Teamwork

What does it mean to be a successful team? Over the past year, I watched my mother fight one of the hardest battles in the world. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, and even the best team of doctors could not cure her. The day she died, she went to my basketball game in the morning, and she died later that afternoon. The lesson I learned is that even if you give it your all, sometimes you don’t always achieve your goal and win. My mother always wanted me to go to an NBA game. I have been a Wizards fan my whole life and have never been to a game.I am always observing how the best teams perform. I think the Wizards are a great team that love the game and respect each other, and that is what you need to be a successful team. For example, the more you trust your teammates, the more likely it is the team will achieve its goal. A team must work together to achieve a goal, but sometimes even the best teams don’t win. John Wall is one of my biggest idols. He trusts and respects his teammates, plays with speed and precision, and even when he loses, he is always respectful.If I could see him play, it would be a dream come true. Runner up: It’s about working together By Zoe Cachion, 11, Arlington Teamwork is helping people out when they need it, and working together. You win as a team, and you lose as a team, You need to have empathy for other people on your team, Teams and teamwork are not just sports and other competitions. Teamwork is about . .?. trust, loyalty, confidence and perseverance. Success in your team is not really winning every single game. It’s more about working together with your teammates.Sure, it feels fantastic to win, but it feels even better when you know everybody in the team worked hard to get that win. That’s what success in teamwork means to me. Runner up: The ‘ubuntu’ approach By Dan Huynh, 12, Falls Church Before each of their games, the successful Boston Celtics yell the Africa n word â€Å"ubuntu,† which inspires the team to focus on the greater good rather than individual success. A successful team’s players don’t care about only their stats, All-star appearances, salary or winning championships.Positive teammates focus on the people they play with every day and how they can help their peers improve. An ubuntu-type player will pass on opportunities to others. For example, the Washington Wizards show that their team is focusing on the greater good because, as Kevin Seraphin said, â€Å"we play like a team. Nobody is selfish. Nobody wants to be the hero. Every night, you let somebody else shine. † This attitude makes their team successful. Ubuntu does not only apply to professional sports; it pertains to amateur sports also.For example, my aquatics coach told our team that during a water polo game, one of his players had the opportunity to get a hat trick. However, instead of shooting himself, he pump-faked and passed to his ope n teammate, who scored. This team was successful because its players shared opportunities rather than focused on themselves. When a team works together, teammates are able to help one another overcome obstacles and improve both as individuals and as a team. As the ubuntu philosophy states, â€Å"I am what I am because of who we all are. †

Consequences of High Interest Rates in the Ghanaian Economy…..

Interest rates are among the closely watched variables in the economy. The media on daily bases record their movement because they affect our everyday lives and have crucial consequences for the health of the economy. They affect personal decisions as whether to consume or save, whether to buy a house and whether to purchase bonds or put funds into a savings account. Interest rates also affect the economic decisions of households or businesses such as whether to put their money in the bank or invest in new equipments for factories.Before continuing, we must understand exactly what interest rates mean. By holding financial instruments , such as loans or bonds. Savers and financial institutions extend credits to those individuals or firms that issue the instruments. The amount of credit extended is the principal amount of the loan or the bond. Those who hold financial instruments do so because they receive payments from the issuers in the form of interest. The percentage return earned is the interest rate or rate of return.Rate of return is the price of credit in financial markets and is usually expressed as a percentage (%) of the total amount borrowed that is to be paid each year (over and above the repayment of the principal, or amount borrowed). Thus, it is the price of credit of the rate of exchange between the present and the future. Rate of returns (r) vary given interest rate (i). It is the value of i that just equates the present value (PV) of the benefits of the extra capital when discounted at i to its cost (Pk). That is, r is defined as : r=MRP/Pk, where: MRP=Marginal Revenue Product Pk= CostWe would however, take a look at how interest rate is calculated, various theoretical analyses that seek to explain the determination of interest rates, distinctions between nominal and real interest rates. Finally, we shall relate it to the case of the Ghanaian economy and look at the consequences of the high interest rates in Ghana. CONCEPTS OF INTEREST YIELD/RA TE Interest yields on financial instruments are thought of in different ways. The most important of these are Nominal Yield Current Yield Yield to Maturity NOMINAL YIELD Assuming that a bond is issued in an amount of 100,000 with an agreement to pay 6000 in interest every year.The annual payment of 6000 is the bond’s annual coupon return. This is simply the fixed amount of interest that the bond yields each year. The nominal yield on a bond is equal to rN= C/F, where rN is the nominal yield, C is the coupon return and F is the face amount of the bond. The annual yield of the 100,000bond with the 6000 coupon yield or return is equal to 6000 / 1000,000=0. 06 or 6 percent. Current Yield The current secondary market price of the bond typically is not the face value of the bond. Bonds often sell in the secondary market at prices that are different from their face value.For this reason, those contemplating on bond purchase often are interested in the current yield of a bond. This e quals to r i =C/P Where ri denotes the current market yield, C is the coupon return and P is the current market price of a bond. For instance, the current market price of a bond with a face value of 100,000 might be 90,000. If the coupon return on the bond is 6,000 per year, then annual current yield on this bond is equal to 6,000/90,000=0. 667 or 6. 7 percent. Yield on Maturity A bond’s yield on maturity is the rate of return if the bond is held until maturity.Calculating this yield can be complicated, however, because the bonds normally differ. Typically, bonds are sold at a discount, below its face value. Hence, other things being equal, the bond holder receives an automatic capital gain if the bond is held to maturity. A capital gain occurs when the value of a financial asset at the time it is redeemed or sold is higher than its market value when it was purchased. Consequently, the bond pays a coupon return. The yield to maturity must account for both the capital gain and the coupon returns that a bond yields to its owner. MEASURING INTEREST RATESThe financial credit market instrument can be classified under four types ?Simple Loan This provides the borrower with an amount of funds (principal) which at the maturity date must be repaid to the lender along with an additional amount known as an interest payment. Supposing, a bank made you a simple loan of 100,000 for one year, you would have to pay the principal of 100,000 in one year’s time along with an additional interest payment of say 10,000 given interest rate to be 10%. Most often, commercial bank loans to businesses are often of this type. ?Fixed payment loan:This provides the borrower with an amount of funds that he is to repay by making the same payment every month, which comprises part of the principal and interest for a given number of years. For example, if you borrowed 100,000, a fixed payment loan might require you to pay 12,600 every year for 25 years. ?Coupon Bond A coupon bond pays the owner of the bond a fixed interest payment every year until the maturity date, when a specified final amount is repaid. For example, a coupon bond with 100,000 face values might pay you a coupon payment of 10,000 per year for 10 years and at the maturity date repays you the face value amount of 100,000. Discount Bond A discount bond is bought at a price below its face value (at a discount) and the face value is repaid at the maturity date. However, unlike the coupon bond, the discount bond makes no interest payment. It just pays off the face value. For example, a discount bond with a face value of 100,000 might be bought for ? 