Saturday, May 23, 2020

How the 1947 Truman Doctrine Contained Communism

When President Harry S. Truman issued what came to be known as the Truman Doctrine in March 1947, he was outlining the basic foreign policy that the United States would use against the Soviet Union and Communism for the next 44 years. The doctrine, which had both economic and military elements, pledged support for countries attempting to hold back Soviet-style revolutionary Communism. It symbolized the United States post-World War II global leadership role. Countering Communism in Greece Truman formulated the doctrine in response to the Greek Civil War, which itself was an extension of World War II. German troops had occupied Greece since April 1941, but as the war progressed, Communist insurgents known as the National Liberation Front (or EAM/ELAS) challenged Nazi control. In October 1944, with Germany losing the war on both the western and eastern fronts, Nazi troops abandoned Greece. Soviet General Secretary Josef Stalin supported the EAM/LEAM, but he ordered them to stand down and let British troops take over Greek occupation to avoid irritating his British and American wartime allies. World War II had destroyed Greeces economy and infrastructure and created a political vacuum that Communists sought to fill. By late 1946, EAM/ELAM fighters, now backed by Yugoslav Communist leader Josip Broz Tito (who was no Stalinist puppet), forced war-weary England to commit as many as 40,000 troops to Greece to ensure it did not fall to Communism. Great Britain, however, was also financially strapped from World War II, and on February 21, 1947, it informed the United States that it was no longer able to financially sustain its operations in Greece. If the United States wanted to halt the spread of Communism into Greece, it would have to do so itself. Containment Halting the spread of Communism had become the United States basic foreign policy. In 1946, American diplomat George Kennan, who was minister-counselor and chargà © daffaires at the American Embassy in Moscow, suggested that the United States could hold Communism at its 1945 boundaries with what he described as a patient and long-term containment of the Soviet system. While Kennan would later disagree with some elements of American implementation of his theory (such as involvement in Vietnam), containment became the basis of American foreign policy with Communist nations for the next four decades. Marshall Plan On March 12, Truman unveiled the Truman Doctrine in an address to the United States Congress. It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure, Truman said. He asked Congress for $400 million in aid for Greek anti-communist forces, as well as for the defense of Turkey, which the Soviet Union was pressuring to allow joint control of the Dardanelles, the narrow strait forming part of the division between Asia and Europe. In April 1948, Congress passed the Economic Cooperation Act, better known as the Marshall Plan. The plan was the economic arm of the Truman Doctrine. Named for Secretary of State George C. Marshall (who had been United States Army chief of staff during the war), the plan offered money to war-torn areas for the rebuilding of cities and their infrastructures. American policy-makers recognized that, without quick rebuilding of war damage, countries across Europe were likely to  turn to Communism. While the plan was technically open to Soviet-allied Eastern European nations as well, it touted a free market as the best way to rebuilding a shattered post-war economy. That was something Moscow wasnt interested in buying. Implications Until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Truman Doctrine generally succeeded in containing Communism to its pre-1945 borders with exceptions in southeast Asia, Cuba, and Afghanistan. That said, both Greece and Turkey ended up led by repressive right-wing regimes, and the the Truman Doctrine marked the beginning of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Sources The Truman Doctrine,  1947 U.S. Department of State.The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, U.S. Department of State

Monday, May 18, 2020

Dehumanization And Isolation Of Louie Zamperini - 1329 Words

War can be loud and visible or quiet and remote. It affects the individual and entire societies, the soldiers, and the civilians. Both U.S. prisoners of war in Japan and Japanese-Americans citizens in the Unites States during WWII undergo efforts to make them â€Å"invisible.† Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken hero, Louie Zamperini, like so many other POW’s, is imprisoned, beaten, and denied basic human rights in POW camps throughout Japan. Minà © Okubo, a US citizen by birth, is removed from society and interned in a â€Å"protective custody† camp for Japanese-American citizens. She is one of the many Japanese-Americans who were interned for the duration of the war. Louie Zamperini, as a POW in Japan, and Minà © Okubo, as a Japanese-American internee,†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, communication with the outside world is impossible. To the world, including Louie’s family, he vanished. Initially declared missing at sea and later declared dead by the U.S. military, he becomes invisible to the outside world. However, Louie does what he can to resist these efforts. The Bird forces officers to work, even though it’s against the rules of war. Thus, the officers find their own way to resist by ruining the leather and depriving the Bird of seeing them miserable. The officers who worked in the camp â€Å"deliberately stitched leather improperly† (247). The POWs were later sent out to work outsi de of the camp,, but they resist by sabotaging everything can get their hands on, â€Å"At the worksites, Omori’s POWs were waging guerilla war. At the rail yards and docks, they switched mailing addresses, and changed the labeling on the boxcars, send tons of goods to the wrong destinations. They threw fistfuls of dirt into gas tanks and broke anything mechanical that passed through their hands† (248). This example is evidence of resisting invisibility since the POWs are sent out to do work that would support the Japanese war effort†¦ an act that would be considered that of a traitor. The POWs find a way to

