The Country Development: Nepal

The Country Development: Nepal Shangri-La, the Kingdom of the Himalayas, Gateway to Everest. Few places on Earth are as idealized in the West as Nepal. Upon arriving in the ancient capital of Kathmandu, Nepal is very likely to take your breath away. But this would be the smog fumes mixing with the chemical smell of city-urchins snorting glue, and not the view of the mountains. Particularly since the Himalayas have not been visible from the Kathmandu Valley for decades. Wiping away the rose hued glaze of applied mystique , the Nepal that remains is one that grapples daily (beginning at five am, an hour after the street dogs cease baying and an hour before the autorickshaws begin coughing) with a headlong rush into the modern world whilst trying to actually develop along the way. Nepal is running away from its past with great determination and no destination. From 1996 to 2006 this running was often done at gunpoint. In February of 1996, Maoist rebels launched an armed struggle to replace Nepals constitutional monarchy with a communist republic. Given Nepals endemic Royal corruption, caste and ethnic discrimination, deep rural poverty , and a near total concentration of power and wealth in the Valley, the Maoists call to rewrite the nation resonated across the plains, the hills and the mountaintops, affecting all segments of the Nepali population. By the time that decade had run its course, 300 years of Nepalese monarchy was abolished and a Communist dominated parliamentary system was established. The Maoists introduced, often under duress, a multitude of measures aimed at addressing centuries-old, deeply-rooted forms of discrimination. The long standing feudal-caste system was dismantled and in parallel, a representative form of governance was introduced. Th e Maoist period also brought great social change as an embracing of ones ethnic identity was encouraged. For the first time in millennia, gender roles were questioned as the insurgency actively promoted female involvement on the frontlines. A closer look at the Maoists social oratory of hope and glory reveals, as is often the case, that all is not well for social development in Nepal. After the cessation of major violence in late 2006, poverty mitigation programs became a center talking point in all the newly-established political parties agendas. However, in harmony with most agenda goals in the Nepalese parliament, the key authorities stopped short of the necessary strong monetary commitment to both implement and monitor these programs. The social investment policy neglects the development of human capital by passing up the chance to create opportunities for future social development. Considering the poor to non-existent results from both targeted regional programs and broad national endeavors, thus far all available data supports the assertion that government social policy has thus far failed to increase economic opportunities for Nepals poor. Another integral and highly divisive socioeconomic issue that remains unso lved is the expansion of employment programs, including the incorporation of former insurgent combatants into the military. Lastly, Kathmandu has been tepid at the best of times in including conflict-ravaged populations into social and economic life. The question remains however, as to the state of the economy they are being reintroduced to. Even the most rudimentary grasp of numbers allows an observer to comprehend the principle issue of the Nepali economy. Agriculture. It has been the mainstay of the economy for millennia, and is now fatally out of step with the demands of the 21st century. Agriculture provides livelihood to approximately 80% of the population and accounts for almost half of the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Geography has not been kind to the idea of farming , and only 16 percent of the total land is arable. While agriculture employs more than two thirds of the people and takes up almost half of the GDP, Nepal has the lowest per capita arable land in the world. Food production in almost entirely confined in the south, in the narrow belt of what was once jungle and is now flatlands that borders India known as the Terai. Cultivation in more mountainous regions (which is to say the other 84% of Nepal) is mostly for subsistence. The fifth five-year plan, beginning in 1975 was the first in which agriculture beyond preventing starvation was given top priority. In order to increase agricultural production and diversify the farm base, the government began to focus on improving irrigation facilities, providing credit to and encouraging farmer to use imported, high yielding varieties of seeds, fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides, etc. However the complete lack of a transportation system designed to move quantities of food (or anything else for that matter) stymied the government efforts. Nepal also suffered near-catastrophic environmental collapse in the 1980s due to the absence of the requisite training in the aforementioned chemicals. The net result of these actions was that crop production grew at a dismal rate of 2.4%, failing to keep pace with the population growth rate, which began at 2.6% per annum. The degradation and divergence would not be correct in the years before civil war broke out and only began being redressed in late 2008. In addition to agriculture, Nepal has a very limited industrial base that constitutes 20 per cent of the GDP. Most of those industries are agro-based industries like rice and tea. The majority of Nepals fledgling industrial base is dependent on imported raw materials, primarily from India. These manufactured goods are almost entirely small scale, local cottage industries. In Nepal, the term capital goods is quite literal, as whatever intermediate or capital goods are produced are locked up (quite literally) on the eastern plains of the Terai or in Kathmandu. However, Kathmandu is only the capital as long Nepal remains both a nation and a state, and given the political climate that threatens to wash away both of those concepts, a closer look at the Nepali government is warranted. Politically, post-Maoist Nepal is defined by the fact