The Euro Crisis and its Impact

Abstract The Euro crisis is an economic crisis that not only points at the weaknesses of economic integration, but also points at the consequences of poor economic policies at the state level. The aim of this paper is to synthesise literature on the causes, progression, and impacts of the Euro crisis on the European economy.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on The Euro Crisis and its Impact specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The literature shows that the Euro crisis is far from over. The European countries have to rethink about the economic integration strategies that can encourage prudent management of individual economies in the region to avoid such shocks. Introduction The Euro crisis was seen not only as a financial problem in the European Union countries, extending from the global financial crisis, but also as a real test of the essence of economic integration. The European Union has come out as a benchmark o f economic integration in the whole world. The rationale behind the terming of the European Union as a global benchmark when it comes to matters of economic cooperation and unity among states in the region is that it is the only economic union that has managed to realise the workability of a common currency. However, as mentioned in the opening sentence, the Euro crisis, whose genesis lies in the debt crises that mounted in a number of countries that form the monetary union, namely Greece, Spain, Ireland, and Italy, among others, resulted in the replication of the problem across the European Union. A substantial number of economic commentators term the Euro crisis as a problem that denoted the difficulty of integrating individual economies and dealing with economic pressures that come from the attributes of economic management in individual economies. The interesting thing about the crisis is that it serves as an example of how problematic economic integration can become because the faulty actions of other players could pose grave economic consequences requiring major economic decisions and adjustments by the individual states to solve the problem.Advertising Looking for coursework on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This paper presents a review of literature on the Euro crisis and its impacts on Europe and the entire global economy. The paper contacts three main research databases, namely EBSCOHost, SIRS Researcher, and ProQuest. These three databases play a critical role in presenting sequential information regarding the moulding of the Euro crisis and the consequences of the Euro crisis in terms of economic policy development and the performance of the economy, more so on the affected economies. The selection of articles from EBSCOHost is based on topic search, where preference is given to different articles denoting diverse dimensions of research about the Euro crisis. Most of the articles derived from the SIRS Researcher database point at the fact that the Wall Street Journal receives more attention because most articles in this database are those published by the Wall Street Journal. This is aimed at producing data that is consistent concerning the development of the crisis as understood by the researchers who write for the Wall Street Journal. The articles selected from the ProQuest database depict information about the Euro crisis based on the external views about the effects of the crisis beyond the European Union borders. The genesis of the Euro crisis A substantial number of economic commentators agree with the observation that the Euro crisis, which is also referred to as the sovereign debt crisis, was brought about by the significant deficits in the balance of payments of individual countries due to unsustainable fiscal policies pursued by these countries over a substantial number of years. Higgins and Klitgaard (2014) argue that the Euro crisis beg un from the fiscal problem in Greece due to the accumulation of debt by Greece. Higgins and Klitgaard (2014) further note that Greece and other periphery economies in the European Union relied heavily on external capital. These countries needed the capital to finance housing booms and domestic consumption. The only option that seemed feasible to them was to borrow from other countries, given they could not afford to source the finances locally. Wood (2012) observes that the European countries, especially the countries in south Europe, failed to agree on a common framework on which they could opt for the Euro as a common currency.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on The Euro Crisis and its Impact specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At this point, Germany gets a fair share of the blame for failing to exercise a leading role and, instead, taking a fiscal strategy that plunged the other southern Europe economies into debt (Wood 2012). Milios and Sotiropoulos (2010) ascertain the essence of looking at the Euro crisis from the perspective of the cycles of capitalism in the Eurozone, rather than pointing fingers at the debt crisis in Greece. The real value of economic integration lies in the kind of strategies that are taken by countries forming the economic block to offset the deficits in the balance of payments. In this case, the crisis in the Eurozone is a problem that cannot be directed at one country, but the failure should also be associated with the other countries that had a chance to salvage the debt problem in the region. However, they failed to do so due to their own reasons. The high rate of indebtedness in Greece depicts not only the weakness of economic governance in Greece, but also the failure of Germany as a key player in the region to activate some steps that could salvage Greece and the entire region at large (Dinan 2012). Rosenthal (2010) further observes that the deficit limit that was set by the European Union was not only exceeded by Greece, but also other players in the European Union like France. The main concern here is that the European Union did not sanction France because of political malice. The rationale here is that France is a big brother in the European Union; that is why it is favoured even when it breaches the set standards of the EU monetary union (Rosenthal 2012). The figure below could serve as an indicator of the manipulation of the economies of the region by Germany due to the introduction of the Euro as a common currency in 2002. Figure 1.0: Current account balance for Germany from 1999-2010.Advertising Looking for coursework on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Source: Rosenthal (2012, p. 57). Figure 1.0 denotes a significant rise in Germany’s current account balance after the introduction of the Euro as a common currency in 2002. The non-existence of an exchange-rate buffer prior to the introduction of the Euro as a common currency led other weak economies in the region to lose their competitiveness as Germany took advantage of its manufacturing and export power to deny other countries the opportunity to thrive in the market. This indicates a kind of economic exploitation of other countries, a factor that necessitated the increase in the amount of foreign debt (Rosenthal 2012). Baimbridge, Burkitt and Whyman (2012) ascertained that the deflation that was later experienced in other countries in the Eurozone was as a result of the creation of a boom-bust cycle emanating from the implementation of a similar interest rate for all countries. As the most powerful economy in southern Europe, Germany could easily adjust its taxation regim e to compete at a fairly lower exchange rate. This could play a critical role in reducing the financial burden in other Eurozone countries. For more information about the comparative aspects of foreign current account balance in the European Union, see figure 1 and figure 2 in the appendix. Higgins and Klitgaard (2014) observed that dependence on borrowed money often results in its risks, particularly in situations where the countries from which the money is borrowed are no longer in an economic position to offer credit. Higgins and Klitgaard (2014) base this assumption on the issues of saving and investment at the domestic level. They note that reliance on borrowing and the failure to invest the money in economic segments that can spur local investment and savings, just as in the case of Greece and other countries in the European Union, often results in economic problems. A broader look at the Euro crisis by Wood (2012) reveals a number of causative factors. Among these factors are imprudent banks, errors in economic policy development and implementation, remote technocracy, lack of effective regulation, and turbo-capitalism. These factors are, in one way or another, linked to the mounting of the debts in individual countries across the European Union. However, Wood (2012) further observes that the Euro crisis is an economic crisis that cannot be only linked to the mounting debts in individual economies in Europe, but also a problem that can be understood by incorporating other attributes like history, sociological forces, and other elements of governance across Europe. In other words, Wood (2012) moves away from the dominant view supported by a substantial number of researchers, who synthesise the Euro crisis only based on the debt question while failing to open up to other forces that might have resulted in the worsened economic situation in Europe. Hall (2012) raises similar sentiments by noting that the Euro crisis presents a number of puzzles, as people seek for answers about the real causes of the crisis in what was earlier on applauded as a benchmark as far as economic integration in the world is concerned. Hall also paints the picture of how the two hemispheres in Europe seem divided over the crisis, where the northern European countries blame the south by pointing at the fiscal faults inherent in the economic policies of southern Europe governments. Hall presents an important statistic about the Euro crisis. Figure 1.1: Percentage growth of domestic demand in individual economies from 1999 – 2009. Source: Hall (2012), p. 360. The figure indicates significant variations in demand for growth, which means that the countries with a high percentage of domestic demand were under pressure to develop and enforce growth-oriented reforms. As the country with the highest domestic demand, Greece had no other option that to be proactive in developing strategies that could help meet its skyrocketing domestic demand. Borrowing from th e other countries with limited domestic demand was necessary to meet the domestic demand in Greece (Hall 2012). Progression of the Euro crisis A deeper look at the Euro crisis shows that the crisis moved from the debt problem in individual economies to the subsequent currency war. Rosenthal (2012) observes that the crisis in the Eurozone is best reflected in the difficulties that transpired in the operation of the monetary union. The functioning of the union was threatened as it became apparent that the local currencies in individual economies were becoming weaker and the affected countries had little to do to limit the deficits in their balance of payments. A series of actions were taken as a way of seeking for a solution to the plummeting currency problem in the Eurozone. Among these actions were the numerous currency devaluations to strike a balance between supply and demand. The setting in of the monetary union created a tough situation for currency speculation in the region. Th e extreme downward adjustment in the exchange rate meant that a further downward adjustment of the exchange rate would not be achieved (Rosenthal 2012). Baimbridge, Burkitt and Whyman (2012) present another dimension to the Euro crisis, in which they focus on the creation of the Eurozone and the effects that come with its creation. Fiscal discipline is vital in the sustenance of a monetary union. The free-rider and spill-over effects as noted in the Euro crisis are perfect examples of the faults of fiscal policy in the management of a monetary union. Thus, Baimbridge, Burkitt and Whyman (2012) summarize the