DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES - Research Paper Example This is the reason why God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to come and save humankind from sins. We also learn that the great mission of God began in the Old Testament, where God makes promises with the People of Israel and is fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus Christ’s ministry and the Holy Spirit2. The death of Jesus showed God’s power over sins and His resurrection showed his power of death and marking the beginning of a new chapter those who believes in Him. The church plays a central role in ensuring that God’s redemptive mission is accomplished through worship, discipleship, fellowship, evangelism, and ministry. Jesus considered discipleship as an important thing that every Christian should be part of, which according to Him involves three steps namely going, baptizing, and teaching3. Below are the scriptural foundations for our discipleship: Mark 8:34-38: Jesus spoke to His disciples saying, if any of you want to be my follower, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it. What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What could you give to get back your soul? Don’t be ashamed of me and my message among these unfaithful and sinful people! If you are, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:34-38)4. The Gospel according to John Chapter 15, Jesus says to His disciples, I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me. . . . Stay joined to me and let my teachings become part of you. Then you can pray for whatever you want, and your prayer will be answered. When you become fruitful disciples of mine, my Father will be honored (John Chap. 15)5. In Matthew

Letter of proficiency in English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Letter of proficiency in English - Essay Example Now, I recollected my childhood experiences not accidentally but because as I was studying English it turned out that few of my favorite 'foreign' words which I had conjured up by myself as a child turned out to be exactly like the real words in the real English language, which made me even more confident, notwithstanding the clearly accidental nature of this coincidence, that I was capable of intuitive understanding of languages. I believe this positive self-confidence, along with numerous other confirmations of the rightfulness of my decision to learn English like for instance the dominance of English content in Internet, only added to my enthusiasm and energy during my learning of this language. Regarding concrete ways of my study of English, perhaps the most important one for me was that I have been taught in English already starting from my primary education and up to my postgraduate education. In this way, I was able to simultaneously become acquainted with the grammatical rules of English, and to have practice in spoken language, which, as I now understand, requires somewhat separate skills.

Hyperthermia Treatment for Cancer Research Paper

Hyperthermia Treatment for Cancer - Research Paper Example We have been able to find out that hyperthermia can become an effective method in the treatment of cancer with a little careful administration because a number of studies have shown that the survival rate and the rate of responsibility towards other drugs of cancer increases when they get combined with hyperthermia. The building blocks of our body are cells. Cancer takes place when there is an abnormal growth of cells in our body. The causes of cancer are generally genetic change or a defect in the chromosome of the genes. When the cell in our body multiplies rapidly and forms a lump it is called cancer or malignant tumor. Even at such an age of advancement, it is still difficult to decipher the true causes of cancer but a variety of research carried out in this field has given some guidance with regard to the causes of cancer and its treatment. (Dollinger et al, 2002, p. 3). Effective cancer treatment needs a combination of multiple medical specialties. The scopes of new capacities in the treatment of cancer are always expanding and the specialists are constantly adopting those techniques to treat the disease successfully. A treatment process should be such that it incorporates maximum benefit in the removal of the disease. (Chabner and Longo, 2005, p.1). The aim of this discussion is to find out the effectiveness of hyperthermia as a method to treat cancer. At the same time, we will also find out as to why hyperthermia is most effective. When the application of hyperthermia becomes most effective is also one of the objectives of our study. Last but not the least we will also look at the limitations which hyperthermia has in the treatment of cancer. This discussion has mostly been qualitative in nature.  

Marriage and family class Essay Example for Free

Marriage and family class Essay There are many different factors of communication in relationships. One of the most often asked questions about communication is how one achieves mutual communication in any type of a relationship. People sometimes feel that communication makes a better marriage. Many people often wonder how to reconnect with their partner after communication has stopped. Body language or non verbal communication plays a major role in communication. These are some the topics that will be discussed in this research paper. Mutual communication is achieved when both partners in a relationship can effectively listen and communicate their feelings with one another. Some say that this is the basis for a healthy long lasting relationship. There are many skills a good listener has to have. Some of which are easier to express than others are. The most important of which is expressing empathy (De Jong). In mutual communication both partners should make eye contact with one another. Usually when one makes eye contact it shows that they are paying attention to what the other person is saying to them at the time. When mutually communicating neither partner should send destructive messages. Destructive messages include but are not limited to ordering, threatening, lecturing, and ridiculing (Lauer). Destructive messages lead to conflict and not resolution. When one person sends a destructive message to the listener the listener more than likely will get discouraged and that will make the situation worse. Ordering and threatening lead to more of a power struggle rather than to effective communication. There are many  different styles of a poor listener. There are people who fake the fact that they are listening when their mind is in another place. For example John is making it seem like he is listening to his wife Julie when in fact he is thinking about his golf game the next day. There are people who interrupt. Interrupting decreases mutual communication. There are also people who can intellectually listen and carry on a conversation. An example of an intellectual listener is Jessica. Jessica has just told her friend Jake about her new teacher at her college. She tells Jake what he taught and the manner in which he taught it. Jessica is clearly giving Jake non verbal cues that should lead him to believe that she has a romantic interest in the new teacher. Jake does not pick up on the cues but criticizes the style that the teacher uses to teach his classes. Some people say that communication makes a better marriage. Everyday conversations increase satisfaction by offering a broad range of topics to be discussed. Usually in a marriage, when everyday conversation increases happiness, and the partners often laugh more together. Everyday conversation also allows the couple to talk about their interests and the happenings of their day in a relaxed and calm setting. When you have good communication in a marriage, conflicts are often calmly discussed. People in a marriage are self disclosed. Self disclosure is defined as the honest revealing of ones self to another. Self disclosure increases intimacy and marital satisfaction (Lahey). Partners who are in a married situation often feel the need to communicate their feelings and ideas to keep their marriage open, happy, and healthy. The main reason for breakup of marriages is a lack of communication (Stark). The cause for the lack of communication most often is that people do not know how to properly communicate with one another especially in a conflict situation where they do not agree on a point. Sometimes it takes someone from a neutral point of view to point this fact out to couples, who are having problems in the relationship. Most often the couple will not realize that they have a problem unless an outside source points it out to them. This could help them or create more conflict with in the relationship. If there is a problem, and there is no communication between the two partners in the relationship the problem will  grow. However, if there is good communication the problem has potential to be resolved and to possibly never reoccur (De Jong). It is also important, to effectively communicate, to maintain the boundaries. Maintaining boundaries is the separation of home life from work life. If you bring your work life into your home life discussions, it is more than likely that you will get distracted from the topic at hand (Stark). Some people bring their work life home it creates jealousy. Jealousy is also a leading cause of breakups in a relationship (Laurer). When people effectively communicate in a married relationship, exchange and role equity are heightened. Exchange equity, for example is the female being the primary bread winner and the male staying home. Role equity, is sharing the chores of the house as well as the duties of the head of the house. Partners in a married relationship may have different opinions about role and exchange equity. Some people feel that the female should stay home and be a traditional house wife. For example the woman would do the dishes, laundry, and take care of the children. Some people feel that both the male and female should be able to go to work and have a career. Effective communication in a marriage about these kinds of feelings can solve many future problems in a rational and timely manner (Lauer). Therefore, if there is ample problem solving and good communication, in a marriage it will generally be a healthier, happier, more satisfying marriage. Body language or non-verbal communication is said to be used between 50-80 percent in a relationship. Women use non-verbal cues or body language more often than males do. Non verbal cues froe example are the position in which a person is sitting, the expression on ones face, or the amount of eye contact that they are making. If you have an open posture, and are leaning in towards the speaker, you are giving off good body language. If you are sitting with your arms crossed, and a closed posture then you are giving off bad body language. Women also tend to read into body language and the meanings behind it more than men (Lauer). Women tend to read body language on a more emotional level than men do. For example women tend to see when someone has a romantic interest in another where as men do not see that. Partners, generally speaking, in a good relationship should be able to read  the other partners body language and know what they want to say without them always having to verbalize their thoughts. Body language can tell your partner what you are thinking without actually having to say it. I decided on this particular topic for a few reasons. The first of which is that I have seen a lot of friends and family who have been in relationships that did not last and wanted to figure out why that was. The second reason was because I thought it could help me in my future relationship(s), and to help me from making the same mistakes that I have in the past or that others have made. Another reason that I chose this topic is because I am also interested in being a counselor and counselors need to be able to have good communication with their clients. Another reason is because counselors need to be able to understand, in some sense, where their clients are coming from and to be able to help in any way possible. One good analogy that I found one day while surfing the internet was this: If you were to be in thorough and complete communication with a car and a road, you would certainly have no difficulty driving that car. But if you are in only partial communication with the car and in no communication with the road, it is fairly certain that an accident will occur. This was said by Ronald Hubbard who is an expert in the field of scientology. He deals mainly with the realm of communication. That quote really inspired me to look into the realm of communication further. I wanted to know what effects that it had on a relationship and / or a marriage. Just an ending piece of advice: The best problem solving agent is honest open and effective problem solving. Works Cited DeJong, Peter. Interviewing for Solutions, 2nd Edition. California: Wadsworth Group, 2002. Hubbard, Ronald. www.standardtraining.com Church of Scientology International: 2000-2002. Lahey, Benjamin B., Psychology: an introduction, 7th Edition. New York: McGraw Hill, 2001. Laurer, Robert H. and Lauer, Jeanette C., Marriage and Family, 4th Edition. Chicago: Brown Benchmark, 2000. Stark, Rodney. Sociology, 8th Edition. Wadsworth Group, 2001.

