Inequality Between Men And Women - 3322 Words

For generations, women and men have been held to different standards when it came to the work force and in recent years, the United States has began to see a breakthrough with these barriers starting to diminish. However, pay inequality still remains prevalent. Men and women working the same jobs are not receiving the same wages and that doesn’t make sense to majority of society. As of 2013, women are only making about 78% of what men make (Hill, 2015) and into 2015 we’re still hovering around the same number. Many are confused as to why there is pay inequality between men and women in the same occupations and that’s why the question trying to be answered here is: what are the causes of gender pay inequality among the workforce in the United States and have they changed over time? Many scholars and people in society might think it hasn’t changed much, but starting with a brief history of US women in the workforce, we will see that there are very obvious up ward trends even if a gap still does exist. As of 2012, women make up 52% of the labor force (Women in the Labor Force: A Databook, 2), which is a massive improvement from about 100 years ago. Starting in the late 1800s, single, young women made up majority of females in the workforce and the opposite held true for married women (Goldin, 4). The typically young and single women that made up the workforce didn’t have college degrees and the jobs they were employed in (laundresses/cleaners) did not give them a lot ofShow MoreRelatedInequality Between Men And Women1315 Words   |  6 Pages Inequality between Men and Women Trisha Stafford American Public University System Mrs. Decter Table of Contents Introduction 3 Defining â€Å"Social Problem† 3 Explaining Sociological Viewpoint 3 Chosen Social Problem Introduction 3 Thesis 3 Defining Sexism 3 Why is it a social problem? 3-4 Statistics 4 Identifying and Defining Four Concepts Related to Sexism 4-5 How is this problem being addressed? 5 Conclusion 6 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Read MoreInequality Between Men And Women1705 Words   |  7 Pages For generations, women and men have been held to different standards when it came to the work force and in recent years, the United States has began to see a breakthrough with these barriers starting to diminish. However, pay inequality still remains prevalent. Men and women working the same jobs are not receiving the same wages and that doesn’t make sense to majority of society. As of 2013, women are only making about 78% of what men make (Hill, 2015) and into 2015 we’re still hovering around theRead MoreThe Inequality B etween Men And Women1545 Words   |  7 Pagesspeech, the press, and religion. Even with these rights in the past the United States was still full of inequality, with African Americans and women not having the same rights as white men. After fighting for their rights these minority groups have gained many rights that our founding fathers probably never would predict they would have. Regardless of these rights gained there is still inequality in our country, even in the 21st century. The Constitution is made up of several amendments that have beenRead MoreThe Inequality Between Men And Women921 Words   |  4 Pages Throughout the history of mankind, women have not been in the workforce until recently. A woman s place has mainly been at the home, until only about sixty years ago. Women would take care of the children, cook, clean, care for the sick, and when needed, they would be extra labor around the farm. Women first started to work in large numbers during the industrial revolu tion, mainly in the textile industry. Since then, most women have gone into the workforce. Today a family cannot survive on theRead MoreThe Inequality Between Men And Women1529 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout time, women have been treated differently than men. History teaches us that in the past, women could not own property, women could not vote and women were often denied the opportunity to work at paying jobs and were often expected to stay home to raise and care for their families. One would think that now in the year 2014, the inequality and inequity between men and women would be a thing of the past; something we would be learning about only in history. However, in today’s society, theRead MoreInequality Between Men And Women1472 Words   |  6 Pagestime there has been inequality between men and women. This can be traced back to the days when the men would and hunt and gather and the women would stay home and take on the homemaking such as taking care of the children, cooking, and cleaning the house. Until 1920 when women were finally allowed to vote, gender inequality was very apparent. More recently, gender inequality presents itself in the form of gender wage gaps. Although some argue women get paid the same wages as men, there are enormousRead MoreInequality Between Men And Women1765 Words   |  8 PagesInequalities between men and women are produced and reproduced in the family, the community, the market and the state. What is the role of mainstream social and economic institutions in tackling injustice and discrimination in society? Gender inequalities means the unequal treatment or perception of individual based on their gender (Wikipedia, 2010). It mainly comes up from the different gender based designed roles in a society. Gender inequality stems from distinction wether empirically groundedRead MoreThe Inequality Between Men And Women2479 Words   |  10 Pagestaking notice of the inequality between men and women that has taken place in organizations for multiple years in history. Women are facing many challenges with trying to be viewed as equals among their male counterparts, but these challenges are nothing that a woman will be able to change on her own. The question is why is it so hard for gender diversity to be incorporated into the work place, but not only that is how can it actually being to make a difference for all women employees in every organizationRead MoreThe Structural Inequality Between Men And Women875 Words   |  4 Pagesbe talking about the structural inequality between men and women in a work place. I will argue that women should be able to excel and reach the same high management position as a man. Over several years, many industries have made significant changes in their work environment to achieve equality between genders. When looking back on what seems to be a societal norm, wage discrimination has always been in favour of men. A main issue in the workplace is that women are often separated into job categoriesRead MoreGender Inequality Between Men And Women1094 Words   |  5 PagesWomen always have to face the gender equality, in any country. There will always be some problem regarding the topic gender inequality between men and women was socially constructed and has existed for only about 6000 years (page no.293). From thousand years ago, the society characterised by patriarchy. A system in which power is in the hands of men and many aspects of women’s life controlled by men. However, 20th century started to change everything and we saw lots of change even now. Society began

Research Paper Animal Experimentation - 2167 Words

Animal Experimentation i Should Animal Experimentation Be Abandon? Veronica Liang ESL 408C Marcia Rauch November 18, 2011 Animal Experimentation ii Research Paper Outline Title: Should Animal Experimentation be Abandon? I Introduction Thesis Statement: Animal testing is a debatable issue in modern society. Some people argue that animal testing should be kept due to medical benefits and research study conveniences. However, I think animal experimentation should be banned by refuting supporters’ arguments. II Body A. Opposing argument 1 Animal experimentations are conducted for human health. Rebuttal to this argument: Animal testing can cause serious problems regarding to human health. a. The results of†¦show more content†¦These actions seem to be reasonable. However, there are also plenty of problems of animal experimentation associated with human health are ignored by supporters. The results of animal testing are often inconclusive and cannot be accurately applied to human. â€Å"Many of the drugs approved through animal experimentation have proven dangerous to humans† (Thomas, 2008, para.3). The inner structure of human body is quite different from animals’. In fact, animal experimentation results cannot predict many common life threatening side effects of new products like drugs and cosmetics. Animal testing could be the reason that many so called â€Å"safety products† drugs which work perfectly on animals would cause so many dangerous side effects on human body. More seriously, it is possible for humans to suffer from allergic Animal Experimentation 3 reactions, some blood disorders, skin lesions and many central nervous system effects that cannot be demonstrated by animal models (Singer, 2006). Most medications are derived from one big contradiction: Our government demands that we test all medications on animals prior to continuing to human trials, and it admits that applying animal data to humans is a leap of faith. However, animal drug testing cannot guarantee all the medications would apply to humans. Still,Show MoreRelatedShould Animals Be Used For Scientific Experiments?1189 Words   |  5 Pagesjustifying the use of animals for scientific research to benefit man, to giving them the right to live life alongside man? This brings up the debate: should animals be used in scientific experiments (â€Å"†¦procedures performed on living animals for purposes of research into basic biology and diseases, assessing the effectiveness of..† Humane Society International)? This debate has been going on for centuries, and still very prevalent in today’s society. Especially with the rise of animal activist groups suchRead MoreAnimal Testing For The Sole Benefit Of H umans979 Words   |  4 Pagesbeen a debate regarding the use of animals in medical testing for the sole benefit of humans. Many people believe that testing on nonhuman animals solve the many issues that humans face, but most of the time animals are exploited and put through painful experimental processes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible alternatives to animal testing and the evaluate whether there is a reduction in animals being used for experiments. The author of this paper will examine four journal articlesRead MoreEssay about The Good, the Bad and Ugly of Animal Experimentation1197 Words   |  5 PagesStudent Name Exploratory Paper Professor English 26 March 2012 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Animal Experimentation Animal experimentation plays an important role in today’s medical and pharmaceutical advances, but many question the morality of such a use of animal life. Whether one argues that testing different products and drugs on animals is necessary or not, this has become an integral part of developing products. From that Tylenol we pop to get rid of our headache to that perfectRead MoreEssay about The Necessities of Animal Experimentation1273 Words   |  6 PagesThe Necessities of Animal Experimentation Throughout my paper, I felt as though I was able to give a solid and fair representation of the opposing viewpoint on issue of animal testing. However, it was challenging because I strongly oppose animal testing. The rhetorical analysis played a role in this, because I was required to use the various rhetorical appeals to compose a strong argument. Using the appeals definitely helped in trying to persuade the reader to acknowledge the opposingRead MoreAll Animals Are Equal Essay1744 Words   |  7 Pagesoccur each day on the issues of animal cruelty and human rights, but when the issues are put together which will reign over the other? The author Peter Singer of â€Å"All Animals are Equal† and â€Å"Tools for Research† presents his argument for determining when animal experiments are justified. The author starts his paper with a counter argument, questioning if one would be willing to let thousands of people die if those people could be saved by experimentation on a single animal. The answer is a unanimous no;Read MoreEssay about The Ethics and Limitations of Animal Research 1550 Words   |  7 Pages The moral status of animals is an issue of much debate in Science. According to The Royal Society, the oldest scientific academy nowadays, it would have been impossible for science and medicine to develop so without animal research (â€Å"The Use of Non-Human Animals in Research†, 2004). Nevertheless, do the human medical benefits really justify the animal suffering in animal research? If so, what should are the possible considerations and limitations related to the matter? It appears to be a challengeRead MoreThe Food And Drug Administration1142 Words   |  5 Pageslaws on animal experimentation need to be reviewed. This is a topic that has been given a lot of attention for the past decade. Everyday, hundreds of news articles are written arguing about whether or not animal experimentation should be stopped. Many of these articles reveal the pain and suffering animals being used for testing go through to the point of death. I strongly believe that the laws that allow these experiments to occur need to be regulated. I hope that by the end of this paper, you andRead MoreAnimal Experimentation Should Be Banned1426 Words   |  6 Pagesjudged by the way its animals are treated.† - Mahatma Gandhi. These famous words still ring true in today’s society as we struggle to overcome the scientific experimentation on animals. Animals have acted as the archstone of human civilization since the dawn of man, from a source of food, to companionship. However, in the past century, we have been blurring the line between environmental entitlement and environmental rape. Every member of the human race interacts and depends on animals, and we owe themRead MoreAnimal Experimentation And Animal Testing1261 Words   |  6 Pagesand against animal experimentation. The report begins with an introduction briefly outlining what animal experimentation refers to, introducing the three perspectives and highlighting the intention behind this investigation. The report then explores the positive and negative medical aspect of animal experimentation stating that it has resulted in vital vaccines benefitting both humans and animals, but also accepting it is not always reliable. The advantages and disadvantages of animal testing onRead MoreHello1309 Words   |  6 PagesMorality of Animal Testing in Cosmetic Companies Preface The ethical treatment of animal testing is a controversial topic in the field of zoology. Different aspects on animal testing range from positivity to negativity. Animals such as dogs and rats are used for experimental trials because they have been found to have psychological and genetic correlations that relate to humans. Although the benefits and improvements to modern medicine made it possible to ban animal experimentation completely,

