Assignment 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Assignment 5 - Essay Example From the studies some teachers in the district schools felt the need to reconsider some of the stages and thus this was looked at by the curriculum committee (Wiles & Bondi, 2004). With regards to the studies the goals of designing a curriculum for a school are many. School experience is expected to be able to foster socially and healthy responsible behaviours among all students as they gear up to become adults. A school system is required to prepare the students for future work, how to be good citizens and also how to cope up with their daily lives. This clearly shows that designing and developing a curriculum in school is a significance aspect in a students learning experience. Therefore, there is a lot that is expected from a curriculum. From the study, schools are supposed to have some considerations like medical, safety, economic, custodial that should be related to a curriculum (Wiles & Bondi, 2004). Based on the study one of the major constraint that leads to lack of attainment of the curriculum goals is the factor of having less time in designing a curriculum. Lack of sufficient time for designing and instructing of a curriculum is very crucial for district schools and any other learning institution. Based on the present situation regarding education, curriculum has been known to serve more goals with only a few having to be eliminated. Acknowledgement of this issue leads to a lot of conflict based on some of the goals. It is clearly seen that some goals in a curriculum ought to be given up if others need to be met. A danger always arises when the members of a committee have to come up with delineation of some of the goals. With regards to the study a conflict came up among the teachers when the curriculum committee had to delineate some of the goals(Wiles & Bondi, 2004). The main structural feature that should be maintained in designing a

Ancient Egypt Essay Example for Free

Ancient Egypt Essay What are books? Well the answer is pretty simple which is books are a set of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of ink, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. Books are available everywhere. We can get them at a bookstore, library, school and many more places. They are part and puzzle of someone’s life. There are many types of book like storybooks, fictional, non-fictional, novels, magazines, manuscript, comic books, log books, reference books, textbooks and so much more. When writing systems were invented in ancient civilisation, this system can be written on nearly everything including stone, clay, tree bark and metal sheets. Alphabetic writing emerged in Egypt about 5,000 years ago. Papyrus, a thick paper-like material made by weaving of the stems of the papyrus plant, then pounding the woven sheet with a hammer-like tool, was used for writing in Ancient Egypt. Papyrus sheets were glued together to form a scroll. Tree bark such as lime and other materials were also used. A codex in modern usage is the first information repository that modern people would recognise as a book. In the early 19th century, steamed-powered printing presses became very popular. Books were put to good use by many well-known and famous authors both in the past and present. Author is someone who makes or originates something. Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Sun Tzu and many more philosophers spread their ideas and messages through books. They spoke their mind through books. This in return introduced and spread ideology over the continent during the rising and falling of great empires like Rome, Greek and China. Books play an important role in the growth of language. There are over 5000 languages in the world. These languages are spread by books. Nowadays, we can get books with different languages so that means you can get a book with the same title but with a different language. There are books such as dictionary that helps people especially students that have troubles in translating from a language to another. This is called bilingual. Besides, books are essential in students’ life. It is constantly needed throughout the learning period of an individual’s life. For example, books are used in kindergartens, primary, lower and upper secondary and even in colleges or institutions. Students no matter where or which phase of the learning period they enter, books are still needed. Furthermore, working people especially those who are involved in teaching and journalism like teachers, lecturers, professors, reporters and many more. They can’t escape from books. One of their source of livelihood is books. As technology progress, books are getting unpopular. This is because that we now are able to read story books and novels through the internet as well as purchase them. People do not have to open their books and flip through pages to find information. Moreover, they can obtain the information they seek within seconds. They also do not need to buy music books anymore because it is available online. In conclusion, books are the very source of intellect and intelligence. They are huge source of knowledge. To read books are endless, even a lifetime is not sufficient. You can never read them finish. During the earlier centuries, books were the key to the growth of advanced civilisation. Therefore, even with the progression of technology, mankind should continue to read books because they are endless with knowledge.

Wrights Native Son as Communist Manifesto? :: Native Son Essays

Wright's Native Son as Communist Manifesto? Was Richard Wright's Native Son a story about his views towards Capitalism and Communism ? Did Richard Wright want to show the good and bad points towards Capitalism and Communism ? Or was this novel just about how a young man went through life and how society made him. Richard Wright's Native Son shows that he used the Dalton's, Thomas's, and Jan Erlone to represent Capitalism and Communism . After reading Richard Wright's Native Son, many believe the author purposely placed the Thomas family in a small, run-down home . The book shows this right from the start . Bigger and his family had to sleep in the same room, and big rats were running around the house . This shows the Thomas family represented the lower class, a trademark of Capitalism . I could not even imagine living there, especially with that huge rat .The house must have been very dirty and disgusting by today's standards . The author wanted to show how some families live under these severe conditions. He made us see vividly how they lived with this quote . "A huge black rat squealed and leaped at Bigger's trouser-leg and snagged it in his teeth, hanging on." This showed how broke they were by showing that there were giant rats living with them and how it had no fear of them . Richard Wright did not just not just want to show the con sides to Capitalism, he also wanted to prove the Capitalism has its good sides to it also . For instance, Richard Wright purposely placed the Daltons in a spectacular house and made them very rich and famous . Another trademark of Capitalism, the upper class. The author showed how some of the Capitalist folks lived . The upper class is very wealthy and basically gets what they want . Mr. and Mrs. Dalton had it made. They had chauffeurs, a huge house, and cars . They had too much money . They were giving away things to the needy, though they were giving away useless things to the needy like Ping- Pong tables. Richard Wright wanted to show that the upper class were afraid of the blacks . Not afraid of their individual physical strength, but

