Compare and Contrast the East Asian and Argentine Crisis Essays

Compare and Contrast the East Asian and Argentine Crisis Essays Compare and Contrast the East Asian and Argentine Crisis Essay Compare and Contrast the East Asian and Argentine Crisis Essay What lessons can be learnt? â€Å"A financial crisis is â€Å"a situation where the supply of money is outpaced for the demand of money† (buisnessdictionary. com). It is necessary to first distinguish the three principal types of crisis which can be experienced individually or as a result of each other. The first type of crisis could be a banking crisis wherein people lose confidence in their banking system and systematically withdraw all of their savings.The second is an exchange rate crisis where inhabitants become worried about the strength of their currency and exchange it – in the context of this essay, into dollars. Thirdly is an external debt crisis which commences from an increase in foreign debt and no more loans are provided to a country as there is some perceived doubt that they will not be able to guarantee investment. The East Asian crisis is particularly astounding as it attacked some of the fastest growing economies.After such rapid growth in capital oft en described as the â€Å"Asian Miracle† how did a crisis in East Asia occur when the region had so much promise? The miracle that had occurred created a region rife with over investment and the success of the economies was taken for granted. Primarily, signs of the crisis started to emerge in Thailand with the collapse of their currency – the â€Å"baht† and it then became pegged to the US dollar. The crisis is now at an end but mainly due to the errors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it could take years for these countries to get back to their previous economic conditions. †¦ IMF policies not only exacerbated the downturn but were partially responsible for the onset†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Stiglitz 2002, pp 89) East Asia didn’t actually need any additional capital that they were pressured into receiving. South Korea for example was a region that had experienced admirable growth but realised the necessity for some deregulation or liberalisation. Th e US treasury believed the system of liberalisation implemented by South Korea was too slow and the treasury made the decision to speed up liberalisation for maximum profit making opportunities. The main cause of this crisis was extreme capital market and financial iberalisation pushed on East Asian regions by the IMF. South East Asian countries did not fully comprehend the policies in place so this also had a role in worsening the crisis. The IMF made the serious mistake of not researching the countries in which they were trying to help so policies implemented were generic and not specific. Eventually however, the World Bank was persuaded to do some research on the region of East Asia which was named â€Å"The East Asian Miracle† wherein East Asia saved and invested wisely and did not follow any advice of the Washington Consensus. However, the IMFand Treasury made their most profound mistakes in their initial response to the crisis† (Stiglitz, 2002, pp 104). The IMF ba dly diagnosed the problems in East Asia and understood the issues as being far more severe than they actually were. It can be debated that a further root of the East Asian Crisis was a weakness in the financial system and irresponsible lending. This risky lending is also known as â€Å"moral hazard† meaning loans were provided by banks knowing that little of their own money was being put at risk.Therefore, financial institutions had no incentive to reduce this risky lending as they did not have to face the consequences. The value of the floating currency fell and was no longer pegged to the US dollar. To a large extent, financial institutions became weak through foreign exchange risks. Economies such as Korea started to reluctantly permit their companies to borrow money from abroad. Suddenly these institutions that had been so willing to lend money originally were demanding repayment but unfortunately these developing countries did not have the reserves available to pay such liabilities.Speculative attackers also impacted the contagion and took advantage of the situation by trying to devalue the currency in order to make monetary gains. Government tried to fend off these attacks by buying up local currency until no reserves remained. Meaning the local currency eventually becomes devalued. Speculators make a profit by converting their money at the right point so that there were more â€Å"baht† to every dollar. The IMF responded as always and provided countries affected with large bail-outs in order to level out the exchange rate. The money was in reality used to pay back some of the loans aken out from the Western world. â€Å"It was thus, in part, a bailout to the international banks as much as it was a bailout to the country; the lenders did not have to face the full consequences of having made bad loans† (Stiglitz, 2002, pp95). The IMF added to the crisis by imposing a higher interest rate and strict monetary and fiscal polices in an ai m to attract investors. In reality, many companies were highly leveraged and were at risk of failure with fluctuating interest rates. Inevitably, this higher interest rate resulted in many bankruptcies and put the region into deeper recession.The higher inflation rate even forced capital out of the country! These IMF policies not only had negative effects in one country but brought down its neighbouring countries too. As one country reduced its imports from local countries contagion was enabled to spread also known as the â€Å"Beggar thy neighbour† policy. This is where the term â€Å"contagion† became more widely used to explain the rush of financial stability through East Asia. The contagion was exported to neighbours through increased Globalization which opens up barriers and in this case, created vulnerability.These countries were asked to cut their trade deficit and increase trade surplus by increasing exports or reducing imports. Reducing imports was the only vi able option so this went ahead and sparked a worldwide recession. The downturn was again being spread to neighbour countries and slow economic growth created a slump in commodity prices. As the crisis deepened the IMF proposed a need for â€Å"Restructuring† which was a priority but, as with all the other IMF policies, it merely succeeded in worsening the crisis. The East Asian crisis is now at an end and most Asian countries have become strong again.However, crucial mistakes were made by the IMF and the East Asian regions consequently took longer to recover. The second crisis I shall be analysing is that of Argentina which was viewed as one of the great countries in the Latin American continent until the late 1980’s when macro economic factors caused the strong economy to collapse. The events which occurred during this time were triggers of the crisis that began in 1997. Excessive Government spending during this period meant too much