Son of the Revolution Essay Example

Son of the Revolution Essay An autobiography â€Å"The Son of the Revolution† by Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro is an astonishing story that illustrates two decades of the economic, political and cultural situation in China between late 50s and 70s. The book embraces the time of the Cultural Revolution, which consisted of various political movements such as The Hundred Flowers Movement, The Great Leap Forward, and so on. The concurrent presence of the mighty superpowers like the Soviet Union and the USA on the international scene has dramatically worsened the situation in China. According to the research of two political scientists it would be appropriate to assert that: during the Cold War, China was the only major country that stood at the intersection of the two superpower camps, a target of influence and enmity for both. (Nathan and Ross 13). In early 1950s China occupied a vast territory and was a country that had to be taken into consideration, especially by the two superpowers. China became a partner of the Soviet Union within the framework of mutual communist development and cooperation. In 1953-57 a number of treaties of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance were signed up by China and the USSR. It has led to the development of the Chinese industry and an increase in manufacturing capacity. The Soviets were providing China with a significant number of experts, scientific innovations, material and technical basis. In the middle of the XXth century, China’s leader Mao Zedong was strongly influencing the ideology using it as the most important mean for shaping the nation’s points of view. Moreover, being involved in the confrontation between the USA and the communists, China joined the latter getting much profit from the relationship than from any other partnership before. The USSR was supplying C hina with national security, supporting it financially as the Western countries established an economic freeze on the Chinese products and services. Thus, the power of the Communist ideology has strengthened and became even more crucial for the future of the country. We will write a custom essay sample on Son of the Revolution specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Son of the Revolution specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Son of the Revolution specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The power of that political situation can be observed from the fact that Liang Heng’s father being one of the main book’s characters has been a devoted follower of Mao throughout the story. His son’s childhood was imbued with ideological slogans assuring young Liang Heng in the reality of life where he should be a â€Å"Chairman Maos Good Little Boy†. In spite of humiliation, cruel and unjust attitude Liang Shan has experienced, he remained an honest servant of the communism regime and couldn’t turn off the road. At first, Liang Heng behaves himself as his father ordered him to behave. He enjoys listening to Mao’s speeches, talking about it with the family members and other people. The vivid example of young Heng’s delight and enthusiasm associated with his imposed political preferences and believes is depicted in the book when Mao arrives to Peking and gives a speech outdoors. The crowed is so happy to observe the chief person of the country that some start stating that they have touched Mao’s hand. The panic seizes people and they try to get closer to each other in order to even distantly feel the spirit of â€Å"the Great†. Afterwards, seeing the leader again, Liang Heng calls Mao the reddest sun of his heart and tells everybody about his incident with the Chairman. (Liang and Shapiro 124). Obviously, the situation of mutual understanding between two powerful states has become an unpleasant surprise for the USA that was put face to face with an international confrontation. In order to perform a retaliatory blow, the latter came into operation by levying the Korean and the Vietnam War. As a consequence of the USSR’s effort scattering, China turned away from its former influential partner and launched the policy of international relationship strengthening. The crack in the relationships between Mao’s China and the Soviets took place after Stalin’s death. Mao Zedong concluded that it was time to proclaim him a headquarter, hereby immediately ranking the USSR as an enemy and a competitor. Throughout the book â€Å"Son of the Revolution† the Chinese home policy is severely influencing the Liang Heng’s character and his whole environment as he is trying to fit in the system with great eagerness. The communist ideology in China was such, that people were forced to believe in the horror and nightmare of the capitalism.   The book describes the multi-valued strategy of the China authorities toward the ordinary people. On one hand, the governmental strategy according to which capitalism has a negative impact on moral values of the whole mankind is publicly broadcasted, but on the other hand the same officials and their representatives take all actual adverse possessions such as real estate, personal items, cattle away from their population. It may be clearly observed in the dialogue between Liang Heng’s father and Guo Lao-da – a farmworker: What shall I do? My ducks have supported me my whole life. Do they want us to starve to death to fight Capitalism? Hush, whispered Father. They could blow out your brains for saying less. Then he spoke softly with him until the fire bummed down very low. I was already asleep in the kitchen when Guo Lao-da went out to kill the ducks. (Liang and Shapiro 211). Witnessing all these challenges and rebelling against the inequity, Heng expresses his emotions in one of the letters to his friend who is considered to be an enemy. He questions the achievement of the Cultural Revolution, he tries to find an answer for being treated so unfairly and endeavours to reveal the reason why people have contributed so much to the national prosperity receiving nothing in return. The situation where Liang Heng, Liang Shan and others found themselves was a favourable environment for disappointment and self-underestimation. The focus of the story lies in millions of the devastated lives that served faithfully to the regime but all of a sudden were back where they’ve started. The general tragedy of the period described in the book is that the ideology looked better in theory. That is when people hoped to be equally treated and to have equal rights and respective incomes. They were neither lazy nor foolish; they did their best to lead a happy life remainin g utterly devoted to the leader and his representatives. Instead, their lifestyles were harsh and oppressive, full of unexpected problems, constant diffidence and uncertainty. All of them were hoping for a single ray of hope in the darkness of reality. In search of a better life many of the Chinese immigrated to another prosperous countries. Liang Heng did the same and was hoping to come back in a number of years and become a witness of a country’s economic, cultural and social development. Unfortunately, it didn’t come true. Moreover, he has noticed that the authorities were not encouraging people to reveal their talents, skills and knowledge. Their policy demanded the same conformity and regime creating an atmosphere of equality. But the latter was more linked to the equality of national disability to develop and create.

