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Key differences between Romantic Era and Victorian Era Poetry
Poetry is one of the ways that poets use in order to express their ideas and opinions to the rest of the world. Poetry is a genre that has lived the test of time as one of the avenues that artists and poets reach the audience and convey their messages. The two most popular periods that experienced different styles in poetry and which mark the basis of this discussion are the Romantic and Victorian poetry. The discussion delineates on the noticeable differences of poetry in these two periods.
Examples of poems classified as romantic include John Keats’ ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’, William Wordsworth’s ‘Tintern Abbey ‘and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ‘Kubla Khan’ among many others. The Victorian poems include Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses” and Robert Browning’s “My last Duchess” among others.
Romantic poetry is believed to have begun in the 70s in Europe. This period was associated with intellectual artist movement, as people were gaining more knowledge through education. During this period, most of the ideas and poems were focused on the beauty of nature. Extreme emotional scenes and moods characterized the poems. These poems also laid much emphasis on individuality and liberation. They were aimed at expressing some form of liberty and freedom in terms of love and nature. Most of these poems went against the conformity, convention, and tyranny of religion. For instance, in the William Wordsmith’s poem “Tintern Abbey”, the poet emphasizes on the splendid nature. The poet recounts the many seasons that have passed before going to Abbey to experience the nature and the beauty that nature provides such as mountains, as illustrated in the first stanza of the poem “five years have passed, five summers, with the length”.
The poems of this era also centered on the poet as the focus. For instance, in the poem ‘Tintern’ by William Wordsmith, the focus is on the poet who is remembering the past years. He expresses the love and the beauty of Abbey. The focus is on him and not other people. This is illustrated in the last stanza which reads “and this green pastoral landscape, were to me”. The use of “me” is an indication of the poet who is telling the story.
Another aspect of the poems of the romantic era is that they were expressive and dramatic. This means that the language the poets used to convey the message was full of expressions. The expressions aimed at enhancing or emphasizing the message the poets were communicating. Examples of these dramatic expressions in the poems include ‘Ah!’ and ‘O!’ among others. In the poem ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ by John Keats, some of the verses with these expressions include ‘Ah, happy, happy boughs! That cannot shed,’ ‘O mysterious priest,’ or ‘mountain-built with peaceful citadel’ among many others.
The poems are also more aligned in indulging the audience into physical and emotional passions. For instance, William Wordsmith’s poem ‘Tintern’ evokes physical as well as emotional passions through the narrations. The poet expresses how he used to feel going to the mountains to experience nature. These were the old days when he was young. The expressions and narrations of the physical landscape are conveyed with passion; the way the poet misses and how he used to enjoy triggers emotional passions. It makes one want to experience the adventure of the poet. For example, the verses ‘My former pleasures in the shooting light Of thy wild eyes’ and ‘Oh! yet a little while, May I behold in thee what I was once,’ are a clear illustration of how the poet felt during the period of his youth.
On the other hand, Victorian poems were composed during the period 1832- 1901, during the reign of Queen Victoria. As stated earlier, two examples of poems that fall in this category include Lord Tennyson’s ‘Ulysses’ and Robert Browning’s ‘My last Duchess’. These poems implied themes that revolved around the culture of people, and the way they worshiped gods and conquered wars in their battles. Ulysses is concerned about his elderly wife; therefore, he passes laws to help guard his wife. He is also exalted for winning the battle of Troy. He hopes that he is still valuable even in his old age. He has hopes in his son Telemachus, and believes that he would lead the people to the right direction if he dies, “This is my son, mine own Telemachus, To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle, Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfill”. Even in his old age, he is optimistic as he leads him to new world “It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles.”
Likewise, in the “My last Duchess” by Robert Browning, the speaker shows arrogance in the way he addresses people. There is some sense of aristocracy manifested in this poem. This indicates how the people through social status have authority and power to dictate. No one would quell or tame their arrogance, “Worked busily a day, and there she stands. Will’t please you sit and look at her?” There is a sense of male superiority that is exhibited in the poem.
The languages that the poets use are modern and do not incorporate or seem influenced by the Shakespearian bells. It is a language that can be easily understood. It is also devoid of drama and expressions as it is in the case of the poems during the romantic era. Examples of verses that are extracted from the poems include “Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will, To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield” and many others that convey a message clearly. Another noticeable difference between the Romantic and Victorian poets is that the latter did not base views from the poet’s opinions or experiences like the romantic poets, but rather portrayed a scenario of “man in the world’. The narrators were people that experienced the harshness and the happiness of the world. They were in the society engaging in various issues such as battle leadership and explorations among many others.
The poets also display human misery, something that was not manifest in the Romantic era. The poems during this period touched on themes of sufferings such as battles, murders, and other social injustices that were being experienced in the society. They also used dramatic monologue to convey their message in addressing the unknown audiences. A good example of the poem that adopted these styles was Robert Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess”. Some of the verses which show these are: “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, Looking as if she were alive. I call, That piece a wonder, now: Fra Pandolf’s hand, Worked busily a day, and there she stands, Will’t please you sit and look at her?” Furthermore, as passed to Romantic era, most of the Victorian poems show skepticism of religion. The religious conviction is withdrawn because of the Darwinian controversial theory of evolution. It is also less dramatic compared to the Romantic period, as there is less deviations from the social norms.
In conclusion, there are distinct differences in terms of poetry between the Romantic and Victorian periods. Victorian era was more individualistic and emotional. Aristocracy, male supremacy, battles, and roaming around the world characterized the Victorian era. These are some of the differences exemplified in the discussions above. Nevertheless, all the periods were very instrumental in developing poetry and communicating various themes to the audience.

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Introduction
Every since the legislation was passed on Roe v. Wade that allowed   women to have abortions there has been a great debate on the topic of abortion from the problems of having an abortion to the likely benefits of abortion. Legal induced abortion was defined as a procedure, performed by a licensed physician or someone acting under the supervision of a licensed physician, which was intended to terminate a suspected or known intrauterine pregnancy and to produce a nonviable fetus at any gestational age. Over the past years there seems to have been substantial changes in the demographic composition of women who have abortions. Theorists have often tried to determine the number of factors that may have influenced the change demographics, including shifting perspectives on teen pregnancy, religious shifts and changes in the community views regarding abortions. This paper will outline current literature on the subject of abortion along with discuss   how women view abortion in regards to their decision to seek abortive services or to bear children and demographic representation of women who seek abortive services.

The Demographics of Abortion     2
Review of Literature
Abortion is an issue where moral principles, emotion and law often come to a head. There are many view points on abortion, but the main two differences are “pro-choice” and “pro-life”. A pro-choice person feels that the decision to have an abortion is the mother’s choice. A pro-life person feels that from the moment of development of the embryo is alive, and by having an
abortion the mother commits murder.   Some studies show that abortion has had a significant demographic impact on American society, although no one knows how many of the terminated pregnancies were replaced by later births (Masteo, 1998).

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The thought of killing a human being, to most people, is bone chilling and can stand the hair on the back of your neck on end.   Taking some ones life is the end all, and
even in the most justifiable circumstances, anyone would buckle and not go through with it.   Abortion, on the other hand, is a justifiable murder do to the fact that if you don’t think you can take care of a child, why even go through the psychological changes to change your mind.
Abortion is an operation to end a pregnancy by removing an embryo or fetus from the womb.   There are two main types of abortion procedures used today; suction-aspiration, and dilation and curettage (www.abortion facts.com).   These two procedures are done in the first stage of the pregnancy where it is said that the embryo has no feeling or sense of being.   According to Deborah Woods, CEO of Asheville Pregnancy Support Services in Asheville, North Carolina, it is easy to support the goal of helping women facing an unplanned pregnancy (Gibbs 22).   This is encouraging to a woman the most difficult situation she will ever be encountered with.
There are many reasons or scenarios that a woman can put her self in to result in having an abortion.   The first one that comes to mind is being too young.   There is
nothing worse than seeing or hearing about a girl who is 14-16 years old being pregnant.   That is too young and the girls decision should be clear, have the procedure or end up with a child when in fact she is still a child.
Another reason why women who are pregnant unexpectedly to get an abortion is that babies are expensive.   If the bills aren’t being paid and there is only food on the table for the two of you now, how is it going to be when there is a baby who is always hungry.

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The flow chart in the appendix 1 provides a comprehensive analysis of the adverse trend and data management that could occur within my organization. In depth, the research would evaluate patients’ healthcare and whether it is provided in an accurate and professional manner. To gather facts and information about the management in hospital, this research would follow up various steps. First, the research would evaluate how healthcare providers administer medical care and whether or not patients receive adequate support that boosts their well-being. Second, the study would evaluate whether the care provided in the hospital aligns with the medical standards. Conducting this research would create a strong platform to understand the past and present management and further work hard to eliminate any activity, condition, or medical errors that would hinder quality healthcare.
Research Questions
It is a well-documented fact that, quality medical care is of essence in reducing high mortality rates that occur as a result of poor medication and services provided (Flores, Win & Susilo, 2010). With this in mind, this research would investigate various factors that hinder healthcare providers from administering quality healthcare. To fully gather facts and information, this research would answer the following questions; do patients receive quality care and what attributes to poor medical errors. I would investigate further areas in the hospital that require immediate intervention to achieve quality care.

