Wednesday, April 29, 2020

The WallClassic Reviews by Pink Floyd free essay sample

You probably shouldve seen this coming. For those of you who know, I will be doing almost nothing but progressive rock and metal. You really cant have a proper series of these album reviews without doing at least one review of the Prog Giants:Rush, Yes, and Pink Floyd. It would be a son if this wasnt the case. But moving on here;Pink Floyd is a progressive rock band that formed in the 60s with more of an underground, psychedelic rock in that time. Since Meddle in `71 however, that route was forever changed for the better. Then Dark Side of The Moon came and took the world by storm forever revolutionizing the way people look at music today. However were not going to be talking about that instead well be talking about the last album with Roger Waters and their last album of the 70s. We will write a custom essay sample on The Wall:Classic Reviews by Pink Floyd or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Wall was released in 1979 to represent the departure of Roger Waters and to also make an album up to Dark Side of the Moon standards, which they managed to do easily. Following a story similar to a King Crimson album a decade prior called In The Court of the Crimson King where the protagonist Pink goes gets arrested and is set free for whatever reason. Though the similarities end there, Pink also goes through character changes as he gets older and eventually becomes a rock star as well. This 80 minute masterpiece is able to convey alot of emotion all throughout the album. Every tracks fits right into the next and, did I mention there are 26 tracks? Ok, while most are one or two minute transitions, the continue the story very well. Of course there have to be notable tracks like Another Brick In The Wall, Goodbye Blue Sky, In The Flesh(2nd one), Comfortably Numb, Hey You and Run Like Hell all make the story that much more vivid. Also, in Goodbye Blue Sky, I find a riff to the Meta llica song Fade To Black which is cool but also adds layers of atmosphere to Pink`s independing doom, meaning its very forbodding. Some transitions I wish were made into full length tracks but, maybe its for the better that they stay transitions. One of the best progressive rock albums in my opinion. I give this a 10/10. I am the Grim Reaper, signing off.

