Political Influences of Constructivist Theory Essay

There are several political influences that underlie the constructivist curriculum theory. Before the 1900s, the principles of constructivism were not very well regarded because it was generally thought that classroom instruction should be rigid and that teachers should be the sole generator of knowledge and while student’s only task in the classroom is to absorb that knowledge (Kitchener, 1986). During the 1920’s, educators such as Jean Piaget and John Dewey, began calling for educational reforms to adapt more â€Å"democratic† curricula that make use of constructivist ideals (Kitchener, 1986). These people inspired political movements that called for a different approach to learning. These political influences prompted the establishment of organizations that sought to veer away from the traditional learning methods. One such organization which was formed is the National Council of Teachers in Mathematics (NCTM). The NCTM saw how traditional methods called â€Å"drill and kill† numbed student’s minds and made learning inapplicable to practical circumstances and began to launch political and educational movements intended to help teachers facilitate learning more effectively in the classroom (NCTM, 2008). However even at the present, constructivist educational reforms have yet to take root in American legislation. Still, there are instances when political will is raised by the public to find new ways to deliver quality education. One such instance was in the latest release of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) worldwide testing which showed that American students were performing poorly based on the world standards (AGI, 2008). This prompted movements that yet again called for a different approach to education outside of the traditional lecture methods. In 2002, the U. S. House Subcommittee on Education Reform introduced legislation that sought to overhaul the current research methods for deriving effective teaching practices and better explore constructivist approaches (AGI, 2008). This legislation is known as the Education Sciences Reform Act (AGI, 2008). In conclusion, it can be said that the constructivist curriculum is politically tied with the public’s desire to have better working educational models for their children. This want is what has driven movements to exist and call for government to address the problem.

Bless me ultima research paper Essay

Antonio does not give up his dream of being a priest, even though is severely disappointed by the Catholic religion. He becomes a different kind of spiritual leader, one his people are not quite ready to accept. In a dream, Antonio cries out to Jesus as he suffers on the cross: â€Å"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me! † (Anaya, 233). He is unable to fully believe in either Catholicism or curanderismo and consequently decides to combine the two different perspectives to gain his own answers. Antonio ultimately becomes â€Å"a man of learning† as Ultima had predicted. He acquires knowledge and understanding along the way to maturity. Antonio appreciates that life is naturally ever changing. He accepts his parents’ flaws as well as his brothers’ sins. He realizes the extent of prejudice and accepts that others, too, are not firm in their beliefs, while recognizing his own sins. The duality of Western and Chicano cultures in his heritage is another conflict Antonio must resolve. The author represents three different acculturations: assimilation, integration and rejection (Black, 146). According to Black, Antonio’s brothers â€Å"are assimilated into the Anglo world in ways that result in their desire to leave la familia and move into the dominant cultural sphere†; because they reject their heritage, they lose their culture (149). Antonio does a better job of assimilating his ethnic identity with Angle culture through adaptation: â€Å"†¦the innocence which our isolation sheltered could not last forever, and the affairs of the town began to reach across our bridge and enter my life† (Anaya, 14). Antonio begins his assimilation in school. He retains his heritage by speaking Spanish and eating his traditional Chicano lunch â€Å"of hot beans and some good, green chile wrapped in tortillas† (Anaya, 54). Although, as he says, â€Å"the other children saw my lunch [and] they laughed and pointed again†, the experience reminded him of the existence of prejudice (Anaya, 54). It makes him feel different until he finally finds friends who share his Chicano roots and he is able to overcome his loneliness. This also helps him to realize that he can live in both worlds. Antonio strives to learn English and stay in school, in direct contrast to the rest of his family. At home, he is educated about Chicano culture through Ultima’s teachings. She urges him to appreciate the beauty of the land and embrace the ancient wisdom of curanderas. His family are the instructors in such things as personal integrity and the Chicano way of life. Belief in myth as opposed to the reality presented by history also create a conflict in Antonio. According to Lamadrid, there is an important relation between myth and the socio-cultural identity of traditional Chicanos (497). He uses examples such as that of la llorona (wailing woman) to define myth as the â€Å"collective interpretation and mediation of the contradictions in the historical and ecological experience of a people† (Lamadrid, 496). This assertion becomes clear in examining Antonio’s representation of evil and native power; he believes La llorona is luring him, but he resists and escapes death. Ultimately, Antonio learns to accept that life is the greater reality and understands â€Å"the tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart† (Anaya, 237). He remembers Ultima’s teachings, which help him to â€Å"take life’s experiences and build strength from them and not weakness† (Anaya, 248). As de Mancelos states, Antonio must â€Å"understand the other side of the myth, the legends, the indigenous beliefs and the power of the earth† as well as more traditional religious beliefs (5). An apocalyptic event – the development of the first atomic bomb for use in World War II combat – juxtaposes with Antonio’s increasing awareness. According to Lamadrid, â€Å"the awareness of the characters of the apocalyptic threat of the atomic bomb†¦demonstrates a real and historical dimension of apocalypse† (500). Upon its arrival, the village women dress in mourning clothes, assert that the bomb resembles â€Å"a ball of white heat beyond the imagination, beyond hell† and lay the blame on ignorant Anglos: â€Å"Man was not made to know so much†¦they compete with God, they disturb the seasons, they seek to know more than God Himself. In the end, that knowledge they seek will destroy us all† (Anaya, 183). The village witnesses the loss of a large number of husbands and sons during the war while the state hosts the very first test of the atomic bomb. Even Antonio is affected as his brothers return from service traumatized. According to the villagers, these are all signs of an apocalypse requiring â€Å"the need for a synthesis†¦in this new time of crisis† (Lamadrid, 500). Antonio is fortunate enough to create his own synthesis by continuing his ties to the desert and La Virgen de Guadalupe, la llorona and the brotherhood of the golden carp. His cultural conflicts are settled because of his synchronicity with Ultima’s belief that the purpose of his life is to do good. Her final blessing, â€Å"Always have the strength to live. Love life, and if despair enters your heart, look for me in the evenings when the wind is gentle and the owls sing in the hills† are the words he will live by(Anaya, 247). Antonio’s maturity comes as the result of completing a journey which alternately takes him away from, and then back to, his heritage. The conflicts of warring factions in his life cause him to question the values and beliefs of each and come up with his own explanation. Rather than refusing his heritage, Antonio fuses the differences and acquires a richness of experience and strength of character. Along with this new understating, Antonio looks forward to a future based on the past but open to new possibilities – a mature outlook indeed. Works Cited Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me Ultima. New York: Warner Books, 1999. Black, Debra B. â€Å"Times of Conflict: Bless Me, Ultima as a Novel of Acculturation†. Bilingual Review, Vol. 25 (2), 2000, pp. 146-159. de Mancelos, Joao. â€Å"Witchcraft, Initiation, and Cultural Identity in Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima†. Revista de Letras, serie II, #3, 2004. 129-134. Lamadrid, Enrique R. â€Å"Myth as the Cognitive Process of Popular Culture in Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima†: The Dialectics of Knowledge. Hispania, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Sep. 1985), pp. 496-501. Stone, Dan. â€Å"An Interview with Rudolfo Anaya†. National Endowment for the Arts: The Big Read. January 4, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2008 from the NEA website: http://www. neabigread. org/books/blessmeultima/anaya04_about. php. University of New Mexico. â€Å"Writing the Southwest: Rudolfo Anaya†. Retrieved October 15, 2008 from the UNM website: http://www. unm. edu/~wrtgsw/anaya. html.

MANAGING THE ORGANIZATION'S STRUCTURE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MANAGING THE ORGANIZATION'S STRUCTURE - Essay Example ops a working environment that guarantees the trust and respect for employees by allowing them to make fundamental contribution to organizational goals and objectives (Dammen, 2001). Organizational structure also influences how organizational members perform, communicate, decide, and coordinate their affairs. An effective organizational structure enables the employees to show the management how they can utilize their creativity and teamwork, which enhances productivity (Dammen, 2001). Organization’s structure affects the well-being of its members and influences the members’ behaviors since it can relieve mental stress and limit increased absenteeism. Indeed, literature confirms that â€Å"organizational structure is an extrinsic factor, which influences people’s behaviour from the outside, through formal limitations set by division of labor, authority distribution, grouping of units, and coordination† (Janićijević, 2013, p. 36). Through successful organizational designs, organizations gain the capacity to compete in the global arena where they define the roles and stipulate the relationships between members of the organization with an aim of guaranteeing effectiveness and efficiency. Organizations achieve this by influencing organizational behaviors as depicted by the managers and employees. Successful organization designs reduce ambiguity for employees leading to certain and effective behaviors. Moreover, organization designs influence the employees’ job satisfaction, performance, job involvement, absenteeism, preferences, and cultural norms. Organizational design defines the division of labor, coordination, grouping, and authority distribution in an organization, which influencing organizational behaviors. For example, functional organizational design subdivides work into specific areas of specialization, which may lead to boredom as members become tired of doing the same thing for long. The matrix structure also influences organizational behaviors

Risk factors in the spread of Visceral Leishmaniasis in two highly Research Paper

Risk factors in the spread of Visceral Leishmaniasis in two highly endemic but ecologically different regions - Research Paper Example However, not all species of phlebotomine transmit Leishmaniasis. Research has shown that it is only thirty of all the phlebotomine species transmit VL. In most cases, the female sandfly spreads the parasite into animals or human beings. This is because the parasite develops inside the sandfly for some period mostly between four and twenty five days. The sandfly then sucks fresh blood from an animal or a human being, and hence, transmitting the parasites, which completes the parasite’s cycle of transmission. Signs and symptoms The signs and symptoms of Visceral Leishmaniasis depend on the individual concerned as well as the geographical area involved. Some individuals have silent infections while others display symptoms of the disease. However, in most cases, VL affects internal organs of the body, which include the liver and spleen (Farrell 67). Fever is the most common symptom among many victims. Abnormal blood tests, which are factors of swelling of the spleen and liver, are also common symptoms of the disease. Low blood count of all the components of the disease are among the abnormal blood tests displayed by patients of the disease (Warrell 78). However, the signs and symptoms also depend on the geographical area under concern. For instance, in Sudan, most of the patients of the disease suffer from HIV, which leads to severe cases of the disease. The similarity between symptoms in Sudan and India is that all patients have fever as well internal body organs. Diagnosis and treatment Diagnosis of VL depends on the geographical location of the patient to be examined. This is because the disease varies according to the geographical location of the individual concerned. Clinical officers must use samples from the bone marrow (serologic testing) to test the presence of VL in patients. Serologic testing is effective because the disease mainly affects the internal organs of the body. Test samples for diagnosis may also come from the liver, blood or the lymph nodes. However, clinical officers and other medical practitioners have different approaches of diagnosis for individuals with HIV infection (Siddig, Mohammed, Hashim, David and Eskild 104). It is important to note that the diagnosis of the disease depends on the area or geographical region under concern. Similarly, treatment depends on the severity of the case in the individual concerned. Children and other special groups receive different medication from those of other members of the society. Severe cases of VL are fatal in untreated. No vaccines or preventive drugs are available for the disease. The only preventive measure that individuals can pursue is through preventing bites from sandflies (Mabey 45). Epidemiology and risk factors Epidemiology is one of the areas that have differences concerning geographical locations. Sandflies are responsible for spreading the Leishmania parasites into animals and human beings, which suggests that ecological factors may contribute to the spre ad of VL disease. The presence of tropical forests, caves and other habitats for the phlebotomine sandflies contributes to the spread of the disease in certain geographical areas. Sudan therefore, provides an ideal site for the breeding of sandflies. In addition, the conditions of living in Sudan are more severe than in India. India has relatively low breeding sites because of large population. Many individuals do not notice sandfly bites because the sandflies are mainly active at night and are very small (smaller than tropical mosquitoes). In

