Monday, September 30, 2019

Digital Fortress Chapter 71-75

Chapter 71 Tokugen Numataka lit his fourth cigar and kept pacing. He snatched up his phone and buzzed the main switchboard. â€Å"Any word yet on that phone number?† he demanded before the operator could speak. â€Å"Nothing yet, sir. It's taking a bit longer than expected-it came from a cellular.† A cellular, Numataka mused. Figures. Fortunately for the Japanese economy, the Americans had an insatiable appetite for electronic gadgets. â€Å"The boosting station,† the operator added, â€Å"is in the 202 area code. But we have no number yet.† â€Å"202? Where's that?† Where in the vast American expanse is this mysterious North Dakota hiding? â€Å"Somewhere near Washington, D. C., sir.† Numataka arched his eyebrows. â€Å"Call me as soon as you have a number.† Chapter 72 Susan Fletcher stumbled across the darkened Crypto floor toward Strathmore's catwalk. The commander's office was as far from Hale as Susan could get inside the locked complex. When Susan reached the top of the catwalk stairs, she found the commander's door hanging loosely, the electronic lock rendered ineffective by the power outage. She barged in. â€Å"Commander?† The only light inside was the glow of Strathmore's computer monitors. â€Å"Commander!† she called once again. â€Å"Commander!† Susan suddenly remembered that the commander was in the Sys-Sec lab. She turned circles in his empty office, the panic of her ordeal with Hale still in her blood. She had to get out of Crypto. Digital Fortress or no Digital Fortress, it was time to act-time to abort the TRANSLTR run and escape. She eyed Strathmore's glowing monitors then dashed to his desk. She fumbled with his keypad. Abort TRANSLTR! The task was simple now that she was on an authorized terminal. Susan called up the proper command window and typed: ABORT RUN Her finger hovered momentarily over the ENTER key. â€Å"Susan!† a voice barked from the doorway. Susan wheeled scared, fearing it was Hale. But it was not, it was Strathmore. He stood, pale and eerie in the electronic glow, his chest heaving. â€Å"What the hell's going on!† â€Å"Com†¦ mander!† Susan gasped. â€Å"Hale's in Node 3! He just attacked me!† â€Å"What? Impossible! Hale's locked down in-â€Å" â€Å"No, he's not! He's loose! We need security inhere now! I'm aborting TRANSLTR!† Susan reached for the keypad. â€Å"DON'T TOUCH THAT!† Strathmore lunged for the terminal and pulled Susan's hands away. Susan recoiled, stunned. She stared at the commander and for the second time that day did not recognize him. Susan felt suddenly alone. Strathmore saw the blood on Susan's shirt and immediately regretted his outburst. â€Å"Jesus, Susan. Are you okay?† She didn't respond. He wished he hadn't jumped on her unnecessarily. His nerves were frayed. He was juggling too much. There were things on his mind-things Susan Fletcher did not know about-things he had not told her and prayed he'd never have to. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said softly. â€Å"Tell me what happened.† She turned away. â€Å"It doesn't matter. The blood's not mine. Just get me out of here.† â€Å"Are you hurt?† Strathmore put a hand on her shoulder. Susan recoiled. He dropped his hand and looked away. When he looked back at Susan's face, she seemed to be staring over his shoulder at something on the wall. There, in the darkness, a small keypad glowed full force. Strathmore followed her gaze and frowned. He'd hoped Susan wouldn't notice the glowing control panel. The illuminated keypad controlled his private elevator. Strathmore and his high-powered guests used it to come and go from Crypto without advertising the fact to the rest of the staff. The personal lift dropped down fifty feet below the Crypto dome and then moved laterally 109 yards through a reinforced underground tunnel to the sublevels of the main NSA complex. The elevator connecting Crypto to the NSA was powered from the main complex; it was on-line despite Crypto's power outage. Strathmore had known all along it was on-line, but even as Susan had been pounding on the main exit downstairs, he hadn't mentioned it. He could not afford to let Susan out-not yet. He wondered how much he'd have to tell her to make her want to stay. Susan pushed past Strathmore and raced to the back wall. She jabbed furiously at the illuminated buttons. â€Å"Please,† she begged. But the door did not open. â€Å"Susan,† Strathmore said quietly. â€Å"The lift takes a password.† â€Å"A password?† she repeated angrily. She glared at the controls. Below the main keypad was a second keypad-a smaller one, with tiny buttons. Each button was marked with a letter of the alphabet. Susan wheeled to him. â€Å"What is the password!† she demanded. Strathmore thought a moment and sighed heavily. â€Å"Susan, have a seat.† Susan looked as if she could hardly believe her ears. â€Å"Have a seat,† the commander repeated, his voice firm. â€Å"Let me out!† Susan shot an uneasy glance toward the commander's open office door. Strathmore eyed the panicked Susan Fletcher. Calmly he moved to his office door. He stepped out onto the landing and peered into the darkness. Hale was nowhere to be seen. The commander stepped back inside and pulled the door shut. Then he propped a chair in front to keep it closed, went to his desk, and removed something from a drawer. In the pale glow of the monitors Susan saw what he was holding. Her face went pale. It was a gun. Strathmore pulled two chairs into the middle of the room. He rotated them to face the closed office door. Then he sat. He lifted the glittering Beretta semi-automatic and aimed steadily at the slightly open door. After a moment he laid the gun back in his lap. He spoke solemnly. â€Å"Susan, we're safe here. We need to talk. If Greg Hale comes through that door†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He let it hang. Susan was speechless. Strathmore gazed at her in the dim light of his office. He patted the seat beside him. â€Å"Susan, sit. I have something to tell you.† She did not move. â€Å"When I'm done, â€Å"he said, â€Å"I'll give you the password to the elevator. You can decide whether to leave or not.† There was a long silence. In a daze, Susan moved across the office and sat next to Strathmore. â€Å"Susan,† he began, â€Å"I haven't been entirely honest with you.† Chapter 73 David Becker felt as if his face had been doused in turpentine and ignited. He rolled over on the floor and squinted through bleary tunnel vision at the girl halfway to the revolving doors. She was running in short, terrified bursts, dragging her duffel behind her across the tile. Becker tried to pull himself to his feet, but he could not. He was blinded by red-hot fire. She can't get away! He tried to call out, but there was no air in his lungs, only a sickening pain. â€Å"No!† He coughed. The sound barely left his lips. Becker knew the second she went through the door, she would disappear forever. He tried to call out again, but his throat was searing. The girl had almost reached the revolving door. Becker staggered to his feet, gasping for breath. He stumbled after her. The girl dashed into the first compartment of the revolving door, dragging her duffel behind her. Twenty yards back, Becker was staggering blindly toward the door. â€Å"Wait!† He gasped. â€Å"Wait!† The girl pushed furiously on the inside of the door. The door began to rotate, but then it jammed. The blonde wheeled in terror and saw her duffel snagged in the opening. She knelt and pulled furiously to free it. Becker fixed his bleary vision on the fabric protruding through the door. As he dove, the red corner of nylon protruding from the crack was all he could see. He flew toward it, arms outstretched. As David Becker fell toward the door, his hands only inches away, the fabric slipped into the crack and disappeared. His fingers clutched empty air as the door lurched into motion. The girl and the duffel tumbled into the street outside. â€Å"Megan!† Becker wailed as hit the floor. White-hot needles shot through the back of his eye sockets. His vision tunneled to nothing, and a new wave of nausea rolled in. His own voice echoed in the blackness. Megan! David Becker wasn't sure how long he'd been lying there before he became aware of the hum of fluorescent bulbs overhead. Everything else was still. Through the silence came a voice. Someone was calling. He tried to lift his head off the floor. The world was cockeyed, watery. Again the voice. He squinted down the concourse and saw a figure twenty yards away. â€Å"Mister?† Becker recognized the voice. It was the girl. She was standing at another entrance farther down the concourse, clutching her duffel to her chest. She looked more frightened now than she had before. â€Å"Mister?† she asked, her voice trembling. â€Å"I never told you my name. How come you know my name?† Chapter 74 Director Leland Fontaine was a mountain of a man, sixty-three years old, with a close-cropped military haircut and a rigid demeanor. His jet-black eyes were like coal when he was irritated, which was almost always. He'd risen through the ranks of the NSA through hard work, good planning, and the well-earned respect of his predecessors. He was the first African American director of the National Security Agency, but nobody ever mentioned the distinction; Fontaine's politics were decidedly color-blind, and his staff wisely followed suit. Fontaine had kept Midge and Brinkerhoff standing as he went through the silent ritual of making himself a mug of Guatemalan java. Then he'd settled at his desk, left them standing, and questioned them like schoolchildren in the principal's office. Midge did the talking-explaining the unusual series of events that led them to violate the sanctity of Fontaine's office. â€Å"A virus?† the director asked coldly. â€Å"You two think we've got a virus?† Brinkerhoff winced. â€Å"Yes, sir,† Midge snapped. â€Å"Because Strathmore bypassed Gauntlet?† Fontaine eyed the printout in front of him. â€Å"Yes,† she said. â€Å"And there's a file that hasn't broken in over twenty hours!† Fontaine frowned. â€Å"Or so your data says.† Midge was about to protest, but she held her tongue. Instead she went for the throat. â€Å"There's a blackout in Crypto.† Fontaine looked up, apparently surprised. Midge confirmed with a curt nod. â€Å"All power's down. Jabba thought maybe-â€Å" â€Å"You called Jabba?† â€Å"Yes, sir, I-â€Å" â€Å"Jabba?† Fontaine stood up, furious. â€Å"Why the hell didn't you call Strathmore?† â€Å"We did!† Midge defended. â€Å"He said everything was fine.† Fontaine stood, his chest heaving. â€Å"Then we have no reason to doubt him.† There was closure in his voice. He took a sip of coffee. â€Å"Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do.† Midge's jaw dropped. â€Å"I beg your pardon?† Brinkerhoff was already headed for the door, but Midge was cemented in place. â€Å"I said good night, Ms. Milken,† Fontaine repeated. â€Å"You are excused.† â€Å"But-but sir,† she stammered, â€Å"I†¦ I have to protest. I think-â€Å" â€Å"You protest?† the director demanded. He set down his coffee. â€Å"I protest! I protest to your presence in my office. I protest to your insinuations that the deputy director of this agency is lying. I protest-â€Å" â€Å"We have a virus, sir! My instincts tell me-â€Å" â€Å"Well, your instincts are wrong, Ms. Milken! For once, they're wrong!† Midge stood fast. â€Å"But, sir! Commander Strathmore bypassed Gauntlet!† Fontaine strode toward her, barely controlling his anger. â€Å"That is his prerogative! I pay you to watch analysts and service employees-not spy on the deputy director! If it weren't for him we'd still be breaking codes with pencil and paper! Now leave me!† He turned to Brinkerhoff, who stood in the doorway colorless and trembling. â€Å"Both of you.† â€Å"With all due respect, sir,† Midge said. â€Å"I'd like to recommend we send a Sys-Sec team to Crypto just to ensure-â€Å" â€Å"We will do no such thing!† After a tense beat, Midge nodded. â€Å"Very well. Goodnight.† She turned and left. As she passed, Brinkerhoff could see in her eyes that she had no intention of letting this rest-not until her intuition was satisfied. Brinkerhoff gazed across the room at his boss, massive and seething behind his desk. This was not the director he knew. The director he knew was a stickler for detail, for neatly tied packages. He always encouraged his staff to examine and clarify any inconsistencies in daily procedure, no matter how minute. And yet here he was, asking them to turn their backs on a very bizarre series of coincidences. The director was obviously hiding something, but Brinkerhoff was paid to assist, not to question. Fontaine had proven over and over that he had everyone's best interests at heart; if assisting him now meant turning a blind eye, then so be it. Unfortunately, Midge was paid to question, and Brinkerhoff feared she was headed for Crypto to do just that. Time to get out the resumes, Brinkerhoff thought as he turned to the door. â€Å"Chad!† Fontaine barked, from behind him. Fontaine had seen the look in Midge's eyes when she left. â€Å"Don't let her out of this suite.