Comparing Fuentes’ Aura and Ligotti’s The Last Feast of Harlequin Essay

Mythological and Archetypal Reading of Fuentes’ Aura and Ligotti’s The Last Feast of Harlequin  Ã‚   Mythological and archetypal techniques coupled with the interpretation of symbolism found within a piece of literature tells the reader something about the mind and character of a people or culture. Not only does it allow you to delve deeper into this collective mind and speculate about the meaning of a particular work, it can give you something more. I believe that by using these techniques you also get a better glimpse into the main character’s state of mind. It also gives you clues as to is going on ‘behind the scenes’ that will affect the character’s mental state. The texts I chose for this essay are Fuentes’ Aura and Thomas Ligotti’s The Last Feast of Harlequin. Both are dark tales that are full of symbolism. Interpreting some of this symbolism may tell us why the main character acts the way he does and what his mental state is throughout the story. The main characters in both stories are similar. Both are young men who are well educated, with one who attended Harvard and the other who attended the Sorbonne in Paris. The two men are both teachers, each working on his own ‘life’s work’. Interestingly enough, neither story mentions any close family or friends the main characters might have. Fuentes’ Aura is definitely a strange story. It is hypnotic; it draws you in with its slow, seductive style. That is how I would describe this twisted love story that ends very surprisingly. Within this story there is symbolism that helps the reader to understand it better. First, we will explore some of the symbolism that could show us there was an effect on Felipe’s mental state. Darkness abounded in Senora Consuelo’s ... ...things. This approach also gives you an insight into the character’s mind and possibly answers the question of why would they do something that no other sane person would do. In Aura, some of the symbolism found throughout the story suggested that Felipe was not thinking clearly. Surely anyone else would have just left after encountering that woman and her house. In the other story, the main character’s dark side was leading him to do things he or any other outsider might not have done otherwise. Using this approach gives the reader little clues as to what might happen in the story, insight into the main character’s mental state, and a greater understanding of the story as a whole. Works Cited Fuentes, Carlos. Aura. Trans. Lysander Kemp. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1981. Ligotti, Thomas. The Last Feast of Harlequin. The Voice of the Damned 1990.

How employable individuals turn their focus to start-ups

How employable persons turn their focal point to start-ups?An Empirical Study on Factors Motivating Business Students to Travel to the Entrepreneurial SectorAbstract.This exploratory survey is efforts to analyze how employable persons turn their focal point to start-ups. Today, bulk of employees still rehearse a more or less self-protective scheme. In this paper the research worker has reported on the consequences of an empirical survey of factors actuating degreed possible employees to travel to self enterprising. The make up one's minding factors to go an enterpriser and of sustainable employment-oriented factors to be analyzed in order to detect how they differ. Participants consisted of 200 pupils from Malaysia entered concluding twelvemonth of concern undergraduate and graduate student plans. Self-administered questionnaires were used to garner informations on factors and types of relationships act uponing calling pick and entrepreneurial purpose. The consequences will function as a footing for betterment of employment patterns and assuring entrepreneurial course of study in universities to back up start-ups in making sustainable concerns.1. IntroductionToday, employees still act in conformity with employers ‘ official contracts and non doing attempts to pull prioritise attending from local independent concern proprietors. This paper ‘s chief purpose is to take a fresh expression into alumnuss ‘ outlook on the factors actuating employees when sing exchanging occupations if employed and to place the degree of involvement as they commence and develop entrepreneurial ventures. The survey chiefly examined why pupils decide to go enterprisers, hence, seven chief issues associated with alumnuss ‘ motive as they established, driving and developing their concerns, these being chosen following a procedure of pilot perusal of graduating pupils.2. Review of Literature2.1. OverviewA figure of research workers have attempted to see factors such as gender, grade point norm, continuance and field of survey and entrepreneurial household background as of import factors impacting pupils ‘ perceptual experience and attitudes towards the chance of new ain concern formation, and some of these factors clearly enhance or inhabit such inclination ( Oakey, Mukhtar and Kipling, 2002 ) .2.2.MotivationCoevals of start up thoughts have been explored by a figure of research workers. Opportunity acknowledgment is dependent on whether the enterpriser was extrinsically stimulated. A taking entrepreneurship text has recognised the â€Å"important deductions for enterprisers who need to be originative in their thinking† and of the construct that creativeness can be learned or enhanced ( Timmons & A ; Spinelli, 2008 ) . The three types of chances designation to the field of entrepreneurship as established by Sarasvathy, Dew, Velamuri, and Venkataraman ( 2003 ) are recognized, discovered and created. There are assorted motivations to get down a new venture. Harmonizing to Amit, McCrimmon, Zietsma and Oesch ( 2001 ) , money is of import but non needfully most of import. They argue that some of the cardinal non-monetary motivations for get downing up a concern include the wish to be independent and the combination of work and family duties. These start-up motivations may hold of import effects for the grade of ( over ) optimism that characterizes ( assuring ) enterprisers. For illustration, if an enterpriser is chiefly driven by wealth creative activity, it may be expected that ( s ) he is more likely to be disappointed if the turnover in the first twelvemonth is comparatively low. If the enterpriser is driven by the want to be independent, ( s ) he may be unpleasantly surprised by the strong trust upon a limited figure of clients or the bank. If the primary start-up motivation is working a sensed chance, the enterpriser may be faced with other people who came up with the same thought or perchance an overestimated market demand for the ( new ) merchandise. Gilad and Levine ( 1986 ) , agreed in their analysis on intrinsic and extrinsic that there are favoritism between start-up motivations. Intrinsic motivations include the desire for independency and uniting work with attention for household members. Entrepreneurs who are driven by such motivations will likely be less inclined to put unrealistically high monetary ends. Extrinsic motivations include two classs: pull and push factors. An chance of sensed net income is an of import pull factor of entrepreneurship, while ( the menace of ) unemployment is a well-known push factor. Sing the development of chances, As Hayward, Shepherd and Griffin ( 2006 ) argued, instigators of new ventures with overconfident will put to death excessively much capital to the chances. If enterprisers are ‘blinded ‘ by their ain thoughts and neglect to adequately measure the competition and the ( possible ) jobs to transform the