Youth and Economic Development in the 21st Century Africa

Youth and Economic Development in the 21st Century Africa By: Ikechukwu D. Ikerionwu Dept. of Peace & Conflict Studies, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, USA. Preamble In the context of youth and economic development, leadership is a multi-layered phenomenon characterized by two main features: 1. The economic challenges facing African youth warrant responsible leadership by governments and international partners; 2. As leaders, youth can themselves play an important role in the promotion of economic development.This paper seeks to address these aspects of leadership by exploring seven main issues of economic development that are central to the well-being of youth in Africa: education and training; employment and migration; entrepreneurship; access to information and communication technology; health and HIV/AIDS; environmental and sustainable livelihoods; and participation in economic decision-making. The paper looks in particular at how governments have responded, how internationa l partners have supported efforts, and how youth themselves are taking the lead in addressing these issues.The main message is clear: while African governments are increasingly putting youth concerns at the heart of the development agenda, a lot more remains to be done. Both governments and international partners should commit to fully engage young Africans in all aspects of their programmes and initiatives that target youth and economic development. Youth have repeatedly demonstrated a willingness and an ability to contribute to the development process from the identification of issues to implementation and monitoring.However, to reap full benefits of their contributions, youth participation in programmes such as NEPAD, MDGs and PRSs needs to be strengthened. As motivated and inspired citizens, young people are agents of change with the potential for taking a leading role in tackling Africa’s development challenges for themselves, their families and the society. The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Education and Skills Training for African YouthYoung Africans need access to both decent formal education and opportunities to acquire a range of vocational and life skills to actively participate in all spheres of an increasingly knowledge-intensive society, today as young citizens and tomorrow as the continent’s future leaders. Unfortunately, young people in Africa struggle to acquire an education that provides them with the right set of skills and knowledge. As a result, the transition from school-to-work is a major challenge such that many young Africans end up either unemployed or underemployed in the informal sector with little protection and prospects.Governments and international partners have made concerted efforts in recent years to improve this situation. In particular, to achieve the goal of universal primary education, many African countries have directed much effort and resources to improving primary school enrolment. The abol ishing of school fees at the primary level has been a major driving force to achieve this goal. In Malawi, for example, free primary school education has considerably increased the youth literacy level. Even while enrolments have been increasing, the quality of education in many African countries appears to be on the decline.Inadequate infrastructure and training facilities, poor and inappropriate curricula, and lack of well-trained and motivated teachers are among the main reasons explaining this decline. The Nigeria government is still having issues with the labour unions over the implementation of the N18,000 ($115. 38) minimum wage. Though access to primary education is a necessary first step and a fulfilment of a human right, it is also clear that it does not provide needed skills for a young African to compete in an increasingly competitive labour market.Moreover, at the country level, a critical mass of secondary and higher education graduates are required in order to acceler ate economic development. In most African countries, secondary schools are limited in capacity, which is largely due to inadequate budgetary resources for this sector. Consequently, the chances of young people proceeding to secondary school, not to mention tertiary institutions, are significantly hampered. To deal with this predicament, African governments and international partners must take a more holistic approach to education, broadening their focus from just primary education.In this context, African girls and young women need special attention. Overall, in most of Africa, gender disparities continue to impede young girls’ acquisition of a decent education and employable skills. This keeps young African girls away from their rightful place as agents of development and leaders of tomorrow. Fortunately, the gender situation has greatly improved in recent years in some African countries. A number of them, such as Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Swaziland, Nig eria, Zimbabwe etc, are in fact on track to achieve the goal of eliminating gender disparities in primary education. 1] Other countries have turned to a range of measures to reduce the gender disparity in access to education – one illustration is the provision of free uniforms and books to girls in Kenya. There are also considerable regional disparities within countries in terms of education and educational attainments. In this regard, the uneven distribution of educational infrastructure in most African countries reflects the weak commitment of governments in addressing this issue. Most secondary schools and tertiary institutions in Africa are located in the cities, with rural pupils struggling for access.This situation contributes to the persistent urban-bias that has so much distorted Africa’s development. The difficulties of the school-to-work transition would be reduced if young people end up with skills that are demanded by employers. One approach is to design cu rricula to suit the changing needs of the labour market, or alternatively, to combine formal education with workbased training as has been adopted in Egypt. Different forms of training are also needed to address the limited skills of young Africans once they have left formal education.In this context, African governments can provide public funded training or financial support for private provision of such facilities, which could focus on either general training or more specific vocational skills. Apprenticeships have been utilized in a number of African countries as a measure to address skills and employability of out-of-school youth for example the National Open Apprenticeship Scheme in Nigeria. In 1987, the Government of River State in Nigeria launched an innovative programme dubbed the National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (NOAS) as an attempt to link education and training with the workplace.The scheme provides vocational education and training to unemployed youth. It utilizes fac ilities such as workshops and technical instructors from private industries, government institutions, and by way of subcontracting arrangements, way-side craftsmen and tradesmen in the informal sector. Under this scheme, unemployed youth and school leavers are trained for a period of 6 to 36 months under reputable master craftsmen. They are also taught management, business and administrative skills.The scheme has succeeded in training over 600,000 unemployed youth in over 80 different trades out of which about two-thirds started their own micro-enterprise. A mobile training scheme dubbed School-On-Wheels programme introduced in 1990 has provided vocational training to over 21,000 school leavers and other unskilled persons in rural areas. The programme is of a three-month duration, after which graduates are absorbed into the NOAS. Another related scheme is the Waste-to-Wealth Scheme under which youth are trained in the techniques of converting waste material into useful objects.At le ast 8,000 people have been trained under this scheme. [2] Besides the provision of training, the private and non-profit sectors also have a role in providing formal education at all levels. For example, religious bodies are actively involved in the educational sector in Africa, even at the tertiary level. Since governments are constrained by limited financial resources, African leaders need to explore the use of pubic-private partnerships (PPPs) to overcome shortfalls in the education sector.PPPs can also enhance the linkages (forward and backward) between the formal education sector and the private sector. This can in turn ensure that curricula are demand-driven, helping to improve the skills match between school leavers and requirements of employers. Trained and motivated young people can themselves play a substantial role through peer education initiatives. Peers can reach out either in an organized manner or informally to other youth, imparting information and knowledge on issue s such as health and well-being.Peer education can happen in small groups or through individual contact, and can take place in a variety of settings such as in schools and universities, clubs, churches, workplaces, on the street or in a shelter. In Africa, peer education has been used successfully for raising HIV/AIDS awareness and developing life-skills amongst vulnerable youth. Initiatives of development partners. Development partners have also played a major role in pushing the education and skills agenda forward in Africa and in promoting initiatives to increase education access and attainments throughout the continent.One innovative project developed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) together with the Canadian Bureau for International Education aims at providing education and training to participants in a number of African countries. Known as the CIDA Youth Education and Training Awards – Africa, the project focuses on young people already involved in non-governmental organizations and community groups. The education and training provided to winners of the awards include short courses and academic programmes.Having these programmes in the country also helps stem brain drain. Youth Employment and the Challenges of Migration Having a job provides one not only with a source of income but also a basis for dignity and self-respect. To be leaders in the context of their families and in the broader community, young Africans need to secure a decent job. However, young people have a hard time in African job markets; with inadequate education and skills and few opportunities, most young Africans face a future of low-wage employment, unemployment and underemployment.An increasing youth population adds to the pool of job seekers every year, worsening the situation. In Nigeria, over 300,000 youth participate in the National Youth Service Corps scheme annually, but sadly, only about 5% secure decent jobs. The rest are either unemployed or u nderemployed. In Northern Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, young women also face particular barriers in the labour market, much of which is attributable to cultural attitudes towards them.The expansion of employment opportunities is far below the growth in the youth population because of a lack of appropriate technologies and investment. For example, Africa’s continued dependence on rain-fed agriculture causes much underemployment among rural youth for most part of the year. With little access to land, these youth lack educational, economic and cultural opportunities. As a result, young people consciously decide to move to the towns in the hope of greater chances for employment, as well as a more exciting life, causing massive urban drift.Sadly, once in the big city, African youth lose hope of finding a decent job and are compelled to cross dangerous paths and waters to better pastures, with all too tragic consequences. It is no longer news that less than one-third of the tho usands of young Africans who attempt to reach Europe through the Sahara desert and other illegal channels make it to their dream destinations. Another problem is the rising incidence of youth poverty, crime, prostitution and drugs among youth, as well as the involvement in armed conflict – direct consequence of the lack of decent jobs.In Nigeria one we have the Boko Haram sect, the Niger Delta militia etc. This is of particular concern, not only due to its profound impact on the lives of young people but for society as a whole. Tackling The Challenges Of Youth Employment For many decades, governments and international partners focused on macroeconomic stability and structural adjustment as a means to promote economic growth and thereby create jobs. The underlying faith in this approach was that these measures alone would lead to job creation and poverty reduction, for youth and adults alike.There is now a growing consensus among governments and development partners that speci fic policy measures are required to tackle the main barriers to employment generation for Africa’s youth. One relatively effective measure is the public works programme, which has been implemented in a number of African countries with some success in creating jobs for unskilled youth. Public Works Programmes in Senegal With the assistance of the World Bank and the African Development Bank, the Senegalese government set up in 1989 a