Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

If the porters can organize their industry, hold their ranks, prove their fighting ability in the interest of the working class, it will have a profound effect on the attitude of white organized labor. And it will have a profound effect upon the organizable capacity of Negro workers in other industries. These men who punch our pillows and shine our shoes and stow our bags under the seats bear in their hands no little of the responsibility for the industrial future of their race (The Nation, June 9, 1926).Most observers would have thought it quite unlikely during the early 1920s that the sleeping car porters, those seemingly obsequious men, always bowing and scraping in the presence of whites with their hands held out for a tip, would ever have been able to start a union. Even more preposterous was the thought that they not only would start a union, but that their organization would become a nationally recognized symbol of the New Negro, a leader in the struggle of black people to att ain their rightful Place as part of the American working-class.Not only were porters servile and easily frightened men, people would say, but the vast majority of them worked for the Pullman Company, a giant among American capitalist enterprises. The company was the largest single employer of blacks in the country, and most black spokesmen believed that black people owed the Chicago-based corporation a debt of gratitude. Moreover, the Pullman Company was notoriously anti-union. Should porters attempt anything so foolish as forming a union, the company would crush the incipient movement before it ever began (Perata 45-47).However, by the end of World War II, Randolph and the brotherhood were major forces within American labor and society. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), was the first African American labor organization to affiliate with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The BSCP, founded by the labor leader Asa Philip Randolph in 1925, organized black Pullman ca r porters. Far more than a labor union, the BSCP was also a pivotal organization in the twentieth-century civil rights movement. Randolph was president of the BSCP from 1925 to 1968.Although he also held general organizer credentials, his role within the BSCP was largely that of public spokesperson and agitator, with practical matters being left in the hands of men like the BSCP organizers Milton Webster, Ashley Totten, and C. L. Dellums. The labor movement had done more for advancement of blacks than any other institution in America. Between 1928 and the 1935 convention, the laws governing labor-management relations bad changed dramatically. In July 1935, President Franklin D.Roosevelt signed into law the Wagner-Connery Act, which guaranteed workers the right to organize. But more important to the BSCP, Congress had passed the Amended Railway Labor Act of 1934 which guaranteed railroad workers that right. Moreover, that act required corporations to negotiate with unions that could prove that they represented the majority of a particular class of workers, and created the National Mediation Board to protect workers' interests. The emancipation of slaves following the Civil War did little to resolve their precarious social and economic status.As late as 1910, 83. 3 percent of African Americans resided in the South. The vast majority were engaged in agricultural work, with black artisanship suffering erosion when Reconstruction ended and Jim Crow systems became dominant. One of the few corporations to employ large numbers of African Americans was the Pullman Company, the maker and supplier of luxury cars for railroads. Founder George Pullman hired ex-slaves as servants for his cars as early as 1870, and by the turn of the century, Pullman was the single largest employer of black labor.Of the 12,000 porters employed by Pullman in 1925, all were black except for about 400 Mexicans and a handful of Asians. What emerged was a complex relationship between black employ ees, the Pullman Corporation, and rail passengers. From its origin the BSCP had three goals. First, of course, union leaders wanted to gain recognition from the Pullman Company as the official representative of porters and maids so as to improve their wages and working conditions.Second, and of equal importance, at least to Randolph, the BSCP was the means by which black workers would break down barriers to equal membership in organized labor. Thus, Randolph and his colleagues set their sights on an international charter from the AFL. The union's third goal stemmed from the first two. A union under black leadership strong enough to gain recognition from the Pullman Company and to wrest a charter from the AFL would serve as an example to other working-class blacks of the possibilities for improving their lives. Many of the black men (including J.Finley Wilson, president of the Improved and Benevolent Order of Elks of the World; Perry Howard, perennial Republican national committeeman from Mississippi; and Benjamin E. Mays, who became president of Morehouse College and of the Atlanta school board) who went on to make names for themselves worked for Pullman at one time. The harsh irony is that such men accepted jobs at Pullman largely because the company offered the best opportunities available for black men. Indeed, a porter's annual pay of $810 plus tips in 1925 far exceeded that of a black school teacher.In addition, porters were considered cosmopolites, men of the world who flitted back and forth across the country, visiting regularly places most blacks could never dream of seeing. Black women were instrumental in advancing the brotherhood from its earliest days. A small number of black women employed as maids by the Pullman Company took out memberships in the BSCP, but women were most active in auxiliaries. Wives and other female relatives of Pullman employees started to establish local auxiliaries in 1926, and that same year several auxiliaries combined to form the Colored Women's Economic Council.Women's auxiliaries were instrumental in raising money for the brotherhood in the days before an AFL charter boosted the organizational treasury. They also performed important community functions such as offering financial assistance to families left destitute when the Pullman Company dismissed black wage earners (Chateauvert 197). The BSCP took advantage of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's election in 1932. New Deal legislation outlawed company unions and granted workers the right to bargain through their own elected units.In 1934, the Railway Labor Act was amended to include sleeping car employees. Women continued their feverish activity on behalf of the union, and women's auxiliaries became so numerous that a coordinated network of Ladies Auxiliaries of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters emerged in 1938. Increased political, legal, and organizational activity gave Randolph the necessary leverage to call for a union election. In June 1935, despite massive layoffs by Pullman, the BSCP won collective bargaining rights by a nearly eight-to-one margin.BSCP officials not only sought legitimacy for their own union but looked on the union as a vehicle for the advancement of all black workers. During the Great Depression the Brotherhood participated in various grass roots activities and workers' actions. The union joined in the numerous protests throughout the country over the plight of the Scottsboro Boys, nine young blacks convicted of rape in Alabama, and was a leader in the successful efforts of organized labor and civil rights organizations to prevent the confirmation of judge John J.Parker, whom President Herbert Hoover nominated for the Supreme Court in 1930 (Santino 34). The BSCP alone tied together Parker's racist and anti-union sentiments. And though they would not go so far as to support Communist activities, Randolph and other BSCP spokesmen encouraged black workers to form workers' councils so as to demand equitable relief funds from the U. S. government, especially after the origin of the New Deal. The BSCP was the very first African-American labor union to sign a collective bargaining agreement with a main U.S. corporation (Santino 67). All applicants were required to take the General Test the United States Employment Service. Each applicant was also given an intensive interview with an employment service counselor to determine whether he might have a substantial potential in the trade regardless of his ability to meet the minimum standards. Under the collective bargaining agreement, appointments as apprentices were to be made from among the highest scorers. Randolph's career is one of the most interesting in contemporary black history.As an opponent of participation in World War I and an angry critic of the Wilson administration, Randolph's writings earned The Messenger the title of ‘the most able and the most dangerous of all Negro publications' (Pfeffer 67). During the int er-war years he devoted himself to trade union organization and gained prominence as the leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Not only did he secure recognition of the union from the railroads, but in 1936 took it into the American Federation of Labor as an international union.This union's founding and struggle for recognition was a dramatic episode in the history of black workers (Harris 78). The black leaders of the period, including Du Bois and Randolph, who believed in programs of interracial cooperation also believed that such a policy of working with whites must be accompanied by a campaign of public enlightenment about black people. To win whites to the cause it was necessary to correct the black image in their minds. Beyond an appeal to the conscience of whites, or to their democratic ideals, it was necessary to remove the misconceptions they held about blacks.In the mid- 1930s the Brotherhood won two notable victories-the receipt of an international charter fr om the American Federation of Labor and recognition by the Pullman Company as the bargaining agent for the porters and maids. Strengthened by its international union status and by its victory over the Pullman Company, the Brotherhood had become a dominant force in Negro circles by the late 1930s. References Chateauvert, Melinda. (1997). Marching Together: Women of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Harris, William. (1977).Keeping the Faith: A. Philip Randolph, Milton P. Webster, and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, 1925-37. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Perata, David. (1996). Those Pullman Blues: An Oral History of the African American Railroad Attendant. New York: Twayne Publishers. Pfeffer, Paula F. A. (1990). Philip Randolph, Pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. Santino, Jack. (1991). Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle: Stories of Black Pullman Porters. Urbana: University o f Illinois Press. The Nation, June 9, 1926, p. 3.

