First Person Ranks First: John Mccain a War Point of View

Is it more important to focus on the bigger picture in War? Doing so would be to neglect the 58,000 soldiers who gave their lives in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War is often seen as an unclear part of our history in the United States. This conflict in some Americans minds was a war of ethics, a war of right and wrong. The United States entered the war in order to try to prevent the continuous slaughter of Southern Vietnamese people. What we can learn is what lies in the stories of the different people who were involved in the war. The killing of the Southern Vietnamese posed an ethical problem for the United States. The U. S. saw it necessary to become involved. The masses involved male or female were sons, daughters, parents, spouses, and friends to others. What is important in this war is for us is to understand the experiences of the opposing citizens and soldiers involved. We more often than not overlook the personal experiences and aspects of the people involved in the war. In John McCain’s Faith of My Fathers and Nguyen Qui Duc’s La Fin d’un Cauchemar we are able to see the experiences of an American (McCain) and a Vietnamese family. Understanding these people’s points of view can be the most important lesson learned. Ones perception of the Vietnam War is often and easily skewed by outside sources such as media and movies. The personal accounts of the people who were actually involved in the war allow us the right to a better understanding. The two opposing perspectives in these narratives help their readers appreciate the gravity of the circumstances for the people involved. The torture, violence, and separation that these narratives revisit help us better understand the Vietnam War. In the excerpt from Faith of Our Fathers, John McCain retells his account of the Vietnam War while he was a prisoner of war. McCain’s narrative shows its audience a different side of the war. John McCain was a naval aviator in the Vietnam War. He flew in 23 bombing missions over North Vietnam. Preceding his twenty-third mission he was shot down, captured, and was tortured as a prisoner of war for five and a half years. (Kennedy, 2002, p. 249) Throughout the course of these years he was brutalized and beaten physically and mentally. Senator McCain’s experience under the insurgence of his captors cultivated his opinion of the unjust implications of torture. â€Å"Vietnam ignored its obligations to mistreat the Americans they held prisoner, claiming that we were engaged in an unlawful war against them and thus not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Conventions. † (McCain, 1999, p. 376) McCain’s narrative told from his first person point view provides its audience with a soldier’s perspective. In Faith of Our Fathers personalizes the Vietnam War with his experiences as a POW. The soldiers in McCain’s narrative act as a model example of a United States Soldier in Vietnam. â€Å"I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (McCain, 1999, p. 376) John McCain exemplified these traits from the United States Code of Conduct for American Prisoners of War. His story stands as a representation of the courage that the soldiers carried during the war. The horrifying description of torture dealt to both McCain and his fellow compatriots’ shows the inhumanity that went on. The account of Lance Sijan, a Captain in the Air Force, is particularly compelling to the audience. He was shot down in Vietnam sustaining several injuries. Shortly after, he was captured by Viet Cong. â€Å"Interrogated several times, he refused to say anything. He was savagely beaten for his silence†¦and struck with a bamboo club. † (McCain, 1999, p. 383) Despite the continued abuse that was placed on Sijan he refused to surrender his loyalty to his country. The way he and many other soldiers conducted themselves in spite of these conditions shows a different side of the war. A side that varies from the common perception of a Vietnam soldier as being abnormal and deranged. These soldiers were dedicated to their purpose and their country. John McCain’s atypical narrative stems a better understanding of the Vietnam War for our generation. Much like and much different than Faith of Our Fathers, La Fin d’un Cauchemar by Nguyen Qui Duc shows a different side of the Vietnam War that generates a different respect and understanding for the war itself. In La Fin d’un Cauchemar tells the story of a Vietnamese family, more importantly, the Vietnamese father and how his imprisonment in North Vietnam has an affect on the family. Duc’s father was imprisoned for over 12 years. During this period of time Nguyen’s family struggled in the communist lead society. La Fin d’un Cauchemar shows the experiences of a Vietnamese family in the light of what was going on around them. The Duc family stands representative of struggling Vietnamese families during the Vietnam War. Nguyen’s family was burdened with oppression, illness, and an imprisoned father. After two years of not knowing the well-being or whereabouts of her father, Nguyen’s mother received a letter with the information that her husband was alive and imprisoned in a North Vietnamese POW camp. Nguyen’s mother â€Å"†¦fought for two months to get a permit to visit [her] father, and then wait just as long to get train tickets on the black market. † (Duc, 1994, p. 419) The communist government of Vietnam dictated her family’s every move. The Vietnamese were severely oppressed. Following Nguyen’s mothers visitation of her father, the family was weighed down by illness and discontent. Nguyen’s mother spent time and money visiting her father and in doing so injured herself. Nguyen’s mothers’ ankle injury became infected and at the same time her sister was dieing of kidney failure. Nguyen’s family was encumbered with problems. Nguyen Qui Duc’s narrative shows us an alternative side to the war. One that didn’t deal with soldiers or battle. Duc’s rarely narrated point of view places the reader in the perspective of the Vietnamese civilian. Our opinions are often distorted by outside sources. Outlets like movies skew our understanding of issues like the Vietnam War. Michael Medved (2005) a nationally syndicated radio talk show host, author of 10 books, and film critic says that â€Å"It is far more common in contemporary war films, regardless of the conflict being depicted, for the three elements of the classic war movie to be turned on their heads. U. S. troops are more likely than not to be portrayed as sick, warped, and demented-in any case, very different from normal Americans. † (Medved, 2005, p. 53) Movies, a major source for our generation’s knowledge and familiarity of the Vietnam War, lack credibility and prove to be inconsistent. Duc’s story is one not even touched upon in movies. Most often movies are filmed through the eyes of the American soldiers. The perspective of the Vietnamese people is never witnessed. Individual first person accounts provide us with a concrete perspective of insiders that movies cannot. These two Vietnam narratives display different perspectives of the Vietnam War. One being the point of view of an American soldier and the other being a Vietnamese family. The personal experiences of these characters help us to understand the war itself. Our generation can learn from these experiences by reading and acknowledging the first hand retellings of Vietnam. These narratives offer a real perspective of the Vietnam War, much different from that of the twisted and glamorized Hollywood angle. First person Vietnam narratives are the most insightful and dignified pieces of historical context we can obtain. While is necessary to recognize the bigger scheme of things it is important to understand the perspectives of the individuals involved on both sides, in order to put the Vietnam War itself in perspective. Reference Kennedy, C (2002). Profiles in Courage for Our Time. New York: Hyperion Books. McCain J. & Salter M. 2006) Preface from Faith of My Fathers. In K. Ratcliffe (Ed. ), Critical Literacies (3rd ed. , p 374-387) Boston: Pearson Custom. (Reprinted from Faith of My Fathers, (1999), Random House, Inc. Copyright 1999 by John McCain. ) Medved, M. , (2005). They don’t make war movies like they used to. USA Today, 134, 52-55. Nguyen Qui Du’c. (2006). La Fin d’un Cauchemar. In K. Ratcliffe (Ed. ), Critical Literacies (3rd ed. , p 418-425) Boston: Pearson Custom. (Reprinted from Where the Ashes are: The Odyssey of a Vietnamese Family (1994), by Permission of the Author)

