1-15.9-24-14 [Accessed 29 May 2016].

Sherma- Anti- Trust Act (1890) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sherma- Anti- Trust Act (1890) - Essay Example Prior to the enactment of the Sherman Act, large corporations had more powers and were controlling the smaller corporations through price discrimination and price fixing. This led to unbalanced and unfair competition and hence the need to control the activities of the trusts. For instance, one of the reasons why farmers in Missouri farmers agitated for the formulation and enactment of an antitrust law was the fact that most of them were being underpriced by larger and more efficient farms. Sherman Act enabled individuals to start to their own businesses and it provided a perfect environment for business competition as it eliminated monopoly in the market (Koutsoudakis,pg.6). The penalties for violating Sherman Antitrust Act or law entail both criminal and civil penalties. Individuals or corporation that has been found to commit, attempt or conspire to monopolize trade is liable to criminal or civil penalties because they are deemed to have committed felony. If a person has been found to be guilty of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, a fine of up to $350,000 may be imposed on them or they can liable to face up to three years in prison. On the other hand, corporations that violate the Act can face a fine of up to $10,000,000. Furthermore, the government has been granted the power to seize any property of an individual or corporations that engage in unlawful trade practice that run contrary to the Sherman Act (Koutsoudakis,pg.8). Section seven (7) of the Sherman Act grant every citizen the right to file for a prosecution at any court in the United States and the entitlement for a remedy or compensation. The import of this section is that it gives ordinary citizens the chance of receiving justice without travelling long distances to circuit court of the United States. Question Two William Edward Burghardt Du Bois is one of the prominent African-American intellectual leader who is renowned for the championing of black civil rights. Most of his writings and speech es were aimed at redeeming and uplifting the life of black people in the society. The opinion of W.E.B Du Bois on the Reconstruction Era: â€Å"The slave went free: stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again towards slavery† has significant undertones that can be analyzed. The first part of the quote represents the end of slavery that had plagued United States for a long time. Although United States was founded on the precepts and promise of political freedom, individual liberty and freedom and economic prosperity, the same was not realized during the initial stages of its democracy and independence. After independence, slavery was widespread in United States despite the notion that the nation committed to uphold equality of all men and to get powers to rule and govern from the people (Campbell, Fraser and Mancall,pg.80). Slavery was rooted in America and majority of states from the south were composed mainly of slaves. The emergence of civil war that majorly revo lved around slavery brought some changes in United States. The Civil war led to the abolishment of the slavery in United States and this is what W.E.B Du Bois refers to in the first part of his opinion. The Second part of W.E.B Du Bois opinion represents the period after the civil war and the initial stages of the reconstruction era. Most of the Southern States got temporal reprieve when slavery was abolished and this is what

Inequality and Poverty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Inequality and Poverty - Essay Example Bishop and Amiel (2007) assert that there is poverty in the majority of the world nations and its people. However, it is not enough to blame people for such predicaments, claiming that they are lazy or made poor decisions which are responsible for their plight. The government has pursued some policies which hamper successful development. Causes of inequality and poverty are in doubt but are more and deeper causes of poverty which are less discussed. Behind the increased interconnectedness which is promised by globalization are practices, policies and global decisions. Such are influenced, formulated, or driven by the powerful and the rich, or rather can be leaders from rich countries and other global actors like institutions, influential people and multinational corporations. However, in the face of such external influences, the government of the poor nations and their people are powerless and as a result, few get wealthy, while the majority struggle with their poor lives. Most of th e people live on just a few dollars a day, and it does not matter if one lives in the wealthiest nations or poorest, one will still notice the high levels of inequality. The poor people have less access to health, education and other basic services that are important in their lives. Problems of disease, malnutrition, and hunger afflict the poor people in the society. Additionally, the poor people are also marginalized from the society and have little representation or voice in political and public debates, which makes it harder for them to escape from poverty. In contrast, the richer you are, the more likely you benefit from political and economic policies. The amount of money the world spends on financial and military bailouts and other areas which benefits the richer is compared to the amount that is spent to address the daily crisis of poverty and other related problems (Jenkins, 2007). The Cutbacks in education, social services and health around the world results for the adjustm ent structural policies by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as conditions for repayment and loans. To add to this, developing governments are required to open their economies in order to compete with more established and powerful industrialized nations. To attract poor countries and investment, they have entered into a competition to find out who can provide cheaper resources, reduced wages, and attract investment. This has increased inequality and poverty for most people. To add to this, it also forms a backbone of what is we call globalization and as a result, it maintains the unequal historic rules of trade (Bishop & Amiel, 2007). Around the world, in poor or rich nations, poverty has always been present. In all most all nations, the inequality, meaning the gap between the poor and the rich is widening and quite high. The causes are also numerous, including bad government policy, exploitation by businesses and people with influence and power, lack of responsibility or a combination of such factors. Many individuals feel that the high levels of inequality affects the social cohesion, which leads to problems like violence and crime. Bishop and Amiel (2007) assert that inequality is often a measure of poverty that is usually relative. However, absolute poverty is also a matter of concern,

The Food Sector of Saudi Arabia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

