Macroeconomic Analysis Russia Free Essays

string(89) " 1660 dated in February 17, 2006 \(The Central Bank of the Russian Federation 2005: 1\)\." Since the financial crisis in 1998, Russia has been experiencing impressive economic growth due to the collaboration of monetary and fiscal policies that stabilized the performance of major economic indicators up to this day. Many economists regard the impressive performance of Russia as part increase of the volume of investment in the said country. On the other hand, some says that the notable growth of Russia should be attributed to the increase of oil prices in the international market (Traveldocs. We will write a custom essay sample on Macroeconomic Analysis: Russia or any similar topic only for you Order Now com 2008: 1). Despite of the various claims on what really was the foundation of Russia’s economic stability for the past nine years, it would be better to examine first what are the performances of some major economic indicators like GDP Growth, Balance of Trade, Inflation Rate, Unemployment Rate and Interest Rate of the said country for the past four years. GDP Growth Rate In 2004, Russia experienced 7.76 percent growth on their GDP from 1.4 billion USD of 2003 to approximately 1.5 billion USD of 2004 (Alcarastore.com 2008: 1). This increase in the GDP growth rate was triggered by the improvement of consumer demand from 2003 to 2004. On the other hand, by the end of 2005, Russia experienced sluggish improvement on the growth of GDP from 7.76 to 6.93 percent primarily due to the instability happened on the investment component of the economy caused by unclear limit and conditions non foreign investment, obsolete infrastructure as well as delayed economic reforms of the government. But in general sense, the GDP of Russia still increased by around 150 million USD. By 2006, Russia once again performed robust increase on their GDP growth rate from 6.93 to 7.8 percent as the economy starts to recover from the adverse effects of unstable investment climate caused by delayed fiscal policies. Last 2007, the Russian GDP already reached its 2 billion USD level which caused their GDP growth rate to achieved 8.3 percent growth level as the investors and consumption continues to improve in the domestic market of Russia. Trade Balance Another major economic indicator of Russia’s economic performance would be the Trade Balance. For the past four years, the trade balance of Russia has been performing remarkable as this economic indicator continues to increase from 2004 to 2007 due to the strong consumer demand and fixed capital formation growth of the Russian economy. In 2004, the trade balance of Russia reached around 85.8 billion USD as the consequence of the increase of their non-oil exports by the end of 2003. The improvement of non-oil exports of Russia continued to positively influence the trade balance of the said country for the succeeding years like in 2005, the trade balance increased by 23 billion USD while it increased by 22 billion in 2006 (The Federal State Statistics Office Service 2007: 1). Though there was a slight growth in the trade balance of Russia during 2007 due to the significant excess of growth rates of import above the growth rates of exports. Nonetheless, the Russian economists is still optimistic regarding the performance of the trade balance of the Russian economy this year as their monetary and fiscal policies starts to combat the said issue on trade balance. Inflation Rate Prices of goods in Russia has been experiencing sluggish growth rate since 2003 as the result of the fiscal policies of the Russian government despite of the fact that they also have to lower down their unemployment rate. Theoretically, if unemployment rate decreases, inflation is being expected to increase based from the Philips Curve, but with the fiscal policies of the Russian government such as the bilateral market access agreement with the United States as a prelude to their possible entry to WTO, prices of domestic goods starts to decrease thereby creating a force for the inflation rate to decline since 2003 (Indexmundi.com 2007a: 1). In 2004, the inflation rate was equivalent to 13.7 percent while it reached 11.5 percent in 2005 (Indexmundi.com 2007c: 1). Though it increased again to 12.7 percent in 2006, inflation rate still managed to continue its good performance in 2007 by reaching 9.8 percent as the policies on regional monopolies and trade regulation of the Russian government starts to work on their economic system to stabilize the domestic prices of goods and services (Russiatoday.ru 2007: 1). Unemployment Rate As the number of job opportunities in Russia continues to increase for the past years plus the effort of the Russian government to attract more foreign investors to their economy, unemployment rate starts to decline since 2004 with 8.5 percent unemployment rate. By the start of 2005, the Russian government already felt the positive impact of their rigorous action to provide more job opportunities to the Russian labor pool which resulted to the further deterioration of unemployment rate from 8.5 percent of 2004 to 8.3 percent of 2005 and then from 7.6 percent in 2006 to 6.6 percent of 2007 (Indexmundi.com 2007b: 1). This only means that the Russian government has been successful for the past four years in combating the unemployment rate of their country which could further contribute to their impressive economic growth in the next coming years. Interest Rates One of the most concerns of foreign investors, interest rate on borrowing in Russia exhibits good investment condition as it continues to decreases annually due to the stable financial sector of Russia for the past years after the financial crisis in 1998. The loan rate or the interest rate on borrowing on Russia in 2004 was equal to 11.4 percent and decreased to 10.7 percent by 2005 as the Russian government started to implement economic reforms on their financial institutions in order to make their economy more attractive to foreign investors. As a result, with the stable financial sector and fiscal policies to attract more foreign investors, interest