Saturday, August 31, 2019

Earth from Space

NOVA â€Å"Earth From Space† 1. They describe at least three teleconnections in the film. The movie talks about sandstorms in the Sahara Desert transforming the rainforest across the globe. Also explained are the waterfalls under the sea in Antarctica, leading to a feeding frenzy in the ocean by the equator. Finally, they talked about streaming water off the coast of Africa causing a disastrous weather storm in the United States. This happens because all of the activity in the ocean, sun and atmosphere are bound together.When an action occurs to one of them, a reaction occurs within another. It’s almost like a butterfly effect that occurs between the three. 2. We can learn and visually see all these different parts of the Earth by using satellites. I. Geosphere (Solid Earth) The Geosphere is made up of mostly rock. Beneath the surface of Earth, forces inside are a crucial source for the basic materials that nurture life. Volcanoes and earthquakes are examples of reactio ns to disturbances that initially took place under the Earth’s surface.Although destructive, the natural forces behind these events also provide the materials we and other living organisms need to survive. Through satellites we can see that the Earth’s crust is constantly moving. II. Cryosphere (Ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice) The Cryosphere can be observed from space using satellites. The reason the Cryosphere doesn’t receive much heat from the sun is because the sun strikes these regions at an oblique angle and any heat that does reach the cryosphere is reflected back into space by the sheets of ice covering it.III. Atmosphere (Gases, clouds, weather) As water vapor evaporates from the ocean it works its way up into the atmosphere and eventually creates clouds, who size depends on how much water vapor was evaporated. The heat that water vapors carried before they became clouds is eventually what triggers storms to occur. If there is enough heat influencing the clouds it will cause the clouds to shoot upward and the rotation of the Earth is what makes them spin. If the clouds turn into a vortex, hurricanes are formed. IV. Biosphere (Life on Earth)Life on Earth is affected by all the other parts of the Earth including internally and externally. The catastrophic storms that are caused by the atmosphere effect life on Earth more and more every year. Mother Nature is so unpredictable and it is very hard, even with all of earth-observing technologies humans have created, to prepare for Earth’s catastrophic events. It is even harder for other organisms to survive that do not have the same knowledge about technology as humans do. When hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes do occur, it is instincts that ultimately help different species survive.V. Hydrosphere (Oceans, lakes, rivers) The hydrosphere plays a big part in the water cycle. Energy from the sun causes evaporation from all wet surfaces on the earth. Because the earth is two thirds water, the oceans are important for homeostasis on the planet Earth. The water helps the atmosphere function properly and vice versa. Without one there would be no other. The ocean and lakes are also the homes to millions of organisms. Some believe the ocean is even where the first walks of life were formed. Ocean circulation greatly affects climate and weather. . One NASA’s newest satellites named Polar Orbiting Suomi, after a meteorologist, is an electronic eye in space that measure the impact of the sun’s energy all around the Earth. This satellite can see much more of the electromagnetic spectrum then the human eye can. One of this satellites’ key instruments in called Cloud and Earth’s Radiant Energy System. It helps detect the ultraviolet and infrared parts of the spectrum that we can’t see. This instrument helps detect anything on Earth that gives off heat.Aqua is a satellite that uses another earth- observing technology that monitors the in teraction between heat and water. Aqua uses infrared to analyze the temperature of water. Using the infrared, Aqua can see how much water vapor is evaporating from the ocean into the atmosphere. TRIM is a satellite equipped with a radar and imager that operate in the micro wave range of the electromagnetic spectrum. These radio waves are higher in energy and shorter in wavelength than others. The instruments on this satellite bounce micro waves off raindrops in the clouds allowing scientist to build a three imensional structure of the internal structure of a hurricane. 4. Scale I. The temporal resolution specifies the revisiting frequency of a satellite sensor for a specific location. A low temporal resolution can last greater than 16 days whereas a high temporal resolution will last only up to 3 days. II. Using satellite remote sensing we can view the earth’s surface as frequently as we would like too. As long as the satellites are working efficiently there should be no prob lem. III. The spatial resolution specifies the pixel size of satellite images covering the earth surface.IV. The level of detail does depend on what the satellites are observing. The different spatial, temporal and spectral resolutions are the limiting factor for the utilization of the data they find. Unfortunately, because of technical constraints, satellite systems can only offer the following relationship between spatial and spectral resolution. Ether a high spatial resolution is associated with a low spectral resolution and vice versa. That means that a system with a high spectral resolution can only offer a medium or low spatial resolution.Therefore, it is either necessary to find compromises between the different resolutions according to the individual application or to utilize alternative methods of data acquisition. 5. I found the most striking thing in this movie to be, how easily events like hurricanes, volcanoes, and tsunamis could be created. A little bit too much moistu re in the atmosphere or a little disturbance in the Earth could eventually lead to a disastrous, possibly life threatening event. This movie made me grateful to live in an area that is not as highly affected by natural disasters and sympathetic towards those that do.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Nike Marketing Essay

Introduction Former University of Oregon track coach and co-founder of Nike Bill Bowerman once said: â€Å"If you have a body, you are an athlete!† (Nike Inc., n.d.) It is this way of thinking that describes the root of Nike’s approach to marketing. Every person is a potential athlete or â€Å"consumer†. This is a common thinking in the realm of athletics but when Bill Bowerman said this, it was in direct reference to the shoe industry. From their marketing strategies to their selling philosophies, Nike has developed one of the most recognizable and demanded names and logo ever. Nike, which is the name of the Greek Goddess of Victory, was born in 1972 when Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS) launched its first branded shoe at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. A former University of Oregon track team member Phil Knight created Blue Ribbon Sports. At Oregon, Knight was coached by the legendary Bill Bowerman and then went on to become alumnus of the Stanford School of Business. BRS was crafted in 1962 when Knight made a deal with Onitsuka Tiger Company, a Japanese shoe company, to import their shoes to the United States. Knight had the idea to sell a low cost shoe with a very high quality, with high aspirations of taking Adidas out of the top spot in the athletic shoe market. In 1964, Bill Bowerman decided to join Knight as a partner at BRS to create a joint quest to be number one. Bowerman redesigned the Tiger shoes while Knight acted as the accountant/personal seller and the two went on the road to sell their newly crafted sneakers at track meets and local shoe stores. By 1966, Blue Ribbon Sports opened its first store in Oregon, which is where Nike is still currently headquartered. Knight and Bowerman managed the store with the only one employee, Jeff Johnson. By 1972 BRS was able to subcontract its own shoe line and began selling Nike Brand shoes. Over the next decade Nike expanded almost double its size each year from the previous year. BRS officially became Nike in 1978 and opened manufacturing plants all over the U.S. Nike was a household name for most athletes by early 1980’s. Today, Nike is the world’s leading designer, maker and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a series activities, as well as sports-inspired civic shoes. The company’s target market is in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, with its headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Nike employs around 38,000 people to produce footwear for running, training, basketball and  soccer use. The company also sells tennis, golf, baseball, football, bicycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic activities, hiking, outdoor activities and other athletic shoes. The company provides these products for men, women and children. As the leading global footwear brand, Nike reported revenues of $7.0 billion for first quarter, 2014. Identification of Target Market(s) In its beginning Nike’s focus was primarily on track and field, and for the most part track athletes were their target market. One of the first individuals to endorse a Nike product was a man who exemplified their style and way of conducting business, Steve Prefontaine. Prefontaine was a household name in the late seventies and has gone down in history as one of the best American track and field athletes ever. Prefontaine was a friend of Knight and had been coached by Bowerman at the University of Oregon. Prefontaine embodied what Nike wanted as its differential advantage of other companies, due to his brash attitude, high talent level, and cavalier mentality. This is why Steve Prefontaine and Nike were a tremendous tandem in the early years of Nike’s existence. Athletes are still currently the majority consumers of Nike’s products. This is because of the usefulness that goes along with the items. Nike focuses on these consumers by means of agreements with sports team, college sponsorships, and endorsement with individual athletes. Through this, Nike is able to reach an extensive number of consumers and clients who are likely to purchase their products. Nike pays particular focus on the athlete more than other individual consumers. However, a secondary market came to light in the 1980s. During the period from 1985-1987, Nike dropped back down to number two in the running of the shoe market. Sales had dropped off because the running boom of the late 70’s and 80’s had begun to diminish, the NBA was becoming increasingly marketable, and consumers tended to wear their court shoes on the street. (Katz, 1993) Nike began to notice an entire market that the company had been avoiding, everyday athletic activities. These activities were things done by everyday people and not just the serious athlete. Fortunately for Nike, in 1985 their star was brought to light by a rookie basketball player with amazing talent and a nice smile, his name is Michael Jordan. Jordan came to Nike at a time when the marketability of the NBA was increasing. NBA games  were being nationally televised during prime time television hours and weekends. This gave Nike the perfect platform to develop and market their new star and the products that he endorsed. During the first few years Nike introduced Jordan to the public and Jordan familiarized himself with the American public. Nike ran a series of ads with Jordan and film director Spike Lee. These ads were aired during prime time television hours and were solely targeted for pre-teen school students. These ads displayed an expressed message to â€Å"Stay in School.† The ads presented kids with a national figure that was selling both school and Nike’s products, how could parents deny their children the shoes of such a virtuous spokesman? Jordan was a figure that children adored, looked up to and tried to the best of their ability to copy. Nike used this to display a positive image for their company and to sell their products. Consumer Decision Making Process â€Å"Consumers believe that the firm makes better shoes. Whether or not that is true, Nike has been a magician as a marketer.† (McIntyre, 2011) When a consumer purchases a product, usually there is a five step process in making a decision. The steps are need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and post purchase behavior. (Perreau, 2013) Nike tries to make this decision process easier with their advertisements. For example, the Nike fuel band is one of Nike’s newest products and people didn’t know much about it when it came out so Nike used an ad that caught ones attention, but that’s not all. Nike’s commercial explained what this product is in great detail. Just by watching the commercial, Nike completed the first three steps for you, making your life a bit easier. In many cases consumers skip steps one through three and buy products on impulse, as Nike would put, they â€Å"just do it†, but in this case Nike does the â€Å"leg† work for you. This is an example of the magic in Nike marketing. However, it’s obvious that Nike hasn’t actually used a wand on its customers and there is no proof which can measure that a Nike pair of shoes is better than an Adidas pair of shoes or another brand, so it must be magic, right? The answer is â€Å"No†, it’s the brand image and product position that is the driving force being Nike sales. The two concepts are why we buy Nike rather than another brand. Brand image refers to the schematic memory of a brand. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 335) Simply, it is what people think of and feel when  they hear or see a brand name and is the set of associations consumers have learned about a brand. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 335) Product positioning is a decision by a marketer to try to achieve a defined brand image relative to competition within a market segment. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 335) Lastly, the ability to benefit from a brand image is called brand equity. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 335) According to Aaker (2013) â€Å"brand equity has four dimensions – brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand associations, and perceived quality, each providing value to a firm in numerous ways.† The core of building the equity for Nike is brand association. Nike associates its brand with famous athletic celebrities that exemplify the personality of the brand; they are achievers, winners, determined, accomplishment oriented, and nontraditional. The most famous example for brand association ever was the collaboration between Nike and Jordan. This association personified Nike as a superior top performing brand. The depth of this personification became permanent, even after Jordan was no longer there. Also, Nike associates with top sport events by sponsoring many major league sports, including the National Basketball Association. Through its brand association, Nike increased its brand awareness. Nike communicated its celebrity associations through TV ads, which increased their sales dramatically. In addition, one of the most important sources of Nike brand equity is the high perceived quality. Although, in today’s market, most of Nike’s consumers are the public that use their shoes just for walking, Nike is committed to design their shoes according to the high standards of professional competition. Seeing a winning athlete wearing a Nike shoe in a professional competition authenticated the quality perception in the minds of the customers. Lastly, Nike has a good relationship with its customer, which creates s ome sort of brand loyalty. Recommendations Nike’s ideals and goals remain the same as those of the days of Steve Prefontaine and Bill Bowerman. Nike’s Phil Knight is not slowing down as he continually signs new colleges on as Nike endorsed schools, even purchasing a portion of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Nike has reached a point where they can count on the Nike name promoting itself, and yet they continue to produce innovative ideas. These ideas have been productive and entertaining promotional tools. In the case of Nike, it should continue to market itself  towards people of all ages who wish to be active and still comfortable. This marketing strategy has been particularly successful as its capability to reach many athletes, and according to Nike that is anyone with a body. Nike focuses on the consumers who embrace product understanding and closeness, which allows the company to set a higher cost than its competitors. This is a marketing strategy of Nike which calls for superior pricing points in order to push the supposed value of the product. This strategy has also proven successful for the company. Lastly, the more reliable the distribution of the product is improves the sales and results in more profits. Product delivery at the required time to the consumer not only affects usefulness it also results in a high level of customer’s satisfaction as well as loyalty. It goes without saying that Nike’s customers are satisfied and loyal. References Aaker, D. (2013, September 13). What Is Brand Equity and Why is it Valuable? | Aaker on Brands | Prophet. Retrieved from http://www.prophet.com/blog/aakeronbrands/156-what-is-brand-equity-and-why-is-it-valuable Hawkins, D. (2012). Mp Consumer Behavior With Ddb Data Disk (12th ed.). Irwin Professional Pub. Katz, D. (1993, August 16). Triumph of the Swoosh. Sports Illustrated, 53-73. McIntyre, D. A. (2011, March 18). Nike’s Brand Strength: A Round Of Prices Increases – MarketWatch. Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikes-brand-strength-a-round-of-prices-increases-2011-03-18 Nike Inc. (n.d.). NIKE, Inc. – About NIKE, Inc. Retrieved from http://nikeinc.com/pages/about-nike-inc Nike Inc. (n.d.). NIKE, Inc. – History & Heritage. Retrieved from http://nikeinc.com/pages/history-heritage Perreau, F. (2013, October 25). The 5 stages of Consumer Buying Decision Process. Retrieved from http://theconsumerfactor.com/en/5-stages-consumer-buying-decision-pro cess/

