Research Paper on Information Theory Essay Example

Research Paper on Information Theory Essay Information theory is the study of how the transfer of information can be done most effectively. The so-called statistical information theory was founded in the mid-1900s by Claude Shannon as part of a communication theory he developed, where the information theoretical concept of entropy plays a central role. In his theory, information measure is a measure of the increased determination degree you will be provided a variety of possible alternatives reduced to a smaller amount of options. This is measured as the logarithm of the ratio of the number of options before and after the reduction. This information measure is used inter alia in communication theory for calculating a channel capacity to transfer information and in coding theory for calculating the redundancy, and the degree of data compression possible. An example of areas in which the theory has gained much importance is telecommunications, computer technology, space technology, and biology. In most cases, this involves sending a complete message from a sender to a receiver. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Information Theory specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Information Theory specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Information Theory specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The history of the information theory dates back to the 1940s, when Claude Elwood Shannon delivered significant contributions to the theory of data transmission and probability theory. He wondered how to ensure lossless data transmission channels via electronic (and optical today). This involves, in particular, to separate the data signals from the background noise. He was also trying to identify errors occurring during the transmission and correct it. The additional redundant (bearing no additional information) is necessary for the data to be sent and received, as well as to be verified or corrected. It is doubtful and was not claimed by Shannon that his 1948 study published A Mathematical Theory of Communication is of substantial importance for issues outside the communications technology. The concept of entropy used by him, associated with the thermodynamics is a formal analogy for a mathematical expression. In general can be defined as an engineering theory at a high abstraction level of information theory. It shows the trend for the scientific nature of art, which led to the formation of the engineering sciences. The reference point of Shannon’s theory is the accelerated development of electrical communications technology with its forms of telegraphy, telephony, radio, and television in the first half of the 20th Century. Before and next to Shannon there were Harry Nyquist, RVL Hartley, and Karl Kupfmuller who made important contributions to the theory of communication engineering. Norbert Wiener gave mathematical clarifications of relevance to the information theory, which helped its considerable publicity in the context of his reflections on cybernetics. If you need a good source of a highly urgent data you will need to look through free sample research papers on information theory, which will give a clear understanding of the issue. Are you looking for a top-notch custom research paper on Information Theory topics? Is confidentiality as important to you as the high quality of the product? Try our writing service at EssayLib.com! We can offer you professional assistance at affordable rates. Our experienced PhD and Master’s writers are ready to take into account your smallest demands. We guarantee you 100% authenticity of your paper and assure you of dead on time delivery. Proceed with the order form: Please, feel free to visit us at EssayLib.com and learn more about our service!

Critically evaluate the empirical support for Piagets theory of the stages of cognitive development The WritePass Journal

Critically evaluate the empirical support for Piagets theory of the stages of cognitive development Introduction Critically evaluate the empirical support for Piagets theory of the stages of cognitive development IntroductionReferences.Related Introduction Cognitive development overlooks the way children learn which Piaget (1896-1980) has had a great influence on. Piaget observed children throughout activities by interacting with them verbally and active listening. Piaget (1952) believed that children move through various stages in order to develop.   In order for children to develop they had to pass the four stages, Piaget (1952) names the stages as follows, sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operations and formal operational. However there have been many criticisms made by many theorists such as siegler, case, Lewis etc. In this essay I will be evaluating Piaget’s theory stages of development critically and coming to a conclusion. Piaget had a broad horizon on cognitive development. He felt that in order for a development to be passed a child creates schemas.   