The Matrix Essay -- movie film

The Matrix Interweaves much symbolism, mythology, philosophy, and psychology. On the surface, the movie challenges the dominance of technology in our culture and predicts an apocalyptic result from the use of artificial intelligence. Yet, behind the human struggle for survival is a mythical backdrop upon which are backlit some of C.G. Jung's basic ideas regarding the human psyche. These Jungian ideas include the ego-Self relationship and how it relates to the persona, the shadow, individuation, and the transcendent function. The earth has been decimated due to a battle for control of the earth between the AI's and humans; the Matrix camouflages this decimation. Humans are artificially created and sustained by the AI superstructure. Then they are plugged into a computer. A computer program generates a simulated reality called the Matrix. Humans live their lives in this computer-generated reality, but this reality is only in their minds. In fact, humans are kept in mechanical eggs filled with an amniotic-like fluid. The AI infrastructure keeps humans alive to tap the energy they produce. The strangers are a group of humans who have escaped the Matrix. Their leader is named Morpheus. Neo is believed by Morpheus to be the savior, â€Å"The One† (The Matrix). An oracle (also an escaped human) predicted long ago that a savior would come, a sort of second coming, and that he would be able to see through the Matrix and bring it down. The oracle told Morpheus that he would find The One. One question, which threads through the movie, is whether or not Neo is The One. Neo is asleep at his desk at home in one of the first scenes. A computer monitor next to him flashes repeatedly the simple text: â€Å"Wake up Neo† (The Matrix). The message is an instruction from the Self. The sleeping man is in ego mode, a symptom of an egocentric psyche. He is unaware of the possibility that there is something else besides the ego and he has not yet awoken to the possibility that there is another world outside of the persona he lives behind. The theme of Neo as a Jesus Christ figure plays throughout the movie. In Edinger's opinion, Christ was a figure who represented the individuating ego. The image of Christ, and the rich network of symbolism which has gathered around him, provide many parallels to the individuation process. When the Christian myth is examined carefully in the li... ...w people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from here is a choice I leave to you (The Matrix). Neo has become an individuated ego. He negotiated a series of challenging psychic experiences to grow out of his former egocentric attitude. His statement speaks of an awareness of the ego as well as a sense of Self. He even refers to the ego field as scared and seems to be compassionate of the ego's fear. But he wants to live without the rules and control of the ego. Works Cited Chernow, Barbara and Vallasi, George, eds. The Columbia Encyclopedia. 5th Ed. Columbia UP, 1993. Edinger, Edward F. Ego and Archetype. Boston: Shambhala, 1992. Jacobi, Jolande. Complex/Archetype/Symbol in the Psychology of C.G. Jung. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1974. Jung, C.G. The Essential Jung. Ed. A. Storr. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1983. ---. Memories, Dreams, Reflections. New York: Vintage, 1961. The Matrix. Dir. Larry and Andy Wachowski. Perf. Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne. Warner Brothers, 1999.

