Hippies in the 60s and the Media

Hippies in the 60s and the Media The Myth of the Sixties It has been said that of all the artificial concepts of the twentieth century, the sixties have the greatest hold on the imagination. The decade has come to take on mythical proportions, a time in the history of the world where â€Å"everything changed,† and whether for good or for naught depends on which side of the fence you stand on. The hippies, artists and bohemians, then and now, regard it as a magical time, while the â€Å"squares,† conservatives, members of the mainstream and the like view it as a nightmare. And whether one was too young or too old to participate, or, in fact, was not even born, holds no relevance; the legend of the sixties will never die. However, the truth is that the decade and its participants were nothing more than the embodiment of three powerful myths: the myth of the hippies as â€Å"dirty scum,† as orchestrated by the media and the politicians; the myth of the hippies as world-changing revolutionaries, as created by the hippies t hemselves; and the perpetuation and extension of this last myth by marketers and advertisers for profit. This paper will examine the sixties with these three myths in mind. Before we can fully decipher the first myth (the role the media played in the creation of the hippy counterculture), it is necessary to look at the movement’s precedents. The late 50s and early 60s saw the arrival of three â€Å"subcultures,† the Beats, the Teds and the Mods, all of which received more media attention than they deserved; that is, practically every aspect of these groups (the number of members, the extent of their activities, the duration of the movements, etc.), was exaggerated (Green, 41). For example, the early sixties were presumably host to countless â€Å"turf wars† between two of these subcultures (the Rockers and the Mods). The first of these took place in Clacton in 1964, and although the actual turnout was low, the rival groups were quickly labeled as â€Å"gangs† by the media (Green, 46). The day after the event, nearly every national newspaper ran frenzied, front-page stories on the incident, urging Home Secretary Henry Brooke to take action (ibid). A year later, similar scenes repeated themselves in Brighton, Weston-super-Mare and Great Yarmouth, and media reports were filled with â€Å"broken deckchairs, fleeing grannies, stern-faced policemen, outraged councilors, etc.,† which were largely embellished or outright fabricated (Green, 47). The reality was in fact a pale imitation of the myth. It evolved later that there were no â€Å"gangs† as such, there was little evidence of premeditated hostility (most people had come just to watch), and for all the reports of â€Å"blood and violence† there was actually very little (Cohen, 1973). But the seeds had been sown, the damage had been done, and by the time the Rocker and Mod subcultures died down, there was the need for another â€Å"public nuisance† to take their place, another â€Å"group defined as a threat to societal values and interests, its nature presented in a stylised and stereotypical fashion by the mass media, the moral barricades manned by editors, bishops, politicians and other right-thinking people, diagnoses and solutions pronounced by accredited experts† (ibid). Enter the hippy. The term hippy, on the surface, constitutes a vast array of bohemian and student subcultures, ranging from artistic-intellectuals to dropouts and dope smokers (Brake, 92). There are those who see them as romantic, childlike and pagan; others who see them as juvenile, hedonistic and offensive. The British hippie underground grew out of the â€Å"beatnik literary-artistic scene,† the peace movement and the corresponding American faction, spurred on by such pseudo-political groups as The Yippies, the Diggers and the Merry Pranksters, as well as various individuals including Ken Kesey (author of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test), LSD guru Timothy Leary, and Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, who appeared at the Albert Hall International Poetry Incarnation in 1965 (Brake, 102). However, while there were certainly symbolic precedents as mentioned above, and without a doubt small segments of the population were â€Å"tuned in† to a new way of thinking and acting, the fact was that an actual, pervasive, unifying movement didn’t really exist: â€Å"We’ve all gone along with the illusion that Ginsberg and Dylan and Baez and the Beatles and the Stones were all part of the same thing. Well, they are part of one thing, in the sense that we’re all human beings and we are all part of the word and each other. So is Lyndon Johnson, so it the mafia head of Chicago, so are the Hell’s Angels. We’ve tended to make the distinction between Us and Them. Now if we’ve got to recognise anything, there’s not much difference between the Angles beating that kid over the head with a pool cue, and the Chicago cops beating you over the head because you’ve got long hair† (Gleason, 219). It could be argued that if there were any changes taking place, they weren’t so much cultural as economic and social, which pegged young people against their parents, and led to vastly different worldviews and lifestyle choices (Brake, 93). While the hippies were loosely grouped around the concept of social and political change (which, in America, largely meant protestation of the Vietnam War), in Britain, there was never any corresponding social impetus. If anything, their behaviour was nothing more than a purposeful attempt to exhibit distinctly oppositional beliefs than those condoned by society, favouring â€Å"immediacy, spontaneity and hedonism† (Weider and Zimmerman, 1977). And it is these tendencies that the media jumped on. British newspapers reported hippies as being â€Å"dirty, idle, promiscuous and drug-users† (Brake, 96). A typical report showed a nude, bearded, long-haired man with the caption: â€Å"The hippy cult is degrading, decadent and plain daft† (ibid). A story about the London Street Commune who decided to squat in an abandoned Georgian mansion in 144 Piccadilly described their home as: â€Å"lit only by the dim light of their drugged cigarettes,† complete with â€Å"drug taking†¦couples making love while others look on†¦a heavy mob armed with iron bars, filth and stench, foul language†¦these are not rumours but facts, sordid facts which will shock ordinary decent living people† (News of the World, 1969). A similar report appeared in The Daily Mail on 2 August, 1969: â€Å"It makes me ashamed to be British. They [the hippies] live around in filthy clothes, mauling in each other in the streets. No wonder our country has gone to the dogs.