The development of the concept best interests of the child - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1849 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Did you like this example? Introduction The term child has been defined by various authorities and prominent characters of the world in different ways. The international Convention on the Rights of Child has elaborated the term à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"childà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ is as follows. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ .[1] The doctrine of the best interests of child When we talk about child and rights of child, we have to give our attention to the doctrine of the best interests of child due to the strong connection between them. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The development of the concept best interests of the child" essay for you Create order à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The doctrine of best interest of child is a concept which is used by many jurisdictions to make a variety of decisions that affect children. This doctrine is very useful when it comes to determine the issues which relates to the well-being of the child.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [2] Most of these issues relevant to the problems which arise upon the divorce or the separation of the parents of the children. For examples, placement and custody of children after the divorce or the separation, security and permanency planning, to whom and by whom the child support will paid and the amount of it and proceedings for discontinuation of parental rights can be mentioned. Whenever a court makes a decision regarding these kind of issues, it must be considered whether its decision will be in the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“best interestsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  of the child. Although the doctrine of best interests of child cannot be given a definite meaning, the term normally refers to the deliberation that th e jurisdiction undertake when deciding the types of actions and orders which serve the best for the child as well as who is most suited to take care of the child. When it comes to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the best interestsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , those are generally determined by considering a number of factors which related to circumstances of child and the parent. In this process the paramount will be given to the safety and the well-being of the child. Effect of international conventions and treaties On July 1991, Sri Lanka ratified the international Convention on the Rights of the Child and adopted a Childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Charter in 1992 to give effect to the convention on the rights of the Child within the country. This can be defined as the major turning point in legislative and administrative process of the rights of the children in Sri Lanka. Though the Childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Charter is not a legal document which can be enforced in a court, the importance of it as a policy document guiding state policy in concern to the rights of children cannot be underestimated. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is basically concerned with the participation rights, protection rights and provision rights of children. In article 3 of the convention, it says that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“in all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary considerationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [3]. It article 12, it has mentioned that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative p roceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [4] According to the article 157 of the 1978 constitution of Sri Lanka, duly ratified international treaties and agreements have the force of law in Sri Lanka and no written law enacted or made, and no executive or administrative action will be taken that is in contravention of the international agreement. According to that article, the doctrine of the best interests of the child will be secured and considered as primary in all aspects of Sri Lanka. Jurisdiction is also falls under that and whenever the courts of Sri Lanka have to make a judgment or a decision regarding a child, the judges have to stick to the doctrine of the best interest of the child. Contribution of Sri Lankan courts With the ratification of the international convention on the rights of the child, courts of Sri Lanka also got bou nd to secure the best interests of the child when making orders and judgments. But this was nothing new to the courts of Sri Lanka because they were the pioneers in the development of law on child rights in Sri Lanka from early years. Their contribution was massive specially that was happened in a time that there was no legislative intervention in setting rules and principles which relating to custodial and guardianship matters in Sri Lanka. During that period courts of Sri Lanka applied the non-statutory Roman Dutch law and developed the concept of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“welfare of the childà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  in litigation regarding the matters we find under the best interests of the child and determined cases relating to them such as custody disputes. In Roman Dutch law there is a principle that the father has a preferential right to have a custody of a child who is in minor age when the marriage is existing and courts applied this in cases where the circumstances point out that the best in terests of the child should be secured. For instance, in Ivaldy vs. Ivaldy (1956)[5] the Supreme Court held, that, under the Roman-Dutch Law, where there has been no legal dissolution of the common home, the fathers right to the custody of his minor children remains unaffected by the fact of the separation of the spouses, and can only be interfered with on special grounds, such, for example, as danger to the life, health or morals of the children. The courts sometimes displaced this parental right of custody of the child when it was proved with facts that granting custody to a particular parent was prejudicial to the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"life, health and morals of the childà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and in determining access rights. In Blanche Anley v. Herbert Bois (1945)[6] case the Supreme Court held that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the fact that the applicant was the guilty party in the divorce case is not, per se, a good reason for refusing the application for access to the children. The paramount co nsideration is the interests of the children.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  These case laws prove that the courts of Sri Lanka have applied the fatherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s preferential right to have custody of children in the context of the concept of the best interests of the child. But whenever that giving preferential right to the father of the child in custody matters does not seem in the interests of the child, the courts have disregarded that right of the father and have given the custody of the minor child to the mother. In Weragoda v. Weragoda (1961)[7] the decided to award the custody of the child to his mother due to bad past conduct of the father. Supreme Court held that, in a case like the present one, the Court will decide who is to have the custody of the child after taking into account all the factors affecting the case and after giving due effect to all presumptions and counter-presumptions that may apply, but bearing in mind the paramount consideration that the childs welfare is the matter that the Court is there to safeguard. The rights of the father will prevail if they are not displaced by considerations relating to the welfare of the child, for a petitioner who seeks to displace those rights must make out his or her case. A similar view was expressed in Padma Fernando v. T. S. Fernando case (1956)[8]. Subair v. Isthikar (1974)[9] was a similar case when considering the incident and the facts but it was quite special because that marriage has had happened under Muslim law. The court resolved this case by considering the views of authorities in Islamic Law and applied the concept of best interests of the child. Sometimes custody of the child was awarded to a third party on the ground of the best interests of the child. In Re Evelyn v. Warnakulasuriya (1955)[10], the custody of the child was given to a third party with the consent of the child and against the wishes of the mother of the child. Courts have sometimes adopted artificial arguments to avoid very harsh rules in the Islamic law, for instance, in Ummul Marzoona v. Samad (1977)[11] which was difficult for them to order a Muslim father to pay maintenance for his child who had reached the age of puberty. As a result of these judicial developments, the courts have accepted the doctrine of the best interests of the child in practical aspect too. 1978 constitution and the chapter on fundamental rights The concept of the best interest lays the way for the recognition of other rights of the child too. The chapter on Fundamental Rights in the present constitution in Sri Lanka recognizes the child as a person who enjoys rights like any other person. This chapter has been very helpful in promoting the rights of children in court actions and in granting the justice when childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fundamental rights have been violated. In Bandara v. Wickramasinghe (1995)[12] the Supreme Court held that, excessive use of power may become liable for infringement of fundamental r ights by Executive or Administrative action. There are fundamental rights cases which filled by children against torture, inhuman and degrading treatment which given out to them by law enforcement authorities. Samanthilaka v. peiris (1990), Wijesiriwardene v. Kumara (1989)[13] are two cases which can be mentioned as the best examples for that category. There are cases brought against school authorities for violation of the right of equality. This is mostly happened in the case of school admission for grade one and six. Most of those cases get settled out of courts when school authorities agree to admit the child to the school. In the present, child abuse has become a huge problem. The same situation has arisen in Sri Lankan society too. In the aim of preventing child abuse and providing protection and treatment of children who are victims of such abuse and to co-ordinate and monitor actions against all forms of child abuse, the National Child Protection Authority was established in 1999 under the National Child Protection Act[14]. This act broadened the meaning of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"child abuseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ by declaring that child abuse means any act or omission relating to a child which would amount to a contravention of specific provisions in the penel code, The Authority is made up of local monitoring and child protection committees. [1] Article 1, Convention on the Rights of the Child [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_interests [3] https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx [4] https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx [5] (1956) 57 N.L.R. 568 [6] 46 N.L.R. 464 [7] 66 N.L.R. 83 [8] 58 N.L.R. 262 [9] 77 N.L.R. 397 [10] 56 N.L.R. 525 [11] 79 (1) N.L.R. 209 [12] (1995) 2 Sri L.R. 167 [13] (1989) 2 Sri L.R. 312 [14] National Child Protection Act, No 50 of 1998

Essay on Ethical Dilemma - 2305 Words

Ethical Dilemma During the first week of February it was discovered that one of the youth on probation and his family was no longer living at their given address. I, along with my supervisor, made several trips to the house to verify. The house was soon boarded up and the youth could not be located. There was no attempt by the youth to contact probation and he soon became out of contact, a clear violation of his probation contract. An arrest and detain (AD) warrant was issued for the youth because of his probation violation. The youth was unable to be located by the Juvenile Crime Apprehension Team (JCAT) and no one in his family could be found by probation staff. The youth was also no longer attending school. The seriousness of†¦show more content†¦The first standard being challenged is 1.01: Commitment to Clients. The standard sates â€Å"In general, clients’ interests are primary. However, social workers’ responsibility to the larger society or sp ecific legal obligations may on limited occasions supersede the loyalty owed to clients, and clients should be so advised† (NASW; 7). The ethical dilemma relating to this ethic is who are we more responsible to in this situation, the client or society? The client was out of contact, but by making contact he was now in compliance with probation. However, we are obligated to protect public safety at all times and his violation of probation does warrant a court hearing. It brings into question what is in the youth’s best interest, to not be held accountable for his actions or to be placed in a locked facility for a period of time. This ethic also creates a dilemma in itself, who are we more responsible to; the client or society? Standard 3.09 of the NASW ethics, commitment to employers, is also challenged by this dilemma. Specifically section A of standard 3.09 comes into consideration, â€Å"Social workers generally should adhere to commitments made to employers a nd employing organizations† (NASW; 21). A probation officer’s job is to hold youth accountable for their actions and to help enforce the orders of the court. The youth violated one of these orders by being out ofShow MoreRelatedEthical Dilemmas Of The Workplace1538 Words   |  7 Pages1. Discuss an ethical dilemma that you have had to face in the workplace. Ethical dilemmas often occur when a manager or an employee is faced with two or more conflicting choices. Give as many facts and details as possible in describing your dilemma. The most difficult ethical dilemma I have dealt with was a summer job I had this past summer, while I was working for a bakery in my hometown. This past particular summer really tested what I believe is right and wrong and how to speak up. 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Advertising Regulations Free Essays