that it is dependably unreliable. Indeed, Transparency International ranks Nepal 153th out of 180 in the organizations most recent Corruption Perception Index. This is reflected in the difficulties Nepal has had in writing a constitution. After establishing an interim constitution in 2007, the Constituent Assembly (CA) was slated to draft a permanent constitution within in a year. In late May of 2012, the CA was dissolved having extended the constitution writing deadline four times without a constitution being written. The country is now cast into even deeper political and legal uncertainty. By May of 2012, after squandering half a decade, the four major parties had come together in compromise on almost all issues. The issue that sent fissures through the CA and ultimately broke the government was whether or not the country should be divided into federal states along ethnic lines, as opposed to the 14 administrative zones, done fo r purely bureaucratic reasons that presently exist. Baburam Bhattarai , the current prime minister, has called for a new CA to be elected on November 22nd 2012. Effectively, this election stands to be a vote on the polarizing and highly volatile issue of ethnic federalism. Much of this uncertainty stems from the fact that in the span of 20 years, Nepal has gone from centuries of absolute monarchy, to a parliamentary monarchy, to anarchic civil war followed then by a tottering federal republic. Gazing across the myriad of social, economic and political concerns that shroud Nepal in cynicism, it is easy, far too easy, to not know what needs to be rectified first. The paramount concerns for Nepal are the development and sustaining of transportation infrastructure and power systems. From these two, all else flows. The significance of the ability to move and the power needed to provide that mobility is impossible to overstate. According to the World Bank, the ratio of Nepals road area to population and total area is one of the lowest in the world. While large trucks clog all three of Nepals paved highways, they invariably have one of three destinations: Kathmandu, India or to a lesser extent, China. For the vast majority of the country, the most commonly used method of transportation is by porters with pack animals. It is almost blindingly simple, but it cannot be stressed enough, tourists, locals, potatoes, rice, bottled water, generators, medicines, troops , ideas, chickens, bricks, pipes, computers, aid workers, anything that can be used for development must first get to its location. As mentioned previously, Nepal has only three highways, constituting almost 90% of the countrys paved roads. The highway system (a word used in the most generous of terms) should be domestic infrastructure but is in fact anything but. The southern highway was built with Indian rupees for Indian gain, the northern highway b uilt with Chinese renminbi for China to be able to drive tanks through Nepal should it need to invade India (its commonly nicknamed the two tank road among Nepalis) and the middle highway was constructed between Kathmandu and the tourist city of Pokhara, making it the only highway with both its terminus in-country It is important to note that all three of these highways, are by curse of topography, narrow two lane constructions. What this means in practical terms is that Maoist strikes, known as bandh are a powerful flexing of political power, affecting millions and causing massive disruptions to development. A key component of a bandh is closing the highway (used in the singular in Nepal), a task lacking in logistic difficulties and ways of circumventing it. The lack of transportation systems breeds political uncertainty, and discourages economic invests both foreign and domestic. Intertwined with problems of movement is the issue of how to power that movement. Nepal is a nation left in the dark. Power generation, primarily electrical is the bedrock of development that must be established in tandem with transportation if Nepal is to have any chance of a brighter tomorrow. It is important to note that 63 percent of Nepalese households lack access to electricity and depend on expensive oil-based generators or simple forgo power altogether. Unlike Nepals lack of arable land, the country is not deficient in economically exploitable hydroelectric power. The mighty Himalayan mountains flow into thousands of equally mighty rivers. However, the hydroelectric potential of Nepal is rivaled only by its lack of hydroelectric power. According to USAID, the currently exploitable power stands at 83,000 megawatts (MW), but only 650MW have been developed. Nepal has but one all-season hydroelectric plant, with the ability to store energy generated during the summer monsoon for use during the rest of the year. This is of monumental importance as the other hyd roelectric stations are at the mercy of water levels. With winter being the sun-lacking dry season, it is at precisely the time when demand for lighting and heating is highest that power cuts are at their most crippling. Across the country, winter time power cuts are routinely 10-14 hours a day but can be for as long as 16 hours, with 18 hours being relatively uncommon. Lastly, this electrical rationing is called load shedding and is intimately connected with the countrys political corruption. Allegations of mismanagement concerning the electricity crisis, enforced by 16 hours without power a day, have been launched at all levels of the Nepal Electricity Authority. Because a considerable amount of electricity has been sold to India and China, because partnership deals with foreign investors have been signed and then ignored for over a decade, because the country burns in the summer and freezes in the winter, the NEA has been accused of widespread corruption and misappropriation of f inances. In summary, it is perhaps an adage from antiquity that encapsulates Nepali development best. Festina lente. Make haste, slowly. The confluence of urgency tempered by diligence and deliberation catalyzed by the needs of the people is what will ultimately allow Nepalis from all walks of life to feel as the tourists do, amazed at how truly wonderful the roof of the world is.

