Harnessing the Science of Persuasion

Persuasion works by appealing predictably to deeply rooted human needs. The rest of us can learn to secure consensus, cut deals, and win concessions—by artfully applying six scientific principles of winning friends and influencing people. Cialdini draws on decades of research in experimental, especially social psychology to distill â€Å"six fundamental principles of persuasion†. Some of these principles will seem simple and completely obvious at first sight, but looking deeper into them reveals how well they work and why, making the reader more likely to apply already-implicit knowledge.The first principle is that people are more likely to follow or agree with someone who they like because of some similarity with that person, or due to praise received. Second, people are more willing to cooperate with those who like them. This can be difficult to put into practice, but most of us have plenty of room to find more things we genuinely like about those we interact with. Th ird, experiments have confirmed our intuitive views that people tend to treat each other the same way they are treated. Therefore, doing someone a favor before seeking one can be both ethical and effective.Fourth, people are more likely to keep promises they make voluntarily and explicitly. So, get commitments in writing (and preferably publicly). Fifth, people do defer to experts, but do not assume that your expertise is fully known or appreciated. Finally, people want more of something that they believe is scarce, so exclusive information is more persuasive (and valuable) than widely available information. These principles are clearly illustrated by studies and cases, providing the reader with effective tools for strengthening leadership with better persuasion skills.

Aero-Space Engineering †The New Field of Engineering

Aero-space engineering is a new field of engineering that has tight links with the fields of astro-physics, theoretical physics, chemistry, structural engineering, and space dynamics. It is definitely an old form of engineering if we refer to the space launch in the 1960’s, but this field is considered new because the new theoretical propositions in both space chemistry and astro-physics were put to test. New methods deserved new application. First, aero space engineers takes part in the designing of launch pads stationed in a body of water, say in the Atlantic or Pacific oceans. Engineers in the 1960’s to 70’s faced the difficulty of achieving bouyancy of launch pads due to some miscalculations or rudimentary tools. Because of advances in theoretical physics, these calculations were corrected. Aero-space engineers were able to develop launch pads that can be released from bodies of water. They were also able to develop spacecraft parts that can withstand the temperature in space. They were also the once who developed highly efficient landing tools for rovers and the Viking satellites. Because of the difficulty of their work, an aero-space engineer has to study the environment of a place (a planet or satellite) before the major design for a landing probe start. They would have to consult with other scientists trained in other fields to get data and advice. They would have to coalesce these pieces of data to dvelop or modify space equipments. The more complicated the data, the more complicated is the resulting technology. It is then of no doubt that an aero-space engineer would have to take a wide range of courses from ecology to physics to astro-physics. This would ensure that the would-be aero-space engineer has a wide-range of knowledge when it comes to design and modification. Although aero-space engineering is offered only in some American universities, its prospect for the future is great. There is a wide array of possibilities waiting for any graduate of the new field. NASA is offering wide range of job (highly paid) for these graduates. Reference: The Princeton Review. Career Profiles: Aero-Space Engineer. Princeton Review Publishing, 1997. Related links: http://www.discoverengineering.org/Engineers/aerospace_engineering.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospace_engineering   

Commercial Law

ABDUL RASHID ABDUL MAJID v ISLAND GOLF PROPERTIES SDN BHD [1989] 3 MLJ 376 ISSUE In this case, the issues is whether the board was entitled to levy and collect fees known as development fees from members? PRINCIPLES The defendants owned, managed and operate a social golf club. Membership of the club is of the following types which are honorary membership, ordinary membership, ordinary transferable membership, subscribing membership, institutional corporate membership, expatriate transferable membership, ordinary social membership, term membership and visiting membership. Under the Rule 3 of the club’s rules provided, inter alia, that the club was a proprietary club, of which the defendants were the proprietors with a board of directors responsible for the policies, management and operation of the club. Rule 5 of the rules provided, inter alia, that all members shall not, by reason of his membership, be under any financial liability except for payment of his annual subscription and any other sums due under or levied under the rules and by laws to the defendants. The plaintiff is an ordinary transferable membership. The plaintiff applied to become a member of the club by submitting the necessary application form and duly executed a declaration contained therein which states, inter alia, that he accepted and agreed that the board of the defendants had sole responsible for the policies, management and operation of the club with the power to increase entrance fees and subscription and to levy and additional charges to meet expenditure and it also has the sole right to amend, vary, add to or formulate such rules, terms and conditions of the club including the withdrawal or addition of benefits and privileges of members as if may in its absolute discretion deem necessary. 1|Page The board sought to levy and collects the development fees pursuant to its power under the rules. Rule 33 of the club’s rules provided, inter alia, that the board shall be the sole authority for the interpretation of the rules and by laws made there under and that the decision of the board shall be final and binding on all members. The principle that is under Section 2 (a) of the Contracts Act 1950, a proposal is made when one person signifies to another his willingness to do or to abstain from doing anything with a view to obtaining the assent of that other to such act or abstinence. Moreover, the proposal is invitation to treat which an invitation to make offer, negotiate or deal and has no legal consequence and cannot be accepted to bring a contract into existence. The communication of a proposal is complete when it comes to the knowledge of the person to whom it made which under Section 4(1) of the Contracts Act 1950. This means that an offer or proposal is effective once it is communicating to the offeree by the offeree. Besides that, under Section 10 of the Contracts Act 1950 is already mention that all agreement are contract if they are made by the free consent of parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object and are not hereby expressly declared to be void. The situation is similar in the case of Bomanji Ardeshir Wadia & Ors v Secretary of State AIR (1929) PC 34 wherein it the decision of the Privy Council was said nothing is better settled than that when parties have entered into a formal contract that contract must be construed according to its own terms and be explained or interpreted by the antecedent communing which led up to it. Another related case is Baker v Jones & Ors (1954) 2 All ER Lynskey J said that the contract is contained in, or to be implied from the rules. The courts must consider such a contract as they would consider any other contract. Although parties to a contract may in general, make any contract they like, there are certain limitations imposed by public policy and one of those limitations may be that parties cannot, by contract, oust the ordinary courts from jurisdiction. 2|Page JUDGEMENT The court held that declaring that the defendants’ board was not entitled to levy and collects the fees because the plaintiff’s application for membership was merely a preliminary step. The offer for membership came from the defendants after they had considered the plaintiff’s application. The contract between the plaintiff accepted the offer by making the payment of the entrance fees and the first subscription. Therefore, the declaration in the application forms as not part of the contract. It is just an antecedent communication. The only contract between the plaintiff and the defendants was the rules of the club. The authority to levy fees must clearly be given by the rules of the club and there was no such authority under the rules. Rule 33 clearly made the board the sole authority for the interpretation of the rules and as it purported to oust the court from their jurisdiction the rule was contrary to public policy and therefore void. 3|Page CONCLUSION The conclusion for this case is the board was not entitled to levy and collect fees known as development fees from members. For the interpretation of the rules, this is contrary to public policy and therefore void. Thus, a declaration of intention or an invitation to treat, so, all fees collected as development fees are repaid to the plaintiff and costs to be paid by the defendants. Otherwise, the offer must be communicated to the offeree which under Section 9 of the Contract Act 1950 is the exercise of power by the offeree indicating his assent to the transaction in response to the offer. The communication of an offer or a proposal is deemed to have been made by any act or omission of the party proposing by which he intends to communicate the proposal or which has the effect of communicating it. Therefore, the declaration in the application form was not part of the contract unless the plaintiff make pay sum of the fees which binding the rules of the club. It is normal for parties in the course of preliminary negotiation to make statements to each other but not all statement can be taken as an offer that can be accepted to bring about a contract. 4|Page

Social Capital Creation and Sustainable Relationship among Stakeholder Dissertation

Social Capital Creation and Sustainable Relationship among Stakeholder in Construction Business in Thailand - Dissertation Example The other objective of this study is related to the creation of sustainable relationships in between the stakeholders of the organisations operating its business in the construction industrial sector of Thailand. Hence, the previous works related to the importance of such kind of stakeholder relationships in organisations can prove to be very much helpful in conducting the present research study. In addition to this, various kinds of business relationships that can be found in an organisation with special reference to cultural relationship traits found in Southeast Asian nations and Thailand will also be discussed here. This research study will try to build a model related to social capital possessed by companies operating in the construction industry of Thailand which can prove to be advantageous for the related companies in Thailand. Therefore, this literature review will give insights to some of the existing theories and models related to social capital. All these facts will help to attain the research objectives of this study utilizing the literature review as discussed in this section. 2.2 The Importance of Social Capital Many empirical studies have been conducted regarding the importance of social capital and have been mentioned in the existing literature by different authors. A wide range of socio-economic phenomenon related to the importance of social capital can be found in many of the existing literature presented by various authors (Durlauf, 2002, pp. 1-31; Krishna, 2001, pp 71-93). Research on social capital has resulted in various theoretical debates and different empirical investigations being conducted. This again has resulted in giving a stimulus towards reconsidering facts related to human relations, organisational forms for developmental performance and life quality, networks, etc. The importance of theory related to social capital is observable because of the application of the concept of social capital in various fields and its widespread in terest amongst different organisations and its stakeholders. The existing studies and literature gives way to ample evidences regarding the political, social and economic implications of social capital. However, according to Halpern et al. (2002), there are ambiguities or misspecifications related to the models or equations that have been utilized to measure the impacts of social capital. Thus, the social and economic outcomes that arise based on the empirical evidence related to the importance and significance of social capital need to be dealt with caution. Without having a rigorous method formulated for the purpose of measuring the importance of social culture, it is not clear as to how those benefits associated with social capital can be tested or ascertained (Halpern, 2001, pp. 236-251). However, it can be found as a surprising fact that the

Impact Of Demand For Company Product Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Impact Of Demand For Company Product - Essay Example The ability for economic growth and a decline in employment would provide more individuals and households that wouldn’t be as limited in buying specific products. There would be the ability to invest in different types of products while looking at other needs which can be added to daily living. More important, there is the ability to create a different amount of spending with the more that individuals are employed and able to work with the product. The combination of increase with the national income as well as the flexibility which most would have for providing new options in products would help Dairyland to have more supplies while factoring in a growth for demand for basic products as well as items that are known within the corporation but not as popular. Even though this would provide advantages for the company, there are also some restrictions on the demand. The inflation would also create a rise in the prices with Dairyland. Currently, there is a direct association with the products that are based on the ability to offer low and wholesale prices. The inflation would automatically increase the number of prices for the products. Even though the demand would increase from one perspective, there might be the need to change the pricing. This would become a disadvantage as it is the main way in which Dairyland can create and associate with the products that are available in the community. For this particular aspect to work, there would be the need to diversify the products or find ways to decrease debt and other costs within the corporation. Even though there is more demand for the supplies offered, the company costs will increase. The demand for more products also increases the need to meet the demand for supplies. There is also the need to increase and diversify the costs according to the demand.

