Mauritius, Social Housing Social Movement and Low Income Housing in Mauritius free essay sample

Social Housing Social Movement and Low Income Housing in Mauritius Abstract: The Republic of Mauritius has been a model success story in both economic and social progress among both the African nations and the whole world. Despite many odds, the country has made tremendous economic progress and has succeeded at the same time to uplift significantly the living standards of the population in general. This paper gives an overview of the matter of the low-income housing in Mauritius. The first part of the paper gives the economical background and the evolution of the social movement in Mauritius. The second part introduces the current housing conditions and the situation of poverty and low-income groups in Mauritius. Finally the strategy of social housing is discussed. The Mauritius social housing strategy is discussed in terms of the changes in the institutional structure, and policies. Then the types of social housing and their financing are introduced. We will write a custom essay sample on Mauritius, Social Housing: Social Movement and Low Income Housing in Mauritius or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Keywords: Mauritius; Welfare State; Social Housing; Low Income Households AUTAR Bhotish Awtar | | Matric No: 2011280122 | Masters Candidate Tsinghua University | School of Architecture | Department of Urban Planning Please submit any feedback to [emailprotected] om Submitted to: |[emailprotected] tsinghua. edu. cn | Submission date: 17th June 2012 Introduction At independence, Mauritius did not appear predestined for the progress that followed. Challenges included: extreme cultural diversity as well as racial inequality; power concentrated in a small elite (of French British colonial descendants); high unemployment; and high population growth. The country suffered from an economic crisis throughout the 1970s, was remote from world markets and was commodity dependent. It also exhibited low initial levels of human development. Nobel Laureate for Economics, James Meade even said in 1961, as quoted below: â€Å"It is going to be a great achievement if Mauritius can find productive employment for its population without a serious reduction in the existing standard of living The outlook for peaceful development is poor† Despite multiple factors stacked against it, Mauritius has achieved stellar progress in economic conditions, and has been unique in its ability to take advantage of privileged access to international markets to develop in a sustained and equitable manner. This has been enabled and complemented by effective poverty reduction and equitable improvements in human development. These achievements have been made by means of: a concerted strategy of nation building; strong and inclusive institutions; high levels of equitable public investment in human development; and a pragmatic development strategy (Vandemoortele, 2010). This success against all odds was coined as the ‘Mauritian Miracle’. In independence year of 1968, the country’s GDP per capita was US$ 2601, and in 2010, the figure rose to around US$ 14,0002 in 2010. Comparatively, in 2010 the average GNI per capita (PPP) for Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 2,1083. During the same period of 1968 to 2010, population rose from 787,000 to 1,281,0004. In 2011, an expectancy of life of 73 years5 at birth and the country had a Human Development Index (HDI) score of 7. 26, compared with an average of 4. 6 in the Sub-Saharan African region. The country was also ranked highest on the Earth Institute’s World Happiness Index among the Sub-Saharan African countries7, leaving behind Botswana and South Africa, other regional economic champions. Socialist movement in Mauritius Mauritius is a welfare state. It has a comprehensive social security system for the whole population and various other social protection schemes. Education is free from primary to university level, with 1 2 Source: IFAD, 2005 For 2010, GDP per capita (PPP) of US$ 14,194, according to IMF, 2011 World Economic Outlook, and GNI per capital (PPP) of 13,960 (units International Dollar) according to World Bank, 2011 3 (units International Dollar) according to World Bank, 2011 4 Figures for population for Republic of Mauritius is from various open source, such as Mauritius CSO, World Bank and other online open data sources. Source: UN Statistics, from WorldBank. org 6 Source: http://hdr. undp. org 7 Mauritius Ranking 64th out of 156 countries with 5. 5 points, on a 0-10 scale, 0 being extremely unhappy and 10 being extremely happy compulsory education up to age of 16. Health care including tertiary care, like heart surgery) is also free. Basic foodstuffs (rice and flour) as well as housing for lower middle-income group are heavily subsidized. Income support is provided to household with low income. The government provides nnual grants to a number of NGOs that cater for the specific needs of handicapped persons and vulnerable groups (Deerpalsingh, 2011). There are also price controls on some other commodities such as cement, petroleum products, bread, onions and edible oils. The state plays a key role in social welfare and security. In fact, expenditure on community and social services attracts the largest share of total government expenditure. The percentage out of total government expenditure spent on health, education, social security and welfare, and housing, over the period 1980 to 1988 averaged 43% and by 1999 was as high as 52%. Preferential access to markets in the European Union and the USA has facilitated this strong welfare state (Bundoo, 2006) The construction of a comprehensive welfare state in Mauritius did not emerge out of a smooth and steady process. Each of the three episodes of welfare reform the formal introduction of noncontributory old-age pensions in 1950, family allowances in 1962 and social insurance in 1976-1978, were borne out of long-periods of deliberation and procrastination from the colonial officials (Phaahla, 2000). It took riots by unorganized sugar estate workers in the late 1930’s and strong trade unions today, to obtain and maintain a particularly socialist environment in the country, despite, a very open and capitalist market economy in Mauritius, it has been succeeded to preserve a considerable labor protection and benefit to the workers. In the more modern times, the social movement is directly related to the democratic governmental system. Around every five years general elections are held, and the public’s voting of a certain party is very sensitive to the economic and social conditions of the country. In many instances in the history, after independence, the government has been ‘overthrown’ out of office, as sanction voting by the population, due to bad economic and social performances. The most popular example, would perhaps in the 1982, elections when the government in office, with the ‘father of the nation’ as the head of the country, faced the worse possible defeat. This was because the unemployment and other economic and social indicators were all in the red. In terms of social services, Mauritius has been practicing a s ‘five pillar’ model as advocated by the World Bank in a report in 2005. But, it is worth noting that the five-pillar system in Mauritius was completed as far back as 1994. So, Mauritius had already been implementing the social model for 11 years (Deerpalsingh, 2011). Providing decent shelter for low-income groups has been another major social priority of the government. In the face of the rising price of rented accommodation, the government initiated projects for the construction of working-class flats in different parts of the country. The National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC) was set up in order to expedite large-scale construction of low-cost housing. House ownership grew from 66 per cent in 1983 to almost 93 per cent in 20018. Current Housing Conditions To understand the access to housing to the low income household, it is important to understand the general housing condition of the Mauritian. This helps in explaining the ownership policies and housing types that are provided to those who have financial difficulty in possessing a shelter comparable to his fellow countryman. With around $ 14,000 per capita GDP (PPP), Mauritius currently has a relatively high housing quality. In the 2011 Housing survey, it was noted that around 89% of the building stock in the country were residential building (with 85% wholly residential). Of which, 77% were separate housing units, 12% were semi detached or apartment types and 5% are mixed residential-commercial. In Mauritius, traditionally the houses are self-constructed by assigning small contractors to the job, who solely rely on their experience and owners design expectations. For medium and large projects, bigger contractors and construction specialists like architects and engineers are employed. The construction of houses were 92% of concrete walls and roof, 3% concrete walls and iron sheet roofs, and 5% were made out of wood and iron sheets. Although the human settlement patterns in Mauritius is quite dispersed, in terms of basic amenities, almost all (more than 99%) of the houses were connected to nation electricity grid and water systems. 96% of all the housing units had running water in the bathrooms and had modern flush toilets facilities. 8% had their waste collected regularly by municipality or other authorized companies. Almost all the housing units in Mauritius are privately owned, 99% in 2011, among which only 12% were reported to be mortgaged. An astonishing low percentage of 0. 3% of housing units was reported to be public housing in the same year. In terms of the tenure rate of the housing in 2011, 89% of the residents were owner of the hous e they were living in, compared to 8% who were renting or sub-renting. Another 3% were living for free in the housing provided by relatives or employers. It is interesting to note that the average monthly rent in 2000 was Rs 2,300 and increased to Rs 4,400 in 2011, however after adjustment for inflation, the housing rent actually remained the same as 2000. Poverty in Mauritius In 2010, the National Empowerment Fund that was created in 2005 to reduce poverty had enumerated around 70009 households in 225 regions of the country. These represented the families that were most in need of social help. But, the definition of poverty in Mauritius is quite versatile. 8 Bundoo 2006, p175 Exactly 6983 families that lived under national poverty line; According to NEF, Poches de pauvrete, downloaded from http://nef. mu 9 Using the poverty line $1. 25 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) per person per day, and data from the 2001/02 and 2006/07 Household Budget Surveys, the proportion of poor people in Mauritius is estimated by the Central Statistics Office to be below 1% in both 2001/02 and 2006/07. For developing countries like Mauritius, the $2 a day poverty line is more relevant. Even, using this line, the proportion of poor people is estimated to be less than 1. % in 2001/02 and 2006/07 household income surveys. So, the concept of ‘extreme poverty’ (as internationally defined) is not used in Mauritius. Instead, the concept of ‘relative poverty’ is used. Relative poverty is assessed using data collected at Household Budget Survey (HBS) and a relative poverty line defined on the basis of median household incomes. Household income c omprises income from employment, property, transfer, income from own produced goods and services and imputed rent for non-renting households. Data published by the CSO in the 2001/02 and 2006/07 Household Budget Surveys indicate that the percentage of households having income below the half median increased from 13. 1% in 2001/02 to 14. 3% in 2006/07. Average monthly household income for the poor is estimated at Rs 7,055 against Rs 22,242 for all households. The poverty line was fixed at Rs 3,821, which is the half median monthly income per adult equivalent. So, the official figure for poverty in Mauritius in 2007/07 was 26,400 households, or 7. 9% of the total 335,000 households in Mauritius. This concerned 8. 5% of the national population. From the 2007 Poverty Report, it can be also seen that 55% of the total government expenditure went to ‘Community and Social Services’. Monthly public transfers (social security benefits paid by government) derived by the poorest decile group of households was estimated at Rs 1,367 per household in 2006/07. Public transfers for poorest decile represented 22% of their total household disposable income against 2. 4% for the richest decile. Public transfers were found to be significant on bringing down poverty; it is estimated that if public transfers would have been discontinued, the overall household poverty rate would be 15. % instead of 7. 9%. Characteristics of Low Income Household Understanding the particularities of the poor or low-income households, are very important to know their economic strength and lifestyle. This would help to understand the type and cost of social housing that is offered to them. Again, in 2006/07, the average of ‘low income’ hou seholds in Mauritius was calculated to be around Rs 7,000 (compared to Rs 22,200 for all household), with an average expenditure on Rs 6,500 (compared to Rs 14,300 for all households). 1% of the income came from paid employment, 24% from government support, and the rest from self-employment and odd jobs. In terms of employment, where the national share of employment by sector in 2006/07 was as followed: Primary sector- 9%, Secondary sector- 32% and Tertiary sector- 59%; the structure was a little different for the poor families, as followed: Primary sector- 21%, Secondary sector- 37% and Tertiary sector- 42%. So, it can also be noted that the poorer people were more dominant in agricultural and manufacturing industries, and less present in the service industry. This explains partly, their low income. This phenomenon is also related to their level of education. The study has shown a very clear correlation with the distribution of income and the education level of members aged 20 and above. The higher the incomes, the proportion of the members having passed the primary and secondary education are larger. The share of expenditure on basic items such as food, clothing and housing over total expenditure was 65% for poor households, against 48% for all households. Figure 1 shows the detail expenditure of the poor against all households. It is interesting to note in the report that the average monthly loan repayment10 was Rs 1400 for poor housing, against Rs 4,353 for all indebted households. The highest loan repayment for poor households was on housing11. Figure 1: Expenditure habits of poor households, 2006/0712 As mentioned above, according to the 2010/11 Household survey, 8% who were renting or sub-renting. In 2006/07 the figure was 8. 