Lifespan Development Essay

Set forth by Margret Baltes, Paul Baltes and their associates, the life span perspective is the viewing of human development as multi directional, multi cultural, multi contextual,multi disciplinary and plastic. Human development is viewed as multi-directional because with time the characteristics of a human tend to change. Each person’s body consists of a large amount of genes and therefore bring the possibility of having several different directions that they could develop. Different events in life can lead to a change in direction. Some examples of those events may be the death of a loved one, losing a job, getting married, getting into college. etc. Researchers have used the multi directional perspective to figure out that losses and gains tend to occur simultaneously and that losses can lead to gains and gains can lead to losses. Human development is seen as multi contextual because it occurs in various contexts such as physical surroundings and the constellations of family. Urie Bronfenbrenner was the first to shine light on the need to consider multiple contexts. He recommended that when conducting a developmental study we should use an ecological-systems approach. This involves the belief that the individual should be considered in all contexts and interactions that life consist of in the study of human development. Bronfenbrenner later changed the name of this approach to bioecological to show the natural and biological aspects of this theory. There are three nested levels that each person is affected by. Microsystems is immediate surroundings such as friends, school, church and family. Exosystems is local institutions such as place of employment, school, and religious courses. Macrosystems involves the larger contexts such as political, economics and culture. Bronfenbrenner created a fourth system called mesosystem that connects all the systems together. An example of mesosystem would be the connection between family and employment. Family leave policies and overtime are examples of family and employment connections. Bronfenbrenner created the chronosystem or time system which also has an affect on the other systems. Development is viewed as multi cultural because there are many different cultures in the world today. Social scientists describe culture as a â€Å"meaning and information system, shared by a group and transmitted across generations, that allows the group to meet basic needs of survival . . . pursue happiness and wellbeing, and derive meaning from life† (Matsumoto, 2009) Development is multi disciplinary because researchers must study various disciplines to understand it. Scientists usually break the study of human development into three segments to study it better. The segments are biological, cognitive and social. Each segment is a discipline that a scientist specializes in. It is also segmented in age groups such as childhood ,adolescence and adulthood. Development is plastic because the traits of humans can be molded much like plastic and people are durable like plastic. Two Theories of Life Span Development The first theory is Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. He believed that personality was developed in stages. One of the main aspects of Erikson’s theory was the ego identity. This is the conscious sense of self that we develop during social interactions. According to Erik, it is constantly changing as we experience new things and learn new information during our daily interactions with others. Erikson also believed that behaviors and actions were motivated with a sense of competence. Each part of Erikson’s theory involves becoming competent in an area of life. The individual will feel a sense of mastery referred to as ego quality or ego strength if the stage is handled well. The person will feel a sense of inadequacy if the stage is not handled properly. He believed that people experienced a conflict that acted as a turning point during each stage. In his view, these conflicts were focused on creating a psychological quality or failing to create a psychological quality. The second theory is Jean Piaget’s theory. His theory is composed of four stages. The sensorimotor stage is from birth to 2 years and suggests the the child builds a set of concepts about reality through physical interactions. Preoperational stage occurs between ages 2 and 7. The child is unable to understand logic and cognitive thinking. They understand symbolic things and have acquired motor skills. Concrete operational stage occurs between the ages 7 and 11. Children are aware of external events. They develop operational thinking and can show logical reasoning. The formal operational stage occurs from the age of 11 to 16 and onward. Those who reach this stage have developed abstract reasoning and can easily think logically. How Heredity and Environment Affect Development Heredity and the environment both play an important part in human development. The heredity factors affect all aspects of development. Genes have a tremendous affect on the birth, puberty, growth and death of a human being. Many traits are inherited from our family members and determine how we develop. Our genetics help to determine how we might act. For example, if there is a history of mental problems in your family then you might be prone to mental illnesses as well. The environment also helps in the human development process. The way we act, dress, talk, etc can be affected by our surroundings. For example, if you are raised in â€Å"the ghetto† then you might be prone to violence, drugs, baggy clothes, and slang talk. Growing up around violence and drugs might make a person develop into a drug abuser or participate in violent activities. The people we surround ourselves with also affect our development. If we are surrounded by violence and drugs then we might think that it is a normal way of life and we might also participate in these activities. If we are not subjected to these types of activities then we have a less chance of getting involved in these activities. Conclusion In conclusion, the life span perspective sheds light on the many aspects of human development. It is multi directional because our lives can go in many directions as a result of different life changing events. It is also multi cultural as there are several different cultures involved. There are many different contexts involved in human development such as our physical surroundings and family constellations. Multiple disciplines are studied in order for researchers to understand human development. Human development is also referred to as plastic because it can be shaped and molded just like plastic. Our development is greatly affected by genetic factors and environmental factors such as inherited qualities and the people and activities we are surrounded by.

The Effect of Computer in Our Daily Lives

Why Do They Fail? Statistics show that most people who begin high school finish. Some drop out, of course, but approximately three-quarters earn a diploma. At the post-secondary level, however, fewer than two-thirds of the students complete their program of study. Why do so many college and university students drop out? Knowing the factors that prevent students from completing their post-secondary programs may prove crucial to you regardless of whether you are presently a college student or thinking of becoming one.Most educators agree that the principal causes of failure are lack of basic skills, lack of study skills, and lack of motivation. A firm grasp of basic skills—what are termed the three Rs: reading, writing, and arithmetic—is a must for college or university work. Not only are texts and research material more difficult to understand than they were in high school, but also the quantity of required reading is greater.The ability to express oneself clearly in sta ndard written English is essential; garbled essays, ungrammatical reports, or poorly spelled and punctuated papers will be routinely failed by instructors, regardless of the ideas the writer may think he is expressing. Similarly, mathematical skills are essential to a student’s success in many post-secondary programs. Business, science, technology, and some applied arts programs require sound computational skills. Post-secondary students who lack these basic skills often find little remedial help available and little instructor tolerance for poor work; hence, they fall behind and drop out.

Management and leadership development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Management and leadership development - Essay Example Emphasis is given on the operationalisation of management and leadership development into practice. Appropriate literature is used for highlighting the key issues of the study’s subject. At the next level, the article of the Emerald Group Publishing Limited (2010) ‘Changing Face of Leadership’ is used in order to show the key aspects of the operationalisation of leadership management in practice, as derived through the approach used by the article’s authors. It is concluded that the operationalization of leadership management into practice can be a challenging task – not just because of the requirements of these plans but also because of their implications for the leaders and the organizations. Leadership development is a multi-dimensional plan. When such plan is to be developed within a particular organization, it is important that its implications and its expected benefits are estimated and evaluated. The requirements of the specific plan need also to be taken into account, aiming to reduce the chances of failures when initiating such project. The leadership development affects the organizational life, in terms of the organization’s daily operational activities but also in terms of the context of its strategic choices. These issues are highlighted in the literature. Different approaches have been used for explaining the aspects of operationalisation of leadership development in organizations of different structural and operational characteristics. In accordance with Ryan (2007) the leadership development can lead to the establishment of inequality within the organization; it is explained that leadership is not equally developed across the departments of a particular organization. In certain teams of the organization, leadership plays a key role; in those teams, a significant amount of resources is likely to be invested on leadership development; in other organizational teams – referring to groups of individuals in different

How the process of leadership may be used in order to maximise Essay

How the process of leadership may be used in order to maximise potential of the organisation and its employees - Essay Example This is as far as the investigation carried by Stephen A. Cohen and some of his employees at SAC Capital Partners on the same is concerned (Fisher et al.1992, p56). They found out that Goldman Sachs moved aluminum around from one warehouse to another so that they can improve their market position and at the same time increase their prices to consumers. Such kind of events imposes a major impact on peoples’ trust in financial institutions. The survey indicates that nearly eighty percent of Americans has a great mistrust for the big banks and that close to two-thirds of the Americans think that the corporate corruption is much widespread among the banks in the US as well as across the globe. There has been a significant increase in both the figures in the level of mistrust for the banking industry exhibited by Americans a few years ago (Yukl,2001,p65). This loss of trust is very costly on the part of banks because it is normally expensive and wasteful to regulate and monitor sys tem when there is no trust among the stakeholders. This is so because market competition cannot easily be an efficient substitute for integrity and trustworthiness. Another event that has led to the loss of trust is the disappearance of banking proper goal. At first banks main goal was to maximize stakeholders’ welfare but the banks have greatly transformed and are now only interested in maximizing the shareholders wealth by just concentrating on accumulation of profit and personal wealth. Loss of trust among customers was largely brought about by leadership styles adopted by the banks. The main reason is the agency problem whereby the Conflict of interest between the management and the shareholders exists. And management, therefore, engages in activities that pose a high financial gain to them as in the case of insider trading. They enter into agreements that increase the shareholders’ wealth at the expense of other stakeholders (Kotter,1996, p34). To maximize the pro fits, they charge exorbitant interest rates to customers. These autocratic leaders formulate policies on their own and then tell the employees what need to be done without involving them at all. This kind of leadership does not put leaders to task and therefore they cannot easily be monitored or commented upon (Isaksen & Tidd, 2006, p52). Staff, on the other hand performs the tasks as assigned to them which may perhaps even be poor and unsatisfactory services to bank customers. These poor services rendered to customers make them develop a negative image and even mistrust to bank. In addition, lack of employee involvement in the formulation of objectives leads to low motivation and commitment. This in turn lowers the returns for banks and therefore huge layoffs of personnel may occur to help reduce the operational costs. Leadership styles adopted to restore trust In order to solve the problem and maximize the potential of the organization and its employees, the banks should use trans formational leadership. A transformational leader is that who motivates the employees, enhances their morale and performance through a variety of mechanisms such as connecting the employee’s sense of identity and self to the project and the collective identity of the organization (Northouse, 2010, p53). He challenges the employees to take greater ownership and responsibility for their work and understands their weaknesses and strengths. This allows the leader to align the

