Comprehensive Examination Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Comprehensive Examination Questions - Essay Example These are the consecutive model and the concurrent model. In the case of consecutive model, a teacher would first obtain a certain qualification in one or more than one subjects (which can be a first university degree) and then she/he would study for an extended period of time to obtain an extra qualification in teaching. In certain systems, it is a postgraduate degree. In the case of concurrent model, the student would concurrently study one or more than one academic subject together with the techniques of teaching that subject, which would eventually lead to the eligibility to be a teacher in that subject. Through the above discussion, we understand the beginning of the process of teacher development. Stage theories develop from this very process of ‘making’ a teacher. In this process of teacher development, illustrations, examples, explanations, and demonstrations are crucial. In a word, the ways of representing and formulating the subject that makes it comprehensible to others †¦ (it) also includes an understanding of what makes the learning of specific topics easy or difficult: the conceptions and preconceptions that students of different ages and backgrounds bring them to the learning (Craft et al, 2001). Hence, teacher development would be a stage-wise process that would enable the teacher to handle the various needs of this demanding profession in today’s complex environment. In this context, one of the two current stage theories that would be discussed here is given by R. Fessler and J. Christiansen. According to them, an individual teacher would go across eight life-long stages of career. More or less time would be spent in a given stage according as the organizational and personal environment influencers. These eight stages in the Fessler and Christiansen Teacher Career Cycle can be defined as Preservice, Induction, Competency Building, Enthusiastic and Growing, Career Frustration, Stability, Career Wind-Down, and

Business Research Process Essay Example for Free

Business Research Process Essay Abstract The business research process is an important tool that can help the marketing in a business. By using the steps of this process managers are able to make decisions based on the study of the consumer and target audience. It is also important to identify the competitors in order to stay profitable and competitive. Business Research Process The business research method involves the studying of all parts of a company, the customers, and the market to make important decisions for the business. The strengths and weaknesses of a company are evaluated but especially how a customer views their goods and merchandise. Management studies the competition and the industry that which they are a part of. As part of the management at AZ Alarm Company, I make use of the business research process myself. The first step in this process is to identify the significant competitors in the industry. In the alarm industry it is important to know what other companies are offering so that we stay competitive and bring in new customers while still making a profit. Most of this information is readily available and easy to obtain. The second step in the process is to study the customer or consumer. Doing this enables management to find out what the needs and wants are in order to create new products. By analyzing this information it is also to be determined the amount of money someone is willing to spend on these services. After this information has been gathered it is ready to be analyzed. Companies sometimes use the SWOT (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. This method enables a business owner or management to enhance their strengths and to figure out what needs to do to change their weaknesses into strengths. Opportunities need to be taken advantage of and utilized because they will not always be available. The target audience also needs to be taken into consideration. If a business is marketing to people that will not use or benefit from their product or service they will not be able to meet their full potential. This can also affect their profit and gain immensely. All of the steps in the business research method are only effective if the information is used and applied to develop and better their marketing strategies. Collecting and analyzing data is something that is ongoing and should be done continuously. As times and technology change so does a consumers wants, needs, and preferences. At AZ Alarm we are always to striving to have the newest and latest technology but also at a competitive price so that we stay on top. References Cooper, D., Schindler, P. (2011). Business research methods (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Suttle, R. (2013). The Steps in a Business Research Process. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/steps-business-research-process-3294.html Suttle, R. (2013). What Is a Business Research Process?. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/business-research-process-3279.html

Brazil Facts Essay -- Brazil

Brazil Introduction You probably heard of Brazil but, do you know much about it? Brazil is a beautiful place or country, in South America. It’s great for tourists’ sites; it has amazing land features, and especially cool culture and history. Brazil has a tremendous amount of nature and folktale. Brazil was found actually, over 8,000 years ago. The Portuguese were the first European settlers to arrive there. The journey was led by Pedro Cabral who began in the 1500s. When they finally got there they found Native Americans living there. They were around the seven millions. Now over the thousands of years Brazil has literally transformed into modern day. Brazil is the Federal Republic of Brazil. Brazil is in South America and is the largest country there. It’s the fifth largest country in the whole world. Brazil may be the fifth largest country but, it’s the sixth largest nation or population. The population in Brazil is 186 million and the life expectancy for men is 68 years old, for women its 76. In 1494, Pope Alexander VI gave Brazil to Portugal. Then in 1762, Rio De Jan...

Conventionality vs Instinct in Daisy Miller and The Awakening Essay

Henry James's Daisy Miller and Kate Chopin's The Awakening were first published twenty-one years apart, the former in 1878 and the latter in 1899. Despite the gap of more than two decades, however, the two works evince a similarity of thought and intent that is immediately evident in their main themes. Both works display characters whose lives have been governed almost solely by the conventions of their respective societies. Furthermore, both works also attempt to demonstrate to the reader what happens when these conventions are challenged by individual instincts, which more often than not are in direct contradiction to the dictates of convention. The theme of conventionality versus instinct predominates both works. In Daisy Miller the theme is embodied in the character of Frederick Winterbourne, an ex-patriot American living in Europe. The Awakening's Edna Pontellier serves as the means through which Kate Chopin examines her version of this theme. Both Winterbourne and Edna are trapped in conventional worlds, and both are affected by a deep, instinctive need to break free of the bonds that restrain them so absolutely. The portrayal of this theme, however, is accomplished in different ways by Henry James and Kate Chopin. The main reason for this is that although the theme is common to both works, the protagonists' experience of it are not. Conventionality has entrapped them in different ways, and their instinctive reactions arise out of differing circumstances. Frederick Winterbourne, for example, comes to a realization of his internal struggle between conventionality and instinct not in and of himself, but because of Miss Daisy Miller. Winterbourne meets the young Miss Miller in Vevay, Switzerland, while v... ...life, a life where her instincts hold ultimate sway. Yet the theme in both works is similar in one way. For, while the weight of judgement does fall against the ex-patriots in Daisy Miller, we realize that they are not wholly in the wrong, for they do recognize Giovanelli for what he is. And although we praise Daisy for her refusal to submit to their conventions, we realize that she was not necessarily perfectly correct in ignoring all of the conventions. Similarly, we praise Edna for breaking free from the conventions that a patriarchal society forced upon her. In the end, however, she is forced to leave that world, since she cannot accept any of its conventions. The true theme in both Daisy Miller and The Awakening, then, is not that it is better to flout convention and live by instinct, but that life must necessarily be a synthesis of convention and instinct.