Comparison Between Ipad and Galaxy Tab Free Essays

Maria Andrea Trujillo Villatoro A01321564 Homework COMPARISON BETWEEN IPAD 3 AND GALAXY TAB 2 Tablets are portable, slim, internet-connected computers. They are bigger than smart phones but operate in a similar way with touch screens and downloadable apps. They generally differ from laptops and net-books by having no built-in keyboard, and being thinner and lighter. We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison Between Ipad and Galaxy Tab or any similar topic only for you Order Now Tablets are primarily designed for interactive entertainment, whether that’s listening to music, watching movies, reading e-books, playing games or surfing the web. If we compare the iPad 3 and the Galaxy Tab 2, we can notice that the iPad 3 has a 4:3 aspect ratio Retina display while the Galaxy Tab has a widescreen display. The iPad 3 still retains the 9. 7-inch screen, but the pixels are the double now, reaching 1536 x 2048 pixels. The high amount of pixels gives a better visual experience, including sharper images and text. In addition, the 4:3 aspect ratio display works well in browsing the webpages compared to a widescreen display. You are able to view more content on the screen without scrolling the page down. Additionally, the iPad 3 has a better rated camera compared to the Galaxy, because the Ipad has 5 megapixels while the Galaxy has 3. 15-megapixels. Plus, it is equipped with a 2. 4 aperture lens that allows more light to hit the image sensor, resulting in clearer and sharper images. The camera is also capable of recording a 1080p full HD video which its competitor could not. The iPad 3 also offers LTE support in addition to the usual 3G and WiFi connectivity. Despite having a bigger battery capacity, Ipad is 11560 and Galaxy is 7000 mAh. The Ipad is still thinner than the Galaxy Tab 2 (10. 1). On the other hand, the Galaxy Tab 2 is great for watching movies with its widescreen display. Unlike the iPad 3, it has a microSD card slot that accepts cards up to 32GB. Each tablet is running on their respective operating system. The iPad 3 runs on iOS 5. 1 and the Galaxy Tab 2 runs on Android 4. 0. Both are equally powerful platforms, and it is subject to the individual’s preference to pick either one. Pricing-wise, expect the iPad 3 have a steeper price than the Galaxy Tab 2. The Galaxy Tab 2 (10. 1) is definitely a decent tablet for the price-conscious, but those who expect more from a tablet should go for the iPad 3. In conclusion I think that like all electronics, any tablet has pros and cons. Among the pros we can found that they are very portable, easy to handle, quickly to switch on, lots of apps to choose and more and the cons can be that they are quite expensive, some don’t have 3G connectivity and typing is not as easy as on a laptop, but now this devices have become very common among people. How to cite Comparison Between Ipad and Galaxy Tab, Essay examples

Justification for Upgrade of Trainer Position free essay sample

Mrs. Williams, As I mentioned in our last staff meeting, I will like to recap the importance of filling the position available here in my group as a matter of urgency. We have completed and posted the third quarter schedule with many essential classes not inclusive. Gloria is very much tied up with field and contract training leaving Mohammed alone to teach all the scheduled classes. I have had to go in to assist in teaching some classes and because most of our classes are 21/2 to 5 days – 8 hours in duration, I am unable to perform any other duties in the week I am stuck in the classroom. I know Mr. McCoy has a lot in his plate right now and my need frequent reminder of our critical situation here in training. Thanks for your support I forgot to mention in the earlier justification letter that we had courses that were approved by TCEQ which Billy Shea was the only instructor approved to teach. Those courses are Surface Water production I II and Customer service inspection. Our inability to hire an instructor with TCEQ qualifications have that can teach those course after Billy left has left us with no choice but to use outside vendors for these course. The average cost to the City is an average of $20,000 a year. We also plan to expand our program to include Water and Wastewater Technology, Advance Utility Calculation, Advance Water and Wastewater Laboratory and more. These courses are presently being offered only by outside vendors and cost the City about another average of $20,000 a year. This upgrade will enable us to hire an   in-house instructor that will be readily available for our employees and the instruction will be customized to suite our needs as opposed to the generic version offered by the vendors. With the vacancy created for a Trainer position at OSB training group, due to the resignation of Victor Burks, it is requested that the position be upgraded to a Senior Trainer for the reasons indicated below: Our training goal for this position is to employ a highly qualified training professional to undertake a variety of water/wastewater and collection systems training responsibilities. This individual will be responsible for curriculum developments, designing new courses, identifying areas requiring remedial training, request courses and program addition from TCEQ, submitting courses to TCEQ for approval in accordance with TCEQ RG-373 and teaching several certification and skill enhancement classes. The individual will also be very highly knowledgeable of TCEQ training requirements and possess the minimum qualifications and skills for instructors as required by TCEQ RG 373 publications. In addition to the requirements above, the individual must meet City of Houston minimum requirements for the position: a bachelor’s degree and 1 year classroom training experience. The pay grade level 17 that this position is currently publicized does not attract prospective candidates who have the qualifications and capable of meeting the goals and objectives stated above. In the past we have managed to hire candidates who partially meet these criteria with hope to boost their experience while on the job but that has not been very effective and tends to put at risk our training goals and objectives. TCEQ publication RG 373 require instructors to â€Å"have sufficient work experience, subject-matter expertise, and vocational instructional experience to enable them to communicate course information in a relevant, informed manner and to answer students questions†.. Also â€Å"Instructors of core courses must hold a valid license in the particular occupation they are teaching. For water and wastewater operator licensing, a Class A or B license is normally required to teach†. Candidates who meet this State qualification show no interest in applying for the position with a level 17 pay grade. Most operators with the stated minimum experience and certifications are presently at pay grade levels of 19 and above as a result they are not likely to apply for the a lower Pay grade level position. Hiring individuals that do not meet TCEQ minimum requirements to instructor also puts the City of Houston at risk for violation of training approval regulations and a possibility of denying or suspending of our operator certification training program as indicated by TCEQ RG 373 â€Å"In the event an instructor is determined unqualified to teach a course, the training provider will lose approval for the course if the instructor is allowed to continue teaching it†. Another important consideration is that organizations providing similar training and instructors of water utility certification programs from similar size cities are hired at pay grade levels greater than the City of Houston trainer position. As a result the position is also not attractive to external candidates. Prior to hiring Victor Burks, the position was posted three times because we were unable to get the candidate that meets the requirements to accomplish our training goals and objectives Many candidates with appropriate qualifications and requirements have expressed interest in the position but the major hindrance has been the pay grade level the position is posted. I am very confident that if the position is upgraded and posted as a senior trainer level 21, we will have no problem hiring candidates that meet both State and City of Houston minimum requirements and candidates who will be effective in meeting our training goals and objectives. Attached below is the publication abstract from TCEQ RG-373 that pertains to â€Å"Qualified Classroom instructor†. What Is a Qualified Classroom Instructor? Classroom instructors must have sufficient work experience, subject-matter expertise, and vocational instructional experience to enable them to communicate course information in a relevant, informed manner and to answer students questions. Instructors must have at least three years of hands-on work experience in the particular discipline or area of specialization of the course. For example, a classroom instructor meets this qualification for the course â€Å"Surface Water Production I† if the instructor worked in a Surface water system for a minimum of three years performing critical operating tasks. Instructors of core courses must hold a valid license in the particular occupation they are teaching. For water and wastewater operator licensing, a Class A or B license is normally required to teach. It is recommended that instructors of courses used only for renewal hours also hold the appropriate license. Exceptions to this recommendation include out-of-state training providers, researchers, or professional engineers who lack a Texas occupational license but who possess exceptional knowledge and skills directly related to the training and critical job tasks. Instructors must also have enough teaching experience to enable them to communicate clearly and effectively at the learning level of the students and consistent with the intended outcomes of the course. Classroom instructors must have at least 60 hours of classroom instructional experience. Hours spent making presentations do not count as classroom instructional experience. The training provider is responsible for ensuring that classroom instructors have adequate, specific work experience and sufficient teaching experience. This responsibility includes maintaining each instructor’s resume or statement of qualifications. The TCEQ may ask for verification of instructor work and classroom teaching experience along with licensing status at any time. This information is required as part of the application for initial approval of a course. This information is collected to enable the agency to help you, the training provider—and in some cases the instructor also—comply with these requirements. In the event an instructor is determined unqualified to teach a course, the training provider will lose approval for the course if the instructor is allowed to continue teaching it. Participants also will not receive credit for training by unqualified or ineffective instructors. Normally, the training provider offers the students enrollment in another class with a different instructor at no additional cost to the student. This is considered a business practice, however, and you may choose to handle this situation differently in accordance with your business policies.