money was being printed as levels of inflation reached 5000% so Government corruption played a large role in over-spending.The Washington Consensus was then followed in an effort to restructure the economy. The Government then made the decision to peg the Argentine Peso to that of the US dollar hoping this would improve confidence and prevent hyperinflation. â€Å"At the time, the strategy worked, but in time Argentina suffered the disadvantages of such a fixed peg† (news. bbc. co. uk). Argentina had adopted a currency with an exchange rate which displayed little in common with their economy. Effectively, Argentina had given away any control they had had over their monetary policies.The interest rate could not be altered and the exchange rate wouldn’t be perceived as competitive. Furthermore, overspending on behalf of the Government and a pegged exchange rate meant Argentina was neither attractive nor competitive to investors. The next big thing to have an effect on the Argentine economy was known as t he â€Å"Tequila crisis† which occurred in Mexico with the collapse of their currency and resulted in making Argentina’s exports very expensive in comparison with its neighbours. The result of course was bankruptcies. The IMF gave funds to Argentina and growth did start to recover for a minimal period.However, this fund could not alter the fact that Argentine export levels continued to drop due to lack of competitiveness. Following this blow, came the devaluation of Brazil’s currency which naturally had further damaging effect on Argentine exports. Argentina’s neighbours benefited from a floating exchange rate meaning that the value of their currency depended upon market conditions. Argentina’s exchange rate was unfortunately pegged to the US dollar. â€Å"Moreover, as the peso was pegged to the dollar, it was overvalued when compared to its neighbours in the region making Argentina’s exports uncompetitive in world markets† (jstor. rg ). Consequently a large trade deficit arose hand in hand with increased unemployment. Further loans in dollars were taken out by Argentina at this point which just increased the high foreign debt burden they already held. Many companies had to be privatised which resulted in higher priced products and services therefore dampening product demand. Privatisation was not necessarily a bad strategy but in the short term did start a recession. Argentina had been left virtually powerless so altering fiscal policy was the only method that could be taken to better the situation.The Government continued to spend excessive proportions during this time and the continual increase in foreign liabilities meant the level of debt was spiralling out or control. The IMF pushed forward a contractionary fiscal policy, the same that was encouraged in East Asia. Argentina implemented a â€Å"convertibility law† stating that everybody had the right to exchange pesos in return for dollars. â€Å"To give credibility to that promise, the government provided that each peso in circulation would have to be backed by a dollar†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (jstor. rg). When pesos were being turned into dollars the supply of money at the central bank plummeted and yet again interest rates soared. This strategy had come to the end of its course as frequent inputs of cash did not bring the economy up to its former glory. â€Å"†¦With the overvalued exchange rate holding down its exports, it became evident that Argentina was headed into a debt trap† (fpif. org). As the exchange rate in Argentina was fixed at so high a level, the countries imports and export levels didn’t balance.The foreign debt exacerbated by taking out loans in dollars was even more so on the increase and it became necessary to devalue the peso in an aim to increase exports making Argentina attractive again. In the short term, currency devaluation provoked a surge of bankruptcies as the majority of loans had been ta ken out in dollars and became more difficult to repay when the value of the peso was weakened. â€Å"As the debt grew, the interest rate that Argentina had to pay foreign creditors also rose, further increasing the annual imbalance and accelerating growth of foreign debt†( jstor. rg). By increasing levels of foreign debt, Argentina was opening itself up and showing vulnerability to the evident risks of Globalization. Default of Argentina was impossible to avoid which turned out to be the biggest sovereign debt to be occurred by any region. Instead of the IMF providing the liquidity at a crucial time to help safely lower the value of the peso, they actually took upon themselves a strategy of adjusting the conditionality goal posts. Meaning Argentina couldn’t be provided with more funds until they agreed to every new set of policies imposed.Without injections of liquidity, inflation mounted and the social conditions within Argentina worsened. â€Å"Argentine GDP plummet ed 15% in the first quarter of 2002, open unemployment rose to nearly 25% and the number of Argentine households consuming below the poverty line soared above 50%† (fpif. org). When analysing the two crises, it can be viewed that there are many similarities but also many differences between the East Asian crisis and the Argentine crisis. Both the discussed regions received bail-outs from the IMF in order to try and sustain the exchange rate.Both of these regions had to follow the conditions in order to receive these bail-outs which did no prove successful in either case. The build of debt is one of the strongest similarities between the two crises as both of these regions experienced growing amounts of debt, short-term in East Asia and long-term in Argentina and corporations were heavily indebted in both regions. The slumping exports were caused in both regions as they were perceived as too expensive, whereas imports increased particularly in East Asia.The miracle that occurre d years before had created a boom in the region and â€Å".. sucked in ever increasing imports – from machinery and elevators to Mercedes Benz cars and French cognac†( Lassere, Schutte 1999, pp 20). An overvalued exchanged rate was a feature within both crises and had an underlying effect on exports and lack of investment into the regions. â€Å"The havoc that an overvalued exchange rate and excessive foreign debt caused in Argentina is certainly not unique. These two conditions, either singly or together, have been the cause of every currency crisis (e. south-east Asia) during the last two decades† (jstor. org). Due to the overvalued exchange rate, both of the regions experienced a lack of competitiveness. An additional significant alikeness between the two crises is the affect the dollar pegs had on creating vulnerability. Argentina’s peso was strongly linked to the US dollar, as were East Asian economies prior to 1997 and after this period had unoffici al links to the US dollar. Those East Asian countries which were linked to the US dollar suffered lack of competitiveness as in Argentina.Secondly, corruption featured highly in the Argentinean crisis and was a recurring