Why Does Population Density Varies So Much Within The UK?

Population Density is affected by many factors such as the relief, the climate, the vegetation, the soil, the natural resources and water supply.In the UK, population density varies so much as for example, London has a high population density because it has a great relief which includes flat land which will be easy to build infrastructures but Scotland has a poor relief as it has mountains and hills which means it will be difficult to build infrastructures so therefore, less people will want to vive there since there is a sparse amount of infrastructures like hospitals, roads, shops and schools so traveling to these destinations will be long.Factors like economic and social factors also affect the I-J as the economic factor can provide people transport, industrial areas, offices and ports. London has more Jobs than Scotland as it has more tertiary Jobs than primary Jobs which are paid more so this will populate London more as more people will come to London for Jobs.The social actor will attract more people to populate but Scotland has less health care, houses, entertainment, education and tourist attractions than London so therefore, people will want to go to places that contain these as they don't want to be bored. The vegetation factor populates Scotland as there are large grass areas, trees and fallow land which attracts people who like to live In grassy areas with clean air but London doesn't have a lot of vegetation as It Is more urban than Scotland.

How Life Gets Better While People Feel the Same

I’m pretty sure all of us are familiar with the cliche, â€Å"money can’t buy happiness. † In Gregg Easterbrook book The Progress Paradox he tries to understand why a small variances of this cliche is so. The paradox that underlies Easterbrook’s venture is that through out the last fifty years, things have improved in the United States and Europe, by all objective standards. All though during same time, surveys of happiness and satisfaction have not changed since the fifties.Easterbrook’s main question through out the book asking has the objective measures of the well being of man kind increased while overall satisfaction of people and happiness have remained constant? In the three beginning chapters of this book Easterbrook spends a lot of time looking at surveys depicting the various objective measures that show a pretty much steady increase of progress. I found these chapters entertaining to read because it brings to light a huge range of facts a nd statistics that add support to his idea that things are constantly improving.Easterbrook goes on about how the crime rate is falling, the state of the environment is improving, we are gaining intelligence, equality is increasing and economic situations have improved. Crime, both violent and property have been in decline for 20 years. Current crime rates are probably the lowest in the history of the country. The environment has been improving in every area except green house gases. We have the cleanest air since the beginning of the industrial revolution and the cleanest water since Man was a hunter and gatherer. n the statistics discussed, Easterbrook references a 1996 poll that resulted in 52% of the respondents saying the United States was worse now than when their parents were growing up and 60% said they expected their children to live in an even worse country. Only 15% of the respondents believed that overall national conditions were improving (Easterbrook, 2004). In 1997, 6 6% of Americans reported that they believed â€Å"the lot of the average person is getting worse† (Easterbrook, 2004). Easterbrook raises the question â€Å"How is this possible† with the dramatic increase in overall general progress.Along with discussing the statistics of the many surveys, Easterbrook also gives the reader possible reasons for the so-called paradox. One of the possible reasons he gives is â€Å"choice anxiety. † When looking back on the past a lot of people had very few options due to limited income and limited availability of goods and services. But Easterbrook fights that there is flip side to the stress that comes from having to many options, just like not having enough options can be stressful as well.With the constant increase in the range of goods and services available even the easiest choices can become stressful. Easterbrook states this because a consumer can never really be sure if they are making the correct decision causing stress a nd unhappiness. Another possible reason Easterbrook gives is â€Å"Abundance denial. † This means that no matter how much individuals actually have materially, they will never view them as being â€Å"well-off†, which is constantly making people unhappy and stress out. Easterbrook states that a most Americans think of only the rich as being â€Å"well-off. This brings me to my favorite statistic my favorite statistic: there have been around sixty billion people who ever lived, the 600 million who live in western democracies such as Europe, North America, Japan and Australia live better than anyone else in history (better housing, medical care, nutrition etc. )(Easterbrook, 2004). Since my standard of living is considered about average that means that I live better than 99. 5% of people who have ever lived. We are the one percenters, as far as the history of the world goes. Our current one percenters live better than 99. 9% of people, ever. One more possible reason is â€Å"collapse anxiety,† the widespread fear that the prosperity of the United States and Europe may come to an end due to an economic crash, environmental problems, terrorism or some other catastrophe. Even though individuals are better off that constant notion that it is unmanageable leads to people being unhappy and unsatisfied. It’s hard for people to sit back and really appreciate things when they are in constant fear that it could someday end. Lastly he considers â€Å"the revolution of satisfied expectations† as a possible explanation.He refers this to as the uneasiness that follows items that an individual once dreamed of having. Easterbrook states that during the last century western life has been categorized by ever increasing expectations, with each generation expecting to have more than the previous generation. In today’s day and age we have reached a point where people have most of what they need. What Easterbrook is trying to say with this e xplanation is that it is hard to imagine things getting any better than they already are kind of giving individuals nothing to look forward to.After reading this book I had some general issues. First off is the issue of happiness. The beginning of the book deals with objective measures over time that forms a steady increase in progress. To form the paradox the objective facts were compared to the subjective measures of happiness. Of course Easterbrook states that the surveys are not exactly perfect he claims that they â€Å"illuminating nonetheless† (Easterbrook, 2004). However I think this is questionable. The perception of happiness is not constant among individuals at one point in time, let alone over several decades.Each person could have a completely different outlook on happiness. What can be happiness for one person could be sadness or another feeling for someone else. With each person entitled to their own subjective view on what they consider to be happiness, they ar e also entitled to have a subjective perception of what others experienced in the past and what others will experience in the future. So when surveyors asked respondents if they thought their parents would better off or if their children will be better off, it’s not an objective measure but a subjective perception of the past and future.It doesn’t seem clear why we In short, it is not clear why we would assume the level of subjective satisfaction to increase with objective well-being. I feel like Easterbrook was trying to say that in the past it seemed like things were always getting better but now in the future since things are improving so quickly it doesn’t seem like we could continue to progress in the future. It is unclear why people should think that progress couldn’t continue and, therefore, have lower expectations for the future. This question is left unanswered.If you asked, most people would agree that money and material things are not the meani ng of happiness. With this, why would we expect to see a connection between an increase in progress and an increase in happiness? It isn’t clear that the claim has ever been that prosperity and progress will lead to the end of all stress and uneasiness. In the end there are two traits that correlate closely with happiness: forgiveness and gratitude. Forgive those that have done you wrong and be grateful for what you have. †¢Easterbrook, Greg. The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feels Worse. Random House Publishing Group, 2004. eBook.

