Saturday, August 31, 2019

Budget Deficit Essay

Complete all questions listed below. Clearly label your answers 1. What impact would a change that shifts an economy’s production possibilities curve outward have on the long run aggregate supply curve? It will cause it to shift right. How have improvements in computer technology affected production possibilities and the long run aggregate supply curve? They have cut the cost of doing business and expanded our production capacity. These types of improvements enhance productivity and shift the LRAS and SRAS curves to the right. 2. Construct the AD, SRAS, and LRAS curves for an economy experiencing: (a) full employment, (b) an economic boom, and (c) a recession. (Graphs can be hand drawn or done by computer; label all curves and axes clearly.) 3. What is a budget deficit? A situation in which total government spending exceeds total government revenue during a specific time period, usually one year. How are budget deficits financed? Selling of bonds, borrowing from abroad, raising taxes, and selling of assets. Why do Keynesians believe that budget deficits will increase aggregate demand? Because they believe that both fiscal and monetary policies affect aggregate demand. 4. When output and employment slowed in early 2008, the Bush Administration and the Democratic Congress passed a legislation sending households a check for $600 for each adult (and $300 per child). These checks were financed by borrowing. Would a Keynesian favor this action? Yes, because Keynesian are in favor of government influence on the economy.

Schindlers List

â€Å"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference† Winston Churchill. This relates to the film Schindlers List as the main character Oskar Schindler has a major change in attitude towards the Jewish people. At the beginning of the film Schindler is introduced as a selfish man looking to exploit the Jews as workers. While he witnesses the liquidation of the Ghettos Schindler’s personality soon changes as he releases he can make a difference. This is shown using specific shots and lighting techniques.Through the use of hand-held cameras and camera shots used during the invasion of the Krakow Ghettos the chaos and fear makes an impact on the viewer. Hand-held cameras were used in amongst the crowds of Jews and Nazi soldiers to give the viewer an experience of what these people went through during this terrible time. The hand-held was used when we see an old lady walking in an alley when we see Nazi troops approaching. High angle shots are used to make the Jews l ook small and powerless during this scene. Whereas low angle shots are used to make the Nazi officials look powerful.The camera techniques help to make an impact on the viewer during this scene. Schindlers change was shown through the effects of colour and lighting techniques. Lighting was used to reveal Schindlers change. Lighting was used when we see that his face is shown fully lit whereas in the beginning of the film his face is only half lit to show that he was a selfish man. Colour was used to show how important a particular part of the scene was. This was shown when we see a little girl in red walking around the crowds of Jews being killed, while there is a children’s choir singing in the background.This scene had made Schindler finally realise what the Nazis were doing to the Jews was wrong. This shows that Schindler went through a change in attitude as he realises what the Jews have had to go through. The use of sound and music were used during the invasion when the Jews are in hiding. Sound was used amongst the people as it had been silent and one sudden move there is a. The sound was used to make the The uses of visual techniques during the liquidation were to show the change that Schindler had gone through after witnessing the events of the iquidation. The importance of this scene was to show the difference of Schindler from how he was in the beginning of the film to what he had been changed into at the end. The liquidation also gave us a sight on the importance of how Schindler had used specific techniques to show his face being fully lit. As Edward Evenetthale once said â€Å"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something and I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. †

Friday, August 30, 2019

British Arguments During the Revolutionary War Essay

The colonists are good for one thing: complaining. They cry like babies for what just a few cents on their sugar and stamps, when in reality we were HELPING THEM. We made these taxes to defray for the defense of the colonies and to supply the troops. All they do is whine, whine, whine. They go on all day like fools with that idiot saying†¦ â€Å"No taxation without Representation.† 1764-Sugar Act & 1765- Stamp Act Little Brats Somehow these peasants have made us look like the villains in the tragic event they call the â€Å"Boston Massacre.† Hey that is one way to put it, but truly they are the ones to be blamed in this whole bloody mess. The idiots started it by harassing some of our own sovereign soldiers, they even through snowballs at our soldiers. How rude?!? Oh well, they simply don’t have class. Sure, a few of the peasants died but it was simply self-defense. 1770- Boston Massacre Cavemen The Peasants have yet again come up with some crazy antics that even top off their outrageous behavior so far. This time they burned down one of our schooners- The Gaspee to be specific. Yes, that is right they burned down a ship. How grotesque? Idiots! Better yet, cavemen! They have no taste act like villagers. They even accused one of our finest commanders who was the captain of the ship- Lt. William Dudingston of being unjust and corrupt. Lies, lies, lies! 1772- The Burning of The Gaspee A Truly Intolerable Act Wait for this one, it is truly mind-blowing. Believe it or not, the peasants dressed up as Mohawks Indians and dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. This is a new low even for them. They are real idiots, wasting all that tea. How extremely insensitive of them? There are many people in this world that could have made a use of that tea. On the bright side, we punished them thoroughly.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

First World War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

First World War - Essay Example However, the concept of Empire and Imperialism were strong driving factors for the First World War. The great powers of Europe wanted to expand and maintain their spheres of influence in Europe. The rise of nationalistic sentiments among the different ethnic populations led to the strengthening of imperial influence. For instance, Russia supported Serbia since both belong to the Slavic people. Being a foot soldier during this period of war can range from depressive to horrific. Since static trench warfare was the predominant strategy during this time, the soldiers on each side were either on the offensive or the defensive stance. It was usually a gruesome act for armies from each side to come out of the trenches for an offensive push just to be blasted by artillery or shredded by machine gun and rifle fire. Still, many soldiers were willing to do so out of either patriotic feelings or because of a great deal of imperial propaganda. Women took part in the war mainly as field medical aid or support units. The war ended with the defeat of the German and Austrian-Hungarian Empires against the British, American, and French. The Russians were forced out early from the war due to the rise of the Bolshevik communists. The Treaty of Versailles was passed to the humiliating detriment of both the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires. Both states lost their holdings and status as imperial powers, and their military capabilities reduced. The face of Europe changed after the First World War as the Balkan states that were under the Austro-Hungarian Empire became independent. Germany lost its imperial influence, while Russia became the Soviet Union after the communists took over the Tsarist

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Do male Bulgarian citizens travel further and more frequently abroad Essay

Do male Bulgarian citizens travel further and more frequently abroad then female citizens - Essay Example The present study would focus on tourism as an important economic activity in the contemporary society with various social, cultural, and environmental impacts on the visited regions. It is among the developing sectors of economic activities in the contemporary world. The countries in Europe have different characteristics that can be advantageous in respect to tourism. Most of the countries of the Central and Eastern Europe experienced communist rule up to the late 1980s and early 1990s when they transitioned into the Western models. Bulgaria is one of the countries in Southeast Europe. In 2010, Bulgaria was ranked position 27 in Europe and position 48 in the world in terms of Tourism Competitiveness Index (TCI). The country recognizes its beaches, countryside, nature parks, mountain resorts, and wines as some of the tourist attractions. It also has cheap transport systems that are favorable for tourism. Bulgaria is rapidly opening into the international scene since the fall of commu nist era in 1989 and with the emergence of socialist rule that promote a socially active tourism in the country. The Bulgarians have increasingly shown interest in the other attractive features that are not within their borders was well as experience for other cultures. International departures from Bulgaria have shown an increasing trend (rising by 16.8% in 2002) and about 25% could be attributed to tourism by 2002. (Bulgaria: Market Profile, 62). Tourism to a given region can be determined by the endowment of the region and the financial abilities of the different individuals as well as their tastes and preferences. Thus, the males may have the ability to make frequent visits to several destinations across the globe as compared to the females. The main question to be addressed in the research is â€Å"Do male Bulgarian citizens travel further and more frequently abroad then female citizens?† The investigation is expected to reveal that males travel more frequently and to fu rther regions than the females. As hypotheses to the study, it is initially assumed that the male Bulgarian citizens travel further abroad than the female citizens do and that they make frequent visits abroad than the female citizens. Method(s) of investigation The study was conducted in Bulgaria, a country in southeast Europe that borders other European countries like Romania, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia and Serbia as well as Turkey from West Asia as shown in Figure.1. Figure.1. Map of Bulgaria Source: http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/country/bulgaria.html The information that was appropriate in answering these particular questions was to be sought from the Native Bulgarians. Research was carried out at three distinct locations Sofia, Burgas, and Sunny Beach along the coastal Burgas-Varna road. The information on non-nationals of Bulgaria would not be appropriate and hence these were ignored whenever they were encountered. The information to be sought was whether the Bulgarians (bein g interviewed) had left the country at least at a certain point for a holiday trip. In the event that the individuals had been out of the country for holiday purposes, he or she would specify the country of destination and the frequency of such visits. Together with the sexes, these would suffice to determine whether males traveled to further regions and more frequently than females or not. Besides, only data collected from Sofia was used in determining the validity of the initial assumption. This is because as the capital city, it is likely that more city dwellers who are natives will be approached and interviewed. The groups developed a questionnaire that was be used for the interview. The participants had to provide details of their nationality and other demographic information like sex age group. The data collection materials were issued in English and Bulgarian, as these were

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Unit 2 IP Presentation Essentials Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit 2 IP Presentation Essentials - Essay Example (0323); Reconnaissance Man, Combatant Diver Certified (0324); Reconnaissance Man, Parachute and Combatant Diver Certified (0326); Machine Gunner (0331); Mortarman (0341); Infantry Assaultman (0351); Anti-Tank Missileman (0352); Infantry Unit Leader 0369) (Powers, 2012). II. Taking a step back, the grunt is part of the highly esteemed US Marine Corps, whose commander is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the US, and which functionally is part of the US Navy (Columbia Encyclopedia, 2012) 2. The place of US Marine Corps in American culture is one of honor, as evidenced by the dedicated war memorial that has come to be the final resting place of US Marine grunts (National Park Service, 2012) I. Life as a Marine grunt is hard and strenuous, from the first day of training through the different missions and tasks that the grunt is assigned to. It is demanding physically, emotionally, and psychologically, and only the fittest survive through to the training and the actual field deployments (US Marine Corps, 2012; Wetzel, 2012; Lodder, 2011; Hogan, 2008; Mitchell, 2010; Small Wars Foundation, 2009). 1. The dangers that grunts face in the Marines is real, and there are testimonies to the strength and courage of those who suffered serious and life-threatening disabilities and injuries on the field. Those testimonies and stories make up the vast lore of valor and bravery that make up the life of the Marine grunt, and they are widely discussed and honored by all Marines and the larger society. The story of one Marine who suffered massive injuries while on duty in Germany is the story of all Marines (Wetzel, 2012) References to grunt life in the protracted wars that the US continues to fight, such as those in Afghanistan, are graphic and unedited, giving us a glimpse of the unromantic aspect of grunt life, so unlike the romantic images we get from the movies and from popular culture. Real grunt life in the Marines is sometimes harrowing, but Marine grunts try and

