The supply and demand of Crude Oil Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The supply and demand of Crude Oil - Term Paper Example Supply of oil at the global level is becoming progressively tighter with the passing of the day and this phenomenon is referred to as one most decisive factor that has lead to the recent massive towering of oil prices. This paper is intended to study in detail the price condition of the current global oil market and the trend of demand and supply shown by the different importers and exporters. Information collected from secondary sources is reviewed in the next section of the paper and is analyzed in the third section. Based on the analysis recommendations are added to the concluding portion of the paper. Literature Review Demand for petroleum products in the region of the Asia-Pacific countries is showing a growing trend. China is in particular, one of the fastest growing economies in the world and its noteworthy economic development creates high demand for crude oil. India is the other significant developing country where the demographic factor leads to high demand of crude oil. Th ese countries are big importers of oil in the international market. According to the preliminary statistics published in the reports of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in the history of the US, it is the first instance in 40 years time, that China has reached the top position in the rank of net oil importers in the world exceeding the net import of the United States. This outcome has partly occurred due to the rise in taxes in the United States that is considered as a potential reason by analysts behind distorting the country’s net oil imports (Oil Price, 2013). On one hand, a score of regulations related to the petroleum industry are relaxed by a number of countries, which assures that the pressure for compressing the demand and supply of petroleum is going to be reduced to a certain extent. This is because deregulation is expected to expand the worldwide trade in crude oil and petroleum products over the years. However, on the other hand, the regulation is being implemented in the different countries at differing paces, which creates differential levels of participation in international trade by these countries. Free trade might be hampered by the economic condition and the policies adopted by the importing country which dictates the level of import in the country (Nakanishi & Komiyama, 2006). Trends in energy consumption trends show that the total consumption of primary energy in the world was near about 10,800 million tons oil equivalent (MTOE) in 2010. The forecast of the total consumption for the year 2030 is around 16,000 MTOE. This shows approximately 1.2 times and 1.7 times the total consumption figure estimated for 2003 (estimated at about 9,300 MTOE) respectively. American oil boom The newly arising oil boom in America is bringing marked changes in the petroleum market in the whole world. According to the opinion of experts, the emerging importance of America in the petroleum market is reducing the influence of the OPEC count ries on this market and reducing the OPEC’s impact on political upheavals related to prices (Incantalupo, 2013). The U.S. government has revealed after a study conducted by the Energy Information Administration that technically estimated amount of recoverable oil from proven shale reserves in 41 countries is approximately 345 billion barrels (Reuters,

Writing Assignment #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing Assignment #2 - Essay Example The debate over possible government breakups of Internet companies began with a recently published book that also chronicles how monopolies in the information industry are almost always caused by government meddling. The book is "The Master Switch" by Tim Wu, a Columbia law professor who coined the term "network neutrality." Setting aside for a moment Mr. Wus call for more aggressive regulation of the Web, he is right that over the past century what he calls "information empires" have hijacked what start out as open systems, almost always with government regulation at fault. "Every few decades," Mr. Wu writes, "a new communications technology appears, bright with promise and possibility." There is innovation but also chaos, as new business models disrupt old ones. The result often is that "the markets invisible hand waves in some great mogul" who promises a more orderly structure for the industry. "Usually enlisting the federal government, this kind of mogul is special for he defines a new type of industry, integrated and centralized." Consider these examples: Telephone. In 1913, the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. asked the federal government to regulate it, in the hopes of creating a monopoly on long-distance service that would let it over time crush local independent providers. With the slogan of "One system, one policy, universal service," AT&T got government-set rates that ensured it strong rates of return for decades while limiting competitors. As Mr. Wu says, "Imagine Microsoft in the 1990s asking the states and the Clinton Justice Department to determine the price of installing Windows or Google today requesting federal guidelines for its search engine." AT&T wasnt broken up until 1984. Radio. In the 1920s, radio was an open medium of unrestricted, competitive communications. Church groups, universities and hobbyists launched radio stations catering to hundreds of different communities of interest. But by the late 1920s,