† The hippies acted as convenient scapegoats, and the Tories eagerly jumped on the bandwagon in portraying them as moral degenerates who needed to be squelched so as to save the world from its baser instincts (Green, 448). The truth is that most of these hippies were not degenerates and criminals but students and ex-students, who were able to engage in a lifestyle filled with LSD, rock music and â€Å"free love† because of student grants and welfare payments (Brake, 95). Not only did the media paint an inaccurate picture of them, but the hippies believed their own hype and bought into their own myth. For while they railed against materialism, their lifestyle was only supported because of the benefits they received from living in a welfare system; while they were â€Å"anti-technology,† they had access to hi-tech stereo systems and complex light shows; in short, they â€Å"felt freedom was an individual element yet were controlled by a powerful state† (Brake, 97). The movement was short-lived because a â€Å"full-time leisure expressive subculture can only develop in an economy with sufficient surplus and employment† (Brake, 99). When the economy plummeted, so did the membership of the subculture; the hippies faded away in the wake of unemployment and economic crisis (ibid). However, even describing the hippies as an actual â€Å"movement† is questionable. One problem is that in looking at subcultures, it needs to be taken into account that they are actually a minority, who, because of their dramatic style, are given vast media coverage (Green, 158). Many hippies were latchers-on at best. Those who joined may have been rebellious, they may have adopted specific styles and values, but their rebellion did not embody genuine opposition (Green, 159). For many involved, it was not about social or political change at all; it was merely about fashion. As Angela Carter wrote in her Notes for a theory of sixties style: â€Å"The nature of our apparel is very complex. Clothes are so many things at once. Our social shells, the system of signals with which we broadcast our intentions, are often the projections of our fantasy selves†¦clothes are our weapons, our challenges, our visual insults† (Carter, 1967). Murdock and McCron, in a vast-raging counter-cultural study, found that most of the people they surveyed were not actually involved in local subcultures, but had adopted the styles because of the teenage entertainment industry (Murdock and McCron, 1976). The respondents â€Å"were expression and extension of the dominant meaning system, rather than deviation from or in opposition to it† (ibid). The truth is that most people are not seduced by subcultures, and only dress or act in similar stylistic ways when they have become acceptable by the mainstream. Much of the hippie culture was deliberately manufactured for marketing consumption, and much of the art and music of the sixties was commercialized and transformed into a commodity for the larger society (Brake, 99). Some of the decade’s premier acts the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, etc. – and rock ‘n roll in general, which had once been so threatening, had become as safe as the blue-chip companies that spo nsored and sold it (Green, 446). While the decade spawned a number of unconventional institutions, such as the underground press, it also launched substantial fortunes for such figures as Richard Branson and Tony Elliot (Green, 445). Smart, â€Å"alternative† capitalists took advantage of the period, and â€Å"transmogrified† the decade’s slogans into designer labels (Rowbotham, xiv). Furthermore: â€Å"The ‘underground culture,’ considered so radical and pervasive at the time, shifted just as radically. The progressive and loud rock of the 60s turned into the heavy metal of the 80s, with mysticism giving way to pulp science fiction, sexual freedom to braggadocio, liberation to repression. The nudity of the underground was packaged and mass-marketed by Rupert Murdoch. In the 1960s the young dropped out; in the 1980s they are dropped out. Drugs were considered a tool to heighten reality, and became an escape from the present† (Fountain, 215). The transformation of the hippie movement from extreme to mainstream, particularly in terms of merchandising, illustrated how well people had mastered the game, and were able to manipulate it according to their own agenda: hip consumerism had become mass consumerism (Frank, 1997). Current reactions to the sixties are mixed. While some regard it as a â€Å"golden age,† all â€Å"dope, revolution and fucking in the streets,† others, particularly the younger generation of today, see it as â€Å"a period smacking of weakness, of airy-fairy wishy-washiness, of an ascendancy of the cranks† (Green, 449). Everyone’s youth is of course a golden age, and part of the reason for the enduring myth of the sixties is that there are so many baby boomers today. Normal Mailer has noted how often the â€Å"reverberations that follow are out of all proportion to the presumed smallness of the original event† (ibid). Perhaps no better description could apply to the sixties. The decade is cloaked in myth, and there are no signs of this changing anytime soon. Today there is a thriving 1960s nostalgia industry, which is all about the clothes and the music, and has nothing do with politics or cultural change. This â€Å"sanitized† version of the era, safe for mass consumption, is just as much a myth as the sixties being a virtual â€Å"hell on earth.† However, whichever one you choose to subscribe to, one thing is probably certain: it didn’t actually happen that way. Bibliography Brake, Mike. The sociology of youth culture and youth subcultures. Sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll? London: Routledge Kegan Paul Ltd, 1980. Carter, A. â€Å"Notes for a theory of sixties style.† New Society. 14 December, 1967. Cohen, Stanley. Folk Devils and Moral Panics. Albans: Palladin, 1973. Fountain, Nigel. Underground, the London Alternative Press, 1966-74. London: Routledge, 1988. Frank, Thomas. The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counter Culture and the Rise of Hip Consumerism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. Gleason, R. â€Å"Rock for sale,† in Eisen, J. (ed.) The Age of Rock 2. Sights and Sounds of the American Cultural Revolution. New York: Vintage Books, 1970. Green, Jonathan. All dressed up: The sixties and the counterculture. London: Random House, 1998. Murdock, G. and McCron, R. â€Å"Consciousness of class and consciousness of generation† in S. Hall and T. Jefferson (eds.) Resistance Through Rituals: Youth subcultures in post-war Britain. Hutchinson: London, 1976. News of the World. â€Å"Hippies, drugs and the sordid truth.† 21 September, 1969. Rowbotham, Sheila. Promise of a dream: Remembering the sixties. London: Penguin Books, 2000. Weider, L. and Zimmerman, S. Understanding Social Problems. New York: Praeger Press, 1977.