feature within East Asia. The corruption in East Asia however was in a different form. The Argentine Government continued to overspend whereas the President of Indonesia for example was constantly accused of abusing his authority. Most crises including East Asia and Argentina result in contagion being spread to neighbouring countries. In both crises the level of exports decreased significantly and this naturally has had an onward affect upon surrounding economies.Although both regions exported their financial instability to neighbours, the extent to which this was done was more so in East Asia as this crisis attacked others on a global scale. In the case of Argentina, contagion did exist but to a much lower extent. â€Å"In addition, the Argentine crisis, having be en well anticipated, did not lead to Contagious fallout to other emerging economies in the region, let along the globe† (lkyspp. nus). The responsibility for the blame was put down to ill managed domestic policies and little thought went into whether financial crises could actually be contagious.The contagion from Argentina was dispersed mainly in Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay rather than spreading worldwide. The biggest difference between the two crises was the liberalisation which was pushed on East Asia by the IMF. Liberalisation was never forced upon Argentina by the IMF even though they were both developing countries and would both be at risk from liberalisation – particularly fast liberalisation as in East Asia. A second major contrast between the two crises was the Government which in East Asia has surpluses which was the opposite of Argentina’s status.The issue of demand was also significantly different in the two cases and should have altered the IMF†™s policies towards this as Argentina required less demand but East Asia on the other hand would have benefited from supplementary demand. While it is true that both crises were partly caused by that of mounting debt, this debt in Argentina was created through proliferate spending by the Government. East Asia accumulated their high level of debt in the private sector. Although contagion was rife in both crises, the third of three elements of contagion differed between East Asia and Argentina.In East Asia, there was a deficiency in opportunities for trade and furthermore created a reduction in imports in neighbour after neighbour. â€Å"This channel of contagion was powerful because, by the mid -1990’s, East Asia provided markets for more than half of the exports of East Asian developing economies†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (McLeod, Garnaut, 1998, pp362). This element differed from the Argentine contagion as it made recuperation of East Asian regions more intricate. There are several le ssons that can be learnt from both of these crises in order to prevent similar consequences in other economies.The severity of the crisis in East Asia shows the necessity of creating strong macroeconomic policies which are region specific. The first lesson that can be taken is the importance of realistic macroeconomic policies for all concerned because of the globalization of financial markets. Institutional characteristics are crucial and a lack of control – particularly within the financial sector causes bankruptcies. The risky lending from financial institutions showed a lack of control over the institutions and the borrowers themselves. The banking industry naturally becomes weak and triggers crisis such as in East Asia.This highlights the need to provide support to liberalisation in the financial industry. â€Å"In addition, the East Asian crisis exposed inadequacies in he application of existing best practices in banking and financial intermediation, both areas where b etter information and guidance were needed† (imf. org). The second lesson to be learnt from the East Asian crisis is that liberalisation in the globalising world can sometimes be effective when countries are strongly encouraged to open their economies. East Asia however proved that liberalisation can actually destroy smaller dependant economies.This would indicate that it is necessary for a developing country to have strategies in place to limit risks that are associated with the effects of globalization. If liberalisation does occur in developing countries then it should be a slower process so the country can gain knowledge while the process is occurring in order to be adequately prepared for the challenges of this liberalisation. Thirdly, a further lesson to be learnt from East Asia is that on a macro economic level, foreign debt has to be strictly managed. Governments must take care to limit the amount of loans that can be taken out by companies in dollars.It can be debated that it was the excessive foreign debt that actually made the crisis so severe. If may seem that countries with higher levels of exports are able to maintain a high level of foreign debt, this, however is not the case. Export growth can slump as happened in most East Asian countries. Finally a strong feature of the East Asian crisis was the contagion that spread through neighbouring countries as effects are passed through the supply chain. An awareness of â€Å"exporting contagion† is necessary, as is constant guidance within the financial sector.This is the only evidence needed to show that no country can isolate itself from the events occurring in another. Additionally, neighbouring countries should be taken into consideration when devising policies that may suit one country but have negative effects on another. There are of course also lessons to be learnt from the ongoing crisis in Argentina. Firstly a fixed exchange rate should be avoided where possible as it leads to a n overvalued exchange rate. Moreover, the currency is unable to remain competitive in comparison with neighbouring countries inflicting plummeting exports and defaults.A floating exchange rate is necessary to combat such issues. Pegging a currency to the dollar is risky when the exchange rates are unstable. In addition to this, the Argentine crisis is a harsh lesson that Globalization exposes an economy to external shocks and adjustments in exchange rates need to be made to deal with this. Secondly and rather obviously as in the case of East Asia, foreign loans should be limited as excessive levels of borrowing is US dollar involves risk taking. If the dollar strengthens, as in East Asia, it is more difficult to pay back loans when they are rolled over.This excessive borrowing leads to defaults as experienced in 2001. To conclude, increasing foreign loans were the main cause to the deepening of both crises as this affected their viability for investment. Finally, there is one vital lesson that should be learnt when helping developing countries to avoid crisis like so many before. Fixed exchange rates are rarely beneficial for a developing country. As in both cases, it becomes overvalued when pegged against a currency of higher status and a crisis is inevitable when a country is not worthy of investment in comparison with its neighbours.

