HOW DOES INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS SUCH AS WORLD TRADE Research Paper

HOW DOES INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS SUCH AS WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO), EUROPEAN UNION (EU) AND NORTH AMERICA - Research Paper Example Free trade has highly devastated American industries and American jobs at large. The Senator Barrack Obama in 2007 indicated his believe in free trade (Raskin, et al. 42). He however acknowledged that the burdens that came with this trade highly outweighed the benefits especially for millions of Americans. The trade has contributed to adverse working conditions. Underdeveloped countries will want to cut down on costs in a bid to benefit from price advantages but on the other hand, many employees in the respective countries end up facing low pay, bad working conditions and forced labor including abusive child labor. As underdeveloped countries attempt to cut costs to gain a price advantage, many workers in these countries face low pay, substandard working conditions and even forced labor and abusive child labor. Yet the WTO states that it does not consider a manufacturer’s treatment of workers reason for countries to bar importation of that manufacturer's products. The WTO howe ver notes that developing countries insist any attempt to include working conditions in trade agreements is meant to end their cost advantage in the world market. This trade often contributes to environmental damage. An increase of corporate farms in developing countries tends to increase pesticide and energy use, and in turn host countries ignore costly environmental standards. The Global Development and Environmental Institute, however, find the environmental impact mixed. The WTO is criticized for not allowing barriers to imports based on inadequate environmental standards in countries where goods are produced (Richardson 76-9). Yet the WTO points to its ruling in the 1990s allowing a U.S. ban on shrimp imports because fishing methods threatened endangered sea turtles outside U.S. borders. The extent to which environmental standards should be considered in free trade is an ongoing debate within the WTO. The trade agreements tend to draw protests from the U.S. public as a result o f feared job loss to foreign countries with cheaper labor. Yet proponents of free trade say new agreements help to improve the economy on either side. There is no clear picture of whether the trade significantly affects U.S. employment levels, given all the economic forces that affect job rates. Proponents of free trade contend that even if the economies of developing nations improve under free trade, those economies are still too small to have any real effect on the U.S. economy and job market (Goldstein 21). Unions have strongly criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Mexico and Canada as critically harmful to workers and the U.S. economy. The AFL-CIO argues NAFTA has harmed consumers and workers thereby contributing to a loss of jobs and drop in income while strengthening the clout of multinational corporations. The unions contend that the increased capital mobility facilitated by free trade has hurt the environment and weakened gover nment regulations. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), reports that many economists agree NAFTA has caused some overall improvement in U.S. jobs but with harmful side effects. Free trade can cause turbulence in sectors of a domestic economy, such as long-established

Evaluate the role of religion in the perpetuation and resolution of Research Paper

Evaluate the role of religion in the perpetuation and resolution of conflict - Research Paper Example ry religion has been a major engine to war, bloodshed, hatred and intolerance, in most case we have seen religion acting as an arbitrator between the conflicting parties. Therefore, to resolve conflicts between conflicting parties, religion has used empathy, openness to and even encouraged love for strangers, the suppression of unbridled ego and acquisitiveness, the communicative of human rights, unilateral gestures of forgiveness and humility, interpersonal repentance and acceptance of responsibility in past errors as a means of reconciliation and the drive of social justice. Religion has emphasized that people should view life as sacred and a gift offered to humankind by God. Therefore, each person should value others life by avoiding hurting the inner feeling either by messing with ones peace of heart by conflict or by murder. Many religion has encourage to practice the virtue of love to each other by practicing forgiveness in case one wrong the other instead of engaging themselves in a tug of war as a means of conflict resolution. Therefore, the sanctity of life should be observed at personal, social and political level. Religion has practiced the aspect of interiority by observing disciplines even in societies that are quite communally oriented. Through prayer, meditation, the experience of divine love, ecstasy, guilt and repentance all reflect the central importance of inner life of a person. When religion influences all these virtues in inner life of people it encourages people to have conflict resolution techniques. Conflicting parties through application of religious virtues are able to have self-control of their ego through the practice of love and kindness to each other. The role of empathy in western religion and traditions is critically essential. Religion has impacted the experience of empathy in terms of religious contexts to people either in terms of advocacy and long-term education or more directly in the workshop setting. For example, there is