Tourism Essay -- Traveling, Service Qualities

It is generally agreed that tourism is fragmented. It is made up of various sectors or subsidiaries such as transportation, accommodation, attractions, amenities, catering, entertainment, eating and drinking establishments, shops, activity facilities (Leisure and recreation), and many others. These sectors provide products and service for individuals or groups o tourists who travel away from. Consequently, tourism is an amalgam of the products and services that its various subsectors make available or tourists. The provision of these products and services depends on the linkage between various sectors and their mutual interactions. Tourism is the most wide-ranging industry, in the sense that it demands products rom many sectors of the economy (Edgell, 1990) and employs millions of people in different sectors. For example, airplanes and buses must be manufactured to transport tourists; computers must be produced to make hotel booking and airline reservations; Steel, concrete, and glass are need to build hotels and restaurants; fabrics are needed to make cloths; meat, wheat, and vegetables must be grown to feed visitors. No other industry has so many linkage and interactions with so many sectors of the economy (Edgell, 1990), and delivers so many different kinds of products and services to consumers. Suppose we take a tourism provider as the example for this paper. Without any doubt they should have some sort of service which posses some competitive strategies. According to page et al (2001) in Williams and Buswell (2003) the careful management of the tourist experience is an absolutely vital and complex requirement. So here some examples of services and experience which can provide by a tourism coordinator are follows: .. ...roviders set up certain policies that are deemed comparable to their image and being suitable to their target market. Those policies particularly initiated by management or a service team (Kandampully et al, 2001). They may be developed through a formal process or may automatically evolve from experience and preferences. Policies may be detailed in company documents or simply published by word of mouth throughout the organization. In spite of the system, service policies set the standards for the provision of guest services in the company. Service standards can be only as good as the resultant performance. Although service policies may establish rules and performance standards for staffs while they are not perform effectively. Some companies develop wide-ranging service policies only to motivate staff while they fall short in performance (Kandampully et al, 2001).