Advertising Regulation The strength of the self-regulatory system lies in both the independence of the ASA and the support and commitment of the advertising industry, through the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), to maintaining the high standards laid down in the Advertising Codes, which are designed to protect consumers. Today, the UK advertising regulatory system is a mixture of   * Self-regulation for non-broadcast advertising * Co-regulation for broadcast advertising. The ASA is the UK self-regulatory body for ensuring that all advertisements, wherever they appear, are legal, decent, honest and truthful. We will write a custom essay sample on Advertising Regulations or any similar topic only for you Order Now The protection of consumers is at the heart of the ASA’s work. They aim to ensure that advertising does not mislead or offend. Advertising self-regulation in the UK The system is based on a contract between advertisers, agencies and the media that each will act in support of the highest standards in advertising. Compliance with the Codes and ASA adjudications is binding on all advertisers. It is not a voluntary system. The system is both self-regulatory (for non-broadcast advertising e. g. press, poster, cinema, online) and co-regulatory (for TV and radio advertising). The Codes sit within a legal framework, which means that, where appropriate, they reflect the standards required in law, e. g. the Consumer Protection for Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) for misleading advertising. The Codes also contain additional protections that are not required under law e. g. rules related to taste and decency and social responsibility. The ASA is responsible for administering five Advertising Codes and deals with more than 26,000 complaints per year. Just one complaint can cause the ASA to launch an investigation and remove an advertisement, if the ad is found in breach of the Codes. For instance, if Bulldog’s TV ad, had a voiceover that said â€Å"With up to 8 meg broadband, more people can play, e-mail, download and talk, together, all at the same time. With Bulldog, unlimited phone calls to your network friends are included. To find out more about Bulldog Broadband packages call now on 0800 or visit bulldogbroadband. com. Bulldog Broadband and Phone. † Onscreen text said â€Å"Broadband speed is up to 8meg downstream. Subject to local availability and Bulldog phone line†. BT complained the TV ad was misleading because, due to the technical limitations of high speed broadband services, the maximum speed quoted would not be available to a significant number of people within the geographic areas in which the service was available. Figures were provided and showed that, as the length of line between a local exchange and a customer’s home increased the broadband speed that could be achieved by the customer decreased. They said broadband speeds of 8 megabits per second (Mbps) or close to 8 Mbps could be achieved only by people who lived within 3 km of an exchange. Beyond that distance the achievable speed dropped rapidly because of unavoidable signal attenuation caused by line length and quality. The 35% of people who lived more than 3. 8 km from an exchange, for example, would get at best a 5 Mbps connection. They believed the prefix â€Å"up to† was not an adequate indication that a large proportion of customers could not get a service close to the headline speed. Members of the public also said the TV ad was misleading because the broadband speed quoted was not achievable for all users. One said their connection had never exceeded 5 Mbps and while others believed technical limitations would prevent users from achieving the headline speed. Bulldog however would then be given an opportunity to respond to any claims made against them therefore saying our ads were in line with previous ASA adjudications and CAP guidance, which required claims about broadband speeds to be preceded with the words â€Å"up to†, to indicate that the top speed might not be achieved by users. Assessment Complaints upheld The ASA noted Bulldog considered that the inclusion of the words â€Å"up to† was an adequate indication to consumers that they might not achieve the top speed quoted in the ads and that their ads were in line with previous ASA adjudications and CAP guidance. We considered that â€Å"up to† was an adequate qualification in ads for 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps services, where the user would not achieve the maximum speed because of factors such as the number of people on line but where the attainable speeds were close enough to those advertised so as not to affect the customers’ experience in any meaningful way. We considered that the higher speed service was likely to be attractive to consumers because of the advertised headline speed and the potential capabilities that a connection of that speed could give users. We understood, however, that the speeds 8Mbps services could deliver were significantly affected by signal attenuation, which was caused by distance from the exchange, and that as a result a significant proportion of consumers could not achieve speeds close to the headline speed. We understood that users of an up to 8Mbps service could take advantage of capabilities such as video streaming, file sharing and online gaming but that there would be a noticeable degradation of quality of the service when speeds fell below 6Mbps. We therefore considered that â€Å"up to† was not an adequate qualifier in ads for higher speed services, given the impact that signal attenuation could have on speed and performance. ASA concluded that the ads were misleading and asked Bulldog to amend them. The TV ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5. (Misleading advertising), 5. 2. 1 (Evidence) and 5. 2. 3 (Qualifications). Action Bulldog will then be asked by the ASA to indicate prominently in future ads (for example in the body copy of non-broadcast ads) that top speeds varied significantly, in particular because of a user’s distance from their local exchange. The broadband speed must be preceded by the words ‘up to’, in order to make it clear that a consumer can receive anything up to the advertised speed. The ad must contain a clear notice in the main body copy (i. e. ot in a footnote) that states that speeds vary significantly subject to a number of factors, such as distance from the exchange. The ad must also make clear where the service is available i. e. geographical limitations that might mean a headline speed is only available to those in, for instance, urban areas. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) are the industry committees responsible for writing and maintaining the Advertising Codes. The Committee members represent the three main parts of the advertising industry, namely the advertising agencies, media owners (e. . poster site owners, newspapers, broadcasters) and the advertisers themselves. CAP and BCAP also enforce the adjudications of the ASA. Interaction with the law Across the European Union (EU) there is a unified piece of consumer protection legislation to prevent the use of misleading or unfair trading practices. This law, called the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, has been translated into UK law to make sure that we have the same rules as all the other countries in the EU. The ASA works within this legal framework to make sure that UK advertising is not misleading or unfair. The ASA is able to refer advertisers who refuse to work with us and persistently make The ASA is considered the ‘established means’ for gaining compliance with both these pieces of legislation. This means that the law itself is not usually enforced formally through the courts; instead the ASA is first allowed to tackle any problems under the Advertising Codes. This approach works well in the overwhelming majority of cases. Broadly this means that the system is paid for by the industry, which also writes the rules, but those rules are independently enforced by the ASA. The system is a sign of a considerable commitment by the advertising industry to uphold standards in their profession. All parts of the advertising industry – advertisers, agencies and media – have come together to commit to being legal, decent, honest and truthful in their ads. * Adverting Standards authority – http://www. asa. org. uk/Complaints-and-ASA-action/Adjudications/2006/9/Bulldog-Communications-Ltd/TF_ADJ_41768. aspx * The Advertising Codes – http://www. cap. org. uk/The-Codes. aspx * – How to cite Advertising Regulations, Papers

World Currency free essay sample

For as long as man-kind has been around, there has always been some way for us to make deals or barter. Whether it was trading animal pelts or meats, to gold this system had always been around. Through the centuries our way of bartering has changed and adapted many times until we have our world currencies of today. Currency is defined as â€Å"the means of purchasing through trade.† Today currency is seen as printed or minted money, sometimes with the inclusion of coins. Currency is what we use to exchange good or services for cash.(Wisegeek) A lot of people confuse currency with money, but they are not the same. Money is unreal, imaginary, it is an idea. Currency is what we use to back up the idea of what we think money is. Paper bills and metal coins are currency, not money, though that is what we tend to call them. We will write a custom essay sample on World Currency or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The amount of currency in circulation all depends on the amount of money in the county’s economy (Money vs. Currency). A country should not have more currency than money. Through out time many different types of currencies have been used. The first form of a money-like exchange was done in China with cowry shells. This method of exchange came about around 12 B.C. By the time 1000 B.C. rolled around, the Chinese had created mock cowry shells in the form of metal; this was the first use of coins as a form of currency. The first forms of paper currency were also used in China, but due to an over abundance of it, it quickly vanished (The History of Money). The next time paper currency was used was in the European countries. Through time each country has adopted their own individual currency. Japan has the Yen, the United Kingdom has the Pound, and the United States has the Dollar. Each currency is worth a different amount. To compare one country’s currency worth to another’s is called an exchange rate. In Japan One Yen is worth a different amount than One Penny. That same Penny is worth a different amount than One British Pound. No country ’s currency is worth the same as another’s. Money and Currency are a very important part of our world. We basically cannot do anything without them. They have come a long way through out the centuries and maybe still have a longer way to go. The currency of the future is already here today. One thing it is safe to say about them is that no matter how they change, they will always be around. Work Cited msn Money. Curreny Rates. 2011. 2 March 2011 http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/market/exchangerates.aspx. Gjelten, Tom. Can a New World Currency Displace the Dollar? 24 March 2009. 2 March 2011 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102306392. European Commission. Economic and Financial Affairs: The Euro. 17 January 2011. 14 March 2011 http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/index_en.htm. Money Versus Currency. n.d. 2 March 2011 http://www.uhuh.com/unreal/moncur.htm. The History of Money. n.d. 14 March 2011 http://library.thinkquest.org/28718/history.html#. â€Å"WiseGeek.† What is Currency. 2003-2011. 2 March 2011 http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-currency.htm. â€Å"Go Currency.† What is the United States Dollar (USD)? 2001-2011. 2 March 2011 http://www.gocurrency.com/countries/united_states.htm.