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

President Obamas Reading List

As a part of his effort to raise the awareness of the problems of small businesses, President Obama bought more than twenty books at a local bookstore. His visit to Politics Prose was carried out on Saturday after the Black Friday, also known as Small Business Saturday. And although the main goal was to encourage the US citizens to help their local businesses, this visit is likely to lead to the traditional analysis of President’s reading list. This time, however, Obama is unlikely to provide political pundits a lot of food for thought: the list is way too eclectic to form any kind of balanced picture. There are a lot of books obviously aimed at children and young adults (most likely for his two daughters, Malia and Sasha). Two books are dedicated to sports in this or that way: â€Å"The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance† is aimed at breaking down some traditional views on sports and the reasons why some people excel at them, and â€Å"Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football† is an account of the National Football League, its internal politics and those parts of its life that are usually not presented to the public. Among notable fiction reads there are â€Å"Red Sparrow†, a spy novel by Jason Matthews critically praised for its realistic approach to the subject matter, â€Å"All That Is† by James Salter, â€Å"The Lowland† by Jhumpa Lahiri and â€Å"A Constellation of Vital Phenomena† by Anthony Marra. They all are likely to experience some rise in sales in the near future, just like it happened several years ago, when the White House mentioned that Obama was reading â€Å"Freedom† by Jonathan Franzen before its release and buyers swarmed booksellers who didn’t have it in stock yet. Most of the other books are younger readers: â€Å"Heart of a Samurai†, a critically acclaimed novel about a life of a teenager from Japan in mid-19th century America, â€Å"Half Brother† by Kenneth Oppel, telling the story of a relationship between a teenager and a chimpanzee taken in by his parents, and â€Å"My Antonia† by Willa Cather. Who is going to read them in his family Obama didn’t say. All in all, this visit was unlikely to be much more than a demonstrative gesture – Obama is well-known for being attached to his iPad, and it is more than possible that he does most of his reading on it.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Minimally Adequate Education Essay - 1442 Words

Minimally Adequate Education in the State of South Carolina In the state of South Carolina, public schools students are educated on the basis of a minimally adequate education. South Carolina legislators have interpreted the definition for minimally adequate education, given by the South Carolina Supreme Court, into curriculum requirements for students across the state. South Carolina legislators’ curriculum expectations for graduating high school students are below average. In relation, the students of South Carolina are being hindered from seeing and reaching their full potential by being â€Å"normed† to do below average work. Minimally adequate education provides a foundation for inequity in schools and leaves students unprepared for†¦show more content†¦the South Carolina Constitutions education clause states, â€Å"It is the purpose of the General Assembly in this chapter: To guarantee to each student in the public schools of South Carolina the availability of at least minimum educational programs and services ap propriate to his needs, and which are substantially equal to those available to those students with similar needs and reasonably comparable from a program standpoint to those students of all other classifications, notwithstanding geographic differences and varying local economic factors† (Abbeville 6). The South Carolina Supreme Court remanded the Abbeville et al. case because they felt Abbeville failed to realize the South Carolina Constitutions education clause did not provide the criteria needed to determine if the education their students were getting was inadequate (Abbeville 6). The South Carolina Supreme Court remanded the case, but felt that it was their duty to interpret the education clause into criteria that could be applied equally to students. They interpreted the clause by stating that a minimally adequate education is, â€Å"the ability to read, write and speak the English language, and knowledge of mathematics and physical science; a fundamental knowledge of e conomic, social and political systems, and of history and governmental processes; and academic and vocationalShow MoreRelatedRobotic Surgery : The Medical Professional Community1501 Words   |  7 Pageshero’s or celebrities of robotic surgery, are within the medical professional community. The surgeons, universities and hospitals are that are discussing as well as attempt to prove with no avail, that the addition of a robot to minimally-invasive surgeries (minimally-invasive surgery is surgical techniques limit the size of incisions needed and thus lessens wound healing time, associated pain and risk of infection), has improved their performance and results in the operating room. Though the medicalRead MoreAlthough Higher Education Institutions Are Aware That Approximately1114 Words   |  5 PagesAlthough higher education institutions are aware that approximately half of all college enrollees are non-traditional students, some colleges and universities have yet to provi de resources that will increase accessibility and affordability to such a delicate population (Panacci, 2015). Non-traditional students can bear one to seven characteristics: part-time enrollee, financially independent, full-time worker, enrollment delay of greater than one year past high school graduation, having dependentsRead MoreNon Endangered Species Of Whales As A Cultural Exemption1055 Words   |  5 PagesJapanese position on permitting the hunting of non-endangered species of whales as a cultural exemption? I believe that for countries in which whaling is required to sustain the livelihood of the local markets, exceptions should be made for minimally adequate commercial whaling, supporting any efforts toward the goal of identifying, designing and implementing an alternate source of revenue. That is to say: for those communities which are widely dependent upon this enterprise and for whom their culturesRead MoreTheoretical Models847 Words   |  4 Pagesharder and look at ways to improve and increase departmental functioning in the future. In health care managers have diverse staff to motivate. Employees may be of varied ages, experience, educational levels, and job descriptions. Staff ranges from minimally educated secretarial staff to professionals such as licensed professional nurses, physicians, and physician extenders (Borkowski, 2005). The manager who takes the time to get to know the employees he or she is responsible for will know the individualRead MoreEquitable Access For Good Quality Health Essay989 Words   |  4 PagesIn recent times, even when governments continue to contribute reasonable share of GDP to the health sector, it is not enough to provide universal coverage. Additional taxation to bridge the gap is a finite measure since taxes per se will not yield adequate sums to forestall the need for fees to be charged to provide and/or access these services. The experience has been that a significant portion of the population is unable (and may be unwilling) to pay for basic health (primary healthcare). This requiresRead MoreWhat Is College For The Quality Of The Students Work?970 Words   |  4 Pagesfind everything they learn boring; and they aren’t paying attention in class. I disagree, if people complain this much about college†¦. Why do they go? â€Å"Nonetheless, there is incessant talk about the ‘failure’ of education† (412) Gary Gutting states in his article â€Å"What is College For†. Education isn’t really failing, Gutting is only talking from his perspective in this article, and not the perspective of the actual students who go to college. When you hear people complain about college, they alwaysRead MoreCollege Is All Everyone s Talking About973 Words   |  4 Pagesfind everything they learn boring; and they aren’t paying attention in class. I disagree, if people complain this much about college†¦. Why do they go? â€Å"Nonetheless, there is incessant talk about the ‘failure’ of education† (412) Gary Gutting states in his article â€Å"What is College For†. Education isn’t really failing, Gutting is only talking from his perspective in this article, and not the perspective of the actual students who go to college. When you hear people complain about college, they alwaysRead MoreEssay on Addressing a Lack of Parent Involvement1398 Words   |  6 PagesParent involvement in children’s education plays a critical role in student achievement and outcomes later in life (Epstein, 1995). Much research has been conducted about the benefits of parent involvement in elementary school and middle school. Less research has been conducted pertaining to early childhood education, namely children from birth through age eight. The limited research that has been conducted demonstrates that parent involvement at the preschool and primary grade levels is associatedRead MoreThe Millenium Declaration Goals 20001758 Words   |  7 Pages2015. In this Millennium Declaration, It was chosen by the world pioneers to outline a system for advancement embodying eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s): 1. Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger 2. Achievement of universal primary education 3. Promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women, 4. Reduction of child mortality 5. Improvement in maternal health 6. Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, 7. Ensuring environmental sustainability and 8. Develop a globalRead MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of An Idiopathic Etiology997 Words   |  4 Pagesmechanisms, which can be eliminated through education and proper compensatory techniques. Behavioral treatments that can be implemented include: Pushing Techniques, Vocal Function Exercises, Resonant Voice Therapy, or Lee Silverman Voice Therapy (LSVT). Pushing Techniques utilize vocal fold adduction that occurs naturally while pushing or bearing down, Vocal Function Exercises are performed with barely adducted vocal folds, Resonant Voice Therapy emphasizes minimally adducted vocal folds and oral vibratory

