The Definition And Concept Of Spatial Integration Cultural Studies Essay

The Definition And Concept Of Spatial Integration Cultural Studies Essay The definition and idea of Spatial Integration in noteworthy urban areas or towns isn't precisely characterized as it has been viewed as a basic part of the current mix in the urban communities of towns. Accordingâ [1]â to European Spatial Development Program (ESDP) under the Noordwijk venture, Spatial joining communicates the open doors for and level of (financial, social) association inside and among zones and may mirror the readiness to co-work. It likewise shows, for instance, levels of network between transport frameworks of various topographical scales. Spatial combination is emphatically affected by the nearness of productive regulatory bodies, physical and utilitarian complementarity among zones and the nonappearance of social and political debates. In itself, the term connection can appear at any rate as worldwide as the one of reconciliation. In any case, this term, frequently combined with the spatial or regional qualifier is regularly utilized in logical writing, specifically by geographers. From a wide perspective, the idea of spatial connection can be identified with any sort of connection between places (connexity, comparability, streams, and vicinity) and one could acclimatize the investigation of spatial communication to spatial examination in itself, or even to topography. In the act of (for the most part land) investigate, spatial cooperation frequently takes a progressively constrained and specialized significance and may allude to a wonder portrayed as diminishing of the power of streams with separation. Diverse spatial collaboration models have been worked so as to give record of this marvel, a large number of them depending on the general gravity model, in view of separation and on relative loads of the thought about substances. Considering the ESDP definition, its worldwide methodology just as the historical backdrop of the measure, it appears that collaboration must be comprehended here as a somewhat exhaustive idea, that can't be straightforwardly restricted to certain spaces of connections, nor even to spatial association as it is commonly comprehended. For instance the definition specifies communication between regions as opposed to spatial association, which could show that separation isn't really observed as focal (possibly on the grounds t hat the idea of separation is progressively explicit of another rule, Geographic position) The ESDP definition, through its reference to eagerness to co-work and to nonappearance of social and political discussions, likewise demonstrates that the social and human perspectives assume a significant job in a liberal methodology of the idea of spatial communication. Other than its different translations, utilization of the term communication in the meaning of the Noordwijk draft of ESDP can likewise be viewed as passing on some verifiable thoughts through its historical background. Spatial incorporation and (spatial) attachment:- There is frequently reference to the terms which are or their importance is connected or shut to the joining in the European archives. In the Article B under title I of Treaty of European Union, the regularly term under the points and targets, is the monetary and social union. There is no particular meaning of attachment (Economic and social) in the Treaty, however there is reference is to diminish the abberations between the degrees of improvement of the different locales and the backwardness of the least preferred districts, including provincial territories. The examination of the principal report on social and financial attachment portrays the circumstance of the European locales in a similar point of view of appraisal of imbalances and of their patterns. In those terms, union appears to be firmly identified with the possibility of homogeneity and Spatial (or regional) union is generally less referenced contrasted with social and financial attachment. Spatial reconciliation and co-activity:- The Noordwijk venture of ESDP presents in its definition the idea of ability to co-work, as a reason for spatial mix. This adds a significant unique component to comprehension of regional (or spatial) reconciliation. Co-activity is frequently related to mix, despite the fact that there are some essential contrasts between the two ideas. From the earlier, the idea of spatial communication, which is at the center of the meaning of spatial mix, has no positive or negative sense. Spatial cooperation by and large depends on human inspiration (regardless of whether regular wonders, for example, floods may cause spatial communication), however these inspirations probably won't be shared by all on-screen characters nor lead to win-win circumstances. Interestingly, nonappearance of co-activity may result either in a restricted degree of spatial connection, as connections won't be bolstered by all entertainers, or in lopsided connections exclusively controlled by the law of the most grounded. Absence of co-activity can be seen practically speaking now and again where genuine relations are short of what one would expect considering shared interests, physical prospects accessible, or nearness of spatial frameworks to oversee (for example waterway bowls). In any case, nonappearance of co-activity may likewise exist where joining (as far as communications) is solid, and in those cases it might have destructive impacts for a portion of the accomplices. In spite of the fact that the ESDP makes reference to the eagerness to co-work, it must be said that co activity doesn't generally depend on ability yet additionally on need to co-work. This permits us to recognize circumstances that require co-activity (regardless of whether the accomplices are to some degree hesitant) and circumstances where spatial reconciliation is really frail yet the ability to co-work exists. In the subsequent case, certain material hierarchical changes may prompt an expansion in the importance of relations between territories. Endeavoring to decipher the idea of spatial co-activity into pointers is perceived just like a troublesome undertaking, as co-activity for the most part depends on a perspective and on hierarchical examples that don't really infer effectively quantifiable marvels. Systems of spots:- For some creators, it is valuable to think about further how places are connected, all together that combination may happen. Spots are not, at this point considered as basic geological develops; rather they are characterized through social investigation (for a survey, see Amin and Graham, 1998). These pressure that spots are verbalized minutes in systems of social relations and understandings as opposed to territories with limits around (Massey, 1993; 66). In this design socially-built spots are noncontiguous, assorted, dynamic and superimposed. Just as will undoubtedly put based relations, social, social, monetary, political and natural connections and relations can be extended across space (Graham and Healey, 1999 (anticipated)). This in part mirrors an increasingly complex investigation of how systems of urban communities and towns associate, a territory that Theme 2 investigates further. As Dematteis notes we have seen the section from a practical association where the focuses are reviewed with a staggered pecking order (as in the models of Christaller and Lã ¶sch) to interconnected systems composed based on the comparing complementarities of the hubs and the cooperative energies delivered (Dematteis, 1994). It additionally mirrors an understanding that it isn't places which communicate however the individuals and associations (entertainers) which possess that space. Geoff Mulgan (1997) names the present time one of Connexity. This mirrors the ESDPs meaning of spatial combination as: Opportunities for and level of communication inside and between regions. In Mulgans see societies, economies, social universes, governmental issues and situations all become driven by rationales of progressively extraordinary interconnections and streams, over bigger and bigger land scales. A developing scope of monetary, social, and social collaborations which are both set up and strange (Adams, 1996; 279) are being bolstered by present day correspondences advances (Graham and Healey, in the same place.). Obviously, it is conceivable that associations may just happen between explicit areas of society. We may in this manner witness diverse social topographies of spatial mix. The Noordwijk task of ESDP recommends that proportions of spatial reconciliation will incorporate degrees of linkage between transport frameworks at various land scales. Notwithstanding, a more full translation of the origination offered above infers that spatial reconciliation is more extensive than basically transport linkages yet incorporates all exchanges (or streams) between regions. To Mulgan, the developing significance of system based associations implies that economies are progressively determined by the consistent or virtual regularities of electronic correspondence, another topography of hubs and center points, preparing and control focuses. The nineteenth centurys physical frameworks of railroads, waterways and streets are presently eclipsed by the systems of PCs, links and radio connections that administer where things go, how they are paid for, and who approaches what. The physical sign of intensity, dividers, limits, roadways and urban communities, are overlaid with a virtual universe of data centers, databases and systems (Mulgan, 1991; 3). India: Accordingâ [3]â to Jordar, Souro D., Spatial reconciliation is the blend of the considerable number of exercises like monetary, social and physical which can be accomplished by the advanced spatial arranging instruments and methods, unique and double modes for the cooperation towards improvement in the urban areas. There are not many urban areas in India which have experienced arranged improvement by utilizing the cutting edge spatial arranging devices and strategies towards spatial incorporation. The creator connotes the job of assets like land and foundation in the spatial incorporation of urban communities. In addition, the job of modes like open and private divisions, open/private area for the advancement of spatial incorporation, is likewise generally significant for spatial turn of events. Brazil: Accordingâ [4]â to Edja Bezerra Faria and Valerio Augusto in their paper, Spatial Integ

