Differences Between a Normative and Empirical Theory

There are various theories that attempted to explain and understand various social events and social issues. Two of these theories include the normative and the empirical theories. In order to understand these concepts, it may be best to know their definitions. The normative theory involves the evaluation of things based on the labels of what is good and what is bad. The desirability then of an approach is determined by the observable judgments on its implications.On the other hand, empirical theory involves the use of observations according to concrete evidence so that things can be explained with accuracy and precision. One of the most important applications of the normative and empirical theory is on the rule making aspect of a democracy. According to Craig, there â€Å"may be different models of democracy†. However, in our society, we are often confused with the normative and empirical aspects of democracy.As regards democracy, one can still say that in order to achieve th e true essence of a democratic community, the empirical approach is at most desirable. It is not enough that the precepts proposed by the concept of democracy dictates how and to what extent we achieve democracy. Rather, it is important that we also rely on empirical data and concrete evidence to determine how and to what extent the proposed democratic policies can affect the lives of the people who believe in the concept of democracy.Historical data proves that mistakes as regards democracy involved the normative theory of democracy wherein our leaders tend to have been swayed and decided only in accordance with what democracy should and ought to be rather on what the community actually needs and the state of things. In the normative theory, it is often the aim to evaluate things rather than explain things. In this regard, it is often the case that under the normative theory, concrete actions are not determined in order to resolve issues.This is not true in case of the empirical th eory because by more than just evaluating things, explaining the various social phenomenons enables our leaders to create deeper understanding of things so that it can be resolved according to democratic principles. Democratic theory is empirically desirable as much as it allows the people to explain things so that they can freely act on it. The democratic set up is best for the community because it allows people to, individually create an evaluation and understanding of things by trying to explain the root causes of the problems.In addition, under the concept of democracy, it is best that decisions be based not only on the basis of what is best for a certain group but for the whole community. The practice of democracy should not cause to undermine other democratic rights of others. This is commonly what is reflected in the United States politics because specific policies especially on wars are now reflections of the voice of the people, or a product of free deliberations to determi ne their applicability and reasonableness.It is unfortunate to think that the democratic principles are now tainted with the long stretch of power of politics and officialdom. Many our seemingly democratic leaders, neglect democratic end in exchange of their personal intentions. We should not forget that a true democratic government is a government for the people, by the people and of the people. The centralization of government especially of decision making does not reflect the true nature of a democratic state.

