Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Essay about How to Make a Chocolate Trifle - 715 Words

Baking to me is passion; it is an art. It gives me an opportunity to create. I love to bake and my specialty is desserts. It was very hard to narrow down and decide what it is that I wanted to write about being that there are so many dishes and desserts that I have mastered throughout the years. One of my favorite, yet simple, desserts to make is a Chocolate Trifle. My trifles in addition to my pound cakes have become one of the most requested desserts to make. Making a Chocolate Trifle involves preparation and learning the language of the kitchen. Preparation can be the difference between success and failure so having the kitchen prepared is the first step to take towards baking anything. Nothing is worse than opening the†¦show more content†¦It is a method of trial-and-error because even though you seem to have followed all directions sometimes your baked good just doesn’t follow though. I can’t begin to tell you how many cakes I’ve had to throw away! It is an art that you must practice at over and over again until you’ve reached the point where you don’t need a piece of paper to follow along. In the Chocolate Trifle recipe there are words that might need explaining especially if you are a beginning baker; combine, mix and fold. Combine and mix can be used interchangeably because both words mean the same. Folding is a technique in baking that is used to integrate air into the mixture. Folding is to take a spatula or a spoon, scrape the bottom of the bowl and â€Å"fold† over or into the mixture as if you would flip a pancake. Once you have your ingredients in front of you and understand the language then you are ready to begin! The ingredients for a Chocolate Trifle are as follows: 1-package of brownie mix (I have always preferred Duncan Hines), 1 (3.4oz.) package of instant chocolate pudding mix,  ½ cup of water, 1 (14oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk, 1 (8oz.) container of chocolate Cool Whip, thawed, 1 (12oz.) container of regular Cool Whip, thawed, and if you prefer some chocolate swirls, chocolate shavings or maybe even fresh strawberries for garnishment. First prepare the brownie mix according to the package directions. Air pressure affects baked goodsShow MoreRelatedQueen Victoria Aimee Wilkinson Queen1600 Words   |  7 Pagesarmies went south to Africa, fighting the second Boer War. This war lasted from October 1899 to May 1902. During this time Victoria was concerned about her army and navy, and felt as though she wanted to lift their spirits. She decided to send them chocolate from home as a Christmas and New Year gift. Due to the Industrial Revolution, the English society was divided into three classes. There was the Church and Aristocracy, the Middle Class and the Poor, Working Class. The Victorians were deeply religiousRead MoreGourmet Bakers Pakistan8514 Words   |  35 Pagesfor their food needs. Mr. chathha the founder of Gourmet stared his business with 20 million rupees. He is holding the position of Managing Director of the company. He was serving in Shezan Bakers as a General Manager and later on he decided to make his own bakery. He started his business through getting employees from shehzan bakers in the beginning. Gourmet produces a wide variety of bakery items, sweets and dairy products and offers high quality services in their restaurants. Gourmet hasRead MoreBook Report On Eric Ross2079 Words   |  9 Pagesstarting to fall outside. Soon winter would be here. The smell of fresh brewed coffee invaded my nose as I stepped inside the door. 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Monday, December 23, 2019

The World Of Business Ethics - 2141 Words

Claim The world of business in the United States is complex, each decision for any given company affects a number of variables at a time. Likewise, each decision is based on the evaluation of many factors; decisions that would seem mundane to the outsider have to take into consideration applicable laws, on both the Federal and State level, â€Å"is what we’re doing legal?†, what is best for the shareholders, â€Å"will this yield greater dividends or increase share value†, what is best for customers â€Å"does our product/service do what is promised?†. All of these considerations and more intersect into the field of business ethics, which helps determine which practices are ethically justifiable, and which are ethically reprehensible. In the United States, that which is considered ethical in business terms, does not necessarily translate into legality. For example, while it was perfectly within ethical limits for distilleries to sell liquor, during prohibi tion, it was strictly illegal. Likewise, in the modern day era, there are many laws that restrict and shape the direction of a business. One such body of laws are the Anti-trust regulations, which prohibit monopolies from existing within the confines of American industry. According to prevailing ethical theory, specifically Kantian ethical theory, a monopolistic business is ethically permissible, in a free market context. Explanation The illegality of monopolies in the United States, unlike various otherShow MoreRelatedBusiness Ethics And The Business World2792 Words   |  12 PagesBusiness ethics play an essential role in the business world today. Since their development they have become a major influence on anything business related. The importance of ethics was chosen to give more of an in-depth look at not only basic benefits that business ethics bring about, but some less known benefits as well. 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Sunday, December 15, 2019

