Learn How to Improve Your Writing Skills

Learn How to Improve Your Writing SkillsESL Compare and Contrast Essay Sample can help students focus on the big picture when writing their essays. They should be able to create a clear and concise description of the topic that they are writing about and explain the major points of the research and analysis that they have done to write the essay. Since they will need to be able to communicate their ideas, they should make sure that they use as many good writing skills as possible in the document.However, while you should not forget to spell check, make sure that you do not also spend a lot of time correcting and rewriting your English essay. It is one thing to know how to write an effective document; it is another thing to actually do it. One way that ESL Compare and Contrast Essay Sample helps is by helping the student learn how to revise their paper.The best way to learn how to revise your document is to look at sample papers that other students are working on. It can be very frust rating for a student to write something that they know is going to be rejected. When they get a chance to look at other students' writing, they will be able to see what kind of mistakes that they are making and how to avoid those mistakes.One of the main things that students often make mistakes with is writing an English essay. Writing is not just something that they do when they read an assignment from the teacher. Students do not always take writing seriously. They tend to simply wing their papers without even reading the entire first paragraph.It is easy to make a mistake when you are not really paying attention to your grammar or when you are not really trying to be a good student. When you work with ESL Compare and Contrast Essay Sample, you will learn some tips that you can use to better write your papers. You will also get a sense of what not to do. You will be able to show that you have been doing your homework and that you can read the document that you are writing.One tip that many students do not pay attention to is to use the correct spelling when they are writing English. ESL Compare and Contrast Essay Sample is not just for adults. Students who are struggling with their English should look at how students write to see if they can take some tips from this example of research.ESL Compare and Contrast Essay Sample is a great resource because it shows you what to look for when reviewing your English essay. You will also learn how to correct any spelling mistakes that you make. It is important to learn how to correct spelling mistakes and to proofread a document so that you do not run into any more problems.ESL Compare and Contrast Essay Sample is a great resource because it will teach you how to look for mistakes when you are writing. This way, you will be able to do a better job. You will be able to do a better job by understanding how to use ESL Compare and Contrast Essay Sample as a tool to help you read your documents and improve on your writing skills.

Definition and Examples of the Fallacy of Equivocation

Definition and Examples of the Fallacy of Equivocation Equivocation is a fallacy by which a specific  word or phrase in an argument is used with more than one meaning. Its also known as semantic equivocation. Compare this with the related term of  amphiboly, where the ambiguity is in the grammatical construction  of the sentence rather than just a single word or phrase. Compare also with the term polysemy, which refers to when a single word has more than one meaning, and  lexical ambiguity when a word is ambiguous because it has more than one meaning. Equivocation is a common fallacy because it often is quite hard to notice that a shift in meaning has taken place, note authors Howard Kahane and Nancy Cavender in their book Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric. The sugar industry, for instance, once advertised its product with the claim that Sugar is an essential component of the body...a key material in all sorts of metabolic processes, neglecting the fact that it is glucose (blood sugar) not ordinary table sugar (sucrose) that is the vital nourishment (Wadsworth, 1998). In a broader sense,  equivocation  refers to the  use of vague or unclear  language, especially when the intention is to mislead or deceive an  audience. Combatting the Fallacy You need to discover context behind the slippery terms and an arguments assertions when working to combat an equivocation fallacy. The  fallacy of equivocation  occurs particularly in  arguments  involving words that have a multiplicity of meanings, such as  capitalism, government, regulation, inflation, depression, expansion,  and  progress, note authors  Robert Huber and Alfred Snider in their book Influencing Through Argument. To expose the fallacy of equivocation you give accurate and specific  definitions  of  terms,  and  show  carefully that in one place the definition of the terms was different from the definition in another (IDEA, 2005). Take a look at the following ridiculous  syllogism  example given in the book  Informal Fallacies: Towards a Theory of Argument Criticisms by  Douglas N. Walton: An elephant is an animal.A gray elephant is a gray animal.Therefore, a small elephant is a small animal.Here we have a relative term, small, that shifts meaning according to the context. A small house may not be taken, in some contexts, as anywhere near the size of a small insect. Small is a highly relative term, unlike grey, that shifts according to subject. A small elephant is still a relatively large animal. (John Benjamins, 1987) Investigating equivocation fallacies in a debate opponents arguments will be more difficult than one that is readily apparent to be not factual like the above, but fallacies like this are worthwhile to combat, as getting to see behind the curtain and find truth  is important, for example, when searching for peoples (or politicians) motives behind what they endorse.   Another area to dig into is vagueness of a claim or when a term is left undefined. For example, when President Bill Clinton claimed not to have sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky, his statement may have meant one particular act but was presented in such a way that it appeared he hoped people would infer his denial of all types of sexual contact. Next, look also for words taken out of context from an original text or speech and twisted around to mean something other than what the person meant.

