Thursday, October 31, 2019

Lesson 5 Disscusion and Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lesson 5 Disscusion and - Assignment Example The lyrics were written by big talents and were very innovative. In most Motown music albums, it appeared that the sound engineers placed the echo and equalizer right on the tape when they were moving between the rhythm tracks. In every Motown album the musicians and equalizer were same, but each album was different from the other. Making the albums required loads of creativity and most of the times it was the combinations of all the songs in an album that is more admiring than any individual song of the album (Coffey, 82-83). One popular Motown album was released in 1960 by the American singer Sammy Ward also known as Singing Sammy. The bestseller song of the album was â€Å"That’s Why I Love You So Much† which he sang duet with Sherri Taylor. Tin Pan Alley was the name given to the West 28th Street in New York where many musicians did business during the period between 1880 and 1953. Some examples of this model are Frank Sinatra’s â€Å"Young at Heart†, Cole Porter’s â€Å"High Society† etc. It is not practically possible to pin down a definite year as the starting era of rock ‘n’ roll music. It was in 1953 that rock ‘n’ roll gained significant popularity in the music industry with Crazy Man Crazy recorded by Bill Haley (Gillett, 3). The Beatles were an English rock band that originated in Liverpool in the year 1960, and it ruled rock ‘n’ roll industry for the next ten years. Their immense popularity worldwide can be attributed to their variety of wonderful songs that have become integrated in the modern music culture. Each song is characterized by unique sound. One interesting fact regarding the Beatles is that they composed their own songs, and the publishing rights of the songs were considered as commercial property to be sold by their manager, Brian Epstein (Richards, 1-2). The Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is the most popular rock ‘n’ roll album ever made by the Beatles who were considered as the mo narch of

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Intelligence Agencies and Just War on Terrorism Essay Example for Free

Intelligence Agencies and Just War on Terrorism Essay America and its allies face Ð ° world that has become more and more dangerous with its weapons of mass destruction and Ð ° shadowy world of terrorists more than willing to use them. The wisdom of the past does not have the prescience or universal insight to deal with this new threat. America and its allies must change direction if they wish to respond to the challenge in an effective manner, even if it means employing policies that seemed dubious in the past. The state is called to protect its citizens in Ð ° Machiavellian world, filled with depravity and compromise. The church is called to submit to the superior wisdom of those who have the special intelligence, experience and expertise to handle the current crisis. Our forefathers came from Europe to settle in Ð ° wilderness that was not always hospitable. Death was imminent, and survival was uppermost on all their minds. The settlement in Jamestown, after the death of Powhatan, suffered an unprovoked attack at the hands of the Native Americans in 1622, in which some 375 settlers were massacred. The immediate response was to make Ð ° perfidious treaty with the natives and then starve them by burning their crops late that summer. It was Ð ° matter of survival. It was either ‘us or them’. (Amit 2003 127) â€Å"The same policy was followed by the Puritans of Massachusetts when the Pequot Indians, Ð ° most war-like people, presented an imminent threat in the mind of these settlers. Rather than wait around to die, they proceeded to attack them first, killing in one horrific conflagration of Ð ° Pequot fort some 4oo men, women and children. The exact motives behind the massacre remain unclear, but no doubt survival was uppermost in their minds. Today the situation that confronts the American people is not so different. It is similar to that of their ancestors in many ways and direr in regard to the number of lives at stake. one can debate whether the times have ‘waxed worse and worse’, but it is beyond question that the times have proved ‘more and more critical’ with their weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the ever-increasing number of potential users. The nation of Israel felt this threat in 1981 when it conducted Ð ° pre-emptive strike against an Iraqi nuclear reactor. The United States roundly condemned the action at the time, but with the threat now facing them from this and other rogue nations Ð ° new policy has emerged. The nefarious intentions of the Iraqi regime are apparent to most observers. It appears as if this regime plans to continue the production of WMD and deliver these weapons themselves or distribute them through the shadowy world of terrorist networks to designated targets in this clandestine manner. The signs of the times are all around us. Iraq already has violated over fifty UN resolutions to date. The UN inspectors revealed that Saddam was vigorously working on Ð ° stockpile of WMD—chemical, biological and nuclear, and by the mid-9os he began to deny them access to his supply. He already has used these weapons against his own people and waves of foot soldiers in his war with Iran. He has pledged on Ð ° number of occasions to bring destruction upon the United States, and even planned the assassination of its former president, George Bush. He has subsidized and continues to support terrorist groups throughout the region, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad according to seized Palestinian documents. His relation to terrorism is Ð ° matter of grave concern. â€Å"(Rahul 2002 37-44) It provides Ð ° special channel to deliver and promote his wicked designs, Bin Laden has called it Ð ° ‘religious duty’ for his minions to obtain and use WMD against the infidels, but he knows that his terrorist network needs help. It is only in the movies that Dr No is able to create the facilities to manufacture and deliver WMD. In the real world of terrorism, the capacity to make and utilize these weapons requires the help of Ð ° government. Aum Shinrikyo, Ð ° Japanese cult, tried to kill thousands of commuters with Ð ° potent nerve agent but managed to kill only Ð ° dozen after spending somewhere around thirty million dollars. The loss of these lives was tragic but much less than expected and displayed the complexity of operations using these agents. The cult was not able to produce the chemical (sarin) in sufficient purity and resorted to using Ð ° most primitive delivery system—carrying it on Ð ° train and piercing bags of it with tips of umbrellas. Ð  government working with Ð ° terrorist organization would produce Ð ° more lethal combination. 3 In light of this threat, it appears as if the only long-term solution is to eliminate the regime in Baghdad. Some would argue that there is no need to rush into war. But one wonders how realistic this option is in view of the track record of the regime. Is it realistic to believe that Iraq would comply with inspectors? It did not the first time around, not in toto, would the UN impose the necessary sanctions and penalties if it did not? Or would it ignore certain closed doors and cave in as it did before to Iraqi demands? And even if unmolested, would the inspectors catch the regime in its lies, knowing that it is likely to play Ð ° shell game and was given four years to hide its weapons? (Bruce 2003 44) Donnes fatalistic maxim succinctly defines the essential context that modern intelligence services function within, and the variables determining their relative fortunes. Their experiences suggest that they are very human institutions largely shaped by the vagaries of circumstances beyond their control, not to mention misfortune and luck. As refined information used by the state to further national goals and policies, intelligence is directed, collected, analyzed and disseminated (the intelligence cycle) within the milieu of international politics. Intelligence work must therefore function within the anarchical society of Great Powers. 1 Equally significant is the extent to which intelligence functionaries serve at the mercy of their policy masters. The intelligence officers themselves, in their various professional incarnations, are the desperate men in this formulation, striving as they do to carry out their risky and/or problematic duties in the face of inertia and outright opposition on the part of rivals, enemies, and occasionally their own countrymen. It is unlikely that any intelligence service in history has ever completely escaped subjugation to such restrictive bondage. â€Å"As mentioned in the previous chapter, the war on al Qaeda should be Ð ° deliberate broad-front attack. It is already that in practice, but the rationale for sustaining this approach is less established and troubles are certain because such Ð ° strategy requires relating the efforts of multiple agencies, subagencies, and even nations, and it sometimes necessitates rapid action. This would seem to require two enhancements of capability which may at first seem contradictory, but they are complementary and equally important. â€Å"(Paul 2002 31) These facts hold particularly true for the office of Strategic Services mission in London, Americas critical liaison and operational intelligence outpost during the Second World War. Expanding to Ð ° peak of 2,800 personnel in 1944, OSS/London was originally established in October 1941 with the arrival of Ð ° single representative, followed by Ð ° staff nucleus the day after Americas entry into the war. Eventually consisting of contingents from the four major OSS branches-Research and Analysis, Secret Intelligence, Special operations, and X-2 (counter-intelligence)-the mission served as Ð ° focal point for Anglo-American intelligence relations in the decisive theatre in the war against Germany. The London mission was at the heart of OSS relations with British intelligence, and as such it personified the essence of that connection in the Allied war effort. The Allied invasion of Europe ensured that OSS/London, more than any other OSS outpost, would have the greatest opportunity to perform Ð ° decisive role in the