The Currency Act of 1764

The Currency Act of 1764 The Currency Act of 1764 was the second and most impactful of two laws passed by the British government during the reign of King George III that attempted to take total control of the monetary systems of all 13 colonies of British America. Passed by Parliament on September 1, 1764, the act extended the restrictions of the Currency Act of 1751 to all 13 of the American British colonies. It eased the earlier Currency Act’s prohibition against printing of new paper bills, but it did prevent the colonies from repaying future debts with paper bills. Parliament had always envisioned that its American colonies should use a monetary system similar, if not identical, to the British system of â€Å"hard currency† based on the pound sterling. Feeling that it would be too hard for it to regulate colonial paper money, Parliament chose to simply declare it worthless instead. The colonies felt devastated by this and protested angrily against the act. Already suffering a deep trade deficit with Great Britain, colonial merchants feared the lack of their own hard capital would make the situation even more desperate. The Currency Act exacerbated tensions between the colonies and Great Britain and is considered to be one of the many grievances that led to the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. Economic Problems in the Colonies Having expended almost all of their monetary resources buying expensive imported goods, the early colonies struggled to keep money in circulation. Lacking a form of exchange that did not suffer from depreciation, the colonists depended largely on three forms of currency: Money in the form of locally-produced commodities, like tobacco, used as a means of exchange.Paper money in the form of a bill of exchange or a banknote backed by the value of land owned by an individual.â€Å"Specie† or gold or silver money. As international economic factors caused the availability of specie in the colonies to decrease, many colonists turned to bartering - trading goods or services between two or more parties without the use of money. When bartering proved too limited, the colonists turned to using commodities - mainly tobacco - as money.  However, only poorer quality tobacco ended up being circulated among the colonists, with the higher quality leaves were exported for greater profit. In the face of growing colonial debts, the commodity system soon proved ineffective. Massachusetts became the first colony to issue paper money in 1690, and by 1715, ten of the 13 colonies were issuing their own currency. But the colonies’ money woes were far from over. As the amount of gold and silver needed to back them began to dwindle, so did the actual value of the paper bills. By 1740, for example, a Rhode Island bill of exchange was worth less than 4% of its face value. Worse yet, this rate of the actual value of paper money varied from colony-to-colony. With the amount of printed money growing faster than the overall economy, hyperinflation quickly reduced the buying power of the colonial currency. Forced to accept the depreciated colonial currency as a repayment of debts, British merchants lobbied Parliament to enact the Currency Acts of 1751 and 1764. The Currency Act of 1751 The first Currency Act banned only the New England colonies from printing paper money and from opening new public banks. These colonies had issued paper money mainly to repay their debts to for British and French military protection during the French and Indian Wars. However, years of depreciation had caused the New England colonies’ â€Å"bills of credit† to be worth far less than the silver-backed British pound. Being forced to accept the heavily depreciated New England bills of credit as payment of colonial debts was particularly harmful to British merchants. While the Currency Act of 1751 allowed the New England colonies to continue using their existing bills to be used to pay public debts, like British taxes, it prohibited them from using the bills to pay private debts, such as those to merchants. The Currency Act of 1764 The Currency Act of 1764 extended the restrictions of the Currency Act of 1751 to all 13 of the American British colonies. While it eased the earlier Act’s prohibition against of the printing of new paper bills, it did forbid the colonies from using any future bills for payment of all public and private debts. As a result, the only way the colonies could repay their debts to Britain was with gold or silver. As their supplies of gold and silver rapidly dwindled, this policy created severe financial hardships for the colonies. For the next nine years, English colonial agents in London, including no less than Benjamin Franklin, lobbied Parliament to repeal the Currency Act. Point Made, England Backs Down In 1770, the New York colony informed Parliament that difficulties caused by the Currency Act would prevent it from being able to pay for housing British troops as required by the also unpopular Quartering Act of 1765.  One of the so-called â€Å"Intolerable Acts,† the Quartering  Act forced the colonies to house British soldiers in barracks provided by the colonies. Faced with that expensive possibility, Parliament authorized the New York colony to issues  £120,000 in paper bills for the payment of public, but not private debts. In 1773, Parliament amended the Currency Act of 1764 to allow all of the colonies to issue paper money for the payment of public debts - especially those owed to the British Crown. In the end, while the colonies had reclaimed at least a limited right to issue paper money, Parliament had reinforced its authority over its colonial governments. Legacy of the Currency Acts While both sides managed to temporarily move on from the Currency Acts, they contributed substantially to the growing tensions between the colonists and Britain. When the First Continental Congress issued a Declaration of Rights in 1774, delegates included the Currency Act of 1764 as one of the seven British Acts labeled as â€Å"subversive of American rights.