The meaning of life Essay Example for Free

The meaning of life Essay Introduction: According to Saint Exupery in The Halo (2006), â€Å"Each man must look to himself to teach him the meaning of life. It is not something discovered: it is something moulded. † The meaning of life has a no specific definition; it depends on how each individual give meaning to their lives. It is a natural thing for an individual to curiously know about their life since their birth till death. Moreover, human beings are also curious to find out why they were put in this earth that is why babies keep touching everything in order to experience all their surroundings from the very beginning (Taylor, 2000). In this essay, the concept of meaning will be significantly analysed. Firstly, by defining the meaning which will secondly be followed by discussing the different types of needs an individual must meet to experience the meaning of life. Thirdly, the types of things that enhance and curb the experience of the meaning of life will be highlighted. Lastly, various practical steps will be described to enhance the experience of the meaning of life. This essay will be intertwined with personal reflections and aspirations that have enhanced the meaning of life for the writer. What is the meaning of ‘meaning’? Subjectivism: According to Eagleton (2007), everyone adds their own meaning to life. The meaning of life is never universal or complex. The meaning of life is very simple and people experience it when they understand the universe, themselves, their identity and their goal in life (Bennet, 2005). Subjectivists state that the meaning differs with individuals’ psychological and mental states and their desires and goals. For example one individual can find meaning of life in music or art while other may find it in attaining goals or in religion (REF). In addition to this, (REF) states that life only becomes meaningful when all the needs and wants are fulfilled and when the individual is content and satisfied with themselves. Super naturalistic views: On the other hand, spiritual beings consider their lives to be consequential and significant when they can reach the pious pathway God has set (REF). The God-centred view points out that the definitive meaning of life is holistically attained. Moreover, an individual will only figure out the meaning of life when they are not attached to the worldly desires (REF). Personal reflection: Personally, the meaning of life for me is constantly being in search for my identity and accomplishing the goals I have set in life. I explore my identity through my art work as it helps me express my feelings and emotions about everything. My art work makes me realize who I am as a person and what people interpret me as a person through my paintings. What types of needs must be met for a person to experience meaning in life? Searching the meaning of life is a motivational force in an individual however; the degree of motivation to which they search the meaning of life differs in all individuals (REF). Despite individuals having different degrees of motivation, there are some needs and conditions that must be met for the individuals to experience the meaning of life. Individuals do not necessarily have to meet the same needs and conditions to experience the meaning of life. Some individuals are inspired by other individuals like great artists, inventors and thinkers, some individuals need sense of belonging, some need to experience certain events to make sense of life while others need to attain autonomy and self efficacy to experience the meaning of life. In short, individuals can discover the meaning of life through social work, experiencing something or someone or reactions towards unavoidable circumstances (REF). For example, an individual who is very emotional needs to experience the need of belonging in order to experience the meaning of life. They need to have many friends and a good relationship with their family in order to satisfy their need of belonging; this helps the individual to live a happy and full life. However, if they do not feel the sense of belonging, they have no hope hence do not have anything to look forward to and see no point of living. Conversely, not all individuals need to meet the need of belonging to experience the meaning of life. Some may have to experience the need of autonomy and self efficacy. These types of individuals usually have certain goals and tasks in life which they believe they can attain thus that would help them experience the meaning of life. For example, an individual whose goal is to become a doctor tries to attain that goal by being a hard worker and devoting all his time to attain their goal. They would experience the meaning of life when they achieve the title of the doctor as it would help them conquer a place in the community and gain some prestige. In addition to this, if an individual fails to attain this need might gain a very low self esteem which would then impact on the choices they makes in life. They would become very dependent on others and would not be able to cope with that leading them to suffer from various health issues. What types of things enhance the experience of meaning in life? The meaning of life can be enhanced by sustaining life, accepting a teaching, giving life or creating wisdom (REF). For example things that would enhance the meaning of life for mothers, doctors and nurses is when they deliver as links in a biological chain by giving life from one generation to the other. Young artists are inspired and enhance their meaning of life when they authorize and respect and accept their teacher’s work (REF). Personally, as an artist, the meaning of life for me is enhanced when I can appreciate the work of different artists and what they are trying to express in their paintings. Art work makes me understand the different feelings individuals go though and how they express it through drawings. It also makes me see different viewpoints of life and experiences people are going through. Despite all individuals having different needs to discover the meaning of life, there are certain things that all individuals require to enhance the meaning of life like: Hope Inspiration Goals High self esteem. What types of things curb the experience of meaning in life? Many individuals curb their experiences of the meaning in life due to: No inspiration or goals and failure: If an individual constantly fails and has no potential and inspiration of achieving his goals may feel ineffective and hopeless. They may start feeling that they have no purpose in life and life is completely meaningless for them. Loss of loved ones: loss of a loved one through death or divorce may affect an individual mentally and emotionally. They may feel the are not loved and do not belong anywhere as their loved one does not exist anymore. The loss brings suffering and misery which makes an individual believe that like if meaningless. Lastly, experiences like these pushes an individual to have a low self esteem and become reserved (REF). Personal Reflection: If individuals are not open, emotionless or afraid to be seen as themselves due to low self esteem cannot enhance their meaning of life and hence would curb this experience. As an artist, my goal is to become an art teacher and help other children to express their feelings through painting if they cannot through words. However, I have a clear goal and always have been inspired by my father to attain this goal. If I had a low self esteem and did not believe in myself, I would have no hope hence that would curb the search of meaning of life as I would feel I am worthless Practical steps to enhance the experience of a meaningful life As mentioned above, many individuals curb their experiences of the meaning in life due to low self esteem, no inspiration, no goals and being reserved. However, they can enhance their experience firstly by accepting and believing in themselves. This would help them make a contribution to life and share their best. According to (REF) self-destructive behaviour can be conquered by increasing self-efficacy and self-esteem. This can be done through counselling so that they can start believing in themselves. Individuals who need the sense of belonging to experience the meaning of life should try and fit in and socialize with people they are close to and have good relationships with them all. Furthermore, individuals who are trying to attain a specific goal should always reward themselves every time they are a step closer towards the goal. This would keep them motivated and not lose hope. Personally, I enhance my experience by acknowledging the great artists and how they are an inspiration to other young artists. Conclusion Finally as mentioned there is no specific meaning of life. All individuals need to meet different types of needs such as the need of belonging, experiencing life threatening incidents, need of autonomy and self efficacy to experience the meaning of life. An individual’s perception, values, needs and feelings centre him and help in organizing the world around him. Feelings help in expressing oneself. If an individual has a great skill in expressing himself, he can change the larger world. Great artists found expressions in their art work which helped them change the world that came after them. The creations around us are the different individuals trying to express themselves and their experiences of the meaning of life. All the inhibitors that we posses such as low self esteem and inner struggles should be resolved to make life more creative and enhance the meaning of life.