90000 and in a year’s time the owner would be repaid a face value of 100,000. These four types of instruments require payments at different times. Simple loan and discount bonds make payment only at their maturity dates, while fixed payment loans and coupon bonds have payments periodically until maturity.The decision as to which of the instrume nts provides you with more income is difficult since they all make payments at different times. To solve this problem, the concept of present value was invented to provide us with a procedure for measuring interest rate on these different types of instruments, Present Value (PV) approach shows the present value Ao of a known amount An, to be received in ‘n’ years assuming compound interest is at the rate ( i) . The present value (PV) formula is Ao=An/(1+i)n NORMINAL VERSUS REAL RATES OF INTEREST So far we have discussed interest rates only in current cedi terms.There is, however, a problem with this. Inflation can erode the value of interest received when a financial instrument matures. Any individual must take this into account when evaluating how much to save. For instance, supposing that a saver can earn a stated current cedi interest rate or nominal interest rate of r=0. 06(6%) on each cedi that he allocates to a one year bond. Supposing also that the saver expects that prices of goods and services would rise by a factor, ? e=0. 03(3%) Where ? e is expected rate of inflation. This is the rate of inflation that he expects to face.Such inflation would reduce the amount of goods and services that his interest would permit him to purchase. Thus, although the saver earns post interest on the bonds he anticipates the inflation will eat away at that interest and the rate ? e. Hence, the real interest rate that this saver anticipated or his expected inflation-adjusted interest rate is approximately equal r = r-? e r = 0. 06-0. 03=0. 03, Where r = real interest and r = nominal interest rate. In terms of what his savings can buy this saver actually anticipates earnings only 3% on his one year bond.A rate of return in current-cedi terms that does not reflect anticipated inflation is known as Nominal Interest Rate. The anticipated rate of return from holding a financial instrument after taking into account the extent to which inflation is expected to redu ce to the amount of goods and services that this return could be used to buy is termed as Real Interest Rate. The real interest rate is crucial for determining how much the individual desires to save. The reason is that savings is foregone consumption. This individual is likely to give up more consumption if the real rate of return on savings is large.This means that the real interest rate is a crucial determinant of the saving in the nation where this saver is a citizen. Countries with high nominal interest rates often experience very low saving rates because expected inflation is so high. THEORIES OF INTEREST RATES Various theories have been propounded by various economists to explain the determination of interest rates. However we would focus on three main theories namely; †¢Classical theory †¢Neo-classical/Loanable funds Theory †¢Keynesian/Liquidity Preference Theory CLASSICAL /REAL THEORY OF INTEREST RATESThis theory by Marshall and Pigou uses savings and investm ent in determining interest rates. The theory equates investment to demand for capital or supply of bonds (i. e. , sales of bonds). and savings to supply of Capital or Demand for bonds (i. e. purchases of bonds). Hence interest rate is determined when investment equals savings as illustrated below Figure 1. INVESTMENTS – SAVINGS COMBINATION IN THE BONDS MARKET Where B (supply of bonds) = I( investment ) B (demand for bonds )= S (savings) r is the equilibrium rate of interest at where S=IAccording to the classicals, there are only two groups of people in the market to provide bonds; investors and government. Firms sell bonds in order to have capital or funds for investments. The sale of bonds however, depends on the expected rate of returns and the cost in selling the bonds. Hence bond price is expressed as PB=Y/r where PB=Bond Price , Y=rate of returns and r= interest rate, implying an inverse relationship between Bond prices and interest rates, Expected rate of returns is as sumed fixed, and when interest rate rises above the rate of returns, it affects the relationship between investment and interest rate.Assumptions: †¢The classicals assume that, †¢Income is constant †¢The saving-investment schedules are independent of one another Criticisms: †¢Keynes asserts that income is variable and not constant and that the equality between savings and investment is brought about by changes in income and not by variations in the rate of interest. †¢Keynes also states that the saving-investment schedules are not independent of one another THE NEO-CLASSICAL/LOANABLE FUNDS THEORY This theory explains the determination of interest in terms of demand and supply of loanable funds or credit.The theory defines rate of interest as the price of credit which is determined by the demand and supply for loanable funds. According to Prof. Lerner, it is the price which equates the supply of credit or saving plus the net increase in the amount of money in a period to the demand for credit or investment plus net hoarding in the period Demand for Loanable Funds. Three main entities of demand for loanable funds; governments, business men and consumers need them for purposes of investment, hoarding and consumption. Government borrows funds for constructing public works.Business men borrow for the purchase of capital goods and for investment projects. Such borrowings are interest elastic and depend mostly on the expected rate of profit. Individual consumers however may demand loanable funds for the purchase of durable consumer goods like houses. These borrowings are also interest elastic. At lower rates of interest, people borrow more than at higher rates of interest in order to enjoy their consumption now. Supply of loanable funds The supply of loanable funds comes from savings, dishoardings and bank credit.The main sources of supply of loanable funds are private, individual and corporate savings. Savings depend on the level of income. For a given level of income savings will depend on interest rate, and the higher the interest rate the greater will be the inducement to save and vice versa. This saving is referred to as Personal Savings. Corporate savings are the undistributed profits of firms and it also depends on current rate of interest to some extent. High interest rate deters borrowing and thus encourages savings. Dishoarding may also occur when interest rate is high or increases.Thus, one dishoards (ie, releasing hoarded money or idle money holdings), if the cost of holding that money increases as a result of high interest rate. Hence, there is a positive relationship between interest rate and dishoarding. Banks also give credit when the borrowing rate is high. That is when interest rate on credit payable by borrowers is high, hence a positive relationship between interest rate and bank credit. Criticisms: †¢Savings not interest elastic. The theory over emphasis the influence of the rate of interest on savings as interest elastic.Thus, people save not only to earn rate of interest but also for other purposes like precautionary motive, hence savings are interest inelastic. †¢The theory is also criticized for combining monetary factors with real factors making it unrealistic. †¢Equilibrium rate reflects unstable equilibrium. The demand and supply schedules for loanable funds determine the equilibrium rate of interest OR which does not equate each component on the supply side with the corresponding components on the demand side. KEYNESIAN/ LIQUIDITY PREFERENCE THEORYKeynes defines interest rate as the price which equilibrates the desire to hold wealth in the form of cash that is the demand and supply of money determines interest rates. The supply of money is considered fixed and exogenously determined (that is inelastic). Demand for money is also called liquidity preference which is the desire to hold money. In this case, interest rate is the premium which has to be offere d to induce people to hold their wealth in some form other than