The Athletes With Autism Center Of North Mississippi ( Acnm )

Our first speaker for SW 325 The Helping Professional in Health Settings class was Sharon Boudreaux. Sharon has a Master of Arts in Teaching of special education. She focused on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for teaching children with autism and other forms of developmental setbacks. Sharon is currently the Director of Education Outreach at the Autism Center of North Mississippi (ACNM). The ACNM, which Sharon helped in creating and growing, provides educational and behavioral services to families and schools to help support children with autism spectrum disorders, developmental delays, learning difficulties, and challenging behaviors. The ACNM offers a multitude of services. Such services may include parent counseling, skill assessments, ABA therapy, services for schools, and parent and teacher training. Autism is a disorder that I seem to hear more about every day. I hear about it on the television news, in news articles online, and even personal blogs that I read. It seems that e veryone has some knowledge of autism and most people know someone personally that it affects. As far as my own personal knowledge and experience of the disorder, I learned it at camp. I have volunteered many years for at Camp Tik-A-Witha. This camp provides a week long session for children with special needs (mental and physical handicaps) called Elizabeth Gwin Session. While volunteering at camp, I have seen children with blindness, Cerebral Palsy, Down syndrome, and autism. Each child with

The Theory Of Self Thinking - 935 Words

Till death, humans face the uncertainty to their actions every day but through free will, mankind is able to hypothesize on the metaphysics of the choices made and if they are determined by factors that are not of human control. Conceptual thinkers that practice Philosophy, the study of conscious thinking and deducting from experience, and metaphysics, the study of existence, beliefs, and reality outside a human perception, can bring to light some of life s most complex questions per perceiver. Greek Philosopher, Aristotle, brought to attention that every experience has the potential to be manipulated by an external influence through various accumulated practices of knowledge, which is most effective assuming the human subject is not aware to the method of influence. The practices of these influences include methods of persuasion that appeal to emotional, ethical, and logical aspects pertaining to his/her attributes. Aristotle gave name to these factors as Pathos (persuasion through emotion), Ethos (persuasion through ethics), and logos (persuasion through logic). These concepts suggest that the subject is able to control but is also vulnerable to manipulation. The deeper the experiencer questions and configures the realities and illusions of the perceived world, the more realistic it seems to have the possible existence of both scenarios. These are ideas that have the potential for different opinions and views by each percipient; for it is highly unlikely for twoShow MoreRelatedReflective Thinking And Schon s Theory Of Self Study2371 Words   |  10 Pagesteacher educators agreed to travel an unknown path together, using self-study to walk through doors of discovery about themselves, each other, and the practice of teacher education. Self-study holds great, yet largely unrealized, potential to help teacher educators better understand and impact their practice. 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Effective Approaches in Leadership & Management Free Sample

Question: Describe the comparison and contrast on leadership and management styles for nurse shortage and nurse turnover. Answer: Introduction Nursing staffs turnover and retention has become an alarming issue in the preset health care context. Around 90% of the employee turnover is recorded in the nursing sector in all health care organizations. However, the retention rates of the nurses in the health care organizations can be increased with the help of effective leadership skills and management strategies. The essay here focuses on the use of the skills for management of the persistent problem of nurse shortages in health care. Comparison and contrast on leadership and management styles for nurse shortage and nurse turnover According to the 2010 US census Bureau report, 40.3 million people are currently over the age of 65 years and the population is forecasted to become nearly double by the end of 2030 thus the increasing rate of nursing staffs turnover will make it difficult for the health care institutions to provide the necessary quality service to the clients. According to Verma et al. (2009) some of the major reasons for the shortage of the nursing staffs are namely increased demand because of aging population, better career options, low salary and high work pressure and workplace health challenges. Nevidjon Erickson (2000) opined that retention of nurses depends on the managerial skills of the nursing leaders and the way they value the nurses within the health care organizations. The nursing leaders should essentially use the caring attitude in order to show that they value their staffs. Rather than viewing the staffs as an expense, the nursing leaders should treat the nurses as assets in order t o boost their morale value and increase the chances of retention. Chase (2010) further opined that designing of the appropriate motivational strategies would further help in retention of the nurses. The reduction of the work pressure, designing of health care policies and salary structure increment are the major factors that will contribute to the satisfaction levels of the nurses thereby provoking them to avoid job shifts. Thus, it requires the nursing leaders to be good motivators. Buchan Aiken (2008) further added that the adoption of shared leadership or participatory leadership skills would help the nursing leaders to promote an environment of quality patient care, autonomy and responsible decision-making. The nursing leaders should also use appropriate supervisory skills for on-the-job training of the nurses so that they develop good working knowledge of the job and develop a sense of interest for the job. Apart from the nursing leaders, the front line nurse managers are also responsible for retention and appropriate recruitment of the nursing staffs. Graham-Dickerson et al. (2013) comments that the nursing manager needs to develop essential critical thinking skills in order to effectively manage the nursing staffs within a health care organization. With the help of effective educational skills in the field of human resource management, financial management, quality management and collective bargaining, skills the managers will be able to manage the staffs. However, the most important managerial skill that is required to solve the problems of nursing shortages is the self- efficacy skills. The nurse managers should firstly understand themselves and then evaluate the psychological needs of the nurse staffs. It is the responsibility of the nurse managers to identify the best practices related to retention of care workers. Surveys shows, that around 84% of the nurse retention occurs due t o their high levels of dissatisfaction with the nurse manager. Theories related to leadership and managerial skills According to Huber (2014) there is a difference between leadership theories and styles. Theories depict the practicality and styles are the preferred ways in which the individual can implement the theory. Analysis of the nursing leaders shows that the leaders should have the necessary leadership skills namely patient-centered care skills, good networking skills, optimistic and situational leadership skills and self-actualization or self-acceptance skills. Transformational versus Transactional leadership Transactional leadership skills require the leader to manage the day-to day activities of the team with the help of disciplinary rules and codes. However, Zori Morrison (2009) argued that the use of transformational leadership skills gives the individuals within a team an opportunity to develop individual leadership power. In the context of nursing, the leaders should effectively adopt the transformational leadership style and allocate certain aspects of the projects to the various nurses according to their areas of expertise. Barnett et al. (2010) opined that this would make the nurses feel that they are valuable assets for the organization and will develop their career prospects thereby reducing the rate of nurse turnovers. Adoption of transactional leadership in nursing context will make the leaders focus exclusively on the rules and regulations within the health care organization thereby limiting the growth of the nurses. On the contrary, the transformational leadership will hel p the nursing leaders to enhance the motivational approaches. Moreover, in the context of the rapidly changing health care environment it is necessary to adopt transformational leadership in order to instill flexibility within the thoughts and actions of the nurse leaders. Mentorship skills versus Laissez-Faire skills Laissez Faire also known as the hands-off style of leading is the type of leadership style where the leader gives freedom to the team members to work on their own free will without providing any guidance on the work. These nurse leaders believe in providing minimal amount of direction to the nurses. However, Nevidjon Erickson (2000) commented that hands-off style is not suitable in the context of management of nursing staffs since the nurses are related to the health care professions. Around 90% of the nurses appointed within the health care organizations are fresher in the field hence absence of suitable guidance may not only create a sense of disinterest among the employees nut also threaten the quality of service provided by the nurses. On the contrary, Medland Stern (2009) argued that the adoption of the supervisory or mentorship skills by the nursing leaders helps the leaders to not only motivate the nurses but also deliver high quality service to the health care clients. Situational leadership style and open communication Balogh-Robinson (2012) opined that nursing leaders are essentially required to demonstrate situational leadership skills in order to take appropriate decision related to diverse health care situations. The nurse leaders are also required to demonstrate open communication skills that will give the nurses an opportunity to communicate freely about their problems, experiences and work load pressures with the leaders. Open communication fosters the growth of the interpersonal relationship between the nursing staffs and the nurse leaders. Situational leadership style enables the nurse leaders to focus on improvement of the complex situations like nursing roasters, management of complex cases and motivating the nurses in order to continue with their career trend. Evaluation of the best-fit approach In the context of nursing leadership, the best-fit approach is the adoption of the transformational leadership style. The transformational nursing leaders have the opportunity to deal with the changing situations in a health care. Medland Stern (2009) opined that the nursing leaders should possess the qualities of self-dependence, self-assurance, confidence and lead by example. By adopting the transformational leadership, the leaders will have the opportunity to develop the morale of the individual nurses and design the required motivational techniques in order to acquire their job satisfaction levels. The transformational leadership also reduces the level of risks on the part of the nursing leaders and introduces a sense of responsibility among the employees and the team members. Thus, adoption of this leadership style integrates a sense of better outcome for the patients since the quality of the service is further enhanced. Conclusion The analysis within the essay shows that the adoption of the transformational leadership style by the nursing leaders can effectively solve the retention issues of the nursing staffs. The front line management in the health care organizations are thus required to focus on the HR policies, health policies and motivational factors in order to retain the nursing staffs within the organizations. Reference list Balogh-Robinson, L. L. (2012). The crisis in leadership in the context of the nursing shortage and the increasing prevalence of nursing unions.Journal of Healthcare Leadership,4, 127-139. Barnett, T., Namasivayam, P., Narudin, D. A. A. (2010). A critical review of the nursing shortage in Malaysia.International nursing review,57(1), 32-39. Buchan, J., Aiken, L. (2008). Solving nursing shortages: a common priority.Journal of clinical nursing,17(24), 3262-3268. Chase, L. K. (2010). Nurse manager competencies. Graham-Dickerson, P., Houser, J., Thomas, E., Casper, C., ErkenBrack, L., Wenzel, M., Siegrist, M. (2013). The Value of Staff Nurse Involvement in Decision Making.Journal of Nursing Administration,43(5), 286-292. Huber, D. (2014).Leadership and nursing care management(5th ed.). Maryland Heights, MO: Saunders Elsevier. ISBN-13:9781455740710 Medland, J., Stern, M. (2009). Coaching as a successful strategy for advancing new manager competency and performance. Journal for Nurses in Staff Development, 25(3), 141-147 Nevidjon, B., Erickson, J. I. (2000). The nursing shortage: solutions for the short and long term.Online Journal of Issues in Nursing,6(1), 4-4. Verma, S., Broers, T., Paterson, M., Schroder, C., Medves, J. M., Morrison, C. (2009). Core competencies: the next generation. Comparison of a common framework for multiple professions. Journal of Allied Health, 38(1), 47-53 Zori, S., Morrison, B. (2009). Critical thinking in nurse managers.Nursing Economics,27(2), 75-80.