Advance Management accounting and performance management Essay - 1

Advance Management accounting and performance management - Essay Example Besides, initiating a fitness club is a fun and financially paying business that assists people get and remain strong, healthy and fit. Owning such a business enables an individual own an artistic and resourceful business in a recession-resistant field. This business entails providing fitness services, which include individual training services, and BFIT rehab, which refers to a physical rehabilitation service. The club will also sell a range of nutritional, fitness and health products. These include the company’s own BFIT nutritionals at its stores that will be exclusive in the center (Curtis, 2003). The facilities that must be present at Rollin Fitness Center include cardio training equipments like 50Kg Barbell Dumbbell set, magnum fitness flat and auto incline treadmill; strength equipments like BNRG Proto Whey 5Lbs, power rack and smith machine and bench package. Most gyms in Europe especially in UK charge  £500 to  £700 a month but to increase competitiveness, Rollin Fitness Center should charge  £450 to  £500 a month. Just as mentioned, the company intends to increase its competitive advantage and popularity by charging slightly lower than the normal costs for most gyms in UK. Therefore, Rollin Fitness will be charging  £450 -  £500 in order to attain several clients and be competitive in the market field. However, some clients do not wish to be at the gym on a daily basis meaning that they cannot pay full monthly cost (Kirk, 2000). Therefore, the company needs to come up with weekly charges as well as daily charges, which should be done according to hours spent in the gym. It is very difficult to come up with per unit cost for a fitness club since the center offers more of service than goods (Jeff, 2004). The best way to go about it is through coming up with an hourly cost statement for any person who visits the center for fitness services. Now that monthly cost is like  £500, weekly cost will be; Now, to determine

The book Marriage Morals by Bertrand Russell Essay

The book Marriage Morals by Bertrand Russell - Essay Example It contests and lobbies against LGBT rights, divorce, abortion, embryonic stem-cell study and pornography. Marriage and Morals is an old book written by philosopher Bertrand Russell, and that questions the Victorian perceptions of morality concerning marriage and sex (Russell 2). Contrast issues The Liberation of Women: chapter seven of the book advocates for women liberty; however, the approaches contrasts the morals the title claim. The chapter claims that the sex education provided by many books is insufficient to curb immorality. The only fixation that will suffice is to eliminate from young women all chances of being by themselves with men: girls must be prohibited to make their living by work outside the residence; they should never be permitted an outing unless in a company of their mother or an aunt; the unfortunate practice of going to boogies without a chaperon ought to be sternly stamped out. The book suggest that to avoid immorality of unmarried women there should be a mo nthly medical checkup carried out by police doctors and these doctors preferably castrated, and non-virgins to be sent to penitentiary(Russell 82). The chapter continue to suggest that the use of contraceptives and talking to unmarried women to be prohibited. The author asserts that if this is carried out for several years then the tide of immorality will be curbed. The concept is comparable with FRC effort to make women free from oppression; however, the approach differs. FRC has processes to encourage women freedom in a more humane manner as contrasted to suggestion that the book provides. It supports a federal ethics clause, permitting medical employees to refuse to give certain treatments to their clients, such as procurement of abortion, blood transfusion or birth control. It also supports for abstinence- and encourages sex education, intelligent design and entreaty in public schools, and the control of pornography and other "obscene, profane, indecent, or program on broadcast and cable television (Stange 510). In both cases, there is advocacy for restriction; however, the approaches differ. The book suggestions are not liberty related they are a different form of oppression of women in pretext of curbing immorality. The book gives a presumption that immorality can be controlled through restriction of women activities. Sex Morality: Chapter 8 of the book discuses the taboo on sex knowledge, it claims that frank pornography would do less damage if it were open and unashamed than it does when it is rendered interesting by secrecy and stealth(Russell 89). This is contrary to FRC stand on pornography since it is against it and advocates for the control of pornography and other indecent, obscene, profane, or program on broadcast and cable television. The book argues that the taboo against nudity is an obstruction to a decent approach on the topic of sex. It proposes that it is in order for children to observe each other and their parents nude when it so happen s naturally. There will be a short time, most likely at about three years of age, when the youngster is fascinated in the dissimilarity between the mother and the father, and compares them with the variances between themselves and other siblings, but this stage is soon ended, and subsequent to this they take no more interest in nakedness than in clothes. This is a contrasting fact with FRC stands that condemns any form of obscenity (Stange 510). The book considered homosexuality to be immoral when it

Soren Chemical Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Soren Chemical - Case Study Example The sales results have been dwindling and disappointing owing to several strategic and tactical problems (Kasturi & Yong, 2011). The company failed to make the consumers aware of their products and their benefits and Poor communication strategy by the company to retailers and distributors with enquiries. There is an extremely low sale of coracle which was launched for residential pool water clarification In three years time, the company sales can be revived if solutions to curb low sales are properly adopted and implemented. If this is not the case then, it could lead to closure of the company as it has not made any significant sales to ensure its sustainability. If the recommended solutions are carefully implemented, the sales will go up and the company will make profits which could lead to expansion. 1. The pool service professionals and contractors are not aware of the actual value of Coracle. Most of the service professionals believe that Clearblue, a product by a competitor company is more effective and solely reduces the need for other chemicals. Soren chemicals should therefore focus on advertisement to make the professionals aware of the benefits of Coracle. 2. Consumers are unaware of the benefits of coracle. Majority of pool owners maintain their pools by themselves. Since they do not know of the benefits Coracle presents, they settle for what the distributor gives them and mostly cheaper products. Soren chemicals should let the customers in on the positives of using Coracle if they are to increase their sales. 3. Lack of support by the distributors. Using Coracle reduces the need for other pool treatment chemicals by over 20%. This is not a favorite of the distributors and retailers as they are set to sell chemicals and make profits. They fail to mention this to the customers and pass it on as just another pool product (Kasturi & Yong, 2011). 4. Poor communication strategy. There exists a communication gap

Greenhouse Business Challenge and Carbon Footprint - Australia Assignment

Greenhouse Business Challenge and Carbon Footprint - Australia - Assignment Example The paper "Greenhouse Business Challenge and Carbon Footprint – Australia" explores the environmental issues connected with the threats arising from carbon footprints. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and other equivalent gases are very harmful to the environment. The combined effect of such gases is called carbon footprints. This is a very important area of concern for the world. In countries like Australia where the majority of national income is generated from oil, petroleum and mining industry, carbon footprint is a serious matter of discussion. One of the largest oil and petroleum gas producing company of Australia called Woodside has also taken several voluntary as well as cost-effective measures to reduce emission rate of their business. Woodside considers customised emission reduction plans for each of their project plans. They have emission reduction strategies and models for their different projects. Companies such as BP have also taken measures like implanting solar plants for installing solar panels. It has decided to supply electricity to its retail stores through these solar energy generated electricity. The government of Australia has also taken strict measures imposing carbon tax on companies to limit their carbon emission. Companies are disappointed through such policy because the carbon tax is not fixed and this would affect the revenue of the company. So it would be recommended that the government of Australia can revise the rate of carbon tax for the country.

Technology at work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technology at work - Essay Example 8). One of the major challenges before a second language teacher is to motivate the students and make the learning process interesting and appealing to the learners; teachers who are competent and creative enough to design instructional packages with the aid of technological devices are better equipped to take up this challenge. Laborda & Royo reviewing Dudeney & Hockly’s book How to teach English with Technology show the immense â€Å"possibilities of teachers who work with a variety of types of software and hardware (or even who actually do not approach language teaching with technology) to integrate the contents into their daily teaching plans† (Laborda & Royo 2007). Similarly, Sotillo stresses on the effectiveness of computer-mediated discussions and instructional activities in transacting English to second language learners (Sotillo). However, it is significant that the selected learning activities are in tune with the proficiency level of students. Smith, D. G & Baber, E. (2005). Teaching English with information technology: how to use the internet and IT when teaching - for the professional English language teacher. Illustrated Edition: Modern English Publishing. Laborda, J. G., & Royo, T. M. (2007). Book review: How to teach English with Technology (Gavin Dudeney & Nicky Hockly). Educational Technology & Society, 10 (3), 320-324. Retrieved 21 Nov. 09 from: http://www.ifets.info/journals/10_3/22.pdf Sotillo, Susana M. (1997, Dec). English-as-a-Second-Language Learning and Collaboration in Cyberspace. Retrieved 22 Nov. 09 from The Technology Source Archives website:

Donation For Lekemia & Lymphoma Society Tnt Essay Example for Free

Donation For Lekemia Lymphoma Society Tnt Essay Myoproliferative disorders such as Leukaemia, lymphoma and Myeloma constitute a health, financial and social burden to patients and their family members. We do have a role to play to ameliorate this enormous burden; that is by donating to the Support. By this, we make others smile. The result: we are fulfilled and happy, too. You are not alone, I shall also be a part of this course. This year is a very exciting year for me and my two daughters. This is because we all are graduating in June 2008. I am going to do something that I always want to do: that is to participate in the Frederick Marathon on May 17th as member of The Leukemia Lymphoma Society Teams in Training. In order to support this worthy cause, I have to raise funds to help find cures for Leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and myeloma. This is in a bid to prevent or reduce mortality associated with these cancerous tumours. Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma are cancers that originate in the bone marrow or lymphatic tissues. This affects the person’s healthy blood cells. Every 5 minutes some one is diagnosed with blood cancer and every 10 minutes someone dies from a blood cancer. You may not believe this but nearly 6 people every hour dies from this disease. These staggering statistics only show the numerical calamity associated with these cancers, not to talk of the psychological and economic implications of these debilitating conditions on patients and their family members. There is a way to help assuage such burden: and that is to donate funds for research, families, and treatments. And by this I am determined to raise $1500. 00 or more to contribute to the course. |I implore you to make a donation to support my participation in Team in Training and help support the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. You can make your donation but make sure the checks are written out to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and mail them to: You can also make your donation online on my website, which can be forwarded my website to your friends and family. This is a contribution that has a positive effect on the life of others. And there is nothing like making others happy. In fact, this is one of the things we can do for our country, our people in demonstration of our love for others.

