Market Efficiency In The Presence of Extermalities Essay

Market Efficiency In The Presence of Extermalities - Essay Example Most positive economists admit the existence of barriers to competition. As such markets are incomplete given the imperfect information relayed to the consumer. Nevertheless, general equilibrium analysis is often utilized to as a theoretical tool to approximate reality. Market efficiency is rather a controversial concept that has attracted strong views, partly in regards to differences about what it really means on one hand, and on the other hand on investor approaches to investing. It is an economic concept that investigates the effects of allocation of scarce resources towards the well-being of the entire participant within a given economy. An efficient market is a market scenario where commodity prices reflect all information available (Fama 383). The degree of efficiency lies in the type if information incorporated into the prices and the speed with which such information are reflective of the market prices (Jensen 96). The question as to whether markets are or are not efficient is central to investment decisions. In a scenario where markets are efficient, commodity price signals provide the best investment appraisal criteria, and the appraisal process itself justifies the market price levels. Under circumstances of inefficient markets, commodities prices deviate from their true values, and the process of investment appraisals utilizes approximate bench marks in obtaining the viability of investment decisions. Valuation under efficient market conditions yields ‘higher’ returns to certain investors, given the capacity to spot mistakes of under-valuing or over-valuing investment decisions (Fama 396). In essence, an efficient market condition is one in which market prices are reflective of true estimates of investment decisions (Jensen 101). Implicitly, and contrary to the popular view, efficiency of markets does not imply that commodities prices prevailing in the market must equal the true value at all time. All that is needed are unbiased commod ities prices, that is to say, prices can randomly deviate from their true value. Under these circumstances therefore, no one group of investors should consistently, with certainty, find their investment strategy running in tandem with market prices. As stated above, the definitions of market efficiency are linked up with information available to investors that are subsequently reflected in commodity prices. Strictly speaking, market efficiency assumes perfect information, for the public and private investors, which is then reflected in the market prices. This implies that investors with precise information on the running of the market will be able to beat the market inefficiencies (Fama 402). Given that the specificity which market efficiency is defined, it is extremely unlikely that markets will be efficient to all investors always. However, it is very possible that a given market (for example the New York Stock Exchange) will be efficient with regards to an average investor. The p ossibilities and the impossibilities also extend to certain markets as well as to different investors. This is because tax rates are different in different markets scenarios, and so are the costs of business transactions, which confer competitive advantages on certain investors relative to others. In essence, no group of investors can consistently utilize a common investment strategy and emerge victorious. There has to be variations with elements of lose to one or two

Persona Responsibility Essay Essay Example for Free

Persona Responsibility Essay Essay Personal responsibility, in this context, is an important concept composed of these parts: Fist, what the words personal responsibility means to you? Second, what relationship exists between personal responsibility and college success? Last but not least, what preliminary plan do you have to practice personal responsibility in your education? Personal responsibility is a decision that you make to live up to your own ideals and expectations. It also means that you would be accountable for what you say, do, or think. It can also mean self awareness of a person towards the success of one’s life. Personal responsibility starts inside us and move outwards. We should not blame others for our mistakes. We should start blaming our self if something went wrong that way we can find ways to fix it and move on our life. Also, don’t postpone doing what you can do today, because tomorrow has it own problem to solve; if you can, today is the perfect day to develop your talents. Many students believe that it is a responsibility of the instructors or other students to help them succeed in college. I believe it is me and only me who can achieve my own success. Personal responsibility is accepting what ever consequences come from my actions and understanding how to improve and make necessary changes. By setting personal goals, staying focused, and time management skills, I can achieve college success. A good way to improve my college career is to stay organized. Often times in college, the schedule of classes, and making time for things other than school can be extremely challenging. This requires me to have a good time management skills, keep a detailed schedule of all future deadlines, and to have whatever resources and supplies available and ready to use. The Journal  of College Admission says: â€Å"The student would benefit from using organizational tools, such as planners, calendars, to-do-list, folders, blinders, and dividers† (Prevatt, Huijun, Welles, 2011, para.). Also, every society, like every family has their rules. If you want to live a better life with no troubles, you have to follow those rules. Following the rules makes your life easier and happy. When it comes to relationship between personal responsibility and college success, we all need to think twice. There is correlation between personal responsibility of the student and their success in college. This relationship exists because personal responsibility directly affects issues that are pertinent to ones life such as family, relationships, education, as well as physical and spiritual well-being of an individual. Personal responsibility determines the success of the student in college for a number of reasons (Charles, 2008). The first, and I think one of the most important, is self-discipline. Personal responsibility is the ability to be in control of ones life in terms of actions, emotions, etc. Students who do not have personal responsibility concerning their lives are prone to influences of doing what others are doing by just following them without proper reasons. This lack of self-control comes about because any individual without a sense of personal responsibility will always be irresponsible. A student without personal responsibility will blame the lecture for failing in the exam when a responsible student with personal responsibility will rather analyze the reasons behind his/her failure and decide to take action to pass the exam. This explains why students who have a sense of personal responsibility have higher scores than those without personal responsibility (Bourbon, 1994). The other factor that makes students who take personal responsibility to succeed in college more than the others who do not take personal responsibility is that they do not allow circumstances to hinder their progress in life. They do have a high sense of self-esteem, which makes them to confront issues critically rather than emotionally. Students who feel that they are not in control pity themselves when they have issues to deal with in their lives thus affecting their physical health negatively. This may lead to absenteeism from classes and even suicidal cases (Charles,  2008). Students who are aware of the words personal responsibility also manage to delay gratification; it’s the ability to deny oneself pleasure in pursuit of a particular goal. Personal responsibility enables a student to stick out or to persevere in pursuit of academic excellence thereby delaying the enjoyment of pleasures, which may affect the concentration, or peace of mind in pursuit of excellence. Th e delay gratification of pleasures such as drug abuse, sexual relationships, and hooliganism are known to affect student’s academic performance (Bourbon, 1994). Studying at university is not just about learning a lot of things that are fascinating in themselves but, preparing your future in a work place. At the same time as you develop your knowledge of your subject and the skills required to perform well in it, you’re actually developing a whole range of skills and intellectual abilities that can be transferred to other areas of life, including your future employment. To reach that goal, you have to be hard on yourself; you have to set a study time and respect it no mare what, Study individually is good, but, group study is better because you have more than one ideas and a lot of experiences to take advantage of. You also need an appropriate place with no noise around to be concentrate and do your work. Be strict on your school schedule like you are for the one at wor k. Make sure to do all your assignments on time and make sure that you respect the time you set for your studies. College demand extra work to do. You have to manage your time between your work, your family members, your friends and so on †¦ Time managing is very important if you want to succeed in college. Planning thing ahead can help thing get done early so that you can have enough time to do your school work. As work responsibilities, school has his part too. Study, do assignment on time, participle in group activity, find a good place and time to study. Discipline is a key word I Think to succeed in college. A person cannot succeed if there is not a personal responsibility for what he/she is doing. In order for me to practice my personal responsibility in my education, I need to do my own assignment, do my work on time; don’t wait for someone else to do it for me. If I’m having troubles understanding a subject, I can as my instructor or a classmate for help for more explanations instead of letting someone else do it for me. Doing your own assignment helps understanding your courses and be successful at the end. References Charles, Chester (2008). Building Classroom Discipline Boston: Pearson Education Bourbon, Thomas (1994). Discipline at Home and School: New York: Brandt

Child Development Case Study Essay -- Child Development Theory

From the video observation, the two three-year old children, Thomas and Riley set off on a bus journey along with their childminder; it is observed that both the children speak about their journey, in which they are able to identify various features, which include the passengers; various buildings and different types of buses. Both children observe many of the features by taking photographs to highlight what they have observed on their journey. From observation, the video looks at the way the childminder plans the experience from a child-initiated stance, which directs the children’s learning in addition with assisting them with role-play and symbolic play, which is shown towards the end of the video. Thus, this essay will focus on the importance of early physical development within the Early Years framework, as well as the influence of the family with reference to the children along with the childminder. I shall link theory to practice from observation, by recounting both the boy’s bus journey, using a number of hypothetical methods, as well as emphasising the social and emotional development equally with cognitive development. However in particular, I will address the cognitive development, by doing so, a whole approach is required regarding both the children’s development, as children are seen as individuals and that each area of their development cannot be divided into different sections. So in order to accentuate the whole approach, it is imperative that the two boy’s development is seen from a holistic perspective. Furthermore, not only does the children’s development depend on their own developmental process, additionally the family, as well as the child minder will have an influential effect on the relationship of both ch... ...Early Childhood. 2nd ed. London: SAGE Publications. Bruner, J. (1986) Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. USA: Harvard University Press. Department of Education (Dcfs) (2010) it’s child’s play Early Years Foundation Stage [online]. [Assessed 7 December 2010]. Available at: . Keenan, T. and Evans, S. (2009) An Introduction to Child Development. 2nd ed. London: SAGE publications. Malim, T. and Birch, A. (1998) Introductory Psychology. London: MACMILLAN Press. Penn, H. (2008) Understanding early childhood. 2nd ed. Berkshire: Open University Press. Piaget, J. and Inhelder, B. (1969) The Psychology of the Child. London: Routledge. Smidt, S. (2007) A Guide to Early Years Practice. 3rd ed. Oxon: Routledge. Woodhead, M and Oates, J. (eds). (2007) Attachment Relationships. Milton Keynes: The Open University.