† An Excerpt From the Currency Act of 1764 WHEREAS great quantities of paper bills of credit have been created and issued in his Majestys colonies or plantations in America, by virtue of acts, orders, resolutions, or votes of assembly, making and declaring such bills of credit to be legal tender in payment of money: and whereas such bills of credit have greatly depreciated in their value, by means whereof debts have been discharged with a much less value than was contracted for, to the great discouragement and prejudice of the trade and commerce of his Majestys subjects, by occasioning confusion in dealings, and lessening credit in the said colonies or plantations: for remedy whereof, may it please your most excellent Majesty, that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the Kings most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That from and after the first day of September, one thousand seven h undred and sixty four, no act, order, resolution, or vote of assembly, in any of his Majestys colonies or plantations in America, shall be made, for creating or issuing any paper bills, or bills of credit of any kind or denomination whatsoever, declaring such paper bills, or bills of credit, to be legal tender in payment of any bargains, contracts, debts, dues, or demands whatsoever; and every clause or provision which shall hereafter be inserted in any act, order, resolution, or vote of assembly, contrary to this act, shall be null and void.

Security in the age of globlisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Security in the age of globlisation - Essay Example fight’ of realist, liberal and constructionist research programmes, the latter had been discussed with major focus on its social and economic processes. Since globalization is a spatial progress, it does not accommodate the principles of interdependence. Globalization materializes the circulation and interpenetration of people and ideas along with its material exchanges across cultures. The private and public spheres merge and collide in such an environment. Unlike in the case of economic and social aspects of globalization, the effects of security are harder to conceptualize and measure. It has to be analyzed and comprehended in contrast with the Cold War effects on security. The agency and scope of threat in the globalized world has grown out of all expectations that terms like global violence and human security has become common parlance. The security constituencies are defined at every level from the global to the regional to the individual. While the security providers remain nationally defined, the dimensions of threat in the international sphere have grown much beyond its aegis. However the scope of security is also widened in the age of globalization, since the post Cold War security precepts expand beyond national constrictions. The issues that are brought under such expanded security comprise diseases, global warming, ozone depletion, acid rain, bio-diversity loss and radioactive contamination. The ‘skill revolution’ among prospective terrorists has begun to pose a great threat as well. On a general societal level, despite the changing norms of security, globalization has made people both more aware and less decisive about intervent ion in ethnic conflicts. Non-Physical Security is the novel concept that had originated from globalization. When the existing security concepts are expanded to protection of information and technology assets, it gains a non-physical status. This includes greater information technology and smartness of weapons. Selling

How does preeclampsia develop and does it confer future cardiovascular Essay

How does preeclampsia develop and does it confer future cardiovascular risk - Essay Example The aim of the review is to arrive at the developmental causes of preeclampsia. Similarly, a large number of studies have reported linkages between preeclampsia and future cardiovascular disease. The evidence is suggestive, and a vast number of data produced is available on the subject. The present sysetmatic survey therefore focuses on an analysis of the literature with the objective of finding out conclusive evidence to establish that preeclampsia may pre-dispose to cardiovascular risk in the long term. The systematic review involved gathering of available data through an extensive search and reading, critically evaluating all the research in terms of its methodology and scope and also exploring and recommending future studies that could be more effective towards addressing the research questions. It was found that a number of factors, like obesity, hypertension, abnormal insulin resistance, inflammation, cardio-vascular risk factors (as measured by serum levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood pressure), increased Homocysteine, presence of periodontal disease among others, were observed in preeclamptic pregnancy. However, the systematic review could not establish if these factors had a causative relationship to preeclampsia or if these factors were the manifestation of some other factors that also cause preeclampsia. The review also evaluated available evidence on cardiovascular risks and preeclampsia history. It was found that cardiovascular risk indeed has a larger than normal odds of having a history of preeclamptic episode. Again, it was not proved if preeclampsia pre-disposes to increased cardiovascular risk, or if preeclampsia and cardiovascular disease have the same pathogenesis. Preeclampsia, Cardiovascular Disease,

