Issues in global political economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Issues in global political economy - Essay Example The relationship between the natural environment and free trade focuses on the trade policies impacts on the ecological environment, the impacts on the trade flows and use of trade measures in order to attain environmental policy objectives (Irwin, 2009). Free trade impacts on the environment drew international attention in 1991 when Mexican government challenges United States laws on ban of exports of tuna to the US from Mexico. The United States Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibited the import of tuna and dolphin from countries that used fishing methods that killed the dolphins (Mitchell, 2009). In its case, Mexican government argued that General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) allowed free trade between the two countries. Accordingly, the World Trade Organization (WTO) outlined that countries could restrict free trade in instances when the measures are necessary to protect the safety and health of the citizens. In the ruling, GATT panel clearly outlined that the US governm ent had violated GATT agreements since it could not utilise its domestic legislation to control and protect dolphins that were outside its territory (Geradin, 1997). This case opened new controversial issues on the impact of free trade on the environment since Mexico did not press for the implementation of the panel ruling. Thesis statement: International free trade and environmental protection can never be compatible. Free trade increases the global economic activities and leads to higher national incomes. The total global trade volumes have increased significantly due to trade liberlisation and free flow of labour among the trading partners (Irwin, 2009). The growth in free trade has been supported by advancements in transportation networks, increase in outsourcing, industrialisation and emergency of global trade organisations. Proponents of free trade assert that it leads to efficient resource allocation due to the comparative advantage of nations in producing certain commodities . Garber (1993) asserts that free trade increases global economic output due to expanded market for excess output and elimination of market access tariffs and regulations of the domestic economies. Accordingly, free trade encourages competition among various firms thus leading to high quality products and low prices to the consumers. It is acknowledged that free trade will foster technology transfer that contributes to human advancements and better quality of life in the society. Accordingly, free trade enables multinational companies to reduce the costs of production through attracting high qualified skill force at a lower cost and moving their manufacturing plants closer to sources of raw materials (Michalos, 2008). In addition, free trade will contribute to growth in domestic gross product by ensuring higher employment levels and consumer incomes thus ultimately contribute to increase in consumption levels in the economy. However, environmentalists assert that free trade leads to market externalities like pollution and thus stringent domestic environmental regulations are necessary in order to check the standards of goods imported in the economy (Esty, 1994). The WTO established a committee to deal with trade and environment in 1995 in order to deal with issues concerning domestically prohibited goods and eco-labelling. A major concern for the committee is the relationship between multinational environmental agreements

The Global Supply Chain Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

The Global Supply Chain Management - Assignment Example This essay discusses that  the globalization of trade in the last 10 years has expanded dramatically and when it comes to 'Fashion', the possibilities are unlimited. Supply chain management contributes the maximum for companies to leverage their business standards internationally. My goal in this paper is to present a study on Global supply chain Management along with its elements and compounds for a better understanding of its function. The paper explores the Global supply chain management through a rigorous study from available books and journals pertaining to the context, and then gradually I would move towards the purpose of this paper i.e. to conduct a case study on ' The Global Supply chain Management of ‘Zara’.  Ã‚  As the report highlights  the supply chain is referred to the sequence or series of events in which the product is flowing or circulating, and adding value to the value of that particular product. The events refer to the assembling, converting, a nd distributing the products. In other words supply chain management is all about creating a link which connects the producer/manufacturer with the distributors and most importantly to the final consumer. This link is a dedicated service which is transparent in its function. While the institute of supply management Inc USA, defines the term as a seamless management and a process that adds value to the organization by reaching the end consumer beyond boundaries.  ... In other words supply chain management is all about creating a link which connects the producer/manufacturer with the distributors and most importantly to the final consumer. This link is a dedicated service which is transparent in its function (Alan, 2009). While the institute of supply management Inc USA, defines the term as a seamless management and a process that adds value to the organization by reaching the end consumer beyond boundaries. Apart from the essential activities involved in its function, it also encompasses the association and contribution of their respective channel partners, providers, suppliers or intermediaries ("Supply Chain Management"). Fig. 1.0 – Supply Chain Activities Why Global Supply Chain Management? The globalization of the clothing industry has enabled designer brands, manufacturers and retailers to reach out to as many consumers as possible. However, the goods produced by this industry have a short life span, the demand for new concept is huge . To balance this complex chain of demand and supply; many firms have chosen to incorporate with channel partners all across the world in different countries ("SAHCC"). Today most of the top apparel companies are managing their competition through respective partners. it is quite evident that an independent company with all its resources may not be able to give stiff competition to its competitor and with the proper downstream arrangement of the production at the input level, up to the output level and finally being distributed by the collaborated efforts of the channel partners would ensure a successful strategy of overpowering any competition ("Supply Chain Management"). Components of Supply Chain management Joel, in his book highlights the most important