AIDS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

AIDS - Essay Example The virus is spread by unprotected sex between affected individuals and through shared needles when used for hypodermic infections. Inadvertent transfusion of blood from a suffering person to a healthy person can also transmit the virus. However there are skeptics who claim that the AIDS virus was intentionally developed in a secret military program in the United States as a means of biological warfare to curb world population (Mazza J., 2005). In a controversial article, the author debates the unlikelihood of the accepted theory of a green monkey biting an African native, thereby transmitting the virus to humans and provides an argument in favor of the biological warfare theory and the subsequent creation of this virus in a laboratory. Nevertheless, whatever the origin, AIDS is now a worldwide phenomenon and the subject of intensive research for getting the human population rid of this deadly malady. As far as the United States is concerned, it is believed that almost one million people are living in this country with HIV infection and it has spread to all the states and to all sectors of society (www.avert.org). Half a million deaths have occurred due to HIV infection but the statistical data is not comprehensive as it is based on reports of AIDS diagnosis. The American Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data till 2006 suggests that 448,871 people suffering from this disease were living in America. The ethnic data suggests that the black people are the ones leading the group in terms of people affected as they accounted for 44% of the cases with the white majority close at heels with a figure of 35%. The Hispanic population of America suffered at a rate of 19% and the rest 1% were from other races (www.avert.org). Figures of adults and adolescents above the age of 13 years, who were living with AIDS in the USA till 2006, show that in majority of the cases (59%),

Response for Vygotsky Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Response for Vygotsky - Essay Example Vygotsky suggests that Piaget is using adult thinking to solve a child’s actual thought process. Both views have merit to a degree, but Vygotsky’s view can help expand a child’s education from what is to what can be. The zone of proximal development is the ability of the child to mimic or learn through group intervention. The zone of proximal development is the abilities the child can be taught. Vygotsky feels that the child should be judged on the level of zone proximal development. Vygotsky gave an example about two children being on the same level in actual development, but having a different zone of proximal development. Vygotsky asserts that children having a different zone of proximal development will not experience the same level of actual development. Piaget does not agree with the zone of proximal development, but rather asserts that the test of actual development is the level a child should be judged by. Piaget feels current tests of actual development are the true measure of the child’s ability. Vygotsky’s method contends that the zone of proximal development is not just potential. For example, a child might mimic a simple behavior that they can grasp like a simple math problem. However, if an advanced mathematics was introduced, no matter how many times demonstrated, the child would not pick up the skill. The zone of proximal development is what a child can achieve with help, not impossible tasks beyond their level of development. The zone of proximal development leads to actual development according to Vygotsky. His point of view is tests like Piaget uses only test the actual development, not the actual ability to develop or the rate of development. Learning and development are never on an equal basis. The development is either before or after learning. The two are not parallel in relation to each other. Vygotsky also pointed out that animals do not have a zone of proximal

Visual Arts Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Visual Arts Project - Essay Example She was portrayed with her face in profile as she studied her hands, which were covered by the folds of the skirt of her white Victorian styled gown. I wondered if she might have had a quarrel with her lover. Above her head, to the right, was a golden mellow rose that made me think this even more. It created in me a mood of sadness, making me recall my own experiences with lost love. As I became more affected by the painting, I wanted to know more about its creator! While studying the life of Hassam, I learned that the piece is considered one of his best works of art and that he had chosen as an alternate title to the piece, Beethoven's "Appassionato" sonata. (2) It appeared to me that, like Beethoven, he must have had feelings of great passion to be able to create the mood of The Sonata. For me, the subtleness of that passion was further emphasized by Hassam's use of a blend of colors to create a golden gilded hue. The painting is highlighted by this color blend in the colors of the rose, the woman's hair, and in other spots throughout the painting. In contrast to this is the pure whiteness of the Victorian styled gown that the woman wears. Hassam also called attention to the subtle meaning of the painting with the use of indirect line. Using and almost S-shape to emphasis the focal point of the painting-the woman, he draws the eyes of the beholder of the painting, from the rose into the woman's face and down to her hands. The artist was from New England and learned the techniques of the impressionists while studying in Paris. While he, later, became more involved in modernistic landscapes and patriotic scenes of America, the influence of the impressionists never escaped his work. The painting is considered one of Hassams's best works. Like the first artists of impressionism, Hassam has captured natural light and luminosity in the painting with the use of numberless short choppy strokes of paint. Unlike Claude Monet, the father of impressionism, and his early followers, Hassam's Sonata is too academic to be defined strictly as an impressionist work. Instead, the artist has defined his subject and the meaning of the painting as delicately as did the Flemish painters with their strict adherence to detail. The great exception to their rules would be the flatness of The Sonata as compared to the depth to be found in their paintings. A painting such as the Sonata draws one into an imaginary space, while a sculpture calls its viewer to experience it physically. The atmospheric perspective techniques used to create depth in a paintings or not available to sculptures. In paintings, something is added, with sculptures, something is subtracted. Sculptures are devoid of the softness that many paintings possess. While requiring the same talents and skills as that of painters to effect greatness in their creations, sculptures are limited in their abilities to tease our imagination. The use of colors and values is also less, because of this, paintings are more complex. The Sonata is a good example of this, like the Mona Lisa, she invites us, not only to wonder, but also to participate in her mystery. References Frederick Childe Hassam (1859-1935), 1893, oil on canvas, 32 x 32, Bequest of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph S. Atha, Collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum. The Nelson Gallery Foundation, d.b.a. The Nelson-Atkins M

Carol-Columbia-essay2,3-0923-ec 19970 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Carol-Columbia-essay2,3-0923-ec 19970 - Essay Example The case was not much different with the ‘Standard Translation Planning and Management System’ (TPMS), a tool for managing the IBM globalization and localization process. The generation system set as per the standard protocols of the related technology, developed by a team of engineers from Egypt, failed poorly with regard to utility, steadily affecting customer satisfaction. In 2007, I was appointed as Manager of a new team with the responsibility of renovating the existing system and developing a Next Generation TPMS .An extensive research into the technicalities of the system, and upon taking the opinion of the clients, I could detect four major drawbacks of the ‘standard’ system .They were ‘very slow performance’, ‘lesser customer utility’, ‘too complicated advanced features’ and an ‘unfriendly user interface’. A shift in the focus from the theoretical technology standards to very practical customer friendliness was the basic change needed. The primary attention in the architecture of the new system was to select tools as per user’s requirement. On a customer based investigation, some users required the replacement of ‘desktop application’ with ‘web application’ so as to enjoy a clean application added with the ease to use. As the others’ concern was system response time, they opted for desktop application which was faster than the web application. A trial to integrate the requirements of this wide range of customers gave us the thought of blending both the applications which was quite new to the knowledge base and expertise of IBM. The product was to be formulated based on practical mix of both the tools. The challenge was to bridge the standard framework and the practical architectural tools. The effort started with a feasibility study and I gradually led the process of prototype development. Finally we invented a desktop web-client architecture which ensured

Illegal war trade, and its effect on society Research Paper

Illegal war trade, and its effect on society - Research Paper Example hereas the problem was being addressed, during the 19th century, locally at different countries of the world, now-a-days, it has assumed a global aspect. Therefore it is evident that modern transportation system has significantly contributed to the increase of the illicit drug-trade. As a result in the international drug market, the trade in drug is a highly profitable business, as Presidents Commission on Organized Crime notes, â€Å"Drug trafficking accounts for almost 38 percent of all organized crime activity across the country and generates an income estimated to be as high as $110 billion† (4). A report prepared by the National Institute on Drug Abuse shows that the abuse of drug like any illegal drugs, except the smoking and alcohol, exerts a toll of averagely $161 billion dollars on the economy of the United States in the years 1999, 2000 and 2001 (NIDA). If alcoholism and smoking are counted within the statistics, the cost will rise up to approximately $487 billion dollar. Out of this $161 billion dollars, about $110 billion costs in lost productivity, whereas $12.9 billion is spent in healthcare issue. In the UK, the total economic cost of illicit drug abuse fluctuated between  £2.9bn and  £5.3bn in the past decades. If the social costs are added to this economic cost, the total amount will range between  £10.1bn and  £17.4bn per year (Godfrey et al. 7). In a study Collins and Lapsley (2008) report that Australian socio-economy has to bear the cost of $30 billion per year. But a global comparative statistics of the effects of drug on the economy of the countrie s is still a matter of investigation (87). The UK Drug Policy Commission approximates that there are about 23.1 million natives of the total British population who are addicted to at least one drug in the year 2010 (Reuter and Stevens, 2007). According to the British Crime Survey 2005, about 45% of the population (aged between 35 and 44) were addicted to at least one drug, whereas 50 percent of the

