A T-shirt Epic Essay

Pietra Rivoli’s delightful narrative, The Travels of A T-Shirt in the Global Economy, goes about a surprising journey around the global village to discover an entangled web of economic and political forces that move this piece of clothing around. The book is split into four parts of a t-shirt’s life.   Part one of the book deals with the cotton industry.   Rivoli’s own surprise at learning that the cotton used for her shirt comes from Texas opens up this chapter on the continuing dominance of the American cotton industry.   The book then continues to explain the reasons for these—aside from government subsidies, the larger part of America’s continuing competitive advantage is its â€Å"virtuous cycle† of governance.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"In the United States, the farms work, the market works, the government works, the science works, and the universities work.† (Rivoli 7). The second part of the book is about the textile industry’s so called â€Å"race to the bottom†.   Industrialization is ushered in by the textile industry, and Rivoli gives examples from 19th century England to the Asian economic powerhouses Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong in the 20th century.   The third part is about the complexity of getting a textile import into the United States, with all the confusing legislation brought about by decades of political control held by textile manufacturers in America.   In the final part of the book, Rivoli examines the global market for used t-shirts, which she concedes is the final place where markets actually determine its origin and destination. Free Trade or Protectionism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author is not making an argument for either protectionism or free trade.   Obviously, as a trained economist, Rivoli favors free trade, as do all her colleagues in an almost unanimous voice.   However, the book does not argue for either side, and instead illustrates that both sides of this policy divide unwittingly spur economic development. Free trade policies encourage more â€Å"races to the bottom† as production shifts to low cost countries; however protectionist policies also contribute to another type of race.   In the battle for quota imports to the United States, for example, investment has flowed into areas where there is less restriction on trade with the world’s largest consumer of textiles and apparel.   In the modern-day case with China, the relatively low quota limits that China has for its exports to the US before the expiration of the Multifiber Agreement (MFA) (Rivoli 121) has encouraged investments in other developing countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and even Sub-Saharan Africa.   As the book notes, the exclusion of one creates opportunities for another, and the humble textile industry is the first step towards industrialization for many developing nations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As Rivoli further notes, when the MFA was scheduled to be taken down, a lot of other developing countries were scared of China eating everyone’s share of the textile pie.   It represents one of the few actually plausible pro-protectionist arguments in the book, which are not really argued for but just explained. The role of politics in international trade It’s a given fact that politicians will listen more often that not to their constituents first instead of to common sense.   Unfortunate as it may be, politics more often than not counter the market forces that power the global race to the bottom.   Rivoli puts it as â€Å"While the market forces powering the race to the bottom are strong, the political forces pushing back against the markets are strong as well, particularly in the United States.† (Rivoli 115) This clash between the two has made importation of textiles a very complicated business in the United States, and changes the face of international trade with it.   If an item cannot be imported from China, it is imported from Mexico instead, giving an artificial advantage to some countries that will not be there if market forces were solely in control.   The decisions that politicians like congressmen and senators in Washington make often influence the very futures of some countries in the world. Rivoli characterizes American industries that are aging as trying to escape market forces by clinging on to their political supports.   Instead of a paradise of no intervention and perfect competition, what happens is that more often politics exert a big unpredictable force that tilts the equation over completely.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another example was 18th century England, where to no avail Parliament tried to pass acts that would protect their domestic wool producers.   Instead of having the intended consequences (i.e. eliminating imported cotton), it just pushed international trade to adapt to the circumstances. The â€Å"race to the bottom† phrase used so much in the book is one of the most intriguing ideas of Rivoli. Basically it says that the textile industry, like all industries is governed by market forces.   On the supply side, producers seek more and more productivity for lower costs—a reaction that sparked the original Industrial Revolution.   However, as wages go up along with production costs, producers are keen on reducing costs and preserving low prices with huge markets.   These trends doom an industrial country’s textile production after it becomes less competitive than another aspiring country who is not the leader in the â€Å"bottom† of production costs. The fire of the Industrial Revolution spread to the United States, and then in the last century to Asia, where during the past twenty or so years China has held the spot as top in this ubiquitous â€Å"race to the bottom†. The other side of the argument—those activists who bring about higher minimum wages and better labor standards, hasten the fall of a country from the â€Å"race to the bottom†, but at the same time also hasten industrialization and the development of other more value-added industries.   It also makes another country leader of the race to the bottom, ready to start the cycle all over again. This â€Å"history repeats itself† phenomenon—from Britain to Taiwan leaves the reader enthusiastic of the future, and of how economics will eventually make all the people of the world feel a little bit better. R E F E R E N C E Rivoli, Pietra. The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy. New Jersey :Wiley, 2005.

