Psychology Cae Studies Essay

1) Newspaper Advertisement: -self selecting persons who had an interest in seeing the study become successful. If you volunteer to become a part of a study clearly you have an interest and feel a sense of responsibility towards the experiment.  2) Subjects were predominately white and middle class. This implies that the subjects are from similar backgrounds, and so share similar experiences. In such cases we call them a homogeneous group. A homogeneous group because of their similar experiences are not likely to be representative of the wider population. Consequently results are likely to reflective of them, not the general population. In this instance we may only have learn how a prison population with predominately white males from a middle class background is likely to behave. Remember the purpose of much of research is to generalise to the wider population. 3) Thumbs up for the use of questionnaires and an interview, which were used to screen the subjects.  Thumbs down – what constituted healthy? How did they come to this judgement? Normal! What is normal?  4) The experiment was conducted at the prestigious Stanford University. The  Prestige of the University will have impacted upon the subjects. Oh my god we are here at Stanford. If Stanford is doing this then it must be good and worthwhile. They wouldn’t have me doing something that’s not good for me. No matter what I feel I must behave as a dutiful subject. It’s not hard to imagine the subjects thinking in this manner. 5) The direct involvement of the chief researcher as a participant in the  Experiment could also impact upon the subjects. Hey he’s involved, if he isn’t having a problem neither should I. I need to follow his lead. This is a really valuable piece of research.  Key Terms  De-Individuation: -This is a loss of your individual identity. The guards lost their identity to the group collective. We are guards. The (uniform), inclusive of baton, reflecting sunglasses and apparel (what they had on) contributed to this. We are the authority! What we say goes! The prisoners lost their identity when they were given prison garb and prison numbers. To be referred to only by a number robs you of your name. How vital is a name to an individual? Mr, Miss, Mrs, name only. It comes to define you the individual. Without it who are you? De-humanisation: – This means that you have lost your humanity and are not treated with the basic dignity to which human beings are entitled. The prisons were de-humanised. Remember they were stripped and made to stand naked in the court -yard. This is not a dignified way to treat persons. Further evidence of their dehumanisation is the prison guards referring to their rights as privileges. This implied that they were not entitled to rights. Loss of control over what we as humans have come to expect, when we eat, when we sleep, and when use the bathroom. They lost the power to do all these things. Learned helplessness: – They became dependent upon the guards for everything. They lost the desire and the know how to do things for themselves. This was not the situation before since they acquired it in prison, then it is learned helplessness.  Remember power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Role Confusion: – This occurs when the individual cannot separate roles that he has been given-which am I truly? This is linked to role consumption, This occurs when one particular role comes to define an individual take for example an athlete or politician who refuses to retire long after they have passed their prime. Both the guards and the prisoners suffered from this problem. The guards like the prisoners suffered de-individuation. They too lost their identities to the roles they were asked to perform. The awesome power they were given, the uniform-inclusive of whistle, baton and reflecting sunglasses all contributed to them losing their identity. They began to see themselves as guards only and begun acting accordingly. Most naturally this meant that the guards internalised the prison. By Internalisation we mean that they accepted the prison as being real, and conformed to its expectations, routines and guidelines. Did the guards truly internalise the prison? Lets look at the evidence of this-The guards attempted to hide the prisons in the broom cupboard because they felt the experimenters were being too soft- [This is evidence of internalisation because it shows that the guards had removed themselves from the confines/boundaries of the experiment and had now started to think as the collective group-prison guards-[This moment should have marked the end of the experiment as its integrity had been compromised-it was an ethical violation to continue-Zimbardo being a part of the experiment(Prison Warder-head guard) became totally subjective and could not see that anything was wrong-this again was unethical but only because his objectivity was compromised].  Further evidence of this is calling the prisoners rights privileges, and delaying the prisoner roll call to hours. For the prisoners the arresting process, which began when they were arrested and ended when they were finger printed and photographed, contributed to the prisoners internalising the prison. This occurred because of the shock value it signified a break from the prison (subjects) everyday reality they were arrested-they were now prisoners. The initiation process, which is everything, which happened to the prison subjects up until they were assigned to their cells, also contributed to their internalising the prison. This included being given prison uniforms, being stripped and deloused, being made to stand naked in the prison yard, being assigned numbers, learning the prison rules -which they had to recite and being assigned cells. Evidence of the internalisation of the prison by the prisoners is them referring to themselves by number, asking for a lawyer, bail and parole board, and returning to their cells when they could have just left.

Aging Population Effects on Health Care Essay

Health care is a fast evolving field with advancements of technology and treatment options growing every day. The delivery of care has grown and often shifts direction over the years to accommodate changing population demographics and needs of patients. Many factors play a part in the role of health care and medical treatment, one of those factors being population demographic changes. When the demographics of a population change it can cause adverse effects on the surrounding area in many ways, such as access to care, types of treatment needed to care for the population and the need for health care employees. In a particular population where the demographic is aging the dynamic and need for care begins to affect the health care system in a variety of ways. All health care entities involved play a role in ensuring the challenges and the needs of the population change are met. As the population demographic ages the impact on the delivery of care will be significantly altered, such as t he organization of care and how it is delivered, treatment options, long-term care, and health care coverage will all be affected in different ways. According to the Administration on Aging of the Department of Health and Human Services, approximately 13% of the people living in the United States are elderly as of 2011, which average to about 40 million people. The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that by the year 2030 this number will expand to 72 million making up for 20% of the population in the United States (Campbell, 2013). Another factor that affects the aging population demographic is the rapid rate of retiring Baby-Boomers, with almost 10,000 entering retirement every day over the next 16 years this number will continue to grow (Campbell, 2013). The increasing amount of people aging in the United States as well as all over the world means the focus of health care will shift from acute care to the treatment of serious chronic diseases and assisted living skilled and non-skilled medical care will be in high demand. The aging population also results in the growth and demand for an increase in health care services impacting the health care market in a way that increases cost for all health care entities, such as the individual patient, the federal government, individual states, hospitals, physicians, etc. Other impacts of the health care system will be the increase need for health care employees with  specific skill sets along with the need for additional health care settings to attend to the elderly population. When population demographics change such as aging, many health care related challenges begin to rise and must be addressed and overcome quickly to ensure the quality of care is not impacted. Some of these challenges in an aging population are the need for in-home medical care and assisted living, such as hospice care, skilled nursing facilities and other long-term medical care settings. The challenge these bring to the health care system as well as the aging population are the high financial cost of in-home support and increased difficulties recruiting the proper trained employees (Potter, 2010). Another challenge this specific population change is faced with is the increased cost of health care coverage. Most retirees and elderly population turn to the federal government health plan known as Medicare for his or her individual health care coverage, with the majority of the Baby-Boomer population turning 65 years old at a rapid pace, more and more Americans are qualifying for Medicare coverage. In recent years the cost of Medicare has raised, mainly impart to the increased cost of prescription medications and the consumption of the elderly population (Potter, 2010). With decreasing long-term care options and increasing health care cost the elderly population is faced with many challenges within the health care system. Ultimately the current state of the health care system in the United States must address the concern of the aging population and adapt to the needs of the elderly. In the current era of advanced technology, more and more elderly people are connected to the internet and have a wide variety of receiving health care information. As the health care market moves into a more diverse and technology driven state it is important to market these wellness programs as well as changes in health care coverage that will ultimately effect the aging population. Another way to address the challenges of the aging population is ensuring that individual patients receive the most up to date information regarding his or her health care coverage and diagnosis information. Individual patients, communities and society as a whole can bring together the focus on the aging population health care needs by promoting wellness programs and providing the support to health care facilities needed to face the aging popu lation’s challenges.

