Death Penalty - 2855 Words

The death penalty has been a controversial issue for many years. It was established centuries ago and has been accepted by society. It was put into place to punish those who had committed an offense against laws of the institution that was in place at the time. Within our society the death penalty has been associated with several symbols. ‘An eye for an eye,’ is a symbol that has come to be the representation of the death penalty; which was one of the original ideas behind it. Times have changed and the death penalty is now used for more serious offenses and considered to be a deterrence. The death penalty should be abolished because it does not effectively deter crime. I will be discussing the lack of deterrence on the death penalty†¦show more content†¦8). Based on these two states we can assume that having the death penalty does not deter people from committing murder, but it does not give us enough information to come to a stable conclusion. In order to avoi d any assumptions that the death penalty will change someone’s mind before committing a crime that is punishable by crime, we need more substantial results. â€Å"The second test was performed using Virginia, who follows Texas in number of convicts executed since 1976, and Massachusetts, with no death penalty† (Tyree, 2007, p.9). The relationship between these two states should give us a broader perspective as to whether the death penalty deters people from committing murder. According to the findings of these two states, â€Å"the murder rates per 100,000 inhabitants, for the state of Virginia in 1990 were 8.8 and in the state of Massachusetts were four. In 2000, the murder rates for Virginia were 5.7 and in the state of Massachusetts were two† (Tyree, 2007, p. 9). This allows us to form a more accurate perspective of how the states that have the death penalty actually have a higher rate of murder in contrast to the states that do not have the death penalty. Th ese findings are contrary to the belief system within our society that symbolizes the death penalty as a deterrent. The criminologists were â€Å"asked if they agreed that the empirical researchShow MoreRelatedPro Death Penalty Speech1482 Words   |  6 Pagesintroduce myself before we get started. My name is Slick Perry and if you didn’t already know, I am the state governor of Texas. You are all aware that we are reviewing our recidivism rate to various crimes and reviewing our stance regarding the death penalty as we approach 2009. Everyone here understands that capital punishment is a very controversial topic in the United States. In Texas, from December 1982 through August 2008, only 361 criminals of the millions of Texans in our good state were executedRead MoreThe Truth About The Death Penalty973 Words   |  4 Pages In her article â€Å"The Truth About The Death Penalty†, Carina Kolodny argues that the death penalty should be abolished in all fifty states due to the fact that it is ineffective and very expensive. Kolodny believes that capital punishment has too many complications and variables that cause it be more of an issue than a real solution for capital offenses. She proposes that the death penalty should be dropped and exchanged for better programs such as Proposition 34, which replaces capital punishmentRead MoreThe Bible and Death Penal ty Essay example812 Words   |  4 Pagesa person’s view of the Bible influence what they think about the death penalty for murderers.† I would like to see if a person’s view of the bible influence what they think of the death penalty. This is interesting to me because I am interested in the field of criminal justice and the death penalty is a huge topic to this day. There are many journals that talk about studies that were done on religion and views of the death penalty which have to do with my topic of interest. My hypothesis is thatRead MoreEssay on Death Penalty: Capital Punishment and Violent Crime1570 Words   |  7 PagesCapital Punishment and Violent Crime Hypothesis Most Americans are pro-death penalty, even though they dont really believe that it is an effective deterrent to violent crime. Those who are pro-death penalty will remain so, even if faced with the best arguments of anti-death penalty activists and told to assume the arguments were absolutely true. Violent crime Violent crime is a major problem in the United States. According to the ACLU, the violent crime rate rose sixty-one percentRead MoreEssay on Article Analysis: OSullivans View of the Death Penalty1536 Words   |  7 PagesBritain should have the death penalty. O’Sullivan addresses all the main counter arguments when explain to his audience his conclusion. His supporting evidence includes death penalty decisions in history and several other statistics. Emotionally terms, faulty cause and effects scenarios, and either/or point of views are other ways the author conveys his opinion to the audience. The article begins with an overall theme threw out O’Sullivan’s piece: does the death penalty appropriately punishRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Justified1143 Words   |  5 PagesAllison Shu 2/25/16 Period 2 Objective paper on the death penalty Capital punishment is legally authorized killing as punishment for a crime. The death penalty questions the morality of killing a person as justification for their crime. It also brings to question whether the death penalty actually serves as a deterrent for crime, and that some of the people executed are found innocent afterwards. The debates over the constitutionality of the death penalty and whether capital punishment should be usedRead MoreThe Death Penalty For Juveniles946 Words   |  4 Pages The death penalty for minors differs greatly from the death penalty for adult. The law that minor could be put on death row was decided to rule against the eighth amendment. The eighth amendment prohibits the act of â€Å"cruel and unusual punishment† which putting minors on death row breaks. On March 4, 2005 the law that minors could not be put on death row for their actions was set into place. The new laws say, â€Å"They cannot punish a minor by death penalty and they cannot punish someone for a crimeRead MoreShould The Death Penalty Be Mandatory?925 Words   |  4 Pagesopinions on the subject. When we were discussing the death penalty although my opinion didn’t change, after hearing what some of my classmates had to say about the subject during our lab I was able to respectfully see why they had those thoughts and feelings about the subject. I believe that we should have the death penalty, and that it helps prevents more crime from happening. However, during our lab students that thought we should ban the death penalty had some pretty interesting reasons behind theirRead MoreThe Death Penalty Should Be Legal1805 Words   |  8 Pagesthat we all know is the death penalty. This penalty has been going around for years. To many people it might be the best way of punishing a person. On the other hand there are people who think that if you kill a person you should be sentenced to die as well. For me I would say it might not be the best way and it not working as many would like it. When choosing if you are for the death penalty you have to okay with an insect person dyei ng or even a family member being in death row. I know that is somethingRead MoreThe Death Penalty : An Effective Reliable Tool904 Words   |  4 Pagesthe death penalty has been a frequent topic of discussion, as our recent technological advancements have evidently led individuals to consider the â€Å"new found† legitimacy of our court systems, as statistics display that our previous racial bias and the apparent morality of the practice itself have a miniscule impact on our conviction rate. Both the advancements and ethics that the death penalty provides become apparent through the utilization of anecdotes and statistics, as the death penalty has prevailed

American name David Birth name Huayi Free Essays

My partner is a very dynamic Chinese guy named Hua Yi, but is known by his American name, David Birth. He is an only son and lives with his immediate family although he has other family members and relatives in South East China. His father works as a truck driver and his mother, as an airline inspector. We will write a custom essay sample on American name David Birth name Huayi or any similar topic only for you Order Now He goes back to China to visit every two years or so. On assessment, he believes that their family belongs to the middle class economic strata. David’s parents moved to the United States nine years ago in 2000 in search of wider horizons and better earning opportunities. David believes that he left his cultural roots in China, but he has never forgotten this, and so, despite his being in the United States, he has retained his cultural identity and learned to incorporate American culture into it. He believes he has half of his heart in China and half in the United States. David is a very physical person and loves to indulge in sports and other physical activities like table tennis, club and local golfing, as well as fishing. He values his leisure time and spends this mostly with his family and friends. He likes to watch movies and spend time learning new things and discovering new possibilities. He is also very outgoing and can handle his emotions quite well. David finished his secondary education from North Penn High School in Lansdale four years ago in 2005. He has consistently been a ‘B’ student and decided to shift from nursing to international business during his college years. He plans to pursue this degree in international business and later transfer to a ‘temple’ from his community college. He is bent on finding a job in the Philadelphia area so that he can use this job as a stepping stone to accomplish his dream of being able to travel all around the world and learn new things. In the next year, he has also made a resolve to work hard to acquire good grades to enable him to transfer to a better college. He also plans to invest in real estate when he has the resources and buy a luxurious house for his parents. David can be very shy at times and he also has difficulty in verbalizing his emotions. He is very close to his family and so fears that one day they will acquire health problems and eventually die. INFERENTIAL SECTION: Based on the simplicity of David, and his very simple aspirations, I can easily say that he only seeks very ordinary dreams for himself and for the people around him. I think that his foremost desire would be to able to meet the basic requirements of a dignified life, hence, quite likely, in the next ten years he would be focused on building his own family, leading a good family life, maintaining a decent and good paying job, and being able to acquire residential property. Considering his Asian background, David has high hopes of moving to America. Based on his past, I can say that moving to America is a very welcome change for him and that this significant event in his life has given him a more liberal and permissive view of things, enabling him to be more decisive, more open to risks, and change. His Asian background has also given him the propensity to view things based on the oriental belief of Karma, which means that according to his own personal philosophy, he thinks that the energy you put out to the universe, which could either be good or bad, is the same kind of energy that the universe will send back to you. VALUE SECTION: As a person, my partner’s strengths are being able to maintain an open mind in all things and seek opportunities to try innovations. This mindset of his could be considered a strength because this will enable him to explore many new things in life and try out more opportunities; therefore making him a more rounded and more holistic person than he is now. David is very open to criticism and he believes that he can learn many new things from what other people say – as a strength, this can contribute to self-improvement as well as individual development. David, on the other hand, can be very shy at times. This prevents him from vocalizing his ideas and making his thoughts known to other people. This, as his weakness, can cause him to become less satisfied of certain situations because he cannot verbalize what he wants to do about these things. He may also have problems with indicating what he truly wants in many cases because not all people can read other people’s minds. Treated the other way, this shyness can be converted into a strength if it is based on the concept of being mild-mannered and composed. This particular attitude of his can work the other way and give other people the impression that he can control himself well and is not given to stray and baseless reactions and emotions. SELF-REFLECTION SECTION: As a interpersonal communicator, I believe that the most important skill that I have is the ability to listen and allow the other person to speak. Many things can be gleaned from how another person reacts to our questions and I am confident that I give due attention to these subtle and discreet reactions. Another ability of mine that I consider a strength is my skill of being able to rephrase the question for clarity. This can be very helpful especially if the person I am talking to has difficulty in comprehension. I am also given to being lively and bubbly at times so this serves to keep the interest of the person I am talking to. I also tend to be very intimate when it comes to communication; maintaining eye contact, physical contact, and contact on a mental level. I avoid being too emotional when communicating to maintain objectivity. In my conversation with David he found me to be very entertaining. On the other hand, my approach to communication can be very aggressive at times and this can intimidate the person I am talking to and cause them to shrink into themselves. My being very vocal and verbal can sometimes come across as intimidating. I tend to be very precise at times, and this can work against me by making me sound more like an investigator than a communicator. To improve on my interpersonal communication skills, I believe that I need to expose myself to more real life situations and not treat encounters like they are opportunities to earn a good grade in the classroom. I have to learn the entertainment and knowledge value of communication and the various benefits that it can present to social relationships. Perhaps, I need to attend personality development seminars and workshops to make me more effective in interpersonal communications. To add to this, I also need to develop a certain degree of rapport with myself to be able to reflect this rapport to whoever I am communicating with. How to cite American name David Birth name Huayi, Papers