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Republic Day (India) Essay

Parades, distribution of sweets in schools and cultural dances In India, Republic Day honors the date on which the Constitution of India came into force replacing the Government of India Act 1935 as the governing document of India on 26 January 1950.[1] The date of 26 January was chosen to honour the declaration of independence of 1930. It is one of the three national holidays in India. While the main parade takes place in the national capital, New Delhi, at the Rajpath before the President of India (currently Pranab Mukherjee, the anniversary is also celebrated with varying degrees of formality in state capitals and other centres. India achieved independence from British rule on 15 August 1947 following the Indian independence movement noted for largely peaceful nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience led[citation needed] by the Indian National Congress. The independence came through the Indian Independence Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo 6 c. 30), an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent Dominions of the British Commonwealth (later Commonwealth of Nations): India and Pakistan. [2] India obtained its independence on 15 August 1947 as a constitutional monarchy with George VI as head of state and the Earl Mountbatten as governor-general. The country, though, did not yet have a permanent constitution; instead its laws were based on the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935. On 28 August 1947, the Drafting Committee was appointed to draft a permanent constitution, with Dr.B. R. Ambedkar as chairman. While India’s Independence Day celebrates its freedom from British Rule, the Republic Day celebrates the coming into force of its constitution. A draft constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Assembly on 4 November 1947. The Assembly met, in sessions open to public, for 166 days, spread over a period  of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution. After many deliberations and some modifications, the 308 members of the Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on 24 January 1950. Two days later, it came into effect throughout the nation. Celebrations See also: Delhi Republic Day parade The main celebration is held in the capital New Delhi. Celebrations are also held in state capitals, where the Governor of the state unfurls the national flag. If the Governor of the state is unwell, or is unavailable for some reason, the Chief Minister of the state assumes the honour of unfurling the National Flag of India. On this day 26 January Indian flag is hoist by the Presidents of India and after that national anthem is sung by the all groups in the standing postion. India Will Celebrate Its Republic Day With Pride And A Faint Hope For The Mighty Lokpal Dr. Bikkar Singh Lalli On January 26, The Republic of India, world’s largest liberal democracy, rich in ethnic diversity, with over 1.3 billion people speaking hundreds of languages, will be celebrating its secular birth. Perhaps there is no better day than Jan. 26 to reflect on the opening words of the Indian Constitution, the document that enshrines the foundation of the world’s largest democracy begins with ‘We the People of India†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Hopefully, on that day of joyous celebrations, caste, creed or religion for people of India, will not matter at all. It was January 26 of 1950 when the constitution of India came into force and India attained a sovereign status. The Preamble of the constitution seeks to establish what Mahatma Gandhi described as â€Å"The India of my dream: – —.woman will enjoy the same rights as man†. India will celebrate its 63rd Republic Day on Jan.26. Its supercharged economy has been the envy of the world. The dreams of Mahatma pay fi tting tribute to the people of a nation who, from all corners of the planet, are fuelling the spectacular growth of their homeland. During 2010-2011 alone India received $58 billion from Indian Diaspora. â€Å"The people of India, whether they live in India or elsewhere, are the engine of India.† For 2012 however, the economic forecast appears to be a bit gloomy mostly due to the turmoil in the global economy, especially in the Euro-zone Problems in the global economy and the  government’s inability to control corruption at home, will affect the government’s revenue-raising capacity in 2012. In fact, the Central excise collection fell by 6.5 per cent in November. That shortfall will affect the investment on infrastructure: like proper roads, power supply and railways that gives better opportunities to the poor to earn more. Thousands of villages remain with little or no power supply. Significantly, core sector industries (power, steel, coal, petroleum refining, electricity, cement, natural gas and oil) grew extremely slowly at 0.1 per cent in October 2011. The slowdown in the EU is also affecting Indian exports which grew only by 4.2 per cent in November 2011. Inflation, which is close to double digit again, will hit the poor hard unless food prices are brought down drastically. This economic melt-down will affect the poor most. Over 800 million Indians are living below the poverty line, and this year about 22 million more will be added to that number with the 2.8 per cent growth in population. For people in dire straight, republic day or for that matter any historical event has no real significance. Anna Hazare’s campaign against corruption is laudable. But, is it possible to cleanse the polluted polity and change the greedy mindset with the passage of a Lokpal Bill? You cannot legislate social change. The democracy, the super-watchdog which should deliver all-round accountability, has become extremely weak and wasteful in India. Election to five States has been announced. To curb irregularities, to fight corruption, the commission has announced steps to reduce the role of black money in elections The politicians accepting funds, for fighting an election, know that a quid pro quo (pay-back) is involved. There are also wealthy fighting elections using their own unaccounted funds. They pay off the party leadership to get nominations. For the elimination of corruption and other maladies afflicting Indian polity, what matters most is the moral and social climate of a country. If this climate is healthy, dry and dirty bushes would not come about. â€Å"The soil would support greener pastures which would throw up upright and earnest people who in turn would choose upright and earnest leaders. One would reinforce the virtues of the other. And the nation would move from clean to cleaner public life, from strength and stability to greater strength and stability.† Every party in power has played havoc with watchdog institutions so as to control them for its narrow ends. Democracy ought to have ensured accountability of institutions. Votes  should have weeded out corrupt but the opposite has been happening – the honest rarely win elections. There is a need for political movements that can change the national consciousness; a task being addressed by movement against corruption and for a Lokepal Unfortunately, no one in our national leadership is applying his or her mind to bring about this change. As log as an elected official is not answerable to the electorate in his/her constituency, corruption cannot be eradicated. In his address to the nation the Dr. Manmohan Singh, a man of impeccable integrity and vision, will give a very hopeful message to the nation, regarding the health of the nation’s economy. He has already announced his decision to allow qualified foreign investors (QFIs) to directly invest in the Indian equity marke t. In his address at the 99th Annual Session of the Indian Science Congress in Bhubaneswar (Orissa) on Jan.3, he said that: â€Å"As we head into the Twelfth Plan, there are some objectives we must try to achieve in the Science and Technology sector. First, we must ensure a major increase in investment in R&D, including by industry and strategic sectors. Second, we must ensure the creation of a new innovation ecosystem. Third, we must achieve greater alignment of the Science and Technology sector with the inclusive development needs of our nation. Fourth, we must expand basic science infrastructure. Fifth, we must encourage greater research collaboration among universities and national laboratories.† In order to compete with China, India has to do much more that what PM is aiming at. India has been seriously lagging behind in education. By 2012, it aims to educate as many as seven crore learners out of which six crore will be women. With more than 400 universities and over 20,000 colleges, the student enrolment in India has crossed 12.9 million in 2007 – 2008. Millions of children go to school every day. But for 10 million street children there, 50,000 in the streets of Delhi alone, there is no schooling and no home. They are either rag pickers or engaged in other hazardous jobs, and for them the word ‘secular democracy’ is â€Å"hopelessly meaningless† and redundant. It is estimated that there are 80-100 million children out of schools and are trapped in endless cycle of exploitation. Moreover, India has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of child workers in the world. They need protection, loving homes and good education. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Jan.10, described child malnutrition as â€Å"national shame† and said health, education  and sanitation sectors must collaborate to shape national response to the problem. â€Å"These sectors can no longer work in isolation. Health professionals cannot solely concentrate on curative care. Drinking water providers cannot be oblivious to the externality of their actions. School teachers need to be aware of the nutritional needs of adolescent girls,† he said after releasing a new research by Hyderabad-based Naandi Foundation on the status child malnutrition in India. According to that research 59 per cent kids are stunted and 42 percent are underweight. Solving malnutrition is in India’s self-interest with a huge economic return on investment. It is estimated that malnutrition costs the economy $29 billion per year in India. – as of reduced productivity and earning and increased health costs. Today, more than one third of the world’s undernourished children reside in India. A country where 79 per cent of the milk samples tested (Jan. 10, 2012, Delhi fared worst), were found to be either contaminated or diluted, cannot expect their toddlers to be in excellent health. Even with the most modern technology and access to medical facilities in most parts of the country, over four lakh newborn babies still die within 24 hours of their life in India, and 2 million children die before they turn the age of five. Most of these children die because of diarrhea, pneumonia, measles and post-natal; complications. According to India’s third National Family Health Survey of 2005-06, 70 per cent of children between six months and 59 months are anemic. Every day 1379 unborn babies are being killed. This is happening in a land where 33 crore gods and goddesses are being worshipped. As a fast emerging world power under the stewardship of a pragmatic academic and realistic visionary, India has started playing a very constructive role on the world stage. However, it has to tackle some very serious problems like extreme poverty, child labour, chronic corruption, infanticide, dowry murders, unacceptable inequality and fast growing population. These problems cannot be tackled without a collective resolve by Indian leadership. Let us congratulate the people of India on that momentous day. Let us all recall the quote from Tagore: â€Å"Where the mind is without fear and the head held high. Where knowledge is free and the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls†¦. let my country awake†.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Why are Japanese firms good at making use of the tacit skills and Essay

