Financial Crisis in South Korea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Financial Crisis in South Korea - Essay Example Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand were the countries most affected by the Asian economic recession. The economic growth of Indonesia slowed down from an average rate of between 5% and 7% to 4.7% in 1997. Forecasts for 1998 and 1998 showed a negative 12% growth, and inflation rate was predicted to soar to 66%. In 1998 rupiah's value declined by 80%. As a consequence of the devaluation, the country's foreign debt multiplied.. Simple economic theories would explain how the devaluation of baht affected other economies. A devaluation of any local currency implied an increase in the cost of imports. Crane stated that in Thailand, such devaluation meant inflation in fuel and food. Reports said that overall prices soared 4.9 percent in July 1997 from the previous year. The surge in rice and flour prices was even higher, at 42%. In the Philippines, interest rates reached 33.5 percent in September 1997 from the previous week's 12 percent. This was for the peso to sustain its value or at least slow down its decline. Inevitably, interest rates on credit cards, mortgages and personal loans would also increase. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad blamed the IMF for the economic decline. He believed bracing the stock market with public pension money would resolve the issue. Martin Hart-Landsberg and Paul Burkett's "Economic Crisis and Restructuring in South Korea Beyond the Free Market-Statist Debate" offers an analysis of the causes, nature and consequences of the restructuring process of post- Asian crisis South Korea. In the process of identifying the causes, the authors discussed the various aspects of restructuring and reform. The article studied the cause of the country's monetary decline from two standpoints: the... Researchers proposed financial-crisis models as long-term solutions for South Korea and as tools to forecast economic conditions. There were two models: the weak-fundamentals view and the financial-panic view. Based on the weak-fundamentals perspective, a country’s weakness in macroeconomic or financial fundamental triggers the abrupt backflow of capital. This called for radical reforms and support to see things through. On the other hand, the weak-fundamentals view predicted a slow recovery because it took a while before creditors and other financial institutions were able to complete the auditing and accounting process and recognition of losses was not made instantly. However, economists claimed that neither of the two views above proved helpful in the Asian-crisis recovery. The fast recovery of Korea since the economic recession misrepresents the observed social and political developments. The election of Kim Dae Jung to power symbolized the bureaucracy’s adoption of a politically neutral institution. The state has manifested social maturity by valuing loyalty to the institutions of governance as opposed to loyalty to the institutions of the few privileged groups.

Exam 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exam 1 - Essay Example Did Don have duty of care? Absolutely, if a person gets into an automobile as a passenger it is entirely reasonable to assert that they expect and the driver accepts the responsibility of safely conveying them to their destination. In this case, if anything, Don had a greater than normal duty of care as, by the time of the crash, Paula was a virtual prisoner in the vehicle. She ‘repeatedly asked Don to stop and let her out of the car†¦. Don ignored her requests.’ Arguably, Don was a kidnapper at this pint with Paula confined by his refusal to let her out. Regardless of this tangent, Don was responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle and the safety of Paula, his passenger. He breeched that care when he drove, insistently, until exhausted and dozed off. A Techbyte employee had driven Paula to the conference and asked Don to return her home as he, the president, was staying at the convention for another day. Approached by the president, Don, ‘a trusted employee’ agreed. He was not doing a friend a favour he was acceding to his superior’s request. Further, during the trip they were to ‘discuss Techbyte’s future computer needs on the way.’ Ultimately, in this scenario, Don was ‘at work’ when the accident occurred and acting as an employee of Techbyte and not as an individual. This, then, gives rise to a second question: Could Techbyte be held liable for the injuries Paula sustained in the car accident that resulted from Don’s negligent driving? Yes, they could. It is difficult to defend against the claim that Don was acting as an employee when he agreed to drive Paula home. As a ‘trusted employee’, presumably a man the president had known for some time, he was a reasonable and responsible choice. At that point Techbyte’s duty of care was fulfilled and the duty of care passed to Don, the driver. This is not a strong claim, but there is a significant mitigating factor here. Don did not injure Paula in

