Development Of Industrial Relations In Hong Kong Commerce Essay

Development Of Industrial Relations In Hong Kong Commerce Essay In responding to the question, I agree with that the organization of industrial relations in Hong Kong has been less formalized and less centralized. There are three critical factors influenced the development of the industrial relations in Hong Kong. In the following essay, there will be a definition and description on industrial relations and the role of trade unions in Hong Kong. And discuss the background of economic, political and institutional sociology environment in post colony Hong Kong that affecting the function of trade union. Industrial Relations and Trade Union The terms of Industrial Relations is used to define the relationship and interactions between the employees (workers) and employers (management) within the organizational settings. Those interactions or activities were involved all aspects of the employment relationship, human resource management, employee relations and union-management relations. The main parties to the employment relationship and the key actors are workers and workers organizations (usually trade union), employers and managers and also the state (Bacon, 2009). Since there have difference perspective among employers, employees (workers) and trade unions (workers organization), the industrial relation means different things to different people. For workers, they wants fairness of employment outcome, better pay, workplace safety, job security and training, while employer wants more efficiency, more productivity, more flexibility in the workforce. In general, trade unions have a wide range of beneficial outcome. They can be the actor to force managers improve human resources management practices, being the role of consulting, promoting job equal opportunities, increasing job satisfaction and reducing labour turnover. Meanwhile, trade unions also acted as a representative of employee to voice out their needs as well as express their views and interests in the workplace. Furthermore, they can create issues covering on the wages and working hours, to encourage employees to be better producers for their employers and ensure employers provide better working conditions for employee through the activities of collective bargaining and negotiation. Thus, industrial relations were often subject to joint regulation which required cooperation among employee and employer participation in decision making. However, in Hong Kong, union effects nowadays appear to have reduced obviously or just apply limited effect in some special circumstance. It probably caused by the change of industrial relations since World War II, under the governance of Colonial British rule for 150 years prior to Chinas sovereignty. Critical factors leading that influence trade unions in Hong Kong Economic Factors First of all, from the aspect of economic factors, entrepot trade was the mainstay economy in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, with the declined of entrepot trade, the sudden influx of refugees and the capital from Shanghai and other major Chinese cities transferred to Hong Kong that influenced the movement of unions in labour relation. With the expansion of manufacturing sector (such as clothing and electronics) that facilitate the semi-worker and the skill transferred among difference industries. Manufacturing activities have accounted for the large share of labour force together with other sector, such as restaurants and hotels, wholesale and retail, commerce and finance (Ng, 1984). At that time, Small firm of individual business provided more employment opportunities. Hong Kong has accomplished a high rate of economic growth with lower unemployment rate. Under this circumstance, union membership is low and the collective bargaining is practically non-existent. There was no incentive to recognize trade unions or bargain collectively within workers. In addition, the perception of British voluntaristic tradition, gentlement agreement among the workplace are more significant than collective agreements, the lacking of legal obligation of enforceable contract that allow employer adjust their labour force in accordance to adapt with the market condition (Chiu and Levin,1996). Meanwhile, the new economic structure only focused to fit the economist prescription in the organizational level in regard of employment relations. Government had adopting a non-interventionist policies in the social and economic sphere that had no intention to restructure the industry by implementing regulation, tax policies or subsidies, remains the lowest taxes among the world to preserve economy incentives (Tang, 1999). It had created a capitalist framework of the economy that encourage private sector to pursuit the market capitalism. Furthermore, the free market approach, Laisse-faire policies initiated by the government on economic activities only consist with minimal regulatory, no minimum wage legislation, no fixing prices. That means people can buy from whom they want, to sell from whom they buy and to invest they want or to hire whom they want, to work for whom they want (Tang, 1999). As a result, the collusion between government and employer that emerged conflictual interest between labour and capital that empower employer over the labour process and employment relations by bargaining between individual employers and workers.