The Importance Of Export Diversification

The Importance Of Export Diversification Earlier a countrys economic development was based either on the degree of specialization or diversification of a countrys production and trade structure. Based on Adam Smiths concept towards division of labour and specialization for economic growth and development to Heckscher-Ohlin Samuelson (HOS) model of international trade, countries should specialize in producing and specializing in the goods in which they have a comparative advantage. However, after the Second World War, the idea was that economic growth and development may be achieved by export diversification (not specialization). There were active efforts by the government to promote industrialization and economic growth. Export diversification is often the primary objective of many developed countries. Export diversification is also equally important for many developing countries. Some of the developing countries are dependent on relatively small range of products, generally agricultural commodities. In other words, primary products constitute a large percentage of their overall export earnings. Some economists such as Prebisch have even suggested that there is a long term tendency for primary product prices to decline vis-à  -vis those for manufactured goods. Countries that are commodity dependent or have a narrow export basket usually faces export instability which arises from inelastic and unstable global demand. This can consequently have a significant adverse impact on the macro economy of least developed economies in terms of investment and employment. Thus export diversification is one means to alleviate these constraints. Export diversification refers to the move from traditional to non trad itional exports. Developing countries should diversify their exports since this can; for example, help them to overcome export instability. Diversifying the export portfolio could intensify and accelerate the economic growth. Export instability could discourage necessary investments in the economy by risk-averse firms, increase macroeconomic uncertainty and be damaging to longer term economic growth. Export diversification could therefore help to stabilize export earnings in the longer run (Ghosh and Ostry, 1994; Bleaney and Greenaway, 2001). Countries with the slightest level of export diversification are those which face instability in export earnings. Some examples of countries which have instability in export earnings due to very heavy reliance on exports of one or two commodities are Kiribati, Samoa, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands. Reasons for export diversification Export diversification may be an important issue for developing countries for several reasons. First, a diversified bundle of export products provides a hedge towards price variations and shocks in specific product markets (Bertinelli et al., 2006; Levchenko and di Giovanni, 2006). Second, the type of products exported might affect economic growth and the potential for structural change (Hausmann et al., 2007; Hausmann and Klinger, 2006; Whang, 2006). Third, export diversification in the direction of more sophisticated products may be beneficial for economic development. Given these potential benefits of export diversification, an important policy question is what a country can do to diversify its exports. For poor countries to grow rich, it is important for them to modify the composition of their exports which will enable them to look more like that of rich countries. For over 50 years, economic and export diversification has been given high importance on the list of priorities for development policy. The argument was based on the observation that dependence on primary commodity production and exportation by developing countries expose them to commodity shocks, price fluctuations and declining terms of trade. As a result, a countrys foreign exchange reserves and the ability to have funds for imported inputs become subject to instability and uncertainty. The debates about the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis (1959) and the need for industrialization gave priority to diversify economies away from primary commodities because of unfavorable and declining terms of trade, slow productivity growth, and relatively low value added. There are several reasons for developing countries to have export diversification. Firstly, diversifying their bundle of exports will protect them from the risk of unpredictable declining trend in international prices of primary exportable commodities that, in turn, lead to unstable export earnings. Export diversification could therefore help out to stabilize export earnings in the longer run (Ostry, 1994; Greenaway, 2001). FAO (2004) maintains that due to the absence of export diversification in developing countries, decline and fluctuations in export earnings have negatively influenced income, investment and employment. Diversification provides the opportunities to extend investment risks over a wider portfolio of economic sector which eventually increase income (Acemoglu and Zilibotti 1997). Romer (1990) believes that diversification can be seen as an input factor that has an effect of increasing the productivity of other factors of production. Through exports it is also possible to build an environment that creates competition and as a result acquire new skills. Overall economic growth and acquisition of human capital may be slow if there is the absence of pressure from outside competitive forces (Husted and Melvin, 2007). Diversification helps countries to hedge against adverse terms of trade shocks by stabilizing export revenues. It enables them to direct positive terms of trade shocks into growth, knowledge spillovers and increasing returns to scale. Other industries in the country can also gain as export diversification can lead to knowledge spillovers from new techniques of production, management or marketing practices (AminGutierrez de Pineresand Ferrantino, 2000). Furthermore economic growth and structural change depends upon the type of products that is being traded (Hausmann et al., 2007; Hausmann and Klinger, 2006; Whang, 2006). Thus through export diversification, an economy can progress towards the production and exportation of sophisticated products which may highly contributes towards economic development. Export diversification allows the government of an economy to achieve some of its macroeconomic objectives namely sustainable economic growth, satisfactory balance of payment situation, employment and redistribution of income. Strategies to promote export diversification As we see there are potential benefits of export diversification, but the question remains that what a country can do to diversify its exports. Potential determinants of export diversification, such as country size and level of development, trade costs, international distance, and the costs of domestic entry are all potentially associated with larger diversification. What can encourage export diversification? All successful high growth economies have had strategies to promote export diversification. These strategies include: 1. Financial sector development and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Harding and Javorcik (2007) consider financial sector development and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can be helpful in promoting diversification. FDI can encourage exports of host countries by boosting domestic capital for exports, serving to transfer technology and new products for exports, making access to new and large foreign markets easy and improving technical and management skills. 