The Protection Of Marine Ecosystems Environmental Sciences Essay

The Protection Of Marine Ecosystems Environmental Sciences Essay Oceans cover approximately 71 % of Earths surface and comprise the greatest preponderance of its hydrosphere. While all the seas of the world share certain obvious characteristics, many have unique attributes. For example, shipping lanes and straits are used more intensively than other parts of the ocean for navigation, making accidents and spills there more likely; some areas of the sea are more ecologically fragile than others; some seas such as the Mediterranean and the Baltic, are semi-closed, inhibiting the exchange of their waters with those of the rest of the ocean and thus slowing the process of self-purification; and some parts of the ocean are utilized more intensively by humans than others, resulting in more pollution, both chronic and accidental. The worlds oceans are under stress from over-fishing, climate change, invasive species and marine pollution. United Nations Environmental Programme Ocean Atlas define pollution sources that exist through the world as leading to a state of silent collapse. The stresses are particularly acute in coastal areas. In addition to ocean dumping and spills, intensive shore development funnels oil and toxic pollutants into coastal waters. Nutrient run off from farm and yard fertilizers cause algae blooms which threaten coral reefs and sea grass beds. In this project, the various aspects related to the protection of marine ecosystems have been analyzed in detail. Also, the particular problems of the conservation of marine ecosystemand marine biodiversity and the threats with which they are confronted have been examined. Finally, the international regime for the protection of marine ecosystem has been discussed in detail with special reference to UNCLOS. Also, the international regime for the protection of marine ecosystem components has been discussed in brief. WHAT IS MARINE ECOSYSTEM? The problems of addressing the conservation of marine ecosystems and the maintenance of biodiversity in the oceans are qualitatively different from those of terrestrial systems. Because mankind is a terrestrial creature, there is, perhaps, inevitably a terrestrial bias in understanding of species and of ecosystem as well as the means which have been developed for their protection. This bias is reflected in the Convention on Biological Diversity itself.Article 2 of the Convention defines biological diversity to include variability amongst living organisms from all sources includingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part, however it goes on to specify that this includes diversity within the species, between species and of ecosystems. Nowhere else in the Convention is specific reference made to the protection of marine biodiversity although Article 22(2) does specifically provide that contracting States shall implement the Convention with respect to the marine environment consistently with the rights and obligations of States under the law of the sea. In fact the whole approach of the Convention directed as it is to the biotechnology issues and, arguably a concept of national ownership of resources based on assumptions about endemic species bypasses some of the key issues of marine biodiversity conservation. Awareness of the importance of ecosystems or of ecosystem conservation and management is relatively new in international arena. Few international instruments rarely use this precise terminology. MARINE BIODIVERSITY: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT AND HOW IS IT THREATENED? The oceans cover 70% of the planet yet far less is known about the marine environment than the terrestrial; 80% of all the known species are terrestrial; only sixteen of the 6,691 species officially classified as endangered are marine and fourteen of these are mammals and turtles creatures which have some affinity with the terrestrial creatures. Because of the fluid nature of the marine environment scientists suggest that there has been less opportunity or need for speciation in marine organisms, as there has been in land organisms in which species and subspecies have developed as they have become separated from each other by physical forces. This does not mean however that, oceans are single amorphous system. Apart from the obvious variations in the oceans at different latitudes or depths, the existence of closed or semi-closed seas and of major currents, confluences and gyres in the open system means that there is a wide variety of different ecosystems in the marine environment. H owever, these bear little relation to the various legal jurisdictional zones established by customary international law and now to be found codified in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. As seen from the definition of biodiversity given in CBD, the common practice of terrestrial biologists of assessing biological diversity or richness in terms of number of species and subspecies in a particular ecosystem, especially number of those who are unique or endemic. However, as far as marine biodiversity is concerned speciation is low and endemism uncommon. In oceans there is far greater variety of organisms amongst the higher taxonomic orders than species or subspecies. In the last few years entirely new life-forms which thrive in the boiling waters around deep ocean thermal vents have been discovered which offer exciting opportunities for development of medical and industrial processes. Marine and coastal systems provide important food sources, and marine creatures offer a multitude of different substances which may be of significance to the medical and chemical industry. It is well established that oceans play a key role as sinks for greenhouse gases, but also, and perhaps more significantly, there is increasing evidence that marine biota play an important role in global chemical processes which may affect the climate change. Thorne Miller and Catena suggest that the concentration on genetic, species and ecological diversity reflected in the work of terrestrial biologists (and strongly represented in the 1992 Convention) overshadows what has been termed functional diversity which reflect biological complexity of an ecosystem. In their words: In the face of environmental change, the loss of genetic diversity weakens a populations ability to adapt; the loss of species diversity weakens a communitys ability to adapt; the loss of functional diversity weakens an ecosystems ability to adapt; and the loss of ecological diversity weakens the whole biospheres ability to adapt. The evidence suggest that marine ecosystems are rich in functional diversity, and that there are therefore dangers in transferring to the marine environment concerns about lower order diversity and about protection of rarity which have been developed in a terrestrial context. There are threats to the very maintenance of ecosystems. The most significant threats are posed by marine pollution from a variety of sources and activities, from over-exploitation or indiscriminate exploitation of marine species, as well as the destruction of the coastal habitats. A large proportion of sea creatures depend on the inshore or coastal areas for an important part of their breeding or life-cycles. The destruction or degradation of coastal habitats or the degradation of coastal water quality therefore has a major impact on a widespread of marine `life. This does suggest that protection of rare and endangered species and of key and representative ecosystems may also be appropriate to certain aspects of marine biodiversity conservation. These protected areas cannot in themselves provide protection from marine pollution. It must also be said that despite the fact that 1982 UNCLOS specifically recognizes that the problems of ocean space are closely inter-related and need to b e considered as a whole. Also, the maritime jurisdictional zones recognized by UNCLOS, inevitably make arbitrary decisions in ocean ecosystems, do not assist a holistic approach to management of these issues. The recognition by international environmental law of the importance of ecosystem management is relatively of recent origin. The earlier environmental treaties related simply to species protection. It is possible to group the general classes of relevant international obligations. Firstly, those that address specific threats to marine environment and therefore to marine ecosystem.Secondly, those obligations that address the conservation what might be called ecosystems components and finally those obligations that require conservation of marine ecosystems per se. Such a classification may serve to identify the strengths as well as defects and lacunae in the current legal regimes. CONSERVATION OF MARINE ECOSYSTEMS The recognition of importance of management of ecosystems, rather than simply those of their components which maybe of immediate significance to mankind, is a relatively recent phenomenon. Crucial steps in development were the 1972 Stockholm Declaration and the 1980 IUCN World Conservation Strategy which formed the basis of the 1982 UN General Assembly World Charter for Nature, and which popularized the concept of, as well as the term, life support systems and which stressed the interrelationship of these with other ecological processes and genetic diversity. INTERNATIONAL REGIME FOR THE PROTECTION OF MARINE ECOSYSTEM UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF SEA, 1982 (UNCLOS) In order to seek an answer to a wider question of whether there is a general obligation on all States to conserve marine ecosystem, it is necessary to look beyond the specific treaty obligations at customary international law. The starting point of this assessment is UNCLOS which came into force only in November, 1994 but which is widely recognized as reflective of customary law. Customary law recognizes the division of ocean into a series of juridical regimes which reflect criteria related to Coastal States sovereignty and resource exploitation rather than considerations of ecosystem integrity. The nature of the obligations which the customary international law, and now the 1982 UNCLOS, imposes on the States in relation to the marine environment does to a large extent depend upon the juridical nature of the particular waters under consideration, consequently these jurisdictional divisions can create a major obstacle to the rational management of ecosystems or species which cross or straddle more than one zone. Broadly, the oceans are divided into the following maritime zones: internal waters behind the coastal state baseline; a belt of territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles in breadth, a 24 nm contiguous zone