Gulf War between Iraq and Kuwait Essay Example for Free

Gulf War between Iraq and Kuwait Essay This paper that in intensively researched, will examine on the reasons that led the Gulf war between Iraq and Kuwait, Saddam Hussein war invasion to Kuwait, Relations between Kuwait and Iraq, causes and effects of the war, the characteristics of Saddam Hussein, and the reason why he need money. According to the western sources especially from the USA, Saddam Hussein, a complex political leader, is portrayed as the â€Å"axis of Evil† in the Middle East. . He practiced cruel methods of leadership skills, his motivations, perceptions and decision making on behalf of the Iraq’s and his country neighbors for example the Kuwaitis. He has been pursing the development of weapons of mass destruction, despite the UN sanctions and terrorizing his associates especially in Kuwait. This information was gathered through the following sources. Information about â€Å"The Gulf Syndrome† www. geocities. com Retrieved on 6th April 2009 Information about â€Å"The profile of Saddam Hussein† www. mideastnews. co. Retrieved on 6th April 2009, Majid K. â€Å"War in the Gulf 1990-1991†, Information on â€Å"Persian Gulf War† www. encarta. msn. com Retrieved on 6th April 2009, Jerrold M. (2002), â€Å"Saddam Hussein of Iraq: Apolitical Psychology profile† and Information on â€Å"The characteristics of Saddam Hussein† www. qrmapps. com Retrieved on 6th April 2009 The historical background of Iraq and Kuwait Iraq was created under the British rule in 1932. The formation of this state under single administration resulted to third pole power in that region leading to unstable combination of people with collective influences that might lopsided its neighbors to the south. State of Kuwait northernmost emirate of Arabian isthmus dates its history as a take apart geopolitical body back to the founding of Kuwait City in 1710. It became independent from British. Following the 1973 oil crisis, the soaring oil prices brought with it extraordinary wealth to this small country. Relations between Kuwait and Iraq As Kuwait was declared a sovereign state, Iraq voiced objections to its admission to the Arab league but instead declared it an Iraq territory. In 1963 Iraq dropped the objectives and in 1980 they enjoyed close ties during war against Iran as Kuwait supported Iraq. Causes of the war The border between these two counties has been in question. Nominally, Kuwait was part of the Ottoman Empire from the 18th century. In 1899, it asked for and received British protection in return for autonomy in its local affairs. It was granted independence in 1961 and this lead to Iraq claiming that Kuwait had been governed as part of the Ottoman province in southern Iraq and was rightfully Iraq’s. It only recognized Kuwait in 1963. But since then, there have been occasional clashes between the two nations. The Iraq troops invaded Kuwait in August 2nd 1990 taking the emirates by one day headed by the strongest leader in this region, Saddam Hussein. The 150,000 of his troops from Iraq overwhelmed the 20,000 Iran’s troop staking control of the capital city of Kuwait and then controlled the whole country. Effects of war It had a vast impact to the oil industry and affects the future of the civilians in Iraq. This has reduced it from affluence to a third world status. This led to a large number of the US and British forces stationed in Kuwait and other gulf states as well as Turkey. There is an increasing rate of a multinational task force of warships patrols the red sea and the Persian Gulf which tries to prevent the illegal export of oil from Iraq. The war led to many environmental hazards such as the destruction of marshes, burning of hundreds of oil wells, hence polluting the global environment. Characteristics of Saddam Hussein He is a dictator who saw Iraq as a great country and as an extension to himself. He saw himself as the successor of Nebuchadnezzar. He once said that â€Å"Our nation has a message,† he once proclaimed. â€Å"That is why it can never be an average nation. Throughout history our nation has either soared to the heights or fallen into the abyss through the envy, conspiracy and enmity of others. † He is self-centered. He saw the Iraq treasury centered to himself. During the Gulf war, the Kuwaitis investigated on Iraq’s assets by Kroll Associates, a New York firm and the detected that he had $2. 4 controlled deposits which spread among 50 banks which were controlled by Hussein’s family. He used to skim five percent of the Iraq’s annual oil income and did business with other external firms in foreign territory. He is an exalted self concept. â€Å"Saddam is Iraq and Iraq is Saddam†. He made sure that he built a cult of himself allover Iraq. This can be proved by his images everywhere in Iraq. His name is linked to hundreds of public works projects. For example the Saddam housing companies and also the â€Å"Saddam Line† in Iraq. He named part of Kuwait to himself the moment he took over Kuwait. When he appears in public, he has created an environment where people cheer, clap, and even kiss his hand when he appears in a public gathering. He killed whoever who did not show enthusiasm to the great leader. He killed by imprisoning them, helicopter crashes, tortured to death, sealing their bodies to the coffins. He used a secret police unit to achieve his ordeals. He used his Messianic to achieve his ambition of political power. He is malevolent. He has cold canning behind his every action. His ruthlessness was found to be terrible leading to cruelty, for fun, leadership style of Vlad the Impaler. He was stupid because the boasts were proved to be hollow. His lies were proven false quickly His is also portrayed as the madman of the Middle East and his name means the one who confronts. He is a paranoid in decision making His achievements were the transformation of the country where he built new roads, improved housing standards; food was brought to the people’s tables, cut illiteracy by 11% according to the official estimates. The cultural aspects of Muslims were relaxed allowing women equal pay for equal work. Reasons as to why he needed money The oil money allowed him to accumulate the largest and best equipped military machine in the Arab world. Most of them were Soviet, French and from other nations. Most of them were first rated. He had an annual budget of $12. 