The Character of Huck Finn in Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Fi

The Character of Huckleberry Finn       In human nature, people are generally kind before they are aggressive towards others. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain presents many of his characters as having this type of personality. They exemplify a certain trust of others. They are always hospitable to people they do not know. His characters are also willing to help those in need. Mark Twain presents his characters as being trusting of others, hospitable to strangers, and helpful to those in need.    Two characters in Huckleberry Finn that show they have a trust for others are Jim and Huck. Jim, in fact, may have been too trusting of others. This is shown by the fact that he believed that the king and the duke were royalty, when they were actually only frauds. Jim also trusted Huck enough to know that Huck would not reveal that Jim was a run away slave. Jim went to Huck in his times of need because he trusted that Huck would be there for him. Huck was also trusting of people. He trusted that Jim would not reveal that he was still alive. He also tr...

Ethical Decisions Essay

Irregardless or our differences, one thing that is general to all men is that we all have to make a decision at one point or the other. We are always faced with situations that call for us making a choice among alternative actions. Oftentimes, there are several alternatives before us and we have to make a choice. What do we do? At this stage, we are at a crossroad. Essentially, when man is at a crossroad, he should ask himself why he should do what he wants to do. We should appreciate the fact that the decision we are about to make determines a lot of things. For instance, the next decision we are about to make might make or mar us. We should also understand that since we do not live in an independent world, our actions have effects on the people around us. In view of this, we should not just make decisions but seek to make a good one. If we are to make a meaningful decision or choice, he should therefore evaluate the choices that lie before him. But the long asked question is; â€Å"How do we evaluate our actions? † Historically, many scholars and philosophers have made several attempts at answering the question. Many have come up with theories for the purpose of guiding man in his quest to make a credible decision. Interestingly, some of these theories are opposing to each other and so the struggle continues. We have to consider which of these theories gives the best answer to our question. On thing is sure, we have to make decisions. For better comprehension and clarity of this essay, I will attempt to make a briefly exposition on some of the ethical theories. I will also evaluate an experience I have had in the past in light of these ethical theories. Question that will be addressed in this essay includes; how can my decision be evaluated in light of the various ethical theories? Does these ethical theories approve of my action at this time? If it does, how does it? And if it does not why does it not? As an overview, in the course, we have learnt about utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, ethical egoism and various forms of relative theories, Aristotle’s virtue ethics and Aquinas natural law ethics. When I was in college, I was the course representative of my class. This position made me responsible for a number of duties, part of which is keeping the attendance details of students in the class. As part of the school’s rule, a student must attend at least 65% of all classes before he/she is allowed to sit for the final exam. As expected, some students did not comply with this rule and when we were busy having classes, they were no where to be found. The exam time came and I was told to submit the attendance register so that they can know who sits or misses the exam. When I went through the attendance, I discovered lots of people in my class fell into the category of those that will miss the exam and my friend was one of them. I asked myself, what would I do? After serious thinking, I decided to submit the register without altering it. Why? Because it is what is expected of me to do! Duty demands me to do so. Another reason why I made the decision was because my mind will not be at rest within me if I had altered the attendance register to please my friend. I also wanted them to learn their lessons and be better people. I believe that we should all have a sense of duty and that we should do be faithful people with what is place in our care. Evaluating my decision with Kantian ethics, I will hold that my decision was the right decision after all. In Kantian ethics, focus morality and rightness of action has its basis on duty, treating a man as an end, and universalism. Considering the issue of duty, it is my duty to properly keep the attendant sheet and not alter it. The attendance sheet was placed in my care and so my decision came out of a sense of duty. I did not also expect to be rewarded by my teacher nor do I seek for recognition from the principal. On this basis, Kant himself will approve of what I did. In addition to this, on the issue of treating a man as an end in himself and not a means to an end, I think my actions are also justifiable. For one, I did not submit the attendance sheet because I wanted the teacher to approve of my actions or to say â€Å"job well-done! † Although, I must admit that the teacher commended me and the principal later approve of my conduct, it was not the motivating factor for what I did. I did what I did because it was what I should do. It was the right thing to do. Also, on the issue of universalizability, will I wish that the same action be performed on me if I were the one in their shoes? My answer to this question is â€Å"Yes! † For one, I can not skip classes and even if I skipped classes and had to face the consequence of my action, I don’t think I will feel bad if someone who was merely doing his job did not help me. If I am guilty of an offence and I know the implication before I did it, then I should be made to suffer for it. Furthermore, when I look back and evaluate the decision I made at that time, I always come to a strong conclusion that that was the right thing to do. This is because I believe that no reason given can alter the consideration of duty. I had to ask myself why I was chosen to be the class representative. I was bound by some rules and some things are expected of me. I have to conduct myself in a manner where I will not go against the rules. I could have altered the sheet but that would have been against the purpose of my office. Apart from this, I will be encouraging laxity and indirectly be destroying their lives. They had to learn their lessons and it will not be to their good if they did not learn it. My friend, though furious with me for several years, is now grateful to me for doing what I did. From my own point of view, when we allow erring individuals to go scot-free, we are undermining the order in the society. Our society thrives because there is an order and so this order ought to and must be upheld. Our actions therefore should not be based on feelings or sentiments. We should all learn to do what we are meant to do. That is what is required of us. Reference: †¢ Popper, Karl. R.. â€Å"Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary Approach. †(1972) Oxford University Press.

Free Essays on The Sistine Chapel Ceiling

The Sistine Chapel By Michelangelo Buonarroti In Michelangelo’s painting on the Sistine Chapel contains a strong presence of God. The ideas and stories of the Bible lay at the surface of the entire ceiling. All these stories are taken from the book of Genesis which would not be possible without God. The scenes are placed in a time frame of an earlier world. The scenes can be analyzed in numerous ways that depend on the analyzers faith and interpretations of the beginning of time. In the next few paragraphs I’ll explain you how the Sistine Chapel ceiling was started, finished, and the Last Judgment. The chapel contains nine stories divided into three trilogies: The creations of the world, the creation of man, and the story of Noah. All of these stories have a strong Godly presence as the viewer sees the creation, progression, and eventually the fall of man. The idea of God evolves from panel to panel by allowing the onlooker to consider God in three different situations forcing his role throughout each one. The establishment of the vision of diverse, yet related symbols of biblical foundations presents a sense of the supernatural divine world. The stories embody separate motifs, but the piece is expressed as a unified whole with God the only consistent presence in whether idea or visual portrayal. The order of the ceiling, according to the book of Genesis, should be read from the Separation of Light from Darkness to the Drunkenness of Noah, if the viewer reads in chronological order. The Sistine Chapel ceiling is perhaps the most amazing painting ever created by man. It was finished by Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1512. He started the project in 1508 and worked on the painting everyday in the four year period. It was brutal work that had to be done and he was not going stop until he was completed with the project. He had scalfilting system with ropes attached to the ceiling and a wooden board to support the wait of h... Free Essays on The Sistine Chapel Ceiling Free Essays on The Sistine Chapel Ceiling The Sistine Chapel By Michelangelo Buonarroti In Michelangelo’s painting on the Sistine Chapel contains a strong presence of God. The ideas and stories of the Bible lay at the surface of the entire ceiling. All these stories are taken from the book of Genesis which would not be possible without God. The scenes are placed in a time frame of an earlier world. The scenes can be analyzed in numerous ways that depend on the analyzers faith and interpretations of the beginning of time. In the next few paragraphs I’ll explain you how the Sistine Chapel ceiling was started, finished, and the Last Judgment. The chapel contains nine stories divided into three trilogies: The creations of the world, the creation of man, and the story of Noah. All of these stories have a strong Godly presence as the viewer sees the creation, progression, and eventually the fall of man. The idea of God evolves from panel to panel by allowing the onlooker to consider God in three different situations forcing his role throughout each one. The establishment of the vision of diverse, yet related symbols of biblical foundations presents a sense of the supernatural divine world. The stories embody separate motifs, but the piece is expressed as a unified whole with God the only consistent presence in whether idea or visual portrayal. The order of the ceiling, according to the book of Genesis, should be read from the Separation of Light from Darkness to the Drunkenness of Noah, if the viewer reads in chronological order. The Sistine Chapel ceiling is perhaps the most amazing painting ever created by man. It was finished by Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1512. He started the project in 1508 and worked on the painting everyday in the four year period. It was brutal work that had to be done and he was not going stop until he was completed with the project. He had scalfilting system with ropes attached to the ceiling and a wooden board to support the wait of h...