† Brinkerhoff nodded and hustled after Midge. Fontaine sighed and put his head in his hands. His sable eyes were heavy. It had been a long, unexpected trip home. The past month had been one of great anticipation for Leland Fontaine. There were things happening right now at the NSA that would change history, and ironically, Director Fontaine had found out about them only by chance. Three months ago, Fontaine had gotten news that Commander Strathmore's wife was leaving him. He'd also heard reports that Strathmore was working absurd hours and seemed about to crack under the pressure. Despite differences of opinion with Strathmore on many issues, Fontaine had always held his deputy director in the highest esteem; Strathmore was a brilliant man, maybe the best the NSA had. At the same time, ever since the Skipjack fiasco, Strathmore had been under tremendous stress. It made Fontaine uneasy; the commander held a lot of keys around the NSA-and Fontaine had an agency to protect. Fontaine needed someone to keep tabs on the wavering Strathmore and make sure he was 100 percent-but it was not that simple. Strathmore was a proud and powerful man; Fontaine needed a way to check up on the commander without undermining his confidence or authority. Fontaine decided, out of respect for Strathmore, to do the job himself. He had an invisible tap installed on Commander Strathmore's Crypto account-his E-mail, his interoffice correspondence, his brainstorms, all of it. If Strathmore was going to crack, the director would see warning signs in his work. But instead of signs of a breakdown, Fontaine uncovered the ground work for one of the most incredible intelligence schemes he'd ever encountered. It was no wonder Strathmore was busting his ass; if he could pull this plan off, it would make up for the Skipjack fiasco a hundred times over. Fontaine had concluded Strathmore was fine, working at 110 percent-as sly, smart, and patriotic as ever. The best thing the director could do would be to stand clear and watch the commander work his magic. Strathmore had devised a plan†¦ a plan Fontaine had no intention of interrupting. Chapter 75 Strathmore fingered the Berretta in his lap. Even with the rage boiling in his blood, he was programmed to think clearly. The fact that Greg Hale had dared lay a finger on Susan Fletcher sickened him, but the fact that it was his own fault made him even sicker; Susan going into Node 3 had been his idea. Strathmore knew enough to compartmentalize his emotion-it could in no way affect his handling of Digital Fortress. He was the deputy director of the National Security Agency. And today his job was more critical than it had ever been. Strathmore slowed his breathing. â€Å"Susan.† His voice was efficient and unclouded. â€Å"Did you delete Hale's E-mail?† â€Å"No,† she said, confused. â€Å"Do you have the pass-key?† She shook her head. Strathmore frowned, chewing his lip. His mind was racing. He had a dilemma. He could easily enter his elevator password, and Susan would be gone. But he needed her there. He needed her help to find Hale's pass-key. Strathmore hadn't told her yet, but finding that pass-key was far more than a matter of academic interest-it was an absolute necessity. Strathmore suspected he could run Susan's nonconformity search and find the pass-key himself, but he'd already encountered problems running her tracer. He was not about to risk it again. â€Å"Susan.† He sighed resolutely. â€Å"I'd like you to help me find Hale's pass-key.† â€Å"What!† Susan stood up, her eyes wild. Strathmore fought off the urge to stand along with her. He knew a lot about negotiating-the position of power was always seated. He hoped she would follow suit. She did not. â€Å"Susan, sit down.† She ignored him. â€Å"Sit down.† It was an order. Susan remained standing. â€Å"Commander, if you've still got some burning desire to check out Tankado's algorithm, you can do it alone. I want out.† Strathmore hung his head and took a deep breath. It was clear she would need an explanation. She deserves one, he thought. Strathmore made his decision-Susan Fletcher would hear it all. He prayed he wasn't making a mistake. â€Å"Susan,† he began, â€Å"it wasn't supposed to come to this.† He ran his hand across his scalp. â€Å"There are some things I haven't told you. Sometimes a man in my position†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The commander wavered as if making a painful confession. â€Å"Sometimes a man in my position is forced to lie to the people he loves. Today was one of those days.† He eyed her sadly. â€Å"What I'm about to tell you, I never planned to have to say†¦ to you†¦ or to anyone.† Susan felt a chill. The commander had a deadly serious look on his face. There was obviously some aspect of his agenda to which she was not privy. Susan sat down. There was a long pause as Strathmore stared at the ceiling, gathering his thoughts. â€Å"Susan,† he finally said, his voice frail. â€Å"I have no family.† He returned his gaze to her. â€Å"I have no marriage to speak of. My life has been my love for this country. My life has been my work here at the NSA.† Susan listened in silence. â€Å"As you may have guessed,† he continued, â€Å"I planned to retire soon. But I wanted to retire with pride. I wanted to retire knowing that I'd truly made a difference.† â€Å"But you have made a difference,† Susan heard herself say. â€Å"You built TRANSLTR.† Strathmore didn't seem to hear. â€Å"Over the past few years, our work here at the NSA has gotten harder and harder. We've faced enemies I never imagined would challenge us. I'm talking about our own citizens. The lawyers, the civil rights fanatics, the EFF-they've all played a part, but it's more than that. It's the people. They've lost faith. They've become paranoid. They suddenly see us as the enemy. People like you and me, people who truly have the nation's best interests at heart, we find ourselves having to fight for our right to serve our country. We're no longer peacekeepers. We're eavesdroppers, peeping Toms, violators of people's rights.† Strathmore heaved a sigh. â€Å"Unfortunately, there are naive people in the world, people who can't imagine the horrors they'd face if we didn't intervene. I truly believe it's up to us to save them from their own ignorance.† Susan waited for his point. The commander stared wearily at the floor and then looked up. â€Å"Susan, hear me out,† he said, smiling tenderly at her. â€Å"You'll want to stop me, but hear me out. I've been decrypting Tankado's E-mail for about two months now. As you can imagine, I was shocked when I first read his messages to North Dakota about an unbreakable algorithm called Digital Fortress. I didn't believe it was possible. But every time I intercepted anew message, Tankado sounded more and more convincing. When I read that he'd used mutation strings to write a rotating key-code, I realized he was light-years ahead of us; it was an approach no one here had never tried.† â€Å"Why would we?† Susan asked. â€Å"It barely makes sense.† Strathmore stood up and started pacing, keeping one eye on the door. â€Å"A few weeks ago, when I heard about the Digital Fortress auction, I finally accepted the fact that Tankado was serious. I knew if he sold his algorithm to a Japanese software company, we were sunk, so I tried to think of any way I could stop him. I considered having him killed, but with all the publicity surrounding the algorithm and all his recent claims about TRANSLTR, we would be prime suspects. That's when it dawned on me.† He turned to Susan. â€Å"I realized that Digital Fortress should not be stopped.† Susan stared at him, apparently lost. Strathmore went on. â€Å"I suddenly saw Digital Fortress as the opportunity of a lifetime. It hit me that with a few changes, Digital Fortress could work for us instead of against us.† Susan had never heard anything so absurd. Digital Fortress was an unbreakable algorithm; it would destroy them. â€Å"If,† Strathmore continued, â€Å"if I could just make a small modification in the algorithm†¦ before it was released†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He gave her a cunning glint of the eye. It took only an instant. Strathmore saw the amazement register in Susan's eyes. He excitedly explained his plan. â€Å"If I could get the pass-key, I could unlock our copy of Digital Fortress and insert a modification.† â€Å"A back door,† Susan said, forgetting the Commander had ever lied to her. She felt a surge of anticipation. â€Å"Just like Skipjack.† Strathmore nodded. â€Å"Then we could replace Tankado's give-away file on the Internet with our altered version. Because Digital Fortress is a Japanese algorithm, no one will ever suspect the NSA had any part in it. All we have to do is make the switch.† Susan realized the plan was beyond ingenious. It was pure†¦ Strathmore. He planned to facilitate the release of an algorithm the NSA could break! â€Å"Full access,† Strathmore said. â€Å"Digital Fortress will become the encryption standard overnight.† â€Å"Overnight?† Susan said. â€Å"How do you figure that? Even if Digital Fortress becomes available everywhere for free, most computer users will stick with their old algorithms for convenience. Why would they switch to Digital Fortress?† Strathmore smiled. â€Å"Simple. We have a security leak. The whole world finds out about TRANSLTR.† Susan's jaw dropped. â€Å"Quite simply, Susan, we let the truth hit the street. We tell the world that the NSA has a computer that can break every algorithm except Digital Fortress.† Susan was amazed. â€Å"So everyone jumps ship to Digital Fortress†¦ not knowing we can break it!† Strathmore nodded. â€Å"Exactly.† There was a long silence. â€Å"I'm sorry I lied to you. Trying to rewrite Digital Fortress is a pretty big play, I didn't want you involved.† â€Å"I†¦ understand,† she replied slowly, still reeling from the brilliance of it all. â€Å"You're not a bad liar.† Strathmore chuckled. â€Å"Years of practice. Lying was the only way to keep you out of the loop.† Susan nodded. â€Å"And how big a loop is it?† â€Å"You're looking at it.† Susan smiled for the first time in an hour. â€Å"I was afraid you'd say that.† He shrugged. â€Å"Once Digital Fortress is in place, I'll brief the director.† Susan was impressed. Strathmore's plan was a global intelligence coup the magnitude of which had never before been imagined. And he'd attempted it single-handedly. It looked like he might pull it off too. The pass-key was downstairs. Tankado was dead. Tankado's partner had been located. Susan paused. Tankado is dead. That seemed very convenient. She thought of all the lies that Strathmore had told her and felt a sudden chill. She looked uneasily at the commander. â€Å"Did you kill Ensei Tankado?† Strathmore looked surprised. He shook his head. â€Å"Of course not. There was no need to kill Tankado. In fact, I'd prefer he were alive. His death could cast suspicion on Digital Fortress. I wanted this switch to go as smoothly and inconspicuously as possible. The original plan was to make the switch and let Tankado sell his key.† Susan had to admit it made sense. Tankado would have no reason to suspect the algorithm on the Internet was not the original. Nobody had access to it except himself and North Dakota. Unless Tankado went back and studied the programming after it was released, he'd never know about the back door. He'd slaved over Digital Fortress for long enough that he'd probably never want to see the programming again. Susan let it all soak in. She suddenly understood the commander's need for privacy in Crypto. The task at hand was time-consuming and delicate-writing a concealed back door in a complex algorithm and making an undetected Internet switch. Concealment was of paramount importance. The simple suggestion that Digital Fortress was tainted could ruin the commander's plan. Only now did she fully grasp why he had decided to let TRANSLTR keep running. If Digital Fortress is going to be the NSA's new baby, Strathmore wanted to be sure it was unbreakable! â€Å"Still want out?† he asked. Susan looked up. Somehow sitting there in the dark with the great Trevor Strathmore, her fears were swept away. Rewriting Digital Fortress was a chance to make history-a chance to do incredible good-and Strathmore could use her help. Susan forced a reluctant smile. â€Å"What's our next move?† Strathmore beamed. He reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. â€Å"Thanks.† He smiled and then got down to business. â€Å"We'll go downstairs together.† He held up his Berretta. â€Å"You'll search Hale's terminal. I'll cover you.† Susan bristled at the thought of going downstairs. â€Å"Can't we wait for David to call with Tankado's copy?† Strathmore shook his head. â€Å"The sooner we make the switch, the better. We have no guarantees that David will even find the other copy. If by some fluke the ring falls into the wrong hands over there, I'd prefer we'd already made the algorithm switch. That way, whoever ends up with the key will download our version of the algorithm.† Strathmore fingered his gun and stood. â€Å"We need to go for Hale's key.† Susan fell silent. The commander had a point. They needed Hale's pass-key. And they needed it now. When Susan stood, her legs were jittery. She wished she'd hit Hale harder. She eyed Strathmore's weapon and suddenly felt queasy. â€Å"You'd actually shoot Greg Hale?† â€Å"No.† Strathmore frowned, striding to the door. â€Å"But let's hope he doesn't know that.†