How Charles Dickens shows Miss Havisham change over the novel Essay

How does Dickens show the change in Miss Havisham over the course of the novel?  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Great Expectation† is about a young boy named Pip and follows him throughout his life. Pip meets Miss Havisham a lady with a broken heart who has an adopted daughter named Estella, Estella is a â€Å"pretty young girl† that pip falls in love with. A close analysis of the novel reveals Miss Havisham is not the person she is perceived to be. The bitter and vengeful Miss Havisham is one of the main characters in Dickens’ novel Great Expectations. She is central to the novel and holds the plot together. Dickens waits until Chapter 8 to introduce the character to the reader, like Pip we are scared and frightened when we meet her for the first time. â€Å"I should have cried out, if I could†. This shows that Miss Havisham intimidates Pip; and as a result, we fear for Pip; and are also uncomfortable as readers. Also, the word ‘haunting’ is associated when we think of Miss Havisham. This is because of her â€Å"ghostly† appearance, her disturbed state of mind, and the way she haunts Pip. If we are to say haunting is when someone/something has a lasting, negative effect on something, it is evidently shown that Miss Havisham is a gothic, disturbing, melancholic character. Dickens uses descriptive writing to describe Miss Havisham as a wealthy, well dressed woman â€Å"in rich materials – satins, and lace, and silk†. Dickens uses imagery of luxury and opulence to give a clear picture in the readers mind about how Miss Havisham is dressed. Dickens also uses a simile’ withered like the dress’ to show how Miss Havisham has been trapped in time and grown old and decayed along with her white wedding dress, also reflecting her mental state. Dickens presents her to be a living dead, ‘waxwork and skeleton’ as there is nothing healthy in her. She has allowed herself to get wasted and now she looks more dead than alive. Both Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter Estella, manipulate Pip for their own â€Å"sick fancys†. Miss Havisham states to Pip that her heart has been â€Å"broken† and she wants â€Å"diversion†. She also â€Å"has had enough of men and women† therefore, enclosing herself in her house. Miss Havisham was jolted at the altar by the man she thought she loved. As a result of her heartache and pain, she stopped the clocks at twenty to nine, and left the house and herself exactly the way it was on that day; â€Å"never seen the sun since you were born†. In addition, Miss Havisham uses Estella as a ploy, to seek revenge on all males. Estella is a young lady, who is very pretty. Estella is very rude and patronises Pip. She calls him by the name of â€Å"boy† which makes us feel sorry for Pip and dislike Estella. Estella known to be a â€Å"beautiful†, â€Å"self possessed†, â€Å"scornful† young lady makes Pip aware of his common working class background. He is powerfully attractive to the mysterious ways of Satis House and Estella. He accepts her cruelty as he truly loves her, he follows her taunting and harshness and wishes to become a rich gentlemen; to please Estella and to stop her name calling and for her not see him as â€Å"coarse†, â€Å"rough† boy. This is when Pip wants to higher his social class, starting the course of â€Å"Great Expectations†. Miss Havisham is the feeder to the way Pip thinks and manipulates him into thinking that she is the benefactor for him becoming a gentleman living in London. She leads him to believe this by slyly hinting that she knows more. â€Å"Mr Jaggers is your guardian I understand?† This makes pip believe that it is her that is helping him to becoming a gentleman. Although in the end we find out it is a convicted he helped when he was younger. Satis House, the reflection of Miss Havisham’s state of mind â€Å"in every crevice†; decaying. She has enclosed herself within the walls of Satis House letting no outside world in. The only way you can get in is through the front gate which is guarded at all times. The house remains to be the exact same as when she left it. The garden with trees fluctuated everywhere, grass â€Å"in every crevice†. This shows that its hasn’t been cared for, just like Miss Havisham hasn’t. The interior is also decaying. In Chapter 11, Pip goes into her room and sees a â€Å"A bride-cake. Mine!† that was â€Å"seeming to grow†. It is as if it is a part of her, a part of her past and past happiness that has gone. This makes the reader feel sorry for her, as she is truly heartbroken. Miss Havisham has been presented by Dickens as a cold, heartless character, only thinking about herself. Dickens makes us believe this by the way Estella is treated by her; the way Miss Havisham uses her to break all males’ hearts. â€Å"Love her, love her, love her!† Miss Havisham tells pip with â€Å"passionate eagerness† whatever Estella does he will â€Å"love her†. She curses him like a evil persuasive witch doing a spell. This shows that she focuses on one thing and must live up to a target; it is an unhealthy love its like obsession. Estella now can’t love; she doesn’t know how to love. Estella can’t even love her Miss Havisham. This all changes in chapters 38 and 49 Miss Havisham feels guilty for making Estella becomes a cold â€Å"heartless† person. However, when Estella rebels to her adopted mother, Miss Havisham is truly sorry for her harsh actions â€Å"what have I done?† She says this repeated several times, truly sorry. As she has no idea what she has done wrong. Miss Havisham can’t die without knowing she is forgiven. Dickens has shown he unmarried contradictory character Miss Havisham, has gone through many changes throughout the novel. Although â€Å"Great Expectation† is a novel about Pips life, it includes â€Å"Terror†, â€Å"love†, drama, and excitement; these factors of the novel are part of how Miss Havisham has changed.Towards the end of the novel in chapter 49 Dickens use of ominous language prepares the reader the Miss Havisham’s death. â€Å"Funeral music†, â€Å"the cathedral chimes† All these quotes prepare the reader for something to go wrong, like a death is going to occur. Dickens also explains when he walks pasted the â€Å"priory garden, seemed to call to me that the place was changed† this shows the future will change by a death. Miss Havisham’s death made a big difference to the novel. In chapter 49 Miss Havisham dies after server burns from an accidental fire. Her death is very painful. â€Å"She was shrieking, with a whirl of fire blazing all about her†, this death in some ways seems to release her from all her hurt and pain. The fire is symbolic; pip â€Å"dragged the heap of rottenness in the midst, and all the ugly things that sheltered there†. This shows it dragged all the decay and the living death away. The fire ended it all.   In conclusion to this Miss Havisham has changed from an evil witch who only thinks about herself to a woman who feels guilty for all the things she has done.