Psychology of Stress Free Essays

string(252) " of insomnia and fatigue; learning to relax leads to sleep that is deeper and sounder; prevention or reduction of psychosomatic disorders, such as hypertension, migraines, headaches, asthma and ulcers; increased self-confidence and reduced self-blame\." The road of pain caused by a Stress-related illness 73132:Psychology of Stress Open Polytechnic Wellington Elizabeth Ross Words:2,149 â€Å"The road of pain caused by a stress-related illness†, is the name of this final assignment. A detailed case study and treatment plan for Sera-jean who has a stress-related illness. I will endeavour to propose a treatment plan to help Sera-jean manage hypertension and type 1diabetes. We will write a custom essay sample on Psychology of Stress or any similar topic only for you Order Now There will be brief outlines of the techniques I have chosen, how it works and what benefits it will be to Sera-jean overall. There will also be two relaxation ideas for Sera-jean to utilise if she so wishes. Sera-jean is aged thirty-four and is married with 3 children. She has quite a bubbly personality, easy going, diligent, hard- working, open, honest, sympathetic listener, knowledge able and a very sincere and caring person. Sera-jean and her husband had just bought a lifestyle property, so Sera-jean applied and was offered the position of lead operator in the new plant of Individual Quick Frozen cheese department. A great opportunity to be a part of a new concept in a global organisation, Sera-jean gladly signed up and became an important part of a good team, with the aspirations to want to learn and get a good start to a new concept with great opportunities. After two years IQF had lost 30, 000 metric tonne of Pizza Hut and Dominoes orders, the plant was just unable to keep up with the orders. Machinery breakdowns, rejected product, foreign matter in product, packaging faults and with all of these malfunctions from the plant and loosing orders everyone began to wonder what would happen. Sera-jean was already becoming quite worried about what was going to happen with her department. There was no word from the company, the union or management which from all points of view was very upsetting for everyone. She was getting headaches and at times was having dizzy spells. She took two days off to have some tests done and when she returned she told us that she had hypertension and type 1diabetes. Poor Sera-jean she couldn’t understand why she suddenly had these illnesses as she had always been quite fit and healthy. Change as a stressor, when change happens your life feels out of control and it brings with it discomfort. Sudden and prolonged change frightens us you can have trouble adapting your thinking and cause confusion. When changes are imposed without any input into the process, the other aspect of change that can affect your stress level is the significance of the change on the rest of your life. Extensive research suggests that two related psychological factors can mediate an, organisms responses to the stress of change: controllability and predictability (Krantz, 1986). Perceived control is defined as the felt ability to escape avoids and/or modifies threatening stimuli (Averille, 1973). Increased predictability can help minimize the stress of making changes. The fear of the unknown is a potent stressor that needs reduction. Another stressor for Sera-jean that may have contributed to the hypertension is sympathomimetic agents which are the chemical substances that mimic the sympathetic stress response. Many foods contain these substances and when they are consumed it can trigger a stress response in the body, so depending on how much was consumed. Xanthincs are powerful amphetamine-like stimulants that increase metabolism which creates a highly awake and active state. They also trigger release of the stress hormones that among other actions are capable of increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen demands on the heart. Extreme, prolonged stress-hormone secretion can even initiate myocardial necrosis – that is, destruction of the heart tissue. (pp. 179 – 181). Constructive coping tactics for Sera-jean to use help manage stress. Appraisal-focused strategies; detecting and disputing negative self-talk, rational thinking, using positive reinterpretation, finding humour in the situation, turning to religion. Problem – focused strategies; active problem solving, seeking social support, enhancing time management, improving self-control, becoming more assertive. Emotion – focused strategies; releasing pent-up emotions, distracting one, managing hostile feelings and forgiving others, exercising, mediating, using systematic relaxation procedures. (pp. 114 – 131). To relax is the very foundation of any program to overcome anxiety, phobias, or panic attacks. Many other skills such as desensitization, visualization, and changing negative self-talk, build on the capacity to achieve deep relaxation. The type of relaxation that really makes a difference in dealing with anxiety is the regular, daily practice of some form of deep relaxation. Deep relaxation refers to a distinct physiological state that is the exact opposite of the way your body reacts under stress or during a panic attack. This state was originally described by Herbert Benson (pp. 81 – 103. 1975) as the relaxation response. This involves a series of physiological changes, including decreases in heart and respiration rate, blood pressure, skeletal muscle tension, metabolic rate and oxygen consumption, analytical thinking, and an increase in skin resistance and in alpha wave activity in the brain. Regular practice of deep relaxation for twenty to thirty minutes on a daily basis can produce, over time, a generalization of relaxation to the rest of your life. So after several weeks of practicing deep relaxation once per day, Teri-jean will tend to feel more relaxed all the time. There are many benefits of deep relaxation that have been documented such as the following; reduction of generalized anxiety. Many people have found that regular practice also reduces the frequency and severity of panic attacks; to prevent stress from growing in strength. Stress that is unabated may tend to build up overtime. Entering into a state of physiological quiescence once a day gives your body the opportunity to recover from the effects of stress. Even sleep can fail to break the cumulative stress cycle unless you give yourself permission to deeply relax while awake; increased energy level and productivity; improved concentration and memory; regular practice of deep relaxation tends to increase your ability to focus and keeps your mind from racing; reduction of insomnia and fatigue; learning to relax leads to sleep that is deeper and sounder; prevention or reduction of psychosomatic disorders, such as hypertension, migraines, headaches, asthma and ulcers; increased self-confidence and reduced self-blame. You read "Psychology of Stress" in category "Essay examples" You can perform better as well as feel better when you are relaxed; increased availability of feelings. Muscle tension is one of the chief impediments to an