Persuasive Paper Essay

Toilet paper is a material item that most people use. This paper has a big impact on our society. Not many people pay attention to how they put their paper on they just sort of throw it all together in a matter of seconds. One day I noticed that my paper was harder to get than normal, then I noticed that the beginning of the paper was hanging from the back of the roll instead of laying on it or hanging over the front. This startled me, I did not realize until then that you can put your toilet paper either the front or the back. I said to myself â€Å"This can not be, my paper is all wrong it should not be this way! (I made gestures).† So I have come to decide that having your toilet paper is better in the front of the roll compared to the back. When most people go to sit down on their toilet they expect their paper to be there. Well what if your paper was there and a good full amount was present but when you go to reach for it, it seems a little bit farther away, well this is because your paper may have been placed wrong. Lets think about this in a conservative way. If you have a small child then you will know what I mean, Little kids like to play with toilet paper, some even like to eat it! Well if you have your paper in the front it will make it harder for the child to pull more of the roll from its original state, as opposed to if you had your paper in the back, the kid could pull it so hard, tons of it will roll because of the downward motion, and this may cause the tug to be to powerful and may rip the toilet paper, Then you would not be able to roll the paper back to its original rolling position. Having the paper in the front is also very convenient for easier toilet paper rolling. If the paper was in the back, you have to reach under or around the roll to get your paper, and then pull it in a downward motion, If you pull it straight towards you, it is liable to break! I have asked around to find if anyone likes there paper in the back position, I found out some people do! I asked those people why on earth they could like the paper in the back. They said: † Because if you pull it from the back, you can have a faster speed of rolling paper† I replied, â€Å"But a lot of  the time the paper breaks and then you have bits and pieces† he said, † Bits and pieces are not always bad. You can just add them to your handful of toilet paper that you’re going to use.† I just shook my head nicely and thought to myself of an old saying an old man said to me once: † It’s quality not quantity.† In conclusion, I have decided after hearing both sides that having you paper in front is indeed better than in the back. So the next time you are putting your roll of toilet paper on, you just remember that if you have a kid, think about your toilet paper placement. Think about your arm and hand energy when you go to grab a few sheets. Think about the quality of your handful and not the quantity!

Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth in Pakistan

FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN PAKITAN A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of MBA (Finance) (2009-2011) Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar Chapter 1: Introduction According to James Edwin Kee, Fiscal decentralization is the devolution of certain administrative and fiscal powers and functions to the sub-national governments.It also means the shifting of responsibility to the low-level governments with concomitant accountability. The extent of Fiscal devolution can be measured in terms of the powers of low-level governments to raise revenue or to incur expenditures. Fiscal devolution in the public sector has received great attention during the last two decades for many reasons. The implications of financial autonomy on the performance of sub level government and economic growth has been studied widely both for the developing and the developed world.In transition countries, with the disintegration of centralized system, fiscal federalism emerged; and in many developing countries, like India, Brazil and Argentina, financial decentralization was debated regarding its effects on economic stabilization. Some studies have, however, suggested that the relationship between the two has not been conclusive. [Financial devolution] is reckoned as a key policy tool that ensures economic efficiency and good governance through financial autonomy of the [federating units].It leads to the integration of provinces and enhances their participatory role in the economic development of a country. It relieves the central government from paying attention to the details of financial matters, thereby enabling it to undertake the tasks at national level in a more effective and efficient manner. Also, if the central government for some reasons becomes inefficient, then devolution can be a possible solution. It accelerates growth and empowers the low-level governments through financial autonomy and administrative empowerment.The devolution makes the federating units more responsible as it brings the government closer to the people. Decentralization policy has a positive effect on economic growth as it helps implement social policies in a better manner. In decentralized set ups, the lower tiers of governments know more about the necessities and developmental needs of the people, which leads to economic efficiency in service delivery, thereby accelerating the growth rate at national and regional levels. This is also called the â€Å"Oats Decentralization Theorem†.It says that if the people in one municipality are not provided with adequate public services, they may opt for shifting to other municipalities having more facilities. Financial autonomy reduces the wasteful utilization of resources by the central government. According to Bird and Smart (2002), for effective service delivery it is important that the recipient of funds has clear man date, sufficient resources and powers to make decisions. Through decentralization, responsibilities as well as resources are devolved to the lower level governments (Rondinelli,1981).In this way , the federating units are empowered which enable them to use the resources to good effect , raise living standard of the people and distribute the work load (Gordin, 2004). In Pakistan’s case, the significance of Fiscal devolution cannot be overemphasized. Pakistan is a federation having a centralized taxation system. The major chunk of revenue is collected by the central government, which is then distributed among the provinces to remove financial disparities.Article 160 of the constitution empowers the president that he shall constitute National Finance Commission after every five years for the distribution of funds, taxes and other monetary assets among the federating units. The decision of the commission is called National Finance Commission Award. The commission is comprised of the finance ministers of the federation and the provinces and such other persons as may be appointed by the president in consultation with the governors of the respective provinces. So far, seven NFC Awards have been announced, the latest being the 7th NFC Award of 2010.Except for the 1974 Award, there has been a growing tendency in the transfer of revenue from the centre to the provinces. The 4th NFC Award was a significant move forward towards fiscal decentralization as it enhanced the share of the provinces by 18% and accepted their right over hydel profit, developmental surcharge and excise duty on crude oil. The 7th NFC Award accepted the demands of Baluchistan, KPK, Sindh by devising a formula, wherein poverty, inverse population density and under development have also been given due weightage.Moreover, the provincial share has been enhanced from the previous 47. 5% to 56%. The provinces were also given the powers to collect Sales Tax on their own. Following this decision, the Sindh Province has already undertaken this task and claims to have collected 50% more Sales Tax in the first five months of the financial year compared to the corresponding period last year [Dawn, Dec 10, 2011]. The 8th Financial Award is scheduled to be held on 16th Dec, 2011.Apart from the resource distribution Through NFC Award, Article 161 of the Constitution provides for transfer of Royalty on natural resources to the respective provinces in the shape of surcharge on gas and crude oil. This will lead to greater transfer of funds from the centre to the provinces. With the 18th Constitutional amendment, the concurrent list has been abolished, and with it entry No. 49 in the 4th Schedule to the Federal Legislative list has also been amended. As a result, the GST Services in Federal Excise mode have been assigned to the provinces.Despite the presence of this constitutional mechanism for resource distribution, the smooth allocation of funds was interrupted due to deadlocks among th e provinces over the distribution formula, and, resultantly, the NFC Award failed to narrow down the vertical and horizontal resource gaps. At the district level, The National Reconstruction Bureau launched a decentralization programmed through Government Plan 2000, wherein it was acknowledged that without Fiscal Decentralization no authority is devolved, which further emphasizes the importance of transfer of funds to the lower tiers of government.The above paragraphs portray only one side of the picture. There are many studies which suggest that there is no direct relationship between fiscal devolution and economic growth and efficiency at the level of sub-national governments. As a matter of fact, there is also a strong case against the Fiscal federalism. It may lead to social inequalities as for instance, incomes and taxes may not be equitably distributed among the various regions of a country. Also, fixed costs are associated with running administrations of low-level governments .So, in low-income countries it may not be justified to spend substantial amount of the available funds on these expenses (Homme,1995). The relationship of Fiscal devolution and economic growth has been studied extensively in recent years. So, large volume of literature is available on the topic. Different relationships were studied to establish any clear relationship between Fiscal devolution and economic growth, but inconsistent results were obtained both for the developed and the developing economies.Some studies have shown positive relationship, others negative and still others no relationship at all between economic growth and fiscal autonomy. For Pakistan, too, studies have yet to find any clear relationship between financial decentralization and economic growth. Important contributions on this subject have been made by Zang and Zou(1998) ,Xie , Zou and Davoodi (1999) , Lin and Liu (2000) , Thieben (2001) , Martinez-Vazquez , McNab(2001) , Felenstine & Iwata (2005) and Kardar (2006) etc.This study identifies strengths and weaknesses of the existing Resource Distribution System (RDS) through historical review. It is generally believed that that proper information about the existing RDS will lead to better policy formulation, which will ultimately put the country on the road to prosperity. In this connection, it is also worthwhile to analyze the implications of the current resource distribution policies on the economic growth of the country. Thus, this study helps ascertain the extent of financial autonomy of the provinces and measures its long term benefits.Rest of the study is arranged as follows: Chapter 2 pertains to Literature review i. e. study conducted previously by other researchers on this topic; In chapter 3 theoretical background and econometric methodology for our estimation is being discussed; chapter 4 discusses sources of our data and construction of variables; chapter 5 covers results and interpretation thereof results and chapter 6 is abo ut the conclusion of research. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2. 1 IntroductionIn this chapter, we discuss the empirical studies related to our study i. e. work done previously by other researchers on this topic. 2. 2 Previous empirical studies The significance of relationship between the financial autonomy and economic growth can be gauged from the volume of literature available on this topic. Various important relationships were studied to establish clear relationship between the two, but inconsistent results were obtained both for the developed and the developing economies.For Pakistan too studies have yet to find any clear relationship between financial decentralization and economic growth. On leafing through the pages of available literature, one comes across valuable work on the topic, some of which is discussed in the following paras: Davoodi and Zou (1998) developed a theoretical model for studying the relationship between Fiscal autonomy and economic growth on the basis of ave raged panel data of 46 countries. The study showed a negative relationship between the two for developing countries.Zhang and Zou (1998), while using China’s provincial panel data for the period 1978-1992, found a negative association between provincial economic growth and the degree of financial autonomy over the past fifteen years. Philips and Woller (1997) studied the above referred relationship for seventeen developed and twenty three less developed countries on the data collected for the period 1974 to 1991. A negative weakly significant relationship was found for the developed world. However, no such relationship could be proved between the two variables for the less developed countries.Xie , Zou and Davoodi (1999) observed that there is a highly insignificant relationship between Fiscal Decentralization and economic growth for the United States, which the authors attributed to the fact that the country had already reached optimal level of fiscal autonomy and thus no fu rther progress on this line was possible. Thieban (2001) made use of OECD countries cross sectional data for the period 1975 to 1995, but the study failed to establish any link between revenue decentralization of the low-level governments and economic growth of these countries.Martinez –Vazquez and Mc Nab (2001) concluded that the relationship between fiscal decentralization and economic growth is still unclear, and that little attention has been paid to indirect factors through which fiscal devolution may influence economic growth. In contrast to the above findings, Lin and Liu (2000), while using panel data of 28 provinces for the period 1970 to 1993, arrived at the conclusion that there exists a positive relationship between fiscal decentralization and economic growth in China. The authors noted that the impressive growth of china for the last twenty years can be linked to fiscal reforms.Ebel and Yilmaz (2001), observed that Fiscal design of OECD countries is unable to exp lain Fiscal decentralization in true sense. Martinez –Vazquez and Mc Nab (2003), on the basis of panel data, covering the period 1972-1997, studied the direct and indirect relationship between fiscal decentralization, economic growth and macroeconomic stability . They arrived at the conclusion that devolution minimizes the inflation rate, has no direct influence on economic growth, and has positive indirect effect on growth as it results in on macroeconomic stability.Justin Yifu and Zhiqiang (2000), investigated the implications of fiscal decentralization of economic growth in China, and found that it has made remarkable contribution to economic growth. This finding is in conformity with the hypothesis that Fiscal devolution enhances economic efficiency. Fielstentein and Iwata (2005), while using VAR (Vector Auto regressive) model found that there is a relationship between decentralization and macro economic performance in China. They concluded that Fiscal decentralization is positively related to growth in the period after the war, and has negative effects on the inflation rate after the 1970s.While using the cross country data for 78 countries, Mello and Barenstein (2001) observed that as the share of receipts, including non-tax revenue, grants and transfer of funds, from the federal government increases in the total provincial revenues, the relationship between financial devolution and governance grows stronger. Shah (1991) pointed out that poor performance in most of the developing countries in the last 40 years can be attributed to highly centralized regimes.Huther and Shah (1998) noted that good governance and fiscal decentralization are positively related, which in turn may enhance economic growth. Akai and Sakata (2002) used single country data and predicted that fiscal decentralization plays a role in economic development. They pointed out that in the United States, high government spending was required in the initial phases of economic develop ment, therefore, any analysis that took into consideration this period is bound to overestimate the role of central government in the economic development.This led Xie et al (1999) to declare that decentralization has adverse effect on economic development. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez and Mark Rider (2006) pointed out the structure of financial system plays a pivotal role in determining the conduct and performance of low-level governments, which indirectly influence economic growth of a country. According to them, though both China and India show great financial decentralization, the central governments restrict the fiscal autonomy of the sub-national governments through conditional grants and inadequate powers to raise revenue.Thus, the regional governments are forced to use extra budgetary allocations to overcome their financial constraints, which results in waste of resources. These structural infirmities in the financial systems entail profligacy and unproductive expenditure policies , which may hamper the growth rate in the future in both the countries. Nobuo Akai, Yukihiro Nishimura and Masayo Sakata (2007), while using panel data of the fifty states of the US, showed that fiscal decentralization minimizes the variance of GDP growth due to decentralization among various levels of government.They also observed that there exists a negative relationship between fiscal devolution and economic volatility. Hiroko Uchimora and Yurika Suzuki (2009) studied Fiscal Decentralization in the Philippines after the promulgation of Local Government code (1991) . This study examined the fiscal relationship between the central and sub national governments by using the indicators of Fiscal decentralization. According to their findings, in the Philippines, the responsibility to incur expenditures by the local governments is not accompanied by corresponding strengthening of the fiscal capacity.As a result, local governments rely heavily on fiscal transfers from the central governm ent and Internal Revenues Allotment, which render the local finance unstable. Atushi Alimi(2004) Although , in theory, decentralization promises efficient provision of public services at local level, empirical evidence gives a mixed picture regarding its implications on economic growth. They attempted to resolve this inconsistency by using instrumental technique on the data for the period 1997 to 2001.In this study, fiscal decentralization is measured in terms of the ratio between local expenditure to total government expenditure. The result showed a significant positive relationship between per capita growth rate and Fiscal decentralization. Perraton, J. and Wells, p. (2003), in their paper, ‘Multi level governance and Economic cohesion’ noted three general trends in economic policy making: the transfer of powers to supranational institution in economic policy formulation, e. g. he formation of the European Union and World Trade Organization; secondly, almost all devel oped countries have established regional organizations, to which powers of economic policy-making have been devolved. In the transition states, there is a growing tendency towards decentralization to curtail expenditures and to make the governments more accountable; thirdly, the governments are now inclined to reduce their sizes and make alternate arrangements for governance through NGOs. This concept of governance is referred to as multi-level governance.In Pakistan’s case, Fiscal Federalism has been studied in detail. According to Anwar Shah, World Bank (Dec, 2006), there are two ways of transferring funds from the Centre to the provinces: assigning share of the federal revenues to the provinces at a pre-determined rate and direct transfer of funds (other than revenue) from the Centre to the provinces. According to him, the revenue sharing system in Pakistan affects the transfers in a lump sum and predictable manner to the federating units, which are at liberty to use these funds the way they choose.The author further argues that NFC places greater responsibility of revenue collection on the Federal government, thereby making the tax machinery efficient and tax compliance cost effective. The Revenue sharing system may have its merits, but it is also associated with certain demerits. For example, the provinces enjoy vast discretion in the utilization of funds, but have no control over the amount of funds they receive from the centre ; the federal government cannot influence the provinces to set priorities for achieving uniform standards in reas like health and Education; the provinces receive the funds without any strings attached to it , therefore, they feel less accountable while spending the funds; the share received by the provinces have no relation with the expenditures they incur, as usually the expenditures outgrow the rate at which the Federal revenue grows. Nighat Bilgrami and Mahpara Sadaqat (2006) have given an account of evolution and worki ng of NFC Award ever since its introduction in 1951. According to the authors, with the exception of 1974 Award, there is a growing tendency in increase of revenue transfer to the provinces.The major step forward in this direction was the 1991 NFC Award, wherein new taxes were included in the divisible pool. In addition, as envisaged in Article 161 of the Constitution, royalty on crude oil and surcharge on gas were also transferred to the provinces. This caused greater decentralization of funds, which over a period of time played a pivotal role in improving service delivery in health, education and irrigation etc sectors. The paper identifies various forms of fund transfers from the Federal government to the provinces.These include Revenue Sharing Transfers, Straight transfers, Recurring Grants, Development Grants and loans. The authors have also elucidated that how resources are transferred in Pakistan from the federal government to the provinces in four ways: from the centre to th e provinces, from provincial to local governments, from the federal government to the local governments and from local to local governments. The paper also gives a rationale for transfers of resources from the federal to provincial and municipal governments.At the end of the paper, the authors have suggested that smaller provinces be provided with soft loans and factors like backwardness and poverty be also considered while allocating the resources. Moreover, the provinces should be allowed to generate revenues that fall within their domain. Iftikhar Ahmed, Usman Mustafa and Mahmood Khalid (2007) have dilated upon the evolution of resource distribution over time. According to them the divisible pool has been expanded by the inclusion of more taxes.However, as population is the sole criteria for the distribution of resources through NFC awards, it has given birth to serious differences among the provinces. The paper says that resources are transferred from the centre to the provinces in two ways: Systematic or Formula Based transfer, comprising of revenue sharing and Random transfer, including grants, executive discretionary funds and Parliamentarian funds etc. According to the authors, with the passage of time the federal government has become more centralized, thereby adversely affecting the efficiency of the provincial governments.The federal government has got engaged in activities that purely fall within the purview of provinces. These include irrigation, roads, culture, tourism, youth affairs etc. This has increased the burden on federal government. The Federal government collects 93 % of the revenue but expends only 72%, whereas the provinces generate just 7% but spend 28%. The argument behind greater revenue collection by the centre is that it is more efficient in revenue collection than the provinces. But this argument is flawed as the provincial and local governments are left with lesser opportunities to collect revenue.This results in the dependency of the provinces on the federal government for transfer of resources. In this paper, NFC Award has also been criticized in that the criteria for resource distribution are mainly population. Elsewhere in the world, other factors like backwardness, population density, and revenue generation are also considered while devising a formula for distribution of resources. According to the authors, the major shift towards fiscal decentralization appeared in the 1996 NFC Award, whereby all duties and taxes were included in the divisible pool.By so doing transparency and predictability in resource distribution was though enhanced, yet the resource distribution formula between the federal and provincial governments changed little. The paper says that resources distribution has never been taken seriously. Only one criterion, that is population, has been followed for resource distribution, that’s why the NFC Award has failed to resolve the problem of Fiscal Decentralization. Usman Mustafa ( 2011) has highlighted the importance of federal form of government and has argued that even European Union has the characteristics of federalism.While referring to works of notable authors on the subject, it has been argued that Fiscal Decentralization increases efficiency, transparency and accountability. According to the author, in Pakistan’s case, there are pre-federalism (from 1947-71) and post federalism (from 1973 onwards) periods. In the first perid, the authority was centralized (one unit), whereas the second period is characterized by the march towards decentralization of powers from the centre to the provinces. In this context, the author argues that NFC Award is a step forward towards decentralization.He, however, criticizes population being suitable criteria for resource distribution between the centre and the provinces. In order to remove the grievances of the smaller provinces, a historical decision was taken in the 7th NFC Award on Dec, 2009 at Gawadar, to whic h all the provinces agreed. In this award, the demands of the smaller provinces were accepted, and a multifactor formula was devised. In the formula, factors like poverty, underdevelopment and inverse population density were also included for resource distribution. Moreover, the Federation sacrificed more that 10% of its share in favour of the provinces.It was also agreed that collection charges received by the Federal government on revenue would be curtailed from the existing 5% to 1%. This will increase the volume of net transfer of revenue from the federal to the provincial governments. All these decisions taken in the 7th NFC Award will contribute favourably towards Fiscal Decentralization in Pakistan. According to Kardar (2006), local governments have significance both in the context of Devolution plan and failure of central and provincial governments to deliver quality services to the masses ever since the emergence of Pakistan.He further argued that though legislation on devo lution is a landmark achievement, the biggest challenge is to settle the row over powers between the provinces and district governments. Dr. Shahnawaz Malik, Mahmood-ul-Hassan and Shahzad Hussein analyzed the relationship between Fiscal decentralization and economic growth for the period 1971-2005. They obtained mixed results on the basis of different variables used in analysis. The study further showed that with the continuous rise in the share of provincial government revenues and expenditures, economic growth slows down.Naeem-ur-Rehman Khattak, Iftikhar Ahmed and Jangraiz Khan, while using time series data, for the period 1980 to 2007, analyzed the resource distribution, and studied the impact of financial decentralization on the economic growth of Pakistan. According to them, the divisible pool has expanded over the years by the inclusion of more taxes in it. They pointed out that the resource distribution mechanism failed to affect economic growth positively, and suggested that the distribution formula be revisited, having regard to factors like tax collection and backwardness of the provinces.They further suggested that more powers be delegated to the provinces to raise their own revenues. Chapter 3 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND ECONMETRIC METHODOLOGY 3. 1 Introduction In this chapter we discuss the theory which guides our research, variables of our model, type of statistical relationship and the model we will use for estimation. 3. 2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Various forms of Decentralization. It refers to the delegation of powers and functions from the central to low-level governments. There are three main forms of decentralization (JICA 2008): . 2. 1. Decentralization It is the weakest type of decentralization, and refers to the transfer of decision making powers along with financial and management responsibilities from the officials in the centre to those serving in the local /regional offices. 3. 2. 2. Delegation Here the powers are delegated to the auton omous bodies, including corporations, housing authorities’ etc. , working under the supervision of the central government. These organizations enjoy vast discretion and decision making powers. 3. 2. 3.Devolution It is the gradual transfer of administrative, financial and political authority to the local bodies, which exercise their powers and functions within certain geographical confines. It has three main constituents, as discussed below: a) Political decentralization It refers to the shifting of powers and authority to local bodies, run by local political representatives. It has a well-established system of political decision-making and accountability at the local level. b) Administrative decentralizationIt is the form of devolution whereby staff of line ministry is dissociated from their corresponding ministries and brought under the control of the local administration. This is done through establishing local pay roll, which empowers them to reward and punish the staff. c ) Fiscal decentralization It refers to the shifting of authority and responsibility to the sub-level governments with regard to decision-making on distribution of financial resources. This also includes the powers to raise local revenue.Fiscal decentralization has attracted great attention, among the economic circles, especially for improving service delivery at the local level. The main objectives of Fiscal decentralization include efficient utilization of resources, effective service delivery, macroeconomic stability and economic growth. With these objectives in view, the developing world is following the principle of Subsidiarity, which emphasizes that authority should rest with the lower tiers of government for effective use, and that the responsibility of incurring expenditures should match with adequate financing.Decentralization leads to efficient utilization of funds through improvement in governance, as lower strata of government can better assess people’s problems a nd know their priorities. Decentralization enhances participation of local population as the beneficiaries are directly involved in planning the allocation of funds. Increased decentralization gives birth to democratization, which keeps the government close to the masses, thereby making it more accountable. 3. 3 Various theories regarding decentralizationThe above narrated advantages, and many more not discussed here, emphasize the importance of Fiscal decentralization. But it was since the publishing of Tiebout’s article, â€Å"A pure theory of local Expenditure† that this concept has gained great popularity among the theorists, and the volume of literature on this topic has increased tremendously. According to Tibeout (1956), Fiscal decentralization improves production efficiency through greater mass mobilization. In 1959 Musgrave pointed out that the role of government is to bring stability to the market and effect the redistribution of income.He further argued that efficient utilization of resources can be secured only when local tastes and choices are taken into consideration. Oates (1972) pointed out that people living in different localities have peculiar tastes and preferences for public service, therefore, local governments, as against central government, being better informed, will provide better services to its citizens. This concept is called Oates â€Å"Decentralization Theorem†, according to which economic efficiency can be enhanced by decentralizing the availability of public goods and services.Thus, the central government should be responsible for devising a national policy and providing efficient levels of government for distribution of goods . (Oates,2005) So, equipped with the requisite paraphernalia , the sub-national governments are in a better position to put in place welfare-maximizing policies. Cremer, Estach and Seebright (1994), stated that government at the centre cannot reach the information about local tastes a nd choices. Thus, it is through Fiscal Decentralization that local agents can bring about efficient supply of goods and services to their constituencies.Almost identical views were expressed by Qian and Weingast (1997), who opined that decentralization puts a check on budget expansion by promoting competition and strengthening accountability, which effects supply of goods and services in an efficient manner. Having said this, there is always a tendency among the local political agents to enlarge the scope of public goods and services at the cost of other jurisdictions. Rodden (2003) attributed this predilection to the type of decentralization being followed.If decentralization is dependent on self-generated tax revenue, smaller governments emerge; and if transfer of funds occurs from the centre, it results in budget expansion. Though from economic and political point of view there are many benefits of Fiscal decentralization, yet it is not a cure for all ills. For instance, Fiscal D ecentralization entails loss of Economies of Scale and loosens control over scarce resources. From it follows that centralization and Decentralization are not alternatives, rather the countries should find a balance between the two as per their requirements. . 