Ge Pestel Analysis Essay

Politics highlight the role of nation governments, as the large global company, the firm has to deal with national political systems differently. The difficulties to negotiate with government conditions including tax systems, regulations and restriction which the firm has to adjust the service conditions and product requirements to get into the nation markets. These will be the huge impact which the firm has to be considered properly in order to work well with the governments and reach customer goals. However, The political conflict might have an effect on investment decisions of new entry. For example, according to Dibb and Lyndon, the research say that annually, firms in United States have to hand in tax returns to The Internal Revenue Authority on April 15th as the US government required. The other example is in Thailand. Due to inconsistency of Thai government, there was a political protester occurred in Bangkok public places such as national airport and many other important places which stop and extremely harm the economy. This shows the difference of political stability (Thailand’s Protesters Highlight Rifts, 2009). Economic The fluctuation of national growth rate and fuel price is significant. It can be the greatly impact on the firm. Operational cost and labor cost have to be considered. The firm has to avoid both of deflation and inflation of every countries because the difference of economic growth and the external factors which will affect the firm such as the unpredictable situation which come from the fluctuation of currency exchange. The different currency exchange rate has an influence on the firm in order to predict an economic performance. The term of trade to comparing import price and export price also have to be considered in order to know the balancing payments which will be the main factor causing the currency exchange rate issue. Social It depends on changes of social trend which affect the national demand. There are many variations that have to be determined including culture, norms, religion and social environment. GE considered the social issues as one of the main factors in order to doing investment in that country. For example, considering about demographic statistics in order to make the products which can support the people and get into market target. In addition, managing people in organization to work in that invested country to perceive the other opinions which will benefit for developing the product or adapting the services for satisfy the customer needs such as GE healthcare in Japan, they can get into the healthcare market because the firm investigate the market properly and make the right decision to take this advantage by selling high definition of Low-dose scans because Japanese tend to concern about health problems (GE annual report, 2011). However, The failure of investment in developing country is higher than developed country due to quality of life, living expense and social welfare. Technical According to high pace of competition, the innovative technologies are always being released by utilizing more advance technology from competitors. The firm focuses on innovative products. It will be the key to compete with others by using new business models which invented by GE technology. Whereas the development of existing products is tend to be slow down the businesses performances because the advance technology from competitors. It can see from the table as below. Environmental The company concerned about the environmental issues because the firm have to deal with different environmental factors in different countries. Although there were a degradation of environmental in Asia, the geography is also benefit to open the new industry because the expense is lower than developed countries which have high tax such as the carbon emission tax which causing the firm performance in Australia and affecting the firm investment (Meng, Siriwardana & Mcneill, 2011). Thus, the company decided to investment in developing countries instead due to low environmental regulation issues. Legal Free trade agreements signed with Japan, Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Canada, German, Korea and the opening market in Southeast Asia is significant based on US trade agreements (GE News, 2011). Regarding to Opening free trade market, the firm will able to expand the businesses easily. However, the manufacturers are controlled by the laws and agreements of each country.

