The Risks That UK Coal, an FTSE Listed Company, Can Potentially Face Case Study

The Risks That UK Coal, an FTSE Listed Company, Can Potentially Face In Undertaking Cross-Border Merger and Acquisition (M&A) Activity - Case Study Example The researcher states that cross-border mergers and acquisitions are complex undertakings packaged with risks and rewards. When two organizations with different internal controls, management styles, corporate cultures and processes attempt to integrate, the business risk increases substantially. Before embarking on M&A journey, it is imperative that all risk factors are considered prior to injecting capital in the host country. UK Coal needs to conduct due diligence so as to ensure that M&A activity fits its long-term strategic objectives. Due diligence identifies, confirms or disputes the business reasons for proposed merger or acquisition transactions. Due diligence demands a thorough data analysis of assets and liabilities, particularly large balance sheet items such as accounts receivable, inventory, and accounts payable to establish fair market value. It is imperative that a fair value for the business is accurately established so that a reasonable price is paid for the target a ssets. A careful analysis of the target company's financial statements avoids incidents of overpaying and mismanaging shareholders' expectations. Differences in corporate culture, business practices, and institutional layouts can hinder firms from fully realizing their potential. According to a KPMG study, 83 percent of all M&As failed to economically benefit the shareholders and over 50 percent actually destroyed value. A research was conducted involving over 100 senior managers to determine the reason behind this failure which turned out to be the cultural differences. In pursuing a cross-border M&A, it is vital for an organization to assess the political situation prevailing in the target country. This assessment will not only uncover any potential political risks but also prepare the host company to face them and find appropriate solutions for them. Another potential barrier to a successful M&A activity is lack of knowledge about the target company. Knowledge about the company l eads to a successful post-merger integration. Â  Another factor that should be taken into account is the effects of trade impediments on cross-border M&A. Academic studies have found that on an aggregate basis, trade costs affect merger activity negatively, though the effect is less pronounced for horizontal mergers, i.e. mergers between firms within the same industry. UK Coal needs to ensure that its target company is one which will lead not only to economical but also intercultural synergies between the two companies. To identify an appropriate acquisition target, aforementioned due diligence should be adequately employed. Moreover, UK Coal needs cognizance in matters relating to exchange rates, local accounting standards, foreign government potential trade regulations, etc. UK Coal should have information regarding its local competitors in the host country and their respective market positions. This will lead to reasonable projections and estimates for the business. Expectations of UK Coal from this activity should be realistic and in parity with the overall strategy formulated at the design stage. Regulatory aspects also need attention to avoid any legal risks. Competent professionals (lawyers, accountants) must be hired to provide financial and legal opinions regarding the merger or acquisition transaction.

Dramatic irony Essay Example for Free

Dramatic irony Essay (Act 3, scene 3, line 135): I think thou dost; and for I thou rt full of love and honesty †¢This is ironic because Othello thinks Iago is a honest man when in reality Iago is scheming against him Foreshadowing Act 3, scene 3, line 100- 103): Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul †¢This line foreshadows bad events that will happen if Othello falls out of love with Desdemona. Symbol:  Handkerchief:symbolizes Desdemona and Othellos bond and marriage and once it is lost we see that their marriage is coming apart. Paradox  (Act 3, scene 3, line 202): Poor and content is rich, and rich enough †¢In this quote Iago is comforting Othello with a paradox after Iago arouses Othellos suspisious of Desdemona being unfaithful. Hubris  (Act 3, scene 3, line 314): tis the plague of great ones †¢In this line Othello is being very hubris because he is basically say that great people have to suffer more than average people. He is showing his big ego and is using it to convince himself why Desdemona would be unfaithful to him (Act 3, scene 3, line 406): Pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war! †¢In this quote Othello is talking about his position as a general, and how since Desdemona cheated on him that everything he had is now gone. Metaphors  (Act 3, scene 3, line 441- 445): Her name, that was as fresh as dians visage, is now begrimed and black †¢This line is a metaphor because Othello basically saying the Desdemonas repuation was as white as snow. (Act 3, scene 3, line 514-517): Never, Iago.Like to the Pontic Sea, Whose icy current. †¢This line is a metaphor because Othello is saying that is rage or violent thoughts are flowing like a river. Allusions: (Act 3, scene 3, line 442): As Dians visage †¢Othello is making reference to the goddess of chasity

Macbeth :: essays research papers

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, supernatural powers are used by the three witches. These powers are called familiars. A familiar is a spirit often embodied in an animal and is there to serve and guard a person. Each of the witches possesses a familiar except for the third witch. Her familiar is never laid on the table for us to see. In my paper I will show how the owl is the familiar of the third witch.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First you must understand what a familiar is. In Websters dictionary the word familiar is defined as a closely acquainted; an intimate associate or companion, a spirit embodied in an animal and held to attend and serve or guard a person. The clichà © of a familiar is associated to witches and demonic characters. But, this is a very untrue statement. A pet can also be a familiar to a regular person. There are four types of familiars. The first is a physical creature who lives with and has an emotional bond with a human. The second type of familiar is a creature which attaches itself to a human for the purpose of aiding him or her. The third type of familiar is an element spirit. Some witches call upon a spirit to overcome an obstacle. The fourth type of familiar is the sprit of someone who has died. They come back for some reason or purpose usually to set straight an event. These are all different types of familiars, but the one of my focal point would be attachment. In Macbeth, the owl aides the witch and also offers protection and acts as an overseer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The owl is a familiar which is associated with both good and evil. In ancient Greece, the mythological Athena, the goddess of wisdom, held the owl as her bird. The owl served a s a protector to her and accompanied armies to war. The owl was also an inspiration in everyday life for the common man. Some village healers also used familiars to help diagnose illness and to find lost objects and treasures. But, most commonly, the owl is said to be the root of all evil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Roman mythology, a superstition was that witches transformed into owls and sucked the blood from innocent children. Another superstition which surfaced during the middle ages in Europe, was about an owls appearance at night. It is said that when people are helpless and blind, the owl is linked to the unknown, and if an owl called at night, the air would be filled with apprehension: a death was imminent with some evil

Chaucers View of Women Exposed in The Canterbury Tales Essay -- Geoff

Often, the most memorable female characters are those who break out of the stereotypical â€Å"good wife† mold. When an author uses this technique effectively, the woman often carries the story. In Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, he portrays the Wife of Bath, Alison, as a woman who bucks the tradition of her times with her brashness and desire for control. Chaucer effectively presents a woman's point of view and evokes some sympathy for her. In the author's time, much of the literature was devoted to validating the frailties of women. However, in this story, the Wife is a woman who has outlived four of five husbands for â€Å"of five housbodes scoleying† (P50) is she. She holds not her tongue, and says exactly what she thinks, even if she contradicts others, even Jesus. For in the Bible it states that Jesus â€Å"Spak in repreve of the Samaritan:/‘Thou hast yhad five housbondes,' quod he,/‘And that ilke man that now hath thee/Is nat thyn housbonde'† (P16). Despite this quote from the holy writ, the Wife states that ther are no other arguments â€Å"Eek wel I woot he [Jesus] saide that myn housbonde/Sholde lete fader and moder and take me,/But of no nombre mencion made he [Jesus]--/Of bigamye or of octagamye† (P30). She maintains her position and dismisses the one contention in the Bible by stating in relation to the above quote â€Å"Wat that he mente therby [she] can nat sayn,/But that I axe why the fifthe man/Was noon housbonde to the Samaritan?/How manye mighte she han in mar...

Feelings towards Essay

All throughout this scene there are various indications about the rising tension caused by Eddie’s feelings towards his niece – Catherine. It begins when Eddie confronts Rodolfo about taking advantage of Beatrice and not treating Eddie with respect. ‘I know, but in your own town you wouldn’t just drag off some girl, without permission’. Here he is highlighting the lack of respect he feels that Rodolfo treats him with. He is referring to Beatrice as ‘some girl’, which shows that in Eddie’s eyes Rodolfo does not see Beatrice as anything special or important. Beatrice (Eddies wife) suspects that Eddie’s feelings towards Catherine are un-natural and contributes throughout this scene to the rise in tension. ‘Well he didn’t exactly drag her off though, Eddie’. This would annoy Eddie, as he is not receiving any support, she is also saying that Catherine is independent and chose to go with Rodolfo which would raise tension further. When Eddie tells Rodolfo that he is simply her uncle, Beatrice pounces on this and retorts â€Å"Well then, be an uncle then†. The others would take this at face value, however Beatrice is referring to Eddie’s un-natural affection for Catherine, which will shock Eddie. Marco then issues a challenge to Eddie, asking him to say what Rodolfo has done wrong. Eddie says that Catherine was never out on the street till twelve o’clock at night before Rodolfo came. Marco instantly tells Rodolfo that he must come home early now. By saying this Marco has eliminated the supposed problem, which leaves Eddie with no problem in which he can camouflage his jealousy. Now that Eddie has no more problems but has a dented ego. He begins to create new problems, however he disguises them so that these problems are perceived as concern for Rodolfo; ‘I mean suppose he gets hit by a car, where’s his papers, who is he, you know what I mean? ‘ Beatrice states that the same risk is generated during the day when he is at work. Here we see that Eddie is ‘holding back a voice full of anger’ almost like a car revving up. This simple action is showing the rise in tension as a result of Eddie’s problem. Eddie now retreats to his rocking chair, showing that he is fighting a losing battle. As Eddie is reading his paper, awkwardness is felt in the room. Catherine reacts by putting the record ‘Paper Doll’ on; the title in itself indicates the song content. Then Catherine is overcome with rebellion/revolt and asks Rodolfo to dance, causing Eddie to freeze and feel uncomfortable. Rodolfo realises this and refuses to dance however Beatrice and Catherine soon persuade him. As Eddie burns a hole through Rodolfo’s back he asks, â€Å"What’s this, a new record? † Eddie has heard this song many times before, however he is no hearing it through new ears, new jealous ears. When Marco reveals that Rodolfo is a very good cook, Eddie finds this amusing and mockingly says, â€Å"It’s wonderful. He sings, he cooks, he could make dresses. † Thus making another dig at Rodolfo, implying that he has homosexual tendencies. Rodolfo mistakenly takes this as a compliment and smiles thankfully. This is another opportunity for Eddie to put Rodolfo down and he says that he should not be working on the boats but instead working in a dress shop. Yet again he phrases it so that it may be perceived as a compliment. During this speech he unconsciously twists his newspaper into a tight roll, which gives an insight into his somewhat angered/resentful thoughts and also symbolises the rise in tension.