Monday, August 26, 2019

Teaching and learning in practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Teaching and learning in practice - Essay Example A teacher’s role of investigator in classroom makes him/her a life-long learner. Wright (1987) suggests a teacher must adopt this role to explore his teaching approach. Joyce, Calhoun, and Hopkins (1997) also agree with Wright that by adopting the role of investigator makes him/her a reflective practitioner. Taking into account this notion, I developed the lesson plan with an array of teaching strategies. My all students are young students of grade two. Further, I kept my options open to add, subtract, or alter any strategy in my teaching. To make this possible, I always try to reflect back upon each and every activity in my classroom. I not only try to take into account the students’ response during each activity, but also consider how the individuals are responding. Most importantly, I reflect back on my own role during the activities. This process of reflection helps me not only in adapting my strategies in a creative way, but also helps me in knowing about my own st rengths and weaknesses. Following is the account of such a detailed reflection. First of all I will present my Lesson plan and then my detailed analysis on the events in classroom Lesson Plan Subject: Medical Emergency Content: Cardiac Arrest Topic: AED Participants: 16 Objective of the Lesson: Students will be able to administer AED (Automated External Defibrillators) to manage an emergency patient of Cardiac Arrest. Teaching Methodology and Strategies: Individual Reading The students will be given an article on signs of Cardiac Arrest and AED intervention. After individual reading of the article they will form groups Group Discussion The participants will discuss the important points they have learnt during the individual reading. Presentation I will give a short presentation on the management of Cardiac Arrest through AED. I will use pictures and videos to illustrate my points. Demonstration Firstly, I will give a show a video demonstrating the use of AED. Students demonstration In pairs, students will demonstrate to administer of Defibrillator Summary: Randomly, students will retell the signs of Cardiac Arrest Each student will share one step involved in administration of AED management. Teaching Strategies: Discussion and Reflection I divided my classroom time in individual, pair, group and class work on one hand. Similarly, I distributed my teaching strategies into lecture/presentation, demonstration, reading, and group discussions. Many scholars have establish that incorporation of more than one strategies optimize learning and minimizes their threats (Reece and Walker 2000). Different strategies have different strengths. Swain, Monk, Johnson (1999) has also suggested the same kind of plan. Similarly, Joyce, Calhoun, and Hopkins (1997) said that a variety of learning experiences increases the learning rate. Thus, I used several different strategies in my classroom. Individual work involves more efforts and thinking, group work develop interpersonal skil ls, and pair work is more productive and time saving. It raises individual participation. During the lesson I exercised class work, pair work and group work. Further, as my task is to develop AED administration skills and knowledge, I will also reflect how the combination of different methods

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The Concept of Total Quality Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Concept of Total Quality Management - Essay Example One example of such organizations with ideal TQM environments was Xerox under the leadership of David Kearns, who served as its CEO from 1982 to 1990. What Kearns did for the downward spiraling company became a landmark in the history of quality management. Henceforth, this essay will endeavor to examine Kearns’ role as a quality leader in Xerox, his management approach and the applicability and certain processes of such approach, and finally, the issues that followed Kearns’ administration. David Kearns’ assumption as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 1982 was not without eventualities. Before bringing quality into the forefront of management, Kearns had to confront â€Å"skepticism and resistance† (Pfeffer, 1992, p.317). There was already a fixed mindset among top managers that Xerox was a world-class corporation and therefore need not change. Kearns said of his time as a leader: â€Å"One of the main things I learned at Xerox is that radical change in any organization is incredibly painful. In the language of change theorists, we were moving between several different states† (Kearns & Harvey, 2000, p.79). When statistics finally provided evidence of the company’s bad performance, Kearns and his management team formulated an integrated bottom-up and top-down TQM approach focused on increasing customer satisfaction and striking a balance between quality processes and quality outcomes. The approach was governed by the Leadership through a Quali ty policy which revolved around four areas or goals where quality must be directed: customer, employee, the business, and process. This holistic policy â€Å"radically changed† Xerox’s business outlook. Throughout the whole ordeal, Kearns’ thought of himself as the â€Å"captain of a sinking ship.† When he became CEO, he believed Xerox was already on the brink of going under due to unsolved internal and external problems  (Novgorod State University, n.d.; Kretchmar, 1992).  

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Middle eastern cultures 201 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Middle eastern cultures 201 - Essay Example s share many an orthodox with rigid rules in nations like Saudi Arabia, where ‘Burqa’ clad women are respected and western influences are not so welcome. In the first paragraph of the essay I have attempted to discuss on now westerners are in UAE and the second paragraph I have detailed how their lives have changed. I have supported the essay with real life narrations and information from the web. The role of westerners in building the UAE is undisputed as technology is mainly imported from western nations. The technical expertise to build marvels and oil extractions from the oil rich Middle East is made possible with western leadership in companies that provide services and infrastructure in UAE. I Sample this mention from the web: Dubai and the United Arab Emirates are growing in popularity as potential destinations for a fresh start. With Dubai offering a wealth of opportunities, as well as financial bonuses such as tax free income and a rapidly booming economy, growing number of westerners (in particular) are heading for the sun drenched shores.(globalvisas.com) Recalling a westerner’s writing in the web, â€Å"If I can count myself as evidence, people in the UAE like and respect Americans . . . Living here is easy as because the UAE is one of the most tolerant countries in the Muslim world . . . But non-Muslims can get a license to purchase alcohol†. (escapeartist.com).This indicates the freedom of a westerner in UAE. However, it appears that the sunny side isn’t enough. Westerners have become a sort of bà ªte noire post gulf invasion and there has always been a simmering anger against westerners particularly amongst the extremist groups. This has given rise to a constant consternation in the western fraternity. Consider the statement â€Å"There are however recently been threats against westerners in the UAE, as in the UK, Europe and the USA† (paradise.com). This explains that among the rosy fragrance of an UAE living, the thorns also need to be

Friday, August 23, 2019

Henry Kissinger supported a anti-Soviet, Sino-American Alliance Research Paper

Henry Kissinger supported a anti-Soviet, Sino-American Alliance - Research Paper Example America was at war with the Vietnamese. His initial advisor as well as Gerald Ford’s Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger purported to redesign the international system architecture with view of cementing the role of America as the swivel of the worldwide power balance by initiating a â€Å"Triangular Diplomacy†. Scholars Richard Thornton, Lei Tong, and Chun Yen argue that Kissinger did seek a tacit Sino-American Alliance because; they all agree that, when Nixon opened for China with the intention of employing her as counterweight to the Soviet Union with a context of exiting Vietnam, Mao Zedong shifted to the American sphere ideally as part of anti-soviet alliancei. However, when Nixon faltered, Henry Kissinger twisted the American stratagem away from containment towards searching for a detente with Moscow. This downturn bred unstable relations between the U.S. and China. On one side, Mao shifted the Chinese strategy due to the American strategy turn by faltering but De ng replaced him. As Kissinger continued pursuing detente with Moscow, Xiaoping Deng started playing Washington off Moscow on the other side. From 1974 to the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991, Deng resolved whenever feasible to be at the center stage between the United States and the Soviet Unionii. The robust reason showing Kissinger’s tacit search for a Sino-American alliance is bargain between Ronald Reagan and Deng Xiaoping. Reagan thought by settling the Taiwan issues with Deng would ease the tension between the U.S. and China however, even though it held his administration through, it failed. As a result, the Secretary of State George Schultz resolved back to Kissinger’s detente strategy with Moscow depicting that Kissinger did seek a Sino-American Alliance. According to political analysts, detente is a word referring to reduction of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union that took place in three decades ago and lasted for roughly ten years. During this decade, there was an opportunity to hold talks, which resulted to agreements that tried to frontier the race of nuclear arms and established meaningful links such as the Iron Curtain. Henry Kissinger supported an anti-soviet Sino-American Alliance because, the United Sates perceived the monolithic Sino-Soviet bloc between the Soviet Union and China as a threat since the latter were great communist allies during the 1950s. In the 1960’s, there was a Cuban Missile Crisis that led to detente between the United States and the Soviet Unioniii. Apparently, it caused China sleepless nights as she worried about a possible Soviet-American rapprochement. On the other end, the Soviet leaders became apprehensive of Sino-American Alliance strength since the Americans and the Chinese had good relationship in the 1970s. According to Chun Yen, a number of options for superpowers such as the United States, China, and the Soviet Union existed in seeking safety measures in global affairs. For instance, they could increase military power beyond that of their adversaries, declare nuclear neutrality, and form military alliances with other nations. The Peoples Republic of China and the United States resolved to option three since they knew nations will seek military alliance and as a result, the world will achieve balance of power. Nevertheless, Kissinger supported an anti-Soviet Sino-American bloc because he knew if President Nixon declared the U.S-China tensions bygones it would put more

The Article Jihadi John and London's Culture of Gang Violence Assignment

The Article Jihadi John and London's Culture of Gang Violence - Assignment Example As the essay states many young Muslims living in London had joined ISIS. For example, Mohammed Emwazi alias Jihadi John has joined the ISIS where he is now an IS executioner. Mohammed Emwazi grew up in a fractured environment with high population, immense poverty, and high levels of crime like shootings, drug wars, and gang violence. According to the report finidngs Emwazi’s parents were middle class citizens and hence poverty may not have motivated the young British Muslim join radical Islamists groups. Emwazi was a member of the â€Å"London Boys† a criminal gang that operated in north-west London with an ultimate goal of financing radical Islamists groups. In the recent past, radical Islamists groups have been interacting with organized criminal gangs like the London Boys. Just like some other young Muslims in London, Emwazi joined the London Boys to escape from the alienation experienced in London. Even the police mistreated and suspected young Muslims of crime leading to the increasing Muslim prison in London where 27 % of all prisoners are Muslims. Radical preachers and their rallies helped Emwazi to understand his Islamic identity. Radical Islamists groups create a sense of brotherhood and unites Muslims thus attracting many young Muslims like Emwazi. The article notes that radical Islamist group like ISIS helped Emwazi and his peers to overcome tribal differences, escape uncertainty, and value their lives.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

