Animal Kingdom 54

Animal Kingdom Humans have always had an interaction with animals since the beginning of time. They hunted animals for survival, and humans were their prey. However, scientists believe that our ancient relatives â€Å"treated the animals with respect. †(Stetson). So why do we continue to consume and brutally murder, and torture animals for the means of food and clothing when there is this claim to â€Å"love† and â€Å"care for† animals? We should treat all animals with kindness and respect. We should learn to understand them and not treat them as equals.We owe it to animals to show empathy and treat them better to become better people at heart. Animals such as dogs or cats kept as pets hold strong companionships with their owners in our society. Some humans consider animals to be mindless while others don’t, but I believe that they are capable of love, emotion, and thought process. Although, animals do not speak a language we can understand we can certain ly see their intelligence. They’re capable of unconditional love and learning. Humans should have respect to our fellow non human animals.There are so many animals that serve a purpose in this life than just being a pet or for a means of food or entertainment. Dogs, for example are particularly helpful as certified service animals to help the blind. There are stories all over the nation of the selfless acts animals perform to save humans from death or accidents. Hurting poor defenseless animals is just cruel and inhumane and really says a lot about the person’s character that would actually do such a thing. The characteristics of animals are similar to those of humans.They care for their young just like human parents nurture their young. They’re capable of showing affection, happiness, and sadness. So how is that not proof of feeling? Animals have different characteristics just like those similar to humans. But they rely more on animal instinct than anything els e. We as humans rely more on logic. Animal abuse happens all over through various forms such as animal entertainment, animal testing, and hunting. These animals that are being used in the media industry, fights, circuses, and lab testing are treated poorly and these events sometimes even lead to death.What do these actions say about humans? How can we carry out these inhumane acts where animals are being hunted for their fur, tusks, and feathers? People who are associated with trading animals for consumption treat the animals most cruelly. Those individuals care more about their profits than treating animals with respect. â€Å"We know what we see on undercover videos of factory farms and slaughterhouses is wrong. (There are those who will defend a system that allows for occasional animal cruelty, but no one defends the cruelty, itself. )† (Foer 431).I don’t believe that eating meat can actually be a form of animal abuse, but â€Å"We have so internalized this behavio r-â€Å"meat†-eating-that we do not even recognize it as a choice, but rather blindly accept it as a normal and necessary way of life; â€Å"meat† consumption is ‘just the way it is. ’† (Garbato). No one should be forced to stop eating animal â€Å"meat† because it is a choice that we all have. â€Å"Food is not rational. Food is culture, habit, craving and identity. † (Foer 431). The horrific treatments of animals in factories which are later bought for consumption should have stricter regulations.Animals shouldn’t have to suffer and be tortured in so many ways for our essentials. â€Å"100 years ago, animals were considered nothing more than possessions; the properties of humans. No thought was ever given as to how the animals felt. Nothing was done to prevent the suffering of animals. † (Angelicguides). Many animals are still considered possessions, and are dying for a means of meeting the population’s needs for food, entertainment, clothing etc. There has got to be a better way to be more humane towards defenseless animals.Cruelty towards animals reflects our true character and we should strive to be more kind. We should learn from animals and experience the same peace they live in on a daily basis. â€Å"But I might learn something of mindlessness, something of the purity of living in the physical senses and the dignity of living without bias or motive. † (Dillard 351). For that reason we should treat animals with respect and kindness because they can show us the true beauty of life and I think we can learn how to become better people.

Dowry Problem in India Essay

Gandhi ji said:- ‘Any young man who takes dowry fo getting married , disrespects his education, country and womanhood.’ Our society is full of evil systems. One of those evil systems is dowry. Dowry is defined as the ‘price paid by parents to get their daughters married as well for getting them the place in the family which they deserve.’ Over the years cases of dowry harassment and cases of dowry deaths have multiplied. In Hindu marriage system, a system termed as ‘kanyaddan’ is performed in which the bride is given to the husband and in-laws along with huge sums of money, furniture, house, car, etc. or more precisely bride along with dowry. The dowry system has converted something as pure as marriage into a business transaction and the bride into a saleable commodity or a key to more money. Debts are taken so that the groom’s family can be provided with a large dowry. This creates a burden on the bride’s family. Girls begin to think of themselves as a burden on their families and accept spinsterhood as their fate or commit suicide. Dowry has also led to an increase in female feticide and female infanticide which has greatly affected the male-female ratio in the country. Heavy dowry is demanded for educated boys. This has ruined the lives of many brilliant girls. Brilliant, educated and economically independent girls cannot get married to so-called educated boys because their parents cannot provide their in-laws with a huge dowry demanded by them. Even after marriage such girls are tortured to bring in more money, and ultimately, they either commit suicide or lose their mental balance. People who believe in taking dowry say that dowry acts as a financial help to the newlyweds. They say that while marriage acts as a life insurance for girls, marriage acts as its premium. They also say that a girl who carries a respectable amount of dowry to her husband and in-laws feels confident while a girl who carries a less amount of dowry feels uncomfortable and apprehensive. In 1961, the government passed the Dowry Prohibition Act to abolish the dowry system. However, this act, instead of subsiding dowry, took its roots to a deeper level in the society. It is said that on an average one woman is being killed in every four hours n the issue of dowry in India. However, strong public rejection is being noticed on the issue of dowry among the youth. They are not ready to give or take dowry for getting married. They are really coming forward to abolish the evil. Our society  needs such responsible youth to abolish the evil system of dowry in India. There is finally a positive beam of light shown in utmost darkness, but to convert this positive beam of light into utmost lightness, we, the common people of India have to take effective remedial steps: – We should start a strong propaganda to abolish the evil. People should make demonstrations against those who take dowry. Strict laws should be passed to prohibit taking and giving dowry. Young girls should take serious action when their family is demanded with dowry. Proper education should be imparted to girls as well as they should be made economically independent to accelerate the process. Love marriages, inter-caste marriages as well as inter-provisional marriages may also help. Cases of â€Å"dowry free† marriages should be the news item on the bulletin. This will encourage the youth. Right now, in our society, a man who does not marry for love, learns to marry for possessions. We have to change the picture. â€Å"SAY NO TO DOWRY†

Comparing and Contrasting Keynesian & Classical Economics Essay

Economics studies the monetary policy of a government and other information using mathematical or statistical calculations. Fiscal information is analyzed in order to make judgments and inferences from the information provided. There are two economic schools of thought which take different approaches to the economic study of monetary policy, consumer behavior and government spending. Basic Theory (Paragraph 2): This paragraph outlines major some of the differences between Classical and Keynesian economic theories. Classical theorist were rooted in the concept of Laissez faire market which requires little to no government intervention and allows individuals to make decisions, unlike Keynesian economics, where the public and government is heavily involvement in the decision making process in regards to economics. Classical economists also used the value of objects to determine prices in the market unlike Keynesians who believed that the demand was what influenced the market. Keynesians also relies heavily on the theory that the nation’s monetary policy can affect a company’s economy. Government Spending (Paragraph 3): Classical economists do not believe that government spending has a major impact on the nation’s economic growth, yet that consumer spending and business investments had more of an impact. Classical economists believed that government spending would stunt the economy’s growth by increasing the public sector and decreasing the private sector. In contrast, Keynesian economist did in fact believe that consumer spending and business investments helped the economy, but also believed that government spending played an important role in boosting and could possibly even take the place of the former and still continue to result in economic growth. Short vs. Long-term Affects (Paragraph 4): Classical economists focused on creating long term solution for economic problems. They take into account the effects of inflation, government regulation, taxes. They also consider how current policies and new economic theory will distort the free market environment. Keynesian economics focus more on immediate results in economic theories. Keynesians focus on short-term needs as well as policies, and consider how the result can affect the economy immediately.

The Mission for TNT Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 37

The Mission for TNT - Case Study Example According to the paper, the major objective of TNT is to deliver a superior customer experience with sophisticated technology in their operations. The mission, vision and objectives of a company always vary, and it depends with the services or goods being provided and also the size of the organization. The mission of PEKU contractors based in Qatar is development of a better, safer and conservative built environment. Their major aim is to come up with eco-friendly buildings and minimize the cost of construction. Their objective is to come up with sustainable construction methods and build eco-friendly structures. A business strategy refers to the ways and means through which an organization sets  out  to achieve its objectives. An organization categorizes its goals in order of priority in order to develop ways of achieving the all the goals. After identifying the crucial goals, a strategy map is developed. A strategy map is a diagram containing the strategic goals of an organizat ion. A strategy map helps an organization identify the territories with the best returns and hence the organization is able to develop a strategy to exploit the territories. It creates the basis of developing a competitive advantage which is beneficial in achievement of goals. It guides the organization in deciding which goods and services to produce in order to achieve the set aims and objectives.  The overall strategy of TNT has great emphasis on satisfying the needs of the customers. Their strategy defines the relationship of all the parties involved and how they will cooperate in achieving the goals of the organization. TNT strategy focuses on achieving its goals, satisfying the customers and coming up with ways that will make the customers stick to their services.

