An Overview of Chinas Traffic Troubles

China hasn’t always had a problem with traffic, but over the past couple of decades, as China rapidly urbanizes, the country’s urban denizens have had to adapt their lives to a new phenomenon: gridlock. How Bad Is China’s Traffic Problem? It’s really bad. You may have heard about the China National Highway 10 traffic jam on the news back in 2010; it was 100 kilometers long and lasted ten days, involving thousands of cars. But outside of the mega-jams, most cities are plagued with daily traffic that rivals the worst gridlock in Western cities. And thats despite a plethora of affordable public transportation options and anti-traffic legislation in many cities that mandates (for example) that cars with even and odd-numbered license plates must drive on alternating days, so only half of the city’s cars can legally take to the road at any given time. Of course, China’s urban traffic jams are also a major factor in its pollution problems. Why Is Traffic in China so Bad? There are a number of reasons for China’s traffic congestion woes: Like most older cities around the world, many of Chinas cities were not designed for cars. They were also not designed to support the massive populations they now boast (Beijing, for example, has more than 20 million people). As a result, in many cities, the roads are simply not big enough.Cars are considered a status symbol. In China, buying a car often isn’t as much about convenience as it is about showing that you can buy a car because you’re enjoying a successful career. Lots of white-collar workers in Chinese cities who might otherwise be satisfied with public transportation buy cars in the name of keeping up with (and impressing) the Joneses, and once they’ve got the cars, they feel obliged to use them.China’s roads are full of new drivers. Even a decade ago, cars were far less common than they are now, and if you go back in time twenty years. China didn’t break the two million vehicle mark until around the year 2000, but a decade later it had more than five million. That means that at any time, a significant percentage of the people driving on China’s roads only have a few years of experience. Sometimes, that leads to questionable driving decisions, and that can cause gridlock when those decisions lead to blocked roads for one reason or another.China’s driver education is not great. Driver education schools often only teach driving on closed courses, so new graduates are literally taking to the roads for the first time when they get behind the wheel. And because of corruption in the system, some new drivers haven’t taken any classes at all. As a result, China has a lot of accidents: its traffic fatality rate per 100,000 cars is 36, which is more than double the United States, and several times more than European countries like the UK, France, Germany, and Spain (which all have rates under 10).There are just too many people. Even with great driver education, wider roads, and fewer people buying cars, traffic jams would still be likely in a city like Beijing, which is host to more than twenty million people. What Does the Chinese Government Do About Traffic? The government has worked hard to create public transportation infrastructure that takes pressure off cities roads. Nearly every major city in China is building or expanding a subway system, and the prices of these systems are often subsidized to make them extremely enticing. Beijing’s subway, for example, costs as little as 3 RMB ($0.45 as of March 2019). Chinese cities also generally have extensive bus networks, and there are buses going virtually everywhere you could imagine. The government has also worked to improve long-distance travel, building new airports and rolling out a massive network of high-speed trains designed to get people where they’re going faster and keep them off the highways. Finally, city governments have also taken restrictive measures to limit the number of cars on the road, like Beijing’s even-odd rule, which stipulates that only cars with even- or odd-numbered license plates can be on the road on any given day (it alternates). What Do Regular People Do About Traffic? They avoid it as best they can. People who want to get where they’re going quickly and reliably generally take public transportation if they’re traveling in a city around rush hour. Biking is also a common way of avoiding the gridlock if you’re headed somewhere nearby. People also tend to be accommodating when it comes to the realities of rush-hour traffic in China; taxis, for example, often pick up more than one passenger at a time during busy hours to ensure they’re not spending hours sitting in traffic with a single fare. And Chinese subways get jam-packed with passengers during rush hour. It’s uncomfortable, but people have put it with it. Spending 30 minutes getting home in an uncomfortable subway car beats spending 3 hours in a slightly-more-comfortable regular car, at least for most people.

