Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Your Business Structure and Corporate Business Structures Essay
Your Business Structure and Corporate Business Structures - Essay Example The decisions made are made the sole persons. (Resnicoff, 2006) The owner of the business may hire staffs to manage the business on his/her behalf. Sole proprietorship is the most available business. The first advantage of sole proprietorship is that is simple to form. It does not require a lot of formalities to form it. One can start it any time without following or filling legal formalities. The second advantage is that it is simple to manage. The owner of the business may find it easy to manage the business on his own. This reduces complications and follow-ups. It is also easy for a sole proprietorship to be sold or passed from one generation to the other. (Resnicoff, 2006) Thirdly, sole proprietorship has the tax advantage. A tax imposed on the sole proprietorship is based on the personal income. This means that the tax liability is less as compared to other forms of business. It is also easy to terminate the business. The owner of the business can terminate the business at his will. No legal formalities are required to end the business. (Resnicoff, 2006) One of the setbacks of sole proprietorship is that it is difficult to raise money. Financing institutions and banks are reluctant to fund a sole proprietor. It is also difficult for a person to get the fund from the government institution. This is a form whereby the two or more people with a common goal get into an agreement to run a business. The persons contribute money, and the profit is shared according to the agreed ratio or the contribution ratio. (Welsh, 2000) This form of business has several advantages. One of them is that it is easy for the partners to raise capital. Through their contribution, the partners can raise a lot of money easily. With partnership, taxes are not on the whole partnership but to the individual partners income. This makes the partnership have a tax advantage. The third advantage is, with different partners involved in the
Monday, October 28, 2019
The Rise of Private High Schools Essay Example for Free
The Rise of Private High Schools Essay Intro For hundreds of years high school education has been the responsibility of the state. Yet, in no time in history did government become so fully involved in adolescent education as after the Second World War. The era of big government would mean big spending in various social programs, one of the most important of which would be education. Groundbreaking advances would be seen in the instruction of various areas of education previously ignored, such as music, art and sports. Along with this involvement in the lives of their children came parents faith that in countries such as Canada and the United States, public education, most specifically high school education, would lay the ground work for a secure and prosperous future for the future adults of the nation.  It was only towards the end of the Cold War that globalization accompanied by neo-liberal economics would force Canadians to re-examine their public high schools.            The increasing importance of changing technology coupled with the general decline of public schools has caused us to look with greater skepticism upon governments ability to manage the school system in the present day. It is for these very reasons that parents have become more open to the advantages of private education. Despite the fact that public high schools are still largely in the hands of government in the last twenty years, we have seen a significant growth in private institution attendance. The purpose of this work is to discuss the rise of private high school education and discuss its possible future. Literature Review Current literature supports the decline of the public high school and the rise in importance of the private school.  Aurini and Davies (2004, 2007) have done indepth investigation on areas of private schooling in Ontario such as private tutoring and home schooling and throughout their readings have upheld that private education is on the rise. Aurini (2004) in her experience as a private tutor and in her subsequent investigation into private education has seen a notable rise in important of private education, most specifically with attitudes towards parents. In fact Aurini (2006) goes to far as to say that appearance of private education has resulted in the re-molding of public education.            Although it is clear that studies are showing the rising importance of private education they are also outlining why this is occurring. Geiger (1994) clearly holds the belief that the globalized world and the resultant increase of demands on students and schools to keep up with technological advances is overwhelming for public schools and shrinking education budgets. Davies (1999) adds to this argument in his analysis of religious groups and the growing acceptance by governments of their demands. Whereas twenty years ago their was a much more melting-pot mentality surrounding different demands for schooling, with the growth of individualism world wide so comes the growth of individual education. There are numerous liberal minded authors such as Finn who believe that the answers to these problems can be given by the market. The constant push by some scholars to consistently patch up public school problems are rejected by Finn. He believes a more radical change is necessary to clean up public schools.            Yet, many authors continue to believe in the public school system and contend that it is an essential part of democracy and equality in a nation. Fotopoulos (2004) claims that while individuals live in society, they are in fact social individuals and that one of the most proven methods of making them part of society is through a public school system. Yet, other than increase school budgets it becomes more and more difficult to find solutions to the public school systems problems. Cowley (2001), in exasperation states, â€Å"while there is agreement about the need for better schools, there is no agreement about how to improve our schools.† Growth of Private Education Various forms of private education have expanded in impressive numbers in the Western world over the past two centuries. What was once thought of as a luxury or an innecessity by many parents is now being reconsidered as a viable and safe option. Canada is not the exception, although it is a notable example of how private education entities are making headway. Davies and Aurini (2004) claim that enrollment in private schools in Canada has gone from 5% to 6% during the past decade (p. 420). Although the number in appearance may seem small it translates to a 20% growth for private schools. In Ontario the growth is even more staggering and reached 40% with a total of 750 schools in the province (Davies and Aurini, p. 420). Private education is gaining importance with parents of both younger and older students. This is clearly seen in the expansion of Montessori schools as well as proprietary vocational colleges (Aurini and Davies, 2004). In addition we should not forget about the growth of private tutoring and home schooling. Apart from the growth of private institutions it is important to take into consideration perceptions of private versus public education. A survey taken last year found that â€Å"46% of parents would prefer to send their school age children to private schools, while 60% of Ontarians agreed with the phrase ‘private school students receive a much better education than public school students’†(Aurini, 2006, p. 108)  Trouble in Public Education As previously mentioned private education, until recently, has taken the back seat the overwhelming importance of government lead education. An understanding of public education today and all its faults requires that we understand its history. At the turn of the century we saw a significant rise in big government, specifically in Canada. The culture and society that revolved around the welfare state of the post-WWII period clearly supported governments incursion into the fields of education and health, to name a few. Parents placing their children in the hands of the state held the general belief that the schools would do their best to provide equal opportunity and social mobility. Private schools were seen to fall in the realm of those who could afford their astronomical prices. Most often private schools were identified with religion and the upper classes. Gabbard (2004) states that public schools in American society have held such responsibilities as â€Å"equalizing gender and racial inequalities, providing the knowledge and skills that give everyone an equal opportunity to experience the ‘American Dream,’ producing a workforce with skills that enable U.S. corporations to compete effectively in the global marketplace, and preparing citizens to be effective participants in a democratic society†(p. 3).  There was a common desire to believe that â€Å"schools strengthen our democracy, [and] our ability to meaningfully participate in the decision-making processes that impact our communities and our lives†(Gabbard, 2004, p. 3). Whether or not public schools are still up to this task is one of the terrible questions we must ask ourselves. Indeed, what has always been a monumental task has been further been burdened by the nature of our increasingly global, increasingly technology based and increasingly competitive society. Geiger (1994) claims, â€Å"To succeed in the 21st century, today’s students must graduate with more than knowledge of the past. They must have the ability to synthesize and analyze new information, think for themselves, and adapt quickly to a world where change in the constant†(p. 63). The technological tools that are present in almost all forms of work are often not found in public schools (Geiger, 1994). Trouble in High Schools Clearly high schools are facing challenges they have not had to face in the past fifty years or that maybe they never have had to face. Run-down buildings, over-crowded classes, school violence, and poor rural support are only some of the problems on the long list any teacher, parent or school administrator could give you. There seems to be less schools than ever. One report shows that,         A complete restructuring of high school facilities is needed, as the current design pushes teenagers into an environment contrary to the way they learn. The first and most important change should be a reduction in the size of high schools. Research has shown that students have better attendance, are less likely to drop out, exhibit fewer discipline problems, and perform better when attending a smaller high school†(Hall and Handly, 2004, p. 21). An even more preoccupying problem is that of violence at school. The last few centuries has witnessed an increase in attacks of rage and a significantly more violent atmosphere. One administrator claims that, â€Å"It was only after many years of experience and investigation that we began to understand the degree of rage todays teenagers feel and how the school system is failing them, not only academically but in just about every imaginable way†(Hall and Handly, 2004, p. 21).            