Compensation and Benefits for Salaries and Wages -myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theCompensation and Benefits for Salaries and Wages. Answer: Introduction In exchange of employment, an employee receives benefits, salaries and wages from the firm which refers to compensation. It may include annual salary, bonus, or hourly wages and benefits like health care coverage, insurance, retirement savings, etc. Individual firm has their own components and payroll system. In a professional carrier, working for a company like Tim Hortons, an employee requires getting indirect benefits from the firm which helps employees get attracted towards the firm along with holding them towards it. Tim Hortons is an organisation which deals with chain of restaurants in more than nine countries that requires an incessant group of working people. This report will discuss three important indirect benefits an employer can offer to keep up with its employees(HrCouncil.ca). Compensation And Benefits Bonuses and Raises: The management system that deal with employees performance management generally plans the percentage of raises and amount of bonuses to be distributed among employees based upon employees ratings and performance. For example, employees with outstanding performance could receive a direct raise in salary of six percent and gradually decreasing for incompetent employees. Similarly bonus can be given after calculating the percentile of gross salary of employees or by dividing the pool of stock contributed to organisational success. In many companies the incentives are kept for development of bottom line and incrementing public share value(Mayhew, 2018). Retirement benefits: This scheme would attract the employees as under retirement benefit plans, the employers provide employees with income when they are no longer able to work. This plan guarantees payment after retirement. Pension is another way in which an amount of salary is accumulated for stipulated time period w hich is calculated after combining employees service years, salary and age. In many countries there are registered saving plans that provide exemptions from taxes which again help in saving money(Mayhew, 2018). Group Health Benefits: This is one way in which the employees are provided with health care benefits. Under this plan, employers pay an amount of portion from the monthly premium plans, leaving the rest amount to be deducted from employees pay. From health plans sponsored by employers, the premium deducted gets exemptions under pre-tax schemes. Heath coverage relives the employees from health coverage expense like dental, vision, accidents etc. Many employers provide employees with short term disability insurance and as a part of employees compensation offers long term disability coverage that again makes employees less worried about ill upcoming(Merhar, 2016) Effects Of Benefits And Compensation For any company to keep a hold of highly qualified staff is the most challenging job. Therefore compensation and benefits, although costly, helps in maintaining organisational success by attracting employees and infusing loyalty among them. Employers dealing in traditional ways of providing employees with limited programmes find difficulties in retaining its staff to the organisation. By improvising additional benefits and compensation, the productivity may get increased as employees get less worried about themselves and their family. Bonuses and yearly increments make employees work more. Employees get a piece of mind as their future is secured and thus seems more satisfied with their work environment which increases work effectiveness. Insurance schemes and retirement plans avoids them switching over companies along with feeling a sense of pride over their employers for taking care of their health and future(Mazurek). References HrCouncil.ca. (n.d.). Compensation Benefits. Retrieved from https://hrcouncil.ca/hr-toolkit/compensation-employee.cfm Mayhew, R. (2018). Example of an Employee Compensation Plan. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/example-employee-compensation-plan-10068.html Mazurek, S. (n.d.). Employee Benefits and Compensation . Retrieved from https://managementhelp.org/payandbenefits/index.htm Merhar, C. (2016). Examples of Common Small Business Employee Benefits. Retrieved from https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/examples-of-common-small-business-employee-benefits

A Hermeneutical Critique on the Conquest and Occupation of the Land Belonging to Others from the Perspective of the Indigenous Peoples Essay Example