Lenin’s Russia Essay

1. The painting shows that Lenin is pleased to be back in Russia. He has his hand up waving at the crowd. Lenin looks happy and he looks pleased to be back. He also looks to be pleased by the way that the crowd are reacting to his return. The crowd are happy to have Lenin back. The people’s faces are all looking at him and they are all waving back at him. There are people playing musical instruments at what looks like a celebration to welcome him back. They are celebrating the return of Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov, who later changed his name to Lenin, from exile in Finland. The people are pleased to see Lenin and they would therefore be the people that agree with Lenin and his ideas and decisions. The crowd is not just townspeople that have gone to meet Lenin. There are men there with bullets over their shoulders. These people are soldiers that agreed with Lenin’s ideas. They had some force with their guns and this means that Lenin had some force. All of these townspeople see Lenin as a leader for Russia that is why they are there. This is not a true reflection over all of Russia. This source is very inaccurate as it is painting and could have been a forgery to make Lenin look popular and make it look like there are a lot of people there. 2. The painting does show that Lenin was popular in Finland station, which is in Russia like Waterloo station is in London, but this is not a true reflection over the whole of Russia. The people that were at Finland station are clearly pleased to have him back but in other parts of Russia this was not the case. Lenin was only popular with the people that supported communism and supported Bolshevik rule. These were known as the reds and the opposition was known as the whites due to the color of their uniforms that their armies wore. It is clear that this painting does not show the feeling over the rest of Russia because the civil war came. This tells us that Lenin was not popular all over Russia and he had opposition in the whites that he fought in the civil war. This was not only the case in Russia but also all over the world. When the civil war started Lenin and the reds didn’t have any outside allies while the Americans, the French and the British supported the whites. These countries wanted to help the whites against Lenin because Lenin had pulled Russia out of the First World War before it had ended. They were bitter about it and so they helped fight against him. In conclusion Lenin was popular and respected in certain areas of Russia like Finland station but across the rest of Russia and the World he was not admired or acclaimed. Source B 3. Each photograph has Lenin on the left standing on a podium talking to the crowd that are surrounding him. On the first photograph Lenin has two men standing to his right on the stairs. These men are Trotsky and Kamenev who were the right hand men to Lenin. In the second photo Lenin is again standing on the podium but in this photo there is no Trotsky or Kamenev, photographic experts have removed Trotsky and Kamenev. 4. These pictures are so different because in the first one Lenin is accompanied by two men, Trotsky and Kamenev but in the second picture they have disappeared from the image. These pictures were used as propaganda pictures by Stalin after the death of Lenin to inform the people that Trotsky and Kamenev were not anymore involved with Stalin. It is as if they have disappeared. Trotsky was the man behind the red army. He was the man that gained a great victory in the civil war and saved the Revolution. Trotsky would have been the man to take over from Lenin after his death but due to the fact he was clever he was hated by the other Communist leaders and was never supported, so a man that was lower down in rank was given the job, Joseph Stalin. Stalin and the other communist leaders hated Trotsky. He was removed from any position of power in the country so that he couldn’t cause any problem for Stalin. Stalin took power with Zinovliev and Kamenev after Lenin’s death. They accused Trotsky of trying to split the communist party and take power for himself. No one defended Trotsky. After Trotsky had all of his positions of power removed he was exiled internally and then in 1929 Leon Trotsky was forced out of Russia and was exiled to Mexico. Once Stalin had taken power away from Trotsky before he was exiled, Stalin turned on Kamenev and Zinoviev. They were becoming worried and in 1926 they joined Trotsky in a United Opposition to Stalin’s policies. Stalin got his supporters to help him and both were sacked from their party and government positions. They were both allowed back into the party in 1928 but into positions with no power. So Stalin had ended up the solitary leader of Soviet Union. This trouble had left him very apprehensive of his colleagues. Stalin used the two photographs to show that Trotsky and Kamenev had fallen from their days of power when Lenin was alive and in charge. Source C 5. (i) Lenin is sweeping the entire world of Royalty, Aristocratic and Religious people. Lenin was against rich and powerful people and so that is why he is sweeping them off the globe. The people he is targeting are all the rich people. The man standing on top of the globe is Lenin. The first two men to his right of Lenin, with crowns on, look to be some kind of royalty. The person in the bottom left of the picture looks like an Orthodox Russian Church member. The man in the bottom right of the cartoon looks like a rich aristocrat. Lenin is using a broom and sweeping because that is traditionally associated with workers and not the rich. It is signifying the fight back of the workers to show that Lenin is on the workers side and that they will fight against the rich. 5. (ii) The Revolution of March 1917 that overthrew the tsarist regime caught Lenin by surprise, but he managed to secure passage through Germany in a sealed train. His dramatic arrival in Petrograd occurred one month after rebellious workers and soldiers had toppled the tsar. The Bolsheviks, including Joseph Stalin, had agreed with the deference the Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies showed to the provisional government. Lenin immediately refused this line of policy. In his â€Å"April Theses† he argued that only the Soviet could respond to the hopes and needs of Russia’s workers and peasants. Under the slogan â€Å"All Power to the Soviets†, the Bolshevik party conference accepted Lenin’s programme. After an unsuccessful workers’ uprising in July, Lenin spent August and September 1917 in Finland, hiding from the provisional government. There, he formulated his concepts of a socialist government. He also bombarded the party’s Central Committee with demands for an armed uprising in the capital. His plan was finally accepted; it was put into effect on November 7th. A few days after the November Revolution, Lenin was elected head of government. He acted sensibly to consolidate the power of the new Soviet state. His main concern was the protection of the Revolution and Soviet power against enemies both abroad and at home. In line with these practical considerations Lenin accepted the heavy German terms for the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty. Lenin took power of Russia from the provisional government that didn’t put up that much of a fight at all to stop him from taking over. Lenin took power after the Tsar had fallen and the country was in disarray after the First World War. Lenin took power after being in exile from Russia so he hadn’t seen all of the effects that the war had on Russia. Source D 6. (i) Robert Lansing had a bad attitude towards the Russian revolution. He didn’t think that Russia could survive after the takeover by the Bolsheviks in the civil war. Lansing believed that the revolution would end in ‘brutality and destruction of life’. Lansing compares the Russian revolution with the French revolution. He says that before the French revolution France had a legal system and a government, Russia possesses neither. This means that he didn’t think that they would be capable of running the country. Lansing says that the country wouldn’t end up further developed. Which indicates that there is no point in fighting. To stop the problem they should get a government and a legal system. To advance his speech he hammers home his point that there is no authority or control. He continues to say that the country is full of anarchy and violence. He gives a comparison to a cauldron as though it is waiting to overflow, it is boiling up nicely. Finally he thinks of the people of Russia and how they will be affected by the war. He gives the sense that he feels sorry for the things that will happen to them. Robert Lansing’s attitude was that Russia would be worse off if the Bolsheviks took control of all Russia. His view is not necessarily correct, as Robert Lansing has biased opinion due to the fact that he was the US Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He has a bad attitude towards Russia because they pulled out of the First World War. The Americans would be bitter and wouldn’t support anything that the Russians do. 6. (ii) When Robert Lansing said the words ‘Russian Terror’ he was referring to the pain that Russian people would feel. By terror he means that blood will be shed and life will be lost. He thinks that the death rate and property destruction will be higher than the French Revolution. He is saying that people have a hard time ahead of them if they live in Russia. Source E 7. This source comes from Winston Churchill at the time when he was the British Secretary of War and Air. Churchill has a very definite opinion of the Bolsheviks and there ideas, he doesn’t support them at all. You can tell from the first sentence he said ‘the Bolshevik Tyranny is the worst’. This is a very hard statement to take in. This means that a Tyrant ran the Bolshevik party so Churchill is calling Lenin a Tyrant and Churchill was calling Lenin cruel. He was calling the Bolshevik party cruel. This is a statement that sets out from the start that he doesn’t support the Bolsheviks. In the next sentence Churchill states that the things that had been done in Russia by Lenin and Trotsky are far worst than anything that the Kaiser of Germany did. To compare Trotsky and Lenin to the Kaiser is a very strong statement, as he was not at all liked by anyone in Germany. He was hurting everyone. Churchill doesn’t say that they are equal to the Kaiser but that they are worst than him. Churchill view on Russia would be biased because he is British and he still wouldn’t be too happy because Russia pulled out of the First World War. Churchill has more reason to be infuriated than most British people as he was in charge of Britain’s war effort. Source F 8. This source doesn’t show that the Bolshevik government was successful. They didn’t do the job that they set out to do which was to help the working class people. This source is bound to be accurate as it out of a history textbook it will be accurate because it is looking back on the incident and not looking forward like source D and E the book will also not have biased opinion. The first line says that Russian people suffered terribly in the civil war. This proves that Robert Lansing and Winston Churchill were correct with their prediction. Both said that the Russian people would suffer terribly and both were right. The Bolshevik government did not handle the civil war at all well. This source gives us some facts to back the suggestion that the government was not successful. The source tells us the economy collapsed. This meant that money was worthless. So the Bolsheviks didn’t mange to keep the money useable. The fact that industrial production had gone down means that they are going backwards and not improving the country, so Lansing was right when he said that this wasn’t the way to go. The civil war wasn’t killing as much as the diseases were which meant that innocent people were dying not just soldiers. The Bolsheviks were not fighting for their idea of workers, they were killing them instead. The communist was now becoming a dictatorship. This means that Churchill was right in his analysis comparing the Bolsheviks to the Kaiser who was a dictator. The source says that the Bolsheviks were losing support as well. This means that they were not successful at all. They didn’t have success at all from the civil war. Summary 9. Source A This source gives us a false sense of the popularity of Lenin in Russia. This painting is only of Finland station and does not give a good representation of the rest Russia. Lenin is proven not to liked all over Russia because there is the civil war and this means that one opposition party doesn’t like Lenin so this source is only a good indication as to where Lenin is liked. You can tell that he is liked at Finland station and the surrounding area. We do not know about the rest of the country but he is certainly liked in is one area. This source does not give us an accurate sense of Lenin’s popularity. This source could also be a forgery if it were a photograph it would be true but a painting can easily be made up. You cannot be certain if this is the true event that happened. Source B This source was used as propaganda for Stalin after Lenin’s death. These sources real point is the fact that Trotsky and Kamenev have fallen from the limelight, but the source can also be used to look at the popularity of Lenin and the message he was giving out to the people of Russia. In both pictures you can see the crowd covering the whole of the area. There are no gaps anywhere. This shows that Lenin was popular at this time and that people did listen to him. As I have already said this sources main point that Trotsky and Kamenev have gone but the photo can give other information. You can only see behind Lenin at the number of people but I would imagine that in front of him there would be more people as his voice would be projected that way. So this means there would be about triple the amount of people in photograph listening to Lenin. That may seem like a lot but over the whole of Russia it is small amount considering the vast size that is Russia. We are not told where this is and so might in an area where Lenin is popular like Finland station. You can tell that this event actually happened as it a photograph not a painting like the source before. Source C Source C is a political cartoon that is aiming to put across the message that Lenin is working with the working class. Lenin has the broom and is sweeping because that is associated with the working class people. He is sweeping the upper class and privileged people off of the world and taking over. If this cartoon were a true reflection on the job that Lenin was doing, you would assume that he would be popular with working class but not so the upper class people whom he wants to get rid of. This is not the case. The upper classes, rich people, were not impressed with Lenin trying to get rid of them. So he didn’t really become very popular with them. They didn’t like him and because they owned massive pasts of Russia this was a problem. This cartoon would have won some votes with the lower and working class the fact that he was trying to make it an even playing field for all. Source D This cannot really tell us much about the situation in Russia but it does give us a global sense of the feelings towards Lenin and his government. The first couple of lines give us a feel for what the Russian people would be in for. If the things Robert Lansing predicted happen then Lenin and his government would not be popular in Russia. The mass deaths would not go down well with the people in Russia. This did come true and so Lenin government didn’t look good. This source tells that the government didn’t have a lot of friends outside of the country. Lansing was an American and they were a major power but Lenin didn’t have their support as you can see from this statement. The statement written by Robert Lansing is a biased account though as the Americans were fighting the First World War with Russia until they pulled out and so there would be some bitterness between the two countries. Source E This source came from Winston Churchill. This again tells that Lenin was not popular outside of Russia. It gives a comparison to the Kaiser. If Lenin were thought of like the Kaiser then he would be hated like the Kaiser. Churchill gives a good comparison but his opinion is biased and should be not be used as fact it is only an opinion. Source F The final source gives reasons why Lenin was unpopular. This source is taken from a textbook and therefore will be correct. It gives facts why Lenin was not popular; economic collapse, Industrial production had dropped by 20 per cent of the level it was in 1913, harvest produced only 60 per cent of the normal amount and during the civil war famine and disease caused 8 million deaths. These facts give hard evidence why the Russian people have cause to not like Lenin. All of these sources tell us that Lenin and the Bolsheviks popularity changed over the time they were in power. If we can trust the early sources you would believe that he was popular. In 1917 Lenin would have been popular as the country was in disarray and would have supported any leader. However as his time went on the true view of Lenin came out. Towards 1924 he started to go down hill and wasn’t as respected by the people. When source F gives the final facts of what was happening it is easy to say that Lenin was not as successful as first thought. Lenin early high popularity dropped towards the end of his time to be hated by the people of Russia.