Isolated By the Internet Essay Example

Isolated By the Internet Essay Example Isolated By the Internet Essay Isolated By the Internet Essay Becoming one of few highly regarded people having great contribution to the establishment of the Internet, Clifford Stool an astronomer and computer expert, became highly skeptical of the internet and its beneficial or perilous effect on its consumer. He clearly states throughout the passage his views on internet use becoming hazardous to its users, making his argument by displaying multiple examples of social disconnection of obsessive internet users. Renowned psychologists Robert Karat and Vicki Landmark performed several extensive experiments on various people, measuring deep psychological effects of ever Internet use. From the collected data, on average they found that relationships do have the potential to cultivate online, but to a certain extent. According to Karat and Landmark. Bonds were easily broken friendships with occasional communication, bonds on the other hand were strong relationships with common daily communication. Most of the connections made online, remained as connections and rarely became connections. They also found out that the more time spent on the Internet, the number of relationships were more likely to increase and in return social relationships were bound o decline. A major reason as to why the internet became so popular was that it provided much people with the ability to create another identity of themselves. It offered an alter-ego, a personality that a certain person could have never achieved in real life. This provided a sense of self-esteem for these people. Although they can become this confident person online, they are still the same person they always were in real life. To become confident or to obtain a new identity, the only way is to have real life social interactions. Most obsessive internet users, are found to lack ajar social interaction skills and are very shy around other people. Online interactions are not in the same category as social Interactions, many online users see the difference and consider the Internet as their reality. Nowadays we still see visibly negative effects of Internet use and the overall effect it has on social life. According to Time Magazine as of September 2007 around 200 million people in the U. S. Have a Namespace. Population-302. 2 million) Of those people more than 70% check it daily and spend at least 2 hours online. From my viewpoint not only is this harmful to users physically UT mentally as well. I personally know many people that are able to stay online for hours, within a short amount of time you clearly see a change In their personality. Online everything seems fine, but the more you hang out with these obsessive computer users, you sense a certain distance and eventually you just rather not hang out with them. Eventually these people start to lose their friends and eventually their entire social life. At this point they find the internet most intriguing, being that it is the only place where they can actually have a social life they take advantage of it. They create these that they accept as a substitute for reality. I malt I myself nave a Namespace, Ana I can see now Intentions tons wedding can become. Fortunately for me my mom has restrictions on the hours I can be on the computer. My cousin on the other hand never leaves her room only for going to school and dinner. She has entirely disconnected herself from society. I believe this all started after her minute weight gain and her break up with her boyfriend. She was really depressed and I remember her telling me she found solitude, and other people that understood her online. She has relied completely on the internet to make her happy. It started as Just something to console her, but it turned out to be something that would damage her even more so. I strongly agree with Judgment stating that the internet does have a negative effect on its users. Once someone has relied so much on something its hard to have your life readjusted without it. All these obsessive computer users are trapped in a fantasy, and the deeper the fantasy that you are in, the farther from reality you become.

Significants of the Married Woman s Property Act Essays

Significants of the Married Woman s Property Act Essays Significants of the Married Woman s Property Act Essay Significants of the Married Woman s Property Act Essay What In your view was the short term significance of the Married Womens Property Acts In bringing about change in the domestic role of women? The Married Womens Property acts had many short term effects that changed characteristics of the domestic role of women. Previous to the first act in 1870, women had no legal identity separate from their husband. A womans role was seen as being in the home as the angel of the house, with middle class women having an almost ornamental role with little to no independence or control over their own finances. Women were seen as property and had no presence outside of their domestic sphere. In the short term, the MAP made marriages more companionable, and although this did not equate to equal division of domestic labor, it was a further move away from the angel in the house role where wives were seen to be sweet, selfless creatures that lived purely to serve their husbands. The win also provided a profound psychological effect on women, leading them to believe that they were more than this traditional, domesticated stereotype. This confidence lead to the demand for even more reforms and equality. One significant Impact In changing the domestic role of women was their ability after the act to have control ever their own finances. The 1 870 MAP allowed women to possession of their property and inheritance to the sum of IEEE, as opposed to it going straight to their husband. This control gave women the option of taking up hobbies which in turn introduced a more social aspect into the womans role outside of the home and domestic chores. An example includes cricket, which became a popular womens sport between 1880-90, especially in the middle classes where women would have needed to buy appropriate dress and equipment. Furthering this, it also allowed women to be able to shop by their own accord. This, In the most practical sense, meant that women were out of the house more and not focusing solely on household duties. The passing of the act showed female rights movements that It was possible to have their pollen heard In parliament and further showed the support within society for more equal treatment. This success moved women into more male dominated areas of the public sphere where previously they would have had no representation, even if it was still limited. The first MAP had little impact on liberating the lower class as being given property and inheritance of worth was a luxury. Furthermore the working classes were not seen as educated and there would have been no representative in parliament making sure the 1 us MAP was effecting their situation. A working class woman would still have been expected to perform all domestic duties plus working therefore It would not have greatly impacted the domestic role. The reform of the MAP In 1882 had a larger significance as It named women the sole owner of all their property and money. This meant any business or trade that a woman did before marriage could be continued with and all profits would remain with her. As the 1882 legislation detailed, So as to tenors Ana empower near to receive or transfer teen same, Ana to receive teen dividends, interest, and profits thereof, without the concurrence of her husband. Although upper class women very rarely worked, this was an incentive for middle class women to work, and was a great benefit for the lower class who often had their own businesses and trades, for example brewing beer and dressmaking. This continuation of work after marriage had an effect on the domestic role of women as it became more attractive and advantageous to have an occupation as well as being a housewife. Despite some changes, the short term domestic role of women was still intact in the sense that the home and children were still fully expected to be looked after or overseen by the woman of the house. Furthermore, the domestic role of women remained prevalent, despite it being mainly womens rights groups pushing for the act. The fact that the decision to pass the act was made by the all male parliament and voters proved that the idea still remained that domestic woman belonged in the home and the decision making was left to men. However this did somewhat mark a change in attitude towards womens roles as the cause had many influential male supporters such as John Stuart Mill, who believed the previous qualities were unfair. This, however, was undercut by the ulterior motives of many of the politicians, who didnt believe in the changing roles and Just wanted to compromise with women wanting the vote. This punch cartoon of John Stuart Mill pushing some men aside attempting to franchise votes for women shows many men thought was wrong (appendix 1). Alternatively, another reason for the opposition to Mills was so that men could protect their wealth from the men their daughters married, by ensuring it was still legally theirs and therefore kept in the family. In conclusion the Married Womens Property acts provided many positive short term effects integrating middle and upper class women into male dominated society and providing the means for the growth of interests and hobbies outside of the home.

Companies utilizing e-business strategies Coursework

Companies utilizing e-business strategies - Coursework Example There are different organizations that create outstanding content for performing B2B activities. Intercom is a well-known brand that has created a large blog for itself in which management of customer relationship is comprehensively explained. Deloitte is a financial consultancy firm that caters diverse markets. To make a practical content is the basis of Deloitte’s B2B marketing strategy, and it is due to this reason that they have tried to make such setup where customers can get attracted towards the company. Gild is another renowned company that provides recruiting solutions to the companies, therefore, the company has made sure that B2B readers can utilize their content in a positive manner. Cisco is known for providing different systems of networking ranging from routers to software. For performing a B2B activity, the company has made a video channel on YouTube, where different networking solutions are delivered and suggested to the users in order to make them attracted t owards the company. The company has focused on educating its B2B customers instead of promoting itself, and this is the reason that B2B activity of Cisco is famous amongst customers. The B2C applications are directly sold to the customers and example of B2C applications is the retail websites where customers are able to buy the product or service directly from the customers. To reach customers is one of the most important aspects of the companies, but some companies having strong distribution channel are not worried to reach the customer directly.

Annotated bibliography for a study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

For a study - Annotated Bibliography Example The participants for the study included hearing-impaired students attending junior high or high school. Besides that, their mothers were also qualified to participate in the research project. The student and mother required to make use of any quantity of American Sign Language so as to be able to be involved in the study (page # 177, Lines #12-24). Correlations were conducted to establish whether a relationship exists between skill level of the mothers and the English literacy of the children according to the STAR test (page # 174, Lines # 5-7). A total of seven children and six mothers were involved in the study (page # 178, Lines # 1). Results indicated that there was no significant relationship between skill levels of the mothers and the students’ English literary as measured by the TGSL-R. It was also found out that from 2010, students with higher A’ scores from TGJASL-R also seemed to possess higher scores on the CMA or ELA CST. There is a significant relationship between the ASL ability of a student and skills in English literary. These findings were supported by Strong and Prinz (1997). The amount of years a mother utilized ASL influenced her A’ scores on the TGJASL-R. Finally, there was a significant difference in performance between those who are native users of ASL and those who are non-native users of ASL (page # 185-186, Lines # 4-20; Lines # 2-16). Buchholtz, S., Lachs, L., & Boudreault, P. (2011). The effect of mothers ASL skill level on the English Literacy of their Children. Journal of the American Deafness & Rehabilitation Association , 45 (1),

Limited Liability Company in Qatar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Limited Liability Company in Qatar - Essay Example An LLC implies that the company has not more than fifty and not less than two partners (Commercial Companies Law, 2002). The partners are not answerable for anything other than their individual shares in the company’s capital and their shares do not represent transferable cheques. LLC is the most common form of business organisations in Qatar (â€Å"Business Setup in Qatar†, 2008). 1.1. Limitations and Rules Enforced on LLC Companies 1.1.1. Partners and shares Basically, LLCs do not have any issued shares (Silkenat, Aresty and Klosek, 2009). It is imperative that an LLC should have one or more partners who are Qatari nationals with not less than 51% share in the company capital. Moreover, it is not necessary that the profit share of the partners reflects their equity stake. Foreign companies that are wishing to establish a joint venture in Qatar with a Qatari partner generally opt for an LLC. As mentioned earlier, an LLC needs to have two to fifty shareholders or partne rs and the minimum capital to be raised for such a venture is QAR 200,000 (Silkenat, Aresty and Klosek, 2009). ... Moreover, transferable bonds and shares (negotiable shares) cannot be issued and around 10% of the annual net profits of the company should be retained within the company till the reserve capital is 50% of the share capital of the company (Silkenat, Aresty and Klosek, 2009). The company capital is to be divided into equal units of more than QAR 1000 each (Dew, Shoult and Wallace, 2002). It is illegal for LLC companies to offer banking and insurance services as well as advice about insurance and other such services to other parties. The profit percentage of LLC companies can be increased through means such as weighted dividend rights (Silkenat, Aresty and Klosek, 2009). 1.1.3. Tax liabilities LLCs in Qatar have to submit an annual tax return and are required to pay corporate income tax. They are liable to pay 10% of their profits made from Qatar. If their annual profits are more than QAR 100,000, they are required to declare this along with their audited financial statements issued by a registered auditor (â€Å"Business Setup in Qatar†, 2008). 1.1.4. Companies Law and requirements for setting up LLC The different types of companies in Qatar are ordained by the Companies Law (Commercial Companies Law no. 11 of 1981 (Dew, Shoult and Wallace, 2002). Partners establishing an LLC are required to sign and submit, in Arabic, the Memorandum and Articles of Association to Qatar’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce (Wolters Kluwer TAA, 2013). The name of the company has to be approved by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce in Doha and the minimum stipulated capital also has to be deposited at a bank in Qatar (â€Å"Business Setup in Qatar†, 2008). 2. Qatari Laws on LLCs 2.1. Ownership Interest of Shareholders in an LLC As per