Write a report on the article we google you Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Write a report on the we google you - Article Example The young aspiring professional that is covered in the article is named Mimi Brewster. Mimi had great credentials such as a bachelor degree in Modern Chinese culture, an MBA from the University of Stanford, managerial experience in the apparel industry, and trilingual language skills which included English, Mandarin, and another Chinese dialect. The company interviewing Mimi had a position open in Shanghai China. The interviewer liked Mimi’s personality, skills, abilities, and her professional credentials. Fred, the interviewer, thought that talent like Mimi was hard to come by. He wanted to hire her after the first interview. Virginia Flanders, HR manager, continued with the employee selection process. One of her background checks included looking at the first eleven pages of Google after placing the name of the candidate. Virginia found a couple of articles about Mimi. During her college years she had been involved in protest against the WTO and against the Chinese government. These revelations worried the HR manager so much that she discarded Mimi as a legitimate candidate. Virginia advised Fred not to confront Mimi about the matter to protect the company against discrimination because due to abuse of privacy laws. At the end of the article the company was leaning towards not hiring Mimi. The article concluded with the evaluation of the scenario by four professionals working at important positions in different organizations. They would express their expert opinion on whether the company should hire Mimi or discard her as a candidate. The first opinion came from John Palfree, a law professor. He believes the company should hire Mimi. If the firm does not hire her due to the Google search they would be discriminating. He also believes that discarding candidates because of internet content is counterproductive. The action eliminates a lot of

Contributing factors to student achievement Essay Example for Free

Contributing factors to student achievement Essay In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act placed even stronger responsibility on states to raise student performance. As a result of these accountability standards, states must now administer standardized tests to â€Å"measure adequate yearly progress† of all students (2001). They face costly federal mandates and must submit comprehensive plans. The federal law also focuses on narrowing the achievement gap between races. It requires that states monitor the performance of racial and economic subgroups and undertake corrective action in failing schools (Wong, 2004). †¦states are implementing policies that provide incentives to attract and retain teachers and increase student performance. Incentives are helping states recruit new teachers into the work force, attract persons from outside education, retain teachers in the classroom and support accountability programs that focus on school-by-school efforts to boost student achievement (Cornett and Gaines, 2002). Researchers examining student performance consistently find that one of the most important influences on student achievement is socioeconomic status (SES) of students. These findings give little comfort to educators in economically disadvantaged schools who are facing heavy pressure to improve performance and close the gap between minority and white students. Yet Verstegen and King (1998) claim that a growing body of research is using better databases and more sophisticated methodological strategies to provide evidence that school policies can make a positive difference in student outcomes. They also emphasize that resource patterns that optimize performance in one setting do not necessary work in others. Encouraged by this line of thinking, the researcher will investigate factors that may explain the differences in performances in schools that share a common socioeconomic context. Are there choices made by policymakers and administrators in economically disadvantaged schools that spark significant improvements in performance in these schools? In this study, the researcher will assume the significance of SES or â€Å"input† factors in explaining achievement, and the researcher considers the impact of other factors over which schools have some control. Impact of Process Variables Although the statistical models will include measures for SES (percent of economically disadvantaged students and percent white students), the focus will be on process variables. The latter include those variables that school systems more or less control. The researcher categorizes these variables into three general areas: 1) school class size 2) school policies and 3) proven effective programs to increase student reading proficiency. One of the most controversial characteristics of schools is the amount of students per teacher (FTE). Production function research on the effects of school size has been inconclusive, and both sides have their advocates. Supporters of small schools contend that students get more attention, school governance is simpler, and teachers and administrators are more accessible to parents. Noguera (2002) states that in high schools where the majority of low-income students of color are achieving at high levels the one common characteristic is the small size of the schools. Lee and Burkam found that students are less likely to drop out of schools with fewer than 1,500 students (2003). However, others argue that large schools are able to offer students a wider range of educational offerings and services (â€Å"Still Stumped,† 2002). Recent research indicates that