The Culture Diversity Theory For Nursing Essay - 1483 Words

The Culture diversity theory Providing culturally competent nursing care begins with having basic principle knowledge and effective training us a nursing student. Madeleine Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality defines nursing as a learned scientific and humanistic profession that focuses on patient care, experiences and creative thinking relevant to nursing and health care system. As nurse student in today’s society you will come in contact with a lot of cultural differences, but having basic knowledge of cultural diversity will be an advantage, and it’s significant for a nurse to understand the interaction of these cultural systems which enables nurses to become more effective in doing nursing assessment and serving as client advocates. The focus of the theory is toward developing new practices for nursing to meet diverse cultural needs and to provide culturally congruent nursing care. The research will discuss and provide brief examples as a reference evidences of the theory which focuses on obtaining in-depth knowledge of care and culture diversity. Caring for diverse populations starts with culturally competent care. At the same time, the interaction between the multicultural ethics and health care organizations can not only help to treat patients effectively but also to protect or prevent the development of diseases within the community. However, without understanding of cultural background, needs, norms and traditions of other cultures,Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Louise Leiningers Theory Of Transcultural Nursing1484 Words   |  6 PagesThesis statement for CLC assignment week 3 In today’s society, our culture is becoming more diverse than it had been in history. This is an important concept that is necessary for nurses to understand in order to provide the best care possible with the best out comes possible. â€Å"We embrace diversity because by doing so our understanding of our world and our emotional and intellectual horizons are expanded, making us better advocates for our clients and better members of the communities in whichRead MoreHow Culture Affects Nursing Care And The Way Humans Care For Themselves946 Words   |  4 Pagespresented a general theory statement in 1985, â€Å"with the theory, I predict that different cultures perceive, know, and practice care in different ways, yet there are some commonalities about care among all the cultures in the world (Reynolds Leininger, pg 11).† Leininger states the theory can help to show how culture affects nursing care and the way humans care for themselves. Leininger holds to the idea th at care is the central concept for nursing theory and research. The theory has many assumptiveRead MoreCore Concept Across Nursing Theories1346 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Core Concept Across Nursing Theories Introduction The aim of this paper is to analyze and compare the Nursing Process Discipline theory by Ida Orlanda to the Interpersonal Relations theory by Hildegard Peplau. It will further discuss Madeleine Leiningers Culture Care Diversity and Universality Theory in terms of its concept statement, metaparadigms, philosophies, and conceptual model. Information on the Transcultural Nursing theory is given and how it applies to nursing. Comparison and AnalysisRead MoreImportance of Nursing Theory Essay1535 Words   |  7 PagesNursing Theory Wendy Benson Chamberlain College of Nursing Theoretical Basis of Advanced Nursing NR501 July 20, 2013 Nursing Theory Nursing theories are the basic concepts that define nursing practice and provide the explanation to why nurses do what they do. Nurses are exposed to theories everyday in their practice. Did I give much thought to nursing theories prior to becoming a student? No, I did not. Of course I utilized them in my everyday nursing practice, but never put much thoughtRead MoreNursing Theorists1257 Words   |  6 PagesA BRIEF STUDY OF NURSING THEORIES ACCORDING TO FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, JEAN WATSON AND MADELEINE LEININGER TOLULOPE ADEDIWURA MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY ABSTRACT Nursing as a profession is based on concrete (scientific, philosophical, behavioral, social, and humanities among others), concepts and theories by past and current nursing theorists. These theorists have helped shape the profession from 19th century till date. New theories are emerging due to advance in health care, as off-shoot of previousRead MoreLeininger s Theory Of Culture Care Diversity1473 Words   |  6 Pages Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality in Modern Society Amy Raddatz Denver School of Nursing â€Æ' Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality in Modern Society The premise of Madeleine Leininger ‘s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality is that one must regard his or her patient both holistically and with respect to the patient’s given cultural background. Leininger aims to establish a nurse-patient relationship in which communication and collaborationRead MoreImportance Of Transcultural Nursing920 Words   |  4 PagesSome patients choose spiritual healing over traditional Western medicine. Other cultures choose not to seek hospitalization when ill and are cared for at home. A patient must be looked at, holistic nursing views the patient this way. Cultural background is important to honor and respect if a patient is being treated in the hospital. Diversity is prevalent in the nursing field. Not only do nurses come from different cultures and backgrounds, we are constantly caring for many patients whose cultural beliefsRead MoreCompare And Contrast Leininger And Kubler Ross1575 Words   |  7 Pages Leininger and Kà ¼bler-Ross Theories exist to guide and teach individuals about how and why certain disciplines function. One discipline that has many theories is nursing. Nursing theories help to guide patient care. For instance, Madeleine Leininger developed the theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality also known as transcultural nursing (TCN), which helps nurses to be culturally competent. There are also non-nursing theorists which can add to a nurse’s knowledge in caring for their patientRead MoreCulturally Competent Nursing Essay711 Words   |  3 PagesWith the large increase multicultural population in the United States, nurses encounter patients with differences in healthcare beliefs, values and customs. To provide adequate nursing care, nurses must be aware of these differences. They must respect and acknowledge the patient’s culture. To do this, nurses need education on cultural competence to ensure patient satisfaction and better patient outcomes. According to Migration Policy institute, the Census Bureaus 2009 American Community SurveyRead MoreMy Personal Nursing Philosophy726 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿ Nursing Philosophy Mary Bartley Broward College The integration of nursing theories with a philosophical perspective lays the framework for nursing practice (McCurry, Revell Roy, 2008). My philosophy of nursing is to provide holistic care meeting the  physical, social, economic, cognitive, and spiritual health of a person. This philosophy embraces the four elements of the nursing metaparadigm, which is person

Argumentative Essay The Entitlement Issue - 1925 Words

Argumentative Essay What do you think? Is it or is it not incredible that society hires congressmen to work for us, yet, these employees of the people believe themselves entitled to exempt themselves from laws they pass for their constituents? Social Security is perfectly fine for us; but not for them. Congress; the only job in America that entitles the employee to a lifetime pension equal to their salary coupled with lifetime retirement healthcare benefits that you can’t find on an Obamacare exchange. When did being a servant of the people with a defined term of service become a lifetime entitlement? I thought the lifetime entitlement issue was settled on paper in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence. Can being a Congressman qualify as a full-time job? What exactly justifies their escape from accountability and why are term limits viewed with disdain by our political elite? What is unreasonable or unfair about the concept of term limits? Term limits have been a topic of keen discussion and lethargic movement within the legislative branch since the inception of federalism. Since the 1682 Pennsylvania Charter of Liberties, the concept of formal term limits has existed in the United States. Constraints concerning term limitations for holders of public office are applied to practically none of our elected officials. Today, it is common knowledge that if you’re a senator who hasn’t amassed more than twenty years of office, served as a Committee Chair, or party whip; youShow MoreRelatedEssay Paper1075 Words   |  5 PagesCanadian Identity: A Rhetorical Analysis Essay In this essay, the articles ‘Listen to the north’ by John Ralston Saul and ‘Which ‘Native’ History? By Whom? For Whom?’ by J.R. Miller will be analyzed, specifically looking at each authors argument and his appeal to ethos, logos and pathos. In the first article, ‘Listen to the North’, author John Ralston Saul argues that current Canadian policy when it comes to our north, and the people that reside there, is out of date and based on southern idealsRead MoreArgumentative Essay932 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Argumentative Essay Braden Rawson Social Networking or the use of specific websites or applications to interact with other users is one of the many key and driving factors today in our world. We find ourselves lost for many minutes or possibly hours at a time on any particular app or website. Looking deeper into the issue of social networking and its impact on our life, I highly doubt we have accomplished anything at all. A very smart man once said, â€Å"Time is money.† If that quote is true do weRead MoreA Brief Note On Sociological Factors On Clients1666 Words   |  7 Pages CHCDEV002 ANALYSE IMPACTS OF SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS ON CLIENTS IN COMMUNITY WORK AND SERVICES ASSESSMENT A – ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY ~ Australia’s social inclusion policy and its failure to support all minorities, specifically same-sex couples King (cited in Australian Marriage Equality, 2015) stated â€Å"When any society says that I cannot marry a certain person, that society has cut off a segment of my freedom†. This quote from Martin Luther King Jr is as applicable today to legalising same-sexRead MoreAn Examination of the Pay Received by Military Members: An Argumentative Essay2599 Words   |  10 Pagesï » ¿Examination of the Pay Received By Military Members Argumentative Essay: Annotated Bibliography Report of the Tenth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (2008) Volume 1 Cash Compensation. February 2008. 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Prejudice and Descrimination free essay sample