The Evil Empire - 1318 Words

Courtney Professor English 1302 20 September 2013 An Analysis of Ronald Reagan’s â€Å"The Evil Empire.† Ronald Reagan gave a speech in Orlando, Florida on March 8, 1983 called, â€Å"The Evil Empire.† This speech was intended for the ears of all Americans and is one of the best known presidential speeches ever given. In his speech, Reagan uses multiple rhetorical strategies such as; metaphors, allusions, rhetorical questions, tone, pathos, and uses references from the bible. He talks about all the main points of abortion, teenage sex, drugs, the Soviet Union, and the practice of praying and God in our public schools. His speech was very well written, moving, and extremely influential. This speech shows the president’s belief that the†¦show more content†¦The first use of metaphors in this speech is, â€Å"Yes, let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream† (Reagan 5). The use of this metaphor is referring to everlasting justice and righteousness in what Reaga n believes as the spiritual awakening that is about to initiate in the United States of America. Reagan also uses a simile in â€Å"The Evil Empire† speech. The simile he uses is, â€Å"We know that living in this world means dealing with what philosophers would call the phenomenology of evil or, as theologians would put it, the doctrine of sin† (Reagan 5). The use of this simile in this speech is stated to show that no matter what we do or what happens we will never be able to fully rid the world of evil. It is inevitable. Human kind will always have to face evil. It is just up to us to battle evil the best way that we can. The final two rhetorical strategies I found in â€Å"The Evil Empire† speech given by Ronald Reagan was the usage of pathos and logos. An example of pathos in this speech is when Reagan refers to the abortion matter that was taking place in this time period. He states that, â€Å"Unless and until it can be proven that the unborn child is no t a living entity, then its right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness must be protected† (Reagan 4). The use of this sentence is to appeal to the audience’s emotions and get the audience to start thinking about what abortion really is. Reagan wants the American people to realize whatShow MoreRelatedIs The Evil Empire `` Speech Propaganda?952 Words   |  4 PagesCameron Schwartz 5/6/15 Literature Final Paper Is the â€Å"Evil Empire† Speech Propaganda There are many different definitions of propaganda that people use. Propaganda is politicians deceiving the public into what the politicians want them to know or believe (Altschull). This definition is used to show how politicians can use propaganda. There are many ways to use propaganda. They are used to convince people to buy a certain product, to convince people to not buy a certain product, to convince a certainRead MoreEssay on Was the British Empire a force for good or for evil?1438 Words   |  6 PagesThe British Empire is the largest empire ever seen on the face of this planet. The empire was divided into two. The first part of the empire revolved around the British colonies in America that were popularly known as the thirteen colonies. These gained independence from Britain in 1783. The second part of the empire, which developed from the first empire, came later. It started during the Napoleonic wars and survived throughout the nineteenth century and the first half of th e twentieth century.Read MoreDescriptive And Values Of The People1525 Words   |  7 Pagesadhered to this religion were the Persians of the Persian Empire that dated from 550 - 330 B.C. and was located from Anatolia and Egypt across western Asia to northern India and Central Asia. The Persian society was patriarchal but the women were seen as very valuable in society and experienced much more equality than any other women of different empires. The economy was mostly based on trade which brought the provinces and the entire empire together and more integrated. Urbanized Zoroastrians governedRead MoreThe Evil Of Imperialism In George Orwells Shooting An Elephant1023 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Shooting An Elephant,† Orwell recreates his experience as a soldier trying to end imperialism in the country of Burma by shooting an elephant. George Orwell recreates this experience of imperialism being evil through the use of literary devices. Orwell opens his essay by reflecting upon the evil of British imperialism before shooting the elephant. Orwell’s hatred for imperialism is exemplified when he mentions â€Å"was hated by large numbers of people,† revealing that the British were outnumbered byRead MoreThe Evil of Armenian Genocide Essay836 Words   |  4 Pagesyears ago the horrific Genocide of the Armenians took place. Turkey has shown a classic example of the evil that can result by human beings. Millions of Armenians were slaughtered and murdered in front of their family members. The destruction that constantly plays out throughout the world is cuased by