Framework for K-12 Science Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Framework for K-12 Science Education - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that professional development opportunities are being offered with a view to equipping the teachers with the resources required to implement the NGSS in their classrooms. Not all teachers, however, have been able to successfully incorporate NGSS practices in their respective classrooms. It can be said that standards and performance expectations aligned with the framework should consider that students cannot completely comprehend scientific and engineering concepts without being involved in the inquiry practices and the discourses that lead to the development and modification of such ideas. This is suggestive of the state and significance of science today in the K-12 educational curriculum.Teachers should have a vast knowledge of and expertise in research methodology and must be skilled in scientific research to pave the way for authentic scientific inquiries in the classroom. The National Science Teachers Association recommends the teachers o f science to demonstrate their comprehension and understanding of the tenets, process, and assumptions underlying the different methods of inquiry related to scientific knowledge and also to encourage students’ participation in inquiries that are developmentally appropriate and that impact the need for the students to scientifically develop relationships and concepts using data, inferences and personal observations. A potential way in which teachers can acquire such knowledge and understanding is through participation in the Research Experience for Teacher (RET) programs. The purpose of RET programs is to equip the teachers with fundamental knowledge in the conduct of practical research for ongoing application in their daily experiences in the class.

How unemployment is individual and social problem Essay Example for Free

How unemployment is individual and social problem Essay In this essay I will discuss how unemployment is an individual and a social problem and how Max Weber distinguished power, authority and coercion and how the functionalist, conflict theorist and symbolic interaction theory view the economy and by the mid century how they have evolved and the role of these theories to explain social and economic phenomenon. How unemployment is individual and social problem Unemployment is caused by many factors in a modern market economy. It can be caused by rapid technological change, business cycle or recessions, seasonal factors in some industries particularly such as changes in tastes and climatic conditions which affects demand for certain products and services, individual perceptions and willingness to work and search for jobs, their values and attitudes towards some jobs and about employers, accessibility for retraining and acquisition of work skills, willingness and perception of unemployed of the benefits of training and the possibility for them to get a job after the training even though they have a chance to get a job, discrimination in the workplace based on race, color. religion, ethnicity, age and class. It can be seen from the above causes unemployment in a particular period can be a combination of caused by social factors and how the economy as a whole works and also due to the subjective individual factors. In a sociological point of view according to functionalist and conflict theorists the unemployment is caused primarily by the social factors than by the individual factors. However according to Max Weber and symbolic interaction theories individuals construct their own social constructs and perception and they can be subjective in their behavior and there fore can become unemployed even though the actual condition they can get a job in the job market. In summary applying the sociological and the primary causes of unemployment unemployment is individual as well as a social problem in a market economy. As discussed above it is caused by the society as well as by individuals. Even the economy or societal factors are not present unemployment can be caused by individual perception and their own subjective behavior. . Max Weber’s distinction among power, authority and coercion Power can be defined as one person’s ability to influence others does what ever they want even though they don’t like to do what is demanded and they resist doing what is demanded. For example a professor can influence the students to assign work and demand them to do to satisfy some criteria. As well a dictator like Hitler can control all aspects of life because of this ability to impose his will on majority of people. In other words a person or group on other person or other groups can use power legitimately or illegitimately. That is power need not come from proper authority or legitimate authority. That is power and authority can be different in this respect. According to Max Weber authority can arise from tradition, charisma of certain powerful people or from legal-rational. That is authority need not come from any logical reason but likely to come from respect for the past. For example a monarchy in Western Europe can get authority because they ruled the populace over a long period of time. Even the traditional authority can exist in modern democracies because the people respect the monarchy or authority of monarchy at least in a limited symbolic head of states in Western Europe. Authority also can arise from charisma of some powerful people. They have authority because of their charisma. This arises because they have the ability to lead a vast number of people for a particular cause using their powerful charm and influence over ordinary people. For example Martin Luther King, Gandhi. Nelson Mandela is the modern examples of charismatic authority they had because of their ability to charm and influence a vast majority of people for a particular cause. Authority also can arise from legal-rational. That is in society authority is given to individuals and organization based on rationally enacted laws and regulations. This authority is impersonal and differs from charismatic authority because the legal-rational authority is impersonal and the charismatic authority is personal and admired by the people who accept that authority. In modern societies the authority is derived from the legal-rational compared to charismatic and traditional in varying degrees in industrialized societies in particular. Coercion is the extreme manifestation of power in a way threatens the person to complete obedience because it threatens the person coerced physically, financially and socially. This results in persons following the authority of another because of fear rather than will. Coercion is mostly linked with abuse and conflict. Coercion exists in many dictatorships in the past as well as in the present world in many parts of the world where citizens are forced to follow the regime of dictatorship. The view of the economy in the perspectives of functionalist, conflict theorists and symbolic interaction theory Functionalist perspective of the economy In the perspective of functionalist sociological theorist social systems including economy works like a biological organism where every part of the system work in a united manner so that smooth functioning is maintained and so that society builds consensus between different parts of the system.. In this change is evolutionary and the changes take place to minimize dysfunction and to enhance the stability and its survival in the future. In this respect Capitalism will not collapse and will endure in the future as the functions of the system will adjust and evolve so that it maintains the social order and stability without any radical overhaul of the economic system. In addition the social, legal, political, religious systems will not be in conflict with the economic system and work in unison with the economic system so the whole social organism survive and social order is maintained and their functions and their purpose even though different work as a unified system. As discussed above this is the functionalist view of the economy. Conflict theorist view of the economy In contrast conflict theorist believe society do not work as a unified system. Conflict and struggle take place as different groups work to maximize their benefit in the same time other groups loose. Functionalist view conflict in a negative manner. However the conflict theorist see the conflict to some extent is beneficial as it forces the parties to come to a common ground and make the economic system or the social system to change for the better and minimize the losers and maximizing the benefits for a greater number of groups as well make the power system in check so that abuse of power is minimized. In this context the economic system and social order changes continually and changes take place and shaped by different interest groups in varying degrees in a market economy. However Marxism as a conflict theory predicts radical change to the economic system to move towards a socialist system it has not eventuated. However Max Weber as a conflict theory predicts the viability of the market economy with some reform to minimize the negative aspects of capitalism like alienation and the negative impact of bureaucracy in capitalist economies and more democracy in society and continuous reform of the economic system to make it work efficiently but also effectively by legal, social and political reform appropriate to a countries historical, cultural, political and social context.