Diversification Strategies Essays

Diversification Strategies Essays Diversification Strategies Essay Diversification Strategies Essay Diversification is a signifier of corporate scheme to increase profitableness of a company through greater gross revenues volume obtained from new merchandises and new markets. It occurs either at the concern unit degree or at the corporate degree. It is a hazard direction technique that mixes a broad assortment of investings within a portfolio. It attempts to smooth out unmethodical hazard events in a group so that the positive public presentation of some investings will neutralize the negative public presentation of others. Companies may diversify for strategic aims. expected outcomes. valuable comparing between scheme and enlargement. Some companies diversify by suppressing new places through amalgamations and acquisitions whiles others diversify when there are non much growing chances for the market they are in. There are many grounds for prosecuting a variegation scheme. but most pertain to management’s desire for the organisation to turn. Companies must make up ones mind whether they want to diversify by traveling into related or unrelated concerns. They must so make up ones mind whether they want to spread out by developing the new concern or by purchasing an on-going concern. There are advantages to variegation. beyond merely spread outing one’s merchandise line. For illustration. a diversified company is potentially better insulated against a loss of gross in one concern tranche. Diversification schemes are used to spread out firms’ operations by adding markets. merchandises. services. or phases of production to the bing concern. The intent of variegation is to let the company to come in new lines of concern that are different from current operations. When the new venture is strategically related to the bing lines of concern. it is called homocentric variegation. On the other manus. when the new and the old concerns are unrelated it is classified as Conglomerate variegation which occurs when there is no common yarn of strategic tantrum or relationship between the new and old lines of concern. intending the new and old concerns are unrelated. Compare and contrast the two businesses- core concern. their size. financials. planetary presence. usage of e-business ( selling. gross revenues. etc. ) . Johnson A ; Johnson Inc. – Successful Johnson A ; Johnson is an American transnational pharmaceutical company founded in 1886. fabrication unfertile surgical supplies. Its nucleus concern is the fabrication of medical devices and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a constituent of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is listed among the Fortune 500. The corporation has grown to hold more than 250 runing companies in 60 states using about 116. 000 people. bring forthing medical specialties and medical devices. every bit good as consumer merchandises like healthful goods. babe shampoo and dental floss. National Semiconductor Corporation – Unsuccessful National Semiconductor Company has an international repute for semiconducting materials. The pioneering bit shaper offers a assortment of incorporate circuits ( ICs ) . particularly linear and mixed-signal ( intermixing parallel and digital maps ) french friess. Its merchandises focus on parallel french friess. which transform physical information – visible radiation. sound. force per unit area. even radio moving ridges – into informations that a computing machine can utilize. National Semi’s french friess are used in radio. networking. medical. solar. automotive. and industrial applications. It gets more than 75 % of gross revenues from clients outside the US. mostly to contract makers that serve its OEM clients. In the seventiess. the company tried to do electronic consumer merchandises in add-on to the semi-conductors that went inside them. Compare and contrast their results ( one successful. one unsuccessful ) Johnson A ; Johnson Johnson A ; Johnson is a diversified health care company that develops. industries and markets merchandises in three primary lines of concern: Pharmaceuticals ( 41 % of gross revenues ) . Medical Devices and Diagnostics ( 35 % ) and Consumer Products. Since the 1900s. the company has pursued steady variegation. It added consumer merchandises in the 1920s and created a separate division for surgical merchandises in 1941 which became Ethicon Inc. It expanded into pharmaceuticals with the purchase of McNeil Laboratories Inc. . Cilag. and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. and into women’s healthful merchandises and toilet articless in the 1970s and 1980s. In recent old ages. Johnson A ; Johnson has expanded into such diverse countries as biopharmaceuticals. orthopaedic devices. and Internet publication. Recently. Johnson A ; Johnson has purchased Pfizer’s Consumer Healthcare section. The passage from Pfizer to Johnson and Johnson was completed December 18. 