Do You Need a High School Diploma

Do You Need a High School Diploma SAT/ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In the event that you didn't move on from secondary school, returning and completing it so you can at last get your secondary school certificate is a pragmatic advance. In any case, if you’re a grown-up well past your adolescent years, the possibility of returning to secondary school can be pretty intimidating.Fortunately, there are elective ways grown-ups can procure a secondary school certificate. Peruse on to get familiar with what the general advances are for getting a secondary school certificate, how significant having the physical confirmation is, regardless of whether you can go to school without a secondary school recognition, and what your alternatives are for authentic grown-up secondary school certificate programs. Do You Need to Graduate to Get a High School Diploma? By and large, to procure a secondary school certificate in the US, you have to have finished twelfth grade and graduated secondary school. All the more explicitly, you have to have met the entirety of your state’s graduation prerequisites and taken every single required course. This is the most well-known way for getting a secondary school certificate. Be that as it may, imagine a scenario in which you left secondary school before you got the opportunity to graduate. For this situation, you can get a secondary school confirmation by taking the classes you have to satisfy your state’s secondary school graduation and credit prerequisites. For instance, on the off chance that you were one English course shy of graduating, you could take on a grown-up secondary school recognition program, through which you'd take the English class you have to get the confirmation. On the off chance that you need a great deal of credits to complete secondary school (for example, possibly you missed an entire evaluation of secondary school), another choice is to take a secondary school equivalency test, for example, the GED, HiSET, or TASC tests. By breezing through one of these assessments, you’ll get a recognition or authentication that is like a secondary school certificate and shows that you’ve accomplished US secondary school instructive guidelines. This is known as a secondary school equivalency confirmation. As a rule, a secondary school equivalency recognition is proportional to a secondary school confirmation; be that as it may, a few colleges and managers lean toward a customary secondary school certificate more than one of these counterparts and, subsequently, may look down on it. Ifyou're more youthful than your state's age for taking on secondary school, I firmly prescribe returning to secondary school to win your ordinary secondary school recognition as opposed to choosing one of these reciprocals. This age limit shifts by state however is ordinarily around 21 years. Lamentably, your grade school certificate won't help you hands on chase. How Important Is Having a Physical High School Diploma? It’s basic tokeep your unique secondary school recognition in a safe place.This is on the grounds that potential managers and universities may solicit to consider a to be from your confirmation as evidence that you finished secondary school and have the major information and abilities required for a specific activity or instructive program. Online schools are particularly liable to ask for or require a duplicate of your secondary school recognition for enlistment purposes. In spite of the fact that it’s conceivable you’ll never need to show anybody your secondary school recognition (other than your pleased guardians), you ought to consistently have a duplicate of it close by, in the event that something goes wrong. In the event that you lost your secondary school recognition or don’t recollect getting a physical confirmation, you can without much of a stretch solicitation a duplicate of yours by reaching your old high school(or, if your secondary school is not, at this point in activity, your previous training division or school region). Allude toour bit by bit manual for become familiar with making sure about a duplicate of your secondary school recognition. Would you be able to Attend College Without a High School Diploma? The short answer is actually no, not ordinarily. On the off chance that you need to go to a four-year school or college with the objective of getting a bachelor’s certificate, you won't have the option to except if you have a secondary school confirmation or secondary school equivalency recognition, for example, the GED. (Note that not all universities acknowledge a GED in lieu of a conventional confirmation.) All things considered, most junior colleges permit understudies to enlist without a secondary school confirmation. You normally simply should be in any event 18 years of age to enlist that’s it! In the event that you think you’ll in the end need to move to a four-year school/college from a junior college, realize that you’ll likely need to take the GED or a proportional test before you can do as such. Step by step instructions to Get a High School Diploma as an Adult: 2 Methods On the off chance that you’re more established than your state’s most extreme age limit for taking a crack at secondary school or would lean toward an elective method of winning a secondary school certificate, you have the alternative of doing an in-person grown-up secondary school confirmation program orattendingan online secondary school. Strategy 1: In-Person Adult High School Diploma Program One approach to get your secondary school certificate is to try out a grown-up secondary school recognition program. These in-person classes are explicitly intended for grown-ups hoping to come back to secondary school and get their diplomas(instead of, state, a GED). With these projects, you'll take just the courses you have to graduate. For example, if you’re short a math and an English class, you’d take these two classes in your grown-up secondary school recognition program, permitting you to satisfy your state's graduation necessities and consequently gain a secondary school confirmation. Most grown-up secondary school recognition programs are free or beautiful cheap,and are offered on weekdays and weeknights. The most ideal approach to locate an authentic grown-up secondary school certificate program close to you is to contact a state funded college or junior college in your general vicinity. These establishments ought to have the option to reveal to you whom to contact about grown-up instruction programs. You can likewise observe what data your state's authentic site gives in regards to grown-up instruction programs. Simply scan on Google for [Your State] grown-up instruction site:.gov.For model, the Michigan state site offers a lot of supportive data on free and ease grown-up training programs in districts all around Michigan. Continuously be careful with online tricks that guarantee to give out secondary school confirmations. These certificate factories, as they’re called, will frequently charge you a high expense to take unaccredited courses, gaining you afake qualification that’s not perceived anyplace! On the off chance that you’re uncertain about whether a program is real, check with your state division of training. Technique 2: Online High School The second way grown-ups can acquire a secondary school certificate is to take a crack at an online secondary school. This alternative is viewed as more helpful than Method 1 asyou can go to class and study from the solace of your own home, permitting you to get your secondary school certificate on the web. Numerous online private secondary schools require a charge to join, where can be truly elevated now and again, particularly if the program is offered through a lofty school or college. What's more, some online secondary schools have an age limit, so watch that you’re qualified to go to before you settle on a school. Ensure that the school you’re considering is genuine. Numerous online secondary schools aren’t authorize (regardless of whether they guarantee to be) and can’t grant you a legitimate secondary school certificate. On the off chance that you’re uncertain whether an online secondary school is authentic, contact your state's division of instruction. You can likewise connect with a nearby junior college or open school/college, which will helpyou find online secondary schools thatare licensed and acknowledge grown-up students. Here are some notable schools that permit you to get your secondary school confirmation on the web: Stanford Online High School (no grown-up students) BYU Independent Study High School(offers program for grown-up students) UT Austin High School (no age limitations) Texas Success Academy (offers program for grown-up students) College of Nebraska High School (no age limitations) Recap: Do You Need a High School Diploma? The vast majority procure their secondary school confirmations by finishing twelfth grade and meeting their state's secondary school graduation necessities. Regardless of whether you left school before you got a confirmation, there are ways you can get one as a grown-up. Your two principle alternatives are to take on an in-person grown-up secondary school recognition program or go to an authorize online secondary school. Many favor the last on the grounds that it’s progressively advantageous and permits you to get your secondary school recognition online without going anyplace. Similarly as with anything you pay for, besure to vet any grown-up secondary school confirmation programs (both face to face and on the web) you're thinking about joining in. You don’t need to lose cash to a trick that grants you with a phony qualification! Connect toyour state’s branch of instruction to get more data about genuine (on the web) schools and projects for grown-up students. In the event that you'd preferably notgo back and get your secondary school recognition, you can insteadtake a secondary school equivalency test, for example, the GED. While you don’t need a secondary school recognition to go after positions or select at a junior college, having one will permit you to go to a four-year school or college. A secondary school certificate likewise implies you’ll be getting more cash on normal than if you didn’t have one! Try not to feel as if there are no alternatives accessible to you-you'llnever be too old to even consider going back and get that secondary school recognition! What’s Next? Thinking about going to an online secondary school? Find out about how to keep away from unaccredited schools and how online instruction contrasts from a conventional one. We likewise maintaina rundown of 100+ free online secondary schools! For a full survey of a first rate online secondary school, look at our top to bottom manual for Stanford Online High School. Not keen on getting a conventional secondary school recognition? At that point considergetting a secondary school equivalency diploma.Our control goes over what this recognition is and how to get one.

Sample Analysis of Crossing the swamp

Sample Analysis of Crossing the swamp Mary Oliver is using an extended metaphor about the swamp by defining it as being a closure and a struggle plus it’s “the center of everything.” The author of the poem grabs the reader’s attention with the phrases about knocking of the bones classifying the journey as something that doesnt relate to physical moves but to mental actions for solving lifetime problems. Mary Oliver is building up the relationship between the person and the swamp basing on the fear and then she develops this feeling into a new form that is not negative. There’s a line proving the transmission of the feelings, “I feel not wet so much as painted and glittered”. The manifestation of appearance change characterizes the change in mind and soul. It can be called a feeling of rebirth that appears after facing a new challenge with “a poor dry stick given one more chance by the whims of swamp water … make of its life a breathing palace of leaves.” The change in mind appears so clearly that the reader has to read the poem several times to notice the moment where the fear disappears. The main character is not wet anymore, so there’s no negative attitude to the swamp. Being painted and glittered means a new page of someone’s life that has suffered from problems before. A person can start a new life only after a certain dirt that will spoil everything at first. Mary Oliver uses an extended metaphor to express very complicated obstacles that every human faces sooner or later. This situation can lead someone to a success while it will kill the mind and soul of another person. The author uses the consonance “foothold, fingerhold, mindhold” to make them sound as an important message about the mental obstacle despite the fact it’s a physical one. The phrase “cosmos, the center” is placed on a separate line that represents a specific dilemma that a person faces. It’s the key phrase of the poem that is supported by the words “is struggle” and “closure.” The poem ends with the phrase “palace of leaves” that indicates the full transformation of the personality that has overcome the complicated situation in life and a new beautiful world appeared in front of him or her. Mary Oliver is using alliteration to emphasize some key ideas in her poem. For example, a repetition of sound “b” and “p” express the fear and the struggle together with the difficulty of the path that a person should go along to reach something new and positive. Thanks to this technique, a reader can experience similar feelings as the main character does throughout the whole poem. Mary Oliver is a well-known poet, her poem about the swamp is a manifestation of positive outcome of even the worst obstacles during the life of any human. She uses the phrases and the combinations of words and sounds to make the readers experience the feelings of fear at the beginning and satisfaction at the end of the pathway.

