Growth and Development in Venezuela

Growth and Development in Venezuela Growth and Development are terms that are often used synonymously to indicate progress or movement in the forward direction. However, the nuances of these two terms differ. While growth is a more short-term, spurt-like movement, development encompasses a whole array of progressive moves in different aspects of life. Economic growth is indicated by an increase in a countrys  gross domestic product, or  GDP which is an economic model that reflects the value of a countrys output. In other words, a countrys GDP is the total monetary value of the goods and services produced by that country over a specific period of time. Economic development is usually indicated by an increase in citizens quality of life. Quality of life is often measured using the  Human Development Index, which is an economic model that considers intrinsic personal factors not considered in economic growth, such as literacy rates, life expectancy and poverty rates. Economic growth adopts a quantitative approach and takes place at a revolutionary speed. It is interested in quick/immediate gains, in the market period. As against this, economic development prefers to take a qualitative approach, emphasizing on the quality of the production and equitable distribution rather than its quantity. It is more evolutionary, and follows a sequential pattern of outcome. It has immediate as well as futuristic gains i.e. it is more sustainable. Economic growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition of economic development.There is no single definition that encompasses all the aspects of economic development. The most comprehensive definition perhaps of economic development is the one given by Todaro:‘Development is not purely an economic phenomenon but rather a multi – dimensional process involving reorganization and re orientation of the entire economic and social system.’Amartya Sen defines economic development in terms of personal freedom, freedom to choose from a range of options. While economic growth may lead to an increase in the purchasing power of people, if the country has a repressed economy, there is lack of choice and hence personal freedom in restricted. Hence once again growth has taken place without any development. While economic growth may result in an improvement in the standard of living of a relatively small proportion of the population whilst the majority of the population rema ins poor. It is how the economic growth is distributed amongst the population that determines the level of development. This shows us how important growth is for development to take place, but also how growth in itself is not enough; It should instead be a necessary ‘pre-condition’ to ‘takeoff’ for a country to leap forward. (Rostow’s stages of growth) In the country of Venezuela, let us see whether there is consistent growth, and if there is, then whether there is an effective turnaround from growth into development. Country Profile: Venezuela is officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and is part of the latin American countries. It lies on the northern coast of South America. It has a dense population of 29,100,000 approx, in the country area of 916,445 sq.km. It was first colonized by Spain in 1522, and later in 1811 got its independence and was one of the first Spanish-American colonies to be free. Later in 1830, it gained complete independence as a sovereign nation. The main interest in colonial Venezuela for Spain was geographic: its geographical position was a very strategic one and gave protection against enemies. Also, later in the 1620s, Venezuela became well known for its cocoa production and export. The sizable profits earned from this industry were carried away by the Spanish. Oil, as a commodity was virtually ignored until the 1900s. In Venezuela, the benchmark or watershed year can be counted as 1989. In this year, there was the launch of an ambiguous liberalization policy called â€Å"the Great Turnaround†. This entailed huge exchange rate devaluation, liberalization, privatization of trade, financial deregulation including free interest rates, no restrictions on foreign investment and new tax reforms. Post the economic boom in 1974, the economy was dragged into a downswing and GDP declined by 15%; this led to political pressure on the country by private companies. Liberalization was brought in to help the economy to revive itself. The final push to implement the liberal policy in 1989 was given by a balance of payments crisis in 1988. During 1970-2012  consumption expenditure per capita  in Venezuela increased by 8344 US dollars (in 12.3 times) to 9084.1 US dollars. The average annual growth of Consumption expenditure per capita in Venezuela was 198.7 US dollars or 26.8%. GDP per capita USD= 6401.91 PCCE/PCI= 9084.1/6401.91=1.4189 Gross Savings (% of GDP) = 26% (in 2012) The main economic driver of the Venezuelan economy is the production and export of crude oil. Venezuela is endowed with rich natural resources and has the largest oil reserves in Latin America and the Caribbean. It was also the world’s third largest exporter and ninth largest producer of oil. Its national petroleum company- Venezuelan Petroleum Corporation (PDVSA) is the third largest international conglomerate of oil. In 1990, Venezuela was also deemed to become an international leader in the export of its abundant mineral wealth namely- coal, iron, steel, aluminum. The production and export of crude oil forms the heart of the Venezuelan economy. The period of the oil industry in Venezuela can be roughly traced over four periods, namely: 1912-1943: the discovery and the initial production of oil. 1943-1974: Affirmation of Venezuela’s control over the oil industry. 1974-1998: The boom in oil production and prices, and also the nationalization of the oil industry. 1999-2003: Government’s attempt to regain control over the industry to curb its growing independence. (Refer Appendix, [1] for period from 1980-2000) In 1912, the petro-state of Venezuela was born and from then on, it took its baby steps to becoming the world’s second largest oil producer following U.S in 1929.In a short span of 15 years from 1920-1935, Venezuela’s oil share of exports exponentially shot up from 1.9% to 91.2%. This had an immediate and direct impact on the economy called as â€Å"the Dutch disease† [2] by many economists. This implied massive declines in agricultural production and also in industrialization. In 1943, Venezuela aimed at strengthening the industry and hence passed the Hydrocarbon Act. This tied the state income more closely and tightly to oil revenues. The law affirmed that foreign companies could not make more profits from oil than they paid to the Venezuelan state. This led to a growing reliance on the state. {This can be compared to the MRTP act initiated by the Indira Gandhi government in India} However, in the 1950s, the world oil industry felt the effects of the oversupply of oil (especially from the middle east) and hence oil prices drastically and chronically reduced. To confront this problem of oversupply, in 1960, the OPEC was formed as a cartel. Venezuela also created the Venezuela Oil Corporation, which formed the basis for oil nationalization. Post the formation of the OPEC, in 1973, oil prices and Venezuelan revenues from it increased four-fold, from 1972-1974. This lump sum increase made development a nearer goal to achieve. President Perez called his project â€Å"La Gran Venezuela† or â€Å"sow the oil† which encompassed fighting poverty through price controls and also the diversification through import-substitution techniques. This was also accompanied by the nationalization of the Oil company namely, PDVSA. The windfall gain from the oil boom ushered in an era of positives for Venezuela, but it also brought chronic inflation and massive indebtedness. This can be shown by the business cycle in appendix [3]. After the periods of boom, the economy got dragged into a slowdown due large scale inflation. Later in 1998 when oil prices lowered (because of oil members breaking their quotas) the economy of Venezuela took a hit and the per capita income steadily decreased. This is again shown in the business cycle in appendix [3] with the depression phase. The election of President Chavez in 1998 strengthened OPEC countries to maintain oil prices at a high rate. He persuaded all the head of states of the OPEC nations to stick