4. Rationale for Fiscal Transfer in Pakistan The first reason is the general perception that the federal government is better equipped to collect major taxes, but is inefficient to collect smaller taxes. Also, the federal government may undertake major projects, but fail to deliver on smaller projects. Hence, the efficiency criteria must be followed while deciding allocation of means and responsibilities. The second reason for resource transfer from the centre to the provinces is that the latter lack the resources to finance the provision of even basic services.In the last ten years, the average revenue generated by the centre, provinces and municipalities stand at 89%, 5% and 6% respectively. As against the revenue generation , the share in recurring expenditure of the federal, provincial and municipal governments is 74%, 23% and 4% respectively. As regards developmental expenditure, the share of these governments is as follows: Federal government 65%, provincial government 25% and municipal governments 6%. These figures indicate that the provinces have limited resources vis-a-vis the amount of expenditure they incur.This necessitates the transfer of resources from federal to lower-tiers of government. Another reason that can be attributed to the allocation of resources among the different levels of government is Adequacy of Revenue. This concept refers to the capability of government not only to generate the initial revenue required to start a project but also to its ability to sustain it. In Pakistan’s case, Adequacy of revenue does not exist; hence transfer of resources to the lower tiers of government is necessary if they are to undertake any such projects.The fourth reason of transfer funds f rom the centre to the provinces is that there are taxes which though provincial in nature but is collected by the federal government, for example Sales Tax. Another rationale for transfer of funds is that federal government uses certain taxes for the overall stabilization of the economy; hence they should be under the control of the federal government. [NFC AWARDS Commentary and Agenda, Nighat Bilagarami, Jaffery and Mahpara Sadaqat (2006)]. 3. 5 ECONMETRIC METHODOLOGY 3. 5. 1Augmented Dicky Fuller (ADF) Test In this study a time series data is being used.Since this kind of data is usually non-stationary in nature, we first test it for stationarity or non-stationarity. For this purpose, an enhanced version of Dicky fuller Test, known as Augmented Dicky Fuller Test, is being employed. The ADF includes extra lagged terms of the dependant variable so as to remove auto-correlation. The following equations denote the three possible forms of ADF Test. i) Without any constant and trend ?yt =? *yt-1+i=1p? i? yt-i+et ii) Constant with non trend ?yt=a+? *yt-1i=1p? i+? yt-1+et iii) Constant with trend ?yt=a+? t+? *yt-1+i=1p? i+? yt-1+etOf the above equations, (iii) represents a more generalized form of ADF Test. Mackinnon(1991) gave critical values for the DF test The critical values for the ADF Test are the same as those for Dickey Fuller Test. If the DF Statistical value is smaller than the critical value, Null hypothesis of a unit root is rejected, which suggests that the yt is stationary process or the variables are stationary. If on running the ADF Test the variables are found non-stationary in their original levels of series, the variables are made stationary in their first difference level of the series. . 5. 2 Ordinary least square model (OLS) Once the variables are made stationary, estimation is made by employing Ordinary least square model (OLS). This model is suitable for ascertaining linear interdependencies in a time series data. Here it is also worthwhile to discuss Regression model. A multiple linear regression model estimates value of dependant variable (also called response variable) on the basis of independent variables (also called explanatory variables). But there is always a difference in estimated and observed values.Therefore, a Regression model also possess unexplained variable, also called error term, which measures the difference between observed and estimated values. y= b+b1 x1+ b2 x2+ b x3 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ +ei A regression model will be â€Å"best fit† if the difference between observed and estimated value is minimum. We cannot take error term by simply adding all the difference between observed and estimated value because it may contain both positive and negative values which can cancel the effect of each other. So, we take the square of error terms which leads us to OLS . i. e. minimum squared difference.OLS is useful for structural inference and policy analysis. For the purpose of Structural Analysis of data, cert ain assumptions regarding the causality of data are made. These are : error term (i) is normally distributed (ii) has zero expected value of mean (iii) has constant variance in each time period and for all values of X and (iv) its value in one time period is unrelated to its value in another time period. OLS is a very simple technique by which we can calculate the coefficient of each variable in other words it gives us the impact of one variable on another variable, which is summarized by impulse response function. | | | | | Chapter 4 DATA AND VARIABLE 4. 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter covers how data is collected, what are sources of our data and how variables have been constructed variables for our estimation. 4. 2 Data type For the purpose of studying the relationship between Fiscal decentralization and economic growth, secondary data is being utilized. 4. 3 Sources of data For the purpose of this study the following sources have been utilized. i) Issues of â€Å"Economic survey of Pakistan† ii)World Development Indicators iii)Ten years in Pakistan Statistics† (1983) iv)UNDP Human Development Report, 2007. )Hand book of Statistics on Pakistan Economy (2005)† 4. 4 Construction of variables Economic growth of the country is taken as dependant variable. It is measured in terms of per capita Log of per capita gross domestic product (LYP), which is rebased by the year 2000 market prices. The variable is expressed in real terms using GDP deflator to ascertain the pattern of economic growth over the years. The Fiscal decentralization is captured on the ratio of Provincial share in Total Revenue to the Total Revenue (PRFR). The data source for these variables is â€Å"Economic survey of Pakistan and covers the period from 1964 to 2008.As regards investment, it is captured by the Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) and data is taken from â€Å"Pakistan Economic Survey† Moreover, a variable for trade openness (OPN) is also used in the estimat ion model. This variable is obtained by adding imports and exports and dividing the same by LYP (at market prices). Here, too, the source of data is â€Å"Economic Survey of Pakistan† Other variables in the estimation model are Tax to GDP ratio (TGDP) and GINI co-efficient, the latter being used to calculate income equality and its source is UNDP Human Development Report. Chapter 5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION . 1 INTRODUCTION The section consists of results and their interpretation. In para 5. 1, 5. 2 and 5. 3 Stationarity of data, Autocorrelation and the results of OLS model respectively have been discussed. 5. 2 Unit Root test In a time series data, the major problem is the non-stationarity of variables. So, before estimation, a test is applied to make the variables stationary. For this purpose various tests can be employed, but in our case we have used Augmented Dickey Fuller test, the results of which are shown in table 5. 1 below. Table 5. 1 UNIT ROOT TEST| Non stationary var iables| ADF-value| 5% Critical value| Gfcf| -1. 693492| -2. 9303| Gini| -2. 462911| -2. 9303| Lpy| 0. 863730| -2. 9303| PRFR| -2. 206432| -2. 9303| TGDP| 0. 158213| -2. 9303| Stationary variables| | ADF-value| Critical value| Gfcf| -3. 997577| -2. 9320| Gini| -4. 766215| -2. 9320| Lpy| -4. 632922| -2. 9320| OPN| -3. 453532| -2. 9303| PRFR| -3. 662186| -2. 9320| TGDP| -3. 01612| -2. 9320| Gfcf- Gross fixed capital formation, Gini- Income inequality, Lpy- Log of GDP, OPN- Openness to trade (export+import/GDP), PRFR- Ratio of provincial shares in total revenue to total revenue, TGDP- Tax to GDP ratio.At the level, all the variables except â€Å"OPN† were found non-stationary, and were, therefore, stationarized at First difference level by using ADF Test. 5 . 3 TEST FOR AUTOCORRELATION Autocorrelation tells about the relationship between two or more error terms in the model. For unbiased estimation, autocorrelation must be zero. If there exists problem of autocorrelation, it has to be removed. For this purpose, two hypothesis are constructed : one, H0: Co-Var(u,u+1)=0,there is no autocorrelation between the error terms and second, Ha: Co-Var(u,u+1)not equal to zero, meaning there is a problem of autocorrelation.To check autocorrelation in our model, we have used Breusch-Godfrey Serial Correlation LM Test (BG TEST), as shown in table 5. 2. According to the table, probability of F-statistic is significant at 5%, so we reject the hypothesis that cov (ut, ut+1) is equal to zero. In other words, there is autocorrelation problem in our model. In order to remove the autocorrelation problem, we have applied ARMA model with autocorrelation through AR (1), AR (3) and MA (2). Breusch-Godfrey Serial Correlation LM Test:| F-statistic| 4. 781666| Probability| 0. 001241| Obs*R-squared| 20. 50376| Probability| 0. 002252|Probability of F-statistic is significant at 5%, so we reject the hypothesis that cov (ut, ut+1) is equal to zero. It means there is autocorrelation proble m in our model. 5 . 4 ESTIMATION The results of the estimation with OLS are tabulated in Table 5. 3 below: Dependent variable:LPYMethod: Least Squares| Date: 03/25/12 Time: 11:13| | | | | | Variable| Coefficient| t-Statistic| Prob. | | GFCF| 0. 004693| 3. 806074| 0. 0006| | GINI| -0. 324275| -2. 919698| 0. 0065| | OPN| 0. 000254| 0. 468847| 0. 6425| | PRFR| -0. 000173| -0. 517278| 0. 6086| | TGDP| -0. 003194| -0. 809929| 0. 4242| | | | | | | R-squared| 0. 97793| Prob(F-statistic)| 0. 000000| Adjusted R-squared| 0. 997081| | | Durbin-Watson stat| 1. 705104| | | | | | | In the model ‘’R^2’’ shows strength of the regression line, which means how much important variables are covered by a model or how well variation in independent variables explains the variation in dependent variable. For time series analysis â€Å"R^2’’ value must be greater than 0. 70 or 70%, which means the model must explain at least 70% of the total variation in dependent v ariable. In our results, â€Å"R^2=99%† value is greater than 70%, so 99% of variation LPY is explained by our variables i. . GFCF, GINI, OPN, PRFR, TGDP. But the values in the 3rd column against each variable show â€Å"t† values. If the t value, in absolute form, is greater than â€Å"2†, the relationship between the variables is significant. In our case, the financial autonomy is measured in terms of â€Å"Ratio of Provincial share in Total Revenue (PRFR)†, whereas the Economic growth is captured on the variable LPY. It is evident from the table that the relationship between LPY (dependent) and PRFR (independent) is insignificant because the â€Å"devalues, in absolute form, are less than â€Å"2†.It implies that LPY is not influenced by PRFR. In other words, in Pakistan’s case, Fiscal decentralization has no bearing on economic growth. The model shows that GFCF and GINI with variables have ‘’t’’ value greater than 2 in absolute form affect economic growth. Durbin-watson value in the table tells us about the problem of auto-correlation in the model. If the value of Durbin-watson test is between 1. 7 and 2. 2 there will be no auto-correlation. In our table its value 1. 7, so we say that the problem of auto-correlation has been removed.CHAPTER NO: 06 CONCLUSION This study focuses on identifying the impact of fiscal decentralization on economic growth through compilation of its historical trends. It is generally believed that that proper information about the existing fiscal decentralization system will lead to better policy formulation, which will ultimately put the country on the road to prosperity. In this regard, it is also worthwhile to analyze the implications of the current fiscal decentralization policy on the economic growth of the country.Thus, this study helps ascertain the extent of financial autonomy of the provinces and measures its long term benefits. In this study secondary d ata has been used, which covers the period from 1964 to 2008. Provincial share in total revenue (PRFR), GFCF- Gross fixed capital formation, Gini- Income inequality, OPN- Openness to trade (export+import/GDP), PRFR- Ratio of provincial shares in total revenue to total revenue, TGDP- Tax to GDP ratio are dependant variables, whereas LPY (Log of GDP) is dependent variable in the data.We used OLS model for our estimation, the results of which revealed that only GFCF and GINI have significant impact on GDP growth. On the other hand the influence of, OPN, TGDP and PRFR on economic growth (LPY) are insignificant. As PRFR and LPY measure the extent of fiscal decentralization and Economic growth respectively, we conclude that economic growth in Pakistan does not depend on fiscal decentralization. This may be due to the fact the Resource Distribution Formula has been mainly based on population. The results of other factors, included of late in the NFC Award, are yet to be seen.It is, therefo re, proposed that not only the impact of population in the distribution formula be diluted by the inclusion of other factors, being emphasized by the smaller provinces, but also the powers of the provinces with regard to revenue generation be enhanced. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. The words, Financial devolution, financial autonomy and Financial /fiscal decentralization are being used interchangeably in this study. [ 2 ]. In this discussion ,the words, federating unit, unit, province, sub-national government and low-level government will be used interchangeably.