Italy and jobs Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Italy and jobs - Term Paper Example The hypothesis for this paper is distribution of public employment is distributed based on region and employment types. This paper seeks to explain how job allocations are done in Italy plus, job search and mobility within Italy in relation to job. The Italian welfare state system does not offer job security for the temporarily unemployed but highly favors retirees. As a result, temporary unemployment subsidy from the government offers incentives for job seekers (Picchio, 2008 pp.1). Conversely, permanent employment would not offer such incentives since public employment remains a lifelong endeavor and could hardly be lost. The use or misuse of disability pension in the South could lead to compensation on permanent unemployment. The South also remains over dependent on public employment that offers permanent job welfare. This substantial reliance on public employment creates a sequence of attitudes and educational choices towards risks that could support tendencies to escape from private employment sectors (Picchio, 2008 pp.1). Informal networks, which incorporate social ties between currently, employed and job seekers, letters of reference and intermediation have affected the Italian labor market (Boca et al., 2004 pp.7). First, informal networks have become more successful in relation to job seekers’ placements than any other job search strategies in Italy. However, these networks work effectively for small firms that offer low wages regardless of the skills since they remain less governed by governmental hiring regulations. Most negative impacts on earnings arising from informal networks could be due to links developed by informal networks especially with small ï ¬ rms and their contracts (Picchio, 2006 pp. 4). There exists a negative relationship between job search by informal networks and earnings (Picchio, 2008 pp.1). Hence, people with

Change Management and Management Styles Research Paper

Change Management and Management Styles - Research Paper Example Managers, in these cases, adopt strategic changes in order to adapt to emergent set of management and operational issues (Stam and Andriessen, 2009, p. 136). Secondly, there is cultural change. It is the next logical step once a strategic change is adopted or when management decides to change the organizational goals and objectives. The rationale is that in order to achieve effective change in that direction, a gradual change in mentalities must be achieved as well (Hamalainen and Saarinen, 2004, p.143). This is crucial in changing the organizational behavior. A more specific change transpiring within organization would have to be the shortened organizational life cycle. Essentially, this is the life stages of an organization beginning with its birth, growth, maturity and its inevitable decline and potential revival (Nelson et al., p.258). These stages experience radical shifts today because of the advances in technology, project management and product design. For example, new comput ing solutions streamlines product development, radically shortening the operational process of the organizational subunit tasked with such responsibility. ... Change management theories provide effective frameworks in better understanding organizational change. For example Beer and Nohria (2000) posited two change management theories, which they merely labeled as Theory E and Theory 0. The first theory sees organizational change as critical in the way organizational economic value is changed. Initiatives, policies and strategies adopted to implement this model follow the so-called â€Å"hard† approach to change, emphasizing shareholder value and maintaining it as the only barometer of organizational success (p.134). On the other hand, Theory 0 approaches organizational change according to organizational capacity. Beer and Nohria calls this the â€Å"soft† approach to change in an effort to introduce organizational change through initiatives and policies that builds organizational culture on individual capability and learning. This is supposedly the strategy that Hewlett-Packard adopted amidst a flagging performance during the 1980s and involved â€Å"the process of changing, obtaining feedback, reflecting, and making further changes† (p.134). Finally, one could cite the Change Management Theory for a general framework explaining organizational change. Several authors have contributed to this theory such as Lakomski (2001) and Lewin (1951). Lakomski posited that organizations are in constant need to balance forces of change with the requirement for stability. Lewin explained that this constitutes a stalemate that is only broken once the force for change outweighs the resistance, paving the way for a change in the organizational equilibrium. The case of Lenovo is an excellent example of an organization grappling with change. In the process of addressing new change

Ethological Principles In The Study Of Animal Behaviour

Ethological Principles In The Study Of Animal Behaviour Today, the study of animal behaviour is as far reaching as it was for our hominin ancestors who must have had some sense of understanding of animal behaviour while navigating through ancestral African environments. The effects of behavioural research on contemporary civilizations contributes to many aspects of human social and medical research, as well as impacts topics in conservation, habitat/resource sustainability, food production, and population dynamics. Over the last half century, animal behaviour has taken on several different forms. The aim of this of this essay is to explore the scientific study of modern animal behaviour known as ethology: Look at the historic approach to animal behaviour; review the central concepts of ethology, expanding upon Tinbergens (1963) four questions of causation, ontogeny, function, and evolution; illustrate the benefits of using ethological methodology in the study of behavioural phenomenon and discuss the potential impact of ethology on future behavioural research. I examine these questions in the light of comparative research on human and nonhuman primates. Animal Behaviour: A Brief Introduction The study of animal behaviour spans across many disciplines, each field asking specific questions and offering different levels of explanation. Behaviour can be described in terms of underlying hormonal/physiological mechanisms, developmental mechanisms, adaptive function, and in terms of evolutionary pathways of behaviour (McFarland, 1993). Before the advent of ethology, most behavioural disciplines attempted to answers only one or two of these questions at a time. For example, investigating how and when behaviours