intelligence war. Other OSS missions would also make important contributions, notably in Cairo, Algiers and Italy; but these were ultimately secondary theatres, while in the Pacific and Asia, OSS never acquired the sound relationship with the military necessary for intelligence operations. London was at the heart of the Allied war effort, and at the heart of the Anglo-American alliance itself. While intelligence exchanges with the Soviet Union have been documented by Bradley F. Smith, London was the big league in Allied intelligence during the war. Many significant matters were accordingly played-out there, offering detailed examples of intelligence services in action. The experiences of OSS in London therefore illuminate the process by which America was introduced to the various components of intelligence and clandestine work, and how well American intelligence performed in its own right. As the presumed precursor to the post-war US Central Intelligence Agency, OSS further invites study in order to understand the antecedents of Americas Cold War intelligence service. The significant Anglo-American context of the evolution of modern American intelligence moreover suggests that the Anglo-American Special Relationship had an intelligence component that was manifested most strongly and clearly in OSS/London. (Bruce 2oo3 75) The mission thus provides Ð ° case study of how US intelligence matured and became institutionalized within the context of the larger Anglo-American political-military alliance. This analysis accordingly examines an aspect of that alliance and of intelligence history in particular, that has not yet been explored in any comprehensive detail. It is part of Ð ° current historiographical review of the significance of intelligence services in military and international affairs. It specifically examines OSS/London within the context of Anglo-American relations, as well as the evolution of both modern American, and Allied, intelligence during the Second World War. The general research approach blends what has been termed the American and British schools of intelligence scholarship. The more historical nature of British intelligence studies has been noted by Kenneth G. Robertson, while Roy Godsons Intelligence: an American View, in Robertsons British and American Approaches to Intelligence, distinguishes between this historical methodology and the more conceptual or theoretical nature of American studies (for example, Sherman Kents Strategic Intelligence for American World Policy). British diplomatic historian D. C. Watt has therefore identified these approaches as two distinct schools of intelligence study, though Ð ° recent noteworthy British contribution to the theoretical school is Michael Hermans Intelligence Power in Peace and War, which surveys the interrelationship between post-war structures, tasks, and effectiveness. This study for its part demonstrates the influences of both schools by linking theoretical concepts to the role of intelligence ties within the larger wartime Anglo-American alliance. (Neville 2004 45)

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Lady Chatterleys Lover by D. H. Lawrence | Book Report

Lady Chatterleys Lover by D. H. Lawrence | Book Report The novel Lady Chatterleys Lover begins by introducing the female protagonist, Constance Chatterley. She was brought up as a bohemian of the upper-middle class, and at 23, she marries Clifford Chatterley, an aristocrat. After their honeymoon, he is sent to war, and returns paralysed from the waist down, impotent. Clifford grows to be an accomplished writer, and many academic men frequently gather at the Chatterleys mansion. The intellectuals turn out to be vacant and seem scared of true feelings, and Connie feels increasingly secluded. She resorts to a short and disappointing affair a writer who comes to visit Clifford. The distance between Connie and Clifford increases as Clifford withdraws into his hollow pursuit of writing and coal-mining. Connie hires a nurse, Mrs. Bolton, to take care of the disabled Clifford so that she can gain freedom, and Clifford begins to depend on the nurse; his maturity waning into an infantile dependence. Connie meets Oliver Mellors, the aloof and contemptuous gamekeeper on Cliffords estate and is attracted to his natural sensuality. She soon discovers that the source of her misery is from not being fulfilled in physical love and passion, and subsequently turns to Mellors. They meet and have sex on several occasions and she has a sexual awakening that changes her thoughts forever. Mellors old wife, Bertha returns and causes a scandal, whilst Connie believes that she is pregnant with Mellors child. Clifford refuses to give Connie a divorce. The novel ends with Mellors waiting for his divorce, and Connie living with her sister, hoping that they will be together. Lady Chatterleys Lover lies in a paradox: it is progressive and intransigent, contemporary and Victorian. It displays Victorian principles, yet it gives the impression that it is expecting the social ethics of the late 20th century in its blunt use of overt profanity. The structure is conservative, following the characters over a