The Food Sector of Saudi Arabia - Research Paper Example There is also scope for seeing a wider and diverse range of products apart from the available food products. With average annual sales of 3.5 billion dollars, this sector offers a lot of insights as well as opportunities for strategic marketing. The growth of the food industry in Arab can be seen from the fact that more and more international food organizations are launching their products and services in Saudi Arabia. This can be attributed to the changing food habits of the overall population, increasing demand for diversity in food, etc. The island of oil has seen a gradual shift in the food habits of Arab populations. With the rise in economy and increasing percentage of younger populations, the overall choice and taste for food has changed. More and more population is now opting for outside food outlets, such as restaurants and hotels. As women entrepreneurs and workers are increasing in numbers, home cooked food is being replaced by ordered food. The overall preference of Arab population is shifting towards eating out. This can be seen from the increasing marketing strategies adopted by Arab restaurants. The overall food and drinks purchased by restaurants in Saudi Arabia have seen a 12 percent year on year increase. As more and more people are opting out, the restaurants are also increasing their overall range of food products. Restaurants and hotels in Saudi Arabia have also categorized their food and beverages department according to the target population. Different menus and cuisines are prepared and served for locals as well as tourists in the restaurants. Thus, it can be said that food industry has become a burgeoning sector in Saudi Arabia, provided it is supported by proper marketing and branding activities. However, it is also important to highlight the negative effects of such a change in food preferences. Though outside food is becoming popular as a result of factor such as time saved, convenience, variety etc, it is also true that the overall quality of food is getting compromised. As a result, health concerns among general population are on the rise. Recent government reports have suggested that there has been a rise in obesity and diabetes, basically arising from irregular and unhealthy eating habits. Researchers have also shown that average percentage of obese children have increased in the past five years. Now all of the above facts pose a serious threat on the general health of the Arab population. Thus, it has been important for the government as well as the organizations to educate society in terms of healthy food and healthy lifestyle. Like other organizations in the food sector in Arab, Arzaq also faces few challenges and concerns in terms of marketing its food products. It can be seen that Saudi Arabia has become a hub for international food. Thus, in order to expand its customer base and gain market share as well as brand recognition, Arzaq will have to opt for strategic marketing activities.  Ã‚  

The Book by Eric Weiner The Geography of Happiness Essay

The Book by Eric Weiner The Geography of Happiness - Essay Example It is interesting to see how Weiner tries to find explanations for these high happiness ratings. During the chapter discussing Switzerland, Weiner begins to discuss the reasons for Swiss happiness. He surmises that one of the major reasons behind the happiness of this neutral nation is that they experience their emotions in moderation, neither being very happy or very sad. This may seem like a strange suggestion to make when discussing happiness, as perhaps it may seem necessary to experience happiness at the extreme to feature highly on the Gross National Happiness scale. In this case, we can say that there may be a link between geographical location and happiness, as the neutrality of the country seems to have had an impact on the neutrality of the people, and this leads to happiness. Another thing that Weiner mentions in his discussions of Switzerland is that the Swiss feel a huge connection with nature, and the way that geography contributes to this source of happiness is that Switzerland has a beautiful natural environment. Many other things are mentioned in the discussion of Switzerland, such as their huge wealth (and thus surmising that the Swiss should feel less envy than those in other countries) and their tendency to vote often (thus surmising that democracy is the route to happiness) and these too can be linked geographically to the Gross National Happiness index. These latter two reasons Weiner are also associated with Iceland, a wealthy country with a well-established democratic government. Weiner also gives other reasons which may contribute to the happiness of the Icelandic people, one of which is a tendency towards the creative. Weiner even goes on to suggest that everyone in Iceland is a poet and a dreamer, and perhaps this leads to a large number of extremely happy people here.

Define the marketing information system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Define the marketing information system - Essay Example The environment is getting tougher and more competitive, a business that needs to be successful not only has to be competitive but also be equipped with latest technology and a perfect combination of human minds. The concept of making profit has now shifted itself into a new form called ‘customer satisfaction’. Every organization looks to satisfy their customers and this could be done when the firm delivers the exact thing the customer requires. This can be achieved through a number of ways, firstly by good communication, secondly by observing the different customer behaviors and their preferences. The two ways mentioned above need a track record of the customer so as to deduce results of the consumer preferences and choices. Here comes the factor technology as it provides a simple information system that has the ability to store data about the customer, which eventually helps the manager in analyzing different customer and then making sure they are satisfied. The basic function of a database is to help the managers in making important and vital not only strategic decisions but also operational decisions. A very common example is an organization that uses an information system to keep records of the customers and its name is Proctor & Gamble. The P & G has been conducting its business successfully all over the globe and they have a simple marketing information system that keeps a track of the customer purchases as they have all the records of the customer purchases that have been made of their products. This helps them analyze the product’s weaknesses and strengths, and then they can improve it according to their customers. The method they use is entering the purchases of every individual customer separately on a database. This database later is used by research experts to explore different innovations in the product if its not working or else how to keep a famous product selling for a longer period of time. The information gathered is simpl e for example

Christian and islam Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Christian and islam - Research Paper Example It is possible for members of a particular religion to identify and define themselves against other people who are not in that religion. The dilemma arising in this case is how outsider may be connected to the salvation offered by that particular religion. Does the religion’s purview of salvation include or exclude people outside that religion? Different authors and scholars may suggest different answers to this question. In an attempt to seek both individual and collective salvation, different religious arguments arise to explain differences between one religion and another. Inclusivist, exclusivist and universal pluralism are common positions explaining difference between Christianity and Islam. From an inclusivist perspective, both Christianity and Islam have teachings and beliefs that are true. Though Christians believes that their faith is true, inclusivists believe that other religions are partially true. As an absolute religion, Christianity does recognize that other religions can provide salvation. It only tells of the unique word of God, incarnate in Death of Jesus on the cross and provide a social context for salvation. It teaches that to accomplish salvation God assesses people behaviors on earth. God applies results of the death of Jesus and resurrection to everyone regardless of the religion. Therefore, God makes it possible for anyone to earn salvation including people from other religions. This opinion is not accepted by everyone especially the conservative and evangelical Christians who believe that religious inclusivism contradicts the teachings of the bible. These critics find support from Acts 4:12 that emphasizes on the point that salvation is for no one else other than Christians. Is there any form of inclusivism in Islam? According to Hick (2005), the concept of people of the book has some elements of