Friday, March 20, 2020

If You Are What You Eat, What Are You Professor Ramos Blog

If You Are What You Eat, What Are You Diabetes and obesity, especially among children, in America has risen over the past few decades according to the website The State of Obesity. It states that â€Å"since 1980, obesity rates among teens ages 12 to 19 quadrupled, from 5% to 20.6%†(3). This statistic alone should alarming enough for us to reverse our bad habits yet here we are pressing the snooze button. It is my opinion that besides lack of exercise, the main contributor to this epidemic is due to poor eating habits caused by misleading foods that seem appealing to the eye but not the stomach. These unhealthy addictions produce an inability to enjoy a full life and can lead to a person having a higher risk of diabetes and/or obesity. However eating healthy and limiting all types of meat consumption is a way we can start lowing these statistics. It is imperative that Americans start learning the importance of eating healthy so we can change and maintain a balanced diet before we pass the point of no return. Can you believe that it was just merely a few years ago in 2015 that a child the age of three in Texas was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes? Not only was she the youngest human ever to get the disease but she was 77 lbs when diagnosed. Now based on the information from a website called Kids Health, â€Å"An average 4-year-old weighs about 40 pounds†(5). That is more than twice the normal weight of a child this age which categorizes her as obese. Her parents were the main contributors, being overweight and eating unhealthy themselves yet was it their fault or societies fault for not educating them to the dangers and risks that certain foods have? I can understand when a working family needs a quick solution and wants something fast and easy. Most parents rarely have time to make a home cooked meal every night but is it worth the risk of their children’s health? It scares me and because according to The State of Obesity website â€Å"Among 2- to 5-year-olds, the rate more than doubled, from 5% to 13.9%, as did the rate of 6- to 11-year-olds with obesity, from 6.5% to 18.4%†(3). This is a subject we should not take lightly. Did you know that there is a positive correlation between meat consumption and obesity as well as type-2 diabetes? In an article titled Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-Based Diets the authors state that by â€Å"using linear and logistic regression analyses, they showed that there was a positive association between meat consumption and obesity†(1). Berkow and Barnard, the authors of this paper, even report that â€Å"in Nutrition Reviews that a vegan or vegetarian diet is highly effective for weight loss†(1). So does this mean that you can actually reverse the effects of obesity by sustaining a healthy and nutritious diet by cutting out meat products? Well with the help of your primary physician combined with a lot of discipline, some exercise and the right diet for your body, it is possible to get done to an appropriate weight. Especially in youth we must try to stop this with a proper diet and cutting out meat might be a way to do it because â€Å"studies ex ploring the risk of overweight and food groups and dietary patterns indicate that a plant-based diet seems to be a sensible approach for the prevention of obesity in children†. This study also stated that â€Å"The Adventist Health Studies found that vegetarians have approximately half the risk of developing diabetes as nonvegetarians. In 2008, The Permanente Journal/ Spring 2013/ Volume 17 No. 2 Original RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-Based Diets Vang reported that nonvegetarians were 74% more likely to develop diabetes over a 17-year period than vegetarians†(1). Even looking at insulin production from another article it says that â€Å"Plant-based diets are high in fiber, antioxidants, and magnesium, all of which have been shown to promote insulin sensitivity†(2). It seems as if less meat consumption does more than help out the environment because it also helps the individual in the environment. Now we’ve all heard the saying â€Å"You are what you eat† but do you know where it came from? This phrase was first said by Anthelme Brillat-Savarian in 1826 as â€Å"Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es† with the direct translation being Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are(4). To