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Culture Study Coursework

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Culture Study - Coursework Example It is still regularly in the news bulletins as different schools and their systems all over the United States have either banned it or restored it in their teaching spaces. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has for a long time been perceived as Mark Twain’s masterwork and a classic American literature and was the first critical American work that departed from European literary models. The book utilized borderline humor, vernacular speech as well as an uneducated young narrator in the portrayal of life in America. Even though the novel was initially plainly condemned as being inappropriate for the well-mannered readers, it ultimately found an outstanding place in the canon of American literature. The book is recognized for its intriguing description of people and places that are located along the Mississippi River. The Book is set in the Southern antebellum society which had stopped existing almost twenty years prior to the publication of the work and is often a sarcastic acc ount of ingrained attitudes especially racism. The book had been criticized when it was released as it contained coarse language and its contentiousness increased in the twentieth century because of its apparent use of racial typecasts as well as its frequent usage of racial slur regardless of the tenor of the book being considered anti-racist. Continually popular with the readers, the book has also remained a focus of study by numerous literary critics since it was published. The book dwells on ideas of associated with race and identity which are obvious complexities that exist in regard to Jim’s character (Stecopoulos and Uebel 366). Even though it can be concluded that Jim is good at heart, ethical and unintelligent, the novel has continued to be perceived as racist based on the use of the word â€Å"nigger†.

Should Teachers Be Able to Remove Disruptive Students Essay Example for Free

Should Teachers Be Able to Remove Disruptive Students Essay Within a democracy everyone has rights; however those rights end when they are used to abuse or hinder the rights of another person within that democracy. For instance everyone has the right to entertain themselves with a listening device on the train, yet they are asked by transit authorities to use headphones so that their right to entertainment does not violate the other passengers right to peaceful, quiet commute. It is a teacher’s duty to ensure that students understand these social skills that are required of them in this democratic society. So although removing a disruptive student from a classroom is sometimes viewed as the neglecting and the rejecting of that particular student it is very often the beginning of that student’s long road to having some very complex issues resolved. As was stated in one of the previous chapter, aggression and excessively disorderly conduct is more often than not the manifestation of some very serious emotional grievances. It can also be sign that the child is suffering from an undiagnosed disorder. Although the latter is less likely to be the case it should not be ruled out. Sometimes due to a lack of knowledge about a particular disorder can cause parents to overlook certain characteristics of a condition that their children may be exhibiting. In other cases it is the parents’ unwillingness to accept the facts that are presented to them concerning their child that prevents them from seeking help for their child. This unwillingness might be due to a variety of emotions including fear and denial. Whatever the case may be these children continue to battle with these disorders and completely exhaust the efforts of those that are forced to share a classroom with them since there are almost always in need of much more than the classroom setting can offer them. Sadly, identifying underlying emotional problems can be a little more complex but the cooperation of the parents is also needed in this area. In cases where the parent is not able to or is not willing to cooperate with a teacher who is trying to encourage a child to exhibit more sociable behavior the teacher is left with very few options. For if that parent is not even willing to acknowledge that the behavior of his or her child is out of control, there will be attempt to try and discover what the source of the behavior might be. Again the removal of that student from the classroom may encourage the parent to evaluate the seriousness of the situation and this resulting communication might bring both the teacher and the parent one step closer to uncovering problem which is what the main focus should always be. Those who oppose giving this authority to teachers expect them to prepare lesson plans that will create and maintain a positive learning environment for the entire class, make sure that students are prepared to take the ever increasing state mandated test, and still be able to constantly council and pacify students who have decided to constantly disrupt the class; all within the allotted six to seven hour day, which is farther broken down into forty five minute periods for each class.