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Innovation and Regulation of Information and Communication Coursework

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Violent video games Essay Example for Free

Violent video games Essay Video violence is a major problem in our society. When people are exposed to the violent world of video games, their perceptions of reality are changed from a world with consequence, to a world where consequence does not matter. USA Today Magazine states, that video violence is a major component in the desensitization of mankind (Video violence desensitizes the brain, 2006). Exposing children to the repetitive violence in video games serves as a conditioning for violent behavior. Whether or not the allies of video violence believe that exposure to violent games does not cause a more violent society, teach motor skills and develop excellent problem-solving skills (White, 2004), without looking at the consequences of these games, our society is at risk for increased acts of violence. The history of video games It was not so long ago that the video game industry was not the billion dollar monster that it is today. The history of video games runs parallel with the development of computers and traces the advancements not only of technology, but also in the social and economical patterns of the United States over the last four decades. The first video game was patented in 1948, by Thomas T. Goldsmith. The game used eight vacuum tubes to simulate a missile firing at a target, controlled by four knobs. By the 1970s arcade machines and handhelds were added to already existing computer systems. This was known as The Golden Age of Arcade Games. Atari was founded in 1972. Pong, the first successful arcade game, consisted of hitting a ball across a simulated tennis net. Pong sold 19,000 units the first year it was released. The evolution of games progressed, bringing more realistic graphics that appeared to be life-like. The figures in the games movements seem like that of a human being. The three dimensional graphics created a simulated world much like that of today. In the games of today, Eakes (2004) states players actively participate in the simulated murder of police officers, women, minorities and innocent bystanders. The acts graphically depicted and include victims being shot, beaten to death, decapitated, burned alive, and urinated on. These games also present favorable depictions of prostitution, racism, misogyny and drug use (Eakes, 2007). The days of simply hitting a tiny ball back and forth, where the only goal was to avoiding missing, are long gone. Research in the world of Violent Video Games. Video game violence effects the brain, not only by making murder or robbery seem acceptable, but as stated in, USA Today, also by effecting the regions in the brain that are involved with recognizing, remembering, rehearsing or activating aggressive behavior (Video violence desensitizes the brain, 2006). By repeatedly playing these games, the participant has lower-levels of empathy. The brain stores everything, including the visions that are seen in some of the games. Some of the more violent games are conditioning the brain over and over with angry, vengeful images that encourage negative even prejudicial thoughts. A game on the market at this time is called Manhunt in which the player has to murder or beat the opponent to death. There is no consequence for the winner, only points and positive feedback. Until recently, violent video game research has mostly comprised of studies revolving around participants playing violent video games and then measuring the participants responses when the participant is placed in different real world situations. The new studies now include the use of highly sensitive diagnostic equipment such as MRI to measure actual responses in the brain. These studies are much harder to refute. A recent study now has found that exposure to video game violence results in diminished responses mentally to real life violence or death (Phillips, 2005). Participants brain waves were measured while playing violent videos using an EEG (electroencephalogram). The participants showed a desensitized view when shown violent or negative images. But when the players were subsequently given the opportunity to punish a fake opponent in another game, those with the greatest reduction in P300 brain responses meted out the most severe punishments (Phillips, 2005, para.7). Eakes,(2004) states the studies on the effects of violent video games, has long been a source of great debate. There has been over 3,500 research studies done examining the correlation between violence and violent behavior. All but 18 of the studies have shown that the more violence one sees, the more likely one is to be violent (Eakes, 2007, para. 5). This is particularly true because the violence in video games is so realistic and portrayed without pain and suffering. Defenders of Video Violence. The violence in video games today is not seen as a problem for some people, especially those in the gaming industry and adolescents. Even though there are exceptional amounts of research that supports the conclusion that violent video games cause aggression, their continued denial of these facts are due to one thing, money. There is billions of dollars at stake in the sales of video games and video game systems. To admit that video games do cause violence, could potentially cost the industry dearly. The arguments used by defenders of video violence are that these types of games are a meaningful form of expression. The defenders believe that video games teach motor skills and help children and young adults to solve problems. Having also been criticized for being a factor in the epidemic of childhood obesity, the defenders argue that playing games are highly social. The proponents assert that a child, who would respond to real life violence the same way he or she would respond to video violence, is emotionally disturbed already (Jenkins, 2004). The military has been using video imagery for decades to train soldiers in the act of war. The soldiers skill in shooting improves as well as the actual response to violence. Just as simulators help train players for real-world tasks, violent video games coax players into actual aggression and antagonistic attitudes (Walsh, 2005, para. 38). With repeated participation in violent video games, players improve not only their violent techniques, but their mental attitudes as well. On the Armys recruiting website, there is a video game called, Americas Army. The game is available to anyone who logs on and is free. The game cost the military six million dollars to develop, and not only serves a recruiting technique, but also as a way to teach players how to actually fire a M16 rifle, throw grenades, and learn weapons identification. The game trains in various weaponry and teaches the player where to hit the intended victim to cause the most severe outcome. Effect of Violent Video Games Video games have become a training ground for learning how to shoot and murder. Many of these games reward the player for hitting the victim in the most deadly of places. In the world of interactive video games, players play games that are endless. They play with people who are trying to kill them. Sometimes, when confronted with real life problems of violence a child or young adult, will not seek out adult advice due to the thinking that they can handle on the problem on their own as in the video game. Children who view repeated violence are more apt to accept violence as a way to settle conflicts. On April 20, 1999, two heavily armed boys walked into their high school in Littleton, Colorado, and shot 12 of their classmates and a teacher to death. Then they killed themselves (Eakes, 2004). During the investigation, it was discovered that these two boys played thousands of hours of violent shooting video games. The boys pasted the pictures of their fellow classmates onto the games imaginary victims. Perhaps, this may not be the single reason these boys committed this horrific act of violence, but how can the hours spent rehearsing this act not be a factor? If nothing else, these games served as a training ground for the execution of the crime. Whether or not the boys were emotionally disturbed to begin with will be speculated upon for years but looking at the role these games played in this tragedy is essential. The use of violent video games has shown to have a negative effect on academic performance and social skills. Based on a survey of 189 high school students, users of violent video games held more pro-violent attitudes, more hostile personalities, were less forgiving, believed violence the norm, and behaved more aggressively in every day life. The researches were surprised the relation to violent video games was so strong (Anderson, 2007). Another issue of rising concern is regarding whether or not violent video games are addictive. On June 27, 2007 The American Medical Association called for more research in the designation of video games addiction a mental illness. The fact that a game is controlling someones behavior and taking over their daily lifes, is about compulsive behavior. Some of the games are played in an online community, where the game is demanding of the players time. Once a child is hooked, it becomes very difficult, for them to stop (Walsh, 2007). Today in South Korea, which has seen a widespread amount of video game addiction, there are over 40 treatment programs to deal with video game and internet addiction. If the situation in South Korea is any indication of what is to come here, we will be largely unprepared for the number and intensity of cases of such addiction (Walsh, Gentile, 2006, para. 16). Attempting to control video game violence The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is an organization that rates computer, internet, and video games. The ESRB was created in 1994 to rate and restrict the sale of video games. Many of these games, even though they are rated M for mature, are sold to children. The new trend in violent video games is to hide explicit material within the game to avoid receiving a rating for adults only. Much speculation and questions surround the creditability of the ESRB. Recently, a game named Grand Theft Auto: San Andres, included sexually explicit material that could be accessed using a code found on the internet. This game already full of violence, with the players shooting police officers, beating up prostitutes and carjacking, also had an added bonus with graphic sex scenes. This caused a scandal as the game was only rated M for mature. Before long, the so-called Hot Coffee scandal, named after the modification that unlocked the extreme scenes, became a hot news item the rating was changed to A for adults (Terdiman, 2005, para. 7). That was after thousands of copies had already been sold. Even if the ratings alone were more reliable, it is almost impossible to enforce the rating system at the retail level. Everyday underage children buy games rated for adults or over 17 in stores all over America. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Bureau of Consumer Protection head, Lydia Parnes, There are still too many kids purchasing inappropriate games (Bangeman, 2006, para. 2). The commissions most recent study sent underage shoppers into stores and 42% were still able to purchase M-rated games. What can be done about Video Game Violence? If there was ever any doubt about the impact of video games on children of video games on children it has finally been laid to rest (Walsh, Gentile, 2005, para. 39). Whether there is a rating given to the games or not, many times the people who are selling the games are not responsible enough to make sure that these violent games do not fall into the hands of children. Video games are most likely going to remain a part of our society, so it is going to be up to the parents of children and young adults to strictly monitor what their children are playing. First and foremost parents need to pay attention to the relevant research and the industry needs to stop denying research-based conclusions (Walsh, Gentile, 2006, para. 8). Once parents come to terms with what is at stake, they should start limiting game time and keep mature rated games away from their children. Parents should also take advantage to new technology for parental controls in many of the current game systems. Educating children as to the dangers of viewing these games and being aware of what types of games they are being played will help to change the views on what is acceptable, and what is not. Perhaps the debate over whether or not violent video games cause violence will always be an issue. As long as there are billions of dollars at stake, clinical studies will be challenged, fingers pointed and denial will be used in the debate. One thing is for certain, video game violence does not add anything positive to the health and well-being of todays children or young adults. How can learning and practicing killing or robbing people have a positive effect on the brain? Children are spending large amounts of time playing violent video games during a fragile time when they should be learning healthy ways of dealing with life and solving problems peacefully. When will society accept that the world is full of negativity and exposing children to repetitive acts of violence reinforces that negativity? Hopefully, the answer will be sooner than later for the sake of all humankind. References Anderson, C, Buckley, K, Gentile, D. (2006). Violent video game effect on children and adolescents. Iowa: Oxford Press. Eakes, P.(2004). Do you know what video games your children are playing? The Video Game Revolution. Retrieved June 20, 2007 from http://www. pbs. com Jenkins, H. (2004). Reality bytes: eight myths about video games rebunked. The Video Game Revolution. Retrieved June 28, 2007 from http://www. pbs. com Phillips, H. (2005, December). Violent video games alter brains response to violence. New Scientist. Retrieved June 9, 2007 from http://www. newscientist. com Terdiman, D. (2005). Unlevel playing field for video games. Retrieved June 29, 2007, from http://www.cnetnews. com Video violence desensitizes the brain. (2006, April). USA Today Magazine, 134(2731), 13-14. Retrieved June 3, 2007 from EBSCO database. Walsh, D. , Gentile, D. , Walsh, E. , Bennett, N. , Rodideau, B. , Walsh, M. , Strickland, S. , Mcfadden, D. (2005). Tenth annual video game report card. National Institute on Media and Family. Retrieved June 10, 2007 from http://www. mediafamily. org White, J. (2004, September). Defenders of the video game realm. Playthings, 102(8), 10-14. Retrieved ProQuest database.