Employee relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Employee relations - Essay Example All these activities could be broadly put into three major categories such as collective bargaining or negotiations mainly wage negotiations, industrial action and legal actions. Unions as representative of workers organizations bargain with employers or various such issues such as wages, allowances, bonus, hours of work, reinstatement etc. The unions have secure bargaining power by statute and bargaining is done with the presence of the third party. Trade unions and its impact: It has been quite a longtime the discussion is going on that trade unions affect productivity of workforce individually or collectively in positive or negative way. Dipp, Lupton and Aslop (2000, 2002) indicate a fall in the extent, which employers regard unions as damaging to industrial relations. Impact of trade unions on productivity and the economic performance of organizations have long been debated. The UK firms are primarily using the latest equipment, automation and technology, resulting in high labor productivity and the ability to produce quality products to meet the requirements of EU and US markets. Differences in technology, automation, age of equipment, levels of employment, all affect labor productivity. Most of the EU producers have increased their productivity in recent years by increased automation, improving technology, and downsizing, instigating â€Å"cultural change† programmes, and bringing in productivity-linked incentive pa y schemes. British political climate hostile to the trade unions has considerably weakened trade unionism. The received wisdom is that unionization rates have fallen rapidly as unions have failed to become recognized in newly setup work places (Machins, 2000). Throughout the 1980’s a range of anti union legislative measures were introduced by conservative govt. and the seemed to have a particularly adverse effect on recognition in establishments’

Interpretation of Family Life Education Essay Example for Free

Interpretation of Family Life Education Essay Family Life Education has endured multiple evolutions, definitions and criteria since its origins in contemporary family science between 1881 and 1920. Currently, Family Life Education has tightened the reigns of its purpose, created fundamental criteria and yet still leads itself to an assortment of interpretations. For the purpose of this paper, I will endeavor to give my individual definition of Family Life Education based on course readings and research, the guiding principle of FLE, a theoretical perspective that supports and, is most relevant to my definition of Family Life Education and, a personal philosophy of ‘education’. What does Family Life Education signify to me? Depending on the company you keep, this is a potentially loaded question. Within the realm of my present circle, the question does hold a realistic explanation. Family life education has been significant in the historical development of several educational enterprises (Arcus, vol. 1, 1993, p. 46); therefore, lending itself to the family life professional to select a track that best complements their own philosophies and professional preparation. The definition by the National Council on Family Relations (2006) sums up what FLE means to me, â€Å"Family life education is the educational effort to strengthen individual and family life through family perspective. The objective of family life education is to enrich and improve the quality of the individual and the family life. † As a future professional in this distinctive field, I strive to possess the many characteristics of a well-rounded practitioner, including, but not limited to, sound knowledge of the professional content and to function, when needed in a multidisciplinary approach. As the possibilities to individual and family composition are endless, the ability to draw from other disciplines is crucial. It is probable that when working with a family for instance that is struggling with an issue, the family life professional would need to utilize an approach that incorporated all of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences (1983). In addition, it is also important to note Family life educators have used educational concepts as their solitary approach to ‘multidisciplinary’ intervention (Arcus, vol. 2, 1993, pg. 28) and this approach has created concern amongst scholars and professionals alike. To become multi disciplinary, Arcus (1993) offers that through the use of knowledge from a broader range of disciplines and through greater cooperation among the contributing disciplines, true multidisciplinary approach can be attained. As indicated previously, the composition of individual or family is infinite and special attention needs to be paid to issues of diversity. Within the profession of Family Studies, there is particular emphasis on valuing differences and respecting those distinctions (Arcus, vol. 2, 1993, pg. 28) furthermore, creating effective working relationships with persons served. Lastly, to complete the puzzle of the well rounded practitioner, one must be able to utilize their own life experiences relevant to family life topics and to honestly accept those experiences as not to furnish hypocritical recommendations. To further personalize my definition of Family Life Education, I have compiled some additional ideas. It is unlikely that a professional in the field of Family Studies is wandering aimlessly without purpose or direction. Typically, they are a part of an organization that is providing services to individuals or families with a set of defined needs. Even more likely it is the responsibility of the professional to design, develop and deliver the services needed by means of effective programming. The Family Life professional becomes the program and an effective program does not rest solely on content (Brindis Davis, et al, 1998, part IV). The professional must mobilize for action by increasing awareness and generating support of a program, assess the needs and assets of the populations served and build strong foundations that will serve to protect the potential of the program and last, but surely not least, design an effective Family Life Education program. Designing a new or adapted family life education program frequently entails many planning and management issues. The development is easier when the concerns are planned for at the onset. Think about how to advocate for the program, especially in the face of controversy. Expect controversy (Brindis Davis, et al. 1998, sect. IV). Controversy or conflict is seguing to the subsequent topic, the guiding principles of Family Life Education. Intervention, the anti-conflict: Being proactive in a reactive world. ‘Intervention by way of education’, this statement, in my opinion is the guiding principle to family life education. No matter how you slice it, the opportunity to impart an intervention is endless. Intervention can have many connotations. In day to day life it is regularly defined as an unwelcomed interference. For instance, a wife introduces an intervention for her substance abusing husband, of which does not want to admit to or take responsibility for his addiction. Therefore the husband would characterize the intervention as ‘unwelcomed interference’. For the purpose of family studies, the definition takes a neutral stance to denote the ‘taking of clearly defined actions to induce change’ (Encarta English Dictionary). The change is expected to be positive, indicating harmony or affirmation. Societies evolve along different cultural, religious, historical, economic, geographical, and political paths. At any time, members of different societies view themselves and the world from distinctive perspectives. Yet global trends in communication and information dissemination, entertainment, and other economic and commercial exchanges always affect local realities, sometimes more than people living in those localities fully understand. How children, adolescents, and adults are assigned roles ultimately reflects the convergence of such societal paths and global trends. The preceding statements have the potential to be segue ways and/or roadblocks to the family professional. The professional should establish family life education at an early age, to combat the notion of reaction and to introduce the idea of prevention, lessening the likelihood of ever intervening. The introduction of a program that would counter negative or damaging societal outcomes should implement age appropriate curricula, especially when working solely with school age children, which meets the developmental needs and matches backgrounds and life experiences of all individuals involved. What are â€Å"universal† interventions? As adapted from Family Health International (2001), †¢Offer education and skill-building †¢Engage youth caretakers, including parents, extended family, or other adults such as teachers and youth workers. †¢Engage youth themselves in program design, development, implementation, and evaluation. †¢Ensure access to counseling and other services that respond to the special needs of the individual or family †¢Augment collaboration and effective referrals among existing health and other development agencies and organizations. †¢Coach program site managers, service providers, and others to improve their interactions with individuals and families †¢Have clear goals, target populations, and indicators while building in monitoring and evaluation from the beginning of a project; use such findings to improve strategies and services. The family life professional should strive to maintain balance and realistic programming and to ultimately provide information and activities that encourage skill development that is relevant and useful. Imparting a value system and norms when they are lacking or completely absent to an individual or family is an asset to the overall program, especially when follow through is a potential issue. A basic skill set is at least in place. Last but not least, ensure that your program is based on a solid theoretical model. Ability, Desire and Potential: Why MI theory is relevant to Families â€Å"Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential. John Maxwell During the tenure of this course, Family Study Methodologies, we have encountered many theories and how they are or have been significant to the field of Family Life Education. The theories have run the gamut from their birthplace in social theory and social therapy to a current state of post modern, contemporary status. As indicated by Lavee and Dollahite (1991), there is a weak link between theory and research in modern family science and they go further to say, from multiple points of view, it is imperative to couple theory with research methods. There are multiple approaches to theory and research in the family sciences (Sourcebook, pg. 17) and there is not one that is committed as the ‘flagship theory’ to FLE. Rather the â€Å"interplay between scholars, families and the socio-cultural context that surrounds them† (Sourcebook, pg. 18). These connections should pay special attention to the unique quality of families in society and how these families function within their environment. It is necessary to confirm what I mean by theory within the field of family life education. As defined by Gibbs ( 1972, p.5),sourcebook p 20 theory is â€Å" a set of logically interrelated statements in the form of empirical assertions about properties of infinite classes of events or things†. This definition lends itself to the notion of a conceptual framework, a theory that has not come full circle. Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences fits this description. Although there are several intelligences define which possess a sound theoretical foundation, eight to be exact, there are additional ‘intelligences’ waiting in the wings for validation; therefore supporting the notion of the conceptual framework. Gardner’s theory is relevant to family life education, in part due to its flexible and expandable nature but mostly because the ‘family’ is a phenomenal, progressive body that needs room to evolve, just as MI theory continues to do. References Brindis, C and Davis, L et al. (1998) Designing effective family life education programs. Advocatesforyouth. org. Four sections. Retrieved April 13, 2008, from www. advocateforyouthorg/PUBLICATIONS Lavee, Y. , Dollahite, D. C. (1991) The linkage between theory and research in family science. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 361-373.

