Grandparents Essay Essay Example for Free

Grandparents Essay Essay The bond between grandparents and their grandchildren is one that can never be broken and will always be cherished forever. They basically set up a bond as a parent would. They take care of them while their parents are at work, provide financial support, and providing much needed emotional support to make sure the children get the best childhood without stressing out which is bad for the brain and development. The presence of a grandparent helps stable a child throughout childhood and infancy giving that child support while the parents are not there. Research believes that an integration of the evolutionary, sociological, and economic accounts will be necessary to fully explain the impact grandparents have in their grandchildren’s development. Once the children have been exposed to the love and caring of grandparents they begin to treat them with isolation to help control what is to come with dealing with attachment. They are beginning to conduct disciplines to determine what it is grandparents do to prompt the development of their grandchildren.

The Roles Of Mainstream Media

The Roles Of Mainstream Media The roles of mainstream media have been widely speculated. Some say the mainstream media act as a tool used to relay the government or corporate propaganda (Galt, 2011: http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/2011/08/25/words-that-merriam-webster-dictionary-left-out-of-the-2011-u-s-edition/) while others say it simply transmits information that is of the interest of the public. However, many skeptical scholars unanimously agreed that the mainstream media is a media organ that censor the dissemination of news by distorting information through the use of bias photos, placement bias and other forms of deception that mislead viewers into drawing incorrect conclusions (conservapedia, 2012). All in all, mainstream media are generally being perceived as an avenue for the government or controlling group to push out their policies and assume that the idea proposed generally reflects the prevailing thoughts of the majority. Diverse opinions on the effects of mainstream media The history of mass media can be traced back thousands years ago. Studies after studies reviewed that the media possess unfathomable effects. Some scholars perceive media as an invasive, malignant and cancerous force, having direct effects on viewers (manipulate them) while some scholars such as Paul Lazarsfeld believed that media had rarely direct influence on individuals. The introduction of Mass Society Theory, Magic Bullet Theory, Middle-range Theory, Critical Theory and many more further reinforces the idea that media plays an integral part in our lives, although some theories have been rejected as time goes by. Far-sighted figure such as Adolf Hitler foresees the potential of media and thus, uses the radio (a mainstream media) to influence peoples belief and ultimately pushes them to act in accordance to his whims and fancies. Although Hitlers action is one with ill-intentioned, it has proven to the world the capability mainstream media. Mainstream media is comparatively more influential than alternative media as it is the most sought after media by the majority and thus, more people are more susceptible to mainstream media. Ownership of mainstream media in Malaysia Once you understand how powerful the media can be, it is not surprising to see media literates fighting over the ownership of media. The notion Those who own the media own the minds of the people extracted from Karl Marxs greatest ideology once again reinforces how capable media is. With this in mind, the Malaysia government adopted the authoritarian theory by being involved directly in the States media ownership. Many media outlets are owned by individuals who have connection to the ruling coalition BN. The ruling party justify their ownership in the mainstream media as an effort aligned with the New Economic Policy that aims to assure the participation of Bumiputera in mainstream industry and to ensure the economic growth of the nation under the leadership of the elite group. The government or ruling party acquires or controls these media companies through various investment arms. The following list out some of the ownership of the mainstream media in Malaysia: In the newspaper industry, the New Straits Times Press (NSTP) that publishes the New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Harian Metro is a subsidiary of the Fleet Holdings, an investment arm of UMNO while The Star newspaper turns out to be one of MCA most invested property (Zaharom Nain, Mustafa K. Anuar, 2008). In the TV sector, TV3, Malaysias first private TV station too is under the control of 4 prominent political figures, known to be closely related to the previous Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (Zaharom Nain, Mustafa K. Anuar, 2008). Meanwhile the Natseven TV Sdn. Bhd. or commonly known as NTV7 is owned by the Chairman of ENCORP Group, Datuk (Dr. Effendi Norwawi) who happened to be Malaysias former Minister of Agriculture. Furthermore, the government also extended their reach in the satellite broadcasting field as Astro and Measat 1 are jointly owned by the Binariang Sdn. Bhd., headed by T. Ananda Krishnan, a manufacturing and horse racing tycoon who is a close friend of the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (The Star, 9/1/1996) Based on the list of ownership mainstream media in Malaysia, it is evident that the Malaysia mainstream media has never gone out of the ruling coalitions sight. For the past 50 years, the media was and is still closely related to the local authority. This clearly shows that the mainstream media in Malaysia is closely related to the system of power and authority. Media is owned through political connection