Define empowerment, capacity building and participation

Define empowerment, capacity building and participation in the context of your research. Describe the dependent and independent variables in your research and justify the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. The understanding of the concept of empowerment varies among disciplines. It is a cross-disciplinary term, mainly used in fields of Education, Psychology, Community Development, Economics, among others. Based on this many meanings of the term, it has been seen as a construct easy to define by its absence but difficult to define in action, based on the fact that it takes different forms in different people and contexts (Rappoport, cited in Page Czuba, 1999). Therefore, how we define empowerment within our projects and programs will depend upon the specific people and context involved. In the context of community development, a general definition of empowerment was proffered by Page Czuba (1999) as follows: Empowerment is a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power (that is, the capacity to implement) in people, for use in their own lives, their communities, and in their society, by acting on issues that they define as important. From the above definition, three basic components are necessary to any understanding of empowerment, namely multi-dimensional, social, and a process. By multi-dimensional, empowerment is frequently connected to the four development dimensions of equity, capacity building, participation and self-reliance. According to Adams (2002) these four dimensions are regarded as the common denominators in most definitions of empowerment and debates regarding the role of empowerment in the development process. It also occurs at various levels, such as individual, group, and community. And it is a social process because it occurs in relationship to others. Embedded in this definition of empowerment is that the individual and community are fundamentally connected. The importance of individual empowerment is such that it is a prerequisite for community and social change and empowerment (Speer Hughey, 1995), and a bridge to community connectedness and social change (Wilson, 1996). With specific reference to the current study which looks at Youth development as a strategy for Poverty reduction, empowerment in this case entails the acquisition of power and the ability to give it effect (Swanepoel, 1997). Theron (2005) buttresses this view by looking at empowerment in terms of dual perspectives, namely empowerment as a process of skills and abilities development; and secondly, empowerment as a process that equips people to decide on and take action regarding the issues of concern to them. In the same vein, Burkly (1993) states that empowerment is a process that releases power to the people which they can use to access resources in order to achieve desirable goals. Although empowerment as a concept can be examined in the context of both individual and collective aspects, the concept as used here is operative at the individual level, rather than collective or organizational. While individual empowerment relates to the way people think about themselves, as well as the knowledge, capacities, skills, and mastery they actually possess (Staples, 1990, p. 32), collective empowerment refers to processes by which individuals join together to break their solitude and silence, help one another, learn together, and develop skills for collective action (Boehm Staples, 2004). For the purpose of this study, empowerment is defined as a process whereby individuals develop the skills and capacity for gaining some reasonable control over their lives. From the foregoing, empowerment in the context of this study does not only imply capacity building, by which is meant the building up of peoples knowledge, skills, and ability to enable them take actions correctly, it (empowerment) is also an effect of this process of capacity building where the individual participants of the capacity building process overcome their poverty situation and attain self-determination. Self-determination is consistent with notions of personal control (Greenberg Strasser, 1991); and it refers to an individuals sense of control over his or her own work (Wagner, 1995). As a major component of individual empowerment, self-determination is most frequently reported in the literature (Sprague Hayes, 2000). Fetterman (1996, p.92) believes that self-determination, defined as the ability to chart ones own course in life, forms the theoretical foundations of the components of individual empowerment. Against this background, the individual participants, who have become self employed and are economically empowered, having acquired skills via capacity building, are enabled to be in control of their lives. Therefore, empowerment here is an outcome of the process of capacity building. Individual empowerment is a development that involves many changes whereby an individual is able to strengthen and exercise the ability to act to gain control over his or her life. Hence, the goal of individual empowerment is to achieve a state of emancipation strong enough to impact ones power in life. Capacity Building As with the concepts of globalization, development, and sustainability, the term capacity building is an ambiguous concept that means different things to different people, groups and organizations. Although many people use these terms, their definitions do not conform to the same, as each puts emphasis on a certain aspect of capacity development (James, 2001). However, definitions of capacity building emphasize that capacity building is a tool to build and improve the skills, resources and ability of people to implement, monitor and assess a project. The United Nations (UNDP, 1997) sees capacity building as a process by which individuals, groups and organizations, institutions and societies increase their abilities to perform core functions, solve problems and define and achieve objectives; to understand and deal with their development needs in a broad context and in a sustainable manner. Eade (1997) sees capacity building as an approach to development which encompasses all the fields that influence the development sphere. In this approach to development, capacity building identifies the weaknesses that people experience in achieving their basic rights, and finding proper means through which to increase their ability to overcome the causes of their exclusion and suffering. In the context of this study, capacity building comprises the skills acquisition that the youth undergo in the process of their empowerment. Capacity building here is an intervening variable, which by its nature surfaces between the time the independent variable (participation) starts operating to influence the dependent variable (empowerment). It helps to explain the relationship between the IV DV. Thus, by participating in the development programmes, youth are equipped with the capacity, skills, knowledge that will enable them become economically empowered, employable and self-employed, thereby reducing unemployment and poverty among them. Capacity building as used in the study is not concerned about implementing a project or enhancing a particular aspect of life; it is a comprehensive empowerment process which builds the capability of people with relevant skills needed to find meaning in their lives. Consequently, the concept of capacity building as used in the study is a process where people are developed in order to manage themselves. To this end, empowerment of the participants becomes the ultimate output of capacity building process. On this understanding of capacity building as a process, Eade and Williams (1995) elaborate the concept as: Men and women becoming empowered to bring about positive changes in their lives; about personal growth together with public action; about both the process and the outcome of challenging poverty, oppression and discrimination; and about the realization of human potential through social and economic justice. Above all, it is about the process of transforming lives, and transforming societies. In this process of capacity building, people acquire the skills, which in turn create an avenue for them as individuals and as members of the community to achieve their development objectives and improve the quality of their lives. Hence, capacity building is a response to community development needs. Participation Participation is one of the essential aspects of community development associated with empowerment. It is a people-oriented approach to development, where people play an important role by feeling a high degree of ownership; and are subjects rather than objects in the process of their development. According to De Beer and Swanepoel (1998), participation leads to empowerment and empowerment results in vulnerable people or oppressed groups achieving sufficient power or authority to be able to influence decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods, so that they can attain ownership of their lives. Participation in this study is the input variable or independent variable, where, through involvement in youth development programmes like auto mechanics, electrical work, and welding, the participants acquire the capacity (skills, knowledge and training) that enable them to become self-employed and employable. By participating in the programmes, youth have enhanced their capacity to alleviate poverty. They have also built partnership with others by widening their employment opportunities. As marginalized members of the society, being involved in their development programmes enabled them to voice their concerns, hopes, and grievances. Adams (2008) asserts that participants are able to contribute to their development by giving feedback on programmes that are aimed at them. With empowerment in mind, the youth are able to collaborate with the project providers, thereby paving way for a more active role, having greater choice, exercising more power, and contributing in decision-making and management (Adams, 2008, p.17). Their participation has also broadened their support network, resulting in opening up new opportunities through programme development and social action. By participating in their development process, youth not only gain skills and knowledge, but also gain self-confidence, pride, initiative, responsibility and cooperation which without such development components in people all efforts to alleviate poverty will be difficult. An important attribute of participation is community empowerment, which requires a people-centered approach that culminates in self-reliance. Chambers and Freire (1996, p. 77) envisage that participation and empowerment can enable the poor to express and analyze both their individual and shared multiple realities. According to the World Health Organization (2002), community members should participate in their development because they have a right to have a say about decisions that affect their lives; and will also lead to better decisions being made, which are more appropriate and more sustainable because they are owned by the people themselves. Dependent and Independent variables of the study The conceptual framework below illustrates the variables of the study Youth empowerment as a strategy for poverty reduction in Niger Delta, Nigeria. In a nutshell, participation is the independent variable, where youth, through their involvements in skills acquisition programmes in auto mechanics, electrical work and welding develop/acquire the capacity in skills, training, knowledge and competence that led to their empowerment (DV); hence, becoming economically empowered, self-empowered and having a reduction in poverty. Empowerment Economic Empowerment Self-employment Individual Empowerment Unemployment reduction Poverty reduction Participation Involvement in youth development programmes Capacity Building Skills Knowledge Awareness Competence * Sense of community Input Auto mechanics Electrical work Welding a. Independent variable: Participation Based on the definitions and framework given above, the concept of participation will be the independent variable (IV) of the study, which will be manipulated in order to determine its influence or effect on the dependent variable (DV). As an input variable which influences the dependent variable, participation of the youth in development programmes will constitute the IV of the study, to see their relationship with the dependent variable. In other words, the youth participation in such programmes as auto mechanics, electrical work and welding will be operated to see how they lead to empowerment, which is the DV. Participation as employed in the study therefore is the social element whose characteristics or variations shape and determine the dependent variable. In other words, it is through the participants involvement in the development programmes that they are eventually empowered. Thus, participation causes the outcome of involvement in development programme which is empowerment (the DV). Economic empowerment b. Dependent variable: Empowerment Self-employment Unemployment reduction The dependent variable (DV) is a variable of primary interest to the researcher, whose task is to understand and describe it (the DV). And it is through the analysis of the dependent variable that the researcher is likely to find answers or solutions to the issues under study which is done by measuring the dependent variable as well as the other variables that influence this variable. In this study, empowerment is the dependent variable (DV) because it is a response to the action of participation (the IV). The DV depends and responds to the action of the IV. Empowerment in this study is the variable that reflects the influence of the independent variable. As illustrated in the framework above, economic empowerment, self-reliance (self-employed), unemployment reduction and poverty reduction are the effects or outcome of participation of youth in development programmes. These outcomes are necessitated by the skills, knowledge, training and competence which the participants have acquired in the process of their capacity building via the development programmes. Capacity building therefore becomes the intervening variable that brings about the effect of the independent variable (participation) on the dependent variable (empowerment). Justification of the relationship of variables The independent and dependent variables are related based on the dependency relationship, where one variable, the dependent variable depends on the independent variable. It is a cause and effect relationship where the DV is an effect of the IV. In this study, empowerment resulted as an effect of participation. Participation (the IV) causes the change (effect) that resulted in the empowerment of the youth. To elaborate further, the relationship of participation (IV) and empowerment (DV) is such that the variation of the IV influences the DV. The dependent variable changes when the independent variable changes the dependent variable depends on the outcome of the independent variable. Further, capacity building relates to both the IV and the DV as an intervening variable by linking the independent and dependent variables. In this study, capacity building resulted as a function or operation of the IV (Participation) and helps to explain the influence of the IV on the DV. Capacity building here explains the relationship that exists between the action of the IV and the DV. As the diagram shows, the participants involvement in the skills development programmes equipped them with the enabling capacity (capacity building skills, knowledge, and training) that led or transformed them into empowered members of the community. 