Corporate and Business Law Assignment 2012

Table of Contents Introduction2 Proceedings2 The evidence3 Precedents set by tribunals6 Conclusion6 Corporate & Business Law Introduction An Employment Tribunal would hear claims regarding matters to do with employment. These could include unfair dismissal, discrimination and redundancy payments. An employment tribunal is similar to a court but it is not as formal and it must act independently. These are commonly open to the public. Employment tribunals are independent judicial bodies who help determine disputes between employees and employers about their employment rights.The tribunal I chose to view and write this report on is an employment tribunal, that involved the claimant putting forward a case of unfair dismissal and breach of contract that was based on the fact that she felt she was unfairly dismissed while carrying out her duties that were set to her by her employer (Dr Monoghon). * Less formal than other court proceedings. * Lower costs. * Benefit of tribunal is they can c hoose to represent themselves. * Lay members specialise in their area of expertise regarding the case.Below are details of the claimant, defendant, time, date and venue. The Case Unfair Dismissal and breach of contract Venue: Croydon Tribunals Date: 13th November 2012 Time: 10:00am – 16:00pm Defendant: Dr Hester Monoghan Claimant: Ms Davidson Evidence: 8 minutes Audio recording After Ms Davidson was dismissed from her job, she later received a call from the nanny agency that she was working for, stating that they had been informed by the police that of an allegation of child abuse by herself on the children.She was then refused to be represented by the agency as they did not want to put forward her name as it would reflect badly on the agency as she had a case on going against her. This prevented her from finding work and therefore was out of work for a period of five months. Ms Davidson opened this case up against the defendant as she feels she unfairly dismissed and had a b ad reputation in regards to her occupation. She therefore wanted to be reimbursed for the loss of the work she missed out on and also wanted to clear her name regarding this issue.Proceedings Upon entering the tribunal room, the judge was seated front centred facing both parties involved in the case, the parties involved were Miss Davidson the claimant, her representative Peter Mathews, seated next to her and parallel to her on the left hand side were the respondents Dr Monoghan and Mr Monoghan. Once entered the judge introduced her and then allowed the defendant and claimant a chance to introduce themselves, preceded by giving defendant an opportunity to provide a brief history of the events which had taken place.Dr Monoghan believed that the claimant had not been fulfilling her duties properly and was in breach of the employment contract as it had come to the Monoghans attention that she was using foul words in front of her children, which the children had picked up and started to use whilst in the home environment. Dr and Mr Monoghan did not approve of this and believed that the claimant had been lying about taking her kids to activities and used to say she did in the diary that had been prescribed to the claimant.For this reason she felt she had to take the situation in to her own hand and therefore had her husband put in place voice recording measures in an open plan kitchen/living/dining room. On 8th March 2012 they made an eight hour recording of Ms Davidson’s shift at her house. This was broken in to segments totalling a twenty minute recroding. After listening to the audio recording they felt that they had â€Å"reasonable grounds to believe that Miss Davidson was verbally abusive and showed a lack of empathy and lovingness towards her children.The evidence The judge then gave Dr Monoghan a chance to play the evidence that had been produced but Mr Monoghan then intervened and then asked the judge â€Å"Is it not against privacy right to play a recording in a public tribunal†. The judge then referred to a ruling book and then she made a judgment that it would be allowed as she felt it corresponded to the guidelines of the tribunal proceedings. Mr Monoghan then setup the audio to show the recording that was made on the 8th March 2012 whilst his children were in care of Ms Davidson.I felt this expression was used for the fact that it was a public viewing and Mr Monoghan felt it was a sensitive situation as it involved his children of a minor age which could be seen as a private matter to him and his family as he would not want his kids further involved in this situation. The audio recording was of snippets of dinner time while the children were in care of Ms Davidson. The children were not paying attention to what Ms Davidson was telling them to do and therefore this was frustrating her.Her mannerism towards the children then indicated that she was persistent for the children eating their food also indicating threate ning behaviour indicated the comment by â€Å"if you don’t eat your food the trolls are going get you†. There were words used such as; â€Å"Go away† â€Å"Shut up† â€Å"Can you just eat your food!! † â€Å"Stop it† There was a constant rudeness to the children throughout this recording. The male child was especially picked on by Ms Davidson as she would say to him â€Å"You, stop being bossy to your sister! During the recording there was a clear sharpness to Ms Davidson’s voice towards the children and there was a continuity of abusive behaviour towards the children. Questioning of Dr. Monoghan Once this audio recording was finished the judge then asked the defendant, Dr Monoghan, to come up on the witness stand. Dr Monoghan was then asked to read out the Oath of Truth in court. The judge then began to ask her questions to break it down and try and work out really what happened.Talking about the appraisal meeting in January defenda nt explained that she had raised the fact that the children had been using inappropriate language to her and her husband such has â€Å"shut up† and â€Å"that’s tough†. She then went on to say that she had highlighted this to Ms Davidson and asked her to restrain from using these words in front of them as felt it would have a negative impact on their upbringing. She also asked Ms Davidson to focus on the male child as she felt her relationship with the female child was a good one. To this Ms Davidson replied by saying that the male child was the most difficult child she has ever looked after.To this the defendant replied that this meeting had been set up simply to raise their concerns but were given no reassurance by Ms Davidson stating that these problems would be sorted. They informed her of the fact that they had a recording and asked her if she would like to hear it but Ms Davidson said she could not do this as she had a job interview to go to as she was go ing to become redundant within the next month and Mr Monoghan had been made redundant from his job and was therefore going to take control of the child care himself. Dr.Monoghan then stated they both left the room and decided between themselves that they were not happy for the claimant to continue her job and therefore dismissed her there and then. Questioning of Mr Monoghan Mr Monoghan stated that he raised concerns and for this reason he was not happy for Miss Davidson to continue looking after his children as he was concerned about the safety of his children. He then stated that he offered to play the recording to Ms Davidson but she refused as she had an interview to attend as she was coming to the end of a contract.This was due to Mr Monoghan becoming redundant from his job and therefore taking control of his children’s wellbeing. Questioning of Ms Davidson Ms Davidson confirmed that the transcript of the meeting was correct. She then went on to say that she felt that sh e was not prepared for the meeting and felt as if she had the right to have an independent witness with her. She then went on to say that she had only said â€Å"Shut up† to the children once and it was unfortunate that she had been caught out on that one instance.She did admit to wrongfully doing by using this phrase towards the children. She was angered with the fact that she was told it was a reference and holiday pay meeting but turned out to be her last day of work. The final verdict The judge felt that as Ms Davidson had been out of work for three months due to the allegations that were made to the police that she should be compensated three months wages. The judge then ordered the defendants to pay Ms Davidson for the two weeks’ notice that she should have had.She dismissed any allegations of MS Davidson physically abusing the children as there was no evidence found and advised the defendants to go through the police if they still felt this was a serious issue a nd also added that no further action would be taken within the tribunal system. Achievement of tribunal proceedings Speed Although the defendant arrived one hour late it still allowed the case to be completed within five hours.From the case I visited I soon realised there was a very productive speed throughout. The case I visited was scheduled for 1 day but was wrapped up within 5 hours and that included a 1 hour lunch, evidence, questioning and the judgment to take place. . There was not much waiting around and the whole case was to the point as through Expertise The judge who was appointed to the case for unfair dismissal was a specialist in this area she specialised in.Off the record the judge mentioned to us that this particular case was a difficult one as it involved one employee and one employer which meant she was dealing with a delicate situation. This was due to it involving children of a minor age and there had clearly been strong relationship between the family and Ms Dav idson as it was previously stated in the appraisal meeting which clearly documented Ms Davidson as having a â€Å"loving and caring relationship† with her children.The judge began by introducing herself and unfortunately she did not have anyone else along with her judging the case so. There was an instance when Mr Monoghan raised an issue of the audio recording being heard while we were present as it children of a minor age talking on it throughout and after consulting a book for a few minutes she then came to a decision that it would not be a problem for this to be played out load while the public was present. Accessibility There are different mediums in which the claimant can use to put forward a case.The most commonly one used is usually the ET1 form, requiring the claimant to state the details of the case which they wish to put forward outlining the circumstances and any other issues regarding the case. However there are other formalities that can be used such as contacti ng the authorities through email or telephone. The accessibility of the case falls upon the representative to send through the relevant forms in order for the case to be reviewed and considered for a tribunal hearing. Fairness From what I witnessed at the tribunal case I felt that Dr.Monoghan and Mr Monoghan were unfairly judged by the judge as by the evidence that was heard it was clear to see that Miss Davidson was clearly not exercising her job efficiently enough as she was clearly heard using foul language in front of the children and I do believe she should of controlled her temper as this is what she was trained to do. I felt she Miss Davidson won the case based technicality as she was able to say she wasn’t directing her language towards the children and as of this was able to bypass the system and win the case.The judge should have shown more compassion towards Dr. Monoghan and Mr Monoghan as it was a case that applied to their children and therefor was a sensitive on e for them as it could affect the children on the long term. Precedents set by tribunals The lower tribunals are not there to set binding precedents for any other court or even themselves. They are bound by the decisions of superior courts and appellate tribunals.Appellate and Employment appeal tribunals are bound by the decisions that are made by the Supreme Court but they would usually be required to being bound to the decisions that they made themselves (English legal systems, Richard Ward and Amanda Akhtar 11th edition). In regards to employment appeal tribunals, matters of law are binding on decisions of appeals and the House of Lords, although decisions of the high court in England and wales would usually have a great persuasiveness and the ribunals would similarly go with the principles that can be found in those decisions. There are certain precedents rules and guidelines that have been set out by previous legal cases and these have to be followed by tribunals. This allows t here to be more of efficiency throughout the case as the defendants can refer back to the case that is in conjunction with the case however within the judicial system of a tribunal court there is a leniency and flexibility based on the case this was as well as the evidence and information provided by both parties.Taking this information into consideration the laments will then deliberate and make their decisions. Similar cases may have different outcomes which will not be based on the same precedents. Tribunals such as an employment based cases are required to follow certain procedures and take in to consideration such as reasons for dismissal with the notice given for dismissal and other externalities that are relevant to the case for dismissal. Main issueThe main issue with tribunals setting binding precedents for other courts and themselves is that in tribunals there is a sense of flexibility in their operations and the judges and the courts use their interpretation of the situat ion to make a judgement and it would be optimistic to think that the doctrine of the binding precedents achieves the certainty and flexibility. Conclusion The judgement of the case went in favour of the claimant in the tribunal.I feel this is an unfair judgement as the parents had intrusted the claimant in taking care of their children in an appropriate manner but it was clear throughout the audio that was played that was not applied by the claimant and there was a constant rudeness and aggressiveness towards the children. I feel that as the claimant would have been a trained with the necessary skills to look after the children she should have still been able to detach her emotions from her actual duties towards the children as she is trained in this profession. Reference http://terryandco. hubpages. com/hub/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-Administration-Tribunals