4% for all households, but for the poor households, 16. 7% were renting their housing. The rest owned their houses or were provided free by relative or employer. The average poor household had a size of 4. 0 members, however the house had on average 3. 7 rooms, compared to average of 3. 7 members with 5. 2 rooms for all households. The amount poor households 10 11 Including, loans or purchase on credits, for housing, furniture, electric appliances, personal loans and other loans. 26% of the poor households had housing loans, which on average was Rs 2,491 12 Source: CSO 2007, Poverty Report 2006/07, p59 with two or less rooms accounted for 19%, against only 5% for all households13. There were more than one person per room in 63% of the households, against only 29% in all households14. This gives an idea of how poor households lived in a denser indoor environment than their other country man. Low Income Housing in Mauritius Strategies Institutions Since the 1980’s Mauritius was still an economy based on mono crop agriculture. Sugar cane cultivation had been the economic backbone for centuries of colonization, and only in the 80’s the diversification help Mauritius get out of the trap. Saying so, after independence in 1968, all successive governments regularly reiterate their will to gradually dismantle the ‘sugar estates camps’, which were the housing provided by colonial estate owner to workers. It was important to do so, as they remain powerful physical and psychological symbols of the sugar plantations hierarchy of the 19th century. A study in 1990 revealed that there were still 125 such estates in the country, and on the basis of finding long term alternatives for such residences, the government put pressure on the sugar estates, to phase out these camps and develop housing programs for their workers. The options offered were either to resettle the workers on an alternative site, out of the master’s property, or to sell the land and house to the current resident on the estate (UN, 2000). As seen above, the poor are usually less educated and work in agriculture. And since the structuring of the sugar industry 15 in the last decade, more and more of these people are losing their job, and because of age and education level, they cannot find other jobs. So, an early retirement scheme, worked out by all concerned parties and government, and involves giving a lump sum and a plot of residential land to the worker. The land given to the worker, are usually sugar plantations16 that have been converted to residential with basic infrastructure of road, electricity and water supply. This helps in reusing the abandoned agricultural lands and reduced the pressure of cash reward to the estate companies. In 1983, the house ownership in Mauritius was 66%, and then it rose to 76% in 1990, rose again to 87% in 2000, to reach a high 89% in 201117. Although official figures indicate a very high rate of owner-occupiers compared with other countries, these figures hide other quite serious problems of housing which may culminate into a crisis in years to come if some issues are not addressed in time Social housing programs for low income groups which had begun in the 1960s, gave way to a new housing strategy based on cost recovery through the setting up of a public company, The National Housing Development Company Limited (NHDC) in 1991 (UN, 2000). 13 14 Author calculation from CSO 2007, Poverty report 07, table 4. Author calculation from CSO 2007, Poverty report 07, table 4. 7 15 which currently contribute less than 4% of the GDP and less than 8% of employment 16 Since restructuring, large areas of sugar plantation have been abandoned by the sugar estates 17 Various Source, Boodoo 2006 for 1983 1990; 2011 Housing Survey for 2000 and 2011 Until 1991 the Central Housing Authority (CHA) was responsible for the task of building and administering of the low income housings estates. Medium rise apartment type buildings were built and let to the low income groups. The system was not successful at different levels. Firstly, most of the units were rented to low income households, instead of been owned. So, rents were sometimes not been paid, and the residents paid little attention to the built environment. This lend to a rapid degradation of the buildings and amenities. Secondly, although targeted for low income earners, the middle income group could somehow buy the apartment units. Thirdly, due to the deplorable design and soft policy, the CHA estates turned into undesirable living places where social problems grew. In 1991, the responsibility of providing low income housing has been passed the newly established National Development Company (NHDC), and the CHA was renamed the Housing Management Unit (MHU), which just left to administer these estates and collect rents. Another important institution was restructured shift to be noted during the same period. Since its creation in 1963, the Mauritius Housing Corporation, was governmental body was responsible to create housing for the middle income class, while the CHA was doing the same for low income class, financed by loans through the Mauritius Agricultural Bank18. In 1989, the Mauritius Housing Corporation (MHC) was incorporated and renamed the Mauritius Housing Company Limited, which then was more like a bank, to cater better to the need of the housing demands. Then the new MHC, no longer deals with the construction and policy of the social housing, it provides soft loans to those below a certain income level, and started the Plan Epargne Logement, PEL (in English, Housing Savings Scheme), that offer exceptional loan rates to anyone, who would deposit money in MHC bank. Nowdays, the MHC has developed into a one-stop shop for all need of housing services. In additional to loans, it deals with the providing of architectural, structural, legal, technical, insurances and project management services, at nominal or free of charges. Prior to 2006, the social housing responsibility lied solely within the hands of the government. But, as the demand was growing and the government could only built around 900 units a years, with a waiting list of 25,000 housing units, the private sector was called to participate through various PPP (publicprivate partnership) projects. The aim was to raise the rate of construction to at least 1500 yearly19. Another interesting fact is that as from 2009, the government established a policy of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that requires profitable private companies to invest at least 2%20 of their profit, into social help, like donation to NGO, or other social and environmental programs, including housing for the poor. The CSR is the concept whereby companies act to balance their own economic growth with the sustainable social and environmental development of their areas of operation. A company performing highly in CSR is one that goes beyond compliance with the legal framework to actively pursue positive impacts on local communities and its environmental footprint. 18 19 Source: Mauritius Housing Company Ltd, website: http://www. mhc. mu/mhc/; retrieved June 2012 Speech of Minister of Lands and Housing, March 2006 20 Source: NEF, http://www. nef. mu/csr/, retrieved June 2012 Low Income Housing Types and Finance Up to date, there are five main players in the housing sector. They are the Commercial Banks, the Insurance Companies, the Mauritius Housing Company Ltd (MHC), the National Housing Development Company LTD (NHDC) and the Housing Division of the Ministry of Land and Housing (Joseph, 2007). The role of the commercial and insurance companies is to offer housing finance facilities, in addition of their usual core activities. However, the other three players have a very important role in the provision of housing to the general public of Mauritius, but to especially the low and lower middle income group. Even if the government continued to build some apartment types housing, single housing or duplex types were more and more practiced. These types of housing created a better environment for social diversity and were more inclusive in term of equality. It should be noted that in Mauritius, these units are not built in large numbers, but in small numbers between 50 to 100 units spread all over the island. This is due to the availability of land for development and the concentration of poverty in the region. The spread of the social housing and its small numbers help social integration and the balance of the local diversity. Currently, these locations are mostly located in the rural area, as part of the National Plan to increase rural population and develop and reduce the burden on the already dense urban regions. Figure 221 shows an example of a type of social housing units that NHDC are building with the help of the Export-Import Bank of China. Site Bois Mangue St Pierre (Circonstance) Dagotiere Highlands Bambous Montagne Blanche Mon Choisy Cottage La Cure Notre Dame Pointe aux Sables (A B) Pointe aux Sables (C) Units 108 72 52 84 148 100 98 52 120 60 128 70 21 Source: Ministry of Lands and Housing, retrieved June 2012 Rose Belle Camp Levieux Trou aux Biches Mahebourg Total 76 152 76 78 1474 Figure 2: Example of 1474 housing units scattered into 18 sites around the island. The ‘Firinga Type’ is the one most currently built for the lowest income groups. These are semi-detached units of 40m2 each. It provides for bathroom with toilet and a kitchen table with sink. There are better duplexes types that are constructed for lower middle class. Some houses are spread on two stories and have 2-3 bedrooms with balconies. As the types of housing vary from one income group to another, the financing to these group are not the same. As for the Firinga units the interest rate is fixed at 6. 5% per annum, for other types, the finances vary according to the cost of the housing and household income (that is total income of husband and wife). The current loan scheme from the MHC is as below: For household earning up to 7,500 per month: ? ? ? Long term credit repayment period up to 20 years, depending on the age of the applicants; Subsidized rates of interest of 6. % during the first five years, 8. 0% during the next five years, and 10. 0 % during the remaining years of the repayment period; and A non-refundable Government grant equivalent to 20 % of the gross credit amount subject to a maximum of Rs 30 000. For households earning more than Rs7 500 and up to Rs 10 000: ? ? Long term credit repayment period up to 20 years, depending on the age of the of the applicants; and Subsidized rates of interest of 10 % d uring the first five years, 12 % during the next five years, and 14 % during the remaining years of the repayment period. And finally for those earning more than Rs 10 000: ? ? Long term credit repayment period up to 25 years, depending on the age of the of the applicants; and Rates of interest of 13 % during the first five years, and 14 % during the remaining years of the repayment period. To protect those in the most needs, there are strict eligibility criteria to obtain a NHDC unit like they should not be owner of a housing unit or of a plot of residential land, have made regular contributions o a PEL savings account for a period of at least six months; and priority is given to applicant that reside in the region where the house has been constructed. It should be noted that, in order to relief the burden on the government to provide affordable housing, the MHC provide loans at favorable rates to low and lower middle income applicants who want to construct their own house or want to buy a plot of land. A subsidy for the concrete roof construction, which is considered one of the most expensive parts of the construction, and to prevent the houses have iron sheet roofing. Conclusion: We have seen in this paper that the social movement has been present since before the independence and the movement was stronger after the independence, by the pressure of strong trade unions, and the strong democratic system, where the public opinions and demands could not be undermined. In the welfare state of Mauritius, the government has done greatly in terms of policies and investment to provide decent housing not only for the poor, but also for the less poor. In 2011, the housing ownership approached the 90% and the private sector was also made part into the responsibility to provide housing for all Mauritian, in the way the Mauritians like it. The institutional and financial structure in Mauritius is quite mature after evolving for around 50 years now. It is important to note that Mauritius has a large lower middle and middle class population and that housing benefit are also given to them, in terms of favorable loans rates, and subsidies. References: Websites: Mauritius Housing Company Limited, MHC: www. hc. mu Ministry of Lands and Housing, Housing Division: www. gov. mu/portal/site/housing/ National Empowerment Fund, NEF: www. nef. mu National Housing Development Company Limited, NHDC: www. nhdc-online. com Literature: Bundoo S. K. (2006); Financial and Trade Reforms and Impact on Poverty and Income Inequality: The Case of Mauritius; from Pro-Poor Macroeconomics- Potentials and Limitations, Chapter 8; edited by Cornia G. A. CSO (2009) ; Poverty Report 2006/07 CSO (2011); 2011 Housing Census Main Results Deerpalsingh N. 2011); Access to Social Services for Non-Citizen and the Portability of Social Benefits in Mauritius; From Assess to the Social Services for Non-Citizen and the Portability of Social Benefits within the SADC; Chapter 3, edited by Mpedi L. G. Smit N. Joseph Mathew (2007); Mauritius Housing Company Limited; AUHF AGM Conference, 17th -21st September 2007 in Ghana Ministry of Housing and Land (2006); Speech of Minister A. Dullul; Government Social Housing Projects on a Private Public Partnership Basis; on 1st March 2006 Phaahla L. E. (2000); Development with Social Justice- Social Democracy in Mauritius; Master’s Thesis presented at Stellenbosch University United Nations (2000); Common Country Assessment, Mauritius; Office of the UN Resident Coordinator, Mauritius, May 2000 United Nations Habitat (2004); Human Settlements Country Profile, Mauritius Vandemoortele M. and Bird K. (2010); Progress in economic conditions: Sustained success against the odds in Mauritius; for Overseas Development Institute

