Importance of global trade in Singapore Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Importance of global trade in Singapore - Essay Example Therefore, the key term will determine what affects Singapore in the global trade and what makes it sustain the world economic dynamics in trade. Global trade refers to the exchange of goods and services between different countries in the world. Therefore, this research will bring out the importance of exchanges of service and goods in Singapore. Singapore has a big role in the global trade. This is concerning its position in the world trade. The country has a good infrastructure in place, and most of its population is educated (Eiras et al., 2011). The country has a number of European companies built there and is among the leading external investor in the world. The country also has a good relationship with many countries. After understanding of the concepts, one develops an interest to research about the effect that Singapore has on the global trade. A discussion of the importance of global trade in Singapore has been explored using SWOT analysis. This will bring more insight of where Singapore is placed at the moment and its effect in the global trade Strengths: Singapore is ranked among the largest exporter of goods and services in the world. With this position, it plays a crucial role in global trade. As a country it gains, more advantage because of its position in the global trade. The country has achieved this through embracing of trade dependence and encouraging globalization. The country also has assured economic security, and this is through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GATT that it acceded in 1973 (Eiras et al., 2011). These forms a system that has rules captured in World Trade Organization that see the country have economic dependence. The country also enjoys the foreign direct investment. It has over 10,000 companies from the European Union operating across a wide range of sectors. This makes Singapore the fifth largest external investor in the world by 2012 (Country Highlights of The

The differences between reading content area material and literature Essay

The differences between reading content area material and literature - Essay Example The reading of the content areas is mainly divided into three parts. The students draw upon a prior experience or knowledge about the text, during reading they identify with the text and after reading they make interpretations. The strategies of the teacher depend on the activities of the students. (Literacy matters, n.d.). The appropriate strategies of the teachers are as follows: The content materials have a different structure than the other varieties of texts. If the preview of the structure is provided to the students beforehand with headings and sub-headings, pictures and captions then it will benefit the students to understand the nature of the text beforehand. A teacher can discuss these features before beginning starting the lesson. Before starting a new lesson, it will be beneficial for the students if the teachers give an idea of the concepts present in the lesson. The teachers should enquire the students about their knowledge of the subject, which will help in the flow of teaching. Various techniques like the Concept mapping can be used to know the prior knowledge of the students about the subject. The content readings have a high level of vocabulary, which has to be made familiar to the students. The meaning of the new words should be clearly explained to the students. (Abromitis, 28th July, 2009). Reading literature is of great importance because it is through reading of literature that the student learns to view the thoughts and actions of the character compassionately. It develops a sense of emotion in the minds of the reader. Therefore, reading of literature is of utmost importance. The appropriate strategies of teaching literature are as follows: The teachers may teach the whole literature through creating mini lessons about the text. It will be easier for the students to relate to the bigger picture and form a generalized idea about the text. This strategy is helpful for both the

