Strategic HR Management - Job Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic HR Management - Job Analysis - Essay Example and objectives so as to enhance business performance and build up organizational culture that promote innovation, competitive advantage and flexibility† (Becker, & Huselid, 2006). In the organizational setting SHRM strategy is adopted in order to augment the existing HR policies and initiatives as a strategic component by many organizations. Thus in the formation and implementation of the organization’s strategies through HR activities such as selecting, recruiting, rewarding workers for their performances and training them, the management focuses on the labor productivity. Many writers in the 1980s began to focus on a more strategic approach for the management of human resources rather than the traditional concept of people management or industrial relations. SHRM concentrates on human resource programs with long-term goals. Rather than concentrating on internal human resources, the emphasis is on looking at and solving problems that affect people management programs on a global scale and in the long run. As such the main objective of strategic human resources is to enhance people productivity by concentrating on business obstacles that take place outside of human resources. The main activities of a strategic human resource manager should be to find out key HR areas where strategies could be implemented in the long run so as to enhance the overall employee productivity and motivation. Communication between top management and HR of a firm is important as co-operation is not possible without active participation (Fine, & Cronshaw, 1999). The key feature s of SHRM are; Job analysis can be defined as â€Å"A job analysis is the process used to collect information about the duties, responsibilities, necessary skills, outcomes, and work environment of a particular job. You need as much data as possible to put together a job description, which is the frequent outcome of the job analysis. Additional outcomes include recruiting plans, position postings and

Graffitis impact on society Essay Example for Free

Graffitis impact on society Essay Who is responsible for the pervasion of this so called artcrime in todays society The word graffiti is derived from the Latin term graphium which means to write. Graffiti evolved during ancient times but first impacted on modern society in the late 1960s, when political activists used it as a medium of revolt against governing powers. Thereafter, individual artists began to gain recognition. TAKI 183 was the first known artist to write tags, starting in central New York subways. After seeing the regular appearance of TAKI 183s tags, new artists began to flourish throughout New York City, establishing personal tags visible to almost everyone. The artists goal was to be the most prolific and visible, leaving tags on subways, buses, trains and walls around the city. Graffiti later developed into an art form, where the writer with the most unique style and conspicuous presence was deemed the best. While the competition between artists in New York reached boiling point at this time, the rest of the world began to experience the first of these so called artcrimes. Graffiti is just another form of art, and art is all self expression, legally or illegally Inevitably, laws were introduced aiming to control the outbreak of graffiti artists. This provoked a race amongst artists to paint as many trains and subways as possible, before the law caught them. The recognition of style and technique gained more appreciation by fellow writers as the use of vivid colours and seemingly cryptic language developed. The original style of tagging progressively became an artform. Today there is a definite distinction between tagging to deface and  street art. Graffiti has developed over time to create a complex social framework, involving breakdancing, DJing, MCing and graffiti to form a popular youth culture referred to as The urban Hip-Hop culture. These arts arose from New York, where gangs used these various methods as a way of self expression and often in other ways to settle arguments. Recently, legal street art has been used by local government and youth centres to discourage the tagging and vandalism which regularly occurs in their area, to present to the upcoming youth a form of self expression without involving illegalities. But unfortunately, official attempts are often in vain. The reason these artists enjoy painting walls results from the adrenaline rush involved in expressing yourself illegally, which in our case just happens to be via graffiti. To me graffiti is just another form of art, and art is all self expression, legal or illegal states local Perth artist Dave K. Dave goes on to say, The ultimate rush comes from painting in a more difficult place, especially trains. There are plenty of new kids to the scene who just tag for a kick but dont understand the deeper meaning of graffiti as an artform and its those people who give us a bad name. Yet the continuation of youth projects such as that at the Claremont Showgrounds show a positive effect on the community, lighting up the walls and reducing vandalism in the area. A surfer travels the world for the perfect wave, writers travel the world for the perfect train yard Senior policeman, Constable, Nick Steele, has become a full time youth advisor, and organises legal graffiti for the kids of Perth. He says, We use it as a gateway for the kids, to discourage the unartistic forms of graffiti like tagging and scratching, and encourage youth to get involved in projects such as the Claremont Showgrounds wall. To me these projects have positive effects on the kids and the community. We can expect more legal graffiti to be organised in the near future. The graffiti explosion has touched over 75% of the world, creating a worldwide network where writers from Australia may travel in Europe to paint trains Graffiti is similar to surfing, as a surfer travels the world for the perfect wave, writers travel the world for the perfect train yard, says renowned artist CES of New York. The complexity of todays youth culture continues to grow. Todays graffiti problem is commonly considered a burden on society, as the regular removal of graffiti costs an enormous amount of money. An estimated $15 billion (US) worldwide each year is spent on the consistent removal of sprayed, marked and scratched surfaces. If, as Constable Steele suggests, the artistic form of graffiti as street art can override the more defacing form of tagging scratching, the graffiti culture may yet prove an asset to society by minimising graffiti done as vandalism.

Finding the Good Life in Symposium Essay -- Philosophy essays

Finding the  Good Life in Symposium There are many different interpretations of what the good life truly is. Individualists believe that the good life is pleasing oneself, while utilitarians believe that the good life is acting for the good of the rest of society. Philosophers, too, have their own interpretation. Plato alludes to the philosopher's good life when he uses the phrase "my greatest pleasure." The inherent subjectivity of the word "my" tells the reader that philosophical conversation may not necessarily be everyone's greatest pleasure. "After all, my greatest pleasure comes from philosophical conversation, even if I'm only a listener, whether or not I think it will be to my advantage. All other talk, especially the talk of rich businessmen like you, bores me to tears, and I'm sorry for you and your friends because you think your affairs are important when really they're totally trivial" (Symposium 173C-D). The casual observer may believe that these lines, spoken by Apollodorus, are trite, offering little more than some humor to begin Symposium. However, a well-learned reader will read between the lines and quickly realize that, embedded within the words of the passage lies a plethora of ideas that are integral to the work as a whole. The two primary ideas which stem from the preceding passage are the philosopher's view of the good life and the very different lives that philosophers lead. There are many different interpretations of what the good life truly is. Individualists believe that the good life is pleasing oneself, while utilitarians believe that the good life is acting for the good of the rest of society. Philosophers, too, have their own interpretation. Plato alludes to the philosopher's good life ... ... not only to listen to the ideas of others, but to make a judgment about those ideas after they have been heard. In offering the judgment of the philospher's good life being the best one, Plato enticed his readers to attend his academy, one goal of his book. The ultimate idea of the passage, and indeed the book as a whole, is to for one to keep an open mind to hear the opinions of others, and for one to divulge one's own opinions for the betterment of society. After these opinions have been heard, thought through, and fully realized, individuals have the capacity to make decisions for the good of themselves and those around them. When these intellectual, spiritual decisions are made correctly, human beings can begin to live the good life. Works Cited: Plato. Symposium. Trans. Alexander Nehemas & Paul Woodruff. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1989. Finding the Good Life in Symposium Essay -- Philosophy essays Finding the  Good Life in Symposium There are many different interpretations of what the good life truly is. Individualists believe that the good life is pleasing oneself, while utilitarians believe that the good life is acting for the good of the rest of society. Philosophers, too, have their own interpretation. Plato alludes to the philosopher's good life when he uses the phrase "my greatest pleasure." The inherent subjectivity of the word "my" tells the reader that philosophical conversation may not necessarily be everyone's greatest pleasure. "After all, my greatest pleasure comes from philosophical conversation, even if I'm only a listener, whether or not I think it will be to my advantage. All other talk, especially the talk of rich businessmen like you, bores me to tears, and I'm sorry for you and your friends because you think your affairs are important when really they're totally trivial" (Symposium 173C-D). The casual observer may believe that these lines, spoken by Apollodorus, are trite, offering little more than some humor to begin Symposium. However, a well-learned reader will read between the lines and quickly realize that, embedded within the words of the passage lies a plethora of ideas that are integral to the work as a whole. The two primary ideas which stem from the preceding passage are the philosopher's view of the good life and the very different lives that philosophers lead. There are many different interpretations of what the good life truly is. Individualists believe that the good life is pleasing oneself, while utilitarians believe that the good life is acting for the good of the rest of society. Philosophers, too, have their own interpretation. Plato alludes to the philosopher's good life ... ... not only to listen to the ideas of others, but to make a judgment about those ideas after they have been heard. In offering the judgment of the philospher's good life being the best one, Plato enticed his readers to attend his academy, one goal of his book. The ultimate idea of the passage, and indeed the book as a whole, is to for one to keep an open mind to hear the opinions of others, and for one to divulge one's own opinions for the betterment of society. After these opinions have been heard, thought through, and fully realized, individuals have the capacity to make decisions for the good of themselves and those around them. When these intellectual, spiritual decisions are made correctly, human beings can begin to live the good life. Works Cited: Plato. Symposium. Trans. Alexander Nehemas & Paul Woodruff. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1989.

