VENEZUELAS ECONOMY AS A WHOLE Essays - Venezuela,

VENEZUELA'S ECONOMY AS A WHOLE ECONOMY Venezuela is rich in oil and other mineral resources. Its per capita income is about average for Latin America. The country's public external debt (excluding the obligations of the central bank and PDVSA, the parastatal oil company) stood at approximately $26.5 billion in 1996. The economy grew by 4.5% in real terms in 1997. Consumer prices rose only 37.6% in 1997 compared to the record 103% of 1996. The government is hoping for inflation of 24% during 1998. The Venezuelan economy is making a comeback under the Agenda Venezuela, propelled primarily by the opening of the petroleum sector to foreign investment (the apertura), a far-reaching privatization program, and plans to reform public sector operations. Oil prices have shown a continual decline since 1996, which is serving to erode the budgetary surplus from 4.5% in 1996 to an estimated 1.5% in 1997. In July 1996, the Venezuelan Government and the IMF formally announced a $1.4 billion stand-by loan. The World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank are also contributing to efforts to promote fundamental structural reforms--in the judiciary, electoral system, and social security/severance pay programs. Petroleum and Other Resources Venezuela's economy is dominated by petroleum, and the country is a founding member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In 1997, this sector accounted for more than one-quarter of GDP, almost three-quarters of export earnings, and almost half of central government's revenues. Most of Venezuela's energy exports consist of crude oil, but the country is also the United States' leading foreign source of refined petroleum products. The Government of Venezuela has opened up much of the hydrocarbon sector to foreign investment, promoting the establishment of massive new petrochemical joint ventures and reactivation of inactive fields. The Venezuelan petroleum corporation and foreign oil companies signed eight contracts for exploration and production joint ventures in July 1996. These contracts are expected to generate over $15 billion in foreign investment. A range of other natural resources, including iron ore, diamonds, coal, bauxite, hydroelectric power, gold, and nickel are in various stages of development. In 1996, CVG, the state-owned mining firm, announced its first joint venture with a foreign company to develop the Las Cristinas gold mine. Congress is also considering legislation which would update Venezuela's 1945 mining law in an effort to encourage greater private sector participation in mineral extraction. Manufacturing, Agriculture, and Trade Manufacturing contributed 15.6% of GDP in 1997. The manufacturing sector grew slightly (2.2%) in direct contrast with the contraction in 1996. Venezuela manufactures and exports steel, aluminum, textiles, apparel, beverages, and foodstuffs. It also produces cement, tires, paper, and fertilizers, and assembles cars for both the domestic and export market. The Agenda Venezuela envisions the privatization of a range of state-owned enterprises, including banks. Agriculture accounts for 4% of GDP, 12% of the labor force, and 24% of Venezuela's land area. Venezuela exports beef, rice, coffee, and cocoa. However, the country is not self-sufficient in most areas of agricultural production and imports about 60% of food consumed. In 1996, U.S. firms exported approximately $475 million of agricultural products including wheat, soybeans, corn, soymeal, and cotton to Venezuela, our third-largest agricultural export market in Latin America. The U.S. usually accounts for slightly more than a third of Venezuela's food imports. Thanks to petroleum exports, Venezuela usually posts a trade surplus. In recent years, non-traditional (i.e. non-petroleum) exports have been growing rapidly but still constitute only about one-fourth of total exports. The United States is Venezuela's leading trade partner. During the first 10 months of 1997, the United States registered $3.0 billion in exports (about 38% of Venezuela's total) and purchased $12.9 billion in imports (about 55% of Venezuela's total). Venezuela's trade with other Andean Pact members, particularly Colombia, is growing in importance. Labor and Infrastructure Venezuela's labor force of about 8.8 million is growing faster than total employment. At the end of 1997, official unemployment was 12.8%, but unofficial estimates are higher. The public sector employs 14% of the work force, while less than 1% work in the capital-intensive oil industry. About 25% of the labor force is unionized. Unions are particularly strong in the public sector. Venezuela has an extensive road system. With the exception of air service, transportation and communications have failed to keep pace with the country's needs. Much of the infrastructure suffers from inadequate maintenance.