Mood

Mood disorders are those disorders that have a disturbance in mood as their predominant feature. This group includes several nosoforms such as affective disorders, psychotic bipolar disorder and depressive disorders. The last are presented by the involutional and postpartum depression, dysthymic disorder and seasonal affective disorder. All listed conditions are very frequent – about 14.3% of the population is stroked by the mood disorders. The aim of this review is comparing the different treatments for the mood disorders by example of postpartum mood disorders. Databases searched for this review included PsycINFO only.There are several risk factors of postpartum mood disturbances. After delivery the level of steroid hormones (estrogens, gestagens and cortisol) changes dramatically. Some women are very sensitive to these hormonal changes and can react with changes of the mood. Psychosocial risk factors include low income and inadequate social supports, recent negative life ev ents, marital conflict or dissatisfaction. Heredity and individual susceptibility are risk factors for postpartum depression. Thus women with individual or family history of a mood disorder have higher risk of postpartum depression. A prior history of postpartum mood disorder increases the risk of recurrence of the depression in two folds.Postpartum changes of the mood are not rare complications of accouchement. There are different symptoms of mood disturbance – from transitory and mild signs of postpartum blues and up to the severe postpartum depression and puerperal psychosis. Nonacs R. and Cohen LS. (1998) write that mood changes during the puerperium are often overlooked. This fact arouses the risk of the episodes of recurrent depression in mothers. Another important issue of the problem is a risk of the remote consequences of mother’s mood disturbance on the future mental and physical development of child. To prevent those long-term effects the early diagnostics a nd effective treatment interventions should be applied.Some forms of the postpartum mood disorder do not require any specific treatment, e.g. the most common (30-75% of new mothers) form of the mood disturbances, so called â€Å"baby blues† require only education, reassurance and support. More serious conditions, like postpartum depression, need more active interventions. This condition occurs in 15-20 % of all women recently confined. It is characterized by anxiety, irritability, insomnia, fatigue, low interest to the baby and other symptoms of major depression.Seyfried LS and Marcus SM. (2003) indicate that pharmacological treatment for patients with postpartum depression can be limited because some psychoactive drugs are contraindicated in lactation and psychotherapeutic approaches became the method of the choice. On other hand, rare cases of postpartum psychosis require psychiatric emergency care and urgent drug treatment. Thus the differentiation of treatment mode is imp ortant element of the care in the postnatal changes of the mood.Series of works by Dennis CL. et all. (2004) are dedicated to the problem of treatment of postpartum depression. Authors consider that the most effective schemes of psychotherapy include interpersonal psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, peer and partner support, nondirective counseling, relaxation/massage therapy, infant sleep interventions, infant-mother relationship therapy, and maternal exercise.Unfortunately the available clinical trials studied these methods and their effectiveness, were designed poorly and have low level of evidence. Thus definite conclusions about the relative effectiveness of the different treatments cannot be reached. Authors recommend to increase the number of randomized controlled trials needed for comparing different treatment schemes, examining the effectiveness of individual treatment components and selecting the optimum treatments for women with different anamnesis and status pra esens objectivus.Other group of interventions using in the psychiatry for treatment of postpartum depression includes antidepressant medication, estrogen therapy, critically timed sleep deprivation, and bright light therapy. Some of these interventions can be applied to other types of depressions unrelated to puerperium but the issues of pharmacological safety can limit them.As an example of mentioned above we can use the results of the study by Reck C. et all. (2004). They found, that mother-infant interaction plays a central role in the treatment of postpartum depression. They explain this fact with high sensitivity of infants to their mothers' emotional state. The authors consider that postpartum depression is a risk factor for disturbances of children's development. They proposed the integrated model of treatment which is based on   mother-infant-centered interventions.Similar propositions contains the research paper of Hofecker-Fallahpour M. et all. (2003). This group of Swis s investigators proposed the program of group therapy for depressive mothers, including those who has postpartum depression. The main therapeutic method in this program is behavioral therapy.Clark R, Tluczek A. and Wenzel A. from the University of Wisconsin Medical School published work (2004) about the priorities of psychotherapy in the patients with postpartum depression. They think that group psychotherapy and interpersonal psychotherapy should be superior to other methods of non-pharmacological treatment.The main objectives of the proposed treatment is â€Å"reducing maternal depressive symptoms, improving mothers' perceptions of their infants' adaptability and reinforcement value, and increasing mothers' positive affect and verbalization with their infants†. Authors urge that early intervention for mothers with postpartum depression is crucial point of successful treatment.Different point of view was