Daodejing Characterization of Early Daoist Teachers Essay

Since every chapter of the Daodejing describes Daoism in different aspects it is believed that several authors contributed to the completion of it. The Daodejing is very poetic and mysterious. The early teachers of the Daodejing seemed to pass things down that was difficult for ordinary minds to comprehend as a way to get people to analyze and understand the world around them. Meanings encrypted in different ways and metaphors constantly used seem to be a common characteristic between the early teachers. Although they were oddly written, all of the passages seemed to give a basic insight on the early teachers’ perspective of things. The Daodejing characterizes common human weakness and meant to effect the way people think or react. Early teachers believed that the truth about the â€Å"human mind† can only be sought from within. Outside influences and worldly thing will not guide you to understand yourself. Based on the Daodejing, the early teachers also believed that the understanding of self is given as a gift from nature not acquired knowledge that you just so happen to stumble upon. The text of the Daodejing offers a practical way of life and dismisses any ideas of human immortality. These passages were intended to restore peace and harmony to a world that the early teachers believed was in disarray. The text stresses the importance of learning to resolve things naturally and to restrain from unnatural reactions. The Daodejing was written to explore the natural meaning and value of life itself. Daoist Teachings I see the Daoist teachings as effortless kind of go with the flow beliefs. When I read of the teachings and research the ways of a Daoist, it seems similar to a â€Å"tree hugger† or â€Å"hippie† type of lifestyle. This similarity isn’t shocking since most religions or cultural movements share common interests of certain ideas. The ying yang symbol which was part of the origin of the Daoist was used by the â€Å"hippie† cultural movement. Daoism also adopted beliefs from other religions such as Confucianism and Buddhism. The teachings seem to focus on understanding the nature of reality and no concern for things that can’t be changed. Followers of Daoism believed in the idea of avoiding the unnatural things and to become more like nature. Nature desires only what is necessary to flourish and nothing more. Education is regarded as artificial and not a necessity as it is within other religious practices. Daoist teachings express the elimination of whatever is unnecessary and artificial. Daoism has no single founder and does not place â€Å"trust in an unchanging and invisible stability that somehow transcends the fleeting experience of time† (Miller, 2012). I believe the goal in Daoism is to reach perfect health by nature through peace and harmony. References: Ammer, C. (1997). Quit while one’s ahead. In The American Heritage ® Dictionary of Idioms Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved from http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/quit while one’s ahead Miller, J. (2012). A short history of daoism. Retrieved from http://www. daoiststudies. org/dao/content/short-history-daoism-introduction.

Kant vs. Hegel

Leona Take LARS 3155 10 February 2013 Kant and Hegel Hegel’s concept of the â€Å"Absolute Idea† claims that there is a universal and ideal standard that is continuously being revealed throughout history, in various forms of human expression. The Absolute Idea can be interpreted as God, nature, spirit, or reality. With art, there is no such thing as â€Å"Art for Art’s sake† because art is a manifestation of the unfolding of the Absolute Idea.In Hegel’s Art History, the progression of art is always moving closer to ultimate reality, because spiritual realization is teleological. The Absolute is fully realized when form and content are harmonious and concrete in their depiction of spirit and man. Beauty is dependent upon these things. For Hegel, the classical period is characterized by the depiction of ideal beauty in the perfect human body in ancient Greek sculpture.However, the concreteness of the human body is later seen as limited for not represe nting spirit and imagination in a more abstract form. Therefore, Hegel’s ideal of beauty is ever changing according to Art’s development in history, and his terms. In other words, Hegel calls the shots. In contrast to Hegel, Kant’s philosophy of art was a deliberate attempt to remove personal subjectivity. Like Hegel, Kant did believe there was a universal beauty, or Absolute of something, except Kant did not have any references to measure this by.For Kant, we can only come to know what is really beautiful when one has no agenda, concept, or comparison to measure the object with. From Kant’s perspective, Hegel is attached to all of these things, and therefore he can not really know beauty outside of his own perception. It is an intuitive inner knowing, versus a cognitive knowing. This is significantly different from Hegel’s ideal of beauty, since knowing what is really beautiful can never be answered concretely, but rather intuitively.

Brazils Communication Essay Example for Free

Brazil’s Communication Essay Every country has unique, distinctive ways in which they interrelate and communicate with each other within their country. A country’s means of communication can be verbalized through verbal, non-verbal, and interpersonal communication channels. In the country of Brazil most people are not Hispanic but Latino, although many immigrant communities are from Europe, Africa, and Japan. The official language spoken in Brazil is Portuguese; however, Spanish, English, and French are other languages that are also spoken in Brazil. When greeting they expect a firm handshake with strong eye contact. When doing business in Brazil don’t be taken aback if they stand very close to you when speaking. Moving away may be interpreted as rejection. Brazil also uses many forms of non verbal communication. Much of this body language is comprised of culturally derived behaviors. When speaking to one another, it is not normal to take turns speaking. People will interrupt a conversation and will often speak at the same time as their peers. Another verbal communication pattern that Brazil practices is using first names when addressing a person. Also, one’s tone of voice is often high pitched when conversing with one another. Although daily conversation is conducted in a louder voice, it is not meant to express anger or hostility to anybody. In addition, verbal communication in Brazil is viewed as being theatrical and overly animated by other countries who are more reserved. In Brazil, physical appearance and surroundings are important and provide visual cues as to one’s status and tone of conversations. In many Latin countries, communication tends to be predominately oral rather than through written word. However, from the business aspect, when sending something in written format it is usually a good idea to follow up with a phone call or a visit in person. Over the last two decades, the telecom industry world over has grown and evolved at an incredible pace and has significantly changed the way people interact. Brazil Telecom offers long distance telecommunications services hrough some 8,034 million lines and 281,800 public telephones to customers in Brazil. Oi Telecom, formerly known as Telemar is the largest telecommunications company in Brazil, it was established in 2008 and has become the biggest company in Brazil on the Telecommunications sector. This company is present in 4600 cities in Brazil and it has influenced the price drop in the national level of the same services offered by competitors due to strength of its operations in the country. Brazil’s Communication. (2017, Jan 04).

Goals of Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Goals of Punishment - Essay Example Among these have been punishments aimed at shaming individuals into avoiding to commit crimes which they had committed before (Word, 2007). An example of these shaming punishments has been the requirement for first time DUI offenders to wear a yellow license plate when they are on suspension. This requirement has ensured that the rates of imprisonment for DUI offenders, which takes a huge chunk off state budgets, have been reduced. It has been found that this is the most cost effective way for the achievement of deterrence as well as the satisfaction for the demands of retribution.While this requirement had been legislated in the 1960s; it was rarely used until the state of Ohio declared it mandatory for all those found committing the DUI offense. One would say that this is a reasonable punishment because it achieves the goal of punishing the individual through being exposed to the public throughout his or her suspension period. The shame derived from this exposure ensures that the individual involved does not repeat the same offense. In fact, the fear of going through the same experience for a second time will act as deterrence from committing future offenses. This measure has seen a level of success in the last few years as seen through the reduction of the number of r estricted number plates from over 10000 in the first year of it implementation to 5270 a year later. In the New York area of Bronx, the most frequently used method of deterrence to crime is the stop and frisk method. This is the case where police officers stop anyone whom they suspect of having criminal intentions and searching them. Despite the good intentions that were intended when this practice was instituted, it has come to be extremely unpopular with the residents, especially those from minority groups. Statistics show that while African Americans only make up 23% of New Yorkers, they are the victims of 53% of the stop and

Environmental Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Environmental Analysis - Essay Example The Company has been appearing as the sales leader among global automakers in China over the last four years. In 2008, the estimated market shares of the GM in China were 12.1percent of the total GM Sales (GMChina). In this report, the environment analysis of GM China has been done. Through PESTLE analysis, Porter’s Five Forces Analysis, SWOT Analysis and other theoretical models, the current situation of GM in China has been analysed. External Analysis PESTLE Analysis Political Two factors are contributing to the growth and development of automobile industry of China: first, the suitable domestic policies and market openings: second, supply of vehicles and parts throughout the country in the logistic and commercial aspects (Kamiya & Ramirez, 2004). Chinese government authorities including local and central government do not only issue the automobile industry development plans but they are also involved in the operations of the companies to maintain such developments (Bungsche , 2007). Government of China has eliminated most of the fixed fees imposed on vehicles such as road maintenance fees of around $210 per year (Brogan, 2009). In 2010, Chinese government has introduced policies that could support new-energy auto industry. In the new policy, government is paying a subsidiary of up to 50,000 Yuan to any individual who buys a hybrid vehicle and 60,000 Yuan to any individual who buys battery electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle (Xinhua, 2010). The Chinese government is planning to pursue a new policy which could encourage industry consolidation thereby, promoting the development of Chinese-brand passenger cars and it has been estimated that by 2015 domestic sedans will be 40% of nation’s car market (Chinacartimes, 2010). This example shows that Chinese government aims to promote domestic car industry. Chinese government has imposed 10% sales tax on small cars which is effective from Januray 1, 2011. Analysts argue that small cars comprise of 60 percent of all passengers cars in China therefore, this policy of government will stop the growth of small cars thereby, increasing the demand of foreign companies especially the U.S. companies which have comparative advantage in manufacturing large cars (Hsu, 2010). The government inclination towards local companies is also evident from subsidies in China. According to an auto analyst, Zhang Zhiyong, the subsidies in China only promote local protection and they do not consider the model lines and technological improvements brought by foreign companies. Zhang Zhiyong argues that Chinese government should use subsidies to promote domestic automobiles which do not always mean foreign or local companies, rather it includes the companies which have significant ties with the city (Chinaenvironmentallaw, 2010). Economic Gross domestic product (GDP) has increased from 7.6 percent year-of-year in 1999 to 11.9 percent on 2007 (World Bank, 2008). In 2010, the GDP has grown by 10 percent (Chi natoday, 2011). Consumer price index (CPI) has increased from 98.6 percent year-of-year in 1999 to 104.8 percent in 2007 (World Bank