rate on borrowing continues to decline from 10.4 percent in 2006 to 10 percent in 2007 with accordance to Ordinance No. 1660 dated in February 17, 2006 (The Central Bank of the Russian Federation 2005: 1). You read "Macroeconomic Analysis: Russia" in category "Essay examples" Economic Strengths and Weaknesses Based from the given performance of Russia’s major economic indicators, it is clear that the business environment in Russia is very much attractive and provides a better outlook in the next couple of years. Like for instance, the impressive growth of their GDP, it only signifies how active is the domestic consumption and investment level in the Russian economy and gives the investors a bird’s eye view of the possible return to investment that the Russian economy could give to them. Moreover, despite of the fact that there were some periods wherein the Russian economy performs badly, but the point is, with the proper action of the Russian government, almost all of the economic problems was resolved and put the market back into its equilibrium condition. Another example of the strengths of the Russian economy would be the cheap borrowing in Russia as their interest rate on borrowing continues to declines for the past years in order to attract more foreign investors to their economy. This would provide further improvements on the investment sector of the Russian economy plus the possibility of increase in the number of job opportunities for the Russian labor pool. As a result, economic activity in Russia is expected to boost alongside with the improvement in the investment and labor sector of the economy. Most of the time, investors prefer countries that can offer cheaper loans in order to finance their business expansion especially those multinational companies that aggressively finds more countries which could give them competitive advantage either in a form of cheaper labor, loans, technologies, favorable government subsidies and other factors of production to name a few. Furthermore, the effort of the Russian government to become less dependent on their oil exports in order to attain impressive economic growth by increasing the volume of their non-oil exports goods and services. This would provide an avenue towards the attainment of sustainable growth on their trade balance. The fact that the Russian oil exports already provides large chunk on the total GDP of the country plus the improvement on the volume of their non-oil exports reflects the increasing trend of their trade balance for the past years. Maybe this is one of the results of attracting more foreign investors in Russia which establishes manufacturing plants in Russia and then export the finished products to the international markets. The last but not the least strength of the Russian economy would be the increase in the number of job opportunities for their labor sector. This provides enough room for the Russian consumers to have more disposable income which reflects to the increasing domestic consumption of their consumers in the recent years. As a result of the increase in disposable income of the consumers, domestic investment becomes more profitable thereby attracting domestic investors to establish or expand their business. At the end of the day, both the foreign and domestic investors in Russia works hand in hand in order to utilize the Russian labor sector; while on the other hand, it also provides an avenue towards the improvement per capita income of the Russians. One of the major weaknesses of the Russian economy would be the dependence on the foreign direct investments which could cause major damages on their economic stability once the financial sector in Russia becomes unsuitable to foreign investment. What the Russian government should do is to intensify their domestic investments in order to provide enough room for their domestic investors to utilize the improvement made the foreign investors on the economic environment in Russia through rapid expansion and regulation of regional monopolies in order for other domestic investors to enter various industries. Evaluation of the Government Policy The Ordinance No. 1660 which provides the further decrease of the interest rate on borrowing since 2006 serves to be one of the effective policies of the Russian government in order to make the Russian economy more attractive to foreign investors. Furthermore, this policy only provides an impression to the foreign market how stable the Russian financial sector is since they manage to offer lower interest rates on borrowing to foreign investors. The Russian government is very much confident that they can sustain such policy since they possesses large amount of foreign reserves that can easily be liquidated in case of money shortages in the economy (Ignatiev 2007: 1-2). The bilateral market access agreement with the United States as a prelude to their possible entry to WTO of Russia is also a good policy in further improving the stability of the Russian economy since this provides an avenue towards the attainment of lower inflation rate in the domestic market as cheaper goods from other country starts to enter Russia. At the end of the day, the domestic prices of goods and services in Russian domestic market, especially those from the regional monopolies, would be forced to lower down their prices in order to compete to imported products coming from other countries thereby creating enough room for the inflation rate of Russia to depreciate for the past year. Works Cited Alcarastore.com (2008). Russia GDP PPP and GDP Growth Rates 2003-2007 [online]. Available: http://www.alacrastore.com/country-snapshot/Russia. [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Ignatiev, Sergey (2007). The Macroeconomic Situation and Monetary Policy in Russia [online]. Available: http://www.bis.org/review/r070608d.pdf [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Indexmundi.com (2007a). Russian Economy Profile 2007 [online]. Available: http://www.indexmundi.com/russia/economy_profile.html [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Indexmundi.com (2007b). Russia Unemployment Rate [online]. Available: http://www.indexmundi.com/russia/unemployment_rate.html [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Indexmundi.com (2007c). Russia Inflation Rate (Consumer Prices) [online]. Available: http://www.indexmundi.com/russia/inflation_rate_(consumer_prices).html [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Russiatoday.ru (2007). Russia to miss 2007 inflation target: Economic Minister [online]. Available: http://www.russiatoday.ru/business/news/15319 [Accessed 2 April 2008]. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (2005). Interest Rates in 2004 [online]. Available: http://www.cbr.ru/eng/statistics/credit_statistics/print.asp?file=interest_rates_04_e.htm [Accessed 2 April 2008]. The Federal State Statistics Office Service (2007). Foreign Trade of the Russian Federation [online]. Available: http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/2007/b07_12/25-02.htm [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Traveldocs.com (2008). Russian Federation: Economy [online]. Available: http://www.traveldocs.com/ru/economy.htm [Accessed 2 April 2008]. How to cite Macroeconomic Analysis: Russia, Essay examples

Paying college athletes free essay sample

Here we go again; a stand-out high school athletic star has a choice that will determine the rest of his life. This is what happened to Koby Clemens son of baseball star pitcher Roger Clemens. He intended to play baseball on full scholarship at the University of Texas a NCAA college baseball power house. After graduating high school he was drafted into the MLB, an eighth round pick by the team his father played for. Now for the hard part, to go to college for free, or forgo is commitment to play at Texas and go pro. The decision came pretty easy for him as described by Harvey Araton a New York Times Journalist â€Å"Koby Clemens deliberated for about as long as it takes his father to deliver a split-finger fastball, and turned professional† (Araton). Koby was already driving a hummer, so his decision might not have been about the money he would earn, but when a pro team can offer $380 thousand for your first contract that would be hard for a teenage boy to pass up. We will write a custom essay sample on Paying college athletes or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This happens in all sports, athletes have to decide whether to go to college and leave early, or stay and graduate. This decision depends on their situation, but other factors do weigh in on their decision. Athletes should be able to benefit from their abilities, without the colleges taking advantage of the fact that they’re successful. This would cause players to stay in college, leading to more intelligent athletes. The NCAA or National Collegiate Athletic Association is the college association that creates the rules and regulates them. In Andrew Zimbalists’ book Unpaid Professionals he says because of no set rules, and lack of protective equipment people were dying, President Teddy Roosevelt demanded a change and in 1905 the NCAA was born (8). In 1997-98 the NCAA manual first page says â€Å"to maintain intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the educational program and the athlete as an integral part of the student body and, by doing so, retain a clear line of demarcation between intercollegiate athletics and professional sports† (1). This is the NCAA’s goal and saying that college athletes are student’s first athletes second they’re at college to get an education, sports are secondary. Firstly the NCAA rules and regulations helps the economics by taking advantage of their athletes. Thru TV contracts, licensing, sales of tickets, apparel, and sponsorships the big time sports basketball and football make their college multi millions and the NCAA a multi- billion dollar business. The NCAA earned $7. 13 billion in just two TV contracts for 8 years in two sports, March madness for basketball and bowl games for football. All this money is tax-deductible because schools are amateur programs promoting education (Eitzen). Therefore the NCAA profits most of its income. Student athletes are considered amateur and can only receive educational benefits. The athletes can’t make money but can make money for others. According to a study by Joyce Julius Associates, a research firm found that Texas AM quarterback, Johnny Manzel, produced $37 million worth of media coverage in which he didn’t see a single penny in that besides a free education (Fair or Foul). Thru licensing and sponsorships is where the college makes a lot of its income. The school sells there logo to manufactures to make products with their logo on it and also make jerseys or t-shirts with the players name on them. Major equipment and apparel companies sponsor teams and programs. Companies give the big Division 1 programs millions, free equipment, and apparel to use. According to Zimbalist, â€Å"Colleges receive free uniforms, athletic shoes, warm-ups, and equipment for the players on all of the teams and its staff, as well as cash to serve as bonus money for the coaches and athletic director† (137). The companies therefor receive free marketing from the players so the college and coaches make money but the players who put in the work don’t. The NCAA is highly a profitable organization using strict rules and regulations to produce free labor which generates there revenue. The rules and regulations of the NCAA also cause athletes to leave early or not go to college. To play a college sport you must pass thru a process call the NCAA clearing house which involves the athlete to answer amateurism questions, turn in their ACT score and turn in their high school transcript to prove his/her eligibility. To play in the NCAA the athlete must be an amateur. The NCAA prides its self on amateurism providing all the athletes’ equality and ensuring athletes’ priority is on an education first athlete second. From ncaa. org rules page provides the general rules for amateurism, In general, amateurism requirements do not allow: Contracts with professional teams Salary for participating in athletics Prize money above actual and necessary expenses Play