Use Of Intelligent Agents In E Commerce Information Technology Essay

Use Of Intelligent Agents In E Commerce Information Technology Essay Software agents can be defined as semi-autonomous software entities which support individuals cope with the complexities when working in a distributed information environment. This paper describes how these intelligent agents involved in e-commerce transactions. 1. Introduction In recent years the World Wide Web has become largest market place due to its exponential growth enabled extensive progress in new information society functions such as electronic commerce. Electronic commerce, known as e-commerce, is a type of industry where buying and selling of product or service over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks.[1] Simply e-commerce is buying and selling over the internet medium. Electronic commerce involves business to business (B2B), business to customer (B2C) and customer to customer (C2C) transactions. It covers a wide variety of issues including security, trust, reputation, law, payment mechanisms, advertising, ontologies, electronic product catalogs, intermediaries, multimedia shopping experiences, and back office management. Agent technologies can be applied to any of these areas in e- commerce.[2] 2. Intelligent Agents According to IDMs definition intelligent agents are software programs that carry out some set of tasks on behalf of a user or another program with some degree of independence. So doing, gain some knowledge or representation of the users desires. According to Meas definition software agents are computer programs that run in the background and perform tasks autonomously. Software agents are becoming an important part of these Modern information systems because they diminish the complexity, and they achieve this technically and psychologically. Technically, each agent provides a locus of intelligence for managing a subset of the information in the system, either on its own initiative or under the direction of a user. Each intelligent agent can be readily replicated and then distributed as needed. This agent-based approach to information management is both scalable and cost-effective. Psychologically, people need abstractions by which they can understand, manage, and use complex systems effectively. A natural and convenient abstraction appears to be one based on humanizing the information system components that is, treating the components as animate. In this abstraction, software components are like human agents. The abstraction is effective, because people have a lot of experience in dealing with other people, and they can apply their experience to understanding and dealing with complex software. [3] Software agents were first used few years ago to filter information, match individuals with similar interests, and automate repetitive activities. More lately, agents have been applied to e-commerce, encouraging a revolution in the way people conduct transactions in e-commerce. Intelligent agents in e-commerce web sites can carry out many decision making and problem-solving tasks that usually require human intelligence, such as diagnosis, data sorting, planning, or negotiation. They can answer email messages, search the Internet for valuable information, carry out comparisons, or even become electronic pets. O. Etzioni and D.S. Weld [5] defined a software agent as a software entity which functions continuously and independently in a specific environment often occupied by other agents and processes. The requirement for endurance and independence derives from human desire that an agent should be able to do activities in a flexible and intelligent manner reactive to changes in the environment without constant human observation. An agent that functions over a long period of time should be able to implement from its experience. Also, an agent should be able to occupy an environment with other agents and processes, and to be able to communicate and collaborate with them. 2.1 Types of Software Agents Hendler [4] distinguishes four types of agents by function. Problem-solving agents -They do many traditional planning expert systems did, namely collect data, analyze a situation, and make a conforming decision for how to act on the users behalf. Purchasing agents is an example for this category. User-centric agents- These type of agents enable interaction with the user. Also they provide a better user interface by getting knowledge about the users system use preferences and tailoring the interface to the user preferences. Control agents They control the operation of some agents in a multi agent environment. In this context one needs to remember that agents are not only mobile, but also small in size, each with a very specialized capability. Hence, the interaction of several agents might be required to provide sufficient intelligence and capability. These are very progressive agents used in research experimentations. Transaction agents- These agents translate information between different data standards within a unrelated database or file environment. Between these four types, the ones that create contention are problem solving agents specializing in data gathering. They may be aided by transaction agents to access data from numerous data sources and may be controlled by control agents. However, the most important functionality is the ability to collect and analyze information from remote sites. 2.1.1 Characteristics of Software Agents Dependable with the requirements of a specific problem, each intelligent agent might possess to a greater or lesser degree the attributes stating below [5, 6, and 7] Reactivity: the capability of selectively sense and act. Autonomy: goal-directedness, and self-starting behavior. Collaborative behavior: can work in collaboration with other agent to attain a mutual goal. Knowledge-level communication ability: their ability to communicate with human and other agents with language more approaching human-like speech than symbol-level protocols. Inferential capability: can perform on abstract task specification using previous knowledge of general goals and chosen methods to achieve flexibility. Temporal continuity: persistence of uniqueness and state over long time periods. Personality: the ability of exhibiting the attributes of a believable character such as emotion. Adaptively: being able to learn and progress with experience. Mobility: ability to transfer in a self-directed way from one host platform to another. 