Collaboration between Disney and Nature Conservancy Essay Example for Free

Collaboration between Disney and Nature Conservancy Essay Disney is a famous international company around the world. Not only for the production of cartoon and Disneyland, but also the effort that it have made in sustainable development. Disney has made high efficiency collaboration with Nature Conservancy-a famous environmental protection organization. They have worked closely with each other for decades to create the Disney Wilderness Preserve (DWP) in central Florida (â€Å"Working with Companies†, n.d.). Their collaboration was a success (â€Å"Florida, the Disney Wilderness Preserve†, n.d.), bringing positive outcomes for both business corporation and environmental protection. The research question of our group is: How Disney achieve a highly efficient collaboration with the Nature Conservancy? Disney is willing to devote a large number of money to the protection of environment with other organization, but it is a challenge for both Disney and other organization to achieve their target and high efficiency collaboration. As pointed out by Getha-Taylor (2012), â€Å"Trust is a foundational element for effective collaboration.† Without trust, Disney would not choose to partner with the Nature Conservancy. They need to make a same goal in collaboration. Besides, equal power is an important consideration for Disney and Nature Conservancy to start their programs. The high quality of value co-creation is based on the high integration and organization of resources as well as active mobilization and passion of partners. In this report, literature review and conceptual Framework will be the first part. This part is designed to review the literature that related to the research question and topic. Besides, it will outline some key ideas and theories for the collaboration between Disney and other organizations. Each literature review of team members will be selected to make an integrated which are related to the research question and topic. Then the team will draw a connection between the literature review and data coding results, to develop a preliminary conceptual framework.   Secondly, the team will make enough description for the case on Disney. In this part, the partners and partnerships for Disney will be included.   Thirdly, the methodology that used in the research will be explained. The  team will provide primary data and secondary data for readers. Also, the team will analysis the data to make it clear for readers to understand the importance of those data. Then, the team will have preliminary results for the research question. Some figures or tables will be used to describe the preliminary results.  Finally, the team will make conclusions to summarize the collaboration between Disney and other organizations. Besides, the team will answer the question: How Disney achieve a highly efficient collaboration with the Nature Conservancy? The significance and implications of high efficiency collaboration between Disney and Nature Conservancy. The team will make acknowledgement on the limitation of the study-All achievements and actions of Disney are not very up-to-date, the newest resource comes from Disney’s performance summary report in 2013. The knowledge gap of this report are scientific system to cooperate efficiently between business and NGOs, global strategies in terms of cross-sector cooperation and multi-regional and global alliance. Conclusions The collaboration between Disney and Nature Conservancy is a model for other companies to improve the efficiency in collaboration with organizations and NGOs. They have same goals and trust each other. Besides, their power are equally and Disney provides enough financial support for Nature Conservancy to build and maintain the Disney Wilderness Preserve in Florida. Those factors make the collaboration between Disney and Nature Conservancy become a high-efficiency collaboration. Disney performed efficiently in collaboration with different organizations for its strong executive force and huge spending. However, Disney has challenge in cross-cultural collaboration with other organizations. It required creativeness and multicultural background to deal with. During our research, we found a limitation. All achievements and actions of Disney are not very up-to-date; the newest resource comes from Disney’s performance summary report in 2013. The limitation may affect the accuracy and objectivity of our result to some extent. When researching on these subthemes, one of our research gaps is multi-regional and global alliance. The wetland mitigation program in  central Florida is regional, but Disney is able to do more in terms of multi-regional collaboration since there are so many things else they can do. We didn’t find so many things when it comes to how business increase efficiency when partnering with an organization that shares a different culture background The use of quantitative data analysis and qualitative data analysis are quite helpful for us to find the gap and limitations of the topic, they are efficient methods for us to analyzing the data. Disney makes more collaboration with other organizations to improve to sustainable development of itself, such as the collaboration with National 4-H Council. They make a program called Exploring Your Environment program. It provides fun, interesting and hands-on experiences to help young people learn more about the environment around them. Through Disneys support, â€Å"they were able to create the Connecting Urban Youth to the environment program using Exploring Your Environment, and Disney is now able to reach youth in six urban areas across the U.S. Besides, Disney have supported conservation projects for almost 20 years, invested in conservation programs in 114 countries† (Momdjian, 2014) and worked with forest communities to protect wildlife and critical forest habitats. In the future, Disney needs to improve the capacity in communication. Communication is the basis of Disney’s alliance learning and capacity building if they want to corporate efficiently. Alliance enables cross-section corporations to increase working efficiency. Internal development of such expertise may be too costly, inefficient, and time-consuming for most companies. As a result, ally with a partner can let Disney share information or receive feedback from their partners. Reference â€Å"Florida, the Disney Wilderness Preserve†, (n.d.), Retrieved from http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/florida/placesweprotect/the-disney-wilderness-preserve.xml Getha-Taylor, H. (2012). Cross-sector understanding and trust, Public Performance Management Review, 36(2), pp.216-229 Momdjian, C. (2014). Disney and National 4-H Council Join Together to Connect Youth to the Environment. Retrieved from: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/blog/disney-and-national-4-h-council-join-to

