Unites States current macroeconomic status Research Paper

Unites States current macroeconomic status - Research Paper Example to zero and in effect risk inflation or raise interest rates in the near future to increase the economys productive capacity (productivity) but at the risk of furthering its recessionary tendencies or forces. The Fed has tried all the monetary tools at its disposal but the economy simply would not budge. The high unemployment rate fell from a high of 9.5% (14 million jobless) to about 9.0% (12.8 million out of work) in December of last year. It further improved to only 8.3% unemployed in February this year, with 227,000 non-farm payroll jobs added (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012, p. 1). Most of the new jobs were in professional and business services, health care, hospitality, mining, leisure and manufacturing. A fiscal policy the government is pursuing right now is the signing into law the JOBS Act (or Jumpstart our Business Startups) which is a fancy name for incentives intended for small businesses to more easily raise capital through crowdsourcing (Futrelle, 2012, p. 1) as it en deavors to clear away red tape and hopefully create more new jobs in the process. The Fed is a bit apprehensive about stoking inflationary pressures but the threat of a double-dip recession is a much more real risk and so the Fed is embarking on third-part installment of its quantitative ease program (QE1 & QE2) and dubbed as â€Å"Operation Twist† to bring long-term interest rates lower, but downside is it might again lead to a moral hazard and a financial bubble (Curtin, 2011, p. 1). This monetary policy of the Fed to increase the money supply is consonant with all the other pump-priming activities of the government through its fiscal policies of reducing taxes and increased government spending for certain public infrastructure projects. However, those chronic budget deficits of state governments had nullified most of the benefits of this program, as they in effect struggled to contain their deficits from large expenditures and lowered tax revenues. This was shown in August of 2011

Make a recommendation for Free Range on how it should restructure to Essay

Make a recommendation for Free Range on how it should restructure to take its operations global - Essay Example Before analysing the two strategies, it is important to examine the facts and context of this paper, specifically those pertaining to Free Range. Firstly, the company has been in the market for a considerable amount of time (since the mid-1980s) and has remained sustainable despite similar businesses exiting the industry due to challenging conditions. Secondly, the company is very committed to social responsibility and the environment, which appear to guide its corporate policy. Thirdly, the company is in a good position financially. This is reflected by the fact that its sales have been growing by an average of 20 percent annually; this has given it a huge presence in the American cottage cheese segment. The three facts outlined above show that Free Range would benefit more from takeovers than mergers. Although mergers would give the company a sound platform on which to build its expansion program, there is a significant risk of compromising the company’s values, especially if it partners with much larger firms. Although it is established in the US, the company will face larger and more competitive rivals in the European and Latin American markets (Cartwright & Cooper, 2012). Merging with smaller companies would reduce the company’s expansion momentum while merging with larger firms would deny it the freedom and control it needs to define its corporate strategy. With its significant share of the US market and high sales revenues, Free Range has adequate capacity to successfully execute takeovers. Mergers do not suit the company’s status and profile, considering that the best option would be to partner with larger firms that would suppress its visibility. Takeovers offer more flexibility than mergers and Free Range needs to be as adaptable as possible. Through takeovers, the company can acquire midsized firms in foreign markets and use them

Innovation Report on the Microwave Oven Essay Example for Free

Innovation Report on the Microwave Oven Essay The famous American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, once said: â€Å"Anything that wont sell, I dont want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success. † His perception was precisely accurate even to date, as the success of any product depends on the demand for it in the market’s economy. Inventions have continuously been reconstructed in different ways stretching technology to new lengths, which has changed the way we live today. When comparing the lifestyle of people in today’s world with those in the past, it is easy to recognize the way in which technology has changed us as; we now rely on it to assist in everyday activities. One such technological device, which is currently relied upon by many is the microwave oven. It is common to have microwave ovens in many different kitchen atmospheres; such as restaurants, offices and homes. At present, it is safe to say most families, over 95% of American households, own a microwave oven. Many of which commented that this device is difficult or impossible to do without it (Remich, 2007). According to a report by Lukovitz (2009), the economic crisis had an impact upon many Americans, which led them to change the way, they ate. This change led to many people eating at home but not necessarily cooking their own food. As the microwave oven gained popularity among households, the objective of this essay is to examine the origins of the microwave ovens in addition to the impact it has on the consumers. During World War II there were numerous radar related research projects being undertaken. These investigations were carried about using magnetrons, a vacuum tube which can produce microwave radiation (Gallawa, 2009). The invention of the microwave oven was therefore classified as a by-product of another technology since this was the method in which it was created. Dr. Percy LeBaron Spencer, a famous engineer with the Raytheon Corporation, was the first creator of the microwave oven in 1946 (Gallawa, 2009). While testing the vacuum tubing, Spencer realized the chocolate bar in his pocket melted and as such, he