Tornado Alley

TORNADO ALLEY â€Å" A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extend down from a dark clouds and moves over land in a narrow, destructive path. †( earth science textbook) That is the definition of a tornado it doesn't sound fun or cheerful at all. but to the people that live in tornado alley it is something they are used to. There are many factors the cause tornados to appear in tornado alley, but the main one is location. But where is the location Why is it this location Locations it eh most important reason the tornados form in tondo alley. Location is important the exact location is very important.The states that are in tornado alley are in two parts, the heart of tornado alley states are, texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, eastern Colorado, and south dakota. The States that are in tornado alley just less intense are Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Iwoa, Tennessee, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. But texas and Oklahoma have the most dangerous tornados of t hem all. These states are hevally under debate this information of the states came from NOAA/US National Weather Service. But one of the reason that tornadoes happen a lot here is because they are in the plains.Tornados like flat land to travel on and the plains don't have that many hills thus giving the tornadoes perfect conditions. Tornadoes rarely to never happen in cities with plenty of walls or large structures/buildings. the location is very important. Location tornados need specific things to form. First during the summer the middle united states plains can get very high temperatures, thus causing updrafts. Also warm air form the gulf of mexico makes the temperatures rise even more. At the same time cold air form Canada is on its way down. When these to air masses meet the cause thunderstorms.Tornados a form in thunderstorms. It happened when the unstable hot air from the ground rises coming in contact with the cool air about the thunderstorm thus causing tornados. But one of the most important factor is because of these air masses being so strong the thunderstorms are usually more intense, or ‘super cells’. Tornados are more likely to appear in super cells, making it one of the reason that tornados are more frequent here. Tornado alley is a very strange place, some people like it some don’t. It is amazing the so many tornados can accrue in one general area.But believe it or not â€Å" If we looked for the state that gets the most tornadoes per square mile of countryside the â€Å"honor† belongs to Florida† says weather. com. The united states gets hit with about 1,000 tornadoes every year, just most of the dangerous ones are in tornado alley the main reason they happen here is the location. From the air masses from canada, to the warm air from the gulf. To the the very little hills on the plains of the middle of most of the states. Tornado alley is in these states for many reason but where they are in the united states is the main reason.REFERENCE SECTION Edward. R (23 Mar 2012), tornado facts. Tornado alley. 10/29/12,http://tornadoalleymovie. com/index. php/explore/tornado_facts/ Forbes. G. (oct. 7, 2005), What and Where is Tornado Alley?. Weather channel. 10/29/12. http://www. weather. com john. ( may 8 2011) , Tornadoes in Tornado alley. hubpages. 10/24/12 Http;//johnb0167,hubpages. com Tornado alley. Enchanted learning. 10/28/12 http;//www. enchantedleaning. com nomowitz. N. S. and Spaulding E. N. 2003 Earth science. Evanstin IL:McDougal Littell (10/30/12)

Definition of Nursing Essay

The definition of nursing as put forward by the American Nurses Association describes a framework that incorporates caring and health promotion. It is far reaching and intentionally inclusive to all fellow human beings. It has a goal to advocate and help decrease any element of suffering. Nursing is a professional body which strongly advocates the advancement of professional knowledge. Scholarly resources are used to anchor our credibly with research findings. The use of objective data develops processes to improve outcomes of care. Attentions are focused on human action and reactions to changes in health. The body of nursing  acts as influential body to impact social justice. The definition opens the scope of similarities and difference in approach where nurses can provide optimal care for their patients. The metaparadigm concepts: person, health, environment and nursing are platforms in which the protection, health promotion and goal to alleviate suffering can be developed. Dr Jean Watson, a nurse theorist is best now for her work on human caring. She asserts caring as central focus for nursing. Caring serves as pivot to the metaparadigm concepts. She found nurses who were not able to practice caring became harsh and brittle (as cited in Watson, 2009, p.467). As I work with my patients I now realize how my plans of care are based on theses metapadigm concepts. I frequently ask my coworkers what worked best for the patient and why. Then I incorporate that in my daily plan of care. References Watson, J. (2009). Caring science and human caring theory:transforming personal and professional practices of nursing and healthcare. Journal of Health and Human Services Administration,31(4), 466-483.

The debate between pro-choice and pro-life Essay

The debate between pro-choice and pro-life - Essay Example The author of this paper believes that neither of these two candidates has thus far been able to sway those individuals who were pro-choice or pro-life to change their fundamental belief to a new or different philosophical standpoint. Clearly this debate is a lifelong and never-ending deliberation. Therefore should the individuals who are pro-choice just submit to those who are pro-life and accept defeat? You, the reader, be the judge. The Toulmin Model of Argumentation posits six primary elements in the course of an argument, namely, claim, grounds, warrant, backing support, rebuttal/reservation and clarification. Firstly, the claim is the statement of the argumentation. The second element of an argument is the grounds which are substantiated explanation for the claim. The third element is the warrant which refers to theory or the series of analysis that unite the grounds to the claim. The backing is the fourth element and its main purpose is to support the warrant. Rebuttal or reservation is the fifth factor and it gives an account of ‘counter-examples and counter-arguments’ which are two major components of the Toulmin model. The final ingredient is qualification which asserts a boundary to the claim, warrant and backing. This essay is an attempt to utilize the Toulmin model of argument to analyze the various arguments submitted to question pro-choice versus pro-life. Is there a difference between the human and an animal? The author of this paper believes that the animal level belongs to some dogs and other animals that would eat or kill their own offspring immediately upon delivery. The human element in us is that we have a choice- a choice to eat or kill the child or to allow the child to live to develop into all that it was meant to become. The author of this paper claims that the mere fact that a sperm and an egg were allowed to germinate should be basis enough to allow the new life that is been conceived to

Financial Performance of Retail Banking in India Literature review

Financial Performance of Retail Banking in India - Literature review Example Amidst all unfavourable global financial climates, India’s Banking Industry, especially the retail banking industry was able to maintain steady growth. â€Å"Retail Banking is a banking service that is geared primarily towards individual consumers. Retail banking is usually made available by commercial banks, as well as smaller community banks. Unlike wholesale banking, retail banking focuses strictly on consumer markets†(Dr. Revathy, 2012, p.132). In fact the pace at which the Indian banking industry has grown in recent times has surprised many economists and neutral observers. The growth in Indian banking industry â€Å"is evident from the higher pace of credit expansion, expanding profitability and productivity similar to banks in developed markets, lower incidence of non- performing assets and focus on financial inclusion†(Dr. Goyal & Joshi, 2012, p.18). It should be noted that majority of the banking institutions including commercial banks and co-operative b anks in India are functioning under the strong control of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). However, a small number of unscheduled cooperative banks are present in India which is functioning almost independently though RBI has some control on such banks. Even strong control of RBI is there, Indian retail banking industry is developing rapidly. ... e sector significantly outperformed their public sector counterparts (28.38 percent v/s 9.85 percent), the interest income for the banks under study increased by 33.85 percent in FY12(Indian banks: Performance benchmarking report, 2012, p.3). Banking interest rate in India is fixed by RBI. RBI increases or decreases Ripo, reverses ripo and CRR. Repo is the short form of repurchase agreement. â€Å"Repo rate or repurchase rate is the rate at which banks borrow money from the central bank (read RBI for India) for short period by selling their securities (financial assets) to the central bank with an agreement to repurchase it at a future date at predetermined price† (Ansul, 2010). It is just like borrowing money from a lender by selling him something. Reverse ripo is the opposite of repo. In the case of reverse ripo, a dealer buys government securities from an investor and then sells them back at a later date for a higher price (Investopedia, 2013). In short, ripo is the rate at which RBI sell its funds to other financial institutions whereas reverse ripo represents the interest at which RBI borrows funds from other banks. Banking interest rates depends on the ripo and reverse ripo rates. In other words, banks will be forced to increase the interest rates or money lending and borrowing when the ripo and reverse ripo rates increases and vice versa. In short, banking interest rates are directly proportional to the ripo and reverse ripo rates. Cash reserve Ratio (CRR)  is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with the RBI (What is CRR, repo and reverse repo rate?, 2012) RBI cuts Repo Rate from 7.50% to 7.25%;  Reverse Repo Rate, Bank Rate and MSF Rates too adjusted to 6.25%, 8.25% and 8.25% respectively in this month (Goyal, 2013). CRR, Ripo and reverse ripo rates

Learning to walk in the Customer's Shoes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Learning to walk in the Customer's Shoes - Essay Example During the technology boom years of the 1990s, TI became a product- and technology-centric organization taking advantage of the demand of the times. However, when the technology bubble burst with the change in market demands, TI’s technology-centric business had to drastically reengineer itself into a customer-centric one to be able to effectively compete for new business. This necessitated a re-orientation of the entire TI organization, which was effectively accomplished by BTS USA, a global supplier of computer-based simulations for learning. Human resource development is involved in three main areas: individual, occupational, and organizational development. Development of the individual addresses skill and career development. Occupational and group development addresses the integration of cross-functional individuals through a team building program, or for informing and training employees about new products and services. Organizational development involves the introduction of a new culture or ways of operating, such as introduction of a customer care program or quality management which requires the involvement of all individuals or groups in the organization (Wilson, 2005, pp. 15-16). In order to effect the change from technology- to customer-centric, TI had to conduct training on all three areas. The approach it took of first training its executives is the right approach. Senior management must lead the way in organizational change by providing both the leadership and commitment of the necessary resources. Documented b est practices show that senior management must make the organization’s objectives as their personal objectives and must be able to measure their own achievements, they must fully understand the process that the organization has to go through, and they must provide necessary support, empowerment and authority down the line (Cooper & Edgett, 2003). Had TI decided to train its front-line

Plate tectonics and geodynamics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Plate tectonics and geodynamics - Essay Example Therefore, such components will melt at different temperatures and conditions, a process known as partial melting (Morgan & Chen, 1993 p6285). The process of partial melting takes place in the mantle (Best, 2009 p33). The mantle has four basic components; oxygen, silicon, magnesium and iron which have low melting points. Additionally, the upper mantle, which is below the ridges of the ocean, melts, since it comprises of the lithosphere that is brittle and fractures easily under low temperatures (Griffith, 1998 p67). Under normal circumstance, the mantle is formed of a solid rock substance called the peridotite (Annen & Zellmer, 2008 53). Partial melting of the peridotite is caused by the heat generated when rocks slide against one another on the base of the lithosphere, causing frictional kinetic energy at the subduction points (Sinton & Detrick, 1992 p198). This generates heat, which causes some elements of the peridotite with a low melting point to melt (Morgan & Chen, 1993 p6289). Consequently, partial melting occurs on the upper mantle, where the peridotite is melt to form a semi-solid substance called the magma (Best, 2009 p30). When the peridotite is melt, the semi-liquid substance formed is less dense than the materials above it. This is because, at such high temperatures, the magma is in a liquid state, which has a low density compared to the solid materials that are on the earth’s crust (Best, 2009 p28). The less dense magma looks for ways to escape upwards and settle above the solid components above it, due to its low viscosity and low density. Therefore, the hotter liquid substance will rise carrying its temperature with it, until it reaches a point where the temperatures are low. Here, its density is increased through solidification (Griffith, 1998 p70). Oceanic ridges tend to move from one another, creating a channel through which the magma can rise from the mantel of the earth to the earth’s crust

Case study-management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Case study-management - Essay Example Also, measures and ways to monitor the change process will be examined. The project will end with an examination of the challenges that the organization may face in the foreseeable future spanning from the next five to ten years and possible contingent solutions to these problems. We begin by talking about what organizational change is and then examining the reasons why it happens or is necessary in every organization. Organizational change or change in general can be defined from a variety of points depending on the perception of the user. An individual or employee in an organization may look at a new post or position as a change while higher management may feel it is unimportant. (Cao et al, 2000, p187). Changes viewed also by management may also not be looked upon as change by outsiders like competitors or suppliers. This has led to the categorizing of change in various ways, some of which include strategic and non-strategic change, incremental and radical change, changes of identity, co-ordination and control, planned and emergent change, change in terms of scale, human-centered change in terms of individual, group and inter-group or organizational level, quantum change and so on. (Cao et al, 2000, p187; Todnem, 2005, p372). ... (Cao et al, 2000, p187; Todnem, 2005, p372). Changes can also be structural, that is dealing with the physical alteration of an organization like its buildings and equipment or even employees. (Bennett & Durkin, 2000). On the other hand, it may be a change in process, that is, the way the related group of tasks are combined to create value for a target customer. (Cao et al, 2000, p188). A change can as well be in functions, that is, the decision system or policy and resource allocation duties of a particular element of an organization. There can also be changes in values, beliefs and human behavior in terms of social rules and relationships and so on. (Cao et al, 2000, p187). Lastly, there can be changes in the distribution of power and level of influence with an organization. These four types of change have different implications on the their total quality management as can be seen in the table below. Table 1. Change Management Classification. Change management classifications Total Quality Management Process change Focuses on process ahead of the other three types of organizational change. Function (structural) change Says little about organizational structure Values (cultural) change Relies on but cannot influence culture Changes in power Is distorted by power in the organization With all the above determinants and types of change outlined, we can then define change management as 'the process of updating on a continuous basis and organization's direction, structure and capabilities to serve the ever evolving needs of the indigenous and exogenous clients'. (Todnem, 2005, p369). It involves identifying the future organizational needs and managing the changes required within the present system to

Nokia Siemens Networks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nokia Siemens Networks - Essay Example The organizational structure of the new company will see its headquarters based in Helsinki, Finland-the home of Nokia. It will also house the company’s Radio access and operational support systems for the new firm. Munich, Germany-the home of Siemens-will have four business units for the new firm. All the sectors of the two companies will be headed by the current executives of the companies both in Finland and in Germany. The technical systems of Nokia Siemens Networks are designed into six business units, these are; Services, Radio Access, IP Networking, Transport, Operational Support Systems, Service Core and Applications and Broadband Access. Individual financial performance, services and products offered by each company differ and therefore the joint venture is expected to incorporate not only the services but also the strategies used by both Nokia and Siemens to improve the new business. Looking at the individual companies, a lot has been done by the two in terms of technologies, skills, human resource, and infrastructure. Siemens is an electronic and Telecommunication Company located in Berlin and Munich, Germany. It is considered one of the greatest and successful companies of all time with well over 461,000 employees and millions of employees in over 190 countries according to 2006 estimates. Siemens has been active in many areas of electrical, communication, construction, medical and transportation sectors. The main business that the company engages in is the communication sector. It offers products, services, and other solutions for industries adopting ICT technology in their day to day running of their businesses. Siemens also provides a range of power and lighting products such as electronic control gear, opt semiconductors, lamps etc.