The reasons for the fall of Communism and the USSR Essay

The reasons for the fall of Communism and the USSR - Essay Example However very soon, it was expelled by Joseph Stalin in the year 1927 and such rule became completed in the year 1991. The year 1991is a remarkable year for the citizens of Soviet Union as USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republic) also regarded as Soviet Union Collapsed. It is regarded as one of the largest countries that collapsed due to the sudden blast of a nuclear super power thereby shattering the entire world. So, it is one of the most well-known dates in the history of Soviet Russia (Lorimer, The Collapse of ‘Communism’ in the USSR â€Å"Causes and Significance†). This essay mainly highlights the reasons for the fall of the communalism and USSR of Soviet Russia along with the pros and cons of such a collapse. Other than this, it also highlights the effect of such a collapse in the entire world in both positive and negative ways. Apart from this, a small evaluation part is also presented in the essay to evaluate the positive and negative effects of such a collapse along with a conclusion as well. History of Soviet Union The Soviet Union came into existence from the revolution occurred in the month of October that overthrew the Russian Provisional government and as a result, the Soviet Party came into power. It was dominated by Bolsheviks and followed by Russian civil war. The Soviet Union is also traditionally regarded as the successor of the Russian Empire (Lorimer, The Collapse of ‘Communism’ in the USSR â€Å"Causes and Significance†). The Soviet Union was ruled by the last Russian Tsar named Nicholas II from March 1917 t o 1922. At the end of the year 1922, the predecessor to Soviet Union came into existence as the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, an independent country. Therefore, in 1922, the country of Soviet Union developed mainly due to the union of several neighboring countries such as Russia, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Transcaucasian Soviet Republic. Thus, after World War II, both Soviet Union and United States became engaged in cold war as they tried to make their individual influence in the entire world. The entire national politics at that time was dominated by the parties of the Cold War and the prime cause of this U.S.–USSR struggle was to attain planetary authority of their individual socio–economic systems as well as defeat of the hegemonic spheres of influence of the country. At that time, despite the presence of Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), a five-year planned economy comprising of a (post-New Economic Policy), and repudiation of the Molotovâ⠂¬â€œRibbentrop Pact secret protocols, remained as the main character of Soviet society till 1985 (Lorimer, The Collapse of ‘Communism’ in the USSR â€Å"Causes and Significance†). At this time, in order gain influence Soviet Union extended their maximum power over Eastern Europe and Cuba and also a considerable control was also maintained over the citizens of the country. At that time, the country was ruled by Leonid Brezhnev known as Brezhnev Era, experienced high economic growth and prosperity, but soon ended with a very weaker Soviet Union facing numerous social, political, and economic problems. Along with this, the average annual income also lowered, resulting in a quite devastating condition within the country. On the other hand, United States looked over the other parts of the world to extend their line of influence and power. Therefore, it may be depicted from the above scenario, that inspite of numerous best rulers, the social and economic condition of Soviet Union may not be

Business and Canadian Government Policy - International Trade Policy Term Paper

Business and Canadian Government Policy - International Trade Policy - Term Paper Example Countries that were perceived as being underprivileged or deprived had emerged as potential global powers within a very short span of time. Such a development has been possible only due to complete or partial dissolution of trade barriers binding the movements of goods and services between national boundaries. In addition, the nations no longer need to suffice their fundamental needs all by themselves, post globalisation. In fact, they can specialise in producing goods where they enjoy a comparative advantage over others; such a stance can lead to efficient allocation of resources that facilitates cost efficiency as well. Quite surprisingly South-East Asian nations, which had primarily resorted to agriculture as their forte, emerged as global powers engaging themselves in industrial production as well. Such was their evolution in the area that they soon gained a comparative advantage over many chronically known industrial economies, hence capturing a chunk of the market share. Gradually, their potentials came to the forefront and many developed nations, awed by their reserve stocks, decided to enter into pacts with them. Such a nation is Canada that recently has been considering prospects of entering into coalition with South-East Asian nations like China and India. This coalition will target primarily upon digging up new investment prospects in these developing economies. Given the availability of cheap factors of production (that leads to comparative advantage) possibilities of reaping a fat profit margin is supposed to be an almost obvious phenomenon. However, extensive research is necessary prior to taking a step ahead in the area, especially since it involves the future of a nation. Recent political developments between developing nations like India and China with Canada have reported proceedings about Free Trade Agreements between the economies. The US financial crisis has taught Canada a lesson in a hard way about not to depend much upon its

Time Warner and Comcast Merger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Time Warner and Comcast Merger - Essay Example This paper highlights that the main impediment of this merger according to the U.S regulators is the fear that the company would create a business that is well aware that clients have no other choices than to the poor provision of customer service as well as increased rates knowing there are no options out there. In any case, this is one of the fundamental concerns with any establishment of a monopoly where the US regulators will carry the ultimate decision.   This research study outlines that the strategy taken is a well conceived strategy which creates a moat or what is known as barriers to entry. The reason for their opinion are based   on barriers to entry which entail competitive advantages such as economies to scale and the net network effects, captivity of customers, proprietary technology as well as government advocacy. This situation is not an accident as some people may explain but a strategic step created to achieve economies of scale and achieve customer captivity. Si nce the merger has the objective of saving on costs for the customers of both firms, this will make the barriers to entry very high.  The situation cannot be termed as being created to destroy value through acquisitions. The value of the companies or competition cannot be destroyed.   If the internet providers were to be left on their own, they would charge high prices given that they experience no oversight or face competition. The merger has the intentions of providing the customers with more efficient services.

Surprising reversal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Surprising reversal - Essay Example This plan is supposed to take care of the soldiers’ children in times of deployment. Many a time, this does not work the way it is supposed to. Often a soldier has to assign temporary guardianship to a relative. Soldiers are also sent back home to reconstruct a new FCP, because the previous one has failed and the time a soldier gets to complete this task is just not enough for such an important exercise. FCPs are something that soldiers need time to put together. This is not a task to be taken lightly. It takes a lot of time, thought and effort to put together an effective Family Care Plan. Instead the military gives only thirty days for them to find someone to entrust their loved ones. FCP helps the military maintain its level of readiness for deployment. On the face of it, it is a deceptively simple exercise but from the soldier’s point of view, it is a rigorous task that is not easily completed by a long shot. There are several factors that must be addressed when imp lementing the FCP. The ‘person of choice’ to entrust children is to me, the biggest choice a soldier has to make. Someone that appeared to be a prime candidate might have issues/flaws that would keep that person from being able to take care of the soldiers’ loved ones. ... The soldier found herself charged with desertion, which is a very high wartime crime. If it had not been for the local media in her home town, this soldier might have even been convicted. FCP exercises are hard to complete and most of the time, they don’t even hold up. Everything is documented and placed into the soldiers’ files. Everyone knows that deployments come and go, but no one knows when. Knowing when and where a soldier will be deployed is one thing, but not everything goes according to how it was planned. When the time came for me to activate my FCP in which I named my mother as the preferred guardian, she was ill with cancer – an unforeseen factor. She was unable to provide the necessary care to my children due to her illness. When I tried to get one of my sisters to take my mother’s place in my FCP, I was unsuccessful; she had marriage issues that she was dealing with at the time, which made her not a very good candidate for the job of care of my two boys. Such unforeseen factors reduce the efficacy of FCPs. I was separated from the armed forces recently, in March of 2009 for a collapse of my FCP. Of course, I was honorably discharged. In conclusion, despite the military’s best intentions and beliefs, FCPs are not what they appear to be. They have been known to trap soldiers into legally binding contracts, which in some cases are not in the best interest of either the soldiers or their families. On the other hand, FCPs appear to have been designed to free soldiers from any obligation that they might have, so that the military does not have to lose them from its deployment readiness. Reference Engler, A. (2011). â€Å"Deployed military parents: Choosing custody or duty†. Good Housekeeping, April 3, 2011. Available

Nature Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nature Writing - Essay Example The following paper will examine the descriptions of nature in Aldo Leopold’s work as they are deeply moving and spiritually satisfying, but how it is his humility about the inability of language to capture the true depth of the beauty of nature that provides the best reasons for conserving the natural world. The book begins by saying â€Å"There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot† (Leopold 21). Written by Leopold on March 4, 1948, this statement puts in two sentences the nature of his existence within this world and how he was challenged by it. His essays develop a strong argument for conservationism, providing the roots through which the conservation movement was able to take hold. A seminal work on providing context for the concepts that supported the need for conserving the natural world, the descriptions and challenges presented are engaging no matter what level of kinship one feels for nature. There is a passage in his March section which describes the activities of woodcocks in April and May of each year. Leopold missed the ‘dance’ that he describes for the first two years that they lived in the area. After those first two years, however, he describes a ritual of the evening that would begin exactly one minute later each night for those two months. He writes â€Å"It is unfortunate, perhaps, that no matter how intently one studies the hundred little dramas of the woods and meadows, one can never learn all the salient facts about any one of them† (Leopold 41). The use of the concept of data as a way to engage the reader provides human context for the understanding of nature that he creates. When Leopold discusses the woodcocks, he frames their rituals in terms of human understandings. He puts them on a clock that shifts by one minute later every day. He places them in the calendar for performing this ritual through April and May of ea ch year. He creates data that is placed into context in terms that human beings understand. However, the woodcocks likely have no understanding of months or minutes. They follow the cues that nature has provided. It is through modeling that Leopold is able to provide the reader a way in which to relate the natural world to the human world. In his August essay, â€Å"The Green Pasture†, Leopold compares the artist to the work of the river as it carves out color and texture onto the sandbar (233). Unlike the human artist whose work lasts for generations to observe, the river paints its work so that only a moment of it exists and in that moment the human memory is all that will preserve it. He uses the model of the painter as the structure in which he interprets the work of the river. As he uses the metaphor of the painter in order to describe what he has observed about the changing imagery. Even in the beauty of the essay as it defines the way in which the river impacts on its environment, he has only created an illusion about its nature. In his essay â€Å"Marshland Elegy†, Leopold seemed to experience the way in which the ancient nature of the land was connected to the present in a way that was not linear. The past as it is reflected in the lives of the cranes means that the human interpretation of time may not be as accurate as that of nature. The cyclical nature of life and death as it continues to nourish and feed an