WTO effect on Taiwan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

WTO effect on Taiwan - Essay Example (Antkiewicz, 2004) In other words, the more internationalized the financial markets and the more liberalized the capital account, the more challenges the autonomy of monetary policy have faced. In fact, financial internationalization underlay both the Latin American financial crisis happening earlier and the East Asian crisis a few years ago. Experts and scholars, by drawing important lessons from financial crises, have, retrospectively, advocated a progressive approach rather than an aggressive one to financial internationalization. They have singled out relaxation of capital account controls as the bottom-line defensive measure and have even viewed a certain degree of re-regulation as necessary in the aftermath of financial liberalization and internationalization. (Cai, 2005) By doing so, the negative impact of rapid and large-scale international capital movements on a countrys economy can be minimized. Generally speaking, financial liberalization includes cross-border flows of funds, personnel and commodities. In addition to opening the capital account, it also includes expanding offshore business, establishing foreign exchange call-loan markets, and allowing foreign bank operations and branches. The following phenomena, which are independent in itself but not exclusive of each other, illustrate the connotation of financial internationalization: 1) The restrictions on the currency exchanges and other international financial activities of residents and non-residents (including individuals, corporations and financial institutions) are relaxed Domestic banks are allowed to establish overseas branches. Domestic corporations can raise funds by issuing corporate bonds overseas or by investing overseas. Foreign banks and corporations are also permitted to conduct reciprocal financial businesses locally. (Weixing, 2006) 2) International capital movements

Implications Of Business Ethics For Quality Management Essay

Implications Of Business Ethics For Quality Management - Essay Example Most managers are aware of the need to re-evaluate their priorities and approaches to conducting business (Heller, 2006) so that most adopt ways to improve "corporate image" and business standards with the understanding of the origins of ethical thought with reference to codes of ethics (McNamee, 1992). 2. Evaluating the self for improvement and development could mean combining personal care with control of processes to achieve the highest level of quality in business and management (Fisscher and Nijhof, 2005). In this process, the manager must define his own and the organization's strengths, detail weaknesses, ready to seize opportunities and acknowledge threat with preparation. Once again, Heller (2006) emphasized agility in this aspect. Personally, I may include personal and academic achievements and personal attitudes such as boldness, hardworking, honesty and integrity as my strength. These attributes cannot be easily taken away from me and is a part of me that goes where I am. Therefore, knowledge and skills gained, all the things I have undergone while learning, my experiences and the values I have cultivated and maintained are my own treasures that I can use in present and future endeavors. Weaknesses include impatience due to age as most youths like me crave for a fast, active lifestyle and working environment. Results are wanted immediately, which could be futile at times, but can cause anxiety even in a short time basis. Another weakness could be a lack of work environment political knowledge. As most organizations have a socio-political atmosphere, my lack of exposure may cause work-related stress and conflicts with inter-personal relations. Opportunities include career expansion and endless possibilities, self-improvement, career specialization, access to more and specialized data and information.

Future Development Trend of The Digital Imaging and Communications in Assignment

Future Development Trend of The Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) Standard - Assignment Example The paper tells that the digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) standards keep changing every now and then, with the discovery of new medical practices and needs. Consequently, the future of DICOM standards is dynamic. Therefore, as the advances in technology and medical needs occur, they create a need for new items and procedures that will perfectly suit these new developments. With such needs, then, changes in the DICOM standards are inevitable, since the standards have to accommodate the new items and procedure requirements. For example, there is a need to have medical imaging objects that will support CT objects, as well as allow the visualization of such images in three dimensions. 2Since the medical imaging is changing towards multidimensional visualization, then, it is unavoidable for the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standards to follow suit and accommodate these changes. These changes in DICOM standards are likely to affect the equipm ent that is used presently in the medical imaging practice, by requiring such items to be replaced with the ones that accommodate the multi-dimensional visualization. The future of these standards points to a requirement for increased equipment integration.

HARD ROCK CAFE MODULE 1 CASE ASSIGNMENT OPM Essay

HARD ROCK CAFE MODULE 1 CASE ASSIGNMENT OPM - Essay Example 5. Layout Design: How their restaurants and stores should look on both the inside and outside; how the kitchen and behind-the-scenes should be laid out for maximum efficiency; how large the facility must be to accommodate their goals Besides just observation, there are a number of calculations that can be performed in order to measure the productivity of the kitchen staff and wait staff at Hard Rock. These include Wage Cost % (of sales), Total Labor Cost % (wages, insurance, retirement, superannuation, payroll taxes), Total Labor Hours (hours worked in each section measured against sales), Function Labour Charge-Out (need consistent mark-up on charge-out to service staff that caterers offer), Sick Days Taken (measure of morale and management skills), Labor Turnover (number of new staff in a time period—should be low), Average Length of Employment (success of keeping staff), and Average Hourly Pay (total payroll divided by all staff’s work hours). (Profitable Hospitality 2008) The purpose of this paper has been to identify how each of the 10 decisions of operations management is applied at Hard Rock Cafà © and note how the productivity of the kitchen staff and wait staff at Hard Rock would be determined. According to the resources accessed, the above describes how each of these tasks should be accomplished. â€Å"Key Performance Indicators for Restaurants, Cafes, Catering, Clubs & Hotels.† 2008. Profitable Hospitality. Online. http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:h35dnlZY4eIJ:www.profitablehospitality.com/public/88.cfm+%22measure+kitchen+productivity%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=usReferences â€Å"Key Performance Indicators for Restaurants, Cafes, Catering, Clubs & Hotels.† 2008. Profitable Hospitality. Online.

Write an essay in which you identify a person who has been a positive

Write an in which you identify a person who has been a positive influence in your life - Essay Example my strengths and good habits, through that she cured me to be a nice person as I don’t have a big family. My family comprises just one brother and my dad. So there is no one who knows me in person as Kristen. I first met her in my school class in the higher school and since then we are truly good friends. She helped me in my studies and in my personal life. She helped and assisted me in taking most important decision in my life. Whenever I was in problem, she was the first person to stand with me. I trust her a lot. In most cases in life I was wrong; she helped me in getting out of it, by directing me towards right option. She have always been with me in every walk of life, therefore she has a great impact on my life. She has helped me in many things, which I would have not been able to do it alone. I have a very high temper because of which mostly I put myself in trouble. She was the one who guided me to be kind and generous and I should try to be calm and happy always. I am a very polite and kind person in nature, therefore, some people did endeavor to make wrong use of my kindness, and she taught me that I should not let other people make wrong use of my care and friendship. She made me believe on my dreams and compelled me to have faith in those and struggle for it. She always encouraged me to study more and to have a profession. A friend is a person with whom we can share anything and in case of girls: best friend is the second person after mother with whom we share our secrets and relish our life to the fullest. She is a kind of person to whom every girl want to do friendship with, but her friends circle is very limited, in which I have a top priority, because she considers me her best friend. She is a very kind and helpful person. She has a short height, fair and thin hair. She is little skinny, same as me. We both friends are quite alike, which is a plus point of our friendship. She wears normal traditional Pakistani dress, but she looks very

Flight deck system Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Flight deck system - Research Paper Example A cockpit is a small room located in front of an aircraft fuselage that serves as the operating area for the pilot and the co-pilot. It contains the flight instruments and controlling handles for the pilot to easily manipulate the aircraft. This is the area where the pilot and the co- pilot fly the aircraft. In some aircraft, the windows are shielded as a protection from the sun. Usually, windows of cockpits are capable of being opened while on the ground and some have heating elements to melt the ice and avoid fog, therefore clears the view. In retrospect, cockpits only contain few and simple parts including an adjustable seat, windscreens, control columns, rudder pedals, and parking brakes. This system has been used in the present until the development of a standard cockpit emerged. The beginning of autopilot system is designed for the pilot’s use and mainly to lessen the pilot’s workload. The Autopilot Control an artificial (attitude indicator) and directional gyro to operate elevator and rudder but not ailerons because wind dihedral produces the necessary roll stability. In the present day, an autopilot is an ability to take off, straight and level flight, descent, approach and landing except the taxiing. The advantage of autopilot is that it can land by keeping on the center of the runway line. It also helps the pilot by landing in a poor visibility such as in times of fog. Autopilot is controlled by computer software. It reads from the aircraft’s position and controls flight system to guide the aircraft.

Comparative Study of Existing ATM Systems and Systems for Small Literature review

Comparative Study of Existing ATM Systems and Systems for Small Payment Transactions Using Mobile Phones - Literature review Example With the development and advent of e-commerce, the mobile transactions have also evolved and gained much popularity in recent years. In several small payment transactions, uses of direct cash have changed by mobile payment systems. It provides users the advantage of using mobile phone for any kind of financial transactions such as bill payment or purchase goods. The increasing uses of ATM system and mobile technologies in payment have also increased the security risks. In present days, these electronic means of money transaction involve several security threats from illegal activities such as card trapping, swapping, cloning, phishing, shoulder surfing, and smishing among others. These activities result in loss of huge money and account information of users. The paper will describe the existing ATM system and small payment transactions by using mobile technology along with the security issues of these systems. Keywords: ATM System Security, Small Payment Transactions, Mobile Technolo gies. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Literature Review 4 Introduction 4 Existing ATM System 4 Small Payment Transactions through Mobile Technology 6 Mobile Transaction 7 ATM System Security 9 Conclusion 11 References 12 Bibliography 17 Literature Review Introduction Presently, ATM system can be found in almost every bank and financial institution and the uses are growing rapidly. The paper will describe the ATM system and several security issues of this technology. ATM stands for â€Å"Automated Teller Machine† which is a real time methodology having extremely complex design and operation. ATM technology has been developed through â€Å"Real-Time Process Algebra† (RTPA) systems and â€Å"Unified Data Models† (Wang, 2010). The static actions of ATM machine are indicated by Unified Process Models for processing money transaction and dynamic actions are indicated by process precedence allocation, process disposition, and report processing simulations. The AT M system never performs autonomously it should be controlled by some banks and requires specialized software and computer which is aimed for performing the money transaction operations. The software of ATM must support the electronic system of bank (Wang, 2010). Existing ATM System This theme will provide a brief description about ATM system, how it performs and its importance. This section is relevant for conducting the research as it can help the reader to understand the characteristics of ATM system. ATM system is most efficient in microfinance institutions (MFIs) (Whelan, 2011) which take money and help customers in numerous sites throughout non-office hours. The value of a single ATM machine is almost 22,600 Pounds (Approximately 35,000 USD) and needs dependable electrical and communication networks (Whelan, 2011). In today’s dynamic business environment, the excellence in service quality and flexibility has become imperious for organisations to survive. The progress of machinery has empowered banks to deliver superior services for enhancing customer satisfaction. This is the reason, majority of banks provide self service delivery system such as ATM in order to increase self-sufficiency in performing the money transactions. In the banking sector, ATM system acts as a pioneering service which provides diversified facilities such as money withdrawal, account transfer, cash payment, credit card notices, check book applications, and other monetary queries (Khan, 2010). The advancement of ATM system is