Cost Accounting Essay Example for Free

Cost Accounting Essay If you are starting out in a new business, especially a service/manufacturing business, understanding the cost accounting system and which cost accounting system will work best for your company, is the first step to being successful. Once you find someone to help you navigate those waters, let them help you sail the rough seas of direct and indirect inventory, direct and indirect labor costs, and how to allocate factory overhead as well. While it all may sound confusing, having the right person with the right knowledge and advice, can make all the difference to you and the success of your business. We learned in Chapter 19 that cost accounting systems calculate, register, and record product costs. Once these costs have been recorded, administrators and supervising personnel can use these costs for setting their product prices, controlling operations and developing financial statements. These reports can play an important role in the financial decision making process for your company so it is imperative that they are accurate and detailed. There are two different types of cost accounting systems. There are called job order cost systems and process cost systems. While both systems are used by manufacturing companies, the job order cost system is used by companies that manufacture custom products or groups of products that are alike. The process cost system, on the other hand, is chosen by manufacturing companies that make units of a product that are impossible to tell apart and are produced using a continuous production process. Once you have chosen your type of cost accounting system, you will need to know what types of costs that will need to be reported and the difference in those costs. First, you have direct materials cost and indirect materials cost. Direct materials costs are materials that will be used as an essential part of the finished product. For example, for an electrician, direct materials would be receptacles and wiring. To be considered and classified as a direct materials cost, it has to be used as an essential part of the finished product and it has to be a significant portion of the total cost of the finished product. If it does not fit these two requirements, then it is considered an indirect materials cost, or factory overhead cost. â€Å"Indirect materials are materials used in the production process, but which cannot be linked to a specific product or job. Alternatively, they may be used in such insubstantial quantities on a per-product basis that it is not worthwhile to track them as direct materials† (Bragg) .An example of an indirect materials cost, or factory overhead cost, for an electrician would be electrical tape and solder. Next, we have direct and indirect labor costs. As with direct materials costs, labor costs must also meet the same two requirements to be labeled direct labor costs. They must be an essential part of the finished product and must be a significant portion of the total cost of the finished product. If they meet these two requirements, these labor costs are considered direct labor costs. If they do not meet these requirements, they are indirect labor costs, or factory overhead costs. The janitor who cleans the building incurs labor costs for the company; however, the janitorial costs are not an essential cost of manufacturing their product. As a result, the janitorial labor costs are indirect labor costs, or factory overhead cost. So what are factory overhead costs and how do you measure and record it? Our textbook describes both in detail. Factory overhead costs are indirect costs of the product. As previously mentioned, these can be materials and labor costs that do not directly enter into the finished product. Some examples include: Heating and lighting the factory Property taxes on factory buildings and land Depreciation on factory plant and equipment Sandpaper, glue, buffing compound Power to run the machines Salaries of production supervisors Because factory overhead costs cannot be directly earmarked to jobs, they are instead, applied to jobs using a common measure related to each job. This common measure is called an activity base. The activity base used to apply overhead should reflect the use of factory overhead costs. Factory overhead costs are usually applied to jobs using a predetermined factory overhead rate computed as follows: Predetermined FactoryEstimated Total Factory Overhead Costs Overhead Rate = Estimated Activity Base For example, if a company estimated a total factory overhead cost of $50,000 for the year and the activity base as 10,000 direct labor hours, a predetermined factory overhead rate of $5 per direct labor hour is computed using the estimated amounts at the beginning of the period. Predetermined factory overhead rated are computed because managers need information about the product cost of each job in a timely manner. With timely information, managers can fine-tune manufacturing methods or product pricing. Remember, during each step of your manufacturing process, identify and record every cost as well as determine whether the costs are direct, indirect, or factory overhead. Keeping up with these costs will help you determine the final cost of each unit and whether or not to make any changes necessary for a more profitable future. Works Cited Bragg, Steven, â€Å"What are Indirect Materials?† Questions Answers – Accounting Tools 1 June 2013. Warren, Reeve and Duchac. ACCT 1101 Chapters 18-26 Managerial Accounting. Ohio: Cengage, 2012. Print.