with professionals Tryouts, practice or competition with a professional team Benefits from an agent or prospective agent Agreement to be represented by an agent Delayed initial full-time collegiate enrollment to participate in organized sports competition (Summary of NCAA) These are the basic rules that determine a player’s decision to leave. For Detroit Lions Quarter Back Matthew Stafford had a decision to make. He was a college standout and could declare himself for the NFL draft in which he was ranked to go in the first round, or he could stay in college risking a career ending injury and never going pro but getting a degree in the process. With what NFL teams pay a first round pick signee Stafford was looking at a huge payday by turning pro. According to Marc Weiszer’s article on Online Athens he was projected to go number one in the draft with a projected payday of $35 million guaranteed (Weiszer). Stafford choose the money and got drafted first overall, with not being paid to play college football and the fact that you can get paid multi millions in the NFL helped determine Stafford’s decision. Amateurism isn’t the only rules the NCAA enforce that help players decide when they leave college. Athletes must also worry about other rules and regulations such as ethical conduct, financial aid, employment earnings, academic standards, drugs, and other various rules (Summary of NCAA). Ethical conduct includes being in good sportsmanship at all times, always being honest with the NCAA, never giving information to sport gamblers and never participating in sports betting. Financial aid can only be given to you from the university, for reason other than athletic ability, and from anyone you’re legally or naturally dependent on. If athletes have a job they must get only paid for work they have done and must be paid accurately for the work he/she is doing. One rule the NCAA really emphasizes is being student first and there are many guidelines to the academic standards rule. A basic breakdown is that you must be a full time student, and be in good academic standings according to the college you go to. The NCAA doesn’t allow any drug use and if caught there are many consequences you will receive. All these rules are for the better well being of the athletes and help them become the best athletes they can be. The only downfall is the quantity of the rules and little rules most players would never think of. Players are responsible for knowing all these rules which for some players is a hard task to do and it makes them leave early. Rules and regulations determine when athletes leave for the pros but so do the rules for the professional programs. Another reason the rules and regulations cause players to leave and not graduate is because they have nothing set up with the professional programs to keep kids in college. The differences for professional sports in the recruiting process for athletes determine how the rules and regulations in the NCAA affect their choice when to go pro. For basketball and football players, because of how their professional programs are set up, usually have to play two years of college and then most of the highly rated players leave. For hockey and baseball there are alternative routes for players to skip college. Hockey players have huge decisions in their life when turning 16. If you’re a highly talented player you have two options keep playing high school then go to the college you committed to or leave home and go play major juniors, a league based in Canada in which you get paid which would forgo your college eligibility. Many of the best hockey players choose the major junior route. They choose this because they can be paid, but mostly they can have an agent and make the process to the pros a lot easier. For baseball players many highly talented players go straight to the minors of the MLB where they can offer huge signing bonuses and make the climb up to the big show easier. Rules and regulations are a factor in the decision process but so is an athlete’s academic standing and will to go to college. The NCAA recruiting process sets up some players to fail. In Stanley Eitzens article Slaves of Big-Time college sports for USA today magazine he talked about a 1999 report by the NCAA division 1 determined how many athletes enrolled in 1992-93 had graduated after six years. For all male athletes it was only 54%, for football 50% and for basketball 41% (Eitzen). For big time athletic programs the athletes get special treatments by the admissions process to get them into the school (Eitzen). The athletes are usually less prepared for college and are in the bottom quarter of the freshman class. There whole life is based on playing sports and when they get to college it’s the same thing. They have no time to study or they don’t study because some still have to provide for their family and worry about going professional. Many athletes for football and basketball come from low income families and if it wasn’t for their athletic ability they would have never been able to go to college. Some athlete’s barley even graduated high school and when they get to college their mind is usually on the sport they play and providing for their family instead of their schooling. Former Iowa State University football coach Jim Walden has said, â€Å"Not more than 20% of the football players go to college for an education† (Qtd. By Eitzen). Most guys coming into a big time division 1 school think they do not need to get a degree because they will go pro. Players’ decisions also comes from their living situation in college. Lastly the rules and regulations the NCAA players need to abide by have some players living under the poverty line. Sheryl Nance-Nash’s â€Å"NCAA Rules Trap many College Athletes in Poverty† for dailyfinance. com she talks about a study conducted by National College Players Association and Drexel Universitys department of sport management. In this study they found that most college athletes are living under the poverty line. â€Å"The study looked at football and basketball teams from Football Bowl Subdivision colleges and calculated athletes out-of-pocket