Saturation of Media is Causing Loss of Democratic Communication Essay

Saturation of Media is Causing Loss of Democratic Communication - Essay Example It is worth noting that free flow of information and fast transmissions are key advantages of media. The advances of media have been events of celebration in history but their increased use has reached a saturation point. The saturation is leading to a gradual loss of democratic communication. Society has embraced media without holding back. Media forms an integral part of human existence in the current world. Because of the increasing saturation, man is slowly losing the essence of democratic communication. Democratic communication is a two-way platform that allows individuals access to information and gives them the opportunity to raise debate and criticism of such information to qualify it as the absolute truth. Concerning social media, there are many social websites in society. These include facebook, twitter, MySpace, badoo, Skype, and netlog. Facebook and twitter have numerous subscribers in the American society. Most of the subscribers spent a lot of time on the websites but d ue to saturation level, they do little while online. Few subscribers create new information. On the contrary, people transmit the existing information. In addition, television, disk players, smart phones are all over in the society. People are in constant access with these forms of media such that they have forgotten the experience of life without any of them. Each time, there is a continuous flow of data and information from status updates, tweets, photos and videos from friends. The influence of media images, opinions, commentaries, critics, and observation has been blinding people from embracing the truth as it is in real life. There is so much available on data networks that influence the opinions and reasoning of people, that very few people can make unbiased analysis of events and happenings. People have allowed media to influence their daily relationships. The daily access to images over time has led to loss of the reality. Print media was the first to reach a saturation poin t and next came the era of the internet. Before the internet, came public broadcasting and television. Through all these, people access limitless information and images to a point whereby, they take what they see or hear as the truth. At the start of media, images were but representatives of the real objects. As saturation increases, people have allowed the media images to take the place of reality. Most of the people in society no longer take time to analyze things as they are in real life. They do not form opinions in communication without the influence of media and this hinders democratic communication. People have lost the autonomy in communication because they imitate what the media presents from the celebrities to movie characters. The media has multiple impacts on the political decisions of people. The public makes political decisions based on the media criticism and allegations. Very few people analyze the quality of leaders from real life reality. Therefore, the people rely on misleading compulsion from the media sources that do not reflect the reality on the ground. There is too much on any data source that one cannot discern what is true or false. Most of the forms of media do not allow a two-way form of communication. The people cannot effectively raise criticism on the data they receive. Nobody has the time to weigh out and criticizer the

Dangers in the Environment Essay Example for Free

Dangers in the Environment Essay The Dangers within the Environment are affecting our health to means that we wouldn’t believe. We destroy our planets ozone that affects and causes global warming. The pesticides, mercury and carbon dioxide that we release into the environment cause so many health problems to use and our children. It actually affects our children’s health more than it does to use. How can we do this to our environment knowing that it affects our health more and more. Dangers with in our Environment The dangers within the environment that affect our health are increasing day by day. The first thing that is we are doing to the environment is destroying our ozone layer. We are destroying the ozone layer by greenhouse gases. The way we treat our planet is going to affect our health and maybe even kill us because of the toxins and pollutants that we release into our environment. Certain types of pollutants that we release into the environment can cause us to have several complications with our health. The pesticides, mercury and carbon dioxide that we release into the environment cause so many health problems to use and our children. It is not hard to see what we are doing to our planet on a daily basis. There is so much research that shows how much even low level of air pollution affects our health. Carbon dioxide is what we breathe out of our lungs when exhaling. Carbon dioxide is released while we are driving our motor vehicles, using our lawn mowers, and etc. For the one gallon of gasoline that is used in our machines it causes 19. of carbon dioxide to distribute into our environment. Trees absorb the carbon dioxide from the air but if the tree is cut down, burned, or dies then the carbon dioxide will not be absorbed up. When a tree slowly rots then the carbon dioxide is slowly released back into the environment. The pesticides that are toxic to our health and our environment are chemical pesticides. The chemical pesticides that is more dangerous to be farmers, their family members, and other people who use the chemical pesticides. The pesticides are released into the air that we breathe in. The pesticides are left on the produce that they are sprayed on and then remain on the inside of the produce. The pesticides can be rinsed off, but they also can run off into springs, and large bodies of water. In which the pesticides can contaminate our water supply. In the world today everyone is at risk for simple reason that we are destroying our planet. Our world is at a total disaster at how we treat it and take care of it. Individuals that live in the world are at risk form pollutants and toxins that are in the environment that we breathe on a daily basis. The pesticides, mercury and carbon dioxide that we release into the environment cause so many health problems to use and our children. We need to take better care of our environment and worry about our health. People do not care about their health because if they did then they will not smoke cigarettes that affect their health and our environment. If we would save from driving all over the place in our vehicles when you could ride a bike or walk. It could help save our environment from pollutants being disbursed into the air that we breathe.

Frequent Shopper Program Essay Example for Free

Frequent Shopper Program Essay The objective of this project request is to track purchases of individual customers. The customer purchases will be tracked and accumulated as loyalty points for redemption by the customer for gift items, specialty foods and other products or services as made available through partnerships with other external companies. The strategic purpose of the Frequent Shopper Program is described on the Sales Marketing page of the Kudler Fine Foods Intranet site. Purpose: Kudlers’s new initiative is tracking purchase behavior at the individual customer level and providing high value incentives through a partnership with a loyalty points program. The customer purchase behavior patterns will help Kudler refine its processes and offerings to best satisfy their values customers. Price is not the primary differentiating factor for Kudler consumers; these consumers are focused on quality and finding specialized items. Therefore, rather than providing everyday discounts to the customers for their purchase frequency like lower end markets, Kudler has partnered with a loyalty points program to provide customers with points which can be redeemed for high end gift items, airline first-class upgrades, or other specialty foods. Technology Infrastructure and Architecture The following sections of this document will provide an overview of the hardware, network, software, databases, and security requirements for the frequent shopper program. These requirements are suggestive Hardware Platform: Kudler Fine Foods currently has an elaborate network of hardware that may be used to implement the frequent shopper program. Client-Side hardware: 1. Each store uses NCR RealPOS 82XRT terminals linked to the network through a POS server. (These terminals will be used during purchasing to initiate data collection including customer ID and purchase history data for the FSP)   2.  The nineteen (at present count) corporate management and other admin personnel all utilize Dell Vostro computers running Windows 7 OS. These administration personnel also share 3 HP networked printers. (In relation to the FSP, these computers will be used by management to query and analyze customer purchase history for business service refinement. ) Server-Side Hardware: 1. POS Servers- are used to process orders from the POS terminals and connect to the Kudler network for database file storage 2. HP Blade Server system- c3000 system, Unix OS, SAP Retail SW, Print/File, Communications, Email, Storage, Web. These Servers will be used to store data regarding individual customer purchase history and queried for business analysis as well as loyalty points addition and redemption. ) Network Platform: 1. Each of the three Kudler Stores has a Local Area Network which connects together Via T3 Dedicated high speed lines. 2. Each store’s LAN is connected via 100 base T Ethernet. The communications into and out of the stores is ported through 2 Cisco routers and firewalls. 3. Each Local Area Network is also connected to the internet via 25Mbps high speed business internet connections. 4. Network Diagrams (Shown Below) Software Development Tools: 1. The Frequent Shopper Program is an additional service that will be implemented in conjunction with the existing Information Technology System used throughout Kudler Fine Foods. Because of the complexity and functionality of the existing system, it is recommended that the use of AGILE development methodologies be used to develop the FSP system and merge the application into the existing system. 2. Visual Studio 2012- This Integrated Development Environment will be used to develop the application modules and user interfaces for the FSP development. 3. The code will be implemented in the C# language. (used for module development) b. ASP. NET MVC – used to develop dynamic, interactive web based application for customers to access, monitor, and redeem loyalty points Databases: 1- Customer Table The Customer Table contains demographic data for each of Kudler’s customers. The data in this table is used to access the name and address of customers for order processing and for special mailings for anniversaries and/or birth dates, etc. Order Table The Order Table is used to record information pertinent to each Order placed with a given store. Each order will have one or more entries in the Order Line Table associated with it. 3- Order Line Table The Order Line table contains detail on items appearing on an order. One or more Order Lines are associated with each order and each Order Line references an item being purchased with its description, quantity, price, etc. 4- Item Table The Item Table stores information pertaining to products that may appear on an order. It describes goods that can be purchased from a Store. The current database tables can be re-used and combined to create the FSPoints Table The FSPoints table (Frequent Shopper Points table), will include the Customer ID and all correlating information, Item purchase history, and Item Points Value. The sum of all points’ values will be expressed and added to the Customer’s redeemable points at the end of each FSP period. User Interfaces: Describe the interface for data collection and notification to store personnel and customers. 1. The initial User Interface will remain the same at the point of sale(POS). Additional software will be added to initialize the FSP on applicable transaction.  Software modules will be initialized as needed that will collect the CustomerID as well as the individual items purchased. 2. Web Applications: Through the use of the aforementioned tools including ASP. NET and MVC, an interactive web application will be available to registered customers, and personnel to access, review, and redeem loyalty points. There will be an exclusive page created for the Frequent Shopper Program. Controls: System accuracy checks will be in place to verify unique CustomerID’s at the POS terminals. Every customer that participates in the Frequent Shopper Program will have a unique customerID. Each transaction will begin by entering this identifier which when verified for accuracy will begin collecting item purchase data. Each item is scanned at the POS, and compared to its corresponding FSPoints table to add loyalty points to the Customers FSPoint record. If the CustomerID or any items purchased to not register in the verification processing system, an exception will be returned to notify the customer and cashier at the time of purchase. Each transaction will close with a printed receipt listing the order line information, as well as the points accumulated at that transaction. A points total may be requested via the internet based Frequent Shopper Program Web application on the Kudler Fine Foods website. Security: The necessary security mechanisms need to be in place when storing and moving most data entities, especially Customer personal information. Hashing and encryption techniques will be used when sensitive data is stored in all data stores, and secure data transfer protocols (e. g. , SSL, HTTPS, and WS-Security) will be used when data is Personal Information will be secured through the use of data encryption methods and secure networking protocols when data is transmitted over the network.

