Aging Working Force Raising Retirement Age Essays - Free Essays

Aging Working Force Raising Retirement Age Essays - Free Essays Aging Working Force: Raising Retirement Age Introduction Recently, the birth rate is decreasing rapidly in Hong Kong. We are facing an ageing population problem and the labor force structure is imbalance. Whats more, the governments retirement plan is a failure as it does not provide enough financial assistance to them, both by publicly and privately managed plan. The elderly cannot afford the living after retirement by their private savings and insurance. We strongly suggest the government to set a clear regulation and extending the retirement age to remedy the problem. We will investigate other countries which are facing the same ageing problem and their decisions on extending the retirement age. Furthermore, there are lots of other ways to solve the problem. We will discuss three of them and compare the benefits and drawbacks on each alternative. Reason of the proposal Hong Kong has one of the worlds lowest birth rates0.9 per woman of child-bearing age, far below the replacement rate of 2.1. The city's elderly dependency ratio is set to rise from 161 per 1,000 in 2003 to 428 per 1,000 in 2033. That means more elderly dependents will have to be supported by a smaller working population. Look in the past; we could see that there is a trend of increasing dependency ratio. According to the report of demographic trends in Hong Kong, the Elderly dependency ratio is increasing rapidly from 97 to 168 during 1981 to 2006. The median age is increasing from 26.3 to 39.6. However, the percentage of Aged 014 is decreasing from 24.6 to 13.7. These figures suggest that the population is aging, together with a low birth rate the dependency is increasing in Hong Kong which creates a burden to the working force. In Figure X (Appendix 1), we can see that the longest bars of the graph is group 45-54, which has a population of 1400000. After 20 years this group of people will be supported by the people in the categories with shorter bars of which the gap in between is quite big. The difference between the population of the age group of 45-54 and 15-24 is nearly 350000. That means after twenty years, it will be harder for the major working labor force income to support the elderly living. Also, in the coming future, we believe that the shape of the graph will become an up-side-down triangle instead of a bell shape because of the low birth rate and death rate. This indicates that the dependency ratio i.e. pressure on the working force will be higher. However, we believe that the grey population can provide productivity to the society as well. From the data of labor force, we can see that the age group of 45-64 is growing from 32%to 38% from 2005 to 2010. Also, the labor force participation rate of age group 45-64 and 65 or above is increasing these years. This indicates the elder workers are becoming more important to Hong Kongs development, i.e. arising retirement age should be able to encourage a higher GDP as well. Figure y (Appendix 2) shows that the GDP is increasing in a slow manner. We believed that one reason would be lack of working force to boost up the figures. This would definitely affect the development on technology and other aspects such as education and social. From the survey of the government, we can see that nearly 90% of persons in the target group view that the stability of performance of relatively elder employees is stable and does not have any difference as compared to those of other ages. They even think that elder employees have higher performance on the concentration on work. Furthermore, nearly 40% of persons in the target group perceived that working experience is the main criterion considered by employers in employment related issues while only around 6% of them think that age is a main criterion in employment related issues. The majority have a belief that age does not affect employees performances. Therefore, raising the retirement age can help solving the problem of high dependency ratio and provide extra productivity to the society and hence contribute to higher GDP. Individual Perspective Loophole of Elderly Retirement Policies introduced by Government Ageing population with low birth rate