Free Essays on Sexual Liberation

women and sexual beings did not belong in the same sentence. In early American culture, especially that of Christianity, women were to engage in intercourse with their husbands for the sole purposes of procreation and pleasing their mate. Women were viewed as the weaker sex and they were supposed to uphold the ideals of Christian morals (O’Neill, 1972). They were also expected to save themselves for marriage (Fisher, 1999). In the mid 1800’s, William Hammond, the surgeon-general of the United States, wrote: â€Å"The belief that women had a sexual appetite was a vile aspersion. Nine-tenths of the time decent women felt not the slightest pleasure in sexual experience (Colton, 1971). Charles Kligerman, and American psychoanalyst, stated: â€Å"Procreation in marriage was the only excuse for sexual activity and engaging in it for any other purpose-even as an act of love-was sinful (Swerdloff, 1975).† In both instances, it is obvious that women were definitely not to enjoy sexual experiences. In the Victorian era, it was noted that women were to tolerate men’s sexual needs as a part of marital duty (Safilios-Rothschild, 1977). Also, the women were all but required by law to be virgins at the time of marriage. However, the same standard was not upheld for men. Sigmund Freud, arguably the most well known name in psychology, gave h... Free Essays on Sexual Liberation Free Essays on Sexual Liberation Women’s Roles as Sexual Beings Throughout most of history, the notion of women and sex was simply unheard of. Women were forbidden to demonstrate a sexual prowess and sexual oppression took many forms from female circumcision to society-issued gender roles. In the last twenty-five years or so, women have started their own sexual liberation. However, women are still living a double standard when it comes to issues relating to sex. I feel that sexual liberation and equality is extremely important for both men and women and unfortunately, there is still an inequality. Until recently in our history, the words women and sexual beings did not belong in the same sentence. In early American culture, especially that of Christianity, women were to engage in intercourse with their husbands for the sole purposes of procreation and pleasing their mate. Women were viewed as the weaker sex and they were supposed to uphold the ideals of Christian morals (O’Neill, 1972). They were also expected to save themselves for marriage (Fisher, 1999). In the mid 1800’s, William Hammond, the surgeon-general of the United States, wrote: â€Å"The belief that women had a sexual appetite was a vile aspersion. Nine-tenths of the time decent women felt not the slightest pleasure in sexual experience (Colton, 1971). Charles Kligerman, and American psychoanalyst, stated: â€Å"Procreation in marriage was the only excuse for sexual activity and engaging in it for any other purpose-even as an act of love-was sinful (Swerdloff, 1975).† In both instances, it i s obvious that women were definitely not to enjoy sexual experiences. In the Victorian era, it was noted that women were to tolerate men’s sexual needs as a part of marital duty (Safilios-Rothschild, 1977). Also, the women were all but required by law to be virgins at the time of marriage. However, the same standard was not upheld for men. Sigmund Freud, arguably the most well known name in psychology, gave h...