Cinematic techniques in Tim Burton’s Films Essay

Tim Burton uses many cinematic techniques in his movies such as lighting and camera angles throughout his movies in order to create effects and moods. He uses these two cinematic techniques numerous of times in the films Edward Scissorhands and in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He uses them very efficiently to portray different ideas such as showing strengths, weakness, or size in character or setting, or revealing a depressing or cheerful surrounding. Tim Burton is a successful film maker and has inspired many to get into the movie making business due to his cinematic techniques. In many of Burton’s films, Burton uses lighting to show happiness or sadness. In Edward Scissorhands, peg’s town is bright and full of color. Which makes it seems like the town is happy and full of joy, but the townsfolk are cruel and mean to one another. Edwards’s mansion is low key and dark, which makes it seems like Edward is the bad guy, but Edward is a kind, nice guy who loves to help everyone even though he has a disability. Burton also uses the same low key lighting in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When Charlie goes home at the beginning of the movie, Burton uses high angle to show Charlie’s house all dark, making it look small and haunted. The lighting would want you to think that the family that lives in that house is mean or sad all the time, but Charlie lives with his mom and dad and his grandparents on his mom and dad’s side. And they are all nice, kind, and respectful to one another. You see, this is Burton’s gothic style. Burton is mostly known for his dark, gothic, macabre, and quirky horror and fantasy films. So this cinematic technique has great importance for these films because he used it to make his idea or his opinion become clearer for the audience to understand the lesson from the movie. Burton’s lighting basically impacts the audience’s mood towards the movie or film. Burton wants to see the films in his eyes. Camera angles were very important in the films Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Experiment to Investigate the Validation of Bernoulli’s Equation

TITLE Bernoulli's Principle OBJECTIVE experiment  is  done  to  investigate  the  validation  of  the Bernoulli’s  equation and also to measure pressure distribution along venture tube. INTRODUCTION This experiment is carried out to investigate the validity of  Bernoulli’s theorem when applied to the steady flow of water in tapered duct and to measure the flow rates and both static and total pressure heads in a rigid convergent/divergent tube of known geometry for a range of  steady flow rates.The Bernoulli’s theorem (Bernoulli’s theorem, 2011) relates the pressure, velocity, and elevation in a moving fluid (liquid or gas), the compressibility and viscosity of which are negligible and the flow of which is steady, or laminar. In order to demonstrate the Bernoulli’s theorem Bernoulli’s Apparatus Test Equipment issued in this experiment. THEORY †¢ Velocity of fluid is less fluid †¢ The fluid is incompressible and non- viscous †¢ There is no heat energy transferred across the boundaries of the pipe to the fluid as either a heat gain or loss. There are no pumps in the section of pipe For an ideal fluid flow the energy density is the same at all locations along the pipe. This is the same as saying that the energy of a unit mass of the fluid does not change as it flow through the pipe system. APPARATUS EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE 1, A inspection was done to ensure that the unit was in proper operating condition, so that the experiment will not consist of errors. 2, A hose had to be connected to the nearest power supply. 3, The discharged pipe was then opened. , The cap nut of the probe compression gland was set to such condition, that the slight resistance could be felt on moving the probe, and the water flow created a sound which also helps to determine the flow pressure (by hearing it ). 5, The inlet and outlet valve was then opened. 6, Then the pump was switched on and the main cock was relea sed slowly opened. 7, The vent valve on water pressure gauze was opened and outlet cock was closed with great care until pressure gauze was flushed. , By simultaneously setting the inlet and outlet cock, the water level pressure gauze was regulated, so that neither upper or the lower range limit was overshot or undershot. 9, Pressure at all point were measured and recorded. The overall pressure probe was moved to corresponding measurement level and the overall pressure was noted down. 10, The volumetric pressure flow was determined, by using stopwatch to established time required to raise the water level in the volumetric tank from 3to 7 liters. RESULTS FLOW RATES (L/s)| FLOW VELOCITY AT DIFFERENT MEASUREMENT POINTS (10-3 m/s)| | 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 0. 137| 2. 16| 3. 45| 8. 0| 5. 91| 2. 98| 2. 16| 0. 122| I. 93| 3. 07| 7. 92| 5. 26| 2. 65| 1. 93| 0. 094| 1. 48| 2. 37| 6. 10| 4. 05| 2. 04| 1. 48| 0. 114| 1. 80| 2. 87| 7. 40| 4. 91| 2. 48| 1. 80| 0. 116| 1. 83| 2. 92| 7. 53| 5. 00| 2. 5 2| 1. 83| VOLUME(L)| TIME(s)| FLOW RATES(L/s)| 3| 21. 90| 0. 137| 4| 32. 78| 0. 122| 5| 53. 19| 0. 094| 6| 52. 85| 0. 114| 7| 101. 50| 0. 116| POINT (I)| Di(mm)| A(10-4 m2)| 1| 284| 633| 2| 225| 397| 3| 140| 154| 4| 172| 232| 5| 242| 460| 6| 284| 633| GRAPH DISCUSSION it is known that water is a fluid and all fluids have the properties to take shape of the container or wherever they are stored or flow through.Since the fluid cosses through a given path for duration of time there have to be a pressure lose due to the path design or distance or width. Bernoulli’s principle states that if the rate of flow of the fluid is high the pressure will be low and if the slower rate of flow the fluid exerts more quickly (with pressure). CONCLUSION From the experiment it is found that the difference between the experimental and the calculated value are to high, this could happen due to such factors 1, the reading was not taken accurately or either not taken to the very decimal point or per haps parallel eye reading. , Bubbles those were trapped on the top of the tube and could not have been released or seen. 3, The recording the data time might not be accurate. 4, The internal resistance of the water , those were not taken into account during the calculation. 5, The pressure at each manometer tube might not be stable before reading was taken due to in accurate air flow or pressure flow. All the factors mentioned above could play a great role in effecting the results. There are many ways to improve reading one way can be repeating the experiment multiple times and get the average.Considering all factors and the comparison between data collected via multiple values the experiment is successful, and it proves Bernoulli’s principle of fluid motion pressure. REFERENCES 1, http://camillasenior. homestead. com/Activities_Showing_Bernoulli_s_Principle. pdf 2, http://hyperphysics. phy-astr. gsu. edu/hbase/pber. html 3, http://www. princeton. edu/~asmits/Bicycle_web/Bern oulli. html 4, http://mitchellscience. com/bernoulli_principle_animation 5, http://www. scribd. com/doc/68038037/Experiment-Bernoulli

Report Card Comments for Math

Report Card Comments for Math Thinking of unique comments and phrases to write on a students report card is hard enough, but to have to comment on math is twice as difficult. There are so many different aspects in math to comment upon that it may get a bit overwhelming for teachers. To make the job a bit easier, use the following phrases to assist you in writing out your report card comments for math. Providing Feedback These phrases offer a good starting point for student feedback, but you might also find it helpful to record actual examples in order to have something concrete to review in a one on on setting. Positive Comments In writing comments for elementary student report cards, use these positive phrases regarding students progress in math. Has a solid understanding of all math concepts taught so far this year.Is mastering math concepts easily.Chooses to work on challenging math problems.Has grasped the difficult concept of (adding/subtracting/long division/place value/fractions/decimals).Math is a favorite area of study for...Enjoys math manipulatives and can be found using them during free time.Seems to understand all math concepts.Particularly enjoys hands-on math activities.Continues to turn in superb math assignments.Displays exceptional problem-solving and critical thinking skills in math.Is able to demonstrate and describe the process of addition of whole numbers up to...Is able to demonstrate place value concepts to give meaning to numbers 0 to...Understands place value and uses it to round numbers to the nearest...Uses data to create charts and graphs.Uses various strategies to solve one- and two-step word problems.Understands the relationship between addition and subtraction, and  multiplication and division .Solves real-world mathematical problems involving... Has good numerical skills and can use them in a variety of contexts.Is able to apply steps of a problem-solving process with considerable effectiveness.Demonstrates a thorough understanding of all math concepts and communicates with considerable clarity and justification of reasoning. Needs Improvement Comments On those occasions when you need to convey less-than-positive information on a students report card regarding math, use the following phrases to assist you. Can understand the concepts taught, but often makes careless mistakes.Needs to slow down and check his work carefully.Has difficulty with multistep math problems.Is able to follow mathematical processes but has difficulty explaining how answers are derived.Has difficulty with math concepts that involve high-level problem-solving.Has difficulty understanding and solving word problems.Could benefit from attending after-school math help sessions.Needs to memorize her basic addition and subtraction facts.Math homework assignments are often handed in late or incomplete.Has difficulty with math concepts that involve high-level problem-solving.Seems to show no interest in our math program.Is able to follow mathematical processes, but has difficulty explaining how answers are derived.Lacks basic math skills.Requires more time and practice in calculating addition and subtraction facts.Requires more time and practice in calculating multiplication and division facts.Needs to put much more effor t into learning to calculate addition and subtraction facts. Needs to put much more effort into learning to calculate multiplication and division facts.Needs practice with completing word problems.Needs considerable adult assistance to be able to complete word problems.Demonstrates a limited understanding of comparing numbers to...