The Art of Asking Questions

THE ART OF ASKING QUESTIONS After completing my first feature-length article, I received a mini-lesson on the art of asking questions in your writing to keep the reader’s interest. In order to be effective and engaging, each paragraph should begin and end with a question – not literally, of course – a sort of literary catapult that moves the reader, and the writing, forward. For example, take this sentence: When I arrived at my guest house, a special turndown present of olive oils, vinegars, and recipes nestled in my down pillows. It was signed by Chef Jean Lauzeral. Now, these are solid sentences. They are grammatically correct and portray complete thoughts. They have subjects, verbs, and periods at the end. But are they engaging? Do they conjure up a question or a motivation in the reader’s mind? Not really. A better opening would be: Chef Jean Lauzeral’s gifts a signature keepsake to all of La Via Notte’s visitors – and it’s not served with dinner. When I arrived at my guest house, I discovered a special turndown present: Nestled in my down pillows was a ribbon-wrapped gift of olive oils, vinegars, and recipes. See the difference? Instead of flat out stating what happened (â€Å"When I arrived at my guest house †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ), there is an added element of suspense. The reader must question: What is the chef’s special gift? Why doesn’t it come with dinner? The reader doesn’t solve the mystery until late in the second sentence, when they discover that the gift is a basket of oils, vinegars, and recipes. Notice that these sentences seem to be more descriptive – adding details like â€Å"signature keepsake,† â€Å"nestled,† and â€Å"ribbon-wrapped† help vamp up the sentence. Adding these details and elements of mystery help propel the story along, piquing the interest of the reader. Let’s try another example. Weak: Steeped in the wine country traditions of France and Italy, LaVia Notte offers unpretentious American cuisine that embraces organic ingredients from the farmers in Napa Valley and Northern California, while beautifully complementing the varied bounty of the local vintners. And at La Via Notte Ranch, wine is king. Better: But despite his rich menu and generous spirit, it is not Chef Lauzeral that reigns supreme at La Via Notte’s Lakehouse. It is wine that is king. While certainly more of an art than a science, good copywriting should always try to engage the reader by offering them tidbits of information, essentially leading them to read on. Think of it like that old horse-and-carrot trick.

Free Essays on The Existence Of God

The argument of God’s existence has been going on from somewhere around early civilization. This argument has been raged between philosophers, scientists, and many others for centuries, but anyone making this argument clearly has little idea about what God really is. One thing I have noticed is that every philosopher argues for or against the definition of God given by Catholics/Christians. That is, God is a supreme spiritual being who is the creator of the universe, yet is everywhere, and can see everything; he is all knowing and forgiving. Plato definition of God is a craftsman that governs the universe. Aristotle’s version of God is not a personal being like we find in Christian tradition. His God performs no more acts of will or love than gravity. Aquinas’s God has inapprehensible divine essence, which is identical to his existence, and he directs all natural things to their end. Descartes God is an infinite perfect being that causes all effects including ideas. Hume on the other hand argues, that the cause of the finite world is unlimited, and only needs to be as great as it’s effect. Therefore, Hume does not believe there is enough evidence to conclude that there is a God. Throughout my life I have always questioned Catholicism, and what others take on as blind faith in God. We all know that someday we will die (physically), but we deny what may or may not happen to us after death. It’s far easier for humans to accept that we just die, or go to a safe place (heaven) than to question the existence of a superior being. Knowing all of this we still end up questioning the creation of humanity, the religious teachings provided by our parents, our church and our society. During this paper we will examine the many rational arguments for and against the existence of God. It is based on the views of some of the great philosophers of our world. COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENTS is that someone or something must h... Free Essays on The Existence Of God Free Essays on The Existence Of God The argument of God’s existence has been going on from somewhere around early civilization. This argument has been raged between philosophers, scientists, and many others for centuries, but anyone making this argument clearly has little idea about what God really is. One thing I have noticed is that every philosopher argues for or against the definition of God given by Catholics/Christians. That is, God is a supreme spiritual being who is the creator of the universe, yet is everywhere, and can see everything; he is all knowing and forgiving. Plato definition of God is a craftsman that governs the universe. Aristotle’s version of God is not a personal being like we find in Christian tradition. His God performs no more acts of will or love than gravity. Aquinas’s God has inapprehensible divine essence, which is identical to his existence, and he directs all natural things to their end. Descartes God is an infinite perfect being that causes all effects including ideas. Hume on the other hand argues, that the cause of the finite world is unlimited, and only needs to be as great as it’s effect. Therefore, Hume does not believe there is enough evidence to conclude that there is a God. Throughout my life I have always questioned Catholicism, and what others take on as blind faith in God. We all know that someday we will die (physically), but we deny what may or may not happen to us after death. It’s far easier for humans to accept that we just die, or go to a safe place (heaven) than to question the existence of a superior being. Knowing all of this we still end up questioning the creation of humanity, the religious teachings provided by our parents, our church and our society. During this paper we will examine the many rational arguments for and against the existence of God. It is based on the views of some of the great philosophers of our world. COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENTS is that someone or something must h...

Black Men and the Criminal Justice System

Black Men and the Criminal Justice System Is the criminal justice system hopelessly rigged against black men, leading to a disproportionate amount of them ending up in prison? This question surfaced repeatedly after July 13, 2013, when a Florida jury acquitted neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman of the murder of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman shot Martin after trailing him around a gated community because he viewed the black teen, who wasn’t involved in any wrongdoing, as suspicious. Whether black men are victims, perpetrators or simply going about their day, civil rights activists say they don’t get a fair shake in the U.S. legal system. Black men, for example, are more likely to receive stiffer sentences for their crimes, including the death penalty, than others do. They  are imprisoned at six times the rate of white men, according to the Washington Post. Nearly  1 in 12 black men  age  25-54 are incarcerated, compared to 1 in 60 nonblack men, 1 in 200 black women and 1 in 500 nonblack women, the New York Times reported.   In a number of the nation’s biggest cities, black men are more likely to be treated as criminals and  stopped and frisked by police  without cause than any other group. The statistics below, compiled largely by ThinkProgress, further illuminate the experiences of African American men in the criminal justice system. Black Minors at Risk The discrepancies in the punishments black and white offenders receive can even be found among minors. According to the National Council on Crime And Deliquency, black youth referred to juvenile court are likelier to be incarcerated or wind up in adult court or prison than white youth. Blacks make up roughly 30 percent of juvenile arrests and referrals to juvenile court as well as 37 percent of incarcerated juveniles, 35 percent of juveniles sent to criminal court and 58 percent of juveniles sent to adult prisons. The term â€Å"school to prison pipeline† was created to illustrate how the criminal justice system paves a pathway to prison for blacks when African Americans are still very young. The Sentencing Project has found that black males born in 2001 have a 32 percent chance of being incarcerated at some point. In contrast, white males born that year have only a six percent chance of winding up in prison. Disparities Between Black and White Drug Users While blacks make up 13 percent of the U.S. population and 14 percent of monthly drug users, they comprise 34 percent of individuals arrested for drug offenses and more than half (53 percent) of individuals imprisoned for drug-related offenses, according to the American Bar Association. In other words, black drug users are four times more likely to end up in prison than white drug users. Differences in the way the criminal justice system treats black drug offenders and white drug offenders became especially clear when sentencing laws required crack-cocaine users to receive much stiffer penalties than powder-cocaine users. That’s because, at the height of its popularity, crack-cocaine was most popular among blacks in the inner city, while powder-cocaine was most popular among whites. In 2010, Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act, which helped to erase some of the sentencing disparities related to cocaine. A Quarter of Young Black Men Report Police Mistreatment Gallup interviewed roughly 4,400 adults from June 13 to July 5, 2013, for its Minority Rights and Relations poll about police interactions and racial profiling. Gallup found that 24 percent of black men between the ages of 18 and 34 felt they had been mistreated by police during the past month. Meanwhile, 22 percent of blacks from ages 35 to 54 felt the same and 11 percent of black males older than age 55 agreed. These numbers are significant given that many people have absolutely no dealings with police in a month-long period. The fact that the young black men polled had contact with police and roughly a quarter felt the authorities had mistreated them during these encounters indicates that racial profiling remains a serious issue for African Americans. Race and the Death Penalty A number of studies have shown that race influences the likelihood a defendant will receive the death penalty. In Harris County, Texas, for example, the District Attorney’s Office was more than three times as likely to pursue the death penalty against black defendants than their white counterparts, according to an analysis released in 2013 by University of Maryland criminology professor Ray Paternoster. There is also bias regarding the race of victims in death penalty cases. While blacks and whites suffer from homicides at about the same rate, the New York Times reports, 80 percent of those executed murdered white people. Such statistics make it easy to understand why African Americans in particular feel that they are not treated fairly by the authorities or in the courts.