think that almost 200 years ago is when this saying came into the world yet where is the world now? We’ve all heard this self-explanatory saying one way or another yet why does it seem that diabetes and obesity rates are rising? Could it be that our diets are contributing to this more than we even want to realize? What if we could isolate the problem of this epidemic and cut it out before it cuts us out? So if you are what you eat, what are you? It is crucial that you ask this to begin the journey to your healthiest self. Personally, I am a proud vegetarian who is transitioning into full vegan. This means I am a very conscious consumer to make su re I know exactly how my food was made and what care contributed to its making. This all started in middle school when I first learned about this lifestyle from my mom and aunt. Now at first I took up a vegetarian diet to lose weight, but in doing so I changed my life forever. I feel I have been at a perfect weight ever since and hope to enlighten those who want to change their lives not just for themselves but for their families too. So does this sound too good to be true or just maybe too hard for you?   Well whether it sounds easy or hard it may actually seem difficult to maintain when you start thinking about it. Yet once you realize that the effects of obesity are the result from an unhealthy balance of greasy fatty foods then maybe we can start tackling this epidemic. We as a nation can create a happy and healthy America but it must start with us, the people. WORKS CITED (1)Tuso, Phillip, Scott R. Stoll, and William W. Li. A plant-based diet, atherogenesis, and coronary artery disease prevention. The Permanente Journal 19.1 (2015): 62. (2)McMacken, Michelle, and Sapana Shah. A plant-based diet for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.  Journal of geriatric cardiology: JGC  14.5 (2017): 342. (3) https://stateofobesity.org/ (4) http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/food/gastronomy/Physiologie_du_Gout_L.html (5) https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/growth-4-to-5.html

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Punk

Punk Punk Punk By Maeve Maddox One post often leads to another. When I wrote about the word steampunk, I learned things about the word punk that I hadn’t known before. Three meanings I’ve always attached to the word punk are: 1. punk (noun): a smart-alecky, no-account adolescent boy. Leo [Gorcey] was the filmic prototype of the young  punk. Justin Bieber is a punk, a product of social media. 2. punk (noun): a long skinny taper used to light fireworks. Fireworks should be lit with  punk  or an extended butane  lighting  device.   Dont leave matches and  lighted punk  where ladies may tread on them.   3. punk (adjective): in poor health, under the weather. Sadie is feeling punk: I think her tooth is bothering her. I woke up feeling punk, but now I feel better. Here are some other uses of the noun punk: Note: The dates refer to citations in the Oxford English Dictionary. The first is the earliest citation; the second is the most recent. a prostitute (1575-1983) a boy or young man kept as a passive sexual partner by an older man (1698-2001) the young male companion of a tramp, especially one kept for sexual purposes (1907-2002) derogatory term for a homosexual man (1935-1999) a person of no account; a petty criminal; a hoodlum, a thug (1893-2004) a coward or a weakling (1939-2003) an amateur; an apprentice (1920-1989) a performer or fan of punk rock (1976-2003) Meanings of punk as an adjective include: contemptible, despicable; thuggish; inexperienced (1907-2001) The OED offers the following definition of the word punk relating to the lighting of fireworks: soft decayed or rotten wood, especially as used for tinder 1678-1994) slang term for bread (1891-1991) incense, especially Chinese incense (1844-2000) A piece of a material that smolders when ignited, used to light fireworks or the like (1852-2005) something worthless; foolish or meaningless talk; nonsense, rubbish 1869-1973) New meanings for this old word are still developing, including a verb, â€Å"to punk.† Apparently the past participle is punk’d: Taylor Swift gets Punk’d by Justin Bieber Jusin Bieber gets punk’d by Ashton Kutcher. The odd spelling is from a candid camera show called Punk’d. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Direct and Indirect ObjectsHow to spell "in lieu of"Few vs. Several