set period of time. The characters have a tendency to symbolize a type and be something of a concept, rather than developing authentic traits. This seems to say that Lawrence uses them as allegories to demonstrate his values of sensuality and his irritation with society. The themes of sexual identities and sexual progression are quite common in this novel and each character embodies these ideas. Connie is a woman who grew up to appreciate the sensual and passionate side of a relationship. Her father, Sir Malcolm, told her that it is no good living in an intellectual relationship without sensuality, just as Connie has with Clifford. Her father is in touch with both his imaginative and corporeal sides; Lawrence connects conservative with nonconforming sexual customs. This mix could well be argued as Lawrences ideal, as well as Connies. She is a woman who idealises the thought of cohesion between the body and mind, and cannot live a life with ‘all mind. At first she wants intellectual love, then she wants sexual fulfilment, then she wants a child to love and nurture. Constance (ironically named) is always changing her mind on what it is that will complete and satisfy her in life. I think this is a good example of sexual progression as she only cha nges her mind after learning what more she could gain from a relationship to make her feel like a woman. We learn about the vicious relationship between Mellors and his wife Bertha, who angered him by being sexually aggressive and not tender enough. Through Berthas ‘fault (according to Mellors negative opinion of this), Lawrence seems to be praising submissiveness in women; he appreciates women who allow themselves to be receptors to masculine authority. In essence, satisfaction for a woman is achieved through succumbing to the male. Berthas sexually controlling characteristic hints at feminism she wants to take control of her own pleasure and be sexual when and how she wants. She might have been portrayed differently if the book had been written today. In spite of all of this, his approach to the conventions of sex and the roles of men and women hardly seem progressive. Tommy Dukes, a visiting writer, says that the physical and intellectual cant work together and that men and women have lost their glamour to each other. He seems to be a character that Lawrence believes has the right ideals, recognising the significance of physical love as a fundamental way for men and women to connect intellectually. ‘Real knowledge comes out of the whole corpus of the consciousness; out of your belly and your penis as much as out of your brain and mind. The mind can only analyse and rationalise.'[1] Despite this, he is indifferent about everything he preaches. His theories are pointless without substance and action, and it is as though he does not really believe what he says without practise. He has an inability to go beyond words and seems sexually frigid. It is at the beginning of chapter 6 that it is almost impossible to take Dukes thoughts and emotions as his own. His words overlap heavily with the message of the story: passion is unable to coexist with an intellectual connection. ‘A woman wants you to like her and talk to her, and at the same time love her and desire her; and it seems to me the two things are mutually exclusive.'[2] There is an obvious distinction between Tommy Dukes, with his well-intended but worthless talk on love, and the gamekeeper Mellors, behind whose cold disguise there is an overflow of tenderness and passion. They are polar opposites that reveal different sexual identities Connie faces. Clifford Chatterley is a man who is disconnected from his environment and from other people. He cannot empathise with the workers in his coal mines, seeing them more as cogs in his industry than as men. The paradox is that Clifford also grows to be a servant of his industry, debauching himself in return for success. Clifford also values technology (his sudden interest in the coal mining/working-class community) and the success of his writing over the relationship he has with his wife. He is unable to procreate and he seems to disregard this fact with his intellect by justifying every bodily sensation intellectually. Had he been virile, Connie may not have indulged herself in the newfound excitement of Mellors, but the fact that he is not supplies the most obvious symbol of changing sexual identities in the 20th century the dilemma of the ‘redundant man. It is though his injury in the war has also spoilt his heart. His writings (according to Connie) seem utterly deprived of meaning. I feel that he acts as a figurative character as much as he does as a real character because his physical disability and his lack of sensuality reflect a deeper limitation and emptiness much like post-war England. This is especially highlighted when he and Connie take a walk outside of Wragby. They go from an intellectual chasm to the remnants of an unspoiled, blooming English countryside where Mellors first comes into view. He stands for the earthy, pastoral England, and seems completely mismatched with Clifford and the impassive men who gather together at Wragby. Clifford only begins to