with restricted enforcement jurisdiction, a 200 nm exclusive economic zone or fishing zone, and the high seas beyond these limits. Within each of these zones, the Convention envisages a different balance of rights and duties between the coastal states and other states. UNCLOS contains a number of provisions of general significance for the protection of marine ecosystems. Nevertheless, it would probably be a mistake to think this was a conscious drafting objective per se. It is certainly possible to read into the provisions of Part XII of the Convention endorsement for a marine ecosystem approach to marine conservation, although these obligations are even less precise than those relating to pollution control. Article 192 of UNCLOS recognizes a general obligation to protect and preserve marine environment. In so far as this goes beyond simple protection, it can be interpreted as being an obligation to behave in a precautionary way. Article 194(5) specifically requires that measures taken in accordance with this Part shall include those necessary to protect and preserve rare and fragile ecosystems as well as the habitat of depleted, threatened or endangered species and other forms of marine life. As this provision is located within general provisions of Part XII this requires all States to protect these special ecosystems and habitats form the effects of pollution originating from all sources in addition to other general conservation measures. Article 196 requires the States to take all measures to prevent, reduce and control pollution from the use of technologies under either their jurisdiction or control. This could be mean to read biotechnology or any other polluting technology. The rest of the paragraph requires the states to prevent, reduce and control the incidental or accidental introduction of species, alien or new, to a particular part of marine environment which may cause significant or harmful changes thereto. However, the definition of pollution adopted by UNCLOS does not make explicit reference to impacts on marine ecosystems. This defect has been remedied by in some regional conventions. In the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (Part V) coastal States are obliged to ensure through proper conservation and management measures that the maintenance of living resources is not endangered by over-exploitation, taking into consideration the effects on species associated with or dependent upon harvested species with a view to maintaining or restoring populations of such associated or dependent species above levels at which their reproduction may become seriously threatened. Similar provisions apply to such species in high sea fisheries. But these provisions only aim to maintain the viability of such species, and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..[not] to protect their role within the food web or the functioning of the marine ecosystem as a whole. 1980 CANBERRA CONVENTION ON THE CONSERVATION OF ANTARTIC MARINE LIVING RESOURCES This is arguably the first convention to be centered on ecosystem approach to conservation and has been described as a model of ecological approach. Even the geographical scope of the treaty itself is unique, in that it is designed around the Antarctic ecosystem. Under Article 1, the Convention applies to the Antarctic marine resources of the area south of 60 degrees South latitude and to the Antarctic marine living resources of the area between that latitude and the Antarctic Convergence which form a part of Antarctic marine ecosystem. The Antarctic ecosystem is then defined by Article 1(3) as the complex of relationships fop Antarctic marine living resources with each other and with their physical environment. The sole objective of the Convention is declared to be the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources; conservation however is defined to include rational use. To achieve this end any harvesting or associated activities has to be conducted in accordan.ce with declared principles. These objectives, which clearly relate to the maintenance of the ecosystem rather than its exploitation, are implemented by the Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) which coordinates research on Antarctic marine living resources and adopts appropriate conservation and management measures. A further formal step in the protection of Antarctic Ecosystem was taken with the conclusion of the 1991 Madrid Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection. 1985 ASEAN CONVENTION ON CONSERVATION OF NATURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES Another treaty of major potential significance but, unfortunately, still not in force after a decade is the 1985 ASEAN Convention on Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. This Convention reflects in its wording the concepts contained in the 1980 IUCN World Conservation Strategy, embracing a clear ecosystem approach to conservation. Kiss and Shelton describe this Treaty at the most comprehensive approach to viewing conservation problems that exist today. The Convention recognizes the interdependence of living resources, between them and other natural resources, within the ecosystems of which they are a part. It is divided into eight chapters. It is tempting to observe that the major treaties calling for marine ecosystem conservation considered thus far are either limited in geographical scope, or not yet in force, or both. GENERAL CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW There is a general obligation first promulgated by Principle 21 of Stockholm Declaration and now to be found in Principle 2 of Rio Declaration to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or to areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. This obligation not to cause damage extends not simply to activities physically located within the State territory but also to activities within the State jurisdiction. Customary international law would impose responsibility on States under this principle for a range of activities which impact on marine ecosystems whether such activities take place within the areas of national jurisdiction or outside or straddling such areas.Activities which could be argued to cause damage to marine ecosystems and to fall foul of this principle would include marine pollution particularly that emanating from land based sources and activities; it could also be extended to fishing and related activities which impact upon rare and endangered marine species or their habitat. REGIMES FOR THE CONSERVATION OF MARINE ECOSYSTEM COMPONENTS Historically, the two main techniques which have been utilized by international conventions for the conservation of marine species are derived from those taken for terrestrial species, namely, the regulation or prohibition of the taking of designated species and the protection of habitat by designation of protection areas. PROTECTION OF SPECIES The protection of designated species has habitually been addressed by the imposition of restrictions and prohibitions on the harvesting, taking or killing of target species. The approach was taken by the 1946 Whaling Convention, by the various seal hunting regulatory agreements and by the 1973 Polar Bears Agreement. Such a strategy is still maintained as a part of approach adopted by more modern generic or regional protected species treaties such as the 1979 Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and the regional treaties concluded under UNEP Regional Seas Programme. PROTECTED AREAS The second key technique, often used in combination with protection of species and in modern treaties increasingly merge with it, is the establishment of protected areas either to protect the habitats of specific species or as representative examples of ecosystems or habitats. These may be important isolated areas or take their place within a systematic network permitting for example transnational migration. In the terrestrial environment between 5-8% of the total world land mass now lies in protected areas. Despite the fact the sea covers more than two and a half times the land area, marine protected areas may cover an area less than half that of terrestrial protected areas. REGULATION OF TRADE IN WILD SPECIES One of the major threats to marine species such as sea turtles is the commercial trade in products such as turtle shell. Other well known threats to marine ecosystems are posed by over exploitation of shells and corals for the tourist souvenir trade and of reef fish for the aquarium trade. CITES provides the main regulation of such trade, although a number of treaties provide independent proscriptions or regulation of such trade. CONCLUSION It is paradoxical that although the particular problems of conservation of many marine creatures, particularly pelagic creatures, make them particularly suitable to regulation at an international level under a treaty on biological diversity, in fact the most important discussions concerning conservation of marine biological diversity are currently taking place in the context of other forums those relating to land based resources, straddling fish stocks or at a regional or sectoral level. The recognition by the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity of the issue of the conservation of biological diversity as a matter of common concern of humankind implies that all states have a legal interest in the issue as well as positive responsibility to safeguard it. However, this common concern still requires a more obvious focus than national actions or diverse regional or sectoral actions, for much of the attention has to be taken in international waters as well in coastal waters or in ways that will reflect natural ecosystem boundaries rather than national maritime jurisdictional boundaries. It can thus, be concluded that there is an existence of a substantial body of treaty law which seeks to address one or more aspects of marine ecosystem conservation. Although, a few treaties actually commit themselves to this, it is clear that a large number of treaty regimes are developing an ecosystem approach through their parties interpretation of their existing treaty obligations. UNCLOS can be seen as a most positive force in the crystallization of the general obligations of States to protect the marine environment. Nevertheless, important though the obligations of Part XII are in this respect, they too require further substantial elaboration and implementation. A protocol on the conservation of marine biodiversity in context of protection of marine ecosystems would be an obvious way of seeking to remedy the lacunae of existing regimes and refocusing attention on this crucial, but somewhat neglected, aspect of biodiversity debate.