Counter argue Plessy v Fergusson

â€Å"We consider the underlying fallacy of the plaintiff’s argument to consist in assumption that the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority. If this be so, it is not by reason of anything found in the act, but solely because the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Counter argue Plessy v Fergusson specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The argument necessarily assumes that if, as has been more than once the case, and is not unlikely to be so again, the colored race should become the dominant power in the state legislature, and should enact a law in precisely similar terms, it would thereby relegate the white race to an inferior position. We imagine that the white race, at least, would not acquiesce in this assumption. The argument also assumes that social prejudices may be overcome by legislation and that equal rights cannot be secured to the Negro except by an enforced commingling of the two races. We cannot accept this proposition. If the two races are to meet upon terms of social equality, it must be the result of natural affinities, a mutual appreciation of each other’s merits, and a voluntary consent of individuals.† The above passage describes the case of Plessy v Fergusson which occurred in May 18, 1896. The issue was whether the Whites and Blacks had to be separated in the society. The main argument provided in this passage was on the enforcement of the segregation laws. According to the plaintiff, the enforcement of these laws would make the colored race the inferior race. In the main decision of 7-1, the court disagreed with the plaintiff stating that there was no way the Louisiana state laws went against the Thirteenth and the Fourteenth amendment rights of the colored people. In the opinion offered by Judge Henry Brown, the court shot down the Plessy’s argu ment because it interpreted the constitution wrongly, by arguing that the separation would place the colored people in an inferior position. The majority argued that the inferiority that existed in the colored people existed only in the minds of the African Americans. The judges introduced a scenario in which they assumed that the colored race was the superior one in the state legislature, then they would pass laws in the precise terms as the current laws that the white race would be relegated to the inferior race. The other unproven statement made in this argument by the Supreme Court is that African Americans would be happier if they were not mixed with the white or other ethnicities. In the third sentence of the passage, the majority argued that if the two races were â€Å"to meet upon social inequality†, natural affinity might have caused it. In addition, the acknowledgment of each other’s abilities and the consent of individuals had to be there.Advertising L ooking for essay on constitutional law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They assumed that social prejudice could not be overruled by legislation. The fourth amendment of the Constitution was effective in protecting against social prejudices, the colored people were protected against being deprived of â€Å"liberty† because of races segregation. Passing the law of segregation and expecting the races to mix through a natural inclination is ridiculous as the law creates an assumption that penetrating is similar to breaking the law, and therefore, impossible. It is believed that prejudices that exist in the society can be eliminated by legislation. Brown’ s argument lacks logic, he assumes that the blacks are suffering from inferiority complex; he forgets that they might have been prompted to do so by the â€Å"badge of inferiority† that has been afflicted to them by the law. He chooses to question the plaintiff ar gument but doesn’t question the laws. He does not believe that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution also protects the colored race from the southern states laws. He only believes that the fourteenth amendment was supposed to protect blacks from slavery. Brown in his argument doesn’t bring forth the evidence to prove the scenario in which he stated that, if Blacks were put in the same position as Whites, they would do the same as that done by whites in legislation of segregation laws†, his scenario is thus implicitly made. His statement assumes that whites would never be the inferior race even if the reverse is done; his belief undermines his later statement that the law should allow â€Å"mutual appreciation of each others merits† John Marshals dissenting opinion predicted that decision set forth in Plessy v Ferguson would become infamous just like that of Dred Scott v Saidford, in which he called for a ‘color-blind’ constitution. He g ave an example of the Chinese race (a race which was viewed as inferior) as Chinese people were allowed to share the same facilities with the whites. He alluded to the fact that the Chinese race was very different from the white race, but people were allowed to mix with the whites, so why the blacks could not be allowed to do the same. The sole dissenting judge also acknowledged that these laws allowed for a form of slavery in contravention of the constitution, the lifestyle led by blacks was similar to that discussed by Professor Brook Thomas in his lecture during the world war in which a black general was not allowed to dine with Nazi prisoners; thus the law can be considered to be unconstitutional.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Counter argue Plessy v Fergusson specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The law is also unconstitutional as the effect is only felt by the blacks and not the whites, it is clear that the l aw was trying to protect the inferior Whites from the superior blacks and not the other way round. The segregation laws were creating a conducive environment for the Whites while inconveniencing the blacks, as judge Harlan states, the purpose of the statutes was to exclude blacks from railroads assigned to whites and not the other way round. And according to the fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution laws, the immunities of citizens shouldn’t be enforced by states as they are unconstitutional, assuming that one can create two separate systems that are similar to each other and can never be achieved. The law’s purpose was to abolish racism and, in addition, establish absolute equality of the races based on the law as opposed to political, social, or a combination of the two, stating otherwise is incorrect. Any other distinction based on color cannot be seen as intending to abolish natural rights and freedoms. On the other hand, it is impossible to enforc e political or social equality as they are different from each other, the law that permits the separation of one race from the other doesn’t necessarily imply that one race is inferior to the other. An example of this is the separation of people according to their races in schools, church and many other places. This separation has been held to be valid legislative prerogative, and the northern states have been the longest and the most earnest enforcers and defenders of the political rights of the colored race. They have acknowledged the validity of the separation laws (Fogli ,para 2). Works Cited Fogli, Counterarguing Strategies, U. S. 2007.Print This essay on Counter argue Plessy v Fergusson was written and submitted by user Finnegan Gallegos to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies

Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies Abstract Proponents of using quantitative or qualitative methodologies in the research process are inclined to point at advantages of their preferable paradigm while ignoring strengths of the other methods. Nevertheless, debates on the problem seem to be groundless because today researchers choose methodologies while focusing on the purpose of their studies, and they often mix methods to receive the most valid results.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this context, inquiry concerns proposed by Patton to discuss the qualitative studies seem to be relevant to evaluate the quantitative methodology. From this perspective, it is rather difficult to determine the paradigm that can be discussed as more credible than the other one. That is why, modern debates are not as active as decades ago, and proponents of both quantitative and quali tative methodologies propose to combine their features in one credible methodology. Introduction Current debates on the acceptability of using quantitative and qualitative methodologies and methods in science are based on the traditional opposition in the views of researchers who declare the advantages of different methodologies. According to Patton, the observed debate on selecting methodologies has its origin in the â€Å"long-standing debate in science over how best to study and understand the world† (Patton, 2001, p. 571). The debate is grounded not only on the problem of selection of methods but also on the opposition in theories and philosophies on which methodologies are based. Thus, the quantitative methodology refers to ideas of positivism, where the focus is on empirical factors and a distant researcher. According to Sale, Lohfeld, and Brazil, â€Å"the investigator is capable of studying a phenomenon without influencing it or being influenced by it† (Sale et al., 2002, p. 44). The opposite situation is observed with references to the qualitative methodology because it is based on constructivism, the main idea of which is the construction of the knowledge based on the analysis of multiple realities (Sale et al., 2002, p. 45). Although the debate between proponents of qualitative and quantitative methodologies is still present in the scientific world, this debate is transformed into the discussion of possibilities to combine the qualitative and quantitative methods in order to receive the integrated inquiry which has strengths of both methodologies.Advertising Looking for critical writing on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More From this point, the purpose of this research paper is to evaluate the current debates on the acceptability of using quantitative and qualitative methodologies and to discuss the possibility of creating the effective integrated inquiry to ov ercome weaknesses and biases associated with using quantitative or qualitative methodologies. Assessment of typical inquiry concerns Developing the evaluation of the debates, it is necessary to discuss how researchers determine trustworthiness in relation to their methods and findings. Validity and reliability are the basic concepts which are used to discuss the effectiveness of quantitative methodologies. Boudah notes that these categories and concepts are not appropriate for discussing the qualitative methodologies because the qualitative data are usually presented in abstract notions (Boudah, 2010, p. 76). As a result, the main focus is on assessing credibility of the qualitative research based on three inquiry concerns formulated by Patton. The first important concern is the focus on â€Å"rigorous methods for doing fieldwork†; the second component is â€Å"credibility of the researcher†; and the third one is the â€Å"philosophical belief in the value of qualitat ive inquiry† (Patton, 2001, p. 570). At this stage, it is important to state why these aspects are determined as basic ones for discussing methodologies used by scientists. The focus on â€Å"rigorous methods for doing fieldwork† means using the most accurate methods and precise techniques in order to collect and analyze the data to receive credible and supported results (Patton, 2001, p. 570). From this perspective, the quality of the research directly depends on the quality of selected methods, tools, and techniques, thus, the quality of a methodology. This aspect is important to be referred to while developing the research because it creates the fundament for the investigation. The role of the researcher is also important because the quality of findings depends on the researcher’s training and experience in the field (Boudah, 2010, p. 76; Sale et al., 2002, p. 46). Patton concentrates on the discussion of the qualitative methodology, and the third criterion ca n be explained as the necessity of appreciating qualitative methods as primary techniques (Patton, 2001, p. 570). In this case, the third aspect cannot be discussed to evaluate quantitative methods. Still, the other two criteria can be used to discuss the appropriateness of the quantitative methodology.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Inquiry concerns related to qualitative versus quantitative inquiries The criteria proposed by Patton are the fundament to direct the researcher’s activities regarding his work with the qualitative methodology. Differences in working with the qualitative data are discussed by Boudah who states that â€Å"the researcher processes the data in a unique way, based upon training, experience, bias, and other factors. This is different from the processing of statistical data† (Boudah, 2010, p. 76). In this case, the choice of methods and the researcher’s experience affect the research process significantly. As it is mentioned in the assessment of traditional inquiry concerns, such two aspects as the quality of methods and credibility of the researcher should also be discussed in the context of the quantitative methodology because two paradigms have not only differences but also similarities. According to Sale, Lohfeld, and Brazil, two methodologies are similar because â€Å"they share the tenets of theory-ladenness of facts, fallibility of knowledge, indetermination of theory by fact, and a value-ladened inquiry process† (Sale et al., 2002, p. 46). It is important to state that modern experimental and exploratory studies focus on collecting not only quantitative data but also qualitative data. As a result, to evaluate evidence, researchers need to use elements of the qualitative methodologies in addition to quantitative techniques (Sale et al., 2002, p. 45) . Consequently, such traditional quantitative methods as experiments receive the features of qualitative studies. In this situation, the focus on inquiry concerns formulated by Patton is helpful for scientists who were traditionally discussed as users of quantitative methodologies. The most credible methodology The active debates develop round the question of the methodologies’ credibility or validity. In order to support their vision of methodologies’ credibility and determine the most credible and acceptable paradigm, researchers discuss methodologies’ strengths and weaknesses. In this context, the qualitative methodology is often discussed as less credible than the quantitative paradigm. Patton claims that there is â€Å"a lingering bias† against the qualitative methodology in the scientific world, and as a result, the qualitative data seems to â€Å"carry the stigma of ‘being soft’† (Patton, 2001, p. 573). The researchers support t heir ideas while stating that qualitative methods are rather ‘subjective’ in contrast to ‘objective’ quantitative methods based on logic and facts because the quantitative data are presented in easily generalized numbers when the qualitative data are presented in abstract notions (Bryman, 2007, p. 9; Sale et al., 2002, p. 47).Advertising Looking for critical writing on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Dependence of the qualitative data on the researcher’s interpretation is considered as a main challenge for discussing the paradigm as providing the objective data. Patton states that â€Å"qualitative rigor has to do with the quality of the observations made by an evaluator† (Patton, 2001, p. 575). In addition, according to Kerlinger, numbers extremely matter in the research because â€Å"everything is either 1 or 0† (as cited in Berg Lune, 2012, p. 4). From this perspective, the researchers are inclined to discuss the qualitative researches as dependent on a range of subjective factors. Berg and Lune state that â€Å"qualitative researchers need to be more precise, more careful in their definitions and procedures, and clearer in their writing than most other scientists† (Berg Lune, 2012, p. 4). It is a strategy to make the qualitative methodology more appropriate for using in the scientific world. In this context, proponents of the quantitative method s state that this paradigm is more workable and appropriate for the research in fields of psychology, nursing, and social sciences (Berg Lune, 2012, p. 5; Boudah, 2010, p. 76). The numerical data associated with the quantitative research is clear and representative. Thus, to receive the objective results and findings, proponents of the quantitative methodology offer to use experiments and studies where the results are calculated with statistical methods (Sale et al., 2002, p. 45). However, Patton, as a proponent of the qualitative paradigm, proposes the counterargument while stating that â€Å"numbers do not protect against bias; they merely disguise it† (Patton, 2001, p. 574). In this case, the users of quantitative methods remain to be confused because â€Å"numbers convey a sense of precision and accuracy even if the measurements that yielded the numbers are relatively unreliable, invalid, and meaningless† (Patton, 2001, p. 573). Following the ideas proposed by Gel o, Braakmann, and Benetka, it is possible to state that there is a â€Å"fundamental issue which has been often ignored within quantitative research: the issue of the ontology and epistemology of variables† (Gelo, Braakmann, Benetka, 2008, p. 267). Variables presented in quantitative measures often include the qualitative information in them because there is often a focus on the relationship between variables that is observed at the level of both quantitative and qualitative data (Gelo et al., 2008, p. 268; Sale et al., 2002, p. 45). From this perspective, the discussion of the quantitative methodology as more credible because of the focus on numbers seems to be unsupported with the practice of scientists. In this context, it is impossible to choose the most appropriate or effective methodology because it is necessary to refer to the purpose of the research rather than to the presence or absence of numerical data in results. The most actively used methodology in the scientif ic community While discussing the credibility of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, researchers often notes that the quantitative paradigm is more appropriate because it is frequently used in the scientific community. According to Gelo, Braakmann, and Benetka, quantitative approaches prevail in the scientific world; and focusing on the field of psychology, investigators note that â€Å"quantitative approaches have always dominated mainstream psychological research† (Gelo et al., 2008, p. 268). However, the vision of Gelo and the group of researchers is discussed as irrelevant by Bryman because the focus on the qualitative research and personal experiences is the basis for psychology (Bryman, 2007, p. 9). The more convincing argument against the prevalence of quantitative methods is proposed by Boudah and Patton, who state that the qualitative paradigm is more actively discussed in the field of social sciences when it is necessary to make conclusions based on observat ions or interviews (Boudah, 2010, p. 77; Patton, 2001, p. 580). Furthermore, those quantitative and qualitative paradigms followed in the modern scientific research, especially with the focus on the field of psychology and social sciences, should be discussed as mixed because researchers are inclined to combine methods to receive more detailed results. Creation of one integrated inquiry Many researchers agree to stop debates on the effectiveness of qualitative and quantitative methodologies with creating an integrated inquiry that could address the needs of proponents of both perspectives (Boudah, 2010, p. 77; Bryman, 2007, p. 9). The main question formulated as a result of prolonged debates on the appropriateness of qualitative and quantitative paradigms is â€Å"how to combine the strengths of each in a multimethods approach to research and evaluation† (Patton, 2001, p. 574). The researcher continues his discussion of the necessity to propose a new approach to research whil e stating that it is necessary to focus on â€Å"more balance and a better understanding of the situations for which various methods are most appropriate as well as grounded experience in how to combine methods† (Patton, 2001, p. 586). While being developed, this mixed approach can be discussed as effective to be utilized in different areas of knowledge and practice because many issues are too complex to be explored only in the context of one paradigm, and these complex questions require the discussion of data â€Å"from a large number of perspectives† (Sale et al., 2002, p. 46). In this context, the development of the integrated inquiry is the most effective solution in order to end the debates on the effectiveness of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Both methodologies can be discussed as helpful to present objective and credible results, and the researcher benefits while combining the approaches. Conclusion Debates on the effectiveness of quantitative and qualitative methodologies are the characteristic feature of the scientific world. In spite of the fact that strengths and weaknesses of both paradigms can be clearly identified, there is an opinion that the quantitative methodology is more appropriate to be used in the research process because it provides the objective numerical data. However, the proponents of the qualitative methodology argue that such statements are groundless because the qualitative paradigm also has many strong points, and it is actively used by researchers. Having evaluated the visions and opinions of supporters of different paradigms, it is possible to state that the modern debate is rather unfounded. From this point, it is almost impossible to determine the paradigm that can be discussed as most credible in the situation when researchers are inclined to focus on combining methods belonging to different paradigms. Today, the debate on the problem is based on the idea of developing a paradigm that could combin e the features of quantitative and qualitative methodologies in one credible methodology. References Berg, B. L., Lune, H. (2012). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. New York, NY: Pearson Education Inc. Boudah, D. (2010). Conducting educational research: Guide to completing a major project. New York, NY: SAGE Publishing. Bryman, A. (2007). Barriers to integrating quantitative and qualitative research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(1), 8-22. Gelo, O., Braakmann, D., Benetka, G. (2008). Quantitative and qualitative research: Beyond the debate. Integrative Psychological Behavioral Science, 42(3), 266-290. Patton, M. Q. (2001). Qualitative research evaluation methods. New York, NY: SAGE Publications. Sale, J., Lohfeld, L., Brazil, K. (2002). Revisiting the quantitative-qualitative debate: Implications for mixed-methods research. Quality Quantity, 36(1), 43–53.

Business costs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business costs - Assignment Example For example, a firm always prefer to produce any unit of output who’s per unit marginal revenue exceeds the marginal cost of the unit. By doing so, the firm would gain more revenue by selling that unit. On the other hand, if the marginal cost of a unit of output is more than its marginal revenue; in that case, the firm avoids producing that unit. If the firm produces such unit, it would incur loss rather than profit on the unit. 2- What do you understand by the term economies of scale? Reductions in per unit cost resulting from increase in market size and increase in firm are called as economies of scale. Any unit cost reduction that occurs when a firm increase its production base or aggregately, the market in which that firm is producing its units, increase. Over that period of time; globally as well as locally, the firms and the markets are increasing. This increase in both is mostly contributed by the latest means of technology, which are mostly used nowadays in the process of production. For example, previously much work was carried out manually as a result, a sufficient amount of resources were consumed. Thanks to machinsation and computerisation that have sufficiently added in the process of economies of scale. ... enue- totally equalling with the total costs- or in total units of production, the cost of produced units offsets the revenue obtained by the sale of units. Some reasons may justify a company keep producing units even it is making loss. First, the loss, occurred by the break-even point or near to that point, most of time doesn’t last for a considerable period of time. The company may be experiencing a seasonal variation in the demand of a particular unit. As soon as that period of seasonal variation in demand ends, the company again observes profits- revenue exceeding costs. 4- What market power may large firms enjoy? How and why may a government seek to limit this? Market power is associated with the behaviour of a firm and the way firms affect competitive conditions and prices in a market (Bourdet, 1991). The way a firm adopts its supply of goods and services production mechanism and its aggregate strategy towards its prices determines its market power. For example, if a fir m has 70 percent market shares in the sale of a particular commodity. Under this condition, it would not be incorrect to say that the firm has sufficient market power to affect and control the prices of that commodity. A government via legislation can restrict to limit the market power of the firm. By enacting a particular legislation and implementing it, the government would become in a position to limit the firm’s market power. The main reason for limiting the market power of the firm is to allow the competitive market conditions. The competitive market conditions benefit producers and the consumers as it would protect consumers who would pay higher costs if the firm limit the required level of commodities in market. 5- Consumer gain as much from small business as from large ones. Analyse

MGMT 305 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

MGMT 305 - Case Study Example anagement complain of time wastage, low production, arrogance and lousy attitude from the workers while, the workers protest the poor treatment from the managers. The president has to decide whether to downsize or reinvestment considering the factors like the cost of reinvesting, compensation for the workers in case they are laid off and the time it will take to establish a new premise of sawmilling ( Eckes, pg. 492). The company establishes and grows, if it establishes these group member competencies that lack in Jackson, BC. The organization has to apply strategic conflict resolving, comforting behaviors where the team from the subordinate to the seniors relate in a friendly manner and incase of problems the employer support the workers either financially or emotionally. Teamwork has to prevail in an organized firm where resources and ideas are freely shared. Communication is vital in a company where flow of information must be maintained through memos, messaging e.t.c. Finally, the following Team Environment should be enhanced. Reward system should be introduced on either performance bases or on any other criteria. Also, proper channel of communication should be enhanced. Physical space should be available for individual growth and privacy. Organizational structure should be observed where different department supervise personal department (Eckes, pg.498.). Finally, organizational leadership should always be a key point where the channel of passing command should be

Failure of Shareholder Value Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Failure of Shareholder Value - Essay Example The present research has identified that despite its perceived role in stimulating business growth, shareholder value remains contentious in out-of-business quarters. Whereas the corporate executives’ penchant for maximizing the share price lacks any historical or legal basis, the refusal of shareholder value in a business organization may as well spell the end of the company’s operations. Regardless of the reasoning, Cole, Sturgess, and Brown have argued that there is no empirical evidence linking corporate focus on shareholder value to an improvement of the status of the economy and or the society. Shareholder value is said to have begun in the second half of the 20th century as an imperative control for managerial  excesses, but over the history, it has turned into a skewed, self-interested doctrine preferred by economists, finance managers, and over-paid corporate managers. According to Roth the supremacy of shareholder value has not yet been codified in law as th e most important priority of the corporate world. In most markets, business organizations can be established for any legitimate purpose. In fact, there is no corporate charter that supports the need to maximize profits or share value. Equally missing in law is the need for executives and company directors to be indebted to shareholders under special conditions. The executives owe a fiduciary responsibility to the business organization, which is an amalgamation of different stakeholders. The only exception is that shareholders are legally entitled to the corporation’s residual value upon the organization’s fulfillment of its other duties. Notably, company directors still have sweeping powers over the residual value, provided they are not channeling the money to their own pockets.

