Poetry and Mother Essay

Outline It is an afternoon and the mom is washing clothes in a tub. The child has written a poem for her mother and gives it to her as she is washing. The mother scans the poem but rejects it as not being ‘all there is to life’. She feels that there is much more to life than reading or writing poetry. Despite her protest, the mother glances at the poem while she continues to wash clothes. Stanza 1 The mother obviously has given her life to hard work and struggle and seems to have lost interest in life. She does not seem to appreciate the effort of her child to offer some relief or change in her burdensome routine. That her mother washes in the afternoon indicates that her workload is enormous (as washing is usually done in the morning so the clothes can be hung out to dry.) The images of stress and strain are effectively captured in the description of the women ‘hunched’ over the washtub and her ‘shrivelled hands’. The word ‘hunched’ suggests her strenuous routine which has physically harmed her posture. The comparison of her hands to the shrivelled burnt skin of granadilla evokes the destructive efforts of hard labour on her physical body. Stanza 2 The words of the child’s poem are compared to a piece of slippery soap. Just as soap is used to cleanse dirt off clothes in this case, so too do the words of the poem give the mother strength and the power to bear her burden to restore her to some state of wholesomeness, just like soap restores clothes to their original clean condition. Note that the mother ‘grabbed’ the words and ‘used’ them, suggesting that she needed them desperately to sustain her to cope with the oppressive burden of life. Stanza 3 It is the burden of life which weighs down oppressively, that prevents the mother from appreciating or being sensitive to other aspects of life (like reading and enjoying poetry) But the fact that she does read the poem indicates that she is aware of its significance and healing power. (A poem appeals to our aesthetic sense.) It makes us see life in detail and appreciate the multi-faceted experiences of life. The word ‘scanning’ suggests that she does read the poem. The reference to the mother’s ‘blue-ringed gaze’ suggests that she has a deeper, appreciative side to her nature. Note that the colour ‘blue’ is usually associated with sky and beauty. The reference to the ‘dirty water’ is a metaphor for the pollution and corruption of life which have sullied or dirtied capacity to be sensitive to the beauty of nature of life. Stanza 4 The poem ends on a positive note. The mother continues to hold onto the words of the poem, the word ‘clenched’ recalls the term ‘grabbed’ of stanza 2, it means to hold tightly onto something. That the words are clenched ‘smaller and smaller’ indicates the great effort exerted by the mother to make the world of poetry a part of her life, she realises the value of poetry to guide her through the difficulties of life. Central message of the poem The poem whilst acknowledging the burden and harshness of life, confirms the value of developing our aesthetic nature, our capacity to appreciate what life has to offer as the only hope to cope with the hostility and problems we encounter on a daily basis. Further Consideration The writer uses simple words to reinforce the innocent, pure exchange between mother and child. The simplicity of the words also evokes the humility of their life – the setting is most likely a rural one.  The poem also has a simple structure; the lines are uniform and short reinforcing the simple effort of the child to console her mother.

Blue Ocean Strategy Theory and Criticism

Outline the main components of Kim and Mauborgne’s (2004) concept of ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’. Critically assess the strengths and limitations of this approach to pursuing competitive advantage. Use relevant examples to support your argument. Introduction In the contemporary hostile business environment, innovation has become part of any company’s paramount strategy for continuous survival. Nokia, despite being the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer having a large customer base, realized how lack of innovation to compete against rivals high end smart phones threatened its market presence. Kim and Mauborgne’s (2004) Blue Ocean Strategy is one of the major contributions in that context. Accordingly, this essay examines the Blue Ocean Strategy concept in the following order: First, the theory is explained with a real-life example. Secondly we look at few of its limitations. Thirdly, a critical appraisal of why this approach is better or worse off than other competing and value innovation theories is presented and finally the conclusion is drawn. Blue Ocean Strategy Theory According to Kim and Mauborgne (2004) the business universe consists of two distinct kinds of space: Red and Blue Oceans. Red Oceans  are the known market space where industry boundaries are defined and accepted, and the competitive rules of the game are known. Here companies try to outperform their rivals to grab a greater share of the market. As the market space gets crowded, prospects for profits and growth are reduced. Products become commodities, and cutthroat competition turns the ocean bloody and hence, the term  red ocean. Blue oceans, in contrast, refer to all the industries not in existence today—the unknown market space, untainted by competition. The essence of Blue Oceans is value innovation where demand is created rather than fought over. There is ample opportunity for rapid growth and profits. In Blue Ocean, competition is irrelevant because the rules of the game are waiting to be set. In contrast to Red Ocean which emphasizes either on cost or differentiation strategy, Blue Ocean suggests it is possible to attain both simultaneously. Pursuing this strategy is able to create high barriers to entry. There are two ways to create blue oceans: one is to give rise to completely new industries and the other is by changing the boundary of an existing industry. One of the classic examples of Blue Ocean strategy was Fords invention of Model T back in 1908. At that time the automobile industry in US was saturated (Red Ocean) with 500 small car companies manufacturing few expensive cars for the rich citizens only. Ford redefined the industry by the introduction of Model T car which was more robust, affordable and had less maintenance cost. With high demand and standardization in its product it was able to attain both differentiation and low cost. Thus instead of entering and competing on the same level Ford made the competition irrelevant by tapping into a whole new market or Blue Ocean within the existing industry. Limitations Some of the Blue Ocean Strategy limitation suggested by Bowman (2008) includes the cost associated with failed projects and innovations, the ambiguity in the industry definition and the methodology carried out for the theory. Other Strategy Theories and Approaches Competitive Strategy Forces Porter’s five forces viewing competition as the main issue that business out to be addressing is in direct contrast to Blue Ocean’s view of value innovation and creating new market. A recent research in the retail market by Barke (2010) suggests that Porter’s view of increased firm leading to lower profitability is in fact true but it does not go down alarmingly as suggested but rather a ‘pedestrian force’. Also Blue Ocean innovation in an existing market can last for 15 years before it to go down to a basic level (Barke, 2010). What that means is that the profit gains from innovation, in an existing market, are a lot more than previously supposed. Disruptive Innovation Kim and Mauborgne (2004) failed to identify the difficulty in adopting Blue Ocean strategy particularly for the established firms. Christensen and Overdorf (2004) spotted this issue in their ‘disruptive innovation’ model which bears similarity with Blue Ocean in that new markets can be created with the existing industry and ‘continual innovation’ is needed for survival. Broadly defining, it is a strategy which disturbs the trajectory f an industry it is heading to, instead of trying to change the whole industry and does so by targeting the so called non-consumers. Christensen argues that established firm’s strength in resources, process, and values culture can often lead to rigidity to change and adapt to threats or explore new markets. Easy jets incremental growth and rise in dominance against other airlines such as British Airways is a perfect example. British Airways tried to change its business model and copy Easy Jet’s low cost strategy but miserably failed due to its different value. Christensen and Overdorf (2000) highlight this issue about the ‘dangers of quickly imitating by established firms’ and instead urges new ‘organizational structure, acquisition’ means to tackle the issue. They further go on to say that small disruptive startups will always have an added advantage over established firms due to less stress in ‘managing resources’ and in CEO’s ‘quick intuitive decisions. ’ Their theory, thus, provide a whole new perspective in Blue Ocean Strategy model. Experience Innovation and Co-Creation of Value Prahalad (2004) argues that that today, customers want to be involved more and more in the production experience or become ‘co-creator’s’ instead of the ‘dominant logic’ of companies that decides which product to manufacture and sell as suggested by Blue Ocean strategy and other theories. According to him, this dominant logic fails to recognize threats, seize opportunities, growth and innovation. He suggests ‘value’ is created through experience of consuming the product rather than only measured by product, service or transaction (Prahalad, 2004: 173). This is what terms as ‘experience innovation’ that can be created through a paradigm known as ‘DART (Dialogue, Access and Choice, Risk Assessment and Transpercy). ’ Starbucks is a good example here – where people just don’t go to drink coffee but rather to experience of the coffee shop culture. Trends in Japanese Management While Blue Ocean Strategy emphasizes on finding a new market for competitive advantage, Clegg and Kono (2002) asserts that one of the rise of Japanese companies such as Hitachi and Toshiba was ‘developing strategic alliances and co operation with other companies’ (Clegg and Kono, 2002: 278). Further dissimilarity in Blue Ocean strategy includes Hamel and Prahalad (1989) ‘advantage of being a follower rather than a leader’ which enables companies to have a ‘strategic intent’ or a long term vision of winning and beating the biggest in the business such as Canon sought to beat ‘Xerox’ and ultimately matching global unit market share. Conclusion The competitive perspective suggests that companies should pay close attention to their existing markets when looking for opportunities for innovation; that competition is a much weaker force in terms of eroding the benefits from innovation. Disruptive innovation highlights the obstacles faced by firms in pursuing Blue Ocean but rightly urges firms to adopt this strategy for survival. With the current IT phenomena the experience innovation’s holistic view of measuring value through consumer is a new breadth of fresh air that should be included and be a part of Blue Ocean Strategy. Lastly, the trends in Japanese Management indicates that other successful strategy theories must also be considered alongside Blue Ocean as part of companies broader business plan to remain competitive.