Euro crisis by pointing at the prevalence of a number of structural weaknesses in the Eurozone. It is the structural weaknesses in the European Union that resulted in the escalation of the debt crisis from Greece to other countries in the Eurozone. In their assessment of the mounting debt crisis in the Eurozone, Higgins and Klitgaard (2011) noted that the rates of borrowing in th e Eurozone rose amidst the introduction of the common currency and the inability of individual countries to finance their domestic expenditures. Higgins and Klitgaard (2011) also note the creation of an economic cycle of dependency in the European Union, where a number of countries in the region were left to become dependent on borrowed money. Higgins and Klitgaard (2011) also acknowledge the countermeasures taken by the affected countries, most of which entail the consolidation measures. These measures are aimed at attaining a significant reduction in fiscal deficits in the required set standard of below 3 per cent. The measures to bring down the fiscal policies that are being implemented now could have been put in place earlier to prevent these countries from entering into debt crises, such as the one that culminated into the Euro crisis (Higgins Klitgaard 2011). A focus on the impacts of the Euro crisis based on the functioning of markets in the European Union and other countrie s that fall outside the European monetary and economic unions by Melander (2011) shows the heightened effects of the crisis beyond the assumptions made by the European Union. This is notable in the observation made by Zuckerman (2011) and Francis (2012), who ascertain the essence of the countries beyond the European region to develop and implement economic measures that can cushion them from the crisis. Malander (2011) paints the picture of the distress in countries where the Greek financial institutions were operating prior to the Euro crisis through the entire build-up of the crisis as shown in the figure below. Figure 1.2: Impacts of the distress in Greece of the periphery sovereigns. Source: Malander (2011, p. 356). The common denominator of the figure is that the weaknesses portrayed in the economic systems of Greece were replicated in the financial institutions from Greece. The deepening of the distress in Greece over the years resulted in the deepening of the distress in oth er economies that had close links with Greece through the operation of Greek institutions in these countries. It is also apparent that the exposure of the Greek economy in line with the weaknesses in other economies like the Irish economy also acted as an aggravating factor for the Euro crisis (Malander 2011). The same can also be said about the mounting of the debt crisis in Ireland as indicated in the figure below. Figure 1.3: Distress in Western Europe countries following the distress in Ireland. Source: Malander (2011, p. 357). This expands on the reason why the Euro crisis comes is an intertwined economic problem that cannot not be sorted out easily by implementing unitary strategies. The approach taken by each individual country has a lot of effects on other countries in the European Union. Zuckerman (2011) reports about the currency defaults across the European Union as a result of the low lending rates by the European Central Bank to countries in the European Union. Most ba nks were left with no option because of the growth in the amount of unnegotiated currency defaults. There is no room for underestimation as the debt that has been accumulated by countries in the region, including Italy as the 8th largest economy in the world, is too huge. Italy is also ranked as a third largest bond market, but it remains unclear whether the $2.6 trillion sovereign debt accumulated by the country can be cleared any soon. Zuckerman (2011) justifies the worry of the United States by observing that most of the affected countries in Europe continue to come up with austerity programs. However, these programs are risks in themselves as they deepen the recession in most cases, thereby making it even harder for the affected countries to service the huge debts. The more these debts prevail, the more difficult it is to establish sustainable economic relations between the affected countries and other economies in the world. Also, the Euro as a common currency in the European U nion faces major challenges, especially from people who link the crisis to the introduction of the Euro as a common currency in the Eurozone (Zuckerman 2011). However, Brittan (2010) defends the Euro by observing that the Euro is not a problem per se. The problem in the Eurozone lies with the inconsistent and fragmented economic policies and strategies adopted by the countries in the Eurozone. Saving the Euro is the priority of the European Union. Nonetheless, a look at individual countries, especially the economic powerhouses in the European Union like Britain, France and Germany, shows that these countries are committed to saving their financial institutions like banks from the risks associated with the Euro crisis (Farrell Quiggin 2011). Farrell and Quiggin (2011) further note that some countries like Germany have gone as far as developing laws to help induce debt brakes. Other countries in the Eurozone, totalling to sixteen, also followed a similar road. However, most of the ef forts initiated by players in the Euro crisis are short-term, raising questions about the possibility of developing long-term economic measures to prevent a debt problem from occurring again in the future. Farrell and Quiggin (2011) see the short-term strategies as necessary for limiting expenditure and ensuring that the bond markets across the Eurozone calm down. After laying blame on Greece for the Euro crisis, most of the European countries agree that saving Greece is a key step in easing the economic pressure in the region. The budget crisis in Greece was a subject of most European leaders in the onset of the Euro crisis, more so when the countries in the region realized that the budget problem in Greece was not only a problem of Greece, but also a problem of all other countries in the region (Forelle, Walker Galloni 2010). Impacts of the Euro crisis and the lessons learnt Mà ¼nchau (2013) observed that the Euro crisis is an example of smouldering crises that are born out of t he lack of prudent systems of economic management in economic integration. Mà ¼nchau cites what he refers to as the inflexible fiscal rules and compliance procedures that impeded the creation of incentives. What happened is that the system of economic management that came immediately and after the introduction of a monetary union subjected the smaller economies in the region to tough economic measures, most of which could not be upheld by these states. The application of the principles of economic management like the no bailout principle enshrined in Article 125 of the European Union Treaty is a justification of how difficult it is to solve problems of insolvency in individual economies that form the European Union. Other cited difficulties include the â€Å"no default† and â€Å"no exit† principles, which limit the level at which liquidity support can be offered to European Union member countries in times of crises (Mà ¼nchau 2013). To this effect, Mà ¼nchau reiter ates the essence of intense coordination of policy, monetary, fiscal, national sovereignty, and regional and global policy to avoid a situation where the players in economic integration read from different pages. Melander (2011) is quite pessimistic about the application of the principles of economic liberalization by states in the quest of states to conform to economic integration. Melander uses Ireland, one of the countries that exhibited the problem of mounting debt in the progression of the Euro crisis, by noting the fact that Ireland was applauded as a benchmark for flexibility and liberalization in the realms of economic integration. The situation later changed when Ireland later plunged into a debt amidst the mounting economic pressure in the Eurozone. The progression of the crisis resulted in a situation where the benchmark countries in terms of economic liberalization like Ireland and the worst performing economies in the region like Greece ending up in the same capsizing b oat (Melander 2011). The other issue that comes out in Melander’s (2011) analysis of the Euro crisis is the fact that economic networks are potentially harmful, irrespective of the minute nature of the economic problems that occur in an individual country. Together, Greece and Ireland do not even amount to 5 percent of the GDP of the Eurozone, yet the debt crisis in the two countries posed a threat to the entire European Union economy. Capital flow in trade and finance between member states in an economic union is an issue that warrants attention by individual states because individual states remain with the responsibility of supporting its institutions in times of economic downturn. However, a look at the response to the debt crisis in Greek and other countries proved the inability of governments to support their financial institutions. Consequently, these financial institutions were rendered helpless in terms of boosting the domestic financial status of the economy of count ries where they base their operations (Melander 2011). Xafa (2010) explores the unavoidable questions about the role of the global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in cushioning countries from the effects of the Euro crisis. The International Monetary Fund served as a key institution in raising alarm about the global financial crisis. Nonetheless, such an alarm could not easily work with the Euro crisis. The Euro crisis required more than policy advice, especially for the countries that were already facing the economic effects of a huge foreign debt now that these emerging European economies could not access the externally funded credit from other countries. Irrespective of this, Xafa applauds the International Monetary Fund for its proactive steps of continuous surveillance of the global economy. Failures that resulted in the worsening of the economic situation in the European Union are linked to the rigid commitments of individual countries, which make them stiff when it comes to matters of economic support and adjustment for the common good of other states (Xafa 2010). Besides the issue of economic and financial regulation by international bodies like the International Monetary Fund is the issue of willingness of countries to go to the deeper ends in salvaging a monetary union. Karras (2011) contends with the fact that the introduction of the Euro as a common currency triggered the credit problem in the Eurozone, thus necessitating credit pressures across the Eurozone. However, Karras also agrees with the findings made by a substantial number of economic researchers pointing at the fact that the economic decisions taken by individual countries at the early stages of the Euro crisis were highly disintegrated and could not promote a common solution. The observation here can be linked to the opinions raised by a substantial number of economic commentators, who argue that the Euro crisis would result in losers and winners. Heisb ourg (2012) indicates that the winners and losers in the economic turmoil depended on the economic and political paths pursued by individual countries. The Euro crisis is a lesson to countries in the European Union, most of which have had to review their strategic economic choices. An example given here is the reliance of Germany on exports and the difficulty to sustain exports when the destiny countries face severe economic problems that inhibit their potential to import goods from Germany (Heisbourg 2012). Since the beginning of the European sovereign debt crisis, the United States as one of the largest traders with the European Union has remained active in terms of making adjustments in its economy. Most, if not all the adjustments, are aimed at cushioning the country from the shrinks in trade and securing its financial system from fallout like the financial system of Europe (Francis 2012). In the