A Hermeneutical Critique on the Conquest and Occupation of the Land Belonging to Others: from the Perspective of the Indigenous Peoples Essay From the perspective of the indigenous peoples. Prepared by: Kyrshanborlang Mawlong, Lamjingshai and Friends Introduction: This study is an attempt to dwell upon the historical event in the ancient world of the Hebrew Bible. A familiar narration about the Israelite, taken into exile in Egypt, later, the episode from Moses up to the entry into Canaan under the terrific leadership of Joshua.This is a turning point for the history of the Israelites; this Meta happening have been usually considered as an important dates in records, conventionally it was interpreted as an act of victory. The main objective of this study is therefore to revisit the event from the other aspect. The Canaanites as indigenous indwellers of this captivated region. They were defeated under the influential forces which are foreign originated in nature. The paper starts with a brief biblical survey about the time when the Israelites, reached the promise land.A clear cut understanding about the term indigenous peop le is the next steps that follow. Salient features of the indigenous people were selectively highlighted. Categorizing the Canaanite as indigenous people is a careful consideration done here. Nearer to the end there is an application of hermeneutical critique on the settlement, but before that, since this is no longer a conventional interpretation, a brief preference for methods and approach were inserted. The discourse will be put in empty space without contemporary challenges, for this reason it occupy certain part before reaching the reflection.An attempt has been made to simplify all these in a comprehendible manner, though there are some unavoidable portions. 1. Summary of Israelite’s Conquest and Occupation of the Promise Land: Biblical Perspective: Some scholars they marked the events during the 13th century BCE; while N. Lemche, dates it to the 14th century BCE. This is a hint that the event occured somewhere around this period. The biblical accounts of the conquest c over four main areas: Transjordania, the Central Hill country, the Southern region, and the North. A summary of Israel’s conquest is made in the book of Joshua.Encamped at Gilgal, Israel was realistically prepared for Canaan as God’s chosen nation. Circumcision is a rite for the new covenant and of the promise God had made to bring them into the land. Entrance into the land was also marked by the Passover observance and cessation of the provision of manna. The people would henceforth eat of the fruits of the land. Joshua himself was prepared for conquest. By a theophany God imparted to Joshua the consciousness that the conquest of the land was not dependent solely upon him but that he was divinely commissioned and empowered.The conquest of Jericho was a sample victory. Israel simply followed the instructions of the Lord. The Israelites marched around the city seven times, the walls of the city fell and they could enter to take possession. Ai was the next objective for conquest. Assured of success, Joshua renewed his plans to conquer Ai. The enemy forces were lured into the open so that the thirty thousand men who had stationed beyond the city by night were able to attack Ai from the near and set it afire. The defenders were annihilated, their king was hanged and the site was reduced to rubble.When Israel makes its second attack, the people of Ai as well as the inhabitants of Bethel vacate their cities to pursue the enemy (Josh. 8: 17). Gibeon was one of the great cities of Palestine. When it capitulated to Israel, the king of Jerusalem was greatly alarmed. In response to his appeal other Amorite kings from Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon formed a coalition with him to attack the city of Gibeon. Having made an alliance with Israel, the beleaguered city immediately dispatched messengers to appeal for aid from that quarter.By an all night march from Gilgal, Joshua unexpectedly appeared at Gibeon, where he defeated and routed the enemy through th e Beth-horon pass (also known as the valley of Ajalon) as far as Azekah and Makkedah. At Makkedah the five kings of the Amorite league were trapped in a cave and were subsequently dispatched by Joshua. Joshua then assaulted the well fortified city of Lachish and on the second day of siege overthrew this stronghold. Next Israel moved on in victory to take Eglon, from there the troops struck eastward into the hill country and beset Hebron, which was not easily defended.Then moving southwest they stormed and took Debir or Kirjath-Sepher. The conquest and occupation of Northern Canaan is very briefly described. The opposition was organised and led by Jabin, king of Hazor who had at his command a great force of chariot. A great battle took place near the water of Merom with the result that the Canaanite coalition was utterly defeated by Joshua. The horses and chariots were destroyed and the city of Hazor was burned to the ground. In summary the territory covered by the occupation forces extended from Kadesh-Barnea, or the extremities of the Negeb as far north as the valley of Lebanon, below Mount Hermon.On the east side of the Jordan rift the area which previously had been conquered under Moses extended from Mount Hermon in the north to the valley of the Arnon, east of the Dead Sea. Thirty-one kings are listed as having been defeated by Joshua, with so many city-states, each having its own king in such a small country. Through this conquest Joshua subdued the inhabitants to the extent that during the subsequent period of peace the Israelites were able to settle in the Promised Land. 2.Indigenous People; Understanding the meaning of the term: The term â€Å"indigenous† means natives, autochthonous people (Sons [Sic] of the soil), primitives, minorities, first nation or Fourth World, or Adivasis. Roy Burman quotes a U. N. working definition, â€Å"Indigenous populations are composed of the existing descendants of the people who inhabited the present territory of a country, wholly or partially, at the time when persons of a different cultures or ethnic origin arrived there from other parts of the world, overcame them, and by conquest, settlement or other means, reduced them to a non-dominant situation. Indigenous peoples, men and women, are the voice of the land, the voice of the water, the voice of the air. The indigenous peoples’ struggles for land and identity, farmers’ engagement for sustainable agriculture, action to curb climate change, and people’s initiatives to defend their rights, are just a few key examples for relevant and vital engagement. The Indian indigenous people includes: Adivasis (tribal), Dalits, Manipuris, Jarowa tribes of Andaman Island, Naga natives of Nagaland, Tharus of India and several others. Adivasis literally means original inhabitants.The indigenous people of India amount to about 63 million, they are overwhelmingly the largest group for any single country in the world, constituting 30 percent of the total indigenous population of the whole world. 3. Salient Features of the Indigenous People: Indigenous people in India or in any parts of the world are distinctive in their own way of life, their food habits, customs, traditional practices etc. However, in spite of several differences and uniqueness, following are only few of their salient features which can be taken for the discussion: . 1. Relationship to the Land: For indigenous people, the land is source of life a gift from the Creator that nourishes supports and teaches. They consider the Earth like a parent and revere it accordingly. â€Å"Mother Earth† is the centre of the universe, the core of their culture, the origin of their identity as a people. At the heart of this deep bond is a perception, awareness, an innate wisdom that all of life’s mountains, rivers, skies, animals, plants, insects, rocks, and people are inseparably interconnected.According to indigenous law, humankind can never be more than a trustee of the land, with a collective responsibility to preserve it. Indigenous people do not consider the land as merely an economic resource. Their ancestral lands are literally the source of life, and their distinct ways of life are developed and defined in relationship to the environment around them. Indigenous people know the extent of their lands, and they know how the land, water, and other resources need to be shared. They understand only too well that to harm the land is to destroy ourselves, since they are part of the same organism. . 2. Culturally and Religiously Uprooted: Indigenous cultures which are also known as tribal or primal cultures are generally marked by a transmission of rituals and practices, not by books, but through tradition, stories, proverbs, customs, rites and celebrations handed down orally and codes of behaviour. They are often customs and beliefs rooted in the family, tribe or clan, and aligned with a particular place, without any major central or national organization. They offer their followers a holistic approach to religion and life and pay much attention to the family and to parentage in all its stages.Above all, they inculcate a strong sense of the sacred and are normally so permeated with religious from the cultural elements in them. People belonging to indigenous cultures believe in a Supreme Being and give it different names: e. g. Creator, Unique and Supreme Spirit, Omnipotent, Uncreated King, Omniscient, Omnipresent, One who is above all visible things, the Heaven, the Sun, the Incomparable, Life, Being par excellence, the Transcendent, etc. There is also among them a belief in spirits who are inferior to God.These spirits are thought to vary in their attitudes to human beings: they may be terrible, wicked or vindictive; they may be capricious, or they may be merciful and protective. Ancestors are revered in indigenous cultures. Life has no end. There is no death in the sense of a separation from the clo se family members of the tribal community. Life is eternal. At death, a person joins the ancestors, undergoing a transition from the state of mortality to that of ancestral immorality. The family is highly treasured among the indigenous cultures.This sense of community is gained through the family, the lineage, the clan, the tribe. There is almost a feeling of a divine imperative that life must be given, life must be lived; life is to be long and peaceful: For this reason, many tribal societies have taboos and rituals to protect the divine gift of life. Old people are held in esteem. The community regards their wisdom as prophetic, i. e. as able to give direction for living in the present day circumstances. Religious beliefs and practices enfold the whole of life. There is no dichotomy between social or political or economic engagement and religion.Faith, morality and worship are there in indigenous cultures. Great value is attributed to the word which is uttered. The moral code is regarded as that which has been handed down by past generations and sanctioned by God through the spirits. 3. 3. Injustices: A Common Experience of the Indigenous People: Indigenous communities throughout the world are the extensive diversity as peoples and communities, but there is one thing which is in common they all share a history of injustice. Indigenous peoples have been exploited, tortured, enslaved and killed.Conquest and colonization have attempted to steal their dignity and identity, as well as the fundamental right of self-determination. Indigenous peoples rank highest on underdevelopment; they face discrimination in schools and are exploited in the workplace. In many countries, they are not even allowed to study their own languages in school. Sacred lands and objects are plundered from them through unjust treaties. National governments continue to deny indigenous peoples the right to live in and manage their traditional lands; often implementing policies to exploit the lands that sustained them for centuries.Over and over, governments around the world have displayed an utter lack of respect for indigenous values, traditions, cultures and human rights. 4. Canaanites as Indigenous People: Israel’s task in conquest Canaan, across the Jordan was a land of city states. There was no central government, but there were many cities, each with its own king. The cities were built to withstand siege for months at a time. These cities, too, could band together against a common enemy, as they did later against Joshua, in both a southern and northern confederacy.Besides this, the land was mountainous. Once past Jericho, Israel would be in rugged country most of the time, difficult in which to travel and manoeuvre for war. They didn’t worshipped only one God, but they worshipped many, whom they called Baalim. The Canaanites were mostly farmers, settled lives in villages and towns. They were cultivating wheat, olives and grapes. One festival was held in the early spring when the first of the new season’s crops was reaped, and this was called the Feast of First fruits. At this feast the people ate unleavened bread for a week.It took about seven weeks to get in the harvest and, when all the crops had been harvested, another feast was held. Moses and his followers left Egypt, and Joshua with a second generation entered Canaan. They were not alone. It was a time of change, of migration, of destruction and turmoil a dark age that ended 200 years later with the emergence of nation-states like Israel. It marked the effective end of the history of the Canaanites. The Israelites themselves are portrayed as aliens both in Canaan and Egypt in the so called historical credo.Houten observes that the perception of aliens among the Israelites changes. She said, â€Å"One may belong to a tribe or a city or district or a country and through history the primary group to which an Israelite belonged changed. † Hence, after all these one may observe from their cultural, agricultural, especially their closeness to the land and their manner of life, it may be right to state that the Canaanite by virtue are very much the indigenous people of that era in that area. 5.Biblical Interpretation from the Indigenous Perspective: In Search of Methods and Approaches: The Bible has been interpreted from various perspectives with the new form of reading and interpreting. The book of Joshua which is the selected text for this study cannot escape from this scholarship attempt. In this regard, the indigenous people are also having their own lens to look at, when Limatula Longkumer therefore said, â€Å"Employing western tools and its framework of interpretation without relating properly to the social location of the people (present context) does not help us much.Western methods of reading the Bible are too academic oriented and theoretical which the general reader finds difficult to understand. There is a need to formulate her meneutical tools from tribal perspectives-from the social location of the people. † In this connection, B. J. Syiemlieh proposition though explicitly for the North Eastern part of India, but this is very much applicable to the indigenous people elsewhere, he indicated that, there â€Å"†¦are problems of contextual interpretation in the context of Northeast India, the problem now shifts to the search for avenues and openings towards a meaningful interpretation.In this search, it may be prudent to go back to the process of identifying and describing the determinants in the process of interpretation of a text which are the text, the context and the reader or the interpreter†¦ Hence, the implied reader of the new literary criticism and social sciences can be taken as the principles and methods of contextual interpretation of the New Testament in the Northeast India. † 6. The Conquest and Occupation of Canaan by the Israelites: An Indigenous Interpretation: Histori cally, during the Pre-Critical criticism Joshua is read in the light of theology.In the Reformation reading it was read with the perspective that God’s historically dealings and covenant with Israel were both preparatory for and analogous to this dealing with Christians. Critical interpretations were no longer looking for Christian doctrines saw in the book rather as evidence of the historical emergence of Israel. Modern literary approaches draw attention into the discrepancy as having as function in the meaning of the book. Finally, Sociological reading understand Joshua, not as the history of an actual conquest, but as the delineation of cultural, ethnic and religious boundaries.Applying along with the indigenous methodologies mentioned above, it is necessary to focus on the biblical event, and in the mean time to re-read it. As indicated earlier, aiming at analyzing the conquest of Canaan critically from the hermeneutical point of view, applying the indigenous methodologic al propose ahead, it is an insightful excavation. At the same time, keeping in mind the entire salient features, and experiences of the indigenous people in general, the encounter of the Canaanites, following are few of the comparative results: 6. 1.Canaan: An Indigenous Land that Oozed Milk and Honey: Milk and honey were regarded as necessary and choice foods in ancient Israel. They were offered to guests and given as gifts. One wonders, do the soils of Canaan really qualify as â€Å"oozing milk and honey†? Archaeological evidence has indicated that Syro Palestine was in fact a fertile land. â€Å"Oozing milk and honey† is thus a favourite phrase or cliche for describing the fertility of the land. Egyptian texts described the abundance of the region as: â€Å"It was a good land Figs were in it, and grapes. It had more than water. Plentiful was its trees.Barley was there, and emmer. There was no limit to any (kind of) cattle Bread was made as daily fare, wine as dai ly provision, cooked meat and roast fowl, beside the wild beats of the desert and milk was used in all cooking†. For those who were landless slaves, being freed to a land that oozes milk and honey, was a life- long yearning. The emphasis might not be necessarily on fertility alone. It could also well be an emphasis on an ordered and stable normal life. So â€Å"oozing milk and honey† could be a traditional and proverbial phrase to describe the normal life of the chaotic life in Egypt and Babylon.Life in the Promised Land would be a life of, for, and with the land and with Yahweh. There would be land, there would be work, there be food, and there would be rest as well, and they would run their own course. Everything would be normal. This would be even more desirable and attractive than a mere fertile land. This is also a common hallmark of indigenous land in terms of soil fertility, which attracts foreigners to occupy their land. 6. 2. Land Displacement: The Israelite oc cupation of Canaan led to intermittent fighting over a long period as the quest for new territory xtended into the period of the settlement proper. According to Martin Noth, this process took almost two hundred years, from the second half of the fourteenth century B. C. This verifies the fact that when Israelite’s get inside the promise land, surely there prevails the displacement of the original inhabitants. They were divorced from their own land. Similarly, in different parts of India, the tribal’s have become the victims of big reservoirs, mega projects, wild life sanctuaries, mines, industries, etc.They are forcefully evicted from their ancestral land and often without proper compensation. They are simply ignored, silence and despised. For example, one lakh people are going to be displaced by the Sardar Savovar Project in Gujarat, 60-70% of whom are tribal’s. And around 1, 30,000 are expected to be displaced by the Narmada Sagar Project in Madhya Pradesh of whom 65-70% are tribal’s. Being improvised and disposed, people flee in large numbers to the cities and the towns to eke out their existence around slums and shanties in abject poverty and misery. 6. Resettlement: Consequently, when there is displacement and departure, the problem awaiting the indigenous Canaanite is that they have to relocate themselves by any means. This reinstallation will aggravate the chaotic circumstances lying ahead of them. Searching for a new settlement is not an overnight play. But it is a process that requires several probabilities and also time consuming. 6. 4. Occupational Alterations: Among these ‘indigenous Canaanites’ there were formed pastoral nomads from Transjordan. But, envisages a gradual settlement of various nomadic groups in the course of an occupational shift i. . transition to agrarian way of life. This is an open impact of the Israelites claimed for the land belonging not to them, but to others. As a matter of fact, the re appear occupational alterations during that time. They can hardly adopt the livelihood of the indigenous people in that region which they newly settled. So, there provoke an alterations from agrarian to pastoral, and reciprocally the same from pastoral to agrarian. 6. 5. Religious Assimilation: Religious opposition belonged to that context. The God of the Hebrews was very different from the Canaanite deities.The religion of the Canaanite peoples was a crude and debased form of ritual polytheism. It was associated with sensuous fertility-cult worship of a particularly lewd and orgiastic kind, which proved to be more influential than any other nature religion in the Near East. The principal deity acknowledged by the Canaanites was known as El, who was credited with leadership of the pantheon. The identification of this God with El of Israel must probably also be understood as taking place only gradually during the military stage.The Canaanites they didn’t worshipped only one God, but they worshipped many, whom they called Baalim (a Plural word), and they believed that each piece of land had its own baal who helped it to produce good crops. The baal could be worshipped only on his own plot of land, and if a person moved to another district he/she was compelled to offer worship and gifts to the baal of the district to which he had moved. But with the arrival of the Israelites, it was found that the Canaanites on the west bank were capture with a belief in a new God, Yahweh.This continue to spread to the other parts as well, it was interesting to see that the Hebrew slaves fought not only for their existence or for their â€Å"religion† but for their identity. While achieving this, the victims were the native people of the land whose religion will surely be assimilated under this brand new religious practises and ideas. 6. 6. Infiltration which leads to Imperialism: There is a pattern of peaceful infiltration which is confirmed by the biblical stor y of the Gibeonites and the absence of any battles in the central part of Canaan in the Joshua stories. As propounded by The German school of Albright Alt and Martin Noth.Unfortunately this placed the opponent of infiltration at risk; usually this is not the end in itself, because in most of the cases, learning from the indigenous people experiences, wherever there is an influx it mainly leads to imperialism. There may be numerous factors which contribute to the increase of migration from one place to another. It may be political, economical, sociological, and even religious for that matter. In India for that matter, for a contextual introspection, As S. P. Sinha comments that, â€Å"In fact Christian missionaries are there not for advocating a faith but for keeping imperialism alive. Therefore, it is important to remember that where there is infiltration, migration, influx the end point is imperialism, colonialism and other form of means in replacing those who settle in that place . 6. 7. Cultural Confrontation: In the words of A. R. Ceresko, concerning the biblical event of the conquest, it is visible that there is cultural confrontation during the conquest, when he said, â€Å"The opposition of Israel to Canaan was no mere ‘war of religion’ It was not simply one religion facing another. The conflict was cultural; it implied all the economic, social, political, and religious dimensions of culture.Another civilization faced the city-states. That political conflict implied a clash of totally opposite conceptions of society, of clan egalitarianism versus a hierarchical establishment, of mutual justice against royal absolutism, of concern for the poor rather than the imperatives of production and the preservation of social stability. † Incidentally, there is an alarming cultural confrontation, which ignites during the entrance of the Israelites. This is also very common for the indigenous people as pointed out before, when religion can never be separated from their culture or vice versa.Therefore, if there is any transformation in religion, their culture cannot remain untouched. Interestingly, in the same manner it happens for the Canaanites, their occupations have been shifted, their religion was under attacked these evidently signify that there can be demolition of existing cultural norms and practises. 7. Contemporary Challenges: The experience story of Indigenous/tribal is colonialism and post –colonialism, alienation, discrimination, uprooted from their own land, prejudice, and stereotyping.There were destruction of Indigenous culture and social system by powerful and elite people with no exception to the white missionaries. Globalization is a threat to the indigenous/tribal people. In the name of development government machineries took indigenous people’s land and resources away. Today there are numerous challenges. A journey to build the nation on secular ideal and it is our endeavour to provide a j ust and adequate society for all. But the situation in the realm of economic change and social life has brought attention to some crucial problems and difficulties.In spite of signal changes in certain sectors in our society, poverty and misery is the lot of a large number of people in slums and villages. A majority of them are Dalits, the victims of caste system. It is incumbent on the Church to involve in this struggle, especially since the Christian Church has begun a process of liberation of the Dalit. The Church should own it and declare unequivocally its commitment to the struggle of the Dalits. Suppression is the main problem facing the indigenous people till today.In the search for a fuller life, justice and equality and to project our identity and land, people are involved in various uprising movements. Since the dominant societies do not listen to the cries and do not recognize tribal’s with human rights and dignity, some people have gone up to the extent of armed s truggle, as a result of which many innocent people have been killed and properties have been lost. In a context where people are systematically oppressed people seem to see no alternative, except to involve in an armed struggle.The Policy Makers, instead of recognizing the movement as justice issue, try to suppress the movement by army rule. In the process, many tribal dominated places have been brought under many laws. Being empowered to shoot and kill; to enter and search and arrest any suspected person without warrant, many tribal leaders have been shot dead, while many fled to the forest for safety. Many villages were burnt down to ashes, not only once, but three to four times. Such human right violations go on and on. Many continue to live in tears, pain, fair and suffering.Silent tears of the heart crying for a just existence have become the air that people breaths in and out each day. Reflection: After all these, we find that this account of the Israelites taking over of Cana an, throughout decades, it has been classically interpreted only as the fulfilment of God’s promises towards his people. This may be well accepted before, but the experiences and development of biblical scholarship leads to the profound biblical evidences. Perceiving things in a different way is the outcome of such research data. We can see that it was an august time for the Israelite after a very long journey.The leadership of Joshua is an incredible achievement. When they reached this land, they try to figure out a place for permanent settlement. They started finding their own way of earning and living. This event is a dawn for the complete capture of this foreign land. They were supposed to be strangers and aliens in this place, but it is only a matter of time that they can fully remove and replace the native of this place. There is always a tendency to reject the picture and suffering of the people of this land, who had occupied this land for centuries.The Canaanite was d ismantled from their land; it is really a difficult time for them to be alienated from their very own land. The land which they spend most of their living, their resources have been abducted. They were scattered for the cause of others. Their rights upon their own land and properties have been subjugated. It is beyond imagination where, the people of the land were deducted of their ownership and close relationship to the land. Exactly, the same way they fall under the umbrella of indigenous people. Bombarded with the same hardships and struggling against the same hurdles.This infected even their faith, worship and thoughts. Ironically, there was religious controversy when these foreigners enter their land. Together with this their culture and indigenous practices were drifted and get carried, by something which they may never embrace before. It is not an easy time for them, to control massive infiltration and the agony is that they were suppress and unjustly treated. Conclusion: It is very important to find out related knowledge about the journey of the Israelite. This paper has no intention of justifying any side of the coin.But the only aimed is to revisit and portray some realities, which were hardly emphasized. As a matter of learning, this study opens the space for an in-depth research in this single field. Which may serve as tool to draw the scripture closer to those people, specifically those who were neglected, ignored and hardly visible in this circle like the indigenous people. This may bring the relevancy of the text to the context of the reader. Bibliography: Abraham, K. C. â€Å"Towards An Indian Christian Identity. † In Christian Identity and Cultural Nationalism: Challenges and Opportunities. Edited by E. C.John amp; Samson Prabhakar. Bangalore: BTESSC/ SATHRI, 2008. Anderson, G. W. The History and Religion of Israel. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. Broadie, Elsie. The Chosen Nation; Book one; Founders and Leaders. Headington Hil l Hall: The Religious Education Press, 1968. Ceresko, A. R. â€Å"Potsherds and Pioneers: Recent Research on the Origin of Israel. † Indian Theological Studies, vol. 34 (1997): 11-20. Convillle, J. G. Mc. â€Å"Joshua, Book of. † In Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible, et. Al,. Kevin. J. Vanhoozer (Michigan: Baker Book House, 2005), 400-402. Dias, Ivan Cardinal. Identities, Aspirations and Destines of Indigenous Peoples of India. † In Understanding Tribal Cultures: for effective education. Edited Joseph Anikuzhikattil et. al,. New Delhi: Commission For Education and Culture, 2003. Fachhai, Laiu. The Land Must Be Distributed Equally: The Promise and Covenant Aspects of Land in the Old Testament. ISPCK: Delhi, 2009. Gunneberg, Antonius H. J. â€Å"Israel. † In Encyclopedia of Christianity. Edited by Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Vol. 2 E-I (Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001), 766-771. Harrison, R. K. Old Testament Times. Massa chusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1970.Hnuni, R. L. The People of God in the Old Testament. New Delhi: Lakshi Publishers, 2012. Ignatius, Peter. â€Å"Interpretative Theories of Israelite Settlement. † In Jeevadhara: The Struggle for the Past: Historiography Today XXXII/187 (January 2002): 95-106. Joseph, Pushpa. â€Å"Indigenous Knowledge for Survival A Descriptive Enquiry. † In Jeevandhara : A journal For Socio-Religious Research XXXIX/ 229 (January-2009): 74-87. Kaiser, Walter C. A History of Israel: From the Bronze Age Through The Jewish Wars. USA: Broadman and Hollman Publisher, 1998. Legrand, Lucien. The Bible on Culture; Belong or Dissenting?Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 2001. Libolt, C. G. â€Å"Canaanites. † In International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia vol. 1. Edited by Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), 4587-4591. Longchar, A. Wati. â€Å"Tribal Theology: Issues, Method and Perspective. â₠¬  In Journal of Tribal Studies, vol. 1 (December 1997): 76-80. Longkumer, Awala. â€Å"Experience of the Context: Socio-Political, Historical and Cultural Context of the Tribal. † In Critical Issues in Mission Among Tribals. Edited by Awala Longkumer. Nagpur: NCCI, 2011. L