Bloodlines Chapter Twelve

WHEN WE LEFT on our group date or family outing or whatever it was, Lee couldn't stop apologizing for his father. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said, slumping miserably in the backseat of Latte. â€Å"There's no reasoning with him anymore. We tried to tell him that Tamara was killed by Strigoi, but he won't believe it. He doesn't want to. He can't take revenge on a Strigoi. They're immortal. Invincible. But some human vampire hunter? Somehow, in his head, that's something he can go after. And if he can't, then he can focus his energy on how the guardians won't go after these nonexistent vampire hunters.† I just barely heard Eddie mutter, â€Å"Strigoi aren't that invincible.† In the rearview mirror, I saw Jill's face filled with compassion. She was seated between Lee and Eddie. â€Å"Even if it's a fantasy, maybe it's better this way,† she suggested. â€Å"It gives him comfort. I mean, kind of. Having something tangible to hate is what gets him through. Otherwise he'd just give in to despair. He's not hurting anyone with his theories. I think he's sweet.† She caught her breath in that way she did when she'd said a whole lot all at once. My eyes were back on the road, but I could swear Lee was smiling. â€Å"That's nice of you,† he told her. â€Å"I know he likes having you around. Turn right up here.† That was to me. Lee had been giving me directions ever since we left Clarence's. We were just outside of Palm Springs proper, nearing the very impressive-looking Desert Gods Golf Course and Resort. Further guidance from him led us to the Mega-Fun Mini-Golf Center, which was adjacent to the resort. I searched for a parking spot and heard Jill gasp when she caught sight of the golf course's crowning glory. There, in the center of a cluster of gaudily decorated putting greens, was a huge fake mountain with an artificial waterfall spouting from its top. â€Å"A waterfall!† she exclaimed. â€Å"It's amazing.† â€Å"Well,† said Lee, â€Å"I wouldn't go that far. It's made of water that's been pumped over and over and has God only knows what in it. I mean, I wouldn't try to drink or swim in it.† Before I even had the car to a stop, Adrian was out the door, lighting a cigarette. We'd gotten in an argument on the way over, despite me telling him three times that Latte was a strictly no-smoking car. The rest of us soon got out as well, and I wondered what I'd signed up for here as we strolled toward the entrance. â€Å"I've actually never been mini-golfing,† I remarked. Lee came to a halt and stared. â€Å"Never?† â€Å"Never.† â€Å"How does that happen?† asked Adrian. â€Å"How is it possible that you've never played mini-golf?† â€Å"I had kind of an unusual childhood,† I said at last. Even Eddie looked incredulous. â€Å"You? I was practically raised at an isolated school in the middle of nowhere Montana, and even I've played mini-golf.† Saying I was homeschooled was no excuse this time, so I just let it go. Really, it just came down to having a childhood more focused on chemical equations than on fun and recreation. Once we started playing, I soon got the hang of it. My first few attempts were pretty bad, but I soon understood the weight of the club and how the angles on each course could be maneuvered. From there, it was pretty simple to calculate distance and force to make accurate shots. â€Å"Unbelievable. If you'd been playing since you were a child, you'd be a pro by now,† Eddie told me as I knocked my ball into a gaping dragon's mouth. The ball rolled out the back, down a tube, bounced off a wall, and into the hole. â€Å"How'd you do that?† I shrugged. â€Å"It's simple geometry. You're not that bad either,† I pointed out, watching him make his shot. â€Å"How do you do it?† â€Å"I just line it up and putt.† â€Å"Very scientific.† â€Å"I just rely on natural talent,† said Adrian, strolling up to the start of the Dragon's Lair. â€Å"When you have such a wealth of it to draw from, the danger comes from having too much.† â€Å"That makes no sense whatsoever,† said Eddie. Adrian's response was to pause and take out a silver flask from his inner coat pocket. He unscrewed it and took a quick drink before leaning in to line up his shot. â€Å"What was that?† I exclaimed. â€Å"You can't have alcohol out here.† â€Å"You heard Jailbait earlier,† he countered. â€Å"It's the weekend.† He lined up his ball and shot. The ball went directly for the dragon's eye, bounced off it, and shot back toward Adrian. It rolled and came to a stop at his feet, nearly where it had started. â€Å"Natural talent, huh?† asked Eddie. I leaned forward. â€Å"I think you broke the dragon's eye.† â€Å"Just like Keith,† said Adrian. â€Å"I figured you'd appreciate that, Sage.† I gave him a sharp look, wondering if there was any hidden meaning behind that. Mostly, Adrian seemed amused by his own wit. Eddie mistook my expression. â€Å"That was inappropriate,† he told Adrian. â€Å"Sorry, Dad.† Adrian shot again and managed not to maim any statues this time. A couple more shots, and he sank the ball. â€Å"There we go. Three.† â€Å"Four,† said Eddie and I in unison. Adrian looked at us incredulously. â€Å"It was three.† â€Å"You're forgetting about your first one,† I said. â€Å"The one where you blinded the dragon.† â€Å"That was just the warm-up,† Adrian argued. He put on a smile I think he hoped would charm me. â€Å"Come on, Sage. You understand how my mind works. You said I was brilliant, remember?† Eddie glanced at me in surprise. â€Å"You did?† â€Å"No! I never said that.† Adrian's smile was infuriating. â€Å"Stop telling people that.† Since I was in charge of the scorecard, his play was logged as four, despite his many further protests. I started to move forward, but Eddie held out a hand to stop me, his hazel eyes gazing over my shoulder. â€Å"Hold up,† he said. â€Å"We need to wait for Jill and Lee.† I followed his gaze. The two of them had been in deep conversation since we arrived, so much so that they'd slowed and lagged behind the rest of us. Even during his bantering with Adrian and me, Eddie had continually checked on her – and our surroundings. It was kind of amazing the way he could multitask. Thus far, Jill and Lee had only been one hole behind us. Now it was nearly two, and that was too far for Eddie to keep her in his sight. So, we waited while the oblivious couple meandered their way toward the Dragon's Lair. Adrian took another drink from his flask and shook his head in awe. â€Å"You had nothing to worry about, Sage. She went right for him.† â€Å"No thanks to you,† I snapped. â€Å"I can't believe you told her every detail of my visit that night. She was so mad at me for interfering behind her back with you, Lee, and Micah.† â€Å"I hardly told her anything,† argued Adrian. â€Å"I just told her to stay away from that human guy.† Eddie glanced between our faces. â€Å"Micah?† I shifted uncomfortably. Eddie didn't know about how I'd gone proactive. â€Å"Remember when I wanted you to say something to him? And you wouldn't?† I proceeded to tell him how I'd then sought out Adrian's help and found out about Lee's interest in Jill. Eddie was aghast. â€Å"How could you not tell me any of this?† he demanded. â€Å"Well,† I said, wondering if everything I did was going to result in the wrath of a Moroi or dhampir, â€Å"it didn't involve you.† â€Å"Jill's safety does! If some guy likes her, I need to know.† Adrian chuckled. â€Å"Should Sage have passed you a note in class?† â€Å"Lee's fine,† I said. â€Å"He obviously adores her, and it's not like she'll ever be alone with him.† â€Å"We don't know for sure that he's fine,† said Eddie. â€Å"Whereas Micah's a hundred percent okay? Did you do a background check or something?† I asked. â€Å"No,† said Eddie, looking embarrassed. â€Å"I just know. It's a feeling I get about him. There's no problem with him spending time with Jill.† â€Å"Except that he's human.† â€Å"They wouldn't have gotten serious.† â€Å"You don't know that.† â€Å"Enough, you two,† interrupted Adrian. Jill and Lee had finally reached the start of the Dragon's Lair, meaning we could move on. Adrian lowered his voice. â€Å"Your argument's useless. I mean, look at them. That human boy doesn't enter into it.† I looked. Adrian was right. Jill and Lee were clearly enthralled with each other. Some guilty part of me wondered if I should be a doing a better job of looking out for Jill. I was so relieved that she was interested in a Moroi that I hadn't stopped to wonder if she should even be dating anyone. Was fifteen old enough? I hadn't dated at fifteen. I'd actually, well, never dated. â€Å"There is an age difference between them,† I admitted, more to myself. Adrian scoffed. â€Å"Believe me, I've seen age differences. Theirs is nothing.† He walked off, and a few moments later, Eddie and I went to join him. Eddie maintained his simultaneous vigil of Jill, but this time, I got the impression the danger he was watching out for was right beside her. Adrian's laughter rang out ahead of us. â€Å"Sage!† he called. â€Å"You have got to see this.† Eddie and I reached the next green and stared in astonishment. Then I burst out laughing. We had reached Dracula's Castle. A huge, multi-towered black castle guarded the hole some distance away. A tunnel was cut out through the center of it with a narrow bridge meant for the ball to go over. If the ball fell off the sides before getting through the castle, it was returned back to the starting point. An animatronic Count Dracula stood off to the castle's side. He was pure white, with red eyes, pointed ears, and slicked-back hair. He jerkily kept raising his arms to show off a batlike cape. Nearby, a speaker blasted eerie organ music. I couldn't stop laughing. Adrian and Eddie looked at me as though they'd never seen me before. â€Å"I don't think I've ever heard her laugh,† Eddie told him. â€Å"Certainly not the reaction I was expecting,† mused Adrian. â€Å"I'd been counting on abject terror, judging from past Alchemist behavior. I didn't think you liked vampires.† Still grinning, I watched Dracula raise his cape up and down. â€Å"This isn't a vampire. Not a real one. And that's what makes it so funny. It's pure Hollywood camp. Real vampires are terrifying and unnatural. This? This is hilarious.† It was clear from their expressions that neither really understood why this would appeal to my sense of humor so much. Adrian did, however, offer to take a picture with my cell phone when I asked him. I posed by Dracula and put on a big smile. Adrian managed to snap the shot just as Dracula was raising his cape. When I viewed the picture, I was pleased to see it had come out perfectly. Even my hair looked good. Adrian gave the picture a nod of approval before handing me the phone. â€Å"Okay, even I can admit that's pretty cute.† I found myself overanalyzing the comment. What had he meant in saying even he could admit it? That I was cute for a human? Or that I had just met some kind of Adrian hot-girl criteria? Moments later, I had to forcibly stop thinking about it. Let it go, Sydney. It's a compliment. Accept it. We played through the rest of the course, finally finishing off with the waterfall itself. That was a particularly challenging hole, and I took my time lining up the shot – not that I needed to. I was beating everyone pretty handily. Eddie was the only one who came close. It was clear Jill and Lee didn't even have their attention on the game, and as for Adrian and his natural talent†¦ well, they were very solidly in last place. Eddie, Adrian, and I were still ahead of the other two, so we waited for them by the waterfall. Jill practically ran to it when she had the chance, gazing up at it with enchanted eyes. â€Å"Oh,† she breathed. â€Å"This is wonderful. I haven't seen this much water in days.† â€Å"Remember what I said about the toxicity,† teased Lee. But it was clear he found her reaction endearing. As I glanced at the other two guys, I saw that they shared the same feelings. Well, not exactly the same. Adrian's affection was clearly brotherly. Eddie's? It was hard to read, kind of a mix of the other two. Maybe it was a kind of guardian fondness. Jill made a gesture to the waterfall, and suddenly, part of it broke off from the tumbling cascade. The chunk of water shaped itself into a braid, then twisted high into the air, making spirals before shattering into a million drops that misted over us all. I had been staring wide-eyed and frozen, but those drops hitting me shocked me awake. â€Å"Jill,† I said in a voice I barely recognized as my own. â€Å"Don't do that again.† Jill, eyes bright, barely spared me a glance as she made another piece of water dance in the air. â€Å"No one's around to see, Sydney.† That wasn't what had me so upset. That wasn't what filled me with so much panic that I could barely breathe. The world was doing that thing where it started to spin, and I worried I was going to faint. Stark, cold fear ran through me, fear at the unknown. The unnatural. The laws of my world had just been broken. This was vampire magic, something foreign and inaccessible to humans – inaccessible because it was forbidden, something no mortal was meant to delve into. I had only once seen magic used, when two spirit users had turned on each other, and I never wanted to see it again. One had forced the plants of the earth to do her bidding while the other telekinetically hurled objects meant to kill. It had been terrifying, and even though I hadn't been the target, I'd felt trapped and overwhelmed in the face of such otherworldly power. It was a reminder that these weren't fun, easy people to hang out with. These were creatures wholly different from me. â€Å"Stop it,† I said, feeling the panic rise. I was afraid of the magic, afraid it would touch me, afraid of what it might do to me. â€Å"Don't do it anymore!† Jill didn't even hear me. She grinned at Lee. â€Å"You're air, right? Can you create fog over the water?† Lee stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked away. â€Å"Ah, well, it's probably not a good idea. I mean, we're in public†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Come on,† she pleaded. â€Å"It won't take any effort for you at all.† He actually appeared nervous. â€Å"Nah, not right now.† â€Å"Not you too.† She laughed. Above her and in front of her, that demon water was still spinning, spinning, spinning†¦ â€Å"Jill,† said Adrian, a harsher note in his voice than I'd ever heard before. In fact, I couldn't recall him ever addressing her by her actual name. â€Å"Stop.† It was all he said, but it was like a wave of something went through Jill. She flinched, and the water spirals disappeared, falling away in droplets. â€Å"Fine,† she said, looking confused. There was a moment of awkwardness, and then Eddie said, â€Å"We should hurry. We're going to be pushing curfew.† Lee and Jill set out to make their shots and soon were laughing and flirting again. Eddie continued watching them in his concerned way. Only Adrian paid any attention to me. He was the only one who really understood what had happened, I realized. His green eyes studied me, with no trace of their usual bitter humor. I wasn't fooled, though. I knew there had to be some witty quip coming, mocking my reaction. â€Å"Are you okay?† he asked quietly. â€Å"I'm fine,† I said, turning from him. I didn't want him to see my face. He'd already seen too much, seen my fear. I didn't want any of them to know how afraid of them I was. I heard him take a few steps toward me. â€Å"Sage – â€Å" â€Å"Leave me alone,† I snapped back. I hurried off toward the course's exit, certain he wouldn't follow me. I was right. I waited for them to finish the game, using the alone time to calm myself down. By the time they caught up to me, I was fairly certain I had wiped most of the emotions from my face. Adrian still watched me with concern, which I didn't like, but at least he didn't say anything else about my breakdown. Surprising to no one, the final score showed that I had won and Adrian had lost. Lee had come in third, which seemed to trouble him. â€Å"I used to be a lot better,† he muttered, frowning. â€Å"I used to be perfect at this game.† Considering he'd spent most of the time paying attention to Jill, I thought third was a pretty respectable performance. I dropped him and Adrian off first and then just barely got Eddie, Jill, and me back to Amberwood on time. I was more or less back to normal by then, not that anyone would've noticed. Jill was floating on a cloud as we went into our dorm room, talking nonstop about Lee. â€Å"I had no idea he'd traveled so much! He's maybe been more places than you, Sydney. He keeps telling me that he'll take me to all of them, that we'll spend the rest of our lives traveling and doing whatever we want. And he's taking all sorts of classes in college because he's not sure what he wants to major in. Well, not all sorts this semester. He's got a light schedule so that he can spend more time with his father. And that's good for me. For us, I mean.† I stifled a yawn and nodded wearily. â€Å"That's great.† She paused from where she'd been searching her dresser for pajamas. â€Å"I'm sorry, by the way.† I froze. I didn't want an apology for the magic. I didn't even want to remember it had happened. â€Å"For yelling at you the other night,† she continued. â€Å"You didn't set me up with Lee. I should never have accused you of interfering. He really has liked me all along, and, well†¦ he's really great.† I let out the breath I'd been holding and attempted a weak smile. â€Å"I'm glad you're happy.† She returned cheerfully to her tasks and to talking about Lee until I left to go down to the bathroom. Before brushing my teeth, I stood in front of the sink and washed my hands and arms over and over, scrubbing as hard as I could to wash away the magical drops of water I swore I could still feel on my skin.