real sense, a direct exposure of the United States markets to the crisis in the Eur opean Union has not been established. However, a substantial number of investors in the United States share the sentiment that the United States’ market is vulnerable to the crisis in the Eurozone, especially when long-term solutions do not come from the European countries (Heisbourg 2012). In his research about the export strength of Germany in the European Union amidst the crisis in the Eurozone, Foroohar (2011) found out that Germany export capacity depends on the internal economic strengths of a number of countries in the European Union, like Spain and Italy. The reason why Germany finds itself at the centre of the Euro crisis is that it depends on the Eurozone for approximately half of its net exports (Foroohar 2011). The financial woes in the Eurozone present a new basis on which the issue of regional economic integration should be reassessed. Walker and Galloni (2013) report on the thoughts raised about the benefits and risks associated with leaving and remaining in th e European Union for countries that have been severely affected by the Euro crisis. The opinion about leaving the Euro vary across Italy, where 74 per cent of the Italians feel that it is prudent for Italy to remain in the Euro while 20 per cent of Italians feel that leaving the Euro is an economic reprieve for Italy. However, most governments in the Eurozone remain consistent in support of the Euro, which makes Walker and Galloni (2013) to conclude that the Euro is meant to stay put. Governments, on the other hand, are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that they keep implementing austerity measures even amidst opposition from a section of the European population. In other words, European countries face an economic situation that is a true test of whether they can maintain their solidarity and fight for the survival of the European economic bloc. Most people remain keen to see the steps taken by individual economies in the Eurozone. Nonetheless, there is no window for disi ntegration even amidst what is seen as divergent tactics by individual countries as they develop mechanisms of preventing further shocks in their economies (â€Å"European union: Solidarity is under threat from crises† 2011). The financial woes in the Eurozone, according to Dadush (2013), are quite far from being over because the risk of collapse of the bond markets in the Eurozone remains active. The question of unemployment in the Eurozone rose to eighteen million unemployed people, even as more commentators predicted light at the end of the seeming endless tunnel for the countries in the Eurozone. However, Dadush (2013) faults the proclamation by European governments that the crisis in the European Union is nearing the end. It would be illogical to explore the Euro crisis without mentioning the effects of the crisis on the industries in the affected countries. In their presentation of the effects of the crisis on the European economy, Walker and Galloni (2013) reported fea rs among a substantial number of workers, especially in plants that are directly affected by the major shrinks in the economy. The example provided here is Mirafiori car-assembly plant, which has shed almost half of its employees since the beginning of the crisis. An assessment of the Greece economy by Kalafati (2012) revealed that the Greece economy was worst hit by the Euro crisis. A focus on the health care sector of Greece depicts massive cuts in expenditure on health care. Even amidst the increase in tax to finance health care, the government of Greece still has not managed to prevent the layoffs in the sector (Kalafati 2012). Salin (2012) is one of the commentators who are looking at the conflict in the Eurozone not only from the economic perspective, but also from the political perspective. Salin identifies some of the politically-inclined sentiments raised by governments in his assessment of the actions taken by governments to tackle the Euro crisis. Among these sentiments i s that the monetary system of the Euro ought to be unified with the national policies. This is termed as the centralization of the European Union. This is a political move that can be used for maintaining a single currency use by the countries for economic benefits by ensuring that states do not only see the European Union as an economic stepping stone, but also maintain a system of checks and balances in their economic operations (Salin 2012). Farrell and Quiggin (2011) note the European Central Bank has now gained more powers as a key institution of monitoring the monetary policy in the European Union. This implies the control of monetary policies in the region, thus countries in the region cannot merely rush to monetary policy options whenever they face tough economic situations like the increase in the size of sovereign debts. Though opposed by a number of countries, a strong European Central Bank is necessary for supervising the big banks across the European economic bloc, besi des ensuring that there is stability in the bond markets across the bloc (Walker Steinhauser 2013). Walker and Steinhauser (2013) assess the possibility of embracing a political union by the European Union countries. The authors ascertain the need for the political union to ensure desirable coordination of the economic policies. The signs inherent in the sentiments from a number of stakeholders show that a political union of the European Union countries is far from being realized. As it is now, the European governments seem to be preoccupied with bolstering the currency union to prevent fiscal profligacy. The European countries have realized that the monetary union that they entered into is far from being accomplished as notable in the debt crisis that almost tore the Union apart (Walker Steinhauser 2013). Conclusion and recommendation The review of the literature conducted in this paper shows that the Eurozone countries are subjected to a test on whether they can act in a manner that is consistent with the desire to keep the European Union intact. According to most researchers, there are a lot of gaps in the integration of the European Union. These can be summed into one question: Does the answer to the Euro crisis lie with integration or disintegration? A substantial number of the opinions raised by economic commentators and political economists point at the fact that countries in the region have been contemplating on whether to embrace the Euro as a single currency or whether to shun the Euro and stick to their national currencies. Even as the debate rages on whether to stick to the Euro or whether to shun the Euro, it is apparent that the countries are put between a rock and a hard place as the option to abandon the Euro could be more disastrous to economies in the region. Moving forward, the European countries should review the framework under which the rules and policies of economic integration are developed and implemented. The vital thing here is tha t the European Union members should put their heads straight when developing these policies and rules. This is aimed at making all the countries of the Union to abide by the rules because the failure to stick to the economic policies and rules is one reason why the Euro crisis came into being. European solidarity is important and should be reflected in the development of economic cooperation among countries in the Eurozone. The issue of spendthrift governments cannot arise if each of the government remains committed to the rules and policies and if other governments in the European Union remain committed to supporting a worthy economic cause for all other partners in the European Union. Prudent economic management is a vital element for each country in the European Union. As such, there is a need to look into this attribute. The Euro crisis finds its roots in the attributes of irresponsible fiscal and monetary policies by individual countries. Whether the level of irresponsibility i s promoted by the fact that these countries believe that they have a backing from other economies is something that ought to be investigated, even as the support for the implementation of austerity measures in the countries severely affected continues. The functioning of the Euro system depends on the efficient national budgets, which means that the economic construction of each country is a vital element for the survival of other countries. The political rhetoric should be eliminated from the debate, considering the fact that these countries can hardly abandon the Euro. In addition, the stakeholders have to devise a system of checks and balances for each country to avoid such a crisis in the future. Appendices Figure 1: Current account balance for the intensely affected EU countries Figure 2: A comparison of current account balances with Germany Reference List Baimbridge, M, Burkitt, B, Whyman, P 2012, ‘The Eurozone as a flawed currency area’, Political Quarterly, v ol. 83, no. 1, pp. 96-107. Brittan, S 2010, ‘The euro? Will it still be around five years from now?’, International Economy, vol. 24, no. 2, pp, 6-10. Dadush, U 2013, ‘Who says the euro crisis is over?’, Wall Street Journal Asia. Web. Dinan, D 2012, ‘Governance and Institutions: impact of the escalating crisis’, JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, vol. 50 no. 2, pp. 85-98. ‘European union: Solidarity is under threat from crises’ 2011, OxResearch Daily Brief Service, p. 1. Web. Farrell, H, Quiggin, J 2011, ‘How to save the euro–and the EU’, Foreign Affairs, vol. 90, no.3, pp. 96-97. Forelle, C, Walker, M, Galloni, A 2010, ‘Europe vows to save Greece’, Wall Street Journal. Web. Foroohar, R 2013, How Germany can save the Euro, Time Incorporated, New York, NY. Francis, D 2012, How to protect your investments from the Euro crisis, U.S. News and World Report, Washington. Hall, PA 2012, ‘The ec onomics and politics of the Euro crisis’, German Politics, vol. 21 no. 4, pp. 355-371. Heisbourg, F 2012, ‘In the shadow of the Euro crisis’, Survival (00396338), vol. 54 no. 4, pp. 25-32. Higgins, M, Klitgaard, T 2011, ‘Saving imbalances and the Euro area sovereign debt crisis’, Current Issues In Economics Finance, vol. 17, no. 5, pp. 1-11. Higgins, M, Klitgaard, T 2014, ‘The balance of payments crisis in the Euro area periphery’, Current Issues In Economics Finance, vol. 20 no. 2, pp. 1-8. Kalafati, M 2012, ‘How Greek healthcare services are affected by the Euro crisis’, Emergency Nurse, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 26-7. Karras, G 2011, ‘From hero to zero? The role of the Euro in the current crisis: Theory and some empirical evidence’, International Advances in Economic Research, vol. 17 no. 3, pp. 300-314. Melander, O 2011, ‘Dancing spreads: Market assessment of contagion from the crisis in the Euro periphe ry based on distress dependence analysis’, International Advances In Economic Research, vol. 17 no. 3, pp. 347-363. Milios, J, Sotiropoulos, D 2010, ‘Crisis of Greece or crisis of the euro? A view from the European ‘periphery†, Journal of Balkan Near Eastern Studies, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 223-240. Mà ¼nchau, W 2013, ‘The Euro at a crossroads’, CATO Journal, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 535-540. Rosenthal, J 2012, ‘Germany and the Euro crisis’, World Affairs, vol. 175, no. 1, pp. 53-61. Salin, P 2012, ‘There is no euro crisis’, Wall Street Journal. Web. Walker, M, Galloni, A 2013, ‘Embattled countries cling to euro’, Wall Street Journal. Web. Walker, M, Steinhauser, G 2013, ‘Control issues: Plans for political union unravel in Europe’, Wall Street Journal. Web. Wood, S 2012, ‘The Euro crisis’, Policy, vol. 28 no. 1, pp. 32-37. Xafa, M 2010, ‘Role of the IMF in the global financial c risis’, Cato Journal, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 475-489. Zuckerman, MB 2011, Mort Zuckerman: Why America should worry about the Euro crisis, U.S. News and World Report, Washington, D.C. This coursework on The Euro Crisis and its Impact was written and submitted by user Vicente Mayo to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

