Social welfare policy that facilitates reduction of poverty and inequality in US

Introduction In the past two decades, the international community has made poverty eradication as their number one priority. Over a decade ago, Breton wood institutions came up with an objective of minimizing cases of income – poverty in less developed countries from over 30% to less than 15% by 2015 (Bourguignon 2).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Social welfare policy that facilitates reduction of poverty and inequality in US specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Escalation in global poverty has led to emergence, fusion, and dispensation of new economic models which focuses on economic stability, liberalization, privatization of public institutions, and exploration of market solutions in supplying public goods. These approaches marked the era of policy making in both developed and developing nations in their effort to promoting living standards of the poor nations and the eradication of poverty globally (Bour guignon 3). Most studies investigating inequalities between countries assume all citizens from these nations have similar mean income. Most of these studies suggests that majority of the Asian countries grew first towards the mean income while the rest of developing nations are moving further away (Glazer 3). These studies show that the income of the richest members of the population which constitutes of about 20% has rose to over 80%. Therefore, the increasing global inequality has been a constant feature over the past three decades, with a noticeable scenario from 80s to date and there is diminutive evidence that this condition will change (Glazer 4). With exclusion of china, the reduction of inequality in the global arena has not been realized since 1975. Since the end of 70s, US have experienced spectacular increase in economic inequality. United States is considered to be the most unequal nation among the world richest economies. In spite of the scale of the increase in the ine quality, the political class in the US rarely discusses this subject in the public. Throughout the history of the United States of America, its populace has struggled considerably with the paradox of poverty amidst riches (Weil and Kenneth 2). This has left many people wondering why a nation endowed with such magnitude of wealth still witness its own citizens struggle while there are enormous opportunities and excellent economy. Are the poor to be to be blamed or they are just victims of social inequality dogged with racism and bigotry, or economic system that favors the affluent over the struggling population? The paradox of the American poverty runs down to a long time and the only news is the amount of public policy concentration aimed towards the poor. A lot of attention is being paid now than before and one of the major reasons for this is the restructuring of the welfare system.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your fi rst paper with 15% OFF Learn More The American income safeguarding system is categorized into two based on their relationship with the workers; one of the category is the social security which includes unemployment compensation program, disability insurance among others which is linked to the payroll deduction or contributions from the income to the public programs. The other category is the social welfare programs whose suitability is centered on the welfare earning and accumulated affluence. Welfare programs are mostly for the needy and the poor people in the society (Glazer 3). Personal Responsibility and Work opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 led to the overhaul of the welfare system. One of the major reform programs was the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). This program offered cash incentives to the families which had children but earned low income (Weil and Kenneth 4-5). There were other legislations that sought to terminate all of the abo ve government programs that assisted the low-income earners/ the poor by encouraging self-reliance and personal responsibility. PRWORA put in place stringent measures that limited the cash assistance, enforced work requirements, and promoted matrimony and nuclear family as a basis for raising children (Trattner 6). Welfare reforms in the US have been a big achievement, in any case by considering the reduction in the welfare problems. The number of families that got assistance from the welfare programs decreased by more than half between the year 1994 and the year 2000. By the year 2000, only 2.1% of the US populace was receiving support from the government welfare program known as the Temporary Assistance for the Needy Family program (TANF). Successes of these programs were promoted by the flourishing economy at that time. This welfare programs helped in poverty caseloads reduction even in the single families with women as the head. The year 2002 saw the re-authorization of the welf are reform bill as a result of the protests from the poverty and welfare rights group. The right group argued that PRWORA placed a lot of focus on minimizing caseloads instead of prioritizing poverty reduction (Glazer 3). Statistics of the poor Americans According to the studies carried out in the year 2000 it was established that the poor Americans constituted of about 11% of the population. This study was carried by the US office of management and Budget. This was the lowest rate since 70s and only 4.4% lived below the poverty line.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Social welfare policy that facilitates reduction of poverty and inequality in US specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There is diminutive evidence to support the critics who opposes PRWORA claiming that it has impoverished the populace more. In a matter of fact, the average income of the American families within the bracket of bottom 20% increased from 1 2600 dollars to over 14000 dollars. The growing incomes among the poor and the rich reinforced the euphoria over the improving economy and authenticating claims that welfare reform was successful (Glazer 3). Activists representing the poor argue that income benchmark used by the federal government to measure poverty was too low to cover the basic needs. In the year 2000, single mothers with two children required only 14000 dollars to be counted out of the poor population while a nuclear family with two children required 17500 dollars. In contrast, the median income for the American families was approximately 51000 dollars. Analyst argues that personal income at or above the economic poverty income threshold cannot support an individual in the world biggest cities like London, Washington D.C, among others since housing is beyond their reach (Bourguignon 2). Considerable difference in living costs in different geographical regions forms the basis for criticism against a single nationa l income standard for defining poverty. Other limitations on the official definition of poverty are its failure to account for other source of income or support such as food stamps (Trattner 6). Child poverty rates dropped by almost 20% in the early 1990s to the year 2006 according to the national survey carried out in 2007. About 11.5 million children and 3.4 million adults of age 65 and above live in poverty making almost half of the poor population in America. Children and elderly persons are considered as eligible poor who deserves state’s assistance. They cannot be held responsible for their poor status. America’s racial minorities still constitute the poorest in the American society (Glazer 3). The racial structure and composition of the poor Americans have not changed over the past ten years. In early 90s, 50% of the poor populations were non-Hispanic white. This figure went down by 3% in the year 2000 to 47%. America’s increasing racial diversity has tak en place at the same time with the waning poverty rates across racial and ethnic minority groups. Between 1990 to date poverty, rates have gone down from 28% to 19% among the Hispanic, and from 12% to 10% among Asian and Islanders.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Reduction in poverty rates dropped steeply among the African American from about 40% in the year 1990 to about 20% in the year 2006. However, poverty rates among the African American and the Hispanics is still about twice the national average (Trattner 7). Wage inequality between male and female have persisted coupled with the escalation in single motherhood. This has underpinned the perception that the growing poor Americans are women (Bourguignon 2). In the year 2000, the poverty among women was 25% higher than men and this gender difference has remained constant over the years. The sex difference has persisted despite of the increasing female employment rate, increase in income and reducing wage difference between male and females (Trattner 6). About half of the America’s poor families are headed by women although families headed by women only represent quarter of the all families with children. In the year 2000, the rate of poor families headed by women was six times high er than the rate for married couple (Trattner 6). After the enactment of the PRWORA, this rate started to decline from 47% to nearly 30%. The main goal for this welfare program was to encourage work and economic self-reliance among the poor particularly among the unwed mothers with children. Therefore, welfare reforms forced large percentage of female beneficiaries into the labor force. Although employment does not protect an individual from poverty, people who area employed are likely to be less poor (Glazer 3). The personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) The personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was signed by President Clinton in 1996 into law to fulfill his promise of ending the welfare problems facing the poor Americans at that time. This law transformed the entire national welfare system both substantially and administratively. This law also eliminated the previous welfare system which had been advocated against by peop le from all walks of life since it was increasing state expenditure while leaving the poor on the mercy of the government donations (Caraley 5). The main purpose for the introduction of personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was to minimize over dependence on welfare, bringing forth children out of wedlock and promoting nuclear type of families. In line wit the above preconditions, the act required that the beneficiaries to look for job opportunities within two years of receiving support, and placed a five-year limit on the lifetime a person should be entitled to these benefits. In addition, the