human beings. Hsun Tzu would have also agreed that the young Turks were in face by nature extremely evil. April 24th is the day of grief for many Armenians. Almost every Armenian reminisces on their lovedRead MoreComparing Revelation On The Relationship Of Church And State1215 Words   |  5 PagesEusebius on the Relationship of Church and State After reading chapters twelve through thirteen and seventeen through nineteen from the book of Revelation, I have attained knowledge that allows me to see how the author of Revelation perceives the Roman Empire. From the beginning of chapter twelve it is clearly portrayed that the woman who is in the sky, about to give birth, is meant to symbolize Mary the mother of Jesus, or even Israel, the birthplace of Jesus. The Dragon of course, represents Satan. Read MoreStar Wars : Return Of The Jedi1205 Words   |  5 PagesJedi is final chapter in an epic story of good versus evil. The script was written by George Lucas and was released in theatres on May 25, 1983 (IMDb.com). It was the third film released in the Star Wars saga, following Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (IMDb.com). At the time, Episode VI concluded the story of Luke Skywalker and his Rebel friends fighting against Darth Vader and the evil Empire. The entire plot of Return of the Jedi is the conclusionRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s Shooting An Elephant 1232 Words   |  5 Pagesmajor strides toward mitigating his guilt regarding the incident that occurred many years earlier when he was a young man. In addition, Orwell is able to use his traumatic experience to address the evils of a much greater villain, imperialism. Orwell uses his confession of culpability to demonstrate the evils of imperialism by using the lesson he learned in slaying the elephant and attempting to educate the world the same lesson in an attempt to benefit mankind. By taking a troubling incident that occurredRead MoreRonald Reagans Positive Influences1149 Words   |  5 Pagesto defend the United States from any nuclear weapon missile threat from other countries. This was proposed mainly to protect the U.S. from its extent threat, which was the Soviet Union at the time. Reagan wrote down in his diary addressing his Evil Empire Speech, â€Å"I did the bulk of the speech on why our arms build up was necessary and then finished with a call to the Science community to join me in research starting now to develop a defensive weapon that would render nuclear missiles obsolete,† (TheRead MoreThe Periods of Success and Decline in the Dynastic Cycle1121 Words   |  5 Pagesculture. In The Analects, he preached how to be a go od man through living a life of filial piety, being a gentleman, and the way a ruler should govern his empire. The Han Synthesis used many of Confucius’ ideas to be the guiding force in China’s political ideology which contributed to the Dynastic Cycle of an empire, which stated that empires go through periods of success and decline. All of these highlight the cyclical nature of history in China, and its importance in the development of the state

Act like a girl Free Essays

I wanted to Interview a male who has experienced similar experiences with not being accepted because he was not the stereotypical â€Å"man. † In our Interview the other day, I asked you If you agreed or disagreed with this statement: â€Å"Every child, boy or girl, should have the right to his or her own self image, and should not have to live by some gender roles† (Freeman 36). You answered yes in agreement! I asked you why you said yes so quickly. We will write a custom essay sample on Act like a girl or any similar topic only for you Order Now Your answer was because growing up you faced situations when you wished you could simply be yourself thou the Judgment of others. You shared your thoughts of what the stereotype of a man Is to you. Some common Images of a man Is to be athletic, masculine, muscular, insensitive, and tough. I’m sure you could have gone on with this list of characteristics expected of a â€Å"manly man. † Women are expected to be a particular way, also. Some of us Just don’t fall under those expected traits. Still, most people tend to hold common stereotypes of certain people in mind. We both went to the same high school and cheered on our Varsity cheer squad for 2 years together. I was glad that you decided to share this part of your life with me, I know It was hard to talk about. In high school you didn’t dress Like all the other boys, and you didn’t talk like all the other boys. You were a male cheerleader. You were the only male cheerleader. You expressed the hardship and ridicule our peers put you through. I felt a deep sorrow when you told me that our peers would tease you. Teasing is for elementary school, not high school. I could see the pain in your eyes when you would state the comments the students would make towards you. It Is definitely a common assumption for people to make that because a male Is a cheerleader, then he must be gay. You do