Fiasco Report - WorldCom - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1720 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Fiasco Report WorldCom The team members do not have any relationship with WorldCom Overview of WorldCom (WC) WC started its journey as a small company known as Long Distance Discount Services (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“LDDSà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ) in 1983, based in Clinton, Mississippi. In 1985 LDDS selected Bernard Ebbers, one of the major investors of the company, to be its CEO. The company went public as a corporation in 1989 after merging with Advantage Companies Inc. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Fiasco Report WorldCom" essay for you Create order The company name was changed to LDDS WorldCom in 1995 and MCI WorldCom in 1998. During the 1990s, the firm acquired a number of telecommunications firms that helped it to grow from $154 million in 1990 to $39.2 billion in 2001, placing it 42nd among Fortune 500 companies[i]. Significant acquisitions included the 1998 takeover of MCI, which made it the second largest U.S. long distance carrier, and the purchases of UUNet, CompuServe, and America Onlineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s data network, which put WC among the leading operators of Internet infrastructure. In 2001 the company had an employee base of 85,000 workers with a presence in more than 70 countries. From the outside, WC appeared to be a strong leader of growth. In reality, the appearance was nothing more than a perception. On June 25, 2002, the company revealed that it had been involved in fraudulent reporting of its numbers by stating a $3 billion profit when in fact it was a half-a-billion dollar loss. After an investigation w as conducted, a total of $11 billion in misstatements was revealed[ii]. As a result investors in WC have suffered major losses: the market value of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s common stock plunged from about $150 billion in January 2000 to less than $150 million as of July 1, 2002[iii]. WorldComà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Product Market Focus Initially, it was a provider of long distance phone services to businesses and residents. Later the company diversified its business to internet service and solution, Data and IP Services, IT Solutions and Hosting, Networks management, Premises Equipment (PE), Security, Voice, VoIP, and Wireless network to reach a customer base of 20 million. However, increase in the number of services and the products are mainly attributed to the new acquisitions and mergers with new companies. During the pick of the business, WC provided mission-critical communications services for thousands of businesses around the world, owned and operated a global IP (In ternet Protocol) backbone that provided connectivity in more than 2,600 cities and in more than 100 countries. In 2001 it carried a significant amount of the worlds Internet traffic, specifically 50% of total worldwide e-mails and 50% of US Internet traffic. It also owned and operated 75 data centers on five different continents. Merger and Strategy was the key for WorldCom growth strategy Throughout its journey since the inception WC choose merger and acquisition strategy for its growth. The company evolved into the second largest long distance telephone company in the United States and one of the largest companies handling worldwide Internet data traffic through the successful completion of 65 acquisitions. [iv] Between 1991 and 1997, WC spent almost $60 billion in the acquisition of many of these companies and accumulated $41 billion in debt[v]. Two of these acquisitions were particularly significant. The MFS Communications acquisition enabled WC to obtain UUNet, a major su pplier of Internet services to business, and MCI Communications, thus providing them one of the largest providers of business and consumer telephone service. By 1997, WCs stock price grew from pennies per share to over $60 a share[vi]. During those days of the internet boom, WCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s strategy seemed to be perfect to everyone and investment banks, analysts and brokers recommended WC as a strong buyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  to investors. The analystsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ recommendations, coupled with the continued rise of the stock market, made WC a very demanding and desirable stock to the investors. The top management explored this advantage (high stock price) to use WC stock as the vehicle to continue to purchase additional companies. The acquisition of MFS Communications and MCI Communications were, perhaps, the most significant in the long list of WC acquisitions. With the acquisition of MFS Communications and its UUNet unit, WC suddenly had an investment story to offer about the value of combining long distance, local service and data communications.[vii] In late 1997, WCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s offer of $35 billion for the acquisition of MCI was 1.8 times more than the nearest offer made by British Telecommunications Corporation ($19 billion). MCI took WCs deal making WC a truly significant global telecommunications company[viii]. Issues affecting WordComà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Growth Strategy WC growth strategy was solely focused on mergers and acquisitions, not product development, innovation and customer satisfaction. It engaged in nearly 70 merger and acquisition deals in less than five years but did not focus on integrating organizational culture, structure and appropriate management control mechanisms. As a result, it was observed that by the early 2000s, the revenue of the company was diminishing. Furthermore, it was facing an emerging problem in 1990s of oversupply in telecommunications as the industry rushed to build fibre optic networks and o ther infrastructure based on overly optimistic Internet growth projections. WC and other telecommunications firms had experienced reduced demand as the internet boom ended and the economy entered recession. Their revenues had fallen short of expectations, while debt taken on to finance mergers and infrastructure investment remained. In this circumstance, the desire to conceal the bad news on company earning from the stock market investors created a powerful incentive for the top management to engage in fraudulent accounting reporting[ix]. The Management Controls Failure Fraud began at WCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s corporate headquarters, in the late 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s[x]. Several employees were involved, including: Bernard Ebbers CEO, Scott Sullivan CFO, David Myers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Senior VP Controller, Buford Yates, Director of General Accounting, Betty Vinson à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" employee under Yates, and Troy Normand à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" employee under Yates[xi]. WC paid various fees to use or lease facilities belonging to third parties. Normally, these fees were reported as an expense on the income statement, which were filed with the other financial statements on a quarterly and annual basis. The financial statements also included commentary and guidance from WCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s senior management regarding future earnings. Typically this guidance pointed toward continued positive growth in earnings. In July 2000, WCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s expenses as a percentage of total revenue had begun to increase above historic averages[xii]. The fees paid for leasing were the primary