The financial ratios of Rolls Royce and its major competitors Essay

The financial ratios of Rolls Royce and its major competitors - Essay Example According to the research findings every business, no matter small or large, constantly evaluates its company’s performance by comparing it with competitors, industry and its own past performance. In order to do so, businesses not only look at the figures of sales, profit and costs but also prepare other criterion for measuring performance which helps in reading between the lines of financial statements. The most widely known and reliable approach of evaluating a firm’s performance is by calculating and comparing its financial ratios. The basic reason for doing so is because this information is understandable for every person who has some level of knowledge of financial concepts. By comparing the ratios with the competitor of the firm or with its past performance, a clear idea can be obtained. For this purpose, the company which has been chosen is Roll Royce. It is a diversified company having its operations in the field of aerospace, nuclear market, civil defense and m arine and energy. It was founded in 1971 and has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. Activity Ratio also called as Liquidity Ratio helps a firm in determining the ability of a firm to meet its current liabilities. Activity Ratio is that investment or cash which is used to pay off the short term debts as well as expenses. Current Ratio is determines whether the firm has enough liquidity to pay off its expenses and short term debt. Theoretically, if current ratio is around 2.00 then it is considered as the most preferable. This ratio possesses huge consideration because if this ratio is declining it means that the cash position of the company is getting eroded. For that reason, the quickest way which can increase cash is increasing the amount of sales. Quick Ratio This ratio is also known as Acid Test Ratio. This ratio determines that if inventories are excluded, then is the firm able to pay off its short term expenses? Quick ratio is usually preferable if it is 1 or near to 1 . If this number is decreasing, then it means that enough sales are not being generated to pay off the short term debt or day to day expenses. In order to improve such situation, intervention regarding Quick Cash Management is required. Net Working Capital to Sales This ratio determines the company’s performance in relation to its sales, after meeting the short term obligations or liabilities, Efficiency Ratio Efficiency ratio determines the efficiency of a business or in other words, how well the business operations are conducted. These ratios determine how well and quickly the company collects its accounts receivables, how quickly the inventory moves and how much sales are generated by the company’s assets. Efficiency ratios include: Inventory Turnover Receivable Turnover Payable Turnover Days Inventory in hand Debtors Collection Period Creditors Payment Period Inventory Turnover Inventory turnover ratio determines the total turnovers of inventory. This ratio determi nes the efficiency of inventory management. If inventory turnover ratio is higher, then it means that firm is really efficient in rolling over its inventory. However, in some cases high inventory turnover ratio also means that firm doesn’t have enough inventories on its hand and therefore losing its sales.

Activation Of T Lymphocytes Essay Example for Free

Activation Of T Lymphocytes Essay Different types of T lymphocytes exist and each type performs a specialized function.   Helper T cells, also known as TH cells, serve as messengers of the immune system.   When helper T cells are activated, these cells proliferate and produce cytokines, which are small proteins that control the extent of immune response that a biological organism will express.   Several types of cytokines exist and each cytokine triggers the maturation of helper T cells into specific subtypes such as helper T cell subtype 1, 2 and 17 (Balandina et al. , 2005). Another type of T lymphocyte is the cytotoxic T cell (CTL), which is also known as the TC cell.   Cytotoxic T cells are responsible for the destruction of cells that were infected by viruses, as well as for the annihilation of tumor cells.   These cells also play a major role in determining whether a cell is normally part of the system or a foreign cell.   Cytotoxic T cells are known to be the first in line to react and reject if an organ transplanted into a recipient is not compatible in terms of tissue compatibility. The cytotoxic T cells that are associated with tissue rejection are designated at CD8+ T cells, based on the idea that these cytotoxic T cells produce a specific CD8 glycoprotein that is displayed on its cell membrane.   These CD8 glycoproteins interact with helper T lymphocytes, of which may trigger its transformation into regulatory T cells.   The major role of regulatory T cells is to inhibit the onset of an autoimmune disorder within the system of the organism. Another type of T lymphocyte is the memory T cell which is produced as soon as an infection occurs in an individual.   These specific T cells continue to circulate in the blood system for several months even when the infection has been stopped.   Memory T cells further differentiate into effector T cells when they find the same antigen that was associated with the previous infection, hence the term memory is appropriate to apply to this type of function.   Two general types of memory T cells include the central and effector cells.  Ã‚   Memory T cells are known to carry either the CD4 or the CD8 glycoprotein on its plasma membrane (Wildin et al., 2001). Regulatory T cells are another type of T lymphocytes that play a crucial role in sustaining the tolerance of the immune system (Khattri et al., 2003).   These T cells were earlier called suppressor T cells and their primary role is to prevent immunity that is caused by other T cells during the later stages of an immune response (Fontenot et al., 2003).   Regulatory T cells are also responsible for inhibiting the immune reaction towards other cells of the body or self cells because this is important in maintaining the stability of the entire immunological system. Specific conditions result in the immune response towards self cells and this is usually observed when the thymus experiences difficulty in distinguishing self cells from non-self or foreign cells.   There are two major types of CD4+ regulatory T cells that have been characterized.   Naturally occurring regulatory T cells originate from the thymus and are sometimes referred to as CD4/CD25/ForP3 T regulatory cells. The other major type of CD4+ regulatory T cell is the adaptive T regulatory cell which is produced when an innate immune response occurs.   This type of cell is also called Tr1 or Th3 cell (Hori et al., 2003).   A distinguishing feature that facilitates is the differentiation of naturally occurring T regulatory cells from the rest of types of T lymphocytes is the occurrence of the FoxP3 molecule that is situated within the cytoplasm.   Research has shown that mutations incurred in the FOXP3 gene results in the inability of regulatory T cells to differentiate, which in turn influences the onset of the lethal condition of autoimmunity. Another type of T lymphocyte is the natural killer T cell which is serves as the communicator between the adaptive and the innate immune systems.   Different from the standard T lymphocyte that identifies protein antigens that are harbored by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), the natural killer T lymphocytes distinguish glycolipid antigens that are shown by the protein molecule CD1d.   The natural killer T lymphocyte is then activated and subsequently acquires the ability to execute specific functions that are related to Th and Tc cells, including the secretion of cytokines and the expression of cytolytic molecules that are responsible for the destruction of foreign cells that have invaded the body. Gamma-delta T lymphocytes represent a small subtype of T cells that carry a unique receptor on their plasma membrane.   Most of the T lymphocytes carry a receptor that is comprised by two strings of alpha and beta glycoproteins.   In gamma-delta T lymphocytes, the receptor is composed of a gamma and a delta glycoprotein string.   Gamma-delta T lymphocytes are quite rare, comprising only approximately 5% of the entire T lymphocyte population but are found in high concentrations in the epithelial lining of the stomach, as part of population of intraepithelial lymphocytes. Protein antigens that trigger a response from gamma-delta T cells have still yet to be determined.   It is interesting to know that gamma-delta T lymphocytes are not exclusively assigned to carry major histocompatibility complex molecules and are actually capable of identifying entire proteins than simply perceiving short protein chains carried by the major histocompatibility complex molecules on lymphocytes that harbor antigens. There are particular gamma-delta T cells that have the capacity to identify a specific type of major histocompatibility complex molecules, specifically class IB.   In the human immune system, the Vgamma9/Vdelta2 T lymphocyte makes up the majority of the gamma-delta T lymphocyte population that is circulating in the bloodstream.   These specific T lymphocytes have the function of quickly reacting to a tiny metabolite that originates from microorganisms, known as the isopentenyl pyrophosphate precursor.   Another type of T lymphocyte is the autoaggressive T cell which is highly specialized based on its ability to secrete the CD40 protein molecule (Miura et al., 2004).   CD40 is generally linked to T lymphocytes that present fragments of an antigen and this protein molecule is commonly produced by a subtype of T helper lymphocytes. Th40 cells are present in all human beings but the levels of this specific type of cells quickly increase during conditions of autoimmunity.   In patients diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus, the Th40 cells usually react to self-antigens.   In the case of patients diagnosed with non-autoimmune individuals, the Th40 lymphocytes do not react with these antigens.   An important function of the CD40 protein molecule on T lymphocytes is to trigger the recombinase proteins RAG1 and RAG2 in directing the receptor of a T lymphocyte. The receptor of a T lymphocyte serves as the route through which a T lymphocyte is able to identify a specific antigen.   It has been determined that the two recombinase proteins be produced exclusively in the thymus during the development of T lymphocytes.   It was, however, observed that the RAG proteins were secreted again by the T lymphocytes that were circulating in the bloodstream.   In addition, it was also observed that the CD40 protein associated with Th40 lymphocytes, resulting in the production of RAG proteins.   Subsequent to the expression of the RAG proteins, modifications in the receptor of the T cells take place, suggesting that the Th40 lymphocytes carry the ability to adapt for the entire duration of an individual’s life. The procedure of modifying the expression of the receptors of T cells that are circulating in the bloodstream has been names as TDR revision.   Research has reported that TCR revision influences the expansion of the repertoire of T lymphocytes, as well as generates T lymphocytes that are autoaggressive.   This observation therefore shows that the revision of the receptors of T cells is another method of T lymphocyte tolerance. THE DEVELOPMENT OF T LYMPHOCYTES IN THE THYMUS T lymphocytes are developed from the stem cells of the hematopoietic system which is located in the bone marrow.   These stem cells migrate from the bone marrow to the thymus, where they are expected to proliferate through the process of cell division and generate immature thymocytes.   Young thymocytes generally do not secrete any CD4 or CD8 proteins hence these cells have been described as CD4-CD8- cells. During their course of development, the young thymocytes acquire the capability of secreting CD4 and CD8 molecules and these thymocytes are now classified as CD4+CD8+ (Sakaguchi, 2000).   Further maturation of these cells involves the specific secretion of only one protein, either the CD4 or the CD8 molecule.   Once this has been determined in each thymocytes, these cells are then expelled by the thymus in order for them to circulate to the rest of the body.   Approximately 98% of the thymocytes produced by the thymus are expected to disintegrate during its maturation, resulting in only 2% of the thymocytes reaching maturity and categorically expelled by the thymus as immunocompetent T lymphocytes. Immature thymocytes that harbor the two types of antigens, CD4 and CD8, migrate into the core of the thymus in order to associate with antigens that are generated by the T lymphocyte.   These thymocytes interact with the major histocompatibility complex molecules that are present of the plasma membrane of the cells of the epithelium.   Only a specific fraction of thymocytes will be able to completely bind with the major histocompatibility complex molecules thus resulting in a signal that indicates the survival of the thymocyte. The rest of the thymocytes that were not able to achieve a complete association with the major histocompatibility complex molecules are thus classified as incapable of performing immune functions or even illicit an immune response.   This specific group of thymocytes thus undergoes the process of apoptosis, which involved the disintegration of the nucleus which eventually leads to cell death.   The cellular debris that results from the apoptotic pathway are enveloped and eaten by macrophages.   The entire process of differentiating immuno-competent from immuno-incompetent thymocytes based on the ability to illicit an immune reaction is known as positive selection. Thymocytes that endure positive selection travel towards the perimeter of the cortical and middle regions of the thymus. While situated in the middle region of the thymus, the thymocytes are presented with an antigen of its self in association with the major histocompatibility complex molecules on antigen-presenting cells (APCs), including the dendritic cells and macrophages.   Thymocytes that intensely associate with the antigen are sent a signal that induces their programmed death and the rest of the thymocytes that were first generated are trigger to disintegrate during this selection process in the thymus. A small fraction of the cells that survived is induced to develop regulatory T cells.   The other cells subsequently depart the thymus as differentiation naive T lymphocytes.   This mechanism is designated as negative selection, an essential process of immunological tolerance that controls the development of T lymphocytes that react to self cells and are able of to cause an autoimmune disease in the body of an individual (Shevach, 2000). Although the specific mechanisms of activation vary slightly between different types of T cells, the two-signal model in CD4+ T cells holds true for most. Activation of CD4+ T cells occurs through the engagement of both the T cell receptor and CD28 on the T cell by the Major histocompatibility complex peptide and B7 family members on the APC respectively. Both are required for production of an effective immune response; in the absence of CD28 co-stimulation, T cell receptor signalling alone results in anergy. The signalling pathways downstream from both CD28 and the T cell receptor involve many proteins. The first signal is provided by binding of the T cell receptor to a short peptide presented by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on another cell. This ensures that only a T cell with a TCR specific to that peptide is activated. The partner cell is usually a professional antigen presenting cell (APC), usually a dendritic cell in the case of naà ¯ve responses, although B cells and macrophages can be important APCs. The peptides presented to CD8+ T cells by MHC class I molecules are 8-9 amino acids in length; the peptides presented to CD4+ cells by MHC class II molecules are longer, as the ends of the binding cleft of the MHC class II molecule are open. The second signal comes from co-stimulation, in which surface receptors on the APC are induced by a relatively small number of stimuli, usually products of pathogens, but sometimes breakdown products of cells, such as necrotic-bodies or heat-shock proteins (Brunkow et al., 2001). The only co-stimulatory receptor expressed constitutively by naà ¯ve T cells is CD28, so co-stimulation for these cells comes from the CD80 and CD86 proteins on the APC. Other receptors are expressed upon activation of the T cell, such as OX40 and ICOS, but these largely depend upon CD28 for their expression. The second signal licenses the T cell to respond to an antigen. Without it, the T cell becomes anergic and it becomes more difficult for it to activate in future. This mechanism prevents inappropriate responses to self, as self-peptides will not usually be presented with suitable co-stimulation. The T cell receptor exists as a complex of several proteins. The actual T cell receptor is composed of two separate peptide chains which are produced from the independent T cell receptor alpha and beta (TCR? and TCR?) genes. The other proteins in the complex are the CD3 proteins; CD3 and CD3 heterodimers and most importantly a CD3? homodimer which has a total of six ITAM motifs. The ITAM motifs on the CD3? can be phosphorylated by Lck and in turn recruit ZAP-70. Lck and/or ZAP-70 can also phosphorylate the tyrosines on many other molecules, not least CD28, Trim, LAT and SLP-76, which allows the aggregation of signalling complexes around these proteins. Phosphorylated LAT recruits SLP-76 to the membrane, where it can then bring in PLC?, VAV1, Itk and potentially PI3K. Both PLC? and PI3K act on PI(4,5)P2 on the inner leaflet of the membrane to create the active intermediaries di-acyl glycerol (DAG), inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and phosphatidlyinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3). DAG binds and activates some PKCs, most importantly in T cells PKC?, which is important for activating the transcription factors NF-?B and AP-1. IP3 is released from the membrane by PLC? and diffuses rapidly to activate receptors on the ER which induce the release of calcium. The released calcium then activates calcineurin, and calcineurin activates NFAT, which then translocates to the nucleus. NFAT is a transcription factor which activates the transcription of a pleiotropic set of genes, most notably IL-2, a cytokine which promotes long term proliferation of activated T cells. Overview of interactions between T cells and APCs T cells are a subset of lymphocytes that play a large role in the cell-mediated immune response of adaptive immunity. T lymphocytes are divided into 2 major classes distinguished by the expression of the cell surface molecules CD4 or CD8. CD8 cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) primarily destroy virus-infected cells whereasCD4 helper T lymphocytes are involved in activating B cells and macrophages. The response of both classes of T lymphocytes is dependent on interactions through the T cell receptor (TCR) and coreceptors (CD4 or CD8) with target APCs that present peptides in the context of MHC class I or class II molecules. MHC class I and class II molecules are structurally similar but differ in their source of antigenic peptide and in the transport mechanisms for their peptides. Class I MHC molecules present self peptides or viral products from the cytosol to CD8 T lymphocytes, whereas MHC class II molecules present peptides from pathogens that either reside or were endocytosed into intracellular compartments (Fontenot and Rudensky, 2005). T cells are activated on encountering antigen, which results in either lysis of target cells by CD8 T lymphocytes or recruitment of other effector cells by CD4 cells.   Modulation of the plasma membrane alters the T cell Ca2+ response.   A series of studies from showedthat unsaturated free fatty acids (FFAs) could inhibit specific aspects of cytotoxic T cell function by perturbing membranes.   Initially, it was shown that short-term exposure of murine allogeneic effector T cells to low levels of unsaturated FFAs (10 mol/L), including PUFAs, inhibited lysis of target APCs. The change in lysis of target cells was a direct consequence of the FFA added to the CTLs, because lysis could be inhibited by extracting the unsaturated FFA with bovine serum albumin before CTL-target conjugation. Specific aspects of T cell function inhibited by unsaturated lipids included the initial rise in intracellular [Ca2+] on conjugate formation, protein phosphorylation events and subsequent CTL esterase release.   On the other hand, release of inositol phosphates and binding to target cells were unaffected. Because the inhibition in CTL calcium release linearly correlated with the decrease in membrane acyl chain order induced by the presence of increasing unsaturation in the plasma membrane , it was hypothesized that modulation of membrane structure affected T cell Ca2+ signaling. References Balandina A, Lecart S, Dartevelle P, Saoudi A and Berrih-Aknin S (2005):   Functional defect of regulatory CD4( )CD25 T cells in the thymus of patients with autoimmune myasthenia gravis. Blood   105:735–741. Brunkow ME, Jeffery EW, Hjerrild KA, Paeper B, Clark LB, Yasayko SA, Wilkinson JE, Galas D, Ziegler SF and Ramsdell F (2001):   Disruption of a new forkhead/winged-helix protein, scurfin, results in the fatal lymphoproliferative disorder of the scurfy mouse. Nat. Genet.   27:68–73. Fontenot JD, Gavin MA and Rudensky AY (2003):   Foxp3 programs the development and function of CD4-CD25 regulatory T cells. Nat. Immunol.   4:330–336. Fontenot JD and Rudensky AY (2005):   A well adapted regulatory contrivance:   Regulatory T cell development and the forkhead family transcription factor Foxp3. Nat. Immunol. 6:331–337. Hori S, Nomura T and Sakaguchi S (2003):   Control of regulatory T cell development by the transcription factor Foxp3. Science 299:1057–1061 Khattri R, Cox T, Yasayko SA and Ramsdell F (2003):   An essential role for Scurfin in CD4-CD25 T regulatory cells. Nat. Immunol.   4:337–342. Miura Y, Thoburn CJ, Bright EC, Phelps ML, Shin T, Matsui EC, Matsui WH, Arai S, Fuchs EJ and Vogelsang GB (2004):   Association of Foxp3 regulatory gene expression with graft-versus-host disease. Blood   104:2187–2193. Sakaguchi S (2000):   Regulatory T cells: key controllers of immunologic self-tolerance.   Cell 101:455–458. Shevach EM (2000): Regulatory T cells in autoimmmunity. Annu. Rev. Immunol.   18:423–449. Wildin RS, Ramsdell F, Peake J, Faravelli F, Casanova JL, Buist N, Levy-Lahad E, Mazzella M, Goulet O and Perroni L (2001): X-linked neonatal diabetes mellitus, enteropathy and endocrinopathy syndrome is the human equivalent of mouse scurfy. Nat. Genet.   27:18–20.

