Latin America and the Cold War free essay sample

The Cold War period for the United States meant a shift in foreign policy, prioritizing ideological and anti-Communist issue. U. S policy towards Latin America notably changed in this respect to incorporate a heightened sense of hegemonic and interventionist power over the Americas differing from earlier U. S sovereignty in the region. This new change in policy mainly manifested itself in the area of Central America. During the different periods of the Cold War, the United States intervened in Latin American domestic affairs both directly through their own military and indirectly through CIA trained proxy forces to safeguard their assets and contain communism. Significantly with the Eisenhower Administration of whom initiated the overthrow of the reformist Guatemalan government in 1952 and ending with Reagan who centred his policies on the overthrow of Sandinistas in Nicaragua. The Cold War period furthermore appeared to be a period where the U. S. paired with intervention, also attempted to provide an increased amount of economic aid and concessions to Latin American countries as incentives to avoid the communism, for the Alliance for Progress by Kennedy in 1961 which although many of the agreements lead to failure, it still marked a change in U. S. Latin American relations. Undoubtedly the growth of communism, the Soviet Union influence and ideological dispute served to change the way in which the U. S acted towards Latin America. However, there are strong continuations with U. S. Latin American relations, which remain constant before, throughout and after the Cold War most importantly the sovereignty over the area and the protection of U. S interests regarding economy and security. Where the Cold War brought about the most significant change in U. S policy towards Latin America was in its increased priority in blocking communist expansion in its own hemisphere. From the end of the 1940s toward the end of the 1980s, this priority meant an acute increase in U. S interventionism either covertly or overtly to prevent the spread of communism. The USA had this call for ideological security in the region that took precedence in its policy and in frequent cases reaching the aggressive extremes of supporting harsh-line right wing dictators preventing not only the spread of communism but also democracy. This in itself acts of proof that the battle against communism was more important than that of installing democracy. As the US emerged as one of the new world hegemonic powers post-WWII, Roosevelt? s Good Neighbour policy of non-intervention or interference in Latin American domestic affairs had moved towards a more militarized foreign policy at the dawn of the Cold War exhibited greatly by the propositions made at the 1947 Rio de Janeiro Conference to create a more defensively united American bloc with the Inter- American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance. George Kennan bluntly stated in a 35-page report on his tour of Latin America, that the area would be too weak to overcome communist power and that it was vital to keep it in US spheres of influence. Moscow would try and harness the already existing anti-American feelings to eliminate US influence in the zone. This report included demands that the US should provide incentives at all costs to resist communism including more severe measures of repression; â€Å"In general, therefore, it would be wise for us to avoid putting direct pressure on Latin American governments with respect to communist activities, except where those activities have some highly direct and offensive relationship to American interests. Where this is not the case, we must resort to indirection†. (Kennan, 1950, p. 182) For Kennan, if the US policy did not adapt to intervene in Latin American affairs in the name of containing communism, it could cause â€Å"global embarrassment† (Kennan, 1950, p. 183) for the United States as the global power. The Eisenhower administration firmly believed that the soviet and communist expansion was more achieved through the works of communist parties and communist trade unions outside the Eastern bloc and the exploitation of revolutions and civil wars in developing countries (Bowie Immerman, 1998 p154), for the USA this was the biggest threat in Latin America where weaker governments (as Kennan had already expressed) could be exploited. This campaign gained more legitimacy following the Cuban revolution that underlined for the U. S government that ideology had to become the first priority. Johnson? s decision to overtly invade the Dominican Republic in 1965 was made in avoidance of a second Cuba. Later on, Reagan sold arms to the anti-Sandinista Contas group putting the president under risk of impeachment and thus highlights how important the ideological argument was in U. S policy in Latin America (Dominguez, 1999). The protection of an inter-American system where the USA would hold hegemonic power from communist influence became the principal objective of U. S. policymakers. There are two key examples which illustrate the precedence of ideology over other factors in policy during the Cold War; Firstly the differences in U. S. actions over Guatemala in 1954 and Bolivia in 1953. Both countries assumed, nationalist reformist governments that wanted to expropriate international export industries and impose agrarian reforms. The urban middle class and workers supported them both and both derived parts of their ideology from Marxism. However, in Guatemala, the CIA covertly overthrew Arbenz’s government. In Bolivia, the issue was settled with the U. S. sending economic aid to Paz’s regime, which stabilised the new government. Why, did they receive such opposite responses from the US? The Guatemalan government had be accused by the Eisenhower administration of communist infiltration. Most importantly as a threat to the U. S. there was the existence of communists in the agencies for the implementation of Agragarian reforms (Blasier, 1985 p156) which meant potential communist seizure of former U. S. owned land. The Paz government in Bolivia understood that the USA were a vital customer for their tin mining industry and therefore presented themselves as a much more moderate government with regard for the inter-american policys such as maintaining a respect for foreign investment. A nationalisation of the tin industry would pave the way for foreign investment that had previously been blocked by closed oligarchic economy. The assurance by the MNR that Bolivia would not turn communist lead the US to approach the situation in the opposite to way in which it had done with Arbenz in Guatemala. The active disassembling and eventual CIA-backed overthrow of Allende? s Chile went forward because of the Chilean president’s g policy of the via chilena al socialismo and the uncompensated expropriation of U. S firms in Chile. The U. S intervened because of the potential communist path Allende could take, even though Chile had no relations with the USSR. At the same period, 1972, Juan Velasco the Peruvian president bought 250 T-55 Tanks from the USSR whom with they shared a military relationship (Dominguez, 1999, p. 10). Moreover, it too, had expropriated various US businesses with little compensation. However, unlike in Chile and not withstanding the fact that Peru proved more threatening to American interests, the compensation disputes were settled diplomatically as Peru provoked no ideological fears of communism. Dominguez states â€Å"when the ideological fear of communism was absent, the United States did not deploy its military forces nor seek to overthrow Latin American governments that expropriated U. S. firms†. (Dominguez, 1999 p11). The growth of communism in the world did make a significant change to U. S. Latin American relations. The USA waged war on communism to consolidate itself as a world power. The distinctive emergence of ideology as the key driver in U. S policies was brought about by the