Entrepreneurship And Business Skills The WritePass Journal

Entrepreneurship And Business Skills Question 1 Entrepreneurship And Business Skills ). The biggest obstacle that I have had to face is the negative traits that I posses. However, over time I have come to the conclusion that what one lacks on one side, they compensate for it on the other. I am for instance a poor networker. The network of contacts that I started off with was very narrow and since I am not so good at connecting with people, the situation did not get any better. What I lacked in network skills, I made up for in commitment and determination. The important thing is to match the strength that compensates for your weakness and apply it (Hauser, 2012). Although, I could not connect with people easily, I could rely on myself to get the job done. The feeling that I was an ‘outsider’ reduced my reliance on other people’s help and I immersed myself in the mission that I worked towards. Failure was not a letdown but rather an opportunity to learn and avoid a similar mistake in the future. As a result of my commitment and determination, prospe ctive partners sought me and my network grew not because I was good at connecting with other people but because of my drive to succeed that appealed to them. It is important to find one’s weaknesses and strengths followed by strategies to turn the weaknesses around. Every business is an entire system that contains numerous tasks which cannot be accomplished by a single individual no matter how strong that individual is. As a result, the best strategy is to focus an individual’s energy on those areas that they are strong therefore compensating for the weaknesses (Collins and Lazier, 1995). I applied the recommended strategy by Collins and Lazier in my weakness regarding poor communication skills by maximizing on my ability to think of the big picture. Although I could not persuade people to support my views, ideas and business as a whole, I could see the patterns and relationships in the environment I traded in. These patterns and relationships made me an excellent predictor of market as well as competitor moves. As a result, I did not have to persuade anyone to follow my lead, adopt my ideas, or engage in transactions with me because the statistics talked on my behalf. The consistent positive results made others to gain confidence in me. The other trait that disadvantaged me was my strong action orientation that caused me to sometimes desire to act prior to comprehensive contemplation. There are several occasions that my ventures failed resulting from my immediate actions that were based on incomplete information. These ventures failed but I did not give up on them and instead kept on trying until they succeeded. My strong action orientation was my weakness but the motivation to excel is the strength that avoided my downfall. Every time I went into a venture because I felt the need to act, my goal and result orientation pushed me until the goal was achieved. I overcame my weaknesses through the strengths that compensated for what I lacked. I would recommend such an approach to every individual who desires to overcome or turn their weaknesses into strengths. Question 3 I would choose the role of either an organizer or a moderator. Often the group is split over which is the right and the wrong approach to an activity or task (Adeak, 2010). Every individual in the group seems to think that their idea, suggestion, or plan is the correct one. However, the best plan, strategy, and organization come from extensive preparation, assessment, and consideration. I prioritize these three elements because I do not like to undertake a task while unprepared and I set my mind to achieving the goal therefore the approach used, the organization chosen and the strategy formulated all have to be centered on the goal. Since this is a group activity, achieving the goal is not only dependent on my effort but on each group member’s effort. It is therefore my responsibility to organize the team and ensure that the plan that I have formulated to achieve the goal is integrated into the whole team. Team organization is a critical component of long-term success of any b usiness therefore ensuring the team’s procedures and plans are formulated and each team member is assigned a role that they will perform effectively would guarantee positive results (Collins and Lazier, 1995). A particular occasion that I played this role was in a research project on advertising where I divided the group into sub-groups so that every sub-group could research on a sub-topic which would then be followed by consolidation of all the sub-topics. The role of a moderator would also be an appropriate role for me because I am impartial and maintain an open mind at all times. Through such an approach I believe the interests of every group member would be addressed therefore ensuring that no member is dissatisfied. One hurdle that often arises in group activities is the allocation of resources and resolution of internal disagreements (Adeak, 2010). I believe in fair treatment and therefore would ensure the resources are coordinated and allocated fairly. This step would also help reduce disagreements in the group. This quality is an indication that the moderator is an appropriate role for me. The role that I would least play in a group is that of a critic. This is majorly because I choose to look at things positively whereas the critic searches for the flaw in order to expose it. A team needs to be motivated in order to perform well but criticism often dampens the motivation of the team (Adeak, 2010). This role is therefore not appropriate for me at all. References Brockhaus, R. H. (1982), The Psychology of the Entrepreneur. In Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship , edited by Calvin A. Kent, Donald L. Sexton, and Karl H. Vesper, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Collins, J. C. and Lazier, W. C. (1995), Beyond Entrepreneurship: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Caird, S. (1990), What does it mean to be Enterprising? British Journal of Management, vol. 1, Issue 3, pp. 37–145. Gunther, M., R. and MacMillan, I. (2000), The Entrepreneurial Mindset, Harvard Business School Press, Boston. Hauser, A. (2012), How to Overcome Business Weaknesses, Resources for entrepreneurs, viewed May 2, 2012, gaebler.com/Small-Business-Administration-SBA-Advice.htm What is a Team Role Structure? Adeak. 2010, viewed May 2, 2012, adeak.com/2010/02/what-is-a-team-role-structure/