hoarded money. According to Keynes, speculative demand for money is determined by interest rate and bond prices.He considered the current interest (i) as that which determines the speculative demand for money. The higher the rate of interest, the lower the speculative demand for money. At very low rate of interest people will rather prefer to keep their money in cash than investing in bonds because purchasing of bonds will mean a loss. Determination of interest rates The equilibrium interest rate is determined at a point where the supply and demand for money equilibrates. At the point of liquidity trap, there is the belief that interest rate will not fall but will at a point in time rise hence investors hold money against future rise in interest rate.Criticisms: †¢The theory is considered as indeterminate by Prof. Handson. Keynes asserts the liquidity preference determines the interest rates. The problem is that a new liquidity preference curve would have to be drawn at each level of income. This indicates that income levels will have to be known before otherwise, the supply and demand for money curves cannot tell us what the interest rates will be. †¢Hicks and others were of the view that interest rate is determined by the following; i. Investment demand function ii. Savings function iii. Liquidity preference function iv. Quantity of money function.They are present in Keynes theory but not all are the interest rate analysis. Keynes ignores investment and savings, hence his theory is considered as incomplete. TRENDS IN SAVINGS AND LENDING RATES IN THE GHANAIAN ECONOMY (1994-2004). YEAR19941995199619971998199920002001200220032004 LENDING RATE31. 2440. 5641. 7143. 5838. 536. 54743. 7536. 3632. 7528. 8 DEPOSITE RATE21. 3726. 7532. 2432. 320. 215. 3925. 817. 4312. 4911. 969. 87 INTEREST SPREAD9. 8713. 819. 4711. 2818. 321. 1121. 226. 3223. 8720. 7918. 9 The interest spread was calculated as a difference in the averages of the lending and the deposit rates covering the said period.Between 1997 and 2001, the interest spread increased and subsequently started falling at a slightly varying decreasing rate. This was the period when the lending rates were high 43. 75% in 2001, down from 47% in 2000 because of the high inflation rate and the general turbulence within the economy. The corresponding deposit rate was 17. 43%. Between the years 2001 and 2004, the average interest spread was 23. 66%. This rate of profits of the commercial banks, heralded the spiral influx of foreign banks especially from neighbour Nigeria. It has been taunted that the banking sector is doing very well.In reality there has not been much competition between the existing banks, hence the high lending rate as well as their profits. They tended to act as collusive oligopolies. Recent developments and trends in the banking sector has been that, competition at long last has set in. For instance the Zenit h Bank has unilaterally decided to reduce it’s lending rate 14. 1% with respect to the general rate. This will result in much more innovation in the sector resulting in better banking services and a general reduction in the interest rate as pertained in competitive markets.From the existing trends, especially as indicated in the graph above, other sectors of the economy will take advantages of the low interest rate to boost up investments and hence output with a resultant increase in the GDP. This is the miracle of interest rates. HIGH VERSUS LOW INTEREST RATES IN THE GHANAIAN ECONOMY. In most economies including Ghana, interest rates are largely influenced by the prime rate which is the rate at which the central bank gives over-night loans to the commercial banks. Thus, when Bank of Ghana (BOG) fixes its prime rate, interest rates are adjusted depending on the direction of the prime rate.There is however a positive relationship between prime rate and interest rates. When pri me rate is set high or low interest rates are also fixed relatively high or low. For instance, interest rates followed a declining pattern in 2003. The monetary policy committee of BOG revised the prime rate downwards from 21. 5% in 2003 to 18. 5% in 2004. In line with this downward revision, the commercial banks’ base rates dropped from an average of 29. 0% to 25. 4%. Interest rates for the 91-day treasury bill dropped from 18. 71% at the beginning of the year to 17. 8% at the close of December 2004. The inter-bank interest rate also dropped from 17. 12% in January to 16. 23% at the end of December. Interest rates, however, low or high have both favourable and adverse effects on the economy of a country. During periods of high interest rates investment falls and savings increase and vice versa in the case of low interest rates. The table and graph below shows interest rates, 1998-2004 and interest rate margins respectively. YEAR1998199920002001200220032004 SAVINGS22262929. 2 525. 232319. 25 TIME DEPOSITS914. 7513. 520. 520. 1418. 515. 5Holders of stocks lose during periods of high interest rates and holders of money (cash) gain though money earns zero interest. In periods of economic boom, high interest rates might be needed to check inflation, while low interest rates will be needed to stimulate investments and create employment in recessions. In between these two extremes, interest rates are adjusted up or down depending on prevailing economic conditions. High interest rates will slow down the economy and cripple the private sector. Investors cannot access funds from financial institutions, thus creating low level of investments.It will also be tempting to invest available funds in high yielding bonds than in infrastructural business investments. This will reduce spending, shrink national output and bring down inflation. Low level of investments will therefore create unemployment. The central bank reacts by lowering interest rates using the sight depo sit rate (inter-bank transaction rate with commercial banks also referred to as the key rate). Low interest rates stimulate the economy. Investors can access low-cost capital for investment. Employment increases, and the national output increases.Low interest rates therefore allow for borrowing and spending, but then, inflation will also pick up. As inflation picks up, companies can increase employment, since real wages decrease. Successive increase in interest rate leads to inflation. Inflation however bad for an economy also leads to reducing unemployment rates since there is a negative relationship between inflation rate and unemployment rate. CONSEQUENCES OF HIGH INTEREST RATES IN THE GHANAIAN ECONOMY. High interest rates have certain repercussions in the Ghanaian economy. Prior to 1987, there was a decline in economic growth and development in Ghana due to high interest rates.Current high interest rates on bank loans (over 25%) and treasury bills (17%) have been a serious imped iment to raising capital in the local market. private sector growth in Ghana has been constrained by limited financing opportunity for private investments. High interest rates lead to crowding out of the private sector in the money market; it makes available loanable funds to the government. Thus, lenders of loanable funds shift lending to only the government with the surety that there is 100% safety in retrieving their money since they believe that governments do not die.Studies done in the past show that the growth process in Ghana has been driven mostly by public investments. As a result, some have attributed the lack of accelerated growth to a combination of weak investment and low productivity from the private sector. Hence the current government in its manifesto promised to make the private sector the engine of growth by providing the right socio-economic framework. For example, the government through the monetary policy committee of the bank of Ghana (BOG) managed to reduce t he Bank’s Prime Rate from 21. % in 2003 to 18. 5% in 2004 and currently down from 15. 5% at the beginning of 2006 to 14. 5%. When the prime rate fell, the BOG was expecting a corresponding decrease in commercial bank lending rates but its evident that the private sector is not responding to such developments; commercial bank lending rates have ranged between 18. 5% and 33. 