INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS - Movie Review Example The documentary outlines Paulson’s thought that was to stabilize the financial market that was under crisis and prevent it from collapsing. It tells the story of a collapsing housing market amidst subprime mortgage loans in U.S banks. As Hunk recounts in the documentary, he is alone and his view is facing contradictions from all corners of the economy: journalists and senators alike, banks and the congress. However, Paulson has the support of his wife, Wendy, who has been his wife for more than 40 years. They are devoted to one another that, during the film at a particular bumpy round of negotiations with the congress, Paulson takes a short break to call his wife Wendy and ask her to pray (Sharkey 1). ‘Hank: five years from the brink’ outlines Paulson’s first thought of the troubled asset relief program (TARP), encourages the U.S government to buy equity and assets from the financial institutions (Sherkey 1). This plan was to help in strengthening the collapsing financial sector of the U.S economy by putting equity and assets in the hands of the government. It is more of asserting more control of the financial institutions to the state and Hank knew that the idea was reprehensible. Originally, the TARP program authorized and expenditure of $700 billion of government money to purchase the â€Å"troubled assets." This would allow the treasury to purchase difficult-to-value illiquid assets from banks and financial institutions to allow the affected institutions to stabilize their balance sheets and avoid making any further losses (Darling 72). According to Sherkey (1), Paulson recounts in the documentary that the story of the crisis was a disaster and his idea were to respond to the disaster and mitigate any crisis that would occur in the future business market. Thus, his second aim of the troubled asset relief program was to encourage the financial institutions and banks to resume lending at the fair levels

Immigration law (international study class) Essay

Immigration law (international study class) - Essay Example t under the American immigration law immigrants can take part in jury services only when deciding the fate of other immigrants that have been charged with crimes and this shows how the jury displays an in genuine part of the community. Immigrants can be deported or banished from the United States denied working, having a family and taking part in community activities but United States citizens can take part in them comfortably. For example, if a United States immigrant is caught stealing, one can be deported but for a United States citizen charged with murder the citizen can only be imprisoned and not deported. According to the United States immigration law there is a classification of two types of immigrants which are, legal immigrants and illegal immigrants. Legal immigrants are allowed to stay in the country for a number of years and could be studying or working and could even have families. Legal immigrants are those who have legal papers showing their legality of being in the United States whereas illegal immigrants are those that have fake or no documents to confirm that they are legally in United States . Though at times it becomes difficult to differentiate the two types of immigrants, illegal immigrants can have children in the country who are citizens and become lawful permanent resident (LPR) under the fourteenth amendment (Bray 60). According to Phelan and James (136), the Mexico – America immigration law is very unique as it involves two countries that share a two thousand mile border where each country has very different living standards. During the nineteenth century, movement between the two countries was very easy and was termed as local since places had single and undivided communities compared to the present where one has to have the required documents in order to cross the border. The Mexico – America border was strengthened due to social construction as there were a number of cases in illegal smuggling of goods. It is also after the

Digital Communication in Business

Digital Communication in Business Introduction The aim of this report on â€Å"Digital Communication† is to summarise the broad concepts of a technology that has made rapid strides in all facets of our life. The objective is to understand the concept, analyse its relevance in the field of business and assess the current and future trends. Fundamentals of Digital communication The fundamentals of digital communication is stated as â€Å"in a digital communications system, data is transmitted from one location to another by mapping bit sequences to symbols, and symbols to sample functions of analog waveforms The analog waveform passes through a band limited (possibly time-varying) analog channel, where the signal is distorted and noise is added. In a conventional system the analog sample functions sent through the channel are weighted sums of one or more sinusoids; in a chaotic communications system, the sample functions are segments of chaotic waveforms. At the receiver, the symbol may be recovered by means of coherent detection, where all possible sample functions are known, or by non coherent detection, where one or more characteristics of the sample functions are estimated. (Kolumban, Kennedy Chua (1997).  Digital communication systems, by definition, are communication systems that use such a digital sequence as an interface between the source and t he channel input and similarly between the channel output and final destination The idea of converting an analog source output to a binary sequence was quite revolutionary in 1948, and the notion that this should be done before channel processing was even more revolutionary. By today, with digital cameras, digital video, digital voice, etc., the idea of digitizing any kind of source is commonplace even among the most technophobic. The notion of a binary interface before channel transmission is almost as commonplace. For example, we all refer to the speed of our internet connection in bits per second. (Gallager, 2006). Digital communication tries to convey the information from a source such as a computer to a receiver as effectively as possible. â€Å"Modulation† is a process where the digital information is mapped to a sequence of symbols which has varied properties of an analog electromagnetic wave called the carrier. At the receiver, the signal to be received is selected by a channel filter, demodulated, interpreted, and the information is recovered. Conversion of the digital information stream to an analog signal for transmission may be accompanied by encryption and coding to add end-to-end security, data compression, and error-correction capability. A channel encoder introduces algorithmic redundancy into the transmitted symbol sequence that can be used to reduce the probability of incorrect decisions at the receiver. Modulation is the process by which a symbol is transformed into an analog waveform that is suitable for transmission. Common digital modulation schemes include amplitude s hiftkeying (ASK), phase shift keying (PSK), frequency shift keying (FSK), continuous phase modulation (CPM), and amplitudephase keying (APK), where a one-to-one correspondence established between amplitudes, phases, frequencies, phase and phase transitions, and amplitudes and phases, respectively, of a sinusoidal carrier and the symbols. The channel is the physical medium through which the information-carrying analog waveform passes as it travels between the transmitter and receiver. The transmitted signal is invariably corrupted in the channel. Hence, the receiver never receives exactly what was transmitted. The role of the demodulator in the receiver is to produce from the received corrupted analog signal an estimate of the transmitted symbol sequence. The role of the channel decoder is to reconstruct the original bit stream, i.e., the information, from the estimated symbol sequence. Because of disturbances in real communications channels, error-free transmission is never possible . (Kolumban, Kennedy Chua (1997). Types of Digital communication The different types of digital communication are the internet and email, cell phones, high definition television and other electronic communication (Sarokin. D, 2015). He quotes â€Å"in 1962 the idea of the internet was born†. Relying on packet switching the digital transfer of short bursts of data globally connected computer networks quickly developed into sophisticated digital communication technologies. Email over the network was introduced in the 1970s and has since grown into one of the most widespread forms of digital communication. Agnelli (in Vanderbeeken 2004, p. 2; see also Agnelli et al. 2004) argues that mobile phones have led to the overlapping of digital and physical space, so that physical presence no longer implies attentiveness or availability, and distinctions between public and private space are eroded. Digital communications is mainly associated with telecomunications and electrical engineering. Pedrozo and Wilska (2004, p. 4), the adoption of mobile pho nes has been ‘one of the most conspicuous social changes to happen over the last ten years. HDTV (high definition television) is a television display technology that provides picture quality similar to 35 mm. movies with sound quality similar to that of todays compact disc. Some television stations have begun transmitting HDTV broadcasts to users on a limited number of channels. HDTV generally uses digital rather than analog signal transmission. HDTV and standard definition television (SDTV) are the two categories of display formats for digital television (DTV) transmissions, which are becoming the standard. (Techtarget.com, 2008). Digital communications have become ubiquitous in modern society and encompass a wide variety of technologies. Remote controls, keyless entry devices, walkie-talkies, Bluetooth earpieces, GPS satellites, cash registers and credit cards are among the many technologies that communicate digitally with people and with other devices. Futurists have coined the term The Internet of Things to refer to the trend of enabling thousands of types of devices, from light bulbs to washing machines, with digital communication capabilities. Given the sophistication of the instantaneous transmission of digital data, it can be easy to overlook the more mundane communication activities. We store digital data on many types of physical media, including CDs, DVDs, flash drives, tape and compact memory chips. Every time you hand a friend or colleague a file, whether you transfer it electronically or pass along a DVD, you are engaged in a form of digital communication. (Sarokin. D, 2015) Importance of Digital communications in business Long, Sarah M (2010) states social life in the United States today is changing rapidly with the growing use of Web 2.0 technologies. Many realms of social life are being reorganized in different ways by the spread of computers, the internet, cell and smart phones, Ipods, and similar communications and information technologies. More business is transacted by ecommerce and many jobs are being restructured by the centrality of computers and access to the Web. Many people participate in politics through the internet, clicking to donate to political causes, sending letters to Congress via email, and mobilizing people for protests through list serves. Education ranging from K-12 to college is increasingly reliant on computers and access to information through the Web. Even personal life, ranging from family life to friendship to intimate relationships are being affected by these new technologies as all kinds of social interactions are mediated by technology. In this context, Ernst Young (2 011) states that the real imperative in a world where ‘everything’ is digitised is that businesses need to pursue innovation to disrupt their own business model before the competition does. Without innovation strategies, companies will lose their competitive advantage in an increasingly commoditised world. There is no time to lose, as technology change accelerates and new digital platforms and devices are emerging. Furthermore, the expectations of the new ‘generation Y’ or ‘digital natives’ mean that companies must keep up with the pace of change or lose relevance. It further states that businesses must use digital channels to create seamless and consistent engagement in the view of the pace of technology change that is increasing exponentially. The challenge of most businesses would be to face loss of control over the customer relationship since the proliferation of digital channels and devices gives consumers greater access to information, an d the means for communication and collaboration. The physical world is being replicated in the digital world through digital communities, businesses and assets, fundamentally changing the way consumers engage with businesses and each other. It also states the need to engage digitally with suppliers and employees. Therefore the use of use digital technology to enhance traditional business models, transform existing business models digitally and Invent entirely new business models or different engagement models. There is an increased competition and the risk of commoditization. Digital channels lower barriers to entry and increase globalisation, leading to a spiral of intensifying competition and commoditisation. Innovative organisations are taking the opportunity to diversify, bringing cross-industry convergence and blurring of the boundaries between industries. Previously physically distinct products and sectors now compete with one another, over less clearly defined customer bases. Many companies are already developing responses to the challenge of digital by moving from a transactional to an ‘interactional’ relationship with their customers. They are inviting their customers to become part of the RD process, the design process and the go-to-market. They are also encouraging them to participate in the post-sale support process, and taking advantage of ‘prosumerism’ as a low-cost way to provide service. It is through differentiation and innovation that organisations can