Book review †cold blood Essay

Book review of Cold Blood by the author James Fleming The surname (he is Ian’s nephew) and terse title might lead one to expect something purely commercial and hard-boiled of James Fleming’s Cold Blood. But this sequel to White Blood, though in the thriller genre, is both more idiosyncratic and awkward than that. The tone is set on page one with the hero-narrator’s introductory self-description: â€Å"I, Charlie Doig†¦ six foot two, strong across the shoulders and through the loins. † Set during the Russian revolution and its bloody aftermath, this is as much tongue-in-cheek historical romp as page-turning cliffhanger. The novel’s opening finds Doig, an entomologist with a taste for derring-do, in western Burma, where he is glorying in his discovery of a new species of jewel beetle. We are briefly whisked back to his ancestral home in Russia – his ancestry is exotically cosmopolitan – for a whirlwind reprise of some of the principal elements of White Blood, notably the rape and torture (so hideous that Doig feels compelled to put her out of her misery with a bullet through the brain) of his beloved wife, Elizaveta, by the evil Bolshevik Prokhor Glebov. Cold Blood tells the story of Doig’s single-minded pursuit of Glebov across civil-warravaged Russia. First stop is St Petersburg, where, with his Mongolian sidekick, Kobi, he witnesses the Bolshevik seizure of power and discovers that Glebov has become one of the revolution’s leaders, up there with Lenin and Trotsky. With the struggle of Red v White spreading across the land, Doig is forced to step up a gear in his pursuit of vengeance, assembling a ragbag troop of henchmen and women and commandeering an armoured train. Thus equipped, Doig will take on not only Glebov, but the whole of the Red Army. If Doig is single-minded, his creator certainly isn’t, for he throws any number of other odds and sods into the narrative stew. There’s a cache of stolen tsarist gold that everyone wants to get their hands on. There’s a mysterious American who proves to be up to no good. There’s an erotic interest called Xenia who also proves to be up to no good. There are any number of colourful bit parts that flit into the narrative, command attention for a couple of pages and then flit out again. If writers can be divided into minimalists and maximalists, then Fleming is out there on the militant wing of the maximalists. Thrillers need variation of pace: moments when the grip is relaxed, the better to sock the reader with the unexpected. Fleming’s relentless energy and garrulous black humour – as Doig and his band of eccentric ne’er-do-wells career across the steppes to an explosive denouement – produce flashes of brilliance, but at the expense of tension. Cold Blood has an original and talented voice behind it, but in the end perhaps goes to show that the comedy thriller is one of the trickiest of literary hybrids to pull off. Cold Blood by the author James Fleming.

The efficacy of the principle of supremacy of EU law depends on its Essay

The efficacy of the principle of supremacy of EU law depends on its reception in national constitutional courts. Discuss - Essay Example Despite being recognized by member states, there are particular reservations made by the national constitutional courts that challenge the principle of supremacy of the Community law. They view supremacy as an ideology rooted in national constitutions instead of being derived from the nature of Community legal order.1 Based on this notion, the constitutional courts possess the right to evaluate whether the European Union institutions conduct themselves within the competences given to them and respect the fundamental human rights and constitutional norms. An example of such cases include the Maastricht and Solange I and II decisions made by the German Constitutional Court, the Maastricht decision made by the Danish Supreme Court, and the Frontini and Granital decisions made by the Italian Constitutional Court. France offers a good example of how the supremacy of the European Union law depends on the reception of the national constitutional court. In France, the Constitutional Council frequently subjects new treaties to preliminary evaluation. The Constitution can be amended before the ratification process if an incompatibility is seen and this practice is crucial because it significantly minimizes the risk of constitutional conflict with the Community law.2 The acceptance of the Community law supremacy remains a contentious issue for case law. This is specifically evident in the possible conflicts between the national constitution and the European Union norms. The principle of supremacy can give rise to delicate and complex matters. It is crucial to state that no case law has ever addressed the issue of EU law supremacy and the national constitution. When a conflict exists between the ordinary domestic legislation and primary EU law, it is anticipated that the courts cannot hesitate to offer influence to the principle of supremacy.3 For the constitutional courts, the mere acceptance of the supremacy of EU law over the national constitutional law is equated to re ndering the courts redundant.4 The supremacy of the European Union law is among the four constitutional doctrines of the European Union (EU) law. The supremacy has no formal foundation in the original or first Treaty of European Community. Nonetheless, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) based on the conception of the new legal order established it. This can be well illustrated by its landmark case (Flaminio Costa v. ENEL) in which it was established that there existed a conflict between the Italian laws on national electricity monopoly and the EC (European Community) provisions permitting the free movement of goods. The ECJ created a clear hierarchy between the national law and EC by stating that in contrast with the normal international treaties, the EEC had established its legal system in which an entry into the Treaty force became an important part of the member states’ legal systems and in which their courts are required to apply.5 The court further ruled that the law em anating from the Treaty (that is, a self-governing source of law) was not possible to be overridden by the domestic legal provisions because of its original and special nature. The reactions to the principle were different among the Member States. It is important to note that the principle of supremacy over the national laws has been recognized by the Member States. Difficulties have emerged in acknowledging the absolute supremacy over the

Health Promotion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Health Promotion - Assignment Example The paper was supposed to begin by introducing the whole content of the paper in an abstract that is subdivided into subheadings representing the major heading of the report. This, however, was adhered to. The authors reported this in a manner that captivates the attention of the reader by letting the audience know what the paper entails and making the decision on whether to proceed with reading the whole paper or not depending on his interest. The abstract had the purpose, participants, method, result, conclusion and key words meeting the desired reporting guideline for the same. From this section a lone the researcher made known the reason he was engaging in the research reason being to explore the patients' perspective regarding their decision to seek health care services or avoid them altogether(Carla, Green, Johnson, & Yarborough, 2014).In the introduction section, more of what was covered in the abstract were expounded with more explanation about the need for that study. The re search design also covered how the survey was conducted by from October 2002 to April 2003 with 150 participants. The researchers reported having assessed that the participants had 12 months old plan. The mean of the population interviewed was also reported and the consideration given to the participants for their time was also acknowledged. This supports the validity of the response given since participants will not be worried about the time they are losing out from doing the economic activity.

