Thursday, October 31, 2019

The personality of Adolf Hitler Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The personality of Adolf Hitler - Research Paper Example Adolf Hitler, one of the world’s most talented yet ferocious leaders was born in the town of Braunau-am-Inn in Austria on 20 April 1889. This town is located close to the border between Germany and Austria.Hitler’s father, Alois, used to check the goods crossing the border in the capacity of a customs officer. Ida and Gustav were two children born to Hitler’s mother, Klara and Alois before Hitler, but none of the two had managed to survive the infancy. Hitler was six years of age when he started to go to school. The family spent time in several villages in Linz towards the east of Braunau. Klara and Alois gave birth to Edmund. Edmund was Hitler’s younger brother who did not live after six years of age. Finally, Hitler’s younger sister Paula was born in 1896, who lived even longer than Hitler did. Adolf Hitler was very weak in studies. He had no interest whatsoever in studies and thus, maintained a very poor record in school. His tuition was not comp leted when he left the school to fulfill his desire of becoming an artist. When Hitler turned thirteen, Alois passed away. Klara was left with Hitler and Paula and had to take care of the two children on her own. As a teenager, Hitler neither studied nor worked. Instead, he cultivated interest in the fields of history and politics. Meanwhile, Hitler made an attempt to study in the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and applied for it, but the application went atrophy. In 1908, Klara could not survive cancer and passed away. From the age of nineteen onwards, Hitler and Paula were left all alone. Although Hitler did have uncles and aunts from his mother’s and father’s families, yet they were not keen on supporting the children. Hitler resolved to travel to Vienna in 1909 with a view to earning money. For almost a year or perhaps more, Hitler had no food or shelter. He was homeless and had his meals in the charity soup-kitchens. He never continued a job for long. Instead, he wou ld do occasional menial jobs. He also persuaded people that would show the slightest interest in Hitler’s paintings into buying them. This was how Hitler spent his life from his mother’s death till 1913. The penniless vagabond, Adolf Hitler traveled to the southern part of Germany in 1913 and reached Munich. In 1914, when the World War I commenced, Hitler applied to join in the German Army. He was fortunate enough to be selected for the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. This was the turning point in the life of Adolf Hitler. He became a soldier from a penniless drifter. Hitler participated in the World War I from the side of Germany and fought very bravely. Owing to the display of immense courage and bravery in the war, Hitler was promoted to Corporal. He was also granted the awards of First Class and the Iron Cross Second Class. Hitler kept wearing the former throughout his life until the day of his death. An attack of British gas had blinded Hitler temporarily and he was hospitalized on the day, on which the armistice was announced in 1918. By the end of 1918, Hitler rejoined his regiment in Munich. In the four months from December 1918 till March of the following year, Hitler served in Traunstein at a camp of prisoner-of-war. After that, he moved back to Munich and saw that the local Communists had initiated a takeover bid. The Communists had snatched the authority before the army could expel them. Hitler was offered an opportunity to join a local army organization that aimed at convincing the returning soldiers to stay away from pacifism or communism. The training Hitler received in it and the duties that followed helped him improve his oratory skills. One of his duties was to spy on some political groups. At one gathering of the German Worker’s Party, Hitler became extremely angry to hear a speech and berated the speaker. Anion Drexler, who was that party’s founder was extremely overwhelmed with the overt expression of c ourage made by Hitler and thus, invited Hitler to

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Lightweight Community-Driven Approach to Support Ontology Evolution Essay

Lightweight Community-Driven Approach to Support Ontology Evolution - Essay Example The chapter goes on to identify the advantage of ontology evolution, the lack of systematic approach for ontology evolution and explains the motivation for this study. The chapter ends with the objectives of the study and thesis structure. 1.2 Ontology Definitions The term â€Å"Ontology† is derived from its usage in philosophy where it means the study of being or existence as well as the basic categories (Witmer 2004). Therefore, it is now used to refer to what exists in a system model. Definition 1: According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2011), â€Å"It is a particular nature of being or the kinds of things that have existence. Definition 2: Gruber (1993), on the other hand, provides a more concrete definition of Ontology. He defines it as a study which explicitly explains concepts and relationships (Gruber 1993). The set of concepts (e.g. classes, relations, functions) are used to represent and describe domain knowledge. For example, in oil and gas industry there is an established ontology for Statoil in Norway (Association 2008) a standard library related to an oil and gas domain. 1.3 Ontology Editor Ontology Editor is an application which is developed to view and edit ontology. In the past few years many applications have been developed such as OilEd (Bechhofer, Horrocks et al. 2001), OntoEdit (Sure, Erdmann et al. 2002), Protege (Gennari, Musen et al. 2003) and Web-Protege (Tudorache, Vendetti et al. 2008). Further details are explained below about each ontology editor: - OilEd: OilEd was developed in Manchester University. It is a simple ontology editor that provides further guidance in the development of Ontology Interchange Language (OIL)-based ontologies (Bechhofer, Horrocks et al. 2001), which is basically a web-based representation of ontologies organized to make it accessible and usable (Cover, 2000). It is the one which pioneers ontology editing (Bechhofer, Horrocks et al. 2001). - OntoEdit: OntoEdit was developed by the Knowledge Ma nagement Group at University of Karsnuhe Institute AFIB. It provides an ontology development that allows collaboration and inferencing. The method involves three main steps which start with requirements specification, refinement and evaluation. The first step is where the ontology engineers and domain experts meet and work towards identifying the goal of the ontology, description of the domain, and the availability of references. Design guidelines are also established in this step. Then, the team then makes the ontology in the refinement phase. Finally, the ontology requires evaluation according to its requirements specification by identifying possible errors in the ontology and efficiency for enabling collaborative work (Sure, Erdmann et al. 2002). - Protege: Protege was developed by Mark Musen at Stanford University. It is an ontology editor which has come a long way. Protege started in 1987 as a small application, which was aimed at building knowledge acquisition tools. Protege h as then been developed further, providing many new features for each version that has been released. Currently, there are hundreds of individuals and research groups are using Protege (Gennari, Musen et al. 2003). - Web-Protege: Web-Protege is a web version of Protege, also developed in Stanford University. This allows the users who have access to view and edit the ontology from the internet (Tudorache, Vende

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Examining Islam In Malaysia Religion Essay

Examining Islam In Malaysia Religion Essay Malaysia is modern Muslim country where more than half of its 26 million people have embrace Islam as their religion. Halal is an Islamic religious guide to how Muslims should live their lives from the way their food is prepared to how their personal and social relationships are conducted. In Malaysia Halal is a concept accepted by all, by both Muslims and non- Muslims. The majority of businesses in Malaysia sells products or offer services that are Halal endorsed. The Malaysia Halal Certification is globally respected. In our ever progressive world, it has become increasingly challenging for Muslims to determine whether the food or drinks they consume are religiously acceptable or Halal. This Halal and non-Halal problem is not only limited to food and beverage but also to other products and services. For Muslims living in a totally Islamic country like Saudi Arabia, the Halal question is not an issue at all. For those living in a multiracial Muslim country like Malaysia, although Halal food or services are readily available and easy to obtain, there is a need for the authority to monitor and enforce standards to ensure Halalness particularly when the products or services are made, sold, prepared or provided by non-Muslims. However, the real challenge is for Muslims living in a country whose population is predominantly non-Muslims. Extra diligence is needed for these Muslims to enjoy everything Halal. Most striking is that there are approximately 1.9 billion Muslims in the world who are consumers of Halal foods. As such the Halal food market is the largest food market in the world. Among the Halal importing countries are those which have one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, have the fastest growing middle classes in the world, import a significant proportion of their food needs and have the highest rates of population growth in the world. Malaysia will be developed International Halal Food Hub for monitoring and standardization the Halal food product. The Halal certification will be gives if the food ingredients are Halal. This certification of Malaysia Halal standard are also will be strengthened and aggressively promoted internationally. HALAL BEEF PRODUCT Halal products are fast gaining worldwide recognition as a new benchmark for safety and quality assurance. Products that are produced with Halal certification are readily acceptable by Muslim consumers as well as consumers from other religions. This acceptance is due to the wholesomeness concept of Halal, which covers not only the Shariah requirement, but also the hygiene, sanitation and safety aspects. Halal certification is a powerful marketing tool for both the Muslim and non-Muslim producers, as there are an increasing awareness on the part of Muslim consumers all over the world on their obligation to consume Halal food. The Arabic word(Halal) means lawful or permitted. In the Holy Quran, Allah commands Muslims and all of mankind to eat of the Halal things. Basically, Allah Al Mighty knows what is best for us to eat. And normally all the Halal food are very clean and safe from any disease. But for non-Halal food, you always can find some interesting facts relating to sickness. This following products are definitely Halal such as milk (from cows, sheep, camels, and goats), honey, fish, plants which are not intoxicant, fresh or dried fruits, legumes nuts like peanut, cashew nuts, hazel nuts, walnut, grain such as wheat, rice, rye, barley, and oat. Basically, all food is Halal except meat from swine such as pork, ham, pork-based products and by-products such as sausages and gelatin. Animals improperly slaughtered or already dead before slaughtering is due to take place. Animals killed in the name of anyone other than Allah (for example, by anyone other than a Jew, Christian or Muslim, or as part of a pagan sacrifice), intoxicants, blood and blood by-products, foods contaminated with any of the above products. Most of the desserts use non-Halal Gelatin that comes from pigs. Focus about the beef, they are only Halal if they are slaughtered according to Islamic Law. The procedures that we must do at the beef are the animal must be slaughtered by a Muslim. The animal also should be put down on the ground or held it if it is small. The throat of the animal must be sliced with a very sharp knife to make sure that the 3 main blood vessels are cut. While cutting the throat of the animal (without severing it), the person must pronounce the name of Allah or recite a blessing which contains the name of Allah, such as Bismillahirahmannirrahim, Allah-u-Akbar. Islam prohibits the meat of animals that are slaughtered without reciting the name of Allah and those that are slaughtered whilst pronouncing a name other than Allah. Mentioning the name of Allah during slaughter is actually a way of seeking permission from God for taking the life of the animal for the sole purpose of sustenance. The prohibition to recite a name other than Allah during slaughter acts as a safe guard to a Muslims faith. Islam is a religion which promotes monotheism and rejects any form of polytheism. Mentioning a name other than Allah is regarded as a polytheistic act, thus such act is not permissible during slaughter. For more information, they lead the cow into an area, line its head up with where the piston comes out, and BAM! The cow is unconscious, hung by its ankles, and sent to where the slaughter takes place. Regarding poultry, a common practice is to render them unconscious by electrocuting them before slaughter. Slaughtering is to be done from the front of the neck, between the throat and the head of the breast bone (Libba). The throat/oesophagus (Mirree), windpipe/trachea (Halkoom) and the two jugular veins (Wadijan) are cut in the neck without severing the spinal cord. This cut severed the arteries to the brain of the animal, thus depriving the brain of blood supply. As a result, the brain loses consciousness due to insufficient oxygen. This renders the animal unconscious, causing the animal the least amount of pain.   By contrast, the Islamic method of slaughtering does not allow for animals to be killed in front of other animals. It requires an extremely sharp blade and the swift incision of the major veins in the neck to facilitate in a painless, quick blood loss and death. Before the slaughter takes place, the animal is examined for overall health. If the animal is deemed unhealthy, it cannot be slaughtered for food. The animal is slaughtered in such a way that most of the blood exits the body. The goal is to slaughter the animal, limiting the amount of pain the animal will endure. DEPARTMENT OF ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT MALAYSIA (JAKIM) HISTORY In 1968, the Conference of Rulers Pakistan has decided that the need for a body to mobilize efforts for development and advancement of the Muslims in Malaysia, in line with Malaysias status as an Islamic country that has strong international and world attention. Recognizing this, a secretariat to the National Council of Religious Affairs was established, to maintain the purity of faith and the teachings of Islam. Secretariat was subsequently developed as the Religious Department of the Prime Minister who was later promoted again to the Islamic Affairs Department (BAHEIS). On January 1, 1997, in line with the development and progress of Islam in the country has stabilized, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) is established by the Malaysian government took power and the role (BAHEIS). FUNCTION OF JAKIM Formulation and standardization of Islamic law Formulate, review and amend laws for the standardization of Islamic states. Streamline and standardize the Islamic law throughout Pakistan. Act enacts Islamic law and the federal territories. Enforcement of Islamic law states Coordinating the implementation and compliance ruling. Coordination in the administration of Islam Streamline the administration of Islamic affairs and the states. Build a strong Islamic thought among Muslims based on the holding of the Sunnah Wal Jamaah. Produce cadres Islamic preachers and scholars through training in training institutions of Islam. Establishing benchmarks and practices of Islam through the formulation of service standards Hadhari Referral centers and advisory services relating to Islam government and private agencies. Increasing collaboration with the missionary network non-governmental bodies at national and international Strengthening survival of Muslims in Sabah and Sarawak in educational, missionary and social-economic Strengthening unity among Muslims to the Ummah. To empower the non-Muslim, indigenous peoples and minority groups. Expand the program and plans Islamic through radio and television stations. Expanding the program elements of Islamic values and personality to deal with social ills. Coordination and development of Islamic education Developing a team of experts in various fields of Islamic knowledge. Make Malaysia a hub for higher education and research al-Quran and al-hadith in regional and international levels. Develop and coordinate the management of the state religious school of Islamic education and Islamic schools. Develop and coordinate programs and classes al-Quran mass Ain (Kafa) in the current national education policy. Strengthening the role of institutions and programs prosperity mosque as a center of science and civilization of the community development that involves all walks of life. WHY ISLAM FORBIDS PORK Pork is the most commonly eaten forms of meat around the world, there are over 100 million metric tons of pork is consumed throughout the world. And pork can be served in different forms such as cooked or form of sausages. However, we know that Islam not eating pork but what is the reason they forbids pork. So now, we go to discuss about it. We know that food and drink have a direct effect on our health. That is why Islam prevents to unhealthy food. Because they believe both physical and moral health are equally important for a healthy society. Therefore, the abstention from eating pork is one of the steps taken by Islam to practice hygiene and to attain purity of soul. To cultivate our inner faculties, Islam insists upon the cleanliness of body and the purification of soul through Salaat (prayers), Zikr (remembrance of Allah) and other devotional duties. Islam teaches us how to attain the virtues and how to give up bad habits because both good and bad grow in the man according to his upbringing, education and environment. A human being has natural desires: food, sleep and sex being the three primary ones. He has also natural emotions: sorrow, happiness, love, fear, disgust and avarice etc. Islam doesnt recommend the complete abrogation of these impulses but offers a method of controlling them through religious education and discipline. The prohibition of eating pork in Islam is relevant in this context. There is a saying in English that a man becomes what he eats. According to physicians and medical experts, pork is a harmful diet. Consumption of swine-flesh creates lowliness in character and destroys moral and spiritual faculties in a man. Despite Islam allows Muslims to eat clean thing. However, in the consumption of meat, Muslims are required to be selective and distinguish the Halal foods. Dr. E. Kazim. M.D, in his article Medical aspects of forbidden foods in Islam (July 1981 issue of Muslim Journal) has described diseases carried or caused by the flesh of swine. He writes: The pig is a scavenger. It is an omnivorous animal. It eats everything. There are many diseases carried from swine to man, particularly parasite infestations. Lately extensive research has been focused on senility-old age is characterized by hardening of inner lining of the blood vessels of the heart, brain etc. a process called atherosclerosis. When a clot forms, it results in coronary thrombosis or a heart attack, cerebral thrombosis or stroke. Dr. Glen Shepherd wrote the following on the dangers of eating pork in Washington Post (31 May 1952): One in six people in USA and Canada have germs in their muscles trichinosis 8 from eating pork infected with trichina worms. Many people who are infected show no symptoms. Most of those, who do have, recover slowly. Some die; some are reduced to permanent invalids. All were careless pork caters. He continued: No one is immune from the disease and there is no cure. Neither antibiotics nor drugs or vaccines affect these tiny deadly worms. Preventing infection is the real answer. After reading the statement of Dr. Shepherd, one can realize that there is no real guarantee of safety when eating pork that one would not be affected by trichina worm. That is why modern doctors advise three prohibitions during illness: no liquor, no pork and no smoking. At the end we know that Muslim forbids pork because they respect their religion. They believe their GOD will care for them. But if they are under famine, they still can eat pork to survive, its no sin. CONCLUSION At the end, we found that Halal food have many benefits and thats why many people either Muslim or non Muslims, would like to choose Halal food. Halal meat is beneficial for nutrition and health. Only healthy animals can be slaughtered. It is done by Muslims who are trusted and experienced. The meat itself will have no blood clots within the veins-giving it a longer shelf life. Animals will be treated with mercy and respect and will be blessed with the name of God (Allah) prior to slaughter. Ethnic and religious considerations are not the only reasons why consumers are choosing kosher- and Halal-certified foods. Many perceive the extra supervision implicit in the certified foods assures higher quality and safer food products. According to Packaged Facts report, Market Trend: Kosher- and Halal-Certified Foods in the US, resonates with a similar report from Mintel released earlier this year, which concluded that the majority of US consumers who buy kosher foods do so for perceived quality and safety reasons, rather than for religious ones, and there is no reason to assume things are any different in Australia and New Zealand. They study found that three in five people who buy kosher food do so because they perceive it to be better quality, Halal food also have a lot of nutrition and they feel safe to eat it, and it free from any disease other that, availability to get Halal food is easier. The two most popular markets for Halal food are South-East Asia and the Middle East. By going through the Halal certification process, food processors will open up the possibility of additional clientele and often they will not even have to make changes to their product to get such certification. There are four steps in processing of Halal food that is: application, submission, processing certification and post certification. And whats the important in the steps of processing is certification attests that a product/service is suitable for Muslims and finished products which adhere to Halal manufacturing procedures carry a Halal symbol on the label. We know that all equipment used in the production of Halal foods must be free from contamination with non-Halal items and comply with the necessary hygiene and sanitation requirements. All ingredients must all be Halal as well. Favorable perceptions Many consumers believe that Halal and kosher food is produced under stricter supervision than is provided by government inspection and for many consumers the Halal and kosher symbols guarantee that the food is free of contaminants or disease and no preservatives added. The research indicated that more than half of consumers who purchased kosher products did so because they considered them to be safer than products not certified as kosher. Mintels research has shown that kosher was the most frequently used claim on food and drink products launched in the US in 2008 which, as the Jewish population is not increasing, suggests that the growing interest may be more to do with food safety than religion. Aside from religious requirements, kosher and Halal supervision adds another level of quality control in responding to the needs of the discerning consumer. Simply by adhering to the kosher and Halal requirements and having foods certified, processors will broaden their market.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Free Essays - Act 3 Scene 4 of Hamlet :: Shakespeare Hamlet Essays