Keynesian Economics

Keynesian economics is the view that in the short run, especially during recessions, economic output is strongly influenced by aggregate demand . In the Keynesian view, aggregate demand does not necessarily equal the productive capacity of the economy; instead, it is influenced by a host of factors and sometimes behaves erratically, affecting production, employment, and inflation The theories forming the basis of Keynesian economics were first presented by the British economist John Maynard Keynes in his book, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936, during the Great Depression.Keynes contrasted his approach to the aggregate supply-focused ‘classical' economics that preceded his book. The interpretations of Keynes that followed are contentious and several schools of economic thought claim his legacy. Keynesian economists often argue that private sector decisions sometimes lead to inefficient macroeconomic outcomes which require active policy resp onses by the public sector, in particular, monetary policy actions by the central bank and fiscal policy actions by the government, in order to stabilize output over the business cycle.Keynesian economics advocates a mixed economy – predominantly private sector, but with a role for government intervention during recessions. Keynesian economics served as the standard economic model in the developed nations during the later part of the Great Depression, World War II, and the post-war economic expansion (1945–1973), though it lost some influence following the oil shock and resulting stagflation of the 1970s. The advent of the global financial crisis in 2008 has caused a resurgence in Keynesian thought. OverviewPrior to the publication of Keynes's General Theory, mainstream economic thought was that the economy existed in a state of general equilibrium, meaning that the economy naturally consumes whatever it produces because the needs of consumers are always greater than t he capacity of the economy to satisfy those needs. This perception is reflected in Say's Law and in the writing of David Ricardo which is that individuals produce so that they can either consume what they have manufactured or sell their output so that they can buy someone else's output.This perception rests upon the assumption that if a surplus of goods or services exists, they would naturally drop in price to the point where they would be consumed. Keynes's theory was significant because it overturned the mainstream thought of the time and brought about a greater awareness that problems such as unemployment are not a product of laziness, but the result of a structural inadequacy in the economic system. He argued that because there was no guarantee that the goods that individuals produce would be met with demand, unemployment was a natural consequence.He saw the economy as unable to maintain itself at full employment and believed that it was necessary for the government to step in a nd put under-utilised savings to work through government spending. Thus, according to Keynesian theory, some individually rational microeconomic-level actions such as not investing savings in the goods and services produced by the economy, if taken collectively by a large proportion of individuals and firms, can lead to outcomes wherein the economy operates below its potential output and growth rate.Prior to Keynes, a situation in which aggregate demand for goods and services did not meet supply was referred to by classical economists as a general glut, although there was disagreement among them as to whether a general glut was possible. Keynes argued that when a glut occurred, it was the over-reaction of producers and the laying off of workers that led to a fall in demand and perpetuated the problem. Keynesians therefore advocate an active stabilization policy to reduce the amplitude of the business cycle, which they rank among the most serious of economic problems.According to the theory, government spending can be used to increase aggregate demand, thus increasing economic activity, reducing unemployment and deflation. Theory Keynes argued that the solution to the Great Depression was to stimulate the economy (â€Å"inducement to invest†) through some combination of two approaches: 1. A reduction in interest rates (monetary policy), and 2. Government investment in infrastructure (fiscal policy). By reducing the interest rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks, the government sends a signal to commercial banks that they should do the same for their customers.Investment by government in infrastructure injects income into the economy by creating business opportunity, employment and demand and reversing the effects of the aforementioned imbalance. Governments source the funding for this expenditure by borrowing funds from the economy through the issue of government bonds, and because government spending exceeds the amount of tax in come that the government receives, this creates a fiscal deficit. A central conclusion of Keynesian economics is that, in some situations, no strong automatic mechanism moves output and employment towards full employment levels.This conclusion conflicts with economic approaches that assume a strong general tendency towards equilibrium. In the ‘neoclassical synthesis', which combines Keynesian macro concepts with a micro foundation, the conditions of general equilibrium allow for price adjustment to eventually achieve this goal. More broadly, Keynes saw his theory as a general theory, in which utilization of resources could be high or low, whereas previous economics focused on the particular case of full utilization.The new classical macroeconomics movement, which began in the late 1960s and early 1970s, criticized Keynesian theories, while New Keynesian economics has sought to base Keynes's ideas on more rigorous theoretical foundations. Some interpretations of Keynes have emp hasized his stress on the international coordination of Keynesian policies, the need for international economic institutions, and the ways in which economic forces could lead to war or could promote peace. Concept Wages and spending During the Great Depression, the classical theory attributed mass unemployment to high and rigid real wages.To Keynes, the determination of wages is more complicated. First, he argued that it is not real but nominal wages that are set in negotiations between employers and workers, as opposed to a barter relationship. Second, nominal wage cuts would be difficult to put into effect because of laws and wage contracts. Even classical economists admitted that these exist; unlike Keynes, they advocated abolishing minimum wages, unions, and long-term contracts, increasing labour market flexibility. However, to Keynes, people will resist nominal wage reductions, even without unions, until they see other wages falling and a general fall of prices.Keynes rejected the idea that cutting wages would cure recessions. He examined the explanations for this idea and found them all faulty. He also considered the most likely consequences of cutting wages in recessions, under various different circumstances. He concluded that such wage cutting would be more likely to make recessions worse rather than better. Further, if wages and prices were falling, people would start to expect them to fall. This could make the economy spiral downward as those who had money would simply wait as falling prices made it more valuable – rather than spending.As Irving Fisher argued in 1933, in his Debt-Deflation Theory of Great Depressions, deflation (falling prices) can make a depression deeper as falling prices and wages made pre-existing nominal debts more valuable in real terms. Excessive saving To Keynes, excessive saving, i. e. saving beyond planned investment, was a serious problem, encouraging recession or even depression. Excessive saving results if invest ment falls, perhaps due to falling consumer demand, over-investment in earlier years, or pessimistic business expectations, and if saving does not immediately fall in step, the economy would decline.The classical economists argued that interest rates would fall due to the excess supply of â€Å"loanable funds†. The first diagram, adapted from the only graph in The General Theory, shows this process. (For simplicity, other sources of the demand for or supply of funds are ignored here. ) Assume that fixed investment in capital goods falls from â€Å"old I† to â€Å"new I† (step a). Second (step b), the resulting excess of saving causes interest-rate cuts, abolishing the excess supply: so again we have saving (S) equal to investment. The interest-rate (i) fall prevents that of production and employment.Keynes had a complex argument against this laissez-faire response. The graph below summarizes his argument, assuming again that fixed investment falls (step A). Firs t, saving does not fall much as interest rates fall, since the income and substitution effectsof falling rates go in conflicting directions. Second, since planned fixed investment in plant and equipment is based mostly on long-term expectations of future profitability, that spending does not rise much as interest rates fall. So S and I are drawn as steep (inelastic) in the graph.Given the inelasticity of both demand and supply, a large interest-rate fall is needed to close the saving/investment gap. As drawn, this requires a negative interest rate at equilibrium (where the new I line would intersect the old S line). However, this negative interest rate is not necessary to Keynes's argument. Third, Keynes argued that saving and investment are not the main determinants of interest rates, especially in the short run. Instead, the supply of and the demand for the stock of money determine interest rates in the short run. (This is not drawn in the graph.)Neither changes quickly in respons e to excessive saving to allow fast interest-rate