chance into a profitable venture, over optimism is around the corner. Those who under employment or unemployment, belief that making new concerns assuring more expected public-service corporation ( Douglas & A ; Shepherd, 2000 ; Van Praag & A ; Cramer, 2001 ) .3. MethodologyGartner ( 1989 ) proposed that a common restriction of surveies into the forecasters of entrepreneurial purposes is the failure of research workers to take samples that are ( 1 ) comprised entirely of people who are serious about entrepreneurship and ( 2 ) who are in the procedure of doing the determination to go involved in making a new concern. Krueger, Reilly and Carsrud ( 2000 ) find that surveies consisting samples of upper-division college pupils can bring out job-related penchants at a clip when respondents are fighting with of import calling determinations. Therefore, it is acceptable and appropriate to look into entrepreneurial purpose using a sample of upper-class college pupils. ( Brice and Nelson, 2008 ) , it is of import to observe that the population of involvement in their survey consists of persons who perceive that they will go enterprisers and non needfully merely those who will really go enterprisers. This difference is important because while actions has been demonstrated to be predicted by purposes. Therefore, the focal point of this research remains at the entrepreneurial purposes degree of analysis. The sample chosen consists of graduate student and undergraduate concern grade plan pupils who were approaching graduation. When pupils contemplate graduation, they may besides develop immediate calling programs and long-range ends. The respondents are those from the concern subjects because, based on their subject involvement, they have already decided to prosecute business-related callings. For that ground, a homogenous sampling of university college pupils was included in this survey. This survey sample consisted of 200 pupils from University Colleges in Malaysia who participated using a structured questionnaire informations aggregation methodological analysis. Subjects consisted of concluding ( 3rd ) twelvemonth concern undergraduates and concluding twelvemonth Master of Business Administration ( MBA ) pupils in the concentrations of direction. They were appropriate chiefly because their academic concentration implied that they had serious involvement in prosecuting a concern cal ling. Based on literatures to set up the major feelings and spheres associated with start up purposes, the research worker has gathered his ain study instrument with a series of 29 employment -self employment related motivational points that could be practicably responded by pupils. The 7 chief subjects covered by the study inquiries include house and proprietor features ; involvement to start-up ; motive to exchange occupation if employed ; calling preferred timing and industry ; medium for seeking employment: desire and chance of wagess and chance ; standards of taking employers. Many of the points overlapped conceptually, but one of the purposes of the pilot survey was to pare the survey points after finding which preeminent represented the concepts. The research worker contacted pupils straight via targeted groups of respondents list arising from the Faculty of their academic major plan. Responses were gathered on a 5-point Likert graduated table runing from 1 = â€Å"extremely undesi rable† to 5 = â€Å"extremely desirable.† and entire graduated table mark was obtained by averaging the nine inquiries. Any points with a negative valency were rearward coded so that higher tonss were declarative of favourable entrepreneurial -related motives. Table 1, shows the hypotheses to be tested in this survey.4. Analysis and ConsequencesStudents ‘ primary motives to start-up were probed one time all the related information from the respondents was wholly obtained. In order to set up instrument dependability, Cronbach ‘s coefficient alpha was computed. The dependability coefficient was 0.71 which indicates that the instrument was dependable in its measuring of determiners for start ups. Information refering to each respondent ‘s age, gender, and expected wage was obtained to utilize as control variables in the analysis. Each of these control variables was recorded as non-continuous, categorical forecasters. Then, informations decrease technique is used to blossom the information embedded in the study informations. Hypothesis 1: Purpose for independent concern start-ups is higher than fall ining established houses After riddance of topics with study questionnaires were merely partly completed, the concluding sample totalled 196 pupils. As shown in Table 2, this sample was every bit represented between the genders, dwelling of 107 ( 54.6 % ) males and 89 ( 45.4 % ) females. Subjects were chiefly graduating undergraduate concern pupils ( 65.8 % ) and graduating postgraduate pupils ( 34.2 % ) . In fact, there were 129 unmarried man degree pupils who aged below 25 old ages than MBA pupils who aged 26 and supra. The bulk of topics were anticipating salary between RM5001- RM15000 ( 56.2 % ) which is non in conformity or earnable with employment even in established houses. Students ‘ responses for researching into entrepreneurial sector were gathered on a 5-point Likert graduated table runing from 1 = â€Å"Very Keen† to 5 = â€Å"Not interested at all.† Since the mean, average and mode values are really near to each other, it shows the information is symmetrical. The mean for the 196 pupils is 2.08 with a standard divergence of 1.088. The Trimmed average value of 2.01 is similar to the mean above. Hence, shows there are no outliers in the information set. In this study, since the sample size is 196, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov trial is used. The p-value of the trial is less than 0.001. Hence, the information is non distributed normal. Of the 196 pupils, 77 ( 39.3 % ) really enthusiastic towards start-ups, 52 ( 26.5 % ) tidal bore to start-up, 46 ( 23.5 % ) open to any chance, and 16 ( 8.2 % ) to see start-up option. Out of entire, 5 ( 2.6 % ) prefer employment. Since the correlativity value is within 0.5 to 0.8, start-up purpose among degree pupils is said to correlate â€Å"adequately† with at least one other variables in the concept. In this study, the KMO value is 0.819, which is considered good. Bartlett ‘s trial of sphericalness is used to analyze whether the correlativity matrix is an individuality matrix. Identity matrix can be ruled out if the p-value of the trial is less than 0.05 ( Karuthan and Krishna, 2009 ) . In this theoretical account, since the p-value is less than 0.001, the research worker returns with factor analysis. Since the research worker wanted to analyze the implicit in concept among the six variables: Curiosity, Interest, Consideration, Preparation, Puting Up and Start-up Timing. This is a individual implicit in construct ; hence, it is called the â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† . Since the â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† varies from individual to individual, it is a variable excessively. However, it can non be measured by physical agencies. Hence, it is called a latent variable or merely factor. The theoretical account for â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† is given in Figure 4. In Figure 4, one can visualise six coincident arrested development maps: Curiosity, Interest, Consideration, Preparation, Puting Up and Start-up Timing as the dependants and â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† as the independent. Curiosity = L1 ? â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† + e1 Interest = L2 ? â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† + e2 Consideration = L3 ? â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† + e3 Preparation = L4 ? â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† + e4 Puting Up = L5 ? â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† + e5, Start-up Timing = L6 ? â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† + e6 where Li ‘s are called the factor burdens and ei ‘s are the mistake footings. Table 4.1, since there are 6 variables in this analysis, 6 constituents ( or factors ) are listed in the first column. The several Eigen values and per centum of discrepancy explained are provided in the following two columns. For Factor 1, the Eigen value is 3.109 and the discrepancy is 51.811 % of the entire discrepancy. For factor 3, 4,5 and 6 the Eigen value is less than the default value of 1. In the same tabular array, under â€Å"Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings† , merely two factors are listed, matching to the factors for which the Eigen values is more than 1. Based on the cumulative % column, these factors explain 68.792 % of the entire discrepancy in the 6 original variables. Harmonizing to Karuthan and Krishna, ( 2009 ) established that, in societal scientific disciplines, at least 50 % of the entire discrepancy in the variables in analysis must be explained by the factor of factors. In this study, a individual factor extracted explains more than 50 % of the enti re discrepancy in the original variables. Hypothesis 2: Motivations to exchange occupation if employed in constituted houses associated with independent concern start-ups One manner Analysis of Variance is used to prove if there is a difference in agencies between motive variables. Based on Kruskal Wallis Test ( Table 5 ) for the average ranks, evidently, the degreed pupils are looking for a more ambitious calling in footings of expanded range of work, more duties and alteration in calling way rank much higher compared to the pupils who looking to fall in a more constituted and stable administrations. On the other manus, 82.20 % pupils feel that they need to get away from unfavorable office working environment such as non happy with equals, foremans, office political relations and etc. Table 3.1, supports pupils involvement, whereby 97.4 cumulative per centum and average rank shown chance of sing the new concern start-up. Table 6, the p-value for the Levene ‘s trial for equality of discrepancy is 0.000, which is less than 0.05. Therefore, equality of discrepancies is non assumed. Table 7 depicts that the F-value is 3.933 and the grades of freedoms are 7 and 188. A little F statistic implies that the difference between group means is little and, therefore, it could be concluded that there is no difference between the group means. The p-value of the trial is 0.000, which is less than 0.05 and the eta-squared value of 0.128, which is less than 0.15, hence, at least one brace of agencies differ significantly. Therefore there is a demand to place the brace that differs significantly. In this instance nonparametric trial is performed. Based on Kruskal Wallis Test, the p-value of this trial is 0.000, which is less than 0.05. Therefore, at least one ground differs in footings of motive towards self-employment instead employment. From the mean of all motive concepts, it could be argued that most pupils are acute to get down their ain concern ( average rank 109.37 ) and the chief motivation for start-up instead than sing employment is looking for more ambitious calling ( average rank = 110.89 ) , followed by working environment grounds ( average rank = 82.20 ) and the demand for fiscal security ( average rank = 68.96 ) . The research worker identified two types of possible enterprisers depending upon their intents at the clip of get downing the concern: foremost â€Å" self-acting † who placed high precedence on non holding to work for others, and secondly, â€Å"company-men † who builds the organisation. This research obtains interesting findings and makes of import tri-party parts for pupils as future enterprisers, for policy shapers in big established companies and for the decision-makers or course of study interior decorators of universities. As the consequences have shown, the motive that encourages pupils to get down up a new concern, their wonder with the thought of the new concern or the difficult work they are willing to set in readying phase of the new concern, along with their start-up timing, are cardinal in the start up of the new concerns. Detecting this rule, the new concerns are formed non merely by those alumnuss who can make it, nevertheless, by the alumnuss who to make it matching with those who have the â€Å"acquired eagerness† to make that. However, policy shapers in established companies need to guarantee that their employees working in a contributing office working environment with concentrating more on employee relationship direction. That likely will f orestall employees to exchange occupation looking for favorable working environment which free of office political relations. Within this model, pedagogues are playing a really of import function. Recently, Malayan universities and governmental organic structures have made attempts which include classs on new venture creative activity, nevertheless, it is non sufficient since the topic is non practiced or implemented from the lowest degrees of schooling.4. RecognitionsA particular thanks is due to the Dean of Business and Accountancy Faculty without whose openness and fairness this research would hold been impossible.

Classic Pen Company: Developing an Abc Model

ANALYSIS Background Information: The Classic Pen Company was a low-cost producer of traditional BLUE and BLACK pens with profit margins over 20% of sales. They then introduced RED pens at a 3% premium, and a year later they introduced PURPLE pens due to the 10% premium that they could command. However, they were disappointed with the most recent year; RED and PURPLE pens were not bringing in expected sales (still considering their higher profit margin), and BLUE and BLACK pens profitability was down.Issue(s) Identification There are two main issues within this case: -Profitability -Pricing ?Which involves Production time and effort per unit. -Should they introduce even more variety? Can they keep up with demand and competition? Recommendations: 1. Get rid of RED pens – They are the trickiest to make; their revenue is only $. 03 more than standard pens. 2. Lower the Price for BLACK pens, since they are the most simple to make and require less overhead and direct labour. . Lower price of BLUE pens- they are the most popular, but with the changing market prices must be adjustable. 4. Invest in new equipment (Therefore eliminating time to clean vats in order to make new coloured pens). 5. Focus in only making BLUE and BLACK pens as specialty pens Conclusion: My recommendation to Dempsey would be to invest in new technology to lower the overhead costs (Set-ups, runs) in the future. With a competitive market it is important to adapt.The addition of new colours is crucial to their survival, but with the current machinery it may not be possible. New equipment would mean limited backlog (if any), more options in colour, and meeting customers’ demands. If investment of new machinery is not doable for the company, it would be best to try and cut cost, and focus on standard pens for future investments. BLACK and BLUE pens bring in the most sales volumes and they could potentially cut back to 200% overhead once again.