the effects of school size may depend on the SES of students. Findings show consistently that the relationship between achievement and socioeconomic status was substantially weaker in smaller schools than larger schools, that is, students from impoverished communities are much more likely to benefit from smaller schools. On the other hand, a positive relationship exists between larger schools and the output measures of affluent students (Lee and Smith, 1996; Howley and Bickel, 1999). Because this study will examine the performance of economically disadvantaged students, the researcher expects to find a negative relationship between school size and achievement scores. That is, the larger the school, the less likely students are to achieve on standardized tests. The relationship between class size and positive student achievement is another relationship that has been closely studied. In 2000, Congress allocated $1. 3 billion for class size reduction as a provision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (Johnson, 2002). Most of the studies that examine the effect of class size on student performance have focused on primary schools. One of the largest and most scientifically rigorous experiments was the 1985, Tennessee’s Student Achievement Ratio (STAR) study. The STAR project provides compelling evidence that smaller classes can improve student achievement, especially in primary schools, which could have lasting effects (1985). The four year longitudinal study focused on classes in Tennessee and consisted of grades kindergarten through third. Classes of thirteen to seventeen students were compared to classes of twenty-two to twenty-six students; of the total classes, some had just one teacher and some had a teacher and aid. Phase one included over three hundred classes and a total of 6500 students (1985). The result after four years was positive support for the reduction of classroom sizes which proved to have positive effects on student achievement. Some critics have pointed out the limitations of project STAR (Vinson, 2002). A couple of limitations listed in a report by Tony Vinson in 2002 were: 1) limiting sample of certain cultural groups 2) schools volunteered to participate in the study, suggesting they had motivation to use innovative teaching practices. In 1996, Mostellar, a statistician, reported; â€Å"the Tennessee Class Size study demonstrates convincingly that student achievement is better in small K-3 classes and the effect continues later in regular-sized classes (1996). In a follow-up study, Nye, Hedges and Kontantopoulos (1999) found that students of smaller class size continued showing significant advantages over students of regular-sized classes, throughout school, to graduation. These students demonstrated higher grades, took more challenging classes, had better graduation rates and were more likely to go on to college (Vinson, 2002). Wisconsin’s Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (Vinson, 2002), began in the 1996-1997 school year and was expanded in 1998-1999 and again in 2000-2001 (Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction). The objective of the program is to improve student achievement through the implementation of four school improvement strategies: class sizes no more than 15:1 in grades K-3; increased collaboration between schools and their communities; implementation of a rigorous curriculum focusing on academic achievement; and improving professional development and staff evaluation practices. Schools in SAGE have renewable 5-year contracts with the state and get state aid equal to $2,000 for each low-income child in the grades served by the program. During 2005-06 495 schools participated in SAGE (up from 30 when the program began). Just over 93,000 K-3 pupils were served. State funding, which was $4. 5 M in 96-97 will be $98. 6 M in 2006-07. A few districts are also benefiting from a state categorical aid program created in 1999 to help schools pay debt service on the cost of new classrooms built to accommodate SAGE (DPI).

PESTEL Analysis of the Chinese Economy

PESTEL Analysis of the Chinese Economy There is no doubt that nowadays globalization brings opportunities for companies to expand their business activities easily to take advantages of other countrys growth through investing activities. However, before investing to overseas, a company should make a careful examination of the country they are intending to invest in especially the industry related to their investment. Examining the relationship between risks will help to measure the risks the company has to encounter and the information is actually helpful for company in decisions making. Based on factual country information and financial analysis, this assignment will point out main factors that will impact Soundtech Technologys general business activities when it starts business in China producing low cost sound system for budget cars called Superaudio. This assignment will start with China background information and then six factors in PESTEL model these include political, economic, social, technology, environment, and legal will be presented. In addition, Soundtech Technologys financial overview that includes financial factors as well as sensitive analysis will be conducted based on the data given. Lastly, some recommendations will be make to help Soundtech Technology in making investment decisions. 