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Running Head:Turner Review

 

 

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Introduction

The Turner Review was compiled and published in 2009 by Lord Turner. He is the chair person of the Financial Service Authority (FSA) in UK. The review outlines well reasoned and viable regulatory reforms for financial institutions as well as banks. The review aims at addressing the inadequacies of financial supervision and regulation which could not survive the global financial crisis. In an effort to develop a novel regulation system, the review has taken into account all the factors that led to the global financial crisis such as securitized credit market complexity, excessive leverage, the shadow banks role in the process of maturity formation, lack of sufficient capital buffers, and commercial bank involvement in trading activities that were extensively risky (Acharya & Yorulmazer 2007). The review proposes that in a bid to ensure regulation consistency, the UK should adopt a single regulator approach across business lines. The review further acknowledges that importance of having the central bank as a systemic regulator. The principle based and light touch regulations are discouraged by the review and instead, focus is directed on rule bases regulations which are more intensive that are geared toward an extensive systemic risk as well as macroeconomic policy. The review therefore provides financial institution and banks a prudential regulation for future operations.

Discussion

            According to the review, the major factors that have drove the world in the current financial crisis include among others the increasing financial innovation, growth in the market size, as well as microeconomic imbalances thus, causing overall systemic risk increase. In light of the foregoing crisis there was a great need to revaluate the existing regulatory regime, for instance the assumption that markets function in an efficient and rational way. To this end, Turner proposes a regulatory policy change in his review to a regulation approach that is more systematic (Turner 2009).

In designing capital adequacy set of laws, the review postulate a couple of variant approaches which include: forming rules that are geared towards influencing the activities undertaken by different banks through sinking excessive risk taking incentives for the good of the economy at large. Alternatively, the rules can be formed to shield the creditors in case of failure by a single bank. Turner in his review postulate that in order to direct more attention on Tier 1 capital and Core Tier 1, it would be prudent to boost the value of capital held by banks. The review further proposes that the current optimum level of capital should be substituted with a novel formation. The review however, acknowledges that the increase in the capital requirement should wait until the economy is more stable (Cooper 2009).

The insufficiency of the existing regulations used for purposed of defining the level of risk involved in the trading book of particular assets is also highlighted by the review. Following the inadequacy of rules governing risks the banks were free to hold a small proportion of their overall capital visa vie the market risk in existence.

Turner review points out that the existence of institutions which have been undertaking functions similar to those of banks contributed to the global financial crisis. This is because, these bank like institutions were not subject to regulatory rules that applied to banks. Consequently, shadow banks as well as the off balance sheet SIVs posed actual systemic risk as the carry out extensive maturity formation and they were leveraged highly despite the fact that their liabilities were far much less than the assets maturity. That notwithstanding, these institutions were not within the regulatory regime thus contribution to the crisis. It is therefore the proposition of the review that much emphasis should be directed economic substance while designing future regulation rather than focusing on the legal form of such regime (Dowd 2010).

The review further note that the regulators must be authorized to single out those institution are bank like and were need be, the regulators should  restrict the impact of these shadow banks on entities that are regulated or subject such shadow banks to prudential regulations. In the event that there is a significant risk posed by off balance sheet banks to the economy, the regulators should design measures for purposes of bringing such banks on balance sheet. This can only be achieved where the domestic regulators are well coordinated and integrated thus, reducing arbitrage risks between rules.

The inadequacies of the light touch approach used by the Financial Services Authority are also highlighted by the review.  These light touch approach were designed on the basis that markets are able to correct themselves and as such,  the management of individual organizations bears the responsibility of managing risk. Consequently, more focus was directed towards individual firms and as such there was no attempt to challenge the strategies and models of business. The remunerations policies employed by the majority of financial institution should be re-evaluated to ensure that the remuneration does not act as an incentive to encourage short-termism or even excessive risk taking.

Regulatory coverage

The causes of the current crisis according the review are founded primarily on the regulated community as it stands. For this reason, more thorough regulations must be put in place to capture different sectors which have not been captured by proper regulation in the past (Turner 2009). Such institutions may include among others offshore firms and off balance sheet SIVs. Turner is of the view that these institutions should therefore be regulated in a more enhanced approach by the fund managers of the respective institutions. The powers of the Financial Services Authority in this respect would be gather information regarding the operations of these institutions through the fund managers. The powers of the regulator should also extent to regulating the liquidity and capital levels held by these firms. In addition, the regulator should be empowered to demand for a local offshore regime as well as impose more restrictions where there is a systematically important fund.

Capital adequacy

The capital requirements by the regulation have over the years been pro- cyclical, and this contributed to the current crisis. In light of this capital requirements, Turner suggest that rather than employing a point in time approach, financial institutions should focus on a through the cycle approach of default prospects. The current capital rules should be subjected to a number of technical rules for purposes of addressing particular inadequacies highlighted by the crisis at hand (Shiller 2009). Such changes may include introduction of novel ratio of gross leverage for purposes of providing a fixed perimeter on the ratio of Tier 1 equity to gross assets.  Dependence on credit ratings by the Basel II also needs to be re-evaluated. Further, there is a need for more preventive and comprehensive requirement in relation to liquidity. The review however, acknowledges that fact that such changes need to be effected bit by bit and cautiously particularly in the current financial crisis that has affected these institution.

 

Credit rating agencies

The review postulates that the existing proposals of the EU regulations regarding credit rating agencies should be adopted for purposes of regulating agencies in their efforts manage and disclose conflicts. Ratings should however be restricted to products in light of the adequate transparency and historical record.

Turner is of the view that splitting the regulation guiding investment and commercial banking is a mission in futility. Such a move to split the regulation according to the review is untenable considering the existing structure of international financial institutions, and also in light of the advantages that accrue to banks through their credit securitization (Turner 2009). After all the current standing of most investment banks are firm enough in their systemic importance to necessitate lender of last resort, amenities for purposes of boosting their status. Rather than engaging in splitting regulation therefore, Turner is of the opinion that more emphasis should be put on designing rigorous limitations to check deposit taking firms operations, which should also involve developing novel limitations on any activity regarding trading book. This can be done through increased monitoring risks related to liquidity, in an effort to mitigate the possibility of the current crisis recurring at a future date (Ashby et al 2010).

There is not enough coordination in cross border supervision on a global level, and the result is the current global financial crisis. Depending on the place of incorporation financial institution in Europe are subjected to different regulation, a situation that could be disastrous. The later situation in Europe can be well illustrated by the incident that took place in Iceland which brought to light the fact that banks operating on a cross border level are subjected to very limit regulatory directives emanating from the local regulators, and therefore, it becomes very difficult for the regulators to protect local consumers from such banks.

It is in the backdrop of such situation that the review by Turner suggests that a regime should be designed to set out all the conditions required for any cross border institution to commence its operations in another country. Important of all, should be the requirement that such cross border banks must have a local subsidiary established in the designated country, and as such subject to the regulation at the local level (Stern & Feldman 2009). It goes without saying that such a step would go a long way in harmonizing the supervisory responsibility of the regulator and also enhance the ability of the regulator to protect local customers. The review suggest that the European community should form a single regulatory administrative body charged with the responsibility of  overseeing supervision, taking an active role in micro prudential assessment, as well as setting standards.

Mortgage regulation

The use of product based regulation is cited as an approach that is imprudent since it give way to harmful regulatory arbitrage in the financial institutions. Trading of CDSs by AIG is a perfect example of in this respect (Bank of England 2009). In the past years, product regulation was viewed as an act that would suppress innovation and for this reason avoided at all costs. In every general rule however, there is always an exception. Product regulation can be prudentially applied to particular products such mortgages.

One of the outright failing of the UK financial regime is perhaps the fact that the country does not have a single body charged with the responsibility or vested with the influence to identify trends that are likely to destabilize the system, powers to supervise the whole system, or even the authority to take a concerted action in the event of a threatening trend. This problem has been termed as an under lap in the Turner review (Finlow-Bates 2011).  A part from macro-prudential ‘under lap’, Turner point out that before the financial crisis, the Financial Services Authority employed a defective approach in respect to micro prudential rule. It follows that more emphasis were directed towards adherence to the directives and rule by the financial supervision rather than undertaking a strategic and in-depth assessment of risk. The ability of firms to take decisions regarding the risk involved in their operation and the understanding of firms’ nature of business forms the basis of successful prudential regulation.

One of the major causes of the global financial crisis according to the review was the unabated rise in the overall leverage system (Turner 2009). This state was perpetuated by the unfettered system of shadow banks, as well as the complexity and opacity of the scrutinized credit approach. The review suggest that the existence of rigid liquidity set of laws particularly the liquidity buffer may hinder banks in future to leverage their balance sheet as the stringent system may shrink the balance sheets of such banks (Llewellyn 2009).

Conclusion

The review aims at addressing the inadequacies of financial supervision and regulation which could not survive the global financial crisis. The review further identifies several factors that lead to the global financial crisis which include among others securitized credit market complexity, excessive leverage, the shadow banks role in the process of maturity formation, lack of sufficient capital buffers, and commercial bank involvement in trading activities that were extensively risky. The causes of the current crisis according the review are founded primarily on the regulated community as it stands. To this end, more thorough regulations must be put in place to capture different sectors which have not been captured by proper regulation in the past. The review proposes that in a bid to ensure regulation consistency, the UK should adopt a single regulator approach across business lines (Turner 2009).

The remunerations policies employed by the majority of financial institution should  also be re-evaluated to ensure that the remuneration does not act as an incentive to encourage short-termism or even excessive risk taking. Turner suggests that a regime should be designed to set out all the conditions required for any cross border institution to commence its operations in another country. Important of all, should be the requirement that such cross border banks must have a local subsidiary established in the designated country, and as such subject to the regulation at the local level (Alexander 2009).

The current capital rules should be subjected to a number of technical rules for purposes of addressing particular inadequacies highlighted by the crisis at hand. Such changes may include introduction of novel ratio of gross leverage for purposes of providing a fixed perimeter on the ratio of Tier 1 equity to gross assets.  It is suggested that bank like institutions such as shadow banks as well as the off balance sheet SIVs should be regulated in a more enhanced approach by the fund managers of the respective institutions (Crouhy 2008). The powers of the Financial Services Authority in this respect would be gather information regarding the operations of these institutions through the fund managers. Further, the powers of the regulator should also extent to regulating the liquidity and capital levels held by these firms.