Importance of Advertising for Firms in Monopolistic Competition Essay

Importance of Advertising for Firms in Monopolistic Competition - Essay Example This paper illustrates that advertising is an important feature of firms that sell differentiated products. Firms found in a monopolistic competition, oligopoly and at times even monopoly market structure practice advertising. Monopolistic competition is a market structure with a large number of firms making a similar product. However, each firm’s product is differentiated from its competitors and hence is unique. An example of such a market structure is fast-food restaurants. Although these fast-food restaurants such as Hardee’s, McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Wendy’s and KFC provide the same product, that is, fast-food, however, each of their products has some differentiation which makes it unique from their competitors. An oligopoly is a market dominated by a few large firms. An example of an oligopoly market structure is of cigarettes. Just like monopolistic competition firms in an oligopoly also have differentiated products. Due to this product diff erentiation, these firms are able to attract customers. Advertising is then done to create brand loyalty. Brand loyalty is the faithfulness of customers to a particular brand expressed through repeated purchases from that brand without coming into the market pressure generated by its competitors. As a result, firms spend heavily on their advertising campaign so that customers stick to their brand and are not won over by their competitors’ brands. Although advertising is necessary to create brand loyalty much also depends on the nature of the product and the elasticity of demand for the product.... However, firms are profit maximizing. Firms advertise because they want to increase the demand for their product and hence their profits. When firms advertise just to increase the demand for its own product then it might hurt the rivals. A firm may use advertising to differentiate its product from its competitors. For example in the case of the fast-food restaurant industry Hardee’s may advertise a different type of burger which is not produced by the other competitors. Such advertising would help Hardee’s to attract customers not only outside the fast-food market but also existing customers of its competitors. This example clearly shows that if Hardee’s is able to advertise its new burger successfully then it will be able to increase the demand for its product leading to higher revenues that will result in a greater profit. Advertising is also done to create barriers to entry so that more firms cannot enter the market and find it hard to compete. For example an existing firm like Coca Cola will advertise to increase its customer base in the soft drink market. Through its advertising campaigns Coca Cola will be able to create brand loyalty. If a new firm wants to enter the soft drink market it would find it very hard to attract customers because firms like Coca Cola have already captured the market and created brand loyalty amongst their customers. Advertising also helps to make the demand for a product relatively inelastic. Once the demand is inelastic the customers buy the firm’s product even when the price of the product rises. A benefit of this inelasticity to the firm is that even if the business is not doing well and profits are low the firm can still generate greater profits by charging its customers a

Writing Assignment #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing Assignment #2 - Essay Example The debate over possible government breakups of Internet companies began with a recently published book that also chronicles how monopolies in the information industry are almost always caused by government meddling. The book is "The Master Switch" by Tim Wu, a Columbia law professor who coined the term "network neutrality." Setting aside for a moment Mr. Wus call for more aggressive regulation of the Web, he is right that over the past century what he calls "information empires" have hijacked what start out as open systems, almost always with government regulation at fault. "Every few decades," Mr. Wu writes, "a new communications technology appears, bright with promise and possibility." There is innovation but also chaos, as new business models disrupt old ones. The result often is that "the markets invisible hand waves in some great mogul" who promises a more orderly structure for the industry. "Usually enlisting the federal government, this kind of mogul is special for he defines a new type of industry, integrated and centralized." Consider these examples: Telephone. In 1913, the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. asked the federal government to regulate it, in the hopes of creating a monopoly on long-distance service that would let it over time crush local independent providers. With the slogan of "One system, one policy, universal service," AT&T got government-set rates that ensured it strong rates of return for decades while limiting competitors. As Mr. Wu says, "Imagine Microsoft in the 1990s asking the states and the Clinton Justice Department to determine the price of installing Windows or Google today requesting federal guidelines for its search engine." AT&T wasnt broken up until 1984. Radio. In the 1920s, radio was an open medium of unrestricted, competitive communications. Church groups, universities and hobbyists launched radio stations catering to hundreds of different communities of interest. But by the late 1920s,