“Alien World” Essay

Zaitchik is a freelance journalist who is affiliated with Poverty Law, a U.S. organization that supports ethnic and racial tolerance. Zaitchik’s article attempts to convey the idea that Mexico’s economy is forcing people to take desperate measures in order to survive. He uses his experience with a border crossing simulation as a way to lure the reader into the article. Zaitchik then proceeds to use statistical evidence to enlighten the reader about Mexico’s economic dependency on migrant workers. Zaitchik travelled to Mexico to learn about and participate in the border crossing simulation. He effectively uses his experience with the border crossing simulation, its participants, the Otomi people and his knowledge of the Mexican economy to effectively present his argument. Zaitchik’s personal experience and knowledge of the Otomi’s plight supplement his argument. He provides a series of facts and anecdotal evidence to show the emergence of a border crossing simulation in Mezquital Valley as a prelude to a bigger problem, Mexico’s economic dependency on migrant workers. Zaitchik states that the Otomi, the indigenous people of Mezquital Valley, lost 90% of their working class to migrant workers (258). Many of the Otomi migrant workers make the trip north to work seasonally, but many are unable or unwilling to return (259). The author’s use of these facts establishes that the Otomi were left with a population that would not be able to sustain their local culture or the community’s economy. This forced the remaining population to tap into a new form of ecotourism by starting the border crossing simulation. Zaitchik’s simulation shows how illegal immigrants face a great number of challenges as they attempt to enter through a foreign country’s borders. Each participant has paid $125 for two days camping and a midnight â€Å"border crossing† experience in central Mexico. The staged run, 700 miles from the actual U.S. border, covers a bruising adventure course that winds through the valley of Alberto Eco Park. Zaitchik says, â€Å"It all adds up to the world’s most elaborating simulation of the Mexican migrant experience† (259). His knowledge of the border crossing  simulation reinforces how the Otomi were forced to adapt or face extinction. One of those who left and returned is Laura Basuado a fresh faced- 27- year- old park employee who crossed the border when she was 17. She states, â€Å"The night walk is not even 1 percent of what it’s really like.† Her own journey to the U.S. involved a four-day walk through the sonoran desert. This comparison serves to further clarify that there is a gap between the middle class and the poor, emphasizing that the participants do not see this experience as an act of unifying the Mexican people. After luring the reader with the Otomi’s plight and experience on the simulation, Zaitchik’s asserts that the Mexican government tolerates and even encourages the trip up north. He gives the following as the reason, â€Å"Mexicans living in the U.S. send more than $25 billion dollars in annual remittances to their relatives south of the border† (262). $25 billion dollars is a substation amount of money for any government to give up willingly without having a means of replacing the income. The cotton industry in West Texas fears that there will be a struggle in finding field workers if the border is closed. Other regions of the country that depend on agricultural workers to pick their product in time for the market would also be affected. (O’Donnell 26). It has been proven that it is extremely important for the agriculture business to have enough migrant workers to work the fields and in turn provide an economic impact to the region. Agriculture’s need for Mexican workers is very large, but it is also a seasonal job which sometimes will cause the migrant worker to move from the West Coast to Texas, or other agricultural states. This kind of migration is seen less and less since some states have been enforcing or enacting their own immigration laws which prevent most illegal immigrants from going and providing an econo mic impact to the region. Ask any struggling Mexican if U.S. plans for a high-tech border fence will stop the flow, and he will tell you the idea is fanciful, that you cannot deter the desperate. â€Å"If you build a wall, they will build taller ladders and dig deeper tunnels,† says Del Plan. â€Å"If the entire border becomes clogged with armed guards, they will take boats, as the Cubans and Haitians do.† Indeed, this shift is already happening (262). As you can see O’Donnell and Zaitchik agree that the agriculture businesses require the migrant workers, and that increased border security will not deter illegal immigration. According to the Pew Research Hispanic Center, (Young) there is no net zero migration  from Mexico to the U.S. for the first time in decades. Increased border patrol, stricter laws in the U.S., rising smuggling fees, violence in the desert and the struggling U.S. economy are keeping more Mexicans at home and even have some people returning to Mexico from the U.S. Th erefore, â€Å"The media sees we are trying to build understanding and create jobs, and they support us says, Eduardo Del Plan, a park employee who scripts much of the simulation based on his own multiple trips across the border†. Therefore, Zaitchik states â€Å"that we have become an example of an indigenous community standing on its own feet, trying to stop the bleeding to the north† (262). (Maribel Garcia from HERE AND NOW) says it’s difficult to show how effective the night walks are for our visitors, but as the parks tourist offerings are expanding, and the number of visitors slowly growing, she says that the walks will generate enough income to encourage more of the community’s residents to stay put. However,† Bausado eventually found her way to Minnesota, where she stayed four months before deciding she’d rather be poor and jobless in Mexico than poor and marginally employed in the U.S., living in constant dread of arrest or deportation† (260). Zaitchik’s article attempts to convey the idea that Mexico’s economy is forcing people to take desperate measures in order to survive. He uses his experience with a border crossing simulation as a way to draw the reader into the article. Zaitchik then proceeds to use statistical evidence to enlighten the reader about Mexico’s economic dependency on migrant workers. Overall Zaitchik experienced a memorable border crossing adventure. Work Cited From http;//www.usatoday.com. Hanson,H.G. and Council on Foreign Affairs. â€Å"The economic logic of illegal immigration.† USA: Council on Foreign Relations, 2007. From http;//hereandnow.wbur.org fake-border-crossing Here & Now with Robin Young and Irina Zhorov