Effects of Imperialism in Africa

Effects of Imperialism in Africa In the 1880s, the scramble for Africa began, which brought destruction to the continent. Europeans helped Africa in many ways but it was primarily for their benefits too. The westerners arrived with a main purpose of gaining for themselves with no regards for the effects they imposed on Africa. Although countries like Equatorial Guinea and Morocco improved slightly due to the Europeans, other countries, such as Nigeria and South Africa, suffered greatly. Morocco didnt have roads before it became a French protectorate. Roads, buildings, and other infrastructures were constructed when the French arrived in the early 1900s  [1]  . Railroads were built too to facilitate trade and transportation. France got Morocco started with their industries by building mining plants and influencing their music, food, and culture. Modern day Morocco has a lot of French style bakeries and universities teach math and science in French  [2]  . What France gave to this striving nation helped them. Various infrastructures were constructed; their culture was enriched by the Frenchs, and modern day Morocco is heavily influenced by Frances lifestyle and language. France didnt only leave behind a positive legacy, Spain too left favorable impacts on Equatorial Guinea. Historian and author Tim Harry said that Equatorial Guinea achieved some of the highest literacy rates amongst local people anywhere in the continent  [3]  due to the effects of Spanish imperialism. This is an amazing contribution to the country in terms of education and as historian Tunde Obadina analyzed, Colonialism laid the seeds of the intellectual and material development in Africans.  [4]  Economically, Spain improved the country tremendously as they created more jobs and it resulted in Equatorial Guinea having the highest income per capita rate compared to her bordering countries  [5]  . With the help of both these European countries, small nations such as Morocco and Equatorial Guinea were able to develop and further narrow the economic gap between their nations and the Europeans. As France and Spain occupied Morocco and Equatorial Guinea respectively, Nigeria saw themselves occupied by the British in the mid 1800s. Lagos, a fishing village, was colonized and made into a port in the 1960s. According to British historian, A.G. Hopkins, from the University of Texas , The purpose of these moves was to suppress the slave trade and to encourage instead the rise of legitimate commerce  [6]  , it means that they would like to continue the trade system without requirement of slaves. They put a halt on the slave trade because they wanted to improve the Afro-European trading relation so that they would be able to extract and export palm oil and palm-kernels, which were palm tree products that grew a lot in Lagos. Their real intentions were to benefit themselves. To achieve this, they balkanized the different oil producing regions in Nigeria and forced the local people to export their oils so that the British could produce things like railways, soaps, cooking fats, a nd pharmaceutical products  [7]  . By 1900, 89% of the nations export was their oil  [8]  . Aside from a lost to their economy, the Nigerians suffered a great loss of their lands and people. Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon, the Head of State back then said I receive complaints daily that up till now Easterners living in the North are being killed and molested and their property looted  [9]  . Not only did they lose their lands and people, the Nigerians rights were abused. To make governing easier and for the economic interest of the British, indirect rule and separate development policy were stationed in two sections of the country, one being in Lagos  [10]  . This created a large division in Nigeria as described by Sir Hugh Clifford, the Governor General of Nigeria (1920-1931), [Nigeria was] a collection of independent Native States, separated from one another by great distances, by differences of history and traditions and by ethnological, racial, tribal, political, social a nd religious barriers.  [11]  Each region of Nigeria developed different lifestyles and ideas. Furthermore, on the New Nigeria Newspaper in 1986, an Itobo Ojobo said that, It was the introduction of party politics by colonial administration that set off the fire of ethnic conflicts in Nigeria  [12]  , describing how the western powers elevated the conflicts in society. In 1967, the Biafrans wanted to fight for freedom and unification, thus began the Biafrans secession, more commonly known as the Nigerian Civil War. Britain sent over aircrafts to support the Nigerians and bombed densely populated towns and villages of the Biafrans. Scorpion tanks ran over troops, and flame throwers and gasoline bombs caused devastating effects that left the country and their people burned and wasted  [13]  . The civil war was so horrifying that the Red Cross members werent allowed in there for months. Famine and disease started developing fast and by the end of the war, over a million peo ple had died and thousands more were displaced into bordering countries  [14]  . The killings were so mass that historian Marcus Brooks described the scene as Burned, dismembered and mangled corpses littered villages, rivers, streams and everywhere else  [15]  . When the British left