1. China background informations Area: 9,596,961 sq. km Population (July, 2010): 1,330,141,295. Annual growth rate: 0.494 % Ethnic groups: Han Chinese is 91.5%, ethnic minority and other nationalities are 8.5%. Religions: Officially atheist, Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian is about 3%-4%, Muslim is approximately 1%-2%. Languages: Mandarin is also called Putonghua is the main language in China, plus many local dialects. Government: Communist party-led state. GDP is $4.814 trillion (2009) Per capita GDP is $3,678 (2009) GDP real growth rate (2009): 8.7% Natural resources: mineral is plentiful including coal, petroleum, mercury, iron ore, natural gas, tin, tungsten, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, antimony, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium. Moreover, China is the worlds largest in hydropower potential. Agriculture: China is one of the worlds largest producers of rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley; commercial crops include cotton, other fibers, apples, oilseeds, pork and fish; produces variety of livestock products. Types of industry: China is focusing on mining, ore processing and others mineral such as iron, steel, aluminum, and other metals. Consumer product is one of the nation strongest industries. Transportation, electronics, telecommunications equipment as well as commercial space are major sectors. Trade: Exports (2009) $1.194 trillion: electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textiles, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment. Main partners (2008) United States 17.7%, Hong Kong 13.3%, Japan 8.1%, South Korea 5.2%, and Germany 4.1%. Imports (2009) $921.5 billion: electrical and other machinery, oil and mineral fuels, optical and medical equipment, metal ores, plastics, organic chemicals. Main partners (2008) Japan 13.3%, South Korea 9.9%, Taiwan 9.2%, U.S. 7.2%, Germany 4.9%. Undoubtedly, the electronics is the one of the leading industry in Chinas manufacturing sector. Sales revenue from Chinas electronics and IT industries (not including software) is estimated approximately $772.8 billion in 2008, reaching a growth of 28.3% over 2007. According to a statistical report by Chinas Ministry of Information Industry (MII), sales revenue of Chinas electronic information industry from January to April 2008 increased by 20.5% over the same period of last year. EE Times-China and ESM-China Market Research Dept predict that from 2006 to 2008, Chinas electronics industry will maintain a CAGR of 25.5% (global sources.com). 2. PESTEL analysis An analysis of Chinas Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal factors is essential to the strategic management and implementation of the project. The positive and negative effect on the projects initiation and development will be pointed out through the analysis of the external factors. 2.1 Political factors 2.1.1 General information Currently, China Government is ongoing to promote rule of law. After the Cultural Revolution, a legal system to restrict of official authority and revolutionary excesses has been developed. In 1982, the National Peoples Congress issued a new state constitution that emphasized the rule of law under which even party leaders are theoretically held accountable. Since 1979, when the drive to establish a functioning legal system began, more than 300 laws and regulations concerned about economic areas have been promulgated. In the 1990s Legal reform became a government priority. Legislation designed to modernize and professionalize the nations lawyers, judges, and prisons was issued. The Chinese constitution and laws provide for fundamental human rights, including due process, however in practice these are often ignored. In addition to other judicial reforms, the Constitution was modified in 2004 that include the protection of individual human rights as well as the legally-obtained private property, but it does not clear about how some of these provisions will be implemented. Since this modification, there have been new promulgations in bankruptcy law and anti-monopoly law, and modifications for both company and labor law. Although additional safeguards to citizens have been provided in new criminal and civil laws, previously debated political reforms, including expanding elections to the township level beyond the current trial basis, have been put on hold. 2.1.2 Recent political events Since Tiananmen, 13 rounds of human rights dialogue between the U.S and China has been conducted. In May 2010, the most recent round was taken placed; topics were turned around religious freedom, the rights of labor, freedom of expression, rule of law, the discrimination of race, and multilateral cooperation as well. A foundation to continue these rounds in the future was adopted by The U.S. and China leading to unanimous approval for the next round of dialogue in China in 2011. The meetings in Lhasa on March 10th 2008, marking the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising turned violent, and led to protests and unsecure state throughout Tibetan areas and others surrounding provinces. The army and police force monitored strictly Tibetan areas for the safety of the 50th anniversary in 2009 and 51st in 2010 and security was tightened in the border with Nepal. Armed uprising was ongoing when ethnic violence broke out in Urumqi in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region on July 5, 2009. Security control significantly increased in Urumqi and its surrounding areas and as the result some mosques in Xinjiang were closed. As of early 2010, Urumqi was still under a heavy police control and most Internet and international phone communication were totally cut off. In recent years, riots have been happened in China that has created the unstable condition for foreign companies investment in China. However, China Government has taken strict measures to prevent and stop this situation that creates safe environment for foreign investors. 