Creating Effective Matching Questions for Assessments

Creating Effective Matching Questions for Assessments As teachers create their own tests and quizzes, they typically want to include a variety of objective questions. The four major types of objective questions include multiple choice, true-false, fill-in-the-blank, and matching. Matching questions are made up of two lists of related items that students must pair up by deciding which item in the first list corresponds to an item in the second list. They are appealing to many teachers because they provide a compact way to test a great deal of information in a short amount of time. However, creating effective matching questions requires some time and effort. Advantages of Using Matching Questions Matching questions have a number of advantages. As already stated, they are great at allowing teachers the ability to ask a number of questions in a short amount of time. In addition, these types of questions are quite useful for students with a low reading ability. According to Benson and Crocker (1979) in Educational and Psychological Measurement, students with low reading ability scored better and more consistently with matching questions than the other types of objective questions. They were found to be more reliable and valid. Thus, if a teacher has a number of students who have lower reading scores, they might want to consider including more matching questions on their assessments. Hints for Creating Effective Matching Questions The directions for a matching question need to be specific. Students should be told what they are matching, even if it seems obvious. They should also be told how they are to record their answer. Further, the directions need to clearly state whether an item will be used once or more than once. Here is an example of well-written matching directions:Directions: Write the letter of the American president on the line next to his description. Each president will be used only once.Matching questions are made up of premises (left column) and responses (right column). More responses should be included than premises. For example, if you have four premises, you might want to include six responses.The responses should be the shorter items. They should be organized in an objective and logical manner. For example, they might be organized alphabetically, numerically, or chronologically.Both the list of premises and the list of responses should be short and homogenous. In other words, do not put to o many items on each matching question. All responses should be logical distractors for the premises. In other words, if you are testing authors with their works, do not throw in a term with its definition.Premises should be approximately equal in length.Make sure that all of your premises and responses are on the same test printed page. Limitations of Matching Questions Even though there are a number of advantages to using matching questions, there are also a number of limitations that teachers must consider before including them in their assessments. Matching questions can only measure factual material. Teachers cannot use these to have students apply the knowledge they have learned or analyze information.They can only be used to assess homogenous knowledge. For example, a question based on matching elements with their atomic numbers would be acceptable. However, if a teacher wanted to include an atomic number question, a chemistry definition, a question about molecules, and one about states of matter, then a matching question would not work at all.They are most easily applied at an elementary level. Matching questions work quite well when the information being tested is basic. However, as a course increases in complexity, it is often difficult to create effective matching questions.

Modern Age Europe 1348-1789 Phase Definition 2 Essay

Modern Age Europe 1348-1789 Phase Definition 2 - Essay Example This led to agricultural and industrial expansions in the west during the 18th century (Donald, Ozment & Turner 464). Slave ships were the main mode of transport for slaves from the shipment area along the coasts into Europe and the Americas. The slaves were tied together in the large ships to avoid escaping. This was quite inhuman and some slaves ended up dying in the ships due to inhumane treatment. They were deprived of food and lived in pathetic conditions whereby there was overcrowding in the ships. Many of the slaves died as a result of this. Plantations are large estates whereby a single type of crop is grown. Plantations mainly concentrate on growth of cash crops such as coffee, tea, pyrethrum, cotton and tobacco. In Europe and the Americas, the slaves were used to provide labor in these plantations. Most of the slaves came from Africa although there were others from Asia (Donald, Ozment & Turner 466). Asiento is the permission that was given to countries by Spain, to sell pe ople who would become laborers in these countries. The Sugar Act (1764) was a taxation measure put in place by the British so as to increase funds for supporting the colonies. The act was passed during the reign of George Grenville. The motive behind the measure was to maximize earning of revenue from imports that went into the colonies from Britain. Anybody who violated this taxation measure by evasion of payment or any other way was tried in a court of law. This move ensured that people paid the taxes. The Stamp Act (1765) was a tax measure passed by Parliament. The main objective of taxation was to collect money for use in the colonies. The act involved taxation on all documents dealing with issues of law as well as documents like daily newspapers. Several critics of the act, such as Sons of Liberty, led to its review in 1766. This move was meant to make the act favorable for the people living in the colonies. Charles Townshend (1725-1767) was a chancellor and finance minister in Britain. He is remembered for his efforts, to have parliament sign some acts, for enhancing colonial trade. His relentless efforts did not see the light of the day for some time, but eventually, the British parliament signed some of the acts that he proposed. Intolerable acts refer to drastic measures that were taken by the Parliament in order to deal with the people living in the colonies. One of the measures was closure of the Boston port. This hindered transport in the area to a great extent. The other drastic measures were the moves by parliament to have troops living in private households and the reorganizing of the Massachusetts’ governance structures (Donald, Ozment & Turner 476). George III (1760-1820) was a Briton who served the British government during the period preceding independence and thereafter. He was accused of being an accomplice of the British Parliament in denying people in the colonies their civil liberties between 1763 and 1776. He did not show any ef forts to include the Whig families in his leadership, although the families had served the government for a long time. The First Continental Congress was one of the meetings by committees which were opposed to the British policies and systems of governance. The committee meeting was held in Philadelphia in the year 1774. Its sole aim was to ask and convince the Parliament to go back to restoration of self-rule and stop supervising the activities of the colonies directly (Donald, Ozment & Turner 483). The Treaty of Paris refers to an agreement that was made by key leaders of countries in Europe and America after many years of war. This peace treaty was signed in Paris, France in 1783 (Donald, Ozment &