Case anasis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case anasis - Essay Example In the blink of an eye Groupon.com serves more than 150 business sectors in North America and 100 businesses in Europe, Asia and South America and has a populace faithfulness of 35 million enrolled clients. One of the quickest developing organizations ever, Groupon and its most recent day by day arrangements were news the business media couldnt oppose. From the nearby corner bread kitchen to national retailers, for example, Gap, sizzling offers were anticipated to triple Groupons 50 million endorsers by the end of the year. Anyhow while the spotlight remained concentrated on the feature "characteristic" bargains, Groupon was quietly trying new models to stretch this center stage. In late 2010, the organization presented Groupon Stores, an administration toward oneself model that outfitted stores with the instruments to fabricate their own particular advancements. Bargains head and prime supporter Eric Lefkofsky pondered that when clients could "go on their own and set up an arrangement, Groupon might turn into their business method," implying yet an alternate new plot of the business, Merchant Services. That said, Lefkofsky immediately forewarn that such lighter-touch models were still new and spoke to only one faction of the numerous tests Groupon was running. By March 2011, Groupon confronted three noteworthy rivals in the day by day arrangements scene: Livingsocial, Bloomspot, and Buywithme. Except for Livingsocial, Groupon was supposed to be ten times the span of different rivals in the space; Exhibit 3 gives more insights about piece of the overall industry. Despite the fact that a group of other "blaze deal" models, for example, Gilt Groupe and Ruelala had additionally risen and could be approximately interpreted as contenders, most organizations in this basin were more concentrated on clearing stock for well-known national brands as opposed to on helping SMBs to enhance their incomes through buzz,

704 discussion 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

704 discussion 1 - Assignment Example The needs have further increased care cost. Dynamism in care needs is another factor to the inefficiency and ineffectiveness and rise in chronic diseases among the aging population is an example and identifies need for time and resources for understanding the problems and suitable intervention measures. Poor response to the dynamic environment and poor organization of the care system is another factor that leads lack of intervention or inappropriate intervention to care problems. These are consistent with observations by the Institute of Medicine (2001). I might consider incorporating some of the rules in my capstone redesign through establishing a leadership role for implementation of the redesign rules. The leadership would seek to influence implementation of the rules and effectiveness of the rules on healthcare outcomes investigated in the capstone. The content of the roadmap reading informs methodology of my capstone through suggesting an experimental design for data collection and data analysis on possible effectiveness of redesigning the health care system (Institute of Medicine, 2008). Based on the content, a redesign can be implemented in sample and comparison done with data from a sample of the same population, but without redesign. Institute of Medicine. (2001). Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century. Institute of Medicine. Retrieved from:

Infancy Through Adolescence Essay Example for Free

Infancy Through Adolescence Essay Changes in the home environment such as marital conflict, divorce and poor parenting can adversely affect family dynamics, and children especially, can develop both mental and physical health problems. Research finds a correlation between parental separation and the internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in children; this includes childhood sleep problems due to marital conflict. Children can help define and influence the dynamics of marital conflict. Studies show that in early childhood, parent-child relationships are critical to a child’s healthy development especially the mother-child relations and maternal depression can cause poor parenting leading to emotional and behavioral problems. Child maltreatment is associated with alterations in stress physiology, increased risk for emotional and behavioral issues and increased risk for mental health issues in adolescence. Positive and supportive co-parenting can buffer against the negative effects of marital conflict and divorce especially in low-income and at-risk families. Successful co-parenting relationships can positively affect a child’s socio-emotional development and mental health. Family dynamics and changes in the home will affect the development and well-being of a child throughout infancy or adolescence. Home