Bar Code Scanning and Patient Safety Essay Example for Free

Bar Code Scanning and Patient Safety Essay The following paper explores eight published articles that address the issue of bar code scanning for medication administration and patient safety. Online research was conducted to locate and review articles which are included in review of literature, and to acquire accurate information addressing the issues discussed. The understanding of Bar Code Scanning for Medication Administration (BCMA) is a valuable tool, providing safe practice needed to reduce medication errors leading to safer patient handling. Patient safety is defined by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) as the prevention of harm caused by errors of commission and omission (Henneman, 2010, p. 8). The use of BCMA changed medication administration, documentation, and communication regarding patient care (Spetz, Burgress, Phibbs, 2012, p. 158). Key words: bar code scanning of medications, patient safety and workarounds Issues 1. Discuss bar code scanning in medication administration (BCMA). 2. Discuss how the use of BCMA has affected patient safety. 3. Discuss the implications of workarounds in medication administration to the patient. Literature Review Discuss How the Use of BCMA has Affected Patient Safety The following articles were reviewed for the purpose of addressing the issue: how BCMA has affected patient safety. Patient safety has been an issue in all realms of healthcare. The use of BCMA introduced a new avenue to establish the best practice of drug administration for patient safety. â€Å"Medication Administration: The Implementation Process of Bar-Coding for Medication Administration to Enhance Medication Safety† (Foote Coleman, 2008) discusses the issue of patient safety with the use of BCMA. According to (Foote Coleman, 2008, p. 207) medication errors strike at the heart of being a nurse: the value of â€Å"do no harm†. The reduction of medication errors has had a direct and indirect effect on the patient and the nurse (Foote Coleman, 2008, p. 207). The direct effect can be a safety threat to the patient and an indirect effect can compromise the confidence of nursing practice (Foote Coleman, 2008, p207). The use of BCMA has increased patient safety by system validation of the six rights of medication administration: right drug, right patient, right time, right route, right route, and right reason. The findings concluded patient safety has increased with the use of BCMA. Reduction of paperwork using BCMA for the nurse allows for more time with the patient reducing the risk for error. â€Å"Impact of BCMA on Medication Errors and Patient Safety: A Summary† (Marini Hasman, 2009) was also reviewed. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimates that one hospitalized patient is on average subject to one medication error per day. Medication errors that result in preventable adverse drug events may occur during any stage of the medication use process: ordering (56%) transcribing (6%) dispensing (4%) and administration (34%). The use of BCMA has addressed the issue of medication administration safety as a priority for patient safety (Marini Hasman, 2009, p. 439). BCMA system use has decreased the errors in the administration phrase by possibly intercepting administration errors before they reach the patient (Marini Hasman, 2009, p. 439). Enacting the BCMA technology into patient care has acted as a point of care safety system that assists in the protection from potential errors and safeguards the medication administration process where none previously existed (Mari ni Hasman, 2009, p. 440). Safeguards that have been put in place since the implication of BCMA into the healthcare field have shown from this article that safe practice has increased. The article, â€Å"Patient Misidentifications Caused by Errors in Standard Bar Code Technology (Snyder, Carter, Jenkins, Fantz, 2010), discusses some medication errors on misreading wristband bar codes. The use of bar code scanning has decreased transcription errors in many healthcare applications including patient identification (Snyder et al., 2010, p. 1554). The study indicated misidentifications of patients could occur, contributing to unsafe patient practices. Wristbands used for identification can assist with identifying the correct patient in the six rights of medication administration. While this is not a failsafe answer it is valuable in providing a safe practice of medication administration to patients. Discuss Bar Code Scanning in Medication Administration (BCMA) The following articles were reviewed for the purpose of addressing bar code scanning in medication administration. Nursing requires the critical skill of accurate medication administration. The use of electronic medication administration has brought about many changes in the healthcare field. The article,† What Determines Successful Implementation of Inpatient Information Technology Systems† (Spetz et al 2012), was reviewed to address the above question. Computerized patients records and bar-code medication systems continue to gain favor in healthcare. This idea spread across the nation in all VA sites (Spetz et al., 2012, p. 157), providing a safer environment for patient care. The use of bar code scanning utilizes the perfection of computers into medication-administration process. Training to use (BCMA) indicated from the article can be cumbersome and staff can be apprehensive about the change. The time needed for BCMA showed extremely high demands with the implementati on of BCMA system (Spetz et al., 2012, p. 160). The initial implementation of BCMA interrupted the flow of care for physicians and nurses (Spetz et al., 2012, p. 160) Training and time management were issues addressed including support, work flow changes, and communication allowing flexibility for changes and updates (Spetz et al., 2012, p. 161). In review of information, BCMA has assisted healthcare in providing a safer environment for patient care. The use of BCMA has increased awareness of mistakes, increased accountability to the staff by having recorded times of medication administration, and patient identifiers in patient care. The review of article â€Å"An Evaluation Process for an Electronic Bar Code Medication Administration Information System in an Acute Care Unit† (Bargen Lu, 2009) discussed the development and use of BCMA in medication administration. An IOM report attributed 7,000 deaths annually to medication errors (Bargen Lu, 2009, p. 356). Bar code medication administration systems were designed as a saf ety tool for nurses. The use of this system assists in reduction of errors at the point of medication administration (Bargen Lu, 2009, p. 356). The reduction of medication errors was introduced by using computerized alerts and warnings. These compelled users to stop and reconsider potentially unsafe steps in the medication administration process (Bargen Lu, 2009, p. 356). This caused a workflow disturbance for nurses. BCMA processes were examined using direct staff observation, process mapping, and informal group discussion. The process assisted in data collection and reconfiguration of BCMA, thus reducing unnecessary alerts in the BCMA system. The conclusion drawn from review showed that a decrease in the numbers of unnecessary alerts triggered by the BCMA system can help ensure the workflow blocks nurses encounter are clinically significant and justified (Bargen Lu, 2009, p. 357). Although the workflow blocks are there it is sometimes necessary to assist in safe patient handling. Another article reviewed was, â€Å"Barcode Medication Administration: Lessons Learned from an Intensive Care Unit Implementation† (Wideman, Whittler, Anderson, 2006). The use of bar code scanning has been used in retail for many years and was adapted for the use of medication administration originally by the Veterans Health Administration in the year 2000 and has spread across the US since that time (Wideman, Whittler, Anderson, 2006, p. 437). The system was designed to improve accuracy in administration of medication through real time network connectivity. This allowed documentation electronically of administration of medications at the bedside (Wideman et al., 2006, p. 437). On April 04,2004 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled that barcodes were mandatory on labels of thousands of human medication and biological products by the year 2006 (Wideman et al., 2006, p. 438). The VA health care system used barcode scanning already in place and included the barcode of the medications in the safety system. This provided a better opportunity for patient safety using the BCMA system. The use of a handheld barcode scanner at the bedside registered each medication, software verified correct medication was ordered, time of administration is correct, measured in the correct dose, and in real time documents the administration of the medication (Wideman et al., 2006, p. 439). Alleviation of paper medication record for the nurse reduced the chance for medication error and harm to the patient. By the use of this system missed medications, medication actions, and medication ordering could be done as the bedside. The induction of BCMA into patient bedside medication administration also reduced phone calls to the pharmacy from nurses. This helped to increase efficiency for medication administration providing a safer environment for patient care. Discuss the Implications of Workarounds in Medication Administration to the Patient The use of BCMA for medication administration was not received with open arms. The training, computer knowledge, workflow blocks, were some of the complaints by nurses. The following articles reviewed discussed workarounds when using BCMA. The article reviewed â€Å"Patient Safety and Technology† (Henneman, 2010) discussed safety and BCMA. The goal for BCMA systems was to prevent medication administration errors (Henneman, 2010, p. 9). Identifying and verification of the patient’s identity is critical to assure patient safety and reduction of medication errors. Work-arounds have been reported with the use of the BCMA system in place. These work arounds create a serious threat to patient safety (Henneman, 2010, p. 9). Workarounds include affixing patient identification bar codes to computer carts, clip boards and carrying several patients’ pre scanned medications on carts (Henneman, 2010, p. 10). BCMA systems have assisted in creation of some work-arounds with unreadable medication bar codes, non-bar coded medications, malfunctioning scanner s at the bedside, and missing patient armbands used as a patient identifier (Henneman, 2010, p. 10). The review indicates workarounds can be created for any situation. It is the responsibility of the nurse to ensure the correct medication is being administered to the correct patient using the six rights of medication administration. BCMA is only a tool to assist in safe patient handling. Another article reviewed, â€Å"Medication Errors Occurring with the Use of Bar-Code Administration Technology† (Pennsylvania patient safety advisory, 2008) discussed workarounds as a method of accomplishing an activity through other arrangements when not able or willing to use the correct method. A temporary solution is not the answer and, puts the patient at greater risk for medication error. Using work-arounds such as typing the patients’ social security number, indicating the medication will not scan, or affixing the wristband of patients to bedsides rather than the patient’s wrist puts the patient at risk (Pennsylvania patient safety advisory, 2008, p. 125). The summary fro m review indicates it is the nurse’s responsibility to ensure safe medication administration even though it is not always the fastest method. Analysis of Findings Patient safety, bar code scanning and work-arounds all relate safe patient handling. The review of literature indicates safety is the number one priority in healthcare. The development of BCMA was part of the process to ensure a safer procedure for medication administration. Medication errors indicated that BCMA was not always the cause of the problem. Mislabeling of medications, work-arounds, missed scanned wristbands have all contributed to errors in medication administration. Findings indicate that although BCMA is an excellent tool to assist in the six rights of medication administration to the patient. It is not an overall solution to medication errors. The responsibility is a collective effort by physicians, pharmacists, and nurses to ensure the safest practice for the patient. Implication for Practice BCMA is an excellent tool to assist the nurse in bedside medication administration. The inpatient environment is hectic for the nurse, having multiple patients and time limitations. Patient safety is a priority in healthcare and taking the time to ensure the correct medication is being administered to the correct patient is part of nursing practice. The use of BCMA assists this process by ensuring the medication has been correctly ordered by the physician, verified by the pharmacist, and verification of patient identifiers. The system alerts nursing when there is a question of correct dose, medication, time, route, or patient. This assists the nurse in providing a safer method of medication administration. The field of nursing requires critical thinking skills in all realms of patient care. Medication administration is only one area of nursing practice. A safer environment for the patient is part of everyday practice for the inpatient nurse. The use of BCMA assists the nurse in providing this environment in patient care. Although work-arounds are many times easier for the nurse in time management, it is not the safest practice. Identifying and verification of the patient’s identity is critical to assure patient safety and reduction of medication errors. The understanding of Bar Code Scanning for Medication Administration (BCMA) is a valuable tool, providing safe practice needed to reduce medication errors leading to safer patient handling. Patient safety is defined by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) as the prevention of harm caused by errors of commission and omission (Henneman, 2010, p. 8). The use of BCMA changed medication administration, documentation, and communication regarding patient care (Spetz, Burgress, Phibbs, 2012, p. 158). In the practice of nursing this all relates to everyday practice. Patient safety, avoiding the temptation of work-arounds, and using tools such as BCMA ensure that nursing is util izing all the information to assist patients in the healing process. References Bargen, M., Lu, D. (2009). An evaluattion process for an electronic bar code medication administration inofrmation system in an acute care unit. Urlogic Nursing, 29(5), 355-391. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19863043 Foote, S. O., Coleman, J. R. (2008). Medication administration: the implementation process of bar-coding for medication administration to enhance medication safety. Nursing Economics, 26(3). Retrieved from http://web.ebschost.com.lib-proxy.usi/ehost/resultsadvsnced?sid=769055e1-76b1-460c-b5f6-96214bb1c806%40sessionmgr13vid=2%hid=14bquery=Medication+Administration%3a+theimplementation+process+%22of22+bar-coding+for+medication+administration+%22to%22+enhance+medication+safetybdata=JmRiPXJ6aCZOeXBIPTEmc210ZT1aG9zdC1saXZ1JnNjb3BIPXNpdGU%3d Henneman, E. A. (2010). Patient safety and technology. Advanced Critical Care, 20(2), 128-132. Retrieved from http://www.ajhp.org/content/66/13/1202/long Marini, S. D., Hasman, A. (2009). Impact of BCMA on medication errors and patient safety: a summary. Connecting Health and Humans. doi:10.3233/978-1-60750-024-7-439 Pennsylvania patient safety advisory. (2008). Medication errors occuring with the use of bar-code administration technology. , 5(4). Retrieved from http://www.ecri.org/Documents/PA_PSRS/2008.12_Advisory.pdf Snyder, M. L., Carter, A., Jenkins, K., Fantz, C. R. (2010). Patient misidentifications caused by errors in standard bar code technology. Clinical Chemistry, 56(10), 1554-1560. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.lib-proxy.usi.edu/healthcomplete/docview/756738318/fulltextPDF/13790524A8A77BE80D2/56?accountid=14752 Spetz, J., Burgress, J. F., Phibbs, C. S. (2012). What determines successful implementation of inpatient information technology systems. The American Journal of Managing Care, 18(3). Retrieved from www.ajmc.com Wideman, M. V., Whittler, M. E., Anderson, T. M. (2006). Barcode medication administration: lessons learned from an intensive care unit implementation. Advances in Patients Safety, 3. Retrieved from http://wwwfda.gov/cber/rules/barcodelabel.pdf