Cold War, however, the interventionism of the United States was something that had been imbedded in Latin American- U. S. relations before the Cold War and the intervention did not disappear in post-war. Interventionism was part of the hemispheric security policy that the U. S. sought to maintain over the region protecting U. S. economic, ideological and hegemonic interests The United States has always had a strategic interest in the area from the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 in the aim to keep the region out of European control. Furthermore the Platt Amendment that allowed for 33 years, the USA to have interventionist power in Cuba. In this significance, the Cold War can be seen simply as another problem to be overcome in the United State’s control over the area, to exclude extra-hemispheric rivals and not just in ideological battle. Evidently during the Cold War period, U. S forces intervened in Latin American domestic affairs in the name of communist containment however it was just as much to secure U. S assets. To take a simplistic example; in 1961 the CIA plotted to overthrow the communist Castro in Cuba in their pledge to destroy communism, yet in the same year they also plotted to overthrow the highly anti-communist Trujillo in the Dominican Republic which the USA had previously had good relations. Trujillo towards the end of his career had moved apart this relationship and now proved inimical to U. S. interests. This contradictory use of intervention highlights more in depth motives for U. S. policy, which coincide more with past interventions for example the Panama Revolution of 1903 was greatly linked to the Big Stick policy of Roosevelt’s administration. The construction of the Panama Canal itself was of vital necessity for the USA in terms of economic issues and security. Returning to the case of Guatemala 1954, especially when compared to the Bolivian case, it was easily seen as part of the U. S Cold War foreign policy to defend against communism. However with Guatemala, it was the defence of economic interest similar to past interventions that made the U. S. react in the way it did. In the work Bitter Fruit Stephen Schlesinger and Stephen Kinzer suggest a more plausible argument stressing the importance of the expropriation of the United Fruit Company in the decision to overthrow the Guatemalan government as opposed to their link with spreading communism in the region. The total U. S investment in the country totalled 50 million; the company monopolized the banana exports, transport and communication networks (Schlesinger Kinzer, 1999 p146). Arbenz’s reforms included building a highway and an electric power plant as well as expropriating U. S. land, companies would also have to start paying export duties. Guatemala had been chosen by United Fruit because as Thomas McCann a former worker stated; â€Å"Guatemala’s government was the weakest most corrupt and most pliable† (Schlesinger Kinzer, p151). The company had huge American political links, Eisenhower’s own personal secretary wanted an executive job within the company and UN ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge was a large stockholder. These reasons appear more reasonable for explaining why the U. S. intervened as there was little evidence of any real communist activity in the country or relationships with the USSR. In the post Cold War period, domestic issues such as Drug Trafficking and inmigration took precedence as the threat of Soviet expansion disappeared. There intervention was replaced by more coercive policies. One factor for this was the decline of economic value in Latin America. In 1965, Latin America represented 19. 1% of US direct investment abroad, in 1985 it had reduced to 12. 7%, 17. 3% of US purchases in 1965 came from Latin America, in 1985 only 12. 6% (Falcoff p255). The absence of a rival superpower allowed the United States to relax hemispherical security measures and intervention became more sporadic, dealing again with domestic issues like Clinton’s decision to invade Haiti in 1994 to attempt to control the flow of Haitian immigrants into the United States seeking asylum from civil war. The movement towards more coercive diplomacy and more selective intervention was a response to the changes in world order following the end of the Cold War. In conclusion, U. S. Latin American relations did change during the Cold War period, the majority of cases where the United States intervened were on ideological grounds. It was also the first time that the US had to compete with a rival superpower with opposite ideological belief and a potential threat to their hegemonic security of the western hemisphere. With the decline of communism, there was also a decline in intervention due to an absense of ideological struggle and Latin American-U. S. relations returned to domestic issues such as narcotrafficking. However this sovreignity is something that has existed before and remained after the Cold War period with relations to Latin America. The Guatemala case is useful in displaying both the changes and continuitys between relations. In comparison to Bolivia, it does seem to prove Dominguez’s conclusion that the US would intervene at even the smallest hint of communism. It also is a good piece of evidence in arguing that U. S. policy was still centered around defence of U. S. interests as it had been before the Cold War. Bibliography Blasier, C. (1985). The Hovering Giant: U. S. Responses to Revolutionary Change in Latin America, 1910-1985 . Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. Bowie, R. R. , Immerman, R. H. (1998). Waging Peace; How Eisenhower shaped an enduring Cold War policy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Dexter, P. The Monroe Doctrine. In Readings in Neighborly U. S. -Latin American Adversaries (pp. 73-83). Dominguez, J. I. (1999). U. S. -Latin American Relations During the Cold War and Its Aftermath. Harvard University, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Boston: Working Paper Series. F. , L. A. (1992). Changing U. S. Interests and Policies in a New World. In H. Jonathan, L. Schoultz, A. Varas, The United States and Latin America in the 1990s, Beyond the Cold War. The University of North Carolina Press. Falcoff, M. Latin America alone? In L. Michael, M. O. Frank, Readings in Neighbourly U. S. Latin American Adversaries Relations: Rowman and LIttlefield Publishers INC. Kennan, G. (1950). Latin America as a Problem in United States Foreign Policy. , Readings in Neighborly U. S. -Latin American Adversaries (pp. 177-188). Lehman, K. D. (1997). Revolutions and Attributions: Making Sense of Eisenhower Administration Policies in Bolivia and Guatemala. Diplomatic History , 185-213. Lopez-Maya, M. (1995). The Change in the Discourse of US-Latin American Relations from the End of the Second World War to the Beginning of the Cold War. Review of International Political Economy , 2, 135-149. Moulton, A. (2009). THROUGH THE LENS OF PATER-AMERICANISM: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EISENHOWER ADMINISTRATION’S PERCEPTION OF GUATEMALA AND BOLIVIA, 1953 AND 1954 . University of Kansas Nerval, G. Autopsy of the Monroe Doctrine: The Strange Story of Inter-American Relations. In Readings in Neighborly U. S. -Latin American Adversaries (pp. 85-92). Raymont, H. (2005). Troubled Neighbours, The Story of US- Latin American Relations from FDR to the Present. Cambridge, Ma: Westview PRess. Schlesinger, S. , Kinzer, S. (1999). Bitter Fruit: The Untold Story of the American Coup in Guatemala. In, Readings in Neighbourly U. S-Latin American Adversaries (pp. 146-154). Sigmund, P. E. (1977). The Overthrow of Allende and the Politics of Chile, 1964-76. Pittsburgh: University of PIttsburgh Press. Wiarda, H. J. United States Policy Toward Latin America: A New Era of Benign Neglect? , Readings in Neighbourly U. S. Latin American Adversaries Relations. Wood, B. (1961). The Making of the Good Neighbour Policy. New York: Columbia University Press.