Song of Solomon

Sona Ramnani 2/15/12 EN10258 Professor Blumberg Rough Draft2 â€Å"Then she felt the magic, the African mystery. Say she rose just as free as a bird. As light as a feather† (Hamilton 3) A tale that liberates most, an African mystery, moves generations of Africans as well as other races with a sense of liberation. â€Å"The People Could Fly† gives people a wishful fulfillment. The story is a thorough fantasy of suffering and of magical powers to reach the liberation the people once had. Flying, is an escape. It leaves one in complete release. The People could fly† folktale almost makes those who hear it think that people can actually fly to freedom. However, when reaching this freedom, there are costs. Leaving ones family behind, or consequences of the escape. Nonetheless, it must have been done. In Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon, she liberates us with this sense of flying and escape. The novel, Song of Solomon’s characters accept human flight as a natural occurrence, kind of like the folktale shows it, to liberation. Song of Solomon begins with a suicide attempt from an African American man.Instead of trying to get him down, people simply watch and observe rather then prevent his leap thinking that his flight to liberation may be possible. Throughout the rest of the novel, Morrison traps the reader in themes of struggle for family relationships, the importance of ones name, and independence â€Å"The fathers may soar? And the children may know their names†? This quote foreshadows Milkman, the main character’s, journey throughout the novel and his own pursuit of freedom and flight. This quote also is subject to the bond between father and son.Milkman has always been distant with his family in some ways and mostly with his father. When receiving the nickname â€Å"Milkman†, â€Å"It did nothing to improve either one’s relationship with his father† (Morrison 15). Macon Dead was a man with no depth. His cares revolved around money and material items, and showing any sign of love towards his son was uncommon. This relationship created a underlying hatred between father and son and Milkman â€Å"differed from him as much as he dared† (Morrison 63) He soon starts to look for something different, â€Å"a people† or a different nature, ones who care and weren’t that like his family.Chimamanda Adiche, African writer would say â€Å"He was looking for a different story†. Unknowingly this is where Milkman’s path to flight begins, where he soon discovers old-fashioned â€Å"southern hospitality†. On his trip to Danville, a stranger offers him a ride and a drink, when Milkman tries to pay the man he receives a reply â€Å"I ain’t got much, but I can afford a Coke and a lift now and then† (Morrison, 255). His experiences there show him the build of complete generosity and he learns of a new kind of people where he feels con nected unlike at home where he always felt like an outsider.This leads Milkman’s sudden transformation, the reader watches him grow selflessness. Helping strangers and he realizes â€Å"From the beginning his mother and Pilate had fought for his life, and he had never so much as made with of them a cup of tea† (Morrison, 331). During his journey in Danville, Milkman is on the search for the importance in names. Throughout the novel is has given him a lot of conflict because or where his name was originated from and how it had bad old pasts to it.In Danville he is on a hunt, an obsession to learn how his fathers name originated and pursued the origin of his grandfathers name as well. He had come to the realization that, â€Å"When you know your name, you should hang onto it, for unless it is remembered, it will die when you do† (Morrison, 329). This also creates a sense of caring for Milkman, towards his newfound family origin as well as the people he regretfully treated. â€Å"The fathers may soar† excerpt in the quotation really sets in at this point in the novel.Flight comes full circle from the beginning to the very last sentence of the novel. For practically his whole life Milkman did not care too much about any other human being. Then he slowly started to change in Danville. He started to care about others and the relationships he had with them â€Å"Milkman felt as awkward as he sounded. He had never had to try to make a pleasant impression on a stranger before, never needed anything from a stranger before, and did not remember ever asking anybody in the world how they were† (Morrison, 229). Milkman became a new person, he was independent nd like his great-grandfather he was ready to fly. Ever since he was little he had this determined state of mind that â€Å"only birds and airplanes could fly- and he lost all interest in himself†(Morrison, 9). His entire life was an unconscious search for his ability to take fl ight. When seeing a peacock, Milkman asks his best friend Guitar, â€Å"How come it can’t fly no better than a chicken? † â€Å"Too much tail. All that jewelry weighs it down. Like vanity. Can’t nobody fly with all that shit. Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down† (Morrison, 179).This directly showed milkman that he needed to give up all the materialistic wants, the hatred toward his family, the incapable lack of emotion and soon he begins to â€Å"not to notice or care about the rip at the knee or under the arm† (Morrison, 254) Soon he learns that it is in his blood to fly, that there was hope and a chance for his to feel free of all the vanities that have been bringing him down for years. At the very end of the book Milkman is in a near death situation and he is not afraid â€Å"He knew what Shalimar knew: If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it† (Morrison, 337).Works Cited The Danger of A Single Story. Perf . Chimamanda Adiche. 2009. Online. Hamilton, Virginia. â€Å"Amazon. com: The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales (9780679843368): Virginia Hamilton, Leo Dillon, Diane Dillon Ph. D. : Books. †   Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Knopf, 1977. Print. Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge my classmates as well as Professor for leading me in deep discussions to further my ideas of these novels, readings, as well as videos.