Roles Of The Operating System Computer Science Essay

Roles Of The Operating System Computer Science Essay All computers need some form of operating system so that communication between users applications and hardware. The OS also looks after the file system. With advancement in technology OS can now support more than one User, Task or Central Processing Unit (CPU). The OS controls the communication between applications and hardware. For the OS to communicate with these it installs device drivers for any hardware component that is inside the computer. the device driver is created by the hardware manufacturer and this is installed with the hardware software when installing. Thus allowing the OS to talk to the hardware its self. for example a wireless USB adapter (Fig1.1) would install a device driver as shown in (Fig1.2) Files and folders can be stored on the hard drive with the help of the OS creating a file structure on the hard disk its self enabling the data to be stored. Files are stored in a block of data that is treated as a single unit and is given a single name. Any files related to the same program are put in to folders so that the program is able to find all the data needed to run the program without needing to look all over the hard drive. Folders can also be stored inside other folders if they relate to a different part of the program or even an update folder or a uninstall program in the event you want to uninstall the program. These are call subfolders. (Fig 2.1) The structure in which files are stored on a hard drive are stored in a table called file allocation table. the table contains all the details of where each piece of data (such as blocks or clusters) is held that makes up the file on the hard drive. Depending on how the hard drive was formatted depends on the table format and cluster size. There are two different file structures which are: File Allocation Table 32-bit (FAT32) This can support partition sizes up to 2048GB (2TB) FAT32 can be used in Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000 and Windows XP(Fig 2.2). New Technology File System (NTFS)This can support partitions sizes up to 16 Exabytes. 1 Exabyte is 260 bytes. With NTFS there is improved security features and extended attributes that the previous version used FAT32 (Fig 2.3). FIG 2.1Folders and Subfolders FIG 2.2 FAT32 FIG 2.3 NTFS User Interface Operating systems provide the user to interact with the software and the hardware by using two types of user interface called Command-line Interface (CLI) with this the user types commands in to the command prompt as shown in Fig 3.0 Graphical user interface with this the user interacts with menus, icons and applications as shown in Fig 3.1 Fig 3.0 Fig3.1 Applications Management Within the operating system one of the things it does is locates an application and loads it in to the RAM. Applications a software programs such as Microsoft Office word, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Games and many more. the OS will make sure that each application has enough system resources to run the program successfully. There is also a set of guidelines used by programmers to make sure that the application they are designing will work on an OS this is called Application Programming Interface (API) two examples of these are: Open Graphics Library (OpenGL) this is a cross-platform standard for multimedia graphics DirectX this is a collection of APIs for multimedia tasks for Microsoft Windows 1b. Within WindowsXP and Windows Vista Operating systems have the following features installed: Multitasking Multiuser Multiprocessing Multithreading Multiuser A multi-user operating system allows for multiple users to use the same computer at different times. So this mean that each user can have its own logon to windows where they can have their files can be secure so that only the user can see them. they can also set the computer display up however they want to such as picture backgrounds of the own choice and task bar settings changing the colour to their own choice. With the account been password protected and the files been stored on the same user logon this makes it secure. When logged on to the computer you can also switch users quickly what this does is keeps the first user logged on but just locks the account and takes you back to the user logon screen and enables you to log on as another user then once you have finished on that account you can just log of and then back at the logon screen you just click the first name again and type the password and you are right back in to it where you had left it so any programs that you had ope n are still open and you can carry on instead of waiting for the computer user settings to be applied making it much faster to change between users. Multitasking An operating system that is capable of allowing multiple software processes to run at the same time. So what this mean is that you can run many different programs at the same time. so you can be working on a document on Microsoft Office Word so the program will be loaded in to the RAM so that it can access it quicker when using the program. So your using the program then you need to use Microsoft Office Excel when you click open on the program it will also load it in to the RAM as well so that you can access the program data as well as the other program. This is multitasking. This would happen every time you opened a new program. Multiprocessing An operating system able of supporting and using more than one computer processor. Most modern computers support some form of multiprocessing. Multiprocessing doesnt require more than one physical CPU; it is simply the operating systems ability to run more than one  process  on the system. The operating system processes data one part at a time. Each process can execute a completely different program while most processes are completely independent. so if say you are running paint in windows and then open Microsoft office word even though it looks like it is doing them at the same time what it is doing is processing parts of the program one at a time. but because of the seep in what it processes them it gives the appearance that they are doing it at the same time. Multithreading Multithreading has many purposes one of these is to switch between different threads. However the main purpose is to increase the operation of a single core by monitoring and controlling the levels of threads. The tasks carried out by the user happen so frequently that the user does not actually see the threads and/or the tasks are running at the same time, with no fault. Another purpose of multithreading is used by the Operating System to break down a program in use into smaller, more manageable threads when it is required to carry out this specific task. Although it does allow individual programs to be multitasked. This is done because the hardware used for multithreading regularly operates alongside the software for multitasking. It is known for some CPUs to have more than one multithreading core; these are often referred to as processors. On multiprocessor, or multi- core systems, the tasks and threads generally run at the same time, with the support of each processor and/or core running a particular task on the Operating System. 1c. In both Windows XP and Vista there are functions installed on an OS. These functions might be at different levels depending on the OS. These functions are:- Backup Facilities File Management Security Backup Facilities Many backup facilities are used here are a few examples: Daily Copy Normal Incremental Differential Daily A daily backup only saves files that have been modified on that day. This type of support does not modify the other files. Copy This type of support only copies the data and files chosen. For instance a word document is saved in one folder and you copy to another folder of the same OS. This backup can be found in all Windows software. Normal This type of support (full backup) is when the selected files and folders are to be stored and are archived to the hard disk drive. For example an Excel spreadsheet that is being saved for the very first time. Incremental This type of backup saves all folders and files that have been created or modified since the last normal backup. A benefit of this is that the backup times are faster as only the file needs to be saved. However, a drawback of this is that the recovery time of the file will be a lot longer as the data has to be restored from the last incremental backup and/or another backup device. Differential This backup saves all files a nd folders that are created or changed since either the last normal backup. These files are not archived, on the other hand they are copied at the starting point until the next incremental or full backup is complete. Making this type of backup is important as to restore the data you would only need the last full and differential backup. File Management File management is also very similar in Vista and Windows XP. Generally it is a lot easier to manage files and directories in Windows XP than it is in Vista because in Windows XP the graphical user interface I find is much more user friendly. There are options to make Vista act and look like Windows XP through; Start, Control Panel, Appearance and Personalization. Both XP and Vista use NTFS file management. However, in Windows Explorer the file management enforces/performs a hierarchical structure. Below is a broken down step by step of what happens when creating a file in a directory: The OS controls and creates the file structure and directories The hard drive allows data to be stored in this structure The file is then stored on to the hard drive and is given a name or commonly known as a single unit/name The directory programs and data files group all the files together and create the directory (Some directories can be stored in other directories these are commonly known as subdirectories) One last point about directories and subdirectories is that their commonly used name is now folders and subfolders, respectively. Security There are four main ways in which to protect computer systems, these are: Firewall This provides protection against any online threats. Anti-virus software which tries to protect the operating system from any malicious threats that could occur. Passwords is used to protect the contents of the operating system and is a method of controlling who access to it. Encryption is used to prevent people accessing documents they are not permitted to see. The main security feature for Windows XP is designed to continuously monitor the status of the computers security system settings and should a problem occur the operating system will provide a pop up to warn the user of the problem. This security system is referred to as the security centre. Windows Vista has a similar security feature called Windows Defender, however Windows Defender has a few additional features. These features include the removal of ActiveX applications and also support the use of SpyNet software. Also with Vista there is another few security features, one of them is the Parental controls. This allows the administrator to: Control content of which a child can and cannot view. Limiting time allowed on the Internet or computer. Monitor what the child does and track viewed websites and content they have previously looked up. However, on both Windows XP and Vista, they use one vital piece of security the Device Manager. This is used to allow users to view and control the hardware attached to the computer. A piece of hardware is attached is not working, this is highlighted to the user to deal with the hardware problem. The options that the user can deal with each piece of hardware is to supply drivers for the hardware keeping them up to date, enable or disable devices connected to the computer, ignore malfunctioning devices and to view other technical properties to do with the hardware connected.