2006. National Semiconductor Corporation The company wasn’t suited for retail fabrication. and was crushed by companies that were. By the clip digital tickers became popular in America ; National had been driven from the market place. agony losingss that overshadowed its success in semiconducting materials. Analyze the three primary grounds for the different results. First. Johnson A ; Johnson diversified into points that are strategically related to the company’s bing lines of concern. Johnson A ; Johnson is a diversified health care company that develops. industries and markets merchandises in three primary lines of concern: pharmaceuticals. medical devices and nosologies and Consumer Products. On the other manus. National Semiconductor Corporation entered into the production of unrelated merchandises which is non common yarn of strategic tantrum or relationship between the new and old lines of concern. intending the new and old concerns are unrelated. Second. Johnson A ; Johnson diversified through amalgamations and acquisitions of new companies. For case. it expanded into pharmaceuticals with the purchase of McNeil Laboratories Inc. . Cilag. and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. and into women’s healthful merchandises and toilet articless in the 1970s and 1980s. In recent old ages. Johnson A ; Johnson has expanded into such diverse countries as biopharmaceuticals. orthopaedic devices. and Internet publication. Recently. Johnson A ; Johnson has purchased Pfizer’s Consumer Healthcare section. The passage from Pfizer to Johnson and Johnson was completed December 18. 2006. On the other manus. National Semiconductor Corporation entered into variegation to do electronic consumer merchandises in add-on to the semi-conductors that went inside them. They did non ship on growing scheme through acquisition and amalgamations. They had stiff resistance and were crushed by companies suited for retail fabrication. Last. Johnson A ; Johnson variegation scheme is good matched to the strengths of its top direction squad members which are factored into the success of that scheme. On the other manus. National Semiconductor Company top executives did non pull off variegation efficaciously. Recommend two actions the unsuccessful 1 could hold made to do their variegation venture successful First is that National Semiconductor should guarantee a variegation scheme which is good matched to the strengths of its top direction squad members and factored into the success of that scheme. Different variegation schemes require different accomplishments on the portion of a company’s top directors. and that factors should be taken into consideration before houses are joined. For case. the success of a amalgamation may non depend merely on how incorporate the connection houses become. but besides on how good suited top executives are to pull off that attempt. Secondly National Semiconductor should diversify into related merchandises where they can command the market. To reason. I must state that if variegation scheme is done strategically to associate to the company’s bing line of concern or diversified through amalgamations and acquisitions of new companies with the support of its top direction squad members. so its aim of growing and hazard pickings can be achieved.

Cultural Geography Overview

Cultural Geography Overview Cultural geography is one of the two major branches of geography (versus physical geography) and is often called human geography. Cultural geography is the study of the many cultural aspects found throughout the world and how they relate to the spaces and places where they originate and then travel as people continually move across various areas. What Is Cultural Geography? Some of the main cultural phenomena studied in cultural geography include language, religion, different economic and governmental structures, art, music, and other cultural aspects that explain how and/or why people function as they do in the areas in which they live. Globalization is also becoming increasingly important to this field as it is allowing these specific aspects of culture to easily travel across the globe. Cultural landscapes are also important because they link culture to the physical environments in which people live. This is vital because it can either limit or nurture the development of various aspects of culture. For instance, people living in a rural area are often more culturally tied to the natural environment around them than those living in a large metropolitan area. This is generally the focus of the Man-Land Tradition in the Four Traditions of geography and studies human impact on nature, the impact of nature on humans, and people’s perception of the environment. Cultural geography developed out of the University of California, Berkeley and was led by Carl Sauer. He used landscapes as the defining unit of geographic study and said that cultures develop because of the landscape but also help to develop the landscape as well. In addition, his work and the cultural geography of today is highly qualitative rather than quantitative - a main tenant of physical geography. Today, cultural geography is still practiced and more specialized fields within it such as feminist geography, childrens geography, tourism studies, urban geography, the geography of sexuality and space, and political geography have developed to further aid in the study of cultural practices and human activities as they relate spatially to the world.