education-related expenses (over and above their full scholarships), and compared the room-and-board portion of players scholarships to the federal poverty line as well as to coaches and athletic administrators salaries. It then used NFL and NBA collecting bargaining agreements to estimate the fair market value of FBS football and basketball players† (Nance-Nash). The result of the study shows that the scholarships given still leave 85% of athletes living on campus and 86% living off campus living under the poverty line. It also shows that colleges are making multi millions off their athletic programs but their athletes are barley getting thru. College player are allowed to use food stamps and receive welfare. Having taxpayers pay for the athletes well being which if the NCAA wasn’t acting like a rich greedy business man and changed some of its rules the players could benefit from their athletic ability. In Zimbalist’s book he talks about a Duke Basketball player Kenny Blankeney who was on a full scholarship and could barley pay his bills. The full scholarship covered all school expenses and gave him $725 to pay for rent, food and other bills because he live off campus. But that was hardly enough he came from a poor family and he couldn’t work because of the strict basketball schedule he was on. While playing at Duke they won two national championships and averaged almost a million dollars of income each year (17-18). While Blankeney and his teammates were barely making ends meet the college was profiting off their work. Blankeney says in the book â€Å"End of the month, we all talk about it. We’re hanging together – broke. A scholarship just isn’t enough† (18). The rules and regulation can cause many problems for athletes but some say the rules and regulations are good for the players. There are people that argue that changing the rules is not necessary. Most Division 1 athletes receive scholarships, which allow them to go to school for free. This is a fair exchange for the athletic services provided. Jason Whitlock a columnist for the Kansas City Star and host for radio talk shows says in an article he wrote for espn. com there are people in the U. S. and all around the world that would love to go to the big time universities and some of the athletes take this for granted (Whitlock). He also says, â€Å"They need to be slapped back into reality. We need to stress to them that the educational opportunity they’ve been afforded is more valuable than the â€Å"pocket money† an outside source can provide† (Whitlock). The athletes need to realize what they have in front of them a free exceptional education and a spot in the lime light. Playing in front of thousands of fans, being on national TV, people you don’t even know wearing your jersey, and the best exposure to the professional sports. These positives should be enough for a college student. Another argument against changing the rules is most college students have to work as much as they can during the school year not only to pay for school but other bills. These students usually end up with huge amounts of debt when they graduate and for athletes they have none. In an article Paul Daugherty wrote for sports illustrated he writes about how college athletes should be thankful for the opportunity to play. College athletes are some of the best athletes around the world and knowing they will get noticed they have no need to get a resume together like the students around them their resume is their ability on the court. With this resume they are often treated like kings staying in first class hotels, charted jets, and playing in championship games receiving items from the games sponsor. For the academic part players are assigned tutors, have study tables and have other benefits a regular student would not receive. Athletes have very good built in connections in the workforce. Once an athlete graduates most will be set up with a job. Unlike a regular student where the job hunts is one the hardest parts (Daugherty). Some people call college athletes slaves but they are hardly that they choose to play and on most college campuses a highly privileged class. He also said â€Å"Bob Knight once said the best argument against paying players is that it diminishes the value of an education. Thats as true now as it has ever been. For every athlete demanding a paycheck, there are 10 deserving non-athletes who cant afford to walk in the door. To whom a college degree would mean more than a direct deposit every couple of weeks† (Daugherty). This saying for some people education is more important than getting paid; playing in college is a privilege and if they want to abuse that privilege there is other athletes who won’t. The rules and regulations don’t make students leave early or not attend at all. College is not for everyone and some athletes just can’t handle the school work. When athletes leave it is their choice and leave because they believe it’s the right choice to better their career. The argument of NCAA changing its ways and rules has been debated ever since the NCAA came about. Koby Clemens choice to turn pro and not go to college was his choice. The fact that college athletes can’t earn money from their sport may be a deterrent to players that choose to not go to college but there are often many other reason. There have been many athletes who have skipped college and succeeded and many who have not. There are also many athletes who graduated and had a successful career and many who have not too. There should be some changes in the rules that allow athletes to at least make profit off themselves thru endorsements, making appearances, signing autographs, and other money making deals where they earn money from other sources then their college. With a change like this I believe the better athletes in all sports would choose the college route and stay all four years and graduate. Where they can still earn money while getting a degree. This could produce better games and maybe a higher earning potential for the NCAA. But for now the college level will still be an amateur sport and still producing the best athletes in the world.