Government :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marriage is a word where a man and a woman come together in the eyes of God and pronounce their love for one another and are joined together as one. This concept has been the ways of the world for hundreds of years. However, marriage back during the eighteenth (18th) and nineteenth (19th) century was completely different from the way it is in the twenty-first (21st) century. Woman of today have better equal right to the world where they are seen as equals to men than woman back in the day. Over the years ancient philosophers tried to dissect the concept of equality for woman back during the 18th and 19th century. One of those philosophers was John Stuart Mills who developed a writing called the Subjection of Women, which dealt with the women’s emancipation. He also made references of sexual equality in his other works (Utilitarianism, On Liberty) as well. The institute of marriage has been oppressive to woman why is that so? That is what we are going to explore and find out. The institute of marriage was a burden to women during the 18th and 19th century because they were not seen as equals. They were either forced into marriage by their parents by marriage arrangements or they married for survival in the world. The men during that time were seen as the breadwinners. Men work to support the family financially, where the women bared the children, kept the home clean and ensured that there was a meal on the table every day. Women were not allowed to vote, play a role in politics, nor could they earn an income to support their family. Whatever the husband voted or how he played a role in his career and politics was the wife’s position as well. John Stuart Mills was a philosopher who believed in utilitarianism, which is the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. He believed this to be for both men and women. He advocated for women because he believed they needed to prosper in societies. He said that â€Å" women expressive power has been stifled and that if women fail to developed and if they are excluded from involvement, society as whole is impoverished if it denies itself their contributions † (Subjection of Women) He believes that women need to be out in the world doing the same things as men, and that they can contribute a lot to society.

Regulation in Mass Media Essay

The responsibility of the FCC and their regulations are often questioned if they are necessary or not. By examining Horwitz’s â€Å"The Evolution of the American Telecommunication System and the Origin of Communication Regulation. ,† one could take the side that the regulation of media is necessary. Regulation of media is necessary to prevent a monopoly– which is one company controlling the entire market. If there was a monopoly on media then the company could charge and price whatever they want and only give service to those they wanted to. By having media regulations this is not able to happen. Natural monopolies in wired carriers, which are monopolies approved by the FCC, keep costs down and prevent a cluttering of wiring in the air or ripping up streets to install underground wiring. The first sign of natural monopoly was with AT&T and the telephone. According to Horowitz, it states: â€Å"Under the leadership of Theodor Vail, AT&T maintain the telephony constitution a natural monopoly. One policy, one system, and universal service’ was Vail’s ot-reapted slogan. † (Horowitz, Page 99) Vail argued that by having more then one provider there would be a waste of resources and if there was one provider pooling its resources they would be able to provide a better service to the customer. Though this might be true, unless there is regulation by the government this idea of natural monopoly would be horrible. Now the FCC regulates any kind of natural monopoly that exists within universal carriers of a med ia. The beginning of regulation began with the start of large scale communication, other then print, in 1835 when Samuel Morse proved a signal that could transmitted a message by wire. Morse used pulses of current to provide a written code on a strip of paper. This code became known as the Morse Code. Morse gave a public demonstration in 1838 to congress, but it took congress over five years to fund Morse’s experiment of the telegraph. Congress funded Morse $30,000 to construct a 40 mile experiment from Washington to Baltimore, using telegraph wire. It took six years before a message was sent and received over the telegraph wire. This was the first time a message had been transferred other then print or word of mouth. Western Union became the main provider of the telegraph service, and became a monopoly in 1867. The telegraph created the umbrella of commerce, which was the first time the government intervened with communications. According to Horwitz, a common carrier obligation was established for all carriers that provided service for the telegraph. Telegraph companies resemble railroad companies and other common carries, in that they are instruments of commerce and in that they exercise a public employment and are therefore bound to serve all customers alike without discriminations, they have doubtless a duty to the public to receive to the extent of there capacity all messages clearly and intelligible written and to transmit them upon reasonable terms but they are not common carriers, there duties are different and are perfo rmed in different ways and they are not subject the same liabilities. (Horowitz, Page 95, 96) What this law meant was that there could be no discrimination in who the provider wanted to extend service to. In 1895 the first radio message was transmitted by Marconi. Radio area waves were open to who ever could make a device to transmit messages to other people with the same device. Broadcasting became more and more popular. According to Horwitz, â€Å"broadcasting-the dissemination of electrical messages through the airwaves to an undifferentiated audience-may not have been contemplated, but it was inherited in the technology of radio. (Horowitz, Page 112) Radio became more and more popular and the government stepped in like they did with the telegraph and telephone and began regulating radio. The first major regulation was the Radio Act of 1912. Before this, radio waves were open to the public. The airwaves started to become too crowded and the U. S. government decided to take actio n. The Radio Act of 1912 established government control over the airwaves and created guidelines for issuing licenses and distributing radio airwaves. The Radio Act of 1927 was the second major act that was established to regulate the media industry. This act created the Federal Radio Communications (FRC), which was responsible for giving licenses to broadcasters. This act also made it so that the radio airwaves were a public resource. As a result, broadcasters were required to serve the public interest. The regulations of broadcasted media and the regulation of print media are different. The regulation of print deals with copyright laws. Anyone could publish anything they want but if some one uses someone else’s words without proper notation they could be sued. Print is regulated more when dealing with news print; for example the newspaper. Most print media would not use profanity or any kind of naked pictures. Print media is mostly written based on ethics. The writer tries not to take sides or out right seem bias towards one particular side. Broadcast media like radio have different kinds of regulations. In order to have air time on the radio one needs to have a license. Radio also must provide a public service toward the listener. Radio just like print media tends to stay away from profanity and over sexual connotations. Print media usually has a fee, whereas, radio is free to the public. Both of these media’s have regulations but have different kinds of regulations from the FCC. Overall, the world of mass media has many regulations that exist. These regulations are decided by the FCC, which is an independent government agency created under the Communications Act of 1934. At the beginning the FCC was responsible for regulating broadcast, telegraph, and telephone. Now the FCC has expanded its regulations to include new communication technologies such as: the satellite, microwave, cellular telephones, PCS service and private radio communications. As one could see, the responsibilities of the FCC are necessary in monitoring both the delivery system and the actual media itself. Overall, by using Horwitz’s â€Å"The Evolution of the American Telecommunication System and the Origin of Communication Regulation. ,† one could tell the history of regulation and how important it really is to the people.

Fiscal Policy in the 1960s and 1970s

Fiscal Policy in the 1960s and 1970s By the 1960s, policy-makers seemed wedded to Keynesian theories. But in retrospect, most Americans agree, the government then made a series of mistakes in the economic policy arena that eventually led to a reexamination of fiscal policy. After enacting a tax cut in 1964 to stimulate economic growth and reduce unemployment, President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) and Congress launched a series of expensive domestic spending programs designed to alleviate poverty. Johnson also increased military spending to pay for American involvement in the Vietnam War. These large government programs, combined with strong consumer spending, pushed the demand for goods and services beyond what the economy could produce. Wages and prices started rising. Soon, rising wages and prices fed each other in an ever-rising cycle. Such an overall increase in prices is known as inflation. Keynes had argued that during such periods of excess demand, the government should reduce spending or raise taxes to avert inflation. But anti-inflation fiscal policies are difficult to sell politically, and the government resisted shifting to them. Then, in the early 1970s, the nation was hit by a sharp rise in the international oil and food prices. This posed an acute dilemma for policy-makers. The conventional anti-inflation strategy would be to restrain demand by cutting federal spending or raising taxes. But this would have drained income from an economy already suffering from higher oil prices. The result would have been a sharp rise in unemployment. If policy-makers chose to counter the loss of income caused by rising oil prices, however, they would have had to increase spending or cut taxes. Since neither policy could increase the supply of oil or food, however, boosting demand without changing supply would merely mean higher prices. The President Carter Era President Jimmy Carter (1976 - 1980) sought to resolve the dilemma with a two-pronged strategy. He geared fiscal policy toward fighting unemployment, allowing the federal deficit to swell and establishing countercyclical jobs programs for the unemployed. To fight inflation, he established a program of voluntary wage and price controls. Neither element of this strategy worked well. By the end of the 1970s, the nation suffered both high unemployment and high inflation. While many Americans saw this stagflation as evidence that Keynesian economics did not work, another factor further reduced the governments ability to use fiscal policy to manage the economy. Deficits now seemed to be a permanent part of the fiscal scene. Deficits had emerged as a concern during the stagnant 1970s. Then, in the 1980s, they grew further as President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) pursued a program of tax cuts and increased military spending. By 1986, the deficit had swelled to $221,000 million, or more than 22 percent of total federal spending. Now, even if the government wanted to pursue spending or tax policies to bolster demand, the deficit made such a strategy unthinkable. Note This article is adapted from the book Outline of the U.S. Economy by Conte and Carr and has been adapted with permission from the U.S. Department of State.