Cyberspace Hate Propaganda and Internet Censorship Essay

Cyberhate - Hate Propaganda and Internet Censorship The Internet is an ideal medium for hate groups, such as neo-Nazis, because of the mass exposure, inexpensiveness, uncensored nature and ease of publishing offered. The Internet allows hate groups to target a broad audience: impressionable children are the most vulnerable. Attempts at censorship fail because of the international nature of the Internet, and to a lesser extent, free speech contentions. Instead, the freedom of speech exercised by cyberhate groups can be applied by online anti-hate advocates to counter cyberhate. Educating youth is the most important tool against cyberhate, however. Teaching children to be critical of content on the Internet implies that children†¦show more content†¦Forceless statements such as If these numbers are correct... after describing that rising hate group numbers are difficult to discern also jeopardize credibility (2002, Kim). Kims references are suspect as well: one third are from nonacademic sources such as CNN, ABC News, and Time magazine. A dependency on such partial sources is below the quality expected of university-level writing. The evidence provided in Hate Propaganda is obviously inadequate, and is weakened further by the style of the article. Kims writing style can be unsure and depreciating. The unsubstantiated observation that Perhaps, the Internet might have been the greatest thing that ever happened to hate, [italics added] is weakly phrased, unsupported and left to be unquestioned by the reader (2002, Kim). As such, it does not reflect the soundness expected of a scholarly paper. However, the essay benefits from a linear form of argument that clearly describes the problem of hate on the Internet, how children are affected, the viability of censorship, and lastly, how free speech can effectively combat cyberhate. The paper is easily understood as a result. The tone of theShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Debate Over Internet Censorship1547 Words   |  7 PagesDebate Over Internet Censorship Many people believe the Internet has become the World’s Emancipation Proclamation. They believe that this newfound cyber-freedom will free countless generations of people. These people will be of every race, creed and color, whose lives, up until now, have been restrained by the paradigm of governments. Whether it is the United States Government, or the government of a foreign nation, the Internet will be our new Underground Railroad of cyberspace. Read More Internet Censorship Libraries Essay2768 Words   |  12 Pageswhat information is available to its visitors via the Internet? This scenario is being debated all across the United States. Many states are arguing over whether or not the library has the authority to limit what information is accessible via the Internet computers at the library. The argument is over the First Amendment right of Free Speech. There are family groups who are actually in favor of allowing unfiltered access on the Internet, not what one would think. These groups also support theRead MoreWith The Current Atmosphere Around Politics In The United1954 Words   |  8 PagesWith the current atmosphere around politics in the United States, it has been brought to nearly everyone’s attention that the power of the Internet is a strong and dangerous one. World Leaders who wish to maintain their popular sovereignty have flocked to social media sites such as Tumblr, Facebook, or in most cas es, Twitter. Specifically, President Trump has been using social media and his free speech to say anything that comes to mind, and have it reach thousands of individuals in an instant. Whether

Improving Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking...

Determine a topic and develop specific questions At the school that I work at reading classes are only required in sixth grade. In seventh and eighth grade reading classes can be taken as an elective class. I strongly feel that all students in middle school still need guidance and continuous practice with reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. Students who are beyond a sixth grade reading class are not getting these reading skills that can be applied in all other academic classes. As a teacher I can not change the fact that the school principal has decided that students in seventh and eighth grade are not required to take a reading class. However I can find other ways to make sure that all students know the reasons and†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Position Yourself at the Center: Co-Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies.† This article explains and shows how media specialist can incorporate co-teaching. â€Å"Research indicates that reading comprehension strategies should be explicitly taught a nd modeled at all grade levels† (Moreillon, Judi, 2008) This part of the article will be beneficial to defend my thoughts that all students in the middle school level need reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. According to this article, media specialist can position themselves to help improve learning and student achievement in reading when co-teaching is involved. This article refers to several case studies where media specialists are a part of the co-teaching experience. After taking a much closer look at the case studies, I would find ways to incorporate the lessons into my media center and school environment. The second article that I found and would be beneficial to my research is ‘Using Fan Fiction to Teach Critical Reading and Writing Skills.† This article concentrates on one engaging lesson that takes place in the library and in the classroom in a two week period. The lesson was developed when a seventh grade language arts teacher appr oached the media specialist for suggestions on a creative lesson to incorporate both reading and writing. This would support the idea that collaboration can start with the classroomShow MoreRelatedAnnotated Bibliography On Teaching And Teaching846 Words   |  4 PagesTeaching self-direction to enhance children’s thinking in physical science. Journal of Educational Research, 88(1), 15. This article focused on the constant debate concerning the conditions in which students develop the skill of thinking critically. Being able to use critical thinking requires knowledge of facts and concepts about the subject matter. 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Link between Gender Inequality and Economic Growth Free Essays