Analysis Of Foreign Direct Investment In Malaysia Economics Essay

Analysis Of Foreign Direct Investment In Malaysia Economics Essay Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an activity in which an investor resident in one country has a lasting interest in, and a large influence on the management of an entity resident in another country (OECD, 2003). It involves either greenfield investment or merger and acquisitions (MAs). The former represents generating a wholely new enterprise and it exerts more positive effects, while the latter represents amending the ownership of existing enterprises and it has a lower positive effect or even a negative externalities. FDI can also be defined as other kinds of financial transactions among enterprises, such as reinvestment of the earnings of the FDI enterprise or other transfer of capital. There are various forms of FDI, in which one of them is the ownership of the full penalty of the shares of the national firm or possession of the project before the acquisition of the foreign investor. Joint venture is another form of FDI, in which a company is being set up in the host country with the collaboration of local partners. Due to the partnership and the experience of the local market, this form is generally preferred. Another reason that makes it less risky is that foreign partner is not given the right to fully intervene over the operation of the project. In addition, FDI could be in the form of setting up new subsidiaries or branches of foreign parent companies, as well as marketing goods in the host country (Madura, 2006). FDI consists of the establishment of mobile and huge equipments like aircraft and oil; construction activity, exploration or extraction of natural minerals; acquisition of real property by foreign investors; retained profits, which accelerate capital accumulation; investment property rights, which are the funded projects and the setting up of companies and factories in which investor is a direct partner with shares atleast 10% of the total property rights (Abdel Ghaffar, 2002). There are determinants of FDI in the recipient country, despite its benefits. First of all, the economic determinants are separated into three components: (i) the economic determinant related to investments that seek to market along with abundance and growth of per capita income and size of the market as well as the free areas. (ii) the economic determinants related to those investment that are making production efficient, and (iii) involving those investments that seek the resources and assets, having plenty of primary natural resources, infrastructure, and most of the investment involve horizontal integration in seeking investment in the market. In addition, there is also a factor called policy framework that determines FDI in the host countries. It consists of institutional framework and economic policies that have an impact on investment in the host countrys political stability, law and legislation, exchange rate and others. Another determinant is related to business facilitation , i.e. the particular facilities to assist management of investors, the promotion of investment, building reputation, investment incentives, administrative and bureaucratic practices, as well as the provision of social services (Chung et al, 1999). According to Choong and Lim (2009), the choice of models for economic development determines the channels through which FDI influence economic growth. For example, a great impact of FDI on economic growth which can be observed via the production function is theorized by the endogenous growth models. In particular, foreign capital inflows (FCIs) have a significant impact on domestic capital formation or accumulation, in which it either has a crowding-out or a crowding-in effect on local investment. If foreign capital complements domestic capital, FDI will have greater influence on output growth. On the other hand, if FDI expand the variety of intermediate and capital goods, then the productivity level of the recipient country can be enhanced. Moreover, FDI reduces unemployment by creating job opportunities (Borensztein et al., 1998). FDI is important in the sense that it provides investible funds and foreign exchange earnings, in which foreign exchange can be used to import raw materials (Wong Jomo, 2005). Both elements enlarge the resource availability of a country, thus enhance savings and investment, and in turn promote economic growth. Therefore, it will help developing countries to eventually achieve self-sustained growth. This is because higher investment and growth rate with foreign capital supplement, are in turn also increase the domestic saving rate. Most developing countries do not have enough capital goods to meet the desired investment level and required inputs have to be imported by using foreign exchange. FDI makes up for any foreign exchange shortage by bringing in foreign exchange to pay for the necessary imports of capital and intermediate goods. Besides, it brings in new technology, technical assistance and expertise, scarce managerial skill, international marketing connection, marketing know- how etc. Foreign direct investment played a crucial role in Malaysian economy since last few decades. Through both micro and macro levels, FDI can affect a recipient country (Choong Lim, 2009). In micro level, via labor training, technological transfer, and positive spillover effects, multinational corporations (MNCs) can bring in technical and management efficiency to local firms. While for the latter case, FDI may affect both the financial variables (like balance of payment (BOP), inflation, interest rate, and foreign exchange rate) and real variables such as import, export, employment, economic growth and domestic investment (Levine, 1997). According to Choong and Lim (2009), it cannot be denied that the significancy of FDI is greater in diffusing or transferring technology know-how embodied in human capital such as organizational arrangements, new management practices, skill acquisition, and training. All of these will promote greater economic growth through higher level of efficiency and productivity in labor. On the other hand, by raising the technological level in the recipient country, FDI can bring technological change equally to both labor and capital. In this case, via a learning-by-doing process, economic performance can be influenced by FDI. In particular, expertise in fully occupied factor endowments of the recipient country, new managerial and organizational techniques, international marketing connections, product design and production methods can be diffused by FDI (Dunning, 1995). Imitation is therefore important. FDI is also favorable to the productivity of local research and development (RD) activities. In contrast, FDI may harm domestic economy. First of all, FDI may have a substitutive effect on domestic savings. Any negative effect of FDI on the domestic saving rate will have negative side effects on the investment rate. In addition, liberal regulations on income repatriation, which is often considered necessary as an investment incentive, may also adversely affect the balance of payment (BOP). If the private capital inflows are not large enough to fully offset net dividend outflows, meaning that the net financial contribution of FDI will be negative. The huge outflows of interest payments also will contribute significantly to the service account deficits, which will in turn have negative implications for macroeconomic stability. The danger of high import content may also deteriorate the domestic economy. Specifically, large influx of FDI into a country may lead to huge imports of investment and intermediate goods, which will in turn contribute significantly to growing import bil l, declining merchandise account surplus and large current account deficit. High import content also implies low domestic value-added and limited domestic linkages. In short, FDI may cause import propensities to increase. Furthermore, FDI may also result in an increased industry concentration, which is equivalent to high degree of market power for a few large firms, resulting in high barriers to entry for other small firms. To the extent that large firm is MNCs, a crowding out of local firms can be assumed to have taken place (Wong Jomo, 2005). FDI is also conventionally seen as a critical source of capital accumulation of a country from the perspectives of standard neoclassical growth models (Solow-type) (Choong Lim, 2009). Specifically, there is no disparity between oversea and local capital in stimulating output growth. It is also suggested that FDI significantly affect growth only in the short term, but not in the medium or long term, given the assumption of diminishing return to capital (Barro Sala-I-Martin, 1992). In short, there are various forms of FDI and it (FDI) consists of the establishment of mobile and huge equipments. FDI is benefical to a countrys economic performance as well as welfare. However, there are also disadvantages that bring harm to a nations economy. 1.2) Historical Background of Malaysia According to World Bank (1993), Malaysia was designated as one of the East Asian Miracles due to the rapid growth of its economy during the period of 1960-1990. The steady growth rate (long lasting) attained drew a lot of attention around the world. In the 1960s, the economy grew annually in an average of 6%, followed by 7.3% per annum in the first half of the 1970s, which indicated an improvement in the growth rate. After that, it performed better by achieving higher growth rate (GDP) at 8.6% per annum until 1980. However, in 1981-1985, the growth rate slowed down to 5.1% annually, followed by a pick up again to 6.7% annually in 1986-1990. From 1996 to 2000, the economy grew at a slower rate of 4.6% per annum, following a relatively faster growth of 8.7% annually in 1991-1995 (Jajri, 2009). Based on the report, it was shown that FDI generally plays a critical role in the economy of Malaysia (Wong, 2006). FDI has been carrying a heavy weightage in Malaysias GDP. For example, it carried 23.7% in 1985, 24.1% in 1990, and even 65.3% in 1999. Over time, there was also a rise in the stock of FDI. For instance, it was 7.4 billion U.S dollar($) in 1985, raised to $10.3 billion in 1990, and even increased by $44 billion from 1990 to 2000. Furthermore, in terms of gross fixed capital formation, FDI has been carrying a high portion, that is, it carried 15.1% in 1997, 13.9% in 1998, and even 20.1% in 1999. Since manufacturing industry has been attracting the largest amount of FDI in Malaysia compared to other industries, we will specifically concentrate on it. According to Yusop and Ghaffar (1994), in the development of manufacturing industry in Malaysia, FDI plays an important role. By enhancing product quality, the competitiveness of the manufacturing export (Malaysian) has been improving globally. In addition, business experiences and technology know-how has been spilled over to Malaysia when various multinational corporations (MNCs) invest directly in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia. One of the major strategies of the policy makers is to open foreign investment projects which can enlarge the countrys resource availability and potentiality, diversify investments or activities and promote economic development through contribution of capital, skilled jobs creation, and technological transfer (Jajri, 2009). Attracting FDI was one of the Malaysian governments key approaches to stimulate growth. The country always favored a welcome policy on investment and trade since the 1980s. Obviously, FDI has a crucial role in the formation of capital and thus, the economic development. In the 1980s and 1990s, Malaysia was very participative in deregulating its investment regime in the manufacturing sector compared to other countries under the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). We can observe a significant progress when Mahathir Mohamad, our former prime minister, launched the new joint venture projects (especially with Korea and Japan) with the state-owned enterpris e (SOEs). For instance, Malaysia received large inflows of FDI accompanied by better expertise and technology due to the promotion of the Investment Act in 1986. In particular, various incentives like the establishment of Free Trade Zones (FTZs), export promotion by having tax deduction, tax allowances for projects expansion, investment expansion, tax holidays, pioneer status and other kinds of incentives to attract FDI were being provided. In the late 1980s, Malaysia continued to pursue trade liberalization by deregulating the barriers over capital ownership of MNCs, which in turn raised its FDI inflows. Over the years, the rates of tariff in Malaysia have gradually decline because FDI is needed to take entrepreneurial risks in order to make profits, at the same time to enhance the host countrys productivity. Despite the importance of other determinants, the strategic location of Malaysia is the main factor that attracted foreign investors to invest in the domestic markets (Jajri, 2009). As a result, Malaysia has been receiving vast amount of FDI during 1980s and 1990s. However, since the early 1990s, total foreign investments had been slowed down in several periods, though it has generally been increasing over the