Essay on The Causes of Homelessness - 1301 Words

Walking down the streets of many metropolitan areas, a person is often faced with an often ignored problem: homelessness. Homelessness in America could be considered a major issue considering that over six hundred thousand people are homeless at any one time. Of those homeless, 46% were individuals not regularly occurring homelessness, 37% were individuals with chronic homelessness, and about 16% were families (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2013). One might ask themselves, â€Å"How does this affect me?† Currently, it might not, however if you look at the statistics, homelessness was not a regular occurrence for almost half of those found homeless. The reason for homelessness varies greatly. Culturally, many people consider those who†¦show more content†¦Combining all of these factors can put great stress on even the most stable of individuals. As described above, about 15% of the individuals experiencing homelessness had mental-health issues before being hom eless. What then are some of the other causes that an individual may have for experiencing homelessness? In 2003, Anderson and Christian took the time to try to ascertain that very fact about the causes of homelessness in the United Kingdom. Firstly they differentiated between the statutory and non-statutory homelessness explaining that those who were considered non-statutory homeless tended to not be offered housing through the social programs in place to end homelessness. From those who were considered statutory homeless, many were worked into the social system. The reasons presented were varied but what many would consider ‘normal’ situations in life. Reasons such as parents and friends no longer willing or able to accommodate, relationship breakdowns, late mortgage payments, late rent payments, disputes with spouse or roommates, fires, floods, storms, and landlord actions were all listed as reasons for leaving their last residence. These all seem like very normal ci rcumstances in life, although some are a bit extraordinary such as fires, floods, and storms. Even though they happen infrequently to many people, they do happen fairly regularly across the spectrum. When reviewing the common reasons listed above, it is also important to think ofShow MoreRelatedCauses Of Homelessness1405 Words   |  6 Pagesthey all share in common are the factors why a specific type of population became homeless. The interrelation of homelessness and mental illness are informed by many factors such as; the lack of support, extreme poverty, substance abuse, lack of affordable health insurance, and lack of affordable housing. The homeless population shares different struggles when dealing with homelessness and mental illnesses because there are not enough resources for them to be able to come back to their normal selfRead MoreThe Causes Of Homelessness1656 Words   |  7 PagesHomelessness is defined as the situation of an individual or family without stable, perm anent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means, and ability of acquiring it. It is the result of systemic or societal barriers, a lack of affordable and appropriate housing, the individual/household’s financial, mental, cognitive, behavioral or physical challenges, and/or racism and discrimination. Most people do not choose to be homeless, and the experience is generally negative, unpleasant, stressfulRead MoreCauses of Homelessness Essay1298 Words   |  6 PagesCauses of Homelessness Bentley Martin BSHS/302 July 16, 2011 Joey Schumacher Causes of Homelessness There are many factors that lead to poverty and homelessness. People often jump to conclusions and form stereotypes to look down upon those who are poor. Stereotypes include poor people who are viewed as lazy, jobless, criminals, or un-educated. When I think of a homeless individual, I would agree with most of the stereotypes and find within the reading and researching that there is more toRead MoreCauses And Effects Of Homelessness Essay1267 Words   |  6 Pages Causes and effects of homelessness in industrialized countries Student Name Institution â€Æ' Introduction Homelessness is the lack of a place to leave or sleep especially during the night. Homeless people do not have proper housing, security and most of them sleep in different places depending on various conditions. Homelessness definition can vary in countries or in various regions in the same country. According to Evans, L., Strathdee in the book â€Å"A roof is not enough†, he explainsRead MoreCauses and Effects of Homelessness2290 Words   |  10 Pagesï » ¿ Causes and Effects of Homelessness Tera Penrod Purpose: To help people understand homelessness. Audience: Readers interested in learning about some causes of homelessness and some effects it has. Homelessness is living without a home, be it on the streets or in shelters. There are many causes for people becoming homeless, and the combination of factors that lead to homelessness are different for every individual. Some of the factors that contribute to homelessness for youth, singleRead MoreThe Causes Of Veteran Homelessness2513 Words   |  11 Pagesgoals are put in place and there is enough effort and power backing up the motor of these goals, then accomplishing an end to veteran homelessness will occur. This paper will examine the causes of veteran homelessness and how to cease and prevent veteran homelessness from happening and reoccurring. According to the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness, as of 2014, 13.2% of the American population was homeless. Additionally, it was found that another 3.5 million people were strainedRead MoreCauses of Homelessness in San Antonio888 Words   |  4 Pagespicture shows that homelessness has dropped nearly four percent from 2012 to 2013. Further, an average of 610,042 people are homeless across the United States on any given night. â€Å"Of that number, 36 percent – 222,197 people – were in families, representing a drop of 7 percent for that group† (Chappell, 2013, p. #). More than a third of these people were not found in shelters, abandoned buildings, cars, or under bridges. Although, there has been a small decline in homelessness, it’s still necessaryRead More Causes and Effects of Homelessness Essay829 Words   |  4 PagesHomelessness is a problem virtually every society suffers from. There are many things that cause pe ople to become homeless, such as unemployment, relationship problems, and being evicted from ones domicile either by a landlord, friend or even a family member. However, with every cause there must be an effect. Some of the effects of one becoming homeless, besides the obvious change of lifestyle, are various health problems which often times may lead to death. Many people find themselves inRead MoreCauses of Homelessness in the USA Essay1312 Words   |  6 PagesHomelessness has become a serious problem in today’s society. Despite the organizations that help multitudes of homeless people, homelessness is continually increasing. In recent years, America’s culture has been changing due to economic, political, and social issues. These issues have caused a lot of stress on America resulting in abject poverty in several cities. Poverty is not nationwide, but if dealt with lightly, the affects can be catastrophic. Homelessness is increasing more than ever, andRead MoreEssay on The Causes Of Homelessness In The U898 Words   |  4 Pages               The Causes of Homelessness in the U.S                               Nawaf Saif Almoeini Alex Westbrook University Preparatory Program January 16th, 2015   Ã¢â‚¬Å"In 2010, †¦ the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness issued a comprehensive plan to eradicate homelessness for all people through interagency collaboration and aligning mainstream services. A key goal is to prevent and end homelessness for all families, youth, and children within 10  years†Ã‚  (Bassuk, 2010, P.496).  Homelessness is a situation

The Revolutionary Generation, By Joseph J. Ellis - 1730 Words

Joseph J. Ellis, the author of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, is an American author and historian. Born July 18, 1943 in Washington, D.C., Ellis would grow up to be one of the best, well-known scholars of America. He began his college education at Yale University, then at the College of William Mary. Ellis works include Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, American Sphinx, and His Excellency: George Washington. His books have brought his name into one of remembrance as his books have gone on to win the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, and New York Times bestseller. Ellis has taught at many prestigious colleges including Mount Holyoke College, Williams College, Commonwealth Honors College at the†¦show more content†¦Alexander Hamilton was one of the key, founding figures of the Federalist, a political party who believed in a strong, national government. However, Aaron Burr considered himself a Democratic-Republican, a political party who fa vored for the states to have more power than the national government; in other words, both men believed in the exact opposite for the government of the United States. As a result, Hamilton and Burr disagreed on many things, resulting in a great amount of animosity towards each other. The duel was held on Wednesday, July 11, 1804 in Weehawken, New Jersey. The choice of weapon for the duel was a pistol chosen by Hamilton since he was the one challenged. Again since he was the challenged, Hamilton had the choice of position, so he chose a place located upstream. However, that would include one of many mistakes that would cost him his life. As both men shot at each other, only one was hit. Shot in a fatal location, Hamilton was hit on his right side, right above his hip. Ellis states, â€Å"Hamilton himself recognized his own condition almost immediately†¦Meanwhile, Burr seemed surprised and regretful at the outcome of his shot† (25). The two eyewitnesses at the time, Pendle ton and Van Ness, decided to make a â€Å"Joint Statement† in which they stated that both men upheld the â€Å"code duello†,Show MoreRelatedThe Revolutionary Generation By Joseph J. Ellis1350 Words   |  6 PagesThe Revolutionary Generation Most novels or documentaries regarding the Revolutionary Generation, largely focus on the war for independence, which includes the Continental Congress. Not often in media, does one find a post-war political book. The Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis dives in the complexities faced by the Founding Fathers of America. As they saw themselves as brothers (with the exception of Abigail Adams), they often did not agree on most of each other’sRead MoreThe Revolutionary Generation : Joseph J. Ellis1516 Words   |  7 PagesJoseph J. Ellis author of Founding Brothers The Revolutionary Generation is an award-winning author. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in history for the book Founding Brothers. Ellis has also written other books about the Revolutionary generation. He attended and earned his B.A. from the College of William and Mary in 1965. He went on to pursue his education and received a Master of Arts, a Master of Philosophy, and a Ph.D from Yale University. After serving in the U.S. Army, he taught at West PointRead MoreThe Revolutionary Generation : Joseph J. Ellis1619 Words   |  7 PagesThe verifiable background of the United States has been more than once stamped by fight to keep up the feelings of our various extraordinary pioneers. Joseph J. Ellis novel, Founding Brothers: the Revolutionary Generation, offers an outstanding perspective on why this is; as he withdraws to a rate of the beginnings of American political issues. From our outstandingly origination as a nation, a pretty much tumultuous air enveloped administrative issues, which clearly has doubtlessly continued intoRead MoreSummary Of Founding Brothers : The Revolutionary Generation By Joseph J. Ellis1377 Words   |  6 PagesFounding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Joseph J. Ellis work concentrates on crucial events after the Revolutionary war in the young nation of America. The writer unbiasedly analyzes vital moments in the lives of the Founding Fathers and how relationships between them influenced and were influenced by the unstable era in which they happened to live in. Through the six chapters and preface, Ellis examines the key revolutionary leaders, the problemsRead Morefounding fathers book report873 Words   |  4 PagesJoseph J. Ellis is a well-known historian. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the college of William and Mary, and his masters and Ph.D. at the University of Yale. Ellis is currently a full time professor of the Commonwealth at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In addition to Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation Ellis has written many books and editorials. His books include; The New England Mind in Transition: Samuel Johnson of Connecticut (Yale University Press, 1983)Read MoreThe American Revolution : A Historiographical Introduction846 Words   |  4 Pagescontinue writing the article â€Å"The American Revolution: A Historiographical Introduction,† provided by The British Library I would choose to use a book titled â€Å"Revolutionary Characters: What Made The Founders Different,† written by Gordon S. Wood, and a book titled â€Å"Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation,† written by Joseph J Ellis as reference. The article â€Å"The American Revolution: A Historiographical Introduction,† provided by The British Library, goes over how the AmericanRead MoreFounding Brothers : The Revolutionary Generation Essay1261 Words   |  6 PagesJoseph J. Ellis, American historian and novelist has written many awards winning novels. One of his most recognized, â€Å"American Sphinx†, winner many prestigious awards such as the National Book Award for Non-Fiction in 1997, and the Ambassador Book Award for Biography in 1998. His Pulitzer Prize winning novel, â€Å"Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation†, talks about the founding fathers’ interactions with each other in the decades that followed the Constitutional Convention of 1787. DuringRead MoreFounding Brothers Book Review Essay627 Words   |  3 PagesEllis, Joseph J.  Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Print. The book being critiqued in the following review is Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis. Ellis’ goal in writing this book was to define the political events and achievements that gained historical significance because they framed the successive history of the United States. Ellis wrote on this specific topic because he felt the need to argue the fact that the American Revolution and the greatnessRead More Joseph J. Ellis Founding Brothers : The Revoluntary Generation654 Words   |  3 PagesJoseph J. Ellis Founding Brothers : The Revoluntary Generation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The compelling and infectious novel of Founding Brothers; The Revolutionary Generation written by Joseph J. Ellis combines our founding fathers weakness’ and strongest abilities in just six chapters. His six chapters tell the stories of: The duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. This entertaining chapter describes how duels were undertaken and played out in that time, and helps the reader understand both mens motivesRead MoreFounding Brothers By Joseph J. Ellis1479 Words   |  6 Pages In the book â€Å"Founding Brothers† by Joseph J. Ellis, he explores the challenges faced by the Founding Fathers in a series of 6 defining events as they formed a new government for the U.S. after the revolution. Focusing on the more important figures from the revolutionary era, who he calls â€Å"Founding Brothers†, a slight change from the original â€Å"Founding Fathers†. They are as follows: George Washington, John and Abigale Adams, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Arron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin

The Impact of Transnational Corporations on Less Economically Developed Countries Free Essays

A transnational (TNC) corporation is simply a large business organisation which operates and has ownership of assets in more than one country. Most TNCs operate in just a few countries, are involved in manufacturing and services and have their head offices in more developed countries. TNCs are responsible for employing over 40 million people worldwide, indirectly influence an even greater number, and to control over 75 per cent of world trade. We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact of Transnational Corporations on Less Economically Developed Countries or any similar topic only for you Order Now At first, many branches of TNCs were located in economically less developed countries, but there has been an increasing global shift to the affluent markets of Europe, North America and Japan. The reason why TNCs originally decided to locate in less developed countries was due to the existence of valuable resources, but the most important reason was the level of incentives offered by the home government. Also read this  Cheating in a Bottom Line Economy If a TNC decides to settle in an LEDC, there will be huge benefits. Many new jobs will be created, which will be filled by local labour. The jobs will probably be better paid than other jobs supplied by industry which developed within the country. On the other hand, the wages will be much lower than the wages given for the same job in an MEDC. This is another reason why TNCs choose to create branches in LEDCs. The jobs supplied by the TNC will probably require some basic skills, especially if it involves the manufacture of a good. The education will be supplied by the TNC, and will probably be of a fairly high standard if they want the branch to be very productive. The employees will benefit from these skills, because they would be able to use them in other aspects of their lives. The TNC will supply the expensive machinery used in manufacturing for the employees, which may also introduce new technologies as well. This will enable the country to progress and allow companies to use the new technology to develop. Because worker wages is increasing, demand for consumer goods will increase as well, another reason why new companies will be tempted to develop. Mineral wealth and new energy resources will develop, Because there is more trade in the country, there will be more reason for roads to be built, as well as railways and airports. The TNC may help fund the development of these because it will improve the importing and exporting ability of that country. The government will probably supply money for the transport links as well, due to the increasing amount of money coming into the country. The increased amount of money made by the country can also be used for many other things. Health control could be introduced, which means workers will be given improved working conditions and health plans. This could also help to improve output further because workers will be in a better environment and mood to work. Money can also be used for environmental control, which could include developing ways of minimizing the amount of pollution certain industries create and even developing new production methods. Although the advantages to the country are numerous, there is a negative side which includes many disadvantages. Although the new TNC will supply many jobs, the cost of investment will be high. The new TNC will know that wages in the target country are very poor and so they will not have to pay workers as nearly as much as they pay employees in MEDCs. This is quite unfair, because the TNC is taking advantage of the people in the LEDC. Furthermore, employees will be made to work very long hours with little or no breaks. The TNC will most likely choose not to employ local highly skilled workers, because they will expect higher salaries and better working conditions. This will mean that low skilled people will be given jobs, but higher skilled workers will remain unemployed. As previously mentioned, the TNC will most probably enjoy large profits if they set up branches in LEDCs. The problem is most of this money will not stay within the country because the main branch of the TNC will be situated in an MEDC. This means money will not stay in the LEDC; there will be an outflow of wealth. If money is going abroad, the GNP of the TNC will increase rapidly. The GNP of the LEDC used will increase as well, but at a slower rate. This means that development speed of the MEDC will far exceed that of the LEDC. This defeats one of the main reasons why TNCs setup branches overseas; they want the country to catch up with the growth rate of other countries. Technological advancements in the LEDC can eventually cause problems. Mechanisation will mean that fewer workers are needed because robots can do the jobs that the workers once did. The only workers needed will those used to maintain the machinery, which means the work force will be decreased substantially. The raw materials which are located in the LEDC will most probably be exported instead of manufactured locally. If the country is using as lot of energy to develop, then this can cause a national debt. Therefore, the rate of development will be stunted and the country will have been taken advantage of. This could cause upset within the workforce, creating strikes. This can cause further problems because the firm is not located within the country. They could choose to pull out when ether they like, meaning many jobs would be lost. This would not be a great loss to the TNC though, as they have many other branches they can rely on. The money created by these TNCs would probably be better off spent on improving housing, diet and sanitation than roads and airports for trade. The problem is that the TNC would not benefit as much from these improvements so it does not concern them. The development of new firms can damage the environment because land must cleared for factories to be built. This could destroy the natural homes of species of animals, which is very difficult to correct. Because the target country will not be aware of the amount of pollution produced by industry, the laws on pollution control will not be as tight as the country where the firm is located. This could cause health problems, especially if a lot of waste is produced and dumped into the local water supply, for example. It is clear that there are many advantages and disadvantages in terms of TNCs creating branches in other countries. The real problem is that the disadvantages mostly affect the target country, not the TNC. So until LEDCs are aware of the problems caused by firms settling in their country, the chance of the growth of TNCs slowing down is very small. This could cause the gap between the levels of development in LEDCs and MEDCs to become even wider in the future. How to cite The Impact of Transnational Corporations on Less Economically Developed Countries, Papers