US$33 million public works programme that targeted the growing number of unemployed youth.The main objectives of the programme, which was administered by the Agence pour l’Execution de Travaux d’Interet Public contre le Sous-emploi (AGETIP), were to provide short-term employment to these young people through labour-intensive public works projects such as construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of public services, and provision of essential services. The work was subcontracted out to small and medium-scale enterprises. During the first phase of the programme, around 80,000 jobs were created for young people in 416 projects in small-scale enterprises.Overall, AGETIP has implemented 3,226 projects resulting in the creation of 350,000 temporary jobs annually. More importantly, the projects also led to the establishment of 6,000 permanent jobs, an outcome that is not usually associated with a public works programme. [3] The International Labour Organization (ILO) is involved in a number of projects that target job creation for young people as part of their Employment Intensive Investment Programme (EIPP). EIPPs are public works-type projects in the area of infrastructure, and have been implemented in over 20 African countries.Under the umbrella of this initiative and with assistance from donors, a number of projects in labour-based road construction and maintenance have been supported on the continent. Facing a dire situation in the labour market, many young people stop actively searching for a job. A South Afri can survey in 2000 revealed, for example, that 39 per cent of unemployed youth had stopped searching for employment. [4] Job-search assistance can be provided or funded by the government to help encourage African youth to re-engage with the labour market through activities like writing job applications and curriculum vitae, and preparing for interviews.A number of global initiatives have been set up to accelerate efforts in tackling youth unemployment and underemployment. For example, the United Nations, along with the ILO and World Bank, established the Youth Employment Network (YEN) in 2001 to provide support to the global commitment of â€Å"developing and implementing strategies that give young people everywhere a real chance to find decent and productive work† as embedded in the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000.National and regional programmes aside, young people continually demonstrate their own ability to cope with the situation they face in the labour mar ket. Promoting The Benefits Of Migration While Mitigating The Costs While migrating to an urban area is a rational act for a young person in search of a job and a better life, too often, the end result is poverty and exploitation. To rectify this, governments must look at job creation in rural areas, though these initiatives need to be both intensified and expanded.At the same time, very little effort has been made in Africa to reduce emigration or to promote the return of emigrants. It is unreasonable for so many Africans living outside Africa (who are making giant strides) to return home. In response to this situation, the African Union has established a â€Å"Strategic Framework for a Policy on Migration† with the goal of addressing the causes of internal and international migration and its challenges.The ILO together with the European Commission has also set up a project on â€Å"Managing Labour Migration for Development and Integration in the Maghreb, West Africa and Ea st Africa†. This project has increased awareness of stakeholders on different aspects of labour migration, promoted understanding of its causes and consequences, and collected data and information, which are critically needed to develop comprehensive policy frameworks and labour migration management measures.Youth and Entrepreneurship Given the right combination of motivation, ideas and opportunities, youth are more than able to establish productive and creative businesses. Engaging in entrepreneurship shifts young people from being â€Å"job seekers† to â€Å"job creators,† and also from social dependence to selfsufficiency. Many self-employed youth also contribute to the upkeep of their family, sometimes in a leading role in the absence of parents.Despite these potential benefits entrepreneurship, the majority of youth continue to look up to the state for employment rather than creating their own jobs and employing others. This failure of young people to engage in entrepreneurship has also been attributed to a range of factors: sociocultural attitudes towards youth entrepreneurship, lack of entrepreneurial training in the school curriculum, incomplete market information, absence of business support and physical infrastructure, regulatory framework conditions, and in particular, poor access to finance.The youth strongly recognized their involvement in small business development as an important vehicle for national development but lack of financial resources has always been a major constraint for youth entrepreneurship and business development. Owing to the lack of collateral and business experience, young people are considered a very high risk by lenders. The limited number of micro-finance institutions that target young people in business continues to constraint the development of youth entrepreneurship. On the gender front, very few young women in Africa engage in establishing and running their own enterprises.For instance, in Zambia onl y around 5 per cent of females aged 15-19 are running enterprises as proprietors compared to 15 per cent among their male counterparts. While 25 per cent of female youth aged 20-24 are engaged in running enterprises in Zambia, as much as 40 per cent of male youth are self-employed. The Effect of Combination of Training And Funds Providing capital alone to young potential entrepreneurs is only part of the solution. Studies have shown that what is more effective is the provision of capital together with training in managerial and entrepreneurial skills.In South Africa, for example, the Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF), a government-created development finance agency for skills development and employment creation for youth, has developed a number of initiatives such as micro loans for young entrepreneurs, the creation of a venture-capital fund underwritten by a mainstream bank with the UYF providing guarantees, and the development of a voucher programme to access business development service s. Private institutions, especially non-profit organizations, also play an important role in training and funding young entrepreneurs.One example of this is TechnoServe’s business plan competition: ‘Believe, Begin, Become’, which is supported by the Google Foundation, and now active in Ghana and Swaziland. Since 2002, TechnoServe’s competitions have helped launch or expand 165 small and medium-scale enterprises that have generated US$8. 2 million in additional revenues and created more than 1,000 new jobs. In the international policy context, the Youth Employment Network (YEN) and the Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative (CYCI), for instance, help promote youth entrepreneurship in a number of African countries.Partnerships between such international institutions and the private sector have seen the creation and development of young entrepreneurs Young Africans can also benefit from the experiences of established business leaders. Through mentoring schemes, internships and training opportunities, young people can gain an insight into setting up and running a business, and importantly, how to avoid the potential pitfalls in the real world of business.Governments need to encourage the private sector to take on this role. As with other areas of economic development addressed so far, one key weakness in the formulation of youth entrepreneurship initiatives is the inadequate involvement of youth in their design and implementation, which will be discussed later. Youth and ICT – A Powerful Combination for Promoting Leadership The information and communication technology (ICT) revolution has radically changed the world we live in.Young people in particular have demonstrated an aptitude in developing, adopting and disseminating such technologies, and their leadership role in this sphere is evident throughout both the industrialized and developing world. In fact, it is common practice for adults to learn ICT skills from youth. ICT Is Cro ss-Cutting ICT adoption can be used both as a tool to promote youth as leaders in the ICT sector and to foster broader youth leadership. With an impact that is cross-cutting, ICT can, therefore, contribute to youth participation in a wide range of economic, social and political activities.For example, new technologies can be used for improving access to and quality of education for African youth. With the necessary infrastructure, technologies like online learning can bring a high standard of education to remote, rural communities. Moreover, in a global economy characterized by skill-intensity, young Africans increasingly require a range of ICT skills in order to get a decent job. Equipping youth with such skills can also have a catalytic effect on innovation and entrepreneurship, contributing to economic development.ICT entrepreneurship is evident on the streets of all African cities in vending kiosks, where young people provide such services as mobile phone calls, sale of recharge cards and repairs. The number of tele-centres in countries like Senegal and the proliferation of Internet cafes across the continent have also been a source of employment opportunities for youth. In Nigeria, we have computer village in Lagos, GSM village in Abuja etc, engaging thousands of youths in different spheres of ICT, thereby providing job opportunities for them.Besides these small, informal businesses, ICT-related youth enterprise opportunities include: producing/reselling hardware, software and telecommunications products; data entry services; ICT-based business services; software customisation; distance learning; computer training; consultancy; content provision; communication (e-mail/Internet/mobile); data processing (small business information systems) and ICT-based manufacturing systems. African Youth also employ ICT to develop social enterprises.For instance, the Mobile for Good (M4G) programme in Kenya. M4G is a social franchise project designed to use mobile technol ogy to improve the lives of people in Kenya, the majority being young people. It aims to send essential health, employment and community content via SMS on mobile phones in order to inform and empower disadvantaged individuals. The pilot project, which started in September 2003 in Kibera, an informal settlement situated on the outskirts of Nairobi, has successfully evolved into a self-sustainable Kenyan owned and managed venture.The project seeks to empower marginalized individuals by offering a unique SMS-based information service to disadvantaged communities. The services that have been developed include: Kazi560, a job information service for the casual jobs sector, Health Tips, which provides daily tips to subscribers about Breast Cancer, HIV/AIDS, and Diabetes, and a Community News service, which provides free, locally sourced news to those living in informal settlements in Kenya via SMS.The Community News service reaches over 5,000 people in Kibera. The information is collecte d by a group of 11 Youth Mobilizers who are all residents in the community. Information can vary from events, to health clinics, to jobs on offer. All the information is designed to promote economic and social development in communities and to provide a means of accessing information otherwise costly or unavailable. The success of M4G has been staggering.The project has fulfilled its subscriber targets considerably ahead of schedule, with the number of subscribers now exceeding 30,000. Hundreds of people have found employment through the jobs service, Kazi560. [5] ICT also facilitates youth participation in civic discussions, providing young people with a voice on a range of topics. Electronic fora involving African youth have been successfully undertaken by international agencies like the United Nations.Such initiatives not only assist young people to exchange and develop ideas, but also help inform policy makers and practitioners. The success of the struggle for leadership change in Egypt and other places by the youth can be attributed to one of the effects of ICT. ICT Adoption In Africa Remains Insufficient Despite its advantages, ICT adoption in much of Africa remains low. For instance, there are only 0. 75 computer users per 100 inhabitants – this is to say that only a small proportion of young Africans have access to the Internet.Moreover, due to differences in income and access to infrastructure, the digital-divide on the continent is demarcated not only by national boundaries but also within countries. Fortunately, decreasing prices and recent advances, particularly in mobile telephony, have helped expand access to ICT on the continent, especially amongst the youth. Nonetheless, governments and partners have a lot more to do to eliminate disparities in ICT adoption. Governments should focus on: a pro-poor ICT policy; promotion of ICT investments in rural areas and public-private partnerships; financial and trategic support of ICT youth-led enter prises; career counseling for young people on ICT opportunities and different areas of specialization; promotion of affordable ICT rural infrastructure and local content; development of multipurpose community tele-centres in rural areas; and dissemination of best practices. One way of building capabilities and networks between public institutions (governments and universities) and the private sector is the support of technology parks and business incubators for the ICT sector, in particular to nurture youth-led ICT enterprises.Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia are pioneers in promoting ICT-youth led enterprises through such initiatives. International partners are also playing an important part in the promotion of information and communication technologies for development, known as ICT4D. For instance, the African Youth and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) Network – AYIN- (www. ayinetwork. org) was established in 2005 as a pan- African platform for youth input into the African information society agenda.It is a vision of a â€Å"networked generation of young Africans empowering themselves and contributing to the continent’s active participation in the Information Society†. The network has commenced the implementation of its Action Plan with the development of strategies to promote youth involvement in policy development on the continent. Improving Health and Fighting HIV/AIDS Through Youth Leadership The ability of African youth to contribute to economic development and become leaders in all walks of life critically depends on their health status.In Africa today, young people are, however, vulnerable to debilitating illnesses and health problems such as malaria, tuberculosis, water-borne diseases, maternal complications, and above all, HIV/AIDS. Consequences of HIV/AIDS for Development The HIV/AIDS pandemic, especially in Southern Africa, poses one of the greatest economic, social and politic al challenges of our time. AIDS reduces the earning capacity of affected individuals and increases their medical expenses, pushing families and households further into poverty, creating a icious cycle of material deprivation and health problems. The disease leaves behind a generation of orphans, many of whom are left to be brought up by other relatives or are forced to fend for themselves. Besides the tragic consequences of the pandemic for individuals and their families, HIV/AIDS remains a major burden for affected countries; it severely hampers efforts of governments to improve the health status of the countries and achieve sustainable economic development, in particular by diverting scarce resources from other development priorities.HIV/AIDS also reduces labour supply and productivity levels, which in turn have a negative impact on economic growth. This is nowhere more evident than in the education sector, where the disease is cutting back the numbers of trained teachers and dimi nishing aspirations for achieving the Millennium Development Goal II of universal primary education by 2015. Young African Women Are The Most Vulnerable To HIV/AIDS Young Africans are more vulnerable to HIV infection than adults with young women being at the highest risk of getting the virus.In terms of the vulnerability of young women, the figures are quite alarming – young women (aged 15-24) in sub-Saharan Africa are two and half times more likely to be infected than males in the same age group. In some areas, up to six times more women than men are affected in the 15-24 age group. [6] The vulnerability of young Africans to HIV infection stems from both physical and social aspects of their lives. Physical vulnerability results from the damaging effects of malnutrition and ailments such as bilharzia.A weakened immune system, particularly for adolescence during growth spurts, significantly increases their susceptibility to becoming infected. HIV prevalence can also be attribu ted to a range of socio-economic factors such as: poverty, inequality, and social exclusion; low levels of education and lack of information; poor access to health services; and societal attitudes. Young women are especially vulnerable because of migration, poor living conditions in informal settlements, isolation and proneness to sexual exploitation and abuse.The Need For Targeted Interventions The conventional approach to tackling HIV/AIDS focuses on changing people’s behaviour in order to reduce HIV infection rates. Young people have been targeted by such campaigns via the media, youth centres and peer education. The most well known initiative using this paradigm is the ABC campaign (Abstain, Be faithful and use a Condom). However, ABC initiatives fail to address the physical and social environment that creates the conditions for high infection rates.The United Nations Secretary-General’s report on young women in Southern Africa recognized this limitation and called for broader measures that also aim at creating safe places for young women, amongst other actions. [7] Youth As Key Partners African youth and their organizations have been already at the forefront of tackling HIV/AIDS in terms of raising awareness and developing life skills, and also supporting others such as orphans. In this respect, youth centres and peer education have proven to be one of the most effective initiatives undertaken by African youth.For example, the Anti-Aids Youth Clubs in Ethiopia, with UNICEF support, youth clubs have sprung up in the country to fight stigma, discrimination and ignorance about HIV/AIDS. There are now more than 230 such clubs alone in Ethiopia’s Somali region, where the stigma of the disease and societal attitudes make it particularly challenging to get the message out. In this region, the use of condoms is estimated to be as low as 0. 5 per cent, and female genital mutilation, a major factor behind HIV transmission, is almost universal a mongst women.Youth clubs are more successful than government interventions because young people can more effectively influence their peers by using appropriate media to target them. A comment by one member of a club about music written for this purpose captures this point: â€Å"Young people don’t stop in the street to read a banner they don’t understand. But they listen to the music and the lyrics†. The songs written address such themes as prevention, stigma and friendship.Other clubs use poetry and drama to get the messages across to other youth. Besides promoting HIV/AIDS awareness, these clubs also give young people a sense of responsibility and pride in regions where jobs are few and far between. [8] One limitation of peer education in the area of HIV prevention is that it often fails to reach young women, who are the most vulnerable. To rectify this situation, governments, partners and youth organizations need to consider targeted measures that focus on yo ung vulnerable women.Moreover, attention must also be given to addressing the causes of their vulnerability so that some of the contributing factors are tackled, including the danger of sexual exploitation and abuse. While there is a compelling need to focus on HIV/AIDS in many African countries, there must also be a concerted effort to improve the overall health situation of young Africans including improving access to sanitation and drinking water, increasing nutritional levels, and expanding preventive health programmes.Broadening the focus of health services can help reduce stigmatisation and the subsequent reluctance of youth to use these services. In all initiatives, full participation of young people in the development and promotion of health-related policies and programmes must be encouraged to enable them to become agents of change in their communities. Above all, continued international cooperation and a collective global effort are necessary for the containment of the HIV /AIDS pandemic and other health challenges affecting young people in Africa.The Role of Youth in Protecting the Environment and Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods As heirs to the environmental risks and hazards the world is producing today, ‘it is imperative that the youth take on a leading role in protecting the environment and promoting sustainable livelihoods. [9] Africa faces a number of environmental risks and hazards that disproportionately affect young people, not only because they result in deteriorating physical conditions for both rural and urban dwellers. Erosion, pollution in all its forms, reduced biodiversity, over-exploitation f natural resources such as water and forests, and desertification, among many others, also severely compromise economic development and prosperity. Already, forest size in Africa has been drastically reduced over the last century, due to human activity, contributing to desertification and water scarcity. In many countries on the continent, access to clean drinking water may soon become a reason for conflict. In addition, the rate of urbanization in Africa poses an environmental challenge in waste management, access to water and sanitation facilities.With only an estimated one-third of the total municipal waste on the continent formally disposed of, the amount of waste generated in African cities far exceeds the capacity of most municipalities. Already exposed to economic hardship, the youth need to take responsibility for the state of the environment by becoming full participants in society. But the question remains: Are young people sufficiently engaged? The voice of youth is an invaluable asset to environmental conservation and management.Some governments and non-governmental organizations in Africa are committed to advancing the role and active involvement of youth in the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development. Initiatives include youth participation in advisory bodies such as y outh councils within the context of Chapter 25 of Agenda 21, adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002.The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) also recognizes the importance of a healthy and productive environment and the role that the young people of Africa can play within this agenda. But commitment does not always mean action. For example, even though many African countries are signatories to various UN conventions, many have yet to be implemented. And, even in cases where conventions have been adopted and implemented, youth involvement has been at a minimum. Youth Taking Leadership The best prospect for the environment in Africa is an empowered youth.The involvement of youth in environment and development decision-making at the local, national and regional levels is critical to the implementation of sustainable development policies. M any youth organizations are already taking a leading role in the area of environmental protection. For example, in January 1993, Environment JEUnesse (ENJEU, or Environment- Youth), Quebec's youth environmentalist network, took the initiative to create a Francophone network of youth organizations for environment and development.The essential aspect of ENJEU's action plan is to mobilize and encourage youth to come together regionally in each major pocket of the Francophone world, including Africa. Some youth organizations in Africa such as Tensing, Internationally Committed Youth (ICY), YMCA/YWCA for Africa, Organization for International Resource Management, and Friends of the Earth clubs, have carried out education campaigns, tree planting and waste management exercises in their respective communities, especially during the commemoration of the World Environment Day.Other best practices of youth involvement include â€Å"For the Love of Water† in Botswana, â€Å"Uniting You th across Northern Africa†, â€Å"Students on the Move† in Uganda, ‘Painting Ghana Green† and â€Å"Ecological Youth of Angola† among others. To improve awareness across the board, governments must integrate environmental issues into school curricula and training programmes for teachers. Youth in schools, communities and organizations must be educated on sustainable ways of living such as recycling and the sustainable use of environmental-friendly technologies.An example is the efforts of the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa and Friends of the Earth clubs in the region. In Angola, Juventude Ecologica Angolana (JEA) (The Ecological Youth of Angola) is a non-profit environmental NGO, which was established in 1991 with the primary purpose of promoting environmental conservation and sustainable development through the involvement and participation of young people in environmental education and active learning processes and activities . JEA now has over 5,000 conservation volunteers and environmental educators based in eight of Angola’s provinces.These young volunteers address different environmental issues facing the country: sanitation, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, desertification, and urban solid waste. The organization has developed programmes and projects such as the Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) initiative, capacity building, database management, clean-up and waste recycling campaigns, research and environmental assessment, and tree planting. In June 2002, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recognized the contribution of this organization by awarding it the UNEP Global 500 Youth Environmental Award. 