The Review of the Movie The Pianist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Review of the Movie The Pianist - Essay Example d film â€Å"The Pianist† (2002) has masterfully dealt with the theme of universal human longing for a peaceful existence, where there would not be any bloodshed and brutal exposure of dominating tendency of the powerful against their weaker counterparts; the entire situation of equality, would finally receive a perfect fulfillment with free interaction of artistry and creative aesthetics. Polanski has represented this theme of the film through use of realistic narration of the prevailing situation during the World War II and contrasting it with symbolic connotation of what an artistic mind actually aspires for. Final part of the film shows restoration of peace and efforts of indomitable human spirit to forget the ravages of the devastation; but at the same time, the director has provided his audience with the scope of ponder over the aspect whether all the losses can be compensated, whether it is important to keep memories of those losses alive in our hearts so that we never forget what we have done to us and recurrence of the same incidents can be stopped. The director has used Warsaw, Poland and plight of the resident Jews in the hands of Nazi force during the World War II as its backdrop. Wladysaw Szpilman, is a famous Polish pianist, played by Adrian Brody is protagonist of the film. The situation of prevailing brutality in Warsaw during the Second World War has been represented to the audience through the character, â€Å"Szpilman’s eye is like a camera, recording events with very little emotional involvement† (Bartov 142). The state of emotional faculty of an artistic heart becomes poignant, as he encounters the devastation and brutality around, through his music, â€Å"His one means of expression is the piano’s keyboard, and when that keyboard is missing, he can only report his journey – from the radio studio into a man made hell and back into the studio – as an accurately and as dryly as possible† (Bartov 142). The contrast to the man made hell, the

Consider MOOCs and discuss whether they are a revolutionary Essay

Consider MOOCs and discuss whether they are a revolutionary breakthrough in education or simply a fad - Essay Example Traditional forms of learning like classroom settings and direct lecturing are slowly fading (Sharpe 27). In this context, we can say that advancement in technology remains the main attribute for these dynamics in the social aspect of education. On the other hand, the aspect of globalization also contributes towards witnessed shifts in education patterns. Students from various parts of the world are converging at the best learning institutions in search of knowledge (Sharpe 34). In this case, increase in student population necessitates changes in order to adjust service delivery programs. Presence of cut-edge technology facilitates the development of such desired service delivery systems. This essay appraises a developing program within the education sector in terms of its impacts and expected future trends and resourcefulness. In 2010, leading universities in Europe and America were striving to formulate new learning policies meant to address increasing influence of globalization. S takeholders wanted to restructure education models, especially within institutions of higher learning. This development largely focused on the role played by teachers in modern learning environments characterized by huge student-teacher population ratio (Adrie and Finegan 72). As a result, researchers from the University of Michigan and Stanford University conducted objective evaluation on existing teaching methods. Towards the end of their research articles, they postulated appropriate recommendations meant to deal with new developments in the education sector. As a result, the two research bodies termed massive open online courses, abbreviated as MOOCs as the most suitable educational program (Bowen 45). This program aimed at developing a method meant to address the need to change teachers’ roles in learning activities. In addition, MOOCs will serve as the best technique of dealing with an increase in student population. In actual practice, the University of Miami in 2012 f eatured as one university adopting a massive open online course program. Subsequently, MOOCs rolled into other parts of the world like Australia, where the nation’s university of South Wales adopted a course of computing using the MOOCs program. Currently, extrapolated research on education methods suggest that open online courses can literary feature as knocking down campus boundaries. According to one researcher, who is a professor of research at Stanford College, the scholar says that MOOCs will take over as new methods of delivering knowledge to students. Big breakthroughs happen when what is suddenly possible meets what is desperately necessary (Friedman 01). In order to appreciate the role played by MOOCs, we will evaluate its components in functioning and design. Creation of MOOCs seeks to address the increasing number of interested learners within academic environments. In this context, technical developments of MOOCs programs seek to facilitate timely and professiona l delivery of information to a large student population. MOOCs use internet connectivity in creating interaction platforms through collaboration groups or peer-reviews (Bowen 65). On the other hand, delivery of information integrated appropriate feedback mechanisms meant to assess the success of learning among the student population. In this case, MOOCs has a feedback provision, which involves automated online assessment through exams and quizzes. At the end of the assessment process, students’

Analysis of Body Language Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of Body Language - Article Example For example, nod when saying no, and shake your head when saying yes. In his article, ‘What You Don’t Know about Body Language - but Should’, Nick Morgan asserts that one given gesture may have meaning, and may be interpreted differently (Morgan, 2012). Even so, there are widely accepted meanings to various gestures. For instance, wide-open eyes imply interest. According to the author, effective communication encompasses both verbal and nonverbal communication. When communicating, it is important to pay attention not only to the spoken words but also to the body language. It is argued that body language is more truthful as compared with the spoken word. The human needs, feelings, emotions, intentions, and thoughts are thought to be controlled by the limbic system in the brain. This part tends to react to the world in real times and this is shown by the way the body reacts through the various gestures. These gestures have evolved in people globally. An extensive analysis of President Barrack Obama’s body language has exposed that his body language tends to change from location to location as well as form speech to speech. Also, his body language cues tend to differ in debates and interviews that they are in speeches. Nonverbally, President Obama is an emotional man. A more explicit example is his Tuesday, January 24, 2012 State of the Union Address, whose nonverbal communication with regards to the use of body language was excellent. One eminent gesture throughout the speech was his smile. The smile on his face made him appear genuine. The human brain tends to prefer happy faces as opposed to those faces with negative expressions. His verbal and nonverbal alignments during the speech were on point. His body language supported his message such that it could easily make people believe that he really meant what he said. He looked comfortable and composed. He walked with ease, stood with ease, and all his gestures were fluid and flowing. Â  

Why do markets fail Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Why do markets fail - Essay Example According to Wilkinson (2005), â€Å" market failure is the situation where the mechanisms associated with the market unable to allocate resources effectively. In this definition the efficiency word refers to both productive as well as elective parameters. According to his view, the main reasons behind market failure can be classified into the following headings: Monopolies, External factors, Public goods, transaction costs and imperfect information (Wilkinson, 2005, pp.473-474). There are several economists who prefer to call the market failure as market fail to achieve efficiency.. Some specific situation that is contributing to market failure are regulations of the government, costs associated with the transaction, the power of the competitive market (other country), imperfect information etc. Regulations: Restrictions such as price ceilings avoid the price mechanism for competently allocating resources. Market power: Some industries may feature economies of scale, so it is absol utely possible for an incompetent market conclusion to be reached if one organization or a few large institutions are able to leave out others to the disadvantage of potential market participant. Transaction costs: If the cost of any certain product in any trade is high in the first place, a market cannot function properly and it might result in the market failure. Imperfect information: If any one party in the market has material information that the other does not, or both the parties lack substance information that would affect whether or not the deal occurs, or for what price it may take place. Externalities: A trade (or the goods being traded) may inflict considerable costs on individuals not participating in the trade. Alternately, individuals not participating in the trade would realize significant benefits from it but the parties directly involved in the trade would not. Irrational actors: One party is not of sound mind when making the trade, factors are weighted inappropria tely, long-term costs are ignored in favor of short-term benefits, etc.(Wilkinson, 2005, pp.474-478). According to Tatum (2013) market failure is a situation in which the demand for a particular product is not at par with the supply of the same product that manufacturers are now providing for sale.. There are several reasons behind the market failure, with some having to do with pricing and quality, while others are connected to the current general state of the economy. According to his viewpoint, the main reason behind this failure of the market is the externalities. These are simple factors that are outside the control of consumers or the companies producing the goods and services offered for sale. Examples of this include negative situations such as natural disasters that temporarily reduce production, or downturns in the economy that prompt consumers to greatly reduce their consumption of certain products. Positive events may also qualify as externalities, such as an economic re covery that increases consumer confidence and motivates increased purchases of non-essential and luxury products. In the former instance, companies may find that the demand for their products drops suddenly, leaving them with high inventories of finished goods that are not wanted at any price. The latter positive example may mean that, until producers can increase production to meet demand, they will not be able to adequately keep up with customer orders. Other causes of market failure have to do with an imbalance between the price of a product and its perceived level of quality. Price and quality may create a positive or a negative situation, because if consumers think that the price

Relationship of relationships Essay Example for Free

Relationship of relationships Essay Statistics on suicides show either positive or negative correlations with suicidal tendencies. There are then vulnerabilities but there are also mitigating circumstances or resistance to committing suicidal acts. Age level, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation and affiliations were found out to somehow relate to occurrence of suicide. The individual’s state of mind and history of mental illness are shown as factors to consider. To properly situate these findings, we therefore define the key elements of a synthesis from the three disciplines used in the study. We came up with the following: 1. There is a sort of an internal progression line and a parallel social time line The relationship between these two line is like lock and key, based on fitness but in a very dynamic setting subject to sudden â€Å"twists and turns† along the way of integration or its opposite alienation. The situation made more complex as social situations are not usually homogenous. Variation in individual progression may not be the same. Alienation then could continue with the social situation for the individual deteorating as well because of its regression into greater alienation. 2. Reason for living There are levels of ideation, fairness for example is simpler than being just and in the same manner looking at life as a skill of how to handle the complex of emotion and reasoning in relation to social information daily being processed and given the vulnerabilities, intervention could be crafted and social vectors who or which will carry it out properly identified, invited and oriented. The purpose is not really educational or mentoring but engagement in real life social situations. Gaining insights in preventing suicides Taking bits of wisdom from different disciplines affords a view of world against a new light and in concerns such as suicide; a fundamental realization of the value of life in contrast to losing the reason for living is of paramount importance. Combining psychology, sociology and religious perspective gave us this opportunity (Table 1). Table 1. Generated insights used in the study from the three disciplines Discipline Insights Psychology The perception of self could be more decisive than the nature of self as determinant of action. Perception is a product of cognition. Suicide is a form of self annihilation. Could be a product of â€Å"dark cognition† Sociology Group setting is integral in developing self. The value system is as fundamental as the relational in group or social networks. Suicide as a syndrome has social context, a form of conflict resolution which is acceptable in some cultures (Masada, Seppuku in Japanese culture). Religion The value of life is above life. The objective of life is purification. Suicide is a sin not on life but a sin of arrogance that life is for us to take. A continuing exploration on life There is that saying that life is always a search for completion and which forms one of the great motivations in human development. In the same vein, this effort is an exploration traversing perhaps what Kolberg’s describe as the higher stages. The integration of the different perspectives may not be perfect as each of the disciplines have their own attributes which could be taken as either strength or weaknesses (Table 2). Table 2. Strengths and weaknesses of the three disciplines used in this study Discipline Strengths Weaknesses Psychology Probes into the nature of self and will on human behavior including dark acts such as suicide. The apparent stand off in the nature and cognition Sociology Relates self and social processes of integration or alienation Unpredictability of human behavior or dynamic shifts. Social senses may not be keen enough and sensitive enough to notice risk situations or situations leading to suicides. Religion Externalization of the value and meaning of life. Morally grounded. Tendency to mystification of mundane and human nature.