Gladwell and Gopnik Essays

Gladwell and Gopnik Essays Gladwell and Gopnik Essay Gladwell and Gopnik Essay With America’s history of people fighting for their rights, we have become accustomed to the idea that activism needs to be extreme; to cause riots, have aggression, and for people to be put in jail to make a point. We have created an image that there needs to be a fierce willingness to fight, in order for activism to be effective. As Malcolm Gladwell describes in â€Å"Why the Revolution Should not be Tweeted†, he reminds us of what ‘real’ activism is and how other generations have risked their lives to make a difference, in both their lives and the future of America. He does not think that activists can be considered true activists if they are non-violent when protesting for their rights. However, Gladwell should consider that protesting is a process that doesn’t start off as being violent and aggressive. The first stages of a successful protest involve acknowledging the problem. In the other text, â€Å"Bumping into Mr. Ravioli†, Adam Gopnik claims that technology pushes people apart because of a busy-ness affect that it creates. What he does not realize is that he used technology as a resource to help him become a more understanding father. After recognizing a problem with his daughter and her imaginary friend, he reaches out to his sister, a developmental psychologist, through phone calls and emails. While it does keep us too busy sometimes, social media has benefits to it. It is a tool that can be used to exchange information, teach its users, and continually raise awareness. Once our generation is able to realize the benefits of social media and use it to its advantage while minimizing its cons, it can prove to Gladwell that tweeting, or Facebook-ing isn’t useless. : It is a tool that has the potential to bring activism to another level. The idea that social media has a weak tie to activism should be reconsidered since social media was created to bring their users together. One person cannot work alone with any big task. For example, Gopnik, who willingly gave himself the task to understand why his daughters imaginary friend always left her. He realized that he needed help, and his sister, a developmental psychologist seemed to be the best person to answer his questions. â€Å"I emailed my sister for help with the Ravioli issue-how concerned should we be? and she sent me back an email, along with an attachment, and, after several failed cell phone connections, we at last spoke on a land line. (Gopnik 154)† Here Gopnik reached out for a helping hand; in return through the use technology, he was able to get in contact with his sister and was able to get information from her from California to New York. Through email and telephone they were a ble to talk to one another from across the country. Their conversation is significant enough to prove that through the easy access of a telephone Gopnik and his sister were able to eventually reach a conclusion to what the problem was. If he had not reached to his sister, who was not only family but a professional it would have taken him longer to answer his own question himself. He would have to research for this information manually, either through the internet or even the library. The Facebook and Twitter features also have similar features as phone calls and emails in which they are able to send messages quickly but it’s greatest feature is that it is able to access a larger group than just one person. The reason is because Facebook and Twitter are made public to its users to network and become more familiar with our acquaintances. The sociologist Mark Granovetter has observed and stated that â€Å"Our acquaintances- not our friends- are our greatest source of new ideas and information (Gladwell 137). † The more acquaintance’s we get means the more people to help give new ideas, opinions and even observations about†¦anything really. Even though Gopnik’s sister was a family member, Granovetter would agree that through their electronic communication they were able to collaborate on one idea. Not only was Gopniks sister a professional, but she was also someone who wasnt a part of the New York lifestyle, which is why she was able to catch onto why Mr. Ravioli, the imaginary friend, was always on a run. She could observe from afar. In order for activism to be strong, it needs more than one person and one idea. The more people or acquaintance’s that are reached, the stronger the support system is. In order to have an even stronger system we need our supporters to understand and believe in the action that is being protested. Social media is capable with not only getting in contact with other people but it allows you to grab those people’s attentions in many different ways. These followers need to be convinced and taught about the different options that they can be given. Many people follow trends, and with social media being a big part of the trend it makes it easier to have an audience. It is easy for people to invite people to a group, or event on Facebook or even having a following of tweeters on Twitter because people are able to add descriptions. In this descriptions majority of people who are protesting are able to write who they are, what the problem is, give ideas of solutions to the problem and overall a way to convince their readers to press ‘Like’, ‘re-tweet’, ‘Follow’ or ‘Attend’. With their explanation they can create a bandwagon of supporters and build a strong willed support system. Gladwell used the example of the Bhatia needing a bone-marrow transplant. Even though people helped by signing up for a donor registry and sending in a cotton swab to a hospital, he still believed that â€Å"it doesn’t involve financial or personal risk (Gladwell 138)†. Once we are able to read between the lines, then we are able to realize that even though there was no real action being made thousands of people became more aware of why people needed bone-marrow transplants, or even how to help to donate to the cause. This is where social media is a key to gaining supporters. The more people that are exposed to a cause then the more people get involved or are willing to help it out. Going back to Gopnik, if he hadn’t asked his sister for help he wouldn’t have realized the reason for his daughter’s sadness. She stated â€Å"No,† she said. â€Å"I’m sure that doesn’t occur anywhere in the research literature. That sounds completely New York (Gopnik 155)† His sister made an observation, Olivia was influenced by her surroundings especially the New York aspect of it. Gopnik reached out to his sister for help, and in return he not only received help but he got in return even more than he expected. His sister taught him about the impact of the New York lifestyle. Even though his article does not tell his readers how he actually solved the problem, he is now more aware of his daughter then he ever was before. People are capable of teaching others, and even though the cry for a matching bone marrow was to benefit one person it’s story and what it taught its readers is capable to benefit many others. The efficiency of social media and it’s networking gives people more time to consider new ways to help its people. With the help of Facebook’s groups and Twitter’s hash tags it is easy to donate to a cause with just a click of a button. â€Å"The Facebook page of the Save Darfur Coalition has 1,282,339 members who have donated an average of nine cents apiece. (Gladwell 138)†That means that the Save Darfur Coalition group alone was able to raise $115,410. 51 which could have been used to buy food, fresh water, forms of shelter and clothing for the people in Darfur that were suffering. Using this Facebook group in particular, people weren’t even familiar with the group leader or all of the people invited, were able to donate their small gifts and raised more than enough money for one group. Many causes or activist’s, especially similar one to these, are not able to do much without money or donations from other people. This is why many organizations look to fundraising since many things come with a price. Gopnik’s realization about his daughter’s imaginary friend is an important story to many people, especially his fellow New York families. Through his use of observation, story and research he wrote the article â€Å"Bumping into Mr. Ravioli† which has reached even the internet. Even though he did not explain how he solved the situation, nor did he raise any money he was able to use his strength that thousands of people have read online. If we were to research this article we can find it attached or posted on peoples Tumblr, Xanga’s, Facebook notes and more. Gopnik’s way of helping people was to expose our population the effects of the everyday lifestyle and the children who feel neglected. Olivia still hopes to have him(Mr. Ravioli) to herself someday (Gopnik 160). † Gopnik’s parting words leaves hope for his readers, and that there is a solution to the problem. The reason for these small gestures, whether its raising money or just telling a story is to give hope to its people, the followers and the suffer-ers. There are many ways that social media can benefit in this hope, people just need to be creative. Our generation spends a lot of time on different types of social media’s, and with that knowledge people should take advantage of the trend that is going on. Once people understand that there is more to Facebook and Twitter than just being able to be in contact with friend’s lives then there is a possibility that activism can have a stronger support system then ever before. There are many resources that allow people to be a part of something without giving much effort and even though Gladwell doesn’t believe that this is a form of activism, it is only a small step for our generation. He even expresses that social media has its perks a few times in his own argument that social media shouldn’t be used in a revolution so he too hints that there is potential. There are other ways of using social media as a part of being an activist; people just need to be a part of it. There is much potential in it, with the use of networking, informing and raising money for the cause. Gopnik may not fully support technology because it is a barrier with relationships, through technology he was able to make an opportunity to create a relationship with his own daughter, Olivia. We just need to take a step forward, think outside the box and become more useful to the cause rather than just sitting and clicking away.