and that they have a say in the content of media by only allowing content that favours the ruling coalition. With ownership of media in hand, media has been regarded as the ultimate tool to reach out to mass audiences. Role of Malaysias mainstream media What is the role of mainstream media and how it operates lies significantly in the hands of the owner of that particular media. The trendsetter ultimately determines the direction of the mainstream media and its content. For instance, what it wants the media to show to the public and what it wants the media to do, i.e. promote government policies. In Malaysia, the mainstream media is a pro-government tool. Due to the polarized system, media operators are bound to abide to the higher management, in other words, the government. If they do not do so, they might face charges under the Sedition Act, Printing and Press Publication Act, Official Secret Act and other related laws that govern the interest of the governing elites. This modus operandi of mainstream media is to advocate the government in sending the nations messages across to the masses. top-down hierarchy has further inhibited the voices of the opposing party. The statement that mainstream media in Malaysia been perceived as an important agent of change for most of the governments policies is undoubtedly true. According to Zaharom Nain and Mustafa K. Anuar (2008) from the very first Malaysias newspaper, The Prince of Wales Gazette to the launching of Malaysias first broadcast satellite, Measat 1, the ownership of mainstream media never leaves from the sight of political figures. As such, the mainstream media has been fully utilized as a means to propagate the nations policies. From the NEP in 1969 to Look East Policy in the up till Vision 2020 and now the latest and most bandied about policy 1 Malaysia. Study reveals that media is the key player in portraying the image of 1Malaysia (Hanita Hassan, Hadina Habil, Noor Aireen Ibrahim). Further, in their research on the roles of media in realizing unity in diversity, they believe that media has a powerful capacity to educate the public on the importance of unity by promoting cross-cultural understanding, tolerance and acceptance of other cultures and religion, the media is thus is the perfect means of communication between the public and the government. 1 Malaysia 1 Malaysia concept was introduced by our sixth Prime Minister, YAB Dato Sri Najib Tun Razak on 16 September 2010. It is an on-going program where it involves all Malaysians to be united so that Malaysia can become a more harmonious, peaceful and efficient country. For this concept to be successful, it is important that all people cooperate as one but not as Sarawakian or Sabahan. 1 Malaysia concept must be applied and practiced all the time to ensure the values of acceptance, mutual understanding and the sense of belongings is engrained in each and every Malaysians mind. According to YAB Dato Sri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, the 1 Malaysia reflects how we see, how we act and how we think as Malaysians. As such, the government takes actions based on the needs of all ethnic groups in our country. No race shall be left out and all decisions made will not oppress one another. The concept of One Malaysia is based on the principle of People First, Performance Now, which mean the government will think from the peoples perspective, put the people as their first priority and only carry out programme that benefits the people. Performance now denotes that the government emphasizes on producing productive results, stresses on the workers efficiency in carrying out designated task as well as how fast and well government servants can complete a certain duty within a given timeframe. Furthermore, the One Malaysia concept also highlights 8 core values, namely perseverance (preserve harmony and peace), acceptance (show tolerance in other races lifestyle, religious practices and food), education (the learning of the national language), integrity (uphold the principle of being ethical and honest), meritocracy (appreciate talented personnel), humility (be humble at all times), loyalty (pledge to serve the country and its people) and the culture of excellence (rich in culture and show commitment beyond ordinary). One way of making the concept known is by the means of media. Media is the best tool to reach out to the public. According to S. Ramasubramaniam, he believed that the media has the potential to influence the desired racial attitudes especially for ethnics with minimal inter-racial direct contact. Ways to encourage the acceptance of 1Malaysia concept From NEP to Look East Policies to Vision 2020, these policies have been so widely published in almost all mainstream media. As mentioned above, mainstream media has been effectively made use of to spread the governments convictions, in this case, the 1Malaysia concept. They use several methods to coerce, pacify and encourage the public in general to accept 1Malaysia. use aggressively Repetition Lets take The Star as an example: The Star published all sorts of news revolving around the 1Malaysia concept in an exaggerating rate. For example, the establishment of 1Malaysia clinics, introduction of 1Malaysia aid schemes and the ceremony of 1Malaysia Family Day celebration. Besides, the pictures of the current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak have also been featured all the time, appearing in almost every day newspaper. On the other hand, TV stations such as RTM 1, RTM 2 and TV3 replay video clips and Public Service Announcement (PSA) pertaining to 1Malaysia concept. Even the radio stations shove the 1Malaysia concept down our throat by repeating the 1Malaysia song and messages. Frequent exposure to the 1Malaysia concept is a long term planning effort by the government. The