Nigeria, they left behind few rail lines, rudimentary infrastructure and a few thousand graduates, but other countries faced worst from their colonizers, like Mozambique, who had only about 40 graduates because of the Portuguese  [16]  . An evaluation of British imperialism in Nigeria would show that they took from the Nigerians for the improvement of their nation. They took Nigerias oil to produce products for their people and they banned slavery to improve relationships just so that they can continue with their export. When there was a revolt against their colonization, the British went all out on the African country, destroying lands and civilization. It took about 20 years to rebuild the nation. Economically, Nigeria lost a lot as the British exported a majority of their oils back to their home country and their nation was crushed by the war. Also, Britain contributed to the great seperation of Nigeria by dividing the nation through the oil producing regions. Nigeria lay in ruins because of the British. South Africa saw itself lay in ruins too due to British Imperialisms. The British wanted the fertile soils, diamond mines, and gold deposits of South Africa, but the Zulu tribe stood in their way. The British sent 30,000 troops led by Lord Chelmsford to battle the Zulu nation. As a result, 15,000 Zulus died reducing them to a small quantity. In the final battle in 1899, the British completely wiped out the Zulus and their civilization  [17]  . In effect, the rest of South Africa fell under British hands. Over in Kenya, the British fought and killed 12,000 Kenyans during the Mau Mau Rebellion, some of them died in confinement camps  [18]  . A few thousands more were displaced or driven away from the country, leaving their people scattered in neighboring countries. Europeans didnt only bring troops over, they brought diseases too. Rinderpest, a European livestock disease killed off 90-95% of the live cattle in Africa and other grazing animals  [19]  . The lack of grazing an imals changed the landscape that made it easier for tsetse fly to nest. The tsetse flies spread a sleeping sickness that killed about 200,000 Ugandans from 1902-1906  [20]  . African tribes were very dependent on their livestock; as a result, tribes like the Masaai in Tanzania lost two thirds of their population  [21]  . The livestock diseases also brought with it epizootic, a lung disease that hit many animals in South Africa  [22]  . Other diseases from the Europeans that affected the continent greatly were smallpox and malaria because the Africans didnt have much immunity to them. Disease became a huge factor in the deaths of the African continent, both directly and indirectly; without livestock comes no food, which leads to starvation. However, these werent the Britishs intentions. One of their main intentions of colonizing Africa was for their resources. Diamond mining was very profitable for the British in South Africa. They used slave labor force (the South Africa ns) to dig out the diamonds and left the higher and more important jobs like polishing the diamonds to the white people  [23]  . The mining was harsh work and that separated families, leaving women and children unsupported. Lands needed for mining displaced many people from their homes  [24]  . To make these lands appropriate for mining, erosion, and deforestation, flattening of mountains took place  [25]  . The mining released toxic chemicals that polluted the rivers and soils and the dust from the bulldozers and transportation caused air pollution. Families and lands were devastated. Over in Madagascar, French colonialism in 1986 caused deforestation when they started to modify the rice harvesting lands for the growth of coffee beans when the French found out they profited from the coffee more  [26]  . This resulted in a rice shortage in Madagascar in 1911. To feed themselves, the people started to grow more rice resulting in the burning and clear cutting of the fo rests, which destroyed it  [27]  . Although the country tried to improve things by prohibiting shifting cultivation, they permitted forest logging in 1921 which increased the number of deforestation and illegal cutting of trees resulting in roughly 70% of the primary forest destroyed in the 30 years between 1895 and 1925  [28]  . The French imposed policies that made Madagascar importers of foods, which displaced local people from their homes and the resources fell under the control of the French. Coffee plantations caused a lot of erosions and the fertile lands cleared for it and replaced with monoculture (for coffee) was unsuitable for plants and animals from the previous forest to live  [29]  . Lack of food resulted due to the loss of plants and animals. From wars, diseases, and human and lands abuse, the African continent and its people saw itself devastated by the French and the British. From a period of about 30 years, the scramble for Africa became the destruction of Africa. Spain left the fewest but most positive effects in the continent. France improved Morocco slightly but their colonization in Madagascar left the tiny island wrecked. Britain found themselves topping the destruction level of Africa. From Nigeria to South Africa, people, lands, and resources were greedily mistreated for the benefit of the powerful European island. Overall, the prints that the westerners left behind were an ugly sight.