not consider yourself to fit the gender role of a typical male, because you are very much the opposite. I felt it was necessary to ask you about your childhood. I wanted to know how you grew up and if there was any influences in your life pertaining to the topic of gender stereotypes. Growing up you said that you didn’t play with car toys, or ride motorcycle bikes, and wasn’t into sports. In Freeman’s essay he TLD play with parable dolls, or play tea party with the other little girls, and she loved playing basketball. When I asked you if you had played sports, you said no but you would play catch in the park with your dad. I am sorry to have heard that your father passed away when you were very young. I was surprised to hear that you do not think that your father passing away influenced you to be more in touch with your feelings. You have always been more in touch with your feelings even before that incident. Most people think that a boys father passing away will greatly Influence the During our interview, your brother, Corey came in to greet me. That was polite of him! I asked you how your relationship was with your brother, since you two are very opposite of each other. Your brother seems to fit the mold of our society’s â€Å"man. † I was devastated to hear that your relationship with your brother has been strained for years. It started when you became a cheerleader, because he doesn’t accept the fact that that is who you are and that is what makes you happy. Freeman and her mother’s relationship was also uneasy because of her mother’s lack of support. On the contrary, your relationship with your mother is beautiful, and stable. You expressed your thankfulness and appreciation for her in our interview. She has not turned her back on you, or Judged you. Your mother accepts you for who you are. You are her son and she loves you no matter what happens. I enjoyed our interview. Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me and discuss the questions I had for you. I am happy that you are absolutely content with yourself. We have been friends for a couple of years now, and I wouldn’t change you for anything. How to cite Act like a girl, Papers

Investment Management

Question: Describe about the Alternative Investment Classes and their Role in Investment Portfolios with examples, a selection of seven (7) alternative investments which are generally available on capital and other markets, the expected / realized returns and risks of each, and to consider how they are used in constructing and hedging investment portfolios. Answer: Introduction In the present scenario investment management plays an important role in the entire economy, investment management is the professional management of different securities such as bonds, shares and other securities or other assets. The main aim of the investment management is to protect the interest of the investors (Bhala et al 2016). Alternative investment provides a wider investment opportunity for the investors, which includes private equity, venture capital, real assets, mutual fund, hedge fund, private placement debt, direct investments, etc. Every investor invests in different ventures to gain profits, but there also involves risk in such investments function by maintaining low correlation with the bonds and stocks, which makes them difficult to be valued and in compared to the traditional investments alternative investments are more liquid (TheStreet 2015). The main aim of this assignment is to highlight the different alternative investments which are available on capital and other markets. This assignment will also highlight the expected returns and risk associated with such investments and also studies how they are used in constructing and hedging investment portfolios. Discussion Seven alternative investments (a) Private equity: In the present scenario, there are more numbers of private organisations than the public organisations and most of these private firm functions with the capital of the investors. Private equity is a wider concept that encircles the whole investment cycle of the private money markets, and various private equity business specialised in different investment strategies. Private equity organisations collect funds and take financial support from both institutional and non-institutional investors. Then the fund is used to invest in new up-coming private firms (Harris et al 2014). Private equity is also known as the equity securities that are not traded publicly. Private equity funds, which are expert in private equity investment has made this class of assets assessable for the different market participants and the institutional investors. This asset class has witnessed a rapid growth due to the early successes of some big private equity funds. Private equity includes investments in venture capital, start-ups and provides financial support to a firm during its growth phase. One example of private equity firm is Blackstone group, which is the world's largest private equity organisation (Harris et al 2014). In the case of private equity, the expected return is high, so that higher risk associated with private equity can be compensated. The higher value of Beta which is inherent in most of the private equity investments gives rise to extra return and extra risk (Caselli et al 2013). Private equity investments are used to minimise the risk in the investment portfolios. (b)Venture capital: The investment of capital in the promising companies and start-ups is known as venture capital investments. The investor or the venture capitalist in return for the investment made in the firm gets the ownership interest. There are many examples of firms that have many investments which are made by different venture capitalists. Facebook, Google, Intel, Apple, Compaq are few such firms (Lerner et al 2012). The venture capitalist by investing in the company is allowed to be closely related to the functioning of the firm. The capitalist can also provide assistance and ideas with planning and can also receive calls during the meeting. The venture capitalist not only invests money but also invest their time and skills in the company (TheStreet 2015). But at the end of the day, the core objective of the venture capital investment is to earn a profit by investing capital in the upcoming companies that have potential to grow and earns a profit for them (TheStreet 2015). The risk and expected return associated with investment in such companies are high because these investments are capitals that are invested in the firms that have a high component of risk related to them. These risks are related to cash flows, benefits, etc. usually, the venture capitalist invest in equity or shares which generate higher return because the risk associated with such investment is higher (Korteweg et al 2013). Venture capital investments are used to minimise risk in investment portfolios. (c)Real assets investments: The tangible or physical assets that have elemental value, they include oil, real estate, agricultural land and precious metal. Goods such as luxury and collectable goods also come under this category. Jewellery, art, rare coins wine and baseball cards are also included under this category. An investor can directly buy real assets or they can invest in a fund that is specialised in real assets (Campello et al 2013). Investors can potentially broaden their portfolio diversification; can also increase the possibility to attain a constant return that goes together with the inflation and also increase the possible long-term returns with the help of global trend. In the recent years the demand for real assets have increased considerably but for all investors, it is not considered suitable. The risk involved in real assets investments is unique, for example, the company that are related to infrastructure are more volatile to government regulations, adverse economic, declining the value of real estate, financial instability, etc. There is no doubt that there involves a certain amount of risk in every investment. The real assets do not grow with constant rate and they may also witness negative growth (Campello et al 2013). Real assets help the investor to widen his portfolio diversification and also help them increase the possibility to attain a constant return that goes together with the inflation and also increase the possible long-term returns with the help of global trend. (d)Hedge fund investments: Hedge funds collect capital from investors and invest them in securities and different types of investments with the aim to earn positive returns. Hedge funds are not supervised strictly as in the case of mutual funds and are more lenient than the mutual fund investments to undertake investment. Hedge fund investments are not suitable for all the investors because investment in hedge fund involves high fees and a greater risk of loss. The managers of the hedge fund raise capital and invest them in different financial instruments and different styles (Investor.gov 2016). The risk associated with hedge fund investments is higher because the hedge fund investments are not regulated strictly, so it exposes the investor to a greater risk of loss of investment. And all the investors invest in hedge funds with a motive to earn greater returns. Hedge funds are suitable for wealthier investors because the risk and the fee of hedge fund investment are higher (Bali et al 2014). (e)Mutual fund investments: Whenever an investor decides to invest, he comes across different investment options, which may include bonds, stocks, shares and money market securities and every investment options has its set of advantages and disadvantages. In the case of mutual fund investments, it gives the investor the opportunity to pool their capital and invest them in complex securities, which are managed by a fund manager. A mutual fund also offers creative products such as exchange-traded funds, funds of funds, Fixed Maturity Plans, etc. Investors get many benefits from a mutual fund; the benefits may be