The 4Ps of Marketing Used by Quiznos and Subway Research Paper

The 4Ps of Marketing Used by Quiznos and Subway - Research Paper Example Today, Subway has approximately 36,266 restaurants in 98 countries around the world (Subway, 2012a). Subway is a private company. Although the company does not give access to their current profits and revenues, the estimated annual sales of Subway restaurant was US$5 billion back in 2005 (Finance Investments, 2011). Quiznos was established back in 1978. Since then, the company managed to operate more than 4,000 stores throughout the United States aside from its stores in more than 40 countries and territories around the world (2010). Unlike Subway, Quiznos had to enter into a financial restructuring plan due to its inability to pay its debt (Bloomberg, 2011). As part of analyzing the differences in the marketing strategies used by these two companies, this report will apply the marketing mix or 4 Ps in the case of Quiznos and Subway. Differences in Marketing Mix or 4 P’s in the case of Quiznos and Subway With regards to product, the quality, and variety of food varies in the c ase of Quiznos and Subway. Even though both companies are able to offer a good taste of submarine sandwiches and salad, Subway is considered more competitive as compared to Quiznos in terms of its food variety. ... Â  In terms of pricing, the market prices of Subway’s food items are more reasonable as compared to Quiznos. In fact, it has been noted that the food prices of Quiznos are almost a dollar more expensive than Subway’s market prices. Despite the ability of Subway to offer more reasonable prices, the company also provides its valued customers with good ambiance, store cleanliness, and high-quality services in exchange for its food prices. The stores of both companies can be located in commercial areas like malls, offices, convenience stores, school vicinities, airports, truck stops, and military bases among others. This allows its target customers to have the convenience in locating both companies’ store outlets. However, the store designs of Quiznos and Subway are different in so many ways. In most cases, the store designs of Subway stores are more comparable to quasi-deli restaurants whereas Quiznos’ store designs are more suitable for casual deli restaura nts. This is the main reason why Subway is able to provide better store ambiance as compared to Quiznos. When it comes to promotion, both companies maintain their own official website where they can freely advertise their food products, news, promos, and franchising opportunities. Aside from YouTube, both companies are taking advantage of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS, METHODS, & MODES IN THE HUMANITIES Essay

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS, METHODS, & MODES IN THE HUMANITIES - Essay Example The artistic works of Giotto, Masaccio, Alberti, Leonardo, Botticelli, Michelangelo and Raphael are among the most prominent ones in the Renaissance period. The principal characteristics of Renaissance art include development of a linear perspective, shadow and light, expressions and emotions, realism and naturalism, classicism, humanism and geometrical arrangement of figures. Renaissance artists particularly emphasized on the idea of linear perspective maximizing illusionist depth and space in their works to give it a more realistic and natural look. For instance, the famous painting Flagellation of Christ by Piero della Francesca has utilized linear of perspective beautifully. They studies classical concept in sculpture including human proportion and stance to express their work with weight and fluidity. Renaissance art depicts humanism addressing a number of human values and concerns. For instance, Raphael’s School of Athens shows humanistic interpretations. Moreover, the r enaissance artists mostly rejected the use of religious and supernatural themes. They preferred to paint liberal concepts in their works. The 14th century was a time of great crisis in Europe apparently unsuitable for any sort of innovation and creativity. The appearance of plague, continuing war, and turmoil in the Catholic Church were among the major catastrophic events faced by the Europeans following the decline of Roman Empire. In such a dark age Europeans sought a cultural movement for revival. Despite these discouraging factors, the culture in Italy was surrounded by the remnants of a once glorious Roman empire capable of supporting a rebirth. Renaissance artists took advantage of the emigrating Greek scholars bringing with them classical knowledge of the Greek civilization, high proportion of merchants patronizing artists, and greater political and religious liberty for translation of their ideas into practice. The Baroque Baroque meaning the pearl of an irregular shape mark s the style of art and architecture period during the 17th and early 18th century. Like Renaissance, baroque period started in Italy which later spread to the rest of Europe and America. Baroque art successfully flourished until the advent of Neo-classical art style in the 18th century. Early Baroque art was inspired by the works of other artist such as Correggio and Caravaggio and Barocci. However, later in the 18th century, it depicted less drama and color categorized as Late Baroque art period. The most notable of the Baroque period are the works of Rubens, Caravaggio, Carracci, Cortona, Bernini, Rembrandt and Flemish. The general characteristics of the Baroque art are depicted by movement, dramatic and emotional, tension and energy, theatrical, sensual, counter-reformation, exaggerated lighting, tenebrism, naturalism, spatial values and time. Baroque artists used circular or diagonal composition to depict motion for emotional effects. According to Wolfflin (1979), the Baroque wa s the age â€Å"where the oval replaced the circle as the center of composition, that centralization replaced balance, and that coloristic and ‘painterly’ effects began to become more prominent†. Baroque works of art usually imply irregularity, strangeness and extravagance. For instance, Bernini's Cornaro Chapel in Rome is regarded as a theatrical masterpiece depicting Baroque art. As new scientific concepts were being introduced by Galileo, Pascal and

American Civil War Essay Example for Free

American Civil War Essay From the start of the Civil War until the end of the Reconstruction period, America faced what can be considered a revolution. During this time, many social and constitutional developments emerged and brought great change to the country. Social developments that contributed to the revolution were the Freedmen’s Bureau, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Black Codes. Constitutional events that sparked dispute were the three civil rights bills, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the reconstruction. Between 1860 and 1877, both constitutional and social developments merged to created drastic changes that threatened the balance of life in the United States, causing revolt throughout many Americans and bringing about reform to the nation. Before 1860, the United States was split into two sides fighting for power: the North and South. Slave states and free states were constantly competing for representation in Congress. In order to reduce conflict, the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 were passed. Tensions lowered to a degree, but the compromises only delayed the inevitable discord. State’s rights was a critical topic during this time period. The south believed that they had the constitutional right to secede. After Lincoln was inaugurated in 1860, seven states seceded from the Union. Four more states followed after that. South Carolina, in particular, felt their rights had been stripped off of them, and challenged the Constitution of the United States. Document A) South Carolina feared the north would gain enough power that they would abolish slavery in the south, crippling their slave-based economy. This sequence of events induced the bloody Civil War, later leading to the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation, which meant the freeing of slaves that were still under possession in 1863. Eventually, the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery, was passed. The end of the Civil War meant the end of bloodshed but the start of reconstruction of the nation. Although slaves were finally freed, it was still rough life for the freedmen. Some blacks felt betrayed by their own government. They were baffled at the fact that they fought for their nation but could not vote for their representatives. In the petition to the Union convention of Tennessee, it is stated that blacks were treated unfairly in court, as the courts would not even receive â€Å"negro testimony. † (Document C) Gideon Welles, Lincoln’s Secretary of the Navy wrote in a diary that the Federal Government has no control of whether or not blacks can vote; he felt it was up to the states to decide. Document D) In attempts to unite the nation, several acts were put into effect. The Freedmen’s Bureau, for example, was set up to help blacks read and write in order to counteract their disadvantages in education. It also provided food shelter, welfare, and medical attention to those affected by the war. Unfortunately, some acts were not in favor of the blacks, such as the Black Codes. The Black Codes prohibited blacks from renting land or e ven borrowing money to buy land. It also forced them to sign working contracts, synonymous to slavery. President Johnson felt that the Black Codes were necessary because he did not want America becoming â€Å"Africanized. † In a petition to the commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau, some African Americans felt their promised rights were being neglected. (Document E) On the other hand, political actions were taking place in the struggle for equal rights for all Americans. Republicans were taking control of government and were also ignoring the orders of President Johnson. Radical Republicans were struggling for equal rights throughout nation. In 1866, the Civil Rights Act was created. This act stated that African Americans were United States citizens, shielding them from the Black Codes, and essentially overriding the Dred Scott decision. Shortly after came the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The changing of the Constitution to include the 14th amendment was considered revolutionary. (Document F) President Johnson was impeached in 1868 due to 11 crimes and misdemeanors. He was the first president in history to get impeached. After his impeachment, blacks now started to receive more equal treatment. Blacks were finally able to vote in the 1868 election, which ended up giving the Republicans a victory. (Document G) The 15th amendment was also added to the Constitution, prohibiting any state from denying a citizen the right to vote. Although revolution was going positively throughout, the creation of the Ku Klux Klan was a negative addition. Their goal was to terrorize and scare blacks by force. (Document I) In 1870, Congress decided to ban these secret organizations and enforce the 14th and 15th amendments through the Force Acts. Document H) All in all, between 1860 and 1877, both constitutional and social developments caused great reform in America. Revolutionary ideas such as the freedom of slaves, anti-secession, and rebellion played a key factor throughout these years. The once estranged country was back on track as a unified whole. African Americans, as a result of constant struggle, gained their rights and freedom. It is safe to say that the United States faced a period of reconstruction, which amounted to the shaping of the country.

An Interpretation of Kant’s Metaphysical Deduction of the Categories Es

In what appears to be an important section of the Critique of Pure Reason, when Kant attempts to show the natural connection between the table of judgment and the table of categories, there is a cryptic little paragraph: The same function that gives unity to the different representations in a judgment also gives unity to the mere synthesis of different representations in an intuition, which, expressed generally, is called the pure concept of understanding. The same understanding, therefore, and indeed by means of the very same actions through which it brings the logical form of a judgment into concepts by means of the analytical unity, also brings a transcendental content into its representations by means of the synthetic unity of the manifold in intuition in general, on account of which they are called pure concepts of the understanding that pertain to objects a priori; this can never be accomplished by universal logic. A79, B105 This paragraph is purported to be the possible key to understanding the argument for the deduction of the categories, and is often referred to as the metaphysical deduction of the categories. Kant will attempt to use the forms of logical judgment to deduce the forms of cognitions in general. The passage contains two sentences, but is nearly unapproachable, even at the level of individual clauses. However, it contains an important step in the argument of the critique, one that not only allows Kant to move between the table of judgments and the table of categories, but also that indicates the transcendental role of the understanding; the way in which intellectual conditions operate to allow the possibility of experience, made manifest by an examination of logic. Points of Interpretation The ‘pu... ...lieve that the first sentence contains premises that imply a conclusion contained in the second sentence. Indeed they are premises about what is known about the understanding a priori, and lead to a conclusion that is not surprising, once the premises are properly understood. 3 I can see why someone might see the first sentence as containing the conclusion of the argument, but they could only be so motivated if they read 'the pure concept of understanding' as the categories in general, but they would seem to be committed to saying that the categories operate in general logic as the analytic unity, which, from my point of view, does not seem like the right reading. 4 The knowledge element of experience is given in judgment form, but I am not sure if Kant wants to admit non-knowledge elements into experience, passions, etc...