Ineffective Unworkable Stability Growth Pact

Ineffective Unworkable Stability Growth Pact Abstract The paper presented provides a discussion and evaluation of the functioning of the fiscal discipline instrument; it was designed in the early 1990s for inclusion in the Maastricht Treaty, refined in 1997 with the creation of the Stability Growth Pact (hereafter, ‘SGP), and reformed in 2005. Assuming that we need it for reasons rehearsed in literature, the SGP will be evaluated and discussed in relation to its effectiveness to date. Although case law is not studied extensively, a brief overview of the SGP crisis in 2003 will be provided, followed by a legal/economic analytical framework perspective with the SGP examined under the lens of soft and hard law primarily. With the legal principles exposing the economics behind the SGP, the rules and discretion debate is followed supporting evidence that the current framework has proved to be inadequate. The methodology continues to analyse the SGP framework with a particular focus on the economic crisis of Greece. The lessons illumin ated from this particular case study will further provide possible recommendations to help the SGP become a more effective regime, in face of ageing populations and a need for growth enhancing forms. 1. Introduction While monetary policy is delegated to the European Central Bank (ECB) who face a challenge of convincing speculators that they are serious about the maintaining of exchange rate stability and that they will not use the option of devaluing (Jacquet 1998), fiscal policy remains in the hands of national authorities. Member States (MS) should however, according to the Treaty on European Union (hereafter, Maastricht) comply with the principle of sound public finances. To ensure this, the Treaty presents a no bail-out clause which prohibits the ECB, and other nations of rescuing a MS in financial trouble. This was further protected by the introduction of the Stability Growth Pact (SGP) which further specified rules and procedures. A primary source of European Union law is provided for by the power-giving EU treaties which set broad policy goals and establish institutions that, amongst other things, can enact legislation in order to achieve these goals. The SGP is precisely this further legislation that is required to give force and credibility to the Treaty. The legislative acts of the EU may come in two forms; directives and regulations. In the case of the SGP, it consists of two council regulations 1466/97 and 1467/97 which are directly applicable and binding in all MSs without the need for any further domestic legislation. The fundamental objective for the SGP is to identify excessive deficits and end them as soon as possible[1]. However, the SGP, in its original, reformed and current form is not effective. Whilst initiating debt and deficit cuts, it fails to stimulate and enhance growth. It has no end to criticisms in applying fiscal discipline. This has led to not only the SGP crisis facing the European Court of Justice in 2003 where the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) failed to impose sanctions on delinquent MSs but more significantly the recent crisis of Greece, where the failure of the SGP to discipline their budgetary discipline has led to spiralling debts forcing the EU to possibly ‘eat its own words in relation to the ‘no bail-out clause. This not only undermines the credibility of the SGP as a framework, but calls into question the functioning of the European Monetary Union as a whole. With the pact being described as an operational recipe and repeatedly being consi dered as too weak, will this finally spur policy-makers into producing a much harder pact? 2. Designing, Building and Naming the Ship From Maastricht to SGP[2] The aim of the following chapter is to provide a brief focused review of how the SGP framework was formed. The debate leading up to the creation of the SGP began long before the Maastricht treaty was signed in 1992. After the experience of the 1970s and 1980s it became clear that a new focus was required on medium term stability and fiscal discipline, and it became certain that there was a need for institutional mechanisms. In particular, the absence of a fiscal rule meant that the free rider problem was feared as MS may be tempted to run excessive deficits in the expectation that the Monetary Union will bail them out (Begg Schelkle, 2005). Later, this became the one of the most compelling rationales for the SGP; to prevent the European Central Bank (ECB) from being pressurised for an inflationary bail out (Eichengreen Wyplosz, 1998). In 1989, The Delors Committee composed of central bankers reported that economic and fiscal decisions â€Å"would have to be placed within an agreed macroeconomic framework and be subject to binding procedures and rules† (Delors Report, 1989). This would also help to avoid differences in public sector borrowing requirements between MSs and present obligatory constraints on the size of budget debt and deficits (Delors Report, 1989), therefore limiting the use of fiscal policy itself. This not only combined but reflected both the Keynesian coordination and fiscal discipline arguments. The vital question was how? The European Union (EU) was faced with key players representing different rationales. Whilst France wanted an ‘economic government the Germans central focus was on price stability, and they were adamant that excessive deficits must be avoided. Thus the result was the Treaty on European Union 1992. Whilst Article 99 states that MSs shall regard their economic policies as a matter of common concern and shall coordinate them with the Council, Article 104 states that â€Å"Member States shall avoid excessive government deficits†. The Treaty requires MSs to satisfy two fiscal convergence criteria to qualify fully as EMU members: to keep general budget deficit/GDP below 3% and nominal gross debt/GDP below 60% (Article 104c Protocol) (hereafter the ‘rules of the SGP). Furthermore, the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) is defined and shaped by the interaction between the Council and the Commission. For Euro MSs, this can lead to financial sanctions because of possible negative spillover occurring throughout the Monetary Union as a result of established excessive deficits. However the procedure, as laid down by the Treaty, is in no sense mechanistic. Ultimately it leaves the discretion of whether to take action to the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). The EDP protects MSs from action in the form of ‘forgiveness clauses which accommodate deviations from the rules, for example resulting from an idiosyncratic shock, given that MSs meet specified conditions. This means MSs are still able to participate in EMU (Article 104(c) 2a Article 104(c) 2b). For the debt ratio rule, the escape clause is ambiguous in its wording as the ‘satisfactory pace for approaching the reference value has not been defined and this has been interpret ed very freely and at the discretion of each MS. It has proved difficult to devise a formal rule covering all possible events. It was interesting to note, that the SGP provided a further detailed specification regarding the interpretation of the deficit ratio emphasising the importance placed on it, yet it remained silent on the debt criterion. This can be interpreted as the SGP effectively overlooking the debt/GDP ratio as being unimportant in the application of fiscal discipline. As Maastricht aimed at bringing into line the states whose fiscal history in previous periods had given rise to problems, Maastricht offered a great incentive of joining EMU successfully.[3] However, pessimists worried that ‘Maastricht fatigue would set in once countries were admitted to EMU. It was thought that countries had been forced to suck their stomachs in to squeeze into Maastrichts tightly tailored trousers, but upon EMU entry, they would expel their breath violently (Eichengreen 1997). Beyond doubt, a further mechanism was required to ensure that MSs sustained compliance. The EU faced two options; they could either continue to rely on voluntary agreements where MSs agreed to meet convergence criteria after EMU was fully operational or the EU could impose explicit rules that would elaborate on and give further instructions from Maastricht. Although the introduction of the SGP implied that the EU chose the latter, it soon came to light that in fact the EU had implicitly chosen the former. The Original Stability and Growth Pact Prior to the introduction of the Euro, the German government became extremely anxious about giving up the reputable Deutschmark in favour of the new single currency that would include fragile economies who lacked stability culture. Germany already maintained a low inflation policy, and through the SGP the German government hoped to limit the pressure other MSs could exert on the European economy. They hoped to remove the margin for discretion left by Article 104 of Maastricht by ensuring that the EDP would be implemented according to a predetermined timetable and the eventual sanctions would be levied according to a predetermined formula (Costello, 2001). However such an automatic sanctioning mechanism was considered inappropriate by some MSs. In 1996, the SGP was finally concluded[4] as being â€Å"far less mechanical than the initial proposal† (Fischer et al 2006). Based on two council regulations, it took the force of law, with decisions to be taken within the original standard legislative framework of the Treaty. Fiscal policy remained decentralised but the SGP hoped to combine restraint with flexibility, whilst representing a backbone of fiscal discipline in EMU to primarily address negative spill-overs from MSs (Fischer et al 2006). Although the Commission reserved its ‘right of initiative, the Council ultimately retained discretion in making decisions within an overall rule based framework. Whilst some argued that the SGP was â€Å"no more than a clear affirmation of Article 4† (Jacquet 1998), others suggested that the SGP builds on the Maastricht provisions (Fischer et al 2006), by presenting a monitoring process, based on Article 99, which combines surveillance through stability programmes and a quasi automatic warning system for countries suffering from excessive deficits based on Article 104, often referred to as the ‘preventive and ‘corrective arm. The preventive arm requires Euro members to submit stability programmes while non-Euro members present convergence programmes. Both are required to include the medium term objective (MTO), and if applicable, an adjustment path towards it. The MTO is required to be ‘close to balance or in surplus and the rationale is to ensure sustainable fiscal positions in the long run whilst also creating sufficient room for fiscal policy to smooth out fluctuations in the short run without violating the 3% deficit ceiling as specified in the SGP regulations. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that although the programmes must be submitted to the Commission, it may be examined by the ECOFIN Council which may choose to make its opinion public, and this can be understood as ‘naming and shaming. In addition, if the Council forecasts a deviance from the budgetary position it may choose to address a recommendation to the respective MS. However this is not obligatory, highlighting the Coun cils power as it can take it upon itself to apply peer pressure. The corrective arm however, in contrast to Maastricht, provides for a much stricter and formal procedure, designed with a rigorous course of action set with time limits, to enforce fiscal discipline in the SGP (Dutzler Hable 2005). Whilst an excessive deficit is established upon a breach of the 3% deficit or 60% debt rule under the Treaty provisions, the SGP nonetheless focuses on the 3% deficit ceiling. This is arguably, a mistake on the part of the SGP creators. The inability of monitoring deficits due to difficulty in time lags means that data is imprecise. It can take more than four years to detect disobedience reliably, which means that disciplining MSs is even more unlikely.[5] Therefore, focusing on the debt/GDP ratio would be more sensible. After all, it is the total debt stock that needs to be financed. Focusing on the short term requirement does not do much in preventing MSs from getting themselves into situations where they may need to be rescued as the Greek experience illustrates. Because debt is a persistent stock and not a flow, it can help policymakers in nation states to choose more suitable and reasonable plans, which will help lower the probability of nations facing a crisis such as the one faced by Greece. The persistence of a debt will help give governments an incentive to keep debt at lower levels in order to be able to adjust to unforeseen circumstances more ea sily. There is a question of how to set that debt limit; but that can easily be done using the empirical work of Reinhart and Rogoff (2009), and others, on the links between debt and growth rates. Nevertheless, the EDP clarified the following. Firstly, the ‘exceptional circumstances are defined as ‘an annual fall of real GDP of at least 2% meaning that countries will be automatically exempt from further action. Furthermore, a fall of between 0.75% and 2% may be deemed exceptional if MS provide evidence. The deadline for correction of excessive deficits should be completed in the year following its identification unless there are ‘special circumstances; these were not defined. As the rules in the SGP are insufficiently flexible, they allow for breaches that ultimately may undermine the operation of the SGP. However, because the procedural steps clarify that the timing between reporting a deficit above 3% GDP and imposition of sanctions should be no more than 10months, it means that, if no corrective action is taken in adequate time to correct the deficit by the year following its identification, sanctions will be imposed. Financial sanctions will be in the for m of non-remunerated deposits which will take the value of 0.2% of GDP and rise by one-tenth of the excess deficit up to a maximum of 0.5% of GDP. Additional deposits will be required each year until the excessive deficit is removed. If the excess is not corrected within two years the deposit will be converted into a fine; otherwise it will be returned. Ultimately, this means a MS can run excessive deficits for at least three years before their deposit is converted into a fine. Although the inability of monitoring deficits is unfortunate, the effect of legal and institutional weight given to the corrective arm means that the short term requirement of keeping government deficit below 3% is treated with much more seriousness than the preventive arm. This is ironic since in practice, the excessive deficit procedure is not properly enforced as no MS has yet been fined. The preventive arm on the other hand is enforced, yet its lack of formal and legal basis and no procedure to punish a failure to comply with the objective of a medium term balance further emphasises the lack of importance placed on the preventive arm. (Rostowski 2004). 3. Soft Law to Softer Law This chapter will provide a review of the SGP as a form of proper regulation up until the SGP crisis in 2003 which led to the consequent reforms. The hard versus soft law debate will be discussed. Difficulties facing the SGP after its Inception Whilst several Euro countries bettered their fiscal outcome by moving their budgetary positions into surplus, others such as Germany, France, Italy and Portugal remained trapped in high deficits (Fischer et al 2006). The implied emphasis on correcting deficits rather than preventing them (because on its sanctioning nature) induced a failure to achieve ‘medium term balance meaning that they had little scope to allow automatic stabilisers to operate once economic conditions deteriorated (Rostowski 2004). They were criticised as not being tuned into the pact and this failure of key MSs to respect the requirements of the SGP just a few years after its inception, triggered a heated debate regarding a potential reform on the architecture of the SGP (Fischer et al 2006). Though some may argue that countries would have faired worse had there not been a SGP[6], the operation of the pact brought to light issues which where nevertheless important. A continued period of low growth levels t riggered by the dot-com crisis in 2000, eroded budget balances to the point where fiscal policies had to become strongly pro-cyclical to respect the 3% limit (Wyplosz, 2008), highlighting the fact that the SGP encourages pro-cyclical behaviour. In addition, the SGP discouraged growth and economic reform, most importantly in the labour market. REFERENCE? Although these are major criticisms of the functioning nature of the SGP itself, whats more is that the SGP is perceived as being contradictory; although created as hard law it takes the effect of soft law. With a legally binding nature, there should be little room for discretion, however as mentioned the sanctioning is not automatically applied (Schelkle 2005) to countries who are in breach of the EDP but rather, the members of the Council are required to vote, and only by qualified majority can countries be declared to have excessive deficits (Rostowski 2004). The council composing of finance ministers from MSs, implies that not only is ECOFIN dependant but it is also partial (Schuknecht 2004). As concluded by Eichengreen and Wyplosz (1998), the SGP will in this respect have some, but not maximum, effect. As long as imposition of sanction remains a political decision in the hands of national governments, it is highly unlikely that large and influential states will be punished (Rost owski 2004). This was proven in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) crisis of 2003. Due to the fact that EU officials will be reluctant to levy fines and lose goodwill, EU decision makers will compromise, allowing the 3% deficit ceiling to be violated. MSs will be reluctant to incur fines and suffer embarrassment, and therefore governments will also compromise by modifying their fiscal policies just enough to obey the rules, and avoid forcing the EU to impose sanctions. Thus although the lack of hard law perhaps implies that the sanctions were to act as a deterrent for MSs from violating the rules, the presence of the sanctions which will ‘never be imposed provides no incentive whatsoever for countries to comply with fiscal discipline. This is not only in the best interests of the respective MS but for the best interests of EMU as a whole. Furthermore fines may adversely affect a MS, causing conditions to worsen, leading â€Å"to recrimination and dealing a blow to EU solidar ity† (Eichengreen Wyplosz 1998). It makes no sense to place emphasis on penalising MSs after the rules have been breached; rather the EU needs to do more to prevent these breaches from occurring. Not surprisingly, to date no country has yet incurred fines. Evidence suggests that the SGP has created divergence between different sized MSs (von Hagen 2005). With the three largest countries seemingly unwilling to push for underlying balance, the Pact seems to have worked well for a group of smaller countries (as well as Spain) (Annett, 2006).[7] This demonstrates that enforceability is not uniformly weak; generally small countries have respected the SGP provisions, the only exception being Portugal (Rostowski 2004). This suggests that either enforceability needs to be applied equally, or the pact must regain the support of the larger MSs, especially Germany and France who fought for the creation of the pact. Perhaps a more vital question is why the pact lost support of the key players in the EU. If governments do not believe fines will be imposed in bad times, what incentive do they have to run fiscal surpluses in good times? The following SGP crisis was therefore inevitable. The Original SGP Crisis In 2003, Germany and France established excessive deficits. However, the European Council (described as the ‘dozing watchdog in Heipertz Verdun 2004) voted to hold the EDP in abeyance as it is permitted to do so by the articles in the Maastricht Treaty, causing great uproar for the ‘existence of the pact. As described by Begg Schelkle (2004), â€Å"The ECOFIN council decision was widely interpreted as the death-knell for the Stability Growth Pact.† The Commission challenged this decision by presenting the case to the ECJ whose judgement[8] left many unanswered questions. This in turn led to legal uncertainty and the loss of credibility for the EU fiscal framework (Dutzler Hable 2005). More specifically the Council stated that France Germany had established excessive deficits. In the case of France, Council recommendations on basis of art 104(7) set a deadline for taking appropriate measures to reduce their deficit. Once the deadline was reached, the Commission observed France had not taken effective action upon the recommendations (Dutzler Hable 2005). The case of Germany differed slightly; although another deadline was established, in face of the economic slowdown facing Germany, the content of the recommendations was moderate. Upon reaching the deadline, Germany had, from the Commissions point of view, taken inadequate measures to implement Council recommendations. Thereafter the Commission issued further recommendations to the Council in order to advance with proceedings with regard to both MSs, and in particular, to take action in face of art 104(8) and art 104(9) EC respectively (Dutzler Hable 2005). Although, from the Commissions point of view, this shoul d have resulted in the Council immediately resuming the EDP (Dutzler Hable 2005), the Council upon voting, chose to suspend the EDP for both Germany and France. This decision was not unanimous; most of the smaller countries (who incidentally hold better fiscal positions) voted in favour of the Commissions recommendation, but the larger countries formed a blocking minority (Fischer et al 2006). As commented by Dutzler Hable (2005), in essence, the ECJ had to deal with two claims by the Commission. On one hand it was asked to annul the decision of the Council of not adopting the formal instruments contained in the Commissions recommendations pursuant to art 104(8) and 104 (9). On the other hand it was asked to annul the Councils conclusions, because it involved the decision to hold EDP in abeyance. The Court, in its judgement[9], demonstrated an appreciation of both parties. It ruled that the Council can and must hold the EDP in abeyance if the majority in Council does not vote to sanction the MS in question. However, it ruled in favour of the Commission in stating that the Council cannot adopt political conclusions (Dutzler Hable 2005).The judgement proved fatal to the existence of the pact as it failed to address important questions and clarify the institutional balance of powers between the Council and the Commission. It not only called into question the political willingness of countries to adhere to the prior agreed fiscal rules but it remains unsettled if the issue is to arise again in the future. Although Dutzler Hable (2005) comment that it remains unclear whether the EDP can be continued without the Councils approval, it is likely that the sanctions will never be applied without the backing of MSs as this would never be politically accepted. Therefore the question of whether the SGP effectively enforces MSs to obey fiscal rules is brought to light. The extent to which the system of fiscal surveillance and economic policy coordination binds the MSs and institutions remains unclear. The 2003 crisis called for a refocusing of the SGP and a need for political agreement opening the path to reform the SGP architecture (Begg Schelkle 2004), as supported by many of its critics. Question of Reform? To restore the credibility of the so called ‘hard-law fiscal coordination, in 2004 the Commission â€Å"suggested that an enriched common fiscal framework with a strong economic rationale would allow differences in economic situations across the enlarged EU to be better catered for and would contribute to greater credibility and ownership of the SGP in the MSs building on the culture of sound fiscal policy established in the EU over the last decade† (Commission 2006). In 2005 the reforms took place (legal provisions in EU Council (2005a,b)). The revised version arguably offers some answers to what was known as the inadequate SGP. There are changes in the preventive/corrective arms and the EDP, for example a variety of standards such as the position in the cycle, the nature of expenditure and the level of public debt must be taken into account to calculate whether a MS is in breach of the 3% deficit rule (Couere Pisani-Ferry, 2005), emphasising further flexibility. Contrastingly, there are no changes in governance. The voting methods and basic procedures remain the same, as changes to these would require modifications to the Maastricht treaty. Though the changes are welcomed (Fatas Mihov 2003), the SGP may still be identified as the ‘dog that would never bite (Heipertz Verdun 2004). For many critics, it was unruly that a softer pact was coming into existence, as a harder pact was desirable. However the Commission role has been strengthened considerably in that it can now give early policy advice and is under obligation to file a report if a budget deficit has been violated. The changes are summarized in Table 1. Original Pact Reformed Pact Preventive Rule: Medium-term Objective (MTO) All MS have an MTO of â€Å"close to balance or in surplus† Country-specific differentiation of MTO depending on debt level and potential growth, allows for 1% deficit if debt is low In case of Deviation from MTO No adjustment path or action Specified Commission can issue direct â€Å"early policy advice;† adjustment path specified as a minimum fiscal effort of 0.5% of GDP and countercyclical; structural reforms can be taken into account to allow for deviation Corrective Rule: Monitoring if Deficit Exceeds 3% No obligation for Commission to prepare report; no mitigating other relevant factors (ORF) specified Commission will always prepare report, taking into account whether deficit exceeds investment expenditure. ORF can justify temporary â€Å"excess† Debt Position No specific provisions â€Å"Sufficiently diminishing† debt can be taken into account qualitatively; Systemic pension reforms can be taken into account for five years if reform improves long-term debt position Excessive Deficit Procedure Excessive deficit must be fixed in year following identification; if not, a noninterest bearing deposit must be made with the Commission that is turned into an â€Å"appropriate size† fine if situation persists; No ‘minimal fiscal effort defined; No repetition of steps foreseen Correction can be postponed for one year if ORF applies; Minimal fiscal effort of 0.5% of GDP to reduce excessive deficit required; Deadlines for correcting deficit can be extended if necessary steps are taken or if unforeseen adverse circumstances occur Table 1: Schelkle 2007 Analysis Under Soft and Hard Law Hard law instruments can be distinguished from soft law in that they are fully binding. When MSs do not comply with these laws they are breaking the law and may be sanctioned accordingly. Contrastingly soft law instruments are negotiated in good faith and provide a new framework for cooperation between MSs. Whilst favouring openness and flexibility, policy processes follow a codified practice of benchmarking, target setting and peer review. This allows national policies to be directed towards certain common objectives. The essence of it is not to provide a single common framework but instead to share experiences and to encourage the spread of best practice. By avoiding regulatory requirements, it allows experimentation whilst fostering policy improvement and possibly policy convergence. These can be seen as managing techniques which provide means to promote policy coordination without further undermining sovereignty. An example in the general EU context is the OMC method used under t he Lisbon strategy. Whilst soft law is easy to agree on but hard to enforce, hard law instruments on the contrary are difficult to agree on but easy to enforce. According to Wessels and Linsenmann (2001), EMU introduced both hard coordination in fiscal policy in the form of the SGP and soft coordination in economic policy in the form of Broad Economic Policy guidelines (BEPG). If a country deviates from the guidelines the Council can as in the case of Ireland adopt a non-binding recommendation against the respective MS (Jacquet Pisani-Ferry 2005). Unlike the EDP, the guidelines are not supported by any sanction. However, there is a fixed format of reporting and a predetermined timetable is followed, rather than allowing for ad hoc decisions by policy makers that set the agenda for discussion and action. Therefore, upon this insight, it suggests the SGP takes the form of hard law in that it is legally binding, but soft law in that enforcement is not automatic. Of course there are m any shades of softness in the SGP framework. The preventive arm with its close to balance or surplus provision, without sanctions is rather soft. By contrast the corrective arm with the ultimate threat of sanctions comes much closer to hard law (ESB working paper 2004.)This is not effective as it implies that only when things are wrong, is it time to sanction and this is an ultimate downfall of the SGP design. It is therefore confusing that following the reforms, critics claimed that the ‘hard law institution for fiscal surveillance has become soft. Furthermore, critics claim that the SGP has become so soft that the functioning of the SGP is jeopardized (Schelkle 2007). Schelkle (2007) refutes this claim by arguing that the revised pact will be better suited in constraining MSs in their fiscal behaviour since the new rules will be perceived as binding constraints that shape domestic efforts. An apparent paradox exists; the weakening of obligation to the pact may in fact make it difficult to evade, although it implies a softening of the governance framework. Abbott et al (2000) have proposed that there are three dimensions of governance all of which characterise the degrees of legislation; obligation, delegation and precision. This allows one to compare and contrast the original SGP with the reformed version for effectiveness of instruments and for the relationship between these dimensions. Obligation has been defined as a commitment arising under rules. At the two ends of spectrum, hard law is defined as sanction-able obligations whereas soft law are norms which are too general to create specific duties. Delegation, whilst at the hard law end of spectrum would mean an international court or organization given powers to resolve a dispute, contrastingly with the soft law end, which implies diplomacy. Precision defines whether a rule indicates the type of action that needs to be taken and by whom it needs to be taken in order to comply with the rule. For example, the BEPG state the objectives, but not how these objectives could be met. As the following table summarises the changes from the original to the revised pact, it can be understood the changes were not a uniform move from hard to soft law. Original Pact Revised Pact Obligation high to medium: Quasi-automatic sanctions under EDP but political de