Act 3 Scene 4 of Hamlet          Act 3 Scene 4, so called the closet scene, is the first time we see Hamlet and Gertrude together alone. In this scene Hamlet releases his anger and frustration at his mother for the sinful deed she has committed i.e. her marriage to her brother-in-law and the murderer. We can see that Gertrude is unaware of her husband's murder when she says `As kill a King?' and it is the first time she confronts her own behavior. There is a conflict between the two; Hamlet gives powerful replies    `Mother you have my father much offended'    `Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue'    Hamlet takes control of the conversation from the very beginning of the scene although it is Gertrude who was meant to be rebuking him and doing much of the talking. Hamlet succeeds in shaming her until the point when she begs him to stop. Hamlet having the upper hand in the conversation, asks his mother to change her ways, which she agrees to and asks for his advice, showing that she has submitted herself to her son. Hamlet does not really show much respect for his mother while reproving her and forcing her to sit down but he does love her. Some critics believe that his love shows sexual connotation and that is a reason why he gets so upset at her remarriage. There is a point in this scene when Gertrude thinks her life is in danger of Hamlet and gets frightened, which shows us that she considers him to be mad and harmful. After this scene she becomes aware that Hamlet isn't mad and starts trusting him as opposed to Claudius. This is exactly how Shakespeare has presented women throughout the play: they are easy to convince, very meek and become submissive to the men (as we can see Ophelia and her response to her father and brother). They are depicted as weak and inferior in comparison to the male figures, who control their lives. After the closet scene Gertrude keeps faith to her son and lies to her husband Claudius for Hamlet saying he killed Polonius in his madness:    `And in his brainish apprehension Free Essays - Act 3 Scene 4 of Hamlet :: Shakespeare Hamlet Essays Act 3 Scene 4 of Hamlet          Act 3 Scene 4, so called the closet scene, is the first time we see Hamlet and Gertrude together alone. In this scene Hamlet releases his anger and frustration at his mother for the sinful deed she has committed i.e. her marriage to her brother-in-law and the murderer. We can see that Gertrude is unaware of her husband's murder when she says `As kill a King?' and it is the first time she confronts her own behavior. There is a conflict between the two; Hamlet gives powerful replies    `Mother you have my father much offended'    `Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue'    Hamlet takes control of the conversation from the very beginning of the scene although it is Gertrude who was meant to be rebuking him and doing much of the talking. Hamlet succeeds in shaming her until the point when she begs him to stop. Hamlet having the upper hand in the conversation, asks his mother to change her ways, which she agrees to and asks for his advice, showing that she has submitted herself to her son. Hamlet does not really show much respect for his mother while reproving her and forcing her to sit down but he does love her. Some critics believe that his love shows sexual connotation and that is a reason why he gets so upset at her remarriage. There is a point in this scene when Gertrude thinks her life is in danger of Hamlet and gets frightened, which shows us that she considers him to be mad and harmful. After this scene she becomes aware that Hamlet isn't mad and starts trusting him as opposed to Claudius. This is exactly how Shakespeare has presented women throughout the play: they are easy to convince, very meek and become submissive to the men (as we can see Ophelia and her response to her father and brother). They are depicted as weak and inferior in comparison to the male figures, who control their lives. After the closet scene Gertrude keeps faith to her son and lies to her husband Claudius for Hamlet saying he killed Polonius in his madness:    `And in his brainish apprehension

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Charity Essay

Charity is supposed to be a selfless act done by people who expect nothing in return for their help except for the feeling of having helped someone in need. Charity has changed from an act of nobility or kindness to a way of looking good in front of other people or to receive some type of material reward or to receive some type of tax reduction as done by big companies who prefer †Donating† $100,000 and then save $300,000 in tax reductions for helping out a such noble cause.Charity should be what it used to be a SELFLESS cause period, not just a â€Å"win-win situation† in which both parties â€Å"benefit† from it, it should be done because you want to do it out of the kindness of your heart not because it will get you a C- on the class you’re failing or, because you want to look good in front of someone, it should be done because you want to help the people in need. For example my five year old cousin Jerry, at his age you would expect him to blow al l of his money on games, toys or other things kids like, but no he doesn’t.He saves up all his allowance for months at the time and then one he feels he has an amount that seems big enough to help someone he will goes online to see what charities convince him to donate his money on them, so far he has donated over fifth teen hundred dollars to over ten different charities that vary from animals in danger of extinction to research for AIDS and even Cancer, and he started doing it all by himself, not because someone expected it from him, not because he wanted to look good in front of other people he did it because he wanted to make help people in need, people who don’t have as much as we do, people who have had the â€Å"bitter side of life† as my little cousin would say.One time he went on and went asking door by door all over town until he had knocked on every single door in his town (with his moms supervision of course) and gathered up a good nine hundred dolla rs he could donate to a research on way to prevent miscarriages, and in my opinion more people should be like my cousin and walk that extra mile to help people without the need to receive a â€Å"reward† in order to do what he feels is right. Charity should be a selfless act, and not this sempiternal cycle in which people expect a reward for everything they do.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