English Discussion Question Essay Example for Free

English Discussion Question Essay Irony plays a major part in Raymond Carver’s Popular Mechanics. As the man tries to seize the infant from her, the woman accuses him of hurting the baby. The irony is that she, too, hurts the baby. In fact, both of them are hurting the baby. Both of them want the best for their child, but they are unconscious that the effect of their separation will greatly affect the kid. Like in many broken families, the child suffers the most. Another irony in the story is that the couple wants to part ways. However, as they fight over the baby, nobody wants to give in. It is as if they are using the baby as an excuse to keep the separation at bay and waiting for anything that may change the break up to happen. Deep in their hearts, they don’t really want to separate after all. Compared to other stories with conventional style, the Popular Mechanics is different as the author uses unorthodox approach. What is unusual is the absence of the quotation marks for the direct speech in the conversation between the two main characters. This makes the story confusing because there is the tendency for the readers to mix up the narration with the dialog. The story also is direct and unadorned with rhetorical devices, which are common to many stories and novels. Aside from that, the author stays neutral and does not express his own opinion to either of the characters. He acts like a camera that transmits what is happening as he sees it. He leaves the story open for the readers to come out with their own speculations and conclusion. The story gives a vivid picture of what is going on to many families nowadays. The plot is very common: separation of married couple leads to the demise of their child/children. Due to its plainness, the story becomes insensitive. It is difficult to imagine a husband and a wife each pulling a hand of their infant. Although it is not indicated what happened to the infant, it is easy to assume that his tender limbs are impaired or, worse, detached. It is unfortunate that the settlement of the couple’s conflict is the demise of their child. Work Cited: Carver, Raymond. Popular Mechanics. Online July 17, 2009 http://www. uni-koeln. de/ew-fak/institut/engl/coit/essay/essayws5-6/carver. htm

Factors that affect the demand and supply of houses

Factors that affect the demand and supply of houses Introduction The past couple of years have seen dramatic fluctuations in the demand and supply of houses. It has been observed that movement in house prices is a balance of the quantity demanded and supplied. In this essay, we first look into the factors that affected the prices of houses in UK in the past three years. Then, we will discuss factors that affect the sizes of elasticities of demand of houses. Factors affecting demand of houses The table below shows the various factors that affect demand of houses. Table 1: Factors affecting demand of houses. S. no. Factor Trend Reason Change in the demand curve 1. Affordability As affordability of houses increases, demand for houses increases and vice versa. Because when the price of houses goes down more people can afford to buy houses. Movement along the demand curve. FIG. 1 2. Disposable Income As the disposable income of the people increase the demand for houses increases and vice versa. People tend to buy houses when they have sufficient disposable income with them so that their weekly budget is not affected significantly. Shift in the demand curve. FIG. 2 3. Economic Trends If the economy is booming, then there is a net increase in demand for houses. Similarly, in case of a recession, the demand for houses decreases. A booming economy means a good overall health of the economy which translates into greater demand of all goods. Shift in the demand curve. FIG. 2 4. Supply of substitutes If the supply of substitutes such as rented accommodation decreases, then there is a net increase in demand for houses and vice versa. If the supply of rented accommodation is less, then there is an increase in the price of rented apartments. Therefore, in the long run people find that it is cheaper to buy houses than to live in a rented accommodation. Hence, then they will tend to purchase a house. Thereby, increasing the net demand for houses. Shift in the demand curve. FIG. 2 5. Availability of mortgage finance If the mortgage finance is easily available then this results in a net increase in demand and vice versa. This is because it is easier for people to arrange for money to finance their houses. Shift in the demand curve. FIG. 2 6. Interest rates If the interest rates are high, then there is a net decrease in demand and vice versa. This is because at higher interests rates people will have to shell out more money to repay their loan. As people have a fixed monthly income, a higher interest rate would mean that the loan instalment would form a higher portion of their monthly income. Thereby, decreasing the demand for houses. Shift in the demand curve. FIG. 2 7. Consumer confidence As consumer confidence in the housing market increases, the demand for houses increases and vice versa. If prices of houses are expected to rises then consumers think it is profitable to enter the market. However, if the prices fall or remain static then consumers find no urgency to enter the market. Shift in the demand curve. FIG. 2 8. Demographic factors As increase in immigration, number of divorces, life expectancy, results in an increase in demand for houses. An increase in immigration, number of divorces, life expectancy will result in more people needing independent houses. Shift in the demand curve. FIG. 2 9. Inherited wealth An increase in number of people inheriting a huge wealth would result in an increase in demand of houses. Because these people have more money to spend on luxury products, such as houses. Shift in the demand curve. FIG. 2 10. Tax benefits If people receive greater tax benefits by buying houses, then this would result in a net increase in demand for houses. This is because people prefer to use their hard earned money on themselves rather than paying it to the government. Shift in the demand curve. FIG. 2 Source: Nationwide, Besanko et. al 2007 FIG. 2: Shifting of the demand curve. D D Price P1 Q2 Q1 D D Quantity FIG. 1: Movement along the demand curve. Price P1 P2 Q2 Q1 D D Quantity Factors affecting the supply of houses The table below shows the various factors that affect the supply of houses. Table 2: Factors affecting supply of houses S no. Factors Trend Reason Change in supply curve 1. Price If the price of houses increases then there is an increase in supply of houses and vice versa. Because sellers can then sell houses at higher rates thus making more profit. Movement along the supply curve. 2. Cost of building a house If the cost of building a house increases then there is a net decrease in supply of houses and vice versa. As this would mean a larger initial investment for the builder. Shift in the supply curve. 3. Government regulations If government regulations are inclined towards building/selling of houses then there is a net increase in supply of houses and vice versa. This would mean lower costs from the perspective of a builder/seller, which would result in more building/selling of houses. Shift in the supply curve. Source: Nationwide, Besanko et. al 2007 FIG. 1: Movement along the Supply curve. Price P1 P2 Q2 Q1 S S Quantity FIG. 2: Showing shifting of the supply curve. S S Price P1 Q2 Q1 S S Quantity Factors that have led to changes in the prices of house in UK over the last 3 years Source: Nationwide FIG. 5: Average house rates in UK from 2008 to 2010 During the first half of 2008 there was a 5.1% drop in house prices. With the financial crisis and a looming economic recession this price fall was expected. This was evident from the clear change in the consumers housing market sentiments, with people being more reluctant to buy houses. It should be noted that there is a direct relationship between the demand of houses and the confidence consumers have in the market (See table 1). In addition, factors such as high mortgage rates, tighter lending criteria, and higher interest rates affected the house prices in early 2008. The fall in demand from the buyers was also due to the rise in unemployment and associated job insecurity. Further, the problems in the credit market led to tighter lending conditions which made it difficult to obtain loans at higher loan-to-value ratios. However, these strict rules were predicted to lead to a more stable housing market. FIG. 6: Consumer House Price Expectations and House Purchase Approvals An anomaly in this trend was the slight increase in the prices in June and July 2008. This was probably because the suppliers had responded to price decline by reducing the supply of property. The reduced supply combined with an increased demand from potential buyers, who had been priced out previously, translated into a slight price rise of houses. In addition, the slight increase in prices was because of latent demand for houses. Earlier, due to the banking crisis there was reluctance among buyers to purchase houses. However, once the buyers saw that the government was taking corrective actions to stabilize the banking system, they re-entered the market along with the added assistance of low interest rates. (Nationwide, 2008) However, this was a mere aberration and between August 2008 and March 2009 the house prices fell by 10.1% due to the overall lack of consumer confidence in the economic and market conditions. In addition, there was an additional supply of houses from homeowners, whose financial positions were impacted by higher unemployment and lower income levels. FIG. 7: UK GDP and House Price Growth between 1985 and 2007 With UK slipping into recession, even drastic cuts in interest rates didnt help in increasing the demand for houses. The reduced access to credit resulting from the financial crises catalysed the fall in prices. Then, a combination of initial fall in prices, widespread news of financial turbulence, and slowdown in the real economy prompted consumers to expect further price falls. As consumers expectations turned negative, the incentive to enter the market reduced and this led to a sharp price fall. (Nationwide 2008, 2009) Then in June 2009, the low interest rates and extension of stamp duty holidays were welcomed by borrowers as they reduced the costs of already high priced housing market. Further, notwithstanding the economic downturn, there was a notable shift in house price expectation from negative to positive. These two factors resulted in increasing the demand for houses and thus increasing the price of houses. (Guardian 2009, Nationwide 2009) The second half of 2009 was marked by rebound in house prices. This was contributed by the better than expected performance of the labour market. Even though workers were forced from full-time to part-time work resulting in a reduction in income, the impact was less severe than if they had lost their jobs completely. In addition, reduction in mortgage rates meant that fewer borrowers had fallen into arrears than expected. This led to lesser number of second-hand properties being on sale and thus stabilizing the housing markets. (Nationwide 2009) The first half of 2010 also saw a 4.1% rise in prices of houses. An important factor of price rise during this period was the low level of stock for sale as many homeowners and buy-to-let landlords preferred to wait for prices to rise. And this approach was supported by the very low levels of interest rates. As a result, many potential sellers could easily afford to wait for prices to recover further before they decided to sell. Between July and October, there was a fall in the prices of houses. The impact of increasing capital gains tax from 18% to 28% was seen in the housing market, with many second homeowners choosing to sell them in response to the tax increase. Further, the spending cuts by the new government had clearly put a pressure on the disposable incomes of households. As a result there was a decrease in the prices of houses during this period. (Nationwide 2010) Factors that affect the sizes of different elasticities of demand for houses The responsiveness of the quantity of houses demanded to the change in prices, income, price of other goods, etc. is measured by the corresponding elasticities, i.e., Price elasticity of demand of houses, Income elasticity of demand of houses, or Cross prices elasticity of demand of houses. Factors that affect the sizes of different elasticities are as follows: Availability of substitutes: It is observed that more the number of substitutes, more elastic the demand will be. If the availability of rented accommodations is high, then a slight price rise will result in a large change in demand for houses because people will prefer to live in a rented apartment than to buy a house. Therefore, making the demand for houses elastic. On the other hand, if availability of rented accommodations is low, then even a large change in price would not affect the demand because everyone needs a place to live. Therefore, the demand for houses will be inelastic. Importance of the good in the consumers budget: Expenditure on housing, according to R.K. Wilkinson (1973), is an outcome of three sets of influences on the consumer, i.e., their needs, their aspirations, and their ability to realize their needs and aspirations. The latter is measured by the consumers income and the two former qualify the way in which income and changes in income affects housing expenditure. If there is a need for a house and consumers have the ability to realize that need, then the demand of houses would be inelastic. In contrast, if there is no real need and an aspiration to buy a (bigger) house combined with no real income to realize that aspiration, then the demand for houses will be highly elastic. Time: It was observed by Hanushek and Quigley (1980) that the demand for houses is elastic in the short-run. However, in the long-run the demand tended to be inelastic. This was because higher prices dissuade buyers to buy houses in the short-run. However, in the long-run he may realize that the price of houses will rise and thus he finds it better to buy a house. Conclusion In this essay we determined the factors that affected the prices of houses in UK during the last three years and the various factors that affect the elasticities of demand of houses. Based on the above discussion, I think consumer expectation of house prices is one of the most important drivers of prices in the short-run. As for the long-run, the drivers of house prices are the economic conditions, the fiscal policies, and supply of houses.