awareness of your feelings. To achieve a state of deep relaxation, using some of the common methods such as; abdominal breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, passive muscle relaxation, visualizing a peaceful scene, guided imagery, meditation, biofeedback, sensory deprivation, yoga and calming music. (pp. 86 – 90) Guidelines for practising progressive muscle relaxation (or any orm of deep relaxation) so the following information will definitely help Sera-jean make use of progressive muscle relaxation that is undertaken to practice regularly, including self-hypnosis, guided visualization and meditation. Aerobic or cardiovascular exercises, stretching and toning exercises would encourage your mind and body to be more active on a daily basis. Planning a set programme of relaxation methods, breathing exercises, meditation an d counselling these are all shown in this assignment as a great way to help with any and all illnesses that you are experiencing. Stress is a normal part of life, but too much stress can lead to emotional and psychological and even physical problems – including heart disease, high blood pressure, chest pains or irregular heartbeats. Reducing stress can help lower high blood pressure. If stress itself is a risk factor for heart disease, chronic stress exposes your body to unhealthy, persistently elevated levels of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Stress changes the way blood clots, which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Being exposed to long periods of stress is where your body can give warning signs if there is something wrong. These physical cognitive emotional and behavioural signs of stress should not be ignored. Slowing down, if you continue to be stressed and if your body doesn’t rest you will definitely develop health problems. Physical signs; dizziness, general aches and pains, grinding teeth, headaches, indigestion, muscle tensions, racing heart, sweaty palms, tiredness, upset tummy. All mental signs; suffering from constant worry, forgetfulness and the inability to concentrate, lack of creativity, loss of sense of humour. Emotional signs; anger, anxiety, crying depression, feeling powerless, frequent mood swings, irritability, loneliness, nervousness, sadness. The behavioural signs; there is bossiness, along with compulsive eating you display explosive actions, and at times you show a critical attitude towards life.. How to cope with stress, eat and drink sensibly, assert your-self and exercise regularly, relax every day, take responsibility and set realistic goals and maintain positive thoughts. It takes commitment, learn and practice relaxation, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, mental imagery relaxation, relax to music, biofeedback. It is time to reiterate that stress arousal involves both the mind and body interacting to form a response to an event, the event that might be external to the body or could be a memory or a thought. We will now focus on stress-management techniques that involve the mind and they are autogenic training and visual imagery and this involves the use of mental images to supplement and extend the relaxation response. The two technics are as follows; challenging limited thinking and cognitive restructuring. There are eight limited thinking patterns; Filtering, you focus on the negative details while ignoring all the positive aspects of a situation; Polarized thinking, things are black or white, good or bad, there’s no middle ground, no room for mistakes; Overgeneralization, you reach a general conclusion based on a single incident or a piece of evidence; Mindreading, without their saying you know what people are feeling and why they act the way they do; Catastrophising, you expect to visualise horrible events. Magnifying; you assume that everything people do or say is some kind of reaction to you. Should; you have a list of ironclad rules about how you and other people should act. (p. 38) Autogenic (self-produced) training and visual imagery this is where you need to take time to practise the techniques of the exercises recommended and along with the exercises that involve you imagining a special place, like the beach or a mountain meadow. If you are to become proficient at using the techniques, then, to use it in combination with relaxation and breathing exercises would be the most beneficial to you. So when you have followed these 3 steps of muscle relaxation, controlled breathing and special place imagery have a very effective means of managing stress, or helping others manage stress. However, keep in mind that it is essential to set realistic goals; the primary goal of relaxation and imagery training is to learn the technique; the secondary goal is to influence stress-related body states, such as high blood pressure, pain, tension and nausea. It is important that people do not assess themselves as failures if they do not achieve results quickly. Change may be subtle and takes time to master. It might take the form of a better level of relaxation, or a person achieving emotional, intellectual or spiritual balance before noticing any definite physical change. In conclusion Sera-jean had all the tools to help her understand the illnesses she had and how to best cope with them. She had got a little bounce in her step and was looking quite relaxed at times, which helped her manage her life her way. It has indeed been very informative for Sera-jean, her family and her work colleagues as she has shared her experiences, what she has ained from the treatment plan and counselling sessions as she feels that if she can help one person to be able get through what she has than it has all been worthwhile. References Girdano, D. A. , Dusek, D. E. , and Everly, G. S. , Jr. (2009). Stress in the workplace. In Controlling stress and tension. (8th ed. , pp. 245-267)). San Francisco, CA: Person/Benjamin Cummings. Furnham, A. (2006). Stress at wo rk. In The psychology of behaviour at work (2nd ed. pp. 354-391). Hove, England: Psychology Press. Weiten, W. Dunn, D. S. , Hammer, E. Y. (2012) Psychology applied to modern lifeAdjustment in the 21st century. (10th ed. , pp. 114-131)Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Lachman, V. D. (1983). How to minimize stress while making changes. In Stress management: A manual for nurses. (p. 172 – 199). New York, NY: Grune Stratton. Girdano. D. A. Dusek, D. E. , Everly, G. S. , Jr. (2009). Stress and the human environment interaction. In Controlling stress and tension (8th ed. , pp. 179 – 199). San Francisco. CA: Benjamin Cummings. Bourne, E. J. , (2010) Relaxation In The anxiety and phobia workbook (5th ed. , pp. 81 – 104) Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. Davis, M, Eshelman, E. R. , McKay, M (2008) Exercise. In The relaxation and stress. Reduction workbook. (6th ed. , pp. 331-334) Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. Publications. Davis, M. , Eshelman, E. R. , McKay, M (2008) Coping skills training for fears. In The relaxation and stress reduction workbook (6th ed. , pp. 187-192) Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications How to cite Psychology of Stress, Essay examples