Four functions of management case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Four functions of management - Case Study Example The management skills, which accrue to a business’s success that you did not put into consideration, include controlling, planning, organizing, and directing skills that accrue to a successful business. According to your business statistics, you employed Lisa and entrusted her with all the business operations. Irrespective of you two being friends for a long time, you should not have trusted her with all the directive orders. She would report to work, wash the office and tidy up then start her daily chores. This was a lot for her and what she had not expected. She had to check all the tax forms and serve all the customers. For a business to be successful and achieve the goals and objectives, it should ensure a proper channel of communication between the workers (Richman 2012). Lisa had confidence that she was doing the right thing even after adding the three new employees. You should have controlled all of them since you are the senior manager. You should have given your orders to the employees in case of any changes, which should have been directly, or indirectly through According to Directive Path Theory, a business leader should give freedom to his/his employees for them to realize their job expectations. In reference to the theory, your management should do a follow up on employees’ tasks to ensure that they achieve the required job standards and set goals. Remarkably, members of the management are required to involve the subordinate staff in the process of making strategic decisions. You should have involved your employees in decision-making processes that would have helped produce effective workplace union. Employees can also motivated by awarding them accordingly after excellent progress in their work. Awards can be through issuing of presents and souvenir just as you did in your case. Additionally, you did not put your supervisions skills into consideration hence led to your employees taking advantage of the situation. As for Lisa’s

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP - Essay Example At the beginning of the 20th century, IQ tests had been considered as the most valid measure of individual intelligence and potential to achieve success in life (Mandell & Pherwani 2003). However, IQ could not reflect the emotional and situational factors of leadership success (Mandell & Pherwani 2003). Today, research of how emotional intelligence and gender affect leadership styles is gaining momentum in organization studies and industrial psychology. More often than not, emotionally intelligent leaders are believed to possess an inherent capacity to perform better and transform the organization. Gender is claimed to predetermine the choice of particular leadership style. However, both assumptions have their strengths and limitations. Emotional intelligence and leadership styles That emotional intelligence (EI) and leadership style create a cohesive relationship has been widely documented. The body of empirical and theoretical literature examining the effects of EI on leadership style constantly expands. Emotionally intelligent leaders are generally considered to be happier than their non-emotional colleagues (Gardner & Stough 2002). Emotionally intelligent leaders are associated with greater workplace and organizational commitments and are believed to have emotions needed to improve the quality of decision making in organizations (Gardner & Stough 2002). Emotions have the potential to boost enthusiasm in followers and contribute to the development of sustained interpersonal relationships (Gardner & Stough 2002). These are the most popular claims highlighting the relationship between leaders and their emotions; but is everything as good as it seems? Generally, researchers recognize that EI does affect leadership styles. Of particular importance is the relationship between EI and transformational leadership (Mandell & Pherwani 2003). Really, transformational leaders usually display a greater extent of emotions than non-transformational leaders, and this fact has far-reaching implications for the effectiveness of their leadership decisions. EI enables transformational leaders to develop and articulate enthusiasm for the vision and mission (Mandell & Pherwani 2003). Emotions contribute to the development of charisma in leaders (Mandell & Pherwani 2003). Emotional leaders have better opportunities to develop trust and commitment among their followers. It is no wonder that EI is mainly associated with transformations and transformational leadership styles. Leaders who score high on emotional intelligence scale usually display better emotional recognition and expression that non-emotional leaders (Gardner & Stough 2002). They can eas ily identify their feelings and express these feelings to others. EI leaders have a capacity to incorporate their emotions in decision making and use these emotions for the benefit of their organization. In other words, emotionally intelligent leaders can use their emotions to direct and guide their cognition (Gardner & Stough 2002). Emotional intelligence greatly influences leadership style, because emotionally intelligent leaders can read other people’s emotions, identify and interpret them; more often than not, it is transformational leaders that accomplish this emotional job (Gardner & Stough 2002). Emotionally intelligent leaders also possess good emotional control and can manage their own and others’ positive and negative emotions (Gardner & Stough 2002). The main question is in whether the EI-leadership relationship is strong and what theoretical models (if any) can

A Matter of Personality Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Matter of Personality - Assignment Example This research will begin with the statement that the type of personality characteristics that a store manager should possess is that of a people-centered personality: sociable, accommodating, understanding, caring, and taking into perspective the needs and demands of both, the customers and the employees – with committed adherence to the policies and procedures explicitly defined by the store or by the organization. These traits and characteristics are important to ensure the manager’s success because these traits signify genuine interest in addressing the concerns, needs, and demands of customers and employees; two of the most important stakeholders in an organization. When compared to the personality of Wallace, it could be deduced that he is more of a task-oriented manager; who does not have any concern for the well-being and interests of his employees or of the customers. He was noted to exhibit the â€Å"personality of an army drill sergeant†. In addition, h e was obviously not people-centered since he was described as uncaring, does not address the customers’ complaints, and does not even follow the policies of the organization, especially in terms of accommodating returns. The personality of Wallace evidently demotivates employees. As noted, the employees do not care about Wallace as their store manager; meaning, they do not have any established professional bonds to respect or follow his ideals.

