Self-esteem - motivation Essay Example for Free

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

Distribution of Foreign Direct Investment in Kazakhstan

Distribution of Foreign Direct Investment in Kazakhstan In his book author (RRRRR), wrote that domestic investors of any particular country who engage in investments activity outside their country of residence and this investments earn them returns which are then repatriated to their domestic country are engaging in foreign direct investment. From the point of view of a country, foreign direct investments are the investment made by non-citizens of that country or investment made by citizens in other foreign countries. Foreign direct investment is attainable where there is a good business relationship between the investing company or parent company and its subsidiary company located abroad. This kind of business relations has led to the emergence of multinationals company that engage in foreign direct investment in many parts of the world. According to (DDDD), a business analyst whose studies refer to only those companies which have a minimum of 10 percent shareholding in foreign subsidiaries as companies that participate in foreign direct investment, also companies which have voting rights in the annual general meeting of foreign subsidiaries engage in foreign direct investments. Types of Foreign direct Investments As by the definition, foreign direct investment can be classified in two categories namely the internal FDI and external FDI, the classification of the two categories is mainly guided by the restrictions that are imposed for these investments and the requirements involved for such investments to take place. External FDI also known as direct investment abroad usually supported by the local government due to the benefits it will bring to the country one among them is foreign exchange that will help the country to have a balance of payments in its international trade. The government offers there support by giving such investments tax incentives that will reduce the cost of doing business and as well as make the investment worthwhile without eroding their income. External investments become unfavorable when companies abroad get special treatment by their local governments which in a way give them competitive advantage over the external FDI by granting them subsidies and covering of their risks. Internal FDI is encouraged by the host country in different manners which include; subsides, elimination of trade or investment barriers that makes doing business for foreign investors hard, lowering of interest on loans granted to them and tax allowances. Other classifications of foreign direct investment are vertical FDI and horizontal FDI. Vertical FDI occurs when a multinational company that owns more than 10 percent of foreign subsidiary, engage with its subsidiary in business activities whereby the foreign subsidiary is the main supplier of raw materials to the multinational company or it uses the goods and serviced produced by the multinational company. Horizontal FDI is when a local multinational company engages in the same business activity in different parts of the world. Motives behind Foreign Direct Investment FDI which are driven by the motive of establishing a strong market presence or venturing into new markets are termed as market-seeking FDI, while FDI which are driven by the motive of tapping into factors of production like labor, human resource which are in foreign countries and are more efficient in operations and cost are termed as resource -seeking FDI. FDI motivated by maximizing the opportunities available and reaping on the benefits of economics of scale are termed as efficiency seeking FDI. Determinants of foreign direct investment The main factors which will determine if a foreign direct investment can take place are the economic prospects of the foreign country and the size of the potential market. If the foreign country has wide market then foreign investors will assume that they will be able to grow their investments rapidly and get big returns of it. The foreign countrys population will also play critical part in making decision on whether to participate in foreign direct investment, because its the size of the population that determines the consumer size available thus a big population will mean a big consumer base. If the foreign country citizens have a reasonably higher per capita income it would mean that they would be ready to spend and to the foreign investor he or she would translate this to potential of good investments. Foreign investors will also be lured into investing in foreign country if the workforce thats available is well qualified and competent enough, who will offer to them big returns on their human capital. The availability of natural resources like gold, oil and diamond will attract foreign investors to these countries, an example is Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and other oil rich countries have all attracted foreign investors into their country to tap into the oil exploration industry thats unlimited and has good future prospects. The level of technological advancement and infrastructure that are available in a country will also influence on foreign direct investments. Recent reports and studies have shown that countries which have properly placed infrastructure facilities have experienced a high amount of foreign direct investment. (PPPPPPPP) studies noted that over the past countries have made tremendous reforms to their economic policies in bid to create conducive environment which can attract more foreign investments and companies that engage in foreign investments have altered their legal framework to make them more transparent and sensitive to their business environment. Advantages of Foreign Direct Investment in