Friday, January 24, 2020

Power of Knowledge Essays -- Education

The Power of Knowledge "Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of every progress." This quote from Kofi Annan, a diplomat of Ghana involved with the United Nations, directly correlates with an overall theme found in Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington. This autobiography clearly depicts trials and tribulations that confronted Washington, but not one of them is ever noted as anything less than a learning experience. Washington's passion for learning enabled him to surpass boundaries perceived by those who allowed themselves to merely become victims of their circumstances. He looked at the struggles that faced him as opportunities to become a stronger and more confident person. Success did not come easily for this man, but through a series of events and obstacles he was able to create a success all his own. Having an education that is furthered by schooling is important, but Washington's life is proof that the power of knowledge can also be notably attained through makin g the most out of life and all that it has to offer, good or bad. Booker T. Washington's views on education enlighten viewpoints surrounding the controversial topic of placing a higher value on education or experience. As today's society heavily focuses on schooling, it is important to remember that lives are not solely based upon that aspect. A combination of both education and experience are necessary to achieve the highest level of success. Education is a good foundation, but without experience limits are placed on how much a person can achieve. Likewise, without the foundation of education a life full of experiences can be unstable. A common consensus has yet to be agreed upon for this ongoing debate over whether educa... ...s as a testament to how pivotal both schooling and experience are. With a balance of the two, he could best shape all that he knew and all that he had into usable material that would best benefit his life. Works Cited Baym, Nina, Wayne Franklin, Philip F. Gura, and Arnold Krupat. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th ed. Vol. C. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2007. Print. Boud, David, and Ruth Cohen. "Experience-based Learning." Understanding Adult Education and Training. By Lee Andresen. 2nd ed. Sydney: Allen and Unwin. 225-239. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. Savery, John R., and Thomas M. Duffy. RLT. Tech. no. 16-01. Indiana University, June 2001. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. . "What Is Experience-based Learning?" Starting Point. Carleton College, 11 Apr. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. .

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Identify Major Features of the Latest Two Cepas and Comment on Their Possible Impacts