Free Essays on Essay

Look at our life today; look how it has changed. Just one hundred years ago we could see O’Henry’s little secretaries typing for ten hours a day. Weak and deprived of rights, they could be easily dismissed, experience sexual harassment or encounter health problems. They had nobody to be protected by, nobody to turn to. Dark rooms, bad air, and sitting for whole day. It was cruel, but innocent world. Hours, after work, spent in front of windows of an underwear store, cheap food and little dark rooms with gas lighting in the evenings. When she stepped outside her office, she forgot where she worked, she stayed alone with herself, she was on her own planet, she was in her own world. Today we can see the same girl in front of the same underwear store with a mobile phone in her hand giving orders to bank or suppliers. Life has changed. Rhythm has changed. Conditions have changed. For good or bad? Our little hero can’t be dismissed anymore, just because boss’s wife doesn’t like her. She can’t be forced to make things she doesn’t want to do. There are days when she works for 16 hours, twice more than she should, but she is paid for these hours. Her office is cozy, bright, and comfortable. She can be promoted. She can be sent to learn. She is protected and independent. But no matter where she goes with her mobile phone on her - it’s on. Always. We find ourselves today, at the beginning of the Twenty-first century, in bright well air-conditioned offices, protected by contracts in our pockets and by armies of different employees associations. We have become more productive with the help of personal computers, electronic mail, scanners, facsimile machines, and voice message systems. Our mobile phone can take us out of bed to solve urgent problems. â€Å"Super† clients can keep us at work on the birthday of our little daughter. Where is our privacy? Where is our real life? â€Å"Buying† rules have changed and so have â€Å"sellingï ¿ ½... Free Essays on Essay Free Essays on Essay â€Å"We ought then regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its previous state and the cause of the one which is to follow. An intelligence knowing at a given instant of time all the forces operating in nature, as well as the position at that instant of all things of which the universe consists, would be able to comprehend the motions of the largest bodies in the universe and those of the smallest atoms in a single formula - provided that it was sufficiently powerful to submit all these data analysis. To it nothing would be uncertain and the future would be present to its eyes as much as the past.† This passage comes from P.S. de Laplace’s â€Å"Philosophical Essay on Probabilities.† If such determinism is true, then everyone’s every thought and action must be inevitable; that no one really has any choice about anything, because we are all helpless products of blind forces which have made us what we are. Determinism is not plausible. There are many reasons for determining how determinism is false. The arguments for determinism, can be refuted.. There are those who think that our behavior is a result of free choice, but there are others who presume â€Å"we are servants of cosmic destiny or that behavior is nothing but a reflex of heredity and environment.† The position of determinism is that every event is the necessary outcome of a cause or set of causes. That everything is a consequence of external forces, and such forces produce all that happens. Man is not free. If we accept the determinist argument and assume human behavior as a consequence of external factors rather than of free choice, then we must realize that our explanation of human be havior leaves no room for morality. If people do not choose their actions, then they are not really responsible for them, and there is no need for praising or blaming them. If determinism were true, then there would be no basis for human effort, for why should a perso... Free Essays on Essay Experts say the most influential years of a child’s life are from six to fourteen, I’m hoping they are wrong. When I was 7 my father experienced some legal troubles, which forced him to leave the house, the family, me. I remember the day perfectly; it was the day my life would change forever. I was too young to realize what was going on then, so I couldn’t comprehend why my father was leaving me. I begged him to stay and I reminded him countless times how important he was to me. But it was all in vain; I only accomplished making his departure more painful, for both of us. I began seeing the results of the tragedy and its impact on my family, the way it changed my mother, sister, and I. The damage it caused, and how each individual was able to handle adversity. My mother experienced the most difficulty adjusting. She was forced to take on a second job and still could not make ends meet. The daily torment of seeing no way out, no way to lift us out, began to take a heavy emotional toll. She did not have time to spend with us and began growing cold and irritable. The loving relationship I had with my mother came to a stop after a few years and then took a turn for the worse. She was not the kind loving person I knew her to be. When not working, she was always irritated and angry. Most of the time she would take this frustration out on my older sister. I would cry and tell her to please stop; I knew she was driving my sister away. As soon as my sister was old enough to leave the house, she did. Now I was left alone with my mother. I did not fault my sister for leaving. I knew she must search for something better. I had always idolized my sister, and for several years she acted as my mother. She was the one who punished me when I misbehaved, made me dinner, and gave me advice. I learned the things young women need to know from her, as well as the things children can’t comprehend the importance of yet. She became my mother while st... Free Essays on Essay Look at our life today; look how it has changed. Just one hundred years ago we could see O’Henry’s little secretaries typing for ten hours a day. Weak and deprived of rights, they could be easily dismissed, experience sexual harassment or encounter health problems. They had nobody to be protected by, nobody to turn to. Dark rooms, bad air, and sitting for whole day. It was cruel, but innocent world. Hours, after work, spent in front of windows of an underwear store, cheap food and little dark rooms with gas lighting in the evenings. When she stepped outside her office, she forgot where she worked, she stayed alone with herself, she was on her own planet, she was in her own world. Today we can see the same girl in front of the same underwear store with a mobile phone in her hand giving orders to bank or suppliers. Life has changed. Rhythm has changed. Conditions have changed. For good or bad? Our little hero can’t be dismissed anymore, just because boss’s wife doesn’t like her. She can’t be forced to make things she doesn’t want to do. There are days when she works for 16 hours, twice more than she should, but she is paid for these hours. Her office is cozy, bright, and comfortable. She can be promoted. She can be sent to learn. She is protected and independent. But no matter where she goes with her mobile phone on her - it’s on. Always. We find ourselves today, at the beginning of the Twenty-first century, in bright well air-conditioned offices, protected by contracts in our pockets and by armies of different employees associations. We have become more productive with the help of personal computers, electronic mail, scanners, facsimile machines, and voice message systems. Our mobile phone can take us out of bed to solve urgent problems. â€Å"Super† clients can keep us at work on the birthday of our little daughter. Where is our privacy? Where is our real life? â€Å"Buying† rules have changed and so have â€Å"sellingï ¿ ½...

Discipleship in Matthew Essays

Discipleship in Matthew Essays Discipleship in Matthew Essay Discipleship in Matthew Essay Global discipleship making disciples for the sake of the nations A study of the Gospel according to Matthew Introduction Matthew’s handbook for the church Why did Matthew write his gospel? John clearly had an evangelistic aim (Jn 20:31), but Matthew wrote his gospel for the church, for those who already follow Jesus. It is a teaching gospel, which arranges its material into subjects, summarising the teaching of Jesus and illustrating it with examples from his life. Matthew’s is the only gospel that mentions the church (16:18; 18:17). In short, Matthew wrote the first discipleship training course! Matthew divides his material into 5 sections, each of which contains a number of stories from the life of Jesus, and concludes with a chapter (or two or three) of extended teaching by Jesus to his disciples, before finishing with the passion narrative of the death and resurrection of Jesus. This fivefold division was no accident, for Matthew was a Jewish Christian (and former tax-collector), and all Jewish writings of his time followed this pattern (based on the 5 books of Torah Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). Why did Matthew write this gospel for the church? He probably wrote it at a time when church and synagogue were growing apart, when the distinction between Jew and Christian was becoming more obvious. At first, most if not all followers of Jesus were Jewish. But over time, as more and more Gentiles found new life in Jesus, an ‘either/or’ situation developed. Matthew’s church was probably made up of Jewish Christians, facing increasing pressure over their (apparently) divided loyalties. And he wanted to show them that Jesus was indeed the long-awaited Messiah, fulfilment of the Hebrew Scriptures, and that they were not being unfaithful to their roots by being Christians. So how is this relevant to us? Matthew’s church has been described as â€Å"a community cut off from its roots divided in itself as to what its priorities should be, groping for direction in the face of previously-unknown problems† (David Bosch, ‘Transforming Mission’, p58). Does this sound familiar, such as our own context today? And Matthew’s response? â€Å"His concern is not simply to help his people cope with the new pressures they confront, but to assist them in developing a missionary ethos that will match the challenges of a new epoch† (Bosch, ibid). Matthew’s aim is therefore both pastoral and missionary – pastoral, in wishing to convey selfconfidence to a community of Christians facing a crisis of identity; and missionary, in seeking to embolden them toward seeing opportunities for witness and service around them. So this is very relevant to us. Matthew has written a gospel for the church, for those who follow Jesus, to encourage and motivate them, to give them confidence about who they are, and to direct them outwards, to share the good news with others. Matthew’s understanding of mission making disciples The theme of discipleship is central to Matthew’s gospel, and the term ‘disciple’ is used far more often by him than by Mark or Luke (Mt 73, Mk 46, Lk 37 times). But while in Mark and Luke, ‘disciple’ is the term reserved only for the Twelve, in Matthew it is used more widely, of any follower of Jesus. The Twelve are the prototypes for all disciples, who are to copy them, doing the things they did. And as well as being linked to the first band of disciples, any contemporary disciples are also linked to each other. No disciple can follow Jesus alone, but is irrevocably linked to the fellowship of disciples, the ekklesia, the church (which, as above, is why Matthew mentions it). There is a strong emphasis in Matthew’s gospel on doing God’s will, keeping his commands, and the challenge to be perfect, to surpass or excel, to observe or keep, to teach, and to bear fruit. Consider for example the concern for doing God’s will. In the Lord’s Prayer, we are to pray that His will be done (6:10); only those who do the will of the Father will be saved (7:21-23); in the parable of the two sons, it is the one who did his father’s will who is commended, not the one who said he would (21:28-31). For Matthew, actions are the test of the authenticity of words. It is not what we say, but what we do, that matters. Orthodoxy is not as important as orthopraxis right action surpasses right belief. Discipleship is about doing, about service. Another concern for Matthew is that any disciple of Jesus should give evidence of dikaiosyne, that is, justice-righteousness. It is a difficult word to translate into English, since it carries the connotations of both these words. ‘Righteousness’ refers to a right relationship with God; ‘justice’ refers to a right relationship with our fellow human-beings. It is neither only spiritual, nor only pragmatic. A right relationship with God protects us from legalism, and a right relationship with others protects us from empty words (both mortal sins in Matthew’s eyes). Discipleship includes a concern for both justice and righteousness. Who is to be discipled? This is the most Jewish of the gospels, full of direct Old Testament quotations and allusions. On two occasions, Jesus appears to restrict the work of himself and his disciples only to Israel (10:5-6; 15:24). And yet Matthew still manages to conclude his gospel with one of his most famous passages, the ‘Great Commission’, sending his disciples to make more disciples, of all the nations (28:18-20). Is this a bit of a surprise to the disciples, an afterthought by the soon-departing Jesus? As if he were saying, â€Å"Oh, by the way, here’s something I should have mentioned earlier, but I forgot. If you feel like it, and are not too busy, could you disciple a few nations for me? †. But the ‘nations’ (Gentiles, ethne) are in fact never far from sight throughout Matthew’s gospel. They are included in Jesus’ genealogy (1:5); they are the first to worship the new-born Christ (magi 2:1-11); Jesus lived in Galilee ‘of the Gentiles’ (4:15); news of his activities ‘spread all over Syria’ (4:24); the ‘plentiful harvest’ of 9:37 alludes to a wider perspective; the quotation of Isa 42:1-4 in 12:18-21 mentions ‘the nations’ twice; in the parable of the wheat and the tares, the field is ‘the world’ (13:38); Jesus was willing to enter non-Jewish homes (8:7); Jesus commends the faith of Gentiles, including the Canaanite woman whom he apparently initially rejects (8:10; 15:28); he explicitly promises that many from ‘the nations’ will participate in the messianic feast (8:11), and that finally the gospel will be preached in the whole world, as a testimony to ‘all nations’ (24:14). Thus, for Matthew, the mission of the church is to make disciples, followers of Jesus, who will do the Father’s will, from every nation. Discipleship is self-reproducing. Disciples will make disciples, who will in turn do the same, into every nation on earth. The ‘Great Commission’ Matthew’s summary of what disciple-making means When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, â€Å"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and makes disciples of all nations, baptising them in the names of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age† (Matt 28:17-29). These are some of the most used (and abused? ) verses in recent Christian history. Often taken out of context, and used to support missionary appeals of all kinds, this ignores the context we have outlined so far. They are not, as I suggested above, an afterthought, but rather the climax, a culmination of everything said up to this point, a summary of Matthew’s entire gospel, written so that we might â€Å"make disciples of all nations†. For Matthew, discipleship is the mission of the church, with all the nations in view. The content of this disciplemaking is teaching and baptising. The ‘going’ is not an imperative in Greek but a present participle thus it is not a command, but an assumption. The overall aim of the church, and therefore of all discipleship, is the winning of all nations to the status of true followers of Jesus. So how does Matthew suggest this is to be done? Mark uses ‘proclaim’ (kerysso) and ‘teach’ (didasko) interchangeably. Matthew never does. Jesus never ‘preaches’ to his disciples. He teaches them. In the first commissioning, the disciples are sent to ‘preach’ (10:7), a ‘proper’ missionary activity. But in the Great Commission, this is not so. The disciples are sent to ‘teach’, an activity reserved for the benefit of disciples, those who already follow Jesus. To understand this, we need to remember that, for Matthew, teaching is no mere intellectual enterprise. Jesus’ teaching appeals not to the mind, but to the will. It is a call for a concrete decision to follow him, and to submit to God’s will (as revealed in the life and ministry of Jesus). Proper actions, not words, are what count. This is what it will mean to disciple the nations. It is not enough simply to proclaim that ‘Jesus is Lord’ people from every nation are to be turned into mature, active followers of him. Jesus has universal authority. Why then make disciples? Because this fact has to be proclaimed to all. If Jesus really is Lord, it simply has to be proclaimed. No-one who knows can keep silent about it. They can only do one thing help others to acknowledge Jesus’ lordship. Only Jesus’ authority inaugurates and makes possible a worldwide mission. The universal, unlimited dominion of the risen Jesus evokes an equally universal, limitless response from his followers. Jesus promises to be with the disciples always, to the end of the age (Matt 28:20), is rooted in the first title given to him Immanuel, God with us (1:23). This presence is permanent, FACT, based on nothing more spectacular than a simple promise. No fireworks, no Pentecost. This presence and empowering is not simply for our own comfort, but is intimately connected with mission. It is only as it makes disciples that the church knows the presence of Jesus. The disciples are clearly modelled on Jesus, to do the things that he did (â€Å"teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you†; cf 10:24-25). But the disciples are not expected to be perfect. They are referred to as being ‘of little faith’, ‘afraid’, or ‘full of doubt’. Even in Matt 28:17, all worship, but some doubt. This communicates that mission never takes place in self-confidence, but in the knowledge of our own weakness, at the point of crisis where danger and opportunity come together. Like the first disciples, we stand in the place of tension between worship and doubt, faith and fear. Mission is â€Å"not a fringe activity of a strongly-established church, a pious cause which may be attended to once the home fires are first brightly burning† (David Bosch) . it is not one of the things the church does. It is the framework for all that the church does and is. It is the reason, the goal, the end of discipleship.  © Richard Tiplady December 1996