International Trade Simulation Essay Example for Free

International Trade Simulation Essay In jumping into international trade a country would ideally want to maximize profits and maximize the impact of opportunity costs associated with importing and exporting goods and services. The ideal situation for a country involved in international trade would be the exportation of specialized goods that can be efficiently produced and the importation of goods that are produced elsewhere that are produced under similar conditions. Doing so creates reasonably priced goods that are desirable to other countries. The contents of the paper will discuss the advantages and limitations of international trade as identified in the simulation and will indentify four key points from the reading assignments that were emphasized in the simulation. In addition there will be a discussion on the application of what was learned in the simulation to a familiar organization. Lastly there will be a summary of results from this assessment. Rodamia International Trade Advantages and LimitationsOne major advantage of international trade, as pointed out in the simulation, is that by importing certain goods that a country does not have an advantage over means that the country will be able to optimize the production of the products that they do have advantage over. In this type of situation a country exports an efficiently made, high quality product. For example in the first scenario Rodamia the best products for export were cheese and DVD players. Due certain choices along with availability of technology and resources those commodities were the best choices to produce and subsequently export. Importing corn from Uthania was another good choice because corn is produced at a lower opportunity cost which passes that savings along to Rodamia. In addition importing corn allows Rodamia to put a large amount of its resources into producing cheese. Suntize has a comparative advantage in electronics so importing watches from them was a good decision as well. In trading with Suntize and Uthania this made Rodamia in line with opportunity costs of production in each country. The limitation is that comparative advantage does not stay the same because over time as technology develops and skill level adapts the advantage changes as well. Scenario 2 3Another advantage is that in order to stabilize international conditions countries can decide to or not to impose tariffs to equalize the  market. In the second scenario Suntize exported watches to Rodamia at a lower price than the watches Suntize was selling domestically. Placing a different price otherwise called dumping, causes the international market to become unstable. Rodamia decided to place a tariff so that the price imported can equate to the market value of the watches. The dumping margin was calculated at 25% which would raise a tariff of $40 per unit or 25% of the export price. The tariff also proves to help protect the domestic producers. This is so because the number of imports starts to decrease and domestic production numbers raise because of it. In Rodamia the tariffs caused imports from Suntize to drop to 2.00 million units and increased domestic production to 6.00 million units. One of the limitations is that imposing tariffs means that consumers will no longer be able to reap the benefits of a cheaper imported product. High tariffs can mean that consumers may have to pay for higher priced domestically made goods. In scenario three not imposing a tariff proved to be an advantage because not imposing a tariff on Uthania and Suntize caused them not to impose tariffs on the cheese that is imported from Rodamia. A tariff would also harm goods producers in Uthania and Suntize. The limitations are that in Rodamia the corn industry is in its beginnings and imposing a tariff would protect the domestic industry from cheaper produced corn. A tariff would foster the potential for Rodamia to be a large corn producer. Scenario 4Free trade improves domestic market competition. What this means for the consumer is better quality goods and for producers an expanded market in which to export their goods. Countries involved in free trade benefit from all the other countries involved as once a country determines their competitive advantage other countries can reap the benefits of having quality goods. Rodamia has decided to negotiate free trade agreements with both Uthania and Suntize. In doing so free trade negotiation lowers trade barriers which allow countries to explore other markets. This can provide consumers with a larger variety of products. In addition opening the country to other markets increase production leads to an increase competition and consumers benefit from this. The limitations are that free trade negotiations do not affect countries that are not a part of the FTA. Countries outside of the FTA will have high trade barriers. Four Key PointsFour key points that were emphasized in the readings and in the simulation were comparative advantage, consumer surplus, opportunity costs, and trade restrictions. Comparative advantage is when a country possesses the technology and resources to produce at good at a lower cost compared to another good and another countries production. Since Rodamia could produce cheese efficiently their comparative advantage would lay in cheese production. The comparative advantages in the simulation determined Rodamias exports and imports from the neighboring countries. Consumer surplus is when a country can produce goods at a lower price than another country. The country of Suntize may have had a consumer surplus with its production of electronics. The decision to choose Suntize to import watches was based upon the fact that Suntize had an advantage in producing electronic goods. Opportunity cost is the benefit foregone by producing a certain good (Colander, 2004). Opportunity costs were weighed heavily in Rodamia choosing goods to export. Rodamia was encouraged to export the commodity that had the lowest opportunity cost which turned out to be cheese. Giving away 2000 tons of corn cut cheese production in half where as if no corn was exported and imported instead, yields 8 million pounds of cheese. The last key point involves trade restrictions. Some types of trade restrictions include tariffs, quotas, embargos, and licenses. Tariffs were imposed upon Suntize for creating an unbalanced market. The tariff helped to equalize the imported price with the market value. Not imposing trade restrictions can also help not to harm foreign producers of goods and in return they may not decide to place tariffs on imports. Application of SimulationAs a frequent traveler to foreign Asian countries I now know why some countries produce the goods they produce. For example Jasmine rice is widely known as a Thai commodity but their number one export is computers and computer parts. This is so because Thailand has a comparative advantage in producing those goods and exporting them. Because of the lowered price of production Thailand will be able to export units at a reasonable price making those products desirable to countries that are in need of them. In addition I also see the major disadvantages of being a country that does not have any sort of comparative advantage. This would  make it difficult to trade with other countries that will look for products that can be produced efficiently and less costly. Summary of Results Scenario 1:Exports: Cheese and DVDsImports: Corn/UthaniaWatches/SuntizeScenario 2:Level of Tariff (%/unit): 40Imports from Suntize (million units): 2.00Domestic Product (million units): 6.00Scenario 3:Tariff level: 0%Imports from Uthania Alfazia ($ in million): 37.29Exports from Uthania ($ in million): 32.48Exports to Alfazia ($ in millions): 8.86Rodamias Balance of Trade ($ in millions): 4.04Scenario 4Weather to Negotiate FTAs: YesCountry to Negotiate FTAs with: Alfazia and Uthania Conclusion In summary international trade does not come without issues of creating optimal exports and importing the most cost efficient goods. International trade seems to expand the variety of goods that consumers want and for a country and its producer it seeks out new consumers and markets. The contents of this paper has discussed the advantages and limitations of international trade as identified in the simulation and indentified four key points from the reading assignments that were emphasized in the simulation. In addition there was a discussion on the application of what was learned in the simulation to a familiar organization. Lastly there was a summary of results from this assessment. References: Colander, D.C. (2004). Economics (5th ed.). Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin/McGraw-HillUniversity of Phoenix. (2007). Applying International Trade Concepts. Retrieved on October18, 2007 from, University of Phoenix, rEesource, Simulation,ECO360- Economics for Business I Web site.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Forecasting And Procurement At Le Club Fran Ais Du Vin Finance Essay