Metafiction and JM Coetzees Foe Essay -- Foe

Metafiction and JM Coetzee's Foe    Is writing not a fine thing, Friday? Are you not filled with joy to know that you will live forever, after a manner? (Susan Barton, Foe, 58) Of the many literary conventions used to describe JM Coetzee's Foe, one of the more commonly written about is metafiction. Since about 1970, the term metafiction has been used widely to discuss works of post-modern fiction and has been the source of heated debate on whether its employ marks the death or the rebirth of the novel. A dominant theme in post-modern fiction, the term "metafiction" has been defined by literary critics in multiple ways. John Barth offers perhaps the most simplified definition: metafiction is "a novel that imitates a novel rather than the real world." Patricia Waugh extends our understanding to add that it is "fictional writing which self-consciously and systematically draws attention to itself as an artifact to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality." According to these definitions, metafiction concerns itself not with the creation of a new narra...

Bindge Drinking

We have all heard the terms boozing, drinking to get drunk, sloshed, tanked, tipsy, tooted, and hammered. But have you ever really thought about what you were saying when you used these terms. You were saying that all that you did the night before was binge drink. Binge drinking on college campuses is something that has grown to an all time high but who’s to blame? All too often we have heard the horror stories of how kids are getting behind the wheel of a car after a night of binge drinking, and end up killing everyone involved, but themselves. Binge drinking must be stopped, but it’s easier said than done. College administrators shouldn’t be held 100 percent accountable for students actions, the idea for colleges to crack down on binge drinking sounds unrealistic. In his essay â€Å"Binge Drinking must be stopped† director of the college alcohol studies program at the Harvard school of public health, Henery Wechsler states â€Å"An incoming freshman learns during the first week of school where the alcohol and parties and often has a binge drinking experience even before purchasing a textbook. If students can find it so easily so can college administrators it’s not that complicated† (32). It shouldn’t be the administrators responsibility to constantly hover over their Lee 2 students. We’re not talking about high school students here,we’re talking about college students! These are people who are 18 years old are older so it’s time for them to take on some responsibilities. I believe that if your caught intoxicated on campus and your under the age of 21 your parents shouldn’t be notified by an college administrator, you should be taken straight to jail until you sober up. I mean aren’t you considered an adult once you turn 18? (elaborate more) â€Å"if we know so much about the problem, why is it that we have not been able to do much about it† (33). Realistically speaking how are u going to be able to stop binge drinking? â€Å"Drunken parties are usually at certain frat houses and housing complexes. The heaviest drinking most likely takes place in a few bars near campus† (33). Why is it that administrators have to take on all the responsibilities? Do you really expect administrators to go around busting in frat houses or local bars like some type of Robocops? That would be stepping on students privacy , and everyone has a right to their privacy. Consequences and reprecutions should be enforced in order to make students think twice before they go out and binge drink. Students need to take on more responsibilities for themselves instead of being baby sitted by college administrators