Technological Literacy :: Technology Technological Papers

Technological Literacy Definitions and Rationale What is technology? A definition of technology literacy might well begin with a definition of technology. Technology consists of all the modifications humans have made in the natural environment for their own purposes (Dugger 2001)—inventions, innovations, and changes intended to meet our wants and needs, to live longer, more productive lives. Such a broad definition of technology includes a broad spectrum of artifacts, ranging from the age-old (flint tools, wheels, levers) to the high-tech (computers, multimedia, biotechnologies). In short, if humans thought of it and made it, it’s technology. Two important points need to made about such a broad definition of technology. First, although some writers address only computer and communications technology (e.g., Selfe 1999), technology is usually defined to include far more than instructional or communications technology (Custer 1999). Computers, e-mail, and Web TV are only one part of the array of devices and procedures we encounter in day-to-day life—everything from digitized kitchen appliances to transportation systems and integrated manufacturing. Second, science and technology, although closely related, are different (Sanders 1999). Science generates knowledge for its own sake, proposing and testing explanations. Technology, on the other hand, develops human-made solutions to real-world problems. Of course, science uses technology to generate knowledge and technology uses scientific knowledge to generate solutions, so the two are integrally connected; but they are different fields driven by different concepts and pr ocesses (Bybee 2000). What is technological literacy? Just as technology involves more than computers and the Internet, technological literacy involves more than hands-on skill in using technology (Bugliarello 2000). Certainly, knowing how to use information technology is increasingly important in our knowledge society, whether we are looking for a job, marketing a service, or shopping for a product. We must also be able to use other devices, like microwaves, copying machines, and self-service gas pumps, that have become part of everyday life at home, at work, or in the community. However, the ability to use technology is only one part of technological literacy. What are the other parts? Interpreting a large body of work on technological literacy from a variety of fields, Gagel (1997) suggested common elements of an enduring, inherent technological literacy that can last through the fast, continuous changes in technology. This type of technological literacy would include knowledge about the details of individual technologies and about the process of technology development. It would also include a holistic understanding of the historical and cultural context of technology and adaptability based on initiative and resourceful thinking.

Poor Time Management of Island Students Essay -- internet usage, video

Introduction & Problem The simplicity of life, and the more relaxed environment, does not permit students who grew up on islands, or Island students, to understand the importance of time. There are more than 30 Island students studying on campus. Coming from a carefree society where time is not a major concern is having a great impact on individual students. Poor time management by Island students is a major problem and concern that needs to be improved in order to enhance the effectiveness of study process and academic performance. The main purpose of this research is to find out and reduce the processes or factors involved in contributing to poor time management. The reduction in the time management factors will help Island students to utilize time in manner that is beneficial for academic performance. Processes that contributes to poor time management There are many processes that contribute to poor time management in students. In this context, a major contributor of poor time management for Island students is the use of Internet. Coming from the Islands, where excess to internet is very difficult, students tend to spend hours surfing through the net. Internet is a helpful tool for students but it also wastes time if not used in the way it should be used. Apart from academic reasons, Facebook, YouTube and watching movies online are the main sites visited by Island students. Research Methods Research methods that has been utilized for this process comprises of data collection, observation of students in the computer labs and student accommodation halls. Students were followed on Facebook to see latest updates and activities and face to face interview was carried out to collect the necessary data needed for this... ...he exact number of hours each student spends. The Pie Chart below clearly shows the percentage of average number of student’s time spent on each activities. 20% of students investing private time to Facebook is certainly a factor that needs to be reduced to help students. 14% of YouTube viewers is also much higher than the percentage of students investing time in reading studying and doing assignments. Recommendation As long there is free internet service on campus, Island students will still have access in visiting the above mention sites. The students must be given more workshops to manage time wisely, teaching students about how internet can be used in an effective way that is beneficial for academic purposes. Though the student service, extra tutorials needs to be provided to keep students busy, instead of wasting time on sites such as Facebook.

Accountant Necessities Essay

They help can help you with financing and anything else such as tax etc. Accountants make sure that they give you the help you need before they let you get out of their eyesight. I myself also wanted to work at a bank. I always had plans on going to college and get my degree to become the Accountant I wanted to become. There are many different people in life who do things that can benefit others by helping them in so many ways. Your enjoyment is your fun and pride. Everyone have their own way of doing what is right and there are so who don’t care what they do. You have to strive for the best in order to be the best and you have to do perfect in whatever you do. Accountants do a great job when it comes to financing, tax reparations, records, and investors. They are on point when it comes to their work. They have a lot of paperwork to do but as long as you do what is asked of you to do then you are going to get your job done. It is amazing when you can find a bank that will allow you to get loans for important things that you need to get for yourself and help you out with things such as your utility bills and other things that need to be gotten. Everyone needs a little help in life. There are times when people struggle and they wonder how they are going to make it. There is something in me that make me feel so sorry for people like that. My thing about that is I try to help them in every which way. I plan to become an accountant in the future. There are many aspects of being an accountant. Accountants become the measurement, disclosure, and also the provision when benefiting with business. I will be able to precede financial information, investors, and tax authorities in life. You have to give life your all even though there are things that may follow. Accountants have to be very skilled workers for the job. You have to know what you are doing and you have to have experience. No matter what you do you have to have the ability Accountants to show what you can do on that job. Accountancies are people who are in charge of a lot of things in life. Your dreams are all that matter and you have to do your best to reach them. Sometimes people love to see others down, but you don’t get nowhere being that way. Accountants are required to follow a set of rules and regulations at the workplace. Those rules and regulations are Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. A company is allowed analyze financial performance of the business. There are many words that follow accountancy and they are listed as a combination of skills and pride. A business should be recognized as a symbol for help and need.

Assesing Company’s finance Essay

SALES GROWTH †¨During the four-year period ended December 31, 2008, SciTronics’ sales grew at a 20.69 % ($244,000/$115,000) = (1+r) ^4 compound rate. There were no acquisition or divestitures.†¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨PROFITABILITY RATIO: How Profitable is the Company? 1. SciTronics’ profit as a percentage of sales in 2008 was 5.73% (14000/244000) 2. This represented an increase from 3.4% (5000/147000) in 2005. 3. SciTronics had a total of $112, 000 (75,000+20,000+7,000+10,000) of capital at year-end 2008 and earned before interest but after taxes (EBIAT) $16,000 (26,000-10,000) in 2008. Its return on capital was 14.29% (16,000/112,000) which represents an increase from the 8.11% (6,000/74,000) earned in 2005. †¨ 4. SciTronics had $75,000 of owner’s equity and earned $14,000 after taxes in 2008. Its return on equity was 18.66% ($75,000/$14,000), which represents an improvement from the 8.19% ($5,000/$61,000) earned in 2005. ACTIVITY RATIO: How Well Does the Company Employs Its Assets? 1. Total Assets turnover for SciTronics in 2008 can be calculated by dividing $244,000 (net sales) into $159,000 (total assets). The turnover deteriorated from 1.58 times in 2005 to 1.53 in 2008. 2. SciTronics had $66,000 in accounts receivables at year end 2008. Its average sales per day were $668.49 ($244,000/365) during 2008 and its average collection period was 98.73 days. ($66,000/668.49). This represents an improvement from the average collection period of104.29 ($42,000/402.73) days in 2005. 3. SciTronics apparently needed $29,000 of inventory at year-end 2008 to support its operations during 2008. Its activity during 2008 as measured by the cost of goods sold was $74,000. (COGS). It therefore had an inventory of turnover of 2.55 (74,000/29,000) times. This represents an improvement from  2.04 (43,000/21,000) times in 2005. 4. SciTronics had net fix assets of $18,000 (net fix assets) and sales of $244,000 in 2008. Its fixed asset turnover ratio in 2008 was 13.56 (244,000/18,000), a deterioration from 16.33 (147,000/9,000) in 2005. LEVERAGE RATIOS: How Soundly Is the Company Financed? 1. SciTronics’ ratio of total assets divided by owners’ equity increased from 1.52 (93,000/61,000) at year end 2005 to 2.12 (159,000/75,000) at year-end 2008. 2. At year-end 2008, SciTronics’ total liabilities were of its total assets was 52.83% (48,000+7000+20000+9000/159000), which compares with 34.4% (21,000+11,000)/93,000). 3. The market value of SciTronics equity was $175,000,000 at December 31, 2008. The total debt ratio at market was 32.4% (84,000/84,000+175,000). 4. SciTronic’s earnings before interest and taxes (operating income) were $26,000 in 2008 and its interest charge were $2,000. Its times interest earned were 13 times. This represents an improvement from the 2005 level of 10 times. 5. SciTronics owed its supplies $6,000 at year end 2008. This represents 8.1%(6,000/74,000) of cost of goods sold and was a decrease from 11.63% (5,000/43,000) at year end 2005. The company appears to be more prompt in paying its suppliers in 2008 than it was in 2005. 6. The financial riskiness of SciTronics decreased between 2005 and 2008. LIQUIDITY RATIOS: How Liquid Is the Company? 1. SciTronics held $133,000 of current assets at year-end 2008 and owed $48,000 to creditors due to be paid within one year. Its current ratio was 2.77 ( 133000/48000 ), a decrease from the ratio of 3.90 (82000/21000) at year-end 2005. 2. The quick ratio for SciTronics at year end 2008 was 2.16 (133,000-29,000)/48,000), a decrease from the ratio of 2.90 (82,000-21,000/21,000) at year-end 2005.