2. Reduce Costs The main debate is associated to cost as export diversification is rather sensitive to costs. Kehoe and Ruhl (2003) with episodes of trade liberalization across 18 countries found variable trade costs to be related with extensive growth margin. Lower cost means that there are fewer obstacles for domestic firm when exporting. The World Bank Doing Business survey through its Trading Across Borders section has included information on the number of procedures required for importing and exporting, as well as the time taken to comply with them. It also included trade costs such as document costs, inland transport costs, customs costs, ports costs, administrative costs and so on. In broad terms, for the promotion of export diversification there must be incentive to make improvement on trade facilitation, i.e. set policy measures to reduce costs. Such policy measures include lowering domestic barriers to entry; facilitate company registration by reducing number of procedures and applying a f ixed registration fee, and removing the need for pre-tax payments. 3. Lowering barriers Lower barriers to firm entry and lower international trade costs, constitutes an important way in which developing countries can help diversify their export baskets. Export margin can be affected by changes in tariff rates and preferences (Debaere and Mostashari, 2005). In policy terms, one efficient way for developing countries to promote export diversification is to center regulatory reform efforts on making entry procedures simpler and less expensive, as well as on trade facilitation measures. 4. Learning-by-doing The endogenous growth model states that exports can be more diversified through learning-by-doing and learning-by-exporting and by adopting practices of developed countries (Pineres and Ferrantino, 1997) 5. Role of Government The government of an economy should play a leading role in the promotion of export. Investment should be directed into various sectors of industry. In so doing, the Government can make sure that investment is not being undertaken on more than just one specific sector so that a diverse industrial base can be built. The Government should provide a favorable environment to attracting new investment in the country. There may also be provision for favorable tax treatment to firms, tax holidays for export oriented undertakings, input used in the production of exports can also be exempted from value-added tax. Subsidies play an important role in promoting exports. Government can introduce cash incentive scheme which may benefit firms such as providing them with subsidies which will consequently encourage trade.. 6. Research and Development Efforts can be put into the RD activities to upgrade the level of industry. This can be done by the help of fiscal and financial incentives which will stimulate RD and technological innovation activities. Besides the Government, the banking system and other financial authorities should offer services to diversify and strengthen a countrys export. The banking system can facilitate diversification by its loan patterns. Schemes to diversify and promote exports need to be complemented by a suitable combination of fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies in order to be successful. 7. Variation in the structure of demand Imbs and Wacziarg (2003) proposed that a growing demand for a range of goods followed by an increase in a countrys income may lead to diversification. In other word, variation in the structure of demand leads to change in a countrys production pattern. Constraints to export diversification In spite of the liberalization in the export sector, there are still the presence of certain issues which limit export diversification especially in least developed countries. Klinger and Lederman put together on Hausmann and Rodrik (2003) to investigate a causal relationship from market failures to inadequate diversification. There may be clash with other national policies in an attempt to promote exports. Export diversification at times may be hindered by a number of factors: Low income elasticities of Demand Some developing countries are failing to export primary products due to the low income elasticities of demand for their primary products. Furthermore, prospects for developing countries to provide manufactured exports are poor because of the competition faced with the industrialized countries. Lack of finance Lack of adequate export finance is identified as a major constraint. Small and medium exporters tend to be more severely affected by this constraint. A fundamental problem of export diversification is the lack of adequate investment in the country, both domestic and foreign. Exporters may face the problem of acquiring export finance. High rate of interest on bank capital is also a constraint since it discourages them to take loan. In other words, exports are being restricted due deficiency in financing of trade by the countrys banking system. Lack of Adequate Infrastructure Efficient infrastructure is the pre-condition for good export performance. Inadequate functioning of infrastructure may adversely affect enterprises in many ways. There may be difficulty in the transportation of goods due to limitations in infrastructure. It obstructs production activities, delays movement of goods and passengers, leading to delay in the delivery of goods. It adds to business uncertainty and risk and imposes additional costs. Bureaucracy and market access Government rules and regulations relating to exports are complicated and too much paper work is needed. Considerable time is spent and officers should be appointed for sorting out matters with the government and agencies. Market access issues are complex. The major market access problems relate to i) non-tariff and para-tariff barriers, ii) stringent quality and standard requirements, iii) stringent rules of origin, iv) labour and environmental standards. Environmental conditionalities are a kind of new protectionism which can hamper market access. Tariff and non-tariff barriers also obstruct market access. Lack of strength in the public institutions The World Bank noted that the lack of strength in the public institutions hinder private sector activities. There is the weakening of sound policy-making and public management, frustration of private entrepreneurship, prevention of competition and rising of corruption due to heavy regulatory and judicial systems and loss-making state-owned enterprise. Private investment can be deterred due because of poorly regulated and undercapitalized commercial banks, problem of telecommunications, infrastructure and law and order problem. Dearth of Skilled Manpower Other constraints include domestic resource scarcity, shortage of skilled labour, and lack of professionalism. There may be lack of skilled manpower in some sectors. Lack of skilled manpower has resulted in under utilization of potential export of services through manpower export as they are catering to only unskilled and semi-skilled needs. Economic growth Economic growth is a long run concept. It is usually defined as an increase in real gross domestic product (GDP), that is, GDP adjusted for inflation. In other words, it is as an increase in the real value of goods and services produced in the economy. For comparing one countrys economic growth to another, GDP or GNP per capita should be used as these take into account population differences between countries. Economic growth can be shown by an outward shift of the Production Possibility Curve (PPC). Economists see dissimilarity between potential and actual growth rates. Potential economic growth represents maximum efficiency with resources. It is determined by the factors of production that a country has as its command. However, actual growth represents resource utilization in practice and shows the result. This is determined by how effectively factors of production available to a nation are developed and combined. There are many factors which determine economic growth in a country. Determinants of economic growth Natural Resources Countries which are gifted with natural resources are expected to have rapid economic growth, assuming that these resources are employed for the production of goods and services. However a large amount of natural resources is not adequate to guarantee economic growth. There are a number of less-developed countries which have high natural resources, but still due to