3. Intelligent Agents in e-Commerce Artificial intelligence (AI) started to play a important role in many leading information systems. In the past, its use of AI has been limited due to its complexity, huge designs and lack of expertise in system developers. AI involvement is now essential in nondeterministic systems such as workflow, data mining, production planning, supply chain logistics, and most lately, e-commerce. Intelligent agent technology is the next logical step in overcoming some shortcomings in e-commerce. Namely, successful computer systems underlying e-commerce require judgment and the knowledge of experts such as buyers, contract negotiators and marketing specialists [8] Also e-commerce covers a broad range of issues; some of them are away from the scope of consumer buying behavior model. There are a variation of theories and models that describes buying behavior, such as the Nicosia model, the Howard- Sheth model, the Engel-Blackwell model, the Bettman information-processing model, and the Andreasen model [9].Acoording to Aleksander Pivk and MatjaÃ…Â ¾ Gams these models all have a comparable list of six fundamental stages of the buying process, which also relevent where agent technologies apply to the shopping experience[8] Identification: In that stage characterizes the buyer becoming aware of particular unmet need by inspiring through product information. Agents can play an significant role for those purchases that are repetitive (supplies) or predictable (habits). One of the oldest and simplest There are many examples in abundant use, one very aware of is a notification agent called Eyes by Amazon.com, which observers the catalog of books for sale and notifies the customer when certain events occur that may be of interest to the customer Brokering: There are two types of brokering namely product brokering and merchant brokering. In product brokering once a buyer has recognized a requirement to make a purchase the buyer has to determine what to buy through a critical evaluation of retrieved product information. There are several agents systems that lower consumers search cost when deciding which products best meets their needs. The result of this stage is a get attention to set of goods. In merchant brokering stage combines the consideration set from the previous stage with merchant-specific alternatives to help determine who to buy from. Negotiation: in this stage of buying behavior, price and other terms of the transaction are settled between merchants and buyers. Real-world scenarios negotiation increases transaction costs that may be too high for either consumers or merchants.. The most of business-to-business(B2B) transactions contain negotiation. Payment and Delivery: this stage can either indicate the end of the negotiation stage or cause to place another order. In some cases, the presented payment or delivery options can affect product and merchant brokering. â‚ ¬Ã‚  Product Service and Evaluation: this post- purchase stage contains of product service, customer service, and an â‚ ¬Ã‚  evaluation of the satisfaction of theâ‚ ¬Ã‚  Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  total buying experience and decision. Considering above five stages, It can be recognized the roles of agents as mediators in e-commerce. The nature of agents makes them suitable for mediating those consumer behaviors involving information filtering and retrieval, personalized evaluations, complex coordination, and time-based interactions. Those roles correspond most especially to the need identification, product and merchant brokering, and negotiation stages of the buying behavior model. 4. Benefits of intelligent agents in e commerce 5. Limitations of Intelligent Agents A major limitation intelligent agent technology using most e-commerce activities is that agents can pose a security risk to remote hosts as well as their original host). A broad discussion of these risks and possible countermeasures is provided to International Journal of Electronic Commerce by T. Mandry ,G.Pernul and A. Rà ¶hm the following possible risks were identified.[9] Stealing data and Illegal access Web agents may try to get access to databases they are not permitted to access or for which there is an access charge. Free use of resources Agents always tries to steal resources from remote hosts. As long as this is in line with accepted protocols, it is an acceptable practice. However, if agents cover-up as alternate processes, they may use insupportable levels of resource. Unauthorized program execution This also known as Trojan horse. Agents can be masquerade and then execute programs that are eventually harmful to the remote hosts. Such Trojan horses attacks have now been used frequently on the Internet.. Data stripping or alteration (by server). Technically it is possible to strip Web agents of their data. This is mostly a concern for a site that sends out agents to remote hosts, but also it could potentially affect other sites. For instance, suppose Buyer has a trusted relationship with both Seller 1 and Seller 2. However, there exists a competitive relationship between the two sellers. An intelligent agent that originates from Buyer and travels to Seller 1 and then to Seller 2 could be stripped by Seller 2 to obtain competitive data about Seller 1. Resource exhaustion resulting in denial-of service -. Web agents can exhaust remote host properties to the point where the remote host can no longer function correctly. Deceitful agent behavior. Agents can mislead other agents or hosts about their intent and can lie about transactions. 5. Discussion This paper describes how intelligent software agent can automate and add value to e-commerce transactions and negotiations. By using intelligent agent based e-commerce techniques, businesses can more effectively and efficiently make decisions since they have more accurate and reliable information and recognize consumers perceptions and behaviors. Benefits and limitations of using intelligent agents in e-commerce are also discussed through this paper.