5% as indicated by the Governor of the BOG. This has been a major concern for small and medium scale enterprises that cannot access loans at these exorbitant rates to expand their activities High interest rate may lead to increase in debt ratio that is, when interest rate is set high, cost of governments borrowing increases, interest payments increases and total debt increases. When government wants to finance its debt, it either prints out or borrows money to finance its debt. However if the government wants to avoid the former which usually leads to inflation, it falls on borrowing to finance its debt. Th ese borrowings also attract interest payment which increases the total debt payment in economy.For instance, profile of interest rates in Ghana reveals the real rates ranging from 10% to 21. 7% in 1996 to 1999. The high rates which are more than 100% between 1996 and 1999 worsen the debt burden. It is clear that since1997, borrowing from domestic sources was not even enough to finance the deficit as a result of high interest payments, thus for the last half of the 1990’sthe country had to borrow externally and/or print money to finance the deficit. For instance, in 1995 change in domestic debt was 200. 9 billion cedis but interest payment was 232. billion cedis which is over and above the change in domestic debt. As in year 2000 change in domestic debt was just 855. 5 billion cedis but interest payment was1446. 2 billion cedis over and above the change in debt. Consequently, as a result of the borrowing (i. e. domestic and external) it contributed to a high rate of growth of our debt that led to a state of bankruptcy in which the government failed to honour its debt obligation. As a result, in 2001 the Ghanaian economy was declared H. I. P. C. ?The need for the government to make interest payments on large debt may contribute to inflation.For example ,inflation may result if the government decides to finance interest payment, not by collecting taxes, instead by borrowing. For instance, prior to year 2000, the government of Ghana depended on borrowing to finance its debt as a result inflation recorded at that period was very high ( i. e. 41%). ?At very high rate of interest people hold bonds or save money rather than investing. Inflation occurs as a result of higher prices of goods and services, cost of living become very high, the poor and low income earners suffer economic hardships.Between 1980 and 1983 in Ghana, inflation was very high not forgetting interest rate as well. This led to economic hardships in 1983. ?High interest rate deprives both loca l and foreign investors from investing in the economy. This disturbs economic growth and development. In Ghana, when interest rates are high foreign investors invest in capital goods rather than in productive ventures. In spite of the consequences of high interest rate, there are also some benefits. The truism that high interest rate contributes to high inflation rate reduces unemployment ratio in the economy.In Ghana for instance, the economy has achieved respectable rate of GDP growth averaging over 4% in the 1990s as compared to the negative average growth rate over the period 1970 -1983. However, the average inflation rate fell to about 19% in 1998 relative to 122% in 1983 due to increase in employment levels or a reduction in unemployment levels as one of the factors responsible for this trend. ?High interest rate serves as a tool for monetary control in the economy. Through the use of the open market operation (OMO), where the economy is operating beyond its full employment le vel.That is when it is considered as being hot; the rate of interest can be increased by the central bank in the purchases of previously issued governments bonds. This mops up excess liquidity thereby reducing the money supply in the economy. The result is that demand for money now exceeds money supply thereby bidding up interest rate. This slows down the growth rate to an acceptable level enabling the economy to operate at full employment level. ?During periods of high interest rate, financial institutions records very high turn-overs. Governments tend to earn high tax revenue through taxes charged on banks’ turnovers.The bank of Ghana’s annual report (1997), recorded a high turn-over as a result of high interest rates as shown in the table below . The Central Bank maintained its rediscount rate at 45. 00per cent throughout the year under review. Money market rates were also fairly stable in the year. The 91-day Treasury Bill discount rate for example remained at 42. 80 per cent through November before declining to 42. 48 per cent at the end of the year. The commercial banks’ borrowing rates were also generally stable throughout the year. Rates for savings deposits moved up slightly from 22. 50-31. 0% to 22. 50-32. 00% and the range for call money from 25. 00-31. 00% to 24. 00-34. 00% per annum. The bank’s lending rates however, showed some upward trends. Rates for the Agricultural sector (usually the lowest) moved up from 30. 00 –47. 00% to 35. 00 – 49. 00% per annum while that for the miscellaneous (usually the highest) rose from 41. 50 – 48. 00% per cent to 41. 50 – 51. 00% per annum. INTEREST RATES (Percent Per Annum) 1994199519961997 DecemberDecemberDecemberDecember 1. CENTRAL BANK a. Rediscount Rate (Bank Rate)33. 0045. 0045. 0045. 00 b. Treasury Bill Discount Rate(91days)29. 040. 5042. 8042. 48 2. DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS A. Borrowing Rates. (%) i. Demand deposits4. 00-13. 445. 00-10. 005. 00-10. 005. 00-15. 00 ii. Savings Deposits13. 75-22. 5021. 50-31. 0022. 50-31. 5022. 50-32. 00 iii. Time Deposits 1 month22. 00-26. 5026. 00-32. 5029. 00-37. 0029. 00-37. 00 3 months14. 50-31. 0025. 00-36. 0025. 00-40. 5025. 00-39. 00 6 months14. 75-31. 0022. 75-37. 0032. 00-39. 2532. 00-39. 50 12 months14. 00-31. 0023. 50-36. 0027. 75-39. 5027. 75-39. 75 24 months22. 00-29. 2524. 00-35. 0027. 50-35. 0024. 00-35. 00 36 months26. 50-29. 0035. 0035. 0030. 00-38. 00 iv.Certificate of Deposits13. 75-24. 5023. 50-37. 0025. 00-37. 0025. 00-37. 00 v. Call Money25. 00-33. 5024. 00-34. 00 vi. Any other20. 00-24. 0022. 50-25. 0022. 50-33. 0022. 50-33. 00 B. Lending Rates. (%) i. Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing22. 50-35. 5028. 00-47. 0030. 00-47. 0035. 00-49. 00 ii. Export Trade20. 38-35. 5034. 25-47. 0030. 00-47. 0035. 00-49. 00 iii. Manufacturing26. 00-35. 5033. 00-47. 0039. 00-47. 0039. 00-49. 00 iv. Mining & Quarrying29. 00-37. 5030. 00-47. 5035. 00-47. 5035. 00-49. 00 v. Construction29. 00-37. 5039. 00-47. 5041. 00-47. 5041. 50-49. 00 vi. Other Sector29. 00-37. 039. 00-47. 5041. 50-48. 0041. 50-51. 00 Source: Bank of Ghana During the year under review, total outstanding credit granted by commercial banks to public institutions and the private sector increased by ? 474. 8 billion or 64. 8 per cent to ? 1,207. 2 billion. This compares with an increase of ? 299. 8 billion or 69. 3 per cent in the previous year. The Commerce and Finance sector recorded the highest increase of ? 84. 5 billion followed by Cocoa Marketing sector which registered an increase of ? 78. 2 billion. Significant increases were also recorded in outstanding credit to Manufacturing (? 1. 5 Billion), Construction (? 53. 2 billion), Services (? 49. 7 billion), Mining and Quarrying (? 36. 7 billion) and Import Trade (? 18. 8 billion). Credit for Cocoa financing showed an unusually large increase as a result of financial accommodation given to COCOBOD in the face of a larger than expected crop size. In conclusion, the various levels of interest rate (that is high or low) affect the economy in diverse ways (i. e. positively and negatively). However the optimum benefits derived from those varying levels of interest rates depends on prudent economic management.The interest rate problem does not rest with Government and the Bank of Ghana only but also the commercial banks. The rising rates of interest are acts perpetuated by the banks for more profit and these rates charged by the commercial banks are just too high and that is what hurt investors. In addition, the banks impose charges and commissions which are completely inexplicable. REFERENCES: ?Business and Financial times issue number 689 ?Bank of Ghana Annual report (1997) ?The state of the Ghanaian economy (2004) ?The internet (Nii K. Sowa, CEPA, Inflation and interest rate fixation in Ghana) ?Article by Ampong Owusu Kwabena -Bsc engineering KNUST, Masters in international business (NORWAY), and Masters in Financial Economics (NORWAY). ?Man aging Ghana’s Dept. – Nii K. Sowa, CEPA, Accra ?Henderson and Poole; Principles of Economics ?David C. Colander: Economics ?Miller, R. L and D. D. Van Hoose; Money, Banking and Financial Market ? Miskkin F. S: The Economics of Money and Banking and Financial Markets ? Dr. Henry D. Jackson: An Introduction to Macroeconomics 1999 ? Dr. Henry D. Jackson- McConnell Brue: Economics, 5th Edition.