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Was Jesus Like Adam Before or After the Fall Research Paper

Was Jesus Like Adam Before or After the Fall - Research Paper Example In other words, Jesus was reached by sin but not contaminated. Outline Adam, Sin and Its Consequences to the World A. The Nature of Adam Before the fall According to Cairus, God created man in his own likeness, and gave man dominion over the earth. He created man to not only sing his praises, to manifest his glory and worship Him, but also to create a fellowship with Him. Man was created in God’s image, but was not a reflection of God, but was more like a painting – Cairus makes the example that the sun may reflect upon the water, and this is an image of the sun; a painting may also make an image of the sun. One, the reflection upon the water, represents the sun itself making an image; the other consists of a creation of the sun on a canvas. The way that God made man was more like the painting then the reflection upon the water. So, like a van Gogh making a self-portrait, God essentially created a self-portrait when he created man. Moreover, only man was created in the image of God, according to Cairus, and this was shown by the fact that the land the creatures of the world, created before God, were pronounced â€Å"g ood,† while the creation of man was pronounced by God to be â€Å"very good.† ... Cairus solves this conundrum by stating that the reason for this is God gave man â€Å"freedom† or free will. This is what makes man autonomous and individual, as opposed to being merely a reflection and image of God. Adam was given this freedom, and, when he was created he was considered to be â€Å"innocent† - this means that he was not yet tempted by sin, therefore he was pure and without sin. Adam and Eve, who was created from Adam's rib, were God's helpers on earth, and were created to serve Him and enjoy a happy communion with Him in paradise.3 God created Adam and Eve as a pair, and He celebrated the first marriage. God also stated that, as long as the first pair did not betray Him, that they could live in paradise for eternity and have dominion over all things.4 Fowler states that Adam and Eve, as the first representatives of humankind came to earth after a divine council, and the members of the Godhead chose to make mankind in the image of God. The dominion, co upled with the fact that man was created in God's image, meant that Adam and Eve were â€Å"crowned in God's glory and honor,† according to Fowler.5 Since they were created by God, Fowler states that they were to be totally obedient to God, and pledge allegiance only to Him. For Him, Adam and Eve were to give unconditional love and obedience, unreserved praise and absolute gratitude. They were also commanded to hold no other divinity above God. This would include the person's self – the self must never come before God, and this was one of the commandments upon Adam.6 Essentially, Adam was to put nothing before God, and put nothing between himself and God, and must reject the temptation to equate the self with

Monday, February 3, 2020

Are violent video games bad for kids Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Are violent video games bad for kids - Term Paper Example However, some studies have also indicated positive side of video games on children. This paper explores the negative and positive influence of video games on children. Violent video games promote aggressive behavior among children. According to Coon and Mitterer, children who are addicted to violent video games are most likely to develop violent and anti-social behavior (263). Most violent video games are designed in such a way that the more violent a child is when playing, the more points he or she earns. Active involvement of children in violent scenes shapes their behavior into aggressive individuals as they grow up. The interactive nature of the video games creates a perfect learning mode for children to master the art of violence. Video games adversely impact on performance at school. Video games are addictive in nature leave too little time for children to do their homework (Craton Para 15). For example, a child who takes three-quarters of his or her time playing video game will have no adequate reading time and hence likely to record poor academic performance in school. Video games make children to live fantasy life and lose touch with reality. Children addicted to violent video games usually want to do the things they do see in the video games. However, the reality is that video games are packed with fictional scenes. For instance, children usually want to try shooting and or other queer behaviors rewarded in violent video games. However, video games also have some benefits to children who play them. Video games enhance critical thinking in children and enable them to integrate well in the society. The games engage the brain in active and constant abstract thinking (Coon and Mitterer 263). They sharpen mental skills of children by fostering instruction following, logical problem solving, planning resource use, multitasking, quick and effective decision-making skills among others. The present world is technology driven and demands people to