Kazakhstan According to statistics released by the Ministry of Economy and Budget planning of Kazakhstan they have shown that the country main benefit from foreign direct investment has being the economic development witnessed in that country, especially since the country was referred to as among those economically developing countries in the 1990s. Foreign direct investment has also being the source of financial assistance for Kazakhstan during times of economic hardships. Kazakhstan has also witnessed technological advancement since foreign investors who allocate a big percentage of their capital towards technology and research in the field that they plan to invest in. The workforce in that country has become more skilled and resourceful because the foreign companies bring in new skills and train their human resource according to their high standards, in addition they have contributed to the education development in that country because of the revenues they pay to the Kazakhstan government in the form of corporate taxes which are channeled to building of schools and technology-focused training institutions. New jobs have being created in the country which can be mainly attributed to FDI that has also led to the rapid development of the manufacturing industry in that country, e employees working in these companies are also paid according to international standards which affords them good lifestyle and increase in the living standards of the countries population. Kazakhstan revenue collection has shot up because now it not only relies on domestic taxes but also taxes that come from these foreign investment made in that country, the increase in revenue collection has played a big role in the growth of the economy. Companies in Kazakhstan that have ventured to foreign markets have being able to increase market for their goods and services thus have being able to earn the country foreign exchange that helps it to attain a balance of payment in the international trade. The Kazakhstan central bank reportedly has lowered it interest rates on loans made out to business ventures which is attributed to the influence of foreign direct investment. Business can now access capital from the local banks at a low interest rate level; the small and medium sized companies have tapped this advantage and have grown their business to a high level. Disadvantages of Foreign Direct Investment in Kazakhstan Operations of the companies, Human resource working for these FDI companies and the distributions of revenues made out of foreign direct investment are the main areas that are prone to suffer from the disadvantages of FDI. The fragile parts of the economy of the host country are also prone to any negative shift in foreign direct investment. Studies done by (GGGGGG) have indicted that negative consequences of foreign direct investment in a host country can be reduced if the government is strict in ensuring that these companies that participate in FDI in their country are engaged in business activities that environment friendly, they abide by the social and legal regulations that the government has established. In Kazakhstan foreign investment has forced the government to make some economic reforms that which have not being received well by the locals, some of the economic policies do not even favor the foreign investors themselves. The geographical location of Kazakhstan and also the fact that it is land locked has made foreign investors view it as an isolated region unfavorable for doing business because of the high transport fee to fly in and out of the country especially when moving goods or capital goods that need to be shipped or transported through the railway. In allowing foreign direct investment Kazakhstan will be placing their local companies at the disadvantage of being taken over by the large multinational companies who are exposed to huge amount of capital to invest. For Kazakhstan local companies which engage in direct investment abroad will be exposing themselves to the danger of nationalized in the foreign country. The government of Kazakhstan aims at making the economy more liberal to attract even more foreign investment into the country, in doing so they loss control of these companies that operate there as subsidiaries fully owned by multinational companies. When the government does not exercise control over these companies the environment and locals interest cant be represented and employees are exposed to potential exploitation by such companies. Some of the companies will even disregard economic policies set by the government. Foreign direct investment wont be of benefit to the Kazakhstan economy if the subsidiaries of multinational companies directly channel their profits to their mother country without making any developments in the country the invest in, there would also be imbalance of payment as more capital will be moving out of the country than capital coming into the country. Foreign Investment in KZ economy The foreign investment turnover in Kazakhstan has shown a continuous growth over the past ten years with an annual growth average of 19.1% with a significant growth being recorded in the years between 1995-2006, the rapid growth that was estimated to have reached more than fifty billion US dollars by August the year 2007 was largely associated with the sharp rise in prices of both oil and gas coupled with the significant increase in oil export volumes. Kazakhstan main partner in trade is still viewed to be Russia who are the country largest importers, the country basically enjoy a large export market in the western countries where there are leading in export of oil and metals that are used by industries there as raw materials. Foreign investment in Kazakhstan economy has increased because investors are attracted to the country by the fact that