media resorts to this method as they believe that through repetition, the public will be able to familiarize themselves with the concept and eventually take in the concept and further practice it in daily lives. Furthermore, the government uses the mainstream media because they believed in Rogers diffusion of innovation theory whereby people at large will eventually accept 1Malaysia concept after going through the 5 stages in the diffusion process. At first, the public will be aware of the 1Malaysia concept as it has been widely publicized in the mainstream media. However, being aware is simply not enough. The concept is to be believed will be accepted by a very small group of innovators who are usually heavy media users. This trend will later on be followed by opinion leaders (early adopters) who will try to comprehend the concept themselves and if these leaders find the concept beneficial, they will eventually encourage their friends (early majority) to accept the concept. The snowball effect continues through word of mouth and reaches the late majority. After an extensive period of time, even the laggards will join in the bandwagon. Therefore, 1Malaysia concept must be aired as frequently as possible and over a significant amount of time in order of this theory to sink into the minds of the people. Biased reporting Secondly, mainstream media are used to encourage the acceptance of 1Malaysia by portraying good sides of 1Malaysia concept. Parts of propaganda techniques are used in this context for example, the plain folks technique under special appeals. 1Malaysia concept has generally been regarded as an ideology that is created for the people. The notion We stand, we think and we act as Malaysians as envisaged by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is commonly feature in the mainstream media. It carries the meaning that all people are together as one but not as separate individuals as Sarawakian or Sabahan. Besides, news featuring on citizens benefiting from the 1Malaysia aid scheme, 1Malaysia book vouchers, 1Malaysia housing loan and the list goes on and on is ubiquitous. Besides, the mainstream media also uses transfer to associate 1Malaysia concept to a peaceful, harmonious country whereby everyone is entitled to enjoy equality. In addition, mainstream media are also used testimonial technique by quoting prominent figures, usually political figures of the National Frontier who are in support of the 1Malaysia concept. Apart from that, based on priming effects, the media believes that how 1Malaysia concept is being presented in the media will eventually heighten the likelihood that people will develop similar thoughts about those things in the real world. To translate it into the present context, the mainstream medias constant portrayal of the positive side of 1Malaysia concept will indirectly shape how the public in general perceives 1Malaysia. Therefore, as long as the media portray 1Malaysia as something good, beneficial and serve the interest of the public, 1Malaysia concept will be widely acceptable by the citizens of Malaysia. Other than that, the mainstream media also try to coerce the public into accepting the 1Malalaysia concept through advertisements and video clips that uses the appeal to fear. Local TV stations such as TV1, TV2 and TV3 air the Bersih 2.0 turned riot video clip over and over again as if to convince Malaysians that this will not happen if we were to embrace the 1Malaysia concept. As such, it indirectly sends out a message that 1Malaysia acts as a reassurance that riots will not happen as 1Malaysia concept emphasizes extensively on maintaining peacefulness and harmony The mainstream media highlight the 1Malaysia concept during ethnic festivals. It symbolizes us getting together and form a bandwagon. This is what people are doing and so should you. It is another way of the government to urge the public to assimilate the 1Malaysia concept. This scenario display people get together to uphold the 1Malaysia concept. Excessive use of logo, slogan The mainstream media also uses the 1Malaysia logo and slogan in a wide-ranging manner. According to Hanita Hassan, Hadina Habil, Noor Aireen Ibrahim, symbols are strong identification marker as it symbolizes the 1Malaysia concept and symbols or visuals are to be believed that leaves generally a greater impact than words. Flipped through the newspaper for example and you will see plentiful of 1Malaysia logo together with its most bandied about slogan: People first, Performance now (translated from Rakyat didahulukan, Pencapaian diutamakan). By repeatingly use of these logo and slogan, it aims to intrude into our sense of vision, thus, leave behind an impact. Introduction of new sections Other than that, The Star even allocates a special section, dedicated to events or programmes concerning the 1Malaysia concept. Specialized website 1malaysia website catering for this Concept that is of utmost importance to the extent, they allocate a new section to cover on 1Malaysia news Uses Agenda-setting theory as benchmark- 1Malaysia is covered frequently and prominently, the public will regard the issue as important. Therefore, government take advantage / exploit the media to implant the concept into the peoples mind. Discussion Despite all the efforts by the mainstream media, the question whether the mainstream media has successfully generated the desired outcome of the 1Malaysia concept remains arguable. It cannot be denied that the mainstream media has effect on the citizens of Malaysia. It does leave impact behind but only to a certain extent. The effects of mainstream media generally affect the average people. These average people are usually made up of those who are illiterate, living in rural or maybe suburban area whereby they do not have adequate access to the outside world