Piaget (1951) schemas are senses of experiences gained by a child from birth. A schema represents a child’s physical and mental capability, for an example a new born child begins to grasp, suck, blink etc. In order for a child to go through the next stage he should be intellectually and mentally fit. The first stage is the sensori-motor, this stage start from birth to 2 years. During this stage children begin to use their senses to create senses in order to develop such as see, hear, touch etc. Piaget (1952) did a task with children ages 8 to 12 months. He called this task â€Å"object permanence†, where he hid an attractive toy away from the child. The child responded by pushing objects away to find the toy. His findings showed him that children began to problem solve and have an understanding. The second stage is the preoperational stage. This stage occurs from 2 to 7 years. Piaget (1936) felt that children were not intellectually capable as their perception was dominating the way they saw situations. He believed that there were many limitations to the way children will think during this stage. The first limitation was egocentration where their own perceptions are being dominated by themselves. Piaget felt that young children are unable to express their views other than their own. In order to prove this he created a task called â€Å"three mountains task†. He came to the conclusion that children up to the age of seven could not identify what the doll could see as they would only answer what they could. The second limitation to this stage is centration which Piaget (1936) believed that children could only focus on one situation going on at one time ignoring others. Piaget (1952) created a task called â€Å"conservation†, this task involved objects which were t ransformed into different lengths, shapes etc. From this task he found out that children cannot focus or understand the concept of height while concentrating on the width. Robert Siegler (1981) replicated Piaget’s (1958) â€Å"Balance Beam† task to see why children could not solve conservation tasks. However Siegler (1981) believed that there are some strategies which children use in order to complete tasks. From his experiment he found that children below 5 could not use the first strategy but used strategy 2 and 3. The third stage is concrete operations. This stage starts from 7 to 12 years. This stage strongly focuses on reasoning. At this stage children are able to see and understand conservation tasks, size, height etc. There are 4 areas which consist within this stage conservation, classification, seriation. Conservation involves children to problem solve mathematically. Classification is for children 7 to 10, Piaget (1967) has said classification is what children in those ages should be able to understand and group objects relating them to their characteristics. Seriation is children able to put things in order for example in size, colour shape, numbers etc. This stage is allowing children to experiment with real objects in order to explore and problem solve. Piaget (1967) did an experiment for seriation with sticks where he found out that, children can put into series of order but make many mistakes.   He found that above 6 years can put in order in no time and correctly. The final stage is formal operational. This stage occurs in children around 11 according to Piaget (1958). At this stage children are thinking like adults where they can easily problems in their head with ease. Piaget (1958) constructed a task called â€Å"pendulum†. From this task he found out children do little mistakes but learn from them and all three stages pre- operational, concrete and formal operational are concurred and passed. Lewis (1981) did an experiment to show that not all teenagers at the age of 11 can think like adults, he found out that 50-60% teenagers used formal operations. This shows that not all teenagers including adults use this stage. However Bryant (1974) had criticised that tasks that Piaget (1936, 1951, 1952) did to prove his theory were very hard for children to do. Bryant (1974) proved that Piaget was a bit harsh in tasks with children so he constructed a task where he found out that children under 5 were able to do the tasks without any hesitation. This shows the Piaget (1952) did have a good theory but didn’t have the right task for the age group which the children didn’t answer correctly. Robbie case (1992, 1998) did an experiment to see that a child’s development is not just about schemas or to see their cognitive development, but it includes information processing, which is internal capacity of a child.   Cases’ (1992, 1998) theory shows that children have not got enough memory capacity to help them process and develop. So as children grow older they concur the stage. This essay has come to the conclusion that Piaget’s theory has a good source of empirical support to prove his theory. Piaget himself has underpinned numerous tasks such as 3 mountains task, pendulum, object permanence, in order prove his stages of development. However other theorists such as Bryant (1947), Case (1992), Lewis(1981) and Siegler (1981) have proved that there more to the stages of development for example case (1992) has showed that information processing has an equivalent contribution. Nevertheless Piaget had a great impact on cognitive development whereas as many theorists have been inspired. References. Berk. E. L. (2009). Child Development. United States: Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data pages, 22-24,224-257,278, 280-281, 293. Birch, A. (1997).   Developmental psychology.   London: Macmillean Press LTD, pages 65-80,111-113. Piaget, J. (1955). The Childs Construction of Reality, trans. London: M. Cook. Piaget, J. (1959). The Language and Thought of the Child. London: Routeledge and Kegan Paul. Siegler R. S. (1998). Childrens Thinking 3rd edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, pages 44, 66-67, 74-78.