Intro and conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Intro and conclusion - Essay Example Greece is one of the prominent countries in the European Union. However, unlike many other countries in EU, Greece is currently struggling a lot because of financial problems. EU is doing everything possible to revitalize Greece’s economy. However, the depth of the financial problems facing by Greece seems to be big. However, Greece still offers enough opportunities to foreign direct investments. Greece realized that internal resources are limited to streamline the economic progress in the right path. Currently they are trying hard to attract Foreign Direct Investment as much as possible to escape from the financial problems. New products and existing products have equal opportunities in Greece at present. Because of the blind faith in the abilities of Americans, American products are accepted with both hands by Greeks. Product manufacturers in America can capitalize on such attitudes of Greek people. We have planned to develop a new multipurpose product; alarm clock/ smart phone charger / coffee maker and market it in Greece. This paper is written as a marketing plan for the newly developed alarm clock in Greece. The current population in Greece right now is 10,767,827 (â€Å"Greece Demographics Profile 2013.†). There are currently 4,704,248 people that makes up our products target market, which is roughly 44% of the total current market (â€Å"Greece Demographics Profile 2013.†). Over the past three years, Greece’s economy has been on the decline and with the recently raised income taxes, there has been a decline in disposable income as well (â€Å"Cafes/Bars in Greece.†). For the average adult, the normal work week consists of 40 hours, but during this time, Greeks do not take normal lunch breaks (â€Å"Cafes/Bars in Greece.†). Instead they take multiple shirt breaks throughout the day in which they get coffee or a quick snack (â€Å"Cafes/Bars in Greece.†). Coffee has become apart of Greek culture where its is a daily routine. Greeks

Contemporary social problems paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Contemporary social problems paper - Essay Example These concerns are real social problems that the nation faces at present. There have been significant changes in the population growth since 1967 and it has been unevenly distributed, since 1970, with growth in the South and West, and loss in the other areas. This will result in many types of social problems. Already there are many problems like increased traffic congestion, proliferation of foreign language TV channels, expansion in the number of professional teams and so on. These are minor issues compared to the more serious issues connected with environment, education system, health care system, political system and others. The racial and ethnic disparities that the US is facing put the nation in great distress. The difference in these areas can turn up as decisive factor in the making up of the modern civility. The life in the nation is conditioned by the racial and ethnic group one belongs to. There is now a substantial gap between the minority and the White which can result in the social unrest as well. The minority that is growing at a fast rate will hold increasing share of the future work, resulting in the social imbalance.

Intro and conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Intro and conclusion - Essay Example Greece is one of the prominent countries in the European Union. However, unlike many other countries in EU, Greece is currently struggling a lot because of financial problems. EU is doing everything possible to revitalize Greece’s economy. However, the depth of the financial problems facing by Greece seems to be big. However, Greece still offers enough opportunities to foreign direct investments. Greece realized that internal resources are limited to streamline the economic progress in the right path. Currently they are trying hard to attract Foreign Direct Investment as much as possible to escape from the financial problems. New products and existing products have equal opportunities in Greece at present. Because of the blind faith in the abilities of Americans, American products are accepted with both hands by Greeks. Product manufacturers in America can capitalize on such attitudes of Greek people. We have planned to develop a new multipurpose product; alarm clock/ smart phone charger / coffee maker and market it in Greece. This paper is written as a marketing plan for the newly developed alarm clock in Greece. The current population in Greece right now is 10,767,827 (â€Å"Greece Demographics Profile 2013.†). There are currently 4,704,248 people that makes up our products target market, which is roughly 44% of the total current market (â€Å"Greece Demographics Profile 2013.†). Over the past three years, Greece’s economy has been on the decline and with the recently raised income taxes, there has been a decline in disposable income as well (â€Å"Cafes/Bars in Greece.†). For the average adult, the normal work week consists of 40 hours, but during this time, Greeks do not take normal lunch breaks (â€Å"Cafes/Bars in Greece.†). Instead they take multiple shirt breaks throughout the day in which they get coffee or a quick snack (â€Å"Cafes/Bars in Greece.†). Coffee has become apart of Greek culture where its is a daily routine. Greeks

Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Terrorism - Essay Example Analyzing Different Types Of Terrorism Introduction Based on the execution and effects of terrorist behavior, acts of terror do not just happen; they are well thought and planned. All terrorist behavior is based on extremist beliefs and intolerance towards contrasting interests (Martin, 2009). Although almost all acts of terror are based on political motives, extremism is very divergent depending on the belief systems of the concerned terrorists, thus the existence of different types of terrorism. Left-Wing Versus Right-Wing Terrorism In almost all political systems, there are conflicting views on how the system should be run. There are those factions that support the preservation of traditional values, while other factions advocate for new methods of administration. According to Martin (2009), right-wing extremists are those who believe that the values that led to past glory have been eroded by enemy culture. As a result, rightists often use aggressive measures to preserve these cul tures and cement their status. On the other hand, left-wing extremists act aggressively towards establishing a new order by first destroying the current system. Most leftists believe that they have been oppressed by the existing regime, thus the need to create a just and fair regime. Ideally, leftists consider themselves the voice of the oppressed and engage the rightists in aggressive politics in order to establish a new system. Consequently, rightists respond through terrorist violence in an attempt to safeguard the ideals and order of the group. Pitcavage (2001) gives the example of the militia movement, a paramilitary rightist group that arose in the United States during the 1990s. This movement advocated for the right of every individual to own a gun in order to protect themselves from a tyrannical government. The militia movement claimed that the federal government was creating a conspiracy to rob citizens off their rights and exercise more control over them. To this end, the rightist believed that the government through the police unit was creating security incidents and using the same to increase government power over the people. Moreover, the militia believed that the United States government was colluding with the United Nations to establish a tyrannical regime under the â€Å"New World Order.† Generally, the militia movement would act with hostility towards the federal government. The militias would attack U.S military bases believed to be training troops from the United Nations. In addition, the militias would manufacture illegal weapons and use the same to confront federal authorities (Pitcavage, 2001, p. 971). Martin (2009, p. 254) gives the example of the â€Å"Battle of Seattle† that was organized in 1999 by leftists to protest against globalization. The leftist protestors believed that globalization would limit the role played by each culture in the world, thus bringing about anarchy. However, according to Martin (2009, p. 254), left-wing terrorism has been gradually decreasing since the end of Marxism. State Terrorism State terrorism occurs when states decide to act violently towards international or domestic adversaries. In the international arena, a state may choose to use aggression and violence to

Television violence Essay Example for Free

Television violence Essay * Children watch an average of four hours of television daily. Television can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior. Unfortunately, much of todays television programming is violent. Hundreds of studies of the effects of TV violence on children and teenagers have found that children may : * Become immune or numb to the horror of violence * Gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems * Imitate the violence they observe on television * Extensive viewing of television violence by children causes greater aggressiveness. Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, they are more likely to imitate what they see. Children with emotional, behavioral, learning or impulse control problems may be more easily influenced by TV violence. The impact of TV violence may be immediately evident in the childs behavior or may surface years later. Young people can even be affected when the family atmosphere shows no tendency toward violence. * While TV violence is not the only cause of aggressive or violent behavior, it is clearly a significant factor. Parents can protect children from excessive TV violence in the following ways: * pay attention to the programs their children are watching and watch some with them * set limits on the amount of time they spend with the television; consider removing the TV set from the childs bedroom * point out that although the actor has not actually been hurt or killed, such violence in real life results in pain or death * refuse to let the children see shows known to be violent, and change the channel or turn off the TV set when offensive material comes on, with an explanation of what is wrong with the program * disapprove of the violent episodes in front of the children, stressing the belief that such behavior is not the best way to resolve a problem * to offset peer pressure among friends and classmates, contact other parents and agree to enforce similar rules about the length of time and type of program the children may watch * Parents can also use these measures to prevent harmful effects from television in other areas such as racial or sexual stereotyping. The amount of time children watch TV, regardless of content, should be moderated because it decreases time spent on more beneficial activities such as reading, playing with friends, and developing hobbies. If parents have serious difficulties setting limits, or have ongoing concerns about their childs behavior, they should contact a child and adolescent psychiatrist for consultation and assistance.