Is the concept of global health useful as a way of conceptualizing Essay

Is the concept of global health useful as a way of conceptualizing contemporary health issues in world politics - Essay Example reats posed by anthrax, environmental damages, crime, human trafficking and terrorism, all come to mind when the term global health is used (Yoube, 2005). Governments and inter-governmental organizations have implemented global health policies and statements indicating that global health has emerged as an important foreign policy issue especially in relation to both national and international security (Labonte and Gagnon, 2010). It would therefore appear that the concept of global health is a useful way of conceptualizing contemporary health issues in world politics. However, Ruger (2008) argues that states have viewed contemporary global health issues as a threat to national security only insofar as it relates to the threat of biochemical weapons. Thus global health initiatives can be ramed in terms of orthodox international relations theory (Ruger, 2008). In this regard, global health is irrelevant as state rivalries take center stage. On the other hand, McInnes and Lee (2013) argue that applying a social constructivist analysis, the concept of global health is useful for conceptualizing contemporary health issues as these issues intricately tie the state to the market and forms an important part of the international political economy. It has also been argued that social constructivism more adequately reflects how states and international organizations view global health. From this perspective global heal th issues are viewed as intricately tied to other state interests that go beyond the potential of biochemical weapons (Forman, Cole, Ooms, and Zwarenstein, 2012). This research study analyses both sides of the argument. In particular this research study analyses whether or not the international relations theory of realism or social constructivism more adequately explain the concept of global health and as such whether or not these concepts of global health are useful for conceptualizing contemporary health issues. This paper is therefore divided into three

Computer Center Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Computer Center - Case Study Example Figure 2 shows the configuration of Input 1. The other two inputs are configured similarly with only difference of arrival times. Figure 2: Settings of Inputs The job readers have normal distribution, all the three having the mean of 3 seconds and standard deviation of one second. The configuration screen is shown in figure 3. Figure 3: configuration of job readers. The Print Spooler (CPU) is configured with exponential distribution with mean of two seconds as shown in figure 4. Figure 4: Print Spooler configuration The Line printers are again configured with normal distribution having mean of 7 seconds and standard deviations 2.1 seconds as shown in figure 5. Figure 5: Line Printer Configuration Finally, the configuration of the simulation is presented in figure 6. All the statistics have been selected except costing. Figure 6: Simulation configurations Output of Simulation There is one precaution in the simulation. The maximum arrivals in all the three cases were set at 5000. Hence, by design the arrivals in input 2 would stop coming at 5000 whereas the other two will continue till their individual arrivals reach 5000 each (first Input 3 and then Input 1). If the simulations are allowed to continue even if arrival of entities in Input has reached 5000, the system will be left with only two active inputs (and later on only one active input when arrival of entities in Input 3 reaches 5000 as well). This could have resulted in wrong calculations of the system. Hence, the author stopped the simulation as soon as Input 2 reached 5000 entities. Following are the results of the simulation: (A) Number of entities entered the system: Figure 7: No. of entities entered... The inputs are configured as exponential with arrivals every 70 seconds for Input 1, every 15 seconds for Input 2 and every 35 seconds for Input 3. Figure 2 shows the configuration of Input 1. The other two inputs are configured similarly with only difference of arrival times. There is one precaution in the simulation. The maximum arrivals in all the three cases were set at 5000. Hence, by design the arrivals in input 2 would stop coming at 5000 whereas the other two will continue till their individual arrivals reach 5000 each (first Input 3 and then Input 1). If the simulations are allowed to continue even if arrival of entities in Input has reached 5000, the system will be left with only two active inputs (and later on only one active input when arrival of entities in Input 3 reaches 5000 as well). This could have resulted in wrong calculations of the system. Hence, the author stopped the simulation as soon as Input 2 reached 5000 entities. There was no waiting time per entity because no queues were formed anywhere in the system: This appears obvious because the arrival intervals of entities are much higher than overall throughput of the system. (C) Average throughput time per entity: The average throughput time per entity (value addition time + transfer time) is presented in figure 9.

International Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

International Criminal Justice - Essay Example There are no guidelines that can serve societies that have endured a governing process that included crimes against humanity and gross abuses f human rights, but that is currently making a democratic transition based on constitutionalism and respect for the individual. Fashioning an appropriate approach is rendered more difficult to the extent that the former regime voluntarily gave up power as part f a bargain with the democratic opposition, and yet remains on the scene, even continuing to control the armed forces and internal police apparatus. The Southern Cone countries f Chile and Argentina pose this challenge in its sharpest possible form, but the same type f issue is posed for many other countries, including South Africa and several Central American countries. The complexity f this challenge has been widely revealed over the course f the last year or so by the controversy surrounding the arrest f the former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet. At issue most fundamentally is whether international standards governing the accountability f leaders takes precedence over the implementation f a national bargain in Chile, giving Pinochet effective immunity, and even a position f Senator for Life. Extending law to govern crimes f state has more generally resurfaced in this period as a result f the end f the Cold War, and even more so, the human abuse arising from the break-up f the former Yugoslavia during the course f the 1990s. For one thing, a special criminal tribunal has been established at The Hague with authority over such allegations, as well as a parallel effort arising from the genocidal events that occurred in Rwanda in 1994. As well, through a transnational coalition f NGOs in collaboration with a series f governments, the Rome Treaty was signed in 1998 with the goal f establishing a permanent international criminal court. (Dammer 2006, 100-102) How can we explain this resurgence f intergovernmental interest in criminal accountability for political and military leaders acting under the authority f their respective sovereign states The impulse to impose such responsibility originated in a half-hearted way after World War I, with the Versailles Peace Treaty recommending a criminal prosecution f Kaiser Wilhelm and a duty for Germany to carry on against lesser figures in a special court established at Leipzig. These initiatives came to nothing, the Kaiser finding asylum in nearby Holland, and the Leipzig trials exhibiting Germany's lack f political will to punish its own nationals. International involvement between nations is not new. (Grotius 1853, 1-7) The twentieth century, however, has seen an incredible increase in the number and variety f international organizations, including the failed League f Nations f the 1920s, other post World War I agreements, and the United Nations and Bretton Woods agreements following World War II. The second half f the century has seen a virtual explosion f governmental and non-governmental organizations operating in the world arena. (Weigend 2002, 1232-1242) Despite the phenomenal growth f international cooperation and interdependence, the world is increasingly less humane. Conflicts generating Nazi-like atrocities have increased since the end ÃŽ ¿f that regime, (Brown 1999, 10-11) as exemplified by ethnic conflicts in Rwanda, Bosnia, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, and Kosovo.  