2. Based on the main concepts of your research, provide a theoretical framework that can best explain the research that you will be undertaking. What are the theory/ies that can be used to support your research? Discuss the rationale for choosing the theory/ies and the strengths and weaknesses of the theory/ies. With regard to the main concepts of the research, Keiffers theory of empowerment as a process was considered relevant and suitable for handling the study. The theory illustrates the elements and stages of empowerment as well as the phases that the individuals undergo in the process of acquiring skills, which translate into full realization of empowerment. The theory was considered appropriate for the study as it has been extensively used in several related study. Keiffers theory of empowerment as a process The theory applies to individuals in the process of empowerment; where the (empowerment) process passes through several phases in the participants. It shows the patterns and processes of the participants transition from a state powerlessness to empowerment. The theory is suitable to this research, which focuses on empowering the youth of the Niger Delta, who are ravaged by poverty and unemployment, coupled with what Keiffer (1984) referred to as a feeling of alienation from resources for social influence, an experience of disenfranchisement and economic vulnerability, and a sense of hopelessness in socio-political struggle. Understanding empowerment in the light of Keiffers theory starts by examining the concepts of power and powerlessness (Moscovitch Drover, 1981). Power is conceived as a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their lives (Page Czuba, 1999, p. 25). The Cornell Empowerment Group (1989, p.2) define power as the capacity of some persons and organizations to produce intended, foreseen and unforeseen effects on others. Underscoring the need to produce these expectations or effects on others, some sources of power were identified as a panacea. Moscovitch and Drover (1981), for instance believe that the class-dominated nature of our society indicates that a small proportion of the people have enormous economic and political power as opposed to the greater number of the people that have little or none. Therefore, power is required to influence the outcome of life events. On the other hand, powerlessness is seen as an objective phenomenon, where people with little or no political and economic power lack the means to gain greater control and resources in their lives (Albee, 1981). Keiffer sees powerlessness at the individual level as the expectation of the individual that his or her own actions will be ineffective in influencing the outcome of life events (Keiffer, 1984). Lerner (1986) distinguished between real and surplus powerlessness. While real powerlessness emanates from economic inequities and oppressive control exercised by systems and other people, surplus powerlessness derives from an internalized belief that change cannot occur a belief which results in apathy and an unwillingness of the person to struggle for more control and influence. Keiffers (1984) effort on individual empowerment is one of the prominent studies which examine individual empowerment as a process. He conceives empowerment as a developmental process which consists of four stages: entry, advancement, incorporation, and commitment. These stages are: era of entry (characteristics: powerlessness, sense of integrity, rootedlessness, sense of attachment, and support within a caring community of peers, experience of injustice); era of advancement (centrality of mentoring relationships, more critical understanding of social and political relations); era of incorporation (developed self concept, increased strategic ability, and matured critical comprehension, improved organizing and leadership skills, and constructed survival skills); and era of commitment (application of new abilities to the reality and structure of everyday life worlds, commitment to adapting recent empowerment to continuing proactive community mobilization and leadership) (Keiffer, 1984). From the above, the individual is prompted at the entry level by his or her experience of certain disturbing self or family situation, which Keiffer refers to as an act of provocation. The advancement stage possesses three important characteristics that are necessary to the progress of continuing the empowerment process, namely, a mentoring relationship; supportive peer relationships with a collective organization; and the development of a more critical understanding of social and political relations. While the focal point of the third stage is the development of a growing political consciousness, the era of commitment, which is the fourth stage is such that the acquired participatory competence is applied by participants to ever expanding areas of their lives. Consequently, Keiffer believes that empowerment at the individual level is the experience of gaining increasing control and influence in daily life and community participation (Keiffer, 1984). A major strength of this theory is that the author worked on the premise that the existence of powerlessness or alienation is a given at the very first step of individual empowerment; and this underscores the need for participation in view of acquiring skills. As with the area under study which requires a source of power to alleviate their poverty and unemployment, the author confirms that such a state of powerlessness becomes evident prompting a group of empowerment agents recognizing the alienated and oppressed. In this first stage of empowerment, both the alienated and the empowerment agents have come to true knowledge of the formers powerlessness, coupled with such social pathologies as disadvantages, oppression, alienation, and stratification. The process of participation, thus, was both empowering and advanced in the process of empowerment for the participants. As participants got involved in development programmes, they see it as a process towards the reduction of their povert y. It is in this way that participation advanced the process of individual empowerment (Keiffer, 1984). On capacity building, the theory underscores the fact that the transition towards individual empowerment was an exceptionally ongoing process towards skills acquisition. And that the skills which the participants acquired will function as catalysts for the empowerment process, making them become aware of their own capacities and developing new directions for themselves while in the process of emancipating from the experience of powerlessness. Here participants have to gain the skills and the potential to change their circumstance. As participants gain mastery over their lives and learn and utilize skills, which are the skills (capacity) for gaining some reasonable control over their lives, they become empowered. With the foregoing, individuals become empowered when they develop capabilities to overcome their social obstacles and attain self-determination. Self-determination, defined as the ability to chart ones own course in life (Fetterman, 1996) is repeatedly presented in the literature and considered as a sole and vital component of individual empowerment (Sprague Hayes, 2000). Boehm and Staples (2004) advocated mastery and self-determination as the components of individual empowerment. Mastery is understood as: full control over someone or something, and through in-depth understanding or greater skills, can be a variety of types, such as physical mastery, mastery of emotion and behavior, mastery of information and decision making, mastery of social system, efficient mastery of time, mastery as connected to autonomy and individual freedom, and planning mastery, thus enabling consumers to prevent negative situations and to actualize positive ones (Boehm Staples, 2004). As components of individual empowerment, self-determination is associated with the power that enables individuals to meet the challenges of different life situations; mastery on the hand is concerned with increased levels of the individuals ability to understand reality and the capacity to make decisions that impact the conditions and quality of life. Conversely, one of the limitations of Keiffers theory is the fact that it did not elaborate how the individuals impact their community with their acquired participatory competence. He limited individual empowerment as the experience of gaining increasing control and influence in daily life and community participation. It was earlier noted that sustaining involvement in participation deepens the competence and control of the participants leading to the advancement of the process of personal empowerment (Keiffer, 1984). Although empowerment can exist at the individual level, yet one would have expected that the theory incorporated how the participatory competence can impact the larger community bearing in mind that community development entails improving the community life in its wider sense. Another weakness of the theory emanates from a theme which the theorist identified as underlying the movement through all phases of the empowerment process: the view that conflicts and growth are inextricably intertwined (Keiffer, 1984). The suggested dynamics of praxis advocated by the theorist for resolving these conflicts may, after all, be time-consuming and ineffective in the empowering process. Praxis, for him: refers to the circular relationship of experience and reflection through which actions evoke new understandings, which then provokes new actionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The building up of skills only progresses through repetitive cycles of action and reflection. In other words, crucial for the building of empowerment is time and practice (Keiffer). There is a likelihood that conflict may degenerate and also prove irresolvable by the praxis within a given period of empowerment process; thereby hampering the skills developing process of participants which should have a time frame. 3. Compare and contrast 2 different research methods (qualitative and quantitative) that might be used in your study. For each approach, discuss: how the research question are formulated/arrived at (what kind of questions are posed) the approach to data collection; the approach to data analysis; how the findings might be triangulated; and how the findings might be presented and discussed. There are two broad approaches in the collection of information for research purposes, namely quantitative and qualitative methods. A basic understanding of both methods will be highlighted to show their differences. First quantitative data: It is an objective, formal, systematic process in which the enquiry is based on numerical data findings. It derives from the scientific method used in the physical sciences (Cormack, 1991). Quantitative method describes, tests, and examines cause and effect relationships (Burns Grove, 1987), using a deductive process of knowledge attainment (Duffy, 1985). In other words, it tests theories deductively from existing knowledge, through developing hypothesized relationships. On the other hand, qualitative research differs from quantitative approach as it develops theory inductively. Qualitative researchers are guided by certain ideas or perspectives regarding the subject to be investigated (Cormack, 1991). It is used as a vehicle for studying the empirical world from the perspective of the subject, not the researcher. Benoliel (1985) buttressed this aspect, describing qualitative research as modes of systematic enquiry concerned with understanding human beings and the nature of their transactions with themselves and with their understandings. The aim of qualitative research is to describe certain aspects of a phenomenon, with a view to explaining the subject of study. Unlike the quantitative method, qualitative research derives from the social sciences such as sociology, anthropology, psychology and philosophy, (Cormack, 1991). For sampling, both research approaches require a sample to be identified which is representative of a larger population of people or objects. Quantitative research employs random selection of the sample from the study population and the random assignment of the sample to the various study groups. Results obtained from random sampling have an advantage, which is an increased likelihood of the findings being generalizable. Its disadvantage stems from the fact that random selection is time-consuming, with the result that many studies use more easily obtained opportunistic sample (Duffy, 1985). This hampers the possibilities of generalization, especially if the sample is too small. Qualitative research uses non-random sampling, which is a selective sample, because of the in-depth nature of studies and the analysis of the data required. Hinton (1987) confirms that the strength of this approach is seen when the sample is well defined, for then it can be generalized to a population at large. A disadvantage of this approach can be suspicion that the researcher could have been influenced by a particular predisposition; hence having a tendency of affecting the generalizability of the study. a. how the research questions are formulated/arrived at (what kind of questions are posed) Based on the statement of the problem, the research questions were formulated with a focus on what the researcher expects to achieve in the study. They show close relationship to the statement of the problem and arise from issues raised in both literature and on the ground, not deviating from the objectives of the study. The questions were arrived at to establish a clear purpose for the research in relation to the chosen field. The issue of manageability was considered in formulating the questions. This relates to the researchers ability to tackle the scope and scale of the project. For instance, the ability to access people and documents from which to collect the data required to answer the questions fully; and whether the data can be accessed within the limited time and resources available to me. b. the approach to data collection This study will adopt both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to collect data, through questionnaire survey and in-depth interview. The study will be primarily quantitative, while the qualitative aspect will complement it in order to increase understanding of the study, and to generate richer and deeper research findings. Both approaches will be concurrently undertaken. The research design therefore relies on a mixed-method approach to investigate the topic under study. The primary method of data collection will be through questionnaires. A Likert scale questionnaire survey will be the major instrument for quantitative data collection; and the questions will be formulated based on the research objectives, as a means of exploring respondents views on the topic under study. Likert scale provides researchers a way of measuring the degree of agreement or disagreement of the respondents to a question. It is also very convenient for the respondents due to the non-ambiguous nature of the format of the questions. The research variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale, with a score of 1 representing strongly disagree, and a score of 5 representing strongly agree. A pre-test will be conducted with a convenience sample to ensure the clarity and validity of the questions. Respondents will also be asked to comment on any difficulties encountered in completing the ques