Book Summary Essay Example for Free

Book Summary Essay The book I chose to read was â€Å"When I Say No, I Feel Guilty† by Manuel J. Smith. The first thing to stand out to me in this book was it seemed a little outdated. Even though the writing style and the examples appeared to be from a different era, I was still able to see how different points were relevant today and to me personally. This title screamed my name when I was browsing the list of choices because no matter what I am saying no to, I always feel guilty. From the first moment that we can feel and translate emotions, we have been manipulated by others. We have grown up under the sense that we should feel certain ways about particular actions. We forget to a chore when we are young, we should feel guilty. We bring a bad grade home on out report card, we should be scared of getting in trouble. Many activities are labeled either good or bad and we should portray emotions to match. As a manager, you should try to keep commands or statements neutral. A neutral statement is one that doesn’t assign the label of good or bad to a behavior so the recipient will not feel manipulated. Everyday, people try to manipulate you into doing what they want by making you feel nervous, uninformed, or blameworthy. If you let them push you around you will feel frustrated, angry or depressed. When you permit others to control your actions, you renounce your sense of personal responsibility. Smith states that the first step in fixing the situation is to know that â€Å"no one can manipulate your emotions or behavior if you don’t allow it to happen. † Also, following the Bill of Assertive Rights will help lead to non-manipulative relationships in all situations. The rights are the basis for all healthy relationships and are listed as: You have the right to judge your own behavior, thoughts and emotions, and to take the responsibility for their initiation and consequences upon yourself. You have the right to offer no reasons or excuses for justifying your behavior. You have the right to judge if you are responsible for finding solutions to other people’s problems. You have the right to change your mind. You have the right to make mistakes – and be responsible for them. You have the right to say, â€Å"I don’t know†. You have the right to be independent of the goodwill of others before coping with them. You have the right to be illogical in making decisions. You have the right to say, â€Å"I don’t understand†. You have the right to say, â€Å"I don’t care†. The first right is the foundation of all of the remaining rights. When you become your own judge, you help to build a barrier against manipulation. Judgements should be based on your values and not external systems of what is right or wrong. People base their manipulative actions on the belief that you should live up to their rules. If you are accepting of this situation, you open yourself up to a limitless variety of manipulation. Criticism is a common tool people use to get someone to behave according to their standards. Reactions to criticism can be negative with anxiety, denial, and defensiveness. Learning to take criticism in a constructive manner helps to avoid manipulation. Verbal coping methods to help accept criticism effectively are fogging, negative assertion, and negative inquiry. Fogging is when you only agree to the truths in a statement and respond to what someone has specifically stated rather than what is implied. A negative assertion is statement that takes responsibility for something you have done wrong. It takes courage to make a negative assertion and say, I’m sorry. Last, using negative inquiry encourages the critic to reply assertively instead of manipulatively. This tactic is typically used to ask for additional information about a critique. There are also different types of relationships that fall into three categories, commercial, authority, and equality. Basic verbal skills used to minimize manipulation do not change as problems are handled throughout these different relationships. Commercial relationships are clearly defined with a contract. Since this type of relationship follows a defined structure an assertive verbal skill works most effectively. In an authority relationship there is one person in charge while the other is not. Authority based relationships emphasize finding compromises that grow on existing interpersonal dynamic. Both parties are equal in an equality relationship. This relationship is the most informal and tends to have everything open for discussion. Thoughtful open communication reassures people that you will not hinder their decision making, even if you may disagree. The main concept I took away from this book is, it’s my life and what happens in it is completely up to me! I will not cower when I face manipulation. My reactions to particular situations can pave the way for a disaster or a triumph. We must always be in touch with reality to promote our own well-being and happiness. We also have to accept the possibility that changing our mind is completely normal and healthy. Keeping the Assertive Bill of Rights in mind will help to stand up against manipulation and keep our dignity, self-respect, and control over our own behavior. Book Summary. (2018, Oct 21).

Classical leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Classical leadership - Essay Example Leadership is a complex reality, hence, it can constitute a shifting enigma. Tolstoy's bow-wave metaphor suggests that the leaders are mere figureheads who are propelled by events beyond their control. The main issue then is whether the leaders really lead or if they are merely pulled by the events or situation they face everyday.Grint presents a model that encompasses epistemologically and methodologically different perspectives on leadership. It is composed of four perspectives. The trait approach states that the essence of the individual leader is critical but the context is not. The contingency approach states that the essence and the context are both knowable and critical. The situational approach means that certain contexts demand certain kinds of leadership. This situation requires flexibility from the leaders. The constitutive approach, which stems from the constructivist theories in the social sciences suggests that what the situation and the leader actually are is a consequ ence of acts and interpretations. In the constitutive approach, the situation and the leader do not have essences.My personal opinion is that leadership is a key task. People demand from their leaders direction or vision, trustworthiness, and optimism. Like effective parents, good leaders make people hopeful. Warren Bennis (2001) emphasized the four competencies of leadership: technical competence, people skills, conceptual skills, judgment, and character. Bennis believes that effective leadership is primarily the function of one's character. I believe that these four leadership perspectives coincide with John Adair's approach on functional leadership. This approach suggests that leadership skills can be developed but that other qualities such as integrity and humility are essential to the makeup of an effective leader. CLASSICAL LEADERSHIP Classical Leadership was developed by four influential writers: Plato, Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, and Pareto. Plato primarily thought that the concept of a democratic society was problematic and so he developed a critique. He introduced the mob: the majority. He argued that the captain can be trusted because only he has the necessary knowledge. He was convinced that the subordinate groups should not be allowed to challenge the philosopher rulers, to ensure the safety of the 'ship'. The larger issue was not over whether leadership skills could be taught but what they were being taught for. Sun Tzu regarded the principle of one person, one job as crucial to success. His work, "Art of War" is a doctrine that does not glorify war but denounces those who seek it. The way of peace is always sought over violence but, when no option is left open, the violence is executed with the minimum effort and maximum effect. This philosophy generates a hierarchy of strategies which are premised on avoidance as the first strategy and face-to-face violence as the last. He believes that the best way to defeat an enemy is to foil the enemy's plots. He is keen for leaders to avoid being hated; he is aware that 'the goodwill' of the people is significant. Only by forging alliances with other princes and by the use of technology, and by disorganizing the competition, will the prince survive. Elites not 'the people' were a part of human society for Pareto. Pareto argues that human action is irrational and this is due to residues. Residues are prevalent and unchanging across space or time. The forms of elite control, are rooted in two oppositional forms of residues: Class I and Class II. These key writers showed us that leadership perspectives varied across time. Traditional Leadership Traditional leadership constitutes what Barnard identified within a triangle of elements that include the individual leader, the

Managing people in the work environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managing people in the work environment - Essay Example Organisational researches reflect that employees would be most open to learning during the initial stages of their job. Since induction would produce valuable impacts on the work area, managers must design a well structured induction program. This paper will analyse various contributions that induction makes to tourism, events, or consumer-focused organisations in UK. Benefits of induction to tourism Tourism as a fast growing industry has become the major source of revenue for many developing countries. There are two trends emerging in tourism recently; people visiting hill stations, seashores and historical places of domestic land; and people travel abroad to enjoy the beauty of foreign destinations. The tourism policy focuses on the supply of adequate facilities to accommodate and entertain the visitors. It is obvious that an individual would not get a good touring experience unless he/she is provided with the service of an efficient tourist guide. In other words, employees working in the tourism sector must be skilled and efficient in order to give a memorable touring experience to clients. By considering the emerging scope of tourism sector, more and more employees are recruited presently. At this juncture, a well designed induction program would promote effective communication between the manager and employees since the very beginning. It is important for employees in the tourism sector to be aware of the mental perceptions of the customers as they are to deal with people from different regions and cultures. According to Kusluvan (2003, p. 79), a good induction programme may largely increase the scope of tourism sector which in turn would serve the economic interests of the nation as a whole. Similarly, the induction may also help the industry to meet the increasing employee requirements. To illustrate, since induction programme assists employees to quickly assimilate with the organisation, they become able to bear organisational responsibilities within a shorter period of time. As a result, organisations’ employee training and development processes become comparatively cost effective. Benefits of induction to consumer-focused organisations in UK It has been identified that the concept of induction offers far reaching benefits to consumer-focused organisations in UK. A consumer focused organisation provides exceptional services to its customers and it is often recognized as an entity that incorporates customer-focused behaviors into its daily operations. ‘First Direct’ is an example of customer-focused organisation in UK, which provides flexible services to its customers. Any organisation can turn into a customer-focused organisation by restructuring its policies and practices. Since the organisations in UK have access to a large group of potential consumers, they can make considerable changes in profitability by applying effective strategies that may improve overall organisational performance. As everyone knows, the quality of worksite environment plays a vital role in determining the efficacy of organisational performance. In order to improve the quality of the workplace atmosphere, it is necessary to meet the employees’ worksite interests effectively. A well planned induction program would not only meet this objective but also add to organisational value. It is important to make a new employee feel at home as the first step in the process of integrating him/her into the workplace. Obviously, a new staff would

The Quit as a Uniter and Divider Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Quit as a Uniter and Divider - Essay Example It is this quilt, a symbol and historical accounting of the struggles, trial, and tribulations of black women in America, that divides the family, and illustrates Walker’s frustration with the desire by many modern women to break away from their past, and to devalue the true struggles and accomplishments of African-American women, within the context of a life filled with prejudice and hardship. As the modern and foreward-thinking daughter, Dee, visits home and her mother, Mama and sister, Maggie, Dee looks for and finds two quilts that Mama and her sister, Dicie, had worked on together and created. The bonds of sisterhood in the Jim Crowe South were of the utmost importance to survival, and quilts in general represent this bond and struggle for survival. Not only are they wonderful folk art, but are also representations--a visual accounting-- of the struggle for light in a darkened world. This marvelous history, chronicled in quilts, is one to be valued, and remembered, a test ament to a history filled with pride and struggles. It is clear in this short story that Mama and Maggie, still living in the homestead, and rooted in the culture of the South, value this history. Dee, on the other hand, is only in to visit, has married a man with a foreign religion, has eschewed her given name for an African name which Mama cannot even pronounce, and is filled with self-righteous indignation at the oppressive past of her family. In a way she wants to wear this past as a badge, but also move on from it at the same time. The quilt represents this struggle within Dee to have remnants from her family’s past, such as the quilt, but to also neatly fold it away in a drawer, and take it out when needed. Dee sees this history as something to be used and manipulated, while Mama and Maggie see it as something to be proud of, to use every day and to cover their bodies in warmth and the basic pride of remembrance. The tension in the story in manifested by the quilts and Dee’s desire to have them (Whitsett). Mama, had promised them to Maggie. Dee want the quilts, but Mama knows that Maggie deserves them more than Dee does. Although Maggie had not had the opportunities Dee has had in life, and is not as successful as Dee, Maggie represents a more traditional view of family, history, and struggles, that Dee, with all her worldliness and sophistication, cannot fathom. Dee becomes angry at Mama’s refusal to let her take what she wants from the house. Mama can sense that Dee will not treat the quilts with the requisite respect that Maggie would. The quilt is used to highlight the tension between Mama and Dee, and Dee and Maggie, in particular. Dee and Maggie have had a fractured relationship throughout their lives, and represent the struggle between modernism and traditionalism in the black community. Many want to wear their heritage like a trophy, take on African names, dress in African garb, to show their former â€Å"oppressors† t hat they are strong, powerful, and independent. This means moving on from the lifestyle that Mama and Maggie represent--one of traditional respect to their own family, and the strong women who led families and held the African American family together in difficult times. While Mama and Aunt Dicie were close sisters and created the beautiful quilts together, Maggie and Dee have no such relationship and barely talk, with little sisterhood or communication between them. Indeed, the more modern Dee looks down on Maggie and feels she can waltz in the house,