Article summary of Romer 2000 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary of Romer 2000 - Article Example In the light of recent advances, it is deemed that time has come to re-evaluate the suitability of using the model in analyzing short-run fluctuations for the undergraduates. In addressing the shortfalls of the IS-LM model, a new theory is essential. A new model that replaces the LM curve composed with its supposition that the central bank marks the currency stream and that the bank monitors the interest rate tenet. The new model avoids the impediments that sprout with IS-LM that comprises the real against the nominal interest proportion and inflation against the value level. It makes treatment of financial policy calmer by reduction of the worth of simultaneity, and by allowing growth to subtleties that are modest and rational. The IS-LM model describes the economy by the use of two relationships; the output and the interest rate. The output is about the goods in the market. It portends that a higher interest rate decreases the demand for goods at a specific income level. It reduces the output level until the quantity of output demands equals the production quantity. It is the IS curve. The other relationship is about the currency fair. It portends that the quantity of cash needed or the liquidity requirement escalates with income and depreciates with the rate of interest (Romer, p 151). The model adopts a fixed price worth and so incapable of analyzing inflation. To include inflation analysis, aggregate supply was incorporated which birthed the present IS-LM-AS model. It added the fact that greater output translates to steeper level of price. But was this model the best suited for analyzing current short-run fluctuations. The model assumed controversially that the level of price does not change and in time to disturbances. The model is found to be unreliable and impractical. To improve this is the IS-MP-IA model. The model uses an

An Organizational Culture. How Does It Affect The Decision And Essay

An Organizational Culture. How Does It Affect The Decision And Outcomes Of The Organization Can Organizational Culture Be Changed - Essay Example There is also no single definition of culture and it only involves assumptions, adaptations, perceptions, and learning that use symbols, language, ideologies, rituals, and myths in creating its beliefs, values and expectations. In a business setting, organizational culture is the shared philosophies, ideologies, values, assumptions, beliefs, expectations, attitude, and norms that knit the organization together. All of these interrelated psychological qualities reveal a group agreement, implicit or explicit, on how to approach decisions and problems or how things are done in a specific organization. It manifests in behavioral norms, hidden assumptions, and human nature, each occurring at a different level of depth within the organization. Studies have showed that organizational cultures are influenced by national cultures. Organizational culture differs not only from one business or industry to another but also from one country to another. In fact, industry and business culture are im mensely influenced by national cultures. The dimensions of cultures between countries were categorized by Hofstede. Hoftstede formulated a cultural assessment tool whereby dimensions of one’s cultural strength can be assessed by assigning a scale ranging from 0 to 100 in the five cultural dimensions. This tool of Hofstede is a popular tool among managers who would like to understand another culture apart from their own. The five cultural dimensions of Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Long-Term Orientation; Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture in details are; Small vs. large power distance – This refers to how a society handles inequalities and the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. Individualism vs. collectivism  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Behavior towards community. The degree to which individuals are integrated into groups or are expected to look after themselves and self-actualize. Masculinity vs. femininity)  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Behavior and roles distributed according to gender. (This dimension is often renamed by users of Hofstede’s work to Quantity of Life vs. Quality of Life because one of the notable findings in the IBM studies revealed that in ‘masculine’ cultures, people (whether male or female) value competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition, and the accumulation of wealth and material possessions whereas in ‘feminine’ cultures, people (again whether male or female) value relationships and quality of life. Weak vs. strong uncertainty avoidance – This refers to the level of need for structure. Cultures with low uncertainty avoidance tend to accept risk and change and prefer implicit or flexible rules and guidelines. Long vs. short term orientation – How much society values long-standing, as opposed to short term, traditions and values. Cultures with high long-te rm orientation place strong importance on family, discipline and social obligations These varying organizational cultures affect the decision and outcomes of the organization in manner that it dictates or sets the phase on how things should be done in an organization and how should manager approach the workforce considering the prevailing culture. A positive culture is often cultivated by management to be able to increase the productivity of the organization while keeping the people happy which reinforces further the positive and cohesive organizational culture. A positive organizational culture benefits the business enterprise because of its higher productivity outcome. When organizational culture is positive, people are motivated and get things done faster not to mention that