various reasons, they have not been successful in exploiting them. To benefit from economic growth, these natural resources must be converted to useful forms, which will need people to be equipped with appropriate skills. Human Capital Human capital and education are considered to be necessary conditions for economic growth. Lucas (1988) focused on the impact of human capital on long-run growth. The rise in productivity needed for economic growth can be achieved by increasing domestic human resources through education and training. Skills acquisition and the ability to keep on learning throughout the lifecycle are needed to develop individuals. Developing human resources through education and training is considered to be a long term process which will upgrade the innovative capacity of an economy. Apart from affecting factor of production, education and human capital can also have impact on factors such as physical capital and natural resources (Bravo-Ortega and De Gregorio 2002. Azariadis and Drazen (1990) proposed that an economy can experience long-run economic growth if the government designs policies toward the promotion of education and human capital. Lucas (1993) pointed out, the accumulation of human capita l specially, knowledge is a key factor in explaining the growth experiences of countries. Capital Accumulation Capital accumulation refers to buildings, machinery, infrastructure and the amount of tools available to the economy. A necessary prerequisite for economic growth is a large capital stock. Developed countries do spend a significant amount on capital formation. For example, in UK in the year 1998 and 1999, 12% of annual GDP was spent on fixed capital. Capital is a major factor affecting growth. The more an economy has as capital, the more it can produce and the higher will be real income. If there are few machines available, a nation will be able to make fewer goods and services. More machines will mean more income can be generated. Therefore, the larger the capital stock, the larger is the potential income. In short, we can say that investment in capital should increase the productive potential of an economy. Young (1994) found that Asian tigers success resulted from rapid accumulation of capital (through high investment). The Solow model predicts that investment rate is a key determ inant of whether a country is rich or poor. Fingleton (1999) found capital accumulation as being the determinant of European region productivity growth. Technology The most important determinant for an economy to grow is associated to its pace of technological progress. This is because with technology, we can obtain more output from same amount of input as before. Neoclassical economists regarded technological progress as a critical source of economic growth. Romer (1990), Aghion and Howitt (1992), Grossman and Helpman (1994) and Basu and Weil (1998), among others, concentrated on the role of innovation and technological progress on long-run growth. Economies must invest in knowledge just as they must invest in fixed capital. The productivity of capital can be increased if machinery is updated so that firms use the latest technologies available. Technological advances are encouraged when there is investment in research and development. De Long and Summers (1993) has shown that the only variable that have a significant positive effect on growth of less-developed economies is the investment in equipment Technological progress, along with accumula tion of human and capital, is essential in determining a nations rate of growth. For example, the large growth in the U.S. economy during the introduction of the Internet and the technology that it brought to U.S. industry as a whole. The Solow-Swan Growth Model which entailed a series of equations shows the concept of growth as an increased stock of capital goods. According to this view, the role of technological change became crucial, even more important than the accumulation of capital. (e) Openness Openness to international trade accelerates productivity and promotes export as well as economic growth. Romer (1989) stressed on the issue that growth in the volume of trade is positively correlated with the growth of output for a country. Edwards (1993) and Rodriguez and Rodrik (2001) also carried an extensive review of the empirical literature on the growth effects of openness. Increasing importance is being attributed to the opening up of the world economy. Globalization is seen to be good for the Worlds economy. Detailed studies suggest that there is a positive correlation between trade liberalization and an increase in per capita income. In other words, the more an economy is open, the higher is rate of growth. Development in Eastern Europe and the World Trade Organization highlight that during the last twenty years, more and more areas of the world economy have been brought into the competitive market-place. Such openness to trade, investment and competition are clearly import ant determinants to productivity growth. For example until 1858 Japan was inaccessible to world trade. The Japanese Government banished the trade restrictions which allowed trading with the rest of the world. Consequently this had lead to a 65% rise in real national income (Huber, 1971; Husted and Melvin, 2007). FDI Inflow There are various channels through which FDI can positively affect economic growth: technological transfer, capital accumulation, access to international markets, managerial and marketing practices and employment (Lall [2000], Te Velde [2001], Borensztein [1998]). FDI can increase competition which will eventually make domestic companies more efficient and encourage diversification. FDI benefits economic growth at large as it contributes to the domestic accumulation of resources. Many studies have been carried out which demonstrated a positive link between FDI an economic growth. Campos and Kinoshita (2002) examined the effects of FDI on growth for 25 Central and Eastern European and former Soviet Union economies and found a positive relationship between them. However there are certain studies which are undertaken that do show any influence of FDI on economic growth for example, Carkovic and Levine (2002), Bacha (1974), Saltz (1992) and Alfaro et al. (2002). Inflation There are many evidence which suggest that sustained high rate of inflation can be detrimental to real economic growth even in the long run. Fisher (1993) found negative links between inflation and growth in pooled cross-section, time series regressions for a large set of countries. Investors may face uncertainty about future profitability of investment projects. Barro (1995) put forward that inflation diminishes the propensity to investment which eventually decreases growth. Inflation may also have a negative impact on the balance of payments as it reduces a countrys international competitiveness by making export dearer. Inflation can affect growth by altering borrowing and lending decisions. However whether inflation is good or bad for economic growth depends on its degree. That is, at lower rates of inflation, the relationship is not significant or even positive; but at higher rates, inflation has a significantly negative effect on growth. In their analysis, Bruno and Easterly (19 98) showed that some countries did not go through adverse consequences even if they were experiencing sustained inflations of 20% to 30%. On the other hand, once the rate of inflation go beyond certain critical level (which Bruno and Easterly estimated to be about 40 %), this causes negative effect to growth. However besides the factors mention above, there are also other factors that affect growth. Non-economic factors such as political and social factors too play an important role. The geographic location of a country may also affect economic growth. Government also can adopt both demand and supply-side measures in order to stimulate economic growth. Factors such as population growth, rapid growth of manufactured exports, stable macroeconomic and institutional environment creating