Interpreting Statistics and Political Polls

Interpreting Statistics and Political Polls At any given time throughout a political campaign, the media may want to know what the public at large thinks about policies or candidates. One solution would be to ask everyone who they would vote for. This would be costly, time-consuming and infeasible. Another way to determine voter preference is to use a statistical sample. Rather than ask every voter to state his or her preference in candidates, polling research companies poll a relatively small number of people who their favorite candidate is. The members of the statistical sample help to determine the preferences of the entire population. There are good polls and not so good polls, so it is important to ask the following questions when reading any results. Who Was Polled? A candidate makes his or her appeal to the voters because the voters are the ones who cast ballots. Consider the following groups of people: AdultsRegistered votersLikely voters To discern the mood of the public any of these groups may be sampled. However, if the intent of the poll is to predict the winner of an election, the sample should be comprised of registered voters or likely voters. The political composition of the sample sometimes plays a role in interpreting poll results. A sample consisting entirely of registered Republicans would not be good if someone wanted to ask a question about the electorate at large. Since the electorate rarely breaks into 50% registered Republicans and 50% registered Democrats, even this type of sample may not be the best to use. When Was the Poll Conducted? Politics can be fast paced. Within a matter of days, an issue arises, alters the political landscape, then is forgotten by most when some new issue surfaces. What people were talking about on Monday sometimes seems to be a distant memory when Friday comes. News runs faster than ever, however, good polling takes the time to conduct. Major events can take several days to show up in poll results. The dates when a poll was conducted should be noted to determine if current events have had time to affect the numbers of the poll. What Methods Were Used? Suppose that Congress is considering a bill that deals with gun control. Read the following two scenarios and ask which is more likely to accurately determine the public sentiment. A blog asks its readers to click on a box to show their support of the bill. A total of 5000 participate and there is overwhelming rejection of the bill.A polling firm randomly calls 1000 registered voters and asks them about their support of the bill. The firm finds that their respondents are more or less evenly split for and against the bill. Although the first poll has more respondents, they are self-selected. It is likely that the people who would participate are those who have strong opinions. It could even be that the readers of the blog are very like-minded in their opinions (perhaps it is a blog about hunting). The second sample is random, and an independent party has selected the sample. Even though the first poll has a larger sample size, the second sample would be better. How Large Is the Sample? As the discussion above shows, a poll with a larger sample size is not necessarily the better poll. On the other hand, a sample size may be too small to state anything meaningful about public opinion. A random sample of 20 likely voters is too small to determine the direction that the entire U.S. population is leaning on an issue. But how large should the sample be? Associated with the size of the sample is the margin of error. The larger the sample size, the smaller the margin of error. Surprisingly, sample sizes as small as 1000 to 2000 are typically used for polls such as Presidential approval, whose margin of error is within a couple of percentage points. The margin of error could be made as small as desired by using a larger sample, however, this would require a higher cost to conduct the poll. Bringing It All Together The answers to the above questions should help in assessing the accuracy of results in political polls. Not all polls are created equally, and often details are buried in footnotes or omitted entirely in news articles that quote the poll. Thats why its important to be informed on how a poll was designed.

The rise of industrialization in the United States Essay

The rise of industrialization in the United States - Essay Example Without industrial revolution, the modernization of many societies would not have been achieved, and America would not be exceptional. Therefore, it becomes relevant to discuss the rise of industrialization in the United States, with a focus on what were the important components? Who were the major players and in what industries did they thrive? Assessing how technology was applied into this developments and how the working class fitted into the plan, as well as the significance of the labor movement in this process also forms the subject of this discussion. Industrialization initially started in Britain, and eventually spread to the rest of Europe and America. Before the industrial revolution, the US was using horse-powered machinery to run its factories2. This eventually changed to the adoption of water power, before industrialization revolutionized the whole manufacturing and production systems. There are several components that saw the rise of industrialization in America. First, after the end of the Civil War, agriculture in the country flourished, with a high production of raw materials such as cotton, which was being used in the textile industry for the manufacture of clothing. This being the case, the demand for production systems that would enhance the use of the readily available raw material contributed to the need to establish a more robust system of production, which saw steam-powered manufacturing, effectively replacing the water-powered machineries1. The other aspect that contributed to the rise of the American industrialization is the increased demand for manufactured goods that rose significantly notably between 1780s and the 1840s2. Considering that agricultural production in America had improved a great deal, there was sufficient food and other necessities obtainable from the farms, but a shortage of industrial products. This served to increase the demand for manufactured commodities, which eventually sparked off industrialization. Improved t ransport system also contributed to the rise of industrialization in America. In the period leading to 1820s, there was a high investment in transport systems such as canals and later the railway around 18353. An abundance of natural resources that were required in the manufacturing of commodities also played a great role in the rise of industrialization in America. America was endowed with vast natural resources, which formed the foundation for the rise of industrialization. Considering that natural resources such as steel, coal and oil were not to be imported, but simply to be obtained domestically, then, a manufacturing system that would take advantage of these resources had to be established, paving way for industrialization. Most significantly however, is the fact that foreign investment, availability of labor and technological innovation played a major role in the rise of industrialization in America4. There was a massive wave of investors shifting from the already industriali zed countries such as Britain, Germany and France, who came with a wealth of experience and capital to spark off the industrial growth. Coupled with that was the technological innovation that was occurring in America, which had resulted to the discovery of more efficient and highly productive systems. The foreign investors were able to invest and

Philosophy of Media Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosophy of Media Ethics - Essay Example I will also seek to dispel the notion that a conflict of interests develops between social science which is based on generalized information and natural sciences which focus on specifics. Roll-Hansen has argued that while the press is designed to provide independent opinion based on reliable information and well supported knowledge, discrepancy can be created based on political expediency. Hansen has focused on the need for basing reports on, "reliable knowledge" which he implies to be, "strongly confirmed by empirical investigations" and also corroborated by, "other well established knowledge". He also dwells on the need for complete knowledge and basing reports on the whole truth as is expected from witnesses during trials. In the second part of my exegesis I will dwell on how the specific events denoted by Hansen of acid rain and lifting the ban on whale hunting were not misrepresented by the media but were the result of relative ignorance of implications and that the biases had crept in due to external interests rather than representation of falsehood. Hansen feels that the media does not provide accurate information and tends to support public assumptions. Hansen cites two examples to support this hypothesis. The first is the alarm in Norway based on media reports of extensive damage to forests due to acid rain in Germany and Central Europe with reports of, "yellowing, loss of needles and gradual thinning of the tree crown with death ensuing". This created public alarm of, "forest death". Scientists at the Norwegian Institute for Forest Research (NISK) held that the threat of damage to forests due to acid rain supported by the minister of environment was, "over dramatized" and there was no reason to panic. A press conference organized by the NISK to provide balanced information of the case did not receive much attention as journalists felt it lacked a good story and they were, "disappointed". The danger of acid rain to Norwegian forests thus became firmly entrenched in public opinion. A book, "If Trees could Cry" was published with support from the Norwegian ministry of environment, prefaced by the minister who criticized the role of scientists at the NISK. Evidence that the damage could have occurred due to causes such as drought, untimely frost, fungi and so on was ignored. Public opinion was so strong, that NISK scientists fell silent and some even supported the theory, falling prey to opposition which was proving, "strenuous in the long run and not conducive to procuring economic support". Hansen feels that the journalists themselves were, "caught in bias producing mechanisms" and consistently ignored substantial facts. I feel that this argument over states the case that n ewspapers can form and sustain public opinion independently. The second case quoted is that of wide spread condemnation of the Norwegian government for permitting resumption of commercial hunting of minke whales in 1992. The charter of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) denotes that a balance between conservation and interest of the whaling industry should be maintained. The protests arose based on depletion of stocks and a stronger argument as per