Smartie Lab Research

Smartie Lab Analysis: The total area of my ecosystem was six feet, but the area we sampled was four feet. We had six types of each smartie: 4 green, 5 orange, 10 purple, 7 red, 5 white, and 14 yellow. In our sampled area we had 3 green, 0 orange, 5 purple, 2 red, 0 white, and 7 yellow. We had 4. 25 organisms per total area that was the density. Our relative density was 8. 88% green, 11. 11% orange, 22. 22% purple, 15. 55% red, 11. 11% white, and 3. 45% yellow. The frequency of each organism was 75% green, 0% orange, 50% purple, 25% red, 0% white, and 75% yellow.The relative frequency of each organism was 33% green, 0% orange, 22% purple, 11% red, 0% white, and 33% green. The coverage of each type of organism was 18. 83%. The importance value of each organism was 34. 24 for green, 9. 98 for orange, 30. 35 for purple, 19. 79 for red, 9. 98 for white, and 32. 43 for yellow. The rank of my organism’s importance from highest to lowest is: green, yellow, purple, red, then white and orange. My population estimate for part II is 11. 66 yellow smarties. My % error for population estimate is 16. 71%.We used a line transect for this lab, and I think most of these calculations could be more applied to plants, since they are stationary and do not move, like smarties, which do not move. This is more difficult to compare to animals since animals move, and may react to being captured and recaptured. Conclusion: The results of my simulation show that around 12 yellow smarties belong to my population of smarties. However, we actually had 14. The results were pretty close, and this demonstrates that the capture and recapture system is a pretty decent system in obtaining population estimates.However it is important to keep in mind that smarties are not stationary and cannot react to being captured in ways that animals and some plants can. The importance values between my transect and my actual data are pretty close, however in actuality yellow was the most important, not gr een. A quadrat would be more advantageous over a transect in situations where there are more types of organisms, or the organism can move. I think there can be issues with marking organisms after capture, since the organism may react to being capture and seriously make a difference on the population estimate, leading observers to obtaining incorrect data.Suggestions for further investigations: I would change this lab to including more exact numbers for smarties, so that percentages could come out more clean and would be easier to add and divide and such. I would also use multiple trials, with different bags of smarties, and with different transects to have more broad data. I would use different kinds of transects, as well as a quadrat to see what kinds of results those give me too. Finally, I would compare all the results from each kind of trial and average them out.

Cultures and Practices Not Allowed in the Philippines Essay

Euthanasia Euthanasia is the legal term for a medically assisted mercy killing; however in most countries, euthanasia is illegal. The first form of euthanasia is the voluntary decision of a patient. This is when a patient asks a doctor to terminate the patient’s life if and when the patient suffers too much, the patient has no hope of recovery, the patient has no hope for a decent quality of life, or the patient wishes to relieve the financial or psychological burden on the patient’s family. The other form of euthanasia is an involuntary decision by friends or family of the patient to end the patient’s life. This is sometimes referred to as euthanasia without consent from the patient. Euthanasia is unethical. It is immoral. Even though a death of a person is given consent by himself, it is still murder, assisted suicide, or mercy killing, which is against the will of God. Abortion Abortion, though allowed in some other countries, is illegal in the Philippines. Under the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, any person who shall intentionally cause an abortion shall suffer reclusion temporal, prision mayor, or prision correccional. The only time abortion is legal is when the pregnancy of the expectant mother is beyond saving like in the case of fetal death, fetal deformity caused sickness while in womb, pregnancy post high risk to mother’s life. In all other circumstances, there is no exception. Abortion is more illegal in the eyes of God, because it is a mortal sin. Divorce Divorce, under the Family Code, is not allowed in the Philippines. Christianity is the largest religion in the Philippines, being that the Christian religion is strongly against divorce. The reason is the influence of Christianity in the Philippine culture. Under its teachings, only death can separate what God has put together. So even if under the eyes of the law, the marital bonds have been validly severed, the Catholic Church will still not honor said decree. Couple this with the fact that there is a stigma attached to broken marriages. Said stigma often develops feelings of insecurities and in some cases, rebellion on the part of the concerned parties. Polygamy Polygamy is the status or institution of simultaneous marriage of more than one woman to one man, or of several women to several men. The two forms are polygyny and polyandry. In ordinary use, the term is restricted to polygyny, where one man is simultaneously married to more than one woman. Catholic tradition has consistently interpreted Christ’s teaching as absolutely forbidding polygamy, and the prohibition was defined by the Council of Trent, pronouncing that it is unlawful for Christians to have several wives at the same time, and that it is forbidden the divine law. Marriage is a covenant between two people. In the Philippines, polygamy is not allowed because of the Christian influence in the Philippine culture. The only exception is when you are a Muslim living in the Philippines. Same sex Marriage Same sex Marriage is not allowed in the Philippines. Two people of the same gender having a relationship is somehow socially accepted nowadays. But when they are to be married, it is unethical. Even though there are some instances that these marriages occur, the couple could not include seeking legal protection and benefits that flow from marriage. Marriage is defined as a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life.

Narcissism essays

Narcissism essays Narcissism is a pattern of traits and behaviors which signify infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of all others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition. Narcissism is named after the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus who was a handsome Greek youth who rejected the desperate advances of the nymph Echo. In punishment of his cruelty, he was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to consummate his love, he pined away and changed into the flower that bears his name to this very day. Narcissism is a common disorder and appears in many families and relationships. Throughout this paper I will explain what the disorder is, the symptoms, the forms of treatment, and the effects it has on relationships. My first psychologist who is a major researcher and writer about Narcissism is Dr. Sam Vaknin. He explains that there is nothing wrong with loving oneself, but this goes to a certain extent. The popular thing that narcissists are known for is that they love themselves (but this isnt true). In reality, they get their love from other peoples impressions of them. But the narcissist does possess the to love and to be loved. If he cannot love himself then he cannot love his reflection. But for the person to love his reflection it has to be loveable. Then he is taken by his need to love (which we all have), and the narcissist is busy giving off a lovable image for other people, that fits with the way that he sees himself. The person then keeps the image that they have of themselves and puts a lot of their time and energy into it, sometimes it drains the person so much that they are vulnerable to other threats. The most important thing of this image is its lovability. To a narcissist, love is changes with other emotions, such as awe, respect, admiration, or even mere attention. This is known as the Narcissistic Supply. To him the image...

How Income Inequality Affects Minority Workers

How Income Inequality Affects Minority Workers It’s no secret that white households in the United States take in significantly more income than black and Latino households do, fueling racial inequality. What’s to blame for this discrepancy? It’s not just that whites work in higher paying jobs than their minority counterparts do. Even when whites and minorities both work in the same field- management, for instance- these income gaps don’t disappear. Women and people of color continue to bring home less than white men do because of the pervasiveness of income inequality. A vast amount of research indicates that minority workers are literally being shortchanged in their paychecks. The Effect of the Great Recession The Great Recession of 2007 had an adverse effect on all American workers. For African  American and Hispanic laborers in particular, the recession proved devastating. The racial wealth gap that existed before the economic downturn only widened. In a study called â€Å"State of Communities of Color in the U.S. Economy,† the Center for American Progress (CAP) pinpointed just how much minority employees suffered during the recession. The study found that blacks and Latinos brought in on average $674 and $549, respectively, per week. Meanwhile, whites earned $744 per week, and Asians earned $866 per week during the fourth quarter of 2011. Contributing to this pay gap is that higher numbers of African Americans and Hispanics than whites and Asians worked in jobs that paid minimum wage or less. The amount of black minimum wage workers rose by 16.6 percent from 2009 to 2011, and the number of Latino minimum wage workers rose by 15.8 percent, CAP found. On the other hand, the number of white minimum wage workers rose by just 5.2 percent. The amount of Asian minimum wage workers actually dropped by 15.4 percent. Occupational Segregation In February 2011, the Economic Policy Institute released a paper about racial disparities in income called â€Å"Whiter Jobs, Higher Wages.† The paper suggests that occupational segregation contributes to racial gaps in the pay scale. EPI found that â€Å"in occupations where black men are underrepresented, the average annual salary is $50,533; in occupations where black men are overrepresented, the average annual salary is $37,005, more than $13,000 less.† Black men are extremely underrepresented in â€Å"construction, extraction, and maintenance† jobs but overrepresented in the service sector. Turns out the former employment sector pays quite a bit more than the latter service sector. Disparities Remain When All Else Is Equal Even when African Americans work in prestigious fields, they earn less than whites. Black Enterprise magazine conducted a study which found that blacks with degrees in computer networking and telecommunications will likely earn $54,000, while their white peers can expect to take home $56,000. The gap widens among architects. African American architects average a salary of $55,000, but white architects average $65,000. African Americans with degrees in management information systems and statistics are especially shortchanged. While they typically earn $56,000, whites in the field earn $12,000 more. How Women of Color Are Shortchanged Because they suffer from both racial and gender barriers, women of color experience more income inequality than others. When President Barack Obama declared April 17, 2012, â€Å"National Equal Pay Day,† he discussed the wage discrimination that minority female workers specifically face. He remarked, â€Å"In 2010- 47 years after President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963- women who worked full-time earned only 77 percent of what their male counterparts did. The pay gap was even greater for African American and Latina women, with African American women earning 64 cents and Latina women earning 56 cents for every dollar earned by a Caucasian man.† Given that more women of color head households than white women do, these discrepancies in pay are truly worrisome. President Obama said that equal pay is not only a basic right but also a necessity for women who serve as the primary breadwinners in their homes. It’s not just women of color who suffer from wage discrimination, of course. The Economic Policy Institute found that in 2008, black men earned just 71 percent of what Caucasian men earned. While black men earned on average $14.90 per hour, whites earned $20.84 per hour.