This learning starts as early as the age of three. The mass media also teaches about stereotyping, not just for children but for adults as well. When inaccurate portrayals are a primary source of information about a minority group, they can lead to unfavorable stereotypes. (Feldman, 2010) Throughout history we have seen many examples of prejudice and discrimination. A well known example would be the Holocaust. During 1939 through 1945 Adolf Hitler was obsessed with clearing Germany of all foreign races including the Jewish population. Hitler believed that the Jewish citizens were keeping the country from prospering economically, politically, and socially. Because of this Hitler began to abolish German Jews and at the end of 1945 nearly six million Jewish people were murdered because of Hitler’s discrimination (RB 66). The Holocaust may have taken place more than fifty years ago in another country, but prejudice and discrimination is still alive today all over the United States. We will write a custom essay sample on Prejudice and Descrimination or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The September 11th terrorist ttacks have caused stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination to occur towards the Muslim religion. The Muslim religion follows the 6 Pillars of Islam, the last pillar is Jihad. Many Americans have the idea that Jihad means â€Å"Holy War† and that it is part of the Muslim religion to attack and terrorize other religions, when in fact Jihad means â€Å"The obligation to strive to spread the religion over the world†. Many religions also believe it is there duty to teach their religion, just how Christians have missionaries. Both of these examples show just how serious discrimination can be. How can the world diminish prejudice and discrimination? According to Robert S Feldman, psychologists have developed several strategies that have proved effective. The first is to increase contact between the target of stereotyping and the holder of the stereotype research shows that increasing the amount of interaction between groups can reduce negative stereotyping. The second is to make values and norms against prejudice more conspicuous. Just reminding people about the values they already hold regarding equality and fair treatment of others. Similarly, people who hear others making strong, anti-racism statements are subsequently more likely to strongly condemn racism. The third and most direct means of changing stereotypical and discriminatory values is providing information about the targets of stereotyping. Educate people to be more aware of positive characteristics of targets of stereotyping. (Feldman, 2010) Prejudice and discrimination is all around us. No one is born to discriminate. Parents, peers and even mass media are teaching children as young as three to discriminate towards various groups of people. History has shown us just how far one person’s prejudice can go. It starts out as a basic stereotype towards one group of people and evolves into hate and discrimination that takes years to stop. Fortunately psychologists have seen the damage of prejudice and discrimination and have found that increase contact, demonstrating positive values against prejudice, and education are ways to reduce it.

Thomas Eliot; (1185 words) Essay Example For Students

Thomas Eliot; (1185 words) Essay Thomas EliotT.S. Eliot was a very influential pessimist, always and constantly thriving onhis hatred of little things and his love life. Eliot was born in St. LouisMissouri 1888 ad. His parents were both writers and loved the arts, mosteffectively passing on the genes to their son. While growing up he learned manythings, his parents were extremely social and intellectual and they pushed himto achieve the highest of statuses. He went to college at Harvard University andthen moved to London to go to Oxford. He then became a citizen of England in1915. While in England Eliot held many jobs to keep the payments on his 5thfloor English apartment and his college tuition. Eliot quickly became popularwith Britain and was known as a great poet and a literal critic. Eliot is bestknown for two of his works: The Waste Land (1922) and The Love Song of J. AlfredPrufrock (1915). Actually the Love song is the beginning of the Waste Land. TheWaste Land is in 5 parts, so it is more of a story in poeti cal form. In the LoveSong, Eliot actually sounds a bit like a optimist, quite frankly though his own?waste land?steps in half way through. This is his only poetic work I like. We will write a custom essay on Thomas Eliot; (1185 words) specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now But it will never be at the top of any of my lists. In this ?song? , JAP (J. Alfred Prufrock) is writing a letter to his honey, the girl he is in love with. In this poem Eliot uses a lot of visual imagery, he is very good with hisadjectives and brings such a happy correlation of thought into a grim reality hewould call his ?Waste Land?. He talks of how : In the room the women comeand go Talking of Michelangelo. TLSJAP stanza 13 and 14 It has been my thoughtthat this may signify his ?type?. Eliot, again was an intellectual and thenso he would most likely hang out where the smart people were and get away from:Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels And sawdust restaurant withoyster-shells: Streets that follow like a tedious argument Of insidious intent. stanzas 6-9 He actually gives the evidence to where he found his women, andhow he likes to stroll through the outdoors and ending up in places ofeloquence, and ?High Society?. Even though he had a medium amount of money. He was still accepted in places for lower pay because of his high intelligenceand the intelligence of his women. People enjoyed his company. He goes ontalking about how there will always be time for us referring to the love thatwhich he shares for her, and that there will always be time for things, butletting each other look at the joy as present and the escape from his ?WasteLand?. He goes on in stanza 37 48 telling how they would grow old together,while still with the people that surround them that they love so dearly. He thentells of how he ?knows? things and how life always goes (evidence ofrealism) in stanzas 49 54. Now here you can start to sense his pessimisticside shed a bit, talking of the: To spit out all the butt-ends of my days andways, And how should I presume? Stanza 60 61 Of course I guess you couldtake that as a repentance line but, I dont think so, lets go on. From stanzas70 86 it shows what I think is his deep side and talking as if he wereactually a Realist whi ch he probably was, at least to me. He humbles himself agreat deal , which is good , but talks of how things slowly fade , referring alot to his baldness and how age takes a toll on relationships. This is myfavorite part of the poem, because he brings you into his soul, not just lettingyou taste the action . I feel that this is how he lived life. Always leavingpeople to taste the good stuff around him but behind his eyes ly his brain andbehind his brain his heart and when his company least expected it, ?I couldsee him waving his hands and saying?, ?Come all! Come! Come!come and feelmy paincome and pity mecome and think I am humble..even though Idont care much of any of you.? That is the picture I get of JAP who is alsoEliot, in life, but yet his background, his unnoticeable conscience. In stanza87 98 he speaks of his anxiousness to ask people into his ?Waste land? ,his wanting to let them see his truth. Then he tries to cover for himself bysaying: Should I say: ?That is not what I meant at all, That is not it, atall.? stanzas 97 98 In stanzas 119 and finishing the poem at 131 he endsoff, sorry to say, in a pessimistic tone of self pity and morbidity. He talksabout his age weighing on his soul and never being what he wants to look like inthe eyes of others and his eagerness in death by saying: We have lingered in thechambers of the sea By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown Till humanvoices wake us, and we drown. stanzas 129 131 That is a great background onhow Eliot viewed life. Realistically and fading into the distance with lovemeaning nothing at all. Well, on to what is called T.S. Eliots ?WasteLand?. To brief you on my thoughts I very much dislike this poem for manyreason which will be laid out in the next couple paragraphs. The poem is simplya look in to the soul of Eliot, a man with great writing capabilities but usesthem for the pleasure of striking his enemy and hiding the truth without beingup-front, using stories of ancient myths in Germ an and Latin to convey hisapathy. Eliot throughout this whole poems loves to mock and scorn his ex-wife. .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307 , .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307 .postImageUrl , .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307 , .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307:hover , .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307:visited , .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307:active { border:0!important; } .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307:active , .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307 .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue30bd1e82dbc70cf492bebbbad9f8307:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: the forever shifting earth Essay?Her sexual desire he could not satisfy and whose love he cannot return.? T.S. Eliots Waste land. Page 98 by: James E. Miller. Jr. He uses manysexually explicit gestures in the writing because that was the only way hisfantasies could be metthrough writing. ?I think the man is sick, hesfull of crap!? Eric Paoletti But he reveals his hatred toward her in theselines: More sinned against than sinning , bruised and marred, The lazy laughingJenny of the Bard. (The same eternal and consuming itch Can make a martyr and aconsuming bitch) There is much more but as you can see not very appropriate atall. Again this man won a Nobel Prize and was loved by Americans and theEnglish. ?How on Earth did he achieve that Probably because that is whatthe world is hungry for. Explains acts of fantasizing date rape and the hatredof his wife that he loved so much in the Love Letter, than leading into divorce. Overall if you ask me, T.S. Eliot didnt need fame, fortune and the NobelPrize. He needed serious mental help and most importantly, the God he talked ofso vaguely throughout his writing. BibliographyT.S. Eliots Personal waste land. By: James E. Miller Jr. Copyright 1977Published by: The Penn. State University Press, University Park and LondonThomas Sterns Eliot (1888 1965)

Free Essays on Chemical Weapons

Title (Chemical Weapons): Terrorist Use of Chemical Weapons in the World Special Issue: The Tokyo Subway Attack on 20 March 1995 Introduction: Japan has long enjoyed the enviable reputation of being one of the safest nations in the world. The country has one of the world lowest rates for murder and other violent crime, and the Japanese National Police Agency and local Police forces are often praised as a model of law enforcement efficiency. Tokyo enjoys one of the cleanest, safest and most efficient subway networks in the world. Trains run on precise schedules and accommodate 2.7 billion passengers a year. All that changed on March 20, 1995. A nightmare unfolded as the city of Tokyo experienced one of the worst terrorist attacks of the century. This is what many considered to be the first true case of use of chemical agents by terrorists in a major attack on civilians. On the morning of 20 March 1995, small containers described by eyewitnesses as being wrapped in newspaper and covered with clear plastic bags about the size of lunch box were placed on five trains running on three major lines of the Tokyo subway system (Marunouchi, Chiyoda, and Hibiya). The trains were scheduled to arrive at the Kasumigaseki station within four minutes of each other at the height of the morning rush hour around 8 am in the morning. It was to report later that police authorities suspected the containers to be a type of binary chemical weapons in which the constituent elements of sarin were brought together to form the poisonous gas just prior to its release by breaking of the bottles in the crowed cars. The results were twelve people dead and over five thousand injured, as gas spread through the trains and affected passengers were disgorged at sixteenth separate stations along the route. Two of the subway lines were shut down and twenty-six stations closed. The station, towards which the cars were gathering, Kasumigaseki was located in the heart of Toky... Free Essays on Chemical Weapons Free Essays on Chemical Weapons Title (Chemical Weapons): Terrorist Use of Chemical Weapons in the World Special Issue: The Tokyo Subway Attack on 20 March 1995 Introduction: Japan has long enjoyed the enviable reputation of being one of the safest nations in the world. The country has one of the world lowest rates for murder and other violent crime, and the Japanese National Police Agency and local Police forces are often praised as a model of law enforcement efficiency. Tokyo enjoys one of the cleanest, safest and most efficient subway networks in the world. Trains run on precise schedules and accommodate 2.7 billion passengers a year. All that changed on March 20, 1995. A nightmare unfolded as the city of Tokyo experienced one of the worst terrorist attacks of the century. This is what many considered to be the first true case of use of chemical agents by terrorists in a major attack on civilians. On the morning of 20 March 1995, small containers described by eyewitnesses as being wrapped in newspaper and covered with clear plastic bags about the size of lunch box were placed on five trains running on three major lines of the Tokyo subway system (Marunouchi, Chiyoda, and Hibiya). The trains were scheduled to arrive at the Kasumigaseki station within four minutes of each other at the height of the morning rush hour around 8 am in the morning. It was to report later that police authorities suspected the containers to be a type of binary chemical weapons in which the constituent elements of sarin were brought together to form the poisonous gas just prior to its release by breaking of the bottles in the crowed cars. The results were twelve people dead and over five thousand injured, as gas spread through the trains and affected passengers were disgorged at sixteenth separate stations along the route. Two of the subway lines were shut down and twenty-six stations closed. The station, towards which the cars were gathering, Kasumigaseki was located in the heart of Toky...