Economic Development and Corruption Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economic Development and Corruption - Essay Example In a developing economy there is improvement in the standard of living of people and focus on environmental stability also increases. Economic stability can sometime also give rise to materialism. People strive hard to make more money and they often use unethical means to achieve their materialistic targets. One such unethical method is corruption. Different people hold different views about the impact of corruption on the economic development. Many people view it as a barrier to economic development while others believe that it does not impact the society and economic development much (Easterly 2006). This paper is going to discuss various anecdotal evidence and view that people have about corruption in relation to economic development. Economies in the transition face often have large number of lobbying efforts going on. These economies are aiming for economic development and hence they do not care much about lobbying efforts and governments of these economies are more susceptible to lobbying pressures than a government of a more developed nation. The evidence and research shows that these lobbies often pay huge sum of money to the government pressures to accept their demand. The corrupt political system in these countries makes it possible for people to form lobbies and put pressure on political leaders. These leaders often get directions from these lobbies if they pay them well. Since many lobbying groups are fighting for what is good for their own business, they end up doing well for the society also. The theory of invisible hand comes into play here. The theory states that any action done for one’s own self motive or profit will eventually translate into good for the society. Hence, corruption in all cases is not bad and research on 4000 firms in developing countries shows that corruption has played a role in the economic development of a nation. (Campos & Giovannoni 2007) In another paper, it was argued that corruption is essentially bad for a gro wing economy. First of all, corruption reduces the value of shareholders. In growing economies where corruption is extremely high, the expected profit that the shareholders expect to make does not materialize. Much of the profit is lost in the corrupt red-lines of bureaucracy and hence shareholder value goes down in the corrupt economies. Many foreign companies therefore try not to invest in corrupt nations fearing that returns on investment in these economies would be far less than if the investment is made in the local setting. This reduces foreign direct investment flows into the corrupt economies and poses a big problem for the economic development. This argument shows us that corruption can be a big barrier in the economic development of a nation. (Weitzel & Berns 2006) In a recent paper written by a well known economist, it was argued that corruption is actually good for the economies. It increases the flow of wealth in the economy from one hand to another and promotes economi c activity which leads to economic development. It was argued that corruption becomes bad when the corruption money goes out from the system. Evidence shows that many political and rich figures in the developing economies put their money in bank accounts in the foreign countries. This is an example of money flowing out of the system and this money does not promote any

Intermediate accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Intermediate accounting - Essay Example This is because the problems with livestock market are seasonal and past experience and solutions largely serve as guiding principles for present and even the foreseeable future anomalies. Three Little Pigs Inc. is a public entity with three types of inventories viz. live hogs ready for sale, developing animals, and processed pork products consisting of loins, ham and bacon. The Company maintains live hogs and processing plants at various locations. Also, there are live hogs in some locations which cannot be easily transported and processed at the Company’s main processing plants, and, as a result, these live hogs have to be sold to third parties at spot market prices. The current problem the management is facing is the result of spot market prices for live hogs that have declined. The causes mentioned for the decline are not specific except the capture of the â€Å"Big Bad Wolf.† Whatever the reasons, they are strong enough to bring about a decline in prices due to surplus production. However, the management led by its CEO, Farmer Joe, is confident of a turnaround during the third and fourth quarters of the year with a specifically good projection for the last quarter. The management is also positive that the total revenues for the pork products and total revenues for sale of live hogs to third parties, based on current spot prices, will be favorable enough to offset losses incurred due to price decline in the second quarter. Due to the slump in the second quarter, the management is of the view that there may be lower of cost or market issues involved in the Company’s inventory of live hogs and developing animals held for sale to third parties as on September 30, 2002. Thus, the urge to go for impairment evaluation is present. (Lower of Cost or Market) However, management must be cautious in acting upon impairment evaluation although expert opinion of impairment evaluators can help increase

Review On Film Amadeus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Review On Film Amadeus - Essay Example The brilliance of his music had the capacity to hold its listeners in sheer awe or make them green with envy. Mozart was a revered court composer who worked in the court of the Austrian Emperor Joseph II, who was an ardent patron of the arts. The Emperor commissions Mozart to compose an opera in German and not in the customary Italian. His contemporary, Antonio Salieri, who was not a very good composer in the same court, became green with envy and vowed to take revenge on Mozart. The unassuming Mozart who was childish, arrogant and brilliant at the same time was gradually trapped by the fiendish Salieri who kept on taunting Mozart with guilt feelings about him being a bad son to his parents. The continuous torture meted out by the jealous Salieri finally became the cause for the downward spiraling of the genius and drove him to ill health and his death.The chief protagonist in the story is Farid. Murray Abraham, who plays the part of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the musical genius. Tom E dward Hulse, plays the part of Antonio Salieri who takes revenge against Mozart because he deeply desired to attain the musical genius of Mozart but sadly cut a deplorable figure in front of him. The other characters in the story are Constanze who plays the part of Mozart’s wife. Though she shares the juvenile qualities of her husband she is also inclined towards business which is lacking in Mozart. The character of Emperor Joseph II is played by Jeffrey Jones and is portrayed as a very self- centered and superficial ruler.

The Decline of the Roman Empire Essay Example for Free

The Decline of the Roman Empire Essay The Roman Empire gave the world many good things. Rome gave the world Christianity, which is now the worlds largest religion. The Romans also gave the world their language. The Romans spoke Latin, which is the base for most languages used today. Many of these languages include English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese. This leads to the question. If Rome was such a powerful empire, then what led to the decline of the Roman Empire? The fall of the Western Roman Empire was caused by three of the many reasons internal decay, lack of money, and invading tribes. First, one of the reasons that led to the decline of the Western Roman Empire was cause by inside decay. It has been said that the Romans military crisis was a huge factor in this decay. According to Indro Montanelli, the military crisis was the result of shortage of children. The children in Rome were not old enough at the time to serve in the army this resulted in lack of soldiers. The lack of soldiers meant that the Roman Empire could not defend themselves and did not have a strong army. In that cause Rome had to come up with a plan to solve this problem. This plan was to recruit Germans to serve in the Roman army. But, this was not a well-thought plan, because traders were difficult to detect. Recruiting Germans to serve in the Roman army made it possible for the Germans to easily attack them. Given that they were already in the base of the empire, they did not have to worry about getting into the city. It was said that the military crisis was a huge part in the internal decay, which eventually led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Roman Empire had too much power and wealth. It was a unified attack. Therefore, the lack of money in the Roman treasury caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The money mostly went into the army, which has already been described as the government expenses. The lack of money was responsible for the high taxation. This caused the owners to depart their businesses, because they did not want to pay high taxes. The old roman virtues of self-reliance and initiative were lost in the part of the population on relief warfare; the central government undertook such far-reaching responsibility in affairs that the fiber of the citizens weakened. Also while the empire was expanding, its prosperity was fed by plundered wealth and by new markets in the semibarbaric provinces. The decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire was lack of money and invading the tribes in the Roman Empire. The empire did not have anyone to fight for them because the children were too young. The money was mostly invested in the government and not in the overall empire. The invaders came into the region trying to take over the land and destroyed everything in their path, which made the Roman Empire weak. These effects began to make the Roman Empire weak.