Analysing The Emerging Democracy Of South Africa Politics Essay

Analysing The Emerging Democracy Of South Africa Politics Essay South Africa is a young democracy that has begun making serious attempts to bring the nation together and create national equality among the people. First to understand what a democracy is it needs to be defined. William Hay Anthony defines democracy as liberal representative government under law, sustained by a political culture that accepts open disagreement and demands accountability (Anthony, pg 135). This definition highlights the role of institutions in making a political order work (Anthony, pg 135). Applying this definition to the South African case is important to analyzing its development within being a democratic nation. Civil and political rights are important to a democratic nation because it must maintain rights to all of its citizens equally. South Africa has made huge steps in ensuring equal rights to all of its citizens, though it is quite clear that a lot more could be done. In terms of economic rights and social rights, South Africa has made attempts in making thes e rights equal for everyone. The democratic role of South African political parties has been a constant one. The African National Congress has been the party in power of the state since its first democratic election in 1994 and it seems like it is getting more and more support as time goes by. Their policies which have been put forth have the same goal of having equality within the state. In the past 16 years, South Africa has made numerous attempts to make its nation more democratic but it is clear that the work that the nation must do to have a complete democracy, is nowhere near finished. Rights have not always been equal to all people of South Africa throughout history, even in the past 20 years. From 1948- 1994, South Africa was under an apartheid, that is, a segregation of blacks and whites in all aspects of society. Under this rule, all races that were identified by the South African Government were divided. At the time, the government recognized four different racial categories: African, coloured, Indian and white (Lichbach 2009, 466). There were many laws that were put in place to keep the people of the country segregated at all times; the only exclusion to that was if a black African was working for a white one. Some apartheid laws were the Group Areas Act, Land Acts, Population Registration Act and Reservation of separate Amenities Act (Lester 1996, 227). During the apartheid, because coloured people could not vote or own property, they were living in extremely poor conditions and kept in certain black only areas. Even when coloured people could own land, th e qualifications amount was raised too high for many coloured people to even consider attempting to purchase land. (Maphai 1994, 3). Without the ownership of property, one could not vote. When the first democratic election was held in April of 1994, it marked a new beginning in South Africa; some called it the New South Africa. Mandela was named as president and many apartheid laws were abolished. People were becoming more equal within this country which meant people of all the coloured races were lawfully allowed to integrate with their white counter parts in education, work, property ownership and other rights that were not given to them before. With a new government set in place, citizens were excited to see how their country would change for the better given its new democratic policies that would soon begin to be in effect. What some people dont fully understand is that many things like becoming a new democracy take time, especially when dealing with a country with a past like t hat of South Africa. With that being said, even though these wonderful laws were being put into government, they were not exactly being implemented very well. One of the biggest reasons why so many of the countrys people have to live this way is because of the huge inequalities within the country; Inequality is still higher than anywhere else in the world (Pons-Vignon 2008, 3). Inequality is something that cannot be changed overnight with the passing of different laws; it is something will be an ongoing struggle for the country. Something that is special with the democratic characteristics of South Africa is the fact that the minority of the country has most of the power; white people are the clear minority of the population but they clearly have the most power. In 1980, it was shown that whites, who were one sixth of the population, earned two thirds of total income in the country (Maphai 1994, 137). Because white people have such great power as a whole, it is more difficult for other citizens of the country to rise economically. Since 1994, the only place that whites do not have the most power is in government. The Party that has been in power since the liberalization movement has been the black- led African National Congress or ANC. When it comes to voting, which many black people do have a right to now, whites just cannot even compare with the numbers that the Blacks have; in 2001, 79 percent of the population classified themselves as African, 10 percent as white, 9 percent as Coloured and 2 percent as Asian (Lichbach 2009, 472). The fact that government is led by a black supported party is not unfortunate for most white people. In the early 1990s, the ANC adopted many policies and went through many negotiations with the National party (NP) to get more support from the white community. With the attempt that the ANC made toward getting support from white people in the country, white people began to see the ANC more like a rival as rather than an enemy. (M aphai 1994, 75) As well, the leaders of the ANC have done a good job in convincing all people, including whites, that their policies will only help to better the country. Unions are also helpful with making a nation more democratic. The ability to have specific rights because of employment is a huge factor in having equal rights for people. It was 1979 when African Trade Unions were finally recognized and the Congress of South African Trade Unions was then formed in 1985. (Lichbach 2009, 477) Recognizing unions that were made up of Black workers was essential in implying that they, as workers within the state, deserve no less than that of white workers. Unions allow a group of workers to negotiate with their employers about better wages and working conditions. In the aspect of civil and political rights, South Africa is making a clear progression towards truly having equality within those rights. Democratically, South Africa is making a big progression towards effectively having equ al political and civil rights for all of its citizens. Through the coming years there should be more polices out being put into effect and hopefully a better understanding of equality among races. It is only then that the rights that are actually listed within the South African law will have been respected and truly put into practice. Before democracy was even a possibility in South Africa, the main problem was an attempt by white settlers to make a country whose population is 75 percent African a `white man`s country (Maphai 1994, 1). Three million white people had achieved unchallenged superiority over sixteen million Africans by 1965. (Maphai 1994, 1) The technological advancement of white people is one of the big factors of what made them overpower that large number of blacks. (Lichbach 2009, 463) Economically and socially, many South Africans do not have adequate rights that should be equated to them within their democratic nation. In 1994 the life expectancy was at 65 years and then within the next decade it dropped to 52 years. This is because of a degenerative health care system and the battle with HIV- AIDS that the country has to deal with. (Bond December 2009, 581) As of 2007, South Africa had the most deaths of HIV-AIDS than any other country in the world. (Central Intelligence Agency 2010) The infant mortality rate is decreasing but is still relatively high because of the amount of babies dying because of HIV- AIDS. The Literacy rate is on the rise because more people now have access to adequate schools. In 1980, when the literacy rate for whites was 99.3% it was at 67% for Black Africans. (Maphai 1994, 138) Historically, when all coloured Africans were separated from whites, there was always an enormous gap between the well being of whites and that of coloured people. Today, the gap has closed but it is still not equal. As years go by, there are more and more opportunities for black Africans in regard to employment. Years ago, blacks did all of the labour and whites reaped all the economic benefit from that labour. Since new laws have been put in place, blacks now have the option to work in any field that is desired by them. Although, within certain industries, policies biased against employment have restricted income earning opportunities for blacks (Maphai 1994, 143). Skille d jobs with high wages were granted to whites while black workers were paid poorly. (Lichbach 2009, 465) Some say that affirmative action may be needed to keep at least a significant portion of black people in certain jobs but this is not always a sufficient (way) to redress the socio-economic imbalances in South Africa (Waghid 2003, 168). Affirmative action policies may turn qualified applicants to the job solely because of the fact that they are white and cannot be hired because the business needs to hire more black people. There needs to be other policies out into effect