environments which are dysfunctional in nature, experiencing marital conflict, and separation/divorce or poor-parenting can cause problems within a child’s development including mental and physical issues. Some children will internalize their problems and suffer from anxiety and depression. Others will outwardly externalize their behaviors through aggression and conduct problems; preteens are especially at risk for antisocial behavior (Taylor, Purswell, Lindo, Jayne, Fernando, 2011; Sentse, Ormel, Veenstra, Verhulst, Oldehinkel, 2011). In the Barry Kochanska (2011, p. 237) study, they point out that dysfunctional parenting, parental depressive symptoms and marital conflict are associated with childhood adjustment and development. Consistently, studies show that marital problems adversely affect child development and adjustment. As Rhoades, Leve, Harold, Neiderhiser, Shaw Reiss (2011) state â€Å"the association between marital hostility and child adjustment is clearly established† and â€Å"pathways from marital hostility to child adjustment have been well studied, research[ed] to date† (p. 282). And Teti Cole (2011) further add that â€Å"faulty parenting is frequently cited as a major causal factor in the development of child psychopathology† (p. 25). Emotions and Family Dynamics In Barry and Kochanska (2010) study, the authors look at family emotional well-being, the critical nature of the parent-child relationship and how this impacts a child’s development. Emotions are given and received through individuals and family relationships are shaped by them; family dynamics are influenced and develop from these relational emotions. The emotional affects are multi-dimension and reach all family members reciprocally. One approach known as transactional family dynamics looks at mutual influence processes between all family members (Schermerhorn, Chow Cummings, 2010, p. 869). Although few studies have been conducted, the transactional family dynamic modal theorizes that if there are marital problems and conflict, the focus is not exclusively on the husband and wife’s problems, but how the family children also influence the marital relationship’s conflict. In one rare study, it was found that â€Å"in families with high levels of marital conflict, child externalizing problems predicted increases in marital conflict† (Schermerhorn et al. , 2010, p. 869); thus supporting the reciprocal nature in families. In support of other research, results from Schermerhorn, et al. (2010) study found that if a child is negative then it is associated with less marital positivity (p. 878). Within family subsystems, the marital relationship and the parent-child relationships are directly influenced by individual emotions and their interactions with one another. Some of these familial emotional interactions, reactions and feelings are healthy, but most are not when there is marital conflict; these unhealthy emotions create a variety of outcomes for a child’s development. Barry and Kochanska (2010) states, â€Å"In families, emotions profoundly influence mental health of the individuals, including sense of security, coping, personal growth, competence, adjustment, behavior problems, and psychopathology, including recovery and relapse† (p. 237). The emotional development, security and socialization of a child are directly related to the emotional exchange between the parent and child relationship; in fact, Barry and Kockanska (2010) find that it is a critical dimension especially during the early childhood years (p. 238). Since emotional healthiness is critical to healthy family relationships then unhealthy emotional states can be detrimental to a developing child causing attachment issues and possible psychopathology as they develop into adulthood. Parents’ emotional reactions to children’s emotions have important consequences for social and emotional development, including children’s psycho-physiological regulation, coping, emotional understanding, and friendship quality (Barry Kockanska, 2010, p. 237). Home Environments and Child Development Some of the variables which cause changes in the family’s home environment and affect child development are marital conflict, divorce and poor parenting; these changes can be more negatively influential in lower-income environments. Family is one of the major components in human development; therefore, childhood development is greatly influenced by the health of the family unit and home environment. Studies have shown that marital conflict in the family will increase the risk of adjustment problems in children; additionally, marital conflicts can lead to negative parenting, such as inconsistent discipline or disengagement, putting the parent-child relationship at risk and further adding to the risk of child maladjustment (El-Sheikh Whitson, 2006, p. 30; Peris, Goeke-Morey, Cummings, Emery (2008), p. 633). Peris et al. 2008) finds that â€Å"marital