economy of the country has be experiencing tremendous growth, evidence is shown by figures which show that about eighty percent of all capital inflows that went to the central Asia region were direct towards the countrys economy with the European Union topping the list in terms of source of investments. Author (PPPP), in his studies show that this sharp raises in foreign investment is due to the economic reforms made, stable institutions that have being set up and the development experienced in the banking sector. Foreign investment led to about eighteen Kazakhstan companies being listed in the London Stock Exchange with four being listed at the main market in the period between the years 2005-2007. Foreign direct Investment in Kazakhstan; Sources: Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Foreign Inflow by various countries to Kazakhstan figures according to the year 2009; COUNTRY Japan France US Russia Netherlands China Italy UK Others % 3% 7% 16% 4% 28% 6% 4% 6% 22% Source: Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Movement in the key economic indicators   Key economic indicators 2003   2004 2005 2006 2007 2008   Real GDP growth (%)   9.3   9.6 9.7 10.7   8.9 3.1   Consumer price inflation (av. %)   6.8 6.7 7.5 8.4 10.8 9.5   Exchange rate Tenge:US$ (av)   149.58 136.00     132.88   126.09   122.60   122.55   Exchange rate Tenge:à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ (av)   168.79   169.04   165.42   158.27   167.8   167.75   Budget balance (% of GDP) -1.7   -1.9 SOURCES: Kazakh Statistical Agency, Investors Guide, Nationalbank Kazakhstan  Ã‚  Ã‚   Main exporters and importers Main destinations of exports 2007 % of total   Main origins of imports 2008   % of total   Russia   9.8   Russia   35.5   Italy   16.3   EU   24.5   France   8.3   China   10.7   Switzerland   15.7   US   5.1   China   11.8   Ukraine   4.7   Others   38.1 SOURCES: Kazakh Statistical Agency, Investors Guide, Nationalbank Kazakhstan Main export and imports   Major exports 2007   % of total   Major imports 2007 % of total   Mineral products   69.8   Mineral products   12.8   Chemicals, plastics, rubber   4.1   Chemicals, plastics, rubber   10.7   Non precious materials, its products   17.3   Non precious materials, its products   13.5   Machinery, equipment transport, instruments and apparatus   1.8   Machinery, equipment transport, instruments and apparatus   46.8   Foodstuff   3.9   Foodstuff   6.8   Others   3.1   Others   9.4   SOURCES: Ministry of Energetic and Mineral Resources, Investors Guide, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Investment Environment in Kazakhstan Kazakhstan located in the central Asia and Europe region is the ninth largest country in the world thats landlocked with a gross national income per capita of more than six thousand and a population of more than fifteen million whom according to reports released by United Nation are averagely in the income group of middle income earners. Kazakhstan currently leads the central Asia in terms of social and economic growth, it has the potential to make the region independent and an economic success, the European Union in the year 2000 elevated the country to the market economy status due to its attraction to international investors and multinational companies who prefer to locate their. The same move was followed by the United States of America who in the year 2002 also elevated the status of Kazakhstan to a market economy up from a non-market economy opening up for their local companies the wider western nations market that includes the US; this conclusion was arrived at after observing economic indicators that showed improvements such as the increase in level of wages for the workforce, convertibility of countrys currency, increase in foreign direct investment, drop in corruption level, control of production, public control and reduction in human rights violation. The transition to market economy is a journey that started 17 years ago from the former soviet economy to a free market economy. After independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the high rate of inflation and economic decline that was witnessed in the early parts of 1990s Kazakhstan engaged itself into a series of political, economic and social reforms. Currently the economic reforms are geared towards diversifying the economy more particular is to remove the economic reliance on natural resources and focus on developing other key sectors of the economy. Kazakhstan investment environment has seen an overall macro- economic stability coupled with economic reforms that are aimed at making the environment more investment friendly. Figures released by the Index of Economic Freedom show that over the past five years the country has witnessed a recommendable economic growth that can be attributed to the increased revenues from the Oil industry. The Kazakhstan high corruption level, unfavorable tax rates and lack of access to funds for investment are the main difficulties experienced in the investment environment that has made doing business even harder this is according to the 2009 reports by Enterprise Surveys. It is important to note that the investment environment in Kazakhstan has shown improvements in these three problematic areas making doing business easier in that country. The most notable improvements were in reduction of costs from 1,431 dollars to 119 dollars which are incurred when applying for construction permits, the other sectors that transformed so as to improve the investment environment was shown by the 10 percent fall in corporate tax, reduction in labor taxes and even compulsory contributions by the Kazakhstans working population was lowered. A new tax code and the Kazakh law were also introduced all aimed at making the country a good investment harbor, the new law mainly