evolved confront behavioural scientists with a daunting task. Evolutionary biologists are equipped to answer these types of questions by using a phylogenetic approach. Phylogenetic trees allow scientist to investigate correlated evolutionary change and reconstruct ancestral states, making it possible to identify evolutionary relationships between homologous behaviours in closely related species (Nunn and Barton, 2001). This comparative method is useful if you are interested in understanding when a specific behaviour emerged in a species evolutionary history. Often, this line of inquiry leads researchers to generate addition questions: What environmental changes would have selected for this type of behaviour? Is this behaviour adaptive? How would this behaviour increase fitness and persists over time? Comparing similar behaviours between closely related species, occupying a similar niche, and evolutionary histories, provide a solid fr amework to begin generating testable hypotheses to these aforementioned questions. In the early 20th century, psychology comprised its own unique set of methods and experimental techniques that usually consisted of running controlled experiments in a laboratory setting while investigating behaviour (Bateson and Klopfer, 1989). Psychologists were concerned with designing experiments that tested proximate causations of behaviours. For example, a psychologist might investigate the developmental factors that affect the acquisition of learning and imprinting (Martin and Bateson, 2007). Investigating causal relationships to behaviour provide insight into whether behaviour is innate or if it is learned in the context of an individuals environment. On the other hand, behavioural neuroscience aimed to understand causal physiological mechanisms and corresponding neural controls that are modulated by environmental stimuli (Carlson, 2006). This field is concerned with identifying how an animals physiology interacts and is influenced by environment factors, and how this interaction elicits a behavioural response. In the mid 20th century, the behavioural sciences operated independently of one another, as if each disciplines research was a mutually exclusive approach. At that time the competing schools of thought failed to recognize the significant relationships between causation, development, function, evolution, or how each of the corresponding fields actually were complementary to each level of explanation. The scientific study of animal behaviour was in dire need of a complete synthesis that would incorporate proximate and ultimate classes of behaviour into a complementary, integrative framework. The Birth of Ethology The modern study of ethology filled this gap, and sought to piece together the fragmented behavioural scientific approaches. This new field aimed to explain all four classes of behavioural determinants, providing a full account of the phenomenon under study (Bateson and Klopfer, 1982). In the remaining section, I will define ethological principles, highlight the pitfalls of focusing on either proximate or ultimate levels of explanation, and present the case of modern ethology as the more systematic approach to the study of animal behaviour. Understanding the reason why a particular animal behaves in a certain way requires the right type of questions to be asked. In 1963, Niko Tinbergen, one of the founders of ethology, published the paper, On Aims and Methods of Ethology. In this paper he introduced four distinct and broad questions that he used in trying to answer the question, Why does an animal behave like that? (Shettleworth, 1998). In doing so, he laid the foundation for the study modern ethology. Ethology is the study of animal behaviour which attempts to answer four classes of questions: causation, ontogeny, function, and evolution. If a researcher wanted to know why baboons groom one another, it would be important to consider the immediate external stimuli which invoke a specific behaviour response in the animal, or otherwise stated you would want to look at proximate causations of behaviour. Researchers would want to develop questions that reveal causal answers: What external environmental stimuli and internal stimuli cause the animal to respond in a particular way? Answers to these questions often rely on the underlying psychological, physiological, and neurological mechanisms regulating an animals behaviour (Martin and Bateson, 2007). A possible causal explanation to why baboons groom would be that grooming functions as a as a mechanism to reduce stress (Crockford and et al., 2008). Moreover, Tinbergen (1963) was interested in investigating how changes in behaviour machinery are affected during development and coined the term ontology to describe this process. What was it about an individuals development that leads them to behave in a particular manor? Answers to these type of questions require scientists to look at whether a behaviour is learned or refined through development processes such as imprinting or possibly if it is generated by a genetic predisposition. In addition to the importance of providing proximate (causal and ontological) levels of explanation, two classes of questions investigate ultimate factors are equally important to investigate. Ultimate questions are interested in understanding how evolution has selected for and produced specific behavioural phenomena. One such questions looks at the adaptive/survival value a given behaviour would confer on an individual. For example, why do primates participate in intergroup aggression? These type of questions are considered functional investigations. As an example, evolutionary based cost-benefit theories would look at the functional/adaptive significance to intergroup aggression. One possible hypothesis to the question of why individuals exhibit intergroup aggression is that the more aggressive primate groups will achieve increased access to reproductive females and increased access to resources (Manson and Wrangham, 1991). Natural selection imposes differential reproductive succes ses, understanding these functional relationships provide answers to adaptive questions. The last behavioural problem Tinbergen identified was that of evolutionary history. He explains, The fact that behaviour is in many respects species-specific, and yet often similar in related species,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[leads to] the natural conclusion, namely, that behaviour should be studied comparatively just as structures, with the ultimate aim of elucidating behaviour evolutionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(Tinbergen, 1963: 427). Here Tinbergen advocates a phylogenetic approach to analyzing behaviour. Ethology aims to