think seriously about the local villages and about the coal mines in which the local men work when Mrs. Bolton gossips to him about local affairs. This seems to point out that he needs an authoritative hand to push him in the ‘right direction, even if its just to think seriously about something classed as a masculine occupation. It is ironic that the person to spur him into revitalising the dying local coal industry is a woman. The fact that Clifford grants Connie permission to have sex with another man for an heir surely shows that he is not sexually attached to his wife, and his using this authority over her actually shows what little masculinity there is of him left. It is an ironic and seemingly unconscious struggle for him to demonstrate typically masculine traits whilst impotent. He reasons that sex would not be important or comparable to his and Connies marriage. This, I believe, is one of his biggest faults of transgression as it shows just how differently he regards physical contact, compared to his wife. There is also the complex relationship that grows between Clifford and Mrs. Bolton after Connie has left. Her husband used to work in one of Clifford Chatterleys mines before he was killed and Mrs. Bolton begrudges Clifford for this, though she sustains a respectful manner towards him as she is delighted by her contact with the upper-class. Clifford depends upon her, but scorns her; she is a servant to him, but is also in charge of him, for he is, by himself, helpless. Even though their association is always a master-servant relationship; it begins to take the shape of a perverse mother-child relationship as a result of Cliffords total reliance upon Mrs. Bolton. I think that this is one of the most intricate and mesmerising relationships of the book. The novel constantly shows the contrast between the body and mind by using Connie and Mellors disappointing relationships as examples. Constance is stuck in a relationship with her husband who is ‘all mind and Mellors old wife was too domineering for Mellors to feel masculine. Connie and Mellors are forced to learn more about the coalition of both the mind and body; Connie learns that sex is more than just an ‘accident'[3] and a disappointing act, and Mellors discovers the emotional changes that come from physical love. To summarise, Lady Chatterleys Lover dips into an array of themes which shows how culturally sound it is in the world we live in. It exposes people of all dispositions and fancies and illustrates how relationships between such people form and break. It is a complex book with a concurrent message: the body without the mind is wild, and the mind without the body is empty. [1] D. H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterleys Lover (Ware: Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 2005), p.30. [2] Lawrence, Lady Chatterleys Lover, p. 46. [3] Lawrence, Lady Chatterleys Lover, p. 8.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Setting of Eveline in James Joyces Dubliners :: Dubliners Essays

Setting of "Eveline" The setting of the short story "Eveline" by James Joyce goes far beyond the physical characteristics. The setting goes past being located in Dublin, Ireland in an old room. The setting greatly influences Eveline in many different ways. The setting entraps Eveline in this short story. The setting of the entire story is very plain. Nothing in Eveline's life ever seems to change. Most of the story takes place with Eveline sitting by the window in a very dull room. The room is filled with "the odor of dusty cretonne" from the curtains, and has a "yellowing photograph hung on the wall above the broken harmonium" (513). One would certainly not group these characteristics as exciting. Similar to the room, Eveline's life is very plain. Eveline is a product of her environment. She is trapped in this setting and does not know any other way except the way things are now for her. Her internal struggle will not allow Eveline to leave the setting that she is currently in. Eveline was brought up in a social environment of strict adherence to tradition and obedience. Eveline is forced to remain in this setting because of the promise that she made to her mother. Eveline had a chance to escape all this, but she doesn't take it because she is very conservative, and doesn't know any other way. Eveline's promise to her mother seems to cripple her in this setting. She can't move; she can't get out of it! Eveline feels that she must adhere to tradition and be obedient by living her mother's life. Eveline even says, "It was hard work-a hard life-but now that she was about to leave she did not find it a wholly undesirable life."(513) Eveline does want to get away from this setting, but she simply does not know any other way. Eveline tries to trick herself in to thinking that life isn't that bad. However, in reality she simply seems to greatly fear change because she doesn't know change. Dublin has become a part of Eveline. The setting is the only thing that gives Eveline a sense of security. She is too afraid to leave this setting; she is trapped. In Ireland, "she had those whom she had known all her life about her (512).