buy custom Archeology and the Public essay

buy custom Archeology and the Public essay The Meaning of the Past: The archeology and Identity Artifacts of the past often serve as a basis for the national emblems; such a circumstance sometimes leads to conflicts. The use of the name and symbol of golden casket by the officials of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia caused tension between the Macedonians and Greeks. Ideology often interferes with the interpretation of the past: for instance, the Chinese government represents the cultural relics as a reflection of the class struggle. The Politics of Destruction In December 1992, Hindu extremists destroyed the Babri Masjid built in the 16th century AD in northern India. In March 2001 in Afghanistan, the Talibans ruined the tallest statues of Buddha in the world along with many objects in the National Museum in Kabul. Archeological Ethics There is a popular belief that human experience should be the subject of an archeological study. The opposite principle has led to the reburial of human remains without further study out of respect to the dead ancestors. Popular Archeology versus Pseudoarcheology The discovery of the Piltdown Man in the early 1990s and the publication of the book Atlantis, the Antediluvian World by Ignatius Donnelly in 1882 are examples of alternatve interpretation of the past. In 2000, the Japanese archeologist Shinichi Fujimura admitted having faked excavated artifacts at 42 sites. For the further thriving of archeology, the skillful popularization is required in the forms of exhibits, books, mass media and the Internet: for instance, Japan provides immediate presentation of the findings. Who Owns the Past? Greece demands the return of the marble sculptures from the Parthenon displayed in the British Museum. The museums from other states, such as Germany, France and the USA, received the petitions about returning the relics to the countries of their origin. Religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians and Chinese, Greeks, Etruscans and Romans prohibited the disturbance of the dead. The adoption of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990 provided the legal grounds for protecting the artifacts from excavation. In 2002, the Army Corps of Engineers lost the legal battle and failed to hand the remains of Kennewick Man to the Native American Umatilla Tribe. The Australian Archeological Association decided to return over 800 skeleton remains and the burials from Kow Swamp to the Aborigines for reburial. The Responsibility of Collectors and Museums The Italian robber, Luigi Perticaraari, published his memoirs in 1986 and admitted having robbed 4,000 Etruscan tombs in 30 years. The Peruvian archeologist, Walter Alva, made a significant contribution to the rescue of the tombs of the Moche civilization, which were excavated in Northwest Peru in the late 1980s. In 1973, the Mimbres Foundation decided to purchase some surviving sites and conserve them in order to save them from looting. The Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibited the collection of Shelby White and Leon Levy of unknown origin in 1990. In 1994, the Getty Museum displayed the works of Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman that included illegally acquired antiquities. The Metropolitan Museum of Art had to return the antique masterpiece, the Euphronios Vase, to the Italian government due to the absence of information about its provenience. The United Kingdom Parliament declared dealing in the illegally excavated artifacts as a criminal offence by approving the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act in 2003. In June 2003, the U. S. Court of Appeals convicted the antiquities dealer Frederick Shultz for selling the stolen Egyptian relics to the U. S. museums. Other cases of illicitly obtained artifacts include the Weary Heracles, the Sevso Treasure, the Getty Affair, the Salisbury Hoard, and the UCL Aramaic Incantation Bowls. Buy custom Archeology and the Public essay

Java Event Listeners Process User Activity in a GUI

Java Event Listeners Process User Activity in a GUI An event listener in Java is designed to process some kind of event  - it listens for an event, such as a users mouse click or a key press, and then it responds accordingly. An event listener must be connected to an event object that defines the event. For example, graphical components like a JButton ​or JTextField are known as  event sources. This means that they can generate events (called event objects),  such as providing a JButton for a user to click, or a JTextField in which a user can enter text. The event listeners job is to catch those events and do something with them. How Event Listeners Work Each event listener interface includes at least one method used by the equivalent event source. For this discussion, lets consider a mouse event, i.e. anytime a user clicks something with a mouse, represented by the Java class MouseEvent. To handle this type of event, you would first create a MouseListener class that implements the Java MouseListener interface. This interface has five methods; implement the one that relates to the type of mouse action you anticipate your user taking. These are: void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e)Invoked when the mouse button has been clicked (pressed and released) on a component.void mouseEntered(MouseEvent e)Invoked when the mouse enters a component.void mouseExited(MouseEvent e)Invoked when the mouse exits a component.void mousePressed(MouseEvent e)Invoked when a mouse button has been pressed on a component.void mouseReleased(MouseEvent e)Invoked when a mouse button has been released on a component As you can see, each method has a single event object parameter: the particular mouse event it is designed to handle. In your MouseListener class, you register to listen to any of these events so that you are informed when they occur. When the event fires (for example, the user clicks the mouse, as per the mouseClicked() method above), a relevant MouseEvent object representing that event is created and passed to the  MouseListener object registered to receive it.   Types of Event Listeners Event listeners are represented by different interfaces, each of which is designed to process an equivalent event. Note that event listeners are flexible in that a single listener can be registered to listen to multiple types of events. This means that, for a similar set of components that perform the same type of action, one event listener can handle all the events. Here are some of the most common types: ActionListener: Listens for an ActionEvent, i.e. when a graphical element is clicked such as a button or item in a list.ContainerListener: Listens for a ContainerEvent, which might occur if the user adds or removes an object from the interface.KeyListener: Listens for a KeyEvent in which the user presses, types or releases a key.WindowListener: Listens for a WindowEvent, for example, when a window is closed, activated or deactivated.MouseListener: Listens for a   MouseEvent, such as when a mouse is clicked or pressed.

Symbolism in The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King Essay

Symbolism in The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King - Essay Example Mostly fairytales apart from the original story have to tell the other stories as well. The writers of the fairytales use some symbols to take the simple narrative to a higher level where it unravels some cosmic realities. Symbol is something which stands for something else. Generally concrete objects are used as symbols to conceptualize the abstractions. Symbols are born out of the connotative meanings of the words and are used by the skilled writers to highlight the abstract concepts. The novel The Eyes of Dragon, though apparently a fairytale, employs certain symbols and involves archetypal characters like Flagg (the incarnate evil: the offspring of the infernal serpent). The very age of Flagg suggests that he is more than a human character. The timelessness he enjoys makes him a symbolic character. Peter represents the archetypal innocent hero always beguiled by a near one (Thomas). Archetypes are actually the symbols that recur in literary depiction and are the offspring of huma n unconscious. Northrop Frye () and Jung contend that human unconscious has a stock of images or symbols that are shared by all and have some sort of cosmic significance. The symbol of Eyes of the dragon is a stock symbol used traditionally to distinguish between good and evil. Koch (2003) declares that The Symbol of Dragon’s Eye belongs to ancient Germanic tradition. ... It also stands for balance of power, love and wisdom. In King’s novel it relates to the mystery and also acts as the crystal ball through which u can see the see the truth. Thomas sees Flagg poisoning his father through Eyes of dragon. Thomas heeded Flagg's advice not to go often, but he did use the passageway from time to time, and peeked at his father through the glass eyes of Niner-peeked into a world where everything became greeny-gold. Going away later with a pounding headache (as he almost always did), he would think:Your head aches because you were seeing the way dragons must see the world-as if everything was dried out and ready to burn ( King , p. 78). The animals in the Novel (their symbolic significance) The animals in the novel have symbolic significance. The animal kingdom is represented in many instances from dogs to dragons and all of them have symbolic significance. Animals can be divided in to two groups: one belonging to evil and other belonging to good. Anim als related to Flagg are the harbingers of evil and destruction while animal of the good group represent faithfulness. Frisky represents the archetypal guide soothsayer who brings the protagonists to their required destination. According to Michael Peebles (n.d.) animals related to Flagg are the symbols of his evil designs for the kingdom. He means corruption to the Kingdom and the animals are the instruments that bring this corruption. The dragon is on such example and another example is the hawk.† Frisky The dog is the cosmic symbol of faithfulness and in Christianity takes the role of guide. Frisky, with his noble nose helps in locating the exact place where Dennis, son of Brandon has gone to from Peyna’s farmhouse. The Dragon

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Project management - Essay Example ves activities and processes that determine quality objectives, policies and responsibilities, which are required to ensure that the project’s goals are, met (Project Management Institute 13). 6. Project Human Resource Management: This aspect of project management primarily involves the organization and management of a project team. A project team includes people with different knowledge, skills and responsibilities. This, therefore, requires strong coordination between these individuals. 7. Project Communications Management: This knowledge area plays a significant role to ensure that members of the project management team are kept on the same page. Adequate communication within a project management team is a necessity that ensures that all processes are implemented as they were predetermined (Project Management Institute 13). 8. Project Risk Management: This component of project management deals with the identification and moderation of risk on a project. Its main objective is to maximize and increase the probability of achieving positive goals. 9. Project Procurement Management: This process is required to process and achieve products and services, or other outcomes that are required out of the project management team. It involves processes such as administering contracts, closing out contracts, and planning and achieving product and services from outside sources (Project Management Institute

Citing references Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Citing references - Outline Example ents who prefer the traditional format (face-to-face) do so for several reasons, but they most commonly cite a preference for the instructor presence and the learning advantage of face-to-face interactions. There are various disadvantages of face-to-face learning despite the fact that it is still the most popular mode of learning. Some of these disadvantages stem from the need for there to be an instructor present in order for lectures to take place and this added to the cost of transport imposed on the students may limit their access to education. Although it is emphasized by many that face-to-face learning is preferable, it is still quite limited: For example, the learning outcomes of students in a traditional face-to-face system may be considered to be better than those of students learning in a distance learning system but the latter has the advantage of permitting greater access to education. The distance learning system has an advantage over the face-to-face system because it enables many people to have access to education at their own convenience. This system is currently used by adults who, because of their busy schedules, cannot attend lectures frequently and their best and fastest option is to do so online. It is to the advantage of these students for them to have distance learning that is easier for them to cope with: Factors that predispose undergraduates towards taking online classes were examined and it was found that the risk factors for non-completion of their degree prefer distance education courses since distance educations courses provide students with more convenient and flexible class schedules. The distance learning system also has some disadvantages which face-to-face learning does not. Distance learning does not require the presence of a professor or instructor and this leads to less interaction between them. Furthermore, it is very difficult for a student to gain a full understanding of what the instructor is saying because responses