Rogers Communications Analysis

Rogers Communications Analysis Currently Rogers has competition with companies like Bell Canada, TELUS and Shaw Communications. There are also new providers in the industry that are offering products and services at low prices. Rogers is a company that has the best technology in comparison of other providers. It is the only company that operates on both GSM and HSPA technology. 1Rogers operates in three areas. The first one is Wireless, which includes wireless voice and data communications services. Rogers is Canadas largest wireless provider. The second one is Cable. Rogers is one of Canadas largest providers of cable television services as well as high-speed Internet access, telephony services and video retailing. The third and the last one is media, which includes radio and television broadcasting, televised shopping, magazines and trade publications, and sports entertainment. Its backbone is its distribution channels, which includes 3,600 Rogers-owned, dealers and retail outlets. Rogers provides valuable customer services to its customers. Its goal is to maximize its subscribers and become the best communication and media provider. There are 70 subscribers out of 100 (2010) in comparison of 25 per 100 (2000). Furthermore,  [2]  in the time of recession, Telecom industry is one of the industries that have been able to survive and make profit margins. Thus, Telecom industry is an industry where consumers go first which means that consumers would reduce their spending on other goods and services in comparison of telecom services. Therefore, if Rogers has brand image and the market is full of opportunities then why let new entrants capture the market share. The second issue that Rogers face is regarding its financial position. If we see the table below, companys sales growth in 2007 was 14.54% and cost of goods sold was $961 million. In 2008, sales growth reduced to 11.97% but cost of goods sold was more ($1303 million). If we see the last year that is 2009, sales growth was just 3.49% and cost of goods sold was $1380 million. This concludes that, if sales growth has been decreasing every year, cost of goods sold has not been decreasing with proportionate to sales growth. In other words, profit margin has been decreasing and companys operation is not able to increase its sales growth and minimize its cost of goods sold. Morever, if we see the debt to equity ratio, it is increasing every year. In 2007, it was 1:2.3. In 2008, it was 1:2.61 and in 2009 it was 1:2.98. This concludes that Rogers is using a lot of debt to finance its operations. But on the other side, Rogers has good return on assets of 8.67% in 2009 in comparison of 6.18% in 2008, which means Rogers is earning more money on less investment this year. In order to overcome current challenges, Rogers should use overall low cost provider strategy. Rogers should apply this strategy to solve its business and financial issues. The advantages of this strategy are customer satisfaction, moving towards its rivals, prevail market conditions and strengthen its market position. What else can Rogers do to maintain its market share and presence? Rogers can include features and services in packages that are essential to its consumers. It can find ways to achieve competitive advantage that would be hard for the current rivals and new entrants to match. Though the industry did have the slowest growth in 2009 from 2000, the analysis shows that there is a lot of room to grow. When Rogers would use lower pricing for its products and services then there would be less competition and more accessibility to local market that would increase its sales and revenues. By doing this, Rogers is completing its mission strategy, which is to add great value to its customers lives by offering new and reachable products and services. When companies raise prices of their products and services, they dont realize that by doing this they are far away from their customers but new entrants are putting themselves in their customers shoes. In other words, they are thinking like their customers. This is what Rogerss strategy should be, to think like its customers and add value to their lives. If Rogers would think like its customers then there would be brand loyalty and there is less risk of loosing its market share and presence. If customers would feel that Rogers has understood them, then they would definitely contract with Rogers. This would lead to Rogers implementing its financial strategy, which is to maximize profit and return on investments. In regards to reducing Rogerss cost of goods sold, Rogers should invest more money on new technologies to improve its companys operations. This would decrease its cost of goods sold and increase business efficiency. In addition, Rogers can outsource some of its operations as it has been doing with its physical IT infrastructure. Rogers has been outsourcing its physical IT infrastructure to IBM to make capital expenditure efficiencies. Rogers can do the same with some of its operations but one thing to consider is that Rogers should have strict quality standards for its products and services while outsourcing. Furthermore, cost of goods sold increases when there are high designs or services that is neither seen nor valued by customers. Rogers can simplify its products and services and reduce cost of goods sold. In conclusion, Rogers, to become the best telecom company in Canada should apply all the recommendations above. This would help Rogers to increase its subscribers and reduce its cost of goods sold. A) INDUSTRY INFORMATION: 1. What are the Industrys Dominant Economic Features? Market Size   [3]  In 2010, there are 70 wireless subscriptions for every 100 Canadians in comparison of 25 wireless subscriptions per 100 in 2000. Market Growth Rate (Product Life Cycle) Maturity. There is competition between different companies. Growth Cycle   [4]  Real gross domestic production increased from $25,559 million in 2007 to 26,775 million in 2009.   [5]  2009 and 2010 are the slowest years of production growth in two decades. Scope of Rivalry   [6]  Low barriers of entry. New entrants are providing same services that big players do at low prices. Type of Distribution Channels   [7]  Dealers, retail outlets and advertisement. Pace of technological change   [8]  Internet connection giving access to television entertainment. Level of Product Differentiation -Low. All companies offer same products or services. Ease of Entry Exit   [9]  Low barriers of entry due to deregulation of telecommunications service providers and advancement in telecommunication system. Industry Profitability   [10]  Profit margin has decreased to 12.8% in 2009 from 13 % in 2007. Summary- Telecommunication Industrys market size and real gross domestic production has increased but profit margin has decreased. There are low barriers of entry but competition is high. 2. Competitive Analysis Summary The 5 Forces Model The Rivalry among competing sellers in the Industry Intense. Companies try to attract customers with more discounts, promotions and benefits in comparison of their competitors. Firms in other industries offering substitute products Weak. Customers have no option or substitute for services offered by companies in telecommunication industry. The potential entry of new competitors -Weak. Low barriers of entry  [11]  due to deregulation of telecommunications service providers and advance in telecommunication system. Entrants enter the market but do not survive unless they offer low prices because companies ruling in telecommunication industry have brand equity and customer loyalty. The bargaining power of suppliers   [12]  Weak. Small Internet resellers get a very small share of the market, and their share has been declining in recent years. The bargaining power of buyers -Moderate. There are not many companies that offer all the products and services but still customers switch to rivals when they offer huge discounts and promotions. Summary- Suppliers share has been decreasing. There are no substitutes and buyers have very less options. There are low barriers of entry but competition is high too. 3.Drivers of Change Industry Growth Rate   [13]  Real gross domestic production increased from $25,559 million in 2007 to 26,775 million in 2009. Product Innovation   [14]  Smartphone, high speed Internet and digital TV. Technology Change   [15]  Fiber optics, improved computer technology and the Internet. Regulatory/Government Influence   [16]  Business rules are regularly changing which is giving small Internet providers access to the large companies networks. Summary- The main driver of change is the new technology introduced every time that excites customer to purchase products and services. 4.Competitive Position Quality of Services and Network Less More Few Many Coverage Who is favorably/ unfavorably positioned why? -Bell Canada occupies the most favorable position among the rivals because of being first Canadian telecom company and occupying more coverage. The closest competitor to Bell Canada is Rogers that offers large variety of products and services and has a wide geographical presence in the market of telecommunication industry.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   5.Key Success Factors Technology Related   [17]  HSPA+ 21 Mbps wireless network and DOCSIS-3.0 50 Mbps high-speed Internet service. Organizational Capability   [18]  Knowledgeable staff that would develop newer, better, and faster ways to deliver what customers want, while also delivering attractive returns for shareholders. Distribution Channel   [19]  Diversified distribution channels such as dealers, retail outlets and advertisement. Other -Brand image. Widely recognized and accepted by customers. Summary- Key success factors in telecommunication industry are technology, well-trained staff, distribution channels and brand image. 6.Industry Attractiveness -The industry is at maturity level. There is a lot of room to grow and profits are high. Whenever, new technology is introduced, customer demand increases. Low barriers of entry makes it easy for new entrants to enter the industry but it is hard to survive unless they offer low prices because there are big players in the industry. There are no substitutes. Competition is intense as companies try to attract customers with more discounts, promotions and benefits in comparison of their competitors. B) COMPANY RESOURCES: AN INTERNAL ASSESSMENT 1. The Strategic-Making Process Vision Statement stated/implied   [20]  To grow in the business while taking care of corporate social responsibility. Mission Statement   [21]  To add great value to customers lives by offering new and reachable products and services. Strategic Objectives Business Maximize the number of subscribers and become Canadas best communication and media provider. Organizational   [22]  Achieve highest standards of business conduct among all employees. Financial Maximize profit and return on investments. Current Strategy-  [23]  Launched Long Term Evolution (LTE) so that customers can anywhere, anytime access to information, communications and entertainment. Strategic Performance Indicators Qualitative Measures-   [24]  High-quality network coverage. -Customer satisfaction. HSPA+ 21 Mbps wireless network and DOCSIS-3.0 50 Mbps high-speed Internet service. Quantitative Measures-   [25]  7% growth rate in Wireless Network and Cable Operations businesses in 2009.   [26]  1.5 million Smartphone customers in 2009. 2. Financial Analysis Conclusion- The Company has issue with its cost of goods sold. Comparing all years, sales growth is decreasing but cost of goods sold is increasing .If this continues then soon the company would loose its financial well -being. Therefore, the company should increase its sales growth but decrease its cost of goods sold. High debt to equity ratio indicates that the company is using a lot of debt to finance operations, which might be reason for company to have more earnings than it would have without debt. Rogers have 1: 2.98 in 2009.  [27]  Rogers has also generated a 29% increase in free cash flow growth in 2009. Return on assets provides information on how effectively company is utilizing its money to convert it into sales. Rogers has good return on assets of 8.67% in 2009 in comparison of 6.18% in 2008, which means Rogers is earning more money on less investment this year. In total asset turnover, the figure indicates how much is generated in sales from every dollar worth of assets. Rogers has 68.80% in 2009 in comparison of 69.9% in 2008.This means that Rogers has been less efficient at using its assets in generating sales this year. In current ratio, the conclusions cannot be drawn before considering other factors. However, when the current ratio is higher than 1, it is normally considered acceptable. It indicates how quickly current assets can be turned into cash. Rogers is in less good position by having 1:0.80 in 2009 in comparison of 1:0.84 last year. 3. The Company Value Chain Operations   [28]  Rogers is the only one operating on both GSM and HSPA technology.   [29]  Outsources its physical IT infrastructure to IBM to make capital expenditure efficiencies. Distribution   [30]  Powerful national product distribution network consisting of more than 3,600 Rogers-owned, dealer and retail outlets. Sales and Marketing   [31]  Activated 1.5 million Smartphone customers. Service   [32]  Created a dedicated team who would engage with customers looking for help in online forums and micro blogs.   [33]  Created the Rogers Customer Commitment to help customers understand what they can expect when they contract with Rogers. Summary- Rogers have the best technology, outsource, distribution network and customer service that makes its way to success. 4.Competitive Strength Assessment Model 5-8 KSFs weighted Conclusion- Bell and Rogers have close competition. TELUS and Shaw are behind Rogers. Bell has 10 rating for reputation image because of being the oldest and trusted company in Canada. Rogers is trying its best to grab Bells market presence and has been successful in doing that. In terms of technology, Rogers has 10 rating because it is the only one operating on both GSM and HSPA technology. 5. SWOT Analysis Internal (S)trengths -Brand recognition.   [34]  Powerful national product distribution network.   [35]  Dedicated team for customers. (W)eaknesses -Internal inefficiency that increased cost of goods sold. -Dependent on debt. External (T)hreats -Bell, TELUS and Shaw Communications.   [36]  New entrants are entering the market. (O)pportunities   [37]  Attract new clients.   [38]  $900 million total principal amount of 4.70% Senior Notes due in 2020. Summary- Rogers has internal strength in its brand recognition and distribution channels. Its weakness lies on increased cost of goods sold and debt. Competition is intense with current rivals and new entrants. Opportunities are bright with new and existing customers. 6. Strategic Issues that merit Managerial Attention Business Issue   [39]  Would it be a good strategy by Rogers to lower price of its products and services due to high competition from new entrants? Financial Issue -How should Rogers decrease their rising costs? 7. Criteria for Strategic Solution(s) Able to maintain high quality network coverage, HSPA+ 21 Mbps wireless network and DOCSIS-3.0 50 Mbps high-speed Internet service, 7 % growth rate in Wireless Network and Cable Operations businesses, 1.5 million Smartphone customers and reduce cost of goods sold. Work Cited Canadian Industrial Outlook. (Autumn 2010). Canadas Telecommunications Industry. The Conference Board of Canada Retrieved from http://www.conferenceboard.ca.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/temp/f191b447-0cc1-43f8-89cd-a7d54518d917/11-146_CIOS-Telecom_Autumn10_WEB.pdf. Investor Relations. Rogers. Retrieved from http://www.rogers.com/web/Rogers.portal?_nfpb=true_pageLabel=IR_LANDING Corporate Social Responsibility. Rogers. Retrieved from http://your.rogers.com/aboutrogers/csr/overview.asp About Rogers. Rogers. Retrieved from https://www.rogers.com/web/Rogers.portal?_nfpb=true_pageLabel=about_landing PRNewswire. (October 6, 2010). Rogers Announces First Lte Technical Trial in Canada. Yahoo finance. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Rogers-Announces-First-Lte-prnews-2287777662.html?x=0.v=62 Guides to Occupations. Working in the Telecommunication Workers Industry. Skilled Immigrant Infocentre. Retrieved from http://skilledimmigrants.vpl.ca/index.php/guides/industry/telecommunication_workers Defining Next. ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC. 2009 ANNUAL REPORT. Rogers. Retrieved from http://www.rogers.com/cms/investor_relations/pdfs/2009_Annual-Report.pdf Bringing Your World Together. ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC. 2008 ANNUAL REPORT. Rogers. Retrieved from http://www.rogers.com/cms/investor_relations/annual_html/2008/html/HTML2/default.htm The Americas Intelligence Wire. (Sep 22,2010). Rogers Communications Prices $900 Million Senior Notes Offering. Ryerson. Retrieved from http://galenet.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/servlet/BCRC?rsic=PKrcp=COvrsn=unknownlocID=rpu_mainsrchtp=cmpcc=1c=136mode=cste=72tbst=tsCMtab=2ccmp=Rogers+Communications+Inc.tcp=rogersn=25docNum=A237731531bConts=13119