Should The Death Penalty Be Abolished? Essay

Should The Death Penalty Be Abolished? Essay The death penalty is the act of punishing someone to death for an offense. Questions have been arisen to whether death penalty should be abolished in countries around the world. The pros and cons of death penalty. Therefore, the purpose of this research study is to look at both sides of the arguments of death penalty. It starts off with the description of death penalty and the different types of death penalty. Interesting issues are brought up like the wrongful executions, death penalty being deterrent to crime and the alternatives to death penalty. There are evidence to both sides of the argument in whether the death penalty should be abolished or not. Based on the investigation that is carried out which evaluates the causes, effects and ways to solve the question of death penalty, the many reasons for why death penalty should be abolished is being proven and thus concluding the thesis statement. When the word death penalty is used, it makes yelling and screaming from both sides of extremist. One side may say deterrence, while the other side may say, but you may execute an innocent man. Death penalty is defined as the killing of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Today, one of the most debated issues in the Criminal Justice System is the issue of capital punishment or the death penalty. There are 8 types of death penalty practiced in an official capacity in the modern world. Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing an immediate death. Gas chamber executions are where the prisoner is strapped to a chair inside a sealed gas chamber. The executioner (standing outside of the chamber) pulls a lever dropping potassium cyanide pellets into a vat of sulfuric acid, flooding the chamber with lethal hydrogen cyanide gas. The electric chair is also another common form of capital punishment. The prisoner is shaved, strapped to a chair, and fitted with electrodes attached to conductive spongesone on the head, one on the legcreating a direct current. The prisoner is then hooded. The executioner pulls a switch, and 2,000 volts race through the prisoners body as the internal body temperature approaches 140 degrees. Executions by firing squad works on strapping the victim to a chair with five sharpshooters ai ming at the victims heart and all five pulling the trigger. There is also death by hanging. The prisoner stands on trapdoor, and a rope descends from a wooden beam overhead. The rope is fastened around the prisoners neck in a Hangmans noose, which tightens when pulled upon. The executioner pulls a lever opening the trapdoor and dropping the prisoner, who ideally dies quickly due to a broken neck. Death by stoning is arguably the worlds oldest form of execution. The prisoner is buried either up to his waist (if male) or up to her shoulders (if female) and then pelted with stones by a crowd of volunteers until obviously battered to death. Death by beheading is probably the most humane form of punishment. The victim is restrained, usually forced to kneel, and the executioner removes the head by way of a sword or knife. Lastly, crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large cross (of various shapes) and left to hang until dead. Aim of report. The purpose of this report is to investigate the factors on why death penalty should be abolished and the many reviews on death penalty by the people all around. This study draws on information gathered from various Malaysian and international articles, World Wide Web sites and video documentary. 2.0 Why are some people for the death penalty? There are a number of reasons on why some people are for the death penalty although majority is on the way of abolishing it. Some sees it as a way to better yet end the crime rates around the world. 2.1 Capital punishment holds the criminal accountable for his/her actions. Justice requires punishing the guilty even if only some can be punished and sparing the innocent, even if all are not spared. Morally, justice must always be preferred to equality. Justice cannot ever permit sparing some guilty person, or punishing some innocent ones, for the sake of equality-because others have been spared or punished. In practice, penalties could never be applied if we insisted that they can be inflicted on only a guilty person unless we are able to make sure that they are equally applied to all other guilty persons. Anyone familiar with the law enforcement knows that punishments can be inflicted only on an unavoidable shudder selection of the guilty (Bedau, H., 1977). Irwin Isenberg (1977) said, when you kill a man with premeditation, you do something different than stealing from him. I favor the death penalty as a matter of justice and human dignity even apart from deterrence. The penalty must be appropriate to the seriousness of the crime (p. 135). 2.2 Prevents recidivism. The death penalty protects the public from the most heinous criminals and it also protects us from psychiatrists, judges, parole boards, and celebrities who can too easily be hoodwinked by a practiced con-man determined to win his freedom in order to continue his criminal career. People on death row are unable to get out of prison and are waiting for the day they are put to death. Once they are put to death, there is absolutely no recidivism to worry about. 2.3 Death penalty is a deterrent to crime. If we do not know whether the death penalty will deter others, we will be confronted with two uncertainties. If we have the death penalty and achieve no deterrent effect, than, the life of convicted murderers has been expended in vain (from a deterrent point of view)-here is a net loss. If we have the death sentence, and deter future murderers, we spared the lives of future victims-(the prospective murderers gain, too; they are spared punishment because they were deterred). In this case, the death penalty is a gain, unless the convicted murderer is valued more highly than that of the unknown victim, or victims (Carrington, F., l978). 3. Why do some people oppose the death penalty? Majority of people oppose the death penalty as it brings more disadvantage to advantage. 3.1 The wrongful executions of an innocent person. Unlike all other criminal punishments, the death penalty is uniquely irrevocable. Although some proponents of capital punishment would argue that its merits are worth the occasional execution of innocent people, most would also insist that there is little likelihood of the innocent being executed. In Georgia in 1975, Earl Charles was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. A surviving victim of the crime erroneously identified Charles as the gunman; her testimony was supported by a jail-house informant who claimed he had heard Charles confess . Incontrovertible alibi evidence, showing that Charles was in Florida at the very time of the crime, eventually established his innocence but not until he had spent more than three years under death sentence. His release was owing largely to his mothers unflagging efforts.(35) 3.2 The high cost of the death penalty. It is sometimes suggested that abolishing capital punishment is unfair to the taxpayer, on the assumption that life imprisonment is more expensive than execution. A murder trial normally takes much longer when the death penalty is at issue than when it is not. Litigation costs including the time of judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and court reporters, and the high costs of briefs are mostly borne by the taxpayer. 3.3 The victims families perspectives on the death penalty. Numerous families and loved ones of murder victims support alternatives to the death penalty for many reasons, including: The death penalty process is a traumatizing experience for families, often requiring them to relive the pain and suffering of the death of their loved one for many years. Life without parole provides certain punishment without the endless reopening of wounds. 3.4 Inadequate legal representation. Almost all defendants in capital cases cannot afford their own attorneys. In many cases, the appointed attorneys are overworked, underpaid, or lacking the trial experience required for death penalty cases. There have even been instances in which lawyers appointed to a death case were so inexperienced that they were completely unprepared for the sentencing phase of the trial. Other appointed attorneys have slept through parts of the trial, or arrived at the court under the influence of alcohol. 3.5 Alternatives to the death penalty. In every state that retains the death penalty, jurors have the option of sentencing convicted capital murderers to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The sentence is cheaper to tax-payers and keeps violent offenders off the streets for good. Unlike the death penalty, a sentence of Life without Parole also allows mistakes to be corrected. 3.6 Religious perspectives on death penalty. Most people are living with their own beliefs or religions though there are minorities of people who are free-thinkers. Almost all religions around the world regard executions as immoral. Among them are Christianity, Buddhism, Jewish, Islam and Judaism . 4.0 There are better methods to punish the offenders than death penalty. Death penalty can be too cruel to punish the offenders and no one should take the life of others other than God. Despite this, offenders are not excused from being punished for what they did to others as they still need to be punished but just with other alternatives to the death penalty. 4.1 Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole plus restitution. The most popular alternative to the death penalty is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole plus restitution. This alternative not only costs much less than capital punishment, but also keeps the criminal in jail for the rest of his life so he cannot return back to society. Restitution means that while the prisoner is in jail, he will be put to work with all the money made going to the family of the victim. 4.2 Prison with parole. The average sentence for someone convicted of murder is twenty years. The average time spent in jail for a convicted murderer before being released is around 8.5 years. These numbers mean that most murderers do receive parole and go back into society. John DiIulio writes that even though some paroled murderers remain dangerous, the vast majority of [them] never commit another murder or violent crime. Many have not only gone straight but have continued paying their debt to society by making post-release restitution, manning youth and community outreach centers that work with juvenile felons, and more (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 15, 1997). 4.3 Reformatories. Reformatories are used to reform criminals working with the physical, mental, and moral issues of their inmates instead of just punishing them as we would in jails. They put their offenders to work for society and try to turn their lives around, so they can live a normal life in society. A good use of this method would be for juveniles on death row. This alternative to the death penalty is a more practical solution, rehabilitating criminals instead of just punishing them.