create the shift in mindset necessary to win in the digital game. Current future trends It is assumed that the future trends in digital communication will continue to be important and digital literacy will continue to develop distinct registers. Convergence refers to the capacity to integrate technological functions in a single device. Hence, the mobile phone doubles up as camera, MP3 player and so on – or the home media system deals with music, TV, telephonics and e-mail. The general direction of convergence is to allow for access to multiple media from a single source. Convergence pairs up with portability, because as devices become more compact and wireless connection becomes more affordable and more ubiquitous, the possibilities of being able to use all media, more or less at any time or place, increase. Pervasiveness suggests that digital technologies will feature in more and more areas of everyday life, becoming even more closely interwoven with the way we get things done. As this pervasiveness increases, it is also likely that technological innovation will focus on making devices and their interfaces more transparent – in ways that touch screens and desktop icons begin to suggest. (Kaul, 2012). Digital is changing the world, and progress is not linear. In a world where a smartphone is no longer just a smartphone, but a potential revolution. Not every digital initiative will work for every organisation, and it is important to assess capability and capacity for change before deploying a digital strategy. In general, the more holistic the initiative is, the greater the chance of success.  Ernst Young (2011). The next step in digital communication as reported by Reuters (2014) in the Times of India edition is the WebRTC. This free browser-based technology looks set to change the way we communicate and collaborate, up-ending telecoms firms, online chat services like Skype and WhatsApp and remote conferencing on WebEx. Web Real-Time Communication is a proposed internet standard that would make audio and video as seamless as brows ing text and images is now. Installed as part of the browser, video chatting is just a click away with no need to download an app or register for a service. WebRTC allows anyone to embed real-time voice, data and video communications into browsers, programs more or less anything with a chip inside. The use of a WebRTC-compatible browser like Mozillas Firefox can be made to start a video call just by sending someone a link. By the end of the decade, consultants Analysys Mason reckon there will be 7 billion devices supporting WebRTC, nearly 5 billion of them smartphones or tablets. Automatic voice and video encryption means web conversations should be safe from eavesdropping or external recording. Those championing WebRTC say the technology isnt so much about challenging whats available today, but more about creating opportunities for new products and services tomorrow. Conclusion In conclusion, Das (1998) states â€Å"most of the technological developments in digital communication has been very rapid and has taken place in the last two decades. As a result , the senior professionals and academics have not been able to keep pace with these developments and therefore there is an urgent need to update the knowledge in these areas.Moreover,it is very necessary that our electrical engineering students specializing in communications must have a strong base in digital communications systems as well. The reason being the rapidly advancing price/performance capability of computing, storage, and bandwidth is contributing to an adoption rate for the digital infrastructure that is two to five times faster than previous infrastructures, such as electricity and telephone networks. (Core Edges Blog, 2009). REFERENCES Core Edges Blog, (2009) ‘Core Digital Infrastructure Technologies improve exponentially without stabilizing. Das.J (1998): Review Of Digital Communication Ernst Young (2011):  http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/The_digitisation_of_everything_-_How_organisations_must_adapt_to_changing_consumer_behaviour/$FILE/EY_Digitisation_of_everything.pdf [Accessed:11 March 2015] Gallager, Robert (2006) course materials for 6.450 Principles of Digital Communications I, Fall 2006. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [9/03/2015] Kaul.V( 2012): The Digital Communications Revolution Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies Volume: 2 – Issue: 3 – July – 2012 [Accessed:11 March 2015] Kolumb ´an.G, Kennedy. M.P Chua.Leon.O (1997): The Role of Synchronization in Digital Communications Using Chaos—Part I: Fundamentals of Digital Communications Long, Sarah M., Exploring Web 2.0: The Impact of Digital Communications Technologies on Youth Relationships and Sociability (2010). Sociology Student  Scholarship.http://scholar.oxy.edu/sociology_student/2 [Accessed:10 March 2015] Pedrozo, S. Wilska, T.-A. (2004) Mobile phones and young people’s consumer identities: a comparison study between Finland and Brazil. Proceedings of Digital Generation: Children, Youth and Media. London: Institute of Education, University of London, 26–29 July. Reuters (2014) http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/WebRTC-the-next-step-in-digital-communication/articleshow/45493950.cms [Accessed: 9th March 2015] Sarokin. D (2015): Types of Digital communication http://www.ehow.com/info_7999188_types-digital-communication.html [Accessed: 9th March 2015] Techtarget (2015) http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/HDTV-high-definition-television [Accessed: 9th March 2015]

Lincoln, Nebraska :: essays research papers

Lincoln, Nebraska The city of Lincoln is the capital of the Cornhusker State, Nebraska. Lincoln is located in the southeastern part of the state, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) southwest of Omaha. It lies in a shallow basin about 1,160 feet (355 meters) above sea level. Salt Creek and its tributaries thread through the basin. Lincoln serves as a center for educational, cultural, and religious institutions. The city also developed as the trade center for a wide agricultural area. In the city are the buildings that house the various departments of the city, county, and state governments, the state mental and orthopedic hospitals, and the state penitentiary. Also located in Lincoln are a veterans' hospital and the regional headquarters of the Veterans Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture. The University of Nebraska was founded in Lincoln in 1869. The city is also the home of Nebraska Wesleyan University and Union College. The State Capitol, designed by the architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and completed in 1932, has a central tower that rises 400 feet (120 meters) from a massive two-story base and is considered a showpiece of American government architecture. `The Sower', a statue symbolizing Nebraska's farms, stands atop the tower. Museums include the State Museum of History, the University of Nebraska's Christlieb Western Art Collection, and the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, designed by architect Philip Johnson. Pioneers Park includes a nature center. The Nebraska State Fair takes place in Lincoln each summer. Other cultural groups include a symphony orchestra, the Lincoln Community Playhouse, and the National Art Association. Lincoln got its first rail connection in 1870 and by the late 1800s had 19 different rail routes. Railroads gave Lincoln its most important industry-- railroad-car repair. Among the city's manufactures are dairy and meat products, telephone equipment, agricultural machinery, cement, bricks, and drugs. There are also printing and publishing plants, and the city is the headquarters for more than 30 insurance companies. Lincoln arose from a settlement established in 1856 to work salt deposits. In 1859 it was named Lancaster, the seat of Lancaster County. When Nebraska became a state in 1867, the town was renamed for President Abraham Lincoln and became a