focused on ensuring that there was equality in the distribution of investment incentives to both local investors and foreign investors, safeguard the rights of investors and establish procedural system that was free and fair in settling disputes of investors. Some of the measures that the new tax code p ut into considerations included; adjusting the tax code so that it can be in line with the international financial reporting standards, eliminating the advance payments by all but three hundred biggest companies of their corporate tax, extension of loss deferral period to up to ten years, lowering of value added tax from 13% to 12%, gradual introduction of traditional payment scheme for value added tax and the implementation of a common social tax rate of 11% replacing the regressive scale. The drastic changes and economic policy reforms all paid of when the country was voted as the leading country in CIS because of its efforts in creating an investment environment that was conducive for doing business. International rating agency in 2002 rated Kazakhstan highly in terms of investment and due to the fact that Kazakhstan was the first Soviet Union republic to repay all the loan advanced to it by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the year 2000 which was seven years ahead of the repayment schedule, Standard Poors and Fitch confirmed the same in the year 2004 as other surveys and research done by international organizations all showed the same. In particular Fitch analyst pointed out that Kazakhstans finance and economy in general was better placed to deal with pressure from Oil and the ever changing oil prices than any other country in the world. The organization of top forty most industrialized countries (OECD) in the year 2003 put Kazakhstan at position four in terms of export credit rating which was an upward movement from the last rating done by OECD before 2003. The better ratings meant that the country could now enjoy good opportunities for doing trade. According to figures given out by World Bank business experts they show that out of all the foreign direct investment made in central Asia nearly eighty percent of these investments were made in Kazakhstan, the same report also showed that the country is regarded as being among top twenty countries which are most favorable to foreign investors. Recent years have seen research and survey place Kazakhstan in the top spot in foreign direct investment per capita which has being increasing steadily. In the period between 1993 and 2005 FDI was reportedly to have grown to be more than 37 billion US dollars, important point to note is that in the period of 2001 to 2003 there was only 4.5 billion US dollars worth of FDI made while in 2004 there was a drastic increase of up to 8.4 billion US dollars worth of investment made in Kazakhstan which was due to the increase in local companies that had foreign direct investment from 6,579 companies in 2003 to 7070 companies in 2004. Literature Review Regional distribution of foreign direct investment is the allocation of the investment opportunities and resources in economical manner so that every region gets a piece of the cake. When Kazakhstan is making strategic planning, they make a regional distribution plan considering the available FDI. It involves distributing FDI among the much needed projects or sectors of the economy and regions in the country. In the strategic planning decisions are made as to what areas or regions need FDI and what amount of FDI is needed, afterwards a contingency mechanism is established which sets out regions or area that should be given more priority than the others incase FDI is limited Regionally the country enjoys great leadership thanks to its close ties with the Russia, China and the central Asia region also the creation of customs union between the country Russia and Belarus this year has cemented its position as the regional leader. . Major Key sectors that Kazakhstan has mainly focused on improving through the help of foreign direct investment include; agriculture which offer investment opportunity in over twenty million hectares of farmland with more than a hundred and sixty five million hectares of pasture, the government has tried to promote these sector to investors by putting in place infrastructure facilities that offers smooth transport system. The textile industry also offers investment opportunities thats backed up by availability of qualified workforce, availability of processing factories that are already in place the government also make grants to these industry in form of tax holidays, favorable custom tariffs plus there is a wide ready market for textile products in East-Europe region and Russia, close links that exist between neighboring cotton producers like Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan make the sector highly capable of big returns. The telecommunication sector has being liberalized to attract more foreign investors enhanced by the growing number of information technology an internet penetration which has resulted to a sharp demand for broadband ISP services. The power generation sector will attract FDI due to high electricity consumption attributed to increased income/quality of life, infrastructure and hydrocarbon projects, recent reports show that a total of twenty two billion US dollars worth of investment are expected by the year 2015 plus the government has set aside thirteen billion US dollars that are to be channeled in the expansion program of power generation capacity a further nine billion US dollars will be invested in distribution and national grid. The other potential area that the Kazakhstan government focuses on distributing FDI to is the Metallurgy sector which produces huge amount of world-class base, precious minerals and metals, the sector has well