 

 

 

References

Acharya, V., & Yorulmazer, T (2010), “Too Many to Fail – An Analysis of Time-

Inconsistency in Bank Closure Policies”, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Vol 16,pp1-31.

Alexander, J (2009), “Regulatory Arbitrage and Over-Regulation”, in P Booth Ed.,

            Verdict on the Crash: Causes and Policy Implications, Institute of Economic          Affairs, London.

Ashby, S et al (2010), ‘Lessons about Risk: Analyzing the Causal Chain of Insurance        Company Failure’, Insurance Research and Practice,      Vol18, No 2, p4-15.

Bank of England (2009), Report of the Board of Banking Supervision Enquiry into the

Circumstances of the Collapse of Barings, HMSO.

Cooper, G (2009), The Origin of Financial Crises, Harriman House Ltd, Hampshire,

Crouhy, M (2008), “The Subprime Credit Crisis of 2007”, Journal of Derivatives, Vol.

16 Issue 1, p81-110.

Dowd, K (2010), “The Case for Financial Laissez-Faire”, Economic Journal, Vol. 106,

436, pp679-87.

Finlow-Bates, T (2011), “The root cause myth”, The TQM journal, Vol. 10, No. 1,

pp10–15.

Llewellyn, D (2009), “The Economic Rationale for Financial Regulation”, FSA

Occasional Paper, No. 1, April.

Shiller, R (2009), The Subprime Solution, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

Stern, G., & Feldman, R (2009), Too Big to Fail: The Hazards of Bank Bailouts,

Brookings Institution Press, Washington DC.

Turner, A (2009) “The Turner Review: A Regulatory Response to the Global Banking

Crisis”, Financial Services Authority, March, accessed on 13/4/ 2012, from:             http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/other/turner_review.pdf.

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Theory of justice

 

 

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Introduction

Often times, the terms justice and fairness are used interchangeably. As Maiese, (2003) suggests that the term justice taken in its broader sense may mean an action that follows the specifications of a particular law or a set of laws. Some schools argue that justice is inherent from the inception of man, others contend that justice comes from God’s command or will, while others believes that justice entails rules that are universal among all human beings and are adopted in some kind of agreement. In those instances therefore, any action that appears to violate the rules of conduct that are universal such an action may be termed as an unjust act. The term justice in its narrow sense is simply fairness. Thus, justice is action that puts into consideration the interests that are appropriate as well as safety of other individuals.

The principles of justice theories are the doctrines that establish a fair resolution of disputes and conflicting interests of different individual in the social order, sometimes referred as the rules of fair play. These principles of justice therefore seek to regulate the fundamental structure of the society, in other words, the means through which fundamental rights duties are distributed by major social institutions as well as the way in which they determine social cooperation from the division of advantages. In the words of Thomas Aquinas, a just law is the one that distribute burden fairly, serves the common good, promote religion. The principles of justice spells out the apt distribution of burdens as well as the benefits of social cooperation and in the same vein present a way through which duties and rights may be assigned in the fundamental institutions of the general public.

According to Rawls, (2003) these principles of justice whether context bases or even based on universal laws forms the basis upon which different form of justice are carried out. A clear illustration of the foregoing statement can be found in the principle of restorative (retributive) justice. This principle outlines our reaction to activities that infringes the rules fair play in the society. Another example on how the principles of justice forms the basis upon which different form of justice are carried out can be seen in the principle of distributive justice, which principle determines the amount of public assets that  may be regarded as a fair share. In social justice, there is a requirement that individuals in the society should play by the set rules, and such rules should be fair. It is pertinent to note that these benefits that are distributed by justice include only those goods that everyone in the society would want. Such benefits may include; opportunities, rights, powers, income, liberty, self-respect, wealth, among others.

Equality, need, and equity principles may play a significant part in various issues of social justice even though; these three principles are more applicable in relation to distributive justice. This means that individuals in the society ought to be treated equally, castigated for their wrongdoing, have their essential needs met, rewarded for their productivity and effort. Nonetheless, it is often difficult to attain all the aforementioned goals at the same time since there might be a conflict among these principles.

According to the principle of need, individuals should work hard to achieve an outcome that is equal and as such the needs of every group member of the society will be achieved. Consequently, the richer individuals would get less, while the poor individuals would acquire more. Some critics of this principle contend that the principle of need fails differentiate between manifested needs and real needs as well as fails to put into consideration the disparity in productive contribution.

In addition, the principle of equity suggests that an economic system that is fair allocates goods proportionate to individual input. The role of talent and ability cannot be ignored in this principle. It therefore follows that; those individuals who are more talented or work harder should get more (Maiese, 2003). In light of the above argument, the needs of every society member may not be achieved in that kind of distribution.

The principle of equity suggests that the fairest distribution is the one that allocates burdens as well as benefits in an equal measure to all individuals among group members of the society. Equity therefore suggests that in a company with 20 individuals and a profit of $400,000 the principle would require that every member should be given $20,000. Critics of this principle argue that it does not put into consideration the difference in productivity, effort, as well as talent.

It has also been argued that the principles of equality, need, and equity are adopted to press forward particular social goals and not for their own sake per se. for instance, while the principles of need and equality puts more emphasis on a sense of belonging and constructive interpersonal connection among the group members of a given social order, the principle of equity tends to promote productivity.

In contrast with the aforementioned principles of equity, equality, and need, utilitarianism suggest that a society is just where the institutions and laws of that society are formulated in such a way that they foster the average happiness or greatest overall of the persons in that society. The principle of utility forms the basis of Utilitarianism theory of justice. Thus this theory disapproves any kind of action that reduces human happiness and approves every action that promotes the happiness of human kind. According to the views of utilitarianism, the purpose of justice is to alleviate the greatest happiness of the society at large. In this regard, utilitarianism is of the opinion that a law is if at very just if the effect of such a law brings happiness to the majority, even if such a law is unfavorable to the minority in the society. Such a principle may be disadvantageous particularly in a society that is pluralist (Rawls, 2003).

The most unique characteristic of utilitarianism is the fact that it is a secular theory which does not make references to abstract principles of religion or even natural rights. Consequently, maximization of total happiness in the society is achieved and it is often applied in the run of the mill transactions among acquaintances as well as on the country wide political plane. The primary subject of justice is way in which social institutions as well as the main political institutions of the social order join to form a single system of cooperation and regulate the divisions of benefits that emanate from cooperation of humanity over a period of time. It also involves the way in which duties and rights are distributed.

Justice can be differentiated for security in the sense that, justice entails a fair resolution of disputes and conflicting interests of different individual in the social order, sometimes referred as the rules of fair play. These principles of justice therefore seek to regulate the fundamental structure of the society, in other words, the means through which fundamental rights duties are distributed by major social institutions as well as the way in which they determine social cooperation from the division of advantages (Kolm, 2002). In other words, the most important subject of justice is way in which social institutions as well as the main political institutions of the social order join to form a single system of cooperation and regulate the divisions of benefits that emanate from cooperation of humanity over a period of time. Justice focuses on actions that follow the specifications of a particular law or a set of laws. Security on the other hand, focuses mainly on promoting peace and protecting members of the society while at the same time assure development in the society that is continuous and sustainable. Security addresses issues such as criminal violence and organized crime, mass crimes and genocide, intervention and armed conflicts, among others.

Principles of justice theories spells out the apt distribution of burdens as well as the benefits of social cooperation and in the same vein present a way through which duties and rights may be assigned in the fundamental institutions of the general public. It should therefore be noted that these principles are the doctrines that establish a fair resolution of disputes and conflicting interests of different individual in the social order, sometimes referred as the rules of fair play. Some of the principles of justice theories include equity, need, and equality as aforementioned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Kolm, C. (2002). Modern Theories of Justice. Washington:  MIT Press.

Maiese, M . (2003). Principles of Justice and Fairness. Retrieved from        http://www.beyondintractability.org/bi-essay/principles-of-justice.

Rawls, J. (2003). Principles of justice I. London: Routledge.

 

 

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Running Head: Objectivity in the Role Played By University Student Leaders.

 

 

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Table of Contents

 
1.1 Summary
1.2 Abstract
1.3 Chapter I: Introduction
1.3.1 Statement of a Problem
1.4 Chapter II: Review of the Literature and Research Questions
1.5 Chapter III: Methodology
1.6 Conclusion
1.7 References

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.1 Summary

Arguably, student leadership at the university is the most advantageous activity that a student can engage in outside the conventional academic activities. Even though in the leadership role at the university there are no grades awarded, the students who undertake the role of leadership acquires a lifetime experience that may not be obtained elsewhere. The role played by the university student leaders expose them to a learning environment that equips them with a lot of skills to handle different situations. As a university student leader, one is able to perfect in his or her skills of communication, planning, working as a team, and in making decisions. These leadership skills may not be acquired by a student through attending lectures and sitting for exams only.