A Introduction to Sociology Statistics

A Introduction to Sociology Statistics Sociological research can have three distinct goals: description, explanation, and prediction. The description is always an important part of the research, but most sociologists attempt to explain and predict what they observe. The three research methods most commonly used by sociologists are observational techniques, surveys, and experiments. In each case, measurement is involved that yields a set of numbers, which are the findings, or data, produced by the research study. Sociologists and other scientists summarize data, find relationships between sets of data, and determine whether experimental manipulations have affected some variable of interest. The word statistics has two meanings: The field that applies mathematical techniques to the organizing, summarizing, and interpreting of data. The actual mathematical techniques themselves. Knowledge of statistics has many practical benefits. Even a rudimentary knowledge of statistics will make you better able to evaluate statistical claims made by reporters, weather forecasters, television advertisers, political candidates, government officials, and other persons who may use statistics in the information or arguments they present. Representation of Data Data are often represented in frequency distributions, which indicate the frequency of each score in a set of scores. Sociologists also use graphs to represent data. These include pie graphs, frequency histograms, and line graphs. Line graphs are important in representing the results of experiments because they are used to illustrate the relationship between independent and dependent variables. Descriptive Statistics Descriptive statistics summarize and organize research data. Measures of central tendency represent the typical score in a set of scores. The mode is the most frequently occurring score, the median is the middle score, and the mean is the arithmetic average of the set of scores. Measures of variability represent the degree of dispersion of scores. The range is the difference between the highest and lowest scores. The variance is the average of the squared deviations from the mean of the set of scores, and the standard deviation is the square root of the variance. Many kinds of measurements fall on a normal, or bell-shaped, curve. A certain percentage of scores fall below each point on the abscissa of the normal curve. Percentiles identify the percentage of scores that fall below a particular score. Correlational Statistics Correlational statistics assess the relationship between two or more sets of scores. A correlation may be positive or negative and vary from 0.00 to plus or minus 1.00. The existence of a correlation does not necessarily mean that one of the correlated variables causes changes in the other. Nor does the existence of a correlation preclude that possibility. Correlations are commonly graphed on scatter plots. Perhaps the most common correlational technique is Pearsons product-moment correlation. You square the Pearsons product-moment correlation to get the coefficient of determination, which will indicate the amount of variance in one variable accounted for by another variable. Inferential Statistics Inferential statistics permit social researchers to determine whether their findings can be generalized from their samples to the populations they represent. Consider a simple investigation in which an experimental group that is exposed to a condition is compared with a control group that is not. For the difference between the means of the two groups to be statistically significant, the difference must have a low probability (usually less than 5 percent) of occurring by normal random variation. Sources: McGraw Hill. (2001). Statistics Primer for Sociology. mhhe.com/socscience/sociology/statistics/stat_intro.htm

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 31

Assignment Example In the case of Motorola, the site makes explicit reference to the company being a Google firm, also connecting with its customers via the brand cachet of Google and its massive influence in technology and in the decision-making of technology buyers and enthusiasts. The Motorola brand and organization, in this case, leverages the strong brand image of Google among not just that subculture of smart phone users that are heavily into technology in general and in Android and smart phones in general, but also the general mass of consumers who are intimate with Google as both a provider of search and of advertising related to search. Here the Motorola brand makes use of the wide reach of Google through its popular mass media properties too, chief among them YouTube, to also further reinforce its attempt to lure in the mass market customers in different parts of the world. The marketing mix element of price, which is deliberately set low for its mass market phones, is reinforced by its lever aging the Google name in its web pages (Motorola Mobility LLC, 2014). In the case of music marketers like Tower, on the other hand, the key social influences relate to the way the site leverages music icons such as Michael Jackson, who by their stature even post-death constitute a heavy influence on the opinions of music consumers, to lure in a wide demographic of music lovers into its site (Tower.com, 2014). The literature states that certain products lend themselves to heavier advertising than others, because of various aspects of the product, such as the product’s being new; the complexity factor associated with the product and its features and benefits; the need to highlight differentiating factors of the product; intense competition; the novelty of the product requiring intensive education and explanation; and the product being of wide appeal to many different market segments for different purposes, requiring different advertisements that cater

Child Care in Colleges are Essential Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Child Care in Colleges are Essential - Essay Example That these women are in school should not be a hindrance to their desires. Universities and other colleges could support their student-parents through a number of ways. One is funding. These could be through opening college-based day care centers on site in campuses. These should be operating during convenient hours to ensure all student-parents manage to go to class without worrying about their children. Some universities and colleges receive grants to help run day care centers for student parents within their colleges. This is a move in a positive direction in a bid to increase the number of students who continue with their studies after giving birth while still pursuing their degree courses. Life is difficult enough for student parents, hence the importance of affordable and flexible day care programs to help alleviate their problems. Furthermore, to put the minds of these parents at ease, these day- care programs should be accredited by relevant bodies to ensure that the children are not only safe, but also well taken care of. The curriculum for such programs should also be at par with state and national standards, to ensure that the children are being taken care of the same way other children in non-campus day care centers are. Funding is an important aspect in ensuring success of day care programs in colleges and universities. Funding can come in form of grants from government agencies for children or education through lobbying by the universities and colleges administrations (U.S. Department of Education 1-2). Funding can also come directly from the university or college administration itself. Funding is imperative in the running of day care centers for student parents in colleges since most of these do not have steady or well paying jobs that could afford them more expensive day care programs. The funding cold go towards building or renovating unused campus buildings to convert them into day care centers, materials and labor required to do this, furnish ing the day care centers and paying the people who will be involved in the day to day running of the day care centers. The student parents could be asked to chip in a little money, though not too much, in order to ensure they partake in the running and maintenance of the day care centers, and that it is not free. Given the fact that most student parents face more challenges and responsibilities than students who are not parents, the former are most likely to perform dismally in their studies (Price 3-6). Furthermore, the stress that comes with raising a child, studying and probably working part time may take a toll on these parents, especially if they are single parents. With this kind of background, student parents are likely to drop out of school to take care of their children. This has an adverse effect of the economic and social well being of the parent and child. Second to funding is flexibility of the day care programs. It is pointless to start day care centers in colleges and universities that operate between times that interfere with the student parents’ academics (Anderson and Dektar 6-8). Day care centers that are closed too early or open too late means that parents have to skip classes while they wait for the day care cent

Philosophical Analysis Essay Example for Free

Philosophical Analysis Essay â€Å"In the case of an ordinary illusion of the senses we often say: This object seems thus or so; but in reality it is thus (but) the seeming is opposed to the reality only in so far as the chance experience of one point of view gets contrasted with what would be, or might be, experienced from some larger, more rationally permanent, or more exclusive and uniting point of view. † Truth is the embodiment of reality; reality is the embodiment of experience. Yet, truth and reality are problematic concepts. Reality, when expressed in categorical terms, is in itself manifest-creating concept; that is, there is no clearly defined boundary of finding the essence of entities. In short, an attempt to define reality will result to more questions. An attempt to examine the source or basis of reality will inevitably result to ambiguity. What is the implication of this fact to truth? Truth also becomes a manifest-creating concept. Its basis is, from a vantage point, a derivation of reality (Kant, 1786/1926). Here, there is a need to mention two bases of truth and reality. For some philosophers, reality and truth are generally derived from sense experience. Aristotle once argued that the fundamental basis of reality is actual reference to existing objects. Here, reality is objective; truth is absolute. For other philosophers, rationality rather than sense experience is the formal basis of reality. Descartes, for example, argued that sense experiences often result to disconcerting assumptions of what is real and ought to be real (Descartes, 1637/1999). An example may suffice this point. Suppose an individual sees an oar in the water. From sense experience, the individual will interpret the phenomenon as genuine phenomenon. However, the individual perception of what is real is compounded by illusory assumption of what ought to be real. Descartes argued that the oar in the water, when rationality is used as means to discern truth, is a reflection of an actual oar. 2) â€Å"The best definition of truth from a logical standpoint is that which is fated to be ultimately accepted by all investigators (and not something to be identified with) some purely personal end, some profit upon which a particular individual has set his heart. † For many centuries, philosophers pondered on the best definition of truth. Perhaps, the most influential philosopher who developed a systematic approach in analyzing the nature of truth is Immanuel Kant. According to Kant, truth in categorical definition is a derivation of collective facts (Kant, 1786/1926). Kant argued that when a set of facts are accepted to be truth by rational individuals, then it is by definition, part of truth. Subsequent philosophers such as Whitehead and Russell expounded on the concept of truth. According to these philosophers, there exists a set of truths which in character is both relative and self-sufficient. Truth is relative because the discretion of a group of rational individuals is also relative. It is self-sufficient because its consequence is self-compelling. When presented to different individuals, a truth compels the individual to believe and accept it as true. What is the general consequence of these assumptions of truth? In essence, such assumptions reject the notion of absolute truth. Absolute truth defines an epistemological basis of reality; that is, reality bounded not by the laws of nature, but by the law of necessity. One can refer to this reality as Being, Divine entity, or God. However, absolute truth is not necessarily a definitive clause of a Divine entity. Absolute truth is assumed by some philosophers to be manifested in quintessential entities; entities which are purported to exist in reality. It may be argued that this interpretation of reality may be a personalistic interpretation of ends. In any case, it is possible to prove this assumption. References Descartes, Rene. 1637/1999. Discourse on the Method. London: London Publishing House. Kant, Immanuel. 1786/1926. The Critique of Pure Reason. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