developed infrastructure that are already in place and the closeness to biggest consumers of metallurgical products makes it worthwhile to channel FDI to. According to National Bank of Kazakhstan, the country is ranked at the 20th position in terms of its oil reserve, 13th position in terms of natural gas reserve and 24th in the world in natural gas production. Recommendation Kazakhstan should take the advantage of its strategic location which put it at a better place to become the centre of business in central Asia with ready markets form Russia and China. To gain competitive advantage over other country Kazakhstan should focus on creating conducive business environment together with political stability and increase the incentive granted their local companies that want to participate in direct investment abroad. All this will be attainable if there will be zero tolerance to corruption cases, improving of the education standards and the logistical infrastructure. Political institution should be strengthen by instituting professional training for government officials, engaging the local government in the developments of clusters, design a process to ensure that the political environment is transparent in its deal and consistent, institute professional civil service with transparent rules and performance based promotion. Zero tolerance to corruption will be achieved if the government institution eliminate the long tendering procedure that are involved with tenders, put in place comprehensive strategy to fight against corruption in national and local government, the other way to eliminate corruption is to ensure maximum punishment for those officials who engage in corrupt deals plus salary increment to government staff. The other recommendation that will see increase in FDI is removal of labor quota on expatriates; promote the transfer of skills as show of commitment to the growth of FDI, promoting the entrance of foreign banks in to the local banking industry, establishing transparent small and medium enterprises lending institutions, reduce the complexity in regulatory procedures that are involved in the licensing and registration process and the involvement of existing multinational companies in setting up private sector IFCs. Privatization of government owned industries and establishing a competition oversight authority that will make the country more attractive for foreign direct investments.

Urban Elite Theory Essay -- Development, Politics, Vancouver

Theoretical Lenses I. Urban Elite Theory Urban elite theory will provide students with a theoretical lens by which to understand the redevelopment projects initiated in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver during the lead-up to the 2010 Olympic Games. Urban elite theory extends the scope of classical elite theory by adding that a metropolis is divided by its physical districts based on class distinctions (Darity et. al., 2008). The presence and power of elites, however, is not seen as entirely negative according to this theoretical perspective. Instead, the collusion of elites is necessary for stability and efficiency within a political system. If urban elite theory were to be applied to the Vancouver case, one hypothesis would be that urban elites participate in development projects in order to maximize their political power and consolidate their involvement within certain communities. A successful gentrification project redevelops an area through the collaboration of political and business elites. Such a project would prov ide housing that caters to young professionals who will so...

societhf Oppressive Societies :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Huck Finn and Oppressive Societies The world in which we live in now is much less oppressive than say the world lived in the middle of the 1800's. Up until the Civil War, the South depended on their 'peculiar institution' of slavery, in order to be productive a successful. Most people believed slavery was not wrong, but those who thought otherwise seldom tried to alter it. In general if surrounded by oppressive environment, one does not usually try to make a difference in that world. This is because people are afraid to defend what is right against a whole mass of people who believe otherwise. Huck Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Billy Budd in Billy Budd, and Frederick Douglass in his autobiography all portray individuals who because of their good, innocent qualities go up against the oppression in their society. Living in an oppressive society does not always draw you to do the wrong thing you are still capable of generating change, whether it be for a certain individual or against a whole mass of people. Billy Budd starts off on the ship the "Rights of Man", Melville obviously showing his intent in the naming of the first ship. This shows that on this ship where Billy wanted to be and chose to be he had rights. That he and the other crew had choices of what to do and how to be. Then along comes the British navy and decides that they are going to take Billy aboard their ship "Power of War". This is when Billy is brought into an oppressive society. This is the navy and wartime during which rules must be followed as well as a lifestyle that must be followed. Billy is a poor innocent boy with a childish stutter. This stutter shows Billy's humane side, a flaw, as well as leading you to the thinking that he has the innocence of a child. This stutter is connected to innocence because of its childish qualities. When most children begin speaking they have some sort of stutter, which usually goes away. The stutter parallels innocence because it is showing that you are just learning how to talk and don't really comprehend the correct way to make sounds, as you grow older you learn and the stutter disappears.