University student leaders are capable of making a big different in their respective institutions since they are at a unique position to bring such changes. The leadership role at the university gives the students a chance to voice their views and also to think big from an influential position. The mission of any leader can only be achieved through hard work, teamwork as well as the commitment of every member of that organization. The role of university student leaders therefore, should entail effective utilization of team work, talent, and time. The university student leaders must ask themselves several questions such as what can I do to be more productive, what should be my contribution, and what must I do to attain higher level results. A follow through, at most willingness to contribute, and motivations are some of the key values that successful university leaders must hold dear. Nevertheless, to have a successful university student leadership, more efforts need to be done by the student leaders.  Often communication, harnessing group talent and also working smarter forms the basis of successful student leadership at the university.
1.2 Abstract

Over the past years, much focus was given to the behaviors of leaders and followers owing to the fact that leadership was analyze from a situational point of view. The ability of an individual to strike a balance between getting done the set objectives and also maintain a good relationship with the group is what defined effective leadership. Over time however, leadership as a phenomenon has evolved drastically. Effective leaders were expected to do something differently in light of the dynamics brought about by different state of affairs. It has been argued that taking up positions of leadership at the university level gives students enormous gains which may not be compared to mere involvement or participation in the student organizations. Owing to the levels of Involvement, University student leaders stand to acquire more skills compared to the university students who do not participate in leadership. There are also several ways in which university student leaders develop and grow as a result of their involvement in leadership. These growth and development may include interpersonal and intrapersonal development, cognitive development, communication skills, and practical competence. The role played by the university student leaders expose them to a learning environment that equips them with a lot of skills to handle different situations. As a university student leader, one is able to perfect in his or her skills of communication, planning, working as a team, and in making decisions. Even though there are numerous benefits that accrue when university students take part in leadership roles, very few university students are involves in the leadership role within their respective universities. As such most students who do not take part in leadership miss out a lot in terms of the benefits associated with leadership roles such as the cognitive and interpersonal development.
1.3 Chapter I: Introduction

Since the early 1800s, the phenomenon of leadership has been acknowledged widely. Nonetheless, over the decades, there has been far-reaching changes particularly on the process through which an individual becomes a leader. In his work, Northouse, (2001) is of the view that during the past decades, there was a perception that only certain individuals could become leaders. These individuals were believed to have particular traits or characteristics. As such, leaders were distinguished from their followers through these traits. In a study conducted to look at the traits that leaders are often associated with, Lucas and McMahon (1998), found that leadership was influenced by individual social characteristics, certain physical traits, personality, social backgrounds, task-related characteristics, individual ability, and intelligence. The critics of this characteristic theory are of the opinion that even though leaders may exhibit the aforementioned traits, it is easier said than done to define as well as measures such traits. In addition, critics of this theory argue that such traits may not be the best factors to define a leader since at a given point in time there may be a change in leadership (Pascarella and Terenzini, 2005). Cooper, Healy, and Simpson (1994) insist on the point that even though a particular individual may lead perfectly well in a given state of affairs, such an individual despite having certain traits may not be as effective in his or her leadership when faced with different circumstances.

Over the past years, much focus was given to the behaviors of leaders and followers owing to the fact that leadership was analyze from a situational point of view. According to Huang & Chang (2004), Task orientation and group effectiveness were the basis of behavior determination. The ability of an individual to strike a balance between getting done the set objectives and also maintain a good relationship with the group is what defined effective leadership. Over time however, leadership as a phenomenon has evolved drastically. Effective leaders were expected to do something differently in light of the dynamics brought about by different state of affairs. Depending of the state of affairs, particular traits were necessary.

Bolman & Deal, (2003) are of the opinion that unlike past perception of leadership being a reserve of the few, through education and experience anyone is capable of learning how to become an effective and good leader. Such education and experience may be obtained from student organizations at different institutions of higher learning such as universities, where student leaders get an opportunity to gain knowledge and put into practice leadership skills that they have learnt (Swatez, 1995). In his analysis, Holzweiss (2004), espouses that university student leaders stand to gain from their involvement and participation in the leadership role. Such benefits include educational as well as unrelenting satisfaction.  There are also several ways in which university student leaders develop and grow as a result of their involvement in leadership. These growth and development may include interpersonal and intrapersonal development, cognitive development, communication skills, and practical competence (Shertzer & Schuh, 2004).

It has been argued that taking up positions of leadership at the university level gives students enormous gains which may not be compared to mere involvement or participation in the student organizations (Baxter-Magolda, 1992). Owing to the levels of Involvement University students leaders stand to acquire more skills compared to the university students who do not participate in leadership. According to Beeny, (2003) the role played by university student leaders in their respective organization gives them a better opportunity than non-leaders to gain advanced levels of skills.
1.3.1 Statement of a Problem

Even though there are numerous benefits that accrue when university students take part in leadership roles, very few university students are involves in the leadership role within their respective universities. As such most students who do not take part in leadership miss out a lot in terms of the benefits associated with leadership roles such as the cognitive and interpersonal development (Northouse, 2001). It has been argued that when university student undertake leadership roles, they acquire certain beneficial traits such as extraversion, self-efficacy as well as self confidence. In addition, the role of university student leaders provides role model and peer influence to the fellow students, this form the basis of appreciating the importance of undertaking student leadership role at the university (Shertzer & Schuh, 2004). It follows that professionals can design a training program which can enhance the capabilities of the student leaders and non-leaders through assessing the relationship between influences and traits that emanate from various positions of leadership that university student undertake.
1.4 Chapter II: Review of the Literature

This chapter is aimed at providing a review of literature materials on the objectivity of the role played by university student leaders. To begin with, this chapter will examine the concept of leadership and its historical development. In addition, the chapter will discuss various benefits that are associated with leadership roles such as self confidence, peer influence, role model support and influence, extraversion, and self-efficacy.

Leadership has often been described as an antique skill. The art of leadership as Chemers, (1994) describes it can be found in Egyptian, Greek, and Chinese history as well as in Caesar and Plato classics. Though leadership seems to have begun centuries ago, there seem to be consensus among authors that the term leadership came to being around 1800s (Komives, Lucas, and McMahon, 1998). Even though over decades the process of becoming a leader has undergone drastic changes, leadership as a concept has been in existence for a long time.

The objective of higher education or university education for this purpose, and its philosophical conception call attention to the role of such institution of higher learning in society democratization, by giving individuals a chance of becoming what they are capable of becoming, through a process of education(Roberts & Ullom, 1990). According to Astin, (1993a) the objectivity of the role played by university student leaders is founded on the fact that student leaders are able to develop skills as citizen agents and also use their leadership positions for the common good of all students.

Some individuals have questioned the importance of university students having extra experience outside of the lecture room and beyond sitting for their exams. Nevertheless, Littleton, (2002 is of the view that there are a number of proven benefits that have been cited as being associated with university students taking part in extracurricular activities such as leadership roles in their respective institutions.

According to Beeny (2003), student involvement entails the psychological as well as the physical amount of energy that a particular student invest in various activities to achieve a given objective. Study shows that university students who take part in leadership roles gain in vocational preparation and personal development, social adjustment, improve their communication skills, improve cognitive skills, matriculate, increase their self confidence and the regard themselves to learn more (Littleton, 2002).

In a research conducted on university student leaders, the students who participated in their institutional leadership role were found to be more knowledgeable than the non-leaders in terms of career planning, educational involvement, cultural participation, lifestyle planning, developing purpose, academic autonomy, and life management (Pascarella and Terenzini, 2005).  The learning outcomes that are however very common among university student leaders include: communication skills, cognitive development, and intrapersonal as well as interpersonal skills.

Huang & Chang (2004), suggest that the concept of intrapersonal skills involves cultivation of individual autonomy, self-concept, and self-awareness. While interpersonal skills on the other hand, involves the relations between individuals. This concept therefore, involves appreciating the differences among people as well as group dynamics. It has been argued that interpersonal competence acquired by university student leaders emanate from institutional culture, peer interactions, as well as their leadership responsibilities (Holzweiss, 2004). Participation in extracurricular activities such as leadership role by the university students has a positive influence on the social self concept of the student leaders.

Often a time, the concept of cognitive development is associated with classroom learning. Nevertheless, study shows that cognitive development can be achieved through organizational involvement, peer relationships, employment, as well as living arrangements (Holzweiss, 2004). It is worth noting that the objectivity of role played by university student leaders is achieved through organizational involvement of the student leaders. This involvement has a strong impact on the knowledge they gain through the different roles student leaders play in the organizations they head.  Transitional knowers continue to be influenced by the positions of leadership that are held by university student leaders. According to Huang and Chang (2004), cognitive development among university student leaders include ability to learn new things, problem-solving skills, the level of involvement in both co-curricular as well as academic activities, how to relates with other  students  and analytical skills. High cognitive skill development has over the years been registered among university students who actively participate in co-curricular as well as academic activities.

As leaders, the role of university student leaders entails interacting with others. It is therefore, pertinent for every student leader to learn how to communicate effectively for purposes of achieving their goals and objective as organizational leaders. According to Beeny (2003), the most important communication skills among the students leaders, are those related to listening skills. Most student leaders particularly in institutions of higher learning stand a better chance of learning communication skills since these skills are unavoidable aspect of the role they play within student organizations.

The role played by university student leaders present an opportunity  through which student leaders are able to learn from their own experience as well as from their peers (Felsheim, 2001). The main aim of university education and indeed other institutions of higher learning involve developing their students as strong citizen leaders. To achieve this objective, these institutions should incorporate in their systems leadership programs as well as development activities. This is because the role of student leadership unlike other affairs undertaken by students, involves multidisciplinary aspects which affect the students as a whole. It follows therefore, that the experienced attained by university student leaders in their responsibility can be of great importance in their future careers.

In his book entitles What Matters in College Astin (1993b), is of the view that during the undergraduate level of university students, the peer group that a particular student get involved with has great impact on the development and growth of that student. Astin (1993), further states that  the aspirations values, and beliefs of students during their university years, are more likely than not to change towards the bearing of the prevailing aspirations values, and beliefs among other students. As such, university students make their decisions or develop their behaviors on the basis of the beliefs, and values held by their peers, a concept referred to as progressive conformity (Astin, 1993b). The term peer group may be defined as any group of people with which the members see approval from each other, affiliate with, see acceptance, and identify with (Ouellette 1998). It is therefore, common among peers to identify themselves with those individuals who posses values and beliefs that are comparable. Students who are involves in extracurricular activities are more likely to bracket together with other members who are involved in such activities that are analogous.