International Effects of Oil Prices

International Effects of Oil Prices High prices of oil and steady resource depletion have raised international concerns for energy supply security. Thriving exploration is a significant factor and activity for future oil production. The global economy is currently experiencing high level of international business forces acting upon its stableness. International oil prices relation to international crisis is an essential element in the global economy. This study reveals the insights and effects of oil and gas exploration in the international crisis. This research paper presents the effects of oil prices on the international relations. The paper presents the strategies and the requirement in filling these effects by providing empirical findings on oil price volatility in relation to international trade, international terrorism, natural disasters, wars, global economic stability, global financial crises, politically instigated crises among other international variables. The foundation for this research is the correlation between oil prices and international relation. The paper presents the preliminary results and information derived from the data currently being generated by the international economy, international trade and other global organization economic watchdogs This paper explores whether there is stable and reliable oil price shocks relationship with the U.S Dollar nominal exchange rate and other countries currency. Regardless of the state of art methodologies and precise data, I find inconsistently slight logical relation between oil prices and the exchange rate. The paper generally focuses on the international crisis conduct with the emphasis on the strategies development in the detailed results of the research. These include the conflicts resolutions on the international oil prices settlements. I reviewed several prominent hypothesis and theories, methodologies about the resolution of the crisis especially to the western and the Middle East countries which are the most oil competing countries. The paper investigates factors contributing to the increase of oil price. The crude oil demand and supply and development of a crude oil prices model to include refinery utilization rates is discussed. This brings an OPEC capacity utilization non linear effect. In developing the oil prices correlation to international crisis the project focuses on the following major areas of study: Positive and negative factors that affect the international oil prices. The effects of oil and natural gas price on the global economy especially the West (Ratner, 2011). Effects of oil price on international economic variables. Finally the project outlines the relationship between oil prices and international crises. This paper explores whether there is stable and reliable oil price shocks relationship with the U.S Dollar nominal exchange rate and other countries currency. Regardless of the state of art methodologies and precise data, I find inconsistently slight logical relation between oil prices and the exchange rate. The paper generally focuses on the international crisis conduct with the emphasis on the strategies development in the detailed results of the research. These include the conflicts resolutions on the international oil prices settlements. I reviewed several prominent hypothesis and theories, methodologies about the resolution of the crisis especially to the western and the Middle East countries which are the most oil competing countries. The paper investigates factors contributing to the increase of oil price. The crude oil demand and supply and development of a crude oil prices model to include refinery utilization rates is discussed. This brings an OPEC capacity utilization non linear effect. In developing the oil prices correlation to international crisis the project focuses on the following major areas of study: Positive and negative factors that affect the international oil prices. The effects of oil and natural gas price on the global economy especially the West (Ratner, 2011). Effects of oil price on international economic variables. Finally the project outlines the relationship between oil prices and international crises. This analysis explores and studys two oil effects of oil companies that they have branches in Saudi Arabia. One is Aramco Company and Drilling Company, as their major operation is oil and they face the financial crisis in that time. The companys among others has brought the price shocks on U.S. and international economic growth. Key Words International crisis, Budget Deficit, Consumer Price Index, OPEC, foreign policy crisis, crisis management, conflict management, decision making, Oil prices, Refinery industry, , Inflation, Real Wage, Purchasing Power Parity, GPD(Gross Domestic Product). Introduction The rapid rise in the oil price is subject to debate on which many economists expresses different views. The crude oil supply from the main oil producers and other downstream sectors are perceived to have the answer to the high rise of the oil prices. The refining capacity in many countries is falling and many existence refineries have unscheduled maintain ace leading to collapse of the oil refinery thus high prices. The major oil crude oil producers from Middle East have experienced difficulties in production sufficiency in ensuring the linear supply of the oil across the globe. Oil shortage expectations are also influential on the oil prices. Major international oil regulatory organizations such as the OPEC and OECD are playing major roles in regulating the oil prices as it greatly affects the international crises. Determination of the oil prices is affected by the existence of relationship non linearity between oil prices and market delivered quantity. Extreme events of linear rel ationship may shift the market stability between supply and demand towards different types of market. In this context, the oil prices are much more sensitive to shocks than under normal conditions. Non-linearity between oil prices and the market may be caused by lags related with development of additional extraction and refining capacity (Ratner, 2011). As the production approaches the oil prices is more sensitive to supply under the given constraint. The cost of doing business increases with increase in energy prices, which tends to erode corporate profits, thus lower stock prices in the market. Higher oil prices have usually spelled bad news for most companies, excluding the oil and energy-related firms. It seems that the recent global financial crisis may have altered some fundamental rules of market behavior. Oil and stocks now make for strange bedfellows (Palash R. Ghosh, 2010). Oil prices and the U.S. stocks have moved in opposite directions. Oil prices are considered to be among the fundamental determinants of the global economic performance (Krichene, 2008). The adjustment of the oil prices leads to changes in terms of trade between oil exporting countries and importing counties. The changes are normally caused by the transfer of income and resources from the importing to the exporting countries (Richter Pahl, 2009).The degree of oil prices adjustments in global economies is based on the proportionate cost of oil to natio nal income, the extent of dependence by end-users to imported oil and their flexibility to switch to other sources of energy such as solar energy, oil sands, ethanol, biodiesel, wind energy, coal mine methane,   geothermal energy, nuclear energy,   hybrid cars, LNG, GTL, and hydrogen fuel cells  , and also dependant on the responsiveness of gas prices to the oil-prices adjustments and the level of gas intensiveness of the respective economy (Krichene 2008). This is the impact of oil prices adjustments to the other sources of energy available in a respective economy (Richter Pahl, 2009). The higher the margin of oil prices adjustments and the longer the new prices are sustained, the greater the macroeconomic impact on the global economy. Oil is the primary source of energy in almost all of the major industries in the global economy. This research seeks to analyze the correlation between oil prices and international crises Literature Review International Crisis: According to Holsti (1991), based on the systems perspective of international crisis, he defined international crisis as the circumstance or situation where normal nature of relations between countries is significantly changed. For example, the uprising in Egypt is a situation that erupted in the international system leading to conflicting interactions against domination of nations globally. Trumbore, (2000) argued that international crisis follows certain stages of progress. These stages include; the pre-crisis warning phase, the crisis phase, crisis abatement phase and finally post-crisis phase, its during a crisis that real leadership is tested. This is mainly because normally during the first stage of a crisis, no attention is normally taken. During the second phase when the crisis has taken ground, there is chain of events followed by panic, and control measures from decision makers such as the government. The crisis is normally later controlled before or after causing damage. H olsti (1980) observes that during the last phase, the post-crisis, evaluation and preventive measures are normally put in place. Factors Affecting Oil Prices and its Effects on the Global Economy especially the West. Fluctuations in oil prices have an effect on certain fundamental variants such as nominal wage, real wages, consumer price index, purchasing power parity, budget deficit inflation rate among other macroeconomic variables. (Richter Pahl, 2009). According to Krichene (2008), oil prices are primarily affected by its demand, natural disaster, and political unrests. In addition, Krichene (2008) asserts that restrictive legislation, declining oil productions and speculative buying also influence oil prices significantly. Economic empirical research shows that, when the global economy is exposed to higher oil prices, it leads to inflation, increase in input costs and decrease in investment. The West has been the major casualty of economic shocks caused by oil price fluctuations since it destabilizes their growth capacity which is largely dependent on oil (Richter Pahl, 2009). Comparative to the West, emerging economies are less hit by effects of oil prices in the short-run in form of infl ationary side effects. However, in the long-run, negative effects from the West normally trickle down to the emerging economies (Richter Pahl, 2009). Systematically, global economic effects caused and compounded by the adjustments in oil prices directly or indirectly affect international crises. For instance, the recent international crises, such as the devastating earth quake in Japan, the Arab countries in uprising, the rebels activities in Libya are speculated to dampen progress made on the global economic recession especially in the West (Ratner, 2011). Oil prices and International Crisis: Ratner (2011) an analyst in Energy Policy has observed that with the resent resignation of the long-time Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the aftermath to the natural gas and oil sector is uncertain. In fact, analysts globally acknowledge that the impact of a disrupted Egypts oil, natural gas, and or the closure of the Suez Mediterranean oil pipeline and the Suez Canal would be catastrophic to the world natural gas and oil market (Ratner, 2011).The uprising in Egypt has already led to adjustments in oil prices globally in anticipation of an international crisis. Even though Egypt is technically considered a small player in the international oil industry, its instability still has severe implication in the global market. This gives evidence of an existing relation between international crisis and oil prices. As the chief regional supplier, the most affected would be Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt accounts for only an average of 2.1% of global oil and natural gas supply with a proven 1.2% of worlds gas reserves (Ratner, 2011).Away from oil production, the recent devastating Japans earthquake has already send aftershocks around the global market. In addition to the loss of over 10 000 people, destruction of Japans nuclear power plants leading to radiations emissions, there is a pending economic international crisis. Due to the earth quake impact on the Japanese economy, the production to cars is expected to decline sharply leading to adjustment in prices of oil. This suggest there direct or indirect relationship between the prices of oil and international crisis. The instability in Libya has also led to the soaring of global oil prices which has had led to inflationary pressures globally. Libya holds most of the oil reserves in Africa and it is actually the 15th largest crude oil exporter accounting for 1.2 million barrels of oil daily. It is feared that production losses in this North African country are bound to be absorbed by countries such as Saudi Arabia as a mechanism of compensating for the shortage. Motivation Study of oil prices in global economic and international crisis is an important entity. There is need for study of the relation with international crises .Research on the correlation between oil prices and international crises is important because the findings from this study will address most of the international crises in the world. In the recent global financial crisis, the findings from this research will be essential to control, mitigate effects on the global economy and forestall reoccurrence of the negative impacts in the future. Understanding the correlation of oil prices with international crises such as wars, poverty, the Arab uprisings, situation in Afghanistan, the struggles in Iraq among others would be influential to policy makers in coming up with conclusive political and macroeconomic policies. The research inclusively enhances the global trade market in understanding the root cause of the products price increase. It opens fresh ground and enhances the studies of oil alternative source of energy to reduce overdependence on oil as the primary source of energy. Furthermore, the results from this research will also enhance international relations among nations. Also it will add empirical findings to the existing body of knowledge to the nature of oil and now its relation with international crises. The sustained growth of international business over the past two decades is one of the most significant and dramatic trends across the globe in reducing the international crisis. Business market and trade of most goods and services have significantly expanded with the development in the effective financial implementations in the world (Holsti, 1991). The effect of the oil prices is widely felt in many products but the international business is working towards reducing the oil prices effects. The integration of technology, investments, communication has enhanced the todays global trade and business connecting the world economies together. Corporate empires emergence in the global economy has changed the business platform which has enhanced the globalization of production (Trumbore, 2000). Problem Statement Todays foreign policy devise policies without understanding fundamental variables influencing international crisis in regard to oil prices and vice versa. The crude oil supply from the main oil producers and other downstream sectors are perceived to have the answer to the high rise of the oil prices. The refining capacity in many countries is falling and many existence refineries have unscheduled maintenance leading to collapse of the oil refinery thus high prices. The major oil crude oil producers from Middle East have experienced difficulties in production sufficiency in ensuring the linear supply of the oil across the globe. The empirical study at the two Saudi Arabian oil companies reveals that, the international crisis has an influential factor from these particular companies. Aramco Company and Drilling