Police Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Police - Essay Example In the case of a large-scale police box, someone is always there, so it is convenient for visitors. In contrast, each residential police box is manned by just one officer, making it possible to cover a wide area with a small number of personnel. The residential police box system is effective in rural and semi-rural areas, where there are relatively few crimes and accidents. Since officers posted at residential police boxes work and live in the same place with the ir family, they can keep in closer contact with community residents. Police boxes vary widely in size. Apart from an office area, a police box has a simple kitchen and break room for officers. A "community room", a reception room for residents, has recently been incorporated. Residential police boxes have been built as a combination of office and residence, and recently they also contain a community room in the office section. Small-size police cars are deployed at many police boxes and residential police boxes for use in pa trols and trips to and from the police station. All police boxes and residential police boxes feature a red lamp above their entrances. Many community residents feel reassured when they see this lamp, and it has become an instantly recognizable symbol for a police box or residential police box. ... Under the three-shift system in which most police box officers works, on-duty officers work from one morning to the next, but their net working hours are 16, because they receive a total of an eight-hour break over the shift. At busy police boxes such as those located in city areas, however, officers cannot take such long breaks. In contrast, a residential police box officer works eight hours a day and five days a week. However, he needs to receive residents even outside working hours if requested. Because the area of a residential police box is fairly large, door to door visits are usually undertaken simultaneously with patrols. The wife often helps her husband by, for example, receiving visitors while the husband is out . The duties of officers assigned to patrol cars are more specific, and cover mobile patrols, the arrest of offenders, and rushing to the scene of crimes and accidents, followed by initial action. They perform the ir duties in pairs, with one officer driving the vehicle, while the other keeps an eye out for suspicious persons, and engages in radio communication. Patrols are the most important duty for community police officers in that the visible presence of police officers in their uniforms prevents crimes and gives community residents sense of security. Patrols are in principle to be perfo rmed either on foot or by bicycle, because that way officers can effective ly grasp the situation and assess suspicious persons. Where the area of the police box is large, a small patrol car or motorcycle may be used. While on patrol, officers question suspicious persons and make arrests or give guidance or warnings if there is a crime or an unlawful activity. They also give guidance to traffic law violators and juvenile delinquents, take care of drunken persons

Ethics and Morality Essay Example for Free

Ethics and Morality Essay Man is a mixture of paradoxes and since his birth always finds himself tangled in the dense thrushes of social and cultural issues. Hamlet by William Shakespear is a best example to deliver us the true intricate nature of a person, how he finds himself in a dilemma, of what is morally right for him and what is morally wrong. An incredible question is raised in front of him, To Be or not to be? As Socrates said, moral philosophy deals with no small matter, but how we ought to live. ( Rachels, 2007) It is quite true, moral philosophy is nothing but how we take issues in our life into consideration. The issue of Abortion is a very complex issue, as anti abortionists and pro abortionists are adamant to follow their own extreme assumption. On the one hand, anti –abortionists says that the loss of one’s life is the very big loss, making a person rob of whole of his life’s activities. Therefore, to kill some one is immoral, on the other hand abortion is justified it protects women from unwanted pregnancy, abortion protects her chastity in case of pregnancy occurring due to rape and any other health hazard which might be dangerous for women and child in case of pregnancy. In case of the danger to the human lives, Can humans react aggressively back in self -defense? There are three aspects to it, firstly if the action is taken place in defense in case of threatened aggression, then the action is preemptive attack and unjustified or if action for defense is used after the attack, it is called as retaliation and this is also unjustified. The importance of imminence rule in self-defense is that, one can resort to defense action only against the attack which is imminent or which is just going to take place. The reason behind this rule is that the action for defense should take place when aggression is nor too late neither too early. But for a battered women killing her abuser on self-defense, even if there is no imminent threat, is considered as justified because the battered woman, may find danger to her life by her husband who though is sleeping at that time may cause her harm when he woke up. This danger by the sleeping husband is though not imminent but she might find herself in a situation that retaliate in return became a most necessary vocation. When women comes to known that there is no hope left to stop the violence, then by the nature women became passive and as a result their capability to identify the alternative sources are disappeared and they can turned their aggressiveness at abusers. ThisBattered Womans Syndrome has allowed the women a self- independent and therefore a most reasonable person who in time of the need can use her force in self defense. Death penalty is a most serious punishment, and amidst lot of controversies surrounding the death penalty, whether the death penalty is justifiable or not? Mill in his most famous speech of 1868, strongly advocated in favor of death penalty. Mill says that actually death penalty is much less cruel than any other form of punishments. He argues that death penalty is only conferred on the very heinous crimes like that of murder and is a least cruel method of inflicting punishment as far as the seriousness of the crime is concerned. If we go by the version that we are following a very horror form of punishement and may adopt some lenient form of punishment then it will no doubt gives the appearance of very less severity and less efficacious but in realty it would be the more cruel form of punishment. Further he said that the nature of punishments in case of pecuniary or not corporal depending on their duration seems to be more severe than actual is but death penalty though appears to be so severe but it is not so. Therefore punishment like death sentence is no doubt a very strict but in realty there are not so in realty. But Kant declares, â€Å"That the legal punishment must always been in response to guilt. † According to Kant, nobody should be punished only because of the utilitarian causes. He further says, â€Å"Judicial punishment can never be used merely as a means to promote some other good for the criminal himself or civil society, but instead it must in all cases be imposed on him only on the ground that he has committed a crime; for a human being can never be manipulated merely as a means to the purposes of someone else. He must first of all be found to be deserving of punishment before any consideration is given of the utility of this punishment for himself or his fellow citizens. † Kant also says that retribution is not only a most important condition for punishment but also most sufficient†. Retribution can also be said as natural justification, which means man thinks that it is very natural and bad person ought to be punished and a good person should be rewarded. There are two aspects to this theory, Desert Principle means people who do wrong to some one else ought to suffer. In real sense the meaning of Kant is not totally clear. But the idea that is generates stives to speak and is says even though a person who is guilty of murder and for the sake of humanity should be treated with a certain amount of dignity, and the punishments which ignores the humanity of the criminals are outside domain of morality. We can say that we cannot prove that they are not justice, and unadulterated revenge. And according to Kant on retribution with revenge, he says there is always heart in the body The instinct for revenge is a natural one; so is the instinct to take things we want that dont belong to us, as anyone who has spent time around young children will testify. But in real sense the morality wants us human beings to move away from our mere instincts. , this would make it it hard to be a virtuous person. And in the sphere of punishment, morality requires that we respect the humanity but in many cases we can also go against the will of criminals.