2.2 Economic factors Chinas economy has been reformed and opened since 1978. A more pragmatic thinking on many political and socio economic problems has been approved by the Chinese leadership and therefore the role of ideology in economic policy has been partly reduced. China has transformed its economic into the market-oriented that positively impact not only on China but also on the world. These economic reforms China has implemented over the past 2 decades have profoundly affected both individual initiative and entrepreneurship. As the result the poverty has been significantly reduced and the average income has reached to highest level ever seen. At the beginning of 2010China is ranked as the second-largest economy in the world after overtaking Japan to capture this position. An average economic growth has been sustained over 9.5% for the past 26 years. In 2009, its economy reached to $4.814 trillion was about one-third the size of the U.S. economy. The high economic growth along with higher nationa l income growth may boost demand for Soundtech Technologys products this is big opportunity for the firm to develop its business. In the 1980s, the combination of central planning with market-oriented reforms were tried to implement in order to increase productivity, living standards, and technological quality but not lead to negative effect on inflation, unemployment, and budget deficits In addition, Chinese Government pursued agricultural reforms, dismantling the commune system and introducing a household-based system that provided peasants greater decision-making in agricultural activities. Besides that nonagricultural activities like village enterprises in rural areas were also encouraged. Similarly, the government promoted more self-management for state-owned enterprises in order to increased competition in the marketplace, and create opportunities for Chinas domestic enterprise directly contact with the foreign ones. On 20th June 2010, Chinas central bank set the Yuan exchange rate at higher level after committing to increase the flexibility of exchange rate of its currency. Reference exchange rate of the day was set at 6.7980 Yuan on USD 1 its strongest level since September 2008, up 0.43% compared with the level of 6.8275 Yuan on 21st June 210. A stronger Yuan would make Chinese exports more expensive, help redress trade balances and bring some reliefs to foreign manufactures struggling to complete. The increase of Yuan exchange rate creates disadvantages for Soundtech Technology when they export their products to overseas markets because it raises the price in term of foreign currency. Especially, in recent years the cooperative relationship between China and Singapore have been improved within related global and regional organizations such as the ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). At the same time, both China and Singapore have conducted beneficial cooperation and put efforts to offer training sessions to a third country and to help their companies or enterprises explore and exploit the world market. The 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic corporation between China and Singapore is marked in year 2010 as well as the event of Chinas participation in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA). By taking advantages of all the opportunity from the partners, China is ready to work with Singapore to lift bilateral relations to a new level and bring more substantial benefits to the citizens of both countries. For this reason, China Government always makes the best condition to welcome Soundtech Technology to invest in China. 2.3 Social factors With a population officially over 1.3 billion and an estimated growth rate of 0.494%, China is very concerned about its population growth and has attempted with mixed results to implement a strict birth limitation policy. The governments goal is to stabilize the population in the first half of the 21st century, and 2009 projections from the U.S. Census Bureau are that the Chinese population will peak at around 1.4 billion by 2026. It can be said that China has huge population that supply to the market a profuse workforce which is an opportunity for Sountech Technology to expand its business in China. Another affecting factor that can be considered is the trend of employment with relation to the unemployment level. The current unemployment rate in China in January 2010 is 4.3% which demonstrates that this project would help the society and in turn the economy by creating positive job opportunities. Source: tradingeconomic.com Recently, China Government has increased the minimum wages. On 1st April Guangdong increased the provinces minimum wages by an average 13%. Moreover, the southern China province produces about 13% of Chinas economic output, the most among the countrys 32 provinces. Minimum wages in the capital city Guangzhou reached to 860 yuan increased $120 per month from 780 yuan, Wages of other cities in the province would also get a boost, with those in some inland cities up nearly 18%. China Government has increased the minimum wages that is a challenge for Sountech Technology because they have to paid more for labor costs that will decrease business profit. 2.4 Technological factors Chinese science strategists realize Chinas greatest opportunities in technology fields such as computers and biotechnology, where creates a chance for China to make innovation in these areas. It cannot be denied that a dense network of trans-Pacific contact have been built by most overseas Chinese students that will boost the cooperation between U.S. and China scientific in coming years. The U.S. space program is regarded as the standard of scientific modernity in China is held annually. Chinas small but growing space program is national pride of China when its third manned orbit was totally successful in September 2008. Technology Agreement is the model for bilateral cooperation between The U.S and China in science field. In April 2006 the Science and Technology Agreement was extended by a 5-year agreement was signed. The agreement which includes approximately 60 protocols, memoranda of understanding, agreements, and annexes, is considered as the longest-standing between U.S.