50 Good Narrative Essay Topics Top Tips

50 Good Narrative Essay Topics Top Tips Great Narrative Essay Topics No matter what topic you select for your narrative essay, you will be telling your readers something about your own life experiences or your hopes, dreams and opinions or you will be answering a question. It is hoped the list of narrative essay topics below will stir your creative juices and help you find the right topic for your assignment.   Ã‚   What animal I would choose as a pet. What gadget I would invent. If I could see only one color. The food I most like. A secret place I hide. A very odd thing I saw. The most unbelievable thing I ever saw. Who I would like to swap places with for just one week. The place I would most like to live. A secret I have kept. This is a good topic for narrative essays because most people have some interesting secret. The task I most dislike doing. The toughest lesson of my life. An incident that was hugely embarrassing. The most memorable trip I have taken. An occasion when I got completely lost. The place I would most like to take a vacation. What I believe the world will be like in fifty years’ time. What is kept under my bed. What animal I would most like to become. An animal I met that was really fascinating. Subject matter about animals usually makes good narrative essay topics. My idol. The superhero I most like. The thing I find most beautiful in this world. An occasion when my parents were absolutely right. The five items I would find most difficult to give up. My favorite gadget. How I would spend a million dollars. My most favorite toy ever. A charm I find lucky. My earliest memory. This is another one of those interesting narrative essay topics for college students, in part because everyone’s earliest memories are entirely unique. What I remember about being five. If I lived on my very own planet. The worst day I ever had weather-wise. If I could go back in time. The changes I would make to myself. The best thing that was ever invented. A story that made me laugh out loud. The career I would most like to have. The school rules I would change if I could. A secret talent I have. When choosing narrative essay topics, this is another idea worth considering. Hidden talents sometimes come as a real surprise and are often of an innovative nature.    Something great I achieved. The things I would do if I was invisible. Something that disappeared. The nicest thing I ever owned. The toughest choice I’ve ever had to make. The top five things I would most like to give up. What I would most love to own. A place I would love to go on a cruise to. Which country I would live in if I could choose where to live. The television program I would make up if I were given the opportunity.