Free Essays - Free Will Isnt Free in Macbeth :: Macbeth essays

Macbeth - Free Will Isn't Free Could Macbeth choose his own path in life or is it already planned? Everything he does in his life is already planned out. It is destined for what happens happened in his life. He still has his free will, but no matter what everything is bound to happen as it were destined to. His destiny is still a step ahead of him. No matter what his decision is, even the three witches can foretell his future. Every decision that Macbeth choose was on his free will and his fate is already destined for him ahead of times. The three witches knew everything before hand. Therefore, they could foretell who would be the destined one and be king. They knew the exact time and place in which they were suppose to encounter the future king. They knew Macbeth would be ordained to be this future king. They told Macbeth that he was the Thane of Glamis because he is the rightful heir "all hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis!" [I, iii, 49], Thane of Cawdor all hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Tthane of Cawdor" [I, iii, 51] and King of Scotland, "all hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!"[I, iii, 49]. They told Macbeth about the apparitions of the signs that he would be overthrown off the throne. The first apparition was Macduff "Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff, Beware the thane of Fife" [IV, I, 71]. The second apparition is foreshadowing that nothing woman born shall kill him, "the pow'r of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth" [IV, I, 80]. While, the third apparition tell ing Macbeth not to worry until the forest comes to him and the eight kings overthrow him from the thrown. "Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him" [IV, I, 92]. So the three witches already know Macbeths destiny and his decisions. When the witches told Macbeth that he was going to be king, he was not patient enough to wait, hence, wanted for him to be king right then. He discussed the ordeal to his wife about the three witches warning him and how things started to take its course.

Responsible Fates Essay -- essays research papers

In the play Romeo and Juliet and the musical Wet Side Story, the two pairs of lovers were part responsible for their tragic fates. First, Romeo’s and Juliet’s families were enemies. In comparison, Tony and Maria of West Side Story were practically apart of gangs that were enemies as well. Second, both couples knew they shouldn’t have been together especially if they had to hide it. Third, Romeo and Juliet gave up hope when they committed suicide. Last, the couples knew their situations would be dangerous and would cause more feuding than there already was. To begin with, the Montagues and the Capulets were enemies and so were the Sharks and the Jets. In modern day life, one would not even think of speaking to a girl or boy if it is known that the person is of enemy blood. That would be a...

Education: A Path to Gender Equality in Labor Markets Essay examples --

Human capital is a fundamental labor force. Thus, encouraging greater female participation or reinforcing gender equality in labor markets worldwide will lead to gains in productivity. However, what can be done to create gender equality? A study emphasized the equality of education. When education access to women is equal to men, occupation opportunities and earnings of men and women with similar education and experience are equal. A research in Pakistan and other studies are introduced. Their findings suggest that education plays a vital part in gender equality in labor force. In another word, education can be a path to gender equality in labor markets. For education to be a path to gender equality, it must benefit woman equally to man. But the benefit of education depends on the equality of education including equality of access and equality in the learning process. Equality of access means that both genders are offered to gain access to formal, informal or other methods to the primary education. The actual attendance can be a preference to decide if the access has been approached. Equality in the learning process means that girls and boys are treated equally and have equal opportunities to learn. Even though the lessons may be approached to individuals in different learning styles, boys and girls should be exposed to the same curriculum. Also, the lesson materials which are brought to them should be free of stereotypes and gender bias. Moreover, boys and girls should have the freedom to learn, to explore and to develop their ability in all academic and extracurricular fields. When equality of access and equality in the learning pr ocess are achieved, the status of men and women and their ability to contribute to, take part in e... .... United Nations Population Fund. 2005. Web. 8th April. 2011. Melkas, Helina, et all. Towards Gender Equity in Japanese and Nordic Labor Markets: A Tale of Two Paths. July 2003. Web. 8th April. 2011. Malhotra, Anju, et all. Impact of investments in female education on gender equality. International Center for Research on Women. 27th August. 2003. Web. 8th April. 2011. Percheski, Christine. â€Å"Opting out? Cohort Differences in Professional Women's Employment Rates from 1960 to 2005.†American Sociological Review Vol. 73, No. 3 (Jun., 2008), pp. 497-517. Print. Sathar, Zeba, et all. â€Å"Women's Status and Fertility Change in Pakistan.† Population and Development Review. Vol. 14, No. 3 (Sep., 1988), pp. 415-432. Print. Tempon, Mery, et all. Ed. Girls’ Education in the 21st Century: Gender equality, Empowerment, And Economic Growth. The World Bank, 2008. Print.