10] Environmental And Sustainable Livelihoods Is Cross-Cutting Promoting environmental and sustainable livelihoods has a number of indirect, but nonetheless important benefits for countries in Africa. For example, there is a double dividend from developing sustainab le technologies in the area of renewable energies. On the one hand, these technologies reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, while at the same time they can be generators of employment for vulnerable youth. Creating Jobs Under the SunThe Kibera Community Youth Project (KCYP) produces solar panels in a small workshop in the middle of Kibera, Kenya’s largest informal settlement. Using skills and equipment passed on to them by a British volunteer, young people in this project are involved in all aspects of production. The solar panels are sold to power radios and charge mobile phones and rechargeable batteries, services that are in high demand in an area where electricity supply is erratic at best. [11] Many of the young people involved in KCYP have never had a job before and often live in jobless households.This project provides them with an opportunity to earn an income, while the simple technology helps improve people’s lives in a sustainable way. To further enhance such synergies, governments in collaboration with youth organizations should initiate programmes that promote the participation of African youth in reforestation, combating desertification, waste management, recycling and other environmental practices. Youth participation in such programmes would provide training and encourage awareness and action, while also generating potential income-generating activities and employment opportunities.Youth Participation in Economic Decision-Making Youth in Africa face specific challenges in the areas of education, employment, migration, entrepreneurship, ICT, health and environmental and sustainable livelihoods. To address these issues, African governments must prioritize youth in policy-making, or forego the chance of meeting their development goals. Until recently, policymakers rarely included youth in the decision-making process or even consulted with them on their concerns. Cultural attitudes have been a major stumbling block to establishing inter-generational dialogue, not just in Africa but also globally.Traditionally, wisdom was seen as an increasing function of age, and subsequently, adult leaders and policymakers took it upon themselves to make decisions on behalf of youth. But such policymaking largely resulted in inappropriate policies that failed to address the requisite needs and aspirations of youth. Having incidentally proven their ability to take leadership in the area of economic development, acting as agents of change, this traditional attitude requires urgent modification. Justifying youth participation It would appear to the onlooker that the case for including youth in policymaking is compelling.Nonetheless, it has been necessary to argue why economic decision-making should be both inclusive and youth-focused. For example, the UNFPA’s report â€Å"The Case for Investing in Young People as Part of a National Poverty Reduction Strategy† offers a number of arguments: 1. Equitable distributio n of resources – Young people make up a large proportion of the population and the poor; 2. Achieving the MDGs – Five goals explicitly refer to young people in terms of educational attainment, gender balance in education, improved maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and developing decent employment opportunities for young people; 3.Economic benefits – By investing in education and health, governments can increase productivity and economic growth; 4. Youth poverty requires special attention – Young people experience particular vulnerabilities that make them prone to suffering from poverty, unemployment, etc; 5. Long-term benefits – Through investing in young people, it is possible to embark on the demographic transition by lowering population growth; and by improving the situation of youth, countries can decrease the chance that they will later become involved in criminal activity and civil conflict.Youth participation in major d evelopment strategies – PRSPs, MDGs and NEPAD New initiatives now dominate the development agenda on the continent, including Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), the quest to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). These approaches are a departure from the past with a shift to a focus on pro-poor policies, participatory and consultative processes, and ownership by countries. Though youth often figure prominently on paper, their involvement in any of these initiatives has usually been limited.For instance, in a review of 31 completed PRSPs, over half mention that youth were consulted as a group as part of the PRSP process. However, the initiatives targeting youth have been piecemeal and inadequate in their scale and impact. [12] It is encouraging that the more recent PRSPs are more likely to have a major youth focus. In terms of youth employment, another analysis of PRSPs found that out of 21 Afri can PRSPs, only 11 had at least one core section analyzing the issue. [13]Clearly, there is a lot more governments could do to improve youth participation in the PRS process, particularly as part of the next generation of strategies. African governments should complement efforts of both the UN and youth organizations to achieve these goals. A good example of this is the TPT scheme below. Tackling Poverty Together (TPT) aims to enhance the role of African youth in poverty reduction strategies. The project was established by the United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs’ Programme on Youth together with the National Council of Swedish Youth Organizations (LSU).Other UN agencies and the Economic Commission for Africa provided technical support to the project. The TPT project brought together teams of youth from six African countries, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, along with a youth team from Sweden. Through workshops and ongoing support, thes e teams developed strategies and action plans consisting of concrete steps to improve the inclusion of youth in poverty reduction efforts in their respective countries. [14]Youth have also been actively involved in the MDG agenda as reflected by their participation and articulation of ideas at various international fora including the World Youth Summits. For instance, in 2005 a group of international youth leaders representing a range of non-governmental organizations, including representatives from Africa, prepared a report, â€Å"Youth and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): Challenges and Opportunities for Implementation†. [15] This report outlines how young people can be included and empowered as part of strategies for achieving the MDGs.The aim is that the report can be used as a lobby tool and guide for programmatic action, but ultimately, it is also a call to all member States, UN specialized agencies, and civil society to create mechanisms for youth to participat e in the implementation of the MDGs and take advantage of the work and activities youth are already leading. In 2005, the NEPAD Youth Summit was organized to launch a broad social movement to promote youth participation in the implementation and monitoring of NEPAD at the country level.The establishment of NEPAD e-Africa Youth Programme is another platform that aims to promote youth involvement in the implementation of NEPAD. This initiative seeks to build a cadre of young people who will raise awareness on the issues of the information society and serve as active participants in building an inclusive information society in their countries. Conclusion Young people in Africa have enormous potential that could be harnessed for promoting economic development on the continent.African governments and international partners, therefore, need to focus policy initiatives and resources on improving the leadership role of African youth. The success of such interventions depends on the particip ation of young people in all aspects of the public policy process from the crafting of economic policies to their implementation, and subsequently, monitoring and evaluation. In particular, youth need to be part of the current development agenda in terms of poverty-reduction strategies, meeting the MDGs, and implementing the objectives of NEPAD.Young people need to have opportunities to carry out their activities. At the same time, governments and international partners can provide technical and financial support to youth in order for them to fulfil their potential as agents of change. To achieve this goal, practical and achievable measures need to be put in place by both governments and international partners, including: – Strengthening the capacity of youth clubs, associations and organizations at community and national levels; – Promoting interaction between economic policy makers, international partners and youth to learn about their problems and experiences; Insti tuting regular consultations with youth organizations to get their inputs into the development process; and – Promoting youth leadership at local, national, subregional and global levels through regular interface with community and national authorities. References 1. Agenda 21, adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002. 2. du Toit, R. (2003) â€Å"Unemployed youth in South Africa: the distressed generation? Paper presented at the Minnesota International Counselling Institute, 27 July – 1 August 2003. 3. Kanyenze G. , Mhone G. , and T. Sparreboom (2000) â€Å"Strategies to Combat Youth Unemployment and Marginalisation in Anglophone Africa,† ILO/SAMAT Discussion Paper, No. 14. 4. Mabala, R. (2006) â€Å"From HIV prevention to HIV protection: addressing the vulnerability of girls and young women in urban areas,† Environment and Urba nization, Vol. 18(2). 5. Sarr, M. (2000) â€Å"Youth employment in Africa: the Senegalese experience,† Background Paper No. , UNO-ILO-World Bank Meeting on Youth Employment, New York, 25th August 2000. 6. United Nations (2004) Report of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa: Facing the Future Together, United Nations, New York. 7. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) (2002) â€Å"Youth and Employment in Africa†, Paper prepared for and presented at the Youth Employment Summit, Alexandria, Egypt, September. 8. UNECA (2005a) the Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Progress and Challenges, UNECA, Addis Ababa. 9.UNECA (2005b) The Economic Report on Africa 2005 – Meeting the Challenge of Unemployment and Poverty in Africa, UNECA, Addis Ababa. 10. United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) (2005) Africa Environment Outlook for Youth: Our Region – Our Life, UNEP, Nairobi. 1 1. United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) (2005) The Case of Investing in Young People as part of Poverty Reduction Strategy, UNFPA, New York. 12. uk. oneworld. net/section/mobile 13. World Health Organization (WHO)-AFRO (2003) HIV/AIDS Epidemiological Surveillance Update for the WHO African Region 2002, WHO, Regional Office for Africa, Harare. 5. www. un. org/esa/socdev/unyin/TPT 16. www. un. org/esa/socdev/unyin/mdgs. htm 17. www. kcyp. kabissa. org ———————– [1] UNECA (2005a) the Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Progress and Challenges, UNECA, Addis Ababa. [2] UNECA (2002), â€Å"Youth and Employment in Africa† A Paper prepared for and presented at the Youth and Employment Summit, Alexandria, Egypt, September 2002. [3] Sarr M. , â€Å"Youth employment in Africa: the Senegalese experience†, Background Paper No. 3, UNO-ILO-World Bank Meeting on Youth Employment, New York, 25th August, 2000. 4 ] Kanyenze et al. â€Å"Strategies to Combat Youth Unemployment and Marginalization in Anglophone Africa,† ILO/SAMAT Discussion Paper, No. 14, 2000. du Toit, R. â€Å"unemployed Youth in South Africa: the distressed generation? † Paper presented at the Minnesota International Counseling Institute, 27 July-1 August 2003. [5] uk. oneworld. net/section/mobile [6] Mabala, R. (2006) â€Å"From HIV prevention to HIV protection: addressing the vulnerability of girls and young women in urban areas,† Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 8(2). [7] United Nations (2004) Report of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa: Facing the Future Together, United Nations, New York. [8] World Health Organization (WHO)-AFRO (2003) HIV/AIDS Epidemiological Surveillance Update for the WHO African Region 2002, WHO, Regional Office for Africa, Harare [9] Agenda 21, Chapter 25 United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) (200 5) Africa Environment Outlook for Youth: Our Region – Our Life, UNEP, Nairobi. 10] United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) (2005) Africa Environment Outlook for Youth: Our Region – Our Life, UNEP, Nairobi. [11] www. kcyp. kabissa. org [12] United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) (2005) The Case of Investing in Young People as part of Poverty Reduction Strategy, UNFPA, New York. [13] UNECA (2005b) UNECA (2005b) The Economic Report on Africa 2005 – Meeting the Challenge of Unemployment and Poverty in Africa, UNECA, Addis Ababa [14] www. un. org/esa/socdev/unyin/TPT [15] www. un. org/esa/socdev/unyin/mdgs. htm