World War Is Mitteleuropa

World War I's Mitteleuropa German for ‘Middle Europe’, there are a wide range of interpretations for Mitteleuropa, but chief among them was the German plan for an empire in central and eastern Europe that would have been created had Germany won the First World War. War Aims In September 1914, a few months after the start of World War I, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg created the ‘September Programme’ which, along with other documents, set out a grandiose plan for post-war Europe. It would be enacted if Germany was totally successful in the war, and at that point nothing was certain. A system called ‘Mitteleuropa’ would be created, an economic and customs union of central European lands that would be led by Germany (and to a lesser extent Austria-Hungary). As well as these two, Mitteleuropa would include German domination of Luxembourg, Belgium and their Channel Ports, the Baltic and Poland from Russia, and possibly France. There would be a sister body, Mittelafrika, in Africa, leading to German hegemony of both continents. That these war aims had to be invented after the war started is often used as a stick with which to beat the German command: they are chiefly blamed for starting the war and didn’t even know what t hey wanted beyond having threats from Russia and France removed. It’s unclear exactly how far the German people supported this dream, or how seriously it was taken. Indeed, the plan itself was allowed to fade as it became obvious the war would last a long time and may not be won by Germany at all. A variation emerged in 1915 when the Central Powers defeated Serbia and Germany proposed a Central European Federation be created, led by Germany, this time recognizing the needs of the war by placing all military forces under German command. Austria-Hungary was still strong enough to object and the plan again faded. Greed or Matching Others? Why did Germany aim for a Mitteleuropa? To Germany’s west were Britain and France, a pair of countries with a vast global empire. To the east was Russia, which had a land empire stretching to the Pacific. Germany was a new nation  and had missed out as the rest of Europe had carved the world up between them. But Germany was an ambitious nation  and wanted an empire too. When they looked around them, they had the hugely powerful France directly west, but between Germany and Russia were eastern European states that could form an empire. English language literature racistly considered a European conquest as worse than their own global conquests, and painted Mitteleuropa as significantly worse. Germany had mobilized millions of people and suffered millions of casualties; they tried to come up with war aims to match.In the end, we don’t know how far Mitteleuropa would have been created. It was dreamt up in a moment of chaos and action, but perhaps the Treaty of Brest-Lit ovsk with Russia in March 1918 is a clue, as this transferred a vast area of Eastern Europe to German control. It was their failure in the west that caused this infant empire to be erased.

Racism in Football (soccer) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Racism in Football (soccer) - Essay Example Basically race and football presents itself in several forms. Since the early years of the last century, many fans have used their football matches to express their racial chauvinism though it has been discovered that these were just a minority of the population but causing great trouble. It's very critical how the minority groups could become very dangerous to coaches, players, and fans. Basically the problem could be worse than implied because many respondents perceive not to give bad impressions. This research will study the extent of racial discrimination in football especially at international and professional levels, and the strategies to alleviate this problem. Racism is a big concern in the world of football all over. In essence, racism is not simply aimed at undermining or intimidating football players because of the colour of their skin (Russell 1997). In recent times, coaches, officials and even fans have fallen victims of racial discrimination particularly based on their nationality, ethnic origin and religion. Some people are targeted because they are associated by their opponents rather than the colour of skin and ethnicity (Back & Solomos 1998). There have also been cases where people have been individualized and insulted by their own fans, the most notable incidence was that of John Barnes. Racism is a major problem especially in the European nations and a very critical factor in the cases of hooliganism in football. The real degree to which racism is practiced is virtually difficult to measure since there is no detailed information as evidence or important data and statistical analyses are non existent (Russell 1997). Nonetheless, the activities of disorders in football are particularly on the international level are often referred to as racists or they are perceived to be perpetrated by a groups of racists and currently even some clubs are being considered as being inherently supporters of racism. Types of Racism Racism in football takes a variety of forms and some of them are not clearly seen as discriminatory. However chanting against a team, player, coach, football official or fans has been a common form of racist activity. This was very common especially in the English football in the period around 1970s and 1980s. A crowd of some fans usually made some funny noises at players; in England, fans made monkey noises to intimidate black football players on the field. Some other cases included even more personalized abuse and insults (Back & Solomos 1998). A outstanding case is that of Deptford fire where thirteen black players in their youthful ages were burnt by a mod to death, while chanting insulting songs- ' niggers burning better than petroleum' could be heard even as far as Milwall. There have been anti-Semitic songs targeting for instance the Tottenham Hotspurs fans. Other songs are patriotic and connected to country's national anthems. Due to the increasing number of cases of racist chanting during football matches, a law was enacted in 1991 termed as the football offences act which made these chants during soccer matches an illegal activity but this law is still inadequately effective in its definition of chanting; chanting is defined as 'utterances of any words made repeatedly or making of some sounds in unison with one or a

A creative love story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A creative love story - Essay Example he eternal love story, â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† and our love story indeed took a start in the same way, like all star-crossed lovers falling onto each other’s arm and then reaching the climax to fall apart but in my case Jane, my Romeo was a magician, he promised me to be together and he said me that I’ll never have to be alone. Jane was two years senior to me in my school and we fell in love with each other very soon while going down the vales, crossing the woods and running after the butterfly on our way to school. Summers passed and spring was in the air, with flowers, colors and smell in the air and we were engrossed in each other under the blue sky and full moon. I asked Jane, â€Å"Honey, I do not want to be alone anymore. â€Å"I do not want to lose you†. Jane replied, â€Å"Do not worry, Scarlet, we will be together forever.†Days passed by and it was white around. It was Christmas! Jane was on my balcony crossing the garden. To meet me, he threw pebble on my window. A trick he had taken a number of times to send me signals. Unfortunately, that Christmas Eve my dad received the sound of the pebble and came out in the yard to catch me and my love red handed. I could only see him pushing back Jane and a loud sound came to ears, â€Å"Stay away you jerk! Stay away, from Scarlet. That was the last time I saw my Jane. Snow melted fast and new leaves were on the branches of the tree, people on street and birds out of their nests. Only I was inside my room then for more than a month. Suddenly, I don’t know how, my friend Catherine arrived one Sunday morning and insisted me to go out with her. I was very sure that dad won’t allow us. However, to my despair, he let us go to the outskirts and there the greatest excitement of my life was waiting. My Jane was waiting for me. I was meeting him after a month and I could see the same spark in his eyes. I said to Jane, â€Å"There’s no way left, apart from running away†. â€Å"Please Jane take me away very far where nobody