to their quotas and to not oversupply oil. His efforts had immediate results and the price of oil rose for the firm time since 1985, to more than $27 per barrel. Thus, we see how oil revenue and government income in Venezuela are indivisible. President Perez indirectly wished to adopt the ‘unbalanced version’ of the ‘Big Push Model’. He claimed ‘sow the oil’ which in other words meant increasing revenues from the oil sector would fuel development in other sectors such as agriculture and industry. But this failed to happen since with a four-fold increase in oil revenues, government expenditure also increased and even surpassed the newfound revenues. When the oil prices took a hit, the government spending could not decrease as easily it was first increased. This gave rise to deeper debt. In between 1970 and 1994, public debt rose from 9% to 53% of GNP. Also, due to growing importance given to the oil industry, agriculture was neglected and contributed merely to one tenth of the economy in 1950s when it was one third of the GDP in 1920s. Presently, agriculture comprises of only 6% of the GDP. Thus, the Big Push to just one sector did not help in the case of Venezuela as other sectors did not benefit as much. Politics and Oil The oil economy of Venezuela left an imprint on its politics. The ‘clientelistic’ [4] nature of the state led to being increasingly bureaucratic. Maximum people working in the formal economy (approx 50% of the working population), about 45% of them are employed in the government, or rather in the government –run oil industry. Yet another consequence of Venezuela’ss oil wealth, is what political scientist Terry Lynn Karl calls â€Å"a pacted democracy.†This entails democracy which is held together through an agreement amongst elite groups, usually opposing, and powerful interest groups. It is a kind of truce among them which is struck to maintain their personal interests and privileges. Differently put, even when a single party won the elections, the revenues from oil had to obligatorily be shared among members of other parties, more or less among the voting results. This guaranteed the different interest groups access to jobs, contracts and ministries and even the power of the union federation, CTV was similarly divided. Thus, this level of bureaucratization in Venezuela, the clientelistic trends, and the ‘pacted’ nature of its democracy made Venezuela resemble a one-party socialist regime. In Venezuela, during the rule of President Hugo Chavez, his manifesto drew heavily on the Marxist ideology. Marx fought for the proletariat or the ‘have-nots’ of society, claiming that they were the ones who did the real labor (manual labor) as against the bourgeois or the ‘haves’ who only indulged in intellectual labor, took advantage of the labor class, usurped their profits and exploited them. Chavez, in 1992, attempted a coup because he believed that the president was corrupt. When later he was elected as president, he vouched to end poverty and exploitation and redistribute the profits earned by wealthy businessmen. Owing to a leftist and socialist ideology, he aimed at attaining and asserting control over privately owned property. Thus, eventually, he gained control over all the factors of production- land and its resources (oil), capital, labor. He did as he told he would do, and his governance was labeled as â€Å"petroleum socialism†. Oil was used as a measure of control in terms of the domestic economy as well as the international political affairs. PDVSA is the Venezuelan state-owned petrol company. In 20002, Chavez claimed that 10% of its revenues must be invested in social programs. The kind of domination control over oil that a corrupt or unstable government claims is detrimental to the country’s economic development. Chavez implemented many social programs to combat poverty and reduce inequality. These programs were supported by the PDVSA and were fabricated to meet the basic needs of the people. Some of them are: Health: Mission ‘Barrio Adentro’ or â€Å"inside the neighborhood† has set up clinics and made doctors available in areas previously lacking these facilities. Mission ‘Alimentacion’ or Mission Food, a food plan funded by the government in order to supply products through grocery stores (Mercal and PDVAL) without the aid of intermediaries. Also to set up community kitchens to provide three free meals per day. This mission has benefited about 15 million people. Mission Sonrisa or Mission Smile which addresses to the oral health of the people by the setting up of many new dentistry clinics. Mission Christ Child and the inauguration of a neonatal intensive care unit and enhance the quality and access to facilities for pregnant women. Education: Mission Robinson was created with an aim to eliminate illiteracy. This mission taught approx 1.8 million people to read and write. Mission Rivas aimed at integration of Venezuelan people into the elementary and secondary education and proved beneficial for more than a million. Mission Sucre had been set up to help improve the access to higher education. About 700,000 people profited from it and successfully completed their graduation. Housing: Mission Habitat, in 2004, helps the people secure housing through credit facilities and also helps in creating integrated communities. Employment: The Great mission Knowledge and Work hopes to integrate 1 million jobless people into the labor market, which will also help reduce unemployment. All these missions did a great deal in alleviating poverty and reducing inflation and unemployment in Venezuela. Hugo Chavez concentrated on an expansionary fiscal policy through social spending. Social expenditure from 1911-2011 accounts for more than 60% of revenues- this is nearly double of the expenditures made in previous periods. The number of households living under the poverty line in 2003 was 55% which by 2011 fell to 26%., and those families living in extreme poverty has fallen to 7% from 25%. In 2003, there was again a spike in poverty, inflation and unemployment due to a coup to overhaul Chavez’s government. There are other factors which show an impact of the missions of the overall welfare of the country. For example, infant mortality rates and malnutrition victims have fallen; while school enrolment and graduation rates have risen. The Gini coefficient of Venezuela, which measures inequality on a scale of 0-1, is 0.394. Thus, these missions were effective instruments for alleviating poverty, by tackling urgent needs of education, food, health, housing etc. They began in 2003, and 36% of state revenue went into funding them between 1986 and 1998, while 60% of revenue was spent between 1999 and 2011. Politicization of the missions: But, there are claims that Chavez’s social missions served two very different purposes: they were subject to political manipulation (i.e. to buy votes) and also allowed for a direct distribution of oil rents to the low income population. The government used these funds clientelistically and also distributed them to the very poor. It is seen that Chavez distributed these oil revenues to primarily those poor section which were sure vote banks for him. Thus, the missions helped to buy votes. Chavez’s government also laid emphasis on providing all citizens with identification cards. These cards would be required by them at the time of gaining access to cash transfers. At the time of election, this card got automatically transformed into an election card and was required by the National electoral Council for voting purposes. (Mission Identidad) These missions have been dispatched to the masses and seem to be catering at a mass scale. Therefore, they are more quantitatively-aimed than quality-oriented. The infrastructure is not well maintained, the teachers are paid a pittance and schools seem to be largely used as a site for ideological indoctrination. Wrt health-Some of Venezuelas public hospitals are closing. Others are ridden with crime. Many physicians are quitting medicine starting new careers in Venezuela or emigrating, upset at being paid a pittance or not at all. Medical supplies are in short supply. Wrt job and employment conditions- Investors are running away from here since the government is taking over many companies. There is an outward movement of the educated class of engineers, doctors and other professionals to other countries where the pay is better. There is an influx of migrants, mainly for blue-collar jobs.