Why are Japanese firms good at making use of the tacit skills and knowledge of employees for organizational learning - Essay Example An improved comprehension of the views of Information Management is very significant, as it has just been reflected to be a prerequisite for Implementation. Therefore, it aims at giving advantages, and business achievement. Incomes that are extra to the business association and accepted by the business can produce relative result only if human incomes are efficiently managed. Knowledge administration is mainly a Human Resource Management instrument that can assistance organizations accomplish human investment in the business 1. This paper provides reasons why Japanese firms are good at making use of the tacit skills and knowledge of employees for organizational learning, then confirms the importance of tactic knowledge within an organization that firms can adopt. Tacit knowledge involves of the hands-on skills, distinct expertise, heuristics, organizations, and the like that individuals grow as they engage in the movement of their work actions1. Tacit knowledge is extremely deep-root ed in activities and originates from the concurrent engagement of concentration and body in duty performance. Tacit knowledge is individual knowledge that is difficult to validate or express 2. The transmission of tacit knowledge is by practice and collective experience, throughout for instance, internship or on-the-job preparation. Tacit knowledge within association confirms task efficiency that the correct things are prepared so that the effort unit could reach its purposes. It also offers for a variety of imaginative toughness instinct and heuristics can frequently tackle dangerous problems that would then be problematic to solve.2 Information Management is a course of action by which corporate performance can be improved by manipulative and applying various instruments, procedures, systems, arrangement and principles so that information can be shaped, distributed and used for the general purposes of the trade3. Information Management mainly consists of construction of knowledge from personnel, allocating the same between staffs in the same business and use of the fashioned or communal knowledge to accomplish business objectives. Once information is well managed in a business, it can move commodities to the recipient market faster supply its consumers in a superior way, foster groundbreaking and more suitable ideas of invention and service industries, appeal new staffs, and keep knowledgeable employees in the business. Information management assists a business attain high execution business. Information management is a recently developing interdisciplinary administration and corporation model that centers on information among the staffs within a group. Information management is significant in Human Resource Management in addition to it is deep-rooted in money matters, science and human thinking 4.4 Information Management is a device that links the space between administrative change, invention, knowledge, and developments5. Information management is a gener al term that includes the developments by which workers' experiences, abilities, expertise, acquaintance, and skills are collected, shared, and usage of these are finally converted to cooperative organizational studying process 6. Human intelligence capital, imagination, innovation, and facts are the essential sources of inexpensive gain, and these can be created and used for the business achievement only if information management can efficiently be put into operation and presented in the company. Knowledge supervision can be

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Popular culture 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Popular culture 4 - Assignment Example Through the private devices, teenagers could listen to songs done by artists such as the Beatles and Motown Sound. In the 1960, music faced dynamics in content because of the frequent unrest in US due to the civil rights movements, rise of rock music, and changes in hair style and clothes. Pop and rock and roll music development was massive because of the popular " Beat Generation". Such people included the likes of the Beatles, Jack Kerouac, and Bob Dylan. The first group to advertise themselves were the 13th Floor Elevators from Texas, at the end of 1965; producing an album entitled The Psychedelic Sound of the 13th Floor Elevators. It practically took off in California emerging music scene. In 1965, two major blues-rock bands debuted Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, whose extended guitar-heavy jams became a key feature of psychedelia. In the late 70s another genre of music containing elements of funk,  soul,  pop,  salsa and psychedelic that was most popular. When DJ David Mancuso, in New York ,opened a private dance club in his home, it became the beginning of the new era of disco-style club home. At this time, most of the non-disco artists had begun recording disco songs. Some films such as "Thank God It’s Friday" and the "Saturday Night Fever" played a significant part in popularising disco music. Different cities began producing similar sounds to suit their feelings. The New York Citys soul music became part of the disco sound towards the mid-1970s. Disco music dominated the airwaves from the year 1974 all through 1977. Most the charts in those days were full of disco songs, and many of them topped the charts. In like manner, many non-disco artists decided to record disco songs to remain relevant in the industry. This musical popular culture in this generation proves that it was the exploration era of new genres in the music industry. It gave birth to new sounds that are

Latin American civilizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Latin American civilizations - Essay Example United States of America. It comprises twenty independent states, six European (France & Netherlands) dependences and two US dependences. According to the American Heritage College Dictionary (3rd edition) the word â€Å"Latin† is derived from the word â€Å"Latium† which refers to an ancient country of west-central Italy bordering on the Tyrrhenian sea dominated by Roman Empire after the 3rd century B. C. As the region is defined with its European ancestry so the people of Latin America do not necessarily feel identify with the region. They tend to identify them with their national identities rather than with a Latin American regional identity.The population of Latin America is an amalgam of ethnic groups with varying composition of European, Amerindian or African origin.The Latin America has remained the home of many indigenous peoples and civilizations, including the notable Maya, Aztecs and Inca, before the colonialism in late15th century. They followed diverse religious thoughts and practices. Following is an account of some important civilization religious thoughts and practices.Mayan Religious Practices.The Maya civilization emerged in Mesoamerica – a region extending south and east central Mexico to include parts of Guatemala, Nicaragua , Honduras and Belize in early 1800 AD and flourished around 300-900 AD. Quiche was the mother tongue of all Mesoamerican and it is still spoken by a large number of Guatemalan indigenous people . The Mayan people had spectacular art and architectural skills with sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. The Mayan religious school of thought was based on the cyclical nature of time. Popol Vuh was their sacred book and Mexico and Guatemala was their main religious Centers. Like many ancient civilizations three aspects of cosmos i. e; the underworld, the sky and the earth, were the key features of Mayan religious belief. The caves, mountains and natural wells were considered extremely important geographical features as they were seen connecting the upper and the nether worlds. The influence of Cosmo vision was obvious even in their city planning and architecture. Mayan underworld was dominated by the aged Maya gods of death and putrefaction. The sun god dominated the Mayan idea of the sky. The night sky was considered to be a window showing all supernatural doings. They believed that world had infinite space and it had flat and square shape. They also worshiped the circle, which symbolized perfection or the balancing of forces. The maize god was considered to be the central figure of Mayan religious philosophy and maize life - cycle lay at the heart of Maya people. According to Mayan belief all gods were unbounded and associated with each others. The qualities of these gods and their attributes changed with the passage of time and with cultural influences from other Mesoamerican groups. An important characteristic of Mesoamerican religion was the dualism among the divine entities. The gods symbolized the confrontation between opposite poles: the positive, exemplified by light, the masculine, force, war, the sun, etc.; and the negative, exemplified by darkness, the feminine, repose, peace, etc. Good and bad features were not permanents traits of gods (Maya civilization, 1) . Philosophically, the Maya believed that knowing the past meant knowing the cyclical influences that create the present, and by knowing the influences of the present one can see the cyclical influences of the future. Aztec Religious Thoughts and Practices The Aztecs civilization refers to the Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people under the control of the Mexico. The Aztec Empire was founded in postclassical era in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries in central Mexico with Tenochtitlan as its capital. The basic theme of Aztec belief was Ometecuhtli - a Supreme Creator, who, according to