human nature Essay -- essays research papers

What is human nature? It is very simple. Human nature refers to the patterns of behavior that are typical of our species or our kind. Human undergoes change as all humans grow up they nature seems to change; the environment someone grow up in effects that persons nature. To fully understand human nature Dr. Marvin Harris takes us on trip to time, which makes sense because if we better understand our past and our origin we will better understand our very existence and our nature. We will know more about who we are where we are from and such other questions that puzzle the human mind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I mentioned before our environment has a great effect on our nature. For example a theory claimed that, the first humans were originated in Africa in the time frame of 115,00...

Economic Freedom

Part I. Introduction It has become apparent in recent years that the issue of vast globalization, economic development and its impact on various aspects of state wellbeing is the one that needs to be looked at very carefully. Moreover, direct investments into the country’s development and as a result improved quality of life are an additional incentive to increase the economic freedom level.Throughout the centuries scholars and economists have argued on whether economic freedom based on private property and free markets is the only beneficial and effective form of economy formation or centralized system of governing is better. Myriad researches have been brought to public, however, our group believes economic freedom is currently in increasing phase of its development, and thus should be thoroughly examined and reviewed basing on country background and scores obtained.This, in our view, will help to accelerate the wellbeing of Kazakhstan and possibly attract additional cash in flows from external market players. The paper will examine the issue of economic freedom and indices it defines in more details, will cover all the aspects included in consideration of the latter concept and will try to assess the relationship between economic freedom and potential investments rise. Brief definition of basic concepts In order to be in line with the topic and understand it deeply, below we present some underlying definitions of basic concepts that will be used throughout the paper.The classic definition of economic freedom and its index is outlined below: â€Å"Individuals have economic freedom when property they acquire without the use of force, fraud, or theft is protected from physical invasions by others and they are free to use, exchange, or give their property as long as their actions do not violate the identical rights of others† James Gwartney and Robert Lawson Economic Freedom of the World: 1996 Annual Report As obtained from www. economicfreedom. org , â€Å"economic freedom is the key to greater opportunity and an improved quality of life.It’s the freedom to choose how to produce, sell, and use your own resources, while respecting others’ rights to do the same. While a simple concept, economic freedom is an engine that drives prosperity in the world and is the difference between why some societies thrive while others do not. † Considering economic freedom is the issue of highest importance as it deals with each and every aspect of our life. Having greater economic freedom, the society ensures higher income levels, decreased poverty, less unemployment percentages and overall healthier state position in terms of economical, financial and political development.Economic freedom index (EFI) is defined as â€Å"a ranking of countries based on the number and intensity of government regulations on wealth-creating activity. Metrics that an economic freedom index evaluates include international trade restrictions, g overnment spending relative to GDP, occupational licensing requirements, private property rights, minimum wage laws and other government-controlled factors that affect people's ability to earn a living and keep what they earn. † (Extracted from www. investopedia. com).For all over the years, The Heritage Foundation in partnership with The Wall Street Journal has tracked the trends in economic freedom around the world and assigned indices to each country. It is a valuable source to gather information from, and the current paper is mostly based on the latter findings. The key factors influencing the level of economic freedom are the personal choice, voluntary exchange coordinated by markets, freedom to enter and compete in markets and protection of individual property from aggression of other including the government intervention.This implies that in economically free society government protects the individuals and their property, maintain stable monetary environment, refrain fr om creating barriers to trade and fairly allocate benefits; however, in case a government substitutes taxes, government expenditures, and regulations for personal choice, voluntary exchange, and market coordination, it may reduce economic freedom and thus diminish quality of life of the whole state.Five broad areas are considered when summarizing and stating the index for a country: * Size of the government: meaning sound taxing (low marginal tax rates) and wise spendings from the side of the government. * Legal Structure and Security of Property Rights: this indicates the consistence of a state’s legal framework with property protection and application of the laws in various spheres of business conducting and everyday life. * Access to sound money: the essence of this concept is whether a government is able not to abuse its monopolistic power. To get high ratings here, a country’s inflation must be low and stable, and the government must permit people to own currencie s of other nations† (Lawson, Robert A. , Economic Freedom, Library of Economics and Liberty) * Freedom to Trade Internationally: the core idea here is the presence of any barriers to free trade (quotas, restrictions or tariffs). * Regulation of Credit, Labor and Business: such concepts as minimum wages for workers, price controls, business licensing ; potential barriers to entry the business might be reviewed at this stage.Having examined the surface of the issue to be researched, we formulated the research question we are going to obtain the answer to at the end of the paper. Research question: Do countries that exhibit greater degrees of economic freedom perform better than those that do not and will the latter help Kazakhstan to attract more potential investments? Part II. Economic Freedom: Kazakhstani case In 2012 Kazakhstan scored 63. 6 in terms of economic freedom level, and thus ensuring Kazakhstani economy to be number 65th in the world list.As per the Heritage Foundat ion Report as of 2012, current country score is 1. 5 points higher in comparison with last year index. This amount represents slight improvements in property rights freedom, freedom from corruption and public spendings. Figure 1. 1 represents the history of indices obtained by the state in the last 5 years. Country| Year| Overall Freedom| Business Freedom| Financial Freedom| Kazakhstan| 2008| 61. 10| 56. 80| 60| Kazakhstan| 2009| 60. 10| 57. 90| 60| Kazakhstan| 2010| 61| 73. 50| 50| Kazakhstan| 2011| 62. 10| 74. 30| 50| Figure 1. 1 Figure 1. shows the overall trends of economic freedom indices throughout the time. It is clearly seen than in 2009 Kazakhstan scored the lowest, and the backup for this might be the substantial rise of global economic crisis. At that time the state encountered myriad barriers to healthy economic, financial and political environments, as it should have sustained positive financial balances all over the country, diminished bankruptcy potential, saved money of its citizens and remained attractive for the external investments. From that time on Kazakhstan tend to increase its economic reedom index and the line of indicating the latter steadily goes up throughout the years 2010-2012, and the last Heritage Foundation Report proves the fact that the country continues its positive trend of advancing economic freedom and ensuring constant development. As presented in the graph on Figure 1. 2, the state has become one of the first to turn back to the expansion and recovery from the global crisis. This is ensured by the enhanced regulation efficiency (at least endeavors towards that) and constant policy reforms in various areas of country wellbeing.Figure 1. 2 The country also scores higher results if compared to the world and regional averages. As according to The Heritage Foundation, Kazakhstan ranks 11th out of 41 countries in Asia-Pacific region, and it is recorded one of the 20 largest score improvements in the 2012 Index considerations. Figure 1. 3 summarizes the above stated information and graphically represents Kazakhstani standpoint in comparison with global and regional averages indices. Figure 1. 3The government of Kazakhstan being aware of the increased significance of economic freedom stability makes efforts in order to continue its positive index rising over time trend and adapts vast amount of laws, amendments and promotes individual’s freedom protection. â€Å"The link between economic freedom and prosperity is undeniable: the countries that score highly in terms of economic freedom also offer their people the best quality of life† (Azis Isa, Central Asian Free Market Institute Policy Analyst).Many empirical studies using the Economic Freedom Index reveal that a country’s economic freedom is highly correlated with its level of capital investment and the rate of economic growth (Gwartney and Lawson ; Holcombe, 2006). Non-monetary measures such as social welfare and peaceful and healt hy state environment also directly correlate with EFI. Scully (2002) has found that economic freedom is correlated with more equal distributions of income across countries. Rise of GDP per capita levels, promotion of decreased poverty percentages in a given country are also affected by the economic freedom situation of the country.Below is the session of graphs analyzing the correlation of economic freedom levels with various aspects of a state development. Countries with more economic freedom have substantially higher per-capita incomes ans thus more stable economic wellbeing of the society. Figure 1. 4. As seen from the graphical representation, those states that fall into â€Å"most free† group tend to have more vast growth rates and as a result higher level of economic growth throughout the country.The difference between the first and the last groups is rather big, and that proves the above stated assumption. Figure 1. 6 represents the correlation between economic growth and income per capita among the poorest strata of the society. As per the graph, we can suppose there is a direct positive relationship between the variables. Figure 1. 6 Kazakhstan has mostly faced economic freedom challenges throughout its history. Being a young state, it had no solid experience to rely upon rather than remaining habits and regimes obtained during Soviet Union times of ruling.Kazakhstani people do not have much influence over the government and its regulations and laws and majority of them encounter many difficulties in business sphere entry levels, further conducting and maintaining of the latter as well as improving their own individual micro economy. However, there are some positive trends in formation of economic freedom in Kazakhstan, and year to year steady development as shown in the Heritage Foundation Report proves that same fact.As according to the Heritage Foundation Report, â€Å"excessive dependence on raw commodity exports makes the economy particul arly vulnerable to global price changes. Rising commodity prices and improved domestic conditions encouraged substantial economic growth in 2010 and 2011†. The organization in partnership with the World Bank states Kazakhstan has an ambitious economic development program, which is planned to be outperformed in the nearest years, and outlines some problematic zones government of the country should pay intent attention to.The further section of the paper discusses the inefficient potential risk spheres the state should work on in order to relieve the situation in the future and continue its positive trend in developing economic freedom. Economic Freedom in Kazakhstan: Challenging restrictions Once the Annual 2012 Report is over and the country obtained its rating results, we recommend the government to consider the following currently inefficient spheres of the state wellbeing.Kazakhstan still faces many challenges on the way of improving its economic freedom level. * Rule of La w As stated in the Heritage Foundation Report, legal framework is currently very inefficient and actually does not cover some spheres of the freedom the way it should. For instance, intellectual property rights are still in a very shaky position and there is no clearly stated and stable position on that sophisticated issue from the side of the government.Although in the beginning of the current 2012 year there were some endeavors made in order to improve intellectual property rights in the country (banning some Internet resources sites, increased fines and jurisdiction cases), this particular policy just raised a new set of problems and questions and was vastly criticized from the side of the business owners as well as general public, because the new Law on Intellectual Property Rights interfered with basic Constitutional rights of every citizen to express the opinion and thoughts.In addition, the court system lacks the capacity to prove its stability and honesty – this year there were many cases of court system failure: judges were taken with bribes, inefficient cases regulations and many more. Recent changes in anti-corruption law only deepened the definition and presence of the latter in the society as it implies indirect potential involvement from the side of the governmental bodies. * Limited governmentOverall tax burden that exist in the country amounts in 21. 5 % of total domestic income. Government spendings are equivalent to 23. 5 percent of total domestic output. The difference between the two variables kept the substantially large oil revenues, thus relieving the whole situation and leaving public state debt standing at less than 15% of GDP. (as per the Heritage Foundation Annual 2012 report). * Regulatory efficiency ; Open marketsBusiness freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom inefficiencies cases could be considered in that particular section. They in overall have many problems, bureaucratic barriers and lack of regulation from the side o f the government. Business freedom in Kazakhstan, for instance, lack the easy entry possibilities for the individuals, as it is very costly and takes much more time than it is expected to, moreover, increased level of governmental taxes, quotas and tariffs are also barriers to free trade between people and states.However, there are some positive sides in that area – potential WTO entry, expansion of Customs Union are the positive measures Kazakhstan is undertaking in this regard. As for the labor freedom, there is a tendency to think only about employers, leaving the employees aside. Thus, it is very cheap for a company to hire new employee, and it costs nothing to fire him/her. Moreover, in many national companies and even governmental bodies working day are non-scheduled and overtimes are not paid at all.This is a large problem for the whole country. Child labor issue should also be considered attentively when pondering about economic freedom rise. Monetary freedom could be interfered by the government as it may tend to distort domestic prices and try to influence many industries in a row. Inflation rate is also increasing from year to year. This year it tends to be fluctuating thus leaving the individual suffer from potential commodity prices rise. Below is the summary of inflation rates statistics.

