Stock Market Crash

Women in the 1920’s A new era evolved in the 1920’s, a new style of women emerged with it. In the â€Å"Roaring Twenties† many women converted their lifestyle of being home makers who were in charge of cooking, cleaning and taking care of the children to women with short dresses, bob cut hair doos, a cigarette in her mouth and a drink in her hand. This new style of women who emerged with an older prositional style of dress became known as flappers. These women not only changed their appearance and mind set but brought changes to society, the economy, and the role of a typically women.In the rebellious era of the 1920’s some young women began to declare their independence from the male figures in their life, these women were known as the flappers. A flapper was an emancipated young woman who embraced the new fashions and urban attitudes of the day. (McDougal 2003) Women in years before were very conservative, wearing ankle-length dresses, following orders f rom men, and their only job would be house cleaning and taking care of the children. These standards were not those of a flapper, flappers wanted to be viewed as equal to men.Flappers did this by shortening their skirts to 1 inch above the knee, cutting their hair into bob cuts, smoke and drinking in public, talking openly about sex, swearing, binding their bodies to appear thinner, and buying make up. By wearing lipstick, rouge, and eye shadow, flappers resembled prostitutes to an older generation (Parker). Against many people’s views at the time, the flappers did not do all these crazy thing in order to get attention but to prove a point that women are just as free as men and want to be treated as such. â€Å"It is an injustice to both parents and child to bring an unwelcome baby into the world. (Dearborn, 88) This is the views many women had during the 1920’s, before it was socially accepted to use birth control. In decades before 1920 the birth rate had begun to d ecline but in the 1920’s the number of child being born dropped drastically due to the use of contraceptives and information of birth control. This decline was an after mass of Margaret Sanger opening the first birth control clinic in the United States and founding the American Birth Control League in 1921. (McDougal 2003) With birth control becoming socially accepted, women in the 1920’s took one more tep forward by going against the norm and began dating. Before when women were beginning to have the mindset of marriage they were â€Å"courted† by men, this means that men only pursued women they intended on marrying. When women began dating this opened the door for more sexual freedom to both men and women which was social unaccepted and unheard of by many people of the older generations which then caused chaos within the home life of the young flapper women. New opportunities arose for women in the 1920’s when women decided to leave the home maker posit ion and step out into the real world by getting a paying job.The ambitious women who went against the odds to go look for a job would get positions such as teachers, nurses, librarians, typists, clerks, and secretaries. By the end of the decade almost 10 million women were earning wages. This outraged men by making them believe that women would begin getting jobs over the men. Though women did not earn nearly as much as men during that time period, it was a big step in history for women to leave the home and start the evolution of working for money.

Tennyson Close Analysis

Tennyson was published in 1830 and is the text I have chosen to do closely analyze. The subject matter of the poem was taken from one of Shakespearean plays titled â€Å"Measure for Measure†, and the line: â€Å"Marina in the mooted grange,† gave Tennyson the inspiration to write of a young woman waiting for her lover. The two texts share a common theme of abandonment, as in Shakespearean play the young woman is also diligently awaiting the return of her lover Angelo after his desertion upon discovering her loss of dowry.Similarly to Shakespearean text, Marianne lacks action or any narrative movement, the entire poem serving as an extended depiction of the melancholy isolation a young woman experiences whilst pining for her vacant lover. The language, meter, format and tone of the poem contribute to the inherent themes of isolation, death and decay, which I will closely examine in this close reading exercise. Unlike some of Tennyson other works such as Ulysses, Marianne doesn't have a dramatic monologue although it does feature a refrain.This method isolates Marina from us, and the poem being written in a third person lyrical narrative makes the title guru unable to linguistically control her own poem. The refrain is the only part within the poem in which Marina is able to speak out directly to the reader as well as the only form of dialogue: in the first stanza, line's 9-12 â€Å"My life is dreary/He cometh not' she said:/She said, ‘l am areaway, areaway, I would that I were dead! Her desperation is evident to the reader, and ‘she said' being written in past tense is significant since we are left wondering of her fate as a result of her misery. The refrain undergoes minor changes throughout the poem, giving a small fragment of pope to both the reader and Marina who is stuck in a monotonous cycle of despair. In the second, third and fourth stanza she alternates between ‘day, night and light', in the final 9-12 lines of the stanz a, emphasizes that nothing really changes since her feelings of being ‘areaway continue regardless of the time of day.In the final stanza, in the 9-12th lines, the refrain changes dramatically from the continuous and unchanging refrain the reader had become accustomed to. Marina now Weeps' instead of ‘says' and asks ‘God' to end her misery, thus the plea is no longer a wish but a prayer and an appeal, signifying the end to all hope. She is now sure that ‘he' will never return and her recognition of this show that she accepts it. The use of the pronoun ‘he' in the refrain is interesting. We never learn ‘his' name or of his existence therefore his presence in the poem is very ambiguous.It could be that Marina is just waiting for a lover who has deserted her, or that ‘he' could be symbolic of a male dominant society that doesn't help her. The refrain shapes majority of the poem as it allows the reader to understand Marina's feelings, whereas th e language and the setting only serve as a metaphor for her internal anguish and isolation. Although the poem is static, meaning it involves no action, the pathetic fallacy and personification of the setting is a reflection of Marina's psychological decay as well as the world that she inhibits.In the first stanza, from lines 1 to 7, Marina's surroundings are described as ‘blackest', ‘rusted', ‘broken', Weeded and worn', and ‘lonely. Everything that is man-made is in a state of decay, symbolic for Marina's personal deteriorating and dissatisfaction of men. The iambic tetrameter, which sets the rhythmic, repetitive tone of the poem, is constantly interrupted by the refrain at he end of each stanza, symbolic to how Marianne can never feel at ease and is always in a state of psychological unrest.The three four-line rhyme units pattern of ABA CDC BEEF entrap the reader, since the E and F essentially remain the same in each stanza, which parallels with Marina's own entrapment. Words such as ‘shrieks and ‘cricked' in the sixth stanza between on line 2 and 5, are Tennyson use of onomatopoeia to further involve the reader in how Marina is feeling by using harsh and penetrating sounds. Through close analysis there are signs of hope Marina instills in us for both her fate and the return of her lover.In the first stanza on line 6, it is described that ‘unlisted was the clinking latch' emphasizing her hope for his return, and in the second stanza on line 8, when she ‘glanced athwart the gloaming flats,' although the use of ‘gloaming' is a morbid foreshadowing, Marina watches her surroundings as if she is waiting for a soldier to return from the battlefield and into her open arms. But as Marina deteriorates and hope fails her, so does the language in the poem.In the sixth stanza between lines 6 and 8, Marina descends into madness as her house becomes haunted by ‘old faces, glimmered thro' the doors, [old toasters, trod the upper floors, [old voices called her from without. ‘ The use of past tense with ‘glimmered' and ‘called' signifies that Marianne is still living in the past, as her libido flows backwards. She remembers happier times because she is haunted, and the psychological reversions as well as physical deterioration move in parallel order, creating overwhelming sense of degeneration and loss.In the last stanza, the sparrow's chirrup on the roof, [the slow clock ticking,' this first and second line stood out. ‘The sparrow is symbolic because it is a sign of impending death, in Christian homeboys the sparrow was seen as offering made by person without any means. As for the ‘slow clock ticking, this can be interpreted for the lack of time and the poem's constant circular motion before reaching its climax in the final stanza. However, because the clock is about to come to a halt it could also have the double meaning for Marina's impending death.Another liter ary symbol that Tennyson uses to draw up on Marina's yearning for her lover is the polar tree. The polar tree is a classic symbol of the renegade lover and his broken promise; it can be interpreted as a phallic symbol since it provides he only break in the otherwise barren and flat landscape. Within classic mythology the poplar tree is used in the text Metamorphoses, where Ovid describes how None, deserted by Paris, addresses the poplar on which Paris has carved his promise not to desert her. This interpretation is relevant to the reoccurring theme of abandonment and isolation within the poem.In the fourth stanza, the fifth line introduces the poplar tree as the ‘Hard by a poplar shook alleyway's silver-green with gnarled bark also making it's existence sound temperamental and deteriorating through the use of ‘gnarled bark and ‘silver-green', these adjectives making it unappealing in the mind of the reader. Marina lusts for the company of her previous lover, so whe n she sees the gusty shadow sway,' in the following fourth line of the fifth stanza, this is the remainder of the sexual dominance her lover had over her and his absence in her life which has been replaced by this desolate tree.The fact that she is still pining over his vacancy shows that he still holds power over her and is able to manipulate her, which could be said of women in society being under the control of men during Tennyson time. The poplar tree's isolation haunts Marina even in sleep, because it eternally serves as a remainder of the one who will never come. Death is also a prominent motif throughout the poem, as ‘dead' is repeated in the last line of every stanza in the refrain.In the climaxing, last stanza of the poem, Tennyson wrote on the sixth line ‘but she loathed the hour/When the thick-mooted sunbeam lay, this phrase is emphasized by the caesura directly prior to it, and the comparatively period lacking punctuation which follows. The words thick and â €˜lay give the reader the impression that Marina's world is coated in dust, suggesting that it is morality which weighs her down since her life is bleak and oppressive. This idea is further emphasized by the day drawing to a close when Tennyson wrote in the last stanza on the 8th line, ‘and the Dallas sloping toward his western bower. The imagery here is suggestive of the sun setting and her moving towards Angelo since the connotation of light has to do with living and mortality. The ending of the day, and the drawing of the poem can be interpreted as the ending of Marina's own life. In conclusion, much of Tennyson formation of the character Marina can be seen as a projection of his own psychological issues. His powerful use of imagery and pathetic fallacy illustrates the struggle Marina faces between life and death as she diligently awaits her lovers return.

Lena Baker vs Annette Lyes

The Lena Baker and Anjette Lyles are two-court cases that are very questionable in court decision. Lena Baker shot and kill Ernest B. Knight who had remove her from her home and locked in a the gristmill. Baker was sentenced to Death. Anjette Lyles was a woman who murder four people Ben F. Lyles Jr who was her first husband, Joe Neal Gabbert who was her second husband, Julia Lyles who was her former mother in law and Marcia her daughter. She was sentenced to the State Hospital for the Insane in Milledgeville. Georgia's In Lena Case, the Judge put to gun on the stand to intimidate the court to give him the verdict.Her trail lasted less than day. Even with the right to fast and speedy trail in my opinion that was to fast for the defense to cast enough doubt in any juror mind. The Judge gun influenced the jury to give him the verdict he wants. Those two alone is enough for a mistrial. The Governor granted Lena a sixty-day reprieve so that the Board of Pardons and Parole could review the case. In January 1945, the board denied clemency. Baker's execution date was rescheduled for March 5, 1945. She was taken to Reidsville State Prison on February 23, 1945.Sixty years later the state of Georgia accounted that it had made a mistake and that Lena Baker should have been sentenced to a lesser serious crime. I think that the death should be removed from the books because innocent people are sentenced to death each year. The Death pleanty here was unreasonable everyone knew what was happening was wrong but still happened. In the Anjette case, her poison four people . Anjette plan these murder out and commit them. She had her trail and was sentenced to death. She would have been the first white woman sentenced to death and people were not happy about that.The governor step in and appointed a sanity commission consisting of a psychiatrist, psychologist, and medical doctor to examine Lyles. The conclusion the team presented to the Board of Pardons and Paroles was that the pri soner was insane. The Board commuted her death sentence, and Lyles was sent to the State Hospital for the Insane in Milledgevillethe Insanity plea in this case was unreasonable everyone knew what was happening was wrong but still happened. took form Document by Mr. Sutton Word for Word. 2005 took form Document by Mr. Sutton Word for Word.