Article analyse Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Article analyse - Assignment Example other choice but to acquire its service at that expensive charge (Alderighi, Nicolini and Piga 73).Commercial air travel has received many changes over the past hundred years with it budget much stretched. With much completion starting to take charge, the commercial airlines were forced to reduce their fair cost to attract more customers. The slow global economic growth also ensured economic growth of air travel in the emerging regions where less air travel increased substantially (Alderighi, Nicolini and Piga 86). Besides, the commercial air travel took advantage of increased cost of fuel to increase its market structure. The domestic airplanes could not afford travelling long distances. Therefore, the commercial air travel was able to receive more customers to acquire it services. This situation reduced the completion it was earlier receiving from other airlines. International air travel indicates that mature airlines in the market of Europe experienced slower growth rate. The frontier airline, has now posed new challenges to commercial air travel in many areas. This has resulted to reduced economic growth of airlines. The frontier airlines now has reduced the cost of travelling, making several flights to various cities as compared to the air travel (Alderighi, Nicolini and Piga 45). In overall, the frontier has provided better services making company to receive more customers than any other airlines. This improvement has caused a lot of concern to business community about the effects of delta years of high cost and long flights in order to ensure they are not outdone. The market entry for competition and further innovation is important and largely undisputed in any industrial organization. Many factor s influence general pricing and passenger traffic in air transport industry (Peng, 67). The most popular determinant is low cost airline. It has been reported that low cost line has significant resulted to depression of prices associated with increase of

Homeless Services Coalition in Kansas City Essay

Homeless Services Coalition in Kansas City - Essay Example I have had a past experience with my place of study whereby I was one of the homeless people at the place who benefited from the programs offered by the coalition agencies. This happened during the internal wars that happened in our country and we ran to Kansas for refuge. Literature Review Homeless Services Coalition strives to get rid of homelessness in the city. Homeless Services Coalition was formed to address the concerns and interests of the homeless community, service providers, their consumers and supporters (Rich Wiatt, Rich Thomas and Mullins 93). It works with local leaders to improve and sustain homeless community action plan. It was not easy to refuge community’s homeless population and it was very difficult to build the ability to prevent homelessness. This problem continued to spread each day and it became the growing need of the City. The organization had representatives from across the metropolitan area and continued to grow, in most cases it was made up of religious and commercial community. People came together to discuss the issue of homeless and the problems they face. The growing problem of homeless had negative impacts on the neighborhoods, business corridors and community at large. The size and characteristics of homeless population was of importance when dealing with the issue (Wright and Donley 18). This enabled in the roper planning by the organization. Several factors leading to homeless were stated and many programs and services were made available to the struggling population.

Solar energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Solar energy - Essay Example Organizations and industry likewise utilize these technologies to broaden their energy sources, enhance productivity, and recovery cash. Sun based photovoltaic and concentrating sun powered force technologies are likewise being utilized by engineers and utilities to process power on a monstrous scale to power urban communities and residential areas. Sun powered force is generated by gathering daylight and changing over it into power. This is carried out by utilizing sun powered boards, which are vast even boards made up of numerous singular sunlight based cells. It is frequently utilized as a part of remote areas, in spite of the fact that it is getting to be more famous in urban territories too. This page holds articles that investigate propels in sunlight based energy engineering. Numerous individuals are acquainted with supposed photovoltaic cells, or sun powered boards, found on things like space apparatus, housetops, and handheld adding machines. The cells are made of semiconductor materials like those found in PC chips. The point when daylight hits the units, it thumps electrons detached from their molecules. As the electrons course through the unit, they produce power. On a much bigger scale, sunlight based warm power plants utilize different strategies to think the suns energy as a high temperature source. The high temperature is then used to bubble water to drive a steam turbine that produces power in much the same form as coal and atomic force plants, supplying power for many individuals. Sun powered energy is praised as a limitless fuel source that is contamination and regularly commotion free. The engineering is likewise flexible. For instance, sun based units produce energy for far-out spots like satellites in Earth circle and lodges profound in the Rocky Mountains as effectively as they can control downtown edifices and cutting edge autos. However sun powered energy doesnt work

Carla F. Tucker - Serial Killer Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Carla F. Tucker - Serial Killer - Research Paper Example Karla Faye Tucker: Pickaxe Murderer Karla Faye Tucker, the infamous pickaxe murderer, made headlines in 1998 when she got executed. After all, she was the first woman to be executed in the state of Texas after more than a hundred years. Her story goes like this: On June 13, 1983, she and friend Daniel Ryan Garret went to Jerry Lynn Dean’s house. Tucker knew Dean because he was the husband of her best friend. She, however, disliked him because he once stained her living room because he had parked his motorcycle there, with dripping oil. He also destroyed Tucker’s pictures of her mother. So Tucker and Garret went to Dean’s house to steal the Harley Davidson motorcycle (Stewart, 2011). Upon seeing Dean, Garett attacked him with a hammer. The victim was making a bubbling sound that irritated Tucker so much that she finished him off by stabbing him with a pickaxe (Stewart, 2011). They noticed another woman in the apartment. This was the second victim, Deborah Thornton , who was hiding under some sheets in a corner. Thornton was there because she fought with her husband, went to a party and met Dean. High because of the kill they made minutes ago, Tucker attacked Thornton with her pickaxe, stabbing her many times and finally leaving the dead body with the pickaxe still stuck on the torso. They took Dean’s money and stole his car when they left. The police was alerted and several of Tucker’s phone calls were wiretapped. It was heard there that tucker experienced orgasms every time she places a blow on her victim’s bodies. After a little more than a month, on July 20, 1983, Garret was arrested when he was leaving his house to go to work. Tucker was arrested on the same day along with a third suspect named Albert Sheehan (Stewart, 2011). Before a jury of eight women and one man, Tucker faced her trial on April 11, 1984. Her trial was presided over by a female judge. The third suspect, Sheehan, denied all charges against him and t estified against both defendants, but admitted that he indeed went to Dean’s apartment. There were no witnesses for the defense. After just seventy minutes of deliberation, the jury decided to convict Tucker. Because she was now convicted, the trial is now on the penalty phase (Stewart, 2011). This time, the defense called in a female psychiatrist. The psychiatrist then told the panel that Tucker was on drugs since she was nine. She also described Tucker’s state of mind when she did the killings. Tucker was allegedly intoxicated with methadone, heroin, valium, marijuana, tequila, among others drugs. The psychiatrist also refuted Tucker’s claim that she derived sexual pleasure when she was stabbing her victims’ bodies. In fact, the psychiatrist claimed that it was unlikely for Tucker to have experienced real sexual satisfaction in her life (Stewart, 2011). When it was Tucker’s turn to tell her side of the story, she told the jury that the killings w ere â€Å"not real† for her. â€Å"I did not see the bodies; I do not remember seeing holes or blood† (Stewart, 2011). For three hours, the jury deliberated her case and on April 25, 1984, the jury recommended that Tucker be sentenced to death by lethal injection. For eleven years, Tucker spent her life on the female death row at Gatesville penitentiary and made appeals, even to the state governor at the time, George W. Bush, for clemency. All of her appeals were rejected. On February 2, 1998, she was

Write a brief critique of the response of UK governments to the UN Essay

Write a brief critique of the response of UK governments to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - Essay Example The UK government’s first report declared that no change was required in the active legislation in the UK since the provisions of the convention are already covered (UK First Report to UN, 1994). The UK Government has achieved a high standard in some of the areas of work that the convention recommended. The UN has recognized that the Human Rights Act of 1998 had included some of the aspects of the children in it and this is in line with the needs of the convention. Some of the other legislative steps such as Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, race relations legislation did move the country legislatively forward in this area. The Children and Young People’s Unit in England, the abolition of corporal punishment in the UK and the promotion of children’s rights in all those countries where the UK provides aid, all add to the implementation of the convention directions successfully. The standard of these implementations have been found to be substantially good and recommended by the UN. There are areas where the UK government steps were satisfactory though improvement has to be done. In the legislative front, the changes done in the Human rights Act is not covering all the needs of the children explicitly. The legislation for children and youth is not prioritizing the needs of the children correctly and therefore, is losing focus. The resources spent for the purpose of the children should be clearly specified and allocated for the purpose. A wide and sweeping allocation that maximum resources are allocated would not serve the purpose, says the UN report on the UK. Apart from this, structuring the entire process and therefore, making an effective ‘delivery’ of the program is very important. This includes providing appropriate training and education. There are number of areas which the UN felt that the UK government is yet to meet satisfactorily level. Some of the