Company are oil production companies in Saud Arabian region on which they are currently facing the financial crisis. Their conditions on the futures markets have an effect on stock behaviors thus the oil price setting. Their crude oil prices model is increasingly rising affecting the international oil prices. This includes the refinery utilization rates, OPEC capacity utilization non linear effect and deteriorating of futures markets conditions. These are the explanatory variables that exist between the international crisis and the crude oil production. The drilling company is generally on critical conditions as the finding shows the employees satisfaction thus unstable expertise in the company. This further contributes to low level of productions. There is also incapacity of the crude oil storage thus the production level is dependent on the capacity storage. The adjustment of the oil prices in the companies shows a rapid rise anticipated by high level of production cost. According to the companys work force, the oil exploitation processes which involves the ground drilling is gradually becoming complex. This has led to an increase in exploitation costs as more resources are required thus affecting the oil prices. The low level of production has led to international crisis as the companys are struggling to sustain the global oil market. There is resistance by some of the companys workforce to the declines in wages as the oil price increase and the international crisis typically causes an upward pressure on nominal wage levels. External forces such as the Oil regulating organization which includes OPEC is also affecting the companys marketing position due to the unfavorable policies (Holsti, 1991). According to the companys expertise the there has been maintenance of a low stock in provision of efficient oil. They urge that sufficient stock ensures the supply sustainability thus avoiding the oversupply or under supply of the oil. The methodology used to explore the companys conditions on the oil prices involves the updated quarterly data set. The data set is used in estimating the price equation which involves an expansion to accommodate other market conditions across the globe. The wide range of variables enables the estimation of the oil prices co integrating relationship in the companys. Quarterly data set used in evaluating OPEC effect on the oil prices in the company includes observation of the average imported oil from the company. The data showed a decrease in the average as the price rises up. The oil production and the rate of refinery utilization in the company affect the global oil prices thus international crisis. Essentially, co integration between the international oil prices entails that the exploitation rates across the world share the same stochastic trend. Different stochastic trends in oil production and refining rates prevent co-integration among different types of oil prices when the expl oitation rates do not share the same stochastic trend. Refinery utilization rates and the exploitation affect crude oil prices based on the companys refineries ability of crude oil conversion to final products. Essentially there are different qualities of crude oil which includes the sweet and sour as well as the heavy and light. The companies oil exploitation and refineries are designed to specifically operate in specific crudes. Therefore there is rise and fall of crude values based on the availability of specific types of crude relative to existing refining capacity. Lack of efficient refining capacity has contributed to the rise of the oil prices and international crisis in the company Trumbore, (2000). The companys also lacks the sufficient oil production capacity and existence of a non-linear relationship between supply and the oil prices. Results The results acquired from the data collected are generally categorized into the three hypotheses which were the guidelines of the empirical testing. The companys oil prices have a considerable level of impact on the international oil market. Empirical investigation on the companys oil production activities presented their effect on the international crisis. The analyzed data collected from the companies showed diverse reactions from different collected materials. The increase on the oil exploration costs in the companys has been a major cause of their low level crude oil production. This has an impact of international financial crises on the oil price as they adjust the prices now and then for profitable returns. The correlation relationships between the oil price and the financial crisis of the company have been a major hindrance of the companys growth. Results indicated that the oil refining sector plays a vital role in the recent oil price increase. This effect is related with shifts in the heavy and light grades production of crude oil as well as the price stretch between them. Existence of non linear relationships between OPEC spare capacity and oil prices account for real oil prices changes. The conditions on the futures markets also affect the non linear relationship. Many experts urge that the high oil prices on the global economy are contributed by a number of factors which with the change in oil prices. The changes in GDP were small as compared with past economic recession. The period of oil price shocks experienced drops on GDP growth. The increase in oil prices has affected most of the oil importing countries and the OECD countries. Oil prices and the global economy There exists a paradox and complicated relationship between oil prices and the economics. Production functions used by many economists are basically net of the purchased input. Saudi Arabia production is anticipated to rise within few years due to the experienced bubble in 2008. The oil prices fluctuations effects experienced on 1973 cannot be ignored. It left a great damage to global economy. The debate on the relationship and the effect of the oil prices on the economic activity is complicated by methodology issues. The substance also raises argument on the oil price in relation to economic activity (Trumbore, 2000). The current prices uses the consumer price indexes in economic data deflation recorded in current oil prices. Many of the oil consumers are industrial and commercial enterprises with a distance from the ultimate consumers. Frequently a rise on the oil price can bring the recession although extended economic growth period can provoke an oil prices increase. The principle drivers on the prolonged economic growth seem to have a history of great recession on the nations economy. Failure of the country in financial crisis anticipation brings about the great recession. The impact of the oil prices rise is normally nonlinear and asymmetrical as the dollar per barrel increase has different impact on a dollar per barrel decrease at another. Symbolically what rises does not necessary falls the same way. In essence it is difficult to forecast the oil prices demand, and supply for the oil production than it is for the other industries. Oil production industry is relatively different from many other industries. From my preliminary research there is a declining of pressure in majority of reservoirs across the globe. The declining level is sustained by the injection of natural gas, CO2, water or any other energy source. The prompted injection and the consequent cleaning of the crude in the surface consume energy. The processes of extracting the oil from underground are even more energy exhaustive. The energy consumed further increase the oil prices in the market contributing to the international crisis. The high level of technologically complex oil industry complicates the whole economical process which often takes long period of time to commercial fruition. Fluctuation of the oil prices is great than many industrial prices. Many producers especially the Middle East producers have taken long full production periods after the completion of the initial geological work. Thus oil drillers easily fear the risks in prices and other economic activity. The Middle East countries which are the major oil producers have been vulnerable to wars and attacks from terrorism. The terrorism activities have made the oil production unstable due to vulnerability of attacks in the regions. According to studies the Saudi Arabia region is vulnerable to criminal activities thus the oil producing companies fears the attacks. There marine oil transportation has been also faced threats from the pirates a nd other encountered problem in the transportation process. Large amount of European oil is imported through the Red sea between the Yemen and Somali(Richter, Pahl, 2009). There have been many cases of tankers hijacking in seas leading to loss of large amount of capital. This increase the international crisis as the producers is unable to fully exploit oil or transport it due to fear of losses. Heterogeneous nature of the oil market contributes to slow growth of the economy. Many operates in a decentralized and competitive market thus a forms a postulated mainstream. There is an excessive gross margin since the World War II. The international oil prices have intensified the international crisis on which it had defied a competitive market equilibriums basic rule. The margins have currently exceeded the addition cost of oil barrel production. Saudi Arabia region was the supplier of last resort in the period of $2 oil price but its oil costs has incrementally risen to 13% per oil barrel. Today there is no clear indication of the last resort supplier nor the incremental cost due to international crisis experienced. Most of the estimates on the gross margin are apparently below the recent years, market prices of the fuel. Consequently, the incremental gross margins comprehended by oil producing nations are positive. Most of them have a large average gross margins based on the variation between market average prices and out-of-pocket average costs. This provides the correlation between the oil crisis and the international crisis. The oil prices are non equilibrium but there is existence of equilibrium ranges of the oil prices. This leads to an elusive and fragile economic growth in the world. The equilibrium ranges are generated from the time lags of oil processing and transportation. To avoid the time lag oil producers uses the future and forward markets for speculative and hedging purposes. These markets have a major effect on the international crisis on which they become vulnerable to other markets players. These players lay off the bets from other markets and all of a sudden enter the futures markets triggering crisis. The players who are initially the speculators brings about the conflicts in the oil market increasing the international crisis. In the recent oil run up of 147 dollar per barrel, the futures market speculators are estimated to have increased the oil prices from 10 dollar to 20 dollar thus risking the international price of oil. Oil Prices and the Currency Market Oil plays an important role in the global currency market. The price of oil increased dramatically in 2008 when the US dollar value fall as compared to the other currencies. The relationship is that, when the dollar gets weak in its value leads to increase in oil prices thus international crisis. Oil is a very important resource as it is the main source of energy in many production industries. The rising prices have big impact on the inflation of the international economy as it creates added fuel surcharges. The surcharges therefore trigger the core inflation of the world economy as central banks maintain high interest rates. Deficits in nations have increasingly grown with the occurrence of the global economic crisis that started in 2008 due to high oil prices. This has led to global economic effect and the international crisis across the globe on which many economists urges that country should run deficits during periods of recession and those of high unemployment. Financial markets across the globe expresses have expresses fears due to increased in oil prices. They have expressed some behavioral characteristics and explanations of the largely market outcomes particularly of financial flows of both policymakers and investors significant practical consequences of the international crisis. Correlation Oil prices can be correlated positively to international financial markets as seen from the companys empirical study. The world basic products rise as the prices as the price of oil continued to rise, thus this is far much correlated. The period between 2003 and 2006, the world experienced an economic growth. It is easy to make a correlation at this time period as the period experienced the businesses success in many major industries that led to the market rise. At this period the oil price rose as well, though the two were not really it correlated. Financial analysts argue that oil doesnt necessarily bring a positive correlation to the financial markets. Alternatively financial markets perform well while the price of oil is rising. Negative correlation commonly accepted relationship between financial markets and oil prices. Many companies spend more when the oil prices are high to run their business. The logical explanation to this is that most companies ship their products. Compani es also use oil as the source of the energy for the production machinery. Therefore oil is a prime factor in the international crisis. The price of oil and inflation The oil price and inflation are more connected in grounds and effect relationship.   Inflation follows the oil price movement; as the prices of oil moves  down or up, it is accompanied by inflation in the same direction. This is because, oil is plays a major role in economic input. It is widely used vital activities thus the rise of input costs leads to increase of cost of end products. The raise of pricing increases the inflation level. The inflation led to the development of the consumer price index (CPI) which measures the inflation. The deterioration of the relationship between inflation and oil started after the 1980s. Generally the wars of the 1990s at Gulf  War  oil crisis led to doubling of oil prices. The expansion of the foreign exchange to incorporate the oil stocks has affected both the domestic financial accounts and international clients hedging activities. This has been reflected in international crisis as many corporations struggles to sustain their dominance in the market. The foreign exchange is much dominated by the U.S dollar which is followed by the euro and sterling. Emerging oil markets and the international business exposure of many oil producing countries has increased the hedging activities in the foreign exchange. The degree of exchange rate flexibility and the movement of capital across the globe have increased high level of inflation risks. Oil export strategies are underpinned by valued exchange rates generating precedential reserve accumulation in the exchange rate adjustment. Capitals exporting in oil finance investment have been considerable drivers of lower global long-term interest rates in the international business (Richter, Pahl, 2009). The oil shocks have affected the world trade structure. Macroeconomic Impacts of High Oil Prices A high oil demand arises from the products demand that uses oil in their production. Changes in oil prices are shared by the consumers in the prices of the final oil products. The foreign producers are spending more on importing their goods to their respective countries due to high level of fuel prices. Many countries economic purchasing powers are depleted and instead there has been a high level of deficit on many economies(Richter, Pahl, 2009). This is due to high level of borrowing due to budget overruns of many countries. This has further contributed to international crisis across the globe. The increased price of the oil forces many countrys businesses to invest heavily on the exports production, as opposed to available domestic demand for goods and ser