(Chiu and Levin, 1999). Moreover, trade union in Hong Kong are all in political orientated, they are only interested in realizing political objective rather than seeking economic benefit for the workers through establishing formal rule making arrangement with employer (Chiu and Levin, 1999) Political and Sociology Factors The nature of political agreement for Hong Kongs revision to China was maintained the British rule of economic governance. Under this old model, administration worked was closely worked with business community that to ensure the stability of social and economic environment. Such policies were also included public housing programme, comprehensive system of education, public health, subsidized in transport and social service. Colonial government approach of non intervention policy that allowed business elite integrated largely in governance the system of colonial Hong Kong by formulating public policies in responds to the interests and demands of the dominant resources controller and economic elites (Chiu and Nevin, 1996). In the wake of the economic environment, a magnitude domestic disturbance posed major crises of legitimacy, which alert the colonial government had to build a new basis of legitimacy in order to increase the commitment to voluntarism (Chiu and Nevin, 1999) Since the Hong Kong Government had made a formal commitment for the civil servant over the employment term and condition that initiated the practice trend of civil-service to private-sector approach. This kind of voluntarist framework had influenced the development of private sector to be more formalized in labour relations in civil service that resulting a process of both formal and informal pressures on the dependent and cultural expectation within the organization. Meanwhile, trade union being recognised by the colonial government and creating formal channels for their participation in decision making on terms and condition of employment which is more advanced than other private sector employers. (Chiu and Nevin, 1996) Through the expanding minimum standards of employment not solely for the capitalist but also coincide the interest for vulnerable categories of employees in the workforce. The birth of the international legislation for women and child labour and the enactment of the Employment Ordinance and its subsequent amendments were established in 1920 and 1966-67 respectively in order to maintain domestic stability and legitimacy. The policy are set for prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status (Chiu and Levin, 1996). In addition, the set up of Labour Department in 1947, the establishment of the Employment Ordinance in 1974 (Chiu and Levin, 1996) and the reform of political structure in 1980s, establishment of district boards with elected members to advise the government on the matters affecting the welfare of the district (Tang, 1999),begun elected seats onto the Legislative Council as the British and Chinese government negotiated for Hong Kongs future. Political parties representing grass-root and labour interest were able to exercise far more to influence in the legislature (Tang, 1999). Since it opened up of the political system, small business and firms, as well as labour groups were more active in competing for political support to advance interests. Besides that, the establish of the Trade Unions and Trade Disputes Ordinance, that allow multiple union to form in the same trade, industry or enterprise that facilitate unions fragmentation and reducing potential untied opposition from organize d labour to colonial rule. The approach of positive non-intervention taken by Labour Department, emphasised not to impose tight control over unions activities and political orientation. However, the behaviour of the trade unions FTU CTU in Hong Kong, always fall into opposite and competition position between two Chinese government (pro-Chinese Communist Party and pro-Kuomintang Party) rather than using their resources to enhance the interest of workers through their domestic political action. Cultural Factors : The cultural factors of Neo-Confucian ideological which suggests workers in Chinese society accept authoritarian management and avoid confrontation with the employer (Chan and Snape, 2000). The traditional Chinese cultural of paternalism and instrumental individualism in the work place, can be interpreted as the collectivistic particularism of the Chinese family (Ng, 1984) which is a concept of utilitarianistic familism that typically concerned about the interest of family over societal or other group interest, thus, they are low in participating of social involvement with co-workers and neighbour (Chiu and Nevin, 1999). Therefore, with these two ideologies among employee, employment just viewed as their secondary concern. The low level of social involvement of political apathy that underpinning the low level of participation in the unionization and collective action among workers. On the other hand, the practical exercise of Chinese workers preference unofficial methods and personal network to achieve their goals rather than in a formal channel. In addition, the rapid