act (Weil and Kenneth 7) Brief history of the law PRWORA eradicated the previous welfare program known as the AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) which was enacted in 1935 following the great depression that engulfed the US and the global financial arena. AFDC welfare benefits were based on eligibility. This means that families who met their conditions wer e entitle to the benefits for as long as they needed it. In addition, the federal share of the AFDC funds fluctuated in accordance with the caseloads. At first people saw the program as a helping hand to the justified widows as it helped them to raise their children. On the other hand, critics felt that this program encouraged dependency among the escalating class of single mothers, besides creating inflated and incompetent bureaucracy (Weil and Kenneth 9). In 1970s large number of women started joining the workforce as the Americans started becoming hungry at the single mothers whom they viewed as undeserving the benefits of the program. Besides, the welfare beneficiaries stated to grow at an alarming rate thus increasing the cost of the program. Racial subjects also played a big part in the switch as the African-American women became stereotyped as welfare mothers (Weil and Kenneth 7). The US government in the year 1980s, started to issue waivers to the to some of its states that considered to test their own welfare programs. Some of these states enforced work obligations and limited time for receiving benefits thus tried to transform the behavior of the beneficiaries by granting or denying benefits inline rules set in their programs. Some of the American conservatives also argued that the welfare programs increase d poverty instead of reducing it since many people became over-dependent on the program (Bourguignon 8). When President Clinton was elected he continued to support states that wanted to test their own social welfare programs to replace the then entitlement program.However, when the republicans won the majority sits in congress in 1994, they proposed a plan to introduce their own principals into the welfare program. This pressurized President Clinton to pass a considerable welfare restructuring legislation so as to demonstrate his record as a moderate politician (Bourguignon 9). However, President Clinton rejected two republican welfare-restructuri ng bills in the year 1995 that he felt were too inconsiderate. In the year 1996, both the republicans and the democrats were under pressure to conclude the welfare reform agenda before the forthcoming general election. As a compromised bill, congress submitted PRWORA to the president who signed it into law despite of his doubts over certain clauses. A number of high-level officials resigned to protest the signing of the bill arguing that the bill would cause escalation of poverty and inequality during recession (Weil and Kenneth 7). Main provisions of the personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act The act creates Temporary Assistance for the Needy families (TSNF). TANF substitutes previous eligibility program for instance Aid to Families with Dependent Children. The act devolves responsibility of welfare programs from federal government to the state/ local governments and non-profit making private organizations. The act uses time restrictions and work conditions to stress the move from welfare to work. The law stiffens entitlement standards for Supplementary Security Income (SSI) child disability benefits. The act also requires state to impose strict child maintenance programs for collecting child funds from the absent fathers (Weil and Kenneth 5). This act restricts entitlement and other public benefits to the newly immigrants. The act also denies illegal immigrants most of the benefits except under emergency cases. The state is required to provide federal cash support to the legal migrants in the country and to use government funds to assist immigrants not entitled to federal funds. PRWORA provides funds for foster care data system and national child welfare custody research. The law provides for unit fund to enable states to offer childcare for the working parents. The act transforms entitlement criteria and benefits for child nutritional programs. The law has put forth strict standards for food stamps and other benefits. PRWORA minimiz es benefit level and refutes most benefits to able persons unless they are working or in school. Finally, the law limits entitlement for TANF beneficiaries. The law sets up five-year deadline for beneficiaries and deters persons convicted of drug related crimes from accessing this program in their lifetime (Weil and Kenneth 7). Assessing Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) Before the enactment of the bill, the number of people under the welfare program had already fallen. This number continued to fall significantly after signing of the bill into law. Between the period when the bill was signed and the year 2000, the figure of the people under the welfare program went down by almost half, even though caseloads in majority of the states started to go up again by 2001 and continued to vary moderately. Besides, the rate of poverty fell to the lowest recorded level of 19% from 22% in 1994, though this rate never went down remarkably as the figure of t he beneficiaries (Trattner 14). In spite of the encouraging figures, the welfare of those under the PRWORA program was never clear. By the end of 2002, many people who were former beneficiary of the welfare program were by then working low paying jobs with minimal benefits. These people were no longer granted food stamps or medical cover even in cases where they were eligible. In most cases, the underpaying job opportunity for the poor meant loss of the benefits from the welfare program. Majority of the former beneficiaries thus lingered beneath the poverty line. Almost half of the former beneficiaries who left the program in search of jobs went back within a year since they were not able to access jobs or consistent child care (Trattner 15). In addition, almost half of the people who left the welfare program did not have jobs or were not working at all. Some of these people got discouraged from applying for the program; majority had their benefits cut trimmed down or terminated by failing to meet the required threshold while others just vanished from the system (Carale 2). Majority of the beneficiaries of the former welfare program (TANF) had considerable obstacles for employment including illiteracy, health problems, and drug / alcohol problems among others. Even though PRWORA provided no apparent policy guidelines to assist these people overcome such obstacles, beneficiaries faced set time deadline on assistance (Weil and Kenneth 9). Lawful Challenges that pretentious the personal accountability and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act PRWORA brought about a welfare system which was triggered by the level of reforms, though its execution was met by several challenges of the law. Supreme Court ruled against the lesser benefits that was being accorded to the citizens who were moving from state to state since it violated their right of movement. In addition, there were cases of successful petition against the unjust Welfare officers who were mistreating the ben eficiaries. These cases revolved around those officers who were trying to discourage the needy from applying for help, denying them access to the program or giving them unfair hearing in cases where they violated the law. (Weil and Kenneth 10). Nevertheless, some of these court petitions never bared fruit. Examples of such cases include incidences where the applicants tested positive for illegal drugs which is against the law. Other legal challenges have focused on the aid organizations of choice. The law requires the state to include religious organizations when contracting out welfare administration (Trattner 25). The reorganization of the PRWORA It was back in the year 2002 in the month of October when PRWORA mandate expired, but was later on reauthorized by the congress. Within the same year, President Bush increased the working hours for the employees under the program. In addition, President Bush laid down a plan to increase the number of beneficiaries in the work force from 5 0% to70% before the end of his term. The president also offered to finance state programs that encouraged marriage and unmarried adolescent from engaging in premarital sex. The president’s proposals were passed in May the same year (Trattner 5). June 2002 saw the senate finance committee passing a more accommodative bill that raised childcare funds, widened the description of work activities, and allowed state to provide welfare benefits to the legal immigrants. On the other hand, the senate refused to pass the bill. Being unable to reach a compromising ground on the same subject, the Congress passed an abiding resolution to retain TANF until 2003 thus leaving the bill to the subsequent congress (Caraley 5). Conclusion United States is considered to be the world richest economy ad has the greatest share of money in the international monetary fund. With all that wealth it is unbelievable to realize that some of the American citizens still live in poverty. This is a paradox sin ce the median income of the Americans is about 59,000 dollars. This inequality led to a number of social welfare programs to help the poor and the needy. These efforts started in the late 30s following the great depression but the turning point in the America’s welfare reforms took place when President Clinton signed personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act into law in the year 1996. This was a major milestone in the quest for welfare reforms although the act also had some loopholes. The rate of the poor Americans have dropped significantly since the introduction of the bill. Work Cited Bourguignon, Francois. The Poverty-Growth-Inequality Triangle. Washington D.C: World Bank, 2004. Print Caraley, Demetrios James. Ending Welfare As We Know It: A Reform Still in Progress. Political Science Quarterly 116, no. 4 (2001): 525. Glazer, Sarah, Are Former Welfare Recipients Better Off Today? CQ Researcher 11, no. 27 (Aug. 2001). Trattner, Walter. From Poor Law t o Welfare State: A History of Social Welfare in America. 6th ed. New York: Free Press, 1999. Weil, Alan and Kenneth, Finegold. Welfare Reform: The Next Act. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press, 2002. Print. This essay on Social welfare policy that facilitates reduction of poverty and inequality in US was written and submitted by user Sister Grimm to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Basic Prompts and Tips on College Essay Writing