show how natural selection shaped the evolution of behaviour over time while uncovering possible evolutionary pathways (Tinbergen, 1963 and Barret, et al., 2002). For instance, if researchers were interested understanding why humans breathe the way they do, they would be interested in knowing how we evolved lungs? Farmer (1997) provides an evolutionary account to this question: Human lungs are believed to have evolved from ancestral fish gas bladders. This level of explanation provid es clues into when a behaviour may have first arisen and when it diverged between ancestral species. Ethology attempts to reconcile these four levels of explanation into a comprehensive framework for understanding. One such study illuminates the dangers researchers face when they incorporate only one level of explanation. Power (1975) conducted a study in which he tested whether mountain bluebirds lack altruistic behaviour. He attempted to show this by removing one mate of a pair caring for nestlings to test the claim; if altruism existed, a new mate would instinctually care for the nestlings. The study showed that new mates did not care for the nestlings, therefore the hypotheses, mountain bluebirds are altruistic, was rejected (Power, 1975). This study was criticized because it failed to account for the fact birds do not usually accept young unless hormonally prepared for them (Emlen, 1976). This process usually entails both mating partners being present during the events leading up to hatching and the presence of nestlings (Emlen, 1976). This physiological knowledge into hormonal cues in mountain bluebirds generated an alternative hypothesis; the new mate did not provide care to the nestlings because it lacked the proper hormonal activation. Therefore, it was concluded that the original hypotheses posed by Power was erroneous and failed to properly demonstrate if mountain bluebirds were altruistic. This example illustrates how tenuous behavioural studies can appear when they fail to incorporate ethological principles into their research design. Applied Ethological Principles Furthering Insight into Human Behaviour The more we learn from studying animal behaviour, the more we reveal about ourselves. Because humans are social primates, more ethological attention has focused on the study nonhuman primates as the best model to explain the social behaviour of humans. One such example into the potential benefits of ethological inquiry is articulated by the investigation into the effects of empathy, as one possible emotional mechanism that has evolved to help maintain and reinforce social bonds. Empathy is a complex emotion which has been proposed to exist in humans and nonhuman primates. Many ethologists have focused on chimpanzee and bonobo social systems, our closest extant ancestors, to better understand potential regulating factors involved in social bonding that could have helped promote and sustain the evolution of cooperation altruism. De Waal (2008) suggests humans as well as nonhuman primates both possess capacity to empathize with others, as a regulating mechanism of directed altruism. Directed altruism is defined as helping or comforting behaviour directed at an individual in need of pain, or distress (De Waal, 2008). Mounting evidence supports the view; similar cognitive capacities exist in human and nonhuman primates that could facilitate empathetic impulses and be linked to our similar evolutionary histories. Several studies have shown infants have an innate capacity to be influenced by the welfare of others. Infant nonhuman and human primates are known to respond to the distress of others with distress (Preston and de Waal, 2002). Furthermore, Preston and de Waal consider the hormonal release during suckling in maternal care as a positive promoter that rewards the giver with feel good hormones (ie. Oxtocin) to engage in directed altruism (Panksepp, 1998). This hormonal release could play a proximate role in promoting the perceiver to internalize the emotional state of another individual. Building on the neuroanatomy of empathy research, the central nervous system and the Perception Action Mechanism (PAM) have also been considered as a hard-wired link that controls emotional state matching and motor mimicry in humans and nonhuman primates (Preston and de Waal (2002). Chimpanzee studies reveal an increase in brain temperatures in the right hemisphere when chimpanzees are shown videos of severe aggression compared to neutral or positive videos (Parr and Hopkins, 2000). Negative videos directed a specific physiological reaction in the brain in response to the negative stimuli. These studies identify a potential link between the areas of the brain that are activated when individuals observe and witness emotional states of others (Preston and de Waal 2002). Meaning, the cognitive capacities for the emotional complex of empathy may not be strictly limited to humans, but may also function similarly with closely related nonhuman primates. The suggestion that nonhuman primate may also posses the capacity for empathy has not come without contention. Many scientists believe humans are the only species cognitively advanced enough to possess the innate capacity to internalize the emotions of others (eg., Schino, 2007). If Preston and de Waals claim is true, then empathetic hard-wiring has an ancient evolutionary lineage that evolved long before modern humans. Theoretically, innate empathetic capacities would help maintain and shape cooperation, reconciliation, and altruism between human and nonhuman primates. The origins of such a complex behaviour may have originated due to stronger selection on maintaining increased group size within ancestral primates. Therefore, it should be no surprises if we discover humans due in fact share the capacity to empathize with other social primates. This study promotes a possible link between the evolution of the complex sociality and empathetic emotional capacities in primates. Investigations like this exemplify the potential ethological methodologies pose when looking into proximate and ultimate roots to complex human and animal behaviour. Discussion An ethological approach to animal behaviour derived from early behavioural sciences. Today, modern ethnology places emphasis on different biological aspects to account for the contexts in which animal behaviour occurs using physiological and evolutionary perspectives. Most behavioural phenomena are not satisfactorily explained at the proximate or ultimate levels. Therefore, to understand the behavioural process fully, ethology appropriately focuses on answering Tinbergens four questions to correctly identify the reciprocal relationship between causal and evolutionary explanations of behaviour.