Antoni Gaudis Architecture Style

Antoni Gaudis Architecture Style Introduction In order to appreciate Antoni Gaudis creative vision we must look at the context in which he worked. It seems that previous studies of Gaudi have not researched extensively into placing him within this cultural context; and have rather preferred to outline him as a lonely reclusive figure or concentrated on his elaborate architectural forms. This dissertation will explore whether political, social and economic developments in the late 19th and 20th Centuries in Catalonia and Spain proved touchstones for the architect, his work and his immediate circle; and whether these factors influenced his creative decisions and have been overlooked throughout his life. The work is composed of three inter-related sections. The first section will discuss Gaudis Catalan roots, and early social influences. Park G?ell will be used to illustrate this. The second section explores Catalan nationalism, social classes and the rise of Catalan industrial capitalism. It will also examine the political conflict and tensions between Castile and Catalonia, including the three Carlist wars, which were fought out on Catalan territory, the disastrous effects after Spains loss of her empire in 1898, and the impact of Tragic Week in 1909. It will consider how these may have affected Gaudi and his working rationale. This section will be analysed through the example of the Casa Mila. The third section will examine Gaudis shift in faith and the impact that this had on his architecture. This will be shown through the example of the Sagrada Familia (Holy family) Cathedral. This discussion starts by considering the view expressed by Clara Gari of the Catalan architects approach: Perhaps what makes a quick understanding difficult in Gaudis work is its daring and fascinating uncertainty, that range which slips between architectural code and structure. Such ambiguity is accentuated much more when the matrixes from which Gaudi extracts a determined stylistic code are not always clearly evidenced. But rather they appear, as often happens, ambiguously confused as a consequence of a sort of intervention, prior to the adoption of the chosen code, which by way of a distorted lens, varies the facets and the colour in it, tricking us with a free all embracing conduct, and with an underlying energy directly emanated from the ethnic heritage which is difficult to simplify Gari seems to be commenting that, despite Gaudis classical education and training as an architect, he could risk being very radical in his use of the accepted architectural codes and structures of his time. In Gaudis work, codes and structures seem to be passed through the filter of his imagination and his Catalan identity, and are transformed into something which may appear distorted but can have a powerful effect upon us as observers. Gaudis Catalan roots and early social influences Antoni Placid Guillem Gaudi I Cornet was born in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain on June 25, 1852, into a family which had come from a long line of Catalan merchants, miners, farmers, weavers, boilermakers and coppersmiths. Gaudi was introduced to the family craft tradition at an early age when watching his father in his workshop. He was proud of this heritage and once said: I have the quality of spatial apprehension because I am the son, grandson, and the great grandson of coppersmiths All these generations of people gave me preparation. Gaudis predecessors came from a cross-Pyrenean culture that bordered the Mediterranean Sea and were accustomed to absorbing influences from different cultures, while somehow retaining their own Catalan identity. The Catalan language, for example, is closer to the tongue of Languedoc in France than it is to Castilian which is spoken in most of Spain. Joan Bergos explains in his book, Gaudi the man and his works, that: Gaudis lineage therefore has deep, i f distant roots in central Europe, mixed with the virtues traditionally found among the people of Tarragona, a typically Mediterranean people, passionate, industrious, courageous in the face of adversity and somewhat inclined to irony. The Mediterranean region of Tarragona, with its natural surroundings and quality of light, are elements of the rural world that Gaudi seems to provide as references to his architectural forms. His love of nature began as a small child, when rheumatoid arthritis, made physical exploration and play painful and difficult and he was restricted to riding around on the back of a donkey, according to family stories, he was able to study his natural surroundings and to create his own imaginary world. Perhaps because of his difficult start in life Gaudi may have developed an inner world of fantasy, shape, structure and colour, produced by his knowledge of the artisans craft and the natural forms found in his environment. Gaudi came from a deeply religious family and received a thorough Catholic religious education generated from the continuation of medieval Guilds. This would have included obligatory prayer to the Virgin, Christian doctrine, religious morals and religious history. By 1874, at the age of 22, Gaudi had moved to Barcelona with his brother Francesc; and here he began his preparation to train as an architect at the Escuela Tà ©cnica Superior de Arquitectura (Upper Technical School of Architecture). Here he studied Spanish architecture which would have focused upon its many cultural traditions, including: Phoenician, Roman, Greek, Visigothic, Celtic, Arab, Berber and Jewish. These would have been completely absorbed into the thinking of contemporary design so that there was no prejudice against the adoption of Islamic motifs and symbols. One could imagine how important this multi-faceted cultural heritage of Spain would have been for the development of Gaudis own approach to architecture. Gaudi also seemed to share the concerns and ideals that surrounded the dynamic and intellectual atmosphere during his youth, and would have been influenced by the famous intellectuals of the time: Pugin, Ruskin and Viollet-le-Duc. The latter was responsible for the Gothic revival in France and as a pupil of Le Grand Durand he had influenced Frances adoption of Renaissance models and rationalist approach to city planning, which had put the country at the forefront of European artistic and architectural debate. One could also presume that Gaudi had read the work of the English writer Ruskin, in which he states, in his book: The seven lamps of Architecture: I say that if men really lived like men, their houses would be like temples which we would not dare to violate so easily and in which it would be a privilege to live. There must be some strange dissolution of family affection, a strange ingratitude towards everything that our houses have given us and that our parents have taught us, a strange awareness of our infidelity with respect and love for our father, or perhaps an awareness that our life is not for making our house sacred in the eyes of our children, which induces each one of us to want to build for ourselves, and to build only for the little revolution of our personal life. I see these miserable concretions of mud and limestone that shoot up like mushrooms in the boggy fields around our capitalI look at them not only with the repulsion of the offended view, not only with the pain that is caused by a disfigured landscape, not with the painful presentiment that the roots of our national grandeza must have infected with gangren e right down to their tips from the moment that they were planted in such an unstable manner in out native soil. It seems that Ruskins moral and aesthetic dilemma was one that Gaudi would also experience as a young professional architect, and he would move between his support of socialist ideals and various privileged connections with the aristocracy and upper middle classes (his possible clients) throughout his life. Gaudi was discovered by the bourgeoisie without whom his architecture would not stand today. However it seems he was not indifferent to the social life of his age and its contradictions. Other contemporaries working towards these ideals, were: Elies Rogent (1821-1897), whose design of Barcelonas University building was influenced by the German Rundbogenstil, which was a Neo-classical rounded arch; Joan Martorell (1833-1906) who designed the Neo-gothic brick and glazed-tiled church of Saint Francesc de Sales (1885); Josep Vilaseca who collaborated with Lluis Domà ¨nech i Montaner (1850-1923) on the Batlo tomb (1885). As his former professor at the Escuela Tà ©cnica Superior de Ar quitectura, Lluis Domà ¨nech i Montaner was at the forefront of the Catalan Modernist movement, also known as the Renaixenca (or Rebirth), which encouraged art, theatre and literature in the Catalan language. He was also responsible for designing the Palau de la Musica Catalana which symbolises the coming together of the Catalan nationalist sentiment and international culture. It also shows a particular connection to Gaudis Colonia Guell, Casa Vicens and Park Guell, though its elaborate ornamentation, sculptures and colourful ceramic mosaics, all of which seem to refer to a deep connection with Catalan nature and nationalism that were apparent at the time. This connection can be seen in the leaf and flower patterns on the facade of the Palau de la Musica Catalana which are inspired by Moorish architecture and followed the curvilinear design seen in Art Nouveau. At the same time, the civil engineer Ildefons Cerda (1815-1876) had been given the commission to expand Barcelonas boundaries by demolishing its walls and providing land for new residential areas. It seems that his plans were influenced by Haussmanns redesign of Paris, and were based on a similar grid system. Cerda was shocked that the working classes were paying proportionately more in rent for their confined living accommodation than the wealthy paid for their luxurious housing. The design for city, although Neo-classical, was also considered realist because of Cerdas understanding of modern urban sociology and living conditions. It seems that this expansion signalled to other architects that it was acceptable to explore new ways of designing public and private spaces. This new sociological attitude towards urban spaces can be seen as the catalyst for the creation of the idea of the Garden City. The concept of setting up communities outside cities was started by enlightened industr ial philanthropists such as Robert Owen, Titus Salt and George Cadbury, creating small housing projects for their workers in England as far back as 1800. However, the most important of the Garden City movement was Ebenezer Howard whose book Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform, published in 1898, was to become highly influential in town planning throughout the 20th century. The Garden City movement is a good example of the changing social attitude towards the built environment and can be seen in the later planning texts of Tony Garnier and of Le Corbusiers ASCORAL, first published as Les Trois Establissements Humains in 1945. In a short text called Notes on the family house (Casa Pairal) written by Gaudi between 1878 and 1881, he reflects on the relationship between house and family: The house is a small nation of the familyThe privately owned house has been given the name of Casa Parial (family home) who among us does not recall, on hearing this expression, some beautiful example in the countryside or in the city? The pursuit of lucre and changes in customs have caused most of these family homes to disappear from the city, and those that remain are in such a terrible state that they cannot last long. The need for a family house is not only limited to one age and one family in particular but is an enduring need for all families. The text seems to be referring to the unity of a nation and of its people, it reflects the understanding of an architect who strives for sanitation and well being, as well as the anti-urban feeling which had arisen in England and spread throughout Europe. One could presume that it also reflects Gaudis deep-rooted connection with the rural world, that of peasant and craftsman, a world from which he had come. Maria Antonietta Crippa explains in her book, Living Gaudi that: Gaudis attention was not directed immediately to the bourgeois house, but to the needs of everyone. She goes on to say that He does not hide his unease at the excessive, over accelerated growth of cities, which uproot many people from the land of their birth and force them to live in rented houses in the land of emigration. And he applauds the decision to abandon congested city centers for the spacious, light-filled, leafy suburbs. Perhaps this sociological approach is what allowed Gaudi to think up the imaginative design that he created for Park G?ell in 1900. This was a garden city which captured the spirit of the 20th century and followed the fashionable trend in Europe for creating large ornamental spaces. It was a public space which would create a haven away from industrialisation, where the common man, both wealthy and poor, could exercise and see public events during their new-found leisure hours. It was also designed as a space where nouveau-riche families could live comfortably away from the crowded city centre. The park seems to reveal Gaudis extraordinary imagination in what could be seen as an optimistic phase of his life. Maria Antoietta Crippa explains that: Gaudis gardens are reminiscent of The Rose Garden, evoked in the first of T.S Eliots Four Quartets: a place that arouses memories of childhood, but which is also a symbol of a past and a future that are alive in our present: Humankind cannot b ear too much reality. / Time past and time future / what might have been and what has been / point to one end, which is always present. She goes on to explain that the garden is a metaphor not just for an earthly paradise, but also of the power of human memory, another expansion of Gaudis inner world. The park draws together urban sociology, his early childhood interest in nature and his strong sense of Mediterranean Catalan nationalism and symbolism. Gaudi uses the Moorish art of trencadis, a method of deliberately breaking tiles and re-arranging them into intricate patterns. He uses this technique on the long serpentine bench-balustrade where broken ceramic pieces have been arranged into words and symbols with religious and Catalan nationalist connotations. Some historians have also suggested that the Doric columns which consist of fluted shafts made of rough stone, covered at the base with white ceramics, and joined to the ceiling by domes which are supported by gently curving be ams, not only evoke the motion of Mediterranean waves but are also reminiscent of the Temple of Delphos and reflect the culture of Greece and the Mediterranean. They believed the structure of these columns existed as a tribute to Greece, which had won its independence from the Turkish Empire, drawing parallels with the political situation of Catalonia and the Catalans desire for independence. Gaudi arrived in Barcelona at a time of important change in architectural thinking and it seems that he benefited from meeting and leading architects of his day, who were involved in the regeneration of Catalan culture, in which, the re-birth of the language had a vital contribution in Catalans rediscovering their heritage and their common identities. In the journal: Tongue tied: The role of linguistics in Basque and Catalan Nationalism, Ryan Barnes explains how important the rebirth of the Catalan language was: Language has always been an essential element of nationalism, providing a distinctive feature and source of pride for a collective people. The ability to communicate with one