The Great Recession of 2008 Essay Example

The Great Recession of 2008 Essay A recession is full-proof sign of declined activity within the economic environment. Many economists generally define the attributes of a recession are two consecutive quarters with declining GDP. Many factors contribute to an economys fall into a recession, but the major cause argued is inflation. As individuals or even businesses try to cut costs and spending this causes GDP to decline, unemployment rate can rise due to less spending which can be one of the combined factors when an economy falls into a recession. Inflation is the general rise in prices of goods and services over a period of time. Inflation can happen for reasons such as higher energy and production costs and that includes governmental debt. Great Recession of 2008 Introduction The U. S. 2008 recession was felt in nearly every country’s economy worldwide. As inflation increased and various other factors began to fail the United States economic system a global recession began to take place. The U. S. began to face hardships such as high unemployment, bank failure, rising energy costs, housing and auto bubbles that ruptured into a global crisis. Although, much of the media focus was initially known as the so-called, â€Å"super power† U. S. , now as more attention is being shifted to Japan the world’s number two economy and other nations financial markets. The global downturn had the potential to affect exports which the Sweden market experienced because of their high percentage of contributed over half to their GDP. However, during the next few pages we will elaborate further on the how the U. S. 2008 recession is dissimilar and parallel with that of Japan and Sweden’s. Also, listed will be those economic actions implemented that were effective or unsuccessful in fighting the recession. Similarities of U. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Recession of 2008 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Recession of 2008 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Recession of 2008 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer S. Recession and Other Nations Japan and Sweden both had similar attributes and causes of the economic global downturn with those of the United States. †¢Japan is the second largest economy in the world. However, experiencing two straight quarters of declining GDP Japan followed the U. S. into a massive recession. As the U. S. began to experience low consumer confidence and demand, Japan’s corporate powerhouses such as Toyota, Honda, and even Sony profits took a dive. The nation’s export driven economy watched overall global demand slow down especially since the U. S. s one of Japan’s biggest customers for exporting goods. According to CNN Money, Stocks in Japan and the United States have been equally hard hit, falling 42% and 33% respectively (CNN Money, 2010). Both Japan and the U. S. dollar weakness helped to hinder economic recovery. Slow growth in Japanese bank loans had added to the similarities as the U. S. did. â€Å"Falling home and stock prices re duced consumer wealth. Feeling poorer, consumers were less willing to buy goods and services at the prevailing price level. This aggregate demand led to a drop in equilibrium GDP† (Schiller, p. 167). As the known business cycle of alternating periods of economic growth and contraction, the United States financial sector affected the financial systems through its exposure to foreign financial assets with high level risks. Thus, the downward slope of the aggregate demand curve is reinforced by changes in imports and exports (Schiller, 2010). Great Recession of 2008 †¢Sweden has more similarities with the U. S. recession than that of Japan. Both the United States and Sweden are mixed economies, and both experienced the housing crisis with helped lead to one of the worst recessions on record that has been felt globally. In Sweden the residential price falls, and a significant decline in property sales which resulted in overall slowdown of construction activity. The 2008 great recession is global and Sweden was not immune. As consumers began to spend less, other people and businesses aren’t earning any money, which eventually led to high unemployment rates such as that of the U. S. this began to spread even further. According to Sweden real estate, exports accounted for 54% of GDP, with 60% of exports and 70% of imports going to the EU (2010). However, Sweden and the United States are also significant trading partners, with the U. S. spending less and losing more jobs. As demand fell so did Sweden’s export contribution to its GDP, thus spiraling Sweden into a recession. Key interest rates began to fall in Sweden same as in the United States due to the global financial meltdown. â€Å"As the demand for loans diminish, interest rates tend to decline as well† (Schiller, 2010). Dissimilarities of U. S. Recession and Other Nations Although, Japan and Sweden had few similarities with those of the United States during the Great Recession, there were dissimilarities that displayed the U. S. failure to achieve full employment GDP and other factors. Japan’s unemployment rate of about 4% opposed to the U. S. unemployment rate of close to 10%. Even the financial debt to GDP ration is an advantage, and debt in the private sector has not increased unlike the U. S. and European countries, (Time, 2009). In addition, since Japan is a huge exporter and with the U. S. demand going downward, the international balances and growth declined especially as the dollar value dropped and the yen surged. †¢Unlike the United States, Sweden took a double hit as weak international demand for its products and interest rates at home – GDP contracted by 0. % down, according to Sweden Real Estate (2010). Sweden’s home prices keep rising while the U. S. home prices had plummeted. As the United States continued to lose jobs monthly, Sweden kept the unemployed working thus, keeping them employed as jobs were affected globally. Internal market forces may have kept unemployment rising however, instability keep consumer confidence at bay. Great Recession of 2008 Government Economic Actions from Other Nations Both Japan and Sweden acknowledged the global economic situation that their country was now experiencing. With this acknowledge came much action to help aid in multiple shifts such as a rightward shift of the aggregated demand curve which can cause a recovery, with real GDP and employment increasing (Schiller, 2010) which was much needed not only in Japan and Sweden, but worldwide. †¢Japan did a lot in terms of capital injection, recapitalization, public investment, and tax cuts. However, many agreed that many of the Japanese tactics helped to stabilize the economy, but these effects did not help recover the economy as originally first thought. Japan announced an economic stimulus package to help curb the recession which included the following actions: expanded credits for small business and a cash payout to every household to spur spending. Also tax breaks for workers affected by the recession and home buyers. This also injected funds into the markets and support for mid-sized businesses (Time, 2009). My favorite incentives include low interest mortgages for new home buyers and incentives for â€Å"green† technologies. †¢Sweden was proactive in its approach to minimize and reduce the recession’s impact on its citizens and economy. Sweden kept it’s unemployment from soaring by cutting unemployment benefits and lowering taxes on low-income workers. However, this was not enough as the Swedish government presented a crisis package. One of the main actions of Sweden was being one of the first banks in Europe to make a large cut in its official bank rate. Moving further, the Swedish government provided a reduced in employment tax by half for the hiring of people who are long-term unemployed, the maintenance of railways and roads, construction programs, trainee programs, and student grants for individuals over the age of 25 years (Time 2009). Japan and Sweden received criticism for the stimulus/crisis packages to help their perspective nations to recover. Citing that packages were either not sufficient or they were short-term fixes. Also, critics were angry of the excessive spending which in short added to the rising debt of unemployment benefits, construction packages, and interest rates. Ultimately, this was and still is a global recession. There has to be a long- run self-adjustment formulated to not only entice investors, but provide confidence in the consumer again. Since the United States provides 70% in spending to the GDP while countries like Japan and Sweden provide the U. S. imports of various goods and services, this provides a healthy, global business cycle that incorporate growth in each contribution sector to every countries GDP. Great Recession of 2008 United States Economic Actions As the United States entered a new phase with a new president, a recession loomed amongst the nation. This recession was not like any other recession within the past two decades, but one that is compared to one such as the Great Depression that lasted a decade. Although the United States is known to be the biggest economy worldwide, it is not immune to global catastrophe. Many nations rely upon the U. S. for exports and imports and investors take notice. Although, the U. S. is a strong nation, a push for a faster economic recovery was addressed. The United States economic stimulus package was a $787 billion sanction which was the biggest bill since the great depression. The package included the following: †¢Energy efficiency and renewable energy projects †¢Science and technology to improve broadband internet †¢Infrastructure for highways, bridges and clean water Education and healthcare †¢Interest rate of 0% `The U. S. stimulus package was parallel to that of Japan and Sweden with the â€Å"green† initiative to save and preserve energy, also the infrastructure idea to create jobs and keep the citizens minds at bay and become more confident in the system. We must remember that economic stimulus is another means by which a government can seek to boost its economy, either in the short term, by encouraging consumers or companies to consume goods, or in the longer term, by encouraging the growth of businesses and the creation of jobs through investments in infrastructure and research. Education was a big change with both Sweden and the United States (Teslik, 2009). It certainly depends on the individual and critics to assume what was successful and what wasn’t. For example, a homeowner that receives tax credit for new more energy efficient appliances may think that the package has worked in his/her favor. Or even the person that purchases a new vehicle during the cash for clunkers deal, this may be a great experience and the stimulus is working for him/her. However, there are always the negative experiences when a college graduate wants and is eager to enter the work force, but is discouraged when him/her have been searching for over a year. Nevertheless, there is part of the stimulus that had to be altered from my experience. President Bush gave every household a lump sum depending on your household size and dependants. Many of the individuals either saved the money or spent on necessities. However, later as President Obama acknowledged did not work, he later revised and gave the tax break it increments on your payroll or unemployment check. Great Recession of 2008 Conclusion The U. S. 2008 recession was like no other, economists mention a stronger comparison with the 2008 recession to that of the great depression. The 2008 recession was and still is in fact, one of the worst recessions on record. Many individuals don’t realize the impact the U. S. has on other nations. In my opinion, if the U. S. does not recover the surrounding the neighboring nations that have a relationship with the United States will falter and potentially end up bankrupt. This new millennium does not compare to the 1920’s and 30’s. This new day and age bring mass media coverage, global corporations, extensive investing, trade, external shocks, policy levers, and international balances. There is a difference. There will always be critics to voice what went wrong and what should have been done prior to a recession occurring. Nonetheless, a recession is needed for growth and creative innovation for a country to continue to develop. The determinants and outcomes of the economy are important and is a direct effect of the nation’s GDP. The uses of monetary and fiscal policies are important when trying to shift the AD curve and have the nation recover from a recession. Although spending exists with a deficit that continues to grow, the nation will prevail as it had before. The United States have learned much from many nations such as Japan with the lost decade and Sweden’s double dipping economy. The great recession of 2008 has taught many businesses, citizens, and global governments many lessons and through these lessons is preparation for a new tenure.