A Separate Piece; Guilty or Not

Bertrand Russell said, â€Å"Envy is one of the most potent causes of unhappiness. It is a universal and most unfortunate aspect of human nature because not only is the envious person rendered unhappy by his envy, but also wishes to inflict misfortune on others. † This is displayed perfectly in A Separate Piece by John Knowles, where green with envy, Gene jounces the limb in hopes to hurt Phineas. He is jealous of Phineas’ charisma, upset that Phineas keeps putting him into situations he doesn’t want to be in, and Gene also knows he isn’t as good a person as Phineas.Not only is Phineas impulsive and daring, he is also very charismatic. Gene is jealous of Phineas’ charisma and ability to talk himself out of trouble. As Gene states in chapter two, â€Å"I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything. I couldn’t help envying him that a little, which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend a lit tle,† (Gene, 19). â€Å"He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment,† (Gene, 22). In both cases above, Gene himself states that he is envious of Phineas and is disappointed that Phineas didn’t get into trouble.Phineas’ charisma not only causes jealousy in Gene, but also puts him into possibly harmful situations. Phineas always shames Gene into doing something Gene doesn’t want to do. On top of that, Phineas, on occasion, puts Gene into harm’s way, with or without knowing it. â€Å"Yes, he had practically saved my life. He had also practically lost it for me. I wouldn’t have been on that damn limb except for him. I wouldn’t have turned around, and so lost my balance, if he hadn’t been there,† (Gene, 26). â€Å"Then in the everyday, mediocre tone he used when he was proposing something really outrageous, he added, â€Å"Let’s go to the beach. The beach was hours away by bicycle , forbidden, and completely out of bounds. Going there risked expulsion, destroyed the studying I was going to do for an important test the next morning, blasted the reasonable amount of order I wanted to maintain in my life, and it also involved the kind of long, labored, bicycle ride I hated,† (Gene, 38). These two examples show that Phineas can talk Gene into doing something he doesn’t want to do, as well as things that can later harm Gene, such as climbing the tree, or get him into trouble, such as going out of grounds.Phineas may or may not be trying to hurt Gene or get him into trouble, but none the less, it is always a possibility with the schemes Phineas comes up with. Even though Phineas is putting Gene into dangerous situations he is still a better person than Gene. Gene knows that Phineas is a better person than he is. â€Å"He was never going to accuse me. It was only a feeling he had, and at this moment he must have been formulating a new commandment in hi s personal Decalogue: Never accuse a friend of a crime if you only have a feeling he did it,† (Gene, 58).Gene, of course, being impulsive as he is, would accuse Phineas of something even if he only has a feeling. â€Å"He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now I knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he,† (Gene, 52). Gene who has stated before that he was jealous of Phineas realizes in the quote above that he isn’t as good a person as Phineas because Phineas was never jealous of Gene, nor did he ever want a rivalry between the two of them, as Gene thought he did. Of course, some people may think that Gene wouldn’t push Phineas out of the tree, as they are best friends.Well, let me ask this, would someone accuse their best friend of trying to destroy something they were better at? â€Å"Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies. That explained blitzball, that explained t he night meetings of the Super Suicide Society, that explained his insistence that I share all his diversions,† (Gene, 46). Gene does just this in the above quote. Without any real evidence of such, Gene believes that Phineas is trying to destroy his studies, the one thing he is better than Phineas at. One would not go around accusing their best friend of trying to destroy something they were better at.Now, Phineas may believe they are best friends, â€Å"I hope you’re having a pretty good time here. I know I kind of dragged you away at the point of a gun, but after all you can’t come to the shore with just anybody and you can’t come by yourself, and at this teen-age period in life the proper person is your best pal, which is what you are,† (Phineas, 40-41). Yet, Gene says nothing. In fact, he admits he may have been stopped by his subconscious telling him Phineas isn’t his best friend, though he is Phineas’. â€Å"I should have told him then that he was my best friend also and rounded off what he had said.I started to I nearly did. But something held me back. Perhaps I was stopped by that level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth,† (Gene, 41). I’ll give everyone the fact that one would probably never cause harm to their best friend on purpose, but with the evidence I have brought up, does it seem like Phineas is Gene’s best friend? Not really. Gene himself states that he is envious of Phineas and is disappointed when Phineas gets away with everything. Along with that, Phineas put Gene in danger of falling out of the very tree Phineas does, for Gene wouldn’t have been up there if it wasn’t for Phineas.Phineas also puts him at risk of being expelled by insisting they go to the beach. Gene, who accuses Phineas of trying to destroy his studies due to jealousy without any real proof, realizes Phineas would never accuse Gene of something based on a feeling, and besides, Gene admits that he realizes Phineas is not jealous of him. Gene also realizes that though he may have thought there to be some rivalry between them, there isn’t for he was not of the same quality of Phineas. With these reasons, it is clearly evident that Gene pushed Phineas out of the tree because of jealousy.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Psychological Disorders essays

Psychological Disorders essays Chapter 17 of Dennis Coon ¡s Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior deals with psychological disorders. The theme of the chapter is judgments of normality are relative, but psychological disorders clearly exist and need to be classified, explained and treated. According to the text, psychological disorders are  ¡complex and have multiple causes ¡ (Coon 554). Psychological disorders damage the quality of life in varying degrees. The study of psychological disorders can be tricky. Because disorders are based, primarily, on normality, some experts will agree or disagree on a disorder based on their perception of normal. In other words, what I think is normal, you may not. Because of this, such psychologist as Sigmund Frued, whose opinions and hypothesis were slightly ahead of his time, encountered difficulties in getting their ideas across. Some of the disorders mentioned in this chapter are organic mental disorders, problems caused by brain pathology, s exual and gender identity disorders and personality disorders. Some of the more serious disorders include schizophrenia and suicide. Schizophrenia is defined as a psychosis characterized by delusions, hallucinations, apathy and a split between thought and emotion. One person in 100 will become schizophrenic and roughly half of all the people admitted to mental hospitals are schizophrenic. An even more prominent psychological disorder is suicide. In the psychology in action section of chapter 17, the author states,  ¡Suicide: A Permanent Solution To A Temporary Problem ¡ (Coon 588). A more exact definition of suicide would be the act of killing oneself purposely. Either definition is suitable. Self-destruction has been a struggle for thousands of years. History documents cases of suicide dating all the way back to the ancient Egyptians. Recent decades have seen dedicated efforts by researchers and clinicians to understand the dynamics and...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Revenue recognition requirements in U.S. GAAP, IFRS and IASB The WritePass Journal

Revenue recognition requirements in U.S. GAAP, IFRS and IASB Introduction Revenue recognition requirements in U.S. GAAP, IFRS and IASB IntroductionMain bodyConclusionReferencesRelated Introduction In an industry there are some accounting and financial standards that company must follow to be legal to corporate. Therefore, accountants should follow some rules and guidelines, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and U.S. GAAP, which adopted by the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) and Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB). The  IASB is an independent, privately-funded accounting standard-setter based in  London. It was founded on 2001 as the successor to the  International Accounting Standards Committee  (IASC). The  Financial Accounting Standards Board  (FASB) is a private,  not-profit organization and it was created in 1973. One of the general accepted accounting principles is the revenue recognition, which is an important principle in accrual accounting. It determines the specific conditions  under which income becomes realized as revenue. Under IAS 18  Ã¢â‚¬Å" Revenue, is defined as â€Å"the gross inflow of economic benefits during the period arising in the course of the ordinary activities of an entity when those inflows result in increases in equity other than increases relating to contributions from equity participants.† Generally, revenues are recognized when the amount of revenue is measured reliably, when it is probable that the economic benefits of the transaction will flow to the entity and when the costs (both incurred to date and expected future costs) are identified. (Jamil Khatri, Akeel Master 2009). Many problems involved in revenue recognition about the usefulness of the existing standards. So, in June 2002 the IASB and the FASB started a project to develop coherent conceptual guidance for revenue recognition and to eliminate inconsistencies on the subject in their conceptual frameworks. Following we are going to analyze the main problems that occurred, the views taken by the two boards and a reasoned critique of their thinking. Main body Revenue recognition requirements in U.S. GAAP differ from those in IFRS. Accordingly IASB and FASB the main objectives of the project are to provide a single revenue recognition model that could apply consistently across various industries and transactions, to develop a model on changes in specific assets and liabilities that would eliminate inconsistencies in existing concepts and standards and to converge IFRS and U.S. GAAP requirements. ( Barry J.Epstein   Eva K.Jermakowicz   , 2010) However, some problems occurred from revenue recognition standards, which reduce the comparability of revenue across entities. In U.S. GAAP there are numerous standards that define an earnings process inconsistently. The application of the earnings process provide more than 100 standards on revenue and gain recognition which some of them are industries specific and can produce conflicting results for economically similar transactions. This has a result, people disagree how it applies to particular situations. Despite the numerous standards, there are also gaps in guidance which creates conflictions with asset and liability definitions. Sometimes earnings process leads to a misrepresentation of an entity’s contractual rights and obligations in financial statements. Thus, if they focus on changes in assets and liabilities the earnings process could be improved. (Putra 2010) IFRS contain fewer requirements than U.S. GAAP, but also those standards need improvement. The revenue recognition standards provide inconsistencies between assets – liability approach. Under the asset – liability approach, revenue recognized by direct reference to changes in assets and liabilities that occur from an entity’s contract with a customer, rather than by direct reference to critical events. ( Barry J.Epstein   Eva K.Jermakowicz ,2010)   Another deficiency in IFRS relates to the lack of guidance for transactions involving multiple-element arrangement. IAS 18 does not state clearly when or how an entity should separate a single transaction into components and how to measure the elements in a multiple-element arrangement. Therefore, entities apply different measurements for similar transactions, which reduce the comparability of revenue across entities. Also, some problems occur and from the distinguishing between goods and services. If there was a c lear principle to ever-changing and increasingly complex transactions then gaps in guidance would not be a problem. (Putra 2010) However, the Boards have reached some preliminary views in developing a revenue recognition model.   Following I will summarize those views. Firstly, the proposed model would apply to contracts with customers. Revenue should be recognized on the basis of increases in an entity’s net position in a contract with a customer. When an entity enters into a contract with customer, the company gets rights to payment from the customer and assumes obligations to provide good and services to the customer. When an entity satisfies a performance obligation in the contract then company should recognize revenue. Performance obligation is a promise in a contract with a customer to transfer a good or service to that customer. If an entity promise to provide a good, then it is a promising to transfer an asset to the customer. Moreover, if the promised goods or services are transferred to the customer at different times then entity accounts of performance obligations will separate. The aim to separate performance obligations is to ensure that the revenue of the entity is representing the pattern of the transfer of assets to the customer, over the life over the contract. An entity satisfies a performance obligation when the promised good has transferred to customer. We know that an entity has transferred that promised asset when the customer obtains control of it. Consequently, activities that an entity undertakes in fulfilling a contract result in revenue recognition only if they simultaneous ly transfer assets to the customer. The boards have not yet expressed a preliminary view on how an entity would measure the rights.   However, the rights will measure based on the amount of the transaction price (the promised consideration). As the boards propose, performance obligations should be measured at the transaction price.     If a contract comprises more than one performance obligation, an entity would allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in proportion to the stand-alone selling prices of the goods and services underlying those performance obligations. As each obligation is satisfied, the amount of revenue recognized is the amount of the transaction price that was allocated to the satisfied performance obligation at contract inception. Finally, the boards propose that after contract inception, a company should remeasure a performance obligation when it is deemed ‘onerous’. A performance obligation is estimated ‘onerous’ when an entity’s expected cost of satisfying the performance obligation exceeds the amount of that performance obligation. In that case, the performance obligation is remeasured to the entity’s expected cost of satisfying the performance obligation and the entity would recognize a contract loss. As we can see, the proposal model on how and when revenue is recognized under both IFRS and US GAAP are likely to discuss from the entities. The objective of the project to develop a single revenue recognition model that would apply to a wide range of industries to improve the financial reporting revenue was very helpful for all the industries. It helps remove inconsistencies and weakness in existing revenue recognition standards and provide a stronger framework for revenue recognition issues. On the other hand, for many entities the implementation of the proposed model will be relatively ineffectual and for others, the process could be effectual. Specific, construction industries have concerns regarding how the indicators of control should be applied to long-term contracts. Also telecommunications and technology sector, express concerns about the requirement to determine a stand-alone selling price for each performance obligation. Therefore, both Boards should focus on fixing the pr oblems in the existing standards, and to make a better model which will work well in practice. It’s obviously that many problems arise in determining when revenue is earned. Let’s consider Apple, one of the biggest tech. industries in our days as a live example. Apple has the issue that â€Å"how FASB might rework the rules related to recognizing revenue for software thats bundled into a product and never sold separately†. This is very important for Apple because it affects the revenue related to two of the companys most successful products, the iPod and the iPhone. If the rules are recast the company could be able to book revenue faster, yielding less time between product launches and associated revenue gains. Also it would drive up Apples earnings and possibly stock price. (Marie Leone, 2009) Conclusion Having a clear enough view of the problems involved in revenue recognition and the views taken by the two boards, I’ve tried to paint a picture of the proposed revenue recognition model by the two Boards. The proposed model would not be easy and it would be difficult to apply in all entities. However, Boards are trying to develop a model without any inconsistencies and based on changes in specific assets and liabilities. It will take many hours of meetings and discussions between the two Boards before complete any issues about the proposed project. References [1] Barry J.Epstein , Eva K.Jermakowicz (2010) Interpretation and Application of International Financial Reporting Standards, 1st Edition, Canada, New Jersey : Willey [2] ERNST YOUNG (2010) US GAAP vs. IFRS: the basics Revenue Recognition, ey.com/US/en/Services/Assurance/Accounting-and-Financial-Reporting/US-GAAP-vsIFRSthe-basicsMarch-2010Revenue-recognition [Accessed 11/03/2010] [3] International Accounting Standard Board (19/6/2009) Preliminary Views on Revenue Recognition in Contracts with Customers iasb.org/NR/rdonlyres/0E3D5E00-B961-42F0-BA64-AB1D20BB9FE9/0/DP_PreliminaryViewsRevenueRecognition1208.pdf [Accessed 16/03/2010] [4] International Accounting Standard Board (06/2010) Revenue from Contracts with Customers iasb.org/NR/rdonlyres/74E37A73-0A4D-447F-A8DF-3574002B7406/0/SnapshotRevCon.pdf [Accessed 17/03/2010] [5] Jamil Khatri Akeel Master (2009) IFRS Revenue Recognition, KPMG https://www.in.kpmg.com/Securedata/ifRS_Institute/Files/Revenue%20recognition.pdf [Accessed 11/03/2010] [6] Marie Leone, (2009) â€Å"New Revenue-Recognition Rules: The Apple of Apples Eye?†, CFO [7] Putra (2010) â€Å"Problem with Current Revenue Recognition. Change? How? (24/1/2010) http://accounting-financial-tax.com/2010/01/problem-with-current-revenue-recognition-change-how/ [Accessed 13/03/2010]