The relationship between leadership and peer group is that spending time with peer group involved in leadership has an important role in the development of leadership skills among university student leaders. the role played by university student leaders is capable of influencing other students to participate in the organization activities and also to support the systems as well as sustain them (Romano,1996). During difficult situations, university student leaders are more likely to seek help or guidance from leaders of other organizations in the university. The peer group therefore, serves as role model as well as support systems. Often, peers recognize and reward each other as a show of support. The recognition and rewards given to students by their peers play an important role in influencing university student to take leadership responsibilities in their respective institutions.

In the words of Pascarella and Terenzini (2005), the role played by university student leaders have a positive influence in relation to ego and identity development, values and sociopolitical attitudes , social self-concepts and academic, attainment, intellectual orientation, general maturity and personal development,  persistence, moral development, and educational aspirations. The growth and development of leadership abilities have been linked to peers interactions. Peer interaction also has a positive impact on overall academic development, public speaking skills, Critical thinking skills, Interpersonal skills, problem-solving as well as analytical skills. Through the role played by university student leaders they are able to gain knowledge outside the lecture rooms and in their interactions, they are able to gain thinking skills, understanding the arts, and writing skills. In all, the students are able to improve their overall academic skills as well as improve their knowledge acquisition skills during their years as students and in their careers (Astin, 1993). The roles and responsibilities undertaken by university student leaders further allows them to gain practical competence, interpersonal competence, and humanitarianism competence all of which,  may be associated with peers influence.

In order for any leader to be successful, Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991), argues that such an individuals must have particular characteristics which include: self-confidence, must possess drive, honesty and integrity, a desire to lead, knowledge of the activity they are getting involved with in order to succeed, and cognitive ability. The role of self confidence cannot however be overemphasized as it cultivate trust among the people a person is leading and also gives them confidence.  Individuals with self confidence are capable of taking important decision with a lot of ease compared to those who do not have self confidence (Hughes et al 2012). It goes without saying that people are more likely to believe in leaders who seem to have self confidence. As such others will have confidence in such a leader and they will be convinced by his decisions.

According to the definition advanced by Northouse (2001), the phrase self confidence denotes the ability of an individual to be certain about his or her skills as well as competencies. Other aspects associated with self confidence include self-awareness and a sense of self-esteem. Leadership at the university level gives the student leaders an opportunity to gain self confidence. In a study conducted by Ouellette’s (1998), university students who participated in organizational readership roles were able to attain self confidence and also motivated them to take an active role in other events. Because of the confidence that university students gain in exercise of their roles, other students gain confidence in their leadership. The student leaders in turn feel more liable to fulfill their duties and responsibilities as they should. It has been stated that developing self confidence allows student leaders to delegate responsibilities, help an organization in attaining its objectives and goals, organize oneself, and to deal with people (Bass, 1990). The role of university student leaders cultivate confidence and these enables such students to undertake the decision making process with a lot of ease as well as allow them to work effectively with other students (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991).

Leadership roles undertaken by university student cultivate perceived self efficacy among the university student leaders. Bandura, (1997) defines the phrase perceived self efficacy as a belief in an individual competencies to effectively systematize and implement plans that are necessary for the attainment of a particular goal or objective. Further, perceived self efficacy may be explained as the belief of an individual capability to take control over different activities that have an effect on them and also control over their role.

Research Questions

RQ1:  How has self-efficacy, self-confidence, peer influence, influenced the role played by      university student leaders?

RQ2:  What are the benefits associated with taking up leadership roles by students at the         university level?
1.5 Chapter III: Methodology

 

This study was designed to assess the objectivity of the role played by university student leaders. The literature review has highlighted the various benefits that emanate from student leadership in institutions of higher learning. Such benefits include: improved self-efficacy, self confidence, positive peer influence, support and role model influence, and extraversion.

Participants

The research participants will consist of seniors, juniors, and sophomores attending a large, public institution of higher learning located in the Southeastern part of US. The student leaders who will take part in this study must have held responsibilities of leadership for not less than four months. For purposes of this study therefore, the term leadership position will be described as an individual who hold a leadership position in a given institution and that person must have influence on his followers.  The population for this research was selected using a couple of criteria. These criteria include: such students must be taking part in the leadership of their institution, and they must all be seniors, juniors, or sophomores.

The Directory of clubs and organization was consulted in an effort to identify student organizations. The identified student organizations before being included in the study had to meet certain criteria. Such requirements included: the organizations must have given out email address to their member students; there must be undergraduate students in such organizations.

In the literature review, there were three traits that were discussed throughout the research. These traits include: self-efficacy, self confidence, as well as peer influence. As such this study was basically founded on those three variables. The data was collected via the email. Participants received email messages to confirm their participation in the study.

In the data analysis, the scale score for self-efficacy, self-confidence, and peer influence were used as independent valuables. The following questions were asked in the data analysis:

RQ1:  How has self-efficacy, self-confidence, peer influence, influenced the role played           by university student leaders?

RQ2:  What are the benefits associated with taking up leadership roles by students at the             university level?
1.6 Conclusion

University student leaders stand to benefit in many ways from their roles as leaders. Study shows that university students who take part in leadership roles gain in vocational preparation and personal development, social adjustment, improve their communication skills, improve cognitive skills, matriculate, increase their self confidence and the regard themselves to learn more (Littleton, 2002). The study further assesses the traits as well as influences that impact university student leaders and their roles. These influences and characteristics include: self confidence, peer influence, role model support and influence, extraversion, and self-efficacy. Leadership at the university level gives the student leaders an opportunity to gain self confidence.

In a study conducted by Ouellette’s (1998), university students who participated in organizational readership roles were able to attain self confidence and also motivated them to take an active role in other events. The students who participated in their institutional leadership role were found to be more knowledgeable than the non-leaders in terms of career planning, educational involvement, cultural participation, lifestyle planning, developing purpose, academic autonomy, and life management. It has been argued that interpersonal competence acquired by university student leaders emanate from institutional culture, peer interactions, as well as their leadership responsibilities (Holzweiss, 2004). Participation in extracurricular activities such as leadership role by the university students has a positive influence on the social self concept of the student leaders. University student leaders also stand to gain cognitive development in their role as organization leaders. According to Huang and Chang (2004), cognitive development among university student leaders include ability to learn new things, problem-solving skills, the level of involvement in both co-curricular as well as academic activities, how to relates with other  students  and analytical skills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.7 References

Astin, A. W. (1993a). An empirical typology of college students. Journal of College           Student Development, 34(1), 36-46.

Astin. A. (1993b). What matters in college: Four critical years revisited. San Francisco:    Jossey Bass Publishers.

Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In. V.S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human

            behavior, (pp. 71-81). New York: Academic Press.

Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass and Stogdill’s handbook of leadership (3rd ed.). New York,         NY: The Free Press.

Beeny, C. (2003). Perceptions of learning in the co-curriculum: A study of expectations    and involvement. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Georgia.

Cooper, D et al (1994). Student development through involvement: Specific changes     over time. Journal of College Student Development, 35(2), 98-102.

Felshiem, M. J. (2001). Pathways to success: How university students become student    leaders. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Holzweiss, K. (2004). Leadership survey: March 2004. (Texas A&M Student Life   Studies).Retrieved on October 12, 2005 from         http://studentlifestudies.tamu.edu/8.asp

Huang, Y., and Change, S. (2004). Academic and cocurricular involvement: Their           relationship and the best combinations for student growth. Journal of College             Student Development, 45(4), 391-406.

Hughes, R et al. (2012). Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience (7th ed.).       Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin

Littleton, R. A. (2002). Campus involvement among African American students at small,

Predominately white colleges. College Student Affairs Journal, 21(2), 53-67.

Ouellette, M. (1998). Characteristics, experiences, and behavior of university student       leaders. Unpublished dissertation, University of Alberta, Canada.

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Politics: International Relations and the Global Economy

 

 

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Introduction

It has been argued that there are numerous benefits that accrue to countries that are members of multilateral economic institutions such as World Trade Organization (WTO). This can be attested to by the fact that joining these institutions is voluntary and any county may decide to exit at any time (Milner 2005). The rational conclusion of so many countries joining these multilateral economic institutions is that the net benefits supersede those available if such a country is not a member. The foundation of multilateral economic institutions can be traced back to the end of Second World War.  A number of multilateral economic institutions were formed for purposes of avoiding another Great Depression as well as to manage the economy of the world. Some of these institutions included: the World Bank (earlier referred to as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 1995 (earlier referred to as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)), and finally the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It has been argued that these institutions have played a very crucial role in mitigating the pressure mounted on developing nations by encouraging them to adopt policies that market efficient. The study however will be focusing only on the role of World Trade Organization (WTO) in mitigating the effects of an anarchic international system.

Discussion

As Hoekman, (2002, p.32) has argued, even though joining World Trade Organization (WTO) could have some negative impacts, they are less compared to those that a state would encounter   if it chooses to remain outside such multilateral economic institution. In an argument put forward by Gruber, (2000, p.54) the developing countries will be better joining multilateral institutions with open alternatives formed by powerful states than not joining them at all since outside of them they have no alternatives to chose from good or bad. It is worth noting that the recent witness rush to join these institutions is a clear indication that most countries have realized that it is a better alternative to a member than otherwise. There are a number of reasons that have been advanced in support of the foregoing which include: the ability of these institutions to constrain the Great Powers, reducing the cost of transaction and providing information, facilitating reciprocity, and finally, facilitating reforms local politics.