A.R.T. Essays - Fertility Medicine, Human Reproduction, Medicine

A.R.T. Essays - Fertility Medicine, Human Reproduction, Medicine A.R.T. Elvira Minosyan 5/03/17 Ethics A RT is commonplace tech that treated millions of infertile couples. Yet, the expanse of this technology has shown a myriad social, ethical and legal challenges that need to be addressed. distribution of access to care. As we know Assisted Reproduction Technology has come as one of the widely adopted and successful Med Tech in the last century. We know the ethical questions need to be resolved sooner or later. Another ethical issue is regarding the use of fertility drugs. The use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) for treating the infertile couples is rapidly increasing in the United States. Throughout the years there have been questions on weather its ethical/mortal to conceive a child through assisted reproduction. A number things are effecting women, most due to a women's age, others to health problems that vary from big to small. Afterwards clinics by law introduced an age limit for the woman. However, this approach of the problem is not very usef ul because there's constant confusing about the meaning of "ART" and because infertility can be caused by a broad range of causes such as fertility decline, lack of a male partner, blocked Fallopian tubesetc. Today around 15% of couples in United States are in for fertility problems, women take up half the percentage while men take 40%, 10% for unknown reasons due to both parents. As the years go by, research is uncovering new ways to improve efficiency for assisted reproductive technologies . We can't reject these techniques as "unnatural" because we would then be rejecting modern medicine as a whole, As of year, 2001, more than 50 , 000 were born from over 100 , 000 ART procedures. We know that there's a gray area in which some fetus's do not make it as their parent's may be unfit to carry children. Then the chances of taking drugs like Pergonal, can trigger ovulation and increase the production of eggs thus increasing a woman ' s changes of conceiving , Female fertility is well to decrease with the age of 27-28. In most developed countries, the status of infertility has been discussed since the very start of infertility treatment. In some cases, it might even be considered as a handicap, or even as a disease. There's a constant risk of having a child with a disability and some couples do not consider a termination. Their appeal to ART is based on a wish to children unaffected by the any disease they might carry, therefore preventing hard both to themselves and offspring. Cancer patients use vitro maturation or also known as IVM. Many have suggested that, before being treated for cancer, women should be offered fertility preservation. Sarah B owdin, published a paper on the links between AS and BWS. BWS and AS are imprinting disorders which result in mutations in genes that were critical for development and growth. This shows the risks for children who were conceived through ART. BWS children were documented for a risk of development of embryonal tumors (Wilm's). AS is known for mental retardation, poor balance and absence of speech, etc. Based on the chromosomes, this research was stretched to show r esults of ART and what the long- lasting effects of unnatural fertilization can do to a child. These rare epimutations appear to be increased within children who were conceived by ART. The birth of the first A RT child Louise Brown in 1978 was truly a historical moment. ART increased in number and widened. Thus , came the question of cloning, reproductive-cloning by nuclear transfer has been successful with animal species. Yet only around a 100 will develop into an adult. The only thing stopping people from cloning as ethical, legal and social issues. The ART Bill was passed in 2010 allows married couples, individuals as well as individuals to select assisted reproductive technologies. To establish a right to assisted reproductive technologies, it needs to be determined if there exists a "right to reproduce". The moral right as a legal right is the naturally reproduce. The single parent family have been recognized, as we go it becomes more acceptable due to divorce percentages rising so rapidly within the last 20 years.