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Moldovas Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO)

Moldovas Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) The World Trade Organization (WTO), successor of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) founded in 1947, today represents a common institutional frame- work for the development of trade relations among its members, based on the principles harmonized at the international level through a number of multilateral agreements. At present the WTO includes 140 countries, with another 32 countries having an observer status. Moldova, Armenia, China and Vanuatu are at the final stage of accession. Today only a few countries with planned economies in their past and some developing countries have remained outside the WTO. Integration, of the developing countries and of the countries with their economies in transition, into the international trade system offers a good opportunity to take full advantage from the participation to enter the globalization process. Countries with their economies in transition view the WTO, whose rules of international trade are being established and monitored , as a structure that offers an important opportunity for integration into the world economy and of the improvement of their national legal framework in the economic and commercial field. The WTO basic functions are as follows: to facilitate the application, administration and successful functioning of the WTO laws and regulatory framework; to promote the achievement of objectives of each WTO agreement that concerns specific trade issues; Proceeding from these functions, the WTO can be viewed as an international structure, which for its member states represents the following: a forum for negotiations of issues concerning trade relations and matters incorporated into international multilateral treaties; a forum for future international negotiations, representation of each members interests; a legal and institutional framework for the application of the results of talks between states; a framework ensuring the application of rules and procedures for settling disputes between states; a framework providing for the use of the mechanisms of scrutinizing and ensuring transparency of commercial policies. 3.1. Advantages of the World Trading System The world trading system is not perfect, particularly taking into account the attempts of the Member States to have after their accession, the current rules revised. However, since the establishment of the WTO in 1995, countries involved in this system maintain that a state outside the system should be aware of the advantages the WTO offers to its members and of the reasons in favor of the WTO membership. In most cases, the decision of countries to apply for the WTO membership was influenced mainly by political factors, as their economic and commercial interests were not one of the major factors in initiating the accession process. On the other hand, candidate countries were conscious of certain disadvantages of staying away from the WTO bilateral and multilateral agreements are not sufficiently comprehensive, the image of a non-member state among foreign investors is not favorable enough etc. In this order of ideas we suggest looking into the advantages of accession to the WTO. As it was mentioned above, the WTO rules were produced on the basis of the world trading system, specifically a set of rules established by the consensus of all 140 Member States of the World Trade Organization. These rules are said to make life easier for everybody, since the decisions within the WTO are taken by consensus, likewise all multilateral agreements have been negotiated and then ratified by the parliaments of each Member State. The WTO agreements are compulsory for every country, developed or less developed, big or small. Without a multilateral forum, such as the WTO, the more developed countries would have had more freedom to impose unilaterally their will on their smaller partners. Free trade reduces living expenses. A great deal of research has been done on the conflict between protectionism and free trade. Protectionism is expensive: it always raises prices. The WTO system pursues the goal of removing trade barriers by following the rules of the game set by mutual agreement and is based on the principle of non-discrimination. This brings lower production costs, lower prices for goods and services, and as a result, life becomes less expensive. The world trading system offers a much wider range of various products. Import provides for a better choice of goods and services of different quality. Even the quality of local goods can be improved in conditions of competition generated by import. Imported goods are not used only as a finished product, but also as materials, components and equipment for the production of local goods. This allows manufacturers to broaden the range of products, services and technologies applied, which ultimately contributes to the increase of exports. Trade increases incomes. Analysis and estimates of the impact of the Uruguay Round (in other words, of the establishment of the WTO) or of the creation of the European Union (EU) common market, proved that these processes brought about considerable additional revenues, which greatly stimulated economic development. Trade incurs challenges and certain risks — local manufacturers have to offer products of the same quality as the imported ones, yet not all producers succeed in this. However, the fact that there are additional revenues means that there are resources for the governments allowing for redistribution of the available benefits. This can help business operators become more competitive in the traditional fields or in the newly developed and promising ones. Trade stimulates economic growth, which implies, among other things, creation of new jobs. It is true, however, that some jobs are lost as a result of the expanding commercial activities. The same applies to the technological progress: the implementation of new technologies creates new jobs, while at the same time, cuts down jobs requiring an un- skilled labor force. In both cases, a coherent policy facilitates settlement of the employment problems, thus ensuring a better final result, particularly in conditions of a free trade, and also provides for the use of advanced technologies. It is known that trade, which ensures a more efficient and