Chauncy and Gay Male Culture, 1890-1940 (responses) Assignment

Chauncy and Gay Male Culture, 1890-1940 (responses) - Assignment Example I feel the response is correct in its assessment of gay male culture through the questions answered. The second response correctly identifies the three myths that Chauncey aims at dismantling. The response is however not very well detailed when it comes to assessing the questions raised. The author identifies the reasons for gay closure on a narrower perspective. The author should provide a wider perspective of the reasons gays remained closeted at certain points in history. The author provides his answers to the question as to why gay men got forced underground by simply quoting Chauncey. The author should elaborate on Chauncey’s reason a bit further. The response also has a few grammar mistakes in regards to the use of tenses and sentence structure which require ironing out. I feel the author in the second response has valid answers to the questions posed but needs to structure his sentences for his or her answers to come out more

Ontology or the Study of Being Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ontology or the Study of Being - Essay Example His emphasis was mainly on the language, which is used as the vehicle and stressed upon the importance of poetry in life, time and human existence. His argument is that while analyzing the worldhood of the world, it is not possible to do so without bringing Being-in-the-world into focus as the worldhood depends on mankind and Dasein remains in permanent focus while doing so. Heidegger has taken the philosophy as Phenomenological Ontology and was influenced by Husserl and took some of his 'phenomenological reduction'. Before his famous Die Kehre, he said we are involved in this world's affairs by developing 'the phenomenological attitude', and our consciousness could be analyzed by both detachment and involvement. Despite his veneration of Husserl, Heidegger wrote Being and Time as a strong criticism of phenomenology as detailed by Husserl. He started with questioning what being is and never stopped analyzing this theme throughout his illustrious career. He argued that western philoso phy is shallow for not considering the being, but only stating the obvious. He said the question of Being is a historical argument and this question of Being dominates his book. "Being has entered into the light. Being has arrived in a state of unconcealedness. But whether and how Being itself involves such unconcealedness, whether and how it manifests itself in, and as, metaphysics, remains obscure. Being in its revelatory essence, i. e. in its truth, is not recalled" he says in his Existence and Being. from Existentialism from Dostoyevsky to Sartre edited by Walter Kaufman. His argument was to understand the Being, we should first understand 'the human kind of being' which he coined as Dasein (Being-there) and this human being is adept in asking questions. According to his Dasein is 'uncanny', which also could be termed as 'not-at-home' as Being-in-the-world. One cannot help getting the feeling that Dasein world is populated by physical objects mainly because of the similarity in forms and behavior. He projected the relationship of one humanoid creature with another one similar to that of one with self. This means human beings relate to each other as they relate to themselves. He is of the opinion that humanoid creatures think of themselves as a complete entity and they are outside that entity. Self is seen by him as another humanoid creature.   "The entity which is 'other' has itself the same kind of Being as Dasein. Being with and towards Others, there is thus a relationship of Being from Dasein to Dasein. But it might be said that this relationship is already constitutive for one's own Dasein, which, in its own right, has an understanding of Being, and thus relates itself towards Dasein," (p.162). This means Being of Dasein has a preconceived necessity of Being-with-others because in simple words, Being of Dasein is another way of saying Being-in-the-world. Hence, themes and concepts of Dasein and the world are inter-related and belong to one another. A s the world inhabits other similarly formed and behaved humanoid creatures that are also part of Dasein in the same way and intensity as the self, Dasein can only be understood as related to the world and as related to other humanoid creatures. ".when material is put to use, we encounter its producer or supplier as one who 'serves' well or badly.

Chauncy and Gay Male Culture, 1890-1940 (responses) Assignment

Chauncy and Gay Male Culture, 1890-1940 (responses) - Assignment Example I feel the response is correct in its assessment of gay male culture through the questions answered. The second response correctly identifies the three myths that Chauncey aims at dismantling. The response is however not very well detailed when it comes to assessing the questions raised. The author identifies the reasons for gay closure on a narrower perspective. The author should provide a wider perspective of the reasons gays remained closeted at certain points in history. The author provides his answers to the question as to why gay men got forced underground by simply quoting Chauncey. The author should elaborate on Chauncey’s reason a bit further. The response also has a few grammar mistakes in regards to the use of tenses and sentence structure which require ironing out. I feel the author in the second response has valid answers to the questions posed but needs to structure his sentences for his or her answers to come out more

Nternational Business Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nternational Business Environment - Essay Example Many economists directed their concern towards creating measures that would normalise the situation. This paper is analyses the response of UK government to the economic recession. 1. United Kingdom hosts some of the largest financial institutions in the world. Their role in the world economy is very crucial because many investors across the world have invested their treasures in these banks. The recent economic recession shook the foundation of UK economy with many institutions retrogressing because of the effects of the financial spill. North England and Scotland felt the effects of the recession that was evident through closure of businesses, loss of jobs, increase in commodity prices, government inability to offer crucial services to the nation, and social life became very hard (Boffey, 2012:1). The government could not control the inflation levels because of the debts that it registered through the economic meltdown. The economic meltdown has created tension in the political sph ere because many politicians do not know how to contain citizens who have shown their displeasure with the current trends they observe in the market. Political platform becomes greasy when politicians fail to address issues that affect the common person. Many economic critics believe that the UK government has powers, which can institute normalcy in the market (Gibb, and Leishman, 2011:23). David Cameroon lamented the action taken by the western nations in responding to the biting effects of the financial collapse. Many critics directed their concern to the anticipated events that would yield from the status of events. In deed, the crisis is a real mess to life of a common person. The increase in cases of unemployment is a bigger threat that the government of Scotland feel that it should unemployment index. Sharp decline registered in the financial market indicates that the economy is unable to create new opportunity in the job market. The labour market largely depends on the level of economic growth in creating new opportunities for job seekers (Smit, 2010:12). Many people have lamented that they have to work for long hours in order to meet the needs that they were able to meet with normal working hours before the recession. The concern is genuine because pound has lost value. A person has to cough more coins for a product that was affordable before the inflation. Another notable thing in Scotland is that the nation has registered a decline in investor interests. 2. Economists fear that reverberation of the economic crisis can trigger more problems to United Kingdom when it fails to handle it effectively. Speech delivered by Cameroon pointed acquisition to lack of commitment among the western countries in dealing with the crisis. However, some critics believe that UK government should demonstrate that it could exercise authority by restoring the financial spill (Wan, 2004:146). Ideally, it is wise for United King to handle the situation using the optimum deve lopment of national economies theory put forward by Michael Porter and Adam Smith. Theory argues that a country can promote economic growth if it specialises in creating products that it commands total cost advantage over other competing nations and engage in importation of products that it is unable to produces (Larti, 2010:6). The notion propagated by the theory is that a country should be able to identify areas where it can perform best and use them to its advantage instead of engaging in