Denis McDonough

â€Å"What Barack has said is that we can begin withdrawing our troops immediately, and he believes that we can do it at pace of about one to two combat brigades per month. And at that pace, we could get the remaining troops out in about 16 months. This is not an ironclad absolute commitment that at the end of 16 months all of our troops will be out. But he does believe that is the kind of pace that we can do responsibly and safely. † (Interview with NPR, June 2008. ) McDonough has argued for a common-good approach to foreign policy, saying that the U. S. must address problems like global warming and poverty by taking approaches that will benefit other countries as well as the United States. He has spoken in support of a cap-and-trade system and called on the U. S. to make a serious commitment to reducing greenhouse gases. (6) Iraq McDonough opposed the Iraq war from the start and backs Obama’s efforts to withdraw troops slowly from the country, aiming to have all of th em out in about 16 months. He argues that Congress and the president failed to plan for the long-term impact of the Iraq war. He would like Obama’s administration to craft a thorough proposal that lays out what the U. S. ’s specific role will be in Iraq over the next ten years. (7) Intelligence Oversight While at the Center for American Progress, McDonough lobbied for reform of Congressional oversight of intelligence. He argued that Congress must pursue vigorous oversight of the 17 agencies because they operate in such secrecy, ensuring that the intelligence community is behaving constitutionally and lawfully while pursuing their aims effectively. (8) Samantha Power. Q: Though some analysts see U. S. foreign policy woes as a recent phenomenon, you argue that recent foreign policy missteps by current U. S. leaders have exposed and exacerbated long-standing structural and conceptual problems in U. S. foreign policy. Please explain. Power: It is tempting to see Iraq as the source of all our woes now, whereas I see Iraq as the symptom, in some measure, of a number of longstanding trends and defects in American foreign policy. March,6,2008 One example is the US historic predisposition to go it alone. Because we have long undervalued what international institutions have to offer, we believed that we could go into Iraq, and as soon as we declared the mission accomplished, we expected to be able to turn the problem over to others, regardless of how they had been treated in the run up to the invasion. This thinking is very flawed, but not all that new. In a uni-polar world, the Clinton Administration was able to get away with an instrumental relationship with international institutions, but that is harder with the rise of new powers who are willing to challenge the United States in international bodies. It is also harder now that the Iraq war itself has exposed so many US weaknesses. In addition, we long saw international authorization as a luxury, something good for global public opinion, but not very relevant to US national security. But what we have seen, by revealing our indifference to international legitimacy both in the Iraq war and in the practices carried out in our counter-terrorism efforts – the disavowal of the Geneva conventions, prisoner abuse, extraordinary rendition, etc. is that being seen to thumb our nose at international law actually has profound security ramifications, as more and more people seek to take up arms against U. S. citizens and interests. Another longstanding foreign policy flaw is the degree to which special interests dictate the way in which the ‘national interest' as a whole is defined and pursued. Look at the degree to which Halliburton and several of the private security and contracting firms invested in the 2004 political campaigns and received very lucrative contracts in the aftermath of the U. S. takeover of Iraq. Also, America's important historic relationship with Israel has often led foreign policy decision-makers to defer reflexively to Israeli security assessments, and to replicate Israeli tactics, which, as the war in Lebanon last summer demonstrated, can turn out to be counter-productive. So greater regard for international institutions along with less automatic deference to special interests – especially when it comes to matters of life and death and war and peace – seem to be two take-aways from the war in Iraq. Q: Elaborate on your differentiation between ‘power' and ‘influence' as accurate metrics for conceptualizing effective foreign policy. Power: I think that most of us, in a knee-jerk way, tend to conflate power with ‘hard power' – with economic and military power. At the Kennedy School, Joe Nye gave us the concept of ‘soft power' as another component of power. Building on Nye's concept, we would be wise in the 21st century to measure our power by our influence. Influence is best measured not only by military hardware and GDP, but also by other people's perceptions that we, the United States, are using our power legitimately. That belief – that we are acting in the interests of the global commons and in accordance with the rule of law – is what the military would call a ‘force multiplier. ‘ It enhances the U. S. ability to get what it wants from other countries and other players. The third component of influence – along with traditional hard power and legitimacy – is people's perception that we know what we are doing, that we are competent. Here, one cannot overstate the devastating one-two punch of Iraq and Katrina in undermining the global public's and the American people's faith that the U. S. is a competent prosecutor of its own objectives. Even if you disagreed with the Bush administration's decision to go to war, and thought it would do more harm than good, many people assumed that this administration, in pursuing this war, would at least know what it was doing. Whatever its objectives were – again, objectives many of us found suspect or insufficient to warrant the use of military force – we expected this group of experienced professionals to pursue those aims competently, to prepare properly, and to bring adequate resources to bear. We all know now that experience does not translate into competence. The war in Iraq has thus undermined our hard power by overstretching our military and sending us into deficit. It has undermined our perceived legitimacy because we've ignored the will of the international community and committed grave acts of torture, crimes against humanity, and other terrible sins in the conduct of the war itself. But, crucially, as my colleague Steve Walt has put it, we also no longer look like the country that put the man on the moon. Nor does the rest of the world see us, currently, as the country that liberated Europe from two world wars, that devised the Marshall Plan, that helped bring down the Wall. As a result, our ability to get what we want – whether we're talking about ending Iran‘s nuclear enrichment program, halting genocide in Darfur, reforming the UN, or even securing international buy-in for the effort to stabilize Iraq – our influence has eroded such that we are unable to actually achieve our policy objectives Q: You see the U. S. as being more isolated today than it has ever been. Though there have always been ‘America-firsters' among policy makers, why do you think this is especially dangerous now? Power: Traditionally, American isolationism comes about in spurts as the result of very vocal domestic constituencies who believe that engagement with the rest of the world is bad for U. S. interests. Although today there are some in this country who would like to see the United States ‘come home' after its bungled misadventures abroad, most Americans understand that the nature of the global marketplace, as well as the global threats, make this impossible. Yet we are in a period of relative isolation – one that stems less from ascendant Copperhead isolationism at home and more from the way other countries calculate their interests as they relate to the United States. So, in a sense, those countries are retreating from the United States, rather than the United States retreating from them. It's the reverse of what we have seen in the past. What you have are a number of countries -even those with which the United States has long been aligned – who believe that a very close association between themselves and the Bush administration undermines their internal domestic standing. So we see longstanding allies of the United States pushing back against Washington, asserting independent views on everything from global warming and international justice to troubled war zones like Afghanistan, where the U. S. desperately needs the support of its western partners in attempting to stabilize that country. So we are the recipients of isolationism now, you might say, rather than the crafters of it. Q: The focus in discussions of U. S. foreign policy is often on the executive branch, but you place great responsibility on Congress and journalists, and even the public, in relation to U. S. foreign policy. Why? Power: The longstanding habit of governments is to pursue their national interests – to pursue their economic and security