How Linguistics Helps to Explore the Language of Every Field Assignment

How Linguistics Helps to Explore the Language of Every Field - Assignment Example The information might provide guidance to the students in order to feel comfortable with the field by providing the following information. Linguistics is generally defined as the study of language. It brings every concern about the language into consideration. The language can be oral or written. Oral language in any form can be analyzed scientifically. It can be in the form of conversations, speeches or any formal talk. The major subjects of the field of linguistics are Phonetics, phonology, morphology, and sociolinguistics. The various subjects will help the students analyze the language from different perspectives depending on what aspect the person is interested in exploring. There is a debate about the common features that both linguistics and language studies hold. To make one point clear; linguistics and language study has no such distinction in its nature. They study the same aspects and features. The readings and the writers that will help in order to build the background knowledge of the students should be based on the introduction of the field. The readings will help to build the knowledge of the students. The advantages of the field are numerous. Being the primary source of communication between humans, language plays the vital role of inter-connecting humans which forms the basis of nearly all activities of human beings. The students after learning about linguistics will be master at analyzing the language of written and oral discourse. The students can also incorporate the field of literature into linguistics which will help them in the new field a lot.

Tabloid, Celebrity Internet Assignment Research Paper

Tabloid, Celebrity Internet Assignment - Research Paper Example He suggested four categories for the purveyors of news, namely: elite, prestige, popular, and tabloid (Sparks and Tulloch, 2000, 292). It follows a hierarchical classification where the best is the elite and the tabloid - at the bottom rung - is typified by poor quality in terms of structure and content. The differences demonstrate a reverse progression of content standards - from objective stories that are factual and substantial, the additional use of images, the emphasis on drama, action, entertainment, simplicity and immediacy, to the pure sensationalized content that focus on scandals, celebrity and crime. It is interesting to note that Paletz, identified TV shows such as American Journal, A Current Affair, Hard Copy and Inside Edition in addition to supermarket tabloids in the category of tabloid news (Sparks and Tulloch, 293). Rainwater supported this stratified characteristics when he explained the hierarchy and characteristics of taste and cultures are similar to the hierarc hy and characteristics of the U.S. class structure, pointing out that the taste that a person develops can largely depend on his or her class origins, particularly the quality of education. The idea is that tabloid media must cater to the low taste culture of a segment of the population that are not exposed to higher cultural origin - those that prefer â€Å"greater literalness† and the emphasis on action, as found in adventure stories, melodrama and violent sports (Rainwater, 2009, 356). Rainwater stressed that â€Å"taste culture often express the class concerns of their public† (356). This aspect highlights the cultural and social dimension to tabloid programming. The public reception to the Bonnie and Clyde movie demonstrate this position. It was positively received by the audience across various class groupings. But the appreciation came from diverging perspectives. The elite saw the material as a critique to the American society whereas lower class public saw it as a crime thriller, one that shocks and entertains. A comparison to history or historical documentary/narrative is an excellent approach to highlight the nature of tabloid media. According to Glynn (2000), history â€Å"depicts the current regime as the inevitable expression of an unbroken continuity rooted in human nature and a presumptively teleological social evolution† (138). The opposing approach is identified as genealogy, which focuses on discontinuity into our very being in an attempt to explore possibilities of the past and the future. As Glynn pointed out, the origin of tabloid media is aligned with its modalities since genealogy is all about depicting history â€Å"in the form of a concerted carnival† (138). What makes it appealing is the fact that it supposedly provokes laughter and entertainment as opposed to the sobriety and solemnity of pure truth. These points of view highlight the perception that tabloid media public tends to be drawn to fantastical m aterials that show extremely distorted truth in order to satisfy a thirst for entertainment. Also, media today - through technological advancement - has become a public forum where producers of content sets the stage and the millions of spectators can access or watch at the same time, regardless of geographical distance and time. There are authors who consider the media and the entertainment industry as a battleground wherein important messages, images, issues and constructs