Advanced Data Analysis Report

Questions: Case Study Baycoast is a (fictitious) local government area (called a 'city') within greater Melbourne, Australia. It consists of a number of different suburbs, all with their own history of development. The city grew indifferent stages, with new suburbs gradually emerging. It covers some wealthy suburbs and some not so wealthy. As the name would indicate, the city is located on the Bay.The city stretches for several kilometres along the Bay's lovely beaches, and for several kilometres inland. About 60,000 people live in the suburbs of Baycoast.The main objective is to conduct exploratory, descriptive and causal analysis is to gain a comprehensive understanding of house prices in the Baycoast region and an understanding of themost important factors that impact prices. Your analysis will be based on a random sample of 120 houses from the city. Note that for the purpose of the assignment the unit of analysis is a House. Itis defined as a stand-alone dwelling. That is, flats, apartments, etc are n ot included in the database. The assignment requires five separate tasks: Summary of House Prices Factors influencing house prices Development of a multiple regression model Time Series analysis Critique the Business Research Approach Answers: Description of House Price - This study data includes 24 variables. Out of these House no. is an identifying variable same as serial number. Price ($000) is the dependent variable of this study. And Rest 22 variables; Rooms, Lot Size(sq m), Age, Area (sq m), Material, To Train(km), To Bus(km), To Shops(km), Street, Storeys, Style, Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Kitchen, Heating, AirCon, Bay Views, Suburb, Weekly Rent $, Rental Return %, Condition and Rental Status, are independent variables. Out of these indpendent variables; Lot Size(sq m), Age, Area (sq m), To Train(km), To Bus(km), To Shops(km), Bay Views, Weekly Rent $ and Rental Return % are continuous variables while rest are categorical variables. The dependent variable price is a continuous variable. So, it described descriptively by calculating mean and standard deviation. To understand the distribution of the data skewness and kurtosis were also calculated. Mean for Price is 886.57 and median is 852, median is little smaller than mean implying the positive skewed or skewed to the right which is also supported by the positive value of skewness (0.426). Negative value of kurtosis (-0.1478) implies the slight flat peaks of the normal curve as can be observed in the histogram plotted below. Standard Deviation is 324.95. Variable price seem to follow almost normal distribution with slight right skewness and flat peak as observed in the histogram presented below. Only one outlier with a value of 1500 was found as an outlier in the boxplot. Factors affecting House Price To find the factors affecting House Price, first correlation was run for all the independent variables with variable price. Amongst these correlation coefficients, any four values of correlation coefficient greater than 0.4 were selected and these factors were studied. The cut-off value of 0.4 was chosen so as to have variables with at least moderately good correlation with the variable price. So, based on the correlation coefficient the variables selected are Rooms, Street, Bay Views and Weekly Rent ($). By common sense if we think then we will find that these variables really affect the price of a house. Correlation coefficients are reported below - Correlation coefficient Rooms 0.505469 Lot Size(sq m) 0.41083 Age -0.36346 Area (sq m) 0.567769 Material 0.164491 To Train(km) 0.003012 To Bus(km) -0.02383 To Shops(km) -0.08373 Street 0.72257 Storeys 0.565098 Style 0.364688 Bedrooms 0.539745 Bathrooms 0.331223 Kitchen -0.05608 Heating 0.243694 AirCon 0.122417 Bay Views 0.676194 Suburb 0.373759 Weekly Rent $ 0.665591 Rental Return % -0.40384 Condition 0.354435 Rental Status 0.068507 The correlation coefficients for the factors selected are Correlation coefficient Rooms 0.505469 Street 0.72257 Bay Views 0.676194 Weekly Rent $ 0.665591 Scatter plot between Weekly Rent and Price was plotted to visually inspect the relation between these two variables. Scatter plot was plotted between these two variables only because these are continuous variables. Slight linear relationship is observed between Weekly Rent and Selling Price. To compare the two continuous variables descriptively, descriptive statistics described below Price($'000) Weekly Rent $ Mean 886.575 Mean 604.3333333 Standard Error 29.66343575 Standard Error 20.67073241 Median 852 Median 595 Mode 811 Mode 835 Standard Deviation 324.9466579 Standard Deviation 226.4365284 Sample Variance 105590.3305 Sample Variance 51273.5014 Kurtosis -0.14778497 Kurtosis 0.225284528 Skewness 0.426005063 Skewness 0.523856086 Range 1569 Range 1170 Minimum 192 Minimum 200 Maximum 1761 Maximum 1370 Sum 106389 Sum 72520 Count 120 Count 120 Confidence Level(95.0%) 58.73656476 Confidence Level(95.0%) 40.9301142 The standard error and skewness of the two variables is quite comparable. Weekly rent has positive kurtosis as compared to negative kurtosis for Price implying steeper peaks than Price. The other three variables are categorical variables so mean Price against each category was calculated to view the effect of price of each category. Average of Price($'000) Rooms Total 5 744.86 6 721.00 7 808.00 8 1137.32 9 1182.69 Grand Total 886.58 Average of Price($'000) Street Total 3 520.92 4 684.29 5 866.93 6 884.40 7 882.60 8 1103.10 9 1359.88 10 1499.00 Grand Total 886.58 Average of Price($'000) Bay Views Total 0 753.12 0.1 817.50 0.2 867.25 0.3 991.17 0.4 1041.29 0.5 1079.40 0.6 1110.00 0.7 1176.80 0.8 1362.50 0.9 1455.00 1 1510.00 Grand Total 886.58 From the above tables we can observe that as the category increases, i.e number of rooms increases or number of street increases or the