Real GDP of Country

Question: Discuss about the Real GDP of Country. Answer: Introduction: In order to measure the standard of living of a country, the real GDP might be considered as an unreliable indicator to some extent. Precisely, there are two major issues to be dealt with in order to compare the living standard across countries. First of all, each of the countries has there definite currency to measure the overall real GDP. For instance, if one compares the standard of living in the United Kingdom and China, the real GDP must be converted in the same currency to define the status. Moreover, due to the massive population in China, the overall GDP of China will be much higher than that of the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the overall real GDP figure can be misleading at times as the entire figure of real GDP cannot signify the living standards (Williams, 2013). On the other hand, the per capita income of the population may define the real status of living standards. Hence, on the basis of the per capita income, the standard of living should be monitored. Apart from that, the value of the goods and services of the comparing countries can be a challenging task as well. For instance, the value of goods and services in China and the United Kingdom has been priced in different currencies (Mariano and Murasawa, 2010). Hence, to define the standard of living of the population, the prices should be compared to a standard currency i.e. US dollar. Clearly, the determined problems must have been faced if the real GDP of two countries can be utilised as the indicator of living standards. Unemployment has been identified as one of the most common issues in developing as well as emerging economies. Precisely, there are three types of unemployment to be considered. First of all, in an economy, a number of people have quit their job in search of better opportunity (Lange and Georgellis, 2007). Therefore, after quitting a job, they have to be remained unemployed for a specific time before getting new jobs. As a result of the scenario, job searchers create unemployment to an economy called frictional unemployment. Secondly, in growing economic conditions, structural unemployment has been another major type of unemployment. In this category, the demand for particular workers has not particularly matched to the available quality and skills of human resources. Hence, the demand of available labours has been decreased contributing to the rate of unemployment (Cho, 2010). Finally, cyclical unemployment has influenced due to the insufficiency of effectual labour demand. Meanwhil e, advanced economies have to deal with recessions in the economic cycle. As the result of recessions, the companies have to cut down the number of employees creating cyclical unemployment. Clearly, modern developed as well as emerging economies have to undergo different economic scenarios. Therefore, some of the unemployment has found to be unavoidable. For instance, some of the employed community has left their jobs to seek better job opportunities contributing to frictional unemployment. Also, rapid technical expansion in the economies has created more job opportunities for skilled labours promoting structural unemployment. Lastly, unwanted recessions have largely contributed to job cuts in major economies. Therefore, such critical scenarios have made some unemployment situation unavoidable. Inflation can be identified as the continuous increase in the general or average price level for services and goods that are generally consumed on a regular basis. Hence, an increase in the average level of prices of goods and services leads to inflation. For example, the price of sugar, vegetable, and other consumable products increases by around 10 percent within a year. Therefore, the inflation rate will be around 10 percent in the economy. Notably, the rise in the average level of price with the same value as compared to the previous year will not lead to rise in inflation rate (Hubbard et al., 2015). In other words, the inflation rate increases only when the average price level of goods and services increases by a higher percentage as compared to the previous year. On the other hand, the rise in the average price level must be continuous in nature. For instance, the average price of goods and services must increase on a sustained basis to consider it as a factor leading to inflation (Mankiw, 2007). One of the primary factors is the increase in the flow of money in the market that diminishes the buying power of the currency and fronts to rise in the price of goods and services that further leads to inflation in the country. Hence, it is important to note that the given statement is true only when the increase in the average level of price of goods and services is more than the rise in the average price level in the preceding year. The Aggregate Demand (AD) curve illustrates the quantity of services and goods demanded by the consumers at a given price level. The AD curve presents the price and demand relationship in a market. It is important to note that the AD curve slopes downward because of the interest rate effect and wealth effect (Krugman and Wells, 2005). An aggregate demand curve has been presented in the figure given below for further explanation: It can be seen from the above diagram that the fall in the general price level results to the rise in the demand of the products and services from Y1 to Y2 that further leads to a downward sloping AD curve (Arnold, 2011). The common misunderstanding about the AD curve is that people buy more things when the price falls. In actual scenario, it is important to note that economists assume that the flow of money in the market remains constant. On the other hand, when the aggregate price level of services and goods increases the purchasing power of the currency decreases that leads to fall in the quantity demanded. It makes the consumers to reduce the amount of purchases. On the other hand, when the aggregate price level decreases, the consumers feel wealthier and buy more products and services (Arnold, 2011). Hence, there is an inverse relationship between the combined quantity demanded and combined price level of services and products. Furthermore, the interest rate also leads to a downward sloping AD curve. The increased demand for currency leads to increase in the interest rate that reduces the surplus amount to be spent in the market. The aggregate supply curve presents the aggregate amount of services and goods that are supplied by firms in an economy for a given price level. It is important to note that the LRAS (long-run aggregate supply curve) is perfectly vertical in nature because of the capital, technology and labour factors that influences the quantity supplied in the market (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2011). It is assumed that the technology, labour and capital is optimally used in the long run and any increase or decrease in the price level will not impact the aggregate supply in the market. A diagram has been presented herein below for further explanation: It can be seen from the above figure that the LRAS curve is static in nature and shifts only when any of the resources such as labour, capital or technology is changed. Hence, a change in the aggregate demand will lead to a small change in the total output of the economy. On the other hand, the short run aggregate supply curve is upward sloping because the increase in the price can be used to increase the amount of capital, labour and technology that are employed to produce a particular amount of goods and services (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2011). Hence, in the short run, the firms can increase its production by investing in the production process that helps to increase the level of supply in the market. A diagram has been presented below for better understanding: References Arnold, R. (2011). Microeconomics. 