Analysis of Two Kinds by Amy Tan :: Two Kinds, Amy Tan

Analysis of Two Kinds by Amy Tan In the story â€Å"Two Kinds†, the author, Amy Tan, intends to make reader think of the meaning behind the story. She doesn’t speak out as an analyzer to illustrate what is the real problem between her and her mother. Instead, she uses her own point of view as a narrator to state what she has experienced and what she feels in her mind all along the story. She has not judged what is right or wrong based on her opinion. Instead of giving instruction of how to solve a family issue, the author chooses to write a narrative diary containing her true feeling toward events during her childhood, which offers reader not only a clear account, but insight on how the narrator feels frustrated due to failing her mother’s expectations which leads to a large conflict between the narrator and her mother. By stating how other people behave or interact, the author offers a great chance for readers to interpret fairly for themselves what the reason for any conflict may be, or the nature of any essential contrast between the narrator and other adults in the story. In the story, there are many self-righteous opinions from people, which seem to be ironic to the readers; For example, her mother’s aggressive attitude of showing off her daughter, her piano teacher’s self-praise claiming him as â€Å"Beethoven.† All of the narrations including conversation clearly depict a different characteristic between the narrator and other people. For instance, a conversation occurs between the narrator and her mother when the mother criticizing a girl who seems similar to the author on TV which reveals dissimilar understanding for both of them to each other’s behavior. At first, the daughter speaks out for the girl by questioning her mother by saying â€Å"why picking on her [†¦] She’s pretty good. Maybe she’s not the best, but she’s trying hard.† The daughter actually is defending for herself and reflecting that she feels uncomfortable with her mother’s disregard of her hard work. She wants to get her mother’s compliments instead of her criticisms. However, her mother response of, â€Å"just like you,† and, â€Å"not the best. Because you not trying.† Here, her mother doesn’t really answer her question, instead wants her put more effort on trying, neglecting how much she has tried before. However, in her mother’s perspective, she has never tried hard enough. By narratively stating the conversations she has encountered, readers perceive a strong implication of the reason for a future conflict between her and her mother.

American School Versus Chinese school Essay

I am a Chinese girl, growing up and living in China for 18 years. Last year, I went to the United States. Although I have lived here less than two years, I found a lot of differences of two countries’ education style, such as the teaching style, the school life/rules, and the academic environment. The first difference is teaching style of two countries. In America, students are always divided by several groups. Each group has six or four students, and they can discuss questions during the class time, which can help students improve spoken skills and to learn dialogue and debate. After class, they probably have group homework which they need to finish together. Students need to prepare class presentations with a lot of PowerPoint every few week. That can help students improve their public speaking skill, confidence, share with knowledge, understand what they learned, and take a leadership role. The class lecture is delivered by teachers so that students can study by themselves first. In class they can answer questions anytime they want, and instructors will not be annoyed. Students call their instructors first name, and their instructors would like their students do that (Echo Lu, 1). Second, America school life is different from China school life. In American school, students take class at eight o’clock in the morning, and they finish at three o’clock. Students only have one hour to eat lunch and most of them take lunch from home. They have different classrooms when they take a different class. Students only have two big exams, excluding small tests in classes. They get A, B, C, D, or F as their final grade before the end of the semester, and Ding 2 it is according to homework, tests, participation, attendance, presentations, two or three big exams. After class, they can go home take school bus or drive by themselves. Some of them take part in clubs in school, such as sports (soccer, baseball etc. ), performing arts (dance, dram, band etc. ), outdoor education (scouting, campfire etc. ) and so on (Wikipedia). On weekends, students always hang out with friends, they can together with