drivers of this increase. This resulted in a decline in the rate of growth of WCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s earnings. The risk of missing investor analystsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ forecasts had increased, and with that the possibility of stock declines also increased. By October 2000, Sullivan believed that expenses as a percentage of revenue were too high to meet analystsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ exp ectations, and that expenses were higher than previous guidance statements suggested they would be[xiii]. With Ebberà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s approval, Sullivan instructed Myers, and those working under him to make entries in WCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s general ledger that credited (and therefore reduced) expenses, and debited reserve and capital accounts (increasing these accounts)[xiv]. This series of transactions had the effect of increasing net income. This activity continued until June 2002[xv]. During this time, WC did not disclose these transactions to their external auditing firm, Arthur Anderson. The transactions were also not reported in SEC filings[xvi]. The fraud committed at WC was uncovered by a team of internal auditors in 2002[xvii]. The discovery was brought forward to the internal audit committee and board of directors. Once the board knew, several executives at WC were either fired by the board, or resigned, and the SEC began their investigation. Research Plan Outline To efficiently and effectively conduct our research on WCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s corporate scandal, we split the research into two areas: The WCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fiasco itself, and an academic understanding of the control systems in place (and the ones that were missing). The first stage of the research component involves becoming familiar with the WC scandal from archives of reputable newspapers and business magazines. Secondly, we will examine the allegations brought upon WC by the SEC. We will also seek peer-reviewed academic journals for more details and insights into the incident allowing us to conduct an analysis of the role management controls played in the fiasco. In order to best understand WCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s corporate scandal, we have to be familiar with well-known frameworks to analyze fraud, corporate governance, managerial controls, and compliance. As the purpose of this research is to seek for academic standard or frameworks in the above mentioned areas, we sh ould rely on information or publications from regulators, or generally accepted principals, such as US-GAAP. We may obtain information from academic, peer- reviewed journals. This research will be conducted concurrently with the studying of the WC fiasco as it does not require any sequence and therefore, can be conducted independently. End Notes [i] Lyke, Bob Jickling, Mark, WorldCom: The Accounting Scandal CRS Report for Congress,P-2, Updated August 29,2002 [ii] Ashraf, Javiriyah, The accounting fraud at WorldCom: The causes, the Characteristics, the consequences, and the lessons learned [iii] Ibid,p-2 [iv] Eichenwald, Kurt (2002). For WorldCom, Acquisitions Were Behind its Rise and Fall, New York Times (August 8), A-1 [v] Romero, Simon, Atlas, Rava D. (2002). WorldComs Collapse: The Overview. New York Times (July 22), A-1 [vi] Browning, E. S. (1997). Is the Praise for WorldCom Too Much? Wall Street Journal (October 8), p. C-24. [vii] Eichenwald, Op. cit., p. A-3 [viii] Ibid [ix] Lyke, Op Cit. P-2 [x] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“MCI Inc.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 January 2014. Web. 2 February 2014. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MCI_Inc.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  [xi] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Sullivanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  United States Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. 2 March 2004. Web. 2 February 2014. https://www.justice.gov/opa/sullivan.pdf [xii] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“WorldCom Scandal: A Look Back at One of the Biggest Corporate Scandals in U.S. Historyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Yahoo Voices. Yahoo Incorporated. 8 March 2007. Web. 2 February 2014. https://voices.yahoo.com/worldcom-scandal-look-back-one-biggest-225686.html [xiii] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Sullivanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  United States Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. 2 March 2004. Web. 2 February 2014. https://www.justice.gov/opa/sullivan.pdf [xiv] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Worldcomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ex-boss gets 25 yearsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  BBC News. 13 July 2005. Web. 2 February 2014. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4680221.stm [xv] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Prepared Remarks of Attorney General John Ashcroftà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Attorney Generalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Office 2 March 2004. Web. 2 February 2014. https://www.justice.gov/archive/ag/speeches/2004/030204agweb.htm [xvi] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Sullivanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  United States Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. 2 March 2004. Web. 2 February 2014. https://www.justice.gov/opa/sullivan.pdf [xvii] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“MCI Inc.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 10 January 2014. Web. 2 February 2014. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MCI_Inc.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 

Albert Einstein’s vs. Newton General Theory of Relativity Free Essays

string(194) " walking in parallel lines \(since they are walking only in a straight line\), is one will stand behind them in between them, he/she will notice that those two people will start to drift apart\." Albert Einstein, most famously known as a physicist, was a contributor to the scientific world with his many known researches and humanitarian work. As a Nobel Prize Winner in 1921, his chronicled and more important works include Special Theory of Relativity (1905), Relativity (English Translation, 1920 and 1950), General Theory of Relativity (1916), Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and The Evolution of Physics (1938). (Nobel Prize Foundation, 1921) In all his important works, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity has lead the way for how science currently views time, space, energy, and gravity. We will write a custom essay sample on Albert Einstein’s vs. Newton: General Theory of Relativity or any similar topic only for you Order Now Relativity, which all motion must be defined relative to a frame of reference and that space and time are relative, rather than absolute concepts, consists of two principal parts: The theory dealing with uniform motion, or the Special Theory of Relativity (1905) and the theory dealing with gravity, or the General Theory of Relativity (1916). (dictionary. com, pars. 2) Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity is the physical theory of measurement in inertial frames of reference. Although Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity was â€Å"special† because it dealt only with inertial reference frames; his General Theory of Relativity accounts not only for these, but also for bodies that accelerate and are based on the postulate that the local effects of a gravitational