proportion of Bay views increases then Price of the House also increases with only one exception of price for 7 Street is less than price for Street 6. Multiple Regression As the data contains 22 independent variables and Excel has limitation on the number of dependent variables to be used, two multiple regression with 11 variables each were run sing Data analysis toolpak of excel. Amongst these two multiple regression whichever variables showed significant p-value (p 0.05) for t-test for slope were included in the model. The model included 9 variables out of which variable Bedroom showed not significant p-value and was excluded. This leads to final multiple regression model with 8 independent variables influencing Price of a house. These variables are Lot size, Age, Area, Street, Storeys, Bay Views, Weekly Rent and Rental rent. The final model is Price ($ 000) = 116.0136 + 0.0642 * Lot size - 2.0876 *Age + 1.0457 * Area + 39.3334 * Street + 92.9236 * Storeys + 314.9985483 * Bay Views + 0.4481 * Weekly Rent - 66.6201 Rental rent The variables Age and Rental rent are negatively linearly related to Price meaning if age of the house increases or the rental rate increases than Price decrease or vice versa. All other variables; Lot size, Area, Street, Storeys, Bay Views and Weekly Rent are positively linearly related meaning increase in any of these variables are associated with increase in house price. The constant value of 116.0136 implies that if all the variables are zero still the price of house is 116.0136 ($ 000) which indirectly means its land price coz without anything there could be no house practically. The coefficients of variables imply that if the variable is increased by unit then Price of the house will increase by units equal to coefficient value. Eg: If the lot size increases by one unit then Price will increase by 0.0642 units. The R squared value obtained for this model is 0.9804. R squared value represents goodness of fit of the model. So 98.04% value of goodness of fit implies very good fit of the model. This also explains that 98.04% of variance in the model is explained by the independent variables included in the model and only approx. 2% remains unexplained. Adjusted R square value is 97.90 which also imply very good fit of the model. The p value for Analysis of Variance obtained is very less which implies the model to be highly significant at 5% level of significance. If we compare the positive coefficients then Bay views has the highest coefficient followed by Storeys followed by Street followed by Area followed by Weekly Rent followed by Lot size. Lot size influences the price of a house by least strength and Bay views by highest strength. Time series analysis Time series data from 4th quarter of 2009 to 3rd quarter of 2013 was used to seasonalize the trend using the software Megastat an add-in of Excel. Deseasonalization was carried out using multiplicative model. Forecast equation derived through regression is y = 25.42t+504.5 where 504.5 is constant and 25.42 is a coefficient or slope of the line and t is the number of serial order. Using this equation Median House Price was forecasted from 4th quarter of 2013 to 3rd Quarter of 2014 using t from 17 to 20 as below t Median House price 17 936.64 18 962.06 19 987.48 20 1012.9 Using the observed median house price provided we calculated Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) by following formula MAPE = 100/n*(Actual Forecast)/Actual Where n = number of actual observations provided t Forecasted Actual ratio abs ratio 17 936.64 980.00 0.04 0.04 18 962.06 1062.00 0.09 0.09 19 987.48 1206.00 0.18 0.18 20 1012.90 954.00 -0.06 0.06 sum 0.38 MAPE 9.53 The value of MAPE obtained for this data is 9.53 which imply good fit of the model and there is very less difference between forecasted values and observed values. Discussion The data in this study includes 120 observations and 24 variables out of which one, Price, is a dependent variable. Rest 23 variables, except House no., are independent variable. House No. is identifying variable. Amongst all these variables few variables were more correlated with Price than other few. Few variables showed positive correlation and few negative. Most of the negative correlations observed were very weak. Out of positive correlation variables Street, Bay views and Weekly Rent show strong correlation. Out of the 22 variables, 8 variables; Lot size, Age, Area, Street, Storeys, Bay Views, Weekly Rent and Rental rent were observed to determine the price of the house significantly. Thus, these are the factors which contribute to the estimation of House price significantly. Out of these Age and Rental rent are inversely related to House Price. The model showed a good fit with R squared value of approx. 98% implying that approx. 98% of variance in House Price is explained by these independent variables and model. Only approx. 2% of variance in House price remained unexplained. The model obtained was significant with highly significant p value at 5% level of significance implying that these results should be considered and are not just obtained by chance. Bay views most strongly affect the House price and lot size with the least strength. Using time series data from 4th Quarter of 2009 to 3rd quarter of 2013 was deseasonalised using Multiplicative model. Forecast equation was obtained using regression. Then values of median house price were forecasted from 4th quarter of 2013 to 3rd quarter of 2014. These values were then compared with the observed values by calculating Mean Absolute Percentage Error determining the fit of the forecasted values. Mean Absolute Percentage Error of 9.53 indicates good fit. Thus, the results of multiple regression and time series analysis implies that this data provides a good fit. Thus, the model fit is able to forecast the values with high accuracy. This data has high potential.