College Is Over. Fun Is Here

College Is Over. Fun Is Here Ways to Entertain Yourself During Summer Here are some of the most unusual activities you can engage in once the college is over. Share with your friends and get ready for a summer, full of crazy adventures! Hiking seems too boring for a sparkling personality like yourself? Read on to learn other ways of entertainment: Go fishing bear-style It basically means skinny dipping, except that you have to get your mouth full of fish and scream at the top of your lungs. Just make sure your neighbors aren’t watching. You can also pretend to be a mermaid, but you will need a fake tail for that, and that is kind of complicated to buy, but then, there is another way to keep yourself entertained this summer. Borrow a cat In case you’ve got a friend with forty cats, try borrowing one for a day. Once you get caught, say you want one for yourself, but the chances are she’ll never even notice. Treat the cat with all respect that he deserves, and then take the pet back home at night, when nobody is watching. When your friend asks about the cat, pretend you are not listening. Voila – your summer is crazy! Protest Stand in front of any store that you particularly like and protest against the illegal sale of the toilet paper. Wait – do they have manifestations like that in your area? You can also invite friends to participate in the protest. Choose an issue that bothers you most and make your position clear to the public. You will certainly gather a large crowd of watchers. In this case, ask them to join your cause and promise you will never leave their side in the battle against the illegal sale. Mess with the order Order a pizza, and then tell a pizza guy to come with the cold beer and sandwiches. If they do not serve any of the above, complain to the management. An angry face is a must. You should come to the pizza place and demand your money back. The angrier you become, the more likely you are going to get your money back. In case your fury does nothing for the cause, throw pizza on the floor and start yelling. When the show is over, order another one and eat it in their presence. Mess with the pizza again Order a Pepperoni and tell the pizza guy you wanted Hawaiian. When the confusion is settled, tell the owner it was one of your twins messing with the order. Get a beard Buy a big, hairy beard and go the nearest store to buy a razor. Tell the guy in store you are an old pirate just coming home from Tortuga, and that your ship is leaving soon, so he’d better suggest the cutest razor for Black Beard. Mess with Yahoo answers Go to Yahoo and answer the questions with all the seriousness that you have. Say something that is so ridiculous that it will make people question your sanity and common sense. If someone starts asking, reply with the pseudo-scientific stuff and use high language. Do not end an argument until the opponent admits you are right. You have to insist that your answer is absolutely correct, even if Wikipedia says otherwise. Defend your position and comment on every issue, except the one that is truly related to the problem. Use some mumbo jumbo to prove the point. Rent a car Go to the car dealership and ask if you can rent a car which transforms into a portable marine station and has that auto-recognition installed that greets you by the name every morning. Oh, and add something about the flying Tesla-mobiles. If they never heard of a flying car, tell the shop owner you have a tiny model back at home and invite them to your place. In case they refuse to come for a demonstration, accuse their service of being shallow and outdated, and then apologize.

Why do relationships matter in the 21st century B2B enviroment Essay

Why do relationships matter in the 21st century B2B enviroment - Essay Example and business studies have divided customers in two groups in order to study their needs and behaviour, and these groups have been categorised as B2C customers- individual customers and households and B2B customers- organizational customers (Kotler et al, 2006). The B2B structure is such that the organization implements a variety of processes to serve their business customers in a much mature and productive manner. The nature of dealings of B2B customers makes the environment different and diverse than B2C customers. Business customers have more reasons and logics to make a strong partnership with the seller. However, an individual customer may not have the capacity and influence to sustain the same level of partnership with the seller as the organizational customer. Implementing any strategy that leads to building better relationships in a B2B environment is easier because the number of customers are limited and the organisation may set customer specific policies to attend to the needs in a more flexible manner (Kotler et al, 2006). One of the companies that have successfully developed an ideology based on importance of relationships in the twenty first century is BT Radianz- a company which supplies connectivity solutions to the global financial community. It is a company which operates heavily into the B2B market and makes the simplified contact of a limited number of customers. However, apart from just taking the big vendors that make a portion of the licensing fee in terms of revenues for BT Radianz- the formulation of relationships have been set on priority through CRM and other tools to get feedback from the client. This interaction with the client makes the possibility of providing the exact services the B2B client needs and makes them feel like an individual whose business and character matters to its business circle (Bacon & Pugh, 2004). Without this relationship building, business models would fail as organizations would not know their weaknesses and

Business - Organizational Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business - Organizational Structure - Essay Example 2). Based on their theory, there are factors that affect performance and how change occurs. There are two kinds of changes: transformational and transactional. Transformational change occurs by responding to the external environment. This affects mission and strategy, leadership, and culture in an organization. These factors affect transactional change, particularly organizational structure, systems, management practices, and climate. Together, transformational and transactional factors affect motivation, that which affects performance. (Burke, W.W., Litwin 1992, p. 1). These variables can be demonstrated in NutriSystem. NutriSystem’s mission is â€Å"to provide a weight loss program based on quality foods and a nutritionally balanced meal plan; individualized counseling is the core of our commitment that customers always have the privacy, support and knowledge needed to reach their goal weight† (Nutrisystem.com, 2011). ... The organization must excel in order to meet strategic goals. (Kates 2007, p. 3). There is a relationship between strategy and structure in an organizational design. As defined by Alfred Chandler (1962), strategy influences structure. Thus, structure follows strategy (Venohr 2007, p. 4). Otherwise, it will result in inefficiency. NutriSystem uses a marketing strategy that provides a balanced nutrition that is also low glycemic index (GI). (nutrisystemblog.com) GI is important to NutriSystem because meal plans with low GI improve hunger management, it produces better weight loss outcomes, and that it helps those who have diabetes. There are approximately 79 million adults in U.S. who are pre-diabetic and 24 million suffering from diabetes (nutrisystemblog.com). This is a good strategy for NutriSystem because millions of people are likely to respond to their diabetes control diet program. As a result of management decisions, Nutrisystem and the American Diabetes Association formed a st rategic alliance to promote the importance of weight loss for people with type 2 diabetes (Medicalnewstoday.com, 2009). Organizational Culture and Climate Culture is a fundamental part of organization although management cannot â€Å"directly† design culture. According to Kates (2007), it consists of values, mindsets, and norms of behavior that have emerged over time that most employees share. It is rather the outcome of the cumulative design decisions that have been made in the past and of the leadership and management behaviors that result from those decisions (p. 3). Thus, it can be inferred that management practices influence or shapes organizational culture. NutriSystem is devoted to educating