went on to experiment with popcorn, which popped, and finally with an egg, that exploded. A design was then fashioned to contain all the heat so as to cook food. This invention was to revolutionize the world of cooking from that day forward. Upon the early years of the product, microwave ovens were usually over five feet tall, weighed over 750 pounds and was priced at approximately $5000 each (Gallawa, 2009). A picture of such microwave ovens can be seen in figure one of the appendix. These microwave ovens needed plumbing upon assemble as the magnetron tube had to be water-cooled. During those years, the oven was not very popular; however, Raytheon Corporations thought differently and carried on to invest into the product. As the years went by, the improvements made the microwave oven more reliable and lightweight. Developments of new air-cooled magnetron were also undertaken eliminating the need for a plumber (Gallawa, 2009). As the microwave oven became recognized throughout the food industry, for less wastage and cutting costs, there were also new applications for their usage. Some industries used the microwave oven for drying potato chips, roasting coffee beans and other drying applications (Gallawa, 2009). The microwave oven was therefore becoming popular among many as the usage of it became endless. As with all great technologies, there is always room for improvement within the market and this is what was happening to the microwave oven. Thus enter the era of compact microwave ovens. Two years after Raytheon Manufacturing Company acquired Amana Refrigeration, they introduced the line of compact microwave ovens. Introduced in 1967 these compact microwave ovens, called the Radarange, were a countertop model priced at $495 (SMECC, 2007). An image of these compact microwave ovens can be seen in figure two of the appendix. This microwave oven also had similar effects upon the market as it was not popular and the company was not getting the sales it deserves as yet. According to Gallawa (2009), the first time the microwave oven sales exceeded those of gas ranges is in 1975. From this point onwards it was expected that sales of the microwave ovens would continue to increase especially in the next year. At present, microwave ovens come in many different styles and sizes adapting to the needs of the consumer. For instance some persons may prefer a convection microwave oven with a feature, which saves energy while others may choose a built in microwave oven to compliment their kitchen decor. Upon the invention of any product, there have been changes and modifications for improve its reliability in addition to adapting to the needs of the consumers. When emphasizing the change and innovation upon inventions created, Joseph Schumpeter (1934) made the following thesis; ‘They have employed existing means of production differently, more appropriately, more adventurously. They have â€Å"carried out new combinations†. They are entrepreneurs’ (Lumsdaine and Binks 2007). This interpretation attempts to explain the definition of an entrepreneur and analyzes them to be anyone who can make change upon an invention. Dr. Percy LeBaron Spencer can therefore be classed as an entrepreneur along the definitions of Joseph Schumpeter. He continued by explaining these changes can be categorized into two groups; discrete and gradual changes. The innovation of the microwave oven is a discrete change as there was no previous invention like this before its introduction to be compared to in the market. All associated risks involved with this type of change were experienced in the introduction of the microwave oven. As mentioned earlier, when the first microwave ovens were introduced, they were not popular and as such sales were not appealing (Gallawa 2009). The shareholders took a risk and continued the investments into the product. These risks were high and if there the innovation of the microwave oven was to be a failure this could have incurred large losses within the company. There was also a risk involved whether consumers would change their perspective about the use of microwave ovens within their homes. According to Gallawa (2009), there were many fears and myths about the use of microwave ovens as consumers thought they could make one blind or a person may die from the radiation poisoning. These fears and myths were the sole cause of the unfavorable reaction to the microwave oven in the earlier years. As these myths were tested to be false and fears were being overcome, consumes started to see the benefits of using the microwave oven. Reusch (2008) lists some of these advantages such as saving time in preparing meals, conservation of nutrition values in foods compared to using the stovetop, and it is easy to be cleaned. Thus, consumers began to purchase the microwave oven as a necessary kitchen appliance in the home. Even thought the stovetop is still the most popular cooking device among Americans, its usage has dropped from 53% in 1985 to 33% in 2009 (Lukovitz, 2009). Having gained a large consumer base over the years, the usage of the microwave oven has had a continuous increasing rate. Many companies have recognized the growing use of the microwave oven and as such they have prepared foods that are fully prepared by them. These foods range from pre-cooked entrees to organic and natural foods. Some foods may be packaged in a single serving meal pack that is easy to transport and prepare. Most of them also have a high nutritional value that can appeal to many persons whom are concerned about their health whilst eating good tasting and smelling foods. The use of microwave ovens has come a long way throughout its history. Starting off with an unfavorable initial reaction, the microwave oven has gained its reputation and is now a common way of preparing food. This was mainly due to its time saving feature in which it can cook foods as many people are working longer hours. The reputation gained from the microwave oven has also made it difficult for persons to go back to the original way of cooking and preparing foods. Many people of today’s age would prefer to use the microwave oven over any other cooking appliance. This is one kitchen appliance, which is considered a necessity to many people around the world. In conclusion, the innovation of the microwave oven was a successful invention that changed the way in which we prepared food.