A review of capital structure theories

A review of capital structure theories 1.0 Introduction One of the most contentious financial issues that have provoked intense academic research during the last decades is the theory of capital structure. Capital structure can be defined as a Mix of different securities issued by a firm (Brealey and Myers, 2003). Simply speaking, capital structure mainly contains two elements, debt and equity. In 1958, through combining tax and debt factors in a simple model to price the value of a company, Modigliani and Miller firstly begin to explore a modern capital structure theory, and their work inspired this area study. However, the MM theory has no practical use because it lacks of direct guidance for companies to determine capital structure in real life (Baxter, 1967; Sarig and Warga, 1989; Vernimmen et al, 2005). During the past years, researchers strived to establish a more reasonable capital structure theory that can be put into practices efficiently, and they attempted to expand debt ratio and tax advantage factors into a new area. Myers (1984) states that only practical capital structure theories, which introducing adjustment cost that includes agency cost and information asymmetry problems, could provide a useful guidance for firms to determine their capital structure. However, from recent studies, Myers (2001) believes that how information differences and agency costs influence the capital structure is still an open question. From this perspective, it is very important to review the development of these two factors which make theoretical research having a strong relationship with reality. Thus, this project will summarize the capital structure theories orientated by agency cost and asymmetric information from extant literature. Also some gaps and conflicts among theories of capital structure will be found and discussed in order to further improve this area study. The rest of this project is arranged as follows. Section 2 will present the theories based on agency costs that causes the conflicts between equity holders and debt holders or managers. Section 3 will illustrate from two areas, interplay of capital structure and investment, followed by signal effect of debt ratio, to show the theories based on asymmetric information. In conclusion, Section 4 will summarize the entire essay and suggest further research direction of capital structure theory. 2.0 Capital structure theories based on agency costs Although Berry and Means (1931, cited in Myers, 2001) state an adverse relationship between the separated ownership and corporate control status, it commonly admits that Jensen and Meckling (1976) firstly conducted the research in how agency costs determine capital structure (Harris and Raviv, 1991). Over the past decades, researchers have tried to add agency costs to capital structure models (Harris and Raviv, 1991). The perfect alignment between firm investors and firm agencies, such as managers, does not exist (Myers, 2001). According to Jensen and Meckling (1976), company agents, the managers, always emphasize on their own interests, such as high salary and reputation. Also these company agents use entrenching investments, which make the asset and capital structure orientated by the managements knowledge and skills, to increase their bargaining power with the true company holders (Chen and Kensinger, 1992). However, Myers (2001) believes that the firm holders can reduce such transferred value through using different kinds of methods of control and supervising, but he further points out the weakness that these methods are expensive and reduce returns. As a result, the perfect monitoring system is out of work, and agency costs are produced from these conflicts. According to Jensen and Meckling (1976), the conflicts between investors and agencies are generally divided into two types. The first conflict occurs between debt holders and equity holders, and the second conflict is from between equity holders and managers. Consequently, all the capital structure theories based on agency costs can be also classified based on these two conflicts. In the rest of this section, each individual conflict will be separately discussed. 2.1 Conflicts between Debt holders and Equity holders Jensen and Meckling (1976) point out that agency costs problems happen in determining the structure of a firms capital when the conflict between debt holders and equity holders is caused by debt contracts. Similar to Jensen and Mecklings conclusion, Myers (1977) observes that since equity holders bear the whole cost of the investment and debt holders get the main part of the profits from the investment, equity holders may have no interest in investing in value-increasing businesses when companies are likely to face bankruptcy in the short term future. Thus, if debt occupies a large part of firms capital, it will lead to the rejection of investing in more value-increased business projects. However, in 1991, Harris and Raviv cast a contrasting opinion to adjust the capital structure theory based on this conflict. They point out that most debt contracts give equity holders a push power to invest sub-optimally investment project. If the investment fails, due to limited liability, debt holders bear the consequences of a decline of the debt value, but equity holders get most of yields if the investment could generate returns above the debt par value. In order to prevent debt holders from receiving unfair treatment, equity holders normally get less for the debt than original expectation from debt holders. Thus, the agency costs are created by equity holders who issue the debt rather than debt holders reason (Harris and Raviv, 1991). Tradeoff capital structure theory has a basic and strong relationship with this type of agency costs. However, different researchers hold various explanations of the relationship. Myers (1977) points out the debt cost reason, Green (1984) announces that convertible bonds can reduce the asset substitution problem which comes from the tradeoff theory, Stulz and Johnson (1985) consider about collateral effect. In the end, only Diamond model (1989) is widely accepted. If Equity holders do not consider reputational reason, they are willing to trade relatively safe projects, but this activity will lead to less debt financing (Diamond, 1989; Mike et al, 1997). Diamond model (1989) assumes two tradeoffs, risky and risk-free, to show that the debt repayment should consider both possible investment plans. Furthermore, Mike et al (1997) use empirical evidence to indicate how to use debt to trade off these two optional investment plans. Moreover, in 1991, Harris and Raviv expanded Diamonds model to three investment choices. They point out that one choice of investment can only contain the risk-free project, one option can invest in risk project and the last option combine both risk-free and risk projects. In fact, since the reputation factor is vital for a manager, managers are willing to choose risk-free investment projects that have more possibility of success. Consequently, the amount of debt is often reduced by managers. 2.2 Conflicts between Managers and Equity holders Jensen and Meckling (1976) also states that conflicts naturally arise between managers and equity holders since managers just hold parts of the whole firms capital. Consequently, firm mangers only benefit from part of the profit generated by their business activities, but they simultaneously bear the whole cost of these actions. However, Myer (2001) casts a different opinion about the reason of the conflict and claims that in fact, managers never bear the full costs of the business activities unless the manager is also the firms investor. He further maintains that the real cause of the conflict is due to an imperfect observable reward system between investors and managers, because both parties have different standpoints to measure their own interest, especially the rewards. There are two dominant models, the Harris and Raviv model and the Stulz model, to explain this area. Although both models have a common assumption that labor contracts cannot address the conflict between managers and equity holders, both models hold different opinions about debt release and the problem in the drawbacks of debt in the capital structure. According to Harris and Raviv model (1990), managers are designed to want to continue the companys current operations all the time even if equity holders prefer the liquidation of the company. However, in Stulz model (1990), managers are keen to invest all available funds even if the equity holders can benefit from paying out cash. Moreover, Harris and Raviv (1990) point out that debt alleviates the agency costs and the conflict results from giving equity holders the chance to speed up liquidation when cash flows are hard to predict. In contrast, Stulz (1990) based on Jenson model (1986) concludes that debt payments reduce free cash flow. He further maintains that the debt costs reduce the available funds of a profitable project, since the costs result from debt payment that more than exhausts free cash flow. As a result, capital structure can be determined by trading off debt advantages against debt costs. 3.0 Capital structure theories based on asymmetric information The development of information modeling provides a possible approach to explain capital structure. In these capital structure theories, company insiders, such as managers, are assumed to obtain all private information about the investment opportunities or investment return. Some theories try to find out how the allocation of capital structure passes the insiders information of a firm to outsiders. Meanwhile, in other theories, the purpose of the capital structure is to improve efficiencies in the companys investment activities under asymmetric information (Vernimmen et al, 2005). The rest of this section will be divided into two subsections based on both sets of theories mentioned above. 