Philippine History During the Japanese Occupation Essay

Pre-Spanish Times There are two theories on the origins of the first Filipinos, the inhabitants of what will later be called the Philippine Islands and eventually the Republic of the Philippines. See the Early Inhabitants of the Philippine Islands. In the beginning of the 3rd century, the inhabitants of Luzon island were in contact and trading with East Asian sea-farers and merchants including the Chinese. In the 1400’s the Japanese also established a trading post at Aparri in Northern Luzon. In 1380, Muslim Arabs arrived at the Sulu Archipelago and established settlements which became mini-states ruled by a Datu. They introduced Islam in the southern parts of the archipelago including some parts of Luzon and were under the control of the Muslim sultans of Borneo. They had a significant influence over the region for a couple of hundreds years. The Malay Muslims remained dominant in these parts until the 16th century. Philippine History During the American Era The Spanish-American war which started in Cuba, changed the history of the Philippines. On May 1, 1898, the Americans led by U.S. Navy Admiral George Dewey, in participation of Emilio Aguinaldo, attacked the Spanish Navy in Manila Bay. Faced with defeat, the Philippines was ceded to the United States by Spain in 1898 after a payment of US$ 20 million to Spain in accordance with the â€Å"Treaty of Paris† ending the Spanish-American War. On June 12, 1898, Filipinos led by Emilio Aguinaldo declared independence. This declaration was opposed by the U.S. who had plans of taking over the colony. And this led to a guerrilla war against the Americans. In 1901, Aguinaldo was captured and declared allegiance to the United States. On the same year, William Howard Taft was appointed as the first U.S. governor of the Philippines. The U.S.passed the Jones Law in 1916 establishing an elected Filipino legislature with a House of representatives & Senate. In 1934, the Tydings-McDuffie Act was passed by the U.S. Congress, established the Commonwealth of the Philippines and promised Philippine independence by  1946. The law also provided for the position of President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. On the May 14, 1935 elections, Manuel L. Quezon won the position of President of the Philippine Commonwealth. In accordance with the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934, The Philippines was given independence on July 4, 1946 and the Republic of the Philippines was born. Philippine History During the Japanese Occupation On December 8, 1941, the Japanese invades the Philippines hours after bombing Pear Harbor in Hawaii. While the forces of Gen. Douglas MacArthur retreated to Bataan, the Commonwealth government of President Quezon moved to Corregidor Island. Manila was declared an open city to prevent further destruction. After the fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942 and Corregidor, In March 1942, MacArthur & Quezon fled the country and by invitation of President Roosevelt, the Commonwealth government went into exile to Washington D.C. American and Filipino forces surrendered in May 6, 1942. Soon a guerrilla war against the Japanese was fought by the Philippine & American Armies while Filipinos were enduring the cruelty of the Japanese military against civilians. Prior to Quezon’s exile, he advised Dr. Jose P. Laurel to head and cooperate with the Japanese civilian government in the hope that the collaboration will lead to a less brutality of the Japanese towards the Filipinos. Rightly or wrongly, President Laurel and his war time government was largely detested by the Filipinos. In October 1944, Gen. MacArthur with President Sergio Osmeà ±a (who assumed the presidency after Quezon died on August 1, 1944 in exile in Saranac Lake, New York) returned and liberated the Philippines from the Japanese.

Critique on Masculine or Feminine: You Be The Judge

Answer the following questions as thoroughly as possible: Write the thesis statement in the space provided. Is it a clear idea, or would it be better for the writer to express his thesis/claim in another way? â€Å"As an adult gay female, I have seen and can understand the narrator’s feelings of confusion with gender identity, as discussed in the story by Lewis Nordon, â€Å"The All-Girl Football Team† This would appear to be the thesis statement, yet there was not an even balance between the writer's experience, and the story she read. Explain how well the introductory paragraph introduces the text and its author, establishes a thesis statement based on the story and the writer’s personal definition of masculinity/femininity, and establishes an organizational pattern for the essay. What suggestions can you make to improve the intro paragraph? What further information does the writer need to provide about the topic of the essay in the intro paragraph? The writer introduces herself in a compelling way, since she is a gay female, and is speaking about gender identity issues. Her concluding statement,. â€Å"Ultimately, I feel the narrator learned that there are masculine and feminine traits in each individual and it’s ok to express the traits of each gender whether you are male or female.† –seems to be missing the antecedent, as the story she read was mentioned in the firs two paragraphs, and then not mentioned again until the end. I feel the thesis statement would have been more accurate had it been primarily about her experience with the two men who performed in drag, or if her essay had included an equal amount about the story she cited. Her descriptive text is engaging and does address the issues at hand, however the introductory paragraph hinted at content that did not appear. Where could the writer add more examples from the story and his/her personal experience to support the thesis statement? I would suggest including information about religious views, and weaving the story content in with her own experience; while including content from the story, in order to parallel some of her own experience with that of the story's author. Does the writer include the required number of quotes (3)? Where could the writer include more direct quotes from the story? The writer included the correct number of quotes, but could have added a few more in the personal account areas. Overall, the essay was organized well, aside from the hints on the thesis statement that were not addressed. I felt the writer could have made this essay better by writing her thesis statement after she wrote the essay itself. I think she had an idea of what her content would be, but in doing the writing, it veered into some other areas not covered in her thesis. How is the essay organized (clearly, logically, confusingly?). Suggest an alternative way to organize the essay. The essay was well-written, clear, and informative. I believe the essay writer's thesis was illustrated sufficiently. The only suggestion I would make is to incorporate the references to the Lewis Nordon story, â€Å"The All-Girl Football Team† in the middle portions of her essay, so that the thesis will remain clear. Read the last paragraph of the essay very carefully. Explain how well it draws a conclusion about the topic of the essay. Make at least one suggestion for how the writer could improve the conclusion. The last paragraph summarizes and reaches a logical conclusion very well. The only suggestion I would offer is to incorporate in the conclusion what the essay writer learned, since she spent some time including personal experience within the subject matter. Part 2: Following the directions below, write your comments on the essay itself: Identify the strongest paragraph in the essay, explaining why it is the strongest.  · Identify the weakest paragraph in the essay, explaining in why it is the weakest. The strongest paragraph in the essay was the last one, where she encapsulated the ideas of the entire essay; it's concise, thorough and on target. I wouldn't qualify any of her paragraphs as â€Å"weaker,† as they are all important to the essay's theme and development. Check all the quotes in the essay. Are they properly introduced/incorporated and cited according to the rules established on the â€Å"MLA Quoting Made Easy† handout? The essay writer did not include parenthetical page numbers after her quotes, as described in MLA conventions. In the space below, write at least a five-sentence paragraph that explains your overall reaction to the essay. What are the essay’s biggest strengths? Of what would you like to see more? What do you think are the writer’s biggest concerns? What questions remained unanswered? What does the writer need to work on the most? The essay flowed well and covered the important points of her thesis statement, while also accomplishing a feeling of accessibility by the essay writer's inclusion of her own experiences with those who experiment with gender roles. The strength, then, would be the essay writer's ability to personalize the information and also consider the meaning of her previous experience in relations to the subject matter, although I would have liked to see more quotes from the Nordon story. The writer's biggest concerns seemed to be a desire to portray gender issues in a fair context, without overly-romanticizing the conclusion. Other than that, I have no other suggestions for improvement, as this writer did a very good job.

Critical Review Of Sumantra Ghoshal's Article Essay

Critical Review Of Sumantra Ghoshal's Article - Essay Example There have been extensive debates about good practices in the theory of management. In this regard, the article published by Sumantra Ghoshal had provided quite a valuable insight. The surge in corporate scandals in the past has brought management practices taught in the management schools under attack. The article published by Ghoshal (2005) had stated that academic research, which is done in the field of business and management, has led to certain detrimental practices in the field of management. According to Ghoshal, most of these negative influences can be attributed to the incorporation of a set of ideas that have gained more dominance in the theory of management for organizations. Ghoshal has strongly criticized the business schools of propagating ideas based on amoral practices, which have made students free of any type of social and ethical concerns (Gapper,2005). Hayek had criticized the scientific model adopted by business schools by commenting that it is "pretense of knowl edge" (Ghoshal and Moran,1996). I think both of these authors had a major complaint against the dehumanization of humans in business. According to me, most business practices that are adopted by organizations are regarded from a capitalist view point, which does not take ethical considerations of decisions into account. The paper published by Ghoshal is unique according to me because it points out not only to the flaws of organizations per se but also to a flaw in which knowledge is imparted by individuals in the academic field, including him.