Basic Prompts and Tips on College Essay Writing A set of great essay writing tips that help students write a winning college essay. A college essay is a great chance for students to show their best qualities and to convince the admission committee that they are better than other applicants. In situations, where two applicants appear equal, a compelling essay makes the difference. While reading such essays college admission officers will see that the student can write correctly and use logical arguments. The essay will also provide more information about the students personality. Tips on the Art of the College Essay Writing: There is no such thing as a ‘correct’ answer.  Universities get hundreds of responses and admission officers give students all kinds of essay topics. There is no one or several ‘correct’ answers to the same question; each college essay is individual and unique. Take your time.  Admission officers look through hundreds of essays, and it does become evident how much time the student has spent over the essay. Have fun.  Having fun in the process of the essay writing will be an advantage for you. That will probably make the application process less stressful. If students have fun writing their essays, admission committees will have fun reading them. Write about yourself.  An admission officer doesnt have a favorite type of essay. Some essays are funny, others are serious, and some are deeply personal. But favorite essays are the ones which are thoughtful and truly tell about a students personality. Five College Essay Writing Tips Writing an essay, you should keep some requirements in mind: 1. Avoid writing a general essay. Such generic essays contain too many abstractions and unsupported generalizations. They may be absolutely technically correct: very well-organized, full of complicated sentence structures and have ideal spelling, but reading them brings nothing but regret they are boring. 2. Begin with a snappy opening line. Start your essay in a compelling way. Here is a couple of winning opening lines: I change my name each time I place an order at Starbucks, I have old hands etc. 3. Pick a subject carefully. Dont use controversial and sensitive subjects. Subjects that you are not recommended to touch are politics, abortion, gun control etc. Try not to apologize or complain in your essay. 4. Find your voice. It really doesnt matter what you decide to write about. It is far more important to write from yourself; that way you will show admission officers why you are the best candidate. One more thing: the essay needs to reflect what your current personality, rather than explain who you were a long time ago. 5. Give your essay a two days rest. When youre done with your essay, put it aside for a day or two. You will probably be surprised how many changes you will want to make when you resume working with it. Best College Essay Prompts Narrative Analysis Narrative essays serve numerous purposes, but the most successful ones usually include three basic characteristics: they are well organized in time, contain a certain central point, and use specific details according to that point. Here are five typical narrative essay prompts: your first visit to a large city breakup of a friendship an experience that showed how we should be careful a significant misunderstanding a dangerous experience Description Descriptive essays need to attract significant attention to details. Whatever subject you choose, you should begin with making an observation and deciding which details are most important. Here are examples: an inspiring situation a street that leads to your home an accident scene backstage during a concert Process Analysis When you write an essay using process analysis, you should give your readers understanding whether the process has been carried out successfully or not. Here you are expected to describe the process step by step. Look at these examples: how to lose weight without losing your mind how to find the perfect roommate how to enjoy the weekend for less than $20 how to develop self-confidence how a particular accident occurred So the main thing you should really do is to gain experience in writing essays. With just a little bit of practice, you will be able to use a rich vocabulary, complicated literary constructions and various approaches to the pointed prompt, keeping in mind all the requirements of the structure. That is really an art to create an essay which will show the admission that you are the best candidate to accept. So treat it with a  proper attitude and do your best to create a masterpiece. COLLEGE APPLICATION ESSAY Please place your  order here  and we will jump right at it, with a guarantee that your essay will come up top quality, original and right in time!