Analysis Of The Industry: Porters Five Forces

Analysis Of The Industry: Porters Five Forces After the three decades of the war ended the political situation in the country is stable and the current government enjoys 2/3 of the majority of the parliament and president remains the most popular person in the country. But the political turmoil surrounding the Middle East and Iran affecting the local export market since most of the tea products were export to the Middle East market. Also, the economic sanctions impose by the United States and the European Union on Iran affecting the local export market. 2.2 Economic Environment The fluctuating exchange rates are affecting the local producers since most of them import the raw material from China and India and produce their main products. The world economic downturn affects the local economy. The opening of the new port and expansion of Colombo port will bring more vessels to the Colombo port. This will definitely increase container volumes to the country. 2.3 Legal Environment The government has introduced a system to regulate the shipping and freight forwarding industry in the country. All shipping and freight forwarding agents must register with Merchant Shipping department. Where they will categorise to two separate groups and issue licences. This is renewable yearly. 2.4 Technological Environment The Sri Lanka customs department has introduced the new EDI (electronic data interchange) system to update shipping manifest through the entering in to customs department website , which will benefit the industry where cost and time of the forwarders will be saved .previously the manifest were submitted by manually and separate person should allocate to do the job. Also this will help the accuracy and duplication of work. 3 ANALYSIS OF THE INDUSTRY THOUGH PORTERS FIVE FORCES 3.1 The Threat of new entry In the Sri Lankan freight forwarding industry the threats of new entry is rather high because there are no legal requirements other than registration as a company with register of companies. Any one or any party can enter in to the industry with only requirements are recognition in the industry, business contact and Agent network with minimum capital can easily enter in to the industry . The new entry enters in to the market will be burden for the existing freight forwarders in the market. The industry is already overcrowded with so many players completing for slow growing market and everyone have to share the existing customer base with new entry. The entry barriers to the market can be arisen due to economies of scale when the new entrant does not have the volume advantage at the start of the business. Another barrier is the new regulation by the government which comes under the Merchant Shipping Department. The forwarders must have the licence to carry out the business with in the local Market. 3.2 The Treats of Substitutes The substitutes service can be provided by the carriers and air lines by way of value additions or part of the supply chain to the customers. Ware these carriers can provide additional services like warehousing, transportation, inventory control etc. The Maersk the world leading carrier has started their own arm to provide the additional value added services to the customers by in the name of DAMCO international .this will surely make the adverse effect on the current forwarding market in the country. 3.3 The Bargaining Power of the Buyers In the Sri Lankan freight forwarding market the bargaining power of the buyers are very high. when compared to other markets in the world county have very small import and export market in year 2011 countrys export containers were around 260047 and imports containers were around 487901.other than forwarders the main carriers are also competing to get the business direct from the customers. The freight forwarder has to convince the buyers and must offer more value for the money. Due to high completion and small market the buyer power high within the industry. 3.4 The Bargaining Power of Suppliers The suppliers for the freight forwarders either shipping lines, airlines, ware house provider or Logistics Companys provide services to the freight forwarders. In Sri Lanka the shipping lines and air lines are dominating the market .if other than the freight forwarder has large volumes they can bargain with the shipping lines and air lines other than that the bargain power of the suppliers are very high. 3.5Competitive Rivalry among Existing Firms As per the merchant shipping department there are 296 freight forwarding companies operating in the local market and there is also other freight forwarders operating in the market without licences. There is high competition among the forwarders since the export market is only expand around 6% in year 2011and import market did expand by 17% when compared to 2010as mentioned by the Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders Association (SLFFA).in the industry there are lot of equal size competitors in the market competing for the same market share will resulting intense competition within the market .and there are few major size competitors competing in different sectors of the market .most of these competitors complete in the appeal and tea sector since those are the most exported commodities in the country. CONCLUSION When analysing the five force frame work in the freight forwarding industry in Sri Lanka there is little information about the individual performance of the rival organisation. And there is no ranking system to identify who the best company is providing the forwarding services in the industry. And there is lack of understanding among competitors within the industry about the growth and there is no growth forecast within the industry. When analysing the above finding there are lot of competition in the market for sea freight export since the market is very small compared to the countries. Most of the freight forwarders concern about the full container cargo (FCL Containers) in market and less about the loose cargo load (LCL) and multi country consolidation (MCC). 4. VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS 4.1 Primary Activities 4.1.1 Inbound Logistics When comes to the export of goods organisation provide transport from shippers place of production to the organisations ware house. Fumigation, obtaining relevant certificates for the export purposes is other value added services. In the import sea freight communication with relevant shippers in the various destinations, picking up the relevant goods, storing in the ware houses in the relevant destinations till it ships to relevant destination. 4.1.2 Operations In sea fright exports the operation is stuffing the relevant cargo inside the container according to the stuffing plan. In this case the Cargo must be stuffed to the container without any damages and relevant cargo must be send to the relevant containers accordingly. And should send to the relevant ships accordingly. In Import Sea cargo must be DE stuffed accordingly. 4.1.3 Outbound Logistics When is come to the import shipments after receiving the goods to the Colombo port the organisation must issue the relevant documents to the relevant consignees to clear the goods from the relevant ware houses operated by the Sri Lanka ports authority. Also tracking down the cargo from the various ware houses. 4.1.4 Marketing and Sales Promoting sea freight business with relevant rate to the direct and cooperate customers, overseas agents and shippers with value added services are the part of the sales and marketing 4.1.5 Services Tracking the customers cargo till its deliver to relevant parties, issuing Delivery orders, Bill of ladings, surveying for the damage cargo and issuing relevant letters to obtain the insurance claims and sending arrival notices some of the additional services provided by the company. 4.2 support activities 4.2.1 Technology Development The firm provide tracking system to all their customers to track their cargo through new innovative system .using this system customers can see where their cargo are currently lying on or which vessel the shipments are on and time this shipments will be delivered to the destinations. 4.2.2 Firm Infrastructure and Human Resources Management The firm has a good reputation among the customers. The organisation poses a good customer centric culture. The MIS support the innovation and responsiveness to the customer needs. 5. THE SOURCE OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE THROUGH ONION MODEL THE GOOD ONION MODEL 5.1.1 The Agent Network The organisation poses a worldwide agent network .the organisations has 40 associate offices in 13 countries and cargo ships to over 120 countries reaching more than 1200 destinations worldwide which unmatched by the local competitors . 5.1.2 Superior Rate Structure Cost Leadership in LCL Market The organisation offers the most competitive rate in the LCL cargo sector in the market and most of the other freight forwarders in the market co-load their shipments with company since they do not have the capabilities match the rate offered by the firm. 5.1.3 Leading Multi Country Consolidator The organisation is the innovator of the large scale of operations of the multi country consolidation among the competitors. Firm is the leading MCC to Indian sub-continent. 5.1.4 Innovative Cargo Tracking System The customers can track their cargo through the system only the have to do is enter the bill of leading numbers to the system and will able to get the full details about their cargo 5.1.5 Customer Centric Culture The organisation is fully focused on customers needs and requirements. Organisation have separate department focusing the customer care and even has customer complaint line which is first for the Sri Lankan freight forwarding industry. 6.THE BAD ONION MODEL 6.1.1 Parochial Top Management Mind Set Even though the organisation very centric towards the customers and customer need they are not much focused on the developing business to the next level or stepping up for the next level. They poses very narrow set of business vision for the company and does not want step outside the comfort zone their currently in and change the current business dynamics. 6.1.2 Employee Engagement The organisation lacks the motivation to achieve its goals .where employer wants employees to do their best work and drive the organisation towards its goals. To do that employer must engage with the employees and find the ways to get more from the employees other than the primary work set they have been assigned to do . 7 THE SWOT ANALYSIS 7.1 Strengths of the Organisation 7.1.1 Agent Network As mentioned earlier organisation has good agency network around the world. Using this network firm can import and export any cargo according to the customer requirements. 7.1.2 Rate Structure Since the firm operates most parts of the world with various agents organisation can offer the cheapest LCL rate in the market. Most of the agents the firm work are the market leaders in those destinations and they have the lowest tariff with in that particular destination .with the collaboration with them organisation can offer the best rate in the market. 7.1.3 Transhipment Cargo Volume The Colombo port is a strategic transhipment point in the world. So most of the cargo to Europe from Indian sub-continent tranships through the Colombo port and most of the European Cargo to Indian sub-continent tranship through Colombo port. Large numbers of agents send their transhipment cargo to consolidate in Colombo and deliver to the various destinations. 7.2 Weaknesses Of the Organisation 7.2.1 Working Capital Inadequacy The firm always works with the thin profit margins with credit to the customers sometimes with low volumes will create a loss situation where it will affect the working capital requirements of the company. The other scenarios is there more imports to firm than exports and the firm has to pay to the agents and should provide credit to the customers this will also create working capital inadequacy. 7.2.2 Human Resource Management The firm not very keen in developing good human resources management process .this will lead to the less employee engagement and will hinder the achievement of organisations goals through performance. 7.3 External Opportunities 7.3.1 Development of Colombo and Hambantota Port The development of Colombo port efficiency and increase of the handling of the containers will affect the industry also opening of the new port in Hambantota will increase the vessel calling specially the car carriers are promoted in the new port. Expansion of the Colombo port to will attract more vessel to the port and will benefit the local industry by more volumes and less cost 7.3.2 Stable political Environment The ending three decades of the war and stable political environment will attract more investors to the country. The more investment comes and starts new business will create more imports and exports from the country. 7.4 External Threats 7.4.1 Weak Economic Development of United States and European Union The European Union and United States economic crisis were affected to the local garment and tea and other sectors badly and this crisis has been effected to the freight forwarding industry also the export market were grown only by 6% in last year. 7.4.2 Turmoil in Middle East and Sanctions to Iran One of the best export market for the country is middle East and Iran .the current turmoil in Syria, Egypt ,Libya has halted the export to those countries also the sanction by the US and EU to Iran also effected the industry . 8. THE VISION, MISSIONS, CORE VALUES OFTHE COMPANY The Colombo office uses the same vision statement as head office in Singapore. This is a border group with different SBUs and freight forwarding is a one SBU among other business units. Colombo office should have a different vision for its objectives. Modified vision statement for the firm would be TO BE A ONE OF LEADING FREIGHT FORWARDING COMPANY IN SRI LANKA WITH GLOBAL FREIGHT FORWARDING CAPABILITIES. The mission statement by the head office will be the mission to the company since to become the leading freight forwarding company in Sri Lanka the firm must move to the other sectors of the logistics to provide best value to the customer. 8.1 Core Values 8.1.1 Service Reliability Provide the best service to customers and to improve the service levels and consistently upgrade the service levels 8.1.2 Competitiveness To provide competitive freight rates in the market and pass any reductions possible to valued customers so they can keep their cost down to the minimum levels. 8.1.3 Customer Focus To understand the customers requirements and utilise the knowledge of the organisation to deliver quality, committed service to the customer 8.1.4 Teamwork As a reputed organisation it values the strength of an individual and combined together to deliver the objective of the firm 8.1.5 Quality The firm to ensure customers receive a standard of service which provides quality and assurance that can deliver time and time again. After analysing the firm performance trends for the year 2008/2009/2010/2011/2012the growth target was set. The average profit for the previous years is about 11% for the export and imports therefore the target was set as 13% of profit increase for two sectors. The target was set as 13% due to increase volumes and profit margins for the current year and previous year and expansion of Colombo port and operations in the new port will increase the volumes for next few years. Also political stability in the country and increase of forgin direct investment to the country will improve the economical growth. The target could not raise tan 13% due to the economic turmoil in the Middle East, US, EU these markets are still recovering and it will take more than three years improve the current crisis. 10. STRATEGY OPTIONS TO ACHIEVE THE GROWTH 1. The Ansoff Approach 10.1.1 Market Penetration Increasing the sales volume through new marketing recruitments, providing sales discounts to encouraging the customers to purchase more services, offering the best possible rates to competitors to attract their cargo to the company 10.1.2 Market Development Firm can enter in to the new market segments like Garment and telecommunication through supply chain management .Also can enter in to the alliance with Maldivian hotel trade to exclusively suppler of from various destinations. 10.1.3 Product Development Firm can combine their import and export business together and provide services such as imports goods from one country and export the same goods to an another country .bundling the products together and offering as a one product (freight, transport, packing ,entry passing together as one product ) 1.4 Diversification Firm can move in to a commodity markets where they can buy and sell commodities using freight services as base. 10.2. The Porters Approach 10.2.1 Cost Leadership Currently the firm provides the lowest cost in the market. Where firm cut the costs to the minimum and pass the savings to the customer with lower price .this help to attract more volumes to the organisation. 10.2.2 Differentiation The firm can differentiate their product and services more attractive than the competitor .this can be create through customer service, image of the organisation, faster services to one destination to another. 11. STRATEGY FOR THE GROWTH The firm to use hybrid strategy for the growth .the organisation need to penetrate in to the market using cost leadership and use the strengths to pursue opportunities. The firm currently have superior agency network and best rate structure using these strengths firm can pursue more penetration in the market to achieve the growth target set. Through market development using differentiation as a tool firm can enter in to the new local and overseas markets. Currently the group does not operate in Maldives and therefore firm can represent the group by opening up a branch office in Maldives. Currently Maldives have one shipping line and one freight forwarding company and the whole group has not promote the Maldivian cargo especially there is lot of cargo moving in to the hotel sector from Europe and china. Currently firm only offers few services such as freight, transport, packing and entry passing. This will limit the growth opportunities. Firm can enter into a new market segment using supply chain management. This will help the firm to tap in to the appeal industry which is one of the largest import and export market in the country. The growth target growth for the next 3 years is 13% increase of profit and volume. Through new product development firm can attract more customers and volumes to achieve the set target. Combining few product and services as new product and offering to the customers services like imports from one destination to other destination without importing the goods to Colombo will be a new product development to the firm Sri Lanka is world famous for its tea, rubber, coconut, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and pepper. The firm can concentrate on those commodities with advantage of knowledge on logistics can enter in to the commodity market as a diversification strategy Attracting more customers will increase the volume and with improved volumes firm can reduce the barging power of the suppliers and reduce the direct cost of the freight, transport and warehouse to improve the firms profit margins. 12. THE RESOURCE IMPLICATION To achieve the target growth organisation must control the administration, marketing, finance and cost of sales expense wisely. 12.1Human Resource Management Implications The growth target is only to be increased by 3% so the organisation will use the same work force to achieve the target except the marketing department. Marketing really need to hire few personals to enter in to the new markets and promote products. 12.2Capital Implications The organisation need to provide credit to the customers and will have to work on thin margins therefore there should be an initial capital injection required to ease working capital requirements. 12.3 System and IT Implications The organisations have to modify the current system since its runs with full capacity. Therefore adjustments should be made to the current system to accommodate more data inputs with different modules. Also need to develop modules for supply chain management and branch office monitoring and improved MIS. 12.4 Finance Department Implications The finance should gear up with knowledge of accounting and audit standards required for the new business units and should able handle the large debtor and creditors list and should able to manage efficient cash and bank balances to support the growth 12.5Ware House and Transport Implications The current ware house space has to increase to accommodate more cargo. Therefore the firm has to find more space or efficiently handle the cargo movement without adding more space. Also the transport providers will have to increase or transporters with large vehicles to hire. 13 HOW CHANGE WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED 13.1. Developing Momentum To achieve the target firm must develop a momentum inside the organisation. Then should communicate the aspirations and growth targets to the staff and align them behind the change required. Top management should come out from their shell and should lead the way. Management should engage with employees to get maximum out from them to achieve the set target. 2. Planing the Change Firm to break down the growth plan in to twelve months set milestones in to each month. What should achieve in the first month and should establish measures for success. Identifying key talent of the organisation and allocating and delegating responsibilities for planning and implementation to them. After every month the results to be reviewed extensively to find the results were achieved accordingly. If not preparing the contingency plan to fill the identified gap. 3. Top Management Leading the Implementation Top management must inspire other for the change required. Also they must communicate with the staff, stake holders, and customers about the change. Seeking early success will improve the momentum for the growth and motivate staff. Every step of the change must monitor, control, and review. Also they must prepare to deal with the unexpected turns in PESTEL factors and should plan for the continuous improvement till the target is achieved