conflict is linked to a host of ineffective parenting practices, ranging from the use of inconsistent discipline to diminished displays of warmth and responsivity in the parent-child relationship† (p. 633). Another area of concern in families with marital conflict is parentification of children in which the child takes on a parental role by providing emotional support for the parent; it is a reversed role where the child takes care of the parent. In the Peris et al. study, the authors look at how parentification responsibilities can be very stressful and taxing for a middle adolescent hich can cause, as previous research shows, shame, guilt, poor academic performance, increased adulthood depression and anxiety, and difficult peer relationships of which girls are at a greater risk than boys. (Peris et al. , p. 634). Peris et al. also points out that in childhood, parentification is associated with externalizing and internalizing behaviors, and poor social adjustment; additionally, poor parenting practice such as psychological control where a parent will use guilt to control their child’s behavior and maintain closeness will put children and adolescence at greater risk to maladjust ment and behavioral problems. Additional findings from Peris et al. study show that youth and their parents perceive the parentification dynamic differently. Youth perceive the relationship as low in warmth and support but the parent perceives it as warm and close; the study also concluded that the youth study group demonstrated internalizing and externalizing behaviors (p. 638) which is consistent with their hypothesis, other empirical studies and literature topics on parentification. Children from homes with higher levels of conflict have more adjustment problems than children from less conflictual homes especially with prolonged marital conflict (El-Sheikh Whitson, 2006, p. 30). Marital conflict affects girls more than boys in which they have greater internalizing symptoms. El-Sheikh Whitson (2006) explain that girls are subject to greater socialization pressures and communion especially during late childhood and adolescence; this socialization process is opposite of a boy who is pushed socially to be more independent. Girls may also be more emotionally involved in the marital arguments and boys avoid the conflict by claiming their independence (p. 37). Nonetheless, marital conflict has lasting affects for both boys and girls which affects childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. Social development is at risk in children who are from homes with marital conflict, divorce or poor parenting. Booth-LaForce Oxford (2008) report that an unsupportive parental environment such as found in stressful environments like single-parent homes and/or low income can cause insensitive parenting which can lead to socially withdrawn behavior in children; (p. 299) many of these children who are socially withdrawn display â€Å"social-cognitive deficits and unskilled behavior, their self-perceptions are negative, they are more likely to be rejected and victimized by peers, and experience loneliness and depression† (p. 1298). Social learning theorists argue â€Å"that marital disruption may lead children to le arn angry, coercive, hostile, and even physically aggressive approaches to interpersonal problem solving† (Gattis, Simpson, Christensen, 2008, p. 833). Another area of concern in childhood development within stressful home environments is the increase risk for stress-related physical illnesses. In a study by Fabricius Luecken (2007) they report that â€Å"high family conflict, abuse, parental psychopathology, and divorce can serve to establish enduring dysregulations in the child’s physiological stress responses, promoting pathophysiology in the brain and body† (p. 195). Another area of concern is sleep deprivation. Marital conflict is related to disruption in a child’s sleep; sleep problems in children can be related to internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors. Additionally, children with sleep problems can also reciprocally influence the conflict between the parents. As Kelly El-Sheikh (2011) point out â€Å"marital conflict and child sleep problems may be reciprocal and cyclical: exposure to marital conflict may lead to children’s sleep disruptions, which in turn may lead to increased marital conflict† (p. 413). Studies have also found that sleep problems in children can lead to aggressive behaviors (Kelly El-Sheikh, 2011, p. 413). Separation, Post-Separation and Divorce Taylor, Purswell, Lindo, Jayne, Fernando (2011) report that children from divorced families are at a higher risk for emotional and behavioral problems including antisocial behavior, disruptive conduct, delinquency, aggression, anxiety, depression, feelings of loneliness and abandonment, emotional maladjustment and academic problems (p. 124-125). A new family structure is stressful