College Entrance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

College Entrance - Essay Example Indeed, I was imbued with self esteem as I learned about the life and ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King. Once I came across his story, I had a journey through the way how Dr. King invoked the people. Dr. King’s motto ‘not to give up’ inspired me to withstand the trials and tribulations I had been facing throughout my middle school (6-8) grades. I was afraid of reporting due to the fear of repercussion. However despite the fear of ramification, I often weighed my sufferings against those of Dr. King in his efforts to take up nonviolence in his movement. His greatest speech I have a dream, still echoes in my heart, â€Å"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, and every rough place will be made plain† (Luther-King & King, C, 2007, 25). The way how he fought for equality, a determined process that helped the Americans realize their intolerance is highly admirable. Evidently, the knowledge of such a distinguished personality and of his strong convictions helped me recover my wounded heart. King was philosophical and sympathetic when mingling with common people. However he needed to break the repression of ideas and come out with initiation to adopt new ventures in social life. This is one of the notable aspects of my own character I believe, because I do not usually flare-up when I confront with unexpected challenges; instead, I try to calm myself and wait for the right time to act. Dr. King’s will power and confidence in the battle against discrimination stirred me up from the harsh experiences. And moreover, it made me think that race and gender are only shadows in life whereas determination, attitude, character, self-discipline and willpower are the true substance of life. At this juncture, it is relevant to recall his words again; â€Å"and so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream; I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the

Marion :: essays research papers

For a long time, I saw her almost every day on the train. Her gravely voice would prompt me to look up and then quickly look down. Sometimes, she would appear as I gazed aimlessly at the doors that adjoin the cars of the train. She would enter, look around, smile faintly and then introduce herself. Her name is Marion. She is homeless. But no, she doesn’t steal and never has in her life. She is down on her luck and needs help. And can we please help her? A dime, a nickel, anything. In fact, she would be happy with food. No, she doesn’t do drugs and would be so grateful for any kind soul who would help. Always that very same speech with that same plastic cheerfulness. She would make her way slowly through the train car, patiently when it was almost empty, and excusing herself to those who were already shrinking away from her, when it was crowded. She would stop sometimes and peer into the face closest to her with a deep imploration in her eyes. When it was my face, I would look down discreetly, sometimes placing wrinkled bills into her dirty, wrinkled palm. She would thank and bless me profusely, I would dismiss her by staring at my hands with an embarrassment I couldn’t explain. I didn’t want her attention. I didn’t want her to look at me or thank me. I wanted her to not exist. I didn’t want to wonder if she was a mother or a part of family or how she ended up in her sad journey walking through the rumbling cars of New York City’s trains. She would move on to another uncomfortable face, another one that ignored her. Some would say a casual, â€Å"No.† Almost as if she had asked if they knew the time. She would simply move on. When she had been ignored by enough faces, she would stand close to the doors adjoining the trains, nod slowly and then walk through. I saw her one day in the bathroom of the Long Island Ferry Station. I stood to the side, waiting for a free stall. She walked in and sneezed several times. She had an almost confused expression, staring at the wall and then the floor and then me for a little while before walking up to the garbage can. I was very surprised, so removed she was from where I was used to seeing her, from the part of my day where her presence had become normal, expected.