Charlie Chaplin's The Kid Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Charlie Chaplin's The Kid - Movie Review Example . When viewers from a wider spectrum of society appreciate a film that celebrates cross-dressing, this indicates not only that the film has an intrinsic emotional appeal, but that the general audience is ripe for the message of sexual variation and tolerance. The transformation is not at all simple or one-sided, though, and what makes the film emotionally affecting is the very fact that the main character maintains conflicting impulses, creating real tension within a single character. Even when the setting is changed, Chaplin is there under fake pretenses, and the comic elements of the film arise from his mistaken interpretations of social issues. I understand a unique nature of the main character and his universal wisdom based on personal philosophy and life experience. Chaplin carries the film in a number of senses, for it is not just her face, his words, and his gestures that enrapture us; all the dramatic conflict of the plot also takes place within the character. It is possible to assume that "heaven" is a "better life" and a society free from social uinequalities and hardship. By association with a unique personality, the star will take on the exceptional attributes of honesty, courage, intelligence, passion, religious fervor, purity.

Toyota Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Toyota - Essay Example In order to analyse the internal competencies of Toyota motors, the model can be used is traditional SWOT analysis in order to evaluate strengths and weakness of Toyota Company and what leads to their opportunities and threats. Toyota is among the world’s largest car manufacturers today, and has the most comprehensive global presence. Toyota Company has been able to maintain an image of quality and reliability. Moreover, Toyota Motors has been renowned for its quality controls and management operations efficiencies that enable them to capitalize on cost cutting against their competitions. Toyota is following just in time production system successfully. There have been investments in 2009 by Toyota in US and China and able to get the Net profits rose by 0.8% to 1.17 trillion yen ($11bn; Â £5.85bn), while sales were 7.3% higher at 18.55 trillion yen. This is against the global auto industry. Analysts are off the view that this profits and growth is because of strong mix of vehicles manufacturing. Some others and internet resources were of the view that the Toyota have been observed not to be the bold one pursuing the innovation at the first place but it plays fast second player role that is among the weakness or also can be termed as defensive measures. Nonetheless, they lose their first mover advantage at that time. As Toyota is now huge base all around the globe and being big has its own consequences. Toyota was supposed to follow just in time manufacturing system that is difficult to manage on this wide scale but Toyota is doing well but the threat remains there. As Toyota is working on the demand bases and just in time any fall in their own demand of vehicles can easily resulted in excess capacity and can suffer fixed costs without sale. This weakness is embedded in their operations and sales system and can prove to be fatal in the time of crisis. Lexus, the luxury line of Toyota is

Financial Analysis of Capilano Honey Limited Case Study

Financial Analysis of Capilano Honey Limited - Case Study Example The main competitor of Capilano Honey Limited is Bega Cheese Limited, which is engaged in producing both natural and processed cheese products. Bega Cheese Limited deals in dairy products, kids snacking and nutritional powders. The components which are necessary to assess the competitive strengths of a company are revenue, EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization), profit before and after tax, net assets and earnings per share. The revenue of Capilano Honey Limited for the year 2014 was $86,003 only (Capilano, 2014), whereas Bega Cheese Limited provides revenue of $1,069,392 in 2014. The increased revenue of the competitor indicates that Bega Cheese Limited is efficiently managing its business operation and because of that, they are able to generate more revenue than Capilano Honey Limited. The EBITDA of Capilano Honey Limited was $9,054 and that of Bega Cheese Limited was $122,506 in 2014 (Bega Cheese, 2014). EBITDA provides an idea of core profitability position of an organization. As EBITDA of CZZ is less than Bega Cheese Limited, it reflects that the operating profitability of the company is not as good as its competitor (Kaplan & Atkinson, 2015). Therefore, CZZ needs to improve its operating profitability position to maintain its position in the market. Comparing the profit before tax (PBT) and profit after tax (PAT) of both the companies, it has been analyzed that the PBT of CZZ was $6,490 and that of Bega Cheese Limited was $93,580 in 2014 (Bega Cheese, 2014).

Writing Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Writing Assignment - Essay Example ever, I would not deny that some of the insults were actually humorous especially as most of them are heavy on personification such as comparing one to a shard-borne pignut, brazen-faced scullian, swag-bellied boar-pig and etc. The use of these words propels one to draw a picture at the back of one’s mind, comparing it to describe the unpleasantness of a person. Also, exaggeration is an element that adds to its humor. Familiarity with the meaning of the words used is also very important to realize the message Shakespeare wanted to convey especially because most words used are too deep. However, as I have tried finding out the meaning of these words, they have the same meanings today as in the last 400+ years ago, where the only difference is that some words today just have more implications or meanings today. Being unfamiliar about the meanings hinder one to fully grasp the intended effect because they would not be able to use their imagination to digest the whole thought of

Unit 5 seminar capstone Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 5 seminar capstone - Research Paper Example Validating her fillings will help her feel normal and affirm to her that any other person going through a similar event would feel like she does. The other step will be to offer therapy in order to help the client understand how abuse happens, signs of an abusive partner, and alternatives for dealing with abuse before she gets into a crisis. I will give the client information. Such information includes where she can report abuse cases, domestic violence helpline services, option of separating with her abusive partner until he receives intervention, or the alternative of terminating the abusive marriage relationship. I would then help her decide on what would work best for her. Finally, the client and I would explore alternatives of empowering her socially, culturally and economically (Kanel, 2007). Such alternatives include joining a local community support group, choosing the cultural practices and beliefs that do not discriminate or allow domestic violence and getting a job. Finally, projecting into the future, the client will handle a similar situation with courage and conscientiousness. She will detect abuse before it happens and avert it timely. This way, she will not be in a crisis because she will break the cycle of domestic

CIPR Critical Reasoning Test Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

CIPR Critical Reasoning Test - Essay Example Both of these terms are often used interchangeably although they are very different in the scope and extent to which they apply. The difference between these two terms appears to be so small, such that many people have a problem making the distinction. Publicity can be equated to a single arrow existing in a quiver, which is public relations. This means that focus of public relations in its practice is very small (Adams, 1962, p, 896), it does not however underestimate the importance of the practice in the wider public relations practice. Alternatively, public relations refer to the greater level of establishment of an over-arching approach, for enhancing the marketing or communications goal of an organisation or institution. Public relation is a term that encompasses many other small concepts that aim at enhancing a particular objective. Organizations rely on public relations approaches in order to create awareness to the public about their practices as well as other important issues that are aimed at achieving set objectives in the organisation. The term public relation is sometimes associated with reputation management, which refers to practices that are done in the interest of establishing and sustaining the reputation of an organisation. It is important that an organisation creates a better picture or image of itself so that it appeals to the public (Grunig, 1992, p, 34). Organizations that have proper public images have professional personnel who are able to use public relations tools in an appropriate manner to achieve set objectives. Professionals undertaking public relation functions in organisation perform four important functions; they are involved in planning, developing implementing and evaluating different information and communication approaches which aim at enhancing an understanding and a favourable perspective about the organization. In addition, they are also important in creating a positive