History of Search Engines Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History of Search Engines - Dissertation Example nt of time, the files used to remain spread on unidentified public FTP servers which were only able to be found when someone declared a particular file’s availability through email and discussion forum or such similar sources. After a time-span of a year a dispersed search as well as recovery system procedure for documents known by the name of Gopher, was made available in the Internet. This was developed by a team of researchers belonging to the University of Minnesota. This release of Gopher was trailed by the emergence of few programs of searching known as Jughead as well as Veronica. These programs were stated to explore those files which were grouped in the directory systems of Gopher and made available a search related to the records and names with the help of a keyword on the numerous servers of Gopher (Gasser, 2006). Accessing the Internet speedily stretched outside its earlier area of research which was of industrial organizations and academic world. This reformation and alteration took place after the World Wide Web (WWW), which was made available publicly from August 1991, achieved vital mass in the year 1993. This was achieved with the help of the emergence of ‘Mosaic’ which was a web browser. ‘Mosaic’ was stated to be the initial program that offered a user a graphical user interface. Corresponding to the emergence of ‘Mosaic’, the earliest search engine of Web came forward. Wandex which was a directory of confined Universal Resource Locator (URL) and was founded on the earliest web crawler known as the World Wide Web Wanderer was developed. This was initially developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the reason of tracking the progress of the web. At the similar time, a range of search engines surfaced, entailing Aliweb.... This essay discusses that the information or data will be collected from secondary sources such as library materials. The sources will include journals, books, reports, articles, and magazines. This will be observed to be quite suitable for the research study owing to the easy accessibility and the broad mixture of sources which will assist in making the research more precise and correct. It is important that the information is gathered from the right sources. The legitimacy of the sources considered in this study will also be considered as a reason for selecting this process.The way of evaluating the information in this research study will be with the help of qualitative method. The qualitative method will be selected for the study as the data collected will consist of a wide range of information which will be to a certain extent impossible to be quantified. From the above discussion, the history of the search engines can be evidently traced. It can be inferred from the history that various search engines were released owing to their importance. Constant innovations were made so as to enhance the functions of the search engines. The amount of people browsing the web has been increasing with every passing day and so is the requirement of search engines. These not only aid in narrowing down one’s search but is also being used a source of promotion by the companies. The research will help to provide a pertinent reflection on this valuable factor in the global Internet platform.

Periodic Motion Problems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Periodic Motion Problems - Assignment Example The force applied on the spring reduces hence the tension. The spring therefore accelerate mass faster, therefore the period would be shorter. b. Taking it to the moon where gravity is weaker. (U) The gravity change would have no effect on the period taken since the mass and spring are still the same, therefore no change is expected. c. Weakening the spring (reducing the spring constant). (L) For a weakened spring, the force the spring exerts is decreased. The oscillations period would be therefore lengthened, would be longer d. Making the amplitude of the oscillation larger.(U) The amplitude does not affect frequency since the distance from relaxation position would increase the restoring force. Therefore, the frequency remains unchanged. 2. For a pendulum as in Fig 9.1.2: label how the following changes would affect the oscillation period. Label each as making the period shorter (S), longer (L), or unchanged (U). Explain your response. a. Taking it to a planet where gravity is larger.(S) Gravity affects the oscillation period from the formula of finding period using length and gravity. Therefore, as the gravity increases, the period decreases as they are inversely proportional b. Increase the mass hanging on the pendulum.(U) Period is mass independent. Therefore, at gravity all masses accelerate equally, hence the period is unchanged. c. Making the pendulum shorter. (S) The length is directly proportional to the period. Therefore a decrease in the pendulum length decreases the period d. Reducing the amplitude of the oscillation (assuming that it was not very big to start with). (U) The oscillations period remains constant due to the lack of relation to the amplitude. 3. The frequency of the tone produced by a violin string is higher (H), lower (L) or unchanged (U) if we make the following changes (note that here we are asking about the frequency, whereas on the earlier problems we were asking about the period of the oscillation, which is just the inverse of the frequency) : a. Making the string shorter. (H) The frequency of the tone is high. The shorter the string the higher the pitch, therefore the high frequency experienced. b. Making the string thicker. (L) The increased thickness increases the mass per unit length. Therefore the string moves slower which decreases the pitch, hence the frequency. c. Pressing the string down on the fingerboard.(H) The vibration reduces when the spring is pressed to the fingerboard; the active part is shortened. Therefore the pitch and frequency rose. d. Reducing the tension of the string. (L) The reduced tension of string causes slow movement of the string therefore the pitch and frequency reduced Explain your response. 4. I take a violin and make an exact co py of it, except that it is bigger. The strings are identical except for the length; they have the same material and the same tension. If the new violin is 2.30 times the size of the original, at what frequency would the string that was previously the A4 string (that is 440 Hz on a regular violin) oscillate? Use units of "Hz." Explain your response. When the size increases the pitch decreases, therefore 440Hz divided by 2.3 440Hz / 2.3= 191.30Hz 5. If your hearing cuts off at 17440 Hz, what is the highest harmonic of E5 string you can hear? The answer is an integer without units. Hint: The E5 string vibrates at 660 Hz. Explain your response. The highest harmonic is 17440Hz divided by 660Hz 17440/660=26.42 Rounding off, the highest harmonic to be heard is the 26th Harmonic 6. The frequency of the sound coming from the organ pipe is higher (H), lower (L) or the same (S) if we make the following changes to the organ: a. Moving the organ to a higher elevation. (H) The air is less dense at higher elevation, therefore the molecules move more