The Link between Gender Inequality and Economic Growth It is not generally seen that the economy and gender development are interconnected in terms of each other’s influence and their development process. However, this correlation is well-explained by the fact that if women’s employment rates were raised to 70 percent, which is closer to that of many developed nations, the annual Gross Domestic Product (GAP) of Asia would increase by up to 2-4 percent (United Nations in China, 2010). Indeed, economic growth has impacts on gender inequality levels both positively and negatively, whereas gender inequality hampers economic growth as a whole. We will write a custom essay sample on Link between Gender Inequality and Economic Growth or any similar topic only for you Order Now Connell (2009, 1 1) defines the term gender as â€Å"the structure of social relations that centers on the reproductive arena, and the set of practices that bring reproductive distinctions between bodies into social processes. † Gender inequality refers to the unequal rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men (ASSAI, 2001). Economic growth is defined by an increase in the capacity of an economy to produce goods and services, compared to one period to another (Riley, 2012). For example, gender inequality can be a barrier to the process f development by weakening the ability of household members to engage in productive activities. At the same time, structural changes that accompany the development process can significantly weaken/loosen the constraints that women and men face when they work towards new economic approaches. This paper analyses the links between gender inequality and economic growth and the complexity associated with this relationship. In order to examine the link between gender inequality and economic growth, it is important to have a clear understanding of some key concepts. Firstly, social construction is a key concept that is used to understand how people build and organize ideas, actions and thoughts around a perception through cultural and social influence (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008). Next, gender relation is the interaction of different masculinity and femininity to shape the power dominance of the society (March et al, 1999). Moreover, globalization â€Å"is the process of transformation of local or regional phenomena into global ones. It is the notion of a shrinking world including unequal flows of labor, capital and ideas† (Stilling, 2002). It is also crucial to understand gender accountability in analyzing the relationship between economic growth and gender inequality. Gender accountability refers to the process by which members of a society hold others accountable for transgressing or defying traditional social expectations of gender (West and Zimmerman, 1987). Gender performance is creating differences between women and men and their interaction with others which are not natural or biologically based (West and Zimmerman, 1987). Finally, gendered division of labor refers to the ways in which certain Jobs or tasks become gendered in a patriarchal society (March et al, 1999). There are positive aspects of economic growth that help to shorten the gender gap, especially in the decision- making power within households despite the certain exceptional cases that function in the reverse order. In most circumstances, economic development reduces the disadvantages faced by women. Firstly, economic development plays a huge role in women education (World Bank, 2011 b). Women work under low-wage conditions partly because of the poverty at their homes. It is not that women prefer to supply labor at a very low wage, but they are forced to do so in order to manage the financial condition at home. Once the economic stability at family level improves, the number of women who go into low-wage Jobs for their poor economic condition at home reduces and the low-wage Jobs would no longer be reserved for women. For example, the workers in garment factories in Bangladesh, a major source of export earnings, are mostly women, and as the cost of living increases, the cost of women not going to work exceeds the cost of them working in low-wage Jobs (Siberia 1995). Secondly, poor economic condition makes women less aware about hygiene, and they cannot afford to medical expenditures, especially during menstruation period and pregnancy. It creates an environment for the employers to consider women as weakness and less productive (World Bank, 2011 b). Economic growth increases women’s health care that result in improved level of women’s fitness to any career. Eventually, sexist attitudes of employers about suitable tasks for women change. For example, the enrollment of women in Engineering, which requires field work, has been increasing day by day (Unguent, 2000). Thirdly, economic growth brings up changes in decision-making power of men and women at household level. It challenges the social construction that men are the breadwinners of a household. Rising income levels at household level associated with increased household expenditures challenges the patriarchal system and creates pathways for women to enter into Job market. However, it might affect the gender relations at home that men would not accept their power to be shared. Siberia explains the use of women’s earnings in household spending: My husband likes that my income is for luxuries, for the little things that catch my fancy. Although sometimes I pay for household things, during difficult months. He tells me, it is his Job to provide for food, clothing, rent and other necessities. Siberia, 1995:) It portraits the men’s perception that they do not want their women to contribute towards the economy of the family due to the social construction of men as breadwinners. In contrast, economic growth as an outcome of globalization creates opportunities for women to become empowered and to report violence against women. Women are mostly exposed to different socia l contexts that in turn heighten awareness about gender equality and the need for alleviating gender discrimination that they were not aware of and women’s dependency on men. My experience at AY-JAW is itself a good example of how an exposure to different social context can hence a person’s attitudes towards gender discrimination and violence. Five years back from now, if I were asked if it is fine for men to have the entire power within households, I would say yes’. However, if the same question is asked now, my answer would be ‘no’. Finalization of labor migration, which refers to the trend of growing employment of women which is possible mostly because of the expansion of technological improvement, trade and capital flows (Legal terms, Definitions and Dictionary, n. ). Also gives opportunities for women to get exposed to other countries where women can learn that they should get equal rights. Having experienced the effects of gender accountability in other countries and knowing that women’s equality is important, once they get back to their home societies, there is a high possibility that they will fight against gender discrimination. Exposure to different social context might lead women to be more aware about the social norms and patriarchy of their own society that favored men (Ridgeway, 1997). They would eventually come forward to make changes in the society that results in reducing gender gap in the society. However, economic development does not always help to narrow down the gender AP; rather, in certain cases, it increases the socio-economic vulnerability of women. Despite the economic development and the increasing women’s participation in the labor force, the incidence of sex-selective abortions and the absolute number of ‘missing women’, coined by Mammary Seen (2003) refers to the terrible deficit of women in substantial parts of Asian and north Africa, which arises from sex bias in relative care, are growing. The critical condition is further explained by the fact that â€Å"China and India together account for more than 85 million of the nearly 100 million missing† women estimated to have died from discriminatory treatment in health care, nutrition and nutrition access or pure neglect, or because they were never born in the first place† (United Nations in China, 2010). In rural areas of Asia, the social construction of femininity that all girls/women should get married is strongly followed. The societies develop a gendered centralization that parents take the responsibility of marrying women off once girl children are born itself (Slakes at el, 2003). Women do not get enough gains from the new paid-employment opportunities. They are given opportunities to paid workforce, at the same time they re employed in insecure environment that does not make any changes in the level of gender inequality. For example, even though women are given permission by their husbands or families to work in garment industries, they are often abused by their employers, not allowed to go to toilets even when they are urgent (Siberia, 1995). Violence against women is high even when they work for longer hours than men do (Ridgeway, 1997). After understanding how economic growth affects gender inequality, it is crucial to understand how gender inequality hampers economic growth. Most importantly, economic growth is hampered by the constraints that keep omen involved in unpaid work, and the unequal opportunities that favor men over women (Beerier et al 2004). Women’s Jobs in export industries such as textiles and garments have been important in generating foreign currency earnings. Dependence on women workers in labor-intensive, export-oriented manufacturing has become a common pattern across Asia as women’s share of manufacturing employment rose during their export drives. Therefore, gender inequality has negative impacts on economic growth. Furthermore, gender inequality in education and employment hampers economic growth. The low level of access to education for women is linked with higher rates of fertility and lower savings rates. Rising fertility can reduce investment in children’s education and health. (Ridgeway, 1997). Moreover, inequality in education can contribute to women’s unequal household bargaining power, affecting the distribution of household resources. The unequal decision-making power at household level might affect the overall household management, and thus prohibits the development process of households given the resources. For instance, a sole member making all the decisions would not be as effective as the incidence here both husband and wife together make decisions, with a mutual understanding of the benefit-cost analysis (Unguent, 2000). However, it is the social construction in Asian societies that a woman in a household being more educated would be considered as a threat to the men’s masculinity. Men make sure that the income brought to home by women would not be spent to main household spending, but on luxuries (Siberia, 1995). Indeed, men preserve the socially constructed norm that men have the control over the income and transgressing would affect the gender relations. Additionally, systematic differences in investments in girls’ and boys’ education can lead to Job sector inefficiency due to distortion in skill levels (Bosnian, 2003). Investing too much in less-talented men and investing too little in competent women reduces the total productivity in the economy (Bosnian, 2003). In other words, gendered division of labor arises where the labor queues become gender queues because employers rank males as more valuable workers than females (Resin and Ross, 1990). When employers hire workers, they take into consideration about the loss of their institutions’ productivity level, especially the maternity leave that women take (Timekeepers, 2012). Employers make an assumption that all women will get pregnant and have children. The assumption is basically developed from the socially constructed idea of femininity that all women will have children. Against the assumption, the enforcement of maternity leave legislation in Taipei, China led to a 2. 5-percentage-point increase in women’s employment (Civilize and Rodgers, 2003). In some patriarchal societies, certain Jobs are allocated only for men. For example, in northern part of Sir Lankan, CNN (three wheeler) drivers were usually male, and the government introduced a plan that allows female to be CNN drivers. After some time, an accident occurred in which the fault was found to be on the side of CNN driver who is a female. Based on the incident, there were some controversies regarding whether to allow the women do be CNN drivers further. However, the point to be noted here is that there were so many accidents held earlier to the particular event, and they were committed by male CNN drivers. No inquiries were done to the male drivers, but when the same incidence is caused by women, they held up to scrutiny. It again shows the gender discrimination in societies, and people being more critical when gender norms are transgressed. In addition, sexist unequal expectations of gender performance are other constraints that affect economic growth at the household levels. Men and women are sometimes pressured to perform gender according to what is acceptable in their particular society, rather than thinking about rational choices about family income. For example, Sir Lankan male cleaners go to Middle Eastern countries to financially support their families (Near, 2010). Although they are involved in feminizes Jobs’ abroad, when they return to their societies, they do not keep involving in feminizes activities because they think this would be a wreath to their masculinity (Near, 2010). As a result, men, who strongly support the patriarchal system of men as breadwinners of a family, fail minimize the costs within households by not accounting the female labor force participation. In order to address the barriers to the development of economy and gender, a strong foundation for policy implementations that alleviate the constraints that women face should be considered. These will include remedying heavy time burdens devoted to unpaid work, regulations that favor men, inadequate public infrastructure, insufficient access to agricultural inputs, discriminatory practices in the labor market, and social constructions. Asian governments have also paid relatively limited attention to gendered vulnerabilities in their social protection policies (ILL and ADS, 2011). By decreasing gender inequality, from the household level to major indexes, a country’s overall economy can be developed at a faster pace (Ridgeway, 1997) Likewise, as economic development occurs, we have to make sure that it will not lead to a path in which gender inequality grows even more. Works Cited Beerier, G. , Y. Rodgers, and J. Civilize. 004. International Trade and Gender Wage Discrimination: Evidence from East Asia. How to cite Link between Gender Inequality and Economic Growth, Papers

Product Manager in Mexico and the U.S.