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Essay on Possible Development on Contemporary Arts Organization

Organizations all over the world are not without problems and difficulties as they face change on a daily basis while trying to keep their traditions and ideals intact. This is most true with organizations that focus on the traditional market/services while having to unite those services with modern innovations. When we say innovations these does not only pertain to certain technological tangible equipments but it can also mean new processes, means and even situations that can only be created by today’s advancing times.Because of this, it is imperative for organizations to have some plan or strategy that would help them stay afloat without sacrificing what they regard as their purpose. An example would be how the traditional art scene have rapidly decreased in activity because of the more â€Å"cool† contemporary arts or worse, because there are other places people can go to like malls and bars instead of being patrons of artistic ventures or exhibits.Going back, these so called problems that organizations face would be the tremendous growth in diversified clients, members and patrons that tends to create a cultural gap between the members and even the leaders who are handling the organizations. This is most true in many forms and types of organizations but for specificities’ sake, this discussion will focus on the contemporary art organizations that cater to very diverse tastes, attitudes and philosophies.Art, after all, can be regarded as a means of freedom of expression and this is most especially true in today’s art scene wherein freedom of expression is not only an option, it is a necessity. Because of the varied and eclectic people that compose the different art organizations around the world, problems arise on the context that too much diversity can cause confusion among the members which is evidently caused by the wide cultural gap not just between one or two persons but even among everyone who are part of said organization.T his diversity and wide cultural gap is of course caused by how tremendous globalization has been that in one art scene or organization, people from different parts of the state, country and even the world would collate to form that single group. Thus, it is essential that organizations keep in mind certain things if they want to survive such a fast-paced world and if they want to even expand in population and improve in terms of their products, projects and provisions.Of the many discussions and articles that other people have written on different important aspects of organizations, there are some which are enlightening and which are sensible and yet people, mostly leaders and management teams, forget or altogether ignore such aspects. These aspects are mostly centred on the following: lack of purpose of the organization, failure to properly pinpoint the cause of the problem and finally, need for effective strategies that would solve the problem.Lack of Purpose of the Organization I n the article of Wheatley (2008), she describes why terrorists groups are one of the finest examples of organizations in the world as they have a single unifying purpose in their agenda. This metaphor for the best organization is rather unusual and even uncomfortable as terrorists groups create horror around the world with their vendettas but Wheatley (2008) does have a point when she says that they are â€Å"among the most effective and powerful organizations in the world today†.What she presents is an analysis on why terrorist networks have no means to â€Å"formal power, advanced technology, large budgets, or great numbers of followers† and yet, they manage to cause such a strong impact that they are â€Å"changing the course of history† (Wheatley, 2008). This is where one of the most fundamental aspects of any organization should have is presented and it lies in the presence of an â€Å"ideal or purpose that gives them a group identity which compels them to act† (Wheatley, 2008).What Wheatley insists on is true, most especially if it is applied in contemporary arts organizations wherein much passion and ideals are present but sometimes misplaced or even divided. The problem with arts organizations all over is that they have too diversified output for their passions that there is no commonality or unity among what they want, what they want done and what they would like to do in the future.Because terrorist groups have such commonality in their purpose, whatever action or â€Å"project† they undertake, it is almost always successful that the world is compelled to watch or prod on their â€Å"projects†. In the arts scene, passion for the art itself can be their common cause and identifying what do they want to achieve with their organization can make their group more efficient and active; as what Wheatley (2008) wrote, â€Å"As networks mature, they are fuelled more by passion than by information.† Failure to P roperly Pinpoint the REAL Cause of the Problem The advice that Wheatley gave on how to have such a successful organization is to have a unified purpose from such diversified members of the group. This is tremendously connected to another possible means in which to have an efficient and effective organization and that is to acknowledge that a problem exists in the group and that the problem is most likely the persistence of misunderstanding caused by cultural gap.According to Hofstede (2005), problems in art organizations usually arise from the fact that there is too much diversity among cultures and that management groups of the organization are remiss in admitting that that is indeed the problem: â€Å"Many leaders do not wish to acknowledge the possibility of a cross-cultural communication problem in international dealings. If negotiations go wrong they blame others or†¦themselves, never the culture gap. † (Hofstede, 2005) The picture than Hofstede painted is common bu t not unsolvable.What leaders of such organizations should do is admit that that is the problem and that they should think up of strategies that would effectively solve those problems—but that will be discussed later on the essay. With all these difficulties that diversity of culture presents, would it not be better to just have a common art organizations among people who have the same culture? This is not entirely the case for culture does not just mean belonging to the same ethnic background of certain group of people, the culture here encompasses a commonality among a certain group of people.Thus, the people who are into the arts have their own culture but then again, there is also a different culture that separates the visual from the performance arts and even that of the traditional from the contemporary forms of art. This means that there is a diversity of culture within a culture within a culture. This scene is inevitable as how Halbreich (2001) puts it, â€Å"We†™ve just crossed into a new century in which the rate and dimension of change promises to test all our powers of invention†.This new century is the modern times; these powers of invention are the possible ventures that we may undertake to support such cultural diversity. However, it is important to note that cultural diversity is not bad; it is the cultural gap that it creates which is the unpleasant and unfortunate factor. Thus, how do we solve this cultural gap among members of organizations? This is discussed in how management groups should have effective strategies that address the problem and this strategy usually starts in something very simple: admit that there is a problem. The Need for Effective Strategies That Would Solve the ProblemWhen Hofstede (2005) claimed that leaders do not acknowledge the presence of cultural gap, Halbriech (2001) provided the answer to how to solve this: â€Å"We must adapt to become a filter, through which some of these competing worldvi ews can be debated and new communities established. † Organizations becoming a â€Å"filter† mean that it is through them that people would be able to identify where they would want to go and belong to (in terms of patronizing an arts organization) and then zeroing on those identified aspects that leaders would be able to establish a permanent community or organization for them.Thus, what leaders should do is recognize the needs (and sometimes, even wants) of the members, build around those needs and cater to them. For example, Ritzer et al. (2008), isolates a particular problem with the diverse culture in arts organizations wherein the problem is that local colour or culture fails to be reflected in the organization. This just means that they focus too much on a global standard without thinking that the organization should also reflect the â€Å"character of the geographic locales† (Ritzer et al. , 2008).If what Ritzer et al. say is true, then it means that the needs and wants of the immediate members of the organizations are ignored which creates a gap or misunderstanding among the group. A great example in trying to come up with strategies in solving gaps in arts organizations can be seen in the illustration of Halbreich (2001): â€Å"We aim to magnify the ways in which visitors†¦can become more active participants in a series of memorable experiences based on discovering links between art and life, as well as among artistic disciplines.† This illustration demonstrates how the art organization presented by Halbreich is very ideal in the sense that they manage to have a standard or purpose in mind (which is for the visitors to become participants in viewing the art) while thinking about the condition of the other end as well (by considering the real life situation of the audience) and linking the two together. ConclusionIn conclusion, difficulties in arts organizations are inevitable since the members and patrons are varied an d diverse in culture and attitude. Difficulties of such organizations are usually caused by cultural gaps in the group but they can be solved and remedied by admitting that there is a problem caused by the gap, and proving necessary strategies that addresses the issue while maintain true to the ideals of the group.However, one cannot help but think that Wheatley is most correct in her suggestion of addressing the overall issue in arts organizations—development and growth of the group, maintain diversity in the organization, and staying on track with the ideals of the organization—which is having a firm passion in the purpose of the organization since everything else would naturally follow suit. References Cummings, S. (2008). Strategy: past, present and future. The Sage Handbook of New Approaches in Management and Organization. SAGE: Singapore. pp. 184-216 Halbreich, K. (2001). Inventing new models for the museum and its audiences. Curating Now: Imaginative Practice/Public Responsibility. Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative: Philadelphia. pp. 67-79. Hofstede, G.J. (2005).   A bridge requires a gap. Introduction to Business Communication. Peter Lang Publishing Group: Frankfurt. pp. 163-170. Lustig, M.W. et al. (2005). Introduction to cultural patterns and intercultural communication. Introduction to Business Communication. Peter Lang Publishing Group: Frankfurt.   pp. 171-182. Ritzer, G. et al. (2008). Empty organizations. The Sage Handbook of New Approaches in Management and Organization. SAGE: Singapore. pp. 215-216. Wheatley, M. (2008). Learning about networks from terrorists. The Sage Handbook of New Approaches in Management and Organization. SAGE: Singapore. pp. 178-179.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Clean Edge Razor: Splitting Hairs in Product Positioning