for all family members with each affecting the other. Higher levels of parental stress cause changes in the parent-child relationship putting it at risk. Lack of communication, conflict, hostility, stressors related to the divorce and the new family dynamics cause frustration and anger among the members. High rates of divorce continually influence the numerous studies conducted which look at their affects of divorce on childhood development. According to Sentse et al. (2011) â€Å"10-25% of children that experience a parental separation grow up to have more emotional and psychological problems† (p. 98). These problems can stem from the broken family, previous marital conflict, loss of support from family and friends, economic disadvantage and parenting problems. In the current study by Sentse et al. , the researchers found parental separation’s main affect on developing children was externalizing problems; although for some children the separation brought relief from all the marital conflicts. The study also found adolescences that were more temperamentally fearful had increased levels of internalizing behaviors; some of the side effects of the fearful individual who experiences parental separation include withdrawal, ignored by peers, anxious or depressive feelings – resulting in a cycle of negative symptoms which could result in mental health problems (p. 03). Depressive symptoms can stem from marital conflict and divorce; cyclically, marital conflict and divorce can cause depressive symptoms. Mothers are particularly prone to depressive symptoms and clinical depression during highly stressful events in their lives such as marital conflict, separation or divorce. Mothers who are depressed are likely to be less supportive and nurturing with their children and they are usually negative and critical which can lead to developmental problems such as internalizing and externalizing problems in their children (Connell, Hughes-Scalise, Klostermann Azem, 2011, p. 53). Mothers with depression have â€Å"higher rates of irritability and aggression, which in turn may induce distress, anger and behavior problems in children† (Deboeck, Farris, Boker, Borkowski, 2011, p. 1312). Deboeck et al. (2011) also finds that a mother’s psychosocial health can directly affect the development of a child; and, children of depressed mothers have difficulty regulating affect, have increased hyperactivity and attention deficits (p. 1313). Several studies have looked at maternal depressive symptoms and found a link between the mother’s criticizing, hostile parenting causing externalizing behaviors in adolescents; additionally, adolescents with depressed mothers were more likely to become depressed when they [adolescent] are faced with family conflict and discord (Allen Manning, 2010, p. 833). Single motherhood is more stressful on both the mother and the children; single mothers are more likely to be depressed than married mothers. Compared to single mothers, married mothers have better mental health (Afifi, T. O. , Cox, B. J. Enns, M. W. , 2006, p. 122). There are at least 9. 5 million families in American in which single mothers are head of the household (Afifi et al. 2006). Parenting stress is unusually high in single-mother homes and mothers have â€Å"greater financial difficulties, social isolation, and childcare responsibilities† compared to mothers who are married (Afifi et al. Taylor, Purswell, Lindo, Jayne, Fernando, 2011). Past research has found identified stressors which negatively affect the psychological well-being of single mothers; they are, low income, low education, family size, and ethnicity (Afifi et al. . 126). The results of Afifi et al. study found that psychiatric disorders in married mothers is lowest, with a slight increase in never married mothers, and the greatest increase was found in separated/divorced mothers; however, previous research found that women going through a separation or divorce had higher rates of poor mental health before the separation/divorce and after (Afifi et al. p. 127). Afifi et al. found that separated/divorced mothers had high levels of depression, dysthymia, GAD, alcohol abuse, PTSD, drug abuse, agoraphobia and antisocial personality disorder. Co-Parenting, Healthy Family Relationships, and Positive Outcomes Although marital conflict, separation/divorce, and poor parenting can adversely affect the home environment and negatively influence the development of children, there are positive factors which counter these adverse affects. Co-parenting is one of those factors. Co-parenting is associated with parents who mutually and cooperatively parent and raise their child together as a team. Although most of the research on co-parenting has been done on married couples and fathers, some does exist on co-parenting after the marital relationship has dissolved. Co-parenting can exist in families with marital conflict as part of a solution