9 billion which was an average f $721 per Iraq citizen ye the average annual per citizen was $1950. He therefore equipped his army to distress the regional balances by ruthless mass killings, He was the veteran in army in the region. According to Jordanian newspaper ad-Dustour, Saddam â€Å"awakened the desire in every Arab soul for a glorious Arab stand,† Saddam Hussein was a ruthless dictator who was used to terrorizing his neighbors and gassed his own subjects. He normally followed his mafia rules which were not well understood by many in the world including the United States of America. He grew up as a thug and a hired gun, yet he has a soaring popularity in the Arab world. The differences between a Totalitarian and Authoritarian leader A totalitarian political power is in the hands of a few groups while the authoritarianism refers political power is in the hands of one person. Hence Saddam Hussein can be equated to both an authoritarian leader and a totalitarian according to the definitions and his leadership skills. Reference Information about â€Å"The Gulf Syndrome† www. geocities. com Retrieved on 6th April 2009 Information about â€Å"The profile of Saddam Hussein† www. mideastnews. co. Retrieved on 6th April 2009 Majid K. â€Å"War in the Gulf 1990-1991. New York: McMillan. Information on â€Å"Persian Gulf War† www. encarta. msn. com Retrieved on 6th April 2009 Jerrold M. (2002), â€Å"Saddam Hussein of Iraq: Apolitical Psychology profile† New York: Pearson’s Education. Information on â€Å"The characteristics of Saddam Hussein† www. qrmapps. com Retrieved on 6th April 2009

Fast Food Restaurants And Problem Of Hygiene English Language Essay

Fast Food Restaurants And Problem Of Hygiene English Language Essay Today it is very important for food industry operators to concern about their level of hygiene as today s customer have become more alarmed about risks allied with food. This report will identify the problems of hygiene associated with various fast food restaurants, it will also highlight whether these problems of hygiene in fast food restaurants affects their sales, whether it changes the behaviour of customers and also some of the solutions that can improve the hygiene level of these fast food restaurants. In addition to this it also focuses on what consumers wants government to do to improve hygiene of these outlets. Analysis is made on Background Information of fast food Restaurants and problem of hygiene associated with them, which includes use of allergic ingredients and lack of cleanliness of workers, kitchens. Examples of hygiene issue that happened with one of the most reputed fast food restaurant Kentucky Fried Chicken and other restaurants like Arbys, Sonic, and Jack in Box etc are shown. Some of the Key findings of Research Conducted show that improper hygiene does affect the sales because it affects the behaviour of customer towards the restaurants which are not following proper hygiene system. Example of restaurants like KFC, Hamburgers, and Fresh City etc are given whose sales were cut down because of improper hygiene. In addition some of the respondents gave decent solutions which can be adopted by fast food restaurants to improve their hygiene level. Table of Contents No Particulars Page No 1 Introduction 2 Research Method Used And Its Limitation 3 Research Findings 4 Conclusions And Recommendations 5 References And Appendix Research Motivation and Problem Definition Whether it is onion rings or double cheese burgers or variety of sandwiches fast food is growing at the fastest speed as compared to other food types. This is because it is reasonable in price, quickly and readily available. Today fast food restaurants are also growing very fast in world, especially in urban areas. Some of the examples of biggest fast food restaurants are KFC, Subway, Mc Donalds, and Burger King Etc. But as today customers are more anxious about their food safety, concern over fatness, food poisoning and BSE (mad cow diseases) , the industry of fast food are forced to give attention on their sanitation factor that includes food quality ,cleanliness etc. Today more than 60 % of fast food restaurants have experts, which can also be called as benchmark for judging their cleanliness other than this various types of rules are putted into place by management ,inspectors , the food and drug administration etc, but still there are some issues which arise regarding their hygi ene and cleanliness. Problem of Using Allergic Ingredients The most common problem is the use of allergic ingredients in food making, but they dont express us which are they, some of examples are as follows; A sausage burrito available at Mc Donalds contains harsh chemicals and preservatives in addition to its normal ingredients. Beyond these the hash browns are cooked with animal products. The pasteurised eggs used by Mc Donalds in breakfast have, citric acid, monosodium phosphate and sodium acid pyrophosphate which are used to maintain colour. These were some issues about Mc Donalds, but there are more hygiene issues with other big fast food restaurants. In case of Burger King, there are three salads to choose, these salads can be dressed up by putting their Kens Fat Free Ranch which includes titanium dioxide (an artificial colour) and also harmful ingredient like monosodium glutamate. On the other end Subway which is considered as a healthiest sandwich centre has also some issue if the ingredients used by them is considered, the problem with Subway is that they dont use Whole meal bread for their sandwiches, their breads contains Ammonium sulphate (a fertilizer) and azodicarbonamide which is totally banned in UK , Australia because safety executive has acknowledged that the consumption of this may cause the problem of asthma, also most of meats of subway contains MSG and/or sodium nitrite. Even KFC, which is one of the biggest fast food Restaurants has also various issues about their ingredients, monosodium glutamate is added to the chicken gravy and rice. Today fries are not made with 100% potatoes, because most of the restaurants use frozen fries, fries become discoloured if it is kept freezing for longer period of time ,to avoid this sulphur dioxide is used to bleach the fries and give them fine white colour. So these was all about the ingredients that these fa st food restaurants adopt, there are also issues with their cleanliness of the restaurants, cleanliness of their workers, of the place where food is been made. Problem of lack of Cleanliness The other most common violation is the lack of cleanliness of employees as they might be hired on low salary, in some of the fast food restaurants workers do not wash their hands, there are no hand washing gel in their washrooms, some of restaurants have improper food holding temperature and also undercooked meat, unclean counters, tables and also the kitchen which can broaden germs that results in to food poisoning. This can be proved by the recent issue of KFC. KFC was fined 19000 pound after a cockroach was found eating chips at one of the most reputed branch in Britain located at Leicester Square in west end lane of London. It was also heard that during the inception the officer also found rat, flies and dried blood on the floor. The other example is Arbys one of the famous beef roast joint , the fact is dirty meat slices were found at two different locations in US which resulted into sickness of more than 70 