Forest Hills Case Study Essay

According to the case materials, Forest Hill Paper Company is classified as a small manufacturer, and one that is â€Å"closely-held.† This could lead one to believe that it is possibly a family-owned business, or at least managed very actively by a few people. Ownership must be very hands on and aware of the business from a micro and macro level. Therefore, we would classify the company as a small business and ownership is probably structured by one or a few people who are very involved. FHPC could be even be an S-corp, depending on further information. Forest Hill operates in a very cyclical industry, with upswings every three to four years, according to the case. This is due to customers buying a lot of paper during good economic times. Customers overbuy and are left with inventories of paper, and therefore don’t buy for a while until another economic boom occurs. Therefore, the industry is very much affected by the overall macro economy. The industry is also being affected in terms of a loss of market share, because there is a trend toward plastic and the use of more environmentally friendly grades of recycled paperboard. One could argue that the industry and market is mature, and even declining. Another aspect to consider about this industry is that it is one that has barriers to entry. The costs of starting a manufacturing company are high. It is not an industry with small capital outlay. Also, there are regulations in manufacturing which could keep competition from arising. We read in the case that Forest Hills is a small company competing against bigger companies in a commodity market. Therefore, FHPC has taken the strategy of differentiation. They have tried to offer a comprehensive amount of products and services, but are trying to stand out from the crowd by offering exceptional service and rapid responses to customer needs. Unlike the bigger companies, FHPC could develop more of a relationship with each  customer, and take more time to listen to their needs and meet customer needs more efficiently. The strategy of differentiation shows their desire to create a niche based, not so much focused on innovation, but on customer service. Hopefully customers will appreciate the service, and want to continue business with FHPC as opposed to the bigger companies. There are many examples of complexities that drive overhead costs for FHPC. One of the complexities is that the company offers a variety of products, with some different processing for each product. We read that the company tries to manufacture products in an order that decreases costs, such as keeping similar processes together. Even so, the changes in process and equipment needed drive overhead costs up with so much variety in products and steps in the manufacturing process. Each time another product is added, or even changed slightly, costs are incurred and will drive overhead in terms of increased material costs or manufacturing costs. If Forest Hills is serious about meeting their customers individual needs, they also need to understand that each customer differential comes with greater overhead costs. The specifics of each customer desire causes complexity. We would also argue that another complexity of overhead costs is due to the cyclical nature of the business. There are times of large quantity of output, while other times production would be down as the demand decreases. This makes it difficult to predict and measure overhead costs, as the output of production varies. The management must truly try to understand their fixed and variable costs and how to balance times of boom and retraction appropriately and efficiently. Capturing Manufacturing Costs The current cost system allocates manufacturing overhead based on the amount of raw materials consumed in the production process. It applies the aforementioned overhead at a rate of $1.05, per $1.00 of raw materials consumed. Given the actual data gathered in exhibit 2, the rate appears to adequately account for the sum of overheads generated, as evidenced by the table below: Cost of a Grade Change FHPC produces 20 different grades of paperboard. Each grade is unique and the amount varies so some batches maybe very large and some quite small. The company practices lean manufacturing so successive batches of similar grades are grouped together in order to reduce waste. The cost of a grade change includes the following: depreciation, labor, energy, other and lost chemicals. Assume 4 grade changes in total from the information provided. Cost to Slit a Reel of Paperboard A parent roll of paperboard is 12 feet long. Food processors require widths of 18 inches. This means that three slits must be made to produce 3 – 18† rolls. Approximately 6 inches of waste is produced by creating 3 – 18† rolls. Only grade A and grade C are slit. A total of 85 reels are produced  each reel requiring 3 slits. A total of 255 slits are made. The overhead for slitting is $195,000 for slitting. The overhead rate per slit is $764.71. Assuming 3 slits per reel the total cost for slitting a reel is $2,294.12. Summary listed below. New Volume-based Overhead Rate If Forest Hill removes the overheads traceable to grade changes and slitting from total overhead, the application rate needs to be adjusted. An appropriate application rate for the remaining OH can be calculated by dividing the aforementioned OH by the sum of RM costs: Activity Based Costs – Grades A-D If an activity based cost system were to be implemented, the parent reel costs (for the same level of activity indicated in exhibit 1) could be estimated as follows: Activity Based Costs and Volume Cost Percent Change Prepare a table that illustrates the percentage change in costs between the volume-based system and the strategic activity-based system. Conclusions and Recommendations What conclusions can you draw from your analysis? As a consultant to Forest Hill, what actions would you recommend? 12. The analysis above shows the concerns of management were accurate. The costs of A and C were understated because the costs related to the slitting operation were unfairly being allocated to other grades. Grades B and D do not consume any of the slitting department resources, thus should not be responsible for the absorption of said departments’ overhead costs. In addition, the economies of scale being generated by high volume sales were being unfairly distributed to low volume grades. This is evident in the  cost of grade B, which was previously only being allocated $140 of total grade change costs (grade change as a percentage of total OH, multiplied by total overhead allocated to grade B). Given that grade changes are only incurred if a grade is run, it makes more sense to allocate costs based on the actual number of a production runs, as opposed to how much material was consumed in a run, which has no bearing on the number of set-ups required.