another is essential to building bridges between strangers and forging the idea of a nation, which instils the idea of unity among a people that have never met Moreover, communication brings knowledge with it. Language conveys the ideas of a people or nation through literacy works such as poems or novels, which nationalists can look back on with pride. It seems that Catalan nationals were comparing themselves, not to the intellectuals in the Spanish capital, Madrid, but to artists and designers of other nations in Europe who were more technologically advanced, such as: England, France and Germany. The Catalan language had been suppressed for many years by Spains central government but now Catalans seemed to take pride in self-expression, while being aware of developments from the other side of the Pyrenees, including the redevelopment of Paris and the creation of the London squares with their ornamental gardens. They also seemed aware of the Neo-gothic architecture which was encouraged by intellectuals such as Pugin, the architect of the Houses of Parliament and John Ruskins ideas on workers education and benefits. It seems that Gaudi too was aware of these ideas, and although Catalonia was isolating itself from the decline of Spain, it was also keeping up with new and important influences from abroad. Catalonia was becoming a deve loped region within an undeveloped country. The history of Catalan nationalism, social classes and the rise of Catalan industrial capitalism and political tensions in Catalonia and Spain. Catalonia had become the industrial centre for the rest of Spain during the 19th century, a period when there was increasing unrest in the whole country. During the 18th century Catalonia had evolved from an economy based on goods for local consumption to an economy with wider commercial aspirations. This industrialisation took place in a country of untapped raw materials and very low purchasing power. Catalonias manufacturing expansion depended upon its source of energy generated from hydraulic turbines on its irregularly flowing rivers, but in the 20th century the hydroelectric potential of the Pyrenees was eventually secured for advancing industrial production. The class system of Catalan society was largely the result of three successive long waves of industrialisation and capital accumulation, with the attendant growth of new factory-linked centres, the massive importance of the workforce, the consolidation of a skilled working class and a large middle class, together with furth er advances in the direction of secularisation and urbanisation. These three long waves entailed the following developments: the growth of the bourgeois class, the rise of an industrial society based, at first, as in so many other places, on the textile industry, and the establishment of great family fortunes. Karl Marx was writing in Das Kapital at this period of time about the expansion of the bourgeoisie in Europe: Constant revolutionising of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainty and agitation distinguish the bourgeoisie epoch from all earlier ones. All fixed, fast frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify The bourgeoisie has subjected the country to the rule of the towns. It has created enormous cites, has greatly increased the urban population as compared with the rural, and thus rescued a considerable part of the population from rural idiocy. In common with the bourgeoisie across Europe there was an increasing number of newly rich Catalan industrialists such as Eusebi G?ell and Pere Mila i Camps who were seeking the outward expression of their fortunate position in society. The city culture of Barcelona attracted them because it offered them a style of life that was equivalent to what they witnessed in other European industrialised societies. To express their power, and their love of the new, as Marx discusses, they needed modern fashionable architects who could take advantage of the trends in design that were current in those other countries. Most of the architects at this time were drawn into the Capitalist desire to use space as a commodity that could be built on and sold. Gaudi, although willing to offer his considerable talent to industrialists who were acquiring land for building projects, eventually rejected this approach to architecture in favor of a return to the traditional architectural forms, such as church building, as a symbolic representation of Catalan nationhood. According to Maria Antonietta Crippa, Gaudi was already setting out on a different path in terms of the secularisation of modern architecture, as will be demonstrated in the example of the Casa Mila. In her book, Living Gaudi, The architects complete vision, she suggests that: (Gaudis) constructions were built at a time when a utopian, secularising trend was developing in the world of European architecture. This trend, which was radically different from the direction taken by the Catalan architect, proposed the creation of the new urban and residential spaces that would resolve the imbalances caused by the violent growth of cities and by the technological revolution that took place in the second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. Despite the apparently luxurious life of Barcelonas bourgeoisie, the political situation in the whole of Spain was increasingly unstable throughout the 19th century. Instead of developing a system of political parties Spain had been confronted by a series of military coups; and instead of political debate there were attempts to change the written constitution. Between 1822 and 1875, opposition to liberal capitalism led to five civil wars, which were fought out on Catalan territory. The last three were to be known as the Carlist wars, in which royalists and the military opposed the liberals and republicans, and this conflict continued into the 20th century with increasing brutality and bloodshed. The Third Carlist war ended in 1876 when Gaudi was 24. Gaudi believed that: war, offering violence as a solution to any problem, is inevitably demoralising. The Crusades were a failure and many sensible Carlists abandoned that cause in the face of the behaviour of the Carlist forces. It seems that Gaudi was interested in public affairs and followed developments on the political scene. He once said: I am very like my father. At one point, not long before he died, there had just been elections, and he still had enough enthusiasm for the subject to ask me to tell him which candidates had been elected He railed against separatism and he defended energetically the ideas of rationalism and a strong and united Spain. Gaudi was one of a large group of intellectuals known as the generation of 98. In 1898 the political decline of Spain worsened when it entered a war with the USA, which it could not afford to fight. America supported the minority of planters in the colony of Cuba, who were making demands for emancipation from Spain. Following Spanish reprisals against these rebels, and supported by fictitious claims in the US press, America launched an attack on Spanish forces which caused enormous loss of life and led to Cuba being liberated into an American sphere of influence. The shock of defeat in Spain was overwhelming, as Gabriel Tortella explains in The Development of Modern Spain, an Economic History of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: the loss of markets for industry and agriculture, the loss of human life, of physical and military resources and income to the Treasury, the disappearance of various transportation and communication networks, and perhaps the most important, a widespread sense of revulsion and demoralization. For Spanish rulers and people, it seems that such a national humiliation inflicted by a relatively young democratic state would mark their country out as deeply flawed and unstable in the modern age of the early 20th century, and would be linked to decline, political chaos and eventual brutal civil war in 1936-1939. A few years after this catastrophe, Gaudi began work on the Casa Mila, a building six stories high, with eight apartments on each floor grouped around two internal courtyards, one circular and the other oval. It is designed so that light floods in through the two inner courtyards which are open to the sky. Gaudis idea was that the building should be a pedestal for an enormous statue of the Virgin Mary accompanied by two angels, which he had hoped would stand 25m above the roof of the building and would have dominated the city. The building seems to reflect Gaudis revulsion at the anti-clerical violence in Spain and loss of spiritual meaning in modern day society. Perhaps he would have agreed with Kandinskys view that: the nightmare of materialism, which has turned the life of the universe into an evil, useless game, is not yet past: it holds the awakening soul still in its grip. It seems that Mila I Camps was uneasy about the appearance of the proposed vast statue of the Madonna on the roof of his property, as according to art historian Robert Hughes: given the turbulence of 1904 it would probably lead to the destruction of his building by infuriated anti-clerical mobs. It seemed that Gaudi was obliged to convey the importance and opulence of the life of this new entrepreneurial class, who: did not look to the past, but only desired one thing: to invent their own future. Instead of the statue of the Virgin Mary, Gaudi was compelled to replace it with ventilation towers, chimneys and sculptures. The stair units are topped with crosses with four equal arms and the chimneys are surmounted by small domes similar to warrior heads. According to Maria Antonietta Crippa the resulting sculptures on the roof: (carry) a powerful emotive charge. She goes on to say consider, for example, that way that he uses catenary structures and fluted surfaces, or the features that appear in his artificial landscapes and stone gardens; these elements all work to create a fantasy world, as in the case of the multitextured, undulating faà §ade of Casa Batllo, or the mysterious ghost world of the roof terrace of Casa Mila. Could these anguished, twisted shapes express Gaudis inner fantasy world? Or indeed his mental state at the time? Could they possibly convey the violence of his times and his personal bereavements? It is reasonable to consider that the architects creative process is strongly influenced by his unconscious mind, as Karl Jung argues: Archetypes are numinous structural elements of the psyche which have a degree of autonomy and energy of their own, which allows them to attract whatever contents of the consciousness that suit them. These are not hereditary depictions, but rather certain innate predispositions to form parallel representations, which I called the collective unconscious. One could assume that these distorted forms were connected with his distress at the loss of his preferred sacred symbol, the Mother of Christ, but may also have held a more personal significance as a representation of his own mother, who had died 30 years previously along with his brother Francesc. The period following their deaths, in 1876, had caused an all enveloping depression for Gaudi. Reflecting on the Casa Mila it was probably a good idea that Gaudi had not used the building as a living shrine, as violent protests again erupted in the city, and saw the burning of 40 religious schools, convents and monasteries, and 12 Parish churches in 1909, the rioters considering the Church to form part of the corrupt bourgeois structure. The so-called Tragic Week seemed to affect Gaudi deeply; perhaps this is why everything he produced afterwards seemed to be built in the Catholic spirit of somehow making amends for the destruction. Could it be that he was carrying the burden of unconscious guilt for his own losses and for those that had devastated the Mother Church? At the same time as dealing with this spiritual crisis, it seems that he was coping with failing physical health. The death of Gaudis patron Don Eusebi G?ell in 1918 ground him to a complete halt, after which it is presumed that he had a psychological breakdown. During his last eight years of increasing isolation, perhaps he turned his back on the chaotic events in his country and withdrew into a life of abstinence and religiosity. Upon these painful tragic loses, after his fathers death and the death of his sisters daughter Rosa, his sense of uncertainty about life and on suffering from bouts of Mediterranean fever. He began his descent into a strict life of religiosity. My closest friends are dead; I have no family, no clients, no fortune, nothing. Now I can dedicate myself wholly to my church. Gijs Van Hensbergen summarises the crisis for Gaudis generation when he explains in his book: Gaudi the Biography: Spains loss of her empire in 1898 and the Tragic Week of 1909 in which convents and churches were burnt down; both had strong effects on Gaudi, his friends, patrons and completely changed his working patterns. The political situation in Catalonia was a complex, potentially explosive one. Catalonias alliance with Spain (Castile) was one of immense tensionBefore the civil war, some Spanish intellectuals and politicians recognised the dangers, but tragically they didnt have the power to halt the momentum of the approaching crisis. Few generations have ever been so savagely self analytical as Gaudis. Few have put themselves through such painful discoveryThese political and social tensions between reform and reaction provide the subtext and hidden structures of Gaudis work. Shift in faith and its impact on Gaudis architecture The wish to form something uniquely powerful and symbolic in a time of unpredictable political and social events may be at the heart of Gaudis most famous design, the cathedral. A personal account of Gaudi is given by one of his close friends Joan Bergos who remarked on the transformation in Gaudi during the latter years of his life, when he became completely consumed by his creative masterpiece. Bergos said: Faith changed the passionate, impetuous, irascible youth into a serene, balanced, exemplary man, who only on rare occasions gave vent to any temperamental outburst and who radiated such a beneficent aura that he sometimes inspired conversion and even heroic sacrifice in those lives he touched. Furthermore, Mark Burry suggests in his book Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Familia: Architecture in detail: The Sagrada Familia is a biography of a singular architects coming to terms with his time, his personality and, eventually, his vulnerability. Also one could also consider that Gaudi had been influenced by Viollet-le-Ducs statement that: We must find creativity through an accurate knowledge of the works of our ancestors. Not that such knowledge must lead us to imitate them slavishly, but rather it will reveal and make available all the secret skills of our predecessors. Perhaps what was important for Gaudi was that a designer must take from the traditional what he has absorbed into his own knowledge and re-interpret and re-work it so that it can appear innovatory and familiar, as well as inspirational. When Gaudi moved to Barcelona as a young man, it seems that he had been impressed with its wealth of historical architecture, which dated back to the Middle Ages. He had visited the Basilica Church of Santa Maria del Mar in the Ribera district which has three aisles forming a single space with no transepts and no architectural boundary between nave and presbytery. The simple ribbed vault is supported on slender octagonal columns, and daylight streams in through the tall clerestory windows. The foundation stone was laid by King Alfonso IV in 1329 and the whole building was carried out by local people including dockworkers, who collected the large stone slabs from near