Precious Bodily fluids Essay Example

Precious Bodily fluids Essay As a filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick was somewhat of a perfectionist who went to obsessive lengths tofulfill his artistic vision.Known for doing numerous takes of the same scene, Kubrick was committed to perfecting the image in each frame and successfully conveying its meaning.With his 1964 masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying, and Love the Bomb, Kubrick creates a satiric bombshell of nuclear war and social commentary.This film has an abundance of important scenes that convey the films overall theme through comedic dialogue and textured imagery, but one scene does a particularly exceptional job. A scene in which a ranting General Ripper unveils his bizarre motivation for the nuclear assault on Russia to the shocked Group Captain Mandrake, while fondling a smoking cigar in his mouth. I can no longer sit back and allow communist infiltration, communist indoctrination, communist subversion, and the international communist conspiracy to sap and poison all of our p recious bodily fluids.The words of a nutty General Ripper, spoken maniacally by Sterling Hayden, give the viewer a better idea of what the film is all about.The dialogue is simply an exaggeration, and in many cases not an exaggeration, of the haunting thoughts plaguing the minds of Cold War America.Throughout the scene, Group Captain Mandrake, a British liaison played wonderfully by the flawless Peter Sellers, listens to Rippers ranting and tries to calm the general with little success.The dialogue alone makes the films satirical intentions clear and Kubricks simple staging and suddel imagery only deepens the connotation. Much of General Rippers insanity is shown through a close shot of his face from below.In the image we see only Rippers twisted face clenching a cig

Free Essays on Democratic Fallacies

that tell the audience to get involved. I found a small box in the corner of the first page. â€Å"Your involvement now counts more than ever. This is a time to stand firm on critical principles. Sign up today and we will send you the latest updates and action items.† That is a pandering fallacy. When I read that, I thought they used an emotional appeal. â€Å"Your involvement now counts more than ever†¦Ã¢â‚¬  can they pressure us anymore? They make the audience feel that they have to â€Å"stand firm on critical principles.† Kerry and his team want us to get involve today. That’s my reason for thinking that was a pandering fallacy. When someone commits a mistake people usually criticize and attack their character based on a few mistakes, which anyone could have made. When it is someone else other than you, it is easier to criticize. I think it is not fair. A Kerry supporter wrote â€Å"His record of failure and his inability to play it straight with the American people and our troops oversees make him unfit to serve as secretary of defense for one more day, never mind four more years.† That’s a personal attack on Donald Rumsfeld. Why attack his character and credibility based on a few mistakes. ... Free Essays on Democratic Fallacies Free Essays on Democratic Fallacies Democratic Fallacies My first essay is based on the fallacies that I found on the Democratic website of Kerry. I read and learned to spot fallacies while reading. The Kerry website is intended for the older audience. As a twenty three year old I felt I could have read something that could have been more tailored for my age. Unfortunately I did not feel the Kerry website addressed the younger generation. I did know that presidents used fallacies as a way to attract voters to vote for their political party. However, I was not aware how manipulators candidates can be. Candidates use fallacies successfully on speeches, writings, etc. to lure people to their side and achieve votes in high numbers. In the website, I found a few words that tell the audience to get involved. I found a small box in the corner of the first page. â€Å"Your involvement now counts more than ever. This is a time to stand firm on critical principles. Sign up today and we will send you the latest updates and action items.† That is a pandering fallacy. When I read that, I thought they used an emotional appeal. â€Å"Your involvement now counts more than ever†¦Ã¢â‚¬  can they pressure us anymore? They make the audience feel that they have to â€Å"stand firm on critical principles.† Kerry and his team want us to get involve today. That’s my reason for thinking that was a pandering fallacy. When someone commits a mistake people usually criticize and attack their character based on a few mistakes, which anyone could have made. When it is someone else other than you, it is easier to criticize. I think it is not fair. A Kerry supporter wrote â€Å"His record of failure and his inability to play it straight with the American people and our troops oversees make him unfit to serve as secretary of defense for one more day, never mind four more years.† That’s a personal attack on Donald Rumsfeld. Why attack his character and credibility based on a few mistakes. ...

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 8

Case Study Example hough in relation to our corporate ethics, I believe in following the chain of command and have to report to my immediate supervisor, which in this case is you. There is no need for urgency in rushing through this contract, and selling a sub-standard product to a client. I was of the opinion that if final touches was done on this wonderful product, it would give us better business, and more clients would be willing to get into contract with us. Another reason for my hesitation is the client we are getting into an agreement with. Eastern Wisconsin University is a regional university. Yet for such a product, that causes so much excitement to our engineers, and of course, the impact it would have on the market, a major institution would not shy from it in whatsoever manner. From the data, I gathered that testing was actually done in the lab under approximated temperatures. The tests talk about temperatures below 10 degrees Fahrenheit of freezing point or slightly below zero, but nothing under 10 degrees below zero is mentioned. In our country, temperatures fall up to 50 degrees below freezing point, although rare, such information would have been helpful in proving the credibility of our product. Being a writer, engineering features and workability of â€Å"Hot Spot† could have been explained to me to shed some more light into what it is all about, to have a vivid picture as I write. The only understanding I have on the product is that it consist of premade plate fitted underneath with low wattage circuitry that run and mate with existing sidewalk. It would be fair enough for us to disclose a few features of regarding our product and its workability to the client. After my lunch break, I received two memos that clarify the status of â€Å"Hot Blocks.† A memo from Mr. Robert to Bob states that after testing â€Å"Hot Blocks† under temperatures between 32 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit, it gave perfect results of the function of melting snow both in rapid runoff and of

Answering the question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Answering the question - Essay Example This passage indicates that the playwright for â€Å"Frozen† did not merely take a story or ideas, which can be re-resented with originality (like a re-telling of a classic fairy tale) but rather used words that someone else had written, enough words to fill a very short essay, and simply copied them. This copying is across a line. There are people who make their living by writing, and that is real work that demands real respect. Clearly Lewis was earning money from her book sales, and the writer of the magazine piece was being paid for her work as well. The playwright thus had no right to simply steal their language. Everyone in any kind of schooling knows the difference between plagiarism and acceptable usage, and ways to avoid plagiarism such as re-phrasing to not steal someone else’s words, or providing citation, which were both offers available to the playwright had he chosen to follow them. Furthermore, if he felt that he desperately needed those lines for his artistic achievement, the playwright could have contacted either writer for their consent, but obviously chose not to. The use of the exact same language as someone else has used is nothing less than theft. Themes, story outlines, characteristics of characters, these are all things that exist outside of an artist once they put their product into the world, but the words someone has written are sacred. Or should be at

Human Rights and Sexuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Human Rights and Sexuality - Essay Example It is due to the reason that in the modern world, to provide justification to gender hierarchies and maintain a fundamental base of social structure, legal constitutions play a vital role in terms of social orientation rights in any country . This configuration of the human society supposedly raises a question that as a social being, are human not free to have sex as they will to, or do they lack control on their self determination which should be guided by a few documented legal acclamations . But certainly this is not the question that is to be focused in this study. The nature of social ideology towards human rights relative to their social orientation have changed dramatically realising the social and biological enclosure that sexual orientations in a human life can also be in homosexual terms rather than only in heterosexual ways. This revolutionised the legal systems related to human rights and sexual orientations motivating many countries to accept that marriages can even take place between two peoples of the same sex as homosexual mode of orientation, such as UK, United States, South Africa and India among others . However, in the highly adaptable and complex social stature of the 21st century, socialists perceive contrasting views regarding the legal framing of homosexual orientation and heterosexual orientation simultaneously in the same country. Due to this reason it is still being commentated that ‘in some countries same-sex couples can marry, while in others the death penalty is still handed down for homosexual acts’ . ... Taking into account the importance of legal constitutions in terms of sexual orientation rights, this paper will try to assess that whether this kind of contradicting views can co-exist in the same international legal order and how does this performance correlate with gender hierarchies and national identities. Recent Developments in the Sexual Orientation Rights The conceptual meaning of rights has changed to a large extent in the current decade from that of the early centuries when it was initially introduced. To be mentioned, human rights, in the early years of its establishments, fundamentally meant the freedom of people from being deprived by the autocratic behaviour of the state. But in today’s context, rights are generally meant to be ‘democratic political processes’ where the intention is to secure individuals and the entire population from being offended by the power owned by the state. With this point of view, democratic countries have brought into pract ice the right of clean environment, rights to peace and similar others focusing on the entire economic health and thus is often referred to possess a broad scope eliminating the uniqueness and specific dichotomy of human rights. Right to sexual orientation is also considered to be one of the recent additions to human rights that tend to broaden the conceptual framework of human rights towards a more indistinct disposition5. In this connection, studies from the past few decades have observed that remarkable changes have impacted the relationship existing between human rights and sexual orientation. In the current scenario, scholars argue more on the concerns of sexual rights