Writing Business Letters

Writing Business Letters Writing business letters is an art that very few people take the time to master today. For those who dedicate time towards learning the proper format and style of writing business letters, they’ll find that they’ve gained a very distinct advantage over those who haven’t. A business letter is often the first impression, so take the opportunity to do it right. Spend time fixing the wording and print the letter on high-quality paper. Master the techniques and points of writing business letters and you’ll never have to wonder how you came across in your initial contact with the individual. Before you begin writing business letters, try to research and find out as much as possible about the audience that you are writing to. Business letters can range from an extremely formal style of writing to a more casual mode. Knowing which to use will go a long way in gaining the interest of the recipient of the letter. No matter which style of writing you decide to use when writing business letters, there are certain rules that need to be followed. When writing business letters, you should always use your computer. They should never be written by hand. Begin by choosing the format in writing business letters. The most commonly used format is the block format. This requires left justifying the whole letter using single spacing with a double space between paragraphs. Next choose the font. In writing business letters, one may not think the font is all that important but it can make a big difference. Again, the type of company you are directing your business letter to will play a role in the font you choose. Traditional companies lean towards the more conservative font styles while others may allow for more creativity. Either way, your letter should always be easy to read. Some fonts are very creative looking and make for an interesting looking page but are difficult to read. If it’s too difficult then your letter may not get read. Keep in mind that you are writing business letters for the audience not for yourself. Read what you have selected and ask yourself if you’d have any trouble reading this. In writing business letters, remember that it’s a much more formal looking document than personal letters. The margin should be at least an inch on all four sides. Begin with the heading, which contains the return address then a date line with a space between the two. Skip another line after the date and write out the inside address. If you’re writing a business letter then most likely this is an important document that you truly need to have delivered correctly. The inclusion of an inside address on a business letter ensures the delivery to the correct person or department should the address on the outside of the envelope become damaged in some way. Skip another line after the inside address and type in the salutation. The greeting, when writing business letters, is always formal. It typically begins with â€Å"Dear† and includes the person’s full name and title. Skip another line after the salutation and you’re ready to begin writing the body of t he letter. The most important part of writing business letters is the body of the letter. Excellent grammar and spelling is a must to make a good impression on the reader. The information you are conveying here must be concise and to the point. The whole purpose of writing business letters is to get a point across or to request something. In doing these things, you need to have a good handle on proper grammar and English choices to make your statement as quickly and succinctly as possible. This is not the time to use flowery creative words and draw out your sentences. Do not attempt to show off your vocabulary skills. Be professional but yet clear on the subject. Again skip another line before your closing. Use a short but polite closing in writing business letters and skip two lines before typing in your full name. This allows a space for your handwritten signature. Follow these tips when writing business letters and you’ll find that this will set you apart from most people who haven’t taken the time to really study how writing business letters should be. Incoming search terms: what types of fonts and paragraph spacing would you use in a business letter What types of fonts and paragraph spacing would you use in a business letter? proper font for business letter business letter font What types of fonts would you use in a business letter formal letter font proper business letter spacing format What types of fonts and paragraph spcing would you sue in a business letter what type of font and spacing is used in business letter what font should i use for a business letter

History of the Production Processes

History of the Production Processes In the entire history of human life, man has been engaged in a lot of activities to produce the goods and services that are necessary to sustain his life. During the Stone Age period, man used simple tools made from rock to hunt and prepare food.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on History of the Production Processes specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More With time, his brain capacity increased and so did his needs and desires. To meet his ever-increasing needs, man had to boost his production process and improve on efficiency. This ensured that the goods that have been produced are of the right quality and quantity in order to meet the requirements of the consumers. Since the invention steam engine, a lot of advancement has been seen in the automobile industry, especially in car manufacturing. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, there were only few expertised individuals in the car manufacturing industry. However , with time, more individuals became familiar with the process and hence more cars were produced. To sustain the increased demand and competition, manufacturers had to build better cars with the latest designs, increased safety and high performance. As result, companies such as General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Mercedes Benz came up. Up to the present date, it is the dream of many individuals to own a motor vehicle. However, the production and use of motor vehicles has various effects on the environment. Some of these effects include the emission of greenhouse gasses and noise pollution (Ekins, 2000). The furniture and fitting industry is also another production avenue that has developed steadily over time. Furniture has developed from being basic home requirement to a product of prestige. As a result, the design, quality and quantity of furniture has become more sophisticated. In addition, the demand of furniture has also increased. From our basic knowledge, we know that the most co mmon material required to produce furniture is wood. Thus, to meet the increased demand for the product, more trees have to be cut down. This has led to the depletion of forests. The overall outcome of this process is the change in weather patterns that we are currently experiencing (Ekins, 2000).Advertising Looking for essay on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Consumption Behaviours The consumption behaviours of the goods and services that have been produced have also been changing with time. Some of these consumption behaviours have a significant effect on the environment. The use of bottled water for instance has led to the development of massive waste disposal problems. During its early days, bottled water was believed to be much safer as compared to tap water. This led to the increase in the consumption of bottled water by the world population. However, it was soon discovered that the conce pt of bottled water was just a marketing strategy and that there was little difference in terms of quality between bottled water and tap water. However, due to consumer preferences, a high proportion of the population still consumes the product. This has led to the development of a massive solid waste disposal problem due to the inefficiency of recycling the plastic cans that are used to pack the commodity. The domestic use of energy is also another issue of concern that plays a vital role on the sustainability of the environment. There are high rates of inefficient of energy such as electricity and coal. Leaving lights on when nobody is in the room or running the air conditioning system on good weather are some of unnecessary use of energy. This leads to unnecessary consumption of energy. Global Sustenance To meet the ever-increasing demand of goods and services of the global population and to ensure environmental sustainability, wise use of resources is necessary. This entails usi ng resources in a manner that will meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations. This can only be achieved through effective and efficient use of resources to avoid waste, minimizing of costs and meeting consumer needs. Reference Ekins, P. (2000). Economic growth and environmental sustainability: the prospects for  green growth. London, Routledge

Iroj Shrestha Essays (645 words) - Cookies, HTTP Cookie, Free Essays

Iroj Shrestha Essays (645 words) - Cookies, HTTP Cookie, Free Essays Iroj Shrestha Miss Vines EN 100-19 28 February 2016 Centenary Methodist Church There was a noisy environment inside the lobby of Centenary Methodist Church, mostly people other than the local people were all gathered inside that church. There was a long wooden hanger for visitors to hang on their long thick winter coats at the left corner of the lobby, a small table at the right corner for different varieties of homemade cookies and small teddies and toys for the kids. Some people with gray hair and wrinkles on their faces were helping each other to bring the pizza boxes inside the lobby's kitchen area. Everyone was greeting, hugging and talking to each other. Most of the people were Asian, mostly Chinese. The people of the church were organizing a cookie competition in which the best decorative cookie would get the first place and win some gifts. They would be provided with a small heart shaped baked cookie which had to be decorated with different edible colors and icings. Small children who could not participate in that competition were trying to solv e the tower of Hanoi. A rectangular shaped thin plastic material resembling some kind of dice were scattered all over one of the table. Some men in were playing with the dice and making some noise. The senior members of the church and some other old age group of people were hosting this party. They organize these kinds of events on the weekend to bring people closer. There was a long wooden table were many boxes of domino's large size pizzas. They were many varieties of pizzas like chicken, turkey, cheese, pepperoni and so on. I could see a greater number of people around that table. They had some slices of pizza on their plate in one hand and on the other hand was a half eaten slice. They were talking, smiling, laughing and mostly enjoying their get together. There were small babies dressed cutely and beautifully sitting on their mother's lap. Small kids were running and jumping around, lost in their own childhood happy day moment. There were young boys and girls who were talking with each other as well as checking their cell phone time and again. They seemed like college students and were talking about their colleges and studies too. It was time for the competition and people started decorating their cookies. I also took part in it. People had decorated their cookies beautifully with many bright colors. I won the second place and was gifted a small cute brown teddy bear. After that people started serving and eating dinner. After the people were done with the dinner, they all gathered together and started to take out some notes and books from their handbags. I was wondering why these people are taking out their books and stuff. Then after some time, the father of the church came to the front and started talking about Jesus. He thanked the Lord for the day and how he has blessed us with everything with his head bowed down and eyes closed. Everyone in the church followed him including me. Then they sang some songs in the name of Jesus with their hands held high. Since I hadn't visited church before I was unknown of what was happening there. Then I tried to get into the situation by learning from other peopl e. The father read some verses and paragraphs from the bible and started their gospel. All the people were reading the bible and sharing the gospel, only a few international people who follow a different religion, like me, were just hearing it. I could see a lot of people with different ages and backgrounds coming in this place and sharing their moments. The people of the church were really friendly and helpful.

Business Negotiation Skills Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Negotiation Skills - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that the opposition to the project had begun with the filing of suit against Enron in the Indian High Court. Opposition political powers at the state made this a huge issue in the approaching Maharashtra assembly elections and with the change of government; the contract was annulled by the MSEB causing daily loss of US$250,000 to Enron and its partners. The contract was further renegotiated at the behest of Enron with the new state government. After agreeing to new terms and conditions stipulated by the MSEB, and the 1st phase was completed and second phase of producing electricity started but the MSEB failed in paying back the agreed tariff rate. By the same time, Enron also filed for bankruptcy. As the report declares Enron signed a contract with the Maharashtra Sate Electricity Board (MSEB) by putting its and its partner companies’ stakes in Dabhol Power Project. The negotiations for the project began primarily with the two stakeholders from the Indian government, one was the Indian state of Maharashtra and the other was MSEB. The project proposal of making a 2015 megawatt power plant with the proposed investment of US$3 billion was cleared initially. On its side, Enron was not the sole company; it had made and entered into joint initiative with the investment of 10% each by General Electric and Bechtel. It required Liquefied Natural Gas to power the plant, which it arranged from another of its joint venture in Qatar, 1200 miles away from the plant location in Dabhol.

Critically evaluate the effects of resistance training and Essay

Critically evaluate the effects of resistance training and cardiovascular training on osteoporosis - Essay Example Engelke, K., Kemmler, W., Lauber, D., Beeskow, C., Pintag, R., & Kalendar, W. A. (2006). Exercise maintains bone density at spine and hip EFOPS: a 3-year longitudinal study in early postmenopausal women. Osteoporosis international, 17 (1), 133-142. (Primary Source – From MedLine/MedScape Database) Iwamoto, J., Takeda, T., & Ichimura, S. (2001). Effect of exercise training and detraining on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Journal of orthopaedic science, 6 (2), 128-132. (Primary Source – From MedLine/MedScape Database) Layne, J. E., & Nelson, M. E. (1999). The effects of progressive resistance training on bone density: a review. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 31 (1), 25-30. (Secondary Source - From MedLine/MedScape Database). Lin, J. T., & Lane, J. M. (2008). Nonpharmacologic Management of Osteoporosis to Minimize Fracture Risk. Nature Clinical Practice Rheumatology, 4 (1), 20-25. (Secondary Source - From MedLine/MedScape Database). Notomi, T., Okazaki, Y., Okimoto, N., Saitoh, S., Nakamura, T., & Suzuki, M. (2000). A comparison of resistance and aerobic training for mass, strength and turnover of bone in growing rats. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 83 (6), 469-474. (Primary Source – From MedLine/MedScape Database) Ringe, J. (2000). Osteoporosis in Men. In David Hosking and Johann Ringe (Eds.), TREATMENT OF METABOLIC BONE DISEASE: MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND DRUG THERAPY (pp. 203-218). London: Martin Dunitz Ltd. (Secondary Source – From Local British Council Library) Ravn, P. (2000). Osteoporosis: Primary Prevention. In David Hosking and Johann Ringe (Eds.), TREATMENT OF METABOLIC BONE DISEASE: MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND DRUG THERAPY (pp. 123-142). London: Martin Dunitz Ltd. (Secondary Source – From Local British Council Library) The search for suitable literature consisted of going through the journals available at the local British Council Library. None were found. The next was

Quantitative Research Manuscript Critique Assignment

Quantitative Research Manuscript Critique - Assignment Example 1365). Among the independent variables includes the effects of emotional intelligence education to the students while the dependent variables included the development of emotional intelligence in children (p. 1367). The research question of the manuscript at hand was â€Å"How did emotional intelligence program affect the emotional intelligence of young children†. To answer the research question at hand, a personal information form research instrument was utilized in the collection of demographic characteristics’ data. The used scale, the Sullivan Emotional Intelligence Scale comprised of scales for children intelligence, empathy scale, and teacher rating scale. These scales, as applied to the present manuscript indicate a validity and reliability of 0.68 to 0.90 and 0.97 to 0.99 respectively (p. 1367). Under the emotional intelligence scale; recognition, understanding, and management of emotions are tested. On the other hand, empathy scale aimed at measuring the empathic reaction of the control group, comprised of children only. The results from the study were collected and entered into an SPSS statistical analysis software where Covariance Analysis was conducted to compare the group that was enrolled to the program and that which was not (pp. 1367-1368). Since the analysis method was experimental in design, the use of T-test was essential. Ulutas, I., & Omeroglu, E. (2007). The Effects of an Emotional Intelligence Education Program on the Emotional Intelligence of Children. Social Behavior and Personality, Vol. 35 No. 10; pp. 1365-1372. Accessed online on November 25, 2014 from