Forecasting And Procurement At Le Club Fran Ais Du Vin Finance Essay Le Club Franà §ais du Vin is founded in 1973 and had grown to a 10 million Euro per year business in 2004. The mission of Le Club is to offer wines of good to very good quality to its customers in France, Switzerland, and Germany, who receive interesting wines delivered directly to their homes. Every member of Le Club receives an offer of wine every two months via a catalog. Le Club Franà §ais du Vin largely carries French wines. The heterogeneity of French wines makes forecasting consumer demand for particular French wine extremely difficult. At Le Club Franà §ais du Vin, a group of professional wine experts create a sales forecast for each wine in the upcoming catalog taking into account both taste considerations and the season of the year in which the wine is offered in the catalog. Once the forecasting process is over, Le Club places an order with the wine grower, which happens months before publishing the catalog and at a point when little information beyond the wine experts personal opinions is available. The Club pays the wine grower 75 days after having received the shipment. If the wine forecast equals the actual demand or comes close to it these payment conditions are very favorable for Le Club. However, such desirable cash flows are not always the case. If Le Club has over forecasted sales for the catalog season, excess bottles are stored in the warehouse and are likely to be discounted in a future catalog (white wines are discounted by 40% of their retail price, and red wines by 30%). There is also an additional handling and shipping cost for discounted bottles of 1.25 Euro per bottle, and 0.10 Euro warehouse operational costs per bottle. The main problem of the company is the mismatch between forecasts and actual customer demand, which results in either excess inventory or unsatisfied customers. For example, the Club had ordered 10,000 bottles of the 2002 St Emilion wine for the companys January 2004 catalog, but only sold 1,704 bottles. On the other side, the Club forecasted to sell 10,000 bottles of the Cà ´tes du Rhà ´ne, but actually experienced a demand of over 11,000 bottles. The Club currently holds over 200,000 bottles of wine in its warehouse. The company has to choose between few options in order to decide how many bottles of each wine to order to maximize expected profit, to generate a certain fill-rate or to achieve a certain in-stock probability. If the manager chooses as an objective to maximize the expected profit, as seen in Exhibit 1, the total expected profit is supposed to be 147,998 Euro. However, the profit-maximizing order quantity may generate some unacceptable fill rate and in-stock probability from the firms customer service prospective. The fill rate varies in the range of 50% to 100%, while the stockout probability varies in the range of 0% to 83%. This scenario will result in a lot of unsatisfied customers who might choose a different supplier in the future. The customers of the Club place their order by mail, phone, fax, or over the internet. If the customers place their order by phone or online they can be informed right away if a particular wine is out of stock. However, as a large portion of Le Clubs customers are in their 60s, orders by mail are most common, and these customers are unaware of the availability of the wine there are ordering. It is very rare for the company to be able to place additional orders for wines that have been under forecasted. As a result all demand for a wine that remains unfulfilled is lost. Given the complications associated with stock-outs, Le Club aims at high availability for its wines throughout the catalog season. That is the reason why the first scenario is not suitable for the company. Let us assume that the company chooses to guarantee a fill rate of 99%, which means that 99% of the demand will be satisfied. As seen in Exhibit 2, the total expected profit is 102,382 , which is about 45, 000 euro less than the profit it generates in the first scenario, however, the in -stock probability is 94.74%. This is a better scenario for the Club, because it is going to guarantee that most of the customers during the season can be satisfied, and there is also a great probability that the customers demand can be satisfied even at the end of the season. The fill rate is a good measure of average customer service because it treats each customer as equally important. So, even though the company might experience some profit loss for certain types of wine, the total expected profit is 102,382 Euro, and along with that the Club can also achieve high levels of fill rate and in-stock probability. The third option for the club is to choose to set as its primary goal to achieve a high in-stock probability (let us assume 97.5% rate). As seen in Exhibit 3, in this case the total expected profit is only 88,138 Euro, which is almost half of the expected profit in the first scenario. The fill rate is 99.57%. We see that achieving a very high in-stock probability can be quite expensive and sets the company at a much lower profit level. This scenario is also unacceptable for the company. The company has to constantly try to balance the cash constraints inherent in holding large inventory positions with the goal of sustaining healthy margins (the club typically enjoys around 50%) while ensuring availability of a broad selection of wines even late in a catalog season. Therefore the club needs to make tradeoff to give up some of its profit in order to obtain higher fill rate and in-stock probability in order to ensure better customer service and to keep its positions in the market. The second scenario seems the most optimistic and optimal for the company it will lose some of its profit, but on the other side will guarantee a greater customer satisfaction, which is very important for the Club that capitalizes on a niche market. Appellation Q that maximizes expected profit Expected profit Fill Rate Stockout probability FAUGERES 12022 16235 88.47% 36.58% GRAVES 803 1847 91.12% 30.32% GRAVES 1149 2076 93.58% 23.77% PESSAC LEOGNAN 3241 11721 100.00% 0.00% CARTON PANACHE 6+2+4 5093 12880 99.38% 3.40% BORDEAUX CLAIRET 3461 3286 81.65% 50.00% CÔTES DE BOURG 1352 1985 90.00% 33.05% ENTRE DEUX MERS 1129 940 74.41% 61.14% BORDEAUX 4535 3063 74.63% 60.84% CARTON PANACHE 5493 5993 84.41% 44.98% Bordeaux 2127 1332 73.05% 62.96% VDP des Cà ´teaux de LArdà ¨che 1651 344 50.59% 83.87% VDP des Cà ´teaux de LArdà ¨che 1412 318 52.08% 82.91% VDP du Comtà © Tolosan 1041 227 48.72% 85.02% CARTON PANACHEE 1692 547 59.22% 77.54% CABERNET DANJOU 2630 2581 82.31% 48.84% SANCERRE 2092 6068 93.93% 22.76% CHINON 4071 4315 83.84% 46.05% ALOXE CORTON 2992 13549 100.00% 0.00% BOURGOGNE ALIGOTE 1013 1505 84.68% 44.44% GIVRY 1734 4028 99.95% 0.38% COTEAUX DU LYONNAIS 2543 2293 80.61% 51.78% CDR Vill RASTEAU 1075 2084 94.73% 20.40% GIGONDAS 2493 5225 100.00% 0.00% CÔTES DU VENTOUX 1052 1032 82.31% 48.84% CARTON PANACHE 3742 7788 95.87% 16.85% CORBIERES (6) 1155 1169 82.94% 47.71% GAILLAC 2248 2347 83.54% 46.60% MINERVOIS 3322 2847 79.57% 53.48% MADIRAN 14445 28372 94.95% 19.75% Total Expected Profit 147,998 Exhibit 1 Appellation Q that guarantees fill rate of 99% Expected sales Expected leftover inventory2 Expected profit (fill rate = 99%) In-stock probability FAUGERES 18121 10280 7841 12379 94.74% GRAVES 1133 642 490 1588 94.74% GRAVES 1510 857 653 1926 94.74% PESSAC LEOGNAN 1963 1114 849 10134 94.74% CARTON PANACHE 6+2+4 4832 2741 2091 12871 94.74% BORDEAUX CLAIRET 6040 3427 2614 1219 94.74% CÔTES DE BOURG 1963 1114 849 1632 94.74% ENTRE DEUX MERS 2265 1285 980 -341 94.74% BORDEAUX 9060 5140 3920 -1022 94.74% CARTON PANACHE 9060 5140 3920 3338 94.74% Bordeaux 4379 2484 1895 -737 94.74% VDP des Cà ´teaux de LArdà ¨che 5285 2998 2287 -3335 94.74% VDP des Cà ´teaux de LArdà ¨che 4379 2484 1895 -2682 94.74% VDP du Comtà © Tolosan 3473 1970 1503 -2623 94.74% CARTON PANACHEE 4530 2570 1960 -2289 94.74% CABERNET DANJOU 4530 2570 1960 1082 94.74% SANCERRE 2718 1542 1176 5678 94.74% CHINON 6795 3855 2940 2252 94.74% ALOXE CORTON 1812 1028 784 11367 94.74% BOURGOGNE ALIGOTE 1661 942 719 863 94.74% GIVRY 1359 771 588 3997 94.74% COTEAUX DU LYONNAIS 4530 2570 1960 663 94.74% CDR Vill RASTEAU 1359 771 588 1985 94.74% GIGONDAS 1510 857 653 5001 94.74% CÔTES DU VENTOUX 1812 1028 784 433 94.74% CARTON PANACHE 4530 2570 1960 7572 94.74% CORBIERES (6) 1963 1114 849 542 94.74% GAILLAC 3775 2142 1634 1181 94.74% MINERVOIS 6040 3427 2614 571 94.74% MADIRAN 18121 10280 7841 27136 94.74% Total Expected Profit 102,382 Exhibit 2 Appellation Q that guarantees In-stock probability = 97.5% Expected profit(in-stock probability = 97.5) Expected fill rate FAUGERES 19745 10565 99.57% GRAVES 1234 1444 99.57% GRAVES 1645 1820 99.57% PESSAC LEOGNAN 2139 10387 99.57% CARTON PANACHE 6+2+4 5265 12876 99.57% BORDEAUX CLAIRET 6582 466 99.57% CÔTES DE BOURG 2139 1450 99.57% ENTRE DEUX MERS 2468 -739 99.57% BORDEAUX 9872 -2297 99.57% CARTON PANACHE 9872 2286 99.57% Bordeaux 4772 -1366 99.57% VDP des Cà ´teaux de LArdà ¨che 5759 -4219 99.57% VDP des Cà ´teaux de LArdà ¨che 4772 -3410 99.57% VDP du Comtà © Tolosan 3784 -3300 99.57% CARTON PANACHEE 4936 -3017 99.57% CABERNET DANJOU 4936 526 99.57% SANCERRE 2962 5391 99.57% CHINON 7404 1450 99.57% ALOXE CORTON 1974 11703 99.57% BOURGOGNE ALIGOTE 1810 606 99.57% GIVRY 1481 4018 99.57% COTEAUX DU LYONNAIS 4936 85 99.57% CDR Vill RASTEAU 1481 1903 99.57% GIGONDAS 1645 5052 99.57% CÔTES DU VENTOUX 1974 210 99.57% CARTON PANACHE 4936 7347 99.57% CORBIERES (6) 2139 304 99.57% GAILLAC 4113 732 99.57% MINERVOIS 6582 -215 99.57% MADIRAN 19745 26076 99.57% Total Expected Profit 88,138   Exhibit 3

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Importance of Breakfast in Relation to Obesity