Economy, FDI and Hydropower Sector in Laos

Economy, FDI and Hydropower Sector in Laos Background: Generally speaking, hydropower has various economical, environmental and social and strategic advantages. The hydropower is the largest renewable resource used for electricity and Hydropower is a significant source of electricity worldwide and will likely continue to grow especially in the developing countries. Thus it plays an essential role in economical development especially in many developing countries. Like many countries the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) or Laos is in trend in receiving foreign investment mainly in hydropower sector which comparing by sector from 2000-2010 hydropower sector account more than 33% in total investment (MPI, Laos). Laos nature and climate provide mammoth opportunities for the country to develop hydropower sector which in recent year there has been increased demand for electric power in the region of South-East Asia, however less than 2 percent of the hydropower potential has been developed in Laos over the past 30 years (Laos National Statistic in 2007). During the last few years, the hydropower sector has played an important role in the speedy economic growth of the country recently has experienced, more than 70 hydropower projects are under development, and the hydropower sector makes up an significant part of the export industry in Laos. As the government set the economic outlook from now the year 2020, the National Development Vision to the Year 2020 is to graduate from the status of being a least developed country and become sustainable development nation. To reach and achieve such vision, Laos needs the capital and invests in the human resource capacity, as Laos Government lack of these things. Thus, the foreign investment especially in hydropower sector is playing an important role in increasing the governments revenue (capital generation), job creations and new business system introducing. The hydropower sector is playing the significant role in the Laos economic and social development, the investment law in 1994 introduced the huge incentives mainly tax incentives in order to attract more investment, the question is that are these incentives really work and attract more investment into Laos? Or how did the investment incentive policies effect to hydropower sector in Laos? Thus, the objective or thesis statement of this paper is to analysis the effective of incentive policies offered by government of Laos in attracting investment mainly hydropower sector into Laos. The scope of this paper is not go back beyond the investment law introduced in 1994, but it starts to introduce some basic information about Laos such as the basic information about population, land area, religions and so on (See the Laos at Glance in the table 1 below) and the investment incentive policies provided by the government of Laos. Many scholars explained that, market size and cost of production is the key in attracting investment. Krugman (1991a) argues that the interaction of market, transport costs, and fixed investment costs determines the location of industry. In the Morissets article (2003, p. 253), the impact of tax incentives on FDI is not obvious that it can help in promoting investment. In the past few decades the numerous studies of international investors have indicated that the investment incentive policies are not major factor in their investment location decision. More important factors such as infrastructure, political stability, labor and the cost of production, however in this study is going to explain and provide evidences that investment incentive policies provided by government are the key factor in attracting investment in the case of Laos. Most of the data and information using in here are mainly from the concerning ministries in the Laos as essential. Thus, once again, the scope of this thesis is not covering all aspects of the economic development in country; it will focus only on the laws and regulations applied to foreign investment especially in hydropower sector. Furthermore, there is no any hypothesis test in this paper, as the objective of the paper is to analyze and examine the effective of the Strategic Investment Promotion for Laos. The main study shall be identifying the issues of using incentive policies and drawing out the strategic policies for recommendations. In order to make this paper easy to read and complete, this paper is developed into four chapters. The chapter one is the introduction chapter, where the general information, thesis statement and scope of this paper are drawn. The second chapter is literature reviews related to the foreign investment policies. The third chapter will focuses on overview of Laos economy, FDI and Hydropower Sector in the economic and social development in Laos. In this chapter, the data and figures are illustrated in order to see how changing in hydropower sector in Laos through the policies and incentives offering, plus more specific study on the comparative study, which will focuses on the analyzing of the incentive and disincentive on foreign direct investment. The last chapter is conclusion and recommendations approaches. In this chapter, the policies recommendations are drawn. Then the last part of the paper is the references. Lao PDR at a Glance (Table 1) Name Lao Peoples Democratic Republic Surface Area Population total: 236,800 sq km, land: 230,800 sq km, water: 6,000 sq km 1995 census: 4,574,848 (2007 estimate: 6,677,534) Density 25 people per sq km Land Boundaries total: 5,083 km Borders Myanmar 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423km, Thailand 1,754 km, Viet Nam 2,130 km Languages Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages Climate Tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) Religion Buddhist 65 percent , animist 32.9 percent , Christian 1.3 percent, other and unspecified 0.8 percent (1995 census) Time Zone UTC+7 Currency Kip (LAK) Exchange Rates As of October 6th, 2008 : 1 Dollar: 8560 Kips 1 Euro: 11680 Kips GDP 39,284 billion Kips (Nominal, 2007 estimate) 4.1 US$ billion GDP per Capita 604 USS (2006) Source: Economic Research Department, MPI, Laos, 2007 Chapter II: Literature Review Foreign Direct Investment Policy Recently, many scholars try to explain and point out the factors for foreign investment location decision in developing countries. On the other hand there are many studies and articles related the FDI and its policies in developing countries. The developing countries try to develop their investment policies and strategic plan in order to attract the foreign investment In the article of Shaukat Ali and Wei Guo (2005) explained the behavior of MNCs in China, with its huge potential market size as the most important factor for attracting FDI to China, with its large population, steady economic growth, trade integrations are the perfect combination in attracting FDI. The authors further point out that the Chinese Government incentive policies are another important factor In the article of Ekrem Tatoglu (2002), it is was found that market size, openness of the economy, and infrastructure of the host country had positive effect, but the lack of exchange rate and economic stability had negative effect but not significant, however to some extent, it has slowed down its efforts to receive much higher volume of foreign investment. In the Morissets article (2003, pp. 253) point out that the relation between investment policy such as tax incentives and FDI is not the most significant whether it can help the host country in gaining the foreign investment. Over the past few decades they are numerous studies from the international investors have indicated that investment policy such as tax incentives are not the most important factor for investment locations, more important factors such as infrastructure, labor and political stability. However it doesnt mean that the investment