Eliminating Human Resource Problems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eliminating Human Resource Problems - Essay Example Altogether, these led to lower level of production and product quality. The problems stated above indicates greater core concerns which should be looked into. These are not the real problems but merely symptoms of the company's failure to establish an organizational structure suited to its human resource. These problems can be attributed to the grievance and dissatisfaction of the workforce as their needs remained unmet. I have come up with four recommendations which you can do in order to enhance employee morale and product quality in your department: employee empowerment, more open communications, motivational tools, and employee evaluation. 1. Employee Empowerment. The traditional approach of leaving decisions to the managers is now considered obsolete. I strongly believe that this is not working in your department. I believe that employees should be given the chance the chance to participate. It has been demonstrated that giving employees the chance to participate in the decision making of business organisations directly and significantly contributes to their job satisfaction. As human beings, employees have this innate desire to enhance their self worth. Without their participation and involvement, employees are left with the feeling that they are no more than the equipment that the company uses.

Country Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Country Analysis - Research Paper Example It was a collaboration of independent study and this Company's own study that we came up with some concrete decisions. Mexico is a good place of destination for tourists. Tourists can come from the USA because it shares a border with that economic power. Brazil also has a stable economic and political background. Both are stable politically and economically, so we have to give a discrete study and analysis on these two. Our study focused on the political, economic and business environments of the two countries touching on areas such as GDP and GNP, political background and stability and economic upturn or downturn during recent surveys. Primary research was provided by an independent think tank, but our very own Company did not waste time in surfing the web for possible clues and more data, from reference books, periodicals and other sources of data. This report analyses the sociopolitical and economic environments of Brazil and Mexico, and a commercial expansion potential for hotel industry. The basis for an expansion of a chain of hotels will be taken out of this study. Brazil and Mexico were chosen as expansion because the two countries showed growth in GDP in recent years. Our hotel business plans to expand by 2008 and has considered Mexico or Brazil to be the two countries where we can expand our business. ... Mexico is our next investment destination for our chain of hotels. 1.0 Introduction This report analyses the sociopolitical and economic environments of Brazil and Mexico, and a commercial expansion potential for hotel industry. The basis for an expansion of a chain of hotels will be taken out of this study. Brazil and Mexico were chosen as expansion because the two countries showed growth in GDP in recent years. 1.1. Product Profile Our hotel business plans to expand by 2008 and has considered Mexico or Brazil to be the two countries where we can expand our business. Our studies revolve around the socio-political, and economic and business environment perspectives of the two countries. We have concluded that it has to be only one country as place for expansion by the year, so that only one will be chosen as a result of this study. It will be either Brazil or Mexico. The studies focused on the cost of travel and tourism inside the country and the influx of tourists, costs of hotel accommodations and travel, international tourists who are the customers, and income expenditures. 2.0 Country Analysis on Mexico 2.1 Socio political environment of Mexico Mexico is an important tourism generator, just outside the top 20 in terms of expenditure, yet it is also a 'one destination' country. Roughly nine out of every ten outbound travelers go to the USA. A quarter of the population live in extreme poverty, while the richest 10% enjoy more than one-third of the total household income and the richest 20% earn more than half. According to the World Bank, Mexico ranks around 75th in the world in terms of GDP per capita, and a market to watch for the future. There was a catastrophe

My Experience and Understanding of Adventure-Based Counselling Essay Example for Free