years. Specifically, a decrease in investments from Taiwan and Japan, the major source of investments led to a substantial decrease in FDI in 1993. The drop in investment can be attributed to the lacking of competitiveness in terms of labor cost as compared to other South East Asian countries like Indonesia and Vietnam. On the other hand, investments that are not much affected by the rising labor cost (relatively) in the manufacturing sector such as investments in petroleum and petroleum related products sector by US were relatively stable. Asian Financial Crisis in 1997-1998 which affected most of the South East Asian countries is another key reason to the decrease in investment to Malaysia. Nonetheless, the substantial depreciation in ringgit Malaysia (RM) against US dollar led to an increase in the value of investments by General Electric, Boeing and other US-based huge MNCs. Therefore, local consumers were benefited from a positive effect of the influx of the US investors in terms of after-sales service and follow-up services, which are highly valued by Malaysians (Jajri, 2009). In short, due to the successfulness in the adoption of economic policies, programs and strategies, Malaysias economic performance has been spectacular from the late 1980s (Karim Ahmad, 2009). Nevertheless, its distribution gap of economic growth among states has to be filled. As a consequence, the government continues to prioritize the distributional affairs in its national development plans. In order to decrease the imbalances of social welfare between states (less and more developed), a poverty alleviation program was adopted in its regional development plan. During the Third Outline Perspective Plan (OPP3) period (2001-2010) which was under the National Vision Policy, agricultural, services, and manufacturing sectors are being determined to facilitate a more rapid economic growth under the program. Specifically, in the manufacturing sector, foreign and domestic firms were given incentives to diversify their activities across all states. In this case, liberal equity policies, tax incentives, and different types of investment options were provided in order to attract FDI inflows into Malaysia. Figure 1: Malaysias foreign direct investment (FDI), net inflows from 1970 to 2008. Source: World Bank. Figure 1 illustrates the trend of Malaysia FDI inflows from 1970 to 2008, where the X-axis represents time period in year while the Y-axis measures FDI net inflows in thousand of US dollar. From the period of 1970 to 1982, although Malaysias FDI inflows shown an increasing trend (gradual), it was quite inactive due to the lack of knowledge, unpopularity in this area, as well as restrictive government policies which in turn will result in less mobility of capital between countries. In 1982 to 1987, there was a slight decrease in Malaysias FDI inflows before it raised dramatically in 1987 from approximately US$0.5 million to about US$5 million in 1992. This was due to the Japans currency appreciation, Japans and Asian newly industrialized economies (NIEs) trade friction with the US and European Union (EU) countries, as well as Japans and NIEs rising wage rates in the mid-1980s (Wong, 2006). In addition, the equipped necessary infrastructures for investment need and incentives (monetary and fiscal) provided by the government led to the increment of Malaysias FDI inflows. Another reason that causes the increase of Malaysias FDI inflows is the pool of disciplined and well-trained workers with relatively low wage. To further encourage investment activities in manufacturing industries, the Investment Act 1986 was introduced. The introduction of this act reflected Malaysian governments active efforts in stimulating private sector investment since the mid-eighties, that was when the country facing its worst recession. As a result, there were more foreign investors, especially from China switching their capital (investing) into the country. After that, the trend of FDI inflows was decreasing from 1992 to 2001, followed by an increasing trend from 2001 to 2007, before it decreased in 2008. In conclusion, Malaysias FDI inflows were fluctuated from 1970 to 2008. 1.3) Problem Statement Although Malaysia received FDI from China, it has to contend with China (one of the emerging economies) for oversea funds and facing domestic constraints and structural weaknesses simultaneously. Specifically, these limitations include high cost of doing business, inappropriate public delivery system and lack of skilled labors. In addition, Malaysia was relatively low in terms of production cost competitiveness compared to other countries, and Malaysias capital outflows trend has generated a few issues. One of them is the chances that deteriorating FDI will lower the countrys potential output, given falling private investment. Another concern is about a loss in domestic investors confidence in the country which is resulted from capital outflows. In short, Malaysia is still lag behind in ease of doing business. For a developing country like Malaysia, the issue of job creation is very important. According to Abor and Harvey (2008), although FDI is related to technological unemployment, it does play a critical role in job creation. FDI inflows from China are associated with large-scale and mass production and thus there is a need for large amount of domestic labor force to maintain the high production. In short, Chinas FDI serves as an alternative engine of growth to Malaysia. Besides increasing domestic investments, it improves the ability of foreign technology absorption, contributing to technology transfers and helping in innovation, promotes international trade integration, and thus brings our country to a competitive situation (Ghosh Wang, 2009). Figure 2: Chinas FDI outflows to Malaysia from 1987 to 2009 Source: Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) Figure 2 depicts the trend of FDI outflows from China into Malaysia over 1987-2009 through annual flows and its share in total Chinas FDI outflows to Malaysia in ringgit Malaysia (RM). Since the late 1980s, it shows a small fluctuation in trend of Malaysias inward FDI from China with a relatively stable and low amount (amount not deviate too much). During the 1990s and early 2000s, the stable trend showed that China has opened up its economy to international trade and this in turn lead the amount of Malaysias FDI receipts from China increased. In 2006, we can see that there is a dramatical increase in trend due to Chinas heavy investment in Malaysias big steel project in Terengganu in producing flat irons, slabs, billets, hot rolled coils, and the former also involved in the mega project of Penangs second bridge. However, after the peak in 2007, there was a sharp decline in amount of Chinese investment which was mainly attributed to 2007/08 global financial crisis. China played a major role in the expansion of intra-regional trade and vertical specialization which are becoming increasingly important. According to Zebregs (2004), China carried 32 % proportion of Asians total export growth. The rising intra-regional trade among the Asian high-performing countries was significantly affected by spectacular outward-oriented growth performance of the Chinese economy. The vertical specialization in the case means China imports raw materials or intermediate goods from Malaysia and to produce final products which will be exported back to Malaysia. In recent years, Chinas trade has became more vertically specialized and Chinas exports contain a large proportion of imported goods from other Asian countries including Malaysia (Rumbaug and Blancher, 2004). Besides that, China is guaranteed to be continuously affect the growth trends of Malaysian economy due to the formers rapid economic growth, openness and size of economy. China became an example of autonomous liberalization as it became the biggest liberalizer of the local economy. China and other Asian high performing countries pursued free trade among themselves to the World trade organization. Furthermore, an increasing number of Malaysias capital goods and investment, components and sub-assemblies, parts, as well as primary products have been absorbed by China. In this short time period, a wholely new investment and trade pattern has occurred. Malaysian economy has been influenced both directly and indirectly by Chinas investment and trade, in which the indirect influences came from the method in which Chinas investment and trade manipulate Malaysias economic condition; while the direct effects came from Chinas bilateral trade and investment relationships with Malaysia. In short, it is clear that a major economic change in Malaysia has been caused by China. In addition, China also becomes increasingly crucial to Malaysia because of upgrading technology base reasons. According to Das (2008), China managed to absorb a wide range of industrial technologies, and was proven to be superior to other emerging market economies in doing so over the previous two decades, which were also the period when China was gradually becoming the worlds number 1 manufacturer of high-volumed industrial products. The trend was due to its extra focus on science and technology education, the admittance of the private sector into the provision of tertiary education, wide-based education adjustments, and the low-wage, but acceptable skilled and flexible workers. Because of huge and increasing investment, the life span of equipment and plant was reduced to seven years (Das, 2008). In a nutshell, since Chinas outwards FDI is extremely important to our nations economy (and even important to the rest of the world), it is worthwhile and beneficial for us to study its impact on our countrys economic growth. Furthermore, the factors that determine Chinas FDI are crucial in the field of economics, and thus this motivates us to shed some light on them. 1.4) General Objective of the Study The research question and problem statement give us an insight and motivation to analyze the relationship between Chinas FDI and Malaysias economic growth, in which Chinas outwards FDI and Malaysias GDP serve as the respective proxies. Our research will be able to serve as a significant contributor to the efforts in stimulating Malaysias economic growth as well as the field of development economics. 1.5) Specific Objectives of the Study To examine the effect of Chinas FDI on Malaysias economic growth from 1987-2009. To examine the determinants of Chinas FDI outflows in Malaysia. To investigate the short-run dynamic linkage between FDI outflows (China) and economic growth (Malaysia). 1.6) Significance of the Study Most of the empirical literatures in examining the relationship between FDI and economic growth were too general. The rapidly emerging economies in China who is able to provide huge investment funds, provided the recipient country is fundamentally strong in terms of macroeconomics and financial system have not been studied specifically. Thus, through our research, we may able to solve the problem by filling the gap resulted from past researchers. It is a very important study as it may suggest the rationality and suitability of further employing FDI (especially from China) as an engine of growth for Malaysia. As such, it might prevent waste of resources as the government can certainly allocate funds to appropriate areas for economic development and economic growth. In addition, the study on the determinants of Chinas FDI (outward) might suggests some appropriate factors in attracting Chinas outward FDI, which will in turn enhance the efficiency and effectiveness in the efforts or process of attracting Chinas FDI into Malaysia. Therefore, the study may assists policy makers in their decisions to enlarge or enhance certain promising areas, for example market size and human capital development in order to attract Chinas FDI into Malaysia, and thus stimulate economic growth. In short, by conducting this study, we will be able to provide more robust results on the impact of Malaysias trade openness, financial development, and most significantly Chinas FDI on Malaysias economic growth. The relationship was seldom being analyzed by previous researchers. Note that FDI is important to stimulate private investment as well as to create job opportunities. In addition, after the study, we can clarify the determinants of Chinas FDI outflows, specifically the relationship between Malaysias market size, exchange rate, human capital development (all are independent variables), and Chinas FDI outflows (the dependent variable). Lastly, the causal relationship between Chinas FDI and Malaysias economic growth can also be justified after the study. All three aspects being mentioned above are crucial in assisting policy makers to implement sound and wise policies, strategies as well as programs. Therefore, we hope that our research could contribute to the society as well a s the nation as a whole in the expansion and development of our country in order to achieve 2020 Vision and become a developed nation. 1.7) Organization of the Paper The remaining sections are organized as the followings: section 2 represents literature review, followed by section 3 which illustrates the data description and methodology being employed. Our empirical results and interpretation are in section 4 before we conclude in section 5.