interests. That is what governments are for. That is what states are for. The only occasions in which regard for human rights and human consequences are injected into foreign policymaking historically are occasions when the Congress has in sisted upon it or when the press has either shamed the Congress or shamed the Executive Branch into entertaining a broader set of interests which include regard for human consequences abroad. The reason this becomes especially important in the 21st century – in an era of asymmetric threats- is because our systematic neglect of human rights in the formulation of our foreign policy over the years has engendered great resentment. Our abuses in the conduct of the so-called ‘war on terror,' too, have enhanced terrorist recruitment, fueled vitriolic anti-Americanism and, arguably, made it more difficult for us to summon resources from other countries to deal with threats. Human rights abuses have supplied oxygen to the minority of those who hold the United States in such contempt that they want to take matters into their own hands and kill Americans. It's very important, for our national security in the long term, and of course on principle, that human consequences be integrated into our foreign policy, but it's very unlikely historically that this will be done in a top-down fashion. So if the American people or particular constituencies care about particular issues – say Afghanistan, Guantanamo, or Darfur – unless they actually give voice to that concern, whether for its own sake or because they believe that those crises will come back and haunt the United States if they are not dealt with, the only way that the public is going to see their interests in those issues internalized by senior policy makers is if they make it vocally and painfully clear to policy makers that there is a strong domestic political constituency for a change in course. Q: You posit that both the self-image and global image of the U. S. have eroded. How can the U. S. again be seen as a force for good in the world? Power: It's probably going to be a long and windy road to rehabilitation. A crucial step for the United States is to really begin to think in terms of ‘do no harm' and actually ending some of the more egregious aspects of its approach to counter-terrorism. First, in the ‘do no harm' camp: end the practice of extraordinary rendition, where US agents willfully ship terrorist suspects in our custody to countries that we know torture, for the explicit purpose of evading domestic checks on US abuse. Second in the ‘do no harm' camp: close Guantanamo and actually channel its prisoners through internationally respected legal processes. And third, restore habeus corpus to those detainees who are in US custody. To strip a group of individuals – no matter what blood some number of them have on their hands – of the most fundamental constitutional rights sends a signal to the rest of the world that there are two sets of human rights that we believe in: one robust set that Americans get to enjoy, and another much diminished set that those perceived as hostile to us get to enjoy. There are also two sets of individuals – ‘tortureables' and ‘untorturables. ‘ So a first step in our rehabilitation is to rid our conduct of these colossal blemishes on the American character. The second is embedding U. S. antipoverty, anti-disease and democratization policy initiatives within international institutions as part of a grand vision of what the United States actually does stand for – which is trying to ensure that people enjoy the kind of freedom from fear and freedom from want that Franklin Roosevelt promised Americans many years ago. The burden of actually making people secure in their homes is far too steep a burden for one country to handle. We must articulate a vision for human security and then channel US resources through international institutions, which themselves must become more rigorous and accountable. This will over time enhance US standing, but more importantly, it will force other countries – who have delighted in Bush's misfortunes but put little on the line themselves to patrol the global commons – to pick up the slack. Introduction Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) foreign policy agenda has emphasized multilateralism and reinvigorated diplomacy to advance U. S. interests. He has pledged to take steps to end the war in Iraq soon after taking office, to negotiate with the leadership of U. S. adversaries like Iran and Cuba, and to revamp the U. S. approach to free trade to bolster labor and environmental protections. Obama has attracted as advisers a number of top foreign policy experts who served under President Bill Clinton. Those advisers tend to be more independent from party orthodoxy on foreign policy issues, analysts say. Obama's top advisers were opposed to the U. S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, although a number of prominent Democrats, including rival Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), supported the action at the time. Obama's advisers generally appear to agree with his belief that it is â€Å"important for the United States not just to talk to its friends but also to talk to its enemies. A New Foreign Policy Vision Obama was elected to the Senate in 2005 and serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. Prior to that, his professional experience was primarily confined to Illinois, where he served as a state legislator representing a Chicago district, and before that, a community activist. He has cited his personal background-his Kenyan-born father and a youth spent in Indonesia-as crucial to the development of his world view. Like other presidential campaigns, Obama's draws on a long list of advisers on foreign policy matters. The most senior include several ranking Clinton administration officials, the Brookings Institution's Susan E. Rice, former National Security Adviser Anthony Lake, and former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig. This is a team that's very reflective of Obama, who has made it pretty clear in his speeches and statements during the campaign that he believes that diplomacy has been undervalued over the past few years and that the United States shouldn't fear to negotiate,† says Derek Chollet, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security who advised Jo hn Edwards' presidential campaign. If Obama wins the general election in November, his foreign policy and economic agendas will surely break with the legacies of the Bush administration, experts say. Whether it's our approach to torture, or climate change, or how we're dealing with Iran, to Iraq, to the Middle East peace process you're going to see significant changes,† says Chollet, who is not connected to the Obama campaign. Obama advocates a market-based cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions, and has said the United States should invest $150 billion over ten years to advance clean-energy technology. Obama has also been an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, which he opposed from its outset in 2002. He has said he will withdraw troops from Iraq and refocus U. S. military efforts against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. National Security Advisers Obama has stressed his commitment to winning the battle against Taliban forces in Afghanistan. He has also vowed that he would pursue al-Qaeda elements into Pakistan, with or without government permission, if he had strong intelligence the group was planning an attack on the United States. Obama's leading national security advisers include: Denis McDonough , senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, is the national security coordinator for Obama's campaign. McDonough was foreign policy adviser to former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle. McDonough has been outspoken on energy and environmental policy. In June 2007, McDonough urged the Group of Eight (G8) to take action to combat climate change, and warned that current levels of development assistance are â€Å"woefully insufficient† to help underdeveloped nations deal with climate change. McDonough has also said that the United States should do more to â€Å"promote the development of our domestic clean energy sector industry. † McDonough said on a Brookings Institution panel in May 2007 that it is â€Å"far past time† for the United States to institute a cap-and-trade system mandating â€Å"very aggressive reductions† in greenhouse gases, with the goal of an 80 percent reduction over 1990 levels by 2050

Learning Through Play: Games and Crowdsourcing for Adult Education Essay