1st ed. Australia: South-Western College Pub. Cho, A. (2010).Economics Nobel: Why Unemployment Is Inevitable. [online] Science | AAAS. Available at: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2010/10/economics-nobel-why-unemployment-inevitable [Accessed Jan. 2017]. Colander, D. (2008). Microeconomics. 1st ed. Boston, Mass.: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Hubbard, G., Garnett, A., Lewis, P. and O'Brien, A. (2015). Macroeconomics. 3rd ed. Pearson Australia. Krugman, P. and Wells, R. (2005). Microeconomics. 1st ed. New York: Worth. Lange, T. and Georgellis, Y. (2007).Active labour market policies and unemployment. 1st ed. Bradford, England: Emerald Group Pub. Mankiw, N. (2007). Macroeconomics. 1st ed. New York: Worth Publishers. Mariano, R. and Murasawa, Y. (2010). A Coincident Index, Common Factors, and Monthly Real GDP.Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 72(1), pp.27-46. Pindyck, R. and Rubinfeld, D. (2011). Microeconomics. 1st ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Williams, R. (2013).Why the GDP Is Not An Good Measure of A Nation's Well Being. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201309/why-the-gdp-is-not-good-measure-nations-well-being [Accessed Jan. 2017].

Sample Outline For Researched Ch Essay Writing

Sample Outline For Researched Ch Essay WritingA sample outline for research essay writing is an important element that will help you in writing your own outline. These outlines will assist you in setting goals and how to go about achieving those goals. You must have a template that will clearly demonstrate what you are trying to accomplish.Once you have an outline, you must understand the process that has been followed by others in the past that were successful in the resed the program. In order to make sure that your own resume will get through the red tape, you need to keep in mind these things.When making a resume, there are two sides to the coin. One is to simply go with your interests and skills. While this can be a valuable and beneficial exercise, this is often not enough. To make a resume that will stand out from the competition, you will need to create an outline that will detail the reasons why you were chosen for this particular job.If you do not have a specific needs stat ement, you will need to include that in your resume. The specific needs statement will explain your skills, education, and what you will bring to the table. All of these items should be highlighted on your resume. Without it, your resume will not make a compelling argument for why you are the best candidate for the job.Resume outlines are not difficult to find. There are many places online that can help you find an outline that is specific to the position that you are applying for. Most employers are well aware of the need for a good resume outline. This will help them in looking over your resume and making sure that you meet their criteria.It does not matter if you are applying for a position that is very specific or a job that has a general position. The same principles apply. You must outline your objectives and how you will achieve them. For example, you may want to write a resume that shows what you are most proud of, what you are great at, and what you hope to bring to the org anization.You must be specific about the kind of resume that you are creating. You may have specific experience that will reflect in your resume. By listing these accomplishments, you will allow the reader to see what you bring to the table. This will allow them to feel confident that you will be able to contribute in a positive way.

Michael Jackson A Brief Biography Essay Example

Michael Jackson: A Brief Biography Essay Introduction: Michael Jackson, without doubt, is one of the greatest entertainers of all time. He is most remembered for the ecstatic energy of his musical performances. He was as proficient in his dance moves as he was smooth and superlative in his singing. His talents extended to writing lyrics for his own songs as well. In many ways, he was the most complete and accomplished musician-dancer of his generation. He was also a great humanitarian, who associated himself with various noble causes. But deep inside he was an insecure person with a disposition toward childish behavior. This is exemplified by his keeping of a pet zoo, which was not fully compliant with laws governing animal rights and civic safety. He was also accused and later exonerated of charges of child molestation and abuse. Despite the factuality of these claims, his image was irreparably tarnished by them. Thesis statement: the three main aspects of Michael Jackson’s popularity was his family background, life style and his death. This essay will flesh out this thesis. We will write a custom essay sample on Michael Jackson: A Brief Biography specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Michael Jackson: A Brief Biography specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Michael Jackson: A Brief Biography specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer His Family Background: Michael Jackson was born into a family of musicians. His parents and all his siblings were musicians. Even before he turned 10, he was a star member of the pop group Jackson Five – named after the five Jackson brothers who comprised it. But the flip side of this early fame is the lack of a proper childhood for Michael. He was forced to grow up too fast and as a result his psychological development remained uneven in later life. This explains his fondness for private zoos and strong identification with children. That he had retained certain childish qualities well into adulthood is borne by his legendary boyish voice. This most unique gift of Michael’s is smooth, silky and subtle. Right from a young age, his parents recognized the genius of Michael’s talents and made him the central feature of their troop performances. The only other sibling who could rival his great musical gifts is his younger sister Janet Jackson, who went on to have a successful career o f her own paralleling that of Michael’s. (Feller 34) The vocal dexterity and mellifluousness of the child prodigy will remain in the heart and minds of legions of his fans. He was also an extraordinarily talented dancer. The dance sequences to his super-hit songs ‘Billy Jean’, ‘Beat It’, ‘Smooth Criminal’, ‘Black or White’, etc are etched in the memory of all those who were privileged to witness it. The innovative dance move of Moon Walk served as a metaphor for the out-of-the-world