Interesting Passages Response from Things Fall Apart

â€Å"Clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things. A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi. The saying of the elders was not true- that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation. † (Achebe, 131) This passage created a question in my mind. Who’s perspective are we reading from? It seems as thought we are reading what a narrator is saying, but the narrator is somebody from that tribe. In most books, if a character doesn’t do the narration, the narrator knows what is really going on or what is going to happen.In this book, and shown in this passage, the narrator seems to have full believe in everything he is saying. When it comes to what the passage itself says, I start to think about what their beliefs are doing to them. Is this what they are born to believe? Their chi seems to be pulling them back for than helping them move along. It and their other beliefs are always stoppin g them from something, which is more beneficial then they know. For example, what is so bad about having twins? If anything, that should be a blessing because the family has more children, but with a shorter wait. . â€Å"He sighed heavily, and as if in sympathy the smoldering log also sighed. And immediately Okonkwo’s eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. Living fire begets cold, impotent ash. He sighed again, deeply. † (153) This was the last paragraph in Okonkwo’s thoughts on Nwoye and also were he sated that he was popularly called the â€Å"Roaring Flame†. He then started to compare himself to the fire. I really liked this passage and what was written before it for various reasons.This action shows us that he and his people aren’t any different than other human beings. We have different beliefs and different life styles, but when it comes down to it there human just like us. We all relate ourselves to things. One example used i n English is the use of similes. Similes are just one way we relate ourselves to living and non-living things. Probably the best reason to why I like this passage so much is because I can really relate to it. I don’t mean I once compared or portrayed myself as something I’m not like you’d do in a simile.I mean that in one point in my life I actually compared myself to a burning fire. I still have that comparison. I could really understand where Okonkwo was coming from with this cold ash thing because I’ve done a comparison a lot like it. I even mentioned a dead fire when I ended that comparison and this wasn’t some poem I wrote for a grade, but an actual journal entry and not just something to get a grade. What I am trying to say is, I really liked this passage and I liked how metaphoric Okonkwo was when he said it.

Development and Social Change Essay

DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL CHANGE STRATEGIES IN KENYA IN THE 21ST CENTURY DEFINATIONS Strategy is a high level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty. Strategy is important because the resources available to achieve these goals are usually limited. Strategy is also about attaining and maintaining a position of advantage over adversaries through the successive exploitation of known or emergent possibilities rather than committing to any specific fixed plan designed at the outset. Henry Mintzberg from McGill University defined strategy as â€Å"a pattern in a stream of decisions† to contrast with a view of strategy as planning while Max McKeown (2011) argues that â€Å"strategy is about shaping the future† and is the human attempt to get to â€Å"desirable ends with available means†. Development means a progression from a simpler or lower to a more advanced, mature, or complex form or stage. It is also defined as the gradual advancement or growth through a series of progressive changes. Development is a process, not a leve l. It is a path to achieve certain goals. see more:factors affecting social change INTRODUCTION In the 21st century Kenyans have come up with different strategies to advocate for development and social change. These strategies are mostly based on economic issue, political issue, and social issues those which are affecting the development and growth of our country. These strategies are aiming at transforming Kenya into a newly industrialized middle income country providing a high quality life to all its citizens. For these development to be achieved thre have to be an all inclusive and participartory stakeholders and a consultive process involving Kenyan from all parts of the country. Kenyans are also willing to from suggestions by some of the leading local and international experts on the newly industrialized countries around the world have made the leap from poverty to widely spread prosperity and equity. Every strategy has been developed to address issues lying across them e.g. economic strategy aims to improve the prosperity of all Kenyans through an economic development programme covering all the regions in Kenya. Social  strategy seeks to build a just and cohesive society with social equity in clean and secure environment. Political strategy aims to realize a democratic political system founded on issue based politics that respect the rule of law and protect the rights and freedom of every individual. Kenyans in the 21st century are advocating for a consultive approach in its development involving as many ordinary Kenyans and stakeholders as possible i.e. public service, private sector, civil society, media and non government organization. The importance of consultations is to provide in-depth understanding of countries development problems and necessary strategies to achieve development. Detailed analysis is carried under the consultative approach in order to come up with the s trategies capable of resolving the social and political problems that face Kenyans today. Findings  In every category of the strategy Kenyans have come up with ways to address the problem found in that particular category. The Social Strategy  Kenya’s journey towards prosperity also involves the building of a just and cohesive society, enjoying equitable social development in a clean and secure environment. This quest is the basis of transformation of the problems found in the category of social strategy, I .e. Education and Training; Health; Water and Sanitation; the Environment; Housing and Urbanization; as well as in Gender, Youth, Sports and Culture; and also in terms of promoting equity and poverty reduction across the entire Kenyan society. It also makes special provisions for Kenyans with various disabilities and previously marginalized communities. Education and Training Under education and training Kenya will provide a globally competitive quality education, training and research for development. The overall goal for 21st century is to reduce illiteracy by increasing access to education, improving the transition rate from primary to secondary schools, and raising the quality and relevance of education. The Health Sector To improve the overall livelihoods of Kenyans, the country aims to provide an efficient and high quality health care system with the best standards. This will reduce health inequalities and improve key areas where Kenya is lagging, especially in lowering infant and maternal mortality. Specific  strategies will involve: provision of a robust health infrastructure network; improving the quality of health service delivery to the highest standards and promotion of partnerships with the private sector. Water and Sanitation Kenya is a water scarce country. The country therefore aims to conserve water sources and start new ways of harvesting and using rain and underground water. The 21st century has a vision for Water and Sanitation is to ensure that improved water and sanitation are available and accessible to all. The goal to increase both access to safe water and sanitation in both rural and urban areas beyond present levels The Environment Kenya aims to be a nation living in a clean, secure and sustainable environment. Specific strategies will involve: promoting environmental conservation for better support to the economic pillar, improving pollution and waste management through the design and application of economic incentives; and the commissioning of public-private partnerships for improved efficiency in water and sanitation delivery. Housing and Urbanization The 2030 vision for housing and urbanization is an adequately and decently housed nation in sustainable all inclusive environment. The goal for 2012 is to increase the annual production of housing units from the current 35,000 annually to over 200,000. Kenya’s cities and towns are poorly planned. There is an acute need therefore for an effective capacity for regional and urban development planning. In addition, there will be better development of and access to affordable and adequate housing; enhanced access to adequate finance for developers and buyers, and pursue targeted key reforms to unlock the potential of the housing sector. 