demonstrated by Cooper PJ, Murray L, Wilson A. and Romaniuk H. (2003). They think that psychological interventions for postnatal depression can be beneficial in the short term but this benefit is not superior to spontaneous remission in the long term. In their research Cooper PJ. et all. used routine primary care, non-directive counseling, cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychodynamic therapy. They found that all chosen treatments had a considerable impact at four months on maternal mood but only psychodynamic therapy reduced depression significantly.The last kind of therapy focused on patient's experience and bygone conflicts of childhood and adolescence. All benefits of the treatment were not longer by nine months after delivery and did not reduce of recurrent episodes of depression in long-term perspective. These scientists urge that postnatal depression is associated with adverse child cognitive and socio-emotional outcome (2003). They found that early psychotherapeutic intervention had the short-term benefit to the mother-child relationship and i nfant behavior.In summarizing of foresaid we could said that the treatment of mood disorders in puerperal period includes two main components: medical interventions and psychotherapy. The choice of the methods and their combination depend on the severity of signs and risk of the recurrence of mood disorder. Women with mild disturbances of mood (postpartum blues) do not need specific treatment. This condition typically resolves spontaneously during first weeks.Because the medical interventions are not the subject of our competence we will focus on the findings in the field of psychotherapy. This approach is especially useful in women with mild or moderate severity of postnatal depression. The most of authors recommend group psychotherapy (cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal therapy), but individual therapy is effective too. These methods can be combined with educational programs. O'Hara MW. and his coauthors evaluated efficacy of different methods of psychotherapy for postpartum d epression. They proposed interpersonal psychotherapy as the method of the choice in treatment of postpartum depression.They found that â€Å"interpersonal psychotherapy reduced depressive symptoms and improved social adjustment, and represents an alternative to pharmacotherapy, particularly for women who are breastfeeding†. We can see that the main benefit of psychotherapy is absence of adverse effects of taking medications. But in severe cases of postnatal depression or when patients do not respond to non-pharmacological treatment and in all cases of postpartum psychosis the pharmacological treatment is indicated.The prevalent forms of psychotherapy in the postnatal depression include cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy. Both individual and group therapy can be used. All types of non-pharmacological treatment are effective in mild and moderate severity of the depression.Untreated mood disorders place the mother at risk for recurrent disease. Furthermore, maternal depression is associated with long-term cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems in the child. One of the most important objectives is to increase awareness across the spectrum of health care professionals who care for women during pregnancy and the puerperium so that postpartum mood disorders may be identified early and treated appropriately.Effective pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies are available. Every approach has the advantages and demerits. But to compare their effectiveness we need better-designed clinical trials and the unification of the approaches to the examining of the effectiveness of individual treatment components. Selecting the optimum treatments for women with different background and severity of the postnatal depression should be evidence-based and take into consideration the possibility of long-term effects of the mood disorder. References: 1.Clark R, Tluczek A, Wenzel A. (2003) Psychotherapy for postpartum depression: a preliminary report. Am J Orthopsychiatry. Oct; 73(4) p. 441-454. 2.Cooper PJ, Murray L, Wilson A, Romaniuk H. (2003) Controlled trial of the short- and long-term effect of psychological treatment of post-partum depression. I. Impact on maternal mood. Br J Psychiatry. May; 182: p. 412-419. 3.Dennis CL, Stewart DE. (2004) Treatment of postpartum depression, part 1: a critical review of biological interventions. J Clin Psychiatry. Sep; 65(9): p. 1242-1251. 4.Dennis CL. (2004) Treatment of postpartum depression, part 2: a critical review of nonbiological interventions. J Clin Psychiatry. Sep; 65(9): p. 1252-1265. 5.Hofecker-Fallahpour M., Zinkernagel-Burri C., Stà ¶ckli B., Wà ¼sten G., Stieglitz RD., Riecher-Rà ¶ssler A. (2003) Gruppentherapie bei Depression in der frà ¼hen Mutterschaft Erste Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie Der Nervenarzt Sep.; Band 74, Nummer 9; S.: 767 – 774 6.Murray L, Cooper PJ, Wilson A, Romaniuk H. (2003) Controlled trial of the short- and long-term effect of psychological treatment of post-partum depression: 2. Impact on the mother-child relationship and child outcome. Br J Psychiatry. May; 182: p. 420-427. 7.Nonacs R, Cohen LS. (1998) Postpartum mood disorders: diagnosis and treatment guidelines. J Clin Psychiatry. 59 Suppl 2: p. 34-40. 8.O'Hara MW, Stuart S, Gorman LL, Wenzel A. (2000) Efficacy of interpersonal psychotherapy for postpartum depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. Nov; 7(11) p. 1039-1045. 9.Reck C., Weiss R., Fuchs T., Mà ¶hler E., Downing G., Mundt C. (2004) Psychotherapie der postpartalen Depression Mutter-Kind-Interaktion im Blickpunkt. Der Nervenarzt. November Band 75, Nummer 11 S.: 1068 – 1073 10.Seyfried LS, Marcus SM. (2003) Postpartum mood disorders. Int Rev Psychiatry.   Aug; 15(3) p. 231-242.