inspiration he brought to bear on his songs. His Lifestyle: Michael Jackson’s lifestyle was both colorful and controversial. The kind of attire that Michael wore has become his trademark symbols. The white glove, the slippery hat and the studded leather jacket are all integral parts of his appearance. His dressing sense was as much a source of his appeal as his musical and dancing talent. Just with a twitch of his hand or a tap of his hat, Michael Jackson could bring to his feet. The fast rhythmic RB and pop numbers of his were particularly popular. They were remarkable in terms of the sheer energy they possessed. Michael’s high pitched voice was suited to this genre, as the pitch carried the energy to the audience. A good indicator of his widespread popularity is the number of impersonators he has had. During the 1980s, doing a moonwalk was a rite of passage for the youth of that generation. That was how they identified themselves as capable and special adults. It was part of their process of identification with a rol e model and individuation from parental control. (Cole 16) It is fair to say that Michael Jackson was the greatest entertainer of his era. Though there were competitors like George Michael, Madonna, Prince, Tina Turner, etc, Jackson had the greatest fan following due to his global appeal. In other words, while many of his contemporary singers had great fan following within the United States, they could not gain fans worldwide the way Michael Jackson was able to do. It was perhaps a reflection of the universal themes and motifs in his albums that Jackson’s appeal has reached a broad audience. Jackson’s female fan following is vast. Due to the power of his personality and the way in which he dresses and performs on stage, he could bring his fans into a state of trance. The ecstatic outpour of joy by his female fans during his concerts is a sight to behold. (Williams 107) The eccentric aspects of Jackson’s personality and behavior also contributed to his fame. For example, the re-creation of the Peter Pan project for his grand mansion garnered a lot of media publicity. Michael allowed children were allowed to visit this private theme park. The rumored bleaching of his skin so as to appear White is another interesting facet of his appeal. Likewise, the numerous plastic surgeries he has had over his adult life, especially on his nose have given his face an artificial appearance. Yet, these weird tendencies on part of Michael Jackson have not affected his artistic talent, which hastened his fan support through the ups and downs of his life. (Cole 15) Michael Jackson’s marriage with Lisa-Marie Presley created a sensation when it happened. But the relationship quickly deteriorated and they got divorced. Later, his marriage and parenthood with Debbie Rowe – a former Australian nurse – was full of speculation about the true paternity of his children, etc. In these respects, the media had intruded on his private life unfairly, which may have increased in mental agony.

CORE Analysis of WHSmith the University of glasgow The WritePass Journal

CORE Analysis of WHSmith the University of glasgow CORE Analysis of WHSmith the University of glasgow Introduction  Part 1Related Introduction   Part 1 Context, overview, ratios and evaluation are regarded as four elements of CORE framework. Indeed, they are crucial for appraisal process. In order to judge the entire performance of enterprise fairly and objectively, it is necessary to focus not only on financial data embodied in annual report but also on other significant sources like company’s strategy. This report aims to employ CORE analysis approach to analyze two companies comprehensively. In the first part, CORE analysis of WHSmith which financed by sources other than taxpayers will be represented. Additionally, University of Glasgow which financed by public funds will be analyzed by applying CORE analysis method. Private sector: WHSmith External context: WHSmith PLC, which mainly sells stationery, books, newspaper, magazine and impulse products, is one of the UK’s famous leading retailers. Its business primarily in the UK, but it has been expanding their business to international locations such as Copenhagen, Oman and Delhi. WHSmith is the biggest book retailer in UK. Compared with sales of WHSmith ( £1,312,000), Waterstone’s Booksellers Limited and Amazon.Co.Uk Ltd. generate  £488,901 and  £147,303 operating revenue respectively in 2010. Consequently, WHSmith has absolute advantage in this market. WHSmith named Bookselling Company of the Year and General Retailer of the Year in the Bookseller Retail Awards 2009, and then it named Children’s Bookseller of the Year in 2010. These awards witnessed its outstanding competitive force in the market. However, along with internet developing rapidly, shopping online and eBooks are becoming increasingly prevailing in modern society. Although WHSmith has its own website to serve customers online shopping 24 hours a day and started to launch eBooks, internet selling seems not operate as well as stores. Hence, WHSmith is forced to face the transformation of sales model and lack of internet marketing strategy. Whilst, Amazon.Co.Uk Ltd. successful doubled their market share by selling books on their website from 2004 to 2007. That threats WHSmith seriously to some extent. Moreover, some competitors such as dedicated stationery stores and specialist card shops are threatening a part of WHSmith’s  business. Internal context: Due to travel business and high street business are considered as core business of WHSmith PLC, WHSmith’s reporting segments are structured by that classification accordingly. Compared with 565 high street stores in 2009, WHSmith owns 573 stores in 2010. Whilst, travel opens 26 units (2009:490 units, 2010:516 units) in airports, railway stations, motorway service areas, hospitals, workplaces and bus stations in 2010, and 17units are opened overseas such as India, Oman and Australia. In short, WHSmith has a steady tendency to expand their business in recent years. WHSmith aims to be Britain’s most popular stationer, bookseller and newsagent by growing travel business, strengthening high street business and delivering sustainable returns to shareholders. To be more specific, the travel business pays attention on distributing value to shareholders by maintaining organic growth in outlets, acquiring new contracts, conducting new formats tests, rising average sales volume and improving the trading efficiency. On the other hand, the high street plan concentrates on building authority in core categories, optimizing margins, controlling costs and ensuring it delivers the retail basics (page 6, Annual report 2010). There are 10 corporation shareholders, who occupy more than 3 percent of the issued share capital individually, owning approximately 60 percent of total shares. But the biggest proportion which is 9.86% does not exceed the UK disclosure level. Consequently, WHSmith has responsibility to meet shareholders’ expectations. There are numerous changes occurring on the board in 2010. Firstly, Walker Boyd is assigned non-executive chairman of WHSmith PLC when Robert Walker retired on 31 August 2010. Secondly, Luke Mayhew who is a non-executive director resigned