Bond Financing in Gulf Cooperation Council Essay

Bond Financing in Gulf Cooperation Council - Essay Example Bonds are generally referred to validity periods over 10 years and below this period it is referred to as notes. This distinction has disappeared except in the US market. Gulf Co operation Council (GCC) countries traditionally have been dependant on bank loan debt financing for their financial needs. In the past decade globalization has necessitated the widening of horizon and bond financing is increasingly growing in these markets. Emirates group has been innovative in its financing option. Considering the changes in the world economy and responding to the new opportunities Emirates has been the first company to issue bonds in UAE. Their first bonds were issued in July, 2001 for Dhs 750 million, which was over subscribed by 2.5 times (Annual report, 2001-2002). This also has the credit of the first few bonds to be launched in local currency and listed in Dubai financial market. It has proved to be a stepping stone in restructuring the Dubai financial markets. One of the problems in GCC countries to access new financial instruments has been absence of credible credit ratings. UAE central bank had taken an initiative to award sensible credit ratings to outperforming UAE companies. Emirates received a "zero" risk weightage and hence increased credibility and reduced under writing costs during the bond issue. The costs and benefits of Emirates bond issue should be understood in the context of their long term strategic goal. At the time when Emirates issued bonds, they had surplus cash flow and were not in a crunch to raise money. They have taken considerable risk to launch bonds with attractive offering to customers. As per a General Manager in the Emirates Bank Group "EK has priced its bonds at 70 basis points over Emirates Interbank Offered Rate (EIBOR); which is generous compared to the terms at which EK has been raising money in the past from the financial institutions. EK has sweetened the deal by offering attractive interest rates and incurred legal costs and fees and this connotes that this is more of a strategic decision and augur well; in that it has an ambitious expansion plan for extending its service to several long haul routes and aircrafts to reach out to the Americas and Australasia" (Kumar, 2001). As per the company's financial reports, 2001-2002, net proceeds from issue of bonds were equal to AED ('000) 1,495,188. As per Note 15 of their annual report borrowings bonds were netted as in Table 2. As per the table below and the note by Emirates Banking group GM, Emirates has incurred heavy expenses on issuing bonds. These expenses have over weighted the competitive advantage benefits gained by raising finance by issuing bonds. 15. Borrowings and lease commitments - non-current 2002 AED'000 2001 AED'000 Lease commitments (Note 17) 3,570,994 3,179,142 Bonds (see (a) and (b) below) 1,495,188 - Term loans (Note 16) 40,378 30,128 Dnata account (Note 18) 69,873 70,471 5,176,433 3,279,741 (a) Bonds at face value 1,500,000 - Less : Unamortised transactions costs (4,812) - 1,495,188 - Emirates have used the funds raised by Bonds to fund their ambitions of

The recession & economy Essay Example for Free

The recession economy Essay In order to understand the recession that the economy is going through, it is important for us to take note of the meaning of debts in the corporate world. We can look at the stock market as a big debt market where people buying stocks are in effect â€Å"loaning† money to companies for them to use. Of course, the rate of return of these loans is different from the typical kind as the stock buyer can gain or lose significantly based on the company’s future capacity to pay. Therefore it is intuitive to say that if buyers fear that they would not gain from buying stocks, they would have no reason to do so. As Cook reports, this is precisely the situation where the United States Economy is in at the moment. Government and corporate spending has reached an alarming rate investors no longer believe that their debts can be repaid (Cook). Furthermore, Cook explains that the boom of the market in China and the perpetual pull of Middle Eastern oil magnates have added to the U. S. economic strain. When put together, these are what make the components of the current economic recession. To solve such a vast problem, it is important to go to the source: money. Giving tax cuts would not solve the problem simply because even if interests are down, the public doesn’t have faith in the economy enough to invest. In fact, the Federal Reserve has just recently tried this and it proved to be a very temporary solution. Government spending is just way too high and we are not getting any returns from places where we are spending money the most, Iraq. Unfortunately from an investor’s point of view, backing out of Iraq seems to be a losing bargain. According to Gordon (27), we have simply invested too much into it to get nothing in return. My solution would be to step up operations in extinguishing all rebel forces. As soon as this is done, we can start forging economic alliances that could tie the Iraqi oil reserves to our economy. Oil-rich middle and southern Iraq could greatly increase our economic position and jolt the market back to life. I believe that this is the best way to solve the problem. Works Cited Gordon, Thomas. The Economics of the Iraq Post-War Occupation. Rudyard Books, N. Y: 2006 Cook, Robert. It’s Official: The Crash of the U. S. Economy has begun. Global Research Jun 14, 2007, Jan 25 2008 http://www. globalresearch. ca/index. php? context=vaaid=5964

Free Essays: Imagery in Ghost House :: Ghost House Essays