Krugman Analysis Free Essays

The Story Behind Financial Deregulation a. Wild Optimism the Deregulation Movement b. The Political Influence of the Financial Sector (and the Wealthy in General) PART II: THE SOLUTION Section 3: The Solution is Government Stimulus (and a Few Other Reforms) 7. We will write a custom essay sample on Krugman Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Solution is Government Stimulus 8. Objection #1 : Government Stimulus Doesn’t Spur the Economy (and Response) ; a. Exhibit A: The Great Depression b. The Initial Stimulus Effort Was Too Small 9. Solution Specifics a. Stimulus Specifics b. Additional Federal Reserve Actions c. Housing Relief (et. L. ) 10. Objection #2: The Danger of Government Debt (and Response) ; . The Problem of Investor Confidence b. The Problem of Paying off the Debt in the Future 1 1 . Objection #3: The Danger of Inflation (and Response) Section 4: The Chances of Government Stimulus Being Implemented (and How to Improve Them) 12. Pragmatic Politics and the Coming Election a. An Obama Sweep b. An Obama Win, and a Divided Parliament c. A Rooney Victory 13. Conclusion Since the housing and financial crash of 2008, America’s economy has been stuck deep in the doldrums. Indeed, GAP has remained well beneath pre-2008 levels, and employment levels have failed to recover. In an effort to resuscitate the economy, the American government tried first to Jump-start it through stimulus spending, and has now replaced this approach with greater austerity. Nothing seems to be working. For Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Grumman, though, the answer is clear: the problem is that the original stimulus effort was too small, and, since that time, the government is moving squarely in the wrong direction. Indeed, Grumman argues that America’s current situation bares a striking resemblance to the stagnation of the Great Depression, and that history has taught us what to do in such situations: the overspent must take an aggressive approach to stimulate the economy into recovery. This is the argument that Grumman makes in his new book ‘End This Depression Now! ‘ Now, Grumman is not a proponent of big government spending under normal conditions. Indeed, even in a recession, German’s preferred approach is to drop interest rates in order to spur consumer spending. The problem now is that interest rates are already at zero, and this has not been enough to get consumer spending off the ground, thus leaving the economy in what is called a ‘liquidity trap’. For Grumman, the liquidity trap is actually quite common in economic downturns that allow financial crashes (as is the case with the current one, and as was the case with the Great Depression), and is why such slumps tend to be deep and prolonged. According to Grumman, the best and surest way to save the economy from a liquidity trap is for the government to step in and undertake the spending that consumers won’t. That is, the government must stimulate the economy back into action, until consumers can get back on their feet enough to take over for themselves. For Grumman, this is precisely what happened in America during WI, when the government’s military spending served to stimulate the economy and save it from the rips of the Great Depression. Now, German’s opponents will point out that the American government has already tried the stimulus approach during this downturn, and that this strategy did not work, thus showing that it cannot be relied upon. What’s more, these same opponents argue that the government’s debt is already enormous, and indeed dangerously high, and that further government spending at this point may well render the debt completely unmanageable, if not force the government into insolvency (which is indeed a threat that is currently being faced by several countries in the European Union). Finally, German’s detractors maintain that pumping more money into the economy at this time only threatens to drive up inflation to dangerous levels, perhaps even triggering a hyperinflation spiral. Grumman, though, claims that he has answers to all of these objections. In the first place, as noted above, the author maintains that the failure of the government’s first stimulus effort did not prove that this approach is ineffective, but that it simply wasn’t large enough to do the trick. Second, Grumman argues that though government debt does pose a concern, America’s debt is actually not that dangerous by historical tankards. What’s more, since America has its own currency (unlike the countries of the European Union), it is able to print money to turn over its debt, thus preventing the possibility of bankruptcy. Finally, with regards to inflation, Grumman contends that inflation simply cannot get off the ground in a depressed economy (as the current situation would attest to), and that when it is triggered in an upturn the government can always reverse its policy, thus keeping it firmly in check. Here is Paul Grumman speaking about his new book (Part II of the interview is available on Youth): http://www. Tube. Com/watch? What follows is a full executive summary of End This Depression NOW! By Paul Grumman. PART l: THE PROBLEM Grumman begins by way of establishing the gravity of the problems that America’s economy is currently facing. This can be seen in the numbers. To begin with, consider America’s Gross Domestic Product (GAP). As Grumman notes, GAP indicates â€Å"the total value of goods and services that are produced in an economy, adjusted for inflation†¦ In a given period of time† (loc. 274). As such, GAP provides a general picture of how much an economy is producing, and how quickly it is growing. Between the Great Depression and the beginning of the current recession, America’s GAP grew at an average rate of between 2% to 2. 5% per year (loc. 277). The biggest downturn during this time occurred between 1979 and 1982, when America’s economy experienced a ‘double dip’ recession-?which Grumman characterizes as essentially â€Å"two recessions in close succession that are best viewed as basically a single slump with a stutter in the middle† (loc. 283). At the low point of this recession, in 1982, America’s â€Å"real GAP was 2 percent below its previous peak† (loc. 83), meaning it basically went flat. However, the author continues, the economy rebounded very quickly in the immediate aftermath, â€Å"growing at a 7 percent rate for the next two years-?morning in America’-?and then returned to its normal growth track† (loc. 283). When we look at the latest recession, we find that the low point occurred between 2007 and 2 009. When compared with the recession of the late sass’s and early sass’s, we find that the latest â€Å"plunge†¦ As steeper and sharper, with real GAP falling 5 percent over the course of eighteen months† (loc. 287). What’s more, the American economy has not seen a strong recovery this time around, as â€Å"growth since the official end of the recession has actually been lower than normal† (loc. 287). All in all, the author claims, â€Å"the U. S. Economy is [currently] operating about 7 percent below its potential† (loc. 295), and has lost $3 trillion in value since the slump began (loc. 299). Most significant of all, though, is that the economy shows no signs of a major come back any time soon; thus leading Grumman to conclude that â€Å"at this point we’ll be very lucky if we get away with a cumulative output loss of ‘only $5 trillion† (loc. 299). . Unemployment Is Way Up While the GAP numbers are certainly telling, the more significant numbers, according to Grumman, are those concerning unemployment. As the author reminds us, unemployment statistics cover only those who are looking for work but who can’t find it, and â€Å"in December 2011 that amounted to more than 13 million Americans, up from 6. 8 million in 2007† (loc. 94). This is already a staggering number, but when you take into account all of those people who have stopped looking for work out of frustration, or who have taken part-time work out of desperation, this number balloons even Geiger: â€Å"by this broader measure there are about 24 million unemployed Americans -?abou t 15 percent of the workforce-?roughly double the number before the crisis† (loc. 202). And since the current slump has dragged on so long, the number of people who have been out of work long-term (meaning 6 months to 1 year, or longer [loc. 224]) has risen to levels not seen since the Great Depression. Indeed, Grumman writes that â€Å"not since the sass’s have so many Americans found themselves trapped in a permanent stats of Joblessness† (loc. 228). The unemployment numbers are particularly important, the author argues, since hey bring home the human element of the story. Indeed, while GAP statistics represent the abstract loss of an entire economy, unemployment numbers reflect the loss of income of real people. What’s more, unemployment not only affects income, but self-esteem as well: â€Å"people who want to work but can’t find work suffer greatly, not Just from the loss of income but from a diminished sense of self-worth. And that’s a major reason why mass unemployment-?which has now been going on for years-?is such a tragedy’ (loc. 173). Adding to the tragedy here is the fact that those who are shut out of the Job market or long stretches end up being stigmatize, which can hurt their prospects of landing work in the future: â€Å"Does being unemployed for a long time really erode work skills, and make you a poor hire? Does the fact that you were one of the long-term unemployed indicate that you were a loser in the first place? Maybe not, but many employers think it does, and for the worker that may be all that matters. Lose a Job in this economy, and it’s very hard to find another; stay unemployed long enough, and you will be considered unemployable† (loc. 241). While all of these factors have very such affected people who were already in the Job market, it has been even worse for young people who had not yet established themselves before the recession hit. Indeed, unemployment levels among the young tend to be higher than the general population in the best of times, but in the worst of times they tend to get hit even harder. As Grumman notes, â€Å"truly , this is a terrible time to be young†¦ Roughly one in four recent graduates is either unemployed or working only part-time. There has also been a notable drop in wages for those who do have full-time Jobs that don’t make use of their education† (loc. 249-58). 3. The Potential Long-Term Consequences When it comes to the plight of young people, as well as those who have found themselves shut out of the Job market for an extended period, these phenomena not only affect those directly involved, but also threaten to damage the economy in the long term. This proves to be the case because, as mentioned, present unemployment, or underemployment, can threaten future opportunities. As Grumman explains, â€Å"if workers who have been Jobless for extended periods come to be seen as unemployable, that’s a long-term reduction in the economy’s effective workforce, and hence in its productive capacity. The plight of college graduates forced to take Jobs that don’t use their skills is somewhat similar: as time goes by, they may find themselves demoted, at least in the eyes of potential employers, to the status of low- skilled workers, which will mean that their education goes to waste† (loc. 324). And lost employment opportunities is not the only way that a prolonged slump can adversely affect future economic performance. As Grumman argues, an extended downturn tends to deter businesses from investing in and expanding their operations, which can leave them in a position where they are unable to meet emend when the economy finally does turn around and demand picks up: â€Å"the problem is that if and when the economy finally does recover, it will bump up against capacity limits and production bottlenecks much sooner than it would have if the persistent slump hadn’t given businesses every reason to stop investing in the future† (loc. 328). German’s claim that an extended economic downturn does in fact have significant long time repercussions is bolstered by an MIFF study that looked at previous recessions. As the author explains, â€Å"the International Monetary Fund has tidied the aftermath of past financial crises in a number of countries, and its findings are deeply disturbing: not only do such crises inflict severe short-run damage; they seem to take a huge long-term toll as well, with growth and employment shifted more or less permanently onto a lower track† (loc. 41). Even more important, for Grumman, is that there is also evidence that a concerted effort to pull an economy up out of a slump can mitigate the future damage (loc. 341). For the author, then, the message is clear: America is in the midst of a very serious and damaging slump; the longer the country remains in the slump, the worse things ill be in the long run. As such, we must take swift and direct action to extricate the nation from the current situation. Before we take a look at what form Grumman thinks this action should take, it well help to hear the author’s assessment of the current situation, and what he thinks landed the country here to begin with. According to Grumman, while America’s current situation is really quite dire, the reason why the country finds itself in this situation is really rather simple. It all has to do with demand: â€Å"why is unemployment so high, and economic output so low? Because we-?where by We’ I mean consumers, businesses, and governments combined-?aren’t spending enough†¦ E are suffering from a severe overall lack of demand† (loc. 453-62). Actually, this whole scenario is unfolding as somewhat of a domino effect, as is the case with all downturns. To be specific, consumers have stopped spending, which means that businesses do not feel the need to hire more employees and/or ramp up production; and since production is down, governments are earning less revenue through taxes, and are themselves more reluctant to spend (loc. 459). So, how does a country get itself out of this kind of slump? Under normal circumstances America’s Central Bank (the Federal Reserve), would pump more money into the economy, thereby lowering the interest rate (by the law of supply and demand) (loc. 554-59, 590). This has the effect of making credit cheaper, which spurs individuals to lower their savings and consumer more, thus pulling the economy out of the slump. As Grumman reports, this strategy has proven to be very effective over the years: â€Å"it worked spectacularly after the severe recession of 1981-82, which the Fed was able to turn within a few months into a rapid economic recovery -?morning in America. It worked, albeit more slowly and more hesitantly, after the 1990-91 and 2001 recessions† (loc. 559). The problem this time around is that when the recession hit in 2008 interest rates were already at the rock bottom rate of zero percent, meaning the Fed could not lower them any further (loc. 594). Since that time the interest rate has remained at zero, but, through it all, even this has not been enough to spur consumer spending to the point where it has been able to rescue the economy from its slump. When interest rates are at zero, and people still aren’t spending, you have what is called a ‘liquidity trap’. As Grumman explains, â€Å"it’s what happens when zero isn’t low enough, when the Fed has saturated the economy with liquidity to such an extent that there’s no cost to holding more cash, yet overall demand remains IoW’ (loc. 596). And for the author, this is the crux of the issue. According to Grumman, a major part of the problem this time around is that when the latest recession hit, a large number of Americans were already deep in debt due to the housing crash, as well as other personal debt. What this meant is that even at zero percent interest a vast number of Americans could not afford to resume pending, for they had to get out of their debilitating debt first (loc. 755, 774, 2240). Nor is that the worst of it. Indeed, one of the most straightforward ways to get out of debt is to sell off your assets. But when a large number of people try to sell off their assets (including their houses) all at once, this drives down the price of the assets, thus reducing the amount of money that people can raise in order to pay off their debt, thus exacerbating the problem (loc. 63). But there’s more! As the prices of assets fall, the purchasing power of money correspondingly increases (called fellatio), and this increases the relative burden of debt (for the money that you are paying back your debt with is ever increasing in value), thus complicating the matter even further (loc. 767). 