Matsuo Taseko and the Meiji Restoration essays

Matsuo Taseko and the Meiji Restoration essays The Tokugawa period of Japanese history was a time of rigid class stratification. The Weak Body of a Useless Woman: Matsuo Taseko and the Meiji Restoration by Anne Walthall deals with the transformation from the age of the samurai to the modern; from the Shogunate to Empirical rule and the beginning transition from an agrarian to technological society. This book is about change, specifically, social and political change, but. also, about changes that occurred within the life of an individual, a woman and a Matsuo Taseko was born into the peasant class. Her family were farmers living and working in the Ina Valley in what is now the Nagano Province. The samurai system was based on a feudal and agrarian society where the workers paid homage' or taxes to the local ruling samurai. Taseko was the daughter of the local headman, which brought responsibility as well as greater contact with others, including political leaders. It also made her part of the rural elite', a part of the local political structure. Her family were involved in an extensive system of rural entrepenurism, or self-employment, that bridged the agricultural and merchant classes. They were involved in making and selling sake and were known to be the local moneylenders. She learned to read and write, an honor generally denied the peasant. She wrote poetry that reflected both her education and her political inclinations. She was trained in classical poetic form, allowing her a place among the intellectuals of the time. She was a devout subject of the Emperor. Taseko remained within the rural elite by marrying a headman of another village. She birthed ten children, although three died in infancy. She joined the ranks of entrepreneurs by cultivating silkworms, becoming wealthy according to the limits of class and opportunity. Her marriage was typical of social expectations and she ...

Impact of financial crysis into international economy Essay

Impact of financial crysis into international economy - Essay Example In addition, there is a global credit crunch that has paralyzed economic development in the third world countries as well as slowing down the economic growth rates of the developed countries. Furthermore, both the first and third world countries have reported an increase in the rate of unemployment and poverty. There has also been a nosedive in exports, investment and asset markets (Healy and Palepu 13). Therefore, with the aim of studying the impact of financial crisis into international economy this article will outline its causes, consequences and the impact of the credit crunch. CAUSES OF THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS (GFC) According to most economists, the current economic crunch is the worst kind of financial crisis that the world has faced so far since the Great Depression of the 1930s (BWND ch. 1).. The root cause of the credit crunch is related to the development of the US housing bubble that rapidly occurred between 2005 and 2006. This resulted to an increase in the number of default rates of the adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) and subprime (Calomiris 6-52). This is because the banking institutions were willing and readily gave out loans to investors to purchase real estate property. Investors were encouraged to apply for high loans believing that they would settle them within a short time (BWND ch. 3). Investors applied for loans with ignorance of the interest rates. In fact, investors could easily access a plethora of loans including credit card, mortgage and auto which lured them to apply for the loans without considering the unprecedented load that would be caused by the debt. There were also a myriad of financial agreements including collateralized debt obligations (CDO) and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) which stipulated a more friendly strategy for settling the debt (Salmon ch. 5). This was a marketing strategy that encouraged investors from all over the world to venture in the US housing market. Moreover, the US federal bureau had monitored th e interest rates since 1982 to ensure they were steadily decreasing. The easy access to foreign funds encouraged investors to undertake the loans for fuelling the housing construction projects (Healy and Palepu 13). Come the year 2007, interest rates increased with an outrageous margin resulting to a decrease in the housing prices. Conversely, most investors were adversely affected since raising money became increasingly difficult. Within a short time there was an increase in the number of foreclosed real estate properties. Also most of the global financial institutions that had invested heavily on the financial agreements incurred huge losses. This led to the erosion of financial strength for banking institutions. As a result there was a worldwide drain of wealth which led to an increase in poverty levels. In addition, there were an increased number of loan defaulters and not only in the housing sector but also in other economic sectors resulting to unbearable losses that cost the globe trillions of dollars (Calomiris 6-52). Another factor that resulted to the growth of the credit crunch is the financialization process. The US credit and housing bubble rapidly expanded the international financial stability until it became fragile and susceptible to a wide array of risks. This is because financial institu