How do US auto firms evaluate the comprehensive and long term Dissertation

How do US auto firms evaluate the comprehensive and long term viability of investing in Information Technology projects that len - Dissertation Example Aptness of the process of decision making is justified by the methodological fitness of the decision to the demand of the concerned situation, reliability of the evidence used for decision making, relevance of the decision to context, transparency in the findings and the extent up to which consensus reached within the decision making individuals. In this paper the mixed method of research has been compared with quantitative and qualitative methods of research. Result of this comparison has been used to study the different models of decision making and the most preferred method of research has been described (Baba & HakemZadeh, 2012). The rational model The neoclassical theory of microeconomics is based on the assumption that man is a rational economic agent and is an informed decision-maker. This process shows involves four different steps, intelligence, design, choice and review. Intelligence of an individual or an organization helps them to find the appropriate occasions for decisi on making. Design of the decision making process allows them to invent new ways and analyze all the probable ways to choose the course of action. It helps in selecting some particular line of action from the available range of choices and review of the choice made helps in judging the outcomes of the decisions made in the past. In the classical model or the model of perfect rationality, numerical values are used to determine the level of utility of each of the alternative options which are then used for the process of decision making or during ‘choice phase’. The alternative choice that provides the maximum amount of utility (subjective level of utility depending on the decision maker) is selected. In business organizations, implementation of the rational model of decision making entails the following assumptions involving the managers in the organization. These assumptions include knowledge of all likely alternatives, awareness of the expected consequences of each of t he alternatives, having a predetermined and organized preference set corresponding to all the consequences and finally, having strong computational ability and deep insights to compare these consequences and determine which one of these is the most preferred (Turpin & Marais, 2004). The model of bounded rationality The notion of bounded rationality explains that while individuals make decisions, rationality of their behavior is limited by three important factors; availability of access to information, cognitive precincts of human minds, and time constraint within which the decision has to be made. According to Simon (1979), the leaders in an organization always do not make completely informed choices. In many occasions they make choices on the basis of available information and the insights and forecasting capabilities of the decision maker. Therefore, the choice made by these leaders is not always the optimal choice. Rational behavior by human beings is mainly influenced by two fac tors; the situation in which the decision has to be made and â€Å"the computational capabilities of the actor† (Turpin & Marais, 2004, 147). Study of rationality of human behavior has become easier since the study can be made within these

Extended Producer Responsibilities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Extended Producer Responsibilities - Essay Example The consumers can pay a fee when the y purchases a new vehicle. This fee will then be managed by a third party in this case the party can be EPA. On the part of the manufactures I would ensure that they have goals set in recycling the vehicles. This program can be modified on the condition that the manufacturer is located outside the U.S. to comply with the law. This will involve setting a law that requires all imported cars in the United States should come from countries with rigorous disposal laws. Also, an extra import fee should be incorporated to aid the disposal of the vehicle. This program will definitely influence product designers in research & development group. Example plastic which comprise of the largest portion of currently non-recycled material will make the product designers & development group to replace it with materials which can be recycled. Countries who also wish to export automobiles in United States will have to adapt to stringent vehicles recycling

Significance of Discoveries in Genetics and DNA Essay

Significance of Discoveries in Genetics and DNA - Essay Example The principles and procedures of genetics were first advanced by Gregory Mendel, who performed a series of experiments that pointed the existence of genes. Mendel performed experiments through selective cross breeding of pea plants over generations. He discovered that some traits show in offspring without any blending with parents. For example, an offspring of a cross-pollinated purple flowered and white coloured pea plant did not rise to intermediate colours. The offspring in the first generation were in a ratio of 3:1 and the second-generation self-cross gave rise to a 1:1 ratio. Mendel therefore concluded that inheritance of traits is determined by units that are passed to offspring unchanged. Secondly, that an individual will inherit one unit from each parent for each trait and that the trait does not show up in the first generation, but will eventually in the subsequent generations. According to Mendel, the dominant allele masked the presence of the recessive allele in the F1 generation. His work gave rise to two genetic principles. Firstly, the law of segregation that states that for any trait alleles separate, only one passes fr om the parent to the offspring. Secondly, the principle of independent assortment which states that alleles are passed from the parent to the offspring independent of each other (Bortz, 2014). Following the discovery of Mendelian principles, T.H. Morgan performed experiments on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster because of their different body features that can help distinguish males and females. He observed the colour of their eyes, shape of wings and body shape. The choice of characteristics was distinctive for crossing because of the pronounced phenotypes. Before Mendel’s discoveries, evolutionary scientists like Charles Darwin believed that traits in an organism are selected through natural selection where the fittest organisms survived phasing out the least adaptable species.