While urban schools are plagued by violence and over-crowded classrooms many rural Ontario schools are lacking in basic material resources. Low school funding seems to be a problem best known to northern boards and rural Ontario boards (Trouble in, 2004). A study done by The People for Education shows that â€Å"Ontario’s smaller schools are less likely to have librarians or guidance counsellors, music teachers or physical education teachers. And they are much more likely to be threatened with closing†(Trouble in, 2004) . Neo-liberal education There is no doubt that current international focus on liberal economics and globalization has a significant say in where public high schools stand and where they are headed to go. Neo-liberal and conservative ideology clearly hold the idea that most government run enterprises are bound to get caught up in inefficiency and become labeled as inadequate. Davies and Aurini (2004) claim that â€Å"The profit motive and need to compete for student-clients is said to provide powerful incentives to improve educational services. Since such incentives do not exist in large public bureaucracies, educational businesses are more likely to deliver real results, according to advocates.†This has resulted in a rising importance of educational entrepreneurialism, mostly brought on by the changing nature of schooling and pressures in the global market place. According to Aurini (2004) the market, as in so many areas of society, including healthcare, is attempting to weed out insufficient agents. She states that, â€Å"The belief that competition and de-bureaucratization encourages accountability, efficiency and consumer responsiveness†(p. 476). In addition she claims that, â€Å"For market advocates, public schools’ monopoly status and bureaucratized form and the presence of teacher’s professional associations foster apathy and mediocrity to the detriment of education consumers†(p. 476). In the presence of competition public education entities may have to admit that they no longer enjoy a monopoly.  Finn states that, â€Å"If schools want students and the dollars that accompany them, they must attract those students, and in order to attract them they have to provide quality education.† In addition, some research suggests that business in education is resulting in the adoption of these same practices by public institutions (Davies and Aurini, 2004). At the core of the argument is the belief that the market and forces of the market provide better education because the private businesses have to compete with each other. Tutoring: A Growing Industry The significant growth of one sector of private education in particular provides us with significant insight on how private education has progressed over the last years. While in the past private tutoring enterprises consisted of test-prep centers and moonlighting teachers they have now evolved into private tutoring services that may include preschool programs, math and reading classes, and writing and public peaking programs (Aurini, 2004, p. 478). Aurini (2004) claims these entities are a highly evolved form of tutoring, these businesses are often developed as franchises or morph into comprehensive private schools. Aurini (2004) in her two year study of private tutoring institutions in Ontario Canada shows that the significant rise in private tutoring shows a clear shift from public to private education. According to studies the percentage of Ontario parents requesting private tutoring for their school age children has gone up from 17% in 1997 to 24% in 2003 (Aurini 2004). In addition, the number of formal businesses that offer fuller tutoring services has grown between 200%-500% in major Canadian cities over the past 30 years, a growth that is independent of public school enrolments or economic trends (Davies and Aurini, 2004, p. 422).            In a further study done on tutoring franchises tutoring businesses are shown to be standardizing and broadening their services through franchises. In the form of what are being called learning centers, â€Å"franchises are increasingly transcending old-style test prep and homework support, and are bundling together a variety of offerings that sometimes encroach upon public school practices. A result is that learning centres are becoming increasingly school-like by providing an alternative to public education, rather than a mere supplement†(Aurini and Davies, 204, p. 419).  They attribute this expansion to the fact that franchising is the next obvious step in a successful business and they add that, â€Å"Service industries with many franchises such as coffee and fast food have likely grown much faster than industries marked mainly by a series of small independents† (Davies and Aurini, 204, p. 423). As high school students are one of the largest groups using tutoring services, this subtle shift from public to private education is bound to have long-term consequences. Ethnicity and Individualism It has clearly been shown through data and example that private education has made great inroads in the education market, largely due to the failures of High schools and other educational entities to keep up to the demands of our fast paced, technology driven society. It is important to note that while technology is clearly a part of globalism’s demands on high schools, individualism and multiculturalism also play an important role in the weakening of the public high schools.            While in the past it was common for religious groups to make demands on public government on term of their religion, it is now common for ethnic groups to make these same demands. Davies (1999) states that, â€Å"Rather than presenting their cause as religious revivalism and morality in public education terms with little efficacy in todays political culture-the coalitions are evoking the idioms of multiculturalism, minority rights, and school choice†(p. 3). Some religious groups have requested that Quebec, â€Å"embrace the reality of group based diversity in its schools, and they couch this tenet in the language of multiculturalism. The coalitions are united in an understanding of multiculturalism in which religious minority communities require separate education†(Davies 1999, p. 15).            Although Canada had never been the melting pot that the United States has been education has been fairly homogeneous. This is important because it shows the growing importance on individuality in Canada’s education system. In Canada this is particularly important as one of the country’s core tenets has been unity in diversity. Canada’s long standing respect for cultures has been a core element of its foundation from the beginning. Having Quebec as an outspoken and integral culture within Canada may have even sensitized us to an even greater extent than other western countries. That these demands may not be met by public high schools is of course essential to the legitimization of private schools. Intensive Parenting and Individual Children Canadians are having less and less children. Whereas in the past families consisted of an average of three children many couples are opting to have one or two children. This most likely is as a result of global factors and heightened individualism in parents living in an extremely materialist society. The result of global parents and less children is an intensive style of parenting that requires them to be present in every aspect of their child’s life. The psychology, health and education of Canadian children is under a microscopic lens. Private institutions cater to this new breed of parent using such slogans as calls â€Å"to ‘develop you child’s gifts and talents’†(Aurini and Davies, 2004, p. 420). Customized education is guaranteed to secure your child with a future in a global economy that seems to becoming increasingly competitive and fast paced.  As Aurini and Davies have observed â€Å"education has become the medium to advance upon or maintain a socioeconomic position as economic prospects for those without credentials deteriorate. Higher education is increasingly sought after throughout Canada†(Davies and Aurini, 2004, p. 420). They add that this is â€Å"creating a generalized culture of educational competition. From younger ages, more youth are being encouraged to view school as a competitive arena in which they must strive to get ahead†(Aurini and Davies, 2004, p. 420). The most obvious result of this is the re-entry of schooling into many homes. The number of home schooled children has increased in significant amounts over the last years. Aurini and Davies (2007) claim that while years ago home schooling was â€Å"dominated by a coalition of religious fundamentalists and experimental ‘unschoolers’ a variety of subgroups are now emerging, with very different goals that range from nurturing minority identities, to meeting special educational needs, to simply seeking a superior form of education†(p. 462). While home schooling only affects 2% of students in Ontario it is â€Å"‘shedding its image as a social or educational aberration’†(Aurini and Davies, 2007, p. 462). In addition, while home schooling was badly seen for many years, most specifically with regard to its legal standing, recent legislature have given it a new level of legitimacy. These new policies allow boards of education to â€Å"deem that children are receiving satisfactory instruction at home simply by accepting notification from parents† (Aurini and Davies, 2007, p. 4).  In addition the provincial government no longer asks home schoolers to strictly adhere to traditional schooling methodes, and now recognize home schooling as an adequate alternative to that taught at public schools. While many scholars argue that home schooling is a result of government intervention and badly run schools Aurini and Davies take a different stand point. Clearly the neo-liberal outlook on home schooling is that a badly funded and organized public schools are not providing children with the education that parents would like them to have. A second explanation is that a fast paced economy is requiring a different type of education for its future workers.  According to this argument, â€Å"the ‘new economy’ is raising credential requirements and intensifying labor market competition†(Aurini and Davies, 2007, p. 4). Aurini and Davies (2007) argue that the distinctive trait of home-schooling has to do with the ability of children to better express themselves in a home environment. They claim that, â€Å"rather than seek instrumental advantages, many of its practitioners aim to remove children from market (and bureaucratic) settings, reasoning that they are too precious to be entrusted to the care of others†(p. 4) What Can be Done? Canadian public high schools are no doubt moving into an era where shrinking budgets and mounting outside pressures are causing numerous problems within. Schools are in disrepair, teachers are underpaid, and classes are overflowing. Cowley (2001) states in frustration that, â€Å"Parents want better schools. Students want better schools. Teachers, counsellors, principals, superintendents, members of local school boards, and officials in the Ministry of Education want better schools. Taxpayers and employers want better schools.†           And we may well be going in a vicious circle. It is clear that high schools and other public schools need more money to keep up. Finn states that the call is the same every year. It is for â€Å"smaller classes, more teachers, more teacher training, more technology, more special programs, more hours in the day, more days in the year, et cetera.†He further claims that â€Å"In both Canada and the United States, this has long been our chief approach to making schools better. It is like our chief approach to making lots of things better: install a larger engine, replace the tires, and add more chrome.†  Yet, how is this possible when in the example of the United States per pupil spending has tripled since the 1950s (Finn).            