adjustment. Finally, Keynes suggested that, because of fear of capital losses on assets besides money, there may be a â€Å"liquidity trap† setting a floor under which interest rates cannot fall. While in this trap, interest rates are so low that any increase in money supply will cause bond-holders (fearing rises in interest rates and hence capital losses on their bonds) to sell their bonds to attain money (liquidity). In the diagram, the equilibrium suggested by the new I line and the old S line cannot be reached, so that excess saving persists.Some (such as Paul Krugman) see this latter kind of liquidity trap as prevailing in Japan in the 1990s. Most economists agree that nominal interest rates cannot fall below zero. However, some economists (particularly those from the Chicago school) reject the existence of a liquidity trap. Even if the liquidity trap does not exist, there is a fourth (perhaps most important) element to K eynes's critique. Saving involves not spending all of one's income. Thus, it means insufficient demand for business output, unless it is balanced by other sources of demand, such as fixed investment.Therefore, excessive saving corresponds to an unwanted accumulation of inventories, or what classical economists called a general glut. [ This pile-up of unsold goods and materials encourages businesses to decrease both production and employment. This in turn lowers people's incomes – and saving, causing a leftward shift in the S line in the diagram (step B). For Keynes, the fall in income did most of the job by ending excessive saving and allowing the loanable funds market to attain equilibrium. Instead of interest-rate adjustment solving the problem, a recession does so.Thus in the diagram, the interest-rate change is small. Whereas the classical economists assumed that the level of output and income was constant and given at any one time (except for short-lived deviations), Key nes saw this as the key variable that adjusted to equate saving and investment. Finally, a recession undermines the business incentive to engage in fixed investment. With falling incomes and demand for products, the desired demand for factories and equipment (not to mention housing) will fall. This accelerator effect would shift the I line to the left again, a change not shown in the diagram above.This recreates the problem of excessive saving and encourages the recession to continue. In sum, to Keynes there is interaction between excess supplies in different markets, as unemployment in labour markets encourages excessive saving – and vice-versa. Rather than prices adjusting to attain equilibrium, the main story is one of quantity adjustment allowing recessions and possible attainment of underemployment equilibrium. Active fiscal policy Classical economists have traditionally yearned for balanced government budgets.Keynesians, on the other hand, believe this would exacerbate the underlying problem: following either the expansionary policy or the contractionary policy would raise saving (broadly defined) and thus lower the demand for both products and labour. For example, Keynesians would advise tax cuts instead. [10] Keynes's ideas influenced Franklin D. Roosevelt's view that insufficient buying-power caused the Depression. During his presidency, Roosevelt adopted some aspects of Keynesian economics, especially after 1937, when, in the depths of the Depression, the United States suffered from recession yet again following fiscal contraction.But to many the true success of Keynesian policy can be seen at the onset of World War II, which provided a kick to the world economy, removed uncertainty, and forced the rebuilding of destroyed capital. Keynesian ideas became almost official in social-democratic Europe after the war and in the U. S. in the 1960s. Keynes developed a theory which suggested that active government policy could be effective in managing t he economy.Rather than seeing unbalanced government budgets as wrong, Keynes advocated what has been called countercyclical fiscal policies, that is, policies that acted against the tide of the business cycle: deficit spending when a nation's economy suffers from recessionor when recovery is long-delayed and unemployment is persistently high – and the suppression of inflation in boom times by either increasing taxes or cutting back on government outlays. He argued that governments should solve problems in the short run rather than waiting for market forces to do it in the long run, because, â€Å"in the long run, we are all dead.†This contrasted with the classical and neoclassical economic analysis of fiscal policy. Fiscal stimulus could actuate production. But, to these schools, there was no reason to believe that this stimulation would outrun the side-effects that â€Å"crowd out† private investment: first, it would increase the demand for labour and raise wag es, hurting profitability; Second, a government deficit increases the stock of government bonds, reducing their market price and encouraging high interest rates, making it more expensive for business to finance fixed investment.Thus, efforts to stimulate the economy would be self-defeating. The Keynesian response is that such fiscal policy is appropriate only when unemployment is persistently high, above the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU). In that case, crowding out is minimal. Further, private investment can be â€Å"crowded in†: Fiscal stimulus raises the market for business output, raising cash flow and profitability, spurring business optimism. To Keynes, this accelerator effect meant that government and business could be complements rather than substitutes in this situation.Second, as the stimulus occurs, gross domestic product rises, raising the amount of saving, helping to finance the increase in fixed investment. Finally, government outlays ne ed not always be wasteful: government investment in public goods that will not be provided by profit-seekers will encourage the private sector's growth. That is, government spending on such things as basic research, public health, education, and infrastructure could help the long-term growth of potential output. In Keynes's theory, there must be significant slack in the labour market before fiscal expansion is justified.Contrary to some critical characterizations of it, Keynesianism does not consist solely of deficit spending. Keynesianism recommends counter-cyclical policies. An example of a counter-cyclical policy is raising taxes to cool the economy and to prevent inflation when there is abundant demand-side growth, and engaging in deficit spending on labour-intensive infrastructure projects to stimulate employment and stabilize wages during economic downturns. Classical economics, on the other hand, argues that one should cut taxes when there are budget surpluses, and cut spendi ng – or, less likely, increase taxes – during economic downturns.Keynesian economists believe that adding to profits and incomes during boom cycles through tax cuts, and removing income and profits from the economy through cuts in spending during downturns, tends to exacerbate the negative effects of the business cycle. This effect is especially pronounced when the government controls a large fraction of the economy, as increased tax revenue may aid investment in state enterprises in downturns, and decreased state revenue and investment harm those enterprises. â€Å"Multiplier effect† and interest rates Main article: Spending multiplierTwo aspects of Keynes's model has implications for policy: First, there is the â€Å"Keynesian multiplier†, first developed by Richard F. Kahn in 1931. Exogenous increases in spending, such as an increase in government outlays, increases total spending by a multiple of that increase. A government could stimulate a great dea l of new production with a modest outlay if: 1. The people who receive this money then spend most on consumption goods and save the rest. 2. This extra spending allows businesses to hire more people and pay them, which in turn allows a further increase in consumer spending.This process continues. At each step, the increase in spending is smaller than in the previous step, so that the multiplier process tapers off and allows the attainment of an equilibrium. This story is modified and moderated if we move beyond a â€Å"closed economy† and bring in the role of taxation: The rise in imports and tax payments at each step reduces the amount of induced consumer spending and the size of the multiplier effect. Second, Keynes re-analyzed the effect of the interest rate on investment. In the classical model, the supply of funds (saving) determines the amount of fixed business investment.That is, under the classical model, since all savings are placed in banks, and all business investo rs in need of borrowed funds go to banks, the amount of savings determines the amount that is available to invest. Under Keynes's model, the amount of investment is determined independently by long-term profit expectations and, to a lesser extent, the interest rate. The latter opens the possibility of regulating the economy through money supply changes, via monetary policy. Under conditions such as the Great Depression, Keynes argued that this approach would be relatively ineffective compared to fiscal policy.But, during more â€Å"normal† times, monetary expansion can stimulate the economy. IS/LM model The IS/LM model is nearly as influential as Keynes's original analysis in determining actual policy and economics education. It relates aggregate demand and employment to three exogenousquantities, i. e. , the amount of money in circulation, the government budget, and the state of business expectations. This model was very popular with economists after World War II because it could be understood in terms of general equilibrium theory. This encouraged a much more static vision of macroeconomics than that described