people. Same happened with Jack in Box, 12 year girl was lapsed in coma after eating at the restaurant and $15.6 million settlement was awarded. In addition to these, Sonic comes on 3 among all restaurants following improper asepsis according to NBC, healthinspection.com reviewed 7000 hygiene issue records on Sonic and amongst them one was a black mold founded on an onion ring cover. Objective of Report: Thus the main objective of this report is to discern the problem of hygiene connected with fast food restaurant, whether the hygiene level of the fast food restaurants affects the behaviour of the customers towards them and at last does this hygiene level affects their sales, according to people what government should do to improve hygiene of fast food restaurants. In addition to these, the report will also discover some of the solutions that can be used by these fast-food restaurants to advance their hygiene factor. Literature Review; In past many researchers tried to make research around the issue of food hygiene and safety, for example a research was made by Green Street Berman on how a restaurant can improve its hygiene. While there was also another research made by the author Denise M Rennie, Lecturer in the Environmental Health and Housing Department, University of Salford, Salford, UK. He proposed in his report that personnel should be trained to improve hygienic matters in the food industry. He also mentioned in his report that training programs which are run more closely to the site of the work are more effective if they are supported by the reinforcement of hygiene message. The main objective of this report was derived by these early researches as they do not clarify that how improper hygiene of fast food restaurants affects consumer behaviour and how this affects the sales. Frame work of the Report Effects Research Methods and Their Limitation There are two basic methods used to collect information 1. Secondary method. 2. Primary method. Secondary data collection Method and Its Justification In order to collect secondary data Internet, Articles and various magazines are used. The reasons of using secondary method in order to carry out research are as follows; 1. It is less time consuming and easy to access; one can find information very easily. 2. Generally the cost to acquire information through secondary data collection method is less. Primary data collection Method and Its Justification In order to collect primary data, survey is carried out using QUESTIONAIRE. The reasons behind using questionnaire in order to carry out primary research are as follows: 1. The response can be gathered in a more effective way even more than interviews, because sometimes while taking interview one might forget to ask certain questions. 2. The response can be gathered from large proportion of people while in focus groups or interviews one can get information only from certain number of people. Manual method is used to get output information after analysing data. Sampling plan.; The criterion of this sampling plan will be as follow: People who often goes to fast food restaurants. Importance of hygiene of fast food restaurant to individual taking food from it. Some of the recommendations in order to improve the hygiene level of the restaurants. Sample size; Sample size used 50. Time Schedule; Total estimated time used to complete report will be 7 weeks Gantt chart Activities Week1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Identifying problem Primary data collection Secondary data collection Analysis Completion Limitations of the Research Method Used; In case of Secondary method data is collected from various Articles, magazines, newspapers etc are used. Various limitations related with this method are as follows; 1. The data available from secondary data were quite vague. 2. The writer of secondary data might be biased. 3. The sample worn to accumulate secondary data may be small. The organisation or company who collected secondary may not be reputable In primary method Questionnaire is used to collect data. There are various limitations linked with Questionnaire. Some of them are as follows; 1. One major disadvantaged of report is difference in response. Different individual gives different responses. So it was complicated to generalise the information. 2. It is time consuming method and costly, as it takes more time to find individuals who can give their time to fill questionnaire. It costs more to print questionnaire. 3. Some response might have given wrong information in a hurry to fill questionnaire. 4. Some responses given by respondent were incomplete. . Research Findings The Purpose of the research was to know whether hygiene level of fast food restaurants affects their sales, whether it affects the behaviour of consumer towards the restaurants, according to civic, what steps should government take to improve the sanitation and some of the improvement that can be adopted by Fast food restaurants outlets .Results indicate that, hygiene is the most important in every food especially in fast food which is not considered as healthy as other food. After making analysis, about the views of hygiene of people it can be understood that people do considered hygiene as an important issue in fast food restaurants, it do affect their behaviour about the restaurant which is not following proper hygiene altitude and at last if this restaurants are not having hygiene level up to what people desires, it will cut down their sales. This can be proved by following findings: 1. More than one out of two gave importance to hygiene factor of fast food restaurants. Research shows that in hygiene factor people first give to importance to the cleanliness of the workers who are preparing the food. In addition to these, People are also concerned about the kitchen where food is prepared. Other than this People give importance to the ingredients which are used to prepare food, handling, storage etc. while other 2 % of people gave more importance to taste than hygiene. 2. The study examines, that hygiene altitude of fast food restaurants do affects the behaviour of customer towards it, one of the example was given by a sample about a pizza place in Greece, the pizza maker mixed six types of sperm inside the pizza which created the health problem to the people who eat that, people stopped going at pizza place and at last the place was shut down. [Referred TO Questionnaire in Appendix]. In addition to these as mentioned in the Third point, it happened to KFC. Same was found in case of pizza hut , about 28 % of total random people said that they stopped going to the place because they consider the cleanliness of the eatery was not up to the mark , that led them to choose other chophouse. 