Imagery in Ghost House    Robert Lee Frost was born on Mars 26th 1874 in San Francisco and he died in Boston, January 29th 1963. Frost was greatly influenced by his move to New England at the age of 11, his move to England when he was 37, and then his return to New Hampshire a couple of years later. These periods can be seen in his poetry. His poems about life and death made him one of the best-known poets of 20th century and he won many literary prizes, including four Pulitzer Prizes. Frost wrote poems whose philosophical dimensions transcend any region. Although his verse forms are traditional, he was a pioneer in the interplay of rhythm and in the poetic use of the vocabulary and inflections of everyday speech. His poetry is both traditional and experimental, regional and universal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The main reason why I chose Robert Frost’s poem is because his poems are pretty simple and easy to understand. The poem I picked for this analysis, â€Å"Ghost House†, is an extremely descriptive poem illustrating an old haunted house. The imagery in â€Å"Ghost House† is marvelous. This poem allows the reader to see the house as if they were standing on the front porch.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   You can picture an old decrepit house, covered with vines and wild raspberries. There is a dying tree in the front yard with only one live branch on it. Underneath the tree there are two gravestones so covered in moss that the names cannot be deciphered. Right next to the gravestones is a ghostly couple standing middle of mist absolutely still and silent. On the front porch the current owner stands frozen, half by fear and half by curiosity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The poem is told through the eyes of the current resident of the house. The owner scared of his uninvited company. However, the owner’s opinion of the couple seems to change towards the end of the poem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The theme of â€Å"Ghost House† seems to be that love can survive anything, even when the body does not. Although the couple has passed away they still remain together. Another theme in this poem could be not to judge a book by its cover. At first the house’s owner seems to fear the ghosts, but he eventually comes to respect the bond that they still share.

Reaction Paper: Prenatal, Infancy, Middle Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood Prenatal Development

Development is a lifelong and dynamic process that follows highly definitive processes from conception to old age. Basic themes developed in childhood are transferred or modified through the development stages unto adulthood. The prenatal development as covered by Gregoire & Jungers is extremely crucial for child development specialists or counselors.The developments that occur even before the birth of a child have profound influences on the health and well being of the individual as the process of growth and development continues. In the chapter, â€Å"Prenatal Development† the authors highlight physical, cognitive, emotional and social gains that is made.According to the authors, physical and behavioral characteristics are influenced by genetics and the environment. Prenatal development is further subdivided into three distinct categories based on the duration and the associated developments in pregnancy.For instance, between week one and week three marks ovum period, week f our to eight marks the embryo period and week eight onwards marks the fetal period(Gregoire & Jungers 115).During the ovum period, implantation of the fertilized egg occurs followed by the formation of the neural tube. Most organ systems begin forming in the embryonic period. Development of organ systems precedes both in a cephalocaudal and proximodistal direction.During this period of development, the only risks to normal development are the teratogens. The understanding of the risks to prenatal development is useful because it aids the mother in making decisions aimed at avoiding events, activities or nutrition that may negatively impact on the health and development of the fetus.Some of the teratogens as listed by the author include any substance that may cause structural damage to the unborn such as drugs, environmental pollutants, alcohol, infectious diseases, diet and other factors related to psychological health like stress and anxiety. However, there are other factors that m ay also directly affect the physical development at the prenatal phase.The prenatal phase of development is defined by some authors as the period between conception time and birth. In normal circumstances, this duration typically lasts 38 to 42 weeks. During this entire period rapid changes accompany the transformation of fertilized egg, to zygote and eventually to a baby.It is only during this phase of development that systemic growth occurs so rapidly in the absence of any form of direct external influences. Any influence to the unborn is transmitted via the mother. Due to the rapidity of growth and development coupled to the vulnerability of the unborn to deleterious external influence, the prenatal phase demands strict medical management (Curtis & Newman 58).The authors succeed in presenting a critical analysis of the prenatal stage of development; however the presentation is highly complex and extremely modeled for the sole benefit of counselors. The text may not be appropriate from child development specialists without an advanced level of professional or academic achievement.During the prenatal stage of development, all activity takes place in the uterus. The behavior of the unborn can only is described through the experiences of the mother. Mothers possess an extraordinary sensitivity to the movement of the fetus.Based on