to positive parenting even in the midst of chaos and conflict. Positive co-parenting can buffer a child against the negative effects of marital conflict and divorce. There is increasing â€Å"evidence [which] indicates that successful co-parenting relationships are beneficial for children’s socio-emotional development† (Dush, Kotila, Schoppe-Sullivan, 2011, p. 356). Other studies have found that co-parenting affects children positively by decreasing both internalizing and externalizing symptoms (Isacco, Garfield, Rogers, 2010, p. 262). Healthy co-parenting relationships between separated or divorced couples can significantly improve the relationship between the non-residential father and the child; it could also help improve the relationship between the mother and father by reducing conflict. Many divorced fathers are less involved with their children and co-parenting because of the relational conflict with the divorced mother. Dush et al. (2011) states the key ingredients for co-parenting includes joint investment in the child, valuing the importance of each parent, respecting the other’s judgment, and ongoing, open communication (p. 357). A key factor for increasing healthy family relations and positive outcomes for children in families with marital conflict or divorce is active, supportive father involvement. As Dush et al. points out, â€Å"cooperative co-parenting relationships may be key to fostering positive nonresidential father involvement and lower levels of inter-parental conflict which have been linked to children’s behavioral outcomes, academic achievement, and psychological well-being† (p. 356). Another key component which fosters positive outcomes for children is father-child communication which has shown to decrease externalizing behaviors; (Afifi et al. 2006) additionally, open communication within the parent-child relationship where the child feels comfortable talking with their parents about the divorce has shown that children cope better (Taylor et al. , 2011). â€Å"A strong parent– child relationship can help ameliorate many of these [divorce] difficulties† (Taylor et al. 2011. p. 125). Family therapy is another positive component which can buffer the affects of marital conflict and divorce. Therapy can provide support for family members, teach problem-solving skills, communications training, conflict management and resolution.

Liberal Equality: America Living Up to the Ideal Over Time Essays

To what extent has the US realized its liberal ideals in practice, both historically and in contemporary times? Not every essence of liberal thought got put into American practice. The founders conceived of universal male suffrage, as long as the males were not slaves, and not women. Race and sex inequality would continue a long way into the future, and are indeed still sorting out today. However, the rights laid down by the founders would later be applied to these â€Å"minority† groups, and as such are vital to understand. The roots of the country delve deeply into liberal thought, and within these liberal thoughts is the idea that all people should be equal before the law and equal in the voting booths, where they can then make their own decisions and pilot their own destiny. To ask what liberal ideas the United States has followed and espoused is to ask the question, what are the liberal ideas? Generally, then, people point to the Bill of Rights, which lays down what things are allowed, such as free speech and the right to bear arms. People turn to these guaranteed rights all the time when arguing their actions. However, more philosophically, the framework of the American liberal tradition is the Declaration of Independence. Therein lays the famous line: â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.† All of America’s classical liberalism begins there. However, this had its own roots in earlier traditions and political discourses. John Locke said that a man has â€Å"by nature a power, not only to preserve his property, that is, his life, liberty, and estate... ...wing all to vote and limiting all to the same laws. As King said, â€Å"A just law is a code that a majority compels on a minority to follow that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal.† The only way to guarantee the creation of such laws is to allow the minority to have access to the vote, not just the majority. Alone, a majority will look out only for its own good; if the minority has a public voice, it can call for moderation, compromise, and equality. Inequality still exists in the true workings of the people, although not in law. However, it is slowly ending; my generation was raised in schools that finally taught that all men and women are created equal before the law, and in more biologic ways as well. We are all the same race, we are all human, and to abridge some is to harm the whole. Someday, full equality will be realized by all in America.