Business system analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business system analysis - Essay Example ructure is created to visually demonstrate the clients what their needs can seem similar to when they are applied into a completed system (Sommerville, 2009). Evolutionary prototyping method is a software development lifecycle model in which software prototype developed for illustration and requirements explanation. There are four main phases in Evolutionary prototyping model: (SoftDevTeam) Evolutionary Prototyping is also recognized as breadboard prototyping. Evolutionary Prototyping is moderately dissimilar from Throwaway Prototyping. The major objective to utilize Evolutionary Prototyping is to develop an extremely strong prototype in a prearranged way and continuously process it. The cause intended for this is that the Evolutionary prototype, at what time developed, shapes the compassion of the novel system, as well as the developments and additional requirements will be developed (Hanna Kulas, 2009). A class diagram graphically demonstrates classes and subclasses in a system(Shelly, Cashman and Vermaat). A class diagram is a diagram that demonstrates the associations as well as source code dependability amongst classes in the UML or Unified Modeling Language (Ambler, 2009). A class outlines the techniques and variables in an object that is a precise body in a plan or the component of code instead of that entity. The Class diagrams are practical in the entire shapes of OOP or object-oriented programming. The idea is a number of years mature on the other hand have been advanced like object-oriented programming modeling paradigms have developed (Searchsoa, 2009). Below is an example of Class diagram: A use case is a task that an actor who interacts with an information system can carry out(Shelly, Cashman and Vermaat). A Use case is intended to elucidate a series of events that offer something of quantifiable worth to an actor as well as is drawn like a horizontal ellipse (Ambler, UML 2 Use Case Diagrams, 2009). In software engineering, the utilization of a