Risk management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Risk management - Assignment Example Hacking is the term, which refers to intrusion in a computer system or a whole computer network in order to exploit the data or information for any possible purpose. Hacking is an illegal activity in which a computer system or network is being accessed by external sources. Hackers have several prominent reasons for which the activity of hacking occurs. These reasons include financial benefits, industrial espionage, and online extortion and challenge (Pankaj, 2005). There are several categories of hacking which are listed below: White Hat: Hackers attempts to break security systems for testing purposes, which are non-malicious (Graves, 2007). Blue Hat: hackers are external intruders who aim to test a security system before its launch (Graves, 2007). Black Hat: hackers are intruders who break security for personal reasons or gain (Graves, 2007). Grey Hat: hackers voluntarily breech the network security to inform about the weaknesses to the host (Graves, 2007). Elite Hacker: is consider ed to be the most skilled hackers (Graves, 2007). Hacktivist: aims to announce a political, social or religious proposal through hacking (Graves, 2007). Nation State: are official hackers who are officials of intelligence or cyber warfare operatives (Graves, 2007). Introduction As the overall background and description of hacking has been stated in the previous paragraph, the aim of this report will be stated in this heading. The potential risk of hacking is intrinsically associated with any organization, which is based upon computer networking. In contemporary times, all of the organizations utilize the technology of networking in any industry or business, but there are several businesses, which are entirely based upon computer networking. Most of these organizations are service providers and most of the official occurrences for these organizations are dealt online. From all of these organizations, Sony is a prominent corporation, which do not only provide services, but it has prod uced several electronic products for entertainment. Out of this vast range of products, which have been produced by Sony, PlayStation is one of the most successful products. However, in 2011, Sony had to come across with an intensely grave IT problem, which was caused by external intrusion, by hackers. This incident caused a great loss to the company, not only in monetary terms, but also in terms of popularity and reputation. The incident is known as Sony Network Outage in which Sony had to turn off the whole PlayStation network for several days. This report is aimed to analyse the Sony Network Outage with respect to the seven stages risk management cycle. It will also present a brief explication of each step regarding the problem faced by Sony. Sony Network Outage 2011 It was in April 2011 when Sony Playstation Network got down. Approximately 77 million user s’ accounts of Sony Network got hacked. The accounts were actually seized, preventing the users to access Sony’ s online web services (Peckham, 2011). The accounts were stolen and the hackers retrieved the personal identification information of the users. It was an attack of three days and after that Sony shutdown its network on April 20, 2011. The attack lasted for 24 days keeping Sony network under the control of the hackers. The risk assessors claimed out that it is one the largest security breaches the company has ever faced. It was something, which really brought

CM 1010-07E, BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS (CM1010-07E) Essay - 2

CM 1010-07E, BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS (CM1010-07E) - Essay Example Different needs can also influence the behavior of an individual. For instance, there are people are satisfied working just to earn a monthly wage and there are others with more aspiration who work even harder so that they can get promoted and receive incentives. Of course, there are also external distractions that can affect the performance of a member, such as, moonlighting. This is because he is constantly thinking about other commitments and taking on a part-time job is physically and mentally exhausting. A different mix of personalities in a team does not necessarily spell doom, so long as all members remain motivated and have the same goal congruence. Therefore, identifying a strong leader within a team that knows how to motivate and reward each member based on their needs is crucial. Constant communication and feedback will also ensure that the team is still in the same page. Having a good leader to delegate tasks equally, so that members receive a sense of common purpose and to avoid members feeling left out, is also important. Finally, a good leader should recognise the effort and job that the team as a whole have achieved, regardless of the amount of work that members have

The tell-tale heart short story Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The tell-tale heart short story - Coursework Example He thus interpreted love and hate similar to Freud as universal emotions, hence severed from the particular conditions of time and space (Poe, 2014). He is, therefore, motivated to kill the old man whom he loved by neither passion nor desire for money but a fear of the man’s pale eye that triggers his hatred. Argument two is that Poe’s terror results to the narrator’s simultaneous love for himself and hatred of his rival. Such a double depicts the inseparability of love and hate and hence two forms of the key intense form of human emotion. The narrator thus loves himself, however, when feelings of self-hatred appear in him, the narrator projects such a hatred onto an imaginary copy of himself (Poe, 2014). Thus, he confesses a love for an old man whom he violently murders and dismembers. He thus decides to tell a story in which he will defend his sanity yet admit to having killed an old man. Argument three is that the narrator instigates the story by addressing the reader and claiming that he is nervous but never mad. Therefore, the narrator reveals his madness through an attempt to delink the person of the old man, whom he loves, from that of old man’s supposedly evil eye, triggering the narrator’s hatred (Poe, 2014). Subsequently, such delusional distinction helps the narrator to remain unaware of the paradox of claiming to have loved his

Strategic management on JJB Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic management on JJB Sports - Essay Example Against this background, this paper has been designed to identify the strategic change initiative that can be implemented by JJB Sports in order to revitalise its operations that have dipped as a result of the above mentioned factors. Changes are necessary for businesses so that they can gain competitive advantage over other rival competitors. This will also help the company to grab a large market share which can contribute to its viability in the long run. Why change is necessary for JJB Sports The digital competitive environment of 2013 makes it imperative for all organizations that are concerned about their survival to implement certain changes in their operations. In order to keep pace with the changes obtaining in the environment in which an organization operates, it is important to implement certain changes that can be aligned to the current business strategy. The use of new information and communication technology has significantly improved the operations of any business durin g the contemporary period. Therefore, any company that is concerned about its success should harness this new digital marketing and communication strategy. Change is also necessary given that the company will be able to attract more customers since the bulk of business is conducted through the internet during the contemporary period. Many organizations are shifting from traditional to digital marketing practices since the bulk of business is done online during the current period. In this case, JJB Sports should adopt a brick and click strategy in its operations. According to Bricks & Clicks (2013), this strategy integrates both traditional marketing strategies as well as digital marketing communication strategies and it focuses on different lines of business. The advantage of the traditional marketing strategy is that the organization is in a better position to retain its old customers while the use of digital communication will help to improve the efficiency of the organization in its operations. The company’s effectiveness can also be enhanced through the use of new information and technology since it will be in a position to process information at a faster rate. The advantage of new information and communication technology is that it can process large volumes of information at higher speed than information that is manually processed. The other advantage is that it is cost effective compared to other forms of communication. The company can also be in a position to reach a wide range of people through the use of the internet given that it is accessible to people in different geographical locations. Another important consideration for JJB Sports is that it should use aggressive marketing strategies that are aided by new information and communication technology in order to be in a position to gain competitive advantage. The organization ought to realign itself to the needs of the external environment and evaluate the possible outcome of the strategic cha nge programme implemented. There are different strategic management theories that can be used to shape the strategy for the organization. This section of the paper discusses

Feuerbach's theory of religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Feuerbach's theory of religion - Essay Example According to Feuerbach, man is an entity that needs an objective to live for. In order to know that, it is essential for a man to know himself. Once he gets to know himself, he can understand his objective in life.The qualities of human beings that they are proud of the most are the power of thought, the power of will, and the power of heart i.e. love. The power of thought enables a man to differentiate between right and wrong. The power of will is the freedom to do anything and the power of love is what keeps the human beings from killing each other. If a man has these three powers to an absolute degree, he is thought to be perfect.The human mind is very limited and his ability to think and perceive is also limited. Therefore, every man has some ability that he perceives to be perfect and is contempt with it. His limited mind makes him unable to realize his limitations. The three qualities are, of course, intangible and they need to be objectified. These are the qualities that are p resent in human beings but in different quantities and magnitudes. Feuerbach argues that these qualities are attributed to a separate being and then it is placed at a distance. This perfect being is then called God and worshipped. Man wants to be like God and spends his life trying to attain His abilities. The objects of a man govern and direct his thought process and, ultimately, his nature. Religion objectifies the good attributes and makes it possible for human beings to follow a defined objective for their lives. The concept of God lies in a man’s heart. The mind perceives things and tries to make them meaningful by thinking rationally. The eye sees things as they are and sends the image to the mind. It is, therefore, only the heart that can bear the concept of God. Monotheism requires a man to put faith in God. If a man tries to think that what exactly is God, he would always find himself perplexed and confused. It is because God is superior and without limitations while a man has a limited mind. Monotheism links a man’s heart to God and governs his life. According to Feuerbach, a man’s God is his thoughts and his morals. What the concept of God does to a man is it governs and directs his life. Therefore, what a man does and what he prioritizes define his religion and his God. God is a man’s expressed nature that is visible to everyone. Wh at a man loves secretly and which is hidden from others is his religion. Feuerbach believes that if a man is conscious of God, he is conscious of himself. Therefore, the concept of God is generated just for the sake of understanding oneself and religion is a source of self-knowledge. God stands in supreme power and perfection in monotheism. A man needs to be presented with an imagery of a God. Monotheism requires a man to believe in God that is invisible. Religions mostly provide a man with an imagery of God which helps a man to mould his life and follow a virtuous path. Monotheism provides this in the shape of teachings of God. The curious nature of man drove him to create idols in early times because he was desperate to see what God might look like. According to Feuerbach, man followed and prayed to his own nature in those times. Idolatry is still seen in Hinduism. The divine attributes that are given to God in religion are, in fact, the attributes of humans themselves. According to Feuerbach, â€Å"You believe in love as a divine attribute because you yourself love; you believe that God is a wise, benevolent being because you know nothing better in yourself than benevolence and wisdom; and you believe that God exists and that he is therefore a subject†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The attributes that are perfect in the eyes of human are attributed to God. The limited human mind cannot think of other attributes that might be better than those that are in a man himself. God is no more than a synthesized entity of all the perfect qualities that are perceived by a man to be perfect.

Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Questions - Assignment Example ving at that age that the end of the world was essentially not far, since the events that were indentified to indicate the end time, among them the destruction of the temple, had already occurred. This was meant to remind the generations that were to follow that there is nothing else that is to be awaited, and the rapture can happen anytime, in that the events preceding its occurrence had already taken place (Mat. 24.33). Hence, contemporary discussions of the end of the world emphasizes that the end of the world is awaited anytime, with some marking the lapse of certain durations to indicate the end. The discussion of the end time plays a greater role in maintaining the community and its values, in that the community must stay on the alert always, since the rapture could occur anytime. This way, the community values of righteousness and Godliness remain embraced, to ensure that when the end of the world comes, the community will inherit the kingdom, as promised by Jesus upon maintai ning

Intro & Conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Intro & Conclusion - Essay Example An estimate taken in 2006 on the consumption of gasoline and diesel by commercial trucks was a staggering 54 billion gallons. The American Trucking Association (ATA) has always been under great scrutiny in the field of research and technology in order to reduce the hazards facing this massive industry. With great support from its intermodal conference, the ATA are making all efforts to bring about a much safer trucking industry through their various programs like the ‘Clean Trucks Program’ and others. The trucking industry has also committed itself in taking drastic steps towards reducing the consumption of fuel by about 86 gallons, thereby lessening the carbon footprint of its vehicles by approximately a billion tons n its agenda for the following 10 years. The ATA also proposes to provide a safer and cleaner environment for its 8.7 employees in its industry by implementing innovative methods that have undergone tried and tested research especially in the areas of energy and fuel conservation, fuel consumption, rules for air pollution, fuel standards, disposal of waste products, standards for vehicle emission and improvements in energy efficiency. The ATA is also striving to find solutions to the various challenges that face them regarding the Traffic policy of the Government and to bring about a more pleasant and harmonious working experience in its trucking

Qualatative and Quantitative Analysis Assignment

Qualatative and Quantitative Analysis - Assignment Example It was a form of an informal interview based on a standard set of questions. Most of the questions were open ended which required that I give my own in-depth opinion on particular aspects of the soft drink. This predominantly involved giving my perception and feelings about the product. For example, they wanted my opinion on whether I loved, hated, or was indifferent with regards to the soft drink. I do not believe the findings of this qualitative evaluation process were either valid or effective. This is for the following reasons; first the manner in which the respondents were selected was subjective in nature. I was picked to be an interviewee based on the fact that I had with me a soft drink from another company. That is, I was purposely picked, this would lock out other prospective respondents who would be also invaluable in reflecting the true perception of the populace towards the soft drink. Secondly, the questions asked were open ended. This makes data interpretation difficult and leaves the interpretation of the results at the discretion of the researcher, which might result to biased conclusions. Thirdly, the number of respondents interviewed was few in number. This would make it difficult to make any inference of the results to the general population. The findings of the evaluation were never shared with me, as the researcher considered them a part of the soft drinks’ company competitive strategy. However, as a form of compensation for my willingness to be part of the survey, I was given additional bottles of the soft drink to share with my friends. In the 1st set of variables, the trend and pattern which can be observed is that as the days go by, consecutively, the respective temperature rises. That is, the earlier months have lower temperatures but as the year progresses so does the temperature. In the 2nd set of variables, the pattern being notice is, as the price of gasoline per gallon increases so does the price of oil

Revenue allocation Essay Example for Free

Revenue allocation Essay Revenue means income. Allocation means to divide. Revenue allocation is defined as the division of available resources within an organisation or company. At a broader level, it is the process of assigning a cost to the amount of services and products generated. Government revenue is obtained from taxes, licenses and fees and allocated to public facilities. Because of the current revenue allocation formula In Nigeria, though there is a great deal of wealth In the country from the oil Industry, 64% of the population lives below the poverty line. While the federal government akes over half of all the money In the Nigerian federal account, little has been done to promote welfare and development projects that would benefit the general public. According to the Nigerian Revenue Moblllzatlon Allocation and Fiscal Commission, a new revenue allocation formula Is In the works, but It remains to be seen If these measures are enough to remedy the problem. When Nigerias maverick CBN Governor recently In an Interview Justified the sadlstlc, sub-human and horrific terrorist activities going on In the North of Nigeria by attributing It to the fact that 011 evenue was being unfairly shared on the basis of derivation primarily instead of population which is the Norths competitive advantage, I was shocked that such a flawed argument could come from such a respected Nigerian whose controversial reform of the Nigerian banking sector has won him praises and awards locally and internationally. SLS traced the root cause of terrorism in the North to grinding poverty in the North which he claims was caused by Nigerias use of the derivation principle instead of population as the primary yardstick for allocating revenue among he states. He believes that this preference for the derivation principle has short- changed the North and disadvantaged it. I totally disagree with SLS and will articulate in this article my reasons for disagreeing with him and my suggestions on the way forward for Nigeria using history as a guide to arrive at what I believe is a Just solution that will be favourable to all.