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

International Business - Essay Example The company ranks 46th among the 500 companies listed in the fortune 500 list of global companies in terms of the highest market capitalization (Financial times, â€Å"FT Global 500 2013†). Its operations are spread over 99 cities across 39 major countries all around the world. This suggests the company’s significant global presence. With the onset of globalization, expanding operations in a foreign country has become a primary strategy followed by companies in order to explore foreign country markets and consequently gain competitive advantage. GSK is no exception as they follow the same strategy in order to lay a solid foundation for the company to make business via expanding into foreign markets. Formulation or rather implementation of such strategies, alongside accruing benefits for the company, sometimes raises concerns for the company as well. One such problem that will be described in this particular essay is the ethical issue that has proven to be a cause of con cern for GlaxoSmithKline while operating in the foreign market. Recently the company has been associated with certain ethical lapses while it was operating in China. The company was accused of carrying out unethical practices in order to beat the competition in the market and maximize value for the company. The following sections will involve a thorough analysis of the scenario that prevails in the host country and the ethical issues were faced by the company while it was carrying out its international operations. Following that, three alternative strategies to eliminate such practices will be explained and based upon that a recommendation will be suggested regarding the best strategy to be adopted by the company. Business environment in China China, being an emerging economy, offers a lot of market opportunities for investment to foreign companies. The country offers access to a large market thereby providing considerable savings in labor costs. This highlights the country’s huge potential for economic growth. However, having said that, precautionary measures must be taken as a huge difference in the political and cultural environment prevails in China that might prove to be risky thereby posing uncertainties for foreign investors (Fogel, â€Å"Business environment in china: Economic, political, and cultural factors†). Economic environment China has been known to be the most favorable destination for foreign direct investment in the recent past. The country has shown a very stable economic growth which has lured top companies from all over world into investing in China. 450 out of the Worlds fortune 500 companies invest in China. Foreign direct investment accounts for 4.1% of national tax revenue, 58% of foreign trade and 27% of the value assed production. China has a huge deposit of foreign exchange reserve which helps it conduct trade related to import and export smoothly. The country joined the World trade organization in 2001 which resulted in a rapid growth in the country’s imports and exports thereby witnessing foreign direct investment of $60 billion annually in 2006. The foreign exchange reserve of China exceeded $1 trillion for the first time in the year 2006 and thereafter in 2008 the foreign exchange reserve of China totaled to $1.9 trillion (China Foreign Exchange Reserves, â€Å"US State Administration†). China is mainly engaged in the industrial exports of manufactured goods, garments, electronics and textiles. As far as China’s infrastructure is concerned, it has suffered from

Gu Kaizhi Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Gu Kaizhi - Research Paper Example essay will seek to analyze the life and artwork of Gu Kaizhi so as to present to the reader a more complete biographical and technical understanding of the man and his artwork as well as to impress upon the reader the total contributions and levels of expertise that this artist exhibited. Born in 344 AD, Gu Kaizhi’s brief 62 years of life saw the development and growth of one of the most talented and prolific Chinese artists that had lived up until that point in time. Gu was born into a rather noble family and was subsequently schooled in a variety of art forms to include military training, literature, poetry, calligraphy, and music. Such a privileged life helped him to experience an exceptionally well rounded education that many other artists did not have the pleasure of. Although skilled in many artforms and able to express himself within the art of poetry at a very young age, Gu turned to the medium of artwork in the form of paintings by the age of 20 (364 AD). It was at this point that Gu began a long and storied career that would see him be named the father of Chinese artwork. Though such a title is of course a bit of stretch as talented artists existed long before him, the fact of the matter is that he had a profound and lasting effect on the way that ar twork was defined and practiced within China. Additionally, his incorporation of traditional Chinese virtues, stories, characters, and motifs helped to endear him to subsequent generations of artists that began to see his work not only as indicative of high art but exemplification of traditional Chinese art as a function of culture. Due to the historical record at that time, it is nearly impossible to verify some of the stories that exist regarding Gu as he began to embark upon his career as an artist. However, regardless of the voracity of some of these anecdotes, they have nonetheless continued to exist and provide the reader with useful insights into both the merits of Gu’s artwork as well as