Training and Development in UK Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Training and Development in UK Business - Essay Example This helps the organization to train the employee while they are still performing their duties. On-work training is one of the most effective ways of helping an organization to increase the skills of its workforce. However organization can also train their employees in other institution. In this case employees are given study leave to attend training in other institutions. This is usually important when organization want to train their employees on new technology which is not readily available. There are other benchmarked ways that have been shown to be important in the training and development of the workforce that can be used by organization (Arkin 1995, p. 73). Employees can also be trained on different issues. The kind of skills that the company imparts to its workforce depends on the line of operations. But there are general skills that any company will need to impart to its workforce including communications, customer services, respecting diversity in the workplace, ethics in operation, human relations, and others that are important in the functioning of the organization as one system. But the most important skills that any organization would like to impart of its workforce with the special skills that are used in its line of operations. However at the end of the day there ar... However at the end of the day there are number of benefits that both the employees and the organization are likely to have. Although the organization will use a lot of resource in training the employee, at the end it will have a competent workforce and increase its overall production. It will haves satisfied workforce and reduce its rate of employee turnover. It will also help to enhance the image of the company and help in risk management. For the employees, there will be increased job satisfaction, increase level of employee motivation, increase efficiencies in the production process, increase capacity for them to adapt to the new work processes and the new technologies that are being implemented in the workplace, increase innovation and reduced turnover (Beard 2002, p. 83).Most of the studies that have been carried out have shown that there is a difference between different companies in the way they train their employees and the achievement of the employees. In this case it has be en noted that companies may use the same training and development process but achieve different end results. While the quality and the level of train can be taken as a probable factor causing this difference, many studies have not looked the employee's contribution factor in the efficiency of the process. There is need to carry out more research on the different between employee expectation and perception of training and the overall success of training and development initiatives (Thorpe 1997, p. 23). Problem statement Although most companies have invested in the training and development of their workforces, they have not been achieving the same result. Studies have

Cognitive therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cognitive therapy - Essay Example For instance, a depressed client hearing "please stop talking in class" might think "everything I do is wrong; there is no point in even trying". The same client might hear "you've received top marks on your essay" and think "that was a fluke; I won't ever get a mark like that again", or he might hear "you've really improved over the last term" and think "I was really abysmal at the start of term". Any of these thoughts could lead to feelings of hopelessness or reduced self esteem, maintaining or worsening the individual's depression. Usually cognitive therapeutic work is informed by an awareness of the role of the client's behaviour as well (thus the term 'cognitive behavioural therapy', or CBT). The task of cognitive therapy or CBT is partly to understand how the three components of emotions, behaviours and thoughts interrelate, and how they may be influenced by external stimuli -- including events which may have occurred early in the client's life. (http://counsellingresource.com/types/cognitive-therapy) Therefore, in order for me (as a behavioural therapist) to help the child, I should, first of all, know what experience/s or specific event has caused the child to develop this reaction to mealtimes and eating. It would take a lot of effort on the therapist's side, but it is still the client's prerogative to share his/her reason. In some cases, the client is not comfortable talking about their phobia, so it will also be helpful to have someone (especially an immediate relative) with them during the initial interview or interrogation. It is important to know whether the client is comfortable with the whole process of the therapy, since he/she will play a major part in order for the therapy to be successful. Besides, it is the client's behaviour that really matters; all we can do as therapists is to help them overcome the anxiety, depression, indifference, etc. or sometimes, help them to distinguish whether their beliefs are in tune with reality. In addition, still according from Dr. Mulhauser, clients who are comfortable with introspection, who readily adopt the scientific method for exploring their own psychology, and who place credence in the basic theoretical approach of cognitive therapy, may find this approach a good match. Clients who are less comfortable with any of these, or whose distress is of a more general interpersonal nature -- such that it cannot easily be framed in terms of interplay between thoughts, emotions and behaviours within a given environment -- may be less well served by cognitive therapy. Cognitive and cognitive-behavioural therapies have often proved especially helpful to clients suffering from depression, anxiety, panic and obsessive-compulsive disorder. CBT works by addressing the way the client thinks and behaves in response to similar situations and by developing more flexible ways to think and respond, including reducing the avoidance of activities. If, as a result, the client escapes the negative thought patterns and dysfunctio nal behaviors, the feelings of depression may, over time, be relieved. The client may then become more active, succeed and respond more adaptively more often, and further reduce or cope with his negative feelings. It is also important to establish the "we-will-work-on-this" relationship between the therapist and the child. Assuring the client that this therapy is not a one-way thing and that

Training and Development in UK Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Training and Development in UK Business - Essay Example This helps the organization to train the employee while they are still performing their duties. On-work training is one of the most effective ways of helping an organization to increase the skills of its workforce. However organization can also train their employees in other institution. In this case employees are given study leave to attend training in other institutions. This is usually important when organization want to train their employees on new technology which is not readily available. There are other benchmarked ways that have been shown to be important in the training and development of the workforce that can be used by organization (Arkin 1995, p. 73). Employees can also be trained on different issues. The kind of skills that the company imparts to its workforce depends on the line of operations. But there are general skills that any company will need to impart to its workforce including communications, customer services, respecting diversity in the workplace, ethics in operation, human relations, and others that are important in the functioning of the organization as one system. But the most important skills that any organization would like to impart of its workforce with the special skills that are used in its line of operations. However at the end of the day there ar... However at the end of the day there are number of benefits that both the employees and the organization are likely to have. Although the organization will use a lot of resource in training the employee, at the end it will have a competent workforce and increase its overall production. It will haves satisfied workforce and reduce its rate of employee turnover. It will also help to enhance the image of the company and help in risk management. For the employees, there will be increased job satisfaction, increase level of employee motivation, increase efficiencies in the production process, increase capacity for them to adapt to the new work processes and the new technologies that are being implemented in the workplace, increase innovation and reduced turnover (Beard 2002, p. 83).Most of the studies that have been carried out have shown that there is a difference between different companies in the way they train their employees and the achievement of the employees. In this case it has be en noted that companies may use the same training and development process but achieve different end results. While the quality and the level of train can be taken as a probable factor causing this difference, many studies have not looked the employee's contribution factor in the efficiency of the process. There is need to carry out more research on the different between employee expectation and perception of training and the overall success of training and development initiatives (Thorpe 1997, p. 23). Problem statement Although most companies have invested in the training and development of their workforces, they have not been achieving the same result. Studies have

Flexability creativity and communication in nursing Essay

Flexability creativity and communication in nursing - Essay Example Additionally there are several responsibilities that they have to specialize. In general, nurses work in hospitals, clinics, schools, wellness centers, long-term care facilities, hospices, physician offices, home settings, and temporary help agencies. They can specialize in a number of roles including: Neonatal Nursing, Labor and Delivery Nursing, Intensive Care Nursing, Operating Room Nursing, Cardiac Care Nursing, Geriatric Nursing, Pediatric Nursing, Oncology Nursing, Rehabilitation Nursing, Occupational Health Nursing, Pulmonary Nursing, Diabetes Nursing, and others. With the increasing demand for nursing staff all over the world, it is important that more and more people get trained and get into this noble profession. Nursing is a profession focused on assisting individuals, families and communities in attaining, re-attaining and maintaining optimal health and functioning. Modern definitions of nursing define it as a science and an art that focuses on promoting quality of life as defined by persons and families, throughout their life experiences from birth to care at the end of life (Wikipedia, 2008). Nursing is based on the ideal of service to humanity. Ever since its origin it has been about wholeness, holistic in practice and theory. Today, with the sophisticated technology, nurses need to be trained and experienced in various aspects such as Evidence – Based Nursing and Nursing Informatics. While there are various fields that have been developing, the basic qualities of flexibility, creativity and communication has remained a constant need for success in this profession. This paper discusses the importance of flexibility, creativity and communication in nursing profession. While a fall in the number of nursing leaders may be attributed to the current nursing shortage, studies have noted that there is also a significant deficiency in the number of nursing leaders who are able to bring in flexibility in the profession. Even at major