Corporate Social Responsibility for Global Studies- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theCorporate Social Responsibility for Global Studies. Answer: Introduction Due to the growing attention to ethical and social dimension of a company, the responsibilities are projected beyond the realms of shareholders and creditors. Corporate Social responsibilities and good governance have been made impotant due to the societal need for growth as the company grows. By part, the last few years have witnessed the emergence of anumber of corporate governance basically aimed at protecting inter-minority shareholders. Companies with securities admitted to trading. Butsecondly, the adoption of codes of corporate governance, the social dimension of the company manifests itself in the assumption of responsibilities towards the wide range of stakeholders (The GRI sustainability reporting cycle, 2007). In response to the attention of the stakeholders, companies are beginning to adopt management systems that include variables of social content and environmental protection while they strive to communicate abroad the scope of their commitment. Sustainability Reporting and Disclosure Analysis For sandfire sustainability report, the Global Reporting Initiative framework is enumerated in the period 1 july 2014 to 2015 and covers the copper gold mine of Degrussa. The prerfomance highlights for the year ended 2015 were as follows, $69 million annual net profit after tax, $ 546.8 million in salees revenues and loyalties and taxes amounting to $43.1 million. The firm entails five major business functions which include exploration, mining , delivery, processing and rehabilitation. For purposes of sustainability, Sandfire has several committees and individuals that are fundamentally important in this reporting. They include; Board, Audit risk committee, remuneration nomination committee, management and sustainability committee. Risk management and code of conduct and whistle blower protection policy are the functions for the sandfire sustainability framework. Sustainability at sandfire is build under three pillar which are economic, social and environmental awareness and benefits to our stakeholders. The supply chain in the mine is factored in the sustainability reporting. The case study for Sandfire is Yagahong Alliance and for the support of the employees several members of staff have been given scholarships to study for their diplomas, bachelors, higher diplomas and masters who total 16 (Schreck, 2009). The recognition of a responsibility above the limits is exclusively an economic classical theory.It introduces us to other agents with interests in the firm to whom the general reporting will be legitimized. The legitimation process of the entity is based onthe existence of social groups and reference towards those who are in PR. The information is directed and communicated by the company in relation to its actions. It should be noted, however, that for various reasons, which may be cited as the recent incorporation of this approach and derived conflicts of such adoption, there is no consensus on the contents that should cover the information social basis (Kerzner, 2014). Thus,although it is not easy to elucidate what is and what is not the subject of social content information, authors such as Gray et al. (1995) or Mathews (1993) have offered definitions of what they consider to be social information. These authors coincide in highlighting as common elements the following: - Social-based information goes beyond the traditional economic-financial area of the company.- It is addressed to social groups, internal or external, different from shareholders and creditors.- It can be information that summarizes both these elements and defines social-based information as "provided by companies and other institutions about a wide range of economic and social aspects of the company that go beyond the strictly financial scope; It generally refers to information on stakeholders other than shareholders and creditors, such as employees and society in general. " social accounting and, by extension, social information are presented as "an attempt to provide additional elements that rescue some of the externalities and, as a consequence, induce behaviors that improve the living conditions of the community. External costs (externalities) refer to those that are part of economic activity and are not incorporated in the price system (Brown, Jong and Lessidrenska, n.d.). These definitions is precisely the reason why there is no clear consensus about the contents of social information and, moreover, the way in which it should be disclosed. In addition, due to the changing interests and priorities of the main target group, the contents of the social information are adjusted according to the demands of the environment. In the absence of a regulation that regulates the format and contents of information of social type, it is usually disclosed on a voluntary basis following the criteria marked by the company itself. However, in the last 30 years there have been several initiatives and proposals to develop guidelines to guide companies in the development o f this type of information. The contents of these proposals, emanated sometimes from public bodies and others from private associations, are not fixed, but usually correspond to the point of view of the agent issuing the proposal, adjusting to the time in which it occurs. Record the changing nature of the social information disclosed in terms of the changes in society, the emerging social values and the expectations of society. The following sub-sections present some initiatives carried out in recent years in order to propose programs for the dissemination of social information. Corporate Decision Making Social Responsibility Issues Almost all authors seem to agree that, at least at European level, the publication of the Corporate Report (ASSC, 1975) was the first serious attempt to regulate the disclosure of non-financial information in the annual reports of companies. Despite the fact that the contents of the Corporate Report were no more than mere recommendations to be voluntarily applied by companies, their publication was an important step for the recognition of agents other than the suppliers of funds with interests in the entity and, therefore, However, despite the favorable climate in which the publication of the Corporate report took place, the events that took place shortly afterwards (rise of the British Conservative party, publication of the Sandilands report on inflation, etc.), left in the background the debate on the dissemination of social information, and the interest in value added disappeared. In the years since its publication, very few companies followed the guidelines of the recommendation. However, it cannot be overlooked that the generality of accounting regulations in force require the disclosure of information regarding the employees taking elements that were included in the current Report (Gond and Moon, 2012). Given the generally voluntary nature of the dissemination of social information, a number of organizations have been developing guidelines to provide guidance on the elements on which some kind of information may be revealed. The paper identifies twenty-six elements or subcategories that are grouped into seven thematic fields or categories that cover the broad spectrum of business actions related to social and environmental responsibility. Effectiveness, relevance and context of sustainability are some of the characteristics of the reports. The principles that define the quality and truthfulness of the contents are neutrality, comparability and accuracy. Finally, the principles of clarity and the access and availability of the reports are also discussed in the GRI (Gond and Moon, 2012). Some of the highlights of these principles are to the traditional hypotheses included in the conceptual framework statements for the financial information are the following: Sustainability Accounting Reporting Principles Extension of the concept of entity: The principles of globalism, comprehensiveness and context of sustainability aim to ensure the inclusion of all infrastructures essential for the evaluation ofcontribution of the economic, social and environmental performance of information organization. Although the issue of the limits of the reporting entity is an not yet solved, GRI raises the desirability of including all relevant which form the supply chain nitro. This would make reporting fraudulent, given the greater difficulty to conceal facts (pollution, labor precariousness, discrimination,etc.) occurring at the product life cycle. Broad interpretation of the accrual principle: The process of defining a scope absolute can include the results of the analysis of the life of products or services and the assessment of the wide range of social or ecological impacts direct and indirect costs of a reporting organization. In addition, it is proposed to report with an impact minimum in the short term, but will have a cumulative effect and can become long-term or irreversible (emission of pollutants, occupational disease), which would give a new dimension to the principle of materiality (Gond and Moon, 2012). Contents of the Sustainability Report The sustainability report adopts the structure of a memoir with the aim of providing information to the wide range of users so that they can assess their relationship with the organization. The sustainability report proposed byThe GRI contains five two whose name, general description and basic contents are summarized below; . - Vision and strategy - Profile of the reporting organization - Management systems and governance structure - GRI Content Index The first section describes how the company addresses the social, economic, political and environmental aspects, as well as how to integrate them into a balanced way. Also, this section should contain a report by the President of the company (or position) equivalent, by describing key elements of the report with l subject to send a signal credible vis--vis external and internal users. Among others elements, the GRI recommends that the President's letter includes the main challenges for the organization and its business sector by integrating financial performance responsibilities with the of social action. Profile of the reporting organization The second part of the sustainability report is dedicated to present a vision and a general description of the company including a description of products and services of the organization. Among other issues, in this section identification data shall be contents of the organization, such as the name of the company, and main services, in which it operates, the nature of the property and which refers to the memory. Between the data to be included are those corresponding to sales volume, volume of assets and number of workers, in addition to other measures such as the gross margin or the net effect. Likewise, a relationship with the main stakeholders of the firm (customers, shareholders, suppliers, unions,localities, etc.). Among others data should also be provided by a person from touch (including e-mail and pages in the Web), as well as information about significant changes in the size, structure, property or products or services in the preparation period of memory (Gond and Moon, 201 2). Management systems and governance structure ,In this section of the sustainability report, the report give an overview of its governance structure and management systems in practice in order to bring its function. In particular, information on the systems and structures of the signed to manage sustainability indicators . It shall also include a declaration and a code of conduct, as well as the volunteers and codes. Differences in the Quality of Sustainabilty There are very many comparison quality between westfarmers 2016 sustainability report and westfield 2017 sustainability report. Sustainability is a critical issue in wesfarmers governance and strategic management. Wesfarmers has has consistently scored highly in the sustainability reporting strategy and assessment startegies for risks and Sustainability is a critical, Board level, governance and sustainability risk management. In 2016, wesfarmers scored 78 out of 100 in the sustainability report index of Dow Jones (DJSI) and particularly faired well in nutrition and health, cyber security and information, environmental policy and corporate management and citizenship. This is the process influenced by materiality , in performance the safety standard for the staff increased by 16% and the same was the reported reduction in injury frequency(Schreck, 2009).. The ethical sourcing and human rights transparency increased by 70% when the audit was done on the more than 5000 factories. The in digenous employees level increased by 27% which shows diversity in hiring of employees for westfarmers while the climate change resilience and greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 16%. For westfield sustainability report of 2017, the materiality stakeholder engagement was presumed to be the best in the world. From employess and other shareholders, westfield takes good care of their remunerations and the safety and occupational development and well being of the company. The market place economic benefit is to create employment and increase the availability of jobs in the country. The safety principle has been enhanced. The community is also aware of the creation of entreprenuural support , mentoring and education. Westfield has also cut the energy emission and gas emission levels. Reporting and Disclosure Analysis Comparisons In addition, and within a broader range that encompasses corporate responsibility and sustainability, the focus has been on commitment to the environment and social action, understood as those actions or actions that allow the development of society and the communities in which we operate, mainly of the most disadvantaged groups. Our Firm understands corporate responsibility as a joint effort of the company and its professionals, being its basic participation to achieve success in this project. Our organization puts the means, facilities, ideas, platforms, budget; On the other hand, our professionals also contribute ideas, their time, their experiences and their resources (Belal, 2016). We want all disadvantaged groups to be represented in our plan and we want to approach them and help them from multiple perspectives and with different actions.We focus our efforts, above all, in three areas, in line with our strategy and that we consider vital to expand and improve the market: Corporate Social Responsibility; benefits for society and for the company For those reasons mentioned above we can deduce that as time goes by the management model that will be more important will be that which guarantees and can demonstrate that it is economically efficient and that obtains the approval or approval of society. Almost fifteen years ago I participated in one of the first Spanish conferences on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); in it, the scope of that "responsibility" and the role of the company in the society was debated. I remember that the audience was polarized around two theses. For some - the business world - its "responsibility" was to comply with the law and its corporate purpose before its shareholders, and its "social responsibility", if any, consisted in a voluntary exercise of returning to society part of what the society has given him . For other companies, the responsibility of a company was broad and should have legal effects for all the impacts, even the negative ones, that could produce in the exercise of its operations, throughout its theater of operations and directly or indirectly (Belal, 2016). finally, that a customer of any brand is not an "isolated entity": besides customer is citizen and consumer and can exercise its power as such. Secondly, the multilateral institutions that, together with the companies, have developed movements such as based on 10 universal principles for companies in the field of human rights, labor standards, environment and anti-corruption practices); or the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), an independent institution launched in June 2000 that created the first standardized global framework for CSR or sustainability reporting. Third, investors have helped to bring positions closer together by using the ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) criteria. With them, investors take, or abandon, positions in companies for their risk management in these matters, to avoid last-minute "surprises" that could negatively impact their investment. In this field, the best known are the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the FTSE4Good or the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an index that acts on behalf of more than 380 investors that move about 57 billion (European) dollars and have taking into account the companies' climate strategies (Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Restructuring and Firm's Performance, 2010). A client can take into account "the impact of the company's operations on the community and the environment." The second, and best known, is the "Renewed Strategy 2011-2014 on Corporate Social Responsibility", which , in point, states that CSR is "a process designed to integrate social, environmental and ethical concerns, respect for human rights and consumer concerns in its business operations", on the one hand, "to maximize the creation of shared value "for all, and, on the other hand," to identify, prevent and mitigate its possible adverse consequences. That ye s; this idea of responsibility only applies if, previously, the applicable legislation and collective agreements between the social partners has been respected. I think we have advanced. Some will say too much; others, that very little. The important thing is that, in my opinion, the debate on Corporate Social Responsibility is already in the right lane thanks to all this academic, investor, institutional and legislative framework. Communication in Corporate responsibility I think that although it may seem difficult, it is indeed possible. That is why today we offer you 5 examples of European companies that take the issue very seriously, as they have been recognized by state and international bodies as examples of good business practice in numerous benchmarking studies (including the " good practice between small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe (Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Restructuring and Firm's Performance, 2010) This is a guide on responsible drinking, full of tips for adopting healthy and sustainable habits. Social-environmental responsibility Before looking at these five cases of good business practices, let's look briefly at corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the social environmental responsibility 5 examples of corporate social responsibility What is considered to be the social responsibility of the company before society has been changing as society and business develop. It is not a rigid, invariable concept. Not only does it vary over time, it also depends on the context in which the company operates and its relationship with society, not just its business relationship. But this does not mean that each company can decide what its responsibility is, but how and to what extent it assumes it and society can and should decide if it is satisfactory. It should be remembered that companies are a creation of that society that confers rights and consequently may require responsibilities (Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Restructuring and Firm's Performance, 2010). For other companies, the "responsibility" of a company was broad and should have legal effects for all the impacts, even the negative ones, that could produce in the exercise of its operations, throughout its theater of operations directly or indirectly (Belal, 2016). The responsibility of a company is not implemented equally in one that operates in a developed country, with laws and advanced institutions than in one that operates in areas of poverty with legal and institutional deficiencies. It is not the same for a multinational as for a local SME. It is not the same as it was in 1920, it is in the year 2014, it will be in 2050. But the responsibility remains. The most popular version, and the most pernicious, is that the company must "do things" for the benefit of society, voluntarily, beyond compliance with current legislation. This has led companies to look for "things to do", to have a fragmented, shortsighted view of their role in society, to not do evil (at least visible evil ) and do some good things to improve their image. Hence the emphasis in many companies of trying to discharge that responsibility through philanthropy, buying indulgences for their sins through donations many times without any relation to the activity of the company. And this is deeply rooted in Latin America, with an extensive philanthropic tradition, given the social inequality and unmet needs of the population and the failure of governments in their social responsibilities. The company is forced or sees the need to fill a void. This narrow conception and abuse of most of the companies of the term is what has led to dozens of proposals for alternative versions, from strategic philanthropy (promoting the interests of the company), through action or social investment (contribution to satisfy population needs, eg health and education) through inclusive businesses (incorporating less favored populations as providers of goods and services) to one of the most recent, Shared Value Creat ion (CVC) (simultaneously creating economic value and social value). But the problem is not the concept, it is the business model, it is the deficient and abusive implementation that is given to a robust concept, the problem is to do things for the gallery. The implementation of the responsibility of the company before the society, well understood, is a superior strategy, of greater level, that includes all these variants. It is a business model. This chapter covers the recent evolution of that responsibility and the main related concepts, from philanthropy through to inclusive businesses and businesses based on the pyramid and the recent proposal of the Creation of Shared Value, among others, to conclude that CSR is the most complete concept and the most practical as a business strategy and includes all these partial versions. Since the mid-1980s, simultaneously with the depletion of the welfare state model and the rise of neoliberalism, society began to demand from companies greater social and environmental responsibility, in addition to a more ethical and transparent behavior. The sociology of the company allows analyzing from a new angle these problems, since it conceives it not only as an instrument to obtain profits, but as a social actor endowed with a culture of its own, capable of creating identity Part D I think that the sustainability report in this context is economic , environmental and social fundamental.The notion of social responsibility is fashionable in the language of management, although it does not yet have a solid conceptual substrate, which gives rise to many misunderstandings. This imprecision is all the more serious given that we live in an era in which society challenges companies and, at the same time, entrepreneurs feel the need to improve their public image by encouraging debate s on social actions and actively intervening in the life of community. In this article, we will first formulate some hypotheses to explain the reasons that produce this social valuation of the company over the last 20 years. Then, we will question the notion of corporate social responsibility and, finally, we will show to what extent the sociology of the company can be useful to analyze this question (Schreck, 2009). They showed that during the 1980s a time as important to the company as in May 1968 was experienced in Europe for the evolution of lifestyles, social relations of consumption or the fight against gender inequalities. In this pioneering text of 1986, the authors advanced a hypothesis that would then be exhaustively developed and confirmed: if the social valuation of the company becomes a fashion, it is because it carries within it the search by society in a new way of regulation of social relations, no longer focused on consumption or on ways of life, but in the sphere of the production of goods and services (Schreck, 2009). Sainsaulieu and Segrestin propose the development of research with a deliberately institutional approach of the company, so as to contemplate simultaneously the culture as well as the relation between the companies and the social change: in a general context of weakening of social referents, the enterprise asserts itself as a place of identity production, which would tend to outline the meaningful representations of future society. It would be interesting, therefore, to think to what extent the society began to demand more responsibility and ethical actions by companies from the implementation of the neoliberal model and the exhaustion of the welfare state in Europe, or from the end of the model of import substitution in European countries. (Schreck, 2009). Recommendations Environmental and economic reporting of the organization is done through the use of various indicators, central and additional qualitative and quantitative criteria.to the central indicators must fulfill two conditions: a)To be relevant for the greater part of the organizations and be of interest to the majority of the stakeholders or parts concerned. b) The additional indicators, for their part, belong to a status or outstanding level in the measure of social practice, in addition to being of interest to the stakeholders of the informant. Indicators are the measure of a particular aspect used to show how it works an organization. They can be quantitative (tons of emission water consumption, etc.) or qualitative (description of the procedures used by the entity to ensure compliance). Conclusion In conclusion, one aspect is described through one or more indicators. In turn, one or more aspect categories are therefore the areas or clusters of social, environmental or economic aspects that affect the stakeholders. The following section presents a description of the reference indicators contained in the GRI guide (Hunnicutt, 2009). This is key in the current conjuncture, in which the company is no longer limited to managing economic, technical and human resources, as it was until a few years ago. Today, the creation and permanent development of new resources are imposed as demands for economic survival (Schreck, 2009). References Anheier, P. and Juergensmeyer, M. (2012).Encyclopedia of Global Studies. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Belal, A. (2016).Corporate social responsibility reporting in developing countries. London: Routledge. Brown, H., Jong, M. and Lessidrenska, T. (n.d.).The rise of the Global Reporting Initiative. Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Restructuring and Firm's Performance.(2010). Gardners Books. Gond, J. and Moon, J. (2012).Corporate social responsibility. London [u.a.]: Routledge. Haerens, M. and Zott, L. (n.d.).Corporate social responsibility. Hunnicutt, S. (2009).Corporate social responsibility. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press. Kerzner, H. (2014). Project management best practices. Hoboken: Wiley. Kerzner, H. (2014). Project management best practices. Hoboken: Wiley. Manos, R. and Drori, I. (n.d.).Corporate responsibility. Schreck, P. (2009). The business case for corporate social responsibility. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag. The GRI sustainability reporting cycle. (2007). Amsterdam: Global Reporting Initiative.