Change Management: Ongc Ltd

Change Management: Ongc Ltd Change is a very necessary aspect of human life. One of the few things which have a real permanence in this world is change. Different types of changes occur, such as seasonal changes, changes in nature and behavior of human beings, changes in their biological and physical systems, organizational changes etc. Here, the main concern of the study is what organizational change is and how it should be managed? What are reasons or causes of change and what is the reaction towards it? The meaning of word change is, when there is an alteration in the system whether physical, biological or social. Hence organizational change refers to, the alteration of work environment or work conditions in the organization. It may include different components of the organization such as change in technology, organization structure and design, people working in the organization etc (Prasad L.M., 2007). What is Change Management? Change management is known as the process of developing a planned approach to adapt to the changes in the organization. It is the transition of an organization or individuals, teams or groups in an organization to reach from a current state to a future state for development and improved performance (Tromley C., Mainiero L.A., 2004). The main aim of this organizational process is to make the employees understand the importance of change according to the rapidly changing business environment and accept it with open minds. This will reduce the risk of failure in implementing the changes in the organization. Though this is practically not possible because every time when there is a change people always have resistance towards it. It is the human tendency that nobody wants to accept change which consequently makes it important to understand the reasons behind it and manage it by reducing resistance towards it. Change is often resisted by the employees because it disturbs their set routine s and set new avenues to learn which most of the employees do not want (McCrimonn M., 2008). Change may be planned or unplanned. If the change is sudden because of some external forces such as technological changes or change in the political or legal environment then the organization members has to adopt it forcefully but if the change is done by planning well in advance irrespective of the pressure of external or internal forces then it is called as planned change, which is important to improve the ability of employees to adapt changes in the environment as well as their behavior (Planned Change, 2009, knol.google.com) Change Management in Public Sector organizations The current business environment is changing at a very fast pace and all organizations whether private or public are experiencing the impacts of change. It is important for these organizations to understand the role of change management and how to practically implement it (How to Manage Change, 2009,). Public sector organizations are often perceived to be resistant towards change because of the reason to seek the ability to do things rather than doing those things in a different or changed manner. The changes in the socio-economic, political, legal and technological environment has a major impact on the public sector organizations as it the implementation of these changes is a time consuming process. These reform initiatives have made the development of new approaches in the public sector resulting in the introduction of Business Process Re-engineering, new business models, team building and leadership programmes, improved project management etc. This all involves changes in the mind set of the employees which implies the importance of change management in the public sector organizations (UNDP Capacity Development Resource, 2006). Apart from these changes in the external environment the changes in the public sector organizations is mainly due the pressure of the government and global trends. Though the forces or elements of change are almost same in the public and private sector organizations the implementation is far more difficult in public sector. This is due to the different orientation in the values and objectives of both the sectors. The effectiveness of change is dependent on the outcomes which are expected from the change programme (Osborne P.S., Brown K., 2005). 2.3 Importance of Change Management Change management plays an important role in the organization as bringing change means making alteration in the systematic and planned routine. The task of bringing about change in the organization is not that easy as it involves changing the mindset of individuals and their attitudes towards a particular objective. Changes can be brought about in the organization externally or internally. The process of bringing about change allows the organization to give a proactive or reactive or reactive response in a particular situation (Role of Change Management in an Organization, managementhub.com, 2009). The process of change involves the following steps: Identify the need or requirement of change in the organization Designing the specific requirements to fulfill the needs Making the employees understand that why change is required and what is its importance Making changes in the organizational processes to incorporate the changes By following these steps in an organization it can be ensured that the change management strategies will be effective in long run and help in improved organizational performance (Mateco, 2008) 2.4 About ONGC Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) was set up as a Commission on August 14, 1956. The company was given its corporate identity on June 23, 1993, which has now grown into a full-fledged horizontally integrated petroleum company. Today, ONGC is a flagship public sector enterprise and Indias highest profit making corporate, achieving the record of being the first Indian corporate to register a five digit profit figure of Rs. 10,529 Crore in the year 2002-03. ONGC has produced more than 600 million metric tonnes of crude oil and supplied more than 200 billion cubic metres of gas since its inception, thus fuelling the increasing energy requirements of the Indian economy. Today, ONGC is the most valuable company in India, contributing 77 percent of Indias crude oil production and 81 per cent of Indias natural gas production. To sustain this growth, ONGC has drawn up ambitious strategic objectives, which include doubling the oil and gas reserves. Having accreted six billion tonnes oil and oil equivalent reserves in its first 45 years of operation, ONGC now aims to double these reserves by 2020. The second strategic objective is to augment the global recovery factor from the existing 28 per cent to the global norm of 40 per cent in next 20 years. Out of the six billion tonnes of oil and gas reserve accretion, four billion tonnes is expected to come from Offshore and Deep Waters. To improve the recovery factor from the existing fields, ONGC is investing Rs. 2,000 crore in 15 re-development schemes. 2.5 Corporate Ranking Ranked 326th in Financial Times Global 500 List by market cap; first among Indian Corporates Ranked 133rd in Forbes 400 Top Global Corporates by market cap; first among Indian Corporates Ranked 1st in Economic Times 500 Corporate List by net profit and market cap Ranked 1st in Business Today 500 List by net profit Ranked 1st in Business Today-Stern Stewart Study of 500 Indian Corporates for highest-ever Market Value Added (MVA). ONGC is the only PSU which has both MVA and EVA positive. 3. Aims and objectives of the Study The aim of this study is to understand the concept of organizational change, forces of change in the organization and how manage that change and overcoming resistance of the employees in context to the ONGC Ltd. which is a PSU. Change management plays an important role in the Indian organizations because if there would be no change then the growth trajectory of any organization will become constant and progress of the employees would be restricted what they had learnt in the past. So, this study will help to understand the importance of change management in the public sector organizations and the effective approaches to manage those changes. 