The Decline Of The Roman Empire Essay - 2032 Words

By the seventh and eighth centuries, the Roman empire had undergone a series of cultural changes, including an influx of Germanic tribes, political reforms, and most of all, the rise to prominence of Christianity. These social changes have prompted a historical debate over when the Roman Empire fell. According to the Belgian historian, Henry Pirenne, the Roman empire did not die in 476 AD as many of his nineteenth and early twentieth century colleagues maintained. Instead, Pireene argued that Rome did not fall in the West until 600 when the Muslim faith threatened lands in western Europe. This threat prompted a cultural and geographical shift from a dominant Holy Roman empire, to a land divided among the Christians in the west, and the Muslims in the east. This separation of religious practice, according to Pirenne, was the downfall of Roman unity in Europe. However, due to similarities the in legal, economic, social, and philosophical structures of the Christian and Islamic cultur es, the only significant difference between the two political bodies were their religious practices. Because of these similarities, had the church and state not been so closely linked, the two religions could have coexisted, and the Roman empire would not have split. Similarities between the Christian and Islamic powers began with the rise of each religion. Both Islam and Christianity in Europe began with conflict among those who believed in a secular God, and those who did not. It isShow MoreRelatedThe Decline Of The Roman Empire1463 Words   |  6 PagesWhat were the most important reasons for the decline of the Roman Empire? Why? The fall of the Western Roman Empire is a very broad topic because there were a multitude of continuous events that led to the disappearance of one of the most legendary empires of the world. The seemingly unstoppable Roman Empire would fall due to the fact that many aspects that made Rome such a dominant empire began to fade. Rome was the center of the world and the thought that such a power in the world could decreaseRead MoreThe Decline Of The Roman Empire Essay1768 Words   |  8 Pages The Roman Empire was or could be one of the greatest empires to have ever existed to this day. Just like many empires the Roman Empire fell to betrayal, religion, and war. Lasting from 27BC to 1453 the Roman Empire to me is the most interesting empire to talk about. When you take any history class that explores times outside the US, you hear about the Roman Empire being involved some way or somehow. The Roman Empire history can go on for days. I will pack most of the history into a small 5 pageRead MoreThe Decline Of The Roman Empire1020 Words   |  5 Pages Emperor reforms, outside invasions and financial weakness ultimately caused the decline of the Roman Empire in the West, because each of these events chipped away at the center and the longevity of the Roman Empire from 180 AD to the early fifth century. After the death of the last of the five good emperors, Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD, the Roman Empire began to form into a military monarchy, which was not based on prior lineage but loyalty to the army. The familial aspects of choosing the next emperorRead MoreThe Decline Of The Roman Empire1437 Words   |  6 Pages It is incredible how once the most dominating Empire in the ancient world declined and fell apart so suddenly. The Roman Empire lasted from 31 BCE to 476 CE and controlled most of the Mediterranean world. It was founded when Augustus Caesar converted the conflicted and split Rome into an Empire. At one point, it was the greatest Empire with extraordinary power†¦ But then everything changed. This is due to multiple issues within Rome itself and outside of it as well. First of all,Read MoreThe Decline Of The Roman Empire2298 Words   |  10 Pagestheories on the decline of the Roman Empire and whether or not it completely fell. There are many differe nt theories why the Roman Empire collapsed and what caused it to happened such as military failure, invasions of Barbarians, political problems, economic problems, and the spread of Christianity. Prior to the invasion and fall of the Roman Empire, the economy was crumbling and Rome was headed into a decline. The Empire split into two empires, the Byzantine (Eastern) and the Roman (Western), inRead MoreThe Decline Of The Roman Empire1845 Words   |  8 PagesThe decline of the Roman Empire marked an end to an age of peace and prosperity. Between the years 121 AD to 161 AD, Roman society was ruled under the â€Å"five good emperors† Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. Embodied with a wealth of wisdom and competence, the emperors brought Rome to its height of territorial expansion and stability. As the third century rolled around, the empire succumbed to a state of chaos and instability. Under the rule of the barrack emperors, RomanRead MoreThe Declin e And Fall Of The Roman Empire913 Words   |  4 Pages A consistent measure throughout all history has been that all great empires fall. Many theories have been given to why the empire