5. The Root of the Problem: The Deregulation of the Financial Sector Now, a lot has been mad e of the issue of how Americans came to be so indebted in the first place, for this was a major part of why the current problem is so bad. Commentators on the right tend to blame borrowers who took out loans that they were not in a position to pay back, as well as government supported agencies who provided cheap loans to under-funded home-owners (loc. 059). Commentators on the left, on the other hand, tend to put the blame on deregulation in the financial industry, which allowed banking and investment companies to take on undue risk, as well as the banking and investment companies themselves who took advantage of the situation by way of providing loans to overly-risky borrowers. Grumman himself is primarily in the latter camp. To begin with, Grumman claims that the vast majority of bad mortgage loans were made by private firms, not the much maligned government-sponsored Fannies Mae and Freddie Mac (loc. 1072); who, the author contends, got into the bad mortgage name only very late (loc. 1072), and not nearly to the extent that private companies did (loc. 1072). But the root of the problem, according to Grumman, is the steady deregulation of the financial industry that began under Reagan in the sass’s, and that culminated with the Grammar-Leach-Bailey Act of 1999, which repealed a provision of the Glass-Steal Act. Glass-Steal was a bill passed in 1933 to deal with the ongoing Great Depression (loc. 977). The major provision in the bill was that commercial banking deposits would be insured up to a certain point by the federal government (loc. 977). This was meant o restore confidence in banks, many of whom had fallen to bank runs in the previous years (loc. 977). The issue with insuring bank deposits, though, is that this creates a moral hazard for the banks. For the banks know that they will ultimately be bailed out by the government (meaning taxpayers) if they fall into insolvency (loc. 86); and, as such, they are tempted to make overly-risky investments. As Grumman explains, â€Å"it could have created a situation in which bankers could raise lots of money, no questions asked-?hey, it’s all government insured-?then put that money into high-risk, high stakes investments, curing that it was heads they win, tails taxpayers lose† (loc. 986). In order to protect against this moral h azard, the legislators behind Glass-Steal also included a provision that stipulated that commercial banks could not act as investment banks. This was meant to keep commercial bank deposits safe from overly-risky investments. As Grumman notes, â€Å"any bank accepting deposits was restricted to the business of making loans; you couldn’t use depositors’ funds to speculate in stock markets or commodities, and in fact you couldn’t house such speculative activities under the same institutional roof† (loc. 990). In 1999, though, this provision of the Glass-Steal Act was repealed by the Grammar-Leach-Bailey Act (loc. 1017). According to Grumman, this move was the height of irresponsibility, and was a major contributor to the extreme risk-taking environment that led directly to the financial crash of 2008 (loc. 007-1017). For the author, though, the repealing of Glass-Steal was not the only article of deregulation that prompted the crash. Indeed, he identifies several pieces of anti-regulatory legislation that also had a hand to play in triggering the whole mess, from President Carter’s Monetary Control Act of 1980 (â€Å"which ended isolations that had prevented banks from pa ying interest on many kinds of deposits† [loc. 1003]); to President Reggae’s Garn-SST. German Act of 1982 (â€Å"which relaxed restrictions on the kinds of loans banks could make† [loc. 003]); to the failure of legislators to keep up with new innovations in the financial industry, such as shadow banks (loc. 1029-42). Now, unlike some left-wing commentators, Grumman is not prepared to let consumers off the hook entirely for the debt problems that complicated the crash. Indeed, the author (following the economic thinker Hyman Minsk) argues that a big actor behind the growth of consumer debt in the recent past was a general natural tendency for people to forget about the dangers of debt during good times (loc. 733, 798-815). As Grumman explains, â€Å"an economy with low debt tends to be an economy in which debt looks safe, an economy in which the memory of the bad things debt can do fades into the mists of history. Over time, the perception that debt is safe leads to more relaxed lending standards; businesses and families alike develop the habit of borrowing; and the overall level of leverage in the economy rises† (loc. 810). As the quote makes clear, the optimism in question touched all Americans, not Just the lenders, and so all involved deserve some share of the responsibility (loc. 33, 806). 6. The Story Behind Financial Deregulation According to Grumman, though, it was ultimately the lack of regulations that allowed this selective memory and wild optimism to become dangerous, for the regulations were essentially keeping these sentiments in check (loc. 838). Now, it may rightly be said that the same emotions that led to growing debt also influenced the legislation that allowed it to become da ngerous in the end (loc. 40). But for Grumman, there were other reasons behind financial deregulation that are also important to consider. For one, even before regulations were removed from the financial sector, the government had already begun to deregulate other industries (such as air travel, trucking, and oil and gas) (loc. 999-1003). These reforms had led to significant gains in efficiency in these industries (loc. 999), and thus many were optimistic that the same approach would work in the financial sector. The problem, as Grumman points out, is that â€Å"banking is not like trucking, and the effect of deregulation was not so such to encourage efficiency as to encourage risk taking† (loc. 007). B. The Political Influence of the Financial Sector (and the Wealthy in General) Over and above the factors mentioned above, though, Grumman argues that there is a still more sinister explanation behind the deregulation of the financial sector. And this has to do with the political influence of those who benefited most from it: the bankers themselves. Take the Grammar-Leach-Bailey Act of 1999, for instance (which, yo u will recall, revoked a crucial regulatory provision of the Glass-Steal Act). As Grumman points out, the gassing of the Act was largely influenced by the lobbying of Citron and Travelers Group, who in 1998 had wanted to amalgamate to become Citreous, but who had encountered obstacles due to Glass- Steal (loc. 1043, 1357-65). And even before this, the political elite stood in defense of increasing deregulation, despite initial indications that the measures were problematic (loc. 1414, 1130). Indeed, as Grumman is wont to stress, the problems posed by deregulation did not begin with the financial crash of 2008. Instead, they began to surface even in the sass’s when the banking sector was first deregulated. For instance, in 1989 the Federal government was forced to shut down the thrift banking industry due to a collapse induced by bad debt (loc. 1099-1120). A desperate move that put taxpayers on the hook for $130 billion (loc. 1120). Then, in the sass’s, further difficulties arose when several large commercial banks over-extended themselves â€Å"in lending to commercial real-estate developers† (loc. 1119). Finally, â€Å"in 1998, with much of the emerging world in financial crisis, the failure of a single hedge fund, Long Term Capital Management, froze financial markets in much the same way that the failure f Lehman Brothers would freeze markets a decade later† (loc. 1123). For Grumman, all of these events should have acted as clear warning signs that there was something seriously wrong with financial deregulation (loc. 1 125-30). So why did the political elite fail to heed the warning signs? For Grumman, this become a good deal more understandable when we appreciate how profitable deregulation was for the financial sector (loc. 142), and how much influence this sector has on government. Indeed, as the author points out, while deregulation did virtually nothing to increase the incomes of middle class families (loc. 137, 1190), the move was a great boon to the wealthy (loc. 1142, 1201), and especially the bankers themselves (loc. 1300, 1418). In addition, it’s no secret th at the wealthy, and the financial sector in particular, has a major influence on government (loc. 1351). This influence exists not only in the form of significant monetary contributions (loc. 346), but in the two-way cross-over between the financial sector and political office (loc. 1380, 1392). What’s more, the influence of the wealthy has been increasing as the rich have gotten richer since the time when deregulation first took off (loc. 1388). Section 3: The Solution is Government Stimulus (and a Few Other Reforms) 7. The Solution is Government Stimulus Grumman certainly maintains that reforms in financial sector regulations are needed if the country is to avoid falling into future debacles such as it finds itself in presently. For him, though, the more important question has to do with how to get the country out of its current situation. As you will recall, Grumman contends that America’s problem now is that it is in the midst of a liquidity trap. That is, interest rates are already at zero, and yet this still isn’t enough to reignite consumer pending. What’s more, since consumers aren’t spending, businesses have no reason to hire workers and/or expand their operations, and so they aren’t spending either (loc. 461). Any yet, for Grumman, this lack of spending is very much the heart of the problem. So what can be done? According to Grumman, the answer is simple: the government must step in and take over the role of spending (loc. 879). As the author puts it, â€Å"the essential point is that what we need to get out of this current depression is another burst of government spending. Is it really that simple? Would it really be that easy? Basically, yes† (loc. 688). German’s argument is that government spending will put money into the hands of the people, who will then be able to recover enough to resume spending themselves. As consumer spending increases, businesses will increase production and hire more workers, thus fully pulling the economy out of its current slump (loc. 679). 8. Objection #1 : Government Stimulus Doesn’t Spur the Economy (and Response) Now, some argue that government spending doesn’t actually increase demand and spur the economy at all, since, they claim, all it really does is take resources from one sector of the economy and transfer them to another. The argument is well-rendered by Brian Riddle of the right wing thing tank the Heritage Foundation, who Grumman quotes in his book: â€Å"the grand Keynesian myth is that you can spend money and thereby increase demand. And it’s a myth because Congress does not have a vault of money to distribute in the economy. Every dollar Congress injects into the economy must first be taxed or borrowed out of the economy. You’re not creating new demand you’re Just transferring it from one group of people to another† (loc. 474). Now, for Grumman, this argument may hold true under normal circumstances, when banks are lending and companies are competing for resources (loc. 2369). But in a depressed economy this is not the case. Rather, in such a situation banks are not lending because safe investments net very little profit, and risky investments are, well, too risky (loc. 2369). So in a depressed economy, resources go unused by the private sector (loc. 2079). This being the case, government spending does not displace private spending; rather, it does nothing but increase demand How to cite Krugman Analysis, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Case Study of Dexus Properties Group Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Study of Dexus Properties Group. Answer: Business operations: The company undertaken fore review is the Dexus property group which is an Australian Real Estate Investment Trust which invests, develops, manages and trades the Australian office and also the industrial property. The company owns a diversified portfolio which mainly consist of central business district offices which are held for longer term and are also leased (Are, 2017). Investments and investment activities: The following are the investment activities included: Capital expenditure on fixed assets Capital expenditure on other assets Net assets from acquisitions Sale of the fixed assets and businesses Purchase and sale from investments Sale and maturity of investments (Are, 2017). The following are the financing activities of the company: Cash dividends on common equity shares and preferred shares Change in the capital stock Repurchase of the common and preferred stock Sale of common and preferred stock Proceeds from stock options Other proceeds from sale of stock Issuance or repayment of debt (Market watch, 2017). Financial reporting practices: The companys financial statements have bene prepared using the historical cost basis. But the derivative financial instruments, investments in the financial assets along with the defined benefit obligations have been prepared on the basis of the fair values. These statements have been prepared using the applicable Australian Accounting standards including the interpretations of the country of austral and the Corporations Act 2001. These also comply with the International financial Reporting Standards and the interpretations as have been issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. Industry size: The industry has the size of $43.8 billion which was recorded during august, 2002. Industry growth: The industry shows an equity growth of 87.50 % (SMH, 2017). Industry supply chain: The supply chain efficiencies drive in the demand and supports the large retailers and the transport and the logistics occupiers which supports in the industrial demand. This takes in the advantage of the competitive pro commitment market which improve and consolidates the supply chains. There are larger retailers and the transport and the logistic occupiers that support the industrial demand. There are consolidated supply chains in respect of which there is an occupier demand which varies widely between the status of Sydney and the Melbourne, Brisbane. This is mainly due to the compliance in the demand of the solid pre lease demand in these markets and also due to the stronger values that would be achieved for the fully leased buildings. The year 2017 is most likely to be more subdued which follows the reduction in the projects that have bene planned in Brisbane and Perth. The rents are also likely to remain subdued and also stable since there is a pre-commitment in the market which remains competitive. There are land constraints too. Major players: The major players include Investa Property group, GPT group, ALE property group, Westfield corp Charter Hall group (PIR, 2017). Market shares of Industry players: Dexus market 9.61 B (Bloomberg, 2017). Investa Property group- $4,561 M (Invests smart, 2017). GPT group- 8.68 B AUD (Bloomberg, 2017). ALE property group- 927.95 M AUD Westfield corp- 15.88 B AUD (Bloomberg, 2017). Charter Hall group 2.46 B AUD (Bloomberg, 2017). Critical success factors: The Company is one of the leading real estate group in the country. It drives its success from the passionate innovation and collaboration which seeks to deliver in the right amount of space for the customers all across the extensive portfolio of the properties relating to the offices, industry and retail. The company caters to the needs of the customers and also delivers the services that are designed so as to add in the value to the partners. The company focusses on being the wholesale partner of choice. The demand for the top quality office buildings remains strong even when there are some of the challenges that exists in the lesser quality of the buildings (Dexus, 2017). Major threats: The following are the factors that threatened the same: The population of the country is ageing and so, the people have a different way of doing things and hence, they may not be able to afford the prices There is an underfunding of the state and the local retirement system which would present a challenge for the industry (Hoak, 2017). There is a change in the demand of the office space This also goes in line with the change in the demand for the retail space There is an issue related with the amount of the commercial real estate loans which would be required to be refinanced in the next couple of years. An attention has to be paid to the sustainability which would serve as the main thing when it comes to the saving of the environmental resources There are many of the commercial properties that are overvalued (Market watch, 2017) References: Are, W. and Business, O. (2017).Dexus - Capabilities. [online] Dexus.com. Available at: https://www.dexus.com/who-we-are/our-business/capabilities [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017]. Are, W. and Business, O. (2017).Dexus - History. [online] Dexus.com. Available at: https://www.dexus.com/who-we-are/our-business/history [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017]. Bloomberg.com. (2017).CHC:ASE Stock Quote - Charter Hall Group. [online] Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/CHC:AU [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017]. Bloomberg.com. (2017).DXS:ASE Stock Quote - Dexus. [online] Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/DXS:AU [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017]. Bloomberg.com. (2017).GPT:ASE Stock Quote - GPT Group/The. [online] Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/GPT:AU [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017]. Bloomberg.com. (2017).WFD:ASE Stock Quote - Westfield Corp. [online] Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/WFD:AU [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017]. Cummins, C. (2017).Mixed outlook for AREIT sector. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/business/property/mixed-outlook-for-the-areit-sector-20161006-grwbfz.html [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017]. Hoak, A. (2017).The top 10 threats facing real estate. [online] MarketWatch. Available at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-top-10-threats-facing-real-estate-2012-07-17 [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017]. InvestSMART. (2017).Investa Property Group. [online] Available at: https://www.investsmart.com.au/shares/asx-ipg/investa-property-group [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017]. Marketwatch.com. (2017).DuluxGroup Ltd.. [online] Available at: https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/duluf/financials/cash-flow [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017]. www.pir.com.au. (2017).Competitors. [online] Available at: https://www.pir.com.au/listed [Accessed 1 Sep. 2017].