-China accords. The agreement encompasses cooperation between U.S. and China in variety fields like marine conservation, renewable energy, and health. Besides the U.S China also has close relationship with Japan and the European Union in science and technology cooperation. Based on the data supplied by the State Development Planning Commission, during the Ninth Five-year Plan period from1996 to 2000, China has significant technological development. 50,000 projects have been set up under the Spark Plan. Started in 1986, these projects were actually a technological program in order to enhance the IT level in rural areas. Since 1996 a total of CNY192.9 billion has been invested in the Spark Plan in which CNY3.5 billion was from the Governments Funds, CNY41.9 billion were from loans of banks and CNY147.5 billion from private and other social sectors. Since 1996 the Chinese government has invested CNY3.19 billion in the industrial sector to develop technical innovation projects. In addition, since 1999 the government has been focusing on technological innovation of State-owned enterprises by spending CY19.5 billion worth of treasury bonds A number of districts for high-tech development have been established for researching and developing technological purpose. For example in 1996 the Silicon Valley was built with an CNY101.5 billion investment in the infrastructure construction. Up to now there have been approximately 17,000 high-tech enterprises operating in those districts, with the employees more than 2.2 million. 2.5 Environmental factors Undoubtedly, along with Chinas rapid industrial development are the serious negative impacts on environment these include increasing pollution and decreasing natural resources as well. In 2007, China became the worlds largest emitter of carbon dioxide and other gases leading to greenhouse. WTO conducted a report on the quality of air in 272 cities worldwide, pointed out seven out of the ten cities that are the most polluted in the world were in China. In addition based on Chinas own evaluation, two-thirds of the 402 cities which have been air polluted two-thirds of them moderately or severely so. According to environmental report, there is water polluted in almost all of the nations rivers to some degree and half of the population is lack of clean water for daily life. By some estimates, there are approximately 300 million people have to use contaminated water for drinking every day. Water scarcity also is considered as an issue; taking severe water scarcity in Northern China as an example that is actually a serious threat to sustained economic growth. Thus, the government has been working on a project for delivering a large-scale of water from the Yangtze River to northern cities, including Beijing and Tianjin. Some research estimate pollution costs hold the Chinese economy from 7% to 10% of GDP per year. Currently, like any Government, Chinas leaders are increasingly paying attention to environmental problems in the country. Realizing the important of environmental protection, The State Environmental Protection Administration was officially upgraded to a ministry-level agency, the Ministry of Environmental Protection in 1998. Recently, Chinas environmental legislation has been strengthened and some progress in stemming environmental deterioration has also been made. China took part the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development in 2005, which unites industries and government to implement common strategies together that reduce pollution and global climate change. Campaign about pollution control was great invested that a factor contributing to a successful Olympic Beijing 2008, though some of the benefits were just temporary in nature. Thanks to these campaigns the quality of air in some cities has been improved recently. It can be said that China is participating actively in climate change talks as well as other multilateral environmental negotiations, especially discussions about how developed countries deal with serious environmental issues that help developing countries to a greater extent. China has signed the Basel Convention about transporting and treating hazardous waste; the Montreal Protocol about the Ozone Layer Protection and other major environmental agreements. As long as China is huge country thus water scarcity is regarded as a big issue that also is the projects disadvantage. Besides that, climate change is considered as one of the major systematic risks for Soundtech Technology because climate change is affecting how companies operate and the products they offer. 2.6 Legal factors 2.6.1 Laws support foreign investors In order to encourage foreign companies to invest in China, China Government has gradually set up a relative complete law system. In 1979, The Law of the Peoples Republic of China on Chinese-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures was published. 