3.1 Interplay of capital structure and investment This area of research begins with two vital academic papers, Myers and Majluf (1984) and Myers (1984). According to Myers and Majluf (1984), the firms equity will be mispriced by the market when investors obtain less information of one firms assets value than the firms current insiders. Moreover, they further point out that if firms issue equity to absorb capital for a new investment, mispricing may make a net loss to the firms current shareholders. In Myers second paper (1984), he formally defines this as a pecking order capital structure theory. In this theory, a firms capital structure is determined by the purpose of the company to finance new investment. Furthermore, with the development of the Myers pecking order theory, researchers find some vital empirical implications of this theory. Krasker (1986) confirms the results of Myers theory (1984) and also shows that the larger the equity issue, the worse the asymmetric information problem and the firm with worse asymmetric information problems will often have a more under price problem. Ebsen (1986) finds that if managers could trade their firms new equity, the under price problem caused by asymmetric information will be reduced. Then Dierkens (1991) argues that the under price problem can be solved by information releases such as annual financial statement reports. However, some economists cast a doubt on the pecking order theory. These theoretical researches have a common feature that they all put investment situations under the pecking order theory but provide more finance choices for a firm. Brennan and Kraus (1987) state that it is not necessary for a firm to have a preference for financing through debt over equity and the under price problem can be addressed through various financing options and simple capital structure rather than solving asymmetry information problem. Their findings are also confirmed by Noe (1988). Moreover, in 1993, Nachman and Noe put Brennan and Kraus theory into practice and also come to the same conclusion. 3.2 Signal effect of debt ratio After discussing models which investigate the interplay of capital structure and investment, it is vital to turn to models in which investment is a fixed factor and only capital structure is regarded as a private information signal. The investigation of this area starts with the work of Ross (1977). According to Rosss capital structure theory, only firms insiders, such as managers, can get full information of the firms return distribution, but investors cannot. The main empirical implication of Ross theory is that there is a positive relation between firm value and debt ratio. However, further research combines debt and dividend policy together to show an opposite opinion that a firm value is determined by dividend and debt ratio rather than a single factor of debt ratio (Vernimem et al, 2005). Furthermore, in 1982, Heinkel improve Ross model. His model is similar to Ross but does not have the same assumption. Instead, high market value firms are assumed to have high total value but low quality debt, thus high market value firms has high equity value. This finding has been consistent with further capital structure theoretical research (Franke, 1987; John, 1987). Another debt ratio signal model is built by Poitevin (1989). He firstly points out the potential competition between an entrant and an incumbent under the asymmetric information. According to Poitevin model (1989), the marginal costs of entrant are private information obtained only by the entrant, and in a stable situation, the capital of high cost entrants does not issue any debt while low cost entrants never issue equity. However, Glazer and Israel (1990) cast a different conclusion against Poitevin. They maintain that low cost entrants are willing to issue equity since they can much easier use this finance approach to reduce marginal production costs than the high cost entrants. Nevertheless, Harris and Raviv (1991) point out the weakness of the Glazer and Israel model is that they ignore the dividends finance factor which has the same signal effect as debt. Normally, a capital structure theory should combine various basic finance factors together. In the end, Glazer and Israel recognize this weakness and claim that their results cannot be considered as a capital structure theory. 4.0 Summary and Conclusion To sum up, this literature review of capital structure theories is element arranged. The set of theories based on agency costs and the set of theories based on asymmetric information are separately presented in the passage. Moreover, each set of theories can also be divided into several subsections. Agency costs cause two types of conflicts among stakeholders, and these conflicts affect a firms choice of capital structure. Moreover, capital structure theories show that under an asymmetric information situation, capital structure has a strong reaction with investment activities and debt ratio has a signaling utility for the determination of capital structure. The range of the selected paper is from 1958 to 2005. These papers cover majority parts of the study including agency costs, interplay of capital structure and investment, imperfect information situations and debt signal effect. Also these papers are all from core financial journals, e.g. Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial Management, American Economic Review and Review of Financial Studies. Thus, this literature review can be considered to be efficient and thorough. This essay covers a considerable number of literatures which can present modern theoretical findings of capital structure. However, it should be noticed that the blooming period of capital structure theory is between 1970s-1980s. After 1990, the theoretical research seems to have developed very slowly, and the majority of papers in this field just review former findings since few new theories of capital structure come out. The direction of the theoretical research of capital structure should incline to be more practical. The future study should be extended in two areas. (1) Add psychosocial conditions and assumptions to improve extant capital structure theories. It is important to acknowledge that most capital structure theories cannot be used by companies in real life since these theories lacks of more reality factors. Thus, behavior finance could provide a new approach to extant theories. (2)Combine agency costs and asymmetric information problems together in one capital structure theory. Currently, both problems are discussed separately. However, companies often suffer from these two problems at the same time when they determine their capital structure. Consequently, it is necessary to set up a new theory based on both problems. Bibliography 1. Baxter, N. (1967) Leverage, risk of ruin, and the cost of capital, Journal of Finance, 22, pp. 395-403. 2. Brealey, R. A. and Myers, S. C. (2003) Principles of Corporate Finance. 7th edn. New York: The McGraw-Hill Company. 3. Brennan, M. and Alan, K. (1987) Efficient financing under asymmetric information, Journal of Finance, 42, pp 1225-1243. 4. Chen, A. H. and Kensinger, J. (1992) Uncommon Equity, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 5(1), pp. 36-43. 5. Diamond, D. W. (1989) Reputation acquisition in debt markets, Journal of Political Economy, 97, pp. 828-862. 6. Dierkens, N. (1991) Information Asymmetry and Equity Issues. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 26(2), pp.181-199. 7. Ebsen, E. (1986) The Valuation Effects of Corporate Debt Offerings, Journal of Financial Economics. 15(1), pp. 119-152. 8. Franke, G. (1987) Costless signaling in financial markets, Journal of Finance, 42, pp.809-822. 9. Glazer, and Israel, R. (1990) Managerial incentives and financial signaling in product market competition, International Journal of Industrial Economics, 8, pp. 271-280. 10. Green, R.C. (1984) Investment incentives, debt, and warrants, Journal of Financial Economics, 13, pp. 115-136. 11. Harris, M. and Raviv, A. (1990) Capital structure and the informational role of debt, Journal of Finance, 45, pp.321-349. 12. Harris, M. and Raviv, A. (1991) The Theory of Capital Structure, The Journal of Finance, 46(1), pp. 297-355. 13. Heinkel, R. (1982) A theory of capital structure relevance under imperfect information, Journal of Finance, 37, pp.1141-1150. 14. Jensen, M. C. and William, H. M. (1976) Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure, Journal of Financial Management, 3(4), pp. 305- 360. 15. Jenson, M. C. (1986) Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers, American Economic Review, 76(2), pp. 323-29. 16. John, K. (1987) Risk-shifting incentives and signaling through corporate capital structure, Journal of Finance, 42, pp. 623-641. 17. Krasker, W. (1986) Stock price movements in response to stock issues under asymmetric information, Journal of Finance, 41, pp. 93-105. 18. Leland, H.E. (1994) Corporate Debt Value, Bond Covenants, and Optimal Capital Structure, Journal of Finance, 49(4), pp. 1213-1252. 19. Mike, B., Gromb, D. and Panunzi, F. (1997) Large Shareholders, Monitoring and the Value of the Firm, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112, pp. 693-728. 20. Modigliani, F. and Miller, M. H. (1958) The cost of capital, corporation finance, and the theory of investment, American Economic Review, 48, pp.261-297. 21. Myers, S. C. (1977) Determinants of corporate borrowing, Journal of Financial Economics, (5), pp. 147-175. 22. Myers, S.C. (1984) The capital structure puzzle, Journal of Finance, 39, pp.575-592. 23. Myers, S. C. and Majluf, N. S. (1984) Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have, Journal of Financial Economics, 13, pp.187-221. 24. Myers, S. C. (2001) Capital Structure, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(2), PP. 18-102. 25. Nachman, David C. and Noe, T. H. (1993) Design of securities under asymmetric information, Working paper, Georgia Institute of Technology. 26. Noe, T. (1988) Capital structure and signaling game equilibria, Review of Financial Studies, 1, pp. 331-356. 27. Poitevin, M. (1989) Financial signaling and the deep-pocket argument, Rand Journal of Economics, 20, pp.26-40. 28. Ross, S. (1977) The determination of financial structure: The incentive signaling approach, Bell Journal of Economics, 8, pp.23-40. 29. Sarig, O., and Warga A. (1989) Some empirical estimates of the risk structure of interest rates, Journal of Finance, 44, pp. 1351-1360. 30. Stulz, R. and Johnson, H. (1985) An analysis of secured debt, Journal of Financial Economics, 14, pp. 501-521. 31. Stulz, R. (1990) Managerial discretion and optimal financing policies, Journal of Financial Economics, 26, pp.3-27. 32. Vernimmen, P., Quiry, P., Dallocchio, M., Fur, Y. L., Salvi, A. (2005) Corporate Finance: Theory and Practice, 6th edn. West Sussex: John Wiley Sons. Ltd.