that actually provide adequate education to more blacks. A company should not feel obligated to hire someone just to fill a quota; a person should be hired based on the skills he or she has. Poverty is affected by those that are unemployed and those that earn wages. In 1991, the ANC said that the best way to address poverty was through economic growth. (Lichbach 2009, 478) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is represen ted in terms of income. This is unfortunate for the black majority that only earns wages. White people earn an income as well as other money in forms such as that of interest, rent, dividends and profits. All these other forms of income were accessible to whites by virtue of ownership of capital, land and other assets (Maphai 1994, 137) which black people did not have the advantage of being able to own. In the decade of 1986 1996, the annual growth of the GDP was less than one percent whereas the population growth of the country was an average of 2.5 percent per year. (Lichbach 2009, 472) The South African Economy was never designed to serve a black majority (Lichbach 2009, 472). As a middle income country, South Africa has a GNP of about 3630 US dollars per person. After 1994, the economy was revived with the GNP growing at a rate exceeding that of the population growth rate (Lichbach 2009, 472). During the Apartheid, sex and marriage between races was prohibited. Every aspect of social life was segregated by race. People of different races did not have the right to interact with one another socially no matter what the circumstance. The Freedom Charter of the ANC from 1955 declared that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on will of people (Lichbach 2009, 467). It was the 1980s that the government realized that the apartheid was costing a lot of money. The economy was suffering from a recession, currency inflation, and excessive costs (Lichbach 2009, 468). While the economy was going through this hard time, white people had the money emigrate whereas black people had to face the brunt of the poor education system. A social right that should be equal to all is that of citizenship. Under the Bantu Homelands Act (1957) Africans were stripped of citizenship, expelled from parts of the cou ntry and consigned to ten scattered, ethnic homelands (Kopstein Lichbach, pg 467). This was the largest forced movement of a group of people anywhere in the postwar world. Today, all South Africans have citizenship within their country and are able to purchase land anywhere they would like. In 1989 there were numerous black consumer boycotts due to Conservative Councils decision to uphold separate Amenities Act (Lester 1996, 233). The effect of these boycotts was that many businesses decided to take down their white only signs from store fronts. This movement really showed the power that united black consumers can have. Overall, South Africa is moving in the right direction in terms of their economy and society. With the GDP in a steady increase and more jobs being available to more of the country, it seems as if the country is heading towards making the state more democratic. In the term of 1989 1994, the National Party was in power. It is a white led party was whose leader was Frederik Willem de Klerk. De Klerk had an enormous role in ending the apartheid in South Africa. He was very supportive in changing the country into a multiracial democracy. (Lichbach 2009, 469) During the 1990- 1991 period, De Klerk used expressions like bill of rights, mixed economy, one undivided South Africa and one person one vote (Maphai 1994, 75). He wanted reform and non-racialism within the country. The leader of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1994 was Nelson Mandela when he won the Presidency. It is a black led party that was trying to gain more support from white people within the country. Not many white people wanted to support the party because they viewed the release of Mandela as the catalyst to the chaos that was on the rise within the country. As the ANC began to adopt more policies that appealed to more people in the country it was the first time that the ANC and the current government at the time openly agreed upon the same constituency. (Maphai 1994, 76) The two biggest parties in South Africa were the National Party and The African National Congress. In 1997, the National party changed its name to become the New National Party (NNP). They did this to try to move away from their apartheid past and create a new image for themselves. The party already began to share more views with the opposing ANC, which then led to an alliance between the two parties. After witnessing two federal elections as a recognized party, The NNP decided to dismantle in 2005. This was because of the rapid decrease in voter support; people did not like the idea of the NNP being allied with the ANC. In the 1994 election, NP had some 20% of the vote whereas in the election 10 years later that number dropped down to 1.9% (NEED CITATION FOR THAT). It was clear that the NNP was never going to have much say in governmental matters with so little voter support. Many former members of the NNP decided to join the ANC when the NNP was terminated. Negotiations for reform within the country began in the end of 1991 (Lichbach 2009, 470). During these negotiations the ANC and NP would agree on certain things like one person, one vote; an independent judiciary; and re integration of the homelands (Lichbach 2009, 470). These parties resolved most of their issues through political, economic and military pacts. A transitional government was finally made after the multiparty negotiating forum that took place in 1993. (Lichbach 2009, 470) It was the young leaders like Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela that recommended to the ANC that they should begin discussing the aspect of a multiracial democracy. Within the 1994 election, there was celebration throughout the country. There was an extremely high voter turnout; 86% of eligible voters came out to vote, with ANC having a 63% majority. With Nelson Mandela as the new President, the top three parties, ANC, NP and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), formed the Government of National Unity (GNU). (Lichbach 2009, 471) In 1986, it was P.W. Botha that authorized the repeal of selected apartheid laws in recognition of the fact that blacks now lived permanently in the heart of all major metropolitan areas (Lichbach 2009, 468). Unfortunately this did not work for him because it ignored majority political aspirations. The ANC has been in power of South African since it was liberated in 1994. What people need to know is that the South African economy was never designed to serve a black majority (Lichbach 2009, 472). Some question whether the fact that ANC has such a huge majority over government is a good thing or a bad thing. The strong hold that the ANC has over power of the country may tempt leaders to change rules of the game to cover up corruption or to squelch political dissent (Lichbach 2009, 490). Others say that it is good to see the government representative of what the majority of the country wants. There are about fourteen parties that are represented in the South African government with many of them having no real chance of coming into power. This aspect of the democratic audit is quite good in the case of South Africa because of how representative the government is. The majority of the population, which are coloured, also have the majority in government. Therefore, it is easier for many people to have their voice heard through the party that they support. Though with the fact that one party has such a majority over all the rest, it can also be said that none of the other people in the country will be represented. What makes ANC different from many other majority parties is that many parties want or have an alliance with them. Alliances only occur between parties that share similar views and want one another to prosper. In South Africa, it can be deceived that the ANC- COSATU- SACP alliance manipulates blocks of vote into concentrations of political power for their own aggrandizement (Waghid 2003, 120) to disempowered minorities whose interests are affected by the groups policies. As one of the worlds youngest democracies, South Africa has many democratic elements that need to be implemented within the society. Having democratic policies are meaningless unless those policies are being implemented. Rights and equality issues have been and will still be at the forefront of the governments policies as they try to make the country a better place for all citizens. The rights that are written down in South Africas constitution provide a sense of pride knowing that they are there for everyone but what needs to be realized is that being afforded rights is not the same as being able to exercise such rights (Waghid 2003, 15). The high levels of inequality that are present in South Africa have to do with the fact that it is a young democracy that needs time to alter their society to reflect that. The African National Congress that is in power in government is doing a moderate job in maintaining a satisfactory level of order within the country and will only do more as tim e progresses. To say that South Africa is not a real democracy would not be a fair statement to make because of its youth and inexperience with this type of government. This country is a democracy that needs to evolve more and allow the people truly understand what it means to be a democracy.