Punishment And Crime Essay Example for Free

Punishment And Crime Essay â€Å"An eye for an eye† The standards by which individuals and society subscribe to where being done wrong and seeking retribution, or in the general scope, where crime and punishment is concerned, can be summed up and approximated in the aforementioned line. Our view of justice, the resolution of a violation, and the prevention thereof doesnt stray far from the said concept either. While other countries, particularly those in the middle eastern region, tolerate and employ the said ideology in the literal sense, mutilating the arms and limbs of people caught guilty of thievery, for instance. In the much more civilized and developed nation that is our country however, the instance of Retribution, Deterrence, Rehabilitation, and Societal Protection exists as corresponding forms of punishment to violations against humanity and against societys prescribed laws. Its effectivity in terms of deterring crime, however, remains subjective.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The concept of retribution or retributive justice exists under the premise that people are, or should be dealt with a punishment which fits in proportion to their respective crimes. The concept of merit and desert are introduced as factors central to retributive justice (Maiese). The simplest explanation would be that if a person where to do good and work hard, his or her actions will be met with an equal amount of goodness, or reward. Conversely, a person who commits to doing the opposite, who breaks laws and violates aspects of humanity, are to receive a form of punishment equal to what they have inflicted. Where the instance of merit and desert is concerned, justice is defined by dealing a person the corresponding reward or punishment which he or she deserves based on the instance of good and bad, right and wrong courses of action which a person chooses to pursue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Punishment in retributive justice constitutes the previously quoted line in the introduction of this paper, albeit not as literally; which, in the context of almost every justice system, and to put it quite crudely, people are to be treated in the same manner by which they choose to treat other individuals. This much is evident in the amount of community service, jailtime, and other forms of punishment which an offender is obliged to fulfill depending on the gravity of the crimes or offenses he or she has committed. Crimes and offenses which may range from driving without a license to armed robbery, rape, and perhaps even murder, will determine whether the offender in question will receive a simple reprimand, a ticket or a fine, a day in a jail cell, or be committed to minimum or maximum security, and to the most grave of offenses, receive capital punishment or death penalty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The theory of deterrence on the other hand, departs from the seeming reasonable sensibilities afforded by the concept of retribution and runs under the idea that if a corresponding consequence or punishment of a crime outweighs the possible benefit or significance of committing it, the person who intends to commit the said crime may be deterred from pursuing it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Deterrence turns to the instance of heavier consequences to criminal acts and offenses as opposed to punishments proportionate to actions which have been committed, as a more effective way of preventing individuals from committing crimes. The theory of deterrence runs under the premise and assumption that every individual is conscious of his or her actions, that people are consciously aware of what constitutes good and evil and that peoples action, be it of deviance or conformity, subscribing to rules or breaking it, results from free will. Under the said assumptions, people who are inclined to break the law or commit to similar acts of violations are aware of the consequence and gravity of the situation. Knowing that the corresponding consequences will have a greater negative impact than the deviance and offenses they may choose to commit will advise them to do otherwise. In the instance that people are blamed or convicted for crimes and offenses they did not commit, punishments would appear greater than they already are. For most people, this appears to be the most effective way of deterring crime, but it also appears to be the least humane and insensible where offenders are concerned.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the subject of relatively humane methods of punishment, the concept of rehabilitation seems to effectively apply. A term which probably closesly identifies with drug abuse, excessive smoking, eating disorders, and other behavioral problems, the concept of rehabilitation applies to more than the said destructive behaviors and relates to a type of punishment which confines an individual to a place where he or she is unable to repeat offenses and untolerated acts which he or she has previously committed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rehabilitation turns to a less immediate and much lengthier process of punishing the criminal or offender in question. Doing time in prison cells and rehabilitation centers may appear the most tame and seemingly weak or ineffective forms of punishment, but the reality of incarceration, of being put away and shut out from the rest of society, and rotting away in a period of time which appear to span indefinitely, bears it own share of torment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The said form of punishment has the capacity to affect the offender in question on a psychological level, as he or she is forced to contemplate the nature of his or her actions and its consequences in the course of the said persons confinement and rehabilitation, at the end of which the individual in question is released and deemed fit to continue his or her life and start anew. Crimes are supposed to be deterred by keeping people away from society at large, who may choose to repeat the said crimes or influence others from doing the same.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Societal Protection concerns itself with the rights and needs of the society as a whole, as opposed to individuals which comprise it, and turning to forms of punishment such as the previously mentioned rehabilitation, among others, as a means of protecting and preserving roles, function, structures, and procesess within society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ultimately, society and individuals within it do what they can to ensure security, peace and stability from ensuing and taking hold. Not every form of punishment that has been discussed can be deemed rational and effective in every aspect, and they can vary in meaning and translation from one individual to the next. But as far as opinions apply, it exists as the least of surprises how certain forms of evil cant be countered and put off by other forms of evil. Retribution will not solve people and societys problems, and forms of punishment, however necessary, unfortunately only reflect societys capacity to inflict pain and suffering to people who may or may not truly deserve them. References   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Keel, Robert. â€Å"Rational Choice and Deterrence Theory.† 14 July 2005. Retrieved 18 January 2008 from http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/200/ratchoc.html   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Maiese, Michelle. â€Å"Types of Justice.† July 2003. Retrieved 18 January 2008 from     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/types_of_justice/   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Maiese, Michelle. â€Å"Retributive Justice.† May 2004. Retrieved 18 January 2008 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/retributive_justice/   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Summerfield, Morgan. â€Å"Evolution of Deterrence Crime Theory.† 18 May 2006.   Retrieved   Ã‚   18 January 2008 from  Ã‚   http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/32600/

Container Shipping Industry

Container Shipping Industry Outline the evolution of the structure in the container shipping industry and discuss the extent to which the structural changes are explained by increasing size of ships entering Introduction In the past especially in the last twenty years international container shipping industry and the related trade has been increasing at a tremendous rate. The period between 1980 and 2004 shows that international maritime trade grew at 2.4% compared to this the containerised cargo has increased at 8.6% with an increase of 600% over that period compared to 70% of the maritime trade. This phenomenal growth can be attributed to the many things including the growing importance of transhipment activities. As more shippers understood the advantages of container shipping ports increasingly made changes to the infrastructure and adapted to handling of cargo using containers. This growth of world container traffic has also led to an increase in the size of ships resulting in challenges and opportunities for the container shipping industry. And there is no instance of such a spectacular growth in the transportation industry. This paper outlines the evolution of the container shipping industry h ighlighting the main reasons behind the growth and development of the industry, moreover it also discusses the increasing size of the ships and its relationship with the container shipping industry. (Ircha, 2006. Volk) The Factors Behind the Growth of Container Shipping Industry Volk has studied the container shipping industry and point out four factors which have helped the container shipping industry in achieving its tremendous growth. Following are the four factors: (Volk) Significant Increase in Productivity The origins of containerisation can be found in the fall out from the 1956 Suez Crisis when the when the blocking of the Suez canal leading to an increase in demand for transportation this led to an investment of the shipping industry into ships, but the end of the crisis meant that there was an over supply of ships and eventually led to a prolonged recession in the shipping industry. In addition to this shippers are always seeking to minimise cost as the freight level generally doesnt cover the costs, this cost cutting potential led to the introduction of container ships and the LASH ships, but the container ships were much more successful. The introduction of the 20 feet and the 40 ft container led to far-reaching changes to the transportation industry, the productivity of the container shipping is 4 to 8 times to that of the traditional shipping. This enormous productivity led to the shippers being profitable even when the freight rates were low and thus remained competitive. However to really gain from the containerisation concept a lot of investment was needed in the transportation channels. Countries have gradually adapted to this change and have done it at their own pace. This is the reason that the structural changes have been taking place even today in many of the Asian, African, Baltic and Latin American Countries. The Containerisation of shipping is still in the process of penetrating many national markets this is the reason for its greater development compared too the general transportation market. Structural Changes in Shipping Due of Containerisation The structural chages in Cargo shipping industry led to the success of the container shipping industry. first many of the ports which were important were unable to make appropriate changes like creation of quays, installation of careanes etc. Due to this many important ports like Liverpool, and San Francisco were left behind. Because of concentration od cargo on a few ports led to the development of hinterland connections, for example Rotterdam and Antwerp have effective inland shipping and. Not all of the shipping industry was able to adapt to the change brought about by containerisation, because in addition to shipping the shippers had to invest in containers too. This limited the number of shippers whoi were able to containerise their business. Major difference is that has occurred because of containerisation is the increase in the efficiency of shipping. In the past ships used to spend weeks standing at ports, the trips between Northern Europe used to take eight weeks, however with the introduction of containers the trips time has halved to four weeks. With significant increase in the capital investment and fewer number of ports, and increase in the speed of ships and efficiency. Shippers now realise that the ships cannot be profitable sitting at ports as a result the idea of offering of multiple loops has emerged. Because the larger ships with containers could not reach all ports and since many poiorts did not have the capacity or the finances to support containerisation, ship rotation and feeder shipping, a network of shipping feeders has evolved. These ships function both inter-regionally and intra-regionally. There has been an evolution of the trading routes along with the evolution of containerisation. In the past the routes between different regions of the world were quite clearly defined, however with the intention of creating more efficiency, for this new concepts like the pendulum concept and the round-the-world concept evolved. The decrease in the transportation was and is passed on to the customer with increased cost reduction, the volume of cargo being transported from far-flung areas has become extremely cheap as the large ships with containers are able to achieve economies of scale. Increase in Trade Volume and its Relationship with Economies of Scale The increase in containerised trade has induced the shippers to use larger and larger ships and the large size of ships has led to economies of scale. The strategies adopted by the shippers to deal with this interdependency is to understand the limitations of investment in ships, generally ships last for about 25 year on average, therefore to cope with the steady increase in demand many shippers order ships which have extra capacity to deal with the future increase. Some shippers try to increase their market share so they can invest in more ships. The increase in capacity is not insignificant as it determines the volumes whish can be transported. Bigger ships also mean more containers, this is the reason that there is extremely stiff competition because the container ship markets have newer ships all the time increasing the competition as the customers benefit because of increased size of ships. Low transportation costs have simulated global trade as products and goods become more and more competitive on a global platform. This is the reason that containers are used for general cargo but also for break bulk cargo like transportation of salt from Australia to Europe. In addition to price container shipping is not only reliable, timely and has more geographical outreach, that industries and producers produce goods which can be containerised. In addition since the size of ships is increasing even today the transportation costs will continue to decrease as the growth of containers is more than proportionate. Deregulation and Liberalisation Deregulation and trade liberalisation occurred in the 90s particularly the Asian and the Latin American countries. Chinas entrance in world trade has also been a major part of this liberalisation. Because of this container industry has experienced an added impetus to growth. Structural Change due to Increase in Ship Size Gradually over the years, specialised container ships have steadily increased in capacity and dimension shippers try to find the economies of scale in an ever competive market. In 2004 half of the ships ordered were big enough to have a capacity of 5500 TEUs at the minimum, in addition the 36 percent of the all container ships planned for building have a capacity of 7400 TEUs. These huge ships are now becoming more common in the key trading paths which serve Asia. New orders for China Shipping Container Lines range between 8500 and 9600 TEUS. It is estimated that the new ships will be 334 metres long and 42.8 metres wide and have anticipated drafts of 15 metres or more. Even bigger ships depend on better engine technology for the vessels propulsion system. (Notteboom2004) It is believed that the next increase in ship size will be 12,000 TEUs or even more, as the limitation in the engines mean that it will take two engines for the ships larger then 10,00 TEUs. It is estimated that the maximum size of ships would be approximately 18,000 TEUs. This is based on the fact that Malaccan Straight between Indonesia and Malaysia has the relevant depth limits (Gilman 1999). Bigger container ships need: Approach channels and berths which are deeper Channels and turning basins which are wider larger container terminals which have more storage capacity and warehouses on land so that they can satisfactorily handle higher volumes of export and import containers. Outreach which is both higher and longer mechanized ship-to-shore support cranes, An extremely proficient and well-organised work force working round the clock to guarantee swift ship turnaround Cullinane et al (1999) have found that economies of scale exist in the case of Europe-Far East and trans-Pacific routes in ships with 8,000 TEU even if the limitations of ports are taken into consideration. As for trans-Atlantic route the range of 5,00 to 6,00 TEUs is ideal. However today there is less knowledge about the economies of scale related to super-big container ships. Some believe in the case of 18,000 TEUs the cost saving are negligible as they would lack flexibility. Adding post-panamax capacity can give a short-term competitive edge to the early mover, putting pressure on the followers in the market to upgrade their container fleet and to avert a serious unit cost disadvantage, i.e. the ‘me too syndrome as indicated by. A boomerang effect eventually also hurts the carrier who started the price war.   While others like Waals and Wijnolst,( 2001)insist that there would be cost saving based on hub-feeder arrangement. It is clear that the increase in scale of vessels has decreased the slot costs in container industry, however it is also significant that larger carriers have not been able to achieve cost saving from economies of scale (Lim, 1998). Moreover inefficient slot utilisation and the tendency to buy more cargo at lower rates can lead to lowered revenues. Graham states that the techniques like cost cutting by post-panamax building will not be helpful and instead will prevent the shipping industry from achieving stability. To him the danger of a brutal cycle of increase in ship scale, continuous building and decreasing margin is detrimental to the industry. he goes on to say that this increase leads to short term reduction in cost which pushes competitors into investing in still larger vessels this is confirmed by Helmick et al (1996) who thinks that it is a boomerang effect hurting the shipper who started it in the first place. Conclusion Containerisation has been revolutionary in terms of changes brought about in the transportation industry, and especially in the case of container shipping industry the change has not only led to its tremendous growth but also lowered prices. From the above discussion it becomes obvious that containerisation and subsequent steady increase in ship sizes has led to many changes however some people argue that the exercise to find achieve economies of scale is unending and this will lead to an increase in vessel size, which may go beyond 12,000 TEUs in the next few years. This is because shippers have tried to achieve savings in terms of fuel economy and economies of scale in larger ships, this is to have a larger market share and be successful in the sector. Larger ships do have lower costs per TEU than smaller ships. From the perspective of the ports, the larger vessels will be favoured in the longer rroutes, like Trans-Pacific, trans-Atlantic and Far East- Europe routes, with vessels larger than 8,000 TEUs. Ports have been gearing themselves up for bigger vessels trying to provide facilities to accommodate the huge sizes, this entails huge costs and structural adjustments, and however the incentive is to become hub ports, other ports have to make appropriate changes to remain competitive. References Cullinane, K., Khanna, M. and Song, D.-W. (1999) â€Å"How Big is Beautiful: Economies of Scale and the Optimal Size of Containership, Liner Shipping: Whats Next?† Proceedings of the 1999 IAME conference, Halifax, 108-140. Gilman, S., 1999, The size economies and network efficiency of large containerships, International Journal of Maritime Economics, 1(1) Graham, M.G. (1998). Stability and competition in intermodal container shipping: finding a balance, Maritime Policy and Management, 25(2), 129-147 Helmick, J.S., Wakeman, T.H., Stewart, R.D. (1996). Technology, intermodal transportation and port productivity: throughput maximization and environmental sustainability, The Journal of Urban Technology, 3, 11-38. Ircha, M C. (2006). Characteristics Of Tomorrows Successful Port in Crowley, Brian Lee (Ed.) The AIMS Atlantica Papers #4 http://www.aims.ca/library/Ircha.pdf. Lim, S.-M. (1998) â€Å"Economies of Scale in Container Shipping,† Maritime Policy and Management, 25: 361-373 Notteboom T E. (2004). Container Shipping And Ports: An Overview. Review of Network Economics Vol.3, Issue 2, 86-106 http://www.rnejournal.com/articles/notteboom-RNE_june_04.pdf Volk B. Growth Factors in Container Shipping. Elsfleth, Department of Marine Studies http://www.amc.edu.au/mlm/papers/AMC3_GRO.pdf Waals, F., Wijnolst, N.(2001). Malacca-max: container shipping network economy, Proceedings of the IAME 2001 conference, Hong Kong, 191-207