Museums and heritage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Museums and heritage - Essay Example As a result, many museums are changing their formats to include the use of more multi-media presentations and entertainments, seemingly attempting to challenge, in at least some small part, the larger amusement parks and presenting idyllic views of the past that are drifting ever further away from the truth. In preserving the history of the Industrial Age, an important era in the development of the nation, museums such as the Ironbridge Gorge Museum and the Black Country Living History Museum have effectively removed the horrors of this time period, offering instead a false nostalgia for the ways of the past. These two museums will be examined in the context of English history as well as the effects of the new living history presentations forced by the commoditization of history as these concepts apply to the museums’ structure, tourism and authenticity. The essay will explore some of the advantages and disadvantages of the living history form of interpretation by examining the rising popularity of industrial museums and why they are so popular. Following this introduction, the concepts of English history and culture will be explored in terms of the concept of ‘Englishness’ and the role that this plays on the interpretation of history. By examining the definitions of industrial heritage, culture and heritage, one can begin to form an idea of what cultural heritage is and why an accurate interpretation is important for a true understanding of the past. The second section of the paper will examine the cultural significance of the industrial era by looking at the role of the industrial revolution and the development of the imagined past. The connections of this past to more present day events will be examined and cultural evidence of these connections will be explored as a means of revealing why these types of museums have developed and what they hope to

LANGUAGE, POWER & IDENTITY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

LANGUAGE, POWER & IDENTITY - Essay Example Furthermore, language convergence and membership of a person in groups are also determined based on the languages that they know (THOMAS And WAREING, 1999). Bi-lingual or Multi-lingual Having the ability to speak two differently languages fluently marks a bi-linguist, whereas the ability to speak more than one language fluently marks a person as being a multi-linguist. Being bi-lingual or multi-lingual can be and is often for a number of reason, but mostly the adoption of more than one language occurs more rapidly in the early childhood stage of a person’s life. Whether it is because of a competent and saturated job market, parents or grandparents belonging to different nationalities or because one has migrated elsewhere, the reasons for accounting to a person being a bi-linguist or multi-linguist are many. Influences on Social identity of a person who is multi-lingual In order to case study the influences, impacts and effects of language diversity on a person, it is important to understand some majorly important terms and influences that shape the changed personal identity of a person. ... Individuals of a specific speech community communicate more often with each other than with individuals outside their speech community and so there exist preference and speech community isolation, which is also termed as communicative isolation. This is influenced by social, cultural, economic or regional similarities or preferences. To understand the term community better, we can analyze that the family of an individual is also a community and there by the language with which they communicate will form a speech community too. Furthermore, speech community is also observed with friends or the employees of the work place. It is noted that the changes in accent, dialect, written Performa or the differences in the languages spoken by individuals also mark changes and developments of speech communities (AGER, MUSKENS And WRIGHT, 1993). The community in general may have a focused set of characteristics of a language being communicated or it can be also diffused with emergence of different widely varying set of characteristics. Code-switching An individual, who is well-versed in more than one language, often tends to change or switch languages while speaking. Either to stress on a specific word, to lay emphasis on the issue or to just make someone laugh or impress the other- the use and reason for code switching varies from person to person and situation to situation. Sometimes, it also occurs unknowingly (NORTON, 2000). Linguistic convergence The lexical, phrasal, verbal or grammatical borrowings or transfusions from one language to another is often termed as linguistic convergence i.e. the convergence or merger of more than one languages, accents or dialects into another. Sometimes it is

Environmental Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Environmental Economics - Essay Example Such rapid growth has brought about unprecedented pressure on the environment. It has been a challenge for India to ensure sustainable growth without hampering its environment beyond the acceptable norms. The key concerns that the country is facing today include its vulnerability to climate change, ability to maintain the balance between environmental concerns and development, setting the research and development priorities and mitigation of poverty amongst its masses (Dayal, Vikram and Chopra, Kanchan). It is important to recognize that natural resources are the prime source of all material inputs to economic activities. The environment acts as a sink of the various kinds of waste generated through human activity on a regular basis. A proper balance between the developmental needs of the country and its environmental concerns is necessary in order to pursue the path of sustainable development. Sustainable Development involves a durable and balanced approach to economic growth provid ing social protection and justice to all and ensuring environmental conservation all the time. Environmental Economics involves the relationship between environment and development. Three major aspects that are responsible for exhaustion of natural resources are over-population, over-production and over-consumption. In addition, there factors also lead to generation of massive quantities of waste if not managed properly. The equation between welfare and human development with protection of natural resource and natural environment has to be a balanced one for continued existence. Hence, while protecting environment is a must, without development it will be unsustainable and therefore it is essential to recognize that the two realities of growth and environment are to co-exist. The Government of India has recognized the importance of sustained development and its Ministry of Environment & Forests issued the National Environment Policy (NEP) in 2006, as a â€Å"response to our nationa l commitment to a clean environment as mandated in the Constitution in Articles 48A and 51A (g) and strengthened by judicial interpretation of Article 21.† (Ministry of Environment and Forests, Corporate Environmental Responsibility). The objective of the NEP is to bring to the mainstream all environmental issues in development activities. The governing subject of the policy is that â€Å"while conservation of environmental resources is necessary to secure livelihoods and well-being of all, the most secure basis for conservation is to ensure that people dependent on particular resources obtain better livelihoods from the fact of conservation than from degradation of the resource.† One of the primary requirements for growth is land. This limited resource is under severe constraint in India and two environmental issues are rigidly tagged to this constraint, the use of agricultural land for industrial purposes and forest land for all development activities. The law of the country mandates that any use of agricultural land for industrial purposes and clearing of forests for developmental activities are to the strictly cleared by the concerned State or Central Government. Forest clearances are to be granted only after careful consideration of the impact of forest diversion on biodiversity, wildlife, water and the local community. Similarly, agricultural land must be cleared by the local government before using for non-agriculture activities. Similar protective measures have also

Earthquakes in the media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Earthquakes in the media - Essay Example A good example of induced susceptibility to earthquake due to plates moving past each other is the San Andreas Fault in California (Hough 25- 27). Earthquakes are fast and unexpected motions of the earth’s surface and are a result of seismic forces. These forces emerge from specifit points and their immediate effects are experienced at the epicenter. Such forces also occurs in oceans, in which case they result in tsunamis. Earthquakes have adverse effects on the environment that extent to effects on human beings and their activities. Its physical destruction of structures and buildings, for example, may leads to crumbles over people and other property and therefore lead to physical injury, deaths, or even morbidity. In addition, earthquakes may destroy property and therefore create economic loss. Effects of physical injuries and associated emotional instability may also transfer the negative effects on economic activities and economic potentials. consequently, an understanding of trends in occurrence for forecasting risk of earthquakes and communication thereof is necessary for well being. Earthquake Early warning System (EEWS) is one of the tools for ensuring the well being. It ensures development of information on possible risk occurrence of earthquakes and communication of the information at the right time. the tool serves two primary roles, one of which is offering a strategy for mitigating disaster. Its key role is however to minimize associated perils with occurrence of earthquake and to facilitate proper response. The scope of EEWS involve development of information on risk of occurrence of earthquakes, assessment of the data, forecasting using the data, and communication of the predictions for coordinated response. These occurs in a sequence and an inefficiency at one stage compromises the entire system. When

Truth and Lies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Truth and Lies - Essay Example It is essential to have the common awareness that men and women lie due to various situations in their lives, and only such an understanding can help one deal with the issue. If I find a client lying in a session, my first response will be one of accepting the reality of truth/lies. Then, I will ensure that I make attempts in which the client himself/herself realizes the fact about the lie and about me understanding it. Once the client is sure about the lie he/she has told, I will ask about the situations for him/her to lie so. I will make him/her be convinced of the fact that everyone lies at some moment of life. My attempts will also help him/her understand the need for humans to be truthful in life. I will also clarify the different views about truth and lies by which the client is able to make his/her choice. At the end of all these, the client will become aware of the problem of lying and the beauty of being truthful in life. I will make use of this situation to amplify the clie nt's awareness with general facts regarding the nature of lies. Coping is one of the most significant factors affecting the results of the activities undertaken in order to reduce the impact of an issue. "Coping consists of efforts, both action oriented and intra psychic, to manage (i.e. master, tolerate, reduce, minimize) environmental and internal demands and conflicts.' (Lazarus & Launier, 1978, p. 311). As Steven Gullo has pointed out, there are various styles of coping with a situation and people's selection of a particular Coping Style depends on several factors. It is important to realize that not any particular style of the six basic coping styles identified by Steven Gullo gives the complete picture of a best style. One style may seem good for a particular individual or situation while the same may be completely useless for another. An individual may make use of more than one style depending on the demands of the situation and the problem. However, one particular style may become predominant in every person along with other alternative styles. Therefore, I strongly feel that among the six basic coping styles in young people, i.e. accepting, defying, facilitating, submitting, altruistic, and optimistic, the coping style I possess is that of accepting. That is to say, I always feel there is a strong need in everyone to be heard and listened to. The energy in every person is limited and these energies need to be utilized in the right direction in order to cope with a difficult situation. It is also essential to get the maximum amount of specifications from the clients and draw the right conclusions. If one fails in obtaining the exact information regarding the issue, one can never achieve a solution to the problem and, therefore, I always make it a point that the maximum amount of the factual information is obtained from the clients. To supplement to this style, I always feel that there is a solution to every difficult situation and I am very much confident about finding these solutions, provided I approach the situa tion realistically and objectively. Therefore, the coping style I prefer is one of accepting and many often this style is assisted by my optimistic views regarding the issues. 10 RULES FOR DADS The article "10 Rules for Dads to Give Children" by Dr. Walter C. Farrell can be best comprehended as one which points out the essential guidelines that a father in the modern world

Assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Assignment 2 - Essay Example Some of the businesses still have the concepts and practices that date back a hundred years or more, when societies were far less dynamic than they are today. Like every aspect, markets and businesses should also accept the changing time. A brand name is a name given to the business which creates the image and reputation of the business in the market and for the customers. Branding is a major task in marketing, as in marketing a brand name is a major selling tool of the business and is one of the most important components of the total product personality. Brand is the personality that identifies the business. It can be a name, symbol, design or any feature of the business that portrays their good service and differentiates them from other businesses. The concept of branding has been coming form years and has long been one of the major weapons of the business (Franzen and  Moriarty, 2008, p. 360). Once the business starts to be recognized by the brand name or symbol, it can be eithe r modified or changed too. When it is about the changing marketing techniques and customers, businesses have been seen as changing their brands and taking them quite seriously than they ever were, traditionally the concept of brands was different than what it is today and thus the business behaviors towards the concept of brands have also changed. There are many ways in which the determined shift in the branding process has been observed and clued in the past few years. In the modern world, the brand name is how the customers look at the brand, their products and the business. The brands have started to play a unique mind game with the minds of the targeted customers. Unlike the previous era, the brands have now been given immense importance and most of the business products and success is decided by their brand name. Quality and price have become a secondary option for the customers, and brand name is the most important tool. Brand image is nothing but the business’ characte r that conveys emotional value and not just a mental image (Keller, 2008, p. 57). Previously, the brands were not taken to be this important for the businesses. They were considered as merely a positive point for the business through which they can reach to the customers and create a relation with them that lasts for long and serves them with the right product. The market and the customers too, accepted the brand name as an advantage for the business. In the market, the business with the brand name would be prioritized higher than other businesses. And the customers would check out the products of the branded business first. This trend was carried out until the perceptions of the customers started changing and immense transformations were seen in the marketing trends. In the post modern world, the perceptions of customers have changed greatly in many ways which is why the branding techniques have changed too. The customers have created the perception that the brand name of the compa ny delivers its quality of products, efficiency in producing, their pricing strategies and effective service. The customers perceive the brand image to be the tool that defines all the aspects of the business. Today, in the modern world, the brand image is all that the customers seek for. The business knows how they brand name and image play on the minds of the customers