fell, but Gibbons famous book, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, provides reasoning for what we consider as why Rome fell. Even though there was an inconsistency of leadership, the main reason for the decline of the Roman Empire was due to the size of the empire. Supporting Gibbons reasoning, Rome fell because the immense size was too large to control, leadersRead MoreDecline And Fall Of The Roman Empire1310 Words   |  6 Pagesthat the Roman Empire was the greatest Empire in history. They destroyed their enemies and took their land. They had control of the Mediterranean Sea and all of the trade that went through it. Places like the Pantheon were constructed and laws such as stare decisis were created. The Roman Empire was an empire that many people wanted to live under. Then, like all empires eventually do, it fell. Looking at history, there are nine possible reasons for the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. The firstRead MoreThe Decline Of The Roman Empire930 Words   |  4 PagesThe Roman Empire is considered one of the most successful civilizations in the history of the world for many reasons, and because of the large number, the fall of the empire becomes much more interesting. The dominance of Rome at its time wasn t by accident. Various reasons for its success, such as the army, the daily life and the Pax Romana, left a blueprint for how to rule the world. These reasons leave many learners questioning how it could possibly cease to rule for longer than it did. ConspiracyRead MoreThe Decline Of The Roman Empire797 Words   |  4 Pages As the Roman Empire was closing out the end of the third century they were faced with both internal and external concerns (Irvin, History of the World Christian Movement, 160). Some of the contributing factors to the rise of Constantine begun with the wars with the Persians that they were facing, in addition to managing the northern Germanic tribes which contained many of the Roman military resources (Irvin, History of the World Christian Movement, 160). As the Roman Empire began working with some

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Does Democracy Promotion Also Promote Peace - 2222 Words

Does Democracy Promotion Also Promote Peace? Introduction: That democratic nations are more peaceful than any other regime type has been a topic of debate for many years. From Kant to Clinton, political thinkers and statesmen have hailed democracy as a weapon of peace. In this essay, I will discuss the definitions of democracy and peace, the democratic peace theory, and the reasons why democracies are more peaceful and thus how promoting democracy is a means to promoting peace. What is Democracy? There are multiple definitions of democracy, yet some of the common aspects of democracy are considered to be universal adult franchise, right to personal freedoms and liberties, and leaders of the executive competing against each other in an†¦show more content†¦Russett (1996) defines democracy for modern states ‘democracy is usually identified with voting franchise for a substantial fraction of citizens, a government brought to power in contested elections, an executive either popularly elected or responsible to an elected legislature, often with civil liberties such as free speech. Democracy has its roots in liberalism and these two words often go together. Most democracies are to some degree, liberal. In a liberal democracy, the public have individual rights and freedoms, everyone is viewed as equal and has equal opportunities for growth and development. Individual freedom and equality of all people are the basic foundations on which a democracy is built Freedom of speech and the ability to elect popular leaders keep the state healthy. A liberal democracy, with central characteristics of individual freedom, universal adult franchise and involvement in decision making through representatives needs to be encouraged to promote peace. How do you define Peace? To start with, two compatible definitions of peace: †¢ Peace is absence /reduction of violence of all kinds †¢ Peace is non-violent and creative conflict transformation For both

To Toll or Not To Toll Free Essays

Various public facilities have important uses aside from revenue generation of the government. Like the tollgates, these facilities serve for the conduct of checkpoints, safety for the commuting public and substantially generate government revenues. On the contrary, tollgates are also criticized as the bottlenecks of traffic as vehicles lined up at the maximum or minimum performance of the tollkeepers. We will write a custom essay sample on To Toll or Not To Toll or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the State of Connecticut, the Federal state and local governments plans reinstalling tolls on its highways. Several perceptions insinuate that causes of road accidents were due the absence of tollgates. It could be for the reasons that tollgates would slow down the speed of approaching vehicles as tollkeepers manning the traffic congestion from entry and exit lanes. This position paper will discuss and examine several points