Imperfect Reality, Unattainable Dream Essay

A dream creates ideal circumstances which are not ideal in reality. Reality instigates the destruction of the ideal and therefore encourages one to fantasize about that which is unattainable in actuality. In one’s imperfect reality, a dream is unattainable; thus, one may often compromise or modify his dream in order for it to match or perhaps justify the practical. This imperfect reality generates an unattainable dream. Jay Gatsby’s disillusionment in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby permits Gatsby to imagine that which will never exist. When his reality and fantasy collide in such a way, his fantasy perishes, and additional conflicted dreams and imperfect reality ensue. Gatsby’s passion is an exercise in futility because reality prohibits the execution of such a dream. Gatsby’s passionate illusion develops based on wishes which cannot be met in his reality. Human wonder allows him to envision his fantastic image; however, he finds that it is â€Å"pervaded with a melancholy beauty† because the potential of his beautiful dream deteriorates in his harsh material world (Fitzgerald 152).Gatsby fails to realize that Daisy is the type of woman who cannot â€Å"be over- dreamed† for she lives her life in a concrete world with which Gatsby is unfamiliar (Fitzgerald 96). Gatsby’s failure to recognize that Daisy flourishes in the material world leads him to believe that she loves him, and that she â€Å"never loved† her husband (Fitzgerald 103). Gatsby’s reality does not match his fantasy, though, for he loses â€Å"the freshest and the best† his reality offers when Daisy refuses to marry him (Fitzgerald 153). His reality and his dream become unaligned after Daisy’s refusal; he begins to reconstruct and embellish his vision and consequently, he exhausts and eradicates his reality. Gatsby’s i ntention to marry and love Daisy is honorable until he exhausts the tangible. He begins to revere his dream and, as a result, he fails to recognize that his illusion is unfeasible in actuality. He continues to de-humanize Daisy until he no longer loves her, but rather his illusion of her. Daisy’s flaws are human, but Gatsby eliminates such flaws in his dream; therefore he sets a standard which Daisy never achieves. Gatsby ultimately pays â€Å"a high price for living too long with a single dream† and never regains a sense of the â€Å"old warm world† where everything is definite and concrete; he continues to try to create what is â€Å"no longer tangible† (Fitzgerald 161.161.134). His attempts are in vain because his reality never matches his fantasy; his dreams are passionate but Gatsby’s realization that his idealized vision is neither practical nor palpable both metaphorically and physically deteriorates him. When the â€Å"colossal significance† of his illusion vanishes, â€Å"only the dead dream† keeps him alive (Fitzgerald 93.134). The destruction of Gatsby’s dream parallels the destruction of innocence. The eradication of his sole hope and desire forces Gatsby into a world foreign to him: reality. The concrete world slowly deteriorates Gatsby’s mind until the â€Å"holocaust† is complete (Fitzgerald 162). Gatsby’s physical death is not as â€Å"invariably saddening† as the metaphorical death of his dream, for upon the destruction of his dream, he has nothing for which to live The standards set in Gatsby’s dream never match his reality, thus his continued attempts to achieve such standards are in vain. Unfortunately, his disillusionment allows a cyclical pattern to develop in which his imperfect reality constantly fuels his dream. Without the recognition that his dream will never match his reality, Gatsby remains an unsatisfied man. His dissatisfaction consequently corrupts his dream and instigates the cycle of discontent with which he lives until his unfortunate death.