from board and Henry Staunton joined the board with extensive finance and retail expertise. That might have impacts on subsequent operating process. Some activities changes also happened in 2010. Initially, eBookstore with 30,000 eBooks which have competitive prices and easily accessibility is launched by WHSmith. Additionally, owing to the brands Funky Pigeon and The Gadgetshop are new required, WHSmith will offer a wide choice like some gadgets and gizmos through stores and website. Lastly, WHSmith found exclusive Richard and Judy Book Club in 2010. Like seemingly all UK enterprises, WHSmith performs well on employee and community issues. It employs approximately 17,000 staff, and it provides learning and development programme to all employees. It also maintains the importance of health and safety in workplace. In addition, their community programme commits the responsibility to make positive effects which donated  £1.1m into local communities. Moreover, WHSmith trust which is a registered charity also contributes to local communities. Owing to the group concentrates on profitability and cash generation in two core businesses, WHSmith is highly cash generative with a strong balance sheet. Although revenue of WHSmith declined  £28 million from 2009 to 2010 which is approximately 2 percent, like-for-like sales decreased 4 percent at that time. Indeed, that decrease of total sales is caused by  £32 million decline of high street sales in 2010, whilst travel sales have a slight growth from  £448m to  £452m between 2009 and 2010. Additionally, there is nine percent increase of profit before tax and exceptional items from 2009 to 2010. That is worth  £7m from  £82m in 2009 to  £89m in 2010. Moreover, the rise of net funds which is  £11m (2009:  £45m, 2010:  £56m) also proves highly cash generative of WHSmith. Furthermore, a slight rise of total asset, same figure of total liabilities and increase of total equity seems make WHSmith’s capital structure much better in 2010. Also, the underlying di luted earnings per share increased from 41.3p in 2009 to 45.7p in 2010. Lastly, WHSmith focuses on efficient cost control and did successful in 2010. It delivered  £12m savings from all areas of the business. To coincide with data mentioned before, the increase of ROCE and profit margin also indicate a better efficiency and profitability in 2010. Whilst, low current ratio under 1 might indicate that the shortage of the liquid resources tend to fail to achieve the short-term payments. In addition, slight changes of other ratios prove that WHSmith has ability of sustained growth. Generally, the group has delivered a good profit performance in 2010.It is noticeable that using distinct strategies on high street and travel business is an efficient way to maximize value creation for shareholders. Hence, based on the performance in decades, WHSmith has enough capacity to operate business sustainably and successfully. Public sector: University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow, which was established in 1451, is considered as the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world. It also is a member of the Russell Group of 20 major research universities. It is ranked amongst the top 1% of universities in the world. Moreover, it has outstanding performance in cultivating talents which fostered seven Nobel laureates, one Prime Minister and Scotland’s inaugural First Minister. University’s mission which set in â€Å"Glasgow 2020 – A Global Vision† is to undertake world leading research and to provide an intellectually stimulating learning environment thus delivering benefits to culture, society and the economy (page 3, Annual Report 2010). Additionally, focus, global reach and multi-disciplinarity are main strategy of that. There is a crucial change structuring its operations from 2009 to 2010. The university applies a College structure instead of previous Faculty structure from the date of 1 August 2010. The new four colleges are: College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, College of Social Sciences and College of Arts. In the world rankings of universities 2010 by Times Higher Education, University of Glasgow placed at 19th in the UK and 128th in the world. To be more specific, it is worth to notice that the value of student satisfaction, research quality, student staff ratio, service and facilities spend, entry standards, completion, good honors and graduate prospects are 79%, 2.2, 13.2, 1377, 412, 86.6, 71.3, 75.4 respectively. These data can indicate its good competitive forces. From teaching aspect, University of Glasgow has an excellent reputation on the teaching and learning environment from both angles of student and academic. Firstly, 90% of final year students are satisfied with their teaching and learning in 2010 National Student Survey. Secondly, student staff ratio is regarded as a proxy for teaching quality. Compared with University of Nottingham (2010:13.7), students of Glasgow might get more personal attention from the institution’s faculty. Thirdly, 16,588 undergraduate students, 5,366 postgraduate students and more than 5,000 adult learners are educated by University of Glasgow in 2010. Moreover, these students are from more than 100 countries around the globe. Indeed, the University has achieved its goal of home undergraduate recruitment, whilst the number of enrolled postgraduate students has increased 10%. Lastly, University has 6,334 staff, and there are approximately 2,000 researchers included. Form research perspective, University of Glasgow has an outstanding performance. More than  £116m is annual research contract income, which makes University become UK’s top 10 earners for research. Additionally, according to the latest national Research Assessment Exercise 2008, University which involved 48 subject areas was one of the broadest submissions in the UK, and some of them were ranked in UK’s top 10 or were rated best in Scotland. In short, the University is 14th in Research Fortnight’s Research Power Table in the UK. Furthermore, according to the pan-UK Postgraduate Research Experience Survey, levels of research student satisfaction with university experience rose 5.6% in University of Glasgow. From international mix angle, the number of international students has a significant 11 percent rise between 2009 and 2010. Also, international applications for entry increase 35% in 2010-11. Those growths indicate that the oversea promotion of the University is successful. In addition, it is obvious that international student community satisfies with the quality of education and support available at Glasgow through International Student Barometer 2010. Moving to consolidated income and expenditure account, it is worth to focus some values. Tuition fees and education contracts have 10.3% growth which might be caused by the increase income from oversea students. Moreover, owing to a sharply decline of short-term investments and growth of endowment funds, endowment and investment income decrease slightly from 6,612 to 5,526 in 2009-10. In addition, both rise of staff costs and other operating expenses lead total expenditure have a 3.9% increase. Hence, the historical cost surplus for 2010 is 10,949. Overall, based on all