The liberalization of the international financial system Essay

The age of globalization has ensured that businesses are focusing more and more on international trade as the primary means of enhancing their competitiveness. For example businesses en masse are moving their operations offshore to China and India to take advantage of the low cost of operation in those countries. The liberalization of the international financial system has also facilitated the growth of this trend for foreign direct investment. However this investment takes place in more than one form. It can be in the form of money or it can also be in the form of employees. When it comes to relocating employees, the human resource department of the company which is sending its employees abroad must take into account as to how they are going to determine the international compensation system. The scenario under analysis is of that an US national going to Japan to work there as an expatriate. In order to determine what the compensation of the US national should be, the parent company based in the US must take several issues into account. Of course there are some cost categories that will have go into the calculations such as allowances for goods and services, housing, income taxes and reserve. Under the heading of goods and services are the basic needs such as food, clothing, transportation, furniture, recreation etc. An important part of the calculations is also the cost category associated with housing in the host country. There are differences between the income taxes in the parent country and those in the host country and these differences the international pay system will have to take into account. Last but not the least, the parent company has to make significant contributions in the form of reserve such as pension funds, benefits schemes, education taxes, social security taxes etc. So these are the four major elements that will have to go into determining the pay for Robert Lords in Japan. The human resource department of Riordan Manufacturing does not have problems determining what the components of the international pay system will be as they are all specified in the company policy. Usually companies sending their employees abroad in the form of expatriates have to decide between the going rate approach and the balance sheet approach (http://www. rocw. raifoundation. org/management/bba/IHRM/lecture-notes/lecture-21. pdf). According to the going rate approach, the parent company conducts a survey in the host country and develops a grasp of the cost of living in the host country. The approach is basically to match the pay of the parent country national to the host country national. If Riordan Manufacturing were to follow the going rate approach, then it would probably have to hire an international consulting firm to conduct a survey in Japan that would determine what the salary of a Japanese national would be. This is a Japanese national working in the same position with similar duties and responsibilities to those addressed by Robert Lords. However Riordan Manufacturing does not follow the going rate approach. The going rate approach has several disadvantages. For example, managerial salaries in the US are the highest in the world. Therefore, according to the going rate approach, expatriates to China from the US would be given a much lower level of compensation. The nature of the assignment also varies from one country to another. The going rate approach would not take those differences into account but the employees are very sensitive to these differences. In such cases, the application of the going rate approach in structuring an international pay system can result in loss of employee morale. In fact, if the management of Riordan Manufacturing were to follow the going rate approach, it would have a hard time persuading any of its employees to take off to China because Chinese managerial salaries are much lower than they are in the US. The approach followed is the balance sheet approach. The result therefore is one of equity in the international pay system at Riordan. However this equity exists from the perspective of the employees of the company and not from the perspective of the host country nationals. As a result Robert Lords’ pay would not be equitable with the pay of a Japanese national. The balance sheet approach is the exact opposite of the going rate approach in that the company does not have to undertake surveys in the host country to determine what the pay of nationals in that country in similar positions is. Under this system the pay that Lords is going to receive in Japan is going to be exactly the one that he was receiving in the US. Of course there would be a few adjustments to take into account the differences of living in the host country. For example, if the cost of housing in the host country is higher than it is in the parent country, then Riordan Manufacturing would pay for the difference in the compensation to the parent country national. Under this approach therefore, the pay that Lords is going to receive will not be equitable with that of a Japanese national in a similar position. However when Lords comes back to the states, his salary will be readjusted back to its former level and the element of equity will be maintained. What determines equitable pay is a valid question in this respect. Maintaining purchasing power of the expatriate is one measure of maintaining equity. The purchasing power that the expatriate used to enjoy in the parent country remains the same when he moves to the host country. Therefore, the employee enjoys the same level of compensation regardless of the national compensation system of the country he moves to. Managerial salaries in Japan are lower than they are in the US. As a result, Japanese nationals working in a position with duties and responsibilities similar to those relevant to Lords’ position will have lower pay. Previously businesses used to perform within the confines of their own national boundaries. But now, because of globalization, they are operating across national borders. For example, Riordan Manufacturing performs production activities in China. However strategic flexibility still remains the most important concept in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. In fact it has grown in importance inasmuch as different marketplaces internationally have different factors driving supply and demand. Therefore, the organizational culture of a multinational company must develop passion for strategic flexibility. This is the duty of the human resource department. The human resource department is responsible for motivating employees to behave in a way that will contribute to overall organizational effectiveness. The most effective means of doing that is to design a compensation system that values employee behavior that values strategic flexibility (http://digitalcommons. ilr. cornell. edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi? article=1164&context=cahrswp). As mentioned before, strategic human resource management has the two options of the going rate approach and the balance sheet approach in designing an international pay system. However none of these approaches are appropriate for promoting strategic flexibility or, in other words, for promoting business practices tailored to the cultural and economic values of the country it is operating in. On the one hand, there is the going rate approach which in Lords’ case would simply calculate the pay of a Japanese national in a similar position and on the other hand there is the balance sheet approach which would simply calculate pay based on what Lords would earn in a similar position in his home country. Both follow national characteristics. The going rate approach follows the Japanese national system while the balance sheet approach follows the US national system. As a result neither of these approaches is geared towards promoting strategic flexibility. If the objective of the management is to develop the kind of compensation system that would emphasize certain characteristics of the national culture that are better aligned with the organizational strategic map, then it would have to develop different compensation systems for different countries. In this respect, the management of Riordan Manufacturing must study the social contract in the Japanese national system and design the international compensation system in a way that stimulates aspects of Japanese culture in employee behavior most suitable for organizational effectiveness. The age of globalization means that a multinational company like Riordan Manufacturing must take into account the different cultural attributes of the country it is operating in. This is because demand is greatly influenced by cultural expectations. Therefore the product that the multinational company is producing must conform to the cultural expectations of the country in which it is selling the product. If it is important for product development to conform to cultural expectations around the world, then it is vital for the compensation system to conform in the same manner. The compensation system lies at the core of the employee motivation system. Previously, compensation consisted of solely financial gains. However financial gain can be easily matched by other companies. In a globalized system of free trade where money can flow from one country to another without friction, merely financial gains are no longer sufficient to motivate the employees to stay with the company. As a result, modern compensation systems emphasize the development of relationship between the employer and the employees. If Riordan Manufacturing is going to move to Japan with its operations, then it must develop that relationship between the employer and the employee and developing that relationship means that the management must carefully study the social contract that governs the organizational culture in Japan. International compensation systems have multiplied in complexities precisely because the measures of organizational effectiveness must inevitably vary from one country to another. The measures of organizational effectiveness have changed. In today’s business world, availability of information is the most important competitive advantage that a company might have. An example of the value of information in enhancing organizational competitiveness is the process of internal benchmarking that has recently been gaining popular support. Internal benchmarking compares the different organizational procedures across operations around the world and prepares a lit of best practices which might be applicable organization wide. A critical aspect in successfully performing internal benchmarking is the tacit knowledge that lies hidden in employees. This is valuable intellectual capital that an organization would lose if the compensation system were to emphasize solely financial gains. In the interests of organizational effectiveness, the management of that organization must make sure that practices are undertaken so that there is minimal turnover in the company. As a result, particularly in developing an international pay system, the management in multinational companies has been introducing an element of choice in their compensation systems. The international pay systems have three levels of pay: one is core which includes cash and basic benefits. Then there are crafted choices such as training, flexible scheduling, base/bonus mix and stock options and finally there are the choices given employees such as assignments, tax deferrals, stock purchases etc. It is in the aspect of crafted choices that we must consider the role that the social contract plays in the Japanese national compensation system. Designing a compensation system in the US and in Japan must necessarily include differing challenges because the cultures in the US and in Japan are greatly different. The Japanese system values the collectivist approach more. Therefore the performance-based or the ability-based approach followed in the US emphasizing individual risk-taking is not very effective in Japan. Group based policies have greater value in Japan. Status is an important aspect of the social contract in Japan. Therefore if the element of strategic flexibility means motivating employees to think and act in the best interests of organizational effectiveness as applicable to the host country, then an American company must design the compensation system applicable to its operations in Japan in a way that maintains employees’ group status. This is an example of the role that the social contract in Japan plays in designing international pay systems. From the above it will be clear enough that designing an international pay system is no longer so simple as selecting between the going rate approach or the balance sheet approach. If Riordan Manufacturing is moving to Japan with its operations then blindly following the balance sheet approach is no longer a feasible approach. The management of the company must do the additional homework of studying the social contract in Japan. An important feature of the social contract in Japan is the lifetime employment contract in Japan where the management ensures job security for the employees. Any American company attempting to design a pay system that is in alignment with the strategic map in Japan must necessarily take the lifetime employment guarantee into consideration. The Japanese management system follows this system because it is an effective means of developing company loyalty. Both the employees and the management have a sense of ownership in the long term performance of the company. As a result, the Japanese compensation system emphasizes the long term rather than the short term in offering bonuses. Rewarding systems in Japan are tied to the long term maximization of market share. The Japanese system also values bonuses more because they are not taxed to the same extent that regular salary is. Trade unions have always had a strong effect on employee benefits. In the US, unionized workers enjoy a greater level of employee benefits than non-unionized workers. However the trade union system in Japan is different because unlike the US, trade unions are formed not industry-wide but on the basis of organizations that the workers are tied to (http://japanhop. com/prosper/070-japanese-labor-unions. html). For example, Toyota employees will form a corporate trade union that is specific to the company itself. In the US, the employees from the auto manufacturers would form a trade union that represents the entire industry. In that respect the social contract in Japan is different. Because trade unions in Japan are company specific, there is a greater level of cooperation between the employees represented by the trade union and the management of that organization. Trade union strikes are rare in Japan and when they do occur, the management and the union cooperate on finding a solution that minimizes negative consequences to the company. Therefore pay systems are not adversely affected by the presence of trade unions formed along corporate lines. There is a minimum wage regulation in Japan that must be taken into account in structuring the international pay system. Mostly importantly, the management of an organization and the trade union of that organization collaborate in designing the salary system of that organization. Such a salary system emphasizes the role of overtime pay which in Japan represents a large percentage of the annual pay. Allowances also are a strong feature of the Japanese national compensation system. These are some of the example of the differences between the American compensation system and the Japanese compensation system that have arisen as a result of the different social contract prevalent in Japan. BIBILIOGRAPHY Workforce (Jan, 2001). Three ways to design international pay: Headquarters, Home country, host country – human resources employment abroad strategies. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0FXS/is_1_80/ai_69294699. Executive Resources Limited (2002). Compensation, employee benefit, and organizational consultancy. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://www. erlimited. com/expatriate_services. php Rethinking International Compensation. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://instruct1. cit. cornell. edu/courses/ilrhr769/97_24. pdf Winston J.Brill & Associates (2006). Fundamentals of International Compensation. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://www. winstonbrill. com/bril001/html/article_index/articles/551-600/article557_body. html Tokyo Electron (2006). Review of the Dividend Policy and Executive Compensation System. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://www. tel. com/eng/news/2005/0419_001. htm Labor Unions in Japan. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://japanhop. com/prosper/070-japanese-labor-unions. html Japanese salary systems. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://japanhop. com/prosper/080-japanese-salary-systems.html Various approaches to international compensation. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://www. rocw. raifoundation. org/management/bba/IHRM/lecture-notes/lecture-21. pdf How Canadian companies are paying expatriates. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://www. orcinc. com/ics/download/orc_ics_molnar_cn_05q2. pdf Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies. Rethinking International Compensation: From Expatriates and National Cultures to Strategic Flexibility. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://digitalcommons. ilr. cornell. edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi? article=1164&context=cahrswp.