Gilgamesh, The Iliad, And The Aeneid :: Gilgamesh, The Iliad, And The Aeneid

Even though the Aeneid shares many features with the Homeric epic, as an epic it is diverse in significant ways. For this motive, the Aeneid is denoted to as a literary or else secondary epic so as to distinguish it from primeval or primary epics like the Homeric poems. The word "primitive", "primary" besides "secondary" should not be understood as value verdicts, but simply as signs that the inventive character of the epic was improvisational in addition to oral, though that of the Aeneid, collected later in the epic tradition, was fundamentally non-oral and fashioned with the benefit of writing. As realized, the Homeric poems offer substantiation of improvisational methods of composition concerning the usage of numerous formulas (RankovicÃŒ , Slavica, Melve, and Mundal 6). This form of composition is appropriate to the demands of creativeness before an audience which do not tolerate the poet interval to generate new ways of voicing several thoughts. So to preserve his recital goin g he must hang stock phrases, which are deliberate to fill out innumerable rations of the dactylic hexameter line. Conversely, Vergil, composing in isolation, perceptibly spent abundant time on crafting his own individual poetic linguistic. As a result in reading the Aeneid one will be able to realize the absence of the persistent repetition of formularies, which are redundant in a literary or secondary epic ( Fleming, Daniel, Sara and Milstein 8). Literary works are separated into various groupings called genres in harmony with their distinguishing form and context. The Iliad fits to the genre of epic. An epic is a lengthy poem which tells a story concerning gods, heroes and heroic deeds. Since the epic is by its self-same nature extensive, it tends to be somewhat loosely prearranged. Not every chapter is unquestionably obligatory to the main story and departures from the subject are not unusual. It is significant to notice how diverse in this regard is the genre of drama, in which every single episode tends to be indispensable to the plot and departure from the subject are incongruous (Presnell and Jenny 3). The events recounted in epic are derived from legend pretty than devised by the poet and are characteristically of great implication as in the incident of the Iliad, which transmits an important episode focusing around the paramount hero of the Greeks in the Trojan War, the greatest eminent war of Greek legend. The epic poet inclines to present his tale impersonally, not sketching thoughtfulness to himself except for a few occasions, as in the leading line of the Iliad when Homer talks to the goddess who stands to be the Muse of epic poetry (RankovicÃŒ , Slavica, Melve, and Mundal 9).

Discuss and Provide Solutions on Inflation, Unemployment, Distribution of Income and Balance of Payments in the S.A. Context