A Study Of Rivers In Malaysia Environmental Sciences Essay

A Study Of Rivers In Malaysia Environmental Sciences Essay Heavy metals are most abundant forms of pollution in Malaysia either in the forms of solid or liquid. With the vast industrialization and economic development in coastal region, heavy metals are continuing to be introduced to the estuarine and coastal environment which eventually end up into the river, runoffs and land based area (Yu et al., 2007). Metals diffuses into the aquatic environment will settle down and be incorporated into sediments together with organic matters, Fe/Mn oxides, sulfides, and clay (Wang and Chen, 2000). However, heavy metal mobility or availability in contaminated materials depends to large extent upon the different chemical and mineralogical forms that occurred (Song et al., 1999). Therefore, sediments seem to be an excellent medium in the assessment of the metals bound to the particulates. Nonetheless, sediments are known to act as a sink for heavy metals to be introduced into waters either from both natural and anthropogenic sources thus providing an exce llent proof of mans impact (Pempkowiase et al., 1999; Guevara et al., 2005). In addition, they may also act as traps for various types of pollutants including heavy metals (Poh and Mun, 1994). Indeed, changes in environmental conditions such as pH and redox potential should be monitored since it may results in remobilization of heavy metals. Unfortunately, due to the scarcity of information available to establish the heavy metal concentration in sediment using sequential extraction, no data is presented concerning the heavy metal pollution in the rivers except for one author Shazili et al., 2008 on Langat River Basin. Heavy metals element is particularly crucial because any slight changes in availability may cause these elements to become either toxic or deficient to plant (Krishnamurti et al., 1995). In fact, sequential extraction analysis is a technique which is used to investigate the geochemical partitioning of heavy metals amongst solid mineral and organic phases in sediment or other earth minerals (Howard and Vandenbrink, 1999). Sequential fractionation also frequently used in approaches to evaluate metals distribution into different chemical forms present in solid phases. Although direct methods provide an unambiguous identification of the heavy metal forms and ways why they occur, they might not be sufficiently sensitive where heavy metals occur at relatively low levels and they do not provide quantitative information on heavy metal mobility and availability (Song et al., 1999). However, sequential extraction approach is undoubtedly useful since few attempts have completed and few modification have been made based on Tessier et al., (1979); such as Silviera et al., (2006); Krishnamurti et al., (1995); Song et al., (1999); Forghani et al., (2009), Poh and Mun, (1994). 2.0 Problem Statement Langat river, Bernam River and Klang River basin is located in the state of Selangor in which known to be the most developing states in Malaysia other than Kuala Lumpur. All of these rivers are primarily important as water source not only limited to supplying water to consumer but also for other purposes such as aquaculture and agriculture activity, fishing, effluent discharge, irrigation and even sand mining. With the vast industrialization held in the river such as sand mining it generate the release of metal bound in sediment into the water promoting metals diffussion into the aquatic organisms and eventually ends up into humans body. Moreover, each metals poses their own threat to human, particularly Cadmium (Cd) are known for causing adverse health effects, once ingest into our body it will cause lung cancer moreover it seldom important as a cause of phytotoxicity in paddy field (Chaney, 2010). On the other hand, Zinc (Zn) is a deficient and phytotoxic element in sediment which causes abdominal pain to humans, the latter due to industrial contamination (Chaney, 2010). Copper (Cu) in sediments strongly adsorbs to clay minerals, iron and manganese oxides and organic material. In addition, it tends to remain in horizons that have a greater organic content whereas sandy sediment with low pH poses the greatest potential for Cu leaching. On contrary, lead (Pb) is considered to be one of the major environmental pollutants and has been incriminated as a cause of accidental poisoning in domestic animals more than any other substance. In a nutshell, these metals are emboldened to be analyses since this metal endured high toxicity in the environment thus poses high potential threat and risk to humans and living organisms. 3.0 Significance of Study This study is prominent since in Malaysia there is only few attempted study using sequential extraction as medium in determining the fate of metals in environment. Particularly, this study will be useful as a baseline data for goverment bodies to be more sensitive on the issues related to heavy metals. On the other hand, this study will provide a delineation on the sources of metals which contribute the most anthropogenically or naturally to the environment since the major contributor on the environment deteroriation is a non point source. Therefore, identifying the potential sources is crucial in maintaining the environment. Nonetheless, by conducting this study it ables to generate a profound understanding on the sources and parent materials of which heavy metals are highly introduce to the estuary. Thus, contribute to the discovery of metals strength and percentage of binding to organic or inorganic pollutants. Hence, providing an illustration on the status of pollution in the sel ected rivers based on screening of the forms of metals associated in the river. In addition, the attempted method will utter a method development in assesing the metal in the environment. This study is beneficiary especially by the Department of Irrigation on the overview of the river status thus able to mitigate a scheme on reducing the metal accumulation into the river by identifying the source of pollution. 4.0 Research Objective To ascertain the chemical and mineralogical forms of Pb, Cu, Cd and Zn in selected polluted river. To profile the metal speciation (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn) in the sediment at selected polluted river in Selangor. To determine the heavy metals affinity for specific geochemical phases in the recently deposited sediments in the river. To identify the pollution sources and active component of heavy metals accumulate into the surficial sediment and its chemical behavior in the aquatic environment. 5.0 Literature Review A river is component of water cycle. Mostly rainfall on land will passes through a river on its way to the ocean and smaller side streams will joins the river forming a tributaries (DID, 2010). In Malaysia, the water within a river generally originates from precipitation through surface runoff, groundwater recharge (as seen at base flow conditions / during periods of lack of precipitation) and release of stored water in natural or man-made reservoirs, such as wetlands, ponds or lakes (DID, 2010). Therefore, the rainfall will generate the surface runoff and flows into the river. While the runoff will collect all the suspended particulates on the land surface into the river. This is why source of metal is very hard to trace since it is a non point sources elements which diffuse into the river Basin. Therefore, in this case sediments play an important role in identication of the metals since it acts as transport and storage of potentially hazardous metals (Yu et al., 2008). Bernam River is approximately about 3335 km2 and it forms a boundary between States of Perak in the north and Selangor in the south. The undulating hills of Bernam River merge into an undeveloped peat swamp area where the downstream of the peat swamp is a densely populated coastal strip along the Bernam River. Rice is cultivated in the lower areas ad- jacent to peat swamps and rubber, oil palm, coconuts and cocoa are cultivated in estates and smallholder schemes. Agrochemicals (fertilizers and herbicides) used on agricultural lands suggest a potential non-point source of pollution and toxicity affecting the aquatic ecosystems (Yap and Ong, 1990). Logging generates pollution through soil erosion, siltation and sedimentation in the streams. On the other hand, Langat River basin covered an area of 1300 km2 in the south of Kuala Lumpur and the length of Langat River is approximately about 120 km long (Sarmani, 1989). Langat river known as an important water source not only limited to sup plying water to consumer but also for other purposes such as recreation, fishing, effluent discharge, irrigation and even sand mining (Juahir, 2009). Whereas, Klang River is notable as a highly polluted river in Selangor which flows through Kuala Lumpur and suburban area of the densely populated and highly industrialized Klang Valley (Tan, 1995). The upper reaches of the Klang River serve as an important source of water supply to an estimated population of two million people in this region, together with its growing industrial activities (Tan, 1995). According to the Environmental Quality Report (Department of Environment, 2007), the Klang River is regarded as one of the rivers which have been seriously affected by pollution. Discharges of wastewater from industrial activities in the Klang River basin have also contributed to increasing levels of organic chemical pollutants in the waterways. However, metals in sediment comes in various forms of elements. Therefore, each metals may give beneficiary and may also cause a potential threat to human. Once consumable in our body it might cause a significant imbalance thus causing deformities and poor health (Birungi et al., 2008). Sediment are an important features in the river any activities occured related to sediment such deepen or mining may cause the release of heavy metals into the river. This is because heavy metals may enter into natural water and become a part of the water sediment system and their distribution processes are controlled by a dynamic set of physical-chemical interactions and equilibrium (Jain, 2003). Therefore, the metals may bind to the aquatic organisms. Since these river is an essential water source in the state of Selangor, any aquaculture activity held in the river may have a significant potential of heavy metals accumulate into the fish or prawns. On the other hand, the deposition of metals in sedi ments usually occurs through an interaction between sediment and water (Piron et al., 1990), whereby changes of metal contents of sediments and water depend on changes of water chemistry, such as, temperature, pH and solute concentration. That is why such study is prominent since metals interactions between bed sediment and water in aquatic environment play an important role on water quality and the fate and transport of metals. There are series of modification of sequential extraction technique have been made upon the suitability of the study. The recent modification are introduce by Silviera et al., 2006 which proposed to the studies specifically on the tropical soil. This method listed out seven fractionation steps which each illustrates the metal bound particulate in the sediments. The first three fractionation steps explains the geochemical condition of the sediment whereas the fourth to the seventh steps refers to the anthropogenic conditions. This method is an alternative way to determine the source of metals, because the anthropogenically sourced metals preferentially partition to the non-residual phase of the sediment while the residual phase generally reflects background geochemical conditions (Forghani et al., 2009). Moreover, this method were chosen since it selectively extracts metal bound by specific sediment fractions with minimal effect on the other sediment components (Silviera et al., 2006) . In addition, this method are an important tool for predicting the potential effects of environmental changes and land application of metals on the redistribution of chemical forms in tropical sediments (Silviera et al., 2006). 6.0 Research Methodology Sediment Sampling Thirty representative surficial sediments (0-20cm depth) will be taken from selected polluted river in Selangor from upstream to downstream of the river. Surface sediments samples will be collected in triplicates and homogenised in a zip lock polyethylene bags. The sampling will be conducted during low tide to enable the source of pollution from the mainland to be determined without the influence of input from seawater compared to sampling during high tide. Sediment samples will be collected using plastic scoops, Eckman Grab or core sampler and place into acid-washed double zip-lock polyethylene bag. All samples will be stored in cool box at 4 °C during transportation to the laboratory prior to analysis. Sampling preparation The laboratory apparatus are also acid washed and rinsed thoroughly first with distilled water to ensure any contaminants and traces of cleaning reagent were removed before the analysis. Pre-clean polycarbonate centrifuge tube with soaked overnight in 5 % (v/v) nitric acid rinsed with distilled water after 24 hours prior to analysis. It is performed in clean laboratory to minimize the potential risk of contamination. Laboratory Analysis Physicochemical parameters such as pH, redox potential, salinity and conductivity will be measured using the 1:2 ratio of sediment and double deionized water (DDW). In addition, cations exchange capacity (CEC) and loss on ignition (LOI) will also be determined in the study. Physicochemical Parameters The sediment physicochemical analyses will be determined by mixing 10 g of air dried sample ( Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) Sediment samples for CEC determination will be prepare in two 10 g portions, one for treatment with a 1 M NaCl solution and other with a 1 M NH4Cl solution. Approximately about 10 ml of 95% ethanol will be carefully poured on sediment sample and drawn through the sediment by suction. The ethanol remaining in the sediment will later be removed by overnight evaporation. Then, the sediment will be transferred to small 50 ml Polycarbonate centrifuge tubes. Hence, about 30 ml of 1M NaCl was applied to one set of sub samples and 1 M NH4Cl solution was added to other set. The centrifuge tubes contains with the sediment pre-treated with NaCl and NH4Cl then will be shaken end over end for about 10-20 minutes and subsequently centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 30 minutes in order to settle the fines. After the samples are centrifuged, the supernatant will be removed with syringe and filter through a 0.45  µm filter. About 15 ml of sample will be used for the analysis of Ca, Mg, and K from the NaCl supernatant solution and preserved with 1% 7M HNO3. Meanwhile, the solution from NH4Cl supernatant will be used for determination of Na and also preserved with 1% 7M HNO3. Sample analysis for Ca, Mg, Na and K adopted similar procedure as in the case of major cations determination. The exchangeable cation concentration are converted from meq/100g to equivalent fractions (ÃŽÂ ²T) as (Apello Postma, 2005) ÃŽÂ ²T = meqI-Xz_____ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬ËœI, Jà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. meqI-Xz Where I, J,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. are exchangeable cations, meqI-Xi is normally given in meq/100 g dry sediment and à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ meqI-Xz is essential equal to CEC, ignoring minor amounts of Fe, Mn, etc. Loss of Ignition (LOI) Dry a sample in an oven at 105 °C to constant weight. Accurately weigh 1g of this dried sample and pour into a preweighed dry crucible. Optionally, a few drops of H2O2 may be added at this stage to promote oxidation. The samples will be transfered into muffle furnace and gradually increase the temperature to 500 °C. Leave inside the oven at this temperature for at least 4h or overnight if convenient. Cool, transfer to a dessicator and allow it to cool to room temperature. Weigh and calculate loss on ignition in % as: LOI (%) = 100 x (M1 M2) M1 Where M1 is the initial weight (g) and M2 is the weight after ignition (g). Sequential Extraction Procedure The methods that will be used in this study are based on modification methods from (Silviera et al., 2006). The fractionation of heavy metals in sediments will be carried out in triplicate, using 1 g of air-dried sediment. Then, sediment samples will be placed in 50 ml polycarbonate centrifuge tubes, mixed in a stepwise fashion with various reagents as shown in figure 1, and the suspensions equilibrated. By following equilibration, the solution and solid phases will then be separated by centrifugation at 1225 g for 10 min. In between each successive extraction, the solid residues are suspended in 5 ml of 0.1 M NaCl, shaken by hand, and centrifuged to displace extracting solution remaining from the previous step. The supernatant will be added to the former extractant. The steps are intended to reduce sample dispersion and to minimize read sorption of the metal. The supernatants will be filtered through a 0.45  µm membrane, and the solid residues are preserved for the subsequent extr actions. The concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in the various extracts will be determined by Inductive Couple Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Mass balances, calculated by summing individual Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn masses recovered from fractions, were compared with the independently determined total metal masses. Data Analysis Further data analysis will be conducted using the raw data obtained from the sample analysis. Descriptive analysis, cluster analysis, factor Analysis will be conducted using few softwares such as SPSS version 17 and Multivariate Statistical Package (MVSP) and AQUACHEM. Enrichment factors (EF) will be calculated to determine the level of trace metal contamination of the sediments. 7.0 Project Benefit Research Publications 2 research journal with impact factor Output expected from the project It is expected that several publication can be produced from the data obtained in this study which useful as a reference for future research. It will provide the latest information on the level of metal pollution in Selangor which useable for relevant authority to make the future planning and management purposes. Economic contribution of the project By using the information gathered in this research, the relevant government bodies can make better planning and take preventive measures to avoid further contamination of the river as it is crucial source for the nation fisheries and aquaculture activity. Moreover, important because a lot of the population which resides near the mangrove area depend on it for their livelihood. Since, the destruction or contamination of this area will affect their source of income. The reduction in fisheries produce from the mangrove area due to metal pollution will results in higher imports of fish products which in turn increase the outflow of money from the country. 8.0 References Apello, C.A.J Postma, D. 2005. Geochemistry, groundwater and pollution. 2nd edition. Roterdam: Balkema. Birungi, Z., Masola, B., Zaranyika, M. F., Naigaga, I. and Marshall, B. (2008). Active biomonitoring of trace heavy metals using fish (Oreochromis niloticus) as bioindicator species:the case of Nakivubo wetland along lake victoria. Chaney, R. L., 2010. Cadmium and Zinc. Trace Element in Soils. Wiley Publication. United Kingdom. Department of Environment, 2007. DOE Annual Report 2007. Retrieved from http://www.doe.gov.my/files/multimedia141/AR_JAS.pdf on 10 October 2010. DID, 2010. Department of Irrigation. River Management-Activities. Retrieved on 5 October 2010 at http://www.water.gov.my/index.php?option=com_contenttask= Forghani et al., 2009. Geochemistry and speciation of metals in sediments of the Maharlu Saline Lake, Shiraz, SW Iran. Environment Earth Science (2009) 59:173-184 Guevara et al., 2005. In Yu, R., Yuan, X., Zhao, Y., Hu, G., Tu, X., 2008. Heavy metal pollution in intertidal sediments from Quanzhou Bay, China. Journal of Environment Science 20, 664-669. Howard J. L., Vandenbrink W. J., 1999. Sequential extraction analysis of heavy metals in sediments of variable composition using nitrilotriacetic acid to counteract resorption. Jain, C. K., 2003. Metal fractionation study on bed sediments of River Yamuna, India. Water Research 38 (2004) 569-578 Juahir, H., Zain, S., Yusoff, M., Hanidza, T., Armi, A., Toriman, M. and Mokhtar, M., 2010. Spatial water quality assessment of Langat River Basin (Malaysia) using environmetric techniques. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. Krishnamurti, G. S. R., Huang, P. M., Van Rees, K. C. J., Kozak, L. M. and Rostad, H. P. W., 1995. Speciation of particulate-bound Cadmium of Soils and its bioavailability. Analyst, 120.851. Pempkowiase J., Sikora A., Biernacka E., 1999. Speciation of heavy metals in marine sediments vs their accumulation by mussels. Chemosphere 1999:39(2):313-21. Piron, M., Pineau, A. and Mabele, R.M., 1990. Sediment, parameters and distribution of metals in fine sediments of the loire estuary. Water, Air, Amp; Soil Pollution 50(3), 267-277. Poh E. L., Mun Y. K., 1994. Determination and speciation of heavy metals in sediments of the Juru river, Penang, Malaysia. Environmental Monitoring Assessment 35:85-95, 1995. Sarmani, S., 1989. The determination of heavy metals in water, suspended materials and Sediments from Langat River, Malaysia. Hydrobiologia 176/177 : 233-238, 1989 . Shazili, N.A.M., Yunus, K., Ahmad, A.S., Abdullah, N. and Rashid, M.K.A., 2006. Heavy metal pollution status in the Malaysian aquatic environment. Aquatic Ecosystem Health Management 9(2), 137-145. Silviera, M. L., Alleoni, L. R. F., OConnor, G. A., Chang, A. C., 2006. Heavy metal sequential extraction methods A modification for tropical soils. Chemosphere 64 (2006) 1929-1938. Song, Y., Wilson, M.J., Moon, H.S., Bacon, J.R. and Bain, D.C., 1999. Chemical and mineralogical forms of lead, zinc and cadmium in particle size fractions of some wastes, sediments and soils in Korea. Applied Geochemistry 14(5), 621-633. Tan, G. H., (1995). Residue Levels of Phthalate Esters in Water and Sediment Samples from the Klang River Basin. Environment Contamination and Toxicology 54:171-1769 1995 Springer-Verlag New York Inc. Tessier, A., Campbell, P. G. C., Bisson, M., 1979. Sequential Extraction Procedure for the Speciation of Particulate Trace Metals. Analytical Chamistry, Vol 51, No 7, June 1979. US EPA, 1996. Method 3050B. Acid digestion of sediments, sludges and soils. Available from http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/testmethods/sw846/pdfs/3050b.pdf viewid=16Itemid=395 Yap, S.Y. and Ong, H.T. (1990) The effects of agrochemicals on an aquatic ecosystem: a case study from the Krian River basin, Malaysia. The Environmentalist 10(3), 189 ±202. Yu, R., Yuan, X., Zhao, Y., Hu, G., Tu, X., 2008. Heavy metal pollution in intertidal sediments from Quanzhou Bay, China. Journal of Environment Science 20, 664-669.