Electoral Systems Essay Example for Free

Electoral Systems Essay Critically evaluate the argument that electoral systems can produce effective (decisive) government, or representative government, but not both. New Zealand’s current electoral system is MMP or Mixed Member Proportional; this is the system which will be used to evaluate the question. A comparison of MMP and FPP or the First Past the Post system will also be included, since it is being debated as to which is better for New Zealand. MMP is an appropriately representative government which also creates a rather effective government at the same time. On the other hand FPP causes a seemingly effective government but is far less representative. Some electoral systems can create effective and representative government while others may not. This will be shown by; firstly detailing how these systems of governance compare under effectiveness and representativeness, followed by an explanation as to why electoral systems can be both effective and representative and why they cannot. For a government to be classified effective it must sufficiently achieve its objectives as a governing body. It also must create a strong impression on the community (dictionary. om, 2011). MMP tends to have a less efficient form of law making than FPP. Under MMP the major parties must form coalition governments with the smaller parties to form a fifty per cent majority over the house. These coalitions may cause a time delay in passing legislation, as the major supporter of the bill tries to convince their support parties to agree with the legislation. MMP may take time to make decision but this doesn’t mean that the government is less decisive although; Many people argue that proportional forms of government lead to a less decisive and durable government. Their argument is based on the fact that the decisions must gain the support of coalition parties which cause a lower quantity of bills passing. However it is not the quantity of laws which cause an effective government it is the quality. MMP due to its more timely approach to law making allows time for scrutiny within a bill meaning any flaws which lie dormant in a bill may be fixed before the legislation is passed. A contrast to this is FPP with its single party majority which works very efficiently to pass laws rapidly. This is because there is no need for a compromise with its support parties since none are required. The effect of this rapid law making ability gives the community a view of effectiveness however the validity of the laws has been compromised. The laws passed may be riddled with flaws which really show the government is un-effective as the laws have no real impression on the community. Effective government is based around three criteria government durability, decisional efficacy and responsiveness (Boston, Church Bale, 2003). From these three different terms of effective government we can see how different opinions on the idea of effective government can differ. For a government to be classified representative it must consist of many individuals who represent a variety of different constituencies (dictionary. com, 2011). Also there must be some form of diversity among the constituencies such as race or gender differentiation. (Royal Commission, 1986) MMP is a highly representative form of governance as it uses a two votes system; this allows minor party representatives to gain a seat in the house if they gain a majority vote among their constituents. The fact an MP has to win their constituency causes a close link to the electorate as they will more likely than not represent the major view of the region. This single MP vote allows the house to represent the community from a broader aspect while still having the majority party in power with the 2nd vote, the party vote. This causes a greater diversity among the house. When MMP was adopted â€Å"Maori representation increased from 5-7% to 16%† and â€Å"the number of women of women doubled to 34%† (Haddon, 2011). This increasing diversity has continued as the royal commission predicted. New Zealand’s house of parliament has become more representative and diverse as shown by the 39 women, 21 Maori, 4 Pacific Islanders, and 2 Asian MPs out of the 121 in the house (Elections Commission, 2006). Also under MMP campaign promises of minor parties tend to not get placed on the new government agenda. The minor parties must rely on negotiation with party leaders in order to get their main policies on the agenda or must wait for the bill to be drawn from the ballot box in parliament, which may never come. This causes a slight decrease in the diversification of the legislation passed. This lack of diversification can decrease the representativeness of the majority. However this does not decrease the overall representativeness of the government. The diversity of MMP is contrasted by FPPs system where there are only electorate votes so people tend to vote solely for the major parties that are likely to get into parliament. The winning party in a FPP election will get a proportionally larger share of the seats that its share of the votes this has the opposite effect for minority parties whom gain a lesser proportion of the seats that their votes. This lack of proportionality is a major flaw in representation as there is very little diversity among the house. Electoral systems can be both effective and representative, â€Å"The best voting system for any country will not be one which meets any of the criteria completely but will be one which provides the most satisfactory overall balance between them† (Royal Commission, 1986). Although systems cannot be highly representative and highly effective they still can be both. MMP shows this, it may not be highly efficient at creating effective legislation but it creates quality legislation which is effective governing. Also MMP shows its representativeness by having a largely diverse house of representatives but due to the need for coalitions loses some of the broader views of the minor parties. â€Å"A proliferation of minor parties actually increases stability and effectiveness† (â€Å"NRT on MMP threshold,† 2011). This shows how a representative government actually helps to form an effective government. The increase in the number of coalition majorities available will help to reduce the ability for any party to have strong bargaining power over another. This was shown in our most recent parliamentary election by ACT and the Maori party not having a large bargaining power with National as they both had possible coalitions with National. They were acting as a check on the other so neither gained an arbitrary power over Nationals decision. This allowed for national to make what they saw as the best decision. This shows that MMP is representative as well as being effective even if it is not top in each discipline. Many critics of MMP have agreed that MMP does lead to a government reflecting the views of New Zealander’s and supporters of MMP conceded to agreeing that it leads to a more unstable government which can infer that it may be not highly effective (Palmer Palmer, 2004). While FPP contrasts MMP it shows the opposite idea. It shows that there is a tension between effective and representative government. This tension causes a highly representative government to have a very low effectiveness and vice versa. The tension has large effect on how the government operates and this can put a strain on which system will be best. FPP shows how a system cannot be both effective and representative whereas MMP seems to have the balance between being both an effective form of governance while still being rather highly representative. My research has shown that MMP is both an effective form of government and a representative form of government. However it is neither the most representative nor the most effective. The research has identified that an electoral system can be both as I have explained above. This is not to say all electoral systems are. There are always going to be strengths and weaknesses to an electoral system and a compromise between effective and representative will always be required, FPP for example is much more effective than it is representative. The tension between these two disciplines will always have an effect on how the system operates and which system is best suited to the situation. FPP is clearly a system which cannot be both while MMP is the perfect example of a system of governance which is both representative and effective.

Our Young Folks - An Ethical Guide for Children :: Our Young Folks

Our Young Folks - An Ethical Guide for Children Our Young Folks was a children’s magazine that ran from 1865 until 1873. Although the magazine didn’t last long, it was widely read by children across the country and even abroad, and circulation eventually exceeded 75,000 (Kelly 345). The magazine began publication just four months before the end of the Civil War, and during this time of upheaval Our Young Folks was an ethical guide for the nation’s children. Nearly every story offers the reader a moral, and children were continually urged to put others before themselves. Selfless Models One of the ways Our Young Folks gave its readers moral instructions was by setting examples. The magazine was packed with stories of selfless children who lived and died for others. Such characters were held up as models for how the young readers of the magazine should behave. One of these selfless stories is â€Å"My Heroine,† which is a poem about a young girl who dies while protecting her baby. Stanzas six and seven clearly outline the child’s heroism: Her mother gave the piteous tale: â€Å"How that child’s courage did not fail, Or else poor baby-† She stopped, pale, And shed tears without number; Then told how at the fireside warm, Lizzie, with baby on her arm, Slipped- threw him from her- safe from harm, Then fell- here in her slumber.    Lizzie shrieked, â€Å"Take him!† and uptossed Her poor burnt hands, and seemed half lost, Until a smile her features crossed, As sweet as angels’ may be. â€Å"Yes, ma’am,† she said, in feeble tone, Our Young Folks - An Ethical Guide for Children :: Our Young Folks Our Young Folks - An Ethical Guide for Children Our Young Folks was a children’s magazine that ran from 1865 until 1873. Although the magazine didn’t last long, it was widely read by children across the country and even abroad, and circulation eventually exceeded 75,000 (Kelly 345). The magazine began publication just four months before the end of the Civil War, and during this time of upheaval Our Young Folks was an ethical guide for the nation’s children. Nearly every story offers the reader a moral, and children were continually urged to put others before themselves. Selfless Models One of the ways Our Young Folks gave its readers moral instructions was by setting examples. The magazine was packed with stories of selfless children who lived and died for others. Such characters were held up as models for how the young readers of the magazine should behave. One of these selfless stories is â€Å"My Heroine,† which is a poem about a young girl who dies while protecting her baby. Stanzas six and seven clearly outline the child’s heroism: Her mother gave the piteous tale: â€Å"How that child’s courage did not fail, Or else poor baby-† She stopped, pale, And shed tears without number; Then told how at the fireside warm, Lizzie, with baby on her arm, Slipped- threw him from her- safe from harm, Then fell- here in her slumber.    Lizzie shrieked, â€Å"Take him!† and uptossed Her poor burnt hands, and seemed half lost, Until a smile her features crossed, As sweet as angels’ may be. â€Å"Yes, ma’am,† she said, in feeble tone,