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Philosophical Women Quotes

Philosophical Women Quotes If you like reading philosophical quotes, here are some great philosophical women quotes. Famous women leaders like Mother Teresa, Emily Dickinson, Golda Meir, Aung San Suu Kyi, and others have expressed their philosophical views. Their breadth of awareness and depth of wisdom is sure to leave you impressed. Mother Theresa, Social WorkerWe are all pencils in the hand of God writing love letters to the world. Virginia Woolf, British FeministIts not catastrophes, murders, deaths, diseases, that age and kill us; its the way people look and laugh, and run up the steps of omnibuses. Nancy Willard, American PoetSometimes questions are more important than answers. Emily Dickinson, PoetThe soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience. Betty Friedan, Social Activist, The Feminine MystiqueThe problem that has no name- which is simply the fact that American women are kept from growing to their full human capacities- is taking a far greater toll on the physical and mental health of our country than any known disease. Jane Austen, NovelistShe had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older- the natural sequence of an unnatural beginning.Martha Graham, ChoreographerYou are unique, and if that is not fulfilled then something has been lost.Jennifer Aniston, American ActorThe greater your capacity to love, the greater is your capacity to feel the pain.Eleanor Roosevelt, ActivistWhen will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it? Golda Meir, First Female Prime Minister of IsraelThose who dont know how to weep with their whole heart dont know how to laugh either. Abigail Adams, Second First Lady of the United States[in a letter to John Adams] Deliver me from your cold phlegmatic preachers, politicians, friends, lovers and husbands. Bette Davis, American actorOld age is no place for sissies. Mother Theresa, Social WorkerIf you judge people, you have no time to love them. Sara Teasdale, PoetI make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes. Candace Pert, NeuroscientistLove often leads to healing, while fear and isolation breed illness. And our biggest fear is abandonment.Muriel Spark, Novelist, The Prime of Miss Jean BrodieOnes prime is elusive. You little girls, when you grow up, must be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur. Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize LaureateThe education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all. Maya Angelou, WriterA bird doesnt sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. Eleanor Roosevelt, ActivistThe future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Jane Goodall, English PrimatologistLasting change is a series of compromises. And compromise is all right, as long your values dont change. Rosa Luxemburg, RevolutionaryFreedom is always and exclusively freedom for the one who thinks differently. Mother Teresa, Social WorkerWe think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty. Peace Pilgrim, PacifistPure love is a willingness to give without a thought of receiving anything in return. Gloria Swanson, American Actress[quoted in the New York Times] Ive given my memoirs far more thought than any of my marriages. You cant divorce a book.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

English class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

English class - Essay Example Hobbs was a man, who strived for the best all the time and tried to achieve greatness and the status of being a hero. Even though he did finally achieve popularity, he realized later that it was not because of the true perseverance that he had put into his work; but because of the disgraces that he had showered his life with. He later had the epiphany that he would then ‘suffer’ for all the wrongdoings that he had done. (Morgan Alex) Thus, after looking up the word, I understood that suffering is a very different kind of pain that humans have to endure during their lifetime; it might last and leave a scar on one’s life, and some people might even learn to move on and forget the past. Therefore, I do not only see the word as something associated with physical pain because after looking it up and reading the text again, it is clear that suffering is what usually mental trauma is. Works Cited Malamud, Bernard. The Natural. (1952) Definition for the term â€Å"Suffer /Suffering†. Merrim-Webster Dictionary. 3 February 2011. Web. Morgan, Alex.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Financial Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial Analysis - Term Paper Example In the case of Competition Bikes Inc., they have been using traditional costing methods and have recently given ABC a try. The following is the data for the overhead costs of six items: From the figure above, we see the difference in production costs due to the cost allocation method. Under the traditional approach, the manufacturing overheads were overpriced for the Titanium model at $239,020 whereas the actual costs is $188,415. Consequently, the total manufacturing cost is also affected. Using the ABC approach would reduce the manufacturing cost of Titanium products, hence, helping the company get better margins. Similarly, for the Carbon DL model, the manufacturing overhead is underpriced at $232,380 whereas using ABC, we found it to be $282,985. Therefore, the product cost is less than the actual cost incurred. Hence, based on the above findings, we can conclude that Activity Based Costing method is the right approach for cost allocation as it allocates costs to individual activ ities making cost identification better. Moreover, it also helps in making operational improvements as with ABC, we have a clear idea of the cost centers. Evaluation of Cost-Volume-Profit Cost-volume-profit analysis also sometimes termed as breakeven analysis is the point at which revenues equal costs (both fixed and variable costs), i.e. a point of no loss or no gain. The analysis assumes that costs and revenue behave in a linearly and both fixed and variable costs have been accurately assigned. It also assumes that all units produced are sold and in the case of more than one type of product, the sales mix remains constant. Cost-Volume-Profit amalysis is the analysis that provides a company a rough understanding of the number of units they can produce to earn a particular amount of profit while incurring certain cost. One of the tools of Cost-Volume-Proft is Breakeven Analysis, which describes the units are which revenue equal cost. Bascially, this means that if Competition Bikes c an sell more than 1415 units of the Titanium model and 786 units of CarbonLite, they would be able to earn profit. Breakeven analysis describes the volume above which a company can earn profits while incurring the same amount of costs. The following figure provides the calculations for the Breakeven Analysis of Competition Bikes Inc. for their plant in San Diego with Titanium model of 900 units and CarbonLite model with 500 units. From the figure above, we can see that if Competition Bikes Inc. sells a total of 2201 units of Titanium and CarbonLite models combined, they would be able to breakeven and if they sell more than 2201 units, they can earn profit. It is also necessary to find the individual breakeven points of both the models. Competition Bikes need to sell 1415 units of Titanium model and 786 units of CarbonLite to be at the point where they suffer no loss and no gain. If we analyze the breakeven point in terms of sales dollars, we know that for Titanium, $1,273,500 are th e breakeven figures whereas for CarbonLite they are $1,175,070 as it is expensive than the Titanium model that is why lesser units and more sales dollars result in the breakeven of CarbonLite. An increase in fixed costs results in increasing both the breakeven units and sales dollars. If the fixed costs of Competition Bikes Inc. increases by an additional $50,000 and the cost of direct materials increase by 10%, then the following breakeven calculations would result: As we can see

Fair system of international trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Fair system of international trade - Essay Example However, the economic, legal and socio-political disparity in countries has created significant problems and challenges to such business thus making it difficult to continue with operations1. Different countries have different laws governing the operation of foreign businesses and this has been demonstrated to create inequality and unfairness in the market. Some laws favour domestic firms and make it difficult for the international companies and organisations to compete favourably with domestic firms. The existence of laws and political systems that favour one group as opposed to the other affect natural competitive advantage that organisations should gain in the market and bestow upon domestic markets undue advantage over the others. Apart from legal systems that affect operations of multinationals, other forms of inequalities exist that make it difficult to gain a completely free system devoid of legal, political and socio-economic interference. Although having a completely fair sy stem of trade seems far-fetched and utopian given the existing inequalities between countries, trade strategies employed by developed countries and huge global corporation can be fashioned in such a way as to allow a fairer system of trade. As such, it is not that a fairer system of trade cannot exist, but that the people, businesses and countries benefiting from the current system of trade do not want such a system to exist. As long as the economic and development interests of certain powerful countries come above the interest of other less powerful countries, such unfair trade will persist and the possibility of change for the better will seem not possible. Different countries in different parts of the world have different political and legal stages of development and maturity, which may differ with those of other countries. This affects the ability of other multinationals especially from developing countries to competitively conduct their business without facing the challenges of the legal and socio-economic systems. A number of factors make it impossible to gain a fair business environment in the global sphere and these majorly depend on the economic development and political maturity of the country2. Most developed countries have enacted laws that although are aimed to protect the interest of the citizens, affect the smooth development and operations of international trade around the world. International trade can only be complete if a country allows for free movement of goods and services as exports and imports. However, this is not the case in a number of countries including the United States and Canada who have enacted a number of legislations that make it impossible to achieve a fair trade system3. From 1930a, the United States has enacted a number of laws, which are aimed at eliminating or reducing the overall volume of international trade in the country by restricting the amount of goods that can be imported into the country. The enactment of the mu ltilateral trade agreement, the tariff act of 1984the omnibus trade act of 2988 and the antidumping act of 1921 made it impossible for multinationals to increase their operations by increasing imports into the country. The American legislations that have been used to protect the country and domestic firms from competition by multinationals has been widely viewed as being protectionist in nature and this increases unfair business practices in the global market4. Apart from the legal differences that do exist between countries, other factors such as the social aspects of a country affects the performance of foreign companies and give the domestic firms undue advantage. Citizens naturally feel at ease with products

Predicting Seismic Activity with Lunar Cycles Research Paper

Predicting Seismic Activity with Lunar Cycles - Research Paper Example The observations that go against the claim will also be analyzed. Observations or logics by critics against these claims will be taken into account and these will be judged and arguments made as to the strength of these claims. In the end the credibility of the predictions will be based on the evidence collected by forces pointing in favor or against this claim. The paper will be considering the lunar cycles linked with seismic activity. Minor factors used by Jim Berkland will be mentioned but the main focus will be relationship between lunar cycles and seismic activity. Predicting Seismic Activity with Lunar Cycles Introduction The earthquakes have devastating potential. The process is researched upon in detail and various theories and factors are presented over the years. The most accepted model for earthquakes is the theory of plate tectonics. The model, however, needs to be updated and many other factors contributing to earthquake that has been observed over the years needs to be incorporated. Investigations for involvement of new forces possible in earthquake predictions are under process. Some of the new indicators include the changes in ionosphere, radon emissions (radioactive element Rn 86), Earth’s magnetic field displacement and even animal behavior. These are just few indicators. Research over the years has and numbers of facts indicate the involvement of sun and moon in triggering earthquakes. As by (Pasichnyk, 2002) â€Å"In Tome Three, plate tectonics, more commonly known as continental drift, was discussed that brought forth the understanding that electrostatic forces are at work in producing tectonic plates’ dynamics. This understanding correlates solar activity and lunar phases and cycles with the triggering of earthquakes†. The subject of earthquake prediction, however, has been a matter of intense debate. There does not seem to be a general consensus. Different papers by Wyss (1997), Geller (1997), Scholz (1997) demonstra te diversity of the subject. Various seismologists base their predictions on different factors and observations. These predictions as per (Allen, 1976) must â€Å"Specify time window, space window, magnitude window, some indication of author’s confidence in reliability of prediction, indication of chances of earthquake occurring anyway as a random event and must be written and presented in accessible form so that data on failures are as easily obtained as data on success†. Bases of Predictions by Jim Berkland Jim Berkland bases his earthquake predictions mainly on the effects of gravitational tugs of the moon, sun and other planets. He also takes into account animal behavior as an indicator for an upcoming earthquake. Berkland has accurately predicted tremors based on these factors. His logics for the effects of lunar cycles on Earth’s seismic activity are discussed as under and each factor is analyzed in detail. Tides The gravitational pull of the moon is respo nsible for the ocean tides. This pull also acts on the crust; however, the effect is not enough. Recent studies have shown correlation between tides and earthquakes. Study by (Cochran, 2004) describes this relation â€Å"Study using global data hinted at an earthquake-tide correlation, suggesting that reverse and normal earthquakes correlate either with shear stress or the trace of the stress†. This correlation as per studies and observations