The power of Sovereignty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The power of Sovereignty - Research Paper Example Inequalities in the exercise of power and disregard to justice are even more evidenced in the political scene in various regions around the world today. Such always stem from the need to advance once own course by ignoring and disregarding other people who they consider rather inadequate. Stigall, Blacksley and Jenks argue that an interesting scene is always created where people especially the government authorities always insist on maintaining their rights while at the same time violating and stepping on the rights of their own subjects. (Stigall, Blacksley and Jenks, 2009). This is a common occurrence experienced with most of the sovereignties around the globe today. The aspect of exercising single handed rule on the subject population is mostly experienced in dictatorial countries such as Syria, Egypt, Iraq, alongside other Arab countries famous for dictatorial cases. This is contrary to what Hobbes refers to in his social contract theory, leaving the state of nature and looking a t the advancement of one’s own course at the expense of the others in the territory (subjects). According to the social contract theory, it is those in higher social ranks who seem to deserve their rights while those of the lower social ranking are often considered incapable of demanding for any form of rights. As a result of this, their rights are always abused in a bid to preserve those of the power in the society. This paper will look at the effects of electing a sovereign with regard to the protection of state rights and the protection of the people under this rule with reference to the Arab countries and democracy in these regions. Hobbes proposes in his theory that the election of a sovereign in any state always results in the creation of the state of nature in the regions under the control of the sovereign (Saul, 2008). This theory, I think does not hold enough water in as much as I know and believe given the many atrocities which have been experienced in many of the A rab countries such as Syria and Egypt in the recent past. Having the sovereigns in these states has done nothing much other than inflicting a lot of troubles and augmenting the rise in cases of inequalities in these states. These happen as the sovereigns strive to uphold their own rights at the expense of the other citizens. Many people have succumbed to death in these countries as they try to protest to regain their rights. The question in this case therefore is whether this is what Hobbes refers to as the creation of a state of nature. The state of nature according to my understanding with regard to the social and political contexts is when the ruling authority strikes a balance with the citizens under her rule to allow the participation and full regard of the subjects in state affairs. It is far from having the central government designing and deciding on every aspect of leadership. The contrary is however the truth in most of the sovereign ruling systems as in the cases of Syria and Egypt we have mentioned above. Brown and Hamzawy note that â€Å"The tragic developments in Lebanon and Palestine- all with weak or failed state institutions- have enable Arab democracy pessimists dismiss easily any talk about positive political reforms as the fantasy of the western well- intentioned humanists- or misguided ideologues- who do not understand the real

Based on Bergen's book (War and Genocide), what were the differences Term Paper

Based on Bergen's book (War and Genocide), what were the differences between the policies of the period 1933-1940 and those of 1 - Term Paper Example Nazi Germany Policies In the book â€Å"War and Genocide: A concise history of the holocaust†, Bergen brings out the difference between policies during the period between 1933 and 1940 and those of the period between 1940 and 1945. She argues that, during the former period, the Nazi policies against their enemies underwent significant changes. These included those towards the Jews, those suffering from hereditary diseases, Gypsies and political opponents. It took place in particular designated areas known as Einsatzgruppen that were conquered from Eastern Europe territories. It was part of their territorial expansion in Europe (154). She mentions the other targeted groups as the disabled and homosexuals â€Å"and others and attacked communists, homosexual men...(viii). A considerable difference is also highlighted with regard to the nature of actions during these periods. In the first years, actions were lighter than during the later years. Bergen shows that the Nazi policy w as moderate between 1933 and 1934. It was also contributed by the lack of agreement on what qualified an individual to be regarded as a Jew. They were afraid to scare voters and average minded politicians. It is at this time that the Haavara Agreement was signed between Nazis and Zionists to ensure that Jews in Germany migrated to Palestine before 1939 and Israel by 1949 (239). The genocide of Jews took part during this time leading to the persecution, enslavement and killing of millions of Jews (169). Immediately after, thousands of Jews were terminated from employment to avoid infiltration of destructive traits (55). These superior or privileged positions were reserved for the Aryan Germans (36). Nonetheless, it is at this time that most Germans were recruited to support the military service. According to Bergen, the members of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi) formed their hatred from the familiar prejudices they had experienced during the pre-Nazi regime in Germ any (1). In this respect, she exposes the attempts made by Hitler to eliminate laws that would stop the Nazis in their quest (48). She contends that the Nazi believed in the scientific legitimacy of this racial doctrine in â€Å"the pseudo-science that grew up around it† (12). The eugenics or racial hygiene program was also include to sterilize and exterminate the victims compulsorily where she indicates â€Å"Hitler introduced a law to legalize eugenic sterilization.... to prevent reproduction by people deemed unworthy† (66). During the later years, different policies including the education system where populist anti-Semitic education was introduced in schools. These blamed the economic problems experienced after the war, unemployment and loss of World War I on Jews. However, during World War II, Nazi accepted Slavs to serve in the occupied territories of their army despite their consideration as sub-humans. It was a measure to deal with the manpower shortages in the military (168). Upon prompting by their leader, the Nazi changed their policies regarding the Croats and Slavs. The Nazi policies became worse hence culminating into the holocaust that was alternatively known as â€Å"The final solution† by Friedlander (246). Additionally, different measures were taken against the persecuted groups. In this sense, she explains how the persecution process took place in different stages. For instance, the National Committee against Nazi persecution and Execution of Jews was developed. Other legal

The Skill of Writing Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

The Skill of Writing - Personal Statement Example The genre of academic writing requires extensive reading and research work. The research plays a pivotal role in providing write-up focus and substance. It makes the composition rich and informative. The writer must good research skill apart from being an active reader. But the highlight of academic writing is the writing style itself which is formal, grammatically correct and not unnecessarily accessorized with big words. Above all other aspects, it needs proper planning and organization to compose an academic paper. When writing an academic, essay there is a high possibility of getting lost in the overload of information supplied by the research materials. The first task is to zero down on the topic that the writer wants to work on and then sift relevant information to build up the argument of the essay. While deciding upon the argument of the essay the writer has to choose one or more perspectives of approaching the topic. In light of that perspective, the writer arranges the points in such a way that the argument looks strong and convincing. Academic  writing calls for a critical-analytical approach to the topic. The writer should attempt to develop an individual perspective in the essay yet incorporating appropriate elements from the resources as support of his argument. Quotes or paraphrasing from the references wherever necessary makes the essay resourceful and interesting. It also shows the writer’s ability to integrate and tune in information according to the need of the paper. When using references the writer must be aware of the different referencing styles like MLA, APA, Harvard, and Chicago and strictly adhere to one particular norm. The writing has to be grammatically correct, precise and to the point.

Based on Bergen's book (War and Genocide), what were the differences Term Paper

Based on Bergen's book (War and Genocide), what were the differences between the policies of the period 1933-1940 and those of 1 - Term Paper Example Nazi Germany Policies In the book â€Å"War and Genocide: A concise history of the holocaust†, Bergen brings out the difference between policies during the period between 1933 and 1940 and those of the period between 1940 and 1945. She argues that, during the former period, the Nazi policies against their enemies underwent significant changes. These included those towards the Jews, those suffering from hereditary diseases, Gypsies and political opponents. It took place in particular designated areas known as Einsatzgruppen that were conquered from Eastern Europe territories. It was part of their territorial expansion in Europe (154). She mentions the other targeted groups as the disabled and homosexuals â€Å"and others and attacked communists, homosexual men...(viii). A considerable difference is also highlighted with regard to the nature of actions during these periods. In the first years, actions were lighter than during the later years. Bergen shows that the Nazi policy w as moderate between 1933 and 1934. It was also contributed by the lack of agreement on what qualified an individual to be regarded as a Jew. They were afraid to scare voters and average minded politicians. It is at this time that the Haavara Agreement was signed between Nazis and Zionists to ensure that Jews in Germany migrated to Palestine before 1939 and Israel by 1949 (239). The genocide of Jews took part during this time leading to the persecution, enslavement and killing of millions of Jews (169). Immediately after, thousands of Jews were terminated from employment to avoid infiltration of destructive traits (55). These superior or privileged positions were reserved for the Aryan Germans (36). Nonetheless, it is at this time that most Germans were recruited to support the military service. According to Bergen, the members of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi) formed their hatred from the familiar prejudices they had experienced during the pre-Nazi regime in Germ any (1). In this respect, she exposes the attempts made by Hitler to eliminate laws that would stop the Nazis in their quest (48). She contends that the Nazi believed in the scientific legitimacy of this racial doctrine in â€Å"the pseudo-science that grew up around it† (12). The eugenics or racial hygiene program was also include to sterilize and exterminate the victims compulsorily where she indicates â€Å"Hitler introduced a law to legalize eugenic sterilization.... to prevent reproduction by people deemed unworthy† (66). During the later years, different policies including the education system where populist anti-Semitic education was introduced in schools. These blamed the economic problems experienced after the war, unemployment and loss of World War I on Jews. However, during World War II, Nazi accepted Slavs to serve in the occupied territories of their army despite their consideration as sub-humans. It was a measure to deal with the manpower shortages in the military (168). Upon prompting by their leader, the Nazi changed their policies regarding the Croats and Slavs. The Nazi policies became worse hence culminating into the holocaust that was alternatively known as â€Å"The final solution† by Friedlander (246). Additionally, different measures were taken against the persecuted groups. In this sense, she explains how the persecution process took place in different stages. For instance, the National Committee against Nazi persecution and Execution of Jews was developed. Other legal