Public schools have had no choice and will have no choice but to change to meet ever increasing demands placed upon them. And as they change the private schools will become more and more necessary to parents seeking the education that their children need to survive in the future. Some believe that the very creation of private schools will force and overall change in education on both ends. Autini (2006) believes that the advent of private education has resulted in the re-molding of public education. The interjection of private schools onto the field of education has resulted in the altering of old public school tenets. While private education entities adopt public school models such as credentialed teachers, age-defined grades and courses such as math and science they, â€Å"are also seen to ‘loosely couple’ by avoiding stark performance indicators such as standardized tests and y embracing broad, often vague goals such as socialization and inclusion†(Aurini, 2006, p. 83). In addition, â€Å"these strategies permit schools to integrate a variety of objectives and ward off inspection that would otherwise expose inefficiencies and inconsistencies†(p. 84). Private educators legitimize these alterations by relying on arguments of increased individualism and technical advances (Aurini, 2006, p. 83). They claim to be satisfying consumer demand for more individual education programs.            It is also important to note that many private high schools have not been successful when competing with public schools (Aurini and Davies, 2004, p. 423). In fact the history of performance contractors is sometimes one of â€Å"rapid ascent quickly followed by failure†(Aurini and Davies, 2004, p. 423). It appears as though business are more successful when they don’t have to come up against public, free educational options such as preschools, colleges and private tutoring enterprises. As tutoring is a form of supplementary education that does not compete directly with public schools it is exempt from this type of market competition from public schools (Aurini and Davies, 2004). This of course is important to take into consideration when discussing high schools in Ontario, which remain over 90% public.             Conclusion Whether private high schools are successful or not it is clear that they are not only affecting the market but the whole of the education system in Canada. Their rise in the previous years from institutions created with skepticism to viable alternatives to public education is significant. Clearly the degradation of public high schools is closely linked to the neo-liberal economic model calling for less government and more markets. It is a model that claims to know the answers to our future and to the future of our children. Market competition will make for a better school system with more individual choices. Private high schools mix well with the current individualistic tendencies shown in parents and students and which so clearly fit in with the core tenets espoused by private institutions. As we have seen in this work private high schools are not always the best high schools, neither socially nor economically. The best schools may be the ones that allow for the greatest insertion into our ever-changing society by it’s students. Fotopoulos, in an (2004) claims that, culture in general and education in particular play a crucial role in the determination of individual and collective values. This is because as long as individuals live in a society, they are not just individuals but social individuals, subject to a process that socializes them and induces them to internalize the existing institutional framework and the dominant social paradigm. (p.15) Social apt students are often the most successful students. It might be relevant to discuss just how much individualism is good for us, our society and our schools. References Aurini, J. (2006). Crafting Legitimation Projects: An Institutional Analysis of Private     Education Businesses. Sociological Forum 21, 83-111 Aurini, J. (2004). Educational Entrepreneurialism in the Private Tutoring Industry:    Balancing Profitablity with the Humanistic Face of Schooling.  The Canadian Review of    Sociology and Anthropology 41, 475-492. Aurini, J Davies, S. (2007) Choice without markets: homeschooling in the context of    private education British Journal of Sociology of Education 26, 461 474 Aurini, J Davies, S. (2004). The transformation of private tutoring: education in a    franchise form. Canadian Journal of Sociology 29, 419- Cowley, P. (2001).  Report Card on Ontarios Secondary Schools: 2001 Edition. The    Fraser Institute http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/shared/readmore.asp?sNav=pbid=239 Davies, S. (1999). From Moral Duty to Cultural Rights: A Case Study of Political    Framing in Education Sociology of Education 72, 1-21. Finn, C. (2001) â€Å"Reinventing Public Education Via the Marketplace.†The Fraser Institute    http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/shared/readmore.asp?sNav=pbid=270 Fotopoulos, T. (2004). Democracy, Paideia and Education: Culture, the Dominant Social    Paradigm, and the Role of Education In Ross, W. E. Defending Public Schools. (15-29).    Westport, CT.:Praeger. Gabbard, D. A. (2004). Welcome to the Desert of the Real: A Brief History of What    Makes Schooling Compulsory In Ross, W.E.  Defending Public Schools. (3-14).    Westport, CT.: Praeger. Geiger, K. (1994). Rethinking American Schools in the Psot-Cold War Era: Introductory    Remarks from the NEA President. Financing Education 33, 63-66 Hall, E. and Handley, R. (2004). High Schools in Crisis: What Every Parent Should    Know Westport, CT.: Praeger Ross, W. E. (2004). General Editors Introduction: Defending Public Schools, Defending    Democracy In Ross, W.E. Defending Public Schools. Westport, CT.: Praeger. 4 Trouble in Ontario’s small schools (2004). People for Education     http://www.peopleforeducation.com/releases/2005/sept21_04.html
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Genus: Intelligent Design Essay -- Evolution Science Biology Essays
Genus: Intelligent Design The Intelligent Design Movement has gained monumental strength within the last half-decade. It promotes a purely scientific criticism to Darwin’s theories of natural selection and evolution with absolutely no religious biasâ€â€or so it claims. Unlike previous movements for the advancement of religious ideas, the Intelligent Design community is comprised of Ph.D.s in natural and physical sciences and is gaining its most popular following in large universities. There are an increasing number of scientific organizations advocating Intelligent Design as a contrasting theory to evolutionary naturalism. Evolution itself is not being challenged, however, only its basis in â€Å"chance and necessity.†But can the Intelligent Design Movement be given actual scientific credit, or is it just the latest mutation of religious doctrine? The idea of an intelligent Designer side-by-side with evolution is not a new one. Dating back to 1889, educated people like Asa Gray were endorsing natural selection with the aid of an almighty creator. His theory revolved around the separation of necessity and design.[1] He defines necessity as the factors in our environment that cause humans to evolveâ€â€hunting for food, reproducing, competing against other species. He wrote that if â€Å"you take away struggle, then take away necessity you therefore only have forms in their design phase.†At time equal to zero, God intelligently designed the world to fit a certain pattern. At this instant, the human form (and all others) is in its design state as God made it. Natural selection only takes place after that initial creation, but does not take away from the fact that intelligent design occurred. The new... ...liam. Natural Theology. London: J. Faulder, 1809. (full online text) http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/p/pd-modeng/pd-modeng-idx?type=HTML&rgn=TEI.2&byte=53049319 Polkinghorne, John. Belief in God in an Age of Science. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998. Runyan, John. â€Å"Intermediate Stages: A Problem for Evolutionary Gradualism.†Intelligent Design URC, 2002. http://www.idurc.org/jrunyan_intermediatestages.shtml [1] Darwiniana, 1889. [2] Access Research Network. [3] Belief in God in an Age of Science, 1998. [4] Darwin’s Black Box, 1996. [5] The Evolution of Complexity, 1988. [6] â€Å"Intermediate Stages: A Problem for Evolutionary Gradualism,†2002. [7] Finding Darwin’s God, 1999. [8] Climbing Mount Improbable, 1996. [9] â€Å"Molecular Machinesâ€â€Experimental Support for the Design Inference,†1994. [10] Finding Darwin’s God, 1999.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Human Development Index
What is HDI? HDI (Human Development index) is a way of measuring development by combining indicators of life expectancy, educational attainment and income. The breakthrough for the HDI was the creation of a single statistic which was to serve as a frame of reference for both social and economic development. The HDI sets a minimum and a maximum for each dimension, called goalposts, and then shows where each country stands in relation to these goalposts, expressed as a value between 0 and 1.It is also used to distinguish to a large extent, whether the country is a developed, a developing or an underdeveloped country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. NEED FOR HDI â€â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- The HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic gro wth alone. The HDI can also be used to question national policy choices, asking how two countries with the same level of GNI per capita can end up with such different human development outcomes.For example, the Bahamas and New Zealand have similar levels of income per person, but life expectancy and expected years of schooling differ greatly between the two countries, resulting in New Zealand having a much higher HDI value than the Bahamas. These striking contrasts can stimulate debate about government policy priorities. â€â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- CALCULATION OF HDI 1) Life expectancy index (LEI) = (LE-20)/(83. 4-20) 2) Education index (EI) = v(MYSI*EYSI)/ 0. 951 3) Income Index (II) Log (GNIpc)-log(100)]/ [Log (107721) – log (100)] LE: Life expectancy at birth MYS: Mean years of schooling (Years that a 25-year-old person or older has spent in schools) EYS: Expected years of schooling (Years that a 5-year-old child will spend with his education in his whole life) â€â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- GNIpc: Gross national income at purchasing power parity per capita COUNTRY| GDP RANK| HDI RANK| HDI| India| 4| 134| 0. 571| U. S| 1| 4| 0. 910| U. K| 8| 28| 0. 863| China| 2| 101| 0. 87| Pakistan | 29| 145| 0. 50| Oman| 77| 89| 0. 705| India ranks a low 134 among 187 countries in terms of the human development index (HDI), which assesses long-term progress in health, education and income indicators, said a UN report released on Wednesday. Although placed in the â€Å"medium†category, India's standing is way behind scores of economically less developed countries, including war-torn Iraq as well as Philippines. India’s ranking in 2010 was 119 out of 169 countries Sri Lanka has been ranked 97, China 101 and the Maldives 109.Bhutan, otherwise respected fo r its quality of life, has been placed at 141, behind India Pakistan and Bangladesh are ranked 145 and 146 in the list of countries that is headed by Norway and in which the Democratic Republic of Congress is at the bottom. The other two countries in South Asia, Nepal and Afghanistan, occupy ranks 157 and 172. According to the â€Å"UN Human Development Report, 2011: Sustainability and Inequality†, India’s HDI is 0. 5 compared to 0. 3 in 2010. COMPONENTS OF THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEXThe education component of the HDI is now measured by mean of years of schooling for adults aged 25 years and expected years of schooling for children of school entering age. Mean years of schooling are estimated based on educational attainment data from censuses and surveys available in the UNESCO Institute for Statistics database and Barro and Lee (2010) methodology). Expected years of schooling estimates are based on enrolment by age at all levels of education and population of official school age for each level of education.Expected years of schooling are capped at 18 years. The indicators are normalized using a minimum value of zero and maximum values are set to the actual observed maximum value of mean years of schooling from the countries in the time series, 1980–2010, that is 13. 