policy has no effect on attracting foreign investment, one of the good examples is the Irelands tax incentives which have been recognized as key in attracting foreign investors over the past two decades. Moreover, there has been growing support evidence that investment policy influence the location decisions of companies within regional economic groupings, such as the European Union, North American Free Trade Area, and Association of Southea st Asian Nations. No doubt that market size is important to foreign investment in deciding location but other factors such as the investment policy and institutional framework, are essential in influential a countrys attractiveness to FDI. There are three forms of investment incentive policies: tax incentives, subsidies, export processing zones (EPZs). The investment policy can be favorable to foreign investment or unflavored to foreign investment in order to protect local industries The effect of FDI will depend, in part, on the form that FDI takes. FDI directed to heavily protected industries or attracted by very costly incentives may have a low, or even negative, effect on growth and productivity, Attitudinal and empirical research on the effect of tax incentives on FDI has been inconclusive. In the article of Hearnest (2007, pp.25-30) dedicated that if the investment policy such as tax incentives may be good for a country. This is so if some conditions are contents. First, the investment policy must lead to an increased of inflow in FDI into that country by attracting FDI that would not come without the presence of the incentives. Second, these FDI should contribute to the countrys development by offering returns to the country that more than offset (the returns) the foregone tax revenue in form of tax incentives granted to the investors. When trying to find out who should qualify for the tax incentives in Tanzania therefore, the work will focus on some types of investments that would not come to Tanzania without the presence of the incentives, but have the potential of contributing positively to the development of the country. As for who should not qualify, a focus will be on those investments that would come in any circumstance (in this case the absence of tax incentiv es). FDI determinants that MNEs look for are the presence of economic, political and social stability; and rules regulating entry and operations of businesses. Others are standards of treatment of foreign affiliates; business facilitation (including, inter-alia, investment incentives and thereby tax incentives; market size, growth, structure and accessibility; raw materials, low cost but efficient labour force and physical infrastructure in form of ports, roads, power and telecommunication. Specific incentives may not be main determinants of a countrys attractiveness to FDI. A countrys general economic and political conditions, domestic market, natural and other resources may be more important than some specific incentives. However various incentives have been found to influence investments. Since specific incentives may not be main determinants of a countrys attractiveness to FDI. A countrys general economic and political conditions, domestic market, natural and other resources may be more important than some specific incentives. However various incentives have been found to influence investments. In the conclusion for the literature reviews, there are both advantages and disadvantages by offering the investment incentives policy from the host countries to the foreign investors. However, most of the articles presented in there seem to support the investment incentives policy (tax incentives) offered by many developing countries. There is no doubt that this form of investment incentives are dominated in many developing from now and in the future, especially the ASEAN nations, particularly Laos. In this context, this paper will lead through the way that investment incentives are really strategic tools for FDI attracting in Laos. CHAPTER III: Overview of Economy, FDI and Hydropower Sector in Laos 3.1 Current Laos Economic Situation As the Lao government set their development goal which aiming to free the country from being least developed country by the Year 2020, it ultimate goal is to graduate from the status of being a least developed country and become sustainable development nation. To achieve the goal, Laos needs the capital and human resource capacity, as Laoss lack of these things. Thus, the Foreign investment especially in hydropower and mining sector are playing an essential role in increasing the governments revenue (capital generation), job creations and so on. Since the Laos government started their economic liberalization, the new economic mechanism (NEM) in 1986, the Government of Laos has made the development of private sector and attraction of the foreign investment as the strategic priority, thus the implementation of investment policies are very important to investment especially in attracting foreign direct investment. With the advantages such as political stability, natural resources, low labor costs, strategic location and incentive investment policies, both domestic and foreign investment has notably evidenced its contribution to the Laos Social Economic Development. Generally the total (public and private) investment mobilized rose significantly from 21.3 percent of GDP in 2001 to about 29 percent in 2005, and averaged at 27.8 percent for the five-year period which mainly from FDI  [1]  . The foreign investment has provided further drive to Laos economic growth. The government of Lao PDR provided good climate for investment, such as infrastructures, telecommunication, political stability, stable macroeconomic condition and law and regulation related to investment. With the Laos National Social and Economic Development Plan (NSEDP), Laos government had achieved to maintain the economic prospect with an average GDP from year 2000 to 2010 approximately about 7.73 percent (see figure 1), mainly benefiting from expanding natural resources within the country. By encouraging Foreign Direct Investment, Laos economy has been gradually increased in many sectors, especially industry sector and services sector, which by 2009 had reached 70 percent of GDP. (See Figure 2 and 3) Industrial sector has grown in recent year with rapid rate, accounted an average rate about 11.3 percent per year. The mining industry increased by 33.87 percent; tobacco 20.75 percent; food processing 9.17 percent; textiles 20.11 percent; and garments 11.15 percent. The services sector has been positively meet the requirements of production and trading, from 2001to 2005, the growth rate in total revenues from services sector accounted an averaged at 10 percent per year.  [2]  According to National Social and Economic Development Plan, in general Government of Laos (GoL) has performed well with its ambitious economic target and strong economic growth which grounding to free the country from the status of least-development country by 2020. Figure 1: Laos real GDP growth in percentage Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Economic Outlook 2010 Figure 2: Laos GDP composition by sector Source: CIA World Fact Book Figure 3: Laos GDP per capita compared by continent Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Economic Outlook 2010 In recent year the Government of Laos (GoL) continue to work hard and try to boost its foreign trade with the aim to increase more in export, the structure of their economic changed with the shares of the private sector and Foreign Investment in the economy have increased. In particular, Foreign Direct Investment has facilitated the creation of new products and increasing size of the markets including the entry of new markets. The number of foreign direct investments and private domestic in the past five years stood at 9.7 billion USD, in which foreign direct investments accounted for 8 billion USD  [3]  . Thus, the private sector has become more and more essential in the economy of the Laos. The Lao PDR has been headed for business in regional and global economic integration. It is vital to Laos economic with its potential in domestic and foreign investors to guarantee the benefits from the liberalization of trade. Being the member of ASEAN, ATFA and WTO applicant providing opportunity for the country in trade and attracting foreign direct investment increasing the market entry by reduced 98 percent of its tariffs (zero to five percent in 2008). However Laos faced the problem of trade imbalance, in the year of 2007 to 2008 the total trade was 2630.9 million USD which number of export only 822.7 million USD (see Table 2) 3.2 Foreign Direct Investment and Hydropower Trends in Laos Foreign direct investment is playing crucial role in Laos economy, with the implementation of Investment Law in 2004 which the Government of Laos (GoL) given huge investment incentive to foreign investors especially tax incentive, as the resulted in 2005 onward the FDI inflow has been significantly increased especially in mining sectors and hydropower sectors. In 2006 the FDI inflow raised up to 2,699 million USD and in 2009 increased more than 4,312 million USD (see figure 4 and figure 5). Figure 4: Foreign Direct Investment in Laos Source: Raw data from Ministry of Planning and Investment, Laos Figure 5: Foreign Direct Investment by Sector 2000-2010(Jun) Source: Raw Data from Ministry of Planning and Investment, Laos Not yet complete 3.3 Analysis Study of Investment Incentives and Disincentives in Laos 3.3.1 Investment Incentives in Laos Tax exemptions from some major industrial nations: Lao receive the trade privileges from European Union such as GSP privilege. Currently, the receiving GSP is from 42 countries from EU, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Vietnam and etc. Thus, the garment investment sector is still having comparative advantages in attracting many textile companies to invest in Laos. Mostly, investors are from Taiwan, Japan and Thailand. Furthermore, Laos has sign the Normal Trade Relations (NTR) with USA in December 2004. This is the signal for Laos to join the world trade system (membership of WTO is underway). Such membership leads confident for foreign investors doing business in Laos. Land-linked country: This is going to be trade hub in the Southeast Asia region, which has access to ASEAN market with more than 500 million. Inhabitants including southern part of neighboring China, which adds up together reaching nearly 1 billion people, this is going to be the huge market in the world. Currently, the main roads reaching every corner of the international border pointed have been built. In the next five year, Laos can be the transit goods and connect Southeast Asia to the Northeast and Central Asia. Abundant water resources, rich in mineral resources, and plentiful of productive land: Laoss government still enjoys receiving the application for the development of the hydropower dams and mining concession from foreign investors. These two sectors are main attractive sectors for foreign investors around the world. The abundant water resources help Laos to gain more major foreign investors to invest in the hydropower project, which lead Laos to be the electricity supplier or battery of Asia. Furthermore, unexploitations of mining areas are still existed and waiting for right foreign investors to invest in this sector. Most of the mines are gold, copper, coal, tin, Zink and others. Thus, this is another sector that the Lao governments use to promote and attract foreign investors for investing. Moreover, there are plentiful of productive land for foreign investors to do the plantation projects for the industrial plantation such as sugar, palm trees, eucalyptus, and so on. Currently, many big paper companies are investing for the industrial plantation in Laos such as Oji paper factory (Japan), and Birla Pulp Company (India). Laos Economic Zone: Savannakhet Province is a hub of trade and services in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). The province is linking Lao PDR with Thailand, and Vietnam on the Road No.9. It is also all along the Road No.13 which runs through Lao PDR, leading north into China and South into Cambodia. The construction of Road and bridge will progress develop Savannakhet as a trade and services zone in near future and will bring an expansion of markets which will create further business opportunities for all the economic sectors in Savannakhet province, thus Savannakhet Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) which linking neighboring countries in the Asian region with a total population of more than 500 million people and thus is a main centre for trade and services. The categories of business activities planned to be developing in the Savannakhet Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) include the following: Export Processing Zone; Free Trade Zone; Free Service and Logistic Centre including tourism, banking and other activities. 3.3.2 Disincentive of Investment in Laos Geographic condition (land locked country) and poor infrastructure: Laos has no border with the sea, thus this is only obstacle for the transportation. The cost of transport goods from Laos to the sea port in Thailand or in Vietnam is quite expensive and may take longer time for the goods to reach the destination due to the documentations and unforeseen events that can happen anytime. Furthermore, the infrastructure in Laos is not quite good especially the road condition in some places or provinces. These cause the transportation cost high and the return on investment or profit is not so high as expected. However, with the support from the international financial organization such as ADB and World Bank, the Lao government has put the budget for the infrastructure development for the main route to the sea ports such as Road R3 connecting Thaiiand-Laos-China, the road No. 9 connecting Thailand-Laos-Vietnam, Road No. 13 run through the whole countries from North to South of Laos. The vision of the government is to change Laos as Land-Locked country to the Land-Linked country. By achieving this goal, the cost of transportation will be reducing for sure. Macroeconomic instability: Lao economic is not independent economic system. Directly and indirectly, the economic depends on the changing of the Thai and Vietnamese economic growth. Now, the Lao economic is more likely to depend to the Chinese economic as well now, as the major foreign investors is Chinese investors. The Lao currency (Kip) is none tradable currency, so it depends on the changing of the US dollars and Thai Baht. For instance, when the financial crisis occurred in 1997, supported that Lao can escape from this crisis, however, it hit hardly by the crisis as most of the commodities goods import from Thailand. Thus, when the global crisis hit Thailand, it will directly and indirectly hurt Lao economy. However, Lao government has put more afford to monitoring the economic development in Laos and try to not depending on one country economy such Thailand. Now, the free flow of goods leads Laos to escape from the dependent economic from Thailand. Laos can gain access to the Vietnam and China market now. Small market: Although the economy sounds goods in recent years, but the total expenditure of the Lao people is still low. Most of the markets in Laos are small in size and number of consumers. Most of the big spending on consumers is in the main city, but not in the rural areas. However, most of people in the city cross the border to Thailand in spending for the commodities goods. In recently, the good economic recovered and increasing in FDI inflow in to the country, Lao people spend more money in commodities and luxury goods. Thus, this is the good sign in increasing Lao people spending. In the near future, the Lao small market is going to graduate to the