Employees training and development of hrm will influence the performance of an organization.

Employees training and development of hrm will influence the performance of an organization. 1. Introduction Noe(2005) states that â€Å"Training and development is including activities that help cultivate employees skills, knowledge, and abilities. Trained employees have competencies to meet the current and future needs of organization. Through the training and intervention measures, the human resources departments help organizations to establish a high-performing, active and engaged workforce†. In the business world, training and development refers to support internal human resource efficiency of extra studies education and improve the process in an organization. Due to the training and development inseparable, these two words are generally used to define employee with each other in continuously improve to achieve a series of organizational goals. If without training and development programs, organization may not be able to realize their full potential. In most organizations, training and development task is to deal with human resource management personnel. This relationship depends on everybodys communication, cooperation and clear set of job skills as defined by job descriptions among all levels of the organization. When an organizations values can make employees eager to achieve their goals, then employee development plan can be implemented to make this kind of circumstance happening (Neo, 2005). The purpose of this assignment is talking about how employees training and development of HRM will influence the performance of an organization. I am going to find out some evidences, provide literature reviews and through analysis to introduce how training and development influence organizational performance. 2. Research Question This assignment topic describes that how the employees training and development of HRM will influence the performance of an organization.Training and development are important components of human resource. This is a process in which the potential talents and skills of employees are honed and polished. The employees are trained on both the technical aspects of their jobs and on interpersonal skills. This topic let people know the employees training and development of importance in the human resource management and what relationship between training development and performance of organization is. 3. Importance of Study Training and development is structure to help employees to develop their personal and organizational skills, knowledge and the abilities. For all aspects of human resource development, especially, the most superior workforce is the development, so that their organizations and individual employees can do the work goals for customer service. All employees want to be valuable at any times in the competitive labor market. This is only way can be achieved through staff training and development. All employees want to be valuable at any times in the competitive labor market. This is only way can be achieved through staff training and development. Employees always want to for improving career-enhancing skills, which will always lead to the enthusiasm and retention of the employees. there is no   doubt that a good training and development employees will be a valuable asset to the organization and Thus increasing opportunities of efficiency in performing his duties (Tobby,2011). Training can be primarily of two types in an organization: Internal and external training course. When training is the internal training, it is including that organizations internal hr department or training department is using a senior staff or any outstanding staff in specific sectors as a resource person. On the other hand external training normally conducted outside the company, mainly is organized training institutions or consultant. No matter which training, it is crucial for all staff and helps in building career positioning and preparation of staff for greater challenges (Tobby,2011). The employer should enable staff to pursue work training and development in a direction that they choose and are interested in, not just in assigned specific direction. The organizations should support the learning, in general, and not just in support of the current knowledge workers needed for the job or next expected. It should be noted that the key factor is to ensure employees engaged in the interest of, attending, and motivated and retained (Adiele, 2009). For every employee to perform well especially managers or supervisors, there is need for continued training and development. The right staff training, development and education offer big profit for the employer to the increased productivity, knowledge, loyalty, and contribution to common growth of the organization. In most cases, external training for the participants of the example provides a new way to meet people in the same field and network. The meeting will give them a chance to compare problems, find out what is to obtain the other side environment. It definitely will introduce positive changes where necessary (Adiele, 2009). 4. Literature Review 4.1 background information Noe(2005) states that â€Å"Traditionally, training and development was not considered as an activity that could help organizations to create â€Å"value† and deal with competitive challenges successfully. Nowadays, that view changed. Organizations use innovative training and development programs is likely to report better financial performance than their rivals that not do. Training and development also helps a company to meet competitive challenges. For instance, as organizations tried to put new products to market and adjust services just-in-time, employees need training and knowledge required as soon as possible delivery.† At present, training and development plays an important role in helping organizations meet some challenges. Therefore, organizations need to train employees to work with persons from different cultures both in domestic and foreign people. If the training such as Web and multimedia, these new technologies will reduce the costs associated with bringing employees to a central location for training. In homology, these training methods include the necessary conditions (feedback, practice, etc) for learning to occur. Due to the development of the internet, e-commerce has exploded on the business scene. Organizations have already recognized that training and development activities can adapt to the Internet, reducing costs and increasing their effectiveness, resulting in the development of electronic learning (Neo, 2005). Training effect has expanded beyond training program design. Effective instructional training is still important, but more and more training managers, human resource experts and training staff have been asked to create systems to motivate employees to learn, share that knowledge with other employees in the organization. Training has moved from an emphasis on a one-time event to the creation of conditions for learning that can occur through collaboration, online learning, traditional classroom training, or a combination of methods. There is increased recognition that learning occurs without a formal training course (Neo, 2005). 4.2 Key point 1 Better performance of the employees Training is a process of learning as well as the application of acquired knowledge aiming at better performance of the employees,while development involves not only in relation to the process, but also related to help employees in establishing their personality, at the same time as, improve their progress to realize their full potentials. Training and development programs bring a huge change in terms of knowledge, attitudes and behavior of employees. Because of these programs, the employees are not only familiar with what is expected of them and how they need to enhance their skills and abilities, but also it is a way to complete the entire organization development, effectiveness and efficiency in a desired manner. The major advantages of Training and development programs are the employees who are not trained need more supervision than those who are trained.An employee will gains new knowledge, skills and attitudes and applies them in their work situations.Training is a kind of method to build up confidence among the employees, so that they dont have any obstruction to operate their tasks. The purpose of this program is to save money, because the organization is likely to bear heavy expenditure on hiring new employees.This is also one of the best ways to expand the span of management. 4.3 Key point 2 Benefits for both the organization and employees The benefits of Training are intangible and it is good for both sides that the organization and employees for long-term investment in training. Training enhances the employees level of skills. It provides sense of satisfaction; this is a kind of inner motivation. The training also provides a variety of sills employees. Training increases the employees commitment to their job and their organization. It is better understanding of jobs reduces accidents (Ansar, 2009). The one of the most important benefits of an organizational training is that it provides skills within the organization to reduce comprehensive cost of the organizational operations. Quality is one of the key factors needed for survival of an organization in long term interests. Total Quality Management (TQM) and other quality management techniques require employees training as an important requisite for its successful implementation (Ansar, 2009). 4.4 Key point 3 Competitive lead To achieve competitive advantage from the organizational training and development, training and development department help remove insufficient or performance deficiencies in employee. It   is particularly true when (1) the deficiency is caused by a lack of ability rather than a lack of motivation to perform, (2) the individual(s) involved have the aptitude and motivation need to learn how to do the job better, and (3) supervisors and peers are supportive of the desired behaviors (Kumar, 2011). An organizational training and development pays dividends to the employee and the organization. Although there are no single training program benefits, the organization committed to improve its training and development to enhance its human resource capabilities and strengthens its competitive advantages. Meanwhile, the employees personal and career goals are furthered, generally adding to his abilities and value to the employer. Ultimately, the objectives of the human resource department are also furthered (Kumar, 2011). 4.5 Summary of Literature Review Training and development is a very perfect way to improve the competitiveness of an organization. It also enhances the employees skills, abilities and many other aspects. Actually, both of employees and organization obtain the benefits. Training and development program is one of the best ways to expand the span of management. It is also to save money for organization. 5. Analysis 5.1 Analysis for point1 Well-trained, skilled employees are far better than those without training, and they have better careers prospects. They will become competent and perform their assigned task independently. For example, once an untrained employee asked his friend who was trained, â€Å"I dont think training program is of any value. After all what you learn by it? † He replied, â€Å"We are trained even how to ask questions and the art of effective communication which you seem to be lacking.†In fact, its interesting example, but it reveals the fact as training is covered all necessary skills of the employees required in the workplace while motivating them to work in a desired and capable way (zeromillion.com, 2011). Internal training provides the accurate positioning and demand with satisfaction of those needs then interwoven into current processes and workflow. When a new problem or aspect of work is identified, training and development provides prompt development of the employee skills needed to master this process. Besides that, the training and development gives instructional staff opportunity for immediate correction of employee with mistakes in the workplace, immediate review, and more trainings identification. When training and development results have better effect, employees tend to display a greater sense of ownership and pride in their work. This can help organization to increasing productivity and efficiency, at same time, job satisfaction also increases.   Employees who are satisfied in their work are more likely to redouble their efforts and be more valuable to the company, which will in turn, put the organization in a stronger position (zeromillion.com, 2011). 5.2 Analysis for point 2 Customer satisfaction increases repeat business,this is a key to success.Training will promote good customer relations and according to training, organization will increase customer satisfaction and quality of service.â€Å"Just In Time† emphasize on waste reduction and production process of waiting time.Better training will reduce waste and machine down time. A major part of quality costs by supervision; by providing appropriate training this is reduced. Training improves productivity of employees and processes (Ansar, 2009). High staff turnover may be a serious threat to existence of an organization,training can reduce staff turnover and help an organization to retain its staff. Better training can make an organization more competitive in business market (Ansar, 2009). In a service industry organization main source of income is its employees professional knowledge and the skills, grasping professional with high skills is relatively expensive than training current employees to acquire those skills. Training is also a key requirement for new entry requirements; appropriate training helps them to understand their position, its requirements and responsibilities. Training will also increase the understanding organizational culture (Ansar, 2009). Training programs increases communication between different levels of an organization.Any shortage in processes and working were canceled and those close to production processes become involve in the management.Employees empowerment is a recent trend in management (Ansar, 2009). 5.3 Analysis for point 3Competitive lead There is greater flexibility, capacity, stability and for growth in an organization.Training provides employees at least in the stability of two aspects.Trained employees become efficient.Efficient employees contribute to the organization, especially when growth.In addition, well-trained employees tend to stay in the organization. They rarely left the organization.All generalists can be transferred to any job.Therefore flexibility is ensured.Growth indicates prosperity, which is reflected in increased profits from year to year.Who else but well-trained employees can contribute to the prosperity of an organization?According to training and development, accidents, scrap and damage to machinery and equipment can be avoided or minimized.Even complaints, absenteeism, dissatisfaction and turnover can be reduced if employees are trained well. Because of training and development programs, the future needs of employees will get satisfaction.Training serves as an effective source of recruitmen t. Training is an investment in human resources with a promise of better returns in future. Thus, organizations can get more competitive though the training and development (Kumar, 2011). 5.4 Summary of analyses They will become competent and perform their assigned task independently. Training can reduce staff turnover and help an organization to retain its staff. Better training can make an organization more competitive in business market. Trained employees become efficient.Efficient employees contribute to the organization. Finally, training and development can bring a lot of benefits to both of organization and employees. 6. Conclusion Recommendation 6.1 Conclusion In conclusion, we all know that training and development programs are important for an organization to develop the employee. When a child was born he required constant touch of parents till he stood on his own feet.An organization though flowered by creams of the society, still training is required due to rapid technological up gradation and change in working methods every day. Training aims at continued self-development of the employees. Employees are expected to develop themselves continuously in an organization. When the employees in an organization are developed from time to time with all updated knowledge, then definitely that organization will grow to a greater height. 6.2 Recommendation Both employees and companies are concerned with developing future skills and managing careers. Companies want a work force that is motivated and productive, has up-to-date skills, and can quickly learn new skills to meet changing customer needs. Employees want to develop skills that not only are useful for their current jobs but also are congruent with their personal interests and values. Employees are interested in developing skills that can help them remain employable with either their current employer or a future one. Given the increasing time demands of work, employees are also interested in maintaining balance between work and nonworking interests.