Second Generation Identity and Language Use

One of the discussions in the book about second generation, focuses on the issue of identity for the second generation children. According to Portes and Rumbaut the second generation children in America have had some struggles with their identity because they have been the children of two worlds (147).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Second Generation Identity and Language Use specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Many of them, for example, those coming from Korea had parents who had lived in very homogeneous communities. The parents thus tried to maintain the close knit communities for themselves and for their future generations in a heterogeneous society (Portes, and Rumbaut 149). The author presents the experiences of the Korean community to communicate the common struggles that the children faced and how they tried to solve the problem of identity. One of the ways the author presents is the use of solidarity ralli es (Portes, and Rumbaut 149). These rallies cut across different generations with the common goal of perpetuating the history, custom and culture of the Korean community. Sometimes resistance came like it did for the Cubans who after migrating to Florida found that the local initiated a referendum against their migration from Cuba to Florida (Portes, and Rumbaut 149). These isolated the Cubans who were already in Florida. This brings to mind the question as to whether those who settled in America early should have had so much power in controlling those who immigrated later. The experiences of these immigrants is contrasted to that of the Early Europeans whose ethnicity projected outward with intermarriages and thinning out. While the early immigrants were accepted without discrimination, the later immigrants already came with ethnic ties that pitted them against the majority of those already settled into America (Portes, and Rumbaut 181). Conclusion The question of identity is there fore very relevant when considering legacies. This is because identity greatly influences the activities and orientation of groups as they try to settle in a new world. Second generation children might not forget their culture easily since even when they are likely to distance themselves from it, the world they live in may always place them in their ethnic groups (Portes, and Rumbaut 181). It is not clear therefore if ethnic discrimination is likely to end in America. If indeed it will end, then the paradox is on what will need to happen to help achieve this goal.Advertising Looking for essay on languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Second generation language use A discussion of importance in the book is the language as used by the new second generation. Most of the second generation began to use English as they undertook education and jobs. However their English was the bases for much discrimination and mistrust by their American counterparts (Portes, and Rumbaut 115). Many of them were discriminated due to their accent. Sometimes this came with approval from political offices. Bilingualism was often treated as a handicap even though research reveals one language does not necessarily make a speaker any worse at another. The author refers to studies that proved children who were bilingual had strong cognitive abilities compared to those who spoke one language (Portes, and Rumbaut 116). However schools remain monolingual in America (Portes, and Rumbaut 128). Should languages be offered as part of the core studies of children as they join school? In contemporary America especially where there is a lot of cultural diversity bilingualism has come to be appreciated even admired. Admiration has also come from first generation and ethnic communities that are closely knit (Portes, and Rumbaut 134). This is because the children can communicate within the family easily without a language barrier between the o lder and younger generation. The author also reveals that bilingualism has also affected family relationships especially between parents and their children. Children who are fluent in English and their parent’s native language experience better relationship with their parents (Portes, and Rumbaut 134). The children are also more confident and more proud of their culture when they can speak their parent’s language fluently. However the school system has been poor in propagating the acquisition of a second language (Portes, and Rumbaut 138). Languages are not offered in many schools and even those who are bilingual find they can only use English. This has created a break where given the languages in America the country does not benefit from the positive effects of bilingualism (Portes, and Rumbaut 135- 140). The statistics in the book reveal difficulties in retention of parent’s language. Conclusion The author has presented the issues of the new second generation in a clear manner and challenged the reader to think critically about the effects of immigration especially upon future generation who have to undergo challenging circumstances before they can live the American dream. The question for a society like America could be how the society can best benefit from the linguistic intellectuals of a diverse society with many languages. Work Cited Portes, Alejandro, and Ruben Rumbaut. The Story of the Immigrant Second  Generation. 1st ed. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2001. Print.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Second Generation Identity and Language Use specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This essay on Second Generation Identity and Language Use was written and submitted by user PuppetMaster to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Should we Legalize Marijuana Essay Example