3. (1.1) Kentucky Fried Chicken better known as KFC one of the best fast food restaurant faced decrease in sales and also minor difference in the points of hygiene level given by people after the issue of dirty kitchen and floor, that happened in one of the its branch at Leicester Square in London. The sales of KFC as shown in figure 1.3 (Appendix) had gone down by 4 % at the end of third quarter of September 6 2009, it s worldwide sales was $9843 which reduced to $9413 in 2009 ,5300 unit chain faced an operating loss and there was also decrease of 4 points in hygiene level given by people after the issue of hygiene problem, that means there is also decrease in people who want to eat food of KFC, which shows there is decrease in frequency of people in KFC because of change in their behaviour about KFC s hygiene. So in order to change the notion they organised a health campaign called Fresh Tastes Best it was a TV campaign. (1.2)Another example is closure of North Andover Franchise of Fresh City one of the famous restaurants for salads, after four year establishment, local news commented that the closure of Fresh city was because of lack of cleanliness and violation made by health board. (1.3)Other than this Mc Donalds also took its 169 franchises because they were not performing well and their sales were continuously going down, the reasons were lack of satisfaction of customers and that was because of lack of cleanliness and improper quality of product. (1.4)Other example is of famous Hamburger, the sales of hamburger cut down because of lack of cleanliness. 4. As per figure 1.4 (Appendix) 50 % of individuals think that government should increase fine to improve the hygiene in fast food restaurants , while other 20 % of people that government should force the owner of the restaurant to close it , if it is following improper hygiene. Other 17 % of respondents said that government should force the fast food restaurants to organise compulsory training sessions for staff, to improve sanitation level of restaurants. Rest 13 % of respondents alleged that administrative should increase the frequency of health officers visiting all fast food restaurants to know , whether they are following proper hygiene altitude. While in case of improvement in hygiene stage of fast food restaurants, there are number of recommendations given by respondents, some of them are as follows, Recommendations given by samples 1. One third of total sample indicated that the fast food restaurants should clean their floors regularly and kitchen regularly. 2. About 10 % people said workers should be given more training in regardless to wash their hands before and after making food and they should have at least one separate sink for washing hands only or they should wear plastic gloves while preparing food, they should keep their hands away from nose, hair, ears all time and should use new gloves with new order. In addition to these workers should wear cap while making food. 3. Some of the people suggested to change the storage system of restaurants, they suggested to keep separate storage for each food so that the risk of cross-contamination which leads bacterial disease such as Salmonella can be concentrated, additionally all frozen food must be stored 5 degree Celsius. 4. About 10 % people suggested that the restaurants should recruit more people in regardless with cleaning. 5. Couple of people suggested, the restaurant that is not following proper scepticism should follow other restaurant that is following proper hygiene and try to implement it. 6. Some people indicated that restaurant should make all food in front of us And also they can advance the fast food by putting some more fresh fruits in it. Conclusion -After making above analysis following conclusion can be made; These days, the problem of hygiene in fast restaurants have increased, which includes several problems like lack of cleanliness especially in kitchen, various harmful chemical mixed ingredients, dirty employees working there, uncooked food etc. And all big reputed restaurants like KFC, MC Donalds, Subway, and Pizza Hut etc were spotted for following improper sanitary level. The reason behind this careless attitude might be to reduce the cost of getting pure ingredients or laziness of workers to maintain proper asepticism or lack of awareness of local manager. But today as people have became extra apprehensive towards the peril linked with fast food and as improper hygiene of the restaurant do affect their behaviour towards the food outlet, it is very necessary for the restaurant to give attention to their hygiene if not than it will be a time when no one will go to eat at fast food restaurants. Some of the big restaurants like KFC , Mc Donald s , Fresh City etc started showing out these picture as there was huge decrease in sales in KFC after it was noticed following improper hygiene, many franchisee of Mc Donalds and famous restaurant Fresh City were closed because of same reasons. In addition to this government should become tighter towards those who are not following suitable sanitation by implement new rules and regulation APPENDIX Figure 1.1. Referred to lack of cleanliness of Kitchen (Introduction) Figure 1.2 Referred to example of KFC given in [Introduction] Figure 1.3 Referred to decrease in sales of KFC due improper sanitation Figure1.4 Referred To Major steps government Should take to improve Hygiene In Fast Food Restaurant Survey about the importance of Hygiene Factor in Fast Food Restaurant. Q.1: What is your gender? o Male o Female Q.2: In which age group do you fall in? o 11 -18 o 19-25 o 25-33 o 33 or Older Q.3: How often do you visit fast food restaurant? o Regularly o Once a week o Once a month o Rarely Q.5: Up to what level do you consider hygiene in fast food as a vital aspect? o Not 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Very So important Important Q.6: Do you think hygienic factor is important at the fast food Restaurants? o Not 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Very So important Important Q.4: Which is your favourite fast food restaurant? o KFC o McDonalds o Subway o Burger king o Other . Q.7: Up to what extent do you think your favourite fast food restaurant maintains the hygienic level? o Excellent o Very good o Good o Average o Bad o Very bad Q: 7 If your favourite fast outlet is not up to the hygiene level that you prefer to be, then your behaviour towards it will change? o Yes o NO Q.8 Are you aware about the hygiene issue of KFC that happened at Leicester Square in London? o Yes o No Q.9 How many points you think you would be giving to hygiene level of KFC before the sanitation issue? o /10 Q.10. How many points you think you would give to hygiene level of KFC after you heard about the issue? o / 10 Q.12: what do you think government should do in order to improve hygiene of fast food restaurants? .. .. .. .. Q.13: According to you, what your favourite fast food restaurant should do in order to advance their hygienic altitude (level) then they has in present? . . . .

Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa

Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa The developing economies of Africa must on their part make deliberate and sustained efforts to attract the much needed inflows of foreign investments. To achieve this, the enabling economic, financial and political environment for such inflows must be created. An economy that is exposed to higher levels of political instability, economic uncertainties and financial risk will not be able to gain the confidence of investors. These risk factors if not well mitigated with a great degree of transparency and accountability could serve as barriers to both local and foreign investments. According to Banz and Clough (2002), the major reasons among many others for not investing in developing economies are the lack of transparency and poor governance policies. Therefore, Nigeria and other developing economies of Africa must work towards an environment that has a relatively reasonable economic risk, ensure political stability and demonstrate moderate financial risk to attract foreign capital inf lows especially in the form of equity investment. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) markets to which Nigeria belong have of recent experienced some legal, regulatory and supervisory changes resulting into increased transparency in the operation of their markets. The liquidity of the markets have increased and operations also liberalized to attract more foreign investors. The Nigerian economy is the largest of the 15 member body and has a lot of political and economic influence over the other members. Conscious efforts have been made by the various member countries to partially open up their economies, through systematic privatization programs, overhauling of their legal and financial institutional infrastructures and use of modern trading platforms have resulted in real development of their markets and manage to attract some foreign direct investments (FDI) to them. Nigeria is currently the biggest economy in Africa after the recent rebasement of its GDP, thereby beating South Africa to the second place ((Magnowski, 2014). The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 80% of fiscal revenues and 90% of export earnings (World Fact book).The country is also one of the major exporters of petroleum, and plays a significant role in OPEC (OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin 2013). To diversify its economy Nigeria is encouraging the growth of their private sector by offering some incentives to private sector equity investors who are willing to invest in the country. The country has an increasing GDP of $422.6bullion, $450.4billion and $502 billion for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively, and diminishing foreign debt stock of $15.73 billion and $13.4 billion for 2012 and 2013 respectively. There is also an increasing Foreign Direct Investment of $7.444 billionand $9.212 billion for 2012 and 2013 respectively (World Fact book: World Bank). The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is the second largest exchange in Africa; it was established in 1960 to provide listing and trading services among others. Its activities are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the country. The value of publicly traded shares stood at $50.88 billion, $39.27 billion and $56.39 billion for 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. Despite all the above mentioned strong economic fundamentals or good indicators, Nigeria has been plagued by several daunting challenges, notable among them are the issues epileptic power supply, inadequate infrastructures, insecurity, endemic corruption, increasing rate of unemployment and its heavy reliance on petroleum products (Global edge, 2014; World fact book). These factors pose some uncertainties about the Nigerian economic and stock market outlook. Nevertheless, the Nigerian economy is still growing. Fortunately, the government is also conscious of some of these teething problems. Programs are initiated to diversify the economy in the areas of agriculture, power, telecommunication, transport and other services. These efforts seem to be yielding the desired results as evidenced in the country’s 6-8% per annum pre-rebasing growth rate. With these measures a seemingly conducive economic environment is created which could be exploited by investors. This therefore, presents reasonable economic risk. There is also institutionalized democracy leading to political stability in its own form in terms of the country’s ability to carry out declared programs. Nigeria is also able to finance its commercial and trade debt obligations and has at no time defaulted in payment of its external financial commitments; thus demonstrating relatively moderate financial risks. These indices send strong signals in terms of information content about Nigeria’s overall economic health to domestic, international investors and rating agencies among others. Therefore, it will be of interest to empirically explore how these factors (economic, financial and political risks) when taken together or separately can affect the country’s stock market performance and vice versa. Country risk ratings assess the probability of a country’s default on its debt from a variety of perspectives: from socio-economic condition to growth in the real gross domestic product (GDP), government stability to corruption, to exchange rate stability among others. The objective of this paper is to empirically investigate the short and long-run relationships between Nigeria’s country risk ratings; political, economic, and financial components and its stock market in order to provide further information for current and potential investors to enable them make better informed investment decisions. In our knowledge this is the first few studies of this nature conducted on an emerging economy like Nigeria. Our main instrument of investigation is the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach formulated by Pesaran and Pesaran (2009) and Pesaran et al. (2001), to empirically investigate the relationships. The ARDL method is adopted because of its econometrics techniques. One important advantage of the ARDL model over other traditional approaches is that it can be used in time-series data irrespective of their order of integration, whether I(0), I(1) and/or fractionally integrated (Pesaran and Pesaran, 2009). The ARDL approach can also test for cointegration by the bounds testing procedure and can estimate the short-run dynamics and long-run relationships. The rest of the paper is organized as follows; section two discusses related literature. Section three explains the methodology adopted in this paper. Section four presents the ARDL procedure and discusses its empirical findings. Conclusion and implications are given in section five. The globalization of trade and financial markets in the past years has created huge investment opportunities and its attendant risks. It has therefore, becomes inevitable to know the credit worthiness of participating players. The motive behind such an assessment of the economic and financial condition and sometimes political stability of a country is to be able to evaluate the country credit risks involved in doing business or investing in such a country. Any event in a country that will affect not only the prospect of profitability but also restrict the movement of capital in the form of profits, dividend etc is worth evaluating. The need for such critical evaluation of credit worthiness of countries has resulted in the establishment of several rating agencies such as Fitch, Moody’s and Standard Poor among many others. These risk ratings are considered as indicative of possible future default. A higher rating is seen as a lower risk of default, while a lower score indicates a higher risk of default. Though the primary significance of ratings is due to their impact on interest rates at which countries source for funds in the international financial markets, studies have also shown its influence on stock market movements. This argument is linked to the influence of country credit risk ratings on the inflows of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), into the host’s economy, especially through equity shares investments. There is no scarcity of research papers on sovereign ratings and their critical roles for encouraging and facilitating investment flows especially in developed economies, but there is paucity of studies conducted on the impact of these ratings on movements of national stock markets, particularly for emerging markets such as Nigeria. Some of the early studies by Erb et al (1995, 1996a, 1996b) show that there is association or relationship between country credit risk (i.e. the risk of a country’s inability to service its external debts) and returns on equity investments. The existence of relationship between country credit ratings and stock market returns was confirmed in the early work of Erb et al. (1996a) using data that cut across boundaries. As a follow up to their earlier work, Erb et al. (1996b) investigated the influence of economic, financial and political risks on expected fixed income