Importance of Breakfast in Relation to Obesity A critical evaluation Through many influential sources, such as research and advertising, breakfast has been widely portrayed as the most important meal of the day. In fact, much epidemiological evidence tends to support this notion by demonstrating that breakfast skipping leads to an increased risk of obesity (McCrory et al, 2014; Browns et al, 2013). Since the 1980s, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has sharply risen worldwide, with 1.9 billion adults being characterized as overweight and 600 million as obese in 2014 (WHO, 2015). In the UK alone, the proportion of men and women characterized as obese has increased by 14% and 10% from the early 1990s to 2015 (Public Health England, 2017). For an individual, obesity is usually the result of an imbalance between energy consumed and energy expended (WHO, 2016). Although energy imbalance ultimately leads to weight gain, the primary factors are not yet completely understood. Currently, there is no evidence linking specific foods to obesity, however re cently, much attention has been given to eating behaviours, such as breakfast eating, as they may represent a combined effect of a number of nutrients, and breakfast habits could potentially demonstrate an interplay between other lifestyle factors, such as an overall poor diet and physical inactivity. If eating behaviours are observed to be causally linked to weight gain, then they could potentially represent practical strategies for obesity prevention. On these grounds, this essay will explore a wide variety of evidence regarding the association between breakfast skipping and weight gain. Furthermore, we shall discuss whether breakfast eating habits have been linked with overall dietary health and physical activity, as these factors are now known to be strongly linked with obesity. It is reasonable to assume that ones beliefs about breakfast will influence the likelihood of an individual engaging in this behaviour. For example, early research reported that the majority of habitual breakfast eaters believed that breakfast was important for providing energy and increasing productivity throughout the morning (Chapman et al, 1998). More recently, among a UK national representative sample, it was reported that 64% of the population habitually consumed breakfast, whilst 6% skipped it. Moreover, the breakfast eaters believed that breakfast maintained weight control, whereas breakfast skippers believed that missing breakfast supported weight loss (Reeves et al, 2013). This evidence signifies that eating behaviours, such as breakfast skipping, are largely determined by what individuals believe. Some beliefs about scientific matters are thought true despite substantial evidence disproving them, whereas other science-based beliefs are allegedly true even though inadequate evidence exists to support or disprove them (McCrory et al, 2014). This is important because a widely accepted belief is that frequently consuming breakfast compared with skipping breakfast is preventative of weight gain or causes weight loss. A recent meta-analysis reported that the risk for overweight and obesity increases by 55% when breakfast is skipped (Browns et al, 2013).   As this association has often been reported, a theory has been developed which, if correct, may potentially explain how breakfast skipping can lead to weight gain.   The theory states that when breakfast is skipped, there is an overcompensation for the energy missed at breakfast by ingesting more energy than one otherwise would have consumed at breakfast alone (Pereira et al, 2011). On the other hand, lets also consider that breakfast skipping could result in no weight change over time (in a scenario where breakfast skipping does not lead to overcompensation) or to weight loss (in a scenario where there is absence of compensation). While cross-sectional studies have generally reported that breakfast skipping leads to weight gain, currently, there are limited high quality experimental evidence supporting this notion. It is also impor tant to point out that all of the studies reviewed in the Browns et al (2013) meta-analysis, were cross-sectional thereby causality cannot be concluded from their à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ndings. Whilst randomized controlled trials do not directly allow conclusions to be drawn concerning fluctuations in energy balance, they do allow for conclusions to be made about temporary changes which, if constant over time, could potentially result in changes in energy balance. Yet, short-duration (à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 1 week) randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of breakfast skipping on successive energy intake have been equivocal (Astbury et al, 2011; Leidy et al, 2013; Levitsky et al, 2013). For example two of these studies reported that impromptu lunch intake was greater after breakfast skipping, compared to when breakfast was consumed (Astbury et al, 2011; Leidy et al, 2013). In contrast, Levitsky et al (2013) showed under compensation at lunch, signifying that the collective intake across breakfast and lunch remained lower in the breakfast skipping condition. On the other hand, longer-duration (2-3 weeks) randomized controlled trials do not appear to show a relationshi p between breakfast skipping and weight gain (Farshchi et al, 2005; Schlundt et al, 1992; Tuttle et al, 1950). Although the results of these experimental trials are varied, they do not support for the theory that breakfast skipping leads to overeating. Furthermore, in prospective studies with up to 10 years follow-up, it has been observed that individuals who regularly ingest breakfast appear to gain less weight (Odegaard et al, 2013; Purslow et al, 2008; van der Heijden et al, 2007). One explanation for this could be that skipping breakfast may merely be an indication of overall lifestyle, for example, substantial evidence suggests that skipping breakfast is associated with a less nutritious diet and less physical activity (Szajewska et al, 2010; Rampersaud et al, 2005). This is significant because both of these modifiable factors are strongly correlated with the increased risk of obesity and other chronic diseases. For example, much epidemiological evidence shows a relationship between eating breakfast and healthier food choices and dietary habits (Skinner et al, 1985; Lattimore et al, 2010), whereas, breakfast skippers are associated with whole diets that are inadequate (Christakis et al, 1968; Serra-Majem et al, 2002). Of the s tudies mentioned above, two are outdated, nevertheless, they have been included to demonstrate that the association between breakfast consumption and healthy lifestyle habits has been repeatedly observed over the last 50 years or so, demonstrating that this relationship has remained constant over time. To further explain the results mentioned above, a recent review by Rampersaud et al (2005), revealed that habitual breakfast skippers were more likely to be overweight compared to breakfast eaters, regardless of a higher overall energy intake in the breakfast eating group. It is possible that the combination of breakfast skipping with additional poor eating behaviours, such as an insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption, is contributing to the results observed in this study, as it has been previously established that a low intake of fruit and vegetables increases the risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (Hamer et al, 2007). Regarding physical activity, much epidemiological evidence reports that breakfast skippers are less likely to participate in physical activity (Cohen et al, 2003; Keski-Rahkonen et al, 2003; Aarnio et al, 2002). A proposed mechanism is that skipping breakfast may lead to lethargy and physical inactivity throughout the day (Pollitt et al, 1998; Meyers et al, 1989 ; Shaw et al, 1998) thereby contributing to positive energy balance and thus weight gain. Although there is a vast amount of evidence supporting the idea that breakfast skipping is associated with poor dietary habits and physical inactivity, no conclusions can be drawn yet as the evidence which has mostly found these positive associations have been drawn from cross-sectional and prospective studies which as mentioned before, do not prove causality. Clearly, obesity is a significant public health problem due to its high prevalence and important health consequences. Therefore, in order to provide practical recommendations for the control and/or prevention of obesity, its causal factors must be identfied. Although there is substantial evidence linking breakfast skipping to weight gain, a reasoned conclusion cannot be drawn as the majority of studies reporting this association merely identify a relationship, not a causal pathway as they are cross-sectional or observational studies. On the other hand, experimental trials can usually determine causation.   Regarding the trials reviewed in this essay, short-term trials have demonstrated effects of breakfast skipping on energy intake and appetite later in the day, although together these results are ambiguous, also longer-term randomized controlled trials have not show effects of breakfast skipping on energy imbalance and subsequent weight change. Overall, the evidence we have discussed here does not strongly support the widely accepted theory that breakfast skipping leads to an overcompensation of energy in subsequent meals, nor does the evidence support a common belief that breakfast contributes to weight gain or loss. It can however be argued that whether an individual eats breakfast or not, this will not directly influence their risk of weight gain or obesity. In fact it could be argued that other lifestyle behaviours, such as physical inactivity and inadequate diets, are actually the factors driving this observed association. An integral issue when evaluating the impact that lifestyle behaviours have on obesity is that these behaviours are very difficult to precisely measure within a large, generalizable population. Equally, trying to establish that one factor alone is impacting weight gain is a difficult task, as seen in this essay, many factors interact with and affect each other. Therefore, as to whether breakfast is t he most important meal of the day with regards to the obesity, the jury is still out, so to speak. In the meantime, the simple recommendation to eat less and exercise more appears to still be the most effective tool in the prevention and treatment of obesity. Words: 1569 References Aarnio, M., Winter, T., Kujala, U. and Kaprio, J., (2002). Associations of health related behaviour, social relationships, and health status with persistent physical activity and inactivity: a study of Finnish adolescent twins. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 36(5), p360-364. Astbury, N.M., Taylor, M.A. and Macdonald, I.A., (2011). Breakfast consumption affects appetite, energy intake, and the metabolic and endocrine responses to foods consumed later in the day in male habitual breakfast eaters. The Journal of nutrition, 141 (7), p1381-1389. Brown, A.W., Brown, M.M.B. and Allison, D.B., 2013. Belief beyond the evidence: using the proposed effect of breakfast on obesity to show 2 practices that distort scientific evidence. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 98(5), pp.1298-1308. Chapman, G.E. and Melton, C.L., (1998). College and university students breakfast consumption patterns: behaviours, beliefs, motivations and personal and environmental influences. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 59 (4), p176. Christakis, G., Miridjanian, A., Nath, L., Khurana, H.S., Cowell, C., Archer, M., Frank, O., Ziffer, H., Baker, H. and James, G., 1968. A nutritional epidemiologic investigation of 642 New York City children. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 21 (1), p107-126. Cohen, B., Evers, S., Manske, S., Bercovitz, K. and Edward, H.G., (2003). Smoking, physical activity and breakfast consumption among secondary school students in a southwestern Ontario community. Canadian Journal of Public Health/Revue Canadienne de Santee Publique, p41-44. Farshchi, H.R., Taylor, M.A. and Macdonald, I.A., (2005). Deleterious effects of omitting breakfast on insulin sensitivity and fasting lipid profiles in healthy lean women. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 81 (2), p388-396. Hamer, M. and Chida, Y., (2007). Intake of fruit, vegetables, and antioxidants and risk of type 2 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of hypertension, 25 (12), p2361-2369. Keski-Rahkonen, A., Kaprio, J., Rissanen, A., Virkkunen, M. and Rose, R.J., (2003). Breakfast skipping and health-compromising behaviors in adolescents and adults. European journal of clinical nutrition, 57(7), p842-853. Lattimore, P., Walton, J., Bartlett, S., Hackett, A. and Stevenson, L., (2010). Regular consumption of a cereal breakfast. Effects on mood and body image satisfaction in adult non-obese women. Appetite, 55(3), p512-521. Leidy, H.J., Ortinau, L.C., Douglas, S.M. and Hoertel, H.A., (2013). Beneficial effects of a higher-protein breakfast on the appetitive, hormonal, and neural signals controlling energy intake regulation in overweight/obese,breakfast-skipping, late-adolescent girls. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 97(4), p677-688. Levitsky, D.A. and Pacanowski, C.R., (2013). Effect of skipping breakfast on subsequent energy intake. Physiology behavior, 119, p9-16. McCrory, M.A., (2014). Meal skipping and variables related to energy balance in adults: A brief review, with emphasis on the breakfast meal. Physiology behavior, 134, p51-54. Meyers, A.F., (1989). Undernutrition, hunger, and learning in children. Nutrition news (USA). Odegaard, A.O., Jacobs, D.R., Steffen, L.M., Van Horn, L., Ludwig, D.S. and Pereira, M.A., (2013). Breakfast frequency and development of metabolic risk. Diabetes care, 36 (10), p3100-3106. Pereira, M.A., Erickson, E., McKee, P., Schrankler, K., Raatz, S.K., Lytle, L.A. and Pellegrini, A.D., (2011). Breakfast frequency and quality may affect glycemia and appetite in adults and children. The Journal of nutrition, 141(1), p163-168. Pollitt, E. and Mathews, R., (1998). Breakfast and cognition: an integrative summary. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 67(4), p804-813. Public Health England contributor. (2017). Adult Obesity. Available: http://www.noo.org.uk/NOO_about_obesity/adult_obesity. Last accessed 13th Mar 2017. Purslow, L.R., Sandhu, M.S., Forouhi, N., Young, E.H., Luben, R.N., Welch, A.A., Khaw, K.T., Bingham, S.A. and Wareham, N.J., 2008. Energy intake at breakfast and weight change: prospective study of 6,764 middle-aged men and women. American journal of epidemiology, 167(2), p188-192. Rampersaud, G.C., Pereira, M.A., Girard, B.L., Adams, J. and Metzl, J.D., (2005). Breakfast habits, nutritional status, body weight, and academic performance in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 105(5), p743-760. Reeves, S., Halsey, L.G., McMeel, Y. and Huber, J.W., (2013). Breakfast habits, beliefs and measures of health and wellbeing in a nationally representative UK sample. Appetite, 60, p51-57. Schlundt, D.G., Hill, J.O., Sbrocco, T., Pope-Cordle, J. and Sharp, T., (1992). The role of breakfast in the treatment of obesity: a randomized clinical trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 55(3), p645-651. Serra-Majem, L., Bartrina, J.A., Pà ©rez-Rodrigo, C., Ribas-Barba, L. and Delgado-Rubio, A., (2006). Prevalence and deteminants of obesity in Spanish children and young people. British Journal of Nutrition, 96(1), p67-72. Shaw, M.E., (1998). Adolescent breakfast skipping: an Australian study. Adolescence, 33(132), p851-862. Skinner, J.D., Salvetti, N.N., Ezell, J.M., Penfield, M.P. and Costello, C.A., (1985). Appalachian adolescents eating patterns and nutrient intakes. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 85(9), p1093-1099. Szajewska, H. and RuszczyÅ„ski, M., (2010). Systematic review demonstrating that breakfast consumption influences body weight outcomes in children and adolescents in Europe. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 50(2), p113-119. Tuttle, W.W., Daum, K., Myers, L. and Martin, C., (1950). Effect of omitting breakfast on the physiologic response of men. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 26, p332-335. Heijden, A.A., Hu, F.B., Rimm, E.B. and Dam, R.M., (2007). A prospective study of breakfast consumption and weight gain among US men. Obesity, 15(10), p2463-2469. WHO contributor. (2015). facts on obesity. Available: http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/obesity/facts/en/index4.html. Last accessed 13th Mar 2017. WHO contributor. (2016). Obesity and overweight. Available: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/. Last accessed 13th Mar 2017.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Being and Humans in Heideggers Letter on Humanism and in his Contribut