Essay --

1.0 Introduction The brain is composed of billions of tiny neurons all combined to create a hierarchy of complex networks. Much is unknown about intelligence and our understanding and perception of intelligence is shaping the way in which we in the 21st century are creating computer based intelligent neural networks. An intelligent system is able to retract information from its environment and comprehend without prior knowledge of the information the process, reason about the relationships between variables contained in the information and learn about the process and its operating conditions without human input. A computational approach to network dynamics focuses on the networks ability to think logically, process data and react to changes in the data which can lead to future evolution of the network. Traditional rule based computational techniques failed to meet the requirements of search, optimisation and machine learning in large biological and industrial systems and therefore had to evolve which shaped the route in which computational intelligence had taken in the 21st century. A network is said to be computationally intelligent if it can deal with low level data analysis such as small numerical data has pattern recognition components. The main emphasis on neural networks and computationally based network systems was to come up with a learning algorithm that could be used to increase the intelligence of any given system. Fuzzy Logic was first proposed by Professor Lotfi Zadeh in1969 in the University of California Berkley. He created Fuzzy Logic to define between data by using partial set membership rather than crisp set membership or non-membership. Professor Zadeh explained that people do not need precise numerical inform... ...dimension of the prototype memories where the network stores all memories within a stable state. 3.0 Fuzzy Logic Systems: Fuzzy Neural Network 3.1 What Is Fuzzy Logic? Fuzzy Logic is a problem solving methodology that lends itself to implementation in a range of systems and can be implemented into networks. It allows an accurate outcome based on vague, ambiguous, imprecise input information. Fuzzy Logic is mainly used for control situations although it can be used over a variety of scenarios in situation based computing making it ideal for use within Neural Networks and they require a wide range of input variations. Fuzzy Logic processes user defined rules and therefore it can be readily modified to improve network performance, it can be used to model and control nonlinear data that would beforehand be impossible model mathematically. 3.2 Crisp Sets and Fuzzy Sets

Perversion of Society :: essays research papers

Perversion of Society   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s society a person is shaped by family, friends, and past events, but in Aldous Huxley’s classic novel, Brave New World, there is no such thing as family, history and â€Å"true† friends. The government controls every aspect of an individual from their creation in the hatcheries to their conditioning for their thoughts and careers. In this brave new world the ideas of stability and community reign supreme, and the concept of individualism is foreign and suppressed, â€Å"Everyone belongs to everyone else, after all,† (47). Huxley perverses contemporary morals and concepts in Brave New World, thus distorting the ideas of materialistic pleasures, savagery versus society, and human relationships. These distortions contribute to the effectiveness of Brave New World, consequently creating a novel that leaves the reader questioning how and why.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the year A.F. 632 no pleasure is denied to the populous. Hypnopaedia is used as a device to form the moral education of children. What is taught through this method is not true ethics, but warped actions trained by words. An illustration of this is in the teaching of Elementary Sex to children. The society that Huxley created was one where having sex often and with many people was a positive course of action. Anyone who did not have multiple partners, such as Lenina or Bernard, were considered a blight to society. Society as a whole uses the act of having sex as relief from pain and emotions. A person does not have to lust for someone they merely set up a time and place for them to meet and have sex, and it is completely accepted by everyone. When sex is not enough to relieve a person from pain or loneliness they take soma, a drug that stimulates them into happiness. Unlike the drugs of present day there is no set backs from taking soma, no headaches after use, and after all â€Å"One cubic centimetre cure ten gloomy,† (60). Finally, there is the concept of feelies, movies that you can feel what the actors are doing. These feelies are nothing more than glamorized porn movies giving the participants quick orgasmic feelings without effort. All these materialistic pleasures are used to substitute an individuals basic emotional needs and to give them a false sense of happiness. Huxley used this warped view on what today’s society deems morally right and wrong to reveal how shallow the citizens of the brave new world truly are.

Bible: Exodus 20:4-6

The Old Testament ends with the prophets. These teachers provided insight on many issues facing Jews who were desperate to know God. Idolatry, social injustice and religious ritualism are three areas that are emphasized in their teachings and instilled in the minds and hearts of believers today. The prophets were great teachers who had much to say about God and the way man lived, social issues they faced, religious rituals they took part in, and their teachings are just as important today as they were in the past. Idolatry was a prominent issue among the Jews.God confronted this problem early in the Bible in Exodus 20:4-6. It is clear that following God requires complete and total attention on Him. The prophets considered this very an important issue. Consider Hosea who was commanded to marry an unfaithful wife to represent Israel’s covenant unfaithfulness towards God. During this time, Israel was unwilling to worship God and sought to find their own idols to worship and besto w glory upon. Hosea taught through his marriage the extent of unfaithfulness the Jews had in their relationship with God.Hosea compared Israel to spoiled grapes, a wild vine, a trained heifer, and a rebellious son and led into God to lay ruin to a large portion of His people causing the remnants to seek repentance before Him. Hosea, through using a marriage metaphor, showed the Jews how deep God’s love for them truly was and still is. Hosea’s example has modern implications. Because man can see how deeply God cares for them, there should be no reason to place importance of other things before their worship of Him. Yet, they do.If society could focus more on God today, the issues the world faces would cease to exist. Because this is not the case, man continues to destroy themselves as their eyes and minds stray from God and their own idols. The prophet Jonah put the truth about idolatry bluntly in his prayer to God: â€Å"Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake thei r hope of steadfast love. † Amos was a prophet with a lot to say about social injustice. He preached of a coming judgment against Israel for (among other things) oppressing their people.The Old Testament had charged the Israelites to take care of the disadvantaged and the poor, but there was a great disparity between the rich and the poor as Israel continued to reject God’s commands. Amos compared the wealthy women of Samaria to well fed cattle because they oppressed the poor while being consumed by selfish pleasures. Amos 5:14-15 states: â€Å"Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.†The goal of Amos was to show that Israel was not keeping their charge to care for one another despite God’s command. This was due, in large part, to the people focusing on self interest s. This sentiment is echoed in Micah where the wealthy conspired to steal the land of the needy. The world today mirrors Israel during the time of Amos. History has shown time again that wealth and personal selfishness blind man to the plight of the needy. In the United States, there is a huge disparity between the rich and the poor that requires personal conviction to change.Man must stay focused on God and care for one another to bring blessing upon them. Man’s negligence of the needy has led to homelessness and even suicides. Micah was a prophet who fought social injustice and idolatry like the other prophets. However, he offered a unique insight on what God looks for in man’s glorification of Him. As Micah reveals, God was not primarily interested in Israel’s sacrifices and offerings, no matter how extravagant they may have been, He was interested (and still is) in man’s humble obedience to Him reflected through a lifestyle of mercy and justice.The ot her prophets spoke to religious ritualism, but Micah put the concept simply and this concept is definitely true today. Man can go to church, sing the hymns, tithe their money, and hear a sermon, but God is most concerned with what man does in their obedience to Him and their receiving of His revelation. Church rituals are practically meaningless without obedience and positive action. James 2:20 is very relevant in this respect: â€Å"But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? † The Prophets of the Old Testament deliver instruction, wisdom, and warning.Man learned from them that idolatry takes the focus from God and puts the focus on self. Their teachings on social injustice show that God requires us to love and care for one another. Their teachings on ritualism show that God is more concerned with our obedience and reflection of Him than He is with offerings. Though the teachings of the prophets occurred many years ago, they are certainly releva nt today. Man can learn a great deal from the teachings and warnings presented by these men. Praise God for His patience in man’s stubborn ignorance.As man began to drift away from God’s own heart they began to create their own religion and beliefs. Many cultures have materialistic things that became their Gods! There social injustices in these cultures and many religious rituals. We all know the 10 commandments but the first commandment God said there will be no other Gods before me. A lot of people of that time were so far away of God and had so much wickedness in their hearts. In Ezekiel chapter eight it talks about an idolatry temple and God took him all around the area to show him how and why God’s presence has left.Ezekiel 8:17-18 says â€Å"He said to me, â€Å"Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them. † Obviously after reading this you can tell how mad God was with all the Idol worshipping going along at the land.As you continue to read the book of Ezekiel you read that the presence of God departed from the temple. God seem so disgusted with the people and right fully so we see how man put other idols in front of God. The word of the Lord always came to the prophet Ezekiel and God exposed him to many things that the people did. When God told Ezekiel â€Å"set your face toward the south; preach against and prophesy against† not only did God believe in Ezekiel but he had enough with these false Gods. It’s so easy for our society to be drowned into having an Idol.In my opinion our time period has more of a temptation of having Idols because of social media and it’s easier to get the things you strongly desire to use a s an idol, but with that we are seeing the people getting to know Jesus by the millions. It has it’s pros and cons but I believe that we have so many things to guide us in the right path that it would help us to draw near to God. Amos’ statements are daring for him to make because they directly challenge the generally accepted religious practices of his time.Strong opposition to Amos developed at once when Amaziah, a priest, sent word to King Jeroboam that Amos was a dangerous character and should be expelled from the land. Although Amos insisted that he spoke only the words that Yahweh told him to proclaim, Amaziah told him to leave the country and never to prophesy again in the land of Israel. The prophecies of Amos mark an important point in the development of the religion of the Old Testament. The prophet was indeed a spokesman for Yahweh. That he was not speaking for himself or trying to please his listeners is made clear by the content of the message he delivered .Critics have often maintained that the Old Testament Prophets created the god of whom they spoke out of their own imaginations. However, had these prophets done so, it does not seem at all likely that God would have spoken so critically of what was being done by the prophets’ own people. Some of the rituals we in our time are like fasting (sun rise to sun set), acts of kindness, buying your way to heaven. Honestly if you can think of it being a ritual it probably is a ritual somewhere. Just like how it is today back then you the old days (bible) they were social injustice.The book of Amos 5:11 it says â€Å"You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not their wine. I wish I can just say that it’s only in the Old Testament that dealt with social injustice but it happen in the New Testament as well. Thinking about social in justice reminds me the time when Joseph was captured by pharaoh and he was held captive for such a long time. In our society we have so much injustice. We have the very wealthy branch of people then we have the middle and the lower.If you’re not in with a group of people then you are good enough to be around them. It seems like it is something you deal with in high school but not so much. I deal with it in the military. In the book of Micah chapter six verse eight it says â€Å"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? † what has our society has come to that they lost the love and compassion for people. We have become complacent that we forget to love our neighbor and I fall into this subject. We need to be a people who Love not hurt others