The Matrix Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Matrix - Movie Review Example V. In conclusion, one may note that at the time of its production, The Matrix stood apart from other science fiction films in that the successful communication of the plot and story was inextricably dependant upon the formulation of such technologies as would do so. The Wachowski brothers' 1999 film, The Matrix, has been hailed by numerous critics as a revolution in cinematography. As the professor of film and cinematic arts, Adriana de Souza e Silva (2004) remarks, the use of revolutionary cinematographic techniques successfully allowed for the depiction of unreal' space as both real and material. Apart from the fact that the techniques used both communicated and served the plot, the fact is that they allowed the filmmakers to depict the worlds of cyberspace and the mind as if they were material realms of existence, even as they constantly reminded audiences of the hazy and ephemeral nature of that world (Silva, 2004). While the cinematographic effects and techniques in The Matrix have been dismissed as eye candy' by some critics, a discursive analysis of these techniques, with specific focus on bullet time, shall demonstrate the extent to which The Matrix, not only represents a revolution in special effects technology but has successfully emp loyed those effects to actualise and materialise an otherwise immaterial world and existence. The Matrix unfolds within the ephemeral landscape of a quasi-cyberspace, difficult to depict or define. As noted by the American and cultural studies scholar, Tim Blackmore (2004), the world of The Matrix is almost impossible to define, let alone depict in material fashion, insofar as it exists somewhere within the mind and is shaped by a cyberspacian high-tech existence which is simultaneously real and unreal. The storyline, inasmuch as it derives from the traditional evil versus good, light versus darkness theme, is familiar but the world in which it unfolds is highly unfamiliar and, as such, alien to the audience (Blackmore, 2004). Within the context of Blackmore's (2004) observations, one may define two challenges before the filmmakers. The first is to exploit cinematographic and lightening techniques to their limit for the explicated purpose of both visualising and rendering real, the unreal world of The Matri

History of American Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of American Islam - Essay Example Estevanico was the first Muslim to enter the historical records in the North America. He was a barber who originated from North Arica and explored the states of Arizona and New Mexico in the 1530s for the Spanish Empire. In 1586, Sir Francis Drake brought around two hundred Muslims the then English colony of Roanoke, which is the present Carolina. Drake’s convoy of some thirty ships had freed these Muslims from Spanish colonial forces in the Carribean where they had been condemned to hard labor as galley slaves.Approximately 15 to 30% of the slaves who were brought to America were Muslims. Some documented cases include abdulrahman Ibrahim Sori and Ayubu Suleiman Diallo 1701-1773. Yarrow Mamout one of the Muslims who bought his freedom had his portrait painted by renowned American artist Charles William Peale, and it is kept at Philadelphia Museum art. In 1831, Omar Ibn said who was an educated native of West Africa managed to write the only well-known American slave descriptio n in Arabic. In 1939 Sayyid Said, the ruler of the Oman ordered his ships to set sail to American on a trade mission, and this marked the point of Muslims friendly relationship with America. In 1854, the Ottoman Empire sent a gift to be included in the Washington Monument. In 1857 Bilali Mohammad, a slave on Sapelo Island, Geogia, managed to write the first and the lone existing book on Islamic Law printed in America and this book was called Bilali document.The first documented Muslim cemetery called the Ross has tombstones dating from 1882.

Fluency Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fluency - Assignment Example Visually impaired students will also be located in the front seats to ensure they can see the instructions being given. During the pre and post tests, visually impaired students will be given a written out test to ensure they are completing the test correctly using the correct words. A computer with CD-ROM software and internet connection will help students watch the book review online and related stories. Also, will help them research information on character education on the internet. Distribute The happy lion story book to each student. The teacher will instruct the student to pick from the various story books a book of choice and sit in their respective groups. The students will be instructed to analyze the book cover and state at least two characters identified. The students will also write down the analyzed character traits. The teacher will also pass a pre-test to assess their skills and knowledge on understanding and their fluency in treading the story. The teacher will then assess the student on the one-on-one basis for their ability to read fluency and speed in reading and character identification. The teacher will correct the mistakes in students reading and help them answer the pre-test correctly. Explain to the students: today we are going to read a short story the happy lion from a highly interesting story book by highly influential author. Assess the number, of students who have ever read the story. (Wait for the response to determine students’ interest in reading the story). It seems that many of you have never read the story. Well, I will help you go through the story and understand what the author says about fluency. Are you interested to read the story and assist me understand what the author is saying about character development? First, let look for the meaning of the word ‘fluency’. Fluency is the capacity of a person to read with speed, accuracy and right expression. Similarly, to be