Should we Legalize Marijuana Essay Example Should we Legalize Marijuana Essay Should we Legalize Marijuana Essay The history of penalizing oppressive measures to discourage the utilization of drugs is one which presents little support to those who think that the best approach to the problem of the extensive use of marijuana is Draconian legislation. The spread of tobacco smoking during the 16th and 17th centuries was the most theatrical epidemic of drug use in recorded history. The foule weed was adopted by cultures so different literate and nonliterate, for instance that cultural and social determinants must have played an inconsequential role, if any at all, in its spread. In approximately all cases of tobacco use, prohibitions against it failed, whether they were justified on grounds of impairment to health, religion, good taste, or by the threat of inducement to criminal activity. The history of the use of tobacco would appear to point out that social controls are powerless when a society is confronted by an attractive psychoactive substance, even though that substance serves no primary ph ysiological need or conventional interpersonal function.In their initial response to the introduction of tobacco into most societies all through the 16th and 17th centuries, the authorities were in actual fact much more bigoted in their attempts to curb its use than are modern authorities. This is particularly surprising when one thinks that it is modern proof which has demonstrated undoubtedly the health dangers arising from tobacco use. One more very similar instance is provided by the 17th century spread of coffee drinking in the Arab Near East, despite the most extreme penalties, including death. (Mitch Earleywine, 2002).The impotence of lawmaking in restraining the use of psychoactive substances is demonstrated again by fairly recent North African history. When from 1956-1960 the farming of Cannabis sativa was banned in Tunisia and Algeria, vineyards replaced hemp fields, as well as alcohol consumption took the place of cannabis with no resulting improvement in public health. A t the end of the 19th century in Ireland, there was an endeavor to restrain the use of hard liquor through temperance campaigns, heavy taxation, and (attempted) strict enforcement of the tax laws. The campaign was a victory in that the Irish to a great extent reduced their intake of hard liquor; instead, they switched to the substitute ethyl ether, which offered a short-lived intoxication involving a hot all the way down sensation, pursued by thunderous flatus, and, within ten minutes, a high, which could be repeated and which left no menace. The use of ether turned out to be so extensive that in one area of Ulster an eighth of the population were labeled etheromaniacs. The succeeding alarm over the ether epidemic became so immense that the different pressure groups which had promoted the campaign upturned their field, and the Irishman happily returned to other psychoactive substances, remarkably back to his whiskey.In Japan, after World War II, amphetamines turned out to be freely and legally available. Their use started to skyrocket to the point where it was anticipated that 5 million Japanese were habitual users. In reaction to this medicosocio emergency, a highly punitive law was enacted in 1953 against both users and sellers. But whereas the amphetamine problem was considered solved by 1955, the number of narcotic addicts had started to rise gradually. The augment in the use of narcotics turned out to be so alarming that in 1963 a new law, planned to be as severe as the 1953 antiamphetamine legislation, was passed. It solved the heroin problem, however the number of barbiturate users now started to rise, and in actual fact is still rising. Additionally there is now a sharp augment in the practice of solvent inhalation (glue-sniffing). At the present time marijuana is used to a very slight extent in Japan. (Dale Alexander, 2003).Prohibition of alcohol in this country failed for the reason that violations were so frequent, blatant, and extensive through all socioeconomic groups. The public more and more doubted that alcohol was so unwanted, and the cost of and fallout from enforcement became unbearable.The ostensible cause for the general alarm regarding the use of marijuana is the belief that it shows the way to drug abuse, which means that it harms the individual who takes the drug and that he is more probable to impose injury on society generally. Though, irrespective of the legal status of its use, if a drug, when taken in its usual doses, is not biologically detrimental, then from a functional (and a common sense) viewpoint its use cannot constitute drug abuse. The opiates are in actual fact truly drugs of abuse in that the addiction they produce is perpetually harmful to the individual. However, while the mortality rate for such drug abuse possibly from two to ten times that of the non-narcotic-using population, very important statistics in the United States for the year 1965 make known that deaths ensuing from misuse of narcoti cs and further drugs constitute merely 1.5 per 1,000, compared with the figure of 10.7 for alcoholism and its complications. Commonly associated with drug abuse are various disorders, including malnutrition, infection, toxic psychoses, as well as the precipitation of psychoses. Additionally, there are the deep physical and mental changes that may take place upon abrupt withdrawal of drugs of abuse. Drug abuse with opiates is usually associated with crimes against both people and property, even though in actual fact crimes against people are rare; thievery, forgery, and prostitution are the most common. A common crime among drug users is that of peddling drugs to one another; this is the merely one that is common among marijuana users.Besides crime, further types of social damage usually associated with drug abuse comprise automobile accidents, economic losses at all levels, neglect of family and ordinary pursuits and activities, damaged careers, and all that. While it is most likely impossible to estimate the actual cost of drug abuse, for the reason that there are so many factors and variables involved, it appears more than likely that the social cost of abuse of narcotics and other drugs is less than that caused by the extensive addiction to alcohol in this country, where the number of alcoholics is sometimes estimated to be as high as twenty million, although more conservative estimates hover around the five to six million mark. The likelihood that the economic impact of drug abuse of all sorts may be overestimated is supported by the White House Committee on Narcotic and Drug Abuse, which has noted that if the economic aspects alone are considered, there are numerous other problems deserving of a higher priority.   (Erich Goode, 1969).Whereas there can be no question that the use of psychoactive drugs may be harmful to the social fabric, the harm ensuing from the use of marijuana is of a far lower order of magnitude than the harm caused by abuse of narco tics, alcohol, and other drugs. Marijuana itself is not criminogenic; it does not show the way to sexual debauchery; it is not addicting; there is no evidence that it leads to the use of narcotics. It does not, under ordinary situation, cause psychoses, and there is no convincing evidence that it causes personality deterioration. Even regarding automobile driving, although the use of any psychoactive drug must perforce be detrimental to this skill, there exists evidence that marijuana is less so than alcohol. Marijuana use, even over a substantial period of time, does not cause malnutrition or to any known organic illness. There is no evidence that mortality rates are any higher among users than nonusers; actually, relative to other psychoactive drugs, it is remarkably safe.There is, though, a real relationship between crime and cannabis in this country: the criminogenic character of the present laws against the possession, sale, or even the giving away of marijuana; and this compri ses a great irony. The unique nature of this criminogenic effect in the United States is that antimarijuana laws have strengthened and somewhat created the fundamental but complex sociological and legal problems they were ostensibly designed to avoid or eliminate. The laws which prohibit the possession, sale, as well as giving away of cannabis passed by the individual states and the federal government since the mid-1930s have formed a completely new species of criminal, very often an individual who is truly unable to see himself, in any real sense, as engaged in any criminal activity, and whose typical attitude toward the antimarijuana legislation is a combination of scorn, indifference, and frustration. It is not at all unreasonable to presume that a government (or, more predominantly, a special law-enforcement agency of that government) which strikes marijuana users as downright absurd in its tremendously punitive approach to prohibition of marijuana will as well appear ludicrou s in other important respects. (Alan W. Bock, 2000).Until recently, the federal laws made distribution, including gifts of marijuana, punishable by from five to twenty years imprisonment for a first offense, and ten to forty years for a subsequent offense. In addition, there were restrictions on probation and suspended sentences. Accordingly, federal penalties for marijuana violations were, with a few minor exceptions, the same as those for violations of the laws relating to opiates and cocaine. The declared intent of Public Law 91-513, which became law on October 27, 1970, is that of reducing penalties for experimenters and increasing them for pushers. The penalty for simple possession of marijuana is reduced to a prison term of not more than one year and/or a fine of not more than $5,000. The Court can, if it decides, give first offender probation instead of a jail sentence. A second conviction of possession is punishable by up to two years of imprisonment and/or a fine of not mor e than $10,000. The offense of selling marijuana is punishable by a prison sentence of up to five years and/or a fine of as much as $15,000. If there is a prior conviction for this offense an offender may be sentenced to ten years in prison and fined as much as $30,000. Additionally, there is a provision, allegedly aimed at professional criminals, which makes it probable to inflict a minimum sentence of ten years and a maximum of life on a person, convicted of a drug offense, who is engaged in a continuing criminal enterprise. (Alex Kreit, 2003)Most state legislation makes distribution, including gifts, punishable as a felony and the felony is often high degree, involving the possibility of a long prison term. Most states define cannabis as a narcotic; the possible punishments for distribution are usually identical with those that apply to the distribution of opiates and cocaine. In fact the degree of permissible punishment for a single small distribution of marijuana is so high in some states that it may approximate those provided for such crimes against person or property as unaggravated robbery, larceny, arson, kidnapping, unaggravated forcible rape, or even, in the state of California, second degree murder.A conservative estimate is that one-third of the California population between the ages of 16 and 29 have committed the very serious crime of using marijuana and thereby exposed themselves to the possibility of arrest, a felony conviction, and imprisonment. And both the percentage and the age-range are rising each year. As it is most unhealthy for a society to turn a large percentage of its young people into felons or even define them as such. The young, occasional user of marijuana may have a good deal of trouble adjusting to the official local and federal police view of him as a criminal liable to the most severe punishments, whether fines, imprisonment, or both, of the state or federal government. It is far from unreasonable to suppose that he will f eel genuine resentment toward what he feels increasingly forced to view as the other side of the law, and that he will see the police less as protectors of rights and property and more as intruders and spies. It is conceivable that this attitude shift might lead to further, more dangerous criminal activity for if one is already branded a criminal and lives under the threat of a heavy jail sentence and/or fines, what essential difference can it possibly make if one commits another crime for which the sentence is less Many young marijuana users employ this particular argument.New social norms are increasingly and dramatically colliding with older statutory proscriptions. The legal institution cannot remain insensitive to these changes without incurring damage to itself. But, of course, courts lack the flexibility and prerogatives to provide solutions to social problems; ultimately it is the legislatures which can experiment, improvise, change direction, and even reverse field when ne cessary. In fact, just because a court has so few alternatives, it exercises great caution: a court may strike down a statute as unconstitutional, but in doing so it may leave a major social problem without an adequate solution. (John P. Hoffmann, 1994).As it becomes increasingly accepted that enforcement of the existing marijuana laws is more costly and dangerous than is use of the drug itself, at least as it is used at present in the United States, enforcement will become increasingly difficult. There is every indication that a great number of people are ignoring these laws now and that even more will be doing so in the future. It is not simply that more people are