Proximity of fastest growing region in China Essay

The Hong Kong HIT has been noted for its excellence in high end services, range of shipping lines and extensive coverage of destinations. Excellent institutional framework, a business-friendly environment, the professionalism of workers. The most important is Hong Kong legal system, which is trusted, tried and tested by international business. Hong Kong retains a distinct advantage in permitting the parties in maritime arbitration, to have the contract governed and construed in accordance with Hong Kong or English law. As an international financial centre, Hong Kong position itself as the business, trading and services hub for the Mainland and the region as a whole. At the same time, Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta will continue to be the main economic engine of southern China, as well as an increasingly wealthy consumer market and a strong regional economy aiming the global export market. Hong Kong does have a number of advantages over other Mainland cities, and will continue to do so in the future. A strong and well-regulated financial sector, a free press, the free flow of information, low taxes and a simple taxation system, a pool of ighly skilled managers with international experience, proximity to major markets, and a close network of services companies are among the strengths and advantages for business in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is supporting services for the maritime sector in Hong Kong, for example export finance, trade documentation and logistics. The business-friendly tax policy and favourable customs laws make Hong Kong competitive. Sufficient terminal basin and its approach channel depth to accommodate the increasing draughts of ultra-large container ships. The Marine Department has an annual tonnage charge reduction scheme in place for Hong Kong registered ships. It has also recently reduced fees for 24 marine-related services such as port dues, seafarers? licences fees, and certificate fees. Hong Kong competitiveness is further enhanced by the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with China. Weakness The absolute majority of the world bigest container ports are located in Asia. Most of the container ports belongs to Mainland China, the second bigest economy in the world. All this provides enormous opportunities for HIT, however every individual port faces new challenges and competition. Hong kong HIT is not an exception. Competitiveness of HIT has become a key issue. In other words any other Mainland port could be considered a competitor threatening the success of the HIT. As before many Chinese ports were poorly equipped to handle the sudden increase in exports from a rapidly expanding manufacturing sector, HIT was the obvious port of choice. After returning Hong Kong to China almost immediately many manufacturing industries relocated from Hong Kong to Shenzhen. A report released by the Better Hong Kong Foundation noted that Hong Kong was rapidly losing market share in cargo throughput to Shenzhen „newer and cheaper ports?. Carolyn Cartier, „Transnational Urbanism in the Reform-era Chinese City: Landscapes from Shenzhen?. Oportunities It is difficult to distinguish precise opportunities for HIT. The shareholders of HIT has indicated support for closer crossborder cooperation with other ports in the region. For instance, Shenzhen Port is controlled by the owners of Hong Kong HIT and is closer to manufacturing sources. However, many vessels continue to call at both ports. It is also important to recognise the vast amount of active industry companies located in Hong Kong which makes it (the Pearl Delta Region) a sustainable location for maritime businesses. Hong Kong advantage lies in its ability to cooperate effectively with the Mainland under the CEPA (HK and Macau, Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement) and its well advanced industry. CEPA continues to provide benefits for Hong Kong businesses. As an economy, where 90% of GDP comes from services, Hong Kong strengths lie in services. On the other hand, the Mainland services sector has been developing as a noticeably slower pace compared to its manufacturing sector. The potential hence for overseas firms under CEPA is enormous. A problem with a large number of China FTZ was that they were not connected to ports. Thus cargo had to undergo customs check procedures prior to entering the FTZ or port. The opportunities for businesses in the services sector is enhanced by CEPA. The best way for overseas service suppliers to leverage on CEPA to gain access to the Mainland market is to set up a service company in Hong Kong, or partner with, invest in or even acquire service suppliers in Hong Kong. Overseas service suppliers acquiring an existing Hong Kong service supplier need to operate in Hong Kong for one year to demonstrate they are carrying on substantive business operations after the acquisition. If a foreign services supplier acquires less than 50 percent equity interest in a Hong Kong service supplier, the one year time bar does not apply. Better transport infrastructure will improve access to Mainland markets and enhance CEPA aims. For example, the integration of regional transport networks will be