except amenities provided by the government. Since these people are being confined in the comfort zone built by the government, they will only see from the perspective of the government, which is how 1Malaysia concept benefits the people. In order for 1Malaysia concept to be accepted, people must first believe in the concept itself. Government try to persuade people into accepting the concept but is it the wisest choice to use media? In my opinion, I am not convinced as the media ownership are under the control of the government. Hence it does not give me a comprehensive, transparent report on what 1Malaysia concept is all about. All we see are the good sides of the 1Malaysia. All things are bound to have its pros and cons. It makes us question the integrity of the media Whatever is reported tend to be biased, Confrim the statemet above: (methodÆ’Â   bias These owners of mainstream media are all political figures / associates who is closely related The truth monopolize the media industry. politically used-entity. Loses its credibility in reporting nothing but the truth.. 1 for people to trust them wan people to embrace the 1Malaysia and work together as one. Tyrannical make people question the integrity, accountability, reliability and credibility of media. How far can people trust the media which is publicly known to be government-sided? However, mainstream media is not almighty! Audiences are not passive in nature. They have a free choice. Even though Malaysians are deprived of their freedom of speech but we do have the freedom of choose. This freedom is further supported by the selective process whereby audiences can choose to expose to selected media outlet, choose to remember what is meaningful and the choice to alter the meaning to make to consistent with our pre-existing beliefs. Not do what they are told without comprehending Deemed to chg due to personal predisposition and strongly held beliefs. It is not necessary that they must be exposed to the mainstream media. With the advent of technology, the Internet has opened up a wide array of alternative media catering to different needs of the audience. This has allow audience to look for Malaysia Kini exposes the hidden truth behind government policies and several other socio-political blogger for example Marina Mahathir. So does the mainstream media achieved what it wanted frequently has put people off. Tend to switch channel. will be able to look elsewhere for sources of information. selective exposure, retention and perception Macroscopic political economy denotes that media institution has been turned into a selling commodity. Æ’Â   question put people off With Æ’Â   This is exactly what the Malaysian government is doing. Critical theory explains that the dominant group, i.e. government, maintain its status quo by exerting control on the people via Repressive State Approach (RSA) and Ideological State Approach (ISA) and media is a form of ISA Those who know operations of media not easily susceptible to the media as they themselves know the dirty tricks, laws, acts and vicious cycle repeating itself question the integrity, accountability, reliability and credibility of mainstream media. Question that govet intention. 1malayisa= media practices democratic-participant theory that advocates media support for cultural pluralism at a grass root level , to stimulate and empower pluralistic group. developmental theory call for government and the media to work hand-in-hand to ensure that media assist in the planned, beneficial development of a country. In short, mainstream media have effect on So back to the question: is I would say not. Unless the ownership of media is dissolved and is equally shared among the community, separate it as an independent entity, only then can be put our faith into the mainstream media. due to credibility, accountability, reliability. However boundaries between mainstream media is getting vague as time goes by as one new media emerges, media ownership has changed. Doubts are arising as media now portray what is desired by the controlling group instead of the voice of the masses (Under the control of media conglomerate or elites)- due to polarized system and the top-down hierarchy. Look at the ownership of media. Media is a tool for manipulation. Cannot be denied that media does not have effect as the very moment you are exposed to the media. Misuse media distort the original value of media MSM is a polarized system, meaning one-way information to be transmitted/ passed down. This is a situation known as Agenda-setting. Diffusion of information People see Mainstream media (MSM) as an avenue to transmit / bridge between the public and government. Some see MSM as a tool used by those who are in power, i.e. global company owner, the government, private sector. Media are supporting roles in govt policies Acts + Media ownership Æ’Â   limit / put constraints http://www.mediaprima.com.my/aboutus/our_profile2.aspx Media Prima- leading integrated media investment group. (media conglomerate) own 100% in TV3, NTV7, TV8, TV9, NSTP (The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad)Æ’Â   NST, The Malay Mail Berita Harian, harian Metro, Fly fm, Hot Fm, One fm Clearly show media are generally/ widely use to propagate govt ideology Discussion part: usage Æ’Â   emergence of new media Audience are not passive. Relaisation whos behind the mediaÆ’Â   increase erosion of the medias credibility Demand for greater transparency, accountability and democracy. Demand for proof / seek reinforcement) Some responded that mainstream media fails to meet the communication needs of certain groups (esp minority) Media is merely a tool To use it wisely or to misuse it (distort it) is up to an individual and the As long as it is under the grasp of the government, freedom of speech can never be truly realised!