big market soon. Thailand. Now, the free flow of goods leads Laos to escape from the dependent economic from Thailand. Laos can gain access to the Vietnam and China market now. 3.4 Comparative Study of Investment Law (1994 and 2004) 3.4.1 The Investment Law in 1994 Not yet complete 3.4.2 The Investment Law in 2004 Not yet complete Law on the Promotion and Management of foreign Investment in the Lao PDR (1994) Law on the Promotion of Foreign Investment In the Lao PDR (2004) Form   of FDI à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚   2 forms of FDI: a) A joint Venture with one or more domestic Lao Investors b)   A 100% foreign- owned enterprises Exemption from import duties for intermediate components and raw materials imported for processing and re-export; Uniform flat rate of 1% of import value of equipment, means of production, spare parts and other materials used in operation of investment projects; No export duties on finished products; Annual profit tax at a uniform flat rate of 20% Special privileges, including reduction or exemption from theprofit-tax rate, are given based on the size of investments and the significant positive impacts that such investments have on the socio- economic development of Lao PDR; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚   3 forms of FDI: a)   Business Cooperation by contract; b) A joint venture with one or more domestic Lao investors (Foreign equity should not be less than 30% of total investment capital); or c) A 100% foreign- owned enterprise 0% of import duties on production vehicles, machinery, equipment and raw materials No export duties on finished products;    Profit tax is classified into 3 groups: 20%, 15% and 10% and profit tax exemption is offered for a certain period depending on activities, investment areas and size of investment 1) Zone One (area with no economic information infrastructure) 7 years profit tax exemption thereafter a profit tax of 10% 2) Zone Two: (areas with certain level of economic infrastructures) 5 years profit tax exemption 3 years profit tax of 7.5% thereafter a profit tax of 15% 3) Zone Three ( areas with good infrastructure) 2 years profit tax exemption 2 years profit tax of 10% thereafter a profit tax of 20% Other   Incentives Investment term is up to 30 years Freedom to expatriate their earnings back home or to third countries Right to employ foreign expatriates Personal income tax at a flat rate of10% Investment term is up to 75 years Freedom to expatriate their earnings back home or to third countries Right to employ foreign expatriates (not exceed 10% of the enterprises labor) Personal income tax at a flat rate of 10% Source: Ministry of Planning and Investment, Lao PDR Case Study of Foreign Direct Investment on Hydropower Sector in Laos Not yet complete Chapter IV: Conclusion Not yet complete

Symptoms of the Life Changing, Psychoanalytical Phenomenon Essay

She rolls over, still completely exhausted from the minimal forty- five-minute sleep, and hits the snooze on the alarm. She can hardly force her jelly-like legs to the chilled floor. Eyes slightly cracked, open enough to see shapes of objects, she throws on the first clothing items she finds on her floor. Breakfast sounds revolting, but she knows she will need something to keep her going through the day, having been awake until six A.M. with thoughts of worry and obsession over problems the day is sure to bring. As she climbs into her car, she hardly notices her jacket is not zipped in the brisk winter air, and should not be driving from lack of concentration. School is the last place she would prefer to be; with no homework done, she begins to worry again about her achievements she has been working towards. Upon arriving to the first class of the day, her eyes are already shutting as if they were automatic doors, and the stress of the babbled lecture tunes her out. After hard ly making it through the day, she crawls into her bed with mountainous amounts of homework. Not caring, or able to motivate herself, she ignores the learning she was once passionate for, therefore, starting the cycle over for the following day. Does this sound familiar? What is being experienced by the student above is generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, and is also experienced by 3.1 percent of the United States population (â€Å"Generalized Anxiety Disorder† 1). This is an example of one of the various types of the growing issue of anxiety amongst humanity. Anxiety can appear in people of all genres, and also takes a varying life within each individual stricken with this mental illness. Though seemingly helpless, there are vast amounts of treatment ... ...n be sought, both seeking professional help as well as oneself. One can turn to therapy, both behavior changing and thought breaking, turning negativity in to positive life living. Along with therapy, medications work wonders on an anxious mind, as well as self help solutions. In all, anxiety should not be taken lightly and needs instant attention to avoid further self-harm. Works Cited Bloomfield, Harold H. M.D. â€Å"Coping With Anxiety- Worry Free Life.† New York: Harper Collins. 1998. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. Comer, Ronald J. â€Å"Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology.† 2011, 2008, 2005 by Worth Publishers. â€Å"Generalized Anxiety Disorder.† Anxiety Disorders Association of America. Web. 6 Dec 2010. Smith, Melinda. â€Å"Anxiety Attacks and Disorders.† November 2010. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. â€Å"Stress and Anxiety.† New York Times. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.New York Times. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.

Ten Thousand Proud Elephants :: Personal Narrative Homosexuality Essays

Ten Thousand Proud Elephants I wore a dress to the gay pride parade this year. It’s a grand parade, fun filled with hundreds of stories like this, and how people go there looking for voice and they scream so loud for it that they come home voiceless. I wore my voice in the threads of a dress. I’m not gay but these are the bravest, most respectable people I’ve ever seen, and I wore a dress for hope that people feel safe to be people. The day began with a beer breakfast morning. My lover, Stephanie and I walked our dog, bleu (whom we think is secretly gay), and then came home to countless phone calls from friends planning to get together, all of them recognizing that the reason they were doing so was because they had dreamt the night before that people in the world started to make plans to get together. Stephanie lent me the dress and we started out the door hand in hand, man in drag, and the day rolled on like the curve of a rainbow. Walking through Chicago was frightening, but the very thought gave even more purpose to the day so I walked a little prouder. Stephanie showed no fear and I look back at a very beautiful couple. We were met outside of jock-ville u.s.a., Wrigley field, by a bunch of cross dressing, wig wearing, loudly free with passion like jack hammers for hearts†¦homosexuals. We follow them to the beginning of the parade. One of the first things you see at the parade is people drinking beer on the streets in front of the cops who are there for "protection." Another thing you might see is those same cops also drinking beer. Soon nudity, free-wielding like breasts and butts were newspapers†¦Street Wise! and fancy free, is fleshed before you, and every once in a while a flash of seriousness that is lying under the covers of freedom for fun like a body awake at night, rears it’s fancy face. An organization called PFLAG (parents of gays and lesbians) gathered to march, holding signs proclaiming that they are "†¦proud of my gay son!" and "I love my lesbian daughter." I started crying. Following this crowd a group of Chicago’s gay cops walked by, and that just about sold the crowed a kleenex for every wave of those brave peoples hand.