buy custom Technology Should Be Used to Enhance not Replace Human Intelligence essay

buy custom Technology Should Be Used to Enhance not Replace Human Intelligence essay With the introduction of future progress in science and technology, it seem that more decision making will be an issue that can only be addressed by the machines that continue to be invented. This acquires evidence in the systems like military which electronic sensors continue to uphold the perfect flight uniqueness in advanced aircraft. The intricacy of the current evolution is far too multifaceted for human systems to sustain without the assistance of the electronic computer technologies. Many people see technology as a solution to some of the many problems experienced in the world today. This is indispensable that technology can be used for good, but the developments in technology also occur with some challenges being posed to human race. Technological advancement in the current years has been viewed as a substitute to human intelligence. Many people have in the current times shifted to the technology as the performer of many tasks in the expense of people, a situation that is causing brain drain on many people globally. The ease of viewing many materials online is limiting the capacity through which people can use their intelligence in searching answers to the many questions and issues that they may require to settle. Technology should be used to enhance people intelligence and not to replace it. The society today seems to be more motivated by the technological advancements and imperatives in the culture. It has been argued that the establishment of artificial intellect is the unavoidable aftermath of an evolutionary progression that created individuals who developed to generate the technology that is highly outstripping the human race at a swift speed. While technology is valuable and can provide solutions to whatever problem posed to the human race, it should not be a total answer to all problems. It should be seen as a device that was devised with the aim of enhancing human knowledge and not replacing it. Many people have currently become over reliant on technology and the lon run effect and challenge that ids got as an outcome is the reduction in the sound human decision making. Many of the people, especially the children born after the immense use of technology, have no idea of how the world looked like in the early times. In America, mostly, accepting the Verichip technology could theoretically have long reaching consequences in terms of what future laws become passed. The cutting edge and modern science and technology have moved, in its aims to beyond relief of mans estate to the elimination of human beings and their capacity to perform most tasks. Technology should enhance human intelligence by adding value to human learning and experience, not only making things more convenient. The learning arena has been significantly narrowed to a computer cocoon. Currently, in leisure activities, many people have shifted to computers as a n alternative to learning the games. The computer technology has become more widely used in this scene than the school environment learning. Most of the processes and activities that had over long time been done manually through human intellectual capacities have turned to the improvised technologies that are substantially reducing their capacity. Most of the research today is being done online through the implemented technology through sites such as Google. People have immensely deviated from the manual and conventional ways of doing research and today they depend on the already established research. This has to greater extent reduced peoples capacity to think. The government should rise up to fund most of the research that improves the lives of the citizens and do away with the technological advancement advances that reduce and limit peoples thinking capacities. In America, empirical literatures have suggested that the existing use of the current technology is reducing the intelligence of many people. Many people today spend their times in computers relatively to the time used in reading and doing constructivve tasks. Most of the activities that are done in the computers are not the activities geared towards improving on the thinking of the people. This has increased the illiteracy of the people by a great percentage. The young people also grow and gain knowledge mostly through computers as opposed to the knowledge that could be acquired through the manual ways or school work. This makes the children to grow with a reduced mental reliability posing a threat to the situation in the childs performance in schools. Recent research shows that there is a reduction the funds that were since time allocated to research since 1970. Chief problems in the world could be unraveled by using technology if the government financed research at passed levels. Current statistics show that more of the technology is only being used in the devising of Military weapons. The technology through this aspect is seen to be promoting the bad activities in the expense of the constructive activities. Several improvements could be made even in the area of health if the funding was increased and cure to several diseases can be acquired. Technology, therefore should not be used to substitute human intelligence and capabilities, but should enhance their intelligence adding more value to their lives. Although there are some affirmative depictions of artificial brainpower that assist advance peoples lives, there are also numerous off-putting ones that seek out to substitute human survival. The current movements in technology are making people be losers of the basic human skills by the immense embrace of the modern technological; advancement. The devastating worry is the speed by which technology is making human beings slaves of its usage as opposed to master. Though technological innovations are important and helpful, care should be taken in understanding the challenges it is posing to human beings and the future implications. Human beings therefore, should not use technology as a substitute to their intelligence, but as supplements and enhancement to their intelligence. Buy custom Technology Should Be Used to Enhance not Replace Human Intelligence essay

Why Levitt’s Analysis is Awry Essays

Why Levitt’s Analysis is Awry Essays Why Levitt’s Analysis is Awry Essay Why Levitt’s Analysis is Awry Essay In chapter 3 of Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Levitt demonstrates how false predictions are often led by conventional wisdom and why drug dealers still live with their moms. I agree with the author that conventional wisdom is often wrong or plainly insufficient to answer many important questions.   Crime did not keep on soaring in the 1990s, money alone does not help politicians win elections, and drinking eight glasses of water a day has never actually been shown to do a thing for one’s health.   Conventional wisdom is often shoddily formed and devilishly difficult to see through as it is associated closely with confusion of association and causation and also fallacy of composition.   While it is true that a healthy person may drink eight glasses of water each day, it does not necessarily mean that drinking eight glasses of water a day is good for one’s health.   Association and causation are entirely different.   Just like smoking cigarettes does not necessarily cause cancer – simply because two events are associated (in time, for example), it does not necessarily follow that one is the cause and the other is the effect.à ‚   People often confuse association and causation become it is convenient to assume that the apparent, easy answers are the correct ones.   The erroneous view that what is good or true for the individual is necessarily good or true for the group is another example of conventional wisdom that cannot be explained by reality in all its manifestations.   All the same, it is very convenient for people to just accept conventional wisdom, especially while the media and advertisement are also enforcing it.   This is one of the reasons why most people in the world do not turn into scientists. Indeed, it is possible to analyze the truth or untruth of conventional wisdom by asking the right questions.   There even exists a basic procedure that is used in many scientific works to avoid conventional wisdom in building and testing theories.   The procedure follows a set of guidelines.   First, the researcher decides what it is that he or she wants to explain or predict.   Second, the researcher identifies the variables that he or she believes are important to what he or she would like to explain or predict.   Third, the assumptions of the theory must be stated.   Fourth, the hypothesis must be stated.   Fifth, the theory must be tested by comparing its predictions against real-world events.   Sixth, it is recognized that if the evidence supports the theory, no further action is necessary, although it is a good idea to continue to examine the theory closely.   Seventh, if the evidence rejects the theory, the researcher must either formulate a new theory or ame nd the old theory in terms of its variables, assumptions, and hypothesis.   As an example, a researcher may have predicted that the housing market would experience a boom in the coming years.   If this does not happen, he or she is required to change the old theory or create a new one altogether.   But it if happens, the researcher would be required to continue monitoring the conditions of the market to actually prove his or her hypothesis.   The fact that the housing market actually experiences a boom does not necessarily imply that the boom will create economic growth or not turn into a slump soon enough, thereby invalidating all growth processes expected for the boom period, and which had supported the boom theory of the researcher. Bearing in mind the various stages of scientific analysis, I disagree that the drug dealers still live with their moms – as Levitt proves in chapter 3 – because they have incentives other than making profits that compel them to work at lower than the minimum wage for such a high risk job.   I believe that the main motivation for countless people who are willing to do such risky jobs is high profits for sure.   Considering the costs and benefits, as Levitt demonstrated in chapter 3; the marginal benefits for the foot soldiers to sell drugs are much smaller than the marginal costs, if indeed the income of drug dealers is very low while drug dealing is a very high risk job.   There seems to be no incentive for the foot soldiers to perform a high risk job for low incomes.   Only those who are drug addicts already may accept the job because of their poor mental condition as well as the fact that they need the drugs to keeping entering their bodily systems.   Moreov er, the marginal costs continue to increase as the longer they sell drugs on the street the more chances there are for them to get caught or shot.   Marginal benefits, on the other hand, continue to decrease.   Seeing that the marginal benefits will never equal the marginal costs, there is definitely no efficiency in drug dealing.   If Levitt is correct to state that the drug dealers are working at lower than minimum wage, then no one would want to sell drugs as human beings are rational but selfish, and risk- and effort- averse. It is important to consider the four meaningful factors that determine a wage – which Levitt uses to explain why the typical prostitute earns more than the typical architect.   The factors help explain why the typical drug dealer actually earns a high wage.   Just as little girls do not typically grow up dreaming of becoming prostitutes, individuals cannot be expected to grow up dreaming of becoming drug dealers and ending up being imprisoned or killed.   The skills of the drug dealers, while not necessarily specialized, are practiced in a very specialized context.   The job is unpleasant because of the high chances faced by the drug dealers of being imprisoned and getting killed.   Yet, the demand for service that the job fulfills is extremely large.   The office of national drug control policy has estimated that Americans spent $140 billion on illegal drugs in 1990 and about 1 in 15 Americans aged 12 and over currently uses drugs.   The estimates for worldwide drug use may also be considered to get a clearer picture of the demand situation for drugs.   After all, drug supply around the world is part of a global business with innumerable links. The incentives for the street drug dealers that Levitt demonstrated in chapter 3 do not apply to the majority of drug dealers in the United States.   The examples of drug dealers that he used are only the poor black people who have grown up in a housing project on Chicago’s south side.   To them the path to a decent legitimate job was practically invisible and crack dealing was a glamour profession.   If the same sampling bias is used on the prostitutes, they would be impossibly earning more than the architect.   Just as the typical prostitute earns more than the typical architect, the typical drug dealer earns more than most people sitting behind office desks.   Many teenage drug dealers have managed to earn well enough to be able to afford private art schools and nice cars.   Furthermore, many of the drug dealers are able to lead lives of luxury.   It is the type of neighborhood that they sell drugs in that makes the biggest difference in their lifestyles.   In other words, it is the business environment and the income of the consumers in their immediate market that actually determines whether drug dealers would live with their moms or in their personal mansions.   After all, the drug dealer who sells drugs to the rock stars and movie stars in Hollywood is not expected to live with his or her mom, while the drug dealer who deals in the tenderloin in San Francisco probably would. Levitt also compared the crack dealing business with the entertainment business in the sense that a lot of people are competing for a very few prizes in these businesses.   Criminals, like everyone else, would like to believe that maybe one day they would become the leaders of the crack cocaine dealing business and afford to lead lives of luxury.   This coincides with my belief that the monetary factor is what actually drives the drug dealers.   Levitt explained that crack dealing is similar to the glamour professions, whether they concern the movies or sports, although there is a different dynamic at play.   Swarms of bright young people throw themselves at grunt jobs that pay poorly and demand unstinting devotion as they all have to play the same game viewed as a tournament.   In the entertainment industry, like all other highly competitive industries, the workers at the bottom are poorly paid.   At the same time, however, people are usually willing to work long and har d so that they can move up and eventually get paid more.   The high-school quarterback, infamous actors and actresses, as well as musicians and designers may earn lower than the minimum wage before hitting big.   Thus, before the drug dealer or the entertainer is made famous, he or she must be poorly paid. Drug dealing is the opposite of many competitive industries in a variety of ways, despite the fact that it shares important business principles with them, e.g. the quest to maximize profits.   There is no dearth of jobs in the drug business, as the demand is extremely huge.   Additionally, there is very high risk attached to the job, while the job itself does not make the drug dealers proud.   Needless to say, people are not expected to be attracted to drug dealing as a job unless they are drug addicts who do not mind the risks.   Hence, it is important to consider the labor supply of the market for drugs.   As the demand is extremely large and inelastic because cocaine and crack are very addictive, the prices of the drugs are higher then the equilibrium price.   Levitt mentioned that cocaine is, indeed, very expensive.   It is but commonsense that the selling of cocaine must yield high profits.   Indeed, this is the very incentive for which the labor supply increases . This is also the strong incentive that causes the drug business to expand.   After all, the drug business is virtually uncontrollable and constantly expanding throughout the world.   Oscar Danilo Blandon helped to establish a link between Colombian cocaine cartels and inner-city crack merchants.   According to his explanation, the supply curve shifted outwards as the price of relevant resources decreased because there was no middle man.   Thus, the invention of crack as the invention of a new technology resulted in increased supply.   The drug dealers around the globe are making bigger profits than the technology experts perhaps.   People continue to be more driven to sell drugs. Drugs dealers do, indeed, make a lot of money. They still live with their moms because the nature of this business involves high risks.   Thus, it is very unstable.   Because of the high chances of getting caught or shot for drug dealing, many dealers quit before they have made enough money to support themselves for the rest of their lives.   Even so, there are drug dealers in America who make a huge amount of money selling to the rich and famous.   Indeed, the income of a drug dealer is dependent on the socioeconomic status of his or her customers.   The business is unregulated in most parts of the world, so therefore its prices are unregulated.   Moreover, the expanding drug business around the world proves that drug dealing must be highly profitable for numberless people.   The drug business must also have its role to play in global economic growth.   If it is underground, it does not necessarily mean that the business does not help the economy grow.   Thus, conv entional wisdom must always be questioned for the researchers to find the best possible answers to our burning questions.   Settling for less, that is, inappropriate albeit simplistic answers, is not sufficient for the level of intelligence that is conducive to high economic growth.