Advantages of Science

Assignment #3 WAQAR AHMED KHAN (5757) Q1. Write a function power ( a, b ), to calculate the value of a raised to b. static void Main(string[] args) { Console. WriteLine(â€Å"enter number with power is to be calculated†); int a = Convert. ToInt16(Console. ReadLine()); Console. WriteLine(â€Å"enter power†); int b = Convert. ToInt16(Console. ReadLine()); Program p = new Program(); double c=p. power(a, b); Console. WriteLine(a+ † rase to the power â€Å"+b+ â€Å"=†+c); } private double power(int a, int b) { double power = Math. Pow(a, b); return power; } Q2.Write a general-purpose function to convert any given year into its roman equivalent. Example: Roman equivalent of 1988 is mdcccclxxxviii Roman equivalent of 1525 is mdxxv static void Main(string[] args) { Console. WriteLine(â€Å"enter the year†); int number=Convert. ToInt16(Console. ReadLine()); Program p=new Program(); string samsung=p. ToRoman(number); Console. WriteLine(samsung); } private st ring ToRoman(int number) { if ((number < 0) || (number > 3999)) throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(â€Å"insert value betwheen 1 and 3999†); if (number < 1) return string. Empty; f (number >= 1000) return â€Å"M† + ToRoman(number – 1000); if (number >= 900) return â€Å"CM† + ToRoman(number – 900); if (number >= 500) return â€Å"D† + ToRoman(number – 500); if (number >= 400) return â€Å"CD† + ToRoman(number – 400); if (number >= 100) return â€Å"C† + ToRoman(number – 100); if (number >= 90) return â€Å"XC† + ToRoman(number – 90); if (number >= 50) return â€Å"L† + ToRoman(number – 50); if (number >= 40) return â€Å"XL† + ToRoman(number – 40); if (number >= 10) return â€Å"X† + ToRoman(number – 10); if (number >= 9) return â€Å"IX† + ToRoman(number – 9); if (number >= 5) return â€Å"V† + ToRoman(number – 5); if ( number >= 4) return â€Å"IV† + ToRoman(number – 4); if (number >= 1) return â€Å"I† + ToRoman(number – 1); throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(â€Å"something bad happened†); } Q3. Any year is entered through the keyboard. Write a function to determine whether the year is a leap year or not. static void Main(string[] args) { Console. WriteLine(â€Å"enter the year†); int a = Convert. ToInt16(Console. ReadLine()); Program p=new Program(); . leap(a); } private void leap(int a) { if (a%4! =0 && a%100==0 && a%400==0) { Console. WriteLine(â€Å"this year is a leap year†); } else Console. WriteLine(â€Å"this is not a leap year†); } Q4. Write a function that receives 5 integers and returns the sum, average and standard deviation of these numbers. int a, b, c, d, e; Console. WriteLine(â€Å"enter first number†); a = Convert. ToInt16(Console. ReadLine()); Console. WriteLine(â€Å"enter second number†); b = Convert. To Int16(Console. ReadLine()); Console. WriteLine(â€Å"enter third number†); c = Convert. ToInt16(Console. ReadLine()); Console. WriteLine(â€Å"enter forth number†); = Convert. ToInt16(Console. ReadLine()); Console. WriteLine(â€Å"enter fifth number†); e = Convert. ToInt16(Console. ReadLine()); Program p = new Program(); int f = p. sum(a, b, c, d, e); int g = p. average(f); double h = p. standard_deviation(a, b, c, d, e, f, g); Console. WriteLine(â€Å"sum of numbers are=†+f); Console. WriteLine(â€Å"averge of numbers are=†+g); Console. WriteLine(â€Å"stardard derivation of numbers is=†+h); } private double standard_deviation(int a, int b, int c, int d, int e, int f, int g) { double i, j, k, l, m,deri,squ; i = a – g; j = b – g; k = c – g; l = d – g; m = e – g; i = Math. Pow(i, 2); j = Math. Pow(j, 2); = Math. Pow(k, 2); l = Math. Pow(l, 2); m = Math. Pow(m, 2); deri = (i + j + k + l + m) / g; squ = Math. Sqrt(deri); return squ; } private int average(int f) { int avg = f / 5; return avg; } private int sum(int a, int b, int c, int d, int e) { int sum = a + b + c + d + e; return sum; } Q5. If we list all the natural numbers below 10 that are multiples of 3 or 5, we get 3, 5, 6 and 9. The sum of these multiples is 23. Find the sum of all the multiples of 3 or 5 below 1000. int sum = 0; for (int i = 3; i < 1000; i++) { if (i % 3 == 0 || i % 5 == 0) { sum += i; Console. WriteLine(sum. ToString()); } Q6. A palindromic number reads the same both ways.The largest palindrome made from the product of two 2-digit numbers is 9009 = 91 99. Find the largest palindrome made from the product of two 3-digit numbers. int maxPalindrome = 0; for (int i = 100; i < 1000; i++) { for (int j = i; j < 1000; j++) { int product = i * j; if (product. IsPalindrome() && product > maxPalindrome) { maxPalindrome = product; } } } System. Console. WriteLine(maxPalindrome); } } public static class Extensions { public s tatic bool IsPalindrome(this int i) { List chars = new List(i. ToString(). ToCharArray()); chars. Reverse(); return i == int. Parse(new string(chars. ToArray()));