The dust bowl of the 1930s Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The dust bowl of the 1930s - Research Paper Example The Dust Bowl caused losses amounting to millions of dollars in the process drying up the already depressed the economy of the United States in the 1930 through the damages created. The advancement in technology has made NASA believe that Jet Stream could have partly contributed to the drought. The decade of the 1930s was opened with unparalleled growth and prosperity. During the decade, the demand for wheat in the word was high making most farmers purchase tractors, one way plows and combines as a result of making a big chunk of the available land to be under the wheat plantation and with little regard being given to the damage that was being done to the environment (Siegfried, Max, Philip, Randal, and Julio 2004). The grasslands that should have never been plowed being plowed up, in the process breaking millions of acres of land meant for farming in the Great Plains. The year 1930 despite being dry, most farmers made wheat crop. As a matter of fact, in the year 1931, the wheat crop was mostly considered as a bumper crop largely due to the existence of over twelve million bushels of wheat. Wheat could be found everywhere be it in the elevators, in the roads and even on the ground. This increased supply in wheat resulted into prices of wheat going down hence most farmers incurring massive losses and going broke forcing a big number of the farmers to abandon their fields. Between the years 1934 to the year 1936, three record drought were experienced with the year 1936 experiencing a more severe storm that was even more severe and spread out of the plains and across all over the nation. These years of drought were accompanied by what we can consider as record breaking heavy rains, tornados, blizzards and flash floods. In the month of September in 1930, a rain of over five inches was experienced within a very short time in the Oklahoma Panhandle (Siegfried, Max, Philip, Randal, and Julio 2004). This flooding in Cimarron County was further accompanied with a dirt s torm which had profound damage on several small buildings and granaries. Additionally, during the same period, the region was whipped again by a strong dirt storm originating from the southwest until when the winds gave way to a blizzard from the north. The drought began after the blizzards in the winter between 1930 and 1931 which was first experienced by the northern plains feeling the dry spell and immediately followed by the southern plains in mid-July (Siegfried, Max, Philip, Randal, and Julio 2004). The ground as a result dis not have enough water that would necessitate planting until the late September during the same period. As a result of this, there was late planting characterized with early frost and with much of the wheat being small and weak, the wheat was beaten by dirt from the abandoned fields when in 1932 the spring winds began to blow. Various causes can be traced to the Dust Bowl experienced in the US Midwest during the 1930s. Amongst the causes could be the preva iling unstable ocean temperatures in the 1930s. this can be scientifically be explained by the fact that when the temperatures are cooler than normal in the tropical Pacific Ocean while on the other hand the Atlantic Ocean temperatures are experiencing ideal drought conditions as a result of the unstable sea surface temperatures, dry air coupled with high temperature could

With reference to new theories of trade, account for the increased Essay

With reference to new theories of trade, account for the increased importance in the last fifty years of intra-industry trade as a component of world trade - Essay Example Theories have been developed to explain the increasing intra-industry trade, including technology based theories, new trade theories and the national competitive advantage. This is the case of decreasing cost of production in an industry in a given country. With the presence of a large population in the country that consumes a given product in the country, the demand for the product locally increases. This forms the large local market for the given product. Consumer preference for a product is mostly influenced by the consumer taste for the product as well as the cultural practice of the given country. With culture, there is a continued demand for the product generation after generation since the culture is passed over from one generation to the next; therefore ensuring a large market for the product locally. As such, the cost of production for the product decreases with increase in demand. This is due to the economies of large scale production that ensures decrease in total cost with increased production especially in manufacturing. With the large local market, the country benefits from economies of scale in production of the particular product. This gives the country a cost advantage in production of the given product, thus leading to price advantage. Pricing the product lower than other countries will see other countries prefer to import the given product than producing it. With culture, there is spread of the market globally from travelling of the people to other countries, thus the need to export the product to other countries. Enhanced transport has seen people travel far and wide to different countries. Consumer taste and preference goes a long way influencing imports in different countries. Creation of free trade will improve on imports in the country to cater for the varying consumer preference (Donnan 2013, p.3). Though there is a locally produced product, visitors in other countries may prefer the same product from their country of origin