25 Summer Programs at Stanford for High Schoolers

It’s the time of year to start planning your summer! If you have a few weeks to spare and want to try something new, consider applying to one of these 25 Stanford-based summer programs just for high school students. You have worked all year to earn good grades and make the most out of high school. With summer around the corner, it can be tempting to kick back. While some rest is probably overdue, so is some exploring. Here are three reasons we think dedicating a few weeks to a program will give you the summer of your dreams. Meet peers with similar interests and drive. Some of the best and brightest students from around the world gather at Stanford each summer to learn from world-class faculty––and each other. Use this time as an opportunity to swap stories, share study tips, and dream together. Get ideas for how to pursue your passion . Students aiming to attend top tier colleges and universities will need a lot more than participating in a summer program to make their application stand out. That said, taking captivating seminars and going on mind-blowing expeditions offers a great starting point from which to continue exploring your passion after the program ends. Learn what life on campus is like. If you have dreamed of going to Stanford, an on-campus residency program gives you the opportunity to test the waters. Over several weeks, you will experience the daily rhythms of Palo Alto and learn whether this Golden State university is right for you. Spend seven weeks working in an active lab conducting research. Keep in mind you must have at least a 3.5 weighted GPA, with all As and Bs in science and math classes. Additionally, you must live within 25 miles of Stanford’s campus and come from a low-income family. You must also be the first person in your family who plans to graduate from college. Please ask a teacher to nominate you using this form . Ever wonder what makes chimps smaller than gorillas? Â  You can delve into questions about body size evolution during this 8-week program. Note: You must be from the San Francisco Bay area to participate.

Radical Feminism most effective for the third wave of feminism Essay

Radical Feminism most effective for the third wave of feminism - Essay Example Passive methods of action will only do so much as structural and societal constraints will prevail. Unless there is a more radical outreach, women will remain the â€Å"underdog† in society, especially because the focus is more on conceptual ideologies such as the abolishment of gender role expectations. These issues, much like in the second wave of feminism, will only become marginalized by other social outcries such as welfare that are apparent and seem to need greater attention. Radical Feminism has proven to be the more effective choice of action since it promotes a greater, positive dialogue and initiates a course of action in support of feminist ideals. Therefore, radical feminism may arguably be considered more appropriate for the third wave of feminism. The following paper will define the term radical in relation to feminism and identify boundaries due to its significant spectrum. Furthermore, to support the above-mentioned claims, cases in which radical feminist movem ents in the past have been more effective from relatively passive movements in the incidence of the Women’s Suffrage, will be identified. Like much of feminism, radical feminism too is highly misunderstood. The textbook definition of the term is as follows, â€Å"Radical feminism is a "current" within feminism that focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that organizes society into a complex of relationships based on an assumption of "male supremacy" used to oppress women†. Additionally, â€Å"Radical feminists tend to be more militant in their approach (radical as "getting to the root") than other feminists are† (Lewis, 2014). The first part defines the term in a broad ideological sense whereas the second shares the thought response. In the technical sense this is fair considering being a militant refers to a broad group of people such as activists, revolutionaries, terrorists or even insurgents, and feminists can be both revolutionaries and activists.

Decision-Making Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Decision-Making Model - Essay Example Ethical dilemma or problem of this case can be to make the decision for the recovery of the child and for improving the quality of life of the child suffering from fever. This problem has been raised due to the wrong decision of the parent, because the parents of the child are divorced. Parents play the most vital role in the recovery of disease of their children and therefore, if parents take wrong decisions regarding the treatment, then it can be a major dilemma for the well-being of the health of the children. From the provided case study, it can also be evaluated that wrong decision has been taken due to religion and cultural problem (Vaz & Srinivas, 2014; Moulton & King, n.d.). Decision should be taken based on the importance of the problem or treatment, because during the time of treatment, decisions of the family members or parents play a vital role for the well-being of the health of their patients. During the time of treatment, the responsibilities of the doctors are to diagnosis the problem and then provide the treatment solution to the parents or family members through which the disease of patients can be reduced.

Do markets and the division of labour encourage or discourage social Assignment

Do markets and the division of labour encourage or discourage social cohesion - Assignment Example 7-10). This splitting up and distributing the labor into smaller tasks and jobs emerged the concept of division of labor, as the production process is a huge and complex process. Adam Smith, one of the well-known economists and capitalists, not only presented this idea of division of labor but also was one of the first people to attempt a theory of it. This means that instead of one person striving to complete the entire job, allocating a group of people to perform a small number of specialized tasks would result in greater productive outputs of intricate jobs with less amount of investment utilization (Smith, 2009, pp. 7-10). In other words, the breaking or splitting the entire (big) job into smaller tasks and duties so that multiple workforce performs the tasks and duties, instead of a single person performing the entire job. Moreover, the division of labors means that the labors come under severance into different categories of labor where each set of different workers perform a different task with the division of the work that can come under accomplishment into a product (Smith, 2009, pp. 7-10). This splitting up the workers for specialized work lays the foundation on the principle that the workforce would be able to produce a higher degree of efficiency and productive output when they comes under constraint to perform a particular process, rather than the entire route. Furthermore, by performing smaller tasks, the workers tend to become more skillful and expert in that particular area of production, thus they would be able to be more productive. This also means that the specialized worker would also require less time in production as the time in switching the jobs would come under elimination (Besanko, Dranove, Shanley & Schaefer, 2009, pp. 49-51). Division of labor is one of the fundamental ideologies used in the production systems. This division of labor into specialized jobs reduces the overall cost leads to the