All Toys E Business Plan Marketing Essay

All Toys E Business Plan Marketing Essay Objective: All Toys vision is to be the Worlds Greatest Kids Brand destination on the internet, not only offering parents and families a broad selection of products but to also create a magical playtime memory along with everyday essentials, being able to provide the resources necessary to keep their kids safe and happy. The aim of this e-business plan is to help our business deal with the complex problems that we may face as we develop a response to the e-business challenge. Value Proposition All Toys is a new Web-based company that sells toys over the Internet. All Toys doesnt have toy stores, salespeople, or even a delivery system. It takes orders over the Web and then uses an established shipping company to ship products to its customers. Benefits All Toys Inc. is a leading online retailer of childrens toys and products. Even though it emphasis is toys, its aims to sell parents a wide selection of products that their kids might want or need. Their entire product lines consist of more than 50,000 stock products such as childrens books, music, as well as toys. Its extensive range of toy products consists of mass-market items such as dolls and Legos, as well as other products to specialize in different taste. Altogether, All Toys carries over 500 brands which are sold exclusively on the Internet. Its web site catalogs consist of a range of products, and customers can use the sites advanced search capabilities to find items by a variety of strategies. For instance, consumers can search All Toys for toys of a specific shape, color or brand. On a regular basis the site will be updated with a list of suggestions of Bestsellers, Favorites and most popular. Moreover, All Toys website allows shoppers to sign up and register in which they will receive a birthday reminder service. The company notifies shoppers by e-mail in advance of a childs birthday, and appends a list of gifts appropriate for that age. The site also provides a Wish List service. Children or their parents can use it to e-mail friends and family members lists of the gifts they most hope for. The site also allows children to play games and other fun activities, while parents search for tips, advice and other product ideas The benefits of a new company like All toys are that they: Sell products to consumers at the lowest price possible Its a specialty online toy store Niche items and markets It hires architects and developers acquainted with the latest software techniques. The developers feel comfortable with objects, components, and distributed systems design. They use Java latest application servers to quickly build a powerful, scalable Internet commerce application, and they design their applications for growth and change. Costs and Value As a leading online retailer, All Toys must be able to deliver whatever is best for its customers and its prospective customers. This includes providing excellent customer service, being able to deliver its products in the fastest time and allowing customers to choose and compare the prices amongst the vast selection of products that All Toys offer. All Toys as an E-business will have a competitive advantage amongst other toy companies, as the following process adds value to its business operations: Cost-effective communication and marketing strategy Because your business environment becomes a focal point of your communication, e-business gives you a vital web presence (24/7 web service) Reaching new markets across the globe The internet allow businesses to target consumers from all over the world and customers can access resources from across the globe Minimize marketing costs online advertising is not often less expensive than traditional advertising. Ordering Process Implementing an online ordering system allows you to eliminate the cost of paper work and communication costs such as telephone lines and standard calls. It also offers the possibility of integrating your sales order system with order fulfillment and delivery so customers can be up to speed on the progress of their orders at all times. Potential market Competition The explosion of the internet age has forced e-businesses to compete with the long standing structure of traditional businesses (William, 2006). Although e-business offers endless opportunities for both businesses and consumers. The one main factor that differ e-business from traditional businesses is the technology that underpins the business itself. E-business is built electronically on a network, therefore without a network its completely impossible for an e-business to survive. Local Local businesses that compete for the same pool of local customers can be quite threatening to online businesses such as All Toys. Unlike traditional business who can gain trust from its prospective customers through a straight, personal contact, the web eliminates the customers privileges to experience such personal contact with both the products and organization they want to buy the products from. In traditional business, customers come to a store and have personal interaction with the organization through its sales person and then, possibly, have personal contact with the product. These types of experience somehow develop trust towards the organization and are very important for certain types of product. For example, Customers who buys toy products at their local toy store will have a better impression of the store through the interaction and communication they have with the salesperson. As a result they gain a better understanding of the store itself and the people within it. However, through an e-business store, customers are dealing with a web interface that shows nothing else but a website within a screen. Thereby, it is more difficult to determine the reliability and assurance of the website. Also, when a product is faulty, with a traditional business, customers are able to exchange the product immediately during business hours. However, it is much more difficult to do this through the web, due to procedures and other measures that needs to be done. This could take up to several days or weeks after the complaint. Nevertheless, All Toys has an advantage in that they target to a specific niche or segment of the market, which in this case are children and their parents. Traditional businesses have a disadvantage against e-businesses in that they are forced to choose a location in which they believe to attract their customer base; however it is much more difficult given the degree of adaptability in which a physical store has. For instance, when you have a physical store, there is not a lot of room for error. You can only customize your store, marketing, and product to a small extent. With an e-business, you can do massive customization, and change how and what you market, depending on your business performance (William, 2006). Moreover, the most significant difference is that e-businesses cost very little upfront when compared to traditional businesses. Starting a business on the Internet does not have the burden of a physical storefront and any expenses that accompany it. The vast majority of e-businesses are much easier to use for the customer, most sales and purchases can be done from the comfort of home. Global As competition increase in the global market, customers have a wide range of products to choose from and compare. One of All Toys major competitors are Amazon.com, Ebay.com and the traditional businesses. These firms provide a similar service with a wide range of products ranging from books, toys to music. However, All Toys differentiate itself in that it promises its customers this We bring the toy store to you, hoping to emphasize the convenience of at-home shopping versus the crowded scramble at the mall. William, S. (2006). Traditional Business vs. E-Business. Retrieved 27th April 2011 from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5903880_traditional-business-vs_-e_business.html

Race and Intercultural Relations in the United States Essay -- Racism

We don't have problems understanding ourselves. We have problems understanding our interactions with others. See yourself as another sees you and you will begin to understand their viewpoint Preface The development of a culture in the United States has been a winding road of interactions between differing, oftentimes opposing cultures and races from the first footfalls of Europeans upon the American continent’s shores. Each group of settlers and immigrants have brought their own unique perspectives and underlying values to the table. Many of these perspectives have been incorporated into the mainstream way of life, many others however, have been dismissed and discarded as either foreign or outright dangerous. The patterns that have emerged from this interaction of cultures and peoples define who we are today as Americans, not a homogenous amalgam of those who came before us, but an inter-connected group of varied cultures living within the same system of democracy. Whether for good or bad, our collective interaction has defined our reference set of values and norms in our interpersonal and cultural development. The patterns that define the macroculture of the United States are deeply rooted in the intercontinental strife and politics of Europe, Africa, and Asia prior to the colonization of North America. The developing European empires and their social, cultural, commercial and religious differences set the stage for intercultural interaction and development for the next 400 years in North America. These groups religious bigotry’s (Protestant vs. Catholic vs. Islamic†¦), social inequalities (noble vs. peasant), and outright greed all combined to contribute to and define our unique American experience... ...ities and privileges to all members of society, regardless of class, race or religious belief. It is the hope that all people can live the American dream of equality and prosperity. References 1) Deconde, Rappaport & Steckel. (1973). Patterns in American History, (3rd edition), Volumes I & II. Wadsworth Publishing Co., Belmont, CA. 2) E.D. Hirsch, Jr. (1987). Cultural Literacy. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA. 3) Margaret Connell Szasz. (1988). Indian Education in the American Colonies, 1607-1783. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM. 4) J. R. Pole. (1993). The Pursuit of Equality in American History, revised edition. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA. 5) Gorton Carruth. (1993). The Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates, (ninth edition). Harper Collins Publishers, New York, NY.

karma :: essays research papers

Christians and Americans different from Japanese. But here too the core experiences were the same. There are obviously two sides of the story. One must look at both sides with careful eye and determine for they what they believe is true. This is where the idea of reincarnation comes in. Because it is 7 incorporated in so many religions, you find an answer to a question, which you truly want to know the answer to, and do not abandon your faith in doing so. Reincarnation is detected in many religions. Reincarnation is normally thought of as a Hindu philosophy and it is traced back to Hinduism, yet it can be found in Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism and in many more religions. In Judaism, reincarnation is known as Gilgul. Though it has a different name it has almost the exact same meaning. Gilgul was a dominant teaching in Judaism for over three hundred years. Cabala, a book of Judaism, which is often, studied by Rabbi’s, one of the holy books of the Jews which talks of reincarnation. Rabbi Steinsaltz (Cranston 181) is an authority on the Cabala. He states: According to Cabalistic doctrine, the Torah contains not only manifest but also hidden truths: the same transcendent God whom the Bible celebrates as supreme king and lawgiver is, from the mystical also an infinity of divine knight that exists as the foundation of every human beings soul. For me, every soul is an emanation or spark of the divine, and its ultimate purpose is to rejoin the God it came from.... I hope to demonstrate the secrets of the Cabbala-, which rationalistic Rabbi’s of the nineteenth century dismissed as dangerous magic-, are fully consonant with traditional Rabbinic Judaism. (181) 7 this view is also held by a large group of Orthodox Jews known as the Hasidim. Reincarnation is universally taught among them. On the other hand, the soul, its life and immortality are rarely mentioned in the Old Testament. There is also no direct denial of it either. In the Book of Job (14:14), Job plainly asks, â€Å" If a man dies will he live again?† but receives no answer. So in the Old Testament, reincarnation is not ruled out it is just not brought up as a major point in the book. On the other hand, if one were to look into the Bible, the question of like after death is brought up and answered.

To Kill A Mockingbird: Prejudice Is Part Of Our Inherent Nature :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

To Kill A Mockingbird: Prejudice Is Part of Our Inherent Nature Why did Atticus defend a nigger? What was the point of being the advocate for a black man? It doesn't matter if their guilty or innocent, you can ceaselessly and effortlessly convict the animals for their colour vice. You can even turn a blind eye to the obvious truth. And so did the â€Å"people†, the white, narrow- minded, bigoted and hypocritical people of Maycomb. The justification for why Atticus broke from the norm, and acted unlike most others in his community, can be compared to the motive of the central character in the novel, A Time To Kill, written by John Grisham. The comparative character, a lawyer named Jake, also endangers not only his own life but his family's, by defending a Negro. He is compelled to undergo such a risk as he believes he is protecting an innocent man. Despite the fact that he is black. Jake could not live with himself if he failed to give his utmost effort in clearing the accused, Carl Lee Hailey's, name. The lawyer feels that it is his obligation to humanity to do so. Similarly, the case Atticus accepts is something which goes to the essence of a man's own conscience. Atticus is unable to treat the underdogs of the town how the majority of people act towards them. Clearly the people of Maycomb are narrow-minded, bigoted and hypocritical, and Atticus Finch is not. Nothing can be done to make the prejudiced, perverse people hear the truth. This dogmatic attitude does not occur exclusively between the whites and the Negroes either. The community's unsubstantiated stories about other citizens also demonstrate their heedless to the truth and prejudiced natures. Arthur Radley, otherwise labelled Boo, has for decades been maliciously slandered, in the county. The people that have done so do not know Arthur, and the reason they can make such judgments escapes me. When there was a series of pets being mysteriously slaughtered, the consensus was that it was performed by Boo. Later, when the culprit transpired to be someone else, most people were still rooted in the belief that Boo was to blame. They could not believe the truth. And all unsolved crimes committed, in the area, have been manufactured solely by him. If your garden freezes it is because he breathed on it and nuts and other fruits, grown on the Radley property, are considered poisonous. Why have these allegations been targeted on Arthur? All that distinguishes him from other folks is that he isolates himself from the community. Is privacy a crime?