Planning and development of BMW in Malaysia

Planning and development of BMW in Malaysia BMW Group is one of the worlds largest premium carmakers and BMW is also the parent of the company of BMW MINI and Rolls-Royce car brands, and, formerly, Rover. BMW headquarters in Munich, Germany. The company slogans in English are The Ultimate Driving Machine and Sheer Driving Pleasure. BMW was founded by Karl Friedrich Rapp in October 1913. Automobiles, motorcycles and financial services are three segments that operate by BMW and they manufactured the first passenger car running by hydrogen. BMW manufacturing is plant in Germany, Austria, UK, USA, Mexico, South Africa, Egypt, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and also Vietnam. BMWs main competitors include Acura, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Cadillac, Infiniti, Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo all of this are consider luxury brands of the car products. Nowadays, BMW is support by 11different types of series.( Knozolvilag, no date) According to the research, shown that there are 2 new divisions for BMW been introduce in October 1, 2007. Which are corporate and brand development will be lead by the director of corporate planning this is focus on the vital for brand management, corporate planning, and strategic implementation BMW. Second, purchasing and supplier network that headed by Dr.Herbert.Diess. The purpose are to reduce the material cost and expenses factor. (Nina Mendioli, no date) 1.2 LATEST FINANCIAL SITUATION 2010 BMW Malaysia economy continue to growth and sales up to August growing by 7.1% from 2,635 units to 2,893 units and are expected that reaching a total sales figure of 4,000 vehicles by the end of the year. So the financial overview BMW Malaysia consider in a well and positive situation. (Wemotor.com, 2010) *All in euro million *Sales: unit 2007 Net profit: 1,184 sales (automobiles): 1,551,490 cost of material: 36,638 (BMW, 2008) 2008 Net profit: 384 sales (automobiles): 1,446,055 cost of material: 34,044 (BMW, 2009) 2009 Net profit: 202 sales (automobiles): 1,231,893 cost of material: 28,300 (BMW, 2010) Overall the company performance, let see from net profit for automobile BMW from 2007 until last year 2009 are decreasing, especially around year 2008 in UK and US BMW company are hits by credit crunch (Chris Reiter, 2010); this are the reason of decreasing of net profit. But the sales for automobile are actually decreasing but not tat much are around 5 to 10% from 2007-2009. Next, for the cost of material for year 2008 to 2009 are decrease around 15 to 20%. 1.3 BMW MISSION STATEMENT BMW worldwide mission statement is: The mission statement up to the year 2020 is clearly defined: the BMW Group is the worlds leading provider of premium products and premium services for individual mobility. (BMW education program, 2001-2010) 1.4 BMW CORE VALUE AND MARKET SHARE BMW is a world tops luxury car maker so they have their own financial core value which is ULTIMATE CARE to build up and maintain the customer relationship bye offering all-sided financial and insurance service. Uniqueness through diversity Leadership Teamwork Involvement in community Mutual respect Associate growth development Taking risks Excellence through quality innovation Courteous FAir Responsive Efficient (BMW financial service,2007) 2010 of April managing director of BMW Malaysia announced: they are confident with 2010 years sales and market share and will be better than 2009 because BMW already perform very well on 2009 although economy is downturn and BMW730Li and BMW Individual 760Li is launching so this make them more confident. (Nurul, 2008) 2.0 MARKET SITUATION 2.1 SECTOR TREND In Malaysia, BMWs main competitors are Mercedes, Audi and Lexus. In 2008 have been reported that sales are rise 32% compare with 2007. First seven months of 2009, BMW Malaysia sold 2,048 units compared with 2008 is 2,133 during the same period. So on for the first quarter 2010, Malaysia sale 967 and increase 14.0%. Malaysia BMW is doing very well for the moment. (Business time, no date), (EUGENE MAHALINGAM, 1995-2010), (Horatiu, 2010) 2.2 PESTEL The external audit are contain with PESTEL which are political change, environmental effects, socio-cultural change, technology change, Economic, and also legally in Malaysia. (FRANCES and STEPHEN, 2003.) The political change effects for BMW are actually not much. Overall of the political are actually have no impacts for BMW in Malaysia. Unless if we assume that the Malaysia politic suddenly become worst and confusion like: Thailand as an example, then it will directly effect BMW as no people will buy this luxury car at the suffering time while politic in the country is not stable. Because if the politic is not stable and always demonstrate everywhere in Malaysia, Malaysian will feel very dangerous and like taking a risk driving so expensive car while the car may just sacrifice on every time. Environmental automobile companies have to show that they responsibly use the available resources and care about the environment, so that wont pollute or damage the environment. In Malaysia, people are starting to have awareness of environmental issues and many company start to do go green for their company. BMW reduced plant emissions and vehicle consumptions, which required improvements in engine technology and aerodynamics. The BMW Group has a program call EfficientDynamics are to reducing the consumption. (Anonymous, 2000-2010) The socio-cultural are all about demographic, culture and attitude. In Malaysia, nowadays the age that the new generation starting working are mostly after college or University that mean age around 22 to 23 year old. So most of the people only start working and have specific amount of saving after working. So, it will be quite a time for younger people to buy BMWs car. The occupation is very important that because of the highly cost to purchase BMWs car, so people must have a successful job and image to afford before buy the car. The genders who afford to buy BMWs car are mostly male because quite many % of female in Malaysia are housewife so impossible to consume BMWs car without income. Location where have more people buy BMWs car are citizen because the income are optimize compare with villager. Technology for BMW in Malaysia its shows that the fields of security and alternative energies, e.g. hydrogen, electricity are the part that they focus on now. It also shows that in the automobile company we need to put a lot of efforts and invest into the RD. Technology is becoming the reputation of the vehicles and automobile manufacturers employ the use of technology by adding gadgets into their motors as an example are the BMW 7 series iDrive. To increase the engineering and the quality of the models, BMW use an advance technology on it. (Anonymous, 2000-2010) Economy is first about the reducing of the car demand because of the increasing of the petrol price. Next, if the economy in Malaysia goes down this will also affect BMW indirectly because will happen unemployment. The economy goes down and many peoples loss their job and have no income so that is impossible for Malaysian to purchase BMW luxury car during economy make everyone suffering. But for this moment Malaysia are not facing this problem yet. Apart of that, the inflation is also giving effects for BMW. Legally the legal factor is all about environmental protection law, employment law, and taxation policy. It is pollution control and remediation and to protect the environment and ensure that the BMWs car is not giving any negatives impacts to the environment in common sense. The employment law also very important in which it is all about relationship between employee and employer, and is to protect the right of the employee. Example: woman law, working hours law, labour medical law and etc. Any changes of the employment law that are not fair may affect the workers and directly affect BMW organization operation. 3.0 COMPETITOR SITUATION ( BMW AND COMPETITOR SWOT ANALYSIS) 3.1 BMW SWOT ANALYSIS Strength: The product development on the core platforms keeps its various brands distinct. BMW is one of the most successful multi-national brand premium car manufacturers. It is independently owned by BMW. BMW is the only car manufacturer possessing three non-overlapping premium car brands in the portfolio. BMW always want to be the best and keep focus on RD by number of the new models the group has released over few years. Weakness: Fail to enlarge the range because of the pricing are expensive and majority of the consumer are fail to afford it. BMW Company is associated with luxury price product. Highly cost in Germany headquarter manufacturer that affect the company profitability, and BMW still have not that much manufacturer in lower cost country such as Thailand, Vietnam and etc as what we can see now many of the competitor most of their manufacture are moving to the lower cost country. To maintain the BMW cars maintenance cost is heavy. Opportunities: Based on secondary data, China is ranks as third largest market for BMW 7 series luxury limousines. Dealers expand to many countries. Huge demand for smaller car in market Globalization expand and entering into the new market. Many potential in the Asian for the BMW market. Threats: The pricing of the oil is going up higher and higher once upon the time. The price of the raw material of the car is increasing and then offset the company earning. Dropping of the dollar against the euro being threaten to undercut BMW top line and so that decrease the profitability. The government policies of exchanging rate. Quite strong competitor like: Mercedes, Audi, Lexus. 3.2Competitor SWOT analysis (Mercedes-Benz) most direct competitor Strength SUV bumper Famous brand name like BMW More than 80% of the model still on the road Mercedes car resale are still valuable Successful F1 team Mercedes have roadside assistance connection Fuel cell concept to increase range and power for earlier version Weakness Building time Pricing too premium JIT (just in time) Waiting time Opportunities Joint venture Development of the new model Professional sport sponsor Environmentally car concept Maybach design concept Threats Entrance to new market Little to no experience BMW competitor, luxury small car with cheaper price 4.0 OBJECTIVE 4.1BMW SMART objective Malaysia Specific, measurable, achieving, realistic and time-based for the objective of BMW are seek to where would we want to go. It is very specific to example: profitability objective and promotion objective. BMW clear that what specific that they want to achieve, quantify the objective, it must be achievable and also realistic for the resources like money and people to achieve the objective and when do BMW want to achieve. FINANCIAL OBJECTIVE Sales volume objective 2010: Increase to around 10% to over 1.4 million units. Full year EBIT margin: Over 5% expected for automobile. Financial service: Earning more than last year (2009). Return on equity over 18% in 2010. Sales volume objective 2012 ¼Ã… ¡five-year plan of achieving annual sales of 1.8 million vehicles. CUSTOMER AWARNESS For individual customer service: Provide premium services for individual mobility. Customer relationship: Ultimate care and build up customers relationship by starting provide all-sided financial and insurance service. SOCIETAL OBJECTIVE Societal objective: Take care of the environment by doing more on RD, create car which are environmental friendly which are now the whole world concerning. Objective until 2020: BMW Group is the worlds leading provider of premium products. 2020 objective BMW: Reach annual sales of 2 million by 2020. 5.0 STRATEGY 5.1 CUSTOMER ANALYSIS BMW IN MALAYSIA There are three steps in the customer analysis which is fall into segmentation, target market, positioning. In the segmentation section BMW Company need to do for the psychographic segmentation, behavior segmentation, and profile characteristic to help the company to do the targeting more effective. The lifestyle and personality is group into the psychographic segmentation. Lifestyle and profile in Malaysia is depending on what are the persons occupation, and the family background. If they are professional and paid by the company very high salary or the family is rich and the parent can afford to buy the BMW car, and BMW rank as one of the top luxury carmaker. Research shows that the main market for the BMW is actually more than 65% of sales at Europe and North America, but Asian market is actually a big market. So this show that not most of the Malaysian can afford to buy the car but only some of the Malaysian that who can afford and the BMW lovers will be able to buy BMWs car. Beha vior segment are benefits sought and perceptions and beliefs. The person who able to purchase BMWs car may have successful image or very high income monthly, or they may want to have a modern, sport and luxury looks. Some of the Malaysian that who can afford to buy BMWs car are because of BMW brand superiority, performance, reliability and quality. (SlideShare, 2010). Furthermore, in Malaysia driver who can afford to drive BMW also depend on their place, in the city we can see more Malaysian driving BMW rather than rural location. It will still have but lesser if compare with city. Targeting is come after segmenting and it is very vital in the segmenting, targeting and positioning. BMW have a high competitive, the main manufacture that BMW compete with are as discussed before to name a few are Mercedes, Jaguar, Audi, Lexus, Porsche and etc. The products that other competitors manufacture produce have similar price, product, quality and image. Most of these competitors are special and valuable brands, and they use differentiated strategies to produce large ranges of cars and have same product life cycle with BMW. Each of these companies sells car with different brands image, Jaguar is seen as a luxury, reliable and quality producer that BMW also do the same thing but on the other hand Alfa Romeo is famous with their stylish and performance breed but unreliable car from the research. (SlideShare, 2010). Inside Malaysia we can see most of the gender who drive BMW still male more compare to female and the design are more suitable to boy compare to female although we can still see female driving BMW as long as they able to purchase it. In the positioning stage, we can position that in Malaysia most of the male can purchase BMW than female depend on their successfully of their occupation or image and also family background are one of the big reason. In the city of Malaysia have more people drive BMW than village and the competitive is actually not a very big affect for BMW because BMW brand have already build up for quite a long time and most of us can identify BMW logo on the road and BMW have it good reputation and high and trusted quality in Malaysia as well. So BMW operate has seen as a good and loyal consumer at the market they operate. 5.2 MARKETING MIX IN MALAYSIA The marketing mixes are 4ps (product, price, place and promotion). The most important thing in marketing mix is product. In an organization, to ensure their successful, they must first have product that can satisfy consumer desire and satisfaction like: BMW is car. As a marketing people, we need to develop a product into the brand and create single position in mind of customer. BMW present models are: BMW 3 series: sedan, coupe, convertible, touring and compact. BMW 5 series: sedan and touring BMW 6 series: coupe and convertible BMW 7 series: sedan BMW Z4 : Roadster BMW X3 : SUV BMW X5 : SUV BMW M : convertible and coupe (BMW Assignment, 2010) When each BMW product have been developed and introduce to market, we need to know a product life cycle. Any of the products are actually have a life cycle including car. So, we need to develop a car clearly know that where and when the product will be growth, mature and decline. PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE CURVE (NetMBA, 2002-2010) BMW know that the importance to making sure not all the product will at maturity level, so this might be result in the products beginning to decline which at the same time. Normally the product has a period of time to launch and take several years. When this series car going to mature level and the company will start to get something new to delivering the consumer new satisfaction. As an example: BMW company launches X5 at year 2000 and they launch new series of X5 at 2006. Next, BMW 3series, it 7 years life cycle and 7series for 7 years only for the first models life cycle was longer to 9 years. It is clear that BMW is spread over a period of time a life cycle of his 3 products. Many of the BMW cars need to manufactured, designed, and launched to ensure the car is attractive within the quality. Next, is the pricing for BMWs car in Malaysia. The pricing are from approximately RM203,800.00 to RM1,388,800.00. There are many factors that can affect the car price of car because of the engine size, motor sport version and etc. Example: the pricing strategies that have been used by BMW for the 3 series version. BMW 320d M SPORT price from 255,800.00, BMW 320i from 236,800.00, BMW 320i COUPE from 289,800.00, BMW 320i M SPORT from 248,800.00, BMW 323i from 275,800.00, BMW 325i CONVERTIBLE from 439,800.00, BMW 325i M SPORT from 309,800.00, BMW 335i COUPE M SPORT from 498,800.00. According to the research, most of the competitor like: Audi, Alfa Romeo their 3 series are also around the same price. The reasons are car industry is too big and not so important for the production cost and it is not necessary to earn a large profit. (CAR PRICE GUIDE 1995-2010), (SlideShare, 2010) The placement for BMW is also very vital. There are more than 10 dealers that we can find in Malaysia. Auto Bavaria ( Glenmarie, Johor Bahru, Kote Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kuching, Penang, Segambut, Sungai besi) , Ingress Auto, Lees Motor Auto Care, Sapura Auto, Seong Hoe Premium Motors and Tian Siang Premium Auto. The dealer which is nearer to the consumer place will be chosen and give the best services. BMW operates in more than 100 countries and with approximately 4000 plus dealers which are authorized to sell BMW new used car, parts and after sell service product are provided for all the BMW customers. (SlideShare, 2010), (BMW Malaysia, 2004). The process of BMW distribution: Manufacturer Dealers Consumers To do the promotion for BMW, on 28 October 2010 BMW have already introduce New Auto Bavaria which is the largest premium automotive dealership in the Southern Corridor of Peninsula Malaysia. By adding more dealers in Malaysia will also helping in promote BMW brand indirectly. (Sashi Ambi, BMW Malaysia, 2004) Malaysia BMW also does product planning, advertising and promotional activities. Planning campaign done to increase the sales volume. Event launches for the new models car. Below shows the advertising/campaign slogans that used by BMW: Slogans used: Positioned itself as the brand with the unique benefit of a luxury car that provides an exhilarating driving experience with advertising. The Ultimate Driving Machine. (Ezzy Get A Car, 2008-2009) Time frame: Established itself over time from its introduction in US market in 1974. Ran for 15years, overall brand-focus on prestige. (Ezzy Get A Car, 2008-2009) Next, promotion have been done also example: limited edition on 24 January 2010 are offered for the coming Chinese new years it involved (3 series and 5 series). In 2009 January 10and 11th, the open house is also invite all the peoples to join and offering attractive financing packages, cultural delights and Ang Pows worth up to RM888 (terms conditions apply) and BMW also offering interest rates from as low as 1.38% as a promote activity. Unbeatable interest rate of 1.38% from BMW Credit also offered by BMW if purchase limited BMW 5 series editions, BMW 523i Executive Edition and etc. (Ezzy Get A Car, 2008-2009) 6.0 FORECAST AND IMPLICATION IMPLICATIONS According to the BMW annual report shown that, from 2003- 2006 the net profit after minus the lost for last year is increasing. From 2005 to 2006 the net profit is increase around 28% and 2003 to 2004 are increase around16%. (BMW Group, no date). Only come to year 2007 to 2009 the company net profit is decreasing because of credit crunch issues. (Chris Reiter, 2010) But come to 2010 year assume that company margin can be increase around 10 %; and believe that after the economy straighten up 2010, their annual report for coming year 2011 and 2012 will be slightly increase from 5% to around 10% for their net profit and sales for automobile. I assume that on 2010 BMW Company sales of automobile (unit) will achieve to 1.4 million and until 2012 they hope to achieve to 1.8 million. So I assume that on 2009 to 2010 the sales (unit) automobile will increase 15% to achieve this 1.4million number and on 2011 to 2012 it will be increase around 16% to make it 1.8million for the sales (unit) of automobile. In short, will became the leader in the premium car manufacturer industry soon and create car which are more environmental friendly within 5 years. Conclusion In short, BMW is multinational companies that are considering very successful in the market. Many country have their dealer that already listed on the essay and their car are consider famous and premium concept are already key in to the whole world consumer concept. BMW car are now represent the status of a person, so they should have a very good marketing plans, strategies and new concept to compete with their strong competitor and continue to improving and make them better. In addition, with all the different PESTEL and 4ps as well that need to analysis deeply accordingly to the differences of country and so meet the local culture and local people need. Apart from that, it is very important for a company to do a proper company strategy. A company need to do a good segmenting of which segment of their products should fall into and then targeting who is their target market. Positioning come after targeting, a very good company needs to have a very good position in the target market. Following by the forecast their objective, must they clearly define what objective they need to achieve on which year (what and when). Next, work together with all the staff in the company and so the dealer to achieve it if possible. Lastly, by doing this all ways to make sure that BMW can stand last longer in the market and continue to produce quality car for the consumers in the market all around the world.