Clean Edge Razor: Splitting Hairs in Product Positioning Name: Yuanxu He (Jason) Semester: Fall, 2012 Course Number: MBA 812A Date of paper: September 25th, 2012 Executive Summary The Clean Edge which is Paramount’s newest nondisposable razor has powerful influence in the market since 2010. It was improved design and used the new skills to make the razor’s properties become better than before. Lots of men like it and consider it was the closest, cleanest and smoothest. The article analysis the Paramount’s situation, competition, product positioning, marketing strategy through the U. S. azor market, market segments and consumer behavior and the trends of nondisposable razors and refill cartridges. After the company overview, the analysis of competition, design and testing and compare the marketing budget, Randall think that the Clean Edge has the significant mainstream potential and will become the new standard in men’s shaving. 1. Non-disposable razor category has changed a lot these years. The article pointed that nondisposable razors experienced approximately 5% growth per year from 2007 to 2010. Numerous innovations and product in the super-premium segment has grown a lot.The expenses of advertising increased a lot because of the need to promote new benefits from advances in razor technologies. Changes in retail channel distribution have also been noted in the category. Male-specific grooming products seemed to be a bright spot in the industry from 2007 to 2010 and the segment saw much more growth because shaving became more than just shaving – it started to include body spray, fragranced shower gel and skincare lines proliferated. Channel distribution for the razor category has become increasingly important through the Exhibit 4. It has been quite demand for male-grooming products.Competitive Position: Paramount has been a global consumer products giant with over $13 billion in worldwide sales an d $7 billion in gross profits for 2009 since it entered the nondisposable razor market in 1962. Paramount established itself as unit-volume market-leader in 2009 based on nondisposable razor sales. The nondisposable razor category market is entering a new phase with technology products and new competitors entering the market, it’s a threat to Paramount. Strategic Life Cycle Challenges: Consumers are becoming more experienced and always looking for new technologies.Namely, they want to spend more money and buy products which are satisfy the necessity of a smooth shaving experience. In other words, through the Exhibit 1, there is a category of consumers called â€Å"Maintenance users† that made up 33% of consumers; they were not interested in buying products with superior technology. These consumers cannot be ignored. So, to the challenges, it should provide a product with good cost x benefit but with a short life cycle for the 33% called â€Å"Maintenance users† keeping these users buying their products and interested in their brands. And then, launch the Clean Edge product with a longer life cycle. Meanwhile, making this product profitable creating a high quality from the consumer when they buy cartridges for refill.2. The nondisposable razor market is segmented to three parts base on price and quality which are: value, moderate and super-premium. From 2009, consumers purchased razors and replacement cartridges more frequently and they were distinct to â€Å"Maintenance Shavers†, â€Å"Social/Emotional† and Aesthetic†. The â€Å"Maintenance Shavers† who almost not interested in the product category. The â€Å"Social/Emotional† shavers were motivated by the overall shaving experience and â€Å"Aesthetic† shavers were interested in cosmetic results.3. Niche| Mainstream| Pros| Cons| Pros| Cons| Increase profits and market share| Increased marketing budget costs to launch the new product and provide inc entives to â€Å"Maintenance users†| Increase profits| Potentially could result in elimination of Paramount Pro| Existing products can be retained and used to target â€Å"Maintenance users†| | Increase market share| Paramount will not be focusing â€Å"Maintenance  users† with new product line| Branding strategy can be arefully planned and deployed for maximum success| | Help prevent loyal Paramount customers form being wooed away to more innovative brands| Opportunity to utilize existing products and gain increased sales| Through the pros and cons, I will recommend the Clean Edge for a niche strategy. Because Rosenberg said that they will siphon off consumers if he considered a mainstream positioning strategy. A niche strategy will make more sense.4. | Niche| Mainstream| Planned capacity Razor (Year 1)| 1. 0| 3. 3| (Year 2)| 1. 5| 4. 0| Razor: Production per unit cost| $ 5. 00| $ 4. 74| Razor: Manufacturer price| $ 9. 09| $ 7. 83| Razor: Suggested price| $ 1 2. 99| $ 11. 19| Revenue (Year 1)| 9. 09| 25. 84| (Year 2)| 13. 64| 31. 32| Production Costs (Year 1)| 5| 15. 64| (Year 2)| 7. 5| 18. 96| | Planned capacity Cartridge (Year 1)| 4. 0| 9. 9| (Year 2)| 10. 0| 21. 9| Average Production unit cost| $ 2. 43| $ 2. 24|Manufacturer price| $ 7. 35| $ 6. 22| Suggested price| $ 10. 50| $ 8. 89| Revenue (Year 1)| 29. 4| 61. 58| (Year 2)| 73. 5| 136. 22| Production Costs (Year 1)| 9. 72| 22. 18| (Year 2)| 24. 3| 49. 06| | Capacity costs (Year 1)| $ 0. 61| $ 1. 71| (Year 2)| $ 0. 87| $ 2. 45| Advertising (Year 1)| $ 7| $ 19| (Year 2)| $ 7| $ 17| Consumer (Year 1)| $ 6| $ 17| (Year 2)| $ 6| $ 14| Trade promotions (Year 1)| $ 2| $ 6| Year 2)| $ 3| $ 8| Subtotal of Other Costs (Year 1)| 15. 61| 43. 71| (Year 2)| 16. 87| 41. 45| Total Costs (Year 1)| 30. 33| 81. 53| (Year 2)| 48. 67| 109. 47| Trough the chat above which compares the revenues and costs, it’s easily to find out the Niche is the better one. About the marketing budget, through the c omparing, the advertising and promotion of Clean Edge Razor is $15m and $ 16m, and we can reduce the budget for existing products of advertising.Because the consumers become more sophisticated and the research shows that these will be the mature phrase of the product life cycle in the future. I consider that if it launch the product to the Niche market, it will bring a huge profit to Paramount. So, I want to make the brand name called The Clean Edge Razor by Paramount.ConclusionBy the time, consumers really purchased razors and replacement cartridges more frequently than they than in any year previously. It’s no doubt that the Clean Edge has huge potential in the super-premium segment.It should keep developing by the Niche strategy and this will bring the biggest benefits and profit to the company and beat the other competitors.Work Cited S. E. Smith, â€Å"One Tool, Many Uses: Single Edge Razor†, (Aug 02, 2012), http://www. networx. com/article/one-tool-many-uses-sing le-edge-razorJeremy Pingul, â€Å"Paramount Health & Beauty: The Clean Edge Razor†, (2012, January), http://prezi. com/pjd6evuzfndc/paramount-health-beauty-the-clean-edge-razor/

Friday, September 27, 2019

Dead Poest Society & John Dewey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dead Poest Society & John Dewey - Essay Example In his book Dewey goes on to give a light on the essential difference exiting between typical Welton’s classroom and Keating classroom. As opposed to Welton’s classroom, Keating’s students are likely to develop fun in their learning because of the chance they had in experiencing recreations and field treks outside their classroom. He revives the Dead Poets society that creates a chance for the student to focus on another world far from their curriculum. The fun developed allows the students to develop much passion for the curriculum. This is different to the Welton’s orthodox case where the students had no chance for experiencing fun in their curriculum. Keating, acted as the model described by Dewey evident when he told the student to tear the introductory page of their book while reading. This indicates that Keating as a teacher took up the trait of an executor who brought meaningful association between the students and their reading material. By tearing the page indicates that Keating was concerned about sorting out digestible and most relevant information for his students. Indifferent to this, Nolan, Welton’s headmaster and the enforcer of the traditional system is surprised when he finds out that the students had ripped the first page (Franklin, 2009). This reveals the unusual nature of the traditional systems, as indicated by Dewey, whereby the students are supposed to rely on books rather than their instructors (Dewey, 2007). Keating’s way of teaching proves to be much beneficial to his students. Among the benefits derived from Keating acting as the executor rather than the book, is that the students received refined information which is easier to understand. Keating was able to sort out useful information that he viewed important for the students’ digestion; otherwise, the students would have ended up reading bulky information without knowing what is important for their studies. Further,

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The Nemo Dat Rule Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Nemo Dat Rule - Essay Example All in all, the main purpose of any purchase is to have the transfer of the given good from the seller to the buyer (Akseli 2000, p.21). In accordance to the case of Rohit Kulkarni  v.  Manor Credit (Davenham) Ltd, we get to see the application of the sales in goods act and the hire purchase Act. In the case, Manor credit sold a Mercedes car to Gwent via hire purchase terms. When Dr. Kulkarni approached Gwent, it sold to the doctor the car. Later on, when Gwent failed to pay as per the hire purchase agreement, Manor decides to repossess the car. The doctor is then left without a car and no refund (Crosling 2000, p.83). Therefore, Dr. Kulkarni takes Manor Credit to court to have refund of his money. A lot of decisions come in place in this case to decide who the rightful winner of the case is (Clarke 2005, p.63). In addition, there have been several cases like this that have been in court and different ruling made leaving many to argue if nemo dat rule is an efficient law to be us ed in the legal system. From the above case, Dr. Kulkarni wanted refund for the car which he had bought from Gwent, but according to the law, Gwent was not the sole owner of that property (Bar 2011, p.63). Since sale of property involves the transfer of commodity from one owner to the other, since Gwent did not have the rightful papers to prove they were the owners of the car, Dr. Kulkarni is left disadvantaged. In accordance to hire purchase act, the owner of the given commodity can repossess the commodity when the buyer has not paid nine tenths of the price agreed upon hire purchase (Clarke 2005, p.54). This law proves unfair in this case since an individual would have already paid money worth more than even the cash price of a given commodity and the owner repossess (Hoffman 2006, p.161). Though the hire purchase act, advocates for that, its innocent victims who would have lost their money and time buying that commodity. Such a law should either be abolished or changed so as not to belittle the innocent ones in the society. Since the owner of a given commodity is the one regarded as the one who has the rightful details to be the owner, take for instance in the above case, the owner is Manor credit (Connolly 2000, p.67). The nemo dat rule is also a good rule when view from the business point of view. Imagine the business person had invested his money in dealing in the hire purchase business and may be having debts and loans to repay, for a given customer to default payment indicate that the given business will be the verge of making laws. Hence by the ninth tenth rule applying is a way of making businesses not to enter into situations that they make loses (Gillies 2000, p. 78). It is hence disadvantageous to the customer who had the product since he or she would not be compensated by the business person (Luisa 2003, p.73). Such a law should be changed so that in the event that the owner repossesses his or her product, then the customer should have way of not coming out of the agreement worse than he or she entered. Such a law is only disadvantageous to the business people and disadvantageous to the customers. The given business person can be able to repossess and resell the given commodity and still get his or her money while the customer succumbs his or her loses (Howells 2006, p.45). In continuing to analyze the Nema dat rule, the doctor in the above case may have been favored by the ruling that stated that he might have been repaid if the commodity in question was

Culture, orruption and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Culture, orruption and Development - Essay Example Culture can be judged by means of religion, lifestyle, literature, music, foods, arts, and architecture, language, fashions, behaviors, rituals, and symbols employed by individuals of a society (Tyler 1974). The culture is shifted from generation to the other generation and keeps on changing (Kroeber and Kluckhohn 1952). The topic, which interests me the most, is the association of culture to the development of society and individuals of a society. Culture is an important part of our lives, which is responsible for shaping our personalities (Dabaghian 1970). It enables us to develop into the individuals as we are. People from different cultures are different because of the different social values that are there because of culture (Tyler 1974). With the help of culture, the development in a society can be judged. With the passage of time, the culture of a society goes through various transactions that are the outcome of change in cultural values because of many reasons (Dabaghian 1970). The reasons that can bring in a change in a culture are an invasion of a country, the impact of global linkage, colonialism and many others (Dabaghian 1970). The change is not necessarily good. The change brought by the intrusion of another culture keeps the ability to annihilate the cultural values of a particular culture or one culture can be amalgamated in another culture and can come out in form of a new culture (Agbaje 1996). While helping a nation in order to develop in terms of technology and advancement, it must be assured that the cultural values of a society are not corrupted because of the technologies (Agbaje 1996). The culture should be retained as such in order to be different or unique.  