Games are a powerful to engage people with ideas and with each other. They are a way to learn new skills, and to interact with other people. This interaction can be with other people in the same room or with people online. Games are fun. This is obvious, but sometimes it can become forgotten about in the discussion. In research in 2011 by Bond University for the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association * pcs are in 98% of game households with 62% of game households using a pc for games. Game consoles are in 63% of game households, dedicated handheld consoles in 13%. Mobile phones are used to play games in 43% of game households, tablet computers in 13% * 43% of people aged 51 or over are garners * most garners play between half an hour and an hour at a time and most play every other day 59% play for up to an hour at one time and just 3% play for five or more hours in one sitting 57% of all gamers play either daily or every other day. * 83% of parents play video games. (1) Comparable statistics are not available for board, tabletop and card games. This is unfortunate as, from word of mouth, board games are very popular. The German, or European, style games have strong appeal for adults. Games in this category include Settlers of Catan (2) and Carcassone. (3) Board games can be used as part of an education program exploring games, game design, history, and strategy. They could also be used to introduce adults to games they did not play when they were growing up–and that is just the start of what is possible. Find the future New York Public Library received much coverage for its 2011 game Find the future (10) which ran as part of their centenary celebrations as a way for people to discover and explore the collection. The game was deliberately designed with an education focus. The first night of the game was run as an event for five hundred people. After this people could play this game at their own pace and in their own time, at the library. Changing thinking about games There is still reluctance, despite the overwhelming statistics, for many libraries to admit how many of the adults who use their collections and services probably play games. Earlier this year Heikki Holmas, the new Norwegian minister for international development, was given media coverage because of his public statements about his own playing of Dungeons and Dragons, and how skills are learned in games which have real world applications. This means that his tabletop games skills will help him in parliament. (11) Adam Grimm highlights some of the skills and attributes gained or developed by playing Dungeons and Dragons which include imagination, structure, performance and problem solving. (12) People like Heikki Holmas and Adam Grimm are using our libraries and we are rarely giving them a way to engage–or may be guilty of making judgments about them because of the games they play. The Central Arkansas Library System ran programming for adults teaching people about playing World of Warcraft. This may seem an unusual game to be part of a library education program. However, the aim of this education program was social inclusion, and it was thought that playing a game like World of Warcraft may be one way to assist in this locally. Library staff were pleased with the outcomes. (13,14) There are many opportunities in libraries using games for education Some of these can be done by showing how exciting games can be and by having people realise that the boardgames they may have played as children, or even have played with their children have developed and new possibilities target adult players. Playing Carcassonne could be used as part of an adult education program on medieval history, so people could be discussing the history they are reading, but also play a game constructing a medieval town and so apply the ideas they have learned from reading or hearing about the medieval world. Games can allow a different angle on creativity in education programming. Brian Mayer and Christopher Harris in their book Libraries got game: aligned learning through modern board games have written about this from a primary school aged perspective, but many of their ideas apply to learning through games at any age. (15) They also make the point strongly that a game has to really be a game. This sounds obvious, yet people forget this point surprisingly often. There is a lot of tools to help with boardgames. BoardGameGeek (16) is an invaluable online resource with detailed reviews about boardgames as well as walk throughs of the different games. Table Top with Wil Wheaton by Geek & Sundry (17) is an excellent video channel to learn how different table top games are played–so you can start thinking about their place in educational programming, and not simply programs about learning to play games. The Game Library for the School Library System of Genesee Valley Educational Partnership (18) has some useful resources for games targeting infants and primary aged children. Science games There are also ways to draw in the community through games. A game like Fold.it (19) a University of Washington initiative which is about folding proteins has resulted in scientific breakthroughs. (20) It was designed to trigger scientific discovery, but the game is also an experiment. Fold.it could be used as part of a series of science talks, with visiting or local scientists, at a library where the participants could join in with others who are contributing to scientific discoveries. Then people could be working in a collaborative space in the library, folding proteins together interacting with the other people also in the library space as well as others online in Fold.it. This could appeal to a wide range of ages, from students considering science careers, to adults wanting creative and puzzle solving options. It is a free, social, online game. EteRNA, (21) a collaboration between Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon University has similar concepts. This is a game about RNA molecules, and again serious science is being done through playing games. (22) This would also make for interesting library programming. These games could be part of a series about science, but equally they could be part of a series about games to help more people understand the range of options available to people who play games exploring creative problem solving, and helping to do science at the same time. Both Fold.it and EteRNA would be useful inclusions with library based science programming, and could provide a useful tie in to your library collection, including databases. The Science Museum in London has a significant collection of online games about science, which could be used to help people learn more about specific ideas, as well as to explore ideas of game design and engagement. (23) Through all this science it is important to remember the ideas of Mayer and Harris, that first and foremost the games have to be fun. Zombie Climate Apocalypse (24) run by The Edge at the State Library of Queensland may seem an unusual inclusion for science games–however the game is about survival. The players have to problem solve a vast range of survival skills (including water purification) so science is really important. A game like Zombie Apocalypse taps into many library collections (books, dvds and databases with information about the idea of zombies and survival), and can help bring a new range of clients to the library. A game like this can also be used to bring in ideas from places like the USA Centre for Disease Control and its web pages about zombie preparedness (25) which they created as a different way for people to think about disaster preparedness. If you are ready to survive zombies you are probably ready for other natural disasters as well. Science is well suited to education programs involving games, using ideas for partnerships mentioned above. Unlike Orange County Library Service we are not all going to have Otronicon in our area. Otronicon explored the science, art, technology, careers and fun behind videogames, simulation and digital media. Each year, multiple industry partners join the Orlando Science Center to celebrate how digital media technologies impact the way we live, learn, work and play. (26) Orange County Library Service has also been highlighting games as part of its services, and as part of the education program. They have classes teaching game design, but also educating people about the employment possibilities presented by games. (27) We will all have scientists in our communities, no matter how small. It just requires some creative thinking to explore partnerships, and to consider who you might invite to your library as part of a science education program including games, collections and science databases. Games design for all ages This is an area of potential partnership with universities which teach game design (if they are local to your area) or with local games groups. It is a specialist area of education. Some public libraries and museums have been running programs on game design, mainly targeting children and teenagers. There is much underexplored potential for running this kind of education program for adults. It also might be about seeing if you can create a game to help people explore the history of their area so the education elements would be around research (so that the history of the area can be explored), and games design (to see if a meaningful game can be created for the community). This is a specialist area, needing specialist trainers. Be open to the formats you are considering, as the games do not need to be made on computers or even for computers. Board games are a very popular format, as are large scale games outdoors.