Understanding Child Development through Observation

Understanding Child Development through Observation Introduction: Background For observing and evaluating the child development, an online site is accessed where a nursery video is available and in the video the child that I chose to observe is a four year old girl that I will refer to as Amani. She is highly intelligent and confident child; not only has this she had extraordinary skills to socially move around independently. I observe Amani in the school classroom; play area and garden area where she has been involved in different activity. This observation has been conducted between 9.23am until 11.09am of all her activities. The objective of this observation is to make the progressive note of the childs physical, intellectual, emotional, linguistic and social development. In the next section there is description of observation and followed by the evaluation and childs profile. Observation Description Amani stands near to table on which there are name tags of students, she leans to pick her names tag with a little hesitance and picks the tag and pastes it on the name board. During the time she has smile on her face and looks pleased with this activity. Later on she is in her classroom sitting on floor along with her all classmates, she is smiling and has her eyes on her teacher, and paying attention to what teacher is saying intently. She is constantly smiling and moving her body in swinging way. Now, teacher is singing a poem Mary and Amani is singing along with the teacher and continuously smiling with pleasure. Teacher is reading the students story about growing flower plants, teacher speaks of flower planting, that there are some seeds and Maule! You will plant them and they will grow into a beautifulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦flower Amani says flower with the teacher. Teacher says Maule! What do you think that seeds are going to needà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ soilà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ andà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Amani cheerfully speaks waterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ waterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ making herself to be heard. Teacher says that you can go and play and Amani raises her hand cheerfully turns back and forth to her classmates and she walks around touching the different objects, she is in painting area and takes out a color out of jar and write her name with write hand, she put down green color and picks another marker. She gets up and walks to garden yard, wears her apron ties the laces and ribbons. She is standing by a large soil pot from where other children are getting the soil; she has a soil pot and tries to get the soil from one of a child standing closely. Second boy standing next to her has two scoops she tries to snatch the one because other boy is not letting her have the soil scoop. She snatches a scoop off the boy and cheerfully put some soil into the pot and says put some soil and it will make soil she picks a scoop and presses the soil inside the pot and says I am gonna show my soil and sits next to her teacher, she tries to take wax dough and laughs when her teacher refuses to g ive her the wax dough, teacher parts the dough and gives her half of the dough she smells it pleasingly and kneads it with her hand. Teacher says to her how does it feel? she says good. Teacher says how does it feel like? she says soft and cheerfully shifts the dough from hand to another. She says where is the stick to put it? and leaned forward to get the one and crushes an object on the table, the teacher exclaimed Oops! due sudden movement of Amani, she says she needs sticks and she hold the stick plate and put that near to her and picks the sticks one by one and put them in dough. Teacher says you could sing a song? she says yes and walks to the garden accompanied her teacher after finishing the wax dough, she puts the dough near to flower pots and waters the plants with the help of water shower. Now she is sitting in the garden party table and holding a spoon with plate and pretending to be eating with them. She gets up and leans forward to get another spoon and uses the spoon for picking sugar from the pot and pours into a tea cup and picks another pot, a milk pot and pour it into tea cup to make tea. She again pretends to be eating and her teacher says can you please make me a cup of tea, Maule!? she says with a smile yes, and puts sugar in the cup pleasingly, teacher says again what are you putting? she says with a smile I am putting sugar, and pretends to add more sugar into cup with spoon. She is on the garden party table and eating with spoon and drinking and says I have made it and get off the chair. Now she is in the class and standing next to her teacher who is sitting and singing a poem to children sitting on the floor. She sings the poem Mary with her teacher and classmates. According to Sheila Riddall-Leech (2005), observation is the most effective way to understand about the childs development stages, and its aim is to gather observation base information about a childs progress. Riddall-Leech (2005) further expresses that a single observation is not enough to determine whether or not a child is progressing and improving the developmental skills. Any observation should provide the data necessary to enable a professional to make balanced and informed decisions, such as the planning of specific activities to meet childrens needs, or whether to seek professional help. According to OHagan (2001), it is vital that parents are involved in the childs day to day activities in the school setting. In addition, the parents permission for observing child development is also important in the same regard. Evaluation Physical Development In physical development, Amani is observed for Development of Gross Motor Skills as well as Development of Fine Manipulative Skills (DeRobertis, 2008). Physically Amani is observed and found to be healthy and normal child since she continues to show physical activeness and physical involvement in every activity that a child of four year old is supposed to do such as walking, running, bending, carrying objects, and rolling. During observation, she is found to be physically comfortable of her environment like roaming around without any physical unbalance. She has shown almost all characteristics of Development of Gross Motor Skills. However, she has good physical balance yet at one point she shows lack of balance and co-ordination and control of body like leaning against the table and crushing other objects on the table. Another level of physical development observed is Development of Fine Manipulative Skills (DeRobertis, 2008). Just like every normal child of four year old Amani is ob served to able to using equipment, holding and gripping and drawing, writing and building. She is observed to feel, pouring, filling, touching and exploring dough and building another new object with it. She is observed to using objects like scoop and plant shower very efficiently and using spoon, dressing and using laces and ribbons. Intellectual Development Amani is intellectually observed remarkable as she shows intellect of mind and especially of knowledge and understanding. Both in classroom and play area she is observed as attentive, concentrated, understanding and learning child. The attention and concentration level is highly related to her responsive attitude. She shows some imagining and creativity too, working with wax dough and making cake and pudding of it. She is observed to have knowledge such as answering the teachers questions with her knowledge and writing her own name. The most important intellectuality observed in the Amani is her problem solving tendency such as wearing apron and tying the apron laces herself that shows her intense ability to show problem solving attitude. The sensing and concept formation of Amani is observed in play area where she makes pudding with wax dough, where she is asked about the wax and she responds correctly of the question that wax is soft and it shows great understanding and conceptuali zation of the girl. She seems to show good memory like sugar is added in tea and how to use the eating objects. Her understanding and recognition of objects and colors is extraordinary; she seems to differentiate between a light shade of green and vice versa. Since children learn language and other things by asking questions such as what, where, why, there has been lack of asking questions by Amani, and she intends to respond to the questions rather. Emotional Development Emotionally Amani is observed to be independent as she is able to walk around freely without any hesitation. Moreover, there is no hesitation or difficulty in her expression. She is expressive and good at expressing herself. However, she shows little lack of control over her emotions like when she is in her play area to plant a seed in soil she snatched the scoop from her classmate who refuses to hand her that scoop, though there is not any intense situation yet she looks little out of control of her emotions. Besides, she shows a good emotional balance towards her classmates, she seems to show warm towards her classmate. Facial expression is observed as maturely because she intends to smile all the time whenever she is amused to show her pleasure. She continues to responds the teacher apparently pleasantly and in expressive way. She seems to show good interaction with others but little direct eye contact is observed. The overall body movement and body posture is simply frequently wi thout any hesitancy and normally active and responsive. Tone of voice and play attitude is observed as interactive and sociable involvement. There is such as no sudden change in behavior or language tone. Linguistic Development Amani is observed to have language skills of the level of four year old child. She seems to express herself rather using language. In addition, she is observed to use short sentences and no difficulties and hesitation in speaking. Since language development of child depends on its cognitive skills and Amanis cognitive skills is observed as functioning and efficient, her language fluency and efficiency is improved and better than other children in the classroom. The selection of words and fluency in the speaking is extraordinary good with correct use of tense. Social Development However, Amani is observed as an active, balanced and interactive child yet it has been observed that she has very little double-sided interaction with her classmates. She is observed to interact with her teacher but little is observed her interaction with her classmates. She seems to look warmly and positively but she does not show a productive and cooperative interaction; for example, at one point, she rather snatches the scoop from her classmate rather than making a polite request she seems to behave a little intense. Since, a child of 3 or 4 year is capable of waiting of his/her turn and in normal situation can share and cooperate with fellows (Kail, 2007) therefore it was a little surprising aspect of her because she seems to behave normally so far in other development. In addition, social roles and social behavior like learning appropriately and respond to other is observed normally. However, she seems to enjoy being in classroom with other classmates and enjoy the social appea rance. In regard to other social skills like dressing and moving around without any help and doing different activities she is observed doing them independently. She seems to show a parallel social playing behavior like playing alongside but not with another child, not very much interacting and talking to other children in her different activities. She has been observed as cooperative and with high self-esteem- valuing herself as a person and confident. She rather seems to appear a self-reliance person in social development point of view. Child Profile I observed the child thoroughly and assessed her physically, intellectually, emotionally, linguistically, and socially. The overall development of Amani is observed to be normal and healthy. She has shown normal tendency in all level of development including physical, intellectual, emotional, linguistic and social. However, physical development means doing movement either gross or large movement of limbs or fine manipulative movement of fingers (Grych Fincham, 2001). Amani is found to have large movement of her body and her finger by using pencils and writing. Because physical development mainly depends on the body growth and nervous system that sends message from the brain to body it demonstrates the muscles to motivate them to move. There is great relevance of physical development with intellectual development, because if a child physically not fit or shows problems like little movement, hesitation, and inactive, all these symptoms show inefficient intellectual development of chil d. Amani has been observed as physically active and responsive her intellectual and mental capacity can be assessed as normal and frequent. The intellectual development of Amani is found to be mentally active and interactive along with reasoning mind. She seems to understand the environment, the teachings taught in the classroom and questions asked; she seems to answer them intellectually. She is very attentive and concentrated girl along with ability to respond the external environment. She has good imagining, creative ability and problem solving attitude. Moreover, she possesses an ability to utilize conceptualization of her reality and creativity. Emotionally she is a well balanced child with independent attitude; she has got normal body posture, eye contact, language tone and unchanged behavior. Moreover, her body language and facial expressions are even and warm towards other mates. In linguistic development I observed that she has ability to use language to express her and the re is fluency in the way of her language. Socially she is active, balanced and inter-active child, she is warmly and positive towards interacting towards her mates. She has good learning skills as a social roles and social behavior like learning in a group appropriately. She is socially independent and warm and communicative and responsive. She is expressive, social, cooperative and sharing the things. She has got remarkable cognitive skills and memory power. Different social activities like eating, moving in group and responding; these are those abilities which are extraordinary brought on in her. Common child features of asking questions about the things that they do not know or do not understand, in Amanis case it are bit different in the way that she does not asking question but answering the question rather. Another thing that is important to conclude is her overpowering and strong and intense feeling about her movement. She is intelligent, cooperative, talkative, communicative , and furthermore, creative and imaginative with good self confidence. According to Gambrell (1994) the child who is motivated to learn has many reasons to read and it also includes knowledge gaining, on the other hand Amani is not observed for reading, which can prove her learning motivation. Nevertheless, she is motivated to learning and learning in group which is undermining part of her development.

Road to Valley Forge :: essays research papers

The Road to Valley Forge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book that I choose to review was The Road to Valley Forge, How Washington Built the Army that Won the Revolutionary War, written by John Buchanan. This is a book that covers the beginning of the revolutionary war in America from the time that George Washington is selected as commander-in-chief of the army, until his army enters winter quarters at Valley Forge. It encompasses the weather conditions that Washington and his army had to endure as well as the scrutiny that Washington always seemed to be under. The scrutiny came from people in congress who believed that the war was going to be quick and wanted a large, decisive battle fought.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George Washington took control of the revolutionary army on 2 July 1775. He took over at outside of Boston, before this his experience was limited to wilderness travel and soldiering. His soldiering experiences had been mainly for his home state of Virginia. The first battle that was of significance in this book was the Battle of Long Island. At this battle Washington and the rebel army are soundly defeated by General Sir William Howe and the British army. After this battle was fought Howe did not follow-up the victory with quick action as the Americans retreated. It could be said that if Howe and the British would continued the attack this rebellion could have been put down right away. This will not be the first time that Howe fails to do this, and it will lead to him being replaced later in the war Sir Henry Clinton. Even though his army was thoroughly defeated Washington is able to get his troops off of Long Island back to Manhattan in the middle of the night, this will also not be the last time that Washington is able to get his   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 army out of harms way. The author briefly discusses the troubles at Kip’s Bay and Fort Washington.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next subject that Buchanan goes into is Washington’s retreat through the state of New Jersey. The key part of this retreat is when Washington crosses the Potomac River he collects all boats from both shores of the river. He later uses them to cross the icy Potomac to win the very important Battle of Trenton. The importance of this battle is that raised the morale of the soldiers. After this Howe decides to go into winter quarters.