Analysis Of `` Mirror `` By Sylvia Plath - 1231 Words

â€Å"Mirror† by Sylvia Plath is a short lyric poem written with no rhyme scheme as it is written in free verse. However, the poem has a nice flow to it, as the words fluctuate gracefully through each line. Plath heavily uses imagery and symbolism in this lyric poem as this can be observed in the first stanza. In addition to the types of literary devices Plath uses continually throughout her poem, she also has set her poem in two locations. In the first verse, the setting is in a bathroom, one can infer this through her use of imagery. The second known setting is a lake, but as a reader, we do not know much about this lake. The one thing that is quite odd about this poem is the narrative, as Plath uses personification to give†¦show more content†¦Which is the main struggle throughout this poem as the women cannot come to realization that her youth and beauty is fading. The mirror does not show this mist and reveals to the women all her blemishes and aging marks. As Pl ath continues her poem she still relies heavily on literary devices such as personification to convey her poem. She starts the fourth line with the mirror expressing how honest the reflection of the mirror may be to the viewer. However, the mirror starts to justify the harsh reflections by saying it only portrays the truth. Plath then starts to use imagery again as she vividly describes the room in which the mirror is hung. Although the room is cheerful as it is â€Å"is pink, with speckles† the mirror experiences sadness. Since faces come in to consider the mirror and then leave abruptly shutting the light off immersing it in darkness. In stanza two Plath now has changed the narrator from the mirror to the lake. Since in verse ten it says â€Å"Now I am a lake.† Plath uses the lake as a metaphor because the lake is still serving a purpose similar to the mirror by reflecting images back to the observer as well. Since the woman goes to the lake and â€Å"bends over me. Searching my reaches for what she really is.† The women is searching for herself, she is attempting to learn more about herself through the reflection. The women then proceed toShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Mirror By Sylvia Plath1215 Words   |  5 PagesThe mirror is a two-stanza captivating and a highly personalized poem that was authored by Sylvia Plath in the 1960s as an exploration of the uncertain self. A mirror explains its existence and the owners’ existence that is growing with the mirror witnessing. Moreover, the mirror is artistically endowed with human traits and can tell the monotony it endures facing the wall most of the times; a wall which has become part of it, â€Å"I have looked at it so long, I think it is part of my heart† [Plath lineRead MoreMirror by Sylvia Plath, Analysis875 Words   |  4 PagesThe use of Personification and Metaphor in ‘Mirror’ In the Poem ‘Mirror’ by Sylvia Plath, there is a continuing theme of change. In the beginning the changes are simple, like the acts of day turning to night, but at the end we see the life changes of a woman in particular. Through the use of metaphor and personification in the poem, Plath creates images of water, reflections, and colors as having human characteristics to emphasize the strong theme of change throughout the poem. From the beginningRead MoreAnalysis Of Mirror By Sylvia Plath1414 Words   |  6 Pageschildhood depression and her anger towards men, in â€Å"Mirror† when she reflects her adulthood depression and sorrow, and in her poem â€Å"Lady Lazarus† when she explains her attempts and success at suicide and why she made those choices. When Plath’s father died, she did not know how to feel. When he passed away, Plath exclaims â€Å"...we moved inland. Whereon those nine first years of my life sealed themselves off like a ship in a bottle† (Materer). When Plath lived down by the sea, she just thought aboutRead MoreAnalysis Of Mirror By Sylvia Plath823 Words   |  4 Pagespoem â€Å"Mirror† by Sylvia Plath describes an uneasy relationship between an aging woman and a mirror through a dark and emotional mood and a sad and melancholy tone increasing as the poem progresses. the theme of this poem is truth and lies, the woman is torn between whats real and whats not real. The poem is written in first person from the point of view of a mirror and personification is used continuously and effectively throughout the text. Through personification Plath gives the Mirror lifeRead MoreAnalysis Of `` Mirror `` By Sylvia Plath And `` The Yellow Wallpaper ``1193 Words   |  5 Pagesreading a different k ind of literature works. Different literature stories have struck a responsive chord in readers’ hearts. Two of literature works â€Å" Mirror † by Sylvia Plath and short story â€Å" The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman both shows female’s oppressive living in patriarchal society and control by men. In the poemâ€Å" Mirror†, in the 20 century, the society influence women should care about how they look and they feel sad about getting old. Even in the poem did not existRead MoreA Reflection in Sylvia Plaths Mirror1013 Words   |  5 PagesA Reflection in Sylvia Plath’s Mirror Amanda L. Wilson Eng:125 Introduction to Literature Professor Lyndsey Lefebvre November 18, 2013 A Reflection in Sylvia Plath’s Mirror Sylvia Plath’s poem Mirror (1963) is evocative, provocative, and expressive. According to Clugston (2010) these are important components of poetry. Sylvia Plath’s first line is a projection of the mirror providing its introduction saying, â€Å"I am silver and exact†(Plath, 1963, line 1). The mirror is the protagonist whoRead MoreAnalysis of Sylvia Plaths Mirror1281 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Analysis of Sylvia Plath’s â€Å"Mirror† Sylvia Plath is known as the poet of confession. Her life is strongly connected to her works. She uses poetry as a way to confess her feelings, to express and release her pain in life. â€Å"Mirror† is one of her most famous poems. Sylvia Plath wrote the poem in 1961, just two years before her actual suicide. After suffering a miscarriage, she realized that she was pregnant again. She and her husband moved to a small town and their marriage began going worse. TheRead MoreSymbolism In The Bell Jar1548 Words   |  7 PagesSylvia Plath uses many literary devices to convey her purpose in The Bell Jar such as symbolism. The Bell Jar itself is used as symbolic representation of the emotional state Esther is in. The glass jar distorts her image of the world as she feels trapped under the glass. It represents mental illness , a confining jar that descends over her mind and doesn’t allow her to live and think freely. Symbols and images of life and death pervade The Bell Jar. E sther experiences psychological distress whichRead MoreOutline Structure For Literary Analysis : Daffodils By Ted Hughes960 Words   |  4 PagesOutline Structure for Literary Analysis Essay I. An Enemy or a Friend: â€Å"Daffodils† by Ted Hughes II. Paragraph 1: Introduction A.)This poem is focused all about daffodil flowers which i believe is a resemblance of his wife Sylvia Plath. B. The author of the poem is Ted Hughes .The poem is based around how years Hughes and his children would sell the daffodils to make a living but never realized how much they were taking the daffodil for grant. C. The title of the poem is â€Å"Daffodils.† F. The mainRead MoreThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath1211 Words   |  5 PagesSylvia Plath Research Paper Title The Bell Jar place[s] [the] turbulent months[of an adolescent’s life] in[to] mature perspective (Hall, 30). In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath uses parallelism, stream of consciousness, the motif of renewal and rebirth, symbolism of the boundary-driven entrapped mentally ill, and auto-biographical details to epitomize the mental downfall of protagonist, Esther Greenwood. Plath also explores the idea of how grave these timeless and poignant issues can affect a fragile

Essay on Financial Aid The Problem with Merit-Aid