Monday, August 26, 2019

Trompenaars. Leading Change and Organizational Culture Essay

Trompenaars. Leading Change and Organizational Culture - Essay Example Thereafter, Trompenaars points out the common mistakes that are made by managers while dealing with culturally diverse workforces. The first one, according to him, is that most organisations still consider cultural issues secondary, and give them less priority on the belief that culture has nothing to do with the main business transaction (Craven). According to Trompenaars, if cultural issues are to be tackled, it is necessary to identify the origin of cultural values. Then only the organisations can develop effective norms and values. In other words, simply learning the norms and values of a culture will not help solve the issue. The second mistake, according to Trompenaars, is that organisations do not identify culture as a compliance issue. However, he reminds the fact that if cultural issues are not identified and solved, it can even lead to legal disputes. In the opinion of Trompenaars, in the 21st century, it is necessary for organisations to develop transcultural competence, which means the competence to reconcile dilemmas or to integrate opposites (Craven). At this point is wise to see what Levine, Phipps, and Blythe prefer to say about cultural differences. According to Levine, Phipps, and Blythe (16), linguistic and cultural pluralism is more than the mere coexistence of different languages; and it is about transcultural circulation of values across borders, the negotiation of identities, the inversions, even inventions of meaning, often concealed by a common illusion of effective communication. Trompenaars points out the fact that the currently available leadership literature is regionally biased. He gives the example of English, French, and Chinese literatures. It is pointed out that there is the need for more works on multi-cultural teams. In other words, the new leadership should transcend culture. According to Trompenaars, to effectively handle cross-cultural diversity, it is necessary to adopt reconciliation. According to Trompenaars, the first step of reconciliation is to let others be themselves. In simple terms, reconciliation is the understanding of how the perspectives of other cultures can help ones own culture. In others words, reconciliation calls for the fusion of two extremes; considering and accommodating the other culture. Trompenaars point out the fact that there are different ways of dealing with other cultures; ignoring other cultures, abandoning ones own culture, and reconciliation. In his words, in the modern world of business, an important factor for success of organisations is their ability to ‘celebrate differences’. In the opinion of Trompenaars, cultural is not a secondary entity, but is the contextual environment around all transactions in an organisation; financial, market, political, and technological. According to him, the success or future performance of an organ isation is no more identified based on its financial performance, but on its ability to handle local cultures. So, he proposes Process Principle Optimization based on five major principles instead of the usual ROI. The five principles, according to him, are corporate effectiveness, the client, the employee, the shareholder, and societal responsibility. So, according to him, the modern businesses should seek ways to improve their local learning so that they can increase their global access. In other words, in the modern business world, integration of values helps organisations ensure sustainable business performance for the long term. 2. According to Trompenaars, the modern leadership and management, to be effective, should have transcultural

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Business Law - Essay Example one person to another, for example, fraud, assault, and theft.  On the other hand, negligent torts entail harm committed when one fails to exercise a given level of caution (care) – a reasonable standard of care. The final category is the strict liability torts which apply quite differently from the torts of intentional and negligence. As seen in the negligence and the intentional torts, the two concerns the defendant’s culpability whereas strict liability concentrates on the act itself, regardless of the exercised level of care or the intentions. To exercise the law of tort, various sources might be consulted to maintain justice amongst the parties involved in a criminal case. Some of these sources include the concepts of Case laws and/or statutes. Statutes are established by the agent of the government, while Case laws consult the precedence of formerly ruled cases which seem to have similar line of argument and premise. Case law holds that the laws can be orally stated or put in writing. Written and properly undersigned documents provided irrefutable evidence in court. However, case law as well considers orally declared agreements, even though not put in writing; this is handled by interpreting laws or establishing new precedence in favour o f the plaintiff. Different colonies have different Common laws; for example, Case laws applying in the U.K. are quite different from the ones applying in the U.S. Jamie Clark and Joe Adam entered into a contract for services, in a very informal way. The two meets over dinner and draft the contract’s basics at the back of the menu without adding an â€Å"integration clause† which would have acted as the final draft and that only the written terms in that agreement would apply in case of dispute. Despite the fact that the two didn’t involve â€Å"integration clause,† Case law would apply, by considering the credibility of the drafted basics on the back of the menu. The elements of the basics would have to be elaborated

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Hurrican Katrinia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hurrican Katrinia - Essay Example aled to both the contractors who designed and built the wall as well as the Army Corps Engineers the nature of the weak layer of soft soil that made the base of the floodwall’s steel piling foundation. In addition, the primary design for the steel sheet foundation for the walls indicated a suggested depth of 10 feet having the calculations made with wall base at 12.8 feet. Furthermore, a New Orleans engineer claimed that the depth was later on increased to a depth of up to 17 feet. Nonetheless, although the corps maintained their claim that the wall depth was 17 feet, investigations carried out by a forensic engineering group from Louisiana State University by use of sonar revealed that the piling sheets were 10 feet (Shrum, 2014). Also, investigations of the constructions on the Industrial Canal and London Avenue levees showed that they were below the stated standards. Other reports indicated that homeowners along the 17th Street Canal close to where the site of breach appear ed had previously reported about a constant leakage from the canal that flooded their yards a year before the Hurricane Katrina. Therefore, aside from the fact that the storm heave formed remarkable subterranean pressures under the floodwalls making the soil under the sheet weaker structural problems in the walls played a role as well (Shrum, 2014). Poor levee maintenance was another underlying factor, whereby, investigations suggest that a probable trigger of the breach on the 17th Street Canal levee may be due to a fallen large oak tree planted rather too close to the levee base. In addition, on the London Avenue Canal, burrowing animals had formed enormous through-ways that undermined the already weakened foundations. Therefore, the local levee boards responsible for maintaining had not done their work as they should have. In addition, the destruction of cypress trees and various vegetations that had previously grew in the brackish waters in the intersection between the Gulf of Mexico

Friday, August 23, 2019

The Power of Ideas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Power of Ideas - Essay Example This resulted in Hegel's theories, as well as the deeper focus on existentialism and phenomenology. Hegel's idealism, also known as Absolute Idealism, has severely affected society at large. The primary reason for this is because Hegel's work developed the framework for both Marxism and Darwin's Evolutionary Theory. Hegel's notions start with the idea that knowledge does not have the ability to explain itself; therefore human beings must trust their senses to understand knowledge. The mind also comes into play here, because the mind processes all senses, and thus becomes the primary focus of knowledge. Hegel believed that humans must contradict themselves in order to form a new way of thinking. To further explain this, Hegel burrowed the idea of the Absolute Ego from Fichte and renamed it the Absolute Spirit; to Hegel this meant that the earth cannot be measured based on personality. Hegel heavily believed in Pantheism and attributed this to the absolute spirit; basically, Hegel believed that God was in everything. This belief is a reflection of a Romantic view, and was a movement in the 19th century in direct result of the Industrial Revolution occurring in Europe (Hegel 1991). ... First, existentialist ideas will be discussed. Many of these themes were introduced by Arthur Schopenhauer, Soren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche. Existentialism believed that philosophy focuses on the individual, and that individual's interactions with the world. For example, Nietzche, a Continental philosopher, did not agree with Hegel's concept of idealism. Nietzche firmly felt the world is controlled by will-to-power. Furthermore, Nietzche also disagreed with Hegel on the concept of absolute truth; Nietzche did not believe in an absolute truth, he felt that everything was open to one's own interpretation. This is far different from Hegel's notion that the individual must look inward, to the self. Another concept promoted by existentialism that conflicts with Hegel's notions is the existentialist idea that the world itself is an absurd place, and there is no description for why the world acts in this way. Furthermore, existentialists believe that this inability for humans to understand why the world is chaotic causes self doubt, and therefore individuals have to decide how to live and progress in this type of chaotic world. Hegel, being a pantheist, would have seen some order in the world, as reflected in the idea that God is in everything. He would not have agreed with the concepts of a chaotic world causing self doubt. Hegel did not accept the existentialist concept of the "thing-in-itself." He believed that reality was a reflection of thought and rational. Thus, reality was not a collection of separate specifics; instead, it functioned like an articulate system of thinking, like mathematics; forming one large whole which pieces are all connected. Where Hegel was abstract to

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Chronicle of a Summer Essay Example for Free