Thursday, October 17, 2019

CDC children observation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CDC children observation - Assignment Example The second child is Kate, a girl aged 3 years. She is also an active child. Her favorite activity is playing with dolls. As noted the boy is very keen on detail. He plays with his toy car alone at a corner of the playfield. He does not interact with other kids except in situations when they come to him. He seems friendly whenever another child spoke to him. However, he concentrates on the playing with his toy car. At one occasion, he seems to observe something unusual with one of the wheels. He takes up a screwdriver and tries to untighten the screw so that he can remove the wheel. However, he is unable to do it. He seeks help from the caretaker who quickly untightens the screw for him. The boy seems convinced that the wheel has a problem. He looks carefully all around. He notices each detail and observes that the plastic when is cracked. He does not replace the when since there seems to be no replacement. He takes his toy car to the store. I also observed the girl several times. She seemed to enjoy the company of other children. In fact, I did not see her alone at any time. She was always with friends. The girl loves dolls and has several of them. She takes motherly care for them. I observed her trying to feed one of the dolls, soothed it and also lay it to sleep. Along with other girls, she tries to talk to them, assuming that they can hear. She is also quick to cry whenever she is offended by one of her friends. The toys that children use in the center are gender specific. For example, boys are seen to be playing with toy cars. The toy cars are characteristic of male children and are thus male gendered. However, there are also a small number of girls attracted to toy cars. On the other hand, girls are interested in playing mother roles. All of the girls have dolls. Also, I did not see any boy with a doll. Children at the center are always quarreling over toys and playing space. The staff members try to resolve all the

Is it a good idea to use the term 'knowledge management in Essay

Is it a good idea to use the term 'knowledge management in conversations with top managers in our days - Essay Example In order to get acquainted with the major postulates of knowledge management we turned to â€Å"An Illustrated Guide of Knowledge Management† issued by Wissensmanagement Forum in 2003. This guide offers a very detailed description of objectives and benefits, basic concepts and logistics, and gives a precise description of implementation of knowledge management in practice. It becomes clear from the contents already that the â€Å"new† science covers such field of management as information and communication technologies and expert systems. The guide provides psychological and philosophical bases for the importance and necessity of knowledge management, explaining facts that are either well-known and widely-discussed or obviously far-fetched. They start with declaring the significance of knowledge and organizational learning for the success of any enterprise (which has been exhaustively discussed in the vast literature on strategic, business and operations management, as well as in that devoted to management of technologies, intelligent systems and the like), happily informing us (as if nobody guessed before) that well-trained and clever personnel contributes to this success, and claiming that â€Å"effective knowledge management not only forms the basis of successful innovation processes, but also greatly enhances an organization’s ability to innovate† (p.1). There arises the first question of a puzzled audience: have they found some new method of turning usual employees into creative and invaluable workers? Further, they provide a detailed scheme of cognitive processes connected with knowledge and memory (it stays unclear what a top manager needs it for – general education?) and introduce some cleverly-sounding terms (the purpose is still unclear). They speak of tacit and explicit knowledge and write many other abstruse things (p.2-7). T.D.Wilson (2002) fairly wonders how knowledge of an individual can be managed at all (incre ased and

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

CDC children observation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CDC children observation - Assignment Example The second child is Kate, a girl aged 3 years. She is also an active child. Her favorite activity is playing with dolls. As noted the boy is very keen on detail. He plays with his toy car alone at a corner of the playfield. He does not interact with other kids except in situations when they come to him. He seems friendly whenever another child spoke to him. However, he concentrates on the playing with his toy car. At one occasion, he seems to observe something unusual with one of the wheels. He takes up a screwdriver and tries to untighten the screw so that he can remove the wheel. However, he is unable to do it. He seeks help from the caretaker who quickly untightens the screw for him. The boy seems convinced that the wheel has a problem. He looks carefully all around. He notices each detail and observes that the plastic when is cracked. He does not replace the when since there seems to be no replacement. He takes his toy car to the store. I also observed the girl several times. She seemed to enjoy the company of other children. In fact, I did not see her alone at any time. She was always with friends. The girl loves dolls and has several of them. She takes motherly care for them. I observed her trying to feed one of the dolls, soothed it and also lay it to sleep. Along with other girls, she tries to talk to them, assuming that they can hear. She is also quick to cry whenever she is offended by one of her friends. The toys that children use in the center are gender specific. For example, boys are seen to be playing with toy cars. The toy cars are characteristic of male children and are thus male gendered. However, there are also a small number of girls attracted to toy cars. On the other hand, girls are interested in playing mother roles. All of the girls have dolls. Also, I did not see any boy with a doll. Children at the center are always quarreling over toys and playing space. The staff members try to resolve all the

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Process Design Matrix Summary Essay Example for Free

Process Design Matrix Summary Essay This summary entails three process design approaches for a service providing organization (Chaparral Suits Hotel Resort) and for a small manufacturing organization (Something Sweet Bakery). Although process design varies for service and manufacturing organizations, â€Å"process design is a critical function in any operation† (Service versus Manufacturing Process Design Video). The three process design approaches that I pulled from the matrix are; design focal point, scheduling, and quality. I will explain how the same three process design approaches apply to each of these organizations in diverse industries. Process Design Approaches in a Service Organization This portion of the summary will illustrate how the three selected process design approaches are implemented in a service providing organization like Chaparral Suits Hotel Resort. Design Focal Point The first process design approach is the design focal point. With regards to Chaparral Suits Hotel Resort the design focal point is devised to meet the customers needs. For example, about 60% of the Chaparral’s customers are seeking relaxation. The other 40% are seeking a convenient place to conduct business. Chaparral’s caters to both customer needs by choosing to have the hotel in a Resort location as well as near major freeways and large business organizations. Scheduling Scheduling in a service providing industry like Chaparral Suites Hotel   Resort is essential for optimal performance. For example, during the off-season there is a higher rate of vacant rooms creating a dilemma of having excess staff. To deal with this yearly occurrence management has scheduled most of the employees paid time off during the off-season. Also, Chaparral uses websites like Expedia and Travelocity to try to sell any rooms not spoken for during the offseason. Furthermore, cross training is provided so that employees and resources can be shifted to where the higher workload is. Quality In a service providing industry quality is at the top of the list. If the company provides poor quality service they will loose their customer base to the competition. Chaparral Suits Hotel Resorts manager Tracy Milward states that they look for, â€Å"people –people when ever they are trying to hire and train folks for this industry† (Service versus Manufacturing Process Design Video). Also, staff is required comply with key performing indicators to track employees’ service quality primarily used for reception and customer service personnel. Process Design Approaches in a Manufacturing Organization This portion of the summary will illustrate how the three selected process design approaches are implemented in a manufacturing organization like Something Sweet Bakery. Design Focal Point The first process design approach is the design focal point. With regards to Something Sweet Bakery the design focal point is devised to meet the end users needs. For example, employees at Something Sweet Bakery will only bake pastry’s that are in demand at the moment. In essence, different pastry’s will be baked in different seasons. With regard to the location’s design focal point Something Sweet Bakery chose to set up shop in an upscale shopping center in Scottsdale, Arizona because of the high volume pedestrian traffic. The bakery was designed so that when the customers enter the bakery the aroma of fresh, delicious pastry’s overtakes them. This strategy will stimulate sales generating increased revenue. Scheduling The scheduling process at Something Sweet Bakery is not that complicated being that this is a small manufacturing company. Since 70% of their business is made to order there is a mandatory minimal number of staff members that need to be in the bakery. During holiday season there is a demand spike and product volume increases substantially. In order to effectively stay on pace with the production schedule a â€Å"batch process is used to offset variations in demand† (Service versus Manufacturing Process Design Video). For example, a big batch of cookie doe will be made and froze, except for the portion that will be used that day. Another way the bakery schedules to meet demand is providing employees with overtime. Quality Quality is important in any industry, especially in a bakery. If customers don’t like the quality of your product they simply will go elsewhere. At Something Sweet Bakery quality is a more subjective process. Tina, the co-owner, and bakers personally taste everything before it is available to customers. This is how they check and maintain product quality. In Retrospect, although the two industries depicted in this summary perform two very different operations they are both striving to meet the same goals. In this case company size is not a significant factor when it comes to the application of process design approaches. In order to achieve and maintain success in Chaparral’s Suits Hotel Resort and Something Sweet Bakery it is imperative that they make wise decisions with regards to the three process design approaches stated in this summary. References University of Phoenix, Service versus Manufacturing Process Design Video