Is Corruption free India Possible? Essay

Even after 62 years of India’s independence, the plight of common man has worsened. Corrupt public servants, corrupt judges, corrupt police, etc are proving to be parasites leading 5-star lifestyles at taxpayer’s expense. They in their greed for money, bribe are aiding & abetting terrorists, separatists, naxalites, underworld mafia, etc covertly & overtly, backstabbing our motherland. These corrupt public servants are crueler than Jalianwallah Bagh butcher General Dyer of British army. If Mahatma Gandhi was alive today, he would have been disgusted with the present way of democratic government, functioning of public servants & would have died heart broken. If our freedom martyrs like sri.Bhagath Singh or Sri. Madan Lal Dingra or Sri.Subhash Chandra Bose would have been alive; they would have given a befitting reply to this corrupt police, corrupt judges, and public servants. Whenever, a common man raises his voice for justice, he is silenced in various ways by the criminal nexus. The said criminal nexus has previously tried to silence me in many ways including attempts to murder, closure of newspaper etc. We can when we develop our roads n infrastructure we can control lot. On the other hand we should have eye old vehicles which are polluting lot n share autos too. I dont think so becuase it requires a lot of political will to impose anti pollution laws. And this political will is what is absent. Mere laws wouldnt suffice in a country with an overflowing population as ours, what we need is strict†¦ I THINK COPPUPTION IS BIG PROBLEM IN GROWING COUNTRY I THINK WE ALL RESPONCEBLE FOR THIS BECAUSE WE ALL USE A SHORTCUT FOR OUR WORK WE KNOW IS THIS A WRONG WAY BUT WE CLOSE OUR EYES & AFTER WE ARE PART OF COPPUPTION PLEASE FRIENDS STOP THIS & SOPPERT SELF FOR A MADE OF BATTER INDIA, THANKS FRIENDS FOR SOPPURT INDIA (NAMASKAR) Essay Improper and usually unlawful conduct intended to secure a benefit for oneself or another. Its forms include bribery, extortion, and the misuse of inside information. It exists where there is community indifference or a  lack of enforcement policies. In societies with a culture of ritualized gift giving, the line between acceptable and unacceptable gifts is often hard to draw. The last two decades of the existence of independence, India has seen a steep upward trend in the graph of existing corruption. The media, the public, the variety of forums for discussions and debates for the higher intelligentsia are all neck deep buried in highlighting the rampant corruption in every sphere. In this debate the rural folk are also not far behind. These days they are also very well aware of the malpractices in the highest of levels of all places. So much so that now, the average Indian has reached the highest level of disgust and disappointment at the way things are moving in this country. Let us first of all understand what is meant by corruption and corrupt practices. In brief, anything that is below all standard norms of morality in a country, is called or defined as corruption and corrupt practices. These norms are a fixed standard in any given society, and when these are broken we say that, a society is getting corrupted. This corruption as we see it today is not a development that has come overnight, it has been a continuous process for the last several decades and, to – day it has seeped into the very blood stream of the system. What we have to study next is, why and how this monster of corruption has taken such a firm hold on India so much so that, the country of the legendary Harischandra, the honest has reached the position of one of the top ten or so of corrupt countries of the world. This is no mean achievement, and has taken a few decades to fructify. It is not that, corruption did not exist earlier, it is not that to – day there are no honest people, then why do we all yes, I say all feel that, corruption is rampant everywhere and all the time. This is because of the simple reason that this malady has spread through the entire length and breadth of our social fabric and gone down to the deepest levels. How has this come to be? Would be quite a pertinent question. The corrupt practices have now become our lifestyle to such an extent that, we do not seem to feel that there is anything wrong in what all we are doing., and that things should not be as they are. We, on the contrary are inclined to justify all wrong saying that, without doing wrong we cannot exist or be functional. When we start thinking that corruption is a must, then I feel that the situation has reached a point of no correction. This present apathy shows how far the degradation of  our values have reached, and how low the system has dipped. When we start justifying all the wrongs we do, it is the beginning of the end., as, we are not only doing wrong, we are at the same time thinking that it is correct, then where can the scope be for correction? It would be rather interesting to note and specify as to how this process of continuous degeneration started, for it is the root that grows into a magnum tree. It is thus of great value to know who put the seed that grew into this poisonous tree. In this connection, it is understand that, this degeneration started from the top echelons of society, and then percolated downwards, without a hurdle. Who is at the top or the apex of our society? It is the set of people who have all the power that is invested in them by, us the people. Now, it is for the goodwill of this top layer of society to give the country’s society the trend it deems fit. Now, this layer at the top has been the politician who rules the country, and to say that the seeds of India’s corruption were sown by this class of our society, which has been at the helm of affairs of the country and today they have brought us to this point of no return as far as corruption is concerned. Where are politicians like Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, and above all, the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi? It appears that India has stopped producing men and women of such integrity. Perhapse the breed of such politicians and other men have stopped taking