Different Networking Systems Advantages and Disadvantages

Different Networking Systems Advantages and Disadvantages Local Area Network: Local Area network is isolated network. Generally, It is build in a physical location. such as office, home etc. Computers are connected to each other by a small server and also connected to the wide area network (Internet). This types of networks are very usefull for sharing data likes files, small or big document, play network games etc. Metro Politian Area Network(MAN) : Metropolitan area network is a large computer network where computers are connected with each other from different geographical location. Its structure and built process are quite similar with LAN the only difference its spans an entire city or a selected are like college or university campus or a commercial area. We can get a shared network connection form MAN. Wide Area Network (WANs): Wide area network is similar to a Local area network but here all other device connected to each other by fiber-optic cables, telephone line or a satellite links. Networking Topologies: Bus: Every node or device are individually linked up to successive other device or other node . Its a very simple network but its has sum troubleshooting network issues . such as if a node is not working then how can anyone find the error node. Other way it has data redundancy issues. Ring: It quite similar to bus network topologies. It has no termination like bus topologies. The main reason is that this topologes has no end it related to each other like a circle. this network has some fault such as difficulty of adding a new node to a token ring network. Star: In this netwrok each and every node maintains an itotally individual connection to a switch, where all other nodes are connected. It has a direct connection with swithch to node. the weakness are need more wire to setup a network. Mesh: In this topology every node conected with each other node. It generally used in warreless network. It need a large amount of overhead which very difficult to manage+ Hybrid: This is simply a topology referring to the case where more than one topology is utilized. ti is the combination of star and ring topology. 1.2 Evaluate the impact of current network technology, communication and standards. Answer: OSPF: It is a routing protocol generally used for larger network either a single network or a group network. It is designed by Internet Engineering Task Force. It can also used as a Gateway Protocol. FTP: File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is mainly a standard protocol of Network which is used to transfer data from client to host or one server to another server . If user or admin want to upload a file on a website he or she needs a username, password and host address. SMTP: Simple mail transfer protocol is like a media which transfers e-mail. SMTP always work with POP3 service. TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol is a set of a protocol stack. Basically it is tow different protocol. TCP/IP is closely related with FTP, SMTP, HTTP. 1.3 Discuss how protocols enable the effective utilisation of different networking systems. Network Protocols are ensure proper utilisation of different network system. OSI model Layer 2 protocol is data link protocol which handles the physical and logical connections to the packets destination using a network interface card (NIC). Layer 3 Protocol called Internetwork Protocol (IP) it is also called network layer protocol it work for routing, directing datagrams from one netwrok to another. IP protocol always analysis larger datragrams and identify each and every host with a 32-bit IP address. Layer 4 protocol are TCP, UDP. Transmission Control Prtocol (Tcp0 establishes connections between two hosts on the network through sockets which are determined by the IP address and port number. one the other side provides a low overhead transmission service, but with less error checking. 2.1 Discuss the role of software and hardware components. Answer: Software: All Network software consists of the programs and protocols which required to connect computers together. Their primary purpose are data inter connect each other, data sharing. Application sharing: For application sharing all computer use same platform to connect and manage computer. If a network share application software platform to connect then it can reduce network cost. Hardware or Peripheral sharing: Network software also share hardware such as phone, fax, printer etc. A printer connected with ser with server and all other computer can share that computer. Management and Security: Network software provide some mechanism to maintain proper security of data and its can make backup copy of valuable date. It can monitor and make a digital report on resource utiliaation and efficiency. Operating System: Windows or Linux system. Hardware: Network Interface card (NIC) Hub Switches Bridges Routers Gateway Modems 2.2 Discuss server types and selection requirement. Answer: For the given scenario I would prefer a window server and here I want to clear my intension by full filing server selection requirement. So If any admin want to select a server types then admin must follow, server, proxy servers, web server, mail server, FTP server, SMTP server. Here I try to mention server and its work Server: A Server designed to get request or to process requests from other device or node(client) and deliver or process data to other node or client over a local network, or the wide area network. Now a days we find plenty of servers around us. So, I try to figure out some common server types: Proxy Servers: A proxy server like a middle man between a client and a real server. Here client means a web browser such as Internet explorer or chrome. When a client make a inquiry then web browser its try to solve it, otherwise web browser forward the query to the real server. In this way a proxy server reduce search time. A proxy server also used to filter request. A network admin used it to control unauthorized web access. Such as: many company block facebook, online game site etc Mail Servers: A mail server used for delivers e-mail over a network or over the internet. This types of servers receive e-mails from other nodes or users and send the mail to correct node or client. Web Servers: Web server generally a server which commonly used to host websites. Its deliver web page with content to client site and all the content are plain HTML documents or a image. Application Servers: Application server generally called appserver. It is a software which controlled all application between users and an server. Real-Time Communication Servers FTP Servers: File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is mainly a standard protocol of Network which is used to transfer data from client to host or one server to another server . If user or admin want to upload a file on a website he or she needs a username, password and host address. Server types selection is an important step for a new network. To select a server for office or a home is not easy its seems quite complicated. So an administer should make his own criteria to select server type. So, I try to set some criteria. Software requirements: Comment Operating systems (OS) Windows CPU type and speed Lattes Expansion/Upgrade Criteria Must Drive types, space, and speeds Lattes Physical characteristics Yes Brand Intel(Processor), HP (Network Printer) 2.3 Discuss the inter-dependence of workstation hardware with network components. 3.1 Design a networked system to meet a given specification. Answer: Design of a computer network systems first think about a central device which could be a switch or a router, A central server, a pc for every users, hard ware components . Office PrinterLife Insurance company Router Agent 6 Agent 4 Server Agent 2 Agent 5 Life Insurance Company Network Structure Agent 3 Hardware requirement: Name Quantity Comment Server 1 Main Server Printer 1 Network Printer Router 7 Main Router, Office and Agents Switch 1 Central switch PC 9 Main office and agents Software requirement: 1. Windows 7 2. Internet connection 3.2 Evaluate the design and analyse user feedback. Answer: 4.1 Implement a networked system based on a prepared design 4.2 Test the network system to meet user requirements. 4.3 Document and analyse test results against expected results 4.4 Recommend potential enhancements for the networked systems. 4.5 Design a maintenance schedule to support the networked system.

Far From The Madding Crowd :: essays research papers fc

Far From the Madding Crowd Whether you are of the opinion that love is a wonderful thing, love knows no boundaries, or love is blind, one fact remains constant: love is like a snowflake—no two loves or snowflakes are ever exactly alike. In Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd, the heroine, Bathsheba Everdene, has the luck (or unfortunate mishap) of courting not one, or even two, but three suitors during the course of the novel. Although Bathsheba Everdene could be considered to be in quite an enviable position by many women, both yesterday and presently, she doesn’t always seem to enjoy being courted by her numerous suitors. Most importantly, though, Bathsheba’s character grows and evolves because of, or in spite of, the situations she encounters and eventually overcomes throughout her romantic escapades.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Initially, Bathsheba’s character is high-spirited, feminine, naà ¯ve and self-centered. This is the first impression she gives Gabriel Oak, who eventually becomes a suitor, when she encounters him at the beginning of the story. The first time Gabriel lays eyes on Bathsheba, she is gazing admiringly at her own reflection in her pocket mirror. Gabriel realizes immediately that her greatest fault is â€Å"what it is always . . . vanity† (p. 56).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gabriel, although impressed by Bathsheba’s beauty and vivacity, does not immediately begin to court her. He is quite smitten with her from the very beginning of their relationship. Gabriel even goes so far as to repeat her name over and over and is quoted as saying â€Å"I’ll make her my wife, or upon my soul I shall be good for nothing† (p. 74.). He proposes marriage to her, but she admits that she does not love Gabriel and, if they tried to make a relationship work without love, he would grow to despise her. Being the amiable fellow that he proves himself to be throughout the story, Gabriel is quite firm when he tells Bathsheba, â€Å"Very well . . . then I’ll ask you no more† (p. 82).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although Hardy might wish his readers to believe that this episode is the end of any romance between Bathsheba and Gabriel, we realize that there is a grain of truth to the phrase â€Å"save the best for last.† Meanwhile, Bathsheba moves on with her new life as mistress of the farm that her recently deceased uncle has left for her. She agrees to hire Gabriel as a shepherd, so he stays in the picture throughout the remainder of the story and witnesses her romance with Mr.