Obsidian - Volcanic Glass Prized for Stone Tool Making

Obsidian - Volcanic Glass Prized for Stone Tool Making The volcanic glass called obsidian was highly prized in prehistory where ever it was found. The glassy material comes in a range of colors from black to green to bright orange, and it is found everywhere rhyolite-rich volcanic deposits are found. Most obsidian is a deep rich black, but, for example, pachuca obsidian, from a source in Hidalgo and distributed throughout Mesoamerica during the Aztec period, is a translucent green color with a golden yellow sheen to it. Pico de Orizaba, from a source in southeastern Puebla is almost completely colorless. Obsidian Qualities The qualities that made obsidian a favorite trade item are its shiny beauty, its easily worked fine texture, and the sharpness of its flaked edges. Archaeologists are fond of it because of obsidian hydration-a relatively secure (and relatively low cost) way to date the period an obsidian tool was last flaked. Sourcing obsidianthat is to say, discovering where the raw stone from a particular obsidian artifact came fromis typically conducted through trace element analysis. Although obsidian is always made up of volcanic rhyolite, each deposit has slightly different amounts of trace elements in it. Scholars identify the chemical fingerprint of each deposit through such methods as X-ray fluorescence or neutron activation analysis  and then compare that to what is found in an obsidian artifact. Alca Obsidian Alca is  a type of obsidian that is  solid and banded black, gray, maroon brown and bottled black maroon brown, that is found in volcanic deposits in the Andes mountains between 3700-5165 meters (12,140-16,945 feet) above sea level. The largest known concentrations of Alca are at the east rim of the Cotahuasi Canyon and in the Pucuncho basin. The Alca sources are among the most extensive sources of obsidian in South America; only the Laguna de Maule source in Chile and Argentina has comparable exposure.   Three types of Alca, Alca-1, Alca-5 and Alca-7, outcrop on the alluvial fans of the Pucuncho basin. These cannot be discerned with the naked eye, but they can be identified on the basis of geochemical characteristics, identified through ED-XRF and NAA (Rademaker et al. 2013). Stone tool workshops at the sources in the Pucuncho basin have been dated to the Terminal Pleistoceneand stone tools dated to the same 10,000-13,000 year range have been discovered at Quebrada Jaguay on the coast of Peru. Sources For information on dating obsidian ,  see the article on obsidian hydration. See the History of Glass Making, if thats what interests you. For more rock science on the substance, see the geology entry for obsidian. For the heck of it, try the Obsidian Trivia Quiz. Freter A. 1993. Obsidian-hydration dating: Its past, present, and future application in Mesoamerica. Ancient Mesoamerica 4:285-303. Graves MW, and Ladefoged TN. 1991. The disparity between radiocarbon and volcanic glass dates: New evidence from the island of Lanai, Hawaii. Archaeology in Oceania 26:70-77. Hatch JW, Michels JW, Stevenson CM, Scheetz BE, and Geidel RA. 1990. Hopewell obsidian studies: Behavioral implications of recent sourcing and dating research. American Antiquity 55(3):461-479. Hughes RE, Kay M, and Green TJ. 2002. Geochemical and Microwear Analysis of an Obsidian Artifact from the Brown Bluff Site (3WA10), Arkansas. Plains Anthropologist 46(179). Khalidi L, Oppenheimer C, Gratuze B, Boucetta S, Sanabani A, and al-Mosabi A. 2010. Obsidian sources in highland Yemen and their relevance to archaeological research in the Red Sea region. Journal of Archaeological Science 37(9):2332-2345. Kuzmin YV, Speakman RJ, Glascock MD, Popov VK, Grebennikov AV, Dikova MA, and Ptashinsky AV. 2008. Obsidian use at the Ushki Lake complex, Kamchatka Peninsula (Northeastern Siberia): implications for terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene human migrations in Beringia. Journal of Archaeological Science 35(8):2179-2187. Liritzis I, Diakostamatiou M, Stevenson C, Novak S, and Abdelrehim I. 2004. Dating of hydrated obsidian surfaces by SIMS-SS. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 261(1):51–60. Luglie C, Le Bourdonnec F-X, Poupeau G, Atzeni E, Dubernet S, Moretto P, and Serani L. 2006. Early Neolithic obsidians in Sardinia (Western Mediterranean): the Su Carroppu case. Journal of Archaeological Science 34(3):428-439. Millhauser JK, Rodrà ­guez-Alegrà ­a E, and Glascock MD. 2011. Testing the accuracy of portable X-ray fluorescence to study Aztec and Colonial obsidian supply at Xaltocan, Mexico. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(11):3141-3152. Moholy-Nagy H, and Nelson FW. 1990. New data on sources of obsidian artifacts from Tikal, Guatemala. Ancient Mesoamerica 1:71-80. Negash A, Shackley MS, and Alene M. 2006. Source provenance of obsidian artifacts from the Early Stone Age (ESA) site of Melka Konture, Ethiopia. Journal of Archaeological Science 33:1647-1650. Peterson J, Mitchell DR, and Shackley MS. 1997. The social and economic contexts of lithic procureent: obsidian from classic-period Hohokam sites. American Antiquity 62(2):213-259. Rademaker K, Glascock MD, Kaiser B, Gibson D, Lux DR, and Yates MG. 2013. Multi-technique geochemical characterization of the Alca obsidian source, Peruvian Andes. Geology 41(7):779-782. Shackley MS. 1995. Sources of archaeological obsidian in the Greater American southwest: An update and quantitative analysis. American Antiquity 60(3):531-551. Spence MW. 1996. Commodity or gift: Teotihuacan obsidian in the Maya region. Latin American Antiquity 7(1):21-39. Stoltman JB, and Hughes RE. 2004. Obsidian in Early Woodland Contexts in the Upper Mississippi Valley. American Antiquity 69(4):751-760. Summerhayes GR. 2009. Obsidian network patterns in Melanesia: Sources, characterisation, and distribution. IPPA Bulletin 29:109-123. Also Known As: Volcanic glass Examples: Teotihuacan and Catal Hoyuk are just two of the sites where obsidian was clearly considered an important stone resource.