Montessori the Human Tendencies Essays

Montessori the Human Tendencies Essays Montessori the Human Tendencies Paper Montessori the Human Tendencies Paper The Human Tendencies â€Å"The love of activity, the yearning for freedom, the urge for obedience, the impulse to confirm to laws which are at the heart of all creation – these qualities make man the unparalleled work of Nature† (Montessori, M. , From Childhood To Adolescence, 1973) Discuss the eight human tendencies as developed by Dr. Montessori and her followers. Show how children show these tendencies during the three main stages of development. Discuss how you think knowledge of human tendencies helps us when educating children. Give examples to support your answer ******************************** One of the greatest discoveries made by Dr. Montessori was that all humans love certain tendencies of behaviour patterns. No matter where we live, no matter what our culture or ethnicity, we all follow the same natural laws that lead us to act or react in specific ways. We are all driven to communicate, socialise, initiate, explore, move, be exact, concentrate, repeat, discover order, achieve independence, personalise perfection, control ourselves and our work. Human tendencies are present at all ages of our lives but some are stronger than others during different development periods. The tendencies also vary in the way and strength in which they appear in different people but they all exist. And it is these tendencies which guide our development; which direct us to take or not to take a given action. What does Dr. Montessori mean by the word â€Å"Tendency†? A dictionary definition of the word is â€Å"A predisposition to think, act, behave or proceed in a particular way† (Oxford English Dictionary). Dr. Montessori noted that it was important that the correct environment was provided for each stage in order to allow the tendencies to be fulfilled. Human tendencies are creative impulses that guide human beings in the development of broad potentialities. Dr. Montessori believed that children are born with incredible learning potential and a desire to explore, discover and learn about their world. She believed that all children are born with potentialities, the ability to crawl, to walk, to talk etc. It is the human tendencies that guide them to these potentials. What are the â€Å"Human Tendencies†? Dr. Montessori identified eight areas: Exploration: This is the human tendency to explore and find out about our world and universe. [pic] Children are naturally curious and love to use their senses to learn more about the world around them. Our life around us is filled with sounds, scents, textures, tastes and colours. In the first stage children explore their immediate environment. As a baby the first few months you can explore by hearing sounds and seeing colours. As you grow exploration comes by tasting different foods, feeling different textures. A child likes to explore with his hands more than anything. – 12 years old the child explores by going out or by researching. This age of child loves exploring nature, going to the woods or going to the sea. As they grow they find more interest in searching the internet to increase their knowledge and they start to have a greater interest in personal and sexual relationships.. They explore society to try to find their own role in life. â€Å"There is no description, no image in any book that is capable of replacing the sight of real trees, and all the life to be f ound around them, in a real forest†. Maria Montessori  (1870 1952) Source: From Childhood to Adolescence (page 19) Orientation: This is the human tendency to want to know where we are in space, in time and in the structures of nature and of society. [pic] When a young child enters a new environment they often want to explore, look at and touch all around them. But they still look for familiar people like their Mom or Dad. As they grow they enjoy knowing where they live (their address, country and continent on a map). They also like to know where they stand with regards to social roles. They demand very clear guidelines and rules. Order: This is the human tendency to create orderly surroundings which is apparent in nature and which we have brought more thoroughly into our homes, business and everyday life. [pic] Children under 6 years of age have a very strong sense of order. They like to be neat or have things in order. It does not matter if it his toys, clothes, shoes, everything should be in the right place according to his mind. As they grow they lose some of the order but they still shine through with order in their homework. Eg. Mathematics, Chemistry etc. People prefer order to chaos and confusion. Order brings predictability and security. Order is essential to proper orientation. Work/Activity: This is a human tendency, to be active and seek satisfaction form work. People generally like to stay busy. For children, movement can be enjoyed for its own sake, rather than always having a goal or end product in mind. Even children who have very little to play with will find ways to be active through games, songs, dance, and pretend play. Humans feel worthwhile through their work. Work leads to a feeling of accomplishment and self-respect. [pic] Maria Montessori believed that it was through work that a child constructed his true self, free of defect or misbehavior. Repetition: This occurs when a child repeats a task over and over again, until they become familiar with it. Like an infant trying to lift his head over and over again until he gets it, and learns how to control his muscles. They then see the environment from a totally different view. [pic] Often it is with the intent to master the task, but even after mastery occurs, a child may continue to repeat the activity for the sheer pleasure of doing so. Older children can do the same with a ball. They repeat and repeat the same task until they improve their ball handling skills. Exactitude/Precision: Exactitude allows children to know how to know when perfection is achieved. [pic] This is the human mathematical mind that leads us into exciting scientific discoveries based on precise detailed observation. Have you ever seen a child get upset because something was put back in the wrong place? They are quite precise in the way they pick things up, in the way they describe things and in the way they notice details. Older kids may put precision into their school work by doing science work or chemistry projects. Instinctively humans seek to precise in their work, doing something exactly right brings enormous satisfaction. Communication: Humans delight in conveying thoughts, feelings, and information to each other. [pic] New born babies can not talk but they still communicate with us. They cry when something is wrong eg. a dirty nappy. They smile when they are happy eg. when you play with them. As times passes they learn to communicate with their hands and with an absorbent mind they learn to pick up the language in 1. 5 to 2 years. School kids aged 6 – 12 communicate through play dates with friends, telling us all that happened at school and through social outlets and team sports. Older kids like to learn something different. Their communication forms are different; it is more linked to phones, texting, computers and other forms of social media eg. facebook. Various types of communication include the written and spoken word, touch, facial expressions, gestures, art, music, dance and media. Communication is an essential human need; it is the link of understanding between people, both face-to-face and from generation to generation. Imagination: This is truly the characteristic that sets us apart from animals. We are able to visualize events that have not yet occurred; we are able to feel and xpress emotions that are not tangible. We can imagine something that exists only in our minds, and then take the steps to make it happen. e. g A child in the first stage can imagine playing as a doctor and having his toys as his patients. [pic] As they grow they can imagine that they grow up to be a doctor. The fire of imagination drives the child to seek knowledge with a huge thirst. It is an important part of the Mont essori Method, both for the 6 – 12 years old and the older teenager, to present the imagination with exciting facts. We often forget that imagination is a force for the discovery of truth. The mind is not a passive thing, but a devouring flame, never in repose, always in action†. Maria Montessori  (1870 1952) Source: The Absorbent Mind, Chapter, Through Culture and the Imagination, 1988) Once we are aware of the underlying that compels human development we will recognise them everywhere. The tendencies of humans are what compel babies to put everything they find into their mouths. They are the reasons that a young child wants to know how things are made and why children are filled with wonder when they enter a forest. They are the reason for our appreciation of a beautiful painting or a finely crafted piece of furniture; we recognise the repetition that went into the mastery and finally the reflection of a difficult skill. The prepared environment is built around these tendencies. Because of this, Montessori teachers do not need to force the student to work, the children are naturally drawn to the materials. For example the environment is safe and secure, filled only with the items that can be touched and manipulated by the child. When these basic human needs, these basic tendencies of human behavior are understood and respected, children become what Dr. Montessori called â€Å"normalized. † They have a sense of internal peace, joy, tranquility, happiness. They can concentrate. They can choose something to work on and complete the work they set out do. They have self-discipline/self-control, are independent, and are secure within themselves. They have a positive, balanced self-image, have healthy self-esteem, and are aware and considerate of others. They are the person we would all like to be. â€Å"In order to understand the child so as to be able to educate him, we must know life in its entirety† (Montessori, M. , unpublished lecture, London 1937) Bibliography Clare Healy Walls- At The Heart of Montessori 1 – Core Principles Original Writing Ltd, Dublin 2008, ISBN 978-1-906018-64-1 Clare Healy Walls At The Heart of Montessori 2 – Core Principles In Action Original Writing Ltd, Dublin 2008, ISBN 978-1-906018-65-8 Clare Healy Walls At The Heart of Montessori 4 – The Pre School Child (3 – 6 yrs) Original Writing Ltd, Dublin 2008, ISBN 978-1-906018-67-2 Clare Healy Walls Montessori in a Nutshell Hello Montessori Ireland, 2007, ISBN 978-09557168-0-5 The internet was also used as an aid in completing this essay.