Hamlet 10 :: essays research papers

The Real Tragedy Of Hamlet In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the death or murder of a character becomes very freuquent. Although many people die. It is a result of their own wrong-doing. You could almost say they deserved what they got. But there were deaths of people, that were due to the manipulation from the royalty. A good example can be found in the family of Polonius’. The real tragedy of Hamlet is not that of Hamlet or his family but of Polonius’ family because their deaths were not caused by their own, sinful actions, but rather by their small instigation of Claudius and Hamlet’s battle. The first character to die in the play is Polonius. Eventhough Polonius often acted in a deceitful manner when dealing with Hamlet, it is only because he was carrying out plans devised, and ordered by the King and/or Queen, in order to discover the nature of Hamlet’s madness. Being the King’s right hand, it was his duty to obey the King and Queen’s wishes, and it was indeed his loyalty that eventually proved to be fatal for him. An example of how Polonius’ innocent involvement with the royal family resulting to his death can be found at the beginning of Act III, scene iv, when Hamlet stabs him while he is hiding behind the Curtained Wall in Gertrude’s chamber. This is a great example of how Polonius, a man unknowing of the true nature of the situation that he was in, is killed by a member of the royalty during the execution of one (Hamlet) of their schemes. This makes Polonius’ death a tragedy. But he was asking for it, come on. The next member of the Polonius clan to die is his daughter Ophelia. Ophelia’s death is also tragic, because of her complete innocence in the situation. You can argue that Polonius deserved his fate because of his handling with Hamlet while he was mad. But Ophelia was entirely manipulated, and used by Hamlet and the king for their own selfish reasons, and games. An example of how Ophelia is used by Hamlet is seen in Act II, scene i, when Hamlet uses her to convince his family that he is truely mad. Ophelia explains to her father, how Hamlet has scared her, causing Polonius to draw the conclusion that Hamlet has an "antic disposition"(He is quickly losing his mind).

Bethel School District Vs. Fraser :: essays research papers fc

Bethel School District vs. Fraser This case involved a public high school student, Matthew Fraser who gave a speech nominating another student for a student elective office. The speech was given at an assembly during school as a part of a school-sponsored educational program in self-government. While giving the speech, Fraser referred to his candidate in what the school board called "elaborate, graphic, and explicit metaphor." After his speech, the assistant principal told Fraser that the school considered the speech a violation of the school's "disruptive-conduct rule." This prohibited conduct that interfered with the educational process, including obscene, profane language or gestures. After Fraser admitted he intentionally had used sexual innuendo in the speech, he was told that he would be suspended from school for three days, and his name would be removed from the list of the speakers at the graduation exercises. Fraser's father brought action against the school board in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. He alleged the suspension and punishment were a violation of his son's First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The father sought injunctive and monetary damages under 42 U.S.C. of 1983. The district court awarded the student $278 in damages, $12,750 in litigation costs and attorney's fees, and ordered the school district not to prevent the student from speaking at the commencement ceremonies. The school district appealed the decision, arguing that the speech had a disruptive effect on the educational process. The school district said it had an interest in protecting an audience of minors from indecent speech in the school. The school board believed it had the right to control language that was used during a school-sponsored activity. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court. The district court found the disruptive-conduct rule unconstitutionally vague and broad, and that withdrawal of the student's name from the graduation speaker's list violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because the rule did not mention such removal as a likely sanction. The court made the case that nothing in the Constitution forbids the states from insisting that certain forms of expression are unfitting and subject to sanctions. (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969) The court affirmed that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."(Tinker) If the student had given the same speech off the school premises, he would not have been penalized because government officials found his language inappropriate.

Causes Of World War One :: World War I, WWI

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many things led up to the start of World War I. There was much tension between the countries of Europe for more than fifty years. There were immediate causes, and long-term causes. Some immediate causes were the assassination of the heir of Austria-Hungry, Germany declaring war on Russia, Germany declaring war on France, and Great Britain declaring war on Germany. Some long-term causes or basic causes were imperialism, nationalism, and the arms race. The assassination of Archduke Frances Ferdinand, who was the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was probably the last step on the long road to war. A Serbian patriot murdered Ferdinand in Sarajevo, on June 28 1914. The murder angered Austria-Hungary, leading them to declare war on Serbia. At the same time, Russia gets ready to attack Austria-Hungary as it mobilizes it army at the border. In Europe, there were two powers. The Allied Power were England, France, Russia, and later the U.S. The Central Power was the countries of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria. When Kaiser William II of Germany became cocky and let the treaty between Germany and Russia became invalid, and then Williams declared war unto Russia. France then gets ready to fight Germany as they declare war on them by marching through neutral Belgium. As Germany declares war unto France and Russia, Great Britain declares war on Germany as they go through Belgium. Basic causes included imperialism. Imperialism is a country wanting to take over the world and be the most powerful. The need for raw materials and new markets Europe starts to take over land in Africa, China, India, and Middle East. The fight for obtaining the most land results in European countries fighting over who gets what land. Another factor was nationalism. Nationalism is the love for ones country and feeling your part of the country. It results in each country claiming that they are the best. The Arms Race is another contributing factor to the war. Due to conflicts over land, countries start to prepare for and build up their armies. In conclusion, World War I occurs because of many unresolved factors.