enhanced by the development of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge which has an expected completion date of 2016. Notably, it is an ongoing process of liberalization between the Mainland and Hong Kong. Hong Kong long-term economic prospects based on being able to maintain competitiveness and importance as a major centre for international finance, trade, transport and logistics, professional services, communications and tourism. In the past five years, Hong Kong has been positioning itself to sustain reasonable economic growth in a rapidly-changing, knowledge-based world. Reforms have been launched in the key areas of financial services, education and the public sector to enhance Hong Kong attractiveness as a business hub with a highly-skilled workforce and a small, efficient government. Major steps have been undertaken to improve the environment, consolidate and enlarge Hong Kong position and to build the infrastructure needed to ensure continued development as a hub for trade and transport in Asia, and in particular the rapidly growing Pearl River Delta. Concerted efforts have been taken to promote and position Hong Kong as Asia world city. The Brand Hong Kong programme, launched in May 2001, is a long-term undertaking to focus greater international attention on Hong Kong strengths and advantages as the most free, open and cosmopolitan city in Asia. Container Terminal 9 (CT9), now being completed on Tsing Yi Island by the private sector, will consolidate Hong Kong position as the worlds busiest and most efficient container port. The 68-hectare project will have six berths and a design capacity to handle more than 2. 6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year. CT9 in a following years will bring annual total capacity at the Kwai Chung Container Terminal Basin to more than 15 million TEUs. The new marine basin will be able to handle the largest container ships. Threats Since 1997 when Hong Kong was returned to PRC the HIT has served as the gateway to China because of its strategical location in the Pearl River Delta region of southern China, the most advanced trading region in China. The Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, has been the most economically dynamic region of the Chinese Mainland since the beginning of China reform programme in 1979. The Chinese government establishment of a special economic zone in Shenzhen in 1979 gave an oportunity for Hong Kong and its container port to benefit from access to China, however development of mainland container ports in recent years has challenged HIT. Mainland ports invested in upgraded facilities with the help of foreign capital and a rapid move to privatization of ports. „Since 1985, mainland China has invested more in its port development than the rest of the world combined?. Kevin Cullinane, Wang Teng Fei and Sharon Cullinane, „Container Terminal Development in Mainland China and Its Impact on the Competitiveness of the Port of Hong Kong? Recent reports suggest that Chinese factories are moving further inland and in some cases, closer to Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta, seeking to lower evergrowing costs. The forecast annual growth rate for cargo in the region is 8. 6 per cent to 2020. The forecasts imply that Shenzhen market share of cargo in the region will increase to 55 per cent (from 16 per cent in 1999). Furthermore and contrary to the implications suggested by the report outlined above, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific pointed out that „by 2020 Shanghai is expected to be overtaken by Shenzhen to become the world? s largest container port.? Kevin Cullinane, Wang Teng Fei and Sharon Cullinane, „Container Terminal Development in Mainland China and Its Impact on the Competitiveness of the Port of Hong Kong? It is, of course, impossible to forecast which outcome will prevail. In the meantime most ports in China are concentrating on expanding capacity and upgrading and modernizing port facilities and operations. It is possible that many of Shenzhen business-friendly policies have been inspired by Hong Kong well-established and competitive customs and trade regimes, low tax and industry incentives. Nevertheless Hong Kong retains a number of competitive advantages such as well-integrated finance, legal and other service sectors, including a healthy body of industry groups. Hong Kong is clearly establishing itself as a hub for maritime services. Its traditional role as a transshipment hub will continue to face pressure from mainland China where the vast majority of export goods historically shipped from Hong Kong are manufactured. The implementation of FTZ and associated financial incentives for the maritime sector establishes the Mainland ports as a sustainable option for marine businesses, especially those seeking to move closer to manufacturing sources. Mainland ports traditionally competed at the lower end offering the lowest port charges in the region but with limited destinations and low service frequency. Yantian Port had the highest charges on the Mainland but offered a more competitive turnaround time and better global network integration. Various incentives and a rapidly developing economy in the Pearl River Delta region have shifted the balance.