A comparison of tabloid and broadsheet newspapers Essay Example for Free

A comparison of tabloid and broadsheet newspapers Essay To understand the subject of this essay, I thought it would help to briefly look at the history and background of newspapers, because I believe this gradually influences peoples decisions on buying a paper today. In earlier years, the majority of people buying newspapers were all well educated, middle class intellectuals. As a result of this many papers actually tended to follow the broadsheet format. Most people that bought a newspaper would have full intention of reading from front to back. Most papers had between four and nine pages with a lot of columns and very small print; there were not many pictures and very little graphics. This was generally because of the lack of technology available to the publishers and their printers. As time progressed, so did the technology that went into the newspapers. With this improvement in technology this enables the publishers to focus on more specific readership. In a newspaper you can find that they can now devote sectors of the newspaper to individual interests, at the same time as having more illustrations and advertisements. We investigated how tabloids and broadsheets have appeared to combine these new ideas, but somehow still have different techniques, writing styles and format. We did this by using interviews and surveys to help us gain the results we wanted. To gain further understanding of the type of people that read tabloid and broadsheet newspapers, the pupils in our class carried out a survey. The principle was to find out if there were any links between our research and the class survey, it helped us gain more knowledge on the time that papers are read during the day and what days they are tended to be read on. When the survey was complete we collected the results to find that there was quite an even spread of readers for both the tabloid paper and the broadsheet paper. Another interesting fact was that mainly broadsheets were read on the weekend rather than the working week. I recognize that this must be because of the size and depth of the broadsheet which becomes a immediate fault of the paper has it makes it very hard for somebody going to work on the train or bus to read a large paper such as The Telegraph in such tight compact spaces. Our class also carried interviews with their friends and family to try and find out the reason behind this predilection. In the majority of cases, the time available and the content of the newspaper were concerns. Many people believed that a broadsheet were more detailed and focused on finance and politics, whereas tabloid papers tended to be more light-hearted and entertaining. There were a lot more gossip columnists and many pages devoted to entertainment and celebrities featured in The Sun. As I expected the size of the newspapers were a big matter into deciding which paper someone would buy. According to the interviewees, broadsheets were understandably an inconvenient size if they were to be read on a coffee brake or a journey as they were just too big. Tabloid papers were popular because of the advantage of there size as they can be read at spare moments during the day and contained a television guide. Personally I tend to read newspapers at the weekend and the members of my family generally make the choice of paper, I enjoy reading a tabloid a lot more than I do a broadsheet because broadsheets cover a large quantity of business and finance and I am not interested in these subjects. I enjoy reading The Sun as it contains a lot of sport news and celebrity news. Tabloid papers in my opinion are a lot easier to read as u dont have to take a lot of time reading each article like you do in the broadsheet newspapers. Before we actually started to examine individual articles, we made some general assertions concerning the papers contents. We all noticed that there were a surprisingly large amount of adverts in the broadsheet newspaper, which included a completely covered double-page spread on just adverts. A British Airways advert, covered a page of the Daily Telegraph the size made it eye-catching and very effective to the reader. For further exploration we compared two articles, which at the time were concerning the situation in Saudi Arabia. The first article was featured in The Sun, entitled, Saudi Aid. The second article was found in The Daily Telegraph entitled, Arab states back Bush over Iraq. My immediate observation was the difference and contrast in headlines. The tabloid headline was much shorter than that of the broadsheet, therefore the information given was. Saudi Aid gave the reader a suggestion of the articles content, but did not make any kind of effort to enhance on the subject. On the other hand The Telegraph was more informative and had a much more detailed headline, Arab states back Bush over Iraq. This headline refers to a specific incident which is very straight forward it also includes one of the most well known names in the world, this is a clever way of using someones name involved in the issue to draw in the reader the also tone suggests controversy. The Sun followed its brief headline with a more detailed summary, giving us further amplification on the subject. The Telegraph on the other hand had a sub headline of Way cleared for countdown to war. Again the focus of the piece was narrowed down to ass impact on their first headline. The sub headline included and extremely emotive phrase, Countdown to War. This gives no definite answer to the question most people were asking themselves at the time, it just leaves the possibility that it could happen in the future if the situation deteriorates. The Sun also included a sub headline in its article. Saudis to aid attack on Iraq again this repeats the word aid from the headline but this time expanding on the content of the article. The reporter actually uses rhyme, which increases the articles appeal, because it becomes captivating and memorable. In continuing to study the format of the article, I noticed that the front pages of both pieces were very different. The Telegraphs report was split into four columns, with an enlarged quote dividing the second column. In this article there was clearly more writing, and whilst I could perceive a summary, it was not highlighted in any way, like The Suns report, which had a summary in bold type and a sub heading of Weapons halfway through the first column, such use of a sub headline created drama and tension. The summary uses colloquial language, and emotive writing such as the Saudis fear they will never be safe while Saddam rules. With added patriotism, the summary lures the reader to read on through the article, to reach the main point of the piece. Unlike the broadsheet article, there was a picture featured in the tabloid newspaper. The picture was of Jack Straw and by adding a picture the information in the article is authentic and may entice the reader to look more closely at the piece, and maybe value the reporters opinion more. Another creative effect is The Suns use of italics. By placing a chosen phrase or paragraph in italics, the readers attention is drawn to the chosen area, showing that the specific phrase is important, and so the reader should pay attention to it. The general tone of the suns article is informal throughout the piece. The reporter remains biased and doesnt believe that the possibility of war may be resolved. The piece in The Telegraph takes an objective style and presents both sides of the argument, and continually stating that there is no definite war. The miscellany in reporting styles also includes the use of more formal language with words such as repercussions. I would presume that the readers of a broadsheet newspaper are more middle-class. This is a generalisation but that the fact that there is more business, finance and culture in the broadsheet newspaper. There is one similarity between the articles it is that they both include the national security adviser Conddeezza Rice. Overall the broadsheet newspaper includes more concept language and is rather informal, whilst the tabloid newspaper has short headlines with a catchy theme to it, instead of a more sophisticated and simple headlines brought to us by the broadsheet newspapers.