Why didnt the South win the Civil War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why didnt the South win the Civil War - Essay Example One answer is that the North won it. The South lost because the North outmanned and outclassed it at almost every point, militarily. Despite the long-held notion that the South had all of the better generals, it really had only one good army commander and that was Lee. The rest were second-raters, at best. The North, on the other hand, had the good fortune of bringing along and nurturing people like Grant, William T. Sherman, Philip Sheridan, George H. Thomas, and others. The South was way outclassed industrially. There was probably never any chance of it winning without European recognition and military aid. And we can now see in retrospect what some, like Jefferson Davis, even saw at the time, which was that there was never any real hope of Europe intervening. It just never was in England or Frances interests to get involved in a North American war that would inevitably have wound up doing great damage, especially to Englands maritime trade. Industrially the South couldnt keep up in output and in manpower. By the end of the war, the South had, more or less, plenty of weaponry still, but it just didnt have enough men to use the guns. It is one of the factors of lost that south was inherently weaker in the various essentials to win a military victory than the North (Holness, 2). The North had a population of more than twenty-two million people to the Souths nine-and-a-half million, of whom three-and-a-half million were slaves. While the slaves could be used to support the war effort through work on the plantations and in industries and as teamsters and pioneers with the army, they were not used as a combat arm in the war to any extent. So if the South were to win, it had to win a short war by striking swiftly--in modem parlance, by an offensive blitzkrieg strategy. But the Confederates had established their military goals as fighting in defense of their homeland. In 1861, when enthusiasm was high in the

Unemployment in black america Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Unemployment in black america - Research Paper Example Evidently, it is clear that the employment rates of minority groups are much lower as compared to the employment rate of the white people. Statistics show that black Americans have been particularly affected by this racial bias, as the unemployment rate of these minorities is higher than that of whites and other minorities groups such as American Indians. The consequence of this is that Black Americans continue to wail in poverty while there is notable economic development among the whites. Although educational differences may be the reason for this low employment rate of Black Americans, it is clear that discrimination and ignorance labour laws by organizations are the major reasons for this trend. The issue of unemployment for the Blacks in America has a long history that dates back to the last six decades. In the late 1950s, discrimination was at its highest peak and little had been established to alleviate this discrimination. Discrimination in the employment sector was depicted in various perspectives in the employment sector. First, it was quite hard for a Black American to acquire a job in this region of the world as compared to the whites. Secondly, the Africans were assigned only manual labour that saw them become more of slaves than employees. In terms of wages, they were paid much lower than the whites for similar job positions. For African women, it was rare for them to find a job and only handle domestic chores. The feeling that prevailed is that Black Americans were aliens who did not have equal rights to the whites who were the natives of America. As a result, this minority groups was isolated in the slums and most of them did not afford basic commodities such as food and housing (Nunnally and Niambi 431). The poverty level was very high in the slums where most of the African Americans lived. National statistics conducted in America during this time shows that the unemployment rate in America during this period was double

Tourist Typologies and Tourist Motivations Essay

Tourist Typologies and Tourist Motivations - Essay Example Closely related to tourist motivation are tourist typologies. Tourist typologies refers to the profiles of groups of people with similar travel needs and requirements. Tourist typologies are closely related to tourist motivations because originally tourist motivations were used in constructing tourist typologies. This is true with the work of many early writers especially Cohen.Different authors have come up with different versions of constructing tourist typologies. Cohen(1972),categorized tourists into four types. The first category is what he called ‘organized’ mass tourists. This type of tourists buy their holiday package and after that they follow the decisions and programs of their tour operators. They interact less with the host community and confine themselves in an ‘environmental bubble’. An environmental bubble is what surrounds the tourist ‘from the security of which they observe and experience the strangeness of the host environment’ making the tourist to taste the new environment without being overwhelmed by it.(Cohen 1972)The second type of tourist is the ‘individual mass tourist’. This type, unlike the organized mass tourist,have some control of their own programs although, like the organized mass tourist, they use the facilities provided by their tour operators. Again, many individual mass tourists visit ‘sights’ in much the same way as organized mass tourists.(Cohen 1972)The third type of tourists is the ‘explorer’ .This type of tourist i s much more independent than the above two types. ... many early writers especially Cohen. Different authors have come up with different versions of constructing tourist typologies. Cohen(1972),categorized tourists into four types. The first category is what he called 'organized' mass tourists. This type of tourists buy their holiday package and after that they follow the decisions and programs of their tour operators. They interact less with the host community and confine themselves in an 'environmental bubble'. An environmental bubble is what surrounds the tourist 'from the security of which they observe and experience the strangeness of the host environment' making the tourist to taste the new environment without being overwhelmed by it.(Cohen 1972) The second type of tourist is the 'individual mass tourist'. This type, unlike the organized mass tourist ,have some control of their own programs although, like the organized mass tourist , they use the facilities provided by their tour operators. Again, many individual mass tourists visit 'sights' in much the same way as organized mass tourists.(Cohen 1972)The third type of tourists is the 'explorer' .This type of tourist is much more independent than the above two types. The explorer makes his own programs on where he wants to go and visit. He associates himself more with the local people and many a times speaks the language of the local people although he still puts up in comfortable hotels. He sticks to the things he does in his daily life. (Cohen 1972). The last type of tourists according to Cohen is the 'drifter'. The drifter will live with the community. He gets embedded in their culture and even earns his income from the community often by doing low skilled jobs. This helps him to easily mix with the

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Essay Example for Free

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Essay The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) celebrates its fortieth anniversary this year. During four decades, the organization has been the focal point within the United Nations for the integrated treatment of trade and development and related issues in the areas of investment, finance, technology, enterprise development and sustainable development. Established in 1964, UNCTAD promotes the development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy. UNCTAD has progressively evolved into an authoritative knowledge-based institution whose work aims to help shape current policy debates and thinking on development, with a particular focus on ensuring that domestic policies and international action are mutually supportive in bringing about sustainable development. The organization works to fulfill this mandate by carrying out three key functions: * It functions as a forum for intergovernmental deliberations, supported by discussions with experts and exchanges of experience, aimed at consensus building. * It undertakes research, policy analysis and data collection for the debates of government representatives and experts. * It provides technical assistance tailored to the specific requirements of developing countries, with special attention to the needs of the least developed countries and of economies in transition. When appropriate, UNCTAD cooperates with other organizations and donor countries in the delivery of technical assistance. The first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was held in Geneva in 1964. Given the magnitude of the problems at stake and the need to address them, the conference was institutionalized to meet every four years, with intergovernmental bodies meeting between sessions and a permanent secretariat providing the necessary substantive and logistical support. Nowadays UNCTAD has continued to play a crucial role in emphasizing the development dimension of issues in the fields of international trade and investment and related areas. In particular, UNCTAD has been addressing the imbalances of globalization and the need to overcome the supply constraints of developing countries, so as to ensure development gains and poverty reduction. This is captured in the theme of the UNCTAD XI Ministerial Conference, Enhancing coherence between national development strategies and global economic processes towards economic growth and development, particularly of developing countries. Main activities * Trade and commodities: Promotes the diversification of production and trade structures. Helps Governments to formulate and implement diversification policies and encourages enterprises to adapt their business strategies and become more competitive in the world market. * Investment, technology and enterprise development: Helps developing countries to participate more actively in international investment rule making at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. These arrangements include the organization of capacity-building seminars and regional symposia and the preparation of a series of issues papers. * Macroeconomic policies, debt and development financing: Policy analysis and research on issues concerning global economic interdependence, the international monetary and financial system, and macroeconomic and development policy challenges. * Transport, customs and information technology: Integrated customs system that speeds up customs clearance procedures and helps Governments to reform and modernize their customs procedures and management. Installed in over 80 countries. * Special Programme for Least Developed, Landlocked Developing and Small Island Developing Countries : Identifies the specific needs of these particularly vulnerable countries and tailors technical assistance to these needs. Relationship with other international organizations World Trade Organization UNCTAD and WTO have been joining forces to ensure a better functioning of the multilateral trading system. In April 2003, the organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding providing for cooperation and consultations on their technical assistance activities and for the conduct of joint studies on selected issues. UNCTAD and WTO interact frequently, and the intergovernmental processes in both organizations are often attended by the same Government representatives. International Trade Centre The ITC is jointly sponsored by UNCTAD and WTO for operational, enterprise-oriented aspects of trade development, with an emphasis on trade promotion. In contrast to UNCTAD, whose technical assistance is primarily tailored to Governments, ITC’s technical assistance focuses on assisting businesses in developing countries. Both UNCTAD and WTO are represented in the Joint Advisory Group supervising ITC’s work, and UNCTAD has a number of joint technical assistance activities with ITC.