Literary devices used in “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” Essay

Joyce has used the name Daedalus as a literary vehicle to give the reader a sense of deeper understanding about Stephen as a character in â€Å"A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man â€Å". There is a link between Stephen Dedalus and the Greek mythological figure Daedalus and this becomes apparent to Stephen when he hears his friends say his name in Greek. When Stephen compares himself to the â€Å"fabulous artificer† their similar plight reveals itself. The correlation between Stephen’s need to escape Ireland to write, parallels Daedalus’s escape through flight from Crete. Through the correlation between Stephen and Icarus, Joyce was referencing the overconfidence and pride that both Stephen and Icarus had. It is apparent that Stephen is proud yet pretentious especially when conversing with his friends who he feels he has outgrown mentally. Icarus fell to his death because of his overconfidence and pride. This demonstrates Stephen’s willingness to take risks to realize his destiny even if it includes failures. Stephen compares himself to Lucifer in chapter four saying, â€Å"The snares of the world were its ways of sin. He would fall. He had not fallen yet but he would fall silently and in an instant.† Lucifer fell from heaven because of his pride saying, â€Å"I will not serve†. Stephen also full of pride in himself refuses to honor or serve his family, church and his country. This defiance in Stephen demonstrates his strong will to do what he wants with his life. Joyce has used birds as a literary device in â€Å"A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man† to develop themes and evoke a visual image for the reader. Birds are usually associated with freedom and flight, yet the earliest mention of birds is related to punishment. Dante’s threat that eagles would pick out his eyes essentially comes true in a symbolic sense. Stephen becomes blinded by mortal sin with prostitutes and was then blinded by a life of total devotion to religion. Heron, Stephens boyhood adversary has bird-like features and a birds name, literally picks on Stephen for standing up for his beliefs. Stephen repressed his emotions when confronted with Heron’s attacks. Later when  questioned about his beliefs and ideology by Cranly (meaning crane-like), Stephen expresses his emotions by asserting his strength and independence. Stephen’s epiphany takes place when he walks along the beach and sees the young girl wading in the water. This conjures up the image of a wading bird and it reawakens Stephen’s belief in beauty. Stephen also examines the similarities between Dedalus and himself. The thought of Dedalus flying away to escape his imprisonment reinforces Stephen’s destiny to leave Ireland and pursue a new life of freedom. Joyce may have used the term bat-like to describe the Irish as being blind to the â€Å"nets† of Ireland that repeatedly hold them back and deny them their freedom. Stephen’s reference to the â€Å"bat-like soul† may allude to his dark and secretive desires for women and the mystery that surrounds them. Stephen’s greatest epiphany occurs when he is awaiting news of his acceptance to the University. Joyce has taken two major events in Stephen’s life to transform the character into the emerging artist. Stephen’s decision to deny the life of priesthood and pursue a career as an artist proves the importance of his individuality. Joyce has transformed Stephen’s walk on the beach into a metamorphosis for Stephen. I equate his transformation into an artist to that of a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. Each stage of Stephen’s life helps to morph him into the artist that he will inevitably become. Stephen discovers that he will leave behind the cocoon of family, church, and country to symbolically fly to his destiny. Stephen’s encounter with the boys that call him by his Greek name triggers his imagination about Dedalus. As Stephen meditates on the mythical figure Dedalus he discovers that it must be his fate to pursue art. He realizes that it is his destiny to create art and sore to greatness. The image of the â€Å"hawk like man flying sunward above the sea† supports Stephen’s â€Å"prophecy of the end he had been born to serve and he had been following through the mists of childhood and boyhood.† Stephen’s journey through life is to be realized through independence and a newly found freedom. His metamorphosis is not yet complete but now within reach. Stephen’s experiences with women in â€Å"A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man† have always been awkward and laden with moral consequences. His experience with the girl on the tram frustrates him and when he attempts to write a poem about her he is unable to. Stephen’s encounter with prostitutes was morally wrong and he was fraught with guilt. When Stephen decides to confess his sins he devotes his life to religion and praise of the Virgin Mary. He imagines the Holy Virgin joining his hand with Emma’s and attributes saint-like qualities to Emma. Stephen’s concept of women and sexuality had been very misguided to this point. This changes when Stephen sees the girl wading in the water at the beach. Stephen admires her beauty without guilt and experiences a revelation about women and the beauty they posses. The image of the girl delivers inspiration to Stephen the now transformed artist.

Impact of Social Class on Australians’ Life Chances Essay

Sociologists will define class as categories in the society which are based on income, status, or the way they are viewed by the society. A Marxist analysis on the other hand features on the level of influence an individual has on the means of production. Matthews (2007) further defines a capitalist class which he says that it is the class that owns and controls most of the productive capital in the society. He says that in Australia, this class amounted to 5 % of the entire population in the year 1998. Theories have been developed about class that has resulted to numerous and conflicting ideas and researchers had to shift from using class as a theoretical framework for research. The dismissal of class analysis of various societal institutions as dogmatic, and ideological led McLaren & Farahmandpur to state that â€Å"matters of class power are sanitized and its powerful effects on the life chances of working-class students is denuded or made invisible,† (Pearce, Down & Moore 2008, para. 2). In Australia, about two thirds of the population is in the working class. These are people whose only productive asset is the ability to work. They sell their labour power to their employers who can range from the state, individual capitalists among others, in order to receive a wage which will enable them make ends meet. Another popular class is the middle class which can be said to be composed of individuals who own small businesses. They rely on their own labour power to produce output. They are however being driven away and into bankruptcy by large capital firms. There still exists the ruling class; they carry more social weight and power than the rest of the citizens. They have a direct influence on economic policies being developed in the nation. They support politicians and government, politically and financially. The state can also be categorized in this class as it is responsible for making and implementation of the law (Matthews 2007). Impact to Education There exists inequality in the access of university education, underachievement in education correlates negatively with the social class. Children from low-income families have limited access to educational resources. Their parents rarely get enough time to help them with their day to day challenges at school as they are so much occupied in their work places. They work even over time in order to sustain their families. Some parents in the working class lack education and therefore they would be of little help to help their children in doing their homework, they would also not be in a position to afford employing tutors and this affects their children’s education (Taylor & Fraser 2003). Expectations on the working-class students are that they should conform to the middle-class. They thus seek to achieve this status and power mostly not for their own gain but in order to improve the life chances of others in the similar background. They are more focused in giving back to the community in which they originated rather than seeking their improvement in form of class status. A strong sense of solidarity is evident in these students as they have an increased desire to use their qualifications and professional status to achieve a better life for themselves and others who are like them. They have a passion to bridge the gap between the two classes which they believe that a lot has still to be done as the inequality gap is too large (Lins-Dyer & Nucci 2007). The discriminatory education system has unquantifiable damages that are done to individuals and the society at large. People have been left behind in the system, others have been discouraged while yet a quite good proportion has been excluded from the system. It would not be unrealistic to claim that social and economic damage is being done through educational discrimination. When â€Å"Professor Janet McCalman analysed the places where those in the Australian who’s who 1988 went to school,† it was clear that these leaders in business professions and politics went to the older private schools (Moorhouse 2010, p. 1). McGregor (1997), views being in the working-class as being equal to being underprivileged, he asserts that people in this class earn and own less, their access to life privileges is minimal as they have poorer education and other goods from the society. In general, the opportunity that they have for good life is such minimal that with a very small degree of error, we can claim that equal opportunity does not exist in Australia. Impact to Health It is no wonder that health outcomes really vary with the social class. The characteristics of different social classes can be depicted by a view on Morbidity and mortality rates. The lower class shows a greater array of lower mortality rates and greater health problems (Greig, Lewins & White, 2003). These differences are very clear and distinct at birth and throughout the human life cycle. Henry (2001) identifies domains in which health disparity issues differ by the social class. They include psychological domain which contains norms habits, and behavioural intentions. The other is listed as behavioural constraints which include economic resources and situational effects. Physical influences that include physiological stress, genetic dispositions and environmental conditions Behavioural constraints involve barriers that prevent one from engaging in health promoting behaviour. These inhibitors are listed by Henry (2001) as economic resources and situation constraints. Economic resources inhibitors are financial limitations that prevent individuals from obtaining health facilities goods, while situational constraints are factors that limit the access to these health facilities. They range from lack of adequate health facilities in the community, poor transportation or lack of proper time management in the utility of such services. Physical influences on the other hand are the conditions which impact physiological health directly. He groups them into environmental conditions, physiological stress and genetics A decline in the health is observed as one move down the classes. The middle class  Public awareness and educational programs can be developed to ensure that health equality is maintained. Social class has taken a critical point in the studies of health, the coronary heart disease for instance had been considered as a disease for the upper class. On the other hand, the lower class (working-class) have been found to have prevalent lower life expectancy, higher mortality rates and increased mental disorders. Inequality in income brings about psychosocial stress which is a factor that increases the mortality rate; it has become apparent that mental illness prevalence has been found among the working class. A direct relationship has been identified to exist between poverty and increase in emotional disturbance. This has led to an increase of psychiatric disorders, drug and alcohol dependence on the working class (Murali & Oyebode 2004). According to The Demography of Medical Schools, 59% of applicants in medical school usually come from high social classes. This makes us suspect that a discriminatory rule is being used in the medical institutions. However, admissions procedures in these schools seem to favour certain social classes in comparison to others. Requirements such as previous experience in a hospital are being considered for some medical school administration. This curtails the number of students enrolling to such schools as it proves cumbersome to attain such qualifications for most people in the working class. The access to opportunities has been limited for many students and this explains the reason why such patterns of students’ enrolment are being reflected (The Medical News 2004). The nature of the working class has really changed in Australia with over 65% of the work force being employed in the white-collar jobs. In fact if by defining the working-class as those who have not attended university education, then it can be said that Australia has graduated to the middle-class. It is surprising to note that the vast majority of white-collar jobs holders are part of the working-class. They have less control of their work which is even lower than that of blue-collar workers, consequently implying lower wages (Castles 1994). It is very clear that in Australia class has direct consequences on lifestyle. It affects the access to education and status attainment. A child raised in middle-class is more likely to end up in this middle class and the trend would be similar for a child raised in the middle-class. As we move up the social class, we are able to meet better health, education and other social facilities, which are transmitted to children. The trend thus seems to be perpetuated to future generations. A research conducted by Taylor and Fraser (2003) indicates the existence of a gap between children living in the different classes. The working class end up having stress in Parents relationships as they are unable to provide impeccable opportunities for their children. Children have in fact confessed that class is a factor that lead to social seclusion in academic life, and a contributing factor for educational disadvantage. Life’s chances are in this case affected by the mere fact that one belongs to a certain class that is either favoured or not by circumstances that prevail in the society. In Australia the government together with other institutions should be concerned and implement policies that would narrow the gap that exist between the various social classes. Such policies should focus on issues of adequate family income which will ensure that families have adequate resources to cater for the needs of their children and provide adequate opportunities for them, the welfare of workers should also be taken care of to ensure that each worker gets adequate time to attend to the family needs. In the school setting, policies should be developed to ensure that educational disadvantage has been reduced, and the cost of public education to be maintained as low as possible, to offer equal opportunities for children in all classes.  Affordable assistance should be accorded to specific children with learning difficulties in order to enhance excellence at all levels (Taylor & Fraser 2003). Conclusion In conclusion it is very clear that Australia is faced with inequalities and other factors that enhance or inhibit opportunities that are available to children growing in this nation. There exists a challenge which should be looked at by all the policy makers in private and public enterprises, in order to ensure that the life chances of the children are not affected unfairly by the mere fact of belonging to a certain class.