The Eiffel Tower Essay Example for Free

The Eiffel Tower Essay You couldnt possibly visit Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower. Even if you do not want to visit this world famous structure, you will see its top from all over Paris. The tower rises 300 meters tall (984 ft); when it was completed at the end of the 19th century it was twice as high as the Washington Monument, at the time the tallest structure in the world. 1889 World Exhibition The Eiffel Tower was built for the World Exhibition in 1889, held in celebration of the French Revolution 1789, The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England, opened the tower. Of the 700 proposals submitted in a design competition, Gustave Eiffels was unanimously chosen. The construction was only meant to last for the duration of the Exposition, but it still stands today, despite all protests from contemporary artists who feared the construction would be the advent of structures without individuality and despite the many people who feared that this huge object would not fit into the architecture of Paris. Today, there is no such aversion anymore among the Parisians, and one could not imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower, in fact it has become the symbol of the City of Light. Gustave Eiffel The man behind the Eiffel Tower was Gustave Eiffel, known from his revolutionary bridge building techniques, as employed in the great viaduct at Garabit in 1884. These techniques would form the basis for the construction of the Eiffel Tower. He was also known for the construction of the Statue of Libertys iron framework. The structure took more than two years to complete. Each one of the about 12,000 iron pieces were designed Separately to give them exactly the shape needed. All pieces were prefabricated and fit together using approx. 7 million nails. Eiffel Tower was designed and built in just two years by 132 workers and 50 engineers. The Eiffel Tower is nowadays 324 meters high with television antennas. It weights 7300 tons. The first floor of the Eiffel Tower is 57 meters and 360 steps from the ground. The second floor is 115 meters and 1060 steps from the ground. The third floor is 274 meters from the ground. It is only accessible by lift to the general public. They are altogether 1710 steps up to the third floor. The Eiffel Tower was planned to be demolished in 1909. It was saved at the last moment and turned into a telecommunication tower. The Eiffel Tower is now undoubtedly one of the most famous monuments in the whole world. It welcome 7 million visitors each year, which makes it the most visited paid monument in the world.