Evaluation Proposal Essay Example for Free

Evaluation Proposal Essay Abstract The driving force that stimulates the founders and leaders of the program LAs BEST to aggressively seek evaluations for the program is its genuine concern to be effective and efficient in delivering the goals of the program to disadvantage children, rather than a legislative requirement. The managements initiative of professionalizing practitioners in the after school program, particularly the staffs will make a significant impact on LAs BEST, because these individuals   are the key players in the implementation and overall support system that the program provides for the disadvantaged children participating in this after school program.    As the staffs are the ones involved in giving custodial care and making the learning environment/activities more engaging for the children.   There are many evaluations that were done for after school program as discussed by Scott-Little, Hamann Jurs (2002, p. 394); usually it is the children that are evaluated. Yet for the program to be effective, there is a need to evaluate the staff. This evaluation proposal is being submitted to meet that need, a methodological research has been designed to gather information that will guide management to create staff development sessions that will affirm and promote best practices for the program. It was also designed to gather perceptions of professionalism of the staff and to articulate the core knowledge and skills required by staffs in after school programs and how these may be acquired and updated, as well. Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     In 2002, Congress passed into law the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001.   The passage of this act has significantly amended the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to expand State and local accountability and flexibility, and to stress the adoption of research-based practices. (Mahoney Zigler, 2006)   It also contained a number of new provisions that specifically affected the program of 21st Century Communities Learning Centers (21st CCLC) that was authorized under Title IV, Part B, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It gave the States the responsibility to focus on the 21st CCLC program with specific purposes;   (1) to provide opportunities for academic enrichment, particularly to students in high-poverty areas and those who attend low-performing schools. And to help the students meet State and local standards in core academic subjects such as reading and mathematics; (2) to offer students a broad array of additional services, programs, and recreational activities, that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students; and (3) to offer families of students served by community learning centers opportunities for literacy and related educational development. At the same time, centers help working parents by providing a safe environment for students during non-school hours, or periods when the school is not in session. (The Law, 2006). Description of the Program It was in 1988 (Factsataglance.2.doc, 2007) when former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley created a program to address the growing concern of the community regarding the alarming increase of violent crimes that are mostly attributed to street gangs; the rising numbers of school drop outs, and the proliferation of illegal drugs being used by minors. In the belief that it was the city’s fundamental moral obligation to help these individuals, Bradley created a 55-member Mayor’s Education Council, consisting of leaders coming from the business, education, child care, government, entertainment and industry sectors of the community.   These leaders were tasked to structure and implement the program which was called LAs Better Educated Students for Tomorrow or LAs BEST.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   LAs BEST is an innovative after school program that provides a safe and supervised learning environment for children ages 5- 12 years old immediately after the close of each school day until 6pm without cost to parents.   Working parents of inner-city children, particularly those belonging to the low-income family groups, are anxious about the safety of their children during the hours after school day. As explained by Riggs Greenberg (2004) these hours are considered high risk based on studies of previous researchers, especially if minors are left unsupervised.   Many parents fear their children will be exposed to and /or be influenced by people with destructive behaviors exacerbated by poverty.   And the children themselves have expressed their fears and threats on their well being in their immediate environment or neighborhoods when interviewed according to Huang, Gribbons, Kim, Lee Baker (2000, p. 20). Goals of the Program   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The LA’s BEST program has been designed to provide custodial care, and to provide activities to meet specific educational, social, and motivational goals. (Huang et al, 2000) The program’s goals can be concisely summarized as; 1) to provide a safe supervised environment for the participants during the hours after the close of each school day until 6pm, and 2) to develop the learning experience of the participants through a positive support system in place that would address the participants’ academic, social and motivational needs. Brief description of the theory behind the program The theory behind the program is that when caring, responsible adults are connecting with the children in the hours after the close of each school day, these adults make the place safe to be for the children after school, and make the learning environment and activities more engaging for the children, and are considered as a key player in making a positive impact on the children’s academic achievements, enhanced social skills and emotional maturity. And in order for a program to deliver high quality service, priority should be given on professionalizing and training the staffs involved in the program particularly to the staff that will provide custodial care and learning activities to the children. Description of the Client With this in mind, this program evaluation is being done for LAs BEST with the aim of giving management an overview of the current skill level within the after school program of LAs BEST commenting on both skills, experience and training undertaken by staffs providing custodial care and learning activities to children. Information will also be gathered on employers expectations of skills needed by the staffs employed in this program both at present and in the future. The reason that this information is being gathered is to determine if there is a gap between the current skills level and the duties required to competently manage and implement the program. The information from this evaluation will be used to identify priority areas to be addressed in a proposed Staff Development Framework that LAs BEST wishes to develop. Evaluation Methodology Evaluation/Research methodological design employed Research for this evaluation will be conducted in two parts, the first part being; 1) a literature review of information available from LAs BEST commenting on current skill levels of the staffs providing custodial care and learning activities to the children. The literature review summarizes findings of research to be conducted into training, qualifications, and skill levels of the staffs in LAs BEST, 2) Informal interview of participants while gathering the literature review and, 3) Observational research commencing on site selection and interaction with participants. The second part will be the survey proper using the structure questionnaire for the skill audit survey; 1) gathering data from managers/supervisors participants and 2) gathering data from staff participants. Implementation measures The literature review summary will supplement information drawn from the second part of the research, the skill audit survey and, combined, will give a more accurate view of the current skill level of the staffs. The second part of the research for this report will be conducted through a targeted survey of managers and supervisors in LAs BEST and their respective staffs.   A survey of eight questions concerning the skills of staff in relation to the duties they perform will be gathered from the managers and supervisors. While another survey of 14 questions will be gathered from the staffs. Outcome measures Findings from the two areas of research will be contrasted to find notable areas of commonality and discrepancy and the results of this comparison will be included in this evaluation. Issues that will be raised during the survey will also be included. Evaluation questions to be addressed through a targeted survey of managers/supervisors. How many staffs are involved in custodial care in your program? What are the learning activities that your program utilizes and how many staffs are handling each activity? Of the staffs nominated in question 1 and 2, how many have completed or undergoing training? Indicate levels of training undertaken by staff. Indicate whether staff, in the future, plan to undertake training and at what level. What duties are required of your staff? Identify areas in which staffs need to acquire skills. Do you have a workforce plan? Is professionalizing the staff identified as a training need within the plan? Evaluation questions to be addressed through a targeted survey of staffs What is your current employment type? (Please tick one that apply) __Full Time   Ã‚   __Part Time      __Casual     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   __Permanent   __Contract __ Job Share __Flexible Hours __Other (please specify) _________________ On average how many hours per week do you work? __1 to 10 hours  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   __31 to 40 hours  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   __more than 60 hours __11 to 20 hours  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   __41 to 50 hours __21 to 30 hours  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   __51 to 60 hours How long have you held your current position? __less a year  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   __3 to less than 7 years  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   __more than 10 years __1 to less than 3 years  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   __7 to 10 years What is your current job title? ____________________ Does a formal (written) description of your current position exist? __Yes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   __Yes, but it is not up to date __Yes, I would be willing to provide a copy  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   __No What duties form part of your role on a regular basis? ___________________ What skills do you use on a regular basis? ____________________________ How does your employer support your professional development? What is the highest level of education you have completed?   How relevant has your educational background been to your current position?   How have you kept yourself informed about after school issues over the past 12 months? How many years have you worked in this industry? Do you have a question that you feel should be included in future staff surveys? Do you wish to be contacted in regard to any issues you may have raised within your response to this survey? Manager/Supervisor Participants Manager/Supervisor participant surveys are designed to articulate staff observation and assess areas to determine and address the different needs of staff.   Gathered constructive feedback will guide management to create staff development sessions that will affirm and promote best practices in the program. Staff Participants Hiring new after school staff member who are fully prepared is rare to find. The reasons are most newly hired staff just graduated from college and are completely new to the field; another reason is the hired staff is experienced in a traditional recreational program and/or in an education set-up and is immersed in a school culture that is totally different from an after school culture.   The staff participant surveys are designed to articulate the core knowledge and skills needed by the staffs in after school programs and how these may be acquired and updated, and how staffs perceive professionalism. Study Implementation Procedures Project management   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before starting the evaluation formally, the following tasks are needed; 1) A meeting between the evaluators and LAs BEST management will have to be set-up to communicate and explicate the evaluation proposal; to reach an agreement on the scope of work to be done, timelines and deliverables; and to assimilate what other issues or concerns the management would want to include that is congruent to the evaluation, 2) the evaluation team must make themselves familiar with the program by making ocular visitation of the sites, interviewing managers/supervisors and staffs and take note of proposed modifications in the evaluation design to assimilate these individuals issues or concerns that is congruent to the evaluation.   These proposed modifications will have to be communicated and explicated to LAs BEST management and upon their approval will be incorporated to the evaluation design prior to launch. Site recruitment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This proposal aims to make an exhaustive evaluation of all elementary schools across the City of Los Angeles that are included in the LAs BEST program, which are 147 sites as stated in LAs BEST literature. (Overview.2.doc, n.d.) Data collection and data entry The data collection tools that will be used in this evaluation are; 1) existing data or statistics from record files of LAs BEST that would yield demographic information as well as other personal data of the participants, 2) direct observation of participants during surveys and actual on site visitation, 3) survey questionnaires, and   4) informal interview. All surveys are structured to provide information on two major areas: how the managers/supervisors view the staffs; and how the staffs view themselves with regards to, 1) the knowledge and skills needed by after school staffs; and 2) the degree of professionalism of after school staffs.   All data collected will be documented. Data analysis and reporting Collected data will be analyzed through calculating percentages and descriptive statistics.   After data has been analyzed and interpreted, an evaluation report will be prepared comprising of; 1) an executive summary, 2) an introduction which describes the program, its components, the target population, and the goals and objectives of the program, 3) a methodology which describes how the program was actually implemented as well as how the data was collected, what instruments were used to collect the data and how the data was analyzed, 4) the results section of the data analysis containing concrete data, 5) a discussion section explaining how the data was interpreted, provides answers to evaluation questions, 6) discloses any problems or issues encountered in the evaluation,   7) suggestions on   what could be done in the future to improve other similar evaluations, and 8) a recommendations section where recommendations are made based on findings. Study Timeline The overall project management timeline of the evaluation proposal is presented in the table below (see Table 1).   The appropriate timelines for each task within each evaluation phase is also specified.   Our goal is to begin the evaluation in May 2007 and conclude with the final reporting in October 2008. Table 1: Project Management Timeline   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Evaluation Period Phase Task Phase 1 (Pre-Test) Meeting between evaluators and LAs BEST Management May 2007 to July 2007 Increase familiarity with sites May 2007 to July 2007 Deliberation and approval of modifications May 2007 to July 2007 Phase 2 (Test 1) Site recruitment (147 sites) August 2007 Literature Review August 2007 to October 2007 Informal interview of participants August 2007 to October 2007 Observational research August 2007 to October 2007 Phase 3 (Test 2) Survey Questionnaire Managers/Supervisors September 2007 Survey Questionnaire Staffs October 2007 to December 2007 Phase 4 Data Collection/Data Entry/Data Analysis May 2007 to March 2008 Reporting January 2008 to   April 2008 Phase 5 Presentation of Final Report to LAs BEST Management May 2008 References Factsataglance.2.doc. (2007). LAs BEST. Retrieved April 26, 2007. From http://www.lasbest.org/resourcecenter/index.php Huang, D., Gribbons, B., Kim, K., Lee, C. Baker, E. (2000). A Decade of Results: The Impact of the LAs BEST After School Enrichment Program on Subsequent Student Achievement and Performance. UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation. Retrieved April 26, 2007 from http://www.lasbest.org/resourcecenter/ucla.php Mahoney, J. Zigler, E. (2006). Translating science to policy under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: Lessons from the national evaluation of the 21st-Century Community Learning Centers. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 27,   282–294 Overview.2.doc. (n.d.). LAs BEST. Retrieved April 26, 2007. From http://www.lasbest.org/resourcecenter/index.php Riggs, N. Greenberg, M. (2004). After-School Youth Development Programs: A Developmental-Ecological Model of Current Research. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 7, (3) September 2004. Scott-Little, C., Hamann, M. Jurs, S. (2002). Evaluations of After-School Programs: A Meta-Evaluation of Methodologies and Narrative Synthesis of Findings. American Journal of Evaluation   23; 387. Retrieved April 25, 2007 from http://aje.sagepub.com The Law (2006) Office of Non-Public Education (ONPE) The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. US Department of Education. Retrieved May 3, 2007 from http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg55.html