Legal Barriers For Foreign Investors In Vietnam Economics Essay

Legal Barriers For Foreign Investors In Vietnam Economics Essay Vietnam in recent years has emerged as Southeast Asias fastest-growing economy and one of the regions hottest new destinations for foreign investors. Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in January 2007. Its membership requires the country to merge into the global rules-based trading system and increase transparency in government decision making, speed up economic reform, and strengthen the rule of law. The Vietnamese economy offers many attractions for U.S. companies. About 70% of the population is under the age of 30, and the country has a literacy rate above 95%. Per capita income has more than doubled in the past 10 years, and domestic consumption is growing at more than 20% per year. Vietnams increasingly affluent urban consumers think highly of U.S. consumer goods. Vietnam has many natural resources and agricultural products, including oil and gas, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, and tea. Some of the countrys top export industries produce garments and textiles, footwear, furniture, and seafood. Its major imports include machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel, raw cotton, grain, cement, and motorcycles. Two decades have past since the country mounted an economic reform program known as doi moi. Vietnam is in the midst of transformation from an inward-looking command economy with little space for personal initiative to a more open society with a vibrant, free market economy that seeks to engage with the wider world. Hanoi in 2006 hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which along with a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush, marked Vietnams emergence as a key player in the regional and global economy. The United States and Vietnam have forged strong relations in recent years despite a tragic history, stepping up cooperation in such areas as HIV/AIDS control, avian flu prevention, law enforcement, and a growing military-to-military partnership. The U.S. government is helping Vietnam restructure its education system and reform its legal system. The two governments are cooperating in accounting for servicemen missing since the war, launching a human rights dialogue, and establishing new forms of regional security cooperation. Although the GATT progressively acquired many of the attributes of an international organisation, it was increasingly felt in the 1980s that it was not keeping up with the rapid changes in the global economy, and required strengthened dispute-settlement and transparency mechanisms. While this was reflected in the agenda of the Uruguay round, the Ministerial Declaration establishing the rounds agenda did not call for the creation of a WTO. Instead, it was agreed that the round would be a single undertaking, with all its agreements applying to all GATT contracting parties. In principle, it was not necessary to create an international organisation to implement the results of the round, especially in so far as a common dispute-settlement mechanism was agreed to apply to all of the various agreements reached. The suggestion to establish a Multilateral Trade Organisation (MTO) by Canada in 1990 -supported by the EU was therefore something of a surprise. An important motivation to establis h an MTO was to have a single institutional framework encompassing the modified GATT, its sister bodies on services (GATS) and intellectual property (TRIPs), and all other agreements and arrangements concluded under the auspices of the Uruguay round. The United States initially opposed the idea, but, after further negotiations on the substance of the new organisation, agreed to the framework that currently exists, including the name change. Although the US Congress remained suspicious of any limitations to its sovereign powers in trade policy, during the ratification debate it became clear that the establishment of the WTO would not do much to change the status quo as far as the infringement of sovereignty was concerned. The GATT-1947 was a binding international treaty, and most of the institutional aspects of the WTO already existed under the GATT. None the less, the establishment of the WTO was a significant event. Attempts to put the GATT on a more secure organisational footing had been made periodically since the failure of the US Congress to ratify the ITO. During a 1955 meeting to review the GATT, a number of contracting parties proposed to establish an Organisation for Trade Co-operation (OTC). This proposal was much less elaborate than the ITO but it also failed to win the approval of the US Congress (Jackson, 1990). The issue of providing an institutional framework for international trade reappeared again in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN in 1963. A group of experts called for the creation of a new UN agency with universal membership and substantial powers in the sphere of international trade. The idea was that this body would implement, interalia, recommendations of UNCTAD as well as other relevant policy decisions taken by organs of the UN. The proposal envisaged that the GATT would become the agen cys Committee on Tariffs. The proposal did not meet with much interest among the major trading nations. However, the 1964 UN General Assembly resolution establishing UNCTAD provided that it should be concerned with matters relating to the elaboration of a comprehensive trade organisation. Nothing concrete came of this despite lengthy discussions about the need for a New International Economic Order during the 1970s in large part because of the widely differing philosophies held by industrialised market economies and much of the developing world regarding the appropriate basis for international trade. With the creation of the WTO, an international trade organisation exists that is firmly based on GATT principles reciprocity and non-discrimination. The Scope, Functions, And Structure Of The WTO As the principal institution with responsibility for the multilateral trading system, the WTO has the same status as institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF. The WTO has legal personality and has been accorded privileges and immunities similar to those accorded to the specialised UN agencies. It is headed by a Ministerial Conference of all Members, meeting at least once every two years. More frequent participation by trade ministers than occurred in the GATT context is intended to strengthen the political guidance of the WTO and enhance the prominence and credibility of its rules in domestic political arenas. It can be noted, however, that past experience of the GATT with Ministerial meetings suggests that these can easily be an inefficient use of the time of many Ministers from smaller trading nations. This is because in negotiations the controversial issues tend to be solved at the last moment and require agreement between the major players. The latter may take a significan t amount of time to strike a deal between themselves, thereby marginalizing the potential for participation by Ministers of smaller countries. The WTO is charged with providing the common institutional framework for the conduct of trade relations among its Members in matters related to the agreements and associated legal instruments included in the Annexes . . . to the Agreement. There are four such Annexes, which contain the substantive rights and obligations of Members. Annex 1 has three parts: Annex 1A entitled Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods, contains the GATT-1994 (the GATT-1947 as amended by a large number of Understandings and supplementary Agreements negotiated in the Uruguay round); Annex 1B, which contains the GATS; and Annex 1C, the Agreement on TRIPs. Annex 2 consists of an Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes the WTOs common dispute-settlement mechanism. Annex 3 contains the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM), an instrument through which surveillance of Members trade policies occurs. Finally, Annex 4 entitled Plurilateral Trade Agreements consists of Tokyo round codes that were not multilateralised in the Uruguay round, and that therefore bind only signatories. Annexes 1-3 together are called the Multilateral Trade Agreements. The WTO has five functions. It is charged with facilitating the implementation and operation of the Multilateral Trade Agreements; providing a forum for negotiations on already covered or new issues; administering the Understanding on dispute settlement and the TPRM; and, finally, co-operating with the World Bank and the IMF to achieve greater coherence in global economic policy-making (Article III WTO). Between meetings of the Ministerial Conference responsible for carrying out the functions of the WTO the organisation is run by a General Council at the level of officials. The General Council turns itself, as needed, into a body to adjudicate trade disputes (the Dispute Settlement Body) or to review trade policies of the member countries (the Trade Policy Review Body). Three subsidiary councils operate under the general guidance of the WTOs General Council: the Council for Trade in Goods; the Council for Trade in Services; and the Council for Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Separate Committees exist to deal primarily with the interests of the least developed countries (Trade and Development); surveillance of trade restriction actions taken for balance-of payment purposes; trade-environment linkages; and the WTOs finances and administration (Secretariat). Additional committees or working parties deal with matters covered by the GATT, GATS, or TRIPs Agreement. There are committees functioning under the auspices of the Council on Trade in Goods dealing with subsidies, anti-dumping and countervailing measures, technical barriers to trade (product standards), import licensing, customs valuation, market access, agriculture, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, trade-related investment measures, rules of origin, and safeguards. Similarly, specific committees address matters relating to the GATS or TRIPs. Committees also exist to administer the Plurilateral Agreements. However, these are not under the guidance of the General Council but operat e within the general framework of the WTO and inform the Council of their activities. There were more than thirty councils and standing committees in the WTO in 1995 twice as many as under the old GATT. WTO In a struggle that began in the early 1980s, many countries worked in the Uruguay Round negotiations of 1986-94 to strengthen the multilateral trading system, as well as advance the liberalisation of international trade in goods, services and ideas. Governments are in the process of implementing the resulting agreements that now comprise the World Trade Organisation. They are interested in extending the WTO system to outside economies, but not in exposing it to fresh disputes and divisions, which is why negotiations on the accession of new members are detailed, rigorous and time consuming. This is critical in accommodating the economies in transition. One of the major political tasks before the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as it gears itself to address the needs of the international trading community for the remainder of this century and beyond, is to extend the benefits of the open multilateral trading system to economies that are still outside.  [1]  It means ensuring that the integration of outsiders into the world economy leads to concrete benefits for them as well as for their trading partners who are WTO member countries. It also means that the terms and conditions of entry should be such as to preserve and, hopefully, strengthen the credibility of the multilateral trading system, rather than weaken or expose it to disputes and divisions. Success in meeting these goals will depend, in practical terms, on the way the accession process is managed and controlled. If the right terms are arranged, an additional 1.5 billion new consumers and workers would benefit from the multilateral trading system, well before the year 2000. This is an opportunity that cannot be missed. One of the WTOs central objectives is to make the organisation truly global in scope and application. The WTO has 124 members as of October 1996. The member countries are now engaged in accession negotiations with 28 governments that have formally applied to join. Many others are considering applying. Bulgaria, Mongolia and Panama completed their accession negotiations earlier in the year and will become WTO members when they ratify their protocols. The most recent applications for accession have been from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Georgia. Existing requests include major economies like the Peoples Republic of China, Chinese Taipei (known in the WTO as the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu), the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Belarus and Vietnam. All these are important players on the international economic, trade and trade-related investment scene. There are also requests for accession from smaller but similarly significant countries. Many of them are economies in transition such as Albania, Armenia, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia and Moldova. There are others that are developing economies, among them Algeria, Jordan, Seychelles, Tonga and Vanuatu. Applications have also been received from such least developed economies as Cambodia, Nepal and Sudan. These countries and territories represent a wide range of economic and political interests. But they represent a critical common factor that motivates them. Big or small, developed or developing, they all look to WTO membership to underpin their domestic economic reforms, to help them compete fairly in the international marketplace and to counter discrimination and arbitrary behaviour with the help of enforceable multilateral rules. Benefits Of WTO Membership Why do governments want to join the WTO system? What are the benefits of WTO membership? First, membership means access for their economys exports of goods and services to the markets of the WTO community on unconditional most-favoured-nation (MFN) terms. The substantially reduced tariffs and non-tariff barriers achieved through eight rounds of multilateral trade negotiations over the last half century become available to entrepreneurs in the applicant country immediately on its accession. In the Uruguay Round negotiations, finally concluded at the end of 1994, developed countries further agreed to reduce tariffs on industrial goods by 40 percent. Their average tariff rate will stand, once the tariff agreements have been fully implemented, at around 3.8 percent; and 99 percent of their industrial-product tariffs will be bound at their new levelsmeaning that, having been reduced as a result of multilateral agreements, they cannot be raised again without further multilateral negotiations. Reforms agreed in agriculture include a 36 percent reduction in export subsidies and an 18 percent reduction in domestic support afforded to agricultural producers. In addition, the level of security for trade in agricultural products has been substantially strengthened, for 100 percent of agricultural product lines are now bound and no non-tariff barriers are permitted for agricultural products, with the exception of measures taken for balance-of-payments purposes.  [2]   Rough estimates by the WTOs economists suggest that the reduction of international trade barriers as a result of the Uruguay Round agreements could produce an increase in world income between US$109 and US$510 billion per year by the time the market access commitments are fully implemented in 2005 (GATT Secretariat,1994, p. 36.). These figures do not take into account the beneficial impact of other results concerning, for example, strengthened trade rules, procedures and institutions, or the market-access commitments and rules for trade in services. Secondly, WTO membership means the effective dismantling of discriminatory barriers that have been specifically directed at certain countries, for instance those erected against China, Russia and the East European countries. The most important benefit in this respect would be the availability to those countries of the same principle of nondiscrimination that WTO member countries normally apply to each other in the conduct of their trade relations, albeit with exceptions permitted under WTO rules. Thirdly, in the context of the general reduction of tariffs as barriers to trade, traders in the acceding country benefit from rules dealing with the trade-distorting effects of many types of hidden non-tariff measures like public subsidies, technical standards, customs-valuation and import-licensing procedures and restrictive policies on foreign direct investment or intellectual property rightsnow comprehensively regulated by transparent rules. The new General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) brings international disciplines to bear on activities in this vital area of trade as well. The importance of effective multilateral rules and disciplines in governing international trade relations increases in direct proportion to the intensification of international competition in the marketplace. For acceding governments, membership also puts at their disposal a strengthened and contractually binding international dispute-settlement mechanism. The importance of this mechanism is self-evident and its link with the need for security and fairness in trade relations is well recognised. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the dispute-settlement mechanism is the fact that the dispute-settlement bodys findings and their implementation cannot be blocked by any member; the mechanism is automatic. Finally, it is increasingly seen that the accession process helps reformist governments resist the pressures of sectional interests opposed to reforms that are being pursued in the long-term interests of economies as a whole. Governments can embark on the reform of expensively protected sectors, like industry and agriculture, and justify their actions as a price required by the WTO in return for the benefits of membership. Why Does Accession Take So Long? Each accession is a negotiation and is thus unique. For the same reasons, no deadlines or time limits are laid down in the accession process. Progress essentially depends on the openness of the applicant governments trade regime and the rapidity with which it can be brought into conformity with WTO obligations. Vietnam and WTO During the initial years of doi moi, Vietnam enjoyed remarkable levels of economic growth: the end of collectivised agriculture gave a substantial boost to the rural economy, while an influx of foreign investment coupled with liberalisation of private sector economic activity brought considerable benefits. By the second half of the 1990s, however, the economy was slowing, partly influenced by wider regional problems after the 1997 Asian crisis, but primarily because of domestic factors. Ari Kokko picks up the argument where Martin Gainsborough left off, asking how far that slowdown reflected a decline in Vietnams commitment to the reform process, and also the extent to which the downturn reflected structural problems rather than temporary setbacks. His answers focus on three key areas: trade policy, state-owned enterprise (SOE) reform, and the position of the private sector. (ADB 2000) On trade policy, Kokko paints a fairly positive picture. Vietnams 2001 Bilateral Trade Agreement with the United States was a major landmark in the direction of eventual World Trade Organisation (WTO) accession, and there is plenty of evidence that Vietnamese exports have been enjoying a sustainable recovery in recent years. This reflects the outward orientation of private sector Vietnamese firms and of multinational corporations with operations in Vietnam. Substantial overseas development aid disbursements and private cash remittances (often transferred by overseas Vietnamese to relatives and business partners in the country) have helped boost Vietnams balance of payments. State enterprise reform is another matter entirely. Like Gainsborough, Kokko insists that the lack of progress here is undeniable; most SOEs are loss-making and have continued to enjoy preferential access to credit, while the bulk of equitisations to date have not affected the largest and most troublesome state en terprises. Kokko notes that the private sector remains underdeveloped, faced with various forms of discrimination and limited access to credit. At the same time, he is more positive than Gainsborough in highlighting certain areas where private sector reform has proceeded quite rapidly. He praises the 1999 Enterprise Law, which has led to the registration of numerous new small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Kokko also singles out support from international donors for private sector capacity-building notably Japans Miyazawa plan, which has provided substantial funding to nurture SME development. Ultimately he suggests that SOEs reform might be tacitly bypassed: future strategies should focus on the development of the private sector while accepting more gradual reform of the SOE sector. He also expresses concern that Vietnam needs a better welfare and safety net infrastructure to protect its citizens from the uncertainties of the market, and to reduce both urban and rural povert y. After the problematic 1979 invasion and occupation of Cambodia, which blighted Vietnams relations with much of the world during the 1980s, the emphasis was now on settling all disputes by negotiation. Ideology was now marginalised, whereas previously it had formed the core of Vietnamese foreign policy: pragmatism prevailed. Vietnam was particularly anxious to find ways of countering Chinese economic and strategic dominance in the region, and this helps explain Vietnamese enthusiasm for building stronger ties with other Southeast Asian countries best seen in the decision to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Another crucial juncture was the normalisation of relations with the United States. Within ASEAN, Vietnam has acted as an informal leader for the new entrants of the 1990s (the others were Burma, Cambodia and Laos). Yet the ASEAN summits held in Hanoi in 2001 lacked clear focus; Vietnam seemed to prefer ASEAN to adopt a lower profile, and was uneasy with rec ent moves towards ideas of flexible engagement, constructive intervention or enhanced interaction, which would permit member states to comment critically on developments inside other states. Vietnam was attached to an older model of ASEAN, the so-called ASEAN way, based upon principles of consensus and non-interference a much more comfortable model for a one-party state. Yet Vietnam also sought to use ASEAN membership as a means of pressing its claim for admission to other multilateral bodies such as the WTO, laying itself open to charges of crude pragmatism. In its relations with the rest of the world, Vietnam (like many other states) often wanted things both ways: the benefits of foreign investment without the constraints of playing by international economic rules, or the benefits of ASEAN membership without the pressure to conform to regional norms of behaviour. In a way, this duality resembles other aspects of Vietnams post-doi moi order: Vietnam has persistently sought to take advantage of opportunities presented by globalisation and economic liberalisation, whilst avoiding the associated social and political costs. One consequence of the perceived success of reforms during the early 1990s was that the Vietnamese authorities revised their economic targets for the period from 1991 to 2000. Instead of aiming for a doubling of the countrys GDP over this period, as was originally intended before the Seventh Party Congress in 1991, the target was changed to a doubling of GDP per capita (Socialist Republic of Vietnam [SRV] 1994). Assessing the achievements of the reforms, many foreign observers concurred, concluding, for example, that Vietnam appears well-positioned to become a new East Asian dragon (Irvin 1995:725). However, these impressive achievements could not completely hide some of the structural and systemic weaknesses of the economy. By 1996, donors and foreign observers had highlighted several problems related to the import-substituting trade regime and the role of the state, in particular the continuing reliance on SOEs as the main vehicle of development (Kokko and Zejan 1996; Ljunggren 1996; Mallon 1996; United Nations Development Programme [UNDP] 1996). On trade policy, concerns focused on the distorted incentives provided by the complex, non-transparent and highly restrictive trade regime. The combination of tariffs, quotas, import licensing requirements, foreign exchange controls and various other trade barriers created strong incentives in favour of import substitution in consumer goods and selected heavy industries and a bias against export-oriented production. One paradoxical result was a rapid increase in imports: import-substituting industry in Vietnam, as elsewhere, was heavily dependent upon imported machinery, raw materials and intermediates. Consequently, although exports grew rapidly, import growth was even faster, resulting in growing trade and current account deficits. By 1995, the current account deficit exceeded US $2.6 billion, or 13 percent of GDP. Several problems were imminent. Would it be possible to finance large deficits without endangering future growth and macroeconomic stability? How would Vietnams commitm ents to liberalize trade from around the year 2000 mandated, for example, by Vietnams membership of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and ambition to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) be realised? Would the promises to reduce tariffs be neutralised by the emergence of strong interest groups benefiting from, and therefore lobbying for, continued protectionism? The most important result in terms of formal policy may be the agreement about a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between Vietnam and the US, which was signed in July 2000 and ratified in late 2001. The BTA is an important step towards Vietnamese membership in the WTO, and perhaps also a key step in Vietnams continuing economic reforms. Unlike the AFTA agreement, which is based on consensus and does not prescribe severe sanctions against member countries that do not fulfil their commitments, both the BTA and eventual WTO membership are likely to come with stricter conditions, enforcement and sanctions. Moreover, the BTA allows Vietnam to reap some of the benefits (in terms of access to US markets) early on, while the perceived costs (resulting from opening the Vietnamese market to US firms) will come later. It is possible that these two features will strengthen the reform process: it will be difficult to default on reform promises once they have generated thousands of jobs that may be lost if promises are not fulfilled. The continuing increase in exports is another sign of progress in this area. In 1999 and 2000, exports grew at an annual rate of over 20 percent, which was more than four times the rate of domestic demand growth. This shows that an increasing share of the Vietnamese economy is integrated with the international economy, and that there is probably a gradual shift in the balance of power from groups favouring inward-oriented policies to groups relying on contacts with the international economy. In fact, the current Ten-Year Socio-Economic Development Strategy sets up the goal that the export growth rate should be twice as high as the planned 7.5 percent GDP growth rate during the period 2001-10: if the target is achieved, the ratio of exports to GDP will exceed 90 percent by 2010. Other important reforms have been made on the import side. Import tariffs have been reduced gradually, in line with Vietnams AFTA commitments, and the road map for future tariff reductions under the agreement was published in early 2002. The tariff reduction scheme constitutes an important step to facilitate the long-term planning of Vietnamese producers: with a clear time-bound plan in place, there is less scope for interest groups to lobby for extended protection. Most quantitative restrictions have also been removed, and all domestic enterprises are now allowed to import any goods that are not subject to quotas. Yet some problems remain. The tariff structure remains complex. There is great dispersion of tariff rates in the range from zero to 100 percent, with higher rates on import-substituting goods and lower ones on imported inputs. This provides high effective rates of protection for local market-oriented industry. Various administrative measures, such as temporary import bans, have also been used to restrict imports of consumer goods. Summarizing a review on trade policy, CIEM (2002:126) notes that this shows how many policy decisions tend to aim at dealing with the problem on a case by case basis rather than resolving it based on a consistent and overall approach. Foreign trade transactions can also be controlled and restricted by the allocation of foreign exchange. The State Bank of Vietnam controls and approves remittances of foreign currency abroad, and State Bank authorisation is required to borrow foreign currency, to convert dong to dollars, and to open offshore escrow accounts. Exporters are obliged to surrender a large share (at present 40 percent) of their foreign exchange earnings to the State Bank. For a long time, state enterprises and agencies had privileged access to foreign exchange (World Bank 1999b), and it is possible that these preferences still apply. Vietnam has to deal with almost 100 anti-dumping lawsuits and trade disputes each year, in which domestic businesses often come off worst. At the recent G20 Summit in Toronto, as ASEAN Chair, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung called for G20 nations to ensure a sustainable economic recovery and fight against trade protectionism in all forms. He emphasised that Vietnam has to face many disguised protection measures in some developed countries, saying that G20 nations should continue to introduce specific measures to remove barriers to trade and foreign direct investment. These barriers have become obstacles for Vietnamese investors and exporters. To some extent, these barriers, with stricter regulations on food hygiene and safety and anti-dumping, have had a positive impact on Vietnamese businesses who have to increase the quality of their products to compete against foreign rivals. Tran Manh Canh, Deputy General Director of the Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro), says that his company exports many products to the Republic of Korea, which requires a high standard of food hygiene and safety. However, Hapro leaders consider these a good opportunity for local businesses to sharpen their competitive edge to penetrate the global market, adds Mr. Canh. In addition to this, trade barriers have also posed numerous difficulties and challenges for Vietnamese businesses who do not have a proper understanding of this issue. Many local businesses find it hard to access information about the trade laws of countries that have commitments with Vietnam. Therefore, clarifying trade barriers and technical standards provided by partners and ensuring transparency in the origin of products are still big challenges for Vietnamese businesses when they export their products to foreign markets. For instance, the European Union (EU) has an anti-dumping tax of 10 percent on Vietnamese leather shoes. The European Bicycle Manufacturers Association (EBMA) has requested a review and extension of the anti-dumping duty on imported Vietnamese bicycles. This affects the Vietnamese bike ind