adequate use of production resources, generates division of labor among countries. An additional advantage offered by the WTO system is an increase of efficiency with less expenses. This becomes possible due to the important principles laid on the basis of the system. These principles are as follows: non-discrimination, transparency of rules and regulations, commitments to remove trade barriers and increase the access on other markets, fostering trade through making customs procedures easier and uniform, and others. à ¯Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¿ In the WTO framework governments are in a better position to defend themselves from being lobbied by some smaller groups. Thus, governments can carry on a commercial policy that satisfies the interests of all parties involved in the economy. At first sight, the application of certain restrictions on imports seems to be an efficient method of supporting the economic sector. In fact, it imbalances the economy and affects other sectors. At the same time, it is well known that making exceptions leads indirectly to tax evasion and corruption. In some cases, even the protected sectors are affected. When the policy of support given by the State is incoherent and is not rendered until the final consolidation of the capacities of enterprises, the latter at a certain point can go bankrupt or be swallowed by big corporations. Due to the fact that the WTO framework covers a wide range of sectors, if there is a case in which a pressure group resorts to lobbyism in order to be protected, the government can put up resistance to such pressures, motivating it by the fact that an agreement suitable for all sectors of the economy has to be reached. In practice governments often invoke such a reason. The system encourages good government. Governments often use the WTO framework as a practical external restriction for the elaboration of economic policies, by giving the following reason, we cant act differently because its against the WTO regulations. According to the WTO rules, once a commitment has been undertaken, it would be difficult to change this decision. For business this means a greater certainty and clarity in conditions of trade. For governments this means more discipline and correctness. Also, the world trading system contributes to peace consolidation. It seems a bit exaggerated, and yet, the system contributes to strengthening peace in the world, since, to some extent, peace is a result of the application of the two basic principles of the WTO, particularly, ensuring continuous trade and offering a fair and constructive way to settle trade disputes. An eloquent example is the trade war of 1930, when the involved countries competed in raising trade barriers in order to protect local manufacturers. This fact deepened the Great Crisis and played a certain role in the outbreak of World War II. A key-element of the WTO system is the fact that disputes are solved in a constructive way. Naturally, the development of trade may generate trade disputes which can lead to serious conflicts. Therefore, a great deal of tense international trade situations can be settled by the organizations specializing in tackling trade disputes, such as the WTO. A growing number of disputes brought before this organization reflects closer economic ties throughout the world, a growing number of the WTO members and an increasing confidence in the capacity of this system to settle disputes [2]. To summarize the advantages of the WTO membership, we can name some of them: a) the implementation of the WTO agreements, in general, offer wider trade opportunities to the Member States; b) multilateral regulations with a higher degree of restrictions ensure a safer and a more stable trade environment and provide more certainty in trade relations; c) only Member States can take advantage of the rights laid down in the WTO agreements; d) the WTO agreements have substantially improved transparency of commercial policies and of the practices of trade partners, a fact that strengthens safety and stabilizes trade relations; e) only the WTO members have an access to the mechanism of settling disputes with a view to defending their rights and commercial interests; f) membership status offers an opportunity to take part in multilateral negotiations, thus, ensuring the promotion of each members commercial and economic interests. 3.2. The Republic of Moldovas Accession to the WTO Accession, accomplished in the appropriate conditions, is a rather difficult and complicated process that may be delayed and that requires a high level of competence and coordination of government institutions, as well as a political consensus to efficiently promote national interests. The accession process involves thorough bilateral and multilateral negotiations with all WTO members concerned in the policy carried on by the candidate, which can procrastinate the process of accesion. Countries in the process of accession are bound to examine and adhere to all multilateral agreements, and, optionally, to the two plurilateral agreements, adhesion to which de jure is not compulsory. In fact, the contracting parties to these agreements expect that the candidate becomes a party of these agreements in the accession process to the WTO. This condition turns automatically into a commitment, also observed in the context of discussions and positions of the WTO member states during multilateral trade negotiations. Accession of the Republic of Moldova to the WTO was determined by the advantages offered using the legal framework of international trade and by the reasons in favor of WTO membership. Back in 1993 the Government of the Republic of Moldova applied to join GAIT. The request, which following the creation of the WTO in January 1995, had been reiterated by Moldova. The purpose of accession to the WTO was to urge the process of integration into the world economy, which provides for building a democratic society, an economy based on market economy principles. The accession was motivated also by specific disadvantages of a non-member status in the WTO, in conditions when bilateral trade agreements were not sufficiently developed. It was also motivated by an adverse image, especially among foreign investors, generated by the out of the system status. Accession negotiations coincided with the structural and systematic reforms program and with the elaboration of the countrys economic