Frq Apush Farmers vs Industrialization Essay Example for Free

Frq Apush Farmers vs Industrialization Essay The Gilded Age, a time of industrious growth and a surge of new immigrants. Americans had witnessed the death of rural life dominated by farmers and the birth of an urban and industrial America dominated by bankers, industrialists, and city dwellers. Overproduction led farmers into debt leaving them just an overflow of crops due to the repressed prices. Tariff Policies forced farmers to buy manufactured goods for survival. Farmers lost their status and power due to industrialization. Let’s just say farmers felt betrayed by their government and not letting them have voice. Overproduction was the most vexing problem during this time. The American farmer produced too much for their own good. As levels rise, the use of farm machinery increased it allowed the farmer to grow even more, new farming techniques, and the spread of railroads l made markets full of produce. As more and more crops were in the markets, it made the prices fall for the produce. Farmers were growing more and making less money. Of all the problems a farmer faced, overproduction was the gravest. Not making enough to recoup expenses because of depressed crop values, farmers attempted to compensate by producing more. This made the problem worse. The lack of income drove farmers into ever-deepening debt. Farmers fell victim to a tariff policy of the U.S. during the Gilded Age. It forced them to buy all the manufacture goods they needed for survival on a market protected by tariff legislation at high prices while selling what they produced on an unprotected market at reduced prices because of oversupply and foreign competitors. The government put a tax on the manufactured goods being imported into the U.S. by other manufactures. They hoped to make them more expensive than the American goods. For consumers would buy American goods. During this process it made American rapidly industrialized. Famers felt doubly discriminated against because they felt the tariffs were applied primarily to manufactured goods while their interests were left to fend for themselves. One of the hardest impacts due to industrialization for farmers was that they had to deal with the recognition that rural and agricultural America was given way to an urban and industrialized American. Dominated by the interests of big business, and government. Famers found the major political parties during the time unresponsive to their demands that government deal with their problems. Farmers no longer controlled the social, economic, or political systems. Which was a constant struggle for them to be heard, and did not feel appreciated. Farmers were impacted by industrialization in many ways causing many problems. Making a huge amount of them very unhappy during the Gilded Age.