Assignment7 – Identify major features of the latest two CEPAs and comment on their possible impacts. The Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) is the first free trade agreement ever concluded by the Mainland of China and Hong Kong since 2003. CEPA opens up huge markets for Hong Kong goods and services, greatly enhancing the already close economic cooperation and integration between the Mainland and Hong Kong. It is also a win-win agreement, bringing new business opportunities to the Mainland and Hong Kong.For Hong Kong, It provides a window of opportunity for Hong Kong businesses to gain greater access to the Mainland market. It also benefits the Mainland as Hong Kong serves as a perfect â€Å"springboard† for Mainland enterprises to reach out to the global market and accelerating the Mainland's full integration with the world economy. As the supplements’ titles imply, we can generally conclude that the major features of 11’ s and 12’s will be deepening the liberalization of trade in services and boosting access to Mainland market for Hong Kong service industries respectively. Supplement VIII to CEPA (deepens liberalization of trade in services)Supplement VIII to CEPA provides for a total of 32 services liberalization and trade and investment facilitation measures, including 23 liberalization measures in 16 service sectors, and strengthens co-operation in areas such as finance, tourism, innovation and technology. Both sides also agreed to enhance origin criteria under trade in goods, and relax the definition and related requirements of Hong Kong service suppliers. Of interest to note is that a lot of liberalizations incorporated within Supplement VIII to CEPA were actually touched upon by Vice Premier Li Keqiang.Aside from unfolding a package of 36 measures, the vice premier indicated that the trade in services between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong should be basically free by the end of the 12th Five-year plan in 2015. This is perhaps one of the clearest indications regarding how soon and how far the mainland market will eventually open up for Hong Kong service suppliers and professionals. To cope with the fallout of the international financial crisis, Hong Kong has advocated since 2009 the development of six new industries in which Hong Kong enjoys clear advantages.It is good to know that CEPA, in both Supplements VIII and VII, has incorporated measures geared to assisting Hong Kong service suppliers to gain enhanced access to the mainland market progressively However, the liberalization rate of the Supplement VIII still seems to be not enough and thus it is not so possible to achieve Li’s indication mentioned above. For example: On banking, supplement allows any Mainland-incorporated banking institution established by a Hong Kong bank to engage in the sale and distribution of mutual funds.Yet, it is only for the Mainland-Hong Kong-incorporated banks and they a re allowed to sell and distribute the mutual funds only; On individually owned stores, the number of persons engaged in the operation is only relaxed from no more than eight persons to 10 persons and the business area is only relaxed from not exceeding 300 square meters to 500 square meters; On insurance, the Supplement allows Hong Kong insurance brokerage companies to set up wholly-owned insurance agency companies in Guangdong Province on a pilot basis, however, the applicant must fulfill 4 criteria, such as:  the applicant should have been operating insurance brokerage businesses in Hong Kong for over 10 years.As the over-all liberalization is relatively limited, so the impact of the Supplement VIII will be small to Hong Kong. Supplement IX to CEPA (boosts access to Mainland market for Hong Kong service industries) Supplement IX to CEPA provides for a total of 43 services liberalization and trade and investment facilitation measures, including 37 liberalization measures in 22 se rvice sectors, strengthens co-operation in areas of finance, trade and investment facilitation, and further promotes the mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the two places. Compared with the previous 8 arrangements, the major features and differences of Supplement IX are opener and wider in the different aspects of cooperation, especially in services sector.Not only having a more intensive collaboration in some aspects like business services, financial services and tourism services that are mentioned in those previous arrangements, but also getting a green light for HKSAR to operate benefit-driving social services like residential care services for the elderly and disables. Without doubt, Supplement IX contributes benefits to both China and HKSAR economies. To comment on its impact comprehensively, we will mainly focus on the policies in the services sector. To begin with, CEPA Supplement IX gives benefits to HKSAR, such as helping HKSAR to develop advantages of its services sector before expanding its services sector to other proveniences.According to the arrangement, it states that central government would like to cancel all the barriers, such as the limitation of professionals’ number, identity’s verification as well as the area to run the services for the individual working unit from Hong Kong. Therefore it can give chance to HKSAR to improve its service qualities by enlarging the size of its human capital and operation whatever they want to build up HKSAR brand name via the platform of Guangdong towards the whole mainland market. On the other hand, Guangdong can also absorb the experience such as the division of labor and human capital management of developing services sector with reference to HKSAR’s model taking place there with a larger developing scale so as to improve the industry structure (tertiary industry) and the level of services in Guangdong.Besides, CEPA Supplement IX further liberalized 22 service sector s, including 1 new sector – education services, ranging from professional services to social services. Reducing barriers for the entries to the mainland’s market, it can help HKSAR to develop and promote with more opportunities and also enhance the exchange of idea in between HKSAR and China. Taking an example regarding the education services, China permits HKSAR to operate professional training institutions with a choice in between a single proprietorship, joint venture or cooperation with China. This loosen restrictions can lead to both win-win situation of them as it can help the accumulation of local professionals in mainland and narrowed the differences of professional’s certification in between two regions.All in all, we can see that CEPA does help to reinforce the cooperation between Hong Kong and Mainland China with the progressively loosing policies. And therefore, the impact of CEPA will be sharper and sharper in the future. Yet, in the current stage, there are still many limitations and barriers and thus we deem that the process goes a bit too slow regarding the wish of Li Keqiang that the trade in services between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong should be basically free by the end of the 12th Five-year plan in 2015. Appendix1: CEPA Supplement VIII (cited) Sectors or sub-sectors| 7. Financial services| | B. Banking and other financial services (excluding insurance and securities)| | a. Acceptance of deposits and other repayable funds from the publicb.Lending of all types, including consumer credit, mortgage credit, factoring and financing of commercial transactionsc. Financial leasingd. All payment and money transmission services, including credit, charge and debit cards, travellers cheques and bankers drafts (including import and export settlement)e. Guarantees and commitmentsf. Trading for own account or for account of customers: foreign exchange| Specific commitments| To allow any Mainland-incorporated banking institution established by a Hong Kong bank to engage in the sale and distribution of mutual funds. | Appendix2: CEPA Supplement VIII (cited) Sectors or sub-sectors| Service sectors (sectors not set out in GNS/W/120)| | Individually owned stores| Specific commitments| 1.To allow Hong Kong permanent residents with Chinese citizenship to set up, in accordance with the relevant Mainland laws, regulations and administrative regulations, individually owned stores in all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government in the Mainland without being subject to the approval procedures applicable to foreign investments, to provide the following services (excluding franchising operation):(1) The following items of Packaging Services under the Leasing and Commercial Service Industry: the provision of services of commodities classification, sub-packing and packaging, freshness preservation, labelling, mark-stamping etc. for shopping malls, supermarkets or other custome rs; the provision of goods assorting, sub-packing and packaging services specifically for chain stores or supermarkets; the services of delivery companies (centres) which provide mainly goods assorting, sub-packing and packaging services; the provision of sub-packing and packaging as well as re-packaging services for general products; gift wrapping services. 2) The following items of Office Services under the Leasing and Commercial Service Industry: the design and production services of signs and bronze plaques; the design and production services of trophies, plaques, medals and silk banners. (3) Craft activities which are mainly for the purpose of leisure and entertainment (pottery, sewing, painting etc. ) under Indoor Entertainments. 2. To relax the restrictions on the number of persons engaged in the operation and the business area of individually owned stores set up by Hong Kong permanent residents with Chinese citizenship in all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government in the Mainland:(1) No more than 10 persons should be engaged in the operation of the individually owned stores. 2) The business area for retailing services; food and beverage services; hair dressing, beauty treatment and health care services, bathing services and repair services of home electrical appliances and other goods for daily uses under residents services and other services; import and export of goods and technologies; photography and photographic processing services; washing, cleaning and dyeing services; repair and maintenance of motor vehicles and motorcycles; and storage and warehousing should not exceed 500 square metres. | Appendix3: CEPA Supplement VIII (cited) Sectors or sub-sectors| 7. Financial services| | A. All insurance and insurance-related services| | a. Life, accident and health insurance services (CPC8121)b. Non-life insurance services (CPC8129)c. Reinsurance and retrocession (CPC81299)d. Services auxiliary to insurance (including broking and agency services) (CPC8140)| Specific commitments| To allow Hong Kong insurance brokerage companies to set up wholly-owned insurance agency companies in Guangdong Province (including Shenzhen) on a pilot basis. The place of operation should be in Guangdong Province (including Shenzhen), and the pplicant must fulfill the following criteria: (1) The applicant should have been operating insurance brokerage businesses in Hong Kong for over 10 years; (2) The applicant’s average annual business revenue for the past 3 years before application should not be less than HK$500,000 and the total assets as at the end of the year before application should not be less than HK$500,000; (3) Within 3 years before application, there has been no serious misconduct and record of disciplinary action; and (4) The applicant should have set up a representative office in the Mainland for over one year. | Appendix4: CEPA Supplement IX (cited) Sectors or sub-sectors| 8. Health rel ated services and social services| | C. Social services| | Welfare services delivered through residential institutions to old persons and the handicapped (CPC93311)Day-care services for the handicapped (CPC93321)Welfare services not delivered through residential institutions (CPC93323)Rehabilitation services for handicapped| Specific commitments| 1. To allow Hong Kong service suppliers to operate elderly service agencies in the form of wholly-owned profit-making enterprises. 2.To allow Hong Kong service suppliers to operate welfare services agencies for persons with disabilities in the form of wholly-owned profit-making enterprises. | Appendix6: CEPA Supplement IX (cited) Sectors or sub-sectors| 5. Education services| | A. Primary education services (CPC921)B. Secondary education services (CPC922)D. Adult education services (CPC924)E. Other education services (CPC929)| Specific commitments| 1. To allow Hong Kong service suppliers from Hong Kong to set up international schools on a w holly-owned basis in Qianhai and Hengqin. Their target students may be expanded to cover children of Chinese nationals residing abroad and of returned talents after studying abroad who are working in Qianhai and Hengqin. 2.To allow Hong Kong service suppliers to set up business-based training bodies in the Mainland on a wholly-owned, equity joint venture or contractual joint venture basis. | ——————————————– [ 2 ]. Refer to appendix 1 [ 3 ]. Refer to appendix 2 [ 4 ]. Refer to appendix 3 [ 5 ]. Refer to appendix 4 [ 6 ]. Compared with the previous arrangements ,including CEPA 8, regarding the treatment to Hong Kong permanent residents have services taking place in Mainland China, there are numerous limitation for their development’s scale ranging from limitation of professionals’ number to the size of their services’ environment. In CEPA 8, the number upper li mitation of professionals and working area are 10 and 50 m3. [ 7 ]. Refer to appendix 6