the descriptions of these movements, the behavior of babies is described as being active or passive. They are active when they are kicking or rolling while when they are quiet their behavior is described as being passive.Fetal movements are more noticeable from the sixteenth week towards the twentieth week. By the seventh month of pregnancy, eyelids open. Taste and smell also develop. Studies have also established that grasp reflex also exists in utero.InfancyAfter the birth of an infant, the development domains necessarily expand from the biological aspects to other domains that had earlier on been less important. Thus, Gregoire & Ju ngers begins the analysis of the stage of infancy by looking into the physical, cognitive as well as the socioemotional domains that categorically characterize the changes and transitions that will occur during the entire lifespan of an individual.The first noticeable changes at infancy are the reflexes fundamental for survival and adaptation to the new environment. As development progresses, other some reflexes are maintained while a select number are discarded due to their non-importance in survival and adaptation.Some of the survival reflexes that the author notes include; rooting, breathing, papillary, eye blink and sucking while the primitive reflexes may be observed as swimming, stepping, plantar, babinski, startling and palmar(p. 114).Just like in prenatal development, motor and physical development proceed via the cephalocaudal and proximodistal patterns. Motor developments allow the infant to accomplish the raising of heads and chest followed by sitting, crawling, standing and eventually walking. Between eleven to fifteen months, many infants begin to walk unaided.Fine tuning of motor skills allows them to perform tasks such as uncoordinated reaching and grasping using their palms. Later on coordinated reaching and grasping is observed as the infant learns to use thumb and the forefinger.As these motor developments become more and more apparent other physical developments in seeing and hearing also becomes noticeable. It is at this time that sensitivity to sounds becomes evident. As such they can be soothed, distressed, or even alerted via the influence of varying frequency or rhythms of tones.Through auditory developments, infants learn how to discriminate between non speech sounds and speech sounds and even begin to show preference for human voices and by extension, ton specific human voices. Moreover, attachment and temperament attributes begin to not only determine their bonding with closer carers but also how they behave and respond to the enviro nment.Gregoire & Jungers, posit that during infancy emotional development is externally affected by the nature of parent's responsiveness and that over a period of time self regulation among infants is internalized. It is also during the same time that gains in self awareness are achieved.In a nutshell, infants learn of their own existence as distinct beings and as they begin to discover how to interact with their environment they realize that their actions possess predictable results. At the later stages, they gain knowledge of their own physical composites (p. 119).According to Christiansen et al, infancy extends to toddler hood and is associated with cognitive, sensory and musculoskeletal development. Social and emotional gains are also made. By early infancy, differences in temperament and personality become manifest. These character attributes are modeled by genetic and environmental factors which directly influence early social development (Christiansen et al 49).These first e ighteen months after birth characterize the beginning of communication, the acquisition of walking skills and use of hands for grasping and reaching and the child's relationship with the social environment. With rapid physical growth, motor and sensory fine tuning, the impacts of cultural, social emotional and cognitive influences become integral in development.Middle ChildhoodBy middle childhood, sense of identity as reflected through play activities, gender roles, and family relationships can be observed. Even though physical growth can easily be measured, rapid development in social skills, linguistic skills and cognitive gains are even more compelling.It is at this period that imaginary and physical play, self care activities, school and family chores and responsibilities emerge to demand the child's concentration (Christiansen et al 48). According to Gregoire & Jungers, this period ranges from six years to eleven years and is marked by great strides in cognitive development. It is also at this period that children are exposed to peer and other social sphere influences (124).Children demonstrate an extensive knowledge of language. Gains and use of vocabulary, grammar as well as pragmatic skills are astounding. After mastering good grammar correcting of grammatical mistakes, these young learners then begin to communicate with regard to context. Code switching enables them to adapt their linguistic skills to the persons they are communicating with.Gains on self concept can be observed when children start to make social comparisons and interpret their behaviors and abilities in relation to their social environment. During middle childhood children demonstrate very high esteem which later drops off to realistic levels.This leveling off of self esteem is only possible after children succeed in incorporating feedback about their competency in relation to that of other peers or other individuals in the social environment.On the emotional scale, self conscious emo tions develop as children begin understanding the concept of personal responsibility. By learning to interpret how others are feeling or thinking, they understand