Economic Analyses – Netherlands

Netherlands National Economy: 2008-2012 Compulsory Assignment April 24 2012 Spur: MM 2nd Sem. Subject: Descriptive Economics Table of contents _ Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 GDP†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Unemployment Rate†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦ 6 Inflation Rate†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦13 Introduction _ This report is written for the purpose of the completion of a compulsory assignment that was allotted to the second semester students of the Marketing and Management spur. The theory and data that is described herein is related to the subject of descriptive of economics which is a branch of macroeconomic studies.The specifics of the assignment are, according to my understanding, to find a national economy of our choice; analyze the nation’s recent economic growth rate known as GDP (Gross Domestic Product); analyze the inflation rate; analyze the unemployment rate; presen t visual data to support the written information; explain in advance what GDP, inflation and unemployment is from the definitive perspective. The national economy that I have chosen to analyze is that of the Netherlands. The reason that I have specifically chosen this economy is twofold.Firstly, the Dutch economy it is one of many economies within the European Union that is having difficulties recovering from the global financial crisis of 2008/9 and the current crisis that is further evolving in the European Union, more specific insight to this developing may prove beneficial in the post-graduation period when exploring possible job opportunities. Secondly, the NGO Spark that is channeling capital into International Business College Mitrovica is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands; therefore it is interesting to know what economic environment the organization is surrounded by. Dutch EconomyThe Netherlands have a long history of trading with other countries in the world and have throu ghout time become very dependent on trade. The Dutch economy is based on a free market economy system with the government’s main purpose being to set regulations and taxations in the economy. Furthermore, the Netherlands are part of the European Union and have closely bound their economy to the EU by joining the European Monetary Union, that is to say the euro. The Dutch are advocators of free international trade and the reduction and removal of tariffs since it is obvious that they would benefit from more free trade.Past expansions of the Dutch economy were mainly due to an emphasis being put on increasing foreign trade, consumer spending and investment. When compare to other economies the Netherlands rank as the fifth largest economy in Europe with relatively stable industrial relations. When it comes to industrial activities, Netherlands are primarily occupied with food processing. The country is highly technologically advanced when it comes to agricultural development and uses a relatively small labor force to regulate agricultural cultivation. Currently it holds an estimated population of 17 million people.Average unemployment rate in the country is 4. 77 percent; average inflation rate is 2. 08 percent; average GDP growth rate is 0. 61 percent per quarter. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) GDP is the sum in market value of all goods and services (products) that a country has produced in a given span of time, i. e. a year or a quarter of a year multiplied by four. It is a statistical measurement expressed in monetary value. In order to get a comprehensive value of goods and services the prices of those products are added together to get the GDP value.This is only relative to final products and not intermediates such as components that are used to produce the final good or service with the exception of those products that are produced and then stored in inventory; those have momentary or short GDP value. The term â€Å"all goods and services† appl ies only to the country’s output that is legitimate and legal excluding all products derived from illegal activity and those products that are produced and consumed in a household, i. e. homegrown vegetables used only for personal consumption.Other products that are not included into the GDP are those that are not newly produced and sold, this applies to used goods such as cars or machinery. GDP is not concerned with nationality, e. g. if an individual of American nationality opens a company in the Netherlands producing a particular product and sells it in the Netherlands, that is also counted into Netherlands GDP. There is a clear line between GDP and a GDP growth rate. The GDP growth rate is expressed as a percentage and it uses the Real GDP (GDP or Nominal GDP minus inflation or increases in price).It shows by what rate (percentage) the economy as a whole has expanded or contracted from one period to another period (Mankiw 2008). GDP Netherlands: January 2008 – Janu ary 2012 When analyzing the Dutch economy at the peak of the global financial crisis (2009) it is apparent that the Netherlands were affected very deeply (illustrated in the graph above and on the next page). The economy was in a heavy recessive state meaning that the national economy was experiencing a contraction in economic growth or simply put, the national economy was shrinking.The recession or negative growth started in 2008 for the Netherlands dropping from a positive economic growth rate of 0. 5 percent in the first quarter to -0. 4 percent in the second quarter of the year. This recession was by far the worse that the Dutch economy has ever experienced reaching a record low of -2. 2 percent at the end of the first quarter in 2009. The recession was in effect up to mid-2009 with the economy starting to experience positive growth again in the third quarter (0. 8 percent) of the same year.From that point Netherlands GDP was subject to fluctuation in growth rate, however stayin g well on the positive side of growth all the way up to mid-2011 where the economy experienced another plunge and fell to -0. 4 and -0. 6 percent in the third and fourth quarter of the year. The reasons for the recession in 2008 and 2009 are not of an ambiguous nature. The world as a whole had entered a recession primarily driven by the financial disaster created by the banks in the United States. People all over the world had stopped spending money which led to companies reducing trade and production.These developments had a negative impact on the Dutch economy which receives a large portion of its GDP from trading with other national economies. In addition to the negative turn in trade during the recession the Netherlands also experienced a reduction in traffic in its harbors which serve as a center for European transport and contraction to internal spending form companies and households. When examining the more recent recession beginning in 2011 a number of factors were uncovered in relation to the cause of contraction in economic growth.Again the external environment has had a tremendous effect on the Dutch economy this time sparked by the financial crisis that has been unfolding in the European Union. Starting with ongoing financial and economic breakdown of Greece and more recently Spain and Ireland, the Netherlands have been greatly affected by those countries inability to pay off their debts. This has led to a reduction in trade again for the Dutch primarily because the risk that is now associated with the European Union and its lack in competency in regulating the financial crisis.Further on, internal demand and expenditure has again decreased from households and companies. As to why households have stop spending money there is no single answer. One reason can be the rise of unemployment which will be discussed later. Another reason may be people’s uncertainty as to the future value of their currency because of the financial crisis making them unwilling to spend and more eager to save thus withdrawing their money from the circular flow of the economy.In regards to why companies have stopped spending in the Netherlands it can be explained by emphasizing the interconnectedness between households and companies in a nation’s economy. Figure 1 illustrates the relationship between households and companies. If there is austerity in spending form households there is a negative effect on the companies’ willingness to produce goods and services, thus aggregate supply is reduced which also reduces the companies’ expenditure on factors for production.Lastly, the Dutch government has also cut back its spending from 2011 and made adjustments to the national budget which means that there was reduction of injections into the economy. Overall it can be deducted that the four primary factors which drive the GDP growth rate (investment, government expenditure, consumption, exports) have taken a beating due to the ongoin g financial crisis and the physiological effect that it had on Dutch citizens causing the negative impact on the circular flow between households and firms in the national economy (Kaidusch, P. & Ott, C. 2012).Unemployment Rate When speaking about the unemployment rate of a nation it is important to understand how such a rate is derived. There are two essential components needed to calculate the unemployment rate, the first being the number of people that comprise the labor force. Labor force is the number of those people in the country that are employed, either in someone else’s business or their own business, plus the number of those people that are unemployed excluding fulltime students, retirees, homemakers and those incapable of working due to disability or health issues.The labor force is divided by the number of those unemployed and then converted into percentage equaling the unemployment rate (Mankiw 2008). Netherlands Unemployment Rate: January 2008 – January 2012 When looking above at unemployment chart for the Netherlands covering the same period as the GDP it appears that following the start of the recession in 2008 the unemployment rate went upwards (negative increase) starting to slowly rise in the second half of 2008 and shooting up from 3. 6 percent in January 2009 up to 4. in the first quarter of the same year. If we refer back to the GDP chart we can see that exactly at this point of time the Dutch economy experienced its first serious plunge in the GDP rate going from 0 percent down to 1. 1 percent. When further following the trend of the unemployment rate it is relatively easy to spot that it is closely related to the GDP rate in 2009. Basically, with the contraction in the GDP it is the natural order of things that unemployment rises since as explained before companies are spending less for factors of production, i. . less workers are needed. However, if we compare the general unemployment rates for the entire euro area (see chart on the next page) we can see that the Netherlands are actually a lot better off than a large portion of the other European countries that share the same currency with general unemployment rate being above 7. 