growth of labour population by the influx of refugee that had influenced the attitude and behaviour among the workplace as their primary interest was maximizing the income to get familial group survival. Main unions grouping in Hong Kong The unions in Hong Kong are encompassed with three main federations. The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Union (FTU), the largest union in Hong Kong and was established in 1947. Second is the pro-democracy Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) was formed in 1990 and has been worked close with the Christian Industrial Committee (CIC) that focusing on labour education and advising workers on grievances. Third, is pro-nationalist Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council (TUC), was established in 1948. There are also many difference independent unions which are smaller in specific sector, such as Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants association (HKCCSA) and Hong Kong Professional Teachers Union (HKPTU). Traditionally, FTU have the role of taking an overly conciliatory line in labour disputes and focusing on the provision of welfare services to its members. However, it took a more moderate perspective that in line with Beijings conciliatory open door policy that not only participating in social affairs, striving for rights and benefit for workers but also promoting social stability and economic prosperity in Hong Kong. While CTU aims to build independent unions and encourage Hong Kong workers to see unions membership being about the protection of their interests (Snape and Chan,1997). The leadership of CTU was aimed to obtain the support from the grass-roots by effectively representing workers interests to government and to employers, playing a positive role in labour disputes by adopting an inclusive approach to unionization and desired to maintain stability which enable CTU is often cast in the role of trouble-shooter, and emphasizing the importance of CTUs political autonomy that to develop a political consciousness and to preserving trade union and other freedoms in Hong Kong. TUC, the association of KuoMinTang (KMT), affiliate has been seen as an expression of loyalty to the Nationalists. It displayed their influence mainly through their participation channel of communication with the government only. (Snape and Chan,1997) such as Labour Advisory Board. The leader of TUC has implemented low profile approach that in order to avoid anger Beijing. And the leadership were comes from the older age group that affecting the recruitment activity was more less than other unions and have been difficulties in recruiting younger workers. Implication However, accordance to the historical background, the effectiveness of trade union activities in Hong Kong is open to question. Given that the impact of Neo-Confucian, Chinese family and paternalism had influenced the mentality of Chinese workers and the first migrant generation, participated in the colonial educational system which limiting collective challenge towards colonial government should not be exaggerated. However, the combination of legislation and regulatory of voluntarism and the cultural perspective cannot be overlooked. This was not only influenced the institutions of family and education system but also foster the dominance of individual and instrumental labour market strategic. In accordance to its political background, governments non-intervention approach, collective bargaining in after world war II seems effective fro most of big business firms, however, the institutional environment had influenced the new form of modern labour organization in Hong Kong. That emerged the declined of labour movement and the new guild origins with a mutual aid function. From the aspect on welfare orientation, trade union acted as a principle agency between two rivalry Chinese parties, Kuomingtang and Chinese Communist Party. With tendency of enlarge their power and seeking the support from employer. However, it can lead to the reshape of industrial relation governance structure as well as trade union while the economic turn weak. In addition, trade union in Hong Kong can be viewed as mimetic as it replete with revolutionary and nationalistic movement. (Chiu and Levin, 1999) Under this circumstance, trade union lobbying benefit for worker are become ineffectiveness and gave the grounds for government and employer for resisting bargaining relations with the unions. Conclusion In general, trade unions role in other countries are concluding bargaining with employers for better pay, bonuses and allowance, better working conditions and more welfare benefit and try to get involve in the decision making are supported by employee. However, it doesnt not meant employee prefer representation and participation through trade union in Hong Kong. It can be interpreted due to the mentality difference among Hong Kong and others. The culturally conditioned fatalism and typically in-depth and influence employee in Hong Kong that lead to resistance of collective action (Chan and Snape, 2000). Besides the economic, political and sociological factors, employee apathetic to trade union can be seen as a key factor that influence trade union in Hong Kong became less formalized and less centralized.