Being a Product Manager Basically, being a product manager entails developing a particular product in such a way that it appeals to a specific target demographic. What must be understood is that consumer demographics each have their own unique â€Å"tastes† when it comes to specific products. As a result, it is necessary to develop products in such a way that they appeal to specific consumers by way of taste, smell, appearance, functionality etc.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Product Manager in Mexico and the U.S. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For example, a product manager of a soft drink company would attempt to market different classes of soft drinks to suit differing consumer tastes. Examples of this can be seen in the differences between Mexico and the U.S. when it comes to the overall flavor of a soft drink that is being sold in each country. Consumers from Mexico prefer a certain degree of tar tness when it comes to their soft drinks while Americans prefer a greater deal of sweetness. As such, it is the responsibility of the product manager to ensure that the type of product that is being sold in each individual location conforms to the flavors that local consumers enjoy. Influencing Factors in Getting into this Field The most influential factor in getting into this kind of work comes in the form of the desire to develop a product as if it was your very own child. From conceiving the idea of the product on a drawing board to eventually manufacturing it and having it on store shelves creates a certain amount of pride in a product manager since the idea they initially conceived of is now being bought by consumers. Should the product become a considerable success this would of course create a feeling of happiness comparable to witnessing your very own child graduate from college. What type of education is necessary for this job? Should someone wish to enter into this particu lar type of career it is generally advised that they focus on becoming a product manager within a specific field. For example, the requirements for a product manager in the food services sector are drastically different to that of a product manager within electronics or social media services. As such, it is advisable that students combine a business degree in management with a secondary degree in whatever field they wish to specialize in.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Advice to College Students The best advice I can give to students in becoming a product manager is to gain as much experience in the field as possible. Academic literature can only get you so far, it is important to develop a sufficient understanding of various consumer demographics in order to understand how to best develop a product that they will buy. It is due to this that experience will be your best te acher rather than theories and literature which may or may not be able to give you the necessary information you need. What difficulties can students expect when entering into this particular career? The main problem that students can expect when entering into this field is that they will be unable to rise quickly without sufficient experience. While in other career fields employees can rise quickly given enough hard work and diligence, the world of product management often will not promote an employee unless they have accumulated a certain number of years within the company. The reason behind this is due to the span of time it takes to understand a consumer demographic and know what does and does not appeal to them. This report on Product Manager in Mexico and the U.S. was written and submitted by user Barbara Berry to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Analytical Essay Sample on the Impact of Human Activities on Natural Hazards

Analytical Essay Sample on the Impact of Human Activities on Natural Hazards Natural hazards are naturally occurring phenomena that have disastrous impact on humanity. These phenomena had been in existence even before the advent of humanity. The hazardous dimension of these natural phenomena are in the context of the impact that such a phenomenon would have on human population in the area affected by that phenomenon. In this essay, the effect that human activity has on these natural hazards would be analyzed. Some human activities may be exacerbating the factors that cause the natural hazard, like the impact of excessive and unplanned logging on floods and droughts. In certain other cases the human activities may cause subsequent or supplementary hazards to a primary hazard event, like building dams in earthquake prone zones may lead to flash floods and landslides in the event of a rupture. A hazard can be defined as an event that has the potential to cause harm. This potential may be on account of its unexpected timing of occurrence or the actual intensity of the event itself. Human societies can withstand these events within a normal scale of occurrence. However, human societies become vulnerable when these events occur unexpectedly or are of an intensity or duration that falls beyond that normal scale (O’Hare and Rivas, 2005). Natural hazards can be broadly classified under the heads of geological, hydrological, climatic and diseases. This essay would limit its scope to analyzing causal relationships, if any, of human activities on landslides, floods and drought and the secondary hazards triggered by those activities in the event of an earthquake. Of all human activities that have a direct or indirect impact on natural hazards, deforestation is by far the most significant. Deforestation is the removal or destruction of forest cover of an area. It may occur due to unscientific logging practices without regeneration and may be accompanied by subsequent conversion to non-forest usage like agriculture, pasture, urban, mining or industrial development, fallow or wetland. At a very broad level, it has been argued that deforestation is a major cause of global climatic changes. It has been predicted that removal of forest cover will lead to violent and unpredictable environmental fluctuations. At a smaller landscape, deforestation has a direct bearing upon the climatic, hydrological, edaphic and biological aspects of that area. Deforestation is associated with higher levels of soil erosion and landslides, sedimentation in river beds and changes in fluvial geomorphology (Haigh, 1984). Quite a few of these effects of deforestation have a direct bearing on the natural hazards that will be covered in this essay. One of the major functions of a forest is to maintain the humidity level in the atmosphere. Trees withdraw groundwater through their roots and transpire the excess water through their leaves. Forests return a major part of the rainfall received by them through evapotranspiration. Annual evapotranspiration in tropical moist lowland forests ranges up to 1500 mm per year, with transpiration accounting for a maximum of 1045 mm per year (Bruijnzeel, 1990). This process of evapotranspiration in the leaves of trees takes the latent heat of evaporation from the surrounding atmosphere. Thus evapotranspiration has a cooling effect on the atmosphere that aids precipitation. Deforestation denies the atmosphere of this cooling effect and is thus a contributing factor to lowering of annual rainfall in an area. Further, the effects of deforestation generally compound the severity of drought. Lack of trees translates to the lack of root fibers that hold the topsoil. In the event of a drought, the topsoil flakes and gets blown by the wind, leading to severe dust storms. This phenomenon had devastated the American Great Plains for close to a decade in 1930s. The dust bowl covered farming areas in Colorado, Kansas, north west Oklahoma, north Texas and north east New Mexico. The fertile soil of the plains was exposed due to lack of vegetation cover and actions of the plow. These farming techniques that led to severe soil erosion, coupled with prolonged periods of extremely low rainfall, led to a series of severe dust storms that ranged up to the Atlantic coast. Much of the fertile topsoil was lost in the Atlantic (Cartensen et al., 1999). Direct causal relationship between human activity and drought is yet to be conclusively established. However, there are studies available that point to a positive correlation between the two. For example, climate-modeling studies have indicated that the 20th century Sahel drought was caused by changing sea surface temperatures. These changes were due to a combination of natural variability and human induced atmospheric changes. The anthropogenic factors in this case were rise in greenhouse gas levels and aerosols (GFDL Climate Modeling Research Highlights, 2007). The effect of human activities like deforestation is rather more direct and pronounced in case of hydrological hazards like fluvial floods. Fluvial floods occur when the discharge of a river exceeds its bankfull capacity. Forests create deep, open textured soils that can hold large quantities of water. When the forest cover is removed through logging, the soil becomes compacted. More rainwater is converted to runoff or near surface flow and less proportion percolates as groundwater. Research has shown significant increase in monthly runoff following logging activities (Rahim and Harding, 1993). The runoff rainwater carries with it considerable amounts of loose soil particles. Removal of vegetation cover through excessive logging activities or overgrazing leaves the soil bare. In such a situation, the upper layer of the soils becomes susceptible to erosion by surface runoff. These suspended soil particles are deposited on the riverbeds. The effect of this type of soil erosion by surface runoff is even more pronounced when the deforestation happens in the riparian zones as well. With time, this sedimentation decreases the depth of the riverbed and, thereby, the water carrying capacity of that river. When the flow of water in the river increases due to a variety of reasons like rainfall, seasonal melting of ice etc, that river can no longer contain the flow within its channel due to reduced drainage efficiency. This excess water inundates adjoining areas causing floods. The effect of soil erosion and subsequent sedimentation of the riverbeds enhances both the occurrences of floods and the area affected by floods. The impact of deforestation driven soil erosion is particularly severe in mountainous terrain. In the western Himalayas, comparison of bedload sediments trapped from parallel streams found that the sediment loads from undisturbed forest were five-seven times smaller than from deforested areas covered by grass and scrub. Deforested areas had a much smaller depth of soil and in many places large patches of underlying bedrock had become exposed ( Haigh et al., 1998). The result of this type of soil erosion on floods is amply demonstrated in the river systems in peninsular Malaysia. Malaysia is located in the equatorial belt and receives very heavy rainfall throughout the year. Peninsular Malaysia has a dense river network. The largest of around one hundred river systems is the Pahang. The runoff along exposed hillsides on the upper courses of the rivers lead to heavy soil erosion and major silting in the lower courses. Peninsular Malaysia has a major tin mining industry and disposal of unwanted tin mining tailings in watercourses has greatly accentuated the silting process. This has majorly worsened the flood situation, both in terms of inundation area and duration of flooding. The effect is particularly severe in Perak and Selangor (Chan and Parker, 1996). The type of natural hazard that is most closely linked to human activity is the landslide. A landslide can be defined as the movement of a mass of rock, soil or debris downward a slope. These occur on steep slopes of hilly terrains that demonstrate certain inherent factors like susceptible rock structure, weak material or slope form. The preparatory factors actively produce the changes that make slopes more vulnerable to a slide, without actually causing it. Some preparatory factor may ultimately become the triggering factor and start the landslide. In some other cases, geological or climatic events like earthquakes or rainstorms initiate the movement. Human activities cause some of the more widespread preparatory factors. Removal of forest cover from mountain slopes deprives the soil of the binding force of the roots of vegetation, thereby making it more vulnerable. Removal of the toe of the slope renders the mass above, unstable. This is because the lateral buttressing support for the bulk of the slope that lies on top of the excavated area is removed. Human activities like building of roads or quarrying of minerals are responsible for this type of preparatory factor. In many cases, human settlement on the slopes alters the original surface drainage of that area, eventually rendering it hydrologically unstable. The effects of human activity in the preparatory factors of a landslide were demonstrated in the landslide at Abbotsford, South Island, New Zealand on 8th August 1979. Deforestation, quarrying and modification of surface drainage further endangered the geologically unstable slope. Heavy rainfall and leakage from city water supply pipeline finally triggered the massive landslide (Pacione, 1999). Human activity like construction of roads can have a major impact on the vulnerability of a mountain slope. For example, the Indian Central Himalayas have seen major increase in road construction activities after the war with China in 1962. Many of these roads are poorly designed and constructed. This has dramatically increased in the occurrences of landslides in the region (Ives, 2004). Human intervention on the natural drainage of a slope as a major contributing factor to a landslide is amply demonstrated in the multiple occurrences of landslides on the hill slopes of La Paz city in Bolivia. La Paz region has considerable human settlements that are on unconsolidated slopes. These slopes are frequently wetted to saturation and forced to move. Some of these factors are natural, like seasonal convective showers of high intensity, flooding of lowers slopes by the rivers and streams draining that rainfall and water seepage from fluctuating water tables of adjoining lake Titicaca basin. However, the water saturation of the slopes is exacerbated by the human settlement on the slopes. Much of such settlements are unplanned, self-help housing that have no access to public sanitation and drainage systems. Waste water from such houses are drained directly on to the slopes. These factors have led to repeated landslides in the La Paz region in the past (O’Hare and Rivas, 2005). Another type of mass movement that is seen in plain areas is subsidence. Subsidence is vertical sinking of materials. In many unplanned cities, the city has sprawled into areas not covered by municipal water distribution network and indiscriminate ground water usage through bore wells have severely depleted water tables. In some cities like Mexico and Bangkok, the drained soil has compacted, leading to subsidence. In some other regions like the Raniganj – Jharia coal belt in India, improper mining excavations and inappropriate filling of excavated tunnels have led to widespread subsidence. In certain cases, though human activity does not cause a natural hazard, it may lead to secondary hazard events subsequent to the occurrence of a primary hazard. A case in point is the building of a very high multipurpose dam at Tehri in the Himalayan region in India that may be susceptible to seismic activity. In the eventuality of an earthquake and subsequent rupture of such a high dam, a tremendous flash flood is inevitable on the lower courses of the river, accompanied by major landslides as well (Ives, 2004). Thus, it can be concluded that human activities have some impact on occurrence of natural hazards. For some hazards like landslides and subsidence, there is direct, causal relationship between human activity and hazard occurrence. In some other cases like drought and floods, unscientific and unplanned exploitation of natural resources exacerbate natural hazards. In yet other cases, human activity compounds the effect of a natural hazard by triggering other hazard events that follow.