The Important Effexts of Food Colours on Appetite Essay Example for Free

The Important Effexts of Food Colours on Appetite Essay The relationship between food colour and appetite has been concerned by many scientists in recent years. This project considers the importance of food colour on appetite through analysing and evaluating the effects of different food colour on appetite and then other factors that contribute to appetite are explored. As last step, comparison is conducted to find the most important element on appetite. With regard to other factors, it is concluded that the food colour play an important role in affecting appetite. This may be of interest to consumers, especially the people who want to find effective method to control and manage appetite. Contents | |Page | |Abstract | | | | | |Introduction |1 | | | | |1. The Effects of Different Food Colours on Appetite |2 | | 1. 1 The effects of red and yellow on appetite |2 | | 1. 2 The effects blue on appetite |2 | | 1. 3 The effects of green on appetite |3 | | 1. 4 The effects of purple and black on appetite |3 | | 1. 5 Evaluation of effects of food colours on appetite |3 | | | | |2. The Effects of other Factors on Appetite |5 | | 2. 1 The effect flavour of food on appetite |5 | | 2. 1. 1 The effect of smell and taste on appetite |5 | | 2. 2 The effects of ambience on appetite |5 | | 2. 2. 1 The effect of light on appetite |6 | | 2. 2. 2 The effect of sound on appetite |6 | | 2. 2. 3 The effect of temperature on appetite |7 | | 2. 3 Summary |8 | | 2. 4 Evaluate and compare the food colour and other factors |8 | | | | |Conclusion |10 | | | | |List of references |11 | Introduction In recent years, consumers have generally paied attention to the appearance of food. Since one of the most fundamental elements of food could be the food colour, when people see food at first sight, the appearance of a dish may have positive and negative influence on people’s appetite (Hutchings 1994). Counsell (1981) and Petit (2006) summarise that colour plays a crucial role in the appearance of food from a psychophysical point of view. They remark that when different wavelengths of light come into eyes, due to the combination of eyes and brain through a series of mechanisms, colour will be produced and defined. The so-called appetite is a kind of physiological needs for eating. Nevertheless, a full stomach does not stand for that people do not have appetite and a desire to eat. The purpose of this project is to find the main element among colour, flavour and ambience which can influence appetite the most. Various food colours which can be seen in daily life will first be compared to describe the different negative and positive effects on appetite and evaluate the relationship of food colours on appetite. Then, other effective factors on appetite such as food flavour and eating ambience will be taken into consideration. Since the consumers do not know how different food colour, food flavour and environment could influence their behavior, it is felt that this examination will highlight this field and help consumers to move forward a single step to perceive the factors that can affect their appetite. 1. The Effects of Different Food Colours on Appetite Natnette and John (2004) summarise that â€Å"Colour can produce autonomic biological reaction, certain emotional responses, and direct attention† (P. 826). For the majority of consumers, food colour is a kind of standard for assessing food quality prior to purchasing and consuming it (Huthings1994). He also concludes that there are several usual food colours in our daily life such as red, green, orange, purple and yellow, but some colours are difficult to find ,such as blue and black. In this connection, the different food colours and their various effects of them on people appetite will be clarified and compared. 1. 1 The effects of red and yellow on appetite In a psychological study Birren(1969) finds that red is an energetic colour which gives people a strong feeling of emotion. When people see the red colour, they may experience the feeling of happiness or peace and would make them hungry. However, yellow can stimulate people’s brain activity and makes people feel excited? comfortable and warm. It seems that people’s appetite can be improved significantly by red and yellow (Singh, 2006). Boym (2001) points that if red and yellow appear on the table at the same time, people would be likely to eat more, because the combination of red with yellow can make people feel friendly and can remember this combination deeply. The fast food company McDonalds, as everyone knows, ingeniously applies both red and yellow in their decoration, food package and even food. That could be one of the reasons why people all around the world would like to go to MacDonald and they get attracted by the its chain of restaurants. As a result, this appears to be a wise choice that just by adding some red and yellow colour to the food recipe, even people with poor appetite be more likely to purchase food products. 1. 2 The effects blue on appetite Blue food which is rarely found in the nature(Hutchings, 1994) represent peace, quiet and calmness and that is considered to have a beneficial effect on peoples physical and mental ability (Singh, 2006). Hence, people’s appetite obtain weak suppression and according to psychological finding, it is shown that when people want to lose weight, putting blue items in the kitchen would play an important role in eliminating their appetite (Allew,1998). 3. The effects of green on appetite According to Pegler (1991), no matter which kind of the food is consumed, the majority of people may think that the food is healthy and safe as long as it is green. Green food probably signifies safety in these people’s subconscious and green represents bright, fresh and natural, which could help stabilize mood and ease the tension. Following from such a concept, people would like to accept most green things. 4. The effects of purple and black on appetite Johnson (2005) researches that people prefer to avoid purple and black food in their lives, when our ancestors searched food and found in purple and black that was a fatal alarm. These colours would have been considered toxic and rotten. The effects of the long-term sense may lead to the modern people behaviour on food. Hence, people probably do not have positive feeling towards on black and purple food. 1. 5 Evaluation of effects of food colours on appetite It is almost certain that different food colours indeed influence people’s appetite. Huthings (1994) analyzs that food colour also helps consumers judge the quality of food as well. It seems quite reasonable that while some foods are chosen easily and are always in the peoples everyday diet yet the others are not so popular and are often left on the supermarket shelf that is all a matter of food colour. Besides, because food manufacturers want to attract and induce more consumers, coloured food could be found anywhere such as sweets, beverages, ice-cream and others. Tyner (1997) points out that colour is the first characteristic we notice in food, so food colour has a major function in influencing people’s appetite. 2. The Effects of other Factors on Appetite 2. 1 The effect flavour of food on appetite The combination of smell and taste can be explained by scientists to describe the perception of food flavor (Petit, 2006). However, ISO5492 (1992) summarises that smell, taste and trigeminal sensations comprise the flavour together, while odor and taste play the dominate role in flavour. 2. 1. 1 The effect of smell and taste on appetite As everyone knows, an unpleasant odour can influence and suppress people’s appetite whatever environmental or food smell is, food intake and meal times would be decrease relatively. Nevertheless, the effects of smell on appetite are complicated. Petit (2006) concludes that â€Å"smell is the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by volatile chemicals†((P. 3). According to Natnette and John (2004), smell is directly and closely connected to appetite and food intake. Different smells can stimulate people’s expectation for food which includes the taste or the quality of food and even can be evoked by the previous memorial odor (e. g. , mother’s soup). Petit (2006) says â€Å"tastes are the sensations perceived by the taste receptors when stimulated by certain soluble substances† (P. 4). According to Schiffman and Graham (2000), taste can influence food choices and appetite. Due to internal preparation for digesting, people will have a desire to eat or purchase food when they smell it. In other words, taste induces people to have needs for food and provides motivation and the impulse for eating. Hence, it seems probable that the integration of smell with taste can significantly affect people’s appetite. 2. 2 The effects of ambience on appetite Eating ambience have a relatively wide meaning (ambience here refers to the atmosphere that food is served; it actually includes many external factors such as the light, sound and temperature of the environment (Natnette and John 2006). In the following part, the effects from different lights, sound and temperature on food intake and appetite will be discussed. 2. 2. 1 The effect of light on appetite According to the research of Wansink (1994), the food consumption of people can be affected by soft lighting, the dominant reason is that soft light can make people feel more comfortable. Consumers’ resistance to delicious food will be reduced and meal times will be extended. As a result, food intake of consumers relatively may increase. Wansink (1994) also say that bright and glaring light could decrease the time people spend at on eating location because people always have better self-discipline which could explain why fast-food restaurants prefer to use bright lights, in order to accelerate the speed of eating food. 2. 2. 2 The effect of sound on appetite Music can always be heard in restaurants, which is a kind of method used to stimulate appetite and consumption. Natnette and John (2006) conclude that music which is being played in the eating atmosphere not only plays function on covering unpleasant sound, but also makes consumers feel relaxed and changing consumers’ mood. It seems clearly that the quantity of food and fluid could be affected by the different types of music (Natnette and John 2004). According to the research done by McElrea and Standing (1992), since loud and fast music can raise listeners’ heart rate and blood pressure, the speed of drinking will be enhanced. It could be concluded that fast music could improve the quantity of food consumption and food intake, because the tempo of fast music can increase the frequency of chewing (Roballey, McGreevy and Rongo,1985). By contrast, soft and slow music could reduce the speed of eating and extend the time consumers spend in the eating place; however, a greater monetary value of food will be consumed in such surrounding. In other words, if people listen to slower music or the music that they love, thay will prefer to spend a longer time in the restaurant. Hence, they can easily drink and eat more than the consumers who are not in such environment. Different types of music have various connections with people’s appetite (Roballey, McGreevy and Rongo, 1985). 2. 2. 3 The effect of temperature on appetite The effects of temperature on appetite are often not understood by consumers. The temperature includes food temperature and ambient temperature. Due to influencing the speed of metabolism from the food temperature, the reaction of the stomach to hot and cold food and beverage is different (Natnette and John 2004). Hot food (e. g. , warm milk ) appears to reduce the capability of people’s metabolism. Another study (Bre? zinova 1972) show that processed and hot food could emerge more flavour which can raise the temperature of people’s body to restrain appetite and induce satiety. In general, consumers who live in different areas have various preferences on food temperature due to difference food behaviour, culture, experience and expectation. It could be summarised that regardless of the preference for food temperature, the food temperature can affect appetite and even food intake. McConnachie and Alexander (2004) also conduct a research and came to the conclusion that people’s appetite are hugely different within hot and cold surroundings; therefore, the type of food chosen by consumers and the amount of intake will likely be depend on many factors. For instance, in winter, people whose basic metabolic rate is faster than people who live in summer need more energy and caloric consumption to produce and keep warm (Natnette and John, 2004), whereas some scientists hold the doubtful opinion(Westerterp-Platenga 1999). For this reason, it is common perception that warm food should be selected more in cold weather while cold food and beverage should be chosen more in hot condition. From the discussion and comparison above, people, generally, have positive appetite and increase food intake in the presence of cool, air conditioned ambience. 2. 3 Summary The above views indicate that food flavour and ambience of eating location appears to influence people’s appetite, food choices and food intake according to the individual’s experience, background and the expectation of food. The combination of smell and taste composes primarily flavour and affects further customers’ desire for food, while light, sound, temperature of eating location also have effects on their appetite. It could be also true that soft and warm light and loud and fast music appear to increase consumers’ food intake and extend the time of consuming, while cold and air-conditioned surroundings could improve consumption and intense appetite, vice versa. 2. 4 Evaluate and compare the food colour and other factors After viewing the appearance of food, consumers would have the visual flavour including smell and taste. That could be to say that visual flavour appears before the real flavor when it comes into consumer’s nose and mouth. Besides, Hutchings (1994) and Petit (2006) research affirm that food colour could influence people’s perception and expectation of food flavour before smelling and tasting. It seems that visual and expected flavour will be associated when people see the appearance of food in the first sight according to their previous experience, which can influence consumers’ judgement for food quality and flavour and even affect their appetite. This phenomenon may explain why coloured food exists and that would be because coloured food not only can highlight the flavour of the product but also offset the lost colour from processing (Tyner, 1997). The effects of ambience also have the positive and negative effects on people’s appetite and food intake. However, the ambience such as light, sound, temperature is external elements out of food. It seems that the main choice of food appears not to depend on food itself. Gordon, Angela and Little summarise (1962) that â€Å"the first impression of a food is usually visual and a major part of our willingness to accept a food depends on its color† (P. ix). Hence, food colour appears to play an important role in influencing people’s appetite. Conclusion Food colour could influence mostly people’s appetite than other factors when they see the food in the first sight. This may happen by the different food colours and other factors including flavor and eating ambience on appetite. These can be summarised that different food colours such as yellow, red, orange and green could encourage people to have desire to eat; however, rare purple, blue and black in food seem to be unpopular among the majority of consumers. At the same time, other factors (flavour, ambience) also could affect food choices, food intake and appetite. In discussion progress, however, owing to the fact that colour could influence flavour and the factor of food colour should be paid more attention than ambience which is the less effective element on people’s appetite. The study of effects of food colour on appetite has been considered by many scientists. Counsell (1981), Hutchings (1994), Petit (2006) and Robyn (2010) indicant that colourful foods do stimulate effectively people’s appetite when consumers notice the food before consuming. It should be noted that a detailed examination of others factors such as food shape, social variables and time-related characteristics affecting appetite lies outside of the parameters of this paper and further work could be done in this area. This would be of particular interest to those involved in the identification of natural and artificial food colour and could help avoid the problems encountered by consumers who are cheated by some pusher. References Alley, R, L. (1998) ‘The influence of physical state and colour on perceived sweetness’. Psychology 132 (5), 561-568 Berrin, F. (1969) Principles of Colour: a Review of Past Traditions and Modern Theories of Colour Harmony. London: Van Nostrand Reinhold Boym, C. (2001) ‘My McDonald’s’. Food and Culture 1(1), 6-8 Bre? zinova, V, O. (1972) ‘Sleep after a bedtime beverage’. Br Med J 2(1), 431 Counsell, J, N.(1981). Natural Colours for Food and Other Uses. England: Applied Science Publishers LTD Dalzell, J, M. (eds. ) (1997) Ingredients Handbook Food Colours. Surrey: Leatherhead Food RA Hutchings, J, B. (1994) Food Colour and Appearance. New York: Blackie Academic Professional Johnson, J. (2005) Psychology of Colour [online] available from [8 September 2012] ISO5492. (1992) â€Å"Glossary of terms relating to sensory analysis. † McConnachie, S. and Alexander, G, J. (2004) ‘The effect of temperature on digestive and assimilation efficiency, gut passage time and appetite in an Ambush foragin lizard, Cordylus Melantus Melanotus’. J Comp Physiol 174(34), 99-105 McElrea, H. and Standing, F. (1992) ‘Fast music causes fast drinking’. Perceptual and Motor Skills 75(13), 362 Natnette, S. and John, M. (2004) ‘Effect of ambience on food intake and food choice’. Nutrition 20(4), 821-838 Natnette, S. and John, M. (2006) ‘Listening to music while eating is relating to increases in people’s food intake and meal duration’. Appetite 47(21), 285-289 Pegler, Martin, M. (1991) Food Presentation and Display. New York: Retail Reporting Corporation Petit, C, E, F. (2006) Multimodal Flavour Perception: Influence of Colour and Chemesthesis. Nottingham: Nottingham University Press Roballey, C. (1985) ‘The effect of music on eating behavior’. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society 23 (3), 221-223 Singh, S. (2006) ‘Impact of color on marketing’. Management Decision 44 (6), 783 -789 Wansink, D. and Tinbergan, J, M. (1994) ‘The influence of temperature on diet in Great Tit’. Journal of Avian Biology 25(4), 261-267 Margriet, S. (1999) ‘Effects of extreme environments on food intake in human subjects’. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 58(04), 791-798.