returns. They show that there is relation between the country risk measures and world bond market expected returns. For the ICRG economic variable, they find positive and significant signs in unhedged, local, and foreign exchange portfolio returns. They also show that the country risk attributes are significant to the real yields of fixed income securities. Kaminsky and Schmukler (2001) also examine the influence of sovereign ratings and outlook changes on the sensitivity of emerging financial markets. They find that these variables have substantial influence on both bond and stock markets. A domestic downgrade is associated with an average increase change rate of two percentage points in bond yield spreads and a decrease of one percentage point in stock returns. SubaÃ…Å ¸Ãƒâ€žÃ‚ ± (2008) expressed a contrary view, stating that in most cases news of a downgrade is often anticipate earlier before its announcement; therefore the potential negative effect of such information on stocks and exchange rate returns is diluted. The impacts of rating changes on both bond yield and sovereign debt have been tested severally by many authors. Reisen and Maltzan (1999) using the three main rating agencies, find that there is mutual interdependencies among rating changes and changes in bond yield spread. The study by Cantor and Packer (1996) also reported similar findings. Among several authors that have provided valuable insight into the influence of rating changes on sovereign debt and corporate securities are Hand et al. (1992) and Richards and Deddouche (1999). The degrees of sensitivity in all these studies tend to vary probably because of the methods used for the country risk analysis. Hammoudey et al. (2011) using emerging economies; Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (commonly referred to as the BRICS countries) establish various degrees of sensitivities of these countries’ stock markets to their respective country risk ratings. China is most sensitive to all the risk variables, followed by Russia, while all the BRICS countries show moderate economic risk sensitivity. The spillover effect of sovereign debt rating changes on national stock markets and international debts is also confirmed by various authors, among them are Ferreira and Gama 2007; Li et al 2008. This situation is common among countries that share common economic features and unrestricted Evidence of flow of information. Common border also suspected to play a significant role. Regional stock market movements are also influenced by country credit risk rating news. This development is consistent with the study by Christopher et al. (2008), stating that there is a positive relationship between the two factors. While Brooks et al. (2004) in their study, though under a different setting did not find any sensitive association among the two variables. Turkey’s stock market index also seems to have association with its economic, financial and political risk ratings. Using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, Sari et al. (2013) established a steady long-run relationship among the stock market and some of the risk variables. There are many leading commercial publishers of country and political risk analysis, but data for this study is sourced from the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) economic, financial and political risk ratings for Nigeria covering the period 2001 to 2013. The ICRG rating system is made up of 22 variables representing three major components of country risk, namely economic, financial and political. These variables essentially represent risk-free measures. There are 5 variables representing each of the economic and financial components of risk, while the political component is based on 12 variables (Hoti, 2003). The specified allowable range for each factor reflects the weight attributed to each factor. A higher score indicates a lower risk and vice versa. The stock market returns variable is obtained by taking the first logarithm difference of the monthly stock of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for the period earlier specified.s

The People vs. Orestes :: essays research papers

The People v. Orestes In the last portion of 'The Orestia';, titled 'The Euminides';, Aeschlyus describes the trial of Orestes, who is brought in front of a jury on the charge of matricide. The jury hands in a tied verdict and the goddess Athena casts the deciding vote in favor of Orestes. This of course begs the question: Was Athena's decision fair? I believe that this decision was in the best interest of fairness because Orestes was motivated by Apollo, enraged by the murder of his father, and aggrieved by the vicious cycle of antisocial behavior that was running rampant in his family. Often, jurists, counselors, judges, politicians, and citizens alike are called upon to distinguish the difference (and subsequently choose) between the interests of fairness and justice. While Athena's decision might not have carried out the value of justice, it upheld the advantages of reasonable fairness. The supporting rationalization, I listed above might not have been taken into Athena's consideration of this matter; however, one must consider the practical application of the verdict. This application ceased the Taleonic nature that had befitted the House of Atrius. Although it is difficult to imagine that this action was in the interest of fairness, the applied perspective that the outcome was more important the means, supplied the burden of proof for this acquittal. Many parallels between modern American juris prudence and that applied in Orestes case can be illustrated, with a primary focus on circumstances creating a reasonable doubt. To better understand this concept one should apply the conditions of this case in a modern setting. If Orestes were called forward, on the same charges under the jurisdiction of a United States court of law, would he have been acquitted? Furthermore, would similar circumstances be sufficient to create a reasonable doubt? By my estimation, I would suggest so. It is easy to assume that democratic legal standards (standards of law favored by most citizens) are involved in a constant evolutionary process. Subsequently, one is lead to the interpretation that ancient cultures would most likely subscribe to hedonistic principles; however, examination of 'The Orestia'; proves otherwise. Just like the final decree of Athena, most modern juries would see Clytaemnestra as a catalyst for Orestes homicide. This illustrates that while specific legislations evolve to mirror social change, the foundational essence of democratic trial-law remains unmolested.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Orestes was by no means innocent of matricide.

Earths Ecosystem in Danger :: essays research papers

The study, by 1,360 experts in 95 nations, said a rising human population had polluted or over-exploited two thirds of the ecological systems on which life depends, ranging from clean air to fresh water, in the past 50 years. "At the heart of this assessment is a stark warning," said the 45-member board of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. "Human activity is putting such strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted," it said. Ten to 30 percent of mammal, bird and amphibian species were already threatened with extinction, according to the assessment, the biggest review of the planet's life support systems. "Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable time in human history, largely to meet rapidly growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel," the report said. "This has resulted in a substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on earth," it added. More land was changed to cropland since 1945, for instance, than in the 18th and 19th centuries combined. Getting worse "The harmful consequences of this degradation could grow significantly worse in the next 50 years," it said. The report was compiled by experts, including from U.N. agencies and international scientific and development organizations. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the study "shows how human activities are causing environmental damage on a massive scale throughout the world, and how biodiversity -- the very basis for life on earth -- is declining at an alarming rate." The report said there was evidence that strains on nature could trigger abrupt changes like the collapse of cod fisheries off Newfoundland in Canada in 1992 after years of over-fishing. Future changes could bring sudden outbreaks of disease. Warming of the Great Lakes in Africa due to climate change, for instance, could create conditions for a spread of cholera. And a build-up of nitrogen from fertilizers washed off farmland into seas could spur abrupt blooms of algae that choke fish or create oxygen-depleted "dead zones" along coasts. It said deforestation often led to less rainfall. And at some point, lack of rain could suddenly undermine growing conditions for remaining forests in a region. The report said that in 100 years, global warming widely blamed on burning of fossil fuels in cars, factories and power plants, might take over as the main source of damage.