Language Use in Kaskus Essay

A. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Computer-mediated communication refers to any form of communication enabled through the use of computers. In the computer-mediated communication literature, the term generally refers to communication modalities dependent on computer-based networks or meta-networks, particularly the Internet and commercial online services. Language plays an important role in the communication activities in the computer-mediated communication. The language itself is used by people as a communication tool. Specifically, as i mentioned above that computer mediated communication (CMC) is about anything(communication) that use computer as a media to transfer information, to talk with other persons, to discuss issues or something like that.While we know that on CMC, for right now internet with its world wide web (network) is the only tool and the only way to get connected with others, i don’t see any alternative beside internet. In internet there are many people with different language background, different social background and of course different culture and manners. What’s become my curiousity is how people with these so many differences talking and discussing to each others, how can they understand each others without being rude to others. But i’m not going to conduct a linguistic research of language use in the internet generally globally, because there has been a lot of research on this subject. But, what becomes my interest is how indonesian people with different social and culturul background talking and disccussing a topic in Kaskus, one of the biggest and largest online forum in Indonesia. Kaskus, with more than two millions users from all over indonesia is a populer online service to discuss and to sell products. Kaskus has an easy  peasy access, has a discussion thread about almost everything like computer, books, entertainment and many more. Kaskus user are from all over indonesia which have different culture and social background, in this case sometimes user doesn’t pay attention to the forum rules, nettiquette and sometimes being sarcastic, i’ve found this several time in kaskus. This case indicating that some of user do not know the nettiquete and language rules used in kaskus forum. So why i’m here try to observe and doing a research on how kaskuser (kaskus user) use the language, what style are used, and what kind of expressions in kaskus forum that is used to show respect, manners, and and self expressions like anger, happy etc. B. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM From the title and the background of the study i formulate the research questions as follows : 1. What are the general forum rules applied in kaskus? 2. How far kaskuser pay attention to the forum rules in discussion thread? 3. What are the form of languages style used in kaskus? 4. What are the meaning of those language expressions/style? 5. Who use the language? The gender, the age. C. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY This research is aimed to gather information about the language use in kaskus forum, especially how those language are used to express manner and ethical relations between the kaskuser. D. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significance of this research is to bring a data to enrich the linguistic analysis in indonesia especially in computer-mediated communication subject. This research is also will be useful for those who use internet as a communcation tool generally and for kaskuser who love to join discussion in kaskus so they are will never again feel worried about being rude to others, bacause this research will bring them information how to use the language properly and how to communicate ethically to others E. SCOPE AND LIMITATION The research is limited only on the language use, the style and the way kaskuser interact with others, the researcher will not analysis where the language comes from and how the language changed. CHAPTER II THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK A. INTERNET Internet, according to Merriam Webster Dictionaries is an electronic communication network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world. B. KASKUS Kaskus is an Indonesian internet forum site which claims itself as the largest Indonesian online community. It ranks as the top 10 most popular website in Indonesia (weasel words), positioning at 241 worldwide according to Alexa.com. It was established on November 6, 1999, by three Indonesian students (Andrew Darwis, Ronald Stephanus, and Budi Dharmawan) in the United States. In August 2012, Kaskus has more than 4,000,000 registered accounts and more than 650,000,000 total posts. In August 2005 and September 2006, PC Magazine Indonesia voted Kaskus as The Best Indonesian communities twice (2005 & 2006). Registration is required for new users to participate in the community, and every registered member has access to more than twenty regional and subject-related sub-forums. The community runs on the vBulletin forum software. C. NETTIQUETE Cyberspace contains many different cultures, which some writers have called â€Å"virtual communities.† Each of these communities has its own rules and customs. But many rules apply throughout almost all of cyberspace and the rules of internet is called nettiquete. Nettiquete comes from word Internet and Etiqutte. Virginia Shea Stated that The word â€Å"etiquette† means â€Å"the forms required by good breeding or prescribed by authority to be required in social or official life.† Etymologically, it comes from the French word for â€Å"ticket.† If you know the etiquette for a particular group or society, you  have a ticket for entry into it. (Virginia Shea,1994) D. COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION 1. Computer mediated communication (CMC) involves exchanges of information in textual, audio, and/or video formats that are transmitted and controlled by the use of computer and telecommunication technology. It must be noted that CMC is the basis of interpersonal interaction via groupware systems. An interesting definition of CMC is given by December (1997): â€Å"Computer-Mediated Communication is a process of human communication via computers, involving people, situated in particular contexts, engaging in processes to shape media for a variety of purposes.