1 years estimated for Czech Republic in 2005. Expected years of schooling are maximized by its cap at 18 years. The education index is the geometric mean of two indices. The life expectancy at birth component of the HDI is calculated using a minimum value of 20 years and maximum value of 83. 4 years.This is the observed maximum value of the indicators from the countries in the time series, 1980–2010. Thus, the longevity component for a country where life expectancy birth is 55 years would be 0. 552. For the wealth component, the goalpost for minimum income is $100 (PPP) and the maximum is $107,721 (PPP), both estimated during the same period, 1980-2011. The decent stand ard of living component is measured by GNI per capita (PPP$) instead of GDP per capita (PPP$) The HDI uses the logarithm of income, to reflect the diminishing importance of income with increasing GNI.The scores for the three HDI dimension indices are then aggregated into a composite index using geometric mean. The HDI facilitates instructive comparisons of the experiences within and between different countries. FACTORS AFFECTING HDI There are various factors that affect the economic development of any economy like health, education, per capita income, gender inequality, deforestation, population, pollution levels, literacy rate, infant mortality rate etc. Let us see a few of them one by one and try to find where India lags behind majority of the economies and why there is a mismatch in India’s growth and evelopment. A) Education index Education is an important indicator of a nation’s wellbeing, standard of living and is a measure of the economic development and quality of life which further helps in determining whether an economy is developed, developing or underdeveloped. India’s Shortfalls The Indian government has been lethargic in this aspect and has failed in ensuring a better education framework. Here, the government alone is not to be blamed. A majority of Indian population tend to neglect primary education. Poverty has been a major cause leading to lower literacy rates in India.Poor parents in underdeveloped states and backward regions make their children work to support the family financially. Girls in rural areas are forced to stay back at home and do daily chores. Also, education funding in rural areas is quite low. Uneducated parents don’t find it important to educate their children and this vicious cycle continues leaving the whole community uneducated. The government is not spending enough in education. Currently around 4% of GDP is being spent on education much lower than the target of 6% of GDP.Lower enrolment, high dropout rates, teacher absenteeism, poor instruction qualities, poor infrastructural facilities like classrooms, libraries, low encouragement and gender inequality are the root causes of low education index in India. About 30% of the world’s illiterate population belongs to India. COUNTRY| EDUCATION INDEX| India| 0. 450| The U. S| 0. 939| The U. K| 0. 815| Pakistan| 0. 386| China| 0. 623| Oman| 0. 539| SCALE| EDUCATION INDEX| Very High| 0. 894| High| 0. 715| Medium| 0. 561| Low| 0. 392| B) Health Index 2% of India’s children below the age of three are malnourished, almost twice the statistics of sub-Saharan African region of 28%. Although India’s economy grew 50% from 2001–2006, and its child-malnutrition rate only dropped 1%, lagging behind countries of similar growth rate. Malnutrition impedes the social and cognitive development of a child, reducing his educational attainment and income as an adult. These irreversible damages result in lower productivi ty. Infant mortality rate Approximately 1. 72 million children die each year before turning one.The under five mortality and infant mortality rates have been declining, from 202 and 190 deaths per thousand live births respectively in 1970 to 64 and 50 deaths per thousand live births in 2009. However, this rate of decline is slowing. Reduced funding for immunization leaves only 43. 5% of the young fully immunized. Infrastructure like hospitals, roads, water and sanitation are lacking in rural areas. Shortages of healthcare providers, poor intra-partum and newborn care, diarrheal diseases and acute respiratory infections also contribute to the high infant mortality rate.Inadequate safe drinking water Access to protected sources of drinking water has improved from 68% of the population in 1990 to 88% in 2008. However, only 26% of the slum population has access to safe drinking water, and 25% of the total population has drinking water on their premises. This problem is exacerbated by falling levels of groundwater caused mainly by increasing extraction for irrigation. Insufficient maintenance of the environment around water sources, groundwater pollution, excessive arsenic and fluoride in drinking water pose a major threat to India's health. Rural healthRural India contains over 68% of India's total population with half of it living below struggling for better and easy access to health care and services. Health issues confronted by rural people are diverse and many – from severe malaria to uncontrolled diabetes, from a badly infected wound to cancer. Postpartum maternal morbidity is a serious problem in resource-poor settings and contributes to maternal mortality, particularly in rural India; however, Misoprostal has been identified as a cost-effective maternal mortality intervention for home births. A study conducted in 2009, using multinomial logistic regression methods, found that 43. % of mothers reported to have experienced postpartum morbidities six weeks after delivery. Rural medical practitioners are highly sought after by people living in rural India as they more financially affordable and geographically accessible than practitioners working in the formal public health care sector. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched in April 2005 by the Government of India. The goal of the NRHM is to provide effective healthcare to rural people with a focus on 18 states which have poor public health indicators and/or weak infrastructure. COUNTRY| HEALTH INDEX| India| 0. 717| The U. S| 0. 923| The U.K| 0. 949| Pakistan| 0. 717| China| 0. 843| Oman| 0. 836| SCALE| HEALTH INDEX| Very High| 0. 946| High| 0. 838| Medium| 0. 784| Low| 0. 611| C) GDP per capita (PPP) It is defined as GDP divided by the total population of a country. Per capita income is often used as a measure of the wealth of the population of a nation, particularly in comparison to other nations. The very fact that India in spite of being the 4th larg est economy stands 140th in terms of per capita income indicates that the income is distributed unevenly where a very percentage of the population is rich while majority is poor. COUNTRY| GDP per capita($)|India| 2933| The U. S| 41761| The U. K| 32147| Pakistan| 2369| China| 6200| Oman| 23333| COUNTRY| INCOME INDEX| India| 0. 508| The U. S| 0. 869| The U. K| 0. 832| Pakistan| 0. 464| China| 0. 618| Oman| 0. 778| Poverty in India is widespread, with the nation estimated to have a third of the world's poor. In 2011, World Bank stated, 32. 7% of the total Indian people falls below the international poverty line of US$ 1. 25 per day (PPP) while 68. 7% live on less than US$ 2 per day. Lack of a market economy & over government regulation and red tape, known as License Raj is the main cause of poverty in India.While other Asian countries like China, Singapore and South Korea started with the same poverty level as India after independence, India adopted a soc ialist centrally planned, closed economy. Another cause is a high population growth rate, although demographers generally agree that this is a symptom rather than cause of poverty. While services and industry have grown at double digit figures, agriculture growth rate has dropped from 4. 8% to 2%. About sixty percent of the population depends on agriculture whereas the contribution of agriculture to the GDP is about eighteen percent.The surplus of labor in agriculture has caused many people to not have jobs. Farmers are a large vote bank and use their votes to resist reallocation of land for higher-income industrial projects. D) Gender Inequality Index There is strong evidence to suggest that India is a country of high concern in relation to missing women. The 2011 Census found a worrying trend in child sex ratios with only 914 females for 1,000 males, a drop from 927 in 2001. Using data from the 2011 Census in India, after adjusting for excess mortality rates in girls, the estimate s of number of selective abortions of girls rose from 0 to 2 million in the 1980s, to 1. to 4. 1 million in the 1990s, to 3. 1 to 6. 0 million in the 2000s. The study shows that the problem is in fact growing amongst the middle class which suggests that missing women cannot be attributed to poor socio-economic status. The male/female sex ratio for the total population in 2012 is 1. 08. According to data from the 2006-2007 Demographic and Health Survey for India, 41. 5% of girls and 45. 3% of boys under the age of two had received all their vaccinations. Under-five mortality rates were higher for girls than for boys (79. 2 per 1000 live births for girls, 69. % for boys), while malnutrition rates were equal or slightly higher for girls. Given that in most contexts, rates of under-five mortality and malnutrition are higher for boys than for girls, this would indicate bias towards sons in regard to early childhood care. Gender-disaggregated data in regard to child labor was unavailable. Primary and secondary school enrolment and attendance rates are lower for girls than for boys indicating some son preference in regard to access to education. COUNTRY| GENDER INEQUALITY INDEX| India| 0. 646| The U. S| 0. 311| The U. K| 0. 216| Pakistan| 0. 611| China| 0. 224| Oman| 0. 