other people's perspectives. These developments are further buttressed by emotional self regulation which is linked to a variety of social functioning aspects.Pre-schooling and schooling increases the importance of peer associations in middle childhood. Through peers they learn socially appropriate behaviors and emotions such as empathy, sympathy and shyness.Since children only make friends with other children identical to them in terms of gender, race, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, achievement, popularity and social behavior, peer associations became incredibly important in modeling their behavior and cognitive gains.The importance of middle childhood developments cannot be underrated as some researchers point out. Middle childhood activities can be used to predict adult work competence. Peer relations in middle c hildhood may be used to predict early adulthood involvements in romantic relationships(Huston & Ripke 25).In a nutshell, middle childhood is characteristic of a stage where individuals continually refine motor skills, focus on academic and/or school related tasks while at the same time nurture peer relationships that would become very useful not only in adolescence but also in early adulthood.AdolescenceAccording to Copher & Mortimer, adolescence marks the development period when individuals establish identities. This stage of development is often associated with significant emotional strain as individuals are forced to model themselves into who they think they are and what they hope to become as they progress to adulthood.Identities are basically grounded on relationships, roles, status and character traits. Character trails can either be classified as behavioral or psychological attributes. In the western world, adolescence as a stage is conceptualized as experimental, carefree an d playful. As these adolescents mature into adulthood, the conceptualization changes to being independent, hardworking, responsible and productive.It is important to note that the author restricts this classification to Western conceptualization since these definitions vary the world over with regard to the cultural, social and even legal context. These asynchronies attribute to identity conflicts and status inconsistencies among different social institutions(http://family.jrank.org).Typically, adolescence occurs between the ages of 12 to 19 years. The period is characteristic of hormonal changes. The pituitary gland releases growth hormones which stimulate the release of a wide variety of other homes by different glands in the body.These hormones aid in body growth and sexual maturation. Key aspects of sexual maturation include the release of androgens and estrogens which trigger sexual maturation.Physical changes in the body as manifest in the growth and maturation of reproductive organs and other secondary sexual features also signify sexual maturation and finally, spermarche in boys and menarche in girls are directly related to pubertal changes.There are other physical developments that are not associated with sexual maturation   but which can also be observed during adolescence. For instance, as opposed to childhood, a reversal of cephalocaudal growth occurs. Release of thyroxine by thyroid glands results in height and weight gains.These developments can be measurably be seen as broadening of the boy's shoulders and girls hips, increase in the growth of legs, feet and hands. Boys increase muscles while girls accumulate more fat. Gins also occur with respect to the improvement in motor skills which vary between the sexes.On the cognitive development front, adolescents develop the capacity to engage in abstract scientific thinking but this does not necessarily imply that such individuals find it much easier to plan and make everyday decisions. Peer associ ations lead to the formation of cliques. Peer affiliation, conformity and peer pressure also increases during this development phase(Gregoire & Jungers 130).Adolescents are always in search of autonomy and their emotional development is characterized by the same. While early childhood is almost supremely influenced by the family, peer influences rival family influences in adolescence. Thus, even though parent-child relationships remain crucial, conflicts between adolescents are their parents are not unusual occurrences.Huge gains in cognitive development imply that many adolescents can engage in operational thought hence they may often recognize multiple choices that are available to them. Some choices may not be optimal. Problems in decision making are attributable to this multiplicity of choices.Since adolescents have to make decisions in a dynamic sociopolitical world with varying traditional expectations, economic upheavals and contemporary conditions, there are times when the d ecisions made may be grossly inappropriate. In fact, a majority of the changes related to sexual maturation and hormonal changes also reflect on physical and motional status of the adolescents.In preparation for adulthood, adolescence marks the period of educational attainment while at the same time working to attain considerable financial health. However, for a majority of youth, adolescence which comes with increased risk taking creates several youth problem behaviors like substance abuse and delinquency.Problems with the law may also arise due to engaging in legally prohibited activities like smoking and drinking. Play in adolescence assumes a structured and formalized nature hence music, competitive sports, dances and a host of other group experiences. Social relationships are nurtured because of their importance. Productive pursuits like volunteer activities and work are taken up by some individuals and such pursuits may last a lifetime.