Humanities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Humanities - Essay Example However, Realism as an art movement does not focus merely on the beautiful sceneries of the society but rather on the ugly manifestations that has an impact on the political, social and moral features of the society. Realist movement chose to paint common, ordinary, sometimes ugly images rather than the stiff, conventional pictures favored by upper-class society. The thought of this art movement is still in use today. Not just in art but in the whole system of our community; from politics, to religion, to literature and many more. If there is one thing that we should learn from this movement, it is the idea of expressing our thoughts in many ways and how we could reach and affect people’s perspective in the society in a more unique way. Realism presents the most relatable material to its spectators in the art and literary world of writing as it allows readers to connect on several levels associating it with their own personal lives. If I have to choose an artist that is worth discussing, that would be the famous Leonardo da Vinci. Many people say that the way Da Vinci painted seems as if you could see into the souls of the paintings. Da Vinci, as a painter, architect, sculpturer, engineer and geologist presented a different attitude towards his works which is one of the reasons why most people appreciate him as a person. Mona Lisa and Last Supper were two of his most famous works that attracted millions of people around the world and even adopted his concept in arts. Mona Lisa which he worked on from 1503 to 1506 and The Last Supper which also took him 2 years to finish (1495 to 1497) presented his patience throughout his works. Most of us only knew him as a painter, but what makes Leonardo more interesting is that behind his famous works and admired reputation, he is a troubled man. Leonardo da Vinci was known to suffer from dyslexia- a learning disability that can hinder

Streaming DVDs via NBN project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Streaming DVDs via NBN project - Assignment Example The aim of this report is to present the (DVD streaming service) via the National Broadband Network NBN in the library. It is to be noted that the target audience are individual users such as the library patrons. The project shall further take into consideration the overall project plan, the potential benefits that can be obtained from implementing the plan, the target audience for the new service, the stakeholders and the resource requirements. It shall also consider the impact of new service on current library service. Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 2 3 Project Plan 4 Project Initiation 4 Accessing the DVDs Streaming Permission 4 Availing Permission 5 Selection of Name 5 Planning For Interactivity 5 Estimate Labour Cost 5 Look For Employee 6 Planning For Guidelines 6 Adding To Library Pamphlet 6 Advertisement 6 Link to Service Library 6 Send Email for Library Membership 7 Introducing the Service to the Market 7 Potential Benefits 7 Target Audience 9 Stakeholders 9 Anticipate d Resourcing Requirement 10 Impact on Current Library Services 11 Issues/ Areas for Further Exploration 12 Conclusion 13 References 14 Task List 16 Appendix B 17 CIPP Framework 17 Project Plan Project Initiation Preparation of the project plan involves considerable efforts and decision making capabilities so that the project can be completed and executed successfully. The National Broadband Network (NBN) is considered to be one of the Australia’s first speed internet services, which includes three technologies such as optic fibre, satellite and fixed wireless (Media Access Australia, 2011). It has been recognised from the case study that the Department of Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy offered funds so that it can extend the Digital Enterprise and Digital Communities initiatives. After the creation of the National Broadband Network, it will be significant for the service provision agencies to initiate to identify the ways in which they can exploit the increa se bandwidth as well as connectivity that the network is capable of providing. It can be mentioned NBN is linked to the libraries. The project aims at identifying the ways of involving with the NBN in order to improve the services offered to the users. Accessing the DVDs Streaming Permission Through public libraries the members are capable of accessing a variety of services as well as programs. It has been identified that the DVDs are considered as one of the topmost formats for movies and most of the users consider libraries to be the main source for movies. Hence, in light of the altering media landscape there is greater demand for the DVD streaming services by the individual users (Swank, 2012). A wide range of services that the libraries offer can gain advantage from the use of NBN services such as computer as well as internet class, story time along with author events. The main idea of this project is to make use of NBN so that the library services, in particular, DVD service c an be supported (Alemna & Adanu, 2005). Availing Permission It is significant to avail the permission

Statistics assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Statistics - Assignment Example Further, the study revealed that there is a strong effect of gender on individual work status. Effect of Gender, Work Status and Age on Hours Worked per Week Individual’s ability to perform different type of work depends on many factors such as age, gender, environments conditions, etc. Furthermore, certain type of work is performed specifically by specific gender. This report will analyze effect of gender, age and work status on number of hours worked per week in job. In addition, this report will analyse whether work status differ by gender. The research questions identified are 1) Is there a difference in numbers of hours a week work in job between male and female respondents? 2) Is there a difference in numbers of hours a week work in job based on work status of respondents? 3) Is there a relationship between gender and work status of respondents? 4) Is there a relationship between numbers of hours a week work in job and age of respondents? To analyse above research questi ons, the 2006 Northern Ireland Life & Time Survey data will be used (ARK). Method Participants Participants were 1,230 respondents (40.6% male, 59.4% female) who had taken part in the 2006 Northern Ireland Life & Time Survey (NILT). ... All the data were collected via a self-completion questionnaire given to each respondent. Results Descriptive Statistics Majority (59.4%) of the respondents were female (figure 1). More than half (56.8%) of the respondents were with British nationality (figure 2). About 31.7% of the respondents were with Irish nationality. The respondents with marital status single (never married) and married were about 28.9% and 44.6%, respectively (figure 3). About one-fourth (26.5%) of the respondents were with marital status living as married, separated, divorced and widowed. About three-fourth (70.1%) of the respondents were with employee work status (figure 4). The respondents with work status supervisor or foreperson, self-employed and manager were 6.9%, 10.2% and 12.9%, respectively. Figure 1: Distribution of respondent’s gender Figure 2: Distribution of respondent’s nationality Figure 3: Distribution of respondent’s marital status Figure 4: Distribution of respondentâ₠¬â„¢s work status Table 1 shows the summary statistics for age and hours worked per week of respondents. Table 1: Summary statistics for age and hours worked per week Age Hours worked per week N 1230 551 Mean 48.75 35.32 Median 47.00 37.00 Mode 40 40 Std. Deviation 18.14 13.64 Range 76 99 Quartile 1 35.00 26.00 Quartile 3 63.00 40.00 Inter-Quartile Range 28.00 14.00 The average age of the respondents was about 48.75 years (SD = 18.14). About half of the respondent’s age was greater than 47 years. Most of the respondent’s age was 40 years. About middle-half of respondent’s age was in the range 28 years (Q1 = 35, Q3 = 63). The range of the respondent’s age was 76 years. The distribution of respondent’s age was approximately normally distributed