John Huston the Dead Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The film, The Dead, directed by John Houston, is based on a short story that takes place in Dublin, Ireland around 1904. In Ireland at this time there is much conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants, whether Ireland should be part of Great Britain or not. This narrative is intended to show life in Ireland at this time as real as possible. The music during the story is a constant reminder of the mood of the film; the music is generally sad, but when needed it is in a happier tone. Everything about the film adds to the despair that all of the characters eventually feel at some time in the film.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The movie ends up being a very morbid film. All of the emotions from the characters make the film have a melancholy undertone....

Tension in Witchs Money Essay -- Witchs Money Essays

Tension in Witch's Money  Ã‚   In John Collier's "Witch's Money," the stranger who suddenly appears in a remote mountain village in Spain is initially seen by Foiral as an unwelcome madman. Certainly his surrealist description of the landscape must seem a symptom of insanity to one unfamiliar with the trends of modern art. Once he offers a nice sum of money to buy Foiral's house, however, the stranger is treated with a new attitude. He is still not completely accepted by the community that he has moved into, but he does wield a new type of power simply because only he can produce cash from paper billets. With his magic cheques, though, the stranger creates a tension that grows into an economic struggle between himself and his community. Even worse, the stranger unknowingly creates a conflict among the natives of the town who have been a united group. Ultimately, because of the power that the "witch's" money brings into this community, the people of the town -- once happy and content -- are destroyed, and so is the community as a whole. Despite his unconventional art, this stranger is a misbegotten missionary for the decadent values of Western civilization, and with his money he brings the disease of capitalism to the innocent village. One of the first signs of a struggle between the stranger and the community arises when the villagers voice their suspicions about him. They seem to think that the stranger is fabricating details in order to hide a secret perhaps. For example, Arago points out that the stranger claims to have "[come] from Paris" but also "that he was an American" (67). The fact that the stranger has no relations adds to the town's suspicions. More importantly, though, Foiral and the town are skeptical about t... ...e to him'" (75). Thus, at the end of the story the townsfolk laugh at Guis as they march to the bank to demand their money. Guis, they believe, has nothing while they have a remarkable treasure in cheques. Little do they know that disaster awaits when they demand payment for their blank cheques. When their demand is refused, their little town will no longer be happy and content. Moreover, their attempt to cash the cheques will lead to the discovery of the artist's murder and the ruin of the village. The doors of prison will swing shut upon them as quickly as the doors of the bank do. But in reality the village has already been ruined, its innocence destroyed by the capitalistic power of witch's money. Works Cited Collier, John. "Witch's Money." 1939. Short Story Masterpieces. Ed. Robert Penn Warren and Albert Erskine. New York: Dell, 1958. 61-75.   