The Complex Moral Issue of Stem Cell Research Essays -- Biology Biolog

The Complex Moral Issue of Stem Cell Research Works Cited Missing For Sale: One small miracle in a bassinet. Will cure AIDS, cancer, acne, possibly bad breath and athletes foot. Limited supply only, so call and reserve your miracle cure now, a.k.a. Human Fetus. Only a couple of years ago the ad above would have seemed like something from a science fiction novel. However, now the pages of that novel are coming to life. In 1998, James Thompson, a biology student from the University of Wisconsin, isolated the first embryonic stem cell. Contrary to the sound of its name, a stem cell is actually a human fetus that has been aborted and allowed to "develop for up to twelve days or until he is about 100 cells big" (Sullenger). Scientists are now conducting research on these stem cell lines. A stem cell line comes directly from a single embryo. After that line is fully developed "it can reproduce indefinitely, allowing hundreds of researchers to work with cells from a single line" (Meckler). As of right now, there are only 64 stem cell lines existing i n the United States. Out of those 64, only 24 or 25 are fully developed and ready for research. The research done on these cells is meant to find cures for diseases such as Leukemia, AIDS and other forms of cancer. There are many controversies concerning this area of research. The main one is whether or not the research done on human fetuses is a violation of a human being’s life. The ones who say that it is not a violation believe that life doesn’t start until the day of birth. On the other hand, those who do believe it is a violation say that the life of a human begins the minute they are conceived. In order to obtain the stem cells, researchers must get the cells from an abor... ...cures for all sorts of ills, from diabetes and heart disease to Alzheimer’s -all without taking a single additional embryo" (Lemonick). On the other hand, there was still the issue of whether it’s morally right to kill a human in experiamentation. To many, it seems like a waste for scientists to create stem cells only to do experiments on them, and then get rid of them when they are done, "in effect, these humanistic apologists have created an entire group of throw-away people, whose lives only have meaning in how they can serve the rest of humanity" (Sullenger). This is one issue that won’t be easily resolved, and it may never come down to being able to order a miracle cure over the tv. We live in an age of scientific discovery, and with that, anything is possible. There might even be a way for people to agree on the moral issues of the subject in the future.

Movie Journals

Journal 1 What’s cooking? Explain the representation of women and their roles in their families. Explain the role of the generational conflict. How does the setting design tell about the characters? The film What’s cooking? is about four different families all coming from different cultures, but focuses primarily on the women of each. We have a Jewish mother who is trying to accept the fact that her daughter is a homosexual and trying to eases the acceptance. Then we have the Nguyens, the mother follows the Vietnamese traditions really tightly and depends on her eldest son to help guide her young children.In the Avila family we see  Elizabeth, whose macho husband has left her for her cousin and has found consolation with a colleague. In the Williamses the wife is dealing with an infidelity from the husband as well as putting up with an annoying mother in law. These family problems show us that every women has the same problems no matter what ethnicity they are or cult ure. Throughout the film we see generational conflict. In the Williamses's family we see a conflict between the wife and the mother in law when they were arguing if the turkey was ready.The mother in law has different ways, â€Å"old styles† of cooking and preparing food, which causes them to bump heads. Also in the same family the father and son don’t see eye to eye in the son’s education. The son wants to go to Howard, an all black college. His father doesn’t want that for his son he tells him that he would rather like him to go to a University like UCSB and be part of the white patriarchal capitalistic society, but the son feels that it is more important for him to cope with his minority group. The visual designs used to portray the houses tell us a lot about the families.The Williamses house is the biggest out of all the homes. This shows that they are of a high socioeconomic class. When compared to the Nguyens we see that the Nguyens are of a lower s ocioeconomic class. We also see this when they are preparing the mash potatoes for the thanksgiving dinner. The Nguyens use their hands to mash the potatoes while the Williamses use a blender to mash it for them. The Nguyens are clinging to their Vietnamese traditions so tightly they haven't a clue how to listen to their children. The Seeligs house decor seems to be old school insinuating that they have lived in the neighborhood for a while.They seem to be conservative keeping their old traditions. We see this when the father doesn’t want his daughter to tell his