Atlantic Slave Trade Essay Example for Free

Atlantic Slave Trade Essay A slave can be defined as a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another, a bond servant or a person entirely under the domination of some influence or person. Slavery was well recognized in many early civilizations. Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, the Akkad Ian Empire, Assyria, Ancient India, Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, the Islamic Caliphate, the Hebrews in Palestine, and the pre-Columbian civilizations of the Americas all had either a form of debt-slavery, punishment for crime, enslavement of prisoners of war, child abandonment or birth of slave children to slaves. However, as the sixteenth century approached, so did the change in the way slavery would be looked at, for years to come. The Atlantic slave trade became the name of the three part economic cycle that involved four continents for four centuries and millions of people. The Atlantic slave trade or the middle passage, triangular trade and slavery affected the economy of Europe, Africa and the Americas in both negative and positive aspects. Starting in the 1430’s Portuguese were the first to sail down the coast of Africa to search for gold and jewels. The Portuguese had to extend their power across the co+ast because Sub-Saharan Africa’s trade routes were controlled by the Islamic Empire. By 1445, The Portuguese conquered three African countries and created trading posts. This allowed them access to Europe across the Sahara. Initially, the Portuguese traded copperware, cloth, tools, wine and horses for pepper, ivory and most importantly gold. The first slave purchase is said to have taken place in 1441 when the Portuguese caught two African males while they were along the coast. The Africans in the nearby village paid them in gold for their return. Eventually, they developed the idea that they could get more gold by transporting slaves along Africa’s coast. The Muslims were enticed by the idea of slavery as they used them as porters and for profit. Portugal had a monopoly on the export of slaves in Africa for more than two hundred years. This encounter is the beginning of one of the most tragic events in history, the Atlantic triangular trade (Thomas 1997). A triangular trade evolves when a region has export commodities that aren’t required in the region which its major imports come and provides a method for trade imbalances. The triangular trade is named for the rough shape it makes on a map. It worked like a triangle between all the colonies that were involved. For centuries the world was took part in its most successful trading system. There where nearly fifteen million Africans were shipped to both North and South America for more than three-hundred. Slaves, cash crops and manufactured goods were the most traded between the Americas, Europe and Africa. The Europeans controlled the first stage of the trade by carrying supplies for sale and trade such as, cloth, spirit, tobacco, beads, shells, metal goods and guns. This was their method of which were used to help expand empires and capture more slaves. These goods were exchanged for purchased and kidnapped African slaves (www. nmm. ac. uk/freedom/viewTheme. cfm/theme/triangular). African kings and merchants would capture the slaves or organize campaigns ran by the Europeans. The motives of the Europeans were based on one thing; they lacked a major source, a work force. It was stated that the Indigenes people were unreliable and Europeans were unsuited to the climate. However, Africans had experience in agriculture, keeping cattle, content with the climate. Africa soon became reliant on the slavery of their people and the profits that came along with it. The next stage involved the slaves being transported by voyage to the Americas and Caribbean, the middle passage (PBS. â€Å"The African Slave Trade and the Middle Passage. † http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr4. html). The middle passage was a perilous, horrendous journey slaves made across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. The final stage of the Atlantic slave trade was the return to Europe from the Americas with the produce from the slave-labor plantations. Most regions of North and South America were used to provide these raw materials to Europe for manufacturing. This wasn’t the first or only slave trade, but it was the cruelest. What began as a quest for gold ended as a quest for slaves, leaving a major stamp on African and American history (Thomas 1997). Before undergoing the middle passage, slaves faced human misery and suffering. Kidnapped slaves were forced to walk shackled in slave caravans to European coastal forts. Due to the lack of food and energy, half of the slaves became sick and were killed or left to die. Some had the strength to make it so they were left in underground dungeons. For years, Africans were stranded in these dungeons across the coast of Africa.. There, they wait on the embarked horrid encounter of the entire slave trade, the middle passage. None of the previous passengers returned to their homeland so none of the Africans knew what they were about to endure. The voyages were generally organized by companies and investors because they were a huge financial burden(â€Å"The African Slave Trade and the Middle Passage). Two theories show the packing of slaves in the European ships; loose and tight packing. Loose packing carried less slaves with the hopes of more room and more slaves making it to the Americas alive and in fair condition. This was exchanged for tight packing. Captains believed despite more casualties, this would yield a greater profit. On occasion, veterinarians inspected the slaves before the voyage to determine which slaves could make it across the Atlantic Ocean. The enslaved Africans were chained together by hand and foot, not even being able to lie on one’s side. They ate, slept, urinated, defecated, gave birth and died all in that one spot. There was overcrowding, inadequate ventilation and little to no sanitation. Twenty percent of every hundred died along the way from either suffocation, starvation, amoebic dysentery, scurvy or a disease such as small pox. The slaves that died were thrown overboard as well as the slaves that showed illness. Some threw their self-overboard risking their life rather than deal with these horrific measures. Approximately fifteen million captured Africans were sent to the Americas. The middle passage was the longest, most dangerous part of the Atlantic slave trade (â€Å"The Middle Passage Experience†). From the seventeenth century on, slaves became the focus of trade between Europe and Africa. Europe had already colonized North and South America as well as the Caribbean islands from the fifteenth century onward. This created an insatiable demand for African laborers, who were deemed â€Å"more fit† to work in the tropical conditions of the New World. The numbers of slaves imported across the Atlantic Ocean steadily increased, from approximately 5,000 slaves a year in the sixteenth century to over 100,000 slaves a year by the end of the eighteenth century (www. mariner. org/captivepassage). Upon their arrival to the Americas, the slaves were washed, greased and placed inside dungeons. The grease added a more appealing look making the slaves appear healthier so the profit would be much higher. European slave traders made sure all of their potential properties were in well condition before bidding. They were branded with a hot iron to keep their identity as a slave. There were two main types of slave auctions; highest bidder or grab and go auctions. Highest bidder was a bidding process which the buyer with the highest bid would get the slave. Grab and go auctions was the process in which the buyer would give the trader an agreed amount of money in exchange for a ticket. This process was where the slaves were released from their dungeon and the buyers would rush and grab the slave they wanted, Each slave would be sold to an owner who owned a great deal of land and worked on either a plantation or mine and there, the living conditions were still only barely better (Curtin 1969) A prominent African, author and a major influence on the enactment of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, Olaudah Equiano was well aware and very familiar with the Atlantic slave trade. At the age of eleven, Equiano and his sister were kidnapped from his village in Nigeria. He survived the middle passage, and taken to the West Indies. He tells how he was bought by Captain Pascal, a British naval Officer as a â€Å"present† for a cousin. He tells how was enslaved in North America for ten years, working as a seaman. In 1766, he bought his freedom and wrote an autobiography, â€Å"The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano,† Equiano gave a firsthand look of the conditions enslaved Africans were forced to live. This document was one of the first documents that explained, thoroughly, the terrible human cruelty of the Atlantic slave trade (Wright et al. 001). Although many lives were taken or at risk, The Atlantic slave trade fulfilled its major goal, profit and change the three continents. Europe, America and Africa’s economy were all affected by the slave trade. Europe’s economy was suffering before the slave trade. The Atlantic slave trade was during the time of recovery for Europe and completely recovered their economy. Because of the success of the trade, they needed more people to manufacture raw materials and export them to Africa. The great supply of jobs created many exports and the income to buy imports. By the end of the slave trade, Europe’s economy was in well standings as one of the wealthiest continents in the world. The America’s economies rose too. They were honored with a free workforce that provided many resources from sugar to cotton. The free labor allotted for them to received one hundred percent of the profit. They were importing more slaves and exporting the goods made by them to gaining wealth. America’s economy became agriculturally stable and soon industrialized. Europe and the Americas economies were affected in a positive way. However, Africa’s economy received a negative effect. Many, for years lived in fear due to slavery. African villages became small and poor. All of the kingdoms that were strong at one time, collapsed and were conquered. They received raw material goods from the slave trade but with nothing shown. The African kings prospered only because they were heavily involved in the slave trade. As the kings’ wealth grew, their economy was at a standstill and eventually failed. The Atlantic slave trade, human cruelty and evil at its finest, had a substantial effect on Europe, the Americas and Africa (www. understandingslavery. com).