Graduation Speech: Go Create New Memories :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

I was puzzled and wasn't sure what to talk about tonight. I had to prepare this speech ahead of time and turn it in for approval. I much prefer doing things spontaneously, using all the skills I have developed over the years, you know, sorta letting people (being the teachers and parents) know that we really were listening! It's much more fun interacting with other people, watching their reactions, and playing along with them. But, I had to do the right thing, So while I was contemplating my topic, it came to me - this is what I want you to take with you as we depart the Bryan Station School District and move on into life. I want you to remember the small, seemingly insignificant things that happened to you while you were growing up. You know, like the simple smile that your best friend gave you when you were really down and needed a boost. Like the many times you walked down the hall, high-fiving your buds, showing you cared without getting all goofy about it. You didn't even realize that they were down and just knowing they had a friend in you boosted them to face the next school challenge. Remember the time you were really thirsty in third grade, and went into the room after recess, only to remember that there was a party today, and there would be cupcakes and Kool-aid served in a matter of minutes? Remember saving a seat for your friend to sit on the bus, knowing that you were gonna share all the cool stuff you did yesterday? And how glad you were to be able to share this? Everyday, everything we do affects someone, somehow. My wish is for all of us to recall a kind gesture, a happy moment that happened unplanned, that really sticks in our minds, that made a big impact on us, and relive those moments in our future. Pass on that joy/hope/support, whatever you got out of it. Remember that you will be making new friends, that those people you have shared every day with for four or maybe 12 years will be going their separate ways. You will have many moments where you won't have anyone around to boost you up, where you won't be told if it is the right thing or the good thing to do.

An Analysis of My Fair Lady

HIS first big number, â€Å"With a Little Bit of Luck† was hilarious, and I think I enjoyed It more than â€Å"Get Me to the Church on Time† even though the latter Is the song you first think of associating with his character. HIS two dustmen friends were perfect as well, the three of them did the funniest little gig and the harmonize they did on the refrain was spot on. Scarcest sounded so exactly like Rexes Harrison it gave me chills. I have seen the 1964 film version of My Fair Lady eternally hundreds of times, I'm pretty sure I wore out the VS. version that my parents had when I was very young.I can hear Harrison reciting some of the most famous lines in my head. When Scarcest said â€Å"She's so De-Al-callously low, so HO-rivalry dirty,† the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. The best number that Higgins did was probably â€Å"I'm an Ordinary Man†. The orchestra was fabulous especially In that song. â€Å"Vive Grown Accustomed to Her Face† has to be a close second. Aurora Florence played Elise Doolittle. Just because she wasn't my favorite character In this particular reduction does not mean she wasn't wonderful, because she was.She obviously worked very hard on her accents, and really she had the most work in that area to do since she had to learn both a Cockney accent and a proper English one. There was a few times where her Cockney fell flat, however. It seemed like she was concentrating too hard on the most â€Å"important† lines (â€Å"I washed me face an' ‘ands before I come, I did†, â€Å"C'mon Dover, move hay blooming' ears†) and I became aware that she was doing an accent, which is exactly what you don't want to happen, it breaks the magic. That Ewing said, Ms. Florence has a beautiful singing voice and played a very touching and convincing Elise.The costumes were unbelievable. All of Elijah's costumes were replicas of the costuming done in the film version. Even down to the flower girl outfit and the green skirt and white blouse that she wears In the â€Å"The Rain in Spain† scene. I didn't really realize It until the scene at the Ascot racetrack when Elise emerges In that white dress with the horizontal black and white ribbon and the enormous feathered hat. I'm pretty sure I squealed. My favorite costume of Elijah's is of course en gown Tanat seen wears to ten Massey Ball Ana ten costume gleaner 01 disappoint.The Jewels dripping from Elijah's neck, ears, and wrists (not to mention that gorgeous tiara) seemed even more dazzling in the bright stage lights than they did in the film version. To summarize, this was the best production that Vive seen outside of Chicago or SST. Louis. I would argue that it was done as well or better than most of the productions Vive seen at the Lyceum as well. Big League Productions has its own website, and is touring extensively all over the country. If you get the chance to see this play, Jump on it.

Producer Protection, Prior Market Structure and the Effects of Government Regulation