Factors Which Affect Peoples Travel Patterns Tourism Essay

Factors Which Affect Peoples Travel Patterns Tourism Essay This essay will discuss the extent to which the form and structure of the city, along with its transport network influences individual travel patterns. The different types of areas within metropolitan Perth will also be taken into consideration. Due to the fact that the size of a city correlates with its density, the densest cities tend to also be the largest cities, which will in turn mean that people living in such a city are expected to embark on longer commutes. According to Brindle, there is a small but significant relationship between residential density and car ownership: a large increase in residential density is associated with a small decrease in car ownership. It can also be deducted that the primary determinants of car ownership in a home include the size of the household, income, and the number of workers per household. Transit availability is also a significant factoring determining car ownership. (Brindle R 2003) Recent research shows that peoples travel behavior is related to certain characteristics of the built environment. This kind of travel behavior which includes trip-making frequency, distance and time travelled havebeen studied for a variety of land use patterns, street networks and streetscape design features. Table 1gives a synthesis of past research on urban form and travel behaviour relationship. Broadly, it can beobserved that studies related to urban form and travel patterns originate from diverse sources andencompass a variety of geographic scale and locations. To add to this diversity, many differentcharacteristics of urban form too have been examined in these studies and travel patterns have beenmeasured in a number of ways. This section brings together the urban form indicators used and results ofrecent studies concerning urban form and travel patterns.Travel patterns are a result of individual choice to pursue activity at another location, choice ofdestination, choice of mode, choice of route and time (Munshi, 2003). Thus travel is a function ofcharacteristics of the base location (origin of the travel) and the environment surrounding the baselocation. The surrounding environment to the base location has been studied in various terms, e.g.through distance to opportunities, like distance to city centre or sub centres. Distance to the city centrehas been studied in relation to travel distance and transport energy consumption by (Naess and Sandberg,1996; Stead and Marshall, 2001; Mogridge, 1985). Another indicator of the surrounding environment tothe base location is related to the mixing of land use as this is assumed to affect the physical separation ofactivities in the environment surrounding the base location and therefore is a determinant of travel Page 3 XIII Back to menu Retour ausommaire 3 demand. It has been mainly measured as the job ratio and has been studied in relation to journeyfrequency in (Ewing, 1995) as well as in relation to proportion of trips made by non-motorized modes in(Cervero, 1989). The proportion of residential to non residential use has also been studied in relation to atransport mode index in (Zhang and Guindon, 2006). An aggregate measure of land use mix (termed asdiversity) was examined by Cervero and Kockelman (1997), who report a link between land use mix andtotal non-work travel distance. The provision of local facilities and services may clearly reduce traveldistance and increase the proportion of short journeys capable of being travelled by non-motorizedmodes. Winter and Farthing (1997) reported that the provision of local facilities in new redevelopmentreduces average trip distances. Hanson (Hanson, 1982) reports similar findings, showing that theproximity to local facilities is positively associated with average distance taking into account averagesocio-economic characteristics of the trip maker. The type of neighbourhood at the base location is alsoknown to affect travel as reported in Cevero and Kockelman (1997). They found that neighbourhoodswith high proportion of four-way intersection and limited on-street parking abutting commercialestablishment tended to have an average less drive-alone travel for non-work purposes. Factors which affect peoples travel patterns Humans are naturally built to move around and travel. As soon as a person starts growing and has the strength, the person begins to go to various destinations and starts crawling around the house or running around, or walking to a friends house. As adults we frequently hurry to vehicles to go off somewhere. According to their age and other socio-demographic factors, people travel to various places by many modes. As it is though, the environment in which we currently live is planned for and traditionally suited to automobile travel. This narrow transportation planning vision compromises all of our travel decisions, but increasingly so for children and the caregivers who must provide them transportation to their important activities such as education and social events (Beauumont and Pianca 20023.2 Transportation Mode and Spatial Learning Although studies carried out by cognitive mapping researchers point to a connection between spatial learning, and travel patterns, not much can be concluded about the manner in which existing transportation infrastructures affect peoples travel patterns and route selection. Recent research suggests that transportation infrastructure and modal networks such as transit routes, sidewalks, local streets, bike lanes, freeway networks and roads does have an effects on the travel behavior and the development of cognitive maps.The hierarchical nature of both transportation networks and land use systems in an urbanenvironment can affect the cognitive mapping process. In general, the more significant aparticular pathway or landmark is to an individuals navigation, the more it will dominate thecognitive map (7). The hierarchies of pathways in a region, such as highway and freewaysegments dominating arterial and main roads, which in turn dominate local community andneighborhood street systems, contribute to the hierarchical organization of cognitive maps. Infact, individuals will recognize elements in the environment more quickly if primed by a cue Mondschein, Blumenberg, and Taylor6from the same portion of their regional hierarchy. Zannaras also found that the layout of a citysignificantly explained variations in the accuracy of wayfinding and location tasks (20). Sectorally-organized cities proved the more effective for remembering locations, whileconcentrically-organized cities made wayfinding and location tasks more difficult. Likewise,familiarity, or route learning, is clearly an important part of both route selection and modechoice because familiarity is dependent on repeated experience. Stern and Portugali highlighttwo aspects of route familiarity: [1] Familiarity with city structures, specific experience of a given locality in the city, and a general familiarity with the road hierarchy, signage, and traffic also affect peoples travel patterns. People who made use of different modes of transportation and travel tend to develop different degrees of familiarity with each transport system. This shows that individuals who use different transportation networks, will understand the same urban environment from differing perspectives. For example automobile users and transit users, will understand a given city in very different ways. Much of the scholarship on cognitive mapping has focused on drivers and the street andhighway network (22). This emphasis is likely due to the dominant role of automobiles as wellas the route flexibility associated with using the street network. Yet preliminary evidencesuggests that cognitive maps are differentially shaped by alternate transportation modes. Forexample, we know that individuals who rely on public transit or walking, on average, travelshorter distances and travel less frequently than those who travel by motor vehicle. Therefore,one can hypothesize that the scope of their spatial knowledge would be more limited anddifferently configured (by, for example, the network of transit routes) than those who rely onautomobiles and can travel longer distances at greater flexibility and speed. The quality and detail of spatial maps also may differ by mode. In a study of childrentraveling to school, active modes of travel, such as walking and biking, appear to contributemore to the development of spatial knowledge than passive modes of travel, such as beingchauffeured by an adult or riding in a school bus. Specifically, walking and cycling to schoolhave been found to increase knowledge of the environment in comparison to children who arebused (23). These results suggest that variation in transportation mode may result in verydifferent levels of functional accessibility for individuals from otherwise similar socioeconomicor cultural backgrounds. Finally, research also suggests that travel behavior is influenced by perceptions ofdistance which affect the decision to stay or goà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the decision of where to goà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[and] thedecision of which route to take (24). Cognition of environmental distance is influenced bypathway features, travel time, and travel effort which are substantially different depending ontravel mode (25). The characteristics of travel by transit, which include indeterminate waiting attransfer points and walking trips between services, may add to cognitive distance in a way thatauto travel does not.Drawing on a path-based theory of spatial learning, differences in cognitive mapsbetween socioeconomic groups may also be explained at least in part by the different travelpatterns of those groups. Certainly, adults in higher income households are more likely to havereliable access to automobiles. In contrast, over one quarter of low-income households do nothave automobiles and are transit dependent (26). But transit use is also high among adults inlow-income households with automobiles since oftentimes there are too few vehicles toaccommodate the number of household drivers. In addition to the well documented role that cognitive maps play in explainingwayfinding and route choice, we hypothesize that travel by different modes in more or lesstransit- and pedestrian-friendly areas systematically manifests in individuals cognitive mapsstructured more by transit networks (i.e. transit lines, stations, and stops) than by the arterials,Mondschein, Blumenberg, and Taylor7collectors, and local streets that make up urban street networks. In other words, a modallyspecific wayfinding experience significantly and systematically influences the formation ofcognitive maps. And these maps, in turn, influence trip generation, trip distribution, and modechoice The impact of differences in socio-demographics on personal travel behavior Individuals generate extremely complex travel-activity patterns as they participate in daily activities at different times and in different locations many researchers have conceptualized this observed behavior patterns as the outcome of choices made within constraints. The preferred activity choices utility maximization is employed. Maintenance of an individuals schedule is the key service, this helps activities to be scheduled, the individuals all have an agenda and all negotiate with other individuals to schedule social activities more especially negotiating about participants, location and time. Individuals update their state after participating in an activity and this depends on their satisfaction with their activity and no doubt individuals will come across new people as a result of this activities Another important service happens to be the maintenance of a personal network because just as their activities are influenced by their social network, their network in turn is influenced by their activity participation; individuals may visit or learn about new locations, they will also keep track of these locations they are familiar with, they will likely share them with others which is a form of influence Interaction design: interaction between agents are an important component of agent- based applications. Agents have agenda, interact and negotiate with others to schedule social activities and it includes participants, locations and time, agents interactionx have several components, the negotiation set ( the possible proposal) strategies, a rule to determine that the interaction is complete (Wooldridge, 2002) Fatima et, al (2002) explains three methods for dealing with issues in multi-issue negotiation: all issues discussed together, issues discussed separately or issues discussed one after the other. It has been shown that proposing complete deals at each step is computationally more complex because it has such advantage as pareto optimality (Fatima et al 2006). For the negotiation set, list of activity pattern has been developed including the activity purpose and location as well as indication of which acquaintances are likely to be involved and when interacting with colleagues likely during the week while weekend is for family visit In the model, it is difficult to decide issues independently eg the activity is likely to determine time, location etc and the order they should be discussed, should the activity or the location be decided first? However the choices sets for certain issues are decided independently. The protocol proceeds as follows the host proposes an activity to one or more of its acquaintances eg time and location could be there the respondent gives possible days and time they will be available, the host adjust the time to make it convenient for many to be available the respondent suggest location, the host creates intersection amongst those received, the host creates list bof potential activities, the respondent ranks them the host determinesa best activity based on every ones ranking and informs respondent of the details The effects of urban form and structure on personal travel behavior The relationship between city structure and travel behavior has been extensively researched by urban economists, geographers, and city planners. There has been a steady increase in the rate of car ownership and use in the twentieth century. There also seems to have been a steady decline in the use of transit and other modes, and the decentralization of both population and employment. Trends in travel and land use have complimented and re-enforced one another: growingcar ownership generated demand for highways, development of the highway systemchanged accessibility patterns, and population and jobs responded to these new patternsof accessibility (Jackson, 1986; Muller, 1981, 1995). By 1990, the suburbs of USmetropolitan areas were home to about 62 percent of the metropolitan population and 52percent of the jobs. At the same time, per capita car ownership and travel have reachedall-time highs (Pisarksy, 1996). 