confidence in policy makers, exchange rate, and labour force can affect growth in an economy. Link between economic growth and export diversification Policy-makers have tended to emphasize the potential benefits that export diversification can bring to the host economy. One of the main advantages which has been put forward by economists is that export diversification tends to increase economic growth in the host economy. There has been little empirical research on the relationships between export diversification and economic growth. There are two essential questions that the literature on this matter has tried to answer: Does export diversification affect long run economic growth? Can a country improve its economic performance by exporting different types of goods? (Gutià ©rrez-de-Pià ±eres and Ferrantino, 2000). The primary questions are why do countries diversify their exports and does it always benefit countries economic growth? Export instability can adversely affect growth in an economy. Countries which are dependent on a limited amount of commodities may suffer from export concentration. This is because commodity products are often subject to volatility in market prices leading to swings in foreign exchange revenues. Volatility and instability can thus discourage investment in an economy by risk adverse firms, reduce import capacity, increase macroeconomic uncertainty and thus be detrimental to longer-economic growth. There are several channels through which diversification may influence growth. It is therefore essential to make a difference between horizontal and vertical diversification. Both of them are positively related to economic growth. Horizontal diversification means the alteration of the primary export mix in order to neutralize the volatility of global commodity prices. Horizontal export diversification benefits an economy in such a way that it diminishes dependence on a narrow range of commodities that are subject to major price and volume fluctuations. Dawe 1996, Bleaney Greenaway (2001) discovered that horizontal export diversification may present considerable development benefits as this may lead to well-directed economic planning and also contribute towards investment. Vertical export diversification on the other hand refers to contrive further uses of existing and new innovative commodities using value-added venture such as processing and marketing. The Prebish-Singer thesis is o f the view that a tendency towards declining terms of trade of primary products (Athukurola 2000) may make vertical diversification into manufactures more useful. By highlighting the role of increasing returns to scale and dynamic spillover effects (Amin Gutià ©rrez de Pià ±eres and Ferrantino 2000), the endogenous growth theory suggested that it can be assumed that export diversification affects long-run growth. Export may benefit economic growth through generating positive externalities on non-exports (Feder, 1982), increased scale economies, improved allocative efficiency and better ability to produce dynamic comparative advantage (Sharma and Panagiotidis, 2004). Esfahani (1991) concluded that export enables developing countries to alleviate the import shortage they may face up to. Speaking differently, revenue from exports can fill the foreign exchange gap which is identified as barrier to growth. A number of empirical studies have shown that export diversification is contributing to higher per capita income growth. The main theory is that, compared to nations with concentrated export structures, those countries with more diverse economic structures have greater possibilities to sustain periods of high economic growth. Love (1986) suggest that a country should avoid heavy dependence on limited products as it diminishes a countrys potential of partially offsetting fluctuations in some export sectors with sectors in which stability prevails. In his study, Al-Marhubi (2000) put forward that market investment becomes riskier because instability in export earnings is a main cause of economic uncertainty in many commodity-exporting nations. In other words, this may adversely affect investments and in turn negatively impact economic growth. Using a cross-country sample of 91 countries for the period of 1961-88, Al Marhubi concluded that there is a positive and strong relationship bet ween export diversification and economic growth. His regression was undertaken by adding different variables affecting export concentration to the basic growth equation. Regressions on cross-sections of countries (Sachs and Warner 1995, or more recently Gylfason 2004) and panels (de Ferranti et al. 2002) proposed that export concentration is certainly statistically related with slow growth, mostly when export concentration reflects the high proportion of primary products. A broad literature review on export diversification and economic growth was offered by Hesse (2008), where he estimated a simple augmented Solow growth model to examine the connection between export diversification and income per capita growth. There was strong support in Hesses findings that export concentration, measured by a Herfindahl index, is harmful to economic growth in developing countries. The relationship between a countrys productivity and sectoral export variety was studied by Feenstra and Kee (2004). From an estimation of a translog GDP function system for a sample of 34 countries going from 1984 to 1997, they found that a 10 percent boost in export variety of all industries leads to a 1.3 percent increase a countrys productivity. Moreover another model of export diversification and economic growth was developed by Agosin (2007) where countries which lack technology, expand their comparative advantage by learning from and adapting to existing products. The cross-sectional regression of Agosin (2007) found that export diversification strongly affect economic growth. In addition, models in the product life cycle literature (Vernon, 1966; Krugman, 1979; Grossman and Helpman, 1991) gained variety of export products by advancement made by the North and consequently the South adopting and exporting the products from countries where labour cost are low. In his cross-country panel model, Lederman and Maloney (2007) concluded that one cause of diminution in growth prospects is the concentrations in export earnings. The advantages of export diversification for economic growth have been examined both empirically and theoretically in a new literature by Hausmann and Rodrik (2003), Hausmann, Hwang, and Rodrik (2006), and H ausmann and Klinger (2006). Their studies demonstrated that comparative advantage do not lead to economic growth. Instead, growth is achieved when countries diversify their investments into new or a range of activities. The model of Hausmann and Rodrik (2003) explained that there are various uncertainties related to cost in the production of new goods. They believed that the government should help in industrial growth and structural transformation by encouraging entrepreneurship and providing incentives to motivate entrepreneurs to invest in a new range of activities. Hausmann, Hwang, and Rodrik (2006) developed an indicator (EXPY) that determines the productivity level related with a countrys export basket. This measure is significantly affecting economic growth. Faster growth is achieved by countries that produce high-productivity goods than countries with poorer productivity growth. Economic growth is experienced when a country shift its resources from lower-productivity to highe r productivity goods with elastic demand of these goo

US Army Rotc Program History Essay