09| Conclusion â€Å"Economic growth†and â€Å"development†of any economy should go hand in hand unlike Indian economy where there is a huge contrast in this regard. India should focus on primary education, basic healthcare, gender equality and other social, environmental and economic aspects to ensure sustainable development. India has been very slow in reacting to the transformation of economy restructuring. Masses need to be educated about family planning, importance of education, gender inequality especially in rural areas so that they don’t take much time to adapt to an environment which is essential for development.Educational institutes should be set up on a large scale f ocusing more on basic education. Healthcare sector needs to be given prime importance. We need to take advantage of the technology available to us. Corruption is the biggest hindrance coming in the way of development and thus should be kept in check. India has till date come up with many schemes and programs for the poor section but has repeatedly failed to implement them effectively. So, while economic growth is vital to the economy, human development is to be given equal importance which decides or shows the true picture of the economy. Human Development Index What is HDI? The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of â€Å"human development†, taken as a synonym of the older terms â€Å"standard of living†and/or â€Å"quality of life†, and distinguishing â€Å"very high human development†, â€Å"high human development†, â€Å"medium human development†, and â€Å"low human development†countries. HDI was devised and launched by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, followed by Indian economist Amartya Sen in 1990. The HDI is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education, and standards of living of a country.It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is also used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, a developing or an underdeveloped country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. There are also HDI for states, cities, villages, etc. by local organizatio ns or companies which have interest in the matter. The HDI formula result is a number from 0 to 1, 1 being the best outcome possible. Components of HDI What does HDI tell us?The HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. The HDI can also be used to question national policy choices, asking how two countries with the same level of GNI per capita can end up with such different human development outcomes. For example, the Bahamas and New Zealand have similar levels of income per person, but life expectancy and expected years of schooling differ greatly between the two countries, resulting in New Zealand having a much higher HDI value than the Bahamas.These striking contrasts can stimulate debate about government policy priorities. What are the criteria for a country to be included in the HDI? The Human Development Report Office strives to include as many UN member countries as possible in the HDI. To include a country in the HDI we need recent, reliable and comparable data for all three dimensions of the Index. For a country to be included, statistics should ideally be available from the relevant international data agencies. India’s position in the worldIndia ranks a low 134 among 187 countries in the list that is headed by Norway and in which the Democratic Republic of Congo is at the very bottom in terms of the human development index (HDI). India's ranking in 2010 was 119 out of 169 countries. According to the â€Å"UN Human Development Report 2011: Sustainability and Inequality†, India's HDI is 0. 5 compared to 0. 3 in 2010. Comparison of India with few other countries Countries| Per Capita income in US $| Literacy Rate| Life Expectancy in years| HDI Rank| India| 1600| 74%| 67. 1| 134|US| 48,147| 99%| 79| 4| Canada| 51,147| 99%| 80. 7| 6| Germany| 40,631| 99%| 79. 4| 9| Nepal| 650| 68. 2%| 66. 5| 157| Pakistan| 1250| 70%| 66 . 3| 145| Growth Pattern of India Factors responsible for growth of India The then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, along with his finance minister Manmohan Singh, initiated the economic liberalization of 1991. The reforms did away with the Licence Raj, reduced tariffs and interest rates and ended many public monopolies, allowing automatic approval of foreign direct investment in many sectors.Since then, the overall thrust of liberalization has remained the same, although no government has tried to take on powerful lobbies such as trade unions and farmers, on contentious issues such as reforming labour laws and reducing agricultural subsidies. By the turn of the 20th century, India had progressed towards a free-market economy, with a substantial reduction in state control of the economy and increased financial liberalization. This has been accompanied by increases in life expectancy, literacy rates and food security, although urban residents have benefited more than agricultural reside nts.Also the boom in IT and other industries in services sector helped India to achieve economic strength whereby foreign currency started pouring in into the market. This was supported by the availability of skilled labours, talented brains and large young population. Growth Pattern of Nepal Nepal’s economic growth continues to be adversely affected by the political uncertainty. Nevertheless, real GDP growth is estimated to increase to almost 5 percent for 2011/2012. This is a considerable improvement from the 3. 5 percent GDP growth in 2010/2011 and would be the second highest growth rate in the post-conflict era.Sources of growth include agriculture, construction, financial and other services. The contribution of growth by consumption fueled by remittances has declined since 2010/2011. While remittance growth slowed to 11 percent (in Nepali Rupee terms) in 2010/2011 it has since increased to 37 percent. Remittances are estimated to be equivalent to 25-30 percent of GDP. In flation has been reduced to a three-year low to 7 percent. The proportion of poor people has declined substantially in recent years. The percentage of people living below the international poverty line (people earning less than US$1. 5 per day) has halved in only seven years. At this measure of poverty the percentage of poor people declined from 53. 1% in 2003/2004 to 24. 8% in 2010/2011. With a higher poverty line of US$2 dollars per-capita per day, poverty declined by one quarter to 57. 3%. However, the income distribution remains grossly uneven. Growth Pattern of Canada Factors responsible for growth in Canada The Canadian economy improved dramatically after 1896, and from that year until 1914, Canada had the world's fastest growing economy. The west was settled, the population grew quickly.The cause of this boom is debated. Whether the settlement of the west was a cause or effect of the boom is one of the most important issues. Globally the economy was improving with the end of the Long Depression. The last semi-humid farmland in the United States was exhausted, leaving Canada with the best unexploited farm land in North America. Technological changes from the steel plow to combine harvesters played an important role, but perhaps the most important development was the practice of dry farming that allowed farmers to profitably grow wheat on the semi-arid southern prairies.The most noted expansion was in western Canada, but at the same time Central Canada was undergoing a period of significant industrialization. While western and central Canada boomed during the pre-World War I years the economies of the three Maritime Provinces grew far more slowly. Investors from US and UK helped fuel country’s economic growth. Growth pattern of USA Factors responsible for growth in USA In the early years of American history, most political leaders were reluctant to involve the federal government too heavily in the private sector, except in the area of transportatio n.In general, they accepted the concept of laissez-faire, a doctrine opposing government interference in the economy except to maintain law and order. This attitude started to change during the latter part of the 19th century, when small business, farm, and labor movements began asking the government to intercede on their behalf. By the turn of the century, a middle class had developed that was leery of both the business elite and the somewhat radical political movements of farmers and laborers in the Midwest and West.Known as Progressives, these people favored government regulation of business practices to, in their minds, ensure competition and free enterprise. Congress enacted a law regulating railroads in 1887 (the Interstate Commerce Act), and one preventing large firms from controlling a single industry in 1890 (the Sherman Antitrust Act). Many of today's U. S. regulatory agencies were created during these years, including the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Tra de Commission. Electrification in the U. S. started in industry ca. 1900 and by 1930 about 80% of power used in industry was electric.Tractors began being mass-produced. In the 1980s, Japan was accelerating its speed and catching up to the USA. In the face of competition from Japan, Americans did not give up hope, but acted with a great sense of urgency. Ronald Reagan called on the industrial association and think-tanks to discuss countermeasures. Through investigation and analysis, they found that the computer and communications industries were beginning to show vitality and had large market potential. In the future, it was possible that they would develop into the world's largest industries.Therefore, the Reagan administration declined to adopt a short-term, profit-oriented competition strategy; rather, it adopted methods that allowed universities to work collaboratively with enterprises to co-develop the computer and communications industries. During the Clinton administration, a large investment was made in building up the world’s internet highway. Growth Pattern of Pakistan Growth Pattern of Germany Factors responsible for growth of Germany Germany's economic growth stemmed from a number of causes. One of the main physical reasons behind economic growth was the sophistication of infrastructure.Between 1845 and 1870 5000 more miles of rail had beenbuilt and in 1850 Germany was building her own locomotives. This increase of rail transport created a huge demand for coal, iron and buildings, therefore industry began on a plant style level. All of this increased the amount of labour needed. The labour need was fuelled by a population growth. From 35 million people in 1840 Germanygrew to 49 million people in 1875 creating a young dynamic workforce,full of innovated ideas for the new industry. Not only was the workforce gained from a population increase, urbanisation also added to the need.People working in factories grew from 4% to 10%. Banks, particular ly investment banks gave a great stimulus to industrialization. It was a combination of commercial enterprise, investment, and investment trusts backed by large central banks. The second industrial revolution was promoted by a number of important factors. Most important of these was probably the scientific-technological developments at the end of the century. Another factor which propelled German industry forward was the unification of the monetary system, made possible in part by political unification.Another economic factor was the increased markets,domestic and overseas. Comparison of growth patterns Why HDI of India is low? While we are steadily increasing our investments in health and education, we have been let down at the most basic level: female mortality rates. Our maternal mortality figures are 450 deaths per 100,000, which is the worst in south Asia. Our adolescent fertility rates also let us down, as do figures for female education. Yet, a quick stroll through the HDI fi gures does show some improvement across sectors in most parts of the country.The stumbling blocks are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, parts of West Bengal and even Maharashtra. Quite obviously, in our race to get ahead, we have forgotten the basics. It has taken us over 60 years since the Constitution was adopted to pass the Right to Education Act for free and compulsory secondary education to all, even though it has long been a part of our Directive Principles. Our dropout rate is high and the girl child is the first to lose the race to school. More painful is the rich-poor divide.Our cities may be full of state-of-the-art hospitals, ready to cater to medical tourists, but village after village in India does not even have access to primary health care. We supply doctors all over the world but are unable to service our own needy. It is almost as if we have got so used to being a poor country that we hardly notice it any more. But as the Sensex and the economy show, India is no longer an ultra-poor country in the aggregate. But we still have a shockingly large proportion of poor people who are being deprived of just about everything.This HDI report is just one more reminder of how far we have to go. It tells us where our priorities should be. India has made huge strides in the field of education and water supply system but the biggest block in the human development indices for India is in the field of sanitation where 58 per cent of open defecation in the world takes place in India. A mere expenditure of Rs 2000 crore (Rs 20 billion) in