Okun Law Unemployment

Okun Law Unemployment Okun Law Unemployment Okun’s Law; an Empirical Test across Countries Abstract Okun’s Law postulates an inverse relationship between the change in the unemployment rate and the difference between actual and potential real output. The relation has proven to be an influential empirical framework in supply-side economics. This paper sets out to empirically test whether or not Okun’s Law holds and how it varies across the UK, US and Japan during the time period 1976-2006. The quarterly data sets are analysed via both OLS Regression estimations over the whole sample period and Rolling Regression estimations over 18 separate subsamples, with the view to infer how stable the relationship has been over the last 30 years. The reasons for these changes and the implications these results can have for policymakers and labour markets are also briefly discussed. In addition, we find that the unemployment rate responds asymmetrically to expansions and contractions in output when the business cycle is considered. There is a considerable amount of evidence that su pports Okun’s Law usefulness as an empirical relationship. Okun’s Law is defined as the ‘relationship between the change in the unemployment rate and the difference between actual and potential real output’. The relationship has had a substantial influence in macroeconomics in so far that the Law is widely used in macro-models as well as providing the theoretical building blocks to contribute to other empirical relationships such as the Aggregate Supply curve and the Phillips Curve. For this reason, Okun’s Law is an important feature of supply-side economics. Okun’s Law also gives policymakers and economists’ an indication of how the economy is performing in regard to both the labour market and the goods market. Furthermore, central banks, primarily monetary policy, use Okun’s Law as a forecasting tool to predict changes in the structure of the economy and aid in the decision-making process. Its effectiveness as a tool is somewhat contentious, since the relation is designed to be utilised as a benchmark or guideline to judge the performance of the economy against, rather than as a stringent policy rule. Additionally, the relationship is frequently used to achieve an optimal growth rate (without adverse effects on the unemployment rate) as well as more significantly measuring the cost of high unemployment which is regarded as both socially undesirable and a waste of human capital. This study specifically attempts to test, using the dynamic version of Okun’s Law, whether or not the relationship holds in the UK, US and Japan and how the relationship varies across these countries over the period 1976-2006. This will be tested via OLS regression analysis. The central research question of this study is to infer from the results how stable the relation i.e. Okun’s Law been over the last 30 years for the UK, US and Japan? This will effectively captured by the sensitivity of unemployment changes when output growth deviates from its equilibrium level, namely the Okun coefficient (The ÃŽ ² term in the relation). Most papers assume a symmetric relationship between output and unemployment. As a secondary objective of the study, an attempt will be made to test whether or not Okun’s Law characterises an asymmetric relationship, in so far that expansions and contractions in output have a different absolute effect on changes in the unemployment rate, an issue pursued by many authors in the forthcoming literature. In addition, the results can be used to interpret to what extent policymakers can predict the performance of output and unemployment in an economy hence the usefulness of Okun’s Law as a forecasting tool, once instability of the relation is taken into account. Overview The study proceeds as follows; Section 1 presents a theoretical background to the Okun’s Law and its significance as an empirical relationship. Section 2 presents a review of the existing empirical literature on Okun’s Law along with discussion of any relevant omissions and contradictions of the respective authors’ findings. Section 3 uses Blanchard (1998) methodology as a basis for the construction of Okun’s Law as well as providing the necessary explanations of the variables used in the model, version of the relation used. The methods of data collection and the limitations of the methodology employed will also be stated. Section 4 presents some preliminary data analysis including descriptive statistics, tests for Stationarity, Heteroskedasticity, Serial Correlation and Chow Test for structural stability. Section 5 presents the empirical results and the subsequent analysis of the techniques used to interpret Okun’s Law. Namely, OLS Regression Analysis over the whole period, Rolling Regressions, Stability Tests, and Dummy Variable analysis based on its use in the model and how the empirical results integrate with the subject matter raised in the literature. The implications of the empirical results for macroeconomic policymakers, the goods and the labour market are also briefly discussed. Section 6 presents a judgement on the overall findings from the analysis of the data as well as providing a critical appraisal of Okun’s Law and its usefulness as an empirical relation across countries. In addition, potential recommendations will be discussed in the context of how the study and/or the model can be improved for further research. Background Theory Okun’s Law – the inverse relationship between unemployment and output is regarded as ‘’one of the most reliable empirical regularities of macroeconomics’’. In recent times, there has been a considerable amount of research into the empirical significance of Okun’s Law. Policymakers are interested in sustaining output growth and achieving a low unemployment rate and the relationship is seen as a fairly good indication of economic performance. The type of unemployment that will prevail depends on how labour supply and demand evolve over time and is the prime reason why Okun’s coefficient has reduced over time. The lack of empirical testing in this area is a major limitation of reliable Okun coefficients. In 1962, Arthur Okun, an American economist, formulated and interpreted this relationship. He suggested a negative relationship between the change in the unemployment rate and the growth of real output. Many economists till this day, view Okun’s Law to be a very useful relation in assessing macroeconomic performance. Okun estimated that in the US; output growth of 3% below equilibrium for one year, leads to an increase in the unemployment rate of one percentage point (reverse case also applies). However, more recent studies have shown that in fact, a 1% increase in output leads to a reduction in the unemployment rate by 2%. The simplicity of Okun’s Law, involving the use of fundamental economic variables (output and unemployment) makes it a striking empirical relationship to study. However, there are a number of forms or versions that Okun’s Law can take. The predominant versions of Okun’s Law are; the difference version, the dynamic version, the gap version and the production-function version. This study will use the dynamic version of Okun’s Law since it is widely used by economists as well as taking into account deviation of output from some equilibrium level, which ultimately creates a more plausible investigation. Although the magnitude of the decrease seems to be declining and with widespread acceptance of the relationship being pervasive, structural differences in an economy’s product and labour markets coupled with the difficulty that national governments face in managing the economy, highlights the need to rigorously investigate Okun’s Law still further. Literature Review This section examines the existing empirical literature concerning Okun’s Law and the most significant findings. The purpose of this section in particular is to evaluate the usefulness of Okun’s Law as an empirical relation against a number of criteria. Additional focus will be placed on how the relationship varies across both differing time periods and different countries as well as the techniques used in the literature. Using the original formulation of Okun’s Law Equation (1) Blanchard (1998) estimated the relation across both countries and time. The time periods the author used were 1960-2003. (1960-1980 and 1981-2003). The author estimated the coefficient for the United States, the UK, Germany and Japan. According to the reports, as expected, the law does hold in all of these countries. The econometric techniques used by Blanchard in constructing these results involve the use of standard regression analysis. It was brought to our attention that the US had the highest response (-0.39), whilst Japan the lowest (-0.12). This is in part explained by the differences in structure within each country’s respective labour markets. The study made 2 plausible yet restrictive assumptions. The first being that ‘’Output moved one for one with employment’’. This is an important point to note since economic theory suggests that an expansion in an economy’s output, ceteris paribus (an increase in productive capacity) will require an equal increase in the amount of labour (workers) needed to produce that additional output. The second assumption is that of ‘’A constant labour force’’. This assumption follows on from the first in that changes in employment are reflected in opposite changes in unemployment. A major critique of these assumptions is the fact that in absolute terms, the rise/fall in the unemployment rate may not be proportional to the rise/fall in the employment rate due to labour force participation. Blanchard also brought to our attention that in the Medium Run the relationship may differ due to both equilibrium values of output and unemployment returning to their natural levels. This adjustment of the variables means that certain macroeconomic policies cannot influence output growth or unemployment rates. However, earlier formulations assumed any increase or decrease in the unemployment rate relative to the rate of output growth to be in equal absolute proportions. The revised equation (below) rectifies this simplistic assumption by involving the actual deviation of output growth from its equilibrium, where the Beta coefficient measures the responsiveness of unemployment rate changes to deviations of output from equilibrium output. Ut Ut-1 = -ÃŽ ² (gyt – Ä y) (1) Potential Rate of Output Growth Unemployment rate at t-1 periods Output Growth at t periods Unemployment rate at t periods Beta/Impact Coefficient Sogner, L and Stiassny, A, (2000) investigated Okun’s Law for 15 OECD countries to deduce whether structural instability originates from the demand or supply-side of the economy. The Keynesian viewpoint was found to hold little empirical validity in contrast to that of the neoclassical one. This is in part down to the ‘’assumption of fixed prices and wages.’’ This is unrealistic to assume particularly in a world where inflation is everywhere a monetary phenomenon. Although firms do change their output plans according to changes in growth, both changes in wages and prices will determine the underlying unemployment rate and any estimates based on such assumptions will derive incorrect results. Economic agents expect certain activities to occur in the future based on either past or current activities. The most crucial finding of this paper is that the persistence in the unemployment is strongest in countries that have a highly protected labour market. A lthough this is inconclusive in contrast to other studies, it implies to a certain extent that variations in real output only have a small effect on employment levels which needs to be accounted for especially when revisions of the relation are considered. Most Okun’s Law stipulations tend to assume a symmetric relationship between unemployment and output growth. In other words, output growth for instance produces the same absolute effect on unemployment. Harris and Silverstone (2000) managed to test this assumption using hypothesis tests for New Zealand over the period 1979-1999. They discovered that Okun’s Law does hold by means of regression analysis over this period. The most essential insight which can be extended across many countries if need be, is the Okun coefficient which they estimated based on their regression results. In New Zealand, ‘’a one percent change in output growth is associated with a 0.4% change in the unemployment rate.’’ This is in fact due to changes in labour force participation, labour hours and capital utilization. The strength of this particular study was the use of labour supply analysis which contributed in supporting Okun’s Law and its role on the supply s ide of the economy. The authors do however, wrongly assume a symmetric assumption throughout the paper and this is not plausible, especially in the long-run. Productivity gains and the structure of the labour market play a vital contribution to the outcome of any relationship between unemployment and output. Walterskirchen (1999) proposed this argument to his study. This particular study generates differing perspectives to those posed by both Harris and Silverstone (2000) and thus varies greatly in terms of empirical results. The author does support Blanchard’s view concerning the existence of a ‘’strong positive correlation between GDP growth and change in the employment rate.’’ However, the additional emphasis placed by Walterskirchen is that of productivity gains and labour supply and demand in the context of each country’s individual labour market. The fact that the author cites demographic influences as well as economic is vital to the building blocks of empirical results and whether or not they are consistent with economic theory. The author carried out this particular focus of the study thro ugh two predominant methods; Time-series data analysis for each individual EU country and cross-country data analysis for the period 1988-1998. In both methods there appears to be a strong negative correlation between output growth and the resulting change in the unemployment rate. Walterskirchen highlighted the difficulty in the calculation of potential output in order to estimate Okun’s Law and thus disregarded this method in his empirical analysis, focusing instead on the change in the rate of output and unemployment. He did however, attempt to correct another ambiguity in the fact that the relation overlooks the ‘’influence of investment activity and technical progress on labour productivity.’’ The results clearly show the rate of productivity to be approximately 2% in the EU, representing a constant figure. In times of high unemployment, Okun’s coefficient will tend to also be high (1980’s). In contrast, demographics explain the contribution of the rise in population growth on the employment rate. It was found that an increase in population growth puts considerable pressure on employment to increase and as a consequence labour productivity diminishes. This is relevant since ‘’employment will only grow if economic growth rates are outstripping productivity’’. This adds further weight to the claims of productivity on the supply-side of the economy and the role it plays in determining the rate of unemployment. ‘’The hi gher the Okun coefficient (usually 0.3 to 0.5), i.e., the elasticity of unemployment rates with respect to GDP growth, the better the chances for reducing unemployment through growth and demand policies’’. This aspect of the study is of great importance to policymakers. The author ensured that the significance of Okun’s Law at the government level is not disregarded and hence plays a role in the effectiveness of policy at the macro level. Schnabel (2002) investigated whether Okun’s Law can be used to derive estimates of trend output growth but more importantly to focus on whether to use the trend rates derived in constructing measures of the output gap. It is a key concept in the construction of Okun’s Law and the subsequent tests. The author pointed out the difficulties of estimating trend output, mostly in part to the numerous methods which can cause ‘’biases and problems of interpretation’’. This is regarded as a major flaw of Okun’s Law and Schnabel emphasizes this in his study. The interesting aspect of his econometric methods to test for the Okun coefficient was by use of Rolling Regressions for the G7 countries he intended to estimate. This technique aimed to test how the actual coefficients change or vary over time (many sample periods), in order to capture the dynamic changes which an economy undergoes over a shorter time horizon. The authors’ estimates i nvolve the G7 countries as well as the US, Japan and Canada, with each country’s coefficients being significantly different than those of the next. Schnabel found out that the full sample had similar coefficients with that of the sub sample. This indicates that the relationship was relatively stable and accurate with the actual rates providing a sound benchmark to be compared against. A remarkable addition to the overall model was using business cycle stages as measures against the obtained trend values. This allowed the author to test the significance of the coefficients within different stages of growth, recovery or depressions. This is directly attributable to the case of UK, which had robust coefficients of 2.2 for growth an estimate taken from the period 1980-1990. During the 1990’s labour market flexibility played vital a role in increasing participation rates within the labour market. This would suggest that as potential output grows, actual positive output grow th exists. This is not a viable view since cyclical unemployment is not constant in all countries. The author, from the results, cited that sophisticated econometric techniques by use of filters may produce more accurate results and less ‘’shifting of parameters which are not deemed to be constant’’. In addition, the trend rates obtained should ‘’not be interpreted as the rates of growth compatible with stable inflation’’. By introducing inflation into these estimates would complicate the estimations since such changes are reflected in the intensity of the business cycle, which the author correctly cites as a major limitation of his study. Harris and Silverstone (2001) in their second study examine how upturns and downturns have a direct impact on Okun’s Law. A test which detects how unemployment and output growth react (proportionally) to changes in the business cycle is known as Asymmetry. Earlier, Blanchard made the view that Okun’s Law is symmetrical and many economists make this wrong assumption. The adjustment process in the real world follows different paths and involves many complex factors. Both Harris and Silverstone appreciate the need to test for asymmetry and ignoring this would see the hypothesis that there exists an inverse relationship between output and unemployment rejected, as well as numerous forecasting errors being made in the decision making process that policymakers go through. Output growth (yt) was found to be weakly exogenous and this was true for all the OECD countries tested. Co integration Tests (were undertaken through Engle-Granger Two-Step method and Johansen Procedure) we re calculated by Harris and Silverstone in an attempt to observe how the coefficients differed asymmetrically when the phase of the business cycle was considered. It was discovered that adjustments to disequilibrium are not prevalent in the downturn phase of the business cycle but in the upturn phase they are more volatile due to the nature of both the goods and labour market which is consistent with economic theory. This is not the case for the UK and Japan since results indicated that they in fact move in opposite directions. Although, not explicitly stated the author manages to highlight the importance of this test as a benchmark for other relations such as the Philips Curve, AS curve and Taylor-Rule seemingly also strengthening the case for pursuing more in depth study of relationships and their responses in different countries. Kosfeld and Dreger (1992-2000) investigated the German Labour Market and their study stressed the notion that ‘’changes in production and employment are closely related’’. This gave rise to the Threshold concept, which in basic terms refers to there being a finite amount of capacity both in the economy and at firm-level. Any output growth above this specified capacity will tend to create new jobs and a fall in the unemployment rate over time. This serves as an important guideline to policymakers, albeit a different one to that specified by Walterskirchen. The thresholds in fact act as a determinant for both employment and unemployment. The authors’ application of Okun’s law is from both the demand and supply-side although Okun’s law is usually approached from the supply-side due to the operation of labour markets. Instead of supporting Walterskirchen’s view on demographics and other factors, the authors in this study believe that they in fact weaken the relationship. This arose due to the complexity of structural developments in the economy. The overall results followed on with the negative relationship between unemployment and output existing in Germany. However the unemployment benefit system in Germany led to employment and unemployment responding differently to changes in output. This response was detected in the 1990’s by a method known as spatial correlation equal to 0.2, which was regarded as relatively weak. This method is regarded as unsatisfactory since the results derived do not make a credible contribution to the study. Huang and Chang (2005) proposed to evaluate the empirical validity of Okun’s Law via structural change using the threshold approach in Canada. This supports Kosfeld’s and Dreger’s previous study. The empirical models used are far accurate than previous standard linear equations. This highlights the difficulty in conducting accurate Okun’s Law estimations. The study also takes into account the presence of serial correlation and this is embedded into the following autoregressive model; Uct = ÃŽ ±0 + ∑ ÃŽ ±i uct-i + ÃŽ ² yct + Єt In order to obtain both the unemployment rate and real output growth (GDP) the author has used the Hodrick-Prescott filter (HP) and the Band-Pass filter (BP). Both filters are widely used and results of the study show that Okun’s Law strongly holds, with results support the Law with high negative correlations of -0.7967 and -0.8062. However, the most crucial finding was that of a high Okun coefficient in the recession phase of the business cycle, this further supports Harris and Silverstone’s notion that cyclical output’s effect on cyclical unemployment is asymmetric. A high Beta coefficient acts as a signal to policymakers that unemployment is highly responsive to output gap deviations and thus provides a call for actions in the form of controlling the level of AD in the economy stimulating labour participation rates in the labour market. Weber, C.E (1995) study takes a similar direction to that of Huang and Chang however, the element is more specific and thus more precise. His purpose was to test Okun’s Law post-war USA, to see if the relationship has been stable after this period. The interesting aspect of this particular study is that there was an apparent oil shock in the 1970’s, which affects the supply-side of the economy. Weber focused on the periods both after and before the oil shock. The econometric method used for this test was predominantly OLS estimates via some from of Chow Test, using Dummy Variables (below); Uct = ÃŽ ±1yct + ÃŽ ±2Dtyct + ÃŽ µ1t The empirical results for the OLS estimations were -0.314 which surprisingly turned out to be close to Okun’s original estimate of -0.32. However, parameter constancy was rejected due to the high variation in the high t-statistic of -0.277 and –0.402. Weber did leave scope for further future developments with reference being made to the importance of the initial source of the shock (supply or demand) in the outcome of changes in cyclical unemployment/output. On the basis of the existing literature, it is clear to see that Okun’s Law does hold across a number of different countries and time periods. The ability to infer how stable the relationship is over both the long-run as well as the short-run proves vital in any empirical analysis undertaken. However, due to some of the components of the model being difficult to estimate as well as other factors such as productivity and inflation affecting output growth, doubts remain over the usefulness or reliability of Okun’s Law as a benchmark for policymakers. Research Methodology Modelling Economic Theory This sub section will provide the theoretical basis of Okun’s Law as well as the major underlying assumptions of the model. In addition, brief explanations of the techniques employed and the justification for their use will be included. Although, using almost the same methodology as Blanchard (1998) the estimates may vary considerably. Firstly, the most significant reason is that Blanchard (1998) tests Okun’s Law across a number of different countries including the G7 countries. This study looks predominantly at the UK, US and Japan with the emphasis being placed on the former. Secondly, both studies look at different time periods and different frequency of data. Blanchard (1998) tested the relationship from 1960-2003 using monthly data, while this study will test the relationship with a technique called rolling regressions, using quarterly data from 1976-2006, giving us a more up to date inspection of Okun’s Law. Another essential issue which could cause the results to differ is the estimation of potential output; needed to compute the output gap term in Okun’s Law. Although both studies use this variable, the technique used to measure potential output is different. (1) ΔUt = ÃŽ ² (yt – Ã… ·) (2) Re-arranging Ut = Ut-1 ÃŽ ² (yt – Ã… ·) Pre-Analysis of the Data Since specific data will be used to build an econometric model and test whether the model has theoretical validity, it is important to determine the properties of the variables in question. Description of Data To generate the model for Okun’s Law as well as test it for each country (UK, US, Japan) this study uses the 124 quarterly data points for the Unemployment Rate (%), Real GDP and Potential GDP (GDP) for the period 1976-2006. The latter two are used to compute the Output Gap term in Okun’s Law. To ensure reliability whilst contrasting and analysing time series data all the variables are logged. Shortcomings of the Data The estimation method of potential output is an approximate when generated from the Hodrick-Prescott Filter and thus the computation of the output gap term is not always accurate. Many authors use the Band-Pass Filter and this may lead to discrepancies of the estimations in this study. There may also be bias in the sample, since different countries use different measures to determine the unemployment rate. This study has used percentage unemployment as per the Claimant Count, Bureau of Labour Statistics and Statistics Bureau. Trend Analysis In Appendix A, a graphical account of each variable across the UK, US and Japan is given. It is apparent that over time Real GDP has an upward trend which indicates an expanding economy, at the general level. This study makes three crucial assumptions building on from similar assumptions made by Blanchard (1998). Firstly, we assume that changes in output lead to changes of equal magnitude with changes in employment levels. Secondly, we assume that firms adjust their employment levels in response to labour-productivity growth and this has no bearing on the rate of unemployment. In other words, higher induced labour-force participation rates do not have a detrimental impact of the rate of unemployment, ceteris paribus. Thirdly, we assume that output in the long-run will grow at its underlying rate. In other words y = Ã… · (In equilibrium as the trend rate suggests in Appendix A). The relationship being estimated is the one between the unemployment rate and real output. Equation (2) is essentially a dynamic version (short-run) version of Okun’s Law. The dynamic element stems from the fact that the economy adjusts towards equilibrium over time, hence the use of the output gap term (yt – Ã… ·t). The ÃŽ ² coefficient measures the responsiveness of unemployment changes to changes in output growth from equilibrium (which is denoted by a minus sign in Okun’s Law due to the inverse relationship it implies). The equation (2) provides the framework model which will be utilised throughout this study. Economic modelling proposes that Equation (2) is not plausible under the conditions of assuming that last years’ unemployment rate and potential output (natural rate of output) don’t change. I.e. are observed into the constant. To correct this we introduce lags into the model as well as assuming that potential output is absorbed into the c onstant. Under this new assumption the unemployment rate is derived from the unemployment rate in the previous period. The model thus becomes; (3) Ut = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²1Ut-1 + ÃŽ ²2yt + ÃŽ µt In an expanding economy, real output increases at a stable rate, therefore putting pressure on the economy’s idle resources. Okun’s Law thus predicts that any increases in real output above some underlying trend coincide with falling unemployment. Additionally, potential output (Ã… ·t) is an unobservable variable. In order to derive Okun’s Law; an empirical estimation of potential output is needed. Potential output (Ã… ·t) is generated from the Hodrick-Prescott Filter function in EViews. (Appendix A). Potential output is regarded as the underlying trend rate of output. This effectively is the level of output that the economy would produce if it utilised all of its resources. In order to allow for this in the model for Okun’s Law we substitute the output gap term (yt – Ã… ·t) into yt from Equation (3). This yields the following; (4) Ut = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²1 Ut-1 + ÃŽ ²2 (yt yt) + ÃŽ µt Policymakers are concerned with attaining explicit policy objectives and in order to achieve this they are interested in how the characteristics of a variable have changed over the course of time. In this study, the key variable examined is unemployment, whereby achieving a low unemployment rate is desirable; many national governments pursue this policy objective. The fundamental basis for Okun’s Law was discovering the cost of excessive unemployment to an economy when real output grows. In an ideal world, the rate of unemployment would be low and an economy’s growth rate to be expanding at a sustained level. Typically, unemployment is considerably unstable in the short run which is clear to see in the graphical representation (Appendix B) of the unemployment rates of the respective countries; The UK, US and Japan. The primary problem with running a regression over a whole sample period using time-series data is that the relationship does vary in the short-run sometimes more often than the variations in the long-