3.1 Aim To understand the change management approaches being implemented in ONGC and help in overcoming the resistance towrads change. Objectives The objectives of this study are: To understand the forces of change in public sector organizations. To analyze the various factors causing changes. To study the reasons of resistance towards change. To suggest measures for overcoming resistance towards change. To study the importance of change management To suggest prevalent approaches of change management 4. Review of Literature What Is Organizational Change Management? The concept of organizational change refers to the organization as a whole rather than making smaller changes such as adding a new employee, modifying a programme or a schedule. The examples of organizational change may include change in mission, restricting or reforming of operations or management, some major technological changes, changes in government rule and policies etc (McNamara C, 2005). According to Newstrom and Davis change in any part or function of the organization brings about a dynamic change in the whole organization. It tends to disturb the old equilibrium necessitating the setting up of a new one. The type of new equilibrium depends on the degree of change and its impact on the organization. It is a continuous process which requires subsequent changes in whole organization (Prasad L.M., 2007). The changes could be due to some external or internal factors because of the dynamic business environment. The forces of change are: Nature of the workforce Technology Economic and Social Environment Political and Legal environment Globalization Competition Successful change must be brought about by top management and to manage these activities a change agent plays an important role. A change agent could be a manager or a non manager and his responsibility is to translate the change into a plan and carry out the plan. If the change is carried out in a team or a group the resistance would be low and chances of acceptance would be high (Robbins S. P., Judge T., 2008). 4.2 Resistance to Change Whenever change is initiated, both the managers as well as employees react to it. Though human reaction to change depends on the outcome of change, but the attitude of people play an important role in determining it. There are possibilities of either accepting the change, being indifferent towards it or a strong resistance to change. People normally resist to change because they perceive that change as a threat or feel difficult to cope with it (Kotelnikov V., 2001). Sometimes resistance to change is good because if there would be no resistance and employees will accept the change then the changes of progress in an organization would reduce. At the initial phase of change, employees may react differently. Sometimes the resistance is instant and spontaneous. It easy for the management to deal with this type of resistance. Implicit or slow resistance is difficult to manage because it may have different after effects. The employees may leave the organization, become less committed towar ds the work, lack of motivation may occur which sometimes becomes difficult to recognize (Robbins S. P., Judge T., 2008). Overcoming the resistance to change can be brought about by seven ways in an organization Education and communication Participation Building support and commitment Negotiation Manipulation and cooptation Selecting people who accept change Coercion (12manage.com, six change approaches) Approaches to Change Management There are various approaches adopted by organizations to manage change. Some of them are: Lewins three step model In a model suggested by Lewin he has given three steps of change: unfreezing the status quo, movement to a desired end state and refreezing i.e., new change to make it permanent. Kotters eight step plan Based on Lewin three step model Kotter has suggested an eight step plan for implementing change. Action research It refers to a change process based on the systematic collection of data and then selection of a change action based on what the analyzed data indicates. Organization development It is a collection of planned change interventions build on humanistic democratic values, that seek to improve organizational effectiveness and employee well being. The six interventions used in OD are: Sensitivity training Survey feedback Process consultation Team building Intergroup development Appreciative inquiry (Robbins S. P., Judge T., 2008). 5. Research Methodology Data collection methods Secondary Research Secondary research is the data collected from secondary sources like Online Web Portals, Magazines and published Journals, among many others. The review of literature is a comprehensive analysis of the research already collected on the concerned topics. While collecting the secondary data, we will ensure the following: Reliability Suitability Adequacy Primary Research Primary research is the collection of data that is not already available. The process is designed to serve a specific set of objectives useful for the study. The data is collected through various methods such as interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, online surveys, etc. For this study, we have chosen suitable methods of primary research to learn about the objectives of the study: Quantitative Research: It refers to the data that is numerical, and can be measured and expressed in terms of numbers. The most popular form of quantitative research is the questionnaire/survey method. The survey will be conducted with the employees working in ONGC Ltd. Research Design The study will be explorative as well as descriptive in nature. Sampling design Target population: The target population in this research refers to the employees working in ONGC. The respondents can be of any gender and any income level. Sampling unit The sampling unit is ONGC Ltd. Sampling method For this research we use non-probability sampling. Zikmund (1997) stated that in non-probability sampling, the probability of any particular member of the population being chosen is unknown. The element in the population does not have any probability attached to their being chosen as sample subjects. Size of Sample Survey A sample size of 250 respondents will be considered for this study. Sampling plan: The data will be collected from employees working in the organization. Questionnaire Design: The questionnaire will consist of both open-ended and close-ended questions. The questions will be framed to enable respondents answer the questions like an essay. There is no limit on how much the interviewee wants to say on a particular topic. Data Analysis and Interpretation The data collected from primary research will be analysed and interpreted using Factor Analysis. It is suitable to the study over other tools, because: It provides both subjective as well as objective results, of which subjective can be converted into numbers/scores It can be used to identify and understand the hidden attributes or constructs which would otherwise (in case of direct analysis) have been unapparent It is inexpensive and easier to implement than other tools. 6. Significance of the study The findings of this study should be useful to the top management of ONGC Ltd. as they would be able to understand the causes and effects of change on the employees and the reasons of resistance towards it. It would be easy for them to understand the plight of employees while adapting the change in their system and is it really effective or not. The findings of this study should also provide an insight to the employees in finding out ways in coping with change and understanding its importance for their professional growth. Finally, the findings from this study might add some useful information to the research already being conducted in this area which needs to be highlighted so that the employees as well as the management will understand the better approaches to adopt changes and plausible solutions to this problem. 7. Limitations of the Study The study will be limited to the employees working in ONGC as the researcher is specially focusing on the implementation of change management in public sector organizations. The approaches would be limited to the reasons of changes and then its implementation particularly in ONGC. 8. Organization of the paper Explains the chapterisation plan of the actual thesis. It basically consists of five chapters: Introduction It includes the introduction to change, change management in public sector organizations and it importance. Review of Literature It includes the research on organizational change, forces of change, resistance to change and how to overcome resistance, change agents etc. Research Methodology It includes the research design, sample size, sources of data collection, questionnaire etc. Data Analysis It gives the results and interpretations of the data collected and analyzed from the respondents. Conclusion and Recommendations This chapter will give the conclusions and recommendations which will come from the respondents and strategies which could be employed by the organizations.