Convert Pascals to Atmospheres Unit Conversion Problem

Convert Pascals to Atmospheres Unit Conversion Problem This example problem demonstrates how to convert the pressure units pascals (Pa) to atmospheres (atm). Pascal is a SI pressure unit that refers to newtons per square meter. Atmosphere originally was a unit related to the air pressure at sea level. It was later defined as 1.01325 x 105 Pa. Pa to Atm Problem The air pressure outside a cruising jet liner is approximately 2.3 x 104 Pa. What is this pressure in atmospheres?Solution:1 atm 1.01325 x 105 PaSet up the conversion so the desired unit will be cancelled out. In this case, we want Pa to be the remaining unit.pressure in atm (pressure in Pa) x (1 atm/1.01325 x 105 Pa)pressure in atm (2.3 x 104/1.01325 x 105) Papressure in atm 0.203 atmAnswer:The air pressure at cruising altitude is 0.203 atm. Check Your Work One quick check you should do to make sure your answer is reasonable is to compare the answer in atmospheres to the value in pascals. The atm value should be about 10,000 times smaller than the number in pascals.

Kurds Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Kurds - Research Paper Example some of them are nomadic pastoralists while others are settled farmers. However, the majority of the population relies on agriculture as the sole source of subsistence. Thus, if a generalized pattern is to be drawn, agriculture can be considered as a sole source of living. The social organizations can be studied in context to the mode of subsistence, as settlers generally follow the feudal system while the nomads are associated more with the tribal system (Leach, 1940). Similarly, the kinship also relates to the subsistence modes of the Kurds as the system of 12 families relates to the land ownership within a family. Gender relations for the most part being equal also reflect the ownership of an entire family over one piece of land, thus portraying equal rights over the property. Political organization associated with the system of Ashiret is based on the lineage system which is also in turn driven by the mode of subsistence. Thus, more or less, almost all patterns of Kurdish lifesty le are connected with their source of living, reflecting an interesting connection between the survival modes and the cultural patterns of any group. Prior to analyzing any cultural patterns found in the Kurdish population, it is crucial to study the population to understand their historical origins and their lifestyles. Kurds are identified as an ethno-linguistic group living in the mountain range starting from the Euphrates River, extending towards Northern Syria and even Turkey, and further ending near Iran. This entire area where Kurdish population is found in abundance is identified as Kurdistan. Though the Kurds are striving towards the formation of an independent Kurdistan as it is rich with oil reserves and other resources, it has no geographical standing in the world so far. The Kurdish language is an important element of the Kurdish unity – though diverse in nature, it generally relates to the Farsi language in general. About 30-35 Million Kurds can be traced around the globe, with most of them being Sunni Salafi Muslims. However, most of them aren’t fundamentalists and the concept of veil of segregation of women from men isn’t that common. With time, this community is also being modernized to adapt to the changing needs of the time. (McDowall, 1989) As mentioned above, the mode of sustenance in the Kurdish population varies somewhere between the nomads and the settlers. Nomads are usually the pastoralists, while the main mode of sustenance for the settlers is farming. Most of the Kurdish population, however, is comprised of those who are the settled farmers, and the most common crops found in Kurdistan are wheat as well as barley. In addition, other vegetables and crops including peas, rice, lentils, and garden vegetables are also commonly found in Kurdistan. Goats and sheep are the most crucial animals as they are a source of dairy products, wool, and other products. These modes of subsistence are important to be analyzed and u nderstood, as the entire lives of these Kurds revolve around it. Since most of them are farmers, land is an important entity for them. Thus, the patterns of land ownership, in turn, decide who will be the most powerful of all, which further identifies other cultural variables and determinants. (Leach, 1940) Commenting on the social organizations being most dominant in Kurdistan, two patterns can be traced accordingly. The first pattern relates to the nomadic way of life, as they follow the tribal system. Since nomads are historically found