PROGRAMME:MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS SURNAME:FIELIES FIRST NAME/S:MICHEAL CECIL STUDENT NUMBER:MBA109062 E-MAIL:[email  protected] net POSTAL ADDRESS:23 Altenburg Street Highbury KUILSRIVERCODE:7580 CONTACTS: (Home):021 903-6904 (Work):021 904-5802 (Mobile):084 688 7147 LECTURER: I hereby confirm that the assignment submitted herein is my own original work. Signature of Student: Date:18 May 2009 TABLE OF CONTENT Page Number Overview†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 A. Addressing Inflation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 Definition of Inflation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 Types of Inflation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Inflation influencing SA the most †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 Solutions for inflation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 B. Addressing unemployment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 Define unemployment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Different types of unemployment And the causes thereof†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 Solutions to unemployment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 11 Addressing Income Distribution amongst different sections of the population†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 Measurement of income distributio n†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 General causes of differences in income distribution †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 Domestic demand for labour†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Domestic supply for labour†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 Foreign demand and supply for labour†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 Skill-biased technological causes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 Specific causes in the SA context†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 14 How can this be addressed†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 15 Affirmative action†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 16 Basic condition of e mployment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 16 D. Addressing the Balance of Payment Deficit†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 17 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 17 Deficit on the Current Account of the Balance of payment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 17 Deficit on the Financial Account of the Balance of payment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 18 Actions to reduce a substantial Financial account deficit†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 18 E. Surviving the current economic crunch/turmoil †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 19 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 19 Global recession†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 19 Causes of global recession†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 19 How far has SA weathered the recession†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 19 What can be done to weather the recession†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦.. 20 Monetary policy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 20 Fiscal policy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 20 Inflationâ₠¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 20 Export/Imports†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 20 F. Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 21 G. Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 22 OVERVIEW South Africa's economic growth performance and outlook has been affected by global developments such as the global recession starting in the US and escalating oil prices in the middle-east causing cost-push inflation and has been revised downwards. In fact, these challenges have moved in tandem with international economic indicator trends and are exacerbated by supply side problems, including domestic unemployment, inflation rates beyond the Reserve Bank targets of between 3 and 6%, skills shortages, a globally less-than-competitive industry, climate change and its negative impact on agriculture and water supplies and a volatile rand. High food and energy prices have been major contributors to consumer price inflation. Increased food prices, together with a shortage of staple foods, have resulted in food stock levels being the lowest in years and therefore creating high food insecurity amongst the poorer section of our communities. In the light of these economic conditions both internally and externally this policy statement framework has been produced. A. ADDRESSING INFLATION INTRODUCTION Many experiences and authors of economic books shape my concept of inflation. I would in the light of my understanding ascribe inflation as a consequence of human indiscretion due to wants and not of needs. People always have an insatiable desire for more and more goods that are describe by many as the economic problem. When I draw up my policy framework for the performance of the economy I will address and prioritize the following issues namely price stability (control inflation), full employment, balance of payments, equitable distribution of income in order to stimulate economic growth. DEFINITION OF INFLATION Mike Moffatt[1] defines inflation as an increase in the price of a basket of goods and services that is representative of the economy as a whole. A similar definition of inflation can be found in Economics by Parkin and Bade[2]: Inflation is an upward movement in the average level of prices. Its opposite is deflation, a downward movement in the average level of prices. The boundary between inflation and deflation is price stability. Also according to McConnell, (2002: 146) inflation is a rise in the general level of prices. Thus according to McConnell inflation does not mean the increase in price level of one or two items but increase in price level of goods and services in general. But Mohr and Fourie (2008:474) state inflation as the continuous and considerable rise in prices in general. As what can be seen from both definitions are (a) in general (b) rise of prices. But Mohr and Fourie go further and define inflation as a neutral definition without specific causes. However in many instances authors will describe inflation as excessive increases in money supply, etc. Which can be causal definitions. Also Mohr and Fourie will further state that nflation is a process and also concerns continuous and considerable increases in prices in general. Therefore then, one can agree with the definition of Mohr & Fourie: Inflation is a continuous and considerable rise in prices in general. TYPES OF INFLATION In an article â€Å"What is inflation: Five types of inflation defined† by Tom Au[3], Tom argues for the following types of inflation namely (i) commodity inflation, (ii) wage inflation, (iii) monetary inflation, (iv) fiscal inflation and (v) foreign exchange inflation. I would also argue that these types of inflation constitute the â€Å"major† types of inflation in SA. However these types of inflation can be divided and sub-divided into smaller units and subunits. For the purpose of this writing I would consider the broad divisions as sufficient. (i)Commodity Inflation Commodity products such as petroleum are in many cases a reason for an inflationary spiral. Other commodities could also contribute to this type of inflation such as other metals and other solid raw materials such as copper, coal, etc. Commodity inflation, better known as cost-push inflation, refers for example to a surge in the oil price – which obviously has nothing to do with domestic consumer demand. It concerns prices set on global markets over which the Central Bank has no control. The petrol price that stems from the cost of a barrel of oil thereby creates a volatile escalation of prices of goods and services because the increase in cost for a barrel of oil is transferred to the cost of production and eventually to the cost of consumer products. For example last year in June 2008 the petrol price went up by 50 cents a litre after a 55-cent increase in April 2008. The price of unleaded petrol in Gauteng increased to 996 cents a litre and to 972 cents a litre at the coast. Diesel went up 0,05 percent; sulphur went up by 71 cents, the wholesale paraffin price increased by 71 cents. [4] Even though at that point in time the country struggled with escalating food and power prices we had another fuel price increase. The consequence of the escalating prices of petroleum and thus oil and other fuel prices caused the price of everything else to go up and thus commodity induced inflation. ii) Wage Inflation It is my estimation that the type of inflation that has the largest impact on inflation is wage inflation or in other words demand-pull inflation. Employees become aware of the rising prices and demand more money in the form of higher wages. There are numerous examples of wage strikes in South Africa. For example Barbara Slaughter[5] reports â€Å"The longest public service strike in South African history. The dispute began on June 1, when workers from 17 unions took all-out strike action in support of a demand for a wage increase of 12 percent across the board. The strike involved 700,000 workers—professional, skilled and unskilled. It received widespread support amongst the rest of the working class in South Africa. On June 13, 2007, hundreds of thousands of municipal workers took part in a one-day solidarity action in support of the strike. They included taxi and bus drivers, electricity and cleaning workers, and administrative workers from border posts and airports. On that day, all the major cities in South Africa were brought to a standstill because of mass demonstrations in support of the public service workers’ strike†. Eugene Puryear reports in his website about the same strike as â€Å" Nearly  one million hospital and education workers have been on strike†[6]. This is only one example of the impact of a wage strike on the economy of the country. How many labor hours have gone lost which impact on production and could cause a lowering in the GDP of the country. If inflation could also be defined as too much money chase to few products, then this wage strike cause a reduction on production and thus inflation. iii) Monetary Inflation It can happen that the Reserve Bank governor refuses to increase the interest rates whilst the cost of living is high. Thereby causing too much money floating the economy and people maintain demand for goods whereas the supply is not sufficient for demand causing the cost of goods to rise. There can be much confusion between cost-push and demand-pull inflation. It is noted by some business reporters like Greta Steyn that Mr. Tito Mboweni did not â€Å"recognize† the before mentioned types of inflation therefore blaming the increase in inflation to commodity inflation and asserted that inflation is caused by the foreign global economy and not domestic demand-pull inflation. Mr. Mboweni indicated that his interest rate action (increase prime rate) had already done enough to curb demand. However he did not raise enough on interest rates implying a relatively low interest rate that causes yet a strong demand for goods and thereby not curbing inflation further. The inflation rate currently is 8. 5% at present well outside 3 – 6% target. iv) Fiscal Inflation Fiscal inflation is caused when government spending exceeds revenues. Overspending cause a deficit on the balance of payments. The deficit however must be recovered by most probably the increase in income tax of public and private sectors. During the current crisis in 1996, the government introduced the GEAR strategy. GEAR’s key element are reduced government spending, also the rate of inflation, with the view to encourage private investment, economic growth, and thereby job creation. But the government reduced the budget deficit from 4,6% in 1996 to 2,6% in 2000. The average reduction over this period is 3,1%. But when government spending drop private investment spending was expected to be 11,7% by the year 2000. However private investment average a mere 1,2%. If government does not spent and private sector default on spending the result will be unemployment, economic instability as well political vulnerability. Under these conditions there will be civil demands for higher wages that could be inflationary. It is said by some that a war increase government spending. If this is the case then we wage war against ourselves in this country. (v) Foreign Exchange Inflation Foreign exchange inflation happens when the local currency falls dramatically against other world currencies, thereby sharply raising the price of imported goods and hence the overall price level. INFLATION INFLUENCING SOUTH AFRICAN ECONOMY THE MOST The three most volatile types of inflation that influence the South African economy is Wage Inflation, Commodity Inflation and Foreign exchange inflation. As seen from the examples government spending has definitely slowed down in order to decrease the deficit and thus lifting the burden on tax payers to food the bill. So for the interim fiscal inflation is kept under control. The Reserve Bank by means of monetary policy is in â€Å"control† of the money supply in the economy. If you increase money supply faster i. e. lowering the prime rate, than your economy grows, you will have too much money chasing too few goods. The price of goods will therefore increase. Thus an increase in inflation. Therefore to stabilize inflation you have to reduce the money supply and thus increase the prime-lending rate. Monetary inflation is a function of the Reserve Bank and within the control of the Governor of the Reserve Bank by means of monetary policy. SOLUTIONS FOR INFLATION 1. Contractionary Fiscal Policy If the government looks to fiscal policy to control inflation its options are (i) decrease government spending (ii) raise taxes or (iii) some combination of the two policies. (i) Decrease government spending To control demand-pull inflation the government should reduce government spending. Reduction in government spending reduces aggregate demand and thereby halts demand-pull inflation. (ii)Raise taxes By raising taxes the deposable income of consumers is reduced thereby decreasing aggregate demand, which is anti-inflationary. (iii) Combination of Decrease government spending and Raising taxes As can be expected a combination of the two may have a quicker anti-inflationary effect on consumer spending. 2. Monetary Policy The monetary policy committee is given an inflation target by the government, which is between 3% and 6%. The tool that is used by the reserve bank is to use interest rates to achieve this inflation target. Increase interest rates will help reduce the growth of aggregate demand in the economy. A reduction in aggregate demand will slow down growth and will induce a decrease in inflation rate. 3. Exchange rate policy This policy is used to keep the value of the Rand high. Resulting in a favourable market for imports. The price for imported goods will be expensive and when companies apply investment spending the cost will be transferred to the consumer. This tool to reduce inflation is not very useful because it can cause a recession. . Disposing of surpluses When the economy faces demand-pull inflation, fiscal policy should move toward a government budget surplus i. e. tax revenues in excess of government spending. But the anti-inflationary effect of the surplus depends on what the government does with it. I would suggest to the government to impound the surplus. When a surplus is impounde d the government is extracting and withholding purchasing power from the economy. Thus, there is no chance that the surplus fund will create inflationary pressure to offset the anti-inflationary impact of the Contractionary fiscal policy. B. ADDRESSING UNEMPLOYMENT INTRODUCTION According to Mohr & Fourie the second macro economic objective is full employment. However in theory full employment can be accomplished but in reality government spending and tax collection is never equal. Therefore when government is dealing with a deficit budget (government spending in excess of tax revenues) the economy is at a down turn since aggregate demand slow down and thus GDP also drops with the result of unemployment. Thus this macro economic evil must be understood in its broader sense. In this writing I will deal with the definition for unemployment then describe the different types of unemployment, the causes of unemployment, types of SA unemployment and solutions to unemployment. DEFINE UNEMPLOYMENT â€Å"Prior to 1994, the strict definition was used by Stats SA to estimate unemployment in South Africa, with the result that the official estimates were generally regarded as being too low. Stat SA subsequently switched to the expanded definition, but some observers (including the International Labour Office) regarded the new official estimates as being too high. In June 1998 Stats SA reverted to using the strict definition as the official definition, although estimates based on the expanded definition are also published. † (Mohr & Fourie, 2002:498) Statistics South Africa defines unemployment (strict definition) as those in the economically active population – (aged 15 to 65) and are either employed or seeking work, – who: i. Have not worked during the last seven days prior to being interviewed; ii. Want to work and are available to start work within a week of the interview by Stats SA; iii. Have taken active steps to look for work or to provide themselves with self-employment in the four weeks preceding the interview. However the expanded definition omits requirement (iii) because many unemployed people become discouraged after several attempts to look for employment. [7] DIFFERENT TYPES OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE CAUSES THEREOF The basic distinction of unemployment is between voluntary and involuntary unemployment. But the unemployment rate is expressed as the percentage of the labour force (people who are willing and able to work) that cannot find a job. Thus in reality there is only involuntary unemployment. Those that prefer by own volition to be without work cannot be regarded as unemployed. In economy the usual distinction amongst types of unemployment is between frictional unemployment, seasonal unemployment, structural unemployment and cyclical unemployment. (i)Frictional unemployment Frictional unemployment exists because of lags between workers leaving one job and taking up another and because there are times of the year when many new workers (e. g. school-leavers) enter the labour market. In these circumstances there is some delay in finding them all jobs. (ii)Seasonal unemployment Seasonal unemployment arises because certain occupations require workers only for part of each year e. g. picking and processing of food and vegetables and tourist regions that are busy during peak seasons. (iii)Structural unemployment Structural unemployment is caused by changes in the structure of an industry as a result of changes in technology or tastes. For example increasing automation in manufacturing industry, encouraged by recent developments in computer technology, has made many skills obsolete. Thus whole communities may become unemployed until new skills have been acquired. (iv)Cyclical unemployment Cyclical (or demand-deficiency) unemployment happens when there is a decline in the economy as a result of a lack of demand. A lack of demand curbs production and therefore management will try to cut costs by laying off workers, but only until demand increases then workers will be asked to come back. (v)Apart from the above mentioned causes of unemployment the following should also be mentioned In today’s economy unemployment has a variety of causes. Nevertheless some of them relate to the general level of economic activity while others are the result of a failure in the labour market in an economy to work optimally. Mohr & Fourie indicates that South African unemployment rate in the past two decades originated from the supply side of the labour market as well as from the demand side. Supply side Every year the number of school leavers are added to the labour force. Thus the growth of the labour force exceeds the demand post by the economy. The economy can absorb only a certain amount of workers especially when the growth in GDP is not sufficient to provide in jobs for the new entrants into the labour market. When the growth in the labour force is greater than the number of the opportunities, unemployment sets in. Demand side During a slump in the economy the price level of goods is high i. e. inflation is increasing. Goods and services are expensive and leads to workers demand a higher wage. In order to cut production costs and thereby keep companies profitable workers are laid off. Thus leading to wage demand unemployment. Unemployment due to inflation – the Phillips curve Inflation does cause unemployment but it need not necessary be the case. In the short term the Phillips curve happens to be a declining curve i. e. there is a negative relationship between inflation and unemployment. There is thus an increase in aggregate demand that usually lead to an increase in production and income and simultaneously increase in the price level of goods and services. And conversely a decrease in aggregate demand results in decrease in production and income and a simultaneously decrease in the price levels. But the level of production is positively related to the level of employment i. e. if production goes up then employment also increases (unemployment decreases). Therefore if economic activity is high unemployment is low, production is high, price levels start to increase and inflation begins to set in. When prices become too inflated then aggregate demand starts to decrease, but decrease in price levels does not happen immediately. Therefore the continued increase in the price levels irrespective decrease in aggregate demands leads to unemployment because manufacturing of goods slow down due to the lack of demand. The Phillips curve led many economists to believe that there could be a trade off between unemployment and inflation. In other words, a lower inflation rate could be achieved by trading it off against greater unemployment. And a higher inflation rate could be achieved by trading it off with a lower inflation rate. The abovementioned scenario explains the short-term effect depicted by the Phillip curve but the long-term effect of the Phillip curve show that unemployment and inflation are not related. In the long run when labour and capital are at full capacity, an increase in aggregate demand affect the price levels only. It is clear that this is the point where inflation increases sharply i. e. the price levels of goods and services, because of continued increase in demand, becomes so expensive that eventually demand for products drop and consequently the demand for employment also drops. Thus unemployment sets in. Stagflation In the 1970’s inflation and unemployment increases at the same time. This phenomenon is called stagflation. This is an economic problem that is twice as serious as in the case when there is a trade off between either unemployment or inflation. When it so happens that the oil prices increase by 300%, this higher energy prices would spread through the economy, driving up production and distribution costs on a wide variety of goods. It is quite obvious to understand that transport is most important in the supply chain of production especially in the upstream portion of the supply chain, which includes the company suppliers, the suppliers’ suppliers. But transport is also needed in the downstream portion of production, which consist of processes for distributing and delivering products to the final customers. [8] Hence the resulting increase in the price level because of cost-push inflation. Also real output declines while price levels rise. This means a simultaneous increase in the levels of unemployment and inflation (stagflation). SOLUTIONS TO UNEMPLOYMENT South Africa's unemployment rate rose to 23. 5% in the first quarter of 2009 from 21. 9% in the previous three months, Statistics SA said on Tuesday. (Sapa, 5 May 2009) A total of 208  000 people living in SA lost their jobs between the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, according to the Pretoria-based agency's quarterly labour force survey. The survey shows that losses occurred both in the formal (88  000) and in the informal (96  000) sectors. (Sapa, 5 May 2009). There is thus a more than a fifth (1/5) of people unemployed. This represents a huge cost to government and to society as a whole. Firstly I would proposed a joint government, business and labour task team to clampdown on cheap imports into SA as part of a number of measures aimed at helping local companies retain jobs and stay afloat through the global economic slowdown. These measures would aim at the following: †¢ That business pledge to do everything in its power to avoid retrenchments; †¢ Retraining people who face retrenchment and therefore become re-employed soon; †¢ Creation of jobs through the Expanded Public Works Programme i. . promote labour intensity; †¢ Discuss ways of lowering the cost of capital. However a much promising strategy would be to raise the demand for domestically produced products by increasing the demand for exports. Therefore as previously mentioned we must assist export in the following ways: (i)Assist potential exporters to find international markets, and subsidize some of these costs. (ii)All ow or engineer a depreciation of local currency against other currencies, thereby making exports more competitive. iii) Implement import restrictions i. e. tariffs and quotas. We could also reduce unemployment by stimulating and promoting small businesses and the informal sector. I believe that small businesses create more employment than larger business ventures. C. ADDRESSING INCOME DISTRIBUTION AMONGST DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE POPULATION INTRODUCTION Knowledge about the nature of income distribution is necessary for social development and thus for the distribution of resources where it is needed in order to create a fair society and better life for all who live in it. Nationally for any particular country society will because as a consequence of a free market society be stratify into various dimensions. Thus the conclusion â€Å"knowing the nature of income distribution† amongst the different population sections. In order to accomplish this objective I will address the following aspects of income distribution amongst the different section of the population. (i) Measurement of income distribution, (ii) General causes of differences in income distribution, (iii) Specific causes in the SA context and (iv) How can it be addressed. MEASUREMENT OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION Generally the Lorenz curve is often used to represent income distribution, where it shows for example the bottom 20% of all households have 10% of the otal income. A perfect equal income distribution would be one in which every person have the same income for example 20% of households have 20% of total income. This can be depicted by a line of perfect equality. By contrast, a perfectly unequal distribution would be one in which one person has all the income and everyone else has none. If the horizontal-axis or the Lore nz curve is the x-axis and the vertical axis is the y-axis then in a perfectly unequal distribution this curve will be call the â€Å"line of perfect inequality†. The Gini coefficient is the area between the line-of perfect equality and the observed Lorenz curve, as a percentage of the area between the line of perfect equality and the line of perfect inequality. (This equals two times the area between the line of perfect equality and the observed Lorenz curve. ) The higher the coefficient, the more unequal the distribution is. [9] GENERAL CAUSES OF DIFFERENCES IN INCOME DISTRIBUTION From all the factors of production the cost of labour as part of the GDP is the most influential, simply because it involves human beings. And human beings are the most varied and complex factor in the factors of production. In a perfect labour market all workers have the same education and training, have the same skills and earn the same wages (income). But the labour markets are not homogeneous. In fact it is imperfect and even if all the other labour markets are in equilibrium (balance between supply and demand of labour) there will be always differences in what workers earn. DOMESTIC DEMAND FOR LABOUR The most important aspect of the demand for labour is that it is a derived demand. (Mohr & Fourie, 2008:282). Domestically demand for labour will depend on production on goods and services. This means if production increases the demand for labour will also increase. Demand for products will influence the profitability of that product industry and thus the income and spending of that particular section of the population. Most countries have basically the same product mixture, but demand for the different products can differ sharply and thus will produce inequality in income amongst different sections of the population. DOMESTIC SUPPLY FOR LABOUR An increase in the wage rate will induce more people to enter the labour market and supply their services. The market supply of labour will this have a positive slope, indicating that the quantity of labour supplied will increase as the wage rate will increase. But absorption into the labour market depends on the nature of the product market, which offer that employment. As indicated previously the product industries produce different products and therefore different demands, which will lead to different wages. The different products need different skills. Therefore the discriminating factor amongst the different products will be the different skills amongst workers and thus the difference in income amongst the various sectors. FOREIGN DEMAND AND SUPPLY FOR LABOUR The Stolper-Samuelson theorem predicts that international trade influences relative factor demands and thus factor prices. [10] The basic idea of this theorem is that trade affects prices of products which in turn affect factor prices by changing relative factor demands. Once again the demand for labour will depend on supply of products and thus supply of the appropriate labour, which in turn will influence the income for various groups of income. SKILL-BIASED TECHNOLOGICAL CAUSES The single most cause of change in the income distribution is technological change. (David G. Blanchflower and M. J. Slaughter: 78) A few recent papers provide direct evidence of this technological shift and link it to wage outcomes. Berman, Bound and Griliches present several case studies that document the technological changes that have occurred in industries experiencing large shifts towards more skilled workers. According to Laudon (1998:) â€Å"†¦ over half (55 percent) of the US labour force consists of information workers and 60 percent of the GDP of the US comes from the nowledge an information sector, such as finance and publishing†. It is argued in general by many authors that skill-biased technological change is a global phenomenon. That is to say by implication that income distribution, unemployment is a consequence of jobless growth caused by technological and capital investment. SPECIFIC CAUSES IN THE SA CONTEXT The South African context from a wage inequali ty perspective is a very complex subject. One is impulsively inclined to think racial discrimination when you think about inequality in any aspect in S. A. But Mohr & Fourie point out not to ascribed most or all differences in remuneration to discrimination. However many writers would provide statistical detail from STATS SA, October household surveys to prove that the inter-racial income distribution gap over the past three decades have narrowed. But this narrowed income gap can be misleading due to poor statistics and because of rising income of an elite group of black people. Meaning a large income for the upper income group will be a misleading average on income for a specific group. The trends for unemployment and income are still highest amongst black people. The following reasons for this inequality can be extrapolated from the following data. Table1. Labour absorption rates |Category |Absorption rates | |African men |35% | |White men |68% | |African women |22% | |White women |44% | Source: UNDP human Development Report, SA. 2000) Estimations from this data indicate that the trend is that the labour market does not easily absorb African men and African women. White women not absorbed into the labour market do not mean they are unemployed. This leaves many African men and women unemployed creating income inequality between whites and blacks. Table 2. Mean monthly income (Rand) Sector |Men |Women | |Formal Average (white workers)* |7514 |4774 | | | | | |African workers | | | |Formal (urban) |2204 |2068 | |Informal (urban) |1012 |845 | |Informal (non-urban) |705 |524 | |Domestic (urban) |903 |537 | |Domestic (non-urban) |347 |397 | |Agriculture (formal) |1011 |5 99 | |Agriculture (informal) |386 |306 | |Average (African workers)* | 938. 29 * |753. 1 * | | | | | (Source: Statistics South Africa, October Household Survey, 1999) (* Own interpretation) Once again this is an estimation and extrapolation to give an indication to show the averages of income amongst whites (men R7514 p/m woman R4774 p/m) and blacks (men R938. 29 p/m woman R753. 71p/m). Table 3. Annual per household income (constant Rand): 1991 and 1996 | |African |White | | |1991 |1996 |1991 1996 | |Poorest 50% |3 005 |2 383 |35 028 |29 549 | |41-60% |9 519 |9 120 |96 444 |83 506 | |61-80% |18 497 |19 183 |155 763 |134 821 | |81-90% |33 843 |37 093 |228 018 |207 243 | |Average |12 972. 8 |13 555. 8 |103 050. 6 |91 023. 8 | (Source: UNDP human Development Report, SA. 2000) There is a slight movement in income from 1991 (R12 972. 80) to 1996 (R13 555. 80) in the African household income. There is a decrease from 1991 (R103 050. 60) to 1996 (R91 023. 80) in the White household incom e. But look at the difference in income for Blacks average in 1996 (R13 555. 80) and Whites average in 1996 (R91 023. 80). A difference of R77 468. 