The Macro Economic Policies Of Australia

The Macro Economic Policies Of Australia Australian governments over precedent decades have conventionally aimed towards including triangular objectives of financial growth, domestic poise, and external poise within framework of single economy. (DORNBUSCH, Rudiger, 2006) Collectively, these trio set of objectives aim towards sustaining nationalized financial growth while retaining inferior inflation as well as limiting the mass of overseas debts and liabilities. Several researches conducted in concerned field have revealed that there is no consistency in level of economic growth though; it is influenced greatly by fluctuations of international business cycle. (DORNBUSCH, Rudiger, 2006) A governmental macroeconomic management is referred as an attempt to minimize the impact of international business fluctuations by controlling demand to facilitate sustained growth together with inferior inflation and unemployment. In the last decade macroeconomics policy in Australia has been directed at controlling inflation as it would be associated with macroeconomic stability and growth. Following on from the GFCs the governments main emphasis of macroeconomic policy has been trying to avoid a recession. Contrast these two phases of policy. Explain how macroeconomic policy objectives, targets and instruments have differed. Explain how macroeconomic policy objectives, targets and instruments have differed. Outline the experiences of the Australian Economy over the last 10-15 years making use of macroeconomic aggregates these may be presented in summaries of tables and/or graphs. Stress should be placed on the challenges facing policy makers at present and likely challenges. Before the global economic crisis (GFC), the Australian economy has seen significant growth in terms of GDP ignoring various crises that have affected the global economy such as the Asian financial crises (1997-1998) and the United States (US) dot com bust (2000) (reference). Throughout this time, Australian macroeconomic policy (MP) has primarily been directed at controlling inflation to maintain stability and growth. MP refers to the structure, performance, behaviour and decision making of a whole economy. (Reference) states that MP is associated with the study of aggregates such as gross domestic product (GDP), price indices and unemployment rates to examine how the economy functions. Macroeconomic Policy The continuance of a steady economic environment in Australia post GFC has proven to be a difficult task, with the surfacing of undesired inflation and external account pressures (Treasury, 2008). According to Treasury (2008) acts of policy to tackle such pressures has consistently contributed to short-term downturns and, unavoidably, constrained the prolonging of economic growth. The basis of the issue, however, is the policy failure which permitted the pressures to appear. Nevertheless, the resulting changes in the economic outlook would affect the self-assurance of businesses and consumers and their readiness to engage in the process of structural change. Moreover, disparity in fiscal policy and hesitation about inflation predictions has lead to higher real interest rates, discouraging investment and distorting investment patterns. In the last few years substantial progress has been made in addressing inflation and to a lesser extent current account deficit constraints (RBA, 2009). The current cycle has been characterised by low inflation, with monetary policy being carried out on a more strategic basis with the desire to keep principal inflation consistent with the Reserve Bank of Australias (RBA) average target range of 2 to 3 per cent over a yearly cycle. Last year the Government introduced a new framework for the conduct of policy, clearly recognising the Reserve Banks role and endorsing its inflation objective. The clarification of policy responsibilities, and recognition of their observance in practice over time, together with an accumulating record of low inflation, is likely to have a continuing positive impact on lowering inflation expectations and creating confidence in a sound investment environment. Australias large structural current account deficit reflects both inadequate national saving and inadequate investment returns overall (ABA, 2009). On the saving side, the principal cause is a deficiency in public saving especially at the Commonwealth level. The Government through its fiscal consolidation program is addressing this problem and has put in place a policy framework that will maintain the adequacy of the Commonwealth contribution to public saving. Statements 1 and 2 spell out in detail the fiscal strategy, including improved transparency and accountability practices, and implementation of the strategy in the years ahead. The benefit of a more soundly based fiscal policy is likely to be seen over time in the capacity of the economy to sustain faster rates of growth than would otherwise be the case. While it is too early to be able to point to any concrete results with confidence, the 1997-98 economic outlook presented in Statement 2 suggests that higher saving in prospect next financial year will help to constrain the current account deficit. Before the global economic crisis of 2007 the Australian economy sustained increased economic growth of approximately 8% per annum except for the year 1997-1998 (Asian financial crisis) (The Australian Year Book 2008). This resilience reflects on well-timed monetary and fiscal policy responses; strong demand from various major trading partners, such as China; increased population growth that aided demand in the domestic economy; and the robustness of the financial sector (The Australian Year Book 2008). More generally, Australias strong economic performance can be commended by decades of economic reform in economic policy, regulatory frameworks and governance. These have increased the flexibility of the economy, and strengthened its ability to withstand unforeseen circumstances. Dungy and Pagan (2007) suggest that aggregate behaviour exists between fiscal policies and is connected Since 1997/98 the federal budget has been in surplus continually, apart from a very small deficit in one year. The governments net debt has been retired. Gross debt on issue is maintained at a small size in order to facilitate a functioning bond market so as to allow efficient risk pricing more generally. As with monetary policy, there is a medium-term framework for fiscal policy emphasising balance over the business cycle. There is much less inclination today than there once was to use fiscal policy as a counter-cyclical stabilisation tool. Significant fiscal challenges in the long-term include health spending and responding to population ageing, as the very important work by officers of the Australian Treasury has made clear. Macroeconomic policy has a supportive and complementary role in providing a stable economic environment conducive to sound investment decisions by business and to encouraging workers to invest in upgrading their skills to take advantage of new employment opportunities. Macroeconomic aggregates are: Aggregate behaviour: relationships between economic aggregates such as national income, government expenditure and aggregate demand. For example, the consumption function is a relationship between aggregate demand for consumption and aggregate disposable income. Models of aggregate behaviour may be derived from direct observation of the economy, or from models of individual behaviour. Theories of aggregate behaviour are central to macroeconomics. Aggregate demand: aggregate demand (AD) is the total price for demand for final goods and services in the economy (Y) at a given time and price level [1]. It is the amount of goods and services in the economy that will be purchased at all possible price levels.[2] This is the demand for the gross domestic product of a country when inventory levels are static. It is often called effective demand, though at other times this term is distinguished. It is often cited that the aggregate demand curve is downward sloping because at lower price levels a greater quantity is demanded. While this is correct at the microeconomic, single good level, at the aggregate level this is incorrect. The aggregate demand curve is in fact downward sloping as a result of three distinct effects; Pigous wealth effect, the Keynes interest rate effect and the Mundell-Fleming exchange-rate effect. Aggregate expenditure: is a measure of national income. It is a way to measure the GDP or Gross Domestic Product (A measure of the level of economic activity). It is defined as the value of planned goods and services produced in an economy. GDP is calculated by the formula C + I + G + NX and I = Ip + Iu (planned + unplanned investment), Aggregate Expenditures is defined as C + Ip + G + NX, where: C = Consumption Expenditure (Also can be written as CE) I = Investment G = Government spending NX = Net exports (Exports-Imports) Aggregate supply Aggregation problem Effective demand: Saving Government Macroeconomic goals: High and stable economic growth rates Low unemployment Low inflation Stable and manageable Balance of Payments RBA article: RBA uses short term interest rate as its operating instrument for implementing monetary policy. RBA sets target level for its cash rate. RBA has two options It can target particular level of bank reserves and accept the resulting outcome for short term interest rates It can seek to achieve a particular target level for short-term and supply whatever quantity of services is demanded at the target rate. For a given demand curve for reserves the RBA will need to alter the supply of bank reserves to implement a change in the stance of monetary policy. While banks continue to hold reserves with the RBA these reserves are associated with settlement in the payments system. In addition the RBA pays interest on reserves which is linked to the cash rate. An important effect on the current operating procedure is the relationship between the quantity of reserves and the level of the policy rate. Monetary policy operating procedures is based on the supply of and demand for some measure of the money supply. Systematic changes to the stance of monetary policy need to be implemented by changing the supply of bank reserves. Central banks can influence the stock of bank reserves by undertaking open market operations either directly with the banking system or with the non-bank public. A central bank is unable to independently determine both the quantity of bank reserves and their price. To understand how the RBA achieves its target for the cash rate it is necessary to consider the operation of the payments system in Australia and the overnight cash market. In Australia the major players in the payments system are the nonbank public (households and firms), the private banks, the RBA and the federal government. The trend in unemployment in the most recent decade has generally been downward. Following a rise of a percentage point in the economic slowdown in 2001, it has fallen to the lowest levels since the mid 1970s. The long expansion, with occasional temporary pauses, has done a lot to foster lower unemployment. But the changes in labour market arrangements over the past 20 years or so have also been very important. Indeed, I would argue that they are a key contributor, not least because they have facilitated the longer length of economic expansions. http://www.bis.org/review/r080516b.pdf?noframes=1 Firstly, as is widely accepted, tax systems must be fiscally sustainable across the economic cycle. Secondly, while monetary policy is the principal instrument of macroeconomic management, it is still necessary to remain mindful of the short-run liquidity effects of fiscal policy The challenges associated with an aging population identified in the Intergenerational Report have prompted the Howard Government to establish a long-term strategy to put fiscal policy on a more sustainable footing. Central here was the creation of an independently managed Future Fund in 2006 to help meet the costs associated with Australias aging population. The primary goal of the Future Fund is to accumulate adequate capital to meet the Commonwealths unfunded $91 billion superannuation liability so that it does not burden future generations. The Future Fund has been capitalised from a number of sources including asset sales, special seed funding (designed in part to preserve sovereign debt markets) and budget surpluses from the governments cash account. While the Future Fund is primarily about fiscal sustainability rather than stabilisation per se, it is important to note that the structure of the Future Fund and the allocation of surpluses to it do have some important implication s for the stabilisation debate. The significant point here is that the Future Fund represents an innovative vehicle in which cash surpluses can be invested without stimulating short-run consumption. Overall recent Australian fiscal policy has been consistent with the objectives set out in the Charter, in that fiscal policy is clearly being conducted on a sustainable basis with significant financial resources now being invested in the Future Fund. What is less clear, however, is the impact of this policy on the goal of macroeconomic stabilisation and whether the challenges currently confronting the Australian economy may require more careful consideration of the impact of fiscal policy on short-run economic activity. Given the political sensitivity of the issue and the RBAs understandable reluctance to speak outside its official mandate, the central bank has not been willing to provide the government with explicit advice on fiscal policy. Indeed the new RBA Governor, Glenn Stevens, attempted to down-play the issue at a February 2007 Parliamentary Committee hearing when he stated that it was unlikely any election spending spree would have enough short-term impact to enter into the RBAs interest rate calculations (Wood 2007). Activist fiscal policy of the Keynesian golden age may well have passed, with monetary policy now established as the primary instrument of macroeconomic management. Yet this does not mean that we can completely ignore the stabilisation function of fiscal policy which Musgrave described almost half a century ago. This is especially so when, as in the case in Australia at present, key sectors of an economy are running at close to full capacity and inflationary risks are building. Under these circumstances fiscal policy must not only be sustainable, it must also be sensitive to its potential to stimulate demand in the short-run. Fortunately, for the Australian economy it seems that there is an awareness of the need to exercise a degree of fiscal restraint in the prevailing conditions with both major parties. http://eprints.utas.edu.au/3970/1/3970.pdf Challenges: Australias