John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism free essay sample

Abstract The paper presents the life of John Stuart Mill through his biography. A glimpse on his exceptional life as a child was also included in his biography. Likewise, his major contributions as a philosopher and economist were also discussed. Since John Stuart Mill was a proponent of utilitarianism, the paper focuses its discussion on Mill and utilitarianism. The views of John Stuart Mill on utilitarianism and how it differs from Bentham’s views were given much attention in the paper. The history of utilitarianism was also presented to show how utilitarianism evolved. The confusions of many people, regarding who the real founder of utilitarianism, was clarified through the history of utilitarianism. Introduction John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), is a British philosopher-economist, who is the son of James Mill. He is one of the best 19th century thinkers. In economics, he was influenced by the theories of Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Thomas Robert Malthus, and his Principles of Political Economy is a little more than a restatement of their ideas. We will write a custom essay sample on John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He had a great impact on 19th century British thought, not only in philosophy and economics but also in the areas of political science, logic, and ethics. He was a proponent of utilitarianism. He systematized the utilitarian doctrines of his father and Jeremy Bentham in such works as Utilitarianism (1863), basing knowledge upon human experience and emphasizing human reason. In political economy, Mill advocated those policies that he believed most consistent with individual liberty, and he emphasized that liberty could be threatened as much by social as by political tyranny. He is probably most famous for his essay â€Å"On Liberty† (1859). He studied pre-Marxian socialist doctrine, and, although he did not become a socialist, he worked actively for improvement of the conditions of the working people. Utilitarianism is a philosophy which has been around for centuries, and is still active and popular in the modern world. It is important not only in philosophy itself, but in disciplines such as economics, political science, and decision theory. To some people, Utilitarianism seems to be the only ethical philosophy which is obviously correct. To others, it seems to be quite misconceived, even reprehensible. Biography of John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was a British philosopher, economist, moral and political theorist, and administrator. He was the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century. His views are of continuing significance, and are generally recognized to be among the deepest and certainly the most effective defenses of empiricism and of a liberal political view of society and culture. The overall aim of his philosophy is to develop a positive view of the universe and the place of humans in it, one which contributes to the progress of human knowledge, individual freedom and human well-being. John Stuart Mill was born on May 20, 1806 in Pentonville, London. He was the eldest son of James Mill, a Scottish philosopher and historian who had come to London and become a leading figure in the group of philosophical radicals which aimed to further the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham. His mother was Harriet Barrow, who seems to have had very little influence upon him. Mill was educated by his father, with the advice and assistance of Jeremy Bentham and Francis Place. He was given an extremely rigorous upbringing, and was deliberately shielded from association with children of his own age other than his siblings. His father, a follower of Bentham and an adherent of associationism, had as his explicit aim to create a genius intellect that would carry on the cause of utilitarianism and its implementation after he and Bentham were dead. John Stuart Mill as a child was exceptional. At the age of three he was taught the Greek alphabet and long lists of Greek words with their English equivalents. By the age of eight he had read Aesop’s Fables, Xenophon’s Anabasis, and the whole of Herodotus, and was acquainted with Lucian, Diogenes Laertius, Isocrates and six dialogues of Plato. He had also read a great deal of history in English and had been aught arithmetic. At fifteen, John Stuart Mill undertook the study of Benthams various fragments on the theory of legal evidence. These had an inspiring influence on him, fixing in him his life-long goal of reforming the world in the interest of human well-being. At the age of seventeen, he had completed advanced and thorough courses of study in Greek literature and philosophy, chemistry, botany, psychology, and law. In 1822 Mill began to work as a clerk for his father in the examiners office of the India House. In 1823, he co-founded the Westminster Review with Jeremy Bentham as a journal for philosophical radicals. This intensive study however had injurious effects on Mills mental health, and state of mind. At the age of twenty-one, he suffered a nervous breakdown. This was caused by the great physical and mental arduousness of his studies which had suppressed any feelings or spirituality he might have developed normally in childhood. Nevertheless, this depression eventually began to dissipate, as he began to find solace in the poetry of William Wordsworth. His capacity for emotion resurfaced, Mill remarking that the â€Å"cloud gradually drew off†. In 1851, Mill married Harriet Taylor after 21 years of an at times intense friendship and love affair. Taylor was a significant influence on Mills work and ideas during both friendship and marriage. His relationship with Harriet Taylor reinforced Mills advocacy of womens rights. He died in Avignon, France in 1873, and is buried alongside his wife. John Stuart Mill and the Classical School of Thought Classical economics starts with Adam Smith, as a coherent economic theory, continues with the British economists Thomas Robert Malthus and David Ricardo, and culminates in the synthesis of John Stuart Mill, who as a young man was a follower of David Ricardo. Among the classical economists in the three-quarters of a century, although they have differences of opinion between Smiths Wealth of Nations and Mills Principles of Political Economy (1848), the members of the group still agreed on major principles. All believed in private property, free markets, and, in Mills words, that â€Å"only through the principle of competition has political economy any pretension to the character of a science. † They shared Smiths strong suspicion of overnment and his ardent confidence in the power of self-interest represented by his famous â€Å"invisible hand,† which reconciled public benefit with individual pursuit of private gain. From Ricardo, classicists derived the notion of diminishing returns, which held that as more labor and capital were applied to land, yields after â€Å"a certain and not very advanced stage in the progress of agriculture steadily diminished. † Through Smiths emphasis on consumption, rather than on producti on, the scope of economics was considerably broadened.

