Archives November 2012

The Effects of Post-Industrialism on the Political Economy of Western Europe the Decline of Corporatist Bargaining The sustained, high economic growth in Western Europe during the post-war period until 1973 led to dramatic changes in the region's political economy. As advances in transportation and communication extended the reach of international trade into 'hew areas of the world, as technological advances allowed establishment of manufacturing facilities overseas, and as European real wages climbed to unprecedented heights, the industrial base that had served as the foundation for rapid Western European growth in the 1950's and 1960's increasingly moved to Western Europe's poorer neighbors. As the industrial base moved, so did the jobs of a large quantity of unskilled manufacturing workers who populated the assembly lines. In recent years, the liberalization of international trade has clearly demonstrated that European industry can no longer compete in traditional, large-scale industrial sectors. European successes have increasingly more...

Of all of nature's forces that exist hurricanes could be considered one of the most powerful of all these forces that can cause tremendous amounts of destruction is such a little amount of time. A hurricane is a powerful whirling storm of winds that measure 200-300 miles in diameter. Hurricanes are an area of low pressure that forms over the oceans in tropical regions in either the North Atlantic Ocean or eastern North Pacific Ocean. In the west Pacific Ocean hurricanes are called typhoons and in the Indian Ocean they are called Cyclones. Hurricanes develop from easterly waves that over the oceans warm waters. These easterly waves are long narrow regions of low pressure that occur in ocean winds called trade winds. The waves may grow into a tropical depression, which are winds from 1 to 31 miles per hour. Then they can grow into a tropical storm, which are more...

Much of the development being made is based on the use of increasing amount of raw materials, energy, chemicals and synthetics. The scale and complexity of our requirements for these resources have increased greatly with the rising levels of population and production. Indiscriminate industrial expansion to cater to the growing needs, without much attention being paid to its back-lash created in its wake, pollution, and subsequently environmental degradation. Notwithstanding the role of chemicals in improved health and life expectancy, increased agricultural production, enhanced economic opportunities and the quality of life in general, the products and residues of the chemical industry pose unprecedented risks to human health and environmental quality. The Indian scenario ol chemical industries sector looks grim with the industrialists often going in for outdated low efficiency processes and technologies associated with higher levels of pollution. Pesticides like DDT, BHC, etc, which were banned or obsolete in industrialized countries more...

Liberalization has seen India rushing to import products which are already in its manufacturing range. Et has no major or even medium-tech industrial products that can be sold abroad competitively either in terms of innovativeness or quality. Exports largely consist of raw materials and labour-intensive and even drudge intensive products. The competitiveness of Indian product today is based mainly on low wages. This is a dwindling asset as shown by Japan, South Korea and Singapore. To be competitive, a country has to be competitive in innovation, in technology, in technical skills/ in organizational ability and in efficiency. Innovation and creativity can be brought in by motivated persons with talent. To be competitively salable in the world market an industrial product must be: (a) Innovatively designed. This needs investment in re- search and translating a good idea into a usable product. (b) Fully developed, so that the product is reliable, of more...

Acid rain pollution comes in various forms. Whether it's toxic waste, CFC's, or sewage, they are all hazardous to the earth. These can deplete the earth and its inhabitants of resources, causing a harmful change. A product of pollution is acid rain. We shall see that acidification is harmful to all forms of life. Acid rain is any form of precipitation that is polluted by sulphur dioxide (S02), and nitrogen oxides (NOX). This acid precipitation can be in the form of rain, snow, sleet, fog, or cloud vapors. The acidity of substances dissolved in water is measured by their pH levels. Normal precipitation pH levels fall between 5.0-5.6.2 When levels fall below these numbers, then the precipitation is said to be acidic. There are two ways in which acid deposition can form. The first way occurs when nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide land on the Earth's surface, and interact with more...

Statistics: It is said that black money in India accounts for 20 % of GDF. If this is true, then black money generated every year must be around Rs 400,000 crore or $ 80 billion. This is a huge amount, more than the entire budget of the government at the Centre. We have a government that spends about Rs 350,000 crore a year, most of it on itself, and asks for accounts of every paisa. On the other side, we have black money worth Rs 400,000 crore every year, which is just guesswork, and there are no accounts. This money goes into property, which is why real estate prices are so high, and of course five-star hotels. If the government could have all this money, or even a small fraction, there would be no need for revenue or fiscal deficits, and no need for huge borrowings to make two ends more...

An ordinary person may consider meditation as a worship or prayer. But it is not so. Meditation means awareness. Whatever you do with awareness is meditation. "Watching your breath" is meditation; listening to the birds is meditation. As long as these activities are free from any other distraction to the mind, it is effective meditation. Meditation is not a technique but a way of life. Meditation means 'to join together or to yoke’, it describes a state of consciousness, when the mind is free of scattered thoughts and various patterns. The observer (one who is doing meditation) realizes that all the activity of the mind is reduced to one. A Tibetan Lama was being monitored on a brain scan machine by a scientist wishing to test physiological functions during deep meditation. The scientist said - "Very good Sir. The machine shows that you are able to go very deep in more...

A sample slum project should act as an inspiration for eradicating the plight of millions of slum dwellers in India. The project may have brought about qualitative changes in the lives of lakhs of slum dwellers, but an estimated 45 million people continue to live in sub- human conditions in thousands of slums across the country. They do not have access to many of the basic necessities of life. This despite the fact that they live amid an ocean of plenty and prosperity. This is a major cause for major concern as slum dwellers not only form a significant proportion of the total population but also play a significant role in the urban economy. By providing cheap labour for the construction work, selling green vegetables to the urban health-conscious citizen, pulling rickshaws where public transport is not available, and providing cheap domestic help are some of the major economic functions more...

Smoking is a rising problem these days. 'One out of three people who use tobacco will die from it.' Nearly 3,000 young Americans each day become regular' smokers- Of these, 1,000 will die early from tobacco-related diseases- More Americans die due to complications from smoking than from any other major killer such as AIDS, car accidents, drug abuse and homicide. Why do so many people continue to smoke when they know the possible risks involved? Many have become addicted to cigarettes because of the addictive substance, nicotine, which cigarettes contain. How much did tobacco companies know about this addictive substance and what is their defense for making addicts of their customers? Also, do people realize how much money they are actually spending on cigarettes? The reason for such and addiction is tobacco, which contains a very addictive substance Nicotine. Nicotine, the chemical substance found in tobacco leaves, is recognized as more...

Team Rodent For nearly seven decades Corporate Disney has dazzled its audiences; generation after generation have been entertained through avenues ranging from movies to elaborate theme parks. While many find this massive establishment to be a significant part of American culture and welcome the Disney spirit with open arms, one man in particular looks past the hype and into his own theory of the Disney Corporation. Carl Hiaasen, a journalist for the Miami Herald, paints a witty and sarcastic portrait in this nonfiction account of a company, Hiaasen criticizes the company for manifesting evil, enveloping perfection to a sickening extent, and whose sole purpose is to inhale as much money as feasibly possible. The book opens with Times Square-an area home to many things: MTV, Morgan Stanley, and the world’s largest Mariot Hotel, the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, and Peep Land, as well as the glittering new Disney more...