1 This section is drawn from Giuliano, 2000.2 See reviews by Giuliano, 1995; Anas, Arnott, and Small, 1998; Pickrell, 1999. From a broad perspective, city form, structure, land use and transportation trends are quite closely related. However, the historical record does not necessarily provideuseful evidence for understanding land use and transportation at a single point in time,and the empirical research on relationships between daily travel and land usecharacteristics is far less clear. Metropolitan Size and DensityExtensive research has been conducted on the relationship between metropolitandensity and modal split, commute trip length and total automobile travel. Newman andKenworthy (1989a, 1989b, 1998) conducted comparative studies of per capita gasolineconsumption and metropolitan densities. A comparison of cities around the worldyielded a non-linear relationship of increasing per capita gasoline consumption withdeclining density. Their work has been extensively criticized, primarily because percapita fuel consumption is an indirect measure of auto travel and because they fail toaccount for many other factors which affect automobile use, such as the employment rateor household size (Gordon and Richardson, 1989; Gomez-Ibaņ ez, 1991). Pushkarev and Zupan (1977) documented a positive relationship betweenpopulation density and transit use, using data from 105 urbanized areas for 1960 and1970. Gordon, Richardson, and Jun (1991) found that cities with higher average densitieshave longer automobile commute times than those with lower average densities. Notingthat density is a measure of concentration, the authors conclude that shorter commutesindicate greater efficiency of low density urban form: decentralization of both populationand jobs allows people to economize to a greater extent in selecting their job and housinglocations. The effects of various transport networks and service patterns on personal travel behavior. The personal travel environment can be described in terms of such dimensions as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Location à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Access to the central-place system of the region (Christaller, 1933) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Access to work, shopping and leisure facilities à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Provision of infrastructure facilities à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Public transport supply à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Settlement structure and density à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Topographybut also in terms of certain configurations, such as suburban structures, urban blocks or de-tached house-settlements. As an outcome of this differentiation and of the functional separa-tion in general, the individual environments offer different opportunities with regards towork, shopping or leisure activities.This paper analyses the interactions between these spatial dimensions, the individual charac-teristics of the travellers and the observed travel behaviour. The Personal Travel behavior of various individuals is affected by transportation network and service pattern in a city. This personal travel behavior which includes both the short-term and long-term travel choices of individuals in the city constitutes some central elements like car ownership and season tickets for public transportation, as well as destination, mode, activity and choice of location. Going by recent research and literature, there hasnt been any consensus reached about the effects of city spatial structure on personal travel behavior. Generally, there are differeing opinions about thsis. Some studies suggest that the impact of transportation network and service pattern on personal travel behavior is rather small (Bagley and Moktharian, 2000; Schimek, 1996;Petersen and Schallabà ¶ck, 1995; Downs, 1992; Schmiedel, 1984). Some other studies lean towards the conclusion that at least some variables are dependent on the transportation network, spatial structure and service pattern obtainable in the city. (Ewing andCervero, 2001; Newman and Kenworthy, 1999; Wiederin, 1997; Holz-Rau, 1990; Sammer etal., 1990). Travel behavior is also affected by accessibility of facilities. this also goes to show the efforts of the surrounding residential area on individual travel behavior. If a person is able to reach a range of facilities within walking distance, then the probability of a locally oriented travel behavior with smaller distances will increase, as well as increased number of walking trips The reason for this contradiction is not a basic difference in the assumptions accepted, butrather the selected spatial variables and the approaches used. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Spatial structure: For example, some investigations concluding space- independence of travel behaviour characterise the spatial structure of areas only bythe number of inhabitants a variable known to have little explanatory power inother investigations, either. According to other studies the accessibility of facilities is one of the most important spatial variables (Kitamura, Akiyama, Yamamoto andGolob, 2001; Handy and Niemeier, 1997; Simma, 2000). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Approaches used: The question, whether the analyses are conducted at an aggregate or disaggregate level, has influence on the results. Mostly, the results at an aggregatelevel are more conclusive than the results at a disaggregate level. One reason for thisis that other factors influencing travel behaviour are normally not included in aggre-gate models. But especially these factors can be very important, as disaggregatemodels have shown (Bagley and Moktharian, 2000; Simma 2000).The remainder of the paper is organised as follows: First, the study area and the computationof accessibility measures is described followed by a description of the data source used forthe analysis. Then the modelling approach Structural Equation Modelling is briefly out-lined. The core of the paper is the discussion of disaggregate person-level models for twomain trip purposes (shopping and working). The results are summarised and interpreted in thediscussion. Based on this recommendations are given. 2. Study area: Upper Austria The general focus of the study the interactions between the spatial structure, personal char-acteristics and travel behaviour cannot be investigated without a specific spatial frame. Inthis case, the Austrian province (Land) Oberà ¶sterreich was selected for two main reasons. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Availability of suitable travel survey data: The provincial government of Up-per Austria conducted a very detailed and quantitatively rich travel survey in1992, whose data was available for the study. Additional spatial variables foreach municipality were added. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Small Austria: Upper Austria can be regarded as a scale model of Austria.All regional types which can be found in Austria also can be found in UpperAustria a big agglomeration from an Austrian perspective, alpine regions, in-dustrial areas and less developed rural regions. Page 5 2.1 General description Upper Austria is one of the nine Austrian provinces. It is located west of Vienna, east of Mu-nich and south of Prague. It has a size of 12000 km ² and about 1.3 million inhabitants. At avery general level Upper Austria can be divided into three parts into the Bà ¶hmische Massivin the north of Upper Austria, the Alpenvorland in the centre of the province and the Alps inthe south.The northern part of Upper Austria is disadvantaged in several ways. This area is neither wellsuited for agriculture nor for tourism. Additionally the border to the Czech Republic wasclosed for the five decades of the Cold War. As a result, the opportunities for industrial de-velopment after World War II were limited. The situation is different in the other parts of Up-per Austria. The Alpenvorland is the centre of agriculture and industry, including a number oflarge scale factory complexes in the main cities. Half of the population lives in the Alpen-vorland, and 13 of the 15 largest towns are situated here. The Alps, especially the Salzkam-mergut with its lakes and the skiing areas, are dependent on tourism, including second-homeownership.Upper Austria consists of 15 districts, three cities with district status (Linz, Steyr and Wels)and 445 incorporated municipalities. The respective district capitals are both centres of thelocal administration, as well as of shopping and industrial location for their area. Linz is thecapital of the province and by far its largest city. The 445 municipalities are very different intheir spatial, socio-demographic and economic characteristics. The provinces overall struc-ture can be characterised as follows (see Table 1 for a more detailed description of the spatialattributes). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Distribution of the inhabitants: 26% of the municipalities have less than 1000inhabitants, 40% of the municipalities have between 1000 and 2000 inhabitantsand further 18% of the municipalities have between 2000 and 3000 inhabitants.Only one municipality has more than 100000 inhabitants Linz. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Location of the municipalities: The location of a municipality can be describedby two distance-variables the distance to the relevant district capital and thedistance to Linz. For the districts along the border to the Land Salzburg, Salz-burg is the relevant main centre for employment and shopping. The distance toSalzburg replaces the distance to Linz for all municipalities, where more resi-dents recorded trips to Salzburg than to Linz. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Number of accessible facilities: The number of accessible facilities is a meas-ure for the supply of activity opportunities for a particular household. It is high,if a household can reach a shop, a supermarket, a bank, a post-office, a kinder- Page 6 garten, school, a pharmacy and a doctor in walking-distance (ten minutes). Itequals zero, if the household cannot reach any facility within this time. In everymunicipality there are at least some households which cannot reach any facilitywithin a reasonable walking distance. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Share of working women: Between 25 and 50% of the women in a municipal-ity are working. This variable is used in the models, because it characterises theimportance of the traditional nuclear family and the sex-specific division of la-bour within the municipalities. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Commuting: Because workplaces are mainly concentrated in Linz and the dis-trict capitals, people in the small villages often have to commute. In some mu-nicipalities more than 80% of the working adults are commuters. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Share of farms: In some communities, the agriculture is still dominant indicat-ing a relatively low state of development. The importance of the agriculture maynot only be shown by its share of employees, but also by the share of farmsamong all buildings. The latter variable is especially interesting because manyfarms are run by farmers on a part-time basis.Table 1Descriptive statistics for the municipalities of Upper Austria (445 municipalities) MeanStandarddeviationMinimumMaximumNumber of inhabitants308110530245208727Distance to district capital1710059Distance to Linz (Salzburg)46210143Number of reachable facilities (mu-nicipality level)2.61.407.2Number of reachable facilities(household)3.93.208Share of farms1912069Share of commuters62111584Share of working women3642550 These figures are calculated for each single municipality without considering the neighbour-ing municipalities and their attributes. Statements across municipal borders can be made byapplying accessibility-measures. Page 7 2.2 Accessibility measures There is a wide range of possible definitions for the term accessibility, such as the potentialof opportunities for interaction, the ease of spatial interaction or the attractiveness of anode in a network taking into Travel is derived from activities that involve people participating in things such as school, work, sport, shopping, social events leisure. Activities that is non-discretionary such as work and school can be explained in part by the travelers socio-demographic characteristics and generalized travel cost (Hackney and Marchal, 2007). Other things not easily predictable are long term decisions such as moving to a particular town, participating in other activities etc, the reported purpose for a large number of trips are social and leisure ranging from 25 to 40% for various countries (Axhausen 2006). Interest people in activities participation is as well driven by our changing use of information communication technology, the need for physically visiting places is drastically reduced by the use of internet for activities such as banking, shopping and participating in online communication or conversation and in overall, it affects peoples travel behaviors. People could change their activity schedules and their transport plans on the fly as a result of receiving information via a mobile phone whilst traveling or participating in an activity outside the home. A graphic representation of individuals and their relationship could be seen in social network, if these social networks are well understood it will lead to a better prediction of social activity schedules and forecast of travel patterns and demand for urban facilities more especially those that have to do with social and leisure activities. The understanding of these social networks comes in handy in influencing the urban design of residential areas and public spaces in order to encourage participation in social leisure activities in local communities. Trip destination is determined by the members of ones social network because that is where the social activities go towards. Mc Pherson et, al. (2001) defined homophile as principle that contact between similar people occurs at a higher rate than among dissimilar people, some of the attributes used as similar measures includes age, social class, occupation, abilities etc. distance plays a key role in the maintenance of relationships. McPherson et al (2001) claim that the most basic source of homophily is space because according to him we are more likely to have contact with those who are closer to us in geographic distance than those who are distant. People influence each other by providing information or observing behavior eg a friend tells you about a barbing saloon and you wish to go get a haircut there. Other factors that indirectly influence travel behaviors includes moving closer to ones workplace, family or choice of vehicle. Greater proportion of travel has to do with social/leisure purposes; there is every need to understand the reason behind these. Agent based modeling is commonly used for applications where the behavior and intentions of heterogeneous individuals as well interactions between individuals is required. Lists of attributes have been presented by Bonabeau (2002) and Macaland North (2006) that systems should possess in order for agent based modeling to be considered include; relationship form and dissolve, agents have dynamic relationship with other agents, agents have a spatial component to their behaviors and interactions . These are complex relationships and interactions between individuals and the individuals situated ness in an urban environment, each agent will have some level of satisfaction and will derive utility from sharing objectives, if along the line they are not satisfied with this current situation, then they will try to change it. The same applies to their involvement in the community, it depends on their needs The environment has a network representation derived from the actual road network. These links contain attributes for the actual distance and ideas of travel times for different modes. Nodes exist at a point in space and mostly contain location that represent where joint activities take place or can be undertaken; there are different types of location and each type has a set of attributes, the major distinction between private and public residence (eg museums, parks, restaurants, gyms etc) they have opening hours Personal social network defines each persons acquaintances, each pair has a type of relationship (eg friend, work etc) and can also tell how long they have seen each other, this model also contain neighborhood, here groups are formal and informal clubs that the individual is a member of eg special interest clubs, sports club etc, here the individual is effectively connected to many people, some connections may remain as friends even when the individual has left the club, t