Aerobic Capacity Lab Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aerobic Capacity Lab Report - Essay Example acity is most commonly expressed relative to the body weight to account the difference in body size and to reflect a person’s ability to carry out weight bearing tasks. Aerobic capacity is an important component of physical fitness because it reflects the overall capacity of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems1 and the ability to carry out prolonged strenuous exercise2.From a health perspective, good cardio respiratory fitness has been shown to reduce the risk (in adults) of hypertension, coronary heart disease, obesity, diabetes, some form of cancer, and other health problems3. There is a genetic component to aerobic capacity. Some people inherent characteristics that give them a naturally high level of aerobic capacity than other people. However, the genetic component in relatively small, accounting for less than 30% of the difference between people4. Thus aerobic capacity mostly reflects the level of habitual physical activity. In particular, aerobic capacity reflects the vigorous, sustained (aerobic) physical activity in which an individual engages. Aerobic capacity of the youth can be improved with sustained periods of high intensity exercise5. Although the exact dose of exercise needed has not been identified, three or more sessions per week in which moderately high-intensity exercise is sustained for 30 min or more are probably required. Any dynamic exercise involving large muscle groups is suitable, such as rigorous walking, jogging / running, cycling, swimming, and vigorous games. Improvements are proportioned to the amount of moderately high intensity exercise completed per week. Three students serve as subjects. They included 2 male and 1 female. They took a treadmill test for a specified duration. Subjects were run to exhaustion and then cool down while walking on the treadmill. The gases analyzed were oxygen (O2) and Carbon dioxide (CO2). To calculate the rate of O2 utilization (VO2), in addition to the fractional concentration of the

International Terrorism and Global Politics Essay Example for Free

International Terrorism and Global Politics Essay In the 21st century, it would seem that the term â€Å"terrorist† has become an all encompassing description of anyone whom civilized people feel is a threat to innocent civilians, domestic tranquility, and the everyday life that most people take for granted. Government officials declare â€Å"war on terrorism† and the like. Expanding upon, and deviating from the typical definition of a terrorist, Charles W. Kegley’s 2002 edition, The New Global Terrorism: Characteristics, Causes, Controls, contains a chapter entitled â€Å"Is There a Good Terrorist? †, which asserts that one nation’s terrorist may fairly be considered another nation’s patriot. This paper will maintain the argument that no terrorist is a â€Å"good terrorist†, in contrast to the presentation of Kegley in his volume. Defining Terrorism To begin, a valid argument can be made against so-called â€Å"good† terrorists by establishing a baseline definition of terrorism. In some of his other writings, Kegley has maintained that one of the problems in condemning terrorists is that the act of terrorism itself is so hard to define; in other words, as was mentioned previously, a terrorist may not be considered a terrorist by everyone, because ultimately, some group of people or nation is supposedly benefitting from the terror inflicted on another group. However, by fine tuning the definition of a terrorist, it will be possible to reinforce and build upon the argument of this paper- that there is no such thing as a good terrorist. In order to make that assertion solid and tenable, one must realize that the term terrorism should in fact refer to acts of violence, war or sabotage inflicted upon innocent civilian populations by a person or persons not affiliated with an organized army and outside of the scope of declared warfare. Within this context, we are not talking about the soldier who serves his country by defeating enemies in combat, but we are talking about extremists who detonate car bombs near schools and hospitals. In using this definition, it is possible to further bolster the argument. Terrorism is about Targets as Well as Intentions A second assertion that can be made in critique of Kegley’s presentation comes from a discussion of the issue of the targets of terrorism as well as the intentions of terrorists, as earlier defined. For example, a terrorist, for all of his claims that he is trying to free other people from the oppression of another group, change a bad situation, avenge previous wrongs and the like, is violating international law as well as the basic moral codes when the terrorist inflicts casualties among defenseless civilians, such as when terrorists launch attacks on religious centers, public places or even private residential areas, there is a tremendous wrong being done, no matter what noble cause the terrorist claims to support or advance. Simply put, the means do not justify the end. A Fine Line between Patriotism and Vigilantism A key point continues to echo throughout this research- the fine line between defeating enemies and violating the written and unwritten laws of humanity. Indeed, one could make the argument, for example, that the founders of the United States in some ways inflicted terrorism according to our previously stated definition, for many of them were un-uniformed, taking up arms against an organized, sovereign government, no matter how noble the cause was for which they were fighting. However, when looking at terrorists in regard to being those who step over the line of legality and morality for the sake of their causes, again the message returns that there must be at least some level of decency in the world, even among those who adamantly oppose one another, for if opposing groups are allowed to continually launch terror attacks upon each other, all of humanity will soon degrade to chaos and anarchy, serving no one’s interests. Indeed, it is morally, ethically and legally wrong for people to take the law into their own hands; therefore, all potential or actual terrorist acts must be dealt with in the harshest possible terms. Conclusion In this paper, the argument has been made and supported that there is no such thing as a good terrorist, no matter what the intentions, motivations or goals of the terrorist, keeping in mind that there are certain criteria which define what makes a terrorist. Therefore, it must be remembered that patriots are not those who blow up women and children, poison reservoirs or destroy public gathering places, nor are those who wear the uniform of their country and fight in declared wars terrorists. Once that differentiation is made and adhered to, all of humanity will be all the better for it. Conversely, if we allow these grey areas to exist where a potential terrorist thinks they will receive rewards, either in this world or the one to come, the death toll of innocents will continue to swell. Hopefully, this key distinction will be realized by the people of the world before it is too late.