Fox and Coyote and Whale

Native American traditional stories, folktales, are stories passed down from generation to generation by story telling and performance. Native Americans emphasized the importance of living in harmony with the naturual world. They had complex religious beliefs, sophisticated poltical systems, and strong morals. Some of the stories are creation myths, tales of heroes, and tricksters. Trickster tales are stories that have animals or human characters who engage in deceit, violence, or magic. Often trickster tales are said to explain why the world is the way it is.â€Å"Coyote and the Buffalo† and â€Å"Fox and Coyote and Whale† are two trickster tales, retold by Mourning Dove, explaining how Coyote's action created changes in the world. In theses two trickster tales, Coyote, the main character shares some similarities in morals, character, and transformation . Yet there exsists differences in how these traits are presented. One similarity between these two trickster tales i s that they both have purposes to teach morals. The moral teaching in â€Å"Coyote and the Buffalo† is to not be greedy.An example would be when Coyote killed the cow for more food because he was tired of eating only the fat. As a result he gets the remains of the cow stolen and is left with nothing. In â€Å"Fox and Coyote and Whale†, one of the morals is not to steal someone's wife.Whale steals Fox's wife and takes her to his lodge which leads Coyote and Fox's wife. Whale ends up getting his head chopped off and thrown into the ocean. They both teach morals, just in different ways. One difference that these two trickster tale have is Coyote's character trait. For example, in â€Å"Coyote and the Buffalo†, Coyote is portrayed as numbskull.Actions like kicking the Buffalo Bull's skull out of revenge, killing the cow Buffalo Bull gave him thinking Buffalo Bull will never know, and trusting a stranger with the little food he had left to take a nap, all make Coyote a numbskull. In â€Å"Fox and Coyote and Whale†, Coyote is smart and thoughtful.When Coyote helps Fox outsmart the water maidens, into telling them where Fox's wife was located, they go on a journey to recapture Fox's wife from Whale. Even tho Coyote in one tale contrasts Coyote's character from the other they both did well people. Coyote from â€Å"Coyote and the Buffalo†, got out of dieing by offering Buffalo Bull new horns.Buffalo accepted, so it was a win-win situaton for Coyote. In the other tale, Coyote helped find Coyote's wife by decieving the water maidens, and getting information before killing them. This helped regain Fox's wife's love.The coyote in these tales had diiferent mentalities from one another, one being an idiot and one being smart. Another similarity that theses tales have is that they both explain why the world is how it is. For example, in â€Å"Coyote and the Buffalo†, when Coyote gives Buffalo Bull new horns, they become the horns tha t all buffalos would have from that point on.Also, when Coyote kills the cow that was given to him by Buffalo as food he decides to go back to Buffalo to ask for another one but the cow that Coyote killed returned from the dead and refused to go with coyote again and Buffalo denies him another one.This explains why there are no buffalo in the Kettle Falls on the Columbia Rive, all because of Coyote. In â€Å"Fox and Coyote and Whale†, Fox and Coyote go after Fox's wife who was taken by Whale. After Fox and Coyote rescue her, Fox's cuts off Whale's head and tosses it into the ocean.This is why there are no whales in the rivers, and Whale could no longer make love to the wives of other men. This trickster tale also explains why Land people and Water people don't like each other. Coyote plays a role in how everything changed and how everything transformed.From reading both trickster tales, I learned that by decieving people you can get things out of them. These tales defenitely taught many moral, such as respect the dead, don't take what you have for grante, the importance of familiy and fidelity, ect. It gave a background on how the world transformed.