Friday, November 29, 2019

Keys to Small Business Marketing

KEYS TO SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING Kimberly Smith, University of Houston Small Business Development CenterEach year, about 400,000 new small businesses open their doors to the economic landscape in their communities. But according to www.bloomberg.com, a whopping 80 percent of these new ventures will fail within the first 18 months. What’s the difference between one energetic, inspired entrepreneur with an idea that succeeds and a similar one who just can’t seem to get his or her business off the ground? To answer that question, I spoke with Kimberly Smith, director of marketing and publicity at the University of Houston Small Business Development Center. She shared her insights about strategic marketing tactics and how they help small businesses across all industries build their brand. â€Å"If you’re an entrepreneur with a great idea, and you’ve had big sales at opening that later tapered off, you might be experiencing a combination of problems,† said Smith. â€Å"When business owners come to me for advice, I tell them in order to be successful, they have to have a well-planned, well-researched marketing strategy.† According to Smith, if you’re a new or aspiring small business owner, there are five fundamental elements of a marketing strategy that will move you closer to achieving your business goals in the first year and beyond. Marketing Strategy Do’s: 1. DO identify your ideal target market for your product or service. It might be that everyone is your â€Å"target market,† but not everyone is ideal. Find out exactly who needs your service or product, who wants it, and who can afford it. Do lots of research, and find out exactly who fills those three categories. â€Å"For example, when Apple started marketing their computers, they knew they wouldn’t be appealing to the cheapest consumers, so they used a different approach to marketing,† Smith said. â€Å"They advertised (their product) as a ‘work of art’ that would appeal specifically to people who would appreciate art — like graphic designers, illustrators, innovators, musicians. That made the market much smaller and easier to target.† 2. DO figure out How to reach your ideal target market. Where are the people who need, want, and can afford what you’re selling? How can you get the word out to them? â€Å"The best way to answer these questions is to do a lot of research,† Smith said. â€Å"So, if your ideal target market is professional women between the ages of 30-40, the next step is to figure out where they purchase. Online? In brick and mortar stores? Do they listen to certain TV or radio shows?† Smith said that pinpointing the specific buying behaviors of your target market will lead you to the most effective places to spend your advertising dollars. Follow up with social media. â€Å"Figure out which social media platform is the best fit for your product, and start posting there,† Smith said. â€Å"It takes time and effort, but it pays off.† Helpful Hint: Call a TV or radio station, or a community newspaper — any publication that posts a website with banner ads. Tell them you’re looking at their ads, and explain which market you’re trying to reach with your product or service. They can tell you exactly who their ads will connect with, so you’ll know if your advertising money will be well spent there or if you need to keep looking. Free Advice: â€Å"The librarian here at the Small Business Development Center at the University of Houston will run a competitive marketing analysis free of charge for any small business owner,† Smith said. â€Å"She’ll help you figure out the trends so you can market more effectively in your particular industry.† 3. DO use surveys. If you’re in business, you have access to people. It’s always a good idea to ask them questions about your products and services. â€Å"Even if you’re still at pre-venture stage and you don’t have actual customers yet, survey your friends and family,† Smith said. â€Å"Ask them if they think the price points you’ve set are acceptable. Get as much feedback as you can about that.† Ask how often they might need or want the product or service you’re selling, and how they tend to receive information about new products — online, social media, flyers in the mailbox? â€Å"That’s extremely useful information for your new business,† Smith said. For new businesses that have already opened, Smith suggested a by-invitation-only special party consisting of a specific focus group of guests. â€Å"If you’ve opened, you can use your own place to bring customers in after hours, let them know how much you appreciate them, and ask them to answer a few survey questions,† she said. â€Å"The feedback you’ll get from this is invaluable.† 4. DO claim and maintain your online presence. Too often, business owners believe their online profile ends at their website. â€Å"If you want to succeed, you need to get beyond your website and set up profiles on Yelp, Google, the Yellow Pages, and Google Plus,† Smith said. â€Å"Claim them. Take control of your online profile. Make sure all of them convey a consistent message about your business, and all the details are correct across all of them — your selling proposition, your business hours, your contact information.† That also will positively affect your search engine optimization (SEO), which is essential for targeting your customers and driving traffic to your website. â€Å"It helps to be at the top of the page when someone is searching for a business that has your products or services,† Smith said. â€Å"All the information should match. It’s surprising how many inconsistencies there are from site to site with basic information like store hours. That’s confusing to the customers. Your pages should be constantly monitored and maintained.† 5. DO create a marketing plan using these elements. Smith said small business owners don’t always understand what she means when she tells them how important it is to create a marketing plan, but it just means pulling together the four previous points. â€Å"It’s just a way to make sure you’re finding your target audience, you’ve identified your unique selling points, and you’ve set goals with a plan to achieve them,† she said. â€Å"You’re not just selling. You’ve got an efficient, clear plan in place, and you’re progressing toward your goal.† Marketing Strategy Don’ts: Not only should new business owners take an active role in planning and implementing their marketing strategy, they also should be wary of traps that can undermine their efforts. When entrepreneurs run out of money, it’s often because they’re overconfident, their marketing message doesn’t connect with consumers, or they underestimate the need to keep up digitally. Smith said the following poor practices are a recipe for new business failure. 1. DON’T make assumptions. If a business owner assumes his product or service is so great that everyone will buy it, he’s in for a big disappointment, Smith said. â€Å"This shows a real lack of focus and research into the ideal target market. Let people try your product or service for free and get feedback. That tactic usually works very well and teaches the owner a lot about how people are receiving his product or service.† 2. DON’T design your own logo or own website. Brand image is everything, and if it’s not on par with your competitors’, your target customer base will not take you seriously. â€Å"Unless you’re a trained graphic designer, hire a professional to do your logo and your website,† Smith said. â€Å"People often think cheapest is best, but the smart thing is to set aside the money you need to get a good website and logo, and hire a very reputable person to do them.† 3. DON’T create too many social media profiles. It’s better to have one or two well-maintained social media profiles that fit your business than to have a lot of profiles that don’t get any traffic. â€Å"Your ideal target market can’t necessarily be reached on all social media platforms,† Smith said. â€Å"It’s impossible to keep posting on multiple social media pages, so choose one or two that match your products and services and post regularly. Don’t get on Pinterest if you’ve got a business or service that doesn’t apply.† Hint: When the last post on a social media page is from a year ago, it could imply that you’re no longer in business, which causes customers to look elsewhere. 4. DON’T ignore bad reviews. When customers leave a bad review on Yelp or Google, don’t think it won’t affect you. â€Å"When people search for your business, those reviews will come up,† Smith said. â€Å"Negative reviews deter people from your business, whether they’re true or not.† She said it’s best to reply to each bad review and apologize for failing to meet expectations. Then offer something to make it right with the customer. 5. DON’T rely on referrals or word of mouth. You work hard to earn a good reputation and have your clients tell their friends about you, but relying on them to do that is another trap that can lead to failure. â€Å"It’s the ‘if I build it, they will come’ theory,† Smith said. â€Å"If you create a marketing plan and remain consistent, you do a good job with your customers, and you get lots of referrals and good word of mouth, imagine how well you’d do with advertising,† she said. â€Å"Advertising expands your customer base. If you’re already doing well, advertising will help you go beyond referrals and word of mouth. You can make enough money to hire more employees and go sit on the beach!† BIO Kimberly Smith has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing and public relations. With the direction of the executive director, she is principally responsible for the marketing of the Texas Gulf Coast Small Business Development Center Network, the largest economic development program of the University of Houston System. Smiths vast experience in strategic marketing has helped businesses, large and small; build brands across a variety of industries. She has produced award-winning campaigns on national and international accounts such as JC Penney, Basset Furniture Industries, Harland Clarke and CHRISTUS Health. Smith is an avid photographer, foodie, and Texas Aggie football fan.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Calcium transport study of SF-9 lepidopteran cells Essays