The Four Functions of Management Essay -- essays research papers

The Four Functions of Management There are four functions of management that need to be successfully applied if a business is to survive and thrive in the fast paced economy of today. They are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Every business, large or small, public or private will benefit from a well-structured, coordinated, directed, and monitored business plan. Planning is the process of defining a structured sequence of specific tasks that need to be accomplished to achieve a goal. Good planning is key to their success of all projects. Some projects involve the installation of whole production lines and others may involve only modifications to an existing line. However the size or scope of the project, there must be a well thought out plan in place to guarantee a successful outcome. When planning a project it is important to first imagine the completed project. The project manager must ask him/herself, what will the successful project look like? What are the customer’s requirements? When these questions are answered the project manager can move forward with an action plan. One method a project manager will use to begin developing the action plan is to break the project down into manageable segments. Each segment will have numerable tasks and we will call them â€Å"milestones†. When building the list of project milestones it is helpful to begin by imagining the completed project and working backwards, consider all the steps it took to get there. Now that the project manager has a list of milestones and has broken them down into manageable segments, he or she will organize the necessary resources into a project team. This organizational aspect is vital to the success of the project. The team will be comprised of individuals qualified to deliver those milestones. A project manager charged with modifying an aseptic filling line will select team members from engineering, manufacturing, process validation, quality assurance, and safety. The project manager is now the project team leader. The team will meet and agree on a timeline for meeting the project milestones. The team leader will establish the frequency of subsequent meetings, assign responsibilities, and state member expectations through the development of a team charter. The entire team will participate in developing the charter. The charter will describe their com... ...t has 4 fields they are the action item, date assigned, individuals responsible, and date when they expect to deliver. During each team meeting the team members are required to report the progress made on their action items and comment on their anticipated completion. It may be possible for the team leader to adapt and modify the timeline based on unexpected challenges or changes that can often occur. After each team meeting the scribe will produce a formal-minutes document and E-mail it to all members. This is helpful in that all members will know through their â€Å"next steps† what is expected of them and their role on the team. The team has completed their goals when all milestones in the plan have been achieved. As technology changes, businesses have to change with it to remain competitive. Businesses must be willing to apply the four functions of management in new ways. In the example above the team concept is used to empower and motivate its members by giving them ownership in the project, however a team needs a good plan to follow. Today’s manager is often a team leader that delegates, motivates, controls, and targets resources towards the successful completion of the project.

English reflection Essay

As I am approaching graduation after five long years of college, it is hard to believe that English 200 was my first English class of my college career. I have concluded that during my four writings that there have been three areas that I needed and have improved on during this semester. Over the course of these few months, it has become apparent that my writing skills have improved in the areas of finding the appropriate target audience, finding new language to use in persuasive essays, and finally the way to format a works cited page. The appropriate target audience had been a continual problem throughout the semester. One way that has helped me solidify the target audience has been to find out who I want to hear the message I am trying to get across. The first challenge picking a target audience came during the second writing. During this writing I had prepared a response to the NCAA about college athletes going pro. Ultimately at first I was confused with who had the ability to make these changes and the authority to go along with it. I would have to say that during all four of my writings this semester it continually came back to finding out who had the major authority within the organization or group of people I was trying to approach. After gaining some insight into who the appropriate target audience was during the second writing, it greatly affected the way that I approached the third and fourth persuasive writing assignments. I put a great deal of emphasis on who was going to be able to make a difference in the topic that I was trying to discuss. In my third writing especially I was able to come up with a target audience by first assessing what type of people I wanted to reach out to and how I was going to make that happen. My third writing was about an alternative way to dieting in the form of fasting. I found that the target audience was people that were searching for a diet in the first place and how I was going to be able to provide them with an alternative position on the topic. The second change that has been a drastic development has been the use of persuasive language. Until this semester I have always struggled with grammar and how to make the target audience stay engaged in the writing. This language that has helped to get my point across has become stronger as the semester has gone on. This is an important aspect because it is what drives your essay to really hit your audience. Beginning with the first two  writing assignments it was evident that we were going to be easing our way into the types of persuasive essays in the semester. I found that it was easier to start with an argument essay where I was able to express some of this persuasive language in a much more natural writing environment. As we approached the next three writings, it challenged me more and more to find new ways to keep the language in an engaging way for the audience. I learned an enormous amount about persuasive language and thought that the way of easing into it throughout the semester has provided me with the tools to become a better writer in everyday life for other classes and a future career. The final improved aspect of writing had to have been the works cited page. I was unaware how important this aspect was to the paper and how to properly construct this page. I feel more confident now on the format and what information needs to be provided in this area. After getting the first writing assignment back I realized that I had no idea how to properly format the works cited page, let alone how to cite those sources in the actual writing. I had a lot of errors, for example I was unaware that I was able to use the last name of the author at the end of the cited sentence to properly give credit to the author. There were only minor improvements on the next writing which made me realize that this was an area that I was going to have to really work on. On writing three and four I decided to put more thought into the works cited page as a whole. This was also the same time as to when we started highlighting in our sources where we found our information and whether or not we paraphrased it or took it straight from the articles. This helped make me realize which type of citations to use and when the appropriate time to use them was. I believe that the toughest part about making the works cited page is the format. While there is not a huge difference between MLA and APA, it can become confusing when two different teachers prefer different methods. Knowing the differences and correctly applying the changes was one of the aspects that I improved on greatly this semester. Over the course of the semester the works cited, persuasive language, and the target audiences have been the areas of writing needing the most improvement. I feel more confident now in picking the language and target audience, along with being able to construct a proper works cited page for these writings. As each paper came along I provided with more opportunities to learn the proper ways in which to approach these three  aspects and how to put more emphasis on them.