How to Become a Paraprofessional

How to Become a Paraprofessional When you think of a classroom, you may think of one teacher at the head of the class, working with a group of students. What you may not consider is that many classrooms have another adult there, helping students learn- a paraprofessional, or teaching assistant.What Does a Paraprofessional Educator Do?Paraprofessionals are an essential part of the education system- think of them as classroom all-stars. They may work closely with teachers on general classroom lessons or tasks, or work one-on-one with students who have special needs or disabilities. Paraprofessionals can be found in elementary schools, secondary schools, or daycare facilities. Their tasks may include:Assisting teachers with lessons or classroom activitiesAssisting teachers with paperworkHelping teachers with lesson planningPreparing classroom equipment or technologyWorking with students who need individualized attention in the classroomSupplementing classroom lessons with additional guidance or activitiesTutoring stude nts who need extra helpMonitoring student behavior both in the classroom and at school activitiesAssisting students who have special physical needs (lifting, feeding, moving)Processing homeworkTaking classroom attendanceParaprofessionals may also choose to specialize. For example, some paraprofessionals work in school libraries/media centers. Some are assigned to specific classrooms. Some work exclusively with special education students. Paraprofessionals can be found in all types of schools, plus childcare facilities as well.What Skills Do Paraprofessional Educators Have?Paraprofessional educators need many of the same skill sets that any teacher would need, given that they work directly with students in an educational setting. These are some of the most crucial skills you’d need to have as a paraprofessional:They Like KIdsThis may seem like a no-brainer, but if you don’t like kids, or have trouble relating to them, this would be a very challenging career path. Patien ce is a major asset for anyone working with students.Theyre Team PlayersParaprofessionals are part of a squad of teachers, administrators, and support staff who help educate students. Knowing how to work as part of a team to maintain students’ best interests is essential.Theyre Great CommunicatorsParaprofessionals may be called upon to teach new concepts to kids, or translate information so that a student can learn and understand. Paraprofessionals may also be in the position of having to interpret what a student is trying to say, so listening skills are key as well. Because paraprofessionals will need to communicate with students, teachers, administrators, and possibly parents/guardians, the ability to communicate clearly and articulately is a major part of the job.Theyre OrganizedIf you’ve ever been in a classroom, you may have noticed that good organization can be the difference between a calm learning environment and chaos that distracts everyone from the tasks at hand. As a paraprofessional, you should have a good sense of organization when it comes to recordkeeping and classroom behavior.Theyre Good TeachersParaprofessionals are often assistants and helpers, but they are also educators. As an educator, you should have the ability to teach information to students of varying abilities and learning styles.What Education Do Paraprofessionals Need?Paraprofessionals can usually get started in the field without a four-year college degree, but it helps to have completed some college courses or an Associate’s degree, particularly in Education.Each state and school district has its own rules for paraprofessional certification, so you should see what your state requires. However, many require that paraprofessionals complete an aptitude test (like ETS’s ParaPro exam) to certify that these educators meet a minimum standard.How Much Do Paraprofessionals Get Paid?According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, paraprofessionals earn a medi an salary of $25,410 per year. This can vary according to location, and paraprofessionals who are multilingual, or who specialize in areas like special needs or special education, can earn more as well.What’s the Outlook for Paraprofessionals?While education changes constantly, some parts of it never do- there will always be a need for qualified teaching professionals to assist in classrooms and work with students. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the field will grow by about 6% by 2024- about the average for all occupations.Becoming a paraprofessional is a great option if you’re just figuring out whether you want to work in education in the long term, or if you know you want to be an educator but just aren’t ready to complete the education and certification required of teachers. Being an educator is one of the most challenging and rewarding paths you can choose, and if you think it just might be your calling, becoming a paraprofessional could b e your ideal first step.

The Samurai

The Samurai, the Leader and Biggest Influence to Japan The Japanese people see them selves in a historical perspective that is based on the samurai age (Reischauer 41) Inanzo Nitobe, a Japanese merchant who was present at the landings of Commodore Perry in japan, once stated, What Japan was she owed to the samurai. They were not only the flower of the nation, but its the root as well. All the gracious gifts of heaven flowed through them,( Nitobe 159-160). The samurai was the group with the biggest impact on japan. Japanese beliefs and actions in feudal japan revolved around the samurai warrior class. Some of the samurai beliefs and actions are still present in japan today. The Japanese samurai code of Bushido greatly impacted Feudal Japan and has had a lasting impact on modern The Japanese title of samurai in English means servitors (Reischaur 52). The samurai served the Japanese people as leaders of religion, society, governing, and every day life. They were also good role models to the people on how to live a honorable fulfilled life. The samurai had its own caste or social class just below the shoguns who ruled Japan. During feudalist japan the samurai were the permanent political ruler, moral exemplar, and the arbitrator of manners and taste (Storry 43). Samurai warriors believed in Zen Buddhism which was a split from Buddhism that came from China(Lewis 42). Zen Buddhism was a form that focused on the benefits of The samurai fallowed their code of conduct called Bushido. This was a similar to chivalry used years earlier in Europe (Nitobe 4). In this code were five major ideals. One is that every samurai displayed bravery in all faces of samurai life, mostly focusing on battle. Two is to treat everyone with honor and be treated with honor. Three is that they conduct themselves with self- discipline, especially when it came to meditation and ...

Branding britian Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Branding britian - Research Paper Example The IMC dimensions in the video advert on Great Britain include the voice, the interactions as well as the lucrative nature of the long term relationships formed. Also included is the exploration of the highlight using the IMC Development theoretical model. This involves looking at the orientation of the brand, the promotion, the end results of the brand, as well as the financial end results (Moriarty, 2012). For instance, our report talks about the sounds of Britain that have been known to define the tourism sector greatly. Such include the ticking of the clock, the mixing of tea and coffee, the passing of trains and cars, ringing of bells and cheering of games by fans. Using one voice means bringing together the marketing objectives with only the intention of directing the audience towards the objective of the promotion. According to (Moriarty, 2012), having one voice is very crucial, and it means that the communication instruments used have been able to convey clear ideas to its audience. The written texts displayed coincide with the pictures provided. The graphics, for instance, at the beginning of the video whereby there is a display of the Great Britain airports with visitors checking in balances with the simultaneous written message about the increase in visitor spending. This is seen during the first 20 seconds into the video, in which there is a narration of a story of a boy who travelled to a faraway place, but there is no link provided between this and the overall marketing objective. This is the same for the mention of the land rover defender, halfway into the video without mention of its relevance. On the other hand, having the intervie ws towards the end of the video has successfully avoided overloading the audience with information. Interactivity improves communication as part of marketing by making it possible for the audience

Sustainability and waste management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sustainability and waste management - Assignment Example 307). These emissions are harmful leading to destruction of the ozone layer and other parts of the universe thus resulting to numerous diseases and poor living standards of the people. Solid waste is not only a major health hazard, but also a breeding zone for harmful insects and dangerous to children growth. Liquid waste if discarded to water bodies leads to unsafe water for human and animal consumption. Harmful fumes released to the air leads to the destruction of the ozone layer and acid rains resulting to harmful rays that cause cancers of the skin and other related diseases. Many states have installed and implemented laws concerning water and air pollution. Since the company is involved in the production of final products that leads to the release of harmful wastes, it’s paramount that the company takes parts in environmental conservation. An action to prevent water and air pollution has been brought up at the national, international and minor levels so as to create awareness of the importance of this national act (El-Haggar, 2007, pg. 354). The company thus has a big role to play to ensure that the waste produced at the manufacturing level is treated before it is disposed. Various legislatures produced at the international level that the company employees should be aware of relates to marine pollution. These laws ensure that waste and any other hazardous material is not discarded in to water bodies. They also prevent spillage of oil from ships and other vessels in international water bodies. An example relating to this is the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea and the Protocol on Preparedness, Response and Co-operation to Pollution Incidents by Hazardous and Noxious Substances, 2000 Protocol. The European Union has also come up with legislation since 1973 to prioritize water pollution control in European waters.

Substance dualism is necessary for beings to have free will Essay - 1

Substance dualism is necessary for beings to have free will - Essay Example Since the mind is not physical, it cannot be bound by physical laws that govern the body, thus, beings are free not only to do as they please, but also to do otherwise than they usually do. In this respect, responsible human actions are not related to mechanical causation as presupposed by materialism, the philosophical belief that humans are physical beings whose motions are bound by laws of physics (Wartick). A strong sense of free will is supported by dualism, unlike other philosophical thoughts such as materialism because, according to Descartes, humans have an infinite will to act involuntarily and to be held accountable for their actions, and an understanding capable of showing those clear and distinct perceptions. This paper proposes that substance duality is necessary for individuals to have a free will, not only to do as they please, but also to do contrary to their conventional ways by building a strong case for duality and disqualifying contrary opinion. Intentionality, of ten referred to as the ‘of-ness’ or ‘about-ness’ of mental states is undoubtedly the strongest argument in favor of dualism (â€Å"Case for dualism†); physical objects are spatial and have specific shapes unlike mental states such as thoughts and senses that are non-spatial. However, physical objects cannot be about or of each other because ‘about-ness’ or ‘of-ness’ is exclusively a mental phenomenon that is not within the physical realms, therefore, the lack of an equivalent of the intentionality phenomenon in the physical reality is a strong case for duality. On the contrary, mental states have ‘about-ness’ and ‘of-ness’; for instance, if one thinks that a certain painting is beautiful, then it means that the individual’s thought that the painting is beautiful is about the painting and cannot be reduced to any conceivable physical fact about the individual’s mind. Additionally, the f act that the individual’s thought that a painting is beautiful is about the painting cannot be identified with their disposition to react in certain ways like exclaiming and marveling verbally after viewing the painting. In this respect, an individual’s thinking is beyond the mere predisposition or tendency to act in certain ways because if that was not the case then it would automatically imply that individuals would never be aware of what they were thinking about until and after a corresponding behavior has been manifested physically. The implication for this intentionality argument, therefore, is that intentional mental states are purely holistic in nature and are not dependent on any physical manifestation, and because of its intentionality, the mind is very distinct from material non-mental things that are purely physical and mechanical in nature. In this respect, since no physical phenomenon has that aspect, intentionality is not a construct of the physical world , but a mental phenomenon; the absence of a counterpart feature in physical materialism proves that it is possible for the mental to exist separately, unaffected by the physical. Following this intentionality argument, dualism provides strong case for free will because then it implies that individuals have a limitless capacity to think on their own accord and to act on their own accord as well, voluntarily. The intentionality feature makes a great case for the argument that the mind and the body are purely

The most important event in Evaluating Causes of the Civil War Essay

The most important event in Evaluating Causes of the Civil War - Essay Example The causes of the war can be traced mainly to the divisions over slavery that had been rocking the country since the 1780s. During the founding of the nation, the founding fathers ironed out compromises and language in the Constitution in a way that balanced the divisions between the regions so that they could coexist politically as a united nation. Generally, by the early 1800s, the Northern states had abolished slavery or laid out a system of gradual emancipation, while the demand for slaves for new plantations in the Southern states such as Alabama, Mississippi, Northern Florida and Louisiana was increasing rapidly (Carlisle, 2008). By 1808, the Northern and Southern states had agreed to ban importation of slaves from overseas. With the North being against slavery while the south supported it, maintaining political balance between the Northern and Southern states was more difficult. The congress lacked jurisdiction over aspects and laws regulating slavery within the member states. For around two decades since 1800, the Congress continued to admit new states into the Union in pairs, comprising of one state with slavery and one without in attempt to maintain political balance. For example, in 1820, Missouri was admitted as a slave state while at the same time Maine was admitted as a free state. In 1850, the balance was finally broken when the Southern states allowed California to join the Union as a free state in exchange to laws strengthening slavery and addition of Minnesota and Oregon as Free states (Hickman, 2011). With the balance, distorted political debates tightened as the representatives of Southern states felt that the rapidly expanding Northern population would create more new Free states, and diluting their control in the federal government. Meanwhile, the Northern states opposed the political power of Southerners and wanted the political power of Free States to dominate. Additionally, on the new territories acquired from Mexico, the Northerners be lieved that the Southerners were out to expand and dominate in the new territories, while the Southerners believed that if the Northerners extended prohibition of slavery in the new territories, it would be an extension of domination and tyranny over the South against the existing constitutional compromises. Tensions were further fuelled by the rise of Abolitionist movement, which believed that slavery was morally wrong and should be abolished. Radical abolitionist such as William Lloyd Garrison, and Fredrick Douglas advocated for immediate emancipation of the slaves, while moderated Abolitionists such as Theodore Weld, Arthur Tappan, and Abraham Lincoln wanted to curb slavery and its influence (Hickman, 2011). The publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852, improved support for Abolitionist cause, as it succeeded in influencing the public against the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. Due to developments from the Compromise of 1850 and Kansas crisis, the country ’s major two parties, the Whigs and Democrats, began to weaken along the regional lines (Kazin, 2011, p.492). The weakening of the Whigs in the North led to emergence of a new party, the

Should Animals Be Used In Warfare Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Should Animals Be Used In Warfare - Term Paper Example This paper makes a conclusion that the use of animals for warfare is normally a contentious issue. Proponents of the debate argue that the use of animals for warfare helps to save human lives. They state that human lives are more important than animal lives. Hanson in his defense for the use of animals used the clichà © ‘save people, not pets’ to show the significance of animals in warfare. Due to their well-developed sensory and respiratory systems, animals perform various functions. Some of the common roles or duties performed by animals include the detection of bombs or landmines, and sniffing out the enemy. On the contrary, opponents of the debate cite the concept of animal cruelty as the main reason why they oppose the move. Since there are no laws that protect animals used for war, they are often mistreated. For instance, the American army starves dolphins by tying their mouths. This prevents them from eating food or other fishes. Also, dogs are left behind by tro ops or killed after a war ends because they pose a danger to civilians. In conclusion, animals should be used for warfare because they help save the lives of soldiers and people. When compared to animal lives, human lives are more precious. Furthermore, animals such as dogs have been used for rescue missions to locate lost soldiers or pilots. The use of animals for war fare is contained in the national security exclusions. This gives the military the power to use the animals in any way they like.