above.History Precursors Keynes's work was part of a long-running debate within economics over the existence and nature of general gluts. While a number of the policies Keynes advocated (the notable one being government deficit spending at times of low private investment or consumption) and the theoretical ideas he proposed (effective demand, the multiplier, the paradox of thrift) were advanced by various authors in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Keynes's unique contribution was to provide a general theory of these, which proved acceptable to the political and economic establishments.Schools See also: Underconsumption, Birmingham School (economics), and Stockholm school (economics) An intellectual precursor of Keynesian economics was underconsumption theory in classical economics, dating from such 19th-century economists as Thomas Malthus, t he Birmingham Schoolof Thomas Attwood, and the American economists William Trufant Foster and Waddill Catchings, who were influential in the 1920s and 1930s.Underconsumptionists were, like Keynes after them, concerned with failure of aggregate demand to attain potential output, calling this â€Å"under consumption† (focusing on the demand side), rather than â€Å"overproduction† (which would focus on the supply side), and advocating economic interventionism. Keynes specifically discussed under consumption (which he wrote â€Å"under-consumption†) in the General Theory, in Chapter 22, Section IV and Chapter 23, Section VII.Numerous concepts were developed earlier and independently of Keynes by the Stockholm school during the 1930s; these accomplishments were described in a 1937 article, published in response to the 1936 General Theory, sharing the Swedish discoveries. Concepts The multiplier dates to work in the 1890s by the Australian economist Alfred De Lissa, the Danish economist Julius Wulff, and the German American economist Nicholas Johannsen,[15] the latter being cited in a footnote of Keynes. [16] Nicholas Johannsen also proposed a theory of effective demand in the 1890s. The paradox of thrift was stated in 1892 by John M.Robertson in his The Fallacy of Savings, in earlier forms by mercantilist economists since the 16th century, and similar sentiments date to antiquity. [17][18] Today these ideas, regardless of provenance, are referred to in academia under the rubric of â€Å"Keynesian economics†, due to Keynes's role in consolidating, elaborating, and popularizing them. Keynes and the classicists Keynes sought to distinguish his theories from and oppose them to â€Å"classical economics,† by which he meant the economic theories of David Ricardo and his followers, including John Stuart Mill,Alfred Marshall, Francis Ysidro Edgeworth, and Arthur Cecil Pigou.A central tenet of the classical view, known as Say's law, state s that â€Å"supply creates its own demand. † Say's Law can be interpreted in two ways. First, the claim that the total value of output is equal to the sum of income earned in production is a result of a national income accounting identity, and is therefore indisputable. A second and stronger claim, however, that the â€Å"costs of output are always covered in the aggregate by the sale-proceeds resulting from demand† depends on how consumption and saving are linked to production and investment.In particular, Keynes argued that the second, strong form of Say's Law only holds if increases in individual savings exactly match an increase in aggregate investment. Keynes sought to develop a theory that would explain determinants of saving, consumption, investment and production. In that theory, the interaction of aggregate demand and aggregate supply determines the level of output and employment in the economy. Because of what he considered the failure of the â€Å"Classica l Theory† in the 1930s, Keynes firmly objects to its main theory – adjustments in prices would automatically make demand tend to the full employment level.Neo-classical theory supports that the two main costs that shift demand and supply are labour and money. Through the distribution of the monetary policy, demand and supply can be adjusted. If there were more labour than demand for it, wages would fall until hiring began again. If there were too much saving, and not enough consumption, then interest rates would fall until people either cut their savings rate or started borrowing. Postwar KeynesianismMain articles: Neo-Keynesian economics, New Keynesian economics, and Post-Keynesian economics Keynes's ideas became widely accepted after World War II, and until the early 1970s, Keynesian economics provided the main inspiration for economic policy makers in Western industrialized countries. Governments prepared high quality economic statistics on an ongoing basis and tried to base their policies on the Keynesian theory that had become the norm. In the early era of new liberalism and social democracy, most western capitalist countries enjoyed low, stable unemployment and modest inflation, an era called the Golden Age of Capitalism.In terms of policy, the twin tools of post-war Keynesian economics were fiscal policy and monetary policy. While these are credited to Keynes, others, such as economic historian David Colander, argue that they are, rather, due to the interpretation of Keynes by Abba Lerner in his theory of Functional Finance, and should instead be called â€Å"Lernerian† rather than â€Å"Keynesian†. Through the 1950s, moderate degrees of government demand leading industrial development, and use of fiscal and monetary counter-cyclical policies continued, and reached a peak in the â€Å"go go† 1960s, where it seemed to many Keynesians that prosperity was now permanent.In 1971, Republican US President Richard Nixon even pr oclaimed â€Å"I am now a Keynesian in economics. † However, with the oil shock of 1973, and the economic problems of the 1970s, modern liberal economics began to fall out of favor. During this time, many economies experienced high and rising unemployment, coupled with high and rising inflation, contradicting the Phillips curve's prediction. This stagflation meant that the simultaneous application of expansionary (anti-recession) and contractionary(anti-inflation) policies appeared to be necessary. This dilemma led to the end of the Keynesian near-consensus of the 1960s, and the rise throughout the 1970s of ideas based upon more classical analysis, including monetarism, supply-side economics, and new classical economics. At the same time, Keynesians began during the period to reorganize their thinking (some becoming associated with New Keynesian economics).One strategy, utilized also as a critique of the notably high unemployment and potentially disappointing GNP growth rates associated with the latter two theories by the mid-1980s, was to emphasize low unemployment and maximal economic growth at the cost of somewhat higher inflation (its consequences kept in check by indexing and other methods, and its overall rate kept lower and steadier by such potential policies as Martin Weitzman's share economy). [22] Multiple schools of economic thought that trace their legacy to Keynes currently exist, the notable ones being Neo-Keynesian economics, New Keynesian economics, and Post-Keynesian economics.Keynes's biographer Robert Skidelsky writes that the post-Keynesian school has remained closest to the spirit of Keynes's work in following his monetary theory and rejecting the neutrality of money. In the postwar era, Keynesian analysis was combined with neoclassical economics to produce what is generally termed the â€Å"neoclassical synthesis†, yielding Neo-Keynesian economics, which dominated mainstream macroeconomic thought. Though it was widely held t hat there was no strong automatic tendency to full employment, many believed that if government policy were used to ensure it, the economy would behave as neoclassical theory predicted.This post-war domination by Neo-Keynesian economics was broken during the stagflation of the 1970s. There was a lack of consensus among macroeconomists in the 1980s. However, the advent of New Keynesian economics in the 1990s, modified and provided microeconomic foundations for the neo-Keynesian theories. These modified models now dominate mainstream economics. Post-Keynesian economists, on the other hand, reject the neoclassical synthesis and, in general, neoclassical economics applied to the macroeconomy.Post-Keynesian economics is aheterodox school that holds that both Neo-Keynesian economics and New Keynesian economics are incorrect, and a misinterpretation of Keynes's ideas. The Post-Keynesian school encompasses a variety of perspectives, but has been far less influential than the other more main stream Keynesian schools. Relationship to other schools of economics The Keynesian schools of economics are situated alongside a number of other schools that have the same perspectives on what the economic issues are, but differ on what causes them and how to best resolve them: Stockholm SchoolThe Stockholm School rose to prominence at about the same time that Keynes published his General Theory and shared a common concern in business cycles and unemployment. The second generation of Swedish economists also advocated government intervention through spending during economic downturns although opinions are divided over whether they conceived the essence of Keynes's theory before he did. Monetarism There was debate between Monetarists and Keynesians in the 1960s over the role of government in stabilizing the economy.Both Monetarists and Keynesians are in agreement over the fact that issues such as business cycles, unemployment, inflation are caused by inadequate demand, and need to be addressed, but they had fundamentally different perspectives on the capacity of the economy to find its own equilibrium and as a consequence the degree of government intervention that is required to create equilibrium. Keynesians emphasized