Developing Successful Business Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Developing Successful Business Teams - Essay Example Characteristics of team and its contribution to the overall success of the organisation: Team can be defined as a group of people working together to achieve a common target for the welfare of the organisation. However, Dackert, et al. (2010) cited that in a team, the members complement the strengths and weakness of each other. The characteristics of an ideal team such as in Apple Inc., has been mentioned as under: A team leader: Each of the team operates under a team leader. Team leader directs the right path and motivates the members to achieve the targets. The success of effective teamwork in Apple Inc. depends primarily on the leadership quality of Steve Jobs. A common goal: Each of the team members’ work to meet a common short term and long term objectives that improves the business performance of the company. In Apple Inc., the staff are dedicated to provide unique and innovative technical solutions to the customers. Communication : An effective team work includes free communication among the team members. In Apple Inc., the employees can share the feelings and ideas with each other. Moreover, the staff of Apple Inc .are also allowed having an open communication with the leaders. Measurement of team performance: The teamwork of a particular department is being measured by the managers at a regular interval of time. In the company, the managers conduct a team meeting in every month with the team members to discuss the progress of the ongoing project.

The U.S Debt Ceiling Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The U.S Debt Ceiling - Term Paper Example In essence, it can just limit the Treasury from settling expenditures once the limit has been achieved, but which have already been permitted and appropriated. When the debt limit is normally reached devoid of any raise in the limit having been passed, the Treasury has to use extraordinary measures to provisionally fund government expenditure and responsibilities till a resolution can be reached. The U.S. Treasury has never, in the past, reached the level of wearing out extraordinary actions, leading to a default, even though the Congress, on a number of occasions, seemed like it would permit a default to occur (Masters, 2013). Managing of the U.S. public debt is a significant aspect of the macroeconomics of the country’s financial system and economy, and the debt limit is a restraint on the Treasury’s capacity to run the United States economy (Abotalaf, 2011). However, there are talks on how the U.S. financial system should be controlled, and whether a debt limit is a suitable method for restraining government expenditure (Abotalaf, 2011). This paper will discuss the consequences of debt ceiling in the United States economy, how the country got there and how they can get out of it. What the United States Got to the Current Debit Ceiling In Article I, Section 8 of the American Constitution, only the Congress can consent to the loaning of money by the United States on credit (Levit et al., 2013). From the independence days of the U.S. till the early 90’s, the Congress openly consented to every singled debt issued (Masters, 2013). To offer more elasticity to support the U.S.’s involvement in the First World War, the Congress modified the technique through which it legalized debt in the 1917, 2nd Liberty Bond Act. Under this law, the Congress created a summative limit also known as a â€Å"ceiling†, on the overall amount of fresh bonds, which could be issued (Austin et al., 2012). The current debt limit is a summative limit relev ant to almost all national debt, which was significantly created by the both the 1939 and 1941 Public Debt Acts that have consequently been amended to transform the limit amount (Abotalaf, 2011). From time to time, political disagreements occur when the Treasury informs the Congress that the debt limit is almost to be reached (Masters, 2013). When the debt ceiling is achieved and pending a raise in the limit, the Treasury can use "extraordinary measures" to seek extra time before the limit can be increased by the Congress (Austin et al., 2012). The U.S. has never got to the level of a default where the Treasury was not able to pay United States debt requirements, even if it has been close on a number of occasions. The only exemption was in the 1812 War when a number of areas in Washington D.C., and also the Treasury, were burned to the ground (Levit et al., 2013). The U.S. reached, in 2011, a crisis level of close to a default on public debt. The holdup in raising the debt limit led to the initial downgrade in the U.S. credit ranking, a quick plunge in the stock market, as well as a raise in borrowing expenditure. Another debt limit crisis developed in early 2013 when the ceiling was reached once more, and the Treasury assumed extraordinary measures to evade another default (Levit et al., 2013). The 2013 debt limit crisis was settled, for now, on 4th February, 2013, when the President consented to the No Budget, No Pay Act and also delayed the debt