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Philosophy - Essay Example ture prevails as man is covetous and motivated by desire, appetite and avarice who justifies the employment of violence to protect his treasures or holdings. Violence is thus a means to an end. Left on their own stratagems, men would fight to death even for the slightest reasons. Therefore, man’s propensity to pander his cravings and indulgences makes him evil but these vices likewise impel men to consider peace as medium of self-preservation. A covenant of peace among the protagonists is fragile as any perceived breach rescinds the covenant and hostilities resumes. Hobbes then espoused the creation of State which extracts obedience from the citizenry as it exercises absolute power to maintain the peace but bona fide power resides in the citizenry who can confer power or withdraw recognition at will in case of abuse. On the other hand, Rousseau (1761) submits that men are inherently good but as men began to journey from solitude and sought out humanity, the relatively peaceful, morally balanced and virtuous man was corrupted by arts and sciences. Conversely, when men gained knowledge and social interactions progressed, they begun to conform to certain standards which would dictate their actions. The acquiescence of men therefore to the common consciousness gave rise to a social contract which guarantees freedom under the regime of law. Another view towards the attainment of perpetual peace was advocated by Immanuel Kant (1795), in his treatise, the Second Definitive Article of Perpetual Peace, it was proffered that â€Å"the law of nations shall be founded on a federation of free states† thus the objective of this paper is to probe into the two centuries old exposition, its influence in the creation of the United Nations (UN) and whether the Utopian concept envisage by Kant was fulfilled by the UN in its role towards the prevention of war. The utopian concept was born in the year 1515 when Thomas More drafted his book entitled Utopia published in the year 1562.

The most important event in Evaluating Causes of the Civil War Essay

The most important event in Evaluating Causes of the Civil War - Essay Example The causes of the war can be traced mainly to the divisions over slavery that had been rocking the country since the 1780s. During the founding of the nation, the founding fathers ironed out compromises and language in the Constitution in a way that balanced the divisions between the regions so that they could coexist politically as a united nation. Generally, by the early 1800s, the Northern states had abolished slavery or laid out a system of gradual emancipation, while the demand for slaves for new plantations in the Southern states such as Alabama, Mississippi, Northern Florida and Louisiana was increasing rapidly (Carlisle, 2008). By 1808, the Northern and Southern states had agreed to ban importation of slaves from overseas. With the North being against slavery while the south supported it, maintaining political balance between the Northern and Southern states was more difficult. The congress lacked jurisdiction over aspects and laws regulating slavery within the member states. For around two decades since 1800, the Congress continued to admit new states into the Union in pairs, comprising of one state with slavery and one without in attempt to maintain political balance. For example, in 1820, Missouri was admitted as a slave state while at the same time Maine was admitted as a free state. In 1850, the balance was finally broken when the Southern states allowed California to join the Union as a free state in exchange to laws strengthening slavery and addition of Minnesota and Oregon as Free states (Hickman, 2011). With the balance, distorted political debates tightened as the representatives of Southern states felt that the rapidly expanding Northern population would create more new Free states, and diluting their control in the federal government. Meanwhile, the Northern states opposed the political power of Southerners and wanted the political power of Free States to dominate. Additionally, on the new territories acquired from Mexico, the Northerners be lieved that the Southerners were out to expand and dominate in the new territories, while the Southerners believed that if the Northerners extended prohibition of slavery in the new territories, it would be an extension of domination and tyranny over the South against the existing constitutional compromises. Tensions were further fuelled by the rise of Abolitionist movement, which believed that slavery was morally wrong and should be abolished. Radical abolitionist such as William Lloyd Garrison, and Fredrick Douglas advocated for immediate emancipation of the slaves, while moderated Abolitionists such as Theodore Weld, Arthur Tappan, and Abraham Lincoln wanted to curb slavery and its influence (Hickman, 2011). The publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852, improved support for Abolitionist cause, as it succeeded in influencing the public against the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. Due to developments from the Compromise of 1850 and Kansas crisis, the country ’s major two parties, the Whigs and Democrats, began to weaken along the regional lines (Kazin, 2011, p.492). The weakening of the Whigs in the North led to emergence of a new party, the

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Philosophy - Essay Example ture prevails as man is covetous and motivated by desire, appetite and avarice who justifies the employment of violence to protect his treasures or holdings. Violence is thus a means to an end. Left on their own stratagems, men would fight to death even for the slightest reasons. Therefore, man’s propensity to pander his cravings and indulgences makes him evil but these vices likewise impel men to consider peace as medium of self-preservation. A covenant of peace among the protagonists is fragile as any perceived breach rescinds the covenant and hostilities resumes. Hobbes then espoused the creation of State which extracts obedience from the citizenry as it exercises absolute power to maintain the peace but bona fide power resides in the citizenry who can confer power or withdraw recognition at will in case of abuse. On the other hand, Rousseau (1761) submits that men are inherently good but as men began to journey from solitude and sought out humanity, the relatively peaceful, morally balanced and virtuous man was corrupted by arts and sciences. Conversely, when men gained knowledge and social interactions progressed, they begun to conform to certain standards which would dictate their actions. The acquiescence of men therefore to the common consciousness gave rise to a social contract which guarantees freedom under the regime of law. Another view towards the attainment of perpetual peace was advocated by Immanuel Kant (1795), in his treatise, the Second Definitive Article of Perpetual Peace, it was proffered that â€Å"the law of nations shall be founded on a federation of free states† thus the objective of this paper is to probe into the two centuries old exposition, its influence in the creation of the United Nations (UN) and whether the Utopian concept envisage by Kant was fulfilled by the UN in its role towards the prevention of war. The utopian concept was born in the year 1515 when Thomas More drafted his book entitled Utopia published in the year 1562.

Clinical Journal One Essay Example for Free

Clinical Journal One Essay The nursing process is an assessment, diagnosis, plan, implementation and evaluation of our patients. As a practical nursing student this is something we are learning and improving on daily. Assessment is the most important part of the nursing process. This process is becoming clearer every day spent in the clinical setting. The assessment part of the process is done with every interaction of our patients we are taught in school. I thought how could that be assessing something takes a considerable amount of time so assessing every patient, every interaction sounded absurd to me. Currently my clinical setting is a post surgical unit. The nurses on this unit are registered nurses with varying amounts of experience. As I observe the nurses, I have noticed they actually do assess everyone, every time. I was amazed how easy this skill seemed to them of course experience helps in that area. I had the opportunity to participate an assessment of a month old child. During this experience I was able to understand the doorway assessment I learned about in growth and development and it made more sense to me . I was able to take a set of vitals on this baby, weighed a diaper for the IO and was shown how to assess the IV site on an infant. I realize how very important a quiet baby is during the assessment because of this experience. Assessing an infant is different than adults. Infants are a bit harder to assess if they are not calm. Upset babies respirations will increase. I learned how to feel for the fontanel and dehydration signs in infants. There is so many parts to assessment and each and every part is an important step in keeping your patient on the path to recovery. Post-op assessment require that you check patients pedal pulse, this is something I would not have thought to be important but I have since discovered that pedal pulse is a warning sign for post-op patients. The  smallest part of assessing a patient is just as important as the biggest parts. So a pedal pulse takes a minute or two to be sure it’s present and equal in both feet but the importance of doing this step in your assessment lasts forever because you deterred your patient a problem by doing a full head to toe assessment. Though, hands on assessments are most important, I have learned I do not always have to touch my patient to assess their condition. I can learn a lot from them just by listening to them and taking a good look at them. Patients also need more than a physical assessment. Physical head to toe is done at the beginning of your shift but you do and you can assess everyone with every interaction. There are many parts to assessment. The physical, of course, but as a nurse you must figure out the needs of each patient beyond the physical. They need emotional support as well. We must look at the whole picture when assessing. Do they need physical therapy? Home care? Support services? Are they going to need additional information on ways to be safe at home. Maybe the patients going to a rehabilitation facility after discharge so they may need to be assessed for which facility they would  gain the most from. We must assess if they require special equipment to improve on their independence. Assessing your patients doesn’t stop at taking a pulse or blood pressure.  So, assessment is very important and is easily done at every interaction once you see it done in the clinical setting. I still have so much to learn when doing a patient assessment but now I understand my role of assessing the patient as a licensed practical nurse and I understand the importance of every interaction assessment. Clinical Journal One Milford Regional Medical Center The nursing process is an assessment, diagnosis, plan, implementation and  evaluation of our patients. As a practical nursing student this is something we are learning and improving on daily. Assessment is the most important part of the nursing process. This process is becoming clearer every day spent in the clinical setting. The assessment part of the process is done with every interaction of our patients we are taught in school. I thought how could that be assessing something takes a considerable amount of time so assessing every patient, every interaction sounded absurd to me. Currently my clinical setting is a post surgical unit. The nurses on this unit are registered nurses with varying amounts of experience. As I observe the nurses, I have noticed they actually do assess everyone, every time. I was amazed how easy this skill seemed to them of course experience helps in that area. I had the opportunity to participate an assessment of a month old child. During this experience I was able to understand the doorway assessment I learned about in growth and development and it made more sense to me . I was able to take a set of vitals on this baby, weighed a diaper for the IO and was shown how to assess the IV site on an infant. I realize how very important a quiet baby is during the assessment because of this experience. Assessing an infant is different than adults.