Conflicting Situation at Work Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Conflicting Situation at Work - Term Paper Example The need is to understand where it has crept up from and what related measures could be taken to avoid it in the first place (Boles, 2011). One such conflicting situation came about when recently one of the employees had a rift with his boss. This problem caused the entire department to lose focus for quite a while. Indeed this was getting into something big until the top management realized the gravity of the situation and intervened to bring to an end the entire issue. The amicable solution was found through understanding and logic which prevailed in entirety. The need was to discern where the two employees were doing just too much pushing and pulling, which was unthinkable on the part of the other employees and the management in essence. There was an air of suspicion which existed within the realms of these two employees who were not even on the same level. The conflicting situation came about when the boss ordered his subordinate to comply with his orders time and again. The subo rdinate did not agree with what the boss had to suggest and carried on with his own undertakings and tasks in the office. The result was very serious as it turned out to be. The two of them got into an argument and started to abuse one another for doing nothing all day long. The boss was surprised that the subordinate had the guts in him to get up to him and speak out loud and that too in front of just about everyone in the office. The actions that the management took under such settings were of dire consequence as it had to intercept within this quagmire which had developed with the passage of time. The senior bosses called these two employees who were essentially boss and subordinate, and thus worked in the same department. They were asked to give their side of the story and thus tell who of the two was wrong amongst them. It was obvious that both of them hurled claims on the other party to be labeled as the guilty one. This ended up in stalemate and both were ordered to leave the office within the shortest time since they were sentenced to two weeks suspensions. The problem was made bigger than it was in the beginning. The subordinate was very abusive and used to hurl slang language and jokes on the boss and the boss had found this out through other employees. The boss was also adamant that since he was senior to the subordinate, his say should have been more important. My perception was that this situation was not handled properly right from the onset. It meant that the employees were not being managed adequately well by the management domains. The need of the hour was such that the employees should have been apprised of the consequences before they indulged into one such rift. Their attitudes would have been better had they known what was in store for them and how they had to handle things in a proper manner. Sadly, this did not come about as such and there were problems for both of them as well as the employees who worked with them or around them in one or the other capacity. I believe that the boss would have let the human resource management department handle things on their own since this would have been the better thing to do in such a scenario. It would have served the cause of the two and taken into consideration the abuse factor which was raised by the subordinate that was simply unwanted and uncalled for (Harrison, 2006).  

How the Album Got Played Out Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How the Album Got Played Out - Essay Example Right from the year where â€Å"rock music†seemed to have had its beats every where in the radio FM station and other shows and in terms of the top sales and bulk of listener response he has covered almost 85% of the music history tracing back to previous years. He seems to make a comparison with the present album tradition with that of the previous rock music in every point he includes for discussion. He starts with the information carrying the nominees for the 40th Grammy awards such as Radioheads’ â€Å"Ok Computer† [1] and Bob Dylan’s â€Å"Time out of Mind†[2]. He regrets that these albums needed to be listened just because it had a â€Å"thematic unity to the lyrics† [3] . He seemed to have a strong support for these two albums. One reason makes me disagree with this point. Gerald Marzorati actually goes in terms of full appreciation for these two albums but he himself seems to act in such a way that he enhances the quality of this album by talking more on it than other albums which he refers in a very little fashion. He says â€Å"If you’re someone who grew upwith Dylan in the 60’s , as I did , you would have probably bought the album [It actually managed to sneak into the Billboard Top 10 for week last fall]†[4] He goes on analyzing the concept of digital revolution with that of records of the previous ages. I would agree with his statement that â€Å"Listening to album is ultimately a matter of giving yourself over to somebody’s choices –this song, then this one. The digital revolution promises precisely the opposite . What do you want, want right now?†[5]. It is true that the digital; revolution has increased the interest among the young ones who could also play and jump over to their favorite song as quickly as possible, there options that are prevalent are operating with the help of a remote which was absent in the old CD system or FM station [ which had been concentrating in enhancing only rock music not upto the

Do markets and the division of labour encourage or discourage social Assignment

Do markets and the division of labour encourage or discourage social cohesion - Assignment Example 7-10). This splitting up and distributing the labor into smaller tasks and jobs emerged the concept of division of labor, as the production process is a huge and complex process. Adam Smith, one of the well-known economists and capitalists, not only presented this idea of division of labor but also was one of the first people to attempt a theory of it. This means that instead of one person striving to complete the entire job, allocating a group of people to perform a small number of specialized tasks would result in greater productive outputs of intricate jobs with less amount of investment utilization (Smith, 2009, pp. 7-10). In other words, the breaking or splitting the entire (big) job into smaller tasks and duties so that multiple workforce performs the tasks and duties, instead of a single person performing the entire job. Moreover, the division of labors means that the labors come under severance into different categories of labor where each set of different workers perform a different task with the division of the work that can come under accomplishment into a product (Smith, 2009, pp. 7-10). This splitting up the workers for specialized work lays the foundation on the principle that the workforce would be able to produce a higher degree of efficiency and productive output when they comes under constraint to perform a particular process, rather than the entire route. Furthermore, by performing smaller tasks, the workers tend to become more skillful and expert in that particular area of production, thus they would be able to be more productive. This also means that the specialized worker would also require less time in production as the time in switching the jobs would come under elimination (Besanko, Dranove, Shanley & Schaefer, 2009, pp. 49-51). Division of labor is one of the fundamental ideologies used in the production systems. This division of labor into specialized jobs reduces the overall cost leads to the

How the Album Got Played Out Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How the Album Got Played Out - Essay Example Right from the year where â€Å"rock music†seemed to have had its beats every where in the radio FM station and other shows and in terms of the top sales and bulk of listener response he has covered almost 85% of the music history tracing back to previous years. He seems to make a comparison with the present album tradition with that of the previous rock music in every point he includes for discussion. He starts with the information carrying the nominees for the 40th Grammy awards such as Radioheads’ â€Å"Ok Computer† [1] and Bob Dylan’s â€Å"Time out of Mind†[2]. He regrets that these albums needed to be listened just because it had a â€Å"thematic unity to the lyrics† [3] . He seemed to have a strong support for these two albums. One reason makes me disagree with this point. Gerald Marzorati actually goes in terms of full appreciation for these two albums but he himself seems to act in such a way that he enhances the quality of this album by talking more on it than other albums which he refers in a very little fashion. He says â€Å"If you’re someone who grew upwith Dylan in the 60’s , as I did , you would have probably bought the album [It actually managed to sneak into the Billboard Top 10 for week last fall]†[4] He goes on analyzing the concept of digital revolution with that of records of the previous ages. I would agree with his statement that â€Å"Listening to album is ultimately a matter of giving yourself over to somebody’s choices –this song, then this one. The digital revolution promises precisely the opposite . What do you want, want right now?†[5]. It is true that the digital; revolution has increased the interest among the young ones who could also play and jump over to their favorite song as quickly as possible, there options that are prevalent are operating with the help of a remote which was absent in the old CD system or FM station [ which had been concentrating in enhancing only rock music not upto the

Orientation Training Essay Example for Free

Orientation Training Essay Blanchard Thacker (2010) describe how orientation can be described as the type of activities that an individuals or organization may seem most interested in and can give most attention. Orientation training can be described as training designed for newly hired employees to allow them to understanding the organizations operations. Also, orientation training give new employee’s opportunities to learn polices and procedures for making decision and activities of various units are coordinated. Orientation training can being with the socialization process with new employees and help the employee learn information about the organization and the values of the organization (Blanchard Thacker, 2010). Orientations can be short or have longer approach dew to the kind of organizations the employees will be working for. The value of orientation training can with the how the learning theory prospective can be based on previous learning. New information can be interpret and understand in the context that is already know. Blanchard Thacker (2010) show how successful organization can recognize the need for providing new employees with orientation training. They also view how new employees can use the organization and the first entry into the organization and whit will coming next tin the upcoming days in the organizations. The first view of the organization can be a lasting one and can important for organization to have good imaged an impression to chance the effectiveness the organization and new employees (Blanchard Thacker, 2010). Another value of orientation training can be how employees who attend orientation training can be flexible to accepting the organizations goals and values. Orientations training can be effective with the use of the guidance that is provided to employees regarding manageme nt expectations. Also orientations can be effective in reducing anxiety, reducing role ambiguity. In addition reducing turnover, improving job performance, providing high levels of commitment and can show the effective and efficient of the organizations (Blanchard Thacker, 2010). In conclusion, orientation training is designed for new employees to allow them to understanding the organizations operations. Orientation training gives new employee’s opportunities to learn polices and procedures for making decision in the new organizations. Orientations training can be effective with the use of the guidance that it helps to provide to new employees regarding management expectations. References: Blanchard, N. P., Thacker, J. (2010). Effective Training, System, Strategies and Practices (Custom 4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Economies Of Scale In Airlines Management Essay