Notes on Lecture Principles of Economics

Book: Principles of Economics (N. Gregory Mankiw) http://admin. wadsworth. com/resource_uploads/static_resources/0324168624/8413/Mankiw_TenPrinciple_Videos. html Introduction economy: Greek: the one who manages the household scarcity: the limited nature of society`s resources economics: the study of how society manages it? s scarce resources economy: a group of people interacting with one another as they go about their lives important: management of society? s resources; resources are scare most societies, resources are allocated not by a single household, but through the combined action of millions of households and firms Economist: study how people make decisions: how much they must work; what they buy; how much they save; how they invest their savings, how people interact with each other; also analyze forces and trends that effect the economy as a whole, including the growth in average income and the rate at which prices are rising; Ten Principles of Economics: How people make dec isions: #1 People face tradeoffs â€Å"There is no such thing as a free lunch. † To get one desired thing, usually required giving up another desired thing: making decisions ( trading off one goal against another e. : How I spend my money (save/invest); The subject I want to study; The job I want to work in; The meal I am going to have; The place where I want to live or to study abroad †¦ classical tradeoffs: â€Å"guns & butter†; (e. g. reducing pollution vs. low wages and high producing costs) â€Å"efficiency & equity† : conflicts when government policies are being designed efficiency: the property of society getting the most it can from it`s scarce sources (size of economic pie) equity: the property of distributing economic prosperity fairly among the members of society (how the pie is divided) 2 The cost of something is what you give up to get it because people face tradeoffs, making decisions requires comparing the costs and benefits of alternative co urses of action; (often cost of some item not as obvious: e. g. all the incoming cost when decided to study: money & time) opportunity cost: whatever must be given to obtain some item (How much do I have to give up = measure for the trade-off) e. g. start a Master`s Course or not: alternatives (opportunity costs: working; work & travel; another Bachelor; Internship; (each decision causes new Costs. marginal costs? ); #3 Rational People think of the Margin e. g. examination: not black & white: blow of vs: 24h studying ( decisions are shades of gray (airline) e. g. average cots of seat: $500, marginal cost: bag of peanuts & soda (e. g. $20) marginal changes: small incremental (schrittweise, zunehmend) adjustments to a plan of action (adjustments around the edge of what you are doing) e. g. thinking of the alternatives of not proceeding with a Master`s course (opp. Cost), but start to work directly after the B. A. ( marginal costs: lower wage; less career possibilities; marginal benefi ts: a wage at all; BUT: only profitable when marginal benefit of the action exceeds the marginal costs #4 People respond to incentives although comparing costs & benefits (c & b) behaviour may change when costs or benefit change ( d. h. people respond to incentives effect of price on the behaviour of buyers & sellers is crucial e. g. price of an apple rises: buyer: decide to buy pears; fewer apples bec. cost of buying apple is higher; sellers: hire more workers & harvest more apples bec. enefit of selling one is higher e. g. policy changes: tax on gasoline: encourage people to drive smaller, more fuel-efficient cars or public transportation etc. ( when analyzing policy we must consider not only the direct effects but also the indirect effects that work through incentives (e. g seat belt law); if the policy changes incentives, it will cause people to alter their behaviour e. g. when receiving an income parents (money) for studying it might change the incentive to work and earn own mo ney How people interact: #5 Trade can make everyone better off rade bw. Two countries can make each country better off; e. g. each family in the economy is competing with all other families (despite comp: family would not be better off isolating itself; but gains much from its ability to trade with others) ( trade allows each person (country) to specialize in the activities he or she does best; by trading with others, people can buy a greater variety of goods and services at lower costs e. g. #6 Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity . firms decide whom to hire & what to make ouseholds decide which firms to work for & what to buy with their incomes; ( these firms & households interact in the marketplace, where prices & self-interest guide decisions; in a market economy nobody is looking put for economic well-being society as a whole; free markets contain many buyers & sellers of numerous goods & services; all primarily own well-being; ( yet: despite decentraliz ed decisionmaking and self-interested decisionmakers; market economies have proven successful in organizing economic activity in a way that promotes overall economic ell-being ( invisible hand (Adam Smith: 1776): does not ensure that economic prosperity is distributed fairly ( prices are the instrument with which the invisible hand directs economic activity; ( price have to adjust naturally to supply and demand! ( Prices reflect both: value of a good to society & the cost to society of making the good ( bec. ouseholds & firms look at prices when deciding what to buy & sell: unknowingly consider the social benefits & costs of their own actions; ( prices guide these individual decisionmakers to reach outcomes that often maximize the welfare of society as a whole; market economy: an economy that allocates (zuteilen) resources through the decentralized decisions of many firms and households as they interact in markets for goods and services (vs: centrally planned economies, like in comm unism); #7 Government can sometimes improve market outcomes or two broad reasons: ( to promote efficiency and equity: most policies aim either enlarge the economic pie, or to change how it`s devided; invisible hand usually leads markets to allocate resources efficiently, but sometimes it does not work for various reasons: ( market failure: a situation in which a market left on its own, fails to allocate resources efficiently (Marktversagen) one possible reason: ( externality: the impact of one person`s actions on the well-being of a bystander (unbeteiligter Dritter e. g. pollution (external cost) or creation of knowledge (external benefit) (Externalitat) another possible reason: arket power: the ability of a single economic actor (or small group of actors) to have a substantial influence on market prices (Marktmacht) (e. g. only one well: monopoly ( regulation of the price by the government can potentially enhance economic efficiency) How they economy as a whole works #8 A country`s standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services the growth rate of a countries` productivity determines the growth rate of its average income productivity: the amount of goods and services produces from each hour of a worker`s time undamental relationship bw. productivity & living standards is simple, but: its implications are far-reaching! #9 Prices rise when the government prints to much money e. g. 1921: German newspaper: 0,30 Mark; 1923: 70,000,000 Mark ( inflation inflation: an increase in the overall level of prices in the economy (Anstieg des Preisniveaus der Volkswirtschaft) reason: growth in the quantity of the money: reduces value of the money bec. high inflations imposes various costs on society, keeping inflation at a low level is a goal of economic policymakers around the world 10. Society faces a short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment Phillips curve: a curve that shows the short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment r educing an inflation is often thought to cause a temporary rise in unemployment over a period of a year or two, many economic policies push inflation and unemployment both start out at high levels; short-time trade-off bec. some prices are slow to adjust; (prices are sticky in the short-run) ( various types of policy have short-run effects, that differ from their long-run effects: when gov. educes the quantity of money, it reduces the amount that people spend; Lower spending together with prices that are stuck too high reduces the quantity of goods & services that firms sell; Lower sales in turn, cause firms to lay off workers ( unemployment [pic] #1 People face tradeoffs #2 The cost of something is what you give up to get it #3 Rational People think of the Margin #4 People respond to incentives #5 Trade can make everyone better off #6 Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity #7 Government can sometimes improve market outcomes 8 A country`s standard of living dep ends on its ability to produce goods and services #9 Prices rise when the government prints to much money #10. Society faces a short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment Mon. 17/10/11 Lecture 2 THINK LIKE AN ECONOMIST Microeconomics: the study of how households and firms make decisions & how they interact in markets Macroeconomics: the study of economy-wide phenomena, including inflation, unemployment and economic growth (p. 7) ( since they address different questions, they sometimes take different approaches and are often taught in separate courses; Two Functions of Economists: – 1. (try to explain the world) scientists: devise theories; collect, evaluate & analyze data ( to verify or refute theory; have own terminology; – 2: policy adviser: if Economists try to explain the world, they are scientists; if economists try to change the world they are advisers. † (book) make positive statement (claim): describing real world, model, outcome†¦without valuing: claims that attempt to describe the world as it is: are testable with data †¢ make normative statement (claim): about how the world should be (personal opinion): claims that attempt to prescribe how the world should be: are not testable with only data (involves our views of religion, ethics, political philosphy) †¢ (may be related: our positive views about how the world works affect our normative views about how the world should be; essence of science: scientific method: the dispassionate development and testing of theories about how the world works – scientific method: observation, theory & more observation – Ec. use theory & observation but face obstacles when it comes to experiments; – Substitute for laboratory: attention on natural experiments offered by history (e. g. the effect on the natural resource of oil during a war on the prices all over the world and on policy makers, gives Ec. good opportunity to study the effects of a key natura l resource on the world`s economies; The role of Assumptions: – can make the world easier to understand – e. g. to study effect of international trade, we may assume the world consists of only two countries with each producing only two goods ( to focus our thinking ( helps understand the real more complex world – the art is, which assumption to make: different assumptions for different problems ( e. g. for studying the short-run and long-run effects of a change in the quantity of money requires different assumptions (p. 22) 3 types of models: abstract, formel, simplification of reality to understand basic correlation: if it does: good model) 1. purly theoretical (statistical) 2. purly empirical (with data, data drift) 3. combination of the two – In the model: own terminology is incorporated; built with assumptions (not judging on the assumptions; realistic: think of paper airplane; judge by the output not by the input), irrelevant questions are assumed away 1. First type of model: most simple model of market economy: THE CIRCULAR-FLOW DIAGRAM pic] ( a visual model of economy that shows how money flows through markets among households and firms – 2 types of decisionmakers: households & firms – firms produce goods & services using inputs (labor, land, capital) ( factors of production (natural resources, land, knowledge, labor, human capital, machinery.. ) – households own the factors of production & consume all the goods & services the firms produce – households & firms interact in 2 types of market inner loop: represents the flow of goods & services between households & firms: households sell the use of their labor, land & capital to the firms in the market for the factors of production; firms use these factors to produce goods and services, which in turn are sold to households in the market for g & s; ( the factors of production flow from households to firms; goods & services flow from firms to households; – outer loop: represents the corresponding flow of money to buy g & s from the firms; firms use some of the revenue from these sales to pay for the factors of production (e. . wages of workers); what is left is the profit of the firm owners, who themselves are members of the households; – value of factors of production is same as value of g & s – if that is true: value of goods & services = value of factors of production – (green is so called: real economic activity) – causality runs in both ways (no real beginning or end ( circle) – economic models are often composed of diagrams and equations ——————————- Why do economists disagree: . Disagreement about validity of alternative theories about how the world works; disagreement about positive statements (differences in scientific judgments); but also often about the data; when no data exists that supports ones theory or when different data are used 2. Scientist s have different values; different normative statements about what policy should try to accomplish ( but choosing the positive statement and theory and specific type of date etc. s already bec. of normative reasons (sort of mixture exists); Lecture 3, Mon 24/10/11 2. Second Type of Model: THE PRODUCTION POSSIBILITY FRONTIER (PPF) Fig. 1 [pic] ( shows the combination of output that economy can possibly produce given the available factors of production and the available production technology. The economy can produce any combination on or inside the frontier. Points outside the frontier are not feasibly given the economy`s resources; – e. g. n economy that produces only cars and computers; – if all resources were used in the car industry ( economy would produce 1000 cars & 0 PCs – if all resources were used in the PC industry ( economy would produce 3000 PCs & 0 cars – if economy were to divide its resources between the two industries ( 700 cars & 2000 PCs à ¢â‚¬â€œ outcomes at point D are not possible because of scarce resources: economy does not have enough factors of production to support that level of output; – efficient outcome: when economy is getting all it can get from its scarce resources that are available; points ON the frontier represent efficient levels of production (rather than inside); – when economy is producing at such a point (on the frontier) e. g. point A, there is no way it could produce more of one good, without producing less of the other – inefficient outcome: all combination of outcomes inside the frontier, e. g. point B; for some reasons e. g. idespread unemployment, the economy produces less than it could from the resources it has available: (300 cars & 1000 PCs); if source of inefficiency were eliminated, economy could move from point B to A, increasing production of both cars & PCs; ( People face tradeoffs: PPF shows one tradeoff society faces: once we have reached the frontier, the onl y way of getting more of one good is producing less of the other (e. g. producing more PCs at the expense of producing less cars) ( The cost of something is what you have to give up (opp. cost): PPF shows the opportunity cost of one good as measured as measured in term of the other good (e. g. the opportunity cost of producing 200 more PCs is a 100 cars); Fig. 2 [pic] ( A SHIFT IN THE PPF: an economic advance in the computer industry shifts the PPF outward increasing the number of cars and computers the economy can produce – Fig. : PPF is bowed outward (can also be bowed inward): means: the opportunity cost of cars in terms of computers depends on how much of each good the economy is producing; – When economy uses most of resources to produce cars ( PPF is quite steep – Because even workers & machines best suited to making PCs are being used to make cars, the economy gets a substantial increase in the number of computers for each car it gives up; – By con trast: when economy is using most of its resources to make computers the PPF is quite flat; resource best suited to make PCs are already in the computer industry and each car the economy gives up yields only a small increase in the number of PCs; ( – Slope of the PPF represents how much of one item you have to give up to produce the other item Videos for PPF: – http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=KPHyvOn8i6s&feature=related – http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=a5rxIY46J7s TRADE No. 5: Trade can make everyone better off: WHY ( – We have specialization, which has a downside: we are interdependent! e. g. I`m depending on someone who is making bread; – why should people be willing to depend on the behavior of others: because. people choose freely to become dependent ( so there must be some sort of benefit from it e. g. 2 producers (agents) – one producer: potato farmer ( potatoes (2 goods) – cattle rancher ( meat |Good |Minutes/hours |8 hour s/day |Marginal opportunity cost of | | | | | |meat/potato | |Farmer |Meat |60 min. = 1 oz = 1h for 1 oz |Meat = 8 oz |- 4 oz of pot. = 32/8 | | |Potatoes |15 min. = 1 oz = 1h for 4 oz |Potatoes = 32 oz |- 1/4 oz of meat = 8/32 | |Rancher |Meat |20 min. = 1 oz = 1h for 3 oz |Meat = 24 oz |- 2 oz of pot. = 48/24 | | |Potatoes |10 min. 1 oz = 1h for 6 oz |Potatoes = 48 oz |- 1/2 oz of meat = 24/48 | | | | | |Unit: | | | |oz of potato | |oz of potato | | | |oz of meat | |8h (48/24) | | | | | | | ( How do people decide on what to produce? – more time for farmer to produce meat ( rancher is better/more productive – what are the marginal opportunity costs: how much meat does a farmer have to give up i. o. to get 1 unit of potatoes; – by reducing production of potatoes he would have more time to produce meat; but 1 oz meat requires. 