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

How can the UK sustain growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

How can the UK sustain growth - Essay Example Industry development is also termed as a significant determinant of sustainable growth in the national level (WRAP, 2010). With this concern, the UK government has been focused on increasing its industrial outputs, on the verge of facing the risk of recessionary effects in the aftershock of the recent financial turmoil. As a result, the economy was able to obtain a substantial rise in its overall industrial output which led to the predictions that the economy might have been successful in mitigating the recessionary risks by a substantial extent. However, UK’s industrial output suddenly fell in the fourth quarter of 2013 which made the volatile situation faced by the economy more apparent to world traders (BBC, 2013). This further have raised the question that whether UK can sustain its growth in the future and if it can, then how. The discussion in this paper will emphasise on addressing this particular question following the assessment of the current economic situation witne ssed in the UK. Exposition According to the article published in BBC (2013), with the title â€Å"UK industrial output rose 1.1% in December† reveals an apparent account of UK’s industrial performance in relation to its output generation. It is worth mentioning in this context that the sustainable growth of UK has been significantly influenced by its industrial, economic and production outputs over the years which has today, contributed to its recessionary risks. The data illustrated through this report states that the industrial output in the UK had increased by 1.1% in December 2012 as per the report of Office for National Statistics. The rise in the aggregated industrial output observed in December 2012 was constituted with the steeply increased production of the manufacturing sector by 1.6% after accounting a fall of 0.3% in the month of November 2012. Outputs generated from the energy production and mining sector also increased by 0.9% in the same period which was further denoted to be highe r than the predictions made by analysts. Observing these hikes in the industrial output of the UK, various analysts affirmed that this level of development will enhance the potentialities of the economy to avoid future recessionary situations which was previously forecasted to be quite high in the aftermath of the 2008 recent financial crisis. However, UK’s industrial output depicted a sudden fall on the premise that UK has been successful in avoiding probable chances of recession. To be specific, industrial output declined by 1.9% in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2012-2013 which was further revealed to be a record fall in comparison to the output obtained in the third quarter of the same fiscal year. The major reason identified to act behind this huge fall in industry outputs have been the temporary shutdowns of oilfields in North Sea. However, possible chances were identified with concern to the rises in the energy production of UK’s North Sea energy produ ction sector which could contribute towards the sustainable growth of UK even though no firm evidences were provided towards justifying this particular assumption (BBC, 2013; Office for National Statistics, 2012). Notably, it was the cause of these recessionary effects that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the UK fell to 0.3% which depicted that the industry growth policies enforced by the government had certainly failed which is required to be further reconsidered in order to avoid the high risks of triple-dip recession (Inman, 2013). Source: (Inman, 2013) Key Themes The key themes of the article published in BBC (2013) represent the overall scenario of UK’s sustainable development in terms of industrial production increases which in turn imposes a strong influence on the sustenance of the UK economy with the prevailing

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Homodyne receivers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Homodyne receivers - Essay Example The architecture of homodyne receiver comprises the basic RF circuits which ensure the work flow of the equipment namely Band Select Filter (BSF), Low-noise amplifier (LNA), active mixer, oscillator and a Channel Select Filter (HFS, 2008). LNA is an amplifier which converts the received signal to acceptable levels while minimizing the noise. (Varma,Kunder,Daruwalla,2003). The active mixers are responsible for frequency up conversion and down conversion functions  (Beckwith, Schiltz, 2003) where as Oscillator generates a series of waves which is mixed with the RF signals (Fukatsu, 2005). Channel Select Filter converts preferred low power RF signal into significantly powerful ones. The primary principle of operation of a direct conversion receiver, is the down-conversion of incoming RF signal to base-band in one step by mixing with an oscillator output of the same frequency and hence the name ‘homodyne receiver’. The resulting zero frequency signal is then filtered with a low-pass filter to select the desired channel. (Ma,2001). This process of operation has been illustrated in the following diagram. The simplicity in its constitution and function is the prime advantage of this type of receivers. With relevance to the changing performance and functionality requirement for the emerging technologies, the homodyne model becomes more practical to implement. The major disadvantage of homodyne receiver is that the down-converted signal is extremely sensitive to DC voltage offsets due to current leakage from the local oscillator entering into the LNA and mixer. This demands high requirements on reverse isolation and low substrate coupling. Moreover because of the down-conversion of the RF signal to zero IF, the noise in the oscillator must be minimized and the distortion or linearity must be kept very low for the LNA and mixer. This causes power dissipation as well. (HFS,

Monday, September 23, 2019

Case Studies (Laura Martin) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case Studies (Laura Martin) - Research Paper Example In the DCF analysis, the Net Present value has been calculated as the present value of the future net free cash inflows or the revenue of the business, minus the expenses, or the present value of the costs incurred (Mauboussin, 5). In most cases, these two are discounted using the company’s WACC (Stearns, 29). This assumption though made by Laura Martin is a flawed assumption. Mainly, free cash flows depend on the demand in the market, prices in the market, and other external factors in the market, with the market compensating firms; because of taking marketing risks (Chan et al, 3). In most cases, costs should be discounted at a rate higher than the risk free rate (Stearns, 3). This means that discounting the cash flows and the costs at similar rates will significantly reduce the costs; such actions would lead to overhaul of the firm (Chen et al, 3). Martin in these calculations used the beta approach, which measures the co-movements of firms’s equity prices of 1.07 in forecasting 10 years of cash flows in the market and which is affected by so many market variables (Mauboussin, 16). However, equity prices are unstable and change each time depending market business conditions. The multiple analyses assumed that the firm would realize the stated future sales revenue at the end of the forecast period (Chen et al, 3). Firms that have comparable acquisitions, particular in the same industry are used as a base in finding an appropriate range of multiples to use (Stearns, 24). Though multiples are very plausible, they have a problem in that there is no possibility of having a company that is comparable to Cox as firms do use various valuation approaches.. The ‘stealth- Tier’ can be incorporated into the DCF and the multiples analysis. The unused cable capacity of Cox communications can be included into the discounted cash flow analysis, through

Sunday, September 22, 2019

How Piagets theories support universal preK in the US Essay Example for Free

How Piagets theories support universal preK in the US Essay Jean Piaget is famous for developing one of the most influential theory, the theory of cognitive development. The theory is mainly concerned with the construction and emergence of schemata which comprises the schemes of how a person does perceive the world especially during the developmental stages when the children are gaining new means of mentally expressing information. The theory is considered constructivist in opposition to other theories which could be either nativist or empiricists, (Brainerd, C. 1978). The theory proposes that we do get to construct our cognitive abilities through the self-motivated action in ones world. The nativist theory on the other hand asserts that cognitive development is the unfolding of innate abilities and knowledge while empiricist theories defines cognitive development as a gradual process in which knowledge is acquired through experience, (Brainerd, C.J. Reyna, V.F 2002). For this theory, Piaget won the Erasmus prize. There are four main periods that Piaget used to describe the schemes that children make use of to understand the world, (Gallagher, J.M. Reid, D.K. 1981). Four stages as described by Piaget’s. Sensorimotor period. This occurs at the age of 0 to 2 years, (Piaget, J. 1929). According to Piaget, children are born with a congenital reflexes which permits them to float in the dense world beyond their drive to explore the world around them. The initial schemes that the children have at this stage is all based on the differentiation of their congenital reflexes. Since this is the first of the four stages according to Piaget it marks an important stage in which the child develops spatial abilities to understand the world in six different stages, (Piaget, J. 1929). These stages include; †¢ The reflex scheme stage that takes place from birth to one month. It is primarily associated with the development of reflexes. †¢ Primary circular reaction stage is the second stage that occurs from one month to four month. It is primarily associated with the development of habits. †¢ The secondary circular reactions phase forms the third stage. It occurs from the fourth month to the eighth month and is primarily associated with the development of vision and prehension coordination, (hand-eye coordination). †¢ The fourth sub stage is concerned with the development of the object permanence development. It is generally called the coordination of secondary course round modest circular reactions stage and occurs from the eighth month to the twelfth month. †¢ The tertiary circular reactions phase is what Piaget suggested to the fifth sub stage from twelve to eighteen months. This is the stage that Piaget suggested that the ‘little scientist’ is born through active creativity and experimentation. †¢ The sixth final sub stage here is characterized by the beginning of symbolic representation and it occurs from the eighteen months to twenty four months. At this stage the new found means of considering before taking an action gives the child new ways of eventually achieving a goal without having to go for the trial and error experiment, (Gallagher, J.M. Reid, D.K. 1981). preoperational stage This is the second of four main stages of cognitive development. Piaget demonstrated that a qualitative psychological functioning does occur as the child approaches the end of second year. According to Piaget, a preparatory thought is any particular procedure that promotes mental action on objects. The main hallmark in this stage is