There was a time in the United States when moving north was a decision that could profoundly change one’s way of life. Specifically, this choice would impact southern dwelling African-Americans. The socioeconomic and cultural effects were great. The decision was made by many who were seeking a better life and new opportunities: two million African American migrants. Today, for many young African-Americans, pursuing the move from secondary education to collegiate education has those same benefits and more. Like the people of the Great Migration, today’s population of Black college seekers are finding that gaining access to these opportunities is difficult. The move into these new regions for the past’s migrants and today’s students was/is†¦show more content†¦There is no denial of merit based aid due to estimated family contribution, or family income; families are eligible for merit awards regardless of which income bracket they belong. As a supple ment to need-based aid, merit- aid can dramatically lessen the financial bludgeoning that college costs can incur. Furthermore, the implementation of aid based on student achievement has been a tool of encouragement. Students can receive aid for their excellence in athletics, academics, the arts, and for high scores on college entrance exams. High school students work hard to receive financial aid of this kind, many of them taking on the most rigorous coursework offered such as AP classes. Bright, high achieving students are desirable to colleges because they are seen as less likely to be a part of the retention population: students who leave college before completing a degree. The amount of offered merit based aid is a motivator that often attracts students to certain colleges and universities. Why wouldn’t we want to offer the brightest and the best the money that they desire; they reciprocate, they are a benefit to society when they graduate and become successful lawyers, doctors and educators. The problem however, is that the above benefits of merit-aid disproportionately favor middle and upper classes. Many families don’t have the money to pay for necessary utilities from month to month, and certainly not enough to even think of saving for college tuition. WhenShow MoreRelatedFinancial Aid: Need or Merit?890 Words   |  4 Pagesacquiring aid to help with the cost can be hard to come by. Due to the recent drop in the economy, it is almost necessary to have a college degree to get a job. The rising cost and necessity of a college education has raised a debate on the eligibility of financial aid and who exactly should obtain the aid. The main focus in the financial aid debate is whether or not aid should be based on merit or need. A simple way to put this is should the student from lower income families receive aid because moneyRead MoreStudent Financial Aid For Students950 Words   |  4 Pages1940s, Student financial aid began to play a si gnificant role in prompting student access, persistence and completion rate of American Higher Education. Since students can be regarded as the output of the education, student financial aid also contributes to the social mobility and the improvement of economics. Federal government, state governments and institutions jointly provide the funding to certain groups of students. Among all types of financial aid, need-based aid and merit-based aid are most importantRead MoreGovernment Financial Aid For Students Should Not Be Based Solely on Merit1589 Words   |  7 Pages Scholarship money is a type of financial aid, awarded to students for their academic merit based on a mix of GPA, SAT scores, and class rank (How to get a scholarship 2011). Scholarship is not easy to get or apply nowadays as the requirements are high and based on the merit. The awards are almost always for top students. According to the statistic from The University of Virginia, 318 students applied for scholarships and only 83 are awarded scholarship (Scholarship Statistic 2011). The scholarshipRead MoreIs College An Option For All Students? Essay1655 Words   |  7 PagesProblem Solution Essay: Education The cost of college has only gone up at an astounding rate over the past decades, but the financial aid given out to high school students across America has not grown enough to compensate for that. The average cost of a four year degree has gone up a massive amount in the last 30 years, thus causing more and more students to lose hope of going to college. This increase, however, was not met with a substantial increase in aid given to students. A consequence ofRead MoreSolving The Student Debt Crisis Essay1609 Words   |  7 Pagesthe immense amount of student debt lenders should be required to forgive student loans in cases where students are unable to repay their debts,decrease cost of attendance,and increase scholarship opportunities from universities and implement more merit based sholarships.Doing so would benefit the growth of the economy by increasing the job market,housing market and would help businesses grow. Read MoreThe rising costs of college1169 Words   |  5 Pagesof these kids to community college)† (Mark. Para.4). Everyone knows how important it is to go to college and get a bachelor’s degree for the better life. However, there has been a really big problem in education: college tuition has gradually been going up year after year. This is one of the latest problems the government must deal with right now. To make matters worse, college tuition in the US is much higher than that of other countries. If the cost of taking a class in college goes up more, someRead MoreSolutions for College Dropout1095 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿The Solution to Increasing Dropout Rates While there are many problems college students’ face while attempting to obtain a degree, the largest hindrance from completion is that of financial ability. One of the largest contributors to college dropout rates is the lack of financial support. Many college students must work either full or part time to support themselves or their families. With the declining economy and increasing costs of college tuition, funds are being scarcely distributed andRead MoreShould Governmental Financial Aid Be Merit Based? 2081 Words   |  8 PagesEssay: Should governmental financial aid be merit based? According to the National Center for Education Statistics, around 20 million people enroll in college each year. More than 90 percent of these people wouldn’t be able to afford this journey if it weren’t for financial aid received. While it is true that some financial aid comes from scholarships based on merit, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, most government aid is based on financial need. The number of people enrollingRead MoreStudent Debt Crisis And Its Effects On The Economy1586 Words   |  7 PagesIn order for students to pay it back, they are in some instances forced to mortgage their house,cars, and other property.Because of this, the government should consider forgiving people s student loans if they are unable to pay the debt due to financial reason.Doing so would improve the economy as housing markets would start to increase instead of declining.Student debt affects the market for homeownership, which has since declined from 43.3 p ercent in 2005 to 34.6 percent in 2015 this accordingRead MoreJerome Karabels The Battle Over Merit1406 Words   |  6 PagesJerome Karabel has explored many areas of the college admissions process and is unhappy with his findings. In his text, â€Å"The Battle Over Merit†, Karabel concludes that the college admissions process has to be updated, so that everyone gets a fair and equal chance to get into these institutions. He includes a substantial argument of how college admissions have evolved and has been initially favoring one social group. This justification shows the concept of privilege and a need for inclusion. Karabel

Best Pratices in Measuring Customer Satisfaction Essay