relatives that she is a lesbian and has a girlfriend. Journal 2 Hairspray Explain how Tracy challenges the ideology of her time. Explain how she challenges the way women are perceived. Explain how color acts as a way of explaining the world of the film. Tracy challenges the ideology of her time in many different aspects. Tracy lives in the 60’s when society was dominated by a white patriarchal system. Segregat ion was still going on but it was on its last terms.Tracy challenges the system by questioning why the African Americans only danced one a month on Negro day and why they couldn’t dance along side with the white kids. Questioning the Jim Crow laws that were a big part of society at the time, which kept people segregated. She also challenges the patriarchal society when she confronts the police which are the repressive state apparatus and how they don’t allow integration. Tracy challenges the way women are perceived in films. In most films women are these skinny tall beautiful women who get what they want. In hairspray Tracy is the opposite of this norm that has been adapted for women.She is a short big girl who is in love with the most attractive guy at school. Who in reality has no chance with him what so ever. Despite all of this she makes him fall in love with her challenging the norms. Showing us that anything is possible to achieve and that the true character of a person is defined by inner qualities rather than outer ones like skin, color, dress size or hair style. The colors in the movie play an important role on how the movie is seen. We see that the Corny Collins show is in black and white showing us that it is an example of how close minded people where at that time in history.At the end when the Corny Collins show gets rid of the segregated dancing we see Queen Latifah wearing a bright golden clothing to symbolize that they have reached their ultimate goal, which is to finally be assimilated and accepted into society. Journal 3 The Birds Discuss The Birds through an analysis of the male gazes. How is Melanie Daniels power taken from her? why? When we analyze the film The Birds through the male gaze we see through the eyes of Mitch, or Mitch’s point of view as he seems to view her for her sexuality and aggressiveness.She seems to want Mitch to watch her and goes out of her way to be sure that he does. In another scene as she is h olding the lovebirds in the elevator she seems in some ways to be posing for the gentleman in the elevator with her. As she leaves the elevator her eyes seem to go to the side in a very cautious manner to see if the man is watching as she leaves the elevator. She seems to know the power and desire of her sexuality as we view her through the camera lens in the same way as one might view someone who is on display and want to be seen.This especially can be seen when Melanie’s has come on to Mitch in some highly suggestive manners and he tells her, â€Å"back in your gilded cage Melanie Daniels. † He seems to suggest that she in fact is too much for him to handle sexually and mentally, and the bird cages symbolizes that maybe Melanie sees herself as one of those love birds and seeks love, and freedom from her own cage in life. Melanie is seen as a woman of strength and grace who is not afraid to go after what she wants and does not care who knows it.She is also aggressive and daring, as well as independent which makes all of these things admirable to some men, but could also frighten some men. The film seems to follow the ideology of investigate and punish we see this when Melanie is stripped from her power for defying the patriarchal rules. Melanie’s power is taken away when she gets attacked by the birds. When she is getting attacked she is moaning in a sexual way as if she were getting raped by the birds. Symbolizing how she is being stripped from her aggressiveness and confidence. Showing us how vulnerable she really is.The final step that tells us that her power has been completely removed is when we see her red nails ruined. Mitch’s mom no longer sees her as a threat of taking Mitch away from her so she holds her trying to console her, approving of her. Journal 4 Sunset Boulevard Is Norma Desmond a sympathetic character in the film? Who has the most power in the film? In the film Sunset Boulevard Norma Desmond is seen as a sympath etic character towards the middle of the film when the audience notices that she is stuck in her past, living in a dream, â€Å"waiting for the cameras†.It is her egoistic attitude and her actions that make the audience feel bad and sympathize her. We can also sympathize when she cuts her wrist because Joe has gone out to work on the movie script with Betty and thinks he is cheating on her. She makes the audience feel bad for her. When she finds out that there will be no film she goes crazy in disbelief In the last scene we see a fade in of Norma’s face this causes her to look and seem crazy with the help of the lighting. This makes the audience feel somewhat compassionate and sympathy for her. It seems that Norma Desmond has the most power in the film.Sunset Boulevard being a film noir takes part of the castration complex. She is seen as a â€Å"predator† aggressive and waiting for