genetic screening essays

genetic screening essays Genetic screening, also known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), is a newly emerging technology that has brought with it much controversy. PGD involves the in vitro fertilization of an embryo. The embryos are allowed to develop to a 6 to 10 cell stage, at which point one of the embryonic cells is removed from each embryo and the cellular DNA is analyzed for chromosomal abnormalities or genetic mutations (Botkin, 1998). In doing this, it can be determined which embryos will be most likely to implant and germinate successfully in the uterus. PGD is a complicated, technologically sophisticated process. It is a union of in vetro fertilization technology and molecular biology (Botkin, 1998). Though it has numerous positive attributes, there are equally as many negative ones. In fact, this issue is one that has recently become the subject of many heated debates. Proponents for the use of PGD assert that this test allows for parents with fertility problems to maximize their opportunity for conception and birth. Their adversaries argue that this process is morally questionable, and though it is seen as safe alternative to abortion couples can experience the same psychological effects as if they were dealing with an actual abortion (Botkin, 1998). Obviously, this is an issue that does not have one distinct answer. Each opposing side has raised some poignant arguments. Those who are in favor of PGD generally use the arguments that it allows for the transmission of human genetic diseases to be reduced (McClure and Tasca, 1998). Before the usage of PGD the only other way to determine the existence of genetic diseases was by the use of prenatal diagnosis in the form of amniocentesis or chronic villus sampling (CVS). Currently, CVS can only be performed in the ninth to eleventh week of pregnancy, and amniocentesis can be performed in fifteenth to eighteenth week (McClure and Tasca, 1998...

The Grapes of Wrath and Waldens Transcendental Wisdom essays

The Grapes of Wrath and Waldens Transcendental Wisdom essays As readers it is our opportunity to compare and contrast the transcendental aspect prevalent in both Henry David Thoreaus Walden and John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. Both books are fine examples of American literature at its greatest. They are also excellent examples of the Transcendental Philosophy that was championed by authors during their time. Though written roughly one hundred years apart, they both carried the voice of nature that rang loud and clear on the American landscape. Transcendentalism places its utmost respect in the intuitive knowledge man gleans from nature. Nature transcends the limits of human sense experience and teaches us the foundation of moral truths. Both authors relied on the symbiotic relationship between man and nature to connect the reader with the Transcendental concept of oversoul- a state of unity in which every mans particular being is contained and made one with all others. When Walden was written America was a new turf, a new vast piece of land that had not been altered by the human hand (the Native Americans didnt count because they had always been too respectful of it to leave much of an impact). Transcendentalism purported the philosophy that God was nature. Therefore, in America, it would be easiest for transcendental believers to find a source and reference for their beliefs. Here nature was still fresh. Living in England one knows that every foot of land has a hundred pages of stories that goes with it. In America the writer had no limitations or fears of being repetitive. Open land and ample wealth led to a demand for printing presses, and American writers prospered. This demand was a result of eager new minds searching for new sources of knowledge. Emerson (the father of transcendentalism in America, and Thoreaus mentor) professed the concept of oversoul. By this he meant that one level of consciousness connects all inhabitants of earth, ...

Book Awards Open to Self-Published Books

Book Awards Open to Self-Published Books Book awards have made great strides in broadening eligibility rules to allow authors to submit self-published books. When I first began collecting information about awards for published books, many of them only accepted submissions and nominations from publishers themselves. This has changed. The following is a list of some of the many book awards that are open to self-published authors. Some of the awards are limited to authors writing in specific genres, while others have a regional focus. North Street Book Prize http://winningwriters.com/our-contests Winning Writers recently announced it is sponsoring the North Street Book Prize, aimed at recognizing outstanding self-published books. Categories for this first year are Mainstream/Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction. The cost is $50.00 per entry, and the winner in each category will receive $1,500 plus a variety of marketing services. Two honorable mentions in each category will receive $250. All contestants receive a selection of helpful guides for publishing and promotion. The Foreword Reviews INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards https://indiefab.forewordreviews.com Accepts self-published books in more than 60 categories/genres, including Fantasy, Humor, Travel, Juvenile Fiction, Picture Books, and True Crime. The early-bird entry fee is $79, plus two copies of the book, for each category in which the book is entered. The top three winners in each category receive publicity and can order stickers to put on their books. Monetary awards are given to one best â€Å"fiction† and one best â€Å"nonfiction† book. The Eric Hoffer Award for Independent Books hofferaward.com Offers awards in several writing categories, including Poetry, General Fiction, E-book Fiction, and E-book Nonfiction, as well as categories Debut-litzer Prizes http://latenightlibrary.org The literary non-profit organization Late-Night Library sponsors the Debut-litzer Prizes for a first work of fiction or poetry. Submissions are accepted from authors or publishers, and self-published works are eligible, provided the work is the â€Å"first† in the genre Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award http://kansascity-mo.aauw.net/events/thorpe-menn-literary-award/ Presented American Book Awards beforecolumbusfoundation.com/american-book-awards/ The Before Columbus Foundation sponsors the American Book Awards, which has no restrictions on self-published books. It is open to anyone, and there are no categories; awardees are selected solely based on literary excellence. The cost to enter is two copies of the book. While there is no monetary prize, award winners are formally recognized at a ceremony, and are given publicity through the Before Columbus Foundation website. Other awards include the Minnesota Book Awards (http://thefriends.org/events/mnba/nominations-applications/book-award-nomination/), the Brockman-Campbell Book Award (ncpoetrysociety.org/bcaward/), the Lambda Literary Awards (lambdaliterary.org/award-guidelines/), and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (hurstonwright.org). Although these do not have restrictions on self-published books, other eligibility requirements may apply. Please refer to award websites for complete and updated information, as well as details on entry deadlines.

Quantitative Research Article Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Quantitative Research Article Critique - Essay Example These are; Annual Survey of Hospitals, views from regular nurses and coordinators from the respective hospitals. During the research, conflicting definition about nurse staffing developed different results. One view of nurse staffing was the duration that patients are under complete care of nurses. The other view is the Canadian view. This view looked at the literal numbers of nurses proving healthcare services to patients. The results achieved from the former view in relation to medication errors established that the two factors never related statistically. The latter view revealed a correlation between the number of nursing staff and the medical errors reported in a nursing unit. The Mplus program and the ALT model was used to analyze the data collected. The analysis resulted to the establishment of four coefficients. The first coefficient reveals the relationship between the predictors and medical errors. The second category of coefficient determines the relationship between medical errors and a particular predictor variable. It reveals the changes implicated on medication errors. The third category of coefficients focuses on monthly medication errors on the following errors. The last coefficient category focuses on the variables in medical error and nurse staffing variables. The divergent views in the definition of nurse staffing implicate difficulties in the establishment of the relationship between nurse staffing and the medical errors. Only two coefficients from the 16 were fruitful. Many limitations experienced during the research could not assist in deriving substantial relationship between nurse staffing and medical

Communism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communism - Research Paper Example It also promotes the fact that every worker should be rewarded for all his work and also holds a share in the profits. Communism is broadly defined as a movement which aims to fulfill all these aims. It tries to end wage labor and private property in terms of economics. Hence it is considered by many to be a form of governance which provides equality to all the people. The word communism is derived from the community which means that this type of governance takes the whole community when taking decisions. The rich do not get richer in a communist society and the poor do not get poorer. Moreover the state decides as to how the resources have to be allocated in the society. This creates a state of equality in the society because of which people do not have to fight for supreme power. Karl Marx defined communism in the following words â€Å"Communism is for us not a state of affairs that is to be established, an ideal to which reality [will] have to adjust itself. We call communism the real movement that abolishes the present state of things [emphasis in original]† (Holmes 2009). The workers in a communist government are not trapped to a single job as they have the freedom to change jobs whenever they want to. According to Karl Marx â€Å"Society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming a hunter, fisherman, shepherd or critic† (Fandel 2008). Over the years it is seen that many leaders have come who believed in the stability that communism could provide to the whole society. Vladmir Lenin of Russia provides a suitable example of a leader who believed in the roots of communism. He broadened the views of the general society regarding the difference between socialism and communism. He stabilized the roots of communism