the field of sanitation is being made while the budget for water supply was Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion). AgricultureSlow agricultural growth is a concern for policymakers as some two-thirds of India’s people depend on rural employment for a living. Current agricultural practices are neither economically nor environmentally sustainable and India's yields for many agricultural commodities are low. Poorly maintained irrigation systems and almost universal lack of good extension services are among the factors responsible. Farmers' access to markets is hampered by poor roads, rudimentary market infrastructure, and excessive regulation. Agricultural output of India lags far behind its potential.The low productivity in India is a result of several factors. According to the World Bank, India's large agricultural subsidies are hampering productivity-enhancing investment. While overregulation of agriculture has increased costs, price risks and uncertainty, governmental intervention in labour, land, and credit markets are hurting the market. Infrastructure such as rural roads, electricity, ports, food storage, retail markets and services are inadequate. Further, the average size of land holdings is very small, with 70% of holdings being less than one hectare in size.The partial failure of land reforms in many states, exacerbated by poorly maintained or non-existent land reco rds, has resulted in sharecropping with cultivators lacking ownership rights, and consequently low productivity of labour. Adoption of modern agricultural practices and use of technology is inadequate, hampered by ignorance of such practices, high costs, illiteracy, slow progress in implementing land reforms, inadequate or inefficient finance and marketing services for farm produce and impracticality in the case of small land holdings. The allocation of water is inefficient, unsustainable and inequitable.The irrigation infrastructure is deteriorating. Irrigation facilities are inadequate, as revealed by the fact that only 39% of the total cultivable land was irrigated as of 2010, resulting in farmers still being dependent on rainfall, specifically the monsoon season, which is often inconsistent and unevenly distributed across the country. Corruption Corruption has been one of the pervasive problems affecting India. A 2005 study by Transparency International (TI) found that more than half of those surveyed had firsthand experience of paying bribe or peddling influence to get a job done in a public office in the previous year.A follow-on 2008 TI study found this rate to be 40 percent. In 2011, Transparency International ranked India at 95th place amongst 183 countries in perceived levels of public sector corruption. In 1996, red tape, bureaucracy and the Licence Raj were suggested as a cause for the institutionalised corruption and inefficiency. More recent reports suggest the causes of corruption in India include excessive regulations and approval requirements, mandated spending programs, monopoly of certain goods and service providers by government controlled institutions, bureaucracy with discretionary powers, and lack of transparent laws and processes.The Right to Information Act (2005) which requires government officials to furnish information requested by citizens or face punitive action, computerisation of services, and various central and state governmen t acts that established vigilance commissions, have considerably reduced corruption and opened up avenues to redress grievances. The number of people employed in non-agricultural occupations in the public and private sectors. Totals are rounded. Private sector data relates to non-agriculture establishments with 10 or more employees. The current government has concluded that most spending fails to reach its intended recipients.A large, cumbersome and tumor-like bureaucracy sponges up or siphons off spending budgets. India's absence rates are one of the worst in the world; one study found that 25% of public sector teachers and 40% of public sector medical workers could not be found at the workplace. The Indian economy has an underground economy, with an alleged 2006 report by the Swiss Bankers Association suggesting India topped the worldwide list for black money with almost $1,456 billion stashed in Swiss banks. This amounts to 13 times the country's total external debt. EducationInd ia has made huge progress in terms of increasing primary education attendance rate and expanding literacy to approximately three-fourth of the population. India's literacy rate had grown from 52. 2% in 1991 to 74. 04% in 2011. The right to education at elementary level has been made one of the fundamental rights under the eighty-sixth Amendment of 2002, and legislation has been enacted to further the objective of providing free education to all children. However, the literacy rate of 74% is still lower than the worldwide average and the country suffers from a high dropout rate.Further, there exists a severe disparity in literacy rates and educational opportunities between males and females, urban and rural areas, and among different social groups. Infrastructure In the past, development of infrastructure was completely in the hands of the public sector and was plagued by slow progress, poor quality and inefficiency. India's low spending on power, construction, transportation, teleco mmunications and real estate, at $31 billion or 6% of GDP in 2002 had prevented India from sustaining higher growth rates.This has prompted the government to partially open up infrastructure to the private sector allowing foreign investment, and most public infrastructure, barring railways, is today constructed and maintained by private contractors, in exchange for tax and other concessions from the government. While 80% of Indian villages have at least an electricity line, just 44% of rural households have access to electricity. Some half of the electricity is stolen, compared with 3% in China. The stolen electricity amounts to 1. 5% of GDP.Transmission and distribution losses amount to around 20%, as a result of an inefficient distribution system, handled mostly by cash-strapped state-run enterprises. Almost all of the electricity in India is produced by the public sector. Power outages are common, and many buy their own power generators to ensure electricity supply. 6] Substantia l improvements in water supply infrastructure, both in urban and rural areas, have taken place over the past decade, with the proportion of the population having access to safe drinking water rising from 66% in 1991 to 92% in 2001 in rural areas, and from 82% to 98% in urban areas.However, quality and availability of water supply remains a major problem even in urban India, with most cities getting water for only a few hours during the day. Economic disparities A critical problem facing India's economy is the sharp and growing regional variations among India's different states and territories in terms of poverty, availability of infrastructure and socio-economic development. Six low-income states – Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh – are home to more than one third of India's population.Severe disparities exist among states in terms of income, literacy rates, life expectancy and living conditions. The five-year plans, especially i n the pre-liberalization era, attempted to reduce regional disparities by encouraging industrial development in the interior regions and distributing industries across states, but the results have not been very encouraging since these measures in fact increased inefficiency and hampered effective industrial growth.After liberalization, the more advanced states have been better placed to benefit from them, with well-developed infrastructure and an educated and skilled workforce, which attract the manufacturing and service sectors. The governments of backward regions are trying to reduce disparities by offering tax holidays and cheap land, and focusing more on sectors like tourism which, although being geographically and historically determined, can become a source of growth and develops faster than other sectors.In fact, the economists fail to realize that ultimately the problem of equitable growth or inclusive growth is intricately related to the problems of good governance and tran sparency. HDI for Indian states State| HDI| Rank| Maharashtra| 0. 689| 12| Madhya Pradesh| 0. 375| 33| Kerala| 0. 921| 1| Reasons for low HDI in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra as compared to Kerala: Life Expectancy: The life expectancy in MP is 56. 5 years for male and 56. 2 years for females averaging around 56. 4. The life expectancy in Maharashtra is 64. 5 for males and 67 for females averaging to 65. 8 years for the total population.The life expectancy in Kerala is 73. 5 years. As an important component of HDI life expectancy should be higher, but here it is low as compared to Kerala. Literacy rate: The literacy rate in MP is only 64. 11% which is very low. More than that literacy rate of women is very low. The literacy rate in Maharashtra is 77. 21 % whereas in Kerala it is 90. 92 %. Literacy is reasonably a good indicator of development in a society. Spread and diffusion f literacy is generally associated with essential trait of today’s civilization such as urbanization , modernization, industrialization, communication and commerce.Standard of living: The main factors influencing standard of living are poverty, physical infrastructure, regional imbalance. Poverty is very high in MP. Also the physical infrastructure is very poor. Poverty is high I Maharashtra because of high population. The physical infrastructure varies from region to region. In cities like Mumbai and Pune the infrastructure is world class, but in other regions of the state the infrastructure is not so good which shows regional imbalance Poverty in Kerala is very low. All over Kerala the physical infrastructure is good, there is no regional imbalance. Human Development Index Introduction: The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of â€Å"human development†and separate â€Å"very high human development†, â€Å"high human development†, â€Å"medium human development†, and â€Å"low human development†countries. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, a developing or an under-developed country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. There are also HDI for states, cities, villages, etc. by local organizations or companies. Background: The origins of the HDI are found in the annual Human Development Reports of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). These were devised and launched by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq in 1990 and had the explicit purpose ‘‘to shift the focus of development economics from national income accounting to people centered policies’’. To produce the Human Development Reports, Mahbub ul Haq brought together a group of well-known development economists including: Paul Streeten, Frances Stewart, Gustav Ranis, Keith Griffin, Sudhir Anand and Meghnad Desai. But it was Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s work on capabilities and functionings that provided the underlying conceptual framework. Haq was sure that a simple composite measure of human development was needed in order to convince the public, academics, and policy-makers that they can and should evaluate development not only by economic advances but also improvements in human well-being. Sen initially opposed this idea, but he went on to help Haq develop the Human Development Index (HDI). Sen was worried that it was difficult to capture the full complexity of human capabilities in a single index but Haq persuaded him that only a single number would shift the attention of policy-makers from concentration on economic to human well-being. Data collection: Life expectancy at birth is provided by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs; mean years of schooling by Barro and Lee (2010); expected years of schooling by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics; and GNI per capita by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. For few countries, mean years of schooling are estimated from nationally representative household surveys. Many data gaps still exist in even some very basic areas of human development indicators. While actively advocating for the improvement of human development data, as a principle and for practical reasons, the Human Development Report Office does not collect data directly from countries or make estimates to fill these data gaps in the Report. Dimensions and calculation: Published on 4 November 2010, starting with the 2010 Human Development Report the HDI combines three dimensions: 1. A long and healthy life: Life expectancy at birth 2. Access to knowledge: Mean years of schooling and Expected years of schooling 3. A decent standard of living: GNI per capita (PPP US$) The HDI combined three dimensions up until its 2010 report: 1. Life expectancy at birth, as an index of population health and longevity 2. Knowledge and education, as measured by the adult literacy rate (with two-thirds weighting) and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrollment ratio (with one-third weighting). 