the use of discretionary fiscal policy and monetary policy, while monetarists argued the primacy of monetary policy, and that it should be rules-based The debate was largely resolved in the 1980s.Since then, economists have largely agreed that central banks should bear the primary responsibility for stabilizing the economy, and that monetary policy should largely follow the Taylor rule – which many economists credit with the Great Moderation. The Global Financial Crisis, however, has convinced many economists and governments of the need for fiscal interventions and highlighted the difficulty in stimulating economies through monetary policy alone during a liquidity trap. Criticisms Austrian School criticisms Austrian economist Friedrich Hay ek disagreed with some of Keynes' views.Journalist and Austrian publicist Henry Hazlitt, wrote a detailed criticism of Keynes's General Theory in The Failure of the New Economics. James M. Buchanan and Richard E. Wagner James M. Buchanan and Richard E. Wagner, writing Democracy in Deficit: The Political Legacy of Lord Keynes and â€Å"The Consequences of Mr. Keynes† with John Burton, criticize Keynesian economics. According to them, The implicit assumption underlying the Keynesian fiscal revolution was that economic policy would be made by wise men, acting without regard to political pressures or opportunities, and guided by disinterested economic technocrats.They insisted that the fundamental flaw of Keynesian economics was the unrealistic assumption about political, bureaucratic and electoral behavior. Some economists such as James Tobin and Robert Barro commented about the thesis. They replied these comments New Classical Macroeconomics criticisms Another influential schoo l of thought was based on the Lucas critique of Keynesian economics. This called for greater consistency with microeconomic theory and rationality, and in particular emphasized the idea of rational expectations.Lucas and others argued that Keynesian economics required remarkably foolish and short-sighted behavior from people, which totally contradicted the economic understanding of their behavior at a micro level. New classical economics introduced a set of macroeconomic theories that were based on optimising microeconomic behavior. These models have been developed into the Real Business Cycle Theory, which argues that business cycle fluctuations can to a large extent be accounted for by real (in contrast to nominal) shocks.Beginning in the late 1950s new classical macroeconomists began to disagree with the methodology employed by Keynes and his successors. Keynesians emphasized the dependence of consumption on disposable income and, also, of investment on current profits and curren t cash flow. In addition, Keynesians posited a Phillips curve that tied nominal wage inflation to unemployment rate. To support these theories, Keynesians typically traced the logical foundations of their model (using introspection) and supported their assumptions with statistical evidence.New classical theorists demanded that macroeconomics be grounded  on the same foundations as microeconomic theory, profit-maximizing firms and rational, utility-maximizing consumers The result of this shift in methodology produced several important divergences from Keynesian Macroeconomics 1. Independence of Consumption and current Income (life-cycle permanent income hypothesis) 2. Irrelevance of Current Profits to Investment (Modigliani-Miller theorem) 3. Long run independence of inflation and unemployment (natural rate of unemployment) 4. The inability of monetary policy to stabilize output (rational expectations) 5. Irrelevance of Taxes and Budget Deficits to Consumption (Ricardian Equivalenc e)

How Are Mobile Phones Changing the Way People Maintain Relationships

CULTURAL AWARENESS How are mobile phones changing the way people maintain relationships? INTRODUCTION Mobile phones are increasingly taking a major role in the communication revolution and the use of the mobile phone is an immensely significant social and cultural phenomenon, hence over the years, the telephone has dramatically changed how people live their lives, see their world and communicate. As we read in Ferraro ( 2002: 29 ) â€Å"all cultures experience continual change†, however nowadays the process of a change is even more intensified, more dynamic and much quicker.A lot of that has to do with the development of mobile telephone technology. In referring to the drivers of change, we cannot forget about phenomenon of globalization which affects our modern lifestyle. In today’s world we live in a fast-pace, where maintaining relationships is made difficult by the fact we have less time for social bonding, and communication is often very limited. Here comes into im portance the technology of the mobile phone, as it gives the opportunity to talk to anyone, anywhere at any time.Since mobile phones have become an increasingly important tool in social interaction, the purpose of this research project is to gain insight into the mobile technology phenomenon and to understand better how it affects the way people maintain relationships by linking it to the theoretical background of social construction and selective perception. The report consists of four major sections. Firstly, theoretical background will be presented, followed up by the explanation of methodology used.Then the findings of the primary research will be presented, followed up by an overall analysis of information gathered. Finally, a conclusion will be given. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Before investigating the influence that mobile phones have had on the way the relationships are maintained, it is crucial to understand the connection between communication and culture. According to Hall (1 977) â€Å"Culture is communication and communication is culture†, from which we can deduce that the way we communicate expresses our culture.Therefore, any shift in the way we communicate has an influence on our culture, our perception , our behavior and the social construction. Let us take a look at the social construction. Why does this concept need to be mentioned? The answers is that we, as members of the society, are assembling ways of seeing things, while at the same time shaping our expectations and behavior. As culture is maintained by social construction, we learn culture every day. We learned to use mobile phones on a daily basis, letting them become inseparable part of our daily routine.Here another concept comes into importance, namely perception. Culture, and at the same time communication, performs an important role in how we perceive and understand reality. According to Gamble and Gamble (1996), (in Samovar et al, 2007: 128-130), we select, interpret and organ ize data in order to make sense of our world. And being exposed to similar experiences, culture creates similar meaning and behavior, which is called selective perception. It is truly incredible how fast mobile phones have caused a change in social construction and the way people perceive communication and social bonding.Sections below intend to explain how exactly mobile phones are changing the way people maintain relationships. METHODOLOGY In order to find out how the mobile technology is influencing the way the relationships are maintained in Britain , several methods were used to study the behavior of mobile phone users. Firstly, during a period of 4 weeks, in a variety of settings, using an observation, I observed the behavior of mobile phone users, by listening to their conversations and observing their approach to phone conversations, texting and using their mobile for various purposes.This was followed up by 2 individual and 2 focus group discussions. I found the in-depth in terviews and focus group discussions most appropriate for my research, as they gave a lot of qualitative information and let the people who were being interviewed express themselves and their opinions fully, which would not be the case if I decided to use questionnaires . FINDINGS As indicated before, for the research methods I have used an observation, two in-depth interviews and also two focus group discussions.During the period of observation I have noticed many different behaviors regarding mobile phone usage, however for the purpose of this report, only the ones which apply to the topic have been listed below: * On the bus: 10 out of 25 people were using their phone in some way * On the bus: 7 out of 25 people received or made a phone call within 45 min time frame * At the university: at least 1/3 of people gathered in a mutual area were talking or texting on their mobiles * In the cafe: All individuals sitting alone had a mobile phone either on the table or in usageIt can be a rgued that mobile phones are increasingly used by people, for they are new communication tools. Since mobile communication is an uprising issue, the above observations conducted me to bring forth questions for further investigation on how mobile phones are influencing the way people maintain relationships. The sample for the qualitative research method included 10 people [male and female] (for both interviews and focus group discussions). The answers were mostly collected from the age group 20-30 years old.All participants were believed to be in a peaceful state, important in concluding the honesty and quality of the answers given as they were unaffected by an unnatural sate of nervousness. To better understand how relationships are maintained in today’s society and to get a better view of the issue discussed, first the respondents were asked to describe how they communicate with their family and friends. Their instant response was via phone calls, text messages, facebook, sk ype, and instant messengers like WhatsApp .Only one person said that they maintain face to face contact with family. Since the respondents indicated mobile phones as