4 oz of potatoes; – but it`s just a linear relation ship – how much has the farmer to give up in order to get 1 more unit of meat! (what is opportunity cost)? rancher has a comparative advantage: is less productive in producing potatoes; but farmer is even less productive in producing meat: derived from comparing the marginal opportunity cost ( Comparative advantage: the comparison among producers of a good according to their opportunity cost (who has the lower one? ) ( or absolute advantage for one product, when both produce more in time: ( Absolute advantage: the comparison among producers of a good according to their productivity 1. Marginal opportunity cost of meat for each person is the inverse of the marginal opportunity cost of potatoes! ( try to measure one good in terms of the VALUE of the other good 2. Production & consumption are no more equal like in autarky |Good |Minutes |8 hours/day |Marginal opportunity cost of | | | | | |meat/potatoes | |Farmer |Meat |60 min. = 1 oz = 1h for 1 oz |Meat = 8 oz |- 6 oz pot. = 48/8 | | |Potatoes |10 min. = 1 oz = 1h for 6 oz |Potatoes = 48 oz |- 0. 16 oz o f meat = 8/48 | |Rancher |Meat |20 min. = 1 oz = 1h for 3 oz |Meat = 24 oz |- 1 oz of pot. = 24/24 | | |Potatoes |20 min. 1 oz = 1h for 3 oz |Potatoes = 24 oz |-1 oz of meat = 24/24 | | | | | | | | | |oz of potato | |Unit: oz of pot | | | |oz of meat | |8h (48/24) | | | | | | | ( The rancher has an absolute advantage because he is more productive than the farmer Production Possibility Frontier (PPF) oz of meat 8 4 16 32 oz of pot ( p = c ( production = consumption) without trade (autarky) ( c bigger p (with trade consume more than can produce) – if I already produce y meat, I can only produce y below the line is a waste of time; and the line shows efficiency in terms of productivity and time, – slope is opportunity cost; usually slope changes depending on where I am already ( Overall conclusion: farmer should produce potatoes while the farmer should produce meat; Assuming each of persons would split the time of production Farmer Rancher (without trade) p = c autarky meat prod. 4 oz 12 oz consumption 4 oz 12 oz potatoes prod. 16 oz 24 oz consumption 16 oz 24 oz meat pot. 0 oz = 30 oz (or changing the price: 34 oz; but relative price must be higher than opportunity cost to trade at all; if he gets more from the trade than in the production, he would not produce and just trade) farmer rancher with trade meat prod. 0 oz 24 oz (18 oz) consumption 5 oz 19 oz (13 oz) potatoes prod. 32 oz 0 oz (12 oz) consumption 17 oz 15 oz (gives up 15 oz) (27 oz) although the farmer has to give up something, he is a little bit better off with trade – the rancher is not better of because he consumes less potatoes than in autarky ( (now: the rancher gets more in term of meat AND in terms of potatoes) – can be applied to countries as well; rough explanation for international trade patterns (e. g when countries exporting cars and importing oil ( country has comparative advantage in producing cars) Questions to be answered: – so define what comparat ive & absolute advantage – show in production possibility frontier – who is producing what NOTES FOR EXERCISES FROM OTHER E. G. CHAPTER 2: Demand – How to define these words properly (definition can only be appropriate or not; not right or wrong); it`s not a question of personal disposition What is a Market: A group of people: suppliers (sellers) and buyers (demand) of particular good or service (does not mean that it`s particularly defined or unique; – no general identification strategy; – competitive market: each buyer and seller (individual) has a negligible effect on the market outcome (infinite no. of sellers and buyers) – implications of perfect competitive markets: buyers and sellers operate economically perfect (take price as given)? ( e. g. we have no influence over the price: take the price as given in a supermarket (no bargaining; no negotiation) ( buyers and sellers are both price takers – in monopolies: price taker vs. pr ice setter Perfect Market and Competitive Market Monopoly, Oligopoly, Monopson, Monopolistic Competition DEMAND Quantity Demanded: is the amount of a good, that buyers are willing and able to purchase (now) Law of Demand: States that, other things equal, the quantity demanded of a good falls when price of the good rises (slopes downward) Demand Schedule: The demand schedule is a table that shows the relationship between the price of the good and the quantity demanded. Demand Curve: Q(p) = p ( function of p (y (x) = 2x): if price changes, the Qd changes MARKET DEMAND vs. INDIVIDUAL DEMAND ( everybody has a single demand: the sum of it = market demand (for a special good demanded) ( demands are added horizontally [pic] Changes in Quantity Demanded: ( result in an movement ON the curve, caused by a change in the price of the product [pic] Examples for incentives that induce a changed Qd: 1. PRICE (given as a variable on the demand curve) 2. Consumer income:normal good: I increase ( Qd decrease; I decrease ( Qd decrease inferior good: I increase ( Qd decrease; I decrease ( Qd increase Normal Good: a good for which, other things equal, an increase in income leads to an increase in demand Inferior Good: a good for which, other things equal, an increase in income leads to a decrease in demand 3. Price of related goods: Substitutes: two goods for which an increase in the price of one leads to an increase in the demand for the other (e. g. orange juice & apple juice): P increase ( Qd increase; P decrease ( Qd decrease Complements: two good for which an increase in the price of one leads to a decrease in the demand of the other (e. g. DVDs & DVD-Players): P increase ( Qd decrease; P decrease ( Qd increase 4. Tastes (fashion, food): economists only examine what happens when tastes change 5. Expectations: may affect demand of a good or service today 6. Number of Buyers: determines the Qd in a market: NoB increase ( Qd increase; NoB decrease ( Qd decrease [pic] ( result in a shifts in the demand curve: when Qd changes because of certain circumstances. But price doesn`t change!!! ( not only price can change demand: a shift in the demand either to left (decrease) or the right (increase) ( caused by any change that alters the demand: everything except the price!! [pic] SUPPLY Quantity supplied (Qs): is the amount of a good that sellers are willing or able to sell (now) Law of supply: states that, other things equal, the quantity supplied of a good rises when the price of the other good rises (slopes upward: positively related) Supply schedule: is a table that shows the relationship between the price of the good and the quantity supplied [pic] – usually the small â€Å"q† refers to the individual supply (a firm) and the â€Å"Q† refers to the market supply (all firms in the market – market supply: refers to the sum of all individual supplies for all sellers of a particular good or service: ( individual supply curves are summed horizontally to obtain the market supply curve – ( S(p) = S1(p) + S2 (p) +†¦ Sm(p) [pic] the sum of 2 individual supplies ($2 ( 3 cones; $ 2 ( 4 cones = $ 2 ( 7 cones in the market supply – if the suppliers (sellers) drop out of the market, the supply would increase with the price â€⠀œ (the supply curve represents the set of profit maximizing quantities for firms) – e. g supply function: q(s) = -4 + 8p; 0 = -4 + 8; 8p = 4; p = ? ( is the minimum price required to get any firm to produce at all (within this given supply curve) ( if the price would be below ? the quantity supplied would be 0, so there would be no firm to produce at all; – slope: change in price divided by change in quantity: e. g. 0 – ? : 4 – 0 = 1/8 (slope), which doesn`t change when the function is linear!! Change in the quantity supplied: – A rise in the price of ice cream results in a movement along the curve (law of supply), so when price changes nothing shifts!! – Shifts of the upply curve: Determinants of change in supply: – Any change that raises the quantity that sellers wish to produce at a given price shifts the supply curve to the right. Any change that lowers the quantity that sellers wish to produce at a given price shifts the supply curve to the left [pic] 1. Input prices: (labor, material, land, rent: anything that goes into the manufacturing process of the item in question): Input Pr. increase ( S decrease; Input Pr. decrease ( S increase 2. Technology: Technology increase ( S increase; Technology decrease ( S decrease: Techn. In economic terms is the process by which inputs are converted to outputs; 3. Expectations: supply today depends on future expectations: e. g. when higher price of ice-cream expected in future ( store some ice cream ( supply less today! 4. Number of sellers (only relevant in market supply) [pic] Supply and Demand together: Equilibrium: a situation in which supply and demand have been brought into balance (quantity supplied equals quantity demanded Equilibrium Price: the price that balances quantity supplied and quantity demanded. On a graph it it’s the price, where demand and supply curves intersect Equilibrium Quantity: the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded when the price has adjusted to balance supply and demand [pic] Ceterius Paribus: other things being equal (latin): all variables other than the one being studied are assumed to be constant Markets Not in Equilibrium A)B) [pic] [pic] Surplus: A situation in which the quantity supplied is greater than the quantity demanded Shortage: A situation in which the quantity demanded is greater than the quantity supplied Law of supply and demand: the claim that the price of any good adjusts to bring the supply and demand for that good into balance – A): when price for ice cream is over the equilibrium price ( quantity demanded is still 4, but the quantity supplied rises to 10 ( there are too many cones produced which can`t be all sold (surplus) bec. f the low demand; ( sellers have to reduce the price again; (prices continues to fall until market reaches equlibrium) – B): when price for ice cream is below the equilibrium price ( quantity supplied 4 exceeds quantity demanded, which is now at 10 (shortage of the good); ( sellers can raise the p rices without losing sales; as prices are rising the market moves again toward the equilibrium – market activity of many buyers & sellers automatically pushes prices toward equil. (law of s & d) – Once equil. is reached all buyers & sellers are satisfied & no upward or downward pressure on price Three Steps to Analyzing Changes in The Equilibrium analyzing the change in the market equilibrium through comparative statistics – comparing two statistics: new and old equilibrium – Three steps to decide: – 1. Does event shift the supply curve, the demand curve, or both? – 2. Does the curve shifts to the left or the right side? – 3. Using the supply-and-demand diagram to examine how the shift affects equilibrium price and quantity A) HOW AN INCREASE IN DEMAND AFFECTS THE EQUILIBRIUM. An event that raises quantity demanded at any given price shifts the demand curve to the right. The equilibrium price and the equilibrium quantity both rise. He re, an abnormally hot summer causes buyers to demand more ice cream. The demand curve shifts from D1 to D2, which causes the equilibrium price to rise from $2. 00 to $2. 50 and the equilibrium quantity to rise from 7 to 10 cones. A)B) [pic][pic] B) HOW A DECREASE IN SUPPLY AFFECTS THE EQUILIBRIUM. An event that reduces quantity supplied at any given price shifts the supply curve to the left. The equilibrium price rises, and the equilibrium quantity falls. Here, an earthquake causes sellers to supply less ice cream. The supply curve shifts from S1 to S2, which causes the equilibrium price to rise from $2. 00 to $2. 50 and the equilibrium quantity to fall from 7 to 4 cones. Shifts in the Curve vs. Movements along the Curve: Notice that when hot weather drives up the price of ice cream, the quantity of ice cream that firms supply rises, even though the supply curve remains the same. In this case, economists say there has been an increase in â€Å"quantity supplied† but no change in â€Å"supply. † â€Å"Supply† refers to the position of the supply curve, whereas the â€Å"quantity sup- plied† refers to the amount suppliers wish to sell. To summarize, a shift in the supply curve is called a â€Å"change in supply,† and a shift in the demand curve is called a â€Å"change in demand. † A movement along a fixed supply curve is called a â€Å"change in the quantity supplied,† and a movement along a fixed demand curve is called a â€Å"change in the quantity demanded. † [pic][pic] A SHIFT IN BOTH SUPPLY AND DEMAND. Here we observe a simultaneous increase in demand and decrease in supply. Two outcomes are possible. In panel (a), the equilibrium price rises from P1 to P2, and the equilibrium quantity rises from Q1 to Q2. (bec. large increase in demand and small decrease in supply) In panel (b), the equilibrium price again rises from P1 to P2, but the equilibrium quantity falls from Q1 to Q2. (because small increase in demand and large decrease in supply) [pic] [pic] NOTES: Elasticity – measures the responsivness for to the quantity demanded and the quantity supplied to a change in the market price by 1 % – measures percentage change in the quantity to a percentage change in price (or other determinants) Price Elasticity of Demand: a measure of how much the quantity demanded of a good responds to a change in the price of that good, computed as the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price. Determinants of Price Elasticity of Demand: (How do we react to price changes? ) 1. Necessities vs. Luxury goods (depends on personal perception but in general terms: inelastic vs. elastic); e. g. Food, shelter, clothes vs. diamonds, sailboats etc†¦ 2. Availability of close substitute (few vs. less = inelastic vs. elastic) 3. Market Definition (broad vs. narrowed; e. g. Cars vs. Ford Focus; Food vs. Bread†¦) 4. Time Horizon (short vs. long; e. g. the adjustment over a short period of time to gasoline price changes vs. long period of time)