Competition and Integration of Stock Exchanges

Competition and Integration of Stock Exchanges Abstract The increase in competition of stock exchanges, due mainly to the transformation of the securities markets, has led to mergers, technological agreements among existing exchanges, price wars, takeovers, and the creation of new exchanges, even within the same country. Recently, exchanges have also faced competition from quasi-exchanges, which are also known as ECNs. They not only free-ride on the process of listing given that they generally trade only securities listed on other exchanges, but also on the price-discovery process facilitating members of exchanges to direct trade to them. ECNs are increasingly cannibalizing the businesses of the existing stock exchanges. The evolution of new financial instruments, the falling monopoly of banks as a source of direct funding to borrowers and of direct investment for investors, the tremendous improvement in information technology, and a greater financial culture among common people as well as the fluctuations in interest, price, and exchange rate due to the oil crises have caused the increasing importance of securities markets in the financial system. As the capital markets become increasingly globalized, investors have more choices and are demanding better trading facilities, market efficiency and quality from stock exchanges. To meet challenges, exchanges have to accelerate the construction of the market information infrastructure, rivalry among Europes stock exchanges emphasizes more on cooperation of trading technology than anything else. In Asia, the concept of forming a full financial service group within each market is the main consideration. Exchanges have recognized that faced with the challenge to respond commercially to competitors, they needed to become traded companies themselves. The underlying assumption is that, in the long run, only the most efficient exchanges should survive, trading stocks from other European countries and offering the most innovative and competitive financial instruments. Table of Contents (Jump to) I Abstract.. 2 II List of Abbreviations. 5 1. Introduction 6-11 2. Review of Literature 2.1 What is an Exchange. 12-16 2.2 Globalisation of Financial Markets 17-20 2.3 Nature of Competition of Stock Exchanges.. 20-24 2.4 The Effects of Increasing Competition among Stock Exchanges. 24-25 2.5 Revolutionary changes of Technology in the Securities Market.. 26-29 2.6 Integration of Stock Exchanges 29-30 2.7 Theoretical Influences 31-37 3. Methodology 3.1 Aim of the Project. 38 3.2 Objectives of the Project 38 3.3 Why I am Interested in this Topic. 39 3.4 Background 39-40 3.5 The General Approach.. 40-41 3.6 Data Collection.. 41-43 3.7 Criticisms of the Sources 43-44 3.8 Validity.. 44 3.9 Reliability.. 44-45 4. Qualitative Analysis 4.1 Analysis of Industry Dynamics. 46-56 Case Studies 4.2.1 International Exchange- LSE- A Prototype of Horizontal Merger 57-61 4.2.2 Hong Kong Stock Exchange A Typical Model of a Vertical Merger. 62-66 4.3 Implications and Discussion.. 66-69 5.0 Conclusion70-72 Appendices Appendix 1 Interviewees Questions74 Appendix 2 Interview Key Points.. 75-77 Appendix 3 Future Strategies of LSE HKSE. 78-80 Bibliography 81-87 List of Abbreviations ECNs Electronic Communication Networks ISD Investment Service Directive EU European Union iX International Exchange LSE London Stock Exchange DB Deutsche Borse NYSE New York Stock Exchange PSE Philippine Stock Exchange PB Paris Borse SGX Singapore Exchange TSE Tokyo Stock Exchange SEC Securities and Exchange Commission CCASS The Central Clearing and Settlement System HKFE Hong Kong Futures Exchange HKSCC Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited 1. Introduction There are currently about 250 institutions recognized as exchanges in the world, and both individually and collectively they play a critical role in most national economies and also at a global level. They provide cash, futures, options and other forms of derivatives, markets for all major commodities and assets traded in the world. Competition among stock exchanges, both national and international, is a recent phenomenon. Until some decades ago, it was difficult to think of exchanges as firms that produce and sell goods to customers and compete among themselves. Traditionally, exchanges were seen either as public entities or as formally private bodies, deeply regulated by public rules. In both cases, they were often legal monopolist, given the special nature of their activity that very much resembled that of a public good. There was an era when exchanges were natural monopolies (Steil, 1996b), yet nowadays they no longer enjoy a monopoly in the provision of many of their services. When its members owned a monopolistic exchange, it did not have the incentive to maximize its profits because members in charge were prohibited from taking any distribution of profits from the exchange. Exchanges increasingly realize that if they have to compete like firms whose goal is to maximize shareholders wealth, they have to demutualise to turn a member-owned company into a stock company. Exchanges have never been considered as firms, but now they have reformed to become commercially driven corporations. To understand the firms view of an exchange, it is necessary to redefine what an exchange is, what its products are, where its revenues come from and who its customers and suppliers are. Exchanges are special kinds of firms that provide listing, trading and price dissemination services. Direct customers involve listed companies and those, which desire to go public, information providers and intermediaries that trade on the exchange. Intermediaries trade on behalf of both individual and institutional clients who are indirect customers of an exchange. Suppliers are network providers. Listed companies have a dual capacity as suppliers of information and shares for trading. The primary objective of this dissertation is to analyse the competition and integration strategies of stock exchanges like firms. The dissertation focuses on: 1. Industry dynamics of stock exchanges; 2. Evolution of stock exchange mergers; 3. Integration strategies; and 4. Future consolidation trends. Advances in technology have further accelerated the globalization trend. In particular remote access to trading systems, implying that the services offered by stock exchanges can now be accessed from anywhere, including firms having their stocks traded on international exchanges while still being easily accessible to local investors. This type of arrangement is likely to develop a competitive environment, where the most efficient exchanges will eventually win the confidence of investors, traders and companies (Cybo-Ottone, Di Noia and Murgia 2000). The structure of the European stock-exchange environment is changing rapidly. Almost every day, there are new alliances between stock exchanges, stock exchange privatizations, Internet exchanges and electronic exchanges, as well as online brokers, etc. appear in the media. The changes are driven primarily by intensified competition, which is related to the deregulation of stock exchanges, technological progress and the increasing internati onalization of the securities markets. Competition takes the form of existing exchanges and electronic communication networks (ECNs). The increase in competition of stock exchanges, due mainly to the transformation of the securities markets, has led to mergers, technological agreements among existing exchanges, price wars, takeovers, and the creation of new exchanges, even within the same country. Recently, exchanges have also faced competition from quasi-exchanges, which are also known as ECNs. They are parasites on stock exchanges. They not only free-ride on the process of listing given that they generally trade only securities listed on other exchanges, but also on the price-discovery process facilitating members of exchanges to direct trade to them. ECNs are increasingly cannibalizing the businesses of the existing stock exchanges. Mergers have been one of the most probable strategic interactions among stock exchanges. The concept presented here is drawn upon the network externality literature. Exchanges can be regarded as networks in which an increase in the size of the network leads to an exponential increase in the networks value (Shapiro Varian, 1999). In other words, larger networks are more attractive to users than smaller ones. Castells (2000) links a network to its connectedness and consistency. When firms decide on a listing exchange, they choose the one that is connected by the largest number of intermediaries and one that consistently provides the greatest liquidity. In Europe, the pressure for consolidation among stock exchanges has been the arrival of the euro. The full implementation of the Investment Service Directive 1992 (ISD), which allows its members to gain remote access throughout the European Union (EU), further facilitates the financial market integration in the region. The European Securities Forum is promoting the model of horizontal merger. In this model, national exchanges integrate along three functional levels trading, clearing and settlement, and custody. Each market participant can gain access to a range of pan-European services through a single point of entry. The proposed formation of International Exchange (iX) from London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Deutsche BÃ ¶rse (DB) and the recent establishment of Euronext (the merged entity among the exchanges of Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels) are outcomes of this model. An analytical framework will be provided to analyze industry dynamics and integration strategies. The models used include Porters Five Forces Model, Network Society and Ansoffs Product-Market Matrix. These models are utilized to explain how exchanges determined their merger motives and developed integration and consolidation strategies. Given the rapidly evolving nature of the industry, a total of 5 interviews were conducted with members of the London Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange, investment banks/brokerage firms. Primary data sources were based on the interviews. Secondary data sources included academic journals, books, newspapers and working papers. The deliverable is this report, which includes the literature review, findings and discussions, and two case studies. The implementation followed a traditional approach project specification, literature research, fact finding and investigation, case analysis and evaluation, and finally, report writing. The first finding from the interviews is that merger is a clear strategic option for exchanges. This strategy can achieve economies of scale, network externalities, improve profitability and enhance efficiency in the decision-making process and order routing facilities. In particular, a cross-border merger between two exchanges is made possible in Europe with the support of the financial markets harmonization. The second finding is that a merger brings about two patterns of convergence: vertical merger and horizontal merger. The former depicts that exchanges integrate to form a full financial service group offering the trades of a wide variety of financial products such as stocks, options, futures and other derivative products. The latter describes the merger of specialized exchanges, the outcome of which creates compatibility, a concept in that intermediaries trading in one exchange are offered remote access in other member states, with reciprocity and without further requirements. The third finding is that the existence of national regulatory regimes, deeply embedded in their corresponding regulators, constrains further inter-exchange alliance or merger. The ultimate goal to have a supranational regulator that imposes its own standards on the globe is unlikely to happen in the near future. The fourth finding is that the single price and time priority is not an issue in an order-driven market such as Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. In contrast, in a quote-driven mechanism such as Nasdaq, each market maker is itself an execution centre though operating within certain parameters set by the National Association of Securities Dealers (USA). In quote driven or hybrid environments, there creates space for the development of ECNs. The growth of ECNs is gradually threatening to replace quote-driven trading systems. The fifth finding forms an interesting consensus regarding the motives of investors who choose to trade on an ECN. Investors are not able to differentiate the functionalities of a trading system of stock exchange and that of an ECN as long as they can execute their orders at the best possible price. Competition only on price is inadequate for an ECNs survival. They lack the competencies in attracting liquidity and information dissemination. This dissertation is organised as follows: Section 1 defines an exchange as a firm; Section 2 analyses the existing competition and integration of stock exchanges in Asia and in Europe; Section 3 uses Porters Five Forces and network externalities to shape the industry dynamics; then it utilizes Ansoffs Product-Market Matrix to determine the strategic choice of a stock exchange; Section 4 presents the interview framework and cites opinions to analyse the two case studies: London Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock exchange; and Section 5 further develops the findings and links them with the theoretical framework and literature review. 2. Review of the Literature 2.1 What is an Exchange? A stock exchange has two principal functions. The first is the listing of securities. The stock exchange must approve prospectuses for the eligible securities and also administer the statutory information obligations imposed on the issuers. Secondly, the stock exchange is a marketplace for its members to trade the listed securities. Previously, the brokers gathered physically on the floor where the price was fixed by auction. Today, most stock exchanges have introduced electronic trading systems in some form or other, so it is no longer necessary for the brokers to be physically present at the stock exchange. Stock exchanges can be seen as a market, not too much different from the one that fruits and vegetables are traded on. They operate according to the laws of supply and demand and the most successful, whilst having reasonable regulation, will be constantly changing and developing their market operations. Domowitz has given a comprehensive definition, stating: An exchange is a trading system that must: Provide trade execution facilities Provide price information in the form of buy and sell quotations on a regular or continuous basis Engage in price discovery through its trading procedures, rules or mechanisms Have either a formal market-maker structure or a consolidated limit order book or be a single price auction Centralize trading for the purpose of trade execution Have members Exhibit the likelihood, through system rules and/or design, of creating liquidity in the sense that there be entry of buy and sell quotations on a regular basis, such that both buyers and sellers have a reasonable expectation that they can regularly execute their orders at these quotes An exchange is generally described by regulatory authorities as an organization, association, or group of persons that provides a marketplace for exchanging securities between purchasers and sellers. Traditionally, an exchange is owned by members who are also intermediaries. Under a member ownership structure, members did not have the incentive to invest in the exchange infrastructure including technology and trading facilities because returns from these investments could not be distributed to them. The lack of motivation undermined the profitability of an exchange and hence its competitiveness. In addition, intermediaries trading on a monopolistic exchange were subject to higher prices. They passed the increased costs of operations onto their customers. Therefore members were reluctant to vote for an increase in transaction levy. Hansmann (1980) notes that: The nonprofit producer, like its for-profit counterpart, has the capacity to raise priceswithout much fear of customer reprisal; however it lacks the incentive to do so because those in charge are barred from taking home any resulting profits. As time has gone by, exchanges have had to compete in the global market to attract quality companies to list and intermediaries to trade; many of them have converted their member ownership structures into a stock company by means of demutualisation. Under the plan of demutualisation, members are issued shares of the exchange. They become shareholders of the exchange and therefore can be eligible for profit distribution. Since then, exchanges have reformed to become commercially driven corporations whose goal is to maximize shareholders wealth. 2.1.1 Products Stock exchanges cannot only be perceived by the function they fill in an economy, they can also be viewed as a firm, producing a product. The product is the creation of a market in financial instruments, thus leaving the property of the price information produced with the stock exchange. More specifically the products a stock exchange offers encompass: listing, trading, price-information services and clearing settlement, the percentage of which are shown in Table 1. The distribution of revenues from these various offerings shows that the focus lies mostly on listing and trading, as other services are not always part of the offering. Table 1 Fees Europe % N. America % Listing 19.3 32.1 Trading 45.1 39.7 Services 24.4 22.6 Other 11.2 5.7 The firm view focuses on the production and profitability of an exchange. Mulherin et alii (1991) defines a financial exchange not as a market, as it normally is, but as a firm that creates a market which is characterized by the use of financial vehicles. Lee (1998) suggests that a security market be regarded as a firm that produces goods: listing, trading of securities, clearing and settlement services, price information dissemination, and research. In this dissertation, the aspect of the provision of settlement services is omitted because many of the exchanges either dismiss it or do it by a separate entity. The dissertation considers the exchange as a producer of listing and trading services, given that the network externalities effects created by listed companies and intermediaries are the main focus. 2.1.2 Revenues The revenues from listing and trading are in general fees, both initial and annual. Services include Settlement Clearing and price-information services. Thus the trading services offered by a stock exchange can be structured in three parts: the object traded (issued by some entities that generally pay a fee to have it listed), the means of trading (trading facilities, computers, a computerized floor, settlement) and price dissemination. The listing and trading and related services can be segregated and tagged as the front-end of stock exchanges. Clearing and settlement is the unglamorous bit after equities or bonds are traded on an exchange. A clearing house ensures that buyer and seller have the cash and securities to do the deal; a securities depository settles the trade by moving the securities from one account to another. The profitability of an exchange establishes the extent to how successful it is in attracting order flow and in attaining the ability to generate revenues (Lee, 1998). Order flow implies the liquidity of the market and the trading volume that includes the number of trades over a specified period and the total value of the shares traded. It directly and indirectly generates revenues for an exchange. The direct effect comes from an exchanges receipts for transaction services, which are dependent on the number of trades it executes. The indirect effect exists because the trading volume reported on an exchange is regularly used as a marketing tool to attract new listings to the exchange. 2.1.3 Customers An exchange has direct and indirect customers: Direct customers include listed companies and those which desire to go public; both pay for their use of listing services. They also include intermediaries who pay to be admitted to trading; and information providers who pay to have terminal access and the right to disseminate price information. Indirect customers are individual and institutional entities that send orders to intermediaries for execution on an exchange. They can either trade through an intermediary or via the Internet. In both cases, they take into account the quality of the exchange, price factors and transaction cost. Market microstructure, such as liquidity, price discovery, or immediacy, and reputation and fiscal regulation all influence their choices. Other income includes share registration service fee income arising from initial public offerings. 2.1.4 Suppliers Listed companies are also suppliers because they provide the information and the shares for trading. Another type of suppliers is the network provider who provides physical connectivity services on an exchange infrastructure. The above describes an exchange as a firm; globalization of financial markets and competition of exchanges have caused the transition of an exchange from a market to a firm. 2.2 Globalisation of Financial Markets Since 1980, cross-border securities transactions have grown very rapidly. A quarter of stock market trades worldwide involved either a foreign security or a foreign counterparty by 1988 (Howells and Bain, 2000). Between 1989 and 1995, estimated global turnover in foreign exchange more than doubled. With the formation of the European Union, cross-border trading in Europe is growing in popularity. The introduction of the euro and a wider acceptance of equity as a financing tool are encouraging investors in Europe to engage in more cross-border transactions in search of profit-making opportunities. Yet despite the appeal of cross-border trading, most stock exchanges in Europe are national institutions that trade only local, country-specific stocks. This market structure appears to be changing, however, as an increasing number of stock exchanges are attempting to operate across national borders. A Transaction Survey done by Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2000 indicated that overseas investors (mainly institutions) had significantly increased their participation in the Hong Kong market. In Europe several ambitious initiatives have been undertaken of late to create, through mergers or other consolidations, pan-European exchanges that offer trading in stocks from many European countries. The establishment of these exchanges will likely lead to important benefits for the financial markets. For example, a standardization of trading platforms across exchanges, an increase in market liquidity, and a reduction in market fragmentation potential by-products of consolidationcould help minimize the costs and problems associated with cross-border trading in Europe. Despite the persistence of protectionism and restrictions to free trade, markets for goods and services are becoming increasingly globalized (Castells, 1996). Financial institutions are extending their activities either by developing new products or by penetrating new markets in response to growing competition. They are also widening their customer base to benefit from economies of scale and scope. Expansion occurs both within national boundaries, and also across borders to establish presence in international markets. Globalization of markets has been made possible in the late twentieth century by new communication and transportation technologies allowing for more efficient delivery of information, goods and services. 2.2.1 Europe: Vision to Become a Pan-European Financial Market The concept of harmonization of financial regulations to establish a single financial market across the EU was brought out since the 1957 Treaty of Rome when it established the European Economic Community (EC) (Howells and Bain, 2000). Extensive liberalization of financial markets was seen in the 1960s regarding direct investments, commercial credits and the acquisition of securities on foreign stock exchanges. A genuine single financial market across the EU extended to include the securities markets and the insurance services industry. In 1979, the Directive Co-ordinating the Conditions for the Admission of Securities to Official Stock Exchange Listing allowed companies to list their shares or raise capital on other EU stock exchanges. The ISD, based on the Single European Act principles, applied the single passport principle to non-bank investment firms, removing barriers to both provision of cross-border securities services and the establishment of branches throughout the EU for all firms. It also liberalized the rules governing access to stock exchanges, and financial futures and options exchanges. Mutual recognition and home-country control for all security firms and banks performing investment services were shared among all member states. As with other financial services, the insurance industry saw the promulgation of certain directives; all established the right for companies to operate in other member states. The Euro launch as a common currency on 1 January 1999 by 11 European nations has been considered a step toward Europes economic convergence. Euro facilitates to establish shared, centralized accounting and administrative systems dramatically reduce currency exchange costs and increase price transparency for the member countries. Even non-members dealing with member countries may also benefit from greater price transparency when dealing with one, rather than a number of different, currencies (Geradine, 2000). As discussed above, globalization has become a major driver of change, which was confirmed by rapid growth in cross-border portfolio investment and cooperation of markets 2.2.2 Asia: Evolution of Strategic Alliances and Cooperation Asia Pacific saw the frantic pace of exchange alliances and cooperative arrangements. Most recent examples include: On 1 February 2000, HKSE jointly agreed with Nasdaq to launch the NASDAQ AMEX Pilot Programme for the trading of seven global securities (Amgen, Applied Materials, Cisco Systems, Dell, Intel, Microsoft and Starbucks) in Hong Kong. These shares can be traded and settled in Hong Kong dollars following the standard T+2 (the second trading day following the transaction) settlement period. Memorandum of Understanding among various countries were signed to facilitate information sharing and cooperation of regulatory matters: examples are Jakarta Stock Exchange and the Amsterdam Exchange; The Singapore Exchange and the Australian Stock Exchange; The Stock Exchange of Thailand and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In Japan, The Osaka Securities Exchange signed a Business Cooperation Agreement with Nasdaq Japan Inc. to establish the Nasdaq Japan for acceptance of listing applications on the Nasdaq-Japan market. Another collaboration accord was signed between The Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Korea Stock Exchange for the effective management of their operations and better investor protection, which allowed for useful information swap regarding promotion of stock investment and supervision of market activities. 2.3 Nature of Competition of Stock Exchanges The evolution of new financial instruments, the falling monopoly of banks as a source of direct funding to borrowers and of direct investment for investors, the tremendous improvement in information technology, and a greater financial culture among people as well as the fluctuations in interest, price, and exchange rate due to the oil crises have caused the increasing importance of securities markets in the financial system, both as regulated exchanges and over the counter (OECD, 1996). New theories of financial intermediation (Allen and Santomero, 1996; Allen and Gale, 1997) underline the importance of the markets in such a way that all intermediaries (banks, mutual funds, etc.) perform a risk-management activity in between borrowers and lenders on one side and markets on the other, providing a kind of risk insurance. In spite of that, banks and markets can still coexist (Boot and Thakor, 1997). Th