Portfolio Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Portfolio - Assignment Example Currently, the roads in the area are compacted with walkways made of stone or compacted soils. However, the two way roads shared by vehicles and livestock have significant challenges during the rainy seasons and are steep and narrow. During the rainy season, the roads are cutoff by landslides as the road bridges get washed out. These transport challenges make the natives use animals to transport goods, and walk on foot so that they access facilities such as education. This means that most of the native’s time is spent on transport (Engineers without borders institute, no date). Analyse the problem statements in the context of engineering solutions collected from text books. Understand methods of construction that can be used to solve transport challenges from relevant textbooks. Make a tour visit in the area to look at the transport challenges the natives’ experience. Discuss with them about their views on the existing transport modes they have, skills required, resources available in the area, and construction materials available. Use engineering textbooks to learn various road construction methods. The success of a team is success to each of the team members and the success of an individual team member leads to the success of the team. Effective leadership is a motivational factor in the success of a team. Lattimore & Glinow (2010) define teamwork as responsibility done by several associates with each having a role to play but well coordinated to develop personal prominence and efficiency. Teamwork is achieved through the following processes; transition processes, action processes, and interpersonal processes. Transition processes occurs in between the periods of action and focuses on mission analysis, goals specification, and formulation of strategies. Action processes happen when the team tries to achieve its goals through monitoring progress, the systems, the team, and the coordination of the team. Interpersonal

Language of art, 3D art, photography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Language of art, 3D art, photography - Essay Example This is exhibited by both photographs illustrating a scene that is drenched in death as the people within the scenes are consumed by fear and brutality. Both of these photos look like they could have come out of a Hollywood movie in that they are presented in black and white, and the photographer has frozen a moment of action where the viewer is left to wonder what happened next, or even to wonder what happened in the first place. I think that these two photos made such a big impression on me because of the fact that, although it shows such horror in them, I noticed that the photos were more interesting to me than horrifying. I think that this illustrates the desensitization to violence that occurs in America. Everyday, people are bombarded with violent imagery in television shows, books, movies, and advertisements. This has ended up causing a culture which is merely interested in violence rather than repulsed by it. It would be interesting to see how a person reacted to these photos when they were first published in comparison to a person in the 21st