3. Standard of living, as indicated by the natural logarithm of gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity. New methodology for 2010 data onwards: In its 2010 Human Development Report the UNDP began using a new method of calculating the HDI. The following three indices are used: LE ¬-20 1. Life Expectancy Index (LEI) = 63. 2 vMYSI . EYSI 2. Education Index (EI) = 0. 951 ln (GNIpc) – ln (163) 3. Income Index (II) = ln(108,211) – ln (163) Finally, the HDI is the geometric mean of the previous three normalized indices: HDI = v LEI . EI . II 2010 report: The 2010 Human Development Report by the United Nations Development Program was released on November 4, 2010, and calculates HDI values based on estimates for 2010. Criticisms: The Human Development Index has been criticised on a number of grounds, including failure to include any ecological considerations, focusing exclusively on national performance and ranking (although many national Human Development Reports, looking at subnational performance, have been published by UNDP and othersâ€â€so this last claim is untrue), not paying much attention to development from a global perspective and based on grounds of measurement error of the underlying statistics and formula changes by the UNDP which can lead to severe misclassifications of countries in the categories of being a ‘low', ‘medium', ‘high' or ‘very high' human evelopment country. Other authors claimed that the Human Development Reports â€Å"have lost touch with their original vision and the index fails to capture the essence of the world it seeks to portray†. The index has also been criticized as â€Å"redundant†and a â€Å"reinvention of the wheel†, m easuring aspects of development that have already been exhaustively studied. The index has further been criticised for having an inappropriate treatment of income, lacking year-to-year comparability, and assessing development differently in different groups of countries. Economist Bryan Caplan has criticised the way HDI scores are produced; each of the three components are bounded between zero and one. As a result of that, rich countries effectively cannot improve their rating (and thus their ranking relative to other countries) in certain categories, even though there is a lot of scope for economic growth and longevity left. â€Å"This effectively means that a country of immortals with infinite per-capita GDP would get a score of . 66 (lower than South Africa and Tajikistan) if its population were illiterate and never went to school. †He argues, â€Å"Scandinavia comes out on top according to the HDI because the HDI is basically a measure of how Scandinavian your country is. †Economists Hendrik Wolff, Howard Chong and Maximilian Auffhammer discuss the HDI from the perspective of data error in the underlying health, education and income statistics used to construct the HDI. 18] They identify three sources of data error which are due t o (i) data updating, (ii) formula revisions and (iii) thresholds to classify a country’s development status and find that 11%, 21% and 34% of all countries can be interpreted as currently misclassified in the development bins due to the three sources of data error, respectively. The authors suggest that the United Nations should discontinue the practice of classifying countries into development bins because the cut-off values seem arbitrary, can provide incentives for strategic behavior in reporting official statistics, and have the potential to misguide politicians, investors, charity donators and the public at large which use the HDI. In 2010 the UNDP reacted to the criticism and updated the thresholds to classify nations as low, medium and high human development countries. In a comment to The Economist in early January 2011, the Human Development Report Office responded[24] to a January 6, 2011 article in The Economist which discusses the Wolff et al. paper. The Human Development Report Office states that they undertook a systematic revision of the methods used for the calculation of the HDI and that the new methodology directly addresses the critique by Wolff et al. in that it generates a system for continuous updating of the human development categories whenever formula or data revisions take place. The following are common criticisms directed at the HDI: that it is a redundant measure that adds little to the value of the individual measures composing it; that it is a means to provide legitimacy to arbitrary weightings of a few aspects of social development; that it is a number producing a relative ranking which is useless for inter-temporal comparisons, and difficult to compare a country's progress or regression since the HDI for a country in a given year depends on the levels of, say, life expectancy or GDP per capita of other countries in that year. However, each year, UN member states are listed and ranked according to the computed HDI. If high, the rank in the list can be easily used as a means of national aggrandizement; alternatively, if low, it can be used to highlight national insufficiencies. Using the HDI as an absolute index of social welfare, some authors have used panel HDI data to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. Ratan Lal Basu criticises the HDI concept from a completely different angle. According to him the Amartya Sen-Mahbub ul Haq concept of HDI considers that provision of material amenities alone would bring about Human Development, but Basu opines that Human Development in the true sense should embrace both material and moral development. According to him human development based on HDI alone, is similar to dairy farm economics to improve dairy farm output. To quote: ‘So human development effort should not end up in amelioration of material deprivations alone: it must undertake to bring about spiritual and moral development to assist the biped to become truly human. [31] For example, a high suicide rate would bring the index down. A few authors have proposed alternative indices to address some of the index's shortcomings. However, of those proposed alternatives to the HDI, few have produced alternatives covering so many countries, and that no development index (other than, perhaps, Gross Domestic Product per capita) has been used so extensivelyâ€â€or ef fectively, in discussions and developmental planning as the HDI. However, there has been one lament about the HDI that has resulted in an alternative index: David Hastings, of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific published a report geographically extending the HDI to 230+ economies, whereas the UNDP HDI for 2009 enumerates 182 economies and coverage for the 2010 HDI dropped to 169 countries
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Dramas and Comedies on the Big Screen Essay
â€Å"Forrest Gump†is one of Tom Hanks’ best movies. He did an outstanding job of playing a dimwitted man who always seemed to be a part of most major events that happened during the 1960s and 1970s. It told an awesome story of a man recollecting his childhood to his present life. Sally Field also did an excellent job of playing Hank’s mother in the movie. She was the 1995 BAFTA Supporting Actress nominee. The visual effects were dynamic, especially the way that Gary Sinise’s character â€Å"Lt. Dan Taylor†was shown with amputated legs. The movie won the 1995 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Eddie Murphy plays seven different characters (five at the same time) in â€Å"The Nutty Professor†. The main character, Sherman Klump, is an overweight college professor that tries to impress a chemistry graduate student, Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett-Smith). He is so frustrated with himself that he takes a weight-loss formula. Of course, it has flaws that affect him and the people around him. This is definitely a movie that showcased Eddie’s talents. It is very few actors that can play multiple roles to that extent. This is movie that will make you laugh out loud. The makeup jobs were also very impressive features about this movie. Many movies that are produced are based on books or remakes of classics. Some movies are remade more than once. In some cases, the original is always the best. In these instances, both versions are comparatively terrific. Reference 1. Retrieved July 22, 2009 from http://www. netflix. com.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
US electoral college essays
US electoral college essays ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM: Is it time for a change? The recent presidential election brought to the forefront of the American publics mind the question of whether the Electoral College remains an appropriate method of electing the nations highest-ranking public official. Although the closeness of this race reminded the general public that they did not have the right to directly elect the president, the debate as to the value of this system, or the question of what is the best method, is not new. In fact, the shortcomings of the Electoral College system have for some time been the subject of academic debate (Abbott). Over the years, the favor, and disfavor, of the Electoral College system has ebbed and flowed with the possibility of an election resulting in no majority winner, due to a viable third party candidate, or the possibility of a president being elected without winning the popular vote. Thus, with the recent election of president Bush, who failed to win the popular vote, yet garnered the 270 Electoral Votes necessary to atta in a majority, the debate has again gained momentum as not a purely academic question (Wildvasky). While the Electoral College system does serve several arguably desirable objectives, it also limits the personal power of the voter. This paper will look at both sides of the debate, and then draw a conclusion as to whether or not the value of the Electoral College system outweighs the costs. However, before looking at the pros and cons of our present system, it is best to begin with an explanation of how the Electoral College system came about and its original intended purposes. By understanding this, the foundation of the Electoral College system can be applied to the 21st century and examined for its relevance. Finally, this paper will conclude that the Electoral College system does not fit with the realities of 21st century elections, nor is it even being used, as it was intended when adopt...