Tom Burtonwood and Holly Holmes Essay Example for Free

Tom Burtonwood and Holly Holmes Essay The painting Vertical Envelopment by Tom Burtonwood and Holly Holmes is obviously a modern painting that deals with the issues of technology, power, and war. These two Chicago based artist have displayed the power of the military through this painting. The painting symbolizes the stark reality that war is not a game, but a reality. The subject of the painting is that of a large black military helicopter that is centered in the painting. The bird’s eye view of the ground and the looming chopper, symbolizes the all knowing omnipresence of the military and through modern technology. The colors used to portray the ground are washed out yellow and gray. These colors represent the desert warfare or the Iraq War that the artists oppose. There is a black river that cuts through the painting like a half moon that is representative of lack of life. The medium used in Vertical Envelopment is aluminum and acrylic. Burtonwood and Holmes used the aluminum to give the feel of cold harsh metal of the weaponry. They chose acrylic paint because of its adherence to any type of surface. Any other paint would not have endured on the aluminum. The vividness of color would have been another reason that acrylics would have been chosen. The crisp black of the helicopter is essential to the painting. The style of Vertical Envelopment is more like that of social realism. It seems that this style would fit the painting because it is political in tone. One can tell by the dominance of the helicopter to the point that it is menacing and frightening, shows that the artists are against the war. They are also making the statement that machines are fighting the war and that is contrary to the idea that it is not the machines that are destroyed by war, but the people and the earth that are destraoyed. The lines used in Vertical Envelopment are mostly straight except for the river. The straight lines of the objects on the ground from a view much higher, gives a lifelessness of those objects. It looks as if there is order to what is going on at ground level, when nothing could be farther from the truth during war. The curved yet somewhat vertical lines of the river, give feeling of straying to those things that are straight. Burtonwood and Holmes also added vertical lines of gray and black to represent either gun fire or rain. This offsets that horizontal shape of the helicopter. The value of the painting is not one of luminosity. It is dull and drab, but that is for a reason. The artists do not want to add a glossed overview of war. The predominant color used in the painting is black. One reason it was chosen was that the main symbolic meaning of black is death which is a reality of war. The drab yellow and gray represents the lifeless earth after the ravages of war. The texture of Vertical Envelopment is smooth which is oppositional to the message that it presents on the negative aspects of war. Vertical Envelopment by Tom Burtonwood and Holly Holmes is one that speaks volumes to me. I feel that war is devastating to everyone involved and this particular is shows the harshness. There is a huge emphasis on the subject, the helicopter, and that says to me that war is like the metal and machinery of the helicopter. It is cold and unfeeling, yet it is powerful and destructive. It is difficult to run from it because of the vantage point that it has. The way that Burtonwood and Holmes emphasize the metal through their painting and the aluminum, strikes me because it makes their message so obvious yet innovative. This work of art speaks volumes to the viewer about the political situation of the world. ? Works Cited Burtonwood, Tom and Holmes, Holly. Vertical Envelopment. 2004.

Supporting Children’s Learning and Development

Supporting Children’s Learning and Development Unit 4: Supporting Children’s Learning and Development Identify each of three prime areas and four specific areas of learning. Every child is a unique child; Children learn to be forceful and independent through positive relationships; Children discover and develop well in enabling environments; and Children develop and discover in different methods and at different rates. Planning ‘Practitioners must consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of progress of every child in their care, have to use this data to plan a challenging and pleasant experience for every child in all of the areas of discovering and development. Focus ‘Practitioners working alongside the youngest children are anticipated to focus powerfully on the three prime areas, which are the basis for successful discovering in the supplementary four specific areas. The three prime areas imitate the key skills and capacities of all children demand to develop and discover effectively, and come to be prepared for school. It is anticipated that the balance will shift towards an extra equal focus on all areas of discovering as children produce in assurance and skill inside the three prime areas. Home language ‘Providers have to acquire reasonable steps to offer opportunities for children to develop and use their residence speech in play and learning, supporting their speech progress at home. Providers have to additionally safeguard that children have adequate opportunities to discover and attain a good average in English language throughout the EYFS, safeguarding children are prepared to benefit from the opportunities obtainable to them when they begin Year 1.’ Play ‘Each area of learning and progress have to be implemented through planned, purposeful play and throughout a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity†¦.Children discover by managing their own play, and by taking part in play that is accompanied by adults. There is an ongoing judgement to be made by practitioners concerning the balance between activities managed by children, and activities managed or guided by adults. Practitioners must respond to every child’s emerging needs and interests, accompanying their progress through warm, positive interaction. As children produce, and as their progress permits, it is anticipated that the balance will softly shift towards more activities managed by adults, to aid children prepare for more formal learning, prepared for Year 1. Key characteristics In arranging and accompanying children’s activities, practitioners have to imitate on the different methods that children discover and imitate these in their practice. Three characteristics of competent teaching and discovering are: †¢ Playing and discovering †¢ Active learning †¢ Creating and thinking critically. Key person Each child has to be allocated to a key person. Explain how planning can be devised to promote the individual needs of children. Some children could truly dislike the sense of various material be sensitive to this, softly encourage play but take them at their own pace and level of comfort. Have soaked wipes near so that they can be utilized at any time. converse to parents concerning the benefits of messy play and enthuse its use at home. Permit plenty of periods for these activities. Possessing the activity before lunch will locale pressure on the child and adult during clean up. Connect in ideal that it is OK to become your labour dirty. Individual containers for the material can be of benefit to a child that needs support with boundaries, as a larger container i.e. water tray or sand box can enthuse a withdrawn child to interact through others. Use aged adult sized t-shirts or shirts for youthful children to wear during activities. Roll up sleeves and put on waterproof bibs for babies. Possessing a spare set of clothes is always a good back up. Attempt to position the activity near to where the children can wash their hands. At clean up period, enthuse children to aid have individual fabrics, clearly described storage areas, cleaning line for paintings, dustpan and brush near sand. Planning programmes can additionally create a sense of protection for the children. Planning includes long term – looking at the vision for the service – and short or medium term programme planning – looking at the day to day and weekly running of the service. Planning as a team supports the team in working together and the conception of a sense of ownership. Arranging requires setting aside period on a weekly basis after everyone can attend. It permits workers period to debate observations on the needs and interests of individual children and the group and next how to plan for these. This additionally helps individual staff members to recognise what their role is every single date, thus ensuring a smoother running service. It is vital to study your strategies and their implementation to notify upcoming planning. We can advance the progress of thinking and reasoning in young children by providing two curriculum components – arranging and reflection. Both are thoughtful activities that support children to consider what they are doing and what they are learning. They additionally advance a broad range of other academic, social and artistic skills. Involve children in arranging and enthuse them to recognise their goals and consider the options for achieving them. For example, they could consider what they will do, whereas they will do it, what materials they will use, who they will do it alongside, how long it will take and whether they will require help. Involve children in reflection and encourage them to go beyond just revealing what they’ve done. This helps them become aware of what they learned in the procedure, what was interesting, how they feel concerning it and what they can do to bu ild on the experience. When children plan, carry out, and study their own discovering activities, their behaviour is more purposeful and they present larger on speech and supplementary intellectual measures. Describe how the practitioner can support children’s learning and development in each area of learning. When preparing environments for children, it is important to consider their age and stage of development. We also need to ensure that the experiences and play opportunities offered cover the areas of development outlined in the EYFS. We also need to consider whether the environment meets the needs of individual children. Children develop at different rates. Some children need more challenging activities while others may need a different type of activity or different resources. Observing individual children to see how the engage with the environment will help us to plan appropriately. The practitioner should always make sure that the environment around the child is safe if not this could but the child in hazard, and also should make sure the environment meet each child individual needs. The practitioners should guide the children of being individual and do their own activity. As well as working together with parents and carers practitioners need to recognise that this should be taking place with multi- agencies working together too. Setting should be pointing parents in the directions of other agencies which could be of benefit to them. Multi agency working is different services, agencies, professionals and practitioners who work together to provide services for children and parents. These services are sometimes integrated together to offer a more effective care for young children. Children in the early years may have a wide range of needs and working together with other professionals can have a positive impact on the child’s health, development and learning. Professionals that work together with children and their families can share lots of information. They can agree which ways they may assess and plan for a particular child. Both children and the parents can be involved in any planning this will help the child to reach his full potential. It is also important that confidentiality is maintained at all times. By sharing information and all professionals concerned working together the outcome for the child can only be positive. The arrangement of the environment plays a key role in guiding the behaviour of young children. A poorly arranged physical setting actually sends messages which may trigger behaviour such as aggressive play, running, or superficial interactions with toys and materials. Altering the physical space and layout of the room can eliminate such challenging behaviours. Observe children closely to determine what messages the physical environment is sending. If it appears that the space suggests undesirable behaviours to children like running indoorsbe willing to modify the arrangement of equipment and furnishings to send a different message.

Grand Slam Record! :: essays research papers

Grand slam record falls again Click here for more on this story Posted: Sunday May 21, 2000 07:35 PM Jason Giambi crushed a 3-1 pitch over the right-center field wall for his 17th homer of the season and fifth career grand slam. AP NEW YORK (AP) -- Baseball had its grandest day ever. Less than one year after the first five grand-slam day in major league history, there were six hit Sunday. Anaheim's Garrett Anderson hit the record-breaker with two outs in the third inning off Kansas City's Chris Fussell. J.T. Snow of San Francisco, Brian Hunter of Philadelphia, Jason Giambi of Oakland, and Los Angeles' Adrian Beltre and Shawn Green connected with the bases loaded earlier in the day, bettering the record set last Aug. 9. It was the first time the Dodgers had two grand slams in a game since Aug. 23, 1985, when Pedro Guerrero and Mariano Duncan did it against Montreal. The Brooklyn Dodgers also had two slams in a game in 1901 in Cincinnati. "It is exciting to be a part of history," Green said. "Especially with the Dodgers and their illustrious past." Beltre hit his first career slam in the fifth inning off Jesus Sanchez in Los Angeles' 12-3 win over the Florida Marlins. Green capped the Dodgers' grand day with a bases-loaded shot in a seven-run ninth inning off Antonio Alfonseca. Slams were part of an even bigger inning in Milwaukee, when Snow capped an 11-run sixth inning with his shot off Valerio De Los Santos. The Giants beat the Brewers 16-10. Hunter, who entered the game in a 3-for-24 slump, hit his third career grand slam in the third inning off Colorado's Masato Yoshii, accounting for all of Philadelphia's runs in a 4-3 victory. "I've been struggling so any hit was going to be a big one for me," he said. "But a grand slam, that's pretty big at any time.