Macroeconomic Analysis of Saudi Arabia and UAE

Macroeconomic Analysis of Saudi Arabia and UAE INTRODUCTION: The increasing economic development in UAE and Saudi Arabia has made these developing states an excellent nation for those people who choose to expand overseas or are interested in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Globalization aids to strengthen their distribution channel and their economies. Saudi Arabia is rapidly gaining importance as a manufacturer and economic leader in the world. These countries have eliminated many of their trade barriers now and have a free trade economic system that attracts many business men from around the globe who seek new consumers and target market for their products (Bloomberg, 2010). UNITED ABRAB EMIRATES PEST ANALYSIS: (P)OLITICAL: The stable political situation of UAE enough to attract almost any major financial institution that needs to invest. These financial institutions can assist in accessing capital markets emerging within the UAE economy. the banking system developed my emirates is a relationship based system of banking with the monetary policy and system capable enough to fulfill funding supplies of a later stage that may be equity leasing or loans (John, 2010). (E)CONOMIC: Out of three million population of UAE 60% of them are in the workforce. In the UAE economy the level of FDI is very high. Globalization has helped improve the UAE economy greatly by bringing in thousands of workers, services and products from throughout the world. UAE has been a member of World Bank, WTO and IMF for seven years. The country has huge wealth and has experienced trade surplus of approximately over 100 billion dirham in the past year (Tomlinson, 2010). (S)OCIAL: All of UAE citizens have high living standard, a western lifestyle and continues rising financial positions. The society remains free and open to all types of restaurants, tourism, sport and recreational activities. The multicultural nature of society and economy existing in UAE allows fir many of the foreigners to work there in well paid positions (Cateora and Graham, 2007). (T)ECHNOLOGICAL: The UAE population comprise of young and extremely technologically knowledgeable professionals. The IT industry aids tourism, hotel and IT service sector. The IT software industries and internet usage in the gulf region is double the rate of Europe. The UAE population has the largest users of internet, satellite and mobile phone within the Middle East (Cateora and Graham, 2007). SAUDI ARABIA PEST ANALYSIS: (P)OLITICAL: The politically stable government of Saudi Arab attracts many of the foreign investors and business men. The government also provides various incentives that attract many investors and tourism from around the globe (Morgan, 2010) (E)CONOMIC: Saudi Arab accounts for the worlds major oil producer and exporters. This allows Saudi economy to earn a high GDP. It also helps its current account to balance against the value of imports when the demand for oil is high (Griffin and Pustay, 2009). (S)OCIAL: The religious history of Saudi Arabia for the Muslim also holds great significance. In the religious seasons people from all over the world come to pay visit to the holy places. This accounts for much of the revenue for Saudi economy. Hotels, restaurants and residential places earn high revenue in these seasons (McGinley, 2010). (T)ECHNOLOGICAL: Saudi Arab is a country that keeps itself technologically updated as it needs to cater a massive population of tourists and visitors from around the world. Saudi Arab imports technological machinery from Japan and other countries which enables it to be established as well-technologically equipped country (Morgan, 2010) MACRO ECONNOMIC ANALYSIS OF BOTH ECONOMIES: BALANCE OF TRADE: It refers to the difference in the VALUE of imports and the VALUE of exports when a country trades (Stanlake and Grant, 1995). SAUDI ARABIA Saudi Arabian economy reported a trade deficit of about US$ 32638.2 MILLIONS in the year 2009 in spite of being the worlds largest producer and exporter of oil with more than 90% of exports being based on it. Major imports of Saudi Arabia include equipment, machinery, food stuff and chemicals with its main trading partners being European Union, China and Japan (Source: trading economics.com, indicators, international monetary fund) Analyzing the trend we see a stable balanced of trade from the year 2000 to 2006. It then gradually increases till 2009 and falls very rapidly in 2010.we also see rapid rise from the year 2005 to 2006 and from 2008 till 2010 (McGinley, 2010). UNITED ARAB EMIRATES The exports of natural gas and petroleum play an important role in the UAE export economy. It mainly imports chemical, machinery and equipment from its major trading partners: India, Japan, China and European Union (Menafn, 2009) (Source: tradingeconomies.com, Ministry Of Economy) Unlike Saudi Arabia, the BOT of UAE shows a positive upward trend. It grows steadily from the year 2001 to 2005 and rapidly reaches 211.3 billion 2007. It then falls to 170.85 billion in 2008 which is not too sharp a decrease as it has swiftly gone up in the year 2009-2010. GDP GROWTH RATE: It refers to the gross domestic product that is gained by calculating the difference between the imports and the exports (Hobday, 1988). SAUDI ARABIA The economy of Saudi Arabia expanded over 0.6% last year. The worth of Saudi Arabia GDP is 0.6% of the economic world or 369million dollars (Source: tradingeconomies.com, Saudi Arabian Central Department) The trend shown for the GDP rate of Saudi Arabia is not stable. We see a sharp rise and a sharp fall from 2001 to 2002 and from 2003 to 2004 reaching up to 7.66% from 2004 we see a fluctuating GDP rate that falls to 0.6% in the year 2010. This downward trend is not favorable for Saudi Arabia. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Unlike the, Saudi which expanded over the last year, UAE Economy experienced contraction of 2.10% last year. The UAE GPD is worth $ 261 billion and accounts for 0.42% of the total of the world economies. (Source: tradingeconomies.com, Ministry Of Economy) The UAE analysis of GDP growth shows a high GDP of about 8% from the start of 2001.UAE and Saudi Arabia has a similar trend till 2004. But UAE shows a 12% rise in GDP rate from 2001, unlike Saudi Arabia which shows just 8% from 2001. Saudi Arabia GDP falls to 0.6% by the end of the year 2010 while UAE experienced negative rate of -2.1% (Time out Dubai, 2009) INFLATION: Inflation refers to the general increase in the price levels over the period of time (Stanlake and Grant, 1995). SAUDI ARABIA The inflation rate through the year 2010 was reported at 5.51%. It touched historical heights in 2008 with inflation of 11.08 % (Source: tradingeconomies.com, Saudi Arabian Central Department) The inflation rate of Saudi Arabia shows an upward trend. It is 0.31% in 2001 and continues to rise till 2009. The economy then faces a gradual decrease in the inflation rate and it falls to 3.5% near 2010, from 11.08% same year. By the end of 2010 and the starting of 2011 we see inflation again expected to rise to 5.51% (Tomlinson, 2010). UNITED ARAB EMIRATES The average inflation rate of UAE is 6.27%. The historical highest inflation recorded for UAE had been 11.10 % (Source: tradingeconomics.com, Ministry of Economy) The inflation rate of UAE has grown steadily over the years. The trend shows no downward trend but it continues to grow from 2003 till 2008. Unlike Saudi Arabia high shows fluctuation and steady growth of inflation, UAE economy has faced an upward trend for inflation for the past years. UMEMPLOYEMENT: The unemployment rate is defined as the number of people of the total labor force who are unemployed or/and seeking for work (Turnovsky, 1977). SAUDI ARABIA According to the last report the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia was 10.5% in Saudi Arabia. From 1999 till 2009 Saudi Arabias unemployment rate reached to the average of 10.5%. The historical height of Saudi Arabias unemployment rate was recorded at 12%. (Source: tradingeconomies.com, Saudi Arabian Central Department) The unemployment rate illustrated above shows an upward trend of rising unemployment in the Saudi economy which is definitely not a favorable indicator for the overall economy. We see the percentage of the labor force unemployed falling from the year 2007 to 2009 sharply but it fails to keep it lower and rises again to 10.5% by the end of 2010. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES The unemployment rate of UAE far exceeds of that of Saudi Arabia. It was calculated as 20.60 in 2004 which was the historical height achieved for the UAE economy according to arabian news (Tomlinson, 2010) (Source: tradingeconomics.com, Ministry of Economy) For UAE economy the unemployment rate shows an upward trend but not as rapidly and sharp as for the Saudi Arabia. But the total percentage of the rate of unemployment in UAE is higher than of Saudi Arabia which has a fluctuating trend for unemployment. INTEREST RATE: It refers to the price of borrowing and lending (Hobday, 1988) SAUDI ARABIA The decisions making authority regarding the interest rates lies with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) (Cateora and Graham, 2007). (Source: tradingeconomies.com, Saudi Arabian Central Department) The interest rate trend shown above illustrates a downward initial trend and then a slight increasing graph followed by a sharper fall with a stable and constant rate from 2009 till 2010. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES The UAE interest rate decision making authority lies with the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (Ahmed, 2004) (Source: tradingeconomics.com, Ministry of Economy) The interest rate trend for the UAE economy and Saudi Arabian economy is very different. Un like Saudi Arabia UAE faces many fluctuation through the years from 20007 till 2009.it starts at a higher rate, remain stable, falls and then rises quite sharply. It then experiences little fluctuations and rests at 1.80 with the starting of 2011. SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT: SAUDI ARAB ECONOMY The over analysis of past trends suggest that the inflationary pressures might stay manageable and stable over the period of 2010-12 (John, 2010). This inflation will reflect the weakened interest rate .A weakened