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Business Economics Financial Crises and Recession

Question: 1. Demonstration of a clear understanding the issues. Use of academic models. Clear focussed understanding of a topic 2. Critical analysis is an important test of the students ability to evaluate business economics concepts. 3. Introductions and conclusions should briefly address the issues to be discussed and discussed respectively. Answer: Introduction Business Economics is also known as Managerial Economics. It is the relevance of economic theory and methodology. Business entails decision-making. Decision-making is the process where one has selected from two or more than two alternatives of action. Due to the limitation of fundamental resources such as land, labour, capital and management, the question of choice arise. (Allen, 1999) Those resources can also utilise in alternative uses. The decision-making is a process where one should make a choice and take decisions, which will give the most efficient decision for maximising the profit level. The consideration of the chief executive has needed in different features of the business. The chief executive has to choose a single option from between the many options that influence the interest of the firm to reach the most favourable decision, which can encourage the business to achieve the goal of the organisation. Business Economics or Managerial Economics assembles those necessities of the business firms. Main Body Macro Economics Issues in Business Economics The word macro' means large or significant. Macro Economics is significant subject deals with the total economy. Business ignores common issues such as unemployment, inflation and economic output or interest rates, which emerging as a significant threat in future. The recent Macroeconomic conditions determine whether the development or growth of the organisation is a good idea right now or not. Macroeconomics determine the process that how the entire economy functioned and implemented (Business pricing and inflation, 1984). Usually, it works on the whole organisation rather than focusing on an individual. The main Macro Economic factors that should consider before expanding a business are as follows- Unemployment Rate The level of unemployment is the proportion of people in the labour force that are without a job and vigorously searching for work. This high incidence of unemployment is not enough for business expansion. However, high rate of unemployment means a large number of workers with lower wages that consider the improvement of profit margins but due to high unemployment, the demand for goods and services have decreased and hampers the economic growth and business expansion. Inflation Inflation is the process to determine the increase rate of price in an economy. High inflation rate means that the costs of goods and services also increase. If the rate of price is too high, then people sometimes decide to change their decisions about purchasing the products. Economic Output Economic output is the process to determine the rate of growth or decline of the organizations economy. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures an Economic Output. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the cumulative cost of the products or goods along with services that are manufactured during a particular period in a business economy. If the economic output rate is increased, that means people are employed and the company is investing. If the economy of the business decreases then, unemployment gets increase and the business also investing decline. Micro Economic Issues in Business Economy Micro Economics is the subject that deals with picky markets and divisions of the economy (Kevane, 2001). The main Micro Economic factors that should consider before expanding a business are as follows- Consumer behaviour Individual employment markets The theory of the organization Micro Economics is concerned with- Demand along with supply within particular marketplace Individual customer behaviour e.g. customer selection theory Individual employment markets e.g. wage determination, labour demand, etc. From production and consumption externalities are arise (Richardson, 2015). Sifting from Micro to Macro Microeconomic analysis See the diagram of plain supply along with demand for Automobiles. Micro Economics is apprehensive with the problems like the collision of demand increasing meant for automobiles. The aforementioned microeconomic investigation illustrates that the increasing demands lead to elevated price along with elevated quantity (Weskott, 2014). Macroeconomic investigation See the diagram it determines the goods and services produced in the economy. This macroeconomic analysis shows the real GDP (Gross Domestic Product) instead of quantity. Instead of goods price it shows the entire PL (price level) for the economy (Razzu and Singleton, 2016). The diagram of Macro Economic Analysis and Micro Economic Analysis are based on the same principles. It just shows the Real GDP (Gross Domestic Product) pretty than Quantity along with Inflation and PL (Price Level). Differentiation between Micro Economics and Macro Economics The differences between the micro economics and macro economics are as follows- Microeconomics looks at small segments of the economy whereas macroeconomics looks at the whole economy. Symmetry Asymmetry Economic study deduces that markets return to symmetry or equilibrium (S=D). While demand boosted more rapidly than the supply, then demand raises the price or cost level (PL) and the companies respond by an increase in the supply. For a lengthy period, it is assumed that the macroeconomic analysis acted in a similar manner as microeconomic analysis. After the year of 1930, a separate branch of economics named macroeconomics has introduced. There is a small controversy