| Best Practices in Measuring Customer Satisfaction. | Week 3 Assignment | Nicholas B. Fannings 5/20/2012 GM 588Professor K. Mayberry | Customer satisfaction has long been an industry focus as a measure of managerial strength and company profitability (Kelsey amp; Bond, 2001). The satisfaction of the customer is essential to the success of a company. There are many ways for organizations to determine how satisfied their customers are with specific products or services. Although there are, many different ways to measure customer satisfaction industry spanning best practices allow for consistent capturing and interpretation of collected data. Among the best practices of measuring customer satisfaction, include knowing†¦show more content†¦Keeping the survey short and specific allows an organization to gauge a customer’s relationship to them. A broad topic survey becomes susceptible to customers not answer the questions or the questions may not be answered in earnest. One good example the application of best practices involves the company CDW, which uses the internet and a program called Net Promoter (Baldridge.com, 20007) to capture data for measuring customer satisfaction. CDW ask three questions of the survey participants â€Å"What the customer plans to purchase, if they are committed and what would they [customer] do if we went away? (Baldridge.com, 20007)† The responses are grouped into categories promoters, passives and detractors based on the score ranging on a scale from 1-10. CDW reviews negative feedback from the surveys and responds with a quick and prompt response to that customer, which furthers customer loyalty and increasing customer satisfaction. Using these best practices described in the previously, these can be related to the College and University sector. It has not been until recently that academic institutions have concerned themselves with the concept of customer satisfaction as higher education moves into an era

Diversity Globalization Free Essays

Living in the 21st century, we are more connected to each other than ever. With that being said, there is a necessity for us to maintain our cultural diversity as we merge into such a multicultural world. Multiculturalism is, in essence, the study of how individuals from different ethnic, minority, or rural backgrounds receive, analyze, and respond to information that is presented to them. We will write a custom essay sample on Diversity Globalization or any similar topic only for you Order Now The principle of cultural diversity takes multiculturalism a step further, changing the mainstream approach so that the different ways of receiving, analyzing, and responding to information are all seen as being culturally aware. In the world of today we are all directly or indirectly involved in the cultural socialization and globalization. At times one is so much engaged in trying to blend in that one forgets to be a real â€Å"self†. Individuals are in the presence of dozens of new and unfamiliar cultures as a result of increased travel, international trade and foreign media contacts.Many people welcome this new diversity as stimulating and enabling while others find it unsettling and are fearful of losing indigenous cultures that is the basis of their livelihood. These feelings have been articulated in various outlets and have been the focus matter of administrative organizations. As a result, many governments in countries scattered around the world must decide how to resp ond to this situation. Statement of Problem Self is the consciousness of one’s own identity, an essential quality that make a person distinct from all others.In a multi-cultural global society, it is this â€Å"self† or diversity that must be maintained even at a cultural level. There are so many influences upon the world from Western societies, digital entertainment, merchandise, food companies, etc. , that individual rituals or customs of lesser nations begin to fall to the wayside. Along with this is the demise and complete destruction of indigenous groups around the world. This is the problem; throughout all of this globalization and modernization we need to hold onto individual and cultural grass root traditions.It is the loss of indigenous individuality that is instigating the lack of or struggle to maintain diversity in this world. Literature Review Over the ages, distant merchants have landed upon the shores of new nations and either claimed it as their own or created large settlements. These new pioneers have spread their principles and ideas either intentionally or not with no remorse or thought in respecting the indigenous cultures where they have forced their cultures. This has led to the struggle in indigenous people trying to maintain their identity and way of life against that of the new settlers.As a result of foreign trade, globalization has given rise the increased stream of assets. Foreign ventures in oil, gas and mining has risen four to five times between 1988 and 1997. Subsequently, there happens to be an abundant supply of natural resources in regions populated by indigenous people. These bands of indigenous people are greatly affected by this influx of outside investment and the foreign cultures that accompany it. The cultural uniqueness and socio-economic justness of indigenous people are being threatened in several ways.There is insufficient acknowledgment of the cultural importance of the land and territories that indigenous people inhabit. Mineral removal undertakings lead to extensive dislocation of communities and loss of their farmlands and it affects both their sense of cultural identity and their source of sustainable livelihood. On top of this, Indigenous people are excluded from decision-making processes involving the farm and properties that belong to them. Information gained by indigenous people is also easily misappropriated.Traditional knowledge about plants with medicinal value, food varieties that consumers demand and other valuable knowledge is quickly picked up by capitalists, who apply for patents on these knowledge. Forero (2003) concluded that seven thousand patents had been granted for the unsanctioned use of traditional knowledge or the misappropriation of medicinal pl ants. Developing countries, as well as individual indigenous groups, seldom have the resources to challenge these patents in foreign jurisdictions.The number of people living outside their country of birth has increased from seventy-six million in 1960 to one hundred and fifty-four million in 1990 and one hundred and seventy-five million in 2000 (The Guardian, 2001). Scientific advances have made travel and communications extremely fast, inexpensive, and reliable. Based upon this mixing of cultural groups, people are living amongst new cultures and rituals on a daily basis. â€Å"In the spring of 2007, 1,651 residents participated in a random-digit-dialed, computer-assisted telephone survey about a wide range of social and civic issues facing Los Angeles.The dataset also includes the census tract number corresponding to each respondent’s place of residence, enabling us to consider the demographic context of respondents’ views of racial issues. Census tracts are unlikely to correspond perfectly to residents’ mental image of the ethnic and racial mix contained in their â€Å"neighborhood,† but the tract identifiers provide a useful starting point to consider the consequences of multiple dimensions of diversity in local areas across Los Angeles. (Cohen-Marks amp; Faught, 2010)†The study concluded that there were consistent patterns based on race or ethnicity and that African Americans tend to have more negative perceptions of race relations than other ethnic groups in Los Angeles. This could have an impact regarding enhanced flow of investment, knowledge, cultural goods and people give rise to problems in cultural adjustment and issues of conflict management and control. While some countries oppose migrants from settling and invading their culture and taking up their jobs, others are more open and try to integrate foreign cultures into their own.The Human Development Report (2004) argues that societies