population is projected to reach nearly 36 million by 2050 an increase of around 14 million The first challenge is that an ageing population implies slower economic growth. As the proportion of the population that is of traditional working age falls, the labour force participation rate is projected to fall (from above 65 per cent today, to below 61 per cent over the next 40 years), dampening workforce growth. Population dynamics explain one-half of the 0.4 percentage point gap between annual growth in GDP per capita over the next 40 years relative to the past 40 years the other half being due to a technical assumption relating to productivity growth. The second challenge is that working Australians will need to support an ageing population that, in part due to continuing technological advancements, is likely to be living longer. Men aged 60 in 2050 are projected to live an average of 5.8 years longer than someone aged 60 today, while women aged 60 in 2050 are projected to live an average of 4.8 years longer. This is great news for Generation Y, but a sobering statistic for future budgets. The greater publicly funded health, aged care and related expenditures to support Generations X and Y in their retirement years will need to come from a relatively smaller number of workers than we have today. On a no policy change basis, a significant fiscal gap is projected. The intergenerational report shows how the Governments fiscal strategy to constrain real expenditure growth contributes to reducing, without wholly eliminating, the projected fiscal gap. The third challenge identified in the intergenerational report concerns the impact of climate change on ecosystems, water resources, agricultural production and weather patterns. Against these challenges, there are three topics I want to say something about today: Promoting economic growth by improving productivity and workforce participation; The implications of a growing population, particularly for infrastructure investment; and Medium-term prospects for capital flows required to finance national investment. For obvious reasons, I wont be saying anything about climate change on this occasion. Discuss the concept of instruments and targets in macroeconomic policy and assess how this concept of instruments and targets in macroeconomic policy and assess how this concept might be applied to the current policy framework in Australia. A number of people have asked me for clarification on instruments and targets as referred to in assignment 2. Here is what I mean: These refer to macroeconomic policy. INSTITUTIONS make policy. Examples would be the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Treasury. These institutions set policy TARGETS. An example of such a target would be an annual inflation rate of no more than 3%. Policymakers then use policy INSTRUMENTS to meet the targets. Typical instruments include the RBA cash rate or government spending. Show how the economic theory you have learnt can be used to explain current macroeconomic policy. How is inflation measured? GDP Deflator Consumer Price Index: an average of the prices of the goods and services purchased by the typical urban family of four. Producer Price Index: An average of the prices received by producers of goods and services at all stages of the production process fiscal and monetary policy The tools the Australian government controls to smooth short-run fluctuations in the economy inflation, unemployment and external trade The causes and effects of inflation, the link between inflation and unemployment, Australian trade with the rest of the world Fiscal policy: Fiscal policy is the government operation of government spending (G) and taxes (T). Typically we consider the problem of how the government can manipulate G and T so as to control economic variables such as output, inflation, interest rates, etc. Issues: how fiscal policy can stabilize the economy? what about government borrowing and public debt? Budget deficit: the budget deficit is the extent of overspending by the government Budget deficit = G T Expansionary fiscal policy: increasing the budget deficit (Gà ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ or Tà ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å") usually in a recession. Contractionary fiscal policy: decreasing the budget deficit (Gà ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å" or T à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ) usually in an economic boom. Budget deficits and surpluses If the government spends more than it brings in in taxes, what happens? (G > T) The money has to come from somewhere. For developed countries, this means borrowing (issuing government debt or public debt) from domestic residents or foreigners. If the government is spending less than it brings in in taxes, the government can reduce public debt. The Australian government has followed this policy in the last 10 years. Types of fiscal policy We differentiate two types of fiscal policy: Discretionary fiscal policy: This is fiscal policy that comes about from planned changes in G and T that the government brings in response to the economic situation. Non-discretionary fiscal policy: This is fiscal policy that comes about from the design of spending and taxes. There is no government official actively determining these changes. Non-discretionary fiscal policy Certain parts of our spending and taxes automatically increase demand in a recession (when AD < potential GDP) and decrease demand in a boom (when AD > potential GDP). Welfare spending and unemployment benefits are part of G and increase in a recession and decrease in a boom. Income and company taxes are part of T and depend on GDP, they increase during a boom and decrease during a recession. These act as automatic stabilizers on the economy, reducing the variability of the economy. Cyclically-adjusted budget deficits The automatic stabilizers raise the budget deficit in a recession and lower the budget deficit in a boom. This fact means that we can not just look at the budget deficit to determine whether the government is overspending, we also have to take into account where we are in the business cycle. Adjusting the budget deficit for the point we are in the business cycle is called cyclically adjusting. We would expect even a sensible government to be in a deficit in a recession. Discretionary fiscal policy Discretionary fiscal policy is the manipulation of G and T by government officials typically to reduce the severity of shocks to the economy. It sounds like a good idea, but how does it work in reality? There are many problems and limitations to the use of fiscal policy to reduce recessions and booms. Problems with discretion Scenario: Imagine a train driver that has only one control- an accelerator/brake that he or she can push or pull on to control the train. This is exactly the same situation as the government faces with fiscal policy. Now what limitations can the train driver face? Problems with discretion Limitations: Correctness of data: Is the train driver seeing the tracks correctly? Or Does the government get the right data about where the economy is? Timing of data: Is the train driver seeing the tracks with enough time to react? Or Does the government get the statistics quickly enough to do anything? Decision lags: Can the train driver make a decision about the correct action before the train reaches the problem spot? Or does the government have time to design the correct fiscal policy? Problems with discretion Administration lags: If the driver pulls on the control, how long will it take for the brakes to start to work? Or New spending and taxes have to be passed through parliament, which takes time, even after a decision is made. Operational lags: If the brakes start to work, how long before the train slows down? Or New government spending and taxes take time to affect the economy. So even the best-designed fiscal policies can go wrong if they are in response to the wrong data or if they take too long to affect the economy. Political considerations There are further concerns we might have about the operation of fiscal policy. Politicians have to remain popular. No one likes taxes, and everyone likes new spending on themselves. Will a politician make an unpopular decision that may result in them losing the election if it is the best decision for the economy. Electoral cycles: Governments have to be re-elected every 3-4 years. So a politician would love to engineer a boom right before his or her election. Crowding out Another problem with fiscal policy is that an increase in G may increase output but at the expense of other components of aggregate expenditure. Y = C + I + G + NX Since the economy returns to potential GDP over the long-run, an increase in G must come at the expense of either C, I or NX or all 3. If an increase in G reduces investment spending over the long-run, this could lead to lower future growth in the economy. Crowding out How can this happen? An increase in G shifts the AD curve to the right. This results in higher Y and higher P. The increased government borrowing in the market for savings raises the interest rate. Higher interest rates lead to lower investment spending so I drops, shifting AD left. Higher interest rates leads to an appreciation of the A$ (as foreign investors put their money in Australia), so NX drops, shifting AD left. Crowding out- I and NX Government debt One problem that economic commentators always point to is the level of government debt- Our debt is too high. How do we evaluate the level of government debt? How do we know is it is too high. Government debt is like any other form of debt. You evaluate the debt relative to the income/wealth of the person incurring the debt. A $500,000 debt might be high to you and me, but it might mean nothing to Kerry Packer. Government debt So we need to evaluate government debt relative to government income. But what is the appropriate form of government income, as the government doesnt earn or produce anything. Generally we use the income of the country as the comparison, since the government is free to tax or claim any part of GDP. Government debt So our criterion for too much is debt (B, since typically government debt is issued in government bonds) over GDP (Y): B / Y Banks would make much the same calculation when considering whether to issue someone a home loan. In general debt is growing at the rate of interest each year, r, while GDP is growing at the growth rate of the economy, g. Monetary policy Firstly, monetary policy uses the level of interest rates to influence the economy in the short to medium term. Its major goals are to stabilise demand and inflation in the medium term and inflationary expectations and to achieve the governments objectives of sustainable growth with underlying inflation of about 2-3%. Source: Chapter 12 of the book plus second part of Module 3. Monetary policy is the government operation of the money supply and interest rates. Typically we consider the problem of how the government can manipulate monetary policy so as to control economic variables such as output, inflation, interest rates, etc. Issues: how monetary policy can stabilize the economy? how will monetary policy affect interest rates or exchange rates? Who operates monetary policy? The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is responsible for monetary policy. The RBA was given 3 goals when it was created: Maintain low inflation Maintain low unemployment Maintain value of the A$ The RBA was only given one policy tool- the money supply to achieve 3 goals. In the mid 1990s, the RBA was simply told to have one aim: Maintain low inflation. Definitions The RBA implements monetary policy through its control of the cash rate. Cash rate: The cash rate is the rate the RBA charges bank for loans within the RBA reserves system. The cash rate is the base interest rate for the economy, and all other interest rates are derived from it. Easy monetary policy: When the RBA lowers the cash rate to stimulate AD. Tight monetary policy: When the RBA raises the cash rate to cut off AD. Interest rates As we saw in the Investment section, the profitability of investment projects depends on the nominal interest rate. The lower are interest rates, the more projects will be profitable, so the higher will be investment spending. Since the RBA controls the cash rate, and since all interest rates depend on the cash rate, the RBA controls I, and so can shift the AD curve. How monetary policy works Cause-Effect Chain of Monetary Policy: Money supply impacts interest rates Interest rates affect investment Investment is a component of AD Equilibrium GDP is changed Monetary policy and the open economy Net Export Effect Changes in interest rate affect the value of the exchange rate under floating exchange rate. An increase in interest rate appreciates the currency, resulting in lower net exports A decrease in interest rate leads to currency depreciation and a rise in net exports So an easy monetary policy is enhanced by the net export effect. Quantity theory of money There is a nice, simple model of money which explains many features of money supply and demand. This model is called the quantity theory of money. If we imagine that money is needed for all of the purchases made each year, then demand for money is the vale of purchases: PY. The supply of money for purchases is the amount of cash in the economy. But each piece of money in the economy can be used multiple times during a year in transactions. We call the number of transactions the velocity of money v. Quantity theory of money So the total supply of money for transactions in a year is v times M: vM. So demand equals supply requires that: PY = vM So if Y goes up, but nothing else does, then average level of prices must fall. The QTM is good to use for thinking about money and inflation. Unemployment A person becomes unemployed: Job loser Job leaver New entrant or re-entrant into the labour force He or she is no longer unemployed: Hired or recalled Withdraws from the labour force Labour force participation rate Unemployment rate Types of unemployment Three main types of unemployment: Cyclical unemployment Frictional unemployment Structural unemployment Cyclical unemployment Associated with the ups and downs of the business cycle Takes place due to insufficient aggregate demand or total spending- reflects shifts in AD curve. High during recessions and low during booms. Fiscal and monetary policies can reduce cyclical unemployment policies are relevant. Frictional unemployment Associated with the period of time in which people are searching for jobs, being interviewed and waiting to commence duties. It is inevitable and always exist Fiscal and monetary policies can not reduce frictional unemployment macroeconomic policies are irrelevant. Policies that make it easier to find new jobs will affect