US Army Rotc Program History Essay The U.S. Army ROTC which stands for Reserve Officers Training Corps is by far the best of the leadership courses throughout the country and is part of most colleges curriculum. The learning involves such practices which enables you to understand what it required to lead others, take up missions and motivate your fellow mates as an active Officer of the Army. Once graduated, the cadet earns the position of a Second Lieutenant and would be part of the Active Army, Army National Guard or the Army Reserve and become a discoverer for lifetime. The United States Armed Forces and numerous other national militaries, specially the countries having firm historic ties with the United States have implemented Reserve Officers Training Corps programs. Philippines implemented this in 1912 while Korea started ROTC in 1963. The ROTC contributes to all departments of the U.S. Armed forces except for U.S. Coast Guards. All in all it contributes towards 56% of the whole U.S. Army out of which; 11% are to US Marines, 41% to US Air Force and 20% of US Navy. The combined figures for the ROTC contribution of active duty officers towards the United States Department of Defense accounts to 39% which is a notable figure. Philippines ROTC Alumni Association acknowledges that 75% of the officer corps for Armed Forces in Philippines adds up from ROTC programs. Except for the US Coast Guard each of the U.S. Armed Forces offers keen scholarships to ROTC participant students on merit basis. They even offer scholarships in exchange for periods of active military service. For instance, students who opt for an Army ROTC scholarship agree to dispense a four year period of military service with the Army after college. Army and Airforce ROTC students are cited as cadets where Naval ROTC students are called midshipmen as these terms concur with their particular services in the military academy that they carry out. US Navy and US Marine Corps both are licensed by the Naval ROTC program whereas the Coast Guard guarantor only the JROTC program. Army ROTC squads are orchestrated into companies, battalions and brigades. Similarly, Air Force ROTC units are divided into wings, squads or wings just like the active Air Force. Naval ROTC units are carved up as naval battalions. Usually, naval ROTC units are formed into Naval battalions but having the Navy educatees in sections and divisions like a ship, and the Marines in a different company is only exercised when an ROTC unit has ample amount of members to justify an extra division. Senior Army leaders are keen of the idea that perception is actually reality. Black representation and resultant progress in the combat arms branches of the US Army is deplorably lacking. Recruiting blacks into combat arms is diminutive whereas the Black combat arms officers who elevate on higher leadership and command positions at battalion and brigade command level or higher are relics at best. This is also historic fact that the selected few Blacks for senior operational commands at the battalion or division level are generally placed out of view from the American public and the African American youth without fail. Figures say that across the past thirty years only two of nine black men were taken upto command Army Divisions and that also they have been intended to do so in Conus. It is a fact that Black men and women can derive aspiration in pursuance of a given career, by seeing someone of their own ethnicity in placements of high authority, but Black Battalion Commanders have a lways remained persona non grata in percepts of the Black youth. The US army in turn lays no significant emphasis on dealing with the impact of black combat officers. Charles C. Moskos states that Blacks occupy more management positions in the military than in any other sector of American society. The incorporation of Blacks into the Army is a sensational story worth simulating; the Army figures show that Blacks do not take parts equally all around career fields. Especially Blacks are under-represented in the combat arms; the circumstance can be named as occupational segregation. U.S. Armys leaders and authorities are touched on about the low count of Black officers functioning in the combat arms for two causes. First, the low count of Blacks in the combat arms cuts down the diverseness and perhaps the believability of the U.S. Armys authority. Second, it proves to be unmanageable for Blacks to achieve appropriate internal representation among general officers because 72% of the U.S. Armys generals are picked out from the combat arms. Three-quarters of all Black officers are licensed by ROTC whereas majority of them are licensed by HBCUs (Historically Black College and Universities). Researches reveal that there were two leading factors that influenced the assignments of Black cadets and those were cadet performance as well as attitude towards service. As a result, black HBCU cadets compete appropriately in on-campus ROTC scores but are indisposed when it comes to Advanced Camp. Black cadets were less probable to regard the Army as fair and had a most negative perceptual experience about the combat arms branches. Moreover, Black cadets are also deficient when it comes to combat arms mentors to cater for the needed motivation, tutorship and counseling. The US Army must set out to extenuate these factors and inverse the under-representation of Black military officers in combat arms. Thus, to enhance the internal representation of Black officers, the Army must coach HBCU cadets to do a cut above at Advanced Camp and prepare HBCU cadets for the needs and unparalleled culture of the Army and furthermore, delegate more Black officers into combat arms branches to allow for more mentors for Black cadets and officers in the time to come. Equal opportunity was not constantly interpreted as it is today. Formerly Army directives allowed for segregation. Ever since the desegregation of the Armed Forces, the Army has efficaciously broadened their ranks as the Army acts as mannequin for other organizations to follow up on. The Blacks comprise 29% of the total Army and just 11% of all Army officers. Nonetheless, a more closelipped look at Army officer statistics points that some inequalities have existence. Nowadays, the argument is not about adequate remuneration and intervention. But the main concern is the statistical distribution of Black officers amongst the Army. The amount of Black officers in combat arms offsets of the Army is minuscule, while the amount of Black officers engaging non-combat arms emplacements is heavy and developing unevenly. A deliberate study of the demographics by vocational specialty suggests that most Black officers in the Army are based in combat support and combat military service support branches. Various considerations add to making the uneven distribution. One of the causes is the rate of progression of Black officers with their white counterparts. Counterpointing causes arise from circumstances that are present outside the Army and result from the aftermaths of sociable and ethnical determines. Nevertheless, the failure to access Black officers into the Armys combat arms occupations is a serious institutional concern. Several studies in recent years have attempted to shed some light on this issue. A good example of inequality between combat and non-combat departments is exemplified by Army Infantry demographics which says that the percentage of Blacks in the Infantry has dropped a great deal from 30% in 1980 to 15% presently, while the count of Blacks in logistics units nowadays often are more than 50%. In 1999, only one Black cadet was accessed into the Infantry by the United States Military Academy. Reports suggest that Black American students rate the grandness of earning high financial gain and contributing to society (Walpole, Bauer, Gibson, Kanyi, Toliver, 2002). Another study by Morgan Teng and Anderson (2001) about Black American community college students depicts that job protection, a good starting income, self-reliance, and a crucial position are more crucial to Black American students comparably to White students. In addition, a crave of serving others and the society is also a significant motif in Black American culture. Nevertheless, some researches endure that particularly looks into differences of opinion amongst Black American and White educatees concerning the dominance of future income, future position, college attendance and vocational choices. Moreover, Black