Economies Of Scale In Airlines Management Essay Abstract The following report is aimed at examining the economies of scale concept and strategies in the airline industry. This document is divided into several pieces which discuss the impact of the economies of scale on the main aspects of the airline industry. The last section of the document concludes. Introduction The financial aim of firms is to increase the shareholders capital (Atril, P., Mc Laney E., 2008). Business management, then, have to either optimize asset utilization or reduce firms costs. Current economic situation have managed industries to achieve historic levels of asset optimization. Therefore, special emphasis had been put in cost reduction strategies during the last decade (Akan, M., Ata, B., Lariviere, M. A., 2011). Airline companies were one of the industries which suffered, almost immediately, the effect of these new market conditions. To cope with this scenario, the industry implemented several cost saving strategies; among them the economies of scale'(EoS). The following document is aimed at examining the term EoS and analysing how applicable the concept is to major carriers/airlines. The document is divided into eight pieces. The first discusses how the EoS applies to the airline industry. The remained sections comment on how the EoS affects: the airlines purchasing process, managerial procedures, marketing, technology usage, consolidation, and the open skies strategy. The last section concludes. Economies of scale in airlines EoS can be defined as any cost reductions, responding to increased demand for output, moving along a given, downward-sloping long run cost curve (Grieve, R. H., 2010). In other words, the demand allows firms, in this case airlines, to distribute costs over a greater number of products/services. Airlines have put in place several strategies to increase the number of flights. Among them: ticket-selling process optimization, in-flight meal reduction/suppression, alliances, and consolidations (Harvey, G., 2009). EoS concept assumes that increasing returns emerge at the level of the firm. However, some authors claim that EoS does contribute to cost reductions, but turnover growth does not generally manifest itself in this manner. Empirical evidence has shown that EoS only helped those airlines which do not lose their identity when demand increases. That is, Airlines which do not lose the control of the service delivery even they rely in a complex provider structure. Following this train of thought, EoS are of little importance in accounting for increasing returns, since these return rates are attributable to other factors such as external economies or industrial differentiation (Grieve, R. H., 2010). A successful example of EoS implementation is Star Alliance. Star Alliance is a network of 24 member airlines. Lufthansa and United airlines have registered an important growth in its passenger airline group during 2010 (DATAMONITOR, 2010). Whereas, a failed implementation, MexicanaClick, a low cost airline which was property of the second largest Mexican carrier (Mexicana), did not produced the expected results (BBC, 2010). The EoS effects in purchasing processes The implementation of EoS has forced airlines to change their business model. Traditionally, ticket selling was made in two main forms: over the airline counter or via an agent. Information Technologies (IT) have modified this process. Customer can directly make reservations and buy tickets without by themselves. Therefore, ticket agents have evolved to electronic system which provided the function of searching, reserving, and selling tickets making the purchasing process more accurate, fast, and reliable (Singh, A.Kr., Das, D., 2010). In the same manner, EoS has managed airlines to establish stronger relationships with their suppliers. For instance, the supply IT systems have allow airlines to avoid intermediaries in the requisition of resources since mid 80s, therefore, their logistic costs have decreased (Caves, D. W., et al, 1984). Investments in these matters have allowed Lufthansa to be the third largest airlines of Europe, and the worlds fifth largest airline in terms of overall passengers (Singh, A.Kr., Das, D., 2010). EoS and managerial procedures Outsourcing is the most recurrent strategy of the EoS. By outsourcing activities, the airline allows market forces to reduce the costs of subcontractors who offer for the business (Harvey, G., 2009). However, some author claim that high specialization, in providers, jeopardize business continuity of the outsourced firm (Grieve, R. H., 2010). Nowadays, airline employees are based in different parts of the world, sometimes in places where salaries and benefits are lower than their airline-home based colleagues. In this manner, airlines have also relocated business functions to take advantage of lower wages and social charges incurred in some countries. For instance, British Airways relocated its ticket processing function to New Delhi (Harvey, G., 2009). EoS and marketing Marketing function has also been affected by EoS. Alliances have switched this function to major airlines. Major airlines are responsible for the marketing trips for routes which are composed of international and local courses. In this manner, major companies deliver the international legs of the trip and regional airlines the local ones. When the complete journey is made by two major companies, the role of major and regional firms are switched. That is, the airline which delivers the international leg is responsible for the marketing duties of that trip and vice versa. Additionally, these functions are, most of the times, outsourced. The flight Atlanta-Barcelona is a good example. British Airways is responsible for the marketing of that route, but it only delivers the track from Atlanta to London. The second leg, London-Barcelona is delivered by Iberia; whereas in the route Barcelona-Atlanta, these functions are switched (Wright, C. P., et al, 2010). In the case of regional or small companies, marketing function is totally absorbed by the major company, since regional/small firms do not have the required infrastructure to perform this task (Forbes, S. J., Lederman, M., 2010). Technology in airlines IT systems are the most popular EoS strategy. They have not only changed the airlines purchasing process, but also have optimized the occupation and improved the communication with providers (Pilarski, A., 2005). However, that is not enough. Energy represents one of the biggest costs of the airlines. Air France-KLM and Air China reported that fuel costs accounted for almost 39% of its global costs in the fiscal year 2009 (DATAMONITOR, 2010). Thus, better engine technology, logistic, and route planning system will help the airlines to reduce these costs. Airlines have not been able to apply EoS to aircraft technology since they have a higher dependency in two main providers: Airbus and Boeing (DATAMONITOR, 2010). Generally speaking, the whole industry efficiency depends upon technological advances and cost improvement that these two companies may achieve. Therefore, it can be said that all technology which does not directly depend upon airlines is already optimized. Air France-KLM and Delta are a good example of technological optimization since some of their process like luggage registering and check-in can be done by the customer himself avoiding long queues. Consolidation of the airline industry Consolidation is also a well known EoS strategy. Consolidation is mainly aimed at reducing costs by combining mature and efficient processes into one unique entity (Oum, T. H., et al, 1995). Some authors claim that consolidations make airlines to increase their market share. However, Empirical evidence has shown that market share remains stable. For instance, in the 70s five US airlines controlled 87% of the global market. In 2003, none of these five airlines exist, although the share of the top-10 airlines in all traffic was 86% (Pilarski, A., 2005). On the other hand, consolidations are long and complex processes due to tax and aeronautical regulations. Alliances have been a optional strategy for consolidations. Alliances is formed by any two airlines that exchange interline passengers and that have a proration agreement for the revenue collected from the sale of interline itineraries. In this manner, an airline can expand its destinations and, therefore, increase its revenues. In 2006, 59% of all worldwide available seat miles were flown by airlines belonging to one of the three largest international alliances: Star, SkyTeam, or oneworld. Alliance activity is expected to continue growing (Wright, et al, 2010). Therefore, alliances seem to be the right strategy for the industry. Open skies strategy The open skies strategy consists on allowing airlines to fly within one country, that is, no restriction in local services. In this fashion, an airline may design routes to cover local routes and directly compete with regional firms. The agreement between US and the EU allows airlines to reduce costs of share codes and to improve their costing schema. European airlines which are already consolidated with American ones can operate as one entity, because they do not have restrictions to operate in both regions and vice versa. However, European Court of Justice has found that this agreement is breaking the law, thus, some amendments have to be done to this agreement (Yu-Chun, C., et al, 2009). Open skies strategy is not a direct result of the EoS, but a mean to achieve it. This strategy was created to impulse airline industry in the 1940s. Thus, agreements like that in other regions will allow airlines to reduce their costing schema and to increase their market participation. Conclusions Airline industry is the foundation stone of the current global commerce. Its high efficiency has allowed firms to sell their products in other regions with competitive prices. On the other hand, this industry is a facilitator for some others. Its relevance has been exposed during natural disasters when airports are blocked and products cannot be transported. Current economy cannot be understood without air transportation. The challenge of airlines, now, is to find creative ways to continue their optimization and profitable continuity. Airline industry allows us not only to reach any part of the world, but also to have a competitive and trustable economic system.

the life of Dorothy Day :: essays research papers

Dorothy was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 8 1897. In 1906 her family survived the San Francisco earthquake and her and her family took a drastic change in lifestyle conditions after Day’s father became unemployed and they were forced to move into a small flat in Chicago’s South Side. After seeing the shame her father felt with unemployment sparked her vocation to help the poor. Originally Day, in high school rejected organized religion because she claimed she never saw these â€Å"Religious people† helping the poor. Her religious development was a slow process but eventually she became a very devoted catholic. She Saw the Catholic Church as â€Å"the church of immigrants, the church of the poor† This calling and strong beliefs in the teaching of God encouraged Day to help those who were poor and unemployed. With this in mind and her experience, strong faith and family past Dorothy started a paper known as The Catholic Worker. She sold the paper for a penny a copy â€Å"So cheap anyone could afford it† she explained. And on May 1st the first copies were issued at Union Square and by December 100 000 copies were being printed each month. The paper’s purpose was to publicise catholic social teaching and promote steps to bring about the peaceful transformation of society. By the winter the paper had received so much success homeless people began to knock on her door. Eventually an apartment was rented with space for 10 women and soon after a place for poor men. Next came a house in Greenwich Village. Then in1936 this community moved to two buildings in China town. The charity became a national movement. There were 33 Catholic worker houses spread across the country because of the depression there were many people in need of these places. Day took these people in â€Å"As members of her family†. As a strong catholic she went to daily mass and weekly confession and regularly went on religious retreats and read the bible. Today the organisation is still running with 185 catholic worker communities which are committed to non-violence, voluntary poverty, p rayer and hospitality for the homeless, exiled, hungry and forsaken. They protest injustice, war, racism and all violence. Through Day’s protests, achievements, actions, words and writings of 8 books, 350 plus articles for journals and magazines and also over 1 000 articles for the Catholic Worker newspaper she proved to be an excellent role model for many people.