Non Medical Independent Supplementary Prescribers Nursing Essay

Non Medical Independent Supplementary Prescribers Nursing Essay The purpose of this essay is to explore some of the processes involved in prescribing, from consideration of the patients pathophysiology, through consultation and decision-making to the provision of treatment. The authors rationale for choosing anticoagulation as the topic for discussion, is that although the authors field of practice is mainly with patients who have ischaemic heart disease, upon reviewing the practice log it became apparent that developments within the authors role were leading the author to participate more in the care of patients with atrial fibrillation. To highlight discussion and link theory to practice the author will use four case studies of patients admitted to a district general hospital, who subsequently were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and due to the nature of the condition, were offered anticoagulation for the prevention of future thromboembolic events. The above processes will be discussed under the headings of the learning outcomes below. Evaluate effective history taking, assessment and consultation skills with patients/ clients, parents and carers to inform working/differential diagnoses. Integrate a shared approach to decision making taking account of patients/carers wishes, values, Religion or culture. Traditionally patient consultations have been performed with the doctors taking the more dominant role (Lloyd Bor 2009). These consultations have been doctor-centred, establishing a diagnosis and treatment plan without involving the patient in the decision making process. At this time this was accepted by the patient because the doctor knows best and the patient handed over responsibility for his well-being to the clinician. However this has now changed and patients are more interested in their illnesses, wanting to know more and be involved in their treatment plans. Increasing evidence suggests that a more patient-centred style of consultation results in happier patients who are more likely to adhere to their treatment plans (Stewart et al 2003). The author was able to observe her designated medical practitioner (DMP) in a variety of patient interactions but mainly during the process of consultation, for the purpose of establishing diagnosis and treatment plans, (see appendix for case studies). Consultations are made up of a number of elements such as establishing a rapport, gathering and interpreting information and physical examination, however the cornerstone of all patient interactions is effective communication. Prior to each consultation, the DMP prepared by reading through the medical records to obtain information regarding the patients past and present history, medications and allergies. At this stage consideration was given to potential treatment plans or required tests. The patients in case studies 1-4 were all admitted to hospital due to either new onset of symptoms or deteriorating clinical condition, thus each consultation was held at the bedside. Hastings (2006) highlighted the importance of recognising the different settings within which a consultation can occur and how these settings can affect the patient and practitioner. This is a view shared by White (2002) who felt that the environment can greatly influence the consultation process. Upon reviewing the literature the author has found that there are many different approaches that can be adopted and various consultation models that can be utilised, in order to produce the most effective consultation. The author felt that the DMPs methods of consultation spanned several models. It incorporated elements of the biomedical model described by Byrne Long (1976), in which they describe six phases which formed a logical structure, but take a very doctor-centred approach (see appendix). Charlton (2007) argues however, that whilst this model is simplistic and logical it has difficulty accommodating the feelings, beliefs and psychosocial issues which colour the meaning of health and illness. The consultations also incorporated elements of the more patient-centred models as described by Pendleton et al (2003) and Calgary-Cambridge (1996), see appendix **. These models aim to achieve a collaborative understanding of the patients problems. The authors DMP combined traditional m ethods of history taking with systematic physical enquiry and examination, to elicit information about the patients medical, social and family histories, together with drug and allergy information, and the patients perspective regarding their history and presentation of symptoms. Once the history was obtained the physical examination was performed to supplement the diagnostic process. In each case the examination was cardiovascular, paying particular attention to the auscultation of heart sounds, because in atrial fibrillation the exclusion of a valvular element is necessary prior to commencing anticoagulation. In accordance with the models used, diagnosis was established and discussed with the patient. The DMP used simple terminology to ensure understanding. The use of non-verbal communication was evident throughout each consultation, from the outset where introductions and shaking hands took place, to the use of empathy and touch when the patient showed fear and anxiety. The history taking process may have involved a doctor-centred approach but the discussion surrounding treatment choices was certainly patient-centred. In each consultation the plan between the patient and the DMP was negotiated, with the DMP explaining the risks associated with atrial fibrillation, and being honest with the patient about the risks versus benefits of anticoagulation. Charlton (2007) believes that it is important to elicit a patients concerns and expectations in order to ensure that both the patient and the doctors agendas are the same. This is supported by Neighbour (2005) who stated that, Patients differ widely in their factual knowledge, in their beliefs, their attitudes, their habits, their opinions, their values, their self-images, their myths, taboos and traditions. Some of these are relatively labile and easy to change on a day to day basis, others are more firmly held and difficult to alter. Each patient we encounter will have come from a different background and some from different cultural systems whereby their values, beliefs and behaviours may not be the same as the practitioners (Lloyd Bor 2009). Each patient within the sphere of their culture or religion will have a different view about what treatments or care is acceptable (Helman 2000). This was the case in respect of patient * who was a Jehovahs Witness. Patients who share this religion do not accept blood transfusions or blood related products based upon their interpretation of Acts, a book in the New Testament Bible (Wikipedia 2012). Although the authors DMP and the patient were from different cultural and religious backgrounds, effective communication was still maintained. The DMP took time with the patient to explore the implications that the patients beliefs would have upon the form of treatment that was indicated. In this case it was not taking the drug that posed the problem but the increased risk of bleeding that could occur, which potentially may require a blood transfusion if the bleeding were to be severe. In the case of patient * they initially were not keen to start warfarin. When it was first mentioned the patient grimaced and said oh, isnt that rat poison. Indeed the patient was correct, Warfarin has previously been used to kill rodents but its safety and efficacy as a medication has also been proven. Patients often have misconceptions about medication which can influence their decision making. Their decisions regarding treatments are based upon their understandings and these can often by influenced by external factors such as the media. However, with regard to the consultations observed by the author, it seems that the intrinsic factors were more influencial. Patient * and * were both concerned about potential lifestyle changes. How often would i need to come for tests? What about going on holiday? Will I bruise easily? What happens if I cut myself? Will it affect my other medicines. For patient * the answers were acceptable and warfarin was prescribed. However patient * felt that the change would be too much and declined. Respecting a patients right to refuse treatment is part of the consultation and prescribing process. In its guidance on consent, the GMC (2008) discusses the importance of accepting that a competent patient has the right to make decisions about their healthcare and that doctors must respect these decisions, even if they do not agree with them. This view is supported by NICE (2009) who state that patients if they chose to, should be involved in the decision m aking process, and as long as they have mental capacity, as defined in the Mental Capacity Act (2005), to be able to make informed choices, as professionals we must understand that patients have different views to us about risks and benefits and we must accept their right to refuse. For patients ***and *, the recommended treatment was anticoagulation. Patient * and * once their initials concerns were addressed, were happy to proceed with the treatment. Patients * and * were not. The author noted that this did not change the DMPs treatment of the patient, who respected their decision and agreed an alternative plan. Although each consultation was different in the patient specifics, there were still common elements. Each interaction was structured and was systematic in establishing the required elements. A good rapport was established with each patient, resulting in effective communication. Communication problems between the doctor and patient can lead to dissatisfaction (Simpson et al 1991), causing misunderstandings and lack of agreement or concordance with treatment plans (Barry et al 2000). This was not the case however in patient * and *. Each patient was given a full explanation of the treatment options and each made an informed choice regarding their treatment, choosing to pursue a path not recommended by the authors DMP. A review by Cox (2004) summarised that patients and health care professionals need to have a two way discussion in order to share their views and concerns regarding treatment. 6. Integrate and apply knowledge of drug actions in relation to pathophysiology of the condition being treated. With the advent of independent and supplementary prescribing, and the ever changing role of the nurse, it is considered imperative that nurses have a greater knowledge and understanding of drug pharmacology (Thomas Young 2008). Pharmacokinetics studies how our bodies process drugs and Pharmacodynamics studies how these drugs exert their effect (Greenstein Gould 2009). When the heart beats normally, a regular electrical impulse causes the muscular heart walls to contract and force blood out and around the body. This impulse originates in the top chambers of the heart (atria) and is conducted to the bottom chambers (ventricles). In atrial fibrillation this impulse is initiated and conducted in a random uncoordinated manner causing the heart to function less efficiently. The risk of a pooling or stasis of blood remaining in the heart, increases the risk for a thromboembolic event. Atrial fibrillation is the most commonly sustained cardiac arrhythmia affecting 10% of men over 75 years (NHS Choices 2013) and if left untreated is a significant risk factor for stroke (NICE 2006). The patients identified in the case studies were all given a diagnosis of non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Their individual risk for thromboembolic event was assessed using the CHAD scoring systems and the outcome was that each patient required treatment with anticoagulation. Anticoagulants were discovered in the 1920s by a Canadian vet who found that cattle eating mouldy silage made from sweet clover were dying of haemorrhagic disease, and it wasnt until the 1950s that anticoagulants were found to be effective for preventing thrombosis and emboli by reducing clot formation, and were finally licenced for use as medicines. (Wikipedia 2012). Warfarin is the anticoagulant most commonly used in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. To understand the pharmacodynamics of warfarin, one must first understand the basic clotting cascade. Blood contains clotting factors (inactive proteins) which activate sequentially following vascular damage. These factors form two pathways (Intrinsic and Extrinsic) which lead to the formation of a fibrin clot. The extrinsic pathway is triggered by tissue damage from outside of the blood vessel. It acts to clot blood that has escaped from the vessel into the tissues. Damage to the tissues activates tissue thromboplastin which is an enzyme that activates Factor X. The intrinsic pathway is triggered by elements that lie within the blood itself. Damage to the vessel wall stimulates the cascade of individual clotting factors which also activate Factor X. Once activated Factor X converts Prothrombin to Thrombin which in turn converts Fibrinogen to Fibrin. Fibrin fibres then form a meshwork which traps red blood cells and platelets and so stems the flow of blood (Doohan 1999). Vitamin K is essential for the maturation of clotting factors such as Factor X and prothrombin and it is on Vitami n K that anticoagulants such as Warfarin take effect. Warfarin reduces coagulation by inhibiting the processing of Vitamin K. This reduces the amount of matured clotting factors available for the clotting cascade, causing clotting time to be prolonged (Melnikova 2009). This time frame can be measured by testing a patients INR (International Normalised Ratio), which is simply a recording of the amount of time it takes for a blood sample to clot. Using Warfarin in the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation, reduces the risk of clot formation and the risk of potential clots being ejected from the heart into the general circulation. This process however is dependent upon how the body initially processes the drug (pharmacokinetics). Warfarin is readily absorbed from the GI tract, however this can be affected by age related changes such as reduced gastric emptying and slowed motility affecting intestinal transit time. This phase determines a drugs bioavailability. The extent of drug distribution depends on the amount of plasma proteins and whether a drug is bound or unbound. Warfarin is 99% bound to plasma proteins and therefore takes longer to reach the site of action, thus the distribution phase lasts approximately 6-12 hours (Holford 1986). The patient in case * was noted to be on aspirin. Patients on drugs which bind at the same site can cause problems when administered together, as one displaces the other causing elevated levels o f the drug to be circulating, leading to toxicity (Sunalim 2011). Whilst the benefits of warfarin are apparent the side effects and precautions for use are numbered. Warfarin has a narrow therapeutic window making control difficult and increases the risk of bleeding and haemorrhage. It interacts with other prescribed, over the counter and herbal medicines and is contraindicated in pregnancy. Despite its use in clinical practice for over 50 years, the MHRA still receive a substantial number of adverse reaction case reports through the Yellow Card system. The majority of these reports were as a result of over anticoagulation with the majority of fatal cases being attributed to haemorrhage. It was concluded that in some cases interaction with other medications was the cause (MHRA 2009). It is therefore essential that a full drug history including allergies is taken prior to commencing any new medication. Critically appraise sources of information/advice and decision support systems in prescribing practice and apply the principles of evidence based practice to decision making. 9. Demonstrate an expert understanding of prescribing decisions made within an ethical framework with due consideration for equality and diversity. The decision to prescribe an anticoagulant such as warfarin is not a decision taken lightly. Due to the potential side effects, mainly the increased risk of bleeding, the risks versus benefits discussion must be explored. The benefit of warfarin is the reduction in risk of thromboembolic events such as a stroke or pulmonary embolism, the risks areà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦however before this discussion can take place, it must first be established whether anticoagulation with warfarin is needed or whether an alternative treatment is possible. In 1994 the Atrial Fibrillation Investigators (AFL), conducted randomised clinical trials whose participants had untreated atrial fibrillation. Data from these trials showed that patients with previous stroke, hypertension or diabetes were at increased risk of stroke. This data was confirmed by the Stroke Prevention Atrial Fibrillation Investigators (SPAF 1995) who looked at thromboembolic risk for AF patients on aspirin. The amalgamation of these two bodies in 2001 led to the development of the CHAD2 scheme (see appendix), which is a clinical prediction tool used for estimating the risk of stroke in patients with AF and to determine whether or not treatment is required with anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy. Risk stratification schemes that accurately and reliably stratify stroke risk could influence the management of those who have AF and spare those low-risk patients the risks, inconvenience and costs associated with anticoagulation therapy (Gage et al 2004). The use of the C HAD2 and CHAD2VASc score is advocated in the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines (2010), which recommends that if the patient has a CHAD score of 2 or above anticoagulation therapy such as warfarin or one of the newer drugs, such as dabigatran, should be prescribed. This view is supported by NICE guidance (2006) which analysed respective trials and concluded that warfarin significantly reduced the incidence of stroke and other vascular events in people with AF. NICE also discusses stroke risk stratification models, of which the CHAD2 score is one. It does not however make recommendations as to the best choice of tool. Patient * was the only one out of the case studies that had their stroke risk calculated using the CHAD scoring system and had it recorded in the notes. The reasons for this are unknown however the author hypothesises that perhaps as the other patients had greater apparent risk due to their existing co-morbidities, it was deemed unnecessary to actually perf orm the calculation as anticoagulation would ultimately be indicated. The author could argue here that if this was the case this generalisation goes against the concept of diversity. Warfarin has been widely accepted as the drug of choice for oral anticoagulant therapy, however newer drugs on the market such as dabigatran and rivaroxban have also been recommended as alternatives to warfarin , yet it is the authors experience that these are very rarely discussed with patients as alternative treatment and only seem to be prescribed when warfarin is not an option. The author believes the reason for this may be partly due to economic and geographical inequalities in health, a view shared by Abraham Marcy (2012) Wartak Bartholomew (2011). They concluded that compared to warfarin dabigatran was disadvantaged by the lack of knowledge about its use, its poor gastrointestinal tolerability and ultimately the cost which resulted in its limited use. Treatment decisions made for these patients were in keeping with National and European guidelines promoting access to treatment for all. Local guidelines however are under current review and were not available for scrutiny. As prescribers we must use all available information to ensure that we make the best evidence based prescribing decisions with our patients. Guidelines facilitate best practice but resources such as the British National Formulary (BNF) and the Electronic Medicines Compendium (EMC) are invaluable reference tools in facilitating best prescribing practice. In everyday practice healthcare professionals are expected to make judgements about what is best for their patients. The NMC (nnn) advocate that to practice in an ethically sound manner it is necessary to balance ethical considerations with professional values and relevant legislation. The ethical theory of principlism described by Beauchamp Childress (2008) considers the principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy and justice as the elements of ethical theory that are the most compatible in supporting decision-making within the healthcare system. Making ethical prescribing decisions is not a solitary activity, especially when the decision will impact upon another person. The ethos of quality patient care relies upon a team approach that supports the decision making of the patient, in partnership with the professionals, ensuring that the values and beliefs of the patient have been respected and acknowledged. 5. Demonstrate critical awareness of the roles and relationships of others involved in prescribing, supplying and administering medicines. Earlier discussion highlighted the importance of communication in developing the doctor-patient relationship and how consultations are either doctor or patient-centred. This is also true with regard to other professional relationships the patient may have with members of the multidisciplinary team, who are also involved in prescribing, supplying and administering their medications. A review of the supply, prescribing and administration of medicines by the DOH (1999), recommended that there should be two types of prescriber; independent and supplementary. An independent prescriber is responsible and accountable for the assessment of patients with undiagnosed or diagnosed conditions and for decisions about the clinical management requiredà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.supplementary prescribing is a voluntary partnership between a doctor or dentist and a supplementary prescriber to prescribe within an agreed patient specific clinical management plan, with the patients agreement NPC (2012). As a potential non-medical prescriber the author recognises the importance in understanding and applying the principles of good prescribing practice, in order to become an independent/supplementary prescriber. Doctors undertake training in prescribing as part of their undergraduate programme and are required to demonstrate this activity in order to obtain their registration. Their practice is guided and governed by the General Medical Council (GMC). Likewise nurses and midwives who are independent/supplementary prescribers, are governed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), whose regulatory standards and legislation require practitioners to be experienced before they undertake such training and in safeguarding the best interests of the patient, ensure that nurses and midwives remain up to date with the knowledge and skills that enable them to prescribe and administer drugs safely and effectively (NMC 2004, NPC 2012). Pharmacists whose governing body, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPC 2010), allow that a pharmacist independent prescriber may, after successful completion of an accredited course, prescribe autonomously for any condition within their clinical competence. Current legislation however only allows other multidisciplinary members such as radiographers and physiotherapists to be supplementary prescribers. During a patients stay in hospital, it is most likely they will enter into a medication consultation with at least one or two of the multidisciplinary members mentioned above. All the patients in the case studies had contact with a doctor, nurse and pharmacist. The doctors performed the initial consult at the patients admission and it is here that the initial drug history was taken. The nurse then administered the medication prescribed on the drug chart, giving the patients information about the drugs they were taking and potential side effects. This information was limited to their individual knowledge base. If the drug was unavailable then it was requested from the pharmacy department. The author observed the practice that occurred when an unavailable drug was requested. The initial process was simple, the doctor prescribed it and the ward nurse sent the drug chart and request slip to pharmacy. Once in pharmacy the process became more complex requiring the request to pass through s everal stations before being dispensed. Prior to this course the author had very little understanding as to how important the role of the pharmacist was. Pharmacists play an important role in improving a patients medication management during admission and through transitions of care from hospital to home. Weiss (2013) agreed that patients are often discharged from hospital with changes from their previous medication regimes, causing discrepancies and lack of understanding, which lead to non-adherence and adverse drug effects. The pharmacists spoken with by the author agreed that providing medication counselling in preparation for discharge is a large part of their role. Patient * and * who were commenced on warfarin, received counselling prior to discharge. The author was able to observe this practice. The session took place at the bedside which, upon reflection, was not conducive to this information exchange. Noise and interruptions from a confused patient in the next bed meant that the passage of information was often disrupted and had to be repeated. The pharmacist provided the patient with an information pack and discussed the drug, side effects, anticoagulant monitoring and lifestyle changes such as travel, diet, recreational activities and dental visits. NICE medicines adherence guidance (2009) advocate the importance of providing patients with both written and verbal information in order to make an informed choice. For patient * and *, verbal information was given prior to prescription, but the written information was only provided after the patient had agreed to treatment. Providing all the information beforehand could increase patient conse nt to treatment (Elwyn et al 2006). Considering the role of others within the prescribing team has led the author to examine and reflect upon her own role. The author entered this course with knowledge and competence in diagnosing a patient with an acute coronary syndrome and questioned why such a broad prescribing knowledge was necessary. It is the view of Lymn et al (2010) that non-medical prescribers within a narrow specialist field often ask this question. Taylor Field (2007) believe the answer to be because advancements in medicine have meant that patients are often able to live with chronic disease and multiple co-morbidities. Becoming a prescribing student has given the author insight into what she did not know and what she never realised she needed to know. Conclusion. At the beginning the author posed the question, Anticoagulate or not to anticoagulate? In order to answer this, the author explored some of the processes involved in prescribing and through the use of case histories, linked theory to practice with analytical discussion. The answer to the question is clear, there is no one true answer. It is the authors conclusion that each case for anticoagulation must be viewed separately. Each patient is different, their understanding, their views and their pathophysiology all are unique. As practitioners it is our duty to provide our patients with the information and support they need in order to make informed choices. As prescribing practitioners these responsibilities are increased. Using the process of accountable practice as described by Lymn et al (2010), it is essential that we analyse our responsibilities as accountable prescribers and in doing so consider each prescribing situation on its own merits.