Most Common Answer on the ACT Guess C

Most Common Answer on the ACT Guess C SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Everyone knows that, when guessing on a multiple-choice test, the best answer to choose is C...right? A friend of a friend swears by it, it’s served you well in the past (maybe?), and it’s become such a commonly known â€Å"fact,† such an undisputed strategy, that you may feel as if you were born knowing it- †when in doubt, pick C and move on.† But does this time-honored tradition of picking C when in doubt actually work on the ACT? And if not, what can you do to improve your odds when guessing? Let’s look at the facts. Why You Should Answer Every Question on the ACT First of all, there is no penalty for choosing a wrong answer on the ACT, so make sure tonever leave a question blank. You'll earn one point for every correct answer you choose and zero points for any blank or wrong answers, so it doesn'thurt you to make a guess. If you don't knowan answer and guessit wrong, you'll earn the same number of points that you would have had you left it blank (zero). And if you guessthe question right, you'll earn yourself one point! Now when you're forced to guess on a question for whatever reason, you'll have to decide between thetwo main types of guessing: educated guessing and blindguessing. So let's break down how and when to go about making each type of guess. Educated Guessing You can make an educated guess when you: understand the gist of a question, butdon't have the timeto workthrough it completely, don't quite know how to work through a question completely, or you're torn between a few answer options. But if you've got some idea of what the answer can (and- just as important- what it can't) be, it's time to eliminate some answer choices and make an educated guess. For example, let's look at an ACT math problem: Even if you don't have enough time to completely work through the problem or don't know all the steps, just a little knowledge of lines and slopes will tell usthat the answer will be B, C, or D. Why? Because our given slope is $-{2/3}$and a negative slope will fall down towards the right when drawn through our given point (2, 5). This means we can eliminate answer choices A and E immediately. (Spoiler alert: D is the right answer.) BlindGuessing But let's say you've come up against a question and you have absolutely no clue where to begin. Or maybeyou've got ten seconds left on the clock and fifteen questions still left unanswered. You know that leaving a question blank is tantamount to throwing your points out the window, so now it's time to make a blindguess. There's no time for educated guessing or eliminating answer choices- you just have to fill in a bubble. Butwhen you have to make a blindguess like this (or multiple blind guesses), are you better off choosing C than any other answer choice? Let's see. Don't let their cheerful smiles fool you- three of them are hiding the wrong answer, dun dun DUN. Fact or Fiction: Is C the Most Common Answer on the ACT? The idea that C is the best answer to choose when guess-answering a question on a multiple choice test rests on the premise that ACT answer choices are not truly randomized.In other words, the implication is that answer choice C is correct more often than any other answer choice.After all, if the answer key were truly randomized, then why should C be any more likely to be the right answer than any other option? [Note: the ACT switches between using A, B, C, D (andE on the math section) and F, G, H, J (and K on the math). H is the equivalentto C.] Some (or even many) of your high school teachers likely still design their tests by hand, which means that their answer keys will not be statistically random.No matter how much your teachers try to randomize their choices, human beings are NOT random and cannot properly randomize a series.For instance, a truly random sampling will actually produce bizarre strings of patterns- e.g., five AB’s in a row, or twenty questions without a D- and most people do not (or cannot) create these patterns when they try their best to be â€Å"random.† Fortunately or unfortunately, this is NOT the case on the ACT. Unlike many of the tests you take in high school, ACT answer keys are completely computer generated. And computers are very good at being random. This means that the answer choices will have a statistically even distribution of 1 in 4 for each answer choice letter (or1 in 5 on the math section): there is no most common answer on the ACT. So, ultimately, guessing C (or any letter!) will give you the correct answer only a statistical 25% of the time(20% on the math section). Which meansit's NOT true that choosing C will give you a better rate of success than choosing any other letter for your blind guessing. What to do, then? So How Should You Guess? If C isn't the most common answer on the ACT, then which letter should you guess? The truth is that it doesn't matter which letter you pick, only that you stick to the one you choose. The best strategy,and the one that will maximize your overall point gain,is to pick your favorite letter and fill it infor every blind guess. Maybe that letter is A/F or B/G - it doesn't matter. Just be sure to stick with it every single time. So definitelygo ahead and choose C/H to be your designated letter if you like it best! (Just don't expect C to be any betteran answer choice than A, B, or D.) But maybe you're thinking that sounds completely illogical. Why should you fill in the same letter over and over? Why Does Sticking to One Letter Increase Your Odds of Guessing the Right Answer? Your overall score will improve if you stick to choosing the same letter again and again when making blind guesses. This isbecause people are never truly random. If you’re making "random" blind guesses in a spread, you will almost certainly reduce your overall guesses odds, because your best attempt at random guessing cannot replicate computer-generated randomness. But by sticking to your designated letter when making blind guesses, you are re-introducing an element of randomness. Let’s see this in action to better demonstrate why this works. Scenario: It’s crunch time and you’ve run out of minuteson the clock. You have 15 questions left to goand only a few seconds to bubble in your answers. This means you don’t have time to even look at the questions, so you must try to make the best blind guesses you can and maximize your point-gain. You are left with two options: make a random guess spread, or fill in every letter with the same answer choice. Let’s see how each option does when compared to a real ACT answer guide (in this case, we are using the first 15 answers of the 2015/2016 ACT reading section answers, with all F, G, H, J's converted to A, B, C, D's.) (Note: for our random spread, we tried to guess as randomly as we could without looking at the answer key, and for our consistent letter, we simply went with C.) â€Å"Random† Spread Consistent Guess (C) Correct Answers A C A C C D B C C A C C A C B B C D D C A B C C D C B B C D C C A A C D C C C C C D D C B By choosing a random spread, we earned 2 points out of a possible 15.But by sticking with one answer choice, we earned 4 points. Ultimately, sticking to the sameletter won't work better for each individual question, but on average and over a spread, the strategywill let you maximize your overall point-gain. Oh, statistics, you strange creature. The Take-Aways So is C the most common answer on the ACT? No! But is it the best letter to choose when you're in a bind and don't know what the right answer choice is? Well, that's more complicated. Always remember that it'sin your best bet to eliminate answer choiceswhenever possible. But if you can't, and you must make a blind guess, then stick to one letter and run with it every time. If you want this letter to be C (and it's equivalent, H), then go right ahead! Just make sure you stick with it every single time. C isn't any better or worse than any other letter, or any more likely to be the correct answer, but if you decide to stick with it for every blind guess you make, you'll be better off than trying to be "random." What's Next? Blind guessing strategy is great in a pinch, but elimination is always better! Check out our guides on how to make your best guesses on the ACT, how to eliminate answer choices on the ACT math section, and how to avoid the top elimination pitfalls that many students make. Want to get more ACT practice? Check out all the free ACT tests available online and gauge how you're scoring by checking out what falls into a "good" and "bad" ACT score. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points or more? Check out PrepScholar's test-prep programour five day free trial. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. 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Underage Alcohol Drinking in Military Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Underage Alcohol Drinking in Military - Essay Example In the light of the different opinions, it is significant to explore the underage drinking and its effects on the youth in the military. The military should not allow the underage possession and consumption of the alcohol in order to promote discipline and efficient execution of duties. The law prohibits the persons under the age of twenty-one from possessing and consuming alcohol. Specifically, Article XXI of the US Constitution states clearly that any person under the age of twenty-one years should not drink (Arnold-Burger 1). Whether in the military or not, the application of the state and local laws is in an equal measure. The opponents of the underage alcohol use in the military are right to articulate the US and local laws that restrict the youth from liquor. Every person is equal in matters that center on the law. The 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act that requires all the states to restrict underage from purchasing or possessing alcohol publicly should ensure the militar y does not permit the youth to consume liquor (Saunders and Rey 95). In this respect, the minimum age of the laws applies to all the state installations including the military. The assertion underpins the point that it will be against the law to allow the underage in the military to engage in the alcohol drinking. In the past, the military has attempted to abide by the law, especially in the US-Mexican border where Mexico allows underage drinking. The same spirit should continue and make the United States a nation that abides by the legislation.