My Experience and Understanding of Adventure-Based Counselling Essay According to Neill (2004), ‘Adventure therapy is the use of adventure-based activities and/or adventure-based theory to provide people with emotional and/or behavioral problems with experiences which lead to positive change in their lives.’ Adventure therapy is also â€Å"programming aimed at changing [specified] dysfunctional behavior patterns, using adventure experiences as forms of habilitation and rehabilitation† (Priest Grass, 2005). The underlying philosophy of adventure-based counseling (ABC) is experiential education and it stresses on one’s personal improvement through full value contract, adventure wave and challenge by choice (Schoel, Prouty Radcliffe, 1988). After several lectures, different skills were explained and even applied on ourselves. In this essay, these theories and experience will be discussed. Adventure-based counseling is part of the means of experiential learning. Educational psychologists usually define learning as â€Å"a change in the individual caused by experience† (Slavin, 1986, p.104). Through various experiences, people can learn from them and gain personal growth. Kolb (1984) suggested an experiential learning cycle, pointing out four essential elements of experiential learning, which are experience, review, conclusion and planning. Applying to Adventure-based counseling, experience means some challenging activities for groups or individuals. Review means encouraging individuals to reflect, describe, communicate and learn from the experience. Conclusion means concluding past and present experiences and planning means applying new learning in the future. There are several learning theories explaining how experiences can lead to learning, which means behavioral changes or cognitive developments. Operant conditioning proposed by Skinner states that successes, praise, positive feedbacks or rewards can act as positive reinforcers so that the subjects would be reinforced to act the same way again. Similarly, failures, punishments or negative comments would act as negative reinforcers which deter the subjects to act again (Skinner, 1968). In adventure-based counseling, participants would face some challenges and act. Some actions would lead to positive results, which would further reinforce participants to act in the same way when they face similar situations again. Some actions lead to negative results, which make them aware and change their behaviors next time. This can be applied also to changing of personalities and problem-solving skills. Undesirable personalities will be discouraged by failures or negative feedbacks while desirable personalities will be reinforced. Bandura suggested social learning theory that people can learn through observational learning and modeling (Bandura, 1986). Through observational learning, people would imitate others’ behaviors and learn from others’ successes or failures. In adventure-based counseling, when participants face the challenges individually, they would imitate what other participants do, or take others’ successes and failures in dealing with the challenges as example. So when they face the challenges, participants would improve along the sequence. When encountering group challenges, participants would imitate the socially desirable behaviors of their group mates or remind themselves not to behave socially undesirably after observing their group mates’ failures. This can enhance participants’ social skills. In cognitive aspect, James Coleman (1977) differentiates between the information assimilation process of the regular classroom and the experiential learning process. In traditional classrooms, knowledge is taught to students through direct instruction and they simply memorize the knowledge. Through information assimilation, the learners are expected to move from cognitive and symbol-processing sphere to the sphere of action through applying the general principles learned into novel situations. Experiential learning is in a reversed order, which involves actions sufficiently repeated that the learner is able to generalize from the experience. However, it is more etched into the brain as the learning can be associated with concrete actions and events, not just abstract symbols or general principles (Mllre, Priest, 1990). There are some important principles of adventure-based counseling, namely â€Å"Full Value Contract† and â€Å"Challenge by Choice† (Schoel, Prouty Radcliffe, 1988). â€Å"Full Value Contract† means an agreement among group members to value one’s own ideas and needs without ignoring or discounting others. â€Å"Challenge by Choice† means ‘individuals can choose their level of participation in any activity.’ (Neill, 2007) During our lectures, our lecturer Lau Sir has explained different theories by involving us to play games. After playing games, Lau Sir would explain how the games worked, the meaning of different procedures, and what can we learn throughout them. In the first lecture, a game ‘throwing the chicken’ was played. It is an ice-breaking game, aim at knowing the names of group members. Although it is a very easy game, it has lots of micro-skills included. At the beginning, Lau Sir has asked did anyone feel afraid of the chicken, which could show his caring to the participants, in order to build up the relationship between the leader and the participants. After one round of the game, Lau Sir required the participants to repeat the process, but with a faster speed, the participants would then move their chairs towards the center. This is using indirect intervention method, helping them to get closer and involve more into it, without directly telling them to sit closer or involve more. The other micro-skill ‘Challenge by Choice’ was also frequently used during lectures. For example, the ‘throwing the chicken’ game in the first lecture, the ‘trust ladder’ in the second lecture and different games during the overnight camp. All of these may only be just simply asking the participants that whether they want to play, but it was vital as it shows the respect to the participants. These skills were the easiest thing being omitted, but without it, the counseling work may be affected or even have some adverse effects. Although half of the lectures have passed, there is one more High-event Challenge Day and several lectures. I am looking forward to learn more different skills in counseling and leading games. Reference List Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social-cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Coleman, J. A. (1977). Differences between experiential and classroom learning. In M. T. Keeton (Ed.), Experiential learning: Rationale characteristics, and assessment, pp. 49-61. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Mllre, J. C. Priest, S. (1990). Adventure education. State College, DA: Adventure Publishing. Neill, J. (2004). Adventure therapy definitions. Retrieved from http://www.wilderdom.com/adventuretherapy/adventuretherapydefinitions.html Neill, J. (2007). Adventure-based counseling (ABC). Retrieved from http://wilderdom.com/ABC/ Priest, S., Gass, M. (2005). Effective leadership in adventure programming (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Schoel, J., Prouty Radeliffe,P. (1988). Islands of healing. A guide to adventure based counseling. U.S.A: Project Adventure. Skinner, B. F. (1968). The technology of teaching. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Slavin, R. E. (1986). Educational psychology: theory into practice. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.