Worlds Biggest Smoke Bomb

Worlds Biggest Smoke Bomb Have you ever wondered just how big the worlds biggest smoke bomb would be or how it could be constructed? We built a 15-pound smoke bomb to apply for the Guinness World Record for Worlds Biggest Smoke Bomb. Heres how the worlds biggest smoke bomb was made. Why explain how to do it? Well, one of the requirements for a Guinness World Record is that it be breakable. Im hoping explaining how it was done will inspire you to make your own smoke bomb and experiment with the possibilities. Its what science and invention are all about! In addition to this written description, theres also a video, showing the final result. Smoke Bomb Recipe There are several ways to produce smoke, but for a device to be a smoke bomb, it needs to produce a lot of smoke. Dry ice and liquid nitrogen produce fog, but thats something different from smoke. If you want real smoke, you can prepare a powdered smoke mixture or make a solid smoke bomb. To make the worlds biggest smoke bomb, we went with the traditional saltpeter and sugar mixture. You can get smoke at different ratios of ingredients. We made the smoke bomb using: 3 parts saltpeter or potassium nitrate (Spectracide Stump Remover)2 parts sucrose (granulated white sugar) Its possible to make a smoke bomb by dampening these ingredients, mixing them and allowing the formula to dry, but that can take a really long time, plus it doesnt burn as well as the cooked mixture. We cooked the smoke bomb in relatively small batches on a kitchen stove, pouring each batch into a large cardboard mortar. Preparing the Smoke Bomb This smoke bomb formula also is used for model rockets because it produces a lot of pressure as gases are released during combustion. This is great for a rocket, but not desirable for a smoke bomb, so the design needed to prevent the smoke bomb from launching itself. To accomplish this, holes were drilled into the cardboard mortar so gases would escape in all directions. The completed smoke bomb was placed in a hole and lit from the top so that it would push down into the ground. Lessons Learned The design of the smoke bomb worked exactly as planned, but it would have been better if the smoke bomb had burned a little more slowly and with less flame. How can this be achieved? There are two easy fixes. One solution would be to change the ratio of potassium nitrate to sugar. A 1:1 ratio is harder to light, but burns more slowly and produces more smoke. Another solution is to add a small amount of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to the mixture to moderate the rate of the reaction. For example, if we do this, a typical amount is 1 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate per 60 grams potassium nitrate and 40 grams sugar. Safety Notes   If you want to make a smoke bomb of your own or potentially break this record, its best to start small. First, make sure its legal to make and light smoke bombs where you live. Since they dont explode, smoke bombs are legal in many places that disallow other fireworks, but its best to know the law before you get started. Also, use common sense. Dont light smoke bombs anywhere you cant manage a fire, should one start. Smoke bombs should only be made and lit under adult supervision. Start out with the non-cook smoke bomb and then try some of my other recipes. Feel free to write me if you have any questions. Have fun! Disclaimer: Please be advised that the content provided by our website is for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Fireworks and the chemicals contained within them are dangerous and should always be handled with care and used with common sense. By using this website you acknowledge that ThoughtCo., its parent About, Inc. (a/k/a Dotdash), and IAC/InterActive Corp. shall have no liability for any damages, injuries, or other legal matters caused by your use of fireworks or the knowledge or application of the information on this website. The providers of this content specifically do not condone using fireworks for disruptive, unsafe, illegal, or destructive purposes. You are responsible for following all applicable laws before using or applying the information provided on this website.

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 22

Case Study - Essay Example be 250days with the total cost for the project being only $1,265,556.20 and an estimation of an increase in the total revenue for the company of between 10-12%. In this memo find attached Gantt chart with a time-line for the completion of the project and the critical path. From the attachment, you will also find our estimated activities with the greatest slack while at the same time a description of the sensitivity network with the points with the milestones and a comparison and contrast of Gantt chart versus a network diagram and a comparison with a schedule table. From the critical path analysis of our diagram, it is evident that the activities falling on the critical path include the Market analysis, Product design, Product design selection and Detailed Product design. Additionally, the other activities will include Test prototypes, the Finalized Product design, the Order production equipment and lastly celebrate. Sensitivity has been defined as the likelihood of the critical path remaining stable during the project completion. Network sensitivity is determined by both the amount of slack non-critical activities and the number of different critical paths. From our analysis, it is evident that the network is not very sensitive since there is only one critical path with the free slack ranging from 20 days to 159 days. The different milestones of the project include product design selection and the finalized product design. The fact that product design selection has multiple predecessors and multiple successors makes it a milestone (MilosÃŒÅ'evicÃŒ , 2003). The project design selection facilitates the narrowing down of the various options to pursue the project to work on. One of the major advantages attributed to the schedule table is its ability to clearly show the total time for the completion of the project and the fact that it clearly indicates the times for late start, late finish, and free slash of each (Timmreck, 2003). The main disadvantage attributed to