using marijuana, but larger numbers of people who are older are also smoking it. The number of people breaking these laws even now is so great that if a substantial fraction of them were arrested, the courts would be overwhelmed with the volume. One can predict that it will not be long before it will be a rare jury that does not have among its members at least one who uses marijuana, is convinced of its relative harmlessness, and will find it difficult to be a party to the conviction of someone else who uses the drug. In the absence of any statutory changes, what may happen is that law enforcement officials faced with increasing numbers of violators and shrinking numbers of convictions will arrive at a point where they decide that any efforts to enforce the laws as written are futile and that the only realistic approach to the widespread use of marijuana will be systematically to ignore it.Something of this nature recently happened in the Netherlands, where the government has been moving toward the position that at least in the case of marijuana it is more sensible for a society to live with it than to fight its use. Officially marijuana remains outside the law, but even high law enforcement officials acknowledge that this is so because the Netherlands (like the United States) is party to the Sing le Convention governing traffic in drugs. Compared to the furtiveness and police action associated with drug usage in the United States, the Dutch laissez-faire attitude toward marijuana is striking, and nowhere is it more obvious than in two psychedelically lit, government-subsidized youth clubs, Paradiso and Fantasio, in downtown Amsterdam. In each of these clubs as many as 1,000 young people 16 years old and over can be found on any night, many of them smoking marijuana while pushers openly ply their trade, offering potential customers free samples. The police are fully aware of the activities and transactions that go on inside but make no effort to interfere. The clubs managers and staff are alert to the use and sales of harder drugs and eject those so involved.In view of the present public attitudes toward smoking marijuana in the United States, it seems unlikely that legislatures are going to legalize the use of marijuana in the near future. It is likely, then, that this same type of widespread ignoring of the antimarijuana laws will very shortly come to pass. But the laissezfaire approach is no solution. It is mere transitory accommodation with a number of liabilities. First, one must expect that while such an accommodation may become widespread, it will nonetheless remain capricious. Second, since the present laws will presumably still exist, the user, while he may not be pursued, will still be labeled a criminal; and third, such an approach provides no way of imposing any degree of quality control upon distribution.A more rational approach to the problem of the smoking of marijuana in the United States would include legalization of the use of marijuana, regulation of its distribution, and the development of sound educational programs about it. (Xueyan Zhao, Mark N. Harris, 2004).By legalization is meant the freedom for people above a certain age, say 18, to use marijuana (bhang) of a predetermined potency. The penalties associated with its use, as wit h alcohol, would deal with those circumstances wherein the user endangers the lives or well-being of others, as, for example, in operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Such legalization would immediately put an end to the costs and harmfulness of the present legal approach. It has to be assumed that the legalization of marijuana would result in more widespread use. However, since at the present time the use is increasing explosively, it is at least conceivable that the prevalence of its use will reach roughly the same level sometime in the not too distant future with or without legalization. Furthermore, there is even a possibility that for some groups legalization will mean less use; those young people whose use is largely determined by a need to oppose hypocrisy and the establishment may feel less compelled to smoke pot when it is freely available. And very young people, those for whom its use may be the most harmful, may be more willing to forego its use now with the unders tanding that they will be able to use it when they reach age 18, just as most of them do not surreptitiously and illegally drive automobiles at a younger age perhaps largely because they know that when they reach 16 they will, with certain restrictions, be able to drive legally. This will by no means bring an end to the use of marijuana among high school and junior high school students, but it is more likely to have a dampening than an accelerating effect on use in this age group.In this proposed approach the distribution of marijuana is regulated much as that of alcohol is now. The use of cannabis products is generally less dangerous than the use of either tobacco or alcohol, and the use of marijuana, as it is commonly smoked in this country, is the least harmful of all. The regulations controlling the distribution of cannabis would limit it to marijuana (bhang), of, say, 1.5-percent tetrahydrocannabinol potency. This would do much to insure the continued use of the milder form thr ough smoking, rather than through the ingestion of more powerful forms such as hashish (charas). Just as, with the easy availability of liquors of limited potencies, people do not generally seek out pure ethanol, so it is expected that with the unfettered availability of marijuana, few would seek out hashish. Another important advantage of regulation is that the consumer could be certain not only that he is getting unadulterated marijuana, but also that it is of potency familiar to him. Thus, there would be no danger of marijuana laced with other drugs. The risk of attaining more of a high through autotitration than the user desires or is prepared for would be minimized if the available product were of a more or less uniform, predictable potency. The risk of the kinds of reactions resulting from large amounts of ingested hashish, would be all but impossible under these circumstances.If this type of approach is to have any effectiveness in stemming the push toward the use of hallucin ogens, amphetamines, and narcotics, it must be accompanied by honest educational programs. To date, such approaches have tended to lump marijuana with the hallucinogens or, even more inappropriately, with the true medical narcotics. The law as it presently stands reinforces this when it provides stiffer penalties for the use of marijuana than it does for LSD. Young people who have learned for themselves that marijuana is not very harmful then regrettably tend to treat with skepticism information from the same sources about the dangers of other drugs and are more likely to experiment with them. The present laws put the drug educator in a difficult position. He can discuss honestly the dangers of LSD, amphetamines, and heroin. But when he talks about marijuana, and particularly when he is asked about its dangers relative to those of alcohol, he can either be less than candid and risk losing credibility with regard to the other drugs, or he can acknowledge that except for the risk of g etting caught, there is little reason on the whole to believe that marijuana as it is used now in the United States is more dangerous than alcohol. If he admits this lack of negative evidence regarding marijuana, he risks being accused by the community (or the school authorities) of encouraging the use of marijuana and thereby criminal behavior. If he tells the students candidly of the relative dangers of marijuana, LSD, amphetamines, and heroin, and he tells them what the penalties are for the use of these, he risks being interpreted as mocking the law. When the use of marijuana is legalized, it will be possible for the drug educator to have more credibility among the young people than he now can have.However, if he is to be credible for an audience which seems particularly sensitive to breaches of integrity, he must be scrupulously objective about the material he presents. A case in point is an advertisement sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health which appeared in se veral campus newspapers in November 1969. It showed the picture of a man and bore the title Happy Twenty-First Birthday, Johnny. The ad read, most people take him for about 35. Then came a few paragraphs of a reasonable description of the dangers of using amphetamines, followed by an invitation to write for free drug booklets to the National Institute of Mental Health. On January 6, 1970, two months later, the Harvard Crimson, one of the papers which had published the ad, also published a letter from the man who had posed for the picture, thanking the paper for belatedly recognizing his twenty first birthday: I was touched and proud to find your paper commemorating my twenty-first birthday. . . . I guess it just slipped by nine years ago when it happened, and I was a Junior [at Harvard]. But thats all right, I know how busy you are up there, getting out a paper every day, and all. (Denise B. Kandel, 2002).Not only was he in fact thirty years old, he was made up to look even older in the photograph. Needless to say, the student readers treated the incident with derision, and one wonders how seriously they will now consider the reasonably objective information offered in the advertisement. For that matter, one doubts the credibility as a source of drug information that they will grant to the National Institute of Mental Health. There is some evidence that students will respond rationally to credible sources of objective evidence concerning the dangers of various drugs. And there is every reason to believe that deceitfulness in drug education will in the long run be counterproductive. (Robert W. Winslow, 1972).Most people in the United States, at least today, believe that to legalize the use of marijuana would be to invite national tragedy. Among them are those whose attitudes toward the use of this intoxicant are so emotionally over determined that they would remain unpersuaded by any amount of evidence of its relative harmlessness or by the most compelling ar guments for the sagacity of legalization. Others, who are willing to consider the possibility, believe as they have heard countless times that not enough is known about the drug to make such a change which seems to them precipitous and premature. It is quite true that among the hundreds and hundreds of papers dealing with cannabis, there is relatively little methodologically sound research. Yet out of vast collection of largely unsystematic recordings emerges a very strong impression that no amount of research is likely to prove that cannabis is as dangerous as alcohol and tobacco. The very serious dangers of tobacco, particularly to the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems, are becoming increasingly well known. Alcohol, on the other hand, is generally considered to be a serious danger for only a minority of people in this country, namely the alcoholics, who are conservatively estimated to number about 5 to 6 million. Another minority group, the alcohol abstainers, is actually con sidered by most people to be somewhat deviant. We read in the newspapers of how upper-middle-class parents support and even encourage alcohol use among their teenage children, of how a session of Congress began with cocktails, and, more recently of the exchange between Apollo astronauts and a television comedian, well known for his use of alcohol, during which he gleefully exclaimed that he was higher than they. So-called social drinking is as American as apple pie this despite the clearly demonstrated dangers of even this kind of drinking. It is a curious fact that the only socially accepted and used drugs known to cause tissue damage (alcohol and tobacco) are the ones whose use Western society sanctions. It is reasonably well established that cannabis causes no tissue damage.There is no evidence that it leads to any cellular damage to any organ. It does not lead to psychoses de novo, and the evidence that it promotes personality deterioration is quite unconvincing, particularly i n the forms and dosage used in the United States today. Although it is clear that much more must and will be learned about the derivatives of this fascinating psychoactive plant, it is not so clear what specifically needs yet to be learned before we are ready to embark on a more reasoned approach to the social use of marijuana. Given the fact that large segments of any population will use psychoactive drugs and given the psychoactive drugs presently available, marijuana is among the least dangerous. A fortiori, we must consider the enormous harm, obvious and subtle, short-range and long-term, inflicted on the people, particularly the young, who constitute or will soon constitute the formative and critical members of our society by the present punitive, repressive approach to the use of marijuana. And we must consider the damage inflicted on legal and other institutions when young people react to what they see as a confirmation of their view that those institutions are hypocritical a nd inequitable. Indeed, the greatest potential for social harm lies in the scarring of so many young people and the reactive, institutional damages that are direct products of present marijuana laws. Thus to avoid having this harm reach the proportions of a real national disaster within the next decade, there is a need to make the social use of marijuana legal. (Nancy Como-Lesko, Louis H. Primavera, Philip R. Szeszko, 1994).