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

How the American Revolution Changed American Society Essay

The American Revolution changed the political and social aspects of the United States. After the war ended many things changed in the states. From the political stand point women still had power but gained a few rights after the war and since the states where now free from British rule they could now create their own form of central government and elected a leader. On the social and economical side the belief of egalitarianism was widely being accepted, and mercantilism ended so the colonies were no longer forced from imported and export goods to England. With British rule out of power the newly united states could create their own form of central government. When the Americans where building a new governments for themselves they all†¦show more content†¦American women remained both politically and economically inferior. Nevertheless in embracing the ideals and responsibilities of a republican government, Americans were adopting a powerful, new ideology, and their experimen t in statecraft became a model for many other countries. From the social viewpoint the war changed the lives and rights of women all across the United States. Many of the husbands left to fight in the Revolutionary war leaving countless women in charge of farms and businesses, roles which they were not accustomed to. Although the war did little to change women’s rights, in some states it did become possible for women to divorce and in new jersey women even obtained the right to vote which was way out of the ordinary in that time. Before the war both men and women viewed the wife as an obedient and serving spouse that raised the children and took care of the house. But the revolution encouraged people of both genders to reconsider the contribution of women to the family and society. The Revolution had many affected more than just the political and social aspects of American life; it also impacted its economy. After being tied to the British navy for over a century the American trade was on its own. Even though the Revolution disrupted the traditional trading system,Show MoreRelatedHow the American Revolution Changed American Society Essay1189 Words   |  5 Pages1763 to 1789 the American Colonies underwent a radical transformation into an independent self governing nation. British debt accumulated from the French and Indian War brought colonists into conflict with the mother country over a variety of social, political and economic issues. However, the outcome of the American Revolution was not a radical departure from America had been prior to 1763 but later, with the introduction of the constitution, developed unto a revolutionary society. 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