Domestic monetary systems Essay Example for Free

Domestic monetary systems Essay With a population of 170 million, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is strategically located in South Asia, sharing borders with India to the East, China to the North East, Afghanistan to the North West and Iran to the West. To the south lies the Arabian Sea, this provides close proximity to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The country is predominantly Muslim with a major portion of the population (65%) residing in the rural areas. Although significant progress has been made in recent years, the country still lags behind as far as social infrastructure and human development are concerned. (Bajwa, 1999) Structure of Government and Politics: The constitution of the country, promulgated in 1973, holds out the country as a parliamentary democracy with all powers vested in the parliament. However, for much of the past decade, Pakistan was run along the lines of a military dictatorship, with Parliament subservient to the President and vast powers vested in his self. After the gradual transfer of power to democratic forces following an election on the 18th of February, the resignation of General (Retd) Pervaiz Musharraf, and the election of Asif Ali Zardari as the new President, parliament is reviewing the balance of power between the Presidential Palace and the Parliament House and it is expected that, soon, the country would revert back to the old format of the President being a ceremonial Head of State and the Prime Minister running the country independently with Parliament backing. (Malik, 2001) At present, there is a coalition government in place that comprises the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). It is led by the President of the country, Asif Ali Zardari, who happens to be the widower of famed democratic leader Benazir Bhutto, assassinated by terrorist elements during an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi last year. Other coalition partners include the MQM (Muthaida Quami Movement translated as United National Movement) and the ANP (Awami National Party). The Opposition is deeply divided and primarily consists of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) and the Pakistan Muslim League (N). The main political issues on the domestic front are, as mentioned above, the repealing of anti democratic laws enacted as part of the constitution by the outgoing military regime and the issue of the deposed judges of the supreme court that were sacked by the former military regime when they refused to remain puppets. Apart from this, there is the dire issue of reconciliation between neglected provinces. However, the inability of the new coalition government to actively address issues of popular appeal and an over indulgence in issues of power sharing and power consolidation lend it ever decreasing credibility in the eyes of the general public. Although the new government has been in power for almost an year, its performance has been dismal. The popular mandate of democracy that has shot the PPP and its coalition partners into power has not been implemented. The Prime Minister, Yousuf Reza Gillani, remains a puppet and the Presidential Palace remains the main power fort. Despite the fact that the opposition is ready to support the government on national issues, such as the reinstatement of deposed judges and the repealing of undemocratic laws, the government has so far shown quiet restraint to address these issues. Foreign Policy: â€Å"Pakistans foreign policy has been marked by a complex balancing processthe result of its history, religious heritage, and geographic position. The primary objective of that policy has been to preserve Pakistans territorial integrity and security, which have been in jeopardy since the states inception. † (US Library of Congress) The aforementioned paragraph adequately describes Pakistan’s foreign policy ever since it came on the map of the world in 1947. Being predominantly Muslim, the country finds itself sentimentally attached to the Islamic World, in particular the Middle East. A developing country, lacking skilled manpower and capital to exploit the wealth of natural resources that its lands have been bestowed with, the country’s foreign policy has had to take in account the economic impact that relations with other countries can have. Moreover, traditional enmity with the giant neighbor on its eastern borders (India) has forced it to make balancing measures with staying in the good books of China and supporting pro Pakistan elements in Afghanistan. (Bajwa, 1999) Pakistans foreign policy is deeply aligned with the United States