financial profit or convenience (The Times of India 2016). An investor can achieve greater inflation-adjusted returns with the help of mutual fund investments and they do not need to invest a lot of time and energy in it. The investors who are more inclined towards saving time and convenience should go for mutual fund investments. Mutual fund investments also offer its investor with low investment cost in comparison with direct investment in money markets. It also provides an excellent opportunity for investment to the investors with low investment capital. The returns generated from mutual funds are higher because it provides the investor with a wide range of companies and sectors to invest. (f)Private placement debt: Investment of capital in debt is also a great market. Just like the equity private placement debt investments are not mad available to public for trading purpose and they are also not rated by the rating agency. The private firms are financed with the help of mezzanine debt and promissory note, which provides the investors with a constant flow of cash (The Times of India, 2016). Only a few investors have the access to private placement bonds because these bonds are not registered and are offered privately. De Nederlandse is the largest investor in private bonds in Netherlands. In private bonds, the access to the primary market is restricted because of the nature of the private placement market. The cost offered by the private placement debt is lower liquid than the other investments. The private bonds are best for the medium to long term investment because private bonds are not traded publicly and have lower liquidity. They are also considered as buy-and hold investments. No doubt that private bond is less liquid but they compensate these by generating higher returns and also help the investor in widening their diversification. (g)Direct investment: Direct investments are the type of investments, where the investors directly invest in private companies and start-ups. These investments are also known as angel investing, the main aim of the investor is to earn a profit. They invest in the firms that have a high potential for growth and the returns generated from such investments are high. But there also involves greater risk. Private companies will find investors with the help of private placement which is based on some assured valuation. The investors of the retail can also contribute to this by exempting the registration for the private companies because they highly depend on the registration. The company keeps looking for investment throughout their entire life cycle. So the private companies look for the companies that are already well established (TheStreet 2015). The risk associated with such investment is higher because many start-ups end up shutting down their business. And direct investment also generates higher returns as the risk involved in such investment is higher. Direct investment helps the investor to diversify his investment portfolio and minimise the risk of investment. Conclusion So the above discussion clearly highlights seven alternative investments which are available on capital and other markets, and also highlights the expected/realised returns and risks of each, and also discuss how they are used in constructing and hedging investment portfolios. References Alquist, R., Mukherjee, R. and Tesar, L., 2014. Liquidity-driven foreign direct investment. Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies WP, (17). Bali, T.G., Brown, S.J. and Caglayan, M.O., 2014. Macroeconomic risk and hedge fund returns. Journal of Financial Economics, 114(1), pp.1-19. Baumol, W., Goldfeld, S.M., Gordon, L.A. and Koehn, F.M., 2012. The economics of mutual fund markets: Competition versus regulation (Vol. 7). Springer Science Business Media. Bhala, K.T., Yeh, W. and Bhala, R., 2016. International Investment Management: Theory, Ethics and Practice. Routledge. Busse, J.A., Chordia, T., Jiang, L. and Tang, Y., 2016. Mutual Fund Transaction Costs. Campello, M. and Giambona, E., 2013. Real assets and capital structure. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 48(05), pp.1333-1370. Caselli, S., Garcia-Appendini, E. and Ippolito, F., 2013. Contracts and returns in private equity investments. Journal of Financial Intermediation, 22(2), pp.201-217. Harris, R.S., Jenkinson, T. and Kaplan, S.N., 2014. Private equity performance: What do we know?. The Journal of Finance, 69(5), pp.1851-1882. Investor.gov. (2016). Hedge Funds | Investor.gov. Korteweg, A. and Nagel, S., 2013. Risk-adjusting the returns to venture capital (No. w19347). National Bureau of Economic Research. Lerner, J., Hardymon, F. and Leamon, A., 2012. Venture capital private equity: A casebook. Mathur, A. and Singh, K., 2013. Foreign direct investment, corruption and democracy. Applied Economics, 45(8), pp.991-1002. The Times of India. (2016). Why Should You Invest in Mutual Funds?. TheStreet. (2015). 7 Common Alternative Investments That All Investors Should Know.