The Relationship Between Managed Care And Prevention

In the fast and extensive changes that come with the evolving health-care systems in the United States, Managed Care organizations are viewed as the new actors in disease prevention and management. There are several reasons why Managed Care organizations should and are involved in disease prevention and management. First, managed care organizations have become the primary source of health care both for beneficiaries of publicly and employer-funded health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.Statistics show that Managed Care enrollment has jumped from 6 million people in 1976 to 51 million in 1994 (Bektas, 2000). Since Managed Care plans are basically set up as health care insurance policies, this rapid increase that is prevalent even in the present means a greater risk of financial loss due to members getting sick with all kinds of disease. It thus becomes an imperative for Managed Care organizations to provide programs for disease prevention and management in order to minimize pot ential loss. Second, Managed Care plans have historically included prevention.This is embedded in the system’s performance measure as such organizations maintain and develop systems that aim to improve service quality. Thus, a god number of Managed Care organizations use internal performance-measurement and quality-improvement systems like Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) for system oversight and enhancement. Since the primary goal of Managed Care organizations is the health welfare of its clients, it falls incumbent upon them to provide measures for disease management and prevention (Bektas, 2000).Previous preventive measures that Managed Care organizations were involved with include vaccinations, cancer and cholesterol screening, mammography, retina exams for diabetics and prenatal care. Third, since Managed Care organizations are basically representatives of organized care systems, they should take due responsibility for the populations they service. They are accountab le to plan purchasers and individual consumers as well as to federal and state regulatory agencies for outcomes desired of all stakeholders which includes disease prevention.The following are the current measures that Managed Care organizations provide for disease prevention and management. Diseases and Health Care Information Drives Information drives aim to use public awareness to prevent possible undesirable outcomes from occurring. This activity involves tie-ups with business and government institutions where the drives could be launched. Some information drives are launched in public schools while others are held in business districts or company buildings.For its part, The Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound (GHCPS), a Managed Care organization with 486,000 members in Washington and Idaho continues to have information drives on the dangers of smoking, depression detection and management, stress management, and bicycle safety tips for children (Gordon, 2003). Such moves have led to an 8% decrease in smoking prevalence from 1985 to 1994, a 44% increase in the use of proper bicycle safety gear among children from 1987 to 1992 which is cited as the main reason for the 67% decrease in bicycle-related injuries in the same period (Gordon, 2003).Disease Screening Disease screening involves offering free services for routine examinations for common diseases. GHCPS has been involved with launching breast cancer screening programs in the past 12 years and continues to be involved at the present. The programs have yielded a 32% decrease in late-stage breast cancer. This is primarily because the program was able to detect breast cancer in early stages. This led to a 27% increase in survivability of breast cancer patients (Gordon, 2003).United Health plan in Los Angeles is also funding a similar program, they have also included lung and skin cancer screening as well as cholesterol and sugar level monitoring. United Health has reported positive results regarding the se disease screening programs. They determine several cases of abnormal cholesterol and sugar levels on a daily basis which help clients avoid further health risks. Immunization Programs Immunization programs require the procurement, delivery, and administration of necessary vaccines in order to prevent common diseases.These often necessitate tie-ups with pharmaceutical companies and local government. The GHPCS, United Health, and several other Managed Care organizations continually launch immunization programs for childhood and adult vaccinations. The vaccines are for diseases like chicken pox, influenza, hepatitis, typhoid, mumps and measles. Similarly, the National Immunization Program has formed tie ups with several Managed Care organizations to improve preschool children’s vaccination status. The dynamics of this alliance have individual organizations working with public health agencies in conducting CQI initiatives in immunization areas.The main objective is to increase vaccination rates in children up to 24 months of age. The program involves data collection and patient database management, parent education and incentives, and partnerships with both public and private entities for community outreach and immunization education. Implementation of the program over a 5-year period resulted to the standardization of vaccination records, various information seminars for medical staffs and children’s parents, and a vaccination completion rate that increased to 73% from 55% since the start of the program (Gordon, 2003).Satisfied with the program’s initial success, the National Immunization Program continues its partnership with Managed Care organizations at the present. Breastfeeding Seminars and Pre-natal care Previous studies have shown that breastfeeding significantly increases infant’s immune system and body resistance. This is why United Health also implements a breastfeeding awareness and seminar program that seeks to make wome n who have just given birth or are currently pregnant aware of the advantages of breastfeeding their babies up to two years of age.These seminars also discuss and disprove common misconceptions about breastfeeding and include illustrations on proper breastfeeding in order to minimize discomforts and maximize milk output. These programs have helped increase the prevalence of breastfeeding from only 7% in 1988 to 30% in 1990. Currently, breastfeeding programs have collectively encouraged 65% of American pregnant women to breastfeed for at least 6 months after giving birth (Gordon, 2003). Public Service ClinicsPublic service clinics are situated in key locations within the coverage area of designated Managed Care organizations. Their primary task is to service the immediate community’s basic health care needs. Their objectives include preventing disease outbreaks, providing a venue for other programs such as screening and immunization drives, and administering immediate remedies regardless of health care insurance status. Of the 100,000 people under United Health’s public service clinics, only 65% are Medicaid or Medicare beneficiaries (Gordon, 2003).Conclusion Managed Care organizations have genuine, industry based concern regarding the immediate and long-term disease prevention and management status of the areas that they operate in. This has led them to venturing into a variety of action plans that include information drives, screening and immunization programs, health awareness seminars and public service clinics. These projects show that managed Care organizations are standing up to their responsibility of not merely insuring but also ensuring the health of the American society. References: Gordon, K. (2003). Corporate Responsibility in Managed Care Providers. Howard & Sons: New Jersey. Bektas, Y. (2000). An Analysis of Trends in American Health Care since World War II. Prentice Hall.