Binge Drinking :: essays research papers

Binge Drinking   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We all know what it is like to wake up in the morning, your head is aching, and your body feels like it was hit by a big garbage truck. College students worldwide know this feeling. These are the results of binge drinking. Why do they do it?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Binge drinking is defined for men as drinking five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks, and for women as drinking four r more drinks in a row ( ICAP 1). This has become a great pastime for college students nationwide and a major concern on many campuses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A survey taken by students attending Yale University in 1997 showed the average binge drinker profile to be white, lacking religious participation, athletic, and members of fraternities or sororities (ICAP 4). Contrary to popular belief, year in school (i.e. freshman, sophomore, etc.) was not a significant factor in binge drinking, despite the fact that students under 21 would still participate in the drinking activities (NCADI 3). Studies show that binge drinking can start in high school and continue through college (ICAP 4). Twenty-eight percent of high school seniors have already associated with binge drinking (ICAP, 4).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The question of why students continue to submit themselves to alcohol is unknown. While many reasons are given, students generally fall into three categories (Kaufman 2). Peer Pressure is one of the main reasons students feel as if they need to binge drink. They do this because their peers are doing it and they want to fit in better. Insecurity is another incentive as to why students binge drink. College life can be very stressful, and drinking can sometimes become a â€Å"crutch† to make up for it (Kaufman 2). Students also binge drink to help them solve their problems. They turn to alcohol to aid themselves with hiding their feelings and numb their pain for a while.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many consequences of binge drinking. Health problems and social problems are just a few. Nausea, having a â€Å"hangover† and memory loss are just a few of the short-term effects of binge drinking. The more serious and long-term consequences of binge drinking can result in higher chances of stroke, heart disease, and brain tumors (ICAP 2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Frequent binge drinkers have the most serious problems. These people are seven to sixteen times more likely, than non-binge drinkers to have missed classes, gotten behind in their school work, engaged in unplanned sexual activity, and not used protection during sexual intercourse, had run-ins with campus police, damaged property, or been injured or hurt (NCADI 2).

The Country of Liberia :: Africa Profile Geography Anthropology Essays

The Country of Liberia This paper is about a small country on the west coast of Africa called Liberia. It is a country built with the help of The American Colonization Society. It was established to place freed blacks in the days of slavery in the United States in the 1800s. The government was modeled after the United States. Monrovia, the capital and principal, port is named after a president of the united states, James Monroe. This country has historical significance for african Americans. As Africa's oldest republic, established by former black American slaves, Liberia played and important role as a model for African colones seeking independence. HISTORY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Liberia's tribal peoples migrated to the area between the 12th and 16th centuries. The Portuguese arrived in 1461 and began a trade in ivory, pepper, and later in slaves. In 1820, the first colonists arrived. Their successful settlement was named Monrovia in 1824. More colonists gradually arrived and established separate colonies. In 1847 the colonies united and Liberia became the first independent republic in black Africa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The new nation faced many problems. Some of them were tribal wars, low exports, and land claimed by other countries. Liberia was able to maintain its independence only with the help of the United States. Following World War II, the modern port, airport, hospitals, hydroelectric station, and other projects, all financed by the United States, were opened. There has been frequent military conflicts and civil wars. In August 1990, forces from several African countries entered Liberia to try and stop the bloody civil wars. The fighting only became worse and the Prospects of a negotiated settlement were dim. LAND AND RESOURCES   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Liberia's straight sandy coast is 350 miles long. It is broken by lagoons and mangrove swamps. It gives way to a low rolling plain about 20 miles wide. Further inland, foothills ranging in height from 600 to 1000 feet high are found. They become mountains in the north and east. The highest point in the country is Mt. Wutuvi which rises to 4,531 feet. Land area of the country is 43,000 square miles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Liberia's rivers are short and flow parallel to one another from the mountains to the ocean. The largest rivers are the St. Paul, St. John, and Cavalla.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Liberia's tropical climate is hot and humid. The usual temperature ranges from 60 degrees to 87 degrees. Annual rainfall, as much as 177 inches at the coast, gradually decreases inland to 96 inches. The rainy season occurs between May and October. A dusty winter wind blows during December.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are 90 different kind of usable wood in Liberia's vast timber resources. Mineral resources include large deposits of iron ore, diamonds, and

The Woman Warrior :: essays research papers

Love Medicine Lipsha Morrisey's confusion about his place in society results in his combining both old Indian traditions with new American ideas in an attempt to discover himself and his place in society. Although this combination ultimately ends with disaster, Lipsha uncovers a powerful lesson about love. Lipsha's first mistake begins when he decides to concoct a "love medicine". Fearing for Nector and Marie's relationship, he draws from old Indian superstitions since "these love medicines is something of an old Chippewa specialty" (241). But in reality, while the idea of the love charm was born in Indian tradition, Lipsha strays into the American realm when creating the charm. Instead of the hearts of wild geese that the spell requires, Lipsha buys turkey hearts from the grocery story, a completely American creation. Shunning the Chippewa gods, Lipsha instead attempts to have the hearts blessed by a catholic priest. His attempts at playing love doctor backfire when Nector chokes on the turkey heart and dies. Yet even though Lipsha repents and realizes "it was all my fault for playing with power I did not understand", Nector's true love for Marie is allowed the chance to be revealed when his spirit returns for a final fairwell (255). Lipsha knows that since the love medicine was a fraud, Nector's love was real. "He loved you over time and distanceIt's true feeling, not no magic. No supermarket heart could have brung him back" (257). Much like his decision to "Americanize" ancient Indian love spells, Lipsha mentally "Americanizes" whatever seems to reflect the old culture. His observations of people and life reflect his susceptibility to American influences. Throughout the chapter, he makes references to video games and pinball machines when describing something. Death has always been an important part of Indian culture, as evidenced in numerous myths and legends. American Indians believe the soul is a tangible object, existing in all living objects. As a person dies, the soul departs, and travels to a realm of spirits. When Nector lays dying on the floor, Lipsha draws from his Indian heritage, the respect and awe of the soul while describing it with an American twist. "Time was flashing back and forth like a pinball machine.