Calcium transport study of SF-9 lepidopteran cells Essays Calcium transport study of SF-9 lepidopteran cells and bull frog sympathetic ganglion cells PHM499 Research Project Calcium transport study of SF-9 lepidopteran cells and bull frog sympathetic ganglion cells ABSTRACT The intracellular calcium level and the calcium efflux of the bull-frog sympathetic ganglion cells (BSG) and the SF-9 lepidopteran ovarian cells were investigated using a calcium-sensitive fluorescence probe fura-2. It was found that the intracellular calcium levels were 58.2 and 44.7 nM for the BSG cells and SF-9 cells respectively. The calcium effluxes following zero calcium solution were 2.02 and 1.33 fmolecm-2s-1 for the BSG cells and SF-9 cells. The calcium effluxes following sodium orthovanadate (Na2VO4) in zero calcium solution were 6.00 and 0.80 fmolecm-2s-1 for the BSG cells and the SF-9 cells. The SF-9 cells also lost the ability to extrude intracellular calcium after 2-3 applications of Na2VO4 while the BSG cells showed no apparent lost of calcium extruding abilities for up to 4 applications of Na2VO4. INTRODUCTION Spodoptera frugiperda clone 9 (SF-9) cells are a cultured insect cell line derived from the butterfly ovarian tissue. SF-9 cells are used by molecular biologists for the studies of gene expression and protein processing (Luckow and Summers, 1988). However, there is not much known about these cells' basic biophysiology. Since calcium is involved in many cells' activities such as acting as a secondary messenger, it is important for cells to control their intracellular calcium level. This study was aimed toward looking at the some of the basic properties of the SF-9 cells such as resting calcium concentration and rate of calcium extrusion after being calcium level being raised by an ionophore 4-bromo-A23187. The effect of sodium orthovanadate (an active transport inhibitor) on calcium extrusion was also looked at. Microspectrofluorescence techniques and the calcium-sensitive probe fura-2 were used to measure the intracellular calcium concentration of these cells. In addition, the BSG ce lls were used to compare with the SF-9 cells for the parameters that were studied. It was found that the SF-9 cells appeared to have a calcium concentration similar to the BSG cells. Moreover, the calcium extrusion rates of both cell types with no Na2VO4 added seemed to the same. However, due to insufficient data, the effects of Na2VO4 could not be statistically analyzed. From the data available, it suggested that the BSG cells' rate of calcium extrusion was enhanced by the Na2VO4 and was greater than the SF-9 cells. It was more important to note that the calcium extruding capabilities of the SF-9 cell seemed to impaired after two to three applications of Na2VO4 but it had apparent effects on the BSG cells even up to 4 applications. After obtaining these basic parameters, many questions raised such as how does the SF-9 cells extrude their calcium and why the Na2VO4 affected the calcium efflux for the SF-9 cells but not the BSG cells? The SF-9 cells may have a calcium pump or exchanger to extrude their calcium and they may be very sensitive to the ATP (adenosine 3'-triphosphate) supply. This was apparently different from the BSG cells' since their calcium extrusion were not affected by the Na2VO4.. It may be useful to find the mechanism(s) of the actions of Na2VO4 on the SF-9 cells because it may find possible applications in agriculture such as pest control. MATERIALS AND METHODS Chemicals and solutions 4-bromo-A23187 and Fura-2/AM were purchased from Molecular Probes (Eugene, OR). Na2VO4 was purchased from Alomone Lab (Jerusalem, Israel). Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was obtained from J. T. Baker Inc. (Phillipsburg, NJ). All other reagents were obtained from Sigma (St. Louis, MO). The normal Ringer's solution (NRS) contained (mM): 125 NaCl, 5.0 KCl, 2.0 CaCl2, 1.0 MgSO4, 10.0 glucose, 10.0 N-[2-hydroxyethyl] piperazine-N'-[2-ethanesulfonic acid] (HEPES). The calcium free Ringer solution (0CaNRS) is the same as the NRS except CaCl2 was substituted with 2.0 mM ethylene glycol-bis(b-aminoehtyl) ether N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA). Fura-2/AM solution was prepared as follows: a stock solution of 1mM fura-2/AM in DMSO was diluted 1:500 in NRS containing 2% bovine albumin. It was then sonicated for 10 minutes. It was then kept frozen until the day of the experiment. 20 SYMBOL 109 f "Symbol"M 4-bromo-A23187 solution was prepared by diluting a stock of 5mM 4-bromo-A23187 in DMSO 1:250 with NRS. Na2VO4 solution (VO4NRS) contained 100 SYMBOL 109 f "Symbol"M. Na2VO4 in 0CaNRS. All experiments were