policy, including the commercial one. However, an underdeveloped administrative system and a lack of human and financial resources directly affected technical capacities providing for this complex process of accession to be conducted shortly and efficiently. Besides, in addition to the fact that it was necessary to adopt a concept to promote a commercial policy which would comply with the WTO multilateral obligations, Moldova, as any applicant country, was required to accept concessions with regard to the access to the goods market and to the consolidation of customs tariffs, as well as with regard to the commitments in the field of internal support in agriculture, and the special commitments concerning trade in services. It should be mentioned that in the course of Moldovas accession the attitude of the main trade partners towards the applicant countries became harsher compared to the period of accession to GATT. The standards of adhesion have been raised considerably. Some WTO members took a firm position requiring the applicant countries to accept a higher level of obligations compared to the one accepted by the initial members, having already included the eventual results of the next future multilateral negotiations. In practice, thi s means that the Republic of Moldova had to accept the level of tariffs consolidation and certain commitments in the services area comparable to the level of the developed countries. At the same time, the Republic of Moldova did not have the opportunity to benefit from certain provisions stipulated by the WTO agreements, which provide a special and preferential regime offered to the developing countries. The status of a developing country was not given to any applicant country with their economy in transition during the period in wich they entered into the accession negotiations with the WTO. This situation made negotiations a lot harder for Moldova  than for other candidates included in the UN list of developing countries. Despite these difficulties, as compared with the other CIS states, Moldova launched a very active process, being outrun only by Kyrgyzstan and Georgia. Initially, in conformity with the accession procedure, a memorandum on the foreign trade regime was presented. Later, a Working Group for the accession of the Republic of Moldova was created comprising 24 WTO members (the European Union having one vote), followed by rounds of questions and answers. Numerous bilateral and multilateral negotiations have been conducted on the access to the goods and services market, on offering subsidies in agriculture and on aligning national legislation on the WTO regulations The most intense negotiations were conducted with Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic. India, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Slovakia, USA, Turkey and the EU The longest in duration and the most consistent were the negotiations with the EU, the United States, Australia, Canada, India, and Bulgaria A special part in the accession process was both the adjustment of the current legislation to the regulations adopted by the Uruguay Round, and the elaboration of new laws in the areas that have a direct or indirect impact on foreign trade. The negotiation process lasted long due to a negative influence of a number of factors, some of which have already been mentioned. Another important factor was the absence of an adequate institutional framework and of mechanisms of elaboration of policies necessary for the operation of a market economy at the beginning of the negotiation process, which was supposed to ensure rapid development of the latter, ft is also known that frequent changes in the upper level of administration affect and considerably tarry, the accession process. These reasons have slowed down the elaboration and adoption of an adequate national legislation, a fact noticed by the Working Group members on the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the WTO. Protraction of the Republic of Moldovas accession has partially offered some facilities to the WTO members that only the WTO framework can offer. Since the presentation of the memorandum on the foreign trade regime and, later, of the replies to the questions of the working group members for working out the Report of the Working Group and of the Protocol of Accession, Moldova had to submit a great deal of information from different fields related to commercial policies, which required significant expenses. The more this process was delayed, the more information was requested, which sometimes indirectly allowed the member states to speculate on some of the plans or strategies of the applicant countries. For example, in the process of the accession of the Republic of Moldova, information in the following areas was required: practices and prices regulations, the taxation system, subsidies in agriculture, foreign investments, the environment, customs tariffs, including preferential tariff s, payments for customs procedures, exemption from customs duties, license on import, export regulations, trading enterprises owned by the state, standardization of imported goods, sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards, foreign exchange operations, and the protection system of intellectual property rights, etc. It should be mentioned that the presentation of this information was compulsory or unavoidable, since the purpose pursued was to advance the accession process. On the other hand, all these have led to facilitation of the aims of the major WTO actors, who use different levers in the accession process in order to have the applicant countries undertake anticipated commitments within the WTO, thus ensuring their alignment on the subjects discussed during multilateral negotiations. As a non-member country we have already missed many opportunities to negotiated on various bilateral agreements with the states of Central and Eastern Europe the WTO members. Foreign business operators are discouraged by the lack of a clear set of rules, which would allow them to set up their business on the basis of internationally recognized principles. The relations of cooperation in the economic and commercial fields with the countries of the European Union or of the Central Europe Free Trade Area (CEFTA) have been blocked or not given pertinent importance. Treatment of the economic system of the Republic of Moldova as one that is not based on market principles