Grapes Of Wrath :: essays research papers

During the Dust Bowl, hundreds of thousands of southerners faced many hardships, which is the basis of the novel called The Grapes of Wrath. John Steinback wrote this fiction novel to portray the harsh conditions during the Dust Bowl. However, is the portrayal of the Dust Bowl in The Grapes of Wrath valid? When one considers the merit of this novel, one thinks, how can Americans treat other Americans so horribly. After reviewing American History, the mistreatment of the "Okies" in The Grapes of Wrath can be concluded as being valid. After slavery, blacks were terribly treated. During the Civil War, Americans were divided. During the Red Scare, Americans mistrusted other Americans. These three different periods of U.S. history display how Americans can treat fellow Americans so cruelly. 	African Americans were terribly treated after slavery. Although they were Americans just like the whites, many of the whites hated them because they were different. One example of mistreatment of the African Americans was segregation, which was the division of local places by race. The blacks were thought to be so "dirty", and the whites were scared of them. The whites did not want the blacks to mix with the whites. Public areas such as schools were segregated so the blacks and whites went to different schools. It was like the whites wanted to rid the U.S. of the blacks. In The Grapes of Wrath, the Californians wanted to rid the "dirty" Okies from California because they were afraid of them. They were afraid that the Okies would take their land. Blacks were also beaten for no just reason. Racial group such as the KKK, beat up blacks because they hated the blacks. They wanted the blacks to go away or die. In The Grapes of Wrath, Okies were unjustly beaten. The California police beat them for no just reason because they wanted the Okies to leave the state. The police killed Casey for no just reason. They killed him just because they thought the was a Okie fighting for more rights. The Californians did not like the Okies even though they were Americans, just like how the Blacks were not liked by the whites, even though they were Americans. White mistreatment of African Americans was not the only Americans mistreatment of Americans; there was also the infamous Red Scare. The Red Scares is another situation in which Americans mistreated Americans.

For this discussion I asked my kids to help me, since my topic for the Final project is about kids in gangs

My children's concerns about kids in gangs is, that they are to young, they think it is cool, the violence- robbery, killing, raping and shooting other kids or adults. What they think has caused this problem is the kids get asked to join, they think it is cool, they think it is going to help them make friends and that their family members will respect them more, and that the kids are getting abused at home. I asked them how is this problem affecting y'all and they told me, that they see the gang kids beating up other kids, stealing from them, both of my kids said that they are afraid that it will go too far and they could be victims in a shooting at school, and that they will get approached and asked to join a gang. I took the questioning to another level and asked them, What do you think about kids in gangs and What is your views on gangs and the crimes they commit? My 14 year old son answered me with that they are trying to act like they are something, when actually they are not. They are no different than any other person trying to get an education or job like the rest of us. He said that gangs are not safe, that they commit robberies, murder, and that they tag everything with their gang signs and makes everything ugly with it. I asked my 12 year old daughter the same questions and she responded with, they think it is cool; other friends are in a gang, that the kids that are in a gang could be getting abused at home. She also said that if they wanted to be in a group that they should join events at school like sports or another group that is sponsored through the school. When I asked her about her views are on gangs and the crimes that they commit, she came back with, they rob and murder people, they beat up other kids, women, and the elderly to get what they want, and that they graffiti their gang signs on everything. She said she is sick of seeing the gang signs on everything in our town. She also amazed me and took it to another level with respect and hurt from family members. She said that the kids that are in a gang are hurting their family members, friends and their selves. Also that their family members will no longer trust or respect them because of what they are doing or what they have done in the past. Also that when a kid joins a gang that it is hard for them to get out of the gang and that being in a gang could or will mess up their future or their lives. It amazed me that she knows more about gangs than my 14 year old son does. Some of my ideas to address these issues with my kids would be: talk to them about the violence, the abuse that could be happening to these kids that are in the gangs, the murdering, the graffiti, just about gang life in general. I can also take my kids to our local enforcement office and let them talk to the detectives that I work with and let them ask questions about it and how they can or should look for. Being open and honest with my kids about this topic of gangs is the best way to address this problem. My kids will benefit from listening to what I have to say about gangs because they know that I have worked and work with our local detectives about this situation and that I know more about this than they do. I can honestly say that I don't have to worry about my kids and gangs because they are too involved with school and sports and they despise all gang activity.

10 Intensifiers You Should Really, Absolutely Avoid

10 Intensifiers You Should Really, Absolutely Avoid 10 Intensifiers You Should Really, Absolutely Avoid 10 Intensifiers You Should Really, Absolutely Avoid By Mark Nichol You are not hereby forbidden to employ the following adjectives according to their casual connotations, but to strengthen your writing, try limiting usage to that which most closely reflects their literal meaning: 1. Absolute: The original sense of absolute is â€Å"ultimate,† but now it is weakly used as an intensifier (â€Å"It was an absolute riot!†). Minimize, too, usage in the connotations of â€Å"outright† and â€Å"unquestionable† and reserve it to mean â€Å"unrestrained† or â€Å"fundamental.† 2. Awesome: Originally, something awesome inspired awe. Now, the most mundane phenomena are exalted as such. Try devoting this word to truly spectacular sensations alone. 3. Fabulous: This adjective, derived from fable, once referred to sensory stimuli one might expect to encounter in a flight of fancy. It’s long since been appropriated to describe extravagant fashion sense or, more mundanely, notable accomplishments, but it is most potent when restricted to describing phantasmagorical phenomena. 4. Fantastic: Avoid using as a synonym for excellent; senses such as â€Å"unbelievable,† â€Å"enormous,† and â€Å"eccentric† are truer to the source. 5. Incredible: As with fantastic, usage of this word has strayed far from the original meaning of something that does not seem possible. Only if a story literally cannot be believed is it authentically incredible. 6. Magnificent: Something magnificent was originally grand or sumptuous, exalted or sublime, but the word has been diminished in impact by its exclamation in response to merely commendable achievements. Reserve usage to describe things of stunning impact. 7. Real: This term derives from the Latin term res, â€Å"thing, fact,† and should be used only to denote genuine, actual, extant, practical phenomena; minimize its use, and that of the adverb really, as a synonym for complete or completely. 8. Terrific: Terrific, originally referring to something terrifying, has long been rendered impotent by use as a synonym for great, but try to reserve it for such descriptions as â€Å"a terrific crash.† 9. Very: The most abused word on this list and one of the most in the entire English language comes from the Latin word for â€Å"true.† Consider restraining yourself from using it in writing except to convey verity, precision, and other adjectival connotations, rather than the adverbial sense of â€Å"exceedingly.† 10. Wonderful: Use when a sense of wonder is involved, or at least when there’s an element of surprise, not just to suggestion a reaction of delight. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Addressing A Letter to Two PeopleDifference between "Pressing" and "Ironing""To Tide You Over"