birth. Where is that erstwhile political party, the Indian National Congress, that loyally fought for the freedom of the country, where is the discipline to follow the clarion call of Mahatma Gandhi? All it seems to have been lost, and the same Congress that fought against foreign rule and ousted the foreigners is now all set to install a foreigner as the head of Independent India. What has all this come to, what can be the implications of a foreigner as the head of the state seem to be lost to this Congress which worked to oust the foreigners – what a degradation of values. Have we Indians lost all self respect that we ourselves invite a foreigner to rule us? I dareasay we have become so immune to all finer feelings that we do not mind doing anything as long as we meet our ends. All this is the ugliest face of the corruption in India. All our ethics, our self respect and love for our motherland is lost somewhere in the last fifty years. Today we are standing at the threshold of a new millennium with, the eerstwhile Indian National Congress and many other parties without a single leader of stature. What does this show that, in the span of more than century, Congress has failed to produce a single leader, leave alone a leader of the stature of Sardar Patel and the like. Today the sets of politicians of all political parties are just money spinning actors just working to establish estates for their seven generations. The vision of a great India in the yes of the freedom fighters has been lost somewhere in our move in the last fifty years. When the oldest political party, the Congress presents such a dismal picture of honesty loyalty and service, what can be said or expected from the other much younger political parties. They are all bound to follow the footsteps of this erstwhile conglomerate of greedy money spinning politicians. Today, all the new political parties are following the path tread by the elder brother, the Congress, resulting in a mushroom growth of political parties all of the set pattern with no goals, no ethics, no ideals and no ideologies. This level being the highest level of our society is seen to have become most corrupt in the last two decades and the public is very well aware of the multi-scam decades of the eighties and nineties. Now, the scenario at the very top, can hardly allow for any space for any honesty to persist in any other layer of society. So, from this topmost layer, corruption has percolated to all levels and in all spheres of activities, and all this sure enough because it suits the politician. The politician has encouraged the bureaucrat to be corrupt, and in turn the bureaucrat has enjoyed the protection of the politician, in all his nefarious activities. From the senior bureaucrat the virus of corruption has slowly and steadily seemed down to the lowest levels of functionaries. This has become a totally corrupt and incorrigible institution. The Indian society in all its entirety is corrupt to the core, and now corruption is like a drug, without which the addict finds it difficult to survive. With this slow and steady and continuous spread of the fangs of corruption, today the situation is such that, there is no place or activity which is bereft of the fruits of corruption. Now, corruption has become our way of life and to uproot it is a Herculean task. The tentacles of corruption can be dealt with only with an iron hand, and above all, must start cleaning from the top echelons of society. However, as we have seen umpteen times, this does not happen. Our experience shows that, as soon as a big name is involved in any corruption case, there is a lot of hullabulloo for some time, and it all dies down with  the passage of time and the corruption continues unabated. How does this happen? This is very obvious for all those who have to be at the clearing end are bought, so, no damage can ever come to the so called high ups. This is the main reason why there is never any breakthrough in any scam. In this situation it will be a wonder if anything tangible can really be achieved for, the high ups cannot be touched, and the lower formations need not be touched – so we remain where we were at the beginning of any case. The scams which have come to light in last one decade have amounted to multi – crores, they are being dealt with but, it is so shocking that no politician has yet been punished for siphoning off so much of wealth of a poor country, what can be expected in a country when its protectors themselves become criminals. When the senior can not be punished how can there be any cleaning at the bottom. It would not even be fair to punish the lower rungs of the ladder when the higher rungs continue to bask in the sunshine of their riches. The way in which these cases are being dealt with clearly indicate that no one will be hurt as, all those, yes all those who matter are involved in corruption. So, at present, the situation is of â€Å"who will bell the cat?† Everyone knows who the corrupt are but, the irony of our system is such that no one can be touched. If this situation remains any longer, it is a wonder if there could be any light at the end of the tunnel. India is reaping what it has sown, and the seed of corruption has grown up into a full size magnum tree which perhapse cannot be changed, replaced or cut. It appears thus that for the time being at least, we have to bear with it. Only God can do some magic. Irrespective of the status of the wrong doer everyone, big or small, high or low, must be dealt with an iron hand, and that also at a fast speed. What is the use of just a show of dealings against corruption, while in reality all cases are just quietly shelved banking on the fact that, public memory is very short. All these cases are just a farce into which now, the Indian public an not be very easily fooled. At present there is no remedy for this tragic situation we are in, except pray to God that, HE gives unto us a dictator who is capable enough to deal with this ogre of corruption with a strong hand or else it appears that we are doomed to drown in the deepest depths of corruption and that, we will soon find it impossible to come out of the labarynth knit around us by our own men – yes our own men. Corruption in India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Political corruption in India is a major concern.[1] A 2005 study done by Transparency International (TI) in India found that more than 50% of the people had firsthand experience of paying bribe or peddling influence to get a job done in a public office.[1] Taxes and bribes are common between state borders; Transparency International estimates that truckers pay annually US$5 billion in bribes.[2] For 2010, India was ranked 87th of 178th countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, which was a huge setback from the preceding year. Criminalization of Indian politics is a problem.[3][4] In July 2008 The Washington Post reported that nearly a fourth of the 540 Indian Parliament members faced criminal charges, â€Å"including human trafficking, immigration rackets, embezzlement, rape and even murder†.