Gender and Sex Tourism

Gender and Sex Tourism Introduction Tourism that is based on gender and sex has become one of the hottest topics in social studies that have aroused interest in many researchers who wish to find out the relationship between the two and the reasons for its development.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Gender and Sex Tourism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Tourism has developed as a phenomenon since the 19th century when it was first organized by Thomas Cook from a tour to cure curiosity by the rich into an activity that is currently affordable by almost all classes due to the different packages that come with it. Different places in the world attract different types of tourism from sightseeing to sports tourism and many other forms. Tourism has been further developed by globalization, which can be described as the integration and interaction of the people of the world on different platforms at the global level through government relations, business, and education among other activities aided by information technology. Eroticism tourism has also emerged among many other forms of tourism attractions. It has found a place in such places like Amsterdam and other cities in the South American States. The Dominican Republic has come out as one of the best-known sex haven tourism spot in the world. The study therefore finds out the contribution and views of Dominican women towards sex tourism and the masculinity of tourism as a factor. Effects of Globalization and Tourism Gregory’s work reveals the impact of globalization on â€Å"the lives of real people, communities, and nation states† (2007, p. 245). Globalization has developed in recent times due to the information technology explosion that has seen the whole world interconnect seamlessly with so much ease. The development of the internet technology has led to an easy and faster communication processes, which has enabled the whole world to access and exchange information over the internet in real time. Therefore, the internet can be credited with the fast growth of globalization due to its conveyor effect to information from one point to the other. Globalization has also been accentuated by the liberalization of almost all the economies of the world with capitalism taking the center stage as the most preferred form of the economy by world countries. Capitalism leans heavily on independence of the mind, which can further be described as liberalism. It allows parties to engage their ideas on the economic scale liberally without being constrained by such issues like social ethics. According to Bear, Freedom is associated with specific forms of capitalist activities (n.d, p 4.).Advertising Looking for critical writing on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Globalization and Neoliberalization have changed the living conditions of the poor by fur ther marginalizing them and subjecting them into mere survival and existence. Although globalization has made the world become seamless with easy movement and interaction of people in the world, it has made it more difficult for the lower class to go up the ladder because it only provides a thriving environment for the ‘have’ who in turn use their economic advantage to exploit the ‘have not’. According to Gregory, in his book The Devil Behind the Mirror, he explains that an average Dominican family toils and survives on less than $2 per day yet Western tourists pay $200-$300 per night for an endless supply of food. Such inequalities are the epitomes of globalization, which thrives on capitalism. Under such circumstances, men and women of society are forced to struggle to survive. This survival ends up being survival for the fittest. Women in this case are the most vulnerable. They are forced into commercial sex activities to earn a living for themselves and for their families. Acceptance of this practice is what has fuelled sex tourism in countries like the Dominican Republic. Role of Dominican Women Statistics indicate that an average of 60000-100000 Dominican women engages in prostitution, which is a great attraction to sex tourists. The Dominican Republic has been christened as the Thailand of the West in terms of sex tourism. It is neither legal nor illegal to practice prostitution in this republic leaving it ‘open’ to individuals to decide for themselves. Dominican women have played a big role in promoting the sex tourism business of their country. They are known to package and or advertise themselves as beautiful, sexy, and ready to fulfill sexual satisfaction of their clients. The biggest notion that has made the Dominican Republic thrive as a sex tourism destination is that its women are beautiful, sexy, and cheap. To add onto this issue, most Dominican women practice prostitution as an accepted social practice.Ad vertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Gender and Sex Tourism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the Dominican Republic, it is easy to pick a woman off the streets and pay her for sex especially if one is a foreigner. Foreigners are known to pay much more for sex in relation to locals. The attraction that drives Dominican women to tourists is the generosity that tourists have when it comes to spending on them and the fees that they are ready to pay for the sex, which are premium rates. The picture of desperate Dominican women struggling with poverty has been one of the greatest contributory factors to sex tourism in that poverty has led them into descending into prostitution. The availability of prostitution on demand and at every corner has given the country a name as a sex tourism destination and hence a great attraction to tourists who want to satisfy their pleasurable desires. Dominican Republic is one of So uth America’s poor countries with very low literacy levels. It main stay economic activities like agriculture does not pay well with most of the agricultural industries that used to run the economy closing down or going under the privatization hammer. Poverty leads to women moving from their villages to the city to earn whatever living they can afford. Due to lack of education and a limited number of employment opportunities, they end up in the bars and clubs of the city from where they become available for prostitution. Most of the women in Dominican Republic are single mothers and heads of their households. Therefore, they have to provide for their households. These women earn much more