† 2. Chrispin Thurlow, laura lengel and Alice Tomic (2004) define Computer Mediated Communication into 3 cores : a. Communication While trying to ground CMC into a proper understanding we have to know what exactly is communication. * Communication is dynamic, One of the most well known ways of thinking about communication is the idea of a sender, a message and a receiver, in computer terms, might be regarded as an ‘information-processing’ perspective. Instead, communication is better understood as a process which is much more dynamic. The meaning of messages does not reside in words, but is much more fluid and dependent on the context, shifting constantly from place to place, from person to person, and from moment to moment. * Communication is transactional, Even though people still sometimes like to think of communication as the exchange of messages between senders and receivers, communication is really about the negotiation of meaning between people. Individuals are both speakers and listeners and these roles switch back and forth all the time in any one conversation. Once again, this also means that communication is constantly changing as two (or more) people interpret each other and are influenced by what the other says. In other words, it’s a transaction between them. Most theorists would agree that communication simply cannot happen outside human social interaction. It is really only when someone recognizes and/or responds to something you say or do that communication can be said to have occurred. * Communication is multifunctional, Consciously or unconsciously, communication serves many different functions and usually  serves more than one function at any given time. For example, communication may be used to influence people’s behavior or attitudes, to inform people, to seek information, to exert control over people, to befriend or seduce people, to entertain and please people, and so on. Although for the sake of analytical convenience, scholars do sometimes distinguish between the interactional (or relationship-focused) and informational (or content-focused) domains of communication, it’s usually impossible to separate the two. Think about famous chat-up lines like ‘Can I buy you a drink?’ or ‘Do you have the time?’ Although both appear to seek information, the intention is clearly relational! * Communication is multimodal, However important it may be, language is of course just one of many ways we have of communicating. Verbal messages always come packaged with other messages (or ‘metamessages’) formed by different ways of making meaning – what are usually called nonverbal modes of communication. In fact, more often than not it is these other modes of communication which are relied on more than the verbal mode. The best example of this is when someone is lying to us: ‘Look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t do it!’ The range of nonverbal codes is vast and accounts for much of the social information we glean: vocal (e.g. tone of voice, accent, volume, pauses), movement (e.g. facial expression, gestures, posture), physical appearance (e.g. height, weight, skin colour), artefacts (e.g. lighting, dà ©cor, fashion), and use of space (e.g. body orientation, touch, distance). b. Mediated Depending on how much we already know about human communication, we will more than likely know that all communication is mediated to some extent or other. According to Chambers’ Twenty-first Century Dictionary, the verb to mediate means to convey or transmit something or to act as a medium for something. In turn, a medium is something by which, or through which, an effect is produced. In other words, mediation is simply the process or means by which something is transmitted – whether it’s a message, a feeling, a sound, or a ghostly apparition! In the case of communication, we’ve already indicated that communication is always channelled by, and dependent on, its context for meaning. Communication is therefore mediated through our interactions with people and by means of any number of different verbal and nonverbal  modes. Communication can never exist in a vacuum.We will probably have heard about the phrase ‘channels of communication’. These can be social (or cultural), psychological (or mental), linguistic (or symbolic) or material (or technical). It’s in this way that scholars usually identify several layers of contextual variables which influence – or mediate – communication. Broadly speaking these fall into three main categories : psychological, e.g. our perceptions, mental maps, and prototypes; social, e.g. our relationships, stereotypes, and individual experiences; cultural, e.g. the myths and ideologies of whole societies of people. c. Computer Having confronted the relative complexity of the terms ‘communication’ and ‘mediated’, it may disappointing to know that even the term computer cannot be taken for granted. Almost everything nowadays involves computers in some way or other, and, consequently, almost everything we do is in some way or other mediated by computers. Think, for example, of the digital technology which drives our telephone exchanges, brings television channels into our homes, tells us the time, and so on. What’s more, with such things as video conferencing, webcams and voice recognition, technological changes are taking us nearer and nearer to the kind of face-to-face (or just FtF) communication we’ve been used to all along. It’s in this way that the computerization, which drives so many areas of our lives, is becoming more and more invisible. Indeed, Pixy Ferris (1997) previously proposed that CMC should also be broad enough to include office automation, â₠¬ ¢ (Chrispin Thurlow, laura lengel and Alice Tomic :2004) CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A. RESEARCH APPROACH AND DESIGN The reseacher use qualitative discriptive aproach. Qualitative research refers to inductive, holistic, emic, subjective and process oriented methods used to understand, interpret, describe and develop theory on a phenomenon or a setting and is a systematic, subjective approach used to describe life experiences and give them meaning (Morse & Field 1996:199; Burns & Grove 1998:35). Brink and Wood (1998:335) cite Benoliel’s (1984) description of qualitative research â€Å"as modes of systematic inquiry concerned with understanding human beings and the nature of their transactions with themselves and with their surroundings†. Leininger (1985:5) defines qualitative research as the methods and techniques of observing, documenting, analysing, and interpreting attributes, patterns, characteristics and meanings of specific, contextual or gestalt features of a phenomenon. B. DATA COLLECTION 1. Data Source The data is mainly taken from discussion thread in kaskus, like discussion thread, results of observations etc. 2. Instrument of Collecting Data * Doing observations * Interview (By Chating and PM or Private Message) * Making a Poll or Voting * Taking screenshot/ image * Questionaire C. DATA ANALYSIS The data will be analyzed using Miles and Huberman Theories where there are 3 Steps in ana lyzing the data : 1. Data Reduction. The data that has been collected from observations, questionaire and interviews are selected and sorted. The data that can represents the theme of the research will be analyzed. 2. Data display The data will be displayed after getting a summarizing. In data display the data that have been reducted then will be compressed, organized without risking the loss of information. 3. Drawing and veryfying conclssion The reasons for reducing and displaying data are to assist in drawing conclussions. While drawing conclussions logically follows reduction and display of data, in fact it takes place more or less concurrently with them. Thus possible conclussions may be noted early in the analysis, but they may be vague and ill-formed at this stage. They are held tentative pending further work, and have been analysed. Conclussions will be in the form of  preposistions, and once they have been drawn, the data need to be verified. D. EXAMPLE OF DATA SAMPLE 1. Red Font Colour 2. The Using of Capital Letters 3. Kaskus emoticon 4. Kaskus Terms Like Agan, Bata, Cendol, Sundul REFERENCES * http://kaskus.co.id * Creswell, J. W. 2003. Research Design: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. SAGE. Thousand Oaks. USA. * Thurlow, Crispin. Lengel, Laura. Tomic, Alice. 2004 Computer Mediated Communicatio (Social interaction and The Internet). SAGE. Thousand Oaks. USA. * Shea, Virginia. 2004. Netiqutte. Albions Books, USA