Being and Humans in Heidegger's Letter on Humanism and in his Contributions to Philosophy ABSTRACT: Heidegger's main question, the question of Being concerning human facticity, struggles to uncover the original ground to which humans belong, a ground from which modern society tends to uproot itself through the dominance of calculative and representational thinking. What is most dangerous for Heidegger about this process is that the original ground of humans and beings in general might be covered and forgotten to the extent that humans lose completely the sense of what they truly need. The task of philosophy is to help bring back humans and beings in general to the place which they originally belong, i.e., to their most fulfilled way of being which is their proper or own [das Eigene, eigen]. The term "En-own-ment" or "Ap-propri-ation" [Er-eign-is] — the key word in Heidegger's thinking since the 1930's — marks his attempt to think more originally than metaphysics the relation between Being and humans in terms of the being "enowned" of humans through Being and in terms of the belonging of humans to Being. I will rethink the question of this relation in reference to two of Heidegger's writings, and will focus on his struggle for a proper language which would be able to say what essentially remains concealed in metaphysical language: the truth (or ground) or Being as Ereignis. a) Preliminary remarks In our age of close encounter between manifold ways of thinking, believing and behaving one fundamental question which arises is: How can one find a proper measure for human life in a world which essentially lacks a common ground? The last great philosopher who, at the brink of the era of pluralism, struggled for a common ground ... ...-1938), GA vol. 65, ed. by F.-W. v. Hermann, Frankfurt am Main 1989. (3) See especially Heidegger, GA65, section 122. (4) I have no time, here, to develop the notion of an "andersanfà ¤ngliches Denken". (5) Anklang is the name of the first of the six fugues (Fuge) into which the Beitrà ¤ge are articulated. In their interrelatedness they constitute the realm of thinking of what Heidegger calls the transition from the first (Greek) beginning of Western history to the other beginning, which the thinking of Ereignis is meant to prepare. (6) See GA 9:323, where Heidegger says that Ek-sistenz is "das Stehen in der Lichtung des Seins". See also p. 350. (7) Unfortunately, I will have no time, here, to develop the question of the relation between humans and gods. (8) Heidegger moves, in the Beitrà ¤ge towards a radical simultaneity of beyng and beings.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Continuous Sexual Trajectory Essay -- Essays Papers

Continuous Sexual Trajectory In his Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, Freud works inductively towards a theory of the (sexual) mind. The lectures consider years of psychoanalytic experience and try to fit them into a framework, in the process always slightly altering both the data and the theory. His primary interest lies in the competitive interplay of libido - the pleasure seeking unconscious part of the mind - and the ego - the rational and socially constituted character who internalizes norms and tries to tame the libido. The pleasure that the libido presses for is firstly sexual, but for Freud this expansive term indicates any kind of pleasure derived from physical contact. Working from these terms, he tries to consider the relationship between the normal, the neurotic and the perverted. Freud defines the pervert as one who lives out her or his desires for sexual pleasure despite the desires’ deviance from societal norms, and despite the fact that they do not lead to heterosex ual sex (377). The neurotic, on the other hand, shows symptoms created by the active and ongoing conflict between the ego’s demands and the libido’s desires (466). The question then becomes how this deviance relates to â€Å"normal† and why subjects become deviant. Ultimately, Freud’s attempt to establish a trajectory of human development taking the subject from childhood sexuality to adult life founders on the faulty basis of a presumed continuity. In order to explain his experiences as a psychoanalyst with patients and their myriad bizarre symptoms, Freud infers the structure of human development in general, with a focus on the sexual life of children. For adults to be sexual beings with particular symptoms, fix... ...man development grounded in an inferred childhood sexuality that is itself somewhat questionable. The circularity of his method, by itself, certainly does not prove it wrong. He could indeed be correct in the assumptions he makes, and thus their reappearance in and as his conclusions could be for the best. However, that the argument leaves so much space for alternate routes for the origin of what are labeled forms of deviance does at least indicate its incomplete correctness, if not its complete incorrectness. The important question becomes, as it began whether his thoroughly political reading of the nature of the sexualized individual is useful, as opposed to â€Å"True†. When the conclusions he reaches from this troubled theory contradict our sense of justice and reason, it may well be prudent to assume error lies in his ratiocinations rather than in our own agenda.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Amazon Rainforest

Amazon Rainforest I am an explorer and I just returned from an expedition to the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon rainforest was amazing and there lots of facts that I would like to tell you about: [pic]The Rainforest grow around the equator. The hot, steamy conditions are perfect for plants. [pic]In fact, rainforests contain the largest diversity of plant and animal life on earth; many species are still unidentified. Rainforests form distinct layers, providing homes for animals at all levels. [pic]The Amazon rainforest is the world’s largest remaining natural resource that now represents 54% of the total rainforest left on earth. pic]More than 20% of earth’s oxygen is produced in this area the name of that area is called ‘lungs of the planet’. [pic]An estimated number of 2,700 million acres of the rainforest are burned each year. [pic]The rainforest is one of the wettest but hottest places on earth. August is the Amazon’s driest month. [pic]In the sout heast of England, the temperature in January is about 5 °c, where as in the Amazon it is about 28 °c. [pic]The total number of tree species is estimated to be about 2500. The total numbers of plants are about 40. 000. The Amazon insects are about 2. 5 million species.There are 7500 species of butterflies and 50 species of ants are found in a single tree. [pic]Over 500 mammals, 175 lizards and over 300 other reptiles species, and one third of the world’s birds live in Amazonia. Map of the Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest covers the area of 2. 5 million square miles, and taken up nine countries of Brazil: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and the Guiana’s, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname. Tropical rainforests are located around the equator where temperatures stay near 80 degrees year round. Rainforest receive 160 too 400 inches of rain each year.Today, rapid deforestation threatens the Amazons forests. At current rates, 25 percent of its o riginal forests are projected to be destroyed by 2020, it will be a disaster. Climate This is a climate graph showing temperature and precipitation that happens yearly. The rainfall in January to march is increasing then it falls to May from 310mm to 250 mm. The rainfall then decreases to 110mm, and then it goes back down to august by 60mm. The precipitation level ascends to December by 170mm. There was lots of rainfall in between January and May, its like monsoon in India.The temperature starts in January at the level of 130 degrees Celsius, and then it drops to 110 degrees Celsius. Temperature increased to 140 degrees Celsius in April and may. Then it went up to 150 degrees Celsius in July, afterwards it shoots up to 290 degrees Celsius in September and 300 degrees Celsius in October. The temperature drops right down to 200 degrees Celsius in December. The temperature rose and the rainforest were really hot in between August and November. As I was exploring the rainforest I notice d that it is very hot, wet and sticky- very humid. I was covered with sweat and my boots were all sticky with mud.Another thing is that it rains everyday, so regularly that you could set your watch by it. The eastern horizon becomes suddenly black, and then wind rushes through the forest, a vivid flash of lightening, a crash of thunder and finally the downpour of rain. The next day the sun rises-spring summer autumn as it were in one tropical day. There is one type of rainfall, which is called convectional rainfall, which means that the sun heats the ground, which heats the air nearest the ground causing it to expand and rise. Storms are common with convectional rainfall. The Amazon rainforest gets nine feet of rain every year.Amazon Animals Birds Rainforests contain the richest variety of the world’s birds. From the emergent layer, fast-flying predators, such as eagles and hawks, descend on forest animals. The canopy is home to birds such as hornbills, parrots, and toucans, which feed on fruit and small animals. On the forest floor birds scratch at the soil for insects and plant roots. Here are the three animals that I saw during my expedition. Sloth I saw the sloth, there were lots of them hanging in the trees. They are very unique mammals and I found them in the canopy layer. There are six to seven species of them.They are divided up into two groups: the two-toed sloth, three-toed sloth. Three-toed sloths live on cecropia leaves but two-toed sloths live high in the canopy feeding on a wide variety of leaves and fruits. They are very slow and lazy animals that live in trees. Sloths spend most of their time hanging upside down from the tree branches. They sleep, mate, eat and give birth to a baby hanging upside down. They hold onto the branches with their strong sharp curved claws that are on each of their feet, which adapt to the environment they are living. They can’t stand upright because of the large claws.In their forest habitat, however, t heir hook-like claws provide a far more reliable grip on tree branches than the grip of a normal fist. Sloths have a thick brown and slightly greenish fur coat. Sloths are about a size of a cat. They are short, flat head, big eyes, a short tail, long legs and tiny ears. Some sloths have green algae on their fur to camouflage effect and providing some nutrients to the sloths, which lick the algae. Their fur goes upside down for rainwater to drip off. Sloths also have adaptations to stay warm! Apparently the sloth’s laziness is because of its diet.They eat only leaves, which are naturally low in energy and they are hard to digest. They sleep to get energy and they sleep about for 20 hours a day. They camouflage to hide from the predators like harpy eagles, anacondas, jaguars and humans. They can live up to 12 years in the wild. They are better at swimming than walking. Anaconda- heaviest snake in the world Honestly I really hate snakes, but unfortunately I saw an anaconda resti ng in one of the trees. Luckily it wasn’t hungry. It was camouflaged so it cannot be visible. Then I found out that they are the heaviest snakes in the world.They also known as the water boa, they are giant, semi-aquatic meat-eater lives in swampy areas of tropical South America. The largest anaconda ever measured was almost 28 feet long with a girth of 44 inches. The weight was over 500 lbs. Anacondas are not poisonous but it coils itself around its prey and they crush it. Anaconda could swallow entire cow. The digestion can take up to several days. They feed mostly on capybara, humans (if necessary), fish, and mammals. Anaconda don’t use its teeth to chew, it uses it to hold on to its prey to prevent it from escaping. Hummingbirds Awww! The hummingbirds look so cute.There were lots of them. It was really colourful when they all came together into groups. They are extremely small and brilliantly coloured, their wings beating up to 80 times per second and making an aud ible buzzing sound as they  as they fly. They are incredibly fast and they don’t keep still. Hummingbirds require lots of energy. They have the fastest wing beats of any bird and their hearts beat up to 1,260 beats per minute. Hummingbirds may visit 1,000 flowers per day. For protein, hummingbirds eat spiders and strain gnats from mid-air. They will pull insects out of spider webs including the spider itself.Sapsucker holes are a double treat, netting both insects and sap! They mainly live in the canopy area. Plants As I researched on plants I discovered that many rainforest trees are tall, with straight trunks with few branches and buttress roots support them. Other plants include epiphytes, such as bromeliads and orchids. Epiphytes use other plants as support, attaching themselves to branches by their roots to reach the light. They trap water and obtain nutrients from plant material that fall on them. Bromeliads have spiky leaves that channel water, leaves and fruit into a pool in the centre; these rot to provide the bromeliad with nutrients.Structure of the Amazon rainforest trees The Emergent The upper layer can reach up to 60 m above the forest floor. Here the tallest trees of the forest stick out in isolation from the mass of trees below. The emergent layer is home to bats, predatory birds, and fruit eaters such as the sun conure. Emergent trees are the tallest trees in a rain forest canopy, the ones that get the light. When they fall, they help a lot of light reach down onto the forest floor for other trees to finally get their chance to grow. Canopy Between 30-45m above ground level is the canopy.This dense layer of branches and leaves contains the greatest variety of animal life in the forest. Lianas- woody creepers – reach up to the sunlight of the upper canopy. Plants like Epiphytes grow on canopy trees. A common term for canopy trees is shade trees. A canopy is the outer layer of the tree’s leaves, and shade trees have a dens e canopy that block out the light. Some good canopy trees include: Oaks, maples, ashes, lindens, elms, poplars, beeches, tilias, tulipwood, tree waratah,  birches, golden robinia, crepe myrtle, Japanese crab apple, ornamental pea,  flowering plum. UnderstoreyShrubs grow in the Understorey layer wherever light squeeze through the canopy. Lizards, such as the common iguana, live here, climbing up tree trunks and feeding on insects and vegetation. The Understorey is the group of small trees, shrubs and vines that grow under the taller trees. These plants can grow in the shade of the taller trees. Understorey trees usually stay short, even if they are very old. Forest floor There are few plants on the dark forest floor, but many small animals such as insects feed on and recycle material that falls from above. Almost no plants grow in this area, as a result.Since hardly any sun reaches the forest floor things begin to decay quickly. A leaf that might take one year to decompose in a r egular climate will disappear in  6 weeks. Leaf-cutter ant use leaves as a compost to grow fungus they feed on. Indian Tribes The kayapo village Traditional Kayapo villages are formed by a circle of houses built around a large cleared area. The houses from the kayapo village are mainly made from materials from the forest. Men work together as a team and a colourful parrot guides the men like where to put the stuff and etc. There are 10 houses altogether.They are made from palm trees. In the middle of the village there is the men’s house. Young and unmarried men go there. They join the senior men to paint their faces and bodies as a tradition and they learn the history of tribes and the daily basis. The river is used for fishing, bathing, cooking and drinking. Fishing is a year-round activity, but it has to be done in the dry season, when the water level is at its lowest, that fish are caught in large numbers. To achieve this, the Kayapo use timbo vines. The men beat the vin es for hours in the water with small clubs (sticks wider at one end).This decreases the oxygen of the water but this won’t poisson the fish. The fish won’t be able to breathe in the water. Then the fish floats to the other end of the water and the children catches the fish with their bare hands. Then they go back to their village and hand their fish over to their wife, if they are unmarried they will give the fish to their mother or sister. Other foods are grown in the garden where women look after them. The women harvest the family's garden for vegetables. They also prepare body paint with the help of their children. Children play hunting games.Kayapo learn portugese to help them understand the world around them. They use radios to communicate with the other tribes. Deforestation Deforestation is when the amazon tropical rainforest or any forest which is being cut down at an alarimg rate. It is estimated that 100,000 species willl become extinct in the next 40 years a s a result of deforestation. The potential for discovering new foods or medicines from these species will be lost forever. The problem is that the rainforest does not grow back. This is because most of the nutrients which the plants needs to grow are stored in the trees.Once the trees have been removed, the source of the nutrients diappears. Any goodness that is left in the soil is quickly washed away by the heavy rainfall that happens in this region. There used to be 6 million indigenous people in the amazon rainforest; today there are only 200,000 left. This is because deforestation is destroying their traditional lands, they have suffered from diseases brought in by the settlers. If deforestation is not controlled only 28 per cent of the amazon rainforest will be left by 2020. Deforestation is caused by: Agriculture- the forest has been cleared to clear farmland for large estates.Ranching- a major cause of deforestation is for beef cattle farming. Mining- the amazon is rich in mi nerals like iron ore, tin and gold – the forest is destroyed by the mines. Dams- the dams provide essential electricity, which is a renewable energy source. However the forest is flooded and wildlife will loose their habitat. Roads- 12,000 km of roads have been built in the amazon. Conclusion We can help to protect the rainforest by making sure that we do not buy any products that are responsible for trees being cut down. We can also support organisations that protect rainforests such as friends of the earth or greenpeace.Each year an area of forest slightly larger than trees are cut down, releasing global warming pollution in the form of carbon dioxide and methane from burning and decaying vegetation. Deforestation disturbs the water cycle by allowing water to runoff directly to rivers rather than being trapped in soil and vegetation and slowly released throughout the year. 85% of the Amazon rainforest may be lost due to global warming. By the end of the year the trees had r eleased more than two-thirds of the carbon dioxide they have stored during their lives, helping to act as a break on global warming.Instead they began accelerating the climate change. These are some steps for saving rainforests which are known as â€Å"TREES† Teach others about the importance of the environment and how they can help save rainforests. Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down. Encourage people to live in a way that doesn't hurt the environment Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife Support companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment That was the end to my journey I had a lovely time. I like to go there again.