of considerations relating the reinstallation of tollgates in the State of Connecticut. Discussions It has been earlier reported in the 1980s that the removal of toll booths in the State of Connecticut have subsequently attributed to several road accidents that accounted about seven people who crashed and died at the Stratford tolls. In brief, Connecticut had more than 100 private turnpikes which were built from the period 1790 to 1850. The popularization of automobiles in the mid-20th century resulted to renew toll-backed financing to finance highways. In the 1990s to early 2000, technology plays a vital aspect in toll innovations through the introduction of electronic toll collection machines. Based on the May 10th 2009 news item ‘Toll proposals to be discussed at Thursday hearing’ by Martin B. Cassidy from the electronic publication of The Advocate, the Chairman of the Transportation Strategy Board Kevin Kelleher stated that â€Å"all the tolling concepts would use an EZ-Pass system†, referring to the system that would collect or tabulate fees from cars traveling at a speed of 55 miles per hour and up (1). Corey Sipe (2006) in his article at Associated Content electronic publishing has discussed the analysis of James J. Fazzalaro of the office of Legislative research which cited that one-way gateway toll fees at $1. 00 could generate $58 million in revenues (1). Meanwhile, the web site of BethelRepublicans. Org (2009) has published ‘Opposed to Tolls on I-84 in Danbury’, implying that toll should not only be implemented to generate revenues but also to promote efficiency. Further, it reported that Connecticut Republican Senator Michael McLachlan pointed out on the issue of traffic congestion during a forum held at Western Connecticut State University on March 26th 2009. As cited from the article of BethelRepublicans. Org (2009), it quoted Senator McLachlan who said that â€Å"drivers are trying to avoid the I-84 tolls by rerouting in community areas† (2). In which case, rerouting in the residential community areas congest the traffic of small roads in Danbury and residents could be prone to accidents. It may be acknowledged that Senator McLachlan has raised a considerable point not only on the issue of traffic situation but as well the public safety, in which could pave the way in the implementation of the tolling system. Despite the concern of Senator McLachlan, it was also pointed out that travel time, gas consumption and toll fees could be an added expense to reconsider (2). Indeed, many motorists tend to shorten their travel time and avoid the additional expenses for gas and toll fees. Moreover as previously covered in the article of Martin B. Cassidy (2009), the implementation of congestion pricing addresses the issue of efficiency. According to Cassidy (2009), the South Western Regional Planning Agency Executive Director Floyd Lapp commented that the state should use congestion pricing (1). It can be explained that â€Å"congestion pricing† is the process of charging distinctly separate toll rates on â€Å"peak or off-peak† travel time schedules. Also, the toll rates can be implemented in two ways, namely â€Å"static pricing† is attained in periodic intervals on a monthly or quarterly basis with published toll rates adjustments, while â€Å"dynamic pricing† can be implemented by using â€Å"electronic traffic sensor system† to monitor the volume of traffic and automatically adjust the toll rates. Early this year, the Associated Press in its electronic news has published ‘Report Pending on Highway Tolls in Connecticut’ with reference to the $1 Million research contract which was engaged by Connecticut Transportation Strategy Board (CTSB) with Cambridge Systematics, Inc. (CSI). The Associated Press has implied the result of the research-study could be the turning point to realize the seemingly idyllic yet pending developments on the tolling project implementation. However, the Associated Press quoted that â€Å"it is still doubtful whether the CTSB would be supportive of CSI’s findings and propositions† (1). On the following month after the comments of Associated Press, the year 2009 report of the Cambridge Systematics, Inc. (CSI) was then submitted to Connecticut Transportation Strategy Board (CTSB). The report which entitled: ‘Connecticut Electronic Tolling and Congestion Pricing Study’ was an independent technical study that formulated the strategic and feasible options in the implementation of the toll project. To generally describe the report, it contained variable conceptual framework on how the toll project can be effectively implemented and efficiently perform for public good, together with financial indicators that indicates the cost benefits of the state. Overall, the report has extensively presented the financial viabilities that comprised the operational components. As cited, the CSI report has highlighted the following findings (2): †¢ The New Toll Express Lanes require construction of new lanes and tolling, such as express lanes: A-1: Interstate 95 (Branford to Rhode Island State Line), and A-2: Interstate 84 (Waterbury to New York State Line); †¢ Conceptually, every users pay toll in spite of the occupancy levels and types of vehicles; †¢ Neither access strip would produce traffic congestion, estimating from 6. 2 to 13. 8 percents decline of vehicles for every hour of delay, which shall be implemented at â€Å"I-95 and I-84† toll projects within one year period exclusive of new lanes. CSI (2009) has further presented the estimated revenue generation within a 30-year target, as shown in the illustration below: How to cite To Toll or Not To Toll, Papers