Accounting and Management Information Systems Essay -- Essays Papers

Accounting and Management Information Systems A business needs accounting and management information systems to help solve business problems that a business might encounter; and a business needs accounting and management information systems to help gather and organize information, so that the business can make good decisions in their decision-making process in order to help the business succeed. Also, without accounting and management information systems the businesses would be less organized because that is a major part of accounting and management information systems. It teaches the businesses on how to become more organized and how to organize the information so that anyone would understand the information. As essential aspects of the business world, accounting and management information systems offer many opportunities. Management information systems is a career area which focuses on two related areas, and the two related areas are organization and technology. According to one expert, â€Å"The organization system is the system culminating in the administrative responsibilities of the chief administrative officer† (Allen 53). Organization is important to businesses because it provides business processes and uses people as decision-makers and problem-solvers. As John Tillquist states, â€Å"Technologies cluster around exchange relations, providing process support, coordination, and control mechanisms† (94). For example, computers are helpful to businesses because they provide a fast and easy way to get needed information for business decisions. Therefore, technology and organization are essential to management information systems. Accounting involves the preparation, analysis, and communicati... ...g with the company and what they should do to fix it. Finally, accounting and management information systems provides a person with a lot of career opportunities. Work Cited Allen, George. Business Systems. Ohio: Cleveland, 1970. Blackstaff, Michael. Business and Finance for IT People. New York: Springer, 2001. Choi, Frederick. International Accounting and Finance Handbook. New York: Wiley, 1997. Cushing, Barry. Accounting Information Systems and Business Organization. Philippines: Addison-Wesley, 1974. Li, David. Accounting, Computers, Management Information Systems. New York: New York, 1968. Tillquist, John. â€Å"A Representational Scheme for Analyzing Information Technology and Organizational Dependency.† MIS Quarterly 26 (2002): 91-95. Wood, Gaylord. â€Å"Entrepreneurial Profit- (Almost) the Last Word.† Assessment Journal May/June 2002: 29-34.

Comparision Between Tabloid and Broadsheet Newspapers -- Media News Ne

A comparison between how broadsheet and tabloid newspapers convey the same story I have chosen to compare a story from The Times as my broadsheet paper and The Sun as the Tabloid. The story is primarily about a man who had raped his two daughters several times. In The Times, the headline said ‘How two girls were trapped by shame, fear and the love of their own children’. The Broadsheet focuses on sympathizing for the girls, giving all information they have in a straightforward way and getting the story through rather than trying to get attention or exaggerating the story, as they did in the tabloid paper, The Sun. The headline was ’25 life terms for Brit Fritzl who raped his two daughters 1,000 times’. The numbers stand out and make the story seem more shocking. 1,000 is a very big number and it makes any audience shocked to see such a big number in a headline. As this is a tabloid, you never know, the number might have been altered. But that is not the first thing that comes to mind when you see such a headline. You would want to read more about it. In the Broadsheet, the man who raped his two daughters is referred to as ‘Mr X’, as his family do not want to be recognized in public, and it is also ag ainst the law to identify names for a story about sexual abuse. But in the Tabloid they avoid needing to use a name as a reference. In the tabloid, the man is compared with a well-known Austrian person named Fritzl who just like ‘Mr x’ had raped his daughter then imprisoned her. This is very typical of a tabloid paper to make comparisons and also use informal language such as ‘Brit’. The language in the tabloid is much more easy to understand, and it is quite informal and simple. It is the sort of language you would use ever... ...ger audience, one who would rather know the general details rather than the whole story in detail. That is why I prefer to read a tabloid paper as it is easier to empathize with for you have a better understanding of what is going on. It keeps it short so that you can move on to the next story. But that is my opinion and I fall into the tabloid’s aiming category, and others may have different ideas. The Broadsheet is aimed at a smaller yet more complex audience, who would want to know all the details in the story. Stories in broadsheets are more about business, tax or politics, the sort of things that these sort of people are interested in, so it helps if they know all the smallest details. Broadsheet uses increasingly formal language, for more mature readers. That is why I find in hard to read a broadsheet newspaper, I would rather just know the general details.

Egyptian Mummification: It’s History, Purpose, and Process Essays

Egyptian Mummification: It’s History, Purpose, and Process The history and tradition of Egypt is one of the most greatly studied and admired of all past world civilizations. The lure of the pyramids and the specter of the sphinx have led many archeologists to dedicate his/her life to unraveling the mysteries of ancient Egyptian culture. Arguably, the most captivating aspect of Egypt’s past is that of mummification. Why did the Egyptians mummify their dead? What beliefs did the Egyptians have regarding the after life? What portion of the Egyptian civilization was mummified? What was the Book of the Dead? This is a mere sampling of the questions that come to my mind when I think of ancient Egyptian culture. I hope to lay forth answers to these questions and many more in the following pages dedicated to the history and purpose behind Egyptian mummification. Mummification, with its long, storied history, has allowed archeologists to peer into the daily lives and beliefs of ancient Egyptian middle-class and royalty. The practice of mummification by the Egyptians seems to have started sometime before 3100 BC. However, lack of written evidence or significant physical proof from this Predynastic period is available to either confirm or deny this. One of the oldest surviving mummies is Ginger, currently stored at the British Museum. Ginger was buried in a shallow grave and wrapped only in light cloth but due to the hot, dry desert he survived intact to discovery in the late 19th century (Andrews 5). Ginger’s name comes from the color of his hair, fragments of which are still attached to his body. Evidence from his discovery supports the belief that even at this early age the Egyptians believed in the afterlife. Tools and pottery we... ...ould be very thankful to the Egyptian people for leaving us this gift, which paints for us such a clear picture of their legacy. Works Cited Aldred, Cyril. The Egyptians. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc., 1984. Andrews, Carol. Egyptian Mummies. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1984. Budge, E.A. Wallis. The Mummy: A Handbook of Egyptian Funerary Archaeology. 2nd ed. Cambridge: University Press, 1925. Casson, Lionel. Ancient Egypt. New York: Time Incorporated, 1965. Editors of Time-Life Books. Egypt: Land of the Pharaohs. Alexandria: Time-Life Books, 1992. El Mahdy, Christine. Mummies: Myth and Magic. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc., 1989. Montet, Pierre. Eternal Egypt. New York: The New American Library of World Literature, Inc., 1964. Peck, William H. Splendors of Ancient Egypt. Ann Arbor: University Lithoprinters, Inc.,1997.