Producer Protection, Prior Market Structure and the Effects of Government Regulation Assignment on Regulatory Economics 1/5/2012 ? INTRODUCTION The direct economic regulation of business by independent government commissions has a one-hundred year history on the North American continent. It is generally asserted that the purpose of such commissions is to protect consumers from exploitation by limiting the economic powers of certain firms having pervasive effects on the public interest (for example, transportation companies and public utilities). However, the findings of the relatively few em-pirical studies of the economic effects of regulation indicate that important differences actually do exist in these effects. The disparities in these findings raise the question of why the actual economic effects of regulation differ among industries despite the supposedly common, avowed purpose of regulation. They also question whether a single hypothesis is adequate to explain the diverse effe cts of regulation. THREE HYPOTHESES REGARDING REGULATION 1. Consumer-Protection Hypothesis: This is the most popular of existing hypotheses. It implies that regulation will protect consumer interests by reducing prices until they equal marginal costs, by preventing discriminatory pricing, by improving service quality (at existing prices), by encouraging the entry of firms that are more efficient or that offer more preferred price/product combinations, and by reducing industry profits to the market rate of return. they often appear to promote the interests of regulated firms to the disadvantage of consumers. Despite the real purpose of regulation, the regulated industries have managed to pervert their regulators until the commissions become the protectors of the â€Å"regulated† rather than of consumers. 2. No-effect Hypothesis: This hypothesis implies that regulation has no effect on regulated industries (other than to impose certain costs in the performance of regulatory procedures). This situation could result if †¢an already powerful industry is able to control its regulators (the supplementary perversion hypothesis). †¢if the market structure prior to regulation were competitive and the actual effect of regulation is to obtain competitive performance †¢the prior market structure were monopolistic and the actual effect of regulation is to yield monopoly performance 3. Producer-Protection Hypothesis: It says that the actual effect of regulation is to increase or sustain the economic power of an industry. Such a situation could result if regulation converted a formerly competitive or oligopolistic industry into a cartel (that is, if regulation helped previously independent producers form an agreement to act together9), if it increased the effectiveness of an existing cartel, or if it maintained an existing monopoly (or cartel) where rival firms would otherwise enter to provide competition in response to the growth of markets or the development of new technology. Under this situation, one would expect to find regulation doing such things as increasing prices, promoting price discrimination, reducing or preventing the entry of rival firms, and increasing industry profits. The no-effect hypothesis does not appear to be generally descriptive of the effects of government regulation. The implications of the consumer-protection hypothesis also have a problem of reconciliation with available evidence and are quite inconsistent. The implications of the producer-protection hypothesis do turn out to be consistent with much of the available evidence regarding the effects of government regulation, once recognition is given to the effects of the prior (non-regulated) market structures of various industries. The obvious way to test the ability of the producer-protection hypothesis to explain the apparently diverse effects of regulation within the context of prior market structure is to classify regulated industries into two groups on the basis of their non-regulated market structures, and then investigate the impact of regulation on industries within each group. One group should include those industries whose prior market structure was a natural monopoly. This group would include electric utilities, natural gas pipelines, local gas distribution companies, telephone companies, etc. The second group should consist of industries having oligopolistic or competitive market structures prior to the implementation of regulation, for example, airlines, motor carriers, railroads, and water carriers. If the producer-protection hypothesis is descriptive of the fundamental effects of regulation, one would expect to find regulation having little or no effect on the first group, whereas the second group would experience substantial changes following the effective implementation of regulation. ? NATURAL MONOPOLY INDUSTRIES Among other things, effective monopolies are characterized by relatively high price levels, by extensive price discrimination, and by rates of return on investment exceeding those attainable if the firm operated in a competitive market structure. Thus, the producer-protection hypothesis implies that following the implementation of regulation over natural monopolies, the price level will be essentially unchanged and will be above marginal costs, price discrimination will continue to be widely practiced, and rates of return will remain above those which would exist under competition. Price level At least three studies have been made regarding the effects of regulation on electric utility price levels. Taken together, these three studies indicate that regulation has had a limited effect on lowering electric utility rates and that most of its benefits have been enjoyed by commercial and industrial consumers rather than the more numerous residential consumers. Also, it seems relevant that it took about 25 years for state regulation to be associated with any reduction in commercial and industrial rates, and around 45 years for it to be reflected in lower prices for residential consumers. Davidson presented the price relatives of average gas rates charged by the Consolidated Gas Electric Light and Power Company of Baltimore from 1910. During the 43 years covered by these data, rates decreased from 1910 to 1918, then increased until mid-1923, decreased and then generally remained constant to 1947, increased sharply in two steps in 1947 and 1949, and then fell again in 1950. The Company was more active than the Commission in granting rate decreases, while the two instituted the same number of increases. Furthermore, it can be seen that the industrial users enjoyed proportionally more rate decreases than their proportional share of rate increases. Evidence shows that Company originated changes resulted in net rate decreases for all nine user categories with the major beneficiaries being the medium and large domestic users, and the large industrial users. In comparison, the Commission ordered or negotiated rate changes resulted in net rate increases for small and medium domestic users, and small commercial users, while the major beneficiaries of Commission actions were the large commercial and the small and medium industrial users. Overall, the largest users enjoyed the greatest rate reductions during the 43-year period, while the smallest users either had small increases or decreases. This leads to the conclusion that factors other than regulation were important in these rate reductions. And the above evidence shows that the Commission's regulation did not always result in lower rates, and that the Company was more active than the Commission in instigating rate decreases. Price Discrimination The literature regarding public utility pricing is unanimous in agreeing that discrimination is widely practiced by electric utilities, natural gas pipe-lines, local gas distribution companies, and telephone companies. Stigler and Friedland found that in 1917 and 1937 both the regulated and the nonregulated electric utilities discriminated against domestic (residential) consumers in favor of industrial consumers, with no difference existing in the degree of price discrimination after allowance was made for the relative consumption of electricity by the two classes of consumers in the various states. Thus, they concluded that regulation had no detectable effect on price discrimination. Some studies indicate that in those years price discrimination might have been even greater under regulation. Since price discrimination is a matter of price structure, it is clear that, regulation has had little or no effect on any price discrimination. . The existing studies all indicate that regulation has not significantly decreased the power of natural monopolies to practice extensive price discrimination. Thus, the producer-protection hypothesis seems to be more applicable in describing this situation than the consumer-protection hypothesis with its implication of a reduction in or absence of price discrimination. It is not surprising to find discriminatory pricing consistently practiced by natural monopolies, be they regulated or non-regulated. So long as economies of scale result in decreasing long-run average costs, marginal costs will lie below average costs, and equating a single price for all customers to marginal cost will result in the eventual bankruptcy of the firm and the termination of service. Even given the usefulness of discriminatory, multi-part pricing in sustaining a natural monopoly without subsidy, it should still be possible for regulatory commissions to reduce the price discrimination practiced by regulated natural monopolies relative to that practiced by those that are not regulated. The available evidence indicates that this has not been achieved. Rates of Return There is some evidence that regulation has not significantly altered the rates of return of privately-owned electric utilities. Specifically, Stigler and Friedland found no effect of regulation on stock prices of electric utilities from 1907 to 1920. Continuing plant growth and continuing flows of investment funds should be proof-of-pudding tests that the Commission restrictions have not yet become excessive constraints. The success of utilities in general in selling bond and common stock issues, and the lack of bankruptcies in â€Å"recent years† are evidence that the rates of return of regulated utilities have been at least equal to the market rates of return. The regulated rates of return have been high enough to attract the capital necessary for rapid expansion by the electric, gas pipeline, and telephone utilities, but there is no indication of how much different the rates of return or the growth rates of these utilities would have been without regulation. OLIGOPOLISTIC INDUSTRIES The producer-protection hypothesis implies that regulated industries whose natural market structures were oligopolistic or competitive prior to regulation will experience substantial changes following the implementation of regulation. There should be significant increases in price levels, price discrimination should be greater, and rates of return improved. Perhaps crucially important, the producer-protection hypothesis implies that effective regulation will also restrict or delay entry into the industry in order to prevent new suppliers from capturing some of the regulatory benefits gained by existing producers. Price levels Airline passenger fares within California have been subject to regulation by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC), but, in contrast to the complete regulation of both fare decreases and increases, through 1965 the regulation was limited to automatically approving all proposed fare decreases while imposing brief delays on the implementation of requested fare increases. The result of these differences in regulation was that coach fares within California were consistently lower than such fares in similar regulated markets. The available evidence regarding the effects of regulation on price level for formerly oligopolistic industries is consistent and unambiguous. Regulatory actions and procedures have allowed the carriers in each industry to reach agreements regarding prices and to enforce adherence to these agreements. The result has been substantial increases in price levels for the interstate airlines, the freight motor carriers, and the railroads. Without regulation prices would be from 9 to 50 per cent lower than they are with regulation, with many reductions in the long-run exceeding 30 per cent. Price Discrimination A consistent pattern also emerges regarding price discrimination by these three transport modes. Large differences have been found in the extent to which price discrimination has been practiced by the CAB-regulated interstate airlines (with their much higher price levels) compared with the relatively non-regulated California intrastate carriers. The time honored use of the value-of-service method of pricing in establishing rates, the adjustment of the resulting rates in response to intermodal competition, the relatively low marginal costs of movements combined with large fixed costs, the extensive joint production and common costs, and the application of commodity rates to 85 per cent of all rail freight traffic, have combined to make the use of discriminatory pricing the norm among the railroads. Over 100 years of development have resulted in a marvel of complicated discriminatory pricing. Given the pervasiveness of price discrimination in rail and motor transportation, the question arises whether regulation has significantly changed the degree and amount of discrimination. it does appear that personal discrimination has been reduced. Due to the usefulness of the regulation in sustaining rail-road rates, the need for personal discrimination was largely eliminated. Its demise is not therefore surprising. Since regulation provides such rate control, it appears to have made possible the pervasive and long-lived commodity price discrimination practiced by the railroads and to have supported their extensive use of locational discrimination. An even greater effect on price discrimination has resulted from the application of regulation to the motor carrier industry. Since monopoly power is a necessary condition for price discrimination, and since regulation appears to be necessary for monopoly to exist in the motor carrier industry, it follows that regulation has been the primary cause of price discrimination in this industry, and that much less discrimination would exist without regulation. In total, the above analysis shows that regulation has been the essential ingredient for long-term price discrimination in those transportation industries whose nonregulated market structures would be oligopolistic or competitive. Rate of Return It proved difficult to estimate whether public utilities have been able to obtain higher than market rates of return under regulation. This is also the case for the transportation industries. Since regulation has clearly resulted in increased price levels and greater price discrimination among the airlines, motor carriers, and railroads, one would expect increased rates of return to be a result. Data indicate that railroad profits did increase during the period that effective regulation was being developed, and prior to the beginning of the railroad's decline. This conclusion is supported by the history of the railroad's rates of return on book investment from 1890 to 1968. Just as monopoly power is no guarantor of excess profits, it can be seen that regulation does not guarantee the achievement of greater than market rates of return by an industry, especially one that is in secular decline. from 1956 to 1965, the most successful of the California intrastate carriers (Pacific Southwest Airlines) had returns on stockholder equity of from 0. 0 to 227. 2 per cent, with most returns being between 30 and 45 per cent. 4 On the face of it, this indicates that while the CAB has approved liberal rates of return and that such returns have been achieved in some years by the regulated airlines, the most successful non-regulated airline has enjoyed generally higher returns. Overall, the above evidence is quite inconclusive regarding whether regu-lation has raised the rates of return for these regulated industries. Entry Control There was no need to con sider entry control in the case of the public utilities since, as natural monopolies, only one firm can operate efficiently in any market. Therefore, the most regulation can do is to decide which one of several alternative firms should be allowed to provide the desired service in various markets. Assuming comparable operating efficiency, this is a matter of a wealth transfer between individual firms with little effect on fundamental economic results. Wherever two or more firms can survive in a market, how-ever, entry control is vitally important for the maintenance of a monopoly or cartel. Without such control, any larger than normal profits will attract new suppliers to the industry, thereby reducing the benefits available to the exist-ing producers. Thus, an indication of producer protection by regulatory com-missions is their effectiveness in limiting entry into an industry. It is important to note, however, that while regulation has served to re-strict entry and hold down the number of regulated airlines and motor carriers, it has failed to limit the inflow of resources into these industries because of two fundamental imperfections in the regulatory framework. The first imper-fection results from there being little or no control over the amounts of re-sources each existing carrier can bring into the industry. The second stems from the fact that the CAB and the ICC have no power to assign specific market shares to individual carriers where two or more carriers are authorized to provide comparable service. Since regulation prevents the carriers from utilizing price rivalry to obtain larger market shares, they turn to service-quality rivalry in their endeavors to obtain increased shares of the cartel benefits available in each market. The result is chronic over capacity despite (or because of) regulation. CONCLUSION The evidence presented above has not always been clear and unambiguous, but the essential thrust has been consistent with implications derived from the producer-protection hypothesis, once the effects of prior market structure were taken into consideration. In important respects, regulation has not had significant impact on public utilities (whose non-regulated market structures are natural monopolies), whereas it has substantially influenced the transportation industries (having oligopolistic or competitive non-regulated market structures). With regard to price level, regulation has clearly increased the prices charged by airlines, railroads, and freight motor carriers. In contrast, it ap-pears to have had only limited and long-delayed effects in lowering electric utility rates, with most of the few regulatory benefits going to industrial and commercial consumers, that is, to the consumers who already possess consider-able market power and whose large use of electricity makes it worthwhile to seek to influence regulatory decisions. In addition, the evidence from one local utility shows that gas rates were increased and decreased by both regulatory and company actions, with no clear pattern of regulatory effects. There was a similar pattern of effects regarding price discrimination. Little change in this practice resulted from regulating the natural monopolies, except for those cases where discriminatory prices appeared. On the other hand, industries whose prior market structures were oligopolistic or competitive were able to practice extensive price dis-crimination with regulation, while they had difficulty doing so without it. The evidence regarding rates of return is quite inconclusive. Overall, remarkably little of the available evidence suggests that consumers are protected by regulation. The producer-protection hypothesis yields implications that, by and large, are consistent with what is found to have occurred as a result of regulation. It follows that wherever substantial monopoly power exists in a non-regulated market structure, regulation should have relatively little impact; and, where there is little or no monopoly power in the prior market structure, regulation should have an important impact by help-ing formerly independent producers form a cartel for their benefit and protection. It is probably incorrect to conclude that the producer-protection hypothesis is the most predictive of all possible hypotheses regarding the effects of government regulation.