interest rate will compel people to spend more. Demand for money will rise as indicated by the monetarist view (Cateora and Graham, 2007). The increased supply of money will eventually increase the price levels as the quantity theory of money explains. There may be a fear of inflation which may exist then. Population growth will be generating some local price pressures. The economy is expected to grow by an average 3.7% in the upcoming year 2010-14. Resources reveal that the Saudi economy is expected to be greatly supported by extensive spending by the government thus absorbing a large proportion of the job market. A strong increase in investment projects by the government is also expected. There will be good domestic consumption of oil but weaker oil export due to higher o il prices (Bloomberg, 2010). Due to stronger investment projects from the government the economy will face greater injections into it which will result in falling unemployment rate and rising income levels. This will leave a favorable and positive impact on the Saudi economy in the upcoming years. But looking at the Saudi economy from the Keynes view/Classical theory of income and employment we see as the employment and income levels will rise due to injections in the economy, there will come a certain level, that aggregate demand will no longer bring any changes in the income and employment levels but prices will begin to rise which will indicate inflation in the long run (Shihab, 1996). UNITED ARAB EMIRATES The growth forecast for UAE is lowered by the IMF to less than 1% (Tomlinson, 2010). UAE economy is expected to grow 2.9% following year. The investment activity is expected to be weak as the emirate is trying to redefine its economic objectives (Bloomberg, 2010). As the UAE economy will try to reduce its rate of inflation unemployment is expected to rise as defined by the Phillips curve and his short theory of two devils that exist in the society. For the longer run, the monetarist view can also be taken into account when we will see UAE economy will try to reduce its rate of unemployment. The offered higher wages will ultimately be raising the cost of production in the long run and instantly growing inflation continuing the trend the economy showed for the pat years. This will result in falling income levels and higher rate of unemployment as the withdrawal and injection approach suggests (Menafn, 2009). Experts suggest that the above economies should try to reduce their rate if inflation especially in case of UAE. This may reduce the unemployment level and the levels of income will eventually raise giving people higher living standards. As for Saudi Arabia expert suggests the government to precede with its investment projects and attract other investors from throughout the world. As the current account of Saudi Arabia has been greatly affected by the rising oil prices, Saudi government should concentrate on developing trade and other export product that may cover the current account deficit (John, 2010).

In the lake of the woods Essay

In his novel In the Lake of the Woods Tim O’Brien paints a vivid image of the horrors of the Vietnam War, particular the savagery of the Thuan Yen massacre. While prior to reading the novel readers instinctively blame the soldiers themselves for their immoral actions, as the novel progresses, O’Brien shows that while the soldiers may have physically committed the brutal acts of murder, blame cannot solely be placed on them. O’Brien depicts the Vietnam landscape as one that, due its elusive and chaotic nature, was partially responsible for the horrors that the men committed. Furthermore, the very nature of man and our innate capacity for evil suggests that while the soldiers themselves committed the physical acts of terror, our capability to commit such atrocities when placed within the scenario of war means that any individual would have been taken over by the insanity of the conflict. Ultimately, O’Brien demonstrates that while the horrors of My Lai are unforgivable, there are extenuating circumstances which suggest that blame cannot solely be placed on the soldiers who themselves were at times victims to the nature of war. While O’Brien depicts the nature of war as chaotic, he never denies the individual responsibly that each soldiers had for the evils they committed while at war. Sorcerer comments that â€Å"this was not madness, this was sin. † By differentiating between â€Å"sin† and â€Å"madness† O’Brien shows the immorality of the soldier’s actions, rather than simply blaming the evils they committed on the Vietnam landscape. While â€Å"madness† suggests a lack of control and that the soldiers were unable to make moral decisions, â€Å"sin† is associated with a conscious decision to commit evils and thus an understanding of one’s immoral actions. The fact that in between the savage killing and sexual perversion of the Thuan Yen massacre solders were able to take smoke breaks suggests that the soldiers knew of the â€Å"pure wrongness† of their actions and yet never made the moral decision to stop the killings. If soldiers did in fact understand their actions, O’Brien asks whether they can ever be forgiven. â€Å"Justifications are futile† states