field and of acceleration of an inertial system are identical. (dictionary. com, pars. 2) An example of Einstein’s Special Relativity: One of the peculiar aspects of Einstein’s theory of special relativity is that the length of objects moving at relativistic speeds undergo a contraction along the dimension of motion. An observer at rest (relative to the moving object) would observe the moving object to be shorter in length. General relativity or the general theory of relativity (GR) in whole is the geometric theory of gravitation. It is what we currently define as gravity in modern physics. GR integrates with special relativity in relatively, but GR consists of Newton’s law of universal gravitation and describes gravity as a property of the geometry of space and time. Even though special relativity intertwines a lot with general relativity, these two viewpoints are really what GR is about and relate greatly to each other. In the first viewpoint of GR, it is a theory of the behavior of space and time. Before the 20th century, all physics theorists assumed space and time to be absolutes, or separated from each other. Now called spacetime, together space and time formed a background within which matter moved. (Felder, pars. 4-5) In Einstein’s theory of GR, this physical theory was to describe how different kinds of matter would interact with each other and predict their motions. The theories of space and time greatly changed after the development of the Special Relativity Theory and shortly later the General Relativity Theory by Einstein. This results that space and time came to be viewed as the important variables in physics, which are capable of being changed by the mater within them and in turn changing the way that matter behaves. (Felder, pars. 5) Spacetime is an important factor in GR. In Newton’s world and before the 20th century, physics space and time again were viewed completely separately. In relativity theory, time is the fourth dimension our world has instead of the three one would think there is. It is hard to picture a 4D world, so to make things simpler let’s picture a 2D world. As shown in diagram 1, we can view spacetime as a 2D surface where the horizontal direction is space and the vertical direction is time. The diagram below shows the world line of an object in a one-dimensional space (Felder, pars. 7): (Diagram 1) A spacetime diagram like this is very critical to help in understanding relativity. It answers questions like: What’s the world line of a particle at rest? What the world line of a particle moving with constant speed in one direction? How would you describe the motion of a particle with the world line shown below? Viewing spacetime this way allows us to formulate physics in new ways. It is a similar way in getting Newton’s first law of motion, which states that an object with no force acting on it will move in a straight line at a constant and we can just say that the world line of a free object (one with no forces on it) is a straight line. speed (Harrison, pars. 6) Comparing to Newton’s laws, spacetime are considered two separate things, while in relativity, both in special and general theory, it is necessary to view spacetime as one. In GR this team of spacetime is curved by the effects of gravity. Now in GR, curved space often refers to a spatial geometry, which is not â€Å"flat. † Spacetime becomes curved in the response to the effects of matter and there is no gravitational force deflecting objects from their natural, straight paths. This puts gravity to correspond to changes in the properties of space and time, which in turn changes the straightest-possible paths that objects will naturally follow. So the act of curving is caused by the energy-momentum of matter and affects matters behaviors. In Newton’s first law of motion, it states that, where an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. In a curved spacetime what used to be straight lines are now twisted and bent, and particles with no forces acting on them are seen to move along curved paths. (Physics Classroom, pars. 1) John Archibald Wheeler, an American theoretical physicist, paraphrases, â€Å"Spacetime tells matter how to move; matter tells spacetime how to curve. † (Britannica Encyclopedia, pars. ) To explain curved space in an example, suppose there are two people. Each person stands two feet apart from each other facing the same direction and begins walking straight. Even though one might think the two people are walking in parallel lines (since they are walking only in a straight line), is one will stand behind them in between them, he/she will notice that those two people will start to drift apart. You read "Albert Einstein’s vs. Newton: General Theory of Relativity" in category "Papers" In awhile the two people will become four feet apart instead of the 2 feet that they started on and both are not pointed in exactly the same direction as they started on. One might assume it’s because one is not going in a â€Å"straight† line. (Picture of Geodesics) Although, what is a â€Å"straight† line? One assumes that a straight line means being parallel or that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. But in curved space path that stay parallel to each other are not paths of minimal distance and vice-versa, there is no path in space that fits a â€Å"straight† line being parallel or the shortest distance. In space, a straight line is curved and the shortest path between two points is called a geodesic. The second viewpoint of general relativity is described as a theory of gravity. In Newton’s second law of motion, that states that the acceleration of an object is dependent upon two variables – the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the object. (Physics classroom, pars. 2) In other words, getting two massive bodies like the Earth and Newton’s â€Å"famous† apple are going to pull each other because of the law of gravity. To explain further, if an apple started out at rest and when it just breaks off from a tree, gravity would make it move towards the Earth until it collided with it. Newton’s curiosity of a fallen apple not only explains his law of gravity and the falling of apples, but also the orbit of the moon about the Earth, the motions or the planets about the sun, and much more. Einstein’s theory of GR relates to this because it explains all of Newton’s laws, but in a very different way. In GR, a massive body like the sun causes the spacetime around it to curve and this act of curving in turn affects the motion of the planets, causing them to orbit around the sun. In Newton’s second law of motion, these objects (i. e. the earth and the apple) will have a gravitational attraction, causing them to accelerate towards each other until they eventually collide. In GR, the same effect will happen, but the description is different because gravity is not a force in GR. Objects neither exert nor feel any-non-gravitational forces, so basically the objects should act like free particles moving alone geodesics. (Felder, pars. 5) In a flat spacetime, which has no gravity, the geodesics would be in straight lines. Since objects started out at rest, their world lines would be vertical lines, this means that they would always stay the same distance from each other. However, in the effects of gravity, we know that the objects will have spacetime around it. In a curved space, parallel lines do not always stay parallel. The geodesics in this curved spacetime start out parallel but over time it doesn’t. This results in the objects colliding. Einstein shows that although Newton’s theory of two objects colliding is predicted, the underlying description of the curved space is different. To show an example about gravity and curved space with a couple of geodesics, here is another graph (Felder, pars. 