and governments must not choose either extreme, but must chose a middle path whereby they can design country specific policies that widen choices by supporting and protecting national identities while also keeping borders open for choosing newer ways of life. Indigenous people are increasingly being drawn into global ne tworks. In the long term, cultural isolation is unlikely to be a viable although sometimes desired option (Smith amp; Ward, 2000).Global flows of goods, ideas, people and capital can seem to be a threat to national culture. It can lead to the abandonment of traditional values and practices and dismantling of the economic basis on which the survival of indigenous culture depends. A global culture is not about the English language or global brand identities – it is about universal ethics based on universal human rights and respect for the freedom, equality and dignity of all individuals. The aim of multicultural policies is to protect cultural iberty and expand people’s choices – in the ways people live and identify themselves – and not to penalize them for those choices. For instance, women in India usually wore saris at work in the 1980’s while they now feel free to wear blouses and trousers to work. People should not be bound to maintain an immutable box called â€Å"a culture† (Human Development Report 2004). One must understand that cultural identities are heterogeneous and evolving and they are subject to dynamic change due to internal inconsistencies and c onflicts that drive them.Findings For that reason, a strategy of multiculturalism is supported by the following four principles. First, defending tradition can hold back human development. Cultural conservatism can discourage or prevent people from adopting a different lifestyle which is concurrently followed gainfully by a different society. Although there might be much that is consonant with universal values and practices, much else might be inconsistent. Such inconsistencies can be removed by learning from other cultures.For instance, a community that is traditionally lazy can learn how people of other societies are more productive and are able to enjoy their life to a greater extent. Second, respecting diversity and differences is essential to becoming a global citizen. The fear of a loss of national identity and culture comes from the belief that cultural diversity leads to conflict. In fact, it is the suppression and opposition of cultural identity and social, political and economic exclusion on the basis of culture that can spark violence and tensions.Third, diversity thrives in a globally interdependent world. Today’s intensified global interactions can function well when these are governed by bonds of shared values, communication and commitment. Societies can develop cultural freedom by developing multiple and complementary identities as citizens of a state and members of a cultural group as well as being a global citizen (Human Development Report, 2004). Differences and diversity must be respected to avoid morbid mistrust for all things foreign resulting in policies that shut them out.Multiple and complementary identities are a reality in many countries where people have a sense of belonging to the country as well as to a group or groups within it. Lastly, addressing imbalances in economic and political power can help to forestall threats to the cult ures of poor and weak communities. Discussion Shutting out ones’ culture from external cultural interactions is not feasible in the face of constant change.However, governments and international institutions can form policies such that traditions consistent with universal values can continue while giving people the choice to change over to newer lifestyles while discarding ineffective ones. The current necessity is to launch pro-poor public and corporate governance, effective social and environmental policies and respect for human rights though discussions with governments, indigenous people’s organizations, industry, labor unions and academia.Many private companies and indigenous people are working together for development. The World Intellectual Property Organization’s General Assembly established an Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore in October 2000 (Human Development Report, 2004). Intellectual property rights are bei ng extended in countries like Australia to protect traditional knowledge of indigenous communities. The essence is to include and integrate indigenous people in a globally integrated world. States and international institutions need to take the following measures in order to incorporate the concerns of indigenous peoples into the flow of investment and knowledge: explicitly recognize indigenous people’s rights over their physical and intellectual property require consultations with indigenous communities and their participation for the use of any resource, thus ensuring informed consent, and empower communities by developing strategies to share benefits. Whether to treat cultural goods like any other commercial good or to make them an exception has become a highly contested issue in international trade negotiations.Some people consider products like films to be commodities with others feel that these are cultural products conveying values, ideas and meaning and therefore deserving special treatment. Accordingly several groups like those of film directors have led measures to insert â€Å"cultural exception† clauses into trade rules, thereby excluding cinem a and other audiovisual foods from their provisions. The cultural exceptions touch people’s concerns that their national cultures might be swept away by the economic forces in the global market, threatening their cultural identity.Many people fear that foreign films and television programs will spread foreign culture and eventually obliterate local cultures and traditional values. However, free flows of foreign products widen cultural choices and do not necessarily weaken commitment to national culture. Teenagers the world over listen to rap but that has not meant the death of classical music or local fold music traditions while attempts to shut off foreign influences might only lead to smuggled access to such products.Some countries, like Hungary, protect their productions through a quota of fifteen percent for national programs on the national television channel (Cohen, 2004). Once again, protection would involve reducing or blocking imports thereby decreasing expansion of diversity and choice. On the other hand promotion can help in maintaining healthy cultural industries while also keeping trade links open. In Hungary, six percent of the television receipts go to the production of Hungarian films.The 2001 Declaration on Cultural Diversity of the UNESCO set the stage for a number of international initiatives to encourage cultural diversity and biodiversity. The emergence of cultural industries can be supported by local governments. Local infrastructure can be created to export cultural products as well as build business incubators to encourage small and medium sized companies to market their products. International funds can also be mobilized for the same. Cultural tourism and partnerships with the World Trade Organization can disseminate advice to host communities on ways and means to protect and promote indigenous cultures.A number of creative methods can be undertaken to enhance the choices and enriching the changing culture. It is extremely common for more and more immigrants to be living in foreign lands while maintaining close ties with their country of origin through low cost travel and communications. There are polarized solutions to this issue. Some would like to acknowledge the diversity and promote the inclusion of immigrants, while an alternative advocated by anti-immigrant groups would be to close countries to flows of people reversing the trend of increasing diversity. Those fearing that immigrants threaten national values make three arguments: that immigrants reject the core values of the country; that immigrant