Classical Economics Essay

The neo-classical economics movement has been touted as the replacement to classical economics movement as it appeared to have been presented as an improvement to the beliefs and ideologies of that of the classical economics movement. Not many people agree with this fact as it stands though. While some think that the neo-classical movement represents an evolution of economic theory from the early and probably flawed version which was the classical economic theory to a more advanced, sophisticated and improved theory, others believe that the neo-classical movement represents the birth of an entirely new discipline that had decided to abandon a lot of the questions and issues that the classical economic movement had been riddled with instead of trying to find a better approach to arriving at reasonable solutions for those issues. As a result of these contrasting views, it is necessary to delve into the origins of both movements, carry out a thorough analysis of the modus operandi and arrive at a reasonable conclusion by taking a subjective stance on the matter. In doing this, some of the issues that will be addressed include: the specific issues that the neo-classical economic movement and the classical economic movement really address, how much overlap there is between the named set of issues, the kinds of analytical methods used in both economic movements, and whether the neo-classical analytical method is more effective at accomplishing its own goals as well as that of the classical economic methods (even better than the classical economists themselves). Classical Economics The birth of the classical economics movement is largely attributed to Adam Smith as a result of his 1776 publication titled The Wealth of Nations, although Jean-Baptiste Say, David Ricardo, Robert Thomas Malthus and John Stuart Mill (over a period of about hundred years) are all seen as the major contributors to the development of the movement (Evans & Phillips, 2006). Adam Smith laid emphasis on the fact that a perfect economy is self-regulatory in the sense that the needs of the population present in that economy are automatically satisfied. He coined the term ‘invisible hand’ as a mechanism that is responsible for the propelling of the populace to pursue their individual self-interests which indirectly promotes the general improvement of the society (Evans & Phillips, 2006). This emphasis served as the basic foundation of the classical economic movement. David Ricardo on the other hand, stressed that profits and wages were drastically affected by increase in the price of rent. The increase in rent according to Ricardo was as a result of the increasing population which is a consequence of the fixed availability of land (Evans & Phillips, 2006). Reverend Robert Thomas Malthus in his suggestion averred that unemployment in a market economy is caused by the economy being frugal with spending. However, he was more famous for his population theory that explains that food production increased at an arithmetical progression while population increased at a geometrical progression (Evans & Phillips, 2006). This implies that with time, the population will soon outgrow food supply and the limited amount of available which will result in diminishing returns to labor (Evans & Phillips, 2006). The diminishing returns to labor in turn leads to a radical reduction in the standard of living as a result of the low wages that workers are paid. John Stuart Mill’s proposition took into consideration, the fact that resource allocation and income distribution, which happened to be the two major roles of the market system were distinctive from each other and that the market may not be efficient enough to perform both roles therefore, the involvement of the society is required to compliment the inefficiencies (Evans & Phillips, 2006). The term ‘classical economists’, was first used by the father of communism, Karl Marx to describe the group of economists that shared the same beliefs regarding the labor theories of value. At a time when capitalism was gaining grounds at the expense of feudalism, and when the industrial revolution was rapidly restructuring the society, it was necessary to re-examine and re-define the status quo by ensuring that the nation’s economic interests as a whole lies in and is determined by market forces instead of the autocratic and individualistic determinants that were formerly widespread (Evans & Phillips, 2006). Since then, various classical economists, such as Samuelson Paul, Hollander Samuel, John Hicks, Kaldor Nicholas, and Luigi Pasinetti, have thoroughly studied how the wealth of a nation grows and how policies need to be implemented so that the nation’s wealth continually grows. In doing this, the aforementioned economists (Samuelson et al. ) basically presented various recognized models so as to define their own analysis of classical economics. A major contribution of the classical economists was the development of the labor theories of value whereby the market values of commodities are associated to the various labor efforts that is needed to produce them. These theories of value were largely attributed to William Petty, Adam Smith, and David Ricardo who were acclaimed to have developed them so as to suitably look into economic dynamics. In order to properly make the representation of the regularities found in prices easy, the classical economists brought about a basic distinction between market price which is largely affected by many short-lived influences which are not easily put forward at the theoretical level and natural prices of commodities which are responsible for taking into consideration, the continual forces that are operating at a given point in time (Evans & Phillips, 2006). As far as the labor theories of value are concerned (as seen especially by Adam Smith), when an individual purchases a commodity, the real value of that commodity as far as the individual is concerned, is the practical sum total of the exertion that the individual underwent in purchasing the commodity. In other words, the actual value of a commodity (from the consumer’s angle) lies in the labor that is expended in the acquisition process of the commodity. Also, the value of a commodity from a producer’s angle is the total stress or trouble that has been experienced in order to arrive at the finished product. This also implies that the actual value of a commodity (from the manufacturer’s perspective) lies in the labor that is expended in the production process of the commodity. The labor described above depicts that which does not involve a pleasurable experience in the sense that the individual (consumer or producer) does not conveniently or pleasantly go through the experience of acquiring or manufacturing the commodity. In this case, labor is seen as opposing to utility. As a result of this, the natural price of a commodity is determined by the summation of profits, wages and interests (from Adam Smith’s proposition), although this view differs between the classical economic thinkers’ community because David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, and Robert Thomas Malthus all had varying concepts (though similar to an extent) about labor value of theory. The classical economic movement also addressed the issue of comparative advantage, especially David Ricardo. The principle of comparative