Birmingham Airport Essay

Question 1: List some of the micro operations to be found at Birmingham International Airport. i) Baggage handling operation ii) Ground cress loading and unloading operation iii) Airline ticketing operation iv) Information dispensing operation v) Cleaning operation vi) Customer services operation vii) Technical maintenance operation viii) Fire alert operation Each of these micro operations played a significant role at Birmingham International Airport to improve their business operations. a) Identify the main transforming and transformed resources. Operations management can defined as a set of components that can related into a set of input become desired output. Furthermore, this conversion is called the transformation process that is view as the technical core. Basically, the main transforming and transformed resources are baggage handling operation, give some information desk, checking passport control and security checks.Hence, the objective is to produce outputs that important for the customers. This process generates the internal information as a part of feedback process. Furthermore, this significant part is to aim serve with every customer well and keep it to running the process safely on time. b) State which is the predominant transformed resources, i.e., customers, materials, or information.   Each state of micro operations has different role that are based on customers, materials or information. There are three micro operations are based on customers at Birmingham International Airport. First, micro operation based on customers is baggage handling operations that do the sorting, checking and dispatching bags to the many departing aircrafts. Second, micro operation based on customers is airline-ticketing operation that deals with lines of passengers, each of who may have different final destination. Third, micro operation based on customers is customer services operations that give passengers information from information desk which is  always fully manned, dealing with many queries that people want to know if their plane is on time, location and how to work out to get a faster road to their final destination. There are three micro operations are based on materials at Birmingham International Airport. First, micro operation based on material is ground cress loading and unloading operation, such as aircraft or putting meals on board. Second, micro operation based on material is cleaning operation that does the cleaning of aircraft during their brief spell at the air bridge. The only micro operation based on information is information dispensing operation. Its task is to give the passengers who needed of information, who need information about the airline, transportation, lodging, and etc. c) Describe the output of each micro operation and say who you think its customers are. The output and customer of micro operation for baggage handling operation is the sending baggages to the cargo and inspected baggages. Therefore, customers are from each departing aircraft that carries their respective baggage. Conversely, the output for the next micro operation, which is loading and unloading from aircraft, is the service to load and unload from the aircraft. Furthermore, customer for loading and unloading on aircraft is the serviced aircraft. Output for micro operation of airline ticketing operation is to provide tickets for passengers with different final destination and the customer for this operation is the airline passenger. The next output for information-dispensing operation is to provide information for people that needed to be helped. Beside that, customer for information dispensing operation is the people needing the information regarding the airline and its services. Output of micro operation of cleaning operation is to provide a cleaned place with the purpose to give passengers the proper basic services and good image on the airliner. So, the customer for cleaning operation is all the cleaned places. Output for good stocking operation is the checked and stocked goods. The customer is the sufficiently stocked store in Birmingham International Airport. The output of micro operation of technical maintenance operation is the maintained and  repaired airline facility and vehicles at Birmingham International Airport. The customer is the airline facilities and vehicles that required constant maintenance and services. The output for fire alert operation is the fully trained fire crew so that they are alert of any fire accident all the time. Its customer is the airline customers and Birmingham International Airport, of which they are the one benefited from the help of fire crews in case of any mishaps happened. Question 2: What would you say are the main problems in designing, planning, controlling and improving an airport? The main problem in designing is each part of the airport has to be carefully designed to fulfill the job today. The main problems in planning are each part of the operation has to be planned so that it has enough staff, enough stock, enough space, the appropriate passengers, the correct baggage, the right planes, the proper equipment, in the right place at the right time. The staffs involved from the airport, airlines and associated organizations have to undertake all the tasks they have been given so that the operations work smoothly. The manager has to ensure that an airport has the right quantity and quality of employees doing the right things in the right place at the right time and at right cost to the airport. The manager has to make sure that everything goes smoothly all the time according with his or her planned. The main problem in controlling is managers must control these operations to ensure that all goes to plan and meets the needs of the present customers and upcoming customers. The manager has to monitoring and regulating performance to ensure that it conforms to the plans and goals of the Birmingham International Airport. In controlling, the manager also has to taking the appropriate corrective action to ensure that what is actually happening is in accordance with the expectations of the planning process that does not necessarily involve cracking down on staff who are not performing to the expected standards, but it may also mean reviewing the plans and implementing them where it can be demonstrated that they were defective in same way or that conditions have changed. The main problems in improving are managers have to look to improving what they do and how they  do it in order to keep up with the track in this rapidly changing world.