Globalization Free Trade

Globalization Free Trade Global Deregulation: Risks and Opportunities in the Area of Free Trade INTRODUCTION Globalization has been one of the major driving forces for achieving the concept of a ‘borderless world and society. This period only shows that the world is innovating and becoming smaller not in terms of its size but in means of transportation, communication, and exchange of ideas. As this aspect of modernization happens, every country in the whole world is compelled to adapt to changes just like what Great Britain did during the Industrial revolution. Changes include trade liberalization, floating exchange rates, market driven economies, and improve financial sector that can cope up with the fast pace of transactions between different countries regardless of their locations with each other. The concept of deregulation has become known in the era of globalization. Deregulation, the opposite of regulation, aims to allow countries markets to move freely and make them very accessible from other states. This involves removing barriers or restrictions of trade which enables other countries with free access of goods and services of a certain state. Deregulation of trade can contribute either positively or negatively to developed countries and the developing states. This research paper discusses the different measures, policy reforms, and trade agreements the core countries and the peripheries have taken in response to the trends of globalization. This research paper also tries to identify the positive and negative impacts of the concept of deregulation on the era of globalization. To be more specific, the paper will focus on the notion of free trade system as well as other aspects that is affected by globalization like the banking industry. These aspects are needed for free trade security on both countries that are integrating with each other. GLOBAL DEREGULATION Heinemann (2006) reports that deregulation in the past two decades has materialized as international mobility of goods, services and factors also increase. The impact of these things hit the regulatory structures of markets and prompted them to undergo changes. He also mentions that deregulation enhances globalization trends. However, Heinemann asks the question of â€Å"how and to which extent increasing cross-border factor mobility will impact on regulatory equilibrium in the fields of labor, financial market, and trade or product regulation?† (Heinemann, 2006) Heinemann (2006) argues deregulation based from economic evidences is driven by trade openness and capital mobility in a limited fashion. Based from evidences gathered, he concludes that labor market regulation results in to trade openness. He adds that national divergence from deregulations as influenced by globalization is not related clearly to the economic integration on global capital, goods and services markets. (Heinemann, 2006) Banking Industry In the U.S. Banking Industry the regulatory structure of existing banks started to decline in the 1980s. This was due to improvements in technology, increased incidences of holding companies and competition from emerging firms that also provide banking services. To be able to cope up with these challenges, the US Banking Industry submitted itself to deregulation measures. (Becher, Campbell Ii, and Frye, 2003) Deregulation, together with changing technology and fast consolidation, flourished in the 1990s. To start with, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Act was enacted in 1991 which adopted a â€Å"least-cost resolution method and prompt resolution approach† for failing banks. (Becher et al., 2003) It also directed the creation of a â€Å"risk-based deposit insurance assessment scheme.† In the year 1994, another act was ratified as law in the name of Riege-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act. This law removed the restrictions on interstate banking and branching which was in effect for 70 years, and also took out the regulatory burden and paperwork requirements of banks. This was followed by the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 which edited the regulations concerning the flow of credit from lending institutions to various businesses and consumers. It also introduced the mortgage lending process. (Becher, Campbell Ii, and F rye, 2003) Free Trade For the European Union, deregulation of markets plays an important role for the growth of its large corporations. In order to achieve that, the Union initiates Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with other countries and regions of the world. In their FTA with Mexico, which was enforced in 2000, the Union got 95 percent deregulation for goods and services, together with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) paritys inclusion of provisions in investment, procurement, trade facilities and competition rules. After their Global Agreement with Mexico, EU promoted free trade agreements the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPA) with Latin American countries. Two years later, the Union had also made Chile to sign to another Global Agreement. (Reveles and Rocha, 2007) In 2006, the Union underwent major reforms in its trade policies. On October 2006, EU issued a strategy paper entitled: Global Europe: Competing in the World. This new trade policy reform encourages complete deregulation of markets. Reveles and Rocha (2007) mention other measures presented in the paper by the European Union: (1)† reducing non-tariff barriers for EU exports and investments, (2) increasing access to raw materials, (3) guaranteeing energy supplies by expanding trade in third countries energy sectors, (4) reinforcing the presence of EU corporations in emerging markets, (5) opening up public procurement markets, (6) improving implementation of anti-dumping mechanisms, and (7) implementing intellectual property rights.† (p. 6) The European Union has also started negotiating Free Trade Agreements with Andean Community of Nations and Central America in the Latin America, South Korea, India, and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The World Bank (2002) reports that the average tariff rates of developing countries have been reduced in half from 30 percent in the early 1980s to 15 percent in the late 1990s. Martin (1997) notes that the reduction of tariff rates from developing countries is higher than the industrial countries and â€Å"decreases from a higher level are likely to have much greater welfare benefit than corresponding decreases from a lower base.† World Bank (see Figure 1) adds that the reductions have been great in South Asia, Latin America, and East Asia. While in areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, and North America, free trade was in a limited extent. Aside from the reduction in tariffs, quota coverage and foreign exchange restrictions declined which enables trade liberalization to develop widely. (World Bank, 2002) John Audley (2003) reports the initial challenges faced by the Latin American and Caribbean countries. These challenges include: (1) growing national economies, (2) creating good jobs, and (3) generating necessary revenues in order to afford basic public goods like human health and environmental protection. Their expected annual growth of workforce of 1.9 percent from 2001 2010 will be a burden since the last two decades; there were insufficient jobs to provide the growing population. The weak economic performance also resulted to 150 million people of Latin American and Caribbean according to the Inter-American Development Bank earning less than $2 per day. Mexico, the major trading partner of EU and United States, faced the challenges also encountered by the Latin American countries. Facing a major economic crisis in 1982, President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado of Mexico decided to make the country export oriented. To further enhance their international trade, Mexico joined the Gen eral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The next president, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, continued the measures of his predecessor by â€Å"reducing the size of the public sector, promoting land ownership reform, and securing a commitment from the United States and Canada in 1991 to negotiate a free-trade agreement.† (Audley, 2003, p. 6) In order to provide measure to solve these problems in the Latin America and Caribbean, thirty-four (34) governments located at the Western Hemisphere met in 1994 to address the following: advancing prosperity, democratic values and institutions, and security. So they formed the Free Trade Area of Americas (FTAA) because many government officials who attended the meeting believed that free trade will help the failing economies to recuperate. (Audley, 2003) The governments of Latin American countries have been involved in 17 free trade agreements with members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Last January 2003, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the United States announced the start of the comprehensive trade negotiations. (Audley, 2003) Razeen Sally (1999) describes how the â€Å"less-than-rich countries (developing countries) have been gaining positive breaks in the international trade and investment since the 1980s. She reports that the share of developing countries in the world manufactured exports doubled from 10 percent to 20 percent. This assessment is similar on the observations of the World Bank. One-third of the worlds foreign direct investment (FDI) is from them, which increased from 14 percent in the 1980s. The World Bank estimates that their shares in world trade and output could reach around 50 percent and 30 percent respectively in the year 2020. The developing countries also show their presence in the international scene through the World Trade Organization (WTO) wherein they account to over three-fourths of the total membership. (Sally, 1999) S.M. Shafaedin (2005) identifies two (3) main reasons of upgrading the export structure as well as production capacity: (1) for essential sustainability of exports, (2) for assistance in â€Å"technological development and spillover effects† to the economy by the export sectors, and (3) for reduction of economic vulnerability to â€Å"external factors, balance of payments crisis, fallacy of composition, and terms of losses. (Shafaedin, 2005, p. 11) Wacziarg and Welch (2003) report the increasing number of open countries from 1960 to 2000. As were countries having open trade policies. In the year 2000, the number rose to 73 percent (47% of world population) of the countries in the world are considering international trade. (Wacziarg and Welch, 2003) Sally (1999) also reports that in the last 15 years, trade policies concerning overseas have changed and they were followed by trade reforms. Over thirty-three (33) developing countries shifted from closed economies to open markets from 1985 to 1995. Also in the same period of time, the number of liberal countries in terms of â€Å"cross-border capital movements† increased dramatically from 9 to 30. (Sally, 1999, p. 2) Not only those, since the year 1990 almost 75 percent of the transition regimes have undergone liberalization in trade and payments which resulted into the â€Å"most dramatic episode of trade liberalization the world has ever seen.† (Sally, 1999, p. 2) However, Sally (1999) addresses the depth of adjustment and reforms the different countries did in trade policy. The author sees the liberalization of trade policy as â€Å"very patchy and uneven†. (Sally, 1999, p. 2) She mentions the East Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe have liberalized expansively. Their deregulation of trade is accompanied by â€Å"macroeconomic stabilization, internal price liberalization, privatization, and industrial reforms.† (Sally, 1999, p. 2) While Africa, Middle East, South Asia, Southeastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have done liberalization measures in a limited manner. Wacziarg and Welch (2003) provide reason to the differences in the depth of adjustment in trade policies. In their study of 13 developing countries, Wacziarg and Welch (2003) find out countries that experienced positive outcomes in economic growth pursued and deepened trade policies. On the other hand, countries that experience negative impacts or neutral effects on economic growth encoutered â€Å"political instability, [contracting] macroeconomic policies in the aftermath of reforms or to actively counteract trade reform by shielding domestic sectors from necessary adjustments.† (Wacziarg and Welch, 2003, p. 29) Dennis Arnold (2004) reports on the efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to liberalize and deregulate in trade. The economic policymakers of these countries are finding possibilities in expanding the bilateral, regional and multilateral trade relations and investment. It includes: (1) ASEAN-US dialogue in the Enterprise for ASEAN Initiative (EAI), (2) ASEAN-Japan and ASEAN-China free trade initiatives, (3) ASEAN Plus Three (APT) plan which will include China, Japan, and Korea, (4) ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (ANZCERTA) free trade agreement, and the Trans-Regional EU-ASEAN Trade Initiative (TREATI) in 2003. (Arnold, 2004) After the post war years, Urata (2002) reports that globalization was on a fast pace during those years because of â€Å"multilateral trade negotiations of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), trade liberalization and investment, deregulation and privatization of national industries; and increasingly cheaper cost of foreign trade from technological developments in telecommunications and transportation.