Friday, November 22, 2019

The Law Of Succession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Law Of Succession - Essay Example n behalf of the deceased. The intestacy rules, subject to reforms/amendments from time to time, being primarily governed by statues, are cited as a "will made by Parliament based upon the presumed wishes of the deceased." The present paper shall attempt to analyse the proposition to understand how rules of intestacy are indeed a "will made by the Parliament" and to examine whether, and to what extent the rules reflect the will of the deceased. In doing so, it shall first understand the provisions of intestate wealth distribution covered in statues and leading case laws and then examine the public opinion as well as reform proposals and other recommendations. The current law of intestacy in the U.K. is enacted in the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (AEA 1925) as amended, bounded by procedural legislations. Before analysing the provisions of AEA, 1925, a brief understanding of the evolution of intestacy rules may be worthwhile as a backdrop to the analysis. Before 1926, intestate succession to realty was governed by the rules of inheritance, accordingly realty passed to the heir-at-law, who was usually the eldest son. If there were no surviving sons, or their issue, realty devolved equally on the daughters of the intestate. The next entitled were the brothers and sisters of the intestate, or their issue; however, after the Inheritance Act 1833 the intestate's parents were given priority over brothers and sisters. If there were no next-of-kin, the realty passed to the intestate's lord or the Crown as 'bona vacantia.' The intestate's widow was strictly not entitled, but under the customary rules of dower, the widow became entitled to one-third of her husband's realty on his death. A widower took a life interest - defined as curtesy -- in the whole of his wife's realty. Similar rules applied to personalty, being distributed under the statutory scheme covered under the Statutes of Distribution 1670-1685.4 The AEA 1925 repealed the previous rules, both as regards succession to realty and personalty, giving primacy to the surviving spouse, and also ending the customary difference between widows and widowers as to entitlement. After 1925, the surviving spouse took the whole estate, the spouse being entitled to a statutory legacy of 1,000, the personal chattels of the intestate and a life interest in half the residue if there were issue. The Intestates' Estates Act 1952, which followed the "Morton report,"5 introduced major changes --the surviving spouse was also given the right to appropriate the matrimonial home and the statutory legacy was increased to 5,000. However, the 1952 Act also made Inheritance (Family Provision) Act 1938 applicable to intestacy, introducing flexibility by allowing certain family members of the

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Comedy Of Errors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comedy Of Errors - Essay Example The actions were perfectly organized by the set designer Nina Ball. From the first moment of the play, the audience was hypnotized with the songs and cues, approximating the action to the present days. The touching scene was a shipwreck, which separated the family and created the intrigue over the plot. The role of Dromeo twins was perfectly played by Danny Scheie. The main female characters – Adriana (Nemuna Ceesay) and Luciana (Tristan Cunningham) represented the brilliant scene getting the best lines and the total affection of the audience. Costumes designer Beaver Bauer surprised the audience with the simplicity of dresses suitable for the comical style of the play. The main theme of the play is the loss of individuality represented by the characters of twins. The production concept helps to understand the themes and values of the play. Shakespeares works in the forms of drama, comedy or tragedy are unique because they cover the psychological aspect of the personality. All the production elements came together perfectly to form one whole artistic piece. The play contains a deep interest in the person’s nature, his feelings, inspirations and passions, sorrows and numerable mistakes. Shakespeare’s plays are often really metaphorical and his verves might be difficult to understand. The comedy has some contextual meaning devoted to love, though he term â€Å"love† is not really used in the play. All of us realize what love is and have experienced it at least once in a lifetime, but it is often difficult to define the meaning of love and put the perception of this phenomenon into words. It is even understood differently by people. Rationalists and the adherents of science claim it to be just a chemical reaction in the human brain; cynics insist that this feeling is a disease, but the comedy manages to show it as an art, whereas the author

Monday, November 18, 2019

Literature Review of The Use of Shame With Sexual Offences Essay

Literature Review of The Use of Shame With Sexual Offences - Essay Example Although Anne has taken an obvious standpoint in the beginning but she has presented the opposing arguments quite often in the article. The article is grounded into strong ethical boundaries and Anne has presented any personal details or hints. Public protection is the essence of any legislation either it is concerned with the pre-crime evasive measures or post-crime reclamation. The author has taken up a particular aspect of restorative justice, defined to be â€Å"a way of dealing with criminal offences by involving the offender, the victim, and possible community representatives in an informal negotiating process which results in the offender's undertaking some 'reparative' task.† (Hirsch et al. 2003). Anne give the brief overview of restorative justice and challenges it was facing. There critics of the restorative justice were asking for inflicting penalizations and penalties for the committers of sexual harassment and sexual offenders. They hold the point that this restor ative justice does not have much to tackle the culprit and offers no good to society in the long run. Deflem has observed this in his article, â€Å"policies designed to treat and rehabilitate offenders had an unacceptably low success rate – especially when evaluated in the light of the very science which produced those policies – the discretion given to judges to fit sentences to the offender and not exclusively the offense seemed misplaced.†(Deflem, 2006). However, Anne defended his stance for use of shame as an instrument for restorative justice and criticized the current ‘what works’ approach of criminal justice policy and pointed out the lack of focus in legislation and implementation on sexual offences. Anne categorically claims that â€Å"the traditional form of retributive justice does not seem to be working.† It is not only Anne but a number of other experts have already advocated in favor of restorative justice and allied tools for ensured and improved effects and outcomes from it. The relationship between society and the offender’s infliction is often overlooked by the theorists as Durkheim has argued, â€Å"the function of punishment has less to do with the offender and more to do with a collective reaction of the community to the violation of its norms and an effort to re-establish solidarity around those norms.† (Deflem, 2006). Sexual assault against children is considered to be the most offensive and heinous crime and the retributive justice despite sentencing the offender can not integrate the offender with the community which increases the chances of a second attempt by the offender. This disintegration of the offender, according to Anne is required to be change into integration with the community through restorative justice. Although it might be referred as a ‘paradigm shift’ but it has to be case if reintegration is a declared ultimate objective of the justice system. The re storative system has its own advantages that cannot be overlooked, Carrabine has argued for the same, â€Å"the use of integrative shaming techniques, mediation and reparation aim to provide an alternative and more appropriate way of resolving disputes, confronting offenders with their wrong doing and empowering the victim.† (Carrabine et al., 2009, p.174.). Anne has righteously pointed out the role of media in the success of the restorative justice and has not been helping the cause by calling it a ‘

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Intervention Methodology in Education