logically inadequate and sparse mental operations, (Flavell 1963). It is at this stage that the child learns to repress and use objects by words and images, that is symbolic thinking is evident. Since the child still has difficult of adopting other people’s viewpoint, thinking is still egocentric. It as it this stage that the child has the potential to classify similar objects together trough a single feature such as color or shape, (Brainerd, C. 1978). Piaget suggested that this stage which immediately follows Sensorimotor stage occurs between 2-7 years of stage. It at this stage that children develop their language skills and thus they begin expressing things using images and words. Worth noting here is the child relies more on intuition that the logical reasoning at this stage. At the beginning, there are more egocentric since they are not yet aware that other people are not thinking or perceiving things in the same way like they do. It at this time that their imaginative mind is very active and they thus associate emotions to certain inanimate objects, (Piaget, J. 1929). This stage is further broken down into Preconceptual stage and the Intuitive stage. The Preconceptual stage occurs at the stage of 2-4 years and is mainly characterized by egocentric thinking as well as animistic thought. A child with animistic thought is one who has the tendency to assign attributes of living things to inanimate objects such as the perception that a glass does feel pain when it is broken. The intuitive stage that occurs between the forth year to the seventh year is characterized by the potential child who is actively solving problems through the mental process. Though at this stage they do manage to achieve some goals, they are however unaware on how they achieved their conclusion. A simple example is when a child is able to correctly identify the majority from the minority just by the virtual of sight. An example is when a child is presented with seven dogs and maybe 2 cats and he/she is asked if there are more dogs that cats. As expected the child would respond positively but will also commit a logical error if supposedly asked the same question in the same way but differently such as if there are more dogs that animal, (Brainerd, C. 1978). The child will most likely respond by saying yes thus showing the use intuition at this stage. An important observation by Piaget is that children mainly learn through play and imitation through these first two stages, (Gallagher, J.M. Reid, D.K. 1981).. Concrete operational stage This is the third of the four stages in Piaget’s cognitive development theory. It follows preoperational stage and is suggested to occur between the age of 7 to 11 years, (Piaget, J. 1929). It is characterized by the appropriate use of logic and at this stage some of the important processes that have been identified include; †¢ Seriation, which is the ability to sort different objects based on shape, size or other characteristic. A good example is the potential to differentiate color gradient. †¢ Classification-the ability of the child to identify and name sets of objects based on size, appearance as well as other characteristics that may suggest that one object may include another. †¢ Decentering-this is a process where the child is able to take into account multiple aspects of a problem towards solving it. An example is the change in perception where a child will no longer will no longer hold the perception that an exceptionally wide yet short cup will hold less amount that one that is normally tall and wide. †¢ Reversibility-where the young one is able to comprehend that objects and numbers can be altered and eventually returned back their original state. Thus the child will be able to comprehend that since 3+3= 6, then 6-3=3. †¢ Conservation- the ability to understand that length, quantity or number of items is basically mot related to their appearance or arrangement. †¢ Elimination of egocentricim- this is the ability of the child to understand and view things from another perspective even though they may think incorrectly. Formal operational stage This is the fourth and the final stage in cognitive development according to Piaget’ theory. It starts at around 12 years of age soon after the Concrete Operational stage and continues all the way to adulthood, (Ashurst 1985). It is the stage that is characterized with the ability to reason logically, think abstractly, and be able to draw conclusions from the available information. It is at this young adult stage that one is able to understand such aspects as logical proofs, love and values. Some biological factors can be traced during this stage as it occurs during puberty thus marking the entry into adulthood in cognition, physiology, moral judgment (Kohlberg), psychosocial development (Erikson) and psychosexual development (Freud). It is estimated that approximately two-thirds of all the people fail to develop this type of reasoning fully for it to become their normal cognition mode and thus they remain as operational thinkers even as adults, (Flavell 1963). The above four stages have some general observation. One is that though they may vary in time, sequence does not change, (Brainerd, C. 1978). The stages also apply to thought and not to children and they universal thus they cannot be associated with any culture. Shortcoming to Piagetian stage theory. There are several challenges that have been put froth against Piagetian theory some of which even Piaget himself has noted such as the fact that development does not have to progress in such as the smooth manner that his theory has proposed. His theory is a general one since it suggests that cognitive maturation occurs across different aspects of knowledge such as logic, mathematics, language among others, (Gallagher, J.M. Reid, D.K. 1981). Application of Piagetian theory Most of the educators as well as psychologists do manage to receive piagetian theory training during their professional training. A piagetian assessment is more likely to be a familiar concept among the psychologists who work in those districts that carry out alternative assessment of cognitive ability on regular basis. A good example are the psychologists at the Southern California Diagnostic Center who do make use of the Ordinal Scale more in depth during a Piagetian assessment. For most of these psychologists, a Piagetian assessment is like a departure from the standardized intelligence testing. The standardized intelligence tests that are available usually diagnose the student’s academic achievement expectancy and it may usually take considerable amount of time and thus may not be done for more than one year. This thus limits the tests for use during short term interventions such as pre-test or post-test. More to this is that standardized cognitive tests quantify a students power or strength of abilities or processing but unfortunately the quantification does not precisely predict the intervention method that are most likely applicable or useful, (Flavell 1963). A curriculum-based measurement (CBM) can be done several times within a year by the school psychologists as a pretest or post-test on how effective the intervention is. Unfortunately, CBM does not provide details of why the intervention may or may not be successful nor does it serve as a diagnostic tool for the instructional modifications. On the other hand, Piagetian screening can be useful in giving instructional interventions especially incases to do with comprehension or math concepts, (Piaget, J. 1929). Piagetian theory gives the stage wise development of qualitative means of developing thinking from one stage to the next. Through this understanding it is possible to understand more easily why students experience learning difficulties. Thus Piagetian screening does provide an avenue of quickly estimating a student’s cognitive development level, (Ashurst 1985). In a summary thus, one can point to Piagetian tasks as signposts that indicate the level or stage that a child of a particular age is functioning. Thus it is important to understand that teaching   a child certain specific tasks does not in any way change the development stage of the child. Thus these signpost are useful when developing accommodations and modifications that do support a match between a Childs a curriculum with his/her cognitive processing ability. Necessary interventions for a child curriculum especially at the age of 4. Most of the children usually do encounter difficult math problems. Piagetian theory can be used to explain the appropriate interventions that can be adopted and especially at the age of four. For a student to effectively understand the mathematical concepts of simple subtraction and addition, there is need for him/her to acquire the concept of conservation of numbers. A child who is yet to attain conservation of number concept can still be able to perform, state or memorize various procedures such as subtraction or addition but may most likely be confused with the same concepts weeks, days or even hours later. The main reason for this is that information is stored as verbatim representations and the gist representations, (Brainerd, C. 1978). The modern theories of memory suggest that memory is stored as verbatim (exact input), or gist (concepts) and these representations of   memory   are accessed independently. Thus a child who has not yet attained the conservation of number rarely has the conceptual framework that is needed for a one-to-one correspondence since they lack the conceptual framework, (Gallagher, J.M. Reid, D.K. 1981).. At a later time when the child is not able to accurately carry out math operations, an impression of memory deficit may most likely be the first impression. But the main problem maybe that the child has not yet attained the developmental stage that is required to understand the mathematical concepts. It is in such circumstances that the child may only store verbatim memories and fail to do the same for the conceptual knowledge, gist memory. Necessary interventions in this case suggest that one ought to be very sure that the concrete operations level is emerging. If this is not the case, the child may most likely be in the pre-operational thinking stage which is also the intuitive level. The necessary interventions can be aimed at helping the child accelerate moving from intuitive stage towards the concrete stage. A good example is at the age of four, which is generally regarded as the stage of ‘why’ where the course-effect thinking is learnt in details. Worth noting is that some of the primary school-age children whom have not yet attained the level of being intuitive thinkers usually get on to ‘why stage’ one or two years later and may thus have not had the opportunity of having the questioning behavior reinforced, (Flavell 1963). Students are also known to experience problems with comprehension. The frequent complaint are usually at the 4th grade all the way to the eighth grade. The difficult maybe complex but with the application of Piagetian theory it is possible to determine whether the student did manage to attain the necessary developmental stages to be able to comprehend different concepts that do involve   some partially overlapping sets of information. Though the international model age for attaining classification task as age 9, an upward variance is usually observed. Most of the upper elementary science, literary concepts and social sciences involve also mental manipulation. Usually students gain the attention of the school psychologists due t issues that are associated social behavior.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Issues of Mineral Based Economies: Nigeria and Botswana