Economic principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economic principles - Essay Example The shift in supply curve upwards as shown in the diagram below will results to increase in price of tomatoes from P1 to P0. On the other hand, the quantity supplied will reduce from Q1 to Q0. The equilibrium price and quantity shifts to P0 and Q0 as a result of shift in supply curve upwards. Henderson (2008) claims that the equilibrium price and quantity of tomato is determined by the interactions between demand and supply. There are several factors, which determine changes in equilibrium position. They include shift in the supply and shift in demand curve, which may shift the demand curve either upwards or downwards. Figure 1: the diagram shows the new equilibrium price and quantity as a result of upward shift in the supply curve which is caused by reduction in supply of tomatoes Question 2 (a) According to Johnsen (2002), price elasticity refers to the degree of responsiveness of the demand for a particular good or services to the changes in the price of goods or services in quest ion. Moreover, determinants of price elasticity refer to the factors that cause price elasticity. There is a host of factors, which affects the price elasticity. The factors include the presence of substitute, expected changes in price, amount of income, necessity, duration, and brand loyalty. Availability of substitute implies that increases the price elasticity because a slight difference in price would result into consumers shifting base to a rival product, which are cheaper. However, the same condition does not apply if the goods are not close substitute. Tomatoes have close substitutes such as onions and green paper. As such, if the prices of tomatoes increase due to reduction in supply, the consumers will shift to the close substitutes. The other determinant of price elasticity is level of income. Kiley (2011) assert that when the consumers have a considerably high level of income then it implies that they are less sensitive to changes in price. On the other hand, if the level of income is low then the consumers are very sensitive to changes in prices hence any slight change in price would result to consumers buying less of the product. This situation implies that despite the fact that the prices are expected to rise because of the eminent shortage, some consumers with high income will still buy tomatoes because they have low price elasticity. Necessity is yet another determinant of price elasticity; products such as food staff are basic good hence they have low price elasticity. On the hand, luxury products have high price elasticity hence consumers will buy less of the product if the price increases. Tomato is a basic good hence; it does not have high price elasticity (Klein, 2003). The other factor that affects the price elasticity of goods is duration. In the short term, the price elasticity is low while the reverse is true in the long run. The justification for this trend emanates because in the short term, the consumers have not adequately adjusted to the changes in the market. However, in the long run, the consumers have had adequate time to adjust to changes in the market and as such, they are in a position to exhibit high price elasticity. The fact that the issue of shortages of tomatoes in the market has lasted for quite some time, it means that price elasticity is also high since the consumers are responding adequately to high tomato prices, which is occasioned by the shortage of tomatoes in the

Neglecting the Complexities Essay Example for Free

Neglecting the Complexities Essay Global warming is the heating up of the earth’s surface which causes such an increase in the average temperature that sums up to the change in the earth’s climate. This can be attributed to the man-made greenhouse gas concentrations as in the greenhouse effect. The Earths climate changes in response to external forcing, including variations in its orbit around the Sun (orbital forcing), changes in solar luminosity, volcanic eruptions, and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The detailed causes of the recent warming remain an active field of research, but the scientific consensus is that the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases due to human activity caused most of the warming observed since the start of the industrial era. This attribution is clearest for the most recent 50 years, for which the most detailed data are available. Some other hypotheses departing from the consensus view have been suggested to explain most of the temperature increase. One such hypothesis proposes that warming may be the result of variations in solar activity. We can just imagine how much of this heat would come from the environmental pollution as the toxic wastes emitted by factory chimneys, production of plastics, chemicals from hairsprays and the like. These innovations that are both detrimental to human health and environment, especially in times where we have denuded green fields and lack of the maintaining and sustaining of the forestry. The current times would show much indifference from the human population who as learned to embrace the short term aesthetic beauty and comfort that this modernism offers to the industry. This apathy should then be addressed immediately especially at these times when the grave effects and destructions of the global warming are so imminent not only in the human health but most especially with the dwindling of natural resources. Despite the notable efforts of some groups and organizations, one cannot help the passive undertaking of such a serious matter by the higher percentage of the human population. One should realize the horrendous effects that could follow with further negligence to such an alarming state of nature. The anticipated shift of climate because of global warming has the biggest possibility of having irreversible effects at both the continental and global scales which prove to be truly devastating. Though the actual materialization of such projected effects remain controversial, the foreseen outcomes include the impeded ocean circulation which is responsible for the transportation of the warm water to the North Atlantic, The wiping out of Greenland and West Antarctic Ice Sheets, intensification of droughts, the wildfires out of heatwaves, severing storms, the speeding up of global warming brought about by the carbon cycle feedbacks in the terrestrial biosphere, and the exhaust of the terrestrial carbon from permafrost regions and methane from hydrates in coastal sediments. The United States National Academy of Sciences has warned, Greenhouse warming and other human alterations of the earth system may increase the possibility of large, abrupt, and unwelcome regional or global climatic events. . . . Future abrupt changes cannot be predicted with confidence, and climate surprises are to be expected. It was stated that most of the consequences of global warming would result from one of three physical changes: sea level rise, higher local temperatures, and changes in rainfall patterns. Sea level is generally expected to rise 18 to 59 cm (7. 1 to 23. 2 inches) by the end of the century. The extreme weather caused by global warming could lead to effects as that of Extratropical storms which is partly dependent on the temperature gradient that is predicted to weaken in the northern hemisphere as the polar region warms more than the rest of the hemisphere. Because of the warm climate there would be an increase in the evaporation which will then cause heavier rainfall as our world is a closed system, which further leads to erosion. This is very detrimental to tropical areas which may lead to desertification due to deforestation. It was then predicted to have an average of 2. 8% catastrophic storms in every 1% increase in annual precipitation. RESOLUTION Because of this awareness on the projected negative effects of global warming it has brought much concern to the human population which brought certain political advocacies into the proposition of ways to eradicate and alleviate the status of our ecosystem as greatly affected by the global warming. They are now promoting extensive means and way into advocating the social awareness of such horrendous effects to our world. The effects and consequences of present acts my not be super visible or flatly exposed to the human eye, but the projected image of how bad things can turn out to be is now shown through studies such as that of one as reported to UN by Stephen Mwakifwamba, national coordinator of the Centre for Energy, Environment, Science and Technology with regard to the Tanzanian government’s climate change. In the past, we had a drought about every 10 years, he says. Now we just dont know when they will come. They are more frequent, but then so are floods. The climate is far less predictable. We might have floods in May or droughts every three years. Upland areas, which were never affected by mosquitoes, now are. Water levels are decreasing every day. The rains come at the wrong time for farmers and it is leading to many problems. Greg Holland, director of the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Division at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said on April 24, 2006, The hurricanes we are seeing are indeed a direct result of climate change, and that the wind and warmer water conditions that fuel storms when they form in the Caribbean are, increasingly due to greenhouse gases. There seems to be no other conclusion you can logically draw. Holland said, The large bulk of the scientific community say what we are seeing now is linked directly to greenhouse gases. The Association of British Insurers has stated that limiting carbon emissions would avoid 80% of the projected additional annual cost of tropical cyclones by the 2080s. The cost is also increasing partly because of building in exposed areas such as coasts and floodplains. The ABI claims that reduction of the vulnerability to some inevitable effects of climate change, for example through more resilient buildings and improved flood defenses, could also result in considerable cost-savings in the long term. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but there is ongoing political and public debate worldwide regarding what, if any, action should be taken to reduce or reverse future warming or to adapt to its expected consequences. All of these warnings and plans can only be fully realized once each and every individual take a serious look at this alarming earth condition; then personally taking the initiative to involve them selves and act in ways to the promotion of lessening all these harmful sources of global heat. We can take a start from the use of earth-friendly materials such as the recycling method or even the use of healthy vehicular fuels. There are numerous ways to make use of the available alternatives or probably to explore new and better ways of catering materials for human services left to be seen. References Association of British Insurers. (2005). Financial risks of climate change. Brian S. and Gabriel V. (2007). IPCC Projections and Hurricanes. Geophysical Fluids Dynamic Global Warming blog. Global warming behind record 2005 storms: experts. Retrieved on Decmeber 12, 2006, from Reuters. Hoyos, Carlos D. ; Paula A. Agudelo, Peter J.Webster, Judith A. Curry (2006). Deconvolution of the Factors Contributing to the Increase in Global Hurricane Intensity. Science Express. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007, February 05). Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved February 02, 2007, from http://www. ipcc. ch/ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved December 12, 2007. Houghton, J. T. ,Y. Ding, D. J.