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Economy 320 Money and Banking Essay

The Federal Open market Committee has twelve voting members. Seven of these members are the board of governors who are appointed by the president and serve for terms that are fourteen years long. The appointment has to be approved by the senate. The reason as to why the terms are long is so that the committee can be freed from presidential and political influence. The years also end on 31st of every even year eliminating the possibility of a president appointing a majority of the board in their four year terms. The board members are permanent voters and vote every time the exercise is carried out. One of the remaining five positions is filled by the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York who is a permanent voter while the rest of the positions are filled by the remaining eleven Federal Reserve Banks on a rotation basis. These include the Reserve Federal Banks of Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, St. Louis, Atlanta, Richmond, Kansas City, San Francisco and Minneapolis. Chicago and Cleveland vote alternatively (vote once in every two years) while the rest of nine Reserve Banks vote after every two years (vote once in three years). This committee is important as it functions to formulate and regulate monetary policy for the country’s Federal Reserve System . which describes the actions implemented by the central bank. The committee also determines the capability of the Federal Reserve joining the Treasury department in the intervention of foreign exchange. It is important to note that the Federal Reserve is in charge of the monetary policy tools which include discount rate and the reserve requirements which are controlled by the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System. The third tool which is market operations is the third tool controlled by the Open Market Committee. Where does the power lie within this committee? The power lies with the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The New York Fed also acts as the vice chairman to the committee and is a permanent voting member. In the event he is not present during a voting session, his place can not be taken by another Fed, rather, one of his vice presidents votes in his place. This is because the New York Fed plays an important role in the system such as carrying out intervention in the foreign exchange market in the event it is required and conducting all the open market operations for the Federal Reserve. 2. If the Fed lends five banks an additional total of $100 million but depositors withdraw $50 million and hold it as currency, what happens to reserves and the monetary base? From the above question, there will an increase in the Reserves by $50 million, while the MB (Money base) is increased by $100 million. Banks Balance Sheet Assets Liabilities Reserves +$50 M Discount loans +$100 M Deposits -$50 M -$50 M Balance Sheet of Fed Assets Liabilities Discount loans + $100M Reserves +$ 50M Currency +$50M 3. What are the advantages AND disadvantages of inflation targeting? Advantages Inflation targeting unlike exchange rate peg makes it possible for the monetary policy to focus and concentrate on domestic considerations that need to be addressed and respond appropriately shocks that are affecting the domestic economy. When compared to money targeting, inflation targeting is advantageous in that its success is not hampered to a great extend by the stability in the relationship between money and inflation (Mishkin, 2007). This is because instead of depending on such relationships, it utilizes all the information that is available in determining the best strategy and settings for the monetary policy tools. Inflation targeting is also easy to explain to the public as it can easily be understood enhancing transparency. This increases accountability on the central bank’s part (Mishkin, 2007). It also makes it possible to eliminate the possibility of the central bank falling into traps such as time-inconsistency because of the enhanced transparency. Eliminating time-inconsistency which is usually caused by central bank being politically pressured to undertake monetary policy that is overly expansionary makes it possible for inflation targeting to focus and concentrate on political debate that is directed towards what the steps the central bank can take to address issues such as unemployment, increase output growth and external competitiveness through formulations of the monetary policy (Mishkin, 2007). Disadvantages Inflation targeting is associated with some disadvantages as a monetary policy strategy. The method is argued to be too rigid such that it has no allowance for changes in the event they need to be done fast. The method is also said to have the potential of allowing discretion which is not good as it hinders transparency hence accountability of the central bank (Mishkin, 2007). The strategy also feared to be capable of lowering the rate of economic growth as it has the potential of increasing the output instability. Inflation targeting is also argued by critics to only be able to produce weak accountability on the part of the central bank because of the fact that inflation can not easily be controlled and also because of the long lags that exist from the monetary policy tools to the outcome of the inflation. This is a serious problem specifically for countries that have emerging markets. Inflation targeting is also said to be incapable of preventing fiscal dominance (Mishkin, 2007). The exchange rate flexibility that must exist for the inflation targeting to be function can result to financial instability which is very crucial for emerging market countries. 