Environmental Issues In Australia Environmental Sciences Essay

Climate alteration has come to a halt and is now a major political speaking point in Australia in the last two decennaries. Persistent drouth and ensuing H2O limitations during the first decennary of the 21st century are an illustration of natural events attributed by the mainstream media to climate alteration 1.1 Energy usage Australia is a major exporter and consumer of coal, the burning of which liberates CO2. Consequently, in 2003 Australia was the 8th highest emitter of CO2 gases per capita in the universe emancipating 16.5 metric tons per capita. Australia is claimed to be one of the states most at hazard from clime alteration harmonizing to the Stern study. Most of Australia ‘s demand for electricity depends upon coal-burning thermic coevals, owing to the plentiful autochthonal coal supply, limited potency for hydro-electric coevals and political involuntariness to work autochthonal uranium resources ( although Australia accounted for the universe ‘s 2nd highest production of U in 2005 ) to fuel a ‘carbon impersonal ‘ domestic atomic energy plan 2 Conservation Conservation in Australia is an issue of province and federal policy. Australia is one of the most biologically diverse states in the universe, with a big part of species endemic to Australia. Continuing this wealth of biodiversity is of import for future coevalss. A cardinal preservation issue is the saving of biodiversity, particularly by protecting the staying rain forests. The devastation of home ground by human activities, including land glade, remains the major cause of biodiversity loss in Australia. The importance of the Australian rain forests to the preservation motion is really high. Australia is the lone western state to hold big countries of rain forest intact. Forests provide lumber, drugs, and nutrient and should be managed to maximise the possible utilizations. Presently, there are a figure of environmental motions and candidates recommending for action on salvaging the environment, one such run is the Big Switch and I Love Earth. Land direction issues including clearance of native flora, reafforestation of once-cleared countries, control of alien weeds and plagues, enlargement of dryland salt, and changed fire governments. Intensification of resource usage in sectors such as forestry, piscaries, and agribusiness are widely reported to lend to biodiversity loss in Australia. Coastal and Marine environments besides have reduced biodiversity from decreased H2O quality caused by pollution and deposits originating from human colonies and agribusiness. In cardinal New South Wales where there are big fields of grassland, jobs have risen fromaa‚ ¬ † unusual to sayaa‚ ¬ † deficiency of land glade. The Daintree Rainforest, a tropical rain forest near Daintree, Queensland covering around 1200 square kilometers, is threatened by logging, development, excavation and the effects of the high tourer Numberss. 3 Invasive species Australia ‘s geographical isolation has resulted in the development of many delicate ecological relationships that are sensitive to foreign encroachers and in many cases provided no natural marauders for many of the species later introduced. Introduced workss that have caused widespread jobs are lantana and the bristly pear shrub. The debut and spread of animate beings such as the cane frog or coney can interrupt the bing balances between populations and develop into environmental jobs. The debut of cowss into Australia and to a lesser extent the warrigal, are other illustrations of species that have changed the landscape. In some instances the debut of new species can take to pestilences and the extinction of endemic species. The introduced species ruddy fox has single-handedly caused the extinction of several species. Tasmania takes the menace of ruddy fox debut so earnestly that it has a authorities sponsored taskforce to forestall fox populations from taking clasp on the island 4 Land glade In the prehistoric culture of Australia the autochthonal Australians used fire-stick farming which was an early signifier of land glade which caused long term alterations to the ecology. With European colonization land uncluttering continued on a larger graduated table for agribusiness – peculiarly for cowss, cotton and wheat production. Since European colony a sum of 13 % of native flora screen has been lost. The extinction of 20 different mammals, 9 bird and 97 works species have been partly attributed to set down glade. Land glade is a major beginning of Australiaaa‚ ¬a„?s nursery gas emanations, and contributed to about 12 per centum of Australiaaa‚ ¬a„?s entire emanations in 1998. The effects of land uncluttering include dryland salt and dirt eroding. These are a major concern to the landcare motion in Australia. The glade of native flora is controlled by Federal Torahs ( indirectly ) , State jurisprudence and local planning instruments. The precise inside informations of ordinance of flora glade differ harmonizing to the location where glade is proposed. 5 Waterway wellness The protection of waterways in Australia is a major concern for assorted grounds including home ground and biodiversity, but besides due to utilize of the waterways by worlds. The Murray-Darling Basin is under menace due to irrigation in Australia, doing high degrees of salt which affect agribusiness and biodiversity in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. These rivers are besides affected by pesticide run-off and drouth. 6 Water usage Water usage is a major sustainability issue in Australia. During times of drought Water limitations in Australia apply to conserve H2O. Climate alteration may escalate drouth in Australia seting force per unit area on H2O resources and taking to alternate H2O beginnings including building of Water armored combat vehicles, dikes, Water transit and desalinization workss many of which affect H2O catchments and set increasing force per unit area on the environment. www.tu.org/ www.abc.net.au/news/topic/mining-environmental-issues www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2009/12/07/2764044.htm www.fwrgroup.com.au/10-environmental-problems.html www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/ †¦ /46130_2010.pd†¦

Jessica Victim or Villian

Within the content of this essay I will be discussing about two main characters in this novel. Jessica and Shylock. Jessica being the daughter of Shylock with both following the Jewish religion. However Jessica passionately falls in love with a Christian man Lorenzo, she is very determined and enthusiastic to be with this man. To such an extent that she would leave her religion and her father to become a Christian and follow her desires. Your probably be wanting to know a bit more about these characters well let me briefly explain in regards to both of Shylock and Jessica’s characters. Firstly Jessica, she has a very enthusiastic and opinionated character and like I previously mentioned she is very determined so if she wants something she will strive until she gains what she wants. You can also perceive Jessica to be a shy self- conscious character who cares what others think about her. Shylock from what we have gathered from the book so far is a greedy, self-obsessed man who cares a bit too much about his money and gains more than the things which matter more. The things which more attention should be paid to. In Shakespeare’s book and this particular one (The merchant of Venice) you will see that there are different ways of interpreting things different sections which can mean different things. In this evaluation I will be doing that. I will be equally evaluating Jessica’s character and I will be interpreting the book in 2 different ways a victim and a villain. And it will be up to you to decide how you perceive it. The first way which the audience can interpret Jessica’s character is as a victim. This is shown in the book in many ways some of which are; when it is said by Jessica ‘I may be a daughter to his blood, but I am not related to his lifestyles’. This quote shows how Jessica is showing how she is totally distinctive to her father and although she is his daughter this does not mean that they both hold the same qualities and characteristics. Jessica does not want to be related to his lifestyles as the quote mentions. This could be because she resents the way he treats others and the way he is malicious and evil towards other people. But the audience would probably think he’s only evil to them because of the way he is treated by others. Yes I would agree but it is not only others he treats badly, it is also his daughter. Furthermore throughout the amount we have read so far there has been a number of times when Shylock has slandered his daughter and he has said ‘I would my daughter be dead at my foot’. This is the quote that stood out to me because no father would ever wish or say that they would want their daughter dead at their foot. That clearly indicates how much love Shylock has for Jessica. (Not a lot). And when you think that this is something Jessica’s father has said behind his daughters back I dread to think what has been said face to face between them. So his self-centred character makes Jessica the victim, the self -centred man who cares so much about his wealth and silver forgets the fact his daughter has gone and abandoned him. In Act 3 Scene 3 when Shylock first discovers that his daughter has gone away with his wealth his first acknowledgment in fact the first sentence he says is ‘Oh,oh,oh! One of the stolen diamonds cost me two thousand ducats in Frankfurt! This is what kind of man I have been explaining in the above two paragraphs one that is having a big frenzy over his wealth and about all the stolen diamonds and its high value. This sums up his unloving selfish character. Also the stress of his voice in this can be imagined. There are two exclamation marks so you can imagine him talking in a very intense antagonized fearsome voice with firing rage and at the same time very astounded that his daughter has taken his possessions. Moreover the same interpretation of Jessica being shown as a victim. However this time I will not be referring to the way Jessica has been poorly treated by Shylock I will be referring to a different point that being; that the money the jewels everything which her father possess would be inherited to his daughter after his death. So really all which Jessica did steal is all that is hers. So I don’t understand why Shylock was as furious. As he knew it would be hers someday but it was just sooner then he had expected. And because of this reason I feel that it was out of order to say what he said about Jessica when she was entitled to what she has stolen. And at this point in the story we don’t know whether the jewels had been stolen. It could be perceived that she had borrowed from her to then return but we don’t know! So because the audience do not know and Shylock did not know I felt that it was very biased for us to Judge Jessica on that like Shylock did. Now I am moving on to the second interpretation, which is regarding Jessica to be the villain which is another way which the audience can perceive Jessica to be. Jessica can be portrayed as a egotistical, inconsiderate character especially towards her father as she ran away with his money and Jewels which he worked hard to gain. It was already hard enough for Shylock being a Jew and not being able to attain money as freely as others and Jessica totally disregarded this factor and went off with his money. And yes Shylock may have had his faults but let’s be honest Jessica was quite disloyal breaking her father’s trust in the worst possible way. In the novel Shylock says ‘Listen to me Jessica lock my doors up’ here Shylock clearly states to lock the doors and not to open them again she broke this trust and as well as opening the doors to engage with a Christian she then went and stole all his money. This was a total betrayal of trust, and considering all she had done her father was quite reasonable. In addition to show Jessica’s evil villain like character. I would like to point out how I feel Jessica forgot the fact the Shylock was bringing her up on her own without a mother without anyone else he was bringing her up on his own. He clothe her fed her sheltered her gave her everything she possibly needed and for what? For Jessica to change religion, steal run away with a Christian man. Also she was very blind to the understanding of how the Christians loathed him because of their prejudice towards his religion. They spat on him, kicked him, called him a dog. And regardless of this ill-mannered treatment she left her father to be disgraced on his own with no other defender by his side. This was very egocentric of her and she should be very ashamed of what she has done to her father. After he has done so much for her alone. In conclusion, I would like to address what I feel about Jessica’s character. I feel that Jessica was a villain she was totally perfidious to her father. She was blinded from reality and to notice that he had been badly treated. If it is that she did notice and decided not to do anything then she was being totally selfish and heartless. But that is my opinion different people have different opinions. In addition the audience could view Jessica to be either a villain or a victim. There are equally as many points for each showing she is and is not a villain. So it is totally up to the reader to decide whether Shylocks greedy character made Jessica the victim, or if Jessica’s betrayal to her father made her a villain. It’s up to you to decide, but you may find that as you get into the novel these opinions may change.