Terrorism and the Contract Security Market Essay -- Business Human Res

Terrorism and the Contract Security Market Contract security has become a billion dollar business within the last decade. It is by far one of the most profitable businesses today. Also, after the events of September 11th we can only expect this field to continue to grow. With the economy and country the way it is today, we can expect to see contract security and proprietary security forces increase in both size and tasks that must be managed. But is the contract security field ready to step up and perform the new duties we need them to perform? The truth is, the contract security field is plagued by many things that impede it's effectiveness: Pay rates are too low to attract the quality employees. Training is insufficient Turnover rates exceed 100% in many contract companies. These are just some of the problems facing the contract security field. Most of the companies manage to turn a profit by practicing the "warm body" approach. This involves recruiting anyone (which is usually the bottom 5% of the population) who will work for the low wages provided. The company provides minimum training. Some companies put their guards to work before paperwork and background checks are even completed. This is not true of all contract security firms. Some do process and provide very exceptional officers; a prime example being Wackenhut Security. Recruitment Recruitment practices have improved in many areas. Some "warm body" approaches are still being used but, overall this is practiced in places such as New York and other heavily urban areas where the process of "low bidding" is used (Hertig 2003). In these areas of the country turnover rates are higher than any other. For the most part this can be blamed on wages. The ... ... Manual. Dated: Oct 1999. Command Security Corp. (1999) Website . Accessed 17 Apr. 2003, http://www.cscny.com Goodboe Michael E; (2002) "How to turn around turnover" Security Management, Nov 2002; Vol. 46, Iss. 11; pg. 65, 3 pgs Hertig, Chris.(1999) "Contracts in Asset Protection." In Davies & Minion (Eds.) Security Supervison: Theory and Practice of Asset Protection. Butterworth Heinemann: Boston Mass. 1999. pg. 371-374. 4pgs Hertig, Chris. In class handouts.; Security and Supervision Class. Spring Semester 03 Johnson, Jordan; (2003) "Get The Most From Your Guard Force"; Security Management, Arlington; Feb 2003; Vol. 47, Iss. 2; pg. 73, 5 pgs Thibodeau, Charles; (1999) "Staff Training and Development." In Davies & Minion (Eds.) Security Supervison: Theory and Practice of Asset Protection. Butterworth Heinemann: Boston Mass. 1999. pg. 118-126. 9pgs