Inputs Diagnosis Whole Foods Essay

The range of competitors within the overall industry include chain and independent supermarkets (Krogers, Safeway, others); mass merchandisers and super centers (Wal-mart,Target); convenience stores; wholesale clubs (Sam’s); restaurants and fast food chains andnatural food stores (Whole Foods, Wild Oats Generally the concentration of competitors has been fragmented by geography. However, through recent consolidations, the emergence of regional and national chains has started to prevail along with the decline of the independent/local shops. This consolidation activity has allowed many companies to spread their fixed costs over a wider range of output, thus creating more efficiency in operations. Often, it is cheaper for a company to acquire an incumbent due to the location of their stores and access to customers rather than to raise the capital for entirely new stores, which is how Whole Foods has been able to expand following their growth model strategy. Whole Foods acquisitio n growth plan has helped them to gain enough economies of scale to better compete with the Wal-marts and Sam’s Clubs. Threat of Substitutes Price of substitutes plays a role in determining a company’s profitability. Organic food is priced at a premium to conventional food reflecting the high labor costs in cultivating the product. The price premium may be one reason why organic food has not become mainstream. Another reason is that consumers either lack education about its benefits (or don’t care) so that the price premium does not appear to be justified. However, when comparing upscale organic and prepared foods to competitors such as restaurants, the benefit/cost ratio appears more justified. Market research conducted shows that â€Å"20 percent of shoppers as dedicated to healthy eating†.(PRNEWSWIRE, 2013) These shoppers tend to be better educated, more affluent, couples or singles without children, and generally in better physical shape than the rest of the population. These individuals that actively seek out health and nutritional information, are younger to middle aged, and have medium to high household incomes. Thus, this market segment likely has a higher propensity to substitute than the segment above, but still is probably lower than the overall market. In total, the organic segment of the market has captured â€Å"73 percent of consumers as of 2008†.(QSRMAGAZINE, 2013) Buyer Power The retail grocery market is typically considered somewhat resistant to economic downturns, thus, to some degree, consumers’ food budgets are price insensitive. However, there is risk that consumers will switch from high quality / high margin stores to mass merchandisers (Walmart, Shop N Save) to stretch declining incomes further in a downturn market. Furthermore, while individual consumers typically lack significant buyer power to affect the specific prices of products, collectively, they can exert influence on retailers to sell or not sell specific types of products. Supplier Power The organic food suppliers are not highly concentrated, so natural food retailers have some power over them. Also, the natural food retailers may have the ability to backward integrate with partnerships and joint ventures with local growers. In addition, there is a trend for top conventional food manufacturers to invest in national/organic food companies as shown by the following excerpt * Kraft (NYSE: KFT ) : Boca Foods, Back to Nature * PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP ) : Naked Juice * General Mills (NYSE: GIS ) : Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen * Dean Foods: Horizon, The Organic Cow of Vermont, Alta Dena, White Wave/Silk * ConAgra (NYSE: CAG ) : Lightlife, Alexia Foods * Kellogg (NYSE: K ) : Morningstar Farms, Kashi, Gardenburger, Bear Naked * Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO ) : Odwalla * M&M Mars: Seeds of Change * Hain Celestial (Nasdaq: HAIN ) : Nile Spice, Health Valley, Bearitos, Earth’s Best, Walnut Acres (FOOL, 2013) Thus, the larger number of suppliers of organic products, the less influence one supplier can have in the market. Threat of New Entry Because the retail grocery market is typically low margin, â€Å"typically in the mid-single digit range†.(VALUELINE, 2013) It is critical for companies to have some type of cost advantage over peers, the larger chains may be able to obtain better and cheaper access to products than the independent stores(economies of scale). Labor is also a significant cost to retail grocers, representing 50% to 53% of total operating costs (EHOW, 2013). Other operating costs (including rent, utilities, transportation, and technology) are controllable by the company. Lastly, technology costs are key in the retail grocery industry in order to increase efficiency in operations and aid marketing aids. Point-of-sale systems can help to increase inventory turnover and sales and lead to better targeted customer marketing (COUNTERPOINTPOS, 2013) Other areas that affect new entry into a market include capital requirements, economies of scale, and brand identity. All of these factors have been discussed to some degree under other forces. Retaliation by incumbent competitors is an important element in determining the threat of new entry. Specifically, Whole Foods faces a threat from conventional supermarkets and mass merchandisers who may move to carry organic products within their stores. CONGRUENCE MODEL In conducting the Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model, of Whole Foods Market’s inputs and how they align with the strategy. I have resubmitted the model for your review The congruence model has four modals for analysis: 1. Inputs – resources used by the organization but also its history and its social, economic and market position. Resources include people, technology, capital and reputation 2. Strategies – what strategies best match the inputs to produce and how to produce those outputs from the available inputs. 3. Organizational components – allows the analyst to isolate the individual influences and adjust them for a good fit 4. Performance -include the ability to pinpoint where performance is not adequate and to trace the reason back to a lack of congruence in the model’s part (SMALLBUSINESS 2013) The model is good for input diagnosis and it can be broken down with the following steps: TASKS The work itself does not need any specific skill set or knowledge except to be as personable as possible and like dealing with people. While there are materialistic rewards to working at whole Foods the other reward is the ability to have a vote in how things happen in the company. Whole Foods runs on â€Å"democratic capitalism; where all of the work is teamwork.†(Fastcompany, 2013) the system itself tends to creative while at the same time it is mechanistic as everything has to be in its correct spot just so-so. The work flows from the top down with a healthy response for the department teams. The department teams have the sole discretionary right to hire and approve new hires which upper management screens first. The work is through, caring and precise. The teams are interdependent as they are all an integral part of the stores success as a whole together. PEOPLE The people of Whole Foods are a team oriented group with a single mindedness to have their store succeed with a democratic disciplined outlook. Most of the employees are young, well-educated individuals whose participation reinforces attention to performance and profit. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: The organization is set up as a virtuous circle which has a two way avenue to company policies to improve the company’s bottom line. Whole Foods has a knack to please their customers and every employee is empowered to correct as discrepancy that is brought to their attention by a customer. Each department is s3et up as a team which has a direct bearing on bonuses through â€Å"gainsharing†. (Fastcompany, 2013) Sales per labor hour the productivity metric at Whole Foods, democracy reinforces discipline. If someone doesn’t do the work and gets a poor rating then the team suffers in lost bonus money. Culture People work as a team to get the product out the door and keep customers happy and returning for repeat business. With that said the company’s success is driven by their employee’s attention to detail and satisfying the customer. Whole Foods has open salary concept where everyone knows what everybody else makes salary and bonuses. Also every store knows what another store is doing in sales, salary and bonuses. With that being known an individual wanting to transfer to another store or state knows what that store is doing financially and is able to make a well informed decision as to what to do with their career. There appears to be no political intrigue involved with the company and the â€Å"Hill† as most of the food wholesale segment is already tightly monitored as far as food safety and other regulation. The above listed modals are in in alignment with the major strength of Whole Foods in comparison to the Congruence model and Porters Five Forces Model. Their strength is the fact tht they can withstand entry of new competition due to their market chare and market segmentation. While company’s can enter into the retail food market they would be hard pressed to copy Whole foods business strategy in empowering their employees and making it work as far as satisfying their customers and meeting Whole Foods profit margin. Porter’s five forces strength model aligns quite well with the resources modal of the congruence model and several of the segments blur as everything is not cut and dried and able to be placed in the puzzle of what is Whole Foods. As a whole the strategies under the congruence and Porters model align with the complete Porter’s Five Forces Model well to give a rounded view of what Whole Foods is and what they can do if they stick to their mission statement and core values. Under the restraints of this report all of the congruence segments critical to the analysis as broken down the model reinforce Porters with their strength segment. As listed above the three input factors complement each other in regards to the strengths of the company as a whole. Also if you review my earlier reports all of my suppositions are supported and well documented as to how Whole Foods supports its marketing style and fills a niche with customers in search of alternatives to non-natural food stuffs.. References Percent health food consumers retrieved February 2013 from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-survey-shows-shoppers-eating-more-meals-at-home-cooking-meals-to-save-money-62056997.html Flat Lining Organics retrieved February 2013 from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-survey-shows-shoppers-eating-more-meals-at-home-cooking-meals-to-save-money-62056997.html Investing in organics retrieved February 2013 from http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2009/01/16/investing-in-organics.aspx Retail grocery market industry analysis retrieved February 2013 from http://www.valueline.com/Stocks/Industry_Report.aspx?id=7243 calculate food

Campus Assault Essay

Campus Assault Essay Campus Assault Essay Carrying The Weight Columbia University senior, Emma Sulkowicz, speaks firmly outside of her dormitory building. It is a solemn statement, and one that she has repeated to many reporters since school resumed in the beginning of September. Three days into her senior year and still unsure of her rigorous class schedule, Sulkowicz is already swarmed by reporters and photographers on her way to class. The visual arts major has just embarked on her senior thesis, an endurance performance art project she is calling â€Å"Mattress Performance,† in which she will carry around a navy, Twin XL mattress – the exact same kind of mattress on which she was raped the first day of her sophomore year – until her rapist leaves the school through expulsion, voluntary leave, or graduation. Sulkowicz has already received media attention as one of the twenty-three â€Å"complainants† filing April’s Title IX case against the university’s alleged mishandling of sexual assault cases, but the personal attention has escalated since her art piece has gone viral on the Internet. On Mondays, Emma attends class carrying the fifty-pound mattress across campus from north to south and east to west. â€Å"It’s a lot of physical pain,† she says. Unless there are reporters surrounding her, her fellow students, both friends and strangers are eager to help her before and after class. These acquaintances are not helping her get from point A to point B but also sharing in her everyday burden: carrying the weight of her past – and present – upon her shoulders. College students, because of their age, are at high risk for sexual assault, and some researchers believe that college women are more vulnerable than their nonstudent peers. Campus sexual assault is vastly underreported to authorities with fewer than 5-percent of college women who are victims of rape or attempted rape reporting it to the police. Part of the problem is that many survivors do not call their experience rape although it meets the legal criteria, but colleges also often encourage victim blaming through prevention programs that focus exclusively on risk-reduction behavior by potential victims. Drug and alcohol abuse policies that do not include immunity for victims of sexual assault can also hinder reporting. Not having access to confidential or anonymous reporting reduces the number of victims who will come forward and a belief that the assailant will not be punished. President Obama and Vice President Biden joined leaders from universities, media companies, the sports world, and grassroots organizations to launch the â€Å"It’s On Us† campaign against sexual assault on college campuses. â€Å"It’s On Us† is a rally cry inviting everyone to step up and realize that the solution begins with us. It seeks to reframe the conversation surrounding sexual assault in a way that inspires everyone to see it as his or her responsibility to do something, big or small, to prevent it. In launching â€Å"It’s On Us,† President Obama said, â€Å"To the survivors who are leading the fight against sexual assault, your efforts have helped start a movement. I can only imagine how long and lonely your fight must feel. And that’s why we’re all here today – to say that it’s not on you; it’s not your fight to wage alone; it’s on us – all of us – to fight campus sexual assau lt. You are not alone. We’ve got your back.† With the rise of interest and momentum that we’ve seen in just the initial first days of launching the campaign, it’s clear that Americans across the country really do have victim’s backs. The National Campus Leadership Council had worked to sign up two hundred and three campuses to run student-led â€Å"It’s On Us† campaigns. In only a few days, that number has jumped to two hundred and thirty-three campuses nationwide. President George Bush signed â€Å"The Campus Sexual Assault Victims’ Bill of Rights† into law in July of 1992. The law requires that colleges and universities, both public and private, participating in federal student aid programs

Video Games and Violence in Ch essays

Video Games and Violence in Ch essays In todays world childrens choice of entertainment are video games, most of which are violent and involve killing. This raises a big question as to whether or not violent video games cause violence in children. First things first; video games are fantasy and people should be able to tell right from wrong. Video games also have some benefits like stress relief. People should not be blaming violence in children on video games. Violence has been around forever. Video games should not be considered as a major contribution to violence in children. Playing video games are not going to inspire someone to kill; there must be an ambition to kill. Kids cant simply walk down the street find an AK-47 and begin to shoot people. People just dont go up to a random person and try to fight them for no reason. Video games are fantasy; any mentally stable person knows that. People have gotten the wrong impression that video games turn people into violent killing machines. Video games may improve accuracy but they do not give the urge to kill. The reason the army uses the video game Doom II as a training tool is that it improves accuracy, mental alertness and somewhat desensitizes them, but the games however are unrealistic enough for that much of an impact. Video games can also have some beneficial aspects about them. A lot of people find video games as an excellent source of stress relief. Why go out and try to fight someone that has made you really mad, when you could just pick up a controller and take your anger out on some person in a video game. There are also a lot of video games that have a certain educational value to them, even the violent ones. Most games require you to read a lot in some of their manuals, which also adds to the benefits of playing video games. One other benefit of playing video games is that it improves your hand eye coordination and attention to detail. ...