goal of War on terror. After the September 11 attacks, Pakistan renounced terrorism and became a frontline state in the war against terrorism. The country is the main supply route to NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan and is a major non NATO US ally. Despite this close alignment with the United States, the country often finds itself in a tricky situation when it comes to its tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. These areas are largely unregulated since independence from the British in 1947, operate with full autonomy while pledging allegiance to Islamabad. Pakistan is blamed for â€Å"not doing enough† to quell terrorist incursions from these tribal areas. Tribes here are said to be providing safe havens to terrorist and Taliban elements with the theory that the top brass of Al Qaeda and the Taliban is hiding here. NATO led forces have made several air strikes in the area which Pakistan declares as encroachment on its sovereignty but takes little steps to discipline these tribal belts. Part of this inaction is based on the fact that a stable Afghanistan, aligned with India is not in the best interests of Pakistan. Traditional enmity with India over the Jammu Kashmir disputed territory has led the two countries to fight three full scale wars in 1948, 1965 1971 and one limited war in 1999. Pakistan perceives a pro Pakistan Afghan government or an unstable Afghanistan as a hedge against encirclement by India. It is this threat to its security that leads it to, introvert if not extrovertly, refrain from taking any drastic steps to quell those destabilizing elements in Afghanistan that originally emanate from its terrotiry. (Bajwa, 1999) On the economic front, Pakistan is primarily an exporter of textiles accounting to about 57% of the country’s exports. Prime markets are North America and Europe. Good relations are important with these two blocks of nations as they provide trade facilitation and, at the same time, help with soft loans and aid to help in social and economic development. Remittances also play an important part in the country’s balance of payments and a large amount of Pakistani’s work in the Middle East, Europe and America. The country’s foreign policy also has to take account of these factors. (Malik, 2001) Thus, to sum up, as implied earlier, the country’s foreign policy is driven by its perceived security threat, religious affiliation with the Islamic fraternity of nations and the dependence upon economic aid and facilitation by friendly countries. While the policy has been largely successful in maintaining the country’s territorial (if we exclude the secession of East Pakistan in 1971 due to Indian intervention) integrity and safeguarding its economic interests, continuing on such lines indefinitely is not an option and it is important that the country makes a strategic review of its policy and seek alternative ways of addressing outstanding issues. Domestic Monetary Systems: Speaking In purely political economic terms, the government of technocrats that took power in October 1999 was faced with a huge crisis. Business confidence was low, investors were hesitant and the economy seemed to be heading for a deeper depression. Political legitimacy for the regime was another issue. Quite smartly, the policy makers then decided to lower interest rates. The idea was that low interest rates would encourage private sector borrowing, push up aggregate demand, increase corporate sector profitability, help in the generation of employment and quite importantly provide legitimacy to the regime. The concept to create this artificial boom was not a bad idea at all, but the fact that this approach only stocks problem for the future are alarming. While banking is referred to as â€Å"the refined management of money†, during the last 9 years, the country bore witness to the greatest mismanagement of scarce resources in the history of the country. The rise of consumer banking in an undocumented economy meant that people borrowed cheap and spent it on unproductive activities like buying consumables, investing on a volatile stock market vacationing in Europe. New investment in capital was made, but the bulk of the corporate sector used the low interest rates to either replace existing machinery or reschedule existing loans at cheaper rates. Thus, the economy was inflated by the use of an expansionary monetary policy that increased the dependence on oil and fuel. Worse, the effect is more severe as a high proportion of petroleum consumption is used by private car owners. Had the government tried to balance total economic and social benefit with total economic and social costs, by for example, encouraging public transport as opposed to private car ownership, the economy would have been less affected by the oil price hikes. Switching to Compressed Natural Gas was instead provided as a viable alternative but the result was lower gas supply for domestic and industrial use. Today, the Pakistani economy is representative of an over inflated balloon and attempts to deflate it are having serious repercussions. The state bank of Pakistan has raised interest rates to 15. 