2 percent since 2008 and reaching 10. 4 percent at the end of 2011. Through this we can deduct that the rises in the unemployment rate in the Dutch economy have been of slighter significance if compared on a larger scale.The question maybe posted as to why the Netherlands employment rate suffered much less than other euro area countries. There are a number of answers but only a few deemed essential will be stated in this report. First, when the financial crisis reached the Dutch economy in 2008 a lot of companies collected and kept their workforce fearing a future shortage; however this was only possible at the price of productivity due to the law of diminishing returns on factors of production. This means that the companies were overstaffed leading to a lot of workers bei ng less productive yet still employed.Second, government expenditure was relatively large with high employment in the public sector up to 2011, when the Dutch austerity measure came into effect. Third, in 2009 the government took certain measures to extenuate the damage of the financial crisis on the unemployment rate by introducing relief programs and subsidies. Lastly, what contributed to the unemployment rate stabilizing sooner than expected in the first recession is that there was and still is a rising number of self-employed individuals in professional services, arts, and creative industries.These people adjusted their prices to the fall in demand easier than large scale businesses and managed to stay in business proving how important SME (Small-medium enterprises) are to the economy. However, now it can be observed that the unemployment rate is rising again due to a new recession that started in 2011. Companies in the Netherlands are adjusting their workforce to the demand in the economy leading to higher unemployment supporting the economic theory all factors of production are variable in the long-run.Government expenditure has decreased cutting jobs in the public sector also causing higher unemployment. It would appear that exactly those things that have contributed to the Dutch economy staying under the general euro area unemployment rate have been cut and reduced in the pursuit of creating a more efficient and effective economy (Janssen 2011). Inflation Rate _ Inflation in macroeconomic terms is the general rise in price of good and services in a given economy and is closely related to the value of money.Inflation occurs when there is an access of money being pumped into the economy usually causing a rise in demand and subsequently a rise in price. The inflation rate in a country is the percentage of monetary value by which prices have risen in general. It is measured from one year to the next. Inflation causes the purchasing power of money to decrea se meaning that that consumers can purchase less goods and services with the same particular sum of money then before inflation has happened, in simple terms inflation causes money to lose it value (Mankiw 2008).The main reason as to why inflation is negative for the economy is because it can have the effect of frightening people from spending money and herd their saving in banks and even worse out of banks causing a complete withdraw of their capital from the economy. Netherlands Inflation Rates: January 2008 – January 2012 When examining the inflation chart for the Netherlands for the period between 2008 to the start of 2012 it can be observed that the inflation rate decreased just about when the global recession hit the Dutch economy.Throughout the recessive period the inflation rate continued to decrease with very little fluctuation up to the point in 2009 when the economy was recovering from the recession. From that point there was a steady rise again in the inflation ra te until the new recession took place in mid-2011 with a declining trend passing over into 2012. Reasons as to why the Netherlands were experiencing a decrease in the inflation rate can be explained as follows. A very base explanation is that there was less money circulating in the Dutch economy which brought about the increase of value in the available oney supply, however there is more to the story. Since the Netherlands are part of the European Union it is not the responsibility of the Dutch Central Bank to regulate policies regarding inflation but that of The European Central Bank. Following the global meltdown of the financial system on a global scale in 2008, the European Central Bank under the presidency of Jean-Claude Trichet did not follow the action of the Federal Reserve in the United States and the Bank of England in the UK by cutting its interest rates which have a definitive impact on inflation.What happens is that when interest rates are cut people tend to borrow more money which results in more money circulating in the economy. â€Å"Inflation is an autonomous occurrence that is impacted by money supply in an economy. Central governments use the interest rate to control money supply and, consequently, the inflation rate. When interest rates are high, it becomes more expensive to borrow money and savings become attractive. When interest rates are low, banks are able to lend more, resulting in an increased supply of money. –Economy Watch 2010 This is a viable explanation as to why Inflation rates started to decrease during the recession in the Netherlands who followed a very similar inflation rate trend as all the countries in the euro area during that period, as illustrated in the chart below. As the Dutch government took measures to reduce the damage to the unemployment rate by giving subsidies and relief programs the money supply in the economy started going up again, people started spending more and the inflation rate began to steadil y rise again as shown on the chart for the Netherlands inflation rate, see previous page.By following this logic it is easy to deduce why inflation rates are now rising again, due to the austerity program that the government brought into effect in 2011 cuts have been made to the spending budget once omre reducing the money supply in the economy. The Relation between Unemployment and Inflation Up to this point in the report we have observed that there is a connection between GDP and the unemployment rate. When GDP is down overall productivity and demand is down in the economy which causes less demand for work force that is a direct factor of production.Thus we could follow what was happening in the Dutch economy when the recession (negative GDP for two quarters of a year) took effect and why unemployment did rise. Further on, the relation between unemployment and inflation will be examined. In the long-run it can be observed that unemployment and inflation are not connected since the y have different determents in the long-run. For the unemployment rate some long-run determinants are minimum wage laws, power of labor unions, and how effective job searching is. The main factor that determines the inflation rate in the long-run is the growth in the money supply (Mankiw 2008).However, in the short-run the two are relevant to each other and to policy makers in the government. In the short-run there is an economic trade-off between inflation and unemployment putting governments in difficult positions. Do they pump subsidies and other monetary aid into the economy and through this increase the aggregate demand in the economy subsequently increasing inflation and decreasing the unemployment rate, or, do they make cuts in spending contracting aggregate demand and thus contribute to the increase to the unemployment rate yet keeping the inflation rate down.The best way to illustrate this trade of is through the Philips curve shown below. A lot could be said on the topic o f the Philips curve and its application in macroeconomic theory on the relationship between unemployment and inflation and for this it is recommended that the works of George Akerlof and the research done by Samuelson and Solow should be further referred to. Getting back to the Netherlands it is obvious that Dutch policy makers were faced with exactly this dilemma even more so during the recession of 2008 and 2009.As the government subsidized and lend aid in the economy the unemployment rate seemed to stay at a reasonable unemployment level further aided by the European Central Bank’s inaction in decreasing the interest rates as mentioned earlier in the report. However, as the government starting making cuts and companies readjusted their work force inflation rates contracted unemployment rates rose for the year of 2011.Conclusion When it comes to the GDP growth of the Netherlands it can be concluded that it’s going to take some extensive time for the economy to recove r from the damage done by the financial crisis. Of course there is much more that could have been said on the topic of GDP however those issues will be left as the topic of another report of a deeper analytical nature.As to the unemployment rates in the Netherlands even though they have been relatively low in comparison to other countries they are on the rise and forecasts by the Dutch treasury agency have been negative describing that the Dutch government has a hefty challenge ahead of itself in the next couple of years stabilizing the lasting effects of the recession, past and present. In regards to the inflation rates they are currently on the decline and may very well stay that way for the upcoming year since another shallow recession is forecasted for the first two quarters of 2012.In the course of this report it was made evident to me as to how interrelated GDP, unemployment, and inflation are in reality. Furthermore, now there is a clear understanding of what kind of difficul t issues policymakers are faced with in the process of regulating this phenomenon called economy. Bibliography 1. Business Dictionary. com (2012), Law of diminishing returns, available at: http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/law-of-diminishing-returns. html (accessed on April 29, 2012) 2.Countries of the World (2012), Netherlands Economy 2012, available at: http://www. theodora. com/wfbcurrent/netherlands/netherlands_economy. html (accessed on April 28, 2012) 3. Dutch State Treasury (2011) Ministry of finance: Outlook, available at: http://www. dsta. nl/dsresource? objectid=7528&type=org (accessed on April 29, 2012) 4. Economy watch (2010) Inflation And Interest Rate, available at: http://www. economywatch. com/inflation/economy/interest-rates. html (accessed on April 29, 2012) 5.Encyclopedia of Nations (2012), The Netherlands – Overview of economy, available at: http://www. nationsencyclopedia. com/economies/Europe/The-Netherlands-OVERVIEW-OF-ECONOMY. html (access ed on April 28, 2012) 6. Kaidusch, P. & Ott, C. (2012), Recession in the Netherlands: is the core turning to periphery? , available at: http://cib. natixis. com/flushdoc. aspx? id=62676 (accessed on April 28, 2012) 7. Mankiw, G. (2008), Principles of Macroeconomics, 6th edition, Ohio: SW Cengage Learning 8. Mike Moffatt