Because I could not stop for Death, by Emily Dickinson :: Emily Dickinson Essays

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born on December 10,1830 in the quiet community of Amherst, Massachusetts (Davidson 247). She was the second born to Edward and Emily Norcross Dickinson (Davidson 247). Her older brother Austin and her younger sister Lavina lived in a reserved family headed by their authoritative father (Davidson 247). Emily’s mother was not “emotionally accessible,'; thought out there lives (Davidson 247). Their parents weren’t involved in their children’s lives. One thing that their parents did do was raise there children with the Chistian tradition (Chase 28). They were expected to take up their father’s religious beliefs and values without any argument. Emily though did not fit in with her father’s religion and as she got older challenged these conventional religious viewpoints of her father and his church (Chase 28). Here put more stuff about why she did not except the Puritan God and why because of this you saw it in her writing (on page 12-? In Aiken). Her father was also an influential politician in Massachusetts holding powerful positions (Johnson 26). Due to this her family was very prominent in Amherst. Emily did not enjoy the popularity and excitement of her public life in Amherst. So she began to withdraw from the town, her family and friends (Johnson 29). This private life that she lived gave her, her own private society. She refused to see almost everyone that came to visit and rarely left her father’s house (Johnson 31).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Emily’s writing changed over the years due to events in her life. Most of her writing was about nature, friends, love and almost a third of her poems dealt with the subject of death (Ferlazzo 22). I’m going to focus my paper on the topic of death. A lot of Dickinson’s life was in morning the deaths of her close friends and family. Her father died in 1974, Samuel Bowles died in 1878, J.G. Holland died in 1881, her nephew Gilbert died in 1883, and both Charles Wadsworth, Emily’s mother died in 1882 (mapes) and Helen Hunt Jackson in 1885 (Chase 305). Over those seven years, many of the most influential and precious friendships of Emily’s passed away. On June 14, 1884 Emily suffered her first attack of her terminal illness, which put her to bed in her family’s house. Then less than two years latter she died at the age of 56 (Chase 310).