14): To explain the graph in more detail, the yellow rectangle is the sun (and the space around the sun is really three-dimensional), the spatial axis is â€Å"r† (radius) instead of x, and â€Å"t† (time) instead of y. The geodesic lines (red ; blue, respectively) are the particles moving directly towards or away from the sun. The red geodesic shows that an object initially at rest will curve towards the sun. Even an object moving away from the sun could fall back in if it were moving slowly. While the blue geodesics, is for the particle starting out at the same place but with an initial outward velocity large enough that I will never fall back, objects that have an escape velocity. Explaining the basis of GR helps form a stepping stone to Einstein’s more complicated theories and consequences, along with some knowledge of the General Theory of Relativity. In this very complicated version by Einstein of Newton’s laws of motion, it in fact shows not that Einstein just complicated Newton’s theories, but showed that results are not the same. The result in fact that objects collide are there and come out slightly the same, but the behavior is different. Spacetime is therefore â€Å"curved† as a straight line. The theory of GR has brought the science world to a dramatic position of understanding the universe. Space and time, in which were two separate things are now explained as one union with each other. In GR gravity is not only viewed as a force but now as a description of the geometry of the universe. This helps scientists envision the universe in a more dramatic and insightful way. As Albert Einstein was forced to summarize the general theory of relativity in one sentence, he quoted: â€Å"Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter. † Works Cited â€Å"Albert Einstein† Pac Bell. ; http://home. pacbell. net/kidwell5/aebio. html; â€Å"Albert Einstein†, Colliers Encyclopedia, (MacMillan, 1985) Volume 8, pg. 684-685 â€Å"Albert Einstein†, World Book, (World Book Inc. , 1999) Volume 6, pg. 146-147 â€Å"Albert Einstein†, Encyclopedia Britanica, ( Encyclopedia Britanica Inc. , 1997) Volume 4, pg. 403 â€Å"Albert Einstein†, Current Biography Who’s News and Why, (H. W. Wilson Co. , 1953) Volume 1953, pg. 178-180 â€Å"Albert Einstein†, Current Biography Who’s News and Why, (H. W. Wilson Co. , 1955) Volume 1955, pg. 177-178 â€Å"Albert Einstein†, The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists, (Oxford University Press, 1994) Second Edition, pg. 206-208 Felder, Gary. North Carolina State – Math and Physic Help. 2003. ;http://www4. ncsu. edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/kenny/papers/gr1. html; â€Å"general relativity. † Dictionary. com Unabridged (v 1. 1). Random House, Inc. 05 Feb. 2009. ;Dictionary. com http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/general relativity;. General Relativity† Albert Einstein Biography, Spark Notes. 05 Feb 2009 ;http://www. sparknotes. com/biography/einstein/section7. rhtml; Geroch, Robert. General Relativity from A to B. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978. Harrison, David M. Homepage. 18 August 2007 ;http://www. upscale. utoronto. ca/GeneralInterest/Harrison/GenRel/GenRel. html; Leaving Certificate Physics Homepage. â€Å"Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity. † ;http://www. teachnet. ie/torourke/Physicswebsite/Relativistic%20Length%20Co traction. htm; â€Å"Newton’s Laws. † The Physics Classroom. 1996-2009. ;http://www. physicsclassroom. com/Class/newtlaws/u2l1a. cfm; Nobel Prize Foundation. Nobel Lectures, Phys ics: Albert Einstein. 1901-1921. ; http://nobelprize. org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/einstein-bio. html; Truth ; Reality. â€Å"Einstein Relativity. † 1997-2009. ; http://www. spaceandmotion. com/albert- einsteins-theory-of-general-relativity. htm; Wald, Robert M. General Relativity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984. How to cite Albert Einstein’s vs. Newton: General Theory of Relativity, Papers

Why does the definition of civil society matter to the evaluation of political transitions in Asia Essay Example Essay Example

Why does the definition of civil society matter to the evaluation of political transitions in Asia? Essay Example Paper Why does the definition of civil society matter to the evaluation of political transitions in Asia Essay Introduction The political configurations of constituent nations in the Asian continent have seen many significant changes over the last fifty years. The conclusion of the Second World War served as the precipitant event in transforming the erstwhile colonies in Asia into independent, sovereign nations. But, not all transformations have led to positive consequences. It would be simplistic to not look beyond official labels attached to governments in these nations. For example, classifying an Asian nation as a democracy or a dictatorship without taking into account the complex and often subtle political realities can lead to distorted perceptions. It is the objective of this essay to understand the real social, economic and demographic parameters that define a civil society and evaluate political transitions in Asia in this context. Many analysts have pointed out that the salient features of a vibrant democracy are quite different from superficial symbols of a democratic setup as seen in many coun tries across Asia. For example, in countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, etc, which were colonies of European imperial powers until half a century back, the effects of the protracted period of imperialism are still evident in the way their institutions function. These post-colonial societies are at crossroads of history and have to overcome challenges in the realm of economics and politics if they are to emerge as competent players in the new world order. In order to make an objective assessment of political transitions in Asia, we need to adopt a broad historical approach to the subject. While wide-ranging references add to the merit of analysis, care has been taken not to indulge in standards of moral relativism when evaluating the state of democracy in this region. Why does the definition of civil society matter to the evaluation of political transitions in Asia? Essay Body Paragraphs To begin with, let us consider the case of East Timor and its turbulent road to independence. It is now accepted in hindsight that the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in 1975 was a blatant act of aggression, although it is a well documented fact that the western media did not strictly condemn the Indonesian atrocities in East Timor as and when it happened. By giving due consideration to facts and by applying universally accepted standard of human rights, it is obvious that the invasion of East Timor was perpetrated by an Indonesian leadership that is both authoritarian and ruthless (Fox, 2004). More than two decades later, with Megawati Sukarnoputri contending for political leadership of the country, the dark legacy of authoritarianism is still part of the fabric of the political establishment. This can be discerned from the fact that Megawati made no concessions to Timorese independence (not even local level autonomy) in the lead up to the elections. This goes to prove that democr acy and the instrument of elections alone are not sufficient for imposing acceptable standards of freedom, equality and justice in a country, which goes to strengthen the thesis that superficial labels and nominal institutions does not imply a functioning democracy (Razack, 2006). This is true as much in Asia as anywhere else in the world. Also, the catastrophe in East Timor cannot be divorced from the broader equations of power and dominance. While the close diplomatic relationship between the United States of America