Negotiating Strategy Negotiation practice of group Unity 04254 Essay

Negotiating Strategy Negotiation practice of group Unity 04254 - Essay Example Mainly, any trading process is including the parties like transferor and transferee. Firms have to maintain proper commitment in terms of maintaining post sales support and delivery products (Crump, 2011). In the current study, the negotiation process will be detailed out for Beaufort, XFM and Unity perspective. It is a Northampton, United Kingdom based high-end shoemaking firm. However, they are facing huge challenge from the shoe producers of Asia. Thus, they selected the strategy of ‘offshore’ production which will be done by XFM, China. This policy will be reducing the production cost as it reduces the UK based high rate workers. This study will be outlining the negotiation process between Beaufort’s management, XFM, and Unity, which is a UK trade union. The negotiation process will be outlining benefits of the UK based shoemaking employee, who are facing higher risk of job cuts for Beaufort’s offshore strategy. Druckman (2001) stated that the negotiation process of firms or other trading bodies are using the various strategies and theories for achieving best possible benefits of the involved parties. Mainly, any negotiator can use the negotiation strategies or approaches like structural approach, strategic approach, behavioural approach, processional approach and integrative approach. Organisations are adopting various types of negotiation process in order to increase commercial relationship and employee beneficiary. On the other hand, trade unions will be looking for the welfare of their members. Global firms and trade unions are using negotiation process for managing labour cost. The process also fixes up wage rates, working time and employment contracts. Organisational management can adopt various negotiation strategies for increasing the beneficiary of all the parties involved in the process. Dajani (2006) opined that structural

Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy - Essay Example with undetectable HIV RNA levels, elective Caesarean section was associated with a 90% reduction in MTCT risk (odds ratio, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.030.33), compared with vaginal delivery or emergency Caesarean section. Conclusions.The results suggest that offering an elective Caesarean section delivery to all HIV-infected women, even in areas where HAART is available, is appropriate clinical management, especially for persons with detectable viral loads. Our results also suggest that previously identified risk factors remain important. (Source : European Collaborative Study). Several currently available drugs are under further development, the most important goals being the reduction of pill burden, easier dosing and less side effects. Three such preparations to have recently entered the market are Invirase 500, Truvada and Kivexa. New improvements are being developed; licensing applications for some of these are already in progress. Gilead and BMS are working on a combination pill of FTC, tenofovir and efavirenz. However, it will be some time before this so far one-off co-operation bears fruit. With increasing numbers of HIV-infected pregnant women receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART),1 concerns have been raised over the possible teratogenic effects related to exposure in early pregnancy. It has been reported that a .4% prevalence of congenital abnormalities in uninfected infants exposed to antiretroviral therapy (ART; mainly monotherapy and/or dual therapy), which is similar to that seen in those not exposed. It has not been proven that whether risk of congenital abnormalities is increased by first-trimester exposure or by use of HAART, but there is an additional risk of antenatal use of HAART during...N Engl J Med 1996, 335:1081-90. 16. Mocroft A, Katlama C, Johnson AM, et al. AIDS across Europe, 1994-98: the EuroSIDA study. Lancet 2000, 356:291-6. Perelson AS, Neumann AU, Markowitz M, Leonard JM, Ho DD. HIV-1 dynamics in vivo: virion clearance rate, infected cell life-span, and viral generation time. Science 1996, 271:1582-6. 18. Volberding PA, Lagakos SW, Koch MA, et al. Zidovudine in asymptomatic HIV infection. A controlled trial in persons with fewer than 500 CD4-positive cells per cubic millimeter. N Engl J Med 1990, 322:941-9.

Theory of Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Theory of Administration - Essay Example The study of public administration is approximately seventy years old. The desire to understand government operations and explain the growth of government systems has generated dramatic specialization and compartmentalization of information within the public administration discipline. In fact, looking at most of the American handbooks reveals that the study of public administration has numerous specializations. Each of these specializations has its unique theories, models, and even interpretations. The main reason the field of public administration lacks an overarching theory is that its study has been moving from a discipline point of view towards interdisciplinary (Hood, 1991). An overwhelming number of researchers in the field of public administration agree that public administration is in a state of identity crisis. For a very long time, questions of policy and politics have dominated the study of public administration but the discipline is currently undergoing far-reaching trans formations. The transformations have led to the inclusion of other disciplines including art, science, and professionalism. Over the years, multiple forces of rectification have increasingly augmented the conservative forces to create a multidisciplinary orientation of the discipline. These forces include the social and cultural contributions of managerial, organizational and economic influences (Hood, 1991). The merger between the social and cultural influences started a few years ago but has attained critical attention from the mass and public sector in recent times. The best approach to explain the lack of an overarching theory in public administration is to analyze the historical evolution of public administration. The foundation of contemporary public administration dates back to thousands of years ago.  

Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Terrorism - Essay Example asonable at first, promoting the need for inclusion of the state and local law enforcement may not always work effectively in terms of enabling the Department of Homeland Security to manage and prevent the untoward incidence of terrorist attacks. Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, it is the Office of State and Local Governments Cooperation and Preparedness (SLGCP) has been officially in-charge of developing the terrorism preparedness plan. (RAND, 2009) Although it is easy for the Homeland Security to develop a universal plan on how to counteract possible terrorist attack, it will remain a challenge on the part of Homeland Security to successfully implement and monitor the adaptation of a universal terrorism preparedness strategy given that the United States has as much as 50 state and 209 local law enforcement agencies. To be able to successfully implement the inclusion of the state and local law enforcement agencies, the Homeland Security will need to invest a large sum of money on the training costs and good quality communication equipments (RAND, 2009). Aside from hiring competitive individuals who will work as secret agents, the use of good communication equipments will enable the newly trained professionals to effectively monitor any possible signs of terrorist attack. By tracking down possible treats coming from terrorist attackers, the U.S. government via Homeland Security will be able to protect the civilians from becoming a victim of violent acts. Other suggested recommendations include: (1) the promotion of intelligence-led policing; (2) community policing; (3) developing a good partnership role with the private business sector; and (4) investing on the use of closed-circuit cameras which will be placed on the streets among others (Safe Cities Project 2006, pp. 3 – 5). Terrorism is defined as â€Å"political violence in an asymmetrical conflict designed to induce terror and psychic fear through violent victimization and

Business Systems Analysis and Design Coursework - 5

Business Systems Analysis and Design - Coursework Example will happen when the new system is working, taking into account any issue based problems not immediately apparent, but which could impact on the final implementation if it happens.(Patching, 1995). The analysis started with interviews and a study of existing systems and processes and the number of people working for the society, nothing like the appraisal system exists at present. The latest implementation was that of the staff absence-monitoring system, which created some hostility from the staff, who felt it was an unjustified attack on them. The society has a large customer base many being in the co-operative society themselves, so fulfilling two roles both of which are important. To ask them whether they feel staff should be appraised gave a problem, many felt that staff should be appraised regularly to help with efficiency, others that there was an infringement on peoples working lives. The Personnel Manager has felt for some time that changes were necessary; he was not popular last year when he insisted on bringing in an employee absence monitoring system. Staff were hostile to the system as they felt it attacked them unnecessarily. Since then the system has been reluctantly accepted, but it has created a them and us attitude between managers and staff which is not good for the co-operatives’ work. After the initial work was completed the analysis; (using the soft system methodology) was begun, the first step was to build a graphic representation called a rich picture first, and then building Human Activity Systems (HAS) using the CATWOE methodology to capture information on the involvement and actors in the society, giving root definitions for each of the HAS, this then leads into conceptual modelling and then comparing against the real world. Checkland states: SSM has been described as an organised learning system that deals with complex and messy problematical situations (Checkland 1999). The idea is to gain deeper understanding of the problem by