The balance of payments is the main measure of import and exports in Essay

The balance of payments is the main measure of import and exports in the UK. For some years the balance of payment s has been in - Essay Example Additionally, an accurate balance of payment deficit must make provisions for errors and omissions to account for the missed out data. When there is a disequilibria in the balance of payments as a result of certain sections of the balance of payments being in deficit, then we can conclude that an economy’s balance of payments is deficit. This in most cases occurs with respect to deficits in a countries and to a smaller extent trade deficits. This is theoretically explained by the fact that for equilibrium to be reached, there must be a balance between capital/ current accounts values and the financial account. This therefore explains the UK situation is that if there is a deficit in current account then there must be a surplus on the capital/financial account (Nikolas 2010, p. 59). The ever persistent UK current account deficit can be traced to mid-1980s with a review of the current account revealing that the imports of goods and services exceed their exports. A critical revie w of the values of balance of payment account observed from the first quarter of the year 2000 to the last quarter of this year show a deteriorating current account. The study reveals a current deficit of over 12 billion pounds as at the last quarter of 2012 translating to a 3.2% of the GDP. ... This is majorly attributed to the process of de-industrialisation which accelerated in the early 1980s. A growth in consumer spending that UK been experiencing is majorly as a result of rapid increase in the imports leading to the worsening of the current account. Looking at the 1980s boom, it is evident that the fall in the rate of savings and the resulting rise in the consumer spending of the UK citizens led to the record deficit in current accounts. On the other hand, the recession experienced in 1991 which resulted to the consequent improvement in the current account improvement and subsequent falling in the spending on imports (Guillermo 1978). Another important reason that can be attributed to the deficit in balance of payments is the overvalued exchange rates. This, apart from, other countries like Spain, Greece and Portugal can be attributed to the large account deficits in the countries as it makes exports from the countries more expensive in the international markets while the imports becomes cheaper. This is a motivation to the local consumers to purchase of the imports which are relatively cheap while on the other hand making the market tougher for the exporters since it makes them uncompetitive in the market compared to exporters from other countries. With overvalued exchange rate, there are expectations of general competitiveness in amongst various firms. A decline in relative competitiveness coupled with rising costs, poor quality of goods and industrial unrests which results to difficulties in making exportations which causes deterioration of the current account of the UK (Stijn 1988). Various economists have attribute

International Corporate Finance - Business Report Essay

International Corporate Finance - Business Report - Essay Example This is because South Africa is one of the major producers of gold in the world. The Foreign Direct Investments policies of the country and a suitable market entry mode have been suggested in order to direct KM an entry path towards South Africa. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 5 Background 5 Mission of King Minerals Limited (KM) 6 Outline of the Study 6 Country Risk Analysis 6 Political Risk Analysis 6 Government in South Africa 8 Government Policies for Mining Industry 8 Economic or Financial Risk Analysis 9 Gold Mining Contribution to GDP 10 Gold Mining Impacts on South Africa 12 Affect of Gold Mining on the Economic Condition 12 Taxation System for Mining Industry 13 Foreign Direct Investment 14 Conclusion and Recommendations 15 References 16 Bibliography 18 Introduction Background The study aims at conducting a country risk analysis to assist the Australian Investment Bank in advising about investment opportunities in South African gold mining industry. King M inerals Limited (KM), an Australian mineral firm wanted to float an ambitious program for exploring and extracting gold in Africa, so it is important to conduct an analysis of Africa and its gold mining industry. The political, social and economic record of South Africa to a large extent is influenced by the exploration of a glittering metal called Gold. The gold mining industry played a very significant role in the economy of South Africa, with respect to its employment opportunities, exports, financial growth and a huge contribution to the revenue generated from government tax. The gold mining industry contributed about 1.4 percent to the GDP of the country in the year 2004 (Kearney, 2012). However, in 2006, the prices of gold increased as the focus was mainly on productivity and cost. The production of local gold decreased by 7.5 percent, which was about 275 tons, but in spite of this the gold industry of South Africa is in the top most producer of gold in the global market, whic h is about 11.2 percent. Gold mining sector is critical for the South African economy. In the year 2006, this sector contributed R36.7 billion to the total export of South Africa, which was about 8.4 percent, and 1.1 percent of the GDP (Chamber of Mines of South Africa. 2008). The gold industry is also linked to the other developments in the country such as the infrastructure development, formation of capital, and also urbanization. The gold industry is taxed in a much different way that the other industries of South Africa. The taxes are imposed on a formula basis, while all the other mineral industries are taxed on a flat rate in case of income tax filings. However, the tax authorities in South Africa have decided to introduce revenue system that is based on royalty for imposing tax on the gold revenue mining. This regulation has been imposed since 2009 (PWC. 2012). Mission of King Minerals Limited (KM) King Minerals Limited (KM) is committed towards creating and delivering outsta nding values to the stakeholders through the development, exploration, and mining of gold and other valuable metals. Outline of the Study The study attempts to focus on the country risk analysis of South African gold mining sector and assess the various risk factors that need to be analyzed before developing a business proposal for exploration and mining activities in South Africa for gold. The study begins with a background of the gold mining industry of South