Chronicle of a Summer Essay Ethnofiction is a term that is used to provide a new contemporary sound to an older terminology (neologism) particularly dealing with docufiction (a term coined from the combination of the words documentary and fiction film). In visual anthropology, ethnofiction refers to ethnography or the genre of writings which gives an elucidating study or point of view regarding human societies. Predominantly, the results of the holistic research method are presented by ethnography and can be used in ethnofiction. In addition to this, ethnofiction also consists of both formal and historical connections. A lot of cultural anthropologists and ethnologists are using ethnofiction in their works and consider it as the essence of discipline. Jean Rouch, the most renowned ethnologists, specifically considered as the â€Å"father of ethnofiction† was able to understand and discover that in making events which are registered by the camera. Consequently, the camera in this scenario or scene becomes a participant. Due to practice, research and documentaries are lavished with the idea of using cameras. This is in accordance to Rouch’s aim of furthering his goals, objectives and introduction of the actor as a tool in the film or in Rouch’s research. According to Brian Quist, through Jean Rouch â€Å"a new genre (of filmmaking) was born†. Jean Rouch is an innovative French director who definitely fathered the movement called cinema-verite. Jean Rouch’s style of filmmaking is a spontaneous one that blurred between or consists of educational, ethnographic and fiction film. Rouch filmed in many West African countries where he was able to train and support actors, cameramen, technicians and directors. One of his apprentices was Safi Faye. The African filmmakers that Jean Rouch promoted did not in the end become avant-garde cinema-verite directors, largely because they could not afford to take ten or twenty hours of rushes to produce a 45-minute feature, but he may have had an effect in other ways. When he set out to produce history he adopted a version of ethnographic realism. In 1975 he filmed a story situated in the late 19th century, â€Å"Babatou† , â€Å"les trios conseils†, with a crew of technicians from Niger and on the basis of a script written by the historian Boubou Hama. Following his work habits, he developed only minimally the dialogue, which the actors fleshed out by improvisation on location. The team travelled around to find a suitable location. The problem was to find places that had not changed in a hundred years, without corrugated metal roofs or plastic containers. Without further safeguards this solution is illusory, because the sun-baked clay houses of the savannah rarely survive one hundred years and what appears old now may be an environment radically transformed during the colonial period. Jean Rouch’s search still reveals more concern for historical authenticity, compared to the shortcuts that Kabore takes, but is inspired by the same supposition that in Africa the actual looks like the historical once you remove from it what is ostensibly European origin (Bickford-Smith and Mendelsohn 20). Jean Rouch’s aesthetic is guided by the effort to produce ethnographic estrangement. Rouch celebrated film â€Å"Les Maitres fous† (1955), filmed in Ghana among migrant workers from Niger who undergo a possession ritual, is very much a display of radical difference, even if recorded with humor and respect. As such, it goes very much against the grain of how most West African intellectuals would like to see their cultural heritage presented to outsiders, the main reason, I think, why many of them do not like Rouch’s films. West African films look different and show the culture in a different way. There are statelier in rhythm and style and less adventurous in form. They also present their characters as likeable and not wild. â€Å"Cinema-verite† is translated as â€Å"Film truth† in French. Cinema-verite is as style of filmmaking that uses the camera as a protagonist, as a catalyst for action (Kahn 185). In addition to this, it is derived from Dziga Vertov’s â€Å"Kino-pravda† a documentary film series in the Soviet Union of the 1920s, wherein it was important that the film audience realized it was watching a film, not reality. The term was coined by Jean Rouch together with the help of Edgar Morin while making â€Å"Chronique d’un ete† (1961) with newly developed, portable cameras and Nagra sound recorders. In this film interview, subjects of Rouch and Morin get to watch and comment on footage of themselves. The term â€Å"cinema-verite† also implies that the filmmakers try to avoid manipulating documentary truth, but it has often been confused with â€Å"Direct Cinema† which is a movement which emphasized â€Å"objectivity† over â€Å"reflexivity of cinema-verite†. The term â€Å"verite† is used in Hollywood to denote a style of shooting to achieve the effects of veracity and immediacy or the jerky, hand-held camera and grainy out-of-focus texture (Barnard et al. 377). In the early 1960s, technical advances made it possible for small crews to produce synchronous-sound location films. The equipment encouraged some filmmakers to record actions and events as detached observers, naively assuming that they were not significantly influencing the actions being followed. The so-called American direct cinema of Richard Leacock, Robert Drew, the Maysles brothers (Albert and David), and the others helped to define this kind of documentary. Eventually, it led to what is known today as observational-style film, which became so attractive for some ethnographic filmmakers (Ruby 12). Jean Rouch on the other hand, having founded the cinema-verite, obviously adopts the opposite approach unlike the previously mentioned ethnographers of filmmakers. Jean Rouch aim in cinema-verite is to have the subjects reveal their culture. The use of the camera as a character in the films he made was due to the fact that he felt that the presence of the camera could provoke a cine trance for his subjects. In â€Å"Chronicle of a Summer† (1961), the filmmakers combined the ideas they have borrowed from Flaherty with those of Soviet film theorist and practitioner Dziga Vertov. Rouch brought the cameras and his filmmaking style into Paris streets for impromptu encounters in which the filmmaking process was often a part of the film, with filmmakers and equipment in frame. Consequently, the actions of Jean Rouch and his works lead to an immediate notice or significant influence to the films of French New Wave directors such as Jean-Luc Godard and Chris marker, whose film â€Å"Le Foli Mai† is a direct response to â€Å"Chronicle of a Summer†. Rouch’s influence in the United States was not immediate unlike that of the France because so few of his films were accessible (Ruby 12). Rouch has persistently continued with his style and to develop his collaborative approach over a forty-year period in a number of films made with West Africans. Some criticized certain early efforts, Such as â€Å"Les Maitres Fous† (1955), as ethnocentric because of an assumed overemphasis on the bizarre, but others celebrated it as definitive surrealist film (Ruby 5). However, his intentions was to produce a â€Å"shared anthropology† in which those in front of the camera shared the power with the director. This idea reached an apex with his so-called ethnographic science fiction films, such as â€Å"Petit a Petit† (1968), â€Å"Cocorico†, â€Å"Monsieur Poulet† (1983) and â€Å"Madame l’Eau† (1992). Rouch is not alone in France in his adventurous experiments in collaboration. In 1964, George Rouqier produced a film about a year in life on a farm as lived by his relatives. In his film, the subjects were asked to enact their lives which is kind of ethnodocudrama. Although it was screened at the 1947 Venice Film Festival as a French form of neorealism, it has been virtually ignored by the United States anthropologists. Jean Rouch is also not alone when it comes to his interests in pushing the limits of documentary realism. For example, the United States anthropologist Robert Ascher experimented with drawing directly on film to produce a â€Å"cameraless† interpretation of a myth which is considered to be a technique found in experimental art films. As with Rouch, his efforts have been ignored. Stoller contends that Jean Rouch is a premature postmodernist. However, it should be considered that Rouch’s work in multivocality and reflexivity has been ignored by the so-called crisis of representation and writing culture folks. Their lack of understanding of Rouch’s many contributions to the postmodern debates that have obsessed anthropology in recent years perhaps the best example of how marginalized ethnographic film is to the mainstream of cultural anthropology. Other anthropologists who disagree with Rouch’s filmmaking style and contributions simply do not see his work as contributing to their interests (Ruby 13). From his works and style in enthnofiction, as observed in his â€Å"Chronicle of a Summer†, a certain concept of ethnofiction can be identified. However, before reaching that fruitful conclusion or concept, Jean Rouch had to perform several tests or experiments in filmmaking, particularly exploring the subject matter or aspects of ethnofiction. Based from his works and experiments, five characteristics can be deduced. First, is the â€Å"thorough ethnographical research† (Quist 9) which can be observed in his films such as â€Å"Les maitres fous† and Batille Sur Le Grand Fleuve†. Second, ethnofiction consists of â€Å"truthful circumstances and accurate documentation† (Quiest 9). Third, ethnofiction â€Å"utilizes the cinema’s need for story as well as dramatic curve† (Quiest 9) which can be observed in Jean Rouch films such as â€Å"The Lion Hunters†. Fourth is the characteristic, on Rouch’s term, â€Å"cine-trance† which have been previously mentioned or discussed. Commonly, â€Å"cine-trance† is referred to as â€Å"improvisation†. The fifth characteristic of ethnofiction, and probably the most important part of the films and considerations of Jean Rouch is â€Å"participant reaction† which can be observed in â€Å"Chronicle of a Summer† (Quist 9). After the establishment of the five characteristics of ethnofiction, there was a need for Jean Rouch to develop a single film that would encompass all these five characteristics of ethnofiction. Jean Rouch pursued an ethnofiction film that would incorporate all these characteristics. The film noted in Quist analysis is â€Å"Jaguar† which was completed and released in 1967. This film became the classic example for ethnofiction film because it encompassed or included all the five characteristics of ethnofiction perfectly. This comprehensive ethnofiction film instantly gained fame and became renowned not only in Africa but also to film festivals worldwide (Quist 10). Jean Rouch’s perseverance however does not stop at the success of â€Å"Jaguar†. He continued honing his skills until the five characteristics of ethnofiction became very familiar with him and his films. He continuously endeavoured in order to improve the cinema-verite which he and Morison founded. He also continued making films to influence other filmmakers and to introduce different or varieties of culture from the point of view of its subjects. Jean Rouch’s perseverance, efforts and success are really remarkable that he definitely lives to the expectations of those who look up to him. His influences and his contributions to the filmmaking industry really justifies Jean Rouch as â€Å"father of ethnofiction†. Works Cited Barnard, Tim, Timothy Barnard, and Peter Rist. South American Cinema: A Critical Filmography, 1915-1994. USA: First University of Texas Press Printing, 1996. Bickford-Smith, Vivian, and Richard Mendelsohn. Black and White in Colour: African History on Screen. UK: James Currey Ltd, 2007. Kahn, Hillary E. Seeing and Being Seen: The Qeqchi Maya of Livingston, Guatemala, and Beyond. USA: The University of Texas Press, 2006. Quist, Brian. Jean Rouch and the Genesis of Ethnofiction. Long Island University. Ruby, Jay. Picturing Culture: Explorations of Film and Anthropology. USA: The University of Chicago, 2000.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Effects of Colonization on Modern African Cultures Essay Example for Free