Policing and Crime Reduction Essay

As the logic would imply, policing and crime rates have been thought to be related in certain ways. The public generally view that police powers depend on the quantitative aspect than on its qualitative characteristics. Comparably to the perspectives of far that perceives quantity reigns victor in the end, the public indeed view that the quality of security depends mainly on the number of police squad patrolling the area. There has been a lot of research that discusses the possible effects of quantity of police powers in reducing the crime rates. Various contributing factors have been considered in these studies in order to justify the rationale of this belief. However, the results still vary according to methodologies used, geographical area and socio-cultural atmosphere. In the course of our discussion, the primary topic shall center on this issue of increasing police officer count that induces reduction of crime rate. Analysis and interpretation of various data obtained through review of literature and records analysis shall be employed in order to validate the said claims. The following queries shall be answered throughout the discussion: a. What are the pros and cons of increasing the quantity of police officers for policing purposes? b. Identify various theories and concepts related to the subject of policing, particularly community policing, hotspot theory & deterrence theory. c. How are the conditions of San Diego, NYPD and Kansas City PD in terms of crime reductions way back in 1990s? d. Discuss and elaborate the study on foot patrol and New Jersey problem-oriented policing The discussion of the over-essay shall focus on the above queries; hence, these statements shall be the functional scopes of the entire study. The increase of police officers in the streets only leads to of the two consequent effects: either decrease of crime rates or even more increase of crime casualties. Essentially speaking, one reason patrol activity may be less effective than desired is the lack of adequate resources to facilitate the proper service. Does adding more police help bring down the crime rate? Discussion: Pros and Cons of Increased Policing In general view the evidences and the studies that pertains to this subject is mixed. According to some reviews, the number of law reinforcement officers in a jurisdiction seems to have probable little effect on area crimes. Comparisons of police expenditures in U.S. cities indicate that cities with the highest crime rates also spend the most on police services. While these results are disappointing, a number of recent studies, using various methodologies, have found that police presence may reduce crime levels and that adding police may bring crime levels down. In addition, increasing the size of the local police force may have other benefits for the overall effectiveness of the justice system (Siegel & Senna, p.182). Whether adding more officers to an already large police force causes crime to decrease; however, is somewhat less clear. Studies of the marginal effect of police and crime suffer from a number of difficulties. First, not only might additional police cause decline in crime, one might expect additional crime to result in the hiring of more police. This simultaneity effect makes it very complicated to sort out what causes what. The second problem is temporal order wherein cities with higher and lower levels of policing possesses indefinite data in terms of the addition of the police in cities with presently huge number of policing system, especially if the data gathered preceded or followed their current crime levels. Lastly, there is a great deal of measurement error in the counts of police officers and in the crime rates (Sherman, 2002 p.303). Pros of Increase Police Powers Evidence shows that cities with larger police departments, which have more officers per capita than the norm, also experience lower levels of violent crimes. Police departments that use a proactive, aggressive law enforcement style may help reduce crime rates. The methodologies of various local or federal policing firms greatly contribute the results of this reduction. As for this research that resulted in possible effects of quantitative policing, the proactive policing and aggressive policing are used, which may have affected the diminished results of violent crimes (Siegel & Senna, 2004 p.181). According to the recent studies, it is possible that the added police will make more arrests, which is another factor that helps lower the crime rate. Traditionally about 20% of all crimes reported to the police is cleared by arrest. Research indicates that if police could make an arrest in at least 30% of all reported crimes, the crime rate would decline significantly. If there were greater police resources, police departments would have the luxury of engaging in aggressive, focused crime fighting initiatives with the result being more arrests and a greater deterrent effect (Siegel, 2004 p.83-84). For example, UCR data show that index crimes are the ones most often cleared by arrest. Due to the visibility of homicide in the media and the importance police agencies place on homicides clearances, homicide detectives work aggressively to clear all homicides regardless of where they occur or the personal characteristics of homicide victims. It is possible that this aggressive approach to solving crime, spurred on by media attention to high-profile cases, has helped lower the homicide rate (Siegel, 2004 p.84). Public pressure for more police contributes to the formation of extremely necessary reforms. Collectively, these reforms provide more resources of labor for public security and focus public attention on real problems. They increase the capacity of the police to respond to crime in timely, fast, appropriate and accurate manner. Increasingly the numbers of police on the street or those deployed to specialized directed units can also have an impact on crime. In the case of open-air drug or gun markets, when police patrol a targeted area around the clock, there is an immediate deterrent effect (Wiatrowski & Pino, p.200). Cons of Increase Police Powers There is no definite evidence that suggests larger police forces reduce crime rates. There is also little evidence that a policy of adding more police will actually reduce crime. In 1968, the Crime Commission found that no direct correlation existed between the number of police per thousand citizens and the crime rate. It has been labeled as â€Å"doubtful† that any police agency can bring about an extend, significant decrease in crime rate (Marion, 1994 p.226). Moreover, it is unlikely that the bottom will fall out of public safety if we reduce the number of police, even quite substantially, and it is equally unlikely that crime will be reduced if we try to spend our way to safety by adding police officers. Changes in the number of police within any practicable range will have no effect on crime (Bayley, 1994 p.5). Summing up all the evidence, the authoritative Audit Commission in Britain wrote: The terms of public debate need to move off the assumption that more police officers and more police expenditures lead to a commensurate increase in the quantity and quality of police outputs (Bayley, 1994 p.5). The number of patrols in an area may be doubled, halved, or even removed altogether without changing crime levels. A review of 36 correlational studies, most of them weak in research design found little evidence that more police reduce crime rates. A recent review; however, of 27 studies of the effect of police numbers on violent crime came to similar conclusions. Criminologists have tried to address this question for over a quarter of a century, with no consistent and evident results (Sherman, 2002 p.303). On the contrary, other researches testify that increasing the police powers of certain areas may even increase the occurrence of crime since the number of arrest is also assumed to increase as this situation occurs. In addition, military or police control may overly occur in the area and may even induce anxiety over the civilians in the area. If the number of arrested individuals increases in an area, chances are the perception of security in the given place is also affected heavily; thus, criminal fear among the civilians is therefore increased (Skogan etal, p.224). According to the studies made, the increase of police powers is not even evident or justified to decrease the criminal rate; hence, such intervention possesses higher risk of possible ineffectiveness. Theories and Concepts Community Oriented Policing Problem solving and community partnership have become valued aspects of police service since the time of the reform era. True police professionalism must therefore incorporate the duty of servicing the community. Community policing can bridge the gap between police and citizens by uniting them in a common effort to prevent and control crime. Community policing is the collaboration between the police and the community that identifies and solves community problems. Ideally, such collaboration helps develop better relatio9nships and mutual understanding between police officers and community members, which in turn help in solving community problems (Glenn, 2003 p.93). It is not military-style policing with a central bureaucracy obedient to directive legislation, which minimizes discretion. It is not policing that is autonomous of policing consent and accountability. It is not policing that is committed primarily to reactive crime-fighting strategies or measured by output in terms of professional efficiency. Community policing is also essential because it is a key component of an export drive from the West in the development of new policing structures in transitional societies. In the United States, community oriented policing represents the dominant ideology of policing as reflected in a myriad of urban schemes, in funding practices, and in research publications (Brognen & Nijhar, 2005 p.1-2). Community policing works only if an area is flooded with police that would require hiring tremendous numbers of officers and huge amounts of spending for salaries other expenses. Critics also argue that community policing simply displaces crime to another area in which there are fewer police. However, community policing makes good political sense on a bipartisan basis and could help end the ideological battles over crime policies (Marion, 1994 p.226). Deterrence Theory Deterrence theorists portray humans as rational, pleasure-seeking, pain-avoiding creatures. This assumption leads to a relatively simple theory of crime: people will engage in criminal behavior when it brings them pleasure and carries little risk of pain. Deterrence theorists point out that punishment is most effective when it is swift, certain, and severe enough to outweigh the potential rewards of criminal behavior. The basis of deterrence theory-that formal punishment reduces criminal behavior-is very straightforward. Testing deterrence theory, however, is more complex. General deterrence is the proposition that increases in the certainty, severity, or swiftness of punishment produce decreases in criminal behavior for the population at large. The severity of punishment is relatively easy to measure. One could look, for example, at the average prison sentence for crimes in different jurisdictions. Studies on capital punishment, though, are by far the most common tests of this aspec t of deterrence theory (Vito etal, 2007 p.57). In some point of view, punishment based on deterrence or incapacitation is wrong because it involves an offender’s future actions, which cannot be accurately predicted. Punishment should be the same for all people who commit the same crime. Criminal sentences based on individual needs or characteristics are inherently unfair because all people are equally blameworthy of their misdeeds. Deterrence theory holds that if criminals are indeed rational, an inverse relationship should exist between punishment and crime. The certainty of punishment seems to deter crime. If people do not believe they will be caught, even harsh punishment may not deter crime. Deterrence theory has been criticized on the grounds that it wrongfully assumes that criminals make a rational choice before committing crimes, that it ignores the intricacies of the criminal justice system, and that it does not take into account the social and psychological factors that may influence criminality. The most evident disappointment for deterrence theory is the fact that the death penalty does not seem to reduce murders. There is little evidence that harsh punishment actually reduces the crime rate (Siegel, 2004 p.84). Hot Spot Theory Hot spot theory argues that predatory crime is associated with certain types of geographical areas, such that relatively few locations or hotspots are associated with a high percentage of crimes. Many of these hotspots exist in urban areas. Crimes against tourists are likely to cluster in these areas involving the concentration of tourism amenities and attractions, and therefore by implication, are likely to be higher in areas hosting special events. A transient population comprising local, domestic and international visitors increases the potential targets for crime and the individual anonymity for offenders. This is combined tendency for some tourists to decrease their safety consciousness on holiday, indulge in risk taking behavior and enter unfamiliar environment, which increases their exposure to criminal activity (Wilks & Page, 2003 p.198). Hot spot theory looks at locations, which provide convergent opportunities in which predatory crimes can possibly happen. These areas are described as crimogenic places where there are lots of bars, nightclubs and strip joints catering to tourists and providing ancillary services such as prostitution and drugs. Some of the crime these areas generate is of course victimless crime since tourists themselves often engage in deviant actions, such as drugs that have criminal consequences (Albuquerque & McElroy, n.d p.3).