American persons proceed to go through high values of educational shortfalls, employment stagnancy, and impoverishment in the United States of America (Hargrove and Pope-Davis, 2001). Altogether we hope is that looking into the influence of future income, status and stimulating a difference in community will lead to significances favorable in assisting Black American students in finishing high school, going to college, and arriving at a career choice. Researches depict that a Black cadets entrà ©e into combat arms offsets is ascertained into a prominent part by two components: cadet functioning and cadet mental attitude towards service. African HBCU cadets contend befittingly with other cadets when it pertains to on-campus ROTC grades but they perform badly at Advanced Camp. A cadets performance is most importantly a derivative of the personal attitude towards service. The Army needs to lay complete and prompt attention to training HBCU cadets better. Conditioning plus formulation on campus starts with attaining a satisfactory GPA. Secondly, the ROTC cell must be knowledgeable adequately to render quality conditioning for HBCU cadets. Conditioning must be concentrated on the vital performance areas the cadet is assessed at camp such as traits like management, navigation, and APFT. The program must also ascertain that HBCU Cadets incur coaching to gear them up for the shift in organizational surroundings they will come upon at Advanced Camp. The HBCU Cadets need to have early experiences in adjusting to a more structured organizational stage setting. The cadets must learn to adjust ahead of the time when he arrives at Advanced Camp. ROTC plans have in the past times carried on speciated conditioning and training to prepare cadets for functioning in various environments. This particular training had better be reevaluated for its value and re-established. Cadets can suffer from culture shock during the early days of the camp if they are not trained or carried along without this kind of preparation or training. Squad leaders and contrivers must supervise internal representation. Discouraging to leaders and contrivers will be the extended dialogue over distinguishing the suitable military representation levels of citizen groupings. The demand for plentiful figures of quality staff personnel within the Army necessitates belief on all demographic and societal sections of America. Suitable action in reception to statistic trends is essential to preserve and amend the force. The Army ought to enhance the count of Black combat arms officers teaching Black cadets. Standard Black combat arms officers capable to provide a positive example to cadets will extremely aid in impeding vocational separatism of Blacks in non-combat arms offshoots. The occupancy of thes e eminent officers will also encourage mentoring of cadets that will amend the mental attitude cadets possess of the Army and ROTC.

William Shakespeares Macbeth Essay -- William Shakespeare Macbeth Ess

William Shakespeare's Macbeth In the play of Macbeth, Shakespeare introduces the main character, through the eyes of the one who knows him best, his wife. Lady Macbeth displays to the audience all of Macbeth’s weaknesses; her ambition to have power becomes her husband’s and this will bring out Macbeth’s ambition to be king. She also proves that the strong may become the weak and the weak may become the strong. Lady Macbeth is a main character in this play because she introduces Macbeth and helps the reader to understand his character. At the start of the play she seems to be the more ruthless of the two. When the reader is first introduced to Lady Macbeth she is already planning the death of King Duncan. In order for her to have the courage to do the deed and ask that all woman emotions be removed from her, â€Å"Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty! (p 257)† She is a key factor in this play be cause she links the male soul to the female body, showing that ambition can lead to violence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Lady Macbeth reads the letter from her husband telling her the news about becoming the Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis and of the three witches that told him he would be king, she was overwhelmed by ambition to have power. She then goes on to plot the death of the King, then realizing that Macbeth would not go through with the plan unless she pushes him to do it, â€Å"Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it. (p 256)† She knows that Macbeth is a loyal warrior and it would be difficult, and she does it by questioning his manhood, â€Å"But screw your courage to the sticking-place And we’ll not fail. (p 260)† When the King arrives she makes Macbeth stay out of the room because his face releases the secrets that lye within, â€Å"Your face, my Thane, is as a book where men May read strange matters. (p 257)† The King, after dinner, goes to bed and the plan is under way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lady Macbeth is very confident that they will not be suspected for the murder of the King, and she assures Macbeth that if they do everything right then he will become king. After Macbeth had gone into the King’s room to kill him, he came out with the daggers in hand sayi... ... safe. He then learns of the death of the queen. The news of the woods moving comes to his attention and he is ready to battle. But the men in his army do not stand behind him. As he kills the men entering his castle he begins to battle Macduff. Macbeth then tells Macduff while fighting that he may not kill him because he is to die of a man not born of a woman. Macduff the warns Macbeth, â€Å"Despair thy charm, And let the angel whom thou still served ell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb Utimely ripped. (p 323)† Macbeth then lays down his sword knowing that he has met his dumb. Lady Macbeth was a very important role in this play; she was the antagonist and pushed Macbeth to become an animal. Her main role was to introduce Macbeth and to help the reader to understand more about him. She questioned his manhood to get what she wanted. Lady Macbeth eventually began to feel bad for her crimes and it haunted her where she was most safe, her sleep. The more and more she pushed Macbeth the more willing he was to do it himself. By the end of the play, Macbeth had no emotions and stopped at nothing to remain king. This play showed that ambition would lead to violence and to murder.

Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel Essay example -- Film Movie

Like Water For Chocolate The film, Like Water for Chocolate, represents a story through incorporating the idea of food as feelings and expressing the woman’s roles during the Mexican Revolution. The film is a romantic-comedy showing many joking ways of hard times and soft issues and the way of life. The most striking and theme seems to be how women seem to be in charge rather then males; during this time period, I thought that men were more likely to be the head of the household and in charge. Throughout the film, the main overall theme is that a woman had an illegitimate daughter with someone while she was married, her husband left her, and she was alone with three girls and the youngest, Tita, was to never marry because she was to take care of her mother until the day she died. As Tita grew her and a boy, Pedro, fell in love, but her mother would not allow her to marry, and instead, he married her sister, Rosura, to be close to her. Pedro and Rosura had their last child and Rosura vowed she would not be able to marry because she too, like Tita, would have to take care of her until the day she died. Tita very much hated this idea, as she hated how her mother controlled her and forbade her to not marry her only love, as seen at the end when Rosura dies, Pedro and Tita are now able to get married at last. This silly tradition of the youngest girl taking care of her mother shows the power of family traditions and most likely, a Latin American tradition. The mother was ...