and Australia is well known, the role assumed by Indonesia as a subordinate agent of these two more powerful entities is not often mentioned in political scholarship. To elaborate further, for nearly forty years since 1965, the Australian government supported the atrocities carried out by General Suharto in neighbouring Indonesia. Jonathan Fox draws out this case of hypocrisy in an emphatic style thus, â€Å"During the long years of Suharto’s dictatorship, whi ch was shored up by western capital, governments and the World Bank, state terrorism on a breathtaking scale was ignored. Australian prime ministers were far too busy lauding the â€Å"investment partnership† in resource-rich Indonesia. Suharto’s annexation of East Timor, which cost the lives of a third of the population, was described by the foreign minister Gareth Evans as â€Å"irreversible†. As Evans succinctly put it, there were â€Å"zillions† of dollars to be made from the oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea†. (Fox, 2004) Another important aspect of post-independent history of this region is the blatant disregard for legislative power as well as the judiciary. As a result, several leaders have misappropriated their executive powers to impose emergency rule over the citizens and civil institutions, making the institution of democracy a total farce. While several justifications have been forwarded for the application of emergency powers, none has been accepted as valid by neutral observers of the international community. This infringement on legal and parliamentary authority had happened in almost all nations of the South East Asian bloc, including Indonesia and Philippines, which is ironical considering the fact that these two nations were supposed to be the more advanced in the region. The invoking of emergency powers by President Fidel Ramos in Philippines remains a classic case of abuse of power (Razack, 2006). A disturbing trend witnessed in East Asian democracies is the smooth transformation of the old authoritarian elite into top leadership of political parties. This defeats the very purpose of intended progressive changes, as those individuals accustomed to exercising autocratic rule assume roles in democratic institutions. Author Mervyn Bendle cites the example of the KMT in Thailand, the leaders of which held undisputed power in the country’s days of dictatorship as well as in the new period of democrac y. While political organization might have changed for the better, the regime has effectively been the same. The successful entry of authoritarian ruling class into democratic institutions is achieved, as in Thailand and Philippines, through patronage and intimidation of uninformed, illiterate and underprivileged masses. This is clearly evident from the re-emergence of autocrats from the Marcos era in the Philippines. So, political transitions in Asia need to be seen in their overall impact on civil society, as opposed to basing the assessment on token and illusory indicators of progress and prosperity (Bendle, 2005). A deeper analysis of the Asian polity reveals several nexuses between political parties and business corporations. In almost all countries of the region, the influential business class interferes in democratic processes, thereby undermining the will of the electorate. Razack terms this phenomenon as â€Å"money politics†, where political manoeuvres that favour b usiness interests can be bought with money. The disconnection between the military and electoral democracy is another major concern for people of the region. The South East Asian region had seen its share of military coups, which subvert the power of the citizens in determining political outcomes. The central financial institutions of the region wield too much power in shaping economic policies. Moreover, the central banks of Thailand and Korea basically act as agents of the IMF. The policy framework within which they work ensures that the international economic order is maintained, even at the cost of depriving its own citizens’ basic necessities of living (Razack, 2006). Considering that China is predicted to be the next global superpower and at present the fastest growing economy, it requires a more detailed analysis. For the prospects and fortunes of China and its people will have ripple effects on other nations in the Asian continent. To gain a historical perspective on this key nation, we should go as far back as the communist revolution of the late 1940s, and the subsequent formation of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1949, since when many developments have taken place both within the party as well as for Chinese citizens. The CCP and its cadres â€Å"are changing in ways that make creative solutions to political governance problems feasible than a repeated violent reaction to social change, as in 1989† (Smith, 2003). While progress and reform is on the party agenda, its leadership still retains useful traditions and customs. A case in point is the utilization of nomenklatura system for selecting party leaders. Its critics will point to its shortcomings, including its inability to curb corruption within the party ranks. But the nomenklatura system was not devised to deter corruption. Also, the cadre responsibility system was meant to act as an analytical tool for zeroing in on the primary goals of the party and assessing the success o f various policy initiatives; and it has proved equal to this stated objective (Dickson, 2006). The political transitions in China over the last sixty years have not been without moments of indiscretion and impasse. When in September of 1949, the communist revolution was complete and the CCP ascended to power, the people of China were relieved and also hopeful; Relieved of closing a conflict-ridden chapter of their recent history and hopeful of a brighter future. It can safely be said that their hopes were fulfilled to a large extent. The CCP has to be credited for bringing about a degree of economic and political stability in the first decade of their reign. The subsequent years proved to be more challenging for the CCP leadership, which had to deal with famine caused by its Great Leap Forward program. From these early days, when the party and its members were still learning the ropes of governance it has now become a sophisticated and well coordinated political machine. The party building efforts in modern urban settlements (also called ‘shequ’) is an innovative move (Smith, 2003). Further, â€Å"Such local experiments in limited political reform are creating a mixed regime based on one-party rule, Mandarin traditions, and intra-party elections, which will be democratic in its own terms even if not by Western standards.Chinese business classes are likely to play a role that their European counterparts did in the past by eventually promoting democratization†. (Smith, 2003) We will write a custom essay sample on Why does the definition of civil society matter to the evaluation of political transitions in Asia? Essay Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Why does the definition of civil society matter to the evaluation of political transitions in Asia? Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Why does the definition of civil society matter to the evaluation of political transitions in Asia? 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Early History Of Judaism Essays - Land Of Israel, Free Essays