American-Spanish War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American-Spanish War - Essay Example In the history of the United States, the Spanish-American War (SAW) is one of the most important foreign wars. The result of the war was the victory for the United States, and this victory became possible due to the hard work and efforts of far-sighted Americans, particularly known as â€Å"Navalists†. The contemporary world would have looked quite different today, if the United States had not won this war. The United States was able to defeat Spain so easily because some far-sighted Americans, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge, were able to develop a strong American fleet. Creating a strong navy was one of the most important ways to protect the national interest and sovereignty of the United States. The navy was to be the backbone of the American power for years to come . The U.S. was able to defeat Spain at considerably low cost as it got prepared better both military and psychologically, to a large extent The background of the war actually propelled the United States to embark on the policy of revenge, and to take wide public opinion. On February 15, 1898, an explosion occurred in the USS Maine, in the Havana Harbor, which led to the war. Another reason was the idea of freeing Cuba from Spanish domination. However, the USA was able to rapidly gain control, and build an empire effectively. After it had drive Spain from Cuba, the United States was able to gain control of Puerto Rico, and eventually Samoa, Guam, Wake Island, Philippines, and then eventually Hawaii . The war only lasted around 3 months, and resulted in very few casualties, around 400 killed and wounded. In fact, the anti-Spanish press was able to raise the public against Spain, which led to mass support, which is essential in wars. Such anti-Spanish press included the â€Å"Yellow Journalism†. ... It was also because of the misrule by Spanish in Cuba, and the misery that it had caused, which led to huge nationalistic outburst.6 The fact that the United States was so strong militarily also paved the way for the swift and relatively easy victory. The U.S did not have to protect any colonies abroad. Additionally, the strong navy was built, which was encouraged by both business and government leaders. A modernization program had been started back in 1881, which had included innovations, which included new ships having steel hulls, large, rifled guns and steam engines. The strong U.S navy was able to defeat Spain easily, because Spain could not compete with the all-steel and steam navy, which had ranked one of the top five navies in the world at that particular period. The Spanish navy was easily defeated. 7 Additionally, the government policies, as well as the high quality of leadership also made Spanish defeat extremely easy. Theodore Roosevelt had a policy, which was summarized â€Å"Speak softly but carry a big stick† showed that there were masterminds behind the development of this plan. The building up of the navy, and the subsequent annexations that the U.S pursued ensured that Spain no longer stood a chance. 8 The Monroe Doctrine also stated that the New World would not be part of foreign colonization, which is why American leadership did not want Spanish presence in Cuba. The leadership eventually turned against Spain, and America’s policies and strength diverted to driving out Spain. Additionally, as historians have examined, Spain was an old and weak country, while the United States was vigorous, new and energetic. It had new strategies.9 As Barrett wrote: â€Å"When Dewey’s squadron sailed out from Mires