means through which they often communicate with their contacts, this initiated a series of questions. Asked how the phones changed/are changing the way people maintain relationships, the respondents said that nowadays people maintain more contact, call more, send messages, and claim that it has made the communication very easy.However on the other hand the contact is possibly superficial as you may keep in touch with people you do not care for as much. A female respondent argued that â€Å"It has made people lazy in certain aspects, because all you have to do is pick up a phone and call someone instead of making an effort and meet that person. So it has made us lazy, but on the other hand it’s very efficient, especially if you have something to do, when you are in a rush. As for the time when people tend to call their contacts, many respondents indicated afternoon or evening, saying that they make phone calls or send texts when travelling (primarily walking or when on a bus), because that is when they have some free time between other activities. As one female respondent said â€Å" it’s all about time†. The majority of respondents argued that speaking on the phone influences the way we speak to one another and they also admitted they do it themselves. Primarily because when on the phone one can get interrupted easily, especially when multi-tasking.Also they argued that you usually make everything briefer on the phone, because when you talk you can be distracted by many things that are happening around you. In the case of new relationships, people tend to be more comfortable and open over the phone, especially considering text messages. Two female respondents said that it is easier to speak to another person differently if you do not really know her/him and also said that pho nes give means to hide certain things that you do not wish to reveal â€Å"because the other person cannot see my face so they do not know what I am feeling†.The change in non-verbal communication must also be mentioned here, as the majority of respondents admitted that they use their phone as an excuse to avoid speaking to someone. The statement of the male respondent confirmed that : â€Å"I have pretended I was on the phone when I did not want to talk to someone, you just want to pretend that you are doing something, it shuts you off, because it is not very socially acceptable to interrupt somebody who is having a conversation†.Furthermore, some respondents claimed they used their phone as a form of security and protection. One male respondent said : â€Å" My friend is always on the phone when she feels nervous†. A female respondent said that she feels safer knowing she can always call somebody to get help, or when in the bar waiting for some friends, she cl aimed she takes phone out to make people think she is busy, using phone as a bodyguard. Respondents were also asked to indicate positive and negative aspects of mobile phone usage in terms of aintaining relationships. As a positive they pointed out the fact that communication has become very efficient, easy, cheap, and also allows one to keep in touch more readily with family and friends, to arrange meetings and to develop new relationships. On the other hand respondents indicated that it has been made too easy, â€Å"because we do not even have to go out anymore to meet our friends†. They said the contact is not as real and might be taking away some value of a real friendship.As a male respondent said â€Å"You may have a long conversation over the phone with someone, then you meet up in real life and it is like you do not really know each other, you can find awkwardness sometimes. † Ultimately, the respondents mutually agreed on the statement that mobile phones help maintain relationships. As a female respondent said â€Å"it’s a constant reminder that you are thinking of someone and they are thinking of you, and that you want to stay in their lives, and that is maintaining relationships†.At the end the respondents were asked to express their view on how the social interaction looked like before the mobile phones became so popular. They said that people were sending more letters and cards, than nowadays. Also people used to interact with each other more, however they would meet with less people, only close family and friends that lived nearby. Now, as they confirmed, it is possible to keep in touch with friends that are on the other side of the world, because you are constantly available on the mobile. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGSThe importance of this research is that it explains behavior noticed during the observation and analyses the information gathered during the individual interviews and the focus group discussions . After investiga ting the subject area, I have found that mobile phones are influencing change of some of the underlying cultural values in Britain, for instance, bonds within close social circles, the meaning of time and communication patterns, which then influences the way people see their reality and perceive certain things and behaviors.As culture is maintained by social construction, we learn culture every day. We learned to use mobile phones on a daily basis, letting them become inseparable part of our daily routine, which created patterns and made them become something which we perceive as normal. Nowadays, we claim mobiles necessary to socialize, they became a tool for developing new contacts, maintaining a friendship network and arranging meetings. In the last 10-15 years we have been exposed to similar experiences of communication. Mobile phone communication has become as natural as going to the shop and buying bread each morning.Our behavior has been shaped by the regular use of mobile ph one, so that many people nowadays cannot imagine to spend a day without it, they even claim they would feel lost without it (Fox, 2001). As we read in â€Å"Towards a sociology of the mobile phone†( McGuigan, 2005), we perceive the mobile phone as an extension to the body, sometimes even feel naked without it. We tend to keep our phones nearby, in our pocket, in our hand, making us always contactable and available, for someone from our social network.We feel like there is always something to be said and when we get the message we tend to write or call back as soon as possible We did not even noticed that we are increasingly dependent on the mobile phone technology in terms of social interaction. Mobile phones, as proven by this research project and many others, have gained protection and security status. We increasingly depend on our phones in situations of distress, they give us reassurance and sensation of being secure, for instance walking late at night.Why do we feel secu re? Well, we can always call somebody, let them know where we are, gain a feeling of unreliable reassurance, as the person you have contacted may be miles away, not really being able to help us in certain situation. On the other hand, phones are used for protection in the situation when we want to avoid contact with someone, for instance in a bar or in a coffee shop. When one does not wish to be approached, it is enough to put a phone on the table and look it up from time to time.With the British â€Å"obsession† about privacy, it would be simply considered rude and socially unacceptable to interrupt someone who is busy. That lead me to consider one of the Hall’s dimensions (Hall, 1976). It may be that communication in Britain is becoming more high-context oriented. Mobiles can not only be used as mean of protection, but perhaps also as a barrier. When we do not want to talk to someone we know on the bus, it is enough to pretend we are busy with our mobile. We may ackn owledge the other person’s presence but we would immediately go back to looking at the phone.The message is clear to both sides – â€Å"I do not really want to talk right now†. Also , another example of high context approach is: when a person is not responding to our messages or phone calls, it may mean that he or she does not wish to speak to us, on the other hand, subtle signal, known as â€Å"giving the buzz†often means â€Å"I am thinking of you†. As we can see there are many examples of high-context communication within mobile phone influence on the way people maintain relationships, however it does not necessarily mean all communication in Britain is becoming high-context.Another change in terms of social construction is that via technology we are now able to keep in touch with more people than before, it is deemed normal to have a large net of social connections. Why is that? Perhaps, the distance seems shorter, because another person is jus t a phone call away. Before, we used to have more face-to- face interactions, but they were restricted to the close circle of friends and family that lived in the same geographic area. Therefore we maintain more contact, but it is possible it has become much more superficial.Considering the lack of openness in social interaction, mobile phones seem to facilitate interpersonal contacts and act like an ice-breaker. It is easy to send a message and it is nice to receive one in return, but the issue to consider is whether we can really count on that person. Mobile phones therefore might be depriving values of real friendship and in fact people may feel very alone, even though they have 300 contacts in their mobile device. There has been a behavioral shift in terms of social construction, for as a society, we have become more lazy and comfortable.As the other person is reachable on their mobile at all times, we have adapted the pattern of calling and not necessarily meeting with friends and family, which can sometimes be dangerous, because it deprives us of developing social skills. It has also been proven that we speak to each other differently on the phone than when talking face to face. Considering there is no visible contact, we cannot see expressions