Disillusionment in Europe During the years 1914-1918 :: essays research papers

Analyze the spirit of promise that gave way to disillusionment in Europe during the years 1914-1918.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prior to the devastation of the first World War, a spirit of optimism and enthusiasm engulfed the minds of citizens across Europe. Relating the potential outcome of another war to the short, decisive, progressive wars in the nineteenth century, Europeans greeted the opportunity for war as a tool to cleanse the current ailments of Europe. The people, blinded by an overwhelming belief in progress and a developing sense of nationalism, failed to foresee that they were heading for disaster. World War I emanated from European leaders' aggression toward other countries, which was supported by the rising nationalism. Economic and imperial competition and fear of war prompted military alliances and an arms race, which further escalated the tension contributing to the outbreak of a war greatly exceeding the lethality of European expectation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A spirit of nationalism rang high in the atmosphere pre-world war Europe. Many were engrossed by potential benefits war could bring to their lives. Nationalism, however, was not a new idea; at the settlement of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the principle of nationalism was ignored in favor of preserving the peace. Despite the settlement, the principle was rejuvenated by the onset of the World War. The ardent nationalists fussed in masses to champion the need for war. â€Å"Patriotic demonstrations had an intoxicating effect and excited the war-mongers to excess...† (Phillip Schneidemanan). Under false aspirations and expectations the naive soldiers marched off to war, unexpectant of the tragedies they would encounter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In only a few short months, the soldiers realized how false their assumptions were. Nationalism presented itself as a misleading concept rendering the soldiers to a rude awakening. â€Å"Oh, God how those men looked, as they came nearer-- those utterly immobile faces under their steel helmets...† The illusion brought about by nationalist ideals encouraged war, and under false pretenses delivered the devastation of the war as a shock exceeding all expectations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The power of alliances also played a key role in the creation and devastation of World War I. Dating back to the time of Bismarck, most alliances formed for the sake of reassurance or to postpone the outbreak of a war. But as time passed, alliances greatly increased international tension by dividing Europe into two armed camps. â€Å"I felt strongly that England ought to remain neutral, and I collected the signatures of a large number of professors and fellows to a statement.

The dotcom bubble and the stock market fall in 2000-2001

Summary of the main points covered in my essay. How did the dotcom bubble burst contribute to the economic crisis of the 2008? Could we expect the similar crisis and how can it be prevented? What are the lessons that should have been learned from the dotcom crisis? When the global financial crisis occurred in 2008, both experts and general public started heated discussion as everyone was eager to identify the reasons for such a calamity. It is clear that nothing happens with no reason at all. Let's consider the famous speech1 of Ben Bernanke, who is the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System. In that testimony he tried to explain the causes of the recent financial and economic crisis to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, highlighting the vulnerabilities in different sectors of economics. The idea of inadequate risk-measurement that he focused on is very important for us, as this particular issue makes the recent crisis akin to the dotcom bubble we are about to examine in detail. (The same idea is one of the major issues of the next Ben Bernanke's speeches, where he underlines the importance of reasonable risk management and possible destructive effects of being too optimistic about the future of the economic system). To sum up, experts claim that flaws in evaluating the perspectives of new technologies in the 90ies caused the dotcom bubble burst in 2000, while the inadequate risk-measurement of the financial instruments connected to mortgages led to the global financial and economic crisis in 2008. Could we have predicted the economic disaster coming in 2008 and which lessons could have been gathered from the dotcom crisis? These are the questions that make the topic urgent and exciting to examine. To begin with, let's define the key term. What is a dotcom? Dotcom is a firm conducting its business mainly over the Internet. They usually possess a Web site intended for business use. The term is based on the â€Å"com† that forms the last part of the address for most commercial Web-sites. Now, what were the reasons for the dotcom bubble burst and what actually happened? (We should mention that this phenomenon is also referred as the Internet bubble and the Information Technology Bubble in many articles). It all started during the mid 1990is. The Internet was extremely popular those days and the Stock Market soared on technology and Internet stocks. Stock prices were rising and it seemed there was to limit for their value to expand. The masses believed there was a new world coming and the Internet was for sure to become the future of business. The steady confidence took place that the e-companies would turn future profits and there is no limit for technologies development. These expectations were reflected in the NASDAQ composite index. The NASDAQ composite is a stock market index of the common stocks and similar securities, which are listed on the NASDAQ stock market. The index reflects the performance of stocks of technology companies and growth companies. From January 1994 to February 2000, the it rose from 776. 80 to 4,696. 69, a 605% increase, and was influenced mainly by prices of high-technology stocks. But these expectations turned out to be far too positive. The market became overvalued. The Stock Market crashed. The culmination happened on March 10, 2000, with the NASDAQ peaking at 5132. 52 in intraday trading before closing at 5048. 62. (see the graph 1) Graph 1. NASDAQ composite dynamics2 The period when the bubble expanded rapidly was marked by the founding of many new small Internet-based companies commonly referred to as dotcoms. Many of them failed in 2000. A very specific phenomenon could be noticed at that time – the way for a new unknown company to become prosperous was just to add an â€Å"e-† prefix to their name or a â€Å". com† to the end. One of the authors called it â€Å"prefix investing†3, as the result of this simple renaming was the incredible growth of stock prices. I suppose that was one of the first indicators that something was wrong and the calamity was coming. But everyone considered it the steady development of the market that has big future. Alan Greenspan (an American economist, the Chairman of the Fed in 1987-2006) in 2005 said, that â€Å"this vast increase in the market value of asset claims is in part the indirect result of investors accepting lower compensation for risk. Such an increase in market value is too often viewed by market participants as structural and permanent†4. However, the situation isn't unique and appeared to happen again. When in 2003 nanotechnology became the â€Å"hot† thing, everyone started to add a â€Å"nano† prefix in their name. It seems that the lessons that should have been learned from the dotcom bubble burst were forgotten. Let's turn to the term itself in its theoretical sense. What is the bubble in financial markets? In a word, we say that a stock market bubble occurs when there is a rise or boom in the share prices of stocks of a particular industry. Meanwhile, the rise in prices usually bears little relation to the intrinsic value of the asset. The term â€Å"bubble† may be used with certainty only in retrospect when share prices have since crashed, as it happened in our case. An important basic characteristic of a bubble is the suspension of disbelief by most market participants during the â€Å"bubble phase. They fail to recognize that all of them are engaged in a speculative activity. That characteristic describes the dotcom crisis as well, as we already found out. It would be interesting to mention that financial bubbles have existed for centuries and one of the earliest crises of the type in known as the Dutch tulip mania. In the 17th century prices for tulip bulbs rose and finally reached extraordinarily high levels and then collapsed in the blink of an eye. The same happened to the stock of e-companies in the late 90ies. I suppose we can refer to this case as to â€Å"the dotcom mania†. The speculators who represent all the people in the economy that what to get high profits very fast, note the fast increase in value and decide to buy stock in anticipation of further rises, not taking into account that the shares are overvalued. Consequently the rise happens responding to the high demand for stock and many companies thus become grossly overvalued. When the bubble â€Å"bursts†, the share prices fall dramatically, and many companies are forced to leave the business. In order to be more precise, we can name five stages of any financial bubble5: First. Displacement. When people, especially investors, get enamored by a new paradigm, such as an innovative new technology or dotcom companies, as in our case, displacement occurs. That is the first stage of a financial bubble. Second. Boom. At this stage prices rise slowly at first, following a displacement, but then they gain momentum. More and more participants enter the market. All of them are determined to get prosperous as soon as possible. In case of dotcoms, a huge amount of small companies appeared on the market. The low interest rates in 1998-99 helped to increase the start-up capital amounts. Not all of them possessed innovative ideas, but they were sure that in the wave of e-companies they must succeed. No wonder they all had the same business plan of monopolizing their respective sectors through network effects. However it was clear that all of them wouldn't become successful as the competition was tough. For many of them the â€Å"get big fast† plan would fail. During this phase, investors become even more enamored by the asset, considering it once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that increases speculation even more. Mass media also played its role. American respected business publications such as Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, encouraged the public to invest in risky companies in the wave of the wide-spread euphoria. As the result, many â€Å"ordinary† people became investors, some of them even gave up their job to become fill-time traders. Third. Euphoria. During this phase investors as well as the whole financial system forgets about prudence and asset prices skyrocket. During the dotcom bubble, the euphoria stage took place in the beginning of March 2000, when NASDAQ composite reached its top at 5132. 2 in intraday trading before closing at 5048. 62. This and the previous stages can be clearly revealed from the NASDAQ dynamics (see graph 1). Fourth. Profit taking. By this time the warning signs of coming debacle can be seen. This is the point when smart investors can make fortunes by selling out positions and taking profits. However, it is obvious that it's very difficult to estimate the exact time when a bubble is due to collapse. John Maynard Keynes once mentioned that â€Å"the markets can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent. As for the dotcoms founders, few of them made vast fortunes when their companies were bought out before the collapse. Fifth. Panic. In the panic stage, asset prices change direction and descend as rapidly as they had ascended. Investors and speculators are faced with margin calls, which are â€Å"demands on an investor using margin to deposit additional money or securities so that the margin account is brought up to the minimum maintenance margin†6, and the value of their holding plunge. Consequently, they want to liquidate them at any price. The supply overwhelms demand, and asset prices slide sharply. In 2000 the market index fell by almost 11% and NASDAQ fell by about 41%7. To explain the bubble applying the tools of mathematics, we'll apply the most common concept that shows the existence of bubbles8. Considering the most simple case of price of a single share, the mathematical definition of an asset price bubble uses the fair price of a financial asset as its starting point. The price of an asset is the present value of the future cash flows, generated by the asset. pt =Et(dt+1+pt+1)/(1+r), here dt is dividend, pt is the price of the asset at a certain time t, and Et(i) is the expected value of the expression in the brackets based on the information available at t time. If the interest rate (r) is held constant during the whole period, then share price at t time (pt) in a general form can be given as follows: The first part of the sum on the right, which is the discounted present value of dividends, is the fundamental value of the share (pt * ). The remainder (bt) is a deterministic or the stochastic component satisfying the condition bt = Et(bt+1) /(1 + r), which is the asset price bubble itself. So, if the price of an asset is formed as following: pt =p t*+bt, and if p =? p*, then in the mathematical sense an asset price the bubble is formed. To continue our analysis, let's describe the consequences of the dotcom bubble burst in 2000. Many small companies and some of the largest ones were forced to file for bankruptcy. Some of them ran out of capital, some of them were acquired, some were convicted of fraud in their financial statements. WorldCom, which was one of the leaders in the market was found practicing fraudulent accounting practices to exaggerate its profits every year. As it was revealed, it's stock price fell dramatically, and finally the company filed for bankruptcy. Other examples include NorthPoint Communications, Global Crossing, JDS Uniphase and many others. However, some of the e-companies managed to survive the calamity. Large companies, for example, Amazon. com and eBay, are quite successful nowadays. Google also survived the turmoil and became one of the market leaders. As many economists predicted, harsh recession began from 2001. The crash on the stock market of 2000-2002 caused the loss of $5 trillion in the market value of companies from March 2000 to October 2002: the market value of NASDAQ companies peaked at $6. 7 trillion in March 2000 and bottomed out at $1. 6 trillion in October 20029. The economic bottom was the followed by 9/11 terrorist attacks of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. CONCLUSION After the case of dotcom crisis the word â€Å"dotcom† started to be used with unfavourable inflecton. It is frequently used to refer to a poorly thought-out unsuccessful businesses. Experts claim that dotcom crisis was one of the events that preceded the global financial crisis in 2008. It was kind of a â€Å"rehearsal†, as the global crisis also contained a speculative bubble, though it embraced a much wider variety of securities. Luckily, the recession following the bubble burst of 2000-2001 was not as deep as it could have been thanks to very aggressive interest rates lowering. However, a deeper downturn in the financial activity is much harder to overcome. The Internet bubble is also similar to the recent downturn because they were both preceded by inadequate risk-measurement and agents' overconfidence. The financial and economic crisis of 2008 could have been predicted, if everyone was more prudent and learned a lesson from the 2000 dotcom case. In conclusion, I'd like to address the issue of a new Internet crisis that is predicted by some economists. Nowadays World Web companies place their stock at unbelievably high prices. Can a successful Internet project cost more than a huge transnational oil company? The common sense says definitely no, but investors have their own specific point of view. For example, the shares of Groupon, a famous discount service, we evaluated at $12,7 trillions, despite the company's loss of $400 trillions the previous year and gross debt equal to $420 millions. This estimation is not reasonable and very far from reality. Meanwhile, the expected IPO of social network Facebook is evaluated at $100 trillions. It can be the beginning of the Dotcom Crisis 2. 0. On the other hand investors are optimistic about e-companies, as they survived the recent global crisis, unlike huge interconnected firms in other fields, such as financial, machinery and so on. However, if the case of Groupon is not unique (which is so, judging by the investors' optimistic mood) the crisis can occur once again. The most important thing in preventing the possible debacle is being prudent. Investors shouldn't be too optimistic and should be sensible when acquiring assets. PR and advertising can be astonishing, however being reasonable means evaluating the real business indicators to make rational decisions. Risk-management is the field that shouldn't be ignored if we want to avoid new crises.