Different Health Systems

The healthcare system of the United States is commonly associated with state-of-the-art hospitals and highly-trained physician. However, the general performance of the U. S. healthcare system has been determined to be a less than that of other industrialized countries. Such observation is mainly due to the differences in healthcare systems among states, regions and health administrations. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is a socialized healthcare system managed by the government. It provides varied healthcare support to veterans or ex-officio military servicemen and their families.Survey shows that approximately 83% of VHA patients are satisfied with the healthcare that they have received. In addition, survey depicts that 69% of the patients were treated within 20 minutes of their appropriate appointment with their physician (DeNavas-Walt et al. , 2005). Also, approximately 93% of the patients participating in the survey indicate that they had seen a specialist within the la st 30 days. Such observations show that the Veterans Health Administration provides an exemplary system of healthcare, much better than the private sector.However, it also could mean that the VHA is associated with more costly healthcare rates than the other healthcare systems such as the Military Health system and the private sector. This characteristic compensates for the types of members that would avail of the VHA benefits, who are actually veterans, which are commonly composed of older, sicker and illness-susceptible individuals. In addition, these veterans are generally poorer, homeless and victims of substance abuse, which represents a major difference from the major population in the United States.It has been estimated that more than 50% of the VHA enrollees are above 65 years of age. The private sector’s healthcare system is mostly focused on intervention-based healthcare, which means that the physician will generally treat a patient who is already suffering from a p articular illness (Frogner and Anderson, 2006). Such system is thus less costly than the VHA system, because the patients enrolled in the private sector will only resort to requesting medical attention when the need arises.In the private sector healthcare system, health insurance is generally bought by the employer on behalf of its employees The VHA system, on the other hand, follows the prevention approach to health care, which involves providing checkups and education to its veteran patients in order to avoid more serious illness in the future. The Military Health System, on the other hand, provides healthcare to individuals who are currently active in the military service, including members of their family.The benefits of the Military Health system falls under the blanket coverage known as the Tricare, which is almost identical to that of the private sector’s system of healthcare management (Smith et al. , 2005). Here the enrollee pays a small portion of the total cost of the healthcare service, such as 20% of a surgery, for example, and the other 80% is paid for my the Military Health System. Each visit to the physician, just like the private sector’s healthcare system, is associated with a small co-payment, such as $10 per visit, regardless of specialization of the doctor to which consultation was made.The mission of a healthcare system is to provide medical services at the lowest practical price and at the same time, with the best feasible quality. The integration of electronic medical records in the Veterans Health Administration has provided a model for the other healthcare system to follow suit. In addition, the private sector has also use the VHA’s mission in providing prevention-based medical services, instead of just intervention-based services. References DeNavas-Walt C, Proctor B and Lee C (2005):   Income, Poverty and Health Insurance in the United States: 2004.   Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau. Frogner BK and Anderson GF (2006):   Multinational comparisons of health systems data, 2005.   New York: The Commonwealth Fund. Smith C, Cowan C and Sensenig A (2005):   Health Spending Growth Slows in 2003.   Health Affairs   24(1):185–94.

Crossing the Threshold

The Courage of Scott Carded It is difficult to know what one will do when faced with a life or death decision. Many do not even encounter such choices. What is thought in that spit second moment? You could save yourself or possibly save another; you could also die trying. Could you put all self-regarding values aside and complete an absolute act of courage? This is a man who did. Scott Carded had the courage to risk his own life for another's.It was Coot's third deployment. He is Infantry. He and his men walk directly into an enemy ruse. Gunfire and grenades threaten their very existence. Staff Sergeant screams to take cover, but it is too late for one man. He is down, lying vulnerably in the open. Between shots and explosions, Scott can hear the agonizing screams. He has no time to hesitate, enemy fire is closing in. Stay behind cover in safety or aide his brother in arms. No man left behind he shouts at his commanding officer.Scott tears through the sand toward the screaming, towar d the danger, toward his possible death. As he reaches his destination, he is shot through his hand by an enemy's rifle. Does he flee? No. He drags the man who has been shot through his stomach the 500 Ft. To cover with his other hand. Scott hears an all too familiar screech. He will not lose this man, not now; he knows what to do. He lies on top of him to absorb the airborne shrapnel from the grenade. The metal pierces his back and side.That man is alive today because Scott risked his life for him. Scott crossed the threshold when he stepped out of cover to retrieve a friend. He overcame fear of death and fear of failure. Courage is not absence of fear, but making the choice to overcome it, facing it head-on. Scott Carded was awarded a bronze star and multiple purple hearts in reward of his single act of courage. He did not give up. He was determined. Do not give up on your objective; you may even save a life.

Changing world of work and choice and opportunity structures affecting Essay

Changing world of work and choice and opportunity structures affecting careers. WORK, SOCIETY & ORGANIZATIONS - Essay Example 141). Writers point to medieval guild masters or even earlier nomadic tribal leaders as ancient prototypical managers, but from George’s definition one might be tempted to say that mothers comprised the first managers in human history. A â€Å"manager† is difficult to categorically define. George’s definition centers on managers as motivators, working to achieve goals through people. Managers are also organizers: Daniel A. Wren called management â€Å"the activity which performs certain functions in order to obtain the effective acquisition, allocation, and utilization of human efforts and physical resources in order to establish some goal† (Trent, 1973, p. 141). Militarism and Mechanization was formalized by Frederick the Great in the 17th century. He revolutionized warfare, and he is generally acknowledged as an early efficiency expert. He was credited with redirecting the structures and processes of waging war, and creating the elements of the machine o rganization as it applies to the military establishment. Elements of his management style included the institutionalization of authority by creating a system of ranks, establishing identity by uniforms, the standardization of regulations, task specialization among the troops, and the use of command language to reduce miscommunication and specialized training (MacDonogh, 2001). This management style is of course essentially still used to some extent in military and police organizations, although it is much tempered by contemporary HR practices in its treatment of people. Scientific Management Frederick Winslow Taylor, an engineer and self-styled consultant, conceptualized the link between corporate profitability, industrial productivity, and cost-efficiency. Under scientific management, productivity is increased and unit cost is reduced when workers become more task efficient. In turn, workers become more efficient if they are rewarded for higher volume productivity, and punished for low volume productivity. This management theory is also known as Taylorism. The principle of scientific management espouses the elimination of rule-of-thumb methods, and to instead use measurement techniques to determine the optimum methods that optimizes the use of time, effort, and resources. Jobs are broken down into sequential tasks, and each task is engineered for greater efficiency. Then the workers are trained in the new tasks using scientific methods. There is division of labor and responsibility among managers and workers, where management sets the goals and policies, and workers execute the tasks. Finally, discipline is maintained to coordinate task execution (Taylor, 2008). The world’s largest restaurant chain is an avowed follower of Taylorism. McDonald’s employs the scientific method in its corporate operations, where all tasks are worked out and standardized, and all employees worldwide are rigorously trained in this system. Tasks are broken down and num bered, so that the crews related to their customers according to a prepared script, and those who man the kitchen abide by a numbered set of procedures. Even the cooking machinery are specially designed to operate at pre-determined time settings. The result is a rigid quality level that ensures McDonald’s products are prepared and serve in exactly the same way the world over. Formal bureaucracy was conceived by Max Weber in the early 1900s. This was done in reaction to the prevailing management style then, where organisations were run according to the whims and

Environment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Environment - Research Paper Example The issue does not just end here with the high temperature; the area receives thunderstorms and very heavy rainfall in the second half of the year which disrupts the lifestyle of the people, and the area goes through a period of drought in the spring season (Climas). In Figure 1, the image shows that the southwest has very high average annual temperatures because the area of Arizona is marked by red spots, indicating that it is the area which experiences the highest temperatures. Considering that area is already experiencing such harsh weather and worse conditions are predicted in the future, there is a high probability that the people will be reluctant to move in Phoenix. Recently, there was a forum named On Point with Tom Ashbrook which discussed the issue of the changing climate in the American Southwest. The implications presented regarding the changing weather in Southwest was that the year 2011 was when there was record number of bushfires which unfortunately were also the most dangerous ones in the history of the area. It was also the hottest and the driest year in the area in its history with temperatures soaring above the mid-40C mark and periods of severe droughts in the first half of the period. (Ashbrook) If our organization goes ahead with the project, it is likely that many of the subdivisions go unsold at least in the foreseeable future. This is because people are unwilling to move in a state which is experiencing such a harsh climate accompanied by water problems. The area has been stated by many experts as overgrown and the state authorities have been reluctant to issue more licenses for housing projects. Figure 2 shows this fact by the graph where the state authorities have reduced the authorization of construction of housing units since the past few years. This action has been taken from the observation that the population is already far greater than the water resources available in the area. (Ackerman, 2011) William deBuys has gone as far as stating that the droughts of Southwest will potentially be so devastating that it will create the greatest water crisis known to the humans (deBuys). The writer has stated that the people need to get ready for a period which he states as the â€Å"Age of Thirst† and that if appropriate steps are not taken swiftly such as improving the water supply system and constructing additional reservoirs, then the whole of the civilization in the area will disappear as a result of the shortage of water. The writer has also presented some suggestions in his book out of which one suggestion is that the population in the area needs to be shifted out gradually because according to the author, it seems unlikely that the area will be able to survive this century given it fast changing climate. (deBuys, A Great Aridness: Climate Change and the Future of the American Southwest, 2011) Many authors and analysts have stated the construction and settlement of Phoenix as one of the biggest mistakes ever simply because it is not sustainable. Author Andrew Ross in his book has said that other cities need to learn from the mistake made by the developers of Phoenix, which he has stated as a horrible mistake (Ross, 2011). Also, the author Simon Winchester said in an interview that the city was not really a nicely planned city because it was never a sustainable project considering that it does not

Why Is It Difficult to Create a Psychological Portrait of a Typical Te Coursework

Why Is It Difficult to Create a Psychological Portrait of a Typical Terrorist - Coursework Example In history, terrorism has always been an effective tactic of the weaker side in a conflict. It is especially true when the conflict is asymmetrical in term of the balance of power. Probably this characteristic of terrorism explains the recent resurgence of terrorism. It is argued that terrorism is one of the results of globalization, as it escalates ethnic conflicts in an attempt to secure one’s identity.   Hence it will be present in some form or other in our lifetime and in the lives of our children. This paper aims at studying the nature, characteristics, and causes of terrorism. What makes a person become a terrorist? Does psychopathology provide any help in understanding and preventing terrorism? It will also identify the vulnerabilities of the terrorist groups. The nature and causes of terrorism are varied and diversified. People become terrorists in different ways in different roles and for different reasons. Although it can be helpful to identify the reason for joining, staying with a terrorist organization and leaving it no generic formula can be developed. The most common causes of terrorism are perceived injustices and the need for identity and belonging. Nature of terrorism has changed over the years. If we compare the terrorist groups and terrorists of the 1970s with the terrorists of the early 1990s an emerging new trend can be observed. Religious fundamentalism is growing and these new religious groups use weapons of mass destruction. Earlier it was presumed that terrorists do not use weapons of mass destruction because it will alienate them from the public and they will have to face harsh retaliation. The key extremist religious groups are Hizballah, Al –Qaida and Aum Shinrikyo. According to Post, the most dangerous terrori sts are religious terrorists. Political and social terrorist have a defined mission that can be measured in terms of their objective and government reaction, media reaction etc. whereas the religious terrorist can justify the most heinous crime.