The Importance of Grading in Education Essay -- Education Tests

Students entering college for the first time look forward to the numerous tests that they are required to take least of all. Test taking and college are in tandem for many, but some debate that using testing as a grading system should be discontinued in universities. In theory it sounds like a great idea. It would cut back on stress and, more than likely, class time as well. However, stopping testing as a form of grading in universities would be soon regretted. Grading systems are an essential part of any education. Tests insure that that the student is learning what the teaching is teaching and identify areas that may need improving. The results from grading systems also show future employers or schools a glimpse of the kind of worker that a student will be. The numerous lists of positive effects on not only the students but the teachers, and even the university as a whole, outweigh the cons of using testing as a grading system. One of the reasons that grading systems should be required is to ensure that each student has retained the information that is being taught. Diane Ravitch agrees with this statement in her essay â€Å"In Defense of Testing.† Ravitch says, â€Å"They [test] protect us†¦from inept drivers, hazardous products and shoddy professionals.† (139). Ravitch is saying that test as a form of grading help to ensure that each person is knowledgeable in the field that they are in and give people a sense of security when they must put their trust in such professionals. There are many basic classes that are required for each major depending on the university that one attends. It is essential that the information obtained during these courses is kept in case a need arises for it in a future career. If the grading system is taken ... ...o focus solely on that which they are aware of misunderstanding. This saves valuable time for both teacher and student. It also helps employers save money by only hiring those who they know have a history of good work ethics. The arguments against grading systems are bountiful despite the obvious flaws. Test as a grading system in universities should be continued because, although the opposing view brings to light many valid points, discontinuing the current grading system would cause more problem than it would solve. Works Cited Goodman, Paul. â€Å"A Proposal to Abolish Testing.† Forming a Critical Perspective, Ed, Ann Spurlock. 1st. Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2010. 191-193. Print. Ravitch, Diane â€Å"In Defense of Testing.† Forming a Critical Perspective, Ed, Ann Spurlock. 1st. Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2010. 194-195. Print.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation :: Summer Vacation Essays