Early History Of Judaism Essays - Land Of Israel, Free Essays Early History of Judaism It has been argued that Judaism can be seen not only as a single religion, but as a group of similar religions. It has also been pointed-out that through all the trials and tribulations that Judaism has suffered through, that there have been common themes that have proven omni-pervasive. Any institution with roots as ancient and varied as the religion of the Jews is bound to have a few variations, especially when most of its history takes place in the political and theological hot spot of the Middle East. In this discussion, many facets of Judaism will be examined, primarily in the three temporal subdivisions labeled the Tribal / Pre-Monarchy Period, the Divided Monarchy, and the Hasmonean / Maccabean and Roman Era. Among all the time periods where the religion has been split, these three seem to be the most representative of the forces responsible. As for a common thread seen throughout all Judiasms, the area of focus here is the place associated with the religion : Jerusalem. This topic will be covered in detail first, and then the multiple Judaism arguments will be presented. In this way, it is possible to keep a common focus in mind when reading about all the other situations in which the religion has found itself. A brief conclusion follows the discussion. A Place to Call Home No other religion has ever been so attached to its birthplace as Judaism. Perhaps this is because Jews have been exiled and restricted from this place for most of their history. Jerusalem is not only home to Judaism, but to the Muslim and Christian religions as well. Historically this has made it quite a busy place for the various groups. Jerusalem is where the temple of the Jews once stood; the only place on the whole Earth where one could leave the confines of day to day life and get closer to God. In 586 BCE when the temple was destroyed, no Jew would have denied Jerusalem as being the geographic center of the religion. From that point on, the Jewish people have migrated around the world, but not one of them forgets the fact that Jerusalem is where it all began. It is truly a sacred place, and helps to define what Judaism means to many people; a common thread to run through all the various splinters of the religion and help hold them together. Even today, as the Jewish people have their precious Jerusalem back (through the help of other nations and their politics) there is great conflict and emotion surrounding it. Other nations and people in the area feel that they should be in control of the renowned city, and the Jews deny fervently any attempt to wrestle it from their occupation. It is true that there is no temple in Jeruslaem today, nor are all the Jews in the world rushing to get back there. But it is apparent that the city represents more to the religion of Judaism than a mere place to live and work. The city of Jerusalem is a spiritual epicenter, and throughout Judaism?s long and varied history, this single fact has never changed. Tribal / Pre-Monarchy Judaism?s roots lie far back in the beginnings of recorded history. The religion did not spring into existence exactly as it is known today, rather it was pushed and prodded by various environmental factors along the way. One of the first major influences on the religion was the Canaanite nation. Various theories exist as to how and when the people that would later be called Jews entered into this civilization. But regardless of how they ultimately got there, these pioneers of the new faith were subjected to many of the ideas and prejudices of the time. Any new society that finds itself in an existing social situation, can do no more than to try and integrate into that framework. And this is exactly what the Jews did. Early Judaism worshipped multiple gods. One of these gods was known as Ba?al, and was generally thought-of as a ?statue god? with certain limitations on his power. The other primary deity was called YHWH (or Yahweh) and enjoyed a much more mysterious and illusive reputation. He was very numinous,

Programming a Tic Tac Toe Game in Visual Basic

Programming a Tic Tac Toe Game in Visual Basic Programming computer games may be the most technically challenging (and possibly the best paying) job that a programmer can have. Top level games require the best from both programmers and computers. Visual Basic 6 has now been thoroughly bypassed as a platform for game programming. (It never really was one. Even in the good ol days, serious game programmers would never use a high-level language like VB 6 because you just couldnt get the cutting edge performance that most games require.) But the simple Tic Tac Toe game is a great introduction to programming that is a little more advanced than Hello World! This is a great introduction to many of the fundamental concepts of programming since it combines techniques including: The use of arrays. The X and O markers are kept in separate arrays and the entire arrays are passed between functions to keep track of the progress of the game.Using VB 6 level graphics: VB 6 doesnt offer great graphical capability, but the game is a good introduction to what is available. Much of the rest of this series is an exploration of how GDI, the next generation of Microsoft graphics, replaces the VB 6 level graphics.Using math calculations for program control: The program uses clever modulo (Mod) and integer division calculations using the two-game marker arrays to determine when a three-element win has occurred. The class of programming in this article is perhaps just a little past the beginning level but it should be good for intermediate programmers. But lets start at an elementary level to illustrate some of the concepts and get you started with your Visual Basic game programming career. Even students more advanced than that may find that its slightly challenging to get the objects in the form just right. How to Play Tic Tac Toe If youve never played Tic Tac Toe, here are the rules. Two players alternate at placing Xs and Os into 3 x 3 playing field. Before the game starts, both players have to agree about who will go first and who will mark his moves with which symbol. After the first move, the players alternately place their marks in any empty cell. The goal of the game is to be the first player with three marks in a horizontal, diagonal or vertical line. If there are no empty cells and neither player has a winning combination, the game is a draw. Starting the Program Before starting any actual coding, its always a good idea to change the names of any components you use. Once you start coding, the name will be used automatically by Visual Basic so you want it to be the right name. Well use the form name frmTicTacToe and well also change the caption to About Tic Tac Toe. With the form established, use the line toolbox control to draw a 3 x 3 grid. Click the line tool, then draw a line where you want it. Youll have to create four lines this way and adjust their length and position to make them look right. Visual Basic also has some convenient tools under the Format menu that will help. This is a great chance to practice with them. In addition to the playing grid, well need some objects for the X and O symbols that will be placed on the grid. Since there are nine spaces in the grid, well create an object array with nine spaces, called elements in Visual Basic. There are several ways to do just about everything in the Visual Basic development environment, and creating control arrays is is no exception. Probably the easiest way is to create the first label (click and draw just like the line tool), name it, set all of the attributes (such as Font and ForeColor), and then make copies of it. VB 6 will ask if you want to create a control array. Use the name lblPlayGround for the first label. To create the other eight elements of the grid, select the first label object, set the Index property to zero, and press CTRLC (copy). Now you can press CTRLV (paste) to create another label object. When you copy objects like this, each copy will inherit all properties except Index from the first one. Index will increase by one for each