Analysis of Global Economic Growth

Analysis of Global Economic Growth World economic growth 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 World Economic Outlook: According to the World Bank, world economic growth accelerated sharply in 2004. In aggregate, the year 2004 has been the healthiest year for developing countries since the last three decades. East Asian countries have come out of the 1997 crisis and are now performing well. The ongoing economic boom in China as well as the surge in activities registered in Japan were major factors in promoting growth in the region. Latin American countries and Sub-Saharan Africa also had a better year. This performance reflects a fortuitous combination of long-term secular trends built on a foundation of better macroeconomic management and an improved domestic investment climate converging with a cyclical recovery of the global economy. There were however some lingering imbalances in the global economy associated with the rising twin deficits in the United States, a delayed recovery in Europe, coupled with high and volatile oil prices, and questions about the path of Chinas economy that might constitute risks to the pace of growth in developing countries over the medium term. Worlds economic growth is likely to slow down in 2005 with a projected rate of 3.2%. Several factors are likely to contribute to the slower growth. It is believed that the investment cycle in the US has peaked, therefore resulting in a slowdown in growth. Furthermore, world demand has far exceeded world supply, resulting in a substantial increase in oil and other commodity prices, therefore reducing demand in other countries. Also, increases in interest rates are likely to slow the investment growth. The US is likely to finance its large budget deficits through tighter fiscal policies and in Europe countries will tighten their budgetary control to remain within the realm of Maastricht limits. Table 1: World economic outlook Real Growth Rate (%) 2002 2003 2004 2005* World 1.7 2.7 4.0 3.2 High Income Countries 1.3 2.1 3.5 2.7 Euro Zone 0.9 0.5 1.8 2.1 USA 1.9 3.0 4.3 3.2 Japan -0.3 2.4 4.3 1.8 Developing Countries 3.4 5.2 6.1 5.4 East Asia and Pacific 6.7 7.9 7.8 7.1 Latin America and Caribbean -0.6 1.6 4.7 3.7 Sub Saharan Africa 3.1 3.0 3.2 3.6 *projected figures Source: Global Economic Prospects 2005, World Bank. 1.2 Mauritian Economic Outlook: Mauritian economic growth in 2004 was positive and stabilised at 4.2%, slightly lower than the 4.4% recorded in 2003. On the one hand, internal demand constituted an important dragging factor, with a 6.3% growth in consumption expenditure compared to 4.5% in 2003. On the other hand, lingering uncertainties linked to the wave of change in the international economic order, uninterrupted trade liberalisation and the gradual loss of our long-standing preferences had a dampening effect on growth. The recent run-up in oil prices was also a constraining factor on economic buoyancy. Business confidence appeared to be quite timid in 2004. However, in spite of an overall deceleration in the rate of investment, which grew by 5.5%, compared to 10.0% in 2003, private sector investment grew by a high 13.2% as opposed to a negative 2.2% in 2003. Moreover, international perception about Mauritius remained positive, and foreign investments in hotels and ICT projects were at a relatively high level. Despite the stable growth rate, several macroeconomic and sectoral performances were relatively unfavourable. Savings rate was lower, registering 23.3% of GDP in 2004 against 25.4% in 2003. Inflation rate was higher in 2004, reaching 5.5%, as opposed to 3.9% in 2003. Overall external trade worsened, from a surplus of Rs. 2 billion in 2003 to a deficit on Rs. 3.9 billion in 2004, as a result of a very large increase in the merchandise trade deficit, from Rs. 8.4 billion to Rs. 15.7 billion. On a sectoral basis, industries were faced with a restricted margin of manoeuvre as a result of increasing international competition from lower-cost producers. Repercussions were felt in the EPZ sector, which registered a negative growth rate of 5% in 2004, following the deceleration of 6% in 2003. The tourism sector, in spite of its apparent dynamism, recorded a growth rate of only 2.6%, compared to 3.0% in 2003. Financial services experienced some inertia, with a low expansion of 1.0%, compared to a high 7.2% in 2004. However, the agricultural sector expanded by 5.1% in 2004, in contrast to the low 1.9% recorded in 2003 and the non-EPZ sector grew by 5.0% in spite of the gradual reduction of tariff protection. 2.0 ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE FOR 2004 2.1 National Accounts: Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by a moderate 4.2% in 2004, compared to 4.4% in 2003. At current basic prices, GDP increased from Rs. 137.9 billion in 2003 to Rs. 151.7 billion. GDP per capita at current basic prices increased by 10.1%, to attain Rs. 122,984 in 2004. In US dollar terms, GDP per capita reached US$ 4,477, 11.7% higher than the previous year, when it reached US$4,010. It is worth noting also that at Purchasing Power Parity, GDP per capita in dollars was estimated at US$ 11,400 in 2003. For the second consecutive year, net income from the rest of the world was negative, with Rs. – 415 million in 2004, compared to Rs. – 833 million in 2003. Table 2: Output at current basic prices: Unit 2001 2002 2003 2004 Real GDP growth rate % +5.6 +1.8 +4.4 +4.2 GDP Rs. Million 117,720 125,260 137,868 151,725 Net income from abroad Rs. Million 393 396 833 415 GNI Rs. Million 118,113 125,656 137,035 151,310 GDP/capita Rs. 98,086 103,479 112,720 122,984 US$ US$ (PPP)* 3,380.9 9,609 3,462.2 10,810 4,010.0 11,400 4,477.4 n/a Exchange Rate, annual av. mid-rate Rs/$ 29.012 29.888 28.11 27.468 * GDP at Purchasing Power Parity provides a more reasonable international GDP comparison among nations.Source: CIA Fact Book 2004 While the EPZ sector continued to register negative growth rates for the third consecutive year, almost all other sectors recorded positive growth rates in 2004.   Non-EPZ grew by +5.0% in 2004, slightly lower than in 2003, when the growth rate was +5.8%. After high growth rates registered in 2002 (+7.6%) and 2003 (+11.1%) mainly due to high investment in building and construction works by the public sector, Construction grew by 3.1% in 2004. The distributive trade sector grew by 3.2%, slightly higher than the 3.1% recorded in the previous year. Transport and Communications activities expanded by 6.5% in 2004 as opposed to 6.1% in 2003. During the same period real estate, renting and business activities grew by 6.9% compared to 6.5% in 2003. Education, including services provided by public and private operators grew by 7.2% in 2004, compared to 5.3% in 2003, while health and social work expanded by 8.8% compared to 7.0% in 2003. Electricity, gas and water supply registered a growth of 4.2% as opposed to 4.6% in 2003. 2.2 Consumption Last years economic performance was once again influenced by internal demand. Total final contribution of consumption to GDP at market price was estimated at 77.3%, compared to 75.1% in 2003. Real final consumption expenditure, increased by 6.3% in 2004, compared to a 4.5% rise in 2003. This expansion in the consumption rate, which is much higher than the GDP growth rate, is clearly inflationary and has a negative direct impact on trade balance and budget deficit. It must be noted that private consumption represented 83.1% of total consumption in 2004, as opposed to 82.8% in 2003. A growth of 6.7% was observed in the consumption of households in 2004, against 4.9% in 2003. This is the highest growth rate recorded since 1989. On the other hand, the share of public sector consumption amounted to 16.9% of total consumption in 2004, showing a slight drop from the 17.2% observed in 2003. Public consumption grew by 4.4% compared to an increase of 2.6% in 2003. In 2004, the continued growth observed in total consumption has been largely sustained by the significant increase in average monthly income earnings of households. The average monthly earnings in large establishments grew by 12.8% between March 2003 and March 2004, to reach Rs. 11, 084. A general upward trend was observed in all industrial groups. The largest increase (+24%) was noted in public administration, following the implementation of the PRB in July 2004. Table 3: Consumption 2001 2002 2003 2004 Aggregate Final Consumption Household Central Government Rs b Rs. b Rs. b 97.0 80.2 16.8 106.6 88.3 18.3 118.3 98.1 20.2 135.1 112.2 22.9 Consumption as a % of GDP at MP % 73.4 75.0 75.1 77.3 Real Agg. Final Consumption growth o Household o Central Government % % % 3.3 3.0 4.7 3.2 3.3 4.1 4.5 4.9 2.6 6.3 6.7 4.4 Average monthly earnings (March) Rs. 8,701 9,159 9,826 11,084 Change in monthly earnings, Nominal % 6.4 5.3 7.3 12.8 2.3 Savings Investment Gross national savings, measured by the difference between Gross National Disposable Income and Total Consumption, increased in nominal terms by 1.8% to reach Rs 40.7 billion in 2004 from Rs 40.0 billion in 2003. Consequently, the saving rate, calculated as the ratio of GNS to GDP at market prices, showed a decline from 25.4% in 2003 to 23.3% in 2004. This decline results from an increase in both public and private expenditure. Table 4: Savings and investment 2001 2002 2003 2004 Gross National Savings (Rs. Billion) 37.6 38.7 40.0 40.7 Nominal Change (%) +2.8 +3.4 +1.8 GNS as a % of GDP at MP (%) 28.4 27.3 25.4 23.3 GDFCF (Rs. billion) Private Sector Public Sector 29.8 20.5 9.3 31.4 21.6 9.8 35.7 21.8 13.8 38.9 25.6 13.4 Real Change in GDFCF (incl aircrafts and vessels) , % +2.7 +1.9 +10.0 +5.5 Real Change in GDFCF (Excl. aircraft and vessels), % -2.6 +6.1 +7.9 +8.2 GDFCF as a % of GDP at MP 22.5 22.0 22.6 22.3 Investment, measured by the Gross Domestic Fixed Capital Formation (GDFCF), increased to Rs 38.9 billion in 2004 from Rs 35.7 billion in 2003. In real terms, including the purchase of aircrafts and marine vessels, total investment has followed an upward trend of 5.5% in 2004, but lower than the 10.0% growth recorded in 2003. It is interesting to note that net of the purchase of aircrafts and vessels, real investment grew by 8.2% in 2004, representing a better performance than in 2003, when it grew by 7.9%. Investment rate, measured as the ratio of GDFCF to GDP at market prices, has however gone down by 0.3%, to reach 22.3% in 2004 from 22.6% in 2003. Private sector investment continued to make up the bulk of GDFCF in 2004. It accounted for 65.6% of total investment in 2004, compared to 61.2% in 2003. This represented a real growth of 13.2% in 2004, after a negative growth rate of -2.2% in 2003. Higher private sector investment was accounted for by new hotels projects, where investment increased by 55.8% in 2004, as opposed to a negative growth of 21.8% in the preceding year. Moreover, there were additional investments in spinning mills and other projects in the EPZ sector, with an increase of 45.0% in 2004 as opposed to a negative 7.7% in 2003.Inversely, the share of public sector investment fell from 38.8% in 2003 to 34.4% in real terms in 2004. In fact, real public sector investment dropped by 6.6% in 2004, after a high 37.0% real growth in 2003, resulting from a record increase of 133.3% in investment in the construction sector in 2003. The resource gap, given by the difference between savings and investment, was again positive in 2004. However, there has been a significant contraction of 59.7%, from Rs. 4.3 billion in 2003 to reach Rs 1.7 billion in 2004, since investment increased more than savings. The direct consequence of this contraction is a further deterioration of the external account of goods and services. 2.4 Foreign Direct Investment In 2004, FDI inflow fell by 8.6% to reach Rs 1.79 billion against Rs 1.96 billion in 2003. A sharp contraction was observed in the banking sector, where only Rs. 121 million were invested in 2004, as opposed to a high Rs. 1.3 billion in 2003. In contrast, higher investments were recorded in the telecommunications sector in the wake of further liberalisation. Similarly, a total of Rs. 1.08 billion were invested in 2004 in other sectors of the economy, including IT, compared to only Rs. 485 million in 2003. The EPZ sector also attracted more FDI in 2004, with Rs. 248 million, compared to Rs. 77 million in 2003. The same upward trend was observed in the tourism sector, from Rs. 103 million in 2003 to Rs. 121 million in 2004. Table 5: Foreign Investment, Rs million 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Foreign Direct Investment 7,265* 936 979 1966 1,796 EPZ 8 3 41 77 248 Tourism 10 0 100 103 121 Banking 0 600 316 1301 310 Telecoms 7204 0 0 0 38 Others 43 333 522 485 1079 Direct Investment Abroad 333 83 278 1166 909 Net Foreign Direct Investment 6,932 853 701 800 887 * Includes receipts from the sales of Mauritius Telecom shares to France Telecom of Rs 7.2 billion 1 Revised Estimates Concerning outward investment, a high figure of Rs. 1.2 billion was recorded in 2003. However, in 2004, it fell to Rs. 887 million. 2.5   Balance of Payments The overall balance of payments in 2004, measured as a change in foreign reserve assets excluding valuation changes of the Bank of Mauritius, showed a surplus of Rs. 4.2 billion, compared to a surplus of Rs. 6.2 billion in the preceding year. In the first three quarters of 2004, the current account recorded a deficit of Rs. 2.3 billion, compared to a surplus of Rs. 1.8 billion in the corresponding period in 2003, reflecting a deterioration in the visible trade account. The balance of trade worsened from a surplus of Rs. 988 million in the first three quarters of 2003 to a deficit of Rs. 3.0 billion in the corresponding period of 2004. The capital and financial account, inclusive of reserves, recorded a net outflow of Rs. 163 million in the first three quarters of 2004 as opposed to a net outflow of Rs. 1.6 billion in the same period in 2003. At the end of December 2004, Net International Reserves amounted to Rs. 52.8 billion, 8% higher than in December 2003, when it reached Rs. 48.9 billion. Based on the value of the import bill, exclusive of the purchase of aircrafts and vessels, the level of net international reserves represented 39.6 weeks on imports at the end of December 2004. For the corresponding figure in 2003, it represented 36.6 weeks of imports. 