4. You often read in the newspaper that the Fed has just lowered the discount rate. Does this signal that the Fed is moving to a more expansionary monetary policy? Why? One of the instruments used by the Fed to formulate the monetary policies is discount rate. This is the interest charged on loans given to depository institution by the Federal Reserve Bank. This interest is the only one Fed usually charges. Banks usually loan each other money and would not go to the Fed under normal circumstances. However during economic and financial crisis such as the current recession, most banks raise the interest charged on the loans they lend to other banks, in an effort to help banks especially the small ones which are not in a position to afford the high rates demanded by big banks, the Fed usually offer loans to these banks to enable them maintain the reserve requirement they need hence run their operations as usual. The interest rates on these loans are usually low making it easier for banks to borrow from the Fed what they need to remain in business. Market analysts and experts argue that as much as the Fed has the responsibility of lending money to banks in times of need, its announcement of lowered discount rate usually is an indication of a more expansionary monetary policy to come. This is because of the impact lowering discount rates have on the government’s finance. The effects are positive when well managed and if the country recovers quickly from the financial crises. This is because low discount rate is usually the last resort that banks turn to in the event of crises. A decline in interest rates also affects government finance. It is done to lower inflation rates as it increases the number of available projects at a cheap price attracting investors to invest so that there is no money floating around. This is based on the fact that the more money there is the higher the rate of inflation. Lowering the discount rate is hence signals another monetary policy on the way. 5. What happens to nominal GDP if the money supply grows by 20% but velocity declines by 30%? M*V = P*Y a %&? 916; PY = %&? 916; M + %&? 916; V = 20% – 30% = -10% If the money supply grows by 20% and the velocity decreases by 30%, the nominal GDP will decrease by 10 percent. 6. If Mexicans go on a spending spree and buy twice as much French perfume, Japanese TVs, English sweaters, Swiss watches, and Italian wine, what will happen to the value of the Mexican peso? This would result to a negative value being reported during the trading period as the imports will have exceeded the exports resulting to a trade deficit. This would have a great impact on the Mexico’s foreign exchange market. A trade deficit as the one described above, Mexico will have to convert its peso to the currencies of the countries it is importing from. Since it is buying from many countries in large amounts, the supply and presence of the peso will increase on the forex markets causing the peso to lose value as they will no demand for it. The value of Mexican peso would therefore decrease against the French, Japanese English, Swiss and Italian currencies (Mishkin, 2007). 7. If the money supply is 250 and nominal income is 1,900, the velocity of money is v= (P ? Y)/M Where v is velocity, P = price level Y = 1,900 M = 250 Since the price level is not given, velocity of money can also be calculated by dividing the GDP value with that one of money in circulation. Hence v = GDP/ money supply, v=1900/250 v=7. 6 8. What are the key advantages of exchange-rate targeting as a monetary policy strategy? The advantages associated with exchange-rate targeting are several. They include the fact that its nominal anchor is able to fix the rate of inflation of goods that are traded internationally. This enables the strategy to keep country’s inflation rate under control. A credible exchange rate target has the potential of anchoring the inflation expectations to the rate of the anchor country that has its currency pegged (Mishkin, 2007). Exchange rate target has the potential of eliminating the occurrence of time-inconsistency of the central bank if commitment is present as it provides rules of conduct that should be complied with. Exchange rate target strategy is alas simple and clear making it easier for the public to understand hence increasing transparency and accountability of the central bank (Mishkin, 2007). 9. If a pill were invented that made workers twice as productive but their wages did not change, what would happen to the position of the short-run aggregate supply curve? Aggregate supply is used to determine the volume of products (goods or services) produced in an economy at a certain given price level (Mishkin, 2007). The relationship between the aggregate supply and the general price level is such that an increase in price levels implies that the business has to expand and increase its production so as to meet the demand for its products. Increased demand hence results to expansion in the economy’s aggregate supply. Aggregate supply can also be described as the total amount of goods and services present in an economy at all possible (low or high) price levels (Mishkin, 2007). In the short run, nominal wages of employees does not change while production output increases. This implies higher profits. In the event the event the price levels rise, the short-run aggregate supply curve would have an upward sloping because the nominal wages are fixed while the output (production) is rising. However in the event the prices of the products were not increasing, this curve would remain horizontal (Mishkin, 2007). 