6. Gender, Youth and Vulnerable Groups The 2030 vision for gender, youth and vulnerable groups is gender equity, improved livelihoods for vulnerable groups, and a responsible, globally competitive and prosperous youth. The goal for 2012 is to increase opportunities all-round among women, youth and all disadvantaged groups. 7. Equity and Poverty Elimination The 2030 goal for Equity and poverty elimination is to reduce the number of people living in poverty to a tiny proportion of the total population. Kenya will aim at a society that guarantees equality of opportunity in accessing public services and providing income generating activities as widely as possible. That will be achieved by placing the citizens at a level of income sufficient to cater for basic requirements of a healthy, productive life. 8. Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Vision 2030 will be based on the creation of international competitiveness through more efficient productivity at the firm and household level, with government support. However, all the strategies and flagship projects will exploit knowledge in science, technology and innovation (STI) in order to function more efficiently, improve social welfare, and also promote democratic governance. STI can and will be applied in all the lead sectors. The education and training curricula in the country will, therefore, be modified to ensure that the creation, adoption, adaptation and usage of knowledge become part of formal instruction. Economic strategy The Kenyan economy, East Africa’s largest, has experienced considerable growth in the past few years, driven by several key factors. The country enjoys some particular advantages: a reasonably well-educated labour force, a vital port that serves as an entry point for goods destined for countries in the East African and Central Africa interior, abundant wildlife and kilometers of attractive coastline and above all, a government that is committed to implementing business reforms. This strategy seeks to improve the prosperity of all regions of the country and all Kenyans by achieving a 10% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate by 2012(vision 2030). To achieve this target, Kenya is continuing with the tradition of macro-economic stability that has been established since 2002. It is also addressing other key constraints, notably, a low savings to GDP ratio, which can be alleviated by drawing in more remittances from Kenyans abroad, as well as increased foreign investment and overseas development assistance The country is continuing with the governance and institutional reforms  necessary to accelerate economic growth. Others critical problems being addressed include poor infrastructure and high energy costs. The five key sectors described below are being given priority as the key growth drivers for achievement of the economic vision: * Tourism * Increasing value in agriculture * A better and more inclusive wholesale and retail trade sector * Manufacturing for the regional market * Financial services Tourism This sector aims to be one of the top ten long- haul tourist destination in the world. To achieve this it has put ahead some strategies as their guideline that is offering a high end, diverse and distinctive visitor experience, achieving high tourist revenue by improving facilities in all underutilized parks, creating new high value niche product and investing in new conference facilities to boost business tourism Agriculture This aims to promote an innovative, commercially- oriented and modern agricultural sector. This will be accomplished through transforming key institution in agricultural and livestock to promote agricultural growth, increasing productivity of crop and livestock, introducing more irrigable areas in arid and semi- arid areas for both crops and livestock. It also aim sat adding value to our firm and live stock products before they reach local and international market (vision 2030) Whole sale and retail market Aims to raise earnings by giving our large informal sector opportunities to transform itself into a part of a formal sector that is efficient, multi tiered, diversified in product range and innovative. This will be raised through training and credit, improving efficiency by reducing the number of players between the producer and the consumer (vision 2030) Manufacturing It aims to have a robust, diversified and competitive manufacturing sector. This will be achieved through the implementation of the following restricting key local industries that use raw materials but are currently  uncompetitive, exploiting opportunities in value addition to agricultural product. The Political Pillar This aims to realize a democratic political system founded on issue-based politics that respects the rule of law, and protects the rights and freedoms of every individual in Kenyan society. It hopes to transform Kenya into a state in which equality is entrenched, irrespective of one’s race, ethnicity, religion, gender or socio-economic status; a nation that respects and harnesses the diversity of its peoples’ values, traditions and aspirations for the benefit of all its citizens. The political pillar vision for 2030 is â€Å"a democratic political system that is issue-based, people-centered, result-oriented and accountable to the public.† An issue-based system is one in which political differences are about means to meet the widest public interest. â€Å"People-centered† goals refer to the system’s responsiveness to the needs and rights of citizens, whose participation in all public policies and resource allocation processes is both fully appreciated and facilitated. A result-oriented system is stable, predictable and whose performance is based on measurable outcomes. An accountable system is one that is open and transparent and one that permits free flow of information. This vision is expected to guarantee Kenya’s attainment of the specific goals outlined under Vision 2030’s economic and social pillars To meet objectives outlined in the economic and social pillars, Kenya’s national governance system is being transformed and reformed to acquire high-level executive capability consistent with a rapidly industrializing country. The country is adopting a democratic decentralization process with substantial devolution in policy-making, public resource management and revenue sharing through devolve d funds. This has been achieved through a delivery of a new constitutional dispensation which came in effect in August 2010. Transformation within Kenya’s political governance system under Vision 2030 is expected to take place across six strategic initiatives, whose overarching visions, goals and specific strategies for 2012 are as follows: * Rule of law * Electoral and political processes * Democracy and public service delivery * Transparency and accountability * Security, peace building, and conflict management Rule of law Under the rule of law the vision 2030 is adherence to the rule of law is as applicable to a modern market based economy in a human right respecting state. A lighting the national policy and legal framework with the need of a market based economy, national human right and gender equality commitment. Increasing access and quality of service available to the public and reducing barriers of justice. Democracy and public service delivery People centered and political engaged