Monday, October 14, 2019

Human Capital Development and Productivity Relationship

Human Capital Development and Productivity Relationship ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between human capital development and productivity. Productivity is the dependent variable while human capital development indicators and gross capital formation are the explanatory variables. Recurrent and capital expenditures on health and education are used as human development indicators. The scope of the study is from1977 to 2003. The Ordinary Least Square method was used to determine this relationship. It has revealed a negative relationship between gross capital formation and productivity. However, human capital development was found to affect productivity significantly. It is therefore advocated to adopt policies that will improve the expenditure on health and education. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY The issue of human capital development is of great importance in any economy particularly developing economy such as Nigeria. The twentieth century has become the human capital century. People and skills matter, the wealth of a nation is embodied in its people, that is, the working class. Although advanced countries but the poor countries are becoming more aware of the importance of people the advantage countries but the poor countries are becoming more aware of the importance of people the advancement of the economy. This study is therefore of great significance to the world at large. Labor is one of the four factors of production. The others are capital, land and entrepreneur. In the nineteenth century, people were of little importance to industrial giants such as Britain, Germany, France and the United States. However, in the early 1900 attention began to shift to education of people at secondary and higher levels and provision of welfare services such as health services. The Nigerian economy has however failed to move at the pace of other countries in the world. Although effort have been made in the area of human development in the part, there has not been a substantial improvement in the human capital development in the past, there has not been a substantial improvement in the human capital indicators such as education and health. Productivity can be perceived as the output per unit or the efficiency with which resources are utilized. Therefore productivity with respect to human capital development refers to the development of human capital which will lead to efficiency with which resources are utilized and this will increase output. The trend of productivity in Nigeria is one that fluctuates. Productivity in Nigeria compared to that of other countries is very low. Sustained productivity depends on the economys human capital. Human capital can be defined as the skills, knowledge, competencies, and attributes that reside in a worker. Human capital development involves the improvement of a nations human capital through better healthcare, nutrition, accommodation, working environment, education and training. The economies of nations and the world at large is dynamic in nature, it follows that the human resources of these nations should be constantly improved on. That is, training of manpower should be a continuous process in order to meet up with the demands of the world market. Here, the emphasis is placed on education and health. These can also be referred to as indicators of human capital development on productivity. ducation in Nigeria has improved over the years with increased interest in the tertiary institution. However, a closer attention has to be paid to the needs of the educational sector because the quality and level of educational attainment on the productivity of a country. Certain measures have been put in place to improve the quality of education in Nigeria by the Federal government and other agencies. However, these efforts have not brought about the much desired change in the standard of the education in Nigeria. Failure in the educational sector has been accounted for due to some problems. They include; inadequate allocation by the government to education, lack of dedicated teachers, poor political environment, poor implementation of policies and several others. Private organizations have sprung up to resuscitate the educational sector. This is evident through the increase in private schools in the primary, secondary and even the tertiary level. Nigerians have lost confidence in t he ability of the government to provide good education and this has resulted in high patronage of these private institutions by Nigerians who can afford it. This leaves the bulk of Nigerians that cannot afford private education at the mercy of the government funded schools. The government has failed to realize the gravity of what an underdeveloped human capital can do to an economy. The need for more attention to be centered on this aspect is very necessary. The health sector is also faced with similar problems as that of education. Health is a very important factor in human capital development. The state of health of labor affects the level of performance thereby affecting the level of productivity. Government has tried in improving health services by reducing the number of population per doctor, providing more health facilities, hospitals and other required health personnel. However, there is still room for improvement in this aspect. The rural areas of the country have been neglected while the urban areas have been focused on, there is still need to reduce the population per doctor, provide preventive healthcare and take drastic measures to reduce the infant maternal mortality. These discrepancies in education and health of the country have a very significant effect on productivity and hence economic growth. 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The Nigerian economy has solved several problems facing it. There has been prolonged economic recession followed by the collapse of the world oil market from the early 1980 and fall in the foreign exchange earnings of the country. Other problems include overdependence on imports for consumption and capital goods, lack of adequate social and economic infrastructure and neglect of the agricultural sector. Nigeria is rated to be one of the poorest countries in the world. Putting the countrys economy back on track requires a lot of activities that will advance the economy such as rebuilding the economy and making goods and services available and affordable for every one. This is where the issue of productivity comes in since productivity refers to the level of output of a country. The problem therefore deals with increase in productivity through human capital development so as to increase growth. This study raises questions on how the indicators of human capital development affect productivity. 1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY This study covers all sectors of the economy and all countries in the world as the issue of human capital and productivity affects everyone. However, the study is based on the Nigerian economy and all considerations and analysis refers to the Nigerian economy. This study covers the period from 1977 to 2004. 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The major objective of the study is to determine the relationship between human capital development and productivity in the Nigerian economy through the use of two human capital development indicators; education and health. The specific objectives include: To ascertain the relationship between human capital development and productivity To examine the impact of health on the productivity in the Nigerian economy. To examine the impact of education on productivity in the Nigerian economy. To determine the indicators of human capital development. 1.5 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY This study is relevant to every sector of the economy. This is because every sector of the economy has labor as its most important factor of production. It is therefore of great importance to the industrial, agricultural, mining sector and so on. It gives them more incentive to invest more in their human resources. It is also of great importance to the government who have in their hands the authority and responsibility over important indicators of human capital development. This study will encourage government to increase expenditure on education, health and other areas of the economy that affect productivity. It provides a basis for which investment in health and education will be measured against productivity. This study is therefore of great importance to all sectors of the economy, the government and other stakeholders such as consumers, shareholders and so on. 1.6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS The following questions arise in the course of this study and will subsequently be answered. They include the following; What is the relationship between human capital development and productivity? What is the effect of health on productivity? What is the impact of education on productivity? What are the other factors that lead to the development of human capital? 1.7 HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY The following hypotheses hold for this study; H0 : Education has the lowest impact on productivity H1: Education has the greatest impact on productivity. H0: Health has no significant impact on productivity. H1: Health has a significant impact on productivity. H0: There is no significant relationship between human capital development and productivity. H1: There is a significant relationship between human capital development and productivity. 1.8 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The issues to be raised in this research work are both empirical and theoretical. The Ordinary least square method of analyzing data will be used and the results will be interpreted. 1.9 DATA SOURCES Data was obtained from the Central Bank Statistical Bulletin, 2004. 1.1.0 OUTLINE OF CHAPTERS In order to achieve the stated objectives, the project work has been subdivided into five chapters. Chapter one is the introduction which consists of the background, statement of the problem, objectives, justification, hypotheses, scope, research methodology, organization and limitation of the study. Chapter two is devoted to past literature written on the subject matter. Chapter three is the methodological framework and the model specification. Chapter four is presentation, interpretation and empirical analysis of regression results. Chapter five boarders on the summary, recommendation and conclusion of the study. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 CONCEPT OF HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT Human resources make up the standard or the basis for the wealth of a country. Human resources are the summation of efforts, skills, knowledge and experience available in a country. It is the managerial, scientific, engineering, technical, craftsmen and other skills which are employed in creating, designing, developing organizations, managing and operating productive and service enterprises and economic institutions (Yesufu, 1962). They are a nations most valuable resources. They constitute a nations human capital. Human capital refers to the skills, education, health, and training of individuals. It is capital because these skills or education are an integral part of us that is long-lasting, in the way a machine, plant, or factory lasts ( Gary Becker, 1992). Before the nineteenth century, investment in human capital was not important in any country. Expenditures on schooling, health and other forms of investment were quite small. This began to change during that century with the application of science to the development of new goods and more efficient methods of production, first in Britain, and then gradually spreading to other countries. During this century, education, skills, and other knowledge have become crucial determinants of a persons and a nations productivity. One can even call the twentieth century the Age of Human Capital in the sense that the primary determinant of a countrys standard of living is how well it succeeds in developing and utilizing the skills, knowledge, health, and habits of its population. It has been estimated that human capital-education, on-the-job and other training, and health-comprises about 80 percent of the capital or wealth in the United States and other advanced countries. (Gary Becker 1992). Therefore a country without effective human capital development skills will be lagging behind in the issue of development. The concept of human capital refers to the abilities and skills of human resources of a country, while human capital formation refers to the process of acquiring and increasing the number of persons who have the skills, education and experience that are critical for economic growth and development of a country (Okojie 1995:44). Human capital is so important that in the Khartoum Declaration of 1988, it was asserted that: .the human dimension is the sine qua non of economic recovery .no SAP or economic recovery programme should be formulated or can be implemented without having at its heart detailed social and human priorities. There can be no real structural adjustment or economic recovery in the absence of the human imperative (Adedeji 1990:390). In other words, there cannot be meaningful economic growth without adequate human resources. Human resources development involves the improvement and the transformation of a nations human resources by better medicare, nutrition, accommodation, environment, education and training (Yesufu, 1962) Human capital development can be described as a deliberate effort by Government and people to provide the right number of workers, at the right areas of need and at the right time in an economy that is incentives that will increase the morale of the workers. For example, in Japan, training of human resources is seen as very important in development of the economy. They also provide incentives that boost the morale of the workers. The government is expected to provide policies or programmes that provide the labour needs and a requirement in all sectors of the economy. The existence of a large population does not translate to a productive resource. Human resources can only be productive due to effort made by the government and the private organisations in developing human resources. Human beings become productive resource or human capital only when they are able and in a position to contribute meaningfully to productive economic activities. They have to be trained to become agents of p roduction and economic activities. Without training they remain passive, potential and inactive as other factors of production. Human beings can be fashioned to lead useful and happy lives and contribute to societal development by the development of their characters and potential abilities through education, training, health services and so on conducted over a long period of years. The enterprise of human capital development therefore is the impartibility of knowledge and skills to human beings through education and training for productive as well as consumptive ends (U.O Anyanwu). Education is only one form of investment in human beings. Others include expenditure on medical care, migration to more prosperous regions, information about job opportunities and career prospects and choice of jobs with higher training contents. Human capital development is a form of investment with expected economic as well as social returns not only to the individual investor and his family but also the society at large. The economy, with time, begins to experience growth, while the beneficiary acquires the opportunity to contribute to and secure qualitative live by being able to make the right choices and command higher earnings profile. Consequently human capital development has been seen as the ultimate concern of all types of development-economic, social, cultural, political, etc. Capacity building or human capital development responds to a wide-range of questions such as what people are able to be or do, the issues longevity, health and mind development, their inalienable fundamental human rights to freedom of choice, speech, association, political, economic, social and other needs and ability to escape from avoidable diseases, malnourishment and illiteracy (HDR Nigeria 1996). Human Development Report (1996) maintains that sustainability of human capacity building is the essential component of the ethics of universalism of life, stressing that it is a matter of sharing development opportunities between all classes and groups of people between the rich and the poor, between the present and future generations. It is of the view that sustainability demands what it calls intra-generational and inter-generational equity (HRD Nigeria 1996). Capacity building or HRD has other associated benefits and returns. (Umo 1995) has itemized other crucial contributions of human capital to development in general to include; the generalized capacity to absorb economic shocks as well as cope with the complexities of modern development; creating a corps of well informed citizenry with positive attitude to national development, providing persons for technology base needed for industrialization; 2.2 CONCEPT OF PRODUCTIVITY The most widely accepted definition of productivity is that it is the ratio of inputs to output. This definition enjoys general acceptability because of two related considerations. One, the definition what productivity is thought of to be in the context of an enterprise, an industry or an economy as a whole. Two, regardless of the type of production, economic or political system, this definition of productivity remains the same as long as the basic concept is the relationship between the quantity and quality of goods and services produced and the quality of resources used to produce them. Eatwell and Newman (1991) defined productivity as a ratio of some measure of output to some index of input use. Put differently, productivity is nothing more than the arithmetic ratio between the amount produced and the amount of any resources used to produce them. This conception of productivity goes to imply that it can indeed be perceived as the output per unit input or the efficiency with which resources are used. Olaoye (1985) observed that productivity as a concept can assume two dimensions: namely total factor productivity (TFP) and partial productivity. The former relates to productivity that is defined as the relationship between outputs Growth in productivity provides a significant basis for adequate supply of goods and services thereby improving the welfare of the people and enhancing social progress (Mike Obadan). Demburg (1985) said without productivity there would be no growth in per capita income and inflation control would be more difficult. A country with high productivity is often known for high capacity utilization (optimal use of resources), high standard of living, low rate of unemployment and social progress. Productivity measures the relationship between quantitative and qualitative value of goods and services produced and the quantity of resources needed to produce them (that is, factor inputs such as labour, capital, technology) (Sumbeye, 1992; Okojie 1995; Roberts and Tybout 1997). Mali (1978) defines it as the measure of how resources are brought together in organisations and utilized for accomplishing a set of results. It is reaching the highest level of performance with the least use of resources. In this definition, the issue of efficiency is being referred to. Increased productivity will involve the use of less resources and an outcome of more output. Roberts and Tybout (1997) and Tybout (1992), assuming a neoclassical production function at the sectoral or industry , define total factor output to be a concave of inputs and time (a proxy for technological innovation). To them, the elasticity of output with respect to time is the total factor productivity. TFP = Total output / Weighted average of all inputs..1 The factor inputs include labour, capital, raw material and purchase of spare parts and so on. In a particular sense, these factors are reduced to the weighted average of labour and capital (Okojie, 1995; Roberts and Tybout, 1997). Partial productivity (PP) is defined as: PP = Total output / partial input.2 According to T. M.Yesufu, labour productivity refers to the output result of workers organised within a given economic unit or enterprise. Yesufu outlined the three basic deficiencies associated with the use of labour productivity. They include the following; the term labour as generally conceived , is ambiguous and far from inclusive. It excludes some very important categories of human inputs, especially management, marketing, accounting and the white collar workers generally, who are not directly on the production line. even the acknowledged workforce generally used for labour productivity measurement(the blue coated production line- skilled and unskilled labour) as far from homogenous, which complicates the allocation of output between the constituent classes; for example , adult and child labour; male-female, artisan, technician, etc. the output of an enterprise itself usually varies in terms of type , material inputs, labour mixes, sizes of unit products, etc., that are not easily dis-aggregated. Due to these shortcomings of the use of labour productivity some economists prefer to use total factor productivity as it is said to be superior and more acceptable for purposes of determining enterprise or macroeconomic performance. Partial productivity is particularly used for analytical purposes, to test the relative efficiency of, or returns to, various forms of inputs, and to check, for example, the effect on marginal productivity an increase or reduction of a particular type of input. 