a boy and they allow to date with a boy, and are allowed sleepover in girl friends’ house. Furthermore, AmericaacademicenvironmentisdifferentfromChina’s. Itshowinfour different points: the curriculums and learning environments; class size and examination system. America students can choose their classes, and they have a lot of interesting classes to choose from core classes: Spanish or French, computer, marketing and so on (America High School). They are free and unrestrained (go to bathroom, drink water, laugh). The classroom atmosphere are natural, active and relaxed. American school, every class has 25-30 students, and teachers teach five or six classes. Students can take 7 times SAT exam or ACT exam each year. They can use the highest one to apply universities. However, a high grade is not the important point to enter a famous university. The university will consider very comprehensive and then decide whether you could be enrolled or not. First, they will consider your specialty, especially if you were good at P. E. then you will have more advantages. Second, they will think about social skills, such like part-time job experience, volunteering experience and so on. Also, they will think about what clubs or other activities you had ever taken part in in high school. In Chinese schools, every student has seat. Students cannot discuss questions in the class; they only have individual homework, and it is a lot. Teachers never ask students to prepare  presentations, and class lectures will not delivered. Students cannot answer the questions anytime they want; they must raise their hands first and get permission from teachers. They must say Ding 3 â€Å"Hello† to their teachers when they meet in school. Every time before students take class, they need to stand up and say† good morning† or† good afternoon† to teachers and can only sit down when teacher say they can. Students must respect their teachers very much and can† only call faculty members by their last name with a title like Mr, Ms, and Dr. It is thought to be rude to call their teachers’ first name. In Chinese schools, students go to school at 7 a. m. in high school and go home at 10 p. m. They have two hours to have a break at noon and go to school at two. They can eat lunch at school canteens or go home to eat lunch, but they eat dinner at school. Students will not change classrooms, and they have 8 minutes to go to bathroom each 45 minutes class. Most of them go home by themselves; schools will not provide school buses, but a few students will be picked up by their parents. They get a score before the end of the semester for each subject. Teachers will range students according to grades in class and year level. They even show the results to all students and send a text to their parents. Students have big exams every month in middle school and high school. They need to choose to learn art (Chinese, Math, English, History, Politic and geography) or science (Chinese, Math, English, physics, Chemistry, Biology) in grade 2. In China, students almost do not have any extracurricular activities. Some schools have clubs but only a few students take part in. Most student their teacher do not allow them to take part in clubs. On weekends, students usually stay at home do their homework, sometimes they  are allowed to hang out with friends. But girls cannot with a boy, similarly a boys cannot with a girl. Students are not permitted to date before they go to the university. In Chinese school, students only take normal classes; they even do not have art and music. Students use all the time to study, the learning environment in China is extremely Ding 4 competitive and demanding. Almost every student works hard, they are determined to be at the top of the class and to become straight-A students (Bohan). In China, each class has 60-70 students, and teachers teach 2 classes. The head teacher will stay in office all the time, you can ask questions anytime. Other subject’s teachers will go to your classroom during the self- studying time from 7p. m. to 9 p. m. Chinese students only have one time to take college entrance examination, which take place every June. Selection is based on each students scores in this exam (6 subjects), and due to the number of people sitting in exam. America and China are two different countries. Different culture, social system, history, population; therefore they have different education system. Nobody can say which one is better,  because for their own country it is the best one. But America or China still need to revolutionize the bad part, learning from each other and other countries. Ding 5 Citation work Lu, Echo. â€Å"3 Big Differences between Chinese and American Classroom Culture. † (2013): 1. WEAREIU. Web.