Dance as an Art Form

The history of dance as an art can be traced with the emergence of cultures around the world and with the evolution of mankind. In early civilizations, dance has been a very essential part of their primitive cultures. When people asked for rain, they danced for the gods of rain. Or when they want to have a good catch, they would move as if they were pulling a net full of fishes. In essence, man expressed himself through movement when oral and spoken language was still on their nascent stage. Together with the visual arts, dance was the first mode of expression and communication.With the progress of different societies, dance has also evolved and adapted to the changes. From religious activities to public performances, dance and other similar movements were popularized as a means of easily understanding the message. Facial expressions, activities familiar to the audience were also characteristic of this art form. As the society advanced to a more sophisticated and more interactive com munity of cultures, dance has also evolved and surpassed its role in the religious activities and courts of rulers. Social dancing as we know it today traces its origins in three possible foundations.Ballroom dancing for example became popular with courtesans in the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe and not much participated by the commoners. Such exclusivity of dance to the aristocracy distanced ballroom dancing from being patronized by the greater public. It was only after the political and social reforms in the 18th and 19th centuries that the dances of the aristocracy also became popular with the masses. Thus, from being confined to a wealthy few, dance has also benefited from the economic and political victories of the lower and middle classes.Somehow, dance became an integral part of the politicization of culture. The most popular of these ballroom dances is the waltz which originated from the Austrian courts. The dance itself represented the political trend. As the society de viated from dogmatism and rigidity so was the spirit they found in waltz. Due to its popularity, waltz as an art form began to deteriorate and was eclipsed by other dances now unconfined to the elite. The 20th century found the convergence of South American and Caribbean music and rhythm which had more primitive origins.Social dancing evolved from its origins in Europe to a concoction of various cultures. Tap dance and folk dances also influenced the development of social dancing that through time, artistic components were added and invented or revived to produce a more vibrant variety of dances. In the course of the evolution of human societies, culture has adapted to the changes brought about by the modifications in the economic foundations of the era. Culture, as a part of the superstructure, changed through time.The early models of human production system were a very nature-dependent system and as a result they also had a nature-themed dance or dances which depicted movements, p henomenon and mysteries in nature. Come the slave societies, dance depicted the state of the society. Though there was a lineated domain of dance. The ruling slave owners appreciated dances which exemplified their dominion over their slaves, depicted their power while slave communities dance as they intend to be liberated and break free from the bonds of slavery.That is how society and culture works in dynamic and co-relational interactions. Different societies have different levels of appreciation for dance. Aesthetics can not only be solely responsible for the development of dance, utilitarian values are also of prime consideration. The emergence of a ruling class made it possible for dance to attain its position as an art in the courts of the kings and emperors. Utilized as a form of entertainment for the ruler and visiting dignitaries, dance has been appreciated more ever since for the aesthetic qualities that it had than message that it conveyed.What was pleasant for the audien ce became a prime reason for the development of dances. What the ruling class appreciated as art were also the same for their subjects. Historical accounts suggest how dance reached such point beginning as early as the Egyptian civilization. Egyptian society witnessed the evolution of dance from simple hunting rituals during the ancient times. Connected with the religious aspect of their economic activities, dance was used to summon goodwill from the gods and assure bountiful keep.As the Egyptian society progressed, dance was separated from its ritualistic character and was focused in the formal religious necessities. Evident in their movements were the daily activities of the Egyptian people. Greek culture draws its ancestry from Egypt and similarly started out as part of the religious exercises. Dance was seen incorporated to drama and dance festivities. Similarly, Greek dance expressed the activities of the people and each dance corresponds to a certain activity and character of the audience.In Europe, the complete evolution of dance from its utilitarian concepts to an aesthetic value started to surface as early as 364 BC. Though the main purpose was really to honor the gods, dance was also used to entertain the population in times of plagues or any catastrophic events. Since then, dance has been viewed as an art to be appreciated by the population and not only by the gods. Therefore, historically speaking, dance has served its purpose of contextualizing of human thoughts. Expression of these thoughts provided the reason for evolution.