Student investment properties

Student investment properties 2.0 Introduction Property assets such as land and buildings are key resources for all types of organizations. Since there are a lots of demand in the property market, it caused investors started investing in property assets. Residential property is one of the target sectors to invest from investors speculation. However, investing in student property market (student investment properties) has become a new type of investing trend in residential property. There is an increase in the demand of student properties vicinity to any campus. Student properties are popular because of its location and accessibility. Hence, there is high demand towards the properties nearby to the area. It caused many investors involved in investing in this sector nowadays. Furniture and facilities that provided in student properties is one of the factors that will took into consideration when students renting the unit. Thus, it can be one of the factors that investors will have to think of when investing in student property market. Furthermore, this chapter will discuss about the definition of investment, characteristic of real estate, parties involved in property investment, definition of rate of return / return on investment, capitalization rate, factors and reasons that should be considered when investing in student property market (student investment properties). 2.1 Definition of Investment Investing is defined in several ways, such as placing money for profitable purposes, or extending capital in return of perceived profits. Another definition for investing, favored by many economists, which is known as â€Å"Investing is defined as giving up present consumption in exchange for future benefit†. Business Dictionary defined that investment is money committed or property acquired for future income. In addition, it is also known as trading between risk and reward while aiming for incremental gain and preservation of the invested amount (principal). Two main classes of investment are: Fixed income investment such as bonds, fixed deposits, preference shares Variable income investment such as business ownership (equities) and property ownership. Investment means the purchase of any incoming yielding asset, such as securities (stocks and bonds), or real estate. The assets themselves are also referred to as investments due to financial theory. In economic theory, investment means expenditures for additions to capital. Capital is usually defined as man-made goods used in production, such as machines and other productive equipments (Anatol Murad, 1962). 2.2 Characteristics of Real Estate There are two types of characteristics which are known as physical and economic. (Real Estate Decision, 2002) 2.2.1 Physical Characteristic Physical characteristic of land are its immobility, indestructibility, and nonhomogenity. Once the size and shape of a parcel of land are established, the legal nature of the land is also established with respect to mineral and air rights. Knowledge of the legal concept of land is important for making an analysis of its physical characteristics. Land in its legal sense is immobile because it cannot be moved from one place to another. Moreover, The location of the mineral rights and the air rights cannot be moved even if the surface is moved. Land is indestructible in the sense that movement of the surface does not destroy the full package of rights. Even though there are many types of human act that may destroy the land but they are not capable to destroy land in its legal sense. Land cannot be destroyed because its location cannot be destroyed. Land is non-homogeneous because each parcel of land can be distinguished from all other parcels of land on the basis of several physical characteristics. The size and shape, geological features of elevation, slope, drainage capacity, mineral composition, soil fertility, and bedrock characteristics can be different from each of parcel of land. However, even if all of these characteristics are perfectly identical, each parcel of land is unique because of its location. No two parcels of land occupy the same space on the earths surface. 2.2.2 Economic Characteristic The first economic characteristic of real estate is high price. Real estate is the only commodity that the typical consumer buys that is measured in multiples of that individuals or households income. Second characteristic of real estate is shared with many other commodities that the consumer buys. It is because purchasing a real estate is generally undertaken with borrowed funds. The third economic characteristic of real estate arises from its physical characteristics of immobility, nonhomogenity, and location. The search costs, or information gathering costs, associated with comparison shopping are greater for real estate than for any other product. Purchaser must expend money and time to examine the many different units that are being considered for possible purchase or rental. The fourth economic characteristic of real estate is scarcity. Because of total amount of land available is limited, real estate in both its components of land and improvements is not available in sufficient quantities to meet the desires that all individuals have for it. The fifth economic characteristic is the concept of situs, the economic location of a parcel of real estate. Each parcel is affected by changes in economic and demographic factors in the surrounding area because each parcel is immobile. Sixth economic characteristic is the influence that the quantity and the quality of surrounding structures and other off-site improvements to the land have on the property in question. For an example, the value of subject property increase when the quantity of desirable improvements increased, or when their physical quality improves. Finally, concept of fixity is the final economic characteristic. Real estate has a long physical and economic life because it cannot be moved or easily altered once the investment is fixed. 2.3 Investing in Real Estate According to Micheal C. Thomsett, ( 2009), there are several reasons of investing in real estate which are: It is one of the few finite investments. Land is limited resources in the world. Hence, prices will rise when it is used up. Type of development such as development of housing, office, commercial, industrial, recreational, government, and lodging purposes is also limited due to limited amount of space can be used. There is some land which is used for reserve purposes, some cannot developed due to zoning restriction and topographical problem. It shows that land which is suitable for developing has become less followed by time passing and it shall be one of the sectors to invest. Real estate is a safe investment compared with stock market. The historical record for real estate, like all markets, has had ups and down. But over time, real estate has kept pace with inflation and has usually exceed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth rate. The real estate cycle is highly predictable, following patterns based on normal supply and demand and varying regionally but in the same manner for each cycle. With a growing population caused by both natural increases and immigration, demand pressure on housing stock has continued. In addition, real estate is considered one of the basic needs to human. People need shelter and housing provides them with that. Hence, there are always demand in real estate. Real estate investors can have opportunities for tax shelter which given by the local government. Real estate investors in United States enjoy exceptional federal income tax benefits. The benefits are unlike those available for any other investment. The 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act dramatically improved the tax benefits of owning your own home by eliminating the tax on profits for the first $500,000 when primary residences are sold. Investors are allowed to deduct all of the necessary expenses connected with owning rental property, such as for repairs, cleaning, accounting, interest, property taxes and others. In addition, cost of improvements on the buildings over a period of years can be claim by real estate investors. Besides that, capital allowance, exemption of foreign investment tax and reduction of real property gain tax is an exceptional tax from Malaysia government to real estate investors. Fourth, real estate is a visible investment. There is something satisfying and reassuring about owning an intrinsic property. Property is an tangible object and it is a fixed. It is visible and touchable. In comparison, investing in stocks market directly or through mutual funds is an intangible investment because investors own the companys real assets indirectly. ( Micheal C. Thomsett, 2009) 2.4 Investors involve in Real Estate According to Jack Harvey , (1996), investing in real estate is usually involve private persons, private trusts and the institutions such as insurance companies, pension funds, charities, property companies, property bond funds and property unit trusts. Each of the parties involved in have different objectives and their preferences. 2.4.1 Private persons Private person can be anybody who purchases a property rather than renting it. The return received from rented the property should at least equal to what could be obtained from the return invested in elsewhere. For example, a person may rent rather than buy a shop either through lack of capital or because it is considered that the money can be more profitably employed in carrying stock, and so on. Owner-occupiers, for example, shop owners, farmers and households, are holding wealth in the form of real property. They enjoy a full equity interest income or satisfaction from the use of their property, and normally a hedge against inflation. Other private persons investing in this property sector usually have only limited funds. Thus their direct investment tends to be restricted to dwellings and secondary shops. Indirectly, however, they can invest in prime shops and offices by buying property bonds or shares in property companies. 2.4.2 Insurance companies Insurance companies try to match assets to future liabilities, and this largely determines the spread of their portfolios as between short term and long term fixed-interest investments and equity holdings. Due to short term and long term fixed interest investments, insurance companies find the advantageous to own properties directly rather than through shares in property companies because: Direct investment in property gives the company more control than an investment in property company shares A substantial holding of the shares of a property company (necessary to exercise some control) may be more difficult to dispose of than a first-class building. The prices of buildings have tended to be less volatile than the prices of property company shares. The high gearing of a property company is of little advantage to an insurance company, which always holds part of its assets in fixed money terms. Holding shares in a property company represents an inefficient way invest in property, since corporation tax is deducted from profits attributable to dividend, whereas the insurance company pays a lower tax rate on life income. Insurance companies still hold a part of their assets in mortgages as an alternative to fixed interest bearing stock. 2.4.3 Pension funds Pension funds compete strongly with insurance companies and property companies in investing in real estate. it helps to retain the real value of the accumulated pension funds. The smaller pension funds invest in property indirectly through pension fund property unit trusts, whose trust deeds limit membership to pension funds and charities enjoying tax exemption. Such trusts afford the advantages of property investment without management problems. They prefer to purchase and manage their own properties. 2.4.4 Charities and trusts Charities and trusts are concerned not only with income (from which periodic distributions are made) but also with retaining the real value of thrust funds. Consequently, although they pay no income tax, they cannot invest entirely in high yielding securities. Charities receive some investment each year. They are therefore constantly reviewing their existing portfolios. The function is to observe that possible adjustments could best serve their beneficiaries in present and future condition. 2.4.5 Property companies Property investment and development companies have grown considerably since 1945, largely reflecting the boom in urban redevelopment. Most tend to be highly geared, their capital consisting of a high proportion of loans to ordinary shares. Properties owned provide the security against borrowing, while interest charges are covered by regular rents. High gearing is beneficial to the few ordinary shareholders when profits are good, and it makes it easier to retain control. The larger companies tend to specialize in office blocks or prime shop properties, and a few (such as Slough Estates) in industrial property. Residential property investment is confined mainly to smaller companies, many of which engage in ‘break-up operations, selling houses and flats to fitting tenants or, when vacant possession is obtained, to owner-occupiers. 2.4.6 Foreign investors Overseas investment in UK property has increased considerably since the fall in property prices through the recession and the 1992 devaluation of sterling. Foreign banks have also been active in funding such purchasers. 2.4.7 Property bond funds The person wishing to invest in property is faced with the snag of having insufficient funds to buy prime property, the kind which has shown the greatest capital growth. The property bond fund, a comparatively recent innovation, partly succeeds in overcoming this difficulty. Subscribers buy a number of units in a fund which invests the money in first class property. These funds take an active interest in the management of their properties, revaluing them at fixed intervals. 2.4.8 Property unit trusts A similar principle operates with those unit trusts which specialize in property, nut in order to avoid management commitments, such unit trusts use their funds to buy shares in property companies such as hotels which are concerned with property. 2.5 Rate of Return / Return On Investment (ROI) From Wikipedia, Rate of Return (ROR), also known as Return on Investment (ROI), rate of profit or sometimes just return, is the ratio of money gained or lost (whether realized or unrealized) on an investment relative to the amount of money invested. The amount of money gained or lost may be referred to as interest, profit/loss, gain/loss, or net income/loss. The money invested may be referred to as the asset, capital, principal, or the cost basis of the investment. ROI is usually expressed as a percentage rather than a fraction. Return on Investment is the actual earnings from the investment. This is apart from any returns that represent repayment of the principal invested (called amortization). In real estate, it is sometimes difficult to determine how much of income is Return on Investment and how much is a Return of Investment. It depends on what types of properties are invested. For example, renting a property that depreciates in value, some of the rental income must go toward significant repairs or even, eventually, replacing the building when it become useless from age or obsolescence. It is vital because it makes a difference in evaluating the performance of the investment. The Return on Investment determines how well the money is invested. Return of Investment affects risk of capital. The sooner the investment is recovered, the less risk there is of losing it. Measures of Return on Investment include the equity dividend rate, based on a one year analysis, and the internal rate of return, based on a multi-year projection by using discounted cash flow techniques. There are few elements need to be included when considering rate of return. The elements are: A safe rate: the rate that could get if putting the money into a perfectly safe and liquid investment. A liquidity premium: compensates for the difficulty of and time required in selling the property. Stocks and bonds may be sold at market value within a moments notice, whereas selling real estate may take months or years. A management premium: for the burden of monitoring and making decision about the investment. A risk premium: accounts for the chance that may not get back the money invested or the return will be lower than expected. Formula for ROI = NOI Capital of the Investment 2.6 Capitalization rate Formula for Cap Rate = NOI Estimated Market Value = NOI Market Value Cap Rate From Real Estate Investment Analysis Software, it defines that Capitalization Rate (â€Å"Cap Rate†) is a ratio used to compare properties with different valuations, and to also place a value on a property based on the income it generates. The Cap Rate is computed by taking the rental net operating income (NOI) and dividing it by the propertys fair market value (FMV). The higher the Capitalization Rate is the better. Capitalization Rate or Cap Rate is also known as a ratio used to estimate the value of income producing properties. Put simply, the cap rate is the net operating income divided by the sales price or value of a property expressed as a percentage. Investors, lenders and appraisers use the cap rate to estimate the purchase price for different types of income producing properties. A market cap rate is determined by evaluating the financial data of similar properties which have recently sold in a specific market. It provides a more reliable estimate of value than a market Gross Rent Multiplier since the cap rate calculation utilizes more of a propertys financial detail. The GRM calculation only considers a propertys selling price and gross rents. The Cap Rate calculation incorporates a propertys selling price, gross rents, non rental income, vacancy amount and operating expenses thus providing a more reliable estimate of value. The Cap rate may vary in different areas of a city for many reasons such as desirability of location, level of crime and general condition of an area. In a real estate market where net operating incomes are increasing and cap rates are declining over time for a given type of investment property such as office buildings, values will be generally increasing. If net operating incomes are decreasing and capitalization rates are increasing over time in a given market place, property values will be declining. From Investopedia, capitalization rate is a method used to convert an estimate of a single years income expectancy into an indication of value in one direct step, by dividing the income estimate by an appropriate rate. 2.7 Reason that student property market is attractive to investors, Real Estate Research in United Kingdom, 2007 The student property market is attractive to investors for a number of reasons. Firstly, demographic trends support increasing demand, in terms of both the magnitude of population growth and matriculation rates. University-owned supply has failed to keep pace with demand growth, leaving a large and growing supply gap, as the private sector has been slow to fill the void. Moreover, much of the existing student housing stock is old and obsolete, and does not meet evolving industry standards or satisfy student preferences in terms of unit design and project amenities. Thus, the effective gap between the units preferred and those actually supplied is magnified. Per-unit rents for student housing generally exceed those for normal apartments, as units have more tenants paying rent. Recent rent growth also has been greater. Rents and occupancy tend to be less sensitive to economic cycles than normal apartments. It does not affect much by economic factor especially during economic recession period. Besides that, credit-loss at student complexes typically is below that of conventional apartments because they got parents as their guarantee. Parents are the person who responsible to the rental paying of the students. Thus, it makes the investors in this sector more secure. 2.8 Risk factor when investing in student property, Real Estate Research in United Kingdom, 2007 Student property presents a number of challenges and risks unique to this sector, which if not managed property, can affect the performance of the investment. They are: Short leasing cycle: Most student property is leased during a narrow window of time during the spring semester, and few students move during the academic year, so prospects for filling vacancies once this window has passed are limited. If management has misjudged rents or amenities, it could have long-term implications for the project. High reliance on a single source of demand: Demand for student property primarily comes from one nearby university (though student housing projects in urban markets sometimes can draw from more than school). Developers and investors must know the local student population and admission trends and gear their product toward their student base. High turnover: Unit turnover during the academic year is small, but only about one-third of students typically renew, creating high annual turnover that all occurs in a concentrated time. Reputation: Word of mouth is the key to marketing efforts for off-campus property. If a property is not well managed or maintain, students will quickly spread the word, which could affect future demand. Wear and tear: Maintenance costs can be higher for student property due to more intensive use by the students, and the short time to turn-around units ( though the perceived extent of student abuse is sometimes exaggerated relative to the reality). Economic cycles: The demand for student housing overall is less cyclical than that for other real estate categories. Student enrollments do not vacillate as dramatically as do, say, employment and consumer spending. Even so, students will seek for less expensive units during recessions. Weak market conditions for regular apartments can attract students seeking bargain rents. 2.9 Summary of Chapter This chapter on literature review has discussed the definition of investment, rate of return, capitalization rate, characteristic of real estate, investors investing in real estate, reason investing in real estate, reason investing in student property market (student investment property) and risk investing in student property market (student investment property). Rate of Return / Return on Investment is considered same as Capitalization Rate in this study. Capital of the investment is similar with market value of the property that would be investing in. In addition, research methodology used in gathering the information will be discussed in the following chapter. The process of data collection, analysis and determination on study area also will be explained in the following chapter.