Critical Review of Global Issues

Question: Discuss about theCritical Review of Global Issues. Answer: Introduction Two events on a global scale have taken place which will have implications on the businesses in Australia. The first event is the slowdown which has taken place in China along with the crisis that has occurred in the confidence of the Chinese investors. As per a new report of the IMF, it is expected that a crackdown that has taken place on cheap credit in China will cause a reduction in the Chinas real GDP growth rate to 6.8% in the current year from the 7.4% which was there last year. This is expected to weaken the demand for the commodities of Australia, thus impacting its business (IMF, 2016). The second event is the relationship that Australia has with Indonesia which very recently had an impact on the import quota of live cattle. Indonesia has cut its import quota in relation to the live cattle from Australia. This quota was reduced to only 50,000 head of cattle and instead of the expected figure of 500,000-600,000 cattle it is expected that the figure will be 200,000 less in th e coming year (Owens, 2015). This paper will be assessing the impact of the two events on Australian businesses to figure out the one which has the greatest importance. Chinese Economic Situation The economy of China with low economic growth is undergoing a tough phase of transition. In 2015, the Chinese economy at 7% registered its lowest growth in 24 years. The slowing down of the potential economic growth of China is in line with the economic law. The economic growth of the country has turned from a high rate of approximately 10% to approximately 7% which can be considered a moderate rate. If the structure pertaining to the essential factors is analysed, it indicates that changes have taken place in the demographic population with the decrease the total population in the working age, contributing negatively to the economic growth. This results in lower saving rates and the contribution of capital accumulation to the countrys economic growth starts to decline. This weakens the comparative advantage with respect to labour that is enjoyed by the country for producing goods, causing substantial slowdown of export trade (Li, 2015). As per the comparative advantage theory, it is sensible for a nation to produce the goods which it has the ability of producing most efficiently and buy from the other nations, the goods which it produces less ef ficiently (Hill et al., 2015). The progress technologically and labour capital have remained stable in the short-term causing the total factor productivity to become slow. The contribution of the Chinese service industry to the GDP has increased, making it a leader in case of economic growth. As the labour productivity is less in it in comparison to the secondary industry, the rate of economic growth decreases. The stock markets of China have fallen as the overall economic growth has slowed down and both the economy as well as the stock market cannot remain disparate for long (Jericho, 2015). The Impact of Chinese Situation on Australian Businesses and Trade The economic downturn of China and the prospect of weak growth worldwide related to it are posing a threat to stall the global progress (Harlan, 2016). China is the biggest trading partner of Australia and thus the economic fortunes of Australia are linked to China very intrinsically particularly after the free trade agreement which was signed between the two nations in the latter part of the previous year (Ma, 2015) . China happens to be Australias top export destination with exports worth $82.9 billion in 2014 (OEC, 2015). Although the plunge in the stocks of China is expected to have smaller direct impacts but the slump in the economy and the demand for the Australian goods and services will have greater effects on Australias economy (Jericho, 2015). It will also have an adverse affect on the prices of commodities especially the ones significant for Australia (McKenna, 2016). Among the primary reasons for the economic slowdown in China is the restructuring occurring within the economy. The economy of China is changing from being export-oriented wherein it was producing for being consumed by other nations to an economy of domestic consumption. The Government is trying to end inequality of wealth by shifting it to the middle class resulting in high disposal incomes of the middle class. The Australian businesses can take advantages of such a scenario. Even though the traditional focus of the trade relationships of Australia have been on commodities like iron ore, the new situation brings