Monday, October 21, 2019
Life of Pi Essay
Life of Pi Essay Life of Pi Essay Uniforms should be implemented in schools. The reason why I agree is because students will learn to respect each other. After all, looking professional is a good way to give a first good impression. Respect could also be gained through the discipline students get from wearing uniforms. Also, buying uniforms could be a great way for parents to save money. I mean, uniforms cost $500 max, but if you think about it is way more expensive. Plus, if you think about it, parents would save more money buying uniforms than new shirts, pants, and shoes to replaces old up ones. This essay will explain why students learn to respect each other and why uniforms help families save money. However, there are also arguments to why uniforms should not be implemented in schools. The fact that there would be not diversity and it could lead to a rebellion or protest. Also, they might say that uniforms are boring, especially since you'd have to wear the same thing everyday. Which is what could affect a person's (most likely children or teens) self-development and discovery. There is also one thing that I have to admit that I agree on. The fact that uniforms won't stop the fact that students will still get bullied or teased. By making students believe the opposite, this would create a false sense of security. Which is not a good thing for teens and especially children, since they might think that the world is all about safety and respect... which is not the case. I think that schools should
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Biography of Louise Nevelson, American Sculptor
Biography of Louise Nevelson, American Sculptor Louise Nevelson was an American sculptor best known for her monumental monochromatic three-dimensional grid constructions. By the end of her life, she was met with much critical acclaim. She is remembered through many permanent public art installations throughout the U.S., including New York City’s Louise Nevelson Plaza on Maiden Lane in the Financial District and Philadelphias Bicentennial Dawn, made in 1976 in honor of the bicentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Fast Facts: Louise Nevelson Occupation: Artist and sculptorBorn: September 23, 1899 in present-day Kiev, UkraineDied: April 17, 1988 in New York City, New YorkEducation: Art Students League of New YorkKnown For: Monumental sculptural works and public art installations Early Life Louise Nevelson was born Louise Berliawsky in 1899 in Kiev, then part of Russia. At the age of four, Louise, her mother, and her siblings set sail for America, where her father had already established himself. On the journey, Louise fell sick and was quarantined in Liverpool. Through her delirium, she recalls vivid memories which she cites as essential to her practice, including shelves of vibrant candies in jars. Though she was only four at the time, Nevelson’s conviction that she was to be an artist was present at a remarkably young age, a dream from which she never strayed. Louise and her family settled in Rockland, Maine, where her father became a successful contractor. Her father’s occupation made it easy for a young Louise to interact with material, picking up pieces of wood and metal from her father’s workshop and using it to construct small sculptures. Though she began her career as a painter and dabbled in etchings, she would return to sculpture in her mature work, and it is for these sculptures that she is best known. Though her father was a success in Rockland, Nevelson always felt like the outsider in the Maine town, notably scarred by the exclusion she suffered based on her height and, presumably, her foreign origins. (She was captain of the basketball team, but this did not help her chances at being crowned Lobster Queen, a distinction awarded the most beautiful girl in town.) Though her father was known around Rockland due to his professional activities, Nevelson’s mother secluded herself, rarely socializing with her fellow neighbors. This hardly could have helped young Louise and her siblings adjust to life in the United States. The feeling of difference and alienation drove young Nevelson to escape to New York by any means possible (a journey that reflects somewhat of an artistic philosophy, as she has been quoted as saying, â€Å"If you want to go to Washington, you get on a plane. Someone has to take you there, but its your voyage†). The means that presented itself was a hasty proposal from Charles Nevelson, who young Louise had only met a handful of times. She married Charles in 1922, and later the couple had a son, Myron. Advancing Her Career In New York, Nevelson enrolled in the Art Students League, but family life was unsettling to her. In 1931, she escaped again, this time without her husband and son. Nevelson abandoned her newly-minted family- never to return to her marriage- and departed for Munich, where she studied with the famous art teacher and painter Hans Hoffman. (Hoffman would himself eventually move to the United States and teach a generation of American painters, perhaps the most influential art teacher of the 1950s and 60s. Nevelson’s early recognition of his importance only reinforces her vision as an artist.) Louise Nevelson with her work in the 1950s.  Getty Images After following Hoffman to New York, Nevelson eventually worked under the Mexican painter Diego Rivera as a muralist. Back in New York, she settled in a brownstone on 30th Street, which was filled to bursting with her work. As Hilton Kramer wrote of a visit to her studio, â€Å"It was certainly unlike anything one had ever seen or imagined. Its interior seemed to have been stripped of everything...that might divert attention from the sculptures that crowded every space, occupied every wall, and at once filled and bewildered the eye wherever it turned. Divisions between the rooms seemed to dissolve in an endless sculptural environment. At the time of Kramer’s visit, Nevelson’s work was not selling, and she was often by her exhibitions at the Grand Central Moderns Gallery, which did not sell a single piece. Nevertheless, her prolific output is an indication of her singular resolve- a belief held since childhood- that she was meant to be a sculptor. Persona Louise Nevelson the woman was perhaps more well-known than Louise Nevelson the artist. She was famous for her eccentric aspect, combining dramatic styles, colors, and textures in her clothing offset by an extensive collection of jewelry. She wore fake eyelashes and headscarves that emphasized her gaunt face, making her appear to be somewhat of a mystic. This characterization is not contradictory with her work, which she spoke of with an element of mystery, as if it arrived from another world. Louise Nevelson in the eccentric costume she was known for, photographed in her New York studio in 1974. Jack Mitchell / Getty Images Work and Legacy Louise Nevelson’s work is highly recognizable for its consistent color and style. Often in wood or metal, Nevelson primarily gravitated towards the color black- not for its somber tone, but for its evincing of harmony and eternity. [B]lack means totality, it means contains all†¦ if I speak about it every day for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t finish what it really means, Nevelson said of her choice. Though she would also work with whites and golds, she is consistent in the monochrome nature of her sculpture. A characteristically monochrome abstract sculpture by Nevelson. Corbis/VCG via Getty Images / Getty Images The primary works of her career were exhibited in galleries as â€Å"environments†: multi-sculpture installations which worked as a whole, grouped under a single title, among them â€Å"The Royal Voyage,†â€Å"Moon Garden One,†and â€Å"Sky Columns Presence.†Though these works no longer exist as wholes, their original construction gives a window into the process and meaning of Nevelson’s work. The totality of these works, which were often arranged as if each sculpture were a wall of a four-sided room, parallels Nevelson’s insistence on using a single color. The experience of unity, of disparate gathered parts which make up a whole, sums up Nevelson’s approach to materials, especially as the spindles and shards she incorporated into her sculptures give off the air of random detritus. By fashioning these objects into grid structures, she endows them with a certain weight, which asks us to reassess the material with which we come in contact. Louise Nevelson died in 1988 at the age of eighty-eight. Sources Gayford, M. and Wright, K. (2000). Grove Book of Art Writing. New York: Grove Press. 20-21.Kort, C. and Sonneborn, L. (2002). A to Z of American Women in the Visual Arts. New York: Facts on File, Inc. 164-166.Lipman, J. (1983). Nevelsons World. New York: Hudson Hills Press.Marshall, R. (1980). Louise Nevelson: Atmospheres and Environments. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc.Munro, E. (2000). Originals: American Women Artists. New York: Da Capo Press.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Evaluate communication skills in role play Essay
Evaluate communication skills in role play - Essay Example Summary of Scenario The scenario given is based on the relationship between Kelly, an elderly individual living in a nursing home and Mary, the care giver. Kelly is the age of 80 and requires basic assistance for daily living activities; however, she is still fairly independent with her actions. Mary goes to give Kelly her morning breakfast and is accused of stealing Kelly’s money as she is the only one in the room. Mary states that Kelly should look in her purse again to see if the money is there; however, Kelly refuses and continues to become aggressive toward Mary. After this point, there are two methods of communication that are used. The first is with Mary who tells Linda, the manager, about the given scenario and what the results are. The second is when the message is communicated to Doreen, the daughter of Kelly. Doreen tells her mother to look in her purse where the money is found. Kelly and Mary also go into the room to resolve the conflict; however, the money has bee n found and an apology is made toward Mary. Theories of Communication The first application that can be seen with the scenario between Kelly and Mary is based on behavioural theory. This theory states that the communication and motivation which is used may alter the behaviours which one takes as well as the intentions which are a part of the theory. When using persuasive communication in the right manner, the behaviours alter and a different mood is created toward the situation (Fishbein, Cappella, S1: 2006). When looking at the scenario between Kelly and Mary, it can be seen that the motivation factors alters the behaviour. Mary first tries to alter the situation by calming Kelly down and motivating her to look in her bag. However, the behavioural response leads to aggressive behaviour toward Mary. The motivation at this point is used in a negative manner because of the situation. The same concept of behavioural theory is applied when Doreen steps in. The communication is used in a non – threatening manner and Kelly is able to express her concerns thoroughly. This allows Doreen to motivate Kelly to look in her bag. The response isn’t negative because of the way the information is communicated to her mother. The communication that was used negatively is one which may directly be associated with Mary as well as with Linda later during the scenario. According to Eric Berne, the negative communication is one which is not only based on this scenario. Reactions and experiences also may create a psychological response to the situation. If the communication approach is one which constitutes a psychological reaction or triggers a memory, then a negative response may occur. The scripts which may lead to a negative reaction include protocol, script proper and adaptation. The protocol of Kelly is relayed through her instant reaction of believing that Mary took her money. The script proper is also a retelling of past experiences and psychological responses t o the situation. The adaptation is retrieved when a change in attitude and understanding of the situation is correctly applied (Stewart, 7: 2007). When looking at this situation, it can be seen that the negative response was based only on psychological responses. The relation that Kelly has with both Mary and Linda triggers a negative reaction or protocol which Kelly believes is true. This can be seen in the overall
Prohibition, War on Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Prohibition, War on Drugs - Essay Example Within such an understanding, the following analysis will seek to compare and contrast the objective and subjective effects of the way in which existing drug policy, inclusive of alcohol allowance and taxation, creates a unique and somewhat unreasonable dynamic. Although it is not the place of this brief analysis to advocate a safe entirely new approach to drug policy within the United States, it is the hope of this research that a greater level of inference with regards to the appropriate response framework that government represents will be able to be inferred. Firstly, it must be understood that current drug policy within the United States is very much akin to Prohibition that existed following WWI. Within such an understanding, the similarities between the way in which the government, prompted by temperance movement activists throughout the nation, outlawed the production and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages within the United States is eerily similar to the way in which the ATF, FBI, and a litany of other federal and local law enforcement entities have worked in tandem since the declared War on Drugs to rid the United States of illegal substances. Anyone with even a cursory introduction to economics can realize that such a practice is ultimately futile. This is of course due to the fact that the more that a government outlaws the production, sale, distribution, and consumption of a specific good or service, then as long as that good or service is demanded, then the price thereof will increase dramatically. This jump in price is the direct result of government pressures and creates a litany of different interests that seek to capitalize on such a lucrative market. As can clearly be noted, Prohibition was soon repealed due to the fact that public outcry against it had reached a tipping point and the inability of the authorities to continue to strain the legal system with such low-level violations had reached a maximum. Yet, from an alternate standpoint, there are those individuals that reference the fact that Prohibition was ultimately effective due to the fact that it drastically reduced the amount of alcohol produced and consumed within the United States during this particular period of time; driving many would-be alcoholics into a level of forced sobriety and benefitting society by extension. In seeking to address which of these view is the more effective, it is the view of this particular author that the government was fighting a losing battle from the very beginning. Due to the fact that controlling aspects of personality and character and what an individual decides to put in their body is a personal choice, the rate of success that the government might have expected at the outset of Prohibition was limited to say the least. From a civil liberties perspective, the current government is engaging in a situation very similar to Prohibition with regards to the ongoing and exorbitantly expensive War on Drugs. Generation after gener ation of young disenfranchised citizens are being put behind bars for minor drug offenses; a process that ultimately hardens these young men and women and creates a much greater lasting problem for
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