I Hate Narrative Essays -- Personal Narrative Essay Example

I stared at the blinking cursor, unbelieving at what I had just done. I was indeed done; done with a paper I agonized over for 6 hours. The paper was due in a scant 4 hours and I had all week to do it. The radio had stopped working because my brother got on the Internet and thus cut off my connection. That was the least of my problems working on this paper. I got it done, though. My life changed with one trip of a teacher to the chalkboard and one phrase, narrative essay. God, I hate narrative essays. My day was going well. I devoured a big breakfast, my brother, for once, got out of the shower quick, and no major assignment was pending. Life was very, very good. Then life began to fall into oblivion. I saw on the board in the front of Mrs. Smith's room the journal entry for the day. It was about what would I write about in a narrative essay. Hope faded away. Somewhere on the planet a nuclear bomb went. An earthquake struck in some unknown place on the Earth. A volcano erupted on Jupiter's moon Io and killed a bunch of Ionians. Somebody's red rose just wilted and the petals fell onto the ground. The end of the world was indeed upon us. My jaw dropped and warning bells went off in my head. I went completely and utterly blank. I tried as hard as I could to write my journal. Channel One came on and talked about a nuclear bomb going off in India that caused an earthquake that somehow caused a volcano to erupt on Io (that killed a bunch of aliens). My jaw dropped once again. It was now the floor. As I was finishing my journal, Mrs. Smith went to the front of the room and talked about, du du du, narrative papers. She gave us a cold, white study guide that gave me no hope for survival. She then gave us another evil sheet of pap... ... am to get a halfway decent grade. So, I started it up and felt confident that I was going to get it done. God, I hate narrative essays. You have to write about your own personal experiences and expect to get a three-page paper out of it. I have no events in my life that would fit a three-page paper. The events in my life are either to foggy in my mind, are too insignificant in my mind to fit a three-page paper, or are too big and broad to be able to fit in an essay and would need a 500-page book to explain. I do far better at other kinds of essays than narratives, such as the persuasive paper. I look forward to those kinds of essays more than I look forward at all to doing any more narrative essays. In, the mean time, however, I am going to try to get James to get off the Internet. Maybe then I may have a better narrative topic. I hate narrative essays anyway.

Big Light-Animals In Bloom Essay -- Music Review

Big Light-Animals In Bloom San Francisco’s Big Light recently swept into The Saint for a quick lesson in how to squeeze everything you’ve ever learned into your musical offering and make it sound like you’ve done it in your sleep. From the beginning, the band stood way out as something extraordinary. Of course I had expected some kind of jam band centered on peace, love and free love and what I got was a pleasant dose of analog warm 1970s rock and roll cut with a gram or two of slick and polished songwriting. These West coast warriors have spent every waking moment since 2007 getting things right and it’s paying off. I’m a fan of the smart arrangements and composition styles used here, noticing that they throw everything from Beatles tongue in cheek style of double entendres to the delicious guitar mà ªlà ©e of groups such as Cheap Trick and Mott The Hoople into their mix. Speaking of those great bands, singer/songwriter/guitarist Fred Torphy has a very cool Robin Zander/Ian Hunter delivery that works well among the musical action. Picture the eye of a tumultuous storm and that’s where you’ll find Torphy with this band. And Big Light is becoming the perfect storm. Fred Torphy launched Big Light primarily as a springboard for his own material and he enlisted drummer Bradly Bifulco as well as bay area fixture Steve Adams (who also has played with Jack Johnson) on bass. Around 2008 saw the addition of New Jersey guitarist Jeremy Korpas (Days Awake, Green Tag Sale) who came in and really just lifted this band into professional status. His aggressive style and melodic lead work cleared the way for Torphys visions. With the key players in place, Big Light set about the task of moving thru unchartered creative courses and getting mat... ...oring the mutational macabre and all the fears gnashing jaws can muster, The Shore will have you locking your doors and windows up tight. Dunbar has developed an original imprint that stays with you for a long, long time. I see all these flowery descriptions from journalists and critics like â€Å"Poetic† and â€Å"Classic’ But the truth is that Robert Dunbar has come up with a style that doesn’t tread lightly and he has changed our very thought process when it comes to entering these physical places that we’ve always taken for granted. He also told me that we should expect a part three in this ongoing trilogy that will be set in Camden. One thing is for sure; you will never catch me under the boardwalk or out in the New Jersey Pine Barrens alone or with friends†¦ ever again. For further information on places that you may never come back from, go to www.dunbarauthor.com