Life Signs †Poem and Summary By Mahapatra Essay

LIFE SIGNS Violence the day dims. When I open and shut my mouth the darkness chokes inside. The sad light pushes against a bullock-cart-driver’s whip which rests in a corner of the corridor, safe from the black pressure of dragging ribs. a country total solar eclipse It was the drawn-out cry of day that left behind no echo, day that became meek as a frightened child. A banner of pale human skin fluttered on top of the temple of Jagannath the vase a monsoon day fable The fable at the beginning of the monsoon choes alone, like a bell ringing in a temple far from home. in the fields of desolate rice captive air of chandipur on sea lost children of America dead river life signs grandfather again one day walking by the river. — Jayant Mahapatra Summary of â€Å"Life Signs† â€Å"Life signs† is the title poem of the volume Life Signs. The father-son relationship has been explored quite extensively and intensively in Indian English poetry, by Ramanujan, Parthasarathy, Shiv. K. Kumar and others and â€Å"Father† poems have become even a sub-genre of Indian Poetry in English. Life Signs† captures the central preoccupation of Mahapatra’s poetry, the irrevocable influence of the Father (by extension, the hoary tradition of the land) and the anxiety of the son-persona (the modernist, rationalist, unbeliever poet, by extension) to be freed of it Structurally, the poem is â€Å"a loosely connected set of evocative signs rather than a system and discourse† and such a poem with shifting metaphors may challenge neat interpretation; yet it â€Å"can have a great power to convey a highly complex experience and can acquire haunting beauty† (G. N. Devy). â€Å"The Cows† can be read as a companion poem. 11. 1- 2: What’s in my†¦: a blunt statement of the son-persona’s in ability to â€Å"occupy† the beliefs of the father 11. 3-5: a sense of loss caused by separation between father and son described in terms of the flowing river; the image of flow may also imply the passage of a major category in Mahapatra’s vision. 11. – 10: an associative cluster of signs: â€Å"sun†, â€Å"kites† and â€Å"clouds† evoking the sense of agedness of the traditions, which haunts him. 1. 15: â€Å"the odour†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦: another image evoking the sense of decay 11. 19-20: â€Å"come to rest†: typical Mahapatran obscurities which are the interpreter’s despair: 11. 23- 24: a conflict between the traditional beliefs and the rationalist skepticism of those beliefs- 11. 23- 24: the sense of loss and a discovery of a strange wisdom.

Opening sequence of “Star Wars-episode iv, A New Hope” Essay

â€Å"Star Wars† was arguably the first in a new breed of high concept, high budget sci-fi action films. It was directed by George Lucas and originally released in only a few cinemas in 1977. However, the buzz around the film grew, and it is now one of the highest grossing films of all time, and along with its sequels, prequels and re-mastered re-releases, has a large cult following. I feel this is because of Lucas` ability to engage the audience through careful use of sound and camera technique; The use of the scrolling story in space sets up many audience expectations, that the action will be set in space, and that it will base around a struggle between the rebels and the Empire. Narration is a fairly formal method of exposition, linked to the old style fairytale format, preparing the audience for a classic narrative and easily recognizable characters, and expectation that is fulfilled throughout the film (Leia is the princess needing rescue, Vader the â€Å"baddie† and Han Solo is the knight and shining armour for example). However, the traditional fairytale narrative also dictates that there should be a happy ending with all the loose ends tied up. This is not the case, for whilst the film ends on an up beat note, the ultimate threat of the Empire has not been neutralized, and has to be dealt with in a separate film. The opening section begins with what appears to us to be a large space ship, flying in from the bottom of the screen at great speed, instantly creating the enigma of who it is moving away from and why they are being fired upon. The next thing we experience is a truly huge battle cruiser gently fly in from the same direction, dwarfing the one seen before. This sets the audience up to expect grand scale- big ships and big battles. The ship rebel ship is relatively battered and older looking. This shows the rebels as the underdog, endearing them to the audience, and insinuates that this has been a long drawn out battle, preparing the audience for the fatigued chaos we see inside the ship. This contrasts sharply with the slick, cold battle cruiser, with a blue tint used to show the coldness of the empire. Because of the obvious superiority of the empires ship, we feel that it is a mismatch of power and begin to resent the empire for  persecuting the rebels. The non-diagetic sound of firing used throughout is cold and artificial, making it sound like they are using some unknown technology. This sound is heard almost constantly though the section and so only becomes conspicuous through its absence, and reinforces the relentlessness of the battle. The parallel editing from a shot of the ship sustaining damage to the people inside reacting to it help to link the outside battle with the following scenes in the rebel ship. Throughout this section, almost all shots of the rebels involve movement, conveying panic and inciting it in the audience as we realize that this is building up to something big. The walls of the rebel ship are bright white, and are fairly spacious. This contrast with the dark black interior of the empire ship we see later as the droids try to escape. The whiteness has almost heavenly connotations, making the audience feel like they are in a â€Å"good† place, and relatively secure. The black walls of the empire ship give a claustrophobic feel, and make the audience uncomfortable and want to escape. The constant non-diagetic background music is a march, based around horns, a traditionally powerful instrument, typically used to provide music for war films. It also mimics the raised, panicked heartbeat of the rebels. It subconsciously raises our own heartbeat, making the audience feel like they are part of the rebel â€Å"team† The CU’s on the rebel’s faces allow the audience to recognize the rebel’s terror, increasing their own anticipation. By seeing their faces, it humanizes the rebels and prepares the audience to be on their side, instead of the cold, expressionless masks of the empire. During these rebel shots, there are MCU’s on the two robots, a technique used throughout the sequence and indeed the film to distinguish the central characters. We also realize they are important because their bright metallic colouring makes them stand out from the background of uniformed rebels. Their voices are quite comical; C3P0’s English accent is so camp and inappropriate to the action packed setting that the audience find themselves laughing. R2D2’s language is not easily decipherable, and so many laughs are gained by inferring what he has said by C3P0’s response. This section introduces the audience to the idea that these characters will provide the comic relief for the film, and indeed, their presence in this section allows the audience to relieve a little of their tension by laughing, this is important because of the family based nature of the film, parents do not want their young children to be too scared. The camera moves to a tight shot of the door, framing it within the screen, showing that all attention is now diverted to it. The sparks from the cutters are exaggerated , to emphasise their importance, and run around the screen, creating the impression that the intruders are breaking into the audience’s real world, further allying them with the rebels. The Storm troopers break through, and an eye line shot from their perspective is used to show the rebels firing back; connoting a â€Å"new perspective† has arrived. The cutters continue, and when the camera cuts back, they have created a smoke screen , and enigma is created as to what will appear next. At this point, all sound cuts to silence, leaving the audience with the sound of their own raised heartbeat and breathing and intensifying the anticipation. When Vader steps through, only his exaggerated breathing is heard, focusing all our attention on him, making the audience question why he needs a respirator. Vader is instantly identifiable as â€Å"evil†, the shot place him at the center of the screen, and he is dressed head to toe in black, as opposed to rebel white ship, a symbol of the goodness of their principles and their â€Å"purity†, they have no need for masks or machines. The non-diagetic music then begins its â€Å"Empire† motif, an easily recognizable section used whenever Vader is around or to imply his involvement. This contrasts with the rebel motif that was heard at the very beginning of the section, and is one of the most easily identifiable pieces of film music in history. The use of these motifs enhances the binary opposition of good and evil by giving them completely different music. It also helps build an international cult following, because the iconic music is assessable to all. This makes the audience feel smug at being part of a community that recognizes these motifs. Cut to POV shot, C3PO watching R2D2 receive the message from Leia. Leia is instantly recognizable as a princess- she is shot in soft focus and gentle non-diagetic music plays, to mirror the implied gentleness of her personality. The long shot used means we cannot see her face, so it establishes an enigma as to who she is, whom she is sending the message to and what the message is. During this sequence, the gentle non-diagetic music and the lack of firing sounds allow the audience to feel relaxed for a short moment. This is a classic act of retardation as they are immediately confronted with Vader, in a MCU two shot with his commander. The way that Vader dominates the frame shows his superiority over the commander. Vader’s voice is very deep and rasping, and sounds processed. This makes him appear â€Å"other worldly†, and the deepness of his voice is traditionally linked to big characters, such as monsters or giants. This makes the audience feel very small and insignificant The CU of the soldiers legs is shot from a low angle, further emphasizing Vader’s stature and Making the audience aware of his dangerous strength and his Jedi powers, which sets up an audience expectation about use of â€Å"the force† The CU on Leia’s face is a contrast to the strength and brutality of the last, as it is once again in soft focus. The conversation between her and Vader is a montage of eye line shots and FS’s, with them at either side of the screen. The eye line shots are very confrontational, designed to make the audience feel as if they are right in the middle of their argument. The full shot conveys to the audience that their views oppose each other, and  reinforces the binary opposites- black vs. white, empire vs. rebels, young vs. old ect. By showing us the droids entering the escape pod, it creates an unrestricted narrative; the audience knows what is inside. Because of this knowledge, we feel superior to the empire troops, who let it pass, further reinforcing our allegiance to the rebels.