Biography on Abraham Lincoln Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Biography on Abraham Lincoln - Essay Example His brother John Kennedy served as the president of America and Robert Kennedy himself served as the Senator of United States. This essay would further provide details about the biography of Robert Kennedy (Talbot 2007). Robert Kennedy studied in different schools all over his life and graduated from the Milton Academy in 1942. He then served in the military for two years in the World War II after which he was discharged. After serving in military Kennedy joined Harvard University and performed in the football team. He completed his degree of bachelors from the Harvard University in 1948. He further studied law from the University of Virginia and graduated from the university in the year of 1951. It was in 1950 that Kennedy married Ethel Shakel and their first child was born in 1951 named Kathleen. It was the coming years in which the career of Robert Kennedy developed and he successfully played a role in the politics of United States (Evan 2000). The career of Robert Kennedy in real life started when he enter the arena of law in 1951 after graduating from the Wisconsin University. Robert joined the Criminal Division the US Department of Justice as a lawyer but later resigned to help his brother John in his the election of Senators. In 1952 Kennedy was hired by McCarthy as an assistant advocate for the Senate subcommittee. Being a counsel for the subcommittee McCarthy performed many researches which showed as to how the allies were backstabbing each other. He was against the cargos being delivered to enemies and gave out several speeches in this regard. However, again in 1953 Robert resigned from this post because he was not fond of the internal running of the committee. He joined the committee back in 1954 and became the chief counsel in the year 1955. His major breakthrough as a chief counsel was when he was appointed as the head of the committee which was investigating the

Nutritional Assessment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nutritional Assessment - Assignment Example a measurement is important is that for one, we can track the growth of infants and children by measuring their weight to length, the circumference of their heads, and the length, height, and weight. In the case of infants and toddlers, length is used because they are not able to stand properly or at all. Nutritional assessments are measured on adults by using the body mass index, measuring their percentage of body fat, and measuring their hip to waist ratio. This type of measurement is useful in enabling us to determine whether or not patients are at risks for certain diseases (Advameg, Inc., 2010). An example of an anthropometric measurement study is a study done by Raja Chakraborty and Kausik Bose to determine the nutritional status of men of the Gumla District, where the tribal populations are very undernourished (Chakraborty, Bose, 2008). The object of this study was to determine the similarities in the effects that undernourishment has on health as well as the reason for its occurrence. In order for an intervention or a cure, anthropometric measurements must be taken as this gives an indication of the extent of the effects that certain types of nutrition have on our bodies as well as helps the observer to best determine what source of action would be best suited to the patient. This is the reason that observers must be trained to collect anthropometric measurements in studies of nutritional status. In order for us to properly assess a child and whether or not he has a Vitamin A deficiency, it is important that we know the signs. Knowing the signs will not only enable us to detect the Vitamin A deficiency itself, we will also be able to determine the source of the deficiency, such as liver disorder/disease or malabsorbtion syndrome. The most common signs and symptoms of a child suffering from a Vitamin A deficiency is night blindness which can later progress to permanent blindness as a result of retinal injury. Assessing the extent of the clinical signs

Locke on the state Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Locke on the state - Essay Example In order to understand a normative account of government, it is useful to understand the descriptive. By examining theories regarding the human state of nature, it is possible to set forth standards and norms by which people ought to live, including those relating to who should rule. This essay will analyze Locke's account of the origins and purpose of governance, with the aim of understanding how supporting the conflicting ideals of autonomy and authority might be remedied. Locke's state of nature comprises three elements; a state of perfect freedom, a state of equality and a state of natural law, which commands "no-one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions" (9). Accepting these elements is of fundamental importance in understanding the origins and role of government, but there are problems to be overcome. The natural law immediately limits the scope of the first, in that we do not have a perfect freedom to jeopardize another person's safety or invade their property. Secondly, if every person is equal, there is no natural claim to authority, which seems to conflict with the notion of obeying the law as set down by a government. The inclusion of the moral law in Locke's state of nature helps us to understand the motivations behind an argument for setting up a political governing body. We may all be equal on Earth, but the existence of a natural law which states we are duty bound not to harm others implies the existence of an objective morality as created by some other superior being, i.e. God. This theological aspect of Locke's account is important. It means that every individual is at liberty to behave in a way which fits within the parameters of a natural moral duty. Furthermore, as the law is created by a superior being, there must be some reason to accept that the law should be upheld. Although it might seem absurd, in this day and age to accept an appeal to God as a reason to accept an argument, Locke also appeals to an idea of natural reason which is inherent in all of us. Co-operation with the natural law ensures our survival, and so it is unreasonable to think anyone would object to it. Hence, each person is not only equally bound to abide by the natural law, but each person is also equally bound to ensure that others abide by it. "In transgressing the law of nature, the offender declares himself to live by another rule other than that of reason" (Locke 10), and so offers himself up to be punished by those who have not. The equality of every man within a state of n ature also means that each individual who has not broken the natural law has the right to punish the offender. The severity of that punishment should be adequate not only to ensure the perpetrator does not commit the same act again, but also act as a deterrent for other would-be criminals to do something similar. From this reasoning, it is believed that mankind will be preserved and live in a state of relative security. By Locke's own admission, this right to punish, may seem like "a very strange doctrine" (10), but without it, the law of the land would only apply to those who are naturally resident within it. Foreigners who have not consented to domestic legal policy would be free to act under their own standards and so the freedoms and safety of native habitants would be in doubt. It must then be a natural law that governs all mankind, regardless of cultural

Technology Review and Integration Plan Essay Example for Free

Technology Review and Integration Plan Essay In the 80’s children normally depended on flash card, heavy encyclopedia, libraries and their parents to learn. When the age of personal computers (PC) started to gain momentum in the 90’s, children started to experience computer programs that help them learn. In the late 90’s multimedia application distributed in Compact Disc (CD) can be installed into computer to provide an interactive learning for children. Just recently with the dramatic growth of the internet, nearly all children have access to an internet connected PC. This also boosts the demand for educational websites that provide learning tools either for a fee or completely free. There are probably millions of websites that can be classified as educational but only few studies that directs us which website are best for our teachers, parents and students. This paper examines educational websites for children by going through at least five educational websites. Then from these five, detailed comparison is done on three best educational website found. Technology Review and Integration Plan The internet which connects computers and servers around the world is now the leading source of information. Vast amount of data can be gathered from internet. One of the very useful websites for teachers, parents and students are educational websites. They come either for free or for a certain fee. Free educational websites normally earn through advertisement. Five of the most notable children’s educational website are http://funschool. kaboose. com/, http://www. kidsknowit. com/, http://www. teach-nology. com/, http://www. kbears. com/, and http://nobelprize. org/. The best characteristic of the Knowledge Bears website is the futuristic submarine like graphical interface. This feature makes the site very attractive and easy to use. Although on the other side, since it is full of flash interactive animation, it loads relatively slower than a more text oriented website like the KidsKnowIt. com website. One of the most interesting features of the Funschool Kaboose Website is the kid oriented look of the graphical user interface like the one shown in Figure 2. This makes it easy for kids to understand the usage of the site. The negative side of this site is that it is more of games than information. Each link are consists of educational games. This makes it less informative than the two other educational websites. The KidsKnowit website contains a simple interface that allows it to be loaded quickly in any internet browser. It has more topics and more information than the Knowledge Bears and Funschool Kaboose website. Although it has some disadvantages compared to other sites, but overall, from cost, ease of use, availability, reliability and learning outcome this site proves to be better. Even with the distracting Google ads, the KidsKnowIt website still gives the best experience. It would be easy to integrate these educational websites into the classroom. First, time must be allotted in every subject to learn from these sites. Then initially, an overview should be given to all the children how to navigate through these website’s educational tools. Then some rules must be set as to how long, what areas and what objectives must be met every time the students visit this site. Finally, an evaluation procedure such as how fast they accomplish the games or an exam about the subject matter must be provided to check the progress of learning.With all of these put in place, then there is no doubt that these sites will be very helpful in teaching students. References About us: Kidsknowit Network Outreach Program. Retrieved August 15, 2008, from Kidsknowit Web site: http://www. kidsknowit. com/about. php About us: Kbears. com . Retrieved August 16, 2008, from Knowledge Bears Website http://www. kbears. com/about. html Main Page: Kidsknowit. com. THE TOTALLY FREE CHILDREN’S LEARNING NETWORK. Retrieved August 16, 2008, from KidsKnowIt Website http://www. kidsknowit. com/