Indo Anglian Literature

Indo Anglian Literature Indo Anglian Literature refers to the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language and whose native or co-native language could be one of the numerous languages of India. It is also associated with the works of members of the Indian diaspora, such as V. S. Naipaul, Kiran Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri who are of Indian descent. It is frequently referred to as Indo-Anglian literature. (Indo-Anglian is a specific term in the sole context of writing that should not be confused with the term Anglo-Indian).As a category, this production comes under the broader realm of postcolonial literature- the production from previously colonised countries such as India. History IEL has a relatively recent history, it is only one and a half centuries old. The first book written by an Indian in English was by Sake Dean Mahomet, titled Travels of Dean Mahomet; Mahomet's travel narrative was published in 1793 in England. In its early stages it was influenced by the Wes tern art form of the novel. Early Indian writers used English unadulterated by Indian words to convey an experience which was essentially Indian.Raja Rao's Kanthapura is Indian in terms of its storytelling qualities. Rabindranath Tagore wrote in Bengali and English and was responsible for the translations of his own work into English. Dhan Gopal Mukerji was the first Indian author to win a literary award in the United States. Nirad C. Chaudhuri, a writer of non-fiction, is best known for his The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian where he relates his life experiences and influences. P. Lal, a poet, translator, publisher and essayist, founded a press in the 1950s for Indian English writing, Writers Workshop.R. K. Narayan is a writer who contributed over many decades and who continued to write till his death recently. He was discovered by Graham Greene in the sense that the latter helped him find a publisher in England. Graham Greene and Narayan remained close friends till the end. Si milar to Thomas Hardy's Wessex, Narayan created the fictitious town of Malgudi where he set his novels. Some criticise Narayan for the parochial, detached and closed world that he created in the face of the changing conditions in India at the times in which the stories are set.Others, such as Graham Greene, however, feel that through Malgudi they could vividly understand the Indian experience. Narayan's evocation of small town life and its experiences through the eyes of the endearing child protagonist Swaminathan in Swami and Friends is a good sample of his writing style. Simultaneous with Narayan's pastoral idylls, a very different writer, Mulk Raj Anand, was similarly gaining recognition for his writing set in rural India; but his stories were harsher, and engaged, sometimes brutally, with divisions of caste, class and religion. Later historyAmong the later writers,Vikram Seth, author of A Suitable Boy (1994) is a writer who uses a purer English and more realistic themes. Being a self-confessed fan of Jane Austen, his attention is on the story, its details and its twists and turns. Vikram Seth is notable both as an accomplished novelist and poet. Vikram Seth's outstanding achievement as a versatile and prolific poet remains largely and unfairly neglected. Shashi Tharoor, in his The Great Indian Novel (1989), follows a story-telling (though in a satirical) mode as in the Mahabharata drawing his ideas by going back and forth in time.His work as UN official living outside India has given him a vantage point that helps construct an objective Indianness. As for the history of the gradual development of Indian drama in English, one may consult Pinaki Roy's essay â€Å"Dramatic Chronicle: A Very Brief Review of the Growth of Indian English Plays†, included in Indian Drama in English: Some Perspectives (ISBN 978-81-269-1772-3) (pp. 272-87), edited by Abha Shukla Kaushik, and published by the New Delhi-based Atlantic Publishers and Distributors Pvt. Ltd. in 2 013. Sarojini Naidu and her art of poetry; Such a gem of a work by the author, Dr.Deobrata Prasad . he has carefully assimilated all the aspects and life span of Sarojini Naidu before divulging anything. such a systematic work is rare to single out in today's era. Dr. Prasad has really taken care of every minute details prior to bringing forth such a marvel in the field of Indian English literature. This has been acclaimed as rare literary work in the literary fraternity in switzerland. Dr. prasad was even nominated as literary man of the year several times. The Guide The Guide is a 1958 novel written in English by the Indian author R. K. Narayan.Like most of his works the novel is based in Malgudi, the fictional town in South India. The novel describes the transformation of the protagonist, Raju, from a tour guide to a spiritual guide and then one of the greatest holy men of India. The novel brought its author the 1960 Sahitya Akademi Award for English, by the Sahitya Akademi, Indi a's National Academy of Letters. Railway Raju (nicknamed) is a disarmingly corrupt guide who falls in love with a beautiful dancer, Rosie, the neglected wife of archaeologist Marco . Marco doesn't approve of Rosie's passion for dancing.Rosie, encouraged by Raju, decides to follow her dreams and start a dancing career. They start living together and Raju's mother, as she does not approve of their relationship, leaves them. Raju becomes Rosie's stage manager and soon with the help of Raju's marketing tactics, Rosie becomes a successful dancer. Raju, however, develops an inflated sense of self-importance and tries to control her. Raju gets involved in a case of forgery and gets a two-year sentence. After completing the sentence, Raju passes through a village where he is mistaken for a sadhu (a spiritual guide).Reluctantly, as he does not want to return in disgrace to Malgudi, he stays in an abandoned temple. There is a famine in the village and Raju is expected to keep a fast in order to make it rain. With media publicizing his fast, a huge crowd gathers (much to Raju's resentment) to watch him fast. After fasting for several days, he goes to the riverside one morning as part of his daily ritual, where his legs sag down as he feels that the rain is falling in the hills. The ending of the novel leaves unanswered the question of whether he did, or whether the drought has really ended.The last line of the novel is ‘Raju said â€Å"Velan, its raining up the hills, I can feel it under my feet. † And with this he saged down'. The last line implies that by now Raju after undergoing so many ups and downs in his life has become a sage and as the drought ends Raju's life also ends. Narayan has beautifully written the last line which means Raju did not die but saged down, meaning Raju within himself had become a sage. The Shadow Lines The Shadow Lines (1988) is a Sahitya Akademi Award-winning novel[1] by Indian-Bengali writer Amitav Ghosh.It is a book that capt ures perspective of time and events, of lines that bring people together and hold them apart, lines that are clearly visible from one perspective and nonexistent from another. Lines that exist in the memory of one, and therefore in another's imagination. A narrative built out of an intricate, constantly crisscrossing web of memories of many people, it never pretends to tell a story. Rather it invites the reader to invent one, out of the memories of those involved, memories that hold mirrors of differing shades to the same experience.The novel is set against the backdrop of historical events like Swadeshi movement, Second World War, Partition of India and Communal riots of 1963-64 in Dhaka and Calcutta. The novel brought its author the 1989 Sahitya Akademi Award for English, by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. [2] Plot summary The novel follows the life of a young boy growing up in Calcutta and later on in Delhi and London. His family – the Datta Chaud haris – and the Prices in London are linked by the friendship between their respective patriarchs – Justice Dattachaudhari and Lionel Tresawsen.The narrator adores Tridib because of his tremendous knowledge and his perspective of the incidents and places. Tha'mma thinks that Tridib is type of person who seems ‘determined to waste his life in idle self-indulgence', one who refuses to use his family connections to establish a career. Unlike his grandmother, the narrator loves listening to Tridib. For the narrator, Tridib's lore is very different from the collection of facts and figures. The narrator is sexually attracted to Ila but his feelings are passive. He never expresses his feelings to her afraid to lose the relationship that exists between them.However one day he involuntarily shows his feelings when she was changing clothes in front of him being unaware of his feelings. She feels sorry for him. Tha'mma does not like Ila. ‘Why do you always speak for t hat whore' – She doesn't like her grandson to support her. Tha'mma has a dreadful past and wants to reunite her family and goes to Dhaka to bring back her uncle. Tridib is in love with May and sacrificed his life to rescue her from mobs in the communal riots of 1963-64 in Dhaka. Clear Light of Day Clear Light of Day is a novel published in 1980 by Indian novelist and three time Booker Prize finalist, Anita Desai.Set in Old Delhi, this book describes the tensions in a post-partition Indian family during and after childhood, starting with the characters as adults and moving back into their lives through the course of the book. While the primary theme is the importance of family, other predominant themes include the importance of forgiveness, the power of childhood, and forgiving those you are close to. Plot summary The book is split into four sections covering the Das family from the children’s perspective in this order: adulthood, adolescence, childhood, and the time pe rspective returns to adulthood.The book centers on the Das family, who have grown apart with adulthood. It starts with Tara, the wife of Bakul, India’s ambassador to America, greeting her sister Bimla (Bim), who is a history teacher living in Old Delhi as well as their autistic brother Baba's caretaker. Their conversation eventually comes to Raja, their brother who lives in Hyderabad. Bim doesn’t want to go to the wedding of Raja’s daughter, showing Tara an old letter from when Raja became her landlord, unintentionally insulting her after the death of his father in law.In part two the setting switches to partition era India, when the characters are adolescents in what is now Bim’s house. Raja is severely ill with tuberculosis and is left to Bim’s ministrations. Aunt Mira (Mira masi), their supposed caretaker after the death of the children’s often absent parents, becomes alcoholic and dies of alcoholism. Earlier Raja's fascination with Urdu attracts the attention of the family's Muslim landlord, Hyder Ali, whom Raja Idolizes. When he heals, Raja follows Hyder Ali to Hyderabad. Tara escapes from the situation through marriage to Bakul.Bim is then left to provide for Baba alone, in the midst of the partition and the death of Gandhi. In part three Bim, Raja and Tara are depicted in pre-partition India awaiting the birth of their brother Baba. Aunt Mira, widowed by her husband and mistreated by her in-laws, is brought in to help with Baba, who is autistic, and to raise the children. Raja is fascinated with poetry. He shares a close bond with Bim, the head girl at school, although they often exclude Tara. Tara wants to be a mother although this fact brings ridicule from Raja and Bim, who want to be a hero and a heroine, respectively.The final section returns to modern India and showcases Tara confronting Bim over the Raja's daughter's wedding and Bim's broken relationship with Raja. This climaxes when Bim explodes at Baba. After her anger fades she comes to the conclusion that the love of family is irreplaceable and can cover all wrongs. After Tara leaves she decides to go to her neighbors the Misras for a concert and she then decides that she will go to the wedding. The God of Small Things The God of Small Things (1997) is the debut novel of Indian writer Arundhati Roy.It is a story about the childhood experiences of fraternal twins whose lives are destroyed by the â€Å"Love Laws† that lay down â€Å"who should be loved, and how. And how much. † The book is a description of how the small things in life affect people's behaviour and their lives. The book won the Booker Prize in 1997. The God of Small Things is Roy's first book and, as of 2013, is her only novel. Completed in 1996, the book took four years to write. The potential of the story was first recognized by Pankaj Mishra, an editor with HarperCollins, who sent it to three British publishers.Roy received half-a-million pounds in advances, and rights to the book were sold in 21 countries. While generally praised, the book did receive some criticism for its verbosity and controversial subject matter. [1] The story, told here in chronological order, although the novel shifts around in time, primarily takes place in a town named Ayemenem or Aymanam now part of Kottayam in Kerala state of India. The temporal setting shifts back and forth from 1969, when fraternal twins Rahel and Estha are seven years old, to 1993, when the twins are reunited at age 31.Much of the story is written in a viewpoint relevant to the seven-year-old children. Malayalam words are liberally used in conjunction with English. Some facets of Kerala life which the novel captures are communism, the caste system, and the Keralite Syrian Christian way of life. Without sufficient dowry for a marriage proposal, Ammu Ipe becomes desperate to escape her ill-tempered father, Pappachi, and her bitter, long-suffering mother, Mammachi. She finally convi nces her parents to let her spend a summer with a distant aunt in Calcutta.To avoid returning to Ayemenem, she marries a man who assists managing a tea estate whom she later discovers to be a heavy alcoholic who physically abuses her and attempts to prostitute her to his boss so that he can keep his job. She gives birth to two children, fraternal twins, Estha and Rahel, yet ultimately leaves her husband and returns to live with her mother and brother, Chacko, in Ayemenem. Also living at their home in Ayemenem is Pappachi's sister, Baby Kochamma, whose actual name is Navomi Ipe, but is called Baby due to her young age at becoming a grand-aunt, and Kochamma being an honorific title for females.As a young girl, Baby Kochamma had fallen in love with Father Mulligan, a young Irish priest who had come to Ayemenem to study Hindu scriptures. In order to get closer to him, Baby Kochamma had become a Roman Catholic and joined a convent, against her father's wishes. After a few lonely months i n the convent, Baby Kochamma had realized that her vows brought her no closer to the man she loved, with her father eventually rescuing her from the convent, sending her to America for an education, where she obtained a diploma in ornamental gardening.Due to her unrequited love with Father Mulligan, Baby Kochamma remained unmarried for the rest of her life, gradually becoming more and more bitter over the years. Throughout the book, Baby Kochamma delights in the misfortune of others and manipulates events to bring down calamity upon Ammu and the twins. While studying at Oxford, Chacko fell in love and married an English woman named Margaret, Shortly after the birth of their daughter Sophie, Margaret reveals that she had been having an affair with another man, Joe. They divorce and Chacko, unable to find a job, returns to India.After the death of Pappachi, Chacko returns to Ayemenem and takes over his mother's business, called Paradise Pickles and Preserves. When Margaret's second hu sband is killed in a car accident, Chacko invites her and Sophie to spend Christmas in Ayemenem. The day before Margarget and Sophie arrive, the family visits a theater to see The Sound of Music, where Estha is molested by the â€Å"Orangedrink Lemondrink Man†, a vendor working the snack counter of the theater. His fear stemming from this encounter factors into the circumstances that lead to the tragic events at the heart of the narrative.On the way to the airport to pick them up, the family (Chacko, Ammu, Estha, Rahel, and Baby Kochamma) encounters a group of communist protesters. The protesters surround the car and force Baby Kochamma to wave a red flag and chant a communist slogan, humiliating her. Rahel thinks she sees Velutha, an untouchable servant that works in the pickle factory, in the crowd. Velutha's alleged presence with the communist mob makes Baby Kochamma associate him with her humiliation at their hands, and she begins to harbor a deep hatred towards him.Velut ha is an untouchable (the lowest caste in India), a dalit, and his family has served the Ipes for generations. Velutha is an extremely gifted carpenter and mechanic. His skills with repairing the machinery make him indispensable at the pickle factory, but result in resentment and hostility from the other, touchable factory workers. Rahel and Estha form an unlikely bond with Velutha and come to love him, despite his untouchable status. It is her children's love for Velutha that causes Ammu to realize her attraction to him and eventually, she comes to â€Å"love by night the man her children love by day†.They begin a short-lived affair that culminates in tragedy for the family. When her relationship with Velutha is discovered, Ammu is locked in her room and Velutha is banished. In her rage, Ammu blames the twins for her misfortune and calls them the â€Å"millstones around her neck†. Distraught, Rahel and Estha decide to run away. Their cousin Sophie Mol convinces them t o take her with them. During the night, while trying to reach the abandoned house across the river, their boat capsizes and Sophie drowns.Once Margaret Kochamma and Chacko return from Cochin, where they have been picking up airline tickets, Margaret sees Sophie's body lay out on the sofa. She vomits and hysterically berates the twins as they had survived, and hits Estha. Baby Kochamma goes to the police and accuses Velutha of being responsible for Sophie's death. She claims that Velutha attempted to rape Ammu, threatened the family, and kidnapped the children. A group of policemen hunt Velutha down and savagely beat him for crossing caste lines, the twins witnessing the horrific scene and are deeply disturbed.When the twins reveal the truth of Sophie's death to the Chief of Police, he is alarmed. He knows that Velutha is a communist, and is afraid that the wrongful arrest and beating of Velutha will cause unrest amongst the local communists. He threatens to hold Baby Kochamma respon sible for falsely accusing Velutha. To save herself, Baby Kochamma tricks Rahel and Estha into accusing Velutha of Sophie's death. Velutha dies of his injuries. Hearing of his arrest, Ammu goes to the police to tell the truth about their relationship. The police threaten her to make her leave the matter alone.Afraid of being exposed, Baby Kochamma convinces Chacko that Ammu and the twins are responsible for his daughter's death. Chacko kicks Ammu out of the house. Unable to find a job, Ammu is forced to send Estha to live with his father. Estha never sees Ammu again, and she dies alone and impoverished a few years later at the age of thirty-one. After a turbulent childhood and adolescence in India, Rahel goes to America to study. While there, she gets married, divorced and finally returns to Ayemenem after several years of working dead-end jobs.Rahel and Estha, both 31-years-old, are reunited for the first time since they were children. In the intervening years, Estha and Rahel have been haunted by their guilt and grief-ridden pasts. Estha is perpetually silent and Rahel has a haunted look in her eyes. It becomes apparent that neither twin ever found another person who understood them in the way they understand each other. The twins' renewed intimacy ultimately culminates in them sleeping together. In the last chapter of the book, ‘The Cost of Living', the narrative is once again set in the 1969 time frame and describes Ammu and Velutha's first sexual encounter.It describes that â€Å"Instinctively they stuck to the Small Things. The Big Things ever lurked inside. They knew there was nowhere for them to go. They had no future. So they stuck to the Small Things†. After each encounter, Ammu and Velutha make one promise to one another: â€Å"Tomorrow? Tomorrow. † The novel ends on the optimistic note, â€Å"She kissed his closed eyes and stood up. Velutha with his back against the mangosteen tree watched her walk away. She had a dry rose in h er hair. She turned to say it once again: ‘Naaley. ‘ Tomorrow. † References †¢ Haq, Kaiser (ed. ). Contemporary Indian Poetry.Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1990. †¢ Haq, Rubana (ed. ). The Golden Treasury of Writers Workshop Poetry. Kolkata: Writers Workshop, 2008. †¢ Hoskote, Ranjit (ed. ). Reasons for Belonging: Fourteen Contemporary Indian Poets. Viking/Penguin Books India, New Delhi, 2002. †¢ King, Bruce Alvin. Modern Indian Poetry in English: Revised Edition. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1987, rev. 2001. (â€Å"the standard work on the subject and unlikely to be surpassed† — Mehrotra, 2003). †¢ Desai, Anita. Clear Light of Day. 1st Mariner books ed ed. New York: Mariner Books, 2000. Print.