copy. This is a control array because they all have the same name, but different index values. If you create the array this way, all of the copies will be stacked on top of each other in the upper left corner of the form. Drag each label to one of the playing grid positions. Be sure that index values are sequential in the grid. The logic of the program depends on it. The label object with index value 0 should be in the top left corner, and the bottom right label should have index 8. If the labels cover the playing grid, select each label, right-click, and select Send to Back. Since there are eight possible ways to win the game, well need eight different lines to show the win on the playing grid. You will use the same technique to create another control array. First, draw the line, name it linWin, and set the Index property to zero. Then use copy-paste technique to produce seven more lines. The following illustration shows how to set the index numbers correctly. In addition to the label and line objects, you need some command buttons to play the game and more labels to keep score. The steps to create these are not detailed here, but these are the objects you need. Two button objects: cmdNewGamecmdResetScore Frame object fraPlayFirst containing two option buttons: optXPlayeroptOPlayer Frame object fraScoreBoard containing six labels. Only lblXScore and lblOScore are changed in the program code. lblXlblXScorelblOlblOScorelblMinuslblColon Finally, you also need the label object lblStartMsg to mask the cmdNewGame button when it shouldnt be clicked. This isnt visible in the illustration below because it occupies the same space in the form as the command button. You may have to move the command button temporarily to draw this label on the form. So far, no VB coding has been done, but were finally ready to do that. Initialization Now you get to finally start coding the program. If you havent already, you might want to download the source code to follow along as the operation of the program is explained. One of the first design decisions to make is how to keep track of the current state of the game. In other words, what are the current Xs and Os on the playing grid and who moves next. The concept of state is critical in a lot of programming, and in particular, its important in programming ASP and ASP.NET for the web There are several ways that this could be done, so its a critical step in the analysis. If you were solving this problem on your own, you might want to draw a flowchart and try out different options with scratch paper before starting any coding. Variables Our solution uses two two-dimensional arrays because that helps keep track of state by simply changing the array indexes in program loops. The state of the top-left corner will be in the array element with index (1, 1), the top-right corner will be in (1, 3), the bottom-right in (3,3), and so forth. The two arrays that do this are: iXPos(x, y) and iOPos(x, y) There are a lot of different ways this can be done and the final VB.NET solution in this series shows you how to do it with just a single one-dimensional array. The programming to translate these arrays into player win decisions and visible displays in the form are on the next page. You also need a few global variables as follows. Notice that these are in the General and Declarations code for the form. This makes them module level variables that can be referenced anywhere in the code for this form. For more on this, check Understanding the Scope of Variables in Visual Basic Help. There are two areas where variables are initialized in our program. First, a few variables are initialized while the form frmTicTacToe is loading. Private Sub Form_Load() Second, before each new game, all variables that need to be reset to starting values are assigned in an initialization subroutine. Sub InitPlayGround() Note that the form load initialization also calls the playground initialization. One of the critical skills of a programmer is the ability to use the debugging facilities to understand what the code is doing. You can use this program to try: Stepping through the code with the F8 keySetting a watch on key variables, such as sPlaySign or iMoveSetting a breakpoint and querying the value of variables. For example, in the inner loop of the initialization: lblPlayGround((i - 1) * 3 j - 1).Caption Note that this program clearly shows why its a good programming practice to keep data in arrays whenever possible. If you did not have arrays in this program, you would have to write code something like this: Line0.Visible FalseLine1.Visible FalseLine2.Visible FalseLine3.Visible FalseLine4.Visible FalseLine5.Visible FalseLine6.Visible FalseLine7.Visible False instead of this: For i 0 To 7linWin(i).Visible FalseNext i Making a Move If any part of the system can be thought of as the heart, its subroutine lblPlayGround_Click. This subroutine is called every time a player clicks the playing grid. (Clicks must be inside one of the nine lblPlayGround elements.) Notice that this subroutine has an argument: (Index As Integer). Most of the other event subroutines, like cmdNewGame_Click() do not. Index indicates which label object has been clicked. For example, index would contain the value zero for the top-left corner of the grid and the value eight for the bottom-right corner. After a player clicks a square in the game grid, the command button to start another game, cmdNewGame, is turned on by making it visible. The state of this command button does double duty because its also used as a boolean decision variable later in the program. Using a property value as a decision variable is usually discouraged because if it ever becomes necessary to change the program (say, for example, to make the cmdNewGame command button visible all the time), then the program will unexpectedly fail because you might not remember that its also used as part of the program logic. For this reason, its always a good idea to search through program code and check the use of anything you change when doing program maintenance, even property values. This program violates the rule partly to make this point and partly because this is a relatively simple piece of code where its easier to see what is being done and avoid problems later. A player selection of a game square is processed by calling the GamePlay subroutine with Index as the argument. Processing the Move First, you check to see if an unoccupied square was clicked. If lblPlayGround(xo_Move).Caption Then Once were sure this is a legitimate move, the move counter (iMove) is incremented. The next two lines are very interesting since they translate the coordinates from the one-dimensional If lblPlayGround component array to two-dimensional indexes that you can use in either iXPos or iOPos. Mod and integer division (the backslash) are mathematical operations that you dont use every day, but heres a great example showing how they can be very useful. Â  If lblPlayGround(xo_Move).Caption TheniMove iMove 1x Int(xo_Move / 3) 1y (xo_Move Mod 3) 1 The xo_Move value 0 will be translated to (1, 1), 1 to (1, 2) ... 3 to (2, 1) ... 