Police surveillance Essay Example for Free

Police surveillance Essay Police surveillance can be a good thing but it can also be a bad thing. There are morale and ethical implications concerned with police surveillance. This literature review will thoroughly examine police surveillance. The level of police surveillance and information gathering that exists continues to be discussed by scholars. There are many perspectives when discussing police surveillance in nation states, each discussing an individual aspect of surveillance, and its significance. In Frank Websters book Theories of the Information Society he discusses the growth of police surveillance and organization in modern times. Within his discussion, Webster makes reference to works of Anthony Giddens. Webster uses Giddens explanation of the nation state, to begin his discussion of surveillance. He contends that from the outset in the nation state, conceived as a bounded area over which is exercised political power, information has an especial significance. He argues that from their establishment, nation states are information societies, and a requirement of a nation state is that the members of it, be known at least in a minimal sense. He further explains this requirement by stating, that a nation state must hold both allocative resources and authoritative resources. He believes that in order for these resources to be achieved, effective surveillance is a prerequisite. Giddens argues that the nation state had a particular interest in and reliance upon information gathering and storage. The gathering and storage of information is part of a contract between the nation state and its members are a battery of citizenship rights and duties. The first duty of any government is to protect its frontiers, due to this there is an insatiable hunger for information. This hunger is amplified by possible threats to a nations border, whether real or perceived. This growing need for information has caused for the creation of a massive system of interlined technologies to routinely and continuously monitor and inspect events and activities military and civilian around the globe. The contact between nation state and citizen, allows for each citizen to have many rights and duties. Rights that are commonly held include a right to education, to vote, to hold a passport, to a minimum level of income, to health treatment and so on. They also have duties, as citizens, to pay taxes which are levied, and in some cases fight and die for their country. The delivery of rights and benefits by the nation state, such as the delivery of welfare benefits and services is at the heart of the system of mass surveillance; because it is [there] that the processes of classification, information gathering and recording are constantly multiplying. Giddens believes that the informatisation of society is in part due to the existence of police surveillance in the modern nation state. He contends that due to this surveillance, that rather than regarding a modern nation state as an information society, it would be better to regard it as a surveillance society. His arguments presented provide a solid understanding of how a nation state is formed, and the role of surveillance in a surveillance society. Giddens also provides insight into how information gathering occurs, and how that gathering of information has an effect on daily life. Giddens discussion of a social contract while not new, is a way to better understand how the government can justify the use of police surveillance as it is currently used. The argument that at the rate of which surveillance is expanding and advancing, that a nation could succumb to totalitarian rule, while creative, this seems to be more of a thought provoking statement, rather than actual probability. In Kevin Robins and Frank Websters Times of the Technoculture: From the Information Society to the Virtual Life, the authors describe what they term as the Republic of Technology. In this republic, society is fixated by the idea of progress, growth and development without end. They make reference to Cornelius Castoriadis, who explains that society seeks a fantasy of control. This fantasy is of total control, of our will or desire for mastering all objects and all circumstance. It is argued that the culture of technology is in part the reason for the expansion of police surveillance. According to Christopher Lasch, the delusion that we can make ourselves lords of the universe is the heart and soul of modern technology. Robins and Webster argue that the clearest expression of compulsion to command and control is found by the police. The police in their view is central to the growth of surveillance and to the growing need for information. Robins and Webster believe as Anthony Giddens, that upon generalized patterns of change has been so profound that it is little short of absurd to seek to interpret such patterns with out systematic reference to it That police developments are central, rather than marginal to the technological project. Robins and Webster believe that the police plays a central role for the maintenance of current surveillance and for its future expansion. Robins and Webster argue that the police, as the central force for the expansion of surveillance, plays a large role in diverting necessary funds away from its citizens and has an overriding influence on the direction research and development that could be better used for other initiatives. They argue that the lobbies impose a large degree of influence which distorts and perverts economic and social priorities through procedures which are largely closed to public scrutiny. The role of the police and the use of surveillance can be seen as a means of social control. Social control, according to Robins and Webster, is accomplished by way of surveillance and control strategies, which are modeled on the police paradigm. They believe that even policing, is moving towards a more military style of operation. Robins and Webster argue that police imperatives have played a major role in the growth of the state and the systems of surveillance. Robins and Webster agree with Anthony Giddens contention that surveillance as the mobilizing of administrative power through the storage and control of information is the primary means of concentration of authoritative resources. In other words, the use of police surveillance and the gathering of information are central to the maintaining control and order. The authors emphasize that within the country, the police is central to the collection of information on both possible enemies and its own citizens. Furthermore, police technologies are well funded and continue to be used to experience the dream of total control. They argue this dream has existed in the development of technologies, and that in the future seeking this dream will result in a system that deliberately eliminates the whole human personality, ignores the historic process, overplays the role of the abstract intelligence, and makes control over physical nature, ultimately control over man himself, the chief purpose of existence. Robins and Webster provide a different perspective of the root of police surveillance and information gathering, and how this is largely due to the fantasy of total control. The ability to control all that is available is a fantasy that has lead to the remarkable growth of police technologies that are used in part on a nations own citizens. This growth of surveillance and police technologies leaves the authors to believe that humans will lose control over themselves, with the advancements of technology. This argument is frightening but such a statement is warranted with the advancement of technologies. In The Pay-Per Society: Computers and Communication in the Information Age: Essays in Critical Theory and Public Policy, Vincent Mosco discusses the role of the police in the development of computer