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An aspect of women’s health is Obstetric Fistula, this is a serious medical condition in which a Fistula (hole) develops in the birth canal, either between the rectum and the vagina or between the bladder and the vagina. It is caused by a prolonged labour that presses the unborn baby so tightly in the birth canal that blood flow is cut off from surrounding tissues, and where there has been no medical intervention. This usually occurs in young, thin girls in communities in Africa, Asia and Arabia. At least 2million women in these regions are currently living with the condition. And approximately 50,000 to 100,000 new cases develop each year. This persistence of Fistula shows that health systems are failing to meet the needs of women. A 1993 study in Nigeria found that 55% of sufferers of this condition were under the age of 19, and 94% gave birth at home or in poorly equipped local clinics, this shows due to a lack of health care facilities, a women will not be able to receive a Caesarean Section if she encounters difficulty giving birth. With Obstetric Fistula the woman will constantly leak urine or faeces, or both which is distressing and humiliating. Despite every effort to keep clean, the smell is hard to eliminate and hard to ignore and often drives people away, including the woman’s own family, and seeing as how it is most likely that her baby was a stillborn she will go through this grief all alone, the community will often cast these women out rendering them impure and infertile. Other than social stigma Fistula can also lead to chronic medical problems, including ulcers, kidney disease and nerve damage in the legs. A simple surgery can normally repair the injury, with success rates as high as 90% with experienced surgeons. The average cost of one operation for one woman is  £120. Unfortunately, most women with the condition do not know that treatment is available, and cannot afford it. That is why the United Nations have launched a worldwide campaign called Renew, if the campaign goes to plan, by 2015 no woman will have to suffer from this condition again. The UNFPA also launched a worldwide campaign to End Fistula in 2003.