Skagen Design Report Essays

Skagen Design Report Essays Skagen Design Report Essay Skagen Design Report Essay Skagen Designs Group 4 Q1. What screening criteria should Skagen Designs use in connection with its choice of new markets for its watch collection? When Skagen Design chooses the new markets and use the connection with them, at first, they have to care about price. Competitive price is not only one of the essential of their brand, but also the easiest method to enter new markets, especially in developing markets. In watch markets, you can see which markets is developed or developing from the charts, after looking at those, you will see which strategies Skagen Design needs to enter into each market with. Somehow, competitive price is qualified advantage in any markets, of course, it is a lot more affecting to developing markets. So, Skagen Design need to keep the low price and proper quality, of course, with their characteristic design either. Next, aside from price, they also have to separate market into developed developing markets in watch markets as I mentioned already. By dividing them into two groups, they can decide which strategy they will adapt to, for instance, if the market is developed market, they have to upgrade their quality. It will charge more cost, so the price should be higher, but the customer in market doesn’t need normal one, so it is necessary. Meanwhile, if the market is still developing market, the best way to attract them is to keep low price with proper quality. Also, Skagen Design has simple design, it could make easy to adapt slight change from local needs. Third, Skagen Design should check whether the market has any forces with international trade such as high tariff. It is basic step before getting into the market, since Skagen Design has not bigger brand power comparing to competitors such as Gap, Calvin Klein, it has to be emphasized with quality and low price. With high tariff, it ain’t possible to keep lower price than local brand, and not even other international brands which has good online markets. So, if the market has high tariff or regulation from its government, Skagen Design should operate their business in small step such as online supply. It is uncontrollable part for every watch companies to change the market situation, so it has to keep checked, since it is also possible to get first mover’s advantage if Skagen Design gets into new market with low regulation at first/ Last, no matter how the market is developed developing or has different situation, Skagen Design has to keep their watch proper quality and design. It is essential for every business to keep them. Consumers never buy crappy product again, also the product from those brand images. Even though Skagen Design could offer lower price than others, their brand shouldn’t be same to local anonymous brand images, so they have to keep their brand characteristic, either. Quality characteristic design are always the most important parts in every markets, and competitive advantages for business success. Q2. Make a specific choice of new markets for Skagen Designs. Table 1 and Table 2 can be used to support your argument. The characteristics of Skagen Designs are colours, shapes, and simplicity, etc. However, one of the most competitive characteristics is competitive price. Their high turnover has been kept for decades, and it’s originally started from competitive price, of course, its design either. To choose which markets Skagen Designs get into, they have to consider not only how much retail volume they have, but also how much they are afford to pay for watch. At least, they have advantage with their price comparing to competitors like Calvin Klein, Coach, Guess, Gucci, Swatch, Alfex and Jacob Jensen, etc, somehow it could make their product more successful in retail market. About retail volume, we can confirm it from Table 1 and Table 2. From Table 1, retail volume in thousands of units can be estimated, for sure, USA market has been still the biggest market since the research started from 2003. Also, we can see interesting raise in India market, their retail volume has been growing rapidly the most. Now, India market has the second biggest retail volume in thousands of unit, and it is even same to USA almost. Looking at number of watches per 1,000 people, Mexico has showed highest ratio, and India’s ratio is still the lowest. From Table 1, we can see Mexico, Netherland, South Africa, Sweden have the greatest number of watches, and opposite to it, India, China, Japan, Belgium have the lowest number of watches. Aside from Table 1, Table 2 shows value of different watches, which also shows the biggest and the lowest markets as well. From Table 2, USA, Japan, UK are the biggest one, in opposite to Belgium, Hungary which are the lowest one. One thing we can discover here is counties with biggest retail market have not so big volume value of watch market. Also $ per capita shows similar aspect, from Table 2, we can see the separation between developed market and growing market. Already developed markets have the biggest $ per capita when it comes to market, meanwhile growing markets have the lowest one. It is same with value of watch markets. So, from those charts, we can suggest potential markets for Skagen Design would be Mexico, India or China. Skagen can offer them average quality with lower price than competitor’s, also their design is so simple and never follow established trends that it can be adapted in growing market easily. It can be adapted to local needs slightly with marketing. Meanwhile, when Skagen Design enters into developed market, it doesn’t need to adapt local needs or adaptation. What only they have to care is more high quality with higher price, so it can’t be good market as much as first one. Q3. Which market entry mode should Skagen Design use on the chosen markets? First of all, you have to know what is a market entry mode  : this is an institutional arrangement which is necessary for the entry of a company’s products into a new foreign market. There are three different types of entry mode: Export Intermediate And hierarchical mode There are few factors that influence the market entry mode choice. These factors are externs or interns, or specifics. The market entry mode is different between countries with low, medium and high standard of living. Firm’s products are manufactured in the domestic market or a third country and then transferred either directly or indirectly to the host market. Three types of exporting: 1. Indirect mode 2. Direct mode 3. Cooperative mode |Lowest US $ per capita |Medium US $ per capita |High US $ per capita | |Indirect export mode |Is the process of exporting through | | | | |domestically based export | | | | |intermediaries, but the exporter has no| | | | |control over its products and over the | | | | |marketing decisions. | | | | | | | | |Fast market access. | | | | | | | | | |No infrastructures are built. | | | | |Low sale promotion. | | | |No market researches are carried out. | | | |Direct export mode | |If the international markets are considered as a | | | | |crucial part of the company’s success the direct | | | | |exporting is the best market entry tool. | | | |Using own sales subsidiary and direct marketing | | | | |(including mail order and telemarketing). | | | | |Low infrastructures are built. | | | | |Market researches are carried out upon secondary | | | | |data. | | | | | | | | |The business can use: | | | | |Distributors | | | | |Market country agents | | |Intermediate mode | |The intermediate mode is used to transfer the | | | | |knowledge and the skills to the local | | | | |producer/seller. | | | | | | | | | |There is no full ownership by the parent firm | | | | |involved, but ownership and control can be shared | | | | |between the firm and the local partner. | | | | | | | | |Four types of intermediate entry modes: | | | | |Licensing | | | | |Franchising | | | | |Contract manufacturing | | | | |Joint ventures | | |Hierarchical mode | | |Solid infrastructure. | | | | |Sponsoring artists, athletes and | | | | |events. | | | |Market research, qualitative | | | | |quantitative. | | | | |Aggressive marketing campaign. | | | | |Sales promotion. | | | | |Market coverage: Intensive | Each kind of countries has one appropriate mode concerning its export, and each of these modes are listed in the table above. Q4. What should be the guidelines for including other products lines in the Skagen Designs collection? Including other products mean want to have an expansion? : you can add a new product to expand your business; just be sure to take these four steps before moving forward:? Determine the specific needs of your customers in each high-priority market segment.? Identify the product/service bundles (groups of features) that would be most attractive to them. Create a unique value proposition for the proposed line extensions and decide how youll position the product in the market segments youve identified. ? Determine the sales and distribution channels that will achieve the highest penetration of your target market segments. In all, youll need to use market research and speak customers and marketing partners or distributors and evaluate competitive products. This will help you to validate the present level of demand for the product and the best channels for sales distribution, plus shape the product messaging. If you do your homework and proceed with an analytical eye, your line extension will increase sales, help you reach new markets and build market share overall for your growing business Having a guideline represents choosing the right segmenting, targeting and positioning. Segmentation [pic] Targeting [pic] Positioning The positioning is the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market. So, the guidelines for introducing other products lines are mainly respecting the positioning. For Skagen, we can describe the brand as simple, elegant and affordable. It is indeed very elegant with technical precision and a true original design. It means that a new line of products has to be part of this universe; it means something chic, no food or others. Furthermore, it has to need a technical precision because they could have an advantage using their expertise with that kind of materials. It has to be simple. Indeed, for example, the super slim line is totally purified, simple. The watches are non-numerical, the logo is very discreet. So the new line has to be made in a very simple style. Last but not least, it has to be an affordable product. It means that they have to find way to produce it almost low cost. And so it has to be a product which can be made almost low cost. Ideas for the future of new products High quality design pen as Rolex for example Clothes as Calvin Klein for example Q5. Which criteria should Skagen Designs use for its selection of future sponsor partners? First of all, it is interesting to give a little definition of sponsorship to understand the interest for companies to make some partnership. After that it must easier to define some criteria in the selection of future sponsor partner. Sponsoring: Supporting an event, activity or organization by providing money or other resources that is of value to the sponsored event. This is usually in return for advertising space at the event or as part of the publicity for the event. [1] For Skagen Designs it can be really interesting to set up a sponsoring policy. Sponsoring is one of the best ways of communication for two reasons. Firstly, it is a good tool to highlight and precise the positioning of Skagen Designs thanks to an event or a celebrity really famous and know by everyone. Secondly, this kind of partnership makes advertisements more visible. For example in the past, Skagen Designs had a partnership with the famous TV series Ally McBeal. This sponsoring corresponded to the Skagen Designs targeting (active population, 25-45 years old with a fashion sensitivity) and to the positioning also (classy, elegant and affordable). Moreover, people who loved ally McBeal and who recognize themselves in the series must be more sensitive to the brand Skagen Designs. It was a really good promotion. Indeed, when the sponsorship is well selected, it allows identifying with a particular target market or lifestyle and so attracting customers, easier. The first reason is increasing of awareness of brand name and then, reinforcing perceptions of key brand image associations. For example, every time people watched Ally McBeal, they thought Skagen Designs. The sponsoring makes the brand alive and present everyday in the life of customers. As any decisions, nevertheless, sponsor partnership can be risky. That’s why we speak about selection. One of the difficulties of sponsorship it is hard to measure and predict success and outcome. Another risk depends on the sponsored person’ image which can change because of an event or a situation. This can affect the brand credibility and associate the brand with this bad event or behavior and change perception of brand values. That is why it is important to establish a list of criteria in order to make a good selection amount the different sponsor partnerships available. Firstly the partnership has to be in adequacy with Skagen Designs values and strategy: The sponsorship has to be in line with the business and communication objectives. It has to be a strategic fit between the events target markets and Skagen Design? s. The sponsorship must match the targeted market and be able to reach it. Finally the sponsor partnership has to be in line with the positioning and targeting in order to touch the customer and attract him: The sponsorship must generate sufficient awareness, possess the desired image and create the desired effects. The consumers have to see attributions for the sponsor’s engagement To conclude, Skagen Desings has to focus on its values and keep in mind its strategic direction for the brand. Then it must be easier to choose a partner by following the criteria. Finally by following up and evaluating the sponsorship Skagen Designs will be able to decide if it’s better to continue or stop the sponsorship. Q6. Skagen Designs is considering online sales of his watches. What problems and possibilities do you see for the company in this area? On this basis what are your conclusions? Nowadays, every brand is most of the time at least a brand â€Å"click and mortar†, if it is not a â€Å"pureplayer†. Nevertheless, the online trade cannot be adapted to every type of brand. Indeed, the brand universe has to be able to be put on the internet. Furthermore, when competitors start to sell on the internet, if you do not want to lose market share, you have no choice: you have to fight their advantages and so start considering selling online. First, we have to remember what an online sale is. An online sale is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet without intermediary services. So, we can think that a luxury brand such as Skagen, which anyway looks luxury, will lose its ability to advice consumers, one of his strengths. Furthermore, those watches are pretty technical products and so require some expertise. However, there must be some advantages. It is important to say that Skagen has already a website and is already selling on this website, so every watch can be purchased on the internet. Indeed, for example, you can choose a watch, click on it to have a bigger view of it, and then you can â€Å"add it to the bag†. You can then see your â€Å"bag† on which you see the price of your watch and of the shipping. The last step is to do the check out by giving your personal address, and of course, paying. As a consequence, we can think that Skagen took its decision: they decided to sell by the internet also. Now, what means â€Å"problems and possibilities†. A problem is an obstacle. A possibility is more an opportunity. It means in this case how the website can be done, what possibilities they have. But also, it means what opportunities it will bring. So, we can think that the expression â€Å"problems and possibilities† refers to the â€Å"Threats and Opportunities† in the SWOT analysis. First, it is an opportunity because customers are not the same nowadays. The new customer is always in a hurry, always wants to change his style, optimizes a lot his time in the transport by using his cellphone. So, of course, if the competitors start to sell on the internet, Skagen customers, which are young and active people, will lose their faithfulness toward Skagen finding better answers to their needs. Second, as it was said, the typical Skagen customer is the typical person who spends a lot of time buying on the internet and who is very comfortable with new technologies. It means that it will not be a problem for him to buy at the online store, and even, it will bring new customers: this main target, the one of Skagen, is sometimes so much active that it does not have time to buy and sometimes, he is totally willing to buy in another country but cannot because there is no online store. As a consequence, it means that more than an advantage, creating an online store was necessary for Skagen’s customers. Plus, every brand does not have exactly the same target. We can guess that because, for example, Alfex is still not selling on the internet, you can just click on â€Å"where to buy† on its website. Third, but it is a detail, it quite easy to establish some advantages for faithful customers on the internet. For example, reductions, special sales. And it is easily accessible. These advantages can also be combined with partners. Indeed, Skagen, choosing to start selling on the internet can start having good partners for complementary items such as clothes for example. However, we can observe that most of this brand does not make any promotion for other brands. We can think that it is because the world of watches is an â€Å"elegant† world; it means that websites are really modern and purified. Fourth, we can think that it could be cheaper to sell on the internet because you do not have to pay a so huge rent and you do not have to pay the sells staff. However, of course, there are some disadvantages. First, it is a quite precise and technical product: some exigent customer can feel lost, even if it is well described they might need still more details. Details that are so numerous that it cannot be put on a website for example if you have some risks to break a bit your diamonds on the watch if you go on the shower with it. Second, Skagen will always have to watch the markets evolution and to be able to answer very quickly to demands. It means a lot of stocks and money. This is an aspect of starting selling online: selling online is a job in itself, you have a lot of technics to acquire such as how to ship your products for example. And, because it is a lot of money, you have to calculate if it is really worth it to sell on the internet and if it is, how you will do it without huge amounts of moneys. Beside, details which is important for Skagen which is a brand whose positioning is selling very pretty products at affordable prices. Third, Skagen, as clothes, is a fashion brand, it means that people requires style from it. And, as they do with clothes, they might want to try it to see how it feels and how it fits their clothes. And, indeed, it is the main problem with online stores. But, anyway, it is less grave for watches than for clothes. However, we can notice that on their website we only see their watches alone, which means that it hard to imagine how it looks on a wrist. Some competitors such as Jacob Jensen or Guess still have this trouble, they should all of them do as Alfex, show it on the wrist of a model also. As a result, it was almost mandatory for them to go on the internet. Indeed, they have the perfect target, it can be cheaper and they are an affordable brand because they can produce low cost, their competitors start to sell on the internet and this type of products which are objects and not clothes or food, can be quite easily sold on the internet. The disadvantages are really negligible comparing to the advantages. We can anyway to go more far think that they could do it in another way such as proposing pictures of people wearing it and even proposing some clothes style to fit with it. [1] tutor2u. net/business/marketing/promotion_sponsorship. asp Report 2013/02/19 INTERNATIONAL MARKETING SODERTORNS HOGSKOLA