O’Brien – the total disregard for the mores of our society means that we cannot justify nor excuse the ultimate acts of savagery that were exhibited in Thuan Yen. Such evils committed by men are unforgivable and thus, the soldiers who partook in the massacre must accept responsibility for their actions, at least to some extent. However, within a landscape as chaotic as that of the Vietnam War, O’Brien asks whether any individuals could have retained his sanity. If not, O’Brien suggests that some blame can be placed on the insanity of the environment of war that warped the moral codes of those who fought in there. Vietnam is depicted as a â€Å"the spirit world†¦ dark and unyielding†; a hellish environment in which the line between good and evil, moral and immoral and right and wrong had been blurred to such an extent that soldiers who had to endure the war landscape were sucked in by the chaos and the amorality. The question of whether any individual, let alone any soldier, would have been able to make moral decisions during war is one that is ever-present in O’Brien’s text. As readers witness the total disregard for human life that was the Thuan Yen massacre, it is hard to believe that any person, no matter how sane and morally upright one may have been before the war, could have retained their sanity within an environment that appears to reach into the soul of every soldiers and dislodge the part that enables us to make moral decisions. Varnado Simpson, a member of the Charlie Company states that â€Å"we simply lost control†¦ we killed all that we could kill. † In his court trial, Simpson defines the very nature of war, with its aimless shooting, elusive enemy and constant paranoia, as a scenario in which any individual would have been taken over by the hysteria that war created. Ultimately, O’Brien graphic depictions of the war landscape allow readers to sympathise with the soldiers and thus allow the blame to shifted, however not excused, from the soldiers themselves. In light of the very nature of war, O’Brien suggests that despite the atrocities of their actions, the inability to make moral and ethical decisions within the world of â€Å"ghosts and graveyards† means that the evils committed by the soldiers must be, at times, viewed with sympathy as well as the scorn that readers naturally thrust upon them. Furthermore, O’Brien demonstrates that it is the very nature of man and our innate capacity for both undying love and unbelievable destruction that ensures that, while their actions are unforgivable, soldiers can be viewed with sympathy. The â€Å"impossible combinations† of the war depicted by O’Brien reflect the ability of man to express both the dichotomies of love and destruction equally and at the same time – a seemingly â€Å"impossible combination† of its own. However, the very fact that these two traits are not mutually exclusive suggests that it is in our very nature to commit acts of evil when placed within a landscape such as that of war. John Wade did not go to war to kill or brutalise or even to â€Å"be a good citizen. † O’Brien ensures through repetition of the statement that â€Å"it was in the nature of love† that Wade went to war. How then, O’Brien asks, can Wade be solely blamed for his actions when his intentions in going to war were pure? While we cannot simply forgive Wade for the massacre in which he partook, O’Brien leads readers to view Wade not â€Å"as a monster, but a man. † Despite the horrors that he committed while at war, it appears as if John Wade was a victim not only of the war landscape, but of ultimately of human nature. In the concluding pages of the novel, as Wade slowly loses himself within the tangle of his own deceit, O’Brien asks if Wade was â€Å"innocent of everything but his own life. † The more poignant question, however, is whether Wade and the rest of the Vietnam veterans are innocent of everything but human nature and our innate ability to commit acts of evil. It is thus that O’Brien suggests that while the actions of the soldiers at Thuan Yen cannot be excused completely, the soldiers themselves cannot solely be blamed. â€Å"Can we believe that he was not a monster, but a man? † It is with this open ended question that Tim O’Brien draws to a conclusion the enigmatic story of Vietnam veteran John Wade. Despite the horrors that he committed throughout his life, most notably the Thuan Yen massacre, O’Brien asks whether humanity can view Wade as a man who was a victim to the chaos of war, to the capacity of human nature to commit evil and ultimately, to his own reality. The actions of soldiers at war cannot be justified – it is with this sentiment that O’Brien writes this antiwar protests – however there are undeniably extenuating circumstances which lead soldiers to commit acts of evil. While culpability should not be lifted from the soldiers completely and their actions should not be excused, O’Brien ensures that we sympathize with the soldiers as many of them were simply swept away in the amorality of the landscape. Ultimately, O’Brien explores human nature and the capacity that man had for destruction. It is this weakness, rather than that of any individual soldiers, that is ultimately responsible for the evils of war.