Marketing Simulation Essays

Marketing Simulation Essays Marketing Simulation Essay Marketing Simulation Essay Orange experienced a very successful campaign and grew more profitable over the six quarters throughtout the Market Simulation. In terms of market share in comparison to the competition, we placed fourth holding 12 percent market share. We initially targeted the Mercedes market, and later developed products aimed at the Traveler and Workhorse clientele. In terms of profitability, we suffered a loss moving from Quarter 1 to Quarter 2, which is typical of most early-stage companies. However, each quarter thereafter we were able to maintain a profit, ending with $18,270,122 gross profit and $15,232,910 operating profit. Our six computer models are the driving factor behind such success. These models include The Motherboard, Babyboard 2. 0, Horseboard, Superboard, Toddlerboard, and The Ponyboard. The Superboard, out of all the models, was our most profitable device with $6,303,840 in profit. We also embarked on a major expansion endeavor, spreading our brand originally from Chicago to Paris, Shanghai, and Sao Paulo. Our knowledgeable sales force comprised of 60 individuals, coupled with our extensive advertising and competitive pricing allowed Orange to rise to the top. By the end of the Marketplace Simulation, Orange was in first place for cumulative total performance, accounting for a variety of business disciplines that contributed to our success. While we placed third in the simulation in terms of overall financial performance, we placed first overall for market performance and marketing effectiveness. Brand Design: Over the course of the six quarters, we made varying adjustments to our brands in order to keep up with the ever-changing competitive markets. In Quarter 2, we decided to enter the Mercedes market with The Motherboard computer. Specifically, this brand was designed to be the top of the line product that suited all the most important needs of Mercedes. Some of these needs included a fast and powerful processor, the ability to link with other computers, and a machine that is capable of multitasking (Fig 1. 1). We figured that starting out in the highest-end market would be beneficial to creating a good name for our company, and then we would be able to trickle down throughout the other brandstarget market segments. Our results from Quarter 2 showed that we were successful with The Motherboard, as we possessed 46 percent of the market share for Mercedes. In Quarter 3, we introduced The Babyboard to the Traveler market segment. We designed our product to match the best-suited brand for Traveler, which was SwifTech’s Quickfly. We were slow to expand from our original two brands, and lost some of our momentum with our Quarter 4 decisions. When we got our results, we realized that we needed to introduce more brands in order to keep up with the highly competitive markets. Quarter 5 marked our first Quarter quarter of rapid expansion. We introduced an additional product lines to Mercedes and Traveler, and created our first unit product for Workhorse. The new product lines for Mercedes and Traveler, The Superboard and The Toddlerboard respectively, were the higher quality versions of the The Motherboard and the The Babyboard. They , which were enhanced with all of the necessities and priced slightly higher than the original lines. Our initial brand for Workhorse was the The Horseboard, and it possessed the most basic features at the lowest price, to appeal to a consumer who was looking for something simple to use. We continued the trend of making two slightly varied products for each market segment in Quarter 6 when we introduced the The Ponyboard to supplement a slightly lower-end product than the The Horseboard. Sales Design Strategy: The sales design strategy of Orange was based primarily on the customer’s (Workhorse, Mercedes and Traveler) needs and wants. This consisted of the top eight preferences in either a laptop or a desktop, and the top six segments of applications. Additionally, each of the target market’s priceprices willing to pay is are shown in (Fig 1. 2). Initially, Orange felt it was most appropriate to choose to target the Mercedes market in Chicago. This allowed for The Motherboard to be produced, which led to 46 percent% domination in only the Mercedes market. Unfortunately overall Orange only had a 12 percent% overall market share, and felt it was necessary to expand into the portable laptop industry of Traveler with The Babyboard 2. 0, and opened a plant in Paris. By Quarter 3, the market size had reached 10,000 customers, which allowed for expansion in the cities of Shanghai and Sao Paulo, and the last target market of Workhorse. The generous rebates were attractive to the target audience, and allowed for the introduction of The Horseboard, The Superboard, and The Toddlerboard. By Quarter 6, a total of 60 sales people had been employed, and due to the overall low prices of the products, as well as the rebates, Orange gained a 2 percent% market share. Financial Performance: Throughout these first phases of our company, Orange has created a positive financial pattern. While we implemented an aggressive growth strategy and expanded our empire internationally, we kept our costs to a minimum. Naturally, we started Quarter 2 with a deficit due to startup costs. Unlike most companies, our costs were controlled however, and we were only behind by just over $12,000. As advertising has always been a core competency of our company, we spent a total of $109,471 developing and promoting our first batch of advertising. The leasing costs and office spaces were kept to a minimum in the first two quarters as well, since we were only operating out of one location. As we moved into the Quarter 3, we expanded internationally and our rental costs increased. However, our sales skyrocketed as well. We had begun to turn a profit, and were in the black by $1,155,328. In Quarter 4, we continued the pattern of financial growth, and maintained an increase in sales. Again, we were fiscally conservative and attempted to keep costs to a minimum (Fig. 1. 3). An important component of Orange’s financial history is the profitability of each brand we sell (Fig 1. 4). Our first line, The Motherboard, dedicated to the top-tier consumer, introduced us to the marketplace. We turned a profit of $922,344 throughout all six quarters. This is a modest percentage of our empire, yet it accounts for the beginnings of our financial gain. Our most profitable brand, The Superboard, generated $6,303,840. We invested a lot of time and capital in the creation of this line, and it paid off. The ToddlerbBoard, HorsebBoard, and PonybBoard were all profitable as well, with over one million made from each. Financially, only one of our lines performed less well than we had hoped. Our second line, The Babyboard 2. 0 only generated $452,198. Unfortunately, we were unable to sell a high number of these units, and the cost of goods sold was very high in comparison. In the end, each of our brands was able to generate profits. Our conservative fiscal policy allowed enough room for growth without spending more than we could handle. Finally, our revenues continued in a positive direction throughout every quarter, and we are confident the future will play out in the same way (Fig 1. 5). Competition: In the computer market, competition is very fierce. Thus, our company had to constantly position itself to be able to compete with the other companies in the market. To this end, we opened our first sales office in Chicago, hoping that our knowledge of the American marketplace would aid us in capturing a large initial market share. This plan was successful and put us near the top in overall performance in the computer market. From this point, our company decided that in order to continue our success, we needed to examine the competition to find out what we were doing right, what we were doing wrong, and how we could improve. This plan enabled us to better understand what customers wanted without having to invest heavily into producing prototypes, because we were able to utilize other companys products and sales numbers as though they were test products. Our first major interaction with our competition came in Quarter 4our fourth Quarter of operation. We introduced our The Babyboard product for the Traveler segment in our third QuarterQuarter 3 of operation. We made the mistake however, of not considering the Traveler segments desire for the computer to be fun to use. We discovered this issue by examining our competitors products and finding that all competitors that were more successful than us had included games with their product. Despite the increased costs of production and the cost of redesigning our brand, profits for the The Babyboard nearly doubled the next qQuarter (Fig. 1. 6). We also looked to our competition to determine our expansion plans. We realized immediately that with such fierce competition, the first mover advantage would be crucial. Thus, we expanded as quickly as possible by opening sales offices in every possible location. We also handled competition by expanding into every market segment, eventually offering a product for all segments of the market. Our company felt that this strategy would ensure that even if the competition would overtake us in one area, we would be able to survive on the strength of our other products while we figured out how to react. This strategy ultimately served our company well, as we were the top overall performer in the computer market. Conclusion The results of the past six quarters have clearly shown that Orange has met its primary goals and exceeded expectations, becoming one of the most consistent and profitable companies in the industry. By using a conservative fiscal policy as well as an aggressive and competitive expansionary policy, we have seen Orange grow and become a stable company that is definitely worthy of further investment. To put it into a more detailed perspective, the way we dealt with competition, brand management, sales strategy, and our financials, was what brought us to the top and remains the reason we plan on becoming even more profitable in the near future. By starting in the Mercedes market, we were able to establish ourselves early as a company that promotes high-end, top quality products. This made it extremely easy in the future to expand to the other brands such as Traveler and Workhorse, since we were already best known for our superior products, that we have constantly updated to satisfy the ever changing consumer demands. By using this strategy, we were eventually able to generate enough revenue to expand to four different areas of the world, making our brands even better known and reaping most of the first mover advantages. However, this idea alone was not sufficient to achieve the revenues that we experienced over the past few quarters. Additionally, we knew that for our company to be profitable, we needed to get our name out there. This is why our strategy was to hire a large amount of sales people in each country, and invest a large sum of our operating capital in advertisements that would appeal to the wants and needs of specific target markets. Though we have experienced relative success the past six quarters that have propelled us to the top of the industry in overall performance, we are owhere near complacent. With the competition so fierce and the landscape of the technological environment constantly changing, we feel that we are prepared to respond to any competitive and technological pressures that we might have to face in the future. Our company has been the model company in terms of consistency and financial growth and we feel as though our results so far have proven that Orange is a safe in vestment that will provide lucrative returns in the future. Figure 1. 1 Figure 1. 2 Figure 1. 3 Figure 1. 4 Fig 1. 5 Fig 1. 6