The Concept Of Pricing To Market Economics Essay

The Concept Of Pricing To Market Economics Essay The term Pricing to Market was first examined by Paul Krugman in 1987 (Kasa, 1992).The concept of PTM was explained by Krugman with the reference to the example of European automobile industry, in which he describes that the increase in US dollar against the European currency was the reason for the price difference in automobiles in US and Europe. Due to this difference in price the firms in the US started importing from Europe. In response the European firms adjusted there price against US dollar to maintain the export price in the market. This phenomenon of adjustment to the export price by the foreign firm is known as Pricing to Market. Similar definition for this concept, for instant, given by Mark (2001) in which he described PTM as the ability to set different prices in the domestic and foreign market, this price discrimination is practiced by monopolistically competitive firms in order to take advantage of international pricing differences. Therefore, we can say that PTM is the way of adjustment of prices for different market by firms in order to exploit the international price differences. He also explained that integrated international market have given rise to this concept, by segmenting it into two different markets, Domestic and foreign market, as well as the concept of price discrimination. This essay will outline and review the concept of pricing to market. It will be followed by the implications of PTM for purchasing Power Parity. Furthermore the empirical evidence on the extent of pricing to market will be discussed. According to Knetter (1989) value of goods to be exported by a firm varies due to the fluctuations in the exchange rate between the home country and the foreign country, which effect the marginal cost of the goods, to stabilise the effect of exchange rate the same type of goods are sold for different price in different market, this term in literature is known as pricing to market. The concept of pricing to market deviates from the law of one price, which states that goods of same type are sold for same price in different markets (Sarno and Taylor, 2002). It means that PTM deviates from PPP or does not hold PPP. The factors responsible for this deviation are the: Price discrimination: if the producer is selling similar tradable goods in different markets which are segmented as a consequence of transportation costs, imperfect information and trade barriers then the producer maximise its profit by discriminating price, different price for same product in different market. Exchange rate pass through: it means that the fluctuation in the exchange rates in the international market is adjusted by the changes in prices of the goods in domestic market. Temporal shift of profits: monopolistically competitive firms willing to increase their profit margins when there is an increase in the foreign currency. The above statement is explained by Kasa (1992) in which he states that the pricing to market was not only driven by price discrimination as well as some other factors were also influential. As stated by Krugman (1987) that the pricing to market is related to market structure of the respective country in the international trade. There three factors explained by Cheung (2001) responsible for the adjustment of relative prices to the exchange rate are the following: Market integration or separation It means when the price in market A and price in market B are strongly related to each other, then it is said to integrated market and in the absence of this relation it is known as market separation. The reason for this due to factors like absence of transaction cost to foster competition, to increase the flow of investment and consumption and the market structure. Substitution between domestic and foreign variant of a product If there is a close substitute between the domestic and foreign then the demand for the product will be elastic and vice versa. We can also state it as market power, because if there is no close substitute for a particular product in a specific market, then the firms are having significant market power to set prices. Market structure Market segmentation determines the level of competition in the industry, which affects the response of the firms to the exchange rate changes and result in price discrimination. Since, PTM plays a significant role in determination of exchange rate in international macroeconomic fluctuations, studying it reason for existence is very important. There are few reasons stated by: According to Krugman (1987) PTM exist if the import prices are not adjusted in proportion to the changes in exchange rate. Knetter (1993) explains that PTM occurs as a result of adjustment costs or intemporal demand linkage. As well as Alexius and Vredin (1999) explained that degree of PTM is also influenced by the aggregate import demand of the destination country. As explained by Naug and Nymoen (1996) that maintaining the import price is significant for its performance in international trade because it effects the terms of trade and trade balance as well as there are many other reasons like domestic inflation and foreign competition. However now we are going to explain the implication of PTM for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), but first briefly elaborated the term PPP. It means that a unit of currency should have the same worth in different country if the prices are expressed in common currency. As stated by Grauwe (1996) the theory of PPP explains that exchange rate equilibrium is determined by the changes in the domestic and foreign price ratio. Taylor and Taylor (2004) argue that PPP theory means the nominal exchange rate between two currencies should be equal to the ratio of aggregate price levels between the two countries, so that a unit of currency of one country will have a same purchasing power in