Professional Negligence Case Notes Essay Example for Free

Professional Negligence Case Notes Essay In relation to professional negligence the concept of the reasonable man becomes that of the reasonable professional. The reasonable man will normally lack the skill and expertise acquired by the professional. These professional men and women are not only required to take reasonable care but also to measure up to the standard of competency that can be expected from such professionals-that is the standard of, for example the reasonable nurse or the reasonable solicitor. The Irish Supreme Court considered the issue of Medical Negligence in The case of Dunne v. The National Maternity Hospital {1989} IR 91 and set out the standard of care in what we call professional negligence. In this case the plaintiff sued the hospital, claiming that he had suffered severe brain damage while being delivered, due to the negligence of the attending doctors. The Chief Justice set out the standard of care required from medical doctors (and equally other professionals) as : â€Å"The true test for establishing negligence in the diagnosis or treatment on the part of a medical practitioner is whether he has been proved to be guilty of such failure as no medical practitioner of equal specialist or general status and skill would be guilty of if acting with ordinary care† Page 109 Thus the courts rely on what is reasonable among the profession. In determining what is reasonable for a nurse in any circumstances the courts will consider whether the nurse acted in accordance with general and accepted practice. Generally if they have acted in accordance with general and accepted practice then the nurse will not be negligent. In the Dunne case the Chief justice as expressed this If an allegation of negligence against a medical practitioner is based on proof that he deviated from a general and accepted practice, that will not establish negligence unless it is also proved that the course he did take was one which no medical practitioner of like specialisation and skill would have followed had he been taking ordinary care required from a person of his qualifications If a medical practitioner charged with negligence defends his conduct by establishing that he followed a practice which was general, and hich was approved of by his colleagues of similar specialisation and skill, he cannot escape liability if in reply the plaintiff establishes that such practice has inherent defects which ought to be obvious to any person giving the matter due consideration. An honest difference of opinion between doctors as to which is the better of two ways of treating a patient does not provide any ground for leaving to the ju ry {or judge} as to whether a person who has followed one course rather than the other has been negligence. It is not for a jury {or judge} to decide which of two alternative courses of treatment is in their {or his} opinion preferable, but their (or his) function is merely to decide whether the course of treatment followed, on the evidence, complied with the careful conduct of a medical practitioner of like specialisation and skill to that professed by the defendant. † This comprises a major statement by the Irish Supreme Court as regards to the general principles in relation to professional negligence. A number of points might be noted in relation to these principles: 1. It was accepted that â€Å"general and approved practice† need not be universal –but it must be approved of, and implemented by, a substantial number of the profession holding the relevant specialist or general qualification 2. A professional may deviate from general and approved practice although with the limitation that it should not be one that â€Å"no medical practitioner of like specialisation and skill would have followed had he been taking ordinary care required from a person of his qualifications† This provision acknowledges the nature of professional work and the need to employ discretion in order to advance professional development 3. It is expert evidence that determines what â€Å"general and approved practice† is. In the case of a professional that is evidence of fellow members of the profession. These principles have been upheld by the Irish courts on a number of occasions Example : Healy v The North -western Health Board (unreported, High Court, 31 January 1996, Flood J) Facts: this case concerned a difference of opinion as regards what course of action should have been followed in the discharge of a entally ill patient. It was contended that the Health board was negligent in the discharge of the plaintiff’s father who committed suicide following discharge. This man had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital suffering from depression and was discharged after nine days. It was claimed that the discharge procedure was not properly conducted. This procedure in relation to a patient suffering from depression involved consideration of the potential risk of suicidal traits. An expert witness concluded that the hospital notes did not appear to show a proper assessment of risk had been undertaken prior to discharge. Apart from one note there was no evidence that staff carried out a suicide risk assessment. Another expert was of the view that it was not sufficient to ask the patient about suicide especially when there were some pointers towards suicidal thoughts. Expert witnesses said that in relation to suicide assessment there were two schools of thought . One school believed that the process of suicide risk assessment must be a formal one consisting of consistent and continuous inquiry into the mental state of the patient . The discharge must be as a result of an informed decision accompanied by the risk assessment The second school of thought expressed a more informal approach, including discussion with other healthcare professional involved in care and employing a checklist approach. The practice in many parts of Ireland was of the more informal nature and if the patient did not bring up the issue then it was not followed by further questions. The court in deciding the question applied the principles stated in the Dunne case. The test applied then was whether the defendant acted with ordinary care of an equally competent practitioner as to the administration of a general practice approved by a substantial amount of practitioners of like skill and specialisation. The principles in the Dunne case state that a difference of opinion is no grounds to establish liability. Applying these principles to the case the court held: It was not up to the judge to decide which of two schools of thought –the formal or informal – was to be preferred. It was however inherent in both that the risk of suicide in a patient with depression was assessed prior to discharge. In this the court did not interfere in the professional judgement as to which form that assessment took but it was clear that it was â€Å" general and approved practice† that the risk of suicide was assessed prior to ischarge of a patient suffering from depression. In this instance the court accepted that the procedure was not incorrect but the question arose as to whether it was carried out in a manner that accorded with general and approved practice. The court held that there was no indication that the assessment had been carried out, as was good practice and noted in the patients clinical notes. There was no evidence then that the patient was in firm remission. The court held the defendant negligent in not having carried out an assessment And, if he had carried out an assessment, it would have been inadequate or inadequately considered. There are a number of points that might be made in relation to this judgement-there were two aspects of the care of this patient that led the court to consider the defendants negligent: 1 The hospital did not maintain proper clinical records on the plaintiff’s father 2 The decision that the patient was in firm remission was not supported by general and approved practice of assessment of risk of suicide