open society, pursuing, constitutional and legal reforms necessary to dissolve to more resources and responsibility to local governance institution. Encouraging formal and informal civil education and action programmes, promoting open engagement between government and civil society as well as the free flow of information. Transparency and accountability Transparent, accountability, ethical and result oriented government institution strengthening the legal framework for ant- corruption, ethics and integrity. Promoting result based management within the public service, introducing civilian oversight around key legal justice and security, strengthening government legislative oversight capacity. Security Security of all persons and property throughout the republic, Promoting public- private cooperation and community involvement for improved safety and security, Deeping policy legal and institutional reforms for improved enforcement of law and order, Promoting national and international dialogue in order to build harmony among ethnic, racial and other groups. Electoral and political process Seeks to cultivate genuinely competitive and issue based politics introducing rules and regulations covering political policies, enhancing the legal and regulatory framework covering electrical process, conducting civil education programmers to widen knowledge and participation among citizens leading to an informed active citizens. Conclusion For development and social change to occur Kenyans in the 21st century Kenyans should evaluate the pre and post development and analyze the strategies they want to put across and see whether they will be of any impact or they will be able to serve them effectively. There should be an integration of all strategies for sustainable development to occur. That is they should put value both in economic, social and political strategies. Commitment is expected for both the government and civil society, international, local and personal positive relationships are also major contributors to sustainable development in the 21st century. Mission, vision, goals and objectives should be successfully laid, well defined and achievable. References Vision 2030 document The national broad strategy Vision 2030 flagship project

Drunk Driving

Drunk Driving Free Online Research Papers Imagine being in a bar with a few of your good friends. Everyone is drinking and having a good time. Your are going to leave and go home, but you friends wont let you because they know the dangers of driving after having a few drinks. Instead they ca ll a cab to give you a ride home. You would be extremely lucky to have such smart friends. Drunk driving is a very serious problem in our society today, but it is becoming socially unacceptable causing the numbers of alcohol related traffic fatalities t o decline considerably. Drunk driving can be very deadly. Yet many people drive while under the influence everyday. Drivers who are drunk are blamed for the loss of as many as twenty-five thousand lives in highway crashes each year and hundreds of thousands of severe injuries. It is thought that drunk drivers have a long history of doing this and many prior arrests. In addition, most of those killed are just innocent victims whose behavior did not contribute to their deaths. These last two statements are both false. On aver age a drunk driver that kills has never been involved in a alcohol related accident before and have no prior convictions for drunk driving. The part about the people killed are just innocent bystanders is over-exaggerated also. Most of the drunk drivers victims are the drivers themselves, their often passengers, and the drunken pedestrians and cyclists. Despite this drunk driving is still very dangerous. It is the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in America today. In fact it is said that ab out 40 % of the population will be involved in a alcohol related crash during their life. Drunk driving is especially dangerous to young people, who seem to be more involved than others. Drunk driving is the number one cause of death among young people, accounting for 20% of all deaths from ages 15 to 20. Drunk driving is such a hard thing to overcome though. In our society alcohol is overwhelmingly accepted as a facilitator of sociable interaction, and the great majority of adults drink. But steps a re being taken and the numbers of deaths are declining. Alcohol-related traffic fatalities have been decreasing lately. As a proportion of all traffic fatalities it has been decreased since 1982. In fact since 1982 the number of alcohol related traffic fatalities has decreased 30%, from 25,165 to 17,699, while alcohol-related traffic fatalities, as a proportion of all traffic fatalities, decreased from 57% to 45%. This is a great achievement when you consider that the number of miles traveled has increased 40% since then. For the past 14 years the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities have been dropping steadily. With the help of a growing number of support groups and tougher penalties the numbers should drop even more in the next few years to come. The numbers of accidents have been dropping for a number of reasons. The states have taken some effective measures such as immediate license suspension, lowering the blood alcohol concentration legal level from .01 to .08 for adults and for people under age 21 to .02. Others such as sobriety checkpoints, public education, community awareness, and media campaigns about the dangers of alcohol-impaired driving. In addition some strategies should be considered, such as those outlined during the Surgeon Generals Workshop on Drunk Driving and in the national plan for injury prevention and control. Such strategies include changing the social norm to make alcohol-impaired driving socially unacceptable, limiting alcohol availability among under-aged youth, alcohol service training for those who sell and serve alcohol, early alcohol treatment and rehabilitation programs, offering alternative transportation programs for those of the legal drinking age, and increasing the perception of the risk for arrest for alcohol-impaired driving. States like California have raised the penalty for misdemeanor drunk driving offenses to a maximum $1000 fine and one year in jail. In July, a state law took effect requiring twice-convicted drunk drivers to equip their cars wit h a breath analysis device that prevents them from starting their engines if they have a blood-alcohol level higher than .02%. And after Jan. 1, people under the age of 21 caught driving with a blood-alcohol level .01% or greater will immediately lose their drivers licenses for one year. In fact Ohio now allows officials to confiscate vehicles registered to drivers with at least four DUI convictions in a five-year period of those who twice allow their vehicles to be used by someone they know to be drunk or without a license. Currently the state is taking away those cars and putting them in a car crusher. Steps like these need to continue to be taken and hopefully the number of accidents will decrease. Its great to see problems like these decreasing. Drinking and driving is very dangerous. Many people have their lives shattered and ruined because of a drunk driver. That is why this is becoming so socially unacceptable. People are finally starting to realize how dangerous this can really be. With the help of new laws and continued hard work the number of drinking and driving accidents should be very little in the future. Research Papers on Drunk DrivingHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseCapital PunishmentBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm X19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesStandardized TestingTwilight of the UAWThe Masque of the Red Death Room meanings

Supply side policies and its economic impact Essay Example