Biography of Silvius Leopold Weiss Research Paper

Biography of Silvius Leopold Weiss - Research Paper Example The lute resembles a guitar and was the most important instrument during the Renaissance Period. Sylvius Leopold Weiss was also a very prolific composer of lute music, having composed around 600 pieces for lute in the form of sonatas or suites. In addition, he also made chamber music and concerto pieces. Even his own contemporaries considered him to be the best lutenist as he could play on the lute with relative ease many difficult harmonic modulations and for this alone, he is considered as a musical virtuoso (Lenneberg 55). In his heyday, he was in great demand among the royal courts of Europe and traveled to various regions to play his famous brand of chamber music to the delight of his audiences. For his musical talent, he was a favorite companion of members of the Bohemian aristocracy. His early compositions were intended as solo performances using the eleven-course lute but in later years, he preferred the thirteen-course lute. Many of those who had heard him perform attest that he is without equal and for this alone, he was the highest-paid instrumentalist in the city of Dresden during the height of his fame and popularity (Carlton para. 12).He engaged the great Johann Sebastian Bach, who was very famous being a harpsichordist and organist, in a friendly competition once and both were great musicians during their era (Geck

The Benefits of Compulsory Education

The Benefits of Compulsory Education In Ireland all children of the state are obliged to attend school and receive an education. Compulsory education in Ireland is enforced by the school attendance act 1926 and the education welfare act 2000. The acts insure all children are provided with an equal opportunity to education. There are three levels of education available. Each student is required by law to attend up to the age of 16 or to Junior Certificate level. Prior to the existence of compulsory education many children had no access to basic education because their parents may have not been able to afford tuition. That problem has been eradicated due to the introduction of free public schooling. Basic education prepares a child intellegualy for mature adult life. Education shall prepare the child for an active adult life in a free society and foster respect for the childs parents his or her cultural identity, language and values and for the cultural back round and values for others (Article 29 of unconventional of the rights of a child) As a result of compulsory education, Ireland has one of the highest education rates in the world. 81% of Irish students complete second level and approximately 60% of these students proceed to higher education. Compulsory education follows a holistic approach. Although it is important to focus on the academic aspect of education it is also vital to point out the social aim of education. The main purpose of a holistic approach to education is to prepare individuals for a competent adult life emotionally, physically and spiritually. It aims to provide each child with the ability to seek out their own uniqness. Few schools are committed to holistic principles but many teachers try to use the ideas behind holistic education. By teachers using real life experience and events and not just delivering facts and notes, helps engage a student into a subject making learning fun and enjoyable. Self direction and resilience are major components of holistic principles. With the guidance and support for teachers, children can learn from their own experience and in turn can build on them. The highest function of education is to bring about an integrated individual who is capable of dealing with life as a whole (Jiddu Krishnaminti) Education provides a daily routine, responsibility and activities, which contributes to a healthy well rounded development. Compulsory education discourages child labour. Child labour is the exploitive employment of a child under the minimum legal age limit. The minimum age limit to work differs in each country. Irelands minimum age limit is age 15. Child labour occurs when there is limited access to education, no child labour laws and no employee rights. Working children are under paid. This in turn sees the high demand for low paid employees and leaves less employment available to adults. The cycle then continues. In 1919 the International Labour Organisation began to address the major issue of child labour. This contributed to the introduction of the School Attendance Act in Ireland in 1926. The act obliged children between the age of 5 and 16 to attend school. Previous to compulsory education the majority of families may have relied on children to leave education to help obtain basic necessities for the family. This undoubtedly denied children their right to education. The more education available to individuals can only benefit Irelands economic growth. Our progress of a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.(John F Kennedy) Presently in Ireland child labour is near to non existence. Child labour has decreased from 25% in 1960 to 10% in 2003 mainly due to the introduction of compulsory education Illiteracy levels continue to decline since the introduction of compulsory education. Illiteracy is the inability to read or write in any language. Prior to the existence of the compulsory education acts, reading and writing were seen as a skilled profession and only the rich and important had access to gain these skills. Illiterate people were unemployable even in the most basic working environment as many could not even fill out simple information details. Currently in Ireland illiteracy may not be attributed to poor attendance in school. Many individuals who experience literacy difficulties have physical or psychological issues. Illiterate people were often seen as carless, immature and unintelligent individuals. . Since physical and psychological issues are now often detected early on in school and addressed, ilitricy and discrimination are uncommon. There are five levels which literacy is assed at. Level one is classified as having very poor or no literacy skills. Level three is classed on having an adequate amount of skills to cope with life. Level five is seen as highest level of literacy which individuals can process difficult information. In Ireland 17% of 16 to 25 year olds are at level one compared to 44% of 55 to 65 year olds. This percentage is mainly due to enforced attendance in school. Although literacy levels are declining people who dont readily use there literacy skills daily can easily get out of practice. Compulsory education provides a skilful and qualified workforce. A qualified and skilful workforce is necessary for economic growth within a country. Education helps individuals become self sufficient therefore able to earn a living. Educated individuals create wealth for the country and these attract foreign investment. Foreign investment was up 10% since 2008. Even with Irelands economic down turn Ireland is still capable of attracting investment due to Irelands competent and highly skilful workforce. Presently in Ireland 81% of Irish students complete second level education. Approximately 60% of these students continue on to further or higher education. Compulsory education gives the individual the incentive to further their education. Being obliged to attend school to Junior certificate level gives the student a chance to make mature and sensible choices regarding their future. Education is the main component in the structure of adult life. Ethnic minorities in Ireland are socially accepted due to compulsory education. An ethnic minority are a group of people who have their own cultural values. These minorities hold different views on culture, religion and language. The travelling community are one of Irelands oddest ethnic minorities, accounting for 0.5% of the population. Approximately 7,769 traveller individuals are in education in Ireland toady. Prior to the compulsory education act the majority of travellers did not attend school. Traveller parents may have felt education was not necessary as they were traditional self employed. Traveller individuals were also less likely to obtain employment due to their life style and were often socially excluded and discriminated. Traveller children who attended school prior to the education act were thought in the same class room regardless of age. Presently in Ireland 100% of traveller children are in age appropriate classes. The traveller community have become integrated with society. People from a wider community have begun to understand their cultural differences and needs. Today the department of education and science employee 503 resource teachers for travellers (RTT). The resource teachers address their ethnic and cultural needs and help promote cultural awareness to other students. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26 (2) Compulsory education leads to equal opportunity for every individual regardless of back round. The traveller community are now employed in all sectors of the workforce. A number of travels now attend third level education.