The Effects of Colonization on Modern African Cultures Essay In November1884 1885, Europe met for The Berlin Conference in which Africa was sub-divided giving each current European powers a part to govern. This scrabble for Africa was an official degradation of all African future political power and present government. The utilization of African land, resources and people to build European powers was imposing and came with extensive consequences. The new European map sub-divided Africa injudiciously taking no consideration of current languages, traditions or cultures.. The new map brought together different ethnic groups most of which didnt get along leading to wide spread tension. At the time of the Berlin Conference France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal were at the height of their power with primary control of Africa. The modern day countries of Africa are based on the politico geographical map drawn up by European powers. The Berlin Conference showed a lack of restraint, morality and comprehension of Africa as a continent. The African people tried to resist the changes with wars that they could not win. The Berlin Conference is better off titled the re-enslavement of the African people. European powers exploited every inch of Land they got their hands on taking natural resources and killing anyone who got in their way. In the scrabble for Africa, Great Britain claimed Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. The British controlled Nigeria and Ghana as well. France claimed Mauritania, Chad, Gabon and the Republic of Congo. The list continues but among them Belgium and King Leopold II claimed Democratic Republic of Congo. This acquisition was exploitation of Africa at its finest King Leopold II enslaved the Congolese people and used them to mine their natural resources of rubber. This slavery and subsequent abuse led to the death of over 10 million Congolese people. The remarkable part of the Berlin conference are the resulting Berlin Acts Article 34 of the Berlin Act states that any European nation that took possession of an African coast, or named themselves as â€Å"protectorate† of one, had to inform the other powers of the Berlin Act of this action. If this was not done then their claim would not be recognized. Article 34 of the Berlin Act shows Europes blatant superiority complex. At the time of the Berlin conference 80% of Africa was under traditional rule. They took no consideration to even invite any African leaders they simply divided a continent among themselves to avoid blood shed on their side. After the scrabble for Africa there were now 50 countries where thousands of former kingdoms, empires, and states once ruled; the dismemberment of a continent complete. Pre- colonial African government were organized around cultures and ways of life. There were hunter gathers, coastal trading towns and farmers. In that sense few kingdoms grew to be a reflection of Africas old kingdoms like Kemet, Nubia and Mali. In this structure of things lay the problem, Africa was not progressing at the same rate of the European powers the motherland wasnt consumed with ruling the world, it was traditional and modern juxtaposed. This juxtaposition led to Africa being easily divided as there was no centralized scheme of government for the whole continent. Doubting what government could rule an entire continent as varied, and as large as Africa. The European imposition of slicing and dicing was a failure from the beginning for creating an Africa that could stand alone when they had plundered all its resources. Africa has suffered through slavery, civil wars, genocide, apartheid, disease, but its undoing will be the failure to unite while Europe, Asia and America rule the world on its resources. In 2011 the plan for a United Africa has not come through and in light of recent world events will continue to be staled. In 2011 the recolonization of Africa begins again starting with the Paris Conference 2011. In the 2011 Paris conference the Western and European world again came together to discuss matters that affect the African continent. The Paris conference was hosted by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron. The American secretary of state Hillary Clinton was also present. The topic of discussion was a plan for Libyas economic and political future post leader Muammar Gaddafi; whom was in hiding at the time. Libya is located in North Africa and was an Italian colony from 1911- 1951. In September of 1969 Muammar Gaddafi led a small group against king Idris launching a Libyan revolution. Under the rule of Gaddafi Libya introduced free health care, education and became one of Africas richest countries based on it own natural resource of oil. Libyan life under Gaddafi was not ideal but he did turn Libya into a self sufficient country. In turn Libya clashed with the west especially in the 70s during the oil embargo when the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC. The oil embargo cut of oil to the United States for supplying the Israeli army with weapons this strategic plan was led by Gaddafi. On October 20, 2011 Muammar Gaddafi was murdered in Libya, ending the war with NATO. Gaddafis body paraded and dragged through the streets with no respect. One can not justify his actions in life but he was the lesser of two evils vying for control. What is to come is not democracy it is recolonization. At the Paris Conference in March of 2011British Foreign Secretary William made this ironic statement the world is coming together to support Libyas future. The world coming together as such, doesnt seem to ever included African leaders. At the Paris Conference Algeria was present although many African leaders were not present and dont recognize the Nato enforced National Transitional Council (NTC) as the new government of Libya. In the corridors of the Paris conference post war contracts were already being drafted about infrastructure, resources and above all the vast resource of oil. The countries who have come together at this conference are the same ones who will lay waste to Libyas independence and with it any hope for African Independence. The recolonization has begun, just as it had in 1884. Currently the countries present at the Paris Conference are the same one feeling entitled to a stake in Libyan oil. Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa estimated at 44 billion barrels. Before the war, Libya was producing about 1.6 million barrels of oil a day. France was its second biggest market, second only to Italy, with over 15 percent of its imports coming from Libyan oilfields. This sums it up, moving forward there will be no peace or a truly independent, self reliant African country the world powers will not allow it, no other continent makes the rest of the world feel in control and superior the way Africa does. If up against the worlds super powers there will never be a fair chance for Africa to stand as long as there are resources that can be exploited. In 2011 there is no such thing as a fair trial and racial equally, there is no humanity, no progress, no change. Africa again drifts backwards further. As a result of Gaddafi never being put on trial many questions will remain unanswered like what really happened in the 1988 bombing over Lockerbie in Scotland of Pan Am flight 103.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Analysis of Ghanas Economic Growth