Greek Mythology and Medea Essay

Medea – Protagonist of the play, Medea’s homeland is Colchis, an island in the Black Sea, which the Greeks considered the edge of the earth–a territory of barbarians. A sorceress and a princess, she used her powers and influence to help Jason secure the Golden Fleece; then, having fallen in love with him, she fled her country and family to live with Jason in Iolcus, his own home. During the escape across the Mediterranean, she killed her brother and dumped him overboard, so that her pursuers would have to slow down and bury him. While in Iolcus, she again used her devilish cleverness to manipulate the daughters of the local king and rival, Pelias, into murdering their own father. Exiled as murderers, Jason and Medea settled in Corinth, the setting of Euripides’ play, where they established a family of two children and gained a favorable reputation. All this precedes the action of the play, which opens with Jason having divorced Medea and taken up with a new family. The play charts Medea’s emotional transformation, a progression from suicidal despair to sadistic fury. She eventually avenges Jason’s betrayal with a series of murders, concluding with the deaths of her own children. Famously, the pleasure of watching Jason suffer their loss outweighed her own remorse at killing them. Jason – Jason can be considered the play’s villain, though his evil stems more from weakness than strength. A former adventurer, he abandons his wife, Medea, in order to marry Glauce, the beautiful young daughter of Creon, King of Corinth. Hoping to advance his station through this second marriage, he only fuels Medea to a revenge that includes the deaths of his new bride, her father, and his children. Jason’s tactless self-interest and whiny rationalizations of his own actions make him a weak, unsympathetic character. Children – The offspring of Jason and Medea, the children are presented as naive and oblivious to the intrigue that surrounds them. Medea uses them as pawns in the murder of Glauce and Creon, and then kills them in the play’s culminating horror. Their innocent deaths provide the greatest element of pathos–the tragic emotion of pity–in the play. Chorus – Composed of the women of Corinth, the chorus chiefly serves as a commentator to the action, although it occasionally engages directly in the dialogue. The chorus members fully sympathize with Medea’s plight, excepting her eventual decision to murder her own children. Creon – The King of Corinth, Creon banishes Medea from the city. Although a minor character, Creon’s suicidal embrace of his dying daughter provides one of the play’s most dramatic moments, and his sentence against Medea lends an urgency to her plans for revenge. Glauce – Daughter of Creon, Glauce is the young, beautiful princess for whom Jason abandons Medea. Her acceptance of the poisoned coronet and dress as â€Å"gifts† leads to the first murder of the play. Although she never utters a word, Glauce’s presence is constantly felt as an object of Medea’s jealousy. (Glauce is also referred to as Creusa. ) Aegeus – The King of Athens, Aegeus passes through Corinth after having visited the Oracle at Delphi, where he sought a cure for his sterility. Medea offers him some fertility-inducing drugs in exchange for sanctuary in Athens. His appearance marks a turning point in the play, for Medea moves from being a passive victim to an aggressor after she secures his promise of sanctuary. Messenger – The messenger appears only once in the play–he relates in gruesome, vivid detail the death scenes of Glauce and Creon, which occur offstage. Nurse – Caretaker of the house, the nurse of the children serves as Medea’s confidant. Her presence is mainly felt in the play’s opening lament and in a few speeches addressing diverse subjects not entirely related to the action of the play. Tutor – A very minor character, the tutor of the children mainly acts as a messenger, as well as the person responsible for shuffling the children around from place to place