Tourist Breaks Back on Sentosa Ride Law Analysis Essay Example for Free

Tourist Breaks Back on Sentosa Ride Law Analysis Essay Factual Summary of Case Australian tourist, Michael McCarthy, suffered a fall and broke his back while riding Sentosa’s MegaZip, which is a flying fox adventure ride run by Flying Dragon Adventures (FDA). The riders would initially slide down the zipline fast and would be slowed down by a braking mechanism as they approach the landing platform. However, in this case, McCarthy was travelling towards the landing platform at a faster speed than usual. As a result, he crashed onto the platform and broke several vertebrae in his back. He felt incredible pain and could not breathe for a minute and a half. McCarthy had no immediate medical help as there was no medical staff on-site. He only received assistance half an hour later and was taken to Singapore General Hospital 1 hour 15 minutes later. He received 35 stitches to his back and spent 5 days in and out of the intensive care unit. As for the ride, McCarthy satisfied safety requirements of being at least 0. 7m tall and less than 140kg in weight. This was the first accident in its two-year history of operation. Before the accident, the ride had been taken by at least 200,000 visitors in total and was already taken by 140 people on that day. Alexander Blyth, managing director of the ride, believed that all safety procedures were followed, that nothing failed and nothing snapped. The ride also requires customers to sign indemnity forms, in which contains an exemption clause that states that they are not responsible for any deaths or personal injuries unless through gross negligence. Blyth reported the case to the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), the regulatory body for amusement rides. Lawyers are attempting to seek compensation for McCarthy’s injuries, as they question the validity of the exclusion clause in the indemnity form by bringing up the Unfair Contract Terms Act (UCTA). Following McCarthy’s injuries, McCarthy wants to claim his recoverable losses. It can be assumed that FDA is using its exemption of liability clause as a defence. McCarthy’s lawyers are stating that the exemption clause is invalid under section 2(1) of the UCTA, which states that â€Å"a person cannot exclude or restrict liability for negligence in relation to personal injury or death†. The Contract Before riding, McCarthy was made to sign an indemnity form. The terms of the indemnity form could be regarded as the express terms of the contract between McCarthy and FDA. A contract was formed between both parties when McCarthy signed the indemnity form. Since, the express terms to the contract were introduced before the contract was formed, they are, prima facie, binding to both parties. There was an exemption clause in the contract stating that FDA is not responsible for any deaths or personal injuries unless through gross negligence. Crucial Questions Before we speculate on the legal outcome of the case, a few crucial questions have to be asked. 1. Was FDA negligent? If so, this would render their exemption clause invalid, and they will be made liable for McCarthy’s losses. 2. Did FDA breach any implied terms in the contract? 3. Is BCA liable to any extent? If so, to what extent? Before the crucial questions are asked, it is important to consider the section of The Amusement Ride Safety Act (2011) which states the scope of responsibilities of parties with statutory responsibilities. They are as follows. Parties with statutory responsibilities The Amusement Rides Safety Act (ARSA) defines statutory duties and liabilities for the following stakeholders to ensure proper accountability for the safety of rides: a. Person responsible (i. e. FDA): The person responsible, who is primarily the holder of an operating permit, will be the person who has the charge, management or control of the ride. He will have overall responsibilities for all matters concerning ride safety. b. Ride manager: The ride manager, who is employed by the holder of an operating permit, will manage and oversee daily and routine operations and maintenance of the ride. He has to possess prescribed technical qualifications and experience. c. Qualified person (QP): The qualified person, appointed by the applicant of the permit or the holder of the permit, will carry out specific technical duties, such as certifying technical compliance with design codes, supervising ride installation or modification and conducting annual inspections to ensure ride safety. Was FDA negligent? The court could question whether FDA was negligent in declaring the true safety limits of the ride and if the ride manager was negligent in handling the situation. The safety limit that was declared could have been that the system would not suffer any breakage or malfunction at the stipulated weight but the braking system was unable to be effectively utilized to ensure the safety of the user. In addition, the ride manager could arguably be negligent in the handling of the situation in not pulling on the emergency stop that should have been installed in every amusement ride to stop the ride in the event of an adverse incident. In the event that the ride manager had been negligent in due diligence, the ride manager would also be liable for breaching section 17(1)(a) or ARSA. There are a few possible outcomes regarding negligence on the part of the FDA, and the possibilities of each outcome will be examined. The first possibility is that the court could reason that the FDA was negligent in checking that the braking system was functioning properly and at optimal level. It could state that the braking mechanism is a very integral and crucial component to the system, and hence negligence in the area of ensuring the functionality of the braking system could amount to negligence in ensuring the safety of the system as a whole. In addition to this, the court could also rule the FDA was negligent in ensuring adequate safety limits for the ride. If this was the case, then it is likely FDA will be held fully liable for McCarthy’s recoverable losses. This is because its exemption clause would then be invalid, by virtue of section 2(1) of the UCTA. The second possibility could be that the court could consider contributory negligence as a defence. This however, would be almost impossible because it would be almost impossible for FDA to prove that there was a degree of negligence on the part of McCarthy. It was most likely that McCarthy had to comply with the necessary safety measures before riding, such as wearing a helmet and safety harness. As such, it would be almost impossible for the court to hold both McCarthy and FDA partially liable for McCarthy’s recoverable losses. Did FDA breach any implied terms? If FDA had breached any implied terms in the contract, and McCarthy suffered losses as a result, then it follows that McCarthy can sue FDA for his recoverable losses. The Duty of Care The duty of care can be an implied term in the contract between McCarthy and FDA, even if it was not expressly provided for in the contract. This term would be implied by statute, by virtue of section 13(1)(b)(i) of the ARSA. In addition to the exemption clause being invalid due to negligence, the courts could also rule that FDA’s negligence could have resulted in it breaching its duty of care when the braking mechanism failed to work properly and McCarthy was injured. Furthermore, despite the dangerous nature of the ride, FDA did not have an on-site medical team to ensure that immediate action could be taken in the event of an accident. This is a breach of an implied term for FDA to provide for the safety of its customers in the event of an adverse incident. This term is implied by statute; according to regulation 16(6)(b) of ARSA, â€Å"The operator of an amusement ride shall ensure that at all times when the amusement ride is in operation there are in attendance to render first aid when the necessity arises, a sufficient number of persons who are properly trained by a first aid training organisation acceptable to the Commissioner;† FDA can be held liable for McCarthy’s recoverable losses based on the breach of these implied terms alone. Is BCA liable? Under the ARSA, it states that all amusement rides has to be assessed and certified by a Qualified Person (QP), which must be an amusement ride specialist engineer registered under the Professional Engineers Board. However, as the MegaZip ride involves an aerial ropeway, it is further classified as a major amusement ride under the ARSA. With it being a major amusement ride, the QP is also required to engage and consider the advice and opinion of a conformity assessor (CA). The CA has to carry out procedures such as inspections, tests and certifications to determine if the design and specifications, the proposed installation method or programme or the proposed modification method or programme relating to a major amusement ride or the major modification thereof conform to any technical standard or requirement. Besides technical support, the CA will complement the qualified person with expertise in nontechnical but critical aspects of ride safety such as ride management (e. . layout of queue areas) and crowd control (e. g. access routes and barriers). In order to ascertain whether BCA is liable for the accident, it is important to determine if the accident arose as a result of: 1. QP and CA’s inadequate safety inspections, overlooking of fundamental technical faults and establishing poor safety standards during construction. 2. FDA’s lack of day-to-day management of ride safety. In order to ascertain if the accident occurred due to the QP and CA’s lack of rigorous inspection on the ride, we must determine if they approved the ride without proper assessment of its safety. If the accident arose due to the fault of QP and CA’s poor safety assessment and haphazard approval of the ride, then some degree of liability may fall onto the QP and CA. With this assumption, FDA could then argue that the accident was caused by the QP and CA’s negligence in highlighting and rectifying safety issues during construction. FDA could state that their ride was certified by the QP and CA, assuring FDA that the ride was acceptable and followed all safety aspects. In addition, if FDA was certified through a document of approval signed by the QP and CA, FDA could use this certification as evidence in court to back up their case. This is due to the fact that it would be unfair for FDA to take up the liability if we were to consider that FDA followed all of BCA’s ACRA requirements and sought necessary approval by the QP and CA for the ride. However, the possibility of the scenario above is rather small as it is most likely that at the point of construction, all safety limits proposed by the FDA met the safety requirements of BCA and that the QP and CA properly checked and certified the ride. As the QP and CA’s duties were only restricted to the period of construction, it was the FDA’s responsibility to ensure that the day-to-day operations of the ride were well within the safety limits and that regular maintenance was conducted on the ride. In addition, considering that the accident took place two years after the construction, it would be unfair to attribute blame onto BCA, as the ride would have undergone much wear and tear and weathering. Furthermore, BCA does not have proper control over FDA’s maintenance of safety standards beyond the initial construction phase of the ride. Also, as BCA is a statutory body in ensuring that operators of amusement rides complies with the safety regulations, it would be unreasonable to expect them to be responsible for all safeties of all rides at every point in time. In addition, its role does not extend to ensuring that the ride’s safety features are continuously maintained. As such, it is extremely difficult to hold BCA liable for the accident to any degree, because the onus lies on the FDA to ensure the constant safety of the rides beyond the construction phase. Our Final Evaluation In conclusion, it is highly likely that the court would rule out that FDA was negligent in verifying the safety of the ride, and hold FDA liable for McCarthy’s losses. Assuming McCarthy’s weight was within the true weight limit of the ride, and the braking system of the ride did malfunction on that day, it is most likely that FDA will be held liable as the onus of verifying the efficiency of the brakes is solely on FDA. Should the braking system have been working well that day, but McCarthy’s weight was not within the true weight limit of the ride, it is also most likely that FDA will be held liable in this case as the court can then rule that FDA was negligent in determining the true safety limits of the ride. In saying this, we are assuming that McCarthy was not negligent himself in adhering to any of the safety procedures (e. g. wearing safety harness etc. ). Hence we can assume that there was no contributory negligence on the part of McCarthy. This, in turn, is also not likely as it was not stated in the facts of the case. We can also assume that BCA will also not be held liable to any extent at all, as the onus of ensuring the day-to-day safety of the ride system is on FDA. In a nutshell, from our points of evaluation, we can conclude that the the court will most likely rule that FDA was negligent, be it in verifying the physical safety of the system, or verifying the true safety limits of the system. In committing an act of negligence, the FDA’s exemption clause will be rendered invalid, by virtue of section 2(1) of the UCTA. On these grounds alone, FDA will likely hold liability for McCarthy’s injuries. In addition, FDA’s negligence can also be ruled out to be in breach of the implied duty of care. On these separate grounds alone, it is also likely that FDA can hold liability for McCarthy’s injuries. As such, we can conclude that the likely legal outcome will be that FDA will be held liable for McCarthy’s recoverable losses. If ruled in McCarthy’s favor, it is likely that operations of the ride will be suspended until all investigations and modifications to the ride have been made and verified to be safe. By section 30 of ARSA, FDA â€Å"shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both†. FDA would also be held liable for all costs with regards to McCarthy’s personal injury.