Analysis of the Housing Market in the UK

Analysis of the Housing Market in the UK Introduction For most people in the UK, as in other countries, the purchase of a house is the single largest expenditure they ever make. In contrast with other purchases, a house is not only something that provides highly desirable services – convenient and independent housing – but it is also the single largest element of household wealth. For homeowners, this asset motive for buying a house is becoming increasingly important. As a store of value, houses are increasingly becoming both a critical component in households’ long term financial planning as well as a basis for raising consumption. Just like possessing a portfolio of valuable stocks and bonds, owning a house whose market price amounts to greater wealth. It follows, then, that a change in the market value of a house will change the owner’s wealth, and, consequently, the owner’s consumption expenditure. While the housing market in the U.K. has experienced several dramatic phases in the past three decades[1], its behavior in the last decade or so is not only without precedence but it is also a reflection of a fundamental transformation in the economy’s financial system. Whether being labeled as the product of ‘irrational exuberance’[2] or being described as a ‘bubble’, housing market developments have spawned a wide body of thinking that is increasingly taking on a nervous tone – especially among economists. A quick survey of the macroeconomic literature related to the housing market reveals that the period from the late 1990’s to around 2004 saw a confluence of several phenomena that seem to be related via a series of strong theoretical linkages. Key among these are historically high levels of home-ownership and housing wealth, an extreme housing-price boom, a generously liberal credit regime, unanticipated levels of borrowing, the lowest interest rates in generations, massive consumption expenditures/dangerously low savings rates, general economic prosperity, and, a rising trend in bankruptcies and house possessions. The objective of this project is to highlight the linkage between housing wealth and consumption expenditures with special focus on the events of the last decade. Given the nature of macroeconomic linkages, it turns out that in order to study this relationship in the context of UK, it is necessary to tell an economic tale that incorporates all of the phenomena mentioned above. While there are rather straightforward theoretical reasons as to how and why the national housing wealth affects aggregate consumption, the historical and institutional realities of the financial industry, the changing consumer behavior with respect to credit, the evolving demography etc. have played an important role in shaping this relationship in the UK. Over two-thirds of UK households owned their home and it is typcially their biggest investment they make. At the aggregate level, housing wealth is now greater than the size of their financial holdings[3]) and it is distributed in a considerably more equitable manner across socioeconomic and demographic segments as compared to the latter. Such investments bring reasonable returns over the long term, and in the last five years house price appreciation has more than doubled the value of the stock. It follows, then, that changes in housing wealth have the potential, in theory, to have sizeable effects on consumption, GDP, unemployment etc. The theoretical mechanism by which changes in housing wealth are transmitted into consumer demand, called the ‘wealth effect’ (discussed in detail later in the paper), is of critical importance to the economy because its impulses also affect an array of other macroeconomic variables and processes. Clearly, the ability to draw on this major store of purchasing power has serious implications for the financial health and prosperity of homeowners and, hence, the economy. With respect to access to the ‘frozen’ housing equity, the UK experience has been uniquely successful as compared to those of almost all other OECD countries. A series of policy moves to deregulate and ‘liberalize’ lending practices resulted in democratizing the credit market such that loan products once provided to the privileged, became common-place. Households that had faced credit barriers could now affordably borrow large amounts thus unleashing the power of the wealth effect. Therefore, the ways in which UK households obtain and dispose off the equity is of particular interest to this study.[4] This paper is organized as follows: the next section lays out the key issues involved in this study; the third section discusses the theoretical and analytical matters concerning the wealth effect in the context of the recent UK housing boom; the fourth section surveys the empirical research in this area; the fifth section presents the empirical work done for the study, including a description of the findings from regression analysis using Microfit; and the last section offers some conclusions from the work. (There are graphs and figures associated with the text and they are appended at the end.) A Review of the Peculiar Issues and Macroeconomics of the UK Housing Market Nature of the boom With focus on the 1995-2004 period, this section lays out the key issues involved in understanding of the structure and strength of the relationship between housing wealth and consumption. At the outset it is necessary to have an overview of developments in UK’s housing market during the pertinent period to highlight the generation of housing wealth, the manner in which it is accessed in the form of equity, and channels of disbursement of the equity. The UK housing market became truly energized in the mid-to-late 1990’s, beginning with a property boom in the London area and then gradually spreading to virtually every region. Homeownership levels reached historic levels and so did the share of ‘buy-to-let’ residential investments in the country’s portfolio. Using data published by Halifax-Bank of Scotland, Graph 1 provides the salient market metrics: the price boom accelerated to push the price of the typical house from around  £61,000 in 1995 to over  £161,000 by 2004 – an increase of over 160%; not only was the speed and tenacity of housing prices unprecedented, the annualized percentage growth rate seem to rise with the level of prices. Far from being a localized phenomenon, this housing boom covered the entire UK, as Graph 2 demonstrates. While, the origin of the boom was in Greater London and the Southeast in the mid 1990’s, it quickly enveloped East Anglia and the Southwest. However, by 2001 the boom entered its most vigorous phase as it spread to the peripheral regions with prices almost doubling in a five-year period. Since most of the home purchases are financed through mortgages, the two variables that shape housing demand decisions are the interest rate and property prices. As it turned out, with historically low nominal lending rates (see discussion later), the home prices was the chief determinant behind purchases. The feeding frenzy that was the housing market pumped prices to such a level that placed typical accommodations out of reach of most would-be buyers. The Affordability Index, calculated as the ratio of housing prices to household disposable income, rose from 3.09 in 1995 to 5.45 in 2004. It is useful to note that higher aggregate housing wealth can be a product of a rise in housing prices and/or a growth in the stock of housing. As is displayed in Graph 3, the early 1980’s saw housing wealth grow due to a steady rise in prices while in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s we see stability in it despite declining prices. There was rising home ownership during all three intervals; in the early 1980’s it was engendered by the privatization of some public housing [5, p. 12] while the late 1980’s and early 1990’s it was due to stimulated demand spurred by declining prices and interest rates. With housing prices rising at around 20% per annum, vast slices of society saw the value of their homes reach unseen levels as the market injected equity. This store of equity was virtually a battery filled with purchasing power that was steadily getting charged by the market and that could be tapped into, if needed, to finance purchases. Halifax (2005) reports on it website that at the end of 2005, UK’s housing wealth reached a historic peak at  £3,408 billion which amounts to triple the figure in 1995 with the last five years seeing a 60% increase. As Graph 3 illustrates, since the mid-1990’s the unprecedented spurt in housing wealth can be attributed mainly to rising prices. Clearly, an index of housing prices is an excellent proxy for housing wealth. [5] What generated the price boom? As compared to the preceding 15 years, the last decade saw the housing market subjected to a variety of macroeconomic and financial forces. Following Her Majesty’s Treasury (2003) and Farlow (2004), one can identify demand- and supply-side factors responsible for shaping the current housing market. On the demand side, the key market forces were: According to Her Majesty’s Treasury (2003) the early 1980’s saw a sustained campaign of liberalization of the credit market that led to increased competition among banks and non-traditional lenders, rampant development of new credit products, and enhanced capacity of banks to create liquidity; all of which made obtaining housing loans easier and a more egalitarian process by lowering transaction costs. [6] Low and declining interest rates pushed down the cost of mortgage credit thereby stimulating housing demand; Macroeconomic prosperity with higher disposable income and lowered unemployment rates allowed for more purchasing power; Expectations of continuous expansion and future employment created an optimism among households Despite an ageing population, members of typical home-buying age-cohort (especially baby-boomers) saw their households grow, thus creating a greater demand for family housing; And lastly, the explosion in ‘buy-to-let’ purchases led to a massive speculative demand fueled by expectations of sustained housing price increases. On the supply side, the major market forces according to Farlow (2004) and Her Majesty’s Treasury (2003)were: a low price-elasticity of supply due to a combination of policy regulations, regional scarcity of land, and lags in obtaining licence/local approval; Scarcity of existing housing available for purchase i.e. low vacancy rate; Rising costs of construction, especially due to labour shortage and rising prices of materials. When a strong level of demand and a limited and inelastic housing supply are combined, one can see why prices have risen so quickly. Housing wealth vs. Financial Wealth To understand the rising significance of the recently acquired housing wealth, it is interesting to compare it with the ownership of financial assets in UK. Housing remains UK’s greatest asset with the total of shares, bonds, and cash amounting to  £1.6 trillion. In the past, financial assets pensions and holdings of shares, bonds, and bank accounts accounted for bulk of the nation’s wealth. However, recent history has created housing as the asset that is held more widely and equitably – across geographic regions, age cohorts, and income groups – than financial wealth. Pensions were clearly concentrated among the older age groups and the bulk of other financial assets were held largely by a small opulent minority. Data provided by National Statistics (www.statistics.gov.uk) and Her Majesty’s Treasury (2004) describe UK’s home ownership as widespread across all income and age categories with older segments having a larger rate. Whereas shares and bonds are owned largely by people in higher income groups – for obvious reasons – the housing boom has proved to be a moderating or equalizing force as all homeowners have benefited from rising property values.[7] The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2002) provides some supporting evidence in this respect. The study finds that because of the relatively even distribution of recent gains, housing wealth has become more important than non-pension financial wealth, especially in the 50+ age group. The following table shows that not only is the typical size of housing wealth ownership greater than net financial wealth (non-pension), but that it is far less concentrated across society as reflected by the lower inter-quartile ratio and lower Gini coefficient. Table 1. Net Housing Wealth approx. Net Financial Wealth – approx. Mean  £73,000  £44,000 Median  £52,000  £12,000 Inter-quartile ratio 5.14 69.3 Gini Coefficient 0.575 0.761 Source: English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2002), IFS. The data shown in Graph 4 reveals though financial wealth had dominated all through the 1990’s, the rapid growth of housing wealth since the mid 1990’s coupled with the stock market bust has again placed the two neck and neck. Even with parity in value, the prominence that housing wealth commands in the national balance sheet is the consequence of its relatively equitable distribution and the fact that in spite of recent volatility in housing prices, it is historically far more reliable as an investment than the market value of corporate shares – the dominant component of financial assets. With growth in house prices outstripping the growth in mortgage debt, mortgage equity has increased from  £700 billion in 1995 to  £2.4 trillion at the end of 2005 – a 250% increase. In real terms, the last five years have seen the value of housing stock rise by over 60%. Thanks to housing values rising faster than mortgage debt in each of the last ten years, UK homeowners now have a greater financial buffer for leaner times. Ten years ago, the typical home was worth 2.8 times as much as the typical mortgage; at the end of 2005, this ratio had increased to 3.5, underlining the fact that the country has more equity than a decade ago. Tapping into housing wealth A survey of related literature from Bridges et al (2004), Davey (2001), Farlow (2004), Nickell (2004), and Salt and Macdonald (2004) reveals a variety of ways in households can access the equity stored in the residences. The manner in which a particular household harvests equity depends on the circumstances under which the action is taken. Table 2 below has categorized the possible scenarios. The table explains that households that continue to occupy their home can draw equity by re-mortgaging, i.e. borrow by treating their property as collateral. Households who move could access equity either by over-mortgaging the new home, or by buying a cheaper house in the new location, or by selling their house move to a rental unit (thereby liquidating their asset and obtaining the entire stock of equity). The last possibility covers cases where the owner id deceased or leaves the country, leading to the final sale of the house and the release of 100% of