Interesting Facts About Baryonyx

Interesting Facts About Baryonyx Baryonyx is a relatively recent addition to the dinosaur bestiary, and one that (despite its popularity) is still poorly understood. Here are 10 facts you may or may not have known about Baryonyx. Discovered in 1983 Considering how well-known it is, its remarkable that Baryonyx was excavated only a few decades ago, well after the golden age of dinosaur discovery. This theropods type fossil was discovered in England by the amateur fossil hunter William Walker; the first thing he noticed was a single claw, which pointed the way to a near-complete skeleton buried nearby. Greek for "Heavy Claw" Not surprisingly, Baryonyx (pronounced bah-RYE-oh-nicks) was named in reference to that prominent clawwhich, however, had nothing to do with the prominent claws of another family of carnivorous dinosaurs, the Raptors. Rather than a raptor, Baryonyx was a type of theropod closely related to Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus. Spent Its Day Hunting for Fish The snout of Baryonyx was unlike that of most theropod dinosaurs: long and narrow, with rows of studded teeth. This has led paleontologists to conclude that Baryonyx prowled the edges of lakes and rivers, plucking fish out of the water. (Want more proof? Fossilized remnants of the prehistoric fish Lepidotes have been found in Baryonyxs stomach!) Oversized Claws on Its Thumbs The piscivorous (fish-eating) diet of Baryonyx points to the function of the oversized claws this dinosaur was named after: rather than using these scary-looking appendages to disembowel herbivorous dinosaurs (like its raptor cousins), Baryonyx dipped its longer-than-usual arms in the water and speared passing, wriggling fish. Close Relative of Spinosaurus As mentioned above, the western European Baryonyx was closely related to three African dinosaursSuchomimus, Carcharodontosaurus and the truly enormous Spinosaurusas well as the South American Irritator. All of these theropods were distinguished by their narrow, crocodile-like snouts, though only Spinosaurus sported a sail along its backbone. Remains Have Been Found All Over Europe As so often happens in paleontology, the identification of Baryonyx in 1983 laid the groundwork for future fossil discoveries. Additional specimens of Baryonyx were later unearthed in Spain and Portugal, and this dinosaurs debut prompted the re-examination of a forgotten trove of fossils from England, yielding yet another specimen. Almost Twice as Many Teeth as T. Rex Granted, the teeth of Baryonyx werent nearly as impressive as those of its fellow theropod, Tyrannosaurus Rex. As small as they were, though, Baryonyxs choppers were much more numerous, 64 relatively small teeth embedded in its lower jaw and 32 relatively bigger ones in its upper jaw (compared to about 60 total for T. Rex). Jaws Angled to Keep Prey From Wriggling Free As any fisherman will tell you, catching a trout is the easy part; keeping it from wriggling out of your hands is much harder. Like other fish-eating animals (including some birds and crocodiles), the jaws of Baryonyx were shaped so as to minimize the possibility that its hard-won meal could wriggle out of its mouth and flop back into the water. Lived During the Early Cretaceous Period Baryonyx and its spinosaur cousins shared one important characteristic: They all lived during the early to middle Cretaceous period, about 110 to 100 million years ago, rather than the late Cretaceous, like most other discovered theropod dinosaurs. Its anyones guess as to why these long-snouted dinosaurs didnt survive up until the K/T Extinction event 65 million years ago. May One Day Be Renamed "Suchosaurus" Remember the day when Brontosaurus was suddenly renamed Apatosaurus? That same fate may yet befall Baryonyx. It turns out that an obscure dinosaur named Suchosaurus (crocodile lizard), discovered in the middle 19th century, may actually have been a specimen of Baryonyx; if this is confirmed, the name Suchosaurus would take precedence in the dinosaur record books.