Who Is God? Essay -- essays research papers

Who is God? Worshipping is a way to communicate beliefs and feelings of individuals and religious communities. Every society I have every studied from the American Indians to the Ancient Greek have all believed in some form of worship or religion. Altars have been and are in existence in several if not all forms of region. Robert Farris Thompson depicts this for the African population in " Overture: The Concept 'Altar,' " and " With the Assurance of Infinity: Yoruba Atlantic Altars," Face of the Gods: Art and Altars of Africa and the African Americas, through pictures he and others have taken, has well as evidence from assorted books, articles, poems and songs, Thompson shows the meaningful role the Altar had in self expression of the Africans. "The aim is to view black Atlantic art, especially in the New World, in terms of thoughtfully selected [altar] objects belonging to specific philosophic constellations which help to define the face of divinity." Through the oppression of the salve trade, the Yoruba Africans worked to keep there own conception of region intact. "Even under slavery, and under post slavery persecution in the late nineteenth century, the Yoruba of Cuba and Brazil managed to maintain sporadic but precious contact with Africa through networks of friends and traders. They sought the sacred cowries, seeds, and beads of Africa for their religion." This example...

Different Types of Database management systems Essay

A Database is a collection of records. Database management systems are designed as the means of managing all the records. Database Management is a software system that uses a standard method and running queries with some of them designed for the oversight and proper control of databases. Types of Database Management Systems: There are four structural types of database management systems: * Hierarchical databases. * Network databases. * Relational databases. * Object-oriented databases Hierarchical Databases (DBMS) : In the Hierarchical Database Model we have to learn about the databases. It is very fast and simple. In a hierarchical database, records contain information about there groups of parent/child relationships, just like as a tree structure. The structure implies that a record can have also a repeating information. In this structure Data follows a series of records, It is a set of field values attached to it. It collects all records together as a record type. These record types are the equivalent of tables in the relational model, and with the individual records being the equivalent of rows. To create links between these record types, the hierarchical model uses these type Relationships. Advantage: Hierarchical database can be accessed and updated rapidly because in this model structure is like as a tree and the relationships between records are defined in advance. This feature is a two-edged. Disadvantage : This type of database structure is that each child in the tree may have only one parent, and relationships or linkages between children are not permitted, even if they make sense from a logical standpoint. Hierarchical databases are so in their design. it can adding a new field or record requires that the entire database be redefined. Network Database: A network databases are mainly used on a large digital computers. It more connections can be made between different types of data, network databases are considered more efficiency It contains limitations must be considered when we have to use this kind of database. It is Similar to the hierarchical databases, network databases .Network databases are similar to hierarchical databases by also having a hierarchical structure. A network database looks more like a cobweb or interconnected network of records. In network databases, children are called members and parents are called occupier. The difference between each child or member can have more than one parent. The Approval of the network data model similar with the esteem of the hierarchical data model. Some data were more naturally modeled with more than one parent per child. The network model authorized the modeling of many-to-many relationships in data. The network model is very similar to the hierarchical model really. Actually the hierarchical model is a subset of the network model. However, instead of using a single-parent tree hierarchy, the network model uses set theory to provide a tree-like hierarchy with the exception that child tables were allowed to have more than one parent. It supports many-to-many relationships.