Issues of Mineral Based Economies: Nigeria and Botswana Why do Mineral-Based Developing Economies Face Economic Problems? The Case Study of Nigeria and Botswana 1. Introduction. Mineral-based economies have been defined as â€Å"those developing countries which generate at least 8 percent of their GDP and 40 percent of their export earnings from the mineral sector†. (Auty, 1993: p. 3). Two main categories of mineral-based economies have been identified. These include hydrocarbon producers and hard mineral exporters (producers of ores such as copper and tin). (Auty, 1993). Although one may reasonably expect developing mineral-based economies to witness tremendous economic development owing to their rich mineral resources, this has hardly been the case. According to Davis (1995: p. 1766) â€Å"mineral-based economies rather have development problems than development advantages†. In addition, Davis (1998) notes that economists and political scientists have recently proposed that mineral economies’ growth is below par, despite the mineral windfalls (rents) generated from mineral extraction. The mineral sector has even been classified as a ‘loser’ sector in the economic development race. (Shafer, 1994) cited by Davis (1998). Citing from a recent World Bank conference on mining and economic development, Davis (1995: p. 1765) states that several invited experts noted with concern the historical poor per capita economic growth of the mineral-exporting nations. In particular, participants from mineral-based developing economies were justly anxious about their fate. (Davis, 1995: p. 1765). In addition to fears of the â€Å"Dutch disease† and the â€Å"resource curse thesis† (explanations of these terms follow in subsequent sections), delegates were also concern about the appropriate policy response measures to these issues. (Davis, 1995). This paper aims at explaining why mineral-based developing economies rather face economic problems rather than economic development as one would expect. In meeting with this objective, the paper makes use of two case studies of mineral-based developing economies which include Nigeria (A hydrocarbon exporter) and Botswana (a hard mineral exporter). The rest of the paper is organized as follows: section two presents a literature review on why mineral-based economies rather face economic problems rather than economic development with particular emphasis on the Dutch Disease and the resource curse thesis; section 3 presents a discussion of the case studies making reference to their GDP growth, export revenue from mineral resources and per capita GDP; and section 4 presents some conclusions and recommendations. 2. Literature Review. Much of the literature has attributed underdevelopment of mineral-based developing economies to the Dutch disease. (Roemer, 1985) cited by Davis (1998) The Dutch disease is defined as a situation where an economy highly dependent on natural resources witnesses a decline in economic development as a result of a depletion of the natural resource or a sudden drop in the price of the resource. (Auty, 1993: p. 3). According to Davis (1995: p. 1768), the Dutch disease is a ‘morbid’ term that denotes the coexistence of booming and lagging sectors in an economy due to temporary or sustained increase in earnings. Mineral economies have been identified to generate an ideal environment for the disease given their notable minerals booming sector. (Davis, 1995). Mineral-based economies are characterized by a booming minerals sector at the expense of the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. (Davis, 1995). Ross (2003) suggests that mineral exports may cause economic volatility, inco me inequality, and crowding out of productivity growth in the manufacturing sector, which effects could increase poverty and reduce social welfare. Cordon and Neary (1982) cited in Auty (2001) explain the role of the Dutch disease on the deterioration of mineral-based economies using a three-sector model composed of a resource sector such as oil or other primary product exporting industry, a sector of tradeables, such as the manufacturing and agricultural sectors and non-tradeables. According to the model, a boom in the resource sector has three effects: a spending effect; a relative price effect and a resource movement effect. Looking at the spending effect, Auty (2001) suggests that the increased export revenues increases the demand for both tradables and non-tradables although spending on tradables fails to raise their domestic prices because prices in an open economy are determined in international markets. Consequently, any excess demand is met by imports. (Auty, 2001). Looking at the relative price effect, Auty (2001) suggests that failure to sterilize the increase in foreign exchange will result to an appreciation of the currency, which will in turn reduce the domestic prices of exports as well as those of imports competing with domestic products. In addition, a currency appreciation will lead to a reduction of the rents of the booming sector but may not be sufficient to reduce the sector’s output. (Auty, 2001). Domestic prices of non-tradables will rise with the rise in demand and these prices will neither be affected by the currency appreciation nor competitive imports. This will therefore result to an increase in the prices of non-tradables relative to the prices of tradables, as well as a reduction in exports and an increase in imports. (Auty, 2001). Macroeconomic theory suggests that the national income of a country is positively related to exports and negatively related to imports. The net increase in imports therefore leads to a reduction in the national income of the mineral-based State, which in turn hurts its economic development. Finally, as concerns the resource movement effect, Auty (2001) suggests that the movement of resources between sectors will also affect capital accumulation. Assuming a relatively labour-intensive non-tradable sector and a capital-intensive tradable sector, the movement in favour of the non-tradable sector will tend to raise wages and lower returns to capital thereby reducing capital accumulation. (Auty, 2001). In addition, assuming manufacturing is favourable to growth and that mineral resource booms cause it to decline, the mineral-based economy could experience slower long-term growth than the case would be if it had no mineral resources. (Auty, 2001). To support this view, Auty (2001) cites a number of studies that argue in favour of the fact that mineral resource booms tend to limit the growth of developing mineral based economies. For example, Matsuyama (1993It has also been sugges ted that mineral windfall facilitate irresponsible fiscal and trade policies. (e.g., Gelb, 1988; Ranis, 1991; Ranis and Mahmood, 1992) cited by Davis (1988). The issue as to why mineral-based economies remain underdeveloped is somehow controversial. (Auty, 2001). On the one hand, Mainstream economists have argued that primary commodity exports are the only way that countries in the early stages of development can generate the foreign exchange necessary to pay for essential imports and to service foreign debt. (Auty, 2001). On the other hand, Structurist economists (e.g., Presbish, 1950) cited by Auty (2001) argued that a long-run decline in prices for primary exports is an inevitable result of the increasing use of synthetics, shrinking raw material content of finished products and low elasticity of demand for raw materials. In addition Auty (2001) argues that oligopolistic markets in developed countries indicated that productivities increases there were captured in the form of higher income by workers and owners, while in the developing countries productivity gains were passed on to (northern) consumers in the form of lower prices. What the structurists economists are saying in effect is that mineral-rich developing countries because they lack the capacity to transform their raw materials into finished products often supply these products to developed or industrialized countries at very low prices. Industrialised countries in turn transform these raw materials into finished products and sell them to developing countries at very high prices, which do not match the prices for which they supplied their raw materials. By so doing mineral-rich developing countries continue to face declining levels of economic developing at the expense of developed countries. This idea is consistent with dependency theory[1]. For example, Presbish (1950) cited by Auty (2001) projected a downward trend in the terms of trade for primary products in relation to manufactured goods imported by developing countries from developed countries. In addition, Abubakar (1989: p. 19) describes Africa as a continent locked in an unequal exchange with t he developed world. Being perhaps the richest continent in the world, Africa has been transformed into undeniably the poorest continent. The following is a quote from Julius Nyerere, a prominent leader in Africa: â€Å"Every morning I listen to the B.B.C. to learn the price of the cotton and coffee with which Tanzania earns its foreign exchange. The prices of tractors and other goods we need to buy are not announced; they are fixed by the manufacturers in the Developed World, and we learn what they are when we go to buy†. (Abubakar, 1989: p. 19) quoting Julius Nyerere. 3. Case Studies of Nigeria and Botswana 3.1 Nigeria Nigeria falls in the first category of mineral-based economies identified by Auty (1993) as hydrocarbon producers. Minerals constitute 62.3% of the country’s merchandise exports and 9.6% of GDP and its mineral dependence index is 36 (the mineral dependence index is defined as the mean percentage contribution of minerals to GDP, merchandise exports, and government revenues). (Davis, 1995) citing Kuburshi (1984); United Nations (1974, 1976, 1987, 1993a, 1993c); World Bank (1993). Nigeria’s mineral dependence index of 36 indicates that it is highly dependent on minerals. This is following from Auty (1993) who considers a mineral dependence index of 20% or more to indicate mineral dependence. Nigeria was ranked 19th among developing countries that depended on minerals in 1970. This was based on the ranking of countries according to mineral dependence index in 1970. Based on 1991 rankings, Nigeria still maintained the 19th position and its minerals as a percentage of merchan dise exports had increased to 86.0 percent, minerals as a percentage of GDP stood at 7.6 percent and its mineral dependence index was 46.8 percent. (Davis, 1995). According to Eifert et al. (2002) oil represents an estimated 37 percent of GDP in Nigeria, and 63 percent of consolidated government revenues. The political economy of Nigeria has had an important role to play on how oil resources are managed in Nigeria. The public sector is the principal controller of these resources, which has fuelled the functioning of an extensive machinery of rent seeking a political patronage. (Eifert et al., 2002). Nigeria is characterised by a fragile ‘political coalition’ of diverse ethnic and religious groups with diverse interests. Eifert et al. (2002) asserts that public expenditures in Nigeria are always ratcheted out of control during oil booms, leading to macroeconomic instability owing to the diverse number of ethnic and religious interests that characterise the country. For e xample Eifert et al. (2002) suggest that an estimated amount of $300billion constituting oil revenues has enriched a small group politically and socially influential elite during the last 2 to 3 decades at the expense of the majority of Nigerians who have become impoverished. This indicates that Nigeria has failed to benefit from a general economic welfare from its oil boom because of the selfish desires of a small political influential minority. This situation is consistent with Gelb (1988); Ranis (1991); Ranis and Mahmood (1992) cited by Davis (1998) who attribute poor economic development of mineral-based developing economies to mineral windfalls’ facilitation of irresponsible fiscal and trade policies. Nigeria’s case is also consistent with Karl (1997); Mahon (1992); and Shafer (1994) cited by Davis (1998) who attribute mineral-based economies’ failure to achieve substantial economic development to the entrenched socio-political rigidity and rent-seeking ass ociated with an extended period of mineral extraction. According to Eifert et al. (2002) Nigeria’s economic growth has been stagnant and it is estimated that its per capita income has fallen from approximately $800 in the early 1980s to approximately $300 as at 2002. Nigeria’s failure to grow can be attributed to its government structure. Throughout the military regime described by Eifert et al. (2002) as a period of military dictatorship, the manner in which the oil cycle was managed was solely determined by the federal executive. Government spending was so high that in 1976 it accounted for more than the entire increase in oil revenue. (Eifert et al., 2002). Nigeria therefore faced rising fiscal and current account deficits following a failure of the 1975 oil price rise to bring the budget back into a surplus. By 1981, Nigeria had accumulated huge amounts of external debt, accompanied by capital flight. (Eifert et al., 2002). Increase government spending therefore fa iled to accelerate growth and there was little evidence of an increase in overall welfare that would have been expected during the sharp real appreciation that followed the spending binge. (Eifert et al., 2002). Eifert et al. (2002) attribute Nigeria’s failure to develop to the fact that its potential gains were rather absorbed in the sharply growing inefficiency of a corrupt and progressively more wasteful and distorted economy. Nigeria has made some efforts to adopt a democratic State but Eifert et al. (2002) conclude that the outcomes in the management of Nigeria’s oil cycle in the new democracy are thus so far not very different from the past pattern. This indicates that Political institutions in Nigeria are therefore shaped by a longer history than the current political regime. There is still an excessive an unsustainable increase in public expenditure, with considerable macroeconomic instability, and little to show in the growth and economic development. (Eifert, 2002). 3.2 Botswana. Botswana was ranked 35th in the mineral dependence index for developing countries in 1970. It had 0 percent for minerals as a percentage of merchandise exports, 19.6 percent for minerals as a percentage of GDP and 9.8 for mineral dependence index. (Davis, 1995). Following the ranking based on the minerals dependence index for developing economies in 1991, Botswana was ranked 8th with an 83.0 percent of minerals as a percentage of merchandise exports. Its minerals as a percentage of GDP had also increased to 41 percent and its mineral dependence index was 62.0. (Davis, 1995). Unlike Nigeria, Botswana falls in the second category of mineral-based economies with diamond, copper, nickel and coal constituting the principal hard minerals that it exported. (Curry, 1985). According to Curry (1985), Botswana, unlike other mineral-based economies in Africa that suffer from economic stagnation and political turmoil, Botswana has recorded an economic growth and political stability as a result of its fortuitous endowment of mineral wealth and sound macroeconomic management. Despite this development, Curry (1985) suggests that this growth strategy has produced underdevelopment and economic stagnation in rural agriculture, as well as increasing economic dependency on the republic of South Africa. Increases in mineral revenue has enriched the elite who have joined white farming families as the country’s large scale cattle owners, purchasing land and cattle from savings of relatively high salaries in the mining and public sectors. This situation has created two factions in Botswana. One rich and the other poor and there is an emerging clash between the rich and the poor that could destabilise and threaten an African success story as described by Curry (1985). In effect, mineral revenue in Botswana while it has helped to fuel economic development is threatening the growth of the agricultural sector and has also helped to widen the gap between the rich and the poor. Botswa na’s case is consistent with the Dutch disease which is consistent with the idea that a boom in one sector threatens a recession of other important sectors of the economy. The boom in the mineral sector has helped to fuel a recession in the agricultural sector in Botswana. 4. Conclusions and Recommendations This paper aimed at studying why mineral-based developing economies have witnessed more of economic problems than economic development. Nigeria’s case indicates that the country has suffered from autocratic and fractional democracies that have resulted to a poor management of the revenues from oil booms. As a consequence, mineral revenue has been spent without any fiscal discipline. This has led to the satisfaction of the desires of an influential minority at the expense of the welfare of the greater majority. Nigeria has basically not witnessed any economic development throughout boom in its oil sector. On its part, Botswana has witnessed growth and development as a result of its mineral resources. However, the boom in the mineral sector is hurting the agricultural sector and the situation has only benefited the rich who are using the mineral revenue to take over all land in Botswana for cattle rearing. Like Nigeria, Botswana’s mineral revenue has to some extent benefi t an influential minority. Based on the above, this paper recommends a more democratic regimes in mineral-based economies as well as an emphasis of the importance of all sectors in the economy. Governments in developing countries need to understand the importance of the manufacturing industry. Nigeria for example should be more concern about building its own oil refineries so as to boost its manufacturing industries. In Botswana, the government should implement high taxes on the rich elite so as to help redistribute the mineral income to the poor. Subsidies should be provided to the poor farmers. By so doing, there can be an equitable distribution of land, which will in turn boost the agricultural sector. Bibliography Abubakar A. (1989). Africa and the Challenge of Development: Acquiescence and Dependency Versus Freedom and Development. Praeger Publishers. New York. Auty R. M. (2001). Sustaining Development in Mineral Economies: The Resource Curse Thesis. Routledge. Auty R. M. (2001). The Underperformance of resource-abundant economies. Resource Abundance and Economic Development. Edited by R.M Auty. UNU/WIDER studies in Development Economics. Oxford. Curry R. L (1985). Mineral-based growth and development-generated socioeconomic problems in Botswana: Rural Inequality, Water scarcity, food insecurity, and foreign dependence challenge governing class. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 319-336. Davis G. A. (1998). The minerals sector, sectoral analysis, and economic development. Resource Policy, vol. 24, No. 4, pp 217-228. Davis G. A. (1995). Learning to Love the Dutch Disease: Evidence from the Mineral Economies. World Development, vol. 23, No. 10, pp. 1765-1779. Eifert B., Gelb A., Tallroth N. B. (2002). The Political Economy of Fiscal Policy and Economic Management in Oil-Exporting Countries. Policy Research Working Paper, No. 2899. The World Bank, Africa Regional Office. Lievesley G. (2003).DependencyThe Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics. Ed. Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan. Oxford University Press, Oxford Reference Online. Tà ©treaul M. A., Abel C. F. (1986). Dependency Theory And The Return Of High Politics. Greenwood Press. New York. Footnotes [1] Dependency theory built upon the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) which characterized the world as divided into centre (the developed, inudstrialised North) and periphery (the underdeveloped agricultural South). (Tà ©treaul and Abel, 1986; Lievesley, 2003). Dependency theory tries to explain the external mechanisms of control exerted by the centre on the periphery. The centre maintained the periphery in a state of underdevelopment for purposes of super exploitation. (Tà ©treaul and Abel, 1986; Lievesley, 2003). Dependency theory therefore indicates that underdevelopment was not an original or inherent condition, it could rather be explained by the historical relationship between the developed and developing world.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Obama and Romney Campaign Video Analysis