SHORT ANSWER ONLY Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SHORT ANSWER ONLY - Assignment Example An example is the perception by the United States of America to be superior to other nations in terms of its economic and military might. This is manifested by their incursion in the Middle East. This is the principal that all customs, beliefs and ethical standards of a particular group are relative to its own interpretation and other groups should understand them in that groups perception (Cahoone, 2005). Thus no culture should perceive itself to be superior to another when comparing their structure of religion, politics, language or rule against another group. This concept is important to guard against biased judgment by anthropological researchers in taking field notes on an ethnic group to which they don’t belong. Hence your cultural identity should not portray you as ethnocentric in your final reporting of a culture (Cahoone, 2005). An example is the Chinese people who eat dog meat. In my culture, dog is considered as a pet. It is my conviction therefore to appreciate them in impartiality even though I might hold a controversial opinion. This is a perspective used by anthropologist mostly in cultural anthropology to study a society’s cultural system. Emic perspective is culture specific. It focuses on the inherent cultural distinctions that are significant to members of a given culture. This concept is paramount as it guides researcher against subjective opinion while embarking on a cross-cultural study (Liu, 2001). Hence the members of a society are the solitary judges of the legitimacy of an emic description. It gives major credence to local viewpoints. An example of emic is specific definition of a marriage. For instance, polyandry practiced in some societies is viewed as normal. This a process by which a person adapts to and assimilates the culture in which he lives in. He or she becomes a successful member of the society by practicing its accepted norms and values. It is a lifelong process learned through