The M/S Milad Nor Company Essay

1) Read chapters 1 – 5 and review the PPTs we covered in class. 2) Expect 5 or 7 short-answer questions General Questions – 1. In class we reviewed three firms in three different countries. The M/S Milad Nor Company in Afghanistan, Caritex in Bulgaria, and Obod in Montenegro. Each company was faced with different problems and issues. Please briefly summarize the similarities between the firms and their individual issues. How do the problems faced by these firms compare to problems faced by similar firms in more developed countries? 2. Your stock market simulation calls for you to invest in securities with a significant presence outside the US – debt, equity, commodities, currencies, derivatives†¦ In researching equities trading on exchanges outside of the US what similarities/differences have you found compared to firms trading on exchanges in the US? Chapter 1 1.The term globalization has become very widely used in recent years. How would you define it? 2.What does an MNE need in order for it to create value through the globalization process? 3.How does the concept of capitalism actually apply to the globalization process of a business, as it moves from elemental to multinational stages of development? 4. Define and explain the theory of comparative advantage 5. Key to understanding most theories is what they say and they don’t. Name four or five key limitations to theory of comparative advantage. 6.Why have Eurocurrencies and LIBOR remained the centerpiece of the global financial marketplace for so long? * These are domestic currencies of one country on deposit in a second country * The Eurocurrency markets serve two valuable purposes: * Eurocurrency deposits are an efficient and convenient money market device for holding excess corporate liquidity * The Eurocurrency market is a major source of short-term bank loans to finance corporate working capital needs (including export and import financing) * LIBOR is the most widely accepted rate of interest used in standardized quotations, loan agreements, and financial derivatives transactions * 7. Which assets play the most critical role in linking the major institutions that make up the global financial marketplace? * The linkages are the interbank networks using currency. Without ready exchange of currencies the market is hard-pressed to operate efficiently. Chapter 2 1. How does ownership alter the goals and governance of a business? Public ownership may be wholly state-owned or partially publicly traded. State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are created for business purposes rather than for regulation or civil activities. Private firms may be publicly traded (stock) or privately owned by partners or family. 2.Why is this separation so critical to the understanding of how businesses are structured and led? 3.Explain the assumptions and objectives of the shareholder wealth maximization model. 4.Explain the assumptions and objectives of the stakeholder wealth maximization model. 5.Define the following terms: a.Corporate governance b.Agency theory c.Stakeholder capitalism 6.In Germany and Scandinavia, among other countries, labor unions have representation on boards of directors or supervisory boards. How might such union representation be viewed under the shareholder wealth maximization model compared to the corporate wealth maximization model? 7.In many countries it is common for a firm to have two or more classes of common stock with differential voting rights. In the United States the norm is for a firm to have one class of common stock with one-share-one-vote. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each system? 8.What are the key differences in the goals and motivations of family ownership of the business as opposed to the widely held publicly traded business? 9.It has been claimed that failures in corporate governance have hampered the growth and profitability of some prominent firms located in emerging markets. What are some of the typical causes of these failures in corporate governance?p34 10. Do markets appear to be willing to pay for good governance?p36 Chapter 3 1.Under the gold standard all national governments promised to follow the â€Å"rules of the game.† This meant defending a fixed exchange rate. What did this promise imply about a country’s money supply? 2.If a country follows a fixed exchange rate regime, what macroeconomic variables could cause the fixed exchange rate to be devalued? 3.What are the advantages and disadvantages of fixed exchange rates? 4.Explain what is meant by the term impossible trinity and why it is true. 5.Fixed exchange rate regimes are sometimes implemented through a currency board (Hong Kong) or dollarization (Ecuador). What is the difference between the two approaches? 6.High capital mobility is forcing emerging market nations to choose between free-floating regimes and currency board or dollarization regimes. What are the main outcomes of each of these regimes from the perspective of emerging market nations? 7.On January 4, 1999, eleven member states of the European Union initiated the Europe an Monetary Union (EMU) and established a single currency, the euro, which replaced the individual currencies of participating member states. Describe three of the main ways that the euro affects the members of the EMU. 8.Why did the fixed exchange rate regime of 1945–1973 eventually fail? 9.How did the Argentine currency board function from 1991 to January 2002 and why did it collapse? DEAD Chapter 4 1. Business managers and investors need BOP data to anticipate changes in host country economic policies that might be driven by BOP events. 2. From the perspective of business managers and investors list three specific signals that a country’s BOP data can provide. 3. What are the two main types of economic activity measured by a country’s BOP? 4. Why does the BOP always â€Å"balance†? 5. If the BOP were viewed as an accounting statement, would it be a balance sheet of the country’s wealth, an income statement of the country’s earnings, or a funds flow statement of money into and out of the country? 6. What are the main component accounts of the current account? Give one debit and one credit example for each component account for the United States. adjust 7. The US dollar has maintained or increased its value over the past 20 years despite running a gradually increasing current account deficit. Why has this phenomenon occurred? Chapter 5 1. What were the three major forces behind the credit crisis of 2007 and 2008? 2. Why were LIBOR rates so much higher than Treasure yields in 2007 and 2008? What is needed to return LIBOR rates to the lower, more stable rates of the past? 3. What were the three key elements of the package used by the U.S. government to resolve the 2008-9 credit crisis? 4. Why are the sovereign debtors of the Eurozone considered to have a problem that is different from any other heavily indebted country, like the United States? 5. Why has the case of Portugal been termed a â€Å"case of contagion† rather than a sovereign debt crisis? 6. What are the three primary methods which might be used individually or in combination to resolve the European debt crisis?

Definition and Examples of Repetition in Writing