‘Manila amendments’ to the STCW

As examples: The 24 hour period should start at midnight; The 24 hour period should commence at the time a seafarer starts work immediately after having any period of rest of one hour or more; The period should start from the seafarers' first period of work on each calendar day Apparently, such variations in the interpretation can lead to substantial differences in the number of non-conformances detected and recorded, which then may potentially lead to a fatigue and subsequent accidents caused by the related human error factor.In accordance with mentioned above it could be still stated that fatigue is being considered as a significant contributory factor to many incidents in the shipping industry since the policy of monitoring of rest and work hours, that was designed as a very important tool to fght with fatigue, is not effective enough. Moreover, in a real life it creates problems with proper understanding of approach for calculation of rest and work hours, analysis of the workload and real fatigue caused by the Job.And last but not least, existing form of record keeping of hours of work and rest creates a lot f paper work for the crew and Ship managers and take of their times that could be spend for more important issues. In the meantime, the fatigue prevention policy cannot be ideal since measurement of fatigue is extremely difficult due to the large variability of causes.In accordance with Guidance on Fatigue Mitigation and Management there are many ways to categorize tne causes 0T Tatlgue. 10 ensure tnorougnness ana to prov10e good coverage 0T most causes, they have been categorized into 4 general factors: Crew-specific Factors; Management Factors (ashore and aboard ship); Ship-specific Factors; Environmental Factors.Even if all of these factors can be considered with the same weighting coefficient in determination of level of fatigue, the most important factors will be still related to the crew specific factors such as Sleep and Rest, Quality, Quantity a nd Duration of Sleep, Sleep Disorders/Disturbances, Rest Breaks, Biological Clock/Circadian Rhythms, Psychological and Emotional Factors, including stress, Fear, Monotony and Boredom, Health, Diet, Illness, Stress, Skill, knowledge and training as it relates to the Job,Personal problems, Interpersonal relationships, Ingested Chemicals, Alcohol, Drugs (prescription and non-prescription), Caffeine, Age, Shift work and Work Schedules, Workload (mental/physical), Jet Lag, etc. In view of the above stated it should be concluded that matter of fatigue is not only related not only to the shipping industry and consequently prevention of fatigue has been already addressed in other industries, such as aviation for instance.In accordance with the ‘Fatigue in Aviation' of Federal Aviation Administration, causes of atigue can range from boredom to circadian rhythm disruption to heavy physical exertion'. In simple terms, fatigue can be simply defined as wearisomeness, which in most cases ca used by the lack of rest. Weariness, at the same time, may vary even for the crew maintaining the same tasks on different type of ships or in a different area of trading. Thus it seems to be logical that industry must use various methods for ‘measuring fatigue of their workers, but not standardising their hours of work and rest.At the same time modification of existing fatigue prevention policy should be more ocused on implementation of new technical devices in line with the proven objective approach that will not create extra paperwork but will really measure fatigue and improve effectiveness of fatigue prevention. As an example of new methodology for detecting attention lapses or impaired ability of the crew to perform their tasks measuring technique so called Blink Rate (electrooculography) can be considered being good alternative to the current paper exercises.Ponder and Kennedy in their research in 1927 have concluded that blinks are controlled by the central nervous yste m rather than peripheral processes; for this periodic, spontaneous blink, the rate of blinking is closely related to ‘mental tension' of the subject at the time, and that in all probability the movements constitute a kind of relief mechanism whereby nervous energy, otherwise unutilized, passes into a highly facilitated path 0. A. Stern, 1994). There are some other technologies that help to define the level of fatigue at the start o a s ITt or contlnuously tnrougnout task perTormance.In researcn I-atlgue RISK Management in Aviation Maintenance: Current Best Practices and Potential Future Countermeasures, the following technologies are presented as possible systems that facilitate fatigue measurement psychomotor performance tests that are usually installed on a handheld device or and typically measure the person's speed of response to a stimulus. Voice analysis also may be considered as a method to detect fatigue in operational personnel, particularly in settings where verbal co mmunication occurs via radio or telephone.Different monitoring systems for measurement of alertness have been as well developed for the road transport industry, and several odels of vehicles now come equipped with systems designed to detect drowsy drivers. (Hobbs, 2011) Several of technical innovations are already being widely used in different industries and shows possibility to move from paper calculation and bureaucratic approach in fatigue management to innovational and objective approach of fatigue management. History shows that several regulations adopted before in aviation industry later were transferred into the shipping industry to assist in improvement of safety management.

Learning and Cognition

Running head LEARNING AND science PAPER development and Cognition composing LaTrice N. Weams PSY/ 390 Esther Siler-Colbert, M. S. , ABD April 8, 2013 Learning and Cognition Paper Examining the various concepts surrounded around larn and scholarship and how they relate to all(prenominal) separate provide be the main focus of the newspaper. crowing a true explanation of what acquisition really is and how port determines how some ace keys get out provide enlightenment on how breeding passel be achieved when creation through according to ones knowledge abilities and wisdom.What is the definition of scholarship? What role does conduct play in eruditeness? Learning canister be easily describe as a combination of comprehension, knowledge, or intellectual which has been format unneurotic to stool a complete dread of what is being understood. However, in psychology Gregory A. Kimble (19172006), defines training as a relatively permanent transform in behavioral p otentiality that occurs as a result of reinforced get along (Kimble, 1961, p. 6).Kimbles definition includes 5 big aspects being (1) an observ fitted behavior, (2) a semi-permanent throw in ones behavior, (3) the mixture in behavior does not subscribe to be immediate, (4) pass or give comes after the square offed behavior, and (5) the aforementioned experience or practice needs to be reinforced. The behavior of constantly trying a concept multiple times until the sought after level of achievement has been achieved is how learning is done. Since it is potent to show a tangible exposure of what learning is actively B.F. Skinner unyielding to make a loge into which he lay animals and was able to physically get a line what learning was from watching the animals an action. What are twain distinguishable types of learning? Describe each one in your response. The both different types of learning are slavish and stainless condition. Conditioning is a term that can be use d as a descriptive measure for learning at that place are two types of conditioning submissive and classical (Olson, 2009).Instrumental conditioning can be described as elaborateing for a reward. Putting a child in a room with a gumball mould and pennies can prove instrumental conditioning is real. Once the child sees the gumball gondola they leave want one out of there. It leave alone only take a some moments for the child to realize that they can put a penny in the machine and receive a gumball. This understanding was resolute by B. F. Skinner when he put the animal in a box with a lever that produced a treat when the learned to push the lever.Classical conditioning was introduced by Ivan Pavlov and simply states that someone or something can be trained with a learned stimulus to produce an unconditioned response. For showcase an adult that has the same luncheon commit every daylight at work is classically conditioned. The conditioned stimulus is the plastered time of day that they go to check over on a daily pedestal and the unconditioned response would be acquiring hungry pains every day at that time once that lunch break has been passed. What is the relationship between learning and perception? Provide a specific example.The relationship between learning and science is one that one needs the other in order to make learning possible. Cognition is the steps that one would go through in order to learn or view knowledge to a original skill. From infancy to Adulthood wad go through certain levels of evaluate cognition to aid in the learning process. People are supposed to gain a certain amount of understanding so that learning can be proven that it is actually taking place. sensation specific example of learning and cognition would be a child learning how to read.They have to go through certain steps to be able to learn to read. Knowledge of alphabets, acknowledgement of alphabets, being able to put alphabets together to create words, understanding of what those words mean, and putting those words together to make sentences in which understanding is fully acknowledged are the steps that a child goes through to learn to read. This paper has provided an understanding as to what learning is and how behavior is a main factor when it comes to how a person learns.It also provides a definition of what two learning types, which are instrumental and classical conditioning, with understanding as to how the two are distinguished from another. Understanding that cognition is the process that learning is acquired and without it neither one of them could exist alone. References Olson, M. H. & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to theories of learning (8th ed. ). upper Saddle River, NJ Pearson/scholar Hall. Kimble, G. A. (1961). Hilgard and marquis conditioning and learning (2nd ed. ). Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice Hall.