† (Urata, 2002, p. 20) Urata also highlights the trend of regionalism that was developed along with globalization. The European Economic Community (EEC) which was formed in 1958 is the earliest region bloc brought by the development of regionalism in Western Europe. The trend continued in the 1990s when Free Trade Agreements (FTA) emerged as the driving force towards regional integration. By September 2001, there were 239 regional trade agreements (RTAs) wherein 162 of them remained in force. (Urata, 2002) Urata (2002) believes that deregulation can help in revitalizing the economy. However for other countries like Japan, domestic politics has been an obstruction for future regulation reforms. So the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has become the driving force in pressuring these governments to institute regulation reforms. The†gaiatsu† or external pressure was first done by the United States in bringing domestic regulation in Japan. (Urata, 2002) IMPACTS OF DEREGULATION Opportunities for Free Trade Trade deregulation among the developing countries contributed to huge increases in exports and imports. This is manifested by the increase in the export of manufactured goods from 40 percent in 1980 to 80 percent in 1998. This effect led to the increase in shares of the developing countries in the world economy as well as liberalization of country trade for the developing states. (World Bank, 2002) Sally (1999) reports countries that have undergone extensive trade deregulations resulted to higher economic growths while countries that have partially liberalized ended in lower growths or even negative economic growths. Urata (2002) reports that since the 1970 deregulation accompanied by the removal of domestic regulations made easy for developing countries in East Asia like China and Taiwan, and industrialized countries like United States and United Kingdom to have high economic growth. The reason for the economic growth is the strong competition which drives incompetent and inefficient firms out of the market and gives opportunities for competitive companies to flourish in the world market. (Urata, 2002) Perry and Olarreaga (2006) concluded that trade reforms in Latin America contributed positively in the fight against poverty. Trade reforms reduce poverty by measures of reducing the consumption bundle of the poor people. The reforms also helped in limiting the cases of unemployment. The authors see trade reforms as significant because â€Å"as the income of the poor increases with trade reform, poverty traps become easier to avoid and the poor may be more able to undertake the necessary investments to adjust in the presence of market failures† like the absence of credit or insurance. (Perry and Olarreaga, 2006, p. 37) Ganesh Seshan (2005) studies that the impact of the distribution of trade policies on households in low-income, agricultural countries, where imperfect labor markets exist. In the authors study on Vietnam, results show that trade liberalization did not worsen the income inequality but did improve the incomes of the rural households, at the expense of the urban households. Rural households experience more growth in their income distributions compared to the better-off rural households and urban households. (Seshan, 2005) The North American Free Trade Agreement has produced positive impacts on Mexico in terms of exports and imports, and the foreign direct investments (FDI). The exports of Mexico increased three times from $67.5 billion to $187.4 billion from 1993 2002. Mexicos FDI in the same period totaled more than $124 billion, with the investments from the US leaping by 204 percent. Its labor productivity has also risen by 45 percent since 1995. For the imports and exports, the United States has been Mexicos major trading partner with 65 percent of imports from the US and 89 percent of its exports going to US. (Arnold, 2004) US legislations concerning the deregulatory measures of the banking industry gained improvements in monetary value. Brook, Hendershott, and Lee (1998) report the passage of the Riege-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 increased the value of the banking industry by $85 million. Not only that, deregulatory measures together with technological advancements removed the regulatory barriers and increased the investment opportunities of banks. Becher, Campbell Ii, and Frye (2003) also argue that deregulation in the banking industry has also led to increase in the use of â€Å"executive incentive-based compensation† however; there was no existing study that will describe deregulations effects on director compensation. (Becher, Campbell Ii, and Frye, 2003) Risks for Free Trade Weller and Hersh (2002) perceive deregulation as a negative force for trade markets as well as for capital markets. They argue that deregulated trade flows would result to into having more inequality in terms of income distribution, and more unregulated capital flows. Macro economically, these incidents would lead into economic stabilities and will affect the poor negatively. Based from their data gathered from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the United Nations, they find out that the â€Å"income share of the poor is generally lower in deregulated and macro economically less stable environments trade flows in more regulated environments may be good for growth and, by extension, for the poor in the long run†. (Weller and Hersh, 2002, p. 1) The reason for the unequal income share for the poor is the capital flows faster mobility in deregulated environments. â€Å"Faster capital mobility in a more deregulated environment can lead to rising inequality in the short and medium term, both within countries and between countries, and to less poverty reduction or even increasing poverty.† (Weller and Hersh, 2002, p. 4) They conclude based from the results of their study that trade, as well as capital flows, can be significant for economic growth and have no negative effects on the income shares of the poor in the long-run as long as the environment is regulated. (Weller and Hersh, 2002) Trade liberalization or what Weller and Hersh describe as the â€Å"complement to deregulated capital markets† has been criticized by a number of authors (Bannister and Thugge 2001; Mishel, et. al. 2001; Ocampo and Taylor 1998; Taylor 1996) in relation to the rising inequality. They argue that: â€Å"by inducing rapid structural change and shifting employment within industrializing countries that liberalize, trade leads to falling real wages and declining working conditions and living standards.† On the other hand some authors blame the ‘skill-biased technological change† as the main cause of inequality. (Weller and Hersh, 2002, p.5) Feenstra and Hanson (2001) support the argument by saying that skill-biased change is a possible effect of trade liberalization. Another issue that Weller and Hersh see on the removal of the barriers of trade is that it contributes to lower tariff revenues for developing countries. They used India as an example where in 40 percent of its tax revenues come from tariffs in the 1980s. Removing the barriers for trade will lower or remove the tariffs and thus, there would be changes in the structure of tax in order to fill up the shoes left by the tariff fees. â€Å"Restructuring tax regimes to offset lost tariff revenues takes time and introduces administrative costs. Even if trade liberalization were growth enhancing in the long-run, in the short-run revenue shortfalls may seriously constrain a governments ability to maintain spending on social services that benefit low-income households.† (Weller and Hersh, 2002, p. 5) Bronfenbrenner (1997, 2000) sees free trade as advantageous for employers in response for the workers pleads for their rights like higher wages and improved working conditions. The author argues that companies and factories are encouraged to either shut down their own workplaces and/or locate to other states wherein they will benefit the most. These benefits may be in the form of less strict labor regulations or lower taxes and wages. The negative implications will be felt by the workers because they cannot pressure strongly these companies for an increase in wages. As Weller and Hersh concludes in their article: â€Å"this trend fuels a race to the bottom in which national governments vie for needed investment by bidding down the cost to employers (and livings standards) of working people.† (Weller and Hersh, 2002, p. 5) Examples of these companies are the multinational companies which have Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industries that are located in many developing coun tries. The United Nations Conference on Trade Development (UNCTAD) (1997) reports that the liberalization of trade in many parts of Latin America has resulted to widening wage gap, falling real wages for unskilled workers and rising unemployment. Perry and Olarreaga (2006) identify four (4) main reasons why in Latin America and in several countries, trade liberalization resulted to increases in skill premiums and wage inequality: (1)† Relative factor endowments, as most Latin American countries are rich in natural resources (which, are in general complementary with capital and skills) and were more capital abundant than other developing countries with large pools of unskilled labor, such as China and India, that were already integrating into the world economy by the time of Latin American trade liberalization. (2) Dynamic effects of trade that led to an acceleration of skill-biased technical change and Schumpeterian creative destruction, which led to an increase in demand for skills in most industries. (3) Initial conditions and contemporary events that make predictions based on a simple factor abundance model difficult to generalize; for example the pre-reform structure of protection was biased towards unskilled intensive sectors in most LAC countries and tariff reductions naturally led to a relative increase in demand for skills, but differences in consumption bundles across income groups and exchange rate policies also complicate predictions. (4) The impact that trade reform had on imperfectly functioning labor markets, such as potential transitions in and out of unemployment, informality, as well as income volatility are likely to affect and sometimes change the direction of the impact of trade reforms on income inequality and poverty.† (Perry and Olarreaga, 2006, p. 1) Reveles and Rocha (2007) see the other dimension of the EU-Mexico Free Trade Agreement and the IPPA which made negative impacts on Mexico. The agreements not only brought severe effect on the social and economic conditions of Mexico but also left the Mexican state incapable of encouraging local and small businesses and enterprises. These medium to scale businesses were the ones hit hard by the agreements because the large companies of the European Union has dominated them. Mexicos industry which is the essential part for economic development has been increasingly controlled by the European Union. The financial sector of Mexico was also affected that it cannot provide credit for production and seeks assistance from the United States and EU. (Reveles and Rocha, 2007) Shafaedin (2005) mentions other setbacks of Mexico after the free trade agreements in relation to base industry: â€Å"In the important case of Mexico where exports grew extremely fast, acceleration of manufactured exports was not accompanied by an acceleration of MVA. Much upgrading of the industrial base did not take place and the non-maquila [factory] industries which performed better than others were those which had enjoyed high investment during import substitution era. (Shafaedin, 2005, p. 20) Dennis Arnold (2004) identifies the drawbacks of Mexico during the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which badly affects its workers particularly the rural poor. The NAFTA has removed several agricultural sectors and pushed the wages and working conditions at the bottom on factories and non-factories. Audley (2003) notes five (5) points that will conclude the impacts of NAFTA to the Mexican economy as a whole: â€Å"NAFTA has not helped the Mexican economy keep pace with the growing demand for jobs. Unprecedented growths in trade, increasing productivity, and a surge in both portfolio and foreign direct investment have led to an increase of 500,000 jobs in manufacturing from 1994 to 2002. [However, employment reduced in the manufacturing sector because of import competition and substitution of foreign input in assembly operations. (Arnold, 2004)] The agricultural sector, where almost a fifth of Mexicans still work, has lost 1.3 million jobs since 1994. Real wages for most Mexicans today are lower than they were when NAFTA took effect. However, this setback in wages was caused by the peso crisis of 1994-1995—not by NAFTA. That said, the productivity growth that has occurred over the last decade has not translated into growth in wages. Despite predictions to the contrary, Mexican wages have not converged with U.S. wages. NAFTA has not stemmed the flow of poor Mexicans into the United States in search of jobs; in fact, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of migrants to the United States, despite an unprecedented increase in border control measures. Historical migration patterns, the peso crisis, and the pull of employment opportunities in the United States provide better explanations for the increase in migration than NAFTA itself. The fear of a â€Å"race to the bottom† in environmental regulation has proved unfounded. At this point some elements of Mexicos economy are dirtier and some are cleaner. The Mexican government estimates that annual pollution damages over the past decade exceeded US $36 billion per year. This damage to the environment is greater than the economic gains from the growth of trade and of the economy as a whole. More specifically, enactment of NAFTA accelerated changes in commercial farming practices that have put Mexicos diverse ecosystem at great risk of contamination from concentrations of nitrogen and other chemicals commonly used in modern farming. Mexicos evolution toward a modern, export oriented agricultural sector has also failed to deliver the anticipated environmental benefits of reduced deforestation and tillage. Rural farmers have replaced lost income caused by the collapse in commodity prices by farming more marginal land, a practice that has resulted in an average deforestation rate of more than 630,000 hectares per year since 1993 in the biologically rich regions of southern Mexico.† (Audley, 2003, p. 6-7) ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACTS OF DEREGULATION IN TRADE The period of globalization has brought the emergence of free trade agreements between countries, trading blocs and world organizations. Deregulation of trade by countries open up their markets for free access from other countries. As the risks and opportunities of global deregulation of trade are mentioned, several issues, problems, concerns are raised to address and assess the effects of deregulation in the overall conditions of the economies. Regionalism. The issue of regionalism has emerged in the era of globalization. With the creation of the European Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other regional blocs, free trade began to materialize starting from within these regional blocs. Sooner these regional organizations started multilateralism in terms of international trade with other regional blocs or with other nations. Regionalism did not only open the markets of most countries but also enhanced regional integration between the member states. This regional integration also assisted developing countries to increase their potentials and develop. The deregulation of trade was imminent and become a factor for the current success of regionalism. Multinational Corporations. The emergence of multinational corporations created positive and negative effects on the deregulation of trade and investment in the world. The deregulation of developing countries enabled these large companies to establish business outsourcing companies in their territories which gave additional employment, and boosted the economies of the peripheral states. However, their dominance in the industry discouraged medium to small businesses and enterprises to invest and pursue in their own native lands. This was seen in the case of Mexico after the NAFTA and the EU-Mexico Free Trade Agreement. Rising Inequalities. This is an emerging concern based from the studies of Weller and Hersh (2002). Free trade can contribute to higher incomes and higher economic growth but the problem is on how these incomes are being distributed from the top, down to the bottom. The expansion of large corporations from abroad also contributed to the rising inequality between the poor and the rich since the growth most of the growth in income came from these big companies. Government subsidies for the poor could prevent the situation to worsen but long-term measures must be applied. However, Seshan (2005) showed that not all developing countries experience inequalities. In her study of Vietnam, liberalization raised the income distribution of the poor relative to the rich. To further address the differences, more focus in this area is significant for future studies. Poverty. Studies in trade deregulation of different countries especially in the Latin American countries showed that even though deregulation increases inequalities, the incidence of poverty is reduced. It is because the income of the poor has also increased and unemployment was lessened. Opportunities for income generation not only inside but also overseas were widened because of regional integration. Nationalism. This concept tells about the identity of every nation in the world. Nationalism is what keeps every nation unique and united. The trends of globalization brought by deregulation and free trade serve as challenges for keeping the sense of nationality in every citiz