foreign country. The basic concept underlying this theory is that the arbitrage forces will result in balancing the prices of goods in different countries by exploiting the price differences across borders. This implies that the use of PTM by monopolistic firms is not appropriate, but this concept still exist because there are many reasons to support that the price cant be equal everywhere like trade cost ,tariff and non-tariff barriers, trade policies etc. Due to which the firms are forced to set different price because these factors are not reflected in the exchange rate, low exchange rate pass through. There are two version of this theory: Absolute PPP: it is states that prices of identical goods are equal in different country if the exchange rate is in common currency. Algebraically, it will be stated as S = P /P* Where S = Exchange Rate P = Price of identical goods in domestic country P*= Price of identical goods in foreign country According to Pilbeam (2006) in the case when domestic inflation rises with respect to the inflation in foreign country, there is a proportional decrease in the home currency to the foreign currency. Relative PPP: it simply states that the difference in inflation level of two different countries is reflected in the exchange rate adjustment. Algebraically, it will be represented as % (change) S = % (change) P % (change) P* Where % (change) S = percentage change in exchange rate % (change) P = percentage change in the domestic inflation rate % (change) P* = percentage change in foreign inflation rate The exchange rate movements and PPP are inversely related (Grauwe, 1996) which was experienced by US in 1980s when their currency and inflation rate increased more than German inflation rate. According to Betts and Devereuse (2000) PTM increases the volatility in exchange rate which in result affect the consumption and output pattern of the country. It also shifts the global demand toward the weak currency, therefore the aggregate export of the particular country increases. In the example US and Germany automobile export, assuming that there is imperfect completion, Germany is having significant market power. If there is an increase in US dollar against German currency, the prices of German export will decrease in US, the US importer affects the price rise Germany by implementing PTM. According to Cheung (2001) there are deviations in PPP due to the incomplete pass through of exchange rate, which caused due to PTM. Therefore, if there is low exchange rate pass through, the exchange rate does not affect the price rise in Germany which in result states that it does not hold PPP. Furthermore, the empirical evidence on the PTM is discussed with reference to the work of many scholars as follows: According to the research conducted by Krugman (1987) in which he investigated the extent of PTM with respect to the foreign suppliers to prove that the concept PTM is real but not applicable in all cases. In case of US and German automobile industry, he studied the correlation between the market structure and PTM through trade models. The basis of comparison to study the extent of PTM was: US manufacturing import price with the import price index by using export price of major trading partners. Germans price on export of automobiles with other European countries (extra European export). Comparing the export price of Germany to the US and the rest of world. The conclusion of the above study done by Krugman (1987) was that when PTM comes into existence when the exchange rate changes in the case of US and German trade, because when the US dollar appreciate the price of US import and price identical goods in rest of the world is affected. But there were some limitations of PTM, in the case of US and German trade the effect of PTM was only seen in transportation equipment and machinery industries, due to which it can be stated as a universal phenomenon. In 1992 Kasa studied the effects of exchange rate on prices of goods using the adjustment cost model. According to him the monopolistically competitive firms which are capable of setting prices for different market utilise their profit margin to maintain different price in foreign markets. He also developed a dynamic price setting model by analysing the firms using PTM for trading in foreign markets. Due to the price adjustment by the firms the marginal cost of supplying goods to the foreign market causes systematic deviation of PTM from Law of one price. Finally he states that the transitory component of exchange rate are the only significant factor which influence the PTM, which was supported by the fact that German import prices appreciated in US, in relation with other countries due to the effect of rise in US against Deutschmark. Lavoie and Liu (2007) examined the result of PTM when the differential products are taken as export units in which he revealed that the PTM shows false result in the case of differentiated product taken in export units (value and volume of specific product and country). According to him the deviation in the result of PTM is positively related to the degree to differentiated product. Similarly, Alexius and Vredin (1999) argued that systematic differences between the prices in different markets and the export prices are affected by the macroeconomic conditions of the respective country. His research stated that aggregate demand in export market and the exchange rate affects the PTM. As well as he described the large and persistent deviation of PTM from Law of one price, are due to the changes in exchange rate. In conclusion, PTM is the actual phenomenon which is influenced by many factors like degree of exchange rate fluctuation, product differentiation, macroeconomic factors of the respective country, and amount of aggregate export of a country, but can be applied universally. At last it would be appropriate to state that PTM is efficient pricing behaviour by the monopolistic firms.