Letter on current issue to the editor of the Wall Journal Essay

Letter on current issue to the editor of the Wall Journal - Essay Example Piereson acknowledges the income disparity that exists between the top one percent and the ninety nine percent of American population. Addressing this inequality, however, is the contentious issue. Both economists and politics are yet to agree on the most appropriate course of action. As the debate continues, I disagree with Piereson on the argument that the top one percent population is not the cause of the income inequality problem. The issue is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are further plunging into poverty. In this respect, it is fundamental to address the problem before things get worse than they already are. It is important to note that the proposed taxation approach is just one of the many avenues that the government can use to bridge the gap between the rich the poor. Amid critical disagreements on the way forward, it is evident that income inequality is already a crisis that could get out of control in the next few years. The one percent, the ninety nine percent, and all other stakeholders should collaborate to reach an ultimate compromise. Piereson, James. The Truth About the ‘One Percent’. The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 17, 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

Corporate governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Corporate governance - Essay Example This paper attempts to find the relevance of agency theory in explaining the rise of corporate governance worldwide. In order to achieve this, it will include two other frameworks of the firm as benchmarks: stewardship theory and stakeholder theory. The starting point for this paper is to give the different accounts of the rise of corporate governance using various reliable sources. The next step is to highlight the other two frameworks of the firm and explain how they can be used in protecting the shareholders’ investments. The chosen frameworks will then be compared with the agency theory in order to establish which of the three frameworks best describes the rise of corporate governance. There are various factors that can be used to explain the rise of corporate governance. Such factors include: Separation of ownership from control; the rise of prominence of institutional shareholders; insufficient checks on powerful executives which led to scandals; the treatment of companies as separate legal entities; corporate failures caused by insufficient controls; remuneration of executives; economic globalisation; and financial crisis These factors have been considered in UK by different reports that provide specific measures on corporate governance. Such reports include: Cadbury report, Hampel report, Higgs report, the combined report, and UK stewardship report. The rise of corporate governance can be illustrated in depth by looking at the contents of these reports because they address the above factors of the rise of corporate governance. This report was provided by Cadbury committee on December 1992 to address the financial aspects of corporate governance. The code principles are based on integrity, openness and accountability. Cadbury report requires that boards of directors should be accountable to their shareholders and both should play

HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

HRM - Essay Example Both organizations are based in Yorkshire and provide financial services. In order to recruit the right workforce, both organizations are in direct competition with each other. For this purpose, both of them recruit graduates for their trainee programs. In order to place them on management or professional posts, both organizations have training programs. For the recruitment of graduates, both Goldstan and Hodell use visits and advertisements within universities in Yorkshire. Whereas, Goldstan further utilizes local newspapers and recruitment consultants in this regard, while Hodell utilizes professional journals and it also takes help from advertising. The Goldstan asks it applicants to submit the application form that is filled in by hand, not type written or printed. On the contrary, Hodell has adopted a very catchy technique to attract the graduates since the 1970’s. The company provides brochures to graduates that talk about the advantages of working with the organization and the prestige of the company. It requires Curriculum Vitae of the candidate with a covering letter. The selection process at Goldstan undergoes a single panel interview. The Head of the Department or Human Resource Manager conducts the interview where the recruit is required. The interviewee is asked to give a fifteen minutes presentation on a specific issue following the interview. If the candidate is found satisfactory with his performance and capabilities, then the employment offers are made. On the other hand, Hodell holds two interviews with the candidates. The first interview is conducted by the Human Resource Manager while the second one is conducted by the Head of the Department or with the senior employee / staff member of the department where the vacancy is available. Following successful interviews, the candidate is then supposed to complete personality and intelligence tests. Once the candidate passes these

European Law Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

European Law Paper - Essay Example Moreover, by virtue of Section 6(3) any person born in Ireland becomes an Irish citizen if that person does not have the right to citizenship elsewhere. Pursuant to Section 6(1) and (3), the Irish authorities approved an Irish passport for Catherine in September 2000. Since the UK no longer applies the doctrine of jus soli (recognition of the citizenship conferred by any of its territories), Catherine was not automatically entitled to be recognized as a national of the UK under the British Nationality Act 1981. The facts reveal that Mrs. Chen went to Ireland for the purpose of enabling Catherine (the child she was pregnant with at the time) to become a citizen of Ireland and to therefore permit her to take up residence within the UK with Catherine. The court at first instance determined that Ireland is a part of the Common Travel Area under the Immigration Acts. As such Catherine as opposed to Mrs. Chen is entitled to move around the UK and in Ireland as she chooses to. However, Mrs. Chen and Catherine did not have the right to live in the UK under UK law. The Secretary of State for the Home Department denied an application for a permit to reside in the UK to Mrs. Chen and Catherine on the grounds that Catherine who was an infant was not asserting EC Treaty rights pursuant to Regulation 5(1) of the EEA Regulations and Mrs. Chen does not have a right to live in the UK pursuant to Regulation 5(1) of the EEA. Mrs. Chen appealed this decision to the Immigration Appellate Authority. The Appellate Authority ordered a stay of the appeal until such time as a reference to the Court of Justice could be determined. The questions referred to the Court of Justice generally asked for a determination of whether or not Directive 73/148, Direction 90/364 or Article 18 of EC Treaty read together with Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights

Correlation Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Correlation Discussion - Essay Example We would probably use this method if we wanted to determine the relationship between a child’s age and their height. The last type of method used for establishing correlation is if one of the variables uses a number scale and the other one uses a simply true/false scale. The best method to use here would be the point biserial correlation coefficient. The likely opportunity that this method would be used is a correlation between gender and height. All of these methods can only tell us if two particular variables are related to each other, not whether one variable causes the other variable to change. Each method has its own positives and negatives, and each method can only really be used with its certain types of data. A researcher may want to establish a correlation when they have a hypothesis, but do not have any way to prove it. Correlation allows relationships to be seen between an independent and a dependent variable. One of the variables has to be constant so that the other one can change according to the stable one. Once these variables can be measured, researchers can find links between certain

Romeo and Juliet’s Love Essay Example for Free

Romeo and Juliet’s Love Essay Romeo and Juliet’s love is not true love. Although they have sworn their love and gotten married, they do not truly love each other. They are too young to know if they really love someone. Although Lady Capulet was already a mother at Juliet’s age, Juliet is not old enough to know what love feels like. Capulet even says to Paris that Juliet is too young to get married. â€Å"My child is yet a stranger in the world. She hath not seen the change of fourteen years. Let two more summers wither in their pride ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.† Capulet says here that not until she is sixteen will Juliet be ready to get married. But Juliet thinks she has fallen in love and married Romeo before she is even fourteen. Next, Romeo is also too young. Romeo is not really in love with Juliet, he is in love with being in love. Before the party in act 1 scene 5, Romeo seems to be in love with Rosaline. However he immediately forgets about Rosaline when he talks with Juliet. This shows that he is not old enough to love someone. He has not matured enough, which is yet another reason why Romeo and Juliet are not truly in love. Juliet has not matured enough to get married because she has never been in any kind of a relationship. You cannot love someone if do not know what it feels like. So, if you married the first person you had a relationship with then you could not know if there was someone else who would love even more. Capulet wants Juliet to, somewhat, see who else is out there before marrying Paris. On the other hand, it seems as if Romeo has been in a relationship before. But the problem with Romeo is that he has been in too many relationships. Romeo is in love with being in love, and loves to feel like â€Å"woe is me.† When Romeo gets turned down by Rosaline, he says that he could never love someone as much as he loved her. â€Å"Thou canst not teach me to forget.† Romeo is saying that he cannot forget his love for Rosaline. This tells us that he did not truly love Rosaline, and that he probably does not truly love Juliet. Lastly, Romeo and Juliet do not truly love each other because they have not known each other long enough. They have only known each other for one day and they have already gotten married. That is not nearly enough time for someone to get to know and love another person. Just an hour after the party they had sworn their love to each other. They are not in love, they simply like each other. They were not ready to get married at the time that they did and they still are not in love even after they got married. So, Romeo and Juliet are not really in love. They are too young and immature to be in love with each other. Also, they have not known each other long enough to be in love, they moved too quickly. In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet’s love is not true love.