Film Analysis: the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Essay

In the movie, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, the holocaust which happened in history was clearly depicted. It was shown in the film how the Jews were poorly treated by the Nazis at that time. Hence, here are some instances in the film where prejudice, bias, discrimination and ethnocentrism were depicted. First is prejudice—Merriam-Webster describes prejudice as an injury or damage resulting from some judgment or action of another in disregard of one’s rights. Prejudice was most evident in the ending scene where the Jews from the concentration camp were put inside a large gas chamber, and they were made to believe that they were just going to take a bath, but the truth is they are to face their death. Also, the fact that they were confined inside a concentration camp was already a huge example of prejudice since this has taken away their freedom. Bias, on the other hand, is a personal and unreasoned judgment. This was shown in the part where Schmuel was in the house of Bruno doing some work. He was given food by Bruno, but they were caught by a Nazi soldier. Schmuel was trying to defend himself by telling the truth, but the Nazi soldier still believed Bruno’s lies just because Schmuel was a Jew. Next is discrimination which is having a prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action or treatment towards others. In the film, when Bruno and his family transferred to Auschwitz, there was an old Jew who were like their house help. He received discrimination since he was treated as if he had a contagious disease—the children were not allowed to interact with him. Also, Bruno’s dad constantly reminded him that he cannot go out of the confines of their home, especially to the â€Å"farm† Bruno saw from his window. This restriction was discriminating because it showed how the Nazis shied away from the Jews. Lastly, ethnocentrism is characterized by or based on the attitude that one’s own group is superior. Hence, it can be deduced that the film centered on ethnocentrism which existed at that time when the German Nazis believed that they are superior to the Jews, thus giving them the right to put the Jews to near extinction. This ethnocentrism gave rise to the holocaust which was the main story of the film.