00. Table 4. Gini coefficient, 1975 – 1996 (1 = total inequality / 0 = total equality) | |1975 |1991 |1996 | |African |0,47 |0,62 |0,66 | |White |0,36 |046 |0,55 | |Coloured |0,51 |0,52 |0,56 | |Asian |0,45 |0,49 |0,52 | |TOTAL |0,68 |0,68 |0,69 | (Source: UNDP human Development Report, SA. 2000) Table 5. Gini coefficient estimates of income and expenditure inequality |Disposable income |Gini coefficient | |Black African |0,63 | |Coloured |0,59 | |Indian/Asian |0,57 | |White |0,56 | (Source: IES 2005/2006) * I have combined the two Gini coefficient tables 4 & 5 in the table below Table 6 to show that the Gini coefficients from 1996 to 2006 i. e. 10 years later have not change yet. This is a clear indication as to inter-racial inequality distribution in income. |* Table 6. |Gini coefficient | | |1996 |2005/2006 | |African |0,66 |0,63 | |White |0,55 |0,56 | |Coloured |0,56 |0,59 | |Asian |0,52 |0,57 | HOW IT CAN BE ADDRESSED i) Education and training Education is a responsibility of the government in so far as the provision of infrastructure i. e. training of teachers, building of schools, providing a well-structured curriculum and learning materials. But attending to the regularly attendance of learners is the responsibility of the parents. As previously indicated a great shortcoming in the labour market is that of skills. School system adopted the OBE Curriculum to make the school system more relevant to the economic conditions domestically and more competitive to the global economy. But the implementation of OBE implies the teacher/learner ratio of at least 1:25 whereas in reality it is on average 1:40, making the school system ineffective. Democracy also created a liberal education system, which undermines the discipline, which also is necessary for successful education. Therefore government spending on the school system should improve in order to address this shortcoming in the education system so that the skills needed to curb unemployment are provided. ii) The Skills Development Act, 97 of 1998 aims to develop the skills of the labour force by increasing investment in education and training in the labour market and to address the skills shortages. iii) Government intervention AFFIRMATIVE ACTION The composition of the population is not uniform with respect to race relations and cultural issues. To allow these issues of race and culture to take its own course is a recipe for disaster therefore government intervention to engineer a system that addresses the economic inequalities. Because unemployment, poverty, poor education and low social status work into the hands of social issues such as racism and cultural incompatibilities. To alleviate poverty, unemployment, poor education, a new system of affirmative action must be implemented in order to get a more equitable distribution of positions in the labour market i. e. targets to create gender equality, racial equality and cultural equality by means of affirmative action. BASIC CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT This act, The Basic Condition of Employment Act, 75 of 1997 is to advance economic development and social justice by establishing and enforcing basic conditions of employment. D. ADDRESSING THE BALANCE OF PAYMENT DEFICIT INTRODUCTION An imbalance in a nation's balance of payments in which payments made by the country exceed payments received by the country. This is also termed an unfavorable balance of payments. It's considered unfavorable because more currency is flowing out of the country than is flowing in. Such an unequal flow of currency will reduce the supply of money in the nation and subsequently cause an increase in the exchange rate relative to the currencies of other nations. This then has implications for inflation, unemployment, production, and other facets of the domestic economy. A balance of trade deficit is often the source of a balance of payments deficit, but other payments can turn a balance of trade deficit into a balance of payments surplus. The two main components of the balance of payments are the current account and the financial account. Therefore the two basic deficits that can occur in the balance of payment are a deficit on the current account and a deficit on the financial account. When there is a deficit on the current account then imports exceeds exports and when there is a net capital inflow that exceeds net capital outflow then there is a deficit on the financial account. The question however is how will the deficits be financed. DEFICIT ON THE CURRENT ACCOUNT OF THE BALANCE OF PAYMENT Action to reduce a substantial current account deficit involves increasing exports or decreasing imports. This can be accomplished i. e. to promote exports in the following ways. (i)Keep domestic cost of production in check e. g. the demand for higher wages must be controlled. The relationship of the governments with labour unions must be of good standing so that policy can be worked out by government and unions for agreements to keep wage demands and inflation in check. (ii) Assist potential exporters to find international markets, and subsidize some of these costs. iii) Allow or engineer a depreciation of local currency against other currencies, thereby making exports more competitive. (iv)Implement import restrictions i. e. tariffs and quotas. Adjusting government spending to favour domestic suppliers is also effective. Less obvious but more effective methods to redu ce a current account deficit include measures that increase domestic savings, including a reduction in borrowing by the international government. When the country experiences a financial account surplus it can use such surplus to finance the deficit on the current account. This means there is a net inflow of foreign capital. DEFICIT ON THE FINANCIAL ACCOUNT OF THE BALANCE OF PAYMENT An imbalance in a nation's balance of payments financial account in which payments made by the domestic country for purchasing foreign assets exceed payments received by the country for selling domestic assets. In other words, investment by the domestic economy in foreign assets is less than foreign investment in domestic assets. This is generally not a desirable situation for a domestic economy. However, in the turbulent world of international economics, a financial account deficit is often balanced by a current account surplus, which is generally considered a desirable situation. If, however, the current account does not balance out the financial account, then a financial account deficit contributes to a balance of payments deficit. ACTIONS TO REDUCE A SUBSTANTIAL FINANCIAL ACCOUNT DEFICIT INVOLVES INCREASING FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT The following actions have already been taken: a) Proctor & Gamble invest R200 million in new SA plant. With annual revenue of more than US$ 83 billion, Proctor & Gamble is considered the world's largest consumer goods manufacturing company. The investment in South Africa is considered to be a huge psychological victory for SA, says Business Day, in light of the current economic crisis. (Business Day 11 March 2009) (b)New trade infrastructure programme to boost business in Africa International financiers and developed nations have committed $1. billion to a new trade development programme that will open up business opportunities in eight African countries, including South Africa. (Business day 7 April 2009) (c)Mergers and acquisitions (M) in 2009 South Africa is expected to fare better than most countries when it comes to mergers and acquisitions (M) in 2009 with the region being w ell shielded from the turbulent global economy, according to merger market's South African M&A Round-up for 2008. (Business Day 20 January 2009) (d)2010 Soccer World Cup South Africa is holding the 2010 Soccer World Cup, which is a tremendous boost for foreign direct investment and employment and also for future ventures. In this manner we must promote foreign direct investment in South Africa to create a surplus on the financial account of the balance of payment. E. SURVIVING THE CURRENT WORLD ECONOMIC CRUNCH / TURMOIL INTRODUCTION GLOBAL RECESSION The Global economy is currently in a recession, as we are made aware by many economists right over the world. There are declines in growth rates in many countries in both developed and developing countries. Most notably the United States CAUSES OF GLOBAL RECESSION â€Å"In 2008–2009 much of the industrialized world entered into a deep recession sparked by a financial crisis that had its origins in: i) Reckless lending practices involving the origination and distribution of mortgage debt[2] in the United States. 3][4] ii) Sub-prime loans losses in 2007 exposed other risky loans and over-inflated asset prices. With the losses mounting, a panic developed in inter-bank lending. iii) The precarious financial situation was made more difficult by a sharp increase in oil and food prices. iv) The exorbitant rise in asset prices and associated boom in economic demand is considered a result of the extended period of easily available credit, inadequate regulation and oversight,[6] or increasing inequality. v) As share and housing prices declined many large and well established investment and commercial banks in the United States and Europe suffered huge losses and even faced bankruptcy, resulting in massive public financial assistance. i) A global recession has resulted in a sharp drop in international trade, rising unemployment and slumping commodity prices. Social unrest and political changes have appeared in the wake of the crisis. †[11] HOW FAR HAS SA WEATHERED THE RECESSION Prudent regulation of the financial sector may have partially shielded the South African economy from the vagaries of the global financial turbulence until now. At the same time, it is the combination of fiscal austerity and prudent regulation, among the ha llmarks of GEAR, which have so far helped cushion the country’s economy from the global economic turmoil. The financial services sector, despite its integration in the global economy, has so far remained resilient. The same applies to the agriculture and construction sectors, which continue to witness growth. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO WEATHER THE RECESSION MONETARY POLICY A likely immediate outcome of the current crisis is a cut or a series of cuts in interest rates by the South African Reserve Bank, which has raised them by five percentage points since July 2006. As household debt balloons locally, economists forecast further rate cuts up to 300 basis points. The hope is that rate cuts will spur consumer spending again and thereby increase aggregate demand and aggregate production. Thus increasing employment and decreasing unemployment. But interest rate cuts alone will not be adequate to revitalize the economy. According to Neva Makgetla, the lead economist for research and information at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, job losses are a certainty in South Africa, but the scale will depend on the nature of the global recession. FISCAL POLICY An appropriate government intervention would be to focus more systematically on creating employment opportunities on a larger scale. That requires measures to strengthen the efficiency of the economy overall, especially through enhanced infrastructure. It also requires more consistent institutional support and resourcing for employment-creating activities such as agriculture, manufacturing, personal and private services and construction. INFLATION Keep domestic cost of production in check e. g. the demand for higher wages must be controlled. The relationship of the governments with labour unions must be of good standing so that policy can be worked out by government and unions for agreements to keep wage demands and inflation in check. EXPORTS/IMPORTS (i)Assist potential exporters to find international markets, and subsidize some of these costs. (ii)Allow or engineer a depreciation of local currency against other currencies, thereby making exports more competitive. (iii)Implement import restrictions i. e. tariffs and quotas. South Africa should streamline immigration and taxation policies to create a more attractive environment for foreign investors as an intervention in the current crisis. This would lay the groundwork for future growth. While the taxation issue is debatable, some analysts believe that the current taxation regime is actually pro-business; the immigration system is generally seen as cumbersome and makes it difficult for skilled foreign nationals to settle in South Africa legally. However, over the past five years, the Department of Home Affairs has been addressing this issue partly by issuing quota permits to categories of skilled foreign nationals even before they got employed. CONCLUSION The economic forecast for South Africa is that the global recession may not have such a big impact on our domestic economic affairs and that we should survive the current economic turmoil provided that we keep inflation in check, foreign direct investment be promoted and stimulate exports. On the political front we hope that the transition from Mbeki government to a Zuma leadership will have a positive impact on the economy as a whole. Greater political discussion pursuing an economic perspective might stem political instability as far as wage negotiations is concerned. The stabilization of the cost of labour on the GDP will be a tremendous boost to the economy. It is my hope that the spirit of new leadership will create a new dimension in the development and stimulation of the economy of this country South Africa. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Bade Robin and Parkin Micheal (2008) Foundation of Economics 4th Edition. New York: Addison Wesley 2. Blanchflower David G. & Mathew J. Slaughter (1973) The Causes and consequences of income equality: L. Katz, G. Loveman and Paul R. Krugman 3. Brue Stanley L. and McConnell Campbell R. (2002) Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies 15th Edition. US: Irwin McGraw-Hill. 4. Fourie Louis, Mohr Philip and associates (2008) Economics for South African students 4th Edition. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers. 5. Laudon Kenneth C. and Laudon Jane P. (2007) Management Information Systems: Managing The Digital Firm 10th Edition: Upper Saddle River, NJ. : Pearson Prentice Hall. 6. Newstrom John W. and Pierce Jon L. (2000) Leaders and the Leadership Process 2nd Edition. US: Irwin McGraw-Hill. 7. Market House Books Editors & Oxford University Press Editors (1998) The Oxford Dictionary for International Business 2nd Edition: New York: Oxford University Press Articles / Internet Sites 1. Au Tom. The Daily Reckoning: What is inflation: Five Types of Inflation defined, 15 June 2007, http://www. dailyreckoning. com. au/what-is-inflation/? /2007/06/15/, Read on 15/05/09 2. Moffatt Mike: What is Inflation – Your Inflation Questions Answered, http://economics. about. com/od/helpforeconomicsstudents/f/inflation. htm, Read on 15/05/09 3. Newser: In the News. co. za: Petrol Price to go up by 50 cents, 3 June 2008, http://www. inthenews. co. a/2008/06/03/petrol-price-to-go-up-by-50-cents/, Read on 14/05/09 4. Proctor & Gamble invest R200 million in new SA plant; 11 March 2009 New trade infrastructure programme to boost business in Africa; 7 April 2009 Mergers and acquisitions (M & A) in 2009; 20 January 2009 http://www. sagoodnews. co. za/trade_investment/proctor_gamble_invest_r20 0_mln_in_new_sa_plant. html , Read on 15/05/09 5. Puryear Eugene: One million South African workers strike, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 http://www. pslweb. org/site/News2? page=NewsArticle&id=6917&news_iv_ctrl=1781, Read on 13/05/09 6. SAPA: SA Unemployment Rises, 5 May 2009, http://www. fin24. om/articles/default/display_article. aspx? ArticleId=1518-25_2511351 7. Slaughter Barbara: South Africa: COSATU calls off public service strike, 14 July 2007, http://www. wsws. org/articles/2007/jul2007/safr-j14. shtml, Read on 13/05/09 8. Stats SA: Quarterly Labour For Survey, Quarter 1, 2009 9. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Income Dsitribution, http:/en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Income_Dsitribution: Read on 16/05/09 10. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Late 2000 Recession, http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Economic_crisis_of_2008#cite_note-1 , Read on 15/05/09 ———————– [1] http://economics. about. com/od/helpforeconomicsstudents/f/inflation. tm [2] Micheal Parkin, Robin Bade,4th Edition Foundation of Economics 2008 New York Addison Wesley [3] http://www. dailyreckoning. com. au/what-is-inflation/? /2007/06/15/ [4] http://www. inthenews. co. za/2008/06/03/petrol-price-to-go-up-by-50-cents/ [5] http://www. wsws. org/articles/2007/jul2007/safr-j14. shtml [6] http://www. pslweb. org/site/News2? page=NewsArticle&id=6917&news_iv_ctrl=1781 [7] Stats SA: Quarterly Labour For Survey, Quarter 1, 2009 [8] Laudon Kenneth C and Laudon Jane P. , 2007, [9] http:/en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Income_Dsitribution: 16/05/09 [10] David G. Blanchflower & Mathew J. Slaughter, The Causes and consequences of income equality [11] http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Economic_crisis_of_2008#cite_note-1