2.6 External Trade Table 6: External Trade, Rs Billion 2001 2002 2003 2004 Trade in goods: Exports of goods – excl freeport activities (f.o.b) 47.5 47.3 46.2 48.9 Export of goods – freeport activities 7.3 6.6 6.8 6.8 Imports of goods – excl freeport activities (f.o.b) 53.8 56.0 57.5 67.6 Imports of goods – Freeport activities 5.2 4.2 3.9 3.8 Merchandise trade balance* 4.2 6.3 8.4 15.7 Trade in services Exports of services 35.6 34.4 35.7 39.8 Imports of services 23.6 23.7 25.3 30.0 Balance of trade in services 12.0 10.7 10.4 11.8 Overall trade balance 7.8 4.3 2.0 3.9 * Both Exports and imports are calculated on an f.o.b basis The overall balance of trade in goods and services marked a significant deterioration in 2004. In fact, there was a shift from a trade surplus of Rs. 2 billion in 2003 to a trade deficit of Rs. 3.9 billion in 2004. There was a sharp increase in the deficit in visible trade, which worsened by 87.1% in 2004. Trade in goods was largely biased against imports, therefore resulting in a faster growth in imports, which soared by 14.6% compared to a low 3.3% in 2003. Exports however grew at 7.6% in 2004 as opposed a meagre 0.5% in the preceding year.   On the other hand, trade in services fared well, registering a surplus of Rs. 11.8 billion in 2004, representing 13.5% more than in the previous year. Much of the increase in merchandise imports in 2004 was associated with investment projects, both in the public and private sector. For instance, appreciable increases were noted in the c.i.f value of cement (+57.6%), machinery and transport equipment (+25.9%), crude materials including textile fibres (+46.2%), and telecommunications equipment (+80.3%). Others are linked to an increasing food bill, with surge in the c.i.f value of food items (+14.9%) and of road vehicles (+53.1%). In fact, it is worth noting that in the fourth quarter of 2004, additional projects and events continued to contribute to boost the import bill. There were also new investment projects in EPZ and in energy production and the significant rise in the international price of petroleum products. Finally, the appreciation of the Rand (+13.2%), the Pound Sterling (+9.1%), the Australian Dollar (+9.2%) and the Euro (+7.1%) also contributed to the escalating visible trade deficit. Box: 1 Exports lack dynamics: Although the Mauritian rupee continued to depreciate against major currencies, including the Euro, exports growth remained relatively static over the past few years. A combination of factors resulted in such a situation. Our markets remained relatively undiversified, with a high concentration in Europe. In the past few years, especially since the advent of the Euro in 2000, the Euro Zone has been relatively less dynamic than other countries like China and the US. Our exports to the most dynamic zones have remained however low. Some of the factors responsible for this lack of dynamism include erosion of our long-standing preferences, rising costs of production and the mismatch of skills on the labour market. Trade in services on the other hand, recorded a surplus of Rs. 11.8 billion, 13.5% higher than in the previous year. This is in part, due to higher earnings from the travel industry benefiting from the windfall gains of a strong euro and a strong pound sterling. Exports of services surged by 11.4% in 2004, from Rs. 35.7 billion in 2003 to Rs. 39.8 billion in 2004, whereas there was a 10.6% increase in the imports of services during the same period of time, from Rs. 25.3 billion to Rs. 30.0 billion. 2.7 Inflation Table 7: Inflation Rate, % Calendar Yr Inflation rate (%) Fiscal Yr Inflation rate (%) 2001 5.4 01/02 6.3 2002 6.4 02/03 5.1 2003 3.9 03/04 3.9 2004 4.7 04/05 5.5 The inflation rate, as measured by the percentage change in the yearly average consumer price index reached 4.7% for calendar year 2004 compared to 3.9% in 2003.   This was mainly the result of a combination of domestic and external factors. There were significant increases in the price of subsidised flour (+17%) and rice (+40%). The rise in the price of flour led to an increase in the price of bread by 12%. The price of other food items, such as chicken (+8.8%), fish (+8.5%) , beef (+9.7%), and frozen mutton (+15.2%)   also went up in 2004. In addition, the rise in international oil prices had spill over effects on the domestic economy. There were three successive increases in the price of gasoline and diesel oil. The price of gasoline increased by a total of 27.9% and the price of diesel oil rose by 45.0%, therefore causing subsequent surges in electricity tariffs (+5.1%), bus fares (+13.3%), taxi fares (+15.4%) and air fares (+16.0%). Finally, the prevailing high budget deficit and the sustained level of public investment also contributed to inflationary pressures. 2.8 Employment/ Unemployment Until 2003, labour force statistics were estimated on the basis of the Population census or Labour Force Sample Survey. A new methodology, named the Continuous Multi Purpose Household Survey   (CMPHS) was introduced in March 2004 to estimate the labour force, employment and unemployment rate. It is based on a sample of households that presently covers a total 8,640 households for the whole of 2004. Estimates are conducted on a quarterly basis, on 2,160 households per quarter. In the new CMPHS, the lower age cut-off point to estimate the labour force was brought to 15 years instead of 12 years used previously. A few inconsistencies with regard to the results of the survey have been noted, which probably indicate some weaknesses in the new methodology. The table below gives the estimated figures for the 3 quarters of 2004: Table 8: March 2004 – Estimates June 2004 – Estimates September 2004 – Estimates Labour force Male Female 541,100 348,700 192,400 540,700 347,500 193,200 527,800 349,400 178,400 Employment Male Female 494,100 328,400 165,700 491,200 324,600 166,600 483,500 329,800 153,700 Unemployment Male Female 47,000 20,300 26,700 49,500 22,900 26,600 44,300 19,600 24,700 Unemployment Rate (%) 8.7 9.2 8.4 Contrary to what one would logically expect, the CMPHS estimates indicate a downward trend in the labour force over the three quarters. From March to June, there was a fall of 400 people in the labour force. However, a larger fall was observed, with a contraction of 12,900 jobs from June to September Analysis of Global Economic Growth Analysis of Global Economic Growth World economic growth 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 World Economic Outlook: According to the World Bank, world economic growth accelerated sharply in 2004. In aggregate, the year 2004 has been the healthiest year for developing countries since the last three decades. East Asian countries have come out of the 1997 crisis and are now performing well. The ongoing economic boom in China as well as the surge in activities registered in Japan were major factors in promoting growth in the region. Latin American countries and Sub-Saharan Africa also had a better year. This performance reflects a fortuitous combination of long-term secular trends built on a foundation of better macroeconomic management and an improved domestic investment climate converging with a cyclical recovery of the global economy. There were however some lingering imbalances in the global economy associated with the rising twin deficits in the United States, a delayed recovery in Europe, coupled with high and volatile oil prices, and questions about the path of Chinas economy that might constitute risks to the pace of growth in developing countries over the medium term. Worlds economic growth is likely to slow down in 2005 with a projected rate of 3.2%. Several factors are likely to contribute to the slower growth. It is believed that the investment cycle in the US has peaked, therefore resulting in a slowdown in growth. Furthermore, world demand has far exceeded world supply, resulting in a substantial increase in oil and other commodity prices, therefore reducing demand in other countries. Also, increases in interest rates are likely to slow the investment growth. The US is likely to finance its large budget deficits through tighter fiscal policies and in Europe countries will tighten their budgetary control to remain within the realm of Maastricht limits. Table 1: World economic outlook Real Growth Rate (%) 2002 2003 2004 2005* World 1.7 2.7 4.0 3.2 High Income Countries 1.3 2.1 3.5 2.7 Euro Zone 0.9 0.5 1.8 2.1 USA 1.9 3.0 4.3 3.2 Japan -0.3 2.4 4.3 1.8 Developing Countries 3.4 5.2 6.1 5.4 East Asia and Pacific 6.7 7.9 7.8 7.1 Latin America and Caribbean -0.6 1.6 4.7 3.7 Sub Saharan Africa 3.1 3.0 3.2 3.6 *projected figures Source: Global Economic Prospects 2005, World Bank. 1.2 Mauritian Economic Outlook: Mauritian economic growth in 2004 was positive and stabilised at 4.2%, slightly lower than the 4.4% recorded in 2003. On the one hand, internal demand constituted an important dragging factor, with a 6.3% growth in consumption expenditure compared to 4.5% in 2003. On the other hand, lingering uncertainties linked to the wave of change in the international economic order, uninterrupted trade liberalisation and the gradual loss of our long-standing preferences had a dampening effect on growth. The recent run-up in oil prices was also a constraining factor on economic buoyancy. Business confidence appeared to be quite timid in 2004. However, in spite of an overall deceleration in the rate of investment, which grew by 5.5%, compared to 10.0% in 2003, private sector investment grew by a high 13.2% as opposed to a negative 2.2% in 2003. Moreover, international perception about Mauritius remained positive, and foreign investments in hotels and ICT projects were at a relatively high level. Despite the stable growth rate, several macroeconomic and sectoral performances were relatively unfavourable. Savings rate was lower, registering 23.3% of GDP in 2004 against 25.4% in 2003. Inflation rate was higher in 2004, reaching 5.5%, as opposed to 3.9% in 2003. Overall external trade worsened, from a surplus of Rs. 2 billion in 2003 to a deficit on Rs. 3.9 billion in 2004, as a result of a very large increase in the merchandise trade deficit, from Rs. 8.4 billion to Rs. 15.7 billion. On a sectoral basis, industries were faced with a restricted margin of manoeuvre as a result of increasing international competition from lower-cost producers. Repercussions were felt in the EPZ sector, which registered a negative growth rate of 5% in 2004, following the deceleration of 6% in 2003. The tourism sector, in spite of its apparent dynamism, recorded a growth rate of only 2.6%, compared to 3.0% in 2003. Financial services experienced some inertia, with a low expansion of 1.0%, compared to a high 7.2% in 2004. However, the agricultural sector expanded by 5.1% in 2004, in contrast to the low 1.9% recorded in 2003 and the non-EPZ sector grew by 5.0% in spite of the gradual reduction of tariff protection. 2.0 ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE FOR 2004 2.1 National Accounts: Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by a moderate 4.2% in 2004, compared to 4.4% in 2003. At current basic prices, GDP increased from Rs. 137.9 billion in 2003 to Rs. 151.7 billion. GDP per capita at current basic prices increased by 10.1%, to attain Rs. 122,984 in 2004. In US dollar terms, GDP per capita reached US$ 4,477, 11.7% higher than the previous year, when it reached US$4,010. It is worth noting also that at Purchasing Power Parity, GDP per capita in dollars was estimated at US$ 11,400 in 2003. For the second consecutive year, net income from the rest of the world was negative, with Rs. – 415 million in 2004, compared to Rs. – 833 million in 2003. Table 2: Output at current basic prices: Unit 2001 2002 2003 2004 Real GDP growth rate % +5.6 +1.8 +4.4 +4.2 GDP Rs. Million 117,720 125,260 137,868 151,725 Net income from abroad Rs. Million 393 396 833 415 GNI Rs. Million 118,113 125,656 137,035 151,310 GDP/capita Rs. 98,086 103,479 112,720 122,984 US$ US$ (PPP)* 3,380.9 9,609 3,462.2 10,810 4,010.0 11,400 4,477.4 n/a Exchange Rate, annual av. mid-rate Rs/$ 29.012 29.888 28.11 27.468 * GDP at Purchasing Power Parity provides a more reasonable international GDP comparison among nations.Source: CIA Fact Book 2004 While the EPZ sector continued to register negative growth rates for the third consecutive year, almost all other sectors recorded positive growth rates in 2004.   Non-EPZ grew by +5.0% in 2004, slightly lower than in 2003, when the growth rate was +5.8%. After high growth rates registered in 2002 (+7.6%) and 2003 (+11.1%) mainly due to high investment in building and construction works by the public sector, Construction grew by 3.1% in 2004. The distributive trade sector grew by 3.2%, slightly higher than the 3.1% recorded in the previous year. Transport and Communications activities expanded by 6.5% in 2004 as opposed to 6.1% in 2003. During the same period real estate, renting and business activities grew by 6.9% compared to 6.5% in 2003. Education, including services provided by public and private operators grew by 7.2% in 2004, compared to 5.3% in 2003, while health and social work expanded by 8.8% compared to 7.0% in 2003. Electricity, gas and water supply registered a growth of 4.2% as opposed to 4.6% in 2003. 