The knight from the Wife of Baths Tale :: Essays Papers

The knight from the Wife of Bath's Tale Historical Background Women's rights in the medieval years were nonexistent. Women were virtually their husbands' properties. They were identified by their husbands' names and could not legally own anything. Their husbands controlled their lives. Before marriage, a woman's possessions were property of her father. An arranged marriage was the norm, not the exception. Girls were married young, often given to much older men. Marriage wasn't romantic; it was a means to form a close relationship between two families. In Beowulf, for example, Freawaru is given to Ingeld as a pledge of peace. Usually the father of the bride gave part of his wealth (land, houses or jewelry) to the new family, but it was the groom who acquired all rights to own that wealth. The husband was also the sole representative of the family in the community where all laws and court decisions were made by men. Life in the marriage wasn't easy either. Beating wives was accepted in the society. The Wife of Bath, who becomes deaf in one ear after her husband Janekin hits her, can not go anywhere to complain. Her only options are to accept it or to do what she does -- punch him back. Married women had the double duty of running the household and helping their husbands in their trade. Women who ran their own trades -- femmes soles -- still had to do all the home chores, in addition to their business duties. As Eileen Power writes, "the wife of a craftsman almost always worked as her husband's assistant in his trade, or if not, she often eked out the family income by some such bye industry as brewing and spinning..." (Power, 53). Women were helping their husbands in almost all industries, and girls, like boys, were often given by their parents to masters for learning, as apprentices. However, as Power points out, women, then as now, were often paid less than men for the same work. If a husband died and the widow had grown male children, the oldest son usually inherited the right to all the property in the family. The only way a woman could be more or less independent, then, was to be a widow without sons. Only in this case she had the right to manage her family's property. However, society deemed it to be unacceptable for a woman to be without a husband for too long, and so she had to find somebody else to marry only two or three years after her previous husband's death.

Symbols of Evolution :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Symbols of Evolution Two billion years ago two prokaryotes bumped into each other and formed the first multi-cellular organism. 65 million years ago an asteroid hit the earth and dinosaurs became extinct. Three days ago, in your notebook, you drew a mess of squiggles which to you represented Jackson Pollock's painting, Number 1, 1948. You wrote the word entropy on the upper left hand corner of the page. On the bottom right hand side you wrote, Creativity is based on randomness and chance. This paper will not try to determine why the dinosaurs became extinct or what caused two prokaryotes to form the first multi-cellular organism. Instead, it will ask you that which is, perhaps, a more difficult question: Why did you write what you wrote in your notebook? If human recorded history only represents 10,000 years of a universe which has been evolving for 15 billion years, then does a question pertaining to such relatively recent human practices as writing and artwork matter? Yes! These symbol making processes matter because of what they can tell us about our identity and our place in the evolutionary process. This essay will explore the notion that human identity is based almost entirely on representing life symbolically, and grapple with the idea that we exist because of the symbols which we create. It will then go on to explore how symbol-making resembles the biological process of evolution in the way it prizes and incites both messiness and reproduction. Finally it will synthesize these two ideas: symbol-making tied to human identity and symbol-making resembling the biological process of evolution in order to provide a backbone for the idea that humans might evolve in such a way that the cultural transfer of information could take plac e as a part of the process of biological evolution. Reason I: Because after all the discussion, something was still missing. It'd be difficult for me to tell you exactly what, because we discussed concepts about evolution quite thoroughly. But nonetheless, I was feeling empty. And so I guess what I was trying to do was tell myself a story on paper, trying to fill the emptiness that all the other stories created. The only way that humans can communicate with each other is through words and signs. In his book entitled, Literary Theory, A Very Short Introduction, Jonathan Culler shows how large a part signs play in who we are by stating that "instead of thinking of life as something to which signs and texts are added to represent it, we should conceive of life itself as suffused with signs, made what it is by processes of signification.