Walmart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Walmart - Essay Example It comes under strategic portfolio management. It has the following criteria: Score from the EFE Matrix (score is plotted on y-axis) Score from the IFE Matrix (score is plotted on x-axis) The IE Matrix is divided into three segments namely Grow and Build (High), Hold and Maintain (Medium) and Harvest or Divest (Low). Analysis of Wal-Mart using IE matrix: The Internal factor evaluation score of Wal-Mart is 2.80 and the External factor evaluation score is 3.86. According to these scores, Wal-Mart fits into the category of Grow and Build. The strategies suitable for Wal-Mart are discussed below: Market Penetration: This strategy can be used when a company wants to increase its market share with the help of its current products and services through greater efforts of marketing. This is extremely appropriate for Wal-Mart and can give a competitive edge because of the bankruptcy of K- mart. Wal-Mart should increase its promotional campaigns to capture the attention of its target market and retain the customers of K-mart as well. K-mart is closing hundreds of stores and this is an opportunity for Wal-Mart to control the market. The economies of scale against its rival also give the power to influence the market. The EDLP and rollback campaigns can be integrated in such markets where their share is less and will enable the employees to grow and promote in higher positions with the addition of more products and increased market share. Wal-Mart already enjoys a dominant position and requires a little effort to reach out to a range of customers. Wal-Mart can contact to local television stations and other advertising means to increase its customer base and positive image. The immediate results of this strategy includes increased market share, increased sales and increased customer recognition. This will also increase the competition because competitors will also respond to this strategy. Market Development: Wal-Mart can also enter into new markets by simple introducing its products and services in new geographic areas. This strategy also works with the core values of Wal-Mart. This strategy will provide many potential areas for growth both in local and international market. This is because Wal-Mart holds a strong position in the industry and has the needed capital and human resource to diffuse into the untapped markets. Thus, in order to maintain and expand their reach in all facets of the business Wal-Mart should continue to grow its business in different areas of the world. This will also provide quality of life in those areas where development is required. The costs for the implementation of this strategy are considerably high because it will involve the construction of new buildings and organization of new distribution networks. This is a very important strategy for Wal-Mart because they are currently using this strategy. The main advantage for Wal-Mart is its superior pricing ability which forces out the other local shops and stores. This will s urely increase the level of customer satisfaction as well as the increased capital investment. Product Development: This strategy can be used to increase the sales and serve to a diverse range of customers by modifying and improving the quality of existing products or services. This will provide the unique opportunity to compete with higher market sharing places in the other divisions. It is known that Wal-Mart operates in other divisions under its name. Through this strategy,

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 127

Assignment Example The main reason therefore, that led to the crusades being held was to create the desire and accelerate the urge for the Christians to reclaim the conquered territories (184). The misery the Franks suffered, which included poverty, sicknesses and civil wars are the other reasons behind the European engagement in the fighting crusades. The Christians also observed that there had been previous prophesy to the effect that religious wars must come and must be fought (Gabrieli, 11). The urge to follow the Christian teachings, which required that individuals should love their God more than their wives and children served as a conviction that the Europeans needed to engage in the crusades to re-acquire the territories previous conquered by the Muslims. The conviction that the Christians was the true religion explains their behavior in the middle east of requiring that prayers be done facing the east, and even forcing Muslims to stop facing Mecca and instead face the east while praying (Giull o,

Character biography Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Character biography - Assignment Example She thinks that she is like the sunflower, which is always sunny and optimistic. During Mary’s first day at school, she missed her mother so much that she decided to ditch, but her teacher found her along the way and took her back to the school. She cried when she was not allowed to go home, and Mary seldom cried. To pique her interest, the teacher gave her a painting book, which she loved dearest. Mary had her friends at school. There were three of them who were close. Jack, Mary, and Karlo were inseparable. Jack and Karlo would always fetch her from home and they would go to the movies together. Mary and Jack had a knack for romantic comedies, and Karlo would tag along and critique everything. One day, their friend Karlo did not go to school. During recess, they were called by the principal to tell them that their friend had been through an accident. He needed new organs, and there were no donors yet. After three days, the two wept together when they found out that their fri end had not survived. This was the second time that Mary had been broken. She was so sad that she did not eat most of the time. They would always visit Karlo’s grave and talk to him when they were sad. She was already in high school when her father was promoted as the editor-in-chief. They moved to a bigger house, one with a bigger garden.