Demand and Supply of Housing in Australia

Economic Policy Problem: Demand and Supply The demand and supply of Housing and the Housing affordability in Australia I. Introduction Like all other economies The Australian economy has been affected by the global financial crisis which is now a global economic crisis due the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other financial institutions in US. The consequences of the global economic crisis has been severe and as a result of this the world is in Recession therefore many economies has pushed the budget into a deficit launching economic package trying to boost their economies.Because the housing market and the housing industry is one of the most important sector of the economy this report aim to analyse how the global financial crisis has affected the demand and supply of housing in Australia also what are the condition of housing affordability and how the Government through the stimulus package tend to intervene the economy.After this report we will be able to understand the movement a nd the reason for a movement into the demand and supply curve for housing in Australia you will be able also to identify if the Government economic policy is going for the correct pathway or if this temporary measure will not bring certainty and confident to the economy. It is very clear that at least the Rudd’s Government is addressing the problem anticipating future scenarios and acting to correct this scenarios exploiting and taking advantage of the relative good shape of the Australian economy in this moment in comparison with another countries.II. Australian Economy Like all other economies the Australian economy was very much affected by the global economic crisis and the recession around the world therefore the financial institutions started to feel the pressure and the stress of the situation but the Australian Government put in place measures to guarantee the debts of banks. Apart of that the Australian economy was affected by the collapse of commodity prices this br ought real losses of income to the economy which put to business in a position to review their investment plan in the future.At the same time households have become more cautious about expenditure due the increase of the unemployment rates and they start to increasing savings. Because the panic caused and the lack of consuming the RBA responded lowering of interest rates reducing from 7 ? per cent to 3 ? per cent, this reduction have fully passed to the borrowers therefore interest rates on housing loans have fallen as well as interest in consumer and business loan, this rate are at historically low levels.This has produced an increase in loan demand; other factor that increased the demand of loans apart of the lowest interest rate around 5 ? per cent is the program first home owner grant which has attracted new buyers into the market. On top of that the stimulus package is an initiative of the government to support spending but this measure cost that last financial year there was f iscal surplus of 1 ? per cent of the GPD even so Australia will remain as one of the better performing economies around the world.One of the reason of the reduction in wealth over the past year is that people which income have grown over the year overestimated the returns of the share market, people did not set up realistic expectations about their financial goals and now they have to increase the proportion of income working additional year or many of them returning to the workforce to compensated the losses of the share market due the global financial crisis, people did not took in count that share market produce negative returns every few years therefore they should have included this into the returns expectations.Although the large fall in wealth the households sector still is in a relative good position because people is maintaining a good balance between assets and liability and even when the hose market was subdued during 2008 and the prices has fallen by 3 per cent, the Aust ralian overall the housing market has held up pretty well in comparison with another countries like US or UK where price has fallen by 20 per cent. An update on the economy and financial Developments (Battellino, 2009) III. Supply and DemandThe relatively high level of housing price in Australia is a reflection of a collective decisions of households, this is not the result of a external forces they are at their income, preferences, access to finance have been willing to pay those prices. But this is not the only reason the supply – side factors also influenced in the fact of high price like the ability to built new housing on the city fringe, factor affecting the ability to increase supply closer to the city, transport infrastructure and community affect the feasibility and desirability of living in a different place.One of the good indicators of some of the supply issue is the cost of raw land. Prices still are high on the edges of Sydney but lowest on Melbourne and Adelaid e therefore will very important to see if it is possible to reduce these prices or at least try to keep a lid on increase over the years because the housing affordability over the medium term will be the result of the ability to expand the supply of housing.Home building has recently been at low levels and this is because in a showing or uncertainty situation economy builder does not want to take higher risk than usual and also recent weakness in building approvals are affecting the supply curve and when there is a lack of supply and increase in demand the prices will go upwards. Conditions and Prospects in the Housing Sector (Richards, 2009)Looking beyond that the fall in interest rate and improvements in housing affordability should contribute to growth this has not happened but economist are expecting that occurred during this year and gradually boost home-building. Another factor that can contribute the building approval for building activities and therefore increase the supply of housing is the increase of number of first – home buyer demand there has been an important increase in loans approval in recent months.Is also very important understand that for many economist in this moment there is undersupply in the housing market even though we do not know exactly how large the undersupply it is but this should support also home-building. According with the current population rates, the decline in average household and level of demand for second house had been maintained most calculation now put â€Å"underlying demand† around 180. 000 to 200. 000 per year that means we need to increase the number of new house built than has actually occurred.However, we can ignore the impact of prices on the demand for housing remember over the years the cost of housing has grown faster than incomes and the cost of goods and services as a consequence of that the demand for housing will be affected by the higher cost of housing therefore we can expect that the d emand decline because many young adult will choose to live with their parents for longer, many other would prefer extra flatmate rather than having a bedroom vacant and another owner of holidays homes very likely to sell them so perhaps this is the reason that we have built fewer homes in recent years than might have been expected.But the undersupply of housing is a story of never ending because there is an Intelligent Housing Research Group â€Å"Hometrack† stated that the calculation of the RBA are based in accurate data according with them Australia may already have an excess of housing according with their estimation there are at least 10 millions dwellings in Australia compared with the 8. 3 millions of ABS data showing occupied dwellings of 8. millions, the extra two millions are housing awaiting to be sale or development, second homes and abandoned homes. Therefore they say that the ABS Method for calculation the ratio of people per dwelling per dwelling is based on AB S census data which is based upon occupied dwelling however Hometrack analysis is based on postal address indicates that Australia’s current level of housing relative to its population is in line with other Anglo economies.Following this looking at the context of population growth Australia total building approvals have running about the demand, for that reason the concern is that business and government decision in regards of housing market are being made based on demand assumptions that vary from the actual behaviour of the housing market. But how can we know who is telling the true well according with statistics during 1985-2009 an average of 1 residential dwelling was built per 1. 75 new Australian and only in the last 3 months has the rate of new building fallen behind population growth.This is in excess of the current ABS ratio of 2. 55 person per occupied therefore far from having and undersupply of housing Australia may well have substantial oversupply, it’s ju st that no-one is living in many of them. Is very likely cause of this large stock of unoccupied homes is Australia system of negative gearing. Most investor prefer build houses but avoid the renting-damage property having to manage tenant therefore they built it for capital gains because is better to keep the hose out of the rental market and claim the loss against tax.In order to defend the dominant view that Australian house price are justified by supply and demand, Anthony Richards (Economist) observed that the relative high level of housing price in Australia is a reflection of demand and the collective decision of households therefore housing price have not been set by external forces they are at this level because buyers in general have been willing to pay the prices. This is a fairly typical piece of neoclassical economic thinking â€Å"Prices reflect the interaction of supply and demand and are therefore justified†.Economist who apply a standard â€Å"Supply and dem and† mindset to analysing the property market seem to consider that demand can shift â€Å"Left and right† as the number of buyers falls and rises with time; but they seem to ignore that the demand curve can shift up and down as well. Is response to the willingness of lenders to increase or decrease their loan to valuation ratios and if there is a substantial fall in LVR to new buyers could reduce the price that would be buyers can offer even in shortage of properties.Price S D3 D2 D1 Quantity of Supply, Demand Increase of demand due to: †¢ Population Growth †¢ Low interest Rates †¢ Booming economy with rising wages †¢ Governments Policies like Cuts to capital gains taxes Lies, damned lies, and Housing statistics (Keen, 2009) Bentick, Teresita, (2003) Microeconomics Study guide (4th Ed). Australia: Pearson Educations Australia. Frank, Robert, Bernanke Ben, (2001) Principles of Microeconomics (1st Ed).New York, USA: McGraw Hill Higher Education IV. Ho using Affordability. Housing affordability can be divided in two: people need where to live whether they buy or rent therefore we need to include rents as well as mortgage to measure housing affordability, the second part is people who are looking to get into the housing market and people who already are already there. Housing affordability is consider as spending up to 30% a household’s income on mortgage repayments or rent.In the past two decades the prices of the housing has risen matched by a decrease in housing affordability this mean that a household now need 34. 8% of their income to meet an average loan repayment. According with a report released entitled â€Å"Anatomy of Australian Mortgage Stress† released by fujitsu consulting in April found that the main cause of mortgage stress is the interest rate rises and rents have risen slower than mortgage repayments pushing people out the house market and into the rental market, this mean that rents too are on the r ise.According with report released by The Real State Institute of Australia REIA on April 22th 2009 â€Å"An opportune time for renters to buy† the ABS released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showing that housing components increased 0,9% for the quarter bringing the annual increase to 5. 5%. The majority of this increase in the housing components was driven by rents which increased by 1. 7% over the quarter and 8. 4% over the year, this ncrease in rents reflects record low vacancy rates and the unavailability of rental properties in all capital cities. Building approvals and housing finance for investment purposes continue decrease during the March quarter 2009 and is very likely to put further upwards pressure on rents. Australia will need to build significantly more house than has occurred recently to meet rental demand. Housing affordability has improved significantly since the reserve bank began cutting interest rates in September 2008.With the availability of the first home owners boost (FHOB), lower interest rate, greater affordability and vacancy rates remaining in a low record now would be an opportune time for these in the rental market to consider the purchase of their own home. Real Estate institute of Australia (2009, April 22). Ann opportune time for renters to buy. Retrieved April 28, 2009, from http://www. reia. com. au/media/documents/REIA_MediaRelease_AnOpportuneTimeforRenterstoBuy. pdf Housing costs and Affordability in Australia (Thrift, 2008) ConclusionIs very clear that the housing sector in Australia is showing signs of improvements due the increase in households cash flows as a result of the of the important role of the Government and the RBA in the downturn of the economy decreasing the interest rates and providing policies that improve housing affordability for people to repay the loans but in order to tackle this important problem is very important that the government does not exclude anyone from the spectrum like young people also is very important that the Reserve Bank of Australia as a Central bank play an important role n this matter acting more like an honest broker developing real strong statistic about the housing market that helps in a future time to provide valuable resources, accurate data and support important decisions about the supply and demand of housing market instead of take part of this problem assuming neoclassical position taking in consideration on side of the problem and ignoring the other.REFERENCE LIST ? Bentick, T. (2003). Microeconomics Study Guide. Pearson education Australia, Australia: Pearson Education Australia Frank, R. , Bernanke B. (2001) Principles of microeconomics. Mc graw Hill, New York: Gary Burke ? Thrift Rhea, (2008) Housing and Affordability in Australia . Retrieved April 27, 2009, from http://www. rba. gov. au/EconomicsCompetition/2008/Pdf/2008_first_year. pdf ? Real Estate institute of Australia, (2009, April 22). Ann opportune time for renters to buy. Retrieve d April 28, 2009, from http://www. reia. com. au/media/documents/REIA_MediaRelease_AnOpportuneTimeforRenterstoBuy. pdf ? Battellino, Ric. 2009, March 31). An Update on the Economy and Financial Developments. Retrieved April 27, 2009, from http://www. rba. gov. au/Speeches/2009/sp_dg_310309. html ? Richards, A. (2009, March 26). Conditions and Prospects in the Housing Sector. Retrieved April 27, 2009, from http://www. rba. gov. au/Speeches/2009/sp_dg_310309. html ? Keen, S. (2009, April 08). Lies, damned lies, and housing statistics. Retrieved April 27, 2009, from http://www. businessspectator. com. au/bs. nsf/Article/Lies-damned-lies-and-housi