advantage suggests that each nation should specialize in the production of the particular commodities that it can efficiently produce (Evans & Phillips, 2006). It should then seek to import every other commodity it needs. The implication of this is that the total output of the nations of the world would be more than if the nations decided to be more self-sufficient. This theory served as the foundation of the theory of international trade and immensely influenced the free-trade doctrine aspect of classical economic thought (Evans & Phillips, 2006). Classical economists also addressed the issue of the theory of distribution which proposed that the national product is divided between laborers, capital owners, and landlords. These three social classes share national products in the form of wages, profits, and rents, i. e. wages in the case of laborers, profits in the case of capital owners, and rents in the case of landlords (Evans & Phillips, 2006). It is therefore possible for one of the above-mentioned social class to achieve a superior allocation of the national product over the other social classes. There is hardly any common characteristic between the above mentioned issues that were addressed by the classical economists. The theory of comparative advantage is not related to the theory of distribution as well as the labor theories of value. Therefore, the issues cannot be said to be overlapping. The analytical method utilized by classical economists involves the historical-deductive method (Evans & Phillips, 2006). The economists that belong to the classical economic movement actually observe real life situations and then from their observations, they propose solutions to economic problems. The solutions arrive largely as a result of the fact that the observer has noticed a pattern and can then deduce a likelihood of such pattern occurring again based on the tendency of the pattern to repeat itself as had already been observed. A typical example of the historical-deductive analysis employed by classical economists is the input-output analysis. The technique behind this method involves viewing the raw materials of a production process as an input while the semi-finished or finished product is seen as the output (Evans & Phillips, 2006). Such semi-finished or finished product may be used as an input to another process which will result in a different output. In other words, the output of one industry is the input if another industry and this happens over and again when the economy is concerned as a whole. Neoclassical Economics The â€Å"Marginalist Revolution† was responsible for the introduction of the neoclassical economic movement. It was as a result of the theories of William Stanley Jevons, Carl Menger and Marie-Esprit-Leon Walras. Jevons reflected this theory in his 1871 publication titled Theory of Political Economy, Menger in his 1871 publication titled Principles of Economics, and Walras in his 1874 publication titled Elements of Pure Economics (Evans & Phillips, 2006). William Jevons’ concept of utility was largely influenced by the utilitarian principles of John Stuart Mill and that of Jeremy Bentham because of the integration of their hedonic conception in his works (Evans & Phillips, 2006). However, his view was different from those of Mill and Bentham on the grounds that value depends on utility among other things. He opined that the contentment or satisfaction derived from goods and services will always tend to reduce at the margin. For instance, the more cups ice cream an individual takes, the less pleasure such an individual derives from the last cup of ice cream until finally, the individual stops taking the ice cream. This principle is otherwise explained as the theory of diminishing returns. He also modeled his theories after mathematical principles found in mechanics thereby incorporating mathematics into economics. Carl Menger on the other hand, failed to agree with Jevons’ notion and did not embrace the hedonic conception that Jevons added in his own works. Instead, he tried to explain diminishing marginal utility in terms of an individual prioritization of the possible usefulness or uses of a commodity (Evans & Phillips, 2006). In other words, Menger posits that consumers will always act in a way that ensures that their satisfaction is maximized in all inclinations. In other words, consumers will always apportion their money in such a way that the last component of a good or service that they purchased generates no more satisfaction than the last component of another good or service that they purchased (Evans & Phillips, 2006). He also failed to embrace the incorporation of mathematics into economics as observed in the case of Jevons. Walras conversely was more focused on the market interactions within an economy and also had similar views with Menger on the concept of diminishing marginal returns. He was of the opinion that as small as the change in a consumer’s preference for a particular commodity might be, it would always affect the producer’s predilection to adjust production of such a commodity. For instance, a shift in the consumer’s preference from land phones to mobile phones results in the reduction in the price of land phones and a corresponding increase in the price of mobile phones. The producer or manufacturer as the case may be would shift production to mobile phones which will lead to increase in market supply thereby setting a new price equilibrium between both commodities. Although the trio of Jevons, Menger, and Walras were responsible for the originating the Marginalist concept of economics which birthed neoclassical economics, their works were not so popular until it they were popularized by Francis Edgeworth, Alfred Marshall, Philip Henry Wicksteed and Lionel Robbins (Evans & Phillips, 2006). These set of economists were called the consolidators while Jevons, Menger, and Walras were known as the revolutionaries. Although not very common, a few economists have been referred to as the main proto-marginalists. These less-notable economists include Antoine Augustin Cournot (1838), Jules Dupuit (1844), Johann von Thunen (1850) and Heinrich Gossen (1854) (Evans & Phillips, 2006). Their era preceded that of the revolutionaries, but it was not until when Jevons, Menger and Walras published their own works that the Marginalist concept came into the economics public enlightenment. Also, the popularity of the Marginalist theory did not end with the consolidators; there was this group of economists known as the Revivalists who further incorporated the Marginalist theories into their own work, thereby leading to further popularization of the concept (Evans & Phillips, 2006). The economists that belong to the ‘Revivalist movement’ include: John Hicks (1939, 1934), Harold Hotelling (1938), Oskar Lange (1942), Maurice Allais (1943), and Paul Samuelson (1947) (Evans & Phillips, 2006). In one way or the other, all the above mentioned economists had a major role to play in the origin of the neoclassical economic movement. Another peculiarity of the neoclassical community of economics is that there appears to be factions or different ‘schools of thought’. This was as a result of the independent nature of the pioneers. That is, Jevons was writing in England, Menger from Austria, and Walras from France. They were not aware of each other as at that time and as a result; different