George Orwell Essay

A comparison between Dickens’ â€Å"hard times† & Orwell’s â€Å"1984† I am writing about two novels that seem to come across as very different. Orwell’s novel portraying a nightmarish image of his opinionated future of Britain. Where as Dickens’ novel creates a vision to represent Victorian education over 150 years ago. Both of these storylines dehumanise and dictate a society, both of very different kinds. Charles Dickens and George Orwell’s novels differ in the recreation of the society and in the plot of the actual storyline. The innocence of the children and the bleak severity of the head teacher is what dickens’ focuses on to display his thoughts of Victorian schools. In which Orwell depicts a society where everything is bleak and distraught and dictated by a soulless party, â€Å"BIG BROTHER†. Further more both novels were written at totally different generations, Dickens being the Victorian times and Orwell’s being the mid nineteen hundreds. Despite all these issues that divide the novels apart they seem to come across as very similar. Within closer inspection of the novels they seem to both control and authorise their societies. Orwell has used an empowering character as his leader; he has created a party lead by â€Å"BIG BROTHER†. Where as in Dickens’ approach to create a leader he has used a less excessive and extreme character called â€Å"Mr Gradgrind†, the head teacher who only implicates facts. Although he may not be as demanding as Orwell’s approach, he uses satire to dissolve the pupil’s mentality. Both of these characters apply a very dominating attitude towards there audience and offer them no thought and identity. â€Å"Girl number 20† â€Å"6079 Smith† Both authors have produced an atmosphere where people who are commanded by them, are clarified as mindless objects; rather than individuals with an imagination. This strips them down to nothing but factorised minds in one case, and an imagination that hardly existed in Orwell’s novel. In an extract from ‘Hard times’, the author disembowels the imagination of the students and use the idea of ‘Morgiana & the 40 thieves’. â€Å"Not unlike Morgiana looking into all the vessels ranged before him†¦ † This gives an idea of ‘Mr Gradgrind’ pouring the facts from his factorised mind, into the students damaged imagination. This compares with Orwell’s approach, where â€Å"BIG BROTHER† brutally demolishes the entire imagination and thought, as they suffer in a decayed dystopia. An additional contrast linking the novels together is, the stern and domineering party in both societies. The â€Å"BIG BROTHER† party emphasises the issue of them surveying the society of the party members and this is persistently repeated in the novel. In which ‘Mr Gradgrind’ constantly stresses the importance of facts and crushes the children’s minds, until they grasp the significance of facts. â€Å"In this life, we want nothing but facts, sir; nothing but facts† † BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU† These two quotations illustrate the emphasis and constant repetition of the parties. The author uses these effects to not only get the picture imprinted in the mind of the characters, but also into the readers. Furthermore, the BIG BROTHER party in Orwell’s novel, links very well with Dickens’ criticizing character, ‘Mr Gradgrind’. These two characters both contrast and appear as very similar in personality and in appearance. They both are displayed with a face that jolts the reader, and creates in their imagination; a daunting and depressing figure. â€Å"The black-moustachioed face gazed down†¦ while the dark eyes looked into Winston’s own† â€Å"While his eyes found commodious cellarage in two dark caves, over shadowed by the wall† The first quotation is Orwell showing his opinion of BIG BROTHER gazing with fear, and this compares extremely well with dickens’ attempt to create the same sort of atmosphere. Dickens expresses more scarce by using a metaphor to show his view of a leader, he also goes into more detail about the bold figure of ‘Mr Gradgrind’. Not only do they link well in appearance, but also in attitude towards their society. Both seem to dictate, and show immense power on the regulations of their own society. In conclusion, I feel that both authors have created a society and atmosphere; that both link together and show many similarities. Although they may well both show differences, they don’t even compare with the shear amount of evidence that link the novels together. Each author has created authority, control and power to create an atmosphere that can dictate a whole society. In this case the societies are very alike and the tone of speech used by each author is much the same. In my opinion, these two novels equally portray a society that can create a vision for the reader to see a glimpse of the past or what may be a glimpse of the future.