Ikenberry, (2001, p.46) contend that the World Trade Organization (WTO) may be able to put forth restrictions on the underlying great powers (anarchy) of the international system. This multilateral economic institution has established procedures, norms, as well as rules that deter powerful nations from pursuing their national interest by force at the expense of other states. The behavior of great nations is therefore harnessed.  Other states are assured that the Great Powers are not likely to take advantage of their weakness through the acceptance of these Great Powers to comply with the rules of this multilateral economic institution WTO notwithstanding the fact that they are the founders.

As rightly pointed out by Kuper, (2004, p.14) there is a big possibility of trade expansion and more profitable transactions under the WTO where the conditions  are certain and the rules to access the market are well outlined diminishing any possibilities of the Great Powers influencing the results. Such motivation is important for purposes of trade development in that the market powers who are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) can make favorable bilateral negotiations with countries that have large market size. Some critics of multilateral economic institutions maintain that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has benefited the developed countries more than the developing countries. There are even some allegations by international institution scholars that the trade rounds presented by the World Trade Organization (WTO) have permitted the developed countries to exploit the developing nations through engaging them to enter into agreements that are unfair. According to Stiglitz, (2000, p.33) the previous rounds of trade negotiations instituted by General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) now the World Trade Organization (WTO) were geared towards protection of the industrial states

Multilateralism provided by the World Trade Organization (WTO) enables the developing countries to have better trade outcome compared to the outcome of bilateral negotiations which would be the only alternative if they are not members of members of multilateral institution (Milner 2005). Under a multilateral arrangement, there is a high chance of protection, and transparency even though it may be inadequate it is better in mitigating the unequal influence as well as unequal power in the international community. Further, multilateralism may not only be able to enforce some constraints particularly on Great Powers but also enable developing countries to become conscious of their general grounds as well as be able to counter balance the states that are more developed and powerful. The World Trade Organization (WTO) may also boost the capacity of the developing countries to influence trade results through giving such countries more political voice.

As Keohane, (2004, p.51) point out, multilateral cooperation such as The World Trade Organization (WTO) reduces transaction cost as well as provide useful information for purposes of facilitating better cooperation at a multilateral level in an anarchic system. The World Trade Organization (WTO) for instance facilitates agreements through increasing the costs of altering transaction costs, violating the property rights of other nations, and also through providing the member states with reliable information. The WTO as a multilateral institution also mitigates the levels of uncertainty in an anarchic system by allowing decentralized enforcement as well as monitoring the behaviors of member states. The reciprocity strategies of the institution help it to achieve these goals.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has also been very critical in providing crucial information obtained from it function of monitoring and reporting about states compliance to the commitments they have agreed upon among themselves (Grant and Keohane 2005). This effort by the World Trade Organization (WTO) gives a reassurance to the domestic public as well as other member states about their political leaders conduct, thus, ensuring that there is a big possibility of achieving cooperation and a sustainable cooperation for that matter. It is suggested that member states stand to gain a lot of information by joining multilateral economic institution such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). Consequently, the mutual gain accrued from being a member of this institution may be the only logical explanation for the increased voluntary participation of a big number of countries in multilateral forums organized by these institutions (Adsera and Boix 2002).

It has been argued that multilateral economic institutions such as World Trade Organization (WTO) play a vital role in facilitating reciprocity. In a study conducted by Bagwell and Staiger, (2002, p.22) the WTO has played a significant role in facilitating reciprocity strategies in an anarchic system among countries. It is worth noting that cooperation in anarchy is highly dependent on the level of reciprocity. Countries that are big actors in the world market may use this advantage to formulate trade policy aimed at manipulating their terms of trading for purposes of having an edge over their partners in business. The enhancement of reciprocity by the WTO presents a situation in which the Great Powers can be able to achieve cooperative results that are more efficient and at the same time protect the developing countries from being exploited by countries that are economically powerful. World Trade Organization (WTO) achieves this reciprocity through setting rules and monitoring them to ensure that they are followed to the letter. It further ensures that reciprocity is both feasible and credible.

Economically powerful countries such as Japan the United States as well as the European Union have used this international institution to reduce their trade barriers and for purposes of implementing reciprocity strategies. Nonetheless, there is little evidence indicating that reciprocity has been felt in the developing countries particularly in regard to reducing trade barriers. Most of the developing countries were not members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) until the Uruguay Round launch was launched. Most of the members by then were industrial states that were able to negotiate in a multilateral setting. These countries were able to negotiate among them in an effort to lower trade barriers.

In addition to facilitating reciprocity, the World Trade Organization (WTO) as an international institution has played an important role in encouraging reforms in domestic politics. It has been argued that the act of joining an international institution such as WTO and accepting to adhere to the norms, practices, as well as rules of such an institution can have positive consequences in the domestic politics of a given country (Milner 2005). Membership of a country to such institution may enable the domestic leaders of this country to change policies for the good of that country. Joining such institutions can be very critical in enabling the leaders to reject policies that are aimed at benefiting special interests and instead adopt those policies that enhance the general welfare of the country. By joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) many developing countries were able to liberalize their markets and most importantly, they were able to mitigate the effect of raising trade barriers and other trade restriction that accrue to those states that are not members of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

There are however a number of situations where World Trade Organization (WTO) as a multilateral economic institution has failed to mitigate the effects of an anarchic system. Some arguments have been advanced to the effect that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has had little or no impact at all (Grant and Keohane 2005). Others have argued that since this institution was formed by the powerful and rich countries, it has been used over the years by such countries to perpetuate their own selfish interests rather than the interest of all member countries. Some scholars agree that the existence of World Trade Organization (WTO) is just a formality crafted by the powerful and rich countries while in the real sense of the matter, they are the ones who set the rules of the game. Therefore it is very difficult for this institution to go against the interests of the very individuals who founded it. According to Stiglitz, (2002, p.43)the World Trade Organization (WTO) is an institution that even though members are not coerced to join, they do not have a better alternative than becoming a member of this institution. It is a kind of institution that a country is better off as a member not because of the benefits that accrue from that membership, but because of the difficulties that non members have to encounter in trade.

Conclusion

Multilateral economic institutions such as World Trade Organization (WTO) were formed at the end of Second World War for purposes of preventing another occurrence of a Great Economic Depression as well as to manage the economy of the world. Indeed there are a number of ways that this institution has tried to mitigate the effects of an anarchic international system without which, the current trading environment could not be in existence. The central role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been to promote trade liberalization by encouraging member countries to engage in negotiations for purposes of reducing trade barriers and also through providing useful information about trade policies in different member countries. Due to the numerous benefits that accrue from being a member of World Trade Organization (WTO), the membership of this organization has over the years increased tremendously. Way in which World Trade Organization (WTO) has reduced the effects of an anarchic international system includes: establishment of procedures, norms, as well as rules that deter powerful nations from pursuing their national interest by force at the expense of other states. The behavior of great nations is therefore harnessed.  Consequently, other states are assured that the Great Powers are not likely to take advantage of their weakness through the acceptance of these Great Powers to comply with the rules of this multilateral economic institution WTO notwithstanding the fact that they are the founders.

Secondly, the World Trade Organization (WTO) in an effort to reduced the effects of an anarchic international system has enabled the developing countries to have better trade outcome compared to the outcome of bilateral negotiations which would be the only alternative if they are not members of members of multilateral institution. Under a multilateral arrangement, there is a high chance of protection, and transparency even though it may be inadequate it is better in mitigating the unequal influence as well as unequal power in the international community. In addition, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has also been very critical in providing crucial information obtained from it function of monitoring and reporting about states compliance to the commitments they have agreed upon among themselves. This effort by the World Trade Organization (WTO) has given reassurance to the domestic public as well as other member states about their political leaders conduct, thus, ensuring that there is a big possibility of achieving cooperation and a sustainable cooperation for that matter. Finally, the WTO has played a significant role in facilitating reciprocity strategies in an anarchic system among countries as a means of mitigating the effects of an anarchic system. The enhancement of reciprocity by the WTO is design in a way that the Great Powers can be able to achieve cooperative results that are more efficient and at the same time protect the developing countries from being exploited by countries that are economically powerful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Adsera, A., and Boix, C. (2002). Trade, Democracy and the Size of the Public Sector: The            Political Underpinnings of Openness. International Organization 56(2): 229-62.

Bagwell, K., and Staiger, R. (2002) The Economics of the World Trading System. Cambridge        MA: MIT Press.

Grant, R., and Keohane, R. (2005). Accountability and Abuses of Power in World Politics.          American Political Science Review. 99 (1): 26-44.

Gruber, L. (2000). Ruling the World: Power Politics and the Rise of Supranational Institutions.      Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Hoekman, B. (2002). Economic Development and the WTO After Doha. World Bank Policy        Research Working Paper (2851).

Ikenberry, J. (2001). After Victory: Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Rebuilding of Order     after Major Wars. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Keohane, R. (2004). After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Kuper, A. (2004). Democracy Beyond Borders: Justice and Representation in Global         Institutions. NY: Oxford University Press.

Milner, H. ( 2005). Why the Rush to Free Trade? Democracy and Trade Liberalization in the        Developing World, 1970-1999. International Organization. 59 (1): 107-143.

Stiglitz, J. (2002). Globalization and Its Discontents. NY NY: Norton.

 

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Thanksgiving

Introduction

Thanksgiving is a day celebrated in the United States every year. The tradition of thanksgiving celebrations in the United States can be traced back to the year 1863. Important to note, is that Thanksgiving Day is a public holiday in the United States that is celebrated every year in the month of November, (usually the fourth week of that month) (Karter 36). This holiday is celebrated with a lot of merry making and communal thanksgiving as it is a day set aside for purposes of showing gratitude for all the great things that life has given to a person for example family as well as friends. In an argument advanced by Bradford, children should be enlightened on the importance of thanksgiving so that it can be easy to preserve and pass the tradition to the present and future generation (144). Even though thanksgiving is often referred to as the harvest festival, there is more to the issue of this celebration in the United States than what the name seems to suggest.