Instant Messaging :: Internet Communication Web

Instant Messaging Instant messaging (IM) is the latest trend in communication, which allows two or more persons to communicate by typing in text form and the message being received in real time. This form of messaging, compared to e-mail, allows for quick and easy responses to satisfy ones need for instant and constant communication. We will discuss the history of instant messaging; explore how it works and what is needed to enable this application. We will also discuss companies involved, regulatory issues, future trends in this area and the global implications of this relatively new form of communication. In the 1970's early forms of messaging were implemented on private networks, and were used on the PLATO and DEC PDP-11 systems referred to as the "talk" program. Messaging was later incorporated into UNIX system and used by academics and engineers throughout the 1980's and early 1990's. In 1987 MIT created the first instant messaging tool called the Zephyr. In 1996 the company called Mirablis introduced ICQ, a free instant messaging tool in which anyone could use. America On Line (AOL) which had instant messaging as fee service became threatened by the number of users of ICQ and purchased the company. With the explosion of growth from ICQ, it led to new companies seeking to build upon this new form of communication.

Malcolm X Essay -- Civil Rights African American Essays

Malcolm X   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Malcolm X was a man of strong words and beliefs. Some say that he was a man of hate and violence. Some also say that he was a smart man of hope and peace. Malcolm X‘s influence on people was felt more than it was alive rather than dead. Malcolm X was a major contributor to the black societies across the world. He fought for what he believed in and educated the young. Though his early life was full of up’s and downs he managed to, what some would say, â€Å"turn his life around†. In doing this he managed to gain the upper hand of the African American culture by giving them the hope that one day they would if not own be apart of, what he called, â€Å"white mans society†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm’s father was murdered by a white supremacists group while in Lancing, Michigan. His mother was declared legally insane and committed to the state mental hospital. Because of that Malcolm X had no parental guidance in his young adult life. Malcolm X also dropped out of school also after the murder of his father, and from then on Malcolm turned to the streets for guidance. On the street he was he known as a hustler. He earned money by stealing and selling it back to the community or by conning others in buying bad products from him. On the streets, he was also known as Detroit Red. When Malcolm was Twenty, Malcolm X was sentenced to eight to ten years in prison. He was sentenced to prison because of breaking and entering, carrying firearms, and Larceny.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Prison he was given the nick name Satan because of his foul mouth. While in prison Malcolm taught his self to read. So while incarcerated he studied the N.O.I which stands for the nation of Islam. He first learned about the Nation of Islam from letters, from his brother Reginald, in Jail he became an ordinary reader to the other prisoners about the Nation of Islam. During his jail time he received contact with the leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad. As their verbal contact continued, they began to write each other daily.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Malcolm was released from jail in 1952. When he left jail he went to Chicago to meet Elijah Muhammad. There in Chicago he changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm â€Å"X†. Malcolm said that the â€Å"X† meant to tell the non-appreciation of his slave name. Also it was to symbolize the missing of an appropriate Muslim n... ...iving, people still hold on to the words that he spoke when he believed that minority’s deserved something better than equality. He began to see and realize that whites are not devils and in order for the world to grow and for blacks to prosper everyone must come together. Malcolm’s life and murder enraged a whole community to stand up and fight. He gave people faith, hope, and courage that one day things would get better. Yes he taught violence and he was willing to do anything for his people, to see them live a great life. But it was just for that reason so that people could see that everyone had a right to live a life that in that time the white man lived. He was seen as a racist, but all people had a problem with a person from a different color so he was just as racist as the next man. He finally realized that being together was the only way to get through and prosper, but in the days of him speaking this truth, he was murdered. He was never given the chance to become something like Dr. Martin L. King and preach about being as one, because of the fear that people had of him. He was changing once again like he did many times in his life, only this time his time ran short.