10. Explain the law of one price and the theory of purchasing power parity. Why doesn’t the purchasing power parity explain all exchange rate movements? What factors determine long-run exchange rates? The law of one price postulates that for a market to be efficient, all goods that are identical in functionality should be sold at one price (Mishkin, 2007). This law is very closely related to the out comes of globalization and the different free trade areas and markets. It seeks to explain that in future, all countries and market areas in the world will earn the same amount of money for equal amount of work/service, product and their quality (Mishkin, 2007). This implies that all sellers will look for markets that have prevailing high prices while the buyers will flock to sellers that are offering low prices for the goods and services. This will force the sellers to converge and agree on one price for the goods. Purchasing-power parity is a theory that explains how the exchange rate is determined and provides a way of comparing the cost of goods and services amongst countries. It postulates that when domestic purchasing power of a country is equivalent to that of another one at a particular exchange rate then the exchange rate between their currencies will be at equilibrium (Mishkin, 2007). This takes form of the law f one price eventuality in which at some point in life it is considered that similar goods will have the same price irrespective of the location or country. Purchasing power parity does not explain all exchange rate movements because the comparisons used in the method have the potential of being misleading (Mishkin, 2007). Most comparisons are usually based on the living standards of the citizens of the countries in context. It is done through assumption that the real value of the goods and services is the same in both the countries being compared. This can however be misleading as cultures vary such that what is considered to be a luxury may not be the same in the other country. Purchasing power parity has no allowance for this diversity hence the exchange rate based on this method differs depending on the goods chosen for use for the index. The major factors that determine long-run exchange rates are inflation and expectations. This is because a change in the levels of money supply causes price levels to change. Inflation also causes increase in the nominal interest rate to its long run rate during the phase of transition. Expectations of inflation usually result to increase in the expected returns on the foreign currency causing domestic currency to lose value (depreciate) before the transition phase (Mishkin, 2007). Since rate of inflation is always on the increase due to the increase in growth rate of money supplies, nominal interest rate also increases. Other factors include yield differentials (difference in interest rates) in the various countries, the flow money/funds used for buying stocks and bonds, the countries’ public debts band the trade balance merchandise (Mishkin, 2007). Word count: 2400. Reference

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Search for Identity Dorothy Allisons Bastard Out of Carolina

The Search for Identity Dorothy Allisons Bastard Out of Carolina THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITYIn her novel, Bastard Out of Carolina, Dorothy Allison tells a story of Bone and the Boatwrights, a family besieged by poverty and violence. Throughout the novel, the reader uncovers the lives of all the different characters, and discovering the identity of these characters plays a large role in understanding the novel as a whole. Within the Boatwright family are women who are constantly faced with the struggle of finding themselves in a patriarchal society. Anney, Alma and Raylene each have their own characteristics and ideals and as the novel progresses, Bone successively displays identity characteristics of each of these women. To Bone, these women exemplify the different levels of independence that a woman can achieve in such a society. In the end, while Alma and Anney are unable to break free from a male-driven society, Raylene remains independent, and Bone finds her own identity through her experiences.Bastard Out of Carolina (film)Bone's aunt, Alma, does not have her own identity- she relies on men and children to form her identity for her. She is married to Wade, a man who consistently has extramarital affairs. Alma "had finally caught Wade doing just what he'd been doing for years," (83) and moved out with her children, only to break under the stress of not having a man in the household. Almahad sworn she wouldn't have Wade back in her life till he crawledthe length of Main Street singing what a dog he was, but when thebaby got sick and the boys started running around at night, she gaveit up and moved back in with him (90-91).Though Wade blatantly disrespects her in every way, Alma lacks the strength and ability to leave him for good, because doing so would strip her of the only identity...