Business studies-intrapreneurship case study Essay

Intrapreneurship Case Study of the Sony Corporation, according to Ken Kutaragi PlayStation Intrapreneur The story of the Intrapreneurial (corporate entrepreneurial) corporate struggles, determination and the ultimate creation of the very successful Sony PlayStation by persistent and driven intrapreneur Ken Kutaragi, who’s international Intrapreneurial Success story has now become one of the most celebrated in business history. Intrapreneurship has been successfully utilized by corporations, partnerships, and non-profit firms in the US, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The underlying concept and idea of Intrapreneurship or Corporate Entrepreneurship had been present in corporations in the United States, Japan, and all around the world, for many decades, even before the term was used in the mid 1980’s in the mainstream media. Howard Edward Haller’s University Master’s Thesis was published back in 1982. Haller’s Thesis was the first academic case study of Int rapreneurship or corporate entrepreneurship. The intrapreneurial success of PR1ME Leasing helped the small growing OTC listed parent corporation (PR1ME Computer) to grow rapidly with strong sales and profits. PR1ME Computer Inc. was OTC listed and becoming NYSE listed n 4 years after launching the very successful Intrapreneurship adventure, PR1ME Leasing. The terms and basic concepts of â€Å"intrapreneur† or â€Å"Intrapreneurship† have existed and been effectively utilized in corporations for decades before the popular media put Intrapreneurship in mainstream media. On February 4, 1985 TIME Magazine’s article, â€Å"Here come the Intrapreneurs† discussed the Intrapreneurial spirit including the creation of Apple, and Saturn within General Motors, as well as Intrapreneurship ventures at AT&T, Data General, DuPont, and Texas Instruments. Steve Jobs, Apple’s Chairman then and now, used the word â€Å"intrapreneurship† in a Newsweek magazine article, September 30, 1985, in which Chairman Job’s shared: â€Å"The Macintosh team was what is commonly known as intrapreneurship-only a few years before the term was coined – a group of people going in essence back to the garage, but in a large company.† Now for the history of successful product creation and international marketing l aunch of Sony intrapreneurial creation, by intrapreneur Ken Kutaragi, of their very success intrapreneur success with PlayStation. Ken Kutaragi, who was educated as an electrical engineer, joined Sony Corporation in Japan in 1975, at the age of 25. Ken Kutaragi was working in the sound labs at Sony  Corporation when he bought his young daughter a Nintendo game console. Ken observed his daughter playing with the new Nintendo game but he was displeased with the quality of the sound of the Nintendo game. Because of his training and experience in electronics Ken concluded that a digital chip, dedicated solely to sound, would significantly improve the quality of the Nintendo gaming system. Because the Sony Corporation was not involved in computer games, Ken Kutaragi negotiated to keep his job at Sony, while working as an outside consultant (entrepreneur) for Nintendo on their computer gaming devices. Ken developed the â€Å"SPC7000† for the next generation of Nintendo games/machines. After Ken’s success as a consultant to Nintendo the senior executives at Sony Corporation threatened to fire him after they discovered his sideline project with Nintendo. Fortunately for Ken, he had the strong support of Norio Ohga, the Chief Executive Officer of Sony Corporation. Chairman Ohga personally recognized the value of Ken’s creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and innovation, so he encouraged Kutaragi’s efforts. Then with the Sony Corporation CEO’s support (and begrudgingly the rest of Sony’s senior management’s blessing) Kutaragi continued to work as a part-time consultant to Nintendo. Ken successfully developed a CD-ROM-based system for Nintendo. Then in a life changing twist of fate Nintendo elected not to go forward with the CD-ROM system. Ken Kutaragi saw the market and business opportunity of computer gaming systems for Sony. With his Intrapreneurial spirit, Ken pressed hard to convince the Sony Corporation to enter the electronic gaming business. While most of Sony’s senior management did not consider Ken’s computer gaming device more than a toy and not worthwhile for Sony, Chairman Ohga took a major chance and backed Kutaragi’s plan. Ken was persistent and he went on to lead the effort to help Sony develop its own gaming system, which became the blockbuster product success â€Å"PlayStation†. Ken Kutaragi has been often been referred to as â€Å"The Father of the PlayStation,† was well as all related Sony products, including Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation Portable, and the current Sony PlayStation 3. Ken Kutaragi has the heart and sole of an Intrapreneur or Corporate Entrepreneur. He fought against corporate â€Å"neasayers† within Sony’s management ranks and Ken literally laid his job on the line at Sony to press for the creation of the computer ga ming product within Sony. Ken is created with saying, â€Å"I wanted to prove that even  regular company employees said no, [and] especially regular company employees could build a venture of this scale with superb technology, superb concepts, and superb colleagues.† Sony’s â€Å"System G† 3-D technology, aka Sony PlayStation, was released in 1994. It immediately outsold Nintendo’s Super NES to quickly become the world’s top home-gaming platform. Ken’s group within Sony did not rest on its significant laurels, Kutaragi and Sony took another major financial gamble on PlayStation 2. Sony backed Ken’s corporate entrepreneurial (Intrapreneurial) venture by investing $2.5 billion into the PlayStation start-up, and has gone on to build over 70% of the home-video-game-console international market share. Sony’s PlayStation product line has become the leading video-game platform. The financial payback to Sony has been astronomical. At of the end 1997, Sony’s PlayStation annual sales had grown to $7 Billion, in only first four years of the PlayStation product line existence. Ken’s Intrapreneurial (or corporate entrepreneurial) success has been called one of the greatest new business creations and launches in business history. Since the 1994 PlayStation’s launch, this new Sony product line outperformed both the Sega Enterprises and Nintendo gaming machines. The Sony PlayStation has taken the clear market share of game consoles, with PlayStation sales of more than 70 million units in the late 1990’s. At that time, one in four Unit ed States households owned a Sony PlayStation product. The financial success of the Sony PlayStation was so impressive that by 1998, the PlayStation was providing 40 percent of Sony Corporation’s operating profits. The strong profits from the Sony PlayStation line still accounts for about one quarter of the overall Sony Corporation’s profits. Kutaragi was soon rewarded for his significant success as an intrapreneur within Sony. Ken was promoted to be the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEI), the video game division of Sony Corporation. As Chairman and CEO, Kutaragi built Sony Computer Entertainment group into a major profit center for the Sony Corporation. In late 1996, Ken was replaced as President of Sony Computer Entertainment and was promoted to Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment. That was only a temporary situation as Ken retired from that position in 1997 and became the honorary Chairman of SCEI. Who are the main characters? What are the issues? What are the lessons learn from this CASE?