its prey so she can attack it making her a femme fatales. We see this when she s ees Joe. She jumps all over him tries to buy him, making him want to stay. Joe being in the financial crisis that he was in made him vulnerable and susceptible to Norma’s control. Also in the film we see when she goes and buys Joe a suit, not knowing what to get the store owner tells him to get the expensive one that she is paying making him not be the provider. It is seen again when Joe goes to the pharmacy to buy Norma cigarettes.She hands him the money and Joe seems to be hesitant to take it. It seems that his male â€Å"provider† ego seems to not approve of the money given to him by Norma. It gets to a point that Joe actually starts to get use to the life he has. We can see Norma is in control over Joe because she takes away his life because he is living her. Making her have the power in the film. Journal 5 Out of the past Why is Jeff Bailey considered a classic film noir anti hero? Discuss the use of the male gaze in reference to the two central females, Kathie an d Ann. Jeff Bailey is seen as a classic film noir anti hero in Out of the past.An anti-hero is a protagonist that does not always make choices that audiences would make, or has different, more unsound motivations than a typical hero. He can be shown to make poor or unethical choices yet is still intended to get the sympathy of the audience. This adds a complexity to the films and challenges many of traditions of literature and cinema. This makes us question the character of this protagonist, and yet we are forced to follow and empathize with him, because he carries the story. Jeff perfectly fits into this category. When he has the flashback of when he goes to Mexico to go look for Kathie who has taken 40000 dollars.Kathie being a perfect example of a femme fatale seduces him and makes him fall in love with her. She does this so he doesn’t turn her in, messing with his job orders. At the end Jeff is killed by Kathie because he has ran away with her not following the norms that the audience would expect, sending a subliminal message on the consequences if one were to act in that manner. The male gaze is used in the film and we can see it in the two central female actresses Kathie and Ann. The way they are portrayed through the male gaze is very different. We see Ann as a non seductive woman, that has an angelic face.The clothes she wears are not revealing and leave room for imagination. While Kathie on the other hand is seen as a very seductive women that does whatever it takes to get what she wants. Also the lighting used for each actress is different. For Kathie at times we see she is in a dark background and we can’t see her face. Making her a mysterious, cynical character. While Ann on the other hand is always in the light and we see her face symbolizing innocence. The angles at which they are filmed are also a factor. When Kathie is being filmed we see that she is looking down at Jeff, making her look superior.With Ann she is always at eye lev el with Jeff. Journal 6 Is Run Lola, Run truly a feminist film or does the male gaze still apply to this film? The film Run Lola, Run follows the feminist film theory but still has some male gaze point of views. The lead female character in Run Lola Run, is the heroine. Lola comes to the rescue of her boyfriend Manni, which disrupts the popular model, norm of men portrayed as the heroes of society. This film is set in Berlin where Manni loses a small fortune of his mob-boss’s money and relies on Lola to save his life.She has twenty minutes to gather 100,000 and meet him at a designated location or Manni will be killed. Not only is Run Lola Run unique because the woman is the heroine, but also because it combines animation and hand held camera to create a variety of experiences through different types of shot. The literacy design is coupled with a limited dialogue and more action, the film goes against the norm of popular cinema. Lola shows the audience that she has the power to shape what is going on around her, throughout each round. During the course of the film we see the game theory in action, there are three realities that play out.Each segment concludes with a different outcome. The choices of the main characters, Lola, alter the ending. Lola proves to be a strong and compelling person through examples such as her glass shattering scream. At one point it seems to own mystic powers, when it affected a game of roulette that Lola needed to win in order to acquire money to save Manni. There are other aspects of Lola’s power, as in her intense running throughout the entire film, robbing her father as well as helping in robbing of the supermarket, and saving another man’s life by simply holding his hand.Although she is white and slender, has bright dyed red hair, is very athletic, has tattoos, and is not the average beauty. The film not only challenges societal idea of what a woman should be, it also undermines the way films are commonly u sed to construct a reality for the viewer by going against the norm of shots, narrative, time, and the power of the individual. Lola is the writer of her own life, she takes an active role in her story as well as others.