Supply side policies and its economic impact Essay Example Supply side policies and its economic impact Paper Supply side policies and its economic impact Paper Supply side policies are those that improve the supply side of the economey. There are the two forms of supply side policy. Supply side policies of the product market and that of the labour market, which can directly influence the national economy. All the supply side policies of the product market are design to increase competition and therefore productivity. An increase in productivity will mean that an industry is able to produce more with a given amount of resources. Privatisation is a major supply side policy of the product market side that is intended to increase the productive potential of the economy and consequently lead to a higher rate of economic growth. Privatisation actually break up state regulated monopolies into privately own enterprises and this would eventually mean that the intensity of competition among businesses will increase, rather than having government firm not competing against each other, these privately owned businesses compete together. Recently in the United Kingdom the utilities such as gas and electricity have been privatised and this has benefited the economy greatly, although there have been a few exceptions to this such as rail track privatisation which has generally been considered as a national failure due to excessive under investment. Another common supply side policy of the product market side is deregulation, which aims at removing excessive sate imposed regulation on economic activity within the national economy. Excessive regulation requires certain expectations and standards that business must spend to comply with, and consequently it is these excessive regulation that are imposed on business which increase costs. Therefore deregulation decreases the economic costs for businesses and simultaneously allows more entrants to enter the market. The supply side policies of the labour market side are possibly imperative for attaining substantially higher levels of economic growth. The reforms such as legislation against trade union can help industries stuck in an endless cycle of dispute with their employers. Trade union typically aim to achieve higher wages and make sure that condition for workers are sound, and improving within their particular industry. If the government aims to reduce trade union power then this will hugely advantage the industry. Other supply side policies such as reducing unemployment benefits have not been used very much in the U. K. economy but possibly in other free market economies. In some free market economies the benefits received for being out of work can exceed those for taking a low paid job, therefore people would rather be out of work and receive benefits than working, therefore by reducing the benefits received for being out of work people would be less well off and consequently unemployment would increase helping increase the rate of GDP. Diagrammatically the level of output and the price level are determined by the interaction of aggregate demand and aggregate supply. Under some conditions, employment depends only on total spending, or aggregates demand. At other times, supply limitations are an important part of the policy problem and have to receive major attention. From the 1930s to the later 1960s, macroeconomics was very much demand-oriented. But in recent years the emphasis has shifted and aggregate supply and supply-side economics have gained in importance. This shift of emphasis and interest was no doubt fostered by the slow growth and high inflation experienced by the industrialised countries in the 1970s. If the economy is close to full employment, increased aggregate demand will be reflected primarily in higher prices or inflation. The aggregate supply side of the economy has then to be introduced. The aggregate supply curve specifies the relationship between the amount of output firms produce and their price level. The supply side not only enters the picture in telling us how successful demand expansions will be in raising output and employment, but also has a role of its own. Supply disturbances, or supply shocks, can reduce output and raise prices, as was the case in the 1970s when the price of oil increased sharply. Conversely, policies that increase productivity and thus the level of aggregate supply at a given price level, can help reduce inflationary pressures. In the early 1980s supply-side economists promised that disinflation was possible without unemployment. The 1981-1982 recession punctured that hope. But supply-side economics made a partial comeback because the recovery from that deep recession was both rapid and prolonged. Supply-side economics and its effectiveness abroad. Supply-side economics was all the rage in the United States in 1981, the first year of the Reagan administration. And so-called supply-siders still run a very active publicity machine, proclaiming the correctness of their views in the press and in books. Supply-side economists lay heavy stress on the incentive effects of taxation in determining the behaviour of the economy. Beyond that broad agreement there are really two separate supply-side groups. The mainstream group stresses the importance of tax incentives in promoting growth, especially by their effect on saving and investment. Similarly, it analyses the effects of tax changes on labour supply, the effects of Social security on saving and retirement decisions and a host of other important issues. But it was the radical fringe of supply-side group that received most of the publicity during the early 1980s, when Reagan tax cut that determined fiscal policy for the entire decade was put in place. This group made exaggerated claims for the effects of tax cuts on saving; investment and labour supply and for the effects of tax cuts on total government revenue from taxation. Among the intellectual leaders of the fringe was Arthur Laffer, whose curve has become famous. Radical supply-siders were installed in the Treasury and there was an active supply-side group in Congress. The radical fringe argued that 1) tax rate reductions would have such powerful effects on work effort that total tax revenues would rise and 2) the supply-side effects of the tax cuts would have a powerful effect in reducing inflation by increasing the growth rate of output. In 1981 the Reagan administration presented an optimistic scenario for growth with low inflation that was supposedly justified by supply-side considerations. Tax rates were to be cut significantly but, it was claimed, the rapid increase in growth would keep the budget close to balance. That at least was the public claim. Radical supply-side economics was thus an essential part of the rhetoric supporting Reaganomics. The most important factor in these policies was the Presidents determination to cut taxes. This was done in the belief that the government was too large and that government spending could be cut by denying Congress tax revenue to spend. Arguments by supply-siders that tax cuts would rapidly increase economic growth and reduce inflation were certainly welcome, but it is quite likely that President Reagan would have proceeded with his policies even had he known they would result in massive budget deficits, so long as they would reduce the size of government. Supply-side predictions were criticised at the time by mainstream macroeconomists. The evidence is that tax reductions do affect incentives and that tax cuts increase output. But there is no evidence that the incentives would be so strong as to result in higher government revenue after a tax cut. Similarly, an increase in the growth rate of output will contribute to reducing the inflation rate-but the effects are unlikely to be powerful. The events of two years following the Reagan tax cuts do not support the views of the radical supply-siders. Inflation was indeed reduced, but the reduction was a result of tight monetary policy and not of expansionary fiscal policy. Output fell rapidly; it did not increase. These events led to the departure of the radical supply-siders from responsible policy-making positions, but did not slow their claims that supply-side economics (of the radical branch) was the solution for the economys problem. An interesting sidelight on supply-side economics comes from considering the relationship between supply-side economics and monetarism. Both approaches are often associated with conservative political