Free Essays on Deviance

Deviance – Teen Sex I’ve chosen to interview a friend who I will refer to as â€Å"Betty† for this project. Betty began her deviant sexual behavior as a 14-year-old ninth grader. It was a conscious rebellion against her social and family norms. While sex at the age of 14 is against our social norms, premarital sex at any age was against Betty’s family norms. She was brought up in a strict, religious family where having sex outside marriage was not permitted. According to Robert Merton’s typology, Betty was in the category of rebellion. By having sex at a young age, she rejected the institutional means of approving the cultural goals. Betty often felt guilty, but still continued to have [protected] sex throughout her high school years. Her behavior seemed to be her way of secretly getting back at her parents and the rigid church/private school environment she was being brought up in. After all, in society’s view she was still a great student who graduated second in her class, was involved in school and community activities, and was a picture of the perfect daughter. Most likely, this justified any guilt she had over her sexual activity. Even though she was sexually active, her deviant behavior did not seem to hinder her relationships with peers who were not sexually active. Betty’s rationale is that because she had three long-term relationships during high school she was not considered promiscuous, which kept her from getting labeled as a â€Å"bad girl.† Also, in the 70’s there were other good students who basically used sex in the same way she did to rebel against family and societal norms. Her behavior became apparent to her parents once she got involved with a 24-year-old at the young age of 17. They correctly assumed that there would be only one reason a man of that age would hang around with a young girl. Betty never actually left the deviant role, she just became of legal age to conduct he... Free Essays on Deviance Free Essays on Deviance Quit often in our day-to-day lives we hear the word "deviance†, but never truly know the concepts behind it. It is not a complicated term although it is one with many theories behind it giving a vast variety of interpretations of just what deviance is and is not. Questions arise as to its relativity. Of course, no one can proclaim deviance is not relative, as deviance is behavior that does not follow common perceptions. An important sociological concept states that people conform, or perform to societal expectation or norms (Brown, 1965). Conformity provides order in the society. Thus, when someone is doing something that the rest of society find unacceptable, or out of the ordinary, he or she is considered deviant. While the definition of deviance may appear obvious, this is not necessarily the case for the sociology community. The sociology of deviance contains definitions of an extensive nature, which are branched off into several perspective groups. For example, sociologist Erving Goffman applies the concept of stigma, or more commonly, labeling; stating that ones behavior and actions deemed deviant are applied by others (Turner, 1996). Howard Becker’s definition seems to be commonly accepted as an adequate description of this concept, asserting that deviance is whatever a social audience reacts against or labels as deviant. However, another sociologist, Erdwin Pfuhl, believes that the label â€Å"deviant† depends on a group’s notion of actions and conditions that should and should not occur. This view also suggests that labels of deviance can change within different societies and times. One might ask why there are so many interpretations of deviance. The answer is rather simple. Due to its relative nature, people will interpret activities quite differently (Clinard, 1998). For instance, within certain sub- cultural groups it is normal to smoke marijuana. Yet, to the larger society, it is considered deviant. This is ... Free Essays on Deviance A person would be considered to be acting deviantly in societ... A person would be considered to be acting deviantly in society if they are violating what the significant social norm in that particular culture is. What causes humans to act certain ways is a disputed topic among researchers for some time now. There are three types of researchers that have tried to answer this question. There is the psychological answer, biological answer, and the sociological answer. With all of the studies that have been performed, no one group has come up with an exact reason to why people behave deviantly. Although, sociologists’ theories have not been disproved as often as the psychologists’ and biologists’ theories because their experiments are too hard to define and no one definition for deviance is agreed upon by all experimenters (Pfuhl, 40). My own curiosity to find out what the influences are behind deviant behavior is the purpose for this paper. We have already discussed this topic during class in part two, chapter four of the textbo ok which explains deviance and crime. This section talks more about deviance being a learned behavior. I wanted to find out more information to see if biological factors are also behind this kind of behavior. The most knowledge acquired for why people act deviantly is from the sociological perspective. There is need for more research, if possible, in the psychological and biological perspectives, but there is a lot more known in the sociological viewpoint. The reality that the definition of deviant behavior is considered different by everyone makes it complicated and unknown if a truly accurate answer can ever be found (Pfuhl 18). This is why this topic is important to the study of sociology. Sociologists have more information, and therefore may be closer to finding the cause. For this reason, my main focus in this paper is at the sociological stand point of deviance with some explanations from psychologist... Free Essays on Deviance Deviance – Teen Sex I’ve chosen to interview a friend who I will refer to as â€Å"Betty† for this project. Betty began her deviant sexual behavior as a 14-year-old ninth grader. It was a conscious rebellion against her social and family norms. While sex at the age of 14 is against our social norms, premarital sex at any age was against Betty’s family norms. She was brought up in a strict, religious family where having sex outside marriage was not permitted. According to Robert Merton’s typology, Betty was in the category of rebellion. By having sex at a young age, she rejected the institutional means of approving the cultural goals. Betty often felt guilty, but still continued to have [protected] sex throughout her high school years. Her behavior seemed to be her way of secretly getting back at her parents and the rigid church/private school environment she was being brought up in. After all, in society’s view she was still a great student who graduated second in her class, was involved in school and community activities, and was a picture of the perfect daughter. Most likely, this justified any guilt she had over her sexual activity. Even though she was sexually active, her deviant behavior did not seem to hinder her relationships with peers who were not sexually active. Betty’s rationale is that because she had three long-term relationships during high school she was not considered promiscuous, which kept her from getting labeled as a â€Å"bad girl.† Also, in the 70’s there were other good students who basically used sex in the same way she did to rebel against family and societal norms. Her behavior became apparent to her parents once she got involved with a 24-year-old at the young age of 17. They correctly assumed that there would be only one reason a man of that age would hang around with a young girl. Betty never actually left the deviant role, she just became of legal age to conduct he... Free Essays on Deviance Each individual in society has their own definition of Deviance, I define deviance as mishaps in a persons beliefs, behaviors, and conditions that society feels is different. Because each person can define deviance’s in different ways, people often take offense to something one person considers deviant and another does not. For example, a handicap would not consider their condition deviance, but many people in society label the handicap as different. When people are labeled different they are treated different. As in, when I attend Rave parties society views me as deviant. To society rave people are drug addicts and troublemakers, but to me I define the party as a place to enjoy music. Music in its self is an art, and to us this is a wonderful way to express your love for the art of music. To others in society they see only the bad side of the event, we as people who enjoy the music only see the good, and we don’t consider ourselves different. I carry on a norma l day to day life, and at times on the weekends I enjoy relaxing with friends at a party. I can also remember when I went through the stage of bagging jeans and tight shirts strangers eyeing me as different. The look to others is different and considered deviant. While walking through stores I would constantly see workers following me, in assumptions that I would steal. I now know this is a form of deviance that many people who enjoy wearing those clothes deal with every day. To me these feelings of deviance are only small and un harmful, but to others who get accused of much larger forms of deviance feel much more pain and suffering on a daily basis....

Conflict resolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Conflict resolution - Essay Example Conflict resolution Being involved in a conflict can result from lack of option thus in most circumstances, people will be unaware that they are part of a conflict. In most circumstances, people who are part of a social unit like the family, workmates and company members get themselves involved in a conflict owing to the social relationship they have with the conflicting individuals. The resultant instigator of a conflict is the response of people to a perceived threat rather than the true threat facing them. In this manner, when the perception of a threat does not become a reality, people modify their behavior by evolving the sà ©ance of threat, but when the perception to threat becomes a real threat, conflict occurs. In the United States, in particular, the racial factor is among the major causes of the threat. Predominantly, a conflict between the white and the black races have in some instances resulted in armed conflict along the streets in the major cities in the United States as well as in the residential areas. Conflicts of this magnitude fuel an increment in the crime rate. One critical factor in the conflict that involves races is that it does not discriminate class or education level of people, but blanket cover all individuals with the traits instigating conflict. In an attempt to understand conflict and the nature of conflict, thus paper will analyze a case study of Officer Schwapp who was a victim of conflict in his workplace and attempt to provide mitigation measures to bring understanding in the event of such a conflict.

Discrimination Legislation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discrimination Legislation - Essay Example linguistically, as in a school, most individuals spoke different languages so, for better understanding of the lessons, these students had to be separated, and taught the same language, or example English before they joined again to form a set of class understanding the same language, this is just but an example of a positive gesture of an affirmative action. On the same note, employees got divided and taught the same rules, before being joined up again. At that time, affirmative action proved rather indispensable, considering the fact that, people had to be taught, the same language, in order to understand their roles, and duties in the particular organization, though, recently a research conducted by a PhD student at the university of Purdue showed that, some human resource managers have taken advantage of this, to embezzle themselves funds, so how do they do this? Well, one might be wondering the thing is after shuffling workers in a particular work station, the restriction they put is that, for any promotion to be awarded. Although the perpetual dislike for affirmative action, has been established in most countries, some countries more so the developing once, have emulated the idea, and are working out pertinent ways to have it