in more opportunities for the companies of Australia. Growth opportunities are large in a number of other industries like retail, real estate, services and tourism that match restructuring and growth of the Chinese economy (Ma, 2015). Australia-Indonesia Relationship In 2014-2015, the cattle exports from Australia to Indonesia amounted to A$1.35 billion (ALEC, 2016). However, the export industry was surprised when Indonesia slashed the quota for the Australian cattle. As per the Australian Livestock Exporters Council, the quota was done by 250,000 in comparison to the previous quarter. One of the reasons for this is thought to be the frosty relationship between the two nations which had suffered recently due to execution of two drug smugglers from Australia by Jakarta and allegations paid by Canberra in turning the asylum-seekers to Indonesia again mostly a result of the close geographical proximity of the two nations. Another reason is the attempt of Indonesia to develop self sufficiency. However, currently, this is likely lead to cattle shortage in Indonesia, reduction in number of slaughters and rise in beef prices (Owens, 2015). The comparative advantage theory can explain this trade relationship between Australia and Indonesia also. Australia produces cattle more efficiently and in surplus amounts which it can export to Indonesia while Indonesia is not self sufficient and efficient in the production of cattle which it can therefore import form its neighbour Australia. Importing it from other nations like Brazil which have surplus production would involve high costs of transportation. This is in accordance to the Heckscher and Ohlin theory as per which it is argued that comparative advantage is a result of differences that exist in the endowment of national factors. Countries will thus be exporting those goods which can make intensive utilisation of the factors that are present in abundance locally and import the goods which make intensive utilisation of the locally scarce factors (Hill et al., 2015). Impact of the Australia-Indonesia Relationship on Australian Businesses and Trade Till recently, Indonesia was the biggest market for live cattle export from Australia and this industry provided employment to thousands of Australians. Of all the imports from Australia, a mere 6% was amounted by live cattle as well as meat which are about one-fourth of imports of Indonesia from Australia. 40-65% of the live cattle are exported to Indonesia which is approximately 20-30% of the beef consumption of Indonesia. These exports are equal to 0.2% of the total exports of Australia related to goods and services. Even though the exports are very small in respect to the entire Australian economy, it has regional significance particularly in Western Australia and the Northern territory which account for 35% and 40% respectively of the live cattle market share and Indonesia has a heavy reliance on Australia in this category (The Conversation, 2013). Additionally, the cattle export industry provides support to almost 11,000 jobs which will be affected by the ban (Alford Franklin, 2011). This scenario can be viewed as a positive one also for Australia. The reduction in the exports of live cattle will mean that more of it will be available for domestic consumption and at lower prices. Besides this, Australia can think in terms of exporting live cattle to other nations in the region such as Vietnam. Australia can also adopt certain more labour intensive aspects for processing the beef and then exporting it which would free the resources for food production of other types in which other Asian nations might be having a competitive advantage. The beef producing market could make additional contributions of $204m to the economy of the regional. This would also create additional jobs (ACIl Talsman, 2012). Conclusion An analysis of the implications of both the global events on the Australian businesses and trade show that the slowdown in China is likely to have greatest importance for the businesses and trade of Australia as in terms of volume China is the leading trading partner of Australia. Australia has also signed a free trade agreement with China recently. Australia will have to look to make investments in the sectors of China that are undergoing restructuring and have potential of growth rather than the energy sector which is currently the main one. As far as the quota cut for cattle export to Indonesia is concerned, Australia can always make efforts to find new nations for its products or increase the domestic supply or even start processing the beef and exporting it. This way the people of this industry will be able to retain their jobs. References ACIl Talsman, 2012. An economic analysis of the live exportation of cattle from Northern Australia. [Online] Available at: https://www.rspca.org.au/sites/default/files/website/Campaigns/Live-export/Live-exports-vs-the-meat-trade/ACIL%20Tasman%202012%20-%20Economic%20analysis%20of%20live%20cattle%20exports.pdf [Accessed 5 September 2016]. ALEC, 2016. Livestock Export Statistics. 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