The relationships between the physical environment and economic activities are no longer important

‘Second life' has its own settlements, inhabitants, firms, markets, geography and economies. In January 2007, it even had its own political riot. What is significant about this? Well, its economic activity bears absolutely no relation to the physical environment. It is an entirely virtual world and, admittedly, a computer game – but the point remains. Their currency, the transactions, the profits and the losses may occur in the game's own currency but can be converted into real life US dollars. Also read this  Cheating in a Bottom Line Economy This is 21st century economic activity as the science fiction author's imagined it, and fundamentally, is totally isolated from the physical environment. This could certainly be the shape of things to come, as indications of it can be seen translated onto the non-virtual world. The physical environment is consistently being conquered by human activity – there is little requirement for physically conducive circumstances for an area to be entered into the global capitalist economy. Anecdotally, there is a real snow slope in Dubai – economic activity based around winter sports is happening in the desert. Arguably, humans still cannot conquer wilderness – settlement in Japan is restricted to the coast and the vast majority of mankind live close to coastal areas. Is this, however, more an issue of tradition than one of physical necessity? Certainly, conservative theory would suggest that people draw their identities from tradition, which can have important economic implications. Las Vegas typifies the ‘bright lights' view of the USA – yet having outgrown its aquifer it surely shouldn't exist. Where there are serious economic incentives, the physical environment pales into very little. This has seriously implications in, for example, settlement patterns. Examination of a pre industrial city, such as Potosi, in Bolivia, demonstrates the importance of the relationship between the physical environment and economic activity. These cities were centres of power, bringing together the wealthy and politically powerful – both underpinnings of economic activity – with their servants and slaves in one large urban area, thus representing the beginnings of hierarchal economic systems that have been replicated around the world. This was the start of urbanisation, but what dictated the locations of these economic hubs? Read also Recording General Fund Operating Budget and Operating Transactions The physical environment, from which everything was derived and upon which everything relied. These new cities were focused on the exploitation of a raw material such as coal or iron ore; Catal Huyuk in Turkey developed around volcanic glass, becoming one of the first economic centres. As these activities grew the industrial city emerged, bringing people together in a work force and selling the products of their labour in a market system for the first time – it was the physical environment providing the impetus and the raw materials that enabled both extended settlement and trade to occur. The relationship could not have been more important. However, what is the postindustrial city tied to? Very little – location of industry is no longer tied to traditional centres that formed due to the physical environment. ‘Footloose' industries can be observed in the UK and other knowledge based economies. The sunrise strip around the M4 corridor and silicon fen have not developed where they are because of an exceptionally good crop of microchips. They are focused around centres of learning – science parks attached to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or important communication routes that link them into the global economy – the M4, and important links to London. Read also Intro to Public Relations Notes Similarly, it is human economics that has ‘saved' those areas previously dependent on the physical environment. The decline of the mining industry in South Wales had a profound impact on the surrounding areas causing significant depression. This situation is being reversed with subsidies from the European Union; an economic body that rose from a belief in the law of comparative advantage as opposed to the physical environment. The relationship here between the physical environment and economic activity appears somewhat less significant than for pre industrial cities. If post industrial cities no longer rely on the physical environment for their economic activity, but pre industrial and industrial cities derive their location, habitation and economic activity from the physical environment of their surroundings, it could be argued that those nation states who have no undergone industrialisation have a greater reliance on the physical environment. Rio de Janeiro owes much of its grandeur and wealth to the physical environment – many of the municipal buildings were built on the influx of wealth from the extraction of gold in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, the area is the biggest extractor of petroleum in Brazil from off shore fields; a position in continues to hold despite the opening of markets due to its resource endowment. Conversely, it can also be the physical environment that dictates a very different course of economic events; resource curse theory suggests that an endowment of a particular resource – such as diamonds in many African nations – can in fact lead to stinted economic activity as the economy develops in an unbalanced manner. The poor economic situation in these states would certainly suggest an important relationship between economic activity and the physical environment that must be understood for a solution to be reached. In a similar vein, some cities have not been able to cope with the move away from a close relationship with the physical environment. ‘Old' industrial cities, such as Sheffield in the UK and Lille in France are characterised by loss of employment in the primary sectors, as mining and other physical environment heavy industries decline. There are often high levels of social deprivation and population loss from the inner city as out migration occurs. This illustrates that the relationship between the physical environment and economic activity is just as relevant today as it was with the initial city forming influences – in this case, the location of the cities, a physical factor, on the periphery of post industrial development has lead to economic depression and social deprivation. Furthermore, the observance of the growth of the postindustrial city from pre industrial times has been focused on the core regions of the UK, the USA and Japan. This conservative view of development theory assumes that all development will undergo similar courses, thus implying that the relationship between the physical environment and economic activity in LEDCs is more important than that in MEDCs. Structuralists, however, will argue that this is not the case. The growth of these ‘core' regions has huge implications for the entire global economy based around human derivatives as opposed to physical factors. The periphery is, in essence, not affected by the physical constraints that some argue are the cause of its poverty. It is the economic actions of ‘core' elements of society that result in the economic situations in LEDCs. Studies that led to this ‘dependency theory' observed the actions of wealthy in Sao Paulo which had huge implications on the favela dwellers and the unskilled labourers of Brazil; this is translated on a global scale – the economic activity that keeps the poorest sections of global society in that position is arguably the result of the actions of the core nations which they have had most to do with in the past. If this is the case, there is little relationship between the physical environment and economic activity. In spite of all this, however, there is an undeniable economic impact when disaster strikes. The dramatic impact of the Asian tsunami is a clear illustration. The movement of the tectonic plates that in turn triggered the tsunami could not have been predicated, although it has been argued that the quick pinpointing techniques could have provided greater notice of the wave. Even if this was the case, what of the impact to the settlements, the farmland and the tourist industry that it destroyed? The economic implications of this were huge – raising the point that no matter how much humans attempt to harness the physical environment in pursuit of economic incentives, what initially allowed the development of the global economy can just as easily destroy it. The impact of natural disaster on economic activity is neither new nor restricted to LEDCs. Although the death count in LEDCS, such as the Kerala Earthquake, is usually higher than in MEDCs, the economic impact in MEDCs can be even more dramatic – the Kobe Earthquake, or the effects of Loma Preta ripping through San Francisco. Here, flights were disrupted when a runway ruptured, and damage to free ways and bridges held up over one million commuters for over a month. The economy that these commuters were a part of may not have derived directly from the physical environment, but the disruption and thus cost caused by the physical environment was huge. Even those natural disasters we have warning of have significant impact. The Stern Report recently emphasised the huge economic cost of climate change to certain regions of the globe, which in an increasingly globalised economy would have resounding effects around the globe. There is strong evidence to the effect that the current warming is human induced, and even speculation that it will be global warming that proves to be Malthus' final resource limit. As global temperatures increase, the Greenland ice sheet will melt. This introduction of fresh water will reduce the salinity of the Gulf Stream as it goes northwards and sinks, powering the global conveyor. If this ocean current is unable to sink, the global conveyor will cease to moderate climatic extremes around the globe. Whilst the UK may have handled this in the past during the Little Ice Age, in an economy dependent on roads, private cars and international travel, the economic disruption would be huge as the climate became colder. Limited snowfall has considerable economic impact today, making its potential impact huge. Economic activity itself, therefore, has reinforced the importance of the relationship between the physical environment and economic activity. Furthermore, given the attention paid to climate change by governments, the press, and NGOs alike, the carbon trading business is increasingly significant. Carbon Exchange, a firm that manages both voluntary carbon trading schemes in the US and administers the compulsory cap and trade system in the EU, has seen its share prices rocket to nearly i12 a share in recent months. Here, the impact of economic activity on the physical environment is giving rise to another 'round' of economic activity. Carbon trading is big business and completely inseparable from the physical environment. Is this, rather than a ‘Second Life' virtual existence of economic activity more the shape of things to come? There are other such examples of considerable profits being derived from climate change concerns – effectively; we are reverting to a system whereby economic activity is the direct result of the physical environment. In conclusion, it would appear that the physical environment did much to shape the initial economic developments of core regions, such as the UK, the USA and Japan. It has imparted traditions that persist by way of settlement patterns and economic strengths. If this is the case, a simple division can be made – MEDCs do not rely on the physical environment for economic activity where LEDCs do. However, this ‘model' cannot be held paramount, as it appears not to be the case; structuralist views point out the presence of highly developed and desperate poverty even within the same city as a result of dependency, rather than economic development as a result of the physical environment. In spite of this, there exists an undeniable relationship between the physical environment and economic activity that applies to both LEDCs and MEDCs – the impact of natural disaster. Furthermore, there is increasing economic emphasis surrounding climate change, particularly in MEDCs. Fundamentally, economic activity is an aspect of human activity. Humans are part of the biosphere, and in turn, part of the physical environment. Whilst we may not be as constrained by mountain ranges or climate extremes, as once was the case, it is doubtful there will ever be a situation where the relationship between the physical environment and economic activity is totally irrelevant.