5% in attempt to curb inflation running as high as 20%. Measures have been introduced to reduce the money supply. This would help ease inflationary pressures on the demand side. However the argument goes that high interest rates would discourage investment, lead to low business confidence result in excessive saving as people would consume less and save more. This would mean that a â€Å"general glut† would appear in the economy with high inventories and unused capacity. Unless there is adequate demand outside the economy, employment levels may fall and output would decrease, leading to further slow growth, possibly complete stagnation. Given the current world economic scenario, with recession in the US, the sub prime mortgage crisis, competition from low cost producers such as China and India and the overall geo political scenario, monetary contraction is only making matters worse. Another important problem is the fact that unethical business practices like cartelization and hoarding are ever prevalent in this country. Moreover, the country is highly dependent upon imports of fuel and other items to aid its industries. Thus, a major portion of the inflation that the country faces is cost push in nature. However, the aim remains to target aggregate demand. (Janjua, 2008) This policy of the government makes some sense as the economy is artificially inflated. However, by not targeting the cost push factors and solely targeting the demand factors by reducing money supply, the government is not helping consumer and business confidence. The government’s inaction can be explained by two reasons. First, the country has recently obtained a hefty loan of USD 7. 6 billion from the IMF. A condition of this loan is to restrict money supply further. This is typical of many IMF financings which focus on monetary betterment as opposed to the level of unemployment and GDP growth. Secondly, many of the cartels have representation in the government and due to the absence of a strict legal system; any action against them is made impossible. Foreign Trade: A very interesting scenario is presented in the Economic survey of Pakistan 2007-8, which states that exports â€Å"suffer from serious structural issues which need to be addressed primarily by the industry itself, with government playing its role of a facilitator. † It then goes on to tell how textiles are the most important contributor to exports (56. 67%) and the issues that the industry faces as a result of its inability to innovate, become efficient and embrace fashion trends in its primary foreign markets. A new surprise is found in the face of food items (the country is running out of water, by the way) accounting for 13% of total exports, petroleum products (meager resources at best) accounting for 6% of total exports, manufactured leather products 3. 7% and chemicals and pharma products almost 3. 27% of total exports. Aggregate these and you find that the top five exports make up 83% of total exports. (Ministry of Finance, 2008) The point of doing this analysis is to show that as an economy; Pakistan is heavily exposed to, what is called in financial management terminology, unsystematic risk. Its lack of diversity makes it more prone to microeconomic shocks in the prime exports that it makes. Another worrying problem is the terms of trade, (a monetary measure of the price of exports upon the price of imports). Sadly, whereas the terms of trade were highly in favor of Pakistan until 1998-99 (115. 7), they have since then nose dived to stand at 58. 35 (2007-8). What this implies is that although the country has been exporting a lot more in volume, in value terms, international trade is becoming increasingly disadvantageous for Pakistan. Even if you take the effect of rising oil prices out of this analysis, the terms of trade had, never the less had fallen to 73. 6 by 2004-5. This lack of value addition makes us it more suspect to microeconomic level industry shocks that could further damage its standing in the export market. (Ministry of Finance, 2008) The previously mentioned most accurately describes the Pakistani government’s policy towards foreign trade. Although it has been working tirelessly to gain access to markets in Asia, Europe and North America for its export industries, the emphasis has remained towards increasing textile exports. This support of textiles and agricultural items to a certain extent has not fared well for other industries and sectors. Export diversity is low and so is value addition. Moreover, the country has not been able to reposition itself with regard to reliance on imports. So in so, that even though the country is an agricultural country by definition, due to poor harvests and lack of support, in certain years, we see that staple food items are imported by this agricultural country. Although natural consequences favor that Pakistan produces and exports textiles and food items, unfortunately, but both these industries have certainly lost their efficiency at doing the job that is intended of them. The textile industrys inability to change coupled with power shortages and political nightmares and our lack of water resources for agriculture coupled with reluctance from commercial banks to serve this sector means that there should be a policy change at the federal level. The high level of competition that these industries face means that the government has to take steps not only to help these