Positive and Negative Impacts of the Sixties Counterculture Essay

Hippies represent the ideological, naive nature that children possess. They feel that with a little love and conectedness, peace and equality will abound. It is with this assumption that so many activists and reformers, inspired by the transformation that hippies cultivated, have found the will to persist in revolutionizing social and political policy. Their alternative lifestyles and radical beleifs were the shocking blow that American culture– segregation, McCarthyism, unjust wars, censorship–needed to prove that some Americans still had the common sense to care for one another. The young people of the sixties counterculture movement were successful at awakening awareness on many causes that are being fought in modern American discourse. If not for the Revolution that the hippies began, political or social reform and the People’s voice would be decades behind. While the hippie movement has subsided, as it became too â€Å"cool† and entrenched in mainstream society, the spirit of the Hippies lives on, as their work was only the framework for decades of reform to come. Civil Rights The work that hippies did, hand in hand with African-Americans, was very powerful in striking the discourse on racial equality in the US. Demonstrations reached their inspirational peak in 1964 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marched with 250,000 people in support of civil rights and racial equality. They were successful politically with the passage of the Civil Rights Act. The fight for equal rights has not been won, however, as most of the hippie’s battles continue to be fought by the veterans and new recruits of the movement. Racism and inequality ensue today as the discrimination, prejudice, and hate crimes occur at an alarmingly frequent rate. Rita Sehti, in The State of Asian America, explains that â€Å"media sensationalism, political expedience, intellectual laziness, and legal constraints conspire to narrow the scope of cognizable racism† (Sethi). But it is still a problem of extreme magnitude  in America, being fought more often in courtrooms than campus protests. Groups like ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunities Council), and ARA (Anti-Racist Action League) have come into force thanks to the social reform of the sixties counterculture. Organizations such as these continue to foster great changes in civil rights and equality. Feminism The sexual revolution of the sixties was truly a woman’s revolution. Women were given the choice of getting pregnant for the first time in history. The value of this freedom was much more signifcant than controlling pregnancy, however. It represented female empowerment and gave women a long needed boost toward the fight for gender equality. Hippies, hand in hand with conformist women, protested and battled for equal wages, abortion rights, academic equality, discrimination, family and abused women aid, and much more. The progress the activists made for women’s rights in the 1960s is unparalleled and monumental. It is now 2004. For the first time in history, the 1972 Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade is being challenged by American government. This court decision gave women the right to choose to end a pregnancy. The Bush administration’s Christian fundamental values are infringing on the Constitutional values of America. On April 25, 2004 there is to be a national protest march on Washington DC for women’s rights. This is to be the largest women’s rights protest in world history. Its’ organizers, participants, and sponsors hope that the demonstration will speak to the American people, legislators, and media the way the feminist movement of the sixties has. Environmentalism As people began to recognize their relationship to each other and their environment in a new way, a heightened Earth Consciousness was born. Concern for the environment grew because hippies saw the Earth as wat it is–a  loving Mother Nature that provided for and nourished their very lives. They pioneered the ongoing and tough battle to save the earth with the founding of Earth Day, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, and groups like Greenpeace. Environmentalists host one of America’s largest political lobbies. Groups such as Greenpeace protest with millions of members worldwide on issues ranging from destruction of rainforests, oil companies, nuclear wastes, Greenhouse effect, and biodiversity. Political Awareness and Student Rebellion Recently Ralph Nader spoke to an enthusiastic and supportive audience at Columbia College. Nader spoke about the very same issues he lectured about in 1968–corporate rule, environmental protections, military-industrial complex and unjust wars, equality and access to education, women’s rights. It was an increased awareness that overtook the young people of the sixties counterculture movement. This awareness led to a social outcry against injustices in politics. The hippies, hand in hand with college students, helped stop an unjust, costly, and deathly war in Vietnam. The hippies had the courage to speak out for the 67% of Americans that were opposed to the war. An anti-war movement not unlike the Vietnam protests has progressed over the past two years against the War in Iraq. March 20, 2003 was a national day of protest with over 25 million protesting the worldwide-disapproved occupation of Iraq. Seven-hundred were arrested in Chicago as the protesters marched on Lake Shore Drive. NION (Not in Our Name) is a prominent organization formed post-9/11 that organizes, educates, and demonstrates through direct action against the unjustified Iraq war. The hippie movement was comprised almost entirely of youth (the 18 to 30 year- old demographic). In an unprecedented and organized fashion, these young people united to make positive changes in the world. Youth have a powerful voice in numbers as parents, schools, and governing institutions wish not to have too much fuss in their daily lives. After the disasters at  Altamont and Kent State University, some of the strength of the movement faded. But not for long. Today college students play a huge role in legislation reform. Groups such as SSDP (Students for Sensible Drug Policy) and YIRP (Youth in Revolutionizing Politics) have been succesful in gaining media and political support in increasing awareness of American political issues which affect the world. M Negativity M Hippies grew up. Therein lies one major problem with the movement. The members of the counterculture were optimistic, idealistic kids. Many of them impressionable teens with a desire to conform to some group of peers. But after the fatal blows to the unity of the hippie tribes–Kent State massacre, mass arrests and assasinations of revered leaders and activists, government censorship, rock n’ roll overdoses, an influx of shady, greedy characters into the hippie community, legislation (building codes prohibiting hippie communes and open houses; anti-vagrancy laws) and so on–many of these kids matured as adults and adopted totally contradicting lifestyles. Karen Thomas, longtime Chicago hippie activist and drug law reformer, tells of a time when she was working as an accountant at the Board of Trade. Many of her colleagues and stock trader â€Å"suit- types† told of the jolly times at Woodstock and smoking grass and the GroovyLoooveDayz. This utter and embarassing 180 of lifestyles showed the Conservative world that hippies were indeed a bunch of idealistic kiddies who would one day grow up. They are now working for the very companies they protested against for violations of human, environmental, women’s and animal rights. The irony of the grown-up hippies is damaging today, as it discredits future youth, counterculture, social, politial, and rebellious movements. There are some obvious flaws in the countercultures’ approach to sparking a political revolution. In some ways the philosophies of the movement were far too broad to provoke any sort of lasting change. One must pick their battles wisely if they are to make any timely progress in legislation reform. â€Å"Real  love†, rising of the consciousness, and enlightenment are great for some. But it takes a bit more than a peaceful nature and groovy hair to convince those legislators in D.C. that what they are doing is wrong. Hippies never provided any long-term alternatives to the evil system they were fighting, just colorful short-term ones. It is not far off to imagine that many hippies felt drawn to the idea of protesting for cause of impure motives. Perhaps they were drawn to the excitement, the glory of speaking before an enthusiastic crowd, and the prestige of recognition in the scene. Allen Ginsberg once lamented that too many of the protesters in the sixties seemed to be doing it because it was a good excuse to be spiteful. Many hippies had uncontrolled anger and emotion that interfered with the clarity of their message. Long-time organizer Saul Alinsky, in his book Rules for Radicals, asks if you are willing to cut your hair to make yourself more effective. That is a pretty good indication of an activist’s level of sacrifice and dedication. The hippie movement both amused and scared parents, educators, police, and government officials. They closed in on the hippie movement once and for all with the Draconian drug war launched by Richard Nixon in 1969. His administration arranged for an unprecedented amount of federal budget to be applied to cracking down on marijuana arrests. The drug war was used as a crutch to stop the hippie movement dead in its’ tracks. And it has done a pretty good job, with over five million marijuana arrests over the past decade! (Sidenote: Ninety percent of these arrests were for nonviolent, simple posession charges).

Abiotic And Biotic Characteristics Environmental Sciences Essay

San Francisco Bay has maintained a brilliant organic structure of H2O and usage to prolong the economic system of Western United States and San Francisco Estuary in Bay in is of great importance because through this a big figure of H2O run outing becomes possible. It ‘s Estuary from where fresh H2O meets to sea H2O. There are many pollutants that we face in our day-to-day life e.g. soil, deposits, oil, lubricating oil, fertilizes pesticides chemicals etc. the H2O running from the land transporting these pollutants to underground and finally this range to the Estuary of san Francisco. These pollutants when range in river and sea H2O can foul the whole H2O and turn out harmful for aquatic life as it can be cause injury for wetland animals like fish, and can turn out really unsafe for other home grounds of H2O. It can destruct the aquatic system and can be major menaces for the life being populating under H2O. As San Francisco Estuary considered as a really of import part and has much economic importance so for bar of pollution and maintain safe this part from other different factors Restoration and preservation is used.Abiotic and biotic features of the San Francisco EstuaryMany of environmental factors affect the abiotic and biotic features of the San Francisco Estuary these include both abiotic and biotic features. These factors effects the life in Estuary in great extends. Inanimate factors are called abiotic factors which include concentration of O and foods, salt of H2O and sum of sunlight. As these factors have the major impact on the life in estuary. All life factors that affect the estuary are called biotic factors. That includes manufacturers ‘ consumers and marauders as manufacturers are of basic importance for consumers. Consumers rely on manufacturers and marauders rely on consumers. So these are depend on one another to keep the balance of estuary,Population growing in the San Francisco Bay country affected the estuaryIncreasing tendency of population in San Francisco Bay country affected the estuary as increasing tendency of population cause a haste in urban every bit good as on small town countries. More the people are utilizing the resorts more the waste is making and much usage of H2O and H2O waste from its usage create pollution as much of the contaminated H2O is drained through the belowground ways to Estuary that is a great menace for the marine life. More over in recent old ages 40,000 metric dozenss of pollutants enter the Bay yearly from agribusiness and urban overflow. Rivers, atmospheric radioactive dust, municipal sewerage intervention workss, industrial installations, natural and unreal eroding, illegal clearance, dredging and dredged stuff disposal, marine vas discharges, inadvertent spills, and landfill ooze are besides doing jobs every bit good. ( 1 )Habitat break in the San Francisco Estuary been increased by human behaviourEstuaries is of great importance for us as these are used for nutrient, trade and for shelter and in this instance Sans Francisco Bay has great importance as it is used as seaport for many ships of this parts. There are big figure of workss and animate beings found in Estuaries and the most of population of San Francisco Bay depend on these marine lives for their nutrient. But due to the pollution spreading by addition in population cause injury to these workss and animate beings. This pollution can do harm to the lives of these workss and animate beings found in estuaries. Heavy burden of silt, rubbish, and deposits by eroding and chemical taint cause can turn out to be harmful for these workss and animate beings and can make asphyxiation for them. Due to increase in irrigation or by doing more dikes by the people can do jobs as more the salty H2O will travel upriver as comparison to normal everyday that can do destructive effect for species populating in the H2O. The most of import impact of human population in estuaries habitat in San Francisco is the development of estuaries. Peoples are seeking to acquire spread out the country of estuaries for development intent as they are rather interested to utilize the land for lodging and concern intent as they want to desire to use the part of estuaries for industrial development. Economically estuaries are really good for these intents but this can caused the doomed of big figure of home ground found in these estuaries. So it is harmful for the H2O species and go the cause of Habitat break in the San Francisco Estuary. Aquatic Nuisance Species ( ANS ) is transporting the being across America and around the Earth. This phenomena is increasing that cause injury to native fish and wild life in different ways as it disturb the full nutrient web and cause jobs for human life activity every bit good e.g. interrupting the H2O bringing and set uping the agribusiness every bit good.Conservation being used to advance and keep the biodiversity of workss and animate beings in the San Francisco EstuaryBiodiversity of workss and animate beings means scope of organisms including different workss and animate beings, present in ecological system. It is really of import to advance and keep the biodiversity of workss and animate beings to acquire the broad assortment of being that will be good and usage to carry through human demands. San Francisco Estuary is of great importance for the home ground of this part as they get of import benefits from them so to salvage this and to last from the loss of species found in t hese estuaries it is really of import to properly mange and develop the system to get away from the loss of marine species as good. Estuary of San Francisco Bay is of great importance in all over the universe. To procure it from un exceeding phenomena and widen the productive usage of it The San Francisco Estuary Partnership ( SFEP ) is playing really of import function as they have used different attacks to cut down the impact of Aquatic Nuisance Species ( ANS ) . They have start to see species direction program I order to retrieve the species of Estuary from harmful effects. Fish in the estuary demand O to last so the estuary where there is increased pollution that ‘s doing lost of marine life, Submerged aquatic flora ( SAV ) produces O for fish external respiration and to cut down the pollution. The Sans Francisco Bay preservation and development committee ( 2 ) prepared a program to do and implement the policies for the development of Bay and to use the maximal benefits from them. The Sans Francisco Bay program is created and implemented by this committee in 1968. The of import conversation of this program was related to shore line and coastal countries to use it to their maximal potency. Conservation of fish and other aquatic being is most significantly depend on the O that is provided to these beings, fresh H2O, handiness of nutrient for these beings, sufficient country of genteelness and quality of H2O. If these factors are organized in proper manner so it became possible to keep and better the biodiversity of workss and animate beings of Sans Francisco estuary. The Sans Francisco Bay preservation and development committee has taken of import stairss to reconstruct these constituents in order to guarantee the benefits for the future coevals of these fish, and other wild life of estuary. This committee besides provides recommendations in Bayland Ecosystem habitat Goal Report about the diverseness of home ground O heighten the assortment of aquatic workss and carnal species. The Baylands Ecosystem habitat Goal Report works to supply the of import information about the types, sum, and distribution of wetlands and its home grounds that are needed to keep a healthy eco system.DecisionSan Francisco Estuary is of great importance as this is a passage zone between watershed and ocean and economically this system has great importance for that part that ‘s the ground of Restoration of this estuary. Many action programs has made for the development, publicity and care of these Estuary and many more action programs are expected in close hereafter for farther development of this ecosystem.