In In Total Remission :: Cancer Health Medicine Essays

In Total Remission Valentine's Day will never be the same. Four years ago, Cupid's holiday coincided with my discovery of a tumor in my cheek. Later diagnosed as a rare sarcoma, this capricious cancer has provoked me to understand myself and my passions. While I have developed new life perspectives since vying with cancer, my metamorphosis was not induced by my illness, but through learning to confront myself. My renewed outlook manifests in my leadership with the American Red Cross where I serve as the Chairman of the National Advisory Council on Youth Involvement. Carrying my insight from cancer--that tomorrow is never guaranteed--I have re-focussed the Council's advocacy efforts on behalf of the 340,000 youth volunteers of the Red Cross. Rather than promoting youth as an investment for tomorrow, I have prioritized youth as the asset of today. With a more immediate message, our Council has bolstered corporate youth programs and youth funding. Through my service on the National Committee on Resolution s, I also integrate youth initiatives from the field level of the Red Cross into national policy. My approach to Red Cross service has also changed at the grassroots level. Shortly after my final chemotherapy treatment, I was dispatched to a residential fire in central Fort Worth. At the scene, I discovered a mother crouched at the curb silhouetted against her smoldering house. While listening to the mother, I learned that she lost her thirteen-year-old son in the blaze. Though I had rehabilitated disaster victims before my illness, this event carried a different significance. While I was learning to live anew, I comforted a mother coping with death. My conversation with the mother compelled me to re-confront my journey with cancer. By reflecting on my own anxieties, still real and familiar, I empathized with the mother on an equal plan rather than that of victim and volunteer. Through service, I now probe my own experiences to assist and empower others. I have confronted and challenged myself in other realms of my life. Last spring, in Harvard's Agassiz Theater, the lights were dim and the audience hushed as a cool cube of ice melted over my tongue. Through the crack in the curtain, I noticed my friends huddled in the rear of the theater. A moment later the music roared and I leaped on stage with my troupe. Dressed in our radiant costumes, we feverishly danced, skipped, and clicked our sticks in near perfect harmony.

Advantages and Cost of Adoption in Australia of International Financial Reporting Standards Essay

The issue of adoption of international financial reporting standards (IFRSS) in Australia has been controversial issue since the first time Australian Financial Reporting council (FRC) announced the policy in 2002. Many believe that IFRSS adoption will lead to great advantages such as enhance financial report comparability, improve quality of financial reporting, attract more foreign investor, and other significant advantages. However, some also believe that the adoption merely result in disadvantages and cost for Australian business, accounting profession and even Australian government. Before deciding to fully adopt IFRSS, in 1996, the AASB issued Policy Statement 6 International Harmonization Policy with objective to ‘pursue the development of an internationally accepted set of accounting standards which can be adapted in Australia’. There were several considerations why government decided to do so: 1. ‘The existing arrangements for accounting standard setting are confusing, inefficient and not conductive to stakeholder participation 2. There is duplication between the AASB and PSASB 3. Australian Accounting Standards are not understood in, and are out of step with, the major capital markets in the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), and Europe, resulting in higher costs of capital for Australian Business 4. The standards setting process is perceived to be dominated by the accounting profession and there is no real accountability to its users 5. Accounting standards do not reflect modern business practice, being too prescriptive and overly technical that imposing excessive costs on business 6. The process involved in standard setting have failed to attract broad input and the necessary level of financial support, with the result that accounting standards are not meeting the demands of constituents’ (CLERP 1997, pp. 11-12, cited from Pickeet. al, 2006). Despite those reasons, IFRSS adoption is promoted because several claimed benefits potentially arising from the policy especially for Australian Business. The most claimed benefit is attracting foreign investors due to lowering cost of capital. Cost of capital can be decreased because IFRSS adoption can diminish ‘premiums associated with the risk of not fully understanding the financial report’ (Collet et. al, 2001, cited from Gerhardy, P. G. , n. d. ). Another hypothesis is that IFRSS adoption can reduce ‘home bias’ that discourage investors from making cross border investment. One of factors contributing to home bias itself is the expensive cost of information about foreign investment (Kang and Stulsz, 1997 cited from Cofrig,V. M. , Defond, M. L. , & Hung, M. , 2007). By adopting IFRSS, it is hoped that information about foreign investment can be easily obtained and understood because it is generated from universal standards that are more familiar for investors. In addition, high accounting quality, transparency and comparability are commonly associated with financial reporting produced based on IFRSS that is internationally recognized and represent worldwide best practices. Those attributes alleviate ‘information asymmetries between managers and outside investors, thus increasing liquidity and ultimately lowering the required rate of return’ (Diamond and Verrecchia, 1991, cited from Daske, Holger, 2006). Association between higher accounting quality and IAS/IFRSS itself has been examined by Barth,M. E. , Landsman, W. R. , & Lang, Mark H. in 2008. They investigate firms from 21 countries that applied IAS and found that those firms generally ‘evidence less earnings management, more timely loss recognition and more value relevance of accounting amounts’. It has been suggested that IFRSS adoption benefits Australian business trough saving in reporting costs. This benefit especially applies for Australian Business that wants to list their stocks in other countries’ stock exchanges. It is obligation for companies to fulfill specific different requirement regarding financial reporting of each countries where the companies are listed. By adopting IFRSS, companies do not need to generate more than one set of financial reports to comply different requirement and regulation. It is also easier for multinational companies to consolidate their financial statement, thus it saves time and money. Beside easy consolidation, IFRSS adoption also simplifies appraisal process of companies to takeover or merger with overseas enterprises and improves management control due to increased comparability internal management report between different segments or branches. For multinational companies, it will ease transfer of accounting staff across countries as well (Uddin, M. S. , 2005). Furthermore, a reduction in audit cost might be experienced by companies, because adoption of global standards (IFRSS) merely require global audit tandards, tools or systems that usually cheaper than specific products or services. This audit commoditization will close the expertise gap between the big five and force them to reduce audit fee. (Perera et. al, 2003,cited from Gerhardy, P. G. , n. d. ). For Australian government, fully adopting IFRSS is highly likely result in cost saving because the government does not need to spend money for AASB. It is evidence that Australian government spent huge amount of money for domestic accounting standards formulation. Another advantage is that the government can ‘distance itself from any future corporate collapses, which tend to raise questions about the role of accounting and the quality of accounting standards in such incidents’ (ibid). Take example of HIH collapse. Furthermore, it can avoid miscalculation of investors’ tax liability, particularly tax related to income from overseas sources accepted by multinational companies (Uddin, M. S. , 2005) (global acceptance). Despite cost saving, IFRSS adoption might also increase overseas companies listing in the ASX (Haswell & McKinnon, 2003, cited from Gerhardy, P.G. , n. d. ). It also retains Australian companies listed on ASX. It is argument of Stoddart (1999, cited from McCombie, K. ,n. d. ) that ASX’s rigorous support on full adoption of IFRS is due to ASX’s ambition to become ‘the main exchange in the Pacific Rim’. Despite those enormous advantages, it has been argued that IFRSS adoption lead to significant costs. The main argument is that IFRSs do not consider local needs and priorities as every country has their own ‘business environment, legal systems, cultures, language and political environment’ (Henderson and Peirson, 2000 cited from Malthus, S. 2004). However, to overcome this problem, IASB can accommodate flexible reporting standards that enable companies to choose alternatives that are more suitable for their external condition. It is opinion of some opponents of IFRS adoption that IAS is ‘insufficiently detailed’ (Uddin,M. S. , 2005, p. 4) that require accountants’ and auditorâ€℠¢ professional judgment. However, overly detail might be contra productive and not flexible in anticipating every changes and differences. Education for stakeholders related to changes in financial statement is considered as significant as well. In a way, companies have obligation to ensure these users understand the changes. Companies also need to provide education and training for staff to adapt changes from preparing account using national standards to international standards. Since changes not only affect external reporting system, but also internal reporting such as budgeting system, this training might require huge amount of money. Often, companies need external experts in anticipating the changes such as actuaries and valuation experts that also need a lot of spending. However, this transition cost is only initial investment that is short term; the cost will be diminishing once companies have already been stable with the new systems. Learning from UK, based on a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, majority companies in the UK suggested that transition from local accounting standards to international standards would not require high costs (Malthus, S. , 2004). Coming to the accounting profession, it has been argued that IFRS adoption also bear costs due to the policy. Those costs might come from the need to re educate members of the accounting profession itself. However, this argument is questionable because as a profession, accountants should improve their capabilities by ongoing training and education no matter what. Negative impacts of adoption of IFRS on rule makers such as Federal government and AASB have been public’s concern as well. Regarding federal government, it is argued that support devoted by federal government for IFRS adoption (Brown and Tarca, 2005) might put government ‘under political pressure not to impose rules on Australian companies that are inconsistent with those applied to companies in other countries’. In term of AASB, adoption of IFRSs raised questions about the role of the body. By adopting IFRS that replace local standards, AASB might lose its status and role. This loss arguably hurt nation’s sovereignty because Australia somehow is ‘one of the world’s leading authorities on accounting’ (Haswell and McKinnon, 2003 cited from Gerhardy, P. G. , n. d. , p. 24). AASB might also have limited influence on the standards formulation process under IASB, thus Australia’s interest and relevant environment might not be covered by international standards. However, this costs can be diminished as suggested by Carrol (2003d, cited from Gerhardy, P. G. , n. d. , p. 75) ‘that if Australia is to ensure that future standards developed by the IASB are relevant to the Australian environment it is necessary that Australia is positioned ‘as an influential leader in the international business environment’’. Having considered both advantages and costs, I would argue that benefit arising from IFRS adoption will be in the longer term worth the effort. The main reason for that is huge economic benefit arises from the IFRS adoption. On the surface, economic benefit is merely enjoyed by multinational companies and investors. However, it will trigger Australian economy development because multinational companies represent greater percentage of Australian economy sources that absorb high number of employment. Small medium companies (SME) that is argued might become parties bearing most cost will benefit from multinational companies as a business partners such as supplier, particularly if Australia promote specific regulation to encourage the mutual partnership. This will be domino effect that boost another sectors, thus benefit whole community. In addition, education cost that is claimed as significant cost only borne for short term and will be diminished in the long term. Education and training itself is inseparable part of accounting as a profession that need ongoing training to enhance capability and professionalism. The last reason is that IFRS adoption might be inevitable due to globalization that diminish border across nations and increase interdependency between nations.