Instruction set Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Instruction set - Essay Example The task can be done by the car owner and the task is quite inexpensive. Steps Step1 Parts Required for Oil Change Figure1 Before changing the engine’s oil, ensure that all the tools and equipments needed are at the spot. The most essential of these are the wrench along with a container to carry your old engine oil, an oil container that is full of unused oil and an oil filter. Special care needs to be taken if the engine oil of a heated up engine is being changed. Step2 Oil Pan and Drain Plug Figure2 Before replacing the old engine oil with the new one, ensure that the car’s bonnet is open and then you are required to unlock the cap of the oil filler which is located on the top side of your car’s engine. This process will assist in making the old oil drain simpler as it allows air to flow inside the crankcase drain. The drain plug is located on the bottom region of the pan that carries oil, unplug the drain plug. Catching the oil may become quite difficult due t o the angle at which it drains. To ensure that the oil does not ruin your garage or public property; place a cloth or a newspaper on the floor just beneath your car’ oil pan. Step3 Unplugging the Drain Plug Figure3 Use the wrench to loosen the tightness of the drain plug by moving the wrench in counter-clockwise manner. Certain time the bolt is quite tight which normally a rare incident is. If the bolt is quite tight, you might require an extension to open up the bolt. A pipe segment is a good extension that may become quite handful in opening up the bolt. While removing the plug, one should even remove or substitute the old drain plug gasket with a new one. Ensure that the plug does not end up falling in the used oil container as relocating the plug from the re-used oil container might become quite a difficult task. If by mistake, the plug is dropped inside the pan, it can be relocated through the use of a magnet or you can even use a funnel while to drain the oil and take o ut the plug out of the funnel. Step4 Filter Element or Funnel Figure4 In certain cars such as the BMW and the Mercedes the oil filter is not of spin on type, instead the oil filter is of filter element in nature. In these cases, you need to just unlock the reservoir which is built inside and take out the element from inside the reservoir. Step5 Oil Filter Assembly Figure5 The most difficult part of the entire oil changing process is locating the filter assembly. There is no standard location of the filter; filter location varies form car to car. Certain filters are located on the right side of the engine, others on the left and certain are located on the bottom region. To correctly locate the filter, you should look for something similar to the shape of the new filter you have purchased. The moment you are able to locate the filter, simply remove it apart form your car’s engine. Unplugging the filter can be a difficult task, start by twisting the filter in a slow and steady m anner to make the filter spin. If the filter is too tight to be removed with bare hands, then you can use a filter wrench to extract the filter. The oil filter even contains ample amount of oil, so placement of an oil container is highly advisable. While removing the filter, one has to ensure that the part of the filter which is recognized as rubber gasket is even removed otherwise the new filter would not fit properly and the oil will

Movie Review Essay Example for Free

Movie Review Essay The famous, well known writer and director Meera Syal has written a breathtaking movie Anita and Me. Meera Syal is a best selling novelist and has sold thousands of her fantastic stories one of which is called, Anita and Me all over the country. Syal puts a lot of herself in her work and also she is a British born woman; however she still has her Indian origin which revolves in her storys and movies. Her movies have been compared to the following Bend it Like Beckham and East is East. These movies all have an Indian culture behind them as well as a fun and laughter side. Its also has its own culture in the movie while being surrounded by the British society, and also one which a young girl wants very much to be a part of, although the dominant culture doesnt mean it is going to be all peachy, if that is what you are thinking, that is what made it the most amusing and most incredible movie of the year. The story of Anita and Me basically revolves round Meena when she was living in a little village called Tollington. Meena is a young Indian girl who was born in Britain. She wants to be like all the other British people in her neighbourhood, eating fish finger instead of chapattis, having colourful flowers in her garden instead of crop and also have a normal life were you could go out whenever you wanted to with your mates, but instead Meena has to spend more time with her family. To be honest Meena wants to be English! See Meena is Punjabi and she cannot speak a word of Punjabi, however her midlands ascent is stronger than most of the families which have been living there for generations. Her parents brought Meena to England to have a better quality of life for their daughter, but Meena is having a difficult time adjusting to her surroundings. However trouble rides up in town when a girl gang known as the wenches, who very much enjoy teasing young boys and thieve from their local sweets shop, unfortunately for Meena, the gang leader was her next door neighbour and soon became her future best friend. Meena and Anita eventually formed an unlikely bond, and become like blood sisters, vowing to be there for each other through thick and thin. However, Meena was facing her secondary school entrance exam and during that time she had suffered domestic abuse by Anitas mother and toured the two girls apart. Meena wants to be like Anita, a blond, light-headed British girl who is 14 years old. Meena admires Anita for her charm, good looks and her independence, and in so many different ways Meena wants to be like her. The story took place in year 1972. Political correctness has not yet been invented. The called dark skins in English villages are as rare as black footballers in the First Division. Life me be quite old fashioned, but its also racist. For example:  Meenas friend Anitas mum comes home one day with a cuddly black poodle pup.  Whats it called? Anitas little sister asks. Nigger, she is told. And no-one blinks an eye. In the movie some of the British characters refer to Meena and her family as wogs and darkies. A member of Meenas family was beaten up and was killed for being Indian. Meena then finds out that Anita and her boyfriend Sam went Paki bashing (go of to kill the Indians). This starts to ring a bells and Meena then realize that it was Sam who killed her uncle. The film finally ends with English music being played in the background. The whole family starts to dance to the music and then Meenas Dad begins to sing in Punjabi along with the music. This shows that the two cultures are eventually beginning to mix and become friends. From racism to the repairs to the local church this movie covers most of the areas of life. In the movie Meena becomes more independent and begins to make her own decision towards her life, whereas before her parents used to make them all. There has been some high and low points in Meenas family life and eventually they get what they want in the end and the neighbourhood becomes more peaceful. Meena passed in her entrance exam for the Grammar School and so the family can move to a better neighbourhood. Meena found out that she couldnt please the whole world even if that did mean her racist neighbourhood because she was meant to Indian. When Meena moved away to live closer to her new school, she had left behind a chapter of her life, and had matured enough to have realized that Anita was never a real friend. I personal think that this movie a perfect example of what Indians where put through back in the days in England. The English had discriminated the Indians and the Asians just because of their skin colour, however this doesnt only happen in England, it happens all over the world. This movie is also show a culture side of the story and a bit of history about Indian, such as the independents when India and Pakistan was split into to different countries. The movie Anita and Me was amusing and enjoyable to watch and was fast moving. Anita and Me is a unique vision of the British childhood in the early seventies, a childhood caught between two cultures, each on the edge of enormous change. For these points I would rate this movie 4 star.

Analysis Of The Air India Airline Tourism Essay

Analysis Of The Air India Airline Tourism Essay It was founded by  J. R. D. Tata  in July 1932 as  Tata Airlines, a division of Tata Sons Ltd. On 15 October 1932, J. R. D. Tata flew a single-engine  De Havilland Puss Moth  carrying air mail (postal mail of  Imperial Airways) from  Karachis Drigh Road Aerodrome to  Bombays  Juhu Airstrip  via  Ahmedabad. Air India serves 11 domestic destinations and 18 international destinations in 11 countries across  Asia,  Europe  and  North America. Air India has two subsidiaries and two affiliated carries. Together Air India,  Air India Cargo,  Air India Express,  Indian  and  Air India Regional  form the  National Aviation Company of India Limited. Air India Cargo It was started in 1954. The airline operates cargo flights to many destinations. The airline also has on ground truck-transportation arrangements on select destinations. As a part of the IATA carriers Air India carries all types of cargo including dangerous goods and live animals. Air India Express Air India Express  is the low-cost  subsidiary of the airline which was established in 2005 during the aviation boom in India. It operates primarily to the  Persian Gulf  and  South East Asia through scheduled passenger services   Indian Indian  which is based in  Delhi  focuses primarily on domestic routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia. Air India Regional Air India Regional or better known as Alliance Air serves mainly on Regional routes. Its main hub is  Delhis  Indira Gandhi International Airport. Tangible Assets Fleet and Material Resources Air India is gradually expanding its fleet. In the recent times seventeen new aircraft eight B777-200LRs and nine B777-300ERs have so far joined the fleet and apart from this 15 Airbus A-321s and 16 A-319s have also joined for Indian operations.  Air India now operates 28 weekly services on the international network to three destinations in the  Ã‚  USA New York, Newark and Chicago including a daily NonStop flight between Mumbai-New York and Delhi-New York following the induction of brand new Boeing 777-200LR in its fleet. With a fleet of 136 aircraft, Air India has been gradually expanding its network to cover new destinations in India and abroad. Given below are the details of the Air India Fleet: Network Air India currently operates international flights from Mumbai and 16 other Indian cities, viz. Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Jaipur, Varanasi, Tiruchirapalli, Gaya and Thiruvananthapuram. Commencement of international operations from these cities has obviated the need for passengers from these regions to necessarily travel to Mumbai and Delhi, the traditional gateways, for taking international flights. Passengers boarding or deplaning in these cities can now complete their immigration and custom formalities at their city airport, both at the time of departure and arrival.   Additionally, Air India has code-sharing arrangements with other international carriers. International Hub: After taking the path of consolidation during the past one year, the airline has taken a major initiative towards strengthening its global network and has restructured its operations to Europe and USA by making Frankfurt its operational hub for West-bound flights.   Indian Hub: The Indian Hub resides at Delhi Mumbai Airports which houses facilities for connections to all major Indian cities. On the domestic front AI operates to 64 stations out of which 17 are connected to our international destinations. The 172-seater Airbus A321 aircraft connects all major metros, including all flights on the Delhi-Mumbai sector. Spacious cabin, comfortable seats and the luxury of in-flight entertainment make this a superior product that travellers look forward to. Star Alliance There has been a quantum jump in product profile resulting from induction of new aircraft and consequent expansion of network, Air India will be all set to join the Star Alliance by March, 2011. Once Air India becomes a member, passengers will enjoy enormous benefits, including seamless transfers while travelling across the world, more frequent flyer mileage points, code-sharing leading to a wider choice of flights and access to lounge facilities worldwide. Star Alliance, is a leading global airline alliance of 21 top international carriers. The Star Alliance network offers more than 17,000 daily flights to 916 destinations. Human Resources Air India has more Human Resources than it needs which is evident in the numbers employed. In 2009, 17% of the airlines expenditure went towards salaries which is enormous comparing it with private carriers for whom it was 9.5%. The merger didnt involve any retrenchment. Nor do any of the current recovery measures being discussed hold any ideas of reducing employee strength by huge numbers. Air India has 31,000 employees and 14 recognized worker unions apart from which there are several unrecognized ones. While the unions say they are open to being supportive for the development of a better future for the airline, they do not support privatization of the airline or retrenchment Apart from retrenchment, employees are also worried about the new structure adopted by the airline which they believe will work against their interests. This structure is the so-called SBU structure, one where a large organization is broken up into smaller units, each of which is run like an independent company in principle. In Air Indias case, the problem as discussed by some senior editors officials is that the strategic business unit structure isnt perfect. Under this structure, a Delhi airport manager reports to his strategic business unit head, while his performance will actually be reviewed by the executive director of the northern region. Adding to this the decision on rewarding this airport manager with a foreign posting is in the hands of the commercial director, who is based in Mumbai. The officials recommend is that this entire structure be done away with and a more equitable and just system is brought into place which assures long term sustainability of the organization. IT Technology Resources The IT integration between the erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines is complete and new technology processes are put in place which are to assure high quality services to the customers. NACIL, the holding company of Air India, has entrusted SITA (Society International Telecommunications Aeronautics) with the task to implement an efficient online booking engine, departure control system, check-in and automated boarding control, baggage reconciliation system (BRS) and a frequent flyer programme. The deal which is a contract worth $190 million (Rs 845 crore) for a period of 10 years will also enable Air India to use SITAs Horizon Passenger Services System. According to SITA, the systems implemented will make Air India step into the league of unmatched technological supremacy on the technological front primarily this includes an integrated IT platform will enable Air India to streamline its ticket distribution system and save on high distribution cost. SITAs Horizon platform provides hosted PSS services to 140 airlines boarding 120 million passengers and will be used to deliver a single airline code which is extremely critcial in order to allow the seamless integration of the former domestic carrier Indian Airlines with Air India for the first time since they merged in August 2007. Another early deliverable will be enabling Air India to meet the requirements for joining the Star Alliance. SITA association with Air India with mission-critical services has been for more than 50 years, including network connectivity at all their domestic and international stations, check-in, air-to-ground communications, fares management and baggage tracing. Air India is now invited to join SITAs Horizon Advisory Board which sets the strategic direction for SITA as it engages with Oracle and other partners to deliver a next generation Passenger Services System which will greatly benefit Air India as it exploits new technology and open systems architecture. SITAs workforce in India along with its local partners NIIT and Mindtree now stands at almost 1,000 highly skilled personnel. Low Cost Resources: Livery Air India and  Indian  unveiled their new livery in May 2007. The logo of the new entity is a Flying Swan with the Konark Chakra placed inside it. The Flying Swan has been morphed from Air Indias old characteristic logo, The Centaur whereas the new Konark Chakra is reminiscent of Indians logo. While the aircraft is a new ivory in colour, the base retains the red streak of Air India. Running parallel to each other is the characteristically evident Orange and Red speed lines from front door to the rear door, subtly signifying the individual identities merged into one. The brand name Air India runs across the tail of the aircraft in  hindi signifying the importance of the National language. The Maharaja This Maharja which is now familiar figure first made his appearance in Air India way back in 1946. Bobby Kooka as Air Indias Commercial Director and Umesh Rao, an artist with J.Walter Thompson Ltd., Mumbai, together created the Maharajah. It began as an attempt as a design for an inflight memo pad grew to take Air Indias sales and promotional messages to millions of travellers across the world. Today, this iconic Maharajah of Air India has become a world figure. The logo has completed 56 years and become the most recognizable mascot the world over. The various ads depicting his antics, expressions, puns have allowed Air India to promote its services with a unique panache and an unmatched sense of subtle humour. In fact the Maharaja has won numerous national and international awards for Air India for humour, sense and originality in publicity. Dining Air India is constantly trying to create a gourmet experience in its dining. The airline offers a choice of menus to interest all types of tastes Indian and Continental. Apart from these, there is western cuisine, a choice of Asian specialities, and even Japanese meals on the India-Japan route. If any passenger has a special food requirement, there is a choice to choose from any of the twenty three special meals. The menus are constantly revamped and the wines carried on board live up to the food they complement. Meals are served in First Class seating to passengers in bone china crockery. Alcoholic beverages are served complimentary.   In-flight Entertainment Air India aircraft are the envy of any radio station with a rich collection of music on board in different genres. Passengers can choose from Indian popular music, Indian Classical, beautiful Ghazals, Bollywood hits and English songs from Western Classical, Pop, Jazz, Country and Nostalgia. A special channel for Regional songs with different routes and demographics has been compiled to suit all passengers coming from different regions. Air Indias video programmes include a choice of the most recent English and Hindi feature films. The finest in comedy, nature wildlife, adventure, action and life style are wrapped in a One-hour video magazine. There are special movies in Tamil, Malayalam, etc selected for passengers travelling from Kochi, Kozhikode and Chennai to the Gulf and Singapore.  Ã‚   On Ground Facilities: Lounges, etc   Air India has its own exclusive lounges at Delhi, London, Hong Kong and New York in addition to the one in Mumbai. At other international airports, Air India has tie-ups with other international airlines or local Airports Authorities for lounge facility.  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is a lounge for unaccompanied minors as well.   Online Booking, Web Check-in, etc The quick, easy and convenient way to book AI tickets online through the Air India website. An e ticket will be generated and the details with the e ticket link will be emailed to the passenger.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Air India has extensive facilities for Web check in and Tele check in for its passengers to provide ease of facilities.