on our interlocutor’s face and his/her body language. People may be making faces and rolling their eyes and we would not know!Also if we do not want to say something, we can easily avoid doing that, because since there are no facial expressions, the interlocutor would not notice the difference. And nowadays, especially with text messages, you can almost pretend to be someone you are not! Speaking on the phone or texting gives some people the confidence they do not have in face-to-face interactions, especially in the reserved British culture. How did the use of the mobile change the way we perceive communication? We communicate when we have free time, as the respondents said, we are using â€Å"time in betw een†, when we are walking, when on the bus.Is it not all about time nowadays? As time is limited, which suggest monochromic orientation (Hall, 1983:42), and with the lack of time we have these days , we use every free moment we have to get in touch with people. But since these conversations are being conducted when we are on the go, it may deprive of the focus and dedication we would give this other person if we were talking to him/her face-to-face. Also, in terms of contact, we have a chance to keep in touch more often, but it is more about exchanging information than having real in-depth conversation with another person.People tend to divide time into little blocks in order to use it as efficiently as possible, tending to multi-task and combine many activities at a time. For instance, talking on the phone, checking emails, responding to messages, on the way to/from work, school, walking, sipping coffee – which again suggests a slight shift towards polychronic orientat ion. Time is considered limited, however nowadays we are trying to make the most of it, some would wish to even â€Å"save it† via multi-tasking.To conclude this section, we communicate more easily, more efficiently and more cheaply, but also we have created some needs and new obligations. Specialists claim that we are becoming addicted to technology, but the answer may be different. We are not as much addicted to technology, as to communicating with people. We are addicted to interacting with our social circle, and mobile phones facilitate the process of communication. CONCLUSION In conclusion, there is no doubt that the spread of mobile communication is affecting our lives and the way we maintain relationships.Since technologically advanced information systems tend to encourage and facilitate communication and at the same time cultural interaction, it is understandable that they play an important part in influencing the way the communication is conducted and change the way people are perceiving certain situations, at the same time creating new ways of seeing reality and different behavior patterns. In the modern world we live in, the patterns of communication in Britain are rapidly changing. Mobile phones are increasingly used to help us establish, develop and maintain relationships.We see it as means to help us to bond and interact with our colleagues, friends and family. We perceive this new technology as a new approach to build social networks, and as a tool that makes our busy life easier. Word count: 3220 REFERENCES * FERRARO, G. P. (2002). The cultural dimension of international business 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, pp. 29 * FOX, K. (2001) Evolution, alienation and gossip: the role of mobile telecommunications in the 21st century. Social Issues Research Centre. Available from http://www. sirc. org/publik/gossip. shtml [Accessed on 15/11/2011 ] * GAMBLE, T.K. , GAMBLE,M. (1996). Communication works 5th ed. New York:McGra w-Hill, pp. 77 * HALL, E. T. (1977) Beyond culture. Garden City, NY: Anchor Doubleday, pp. 14 * HALL, E. T. (1983) The Dance of Life: Other Dimensions of Time. New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, pp. 42 * McGUIGAN, J. (2005) Towards a sociology of the mobile phone. An Interdisciplinary Journal on Humans in ICT Environments. Vol. 1 , pp. 45-57. Available from : www. humantechnology. jyu. fi [Accessed on 17/11/2011] * SAMOVAR, L. A. , et al (2007). Communication between cultures 6th ed. Belmont, Calif: Thomson/Wadsworth, pp. 128-130

Health Insurance - 3969 Words

INSURANCE LAW PROJECT | HEALTH INSURANCE AND REGULATORY ISSUES UNDER IRDA ACT 1999 | Rudresh Pratap Singh Roll No. 49 Semester V RMLNLU | Contents INTRODUCTION 4 The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority 5 Regulatory issues in the health insurance business 5 It should be the duty of the regulator (IRDA) to ensure that the new entrant in the health insurance sector: 5 II. Regulations Pertaining To Consumer Protection 8 Relationship Between Insurers And Providers 9 Is A Health Insurance Policyholder A Consumer? 10 III. Regulations Pertaining To The Functioning Of Third Party Administrators 10 Operational Requirements 11 Other Requirements†¦show more content†¦I. Regulations pertaining to financial requirements In an era of â€Å"cut-throat† competition where strict financial requirements may lead to financial instability and bankruptcies, the key should be an achievement of a harmonized approach between the extremes. The regulator’s obligations as regards maintenance of financial requirements can be analysed from three perspectives: 1. Entry Requirements 2. Operation requirements and 3. Exit Requirements 1. Entry Requirements It should be the duty of the regulator (IRDA) to ensure that the new entrant in the health insurance sector: Fulfils the Capital Requirement, i.e., has a minimum capital of Rs. 100 crores; According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority Act, 1999, the duties, powers and functions of Authority, inter alia, include regulation and maintenance of margin of solvency. Section 6 of the IRDA Act, 1999 deals with the requirements as to capital. This section sways that no insurer carrying on the business of life insurance, general insurance or re-insurance in India on or after the commencement of the 1999 Act shall be registered unless he has: (1) A paid-up equity capital of Rs. 100 crores,Show MoreRelatedAn Introduction To Private Health Insurance1555 Words   |  7 PagesINTRO Private health Insurance is a $1.42 billion (before tax) industry in Australia (Seah, 2012) and has played a prominent role in the country’s health system for over 60 years. As of 2009, 51per cent of the Australian population was covered by some form of private health insurance. Private health insurance is a regulated industry; this means it is controlled by government legislation under the Private Health Insurance Act (2007). 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Health insurance covers the certain amount of money to the insured person upon a certain event such as hospitalization and surgery. Commonly health insurance premium buying choices cover a simple resolution in purchasing the private health insurance. The premium is the amount that needs to be satisfied by either the households or the authority to become underwrite. While of career the payment should be affordableRead MoreMedical Insurance And Health Insurance1345 Words   |  6 PagesMedical Insurance is a highly debated topic throughout the United States. The cost of health care in the United States is on the raise and individuals are having harder times paying for their medical insurance. Companies who provide medical or health insurance as a benefit for their employees are becoming more and more popular. Employees need to know what is the benefit of having employment based medical insurance, when and if they are eligible, and they need to understand their plans in order toRead MoreThe Legacy Of Health Insurance1146 Words   |  5 Pagessaid, the history of health insurance has flourished throughout the centuries. With health insurance being one of the most needed household items, in the 1920s, the situation was somewhat a different story. In 1919, there was a study directed in Illinois to show that the wages that were lost from the individuals being out sick were actually four times larger than the incidentals linked with curing the illness. As the world was moving forward so was the need for health insurance. In the 1929, a groupRead MoreThe Cost Of Health Insurance1522 Words   |  7 PagesHealth care expenses are a never ending headache that create numerous liabilities. Liabilities are created when goods or services are purchased on credit and obtained through short- term and long- term loans. Health care expenses create liabilities such that payments are made late or no payments are made at all. In some cases, the cost of health care expenses are unaffordable resulting in those type of payments. To prevent large health care debt, many individuals seek health insurance. Health insuranceRead MoreProblems With The Health Insurance1489 Words   |  6 Pagessocial problem is to them. Just like with time, social problems will change, some will come and some will go. So, for right now in time one of the biggest social problems I can see in America is the healthcare. There are many problems with the health insurance in America. According to our books in America some of the biggest problems are: Medicare, Medicaid, Military Healthcare, Workers’ Compensation, Complemtary, and Alternative Medicine. The book states that there are a few strategies for actionRead MoreHealth Insurance1677 Words   |  7 Pagesstates that with limited exceptions, every resident of the United States must have health insurance that must meets certain basic requirements. Beginning in 2014, individuals who do not acquire health insurance will be subject to a fine. This fine will rise over time, reaching $895 per person or 2.5 percent of income, whichever is greater, by 2018. Beginning in 2014, each state is to establish an Affordable Insurance Exchange. Separate exchanges are to be established for individuals and small businesses