Intervention Methodology in Education Intervention methodology can be used in various educational streams. It can be used for mathematics, science or language study. One can find problem in learning new languages, mathematics, and science or in any other subjects. One can use Intervention methodology for teaching this stuff to one who cannot learn it easily. Teacher can apply this Intervention Methodology via various styles (Anon., n.d.). It can be applied by teacher via teacher directed interventions, scaffolded interventions, responsive interventions or by a combination of teacher directed interventions, scaffolded interventions and responsive interventions. Teacher directed interventions are those where teacher gives a title, problem to students, helps in constructing way to achieve goal, and gives a response to students directly. Responsive interventions are those where interventions are done upon requirement of students. In this type teacher helps the students to make strategies, gives solution of students questions via questioning only. In this style of intervention students makes their own plan and strategy to achieve goal. Students use reference texts or create analogies to learn topic. It is a responsive invention. If the communication between student and teacher gives a scaffolded response, invention method becomes scaffolded and responsive. Responsive intervention approach is an alternative approach to common other approaches. This approach can give better outcomes if tried logically. Teacher can collect interventions that help students to study deeply, can help students to fulfill their learning needs and also help students to give good performance. Students who learn via basic style where teacher teaches them directly are less skilled than who learns via responsive interventions. Responsive interventions (Anon., n.d.) helps the students to learn self planning, can help students to make subject more interesting. For responsive intervention, one cannot plan that how will he / she teach. One cannot use what him or her plan. One can use trigger to try intervention differently where he or she needed to give particular case and needs to try to get response for that scenario. Here one needs to be contiguous. How to plan for contingency? One can teach students in more interesting way than another one just via using perfect timing of what to ask? For a different one can use scaffolded interventions too. Use of both responsive intervention and scaffolded interventions. Interventions are also depends on some other criteria too like student’s age and their pre-knowledge on topic and all. What is students average age? Some methods can be applicable for younger and some can applicable for older one only. For example, A primary schools student needs to be questioning differently than of student of higher secondary school. For deployment of intervention methods one need to set particular environment (Anon., n.d.). What includes in arranging the environment? It includes structural facilities like good classroom. Good physical environment to provide comfort to students. This environmental change helps student to relate with situation. Social environment (Anon., n.d.) also needs to set according to students. One can also use funny comments or joke to make environment light and can start or continue communication effectively. Playing activities also can be used by teachers to make study more lubricate and interesting. One can sing songs to make atmosphere light. Teacher is supposed use predictable routine and daily routine activities. For responsive intervention one need to follow students’ lead. Student’s lead means in what student is interested, what he / she loves to do or on what topic he loves to talk. What is the need of following these leads? By following this, one can know where stude nt is interested and via this one can respond to student easily. Student’s attention is a big thing in responsive intervention. Students are getting more interested in conversation when teacher follows their lead. One can use labeling and commenting for better outcomes. For commenting, first teacher is supposed to give specification and a particular label to each activity of student and then supposed to comment on that. The benefit of commenting is that student came to know that how well he / she performed. Student will give more responsive if teacher uses commenting and labeling technique. For building student’s vocabulary via responsive intervention technique one can use imitating and expanding methods. Imitating and Expanding is a technique where teacher asks students to imitate his /he words or teacher imitates student’s words. It will help students to pronounce words more clearly and will also help students to understanding the pronunciations of words. One can use open- ended questions to students. Open ended questions are like, â€Å"Who are you?†, â€Å"Where are you?†, â€Å"What are you doing?†, â€Å"How are you doing?†, â€Å"What is this?†, â€Å"Where it is?† and all. Students can give answers of these questions via one or two words too. So, it helps them to start communicating in new language. Teachers are also supposed to motivate students via praising their work, giving those rewards and via positive attitude. Positive attitude and motivation makes student feel more comfortable. Like if teacher poke student on back or praise his/ her work. So, student will pay more attention than before. One can motivate students via providing choices. Provide more than one activity to students. So that they can choose their favorite one and can enjoy it. Providing choices will encourage students to learn new things and to do communication continuously. It will help students to prefer topic, thing o n which he / she wants to communicate. How to provide choices? To provide choices one can use rotation methods. He / she can rotate activities / things within classroom so that with help of less resort he / she can create more choices. One can make gap of few minutes within routine tasks. It will allow students to communicate. Give them playful tasks to do in between. Give them group activities. One can uses these steps like â€Å"Instructional Match (Anon., n.d.), Scaffolding Step-by-Step Strategies, Modeling Demonstration, and Performance Feedback, Opportunities to Drill Practice to Strengthen Fragile Skills, Student Talk-Through Activities, Periodic Review, and Progress Monitoring. Here instructional match is used to verify whether teachers are working at their best level and provide students more confidence and provide them success. Scaffolding is necessary for students to help in learning new things and become more advanced in that particular area. One can use many things to achieve it like giving fewer tasks to students. So that they can concentrate on that particular task / those particular tasks and masters in that task / s. One can divide students in groups so that they can share their knowledge and complete assignments. Step by step strategy: One can use / make strategies step by step for complex task so that task can be done simply and easily. Modeling: Demonstrations and models can help students to learn things easily. It helps students to understand and implement content easily and correctly. Performance review: Performance review is necessary after above tasks as performance review is only measurable thing where one can know who progressed how much? After getting new skills and after sharpening that skills student can work independently and try new things. He / She can try these new skills and can strengthen them via applying it and by practicing those new skills. He / She (student) can practice hard on those things where he / she is interested and become expert of that and meanwhile enjoys that too. Talk Through activities: After successfully completing learning task and sharpen those things by practicing teacher supposed to set up activities for students. Where teacher can ask students to do various talk through activities. Periodic review: After students excelled in particular things, particular skill teacher is supposed to put learning process on next level, where he / she (student) can masters it. Meanwhile teacher is supposed to review his / her progress. So that teacher can know that whether he / she is going in right direction or not? For teaching new language one can also use direct responsive intervention method. In this intervention method teacher is supposed to communicate / talk with students in new language only which they are supposed to learn. Via communicating formal things one can teach basic sentence to students in beginning. Like students were not aware of Italian Language. Students knows the name of the teacher. So, teacher can ask questions like my name is this, (Anon., n.d.)What is yours? â€Å"Il mio nome à ¨ This. Che cosa à ¨ il vostro? (Anon., n.d.) â€Å". Here students cannot understand all these sentence but knows This is teacher’s name. So they assume that he / she was trying to tell his / her name. In addition to this students can also understand that the tone of last sentence was like of question. So they guess that teacher were trying to ask his / her name. So they (students) can answer like My name is Ray (Il mio nome à ¨ Ray). One can also tell that Good morning in very begi nning of class like â€Å"buongiorno† . Here students don’t know the meaning of it but can surely assume that he / she gave morning wish or good wish. And can respond via imitating it. One can ask students â€Å"How are you? Via telling them â€Å"come stai?†. Here students won’t understand what teacher is trying to ask but then teacher can answer himself / herself â€Å"Io sto bene†. Students can understand little here or if they don’t. Teacher can use physical signs to teach them like pointing his / her hand toward black board and can say, â€Å"Si tratta di una lavagna†, (It is a blackboard). Here too students will not understand. But then teacher can try to point his / her finger on window and can say, â€Å"È una finestra† (it is a window), can point finger on door and can say, â€Å"È una porta† (it is a door). Here students can understand â€Å"È una† means nothing but It is. Teacher can try few n ew simple sentences later on. Like How are you doing?, How are you? , What are you doing? What am I doing, What we are doing?, What she is doing?, What principal is doing? In Italian language. â€Å"Come stai?, Come stai? , Che cosa stai facendo? Che cosa sto facendo, che cosa stiamo facendo?, Che cosa sta facendo?, Che cosa principale sta facendo?† . Here students can understand few basic words and able to respond them. Teacher can tell â€Å"bye bye , have agood day, see you† (bye bye avere una buona giornata) at the end of class.It is very interesting and quick learning technique. Here one who is teaches and one who is learning both can enjoy. Both can communicate with each other freely and both can feel comfortable after little time. Prospects of using this method is, it is quick, easy to implement and comfortable technique. In additon to this it technique can help the students to memorize words, sentences for long time, can help student in building vocabulary easi ly.The only disadvantage of this method is, in the starting phase students may get confused. Students may feel boarded or confused in early days as they don’t know much what was going. But a good teacher can overcome this problem via applying proper timing and gestures. So teachers and students all can enjoy study. Proper use of gestures and physical movement plays major part in success of this type of reference interventions. Teacher who use proper timing and gestures can use reference intervention more efficiently than who cannot use it. One can make subject more lucid and interesting with help of reference method. But if teacher don’t use it efficiently may be this reference intervention methodology won’t work as it supposed to be. It is not methodology’s failure but it is failure of particular teacher (Anon., n.d.). One can use Intervention methodology for language and other type of teaching too. For language teaching responsive intervention methodolo gy and scaffolded interventions are mainly used due to their above described features and prospects. One can use both responsive intervention methodology and scaffolded intervention methodology at once. Means one can use a combination of both intervention methodologies responsive and scaffolded. References: Works Cited Anon., n.d. [Online] Available at: http://interventionmethodology.com/types-of-intervention/. Anon., n.d. [Online] Available at: http://www.interventioncentral.org/academic-interventions/general-academic/teacher-strategies-promote-learning. Anon., n.d. [Online] Available at: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/System-of-support-incl.-PLD/Learner-initiated-supports/Language-and-learning-intervention. Anon., n.d. [Online] Available at: https://translate.google.co.in/?hl=entab=wT#gu/hi/. Anon., n.d. [Online] Available at: http://www.asha.org/slp/schools/prof-consult/RtoI/. Anon., n.d. [Online] Available at: http://work.chron.com/responsibilities-intervention-teacher-7660.html. Anon., n.d. [Online] Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16209031. Anon., n.d. [Online] Available at: https://www.apa.org/education/k12/classroom-mgmt.aspx.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskel Essay -- Papers

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskel Elizabeth Gaskell's Nineteenth Century novel, Mary Barton, is an example of social realism in its depiction of the inhumanities suffered by the impoverished weavers of Manchester, England. The main story in Mary Barton is that of the honest, proud and intelligent workingman so embittered by circumstances and lack of sympathy that he finally murders a mill owner's son as an act of representative vengeance. In growing embittered, he becomes as a natural consequence, more isolated in his community; both humanity and faith lose their power to guide him. Mary Barton, his daughter, really loves Jem Wilson, who is arrested after having threatened the murdered man for trying to seduce Mary, and it is her efforts that produce the melodramatic last minute evidence that saves him. Against the novelistic background of this murder and the central love stories, Mrs. Gaskell outlines her main themes of life in Manchester during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution and of the conditions that initiated the Chartist Movement. Thus, the historical background of Mary Barton is as much, if not more important than its strictly novelistic aspects. Manchester becomes a symbol of the outrageous conditions endured by the laborers, instead of a real city in itself. It is always grimy, oppressive, and ugly, just like the lives of its inhabitants. The only detail the author gives us is with the individual homes, not with the city itself. It is almost as if she were afraid of impairing the city's inherent symbolism by describing any actual streets or shops. Even when wealth is shown, as with the Carsons, the setting is still ugly and drab; the only difference is that the drabness has been made comfor... ... led up to the Chartist Movement. Despite the author's concentration on the social aspects of the situation, she has nonetheless succeeded in providing us with the main points of the new economy and its laws. Mary Barton tells the story from the laborer's point of view, but we are not without knowledge of the mill owner's side of it either, especially through the philosophical wisdom of Job Legh. In her attempts to present the plight of the laborer in Manchester, Elizabeth Gaskell has not neglected to make us understand the importance and significance of the industrial movement, as well as the great possibilities it possessed. It is, perhaps, a dated novel. However, it is important in its delineation of the social, political, and economic forces that were at work in England from 1835 -- 1850, and it is an attempt to bring them all into harmonious focus.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Global Warming Will Lower Sea Levels Essay