The Patients Rights While Providing Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

The Patients Rights While Providing Care - Essay Example the primary challenge in my practice arises from the fact that the capacity to consent is yet from being tested, and the benefits and risks have been illustrated. In this case, capacity refers to the ability to use and understand information to make a sound decision and communicate any decision made to the respective caregivers. A voluntary consent simply the decision to either consent or not to consent to treatment and must be made by the person themselves and must never be influenced by pressure from medical staff, family and friends. Whereas informed consent is where the patient has to be issued with all the pertinent information in terms of what the treatment is all about including the benefits and the risks attached beside whether there are reasonable option interventions and whatever will occur if such a treatment is not executed or delayed. Valid consent is also determined by capacity in which a nurse must be able to determine that capability of the patient to give a consent t hat means they understand the information is given to them and they can utilize such information to make a rational and informed decision. In case an adult has the capacity to make a voluntary and informed decision to consent or refuse a particular treatment or examination, the law requires that such a decision must be honoured even if the refusal would collapse into death or death of the unborn. On the other hand, where a patient has no capacity to make a decision about their treatment, the nurse examining them can advance and give the treatment if they believe it is in the patient best interests.

Advanced Database Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Advanced Database - Essay Example This called for interventions such as the MapReduce meant to support distributed computing that involves the use of large amounts of data. Most of the activities that involve the use of big data are either for analytical or transactional applications. Data warehousing was the conventional method of helping manage data and provide information that helped in decision-making. Warehousing of big data has been questioned and it seems to be on the brink of inviting another data processing strategy. It is the wish of every organization to store up data and use the same data in decision making of the organization. Data mining entails the process of data retrieval and analysis in order for it to make sense for use in organizational decision-making. Data mining software have been developed to facilitate the analysis of data from a number of perspectives based on the needs of the users. In addition, they are able to categorize the data and develop summaries that will predict relationships. Data mining is a very important process since it helps in segregation of data so that an organization is able to keep a keen eye on the most important information. The essence of having the data mining software developed is based on the size of data that organizations struggle with; mainly in gigabytes and terabytes. Raw data is deficient and cannot be relied upon by business owners and the managements in their decision-making (Brown & Kros, 2003). This is because it has a lot of junk information that may not be necessarily necessary. Data mining has constantly evolved with time. its main essence over the years has been to obtain information from databases in order to facilitate the analysis of business progress. In the 1960s, the main concern by many business owners pertained issues to do with revenue. Data mining entailed mainly data collection where the technology under application was mainly the use of discs, computers, and tapes. With advancements in

Compare certain aspect of India and China Dissertation

Compare certain aspect of India and China - Dissertation Example Detailed research in this direction would throw more light on HDI utility. Therefore, review of contemporary register of cultural and political events become essential. The processes that may be adopted to develop the utility of HDI is attempted to foresee in the light of strength and weakness of the people of these two countries. Five areas of focus were identified and studied. Data collected on these five areas were analyzed and found that future research would promote devising new parameters to measure human development. I. Introduction: With the purpose of this paper in view, that is to compare certain aspects of India and China, we rely chiefly on Human Development Index. In the light of HDI the attempts made to compare these two countries are necessarily confined to a few areas of development alone. HDI data currently available do not cover some areas like human rights, government and conflicts, a few cultural and social impacts and governance factors. As these two countries re present the biggest populated areas of the world, our study of these countries is expected to provide ample chances to explore various aspects of human development. Human Development Index was hitherto based on GDP of a nation. GDP is mainly dealing with the income and the purchase power of people. This economic data are in fact essential to measure the development of a nation. However, this alone can not be called human development. Human development comprises several aspects of human life sphere. Economic growth is one among those aspects. While it is easy to measure economic growth or fall in terms of data translated in to numbers, there are some areas, which can not be translated into numbers. Inclusion of other areas of human life sphere thus becomes necessary to be included in HDI. Improving the utility strategy of HDI is therefore essential to compare national level developments. The study of constrains and concessions, joy and sorrow, wealth and poverty ill and healthy, lite racy and illiteracy of men and women of densely populated countries is bound to open a floodgate of focus areas. These focus areas will represent the human life style of the place, the measurement of which will give out a clear picture of the entire nation. Thus the population study of India and China is expected to bring out many areas of their life sphere which have impacts on their overall national development. Several focus areas came across, out of which some five were picked for the present study. The data gleaned were applied to the area of focus and a test of match and mismatch with the core of the focus areas was performed. While the matching statistics were found to confirm the hypothesis, the mismatching data were allocated for future research. Confirmatory data in respect of a country although go along with the hypothesis, are found to contradict with hypothesis in respect of other country. II. Rationale of the study with hypothesis: With HDI as the chief tool of human d evelopment measurement, we try to compare two nations namely China and India. As far as population is concerned, these two countries represent the world’s densest areas. In order to near the research questions the following hypothesis is framed. With the current tool of HDI in hand, comparing these two countries on the basis of similar population density provide a picture of their developments with ups and downs: - Taking only the manpower of