The Global Village

The Global Village The global village is characterized by widespread use of advanced information and communication technologies .American physiologist, Manuel Castells has termed it ‘network society’ whereby we run our lives using â€Å"computers, network technologies [] telecommunication [tools] †¦Ã¢â‚¬ (152).This has greatly changed our social structures (151).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Global Village specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the global village, government influence and control has weakened in economic, cultural, political and social dimensions unlike in the past. This has been attributed to novel information and communication technologies ( Castells 155). The powers of most government have been decentralized to local and regional levels â€Å"in an effort to regain legitimacy visvis, their citizen† (Castells 155). This shift in power base is claimed to have been brought about by  "mobile and liquid† capital that has been made possible by advanced information and communication technologies (Sassen, n.pag). It is claimed nations are ‘giving up’ their sovereignty in preference to ‘shared’ sovereignty, mainly through international bodies (EU,NATO ,UN Organizations etc), with other states that results in a collective and stronger influence over other nations (Castells 155). Cities: With increased globalization, some cities are increasingly taking a significant role in running of world affairs than national governments. Saskia Sassen, a professor of Urban Planning at Columbia believes that major cities of the world have the potential to create â€Å"economic geography†. She further states that cities are critical due to the fact that they are the hearts of the telecommunication infrastructure, the driving force of globalization and will continue to serve as â€Å"centers for coordination, control and servicing of global capi tal†. Globalization has also brought about great changes in structures of cities and urban centers in areas such as workforce, settlement, size and design (Hall 144). The effects of globalization are much visible in cities. This has made the issue of the future of these cities to come under close scrutiny. Global economy: The economy of the global village is a large network of small economies in which financial markets are major player (Castells 155). This economy is dynamic, rides on information technologies and is â€Å"heavily dependent on knowledge and information† (154).The global economy is a said to be a network of â€Å"firms, segments of firms, segments of governments, segments of public sector and non-governmental organizations† (Castells 154). This type of economy is also characterized by â€Å"flexible work arrangement† (Castells 155.)Advertising Looking for essay on geography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Culture: Global cities are multicultural, owing to among other factors, deregulation and privatization of economies that has attracted foreign workers and traders setting in a wave of immigration all over the world (Sassen, n.pag). Corporate culture is emerging to be dominant over other cultures and identities. Previously localized cultures in western countries are fast spreading (Sassen, n.pag). Major global cities share similar cultures. The global village is increasingly facing challenges in terms of unequal development especially widening income disparity, unemployment ,collapse of small businesses as a result of multinationals ‘international monopoly’ ,shift of attention from manufacturing to financial services among others (Sassen, n.pag).Their causes ,however, remain debatable. Conclusion: With emerging superior information technologies every day, change is inevitable. Such changes may sustain the global villages as we currently kn ow it but it may be in a very different scale and proportion. More research is needed on this topic. Castells, Manuel. â€Å"The Contours of Network Society†. Foresight 2.2. ( 2000). Camford Publishing. Web. Hall, Peter. â€Å"The End of The City?†City7:2(2003).Carfax Publishing. Web. Sassen, Saskia. â€Å"Global City: Strategic Site/New Frontier.† Global Tension Conference. 2001 Web.

Phrasal Verb Focus about Money for English Learners

Phrasal Verb Focus about Money for English Learners As you know, native speakers of English tend to use a lot of phrasal verbs (sometimes called prepositional, multi-word verb, verbs) in everyday spoken English. In the area of money, there are many, many phrasal verbs about money that are used in both formal and informal situations. Read this short paragraph using  phrasal verbs about money in context. Next, find the definitions below to help you with understanding. Money, Money, Phrasal Verbs about Money! Well, last week I finally  dipped into  that money that I had been  putting aside  for the past year and a half. I decided that I should really enjoy myself so I  splashed out  and had a great meal at Andys. Next, I went to Macys on Saturday and  laid out  $400 for that suit Id told you about. Of course, I used a great deal of what I  had saved up  to  pay back  that bill I had  run up  on my Visa card. It feels great to finally have some money after all those years of  scraping by. Thanks again for  tiding me over  during that long winter of 05. I dont think I would have  got by  without your  bailing me out.Unfortunately, I also had to  cough up  about $250 in insurance costs. Oh well, I guess  shelling out  the cash for those things is just as necessary as anything else... Phrasal Verbs about Money Spending Money lay out - to spend money. especially a large amount splash out - to spend a lot of money on something you dont need, but is very pleasant run up - to create a large debt fork out, fork over - to pay for something, usually something you would rather not have to pay for. shell out - to pay for something, usually something you would rather not have to pay for. cough up - to provide money for something you do not want to Having Just Enough Money get by - to have just enough money for your needs scrape by - to manage to live on very little money Helping Someone with Money bail out - to help a person or organization out of a difficult situation tide over - to help someone with money for a period of time until they have enough Paying Debts pay back - to return money owed to someone pay off - to finish paying all money that is owed Saving Money save up - to keep money for a large expense in the future put aside - to save money for a specific purpose Using Saved Money   dip into - to spend part of your saved money break into - to start to use money that you have saved Here is a practice dialogue using some of the above vocabulary. More on Learning Phrasal Verbs If you are unfamiliar with phrasal verbs, this guide to  what are phrasal verbs  explains everything. Teachers can use this introducing  phrasal verbs lesson plan  to help students become more familiar with phrasal verbs and start building phrasal verb vocabulary. Finally, there are a wide variety of  phrasal verb resources  on the site to help you learn new phrasal verbs and test your understanding with quizzes. One last tip Make sure that when you are studying new verbs in the dictionary to read the  entire  entry. Dont just learn the main verb; take time to look at the phrasal verbs that are constructed using the verb. This will save you a lot of time in the long run. Believe me, if you havent been to an English speaking country, chances are that one of the biggest difficulties for you will be understanding phrasal verb usage. If you already live in a country where English is the primary language you certainly have already experienced this.