History

Thanksgiving was a creation of pilgrims. These were religious individuals who were running away from persecution in England were referred to as pilgrims. Initially, these pilgrims went to settle in the Netherlands, but later, they went to North America for purposes of setting up a colony. According to Miller, most of the pilgrims arrived in North America in the year 1620 at a time when the autumn season was welcoming winter season (23). Unfortunately, a big number of these pilgrims died in North America due to the cold weather they encountered. The pilgrims began to engage in farming activities during the spring season. In their short stay in North America, the native Indians assisted the pilgrims in terms of guiding them on how to do farming and also how to cook. By the end of the summer season, the pilgrims managed to get a bumper harvest and as such, they were able to store enough food to last them through the winter season (Hodgson 27). Following the good harvest, the pilgrims resolved to organize a festival for purposes of showing their gratitude to God for the good harvest.

Discussion

In the existence of mankind, the greatest happiness emanate from contentment of than individual. As such, it is always prudent for an individual to show his or her gratitude especially to those who in one way or another enabled a person to achieve what they have. Needless to say, the foregoing principle forms the basis of thanksgiving celebrations in the United States. During thanksgiving people celebrate and honor those who forfeited their own interests for the sake of others. The sacrifice made by the native Indian Americans is therefore celebrated and honored during the celebration of thanksgiving. The United States is where it is in the present day because these individuals sacrificed their land and gave up their culture for the greater interest of the nation.

Appreciating people is a simple and yet very powerful way of encouraging such individuals and others to continue making more sacrifices and doing what’s best for the sake of others. What’s more, appreciating others through thanksgiving sends a clear and loud message that the sacrifice made is recognized by the person it was meant for and it was satisfactory. After all, the phrase thank you is cited as a virtual that is above all other virtues in the universe (Weaver & Gollust 37).

Unlike in the traditional connotation of thanksgiving, where was meant to the appreciation of a good harvest to God, the festival is today celebrate across different countries and races all over the world. This day is used by some families, well wishers, and churches to visit the less fortunate and share with them what they have in plenty. This gesture assures the less fortunate that there are people of good will out there who care about them. Some of the significance of thanksgiving include: family bonding, sharing and cooking meals, festive traditions as well as family values, meaning of life, and above all a thanking day.

Significance of Thanksgiving

One of the most important aims of thanksgiving festival is to create family bonding. During the celebrations family members come together and strengthen their relationship as a family. Children are taught the values and traditions of the family as well as to respect the elders in the family and the society. The concept of unity is emphasized during thanksgiving. Family members, who do not stay around travel long distances to reunite with other members for purposes of enjoying the reunion of the family, this reunion is cemented by sharing delicious foods, praying together, singing and other fun activities.

Thanksgiving is also a time where family members friends and relative sharing and cooking meals at home. This is unlike other celebrations where packed foods are usually served. Some of the  traditional dishes prepared during thanksgiving celebrations include: sweet potatoes, corns, pie made out of pumpkin, cranberries, carved turkeys, to mention but a few. Generally, thanksgiving is regarded as a period that spices up the holiday mood before Christmas. It goes without saying that during thanksgiving, food stores register higher sales than in any other period of the year. This may be attributed to the fact that most people buy foodstuffs for purposes of giving them to others, whom they care about or those people they appreciate.

In addition, thanksgiving presents an opportunity for people to do charity and participate in religious ceremonies. Families, friends, and colleagues come together to sing songs and make prayers of thanksgiving to God.  “Prayer of Thanksgiving” is one of the songs that are commonly sung during thanksgiving celebrations (Bradford 145).  Some Americans make contributions during thanksgiving and give such contributions to the less fortunate individuals in the society. The poor, homeless, and the less fortunate members of the society are provided with clothes and food by some churches and well wishers.

In an argument advanced by Morrill, (22) and supported by Weaver & Gollust, thanksgiving is also an opportunity to show appreciation which is often done by give the family members and friends some presents (43).  This day is used by most people in the United States to show their respect and appreciation to their colleagues at work, friends, elders, as wells as siblings. Some of the common presents given out during the Thanksgiving Day include: Jewellery, thanksgiving flowers, wine, and cookies to mention but a few.  It has been contended that the celebrations of Thanksgiving Day in the United States marks the commencement of the Christmas period (Weaver & Gollust 42).

In our day to day lives there are many problems and challenges that we encounter and such challenges and problems destructs the lives of people to the extent that there seems to be nothing worthwhile or good in life. Some of these issues may include unemployment, health problems, and many others (Karter 36). Thanksgiving is one of the events that  reminds such individuals that all is not  gone, since there is a brighter side of life such as our loved ones, friends and other great things that life has to offer. Indeed, there very few opportunities where an individual gets a chance to have quality time with his or her family. This opportunity is nonetheless, offered by thanksgiving at least once in every year.

 

Conclusion

Since 1863, the United States has been celebrating thanksgiving every year.  As a national holiday, thanksgiving emanated from a declaration by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that November 4^th of that year would be a thanksgiving day for the whole nation. The celebrations of this day or the inception of Thanksgiving Day by president Abraham Lincoln was intended to celebrate unity in the United States, as the country was experiencing civil war at the time. Today, however, thanksgiving is a festival where people celebrate and honor those who forfeited their own interests for the sake of others. The significance of thanksgiving include a moment where family members come together and strengthen their relationship as a family, it is also an opportunity for individuals to help and share what they have with the less fortunate in the society and above all, it is an opportunity to show gratitude to those whose sacrificed their interests for the benefit of others.

                                                 Works Cited

Bradford, Edward. “History of Plymouth Plantation.”The History of Thanksgiving in the   united state36.1(2011): 142-154. Print.

Hodgson, Godfrey. A Great and Godly Adventure: The Pilgrims and the myth of the first   Thanksgiving, New York: InfoBase, 2006. Print.

Karter, Diana. Thanksgiving: An American holiday, an American history, Indiana:             Indiana University press, 2004. Print.

Miller, Marilyn. Thanksgiving, Washington: Steck-Vaughn, 2008. Print.

Morrill, Ann. Thanksgiving and Other Harvest Festivals: Holidays and celebrations, New             York: InfoBase, 2009. Print.

Weaver, Carolyn & Shelly, Gollust. “History & Lore.” The History of Thanksgiving 12.2     (2012): 23-45. Print.

 

 

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Running Head: What has been the impact of technological change on workers? To what extent do the benefits outweigh the costs?

 

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Outline

Introduction

Discussion

Conclusion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

In the recent years, much focus has been directed on the impact of technological change on the work force. Such technological change or innovations include industrial robots, CAD (Computer Assistant Design), manufacturing systems that are very flexible, CAM (Computer Assisted Manufacturing), and communication systems that are highly advanced to mention but a few.  These technologies often slot in low cost and yet powerful microelectronics devices capable of increasing productivity both in industrial production as well as office tasks. The appeal of such technologies is widespread and is being used throughout the universe (Caselli, 1999, p. 102). Even so, there are differing views about the implications of technological change in regard to employment. A number of analysts are of the opinion that there is an unprecedented acceleration in the pace of technological change. This rapid change according to some experts has culminated to lose of jobs for thousands of workers both in offices and plants, especially the introduction of innovations that are geared towards laborsaving. There is a consensus  among these experts that the recent technological changes represent a sharp contrast from changes that took place in the past, adding that there is an urgent need to design measures for purposes of upholding job security. Other analysts, on the other hand, emphasize that there are numerous benefits that are brought about by technological change to all groups within the general public (Katz and Murphy 1992, p.35). To them, changes are not revolutionary but rather they are more evolutionary in nature and as such technological change and technology in general generate more jobs contrary to beliefs that technology reduces job opportunities.

It is without a doubt that technology and technological advancement has had the most profound consequence particularly on varying the duties and responsibilities that human beings perform in their professions. There has been a long speculation by economist on how technological changed affects both the relative demand for various types of labor force as well as the total demand for labor force in general. It has become a consensus among economist and commentators in the resent years that the demand for labor has been greatly affected by technological changes. Such technical change has resulted to a decrease in the demand for unskilled and less-skilled labor, and an increase in the demand for skilled labor. Consequently, future prospects of employment opportunities for the less skilled labor force are buried (Levy and Murnane, 2003,p .43). It is worth noting that there is a general consensus among commentators regarding the current technological changes that such changes has opened up better possibilities for the future. As a matter of fact, the change in technology especially at workplaces has increased productivity which in turn has added enormous value to various states. Even though technological changes have brought with it numerous benefits and value to different states, such value has been achieve at a cost.

Discussion

It is worth noting from the onset that evaluating the impact of technological change is very multifaceted. This may be so since changes in technology are affected by, and interact with, patterns of consumption, international competition, change in output, and other aspects. What is clear however, is the fact that there exist a relationship between technological change and employment. In many industries the pace of introducing technological change seems to be acceleration. These industries are introducing new technologies in an effort to modernize their methods of production not only for purposes of enabling them compete favorably in the local and international market, but also to reduce their costs of production. Study shows that technologies such as industrial robots, CAD (Computer Assistant Design), manufacturing systems that are very flexible, CAM (Computer Assisted Manufacturing), and communication systems that are highly advanced are extensively being introduced in industries such as  banking, metalworking, motor vehicle and steel industry a move that has tremendously  increase their productivity (Katz and Murphy, 1992, p.44).