Moving America Forward Aims to Improve Truckings Reputation

Moving America Forward Aims to Improve Truckings Reputation Kevin Burch, head of the â€Å"America Advances Through Trucking† initiative, is leading a movement to boost public perception of the trucking industry. Today trucking faces capacity challenges and a public image problem that Burch believes can be counteracted by executives and drivers taking pride in what they do. According to Burch and John D. Schulz, Contributing Editor at LogisticsManagement.com,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Trucking needs to improve its national image, which Burch says has deteriorated from its ‘Knights of the Road’ persona from the 1970s when drivers were hailed for their service to other motorists in distress on the highways.  But sometime after that, the industry’s image suffered through tales of drug use by drivers, the perception of unsafe and fatigued drivers and the fear of automobile drivers to share the road with 18-wheelers.†Burch is convinced that putting a visible public face on trucking is a big part of rehabilitating the reputation of truckers nationwide.  As a grassroots industry with connections to nearly every community across the country, truckers are well-positioned to carry the message that their work is essential and their drivers are well-trained.A recent speaker at the 29th annual meeting of the North American Transportation Employee Relations Association, Burch advocates for executives and drivers- from individual carriers to Owner-Operator Independent Driver associations- to share the load of boosting trucking’s public presence in Congress and in the wake of potentially restrictive government policies.If nearly half of all Americans know someone who works in the trucking industry, which holds 70% of the freight hauling market, the potential for growth and progress is pretty compelling!

Natural environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Natural environment - Assignment Example Another equally disastrous effect of man’s unlimited usage of energy will be exhaustion of earth’s natural resources. Each human activity today will have its repercussions tomorrow. The manner in which man’s life might change because of the change in the environment is complex and quite unpredictable. The rapidly changing climate will have an impact on a person’s life by endangering life itself through natural disasters. It is not only the poor countries that will suffer but rich countries will suffer as well evident from instances such as Katrina and Aila leading to a crash in the world’s economy and creating economic problem for each individual . Problems in crop production might lead to market politics and decrease in food security. Famines might also result from this. Bad air and water quality will affect a person’s health and reduce the quality of life. Man-wildlife conflict is bound to harm man’s life as well with rapid urbanization and an increase in stress factors on wildlife (Hunter, 2007, p316). Another major problem will be scarcity of water because of rapid decrease in potable water leading scientists to predict as 3rd World War over this precious resource. Exhaustion of natural resources would bring man’s life to a stand-still since man is over dependent on resources such as coal, petroleum and natural gas. Since man’s future depends on the present activities, mitigation efforts and plans need to be constructed to help restore the environmental quality and control anthropogenic activities thereby ensuring continuation of life on

The role of channel marketing in the B2B global marketing challenge Research Paper

The role of channel marketing in the B2B global marketing challenge - Research Paper Example The technological advancement in Europe is believed to be the core reason for massive outsourcing in oil and gas sector of the world. Nevertheless, the outsourcers and channel marketers have more brand value than the mere producers of crude oil. The importance of channel marketers are significantly growing because consumers on the street know the companies that deal in oil and gas products locally. The actual producers of oil and gas do not have sufficient resources that are needed to purify, market and distribute products at an international level. The channel marketers therefore, come into the play. But, in the era of the 21st century, the role of channel marketers is not limited to promotion. They have to purify the crude oil and gas in order to make them consumable (Silvestrea & Dalcol, 2009). Additionally, channel marketers rely on companies like Lumin-Ultra to acquire technologies that are necessary for purification of crude oil based products (Valentini, Montagut, Neslin, & Frey, 2011). Recently, the company has developed a method of on the spot measurement of microorganisms in crude oil and after measurement, the company assists in devising the treatment that will neutralize the impurities and thus more pure crude products can be obtained in this fashion. The featured technology made it easy for producers to find biological agents and get rid of them more effectively and efficiently. The abovementioned process helped the operators in minimizing the time needed to purify the products. The Lumin-Ultra’s major operations are sponsored by channel marketers that are responsible for commercializing the final oil products in the international market. The channel marketers are also found to have more brand reach and recognition in the global consumer market. The actual producers of crude oil do not have necessary technological and financial power required to reach and establish a brand name in global market