analyses above, University of Glasgow has delivered a good performance in 2010. It performs well not only on its financial aspect, but also on its strategic ambitions which includes academic targets and students recruitment goal. Part 2 â€Å"The accounting profit figure is the only simple and comparable measure of the performance of an organization† In recent decades, along with economy developing rapidly, some issues about corporations’ performance seems to be discussed frequently. Although a number of indicators can be applied for assessing the performance of an organization, it is misty that how to measure a company’s performance accurately and comprehensively. Accounting profit figure is considered as a simple and comparable indicator for assessment. Employing profit figure might be right and easy for financial report users to some degree. However, it is not accurate and whilst it is necessary to analyze other possible indicators. This article aims to present some factors which might be one of measurement methods of a company’s performance. Firstly, different sectors, such as nonprofit organizations and for-profit organizations, assess their performance in various ways. As Epstein McFarlan (2011) point out, owing to nonprofit organizations and for-profit organizations have different missions, it is apparent that they have dissimilar financial metrics. To be more specific, the main objective and mission of nonprofit groups is to achieve their social or service targets. Contrarily, for-profit organizations concentrate on whether they obtain an appropriate return on invested capital for their shareholders or not. However, ancillary services are also offered by them. Consequently, most non-profit organizations insist that assessing whether they accomplish their overall long-term targets or not is more crucial than only measuring their fundraising and budget achievement in short-term. On the contrary, performance assessment of for-profit groups heavily relies on the income statement, earnings per share, profit, growth in ma rket capitalization and other financial data. Epstein McFarlan (2011) give an illustration of Dana Hall School. It is a girls’ school which has history of 129 years. Its goal is â€Å"committed to fostering excellence in academics, the arts and athletics within a vibrant caring community†¦[It] provides its students with a unique opportunity to prepare themselves for challenges and choices as women†. Indeed, from financial aspect, it met continuous operating losses for ten years in 1995. Additionally, in order to build a world-class science center, Dana Hall School still borrowed $8 million to achieve its original target in 1995. Several years later, it took on more debt for the sake of building a world-class athletic center. Although the school has financial stress in 2010, it is still flourishing in the academic field. It is evident that the provided social services of one non-profit group have significant impact on its investment. Simultaneously, it also exerts vital effect on judgment of performance. In sh ort, from nonprofit organizations perspective, assessing financial data such as profit is not essential measure of performance. Secondly, CORE framework which is presented by Moon and Bates (1993) seems like a comprehensive framework to better assess the performance of an organization. CORE framework has four stages: context (C), overview (O), ratios (R) and evaluation (E). This framework is based on numerous previous case studies (see e.g., Simmonds, 1986; Rickwood et al., 1990; Shank and Govindarajan, 1992) which concern about ratio analysis and have significant contribution to the development of strategic management accounting. Through a case study of appraising the performance of Tesco which illustrated by Moon and Bates (1993), it is obvious that CORE is a good and comprehensive measure of a company’s performance by assessing the performance not only from its internal aspect but also from its external angle. Thirdly, although profit figure is a simple and comparable measure of the performance of an organization, it can be altered by accounting techniques and then mislead the users of financial report. Sharma (1992:1) cited by Weston Brigham (1991) describes profit as â€Å"to the financial management profit is a measure of control and the test of efficiency in the organization; to the investors the profit is the measure of weather worth to invest; to the government the profit is a basis of legislative action†. That is to say, profit figure is essential measure of enterprise’s performance to a large degree. However, the case of Enron exposes the limitation of accounting figures such as profit figure. As Solomon (2007) points out, negative angles of accounting and auditing profession are represented in the collapse of Enron. In addition, Pierce-Brown (2002) claims that each accounting policies are legal and Enron has being obeyed the GAAP. She complements that Enron employs the policies of revenue recognition, off-balance-sheet financing and mark-to-market accounting to hide the growing losses. It declines $600 million profits when the accounts are restated in 2002 (Solomon, 2007). To be more specific, during the period of 1997-2000, the decrease of cumulative profit and increase of debt are $591 million and $628 million respectively. Although Enron’s financial statement seems have a good performance, the figures are unreliable for the sake of removing liabilities and rising earnings per share actually. Hence, under this circumstance, profit figure cannot reflect a company’s performance factually to some extent. Fourth, although for-profit groups focus on financial data to assess their performance, accounting profit figure is not the only assessment approach to a large extent. As Elliott and Elliott (2008) demonstrate, interpreting a company’s financial statement can apply financial ratios analysis. It is useful to judge the economic performance of an enterprise. They implement that six ratios are considered as key ratios whilst there are lots of subsidiary ratios. The six ratios are operating return on equity, financial leverage multiplier, return on capital employed (ROCE), asset turnover, net profit margin and current ratio. Specifically, the ratios of ROCE, asset turnover and net profit margin tend to reflect the profitability of companies and current ratio intends to indicate the liquidity. Hence, combining these figures might measure the performance of an organization more accurate than just using profit to judge. In addition, cash flow is another crucial account to measure the performance. To sum up, this essay standing upon the point of view of comprehensive analysis to analyze possible factors for assessing an organization’s performance. In the first section, it represented different sectors have dissimilar judgment standards of performance. Secondly, it was trying to connect CORE with performance measurement. Additionally, it detailed researched whether or not accounting profit figure is reliable to assess an enterprise’s performance. Finally, ratio analysis and focusing on cash flow might help the analysis of performance. Hence, based on above discussion it can be concluded that there is no one specific standard measure of the performance of an organization. As a consequence, it seems that different industries and sectors might choose various methods or indicators to assess their performance. However, due to it considers not only the internal aspect but also the external perspective, CORE framework tends to be the better approach to apply than employi ng accounting figures solely. References Elliott, B. Elliott, J. (2008) financial accounting and reporting 12th edition, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited Epstein, M. J. McFarlan, F. W. (2011) ‘Nonprofit vs. For-Profit Boards: Critical Differences’ Strategic Finance, 92(9), pp. 28-35 Moon, P. and Bates, K. (1993) ‘Core analysis in strategic performance appraisal’ Management Accounting Research, 4, pp. 139-152 Pierce-Brown, R. (2002) ‘Another nightmare on Wall Street’, Asian Chemical News, September, pp. 30-34. Rickwood, C.P., Coates, J.B. and Stacey, R.J. (1990) ‘Stapylton: strategic management accounting to gain competitive advantage’ Management Accounting Research. 