Four Generations of Chinese Leaders Essay

Four Generations of Chinese Leaders Essay Four Generations of Chinese Leaders Essay Example Four Generations of Chinese Leaders Essay Example China has experienced changes in ruling regimes that both faced difficulties and sought to solve them. The rulers experienced some achievements as well as failures, since no ruler is perfect. Some of them rose to power through fighting, while some rose through the peaceful handover of power. This paper seeks to examine the four ruling generations from 1949 to 2012 and the problems that these rulers left behind. Background of the Leaders Mao Zedong, the Chinese leader (1949-1976), was born in 1893 in a family of the wealthy agriculturalist. His political ambitions influenced his contribution to the formation of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921 as well as the Red army that confronted the rival Nationalists. The two parties have forged an alliance with Japan in the World War II, which was terminated in 1949, and a civil war that led to the Mao’s rise to power emerged. Mao was replaced in 1979 by Deng Xiaoping, who ruled until 1992 when Jiang Zemin rose to power. Zemin was born in 1926 in Yangzhou Province and, after graduating from university, worked in Russia in the 1950s. He joined the Communist Party upon return, becoming a Minister of Electronic Industry in 1983. Jiang was replaced through a peaceful handing over by Hu Jintao, who ruled from 2002 to 2012. Hu Jintao was born in Jiangsu province from a poor background: however, he studied up to the university level and became an engineer in 1965. In 1980, h e was discovered by his future benefactor Song Ping who assisted him when he assumed leadership positions in the Central Party. Afterwards, he served as the deputy president from 1998 until he received the presidency in 2002. All the above leaders like any other leader had both achievements and failures in the social, economic, and political spheres, thus none of them was considered impeccable. It is, therefore, worth noting that the leaders not only improved the Chinese status, but also left some areas unaddressed. Below is a comparison of the legacy left by the four leaders in different spheres. Economic Spheres Mao Zedong’s Contribution Mao initiated economic reforms that aimed at transforming China from an agricultural to an industrial society through the Great Leap Forward of 1958-1961. He promoted the development of steel furnaces in villages and urban areas, increasing the steel production as well as providing employment opportunities outside the agricultural sector. He also collectivized agricultural production by encouraging communal farming as opposed to the individual/private farming. However, his industrialization attempts caused the Great Chinese Famine that claimed many lives. The famine resulted from the shortage of labor needed in the agricultural sector in the harvesting seasons. Accordingly, most of the workers had gone to steel production and this led to rotting of grain in farms. It is also said that the urban population at the time had consumption rights over a given amount of grain compared to the rural populations, causing the starvation for the latter. Deng Xiaoping’s Contribution Xiaoping promoted economic development through an open door policy to encourage foreign investors to invest their technology and capital into the Chinese land. This impact reduced foreign borrowing as well as boosted the domestic production rising the foreign exchange earnings. He designated several coastal towns, such as Shenzhen and Shantou, as the Special Economic Zones for receiving foreign investments and transmitting them to the interior. He also liberalized trade in the areas: hence, increasing local as well as foreign investment. Furthermore, he liberalized trade and encouraged the formation of light industries, empowering the farmers. Jiang Zemin’s Contribution Jiang Zemin promoted economic growth through improved international relations, especially with Russia and the United States. He transformed China from a centralized socialist into a capitalist market economy under government control. He also funded the Special Economic Zones as well as the coastal cities to promote economic development. He appointed Zhu Rongji as the head of the economic sector, and inluenced the rise of Gross Domestic Product value. However, it was alleged that the appointment was inspired by nepotism, because Zhu was his supporter. He was also criticized for concentrating too much on economic growth, while disregarding its implications on the environment. In addition, his developmental approach is also said to have failed in bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. Hu Jintao’s Contribution Jintao reinstated state control over some economic sectors, and this witnessed the economic growth and development of China to regain a status of a world power. His regime led China through the global financial crisis, and the country emerged victorious. He improved the infrastructure, thus promoting the Chinese image. Moreover, among the key achievements are hosting the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2010 Shanghai Expo. He also coined the Scientific Development Concept to promote the economic development of China. Additionally, he eliminated state extravagance by discarding ceremonies such as the seeing off and welcoming the president from foreign missions. Furthermore, he pursued soft power relations that encouraged international trade as well as Chinese influence in the Latin America, Africa, and other developing regions. Legal Reforms and Peace/Stability Role of Mao Zedong Maos regime modified the legislations concerning the land ownership to promote equality by transferring huge pieces of land owned by the wealthy in ranches to the landless poor. His government allocated land to the farmers, while the industrial sector remained under the state control. Private farming was replaced by collective farming that implied several households managing their farms collectively. However, the collectivization of agriculture was not fully successful, as it contributed to the Great Chinese Famine that claimed millions of lives. His regime also experienced lawlessness as militia massacred a lot of people, for instance, Xinuyang lost many people in 1960. During his regime, there was a massive destruction of property and numerous houses were demolished. The process of land reforms also led to the elimination of the previous landowners. Consequently, such regime was accused of human rights violation through the concentration camp system that imprisoning people for exce ssively long terms without proper court authorization or the right to appeal. Deng Xiaoping’s Role During his regime, Xiaoping decentralized the Chinese economy, although still upholding the socialist values. He promoted law and order to provide a good environment for trade, unlike the Maos regime`s lawlessness. He formulated laws and guidelines to direct foreign investment, and relations, which were meant for their protection, such as: Equity Joint Venture, Foreign Capital Enterprise Law, and the Chinese Corporate Ventures Law. However, the legal reforms were not quite successful, as his era tolerated elongated the same unjust imprisonment terms. Additionally, Xiaoping disregarded the issue of human rights by using excessive force in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, leading to a large number of deaths. Jiang Zemin’s Role Zemin contributed to the restoration of order in China by crushing the Falun Gong movement that had millions of members and was a threat to the national security. Even though his bid to uphold stability was rational, the barbaric means that entailed abuse of human rights had exceeded the necessity of order. He engaged in the imprisonment of several thousands of people and forceful re-education of the practitioners through labor. The effects of the crackdown were disastrous, taking numerous lives between 2000 and 2008. Hu Jintao’s role Jintao embraced peace and stability, adopting the use of conservative policies to eliminate social unrest, ethnic-based protests and people who posed a threat to the national security. He sought a reserved and a gentle leadership style based on consensus and dialogue, as well as politics relying on technocracy. As a consequence, this way of leadership propelled China to great heights and left the guiding trail for the future leaders. The resulting stability led to increased trade and investment that helped the country develop resilience during the global financial crisis. Cultural Revolution Mao Zedong’s Regime Mao transformed the Chinese from individualistic to a collectivist society through the repossession of the huge pieces of land owned by the nobles to the farmers. He also introduced and encouraged the steel industry that saw the increased industrialization and the consequent advancement of steel production. However, industrialization diminished labor in the agricultural sector, while collective farming led to the poor grain reservation that contributed to the Great Chinese Famine. Deng Xiaoping’s Regime Xiaoping contributed to the Cultural Revolution through the encouragement of foreign investment through the open door policy as well as the establishment of the Special Economic Zones to facilitate the transfer of capital and investment from the coast to the interior. He also developed the infrastructure such as roads and ports to promote trade. Additionally, he decentralized the economy to encourage technological transfer. His focus on exports helped him encourage the establishment of light industries as well as trade liberalization. He reversed the collectivization of agriculture and encouraged household responsibility by dividing the communal land among farmers, thus empowering the peasants. In addition, he encouraged the growth of cash crops and the establishment of private business. Jiang Zemin’s Regime Zemin promoted Cultural Revolution by changing the Chinese centralized socialist into a capitalist market economy regulated by the government. He introduced the theory of the Three Represents that was to guide the country towards the economic production, cultural development, and political consensus. The theory called for the introduction of capitalist business, the shift from protecting the poor to the focus of the majority, and the rise of the entrepreneurial class. Hu Jintao’s Regime Jintao contributed to the Cultural Revolution by promoting equality in the socioeconomic spheres through the Scientific Development Concept aimed at creating a harmonious socialist society free from social strife and conflicts. In addition, he strengthened the spirit of the Republic by identifying some evils and encouraging people as well as leaders to avoid them. These vices included doing harm to the country, betraying the people, perpetuating ignorance, indolence, exploiting others, lawlessness, and luxurious lives. Corruption and Wastage of Public Funds Upon his rise to power, Xi Jinping acknowledged the challenge of corruption and his need, therefore, to formulate rules to curb the vice as well as the wastage of public funds during the official activities. He targeted those perpetuating the malicious acts from the smallest to the highest office. In detail, early in his first term, he embarked on prosecuting some officials such as the former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission as well as the security chief of the Politburo Standing Committee and the chief aide to the former president Hu Jintao. The campaign was the biggest in the history of the contemporary China, thus proving the intensity of the matter. Legal Reforms The legal system requires adjustment to facilitate the rule of law in China. The judicial processes are perceived as ineffective in the delivery of justice, and the major causes are; corruption, lack of oversight, and the interference of the local government. These issues require increased constitutional role in the judicial system and processes in order to restore justice and a good image both in the eyes of the public and the international actors. China has undergone several transitions of power, both violent and peaceful. The respective leaders have contributed both positively and negatively to the economic sector, Cultural Revolution, legal reforms. Among the key achievements are industrialization and collectivization of agriculture in the Mao era that boosted steel production as well as triggered a devastating famine. Xiaoping also improved the economy through an open door policy to promote foreign change, but his legal reforms failed, especially his reaction to the Tiananmen protests. Jiang Zemins regime boosted the GDP, but he was accused of promoting nepotism by appointing his allies more beneficial jobs. Additionally, he could not bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. Hu Jintao is hailed for promoting economic development and restoring China in a status of world power. He, however, did not solve the menace of corruption, influencing negatively his successors regime.