Born on the Fourth of July

Born on The 4th of July is a film based on the true story of Ron Kovic, a young, naive man who went to Vietnam in the noble efforts of serving his country – once there, he was shot in the chest and was forever paralyzed. He returned to a United States which didn't believe in the war, and didn't believe in him. He soon grows embittered with life, losing his chances to be a man, condemned to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He eventually joins the anti-war movement, gets thrown out of the Republican Convention where Richard Nixon is speaking, and finally is allowed to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 1976. The idyllic 1950's to the turbulent 1960's represented a dynamic shift in American culture. The end of World War II prompted a booming economy and the American dream of your own house with the white picket fence was born. Although the 50's were picturesque in some respect the end of WWII entrenched a deep fear of Communism. As America entered Vietnam the conservative ideals of the WWII generation clashed with the rising student and youth awareness. This movie represents a modern view of the Vietnam War era and the transformation that occurred throughout the country with varying degrees of historical accuracy. The opening scene of the movie pictures the mood of the country in the mid to late fifties. It romanticizes war with the parade scene and the kids playing army. This plays on the theme that some war is good, or at least justifiable. Kovic, the main character of the film, is a patriotic person wanting to serve his country and believing that Vietnam would be his chance. . The U. S. became polarized over the war. Many supporters of U. S. involvement argued for what was known as the domino theory, a theory that believed if one country fell to communism, then the bordering countries would be sure to fall as well, much like falling dominoes. This theory was largely held due to the fall of eastern Europe to communism and the Soviet sphere of influence following World War II. In the movie as Kovic and his friends discuss entertaining the Marines the ideas of containment and the domino theory are discussed. Kovic enlist and the Marines, where he fights on the front line of the Vietnam war. He is later shot and thus paralyzed from half of his body. Kovic spends months in a Veteran hospital in Brooklyn, NY. The conditions of this hospital are deplorable. Patients are left to lie in their own fecal matter while they are ignored and mistreated by the Doctors and Nurses. It is then that Kovic begins to see how Americans felt about the war he so proudly went into. By 1970 nearly 50,000 had already been killed and up to 200,000 wounded. Even though this number paled in comparison to the 100,000 South Vietnamese and more than 500,000 North Vietnamese who had died, many Americans thought the number far too high for the mere defense of a strip of jungle on the other side of the world. Morale had fallen to an all-time low both for the families at home and for the men in the field. Veterans’ protest groups such as the Vietnam Veterans Against the War became increasingly vocal, attacking U. S. policy after they came home. Kovic eventually joined this group emerging as a strong voice against the war. The neglect and resentment of veterans was an unfortunate social effect of the war. While after other wars, the soldiers were welcomed back with parades and open arms, the Vietnam veterans were shunned, demeaned and booed. This was accurately depicted in this movie when Kovic returns and is mistreated at the hospital, and during a Fourth of July Parade he is booded at. Since it was such an unpopular war, Americans held veterans responsible for the war, although many of them did not approve of the war either. The veterans' situation was a tough one, especially with little or no support. About 150,000 veterans came home wounded, or amputated, and at least 21,000 were permanently disabled, unable to work for the rest of their lives. Many developed illnesses after the war such as cancers liver disease and rashes, mostly due to exposure to Agent Orange. Having seen the horrors of Vietnam, many veterans were psychologically scarred. Nightmares, anxiety causing flashbacks, and fits of terror from loud noises were common behaviors reported amongst veterans. Approximately 830,000 survivors of Vietnam suffered mental and emotional disorders and showed symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) However many were unable to get the help they needed and deserved, because they were perceived as crazy and dangerous, and even deserving of their circumstance. Economic medical and educational aid was not made available to them right away, and many veterans felt abandoned by the country they served. In trying to deal with this situation, some veterans developed drug or alcohol habits and many felt driven to suicide. As the proud daughter of one of these Vietnam Veterans, I can tell you that this movie was difficult to watch at times. Growing up, most of my memories with my father are going to see him in the Veterans hospital. Therefore, I had the privilege of growing up around many Vietnam war Veterans. I saw firsthand the self medicating of drugs and alcohol. Many times when my sisters and I would visit my father, we never really knew who we were going to get, the fun loving father, or the drugged up father. As I got older my father slowly began to talk about his experiences in Vietnam. My father’s accounts of what happened during the war and after the war, are chilling. This movie accurately depicted many of them, as the stories my father has are not so different from many American Heroes that Served in the Vietnam War. References http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/vietnamwar/section9.rhtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_to_the_U.S._involvement_in_the_Vietnam_War Born on the Fourth of July Born on The 4th of July is a film based on the true story of Ron Kovic, a young, naive man who went to Vietnam in the noble efforts of serving his country – once there, he was shot in the chest and was forever paralyzed. He returned to a United States which didn't believe in the war, and didn't believe in him. He soon grows embittered with life, losing his chances to be a man, condemned to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He eventually joins the anti-war movement, gets thrown out of the Republican Convention where Richard Nixon is speaking, and finally is allowed to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 1976. The idyllic 1950's to the turbulent 1960's represented a dynamic shift in American culture. The end of World War II prompted a booming economy and the American dream of your own house with the white picket fence was born. Although the 50's were picturesque in some respect the end of WWII entrenched a deep fear of Communism. As America entered Vietnam the conservative ideals of the WWII generation clashed with the rising student and youth awareness. This movie represents a modern view of the Vietnam War era and the transformation that occurred throughout the country with varying degrees of historical accuracy. The opening scene of the movie pictures the