There are generally few employees who have lost their jobs because of changes in technology. Some experts postulate that when the economy is strong, the introduction of new technology or technological change can be very consistent with minimal displacement of workers and high levels of employment (Goos and Manning, 2003, p.22). Moreover, most industries generally spend on new technology when there is a considerable growth in employment and economic expansion. Supporting this view, Card and Lemieux, (2001, p.13), postulate that in the 1950’s when computers were introduced in the United States for purposes of office data applications, there were predictions by some experts that a huge number of kindred and clerical workers were likely to lose their jobs, and that other job opportunities would be curtailed by such an introduction. Nevertheless, there has been an increase in the employment of clerical workers over the past few decades. In fact, over the last decade the growth in employment opportunities within the economy of the United States there was a rapid growth clerical works in both relative as well as absolute terms.

It goes without saying that the introduction of new technologies such as microcomputers makes it possible to perform tasks that were previously impractical in the sense that such tasks were time consuming and too costly to perform. Technological change allows workers particularly those performing the management function to prepare analysis and reports that in the past would have been very expensive. Thus the introduction of new technology increased the range of activities for different industries and players in the economy, creating numerous opportunities for employment.

In addition, new job opportunities emerged because of the introduction of new technologies such as microcomputers. Such occupations include among others; programmer, tape librarian, keypunch operator, systems analyst, and console operator. Computer industries were set up to produce more computers not to mention the other industries that were set up to produce related equipments. All this industries generated employment opportunities for many workers in different areas. Analysts of technological change are of the view that there is need for industries and firms to institute viable strategies to train their employees to enable them embrace new technologies whenever they are introduced.

In the words of Berman, (1998, p. 1246), technological change also brings about increased productivity and boost efficiency in different activities that workers undertake. Undeniably, technological changes have a positive impact on the growth in productivity of a given industry. This is because with new technology such as CAM, CAD, robots, and other advanced technologies are capable of reducing the unit of labor required for production.  There is a change in the structure of occupations due to the new technologies. The groups that are increasing in importance because of technological change include: computer systems analysts, and programmers, technical and Professional workers, to mention but a few. In addition, technological change is also modifying the content of jobs.

There seems to be an agreement among economist in the recent years that the impact of technology has had a positive influence in terms of the increase in the total demand for labor force. In the argument postulated by Acemoglu, (2000, p.52) this is explained by the fact that there has been a massive increase in the real wages of workers and no distinct trends in the rates of unemployment have been directly linked to technological changes over time. Nonetheless, it is pertinent to mention that whenever changes take place, there are those who are favored by such changes and those who suffer as a consequence. Technological change is no different from other changes and as such there are those who lose their jobs and others who are favored by such changes. Those who suffer out of the changes are often given more attention and sympathized with than the beneficiaries of technological change.

A good example to illustrate the foregoing argument of technological change can be found in the introduction of the mechanical loom which came to being at the begging of the nineteenth century. The introduction of mechanical loom brought about tremendous increase in the output in weaving. Consequently, increasing by far the output that could have been produced manually by a weaver and the cost of clothing reduced. According to Johnson, (1997, p. 44), the lower cost of clothing further resulted to a rise in the demand for clothing; nonetheless, this demand for clothing was not sufficient for purposes of retaining all weaving jobs that were previously in existence. As a result, there was a striking decrease in the job opportunities for weavers, particularly amongst those weavers who did not embrace the new technology and continued with their traditional hand-loom. Most of those weavers who lost their employment owing to the introduction of mechanical looms lost their source of income and poverty became rampant amongst them. The hand- loom weavers therefore, became the most visible losers in regard to the introduction of the mechanical loom technology and their misfortune was associated with the new technology.  But the beneficiaries of the introduced technology were harder to spot. The decrease in the cost of producing cloths led to a reduced price in clothing and as such, a majority of people had an extra coin to spend on other things apart from clothing, increasing job opportunities geared towards the production of those other goods and services (Jerome, 1997, p.28).

According to Goos and Manning, (2003, p.18) the cost of technological changes is loss of jobs. Technological changes that are geared towards labor saving have eliminated job opportunities and are continuing to decrease employment opportunities in the job sector as a whole. The accelerated technological change is therefore perceived by a number of commentators as a move towards an eventual elimination of job opportunities in the job sector (Goos and Manning, 2003, p.24).  In his argument, Hecker, 2004 warn that, with the current state of technological advancement, the market place will fall short of adequate work opportunities for purposes of keeping the population engaged. Perhaps one of the renowned proponents of the fact that technological changes reduce the general demand for work force is Karl Marx. In his argument, Marx, 1965, postulated that there is a very big possibility of a double fall in wages during the process of development. The first fall in wage according to him is relative and in proportion to the general wealth development; secondly, the fall in wage is also absolute following the fact that the quantity of commodities received by the workers in exchange continues to reduce (Krueger, 1993, p.36).

The link between technological change and wage inequality among workers has raised concerns among labor economist. Study shows that technological change has contributed greatly in the wage inequality in the labor market particularly the development or introduction of microcomputers in the labor market (Berman, 1998, p. 1258).Confirming this fact Kutz, (1999, p. 43) postulate that in the early 1980s there was an increase in the wage inequality which was as a result of the invention of microcomputers just a few years earlier. It has also been suggested that another factor that can explain wage inequality as a result of technological change is the fact that unlike less-skilled workers, the highly skilled workers are more likely to make the most of computers at their jobs (Hounshell, 1994, p.23). Basing on the aforementioned facts most of the literature regarding wage inequality seem to unanimously concur in the fact that following the invention and eventual introduction of new technology especially microcomputers, led to a relative increase in the demand for workers who were highly skilled. Consequently, there was a dramatic increase in the earning inequalities. Needless to say, this hypothesis that the introduction of new technological change brings about an increase in the demand for workers who are highly skilled, which in turn culminate to an increase in the wages disparity has often been referred to as the SBTC (Skill-Biased Technical Change) hypothesis (Berman, 1998, p.1256).

Conclusion

Indeed, there are a number of benefits that technological change has on workers. From the foregoing discussion, the benefits of technological change outweigh the costs that that accrue. Some of the technological changes that have been witnessed in the past few years include among others CAM (Computer Assisted Manufacturing), industrial robots, CAD (Computer Assistant Design), communication systems that are highly advanced and manufacturing systems that are very flexible. Some experts postulate that there are a number of benefits that are brought about by technological change to all groups within the general public. To them changes are not revolutionary but rather they are more evolutionary in nature and as such technological change and technology in general generate more jobs contrary to beliefs that  technology reduces job opportunities. Critics of technological change on the other hand urge that technological change has instead lead to lose of jobs for thousands of workers both in offices and plants, especially the introduction of innovations that are geared towards laborsaving. Some of the benefits of technological change includes among others to enable workers particularly those performing the management function to prepare analysis and reports that in the past would have been very expensive. It has also been suggested that when the economy is strong, the introduction of new technology or technological change can be very consistent with minimal displacement of workers and high levels of employment. Moreover, most industries generally spend on new technology when there is a considerable growth in employment and economic expansion (Brenham, 1999, p. 330).

It is worth noting that there is a general consensus among commentators regarding the current technological changes that such changes has opened up better possibilities for the future. As a matter of fact, the change in technology especially at workplaces has increased productivity which in turn has added enormous value to various industries. Introduction of new technologies such as microcomputers makes it possible to perform tasks that were previously impractical in the sense that such tasks were time consuming and too costly to perform (Wolff,1996, p. 34). In addition, new job opportunities are likely to emerge because of the introduction of new technologies such as microcomputers. Such occupations include among others; programmer, tape librarian, keypunch operator, systems analyst, and console operator. Thus the introduction of new technology increases the range of activities for different industries and players in the economy, creating numerous opportunities for employment. In addition the impact of technology has had a positive influence in terms of an increase in the total demand for labor force (Bresnahan, 1999, p. 392).

Critics of technological change, however, argue that technological change has contributed greatly in the wage inequality in the labor market particularly the introduction of microcomputers in the labor market. The accelerated technological change is therefore perceived by a number of commentators as a move towards an eventual elimination of job opportunities in the job sector. Other critics have even warned that, with the current state of technological advancement, the market place will fall short of adequate work opportunities for purposes of keeping the population occupied. To a greater extent therefore, technological change has brought more benefits to workers which outweighs the cost.

 

References

Acemoglu, D. (2000). “Technical Change, Inequality, and the Labor Market.” Baltimore:   Johns Hopkins University      Press.

Berman, E. (1998). “Implications of Skill-Biased Technological Change: International     Evidence,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 113(3), 1245 – 1279.

Bresnahan, T. (1999). “Computerization and Wage Dispersion: An Analytical       Reinterpretation” Economic Journal, 109(1), 390 – 415.

Caselli, F. (1999). “Technological Revolutions.” American Economic Review, 89(1), 78 –           102.

Hounshell, D. (1994). From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932: The

            Development of Manufacturing Technology in the United States, Baltimore:            Johns Hopkins University      Press.

Johnson, G. (1997). “Changes in Earnings Inequality: The Role of Demand Shifts,” J     ournal of Economic Perspectives, 11(6), 41 – 54.

Krueger, A. (1993). “How Computers Have Changed the Wage Structure: Evidence        from    Micro Data,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108(1), 33 – 60.

Katz, L. & Murphy, K. (1992). “Changes in Relative Wages, 1963- 1987 – Supply and     Demand Factors,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, February, 107 (1), 35–78.

Jerome, M. (1997). “Technological Change and Employment: Some Results from BLS   Research,”             Monthly Labor Review, 110 (4), 26–29.

Wolff, E. (1996). “The Growth of Information Workers in the U.S. Economy, 1950-1990:    The Role of Technological Change, Computerization, and Structural Change,”    C.V. Starr Center for Applied Economics, New York: New York University press.

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