Life and Work of Jenny Holzer, Artist of Text-Based Truisms

Jenny Holzer is an American artist and political activist. Best known for her series of Truisms, text-based art exhibited in public spaces in the form of plainly worded statements written in bold, her work ranges in content from the neutral to the political. As both an exhibitor in public and private spaces, Holzer is keenly aware of the effects of her work on both the intentional and the casual passerby. She is inspired by reading, world events, and the contexts of her own life, though she seeks to be â€Å"out of view and out of earshot† in order to lend her work a voice of truth and trustworthiness. Fast Facts: Jenny Holzer Occupation: ArtistBorn:  July 29, 1950 in Gallipolis, OhioEducation: Duke University (no degree), University of Chicago (no degree), Ohio University (BFA), Rhode Island School of Design (MFA)Selected Works: Truisms (1977–79), Inflammatory Essays (1979–1982)Key Accomplishments: Golden Lion for Best Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (1990); member of the American Academy of Arts and LettersSpouse:  Mike Glier (m. 1983) Early Life and Education Jenny Holzer was born in Gallipolis, Ohio, where she grew up the oldest of three children. Her mother was an active participant in the community and her father was a car salesman. Holzer’s upbringing was rooted in Midwestern traditionalism, an attitude from which she believes the frankness in her art derives. â€Å"They want to get things done so they do it in the most expeditious way,† she has said of her fellow Midwesterners. â€Å"Expeditious as in fast and right.† It is perhaps for this reason that  her work is so often reproduced, as its split second appeal is derived from its keen ability to distill truths about our culture into digestible phrases. As a teenager, Holzer moved to Florida to attend Pine Crest Preparatory in Boca Raton before enrolling at Duke University for college. Holzer’s next few years were itinerant, seeing her leave Duke to enroll at the University of Chicago and then at Ohio University in Athens, where she received her BFA in Painting and Printmaking. Holzer would go on to receive her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. She married fellow RISD student Mike Glier in 1983 and had her daughter Lili in 1988. Early Artwork Holzer did not arrive at using text as the base of her artistic career without a few detours along the way. She began her life as an artist as an abstract painter, inspired by many of the great painters of Abstract Expressionism. By her own admission, she was only a decent third generation American abstract painter, as she felt that there was a more relevant way to communicate the fast-paced media culture that was on the rise in the late 70s and early 80s. Motivated by the conviction that her work ought to include discernible content (rather than the formal content of abstraction), but feeling the genre of social realism to be increasingly of the past, Holzer began placing words in her work, often in the form of found objects such as scraps of newspaper and other clippings. It was at this point that she began placing her work in public spaces to test their effect on passers-by. The realization that art could engage people who did not intend to see it, moving them to think or even provoking them to argue, motivated her to pursue text-based work. Truisms and Inflammatory Essays In her last year as an MFA student at RISD, Holzer rethought the inclusion of words in her work by using her own. She wrote a selection of one liners which were meant to distill truths encountered almost daily in Western civilization, which she then assembled into a series of posters. Though the phrasing of these posters was original, she sought to tap into universal sentiments that would seem familiar as ideas. â€Å"I want them to be accessible,† she said, â€Å"but not so easy that you throw them away after a second or two. Among these statements are phrases like â€Å"ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE,† â€Å"PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT,† and â€Å"MONEY MAKES TASTE.