Narrative Techniques in Faulkner’s The Unvanquished and Barn Burning Es

Narrative Techniques in Faulkner’s The Unvanquished and Barn Burning The Unvanquished is composed of a series of stories during which Bayard Sartoris, the narrator, grows up from a twelve-year-old boy to a young man of twenty-four years. The narrative style makes it obvious that events are being related by an adult who is looking back at his past. There are several indications of this: in the very first story â€Å"Ambuscade†, the narrator, while describing his war games with his coloured friend, Ringo, states: â€Å"We were just twelve then†. (5) He tells the readers how they fantasized about the military exploits of John Sartoris, Bayard’s father, seeing them as heroic and exciting adventures. The narrator describes himself and Ringo at this stage of the novel as â€Å"the two supreme undefeated like two moths, two feathers riding above a hurricane† (7), drawing attention to the fact that while the two boys are positioned in the midst of war with all its attendant destruction and insanity, they have no understanding of it s horror. When his father first appears on the scene, the Bayard says: â€Å"He was not big, it was just the things he did†¦ that made him seem big to us† (9). Swept up in the romance of war, with the dust of battle clinging to him, John Sartoris seems to assume a larger than life persona but even as the narrator delineates his father before us, he attaches a caveat that in actuality, the Colonel was different from how he saw him as a young boy. This statement presages the mature understanding of his father’s character that Bayard develops as the novel progresses. In â€Å"The Odor of Verbena†, he has reached such clarity of vision that he can say without much difficulty that his father was a difficult man to get along with, he ac... ...an adult, his articulation of this southern code of morality is coherent and well thought out while Sarty’s reaction to his father’s incendiary behaviour is instinctive and not intellectualized. The image of the violent Southern man is evident in both stories, both boys have fathers who have participated in violence-Abner Snopes has a seething rage which finds satisfaction only through burning the property of people he hates and John Sartoris has been directly involved in the war, has a belligerent disposition and resorts to bloodshed frequently in the novel. But the difference lies in the ultimate response of the central character of each story to the southern ideals of masculinity - Bayard initially abides by but ultimately distances himself from Southern codes of honour while Sarty, being a child, is still far from finding himself at the end of â€Å"Barn Burning†.