schools of thought developed thereby presenting the neoclassical economic movement as an embodiment of different schools. These schools include the Lausanne School, Vienna School, Paretian School, Cambridge School, to mention but a few (Evans & Phillips, 2006). The neoclassical movement as a whole tends to address the issue of marginal utility. Marginal utility refers to the ‘utility’ that is derived from an increase in the consumption of a particular good or service. It could also refer to the ‘utility’ lost from a decrease in the consumption of a particular good or service. It results in the concept of diminishing marginal utility previously described, that is, more utility is obtained during the first consumption of the unit of a particular commodity than is obtained during the second consumption and this occurs in subsequent consumptions. It is basically what the Marginalist revolution was about. While consumers of a commodity strive to maximize the utility derived from the commodity, the producers or manufacturers of the community also tend to maximize profit in the process. Apart from maximizing utility and profits, the neoclassical economic movement also addressed the issue of rational preferences. Every human behavior is guided by a rational reasoning. This implies that an individual will always tend to select that which appears to be appropriate as far as satisfying his or her needs is concerned. As a result, such an individual develops a preference for that good or service that would suitably be of benefit to them by comparing the costs and benefits of their actions. Another issue that was addressed by the neoclassical economists was the question of how people act on the â€Å"basis of full and relevant information† (Evans & Phillips, 2006). It was proposed that an individual acted independently on this basis because the more relevant information such an individual had on a particular product, the better the chances of maximizing utility. From the mentioned issues, it is evident that there is a kind of overlap between them. For instance, an individual that has a relevant information on a particular good or service is then provided with the choice of comparing the costs and benefits of acquiring such product or service. After comparing the costs and benefits, the individual chooses to either develop a preference for that product or some other favorable product in order to maximize utility. The analytical method utilized by neoclassical economists involves the hypothetical-deductive methods (Evans & Phillips, 2006). This method is more mathematical in nature thus leading to the neoclassical economists being accused of â€Å"mathematicalizing† economics. In order to observe the economic system for the sake of analysis, neoclassical economists strive to develop various tools that will aid them in analyzing the system. These tools are developed with from mathematical models and are then used to hypothetically deduce an explanation or solution to the defined problem. A typical example of this method of analysis is the marginal revenue that is usually used to calculate the extra income that will be gained from selling an additional unit of a particular commodity. Mathematically, it is described as the rate of change of total revenue per change in the number of units sold and can be expressed as From the relation above, TR is the total revenue, P is the price of the commodity and Q is the quantity demanded. When the price does not change with quantity, then meaning that the marginal revenue is equal to the price of the commodity (Evans & Phillips, 2006). To address the main purpose of this essay, which is to know whether neoclassical economics represents an evolution of economic theory from an early, flawed version (Classical Economics) to a more advanced, improved theory or rather represents the birth of a new discipline that decided to abandon many of the questions and issues that had troubled Classical Economics instead of trying to offer a better way to address them, it can be inferred from the above discussion of both economic theories that contrary to the popular views of people that neoclassical economic theory evolved from classical economic theory so as to amend its flaws, the opposite (not reverse) is the case, that is, the neoclassical economic theory actually evolved from the classical economic theory but it addressed a complete set of totally different issues. The reason for this assumption is evident. The classical economic theories as earlier discussed mainly addressed the issues concerning the labor theories of value, theories of distribution, and that of comparative advantage while the neoclassical economic theories essentially address the issue of marginal utility, rational preferences, and the predilection of individuals to act on the basis of full and relevant information. Placing these issues side-by-side, one would observe that they are quite different and do not seem to overlap. This means that as much as it is that the neoclassical economists evolved from the classical economists, their views are entirely different and do not seem to correlate. For instance, the theories of distribution which emphasize that national the national product is divided between the laborer, capital owner and the landlord, is not in any way applicable to any of the issues attended to by the neoclassical economists. Similarly, the theory of marginal utility as an issue addressed by the neoclassical economists is not applicable in either the labor theory of value, comparative advantage principle or the theory of distribution. What this spells out is that the neoclassical economic movement represents the birth of an entirely new discipline that has decided to abandon many of the questions and issues that had troubled classical economics instead of trying to offer a better way to address them. Instead of improving on the issue of labor theory of value, it chose to adopt a totally new issue which it termed theory of marginal utility thereby creating difficulties when it comes to finding a correlation between both economic movements. Also, when considering the analytical tools employed by both economic movements, it is apparent that there are conflicting issues as well which further buttress the point that is being made here. While the neoclassical economists are hypothetically or mathematically inclined, the classical economists are historically inclined. Generally speaking, most scholars who have studied both methods of analyzing the economy would stick with the classical because it is believed that economics as a social science is more accurately gauged by the historical approach than mere mathematical models which failed to address the issues surrounding the great depression in the 1920s when it occurred. Subjectively speaking therefore, the neoclassical economic movement does not improve on classical economics as claimed by many but instead, it addressed a brand new project. Finally, given the methods of economic analysis employed by both, it is evident that the neoclassical analytical method is not as effective at addressing its goals as much as the classical analytical method is at addressing its own goals which still points out the point that has been made by this essay. References Evans, B. , & Phillips, S. (2006). Comprehensive History of Economics (4th ed. ). Pretoria: Brayton Publishers.