8 to (3, 3). The value in sPlaySign, a variable with module scope, keeps track of which player made the move. Once the move arrays are updated, the label components in the playing grid can be updated with the appropriate sign. If sPlaySign O TheniOPos(x, y) 1iWin CheckWin(iOPos())ElseiXPos(x, y) 1iWin CheckWin(iXPos())End IflblPlayGround(xo_Move).Caption sPlaySign For example, when the X player clicks the top left corner of the grid, variables will have the following values: The user screen shows only an X in the upper left box, while the iXPos has a 1 in the upper left box and 0 in all of the others. The iOPos has 0 in every box. The values changes when the O player clicks the center square of the grid. Now th iOPos shows a 1 in the center box while the user screen shows an X in the upper left and an O in the center box. The iXPos shows only the 1 in the upper left corner, with 0 in all of the other boxes. Now that you know where a player clicked, and which player did the clicking (using the value in sPlaySign), all you have to do is find out if someone won a game and figure out how to show that in the display. Finding a Winner After each move, the CheckWin function checks for the winning combination. CheckWin works by adding down each row, across each column and through each diagonal. Tracing the steps through CheckWin using Visual Basics Debug feature can be very educational. Finding a win is a matter of first, checking whether three 1s were found in each of the individual checks in the variable iScore, and then returning a unique signature value in Checkwin that is used as the array index to change the Visible property of one element in the linWin component array. If there is no winner, CheckWin will contain the value -1. If there is a winner, the display is updated, the scoreboard is changed, a congratulation message is displayed, and the game is restarted. Lets go through one of the checks in detail to see how it works. The others are similar. Check Rows for 3For i 1 To 3iScore 0CheckWin CheckWin 1For j 1 To 3iScore iScore iPos(i, j)Next jIf iScore 3 ThenExit FunctionEnd IfNext i The first thing to notice is that the first index counter i counts down the rows while the second j counts across the columns. The outer loop, then simply moves from one row to the next. The inner loop counts the 1s in the current row. If there are three, then you have a winner. Notice that you also keep track of the total number of squares tested in the variable CheckWin, which is the value passed back when this function terminates. Each winning combination will end up with a unique value in CheckWin from 0 to 7 which is used to select one of the elements in the linWin() component array. This makes the order of the code in function CheckWin important too! If you moved one of the blocks of loop code (like the one above), the wrong line would be drawn on the playing grid when someone wins. Try it and see! Finishing Details The only code not yet discussed is the subroutine for a new game and the subroutine that will reset the score. The rest of the logic in the system makes creating these quite easy. To start a new game, you have only to call the InitPlayGround subroutine. As a convenience for players since the button could be clicked in the middle of a game, you ask for confirmation before going ahead. You also ask for confirmation before restarting the scoreboard.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 219

Assignment Example Consider Africa, for example. The continent is the second most populous on earth, and has the largest arable land on earth. The paradox? Africa has the worst cases of famine and starvation globally, and the lowest levels of food security on earth. From a critical perspective, it is worth noting that the above-mentioned scenario should not exist. However, it is also important to consider that a lack of initiative is the biggest obstacle to sustainable food production. In developed countries agriculture always ranks top among the priority areas of development. This is not the case in places with food insecurity, and even if it were the case there is no commitment beyond simple formulation of policies (Christou 32). Budgetary allocations are either below required levels, or misappropriation of funds and poor prioritization abound. While all these constraints remain in place, population growth is not being controlled. Developed countries had to implement population control measures at some point in order to balance food production and population growth, thereby providing a window for food production to be boosted while population growth was managed/stabilized. People like to go on about climate change and soil erosion, but it is important to know that there is nothing that cannot be managed for the sake of mankind’s advancement (Gilland 19). With will, resources, and commitment it will be possible for food production to be boosted beyond the effects of population growth, and all other challenges surmounted. In conclusion, I must say that countries with food insecurity just haven’t done enough to mitigate the situation. The possibilities are endless, but the commitment is

Central Bank and Monetary Policy Research Paper

Central Bank and Monetary Policy - Research Paper Example This paper deals with central bank objectives, instruments and theory behind them. Five objectives of central banks will be described and discussed. Central banks’ objectives are price stability, stable real growth, financial stability, and interest rate and exchange stability. Then, direct and indirect tools of monetary policy will be described and discussed. Direct tools affect directly the economic agents (Alexander et al., 1996, p.14). Indirect tools affect bank reserves (Alexander et al., 1996, p.14). Direct instruments are: interest rate controls, credit ceilings, and directed lending to the authorities (Alexander et al., 1996, p.14). Indirect instruments are open market operations, reserve requirements, and central bank lending facilities (Alexander et al., 1996, p.14). Advantages and disadvantages of both will be discussed. It will be described how the central banks control the economy through money supply and how price stability is related to other objectives of centr al banks, but only as long as money supply can be controlled by the central bank. Finally, United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be shortly analyzed and the performance of their central bank will be discussed. It will be shown that the central bank of UAE’s focus is on exchange rate and economic stability. Since the UAE dirham is pegged to the US dollar, inflation cannot be controlled by the central bank of UAE as its monetary policy is restrained by the peg. Instead, it depends on the inflation in the USA, since the USA is free to adjust its monetary policy. ... Today, they service both, the governments and the commercial banks (Cechetti & Schoenholtz, 2011, Chapter 15). By 2011, there were around 170 central banks in the world (Cechetti & Schoenholtz, 2011, Chapter 15). Though central banks around the world nowadays do not all have the same objectives, most share certain characteristics. They are in charge of monetary policy as the government’s bank (Cechetti & Schoenholtz, 2011, Chapter 15). In countries where the central bank is largely independent to determine the interest rate on its own, the goals toward which the monetary policy should be used are independent of political events. Central banks’ goals are following: price stability, stable real growth, financial stability, interest rate and exchange stability. Each will be shortly discussed with regard to its importance for the central bank and the wider economy. Stable real growth is an objective of some central banks. A central bank can through independence from politic al processes and a consistent policy promotes economic stability and decreases uncertainty and fluctuations in economic growth rates (Cechetti & Schoenholtz, 2011, Chapter 15). A central bank may insulate an economy from business cycles through independence by ensuring the long – run growth potential is promoted, so that fluctuations in growth rates do not occur, or are minimized (Cechetti & Schoenholtz, 2011, Chapter 15). The long – run growth potential is determined by factors such as capital stock, the size of the capital stock and labor force size (Cechetti & Schoenholtz, 2011, Chapter 15). However, active monetary policy is no longer favored by most central banks. Since effects of