Brazil Government Essay

Brazil entered the new millennium mired in economic difficulties. Macroeconomic conditions will have a great influence on political stability, what kinds of laws are passed, the ability of businesses to succeed, the pace at which new technology is used, the availability of jobs, and on incomes, poverty and crime. Brazil is a constitutional republic of federated states, the federal districts, and territories. This present constitution was proclaimed in October 1988, replacing a 1969 document. The states of Brazil have their own government with the powers in all matters not specifically reserved for the Brazilian government. The 1988 constitution abolished the national Security Law, which had been used to stifle political disagreement; outlaws torture. The National Security Law provided for various forms of popular voting, initiatives, and referendums; forbids virtually all forms of censorship; guarantees privacy rights and extends the right to strike to all workers. The military retains its power to intervene in the political system to preserve law and order. Brazil has long been recognized for its large population, great natural resources, bold ideas and potential for growth. It has made progress in economic adjustment over the last several years, opening trade, reducing inflation, succeeding with privatization and garnering investor confidence. However, there have been concerns inside and outside of the country about government finances and especially public pensions, political stability and political will, vulnerability to international economic and financial developments and to the return of high inflation, relatively low investment in export industries, and the social and political consequences of income inequality. Several studies on Brazilian public opinion towards this country’s vulnerability and its domestic stability prove there is consensus that vulnerability is an impeding factor to the country’s aspiration to a more strategic place among the world powers. The Brazilian elite views the interests of their country and those of the U. S. as essentially incompatible. During the Expansion of 1600’s, Gold was discovered. Brazil’s other natural resources are bauxite, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, and timber. General Electric is among the many powerful transnational corporations and UE employers with factories in Brazil. Economy overview is possessing large nd well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service sectors, Brazil’s economy outweighs that of all other South American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. The maintenance of large current account deficits via capital account surpluses became problematic as investors became more risk averse to emerging market exposure as a consequence of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the Russian bond default in August 1998. After crafting a fiscal adjustment program and pledging progress on structural reform, Brazil received a $41. billion IMF led international support program in November 1998. In January 1999, Brazilian Central Bank announces that the real would no longer be pegged to the US dollar. This devaluation helped moderate the downturn in economic growth in 1999 that investors had expressed concerns about over the summer of 1998, and the country posted moderate GDP growth. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-2002 to less than 2% because of a slowdown in major markets and the hiking of interest rates by Central Bank to combat inflationary pressures. Poor economic conditions may lead to resistance to external cultural influences, while improvement may mean greater acceptance of practices associated with success in other nations and more interaction with cultures that differ in behavior or values. Economic recovery and growth may ease the difficulties of restructuring business and public affairs and opening markets to competition. It may lead to more trade and foreign investment, and a greater role for Brazil in the region and the world. Alternatively, crises may be the catalysts for change and adaptation to a changing world. The international debt crisis of the early l980s led multinational agencies, the governments of wealthy nations, and a growing number of poorer nations to adopt a reform agenda intended to restore economic stability, restart growth, reduce debt to manageable proportions, and restructure economies to reduce their vulnerability and improve prospects for sustained growth. This international reform agenda expanded dramatically in the course of the l980s and l990s. At the beginning of the debt crisis, attention focused on macro-economic stabilization measures. That initial task was quickly expanded to include structural changes regarded as essential to restore growth and reduce debt. John Williamson’s 1989 summary of the Washington Consensus listed, in addition to fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate measures, reforms to reduce government intervention and permit markets to function more effectively, including trade and financial liberalization, increased receptivity to foreign direct investment, deregulation, and privatization. These structural changes mostly entailed dismantling government regulations and restrictions on private economic transactions. The closest the Consensus came to more complex institutional reforms was the rather tentative inclusion, as the very last item, of property rights protection. Williamson noted that this was intended to signal recognition that institutional features were also important determinants of growth. By l989 the World Bank was beginning to use a broader concept, â€Å"creation of an enabling environment [for effective markets]. Williamson remarked that concept might be preferable, but it remained largely undefined. More than a decade later, at the beginning of the new century, the reform agenda has ballooned to include a broad array of institutional reforms, and to emphasize poverty reduction as well as growth and stability. Responsible macro-economic management and reduced state intervention in the economy remain crucial, but they are now viewed as far from sufficient for growth and poverty reduction. Reform of the state itself, including the civil service, the police, the system of justice, and reduced corruption are part of the essential â€Å"enabling environment. † Social sector reforms in pensions, health and education, as well as far-reaching changes in labor markets and industrial relations are also squarely on the expanded international agenda. These further reforms are much more demanding than the initial agenda: they require not merely the dismantling of regulations, tariffs, and subsidies but fundamental changes in the design and operations of core public functions and institutions. The Brazilian society is divided in those who approve Cardoso’s programs of stabilization and reforms, and those who favor a rather ‘desarrollista’ (developmental) kind of policy. Those who blame the government and those who blame the opposition for the failure in adopting the reforms needed to avoid the financial crisis regionally, neighboring countries agreed upon Brazil’s high performance in industry, trade, new investments and competitiveness, but their evaluation of Brazil’s ability to guarantee economic and political stability were rather low. In contrast, the Brazilian public opinion proved much more confident concerning this matter. When the analysis of the public opinion takes into account structural factors, long-term policy results and a rather contemporary perception of competitiveness, it excludes short-term populist expectations, paternalistic and contradictory demand and any resentful mood concerning the international context and the globalized economy. The politics of economic reforms have been much analyzed over the past two decades. The question of what political capacities and institutional arrangements are key to effective reforms has been one major focus of attention. During the l970s and l980s there was an on-going debate between those who asserted that only authoritarian governments could sustain sufficient macro-economic discipline to manage economies effectively, and those who challenged that view. By the late l980s, it was quite clear that broad generalizations about types of regimes — democracies versus authoritarian systems — were far too crude to offer useful generalizations and explanations. A much narrower version of the old debate persisted, however, in the effort to determine whether effective economic reforms required considerable concentration of executive authority and power (within the framework of more or less democratic as well as authoritarian systems). Party leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (known universally as Lula), will stick to his recent promises of honoring outstanding contacts. Lula inherited an economy in shambles. Working people suffered as the former government carried out neoliberal policies, including privatization and cutbacks in social programs. Two million people are unemployed in Sao Paolo alone, the most industrialized region in Brazil, with 1. 5 million young people entering the labor force each year. Lula’s government decided to continue neoliberal monetary policies to reassure business and encourage investment. The results have helped regain economic stability: the value of bonds has increased from 38 to 90 percent of their face value, meaning that far less is spent on public debt. Banks lowered Brazil’s risk assessment. Credit lines are back and new lines of credit are open. But these results reflect decisions by the government to maintain high interest rates and prioritize growth over income distribution at least in the short run. At the time of the CUT congress, the new government’s most controversial proposal aimed at cutting retirement payments to higher-paid public employees, averting bankruptcy of the system and moving towards an equalization of public and private benefits. This is essentially a proposal from the old government. Default is inevitable, and should be undertaken by Lula as soon as possible, because delaying default simply increases Brazil’s liabilities. Brazil’s ratio of debt to gross domestic product, even after more than $100 billion of privatization proceeds, has doubled since Fernando Henrique Cardoso became president in 1994, from about 30 percent to 58 percent today – a figure that is climbing as the Brazilian real declines. Of this debt, approximately 20 percent is international (after the country’s foreign exchange reserves have been netted out), of which half is owed to the international financial institutions. In addition, a very large portion of Brazil’s debt is greatly increased in cost by economic turmoil. Forty percent of total debt is denominated in dollars, so increases as a percentage of GDP when the Brazilian real drops in value against the dollar. An additional 37 percent of debt is linked to the Selic overnight money market rate, so becomes very expensive when, as for most of the last 8 years, uncertainty raises domestic interest rates. A further 8 percent of Brazil’s total debt is inflation-linked, so has been a â€Å"good deal† for the country in the last eight years but could become very expensive if the country returns to hyperinflation. Brazil’s public debt over the 1994-2001 period was 16. 1 percent a year, and the projected real interest rate on Brazil’s public debt for 2002 is 21 percent. If interest rates remain at these levels, the debt will become unmanageable, rising above 100 percent of GDP in 2006-2009, and spiraling thereafter, if policy remains as at present. Brazil’s balance of payments would also be a problem, because public debt is 4 times the level of the country’s export earnings. The government’s economic policy in 1994-2002 has followed IMF recommendations closely, and been fairly restrictive, with the primary budget surplus (before interest payments) in the range of 3 percent to 4 percent of GDP, although in Cardoso’s first term, 1994-98, budgetary policy was less tight, with only a small primary surplus. The first popularly elected president in Brazil in 30 years, Fernando Collor de Mello took office on March 15, 1990. In September 1992, Collor was impeached by the lower house of the Brazilian legislature on charges of corruption. In December 1992, Collor resigned as president of Brazil, and the Brazilian Senate convicted him of the corruption charges. There needs to be a change in Brazilians’ elite mentality of entitlement and privilege – in detriment of the nation’s general good. This mentality was inherited from colonial times. Brazilian society is very corrupt and stratified. Each class defends very specific and sometimes conflicting interests, dismissing what is best for the country as a whole. This will take time to change and until it does, the country won’t live up to its potential. Brazil will only have a bright future when its basic needs such as health and education and issues such as social inequality and wealth concentration are dealt with in a continuous and serious manner. In Brazil, the role of government is much more intrusive than in the United States. This is not only a matter of taxation, but also in legal organization and in the regulatory role. In small and medium businesses, this aspect is less evident. In large-scale foreign investment situations, a close personal official relationship is fundamental. Lobbying by large corporations and trade groups is even more aggressive than in U. S. Government contracts are often awarded according to relationships and connections rather than pure technical or financial merit. This is a result of the paternalistic, nepotistic culture that has existed for hundreds of years. Brazil has one of the most complex systems of tax law in the world, which consequently makes Brazilian goods more expensive because companies pay more taxes than in other countries. Brazil’s overall tax burden is equivalent to 30% of the country’s gross domestic product, while neighboring countries such as Chile and Argentine have a tax burden equivalent to 15% and 20% of gross domestic product respectively. Experts say that due to the high tax rates, tax evasion is estimated to be 30% of the total revenue. The Brazilian government is seeking a constitutional change that would simplify the country’s tax system and so make Brazilian goods more competitive internationally. Pedro Parente, executive secretary at the Finance Ministry said the government plans to propose a constitutional amendment to eliminate taxes on industrialized products, a state value-added tax, a city tax on services and two types of social contributions. It place of all that, the government would like to impose a nationwide value-added tax, state and city consumer taxes and an excise tax on a select list of products as well as remove value-added taxes on goods for export. To change the tax system, the government must amend the constitution, which requires approval by two- fifths of both lower and upper houses of Congress in two voting rounds. New president DA SILVA, who took office January 1, 2003, has given priority to reforming the complex tax code, trimming the overblown civil service pension system, and continuing the fight against inflation. Tax revenues were indexed to inflation but many government expenditures were not. Salaries were frozen; basic goods were only chilled down a bit. Government spending far exceeded income, so inflation worked as a mechanism to hide the sins of the federal government. For most of the latter half of the 20th century, inflation has been a way of life for the Brazilians. Basically this was a tax imposed on the poor, allowing government to spend freely. It has been for more than four decades a primary source of public sector financing. In short, different kinds of reforms pose quite different political challenges, for reasons intrinsic to the character of the reforms themselves. The fact that late-stage reform agendas concentrate on complex institutional reforms helps to explain why the pace of reform in most countries almost always slows substantially after initial stages. To move beyond the broadest generalizations regarding the politics of economic reform and the capacities required to promote them, the concept of reform itself must be taken apart. Different kinds of reforms pose quite different political challenges. Even the different phases of any specific reform entail different political tasks and demand different tactics and capacities. Discussions of the politics of reform often fail to recognize these variations. Many economists used to B and some still do B talk about â€Å"political will† on the part of top-level leaders as the necessary and sufficient requirement for effective reform. Some of the metaphorical language used in discussions of reform convey a similar message: â€Å"bite the bullet†, â€Å"just do it. That implicit image of the reform process may roughly describe a single-shot devaluation decision. But it is clearly very misleading for more complex measures. Recognizing the varied character and political challenges of different reforms, and the tendency for complex institutional changes to be late and slow are first steps toward understanding why some kinds of reforms move faster than others, and why the pace of reforms tend to slow down almost everywhere. At the far end of the spectrum are systemic reforms in the major social services, primarily education and health care finance and delivery. Multiple models are available, influenced by very different national and regional traditions and histories. More important, there is only limited consensus among technical specialists regarding basic principles of reform. Experts argue bitterly over the merits of, say, single-payer health care systems or charter schools. They agree only very partially on the principles that should guide the degree and design of privatization or decentralization. Therefore, public debate regarding the design and priorities of reform tends to be diffuse and inconclusive. Even after initial agreement is reached regarding social service reforms, implementing them is extremely complex. Executive agencies and legislatures at national, state, and local levels are usually involved. Reforms intended to increase efficiency and save money in the long-run may nonetheless have high up-front costs. Not only the Ministry of Finance but often sub-national financial authorities must concur. Many social sector reforms require years to implement. A great deal of detailed information is required to fine-tune design of successive steps. Much of that information is not available without new arrangements to gather it. All of these complications are reinforced by the fact that, even where there is widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo, postponing action does not carry obvious and prompt risks. The varied character of different reforms — availability or absence of a consensus model or clear parameters for debate, timetable, number and variety of actors, information requirements, apparent costs of delay — shape the political challenges. If many actors must co-operate to put a reform into effect, any one of them can weaken or stop the reform. In other words, there are many potential veto actors. Decisions taken by the executive run high risks of being blocked in the legislature or sabotaged in the course of implementation. Moreover, the large number of actors increases transaction and enforcement costs. If implementation takes many years, there are many potential veto opportunities. The length of time required to get most complex institutional reforms up and running also means that the benefits of the reforms may not become apparent for some time. Therefore it may be hard to mobilize pro-reform coalitions to counter opposition from vested interests, which are likely to resist from the outset. Information requirements also affect the course of reform. Lack of information may stall action; new information may alter perceptions and reopen debates. Complex institutional reforms are the result of an extended process, not an event. The process is subject to stops and starts; issues regarded as closed may be re-opened and steps already taken may need to be repeated. The process is not linear, but iterative. The varied characteristics of different kinds of reforms also suggests why reforms in some sectors have made much more progress than others, in cross-national perspective. For example, far-reaching pension reforms have been adopted in many more countries, in and beyond Latin America, than have introduced similarly basic changes in education or health care systems. In conclusion, I believe that International Widgets will find that Brazil would be a great place to open shop (do new business). Brazil’s future is largely in it’s own hands. With there constitutional tax reform there are many changes which in turn will enhance social rights such a job stability, foreign and national capital enterprise, and several other areas pertaining to basic human rights. Brazil risks serious setbacks and instability if it fails to proceed with reform. Inflation, government spending and foreign investment has remained stable. There was general agreement on the need for policy changes. International pressures will help Brazil to make difficult but necessary choices. There was strong agreement that Brazil would benefit from becoming more international in its business relationships. Nearly all believed Brazil needed to expand its export industries. However, three out of four felt that Brazil was highly vulnerable to international economic and financial disruptions. Doing more to deal with social issues now is important to maintain stability so growth can proceed. Brazil’s economy will soon recover from its recession. -Brazilians believed that Brazil’s economy will be more stable in the future and so do I. Brazil will continue to have to strike a difficult balance between budget cutting and other policies to promote economic growth and addressing social issues. Domestic stability, in a context of vulnerability to external shocks resulting from globalized factors, is distinctively credited to political, economic and demographic processes whose outcomes can only be expected to occur in the long run. A transition towards a more pragmatic, pedestrian view of politics and politicians is emerging and a highly demanding electorate should be expected to voice new interests and needs.