Impact of Exports, Imports and Stock Exchange on Pakistan

Impact of Exports, Imports and Stock Exchange on Pakistan Impact of Exports, Imports and Stock Exchange performance on GDP of Pakistan. CHAPTER NO 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background The stock market plays an important role in the economy by mobilizing domestic resources and channeling them to productive investment. This implies that it must have a significant relationship with the economy. The relationship can be seen, in general, in two ways. The first relationship views the stock market as the leading indicator of the economic activity in the country, whereas the second focuses on the possible impact the stock market may have on aggregate demand, particularly through aggregate consumption and investment. In other words, whether changes in stock market cause fluctuations in macroeconomic variables, like Consumption Expenditures, Investment Spending, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Index of Industrial Production (IIP), etc., or are caused by these variables is an interesting issue to be examined. The former case implies that stock market leads economic activity, whereas the latter suggests that it lags economic activity. In addition to stock market another significant factors that are likely to effect on any economy around the world are imports and exports. As far as Pakistan is concerned its economy is highly reliant on the imports like industrial inputs, machinery, fuel and essential food stuffs. Pakistan major imports are petroleum, machinery, transport equipment, chemical, dyes, steel, iron, products, tea chemicals and many other products of goods and services which are not easily available in Pakistan. All the major transactions are in terms of million from the year of 2009 to 2011 having a percentage of GDP effect the economy of Pakistan. The major exports of Pakistan are the agriculture products, industrial goods, hosiery products, garments, cloth, fabrics and many other items which are excess in Pakistan Shabbir, Mahmood, Niazi, (1992). A country can avail numerous benefits from its exports. Firstly, trade expansion will bring about enhanced productivity through greater economies of scale in the export sector. Secondly, increased competition encountered in the international markets will undoubtedly provide greater incentives for technological advancement and better management, the effects of which will spill over into the non-export sectors, and thus raise the over-all productivity of the economy. Thirdly, increased export earnings will ease constraints on growth by enhancing the capacity to import essential goods, especially imports of intermediate and capital goods. In other words, export expansion promotes capital accumulation and, consequently, over-all economic growth. Fourthly, exports may have a positive imp act on productivity owing to better allocation of resources through specialization based on comparative advantage. Lastly, an export-oriented approach in a labor-surplus economy permits rapid expansion of employment and real wages. The importation and exportation of goods and services take a vigorous role in the progress of the economic development of Pakistan. It is observed that both factors import and exports help the economy to grow in the local and international market as well. Now due to energy crises the ratios of exports are very less as compared to imports. The rate of population of Pakistan is increasing day by day, which means a high increase of the demands and needs. The importation and exportation of goods and services play a dynamic role in the progress of the economy of Pakistan. It is observed that both factors import and exports help the economy to grow in the local and international market as well. Now due to energy crises the ratios of exports are very less as compared to imports. Therefore, the study will analyze the imports/exports and stock exchange growth with respect to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Pakistan. 1.2 Problem Statement A country like Pakistan whose economy is dependent on taking loans from International Monetary Fund (IMF) has to increase it exports and decrease its imports in order to reduce its dependency on foreign aid and loans. Moreover, owing to economic and political un stability the stock exchange of Pakistan fluctuates all over the year. Both imports/exports and stock exchange is effecting the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Pakistan over the years. Therefore, the study wants to find the impact of Imports/Exports and Stock exchange growth on GDP of Pakistan. 1.3 Research question What is the impact of imports, exports and stock exchange growth on GDP of Pakistan? 1.4 Research Objectives To analyze the impact of imports and exports on GDP of Pakistan. To investigate the impact of Stock exchange growth on GDP of Pakistan. 1.5 Rational of the study The study is based on the time series data from year 2001 to 2015. Data has been collected from authentic sources such as World Bank, world development index and Pakistan stock exchange. On the contrary the stock exchange performance was gathered from Pakistan stock exchange. Imports, exports and stock exchange performance will be used as independent variables and GDP will be used as dependent variable. In order to find the impact of imports, exports and stock exchange performance on GDP of Pakistan the research will use and Regression analysis. 1.6 Significance of the Study The study will be significant to the overall economic sector of Pakistan. Government can avail benefits from research findings in such a way that it can help the government while making their relevant policies for exportation and importation of goods. Furthermore, the government of Pakistan can see the fluctuations in the stock exchange growth over the years through which they can predict the stock exchange performance for years to come. All in all, the whole research will be beneficial to the relevant government sector if they want to increase the economic performance of our country. CHAPTER NO 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Following section contains viewpoints of various authors around the world and from Pakistan with respect to imports/exports and stock exchange growth on GDP of Pakistan. Literature review is an essential part of any research reason being it gives us the direct and indirect perspectives and establish a ground on which current research is taken place. It is inappropriate to conduct a new research before reviewing past research related to the topic on which we are going to conduct research. 2.1 Literature Review The empirical literature on export, import and economic growth nexus are distinguished between two stands in the methodological point of view. The à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ rst stand uses the cross-country approach in order to test the economic theory about export and economic growth nexus by using rank correlation approach, OLS method, 2SLS and random effect estimation method. These studies are supported for a positive relationship between export and economic growth McNab and Moore, (1998). The second stand uses the time series techniques. In the beginning of time series literature on export, import and growth nexus, the researchers have widely used causality methods to find out the results. Ahmad and Harnhirun, (1995) employed cointegration and error-correction modeling approach in case of à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ve Asian countries, i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, annual data of 1966-1990 are employed. They found out bidirectional causal relationship between export and economic growth. In case of China, Shan and Sun, (1998) investigated the ELG hypothesis by using the monthly data 1987-1996. They found bidirectional relationship between export and economic growth. Lie et al. (1997) examined the long-run relationship between trade openness (exports plus imports) by using the quarterly data from 1983 to 1995. They found bidirectional relationship between trade openness and economic growth and suggested higher degree of trade openness associated with the higher level of economic growth. Narayan and Smyth, (2004) used Cointegration and error-correction method in order to check the link between real export, human capital accumulation and economic growth. They found long-run relationship only when real export is the dependent variable. Mah, (2005) the ELG is tested using the ARDL model. The results are in favor of a long-run bidirectional relationship between real GDP and export growth. Conversely, Tang (2006) reviewed the ELG hypothesis in China with import as an additional variable in the model. He used two Cointegration methods, i.e. ARDL approach to Cointegration, and JJ cointegration methods. The results of two approaches indicate no cointegration between export, import and real GDP. Herrerias and Orts, (2009) examined the relationship between the import, investment, output and productivity by using the data 1964-2004. They concluded in the long run both import and investment have promoted output and labor productivity but on the other hand neither investment causes import nor import causes investment. Muhammad Adnan Hye, (2012) conducted a research in China the purpose of this paper is to investigate the export-led growth, growth-led export, import-led growth, growth-led import and foreign deà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cit sustainability hypothesis in the case of China, using annual time series data from 1978-2009. The results conà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ rm the bidirectional long run relationship between the economic growth and exports, economic growth and imports, and exports and imports. These à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ndings guided the authors to conclude that the exports-led growth, growth-led exports, imports-led growth and growth-led imports hypothesis is valid, and foreign deà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cit is sustainable for China. The long run elasticities are the elasticity of economic growth with respect to exports is 0.591, and elasticity of exports with respect to economic growth is 1.635. The elasticity of economic growth with respect to imports is 0.621, and elasticity of imports with respect to economic growth is 1.392. Fur thermore, the elasticity of exports with respect to imports is 1.322, and imports elasticity with respect to exports is 0.975. Using time-series and panel data from 1986 to 2004, Hsiao Hsiao, (2006) examines the Granger causality relations between GDP, exports, and FDI among China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand, the eight rapidly developing East and Southeast Asian economies. After reviewing the current literature and testing the properties of individual time-series data, we estimate the VAR of the three variables to à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ nd various Granger causal relations for each of the eight economies. We found each country has different causality relations and does not yield general rules. We then construct the panel data of the three variables for the eight economies as a group and then use the à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ xed effects and random effects approaches to estimate the panel data VAR equations for Granger causality tests. The panel data causality results reveal that FDI has unidirectional effects on GDP directly and also indirectly through exports, and there also exists bidi rectional causality between exports and GDP for the group. Our results indicate that the panel data causality analysis has superior results over the time-series causality analysis. Wacziarg (2001) analyzed the association between trade policy and economic growth by taking 57 countries over the period 1970-1989 by employing fully specified empirical model. He constructed openness index with the help of three trade policy variables, tariff barrier, non-tariff barriers and a dummy variable of liberalization. The results concluded that trade openness affects growth mainly by raising the ratio of domestic investment to GDP and by FDI. Nath and Mamun (2006) investigated the causality between trade, investment and growth through Vector Auto regression (VAR) framework for the period 1971-2000 in Bangladesh. They presented that trade openness has promoted investment in Bangladesh. Although study suggested that growth causes trade but this study found little evidenced that trade affecting economic growth in Bangladesh. By employing ARDL Approach to Co-integration on two Asian countries, India and Korea, Sarkar (2005) has found no meaningful relationship between the per capita real GDP and trade openness. Although India and Korea, opened trade and shares of trade in their GDPs also rose significantly. But none of the countries experienced a positive long-term relationship between opening up and economic growth. Parikh and Stirbu (2004) used fixed effects, random effects, OLS and SURE models for panel of 42 developing countries i.e. Asia, Africa and Latin America over the period 1970-1999. They analyzed the relationship between liberalization, growth and trade balance or current account. Their results concluded that liberalization contributes significantly to economic growth, openness and investment rates. The studies dealing with the causal relationship between stock market and macro variables focus on the relationship of stock prices with consumption expenditures, investment spending, and economic activity. In these studies, the economic activity is generally measured by Gross Domestic Product. (A) Stock Prices and Consumption Expenditures The relationship between stock prices and consumption expenditures is based on the life cycle theory, developed by Ando and Modigliani (1963), which states that individuals base their consumption decision on their expected lifetime wealth. Part of their wealth may be held in the form of stocks linking stock price changes to changes in consumption expenditure. Thus, an increase in stock prices will increase the expected wealth, which, in turn, will increase the consumption expenditures, suggesting the direction of causality from stock prices to consumption expenditures. On the other hand, an increase in consumption expenditures may result in an increase in the corporate sectors earnings, which will result in higher stock prices, implying causality from consumption expenditures to stock prices. (B) Stock Prices and Investment Spending The relationship between stock prices and investment spending is based on the q theory of Tobin (1969), where q is the ratio of total market value of firms to the replacement cost of their existing capital stock at current prices. According to the theory, the firms would increase their capital stocks if q is greater than one, implying that the market value of firms is expected to rise by more than the cost of additional physical capital. Thus an increase in stock prices will result in an increase in the market value of firms, implying that firms would increase their capital stocks reflecting an increase in investment spending. Another link, though less direct, between stock prices and investment spending is based on the neoclassical or cost-of-capital model. The model assumes that firms first determine the desired stock of real capital on the basis of prices of labor, capital, and expected sales and then determine the rate of investment depending on how fast they wish to reach the desired capital stock in the face of significant adjustment cost. Thus, the expected changes in sales and planned output are the major factors affecting investments. However, as noted by Bosworth (1975), if higher earnings are implied by higher expected output that increases stock prices, then the market valuation model implicitly accounts for the effect of expected output. (C) Stock Prices and Economic Activity Finally, the relationship between stock prices and economic activity is investigated to examine the role of stock market, that is, whether it leads or lags economic activity. Moreover, the relationship of stock prices with the components of aggregate demand, consumption, and investment sometimes provide conflicting results, causing an ambiguity concerning the direction of causality between stock price changes and macro variables. As mentioned above, the economic activity is generally measured by GDP and/or IIP. In addition to above in any study of the aggregate economy, one of the key elements is the aggregate amount of goods and services produced over a certain period of time. The measure is called the nominal gross domestic product (the GDP). This is the market value of the total quantity of final goods and services produced over the specified time period. The GDP is actually measured quarterly, but the number is then multiplied by four, so that the amount is in annual terms Mankiw, (2011). The components of this measure of GDP are Consumption(C), Investment (I), Government Expenditure (G) and Net Exports (NX). Net exports represents the money value of domestically produced goods that are sold outside the country (i.e., our exports) minus the purchase of goods and services produced in other countries (i.e., our imports). Our exports are part of our domestic production, so obviously must be included. Our imports are subtracted here, because they are goods and services produced by foreign countries, but they have already been included in our consumption, investment and government expenditures. If imports increase, but all other parts of the GDP remain the same, the GDP will not change, because the imports are first included in the calculation of C + I + G, and then they are subtracted out. Thus, Y = C + I + G + NX. A large number of studies tested the Export Led Growth (ELG) hypothesis, using different econometric procedures, ranging from simple OLS to multivariate co-integration, but previous empirical studies have produced mixed and conflicting results on the nature and direction of the causal relationship between export growth and output growth. Ghatak and Price (1997) test the ELG hypothesis for India for the period 1960-1992, using exports as regressors and measure of GDP that nets out exports, along with exports and imports as additional variables. Their Cointegration tests confirm the long-run nature of this relationship. However, imports do not appear to be important for the case of India. Asafu-Adjaye et al. (1999) consider three variables: exports, real output and imports (for the period 1960-1994). They do not find any evidence of the existence of a causal relationship between these variables for the case of India and no support for the ELG hypothesis, which is not too surprising given Indias economic history and trade policies. Ramos (2001) investigates the Granger-causality between exports, imports, and economic growth in Portugal over the period 1865-1998. His empirical results do not confirm a unidirectional causality between the variables considered. There is a feedback effect between exports output growth and imports output growth. Nidugala (2001) finds evidence in support of the ELG hypothesis for the case of India, particularly in the 1980s. He finds that export growth had a significant impact on GDP growth. Further, his study reveals that growth of manufactured exports had a significant positive relationship with GDP growth, while the growth of primary exports had no such influence. Studies related to Pakistan Mukhtar, Rasheed, (2010) empirically examines the long run relationship between exports and imports for Pakistan using quarterly data for the period 1972-2006. The econometric framework used for analysis is the Johansen Maximum Likelihood Cointegration technique, which tests both the existence and the number of Cointegration vectors. Results show that there is a long run relationship between exports and imports and the country is not in violation of its international budget constraint. Furthermore, for testing the stability of long run equilibrium relationship and direction of causality, vector error correction model (VECM) technique has been applied. The findings confirm the stability of the long run equilibrium relationship between exports and imports. Under Granger causality tests, it has been found that there exists bidirectional causality between exports and imports. Ullah and Asif (2009) investigated export-led-growth by time series econometric techniques (Unit root test, Co-integration and Granger causality through Vector Error Correction Model) over the period of 1970 to 2008 for Pakistan. In this paper, the results reveal that export expansion leads to economic growth. They also checked whether there is unidirectional or bidirectional causality between economic growth, real exports, real imports, real gross fixed capital formation and real per capita income. The traditional Granger causality test suggests that there is unidirectional causality between economic growth, exports and imports. On the other hand, Granger causality through vector error correction was checked with the help of F-value of the model and t-value of the error correction term, which partially reconciles the traditional Granger causality test. After going through viewpoints of different authors it is evident that imports, exports relationship with economic development has been explained in Pakistan scenario and all over the world. However, the variables such as imports, exports and stock exchange performance are not being analyzed with respect to GDP specifically in Pakistan scenario which is the gap of the study. 2.2 Theoretical Framework Independent Variables Dependent Variables Reference: Mukhtar, T., Rasheed, S. (2010). Testing long run relationship between exports and imports: Evidence from Pakistan. Journal of Economic Cooperation and Development, 31(1), 41-58. 2.2.1 Operationalization of Variables Imports and Exports are measured as merchandise imports and exports (US $) and GDP is measured as per capita growth in percentage form Whereas, stock exchange performance is measured by market capitalization of all domestic companies registered on Pakistan stock exchange formally known as Karachi stock exchange. 2.3 Hypothesis H1:Imports, Exports and Stock exchange performance has a significant impact on Gross domestic product of Pakistan. H2: Imports, Exports and Stock exchange performance have no significant impact on Gross domestic product of Pakistan. CHAPTER NO 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Sample The sample size for this research consists of time series data of 15 years starting from 2001 to 2015. Data has been collected from authentic sources such as World Bank, world development index and Pakistan stock exchange. The research is secondary in nature because market research thats already compiled and organized for us are the examples of secondary information that includes reports and studies by government agencies, trade associations or other businesses within our industry. 3.2 Instrument and Measures Regression analysis, Anova and Coefficients of regression were the instruments that were used to measure the impact of exports, imports and stock exchange performance on Gross domestic performance of Pakistan. Furthermore, to check the validity and appropriateness of data reliability analysis was done for dependent and independent variables. 3.3 Procedure Statistical package for social sciences program SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the dependent and independent variables to see out the impact of exports, imports and stock exchange performance on GDP of Pakistan. CHAPTER NO 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Regression Analysis Table 4.1.1 Model Summary Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .830a .689 .681 1.72691 a. Predictors: (Constant), SE_Per, Exports, Imports Interpretation The proportion of variation in dependent variable as a result of the independent variable is given by R square. Estimated 68% variation was found out in dependent variable as a result of the independent variable. Following the adjustments made the data related to variation in dependent elements due to the independent ones is represented by R square. Table 4.1.2 ANOVAa Model Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 55.198 3 27.599 91.914 .000 Residual 24.962 11 2.982 Total 80.160 14 a. Dependent Variable: GDP b. Predictors: (Constant), SE_Per, Exports, Imports Interpretation A perfect fit of the model is indicated by the ANOVA table. Furthermore, the p value of 0.000 indicates a perfect position regarding the independent and dependent variables. Table 4.1.3 Coefficients Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) -.082 .220 -.876 .400 Exports .437 .073 .506 5.972 .018 Imports -.472 .103 -.390 -4.598 .027 SE_Per .094 .043 .762 2.213 .023 a. Dependent Variable: GDP Interpretation The coefficient stresses the influence of the independent variable on the dependent one. The direction in which the dependent variable is led towards by the independent one is ascertained from the Beta value. The p value is significant at less than 0.05. In our scenario all the variables that are exports, imports and stock exchange performance are significantly impacted the dependent variable that is Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But, the noteworthy thing in the results is that exports and stock exchange performance is positively impacted the GDP whereas, imports are negatively impacting the GDP of Pakistan but it is statistically significant. Hence our Hypothesis (H1) is accepted whereas H2 is rejected. CHAPTER NO 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Conclusion After above empirical results it has been proved that all the independent variables that are exports, imports and stock exchange performance are significantly impacted the dependent variable that is Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Hence our Hypothesis (H1) is accepted whereas H2 is rejected. In addition to our results previous studies conducted in Pakistan and outside Pakistan found out similar results such as Ullah and Asif, (2009) investigated export-led-growth by time series econometric techniques over the period of 1970 to 2008 for Pakistan. Their results reveal that export expansion leads to economic growth. However, outside Pakistan in case of our neighbor country India Asafu-Adjaye et al. (1999) consider three variables: exports, real output and imports (for the period 1960-1994). They do not find any evidence of the existence of a causal relationship between these variables for the case of India. 5.2 Recommendations Government should take strong measures to increase exports and decrease our imports. Interest free loan should be provided to the minor scale organizations to make rise in their productivity. Taxes should be cuts for the exporter country and taxes should be improved for importer companies to decrease the import. If we want to make a rapid growth in Pakistan economy, then it is necessary to reduce its imports and increase in exports. But in Pakistan the situation is reversed. The relationship between exports and economic growth is positively correlated but the relationship of imports and economic growth is negatively interrelated. If net exports are of positive value, the nation has a positive balance of trade. If they are having negative value, the nation has a negative trade balance. Lastly, our government should ensure political stability in our country as we see that whenever there is a political chaos in our country the stock market goes down and vice versa which is severely hurting Pakistans economy.