Political Inquiry Terms and Definitions

Research Design * Good research, bad research * Involves connecting theory and data. * Maximising leverage by using very few variables to explain many effects. * Reports on the degree of certainty of results. * Shows true causal relationship, not just correlation. * Provides accurate data and accounts for other variables. * Determines if the relationship is unidirectional. * Purpose of research * To establish a relationship between two or more variables * To demonstrate that the results are generally true in the real world and not in just a particular context. To reveal whether one phenomenon precedes another in time, establish time order * To eliminate as many alternative explanations for the observed finding as possible * Choice of design * What affects * Is research exploratory, descriptive or explanatory * What are the practical limitations in investigating hypothesis. * Experimental design: * Classical experimental design, 2 groups, pre and post test, randomisation, * Simple pos t test: only post test * Repeated measure design, measure how long effect takes to start. Multiple pre and post tests. Multigroup design, more than 2 groups, can compare different levels of experimental variable. * Randomised Field experiments, applies logic of randomisation and variable manipulation * Non-randomised quasi-experiments. Purposeful selection, target a certain group. * Non-experimental design: single group, no control over assignment and application of IV, inability to measure DV. * Case study: small N designs. Provide detailed explanation * Comparative analysis: compare two or several units in relative detail * Focus group: gather information about reaction to certain IV. Surveys: large number of people measured to find causal relationships. * Aggregate data analysis: variables are averages or percentages of geographical areas, find causal relationships. * Longitudinal designs, time span. * Trend analysis: measurement on same variables at different time periods to exa mine changes. * Panel analysis: follows a group of participants. * Intervention analysis: measurement of change in the DV is observed and taken before and after. No interaction, mere observation. * Ethnographies: form of data collection through participant observation, interviews and questionnaires.Field studies * Content analysis: textual analysis, study of recordings, written. * What they have in common * They all share the basic objectives of research design despite having different levels of internal and external validity. Using several designs together will cover each other’s shortfall. * They all attempt to draw sound conclusions supported by observable evidence * Terms * Causal vs spurious * Both show correlation between IV and DV, but in spurious the change in DV because 3rd factor caused changed in both. Causal is a direct relationship. 5 different relationships. Multiple causes without chain.Multiple causes with chain. Multiple causes that affect DV, but are changed with the introduction of another variable. Spurious causality with antecedent variable. Chain causality with intervening variable. * Covariation * Demonstrates that the IV does in fact covary with DV. Not causal relationship yet. * Time order * Show that the IV precedes DV. Effect cannot appear before cause. * Alternative causes * Confounding factors. Factors that possible cause a change in DV as well. * Randomised controlled experiments * Experiments that allow the researcher to control the exposure to the IV through assignments to groups.Selection and grouping all randomised. * Experimental design * The way in which the researcher controls exposure to test IV. 5 different designs. * Control group * The group of subjects that does not receive experimental treatment or test stimulus. * Pre-test * Measurement of the DV prior to administration of IV or experimental treatment. * Post test * Measurement of the DV after administration. * Internal vs external validity * Internal validity is the ability to show that manipulation or variation of the IV actually causes change in DV. * External validity is the ability to generalise from one set of research findings to other situations. History * A threat to internal validity. Events other than the experimental stimulus that occur between pretest and posttest measurements. * Along with maturation * Testing * When measuring the DV prior to the stimulus alerts the subjects of the research objectives. * Selection bias * Bias due to the assignment of subjects to experimental and control groups according to some criterion and not randomly. A threat to internal validity. * Experimental mortality * A differential loss of subjects from experimental and control groups that affects the equivalency of groups; threat to internal validity * Instrument decay A change in the instrument used to measure the DV, like different researcher conducting pretest and posttest. * Demand characteristics * Aspects of the research situation that ca use participants to guess at the investigators goals and adjust their behaviour or opinions accordingly. Trying to â€Å"help†. * Simple post test * Similar to classical. Experimental group exposed but control not, only post test is conducted. * Repeated measure design * Contains several pre and post test measurements to know exactly how quickly the effect of the independent variable should be observed or how reliable pretest measurement of DV should be taken. Multi-group design * There are more than one experimental r control group created so different levels of the IV can be compared. Can involve both pre and post test or just one. * Field experiments * They are experimental designs that are applied in a natural setting. Adopts logic of randomisation and variable manipulation. * Non-experimental design * They are designs that do not follow the experimental model of two groups and have controlled exposure to IV. They are more practical to do but are not as strong in terms of establishing causal relationships. * Case study * Comprehensive and in depth study of a single case or several cases.Provide detailed explanations * Comparative analysis * Comparing between two or several units in relative detail * Focus group * Often use to observe reactions to the introduction of the IV. Has a group of people who meet at a single location * Surveys * Measurement of DV and IV at the same time. Respondents report their exposure to various factors. No assignment to groups, examines groups basd on values of IV, measurement of DV to see differences between groups. * Aggregate data analysis * Variables that are displayed as averages or percentages, to find causality. Trend analysis and longitudinal design * Measurements on same variables at different time periods to see the changes caused by the IV on the DV. No manipulation of variables. Multiple measurements. * Panel study * A study that follows a group of participants where the same units are measured at different t imes. * Panel mortality * Refers to the participants in the panel study who drop out. Rate? * Intervention analysis. * Looks at the occurrence of the IV as an observation. Looking at the DV before and after IV. Works best when IV happens in a brief period in time and brief in nature.Measure only before and after event. Literature Review * Purpose of Literature review, 7 * To see what has and has not been investigated * To develop general explanations for observed variations in a behaviour or a phenomenon * To identify potential relationships between concepts and to identify researchable hypothesis * To learn how others have defined and measured key concepts * To identify data sources that other researches have used * To develop alternative research designs * To discover how a research project is related to the work of others. * What constitutes a literature review It is made of different relevant articles that provide more insight into topic * It should help arrive at a good researc h topic * It should show what has and has not been researched * It provides a general explanation for variations in behaviour or phenomenon * It identifies researchable topics * It should help develop alternative research designs * Best methods for collecting literature * Using electronic databases like JSTOR, Web of Science and Google Scholar. * Searching by topic and key words, slowly limiting results, read the articles and find new words to narrow down the search. Searching by starting with a single article. Use data base to find more relevant articles or other articles written by the same author. Use the citations in that first article. Find articles that have cited the first article. * Best ways to write a literature review * It should rely on scholarly sources * It must relate directly to topic * Have to become familiar with as much of the research before selecting the final sources. * Summarising of relevant literature that focuses on over-arching topics rather than single ar ticles. * Compiling all articles into something that makes sense. * Organising the topics ased upon the research question. * Identifying common themes or methodologies across the articles. * Discussion of conventional wisdom, illustrating how current politics has changed and identifying the flaws in past research. Sampling * Terms * Population * all case or observations covered by a hypothesis, all the units of analysis to which a hypothesis applies. * Sample * A subset of observations or cases drawn from a specified population. * Sample statistics * The estimator of a population characteristics or attribute that is calculated from sample data * Advantages and disadvantages of samples Advantages * It is cheaper and less time consuming as compared to using population * More convenient. * Disadvantages * They can be less accurate or more prone to error * Some studies do not use sampling, like case studies. * Population parameter * A characteristic or attribute of a population that can be quantified. * Estimator * A statistic based on sample observations that is used to estimate the numerical value of an unknown population parameter. * Element * A particular case or entity about which information is collected, the unit of analysis. When to use a sample * Practicality. When data from an extremely large population is required, it is impossible to interview or approach each and every subject. Thus sampling is require because although the sample statistics will not exactly equal the corresponding values, they will be reasonably close if sampling is done correctly. * Sampling frame * The particular population in which the sample is actually drawn from. * Random digit dial: purpose of and how and why it works * It is a procedure used to improve the representativeness of telephone amples by giving both listed and unlisted numbers a chance of selection. * It is used to overcome the problem of cell phone numbers which are unlisted * It works by randomly dialling numbers. * It works because it gives all numbers, whether listed or not a chance to get dialled. * Sampling unit * The entity listed in a sampling frame. Maybe same as an element or group. * Sample bias * The bias that occurs whenever some elements of a population are systematically excluded from a sample. It is usually due to an incomplete sampling frame or a non-probability method of selecting elements. Probability sample: types, pros and cons * Sample for which each element has a known probability of being included in the sample * Types: * Simple random samples: each element has an equal chance of being selected. * Pros: each element has an equal chance of being selected. * Cons * It is not truly random, small patterns of selection might appear. * Obtaining a list of the entire population is not possible, reducing the probability. * Systemic samples: elements are selected from a list at predetermined intervals * Pros It is easier to apply than simple random. * Useful when dealing with a v ery large population size. * Cons * May result in biased sampling: if elements on the list have been ranked according to a characteristic. The list contains a pattern that corresponds to the sampling interval. * Stratified samples: elements sharing one or more characteristics are grouped and elements are selected from each group in proportion to the group’s representation in the total population * Pros * Homogeneous populations, smaller sample seize is needed to achieve accuracy. * Cons Heterogeneous populations need a much larger sample to be accurate. * Proportionate samples: stratified samples where each stratum is represented in proportion to its size in the population. * Pros * Very representative of the population * Cons * Not good with heterogeneous populations * Disproportionate samples: stratified samples in which elements sharing a characteristic are under-represented or over-represented. * Pros * When the sample size is too small, can be used to increase it easily. * Cons * May not be representative of the population if weight factor is not used. Cluster samples: the sampling frame initially consists of clusters of elements * Pros * Used when no list of elements exists and to create one would be too expensive. * Reduces field work costs * Cons * There is greater imprecision. Samples are not representative of population. * Non-probability samples: types, pros and cons * Each element has an unknown probability of being included in the sample * Types * Purposive samples: when a researcher exercises considerable discretion over what observations to study. * Pros * Can learn more from carefully selected unusual cases. Cons * Not accurately representative of population. * Convenience sample: elements are included because they are convenient and easy for the research to select * Pros * Convenience * Large numbers easy to get * Cons * Unknown accuracy * Quota sample: elements are sampled in proportioned to their representation in the population. * Pr os * Similar to proportionate sampling, but subjects chosen purposefully. * Cons * Selection bias * Snowball sample: respondents are used to identify other persons who might qualify for inclusion into the sample * Pros Good for relatively selective and rare populations * Relationship between samples and statistical inferences * Statistical inferences is the mathematical theory and techniques for making conjunctures about the unknown characteristics of the population based on samples. Making inferences about a population. * Trying to define more clearly what supportable means * Samples provide an estimate of population attributes and may be off from the true population parameter. The difference is the level of precision lost. * 3 types of errors in inference Expected values or sampling error * Expected value is the average value of a sample statistic based on repeated samples of the population. * Sampling error is the difference between a sample estimate and a corresponding populatio n parameter that arises because only a portion of the population is observed * Standard errors * The standard deviation or measure of a variability or dispersion of a sampling distribution * Provides a numerical indication of the variation in sample estimates * Sampling distributions. A theoretical non-observed distribution of sample statistics calculated on samples on size N that, if known, permits the calculation of confidence intervals and the test of statistical