The Concern of National Debt :: Argumentative Economy Economics Papers

The Concern of National Debt The National Debt is large, and should be a major concern to the economy. But a even bigger concern is how our Government plans to balance the budget and pay off the Federal Deficit. I am not in favor of passing the National Debt on to future generations, nor am I in favor of passing the Republican's Budget Plan either. The Republican's wantto sharply cut spending for Medicare and Medicaid health benefits for elderly and poor Americans in order to balance the budget by 2002 - while also providing $240 billion in tax cuts. I am in favor of balancing the budget but through many different routes. 1) cut Social Security but have Americans set-up tax free IRA's for their future. 2) Make a politicians job not so glamourous. A mere $35,000 dollars per year and a suitable benefits plan like the majority of Americans have would be fine. Maybe not so many greedy, power hungry indviduals would want the job to make them richer and us the American workers poorer. Maybe just maybe an average american would take the job to help the overall benefit of America as a whole and not just worry what is in it for them. 3) Cut some of the entitlements programs, but let the American people decide where to cut. The Government should have on-line voting, so our voices are heard. The Republican's package is a tax cut for the rich, it;s much more a tax cut for the middle class -- and a bad deal for the working poor. But I do understand, no matter where the cuts go, or who they hurt more, the dollars must come out. Take the dollars away from the rich and the greedy politicians who want more and more each year for their own benefit!! Most of these politicians are set for life with their million dollar benefits

Essay examples --

â€Å"Beauty is only skin deep.† Everyone knows the quote, yet why is it that we still struggle to look our best? Why is it that some women bother to wake up an hour early to do their hair and makeup? Its simple etiquette, some might argue. However, etiquette aside, why is it that twenty ­million people in America alone suffer from eating ­related disorders? Why is it that a 38 inch plastic doll is a little girl’s role model? This is why (visual aid). Magazines, movies, newspaper advertisements, the internet. All of these tend to showcase seemingly thin, beautiful, toned models and celebrities, causing many women in the world to be pressured to have the ‘perfect’ body image, never satisfied with their own bodies and looks and willing to do anything to achieve the ideal image, even if it means having to subject themselves to dieting, hunger and eating disorders. Now, what should blame for this unhealthy obsession that has bloomed among today’s wom en? Of course it would have to be the media. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely other causes of eating disorders, but with constant advertising and material showcasing visuals that feature seemingly flawless and thin women, who would not feel insecure? Who would not feel influenced to want to have a similar body image? The very image of the ‘ideal’ woman has caused many women around the world to place outer appearance on a pedestal, to hate their own image, and ultimately fall victim to terrible eating disorders. My name is Valerie, and the purpose of my speech today will be to convince you that the portrayal of a woman’s body image by the media is the root cause of eating disorders and self ­esteem issues among women and girls today and thus implore your support in getting the media to stop... ...ing is very wrong. Today I have gone over three main points to aid me in persuading you of my cause against this unhealthy promotion of an unattainable body image by the media: The highly negative effects on body image caused by the media, the ways the media promotes an unhealthy, unattainable body image of a woman as the ‘perfect’ and ‘ideal’ image, and last but definitely not least, how the emulation of this sort of body image can be prevented. With that, I do hope I have managed to convince you that the portrayal of a woman’s body image by the media is the root cause of eating disorders and self ­esteem issues among women and girls today and thus implore your support in getting the media to stop airbrushing and promoting these unattainable images of perfection. Everyone deserves to feel beautiful. The eradication of the pressure to be perfect begins with the media.