Sexual Orientation and Body Image Dysmorphia :: Sexuality Homosexuality Essays

Sexual Orientation and Body Image Dysmorphia Recent research has concluded that sexual orientation, in both men and women, may play a significant role in the feelings of dissatisfaction of one’s physical appearance and the development and onset of disordered eating habits. Numerous studies have found that homosexual men have a higher likelihood of being more dissatisfied with their overall physical appearance. It is not so clear for homosexual women. In this paper I will review a number of published research article and try to more clearly explain the contrasting results about homosexual women. ADOLESCENT SEXUAL ORIENTATION Although most of the studies look at an adult population, a study by French, Story, Remafedi, and Resnik, examined the effects of sexual orientation on an adolescent population. In their study they looked at a population based sample of about 35,000 students between the grades of seven and twelve. Each of these students completed a survey that asked questions about sexual orientation, body satisfaction, and different weight control measures. The final report included the findings from 212 heterosexual males and 182 heterosexual females for comparison with 81 self- identifying homosexual males and 38 self- identifying homosexual females, and 131 bisexual males and 144 bisexual females. They discovered that homosexual males were much more likely than heterosexual males to report having a poor body image (27.8% to 12%) and admit to frequent dieting (8.9% to 5.5%), binge eating (25.0% to 10.6%), or purging (11.7% to 4.4%). On the other side, homosexual females were more likely than heterosexual females to report that they were happy with the way that they looked (42.1% to 20.5%). Interestingly though, homosexual and heterosexual females were about equally as likely to diet, participate in binge eating, and partake in purging. PROBLEMS WITH STUDY Although the study seems to be appropriate, one must be wary about looking at a study, which was conducted through the use of surveys. This is particularly true when you are asking adolescents questions that deal with sexuality. It is possible that an adolescent’s embarrassment could be a factor in the answering of the questions. Social stereotypes could easily influence a heterosexual male to answer positively to questions about his body image because body angst is usually associated as a female behavior. This study is important to research on this topic because it shows that from the beginning of sexual orientation decisions, eating habits are a priority to some. Finicky and disordered eating problems are not something that develops later in life.

The Meaning of Acceptance

Human beings are social animals.   That means that they interact with each other apart from reasons of propagation.   One of the ways human beings interact is through communication.   However, not all communication is successful.   Oftentimes, communication between two or more individuals may cause misunderstandings and conflicts to occur.   In this paper, Rogers present his outlook towards acceptance and understanding, its importance and the benefits of achieving this. The Meaning of Acceptance and Understanding In a lecture given by Rogers (2007) in 1956, the premise of his lecture was that he firmly believed that all individuals have an inert tendency to grow, mature and be responsible for their lives.   His ideas with regards to the meanings of acceptance and understanding were influenced by both religion and philosophy.   Throughout his lecture, he emphasized that an individual would only be able to understand one self and others only if they have embraced the acceptance of one self and others. Rogers (2007) focused his lecture on a number of key points.   The first is that he discovered that in the long run, it would benefit the individual to accept himself or herself and to refrain from acting as though they were someone else.   This is because when an individual lives a fallacious life and portrays an identity that is other from his or her own, that individual would not be able to act in a calm and pleasant manner.   This would also lead to the failure of the individuals in keeping and maintaining personal relationships with others.   As a result, he believed that it is extremely imperative that an individual must learn to accept who and what he or she is. Once an individual is able to accept himself or herself for who and what they are, it is only then that they will be able to begin to accept other people.   This process is more difficult than the acceptance of one self.   Because human beings are social beings, they interact with each other.   However, there are instances when it becomes difficult to accept the words, thoughts, expression and especially suggestions of others.   This is because it is the nature of the individual to become judgmental about the statement and reactions received from another individual.   In fact, it is on very rare occasions that individuals accept criticism and suggestions given by other people, particularly if they view these people are inferior to them.   Some examples of these relationships are between parent and child, professor and student, or employer and employee (Rogers 2007). Rogers (2007) stressed the importance of accepting other people for who and what they are with regards to not only the development of deeper and more meaningful relationships with each other, but also this would become a valuable experience for the individual as well.   This is because once the individual has come to accept who he or she is; it will be easier for the individual to accept other people for who they are. As such, it will make the individual understand certain behaviors that another individual exhibits and would be able to understand and be more patient with one another.   Furthermore, because individuals are accepted and understood by others, they are more comfortable in exposing their true colors, instead of living behind a faà §ade, deepening further the relationship between two individuals. Conclusion Although human beings are social animals, human beings are also known to be judgmental towards other people.   This attitude has been seen long throughout mankind’s history.   For instance, unexplainable occurrences that happen in the environment have long been associated to gods, goddesses and deities.   When explorers from the West discovered various lands, they referred to the inhabitants of the land as savages or barbarians simply because they look different and their way of living is different. Even today, individuals from certain cultures are stereotyped by others.   Most of these stereotyping are degrading on the part of the individual being address.   As such, they are extremely apprehensive to accept who and what they are.   Instead, they acculturate themselves and become somebody that they are not. However, no matter how hard a person tries to change, certain behaviors and attitudes would still come across other people because these are part of the person and would often be expressed unconsciously.   As such, this would confuse other people or would cause them to shame him or her further because they are not being true towards himself or herself, but towards other people as well. Only when the individual is able to accept who he or she really is deep down, from gender preference to his or her cultural ancestry, this individual would not only be able to be more comfortable in expressing himself or herself in society because they are not worried on how they should act to please other people but also they will be able to establish stronger, more fruitful and deeper relationships with other people since only those who are willing to accept them for who and what they are will be those who are worth having a relationship with. References Rogers, C. (2007). What understanding and acceptance mean to me. In H. S. Friedman & M. W. Schustack (Eds.), The personality reader (pp. 241-49).   Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Social Change and Modernization