Analysis of Ghanas Economic Growth An analytical review of the effect of conflict, politics and resources on the economic growth of the country. 1.0. Introduction 1.1. Ghana in 1957 Some fifty years ago, Dr Kwame Nkrumah stood before a throng of cheering fellow Ghanaians, proclaiming independence from the British Empire. â€Å"At long last, the battle is ended†, he bellowed triumphantly, â€Å"Ghana, your beloved country is free forever† (Nkrumah, 2007). Such were the words that signalled the end of British rule and the start of a new era for the former Gold Coast, which had succeeded in becoming the first independent nation in Africa. By doing so, she set a hopeful precedent to other former colonies which would shortly and eagerly follow in Ghana’s footsteps. For the â€Å"model colony† the future, at this point, looked bright. As a nation with â€Å"advantages of wealth and attainment unrivalled in topical Africa† (Meredith, 2005, 22), Ghana was expected to take the world by storm, swiftly join the ranks of the industrial nations, and proudly serve as a shining example to the post-colonial world (Dzorgbo, 2002, 2-3). There was nothing far-fetched about this optimism. She was, in 1957, one of the most economically advanced countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Income per head was double that of the Tanganikans, substantially more than the Zambians, and almost on a par with the Rhodesians (Alpine and Pickett, 1993, 64). Contributing to this private wealth was the lucrative trade in the export of cocoa whose production Ghana dominated by this time. Such a presence within the international commodity market helped shore up the already substantial amounts of foreign reserve her government held. Yet all of this failed to happen. Several years after independence, Ghana’s economy began to totter, her foreign reserves evaporated, and reckless public spending placed the country on a financial precipice – all this by the end of the 1960s (Konadu-Agyeman, 2000, 473). There was to be no let-up. The economic downturn continued into the 1970s where Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell more than three percent each year. Price inflation averaged at around 50 to 100 percent. Worse was to follow. By the beginning of the 1980s, inflation reached more than 100 percent, GDP levels fell further into the abyss, and one of the worst famines hit the country (Sandbrook, 1982, 2). Nothing, it now seemed, could go right. She had little choice but to solicit help from abroad. 1.2. International intervention and neo-liberalism Following the implementation of economic restructuring programmes, created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, Ghana finally emerged out of her desperate trough in 1983. Inevitably questions were asked. Why had Ghana struggled for so long? How could she so comprehensively dash the hope and goodwill in the immediate years after independence? Many factors, in the view of the IMF, had contributed to her demise: mismanagement, over-regulation, failure to tackle inflation, and currency over-evaluations headed the depressingly long list (Konadu-Agyeman, 2000, 473). Correspondingly, strings were attached to how IMF funds were to be used: the devaluing of the currency, the Cedi; the withdrawal of subsidies; the retrenchment of labour; the reduction in public expenditure; and the liberalisation of trade and exchange controls. Such measures, which took their cue from a resurgent neo-liberalism, have proved to be a mixed blessing. Even though, on the one hand, the adoption of these policies helped rein in inflation, created steady currency fluctuations and boosted the production of cocoa, they also led, on the other hand, to increased unemployment, ushered in stiff and unfettered competition from abroad, and generated substantial social discontent. So much of the welfare state had been taken away, in fact, that the weak and the poor were falling through the net. But a final verdict on the effectiveness of these policies is still too early to call. Even so, it would be true to say that many of these neoliberal suggestions, which underpin the IMF’s Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP), have not come from an appreciation of the peculiarities of the African predicament in general or the Ghanaian one in particular. Rather they draw from the successes of the East Asian Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs) which, it is argued, managed to free themselves from the shackles of perennial underdevelopment by creating growth through the export of value-added products. Such a way of proceeding, it has been reasoned, could be replicated within the African context. Much of the reason why Ghana failed in the years after independence from developing economically, this model suggests, was because she promoted a policy of protectionism. Rather than achieve industrial growth and economic development Nkrumah said it would, his policy of Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI), which erected tariffs so as to nurture domestic industry, did the opposite and halted diversification and competitiveness. All of which had now come home to roost, in the opinion of neo-liberalists, who now called on government to shrink. The new policy of SAP, based on exports, has at first glance much to recommend it, especially with regard to Ghana. Even a cursory look at Ghana’s colonial past yields firm illustration of why an export-based economy could make sense. During the days of the British Empire, Ghana had been forced to open up to the international market not least because she offered precious resources and material such as gold, sugar and cotton. Such a colonial emphasis on international trade, to be sure, substantially benefited the colonisers and not the colonised. Even though the British emphasis on exports had the effect of neglecting domestic industry, the legacy the Empire left behind was nonetheless one in which the economy thrived on her exports (Frimpong-Ansah, 1991, 67). Counterfactually-speaking, therefore, had Nkrumah implemented economic policies which aimed to promote exports rather than seek to curtail them, then Ghana may have been spared from the title question: what are you doing here? 1.3. Problems and solutions for the Ghanaian economy If only things were that simple. Even though one might forcibly argue that Ghana’s economy is orientated towards the international market, the kind of exports she has traditionally exported – and is currently exporting – would not have contributed much towards sustained growth. Nor do present circumstances hold hope that things would be any different either. Primarily, as the World Trade Organization has outlined, Ghana is still â€Å"heavily dependent on agriculture, especially cocoa, and on natural resources, notably minerals. Primary production accounts for almost half of GDP; agriculture at 40%, is the most important sector. Manufacturing contributes some 10% of GDP. Services are the second largest component† (WTO, 2001). Much of this primitiveness must be sought, once more, in British colonial policy, which saw little need to invest any substantial sums into creating a more sturdy and versatile infrastructure. Raw materials, such as Ghanaian cocoa, were kept just that – raw – to keep prices down, prevent competition to British firms by not having processing facilities, and turn Ghanaian subjects into obedient consumers of the finished product that would be shipped in from abroad. As Immanual Wallerstein put it with reference to Africa generally: â€Å"Whatever the motive for entering the world agricultural market and whatever the social organization of export production, each colonial administration, as the political arm of the metropole, sought to tie a segment of the African population into the larger imperial economy either as independent producers or as wage-workers, and in all cases as consumers† (Wallerstein, 1986, 18). He could have just as well been talking about Ghana. Such colonial legacies mean that even today Ghana’s raw materials continue to be dictated by external conditions. Since primary products are easily affected by the vagaries of the weather as well as by the fluctuating international market, export-led economic development would almost certainly prove to be a bumpy ride. More specifically, it means that: â€Å"When stocks are low and pries high farmers can increase their planting, but they cannot compress the time it takes crops to ripen to harvest When farmers eventually increase production, prices fall as supplies quickly outgrow demand in importing countries, given that demand does not grow significantly in response to lower prices. The result is a pattern of short-lived booms followed by lingering slumps† (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2004). Such descriptions invoke a viscous circle from which Ghana would find hard to escape. From this lesson follows the glaring need to diversify the country’s economic base, if it is to avoid the ‘booms’ and ‘slumps’ of an economy ensconced within agriculture. â€Å"While traditional exports, such as cocoa and gold, may remain an important source of growth and foreign exchange in the future,† the World Bank contends, â€Å"export diversification will be necessary to accelerate economic growth and poverty reduction and to decrease Ghana’s vulnerability to external price shocks† (World Bank, 2001,1). To be fair, it has not been from a lack of effort that Ghana has failed to diversity sufficiently, for political circumstances have repeatedly conspired to hold up any sustained drive. Liberal approaches to economic development, which Nkrumah’s successors aimed at, fell fowl of a coup, while two later regimes which tried to develop indigenous strategies of development were ousted in similar circumstances. Clearly political conflict and change have impacted hard on Ghana’s economic growth – arguably negatively on the whole – and, if the IMF anoraks are in any way right, stability in the present governmental set-up would finally lead the country to the elusive goal that had seemed possible during the few years after independence. 1.4. Objectives and organization Enmeshed within all these complicated factors, which this introduction has served to outline, the economic growth of Ghana must, at least for the moment, take place within the neo-liberal strictures imposed by the IMF, which has set great store by small government and export-led growth. Conflict, politics and resources will, in this investigation, be reviewed therefore need to take account of the domestic as well as international setting, so as arrive at a more rounded appreciation of how all these factors have affected economic growth in Ghana. Looking at past attempts to create economic growth as well as current trade policies designed to do the same, this study will offer both a historical as well as a contemporary analysis of the Ghanaian economy. Perhaps reaching beyond the remit of the brief, the study will also powerfully suggest that, as things stand as they do, Ghana’s economic future is set to remain a bleak one. More favourable rules of trade must be implemented, the thesis recommends, without which she will not be able to continue to diversify her economic base. To illustrate these points, the investigation is divided into the following chapters. Chapter two, below, will review some of the basic economic models which have found application in Ghana since her days as a colony of the British Empire. Chapter three will then focus on the implementation of these development theories from a historical perspective, analysing the various regimes as well as their ideological leanings which contributed to the kind of policies they came up with. Chapter four will then assume a more specific and contemporary focus, reviewing the extent to which international agreement on trade has impacted on economic growth in Africa in general and in Ghana in particular. Finally, chapter five will consider how tariff and non-tariff barriers, with reference to the EU, have influenced the shape of the Ghanaian economy. 2.0. Theories of Economic Development Before this investigation can examine in detail how various factors have influenced Ghana’s economic growth, one should stop to consider the kind of economic thinking that has undergirded the disparate policies she has resorted to in order to achieve prosperity down the years. Such a detour is necessary if we are to fully appreciate the broader economic and political climates in which policies have been conceived. 2.1. Free trade and nationalism During her time as a colony of the British Empire, Ghana had been forced to adopt a mercantilist system of trade which functioned as the principle form of economic thinking that dictated the way nations engaged with each other, economically-speaking, until the late eighteenth century. Much of modern economic thinking grew out of a backlash against this closed system, which put the nation before the individual and which saw wealth as finite. Inspired by the work of Adam Smith, who wrote his seminal The Wealth of Nations in 1776, liberals criticized how mercantilism elevated the position of the state out of all proportion to the role it should play in the functioning of the economy. By contrast, Smith felt that the state should limit itself to providing three basic duties to society: First, the duty of protecting the society from violence and invasion of other independent societies; secondly, the duty of protecting, as far as possible, every member of the society from the injustice or oppression of every other member of it, or the duty of establishing inexact administration of justice; and thirdly, the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and certain public institutions which it can never be for the interest of any individual, or small number of individuals to erect and maintain; because the profit could never repay the expense to any individual or small number of individuals, thought it may frequently do much more than repay it to a great society.(Smith, 1863, 286) From this basic framework, in which the individual would have access to basic rights and protection from violence, Smith recommended that the government retreat and allow the individual to develop on their own, especially with regard to economics. â€Å"Every man, as long as he does not violate the laws of justice†, he proclaimed, â€Å"is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest his own way, and to bring both his industry and capital into competition with those of any other man, or order of men.