and local cultures clash inevitably leading to social conflict and fragmentation and that immigrant cultures are inferior and if allowed a foothold would undermine democracy and retard progress, a drain on economic and social development. Accommodating multiple cultures is not an ea sy job and requires blurring the boundaries that separate â€Å"us† and â€Å"not us†.People easily feel the dangers of having to accept those that are â€Å"not us† into their own groups in the future with possible accompanying degenerations. Although accepting multiple cultures is difficult, history shows that it does happen. Contrary to popular beliefs that immigration can lead to cultural degeneration, immigration actually supports economic growth and development. Seventy percent of the foreign born students who get doctorates in the US A stay there and contribute to the country’s development.The way forward to this dilemma would be one of cultural recognition and socio-economic and political inclusion. Traditionally, there have been two approaches towards immigrants: differentialism and assimilation (Human Development Report, 2004). Differentialist polities help maintain clear boundaries between groups and respect them as separate communities, while assimilation policies seek to make immigrants become â€Å"more like us†. Both these approaches are inadequate for societies that respect diversity and differences.Culturally diverse societies are not predestined to disintegrate or to lose their national cultures and identities. Immigrants can in fact become full members of their adopted countries and still maintain ties to their countries of origin. The challenge is to craft polities that integrate the objectives of unity and respect for difference and diversity. Multiculturalism has recently become a third approach to integrating immigrants into the mainstream, one that recognizes the value of diversity and supports multiple identities. It began in Canada in the early 1960’s, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau articulated the idea in response to the challenges of a diverse population of indigenous people, French and English settlers (Human Development Report, 2004). Multiculturalism is not only about recognizing different value systems and cultural practices within society – it is also about building a common commitment to core, non-negotiable values such as human rights, rule of law, gender equality, and diversity and tolerance (IOM, 2003).Australia and India describe this as â€Å"Unity in Diversity† or Vasudevaya Kutumbakam – the world is a global family. Such a policy emphasizes not only the freedom of individuals to express and share their cultural values but also abide by mutual civic obligations. Conclusion Throughout this paper, the topic of globalization has been looked at through its effects on indigenous cultures. Indigenous cultures are affected by the flow of investment and k nowledge, flow of cultural goods and the flow of people.It was argued that a multicultural approach must be followed while respecting the diversity and differences of various cultures. None of the flows should be shut off in order to protect the indigenous as this can only lead to myopia and lack of informed choice. Cultures are naturally changing due to inherent inconsistencies and there is much to gain from diverse cultures. Indigenous people must be included in the decision making process related to their physical and intellectual property in an interconnected world.Cultural products can be promoted through creative funding without shutting off trade links. Immigrant populations are capable of nurturing multiple identities, which can be enriched through a multicultural policy based on respect for differences and diversity. A globally interdependent world needs a multicultural strategy for native residents and immigrants that incorporate the fundamental principles of human rights and duties that benefit everyone.Complementary identities, or one’s â€Å"self† can evolve across national boundaries under these circumstances and identity and freedom ca n then flourish in a culturally diverse world. References Cohen-Marks, M. , amp; Faught, J.. (2010). Perceptions of Race Relations in Contexts of Ethnic Diversity and Change. Sociological Perspectives, 53(1), 73-98. Retrieved November 5, 2010, from ProQuest Psychology Journals. (Document ID: 1989814121). Forero, J. (2003). â€Å"Seeking Balance: Growth vs. Culture in Amazon† The New York Times, 10 December. Human Development Report (2004). Oxford University Press: Oxford, England. IOM (International Organization for Migration) (2003). â€Å"Integration of Migrants: The IOM Approach. † Geneva. [http://www. iom. si/pdf/Indegration%20master. pdf]. Retrieved November 25, 2010. Lega, Nord (2004). â€Å"Stop Ai Clandestini† [http://www. leganord. org/a_2_docpolitici_ clandestini. htm]. Retrieved November 24, 2010. Smith, C. and Ward, G. K. (2000). Indigenous Cultures in an interconnected world, UBC Press: Vancouver. How to cite Diversity Globalization, Papers

Divine Right of Kings Richard Ii free essay sample

A key aspect to understanding Acts Ill and IV in Richard II is the divine right of kings and how God deeply impacts these characters decisions and actions. The king is supposedly chosen by God himself and is ideally a fgure of a natural born leader and warrior. Naturally, since England was predominately Catholic at the time, going against God in any way was unacceptable. The people were to trust the King and not question his decisions, for they were Gods will and decisions as well. There is also a deep sense of content by the characters that God will sort out all of their disputes by hoosing sides and the righteous will reign. In Act I Gaunt says, Gods is the quarrel/for Gods substitute/ His deputy anointed in His sight/ Hath caused his death. (37-39) referring to the fact that God gave Richard the power and Richard plotted with Mowbray in Gloucesters death, thus God had a hand in Gloucesters death for whatever reason. We will write a custom essay sample on Divine Right of Kings Richard Ii or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Gaunt continues to say the which if wrongfullyJLet heaven revenge; for I may never lift/An angry arm against his minister. (39-41), further instilling the faith that God will handle whats right and that its not his place to intervene. Weve witnessed throughout the play King Richards pompous attitude about his kingship. In Act II Scene II the ideals of God are furthered as we continue to see Richards downfall (and humbling) and Bolingbrooks up rise as the new king. Carlisle compounds the ideal of God and His choice to give and take the divine right by stating, in lines 27-30, Fear not, my lord. That power that made you king/Hath power to keep you king in spite of it allJThe means that heavens yield must be embraced/And not neglected . Richard continues this ideal by stating in lines 9-61, To lift shrewd steel against our golden crown,/God for his Richard hath in heavenly pay/A glorious angel. Then, if angels fight,/Weak men must fall; for heaven still guards the right. The main ideals in this excerpt is his Richard, Richard here is emphasizing the fact that God chose him to begin with but that heaven still guards the right so whomever God wants to have the crown will be the one who rules. Richard himself even realizes that he does not have the divine right when he foreshadows the death of kings (Act Ill Scene II linesl 55- 162). Essentially this whole play has a deep underlying scheme for religion and Gods power over man. Throughout the play, we observe Richards obvious flaws and serious crimes, but no one takes any real initiative to go against him because they would be going against God. Its rather radical that Bolingbroke continually challenges the King from Act I at the trial to the eventual taking of his crown. This continues the theme of characters going outside of the social norm and questions whether Bolingbroke is right to take the crown or if his sins will be punished by God in heaven.