working with tourists than when working in factories and hence the reason why so many of them can be found in tourist spots (Gregory 2007, p.34). Although some of them are not in the sex industry, it is difficult to differentiate them because the hospitality industry encourages them to provi de all the services the tourist might demand. Women always play subordinate roles to men. This nature of submissiveness has seen them become vulnerable members of the society in danger of exploitation by other men and women who run prostitution rings. Masculinity of Tourists Masculinity of tourists is one of the biggest catalysts for sex tourism in the Dominican Republic. Masculinity in this case can be described in two forms the first one being the masculine nature of the tourist or simply male desires of the tourists. The second one is the economic power that the tourists wield over the locals.Advertising Looking for critical writing on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Dominican Republic has been structured by a history of colonial legacies that led to unequal social strata after the colonialists had gone (Appadurai, 1990, p. 55). Combining this issue with unequal economic and political relations leaves the majority of the people of the Dominican Republic with little control over their social political affairs. The old age social practices left behind by colonialists have left the women in the Dominican republic a vulnerable lot who have to live outside the accepted ethics for them to survive. This challenge has therefore left many of them with no option other than to turn to tourism. The location of the Dominican Republic close to the United States of America has made the country easily accessible to tourists chasing eroticism. Most tourists coming in from the West are well off enough to afford the adventures offered by the Dominican tourism packages because they are cheap compared to other exotic destinations in the world. The ability of man y budget tourists or backpackers to afford to come to the Dominican Republic has risen the profile of sex tourism because it come in as one of the cheapest forms of pleasure one can afford. The tourism masculinity has adopted an oriental form of discourse that tends to follow into the footsteps of the main driving forces of the tourism destination (Said, n.d, p. 48). Tradition in the Dominican Republic has been sold to foreign corporate interests who come in to do business under the license of investors. Foreigners who market businesses to their fellow nationals with promises of bottomless erotic pleasures to be offered own most of them (businesses) in the tourism circuit in the Dominican Republic. They go ahead to employ beautiful Dominican women as waitresses to serve the clientele that will be coming in. The masculinities of tourists, which can be described as male tourists therefore feed on the availability of Dominican women who earn more by working with tourists than by workin g with companies. In this case, most tourists coming are male tourists specifically seeking eroticism. Imperial masculinity, as brought about by tourism thrives on gender, racial, national, and class differences. It subjects women to subordination towards men. Most Dominican women working in the tourism industry are poor. They try to find prospects from the tourists as a source of a better life. Tourism offers some women hope of finding love and marriage to able foreigners who will take them out of their country and or poverty to new prospects of a good life. The economic power of male tourists is able to buy any activity from a woman. How do women challenge this representation? There have been concerted efforts by women scholars to dispel the picture of Dominican women as being a sex market for tourists. These efforts have been in the line of academia from where female researchers have tried to paint a different picture of the Dominican sex industry. In doing this effort, they have tried to explain the set up of the situation by showing that it is beyond these women’s will to engage in the practice. They have blamed the matter on globalization and the liberalism associated with it. To prove their point, they have come up with examples of how globalization has opened up other closed cultures like those of the Indian women into a form of eroticism liberalization. Women tend to be the main subjects in this case because they are portrayed as the weaker sex between them and men. Thus, when it comes to survival, women tend to struggle a lot to survive (A Biocathography, n.d, p. 197). In her book, Reworking the National in Global Capitalism, Bear paints a picture of how women in Kolkota embrace any prospects that can better their lives. In her opinion, gender plays a big role in defining roles in society. More often, women are always disadvantaged when it comes to them competing with men. Although such scholars have come out to the defense of women, the defen se has been found to be largely hypothetical because it picks from the minority of the group as the representation of the whole group. To most women on the ground, prostitution has been embraced as a source of income that has changed the cultural set up of the community to fit into the changes brought to the community by globalization. As much as academicians try to paint a picture of an enforced practice because of poverty and other challenges, ethical morals of the community have been left open because prostitution in the Dominican Republic is neither legal nor illegal. Conclusion Sex tourism has cut a niche for itself as a form of tourism that is able to move the economy of a given country forward. In countries like Netherlands, it is an organized business that formally pays tax from its income. Thus, its illegitimacy is relative to ones ethical subscriptions. Women tend to be affected most in the case of sex tourism, as they are the most targeted for sex by men who make up the m ajority of sex buyers. Reference List A Biocathography (n.d). Maids, Neoslavery and NGO’s. New York: Word Press. Appadurai, A. (1990). Disjuncture in the Global Economy. London: Sage Publication. Bear, L. (n.d). Rewriting the National in Global Capitalism: Freedom and Consumption  in the Lives of International Call Centre Workers in Kolkata. Oxford: Oxford UP. Gregory, S. (2007). The Devil Behind the Mirror: Globalization and Politics in the  Dominican Republic. London: University of California Press. Said, A. (n.d). Orientalism: Introduction. London: Sage.