2.2 Consumption Last years economic performance was once again influenced by internal demand. Total final contribution of consumption to GDP at market price was estimated at 77.3%, compared to 75.1% in 2003. Real final consumption expenditure, increased by 6.3% in 2004, compared to a 4.5% rise in 2003. This expansion in the consumption rate, which is much higher than the GDP growth rate, is clearly inflationary and has a negative direct impact on trade balance and budget deficit. It must be noted that private consumption represented 83.1% of total consumption in 2004, as opposed to 82.8% in 2003. A growth of 6.7% was observed in the consumption of households in 2004, against 4.9% in 2003. This is the highest growth rate recorded since 1989. On the other hand, the share of public sector consumption amounted to 16.9% of total consumption in 2004, showing a slight drop from the 17.2% observed in 2003. Public consumption grew by 4.4% compared to an increase of 2.6% in 2003. In 2004, the continued growth observed in total consumption has been largely sustained by the significant increase in average monthly income earnings of households. The average monthly earnings in large establishments grew by 12.8% between March 2003 and March 2004, to reach Rs. 11, 084. A general upward trend was observed in all industrial groups. The largest increase (+24%) was noted in public administration, following the implementation of the PRB in July 2004. Table 3: Consumption 2001 2002 2003 2004 Aggregate Final Consumption Household Central Government Rs b Rs. b Rs. b 97.0 80.2 16.8 106.6 88.3 18.3 118.3 98.1 20.2 135.1 112.2 22.9 Consumption as a % of GDP at MP % 73.4 75.0 75.1 77.3 Real Agg. Final Consumption growth o Household o Central Government % % % 3.3 3.0 4.7 3.2 3.3 4.1 4.5 4.9 2.6 6.3 6.7 4.4 Average monthly earnings (March) Rs. 8,701 9,159 9,826 11,084 Change in monthly earnings, Nominal % 6.4 5.3 7.3 12.8 2.3 Savings Investment Gross national savings, measured by the difference between Gross National Disposable Income and Total Consumption, increased in nominal terms by 1.8% to reach Rs 40.7 billion in 2004 from Rs 40.0 billion in 2003. Consequently, the saving rate, calculated as the ratio of GNS to GDP at market prices, showed a decline from 25.4% in 2003 to 23.3% in 2004. This decline results from an increase in both public and private expenditure. Table 4: Savings and investment 2001 2002 2003 2004 Gross National Savings (Rs. Billion) 37.6 38.7 40.0 40.7 Nominal Change (%) +2.8 +3.4 +1.8 GNS as a % of GDP at MP (%) 28.4 27.3 25.4 23.3 GDFCF (Rs. billion) Private Sector Public Sector 29.8 20.5 9.3 31.4 21.6 9.8 35.7 21.8 13.8 38.9 25.6 13.4 Real Change in GDFCF (incl aircrafts and vessels) , % +2.7 +1.9 +10.0 +5.5 Real Change in GDFCF (Excl. aircraft and vessels), % -2.6 +6.1 +7.9 +8.2 GDFCF as a % of GDP at MP 22.5 22.0 22.6 22.3 Investment, measured by the Gross Domestic Fixed Capital Formation (GDFCF), increased to Rs 38.9 billion in 2004 from Rs 35.7 billion in 2003. In real terms, including the purchase of aircrafts and marine vessels, total investment has followed an upward trend of 5.5% in 2004, but lower than the 10.0% growth recorded in 2003. It is interesting to note that net of the purchase of aircrafts and vessels, real investment grew by 8.2% in 2004, representing a better performance than in 2003, when it grew by 7.9%. Investment rate, measured as the ratio of GDFCF to GDP at market prices, has however gone down by 0.3%, to reach 22.3% in 2004 from 22.6% in 2003. Private sector investment continued to make up the bulk of GDFCF in 2004. It accounted for 65.6% of total investment in 2004, compared to 61.2% in 2003. This represented a real growth of 13.2% in 2004, after a negative growth rate of -2.2% in 2003. Higher private sector investment was accounted for by new hotels projects, where investment increased by 55.8% in 2004, as opposed to a negative growth of 21.8% in the preceding year. Moreover, there were additional investments in spinning mills and other projects in the EPZ sector, with an increase of 45.0% in 2004 as opposed to a negative 7.7% in 2003.Inversely, the share of public sector investment fell from 38.8% in 2003 to 34.4% in real terms in 2004. In fact, real public sector investment dropped by 6.6% in 2004, after a high 37.0% real growth in 2003, resulting from a record increase of 133.3% in investment in the construction sector in 2003. The resource gap, given by the difference between savings and investment, was again positive in 2004. However, there has been a significant contraction of 59.7%, from Rs. 4.3 billion in 2003 to reach Rs 1.7 billion in 2004, since investment increased more than savings. The direct consequence of this contraction is a further deterioration of the external account of goods and services. 2.4 Foreign Direct Investment In 2004, FDI inflow fell by 8.6% to reach Rs 1.79 billion against Rs 1.96 billion in 2003. A sharp contraction was observed in the banking sector, where only Rs. 121 million were invested in 2004, as opposed to a high Rs. 1.3 billion in 2003. In contrast, higher investments were recorded in the telecommunications sector in the wake of further liberalisation. Similarly, a total of Rs. 1.08 billion were invested in 2004 in other sectors of the economy, including IT, compared to only Rs. 485 million in 2003. The EPZ sector also attracted more FDI in 2004, with Rs. 248 million, compared to Rs. 77 million in 2003. The same upward trend was observed in the tourism sector, from Rs. 103 million in 2003 to Rs. 121 million in 2004. Table 5: Foreign Investment, Rs million 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Foreign Direct Investment 7,265* 936 979 1966 1,796 EPZ 8 3 41 77 248 Tourism 10 0 100 103 121 Banking 0 600 316 1301 310 Telecoms 7204 0 0 0 38 Others 43 333 522 485 1079 Direct Investment Abroad 333 83 278 1166 909 Net Foreign Direct Investment 6,932 853 701 800 887 * Includes receipts from the sales of Mauritius Telecom shares to France Telecom of Rs 7.2 billion 1 Revised Estimates Concerning outward investment, a high figure of Rs. 1.2 billion was recorded in 2003. However, in 2004, it fell to Rs. 887 million. 2.5   Balance of Payments The overall balance of payments in 2004, measured as a change in foreign reserve assets excluding valuation changes of the Bank of Mauritius, showed a surplus of Rs. 4.2 billion, compared to a surplus of Rs. 6.2 billion in the preceding year. In the first three quarters of 2004, the current account recorded a deficit of Rs. 2.3 billion, compared to a surplus of Rs. 1.8 billion in the corresponding period in 2003, reflecting a deterioration in the visible trade account. The balance of trade worsened from a surplus of Rs. 988 million in the first three quarters of 2003 to a deficit of Rs. 3.0 billion in the corresponding period of 2004. The capital and financial account, inclusive of reserves, recorded a net outflow of Rs. 163 million in the first three quarters of 2004 as opposed to a net outflow of Rs. 1.6 billion in the same period in 2003. At the end of December 2004, Net International Reserves amounted to Rs. 52.8 billion, 8% higher than in December 2003, when it reached Rs. 48.9 billion. Based on the value of the import bill, exclusive of the purchase of aircrafts and vessels, the level of net international reserves represented 39.6 weeks on imports at the end of December 2004. For the corresponding figure in 2003, it represented 36.6 weeks of imports. 2.6 External Trade Table 6: External Trade, Rs Billion 2001 2002 2003 2004 Trade in goods: Exports of goods – excl freeport activities (f.o.b) 47.5 47.3 46.2 48.9 Export of goods – freeport activities 7.3 6.6 6.8 6.8 Imports of goods – excl freeport activities (f.o.b) 53.8 56.0 57.5 67.6 Imports of goods – Freeport activities 5.2 4.2 3.9 3.8 Merchandise trade balance* 4.2 6.3 8.4 15.7 Trade in services Exports of services 35.6 34.4 35.7 39.8 Imports of services 23.6 23.7 25.3 30.0 Balance of trade in services 12.0 10.7 10.4 11.8 Overall trade balance 7.8 4.3 2.0 3.9 * Both Exports and imports are calculated on an f.o.b basis The overall balance of trade in goods and services marked a significant deterioration in 2004. In fact, there was a shift from a trade surplus of Rs. 2 billion in 2003 to a trade deficit of Rs. 3.9 billion in 2004. There was a sharp increase in the deficit in visible trade, which worsened by 87.1% in 2004. Trade in goods was largely biased against imports, therefore resulting in a faster growth in imports, which soared by 14.6% compared to a low 3.3% in 2003. Exports however grew at 7.6% in 2004 as opposed a meagre 0.5% in the preceding year.   On the other hand, trade in services fared well, registering a surplus of Rs. 11.8 billion in 2004, representing 13.5% more than in the previous year. Much of the increase in merchandise imports in 2004 was associated with investment projects, both in the public and private sector. For instance, appreciable increases were noted in the c.i.f value of cement (+57.6%), machinery and transport equipment (+25.9%), crude materials including textile fibres (+46.2%), and telecommunications equipment (+80.3%). Others are linked to an increasing food bill, with surge in the c.i.f value of food items (+14.9%) and of road vehicles (+53.1%). In fact, it is worth noting that in the fourth quarter of 2004, additional projects and events continued to contribute to boost the import bill. There were also new investment projects in EPZ and in energy production and the significant rise in the international price of petroleum products. Finally, the appreciation of the Rand (+13.2%), the Pound Sterling (+9.1%), the Australian Dollar (+9.2%) and the Euro (+7.1%) also contributed to the escalating visible trade deficit. Box: 1 Exports lack dynamics: Although the Mauritian rupee continued to depreciate against major currencies, including the Euro, exports growth remained relatively static over the past few years. A combination of factors resulted in such a situation. Our markets remained relatively undiversified, with a high concentration in Europe. In the past few years, especially since the advent of the Euro in 2000, the Euro Zone has been relatively less dynamic than other countries like China and the US. Our exports to the most dynamic zones have remained however low. Some of the factors responsible for this lack of dynamism include erosion of our long-standing preferences, rising costs of production and the mismatch of skills on the labour market. Trade in services on the other hand, recorded a surplus of Rs. 11.8 billion, 13.5% higher than in the previous year. This is in part, due to higher earnings from the travel industry benefiting from the windfall gains of a strong euro and a strong pound sterling. Exports of services surged by 11.4% in 2004, from Rs. 35.7 billion in 2003 to Rs. 39.8 billion in 2004, whereas there was a 10.6% increase in the imports of services during the same period of time, from Rs. 25.3 billion to Rs. 30.0 billion. 2.7 Inflation Table 7: Inflation Rate, % Calendar Yr Inflation rate (%) Fiscal Yr Inflation rate (%) 2001 5.4 01/02 6.3 2002 6.4 02/03 5.1 2003 3.9 03/04 3.9 2004 4.7 04/05 5.5 The inflation rate, as measured by the percentage change in the yearly average consumer price index reached 4.7% for calendar year 2004 compared to 3.9% in 2003.   This was mainly the result of a combination of domestic and external factors. There were significant increases in the price of subsidised flour (+17%) and rice (+40%). The rise in the price of flour led to an increase in the price of bread by 12%. The price of other food items, such as chicken (+8.8%), fish (+8.5%) , beef (+9.7%), and frozen mutton (+15.2%)   also went up in 2004. In addition, the rise in international oil prices had spill over effects on the domestic economy. There were three successive increases in the price of gasoline and diesel oil. The price of gasoline increased by a total of 27.9% and the price of diesel oil rose by 45.0%, therefore causing subsequent surges in electricity tariffs (+5.1%), bus fares (+13.3%), taxi fares (+15.4%) and air fares (+16.0%). Finally, the prevailing high budget deficit and the sustained level of public investment also contributed to inflationary pressures. 2.8 Employment/ Unemployment Until 2003, labour force statistics were estimated on the basis of the Population census or Labour Force Sample Survey. A new methodology, named the Continuous Multi Purpose Household Survey   (CMPHS) was introduced in March 2004 to estimate the labour force, employment and unemployment rate. It is based on a sample of households that presently covers a total 8,640 households for the whole of 2004. Estimates are conducted on a quarterly basis, on 2,160 households per quarter. In the new CMPHS, the lower age cut-off point to estimate the labour force was brought to 15 years instead of 12 years used previously. A few inconsistencies with regard to the results of the survey have been noted, which probably indicate some weaknesses in the new methodology. The table below gives the estimated figures for the 3 quarters of 2004: Table 8: March 2004 – Estimates June 2004 – Estimates September 2004 – Estimates Labour force Male Female 541,100 348,700 192,400 540,700 347,500 193,200 527,800 349,400 178,400 Employment Male Female 494,100 328,400 165,700 491,200 324,600 166,600 483,500 329,800 153,700 Unemployment Male Female 47,000 20,300 26,700 49,500 22,900 26,600 44,300 19,600 24,700 Unemployment Rate (%) 8.7 9.2 8.4 Contrary to what one would logically expect, the CMPHS estimates indicate a downward trend in the labour force over the three quarters. From March to June, there was a fall of 400 people in the labour force. However, a larger fall was observed, with a contraction of 12,900 jobs from June to September