Whole Life Cycle Costing Application Barriers Construction Essay

Whole Life Cycle Costing Application Barriers Construction Essay Ellingham and Fawcett (2006, p. 18) indicate that the net present value method for evaluating an investment cashflow was first developed about 50 years ago and is widely used in many spheres. In property and construction projects it has acquired a special name: whole-life costing. In fact, whole-life costing is simply the application of net present value analysis to construction projects. Most people will confused about the term of life-cycle costing, whole life costing, and whole life-cycle costing. As stated in Boussabaine and Kirkham study (2004, p. 4), prior to the 1970s, investment decisions made by most clients, developers and professionals was solely on the basis of capital cost. It appear a thought that spending more in capital cost will realize substantial cost savings in long term compared with a cheaper alternative, which we known as terotechnology. This concept was largely ignored because the lack of available data and collection mechanisms, and it shown that investor had no interest in the subsequent operational cost of the building. In the early 1970s, the term cost-in-use appear in the industry. It was recognized the concept of cost in use could apply to building and critical structures as to calculate the expenditure related to the operation of an asset. However, it also failed to consider the necessity for accurate future cost forecasting. It required some kind of technology to facilitate this problem (Boussabaine and Kirkham, 2004, p. 5). Until the mid to late 1970s, life-cycle costing emerged as a solution to this problem. It fostered a wide-ranging approach to cost appraisal, encompassing all perceivable cost from construction through to eventual disposal the whole life. By using a variety of forecasting techniques, the analyst was able to demonstrate how increase capital cost could be offset by long-term cost savings (Boussabaine and Kirkham, 2004, p. 5). As stated by Ashworth (1989), LCC is clearly a technique, which (at least in theory) has a potential for the correct financial evaluation of construction works. In should be noted that the concepts of LCC are not new. The principles are based upon economic theories, which have been used in investment appraisal in many areas of industrial and commercial activity.White and Ostwald (Korpi and Ala-Risku, 2008, p.241) show that LCC was originally designed for procurement purposes in the US Department of Defence and Woodward (Korpi and Ala-Risku, 2008, p.241) indicates that LCC is used most commonly in the military sector as well as in the construction industry. Towards the late 1990s, the concept of whole life costing and whole life-cycle costing emerged. The terms whole life costing and whole life-cycle costing are interchangeable (Boussabaine and Kirkham, 2004, p. 6). Whole life-cycle costing is a relatively new concept to the construction industry. It is essence an evolution of life-cycle costing techniques that are commonly used in many areas of procurement (Boussabaine and Kirkham, 2004, p. 3). Theoretically speaking, there is no different between LCC, WLC and WLCC. Schade (2007, p. 2), in reporting Flanagan and Jewell study, emphasizes that it is just a change of term form cost in use to life cycle costing and further to whole life cycle costing. Problem Statement According to Boussabaine and Kirkham (2004, p. xi), the construction industry has recently experienced a paradigmatic shift in its approach to product deliver and the achievement of customer satisfaction. Where previously the design and construction teams placed a heavy emphasis on delivering buildings at the lowest capital cost, a greater awareness and desire to consider cost over the whole life of the building have prevailed. Clients now want buildings that demonstrate value for money over the long term, and are not interested simply in the design solution which is the least expensive. These changes have lead to and highlighted the important of whole life-cycle costing approaches to the design, construction and operation of buildings. Schade (2007) claims that, production cost is the main cost factor in construction and is often set to the minimum in commonly, which does not necessarily improve the lifetime performance of buildings. Therefore, it is important to show the construction client in the early design phase the relationship between design choices and the resulting lifetime cost. Boussabaine and Kirkham (2004, p. ix) also note that the award of public construction contracts based on simply the lowest capital cost bid is no longer recognized as good practice; best value must be taken into account and thereby WLCC should be fully appraised as part of the decision making process. The research of Swaffield and McDonald (2007, p. 132) identify that contractors quantity surveyors generally did consider LCC when procuring new products/elements for Private Finance Initiative projects, but in certain circumstances, such as during exceptionally busy times or when working within tight construction budgets, LCC were not considered and procurement decisions for some product/elements were made on the basis of lowest capital cost. As Byron A. Ellis (2007, p.1) said, Designers, engineers and constructors are under pressure from owners to minimize total project cost. Unfortunately, many owners do not understand the concept of total project cost. As a result, they seek to minimize acquisition (first) cost. Economists Alchian and Allen (Byron, 2007, p.1) argue that the term cost should never be used by itself; they noted that it should always be identified with total, average, or marginal. According to Fischer et al (Tah and Aouad, 2007), although the significance of LCC has been recognized as early as 1980s, the current implementation has not been very satisfied due to two major barriers: first barrier is the historical data of building operation and maintenance. Second barrier is the complexity of the procedures and algorithms of calculating the LCC. For example, a building concern thousands of elements and construction method and maintenance activities. A simple change in the building material might take long hours of recalculations, it is therefore difficult to assist users to manipulate the large design and LCC analysis. However, even the idea of WLCC analysis is to help the owner to examine a economically alternative, there will always have the possibility of misleading the decision making by the error result of WLCC due to lack of data or unpredictable changes. There have no such as 100% accuracy for WLCC analysis because the limitation of forecast ability of human being are impossible to forecast everything that could be happen in future. This paper addresses the problems above by providing a detail discussion of WLCC for assisting and simplifying the application of the technique based on the WLCC in construction industry. At the same time reveal the popularity of application of WLCC in Malaysian construction industry. Aim To identified the barriers of applying whole life-cycle costing and investigate the popularity of implementation of whole life-cycle costing in Malaysian construction industry Objectives To review the important of usage of whole life-cycle costing in construction industry. To identify the barriers of application of whole-life cycle costing in construction industry. To analyse the factors affecting the accuracy of whole-life cycle costing. To investigate the popularity of application of whole-life cycle costing in Malaysian construction industry. Scope of Study The concept of Whole life-cycle costing (WLCC) can be use as many sector, to narrow the scope of study, the study will only be focus on the construction industries. Besides that, case study would not conduct to the project for the calculation of WLCC because it will be extremely difficult to obtain the large quantity of information across the long term of a building life cycle and data such as the project operation and maintenance cost, replacement cost, disposal cost could be confidential to its owners. Thus, to manually collect this data has to be very costly and time consuming and the missing of any result above will cause inaccurate of result. This study will focus on reviewing the important of application of WLCC into construction industry. The first issue to be study in deep is the discussion on the principles, advantages and purposes of WLCC analysis. The second issue is to identify the error and the difficulties of applying WLCC due to lack of necessary information and unpred ictable changes. The third issue is to do a research on the understanding of WLCC among owners and their frequency of applying WLCC. Research Methodology The methodology should be targeted at a consistent whole life-cycle costing (WLCC) approach and calculations and should not be aimed at reducing costs but at making more informed and consistent economic, financial and environmental decisions. The study was conducting in four stages. The first phase is the literature review. Second phase will be interview pilot study to the issue. Third phase will be constructing questionnaires. The last phase is to writing the research report. First stage: The literature review started with the important of application of WLCC and required data for a WLCC analysis. Searching of article about WLCC and the searching key words would be whole life-cycle costing, whole cycle costing and life-cycle costing. And the information of search will be limited into construction industry to filtered unnecessary information. The main sources for the literature research were databases, such as Emerald, web of science, Google and library of college Tunku Abdul Rahman. Second stage: Data collection will take form of a structured postal questionnaire. However an initial pilot study may be conducted to test the validity of the questionnaire through interviews with relevant parties. Third stage: Questionnaires will be conduct and send to respondent. The main ideas of the questionnaires are to test the owners of understanding about WLCC, and also research on the preferable of low initial cost or low WLCC when owner make decision of choosing alternatives. The questionnaire should be highlighted more prominently, to make it easier for respondents to participate in the final questionnaire survey. Last stage: This stage involves writing up the content of the dissertation and should cover the chapters proposed in the following section. The result of interview and questionnaires will be analysis and conclude. Example of WLCC analysis will provide by searching through media resources and calculate by myself with simple and reality assumption based on the WLCC principles.

How Reliable is Eyewitness Testimony?