Postmodernist Approach to Burial practice Research Paper - 2

Postmodernist Approach to Burial practice - Research Paper Example Notions of the people particular to God, heaven, hell, witches, spirits and souls are also leaded by the same. Conception of the related believes of the individual and society has the consequences on the rituals performed. It is around 10,000 years back that the death ritual is performed among the few earliest rituals of society. Variable practices are followed by the people of diversifying beliefs and one of the main reasons acting behind the burial practice of the people seems to be the one practiced by the ancients of particular group of people [CE11]. From Southern Iberia at Abrigo do Lagar Velho, the human burial of Upper Paleothic was discovered as an evidence of early modern humans in the European society [CD99]. Burial ritual is the found to be the most transformed ritual of the modern society and is very diversified in its nature depending upon a lot of social, cultural and religious factors but some of the anthropologists find the burial ritual as an only ritual which remained the same in practice in respect of the change in human behavior and the growth of the healthy cultural values [JC10]. Two of the postmodernist approach to burial practice includes cremation and embalming [LA04]. Cremation practice is followed almost all around the world. Problem of overcrowded cemeteries in the modern societies is thought to be resolved by the same process. Although cremation practice is relatively low in the American society and is declared as forbidden in the Orthodox Judaism community. Roman Catholic Church recently approved its practice in the Christian community and Hindus are the one who practice cremation strongly as compare all other school of thoughts. Muslim community is also not of the view of burning human and the scattering the ashes in the rivers due to potential health hazards. Cementation practice has involved no rich cultural heritage unless and until

Neoottomanism in Turkey and the Role of Turkey in the new formation of Essay

Neoottomanism in Turkey and the Role of Turkey in the new formation of the Arab world - Essay Example Thus, ottomanism transformed into the ideology of pan-Turkism. The Turkish leaders of the late XX - early XXI century, especially Recep Tayyip Erdogan, updated the doctrine of ottamanism-pan-Turkism, turning it into so-called neoottomanism. Modern Turkish leaders advocated the creation of an integrated economic and cultural-linguistic space that has commonality of interests; it is the main essence of this ideology. However, neo-Ottomanism implies the dominant influence of Turkey not only on Turks, but even more - non-Turkic peoples and countries that were part of the Ottoman Empire at different time. The doctrine of "neoottomanism" was not completely comprehended even by its originators. Nowadays a lot of European and American politicians are greatly concerned about the given ideology and they do not want to stay away from it. United States, for example, hatch the plans to create a unified Turkic political space dominated by Turkey, and are interested in supporting the sovereignty of newly independent states of Central Eurasia. A heavy blow to this "subtle pan-Turkism", i.e. neoottomanism, was stroke by the Collective Security Treaty Organization, members of which were two Turkic states - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Islamic one – Tajikistan. Uzbekistan led its own political game for a certain period, but then, joined the CSTO. Turkmenistan's foreign policy tends to neutrality at the present time. Under the auspices of the U.S., such projects as The Black Sea Cooperation and GUAM were developed. If earlier the U.S. was more interested in strengthening Turkey's influence on the Balkans, nowadays - on Northern and Southern Caucasus, Crimea, Ukraine, Bessarabia, as well as Syria, Lebanon and Iraq - as vectors, amplifying the Turkish-Russian confrontation. "Political and operational" role of Turkey in these regions is the most attractive for the U.S. But practice shows that the U.S. is not confident in the effectiveness of such role-based participation of Turkey, even in these projects. Yes, Turkey could play a leading role in the formation and activity of GUAM, but Western politicians are in no hurry to pedal its role. Turkey activities in Georgia, especially in some regions, such as Ajaria and Abkhazia, as well as in Dagestan and Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria, Adygeya, Krasnodar territory, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo Macedonia, and Bessarabia can only be seen in part of a joint Turkish-American project. All other joint plans of the United States and Turkey in Central Asia are minor, in fact. Issues, related to the presence of Turkey military machine in the Balkans, the Caucasus and Crimea, are always discussed between the military and intelligence services of both countries. Turkey's position in these regions is much stronger than that in Central Asia. Only the situation in Iran, especially in its north-western regions, can be compared with Turkey positions in the above regions. In 2001, the present minister of foreign affair s of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu published his voluminous work â€Å"Strategic depth: the international position of Turkey†, in which he analyzed the regional and geopolitical interests and priorities of Turkey; he also put forward a series of theoretical assessments and propositions. After

Nurse Community Building Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nurse Community Building - Research Paper Example In this paper, I will describe the following traits of an effective nursing community; cultural awareness, able and noteworthy leadership skills, sense of community, cultural aptitude, partnership and practice integration. In order to develop a successful nursing organization, it is necessary to apply these principles. A great sense of cultural awareness Any organization needs to have a sense of cultural awareness. A nurse needs to demonstrate cultural understanding that aids them to practice better healthcare and develop a stable public health policy. Awareness will help nurses in the community acknowledge that external factors like language barriers and inaccessibility of services and resources will often attract a negative history. By understanding a community’s culture and the barriers to service delivery, public nurses understand how to face these challenges and strive to better their cultural competence with the community (Caroline p 65). Able Leadership Able and notewor thy leadership is a characteristic of a strong nursing community. Able leadership enables nurses take up responsibilities and enables them to guide the community effectively. They are the proponents of health equitability and the social justice in the community. ... This strength ensures that the resources within a community are involved in helping the community strive towards humanizing the eminence of the health care conditions. For this reason, there should be an aspect of community in a nursing organization. Nursing in the community ensures that the community has the capacity to resolve problems, and properly utilizes its resources to enhance proper health management and health safety. Community health actions motivate community members by their actions of self-determination, and their understanding of the local needs and cultural aspects that link individuals with the business community. The nurses, thus, play a crucial role in guaranteeing that communal health is available in individuals in the community and in empowering the community to erect a burly affiliation in the society that will cater for the needs of the health care system. The health nurses primarily improve the health of the families and outfit for the needs of the public by r esponding to outbreaks of illness and the emergence of health risks. Nurses recognize that strong partnerships determine better health and collaboration of both the public and the private sector is important in ensuring that noteworthy healthcare is provided to all. In order to improve these partnerships, the nursing community involves using systematic approaches that strengthen the bond between them and the community (Donna et al p 50). This approach significantly reduces the cost of social and personal health program and strengthens the community. The systematic approaches that the nursing community adapts are: Assessing and monitoring the health care requirement of all members of the community who are likely to benefit from

Neoottomanism in Turkey and the Role of Turkey in the new formation of Essay

Neoottomanism in Turkey and the Role of Turkey in the new formation of the Arab world - Essay Example Thus, ottomanism transformed into the ideology of pan-Turkism. The Turkish leaders of the late XX - early XXI century, especially Recep Tayyip Erdogan, updated the doctrine of ottamanism-pan-Turkism, turning it into so-called neoottomanism. Modern Turkish leaders advocated the creation of an integrated economic and cultural-linguistic space that has commonality of interests; it is the main essence of this ideology. However, neo-Ottomanism implies the dominant influence of Turkey not only on Turks, but even more - non-Turkic peoples and countries that were part of the Ottoman Empire at different time. The doctrine of "neoottomanism" was not completely comprehended even by its originators. Nowadays a lot of European and American politicians are greatly concerned about the given ideology and they do not want to stay away from it. United States, for example, hatch the plans to create a unified Turkic political space dominated by Turkey, and are interested in supporting the sovereignty of newly independent states of Central Eurasia. A heavy blow to this "subtle pan-Turkism", i.e. neoottomanism, was stroke by the Collective Security Treaty Organization, members of which were two Turkic states - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Islamic one – Tajikistan. Uzbekistan led its own political game for a certain period, but then, joined the CSTO. Turkmenistan's foreign policy tends to neutrality at the present time. Under the auspices of the U.S., such projects as The Black Sea Cooperation and GUAM were developed. If earlier the U.S. was more interested in strengthening Turkey's influence on the Balkans, nowadays - on Northern and Southern Caucasus, Crimea, Ukraine, Bessarabia, as well as Syria, Lebanon and Iraq - as vectors, amplifying the Turkish-Russian confrontation. "Political and operational" role of Turkey in these regions is the most attractive for the U.S. But practice shows that the U.S. is not confident in the effectiveness of such role-based participation of Turkey, even in these projects. Yes, Turkey could play a leading role in the formation and activity of GUAM, but Western politicians are in no hurry to pedal its role. Turkey activities in Georgia, especially in some regions, such as Ajaria and Abkhazia, as well as in Dagestan and Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria, Adygeya, Krasnodar territory, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo Macedonia, and Bessarabia can only be seen in part of a joint Turkish-American project. All other joint plans of the United States and Turkey in Central Asia are minor, in fact. Issues, related to the presence of Turkey military machine in the Balkans, the Caucasus and Crimea, are always discussed between the military and intelligence services of both countries. Turkey's position in these regions is much stronger than that in Central Asia. Only the situation in Iran, especially in its north-western regions, can be compared with Turkey positions in the above regions. In 2001, the present minister of foreign affair s of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu published his voluminous work â€Å"Strategic depth: the international position of Turkey†, in which he analyzed the regional and geopolitical interests and priorities of Turkey; he also put forward a series of theoretical assessments and propositions. After