Information Theory Essay

Information theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Information theory was developed by Claude E. Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and communicating data. Since its inception it has broadened to find applications in many other areas, including statistical inference, natural language processing, cryptography generally, networks other than communication networks — as in neurobiology, the evolution and function of molecular codes, model selection in ecology, thermal physics, quantum computing, plagiarism detection and other forms of data analysis. A key measure of information is known as entropy, which is usually expressed by the average number of bits needed to store or communicate one symbol in a message. Entropy quantifies the uncertainty involved in predicting the value of a random variable. For example, specifying the outcome of a fair coin flip (two equally likely outcomes) provides less information (lower entropy) than specifying the outcome from a roll of a die (six equally likely outcomes). Hearst Tower (New York City) The six-story base of the headquarters building was commissioned by the founder, William Randolph Hearst and awarded to the architect Joseph Urban. The building was completed in 1928 at a cost of $2 million and contained 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2). The original cast stone facade has been preserved in the new design as a designated Landmark site. Originally built as the base for a proposed skyscraper, the construction of the tower was postponed due to the Great Depression. The new tower addition was completed nearly seventy years later, and 10,000 Hearst employees moved in on 26 June 2006. The tower – designed by the architect Norman Foster, structurally engineered by WSP Cantor Seinuk, and constructed by Turner construction – is 46 stories tall, standing 182 meters (597 ft) with 80,000 square metres (860,000 sq ft) of office space. The uncommon triangular framing pattern (also known as a diagrid) required 9,500 metric tons (10,480 tons) of structural steel – reportedly about 20% less than a conventional steel frame. Hearst Tower was the first skyscraper to break ground in New York City after September 11, 2001. The building received the 2006 Emporis Skyscraper Award. Citing it as the best skyscraper in the world completed that year. treehugger. com Processes In philosophy and systems theory, basic processes, or logical homologies as they were termed by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, are unifying principles which operate in many different systemic contexts. For example, feedback is a principle that figures prominently in the science of cybernetics. Natural and industrial processes utilize basic processes such as feedback. Turning torso HSB Turning Torso is the tallest skyscraper in Sweden and the Nordic countries, situated in Malmo, Sweden, located on the Swedish side of the Oresund strait. Upon completion, it was the tallest building in Scandinavia, the tallest residential building in the EU and the second tallest residential building in Europe, after the 264? etre (866 ft) Triumph Palace in Moscow. A similar, taller skyscraper featuring a 90Â ° twist is the Infinity Tower, currently under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Prior to the construction of Turning Torso, the 86? metre (282 ft) Kronprinsen had been the city’s tallest building. It was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and officially opened on 27 August 2005. The tower reaches a height of 190 metres (623 feet) with 54 stories. The vision of HSB Turning Torso is based on a sculpture called Twisting Torso. The sculpture is a white marble piece based on the form of a twisting human being, created by Santiago Calatrava, a trained sculptor, architect and engineer. In 1999, HSB Malmo’s former Managing Director, Johnny Orback, saw the sculpture in a brochure which presented Calatrava in connection with his contribution to the architectural competition for the Oresund Bridge. It was on this occasion that Johnny Orback got the idea to build HSB Turning Torso. Shortly thereafter he traveled to Zurich to meet with Calatrava and ask him to design a residential building based on the idea of a structure of twisting cubes. The turning torso officially started to be built on Feb. 14, 2001. en. wikipedia. org Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research. The term does not yet have a well-established, precise meaning, but systems theory can reasonably be considered a specialization of systems thinking, a generalization of systems science, a systems approach. The term originates from Bertalanfy General System Theory (GST) and is used in later efforts in other fields, such as the action theory of Talcott Parsons and the system-theory of Niklas Luhmann. Arkit Eco studio Australian architecture studio Arkit will construct a full scale eco studio prefabricated house as part of Melbourne’s annual state of design festival. the home measures 50m square and will host different events during the festival. To begin, two people will be living in the eco studio full time, working from it in the day and sleeping there a night. Inside, the home has a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living space and an adaptable services hub. On top a green roof provides insulation and greenery. Arkit constructs a variety of sustainable prefabricated homes using their modular system. All their structures feature multi compartmental wall panels that provide insulation and rigidity. Sustainably harvested western red cedar and hoop pine are used inside and out, while water-saving technologies help further reduce the home’s environmental impact. It took 6 years of internal r&d prototyping and 1 year of environmental analysis by ghd to create the eco studio.