An Analysis of Jamacian Fragment Essays

An Analysis of Jamacian Fragment Essays An Analysis of Jamacian Fragment Essay An Analysis of Jamacian Fragment Essay Rhetorical Analysis of Jamacian Fragment by Al Hendricks. The Jamaican Fragment is a story about a man, who during his regular walk to and from work encounters an irregularity he views as an act of inferiority. We can assume that the Jamaican Fragment is a real life experience, rather than a piece of fiction due to first person writing style. In the first paragraph the author uses visual imagery by describing the colors of the houses as well as the bungalow style house, which presents as the setting. We can start to conclude that the author is ethnic himself or very familiar with differentiating ethnic characteristics. In psychology we learn that the race we are born of, makes us better able to distinguish features and characteristics amoung our own culture. People often struggle distinguishing key characteristics in other races, ethnicities, and cultures. So when Hendricks refers to the one little boy as a â€Å"little Jamaican†, he is presenting us with the idea that he is ethnic. It is important to take notice of the fact that Hendricks may be of Jamaican descent as in the next line in the above mentioned sentence he calls the little boy a â€Å"strong Jamaican† and this sets the tone for the writer’s stance. Hendrick outlines his passion for his race as a â€Å"strong† race as opposed to weak and inferior. The definition of prejudice according to the Merriam Webster dictionary is as follows â€Å"a (1): preconceived judgment or opinion (2): an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge . † Prejudice is a very controversial topic in our society that often incites anger and defensiveness in people. Hendricks essay Jamaican Fragment is a well written personal descriptive essay that addresses the idea of prejudice employing irony and humour so that the reader remains open-minded. Hendricks’ simple, relaxed style helps assist the reader through the story without preconceived notions or prejudices towards other ethnicities. There are several figures of speech used to entice the reader and the reflective mood of the essay allows us to reflect on our own thoughts and hopefully come to the same conclusions around prejudice. Hendricks’ style of the essay is very important in terms of what he wants the reader to experience and how he wants them to experience the story. Words that I would use to describe the tone would be casual, curious and ironic. The author uses everyday language to create the casual tone such as â€Å"The other little fellow was smaller, but also sturdy – he was white, with hazel eyes and light-brown hair. † (362) This casual tone permits everyone to read this essay; there is no prejudice against an educated or uneducated audience. The sentence structure used is also simple and casual. â€Å"For a whole day I puzzled over this problem. †(363) This excerpt from Jamaican Fragment is an excellent example of the curious tone that utilizes in this essay. He is taking the reader on a journey of self-discovery. The reader is also curious as to the game the children play, could it really be a game of inferiority? There is also a strong sense of irony throughout the entire essay, it is my belief that the author uses an ironic tone to further his argument around prejudice enable the reader to learn a moral lesson. â€Å"The exercise is good for me and now and then I learn something from a little incident†(362), is an example of Hendricks’ using foreshadowing as a literary technique. We know that he is going to learn something and we know by the end of the essay that â€Å"little† is very much an understatement. â€Å"How silly grown-ups we are, how clever we are, how wonderfully able we are to impute deep motives to childish actions! How suspicious we are when have been warped by prejudice! â€Å"(364) This illustrates the ignorance that Hendricks employs and the relationship between ignorance and prejudice. He also uses exclamation marks to emphasize the enormity of his misjudgment. Syncrisis is a figure of speech in which opposite things or persons are compared. (the free dictionary). Hendricks’ uses syncrisis throughout the essay â€Å"young vs old† and black vs white†, this technique is used repetitively because Hendricks has a us vs them defence. He believes that he has been wronged by judgement and â€Å"them†. â€Å"Was there really some difference between a white man and a black man? Something that made the white superior. †(363) This is a good example of the author using a literary device called pathos . Hendricks wants to incite passion into the reader, he feels incredibly passionate about his feelings around prejudice. â€Å"Were we as a race really inferior? So inferior that even in our infancy we realized our deficiencies, and accepted a position as the white man’s servant? † (363) The author is asserting his own point of view here, wresting with their world perspective on injustice. There’s a sense that the author feels inferior as a black person due to the last sentence, even if he doesn’t want to feel that that way, perhaps because of his light tone? In the last paragraph Hendricks reveals the truth around the game to a white man standing on his porch, he soon discovers that the man is the father of both boys and a partner in an interracial marriage. Obviously some humor here, the author makes assumptions (of course which is one of the toxic elements in racism, prejudice, stereotypes, and injustice) about another person’s point of view (which is what he did with the boys) and although he has good intentions, he is again surprised because the thought of a racially mixed family (the next step toward an egalitarian and tolerant society) had not crossed his mind. Irony strikes again. Assumptions and ignorance is what encourages prejudice and although this is what he is passionate against he becomes the bearer of such conclusions. Through Hendricks’ self-discovery around the â€Å"game† we are able to see how quickly people are apt to jump to conclusions feeding prejudice. What is social equality and how does this change come about? Education is the key to this problem and Hendricks urges the reader to become educated and learn a very important moral lesson.