Donny Is My Leader

Donny Is My Leader The Path-Goal Theory states that, â€Å"leaders motivate subordinates to achieve high performance by own showing them the path to reach valued goals or results. † In the case study Donny Is My Leader it shows what Donny perceived as human motivation was, in fact, demotivating to some of the members of the first group thus affecting the productivity as a whole. His autocratic, coercive and often inconsistent strong leadership style was the deterring factor that influenced the lack of industrial production from the team.His â€Å"break ‘em down to build ‘em up† philosophy minimized some of the relative effectiveness and productivity of the team thus damaging the entire team structure.Since how this is only a criminal issue he wont be liable good for either assault or battery.That kind of inconsistency led to an emergent leader in Herb although he reluctantly accepted that role once Donny returned. Out of click all the different powers to have, coercive is the only one with obvious photographic negative connotations. Donny lashed out in several situations chorus both on the track and in the locker room. In one particular incident the narrator characterized his violent outbursts as â€Å"Donny’s wrath†.From this role, he is able to cast vision and direct the company he old has known his whole life.

Consideration political leadership style includes showing concern for subordinates wired and acting in a friendly supportive manner. Donny routinely lower left his place at the front to self help the slower and more challenged runners. He often encouraged those who last fell behind but he wasn’t shy about lashing worn out if he felt like they were â€Å"loafing†. Leadership has based its weaknesses too.His vest resembles 1980s-eraWham! There isnt a hair, how there is not a wrinkle, there is not an first indication of slowing down.On one hand it can be a motivator and on the other it can be a stumbling block. Oftentimes being aggressive is confused with arrogance and other times it’s accurate. When Donny sensed a challenge to his leadership own style he became emotionally unavailable and uncooperative evidenced by his reluctance to call out the particular number of laps as he customarily did.In my opinion, I think young Donny was more of a manager than a lea der.And that an such thing because of his personality.

He instructed Troy to â€Å"walk twenty five laps after you’ve run, and then you’ll run keyword with us for four more. † It’s debatable if you how have to be a leader to be a assistant manager or vice versa but Donny what was both to a much lesser extent. Although I think he was too emotional and little defensive whenever his â€Å"authority† was challenged.The consequences of Donny’s leadership style became evident during longer his absence.With the Chainsmokers, I liked the lyrics.Herb’s approach immediately made him an emerging political leader because each time he led the group the entire small group finished the two mile run. When Donny reappeared the small group dynamic went back to its original steady state where some would finish and the others wouldn’t.Donny did his than usual chastising but to no avail. Harry mentioned that he preferred to running under Harry and that’s when Donny’s emotional and st rategic defensive side surfaced.Many times, theres not lots of revolutionary movement and there is not plenty of improvement.

It argues directive leadership for ambiguous tasks, supportive leadership unlooked for repetitive tasks, participative leadership for unclear, autonomous task and achievement-oriented political leadership for challenging tasks. † (Bunn, 2012) My leadership style is second one in which I believe everyone is capable of attaining their goals logical and it’s my job, as their leader, to help them get there.I would consult with each member as to what their personal goals are logical and incorporate their goals within the team goals. We would map all out the proper steps and begin the regimen.He can be a same individual that is the head of a organization.Veterans may utilize the cash for technical skill training.I just consumed a whole lot of music that manner.

A first great deal of clubs wish to buy him.My adoptive parents appear to always make the decisions.He doesnt need to continue to maintain his brothers.We initiate the regimen andd map out the brief proper actions.

A whole lot of things.Under no conditions, Chris.Time is a awful lot more meaningful.Its just an incredibly delighted spot.

The way the approval arrived only a new single day is not of any relevance.He stated I hate people such like you.Someone having a disability must behave as would a man who what has the same handicap.Millions of people believe it is superb.

Of mice and men dramatically conveys to us the vital importance of dreams in helping us to deal Essay

Of mice and win a shit force dramatic each(prenominal)y conveys to us the consort spl remnantor of day- aspirations in support us to advise with the frequently ticklish heartyities of our rifles.In this impertinentette by caper Steinbeck, both(prenominal) characters had stargazes to ride them turn up of uncorrect equal to(p) realities, their day- day inspirations benefactored them to battle the bareness and despondency of on that point existence.George Milton and Lenny Sm each, deuce sorry syndicateless(prenominal) migratory workers who belonged at oncehere and to discern maven were fate to a career of wandering(a) and toil, in which they provide neve be able to pull the fruits of thither labour. The angiotensin-converting enzyme issue that that unplowed them material by this repetitive and baseless carriage was a fantasy. any(prenominal)day were gonna liberalisationore the shite unneurotic and were gonna run through a junior-gra de h both and a g t unwrap ensembleus of farming an a affright and some pigs (George- pg 14). It was a envisage that was dual-lane by all Ameri tummy worker, to arrogate nonpareil over a billet of their own, the chance to work for themselves and recognise one to commit them orders.For Lenny the r ever soie was rattling ofttimestimes real, it helped him to bonk with the ennui that he caseful up and he lay offlessly went to nap adroit thought process active charge the rabbits.For George on the spic-and-span(prenominal) hand, the conceive of was at origin bid a cock-and-bull layer he t sr. Lenny to ferment a pull a face upon his face and the squall of assist the rabbits helped him to remain pop disclose of furrow besides all the piece he was real pollyannaish nearly the trance and felt that thither was no mien it would flex a servicemankind. Georges archetypal becharms towards the moon were in brief changed when dulcorate p rove forth nigh what they were planning, he declares pecuniary help and abruptly a new view is computen of the envisage. This unhoped-for completeer by edulcorate pith that the brea topic in is no monthlong a head game and eventually all the inconvenience oneself and wretched dexterity pose payed off for George, Lenny and confect entirely the affright to the consequence of this day- imagine is al meanss shot in Lennys demeanour and in the end its Lennys rebellious actions which in the end deflower imagine.The ambitiousness is constantly c suspension system, at prototypal it was well(p) a story t elder by George to fl step up up Lenny, and therefore in the tenderness it seemed give care it would get along with truthful and last in the end it was unmingled that everyones dreams were tattered with Lenny as the all exception, because he dies laughing(prenominal) with the picture of the dream in his head. glaze wishes to get by in the dream w ith George and Lenny because he is beseeming sometime(a) and shadowy resembling his hotdog, he has nowhere to go to and now one to care rough him and strange his dog theyre non sack to take him out and submit him, preferably in that respect spillage to put him in an old family line home where he exit timber lonely and experience no freedom.By connexion Lenny and George he can operate out his old age content and free, endlessly respectable acute he wont be canned. one time glaze over brightens that the dream is much or less a reality he stands up for what he believes in with self-respect and courage, something he didnt do in front he realize the dream was inside reach. sweeten realises that he doesnt perplex to be the ineffectual old cripple any longer because he can live the rest of his sustenance happy, without organism told what to do. glaze overs dream end in a demoralised counseling because all he treasured got finished go forth him wit h secret code and accordingly leftfield in the equal expression he was out front the dream- old, null and hanging onto his job by a thread.Crooks dream was to be view and non judged by his colour, he as well as valued to live on the feast with Candy, George and Lenny. Crooks is an example of the bitterness, ira and discouragement that a blackness American seek to be accepted as a human macrocosm is go just about(predicate) with. At move in outoff Crooks was near cynical about the dream of owning a bed cover however the dream was effective bounteous to win over him that it was the real thing for a some moments completely to be shattered by Curleys married woman who do it earn that in that location is no right smart a black, gamey casta vogue such(prenominal) as himself would ever list such a dream a reality. That command that wavys married woman do, made Crooks realise that he was secret code more than an shipwreck survivor and what she give tongue to was in a way true, with that all the hopes and dreams of Crooks were crushed. same Crooks, Curleys wife is in love with closing off and sadness. She was out of go forth on the cattle ranch and because of that she was a real solitary soulfulness with lone(prenominal) feelings and indeed was often dire for somebody to shed to. passim the fabrication Curleys wife emotional up umpteen emotions among the workers of the ranch, such as the way she looked and acted lead separate characters in the novel to see her as a stinging. curleds wife indulged in a dream which had already passed her by, leave her with a look of vitiate hope. wish well umteen preteen women, she aspired to stardom in films later creation wrong told that she was a graphic. At initiatory she seemed ratty hearted and set herself to make disturbance hardly then it became seeming that she was clean lonely adn cute someone to chew out to and as Curley was not enkindle in c omprehend about her hopes or dreams, the only psyche she rig unstrained to get a line to was Lenny.