‘Mugged’ by Andrew Payne: Analysis Essay

The script ‘Mugged’, by Andrew Payne, follows a group of teenagers and how they each react differently to the medias â€Å"made-up† viewpoints after one of their friends in murdered. The script effectively manipulates the dramatic elements of tension, language, place and symbolism to invoke change upon its audience, making them reassess their views/opinions on how adolescent youth are portrayed by the media. Tension of relationships was created throughout the text of ‘Mugged’. The script demonstrated an advanced use of tension of relationships (intimacy) in the first two scenes between Marky and Dig. The script establishes the intimate relationship between the two boys as they share their stolen goods, their bond grows as they share food and swap their goods. Their relationship develops even further when Dig tells Marky he has a crush on Soph and Marky then gives him relationship advice. This reveals the bond between the two and establishes the intimacy of their friendship. Tension of relationships (intimacy) was successfully created through the friendship of Marky and Dig as they share the secret of what they have stolen, and discuss Dig’s feelings for Soph. Relationships in the script where used to create language. In the text of ‘Mugged’ language was used to help create a didactic dramatic meaning. In the script verbal language is effectively used when Taylor refers to a man as â€Å"some old geezer† and when Leon calls Sophie a â€Å"skank† this reveals Leon’s and Taylor’s lack of respect for other people. Body language is also effectively used in the script after Marky is murdered and Dig is found â€Å"Sitting on the right-hand bench. Hunched over looking at the ground in front of him.† This shows that Dig was in great mourning and shutting everyone out. The language used in the text was successful because it demonstrated Leon and Taylor’s lack of respect towards others and how Dig became depressed after the death of his friend. Language and place can often be associated together. Place was established in the script of â€Å"Mugged† when certain characters described the environment surrounding them. This was evident when the  teenagers where describing what was happening when Marky was approaching the muggers, by having the teens describe what they saw, example: â€Å"He’s going up to the playground† â€Å"They’re standing by the fence† â€Å"Get away form the benches†, this successfully establishes a place because the description created by the characters creates a picture of where the scene is taking place. The place can have an effect on the symbolism created in the text. The symbolism used in the script of ‘Mugged’ helped create a deeper meaning to the script. The park benches demonstrates a successful use of symbolism within the script. The benches represented a sense of diversity. When Marky and Dig where siting on the bench, once Leon and Taylor arrived they had to move to the other bench because of the diverseness between the groups, after Marky is murdered all the teenagers are seated on the same bench, while the media sits on the other, this showed how Marky’s death brought the group of youths together and that the media and teenagers had a sense of diversity between them. The benches are an example of successful symbolism in the script because they represent a deeper meaning beyond their physical appearance. Symbolism can play a main role in invoking change upon the audience. Invoking change forces the audience to rethink their viewpoints on a certain subject, in â€Å"Mugged† the script makes the audience reassess their views on how adolescent youths are portrayed in the media. The script achieves this by showing how the media portrays an innocent teen, into a violent gang member within a day of his death, this makes the audience rethink what to believe the media tells them. Through its effective and successful use of the dramatic elements of tension, language, place and symbolism, â€Å"Mugged†, by Andrew Payne, successfully invokes change upon its audience, making them reassess their views/opinions on how adolescent youth are portrayed by the media.

Character Sketch †Cephalus from Plato’ S Republic Essay

Choose one of the three main characters from Book One of Plato’s Republic (Cephalus, Polemarchus or Thrasymachus). Write a character sketch that shows how the personality, social status, life situation and position affect the views the character holds about life and about the virtue of justice. Include the definition of justice for the character you are describing. In book one, we are introduced to four main characters: Socrates, Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus. Republic takes place in the home of Cephalus and Polemarchus, in the Piraeus. Cephalus is a elderly and financially secure merchant and businessman. He lives his life in moderation, he doesn’t over-reach and try to become too wealthy, and was also not a fan of excessive spending. He certainly wouldn’t approve of the credit card debts that many Americans have. But thanks to his financial security, Cephalus has a comfortable life in old age. By living his life in moderation, the transition to an elderly lifestyle has not been shocking or depressing. Cephalus will admit that these are not his Golden Years, per say – it’s certainly not the greatest period in his life, but thanks to that moderation, he finds the old age to not be as much of a burden as his friends do. His friends are depressed and woeful of their age. They miss the lifestyle that they had in their youth. Because of their age, they can no longer partake in the things they thought made them happy – sex, drugs, rock and roll, essentially. Cephalus has a simple idea of justice. Though he never goes to describe it himself, we can pull some context from his discussion with Socrates to fill in the details. Cephalus is an honest man, and as we said, he lives his life in moderation in all aspects. He doesn’t strive for unlimited wealth, but still values that wealth he has, and likely behaves ethically and morally for that reason. Cephalus keeps his desires at bay – he works hard, and he enjoys himself, but always manages to hold onto most of his money. The problem is, it seems to Socrates to be easier to live a ‘just’ and moderate life, because of the wealth that Cephalus possesses. Because Cephalus values wealth, he seems to put a heavy emphasis on the repayment of debts (and avoidance of debt in the first place as well) in his ideal of justice. He feels that if he can go to his next life not owing anyone a penny, it will lift a burden on his soul, in a metaphysical sense. A peace of mind comes with not lying or engaging in deception – which is easier to maintain when wealthy and not faced with problems (like, for example, feeding and clothing your family – some people will do anything when they are seemingly backed into a corner). Thanks to wealth, Cephalus is (at least in his own point of view) able to live a life without lies, without deception, and without debts.