hypothesis * Describes the mean, variation and shape of the distribution that is based on an independently and randomly drawn population. * It allows researchers to calculate the probability that sample statistics fall within certain distances of the population parameter. * Sampling error * the difference between a sample estimate and a corresponding population parameter that arises because only a portion of the population is observed * Standard error The standard deviation or measure of a variability or dispersion of a sampling distribution * Provides a numerical indication of the variation in sample estimates * Confidence * How much error this is in a sample. The degree of belief or probability that an estimate range of values includes or covers population parameter. * Sample distribution * Describes the mean, variation and shape of the distribution that is based on an independently and randomly drawn population. * Sample size. * 100 (11% +/-) * 600 (5% +/-) * 1000 (4% +/-) * 1500 (3% +/-) 4000 (2% +/-) Observations * Terms * Quantitative vs qualitative data * Quantitative data involves a large amount of data and its involves numeric manipulation * Qualitative data involves small number of cases, more in depth and it relies on quotations, comments, anecdotes and other written evidence to support arguments * Both seek to explain trends or patterns through systematically collected data. * Data collection, how do we choose the best way, characteristics of * How to choose the best way * Depends on th e question * Depends on the sample Depends on which constitutes the best measures, validity of the measurements that a particular method will allow. * Depends on cost and availability, some are more observable than others, some less expensive. * Depends on the reactivity to the collection by the population. * Consider ethical implications. * Characteristics * Primary and secondary data * IRB, what role it plays and the significance of it * Institutional review board, a must for any test involving human subjects. * It is guided by 3 principles: respect for persons, beneficence and justice. The role it plays s to ensure that all research conducted will not harm any individuals, recognise that they are autonomous and there is distribution of benefits to participants. To ensure that no ethical boundaries are crossed. * Its significance is that it has removed all unethical research to be done, but this limits the way data is collected. Thus researchers must consider the benefits vs the b urden of the research. * Observation, types and pros and cons: basic distinction is direct and indirect. * Direct * Allows researchers to view things in natural setting more often than laboratory. Field study or ethnography. Observation in lab gives more control over environment ‘ * Pros * Natural settings allow people to act normally, increases validity * Researchers can observe for longer periods of time * Lab can give more control. * Cons * Lab can also mean that subjects know they are being observed and thus alter behaviour, low validity * Natural setting cannot control external effects and variables. * Indirect * Observation of physical traces of behaviour, essentially detective work. Inferences are made based on physical traces * Two types of measures * Erosion Created by selective wear on some material. Looking at what has been eroded or removed, looking at what is left. * Accretion * Measures a phenomenon a manifested through the deposition and accumulation of material s. Seeing what has built up. * Pros * It raises less ethical issues than direct * Some materials or traces of them are more/less durable than other, making them more/less easy to measure, depending on the method. * Less obtrusive, much cheaper than alternatives * Cons * There are many threats to validity, prone to measurement problems * Can be difficult to make strong inferences * Participant Most field studies involve this, proverbial fly on the wall. Observing people for long periods of time. Assume a role or identity within the group. * Pros * Gain deep access into the group through informants * Natural setting * Observe for long periods so changes in behaviour can be studied * Has a degree of accuracy and completeness that other methods cannot provide. * Cons * It is not viable for every question, some things are just unobservable, like voting * Lack of control over the environment, inability to isolate factors * May be invalid or biased, going native.Becoming part of the enviro nment, perceived biased. * Difficulties with replication of study * Non participant * Same as direct. * Overt * Participants are aware of the investigators presence and intentions * Covert * Investigators presence is hidden or undisclosed. * Structured * Investigator looks for and systematically records the incidence of specific behaviours * Unstructured * All behaviour is considered relevant, at least at first, and recorded. * Ethical issues and how to avoid * Negative repercussions from associating with researcher because of the researcher’s sponsors, nationality or outsider status. Invasion of privacy * Stress during research interaction * Disclosure of behaviour or information to the researcher resulting in harm to the observed during or after the study. * How to avoid: ethical proofreading * Assume everything and all identities will be discovered * Look at actual words in manuscript * When describing potentially unflattering things go from general to specific * Be genera l about community at hand * Realise that data and research will be used again * Know what perspective and attitude is towards subject * Caution subjects multiple times Know study limitations and agreement are in advance * Have other people edit sensitive portions. Document analysis * Types of records, pros and cons of utilization * Two types of records * Running: produced by organisations rather than private citizens, carefully stored and easily accessed and is available for long periods of time. * Pros * Low cost in terms of money and time. * Accessibility * Covers more extensive period in time. * Extensive amounts of records * Many records are digitalised * Cons * At the mercy of those who keep the records, may or may not be biased. Questions on recording keeping practices, may not be kept properly. * Episodic: records that are produced and preserved in a more casual, personal and accidental manner. Diaries and memoirs. Important to political historians. * Pros * Used to illuminat e phenomena rather than generate large sample * Provides different perspectives on certain phenomena. * Use qualitatively. * Cons * Gaining access to episodic records can be difficult, locating suitable materials is the most time consuming aspect of data collection * Many are not digitalised. Content analysis, procedures, pros and cons, intercoder reliability * Refers to the use of excerpts, quotes, and examples from recorded documents to support and observation. * Can be both qualitative and quantitative in nature. * Procedures * Decide on appropriate sample, what materials to include in the analysis. * Define the recording or coding units, decide what is actually going to be measured. * Choose categories of content that are going to be measured, deciding the recording unit. How to measure what you want. Code words? Devise a system of enumeration for the content being coded, a numeric system based on what is being coded. Code for number of times X appears. * Pros * Gives researcher s access to subjects that would otherwise be difficult to attain. * Raw data are usually nonreactive, no undesired influences on behaviour. * Written records like newspapers have existed over long periods in time * They can be easily attained * It often enables us to increase sample size above what would be possible though either interviews or direct observation . * The cost of keeping records are borne by the keepers, it is low cost for those using them. Cons * Selective survival, record keepers may not preserve all pertinent materials, only selectively. Gaps may exist * Incompleteness. Gaps may exist due to fires losses of other types * Content may be biased. May be incomplete, selectively preserved, inaccurate or falsified * Unavailable to researchers because they are classified. * They lack a standard format because it is kept by different people. * Intercoder reliability * Refers to when two or more coders, using the same procedures, agree on how the content is analysed.The mor e times the coders make the same conclusions the same way, the more claims can be made. * Written records, pros and cons * Pros * Can be used when other means like direct observation or interviews are not possible. * Able to use for large scale collective behaviour, cannot possibly interview all. * Raises fewer ethical issues than observation or interviewing. * No risk to individuals as long as they are not identified in records. * Cheaper than other forms. * Not affected by time or history, what is recorded cannot be changed. * Cons * Gaining access may be difficult, classified Records not kept properly, or purposefully changed Survey research and interviews * definition and difference * surveys are a method of data collection that acts as an alternative to experiments or simulations. * Instead of manipulating an independent variable to view its effects, survey design examines the relationship between variables, better at establishing correlation rather than causation. * Types of s urveys, pros and cons, * Personal, face to face * High cost * High to medium completion rate * Potentially high sample congruence * Long to medium length * High data processing cost * Telephone Medium cost * Medium completion rate * Medium sample congruence * Medium to short length * High to low data processing cost * Mail * Low cost * Low completion rate * Medium sample congruence * Medium to short length * Medium data processing costs * Email * Low cost * Depends but low completion rate * Low sample congruence * Medium to short length * High to low data processing costs * Internet * Low costs * Depends but low completion rate * Low sample congruence * Medium to short length * High to low data processing costs * Group administration * Very low costs * High once group is convened completion rate Depends on group selection process, sample congruence * Variable length * High to low data processing costs * Drop off/pick up. * Very low costs * Low completion rate * Low sample congruence * Short length * Low data processing costs. * Completion and response rates, significance of * Refers to the proportion of persons initially contacted who actually participate. * When the proportion of the persons contacted who actually participate is too low, the ability to make statistical inferences about the population is limited * Too little responses, cannot make inferences. * Cost * Time and money. Have to balance between costs and completion rate. * Data processing * Answers of the surveys still have to be tabulated. All data need to be coded in a way that a computer can process them. * Problem with open ended questions. Have to be transcribed and coded. * A major reason for adopting internet and telephone surveys. * Sample-population congruence * Refers to how well the sample subjects represent the population from which they are drawn * Biases can enter through the initial selection of respondents or through incomplete responses. * The closer the congruence, the more repre sentative the sample, higher validity. Length * Too long and respondents lose interest or start answering without care, get distracted. * Too short and not enough data is collected. * Well motivated participants can help with the problem. * Response quality * Cannot take the responses at face value. * Participants may not have the same interests or familiarity with certain topics. * People may be reluctant to express their opinions to strangers. * Busy people won’t answer truthfully. * Interview bias * Occurs when the interviewer influences the respondent’s answers, may have a larger effect on telephone surveys than in person surveys. Question types and wording, what to be careful for and why, pros and cons * Close-ended questions * Pros * Easier for people to answer and takes little time * Easier to sort and tabulate data * Sensitive issues are better paired with close ended questions * Cons * Force respondents to choose from a list they may not agree with * Single si ded and double sided questions that can affect responses * Single side, agree or disagree with a statement * Two sided, gives two alternative statements to choose. Problems of recall versus recognition, can prompt answers that would have otherwise been blank. People don’t know the answer but recall when seeing the choice. * Oversimplified and distorted picture of public opinion * Open-ended questions * Pros * Allows respondents to state what they know and think. * Good for situations where likely answers are not known. * Cons * Respondents may respond too much or too little. * Problem with recording answers, tedious and difficult to code, interpretations vary as well. * Processing data is time consuming. * Wording Wording is important, question clarity is vital to get valid responses. Objectivity and clarity * Avoid * Double barrelled questions * Two questions in one. Sometimes participants might not agree with first question but is made to in order to answer the second. * Am biguous questions * One that contains a concept that is not defined clearly. * Participants may interpret the question wrongly. * Leading questions * Reactive question. Encourages respondents to choose a particular response because the question indicates that the researcher expects it. * Giving what the researcher wants, validity is off. Push polls. * Question order and effects * The order in which questions are presented may influence the reliability and validity of answers. Participants any answer differently or stop when they see certain questions. Can solve response set. * Branching questions * A question what sorts respondents into subgroups and directs them into different parts of the questionnaire * Filter questions * A question that screens respondents from inappropriate questions. * Response set * Straight line responding. * May occur when a series of questions have the same answer choices.Check the first few, then blindly check the rest. * Archives surveys, pros and cons * Existing surveys that have been designed in the past and are readily available to use. * Pros * Very cheap, for those with no access to funding. * Less time is spent designing the surveys. * More reliable and higher quality, widely used thus more reliable. * Well written questions. * Cons * The questions are not what you want. * Interviews, definition, pros and cons. * Interviewing is the act of asking individuals a series of questions and recording their responses.May be face to face or over the phone. * Pros * Sometimes asking questions is the only way * Elites can provide valuable information, but only through interviews. Focused interviews. * Can provide more comprehensive and detailed information, rich variety of perspectives. * Excellent form of data collection in exploratory studies. * Cons * Can be difficult to administer * Have to take into account non-verbal cues and be willing to go off topic * Detailed note taking * face to face, strong necessity for interpersonal skill s.