Definition of Middle Income Trap Essay

As the name implies, the middle income trap is an economic development situation, where a country which attains a certain income (due to given advantages) will get stuck at that level. Part of this concept was firstly discussed in the 2006 World Bank report ‘Equity and development’ as the ‘inequity trap’. But this report does not state very clearly on the definitions, classifications and measures to avoid it, etc. Then in the famous 2007 World Bank report ‘An east Asian Renaissance’, this economic phenomenon was officially addressed. According to the latest definition of The International Monetary Fund in 2013, the ‘middle-income trap’ is the phenomenon of hitherto rapidly growing economies stagnating at middle-income levels and failing to graduate into the ranks of high-income countries (2013 The International Monetary Fund Working Paper: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle Income Trap). From the publications and journal articles, it seems there has not been universal and very concrete understanding on the details of this issue yet. For example, different researchers and even different journalist may have different classifications on it based on various standards. However, the principles applied are similar. The most recent World Bank classification with data for 2010 is as following: a country is classified as low-income if its GNI (Gross National Income) per capita is US$1,005 or less, lower-middle-income if its GNI per capita lies between US$1,006 and US$3,975, upper-middle-income if its GNI per capita lies between US$3,976 and US$12,275, and high income if its GNI per capita is US$12,276 or above. This classification was also used by The International Monetary Fund in its working paper in 2013: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle Income Trap. After the International Monetary Fund applies this classification to its sample of 138 countries in 2010, the result yields 24 low-income countries, 36 lower middleincome countries, 33 upper middle-income countries, and 45 high-income countries (2013 The International Monetary Fund Working Paper: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle Income Trap). It’s very clear that most of the countries are still in the situation of low income or middle income. In addition, middle income  countries are much more than low income countries, which ensure us that it is make sense to pay more attention to the countries in the middle income situation. In recent years the world turned to recognize the existence of a Middle Income Trap. The term Middle Income Trap is by now also being widely used in economic literature as well as businessoriented media. The Middle Income Trap occurs when the growth of an economy slows and eventually flattens after it reaches a middle income level. The problem usually arises when developing countries ï ¬ nd themselves stuck in between high and low income levels. On the one hand, with rising wages, middle income countries are less competitive compared to lessdeveloped, low-wage countries in terms of the cheap production of manufactured goods. On the other hand, they are unable to compete with developed cou ntries in terms of high-skill innovations. As the Asian Development Bank describes, these countries cannot â€Å"compete with low-income, low-wage economies in manufacturing† and similarly are disadvantaged against advanced economies in high-skill innovations†. In another word, these countries cannot continue to compete on cost for cheap goods, and they cannot yet compete on quality for more sophisticated items. Let us have a deeper look at this economic phenomenon. When low-income countries first begin to take off, they often do take the advantage of a low-wage. This allows the country’s manufacturers to offer competitive prices on the global market, since they have a lower cost base. However, as economic growth rates and productivity rise quickly, rapid wage increases tend to follow. Thus the trap is generally characterized by the fact that rising wages eventually begin to eat into the competitiveness that low-base wages originally offered. Once economies get closer to the development frontier, the growth model will become more complex. It is increasingly determined by innovation, investment in more sophisticated technologies and through the raising of the level and quality of education, notably secondary and higher education of the potential labor force. Among these factors, it must be noted that education dose matter. In addition, the second education is more important than the ge neral education. Lower level of education in the majority of the labor force definitely leads to insufficient qualified  workers. The risks of falling into the Middle Income Trap have increasingly become a focus of discussions in terms of the long-term economic and social development of developing economies. These risks, and how to minimize them, are being discussed at the highest levels of policy making in some of the fast growing emerging economies, even while these countries may still be sources of envy to the rest of the world, such as China, Russia and India. Countries in the trap and how to avoid the middle income trap As we mentioned above, due to a variety of factors, many countries risk getting stuck in this trap. According to the International Monetary Fund, most notably, several Latin American economies, at least until recently, would seem to belong in this category, having failed to achieve highincome levels despite attaining middle-income status several decades ago (2013 The International Monetary Fund Working Paper: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle-Income Trap). Actually it has been well accepted that countries across Latin America as well as the several Middle East economies saw catch-up growth in the 1960s and 1970s but then they hit an invisible ceiling and have mostly stuck in the â€Å"middle income trap† ever since, with per capita incomes far behind the rare â€Å"break-out† countries. Most of the evidence on the middle-income trap comes from these economies of Latin America and the Middle East. These are regions abundant in land and natural resources. They have had growth during commodity booms, often followed by growth crashes when commodity prices drop sharply. In Eva Paus’s article about the Latin America’s middle-income trap, she points out that the accumulation of technological capabilities is at the heart of the development process. Technological capabilities refer to the resources and organizational abilities needed to generate and manage technological change. In a changing national and global context, accumulation those capabilities is the key to sustained productivity growth and high-end economic development. She also mentioned Policymakers should promote entrepreneurship and innovation to begin reaping the benefits of information networks and skilled labor before the gains from cheap labor and knowledge  spillovers are exhausted. Nowadays people are more studying on Asian countries with more both low income and middle income countries. Through the evidence from countries already stuck in middle income trap and the current research in Asia, people could not only forecast the future in terms of economic development, but also make the policy maker to develop the suitable measures to avoid the trap. We could take a look at the middle-income Asian economies for our further investigation. There are eight countries that stand out in East and South Asia: the ASEAN-5 (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam), China, India and Sri Lanka. But they are at very different levels of development. They could be divided into ‘high middle-income’ and ‘low middleincome’ groups. Malaysia is at the top of the high middle-income group. Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, India and Sri Lanka are in the low middle-income group. China and Thailand are roughly in the middle. As we will discuss China in every detail later, let us take Indonesia as an example. According to the Asian Development Bank, Indonesia could be the case of the country in the middle-income trap. It became a middle-income economy in 2003. It actually attained middle-income status in 1993, but fell back after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. It took six years to jump back to the middle income level. Now it needs to battle the â€Å"middle-income trap†. Indonesia is not unique to this problem. Regardless the different external international economic environment, many middle-income countries are without a viable high-growth strategy. They are faced with new challenges, including social cohesion, a large pool of young people in search of jobs, as well as millions who still live in misery and poverty. Typically, countries trapped at middle-income level have: (1) low investment ratios; (2) slow manufacturing growth; (3) limited industrial diversification; and (4) poor labor market conditions. The Asian Development Bank in its 2011 report ‘Asia 2050: Realizing the Asian Century’ raised the question that considering that the region has to face up to the daunting  opportunity that lies before it, how many countries will meet this challenge? The answer is still unclear. Given this reality and uncertainties about the future the report postulates two quantitative scenarios with very different outcomes. Most of the discussion in the report is based on the optimistic Asian Century scenario. This scenario assumes that the 11 economies (Armenia; Azerbaijan; Cambodia; P.R.China; Georgia; India; Indonesia; Kazakhstan; Malaysia; Thailand; and Viet Nam) with a demonstrated record of sustained convergence to best global practice over the past 30 years or so continue this trend over the next 40 years and that a number of modest-growth aspiring economies will become convergers by 2020. In this scenario, Asia will take its place among the ranks of the affluent on  par with those in Europe today; some3 billion additional Asians will become affluent by 2050. This is the desired or ideal scenario for Asia as a whole.  The Middle Income Trap scenario assumes that these fast-growing converging economies fall into that trap in the next 5 – 10 years, without any of the slow- or modest-growth aspiring economies improving their record; in other words, Asia follows the pattern of Latin Ameri ca over the past 30 years. This is the pessimistic scenario and could be taken as a wake-up call to Asian leaders. According to this report by the Asian Development Bank, there will be a huge difference in the outcomes of the two scenarios. The economic and social costs of missing the Asian Century are staggering. If today’s fast-growing converging economies become mired in the Middle Income Trap, Asia’s GDP in 2050 would reach only $65 trillion, not $174 trillion (at market exchange rates). GDP per capita would be only $20,600, not $40,800 (PPP). Such an outcome would deprive billions of Asians of a lifetime of affluence and well-being. The possibility of a â€Å"perfect storm† cannot be ruled out in thinking about Asia through 2050. A combination of bad macro policies, finance sector exuberance with lax supervision, conflict, climate change, natural disasters, changing demography, and weak governance could jeopardize Asian growth. In this worst case scenario, Asia could stumble into a  financial meltdown, major conflict, or region wide chaos well before 2050. It is impossible to quantify this scenario, but Asia’s leaders must be aware of the potential for such a catastrophe and avoid it at all costs. By contrast, several East Asian economies have in recent decades provided a template for success to get out of the trap and continue to grow rapidly after attaining middle-income status, and thereby attaining per capita income levels comparable to advanced countries (2013 the International Monetary Fund Working Paper: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle-Income Trap). So far, five Asian countries or regions have successfully escaped the middle-income trap, which are Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. What do we need to do to follow them? There is no uniform policy solution for avoiding the middle-income trap. South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore have made the transition to advanced ec onomies. As noted by the Economist 2013, even still little is known about why so few countries succeed in making the transition from middle-income to high-income status, however, it’s clear that their paths were different but they shared a willingness and ability to change course. To better understand this question ‘How did these east Asian countries escape the middle income trap’ and find the answer, it will be very useful for us to go back to the World Bank’s landmark report â€Å"The East Asian Miracle†, which was published in 1993. It has analyzed the catch-up growth of the several East Asian Tigers, and some of its conclusions are relevant to the middleincome trap. Its foremost conclusion was that it is vital to ‘get the basics right’: macroeconomic stability, relatively low distortions to domestic competition, openness to external trade, flexible labor markets, and investment in hard infrastructure as well as education. On the other hand, w e could analyze both low-income Asian countries and high-income Asian countries to further evaluate the situation in middle-income Asian economies which include China. For low income Asian countries like Cambodia, Nepal, etc., to get the basics right must still be the top – we may even include the less developed states in China and India. These countries and regions should be in the business of catch-up growth, which comes from maximum mobilization of capital and labor inputs, and large productivity gains from efficient resource reallocation. This is what Prof. Paul Krugman calls growth through ‘perspiration’. At the  other extreme, for high income Asian economies, from Japan down to Singapore, has to rely on ‘output-led,’ productivity- and innovation-based growth. This is what Prof. Paul Krugman calls growth through ‘inspiration’. To get the basics right is still important – note that Japan is hurtling in the opposite direction with wildly profligate fiscal and monetary policies. But this has to be complemented with more sophisticated structural and institutional reforms. These â€Å"second generation† reforms (sophisticated structural and institutional reforms) have to go beyond liberalization of product markets to encompass deregulation of factor markets (for land, labor and capital). They must also include opening up of services sectors, upgrading â€Å"soft infrastructure†, and improving the quality of public administration, regulatory agencies and judicial systems. Among them, being part of â€Å"soft infrastructure†, higher education and skills are of the most important factors. So what about middle income countries â€Å"in between†? They need a mix of getting the basics right and second generation reforms. But the balance should differ as between high middle income and low middle income countries. For example, high middle-income countries need to crack on with structural and institutional reforms for productivity-based growth. This also applies to China (especially its coastal provinces). Moreover, in a recent report of International Monetary Fund, economists suggest four ways to avoid that: 1. Invest in infrastructure. The International Monetary Fund analysis suggests that subpar infrastructure is a key factor that can check an emerging economy’s growth. India, the Philippines and Thailand are particularly exposed in this area and should focus on building new and upgrading existing public transit systems, freight channels, ports and energy infrastructure. 