How I Spent My Summer Vacation My boyfriend, Greg and I felt it would be a great opportunity to spend some quality time with our friends. We were going on a three day camping trip with long time friends, another couple, Chris and Heather. Chris is the go-with-the-flow type of guy but only if Heather allows him to do so. Heather is a very kind person who looks out for others. She just crosses that line of being concerned to being motherlike. See we spend a lot of time with them, but it's like other people's children, you can go home and leave them, this time we couldn't. You maybe asking yourself why would we decide to go camping with such people . . . I just don't know. This question would overwhelm Greg and me for the next two weeks while planning this getaway. Greg looked more pessimistically at the trip then I did. I thought if you go looking for a bad time, the only outcome will be a bad time. Realizing that we could be each other's only sanity from Heather's overpowering behavior and Chris's childlike mind, we made up little cues to give each other if we needed to getaway. We stocked up on interesting reading material to get lost in and relaxing alcoholic beverages to take off the edge. We packed up the trucks and we were off. Chris's friend from work recommended the campsite so we decided to follow him since he had the directions. We traveled up interstate 84 east bound over the Newburgh Beacon Bridge and made our way to the State Taconic Parkway. Now, this is where Greg and I looked at each other in agreement that the trip was going to go only down hill from there, the parkway that we had gotten ourselves onto by following Chris was for passenger cars only. We both had commercial trucks. About fifteen minutes on the highway we passed a State Trooper, thank God he didn't budge from where he was sitting. Through that hour on the parkway we must have passed four Troopers, none of whom pulled us over. Finally, and I mean finally, we arrived two and a half hours later at our campsite. All four of us got out of the trucks to observe where we were going to spend the next three days with each other, Greg and I actually found some humor with our surroundings.

Plan of Champ de Mars, Paris 1889 Essay examples -- Architecture Histo

Plan of Champ de Mars, Paris 1889 This is a twenty-six by forty-eight centimeter plan of the Champ de Mars during the Exposition Universelle of 1889, used by visitors at the time of the fair, a bold political statement on the part of France, as well as an overwhelming success. The Third Republic was established in Paris in 1870, and by 1884, when preliminary studies for the the Exposition Universelle were launched, many political issues were still largely unresolved. In 1870 Napoleon III surrendered at the Battle of Sedan during the Franco-Prussian War. Two days after the defeat Republicans proclaimed the advent of the Third Republic. The Franco-Prussian war ended with Paris's capitulation in 1871. A group of Parisians found Prussia's terms humiliating and wanted to keep fighting. Later dubbed the Communards, they established a dictatorship in Paris known as the Central Committee of the National Guard, later renamed La Commune. However, before La Commune could put its principles into effect, The National Assembly sen t troops into Paris to eradicate the uprising. Even with the elimination of La Commune, there was great dissention within the government. There were conflicts between and within the Left and Right movements. An economic depression began in France in 1873 and worsened into the 1880s, affecting agriculture, industry, and small-scale trade. Citizen unrest was clearly evident in the popularity of General Georges Boulanger, who promised a reform, if not revolution, of the existing government.. In 1888, when Boulanger was at the height of his political esteem, the threat of governmental crisis was very palpable. It was under these circumstances that the Paris exposition of 1889, to commemorate the centennial anniversar... ...pride, it secured France's rank in the eyes of Europe. Bibliography Corporate Author, United States Commissioner to the Paris Exposition Washington: Government Printing Office, 1891 Findling, John E., Historical Dictionary of World's Fairs and Expositions, 1851-1988 New York: Greenwood Press, 1990 Jourdain, Frantz, Exposition Universelle de 1889 Paris: Librarie Centrale des Beaux-arts, 1892 Levin, Miriam, When the Eiffel Tower was New: French Visions of Progress at the Centennial of the Revolution South Hadley, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989 Silverman, Deborah L., "The Crisis of Bourgeois Individualism", Oppositions 1977, vol. 8, p.70-91 Walton, William, Chefs-d'oeuvre de l'Exposition Universelle de Paris 1889 Philadelphia: Barrie Fr res, 1889 Watson, William,Paris Universal Exposition Washington: Government Printing Office, 1892