Apple Inc. and Product Descriptions

Company name: Gilligan Inc. Goods: A. Ipad 1. The New Ipad * Model Number: A1403 (EMC 2499) 2. Ipad 2 * Model Number: A1397 (EMC 2424) 1. Product descriptions (The New Ipad) The iPad 3rd Generation (Wi-Fi/Cellular, CDMA – Verizon/A-GPS, A1403) which some may choose to refer to as the â€Å"iPad 3 is a tablet computer for the web, e-mail, photos, video, music, gaming and more. The iPad 3rd Gen line is significantly more powerful and the focus has shifted more substantially from consuming content to creating it. This specific iPad 3rd Gen model also supports 4G LTE connectivity (700 MHz).Battery life is reportedly 10 hours â€Å"surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music† and 9 hours surfing the web using cellular data. Price: $499. 00 2. Product descriptions and price (Ipad 2) Along with its Wi-Fi only and GSM-equipped contemporaries, the iPad 2 (Wi-Fi/CDMA/A-GPS) was proclaimed to be the start of a â€Å"post PC†. It is equipped with a 9. 7- inch (1024Ãâ€"768, 132 ppi) multi-touch â€Å"glossy† LED-backlit IPS display and runs a version of the same iOS operating system that powers the iPhone and iPod touch models.As a result it is compatible with thousands of iPad-specific apps as well as most apps for the iPhone/iPod touch, but not Mac OS X apps. Price: $399. 00. B. The IMac 3. MacBook Air * Model Number: A1466 (EMC 2559) 4. MacBook Pro * Model Number: A1286 (EMC 2556*) 5. Mac Mini * Model Number: A1347 (EMC 2442) 6. Mac pro * Model Number: A1289 (EMC 2314) 3. Product descriptions and price (Mac Book Air) The Apple MacBook Air â€Å"Core i7†³ 2. 0 13† features a 22-nm â€Å"Ivy Bridge† 2. GHz Intel â€Å"Core i7† processor (3667U) with two independent processor â€Å"cores† on a single chip, a 3 MB shared level 3 cache, 4 GB of onboard 1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM, 256 GB of flash storage, and an â€Å"integrated† Intel HD Graphics 4000 graphics processor that shares system memor y. This all is packed in a razor thin (0. 11-0. 68 inch), 2. 96 pound, aluminum case with an integrated 720p â€Å"Face Time HD† webcam, a backlit full-size keyboard and a 13. 3†³ widescreen TFT LED backlit active-matrix â€Å"glossy† display (1440Ãâ€"900 native resolution).Connectivity includes 802. 11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4. 0, analog audio out, a â€Å"Thunderbolt† port, two USB 3. 0 ports, and an SDXC-capable SD card slot. Price: 11 inch $999 and 13 inch from 1199. 00 4. Product descriptions and price (MacBook Pro) The MacBook Pro â€Å"Core i7† 2. 7 15-Inch technically is a configuration of the MacBook Pro â€Å"Core i7† 2. 6 15-Inch, but also is documented as a separate model for reader convenience. Other than processor, these two models are identical.The MacBook Pro with four independent processor cores on a single silicon chip, an 8 MB shared level 3 cache, 8 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM (PC3-12800) installed in pairs (two 4 GB modul es), a 750 GB Serial ATA (5400 RPM) hard drive, an 8X DL â€Å"SuperDrive†, dual graphics processors a NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory and an â€Å"integrated† Intel HD Graphics 4000 graphics processor that shares system memory, as well as an integrated 720p Face Time HD webcam. Price: 13 inch from 1,900. 00, 15 inch from 1,799. 00 5. Product descriptions and price (Mac Mini)The Apple Mac mini Core i5 2. 5 features a 32-nm Sandy Bridge 2. 5 GHz Intel â€Å"Core i5† (2520M) processor with two independent processor â€Å"cores† on a single chip, a 3 MB shared level 3 cache, 4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (PC3-10600) memory, a 500 GB hard drive, and AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics with 256 MB of dedicated GDDR5 memory. Connectivity includes a Fire wire â€Å"800† port, four USB 2. 0 ports, combined â€Å"audio line in (digital/analog)† and combined â€Å"audio line out/headphone (digital/analog)† minijacks, a 10/100/ 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet port, 802. 11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4. , an SDXC card slot and an HDMI port as well as a new â€Å"Thunderbolt† port that is backwards compatible with Mini DisplayPort and likewise supports an external display at 2560Ãâ€"1600 and passes an audio signal as well. Thunderbolt also supports other peripherals that use the Thunderbolt standard which provides up to 10 Gbps of bandwidth in both directions. Price: $599. 00 6. Product descriptions and price (Mac Pro) The Mac Pro â€Å"Twelve Core† 3. 06 Server is powered by two 3. 06 GHz Six Core 32-nm Xeon X5675 processors with a dedicated 256k of level 2 cache for each core and 12 MB of â€Å"fully shared† level 3 cache per processor.By default, it is configured with 8 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM, two 1 TB (7200 RPM, 32 MB cache) 3Gb/s Serial ATA hard drives, an 18X dual-layer â€Å"SuperDrive† and an ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card with 1 GB of GDDR5 memory. Expansion includ es two external 5. 25†³ â€Å"optical† bays, four internal 3. 5†³ â€Å"cable-free, direct attach† hard drive bays (three free by default), and four 2. 0 slots. Ports include five USB 2. 0 ports, four Fire wire â€Å"800† ports, dual Gigabit Ethernet, two Mini DisplayPort and a dual-link DVI port, among others. AirPort Extreme (802. 11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2. 1+EDR are standard. Price: $1,199 c. IPod 7. IPod Shuffle Model Number: A1204 (EMC 2125) 8. IPod Nano * Model Number: A1446 (EMC Pending) 9. IPod touch * Model Number: A1421 10. IPod Classic * Model Number: A1238 (EMC 2173) 11. Apple TV * Model Number: A1427 (EMC 2528) 7. Product descriptions and price (IPod Shuffle) The iPod shuffle 4th Generation models are identical to the previous iPod shuffle 4th Generation models, except for color options and operating system support. Like its predecessor, it has both â€Å"clickable ring buttons† for navigation as well as a Voiceover button on top. The Voiceover functionality reads the name of songs, artists and playlists as well as â€Å"Genius Mixes† out loud.The housing is available in eight colors dark gray slate and silver as well as purple, pink, yellow, green, blue, and red, which have white control rings. Regardless of color, all models have 2 GB of internal storage capable of holding approximately 500 songs. Apple estimates â€Å"up to† 15 hours of battery life. Price: $49. 00 8. Product descriptions and price (IPod Nano) The iPod Nano features a 2. 5†³ color TFT display and 16 GB of flash storage in an aluminum housing offered in eight colors — dark gray â€Å"slate,† silver, purple, pink, yellow, green, blue, and red — ith either a black or white glass front (black for the slate configuration and white for the others).It resembles a â€Å"mini iPod touch† and likewise has a â€Å"home† button; supports a multi-touch interface, and runs an iOS-inspired operating s ystem but it cannot run iOS applications. Other features include H. 264 video playback support (720Ãâ€"576), Bluetooth 4. 0 for use with Bluetooth-enabled headphones, speakers, and compatible car stereos, an integrated pedometer, and FM radio with live pause functionality as well as Nike iPod, Voiceover, and â€Å"Shake to Shuffle† support.It does not have a microphone, speaker, or camera. The 16 GB of flash memory is capable of holding roughly 4000 songs or 14,000 photos, respectively, and Apple estimates that battery life is â€Å"up to† 30 hours of music playback or 3. 5 hours of video playback when fully charged. Price: $149. 00 9. Product descriptions and price (IPod touch) The iPod touch (5th Gen) has a 4 diagonal widescreen multi-touch IPS retina display with a 1136Ãâ€"640 native resolution 326 ppi, dual cameras a 5 megapixel rear iSight camera with LED flash that can shoot 1080p video and a front-facing 1. megapixel Face Time HD 720p camera and support for Bl uetooth 4. 0, 802. 11n Wi-Fi both the 2. 4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies, Siri, and Airplay in addition to the expected music, photo, video playback, and iOS app functionality. It is also is powered by a dual-core A5 processor, likely has 512 MB of RAM and has 32 GB or 64 GB of flash storage. Battery life is an Apple-estimated 40 hours of music playback and 8 hours of video playback. Price: $ 299. 00 10. Product descriptions and price (IPod Classic)The Apple iPod classic was equipped with a 120 GB 4200 RPM ATA-66 hard drive capable of supporting up to 30,000 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format or up to 150 hours of video. Apple upgraded the hard drive to 160 GB increasing the capacity to 40,000 songs or 200 hours of video and adding support for â€Å"Genius Mixes† via a software patch on September 28, 2009, but it otherwise essentially is identical (some refer to this configuration as the â€Å"3rd Generation† iPod classic or the 8th Generation iPod).However, the iPod classic mod els do offer modestly improved battery life compared to the â€Å"original† 80 GB model that was replaced — 36 hours of music and 6 hours of video (the previous â€Å"original† 160 GB model provided greater battery life, 40 hours of music and 7 hours of video). Price: $249 11. Product descriptions and price (Apple TV) Apple TV makes it easy to rent or purchase movies and TV shows from Apple as well as stream or mirror movies, shows, photos and other content from an iPod, iPhone or iPad as well as from a Mac or PC. It has built-in support for I Cloud, Netflix, YouTube and Flickr along with other services.It is powered by a single core 32 nm Apple A5 processor and runs a variant of the iOS that powers the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad models, although it does not formally run the iOS and cannot run iOS applications either. Connectivity includes HDMI, optical audio, 10/100Base-T Ethernet, and a single Micro-USB port â€Å"for service and diagnostics† (and hack ing) as well as 802. 11a/b/g/n wireless networking. Price: $99. 00 C. Iphone 12. Iphone 4 * Model Number: A1349 (EMC 2422) 13. Iphone 4S * Model Number: A1387 (EMC 2430) 14. Iphone 5 * Model Number: A1249 (EMC 2610*) 12. Product descriptions and price (Iphone 4)It has dual cameras a 5 megapixel HD video/still camera (720p at 30 FPS) with a backside illuminated sensor, a 5X digital zoom, and an LED flash on the rear and a VGA quality video/still camera on the front designed for video conferencing over a Wi-Fi network with Apple's included â€Å"Face Time† application. It has dual noise-cancelling microphones also. It is powered by an â€Å"Apple A4† processor of unspecified speed, has 512 MB of RAM, and has 8 GB, 16 GB, or 32 GB of internal storage (8 GB configuration introduced October 4, 2011). Network support includes UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz) and GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz). 02. 11g/n and Bluetooth 2. 1+EDR are supported as well. Price: $45 0. 00 13.Product descriptions and price (Iphone 4S) The iPhone 4S also has dual cameras an 8 megapixel HD video/still camera (1080p at 30 FPS) with a backside illuminated sensor, and an LED flash on the rear and a VGA quality video/still camera on the front designed for video conferencing over a Wi-Fi network with Apple's included â€Å"Face Time† application. It is powered by a dual-core â€Å"Apple A5† processor, has 512 MB of RAM, and has 16 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB of internal storage. he iPhone 4S provides â€Å"up to† 40 hours of audio playback, 14 hours of talk time on 2G, 8 hours of talk time on 3G, 6 hours of Internet use on 3G, 9 hours of Internet use on Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video playback and 200 hours of standby time. Price: $599. 00 14. Product descriptions and price (Iphone 5)The iPhone 5 models, regardless of network compatibility, have a 4†³ diagonal widescreen multi-touch IPS LED-backlit 1136Ãâ€"640 native resolution (326 ppi) â€Å"retina displ ay,† dual cameras a rear 8 megapixel, 1080p iSight camera and a front 1. megapixel, 720p Face Time HD camera, and 4G/LTE support, all packed in an aluminum body case with a glass front that is a mere 0. 30 of an inch thick. The iPhone 5 is powered by a 1. 3 GHz dual core Apple A6 processor, has 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB of flash storage. It also supports both 2. 4 GHz and 5 GHz 802. 11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4. 0 as well as packs three noise canceling microphones, a bottom-mounted headphone jack, and a new USB 2. 0-based Lightning port for connectivity.Apple estimates that the iPhone 5 models provide â€Å"up to† 40 hours of audio playback, 8 hours of talk time on 3G, 8 hours of Internet use on 3G, 8 hours of Internet use on 4G/LTE, 10 hours of Internet use on Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video playback and 225 hours of standby time. Price: $699. 00 Services: 1. Mac App Store The Mac App Store is a digital distribution platform for Mac OS X applications. It is develope d by Apple Inc. The platform was announced on October 20, 2010, at Apple's â€Å"Back to the Mac† event. Apple began accepting app submissions from registered developers on November 3, 2010 in preparation for its launch. . iOS App StoreThe Apple App Store is a digital application distribution platform for iOS developed and maintained by Apple Inc. The service allows users to browse and download applications from the iTunes Store that were developed with the iOS SDK published through Apple Inc. Depending on the application, they are available either for free or at a cost. The applications can be downloaded directly to a target device, or downloaded onto a personal computer or Macintosh via iTunes. 30 percent of revenue from the store goes to Apple, and 70 percent goes to the producer of the app. 3. iBooksThe iBook store is an ePub content sales and delivery system that delivers e-books to any iOS device) running iOS 4. x – 6. x. The iBooks shelf turns around to reveal t he iBook store. From here users can purchase various books from Apple. IBooks can sync between devices, so one could start reading a book on one device and continue from where one left-off on another. 4. iCloud iCloud service allows users to store data such as music and iOS applications on remote computer servers for download to multiple devices such as iOS-based devices running iOS 5 or later, and personal computers running OS X 10. 7. 2 Lion or later, or Microsoft Windows.It also replaces Apple's Mobile Me service, acting as a data syncing center for email, contacts, calendars, bookmarks, notes, iWork documents, and other data. The service also allows users to wirelessly back-up their iOS devices to iCloud instead manually doing so using iTunes. 5. ITunes The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple Inc. as the iTunes Music Store, and has been the most popular music vendor in the United States since April 2008, and the most popular music vendor in the world since February 24, 2010. It now offers over 28 million songs, videos and apps.The iTunes store had sold 16 billion songs. List of Employees 1. Aaron Smith Address: 24 Sussex Dr, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A3 Salary: $200,000 Position title: CEO (Store Manager) 2. Abbey Brown Address: 2202 Kipling Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M9W 3Z9 Salary: $150,000 Position title: (Chief Financial Officer) 3. Adeline Wilson Address: 1001 Whiskey Cove Road, Ocean Falls, BC V0T 1P0 Salary: $120,000 Position title: Chief Communication Specialist 4. Adam Patel Address: Via Miguel de Cervantes, 138, 85050-Brienza PZ Salary: $100,000 Position title: Marketing Consultant 5. Addison Martin Address: 2547 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4W 1J7Salary: $100,000 Position title: Human Resources Advisor 6. Adolph Taylor Address: 2032 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6B 3K9 Salary: $100,000 Position title: Legal Advisor 7. Aidan Campbell Address: 3967 Boulevard Ste-Genevieve, Chicoutimi, QC G7G 2S4 Salary: $60,000 Position t itle: Sales Rep. 1 8. Angelina Thompson Address: 3269 5th Avenue, Donnelly, AB T0H 1G0 Salary: $60,000 Position title: Sales Rep 2 9. Anthony jones Address: 4903 Manitoba Street, Brace Bridge, ON P1L 2B7 Salary: $60,000 Position title: Customer representative 10. Ross C. Bailey Address: 2280 Gordon Street, San Bernardino, CA 92401Salary: $60,000 Position title: Customer representative 2 Citations â€Å"Apple Support Communities. † How to Tell Which Version of Ipad I†¦ :. N. p. , n. d. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. . â€Å"How to Identify IMac Models. † How to Identify IMac Models. N. p. , n. d. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. . â€Å"IPod Shuffle 3rd Gen 4 GB Specs (iPod Shuffle 3rd Gen, MB867LL/A*, A1271, 2262) @ EveryiPod. com. † IPod Shuffle 3rd Gen 4 GB Specs (iPod Shuffle 3rd Gen, MB867LL/A*, A1271, 2262) @ EveryiPod. com. N. p. , n. d. Web.