Notes on Lecture Principles of Economics

Book: Principles of Economics (N. Gregory Mankiw) http://admin. wadsworth. com/resource_uploads/static_resources/0324168624/8413/Mankiw_TenPrinciple_Videos. html Introduction economy: Greek: the one who manages the household scarcity: the limited nature of society`s resources economics: the study of how society manages it? s scarce resources economy: a group of people interacting with one another as they go about their lives important: management of society? s resources; resources are scare most societies, resources are allocated not by a single household, but through the combined action of millions of households and firms Economist: study how people make decisions: how much they must work; what they buy; how much they save; how they invest their savings, how people interact with each other; also analyze forces and trends that effect the economy as a whole, including the growth in average income and the rate at which prices are rising; Ten Principles of Economics: How people make dec isions: #1 People face tradeoffs â€Å"There is no such thing as a free lunch. † To get one desired thing, usually required giving up another desired thing: making decisions ( trading off one goal against another e. : How I spend my money (save/invest); The subject I want to study; The job I want to work in; The meal I am going to have; The place where I want to live or to study abroad †¦ classical tradeoffs: â€Å"guns & butter†; (e. g. reducing pollution vs. low wages and high producing costs) â€Å"efficiency & equity† : conflicts when government policies are being designed efficiency: the property of society getting the most it can from it`s scarce sources (size of economic pie) equity: the property of distributing economic prosperity fairly among the members of society (how the pie is divided) 2 The cost of something is what you give up to get it because people face tradeoffs, making decisions requires comparing the costs and benefits of alternative co urses of action; (often cost of some item not as obvious: e. g. all the incoming cost when decided to study: money & time) opportunity cost: whatever must be given to obtain some item (How much do I have to give up = measure for the trade-off) e. g. start a Master`s Course or not: alternatives (opportunity costs: working; work & travel; another Bachelor; Internship; (each decision causes new Costs. marginal costs? ); #3 Rational People think of the Margin e. g. examination: not black & white: blow of vs: 24h studying ( decisions are shades of gray (airline) e. g. average cots of seat: $500, marginal cost: bag of peanuts & soda (e. g. $20) marginal changes: small incremental (schrittweise, zunehmend) adjustments to a plan of action (adjustments around the edge of what you are doing) e. g. thinking of the alternatives of not proceeding with a Master`s course (opp. Cost), but start to work directly after the B. A. ( marginal costs: lower wage; less career possibilities; marginal benefi ts: a wage at all; BUT: only profitable when marginal benefit of the action exceeds the marginal costs #4 People respond to incentives although comparing costs & benefits (c & b) behaviour may change when costs or benefit change ( d. h. people respond to incentives effect of price on the behaviour of buyers & sellers is crucial e. g. price of an apple rises: buyer: decide to buy pears; fewer apples bec. cost of buying apple is higher; sellers: hire more workers & harvest more apples bec. enefit of selling one is higher e. g. policy changes: tax on gasoline: encourage people to drive smaller, more fuel-efficient cars or public transportation etc. ( when analyzing policy we must consider not only the direct effects but also the indirect effects that work through incentives (e. g seat belt law); if the policy changes incentives, it will cause people to alter their behaviour e. g. when receiving an income parents (money) for studying it might change the incentive to work and earn own mo ney How people interact: #5 Trade can make everyone better off rade bw. Two countries can make each country better off; e. g. each family in the economy is competing with all other families (despite comp: family would not be better off isolating itself; but gains much from its ability to trade with others) ( trade allows each person (country) to specialize in the activities he or she does best; by trading with others, people can buy a greater variety of goods and services at lower costs e. g. #6 Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity . firms decide whom to hire & what to make ouseholds decide which firms to work for & what to buy with their incomes; ( these firms & households interact in the marketplace, where prices & self-interest guide decisions; in a market economy nobody is looking put for economic well-being society as a whole; free markets contain many buyers & sellers of numerous goods & services; all primarily own well-being; ( yet: despite decentraliz ed decisionmaking and self-interested decisionmakers; market economies have proven successful in organizing economic activity in a way that promotes overall economic ell-being ( invisible hand (Adam Smith: 1776): does not ensure that economic prosperity is distributed fairly ( prices are the instrument with which the invisible hand directs economic activity; ( price have to adjust naturally to supply and demand! ( Prices reflect both: value of a good to society & the cost to society of making the good ( bec. ouseholds & firms look at prices when deciding what to buy & sell: unknowingly consider the social benefits & costs of their own actions; ( prices guide these individual decisionmakers to reach outcomes that often maximize the welfare of society as a whole; market economy: an economy that allocates (zuteilen) resources through the decentralized decisions of many firms and households as they interact in markets for goods and services (vs: centrally planned economies, like in comm unism); #7 Government can sometimes improve market outcomes or two broad reasons: ( to promote efficiency and equity: most policies aim either enlarge the economic pie, or to change how it`s devided; invisible hand usually leads markets to allocate resources efficiently, but sometimes it does not work for various reasons: ( market failure: a situation in which a market left on its own, fails to allocate resources efficiently (Marktversagen) one possible reason: ( externality: the impact of one person`s actions on the well-being of a bystander (unbeteiligter Dritter e. g. pollution (external cost) or creation of knowledge (external benefit) (Externalitat) another possible reason: arket power: the ability of a single economic actor (or small group of actors) to have a substantial influence on market prices (Marktmacht) (e. g. only one well: monopoly ( regulation of the price by the government can potentially enhance economic efficiency) How they economy as a whole works #8 A country`s standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services the growth rate of a countries` productivity determines the growth rate of its average income productivity: the amount of goods and services produces from each hour of a worker`s time undamental relationship bw. productivity & living standards is simple, but: its implications are far-reaching! #9 Prices rise when the government prints to much money e. g. 1921: German newspaper: 0,30 Mark; 1923: 70,000,000 Mark ( inflation inflation: an increase in the overall level of prices in the economy (Anstieg des Preisniveaus der Volkswirtschaft) reason: growth in the quantity of the money: reduces value of the money bec. high inflations imposes various costs on society, keeping inflation at a low level is a goal of economic policymakers around the world 10. Society faces a short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment Phillips curve: a curve that shows the short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment r educing an inflation is often thought to cause a temporary rise in unemployment over a period of a year or two, many economic policies push inflation and unemployment both start out at high levels; short-time trade-off bec. some prices are slow to adjust; (prices are sticky in the short-run) ( various types of policy have short-run effects, that differ from their long-run effects: when gov. educes the quantity of money, it reduces the amount that people spend; Lower spending together with prices that are stuck too high reduces the quantity of goods & services that firms sell; Lower sales in turn, cause firms to lay off workers ( unemployment [pic] #1 People face tradeoffs #2 The cost of something is what you give up to get it #3 Rational People think of the Margin #4 People respond to incentives #5 Trade can make everyone better off #6 Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity #7 Government can sometimes improve market outcomes 8 A country`s standard of living dep ends on its ability to produce goods and services #9 Prices rise when the government prints to much money #10. Society faces a short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment Mon. 17/10/11 Lecture 2 THINK LIKE AN ECONOMIST Microeconomics: the study of how households and firms make decisions & how they interact in markets Macroeconomics: the study of economy-wide phenomena, including inflation, unemployment and economic growth (p. 7) ( since they address different questions, they sometimes take different approaches and are often taught in separate courses; Two Functions of Economists: – 1. (try to explain the world) scientists: devise theories; collect, evaluate & analyze data ( to verify or refute theory; have own terminology; – 2: policy adviser: if Economists try to explain the world, they are scientists; if economists try to change the world they are advisers. † (book) make positive statement (claim): describing real world, model, outcome†¦without valuing: claims that attempt to describe the world as it is: are testable with data †¢ make normative statement (claim): about how the world should be (personal opinion): claims that attempt to prescribe how the world should be: are not testable with only data (involves our views of religion, ethics, political philosphy) †¢ (may be related: our positive views about how the world works affect our normative views about how the world should be; essence of science: scientific method: the dispassionate development and testing of theories about how the world works – scientific method: observation, theory & more observation – Ec. use theory & observation but face obstacles when it comes to experiments; – Substitute for laboratory: attention on natural experiments offered by history (e. g. the effect on the natural resource of oil during a war on the prices all over the world and on policy makers, gives Ec. good opportunity to study the effects of a key natura l resource on the world`s economies; The role of Assumptions: – can make the world easier to understand – e. g. to study effect of international trade, we may assume the world consists of only two countries with each producing only two goods ( to focus our thinking ( helps understand the real more complex world – the art is, which assumption to make: different assumptions for different problems ( e. g. for studying the short-run and long-run effects of a change in the quantity of money requires different assumptions (p. 22) 3 types of models: abstract, formel, simplification of reality to understand basic correlation: if it does: good model) 1. purly theoretical (statistical) 2. purly empirical (with data, data drift) 3. combination of the two – In the model: own terminology is incorporated; built with assumptions (not judging on the assumptions; realistic: think of paper airplane; judge by the output not by the input), irrelevant questions are assumed away 1. First type of model: most simple model of market economy: THE CIRCULAR-FLOW DIAGRAM pic] ( a visual model of economy that shows how money flows through markets among households and firms – 2 types of decisionmakers: households & firms – firms produce goods & services using inputs (labor, land, capital) ( factors of production (natural resources, land, knowledge, labor, human capital, machinery.. ) – households own the factors of production & consume all the goods & services the firms produce – households & firms interact in 2 types of market inner loop: represents the flow of goods & services between households & firms: households sell the use of their labor, land & capital to the firms in the market for the factors of production; firms use these factors to produce goods and services, which in turn are sold to households in the market for g & s; ( the factors of production flow from households to firms; goods & services flow from firms to households; – outer loop: represents the corresponding flow of money to buy g & s from the firms; firms use some of the revenue from these sales to pay for the factors of production (e. . wages of workers); what is left is the profit of the firm owners, who themselves are members of the households; – value of factors of production is same as value of g & s – if that is true: value of goods & services = value of factors of production – (green is so called: real economic activity) – causality runs in both ways (no real beginning or end ( circle) – economic models are often composed of diagrams and equations ——————————- Why do economists disagree: . Disagreement about validity of alternative theories about how the world works; disagreement about positive statements (differences in scientific judgments); but also often about the data; when no data exists that supports ones theory or when different data are used 2. Scientist s have different values; different normative statements about what policy should try to accomplish ( but choosing the positive statement and theory and specific type of date etc. s already bec. of normative reasons (sort of mixture exists); Lecture 3, Mon 24/10/11 2. Second Type of Model: THE PRODUCTION POSSIBILITY FRONTIER (PPF) Fig. 1 [pic] ( shows the combination of output that economy can possibly produce given the available factors of production and the available production technology. The economy can produce any combination on or inside the frontier. Points outside the frontier are not feasibly given the economy`s resources; – e. g. n economy that produces only cars and computers; – if all resources were used in the car industry ( economy would produce 1000 cars & 0 PCs – if all resources were used in the PC industry ( economy would produce 3000 PCs & 0 cars – if economy were to divide its resources between the two industries ( 700 cars & 2000 PCs à ¢â‚¬â€œ outcomes at point D are not possible because of scarce resources: economy does not have enough factors of production to support that level of output; – efficient outcome: when economy is getting all it can get from its scarce resources that are available; points ON the frontier represent efficient levels of production (rather than inside); – when economy is producing at such a point (on the frontier) e. g. point A, there is no way it could produce more of one good, without producing less of the other – inefficient outcome: all combination of outcomes inside the frontier, e. g. point B; for some reasons e. g. idespread unemployment, the economy produces less than it could from the resources it has available: (300 cars & 1000 PCs); if source of inefficiency were eliminated, economy could move from point B to A, increasing production of both cars & PCs; ( People face tradeoffs: PPF shows one tradeoff society faces: once we have reached the frontier, the onl y way of getting more of one good is producing less of the other (e. g. producing more PCs at the expense of producing less cars) ( The cost of something is what you have to give up (opp. cost): PPF shows the opportunity cost of one good as measured as measured in term of the other good (e. g. the opportunity cost of producing 200 more PCs is a 100 cars); Fig. 2 [pic] ( A SHIFT IN THE PPF: an economic advance in the computer industry shifts the PPF outward increasing the number of cars and computers the economy can produce – Fig. : PPF is bowed outward (can also be bowed inward): means: the opportunity cost of cars in terms of computers depends on how much of each good the economy is producing; – When economy uses most of resources to produce cars ( PPF is quite steep – Because even workers & machines best suited to making PCs are being used to make cars, the economy gets a substantial increase in the number of computers for each car it gives up; – By con trast: when economy is using most of its resources to make computers the PPF is quite flat; resource best suited to make PCs are already in the computer industry and each car the economy gives up yields only a small increase in the number of PCs; ( – Slope of the PPF represents how much of one item you have to give up to produce the other item Videos for PPF: – http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=KPHyvOn8i6s&feature=related – http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=a5rxIY46J7s TRADE No. 5: Trade can make everyone better off: WHY ( – We have specialization, which has a downside: we are interdependent! e. g. I`m depending on someone who is making bread; – why should people be willing to depend on the behavior of others: because. people choose freely to become dependent ( so there must be some sort of benefit from it e. g. 2 producers (agents) – one producer: potato farmer ( potatoes (2 goods) – cattle rancher ( meat |Good |Minutes/hours |8 hour s/day |Marginal opportunity cost of | | | | | |meat/potato | |Farmer |Meat |60 min. = 1 oz = 1h for 1 oz |Meat = 8 oz |- 4 oz of pot. = 32/8 | | |Potatoes |15 min. = 1 oz = 1h for 4 oz |Potatoes = 32 oz |- 1/4 oz of meat = 8/32 | |Rancher |Meat |20 min. = 1 oz = 1h for 3 oz |Meat = 24 oz |- 2 oz of pot. = 48/24 | | |Potatoes |10 min. 1 oz = 1h for 6 oz |Potatoes = 48 oz |- 1/2 oz of meat = 24/48 | | | | | |Unit: | | | |oz of potato | |oz of potato | | | |oz of meat | |8h (48/24) | | | | | | | ( How do people decide on what to produce? – more time for farmer to produce meat ( rancher is better/more productive – what are the marginal opportunity costs: how much meat does a farmer have to give up i. o. to get 1 unit of potatoes; – by reducing production of potatoes he would have more time to produce meat; but 1 oz meat requires. 