Pedagology of the Oppressed Essay

A careful analysis of the teacher-student relationship at any level, inside or outside the school, reveals its fundamentally narrative character. The relationship involves a narrating Subject (the teacher) and patient, listening objects (the students). The contents, whether values or empirical dimensions of reality, tend in the process of being narrated to become lifeless and petrified. Education is suffering from narration sickness. The teacher talks about reality as if it were motionless, static, compartmentalized, and predictable. Or else he expounds on a topic completely alien to the existential experience of the students. His task is to â€Å"fill† the students with the contents of his narration – contents which are detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that engendered them and could give them significance. Words are emptied of their concreteness and become a hollow, alienated, and alienating verbosity. The outstanding characteristic of this narrative education, then, is the sonority of words, not their transforming power. â€Å"Four times four is sixteen; the capital of Parà ¡ is Belà ©m.† The student records, memorizes, and repeats these phrases without perceiving what four times four really means, or realizing the true significance of â€Å"capital† in the affirmation â€Å"the capital of Parà ¡ is Belà ©m,† that is, what Belà ©m means for Parà ¡ and what Parà ¡ means for Brazil. Narration (with the teacher as narrator) leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated content. Worse yet, it turns them into â€Å"containers,† into â€Å"receptacles† to be â€Å"filled† by the teacher. The more completely he fills the receptacles, the better a teacher he is. The more meekly the receptacles permit themselves to be filled, the better students they are. Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communication, the teacher issues communiquà ©s and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat. This is the â€Å"banking† concept of education, in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits. They do, it is true, have the opportunity to become collectors or cataloguers of the things they store. But in the last analysis, it is men themselves who are filed away through the lack of creativity, transformation, and knowledge in this (at best) misguided system. For apart from inquiry, apart from the praxis, men cannot be truly human. Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry men pursue in the world, with the world and with each other. In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing. Projecting an absolute ignorance onto others, a characteristic of the ideology of oppression, negates education and knowledge as processes of inquiry. The teacher presents himself to his students as their necessary opposite; by considering their ignorance absolute, he justifies his own existence. The students, alienated like the slave in the Hegelian dialectic, accept their ignorance as justifying the teacher’s existence – but, unlike the slave, they never discover that they educate the teacher. The raison d’à ªtre of libertarian education, on the other hand, lies in its drive towards reconciliation. Education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students. This solution is not (nor can it be) found in the banking concept. On the contrary, banking education maintains and even stimulates the contradiction through the following attitudes and practices, which mirror oppressive society as a whole: a) the teacher teaches and the students are taught; b) the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing; c) the teacher thinks and the students are thought about; d) the teacher talks and the students listen – meekly; e) the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined; f) the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply; g) the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher; h) the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it; i) the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his own professional authority, which he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students; j) the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects. It is not surprising that the banking concept of education regards men as adaptable, manageable beings. The more students work at storing the deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world. The more completely they accept the passive role imposed on them, the more they tend simply to adapt to the world as it is and to the fragmented view of reality deposited in them. The capability of banking education to minimize or annul the ‘students’ creative power and to stimulate their credulity serves the interests of the oppressors, who care neither to have the world revealed nor to see it transformed. The oppressors use their â€Å"humanitarianism† to preserve a profitable situation. Thus they react almost instinctively against any experiment in education which stimulates the critical faculties and is not content with a partial view of reality but always seeks out the ties which link one point to another and one problem to another. Indeed, the interests of the oppressors lie in â€Å"changing the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation which oppresses them†;[1] for the more the oppressed can be led to adapt to that situation, the more easily they can be dominated. To achieve this end, the oppressors use the banking concept of education in conjunction with a paternalistic social action apparatus, within which the oppressed receive the euphemistic title of â€Å"welfare recipients.† They are treated as individual cases, as marginal men who deviate from the general configuration of a â€Å"good, organized, and just† society. The oppressed are regarded as the pathology of the healthy society, which must therefore adjust these â€Å"incompetent and lazy† folk to its own patterns by changing their mentality. These marginals need to be â€Å"integrated,† â€Å"incorporated† into the healthy society that they have â€Å"forsaken.† The truth is, however, that the oppressed are not â€Å"marginals,† are not men living â€Å"outside† society. They have always been â€Å"inside† – inside the structure which made them â€Å"beings for others.† The solution is not to â€Å"integrate† them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become â€Å"beings for themselves.† Such transformation, of course, would undermine the oppressors’ purposes; hence their utilization of the banking concept of education to avoid the threat of student conscientizacÄ o. The banking approach to adult education, for example, will never propose to students that they critically consider reality. It will deal instead with such vital questions as whether Roger gave green grass to the goat, and insist upon the importance of learning that, on the contrary, Roger gave green grass to the rabbit. The â€Å"humanism† of the banking approach masks the effort to turn men into automatons – the very negation of their ontological vocation to be more fully human. They may perceive through their relations with reality that reality is really a process, undergoing constant transformation. If men are searchers and their ontological vocation is humanization, sooner or later they may perceive the contradiction in which banking education seeks to maintain them, and then engage themselves in the struggle for their liberation. But the humanist, revolutionary educator cannot wait for this possibility to materialize. From the outset, his efforts must coincide with those of the students to engage in critical thinking and the quest for mutual humanization. His efforts must be imbued with a profound trust in men and their creative power. To achieve this, he must be a partner of the students in his relations with them. The banking concept does not admit to such partnership – and necessarily so. To resolve the teacher-student contradiction, to exchange the role of depositor, prescriber, domesticator, for the role of student among students would be to undermine the power of oppression and serve the cause of liberation. Implicit in the banking concept is the assumption of a dichotomy between man and the world: man is merely in the world, not with the world or with others; man is spectator, not re-creator. In this view, man is not a conscious being (corpo consciente); he is rather the possessor of ÃŽ ± consciousness: an empty â€Å"mind† passively open to the reception of deposits of reality from the world outside. For example, my desk, my books, my coffee cup, all the objects before me – as bits of the world which surrounds me – would be â€Å"inside† me, exactly as I am inside my study right now. This view makes no distinction between being accessible to consciousness and entering consciousness. The distinction, however, is essential: the objects which surround me are simply accessible to my consciousness, not located within it. I am aware of them, but they are not inside me. It follows logically from the banking notion of consciousness that the educator’s role is to regulate the way the world â€Å"enters into† the students. His task is to organize a process which already occurs spontaneously, to â€Å"fill† the students by making deposits of information which he considers to constitute true knowledge.[2] And since men â€Å"receive† the world as passive entities, education should make them more passive still, and adapt them to the world. The educated man is the adapted man, because he is better â€Å"fit† for the world. Translated into practice, this concept is well suited to the purposes of the oppressors, whose tranquillity rests on how well men fit the world the oppressors have created, and how little they question it. The more completely the majority adapt to the purposes which the dominant minority prescribe for them (thereby depriving them of the right to their own purposes), the more easily the minority can continue to prescribe. The theory and practice of banking education serve this end quite efficiently. Verbalistic lessons, reading requirements,[3] the methods for evaluating â€Å"knowledge,† the distance between the teacher and the taught, the criteria for promotion: everything in this ready-to-wear approach serves to obviate thinking. The bank-clerk educator does not realize that there is no true security in his hypertrophied role, that one must seek to live with others in solidarity. One cannot impose oneself, nor even merely co-exist with one’s students. Solidarity requires true communication, and the concept by which such an educator is guided fears and prescribes communication. Yet only through communication can human life hold meaning. The teacher’s thinking I authenticated only by the authenticity of the students’ thinking. The teacher cannot think for his students, nor can he impose his thought on them. Authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication. If it is true that thought has meaning only when generated by action upon the world, the subordination of students to teachers becomes impossible. Because banking education begins with a false understanding of men as objects, it cannot promote the development of what Fromm calls â€Å"biophily,† but instead produces its opposite: â€Å"necrophily.† While life is characterized by growth in a structured, functional manner, the necrophilous person loves all that does not grow, all that is mechanical. The necrophilous person is driven by the desire to transform the organic into the inorganic, to approach life mechanically, as if all living persons were things†¦.Memory, rather than experience; having, rather than being, is what counts. The necrophilous person can relate to an object – a flower or a person – only if he possesses it; hence a threat to his possession is a threat to himself; if he loses possession he loses contact with the world†¦He loves control, and in the act of controlling he kills life.[4] Oppression—overwhelming control—is necrophilic; it is nourished by love of death, not life. The banking concept of education, which serves the interests of oppression, is also necrophilic. Based on a mechanistic, static, naturalistic, spatialized view of consciousness, it transforms students into receiving objects. It attempts to control thinking and action, leads men to adjust to the world, and inhibits their creative power. When their efforts to act responsibly are frustrated, when they find themselves unable to use their faculties, men suffer. â€Å"This suffering due to impotence is rooted in the very fact that the human equilibrium has been disturbed.†[5] But the inability to act which causes men’s anguish also causes them to reject their impotence, by attempting †¦to restore [their] capacity to act. But can [they], and how? One way is to submit to and identify with a person or group having power. By this symbolic participation in another person’s life, [men have] the illusion of acting, when in reality [they] only submit to and become a part of those who act.[6] Populist manifestations perhaps best exemplify this type of behaviour by the oppressed, who, by identifying with charismatic leaders, come to feel that they themselves are active and effective. The rebellion they express as they emerge in the historical process is motivated by that desire to act effectively. The dominant elites consider the remedy to be more domination and repression, carried out in the name of freedom, order, and social peace (that is, the peace of the elites). Thus they can condemn—logically, from the point of view—â€Å"the violence of a strike by workers and [can] call upon the state in the same breath to use violence in putting down the strike.†[7] Education as the exercise of domination stimulates the credulity of students, with the ideological intent (often not perceived by educators) of indoctrinating them to adapt to the world of oppression. This accusation is not made in the naà ¯ve hope that the dominant elites will thereby simply abandon the practice. Its objective is to call the attention of true humanists to the fact that they cannot use banking educational methods in the pursuit of liberation for they would only negate that very pursuit. Nor may a revolutionary society inherit these methods from an oppressor society. The revolutionary society which practices banking education is either misguided or mistrusting of men. In either event, it is threatened by the spectre of reaction. Unfortunately, those who espouse the cause of liberation are themselves surrounded and influenced by the climate which generates the banking concept, and often do not perceive its true significance or its dehumanizing power. Paradoxically, then, they utilize this same instrument of alienation in what they consider an effort to liberate. Indeed, some â€Å"revolutionaries† brand as â€Å"innocents,† â€Å"dreamers,† or even â€Å"reactionaries† those who would challenge this educational practice. But one does not liberate men by alienating them. Authentic liberation—the process of humanization—is not another deposit to be made in men. Liberation is a praxis: the action and reflection of men upon their world in order to transform it. Those truly committed to the cause of liberation can accept neither the mechanistic concept of consciousness as an empty vessel to be filled, not the use of banking methods of domination (propaganda, slogans—deposits) in the name of liberation. Those truly committed to liberation must reject the banking concept in its entirety, adopting instead a concept of man as conscious beings, and consciousness as consciousness intent upon the world. They must abandon the educational goal of deposit-making and replace it with the posing of the problems of men in their relations with the world. â€Å"Problem-posing† education, responding to the essence of consciousness—intentionality—rejects communiquà ©s and embodies communication. It epitomizes the special characteristic of consciousness: being conscious of, not only as intent on objects but as turned in upon itself in a Jasperian â€Å"split†Ã¢â‚¬â€consciousness as consciousness of consciousness. Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferrals of information. It is a learning situation in which the cognizable object (far from being the end of the cognitive act) intermediates the cognitive actors—teacher on the one hand and students on the other. Accordingly, the practice of problem-posing education entails at the outset that the teacher-student contradiction be resolved. Dialogical relations—indispensable to the capacity of cognitive actors to cooperate in perceiving the same cognizable object—are otherwise impossible. Indeed, problem-posing education, which breaks with the vertical patterns characteristic of banking education, can fulfil its function as the practice of freedom only if it can overcome the above contradiction. Through dialogue, the teacher-of-the-students and the students-of-the-teacher cease to exist and a new term emerges: teacher-student with student-teachers. The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow. In this process, arguments based on â€Å"authority† are no longer valid; in order to function, authority must be on the side of freedom, not against it. Here, no one teaches another, nor is anyone self-taught. Men teach each other, mediated by the world, by the cognizable objects which in banking education are â€Å"owned† by the teacher. The banking concept (with its tendency to dichotomize everything) distinguishes two stages in the action of the educator. During the first, he cognizes a cognizable object while he prepares his lessons in his study or his laboratory; during the second, he expounds to his students about that object. The students are not called upon to know, but to memorize the contents narrated by the teacher. Nor do the students practice any act of cognition, since the object towards which that act should be directed is the property of the teacher rather than a medium evoking the critical reflection of both teacher and students. Hence in the name of the â€Å"preservation of culture and knowledge† we have a system which achieves neither true knowledge nor true culture. The problem-posing method does not dichotomize the activity of the teacher-student: he is not â€Å"cognitive† at one point and â€Å"narrative† at another. He is always â€Å"cognitive,† whether preparing a project or engaging in dialogue with the students. He does not regard cognizable objects as his private property, but as the object of reflection by himself and the students. In this way, the problem-posing educator constantly re-forms his reflections in the reflection of the students. The students—no longer docile listeners—are now critical co-investigators in dialogue with the teacher. The teacher presents the material to the students for their consideration, and re-considers his earlier considerations as the students express their own. The role of the problem-posing educator is to create, together with the students, the conditions under which knowledge at the level of the doxa is superseded by true knowledge, at the level of the logos. Whereas banking education anesthetizes and inhibits creative power, problem-posing education involves a constant unveiling of reality. The former attempts to maintain the submersion of consciousness; the latter strives for the emergence of consciousness and critical intervention in reality. Students, as they are increasingly posed with problems relating to themselves in the world and with the world, will feel increasingly challenged and obliged to respond to that challenge. Because they apprehend the challenge as interrelated to other problems within a total context, not as a theoretical question, the resulting comprehension tends to be increasingly critical and thus constantly less alienated. Their response to the challenge evokes new challenges, followed by new understandings; and gradually the students come to regard themselves as committed. Education as the practice of freedom – as opposed to education as the practice of domination – denies that man is abstract, isolated, independent, and unattached to the world; it also denies that the world exists as a reality apart from men. Authentic reflection considers neither abstract man nor the world without men, but men in their relations with the world. In these relations consciousness and world are simultaneous: consciousness neither precedes the world nor follows it. La conscience et le monde sont dormà ©s d’un meme coup: extà ©rieur par essence à   la conscience, le monde est, par essence relative à   elle.[8] In one of our culture circles in Chile, the group was discussing (based on a codification[9]) the anthropological concept of culture. In the midst of the discussion, a peasant who by banking standards was completely ignorant said: â€Å"Now I see that without man there is no world.† When the educator responded: â€Å"Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that all the men on earth were to die, but that the earth itself remained, together with trees, birds, animals, rivers, seas, the stars†¦wouldn’t all this be a world?† â€Å"Oh no,† the peasant replied emphatically. â€Å"There would be no one to say: â€Å"This is a world’.† The peasant wished to express the idea that there would be lacking the consciousness of the world which necessarily implies the world of consciousness. I cannot exist without a not-I. In turn, the not-I depends on that existence. The world which brings consciousness into existence becomes the world of that consciousness. Hence, the previously cited affirmation of Sartre: â€Å"La conscience et le monde sont dormà ©s d’un mà ª coup.† As men, simultaneously reflecting on themselves and on the world, increase the scope of their perception, they begin to direct their observations towards previously inconspicuous phenomena: That which had existed objectively but had not been perceived in its deeper implications (if indeed it was perceived at all) begins to â€Å"stand out,† assuming the character of a problem and therefore of challenge. Thus, men begin to single out elements from their â€Å"background awarenesses† and to reflect upon them. These elements are now objects of men’s consideration, and, as such, objects of their action and cognition. In problem-posing education, men develop their power to perceive critically the way they exist in the world with which and in which they find themselves; they come to see the world not as a static reality, but as a reality in process, in transformation. Although the dialectical relations of men with the world exist independently of how these relations are perceived (or whether or not they are perceived at all), it is also true that the form of action men adopt is to a large extent a function of how they perceive themselves in the world. Hence, the teacher-student and the student-teachers reflect simultaneously on themselves and the world without dichotomizing this reflection from action, and thus establish an authentic form of thought and action. Once again, the two educational concepts and practices under analysis come into conflict. Banking education (for obvious reasons) attempts, by mythicizing reality, to conceal certain facts which explain the way men exist in the world; problem-posing education sets itself the task of demythologizing. Banking education resists dialogue; problem-posing education regards dialogue as indispensable to the act of cognition which unveils reality. Banking education treats students as objects of assistance; problem-posing education makes them critical thinkers. Banking education inhibits creativity and domesticates (although it cannot completely destroy) the intentionality of consciousness by isolating consciousness from the world, thereby denying men their ontological and historical vocation of becoming more fully human. Problem-posing education bases itself on creativity and stimulates true reflection and action upon reality, thereby responding to the vocation of men as beings who are authentic only when engaged in inquiry and creative transformation. In sum: banking theory and practice, as immobilizing and fixating forces, fail to acknowledge men as historical beings; problem-posing theory and practice take man’s historicity as their starting point. Problem-posing education affirms men as beings in the process of becoming – as unfinished, uncompleted beings in and with a likewise unfinished reality. Indeed, in contrast to other animals who are unfinished, but not historical, men know themselves to be unfinished; they are aware of their incompletion. In this incompletion and this awareness lie the very roots of education as an exclusively human manifestation. The unfinished character of men and the transformational character of reality necessitate that education be an ongoing activity. Education is thus constantly remade in the praxis. In order to be, it must become. Its â€Å"duration† (in the Bergsonian meaning of the word) is found in the interplay of the opposites permanence and change. The banking method emphasizes permanence and becomes reactionary; problem-posing education—which accepts neither a â€Å"well-behaved† present nor a predetermined future—roots itself in the dynamic present and becomes revolutionary. Problem-posing education is revolutionary futurity. Hence it is prophetic (and, as such, hopeful). Hence, it corresponds to the historical nature of man. Hence, it affirms men as beings who transcend themselves, who move forward and look ahead, for whom immobility represents a fatal threat, for whom looking at the past must only be a means of understanding more clearly what and who they are so that they can more wisely build the future. Hence, it identifies with the movement which engages men as beings aware of their incompletion—an historical movement which has its point of departure, its Subjects and its objective. The point of departure of the movement lies in men themselves. But since men do not exist apart from the world, apart from reality, the movement must begin with the men-world relationship. Accordingly, the point of departure must always be with men in the â€Å"here and now,† which constitutes the situation within which they are submerged, from which they emerge, and in which they intervene. Only by starting from this situation—which determines their perception of it—can they begin to move. To do this authentically they must perceive their state not as fated and unalterable, but merely as limiting—and therefore challenging. Whereas the banking method directly or indirectly reinforces men’s fatalistic perception of their situation, the problem-posing method presents this very situation to them as a problem. As the situation becomes the object of their cognition, the naà ¯ve or magical perception which produced their fatalism gives way to perception which is able to perceive itself even as it perceives reality, and can thus be critically objective about that reality. A deepened consciousness of their situation leads men to apprehend that situation as an historical reality susceptible of transformation. Resignation gives way to the drive for transformation and inquiry, over which men feel themselves to be in control. If men, as historical beings necessarily engaged with other men in a movement of inquiry, did not control that movement, it would be (and is) a violation of men’s humanity. Any situation in which some men prevent others from engaging in the process of inquiry is one of violence. The means used are not important; to alienate men from their own decision-making is to change them into objects. This movement of inquiry must be directed towards humanization—man’s historical vocation. The pursuit of full humanity, however, cannot be carried out in isolation or individualism, but only in fellowship and solidarity; therefore it cannot unfold in the antagonistic relations between oppressors and oppressed. No one can be authentically human while he prevents others from being so. Attempting to be more human, individualistically, leads to having more, egotistically: a form of dehumanization. Not that it is not fundamental to have in order to be human. Precisely because it is necessary, some men’s having must not be allowed to constitute an obstacle to others’ having, must not consolidate the power of the former to crush the latter. Problem-posing education, as a humanist and liberating praxis, posits as fundamental that men subjected to domination must fight for their emancipation. To that end, it enables teachers and students to become Subjects of the educational process by overcoming authoritarianism and an alienating intellectualism; it also enables men to overcome their false perception of reality. The world—no longer something to be described with deceptive words—becomes the object of that transforming action by men which results in their humanization. Problem-posing education does not and cannot serve the interests of the oppressor. No oppressive order could permit the oppressed to begin to question: Why? While only a revolutionary society can carry out this education in systematic terms, the revolutionary leaders need to take full power before they can employ the method. In the revolutionary process, the leaders cannot utilize the banking method as an interim measure, justified on grounds of expediency, with the intention of later behaving in a genuinely revolutionary fashion. They must be revolutionary—that is to say, dialogical—from the outset.