and communications systems. He believes that this is necessary, because the police over the years, has exerted the most substantial influence on the development of computer and communications. Mosco argues (similar to Robins and Webster) that the police has increasingly shaped the development of technology in the United States, particularly the development of communication and information technologies. Mosco discusses the relationship between the police, the United States government and industry. He explains how the police has been a driving force in the creation of new technologies, using funds received from the United States government, along with relationships with leading technology corporations. Mosco states that the relationship between the Pentagon and the US computer industry has always been strong. During the 1940s and 1950s the US government, led by the Pentagon, provided most of the funding for computer research. Moreover, the relationship has continued to remain strong. This arrangement has allowed for the National Security Agency to have in their control a global computer/communications satellite system that routinely monitors international telex, telegraph, telephone, radio and other transmissions, emanating from or direct to the United States. The military has not limited its surveillance only over its own territories, but also foreign nations and space. Fijnaut (1995) discusses the expansion of police technologies, and the expansion of surveillance into space. He explains that police computers are integrated into systems of Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence. Moreover, that police computers have expanded the range, speed and accuracy of weapons systems. That intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance have been expanded by way of communication technologies. The polices wish to have the most control and protection from disorder. Fijnaut (1995) argues that the limits on police technologies has yet to be reached, and will continue to expand. This expansion of information gathering and surveillance is in part, for the protection of a nation, against disorderly conduct. The protection of a nations citizens and the protection of their rights is of the utmost importance for any government, and due to this, the creation of new technologies is deemed necessary. In Surveillance Society: Monitoring Everyday Life, David Lyon discusses the need for information gathering and surveillance in modern nation states. He argues that modern government administrations depend on the collection and recording of personal data. Moreover, that modernity means reliance on information and knowledge in generating and maintaining power. Due to that the fact that much of that information is personal, he argues that such focused attention to data on individuals spells surveillance. He contends that the magnification of surveillance capacities is a fact of modernity, and that it is part of the world that has been created in an attempt to bring social, economic and political arrangements into rational regimes of organization and control. He argues that, the focused attention (surveillance) on individual lives is characteristic of modernity, and that it provides eligibility to benefits of citizenship, such as the right to vote, or state welfare, and also may ensure that workers are appropriately remunerated, or rewarded with promotions and recognition of retirement at the appropriate time. Lyon provides both the positive and negative aspects of police surveillance, and argues that while surveillance practices may be altering, or that they may be used in negative ways, does not alter the case that police surveillance is simply a fact of modern social life. Lyon provides examples of police surveillance and information gathering in social activities. One such example is in the Toronto area, the worlds first fully automated toll road. Highway 407 provides an alternative route through the busiest corridor in Canada, with tolls collected either via transponders in vehicles or by video cameras scanning registration plates. This technology was developed from what was used for smart bombers during the 1991 Gulf War. This technology identifies the target vehicles for tolls based on the distance driven and the time of the day. This to many, is considered a luxury, and the automatic billing rather than toll booths provides convenience. While this is true, what is not realized by the driver is that this technology permits the creation of real-time simulations of road traffic time-space movement across cities. This is extremely valuable to planners, especially in densely traveled urban corridors. This example shows how military technologies are used in public sector. Lyon also discusses the impossibility for anyone to be shielded from the existent surveillance. Lyon argues that surveillance operates in so many daily life spheres today that it is impossible to evade, should one wish to. We are indeed wrapped in media. Most of our social encounters and almost all our economic transactions are subject to electronic recording, checking and authorization. In all aspects of our lives, we are unable to escape. Lyon also argues that there is not one single agency that is responsible for the focused attention on our daily lives. Lyon provides insight into both those for and against the current level of surveillance, he begins by saying, that those who are opposed to such surveillance do so, because they feel that there is something wrong when big government and large corporations seem to extract, process, exchange and even trade personal data with apparent impunity. Lyons argument can be seen as being that police surveillance is a focused attention to personal life details with a view to managing or influencing those who lives are monitored. He believes this to be the power of classification, of social sorting. In his book, Lyon offers an approach, a mode of engaging with the issues related to police surveillance and information gathering. He does so, by discussing how police surveillance and information gathering technologies are implemented in daily lives, and discusses the complaints made by those who are fearful of such focus being made on their lives. In Whats New About the New Surveillance? Classifying for Change and Continuity, Gary T. Marx discusses how much surveillance is applied categorically and beyond persons to places, spaces, networks and categories of person. And that the distinction between self and other surveillance can be blurred. He attempts to highlight the differences between the new and traditional surveillance and offer a way to capture information relevant to contemporary social, ethical and policy considerations. In this publication, Marx is attempting to determine whether or not the protection of personal information is decreasing or increasing. Marx argues that in the last half of the 20th century, that there has been a significant increase in the use of technology for the discovery of personal information. He provides examples such as, video and audio surveillance, biometric access devices, drug testing, DNA analysis, computer monitoring including email and web usage and the use of the computer techniques such as expert systems, matching and profiling, data mining, mapping, network analysis and simulation. He believes that control technologies have become what had only previously existed in the imaginations of science fiction writers. Marx argues that a new definition of surveillance is necessary to fully understand its implications. He finds previous definitions inadequate, and provides his own definition. He suggests that a better definition of the new surveillance is the use of technical means to extract or create personal data. This may be taken from individuals or contexts. In this definition the use of technical means to extract and create the information implies the ability to