hass exam

• Business cycle


  Depicts the rise and fall in output over time
• Key phases of the business cycle

  • Peak (high rise in output)
  • Trough (lowest fall in output)
  • Expansion (phase when the cycle rises from a trough to a peak)
  • Contraction (phase when the cycle falls from a peak to a trough)
• Australia is in 2023, 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic hit Australia's economy
• Employment rate


  Indicates where Australia is in the business cycle
• Economic growth current statistics


  Compared to economic objectives indicates where Australia is in the business cycle
• Economic objectives


  • Price stability (check if inflation rate is between 2-3%)
  • Full employment (state the unemployment rate and compare to the RBA suggested goal(5%))
  • Strong sustainable economic growth (look at the GDP growth rate suggested is 3-4%)
• Economic indicators


  Statistics of different things that indicate how well an economy is doing (e.g., cash rate target, inflation)
• Fiscal policy


  When the government budget is used to manage the level of economic activity, meaning that government spending and government taxation levels are altered to support long term economic growth and living standards
• Government budget positions


  • Surplus (positive) - government revenue is greater than government expenditure
  • Balanced (equal) - government revenue and expenditure are equal
  • Deficit (negative) - government revenue is less than expenditure
• Monetary policy


  A set of actions to control a nations overall money supply and achieve economic growth by controlling the money available to banks, consumers and businesses. Strategies include revising interest rates and changing bank reserve requirements
• Cash rates


  The interest rate that banks pay to borrow funds from other banks in the money market overnight. Cash rates influence other interest rates, including mortgages and deposit rates
• Japan joined the war in 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbour
• 30,000 soldiers were taken as prisoners in Singapore
• Australia was poorly equipped for war due to insufficient anti-aircraft defences, limited number of fighter aircraft, and inadequate early warning systems, the radar (1 in 3) was not working
• 234 people were killed and 21 ships were sunk in the Pearl Harbour attack
• The fall of Singapore exposed Australia's vulnerability to Japanese attacks, leading to a strategic reassessment and a focus on defending the Australian mainland
• Alliances


  Australia shifted to a stronger alliance with the United States, with American forces stationed in Australia and the country becoming a crucial base for allied operations in the Pacific
• Civil defence and morale

  The government implemented measures to protect civilians and maintain morale, including air raid precautions, blackout regulations and public information campaigns
• Compared with many countries in the Asia Pacific region during the early 1900s, Japan was a powerful, independent, and nationalistic country with a strong army
• Japan had very limited access to natural resources such as oil, coal, rubber, and iron ore for steel production, instead, it relied on other countries, such as China and the USA for these
• Japan had supported the Allies during WW1, but it was disappointed by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919
• Japan was an imperial state under a constitutional monarchy, with significant power concentrated in the hands of the military and the emperor
• Japan had been expanding its influence in Asia before WW2, including the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo
• The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) marked the beginning of sustained conflict in Asia
• Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere


  The idea that East Asia could exist free of Western influence, with Japan as the leader of a block of Asian and Pacific nations working together
• In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany, and in 1940 it signed the Tripartite Pact, cementing the alliance of the Axis powers
• Reasons for Japan joining the Axis

  • Geopolitical: Imperial expansion and territorial gain
  • Economic pressure: Resource scarcity
  • Ideological views: Militarism and nationalism
• When World War 2 began in Europe, the attention of Britain, France, the USA, and Australia was diverted away from Japan, and there was a belief that Japan did not pose a significant threat
• The attack on Pearl Harbour on 7th December 1941 alerted the Allies to the nature of the Japanese threat, and Britain and the USA had seriously underestimated Japan's military ability
• Details of the Pearl Harbour attack

  • Date and time: Early morning of December 7th, 1941
  • Execution: Over 350 Japanese aircraft launched from six aircraft carriers
  • Targets: Battleships, aircraft, carriers, and airfields
• Japan hoped to destroy the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour to prevent American interference in the Pacific, but the attack caused the USA, Australia, and the Netherlands to declare war on Japan, and Germany to declare war on the USA
• Representation of the Japanese in propaganda

  • Racial stereotyping
  • Animalistic imagery
  • Alien culture
  • Cruelty and atrocities
• Message of the propaganda poster

  To dehumanise the Japanese soldiers, making it easier for the American public and soldiers to view them as a threat that must be eliminated
• Purpose of the propaganda poster

  To dehumanise the Japanese soldiers and unify the American public to support the war effort
• The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to give up territory, reduce its armed forces, and pay reparations, leading to resentment by the German people
• Appeasement was the policy of Britain and France in the 1930s of making concessions to Hitler in the hope of avoiding conflict, such as giving the Sudetenland to Germany during the Munich Agreement
• Britain and France were not prepared to accept sole responsibility for starting WWI
• Appeasement policies


  Policies of Britain and France in the 1930s in dealing with Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany
• Neville Chamberlin 1938: '"In war, there are no winners, only losers. It is my prime duty to strain every nerve to avoid a repetition of the Great War in Europe"'
• Appeasement


  A policy of making concessions to Hitler in the hope of avoiding conflict