Describe how Arthur Miller creates Essay Example for Free

Describe how Arthur Miller creates Essay Describe how Arthur Miller creates an exciting climax for both acts of A View from the Bridge' A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, is a play about obsession and betrayal. The main character, Eddie Carbone, becomes overprotective over his niece, Catherine, to the degree of infatuation. This obsession helps to cause the break down of Eddies marriage, as his wife, Beatrice realises the alarming nature of Eddies fixation. Eddies feelings for Catherine existed before Beatrices cousins, Marco and Rodolfo came, but their arrival intensifies the situation, as Eddie becomes more and more jealous of Rodolfo, and of Catherines love for him. This play is a tragedy and, like most tragedies, it is serious and ends with the death of the main character, Eddie. Eddie dies after betraying his wifes cousins to the immigration bureau. As a result, Marco, who is filled with hatred and in need of justice, stabs him. Arthur Miller was a New Yorker who worked on the Brooklyn docks, for a time. His experience of the docks and of the people around them, led him to write this play, which is set there. During this coursework, my aim is to study the ends of the two acts in depth to see what techniques Miller uses to make them dramatically effective. The last scene of act one (from page 39 when Catherine puts paper doll on the phonograph) portrays at first is one of a reasonably happy home but Arthur miller uses a combination of significant action and verbal nuances to show depth of characters and character emotions. The basic events of the scene are Rodolfo and Catherine dancing, Eddie showing Rodolfo how to box, and then Marco, challenging Eddie to lift a chair. These are three main parts of this last scene, which demonstrate symbolic changes in the character relationships, the first two build up to the final conflict between Marco and Eddie, which sets the tone for the second act. The first important section of the scene is the dancing between Rodolfo and Catherine. We see in this scene that Rodolfo feels uncomfortable because of Eddie he Stiffly rises, feeling Eddies eyes on his back this shows that Rodolfo may realise how Eddie feels towards his niece, Rodolfo doesnt want to upset him, we see the way Eddie feels about the dancing in the stage direction EDDIE turns his head away. These few simple actions are very important to the play, they show Eddies feelings and the start or progression of the hatred Eddie feels towards Rodolfo and show a subtle conflict between Eddie and his niece. During we find out about a number of things in more depth, for example our understanding of the plays characters changes considerably. We find that Marco disapproves of the way Eddie is treating Rodolfo, this is quite a surprise since we, as an audience do not expect Marco who has previously been shy and quiet to make such a blatant challenge as he does in this scene. Twists and surprises in a plot tend to create suspense and tension so this is a very effective technique to use. The action in this scene Marcos action of holding up a chair triumphantly in front of Eddie is an interesting and significant action because the chair seems to be a symbolic weapon. Marco is threatening Eddie with it, this is analogous to the way he actually uses a weapon to kill Eddie in the final scene of the play. The way that Arthur Miller uses such an imposing action as lifting a chair above head height to make a defined, pointed change in Marco is effective because it is dramatic and startling in the way that it breaks from the tone of the rest of the scene. Although powerful and startling the action of lifting the chair is also subtle in that it states without using words, just how Marco feels and sets out his warning, it is succinct which is part of what makes it effective. I do not believe words would have worked as well at portraying the overall feelings, not just of Marco but also of the other characters. This is a major way that Arthur Miller creates an overall atmosphere. He uses actions that involve the audience reactions and opinions of all the characters and the aids the creation of a climax. Emotions of the audience towards characters are mixed. They may feel happy for Catherine and Rodolfo in that they have found each other and seem so happy. Some may speculate, however, about that, this relationships days are numbered due to Eddies obviously hostile feelings towards Rodolfo. They may also feel anxious as to how the conflict that has arisen between Marco and Eddie will be resolved. This emotional uncertainty is exciting and leaves the audience thinking because of the culmination of events. This last scene in act one is used very effectively by Arthur Miller to sow the seeds of events which are going to happen in the 2nd act of the play. It is only at this point in the play that we get true insight into the feelings of Marco, his stubbornness, his need to prove himself and his brother, which turn out at the end of the play to be fatally strong. It is also only now that we see any dislike of Marco from Eddie, it is this dislike and need for apology that causes the end scene to happen in such a tragic manner. The Characters in this scene are very interesting to observe on their own but it is also interesting to see how Arthur Miller has contrasted the actions of his characters in this scene. One such contrast is that between Marco and Eddie. Eddie uses Aggressive action, such as boxing to make his point whereas Marcos subtle challenge with the chair is, non-aggressive but still makes the intended point. These contrasts between the two mens actions are very interesting and are very effective in demonstrating the differences between their personalities; this makes it even more interesting at the very ending of the play how Marco has changed into a person willing to be violent to get revenge. This final scene leaves many questions unanswered. The conflicts between the characters in this scene could lead the audience to speculate as to how things will develop in the next act but although this scene gives the audience, some idea of how things turn out it does not tell them everything. They may ask themselves what is going to happen to Catherine and Rodolfos relationship since it seems plain that Eddie dislikes Rodolfo and disapproves of his relationship with his niece. And they may wonder about Beatrice and Eddies marriage since it appears to be weakening there is no way, however that at this point the audience realise the ending, they are left in suspense. This means that the ending of this act is all the more of a climax; the audience are left teetering on the edge of knowing more but are left to ruminate till the second act. That in itself is enough to explain the way Miller creates of a climax here. The situations that develop in this play would be difficult for anyone to deal with. Eddie finds the situation that he is in especially difficult and consequently he is seriously affected by it. In this play Eddie goes from being a popular man, respected in the community to being a man willing to betray his own family and, in the final scene one prepared to kill. Eddie started by just being over protective of Catherine, which developed into jealousy of Rodolfo because Catherine loved him and this, in turn developed into passionate hatred of both Marco and Rodolfo. Eddie hardly understands what he himself is feeling at the end of the play. These emotional changes are central to Arthur millers play since they help to cause the chain of events leading up to the final tragic end and are very important in creating interest and drama in the play. This is especially significant at the ends of the acts and creates a charged atmosphere. The changes in Eddie during the play also have consequences on the people around him, especially on Beatrice. Eddie spends less and less time throughout the play with Beatrice socially and more importantly, he spends less time with her intimately. There is evidence in other scenes that the sexual part of the Carbones marriage has already collapsed but that Beatrice desperately wants to save the marriage by sitting down and sorting things out.