1 (1): 37–49 Shank, J.K. Govindarajan, V. (1992) ‘Strategic cost management: the value chain perspective’ Journal of Management Accounting Research. Fall, pp. 179–197 Simmonds, K. (1986) ‘the accounting assessment of competitive position’ European Journal of Marketing, 20 (1): 16-31 Solomon, J. (2007) Corporate Governance and Accountability 2nd Edition. Portland: John Wiley and Sons. Weston J.F. Brigham E.F (1991) cited in Sharma akhileshwar ‘profitability analysis of Drugs and pharmaceutical companies in India’ A thesis submitted for the degree of PH.D, in the faculty of commerce, saurashtra university Rajkot

Sociology Research - Hacking subculture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sociology Research - Hacking subculture - Essay Example In order to clarify the issue about hackers, it is but necessary to trace the history of these group.. Hackers are members of a sub-culture from the group of Information Technology professionals. According to the website Cyber punk project, Hackers are technical people like programmers and designers who â€Å"enjoy exploring details of programmable systems and an expert at a particular program, sometimes going to the length of being obsessive about programming† ( Cyber punk Project ). Thus, hackers are highly- skilled people who have their own culture, considerably a group with their own language and rituals. Hackers have different motives which can often lead them to committing malicious acts. In a study made by Taylor among young hackers, he identified some reasons behind hacking : feelings of addiction, urge of curiosity, boredom with educational system, enjoyment of feeling of power ,peer recognition, and political acts ( Jordan and Taylor 46) In 1994, Levy categorized the hackers into generations, the first of which are computer aficionados in the 50’s and 60’s mostly from MIT. The second generation are the ones who popularized computing through the development of PCs, and the third generation are responsible for the advent of computer games ( Taylor 15 ). Nowadays, hackers are considered belonging in the fourth generation (Taylor 17). Unfortunately, the fourth generation hackers have been perceived also as crackers. Crackers are hackers who commit cyber crime by maliciously spreading virus or illegally accessing other people’s PC or system. Nevertheless, there is a group of hackers known as â€Å"white hackers â€Å" who can be considered as a pure form of hacker. According to an article in the website koiskea, their ( white hackers ) main goal is to â€Å"help improve computer systems and technologies â€Å"(koiskea.net ). Ross also argued that ethical hacking done by these white hackers provide a lot of benefits such as

IFRS 1 -- ThyssenKrupp Group First Year Conversion Assignment

IFRS 1 -- ThyssenKrupp Group First Year Conversion - Assignment Example Some of the financial components that will be affected from the conversion from US GAAP include the treatment of intangible assets such as development costs, goodwill and intangible pension assets. Tangible assets such as property plant and equipment will require adjustments in how investment property is dealt with because of the differences in treatment under both methods. IFRS uses a components approach in dealing with property, plant and equipment and so they are shown separately – inclusive of the depreciation charged on these assets. Impairment of assets is also dealt with differently and most operating leases will now be classified as finance leases. This will have implications for profits and for the tangible assets balance in the balance sheet. Investment property will now be a separate line item on the balance sheet as a result of these changes. Under IFRS all non-current assets can qualify as assets held for sale while under US GAAP only long lived asset can, once th ey meet specific criteria. There are other interesting cases that will affect deferred tax assets, inventories, trade accounts receivables and other receivables such as embedded derivatives and prepaid pension costs. It is interesting to note that the measurement date of the pension plan will coincide with the year end and so this will affect the prepaid pension cost shown in the financial statements. The treatment of contracts will not only have implications for inventories but also accounts receivable, accounts payables and of course income and therefore the net profit of ThyssenKrupp. IFRS requires a different treatment for minority interest than that used under US GAAP. While US GAAP showed minority interest as a separate item between liabilities and equity IFRS requires that it be shown as part of equity. As a result of these changes the figures for the 2004/2005 will be very different. The differences relating to changes in equity and other elements are therefore required to b e shown in the notes to the financial statements. IFRS 1 also requires that the differences be clearly explained so that the various stakeholders which includes, shareholders, analysts, prospective investors and others are able to understand them and their effects on the financial statements. Finally, it is very important to note that IFRS1 defines an entity’s first IFRS financial statements as being the first annual financial statements in which an entity adopts IFRS by making it clear that IFRS is being complied with by way of an â€Å"unreserved† and â€Å"explicit† statement of that fact (Ernst & Young 2009). The conversion from US GAAP to IFRS has impacted various elements of the financial statements. According to Ernst and Young (2009) the main principle is full retrospective application of IFRS standards that were in effect as of ThyssenKrupp’s first IFRS reporting period. Some of the elements of the financial statements have been impacted positive ly and some negatively. The Balance Sheet elements that are explained below are: property, plant and equipment; inventories; and minority interests. The income statement elements that will be explained are: net sales; selling expenses; and other operating income Balance Sheet Elements Property, Plant and Equipment â‚ ¬m â‚ ¬m Balance as per US GAAP 9,469 Less: Reclassification 557 Other 169 (726) Balance as per IFRS 8,743 The balance as per US G