Definitions of College Admission Essay Examples about Yourself

Definitions of College Admission Essay Examples about Yourself Whatever They Told You About College Admission Essay Examples about Yourself Is Dead Wrong...And Here's Why An excellent college essay introduction is essential to making your essay stand out, so there's a great deal of pressure to receive it exactly perfect. There's not any reason to rush your essay. There are lots of steps which you can follow to make sure your essay prompts are answered in the best way possible. Our admission essay examples can prove that we're here in order to provide simply the very best assistance to assure you which you submit an application essay you can be confident in. Individual schools sometimes require supplemental essays. As you are interested in getting the essay to communicate the very best information about you, you have to do thorough preparation for the sample college admission essays to attain its purposes. Possessing a very clear and structured plan is the foundation for any great bit of writing, and a college essay is the same. Higher education isn't about memorizing the most suitable facts it's about figuring out how to learn. The large part of the essay employs standard English and English grammar. Take into consideration the piles and stacks of essays that you may have to read. Thus, essays have come to become an inseparable part of academics. You're going to write one of the most essential essays of your life. The Unusual Secret of College Admission Essay Examples about Yourself You're able to easily depend on us to find essay help as we have a tendency to assist and guide the students with the aid of our professional experts. If you've already graduated from college or university and are looking for a fantastic job, you want to get a persuasive resume to impress your future employer. Although each facet of your college application is essential, a strong college admission essay is just one of the most essential elements of the application. One of the most difficult elements of college life is finances. Aside from having an exceptional SAT score, you would need to develop the best college essay. The admissions teams are interested in finding authenticity and caliber of thinking. Simply speaking, college forced me to learn to learn. Whenever you have the last score that you're pleased with, after that you can send only that score to all of your schools. Ok, I Think I Understand College Admission Essay Examples about Yourself, Now Tell Me About College Admission Essay Examples about Yourself! If you're beginning to feel frustrated or overwhelmed by your essay, take a rest and do something different. The essay is the initial impression and very possibly the only time you'll have the chance to provide an impression of who you are. The essays act as a glimpse into how your mind works, how you see the world and offers perspective. A strong essay can provide you the ideal opportunity to get in the school that you dream about. The essay doesn't have any grammatical errors, and a co uple of the short, punchy phrases reveal a high level of rhetorical sophistication. If do not have any idea what an essay depicting your person should include, you might get inspired by another individual. A brief sentence is utilised to produce the emotional resolution of the admission essay. Following your initial draft is finished, allow it to sit for no less than a day. So whenever you're composing an essay, you're harnessing the detailed might of civilization to your life. In both instances, you hit your target of greater reader engagement. Sometimes, deeper reflection can aid you in finding an even greater subject to write about than your very first impulse. The subject of the sentence always must be expressed. Selecting a college is among the how to compose a great application essay english critical decisions you could ever make. Tell our experts what sort of homework help on the internet you want to get. Download our free guide on the top five strategies you have to be using to boost your score. Instead, it's going to be useful that you inspect for common errors. You should think about your topic so you can fix your question like a puzzle. The reply is, you believe. To make sure that you will locate a complete answer to every question, we've got a support team that is always online.

Video Game Addiction The Tetris Syndrome Essay - 1331 Words

The first time I actually saw what a video game addiction looked like was when I discovered the Tetris syndrome, more formally known as Game Theory Phenomena, or GTP for short, was when I saw a 23 year old man break his leg. He was running on rooftops, jumping between the empty spaces that were allies between each apartment. Some of the jumps were smaller, others were bigger. Luckily the running start allowed him to get over safely. That’s when he reached a 10 foot gap between one apartment to the roof of a convenience store. With one giant leap, he made it halfway, fell landed on the metal dumpsters below, rolled off, and was left lying on the ground, clutching his leg. The first thing he said? â€Å"I usually always make that jump.† How is it possible that a five foot seven man was able to land a 20 foot jump? It wasn’t physically possible - at least not in the real world. That man was indeed able to land a 10 foot jump, in a videogame, but he played so much hi s brain was convinced that he was able to do it. That man, like many others all around the world, suffered from Tetris Syndrome. The Tetris Syndrome affects the brain the same was as PTSD would affect the brain (1). During PTSD, the mind takes a traumatic event and replays it in one s brain, causing one to act the as they would in the same situation, even though the situation is no longer present. The Tetris Syndrome makes one react to an event the way they would in a video game, if both the events in the game and theShow MoreRelatedPlaying Video Games1806 Words   |  8 Pagesvery fond of playing video games. Whenever I play video games, my parents always discuss the bad things I can get from it. They always say I should stop playing, that there’s nothing good I can get from playing these games. Playing video games is not at all bad. It may be good actually. I chose this topic so that I could research more and dig deeper on what the effects of playing video games really are , I’d like to show others the other side of the effects of playing video games. Significance of theRead MoreReality Is Broken Summary14202 Words   |  57 PagesREALITY IS BROKEN | WHY GAMES MAKE US BETTER AND HOW THEY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD | JANE MCGONIGAL | Summary Zhang Huijing Fashion Marketing English 2nd Year We always regard â€Å"GAMES† as â€Å"pastimes†, but in reality the functions of games are more than that. First Part_ Introduction: Reality is broken Games have had enough of reality. You are one of gamers or you definitely know some of them. Who are the gamers? From different professions, ages of people could be the gamers. They play