Exposing Capitalism in Upton Sinclairs The Jungle Essay -- Sinclair J

Exposing Capitalism in The Jungle      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While the works of Upton Sinclair are not widely read today because of their primacy of social change rather than aesthetic pleasure, works like The Jungle are important to understand in relation to the society that produced them.   Sinclair was considered a part of the muckraking era, an era when social critics observed all that was wrong and corrupt in business and politics and responded against it.   The Jungle was written primarily as a harsh indictment of wage slavery, but its vivid depictions of the deplorable lack of sanitation involved in the meatpacking industry in Chicago resulted in public outrage to the point where Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.      The Jungle is a product of the era when industry was rapidly evolving and millions of immigrants came to America, the perceived land of milk and honey.   What they often found instead were a lack of jobs, low paying jobs in deplorable conditions and the realization that the American dream was not equally accessible to all.   In the novel Sinclair denounces in brutal prose the deplorable conditions of the Chicago stockyard where the men and women workers are diminished to a level lower than the dumb beasts they must slaughter in the fields.   Many immigrants were forced to accept such conditions and low wages because they did not have other options.   Jurgis wrestles with this dilemma when he thinks of turning down a job in the lowest of all occupations, a fertilizer plant worker, "As poor as they were, and making all the sacrifices they were, would he dare to refuse any sort of work that was offered to him, be it as horrible as ever it could?   Would he dare to go home and eat bread tha... ...llows Sinclair to tack on an optimistic ending where often in life none was found.   Like Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, the ending of Sinclair's novel is a victory for the common man, the working class man and woman who were so great in number, so indomitable in spirit, and so determined to survive that there was no force of oppression too great to be surmounted, "...then we will begin the rush that will never be checked, the tide that will never turn till it has reached its flood-that will be irresistible, overwhelming-the rallying of the outraged workingmen of Chicago to our standard!...We shall bear down the opposition, we shall sweep it before us-and Chicago will be outs!   Chicago will be ours!   CHICAGO WILL BE OURS!" (Sinclair   341). Works Cited Sinclair, U.   The Jungle.   (7th printing).   New York: The New America Library of World Literature, 1964.

The Free Will of Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays

The Free Will of Macbeth      Ã‚   Destiny "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." (William Jennings Bryan) Are we in control of our own destiny, our own fate, or are our lives really already planned and mapped out for us? Does Macbeth willfully choose evil in order to achieve his "destiny"? Or, is his "destiny" doomed by the witches' prophecies? Macbeth may not have made any of his same choices, if the three Weird sisters hadn't come to him. In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, Macbeth is no pawn of fate. Although Macbeth was destined to become king, the path he chose to take to achieve his aspiration of obtaining the throne was of his own free will. Macbeth knew exactly what he was doing in order to attain his destiny of becoming king. Although Macbeth was skeptical about the witches' predictions he later learned as the play progressed that destiny truly determined his future.    The prophecy of the witches was that Macbeth would become king. Nowhere did the witches predict the following events in Macbeth's life before he reached the throne. The prophecy of Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawdor had already come true, enhancing Macbeth's aspirations of becoming king. The second prophecy would certainly come true for him, but he has to choose how to get there. Macbeth was destined for the throne, however obtaining that destiny was completely up to him. Killing Duncan seemed to be the only way for him, even though he knew it was wrong. Macbeth was well-aware his actions were immoral and unjust, and he continued with the murders anyway. He contemplates the reasons for why it would be wrong to kill Duncan, showing he could have ... ...rely different way if he had not already been told his future. The witches could have very well enhanced Macbeth's desires he had held up inside him, causing him to make such evil and terrible choices. Macbeth believed that there was a destiny, for he was so threatened by Banquo's destiny of being father to a whole line of kings, that he had Banquo murdered. As the play progressed, Macbeth learned that his destiny ultimately forms his future.    All Macbeth's actions were choices to attain his destiny, but they were nonetheless choices of his own free will. Macbeth was destined to become king; however, destiny doesn't come along with the choices made to achieve that destiny. Macbeth knew what he was doing.    Work Cited Shakespeare, William.   Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul  Ã‚   Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.  Ã‚  Ã‚  

John Grisham Essay -- essays research papers

John Grisham’s Appeal to Contemporary Viewers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The success behind the Grisham’s novels has come from the author’s ability to focus the suspense and drama around the character, rather than the cases the character is involved in. When one looks back into time at the novels and TV shows about law, the authors tended to focus on the cases rather on the drama surrounding the event that took place. In John Grisham’s book The Firm, he turns the focus of the audience away from the actual case(s) and instead focuses on the life of the lawyer (Mitch McDeere). This allows Grisham to add drama, suspense and anything else that would help support the plot. If Grisham decided only to write about the technical aspects of law surrounding a case, then his following of viewers would probably be much smaller then it is today. Matt Zoller Seitz, an author who wrote an essay that reaffirms this point, by claiming that the contemporary viewers are attracted to Grisham’s work because of his real life like stories surrounding the main characters, like the lawyer, Mitch McDeere, in The Firm.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Grisham’s leading character in this novel is Mitch McDeere, he is the center of the plot. Grisham uses supporting characters such as Mitch’s wife, and other partners in the law firm, that brings life to Mitch McDeere. Grisham creates conflict between these characters and Mitch to form the drama of the plot and find a resolution to the problems that...