Compassion Fatigue Related to Oncology Nursing Research Paper

Compassion Fatigue Related to Oncology Nursing - Research Paper Example The state of the patients affects the nurses directly by making them have mood swings. This happens due to the fact that the nurses tend to empathize humanly with the patients and lose focus on mainstreaming and creating a barrier not to affect their emotions. This condition that arises due to care given to the patients is referred to as compassion fatigue. There are other conditions that arises due to provision of care like burnout, these can be successfully be distinguished from compassion fatigue. The entire nursing profession is faced with rapid exponential increase in case of compassion fatigue due to increased number of population that demands health care and the limited number of the nurses to provide the care. This paper analyzes compassion fatigue and other related concepts. Oncology is the study of the causes, development and the occurrence of cancers coupled with treatments and mitigation of the cancerous cells. Cancer is one of the most devastating medical conditions in the contemporary world and the prevalence and incidence of cancer has been on the rife for the last couple of years (Bissett 56). In 1995, another person Figley proposed another definition of what compassion fatigue implies, he advanced that the definition of compassion fatigue is ‘the cost of caring’ (FIgley 154). ... Benign cancers are those which are restricted to one part of the body and do not spread to other types of the body. These types of cancers are easy to treat and can be mitigated easily. On the other hand, the malignant cancers are the most lethal and have the tendency of spreading to other parts of the body. This is the lethal types of cancer which poses the greatest danger to the human life (Henke, Barrie, and Thomas 111). The aim of this paper then is to relate the fate of the nurses who are care providers of these patients and are at the risk of developing emotional breakdown which may impact negatively on their lives, otherwise known as compassion fatigue. The sense of compassion fatigue is then dissected in relation to the position of the nurses in light of their duties. Definition of compassionate fatigue The term compassionate fatigue first came into the public limelight in 1992 when Joinson in a nursing article that he published. In the article Joinson described compassion fa tigue as the condition in which nurses experience a change in their feeling and instead developed a sense of helplessness and emotional changes as a result of witnessing their patient going through a series of devastating conditions of illness and trauma (Bissett 194). In 1995, another person Figley proposed another definition of what compassion fatigue implies, he advanced that the definition of compassion fatigue is ‘the cost of caring’ (FIgley 154). It is therefore imperative that the concept of compassionate fatigue be conceived well in its context by the nurses so that they may not lose focus on their roles as professional nurses at a time that patients are in dire need of their services.

Individual Behavior Essay Example for Free

Individual Behavior Essay Individual behavior differs from person to person and most differences are based on the background of the individual. Some elements that can affect ones background to influence their individual behavior can include religion, age, occupation, values and attitude differences, gender, and even ethnicity. These individual behaviors can cause people to act differently to situations and can create friction or even chemistry in the work place. The age of a person can be a large factor in the way they behave. There are studies that prove maturity can come at different ages but in most cases maturity is something that is learned and grown into. Age in a work place can work against someone or for them. A young age can be a downfall if there is lack of maturity and experience and old age can be a downfall due to lack of energy or knowledge of new technologies. With that being said I think that it is important that age should not be the deciding factor as to how someone will act. There are many young people who have the maturity to carry many responsibilities and show good individual behavior. Some older individuals have adapted their behavior to fit more suitable into the technologies that have developed over the past few years. More and more people are on Facebook (www. facebook. com) than ever, and it is common to see individuals of all ages on the popular website. You can also find with age individuals depending on their age will have their priorities in different orders. The occupation of a person can also attribute to their individual behavior. For example say there is an individual who works in the public eye like a Senator or Congressman, they are going to be more careful for the things that they say and do because they will not wish the media to catch wind and bring them in a negative media down pour about the situation. When you work in the lime light you have to be cautious about your wording and your actions. There are many occupations that are not in the public eye that also has to think about their individual behavior and make sure that they set a good example because of their occupation. Take a teacher for example it is very important that they do not act in an bad individual behavior because it can have an affect on their job. For instant it would be bad to post pictures of yourself drunk to a popular social networking sight if you are a teacher because you are to be a role model and that is individual behavior that you should not wish your students to witness. Many professionals will maintain their professional behavior when they are dealing with their work and with their lives. Professional behavior usually consists of being calm and thinking your actions and words through before acting upon them. Many professionals also like to make educated guesses instead of sporadic leaps into new things. Many individuals will learn their professionalism from their occupation and it is something that they can carry over into their individual behavior. Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of life and the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a supernatural agency,[1] or human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine. [2] Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature (www. wikipedia. com). That definition alone can should one how religion could influence someone’s individual behavior. Unlike the other elements religion is something, for the most part, that can be chosen by the individual. A person can be brought up with religious beliefs, can adapt to the beliefs, and can even change their religious beliefs. A religion can have strict guidelines as to how their followers should behave some may even have diets or wardrobe requirements that can affect their individual behavior. Values can run hand in hand with religion on some basis. Many religions have a foundation on values and morals that their followers should abide by. When a situation occurs and a decision needs to be made you can understand a lot about a person by their individual behavior. It is usually the person’s values or morals that help them make the decision on what action to take when the situation presented itself. Attitudes about differences can affect ones individual behavior. Someone who is high strung can tend to have a little more dramatic attitudes about differences opposed to a laidback individual who has a peaceful nature and can tend to look at differences with a positive. When attitudes turn negative ones individual behavior can become defenseful, frightful, or even protective. In conclusion there are many parts that tie together to create an individual behavior and those behaviors can be influenced by many different elements. Although many individuals can have common elements in their background it is hard to find an individual behavior that is the exact same. Individual behavior can show a lot about the way a person was brought up, their beliefs, age, and even gender. It can show their religious beliefs or just their attitude but it is certain that one’s individual behavior is something that the individual chooses for their self. It is a way they like to act regarding to a situation.

The Cold War in the 1960s Essay Example for Free

The Cold War in the 1960s Essay LBJ and the Escalation of the War * Credibility * Feb 1965: air strikes started * July 1965: ground troops * Why there was no military victory in Vietnam? * The strength of the enemy * The weakness of the South Vietnamese Government * Guerilla war in Vietnam * Limited war in Vietnam * Search-and-destroy vs. clear-and-hold * The media * A Multitude of Movements Student Rebellions, The New Left, and the counter cultural movement * SDS (1960) and its goals * 1964 UC Berkeley and student rebellion * Cultural radicals: the hippies * The Rise of Feminism * Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique * 1968: the year of upheaval * January: the Tet Offensive and the credibility gap * March: LBJ would not run again for president * April: MLK assassinated * June: Bobby Kennedy assassinated * August: the Democratic National Convention at Chicago became a street fight * Hubert H. Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, Nixon, and the 1968 election * The challenge from George Wallace Troubles all around the world * NIXON, KISSINGER amp; DETENTE * Nixon, Henry Kissinger and geo-politics * Sino-Soviet split and the triangular diplomacy * Strategic Arms Limitation Talks I (SALT I) * Nixon’s war in Vietnam * June 1971, Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers * Paris Peace Treaty (1973) * The fall of Saigon (1975) * The Nixon Doctrine * Detente and the limit of US Power.

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