Physical health Essay

As shown in Table 4, physical health is an important contributing factor towards well-being of the elderly. The administrators (83%) noticed that enjoying physical mobility, having good food and accommodation, and efficient medical care facilities seemed to be contributing toward their well-being. About 50% of the administrators observed that the elderly’ recreational activities and physical exercise were also important aspects that contributed toward their total well-being. To espouse the findings presented above: They speak happily about Gladys Spellman’s accommodation, its quiet environment, and the medical facilities available. Most of them are happy about the food served. Actually the food is good and they go for taste and it is difficult for them to follow the diet. To make them happy give them good food. Half the complains or dissatisfaction will be taken care of, this is our observation. The most important thing is their physical condition. Though age related illness is there, all are physically independent now except one person who is partially dependent. Most of them say that they want to die before they become bed-ridden. All are aware of the need to take care of their health. Some do regular exercises, some do gardening†¦a few go for long walks and few other just walk on the roofed pavements connecting different structures. And others say that they are tired and cannot/don’t want to do such things†¦. Autonomy/Freedom The administrators (100%) reported that the atmosphere of freedom in the home gives the elderly a sense of power and self-worth. In their perception, the feeling of being respected and treated as adults, gave a sense of worth and personal power. According to 50% of them, need for privacy and non-intrusion was important to the elderly. Rules are not imposed and they have minimum external restrictions. This has given the inmates maximum internal freedom in some sense of the term. And they respond well by using their freedom responsibly. Thank God we don’t have to discipline them at this age†¦they do it on their own. Though they are friendly and cordial the elderly prefer small groups and †¦apparently there is lot of communication among the members in each unit. They help one another when needed†¦sharing about their personal life seem to be difficult for them†¦they don’t like to be intruded upon†¦they want to keep their private world to their own. Money/Income As indicated in Table 4, all the members of administration (100%) were of the opinion that money gave a sense of security to the elderly. They (83%) further noticed that it provided a sense of power, independence and personal pride. The elderly in general were also found to be money conscious and attached to money. The following statement would explicate the findings in the study: They have a sense of security when they have money with them†¦and they don’t part with or share it but hold on to that†¦. may be when we become old we have a tendency to hold on what we have†¦ Want to be in control†¦ money is power. There are also people who among the elderly do not attach much importance to money and they are generous with the money. For example, the underground chapel is built by just one person’s donation. And there are people who sponsor poor students†¦and the like.

Factors Affecting Nle Passing Rate

Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter presents concepts and studies that expounded the variables under the study. Conceptual Literature To become a registered nurse, graduates of Bachelor of Science in Nursing course must take their final test that’ll assess their knowledge, skills and competency to work in the profession. This test is called Nursing Licensure Examination (NLE). In Philippines NLE is a 500-item multiple choice exam to test basic nursing level competency which considers the objectives of the nursing curriculum, the broad areas of nursing and other related disciplines and competencies.NLE is held every June and December annually in various public schools throughout the Philippines. Takers are assigned in different schools and rooms to provide quality control and avoid overcrowding. Room assignment for the exams are posted outside the Professional Regulation Commission building at least three days before the exam. NLE results are released after 30 w orking days though it may vary depending on the number of takers and other factors. However, not all takers are fortunate enough to pass the exams and never have been any occurrence of 100% national passing rate throughout NLE’s history.Non passers may review and retake but some are faced with dilemmas that’ll make it even harder for them to cope up and pass the next time around. A total of 16,908 out of 49,066 passed the Nurse Licensure Examination given by the Board of Nursing last December 2012 which was held in 16 areas around the country. The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) is closely monitoring schools that offer BSN course to enforce the standards and for them to provide quality education to their students. Nursing schools are given three years to improve their passing rate.However if these aren’t met the schools may face possible closure of their nursing program. The quality of education the school provides is only one of the various issues that affect the success of takers. There are also other factors that depend largely on the students own capabilities. Others may come from low performing schools in relation to passing rates yet achieve a high score in the exams. Many studies have analyzed the factors behind the performance of students. Earlier studies have been carried out which focused on cognitive factors as predictors of academic success.Recently, there has been a growing interest on the non-cognitive factors. A number of researchers have examined the role of non-cognitive variables such as study skills (Fazal, S. et. al, 2012; Awang, G & Sinnadurai, S. K. , 2011; Demir et. al, 2012; Hassanbeigi et. al, 2011), study motivation (Tella, A. , 2007; Nonis and Hudson, 2008), study behavior (Yang Yang, 2011; Otto, 1978), study habits on academic achievement. Some argued that these factors have strong relationship with academic performance of students, while others concluded that it was the combination of the different fac tors that could explain students’ academic performance.In addition to that, Crede and Kuncel (2008) found that non-cognitive factors like study habit, skill and study motivation, among other attitudinal constructs, accounted for incremental variance in academic performance beyond standardized tests and previous grades. Moreover, a literature review by Nagaraju (2004) pointed out that for good academic success, good study habits and attitudes are important. Study habit is the pattern of behavior adopted by students in the pursuit of their studies that serves as the vehicle of learning.It is the degree to which the student engages in regular acts of studying that are characterized by appropriate studying routines (e. g. reviews of material, frequency of studying sessions, etc. ) occurring in an environment that is conducive to studying. Study attitudes, on the other hand, refers to a student’s positive attitude toward the specific act of studying and the student’s acceptance and approval of the broader goals of college education (Crede and Kuncel, 2008). In short, study habits and attitudes of students are determined through their time management ability, work methods, attitudes toward teachers and acceptance of education.Many problems encountered by the students are inter-related and should be regarded in a comprehensive manner. However the way they see their problem would be a lot different on how it is seen by others. So in the end, the probability of success depends on the student’s habits and activity during their 4 year education. Schools are not the only ones to be blamed for the students’ failures. This study aims to depict these factors affecting their failures in their point of view to allow us to fully understand them.