Friday, August 16, 2019

International Economics Essay

1. Why did the Mercantilists consider holdings of precious metals so important to nation-state building? (6 points) Wealth was viewed as synonymous with holdings of precious metals. Nation-states wished to become wealthy and this meant obtaining large holdings of precious metals. It is also argued by some that the shortage of coinage constrained the growth of these nation-sates and that precious metals were required to increase the supply of coinage (money) in order for the countries to grow. 2. Assume that both the United States and Germany produce beef and computer chips with the following costs: (12 points) a. What is the opportunity cost of beef (B) and computer chips (C) in each country? In the United States: the opportunity cost of one unit of beef is 2 chips; the opportunity cost of one chip is 1/2 unit of beef. In Germany: the opportunity cost of one unit of beef is 4 chips; the opportunity cost of one  chip is 1/4 unit of beef. b. In which commodity does the United States have a comparative cost advantage? What about Germany? The United States has a comparative cost advantage in beef with respect to Germany, while Germany has a comparative cost advantage in computer chips. c. What is the range for mutually beneficial trade between the United States and Germany for each computer chip traded? The range for mutually beneficial trade between the United States and Germany for each unit of beef that the United States exports is: 2C < 1B < 4C d. How much would the United States and Germany gain if 1 unit of beef is exchanged for 3 chips? Both the United States and Germany would gain 1 chip for each unit of beef traded. 3. â€Å"If U.S. productivity growth does not keep up with that of its trading partners, the United States will quickly lose its international competitiveness and not be able to export any products, and its standard of living will fall.† Critically evaluate this statement in light of what you have learned in chapter 3 of the textbook. (10 points) This statement could be true if trade was based on absolute advantage. However, since trade can take place on the basis of comparative advantage, what counts is relative cost differences. Consequently a country can be less efficient or become less efficient in all goods and yet again from trade as long as there are relative cost differences in autarky. Thus, different rates of productivity growth may change what a country exports, but it is unlikely that it would ever take away the basis for trade, its ability to expert. 4. The following table shows the number of days of labor required to produce a unit of textiles and autos in the United Kingdom and the United States: (12 points) Textiles Autos United Kingdom 3 days 6 days United States 2 days 5 days a. Calculate the number of units of textiles and autos that can be produced from 1 day of labor in each country. In the United Kingdom one day of labor can produce 1/3 of a unit of textiles and 1/6 of a unit of automobiles. In the United States, one day of labor can produce  ½ of a unit of textiles and 1/5 of a unit of automobiles. b. Suppose that the United States has 1,000 days of labor available. Construct the production-possibilities frontier for the United States. 500 U.S c. Construct the U.S. consumption-possibilities frontier with trade if the terms of trade are 1 auto: 2 units of textiles. 500 textiles U.S d. Select a pre-trade consumption point for the United States, and indicate how trade can yield a consumption point that gives the United States greater consumption of both goods. 500 textiles U.S 5. In the previous question, suppose that the United States always wishes to consume autos and textiles at the ratio of 1 auto to 10 textiles. What quantity of each good would the United States consume in autarky? What combination would the United States consume with trade and complete specialization? What would be the gains from trade? (10 points) In autarky, the production ( and consumption ) of textiles and autos will utilize all the available 1000 days of labor. Thus, with T = number of units of textiles produced and A = number of autos produced, 1000 = ( 2 days / unit) T + (5 days / unit )A. The consumption requirement is that 10 units of textiles be consumed for every unit of automobiles. Hence, total textile production is equal to (10) ( total auto production), 10A thus, given the available labor, and substituting 10A for T, 1000 = (2)(10A) + 5 A A= 40 units If A = 40 units, then textile production and trade, textile production equal 500 units. Consumption of textiles (CT) is equal to textile production minus the textile exports used to enquire auto imports, and auto imports are equal to auto consumption (CA). With the international terms of trade of 1A:2T, auto imports = (1A/2T)(exports of textiles) = (1A/2T)*(textile production – textile consumption). By the demand assumption, consumption of auto is also equal to (1/10)(textile concumption). Hence , CA = (1/2)(500 –CT ) and CA = (1/10)(CT). Thus, (1/2)(500- CT) = (1/10)(CT) 250 – (1/2)(CT) = (1/10)(CT) 0.6CT = 250 CT = 416 2/3 units With Ct = 416 2/3 units, CA therefore equals 41 2/3 Unitts. Because of specialization and trade, the united States had gained 16 2/3 Units of textiles ( 416 2/3 – 400 ) and 1 2/3 ( 41 2/3 – 40 ) in comparison with autarky situation. Another method of arriving at these results is to utilize the equations for the PPF and for the consumption pattern. In autarky the PPF equation is T = 500 – 2  ½ A, and the consumption equation is CT = 10CA. Solving the two equations for the two unknowns yields A = CA = 40 and T = CT = 400. With  trade, the equations to be utilized are for the consumption- possibilities frontier with trade has the equation T = 500 – 2A. When this equation is put with the consumption equation CT = 10 CA and the two equation are solved for two unknowns, the equilibrium results are A = CA = 41 2/3 AND T = CT = 416 2/3

Thursday, August 15, 2019

McDonalds Video Advertisement Essay

This paper analyzes the rhetorical features of one particular video advertisement (2010 see Reference list for details) that was issued on the internet by the multinational burger company McDonalds. It now circulates on the internet with and without the English subtitles. The subtitled text of the advert is a very brief nine lines long, followed by the single tag line â€Å"Come as You are† and the full text is given below at Appendix 1. Hill and Helmers (2008, pp. 51-53) describe how a video uses a particular type of persuasion called â€Å"visual argument† which is rhetorical rather than logical or dialectical. The medium is very compressed and this does not allow full exposition of claim, argument, rebuttal, etc but on the other hand the visual aspect lends a sense of immediacy which written text does not have. They warn, however, that the apparent advantage of seeing rather than reading is partly illusory, since the images presented are highly structured and filtered so as to present a particular viewpoint. In their terminology the McDonalds advert would fall into the category of â€Å"didactic narrative†. The target market for McDonalds products is generally young families and teenagers. The opening shots set a scene which is familiar to this group: a busy and noisy McDonalds restaurant with many smiling faces. A father waits to be served while a son sits at a formica table and talks on his mobile telephone while looking at a photograph. Across the world, in France as well as in other countries, this is a regular occurrence and will resonate with both older and younger viewers who see themselves in the father or son role. The dresscode in the video is casual and â€Å"cool† as evidenced by the beanie hat worn by a customer, and the hoodie worn by the boy who talks. This is typical of styles popular with young urban males. At first it looks like a mainstream father and son, where the son talks to someone romantically on his cellphone. The person on the other end of the telephone is neither seen nor heard and one just assumes out of habit that this person is female. Lines 1-4 are spoken by the boy. The father arrives and lines 5-9 are spoken by the father. As the father quizzes the boy and makes a comparison with himself, the facial expression of the boy makes it clear that the father is not aware of a crucial difference between them: the boy is gay. The Tag line which is presented on a plain screen at the end just before the McDonalds logo â€Å"Come as you are† tacitly acknowledges that people are different, and extends a welcome to all kinds of people. It does not matter whether they are older or younger, gay or straight, they should still come to McDonalds and eat together. The claim, or main issue which the video presents is that diversity is a good thing, and people should be welcome regardless of their sexual orientation. There is no explicit verbal argument to back this up, but the story presents the gay son in a favourable light. This is done by camera angles that focus on his face, and the choice of an attractive young French male actor dressed in pretty average teenage clothes. This is by no means extreme gay activism with stereotypical gay wardrobe, mannerisms and speaking style but a subtle depiction of a situation that a pretty average young gay man is likely to encounter. It all looks and is intended to look â€Å"normal†. The video is youth-focused, because it lets the audience see things from the boy’s perspective, while making it obvious that the father does not appreciate the insider information which audience and boy share. The father represents the traditional French male role model of an experienced older man who is successful with women. The son represents a more up to date role model of a gay French man. An interesting aspect of the video is that there are a number of appeals going on at the same time in different directions. On the one hand there is a main message conveyed by pathos, which shows the young boy’s romantic feelings towards his boyfriend, and his wry acceptance of his father’s old fashioned and rather macho attitudes. On the other hand there is some authority and believability in the role of the father who pays for the meal and takes a positive and fatherly interest in his son. The son is inward looking and reflective, using the personal pronoun â€Å"I† to reveal his feelings, while the father uses the pronoun â€Å"you† more often and directs his feelings outwards. The father cites the evidence of his own experience to offer an example for the boy to follow in his footsteps. McDonalds will be well aware that parents and teenage children, and the sometimes complex and difficult relationship between them is absolutely the territory in which they operate their business. They provide a framework, something like a neutral territory, in which this generational conflict can be worked through, via the activity of buying and eating fast food. In making the gay-friendly message implicit, rather than explicit, McDonalds avoids the possible outcome of presenting a crass or sensationalist message. The way gaps in the narrative are left for the viewer to supply is also very clever, because it flatters the audience and forces them to get involved in constructing the meaning of the advertisement. Ambiguity used in this way is a very powerful rhetorical technique. There is still, of course, the possibility that some viewers will react negatively to the overturning of the traditionally dominant heterosexual point of view. Some viewers will resist the gay-friendly message that is being constructed but this, too, is part of the writer’s intention. Advertisers often court controversy as a means to extend the impact of their message and this is a prime example of that. If some viewers react with an indignant and anti-gay blog post or a you tube video or text response then this in turn provokes pro-gay and pro-McDonald posts from the viewers. The message is then guaranteed durability and a wider circulation. In purely technical production terms this video is a model of economy and precision. There are only two speakers, and each takes only one conversation turn. The product is never mentioned, and the instant recognizability factor with this brand makes this irrelevant in any case. Just in case there is any doubt in the viewer’s mind, however, the logo is added at the end. The colors are muted, and the mood is a gentle family intimacy with some tension caused by the unspoken facts which change the surface meaning of the discourse. Deep meaning is conveyed in shots of the changing expressions on the son’s face, and these meanings are obliquely referred to in the tag line â€Å"Come as you are†. This phrase is used in standard English to mean something like â€Å"don’t dress up specially – there is no need to be formal† and the McDonalds ad suggests an extension of this to mean something like â€Å"you don’t need to pretend you are straight, just be yourself† for a young and gay friendly audience, or â€Å"you don’t need to worry if your son is gay, just come and eat with him as normal† for an older audience who may be less open towards a gay message. The advert makes a plea for tolerance, not for any particular orientation. All of the components of the advert, even including the brief snippet of song saying â€Å"I’m going on my way† at the end, support these same messages and the images work, because they rest on a long McDonalds formula of adverts showing intimate conversations in busy restaurant scenes, but incorporate this new â€Å"diversity† based angle in a positive, friendly and contemporary way. Appendix 1. 1. Boy: Hello? 2. Boy: I was thinking about you too. 3. Boy: I miss you too. 4. Boy: My dad’s coming, I have to hang up. 5. Father: Is this your class picture? 6. Father: You look just like me at your age/ 7. Father: Let me tell you I was quite the ladies’ man! 8. Father: Too bad your class is all boys†¦ 9. Father: You could get all the girls. (Song in the background) 10. Tag line replaces the pictures : Come as you are. Hill, Charles A. and Helmers, Marguerite (2008) Defining Visual Rhetorics. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Lunsford, Andrea A. , Ruskiewicz, John J. , Walters, Keith. (2009) Everything’s an Argument. Boston: Bedford books. McDonald’s video advert â€Å"Come as You Are†, (2010) in French with English subtitles. Available online at: http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=xk8xyONKK_4&feature=related