* Define social change. What are the key features of social change? Provide four examples of social movements, current or past, and describe the key features of each movement. * * Define modernization. What are the key features of modernization? Provide four examples of modernization and describe the key features in each example. Social change can best be described as â€Å"the transformation of culture and social institutions over time and modernization, it has brought change to the way of life. The key features of social change are such things as event that are not planned, that could result in controversy, due to fast pace and even prolonged lasting. The four types of social movements are in no particular order are as followed: the first one would be alternative social movement, second the redemptive social movement, third the reformative social movement, and the fourth is the revolutionary social movement. I believe one of the key features of the alternative social movement is that it’s based and limited to smaller populations and is considered to be the less threatening of all four of them. Now as for the redemptive social movement one key feature is that it has a more extreme radical change which centers and targets individuals with the same belief. I believe MADD better known as mothers against drunk drivers is one good example of redemptive social movement. It bases its’ movement toward the stopping individuals from getting behind the wheel while their drunk or while their intoxicated. Now as for the reformative social movement, which targets everyone yet its ‘feature’s are of limited change. I believe through recycling is a prime example of social change with the reuse of products, the reduction of waste through the form of recycling. The last of the movements revolutionary social movement with the up most radical and a rather extreme change is the last of the movements. One prime example would be the Indian independence movement led by Ghandi which created such said movement. Modernization can best be described as a change that takes place during the occurring way into industrialization, with features that includes personal choice through expansion, resulting and the reduction of smaller ommunities, based on cultural background in way of diversity. One prime example can be said are the American expansion of cities. I n todays time an age more and more people live in cities rather than in smaller towns. Another form of Modernization can be said to be through communication in form of the internet, Cars with sense of more freedom due to different schedule’s and even housing because of the number of people living in the suburbs.

Liberilism vs Conservatism essays

Liberilism vs Conservatism essays When one thinks of liberals and conservatives it tends to be a comparison of entirely different views concerning every issue. Conservative thinking is regularly associated with the Republican Party while liberal thinking is regularly associated with the Democratic Party. Two such figures that come to mind whose views tend to put them on opposite sides of the political spectrum are presidents Herbert C. Hoover and Harry S. Truman. For example, Hoovers failure to intervene in the private sector of the economy during the infant stages of the Great Depression agrees with the conservative idea of a free market economy. In contrast, Truman continued Roosevelts liberally supported reform measures. One important factor that influences a political figures decision making is his/her morals and beliefs. Conservatives usually have great influence from traditional institutions such as church. As a child, Hoover was raised in a rural Quaker community with a strict belief in the church and the traditional family. This led to his conservative beliefs and actions. During his presidency, Hoover promised to uphold the prohibition amendment, since drinking was seen as an evil in the Quakers (Encarta). Furthermore, he promised to enforce national laws. This went about with the conservative that that authority is needed to make man resistant to evil. Hoover became a millionaire by the time he was forty with great effort. His conservatism and respect for authority earned him that position. On the other hand, liberalism preached that belief that man has a natural ability to reason out right and wrong. Truman did not introduce any major crime legislation, nor did he believe that muc h authority was needed for man to reason out right and wrong (Bernstein 93). Concerning the views on the nature of man, Truman and Hoover developed their views in their early years. Truman being a farmer at heart never let go the hardships o...

Three Peeves in One Newspaper Article

Three Peeves in One Newspaper Article Three Peeves in One Newspaper Article Three Peeves in One Newspaper Article By Maeve Maddox Im one of the diminishing breed that wakes to a rolled newspaper at my front door. Sadly, I often find food for DWT posts when I open it. This morning not one, but three pet peeves leapt to my eye, all from the same story. I wont use real names. The article is about the sentencing of a man, Smith, who was an accessory to the murder of a teenager, Jones. Another man, Green, was tried separately. Green, the triggerman, has already been tried and sentenced†¦ The choice of the word triggerman bothers me because it is one of those words that has its place in fiction, but doesnt belong in a straight news story. Its use has the effect of glamorizing a punk who killed a 17 year old for $30 and a hat. It belongs to a category of dime novel words that strike me as being out of place in general reporting, detective yarn words like heist, bust, and swag. The two [Smith and the triggerman] were suppose to give Jones a ride to his home. They were supposed to give Jones a ride. Two females went along also†¦ The use female as a noun outside a medical or natural history context always bothers me. Ive written about these particular peeves elsewhere on the DWT site: Inappropriate word choice to report on crime Use of -ed verb forms Non-technical use of female as a noun Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Possessive of Proper Names Ending in SDoes "Mr" Take a Period?Honorary vs. Honourary

The corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The corporation - Essay Example Furthermore, these facts and features of our economic and social development can support global economic and natural crisis which will be rather difficult to overcome. This paper will discuss such issues as economic growth problems, business ethics, consumerism, social and cultural critique, real consumer needs, social consequences of new technological opportunities, better distribution of resources, and some others. 2. Contemporary industry uses different methods to generate interest and reliance on various products, but these methods and strategies are not always supported by business ethics. These methods are: spam, infiltration, stealth marketing, incorrect information and many others. These methods fail business ethics and brake people's trust to corporations which make all possible efforts to promote their goods. Corporations should also take into account real needs of consumers. There are many goods which are not necessary for consumers to have them, such as glass ceilings and some others. Such consumer goods usually need great amount of natural resources and energy to produce them, and sometimes corporations waste these resources just to satisfy consumers' needs, and the consuming excess is clearly visible while natural resources are diminishing. ... We are taught as soon as we are old enough to comprehend images on TV that wanting things and buying things is good and healthy" (Capitalism, Consumerism, and Corporate Greed). Government attempts to resolve global economical and social problems have no positive effects. The misuse of government contracts for political and corporate gain supports deep consuming and social crisis which affect all sides of our life. Science and technology tries to resolve actual problems of our society. Science is rapidly developing, and such scientific innovations as findings of new sources of energy, nanotechnology, plastic surgery possibilities, new approaches to diagnostics and recovery and some others can bring benefit to our society. So, technological innovations can even save lives in extreme situations. But many scientific findings are of ambiguous effect, such as cloning, nuclear findings and different explorations in many areas of science, and it needs to use scientific achievements attentive ly and correctly. Incorrect and unethical use of technological innovations can result numerous global social problems, and they already can be visible in our society - people became more dependent on technological innovations. Global warming, many kinds of animals and plants petering are some of the most dangerous effects of technological progress abusing. There are still a lot of problems concerning our scientific knowledge, their influence on the environment and psychological aspects of our attitude to the environment and to ourselves, but it is obviously that new technologies can bring some kinds of benefit in case of safe and ethical use of these technologies. People gave up on materialism and look for new approaches for better distribution of resources. Materialism means