2. Guard against excessive capital inflows. Money flows from abroad can energize an economy and give domestic consumption a boost, but can send an economy south if investors retreat in a hurry. Policy makers should have macro-prudential controls in place to mitigate potential rapid outflows, according to the International Monetary Fund. 3. Boost spending on research and development and post-secondary education. Both are needed to foster the innovation that’s a hallmark of advanced economies. According to the International Monetary Fund data, Malaysia and Thailand have the highest college enrollment rates among emerging Asian countries. However, China is rapidly catching up. China far outstrips other developing Asian countries on R&D, with 2009 spending at more than 1.5% of GDP. 4. Get more women into the workforce and raise the retirement age. Aging population is a problem in a lot of Asian countries. Governments should take actions to reduce â€Å"dependency ratios† by raising the age when workers are eligible for pensions and encouraging girls to enter university and vocational training. Anyway, avoiding the Middle Income Trap entails identifying strategies to introduce new processes and find new markets to maintain export growth. Ramping up domestic demand is also important—an expanding middle class can use its increasing purchasing power to buy highquality, innovative products and help drive growth. The biggest challenge is moving from resource-driven growth that is dependent on cheap labor and capital to growth based on high productivity and innovation. This requires investments in infrastructure and education. As the several East Asian countries has proven, building a high-quality education system which encourages creativity and supports breakthroughs in science and technology is the key. As Asian countries have approached or are approaching the technological frontier, the role of education does matter a lot. Many Asian countries have noted for their commitment to improve the quality of their education, and already have some of the highest educational attainments in the world. Yet the fiscal and institutional challenges to lifting educational performance in the way that is needed to sustain economic growth is another thing altogether. The success or failure in that will be a major determinant of whether Asia fulfils the expectations of its long-term economic growth. Looking at China Many observers believe China’s amazing growth is nearing its limits. A joint report by the World Bank and China’s Development Research Centre has warned that the low-hanging fruit of statedriven industrialization is largely exhausted. According to this joint report, ‘If countries cannot increase  productivity through innovation, they find themselves trapped. China does not have to endure this fate’. This report emphasized that China has reached another turning point in its development path when a second strategic, and no less fundamental, shift is called for. For China, it can no longer rely on imported technology to keep up robust growth of averaging 9.9 percent since the economy was open in 1978. The report said China’s growth of economy will slow to 7 percent later this decade and even 5 percent by the late 2020s even if China does not perform deep reform. However, this report also point out, if everything goes smoothly, China will be a â€Å"high-income† economy by 2030 and perhaps as dominant as Britain in 1870 or the United States in 1945, or indeed as flourishing as the Qing Empire itself in 1820 before the onset of catastrophic decline. As Economists 2013 points out, for all problems of China, in the coming 10-15 years it is still likely to reach several symbolic milestones. The International Monetary Fund predicts that in 2016 it will become the world’s largest economy on a purchasing-power-parity basis. The Economist Intelligence Unit reckons that on the basis of market exchange rates China will attain that glory in 2020. By the end of this decade, according to Daiwa Securities, GDP per person in Shanghai, China’s richest city, could be almost the same as the average for America in 2009. Now, officials and experts discuss endlessly whether China is slowly heading towards a â€Å"middleincome trap†. According to Economists 2011, China was already a lower-middle-income country in 2010, with a GDP per person of around $4,400. The fear is that it might suffer the same stagnation and turbulence as Latin American economies in the 1980s and 1990s. Nevertheless, with trend GDP growth in China slowing to around 8% a year from as high as 11% previously, it’s no wonder economists are asking whether it and other fast-growing Asian economies will fall victim to the middle-income trap. Income inequality The relationship between equity and development was thoroughly illustrated in  the World Bank’s World Development Report 2006: Equity and development. According to this famous report, equity means that individuals should have equal opportunities to pursue a life of their choosing and be spared from extreme deprivation in outcomes. The main message is that equity is complementary, in some fundamental respects, to the pursuit of long-term prosperity. Institutions and policies that promote a level playing field— where all members of society have similar chances to become socially active, politically influential, and economically productive— contribute to sustainable growth and development. Greater equity is thus doubly good for poverty reduction: through potential beneficial effects on aggregate long-run development and through greater opportunities for poorer groups within any society. The complementarities between equity and prosperity arise for two broad sets of reasons. First, there are many market failures in developing countries, notably in the markets for credit, insurance, land, and human capital. As a result, resources may not flow where returns are highest. The inequality of education is taken as an example in this report. Some highly capable children from poor family may fail to complete basic education even primary schooling, while others, who are less able, may finish university. When markets are missing or imperfect, the distributions of wealth and power affect the allocation of investment opportunities. Correcting the market failures is the ideal response; where this is not feasible, or far too costly, some forms of redistribution— of access to services, assets, or political influence—can increase economic efficiency. From the World Bank’s perspective, the second set of reasons why equity and long-term prosperity can be complementary arises from the fact that high levels of economic and political inequality tend to lead to economic institutions and social arrangements that systematically favor the interests of those with more influence. Such inequitable governments can generate economic costs. When personal and property rights are enforced only selectively, when budgetary allocations benefit mainly the politically influential, and when the distribution of public services favors the wealthy, both middle and poorer groups end up with unexploited talent. Society, as a whole, is then likely  to be more inefficient and to miss out on opportunities for innovation and investment, which will accordingly have negative impact on the economic development. At the global level, when developing countries have little or no voice in global governance, the rules can be inappropriate and costly for poorer countries. These adverse effects of unequal opportunities and political power on development are all the more damaging because economic, political, and social inequalities tend to reproduce themselves over time and across generations. Such phenomena was named by the economists of the World Bank as ‘â€Å"inequality traps’, as we mentioned in the very beginning. Disadvantaged children from families at the bottom of the wealth distribution do not have the same opportunities as children from wealthier families to receive quality education, which really does matter for a qualified labor force in the future. So these disadvantaged children can expect to earn less as adults. At the same time, because the poor have less voice in the political process, they—like their parents—will be less able to influence spending decisions to improve public schools for their children. And the cycle of underachievement continues. This report documents the persistence of these inequality traps by highlighting the interaction between different forms of inequality. It presents evidence that the inequality of opportunity that arises is wasteful and inimical to sustainable development and poverty reduction. It also derives policy implications that center on the broad concept of leveling the playing field— both politically and economically and in the domestic and the global arenas. If the opportunities faced by children from the poor families are so much more limited than those faced by children from wealthier families, and if this hurts development progress in the aggregate, then public action has a legitimate role in seeking to broaden the opportunities of those who face the most limited choices. Furthermore, this World Bank report addresses three considerations which are  important at the outset. First, while more even playing fields are likely to lead to lower observed inequalities in educational attainment, health status, and incomes, the policy aim is not equality in outcomes. Indeed, even with genuine equality of opportunities, one would always expect to observe some differences in outcomes owing to differences in preferences, talents, effort, and luck. This is consistent with the important role of income differences in providing incentives to invest in education and physical capital, to work, and to take risks. Of course outcomes matter, but we are concerned with them mainly for their influence on absolute deprivation and their role in shaping opportunities. Second, a concern with equality of opportunity implies that public action should focus on the distributions of assets, economic opportunities, and political voice, rather than directly on inequality in incomes. Policies can contribute to the move from an â€Å"inequality trap† to a virtuous circle of equity and growth by leveling the playing field—through greater investment in the human resources of the poorest; greater and more equal access to public services and information; guarantees on property rights for all; and greater fairness in markets. But policies to level the economic playing field face big challenges. There is unequal capacity to influence the policy agenda: the interests of the disenfranchised may never be voiced or represented. And when policies challenge privileges, powerful groups may seek to block reforms. Thus, equitable policies are more likely to be successful when leveling the economic playing field is accompanied by similar efforts to level the domestic political playing field and introduce greater fairness in global governance. Third, there may be various short-run, policy-level tradeoffs between equity and efficiency. These are well recognized and extensively documented. The point is that the (often implicit) cost-benefit calculus that policymakers use to assess the merits of various policies too often ignores the long-term, hard-to-measure but real benefits of greater equity. Greater equity implies more efficient economic functioning, reduced conflict, greater trust, and better institutions, with dynamic benefits for investment  and growth. To the extent that such benefits are ignored, policymakers may end up choosing too little equity. As emphasized by the World Bank, income inequality is not all. However, as a lot of people believe, the greatest challenge ahead is still income inequality. All attempts will fail if this greatest challenge is not tackled. As state redistributive mechanisms have been weakened in the transition toward a market-oriented economy, China has turned into one of the most unequal countries in the world. Inequality, if not reduced, will be a huge barrier of future growth as it undermines consumption, constrains development in poorer regions, and generates social tensions. Income redistribution policies and social safety nets need to be strengthened to close the inequality gap, through increased budget support and improved government’s transfers to poorer provinces and households. In China, the gap between the rich and the poor and between cities and countryside has continued to widen. Since 2003, absolute poverty has dropped remarkably. But at the same time, the number of people in relative poverty (with 50% or less of the median income) grew from 12.2% of the population to 14.6% between 2002 and 2007, according to research by Terry Sicular of the University of Western Ontario and Li Shi and Luo Chuliang of Beijing Normal University. In addition, in 1981, at least 77 per cent of Chinese were in absolute poverty (that is, with family incomes below $1.25 a day). By 2008 this figure had fallen to 13 per cent. But, the bank notes, a far, far smaller group of people have been able to rise above $2 a day, and hundreds of millions appear stuck in this awkward space between the end of starvation and the beginning of actual comfort and hope. Wang Xiaolu, the economist of national economic institution of China reform foundation, thoroughly elaborated the inequality and economic development in China in his 2006 report. Wang mentioned in his report that before China’s economic reforms, the income gap between urban residents was quite small due to the unified wage policy. On the other hand, in rural areas, the income  gap within one region was relatively small. But there was a very large urban rural income gap, as well as significant differences between different regions. To demonstrate the income gap, let us take a look at China’s Gini coefficient. This index is a measurement of the income distribution of a country’s residents. The number, which ranges between 0 and 1 and is based on residents’ net income, helps define the gap between the rich and the poor, with 0 representing perfect equality and 1 representing perfect inequality. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 1980 when wa s the very early stage of the economic reforms, China’s Gini coefficient stood at 0.320, which is quite low and indicates a more equal distribution of wealth. After the rural reforms in the early 1980s, farmers’ income significantly increased which led to the reduction of the urban-rural income gap. The Gini coefficient once dropped to 0.257 in 1984, which meant China had been into the more equal income countries ranks of the world. However, in the subsequent period of China economic reforms, the income gap between urban and rural areas, different regions, and different social strata is rapidly expanding regardless the acceleration of economic growth, the rapidly increasing of per capita income. Until 2001, the Gini coefficient reached 0.447, ranking 88 in the world’s 120 countries and regions in the order from low to high. Most of the countries behind China are those in Latin America and Africa with intense social conflicts, of which a considerable part is in a long-term economic stagnation (data from the World Bank, 2004; World Institute for Development Economics, 2004). In recent yearly the situation might be worse. This index has been retreating gradually since hitting a peak of 0.491 in 2008, slight ly dropping to 0.49 in 2009, 0.481 in 2010 and 0.477 in 2011, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Most recently, the Gini index reflecting the gap between rich and poor reached 0.474 in China in 2012, which is still higher than the warning level of 0.4 set by the United Nations. According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in terms of the urban rural income gap in China, the urban per capita disposable income is 2.5 times of the rural per capita net income in 1980, 1.9 times in 1985 and 3.2 times in 2004. With the data mentioned above, if we use the average urban per capita income of each province to measure regional income gaps, we could find out that the figure of eastern regions is 1.3 times of that of western regions in 1980 and 1.5 times in 2004. The statistics are incomplete in terms of the income gap among different social strata, but the huge inequality is an indisputable fact. If we look at urban per capita income in 1985, the highest 10% of households in the income is 2.9 times of the lowest 10% of households in; while in 2004 the highest is 8.7 times of the lowest. If we look at rural per capita income in 1980, the highest 10% is about 7 times of the lowest 10% (rough estimate number), up to approximately 11 times in 2004 (rough estimate number). We should also take into account that household income and expenditure survey for the highest and the lowest income residents are more likely to be missed, as well as high income underreporting of cases. As a result, the actual income gap will be larger than the income gap based on surveys. More than likely the increasingly widen of income disparities between different classes has become the primary factor of income inequality. Growing gap in income distribution is seriously ch allenging the social justice, which easily leads to social instability and economic stagnation. In addition, we must pay great attention to the rich caused by corruption and other non- normal channels and the poor caused by unfair distribution of wealth (such as landless farmers and laid-off workers are not properly compensated, etc. ), which are the important reasons of the widening income gap and induction of social conflict. As we mentioned above, a lot of researchers and economists further noted that the distribution of income reversely has a very important impact to economic growth and severe income inequality will hinder economic growth (e.g. Galor and Zeira 1993and Bourguignon 2003). In a situation of economic stagnation, poverty and income inequality become more difficult to resolve, which turns to be an important reason of pushing many economies into Middle-Income Trap. In several studies of the World Bank in recent years, the economist point out that economic growth plays a decisive influence in reducing poverty, but its effect varies in different. Meanwhile, economic growth shows no significant role in reducing income gaps. In contrast, if the income gap is too large, it will indeed lead to frequent social conflict and accordingly directly affect economic growth. Therefore, for the eradication of poverty and reduction of the huge income gap, the economic growth is a necessary, but only economic growth is not enough (The World Bank reports, 2000, 2003 and 2004). In a research of Wang Xiaolu and Fan Gang in 2005, it was concluded that