Constructing a Greenhouse Window :: Papers

Constructing a Greenhouse Window Building and testing a sensor to determine number of degrees to which a window is open Introduction When making use of a greenhouse to grow plants out of season or on a large scale for commercial reasons, the temperature within the green house must be carefully regulated, in order to ensure that the plants are under the optimum growing conditions. With the windows shut permanently, the temperature may become too high, and the windows need therefore to be opened. This will allow the temperature to drop back to the correct level. Different numbers of degrees to which the window is open have different cooling effects. For example, if the window is open by 50 degrees, then there is probably a more rapid cooling effect upon the greenhouse than if the window was 10 degrees open. Thus, it is important to know how many degrees the window on a greenhouse is open. It could however be very time consuming for people to check the greenhouse(s) manually, or particularly problematic if the temperature should become a problem during unsociable hours. It would be extremely useful, then, if a sensor could be attached to the windows of a greenhouse, and a reading sent back to a control room as to how open the windows are. Someone could then either use a motor attached to the window to alter the setting, or adjust the window manually. My sensor could be used in conjunction with a number of other sensors, e.g. temperature sensors and moisture sensors, to send all the required reading back to a control room, thus allowing the control of the climate within in the greenhouse to be totally automated. [IMAGE] Text Box: Windows need to be opened and closed according to temperature [IMAGE] Above: a typical greenhouse Alex Furber 12HW Sensing Project 20-02-02 PLAN There a number of ways in which a sensor could be built to measure the angle at which a window is open.

Censorship: Freedom Or Suppression ? :: essays research papers

Censorship: Freedom or Suppression ? Government censorship can be looked at as a blessing or an unneeded burden. I personally feel that all censorship is completely unnecessary and should be found unconstitutional. It is the countless moral views that bring no right answer for what should and should not be censored. I know that the governments version of censorship varies greatly from mine, just as mine does from a world wide view.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The citizens of the United States are living in a pure democracy that has given us all first amendment rights. This alone should mean that their should be no government intervention on a code of ethics or morality. This should mean that we as citizens should be allowed complete freedom of our own choices. Our government was set up to make laws and to keep our society in order. They were doing a fine job until they started making decisions for us on what is or isn't decent. The most recent example of this is the Communication Decency Act of 1996(Located in the Telecommunications Act Of 1996). This act more or less states that the Internet should be censored and be given restrictions. The first issue this brings up is who owns the Internet. No one really owns it because it is really thousands of computer networked together. The main backbone of the Internet was originally made up of government funded universities and other government institutions. However that is no longer the case. Now the majority of the Internet is run and operated by independent services and everyday citizens. The Internet is a modern day symbol of the freedom of speech we have in our society. The government has no right to tell us what we can and can not do in our homes. No one is forcing anyone to go to any specific area of the Internet for anything. These are all choices made with our own free will. I feel that the government is clearly violating the fine line between church and state. The Job of the church is to keep up moral and ethical standards in our world. Obviously the government got the wrong job description for clearly they are violating the trust they have in the Church doing its job.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I know that if they put me in charge of censorship things would be a lot different from how they are today. The first step I would make would be censoring all Ex-lax and Imodium D commercials. I find it extremely peculiar that these commercials always seem to appear right during dinner.

Light and Dark in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essays -- Heart Da

Light and Dark in Heart of Darkness   Ã‚   Every story has a plot, but not every story has a deeper meaning. When viewed superficially, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is a tragic tale of the white man's journey into the African jungle. When we peel away the layers, however, a different journey is revealed - we venture into the soul of man, complete with the warts as well as the wonderful. Conrad uses this theme of light and darkness to contrast the civilized European world with the savage African world in Heart of Darkness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     In Heart of Darkness, Conrad uses light and dark to symbolize good and evil, respectively. "It is whiteness that is truly sinister and evil, for it symbolizes the immoral scramble for loot by the unscrupulous and unfeeling Belgian traders in ivory and human flesh; the whiteness of ivory is also contrasted with the blackness of the natives whose lives must be destroyed for its sake" (Gillon 25).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Two central themes occur in Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The first is the struggle between the white people and the native tribes, which plays in... ...ok and also provides its title. In Heart of Darkness, there is a real contrast between what is light and what is dark. These contrasts work within a reality of civilized and savage. It appears that light represents the civilized, and dark represents the uncivilized, but truly, white is evil, and the dark is innocent and virtuous. Works Cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Middlesex, England: Penguin Publishers, 1983. Gillon, Adam. (1982). Joseph Conrad. Twayne's English Author Series: Number 333. Kinley E. Roby, ed. Boston: Twayne.