Corporate Strategy Analysis Essay

The four basic alternatives when using corporate strategy in the planning function of management are concentration, vertical integration, concentric diversification, and, conglomerate diversification. After viewing the Destination CEO videos regarding Coco-Cola, Southwest Airlines, VF Corporation, and, Xerox, I can easily identify the strategy used by each CEO. Coca-Cola CEO Neville Isdell retired from Coca-Cola in 2001 after serving 35 years with the company. When Mr. Isedell left Coca-Cola sales began to drop, there was high turnover, and low morale threatened the company’s future. Mr. Isdell recognized the need for a new strategy and change, after seeing what other competitors were doing. He seen that Pepsi had diversified their options and Coca-Cola needed to do the same. I believe vertical integration strategy was used here. Coca-Cola bought the product vitamin water, in order to dive into the non-carbonated beverage sector market and expand within the industry. Coca Cola is trying to control the global market through aggressive strategy and branding campaigns, with its carbonated and non-carbonated beverages. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly has managed to keep the company afloat as one of the most profitable airlines in the country. Mr. Kelly always travels at the back of the aircraft, talking to customers and taking notes of their expectations and complaints. I believe that Mr. Kelly used the concentration strategy to focus only on the airline industry to sustain the company’s profitability. In order to maintain profits, CEO Gary Kelly’s strategy was to keep cost low, fly the same 737 aircrafts so that parts and maintenance stay easy, and treat all customers like kings and queens including employees. Business week (2014) However, Southwest Airlines must expand in the future to remain a profitable company. VF Corporation is the largest apparel maker in the world. They are the biggest seller of jeans, such as  wrangler and, lee brands. VF CEO Mackey McDonalds focus on planning and preparation for the unexpected and customer connection. Mr. McDonalds biggest challenges was the restructuring of the company in 2001, cutting 13,000 jobs, and moving manufacturing jobs overseas to countries as China and India due to cheap labor. The company model was the taste for branding the lifestyle behind the brand; they believe that investing in strong consumer recognition is better than high-fashion brands. VF Corporation continues to expand their brands with the recent acquisition of the Eagle Creek travel bag Company, and Majestic Athletic Company, which sells baseball gear. I think that the CEO used vertical integration strategy to expand their line of products and, distribution channels. Anne Mulcathy became the first female CEO of Xerox. On the verge on bankruptcy due to weak sales, Xerox CEO decided to cut one billion in cost, cut numerous jobs, and shut down the desk-jet printer division. The company vision was to keep the corporate culture intact while pouring money into new technology, such as digital printing and imaging systems. CEO Anne Mulcathy decided it was time for a complete transformation away from expensive consumer printer functions that nobody wanted, to high-end digital color printer and copier. In order for this new strategy to work, Xerox bought Global imaging systems for one and a half billion dollars. The gamble paid off with increase profits and sales. In conclusion, all organizations require different corporate strategies based on their current situation. Corporate strategies are important in order to sustain profits or to establish a change in direction when the organization fails to reach intended goals. In today’s competitive global markets, organization must consider diversification and expansion into unrelated markets. References Bateman, T.S & Scott, AS. (2011), Management: Leading & collaborating in a competitive world (9th ed.); Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Business week (2014). Destination CEO video, Southwest Airlines [Video file].Retrieved from http://mhlearningsolutions.com/cs/cs.php Business week (2014). Destination CEO video, VF Corporation [Video file]. Retrieved from http://mhlearningsolutions.com/cs/cs.php Business week (2014). Destination CEO video, Coco Cola [Video file]. Retrieved fromhttp://mhlearningsolutions.com/cs/cs.php Business week (2014). Destination CEO video, Xerox [Video file]. Retrieved fromhttp://mhlearningsolutions.com/cs/cs.php

Stairway to Heaven Analysis

Stairway to Heaven† is a song that appears to have a little bit of everything that one would look for in music. Although it is greatly varied with many tempos and rhythms, it still produces a sound that people find enjoyable and among the most popular. As mentioned before, â€Å"Stairway to Heaven† can be divided into a number of sections. The first section lasts for about the first two minutes of the song. In this section, the dynamic Is piano-like and the tempo is quite slow, ranging from largo to adagio.An acoustic guitar plays a phrase that Is repeated and continued as lead anger Robert Plant begins his vocals about fifty seconds Into the song. An electric guitar then changes the tune which Is repeated In a strophic form manner and also with an adagio tempo. In total, this slow-moving section lasts for about four minutes. The second section of the song begins with the introduction of drums to accompany the electric guitar and vocals. This section is faster than the f irst, having a moderator tempo.The previous tune is still played albeit with some variation and a more lively sound. This includes the vocals, which also move faster with the instruments and sing a variation of the first section's vocals. There is still a strophic form contained in the second section, although the chorus is represented by the instruments rather than singing. About five and a half minutes into the song, the rhythm and melody of the song changes again. This next section contains no vocals, only the sounds of electric guitar and drums.A guitar solo played In an allegretto-allegro form dominates the section, which Is somewhat syncopated In the first half. The second half of the section is more organized. With a rondo form presented as BACKED and played by two electric guitars. In addition, the dynamic has dramatically changed from the beginning; it is no longer a soft rhythm but more similar to a mezzo forte dynamic. The final section of the song brings back vocals and a much faster tempo than the previous sections.The guitar now plays a hard rock phrase that repeats itself in the background of the vocals. The guitar and vocals go back and forth in ABA form for about forty seconds. Then, in the closing seconds of the song, one guitar plays a flowing phrase while another accompanies It with Its win tune until the last line of the song Is sung In a slow and soft tempo. The song Is composed of several forms. One Is strophic form; while not having a textual chorus, the song contains an Instrumental phrase that acts like a chorus in the first half of the song.There are also many rhythm for more than a couple of minutes. For all the sections of the song, there is polyphony among the vocals and instruments. Robert Plant sings his lines as if they were independent of the guitars, only being consistent with the pace but not the withy or pitches. The sections of the song, though vastly different, tend to transition to each other very well. The guitar is res ponsible for providing a bridge to each section, quietly changing the tempo and tune in between sections.The song is entirely in duple meter. This is easier to tell in the first couple sections of the song, where the guitar plays one quarter note after another in an adagio tempo. It is also in major form, especially the last sections. Although the first half of the song is slow and soft, it would still be insider to be in major mode based on the definition of the major key in the Western world. The beat of the song is hardly present in the first half because of the soft notes of the acoustic and electric guitar.However, as the transition from acoustic to hard rock is made, the beat's presence is greatly felt during the guitar solo and the last section of the song. Guitar and drums are the dominant instruments used in the song. It contains both acoustic and electric guitar, not often seen in songs from the sass-ass. The drums are only present in the second half of he song, and its in troduction signaled the transition from alternative to rock. The acoustic guitar is played during the intro to set up the rhythm for the song and is continued during the first vocal lines.This paves the way for the electric guitar to play a different tune with the same quiet feel. Then, during the second section, it gets faster and begins to sound more like a rock song. As it goes on, it changes tempo and rhythm and is eventually played fast and with passion. In addition, one is able to determine which notes the guitar will play as it is more organized than the earlier parts of the song where it was playing all different notes with different pitches and tempo.

Plant Tropisms Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Plant Tropisms - Research Paper Example Higher plants compensate for this deficiency through elaborate specialized chemical metabolic pathways. For instance plants exude toxins on their surface to ward off potential enemies; others alter their pigments in reaction to light intensity and others still, enhance their reproductive efficiency through chemo-attractants (Hart, 4). In all these cases plants sense an external stimulus and respond to it appropriately. The ability of plants to sense unfavorable conditions in their immediate environment and as a result alter their growth is referred to as tropism. Tropisms are directional movements in plants in response to directional stimulus. Tropic responses are brought about by differential growth on the part of the plant organs. Positive tropism occurs when the plant alter growth in the direction of the incoming stimulus. Negative tropism on the other hand, occurs where plant growth happens in the opposite direction to the incoming stimulus. Orthotropic response is where a stimulated organs aligns itself with the plane of the stimulus. These can be negatively or positivelyorthotropic. Seedlings wholly display one or the other of these two types of tropisms. Mature tissues however, vary greatly. Plagiotropic responses occur when an organ orients itself at an angle to the direction of incoming stimulus such as occur in branches and some roots. Orientation at right angles is termed diatropic ( Hart 23). Phototropism is the directional growth of an organ in response to blue light. It is under the control of blue light photo – receptors called phototropins (Hangarter, 2000, p. 25). Plants need light energy in order to carry out the process of photosynthesis. As such many aerial parts of the plant show some form of positive phototropism. These include leaves, branches, stems and most roots. Plant phototropism is not only restricted to blue light however, plant morphogenesis

Increase in prices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Increase in prices - Essay Example However inflation cannot always be termed as "bad" if seen in terms of higher money incomes. The higher prices of everything would result in higher receipts for resource suppliers and hence a growth in their income levels. Inflation usually results in the standard of living to decline because it now costs more to buy the same amount of goods and services. However there are some cases where the rising prices do not necessarily mean declining living standards. Following are some of the factors: Nominal Income: If the economy is suffering from a period of rising prices and at the same time there is a commensurate rise in the level of income, this would not lead to a decline in living standards. This is because the increase in prices is offset by the proportionate increase in income, resulting in an unchanged consumption pattern. This is assuming everything else is constant. Real income: This is the income that is adjusted for inflation. In cases where the nominal income is rising but the rate at which it is growing is less than the inflation rate, it would not lead to a boost in the standard of living. This is because the inflation will erode the purchasing power of money and people will be spending the extra income in the purchasing of the same amount of goods and services. ... Since almost all countries are plagued by inflation, people look at their real income to determine their purchasing power rather than the nominal income. Tax structure: In an economy where there is a favourable tax structure, the spending patterns are high. This is due to the fact that even though inflation is prevalent, people still have more of the disposable income left over after their regular purchases. The spending patterns have a multiplier effect and in turn lead a general boom in the economy. The excess spending means people are demanding more goods and services signalling to the producers to produce more. Since the level of production needs to be increased, producers would demand more labour and more production would thus lead to an increase in the national income of the country. To sum it up, tax breaks given to the people will not lead to a decline in the standard of living even in the presence of rising prices. Labour: If the economy has more of the skilled labour as compared to the unskilled workforce and the labour productivity is high, this would also result in a higher standard of living. This is attributed to the fact that since the labour is skilled it would demand higher wages for each extra output it produces. Since the employers would want to retain the skilled labour, it would have to pay higher wages otherwise the labour would find jobs elsewhere. The higher wages would cause more spending and this would maintain or boost the standard of living even though the economy might be in the grips of inflation. Interest rate: The level of interest rates in an economy is an important factor in determining the spending patterns of the consumers. If the interest rate is low, then borrowing is