positions. But the two groups of economists are critical of each other. In their policy positions, favouring tax cuts in almost all circumstances and believing also that the Fed should allow rapid money growth to foster rapid output growth, the supply-siders are closer to Keynesianism than to monetarism. Supply side policies An alternative or even a complementary policy to demand-side management is to increase the productive potential of an economy, irrespective of the state of aggregate demand. Policy measures, which raise the long run or potential GDP, are known as supply-side policies. Successful supply-side policies raise potential GDP faster than if were it left to the normal process of economic growth. The attractiveness of such policies is that they bypass the uncomfortable trade-off between output and inflation. The general conclusion is that, regardless of their effectiveness, supply-side policies do not produce immediate miracles. They may increase incentive to raise production; they may be aimed at improving general efficiency; they may require some sectors to decline and free resources for other, more valuable uses. All these measures take time to work, five to ten years, or even longer. Three broad approaches to increasing the economys long-run potential have been examined. First, good supply-side policy should aim to make markets as efficient as possible and when markets fail that test, government intervention can improve matters. Second, given that governments are already interfering in the market place for both good and bad reasons, they should strive to minimise the negative impact of their intervention. One example is regulation; another is taxation; yet another is subsidy policy. Third, unemployment remains a deep concern in much of Europe where roughly 10% of the labour force is out of work. Taxation and the provision of public goods. Public goods are special because they naturally are non-rival and non-excludable. Being non-excludable, public goods cannot be charged to their users. A toll booth can be installed at a bridges entrance, but what price should its owners charge ? Non-rivalry means that the marginal cost of their use is very small; thus the price ought to be low. But fixed costs can be large (a bridge is very expensive to build), so how can the producer be compensated ? In addition, a bridge is a natural monopoly if it is the only one in the vicinity. If the owner charges a high price and makes large profits, market competition will lead to the multiplication of bridges next to each other, a very inefficient outcome. Markets just cannot cope with such failures, public goods need to be provided collectively (free bridges), or their provision needs to be regulated (privately built bridges are generally subject to strict regulations, including pricing and quality of service). Public goods are pervasive: transportation and amenities, but also justice and police, passports, defence and diplomacy etc. In each case, there is a market solution, but it is inefficient as not enough-sometimes none at all-would be privately provided. And in each case, the insufficient provision of the public goods would greatly impair economic activity, possibly leading to the breakdown of other, well-functioning markets. This is why the provision of public goods is a fundamental supply-side policy. The more efficient the provision, the more productive the economy will be. Efficiency means that public goods are produced at the lowest possible cost-which also involves issues of corruption. It also requires that resources be collected to finance the production of public services, an issue to which we now turn. Once a society has agreed to let government perform certain public functions, public resources need to be raised in order to pay for them. This is done through taxation of final goods and services. Taxation generally distorts markets by driving a wedge between the cost of producing goods and services and the price paid by the consumers. Non-distortionary taxes do not affect economic behaviour. An example would be lump-sum taxes levied on individuals without any reference to incomes, wealth, or spending, or taxies levied unexpectedly on past incomes and wealth so that it is too late to react. For this reason, non-distortionary taxes are appealing to governments. In practice, however, retroactive taxation is considered unfair precisely because it takes people by surprise. Lump-sum taxes are also unpopular, as Mrs Thatchers fateful experience with the poll tax in 1990 showed. As a result, nearly all taxes are distortionary. Laffer curve. Because distortionary taxes move the economy away from its first-best equilibrium, it is entirely conceivable that higher tax rates actually result in lower tax yields. This effect is sometimes called the Laffer curve. This curve describes a theoretical relationship between total government tax revenues and the average tax rate (the ratio of tax receipts to GDP). The tax rate ranges from 0 to 100%; at a 0% rate, tax revenue is nil; when the tax rate reaches 100%, no one is likely to work or produce at all so tax receipts are also nil. At intermediate tax rates, tax receipts are positive. The hump-shape of the curve indicates that the tax rate distorts the economy so much that beyond some tax rate, taxable income declines faster than the tax rate increases. The threshold point corresponds to the average tax rate for which tax receipts are at a maximum. Any rate of taxation to the right of this point is inefficient because the same tax income can be raised with a lower tax rate, i. e. less distortion. Incentives and taxation The social safety net. The social safety net refers to the system of transfers and benefits designed to help the disadvantaged and vulnerable in society. These include unemployment benefits, social welfare, old-age pensions, early retirement, health insurance and disability benefits. A large gap divides European countries, which transfer between 20% and 30% of their national income to individuals or firms, from the USA, Japan and Switzerland, which transfer only 10-15%. This might lead a casual observer to conclude that high European unemployment is a product of the social welfare state, which puts weight on solidarity but at the cost of productivity and economic efficiency. Yet it is too hasty to claim that Europeans have erred too far in the direction of social protection, in comparison to the rest of the OECD. The high level of transfers observed in Europe is to some extent a response to high unemployment, which may have other underlying causes. At the same time, these transfers-in the form of unemployment benefits, welfare and premature retirement and disability pensions-take the pressure off workers and firms to adjust to a changing world economy. The greatest danger is that the safety net becomes a trap, leading to long-term unemployment. It is useful to think about the adverse effects of the safety net on incentives. The social systems of most countries share two institutional features. First, poor or unemployed people receive transfers-income maintenance programmes or unemployment benefits-from the state. Second, income taxes are progressive: the rate of taxation increases as income rises. Taking up a job not only means receiving a salary, but also paying taxes if the salary is high enough and thereby losing eligibility for income maintenance programmes. It is conceivable then that people can be financially worse off by taking a job, not to mention incurring a loss of leisure and possibly some activity in the underground (shadow) economy. Implicitly, these people face an effective marginal tax rate-considering the overall effect of work on their income-in excess of 100%. Recent experience of work-to-welfare in the USA indicates that the incentive aspect is important for bringing workers on social assistance back to work. Labour taxation. Because labour is so important in any economy, it is natural to expect governments to tax it. Labour is one of the most highly taxed commodities. Not only is labour subject to income taxes paid by households, but also to a number of social security contributions by both employees and employers.