Racism in America Essay

Racism is very much a problem in our country; we just can’t admit that it’s there. We bury it back in our minds, not able to admit the pressing problem in our nation. All of the groups in our nation demonstrate racism and believe that they are right for hating a certain type of people. The Klu Klux Klan, Aryans, Skinheads, Neo Nazis, and many more are a good example of the racism that still lingers. There is also a substantial amount of racial profiling now ever since the September 11th tragedies. Many people ridicule Middle Easterners and people who are considered to have â€Å"their color† because some of us think that since a few Middle Eastern terrorists bombed us, they all hate us and want us to die. This all started with slavery and the Africans being sent away from their homelands to break their backs working on our farms. We spit on them, treated them like shit, and expected them to work hard for us and like it. Many of the white people do feel sorry and are guilty for what we did to the African American ancestors, but there’s nothing we can do to take it back. It is history and we cannot change it. There is still racism towards African Americans. Whenever you hear a murder, robbery, assault, or drug bust on the news, they say it was an African American. There are just as many white people that commit those same crimes, but they aren’t on the news nearly as much. Affirmative Action in today’s society has nothing to do with slavery and if it does, it really shouldn’t. We use Affirmative Action to make a school or work environment have diversity, not pity on what we did. Affirmative Action is to make sure minorities have the same opportunities as everyone else.

2nd Generation Reforms Essay

Economic Reforms in India since 1991 India was a latecomer to economic reforms, embarking on the process in earnest only in 1991, in the wake of an exceptionally severe balance of payments crisis. The need for a policy shift had become evident much earlier, as many countries in East Asia achieved high growth and poverty reduction through policies which emphasized greater export orientation and encouragement of the private sector. India took some steps in this direction in the 1980s, but it was not until 1991 that the government signaled a systemic shift to a more open economy with greater reliance upon market forces, a larger role for the private sector including foreign investment, and a restructuring of the role of government. In 1980s growth was unsustainable, fuelled by a buildup of external debt which culminated in the crisis of 1991. In sharp contrast, growth in the 1990s was accompanied by remarkable external stability despite the East Asian crisis. Poverty also declined significantly in the post-reform period, and at a faster rate than in the 1980s according to some studies. In the following paper, five major areas are covered by the reform program: fiscal deficit reduction, industrial and trade policy, agricultural policy, infrastructure development and social sector development. Savings, Investment and Fiscal Discipline Fiscal profligacy was seen to have caused the balance of payments crisis in 1991 and a reduction in the fiscal deficit was therefore an urgent priority at the start of the reforms. The combined fiscal deficit of the central and state governments was successfully reduced from 9. 4 percent of GDP in 1990-91 to 7 percent in both 1991-92 and 1992-93 and the balance of payments crisis was over by 1993. The fiscal failures of both the central and the state governments have squeezed the capacity of both the center and the states to undertake essential public investment. High levels of government borrowing have also crowded out private investment. Unless this problem is addressed, the potential benefits from reforms in other areas will be eroded and it may be difficult even to maintain the average growth rate of 6 percent experienced in the first ten years after the reforms, let alone accelerate to 8 percent. Reforms in Industrial and Trade Policy Reforms in industrial and trade policy were a central focus of much of India’s reform effort in the early stages. Industrial policy prior to the reforms was characterized by multiple controls over private investment which limited the areas in which private investors were allowed to operate, and often also determined the scale of operations, the location of new investment, and even the technology to be used. The industrial structure that evolved under this regime was highly inefficient and needed to be supported by a highly protective trade policy, often providing tailor-made protection to each sector of industry. The costs imposed by these policies had been extensively studied (for example, Bhagwati and Desai, 1965; Bhagwati and Srinivasan, 1971; Ahluwalia, 1985) and by 1991 a broad consensus had emerged on the need for greater liberalization and openness. A great deal has been achieved at the end of ten years of gradualist reforms. Industrial Policy Industrial policy has seen the greatest change, with most central government industrial controls being dismantled. The list of industries reserved solely for the public sector — which used to cover 18 industries has been drastically reduced to three: defense aircrafts and warships, atomic energy generation, and railway transport. Industrial licensing by the central government has been almost abolished except for a few hazardous and environmentally sensitive industries. The requirement that investments by large industrial houses needed a separate clearance under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act to discourage the concentration of economic power was abolished and the act itself is to be replaced by a new competition law which will attempt to regulate anticompetitive behavior in other ways. Industrial liberalization by the central government needs to be accompanied by supporting action by state governments. Private investors require many permissions from state governments to start operations, like connections to electricity and water supply and environmental clearances. They must also interact with the state bureaucracy in the course of day-to-day operations because of laws governing pollution, sanitation, workers’ welfare and safety, and such. A recently completed joint study by the World Bank and the Confederation of Indian Industry (Stern, 2001) found that the investment climate varies widely across states and these ifferences are reflected in a disproportional share of investment, especially foreign investment, being concentrated in what are seen as the more investor-friendly states(Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu) to the disadvantage of other states (like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal). Investors perceived a 30 percent cost advantage in some states over others, on account of the availability of infrastructure and the quality of governanc e. These differences across states have led to an increase in the variation in state growth rates, with some of the less favored states actually decelerating compared to the 1980s (Ahluwalia, 2002). Because liberalization has created a more competitive environment, the pay off from pursuing good policies has increased, thereby increasing the importance of state level action. Infrastructure deficiencies will take time and resources to remove but deficiencies in governance could be handled more quickly with sufficient political will. Trade Policy Trade policy reform has also made progress, though the pace has been slower than in industrial liberalization. Before the reforms, trade policy was characterized by high tariffs and pervasive import restrictions. Imports of manufactured consumer goods were completely banned. For capital goods, raw materials and intermediates, certain lists of goods were freely importable, but for most items where domestic substitutes were being produced, imports were only possible with import licenses. The criteria for issue of licenses were nontransparent, delays were endemic and corruption unavoidable. The economic reforms sought to phase out import licensing and also to reduce import duties. Import licensing was abolished relatively early for capital goods and intermediates which became freely importable in 1993, simultaneously with the switch to a flexible exchange rate regime. Import licensing had been traditionally defended on the grounds that it was necessary to manage the balance of payments, but the shift to a flexible exchange rate enabled the government to argue that any balance of payments impact would be effectively dealt with through exchange rate flexibility. Removing quantitative restrictions on imports of capital goods and intermediates was relatively easy, because the number of domestic producers was small and Indian industry welcomed the move as making it more competitive. It was much more difficult in the case of final consumer goods because the number of domestic producers affected was very large (partly because much of the consumer goods industry had been reserved for small scale production). Quantitative restrictions on imports of manufactured consumer goods and agricultural products were finally removed on April 1, 2001, almost exactly ten years after the reforms began, and that in part because of a ruling by a World Trade Organization dispute panel on a complaint brought by the United States. Progress in reducing tariff protection, the second element in the trade strategy, has been even slower and not always steady. As shown in Table 3, the weighted average import duty rate declined from the very high level of 72.percent in 1991-92 to 24. 6 percent in 1996-97. However, the average tariff rate then increased by more than 10 percentage points in the next four years. In February 2002, the government signaled a return to reducing tariff protection. The peak duty rate was reduced to 30 percent, a number of duty rates at the higher end of the existing structure were lowered, while many low end duties were raised to 5 percent. The net result is that the weighted average duty rate is 29 percent in 2002-03. Although India’s tariff levels are significantly lower than in 1991, they remain among the highest in the developing world because most other developing countries have also reduced tariffs in this period. The weighted average import duty in China and southeast Asia is currently about half the Indian level. The government has announced that average tariffs will be reduced to around 15 percent by 2004, but even if this is implemented, tariffs in India will be much higher than in China which has committed to reduce weighted average duties to about 9 percent by 2005 as a condition for admission to the World Trade Organization.