Life’s Greatest Miracle Essay

â€Å"Life’s Greatest Miracle†_ details the reproductive process from start to finish. It starts by discussing the crucial role DNA plays when it comes to reproduction, its so important due to DNA holding the chromosomes that give each human unique physical traits. From there they begin discussing the process of meiosis, the process of male sperm and female eggs. They describe sperm being more about quantity, whereas the female egg is all about quality. When the male sperm and a female egg meet, they create a union of chromosomes, taking unique traits from both the male and female, creating an individual that has unique traits. The documentary also makes use of microimagery, which gives the viewer very detailed and real time photos of the process that is a new human life and what it looks like during the developmental phases. From this point, they begin discuss the journey sperm takes upon sexual intercourse and the difficult nature of fertilization. It is amazing to think, that at the very beginning of ones conception you are a single cell. A single tiny cell that nature and nurture takes over and the same tiny cells grow to be strong and powerful enough to produce bones, vital organs and a brain over the course of only nine months. Throughout these entire discussions and processes, the documentary does not overwhelm you with scientific jargon and due to the nature of the subject; it was not as  uncomfortable as one might then when watching. It also helped that during the  entire documentary of the films and going through the scientific side of reproduction that they had a real time couple discussing their experience of pregnancy from start to finish. This made the material much easier to understand. These real life examples gave the documentary another dimension. This was actually my third time watching this documentary, after watching it once in High School and again in a previous college class. Their wasn’t exactly a shock factor or the material didn’t overwhelm me, which is seems to do to many people when they first watch it. After watching it though, it provokes your thoughts about the concept of life and the wonders of how in nine short months; two people can create a new life. Overall the material of reproduction, I agree with. I mean what is there to disagree with exactly? Reproduction is a scientific process like it or not. Yes, there are some unknowns and minor details that we might never find out. Unless you have some of your own beliefs about reproduction and life I just don’t see or understand how somebody could disagree and argue with the science and knowledge we have established in the process of reproduction. Also the video does increase the viewers’ knowledge of our beginnings. Many people know the concept of reproduction, and man has sexual intercourse with a women and if she is fertile, a baby can be conceived, whoever the documentary breaks down the science behind reproduction in detail, but like a stated previously they do an excellent job of not overwhelming the viewer with scientific jargon and the real-life couple they have speaking about their own pregnancy from beginning to birth makes it much easier to understand. Yes, I would recommend this video to another group of students. It was an excellent documentary on the process of reproduction and development. I would recommend this to be watched by future diversity classes and defiantly any type of sexuality class. The material is very informative, and something that any mature class can watch and understand without any issues.

Great Examples of Quantity Surveying Dissertation Topics

Great Examples of Quantity Surveying Dissertation Topics Great Examples of Quantity Surveying Dissertation Topics Quantity surveying is a field that mainly deals with specific aspects involving measurement and estimation of costs in the building and construction industry.   Due to the recent increase in the number of houses needed to be constructed, the quantity surveying field has experienced an evolution in its trends and methods. Today, many colleges and universities are offering regular degree programs for quantity surveyors-to-be. According to Prospects website, an increasing number of UK and international construction projects leads to the ever-increasing number of employment opportunities, with most graduates (90%) working in building and engineering. The quantity surveyors’ tasks and responsibilities are similar to those of cost managers/financial managers in the business field. They estimate the costs that will be enough to build and sustain a construction project. Further, they also come up with the feasibility and the design of a specified building. A quantity surveyor can demolish, refurbish and maintain part or whole of the building. He or she can work in several fields ranging from construction to infrastructure development such as railways and tarmac roads. The following are some of the best topics in quantity survey for students conducting Quantity Surveying course. With these topics, you are a just one step away from graduating and starting your career. A Review of the Building Code of Collapsed Buildings. An Overview of Techniques Used to Control Cost for Building and Construction Projects. The Nature of Risk in the Building and Construction Industry and How to Manage It. The Tasks and Functions of Informational Builders in the Construction Industry. Cost Control Techniques used in Construction Sites. Obtaining Construction Licenses: Procedures and Challenges faced by Contractors. Designing and Using the Electronic Bill of Quantity System in the Building and Construction Industry. How to Choose a Topic for a Quantity Surveying Dissertation A topic should be selected after closely reviewing it with your colleagues, supervisor, librarian and at times, with your parents. You should always choose a topic that interests you on a deeper level. Writing a dissertation requires a lot of time, effort, and commitment. Therefore, it is fair for you to choose for yourself a topic that makes you happy. After selecting a subject, the actual work begins. Writing a dissertation carefully is the real task in your research. Through proper planning and managing your work strategically, this can be done quickly. When writing your quantity survey dissertation, the most recent methods and techniques developed in the construction industry should be used. Deeply research the topic you chose. Search for books in the library or the internet. Highlight the main points that you want to include in your research report. Every step in your research should be planned for and attended to with the highest degree of focus. Otherwise, at you can get high-quality custom dissertation writing provided by real academic experts.

Assessment item 3 Individual Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Assessment item 3 Individual Report - Essay Example largely based on the technological aspect of the business as the more advance the industry and the components are, the more competitive the business can become. So far, the business has been dominated by very few of the companies and it will not be unjust to say that out of all the companies, one company has maintained the most of the share in the market and is considered as the greatest producer of software and other concerned products. That company is the company of Microsoft which has given this business a shape of a Monopoly by dominating the revenues and the products thus controlling the prices and quality of the goods and services produced by it. Since the commencement of the technological era and the advancement in the field of computers and software generation, there has been vast interpretations and scrutiny relating to the market arrangement, pricing and strategic performance of the software development companies. Every time an innovative advancement come up and grows into a vibrant growth approach the initial participants expand enormous benefits as they become the first to add to the practice, the invested resources and the public Therefore, when challengers approach the market, they have to pull alongside prior to the fact that they can struggle to gain the same status. Microsoft can be said to be a good illustration of this fact. Microsoft developed into a monopoly for the reason that it was able to generate and put into effect worldwide data communication benchmarks for personal computers and they did it by producing series of operating systems and by presenting the type of mechanism that may well run their Operating Systems so their merchandise was able to be in each market place that they wanted it to be, thus making it a monopoly in the software business. (Linzmayer 1994) The software business makes Microsoft as a monopoly because of its character of having the advancements in the technology and the economies of scale which do not render

Management information systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Management information systems - Essay Example The external identities are outside the applications, but interact with it to facilitate the entire process. For example, Kitchen is a significant for the external identity in the design since it represents the source of food to be ordered. In order to make ideal the food ordering process, there must be customers who make orders. Customers are represented as external identities in the design (Oz 65). The restaurant has to be managed; therefore, the manager identity is also represented as an external identity. From the food ordering system, certain data elements are represented in data flows. Food order is the information represented in the data flow from the main system to the kitchen. From the customer identity, another data flow represents the customer’s order while the center of the process has to produce a receipt back to the customer. After the entire process, the management report is taken to the restaurant manager. This is represented in a data flow which contains the reports directed to the restaurant manager. The entire design is a simple representation of a food ordering system in a