20 years later, the Chinese government has promulgated and issued a series of laws and statutes about the establishment, operation, termination and liquidation of foreign-invested enterprises. The main laws and regulations include the three basic laws à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ The law on Chinese-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures, The Law on Chinese-Foreign Contractual Joint Ventures, and The Law on Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises; detailed rules for the implementation of the three basic laws; The Company Law of the Peoples Republic of China; The Income Tax Law of the Peoples Republic of China for Enterprises with Foreign Investment and Foreign Enterprises; Interim Provisions for Guiding Foreign Investment; Industrial Catalogue for Foreign Investment; Interim Pro visions Concerning the Investment within China of Foreign-invested Enterprises, Provisions Regarding the Merger and Separation of Foreign-invested Enterprises, and Liquidation Measures for Enterprises with Foreign Investment. These provide legal bases from which to guarantee the independent operation rights of foreign-funded enterprises and to protect the legitimate rights and interest of both domestic and overseas investors. Currently, the Chinas government is considering its existing laws and statutes in accordance with the model of the WTO. It has abolished certain obsolete laws and regulations, and will gradually revise the laws and regulations that are incompatible with the rules of the WTO. 2.6.2 China Tax Regime Tax law is one of the most important issues that SoundTech Technology needs to understand as the tax regulations have a direct impact on STs business activities. China is known as one of the most attractive incentives packages in Asia. Tax incentives and other facilities for the manufacturing sector are provided for in the Promotion of Investment. The data below demonstrates the tax that a medium-size company must pay or be withheld in a given year, as well as measures of the administrative burden in paying taxes. These measures include the number of payments an entrepreneur must make; the number of hours spent preparing, filing, and paying; and the percentage of their profits they must pay in taxes. 2.6.3 Procedures to starting new business in Malaysia When foreign investors want to set up business in China, they have to wait for approval from the Government for a long time. The challenges of launching a business are shown below which include the number of steps entrepreneurs can expect to go through to launch, the time it takes on average, and the cost and minimum capital required as a percentage of gross national income (GNI) per capita.

Order vs Chaos in John Steinbecks Cannery Row :: Cannery Row Essays

The theme of Cannery Row, in short, is no less than a poetic statement of human order surrounded by a chaotic and essentially indifferent universe, and this is one reason why the structure of the book does seem so "loose" - why Steinbeckian digressions and interchapters so often interrupt the flow of narrative. A wandering and mysterious Oriental threads his way through the story with no "purpose" but to remind us of the emptiness and pathos and loneliness we all share, things which render our cruelty or ambition futile. The face of a drowned girl appears like a paradoxical vision of "immortal death"; a chaos of sea-life-and-feeding is given order and shape by an obscure scientist - observer, who realizes the he is himself part of the processes which he catalogues; a serio-comic painter devotes himself to work which inevitably comes to nothing - and we recognize an allegory of our own labors; there is suicide, loneliness, joy, love, and isolation jumbled together in a peculiar and haphazard fashion which somehow results in emotion neither peculiar nor haphazard; the recognition of ourselves. The symbolism of chaos-and-order is basic to Cannery Row; various characters, each in his own fashion, try to arrange and observe what cannot, in any essential aspect, be changed. As Steinbeck says in one of his "inter-chapters" or digressions, it is the function of The World-of human communication-to create by means of faith and art an Order of love which is mankind's only answer to that fate which all men, and indeed all life, must ultimately share. And if John Steinbeck turns to the "outcasts" from society as symbols for this vision, it may be that only the outcasts of machine Order vs Chaos in John Steinbeck's Cannery Row :: Cannery Row Essays The theme of Cannery Row, in short, is no less than a poetic statement of human order surrounded by a chaotic and essentially indifferent universe, and this is one reason why the structure of the book does seem so "loose" - why Steinbeckian digressions and interchapters so often interrupt the flow of narrative. A wandering and mysterious Oriental threads his way through the story with no "purpose" but to remind us of the emptiness and pathos and loneliness we all share, things which render our cruelty or ambition futile. The face of a drowned girl appears like a paradoxical vision of "immortal death"; a chaos of sea-life-and-feeding is given order and shape by an obscure scientist - observer, who realizes the he is himself part of the processes which he catalogues; a serio-comic painter devotes himself to work which inevitably comes to nothing - and we recognize an allegory of our own labors; there is suicide, loneliness, joy, love, and isolation jumbled together in a peculiar and haphazard fashion which somehow results in emotion neither peculiar nor haphazard; the recognition of ourselves. The symbolism of chaos-and-order is basic to Cannery Row; various characters, each in his own fashion, try to arrange and observe what cannot, in any essential aspect, be changed. As Steinbeck says in one of his "inter-chapters" or digressions, it is the function of The World-of human communication-to create by means of faith and art an Order of love which is mankind's only answer to that fate which all men, and indeed all life, must ultimately share. And if John Steinbeck turns to the "outcasts" from society as symbols for this vision, it may be that only the outcasts of machine