China’s urban residents’ income gap, rural residents’ income gap as well as the income gap between urban and rural areas have continued to widen with a clear trend, but data of their study does not confirm that the income gap will automatically have the tendency to shrink when per capita GDP reaches a certain level. If the income gap continues to expand, China’s Gini coefficient of income will soon break 0.5 (some articles have concluded that in fact it has exceeded 0.5), and China will become one of the world’s most unequal countries in terms of income. Generally, equality and efficiency may be alternative of each other. The increase of equality in the distribution of income will lead to a decline in economic efficiency, which in some cases exists. However, if several factors discussed below are adjusted, the economic efficiency will not be lost, and the wealth equality will c ontinue to be improved. First, social security is an important measure of reducing the income gap, as it can provide protection and assistance to residents to reduce their financial burden or increase their income when they are in the face of illness, unemployment, retirement and low income, etc. But this approach is constrained by the level of economic development. As Wang and Fan point out in their report, social security and transfer payments beyond the affordability will result in heavy social burden and negatively affect economic development, investment and employment initiative. At present, China’s pension insurance, basic pension insurance, unemployment insurance and minimum living security system are still running in a very low level, and only conditionally implemented in urban areas and a few rural areas. Fully implementing these social securities in all rural areas will go beyond the current financial affordability. Even in cities and towns, the current  social security system does not play an active role in reducing the income gap. On the contrary, it has the effect of widening the income gap between urban residents. This is mainly because this social security system is still with a considerable degree of coverage limitations, particularly in the low income people and the mobile labor force. More importantly, the population without coverage is precisely the low income population which is most in need of social protection by these insurance systems. On the other hand, high income residents benefit from these social security systems significantly higher than low income residents. According to a survey of the National Economic Research Institute, the Medicare reimbursement for medical expenses in low income urban residents is much lower than that in high income urban residents. Moreover, the proportion of Medicare reimbursement for the former is lower than the latter, while the proportion of self-paid medical expense in the expenditure for the former is significantly higher than the latter. Therefore, how to ensure the current social security systems to cover urban workers not in the social security system yet as soon as possible will be a critical issue to be addressed. At the same time, social security issues of rural residents need certainly also be placed on the agenda as soon as possible. Long-term difference in treatment between urban and rural residents is not fair. However, this issue needs a longer period of time to gradually resolve due to limited financial resources. A few wealthy rural regions have already established a unified social security system conditions. For residents of most rural areas, although the conditions of establishment of a comprehensive social security system are not mutual, some pressing issues still need to be prioritized to solve, such as the problem of farmers have no money to see a doctor. The new rural cooperative medical care system needs to be quickly spread. Experiences of some rural areas have demonstrated that cooperative medical care system is very effective to protect the low income population. On the other hand, according to international experience, financial transfer payment is also one of the main approaches to eliminate the income gap and regional disparity. As Wang Xiaolu points out in his report in 2006, in this regard in China, in addition to financial support for agriculture, pension  and social welfare and supporting underdeveloped regions expenditures, tax return from central government to local government as well as the construction investment of key projects in the less developed regions, in fact, have been performed financial transfer payment function. The total amount of financial transfer payment is quite large. However, some studies have found that financial transfer payment did not play a significant role in reducing income disparities and regional development gaps. In Wang’s opinion, this is mainly caused by the following reasons, First, the transfer payments are lacking of a rigorous and standardized system as well as standards of implementation. Hence the transfer payments’ strongly subjective profile makes their role in reducing income disparities and regional development gaps greatly reduced. Second, the transfer payments do not have clear objectives and their structures are not reasonable. The proportion of the transfer payments for general investment projects and government expenditures is too high while that for alleviating poverty and decreasing the bottle neck of development of backward areas (such as insufficient education and other public expenditure, weak infrastructure, etc. All of those are impediments to economic development) underfunded. It makes the transfer payments difficult to play a critical role in reducing the income gap. Third, there are no strict and effective measures to oversee the usage as well as the effect of transfer payments. For example, in some poor areas, the government poverty alleviation and disaster relief funds were frequently misappropriated to cover office buildings, luxury cars and government staff bonuses. Due to lack of management and supervision, some of the earmarks turned into waste, and provided the chances for some rent-seeking and  corrupt government officials. Therefore, for transfer payments, the main problems now seem not to be the quantity, but rather setting up clear objectives and rationalization of the system to regulate the management and to strengthen supervision. These measures will reduce the income gap. At the same time, they will not reduce economic efficiency, but improve efficiency, reduce corruption and promote development. In addition to social security system and financial transfer payments, education and infrastructure also play the similarly important role in the relationship of equality and economic efficiency. According to Wang’s research, many domestic and foreign literatures have pointed out that education plays a crucial role in the promotion of economic development; moreover, education to the whole population helps to reduce the income gap. In 2004 the National Economic Research Institute conducted a survey on the income of mobile labor force. Across the country, 3,000 randomly selected migrant workers and self-employed persons from rural areas were classified according to the average monthly income. The results are as following: for those not graduated from primary school the average monthly income is 769 yuan, for primary school graduated 815 yuan, for junior high school graduated 960 yuan, for high school graduated 1268 yuan, for college and above 1554 yuan. This very clearly illustrates the level of education greatly impacts on income levels. Obviously, improving education is a fundamental way to improve the employability and income levels of low income population. On one hand, currently there are hundreds of millions of rural labor force migrates into cities and towns to work. On the other hand, there are three hundred million people who are still engaged in agriculture, with wages of a small fraction of the average urban per capita. They are waiting to continue to transfer to cities. But most of them are facing low level of education, lack of vocational skills and oversupply in the labor market. Meanwhile, a lot of city workers returned to the status of poverty due to layoffs and unemployment. It’s very difficult for them to get reemployment because of the lack of professional skills. However, the labor market needs workers with a higher level of education and professional skills but has to facing  the reality of supply shortage. Therefore, in order to narrowing the income gap, it is very critical to enhance the popularity of primary and secondary education and expanding vocational education. In Wang’s research, he found out that China’s per capita level of education exhibits unexpected negative impact on urban residents income gap. Surprisingly, higher level of education led to a widening income gap. This is a strong signal that China’s education -age population is facing unequal educational opportunities, and educational opportunities for high income groups are significantly greater than the low income population. As a result, the per capita level of education increases, while the income gap has not narrowed. Instead, the income inequality is expanding. If we look at the popularization of compulsory nine years education in China, you will find in recent years, pupils’ dropout rate in rural areas was significantly higher than that in urban areas, with many dropout of school due to poverty situation in rural areas. This point can also be reflected from the allocation of education funds. Especially a few key universities get large amount of fund s, while a great number of rural primary and secondary education underfunded. Compared the situation in 2003 with that in 1999, the state financial allocations to universities increased by 40.4 billion yuan (in another word, increase 85%), while state financial allocations to ordinary primary and junior high schools increased by 52.5 billion yuan (increase 79%) and 49.8 billion yuan (increase of 65%), respectively. Although the situation has improved to various degrees, but this increase did not exceed the revenue and expenditure growth rate (90% and 87%). Even so, in 2003 the national average education budget per 420,000 primary schools is only less than 30 million, of which the budget allocation in rural schools is far less than that of urban schools. Some individual prestigious university obtained an education funding up to ten billion. Excessively unbalanced distribution of educational resources not only will exacerbate income inequality, but also is not helpful for efficient allocation of education resources. Another educational problem to be solved is how to correctly handle the relationship of general education and vocational education. Although in China currently there’re more than 4million people each year go into  colleges for education, but there are also more than 17 million people directly get employment without higher education. For the labor market, each year the number of demand for workers with the level of secondary education as well as specialized skills far exceeds in number of the demand for college graduates. However, the current dominant position of general secondary education is still basically to provide students into college In another word, the main objective of general secondary schools is the examination-oriented education and does not pay attention to skills training. The dominant ideology of the entire education system is to measure the success of education by entering the university or not. Four out of five school-age youth entered the labor market as the losers of their education. This reality has incalculable negative impact on workers’ skills, work ethic and healthy psychology, according to Wang’s report. At the same time, secondary vocational and other professional education live in a subordinate position in the education system, with very limited quantity. Compared the situation in 2003 with that in 1999, the state financial allocations to secondary vocational schools increased by 300 million yuan (an increase of 2.5%), and state financial allocations to technical schools decreased by 400 million yuan (down 16% )and vocational schools increased by 3 billion (an increase of 42% increase ). These increases are negligible compared to the funding’s growth of universities and ordinary primary and secondary. Such education dislocation makes the most of new entrants to the labor market is lacking of professional skills, and their low level knowledge on employment helps rather limited. In addition, local education and vocational education system’s exclusion for migrant workers and their children is also need to be carefully addressed. Like South Korea, China needs to focus on creating a highly qualified workforce so that they can increase innovation. South Korea adopted a policy to intensify investments in education and innovation in preparation for this. This policy aided South Korea in developing a plan for long term growth as opposed to short term consumption driven growth. Meanwhile, the World Bank has just released its detailed report: China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative High-Income Society. In this report the World Bank believes that the export-led model that has delivered the past  30-years of growth and development in China has now run its course. From the World Bank’s perspective, China can only succeed in becoming a modern, high income country if it implements a six-step series of reforms. Not surprisingly, to increase innovation and to reduce inequality are among these six reforms as following, ï‚ · Accelerate the pace of innovation and create an open innovation system in which competitive pressures encourage Chinese firms to engage in product and process innovation not only through their own research and development but also by participating in global research and development networks. Essentially, the World Bank recommends that China seek to move away from being an imitator to an innovator in its own right. Reducing inequality by expanding opportunities and promoting social security for all by facilitating equal access to jobs, finance, quality social services, and portable social security. With regard to infrastructure construction in recent years, transportation, communication and other conditions as well as the urban landscape have significantly improved. But we should note the imbalance in the allocation of resources. In many areas, much more emphasis and attentions were put on the facade construction, highway construction and urban centers transformation than that on rural infrastructure in remote areas. On the one hand, highways are vacant or rarely used in some less developed regions. On the other hand, there are 173 towns and more than 50,000 administrative villages still inaccessible by road, the latter accounting for 8% of the total number of administrative villages across the whole country, according to Wang’s research. For these remote areas, the weak infrastructure is an important cause leading to poverty and backwardness. In summary, China’s development level is still at the low level. Hoping to rely on transfer payments to drastically eliminate the income gap is unrealistic. What the governments should focus on is to provide more equal opportunities and conditions in education, infrastructure and other areas. Investment in these  areas will provide human resources and infrastructure supply better meeting the social and market needs. By doing them, it is entirely possible to improve residents’ economic situation. China is facing the continually widen income gap. If this critical issue could be reasonably resolved, Chinese social justice, harmony and long term economic development will be able to be ensured. . Otherwise, China may turn into a society with huge income gap, serious social conflict, power and money collusion, corruption and plunder prevailed, which will eventually result in economic stagnation. Middle-income trap will be impossible to avoid in this case. As we mentioned above, there are several factors leading to the current expansion of the income gap or blocking reduction of the income gap. These factors include that social security system is not sound, the financial transfer payment system is with flaw, educational opportunities are not fair enough, the education system is not conducive to the promotion of employment, weak infrastructure in rural and backward areas, lack of job opportunities as well as the irrational distribution of resources and corruption and other social in equities due to the not perfect system. To resolve these issues, it’s urgent to perform further reform and development. The following most crucial problems need to be addressed: to solve the fairness of education, to solve the disjointed issues between educations, economic development as well as employment, to create more job opportunities through economic development and urbanization, to correct government’s action, eventually eliminates the problem of corruption and unfair distribution through administrative reform. Resolving these problems not only will not affect economic efficiency, but also will ensure the impartiality of Chinese social harmony, economic efficiency and long-term sustainable development.