† Not only did he feel his thinking needed to apply to the domestic sphere but also the international one too, for â€Å"commerce, which ought naturally to be, among nations, as among individuals, a bond of union and friendship† had broken down into a series of international conflicts because homos economicus operated from the assumption that they had to steal from one another rather than share the wealth available. More specifically liberal thinking envisaged a world based on three pillars: first was the belief that free trade promoted economic growth and consumption; second, that it improves societal values and ideals; and third, that free trade would promote a more peaceful international environment because greater interdependence would lead to a convergence of interests among societies (Harlen, 1999, 735). Most pioneering in the implementation of these ideals was Britain which threw down the gauntlet to her rivals by tearing down protectionist barriers, such as the Corn Laws, in the middle of the nineteenth century at a time when mercantilism dictated the opposite and discouraged trade between European powers. Soon European countries followed suite in gradually adopting policies that were more liberal in outlook. Nations such as France, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal and Spain all moved towards the liberalization of their tariff system. But such an open period proved to be short-lived as nationalistic concerns rowed the liberal boat back to shore. By the 1870s, for example, Austria-Hungary increased duties and Germany followed at the end of the decade; France also upped her tariffs in 1881, modestly initially, then sharply in 1892, while other countries returned the favour in kind (Krasner, 1975, 325). Much of the problem had been that, in following Britain, which had embarked upon industrialization much earlier than the European continent, the benefits which European countries could reap from liberalizing their markets would be far from worthwhile, not least because their own infant industries could not compete with those of Britain, which had far more established businesses that had the muscle to blow those of the continent out of the water. Bitter about the lessons that had been learnt at the hands of the British, nationalist economists, while seeing the benefits of free trade, came to point out that liberals â€Å"did not adequately address the problems of how economically and politically weak countries might ensure their national security in a world where free trade did not exist† (Harlen, 1999, 739). Such a dilemma was not only shared by European countries but also by the United States whose economic power was no match to Britain’s at this time. If the United States were to compete on Britain’ terms, economist Alexander Hamilton noted, â€Å"the want of reciprocity would render them [United States] the victim of a system which should induce them to confine their views of Agriculture, and refrain from Manufactures† (Hamilton, 1964, 138). Such a view implied that open competition would only result in the stronger country dictating terms and keeping the weaker one in almost perpetual underdevelopment. Consequently, in order to compete, diversification of the country’s manufacturing base had to be effected, an objective that could only be realized if government helped out and, to cite Hamilton once more, â€Å"encouraged the introduction of foreign technology, capital, and skilled labor †¦ and adopt protectionist trade policies, including tariffs, quotas and bounties, to bolster its fledgling industries†. Similar conclusions were reached by the German political economist Friedrich List, who laid down in his National System of Political Economy the need to dispense with the ideology of free trade in the short term in favour of empowering the state to protect and boost its infant industries and build up a skilled workforce. Only when this was done, List also argued, could countries move towards a policy of liberalization. 2.2. Theories of development Following the end of the Second World War, which signalled the end of colonialism, a similar yet different schools of thought emerged, which centred on the issue of how newly-independent former colonies could ‘catch up’ and attain economic prosperity. Such thinking took shape during the Cold War so that development theory, as it was called, took influences from both the right and the left – from capitalism to Marxism – to produce the following ways of thinking about development: modernization, structuralism, dependency theory and neo-liberalism. Typically, modernists believe development have to be achieved through linear progression, from a ‘traditional’ to a ‘modern’ society’ (Rostow, 1968). During the ‘traditional’ stage the country would be limited by weak government, poor technology and communications and overreliance on subsistence agriculture. Eventually however these societies would accumulate ‘preconditions of take-off’ in which foundations are laid, such as the creation of private business, banks, schools and hospitals; but such a society still lacks the productivity necessary to make the big jump. To achieve ‘take-off’ the economy would need to show signs of rising investment and savings as well as the rapid expansion of industry and agriculture. Even though the economy would have to experience some turbulence along the way towards maturity, it would do so by stripping itself of the very industries that had helped in the take-off. Finally, countries would, under this theory, enter the age of mass consumption when an affluent society would be born. Most importantly, in order to achieve the various stages of development and pass through them, the state had to be interventionist. Even though these thinkers insisted on the virtues of private enterprise, they also insisted that the Third World needed a plan or blueprint which governments could follow. A different take on modernization, which rejected the linear path of development, was Latin American structuralism. Ultimately, it sought the reason for underdevelopment in the unbalance of trade between raw commodity producers and manufacturers. More capital and technology would, it was argued, lead to a turnaround in fortunes. Crucially, developing countries had been apportioned the almost exclusive role of primary product producers within the international division of labour. As Raul Prebisch, a prominent proponent of this analysis, saw it, there were two problems associated with being predominately a primary goods exporter. First, he saw that technological advancement in the industrial core would lead to the creation of synthetics for natural products. Such a shift away from a dependence on raw materials, such as rubber, would have a detrimental impact on the economies of those who sought to profit. Second, he discerned the tendency that as per capita incomes increase, demand for primary products, such as food, would remain stable, while by contrast demand for manufactured goods would rise (Prebisch, 1964, 7). All of this meant that, without the prospect of the developed world consuming more primary products, developing countries had to face the prospect of â€Å"price volatility in the short term and declining terms of trade over the long run†. Such defects in the international system would be overturned through industrialization, which would decrease dependence on primary products and increase ability to export processed products. Importantly, however, structuralism shared with modernization theory the need for government to play a major role in supporting and protecting infant industries through tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Only by doing so, it insisted, could developing counties compete at all. Such was part of the reason why the policy of import-substitution industrialization (ISI) was created and propounded in the hope that an emphasis on industrialization would promote growth. Yet the problem with structuralism was that it took as a given the outer context of the capitalist international economy. Accept this, dependency theorists countered, then there was only the prospect for further dilemmas for developing countries. As a chief proponent of this idea, Andre Gunder Frank showed, in his book Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America: Historical Studies of Chile and Brazil, that underdevelopment was caused by the very nature of global capitalism. Two divisional structures had emerged in which one camp would function as the metropolis centre and the other would serve as the peripheral and perennial satellites. Such a structure was largely exploitative in that â€Å"the metropolis expropriates economic surplus from its satellites and appropriates it for its own economic development. The satellites remain underdeveloped for lack of access to their own surplus and as a consequence of the sae polarization and exploitative contradictions which the metropolis introduces and maintains in the satellite’s domestic economic structure†. So he concludes pessimistically that â€Å"economic development and underdevelopment are opposite faces of the same coin† (Frank, 1969, 8). Such thinking formed the basis for the rejection of schemes such as ISI, since they only helped entrench even further a form of â€Å"dependent development† in which developing countries would become wholly reliant on the developed world for capital and investment. As long as this state of affairs continued, dependency theorists warned, developing nations could not share in the wealth of a capitalist world economy. Rather, it was argued, nations should move towards a socialist path of development, with the Soviet Union as a model of a country that had managed to industrialize without recourse to capitalism. Such an interpretation of development, it hardly needs to be mentioned, left room for any viability in the policies of ISI that had emerged under the structuralist banner. As it turned out, ISI failed to deliver on its promises of creating industrial competitiveness. In fact greater inequalities arose due to the way in which certain industries were protected so that they ended up with excess capacity, inefficiency and low quality. More worryingly, the fact that the state controlled licensing and foreign exchange meant that it encouraged â€Å"rent-seeking, corruption, smuggling, and black market as well as inefficiency in the allocation of resources† (Cohn, 2005, 378). Problems identified by dependency theorists proved to be prophetic. 2.3 The return of liberalism Even so, the inadequacies of ISI did not prevent the liberals, emerging out of the shadow of criticisms, from drawing different conclusions. For they sought the root cause of developing countries’ inability to move away from their state not in the unfair international system, which was inherently set up to keep them underdeveloped, but in incompetent government. What needed to be done, in other words, was to keep out the hand of government and allow market forces to operate. Evidence that the neoliberals were correct was provided by the promising growth of East Asian countries which based their economic development on exports. Examples such as Taiwan and Korea, which both witnessed strong rates of growth, conferred confidence on neoliberal analysts who sought the success of these countries to an â€Å"evolutionary process of industrially induced modernization and structural transformation †¦ locating an appropriate development niche within the global economy which may be exploited by implementing sound development policies based on conventional neoclassical economic principles† (Bruton, 1998, 107). From all these examples neoliberals re-built the edifice to their economic thinking. Clear guidelines this time were issued governments to, for example, â€Å"eliminate exchange–rate controls, restrictions on international trade, deregulation of the financial sector, privatization of state enterprises, creation of an unregulated labor market, specialization according to ‘comparative advantage’ and market driven resource allocations, and generally defining a ‘minimalist’ role for the state in development† (Brohman, 1996, 108). Most developed countries, responding to the debt crisis of the 1980s, gradually appropriated these new policies. Within the developing world, however, the legacy of ISI left a chronic balance of payment problem so that many countries had substantial debts they owed to international financial institutions. Responding to the crisis, in which many developing countries were expressing inability to return the debts, the IMF and World Bank issued guidelines in which it was spelt out that these nations should adhere to structural (or neoliberal) reforms so as to achieve growth and stability. There was, in fact, little choice. As Walden Bello and Shea Cunningham have acutely noted, â€Å"Faced with the threat of a cut-off of external funds needed to service the mounting debts they had incurred from the western private banks that had gone on a lending binge in the 1970s, these countries had no choice but to implement the painful measures demanded by the Bank and Fund† (Bello and Cunnigham, 1994). Such a move proved to be a watershed: it marked a shift away from an era of protection to a time of the free market, and it is within this climate that developing countries presently operate. In what follows one will review how these shifts and turns in economic developmental thinking impacted one particular country, Ghana. 3.0. Politics, ideology and economic policy Ever since her independence in 1957, Ghana has chopped and changed economic policy to the extent that she has tried pretty much all the development theories on which policy was forged. During the colonial period, she had been subjected to mercantile policies, which rendered Ghana an exporter of raw materials and an importer of finished consumer products. Tragically, this meant that wider socio-economic developments failed to take place, so that a diversification of her economic and industrial base away from the almost total reliance on a few basic resources could not be effected before British rule ended. 3.1. Nkruman and structural economics When Nkrumah assumed the mantle of power, he intended to push Ghana out of the underdeveloped into the developed world. Conceiving a Ten Year Development Programme, he established an Industrial Development Board (IDB), which was handed the task to develop the country’s manufacturing capabilities with the intent to pass them on to private enterprises when sufficiently grown (Dzorgbo, 2001, 148). But more substantive initiatives were carried out following the visit of Professor Arthur Lewis, a development economist, who argued strongly against any shock industrialization strategy in a country whose domestic market was limited; pursuit of large-scale industrialization would counterproductively remove resources away from the rural areas to the modern sector; and where shortage of labour would be aggravated by demand from industry. Far from adopting ambitious schemes, he put forward a series of modest proposals that were designed to prop up basic infrastructures so that a basis could be laid â€Å"for private foreign investment without the government having to bother offering special investment favours† (Dzorgbo, 2001, 149). Such a policy of â€Å"industrialization-by-invitation†, which was based on modernization theory, took a dim view of the ability of the government to access funds and take industries under its wing in a way Nkumah had initially intended. Even so, many of these recommendations were both enthusiastically and modestly accepted. Between 1950 and 1962, the Ten Year Plan adjusted to sing the tunes of a need above all for strong infrastructure. More specifically, it successfully constructed roadways and bridges to connect the various parts of the country, while it built the hydroelectric Akosombo Dam to secure the energy base needed for industrialization. Efforts were also invested in the setting up of transportation systems, while in the realm of social development, the government increased access its population had to water and education. Free primary education became available for all by 1960 and secondary education was expanded rapidly too. Enrolment in schools almost doubled across the board in the 1960s, with some 36,414 students registering in secondary schools, technical colleges, polytechnics and pre-university schools (Dzorgbo, 2001, 153). Such impressive improvements were capped off by improvements in health care services which saw new hospitals and clinics open. Despite the fact that Nkrumah government had followed and even bettered the recommendations of Lewis to improve the socio-economic infrastructure of the country, it grew impatient of the gradualist approach to economic development. More specifically, it became disillusioned by the â€Å"industrialization-by-invitation† policy because it had not led to the diversification of the economic base necessary for stability in the long run. Even though substantial amounts of FDI had been expected, following adoption of Lewis’ ideas, little of it had materialised. Those which had were taking the country for a ride. For example, during the construction of the Akosombo Dam, Nkrumah sought financial assistance from the United States. Eventually the firm Kaiser Aluminium Company came forward to underwrite some of the costs of the project. But conditions were attached that it as well as it