4 oz of potatoes; – but it`s just a linear relation ship – how much has the farmer to give up in order to get 1 more unit of meat! (what is opportunity cost)? rancher has a comparative advantage: is less productive in producing potatoes; but farmer is even less productive in producing meat: derived from comparing the marginal opportunity cost ( Comparative advantage: the comparison among producers of a good according to their opportunity cost (who has the lower one? ) ( or absolute advantage for one product, when both produce more in time: ( Absolute advantage: the comparison among producers of a good according to their productivity 1. Marginal opportunity cost of meat for each person is the inverse of the marginal opportunity cost of potatoes! ( try to measure one good in terms of the VALUE of the other good 2. Production & consumption are no more equal like in autarky |Good |Minutes |8 hours/day |Marginal opportunity cost of | | | | | |meat/potatoes | |Farmer |Meat |60 min. = 1 oz = 1h for 1 oz |Meat = 8 oz |- 6 oz pot. = 48/8 | | |Potatoes |10 min. = 1 oz = 1h for 6 oz |Potatoes = 48 oz |- 0. 16 oz o f meat = 8/48 | |Rancher |Meat |20 min. = 1 oz = 1h for 3 oz |Meat = 24 oz |- 1 oz of pot. = 24/24 | | |Potatoes |20 min. 1 oz = 1h for 3 oz |Potatoes = 24 oz |-1 oz of meat = 24/24 | | | | | | | | | |oz of potato | |Unit: oz of pot | | | |oz of meat | |8h (48/24) | | | | | | | ( The rancher has an absolute advantage because he is more productive than the farmer Production Possibility Frontier (PPF) oz of meat 8 4 16 32 oz of pot ( p = c ( production = consumption) without trade (autarky) ( c bigger p (with trade consume more than can produce) – if I already produce y meat, I can only produce y below the line is a waste of time; and the line shows efficiency in terms of productivity and time, – slope is opportunity cost; usually slope changes depending on where I am already ( Overall conclusion: farmer should produce potatoes while the farmer should produce meat; Assuming each of persons would split the time of production Farmer Rancher (without trade) p = c autarky meat prod. 4 oz 12 oz consumption 4 oz 12 oz potatoes prod. 16 oz 24 oz consumption 16 oz 24 oz meat pot. 0 oz = 30 oz (or changing the price: 34 oz; but relative price must be higher than opportunity cost to trade at all; if he gets more from the trade than in the production, he would not produce and just trade) farmer rancher with trade meat prod. 0 oz 24 oz (18 oz) consumption 5 oz 19 oz (13 oz) potatoes prod. 32 oz 0 oz (12 oz) consumption 17 oz 15 oz (gives up 15 oz) (27 oz) although the farmer has to give up something, he is a little bit better off with trade – the rancher is not better of because he consumes less potatoes than in autarky ( (now: the rancher gets more in term of meat AND in terms of potatoes) – can be applied to countries as well; rough explanation for international trade patterns (e. g when countries exporting cars and importing oil ( country has comparative advantage in producing cars) Questions to be answered: – so define what comparat ive & absolute advantage – show in production possibility frontier – who is producing what NOTES FOR EXERCISES FROM OTHER E. G. CHAPTER 2: Demand – How to define these words properly (definition can only be appropriate or not; not right or wrong); it`s not a question of personal disposition What is a Market: A group of people: suppliers (sellers) and buyers (demand) of particular good or service (does not mean that it`s particularly defined or unique; – no general identification strategy; – competitive market: each buyer and seller (individual) has a negligible effect on the market outcome (infinite no. of sellers and buyers) – implications of perfect competitive markets: buyers and sellers operate economically perfect (take price as given)? ( e. g. we have no influence over the price: take the price as given in a supermarket (no bargaining; no negotiation) ( buyers and sellers are both price takers – in monopolies: price taker vs. pr ice setter Perfect Market and Competitive Market Monopoly, Oligopoly, Monopson, Monopolistic Competition DEMAND Quantity Demanded: is the amount of a good, that buyers are willing and able to purchase (now) Law of Demand: States that, other things equal, the quantity demanded of a good falls when price of the good rises (slopes downward) Demand Schedule: The demand schedule is a table that shows the relationship between the price of the good and the quantity demanded. Demand Curve: Q(p) = p ( function of p (y (x) = 2x): if price changes, the Qd changes MARKET DEMAND vs. INDIVIDUAL DEMAND ( everybody has a single demand: the sum of it = market demand (for a special good demanded) ( demands are added horizontally [pic] Changes in Quantity Demanded: ( result in an movement ON the curve, caused by a change in the price of the product [pic] Examples for incentives that induce a changed Qd: 1. PRICE (given as a variable on the demand curve) 2. Consumer income:normal good: I increase ( Qd decrease; I decrease ( Qd decrease inferior good: I increase ( Qd decrease; I decrease ( Qd increase Normal Good: a good for which, other things equal, an increase in income leads to an increase in demand Inferior Good: a good for which, other things equal, an increase in income leads to a decrease in demand 3. Price of related goods: Substitutes: two goods for which an increase in the price of one leads to an increase in the demand for the other (e. g. orange juice & apple juice): P increase ( Qd increase; P decrease ( Qd decrease Complements: two good for which an increase in the price of one leads to a decrease in the demand of the other (e. g. DVDs & DVD-Players): P increase ( Qd decrease; P decrease ( Qd increase 4. Tastes (fashion, food): economists only examine what happens when tastes change 5. Expectations: may affect demand of a good or service today 6. Number of Buyers: determines the Qd in a market: NoB increase ( Qd increase; NoB decrease ( Qd decrease [pic] ( result in a shifts in the demand curve: when Qd changes because of certain circumstances. But price doesn`t change!!! ( not only price can change demand: a shift in the demand either to left (decrease) or the right (increase) ( caused by any change that alters the demand: everything except the price!! [pic] SUPPLY Quantity supplied (Qs): is the amount of a good that sellers are willing or able to sell (now) Law of supply: states that, other things equal, the quantity supplied of a good rises when the price of the other good rises (slopes upward: positively related) Supply schedule: is a table that shows the relationship between the price of the good and the quantity supplied [pic] – usually the small â€Å"q† refers to the individual supply (a firm) and the â€Å"Q† refers to the market supply (all firms in the market – market supply: refers to the sum of all individual supplies for all sellers of a particular good or service: ( individual supply curves are summed horizontally to obtain the market supply curve – ( S(p) = S1(p) + S2 (p) +†¦ Sm(p) [pic] the sum of 2 individual supplies ($2 ( 3 cones; $ 2 ( 4 cones = $ 2 ( 7 cones in the market supply – if the suppliers (sellers) drop out of the market, the supply would increase with the price â€⠀œ (the supply curve represents the set of profit maximizing quantities for firms) – e. g supply function: q(s) = -4 + 8p; 0 = -4 + 8; 8p = 4; p = ? ( is the minimum price required to get any firm to produce at all (within this given supply curve) ( if the price would be below ? the quantity supplied would be 0, so there would be no firm to produce at all; – slope: change in price divided by change in quantity: e. g. 0 – ? : 4 – 0 = 1/8 (slope), which doesn`t change when the function is linear!! Change in the quantity supplied: – A rise in the price of ice cream results in a movement along the curve (law of supply), so when price changes nothing shifts!! – Shifts of the upply curve: Determinants of change in supply: – Any change that raises the quantity that sellers wish to produce at a given price shifts the supply curve to the right. Any change that lowers the quantity that sellers wish to produce at a given price shifts the supply curve to the left [pic] 1. Input prices: (labor, material, land, rent: anything that goes into the manufacturing process of the item in question): Input Pr. increase ( S decrease; Input Pr. decrease ( S increase 2. Technology: Technology increase ( S increase; Technology decrease ( S decrease: Techn. In economic terms is the process by which inputs are converted to outputs; 3. Expectations: supply today depends on future expectations: e. g. when higher price of ice-cream expected in future ( store some ice cream ( supply less today! 4. Number of sellers (only relevant in market supply) [pic] Supply and Demand together: Equilibrium: a situation in which supply and demand have been brought into balance (quantity supplied equals quantity demanded Equilibrium Price: the price that balances quantity supplied and quantity demanded. On a graph it it’s the price, where demand and supply curves intersect Equilibrium Quantity: the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded when the price has adjusted to balance supply and demand [pic] Ceterius Paribus: other things being equal (latin): all variables other than the one being studied are assumed to be constant Markets Not in Equilibrium A)B) [pic] [pic] Surplus: A situation in which the quantity supplied is greater than the quantity demanded Shortage: A situation in which the quantity demanded is greater than the quantity supplied Law of supply and demand: the claim that the price of any good adjusts to bring the supply and demand for that good into balance – A): when price for ice cream is over the equilibrium price ( quantity demanded is still 4, but the quantity supplied rises to 10 ( there are too many cones produced which can`t be all sold (surplus) bec. f the low demand; ( sellers have to reduce the price again; (prices continues to fall until market reaches equlibrium) – B): when price for ice cream is below the equilibrium price ( quantity supplied 4 exceeds quantity demanded, which is now at 10 (shortage of the good); ( sellers can raise the p rices without losing sales; as prices are rising the market moves again toward the equilibrium – market activity of many buyers & sellers automatically pushes prices toward equil. (law of s & d) – Once equil. is reached all buyers & sellers are satisfied & no upward or downward pressure on price Three Steps to Analyzing Changes in The Equilibrium analyzing the change in the market equilibrium through comparative statistics – comparing two statistics: new and old equilibrium – Three steps to decide: – 1. Does event shift the supply curve, the demand curve, or both? – 2. Does the curve shifts to the left or the right side? – 3. Using the supply-and-demand diagram to examine how the shift affects equilibrium price and quantity A) HOW AN INCREASE IN DEMAND AFFECTS THE EQUILIBRIUM. An event that raises quantity demanded at any given price shifts the demand curve to the right. The equilibrium price and the equilibrium quantity both rise. He re, an abnormally hot summer causes buyers to demand more ice cream. The demand curve shifts from D1 to D2, which causes the equilibrium price to rise from $2. 00 to $2. 50 and the equilibrium quantity to rise from 7 to 10 cones. A)B) [pic][pic] B) HOW A DECREASE IN SUPPLY AFFECTS THE EQUILIBRIUM. An event that reduces quantity supplied at any given price shifts the supply curve to the left. The equilibrium price rises, and the equilibrium quantity falls. Here, an earthquake causes sellers to supply less ice cream. The supply curve shifts from S1 to S2, which causes the equilibrium price to rise from $2. 00 to $2. 50 and the equilibrium quantity to fall from 7 to 4 cones. Shifts in the Curve vs. Movements along the Curve: Notice that when hot weather drives up the price of ice cream, the quantity of ice cream that firms supply rises, even though the supply curve remains the same. In this case, economists say there has been an increase in â€Å"quantity supplied† but no change in â€Å"supply. † â€Å"Supply† refers to the position of the supply curve, whereas the â€Å"quantity sup- plied† refers to the amount suppliers wish to sell. To summarize, a shift in the supply curve is called a â€Å"change in supply,† and a shift in the demand curve is called a â€Å"change in demand. † A movement along a fixed supply curve is called a â€Å"change in the quantity supplied,† and a movement along a fixed demand curve is called a â€Å"change in the quantity demanded. † [pic][pic] A SHIFT IN BOTH SUPPLY AND DEMAND. Here we observe a simultaneous increase in demand and decrease in supply. Two outcomes are possible. In panel (a), the equilibrium price rises from P1 to P2, and the equilibrium quantity rises from Q1 to Q2. (bec. large increase in demand and small decrease in supply) In panel (b), the equilibrium price again rises from P1 to P2, but the equilibrium quantity falls from Q1 to Q2. (because small increase in demand and large decrease in supply) [pic] [pic] NOTES: Elasticity – measures the responsivness for to the quantity demanded and the quantity supplied to a change in the market price by 1 % – measures percentage change in the quantity to a percentage change in price (or other determinants) Price Elasticity of Demand: a measure of how much the quantity demanded of a good responds to a change in the price of that good, computed as the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price. Determinants of Price Elasticity of Demand: (How do we react to price changes? ) 1. Necessities vs. Luxury goods (depends on personal perception but in general terms: inelastic vs. elastic); e. g. Food, shelter, clothes vs. diamonds, sailboats etc†¦ 2. Availability of close substitute (few vs. less = inelastic vs. elastic) 3. Market Definition (broad vs. narrowed; e. g. Cars vs. Ford Focus; Food vs. Bread†¦) 4. Time Horizon (short vs. long; e. g. the adjustment over a short period of time to gasoline price changes vs. long period of time)