The debate between pro-choice and pro-life Essay

The debate between pro-choice and pro-life - Essay Example The author of this paper believes that neither of these two candidates has thus far been able to sway those individuals who were pro-choice or pro-life to change their fundamental belief to a new or different philosophical standpoint. Clearly this debate is a lifelong and never-ending deliberation. Therefore should the individuals who are pro-choice just submit to those who are pro-life and accept defeat? You, the reader, be the judge. The Toulmin Model of Argumentation posits six primary elements in the course of an argument, namely, claim, grounds, warrant, backing support, rebuttal/reservation and clarification. Firstly, the claim is the statement of the argumentation. The second element of an argument is the grounds which are substantiated explanation for the claim. The third element is the warrant which refers to theory or the series of analysis that unite the grounds to the claim. The backing is the fourth element and its main purpose is to support the warrant. Rebuttal or reservation is the fifth factor and it gives an account of ‘counter-examples and counter-arguments’ which are two major components of the Toulmin model. The final ingredient is qualification which asserts a boundary to the claim, warrant and backing. This essay is an attempt to utilize the Toulmin model of argument to analyze the various arguments submitted to question pro-choice versus pro-life. Is there a difference between the human and an animal? The author of this paper believes that the animal level belongs to some dogs and other animals that would eat or kill their own offspring immediately upon delivery. The human element in us is that we have a choice- a choice to eat or kill the child or to allow the child to live to develop into all that it was meant to become. The author of this paper claims that the mere fact that a sperm and an egg were allowed to germinate should be basis enough to allow the new life that is been conceived to

Corporate Governance and Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Corporate Governance and Finance - Essay Example Company Background Apple Inc. was instituted in the year 1977 and is headquartered in California, United States of America. The company along with its subsidiaries designs, produces, and sells mobile communication devices, personal computers, media devices, and handy digital music players among others. Apple Inc. also sells a range of associated services, software, networking solutions, peripherals, digital content and other forms of applications. Apple Inc. caters to a broad array of clients, ranging from individual consumers, to small and mid-sized enterprises and education, corporate and government customers (Apple Inc. (a), 2012). The products as well as services offered by Apple Inc. comprise of iPhone, Mac, iPod, iPad, Apple TV, in addition to a collection of specialized and consumer software applications. Apple Inc. also provides the iOS, iCloud, and Mac OS X operating structure, in addition to an assortment of accessory, service as well as support offerings. Apple Inc. also v ends and distributes digital content as well as applications by means of the App Store, iTunes Store, Mac App Store and iBookstore. The Company markets its products throughout the globe via its stores, both online as well as retail in addition to direct sales force. Apple Inc. also sells via wholesalers, intermediary cellular network carriers, retailers, as well as value-added resellers. Furthermore, Apple Inc. also markets a range of third-party iPhone, Mac, iPad, and iPod attuned products, such as application software, printers, speakers, headphones, storage devices, as well as many other accompaniments and peripherals, via its retail and online stores (Apple Inc.(a), 2012). Company History Apple was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in the year 1976. Originally, the... This essay stresses that the subject of corporate governance is associated with the jobs and accountabilities of a business organization’s Board of Directors in handling the business and their associations with the organization’s shareholders as well as other stakeholder. Characteristically, in any corporate organization the full time executive directors possess extensive powers with reference to the dealings and matters of the organization they are paid to manage in support of the shareholders. Nevertheless, the executive directors might not always bear the interests of the shareholders in their mind while carrying out their executive responsibilities. Consequently, this had resulted in endeavors to make the directors more liable for their strategies and actions. This paper makes a conclusion that Apple Inc. practices strong corporate governance principles and hence the company has not faced any major instances of conflict of interest. The comprehensive assessment of the corporate governance as well as the code of conduct of Apple Inc. revealed that the Company abides by strict guidelines and always attempts to protect the interests of its stakeholders. This strict abidance to the required market practices have resulted in positive fortune for the Company. The assessment of the financial position of the company illustrated that the position of the company had further fortified since the years and the stock price movements revealed that Apple is provided good value for shareholders’ money.