Friday, January 17, 2020

Problems in implementing a self-regulation system: the case of a young advertising industry Essay

Advertising can be both beneficial and harmful to the consumers. However, in the perspective of kids, they might think that advertising is good, essentially when they get into contact with something that entices them. Honestly, advertising is bad for kids. The primary objective of the advertisers is to market their products for people to buy. Besides, if we are happy with the way things are, then we develop less interest to buy. This is the secret of the advertisers; they subtly try to make the consumers unhappy so that the chances of buying advertised goods get facilitated. The advertisers develop mechanisms to persuade the consumers to buy the products. In many occasions, most of what the advertisers are selling are images or a lifestyle rather than the product itself. Average Americans gets exposed to 3, 000 advertisement per day, thus, by the time of graduation in high school, and they will have watched 350, 000 television commercials. In the bulletins of the commercials, the con sumers still have to go through the photo-shop besides putting ton makes ups from the advertisers. Therefore, it is an illusion of their real appearance. Advertisement is done on television, radios, internet, billboards, cellphones and magazines. As Higgins, (2008) put it, advertising is a legalized lying. This is standing the truth because some of the products advertised provide different information to the real product. For advertisement targeting at boys, they develop the notion that violence is the answer to making fun among them. However, for girls, they show that dolls and makeup is their interest. According to ZÃŒÅ'abkar & JancÃŒÅ'icÃŒÅ', (2004) as a young girl sees advertisement for makeups, the information derived is to advise them to try the product and that provides comfort for them at young age. Advertising makes kids lose their creativity and imagination. Hence, the more they get exposed to advertisements, the more they develop an addiction and instead of creating time to play and socialize with peers, they rather get glued inside watching television which is unhealthy. According to research evidence, 16 percent of the ki d are overweight and need to play because they are inactive. Televisions continually brainwash many kids with advertising.Advertising is an important institution because it provides the required information and knowledge about the products and services. However, ethical standards in advertisement must be observed. Many ethical concerns have been raised by myriad stakeholders in the company of advertising. Ethics, mostly referred to as the domain of inquiry is a discipline in which matters of wrong and right, virtue and vice, good and evil are systematically examined. Advertisement ethics examines advertising morality and advertising systematically. Advertising of toys, none violent games and sugar loaded focuses on the children who are the highest consumers in the market. Besides, decisions on advertisement are about making morally right decisions. The morality of advertisement includes all parts of sourcing of product quality and pricing. Scholars have viewed ethical behaviour in d issimilar ways; however, it is based on the experiences and personal values (Taylor, 2008). Ethical advertisement forms the marketing strategies of the company. However, it all counts on the company objectives and what they know is expected by the consumers in the product. Theoretical Approach to Ethics in Advertising             The publication of the affluent society provided influential and important critique of advertising. It argues that businesses concentrate on generating rather than focusing on consumer satisfaction. The approach claims that the company system has assumed sufficient power and size to render the consumer on making personal decision such as what and how much is produced. Ideally, this characterizes the revised sequence-a categorical denial of the accepted sequence of the independence of the consumer, which accords the economic system power to the individual. Besides, the modern industrialized countries had an effectively planned economy ruled by large corporations with minimal respect to the interests of the public. Galbraith also observed the massive expenditures for creating a huge scale. Elsewhere, in 1958, Packard’ populist work titled the hidden persuaders brought moral concerns about consumer manipulation.Besides, Bentham on his personal argument would o ppose advertisement. The utilitarianism theory, however do not offer a clear-cut opposition for advertisement. He asserts that he greatest happiness of the greatest number gets determined by the consulting the hedonic calculus. Therefore, it is of fair reasoning that the advertisement is bad for the kids. However, he argues that if greater happiness is achieved through advertisement, then there is no harm. But the consequence is what counts. Based on the utilitarianism advertisement is harmful to kids due to its unhealthy consequences. On the other hand, Kant would declare in no certain terms are advertisement beneficial for the kids. What is wrong is wrong†¦period. The theory argues that it is wrong because it translates to dishonesty. Advertisement on kids is cheating them and treating the kids as end agent. As Kant puts it, this violates the categorical imperative (Kopf, 2009). Besides, the advertising consequences are irrelevant in determining the ethical or unethical of th e advertisements. Dishonesty is dishonesty and advertisement to kids is immoral. The duty of an individual is to tell the truth, to be honest in the information given.Mumel, Pisnik, Horvat & Makovec, (2013) explain the Rand theory by noting that he would oppose advertisement since it compost of dishonesty, however not on deontological grounds. Besides, dishonesty is harmful since it has dire consequences on the lives of the consumers especially the kids. Providing false information in the advertisement is dishonesty because it is a pretense that the product is not what is advertised. Besides, refusal by the industry system to perceive the facts I like shutting the eyes of the consumers to reality. According to the theory, advertising is unethical because advertising to kids operates to destroy and negates the objective and necessary reason for promoting the consumer’s lives. Dishonesty denies the consumers the efficacy to make individual decisions thus depends on other people’s opinions. According to Rawls, he would conclude that advertisement is unjust, period. Advertisement is harmful since it violates the principle of equal liberty of minimal economic and social inequality. Therefore, according to Rawls, it is ethical to raise a person from poverty to security than to provide the individual with an equal amount of wealth or societal well-being. Ethics, he argues, requires financial gain sacrifices in order to hold justice for the consumers who are least advantaged. According to his theoretical work, he insists that what is wrong is wrong. It is wrong due to its dishonesty. Conversely, the advertisement industry is cheating the kids with their advertisements. Conclusion             Advertising is widely bombarded by critics. Besides, it is accused of promoting consumption and materialism, using sex cell, stereotyping, of causing people to buy the product they need, manipulating consumer behaviour or of taking advantage of children and overall it contributes to the downfall of the social system. The advertisement critics abound. Since hardly a week can go without some company or advertisement or the advertising industry being focal point of controversy. Even if the consumer argues it out that they hold the sovereignty of the economy, the industry of advertisement does not provide an ethical justification of the traditional marketing theory. The emergence of ethical concerns in organizations is a complex phenomenon that incorporates social interaction and individual interpretation. Theorizing about ethics needs to reflect and match the complexity References Higgins, N. (August 20, 2008). Advertising ethics. New Scientist, 199, 2670.)Kopf, D. A. (2009). Marketing, information and economic growth.Mumel, D., Pisnik, K. A., Horvat, M., & Makovec, N. (January 01, 2013). What are the characteristics of a good ad for children aged 9 to 12? Creator’s and parents perspective. Marketing Theory Challenges in Emerging Societies.Taylor, G. (August 20, 2008). Advertising ethics. New Scientist, 199, 2670.)ZÃŒÅ'abkar, V., & JancÃŒÅ'icÃŒÅ', Z. (January 01, 2004). Problems in implementing a self-regulation system: the case of a young advertising industry. Economic and Business Review, 6, 2.) Source document