go beyond what is offered to the unaided senses or voluntarily reported. This definition he believes to be better suited for what is considered new surveillance technologies. Marx argues that surveillance technologies can provide many positive aspects to society, and outlines how openness would be beneficial. He argues that through offering high quality documentary evidence and audit trails, the new surveillance may enhance due process, fairness and legitimacy. That it may contribute to the political pluralism central to democracy by making the tools of surveillance widely available so that citizens and competing groups can use them against each other, as well government, to enhance accountability. He argues that in the United States, unlike in many societies, surveillance technology is widely available to the public, and due to this, surveillance may no longer be considered a one-way mirror, but instead a window. In Privacy is Not the Antidote to Surveillance, Felix Stalder discusses the existence of police surveillance and information gathering in democracies. His contention is that in democracies, extensive institutional mechanisms are in place to create and maintain accountability. Moreover, that there are mechanisms to punish those who abuse their power. Stalder believes that similar mechanisms must be developed for the handling of personal information. He believes that due to the current status of surveillance, that the public (US) have become nervous. Prior to the attacks on September 11th 2001, polls showed that the vast majority of respondents were concerned or very concerned about the misuse of personal data. As discussed by Webster and Robins, Lyon and others, access to large data-sets of personal information is a prerequisite for social control. Those who hold such data have a crucial tool, which allows them to influence the behaviour of those whose data is being held. This exists not only commercially, but also more importantly by governments who collect data about their citizens in order to increase accuracy of their planning, as well as combat fraud and tax evasion. With growing concerns, the usual response to these problems is the call for further protection of privacy. While the call for more protection might be the clear answer, doing so is not as easy as one might think. The definition of what privacy is, throughout the world varies. Europeans have developed one of the most stringent approaches where privacy is understood as informational self-determinism. Stalder explains as being, that an individual should be able to determine the extent to which data about her or him is being collected in any given context. In this context, privacy is personal, and being personal, every single person will have a different notion about what privacy means. Data one person might allow to be collected bight be deeply personal for someone else. The likelihood of having a collectively accepted definition is slim. Stalder provides his own solution for this ever-growing problem. Each article provides insight into different areas concerning information gathering and police surveillance. In conjunction with one another, it is possible to understand how surveillance technologies have been created, and how these technologies continue to be funded by governmental agencies. The effect that this massive funding has on local economies would require even further research, but at the essence of this dilemma, is what can be done to better protect civilians from the collection and sharing of information gathered. Civilians feel helpless to protect themselves from their privacy being invaded. Moreover, these articles explain how the protection of civil, political, economic and human rights are secured are secured through the systematic surveillance and data-collection. Without this, governments would not be capable of such a task, and these rights would surely be infringed upon. They are confronted with a growing police presence in their daily lives, some not even knowing that it exists. They use their credit card, and do not realize that each purchase is tracked, recorded, entered into a database, so that companies can use the data received, for profitable gains. They do not know that their information is bought and sold, traded on the open market, along with all other commodities. In order for governments to provide services to their citizens, they require the collection of data. This data is used for purposes that are deemed legitimate, such as taxes and social security. What worries many is what else that information is being used for, and who is being given access to it. While accountability, by governments in this area has increased, the same can not be said for information gathered by commercial entities. The growth of information gathering and police surveillance in Canada and the United States especially, can be attributed to many factors. One such factor is the need for a nation state to protect itself from invasion, the protection of its borders and citizens is of the utmost importance. This being said, governments attempt to have complete control of their territory, this requires the use of police surveillance, for surrounding nations, and for those within their borders. Another fact that needs to be addressed is the undeniable connection between governments and their police, by which technologies are funded and created. This relationship has allowed for the astonishing growth of police technologies, which in many respects drains from social services and depletes national revenues, when more civilian based initiatives could be implemented. Due to the sophistication of information gathering, civilians are no longer capable of securing their own information. Their information is passed from corporation to corporation, without any sense of protection at their disposal. There is a lack of accountability, when dealing with corporations, and how a persons personal information is acquired and kept. Moreover, in order for any change to occur, definitions must be more precise, rather than attempting to apply vague terms for new solutions. Works Consulted Lyon, David. Surveillance Society: Monitoring Everyday Life Open University Press: Philadelphia, 2001. Marx, Gary T. Whats New About the New Surveillance? Classifying for Change and Continuity in Surveillance and Society 1(1) University of New Castle: United Kingdom, Mosco, Vincent. The Pay-Per Society: Computers and Communication in the Information Age: Essays in Critical Theory and Public Policy in SOSC 2312 9.0A Course Kit 2004-2005 York University: Toronto, 2004. Robins, Kevin Frank Webster, Times of the Technoculture: From the Information Society to the Virtual Life in SOSC 2312 9.0A Course Kit 2004-2005 York University: Toronto, Stalder, Felix. Privacy is Not the Antidote to Surveillance in Surveillance and Society 1(1) University of New Castle: United Kingdom, 2002. Webster, Frank. Theories of The Information Society, Routledge: London, 2000. Undercover: Police Surveillance in America (20th Century Fund) by Gary T. Marx Dec 5, 1989 Secrets Of Surveillance: A Profes sionals Guide To Tailing Subjects By Vehicle, Foot, Airplane, And Public Transportation by ACM IV Security Services Sep 1993 Women Police: Gender, Welfare and Surveillance in the Twentieth Century by Louise Jackson Sep 17, 2006 The Surveillance Studies Reader by Sean Hier and Joshua Greenberg Aug 1, 2007 Police Officer Exam by Donald J. Schroeder and Frank A. Lombardo Jan 1, 2005 Policing, Surveillance and Social Control: Cctv and Police Monitoring of Suspects by Tim Newburn and Stephanie Hayman Jun 2001 State Secrets Police Surveillance in America by Paul; Egleson, Nick; Hentoff; Nat Cowan 1974 Undercover-Police Surveillance in Comparative Perspective by Cyrille Fijnaut Oct 12, 1995 State secrets; police surveillance in America by Paul Cowan 1974 Undercover: Police Surveillance in America by Gary Marx 1990