Those who are highlighting the danger of global warming would not hesitate to relate it to a high sea level rise simply because according to their premise when there is global warming it affects both the Arctic and Antarctic regions, whereby the melting ice will eventually raise the sea level. The IPCC, the UN branch office that deals with scientific research had predicted a 20 inches sea level rise around the year 2100 and it is obvious that it has based it findings on the above assumption. Other suggestions and analysis indicate that what will in fact happen is the opposite where the global warming if it is true will either slow down the level of sea rise or will reduce it. The new analysis looks at two factual findings. The fact that the Earth temperature had risen 0. 6 degree Celsius in the last 100 years and the sea level had risen by 18 cm. What these analysts are focusing at is there is no relation between the two and especially the rise in sea level occurred independent of what happened to the temperature to a larger extent. What contributed to the rise of the seal level to 18 centimeters starts from the thermal expansion of the warming water body, especially the oceans and that contributed to 4 cm. What comes next is the melting of the so-called continental glaciers that accounted for 3. 5 cm rise level. The polar regions contributed to the lowering of the sea level simply because the warming of the temperature has evaporated more water and some of it rains in the Polar Regions adding to the amount of ice on these regions, hence there will be less water in the seas. But the findings highlight one shortcoming which is that the total amount of rise through the two activities adds up to only 20 percent of the total amount giving hint that there should be other sources contributing to the rise of the sea level other than the current global warming. What this led to was to depend on geological observations that revealed the sea level had been rising constantly for the last centuries at a rate similar to the last 100 years. Accordingly, there was sea level rise in the Little Ice Age from 1450 to 1850 indicating that if there were going to be a sea level rise it would be independent of what is happening in the environment. It was possible to arrive at such hypothesis using a data published on the melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet tracing it back to the end of the last ice age. Hence, the conclusion arrived at was since there had been a 120 meters rise in sea level since the last ice age that took place 18,000 years ago, the melting is still in process and will continue to do so for the coming 7000 years independent of what is going to happen to the present day temperature. What could change this course might be the arrival of another Ice Age, which is not in the prediction. In reality it is possible to say that a global warming caused by human activity cannot contribute to the rise of sea level since the record shows the climate warmed much between 1900 and 1940 and cooled down from 1940 – 1975. The outcome was the sea level rise slowed when the temperature was warmer and it increased when it was colder. The relation here is the two components thermal expansion and glacier melting had a lesser effect on the sea rise level when compared to the ice accumulation on the Polar Regions from the rain caused from warmer weather. Hence, it is possible to make a firm conclusion that warmer air or the current global warming will not contribute to the rising level of the sea. Instead, as it was illustrated it will bring it down by simply changing the amount of water into ice and depositing it on the Polar Regions. In spite of this analysis, the findings based on computer simulation try to demonstrate that the warming of the global temperature due to human induced activities will result in raising the sea level revealing that there is something wrong with such assumption (9). Conclusion In spite of the findings from various sources accurate, satellite measurement taken have not found any trace of global warming. Weather balloons also had shown similar findings. There are indications that the temperature had been rising starting form 1880 but such rise in temperature cannot be caused by greenhouse gases that are coming into existences from human induced activity mainly centered on burning of fossil oil and through the introduction of a developed and new method of land use. The other indication that shows the findings could be wrong is most of the measurements could reflect the temperature and air condition found closer to highly populated cities. All the feared outcomes of a high temperature brought into existence because of the greenhouse effect such as heat wave, hurricanes, or epidemic disease did not occur. If there had been a temperature rise to talk about, it was observed in the nighttime and winter season. Overall, it is possible to discredit the greenhouse apocalypse outright simply because it was not accompanied with all the catastrophic disasters that were predicted and anticipated (10). Even economists are wary of all the concerns simply because there might not be a discernable effect that will materialize from postponing the reduction of the greenhouse gas by another 20 years and see what the outcome will be. One of the reasons for that is meeting the greenhouse gas reduction effort would require getting rid of a big chunk of capital goods before they complete their useful life and that might not make economical sense for something that lacks scientific proof. But there is no doubt that such plans could be part of a long term process of any undertaking and the burden could also be eased as new technologies pertaining to the warming of the globe become readily available. The Kyoto Protocol itself would cost between $7 and $12 billion annually if it is implemented, a sum everyone is not comfortable with, simply because implementing the Protocol alone would cost each household up to $2000 annually and could raise home heating cost by at least 70 percent. Since people, especially those living in the advanced regions are heavily dependant on energy for their day-to-day living, raising the cost permanently to any extent would have a devastating effect, even if energy price is already very high. The only relief is since it fluctuates consumers could stretch their earnings whenever possible. It is possible to take it a bit further and see that if the assumption that the global temperature is rising to a dangerous level is true, a simple cost introduction of raising the federal fuel economy standard from 27. 5 miles to more than 40 miles itself will be costly, since it is such kinds of drastic measures that will bring down the amount of the greenhouse effect as automobiles are the worst source of pollution. The domino effect of such measures will lead to raising the price of cars, while at the same time such cars would have to be compact reducing the safety of cars that is feared to raise the number of fatalities form where it is currently at 4000 annually. The fact that the findings are heavily dependant on observation and computer simulation makes the concern a bit groundless since carbon dioxide is not a deadly gas to have in the atmosphere after all. The reason for that is the more carbon dioxide there is in the atmosphere it adds to thriving of plants that have various use for it. It is not only that if what is said about the meltdown is true that is another advantage for agriculture since there will be more land to put into agriculture that will lead to more foods in the world even if there is no proof that there is shortage of food in the regions where the land is covered with ice sheet. Other areas that would benefit from global warming are those who live in areas where the winter season is cold and long. Regions like that could enjoy longer summer seasons, which would mean longer growing period that will add to the amount of food produced. There are findings that the warmer weather is also good for the health of people in such a way that medical cost in most of the cold regions would come down and the quality life of in such regions would get enhancement. The fear centered on the rise of the sea level that would come into existence when the ice from the Polar Regions melts because of the warm climate for the most part is groundless. The reason for that is the warm weather heats the water from the sea changing it into vapor that will come down as rain. The rainfall that takes place in the Polar Regions would not find its way back into the seas, instead it would add on the amount of ice that is already in existence in the region. This process has dual advantages where the first one is it will add to the amount of ice in the Polar Regions defying the fear that the warming of the climate is causing the ice of the region to melt. Secondly, the amount of seawater will come down through the process since some of it will become ice. Hence, it is possible to say that the warming of the climate is good for the Polar Regions since they would get more ice through the natural process. That might have some disadvantages in other areas, because the melting of the ice from the Polar Regions is not without a merit. One of the merit is this particular harsh region could become more habitable where there will be more lands opened for farming, for housing, and industrial development leading to a huge economic activity that will boost the outcome in agriculture and other venues. At the same time, there is an observation concerning the opening of new routes that will be advantageous for trade as well for the tourist industry. However, one disadvantage cited was it might affect the wildlife of the region where, for example, the polar bear is on the list to become extinct at the end of this century. Since the presumption is it will take many centuries for the ice of the whole region to melt away, the only inconvenience wildlife might encounter is going farther to where the dense ice is located. This by itself is advantageous since some of the wildlife is becoming a threat by coming closer to where there are human inhabitants. Overall, since everything surrounding global warming is still a hypothesis that borders fear, where if some measure is not in place now the future could be disastrous and could become out of control, it is not possible to fully rely on the grim pictures that the alarmists are painting. The reality is life goes on normally in the regions even if a few incidents of melting ice sheets into the sea had occurred. The answer for such incidents is it is the outcome of the weather variation where in the summer time it is natural that the level of the ice could get thinner in the edge area and when the winter season is around it will again attain its thickness. The proof for this is there is not yet any documentation where because of global warming the inhabitants of the area had gained more access to land for farming or for any other purpose. The outcome is the same from observations made in other areas where none of the feared apocalyptic fears had taken place. Nevertheless, if the weather becomes warmer cold regions could rip numerous advantages that include less death toll, better health, and better living condition since the summer season is short in these regions. That alone contributes to a much shorter food growing and recreation season. Other than that, if there is call for action, there is none better than to exert more effort to come up with a concrete scientific proof in the place of the presumption that is prevalent now. What the existing finding avails for the world is there are concerned groups that are claiming that there is a global warming that is causing the sea level to rise and is contributing to the melting of the ice caps, which is the habitat of wildlife such as polar bears that are feared to become extinct in the beginning the year 2100. The other major concern is the reducing of the greenhouse gases, which has a very high price tag attached to it. The findings will have to lean fully on scientific findings that would require more funding and time, but the cost involved might not be equivalent to what businesses are fearing to incur in the coming few years simply to meet certain standards that are believed to contribute in controlling the emission of certain gases into the atmosphere. If the implemented measures are scientific it will be worth the effort, otherwise it will be a waste of resources. Currently, since there is no settled scientific proof there is a division in the public’s opinion where the number of people who do not believe in global warming is much higher, no matter how inundated they are by the media and environmental groups. This might have a serious effect simply because it is the same people who cannot be convinced about the pollution level that is prevalent who are responsible in various ways to add to the pollution problem. Educating them based on hypothesis will also make the job difficult because the message they would get from such effort would vary. Another problem cited was that the existing effort through the Kyoto Protocol is to bring down the emission level back to where it was in the 1990s a premise that does not make sense since there might not be an accurate measurement in place that shows what level the emission was before the 1990s. Such shortcomings highlight that the primary effort should focus on finding a settled scientific consensus and after that, the effort of popularizing a concept based on hypothesis might dwindle down. REFERENCE 1. Bailey, R. (2004, November). Two Sides of The global warming: Is It Proven Fact or Just Conventional Wisdom? Reason Magazine. Retrieved November 26, 2007, from http://www. reason. com/news/show/34939. html 2. UN Report, Global Warming Caused by Human Activity. Retrieved November 26, 2007, from www. newstarget. com/021565. html