How To Achieve The American Dream

How To Achieve The American Dream How does one achieve the American Dream? The answer undoubtedly depends upon ones definition of the Dream. John Winthrop envisioned a religious paradise in a City upon a Hill. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed of racial equality. Barack Obama holds the belief of reclaiming the American Dream. All men dreamed for what they perceived as perfection. Yet the question remains, how does one achieve this success? How is the Dream realized? Americans have traditionally devoted their efforts to thrift and hard work. During the Colonial Period, Benjamin Franklin showed an example that Early to Bed, and early to rise, makes a Man healthy, wealthy, and wise. Americans of the Early Republic dreamed the country to be democratic and powerful on world stage. Abraham Lincoln insisted that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. During Westward Movement and the Civil War, many Americans experienced profound hardship and they overcame adversity through industry, perseverance, self-reliance, and self-discipline. The popular rags to riches legend became a landmark of American society; anyone could succeed and achieve wealth if they worked hard. There is no denying that the shift away from the traditional American work ethic corresponded directly with the rise of industry. Work values changed dramatically when America became an industrial society. Many Americans no longer regard hard work as the only means to success. They want to cut corners in pursuit of wealth, fame and success. The results of their efforts can be imagined, no one can change his fate without hard work. They have to face the cruel reality that the dream turn out to be illusion. Chapter One Definition of the American Dream What is the American Dream? It has been a classical question asked not only by foreigners, but more often by Americans themselves. Many historians and sociologists tend to hold different opinions. At the same time, an ordinary American citizen cant define it accurately due to its complexity. That is to say, everyone has his own understanding of the definition of the American Dream. Taking many factors concerned into consideration, a conclusion can be achieved that the American Dream can be interpreted from two categories. Firstly, the maximum American Dream. It refers to the national dream that contains the desire for freedom, equality and democracy and to be a powerful country on world stage. On the other hand, the minimum dream. It belongs to the common people. For most of them, the American Dream turns out to be closely related to their daily life. It can be regarded as these specific goals, such as receiving higher education, living a happy life with good salary, keeping a good h ealth, and having a superior social status. In order to understand the abundant definitions of the American Dream, we have to comprehend the origin and development of the American Dream. It is the American people and history that shape the meaning of the American Dream. Since the birth of the United States in 1776, the definition of the American Dream has changed over the course of history. The origin of the American Dream can be traced back to the period of colonization. The American Dream is a national ethos in terms of the promise of prosperity and success. The ethos indicates the ability that everyone can gain his fortune and make progress through his participation and hard-work. With regard to the American Dream, this includes the possibility for ones children to grow up and receive a good education and career without artificial barriers. Its the opportunity to make individual choices without the prior restrictions that limit people with respect to their class, religion, race or ethnicity. Historian James Truslow Adams firstly put forward the phrase American Dream in his 1931 book Epic of America: The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, also too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. He also wrote: The American Dream, which has lured tens of millions of all nations to our shores in the past century, has not been a dream of material plenty, though that has doubtlessly counted heavily. It has been a dream of being able to grow to fullest development as a man and woman, unhampered by the barriers which had slowly been erected in the older civilizations, unrepressed by social orders which had developed for the benefit of classes rather than for the simple human being of any and every class. Martin Luther King Jr. in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail stated that the civil rights movement was in the quest for the black peoples American dream: We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands. . . . when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. The president Barack Obama delivered his victory speech after he won the presidential campaign: If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. Chapter Two Origin of the American Dream 2.1 A New Land In 1492, Columbus finished his voyage with the support from the King of Spain. He believed that by sailing west from Europe, he could reach Asia. He never succeeded, but instead he landed on the islands in the Caribbean Sea and discovered the New World. This great geographic discovery of the New World opened the door to European settlers. In 1497, an Italian sailor, John Cabot who was financed by the English King, arrived in todays Canada. Soon the English King claimed that the whole of the territory of North American belonged to England. In order to enforce this claim, the Englishmen began to establish permanent settlements in North America. The early 17th century was the beginning of a great tide of emigrates from Europe to North America. Spanning more than three hundred years, this movement grew from a trickle of a few hundred English colonists to a flood of millions of newcomers. Impelled by powerful and diverse motivations, many European emigrates left their homelands for the New Land. Most of them tried to escape economic and political oppression, to seek the freedom to practice their religion, or to find opportunities denied them at home. 2.2 Europe in the 16th and 17th century During the Middle Ages, Europe was under the single spiritual authority of the Roman Catholic Church. The feudal system prevailed during this period of time. The peasants were tied to the soil and had to suffer the economic and political oppression. Merchants and craftsmen were handicapped by the social disorders. By the 16th century, some new and powerful social forces began to emerge which led to great changes in Europe and the development of America. First of all, its the development of capitalism. Take the historical event Enclosure Movement for instance. The Commercial Revolution had created a burgeoning textile industry, which demanded an increasing supply of wool to keep the looms running. Landlords enclosed farmlands and evicted the peasants for the purpose of sheep cultivation. Colonial expansion turned to be an outlet for these displaced peasant population. The second major force that brought about the modern development of Europe was the Renaissance, which was marked by a changing outlook on life. The Renaissance spoke highly of the nature of humanity. The God-centered world was challenged by the wide spread of science and technology. People began to be more confident in themselves and showed more interest in the world. The third influential force was the Religious Reformation, a religious reform movement that started from Germany, then spread over the continent of Europe. In 1517, Martin Luther argued that the Pope and church had no right to take advantage of the people for the remission of sins. He protested against the Catholic Church because of the power of abuse and corruption. Another man, John Calvin started his reform movement after Martin Luther. Calvinism soon prevailed in England and attracted many followers. In England, King Henry à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ disagreed with the Roman Catholic Church on many political issues. On the other hand, he wanted to end his marriage with the Queen but without the permission from the Pope. At last, King Henry à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England, and he became the head of the Church of England himself. These religion reforms all challenged the authority of the Pope and the Catholic Church which controlled peoples religious beliefs and interfered in political affairs of the nations. During the religious upheavals of the 16th century, a group of people who discontent in the Church of England and worked towards religious, moral and social reforms. They were called the Puritans. The puritans were deeply influenced by Calvinism and thought that the Church of England had become a product of political struggles and attempted to purify the Church. Such puritan beliefs were against the Church of England and undermined royal authority, so they were cruelly persecuted. Some of them were threw into prison and even executed for their religious beliefs. In order to escape persecution from Church and the King, many of the puritans came to North America. 2.3 The Early Settlement The first British permanent settlement was founded in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia. This was organized by the London Company with a charter which King James à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  granted. According to the Jamestown founder John Smith, he held the opinion that Heaven and Earth never agreed better to frame a place for mans habitation The second English settlement was established in Massachusetts Bay. It was founded by the puritans who separated themselves from the Church of England. In 1620, a small group of puritans took the ship Mayflower and left for North America. When they reached their destination, they drafted an agreement which was called the Mayflower Compact and was signed by all the men on board. The Mayflower Compact played a significant role in history. It was regarded as the first attempt of American democratic experience to set up a civil government for the public. More importantly, the far-reaching political principles set by the Compact laid down the foundations of the democratic government. The puritans hoped to build a city upon hill-an ideal community where they would live in strict with their religious beliefs and set an example for all of Christendom. The puritans had left rich cultural legacies to future Americans. The American values such as individualism, hard work, respect of education own very much to the puritan beliefs. 2.4 The American Revolution Through the 18th century, the maturing British North American colonies inevitably forged a distinct identity. By the early 1760s, the 13 colonies in North America had developed a similar American pattern in politics, economy and cultural life. At the same time, the population grew vastly and they had long years of self-government to deal with their own issues. In September 1774, the First Continental Congress, a meeting of colonial leaders who opposed British oppression in the colonies met in Philadelphia. These leaders urged Americans to disobey and boycott British ruling. At the same time, they began to organize militias to defend themselves. On April 19, 1775, the first shot was fired when 700 British soldiers went to capture a colonial arms depot in Lexington. Thus the American war of Independence began. 2.4.1 Common Sense In January 1776, Thomas Paine, a radical political theorist who had come to America from England in 1774 published a pamphlet Common Sense. Paine had already sensed the rise of tension and the spirit of rebellion. In the pamphlet, Paine attacked the hereditary monarchy, criticized the men who ruled as Kings, and called for the people to discard the loyalty to the King and the British Empire. He presented two choices -continued submission to a tyrannical King and an evil government, or liberty and happiness as a self-sufficient, independent republic. Common Sense soon came to be a best-seller, which greatly inspired the peoples awareness of independence. 2.4.2 Declaration of Independence In July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence which was drafted by Thomas Jefferson adopted by the Congress. The Declaration officially proclaimed the independence of 13 North America colonies: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. The Declaration not only announced the birth of a new nation, but also put forward with the idea of human freedom and democracy. The Declaration was deeply influenced by the Enlightenment political philosophy, especially from the English political philosopher John Locke. John Locke came up with the social-contract theory of government. Only a government based on popular consent could secure natural rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson linked Lockes principles directly to the situation in the colonies. Thus, to fight for American independence was to fight on behalf of ones own natural rights. The War of Independence came to end in 1781 with the victory of North America. The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 and the sovereignty of 13 colonies was acknowledged by British government. The new United States stretched west to the Mississippi River, north to Canada, and south to Florida. 2.5 Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin was one of the founding fathers of the United States. He was born in a poor family that had little money to send him to school. He didnt graduate with two years school learning but he continued his education through greedy self-learning. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin vividly depicted his personal experience from a poor and lowliness boy to be a rich and famous man. All his progress he had made belonged to his own efforts to be excellent, the longing for success and the pursuit of magnificent moral. Benjamin Franklin was deeply influenced by the Enlightenment and Puritanism. He devoted himself to practice the values of thrift, hard work. He advocated democracy with self-governing institutions, and opposed to authoritarianism both political and religious. From the Autobiography, the process of realizing American Dream can be seen clearly. Undoubtedly, the meaning of Benjamin Franklins success goes far beyond himself, and is thought-provoking to many Americans. Franklin set a good example for other people to follow and his experience is the best explanation of the American Dream. Chapter Three Development of the American Dream 3.1 The Political System The Treaty of Pairs in 1783 recognized the independence of the United States and the former 13 colonies became 13 states of America. Although the Declaration of Independence proclaimed that 13 colonies are, and of right to be free and independent states, they had no idea about the future political system of the United States. They had to face the fact that a new nation couldnt grow well without a suitable and effective political system. 3.1.1The Federal Constitution When the American Revolution was over, the United States was not one unified nation as it is today. According to the Articles of Confederation, each state had its own government and handled all of its internal affairs. To make matters worse, the Congress didnt have the authority to ask any state to do anything. For example, it could not tax any citizen or to regulate commence among the states. Faced with domestic difficulties and outside challenge and threat from European powers, a more powerful and effective government was desperately needed in order to safeguard independence and freedom. Only in this way could each state work together and the country be powerful enough to protect the peoples interests. First of all, a Constitution was badly needed to replace the Articles of Confederation. The delegates from 12 states without Rhode Island attended the Constitution Convention in 1787. During the convention, James Madison, later the forth President of the United States, took a leading role with his remarkable contributions to the work of Constitution, and earned him the title Father of the Constitution. After over three months discussions, debates and compromises, the Constitution came out at last. The Preamble to the Constitution states the purpose of the government: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. 3.1.2 Three Branches of Government According to the Constitution, a federal system was set up with a strong central government. To protect the democracy and defend against a tyranny, the government consists of three parts, the executive, the legislative and the judicial. Each branch has powers that the others do not have and each branch has a way of limiting any wrongful action by another branch. This is called the principle of checks and balances 3.1.3 Bill of Rights The Constitution of 1787 didnt make it clear to protect individual rights. The calls for amendments protecting individual rights were quickly solved by Congress. In 1791, Congress adopted ten amendments to make them part of the Constitution. To all Americans, they are known as the Bill of Rights. According to it, Americans have the freedom of speech, press, religion and the right to assemble peacefully, protest and demand changes. 3.2 Westward Movement Westward Movement was one of the solemn and meaningful parts of American history. In the extension of American boundaries from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast, the nation occupied vast land in the middle and west. The frontier moved in a westward direction for nearly 300 years across the wilderness and barren plains. The road to the west was full of difficulties and danger, but these settlers went on and never gave up. Go west and grow with the county became a famous motto to these settlers. Once an English traveler described these frontier settlers as a daring, hardly race of men, who live in miserable cabin.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ They are unpolished but hospitable, kind to strangers, honest and trustworthyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Frederick Jackson Turner was one of the most renowned American historians and an advocate of Westward Movement. He declared that the frontier was significant in American history and made America more than an extension of Europe. It had created a nation with a culture that was different from Europe, not only more pragmatic and energetic, but also more emphasis on individuality and democracy. Its hard to believe that three centuries of Westward Movement had no impact on the national character. For the descendents of European, they explored the Wild West land with the purpose of making a better life. They were usually described as the pioneers of American, and full of courage and intelligence. They made remarkable progress to the development of the country. On the other hand, the negative effects of Westward Movement should not be ignored. There is no denying that Westward Movement was a bloody and brutal process. America pillaged the land of Texas, New Mexico and California through a war of conquest against Mexico. Its a nightmare for Native Americans because of the ruthless treatment from American whites. Also it caused the destruction of the natural environment in the west. 3.3 The Civil War During the 1850s, the issue of slavery severed the political bonds that held the United States together. The appeal for abolishing slavery had aroused deep concern all over the country. In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Toms Cabin; a novel portrayed the cruelty of slavery and pointed out the fundamental conflict between North and South. American had to face the fact that America was both a freedom-loving and slave-holding society. The issue of slavery had impeded the further development of the nation. Abraham Lincoln had long regarded slavery as an evil. He believed that slavery should be restricted and eventually abolished. In 1858, Lincoln declared that: A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved-I do not expect the house to fall-but I do expect it will cease to be divided. 3.3.1 Emancipation Proclamation Emancipation Proclamation was one of the greatest documents in American history. It played a significant role during the Civil War. The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation declared that all slaves in states rebelling against the Union were free. In practical terms, the proclamation had little immediate impact. It freed slaves only in the Confederate states, while leaving slavery intact in the Union. The final Emancipation Proclamation authorized the recruitment of African Americans into the union army. Emancipation Proclamation was just the beginning of the efforts toward abolishment of slavery. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution adopted in 1865 by Congress finally abolished slavery. 3.3.2 Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address is a speech by President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the best-known speeches in history. It was delivered at the dedication of the solders national cemetery in Gettysburg. Battle of Gettysburg was regarded as the turning point in the Civil War. Lincoln invoked the principles of human equality stated by the Declaration and redefined the Civil War as a struggle not merely for the Union, but as a new birth of freedom that would bring true equality to all of its citizens and ensure the survival of Americans democracy, that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 3.4 A Society of Affluence Between two great wars-the Civil War and the First World War-the United States came of age. In a period of less than 50 years it was transformed from a rural country to an urban nation. Great changes had taken place around the country. The last decades of the 19th century were a period of imperial expansion for the United States. With the development of its power, America started to pursue its own national dream-to be a powerful country on the world stage. In order to safeguard its own interests, the United States had to stake out spheres of economic influence. More generally, the doctrine of manifest destiny first used to justify Americas expansion. Some Americans expressed their discontent with the character of modern life in the 1920s. The decade was called the Jazz Age, the Roaring Twenties, or the era of flaming youth. World War I had overturned the traditional social and moral order. Mass prosperity enabled an open and hedonistic life style for the people. The aftermath of World War II exacerbated the ethical shift as a consumer culture blossomed and Americans became preoccupied with material goods. As one critic noted, consumed by desires for status, material goods, and acceptance, Americans apparently had lost the sense of individuality, thrift, hard work, and craftsmanship that had characterized the nation.The result of this shift in work ethic had actually spurred rather than lessened the peoples desire to achieve the American Dream. People lost their traditional values, beliefs and the motive force to success, and felt cheated by the society. They found that the dream in the past turned out to be an illusion; The American Dream didnt exist at all. 3.5 The Disadvantaged Groups In the United States, any group other than the dominant white Anglo-Saxon Protestant majority is a minority group in American society. These racial and ethnic minorities mainly refer to the blacks, Native Americans, the Hispanics, and Asian Americans. Although they are the minority groups, they should have been treated equal and own the rights as same as the whites. They also have their desires for the American Dream. Take the blacks for instance; their dreams were deeply rooted in the American dream. Although black slaves were emancipated as a result of the Civil War and granted basic civil rights according to the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, there was still a huge gap between the whites and blacks. During the mid-1950s, Civil Rights Movement reached its peak. Protest movement against racial segregation and discrimination became widespread in the southern America. This movement rooted in the centuries-long efforts of African slaves and their descendents to resist racial oppression and abolish the institution of slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He was famous for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination by the means of nonviolent methods. So he won his fame from the whole world and became a Nobel Peace Prize winner. King led the march on Washington, where he delivered his speech-I Have a Dream. From the words below, the cry for the blacks American dream was obviously expressed. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. 3.6 A New Age 3.6.1The American Dream under the economic crisis The financial crisis from 2007 until now is considered to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The collapse of the housing bubble triggered the economic crisis which resulted in the bankruptcy of large financial institutions and downturns in stock markets all around the world. It contributes to the large number of the unemployed, the decline of consumer wealth. Many families have no money to pay the debts of housing mortgage loan and lose the job to make a living. Americans have to face the fact that American Dream turned out to be an illusion once again. They have to sell out their cars and houses, cut down the expense of family and education for kids Home ownership is one of the most important symbols in the traditional American Dream. But now the owner of the house is turning to the slave of the house. The people are tired of tax cuts for the wealthy that shift the burden to the backs of working people. They are tired of waiting years for the increase of wage while CEOs pays are soaring. They are tired of living without health care and falling into poverty. 3.6.2 Barack Obama: Reclaiming the American Dream Barack Obama is the first African-American President in history. His story is regarded as an example of the American Dream. His father came from Kenya and mother was from Kansas. With the help from his grandparents, he was raised in Hawaii. Hard work and education were the means of getting ahead. The year of 2008 was not only the year of election, but also in the midst of economic crisis. Its a period of hard time for most of Americans. During the presidential election, a lot of Americans were deeply touched by Barack Obamas election slogan Change We Need. It aroused echoes in their hearts. Just as Obama said, The time has come to bridge the growing divide between Main Street and Wall Street. The American Dream is slipping out of reach. During the process of campaigning for President, Obama expressed the idea of reclaiming the American Dream many times. He believed that the American Dreams were worth fighting for because it belonged to every American. Its the dream of his grandfather who serviced in the army and moved his family west in search of opportunity. Its the dream of his grandmother who got up at dawn and worked twice as hard at her job because a woman had to work harder to go ahead. Its the dream of his father who crossed an ocean because America offered the light to him. Its the dream of his mother who was a single mom and knew the meaning of life. Chapter Four Comments on the American Dream The American Dream as the motive force has inspired Americans to chase the happiness and perfectness. On the other hand, theres no denying that the huge gap between dream and reality does exist. Many Americans have to face the fact that their dreams turn out to be nothing. After hundred years of development, the definition of American Dream has changed over the course of history. The spirit of thrift advocated by the Puritanism has been replaced by the extreme individualism. Many people and companies aspire to material wealth by hook or by crook regardless of justice and moral principles. America was founded on the principle of human equality, but in practice the nation has fallen far short of that ideal. The inequality is not simply a matter of distinctions between social classes. The class divisions often parallel racial and ethnical divisions. American society is dominated by Anglo-Saxon whites. They were the first settlers and quickly took control of economic assets and political power in America, and they have maintained this control until now. Immigrants from other nations have had to struggle hard to become assimilated into the mainstream of American life. Some have shared in the American Dream, but other disadvantaged groups have been excluded by different kinds of barriers from equal participation in American life. To a small number of people, they realize the American Dream and hav