The Medical Condition Known As Down Syndrome - 970 Words

The sole focus of this research paper is to address the medical condition known as Down syndrome. Hwang (2013) states in his research that Down syndrome is a chromosomal translation and is responsible for various other conditions of the organs. The paper will give a general insight of the condition considering is one of the most common in the United Sates. The paper explains this by breaking it down in the following aspects: age group and family history. It also provides a description of Down syndrome, statistics and variants of the condition, how is diagnosed as well as attempts to treat it and find the cause among others. It also explains how is manifested in patients and other effects that condition causes. All this is supported utilizing various articles from medical sources and the National Down Syndrome Society (ndss). Down syndrome: Diagnosis and Treatment Down syndrome is commonly known by the public as a disease that causes physical and mental disabilities in people. Down syndrome is known by the scientific community as a genetic disorder of the twenty-first chromosome. As a result of this genetic disorder other systems of the body are also affected, this includes mental and physical disabilities. Down syndrome â€Å"is a lifelong condition†¦ that happens before birth† (WebMD, 2015). According to the National Down Syndrome Society one in every 691 babies are born with the condition (NDSS, 2015). In order to understand this condition it isShow MoreRelatedThe Problem Of Down Syndrome1259 Words   |  6 PagesDown Syndrome Although many theories have been developed, it is not known what actually causes Down syndrome. Some professionals believe that hormonal abnormalities, X-rays, viral infections, immunologic problems, or genetic predisposition may be the cause of the improper cell division resulting in Down syndrome. It has been known for some time that the risk of having a child with Down syndrome increases with advancing age of the mother; i.e., the older the mother, the greater the possibility thatRead MoreChildhood Span For Down Syndrome1174 Words   |  5 Pages Down Syndrome is a condition where people are born with an extra chromosome. It is a mental and physical trait that is usually caused by a gene issue. It is common in one out of 800 births and can affect all races and genders (My Child Without Limits.org). This disease is life long and there is no cure for it. The only way to help is by loving and supporting the person who is affected. Generally, a person is born with 46 chromosomes but people affected with this disease have 47 chromosomes. PeopleRead MoreEssay about Down Syndrome941 Words   |  4 Pageshas a genetic disorder called Down Syndrome (â€Å"National Down Syndrome Society,† n.d.). Within a matter of minutes parents learn that children with Down Syndrome can also have a variety of other conditions and disorders, will not develop in the same way that other children do, and may even have a shorter life span. However, children with Down Syndrome are happy-go-lucky children with a kind disposition and a wonderful per sonality. Also known as Trisomy 21, Down Syndrome does not mean the end of a child’sRead MoreDown Syndrome Essay1483 Words   |  6 PagesDown Syndrome is a chromosomal condition related to chromosome 21. It affects 1 in 800 to 1 in 1000 born infants. People who have Down Syndrome have learning difficulties, mental retardation, a different facial appearance, and poor muscle tone (hypotonia) in infancy. Individuals with Down Syndrome also have an increased risk for having heart defects, digestive problems such as â€Å"gastroesophageal reflux or celiac disease†, and hearing loss. Some people who have Down Syndrome have â€Å"low activity ofRead More Down Syndrome Essay1083 Words   |  5 PagesDown Syndrome   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Have you ever been in a situation where you were confronted by a child who has Down Syndrome and were unsure of how to act around that child? Im sure many of us have experienced the awkwardness that accompanies such a situation. Many people feel guilt or pity for these children, I believe these reactions result from a lack of knowledge about the condition. Which is why I have chosen this topic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Down Syndrome is a condition that cannot be physically passed on from oneRead MoreDown Syndrome And The Formation Of Reproductive Cells1121 Words   |  5 Pages Down syndrome is a genetic condition in which individuals are born with a full or partial copy of chromosome 21. Down syndrome, in most cases, is not a result of an inherited condition, but rather a â€Å"chromosomal abnormality that occurs as a random event during the formation of reproductive cells† (Down Syndrome). With this condition there is a range of severity from very mild to moderate, and in some cases severe. The one trait that is very consistent among these individuals is mental retardationRead MoreDown Syndrome As A Cognitive Disorder Essay1315 Words   |  6 Pages Down syndrome as a cognitive disorder Down syndrome (DS) is relatively well known as a genetic disorder to the general public and children with this syndrome form one of the most readily identifiable groups of children with moderate to severe learning difficulties. It has been over 130 years since Langdon Down first described DS and 30 years since the presence of the defining extra copy of chromosome 21 was identified by Lejeune andRead MoreThe Pros and Cons of Prenatal Screening Essay1197 Words   |  5 Pagesabnormal body buildup and other conditions which bring a lot of troubles in the future to the child themselves and their parents. Modern technologies and innovations in the medical field had developed a method to detect the abnormality before delivery and prevent this future tragedy to happen. This method is known as prenatal screening. There are several advantages and disadvantages of prenatal screening. Prenatal screening is a test to detect diseases or conditions in a fetus or embryo before birthRead MoreGenetic Disorders and Down Syndrome Essay969 Words   |  4 Pagesretardation. Fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, Turners syndrome and many other syndromes result from a mutation of a chromosome, an extra chromosome, or too few chromosomes. Discovered in 1991, Fragile X syndrome is considered a fairly new genetic disorder. According to The Fragile X Association, Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is caused by the expansion or lengthening of the FMR1 gene on the X chromosome, known as a gene mutation. Fragile X occurs more in males than females. â€Å"Fragile X syndrome occurs in approximatelyRead More Down Syndrome Essay603 Words   |  3 Pagesgenetic or congenital defect or disease. One of the most common of these genetic disorders is Down syndrome. This disorder takes its name from Dr. Langdon Down, who was the first to describe it formally, in 1866. Down syndrome is a condition marked by abnormal physical and mental development that is caused by a genetic defect. This genetic defect is caused by an extra chromosome. People born with Down syndrome have 47 chromosomes compared to the normal amount of 46, 23 chromosomes inherited from each