industries blossom and at least maintain their market share, but to ensure that comparative advantage is exploited in other fields as well. The Pakistani government has been providing support to the traditional industries for some time now with mixed results. Therefore, instead of a status quo â€Å"wait and see† policy, a change is warranted. Thus, a policy shift should be made towards growth of value adding, job and export oriented activities. Exchange Rate Policy: Interest rate parity and purchasing power parity holds that changes in exchange rates between currencies can be explained by differences in interest rates and inflation rates respectively between countries. Building on this premise, the Rupee Dollar (PKR:USD) exchange rate remained range bound between PKR 59/USD to PKR 62/ USD for almost 8 years, starting 2000. The reason was that the country followed a managed float, with the central bank intervening in the market whenever the exchange rate would go out of range. This was happening against the backdrop of the fact that interest rates and inflation rates were considerably high in Pakistan and the currency was expected to depreciate. (State Bank of Pakistan) This managed float policy changed in early 2008 when the new government took power and the country reverted to a floating system. The rupee has since lost 33% of its value against the US dollar and currently stands at PKR 80/USD. (State Bank of Pakistan) The current policy is more realistic in its economic nature as the country, lacking substantial foreign currency reserves and a permanent balance of payment deficit could not continue to support an artificially strong exchange rate. Furthermore, this new policy of floating exchange rate systems will benefit the country with regard to its exports becoming cheaper when priced in USD. However, whether demand for the country’s exports picks up is another issue. More over, the effect of the rise in the prices of imports also has to be considered as many inputs in the production process are imported. Conclusion: The analysis of Pakistan’s monetary, foreign trade, exchange rate and foreign policy reveals the tendency in many developing countries to take decisions regarding economy based on politics. The short term benefits include lending credibility to the person in power, but the long term effects are almost always devastating. References: Bajwa Naseem, F. (1999) Pakistan : A Historical and Contemporary Look. Karachi : Oxford University Press. Asif Malik, M. (2001). Ideology and Dynamics of Pakistan. Karachi: Publishers emporium. Lipsey G. , H. Harbury, C. (1992) First Principles of Economics. London: Oxford University Press. Library Of Congress. For Researchers. Retrieved from http://www. loc. gov/rr/ State Bank Of Pakistan. Publications : Financial Stability Review. [Data File] Retrieved from http://www. sbp. org. pk/fsr/2006/index. htm Janjua Ashraf, M. (2008).. Government Borrowing and State Bank’s Authority. The Daily Dawn Economic and Business review Retrieved 12th december 2008 from http://www. dawn. com/2008/11/24/ebr14. htm

Synopsis :: Essays Papers

Synopsis Both the movie and the book should be approached as a mystery that unfolds. It is written realistically but has a great deal of mystical overtones throughout the story. Both the movie and the novel begin in the middle of the story which in the beginning may be slightly confusing to either the movie go’er or the reader. Once the story has gone full circle it comes together in and attempts to question some primal beliefs as freedom, love, self worth, and the â€Å"natural† instinct for a mother to protect her child. Here is a brief summary of what has happened prior to the novel and movie’s opening. Mr. Garner purchases a 13-year old black slave girl named Sethe in order to assist his wife by doing the routine jobs around the house. Sethe is the only female slave owned by Mr. Garner who has five other male slaves – three Pauls, Halle, and Sixo. Sethe marries Halle and gives birth to four children. While she is pregnant with her fourth child, the six adult slaves decide to escape the household. Her three children make it to safety due to the aid of a runaway slave woman but Sethe waited for Halle, which caused her to get caught. She is then brutally raped and severely beaten by the slave owners but Sethe does eventually manage to escape without Halle. Sethe makes it out of Kentucky and gave birth to â€Å"Denver† the night before she crosses the river to Ohio. For 28 days Sethe and her children happily live with Halle’s mother, Baby Suggs, but she is soon found by the slave-owner who had come to retrieve them. To avoid a return to slavery, Sethe decid es to kill her children and herself. She is only able to kill her toddler, later known as â€Å"Beloved†. At the novel and films opening, which takes place after slavery has been abolished, the entire family is tortured by the ghost of the baby girl haunting the house, and the Black Community has turned their back on Sethe for her seemingly horrendous actions. Observations The character Sethe is presented as a former slave woman who chooses to kill her baby girl rather than allowing the child to be exposed to the physically, emotionally, and spiritually oppressive horrors of a life spent in the confines of slavery.