Study of the Structural Functional Paradigm

Study of the Structural Functional Paradigm The structural-functional paradigm is a framework for the structure of society. The structural-functional approach tells that all parts in the society works together in order to form a harmonious, sensible and stable society. This approach sees the society as a macro-level orientation. Each and every component is interrelated and it is concerns with broad patterns that shape society as a whole. The larger social institutions of the society such as population, education, economy, government play very important roles on shaping our lives. The family is considered as the most favourable body composition of the social organization because family is the most elementary and closest social structure which every individual attached to. For example, assume that if the students are not present, the teachers would not exist as well. Because there is an interrelated relationship between the students and teachers which represents that the society is a complex system where parts coordinate togethe r to balance and stabilize the civilization. Auguste Comte, the Father of Sociology said that it is very important to keep the society together because many traditions were weakened due to the rapid change of the humanity. Herbert Spencer linked the society to the human body. For example, a society is composed by a large number of individuals as a complete functional group.  In human body, many cells and tissues form the organs of the organism, such as hands, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, etc. Various organs of the organism have its unique features to meet the needs of the organism and to maintain its survival.  Similarly, various social structures have its unique features to meet the needs of the community and provide a stable and balance society.   Case Study of Structural-Functional Paradigm The social structures of marriage and family create deep social and emotional bonds that give individuals in depth systems of support and generate expectations of  social responsibility  within their members, achieving the function of creating social cohesion. Basically, spouses support each other financially, socially, emotionally and physically and are driven to achieve by socially defined expected standards of married life. Families provide the same systems of support for all of their family members, providing healthy settings and opportunities for individual growth for the children.   The structural functionalism perspective sees the family doing its part by preparing its members in a way that will benefit the society. The family is like a body or system and each member performs vitally important functions. Similarly, the heart is dependent on the lungs and brain for the body to function properly. If one part or a person is not doing its or his/her part then it is said to be dysfunctional. The family is said to be not functioning as a whole and something is wrong with that family. Social-Conflict Paradigm The social-conflict paradigm is also a macro-oriented paradigm. The social-conflict paradigm is one of the ideas of Karl Marx. He believes that social-conflict is unavoidable. It is the driving force to improve and progress to a better society.  Human beings compete with each other to acquire the maximum benefits. The social-conflict theory opposes with the structural-functional theory where the social components work together to stabilize the society. A person who poses powers and resources tend to oppress other groups which are lower social class and this resulting in social-conflict. One will also be able to force others to accept his/her views if they have the authority.   Social-conflict not only happens between different classes, it can also occur in various religious, ethnics, cultural, etc. The demand of human beings is endless, when the most basic desires are met, new needs will then emerge. For example, pacers want to have a bike; bicyclists want to have a motorbike; mo torcyclists plan to buy a car  The needs and desires of humans are endless caused humans have to work hard every day to fulfil their desires. However, this phenomenon eventually leads to a progressive society because everyone strives to achieve their needs. Case Study of Social-Conflict Paradigm A conflict theorist might ask, Who benefits from the current higher educational system? The answer, for a conflict theorist attuned to unequal distributions of wealth, is the wealthy. The educational system often screens out poorer individuals, not because they are unable to compete academically, but because they cannot afford to pay for their education. Because the poor are unable to obtain higher education, they are generally also unable to get higher paying jobs, thus they remain poor. The functionalist might say that the function of education is to educate the employees, a conflict theorist might point out that it also has an element of conflict and inequality, favouring one group (the wealthy) over other groups (the poor). Thinking about education in this way helps illustrate why both functionalist and conflict theories are helpful in understanding how society works. Symbolic-interaction Paradigm Symbolic-interaction theory focuses on the study of the relationship between the individual and others. It is a micro-level orientation which emphasizes the social interactions between the individuals in some specific situations. As people interact with each other, a persons self-awareness is the result of the judgement from the surrounding people. The symbolic-interaction theory advocate humans have their own self, and because of this self people play a role of others, and they gain the ability to look at themselves through the eyes of others.  If one does not have the ability to interact with the people and society, the social stability cannot be maintained.  Because of the shared reality that human created, the human social interaction can be stable, expand and maintained. George Herbert Mead says that symbolic-interaction has three characteristics: It has an explanation on the behaviour of others; there is a definite process, which means one is ready to tell others when they do something; have a prediction on others reaction, which is able to predict what they do will cause what responses from others. This depends on the interaction between two individuals have a shared meaning of the symbol system.  Mead sees society as an organized interaction between different individuals, this interactive form of organization depends on the role of the spirit, but also to establish an internal communication process on the basis of the use of meaningful symbols. Case Study of Symbolic-Interaction Paradigm Consider applying symbolic interactionism to the marriage. The things such as, commitments between spouses, a white bridal dress, a wedding cake, a wedding ceremony, a wedding band and flowers are the symbols of marriage. People relate some general meanings to these symbols. For certain individuals, they maintain their own perceptions of what meaning are these symbols carrying. For instance, one of the spouses may see their wedding rings as a symbol of endless love while the other may just see them as a simple financial expense. Much faulty communication can result from the perceptions of different people on the same events and symbols. Besides, the people choose to marry symbolizes that human beings need a companion for their life. It symbolizes that every individual needs financially, socially, emotionally and physically supports to lead a balanced and steady lifetime.