† The Truisms, as they are known, have been posted in various locations throughout the world and have been translated into several languages. From Holzers Survivor Series.   Getty Images Thinking the Truisms too bland, Holzer began a series of political works also printed on posters in capital letters, which she called the Inflammatory Essays. With the allotment of a paragraph per poster, Holzer was able to dive into more complex ideas and explore more controversial topics. Art, Technology, and Public Space Holzer’s work has always been intertwined with technology, and in 1992 she began using LED signs for a project commissioned by the Public Art Fund for Times Square. Enthralled by their ability to display text in motion, she continued using the signs as they lent her words a neutral authority that the posters could not, as posters carried with them the connotation of anarchist protests. Since 1996, Holzer has worked with light based projections as installations, using the facades of monumental buildings as the canvas onto which she projects scrolling text. Holzer’s use of the institution as the base upon which her work rests has been the inspiration for numerous political protests since Holzer developed the method. Though Holzer’s work is largely concerned with text, its visual expression is a key element of her work. From the deliberate eye catching colors of the Inflammatory Essays laid out in grids to the speed and font of her scrolling texts, Holzer is a visual artist who has found her voice in words, an artistic medium she found best expressed her views on the culture of media in which she came of age. The material of these signs—whether they be LED lights of the carved stone of her Sarcophagi series—is equally as important as their verbal content. Jenny Holzers light projections on the faà §ade of 30 Rockefeller Plaza.   Getty Images Holzer’s work centers around text and its placement in public spaces. Using billboards, jumbotrons, lighted signs, and walls, Holzer uses city streets and areas of public interaction as her canvas. She is interested in the ability of public art to provoke a reaction and perhaps start a conversation. Not all Holzer’s work is staged outdoors, and when she does exhibit in gallery spaces, she is equally deliberate with their curation as she is when planning work publicly. As she is conscious of the museum goers slowed pace, she takes the opportunity to construct more complex interactions among her works, often juxtaposing different mediums. Reception and Legacy Holzer’s work has been presented in countless exhibitions and retrospectives across the world. She has won numerous prizes, including the Golden Lion for Best Pavilion at the 1990 Venice Biennale (where she represented the United States), and has been honored by the French Government with a diploma of Chevalier from the Order of Arts and Letters. In 2018, she was selected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, one of 250 living members. Sources Art 21 (2009). Jenny Holzer: Writing Difficulty. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?vCxrxnPLmqEsKort, C. and Sonneborn, L. (2002).  A to Z of American Women in the Visual Arts. New York: Facts on File, Inc. 98-100.Waldman, D. Jenny Holzer. (1989). New York: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in association with Henry N. Abrams.Tate (2018). Jenny Holzers Inflammatory Essays: Why I Love. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?vONIUXi84YCc