The Humanistic Perspective on Classroom Management

The humanistic perspective on classroom management. In the education world of today, it is understood that one can only be effective in teaching by taking into consideration the different learning styles of students. In a classroom, it is expected that teachers would want their students to acquire a meaningful knowledge base, become proficient problem solvers and learn how to work productively with others (Biehler and Snowman, 2006, p. 370). If this is the case, teachers need to know how to be able to develop this situation in the classroom and make it more conducive to learning.Therefore, it would seem that they need to encourage students to converse with each other with group discussions and assignments, to make sure they are active in the class, physically as well as mentally, and that they as teachers are rational and firm authority figures in the classroom. The concept of a well-managed classroom would be equivalent to the picture painted here, where students may be interested, motivated and eager to learn. The humanistic approach to teaching is one that is centered on the student.How the student feels and how able they are to relate to what is being taught is most important. This theory believes that if a student can understand how they learn and their behavior in relation to it, and that the classroom can support this behavior, they are more motivated to learn (Biehler and Snowman, 2006, p. 372). The humanistic approach is one that helps students believe in themselves and their potential; it encourages compassion and understanding that fosters self-respect and respect for others.As human beings we all have an innate desire to attain our full potential and achieve what we can to the best of our abilities. This approach shows the appealing idea that students can learn on their terms, or the way they want to, as the instruction in the classroom is geared towards their needs. The humanistic perspective seems to suggest that students would have a more positiv e outlook on education if it was approached in this manner, and there are a lot of people, students included, who support the view also.In terms of instruction, one can see the importance teachers place, or rather should place on reflection; they must constantly be thinking of how to make their teaching better. When thinking about self-improvement, good teachers have to develop their own personal strategies based on existing theories and models; they then utilize those strategies to make decisions in the actual classroom setting. The humanistic perspective in education, seeks to enhance how the basics of reading, writing, computing, vocational skills, problem-solving and decision-making work, by going beyond what is seen as basic (van Zolingen, 2002, p. 19). Humanists know that these skills are necessary and therefore their main interest should be how to get their students to be interested and motivated enough to develop these basic skills. One of the strongest reasons for supportin g humanistic education is that, when done effectively, students learn. If a student feels that the teacher is genuinely concerned about them, accepts and values them and their opinions in the class, they would more likely open up to the teacher and express any concerns they might have.For example, if a student is failing a class, automatically teachers try to tell him or her how to study and prepare for the next test. A teacher following the humanistic perspective would rather, talk to the student about their interest in the subject, what they understand, how they study and even if the teacher’s methods are effective for them. This can better help students to understand their feelings and their role in learning (Biehler and Snowman, 2006, p. 373). It is evident, how this perspective focuses on the student and encourages them to learn by their standards.Considerable evidence shows that cooperative learning structures higher self-concepts, and the student's motivation and inter est in learning are related to greater academic achievement. Three different types of parenting styles are integrated into classroom for more effective teaching. These are the authoritarian, the permissive and the authoritative (Biehler and Snowman, 2006, p. 423). The authoritarian style is on one extreme end, where teachers apply strict rules and expect students to follow them without question and where nothing is negotiable.Their focus then, is not the student but getting compliance from the student, who would be rewarded or punished accordingly. The permissive style is on the other extreme and is as the name suggests. There are hardly any rules and the teacher simply desires the student to identify with and respect him or her. How the student learns and motivating them to do so is not the main priority. The style that is deemed best and superior to the other two is the authoritative.This style is adopted by teachers who desire autonomy in their students. They develop rules and cl assroom norms and explain them to the students, rather than force them to do as they say. This attitude encourages the students to realize how adapting to this behavior will allow them to learn more, which of course, is the main priority of the humanistic teacher. It is possible to say that humanistic education integrated with the authoritative parenting style can lead to fewer discipline problems, both at home and in the classroom.Many parents desire their children to listen more respectfully, choose less impulsively, calm down when overexcited, learn to be assertive without being aggressive and manage their time better. Many humanistic education methods teach students how to do these things. â€Å"Effectiveness training† for example, teaches students how to really listen to others, including parents and â€Å"values clarification† teach students to â€Å"thoughtfully consider the consequences† of their decisions (Green, 1994). Several humanistic education appr oaches teach students to relax and control their nervous energy and to plan and take more responsibility for their time.Humanistic educators often report that parents have told them how good communication was increased in their families as a result of some of the class activities and new skills the students learned. One of the pioneers of the humanistic approach is Abraham Maslow. He studied both behavioral and psychoanalytic psychology, but he rejected the idea that human behavior is controlled only by internal or only by external forces. Instead, Maslow developed a theory he called â€Å"humanistic psychology,† based on his belief that human behavior is controlled by a combination of internal and external factors (DeMarco, 1998).His studies led him to believe that people have certain physiological and psychological needs that are unchanging, identical in all cultures and genetic in origin. Maslow described these needs as being hierarchical in nature and classified them as e ither â€Å"basic† needs, which are low on the hierarchy, or â€Å"growth† needs, which are high on the hierarchy. According to Maslow, an individual must satisfy lower-level basic needs before attempting to meet higher-level growth needs. The basic needs are instinctual needs for food, shelter and safety.Once these necessities of life have been satisfied, higher needs such as understanding, aesthetics and spirituality become important. Maslow called the highest-level need â€Å"self-actualization† and claimed that it could not be attained unless all the needs below it on the hierarchy had been met. Self-actualization is â€Å"the movement toward full development of one’s potential talents and capabilities† (Biehler and Snowman, 2006, p. 543). Most people want to move up the hierarchy toward self-actualization. Unfortunately, the process often is disrupted by a failure to meet lower-level needs.In the classroom, teachers can motivate students to mo ve through the levels and attain self-actualization by understanding how the learning process relates to Maslow's hierarchy of needs (DeMarco, 1998). Maslow's theory of self-actualization describes how highly effective people reach their peak level of performance. Educators can respond to the potential an individual has for growing into a self-actualizing person of his or her own by applying Maslow's motivational theories to the learning process. In most cases, an individual must satisfy lower-level, basic needs before progressing on to higher-level needs.Even the most inspirational educator will not be able to reach a student whose lower-level needs are not being met. Educators cannot assume that all students' basic needs have been met and that it is safe to focus only on higher-level growth needs. Even if a student achieves a certain level on Maslow's hierarchy, life experiences such as a death or divorce in the family may cause an individual to revert to a lower level. Physiologi cal needs are the most basic. If a student is too cold, sleepy, hungry or has an urgent need to use the restroom, he or she will not be able to learn effectively.Teachers can help students meet their basic needs by ensuring that the classroom temperature is comfortable, by giving students breaks during long classes or clinical sessions and by ensuring convenient access to food and drink. After an individual's physiological needs have been met, he or she next focuses on safety needs. A student who is worried about the health or safety of a family member, foe example, cannot perform effectively. It is suggested that students be allowed breaks or the chance to go home and see to personal emergencies when need be. Next in the hierarchy is the need for love and belonging.Maslow points out that â€Å"belonging was an essential and prerequisite human need that had to be met before one could ever achieve a sense of self-worth† (Kunc, 1992). For instance, a student who is made to feel welcome, and to feel like he or she belongs in the classroom, would be more likely to perform well than one who does not have a sense of belonging. Having group discussions and sessions where the students in the class can associate and relate to each other can then promote a unified whole, and give students more of an opportunity to fit in and feel accepted. This then, in its own way promotes learning.In addition to this though, students do not merely want to be accepted alone. The ego is the next step in Maslow's hierarchy, which relates to the fact that students also want to be heard, appreciated and wanted. They need to be encouraged by the teacher, or to have the teacher acknowledge their efforts and praise them for at least trying. If a student is frustrated in the classroom or feels inferior, it will hinder their learning. The final level, self-actualization, is defined by Maslow as â€Å"the full use and exploitation of one's talents, capacities and potentialities† (T ennant, 1997, p. 3). Maslow believed that only 1 in 10 individuals become fully self-actualized, owing to the fact that our society primarily rewards people based on esteem, love and social status. In contrast to this, his theory emphasized that a person's idea of self-actualization can be anything that they want it to be. If a person desired to be class president, owner of a prestigious law firm or a manager in a store; wherever their desire lies, he believed that a person would do all that is possible to get to that point, and thus, attain self-actualization.Again, one can see how the teacher can encourage this in the classroom. A teacher, from his or her own perspective, can identify the strengths of the students in their classroom and encourage or motivate them to build on these strengths, thus helping them on their way to self-actualization and a new level of learning. The humanistic approach seems to be the most agreeable of theories in teaching techniques. Many share the opin ion that a student can truly learn if they have a meaningful relationship with the teacher and also with other students in the class.Students are more behaved and inclined to learn if they feel that their teacher is capable and they can respect him or her, and also, when this respect is reciprocated. The structure of classroom management should be facilitated by the teacher, agreed upon by both students and teacher, be open to revision, and be flexible to accommodate for growth and change in the needs of all classroom participants (DePonte, 2005). The humanistic approach allows one to recognize that part of mplementing any form of classroom management means to distinguish that â€Å"learning† is generated not only through textbooks and lesson plans, but also through interaction and communication prompted as a result of the social learning environment built-in to our classrooms. Therefore, it would seem that the ultimate goal of classroom management is for the teacher to prepa re his or her students for socialization in the â€Å"real† world.The humanistic perspective proves idealistic for instigating and maintaining acceptable â€Å"social learning† boundaries by the means of practical application (DePonte, 2005). For example, if a student demonstrates misbehavior in the classroom, instead of a teacher using verbal or physical punishment, he or she should communicate with the student, to give them the opportunity to realize their errors. The teacher can then guide the student towards a self-realization of consequences, and towards a plan for self-improvement.In this democratic society, it can only be concluded that by mutually agreeing upon rules with the students, a teacher is being proactive by encouraging students to practice self-discipline through collaboration of behavioral rules, and through promoting awareness and respect of their individual differences.ReferencesBiehler, R & Snowman, J. (2006). Psychology applied to teaching (1 1th ed. ). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. DePonte, Steve. (2005).Classroom management plan. Retrieved November 20, 2008 from http://www. calstatela. edu/faculty/jshindl/cm/DePonteCMP. htm Green, Bob. (1994).What humanistic education is†¦ nd is not. Retrieved November 23, 2008 from http://www. humanistsofutah. org/1994/art2jun94. html Kunc, Norman. (1992).The need to belong: rediscovering Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Retrieved November 20, 2008 from http://www. normemma. com/armaslow. htm Mary Lou DeMarco. (1998).Maslow in the classroom and the clinic. Radiologic Technology. Retrieved on November 22, 2008 from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_hb3387/is_n1_v70/ai_n28711330 Tennant, Mark. (1997).Psychology and adult learning. Routledge. Van Zolingen, S. J. (2002). The role of key qualifications in the transition from vocational

Theory of Consumer Behavior

Chapter 4 – Theory of Consumer Behavior Economics 11 – UPLB Prepared by T. B. Paris, Jr. December 11, 2007 Theory of Consumer Behavior ? ? ? Useful for understanding the demand side of the market. Utility – amount of satisfaction derived from the consumption of a commodity †¦. measurement units ? utils Utility concepts ? ? cardinal utility – assumes that we can assign values for utility, (Jevons, Walras, and Marshall). E. g. , derive 100 utils from eating a slice of pizza ordinal utility approach – does not assign values, instead works with a ranking of preferences. Pareto, Hicks, Slutsky) Total utility and marginal utility ? ? Total utility (TU) – the overall level of satisfaction derived from consuming a good or service Marginal utility (MU) additional satisfaction that an individual derives from consuming an additional unit of a good or service. ? TU MU = ? Q Total utility and marginal utility Example (Table 4. 1): Q 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T U 0 20 27 32 35 35 34 30 36 MU –20 7 5 3 0 -1 -4 ? ? ? ? TU, in general, increases with Q At some point, TU can start falling with Q see Q = 6) If TU is increasing, MU > 0 From Q = 1 onwards, MU is declining ? principle of diminishing marginal utility ? As more and more of a good are consumed, the process of consumption will (at some point) yield smaller and smaller additions to utility Total Utility Curve TU 35 Total utility(in utils) 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 Quantity 6 Q Figure 4. 1 Marginal Utility Curve MU Marginal utility (in utils) 20 15 10 5 0 -5 Figure 4. 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 Quantity Q Consumer Equilibrium ? ?So far, we have assumed that any amount of goods and services are always available for consumption In reality, consumers face constraints (income and prices): Limited consumers income or budget ? Goods can be obtained at a price ? Some simplifying assumptions ? ? ? ? Consumer’s objective: to maximize his/her utility subject to income constraint 2 goods (X, Y ) Prices Px, Py are fixed Consumer’s income (I) is given Consumer Equilibrium ? Marginal utility per peso ? additional utility derived from spending the next peso on the good MU MU per peso = PConsumer Equilibrium ? Optimizing condition: MU X MU Y = PX PY ? If MU X MU Y > PX PY ? spend more on good X and less of Y Simple Illustration ? Suppose: X = fishball Y = siomai ? Assume: PX = 2 PY = 10 Numerical Illustration Qx 1 2 3 4 5 6 TUX 30 39 45 50 54 56 MUX 30 9 6 5 4 2 MUx Px 15 4. 5 3 2. 5 2 1 QY 1 2 3 4 5 6 TUY 50 105 148 178 198 213 MUY 50 55 43 30 20 15 MUy Py 5 5. 5 4. 3 3 2 1. 5 ? ? 2 potential optimum positions Combination A: ? X = 3 and Y = 4 ? TU = TUX + TUY = 45 + 178 = 223 ? Combination B: ? ? X = 5 and Y = 5 TU = TUX + TUY = 54 + 198 = 252 ? Presence of 2 potential equilibrium positions suggests that we need to consider income. To do so let us examine how much each consumer spends for each combination. Expenditure per combination ? ? Total expenditure = PX X + PY Y Combination A: 3(2) + 4(10) = 46 ? Combination B: 5(2) + 5(10) = 60 ? Scenarios: If consumer’s income = 46, then the optimum is given by combination A. .†¦Combination B is not affordable ? If the consumer’s income = 60, then the optimum is given by Combination B†¦. Combination A is affordable but it yields a lower level of utility ? end