Free Zones and Their Contribution to the Economic Development of the UAE

Free Zones and Their Contribution to the Economic Development of the UAE Introduction Background and rationale for the study The United Arabs Emirates (UAE) is one of the most prosperous countries in the Gulf Region. The country is characterised by a high level of political and social stability due to its monarchical system of governance. Furthermore, its leadership system has contributed greatly towards the country’s economic growth. The UAE is cognisant of the role of economic integration in promoting economic growth.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Free Zones and Their Contribution to the Economic Development of the UAE specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Subsequently, Abed (2001, p.30) notes that the country is a member of a number of economic zones such as ‘the Arab League, the United Nations, the Gulf Co-operation Council, and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference’. In addition, the UAE has also adopted the concept of ‘free zone’ as one of its strategies towards achieving its macroeconomic goals. The Oxford Business Group (2008) defines the concept of ‘free zone’ as a perimeter within which businesses are accorded a unique trading environment such as an exemption from taxation and custom fields. However, businesses operating in the free zones are required to boost the country’s economic growth by creating jobs, increasing their volume of exports, and promoting diversification by investing in various economic activities. Over 32 free zones have been established across the UAE, twenty-six of them are located within Dubai, and they mainly cover trade and service activities. The UAE government has nurtured an enabling environment for businesses to operate. For example, businesses operating in the free zones are not subjected to customs, foreign trade controls, and quotas. Furthermore, the government has implemented an unrestricted profit and capital repatriation policy. Foreign firms operating in the free zones have full ownership of their business (Balazadeh 2012). Free zones have had remarkable contribution in the economic development of the UAE. For example, the zones have attracted quality Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) especially within the private sector, created employment opportunities for the Emiratis, enhanced technology transfer, and promoted the growth of exports. The UAE’s free zones have provided the country with a perfect opportunity to display its development. Furthermore, the country has experienced quantum growth with regard to industrial development (Dubai Information Site 2010). Therefore, the contribution of free zones in the UAE’s economic development cannot be underestimated. Statement of the research problem The proliferation of free zones in the UAE emanates from the government’s effective planning and policy formulation. For example, the UAE government has nurtured an environment conducive for conducting business. Subsequently, numero us foreign companies have established their operations in the region.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The attractiveness of the UAE, especially amongst firms in the private sector, has also improved courtesy of the government’s commitment to create a knowledge-based economy. Approximately, 60% of the world’s biggest business organisations are located in the Dubai’s free zones (HSBC Global 2013). However, emerging economies around the world are increasingly adopting the concept of free zones in an effort to stimulate economic growth. Some of the strategies that emerging economies are adopting include improving their infrastructure within the free zones in order to improve their competitiveness. For example, governments are progressively implementing data centres, increasing the size of industrial land and improving logistics together with w arehousing facilities in order to meet the needs of different investors (Farole 2006). Subsequently, the attractiveness of the UAE’s free zones faces major future challenges. For these zones to maintain their competitive advantage, it is imperative for the government to recognise the importance of improving the zones’ structures and competitiveness. Furthermore, the UAE government should understand the challenges and opportunities presented by the prevailing macroeconomic and microeconomic factors. Gaining such understanding will remarkably improve the contribution of the free zones to the UAE’s economic development(HSBC Global 2013). Research objectives The aim of this study is to investigate the economic challenges and opportunities faced by the private sector and the UAE government in it pursuit to promote economic growth through the development of free zones. Research questions A number of research questions will be considered in an effort to attain the afor ementioned objective. Some of these questions are illustrated herein. What structures should the UAE government institute in order to improve the competitiveness of the free zones? What opportunities can be derived from the UAE’s free zones? What are the challenges faced by firms in the private sector operating in the UAE’s free zones? Limitations of the study A number of limitations were experienced in the process of conducting this research. First, the researcher was limited by resource availability with regard to time and finances. Subsequently, the researcher was not able to conduct a study on all the 32 free zones established in the UAE. Consequently, the findings from the free zones considered are only representative of the prevailing conditions in the UAE.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Free Zones and Their Contribution to the Economic Development of the UAE specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Organisation of the paper This report is organised into a number of sections, which include literature review, methodology, analysis, conclusion, and recommendations. Literature review Free economic zones have become a critical global phenomenon over the past few decades. The zones play an essential role in promoting structural reform and economic development in both developed and developing economies. A study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (2002) shows that it is easy to establish a free zone if the necessary government approval is obtained. Goods and services provided by businesses in the free zones are exempted from customs duties. Economies can adopt different types of free zones. Some of these zones include Free trade zones (FTZs) these are the most prevalent types of the FEZs. Different trade activities including re-exportation, transhipment, and distribution of goods are undertaken in the FEZs. Subsequently, the FTZs can be define d as centres of international trade. Most free trade zones are located in major distribution centres and routes such as seaports, airports, railways, roads, and maritime routes. There strategic location provides import-export companies with a perfect opportunity to improve their operational efficiency (Mankiw 2009). Export processing zones (EPZs) these zones are also referred to as service and industrial free zones. The zones are specifically designed in order to promote specialised manufacturing activities such as production of different consumer goods like clothing, consumer electronics, textile, and industrial components (Jenkins 2000). FEZs are an important vehicle in countries’ pursuit for various micro-economic objectives such as stabilising the foreign exchange rate and promoting employment. FEZs are also essential in promoting attainment of political and macro-economic objectives. Furthermore, FEZs are characterised by preferential application of economic policies d efined by a particular geographical zone (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 2002). The geographical coverage of the FEZs varies from a few hectares to thousands of square kilometres. The zone can also be located within the borders of a country. Malhotra and Papadopoulos (2009) argue that FEZs do not only serve the purpose of promoting free trade. However, FEZs are also designed in order to protect domestic economy from the adverse effects of the global economy (Guangwen 2003). Corporations, which are established in the FTZs, are motivated by the need to position their businesses in a beneficial location. The FTZs are usually low cost structures. IBPUSA (2007) asserts that free zones have undergone remarkable growth due to the high rate of trade liberalisation. Most economies, which had previously adopted a closed economic system, are relinquishing their closed trade policies and inclining towards open economic policies.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More China is among the emerging economies that have adopted open economic systems by integrating free zones. By 2008, China had established over 213 free zones in over 9 regimes. By the end of 2008, the free zones established accounted for over 47% of China’s total exports (Carter Harding 2011). Free zones explain the spiral economic growth in most Eastern European countries. A number of Sub-Saharan African countries have also derived their economic growth from free zones. In 2009, the region had 101 free zones in which Kenya led with 33 FEZs (International Energy Agency 2005). Free zones are considered to a strong pillar in promoting the UAE’s economic performance. Free zones in the UAE Free zones have played a fundamental role in enhancing the level of foreign direct investment in the UAE. Most free zones in the UAE provide investors with similar incentives, which include Extended leases Inexpensive and abundant energy 100 percent foreign ownership 100 percent tax exem ption Quick approval procedures The zones function under the Free Zone Authority [FZA]. The body is charged with the responsibility of issuing licenses to firms, which intend to establish their operations within the FTZ. Furthermore, the body has to provide businesses with the necessary support. Investors intending to establish businesses in the zone can adopt different business structures. Some of these formats include Free Zone Companies (FZCO), Free Zone Establishment [FZE], or subsidiaries of foreign companies. The FZCO are limited liability companies, which must be owned by more than one shareholder. The FZCOs and FZEs are required to adhere to the rules and regulations set by the free zones. Furthermore, the FZEs and FZCOs must have an average financial capital base ranging between AED 50,000 and AED 1million (Terterov 2006). Upon gaining legal presence in the UAE’s free zone, a particular business entity is required to obtain a license from the FZA and lease land or p remises in which it will conduct its operations. Firms operating in the zones are restricted from selling their merchandise within the country. However, they can only engage in domestic trade through a local and registered official agent (Zaman 2011). Methodology Research design The study has adopted both qualitative and quantitative research design. The decision to adopt qualitative research design was informed by the need to gather substantial data from the field. Qualitative research design was considered due to the explanatory nature of the study. Adopting qualitative research design also gave the researcher a chance to carryout an in-depth study of the various issues associated with free zones. Quantitative research design was also incorporated in order to condense the diverse data collected from the field. Integrating qualitative research design was also informed by the need to ensure that the target stakeholders such as the UAE government and other non-governmental entities u nderstand the study’s findings. Population and sample In order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the structure, challenges, competitiveness, and opportunities associated with free zones in the UAE, researcher decided to collect data from government representatives and private firms operating in the free zones. Random sampling technique was used in selecting the sample study. The sampling technique was selected for it is easier and manageable to evaluate a sample when compared to the total population. Simple random sampling technique enabled the researcher to eliminate the element of bias in selecting the respondents. A sample of 200 respondents was selected from the free zones in the UAE. The researcher ensured that the selected respondents were conversant with the operations of the free zones in the UAE. Data collection The researcher relied on both secondary and primary sources of data. This decision was informed by the need to improve the reliability of the study . Interviews and questionnaires were used as the main primary data collection tools. Considering the resource limitation in conducting the study, the researcher conducted interviews over the phone. One the other hand, the questionnaires were mailed to the respondents. The questionnaires were semi-structured in nature by integrating both closed and open-ended questions. Data analysis and presentation The research questions considered in the study were evaluated and analyzed individually. The analysis was conducted by taking into account the responses from the various respondents considered in the study. Tables and graphs were used in presenting the data collected from the field. Therefore, the researcher was in a position to condense the voluminous data collected. Analysis The study considered respondents of different gender and age as illustrated below. Gender Number of respondents Male 100 Female 100 Total 200 The chart below illustrates the respondents’ age grou p. Age Group (years) Number of respondents 20-30 60 31-40 70 41-50 40 51 and above 30 Total 200 The core objective of this study is to highlight the economic challenges and opportunities facing the UAE government and firms operating in the region’s free zones. The researcher considered a number of aspects, which include Main structures that the UAE government has implemented in its quest to guide business operations within the free zones. Opportunities presented by the UAE free zones Challenges experienced in the UAE free zones In a bid to understand the competitiveness of the UAE free zones, the researcher sought to the opinion of the respondents on whether the structures implemented by the government promote the free zones’ competitiveness. The respondents had varied opinions. Ninety five percent (95%) of the respondents said that structures implemented by the UAE government promote FDI within the free zones. Only 5% of the respondents faulted the attractiveness of the free zone structures implemented by the UAE government. When asked why, the respondents cited a number of issues. First, the respondents cited the absence of taxes, custom privileges, and 100% foreign ownership as some of the core factors that make the UAE free zones most competitive foreign investment destination within the Middle East. The respondents cited the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority, the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone, Ajman Free Zone Authority, and Hamariyah Free Zone Authority as some of the most attractive. On the other hand, the respondents who faulted the UAE free zones cited a number of reasons. First, they asserted that companies operating in the free zones are forced to confine their business activities within the zone. Subsequently, their market reach in the UAE is limited. Failure to comply with the set regulations may lead to a fine of more than US$35,000. When asked the main legal considerations that firm’s must have in or der to establish businesses in the UAE free zones, three main forms were identified. They include FZ Establishment, Branch, and FZ Company. The table below illustrates the core elements that must be adhered to in order to establish a business in the FTZs as suggested by the respondents. Free Zone Establishment Branch Free Zone Company Maximum number of shareholders 1 Parent company 2 Minimum number of shareholders 1 5 Minimum share capital $272,500 0 $ 136,000 Incorporation period 2 weeks 3 weeks 2 weeks Company structure Limited liability Unlimited liability Limited liability From the above results, it is evident that the UAE limits the type of business structures that can be established within its free zones. Furthermore, the restriction for businesses established in the free zones to sell their merchandise within the stipulated areas hinders businesses’ ability to achieve diversification. Free zone businesses are only allowed to rent premises outside the d esignated areas. The UAE government recently announced its intentions to allow businesses in the Dubai free zone to undertake activities outside the Dubai Free Zone. However, the government is yet to define the parameters within which the business activities will be undertaken. When asked about the opportunities that can be derived from the free zones, the respondents cited various benefits. 97% of the respondents identified increased foreign earnings, 93% cited Free zones to be a major employment creator and income generator, while 86% asserted that free zones is a major factor in attracting FDI. On the other hand, 78% of the respondents interviewed were of the opinion that free zones are vital in enhancing knowledge spillover and technological transfer, which in turn promote economic development. The chart below illustrates a summary of the respondents’ opinion on the opportunities associated with nurturing free zones in the UAE. Opportunity Percentage response Attract ion of FDI 86% Fostering knowledge spill over 78% Foreign exchange earnings 97% Income generation and employment creation 93% Conclusion and recommendations The study shows that free zones have played a remarkable role in promoting the UAE’s economic development. The establishment of free zones has enhanced the attractiveness of the UAE amongst foreign investors. Subsequently, the country has experienced significant growth in the size of FDI. Furthermore, free zones have created employment opportunities amongst the Emiratis, hence increasing their purchasing power. Fostering knowledge spill over and technology transfer is another major benefit that the UAE can gain from the free zones. However, the study shows that the UAE government has implemented a number of structures, which may hinder the contribution of the zones to the country’s economic growth. In order to achieve economic sustainability, it is imperative for the UAE government to consider improving t he country’s competitiveness. This move will play a fundamental role in attracting foreign and local investment. The government should consider the following. The UAE government should ensure that optimal laws and policies are formulated in order to promote the operations of business within and without the free zones. The government should establish different free zones in order to attract investors from different economic sectors, such as production, manufacturing, and services sectors. The government should also nurture an enabling legal and economic environment in the free zones. Some of the aspects that the business should focus relates to the nature of business structures that can be established in the zones to promote the establishment of different types of businesses. Reference List Abed, I 2001, United Arab Emirates; a new perspective, Trident Press, London. Balazadeh, M 2012, ‘The role of free trade zones in economic development’, Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, vol. 2 no.11, pp. 11196-11201. Carter, C Harding, A 2011, Special economic zones in Asian market Economies, Routledge, Abingdon. Dubai Information Site: Start a business in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Northern Emirates 2010, Green Initiative, Abu Dhabi. Farole, T 2006, Special economic zones; progress, emerging challenges, and  future directions, World Bank, Washington. Guangwen, M 2003, The theory and practice of free economic zones; a case study of China, University of Heidelberg, Bonn. HSBC Global: Making free zones work 2013. Web. IBPUSA: Doing business and investing in United Arabs Emirates guide 2007, International Business Publication, New York. International Energy Agency: Middle East and North Africa insights 2005, OECD, Paris. Jenkins, M 2000, Export processing zones in developing economies; theoretical and  empirical consideration, Brandeis University, Brandeis. Malhotra, S Papadopoulos, N 2009, A comparative analysis of investments  climate at free trade zones and host country mainland, Carleton University, Halifax. Mankiw, G 2009, Principles of macroeconomics, Cengage Learning, Mason. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development: OECD investment policy  Reviews 2002, OECD, Paris. Oxford Business Group: Report 2008, Oxford Business School, Dubai. Terterov, M 2006, Doing business within the UAE, GMB, London. Zaman, N 2011, UAE and globalisation: attracting foreign investment, GRIN Verlag, New York.