Oliver Twist, Hamlet, and Autism :: essays research papers

There are things in life which have an impact on us, an event, a place, movie, a person and many other experiences influence our thoughts and emotions. People also feel touched by things they read. There are books which make you cry or keep you in tension all these things are considered memorable. I have been affected by innumerable books and articles of which I am going to discuss the three most memorable pieces of literature I have read. Which are: Hamlet, Oliver Twist and an article on Autism. I chose to write about these pieces of literature because apart from having impacted me they have a similar topic which makes the term paper more appealing. Hamlet is one of my favorite plays written by William Shakespeare. Just by being written by my favorite author, Shakespeare, makes it memorable, but apart from that the play has a well structured plot and vivid characters. The play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, was first performed around 1600. Since then, it has proven to be one of the English language's most enduring stories, and there has never been a decade that hasn't seen dozens of new productions. Hamlet has come to the screen numerous times, in incarnations varying from early, silent versions to grand, colour epics.1 The story centres on Hamlet, a thirty-year old Prince of Denmark during the twelfth century, who is mourning the death of his beloved father and the untimely wedding of his mother, Gertrude, to his uncle Claudius.2 Hamlet sees his mother's sudden re-marriage as a betrayal of her union with his father, but worse news is yet to come. An apparition, appearing in the shape of Hamlet's father, haunts Elsinore Castle, and when Hamlet confronts the ghost, it claims to be the true spirit of the late king, doomed to walk the Earth for a set time. It also states that, by using a fast-acting, deadly poison, Claudius committed murder to claim both queen and crown for himself. Hamlet vows revenge, and thus begins either his slow spiral into madness or his carefully orchestrated act to appear insane.3 The mixture of fantasy and reality if one of the things I like about Hamlet. The appearance of the â€Å"ghost† at the beginning of the play makes the plot exiting and grabs people attention immediately.