Castel sant's angelo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Castel sant's angelo - Essay Example The monument was constructed on a special site which was on the river edge built on solid ground. The actual architectural layout of the mausoleum is uncertain even today in terms of construction and decorative. The monument composes of three overlaid bodies of architecture which are a square base, a cylindrical body, and the last piece that was a cylindrical shape too but smaller. On top of this last piece was a statute of Hadrian pulling a quadriga. The cylindrical body of the monument was filled with an embankment of earth with a hanging garden for cover. The structure which was built at the Roman period is unrecognizable now. However, some parts still survive including the foundations and masonry of the square base, the entire masonry nucleus, the entrance built with stone blocks, the ramp leasing to the top floor, and funeral hall (Zirpolo, 2010). In all transformations that have taken place in this castle, these constructions have remained the core areas. The castle was transformed into a fortress from a mausoleum in the middle ages. This transformation also changed the layout of the structure. These changes had been taking place for over ten centuries because the building was linked to the town walls, it was built around Rome, and the changes were carried out by a military architect, Nicolo Lamberti. The castle also had a defensive role because it was positioned at a point where the northern access city route was located. The castle gained immense significance throughout the transformations that took place. There was also a dispute in the middle ages regarding the possession of the castle. Papal Court took possession of the castle when he came to Rome in 1377. Eventually in efforts to make the castle a safe place, an internal passageway was created in the cylindrical body, the Roman entrance and the spiral ramp was closed. A new entrance was created on the half way f the cylindrical mole and was linked by

The Greek challenge for European economic integration Dissertation

The Greek challenge for European economic integration - Dissertation Example The paper scrutinizes the likely economic effects to individual European nations as a result of the exit of the Greek nation with the burden of the debts incurred with entry into the euro zone and the use of the Euro as a result. Introduction Economic integration among countries involves the countries joining hands to achieve one economic goal. When countries integrate economically they benefit in the increased revenue as a result of the reduction of the trade tariffs. The reverse is true for the countries not in economic integration as such countries will suffer high trade tariffs set by their counterparts that will in the long run make trade expensive and not easy to run. Economic integration involves countries making their counterparts easier to trade with. This involves coming up with a common currency akin to the Euro that is used by the states in the European Union as a form of currency. The countries can also make trade between them easier by providing goods and service needed by the one country say x in exchange for what the other country say y produces and is needed by x. The main concepts of economic integration include the following. ... It was originally formed by six countries that are Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy, Germany and France. Currently the union boasts a list of 27 members after entry of other European countries over the years. The idea to come together as united nation was informed by the following. To help rebuild each other after the economic destruction occasioned by the World War 2. This was also meant to foster peace and stability in the European countries through economic development as economic instability was perceived to bring about political instability through support of growth of extremists in facism and communism. This was informed by the breaches done during the world war and efforts to heal the wounds so caused as a result. Further the integration was meant to foster bilateral ties between the European nations. In addition the intergration was meant to bring unity between east and west Europe that was separated and to counter threat from the Soviet Union. After the formation of t he European Union, countries in the union decided to come up with a common currency to facilitate trade between the member nations in the bloc. With the use of a common currency the countries are able to carry out trade efficiently and the transactions are effective. The Greek nation Greece is a member state of the European economic integration. It is said to have joined the euro zone in the year 2001. Initially, the union was only meant for the country in the higher upper end like Germany and France as opposed to the countries in t he periphery like Greek. The country however, managed to convince the members of the euro zone for it to be considered into the integration. This Greek nation thought will help prosper it economic growth with the