Bleak House Commentary Essay

The following is an analysis of a passage from Charles Dickens’ novel, Bleak House, in which a bleak and dreary atmosphere is conveyed. The first thing that is mentioned by the narrator in the first paragraph of the passage is mud, and this plays a significant part in the depiction of a filthy, dirty environment. The beginning line, ‘As much mud in the streets†¦and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill’ uses hyperbole to suggest that the streets are so muddy that it’s almost like the beginning of the world, and it wouldn’t be strange to see a dinosaur roaming around because of that. Also, the line ‘Dogs, undistinguishable in mire. Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers’ is an exaggeration of how the streets are so dirty that one cannot tell the different between the mud and the dogs, and even horses are up to their eyes in it. This shows us just how much mud and grime there is, and how dirty everything is. Another aspect in this passage is the dreariness and the bleak environment. This is expressed in the line ‘Foot-passengers, jostling one another’s umbrellas, in a general infection of ill temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if this day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Firstly, the line ‘jostling one another’s umbrellas’ suggests that the place is so overcrowded and uncomfortable that people are all bumping into each other, and that their ‘ill temper’ is spread like a disease every time they come into contact, and it stirs in us a sense of claustrophobia because the people are all packed together. This adds to the implication that it’s a miserable and unpleasant place to be. Also, the fact that the foot-passengers are using umbrellas suggests that it is or has been raining, strengthening the general feeling of gloominess. Furthermore, the fact that the part of the line ‘†¦slipping and sliding since the day broke (if this day ever broke)’ is written in parenthesis suggests the sarcastic voice of the narrator, that he is mocking the foot-passenger’s ill temper and derisively commenting on the cold and depressing atmosphere, and this in turn reinforces that very fact. The use of sibilance in ‘slipping and sliding’ further increases the effect of the dismal environment. The following line, ‘Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snowflakes – gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun’ is very effective in expressing how unpleasant the place is. The fact that the smoke is ‘lowering’ down, instead of drifting upwards as it normally does, implies that the atmosphere is so oppressive that even smoke can’t escape and is being pushed down. In addition, there is a personification of the soot and snow, as they have ‘gone into mourning’ for the ‘death of the sun’. This could be an implication that the place is so gloomy and polluted that you can no longer see the sun, and that is why it has ‘died’, and is also why everything is black. This effectively intensifies the feeling of despair and dreariness that is hanging over the city, and the bleakness of the environment. The second paragraph of this passage concentrates mainly on fog and how it has been personified into a shadowy demon from which there is no escape. The first line of the second paragraph begins with ‘Fog everywhere’, and this alone is a very abrupt, aggressive statement that makes us feel, once again, slightly claustrophobic, as though there is fog pressing in all around us and that there is no escape from it. Subsequently, the lines ‘Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides,’ and ‘Fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little ‘prentice boy on deck’ are examples of how the fog is personified, and made to seem sinister, omnipresent, like an oppressor that takes pleasure in attacking weak, vulnerable people like ‘ancient Greenwich pensioners’ and the ‘shivering little ‘prentice boy’. Another very effectual line is ‘Chance people on the bridges peeping over the parapets into a nether sky of fog, with fog all round them, as if they were up in a balloon, and hanging in the misty clouds’. The use of the verb ‘peeping’ is very interesting because it means the people are looking quickly or secretly over the bridges, and it creates a sense of nervousness and apprehension, as though the people are frightened of the fog, thus making the fog seem all the more threatening. In addition to this, the use of ‘parapets’ may not be just a reference to the sides of the bridge, as it also makes us think of castles, and so people peeping over parapets makes it seem as though they are under siege or under attack from an army of fog, which goes back to the allusion that the fog attacks weak or vulnerable people. Furthermore, the last part of the line, ‘as if they were up in a balloon, and hanging in the misty clouds’ conveys a sense of helplessness, because when you’re in a balloon you have very limited control, and this has been used as a metaphor to suggest how the people have no control over the fog and that they are trapped by it. Once again, this creates the feeling of claustrophobia and makes it seem overwhelming as there is so much fog and there’s no way out. The structure of these this passage is very interesting to note. The first paragraph is almost conversational, as though the narrator is describing to us the many events of the day, while the second paragraph suddenly switches to more somber, grave narrative of the fog, and this affects us and makes us feel uneasy of the fog. This is also partly because the passage is written in the present, and so it involves us, makes us feel as if we are there in the dreary environment. Additionally, the elongated syntax of the sentences mirrors the long, miserable day and the never-ending fog, and this intensifies the gloomy feeling we get from it. In conclusion, this passage from Bleak House uses many different techniques such as personification, hyperbole and tone of voice to effectively express the dirty and gloomy environment and the general feeling of misery and despair.