2.2.1 The Traditional Concept of Productivity The traditional concept of productivity focuses on the efficiency in the production or delivery process. In this wise, the focus is merely on the ratio of output to inputs. Thus, productivity is measured as the amount of output per unit of inputs. Since the emphasis was more generally on labour productivity, the measure was often the amount of output per worker working for one hour. This traditional approach implies a simple Mathematical relationship so that productivity improvement means producing more with less or the same amount of inputs; or sustaining the same level of output with less input. This traditional view derives from the economic logic of cost minimisation. One implication of this approach is that traditional productivity improvement schemes tend to focus on how to reduce inputs employed and improve the skills of the workers they retain. Workers lay-offs, while seeking to maintain the same levels of output with the reduced work force became popular at enterprise levels. The present policy of the Federal Government to reduce the work force in the public service is as a result of this traditional logic. 2.2.2 New Emerging Concept of Productivity Globalisation and the new forms of competition which it has brought about, however, today require us to focus on a much broader concept of productivity. Likewise, we need to appreciate more fully the changing dynamics of the factors involved in the process of productivity improvement. As a recent analysis points out, increased competitiveness, the increased complexity of markets, the globalisation of manufacturing and the increased concern about social and ecological issues make productivity improvement more important at the same time that the need for a broader meaning of productivity is required. Thus, the focus today is increasingly on total factor productivity and the process of its improvement involves improving the overall business environment. This involves the promotion of better labour-management relations, continuous improvement in products and processes, enhancement of the quality of work life and continuous development of the human resource. In this new conception, the emphasis of the direction to productivity improvement is on increased added value creation, rather than the minimisation of labour inputs. Emphasis has also been brought to bear on the distribution of the benefits of productivity improvement among all stakeholders (workers, employers, consumers). Productivity is not seen any more just as the physical increase in output, but also as the improvement in the quality and value or acceptability of the product or service. Thus, productivity is not just an efficiency concept any more, but equally an effectiveness concept. In an increasingly globalized world, productivity improvement does not just involve the efficient production of products or services, but of products and services that are needed and demanded and bought by very discerning customers. Customer orientation is increasingly in the fore and quality is now an important index of performance. Productivity is becoming identical with quality. 2.3 DETERMINANTS OF PRODUCTIVITY A number of factors affect productivity. Major among these are the complementing factors of production as well as technology/innovation, institutional backup, worker motivation, the quality of labour, environment, etc( U.O. Anyanwu). To discover the effect of each of the cooperating factors on productivity, we have to go into a theoretical world where we can hold other things constant while varying each of these factors one after the other. Here, we are still relying on the theory of diminishing marginal productivity which states that if increasing amounts of a variable factor, say labour, is applied to a fixed amount of other factors (e.g. land, capital, materials etc.), given the level of technology then beyond a certain number the extra or marginal product of the variable factor begins to fall down or diminish (Todaro 1985) However, in a real world all the factors impact productivity simultaneously. (a) Land, A Factor of Labour Productivity Growth Land can affect productivity both quantitatively and qualitatively. If land is identified as the limiting factor of labour productivity more arable land can be brought under cultivation to relax the land constraint. In this regard a number of forest reserves have, for this purpose, to be deforested. The quality of land can be improved through the application of manure and fertilizer, which also increases the yield per hectare. Other methods of farming that make for more yields per hectare of land such as improved seed and grain varieties have been adopted by modern farmers. New land policies that alter tenure ship and ownership are devices for relaxing land constraints and improving productivity. (b) Capital Accumulation and Labour Productivity. If identified low labour productivity is attributable to lack of capital, capital can be raised through the mobilization of domestic and foreign investment. Acquisition of new factories, equipment, and machinery will lead to increases in productivity and output per capita of the nation. The Nigerian Governments are committed to the attraction of foreign investments to, among others; improve the capital base of the country. However, while the efforts are being made to cover the need for further capital, installed capital such as the Liquefied Natural Gas Project, Petrochemical plants, Refineries and Iron and Steel factories, among others need revitalization if our productivity is to increase. Investment in social and economic infrastructure gives a significant effect to productivity such as roads, electricity, water, sanitation, communication for the facilitation of economic activities. Road networks are needed to bring the additional product to areas of need, while electricity, water, communication, all play very dominant roles in bringing about the additional product and service arising from the new investment. Dams, irrigation facilities, bridges and road extensions to interior areas all raise product per hectares of cultivated land. Use of chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. is part of the capital needed enhanced productivity because by raising value of the farm land, productivity is also being improved. (c)Technology/Innovation and Productivity Most economists regard technology/innovation as the most important source of growth. Technology is being seen as a new and improved ways of achieving or performing traditional tasks. Technology can be neutral, labour or capital intensive. Technology is said to be labour and capital neutral when higher output levels are achievable using the same quantity and combinations of factor inputs in a production process. Simple innovations such as re-distribution of labour can result in higher output levels, too. On the other hand, technology may be capital intensive or labour intensive if higher levels of output are possible, with more capital or more labour. Use of simple implements such as those of cottage and small scale industries are said to be labour intensive while those such as electronic computers, automated textile looms, mechanical ploughs, tractors display capital intensity (Todaro 1985). In industrialized countries where unit cost of labour is very high and expensive technology choice favors one that is capital intensive or labour saving, while in developing countries such as Nigeria where there is abundance of labour and scarcity of capital, choice of technology gravitates towards those that are labour intensive, and capital saving. There is the fourth aspect of technology called labour or capital augmentation technology. The quality or skill of labour can be augmented by the use of, for example, videotapes, televisions and other electronic communication devices while capital augmentation is said to occur when productivity can be enhanced by the use of existing capital goods for instance iron types etc can replace wooden hoes. Today hybrid products such as cassava, rice, etc that give higher yield per hectare are being developed through technological augmentation. (d) Labour Force Growth and Labour Productivity. Labour Force growth an important part of the population growth stimulates economic growth and productivity growth particularly when growth has not attained its optimum level. A large labour force, all things being equal, means a large population and the latter is potentially a large domestic market, and if well endowed, empowered and developed, a great international market, too. However, much depends obviously on the capacity of the economic system to productively employ the additional workers arising from the population/labour force growth. Again this will equally depend on the rate and kinds of capital accumulation and the availability of related factors such as managerial and administrative skills and competence the level of commitment of the political administration. 2.4 IMPACT OF HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT ON LABOUR PRODUCTIVTY Human Capital Development enhances labour productivity and the productive capacity of the economy. Employers regard the qualification arising from capacity building, as a reliable indication of personal ability, achievement drive reasoning for instance that, a graduate must make a better salesman than a man who had never met the Human Capital Development and Productivity Relationship Human Capital Development and Productivity Relationship ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between human capital development and productivity. Productivity is the dependent variable while human capital development indicators and gross capital formation are the explanatory variables. Recurrent and capital expenditures on health and education are used as human development indicators. The scope of the study is from1977 to 2003. The Ordinary Least Square method was used to determine this relationship. It has revealed a negative relationship between gross capital formation and productivity. However, human capital development was found to affect productivity significantly. It is therefore advocated to adopt policies that will improve the expenditure on health and education. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY The issue of human capital development is of great importance in any economy particularly developing economy such as Nigeria. The twentieth century has become the human capital century. People and skills matter, the wealth of a nation is embodied in its people, that is, the working class. Although advanced countries but the poor countries are becoming more aware of the importance of people the advantage countries but the poor countries are becoming more aware of the importance of people the advancement of the economy. This study is therefore of great significance to the world at large. Labor is one of the four factors of production. The others are capital, land and entrepreneur. In the nineteenth century, people were of little importance to industrial giants such as Britain, Germany, France and the United States. However, in the early 1900 attention began to shift to education of people at secondary and higher levels and provision of welfare services such as health services. The Nigerian economy has however failed to move at the pace of other countries in the world. Although effort have been made in the area of human development in the part, there has not been a substantial improvement in the human capital development in the past, there has not been a substantial improvement in the human capital indicators such as education and health. Productivity can be perceived as the output per unit or the efficiency with which resources are utilized. Therefore productivity with respect to human capital development refers to the development of human capital which will lead to efficiency with which resources are utilized and this will increase output. The trend of productivity in Nigeria is one that fluctuates. Productivity in Nigeria compared to that of other countries is very low. Sustained productivity depends on the economys human capital. Human capital can be defined as the skills, knowledge, competencies, and attributes that reside in a worker. Human capital development involves the improvement of a nations human capital through better healthcare, nutrition, accommodation, working environment, education and training. The economies of nations and the world at large is dynamic in nature, it follows that the human resources of these nations should be constantly improved on. That is, training of manpower should be a continuous process in order to meet up with the demands of the world market. Here, the emphasis is placed on education and health. These can also be referred to as indicators of human capital development on productivity. ducation in Nigeria has improved over the years with increased interest in the tertiary institution. However, a closer attention has to be paid to the needs of the educational sector because the quality and level of educational attainment on the productivity of a country. Certain measures have been put in place to improve the quality of education in Nigeria by the Federal government and other agencies. However, these efforts have not brought about the much desired change in the standard of the education in Nigeria. Failure in the educational sector has been accounted for due to some problems. They include; inadequate allocation by the government to education, lack of dedicated teachers, poor political environment, poor implementation of policies and several others. Private organizations have sprung up to resuscitate the educational sector. This is evident through the increase in private schools in the primary, secondary and even the tertiary level. Nigerians have lost confidence in t he ability of the government to provide good education and this has resulted in high patronage of these private institutions by Nigerians who can afford it. This leaves the bulk of Nigerians that cannot afford private education at the mercy of the government funded schools. The government has failed to realize the gravity of what an underdeveloped human capital can do to an economy. The need for more attention to be centered on this aspect is very necessary. The health sector is also faced with similar problems as that of education. Health is a very important factor in human capital development. The state of health of labor affects the level of performance thereby affecting the level of productivity. Government has tried in improving health services by reducing the number of population per doctor, providing more health facilities, hospitals and other required health personnel. However, there is still room for improvement in this aspect. The rural areas of the country have been neglected while the urban areas have been focused on, there is still need to reduce the population per doctor, provide preventive healthcare and take drastic measures to reduce the infant maternal mortality. These discrepancies in education and health of the country have a very significant effect on productivity and hence economic growth. 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The Nigerian economy has solved several problems facing it. There has been prolonged economic recession followed by the collapse of the world oil market from the early 1980 and fall in the foreign exchange earnings of the country. Other problems include overdependence on imports for consumption and capital goods, lack of adequate social and economic infrastructure and neglect of the agricultural sector. Nigeria is rated to be one of the poorest countries in the world. Putting the countrys economy back on track requires a lot of activities that will advance the economy such as rebuilding the economy and making goods and services available and affordable for every one. This is where the issue of productivity comes in since productivity refers to the level of output of a country. The problem therefore deals with increase in productivity through human capital development so as to increase growth. This study raises questions on how the indicators of human capital development affect productivity. 1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY This study covers all sectors of the economy and all countries in the world as the issue of human capital and productivity affects everyone. However, the study is based on the Nigerian economy and all considerations and analysis refers to the Nigerian economy. This study covers the period from 1977 to 2004. 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The major objective of the study is to determine the relationship between human capital development and productivity in the Nigerian economy through the use of two human capital development indicators; education and health. The specific objectives include: To ascertain the relationship between human capital development and productivity To examine the impact of health on the productivity in the Nigerian economy. To examine the impact of education on productivity in the Nigerian economy. To determine the indicators of human capital development. 1.5 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY This study is relevant to every sector of the economy. This is because every sector of the economy has labor as its most important factor of production. It is therefore of great importance to the industrial, agricultural, mining sector and so on. It gives them more incentive to invest more in their human resources. It is also of great importance to the government who have in their hands the authority and responsibility over important indicators of human capital development. This study will encourage government to increase expenditure on education, health and other areas of the economy that affect productivity. It provides a basis for which investment in health and education will be measured against productivity. This study is therefore of great importance to all sectors of the economy, the government and other stakeholders such as consumers, shareholders and so on. 1.6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS The following questions arise in the course of this study and will subsequently be answered. They include the following; What is the relationship between human capital development and productivity? What is the effect of health on productivity? What is the impact of education on productivity? What are the other factors that lead to the development of human capital? 1.7 HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY The following hypotheses hold for this study; H0 : Education has the lowest impact on productivity H1: Education has the greatest impact on productivity. H0: Health has no significant impact on productivity. H1: Health has a significant impact on productivity. H0: There is no significant relationship between human capital development and productivity. H1: There is a significant relationship between human capital development and productivity. 1.8 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The issues to be raised in this research work are both empirical and theoretical. The Ordinary least square method of analyzing data will be used and the results will be interpreted. 1.9 DATA SOURCES Data was obtained from the Central Bank Statistical Bulletin, 2004. 1.1.0 OUTLINE OF CHAPTERS In order to achieve the stated objectives, the project work has been subdivided into five chapters. Chapter one is the introduction which consists of the background, statement of the problem, objectives, justification, hypotheses, scope, research methodology, organization and limitation of the study. Chapter two is devoted to past literature written on the subject matter. Chapter three is the methodological framework and the model specification. Chapter four is presentation, interpretation and empirical analysis of regression results. Chapter five boarders on the summary, recommendation and conclusion of the study. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 CONCEPT OF HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT Human resources make up the standard or the basis for the wealth of a country. Human resources are the summation of efforts, skills, knowledge and experience available in a country. It is the managerial, scientific, engineering, technical, craftsmen and other skills which are employed in creating, designing, developing organizations, managing and operating productive and service enterprises and economic institutions (Yesufu, 1962). They are a nations most valuable resources. They constitute a nations human capital. Human capital refers to the skills, education, health, and training of individuals. It is capital because these skills or education are an integral part of us that is long-lasting, in the way a machine, plant, or factory lasts ( Gary Becker, 1992). Before the nineteenth century, investment in human capital was not important in any country. Expenditures on schooling, health and other forms of investment were quite small. This began to change during that century with the application of science to the development of new goods and more efficient methods of production, first in Britain, and then gradually spreading to other countries. During this century, education, skills, and other knowledge have become crucial determinants of a persons and a nations productivity. One can even call the twentieth century the Age of Human Capital in the sense that the primary determinant of a countrys standard of living is how well it succeeds in developing and utilizing the skills, knowledge, health, and habits of its population. It has been estimated that human capital-education, on-the-job and other training, and health-comprises about 80 percent of the capital or wealth in the United States and other advanced countries. (Gary Becker 1992). Therefore a country without effective human capital development skills will be lagging behind in the issue of development. The concept of human capital refers to the abilities and skills of human resources of a country, while human capital formation refers to the process of acquiring and increasing the number of persons who have the skills, education and experience that are critical for economic growth and development of a country (Okojie 1995:44). Human capital is so important that in the Khartoum Declaration of 1988, it was asserted that: .the human dimension is the sine qua non of economic recovery .no SAP or economic recovery programme should be formulated or can be implemented without having at its heart detailed social and human priorities. There can be no real structural adjustment or economic recovery in the absence of the human imperative (Adedeji 1990:390). In other words, there cannot be meaningful economic growth without adequate human resources. Human resources development involves the improvement and the transformation of a nations human resources by better medicare, nutrition, accommodation, environment, education and training (Yesufu, 1962) Human capital development can be described as a deliberate effort by Government and people to provide the right number of workers, at the right areas of need and at the right time in an economy that is incentives that will increase the morale of the workers. For example, in Japan, training of human resources is seen as very important in development of the economy. They also provide incentives that boost the morale of the workers. The government is expected to provide policies or programmes that provide the labour needs and a requirement in all sectors of the economy. The existence of a large population does not translate to a productive resource. Human resources can only be productive due to effort made by the government and the private organisations in developing human resources. Human beings become productive resource or human capital only when they are able and in a position to contribute meaningfully to productive economic activities. They have to be trained to become agents of p roduction and economic activities. Without training they remain passive, potential and inactive as other factors of production. Human beings can be fashioned to lead useful and happy lives and contribute to societal development by the development of their characters and potential abilities through education, training, health services and so on conducted over a long period of years. The enterprise of human capital development therefore is the impartibility of knowledge and skills to human beings through education and training for productive as well as consumptive ends (U.O Anyanwu). Education is only one form of investment in human beings. Others include expenditure on medical care, migration to more prosperous regions, information about job opportunities and career prospects and choice of jobs with higher training contents. Human capital development is a form of investment with expected economic as well as social returns not only to the individual investor and his family but also the society at large. The economy, with time, begins to experience growth, while the beneficiary acquires the opportunity to contribute to and secure qualitative live by being able to make the right choices and command higher earnings profile. Consequently human capital development has been seen as the ultimate concern of all types of development-economic, social, cultural, political, etc. Capacity building or human capital development responds to a wide-range of questions such as what people are able to be or do, the issues longevity, health and mind development, their inalienable fundamental human rights to freedom of choice, speech, association, political, economic, social and other needs and ability to escape from avoidable diseases, malnourishment and illiteracy (HDR Nigeria 1996). Human Development Report (1996) maintains that sustainability of human capacity building is the essential component of the ethics of universalism of life, stressing that it is a matter of sharing development opportunities between all classes and groups of people between the rich and the poor, between the present and future generations. It is of the view that sustainability demands what it calls intra-generational and inter-generational equity (HRD Nigeria 1996). Capacity building or HRD has other associated benefits and returns. (Umo 1995) has itemized other crucial contributions of human capital to development in general to include; the generalized capacity to absorb economic shocks as well as cope with the complexities of modern development; creating a corps of well informed citizenry with positive attitude to national development, providing persons for technology base needed for industrialization; 2.2 CONCEPT OF PRODUCTIVITY The most widely accepted definition of productivity is that it is the ratio of inputs to output. This definition enjoys general acceptability because of two related considerations. One, the definition what productivity is thought of to be in the context of an enterprise, an industry or an economy as a whole. Two, regardless of the type of production, economic or political system, this definition of productivity remains the same as long as the basic concept is the relationship between the quantity and quality of goods and services produced and the quality of resources used to produce them. Eatwell and Newman (1991) defined productivity as a ratio of some measure of output to some index of input use. Put differently, productivity is nothing more than the arithmetic ratio between the amount produced and the amount of any resources used to produce them. This conception of productivity goes to imply that it can indeed be perceived as the output per unit input or the efficiency with which resources are used. Olaoye (1985) observed that productivity as a concept can assume two dimensions: namely total factor productivity (TFP) and partial productivity. The former relates to productivity that is defined as the relationship between outputs Growth in productivity provides a significant basis for adequate supply of goods and services thereby improving the welfare of the people and enhancing social progress (Mike Obadan). Demburg (1985) said without productivity there would be no growth in per capita income and inflation control would be more difficult. A country with high productivity is often known for high capacity utilization (optimal use of resources), high standard of living, low rate of unemployment and social progress. Productivity measures the relationship between quantitative and qualitative value of goods and services produced and the quantity of resources needed to produce them (that is, factor inputs such as labour, capital, technology) (Sumbeye, 1992; Okojie 1995; Roberts and Tybout 1997). Mali (1978) defines it as the measure of how resources are brought together in organisations and utilized for accomplishing a set of results. It is reaching the highest level of performance with the least use of resources. In this definition, the issue of efficiency is being referred to. Increased productivity will involve the use of less resources and an outcome of more output. Roberts and Tybout (1997) and Tybout (1992), assuming a neoclassical production function at the sectoral or industry , define total factor output to be a concave of inputs and time (a proxy for technological innovation). To them, the elasticity of output with respect to time is the total factor productivity. TFP = Total output / Weighted average of all inputs..1 The factor inputs include labour, capital, raw material and purchase of spare parts and so on. In a particular sense, these factors are reduced to the weighted average of labour and capital (Okojie, 1995; Roberts and Tybout, 1997). Partial productivity (PP) is defined as: PP = Total output / partial input.2 According to T. M.Yesufu, labour productivity refers to the output result of workers organised within a given economic unit or enterprise. Yesufu outlined the three basic deficiencies associated with the use of labour productivity. They include the following; the term labour as generally conceived , is ambiguous and far from inclusive. It excludes some very important categories of human inputs, especially management, marketing, accounting and the white collar workers generally, who are not directly on the production line. even the acknowledged workforce generally used for labour productivity measurement(the blue coated production line- skilled and unskilled labour) as far from homogenous, which complicates the allocation of output between the constituent classes; for example , adult and child labour; male-female, artisan, technician, etc. the output of an enterprise itself usually varies in terms of type , material inputs, labour mixes, sizes of unit products, etc., that are not easily dis-aggregated. Due to these shortcomings of the use of labour productivity some economists prefer to use total factor productivity as it is said to be superior and more acceptable for purposes of determining enterprise or macroeconomic performance. Partial productivity is particularly used for analytical purposes, to test the relative efficiency of, or returns to, various forms of inputs, and to check, for example, the effect on marginal productivity an increase or reduction of a particular type of input. 2.2.1 The Traditional Concept of Productivity The traditional concept of productivity focuses on the efficiency in the production or delivery process. In this wise, the focus is merely on the ratio of output to inputs. Thus, productivity is measured as the amount of output per unit of inputs. Since the emphasis was more generally on labour productivity, the measure was often the amount of output per worker working for one hour. This traditional approach implies a simple Mathematical relationship so that productivity improvement means producing more with less or the same amount of inputs; or sustaining the same level of output with less input. This traditional view derives from the economic logic of cost minimisation. One implication of this approach is that traditional productivity improvement schemes tend to focus on how to reduce inputs employed and improve the skills of the workers they retain. Workers lay-offs, while seeking to maintain the same levels of output with the reduced work force became popular at enterprise levels. The present policy of the Federal Government to reduce the work force in the public service is as a result of this traditional logic. 2.2.2 New Emerging Concept of Productivity Globalisation and the new forms of competition which it has brought about, however, today require us to focus on a much broader concept of productivity. Likewise, we need to appreciate more fully the changing dynamics of the factors involved in the process of productivity improvement. As a recent analysis points out, increased competitiveness, the increased complexity of markets, the globalisation of manufacturing and the increased concern about social and ecological issues make productivity improvement more important at the same time that the need for a broader meaning of productivity is required. Thus, the focus today is increasingly on total factor productivity and the process of its improvement involves improving the overall business environment. This involves the promotion of better labour-management relations, continuous improvement in products and processes, enhancement of the quality of work life and continuous development of the human resource. In this new conception, the emphasis of the direction to productivity improvement is on increased added value creation, rather than the minimisation of labour inputs. Emphasis has also been brought to bear on the distribution of the benefits of productivity improvement among all stakeholders (workers, employers, consumers). Productivity is not seen any more just as the physical increase in output, but also as the improvement in the quality and value or acceptability of the product or service. Thus, productivity is not just an efficiency concept any more, but equally an effectiveness concept. In an increasingly globalized world, productivity improvement does not just involve the efficient production of products or services, but of products and services that are needed and demanded and bought by very discerning customers. Customer orientation is increasingly in the fore and quality is now an important index of performance. Productivity is becoming identical with quality. 2.3 DETERMINANTS OF PRODUCTIVITY A number of factors affect productivity. Major among these are the complementing factors of production as well as technology/innovation, institutional backup, worker motivation, the quality of labour, environment, etc( U.O. Anyanwu). To discover the effect of each of the cooperating factors on productivity, we have to go into a theoretical world where we can hold other things constant while varying each of these factors one after the other. Here, we are still relying on the theory of diminishing marginal productivity which states that if increasing amounts of a variable factor, say labour, is applied to a fixed amount of other factors (e.g. land, capital, materials etc.), given the level of technology then beyond a certain number the extra or marginal product of the variable factor begins to fall down or diminish (Todaro 1985) However, in a real world all the factors impact productivity simultaneously. (a) Land, A Factor of Labour Productivity Growth Land can affect productivity both quantitatively and qualitatively. If land is identified as the limiting factor of labour productivity more arable land can be brought under cultivation to relax the land constraint. In this regard a number of forest reserves have, for this purpose, to be deforested. The quality of land can be improved through the application of manure and fertilizer, which also increases the yield per hectare. Other methods of farming that make for more yields per hectare of land such as improved seed and grain varieties have been adopted by modern farmers. New land policies that alter tenure ship and ownership are devices for relaxing land constraints and improving productivity. (b) Capital Accumulation and Labour Productivity. If identified low labour productivity is attributable to lack of capital, capital can be raised through the mobilization of domestic and foreign investment. Acquisition of new factories, equipment, and machinery will lead to increases in productivity and output per capita of the nation. The Nigerian Governments are committed to the attraction of foreign investments to, among others; improve the capital base of the country. However, while the efforts are being made to cover the need for further capital, installed capital such as the Liquefied Natural Gas Project, Petrochemical plants, Refineries and Iron and Steel factories, among others need revitalization if our productivity is to increase. Investment in social and economic infrastructure gives a significant effect to productivity such as roads, electricity, water, sanitation, communication for the facilitation of economic activities. Road networks are needed to bring the additional product to areas of need, while electricity, water, communication, all play very dominant roles in bringing about the additional product and service arising from the new investment. Dams, irrigation facilities, bridges and road extensions to interior areas all raise product per hectares of cultivated land. Use of chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. is part of the capital needed enhanced productivity because by raising value of the farm land, productivity is also being improved. (c)Technology/Innovation and Productivity Most economists regard technology/innovation as the most important source of growth. Technology is being seen as a new and improved ways of achieving or performing traditional tasks. Technology can be neutral, labour or capital intensive. Technology is said to be labour and capital neutral when higher output levels are achievable using the same quantity and combinations of factor inputs in a production process. Simple innovations such as re-distribution of labour can result in higher output levels, too. On the other hand, technology may be capital intensive or labour intensive if higher levels of output are possible, with more capital or more labour. Use of simple implements such as those of cottage and small scale industries are said to be labour intensive while those such as electronic computers, automated textile looms, mechanical ploughs, tractors display capital intensity (Todaro 1985). In industrialized countries where unit cost of labour is very high and expensive technology choice favors one that is capital intensive or labour saving, while in developing countries such as Nigeria where there is abundance of labour and scarcity of capital, choice of technology gravitates towards those that are labour intensive, and capital saving. There is the fourth aspect of technology called labour or capital augmentation technology. The quality or skill of labour can be augmented by the use of, for example, videotapes, televisions and other electronic communication devices while capital augmentation is said to occur when productivity can be enhanced by the use of existing capital goods for instance iron types etc can replace wooden hoes. Today hybrid products such as cassava, rice, etc that give higher yield per hectare are being developed through technological augmentation. (d) Labour Force Growth and Labour Productivity. Labour Force growth an important part of the population growth stimulates economic growth and productivity growth particularly when growth has not attained its optimum level. A large labour force, all things being equal, means a large population and the latter is potentially a large domestic market, and if well endowed, empowered and developed, a great international market, too. However, much depends obviously on the capacity of the economic system to productively employ the additional workers arising from the population/labour force growth. Again this will equally depend on the rate and kinds of capital accumulation and the availability of related factors such as managerial and administrative skills and competence the level of commitment of the political administration. 2.4 IMPACT OF HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT ON LABOUR PRODUCTIVTY Human Capital Development enhances labour productivity and the productive capacity of the economy. Employers regard the qualification arising from capacity building, as a reliable indication of personal ability, achievement drive reasoning for instance that, a graduate must make a better salesman than a man who had never met the