Gamma Rays are Part of the High-Energy Universe

Everyone has heard of the electromagnetic spectrum. Its a collection of all wavelengths and frequencies of light, from radio and microwave to ultraviolet and gamma. The light we see is called the visible part of the spectrum. The rest of the frequencies and waves are invisible to our eyes, but detectable using special instruments.   Gamma rays are the most energetic part of the spectrum. They have the shortest wavelengths and highest frequencies. These characteristics make them extremely hazardous to life, but they also tell astronomers a lot  about the objects that emit them in the universe. Gamma-rays do occur on Earth, created when cosmic rays hit our atmosphere and interact with the gas molecules. Theyre also a by-product of the decay of radioactive elements, particularly in nuclear explosions and in nuclear reactors. Gamma rays arent always a deadly threat: in medicine, theyre used to treat cancer (among other things). However, there are cosmic sources of these killer photons, and for the longest time, they remained a mystery to astronomers. They stayed that way until telescopes were built that could detect and study these high-energy emissions. Cosmic Sources of Gamma Rays Today, we know much more about this radiation and where it comes from in the universe. Astronomers detect these rays from extremely energetic activities and objects such as supernova explosions, neutron stars, and black hole interactions. These are difficult to study because of the high energies involved, they are sometimes very bright in visible light, and the fact that our atmosphere protects us from most gamma rays. To see these activities properly, astronomers send specialized  instruments to space, so they can see the gamma rays from high above Earths protective blanket of air. NASAs orbiting  Swift satellite and the Fermi Gamma-ray Telescope are among the instruments astronomers currently use to detect and study this radiation. Gamma-ray Bursts Over the past few decades, astronomers have detected extremely strong bursts of gamma rays from various points in the sky. By long, astronomers mean only a few seconds to a few minutes. However, their distances, ranging from millions to billions of light-years away, indicate that these objects and events must be very bright in order to be seen from across the universe.   The so-called gamma-ray bursts are the most energetic and brightest events ever recorded. They can send out prodigious amounts of energy in just a few seconds—more than the Sun will release throughout its entire existence. Until very recently, astronomers could only speculate about what caused such massive explosions. However, recent observations have helped them track down the sources of these events. For example, the Swift satellite detected a gamma-ray burst that came from the birth of a black hole that lay more than 12 billion light-years away from Earth. That is very early in the universes history.   There are shorter bursts, less than two seconds long, which were really a mystery for years. Eventually astronomers linked these events to activities called kilonovae, which occur when two neutron stars or a neutron star or a black hole merge together. At the moment of the merger, they give off short bursts of gamma-rays. They can also emit gravitational waves. The History of Gamma-ray Astronomy Gamma-ray astronomy had its start during the Cold War. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) were first detected in the 1960s by the Vela fleet of satellites. At first, people were worried that they were signs of a nuclear attack. Over the next decades, astronomers began searching out the sources of these mysterious pinpoint explosions by searching for optical light (visible light) signals and in ultraviolet, x-ray, and signals. The launch of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory in 1991 took the search for cosmic sources of gamma rays to new heights. Its observations showed that GRBs occur throughout the universe and not necessarily inside our own Milky Way Galaxy. Since that time, the BeppoSAX observatory, launched by the Italian Space Agency, as well as the High Energy Transient Explorer (launched by NASA) have been used to detect GRBs. The European Space Agencys INTEGRAL mission joined the hunt in 2002. More recently, the Fermi Gamma-ray Telescope has surveyed the sky and charted gamma-ray emitters.   The need for fast detection of GRBs is key to searching out the high-energy events that cause them. For one thing, the very short-burst events die out very quickly, making it difficult to figure out the source. X-satellites can pick up the hunt (since theres usually a related x-ray flare). To help astronomers quickly zero in on a GRB source, the Gamma Ray Bursts Coordinates Network immediately sends out notifications to scientists and institutions involved in studying these outbursts. That way, they can immediately plan follow-up observations using ground-based and space-based optical, radio and X-ray observatories. As astronomers study more of these outbursts, theyll gain a better understanding of the very energetic activities that cause them. The universe is filled with sources of GRBs, so what they learn will also tell us more about the high-energy cosmos.   Fast Facts Gamma rays are the most energetic type of radiation known. They are given off by very energetic objects and processes in the universe.  Gamma rays can also be created in the lab, and this type of radiation is used in some medical applications.Gamma-ray astronomy is done with orbiting satellites that can detect them without interference from Earths atmosphere.