regarding the fundamental principles of microeconomics. Macroeconomics is furthermore controversial than Microeconomics. Diverse disciplines of macroeconomics recommend dissimilar explanations. Macroeconomics places better importance on experimental data and trying to explain it. Microeconomics have a tendency to work from the theory first. Similarities between Micro Economics and Macro Economics However, it is suitable to divide economics into branches- micro economics and macro economics but to some extent it is artificial. The similarities between the micro economics and macro economics are as follows- Principles of micro economics are used in macroeconomics for instance the flexibility of demand to sift in price. Microeconomics has reasonable effect on macroeconomics and vice versa. If there is an augment in oil prices, this will have a huge shock on cost-push inflation. If the cost decreases then, economic growth will increase rapidly (von Proff, 2015). Microeconomic gets effect for the housing market as the house price rises. But this real estate market is also considered as a macroeconomic variable and will influence economic policy. To utilizing computer paradigms of domestic behaviour in order to forecast the bang on macroeconomic they need some efforts. Key Issues Affecting UK Economy Recession along with Recovery The largest issue faced by the UK economy is the deficiency in economic recovery. Due to the decrease in GDP by 6% during 2008-09, some amount of the economy was improved; however, the current double dip recession in the year of 2012 has made the UK economy decline and depressed. For next few years, the main factors that affect the UK economy is the rising queries on UK economy that can the UK economy come again to an average pace of fiscal growth or remain fixed in a Japanese-style phase of economic stagnation (Rixtel, 2002). Issues Affecting Economic Growth The main problems that are affecting the economic growth of UK are as follows- The EU again entered into a recession and had reduced scenario of recovery specified the business's recent economic and financial policies. They misrepresent by small-scale saving or investment as well as the entire minute fall in public expenditure, as they remain fixed by means of their insufficient fall plans. Recently the government more concerned about the growth of their economy. On the other hand, rather than dealing with the problem with cumulative demand, the authorities fixed the hopes on the reforms of supply side. Tax deductions to increase the inducement. However, the governments sometimes overrate the potentiality of insignificant supply side policies to rise above the basic deficiency of cumulative demand (Smithin, 2003). Further falls in house market that is if the house price decreases it will hamper consumer wealth and lead to lower spending. Decreased consumer confidence. Significance of Business Economics The importance of business economics is discussed below- Business economics is considering the features of traditional economics that are applicable for making a decision in business in real life. Due to the modification of this policy, a manager can allow taking better decisions (Tobin, 2002). Business economics also include many useful ideas from other regulations such as psychology, sociology, etc. Sometimes business economics takes help from other regulations having behaviour on the business decisions in relation explicit and implicit limitations subject to which resource allocation has optimised.usiness economics make a manager a more proficient as model builder. It helps a manager to realise the essential relationship which characterised a given situation. Conclusion The value of business economics lies in borrowing and approving the implementation of economic theory. By including significant ideas from other regulations to take best business decisions, act as a catalyst in the process of decision making by the managers in different functional sectors in the organisation and finally carry out a social purpose by familiarising business decisions towards social responsibilities. References Allen, R. (1999).Financial crises and recession in the global economy. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Business cycles and equilibrium. (1989).Journal of Macroeconomics, 11(2), p.316. Business pricing and inflation. (1984).Journal of Macroeconomics, 6(3), p.365. Kevane, M. (2001). Bardhan, Pranab, and Christopher Udry. Development Microeconomics. Oxford UK: Oxford University Press, 1999, 242 pp., $21.95.American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 83(2), pp.479-480. Libecap, G. (2009).Frontiers in eco-entrepreneurship research. Bingley, UK: Emerald. Razzu, G. and Singleton, C. (2016). Gender and the business cycle: An analysis of labour markets in the US and UK.Journal of Macroeconomics, 47, pp.131-146. Richardson, M. (2015). The Microeconomics of Risk and Information, by Richard Watt (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK, 2011), pp. xii + 221.Economic Record, 91(292), pp.136-137. Rixtel, A. (2002).Informality and monetary policy in Japan. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Smithin, J. (2003).Controversies in monetary economics. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Tobin, J. (2002).Landmark papers in macroeconomics. Cheltenham, UK: E. Elgar. von Proff, S. (2015). The Microeconomics of Complex Economies: Evolutionary, Institutional, Neoclassical, and Complexity Perspectives, by Wolfram Elsner, Torsten Heinrich, and Henning Schwardt. Oxford, UK: Academic Press, 2014. Hardback: ISBN 978-0-12-411585-9, $119.00, 600 pages.Journal of Economic Issues, 49(1), pp.297-299. Weskott, J. (2014). Book review: Wolfram Elsner, Microeconomics of Interactive Economies (Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA 2012) 240 pages.EJEEP, 11(1), pp.127-128.