How Reliable is Eyewitness Testimony? This essays attempts to reach a conclusion regarding eyewitness testimonies and the extent of its reliability. This was done by identifying factors in three different processes stages. The acquisition stage is the period where the witness experiences the event. The retention stage is the period between the time the event ends and the time the witness are asked for a recount or questioned about the event. The retrieval stage is the period where the witness is providing information from their recall. During the acquisition stage, research regarding exposure time, estimation of factors concerning the event (for example, time), violence of the event, weapon focus and witness stress was analysed. During the retention stage, research regarding post-event information, introduction of conflicting information and introduction of misleading information was analysed. During the retrieval stage, research regarding method of questioning, leading questions and a case study of an actual event was analysed. Experiments and case studies regarding these factors were then evaluated to weigh the impact that it had on eyewitness testimony. In conclusion, it was found that experiments regarding eyewitness testimony hold little evidence to support its reliability but there are also some findings that dispute this. Thus, it was concluded that it is reliable only to a small extent though it can be highly accurate under certain conditions. Applications of this conclusion includes jurors being more aware of the factors regarding eyewitness testimony and taking into account when deciding on a verdict especially if the main evidence is based solely on eyewitness recounts. Word Count: 252 words Introduction Eyewitness testimony is usually a verbal account given by an individual who has experienced an event, typically of a crime. Eyewitness testimony relies heavily on the capability of the individuals to accurately recount the event. In a trial, the jury is most often persuaded due to the statement(s) of the witnesses. Also, in cases where little material evidence can be collected, eyewitnesses are the focus for reaching a verdict. It has been argued that because testimonies are largely based on fallible memory which can be influenced by a variety of factors, it should not be depended upon. The contention of this essay is to identify and evaluate the extent of accuracy of this claim by identifying and evaluating factors that affect memory and by reviewing experiments and case studies to reach a conclusion on this matter. Memory and thus eye-witness reliability has become an issue of importance due to the high percentage of errors in identifying and prosecuting accused individuals. Thus, the reliability of eyewitness testimonies and impact on trials should be reviewed. Memory is defined as a kind of repository in which facts (information) may be retained over some period of time (Loftus, 1979). According to the Atkinson and Shiffrin model of memory storage (1971), memory is made up of three different types of information stores, each with different duration, capacity and function. The first is Sensory Memory. This type of store lasts for the spilt second when individuals collect information from their sensory systems and preserves information in its original sensory form. The sense organs are limited in their ability to store information about the world in an unprocessed way for more than a second. Thus, information is filtered through or selected by attention for further memory processing into the next type of memory store. This process of experiencing and filtering information is called acquisition. The next memory store is Short-term memory allows individuals to retain information long enough to be used and lasts approximately between 15 to 30 s econds. Miller (1956, cited in Weiten, 2005) proposed that Short-term Memory had a capacity of about 7 chunks of information. If certain actions are carried out, the information will be transferred to the last type of memory store, Long-term Memory. Long-term Memory provides retention of information which can last between minutes to a lifetime and has a limitless capacity. The process of information deposited in the short-term and long-term memory store is called retention. Information is constantly being transferred between these stores. When witnesses are asked to give recount of what they witnessed, information is taken from the long-term memory store and this process is called retrieval. Events during these three processes may affect the quality of the eyewitness testimony. During the acquisition process information may not have been perceived in the first place, information may be forgotten or interfered during the retention process or information may be inaccessible during questioning or during the retrieval process. Analysis of Factors that may affect Eye-witness Testimony during the Acquisition Process During the acquisition process, there are a number of factors that can affect an eyewitness report of an event such as exposure time or stress. This can be divided into event factors and witness factors. This section of the essay will evaluate the effect of these factors on the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Exposure time to the event or object of focus is an event factor. Laughery et al (1971, cited in Loftus, 1979) tested subjects on their recall based on the exposure time to a picture, showed one at a time of different positions of a human face. Two Caucasian male target faces were used, one with fair-colored hair and complexion with glasses and another with a darker-colored hair and complexion without glasses. The independent variable is the time the subjects viewed the pictures, which ranged from ten seconds to thirty-two seconds. The subjects were them asked, approximately eight minutes after exposure to identify the target within a series of 150 slides of human faces. The dependant variable is the accuracy of the subjects recall. Fifty-eight percentof the subjects who viewed the pictures for thirty-two seconds correctly identified the target but only forty-seven percent of the subjects who viewed the pictures for ten seconds correctly identified the target. This suggests that the more time a witness has to view the target, the more accurate their recall will be. This research is significant as it is very scientific and precisely tested a specific variable that affects memory and recall. Although this is so, it was also conducted in an artificial environment and thus, has low ecological validity. The research may also contain cultural and gender bias as it only tested for Caucasian males as the target. Thus, its application to targets of different cultures or gender is questionable. Estimating factors such as time, speed or distance is often asked of eyewitnesses. This involves perceiving the event and accurately inferring information from it. Marshalls (1966, cited in Loftus, 1979) experiment tested subjects estimation of time. Four hundred and ninety-one subjects watched a forty-two second film and a week after they had given their written and oral reports of the event, they were questioned as to the duration of the event. On average, subjects gave an estimate of about ninety seconds. The results show that witnesses can inaccurately estimate certain factors of an event. Although the results are significant, the study was conducted in a controlled environment which gives it little ecological validity. To further assess the accuracy of this study, an additional study that can be considered is Buckhout et al. (1975, cited in Loftus, 1979)s study on the effects if eyewitness testimony in a real situation by staging an attack where a student attacked a professor in front of 141 witnesses. The attack lasted for thirty-four seconds but when interviewed later on, the average estimate of the duration of the event was eighty-one seconds, almost twice the actual time. This study supports Marshalls study which shows that there is a tendency for witnesses to overestimate the duration in an event. This is significant in most cases, especially for cases of self-defense where the time between the attack and the retaliation is very significant in the categorization of the action. Another event factor is the violence of the event. A research done by Clifford and Scott (1978, cited in Loftus, 1979) investigated the ability of eyewitnesses to perceive violent and non-violent events. Forty-eight subjects with equal number of men and women watched either one of two tapes. In the non-violent version, the characters were involved in a verbal exchange and weak restraining movements. In the violent version, one of the characters physically assaults another character. In an effort to be even, the start and end of the tapes were manipulated to be identical. It was found that regardless of gender, the level of recall is significantly lower for those who viewed the more violent tape. It is inferred that this is due to the greater amount of stress that is produced in response to the violent event. This shows that eyewitness testimony of a violent event should be considered with the possibility of a higher rate of inaccuracy. Though the results are significant due to the hi gh reliability of the scientific method used, it also lacks ecological validity as it was conducted in an artificial environment where witnesses do not actually experience the event. An event factor that is linked to the witness factor, stress, is weapon focus. Easterbrook (1959) found that under high stress, individuals tend to concentrate more on a few features of their environment and less attention to other features. Weapon focus is where a crime victim is faced with an assailant who is brandishing a weapon. This rises the stress level of the crime victim and thus, they will only concentrate on a few features, mainly the weapon and will have trouble recollecting other factors such as the assailants features. Loftus et al (1987) tested this with an experiment where thirty-six students were showed a series of slides which showed one of two scenarios at a fast food restaurant. Half the subjects saw a customer pointing a gun at the cashier while the other half, the control group saw a customer handing the cashier a check. A part of the experiment tested the memory of the students based on a series of seven questions on the customer. It was found that the level of accuracy of the weapon group was fifty-six percent while the level of accuracy for the control group was sixty-seven percent. As the results show that the accuracy level of the weapon group is lower than the control group, this is highly significant in showing that eye-witnesses acquisition process might be seriously hampered by the presence of a weapon. The results of the experiment are highly valid as it was conducted in a controlled environment which allowed a direct cause and effect outcome. While this is so, the participants did not experience the event and thus their response may be different to an actual witness which means that the experiment lacks ecological validity. During an event, stress is a witness factor that should be taken into account. This refers to the level of stress or fear that a witness experiences which may influence their perception during the acquisition process of the event. A simulated case study done by Berkun (1962, cited in Loftus, 1979) placed army recruits in a stressful situation. They were isolated with the exception of a telephone link. Then, they were told that they were in danger to induce anxiety and were required to repair a broken radio by following a series of complicated instructions. It was found that the high level of anxiety impaired performance of the subjects. As this case study was conducted during a period of different ethical standards than today, there are ethical implications to be considered. Nevertheless, the results of this case study significantly support the Yerkes-Dodson law (1908, cited in Green) which states that emotional arousal facilitates learning and performance up to a point after which t here is a decrement. This can be applied to eyewitnesses who experience stress. Their senses may be stimulated but after a point, their acquisition process will be negatively affected. Although this is so, this case study has only looked at male soldiers, thus when applied to the general population, it lacks ecological validity. Analysis of Factors that may affect Eye-witness Testimony during the Retention Process Eye-witnesses are being tested on their retention of information from their Long-term Memory. Because retained information and thus, memory is being transferred between memory stores, it is possible that it can be influenced, enhanced or even distorted during or in between transfers. This section of the essay will focus on the numerous researches that have been carried out to investigate the accuracy of this or the extent of the influence that may occur. After an event occurs, sometimes witnesses discuss what they saw with each other and the information that is exchanged can result in an enhancement of memory in the form of modification or addition. An experiment was conducted by Loftus (1975) on one hundred and fifty participants. They were showed a film of a car crash where a car failed to stop at a stop sign and turned right to enter traffic, causing a five-car collision. After the film which lasted for less than a minute, participants were asked a series of ten questions. Half of the participants were asked about the stop sign in the first question while the other half were asked about the right turn. All other questions were the same. The independent variable here is the first question and the dependant variable is the last question which asked participants if they remembered seeing a stop sign. Loftus found that there was a higher percentage of participants who recalled seeing a stop sign if the first question related to a stop sign than the control group, fifty-three percent and thirty-five percent respectively. This shows that by mentioning an object, there is a higher chance of it being recalled. The results are highly significant as it was calculated using precise results with a specific variable tested. It can be argued that the experiment lacks ecological validity as it was conducted in an artificial environment but this allowed a specific variable to be tested which would have been impossible with a case study. As demonstrated by this experiment, eye-witnesses memory may be influenced by post-event information that they receive and thus, the more information that the witness is exposed to after the event, the higher the chance that their memory might be compromised. A modification to the previous variable is the question as to what happens when a witness learns new information which is different from what they experienced. Loftus (1975) conducted an experiment where forty participants were shown a three-minute video which involved a group of eight demonstrators noisily interrupting a lecture. The participants then had to answer a series of twenty questions. All the questions for the participants were identical except for one. Half of the participants were asked, Was the leader of the twelve demonstrators who entered the classroom a male? and the other half were asked, Was the leader of the four demonstrators who entered the classroom a male? All questions had to be answered with a yes or no. A week later, participants had to answer another set of questions. The critical question was How many demonstrators did you see enter the classroom? It was found that participants who previously answered the question with the word twelve reported an average of 8.9 demonstrators while the other half reported an average of 6.4 demonstrators. It can be argued that this experiment lacks ecological validity as it was conducted in an artificial environment and that participants only viewed the event and did not actually witness it. The results may not be fully applicable to the general population. Although this is so, the controlled environment showed a direct cause and effect of a specific variable. The results of this experiment can be applied to eye-witness testimony where witnesses may be mislead in their testimony as their memory might be compromised by the introduction of conflicting information. Similar to the experiment above is an experiment conducted by Loftus and Zanni (1975, cited in Hill, 1998) which was a modification of the original Loftus and Palmer research. The aim of the experiment was to investigate the effect of adding post event information on memory. Participants were shown a film of a car accident after which they had to answer a series of questions. Half of the participants were required to answer, Did you see the broken headlight which implied that there was a broken headlight while the other half were asked, Did you see a broken headlight which only required participants to recall if it was there. It was found that half of the participants, who were asked using the word the, incorrectly reported seeing a broken headlight. As most of the other variables were controlled in the experiment, and only a specific variable was changed, the results signify that memory can be modified by post event information. It can be argued that the participants did not experie nce the incident and thus the experiment lacks ecological validity when applied to actual witnesses but as a specific variable was examined, it can be concluded that the cause and effect was to a large extent connected. This experiment shows that eyewitnesses may be influenced by post event information which may negatively affect their account. McCloskey and Zaragaza (1985) also conducted experiments concerning the effect of misleading post event information on participants. After watching a series of slides depicting an event, participants received a narrative of the event. Participants in the mislead condition will receive a narration with receive the narrative with misleading information about a detail of the event, a hammer was referred to as a screwdriver instead while the control group werent provided details of the specific event. Participants then had to answer a series of questions about the event. The critical question concerning the tool had the original item as an option (hammer) and a new item (wrench). It was found that accuracy for the control group was seventy-five percent and seventy-two percent for the mislead condition group. The fact that there was little difference between the two groups points to the idea that misleading post event information does not distort memory of an event. This experiment suppor ts the validity of eyewitness testimony and due to the controlled setting; the results are highly valid though it lacks ecological validity. Analysis of Factors that may affect Eye-witness Testimony during the Retrieval Process Most evidence from eyewitnesses are a result of their accounts of the event. This involves the retrieval process of information from their long term memory store. This section of the essay aims to analyse and evaluate research conducted in relation to the techniques of retrieving information from eyewitnesses such as question wording or method of questioning. This is to evaluate the extent of influence of such techniques on the reliability of eyewitness accounts and in relation, memory. The method of questioning during the retrieval process plays an important role in the accuracy of eye-witness testimony as investigated by Lipton (1977, cited in Wells, 1978). Lipton conducted an experiment where participants watched a film of a murder in a courtroom setting. He found that unstructured testimony which allowed free recall resulted in ninety-one percent accuracy. This is a significant value as compared to other types of questioning such as open ended questions with eighty-three percent accuracy, leading questions with seventy-two percent accuracy and multiple choice questions with fifty-six percent accuracy. These results show that the type of questioning that the witness is subjected to affects the accuracy of their recount. When applied to trial testimonies, jurors should take into account the type of questioning to predict or get an idea of the level of accuracy of the testimony. Though conclusive to a certain extent, the experiment lacks ecological validity as the participants did not actually experience the event, merely perceive it but as it is a controlled environment, the reliability of the cause and effect factors is high. Loftus and Palmer (1974 cited in Hill, 1998) carried out an experiment to investigate the effect of leading questions on the accuracy of participants in recalling a car crash. Fourty-five participants were separated into seven groups and each group watched a video of traffic accidents. The videos lasted from five to thirty seconds. After watching the video, participants had to give an account of what they had just seen. The independent variable is the question About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?. The word hit is replaced with the words smashed, contacted, bumped and collided for different groups. The participants answer as to the estimate of the cars speed is the dependant variable. Loftus and Palmer found that the mean estimate of speed for more aggressive words such as smashed is higher than less aggressive words such as contacted. The results are highly significant, p Contending the results of this experiment is Yuille and Cutshalls (1986) case study of a real life event. 13 participants were interviewed using Loftus and Palmers (1974 cited in Hill, 1998) technique in their recall four to five months after witnessing an attempted robbery in daylight where one individual was killed and another, seriously wounded. It was found that there was a very high level of similarity between the accounts given by the witnesses, the accounts did not alter in response to leading questions and that the witnesses were able to recall the event in detail. Additionally, accounts of those who were more distressed had a higher accuracy level. These results are different to Loftus and Palmer (1974 cited in Hill, 1998). The eye witnesses did not alter their accounts greatly in response to leading questions. As this is a case study, it holds high ecological validity unlike laboratory experiments. Although this may be true, Yuille and Cutshalls case study was of an event t hat was relatively traumatic event and was viewed in ideal conditions. Most incidents do not mirror this setting. Also, it was an investigation of only one case study. Hence, the application of these findings is debatable when applied to general eye witness testimonies. Conclusion This essay evaluated the extent of accuracy of the claim that eyewitness testimony should not be depended upon. This was done by focusing on the different factors that can affect human memory, and in relation, eyewitness testimony as it is fundamentally based on memory. Experiments and case studies related to factors in three different memory stages were identified and evaluated. Research concerning the acquisition process such as exposure time, estimation of factors concerning the event, for example, time, violence of the event, weapon focus and witness stress level during the event was analysed. Results point to a correlation of high levels of inaccuracy when more traumatic factors are included in the event. This is also reflected in research concerning the retention process and the retrieval process although there is some evidence that supports the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Overall analysis criticised the low ecological validity of controlled experiments but also supported the high level of validity that comes with it as it essentially provides a cause and effect relationship between specific variables tested. Case studies were found to be very specific with regards to certain factors, which leads to a debate about their general application. Since experiments are only replications of real-life events, it cant be fully taken as the actual process . This may have some influence on the results obtained as it can be argued that the participants are not really experiencing the event, thus essential factors like, atmosphere, or even interest in the event may be compromised. In this manner, results of case studies hold a higher level of reliability. As indicated by the numerous researches on different factors during the process of collecting, processing and retrieving information from memory, eye witness testimony is reliable only to a small extent. Under such fallibility, it can be questioned if eyewitness testimony should be relied on at all. Though eyewitness testimony has been proved accurate in a number of researches, the amount of investigations concluding on the fact that it is highly imperfect far outweighs it. Though a large number of researches do not support the reliability of eyewitness testimony, there is also evidence to support it like Yuille and Cutshalls (1986) case study. This suggests that although eyewitness testimony can be unreliable, under certain conditions, it is highly accurate. Implications for application of the analysis in this essay could include jurors being more wary of eyewitness testimony and the conditions relating to it when deciding upon a verdict. Further research could include more case studies to increase the ecological validity of the theories produced by experiments analysed in this essay. References Atkinson, R. C. Shriffin, R. M. 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