Analysing strategic business decisions in us cereal industry

Analysing strategic business decisions in us cereal industry The purpose of this essay is to use game theory and barriers to entry to analyse strategic business decisions in the US ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry. An industry analysis was done using different published journals. An overview of the oligopoly industry was also done for a broader understanding of the ready-to-eat breakfast cereals industry. Bertrand competition was used as the oligopoly model adopted by the industry. Game theory was used to analyse the strategy firms in the industry will adopt and a discussion on barriers to entry as it applies to the industry was done. Introduction This essay will discuss the US ready-to-eat breakfast cereals industry. An overview of oligopoly, discussions on Game theory, Nash equilibrium, Bertrand Price Competition and Barriers to Entry will be used to analyse the industry and the strategic business decisions as they relate to the industry Analysis of the Ready-to-eat Breakfast Cereals Industry Connor (1999) described the ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry as a capital intensive industry requiring huge capital investments in production plants. To a large extent, this has contributed to Barriers to Entry in the industry. This industry market structure though having quite a few number of suppliers, is dominated by four major companies which are Kellogg Company, General Mills, Quaker Oats and Kraft. According to Nevo (2000) these companies have consistently continued to post high profits in comparison with the other food industries. A key characteristic feature of this industry is product differentiation. Brand specific knowhow is apparently present since established firms are sometimes unable to duplicate each others brand. The existence of this however, does not prevent them from producing, promoting and distributing successful new brands. Existing brands differ in such potentially relevant dimensions as sweetness, protein content, shape, grain base, vitamin content, fibre content and crunchiness (Schmalnesee, 1978) Connor (1999) has argued that competition in this industry does not involve the use of price war and therefore not a competitive strategy. Different researches conducted on the industry have shown that there is a level of collusion amongst the top firms though not openly done. This assumption was made popular by a case of anticompetitive complaint by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission against the top three manufacturers Kellogg, general Mills Post in the 1970s (Aviv Nevo, 2000) Because of the absence of price wars in the industry, the use of other non-price strategies to gain competitive advantage are employed by firms in this industry. The consistency of zero price wars over the years, however was broken when in the late nineties, a price reduction by Kraft led the other big three Kellogg Company, General Mills and Quaker oats to respond by also reducing their prices as suggested by ( Nevo, 2000). This pricing strategy by Kraft significantly affected the overall industry price forci ng its competitors to reduce their prices as well. Innovation through the launch of new products and aggressive media advertising are strategies employed by firms in the ready-to-eat cereals industry to compete for market share. This is a major factor contributing to the consistent high profits in the industry. The result of Connors (1999) research revealed that the rivalry in the breakfast cereals industry tends towards the choreographed grunts of televised wrestling than a cutthroat dual to the death and that the ultimate weapon, steep price cuts, is rarely unsheathed. According to Connor (1999), media advertising and new product introductions are intimately related. New product introductions are one of the principal mechanisms for effecting rapid price increases in the breakfast cereals industry. His research revealed that all the new cereals introduced by the big four companies between 1981 and 1987 in the first year of sales, were priced 12% above the companys existing brands average prices. Connor (1999) in his research further showed that the extraordinary attachment of consumers to branded cereals (or at least to the boxes they come in) has made entry by private-label products extremely difficult. This high degree of brand loyalty in the industry has significantly posed a threat to any firm considering entry into the industry. Invariably, the more a firms brand is recognised, the higher the sale of a newly introduced cereal will be. The cereal industry has oligopolistic tendencies and characteristics and will be classified as one. An overview on oligopoly below highlights the characteristic nature of oligopoly. Overview of Oligopoly Lipsey + Chrystal (1999) defined oligopoly as the theory of imperfect competition among the few. The industry is characterised by a few firms selling differentiated products. Because there are only few firms, each firm realises that its competitor may respond to any move it makes and takes that into account because each firms decision affects the other firms in the industry. Earl and Wakeley (2005) described firms in the Imperfect competition as having differentiated products which are close substitutes. These differentiated products are supported heavily by advertising. Advertising tends to persuade consumers to patronise a particular brand over other brands of the other competitors. Advertising is used as a crucial weapon to create brand loyalty in the industry as consumers are assumed to be highly mobile. The existence of strong brand loyalty makes entry difficult because consumers are likely to have strong preferences for the already existing brands. This implies that the behaviour of oligopolists are strategic with each firm taking explicit account of the impact of their decisions on competitors and the expected reactions from them (Lipsey + Chrystal, 1999, page 176). Besanko et al (2004) also defined oligopoly as a market in which the actions of individual firms materially affect the industry price level. The strategic behaviour of oligopolists is attributed to the highly competitive nature of the industry. For these firms to make strategic decisions that can give them comparative advantage, they make use of oligopoly models and game theory (Besanko et al, 2004). Game Theory and Bertrand Price Competition Besanko et al (2004) defined Game theory as the branch of Economics that deals with the analysis of optimal decision making when all decision makers are presumed to be rational and each is attempting to anticipate the actions and reactions of its competitors (Besanko et al, 2004, page 36) Game theory is a strategic business decision making tool in areas such as pricing and capacity expansion. Bertrand Price competition Model Besanko et al (2004) has described Bertrand competition as a model of competition in which each firm selects a price to maximize its profit given the price that it anticipates its competitor will select. Each firm views its competitors price as fixed and believes that its own pricing practices will not affect the pricing of the competitor. In an oligopolistic industry with differentiated products, price competition is usually mild. When products are differentiated, a firm will not lose all of its business to competitors that embark on a price cut. This is majorly attributed to competition being based on a variety of product parameters such as its quality, availability and advertising. The US ready-to-eat- breakfast cereal industry like all oligopolistic industries is highly competitive. The strategy of each firm will be to maximize profits and outputs given its rivals strategy. To use game theory to analyse what choice is best for a firm at any given point, two companies will be used; Kellogg Company and General Mills as they are one of the top four and are each others competitors. Game theory and Nash equilibrium will be used to analyse the best strategy for profit maximization given that each firm sets a price for its cereals. A Nash Equilibrium is the strategy combination where each player is doing its best given the strategies of its competitor. An assumption is made that each firm sets a price that maximises its profit and that a price cut by either of them to achieve a larger market share will impact their profits given the strong influence of brand loyalty. The consequences of each firms actions are described in the game matrix below; In the game above, the strategy (Co-operate, Co-operate) is both a Nash equilibrium and a dominant strategy because each firm maximises profit at this point. It is a Nash equilibrium because with the pay-off of ($120, $120) no firm will unilaterally want to deviate knowing that it will achieve a lower pay-off by doing so. Furthermore, co-operate strategy is a dominant strategy because no matter what the other firm chooses, to co-operate will always yield a higher pay-off. Barriers to Entry According to Earl and Wakeley (2005), barriers to entry exist when potential competitors find there are obstacles which hinder their proposed entry into an otherwise attractive industry. Typical barriers to entry include: incumbents owning all sources of essential raw materials; incumbents patents; economies of scale providing incumbents with a cost advantage; and incumbents past expenditure on advertising (which gives them a higher profile in the minds of buyers relative to newcomers). The important point to note about barriers to entry is that they protect all of the industrys incumbent firms from the threat posed by competition from outside of the industry As fierce as rivalries are and as highly competitive as the oligopolistic industry may be in nature, Lipsey + Chrystal (1999) stated that there are determining factors that make a few large firms dominate in the industry. According to Lipsey + Chrystal (1999), some of these factors are natural or structural, and some are firm-created or strategic. These same factors are deterrents to firms seeking entry into an oligopolistic industry. The natural/structural barriers as it applies to the cereal industry include economies of scale, cost of introduction of new brands and economies of scope, and marketing advantages of incumbency, while firm-created/strategic barriers include capacity expansion. Natural/Structural Barriers Economies of Scale According to Besanko et al (2004) production process for a specific product exhibits economies of scale over a range of output when the average cost drops over that range. Economies of scale exist when the unit cost of production declines as the quantity of output increases. When production becomes standardised and highly specialised, the concept of division of labour must be applied. Lipsey + Chrystal (1999) described division of labour as occurring when the production of a product is broken up into hundreds of simple, repetitive tasks. They further stated that the division of labour is, as Adam Smith observed long ago, dependent on the size of the market. If only a few units of products can be sold each day, there is no point in dividing its production into a number of specialised tasks. Lipsey + Chrystal (1999) further stated that larger firms have advantage in industries that have potentials for economies based on the division of labour because the larger the scale of production, the lower their average costs of production. Economies of scale also lead to minimum efficient scale. According to Besanko et al (2004) and Earl and Wakeley (2005) minimum efficient scale is the smallest level of output at which economies of scale cannot be sustained further. Minimum efficient scale can only be achieved in the long run. Based on this, it will be difficult for a firm considering entry to achieve MES because of the costly nature. The cereal industry is capital intensive and is dominated by a large few with the long years of existence. As a strategy to deter entry, the incumbent firms may decide to increase the quantity of output to further drive down their costs and achieve a higher rate of economies of scale. Because economies of scale are present in the industry, the incumbents average cost of production will be lower than that of a new entrant who will have difficulties trying to attain MES which can only be achievable in the long-run. Doing so will entail acquiri ng excess capacity and increasing production output which will both be costly and unprofitable as brand loyalty is extremely high in this industry. Costs of Introducing A New Product and Economies of Scope The cereal industry is categorised by the introduction of new brands. It will be difficult for a firm attempting entry to recover such costs in a short period of time bearing in mind that it will need to break even before making profits. Economies of scope are associated with lower cost scales derived from having multiple production lines within a plant. According to Besanko et al (2004) The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry provides a good example. For several decades, the industry has been dominated by a few firms including Kellogg, General Mills, General Foods and Quaker Oats, and there has been virtually no new entry since World War II. There are economies of scope in producing and marketing cereals. Besank0 et al (2004) further explained that for an entry to be successful in the ready-to-eat breakfast cereals industry, the newcomer will need to introduce 6 to 12 successful brands. This requires heavy capital and makes entry a risky proposition. The introduction of new brands is associated with a high cost of advertising. An incumbent firm in the cereal industry can consistently employ the use of introduction of new cereals to deter further entry by new firms. It will not be as expensive for the incumbent firm to advertise its new cereal product as it will be for a new entrant because of the high brand loyalty in the industry and the economies of scope cost advantages. C) Marketing advantages of incumbency Umbrella branding has been described as a situation whereby a firm sells different products under the same brand name (Besanko et al, 2004). According to Besanko et al (2004), an incumbent firm can exploit the umbrella effect to offset uncertainty about the quality of a new product that is been introduced. The umbrella effect may also help the existing firm negotiate the vertical chain. Retailers are more likely to devote scarce warehousing and shelf spaces to the firms new products more than it would for a new entrant. Likewise, suppliers and distributors may be more willing to transact businesses with the incumbent firms more than the new entrant in the areas of credit sales and relationship-specific investments (Besanko et al, 2004). Incumbent firms in the cereals industry can use umbrella branding as a strategy to deter new entry or force new entrants out of the industry. Umbrella branding also has an effect on consumers. The possibility of a newly introduced brands been widely a ccepted by consumers is higher for firms enjoying umbrella branding than for new entrants. Umbrella branding has the ability to reduce uncertainties associated with the introduction of a new cereal brand. Furthermore, the development of close relationships by an incumbent firm with its vertical chain is another strategy for barriers to entry. Firm-Created/Strategic Barriers Capacity Expansion The incumbent firm may decide to embark on capacity expansion. A new entrant will find it difficult to match up its plant size with the plant size of existing firms and may incur losses at entry. With the expansion of capacity and increased sales, the incumbent will continue to enjoy economies of scale thereby forcing new entrants who are unable to achieve such low unit cost of production out of the industry as their average cost of production may consistently be higher than the market price of the cereal brands and the price. Conclusion The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry is an oligopolistic industry requiring the firms to employ non-pricing strategies to maximize profits and sustain competitive advantage. Because the ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry has natural barriers to entry, firms in this industry do not need to do much in the area of strategic barrier to entry to prevent of or force new entrants out of the market. However, the constant introduction of new cereals is crucial to earning higher profits.