the equity. Table 2. Category of Homeowners Method of Extracting Equity Houseowners retaining possession Re-mortgaging: by taking out additional mortgage(s), borrowers could access equity up to a maximum percentage of value Houseowners that move Down-grading: these households move to a cheaper home, thereby harvesting the equity that equals the difference between the value of sale and the portion of mortgage that was owed Over-mortgaging: these households move to a new residence but manage to obtain a mortgage loan that exceeds the value of the new purchase. This typically occurs in regional markets where there is strong expectations of continuous property-value appreciation Final sale with return to rental: some households sell their houses in order to move to a rental property ostensibly due to either lack of affordability (those with diminished earnings) or convenience (mostly the elderly and the infirm) Households in which the owner(s) are deceased Final sale: when the owners dies, the property is sold with the receipts being used for purposes other than purchase of a house Having harvested the equity, how a given household’s chooses to allocate it across possible uses depends on a range of socio-economic and demographic factors like income level, family size, amount and composition of wealth, age(s) of the members, their geographical location, and even their ethnicity. The following section provides a detailed discussion of the conversion of equity into a specific one use – consumption. Housing wealth and the consumption function: Theory, Analysis, and UK Evidence In this section we begin with outlining the macroeconomic theory behind the consumption function with special reference to the wealth effect. The aim is to both explain the causal relationships behind the various ways in changes in the housing market can impact consumption as well as to identify the factors and circumstances under which the wealth effect might be weakened. The issues in this discussion are with explicit reference to the specific case of the UK. The original Keynesian consumption function was presented as: C = a + bYd(1) Where C denotes real consumption, ‘a’ is the autonomous consumption expenditures, ‘b’ is the parameter symbolizing the marginal propensity to consume (hereafter, mpc) that was postulated as being a constant fraction, and Yd the real disposable income. Shifts in the consumption function are considered as being caused by ‘shocks’ or changes in variables other than Yd. Given the historical period when Keynes first conceived this relationship, it is not surprising that income was the chief driver of consumer spending. Presumably, because wealth was highly concentrated within the aristocracy and credit was a privilege for the few, Keynes decided to lump all non-income influences on consumption into the autonomous term. Over time, with growing sophistication of macroeconomic theory and of market-based economies in general, the consumption function came to be recognized as the following general formulation: C = Æ’(Yd, Real Interest Rate, Price Level, Wealth, Expectations)(2) This explicitly recognized the influence of, among other variables, wealth on consumption decisions, i.e. the wealth effect. However, the formulation stuck with the original assumption of the mpc being constant. That, after all, was acceptable because Keynes’s thinking was anchored in short run considerations and the assumption of unchanging consumers’ sensitivity to income changes was consistent with the model. However, empirical testing of the formulation revealed that not only did the mpc vary with the length of time over which the estimation was conducted (it increased with time), but that its value tended to approach one. This certainly cast a cloud over the consumption function’s relevance and reliability in terms of explaining behaviour.[8] With new thinking about consumption expenditures and about the time-horizon over which a household’s economic decisions were made, two new theories emerged. The Life Cycle Hypothesis (LCH)[9] and the Permanent Income Hypothesis (PIH)[10] both began from the fundamentally un-Keynesian assumption that households make decisions based on their assessment of not only the present but also the anticipated or likely future circumstances. In addition, both also held that rational spending and hence saving decisions necessarily involved long term planning – plausibly for rainy days, growth in family size, and old age. According to Miller (1996) and Gordon (2003), the LCH assumes that permanent incomes are determined over the entire lifetime of the consumer, with allowance for a transitory element that depends on the consumer’s professional status. While the lifetime-oriented income could rise or fall in response to changes in productivity and unexpected events, consumption is smoothed and maintained at an even keel with dissaving (or borrowing) making up any shortfall in spending power. Similarly, in boom periods households save and accumulate purchasing power as wealth for future use. The long term level of income is assumed to follow a smooth path. Clearly, wealth plays a critical part in this model as the household accumulates savings in periods when smoothed consumption is below income. Similarly, as needed, wealth is accessed or made liquid for spending when planned consumption exceeds earnings.[11] The theoretical significance of the LCH – which forms the basis of much of the empirical research reviewed – is easy to see because the way it explicitly incorporates the wealth effect into the household’s lifetime decision horizon with respect consumption, it makes it convenient to model housing wealth. Like the stylized household in the model that begins income-earning phase of her life with modest income and some debt (incurred because of current consumption expenditures exceeding lifetime income), the typical new homeowner is relatively young with a mortgage debt that is several times her annual income and little in terms of savings. Over time, in the absence of tumultuous booms, population and income growth in the economy lead to a steady rise in property values and mortgage equity accumulates. With growing needs for durables, the homeowner then has the possibility of ‘cashing in’ some of the stored housing wealth when current income and savings prove inadequate, much in the same way as the theoretical consumer enters a life-phase during which dissaving takes place. The key idea here is that just like the accumulated housing equity is part of purchasing power for the lifetime, the consumption decision also cannot be inconsistent with a long term budgetary process. This model also suggests that there are periods (or life phases) in the household’s lifetime when wealth is accumulated and when it is used up in the form of consumption. This clearly defines when and under what circumstances mortgage equity is spent. For a young family that continues to occupy a house, the prime motivation is to accumulate equity and harvest it for emergencies or for planned increases in spending that are in balance with expected lifetime earnings which presumably are adjusted for the debt service associated with the additional mortgage. This scenario is consistent with, say, a home improvement project that allows for a larger or growing family or with purchase of durables for a similar purpose. For older homeowners who are approaching retirement or are actually retired, withdrawing equity is consistent with their position in the ‘life-cycle’. Since the income stream is either expected to end or has ended, spending decisions warrant the use of sa vings and/or mortgage equity withdrawals (MEW). Critical to this model is how it treats the rapidly accumulated wealth gains due to a market-driven housing price boom like UK just experienced. Analyzing the housing wealth effect in the context of the LCH, Bridges et al (2004) liken the rise in housing wealth to raising the household’s lifetime budget constraint. Assuming easy access to credit, they identify two pertinent theoretical relationships: one between housing price increases and the lifetime incomes of the wealthier households and the other between housing wealth and the newly acquired debt obligations of the re-mortgaging households. In theory, then, higher housing prices generate wealth effects depending on whether or not the price change is interpreted as permanent or temporary. If households perceive the gains to be permanent or unlikely to be reversed by a sudden housing bust (like what the UK witnessed in the 1980’s and early 1990’s), then it amounts a rise in lifetime income and higher consumpti on expenditures induced by it are ‘allowed.’ On the other hand if the price (and wealth) increases are due to random market activity and will most likely be followed by a decline, then the realized buildup of mortgage equity ought to be regarded as a temporary development and no serious consumption outlays need be planned to spend it. LCH holds that households that are pleasantly surprised by equity gains and choose to borrow against it for extravagance or pleasure spending are fully aware of the future debt-service implications and have made the necessary budgetary calculations that reveal that these actions related to the wealth-effect are compatible with their lifetime income. Curiously, O’Sullivan and Hogan (2003) report that Ireland also experienced a housing boom (though not as extreme as the one in UK), but that there were no signs of a wealth effect. This was presumably because Irish consumers did not put much faith in the housing market’s longevit y and construing the recent price gains as transitory, let the accumulated equity stay ‘frozen.’ However, it is possible that there were indeed impulses related to a housing wealth effect but simultaneously counteracting forces offset it, resulting in generally unchanged aggregate consumption.[12] The above discussion opens up three related and important issues: (i) the process by which accumulated housing wealth translates into consumption expenditure, i.e. the anatomy of the wealth effect in the housing context, (ii) the implications of multiple possible uses of MEW for the strength of the wealth effect, and (iii) other macroeconomic factors that can offset the wealth effect or perhaps prevent it from materializing. Anatomy of the Housing Wealth Effect There are two channels through which homeowners are able to raise their consumption via the wealth effect. As explained above, one way for homeowners to convert their housing wealth is by harvesting mortgage equity MEW. Table 2 outlined the variety of ways in which households obtain equity. Benito and Power (2004), Bridges et al (2004), and Davey (2001) provide insight into how MEW has become a major source of consumer financing in the UK. Graph 5 clearly shows the close relationship between housing prices and MEW[13]. Throughout the last three decades, except for the 2003-2004 interval, UK’s homeowners have reacted to the housing market’s wealth rewards. As Davey (2001) explains, MEW was relatively unimportant in the 1970’s but rose sharply in the following decade. In the early 1980’s despite a recession, MEW climbed because the period coincided with the privatization of public housing. The first half of 1990’s, however, saw a steep decline in hou seholds use of withdrawn equity.In fact there was a brief period when there was a net injection of equity into the housing stock. It could be argued that this was a reflection of a rational economic behaviour on the part of homeowners’ as they assessed a downward trend in housing prices as being detrimental to their long term finances. With a declining value of their housing wealth, UK’s homeowners cut back on withdrawals. Since the mid-1990’s price boom, that downward trend in MEW was quickly reversed. This period saw MEW grow faster than housing prices hinting at the possibility of a overly optimistic body of borrowers who expected housing prices and equity accumulation to continue rising at an ever increasing rate. Since at least part of the MEW is withdrawn by homeowners re-mortgaging their houses (see Table 2), this translates into loans secured by their properties. Halifax – BOS (2005) offer compelling evidence in this respect. They report that in 2 004, total gross lending secured by dwellings was an astronomical  £291 billion – 4% more than the previous year. The figure that was a mere  £57 billion in 1995, doubled by 1999 and with growth rates sometimes exceeding 35% had risen to five times that level in 2004. This monumental withdrawal can be interpreted as a major windfall for the homeowners who suddenly found themselves swimming in an ocean of purchasing power made available by the housing market. The other channel through which housing wealth engenders greater purchasing power in the hands of homeowners is comparatively subtle mechanism. Bridges et al (2004) discuss in great detail, how even without using their property s collateral, homeowners have gained access to ever rising amounts of unsecured credit. The rising value of housing wealth was interpreted by banks and other lenders as indicative of greater borrowing ability, i.e. greater creditworthiness. Naturally, this perception of the lenders was shaped, in part, by expectations of continuous a housing boom. A side implication of this phenomenon is that homeownership in the UK had become a screening device or filter for lenders’ decisions about whom to consider for loans. It follows that this would place renters at a disadvantage with respect to access to credit. Several studies, including Bridges at al (2004) have cited evidence of homeowners being supplied credit on terms far more favorable than those offered to non-owners. It can be reasonably expected that a large portion of the unsecured borrowing was directed toward consumption. Critical to both these channels is the issue of the ease with homeowners are able to obtain credit in lieu of their housing wealth. The mere existence of mortgage equity must be complemented with an efficient system to gain access to it for the wealth effect to take place. Benito (2004), Bridges et al (2004), and Her Majesty’s Treasury (2003) all stress that the liberalization of UK’s financial system that began in 1979 (see footnote 6 in Sec. 2) has been instrumental in creating a credit market that has facilitated the historic levels of MEW. With rising competition among banks and building societies and tremendous product innovation, the lending industry has created a series of affordable and accessible ways in which homeowners can obtain credit. All three studies portray the boom in housing prices and MEW in the UK as unique as compared to all other OECD economies. The coincidence of rising housing prices created huge reserves of withdrawable mortgage equity and supply-side changes in the form of lower restrictions on lending practices and other financial reform is responsible for the explosion in MEW sin