Obama and Romney Campaign Video Analysis Analysis of Obama and Romney campaign Advertisements Igbinosa Ojehomon According to McNair Brian â€Å"Political communication simply is purposeful communication about politics†[1] From his definition of political communication, the main word that strikes a chord is â€Å"purposeful† which according to Merriam Webster dictionary, defines purposeful as â€Å"having a clear aim or purpose†[2] So his explanation could be summarized as communication related to politics having a clear aim. Political communication always has an intent and intended target. More so, it usually has an objective and the objective most of the time it is to influence and persuade an intended group or populace. Besides political communication is always issue specific. Part time the information disseminated is well-defined to reflect a particular message. This is done in other to ensure that the recipients of the targeted information get the intended message in other to have maximum impact. Besides political communication has gone beyond just spoken words and com posed text but it has metamorphosed into to the realm of using filmic and photographic cues[3]. These include deliberate concerted efforts at manipulate audio-visual and pictorial materials, structured in such a way that it portrays a particular identity. In this fashion this could be referred to as Political Image. It further includes advertising related attributes such as emblem design for political party, facial cosmetics, and hairdo making of whoever is going to be a flag bearer of the political party. All this are deliberately done to ensure positive image of the political part and the party leader in other to create a positive impression on the mind of the intended target in order to achieve an intended objective desired by the political party and the political leader. This processes goes down to include what type of slogan to use, what color should be used to represent the party to even include voice training of the political leader, gesture training, walking steps to dressin g style are all carefully manage by a specialist to portray and image consistent with what is intended by the party. Funny enough all this transformation in political communication has influence by advancement in communication technology. From paper to newspapers, magazine to radio, television to the social media. However the advent of the television most especially the colored television has open a fora for highly colorful political advertising programs, speeches, jingles all utilize highly creative multimedia tools to produce the most colorful and eye appeal video footage. Besides all entities have components, this divisions that make up the entity. Against the backdrop the parts that make up political communication are as follows the media, the citizens and the political organization[4] COMPONENT OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION The citizen, media and political organization are all core parts of political communication. They are highly dependent on each other and they could be referred to as mutually interdependent. Each constituent depend on the other constituent depend on the other constituent for relevance. This process is also vice versa. Firms 2012 (Barack Obama’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud3mMj0AZZk This 32 seconds Ad was carefully structured to support the motion that Romney was the problem and not the solution to American’s economic woes, by exposing the trading pattern of Romney’s firms and money laundering schemes. In the period when these Ads were aired, America has been experiencing a steady increase in unemployment and the economy was in a bad shape. This economic situation badly affected the middle class of the American society who were losing their jobs to offshore- outsourcing of labor to countries of cheap labor such as Mexico, India and china. Besides, further investment in Tax havens such as Cayman Island and Bermuda. Tax havens â€Å"are locations with very low tax rates and other tax attributes designed to appeal to foreign investors†[5] Some tax haven do not apply taxes for foreign investors. This is an attraction for rich folks and investors, for it is more profitable for them to invest in this place because of low or zero tax. This must hav e been an attraction for Romney’s firm, for his is a business man and wants to make profits. However, investing funds in another country has a tendency of improving the economy of that country. So what this Obama TV Ad is trying to drive at with relation to the economic situation in the United States, is that Romney by investing in the Cayman Island and Bermuda instead of the United States, is contributing to the economic challenges of the United States at that time and not helping the situation. For every amount of money that was invested outside the United States would have contributed to the improvement of the American economy. Besides, the money laundering acts by Romney highlighted in this TV Ad to Swiss account helped to further reinforce the key message of this TV Ad the â€Å"Romney is the problem and not the solution† for when large chunk of money is moved from a country, it short circuit the natural flow of money in the economy and this disruptions have signi ficant impact on the general functioning of the economy. Likewise, those funds saved in the Swiss account by Romney if saved in banks in banks in United States, it would have help improved the American economy by making available funds which banks could borrow to American citizens for business related activities and the such activities would create jobs for American people etc. Personally the arrangement of ideas in this Ad was very was very effective and the arrangement of evidences to support the main idea was splendid. This was an attempt to demonize Romney and blame him for economic situation at that time. However looking at things objectively Romney is a business man, and the goal of every businessman is to make profits so every sane business man will act in like-manner like Romney, such as outsourcing of jobs, investing in Tax haven if he or she feels it is profitable. The Cheaters 2012 (Barack Obama’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MI4YOICmuA This 30 seconds audio-visual Obama Ad is titled The Cheaters, this title is arrived at by taking out excerpt from Romney’s speech which is as follows â€Å"It’s time to stand up to the cheaters and make sure we protect jobs for the American people† Funny enough this excerpt was taken from Romney’s TV Ad against Obama accusing Obama of not standing up to China Hence being a cheater. So we could argue that this Obama Tv Ad is a response to Romney’s Tv Ad. The architect of this Ad are very smart, in that they used Romney’s words which he accused Obama of cheating and not standing up to china against him. This they did by picking up key phrases in Romney’s Ad such as â€Å"Stand up to† â€Å"the cheaters† and â€Å"protect jobs† which he accused Obama of, then using those key phrases against Romney. This they did by providing evidences to prove that what he accused Obama of, he (Romney) is guilty of it; that is,  "not standing up to china†. This evidences are presented as follows Firstly, transferring employment to china. Romney’s investment company called Bain capital has overtime systematically invested in companies that focus on shifting jobs from United States to china.[6]This is a direct link to the fact that Romney has not stood up to china. For how can you claim you are standing up to a country and then still indirectly provide jobs for that country at the expense of your own country. That is highly hypocritical and dishonest; this was what Romney’s action implied. This was what Obama TV Ad was trying to capitalize on. That Romney is a hypocrite and dishonest hence â€Å"The Cheater.† This evidence is aimed at making the American public view Romney as unpatriotic. For his investment patterns was taking jobs from the American people and transferring them to China. Americans are very patriotic people, so they would not vote for a presidential candidate that reflect unpatriotic sentiments. Personally I feel this was a very convincing message, that Romney was not standing up to china for the way the Obama TV portrayed it Secondly, heavily investing in china. The surveillance industry in china is a booming industry due to the rising threat of insecurity as a result of large and growing population. This Obama TV Ad help to highlight the fact that significant portion of Romney’s wealthy is invested in the surveillance industry in china.[7] This directly boosts the Chinese economy, provide jobs for Chinese people. This action of Romney’s firms highly illustrates the fact that Romney is not standing up to china instead he is supporting china. These furthermore reinforces the fact that he is supporting china at the expense of the American people. This has negative connotation on the voting populace. For the American people have been wary of china for it is a direct threat to the American economy. For it is a hub for cheap labor and a distribution point for cheap product to the United States. Due to this economic characteristics of china, American has been losing funds and jobs to china. So Ob ama TV Ad on the second point helps to illustrate that Romney has chosen to align himself with china which is a threat to American economy. Thus, it indicates that Romney is supporting china. This message the Obama TV Ad tries to pass across to the American people that Romney is supporting china which depriving them jobs while he claims he is not supporting china. To sum up, the two TV Ad of Obama titled Firms 2012 and the cheaters 2012 were designed to were designed portray Mitt Romney in a negative fashion. The Tv Ad Title Firms 2012 was designed so that the American public could perceive Mitt Romney as the cause of America’s economic challenges due to foreign outsourcing of jobs and investment in tax havens which indirectly causes unemployment and reduction in funds available in the American economy. More so the campaign advertisement title â€Å"The cheaters 2012† was to show mitt Romney as not a dishonest person, for he claimed he would stand up to china, however his financial company was heavily investing in china directly and indirectly Source: http://www.inc.com/gene-marks/mitt-romney-small-business-admit-when-youre-wrong.html Mitt Romney, has had successful career both academically, politically and businesswise until the presidential election in 2012 which he lost to Barack Obama. He studied in Ivy League schools such as Stanford and Harvard[8]. Politically he was one time governor of Massachusetts. Businesswise he owns a very profitable financial company called Bain capital.[9]This company has been very profitable to Romney and has help to manage his financial assets and channel funds to profitable investments. Conservative Agenda 2012 (Mitt Romney’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6vMqnP3TM4 The first few words of this campaign Tv advertisement summarizes everything in this video. That is Mitt Romney claiming that he would make the American government simpler smaller and smarter, this he further explains he would do through nationalization of programs eliminating non-essential programs and Obamacare. This his rhetoric is highly conservative and a reflection of Republican Party doctrine. Republican Party are not in favor of welfare programs, that may explain why he said he will get rid of programs(Obamacare).He also talks about introducing spending cut and balancing of budget. By this he is trying to show that Obama’s government are not literate enough to handle the American economy. More so his approach here to what is causing job loss for the American people is government deficit as a result of excessive spending .In this campaign add he is outlining the problems of the American economy and offering solutions to it. He is not directing his criticism at Obamas per sonality but at the institution that represent Obamas government. Besides his words in this video is portraying care and concern for the American people and the future. He is portraying himself as a responsible father by talking about the negative impact the Obama government is having on the future of the American kid. Give Me a Break 2012 (Mitt Romney’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9gKQlYtDU8 â€Å"Give me a break† means literally excuse me or give me breathing space. This could literally mean mitt Romney telling Obama to give the American people a break, for even former president Clinton said the same word in 2008 presidential campaign about Obama, highlighting the fact that he could not see any meaningful solution Obama would bring. For since Obama took office the American economy has regressed, the middle class are falling backward and large chunk of the American population are looking for job. Failing American Workers 2012 (Mitt Romney’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58pq658byzI The title of campaign advertisement summarizes everything in this video. Before Obama took office for the first time he promised to create jobs and revive the economy. However the video illustrates that Obama has failed to meet up to his promises, thereby failing the American workers, who are affected most by his failure. Romney shows using figures that illustrate that Americas manufacturing jobs was more than china but when Obama took office, it drop till the extent that china overtook America in manufacturing jobs. An excess of half a million manufacturing jobs were lost under Obamas first administration. This is a concrete prove that Obama has failed the American worker. This is the message Romney is trying to pass across. Failing American Families 2012 (Mitt Romney’s campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erT_1axOAHo Family is a very important factor in among the conservative in the American society. Romney is using the family as a weapon to show that under Obamas administration family income has on a regular interval been reducing by 4000 dollars and furthermore he also illustrates that national debt have increased steadily. By this happen he has failed to meet up to the expectation he promised the American people when he initially took office hence failed the American families. PERSONAL ANALYSIS In this section would attempt to analyze Obama campaign and Romney campaign separately then show the differences and similarities between the two The differences between Obama campaign and Romney campaign in this Video clips is that the two Obama video clips are is more of a personality attack on Romney, designed to create negative sentiment about Romney. Secondly it is mainly focused on Romney as the cause of the problems. Thirdly it it is attacking Romney’s business life. Taking his past business activity and associating it to be the cause of American economic problems and increase unemployment. While alternatively Romney’s campaign advertisement is has substance. Substance in the sense that it is using statistics, numerical facts to prove that Obamas first time in office has done America more harm than good. He does that by comparing America’s economy (house hold income, employment rate and debt burden), before Obama took office and after Obama’s first term in office. He used it to prove that America has not made progress domestically and internationally when compared to china. Personally this is highly convincing, concrete and professional. The challenge to Romney’s approach is that it appeal to the intellectuals and highly educated. In short it appeal to the brain because it the argument are logical and factual. But, it is not the whole American population that would view his campaign from that standpoint. More so Romney’s campaign advertisement was more nationalistic and futuristic. He was trying to make the America public understand the negative impact of Obamas government in the first four years on the future of the American people. More so, Romney’s campaign Advertisement was making use of authority’s facts, such as information from national bureau of statistics, while Obama was utilizing information from newspapers etc. But when view both campaign, Obama campaign seemed to have more effects because it appealed to the emotion. It provoked negative feelings towards Romney by the American people, no wonder Obama won the presidential election the second time. In conclusion, Obama negative campaigning again Romney won again Romney’s logical and systematic and factual representation of campaign advertisement can personally learn from this that people may response more effectively to emotionally charged campaign advertisement than to logical and factual campaign advertisement. More so independent research also suggest that Obama was more genuine that Romney, only God knows. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. McNair, Brian. An introduction to political communication. Taylor Francis, 2011. 2. Webster, M. (n.d.). . . Retrieved, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purposeful. 3. McNair, Brian. An introduction to political communication. Taylor Francis, 2011 p6 5. Dharmapala, D., Hines Jr, J. R. (2007, April). Which countries become tax havens?. InAmerican Law Economics Association Annual Meetings(p. 48). bepress. 6. Hamburger, T. (n.d.). Romney’s Bain Capital invested in companies that moved jobs overseas.. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romneys-bain-capital-invested-in-companies-thatmoved-jobs-overseas/2012/06/21/gJQAsD9ptV_story.html 7. JACOBS, A., BULLOCK, P. (2012, March 15). Firm Romney Founded Is Tied to Chinese Surveillance.. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/world/asia/bain-capital-tied-to-surveillance-push-in-china.html?pagewanted=all_r=0 8. The American Presidency. (n.d.). . Retrieved May 14, 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-9439058 [1] McNair, Brian. An introduction to political communication. Taylor Francis, 2011. [2] Webster, M. (n.d.). . . Retrieved, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purposeful. [3] ibid [4] McNair, Brian. An introduction to political communication. Taylor Francis, 2011 p6 [5] Dharmapala, D., Hines Jr, J. R. (2007, April). Which countries become tax havens?. InAmerican Law Economics Association Annual Meetings(p. 48). bepress. [6] Hamburger, T. (n.d.). Romney’s Bain Capital invested in companies that moved jobs overseas.. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romneys-bain-capital-invested-in-companies-thatmoved-jobs-overseas/2012/06/21/gJQAsD9ptV_story.html [7] JACOBS, A., BULLOCK, P. (2012, March 15). Firm Romney Founded Is Tied to Chinese Surveillance.. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/world/asia/bain-capital-tied-to-surveillance-push-in-china.html?pagewanted=all_r=0 [8] The American Presidency. (n.d.). . Retrieved May 14, 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-9439058 [9] ibid