mood of the country in the mid to late fifties. It romanticizes war with the parade scene and the kids playing army. This plays on the theme that some war is good, or at least justifiable. Kovic, the main character of the film, is a patriotic person wanting to serve his country and believing that Vietnam would be his chance. . The U. S. became polarized over the war. Many supporters of U. S. involvement argued for what was known as the domino theory, a theory that believed if one country fell to communism, then the bordering countries would be sure to fall as well, much like falling dominoes. This theory was largely held due to the fall of eastern Europe to communism and the Soviet sphere of influence following World War II. In the movie as Kovic and his friends discuss entertaining the Marines the ideas of containment and the domino theory are discussed. Kovic enlist and the Marines, where he fights on the front line of the Vietnam war. He is later shot and thus paralyzed from half of his body. Kovic spends months in a Veteran hospital in Brooklyn, NY. The conditions of this hospital are deplorable. Patients are left to lie in their own fecal matter while they are ignored and mistreated by the Doctors and Nurses. It is then that Kovic begins to see how Americans felt about the war he so proudly went into. By 1970 nearly 50,000 had already been killed and up to 200,000 wounded. Even though this number paled in comparison to the 100,000 South Vietnamese and more than 500,000 North Vietnamese who had died, many Americans thought the number far too high for the mere defense of a strip of jungle on the other side of the world. Morale had fallen to an all-time low both for the families at home and for the men in the field. Veterans’ protest groups such as the Vietnam Veterans Against the War became increasingly vocal, attacking U. S. policy after they came home. Kovic eventually joined this group emerging as a strong voice against the war. The neglect and resentment of veterans was an unfortunate social effect of the war. While after other wars, the soldiers were welcomed back with parades and open arms, the Vietnam veterans were shunned, demeaned and booed. This was accurately depicted in this movie when Kovic returns and is mistreated at the hospital, and during a Fourth of July Parade he is booded at. Since it was such an unpopular war, Americans held veterans responsible for the war, although many of them did not approve of the war either. The veterans' situation was a tough one, especially with little or no support. About 150,000 veterans came home wounded, or amputated, and at least 21,000 were permanently disabled, unable to work for the rest of their lives. Many developed illnesses after the war such as cancers liver disease and rashes, mostly due to exposure to Agent Orange. Having seen the horrors of Vietnam, many veterans were psychologically scarred. Nightmares, anxiety causing flashbacks, and fits of terror from loud noises were common behaviors reported amongst veterans. Approximately 830,000 survivors of Vietnam suffered mental and emotional disorders and showed symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) However many were unable to get the help they needed and deserved, because they were perceived as crazy and dangerous, and even deserving of their circumstance. Economic medical and educational aid was not made available to them right away, and many veterans felt abandoned by the country they served. In trying to deal with this situation, some veterans developed drug or alcohol habits and many felt driven to suicide. As the proud daughter of one of these Vietnam Veterans, I can tell you that this movie was difficult to watch at times. Growing up, most of my memories with my father are going to see him in the Veterans hospital. Therefore, I had the privilege of growing up around many Vietnam war Veterans. I saw firsthand the self medicating of drugs and alcohol. Many times when my sisters and I would visit my father, we never really knew who we were going to get, the fun loving father, or the drugged up father. As I got older my father slowly began to talk about his experiences in Vietnam. My father’s accounts of what happened during the war and after the war, are chilling. This movie accurately depicted many of them, as the stories my father has are not so different from many American Heroes that Served in the Vietnam War. References http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/vietnamwar/section9.rhtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_to_the_U.S._involvement_in_the_Vietnam_War

Stoichiomety Lab

Stoichiometric Analysis Formal Lab Report I. Purpose- The purpose of this lab is to show stoiciometric reactions and relationships first hand. It also increases our level of understanding about the complicated relationships in chemical reactions and in stoichiometry. II. Introduction- In chemical reactions and formulas there are various relationships between masses of reactants and products. The study of these relationships is called stoichiometry which is derived from the Greek words stoichein meaning â€Å"element† and metron meaning †measure†.Stoichiometry is helpful in predicting outcomes of reactions or finding out missing parts in reactions. It can also help you determine unknown compounds. III. Methods- Add a small sample of MnO2 to a dry test tube. Find the mass of this by zeroing a beaker on a scale and placing the tube inside. Place about 2. 00 g of KCLOx into the test tube. Record the new mass, and mix the two reactants. Put in test tube clamp at a 45 de gree angle. Heat the mixture for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool. Record the new mass.Repeat these steps with the KCLOx/KCLO mixture. IV. Results- KCLOx 1. 19. 78 g 2. 21. 88 g 3. 2. 10 g 4. 21. 12 g 5. 1. 34 g KCL 6. .66 g O2 7. .017 mol KCL 8. .041 mol O2 9. KCLO3 10. 2 KCLO3 ( 2 KCL + 3 O2 KCL/ KCLOx 1. 23. 79 g 2. 25. 83 g 3. 2. 04 g 4. 25. 38 g 5. 1. 59 g KCL 6. .45 g O2 7. .014 mol O2 8. .009 mol KCLOx 9. 1. 10 g KCLOx 10. .539 % KCLOx in mixture V. Conclusion- This lab showed us how stoichiometry can be used in a real situation to find something out. I think that the purpose of the lab was reached.It was helpful in strengthening my understanding of stoichiometry by using critical thinking to solve a problem. There was plenty of room for error. The results could be thrown off if the error is too great. Technique was needed in making sure the entire sample was reacted and keeping all of it in the test tube. VI. Questions- 1. The definition of stoichiometry has roots meaning meas ure and element. In the first reaction you are trying to find the number or measure of an element that is present in a unknown quantity. . d 3. Ion charges aren’t a problem in determining mathematical relationships because the anion in the compound will have the same charge regardless of how many O’s are present. 4. The heating process is the same in both reactions because we want the level of decomposition to be consistent. With a different heating method the decomposition could vary and throw off the calculations. 5. The student could be asked to calculate the theoretical yield and compare/ calculate it to the actual yield to find out their error.