Analysis of Consumption Patterns of Different Socioeconomic Groups

Analysis of Consumption Patterns of Different Socioeconomic Groups The research reported in this thesis was on Analysis of Consumption Patterns of Different Socio Economic Groups. The purpose of research was to study the socio-economic impact of consumption of the households and how they spend their income. The secondary data was collected by consultation of literature in the libraries and Internet and also from the material printed by different academic journals. The primary data was gathered by floating questionnaires and conducting several different interviews. Stat graphic software was applied to analyze data for multiple regression analysis and the results were interpreted by usual principles of statistics. The findings suggested that the consumption was a very crucial function of income but there were other factors apart from income that affected the level of consumption of household and their preferences. This would have an effect on the economic level as well, hence marketers should know and understand the needs of the household to target th ere product and services to households for betterment of the society as well as profitability of the firm. INTRODUCTION Overview of the topic under consideration Consumption is a topic on which a lot of research has been carried out by the economists and psychologists to know what leads to different levels of satisfaction from consumption what factors lead to variation in consumption patterns of households with same income levels. This research paper intends to find out important factors that influence the consumption levels of various households, whether the individual preference has impacts or not while making consumption decisions on a household level. What boundaries restrict the consumption levels? The consumption pattern in Pakistan has improved over the years for various reasons such as increase in incomes and more availability of different kinds of goods and services but there always have been class conflicts present hence leading to disparities among rich and the poor classes. So the growth in consumption has been in different amounts among the different socio economics groups this leads to an immense increase in the social stratification. Apart from factors such as size of the family, occupation, structure of the family, standard of living and location one of the factors that has direct relation with the consumption is population. If the population increases the consumption level changes drastically. Similarly if the population consists of elderly or has baby boomers the pattern of consumption is affected greatly by the type of goods and services produced in the economy is affected moreover consumption patterns influence the dispersion of income and at times leads to motivation for earning a higher wage and this thesis would provide us with the deeper understanding of consumers and their household consumption pattern and their motivation behind earning and spending in a particular manner. Background of the topic Consumption function in economics is the relationship between consumer spending and the various factors that are determining it the consumption function comes into formation due to accumulated spending of all the households in the economy hence at the Economic level the uniqueness of consumption functions are imperative for many questions in both macroeconomics and microeconomics. At the smaller level that is the household or family level, these factors may comprise of income, wealth, expectations about the level and riskiness of future income or wealth, interest rates, age, education, and family size. Individual level the consumption function is also inclined by the consumers preferences that are behavioral in nature such as patience, or the willingness to delay gratification, by the consumers approach towards risk, and by whether the consumer wishes to leave a inheritance to their family members. Theories and hypothesis were developed by Keynes on consumption patterns these were evolved from the early studies that supported the fact the short run marginal propensity to consume was much more stable when compared with average propensity to consume. Economists further more refined the original work of Keynes and came up with theories of permanent income hypothesis, theory of life cycle hypothesis and demonstration effect hence they were able to establish the fact that consumption was extremely responsive to income changes on which Duesenberry tried to refute it with demonstration effect hypothesis. These theories still could be found in various economic text books Economists developed Engel curves these curve showed consumption levels and patterns graphically they even derived budget constraints curves with the help of indifference curves providing a lot of evidence as how and what effects the consumption that in turn shows the status and the lifestyles of an individual household in the economy. Importance of the study with respect to the world Consumption level helps in identifying the level of demand of goods and services in the economy and the type of goods and services that are demanded in a particular economy and indicate what sort lifestyle a particular society is enjoining example Americans are famous for not saving and they consume a lot of consumer non durable items when compared with rest of the world .Hence saving hampers consumption and can greatly affect overall demand in the economy if there is a lot of saving in the economy marginal propensity to consume goes down showing that saving and consumption has a negative relationship. This could lead to greater problems at a macroeconomic level such as reduction in aggregate demand and unemployment of resources in the economy here government also needs to intervene and to improve the economy this would be achieved by increasing demand by increasing the government spending. These days consumption patterns are highly influenced by multinational or transnational companies this phenomena is known as mass consumption or consumerism. Consumption of goods produced by MNCS or TNCs has lead to the adoption of different cultures and consumption patterns in a local household a common example of this would of Mc Donalds today you might be in any part of the world but you would always find a branch of Mc Donalds due to globalization in the economy would lead to greater choices that an individual would face while making consumption decisions hence changing consumption patterns of a very traditional economy like Pakistan. Other factor that could potentially change the consumption pattern would be technology as traditional goods and services would become redundant and no longer will be demanded hence this would lead to fluctuation in consumption levels as well as the patterns of consumption. There is high inequality in consumption patterns among different countries due to differentiation in social classes differentiation and difference in per capita income, population and various other factors there are market biases on the bases of luxury or mass consumption of goods. Importance of study with respect to Pakistan Since Pakistan is a developing country it has a lot of different classes and a lot of population mostly consisting of children and teenagers with such a diverse society there is a lot of difference in consumption level and patterns they are influenced by income, religion, locality in which a particular household resides and the occupation of the head of the household is since Pakistan has a strong culture of saving and transferring bequest to future generation hence how does a particular household decides what to consume and how to consume? We consume a lot differently when compared with the western society as they focus on more luxury items and consumer durable goods on the other in our society households focuses on basic necessities of life. More over there is a lack of studies that have been carried out on the consumption pattern of socio economic groups that are prevalent in Lahore. Reference groups play an important role in determining the consumption patterns of various households and demonstration effect has the strongest effect on the consumption of the households in Lahore among the various different classes. This research paper would help to unravel the preference of the households and the types of goods that they consume and how do they decide and come to common grounds while they consume as in single unit of family since we have a very strong culture of living together in extended families. As many generations are living and consuming together the basket of goods and services that they consume would be highly differentiated. But these days trends are changing and people are moving towards nucleus family system and Pakistan is enjoying a lot of female participation in work force hence will this new trend affect the way a family consumes as a household? Secondly Lahories as consumer have a lot of choice and since at this day and age a lot trend is shifting toward mass customization this research paper would allow to analysis such trends in Lahore. Research question Consumption patterns of different socio-economic groups take into consideration the three main social classes the elite class, the middle income group and the lower income group that resides in three different localities of Lahore namely interior Lahore or the old Lahore, Allama Iqbal Town and Defence housing authority. Households with different casts and religion would be targeted to cover the maximum number of the different socio economic group. There is a lot of diversity in terms of socio economic groups in Lahore hence their consumption patterns also varies drastically they have income that ranges from 3000 rupees monthly to more than 80,000 rupees. A developing country like Pakistan faces a lot of discrimination in terms of income disparities, low income per capita income and a growing population that effect consumption as a whole. The research question for my thesis is a combination of macroeconomics and consumer behavior. It would provide us with the deeper understanding of consumers and their household consumption patterns. This would further allow producers to target and position their products in such a way that they become an integral of household consumption and as a result the economy can flourish. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Ying (2003) conducted a research explaining the fact how children influenced the spending patterns of family and in about 27.8% of families, childrens consumption uses one third of the familys total income. In 35.6% of families, childrens consumption uses 40% of the familys total income. In 19.4% of families, childrens consumption takes one half of the familys income. And in 7.4% of families, childrens consumption takes over one half of the familys income. Thus in most families, the childs consumption level is higher than the average per capita consumption of the family. He highlighted various factors such as higher education levels for children including extra amounts paid for private education and tutors moreover more recreational activities and high end gadgets like mobiles phone, laptops and increased expense towards health care of the children. Krueger and Perri (2005) found out in a research paper that increase in income inequality in U.S.A was prevailing but there was no inequality consumption. This was because of different trends within-group inequality which was faced an increase in income and a little less increase consumption. They developed a simple framework to identify analytically that how income inequality could result in consumption inequality with respect to standard incomplete market model thus they wanted to document this consumption inequality facts from the U.S data. They have used data from the Consumer Expenditure (CE) Survey for the years 1980-2003. Cutler (2005) tries to identify implied marginal propensity to consume out of a given income level in Hong Kong for doing this he develops a proxy measure for labor income then tries to estimate consumption function with respect to life cycle model. The author develops a reliable relation between proxy measure of labor income and long run propensity to consume the estimate calculated comes out to be 0.87 for Hong Kong depicting the fact the marginal propensity to consume is in line with other industrial countries of the world. Carroll, Fuhrer and Wilcox (1994) conducted a research paper which talks about habit formation that is the consumption done when a household is not enjoying same level of income as it did previously but the consumption patterns of the household remains the same. Secondly they tried to analyze the impact of consumer sentiments on the consumption patterns taking into considerations the various economic variables into account. They ruled out permanent income and pure life cycle hypothesis and stated consumer spending is an unclear measure of uncertainty when uncertainty increases the level of consumption falls hence leading to precautionary savings. Chow, Fung and Ngo (2001) did a research about the Chinese economy and Chinese entrepreneurs who have grown along with the Chinese economy this consumer group is the most influential in consuming expensive goods and services. This research paper compares and contrasts the consumption habits of low income business with that of entrepreneurs coming to conclusion that small businesses incomes are transitory and more volatile hence their consumption is less and they tend to save more on the other hand entrepreneurs earn more and spend more lavishly on meals, traveling, private education and luxury items. Geographic locations and socio-demographics of household have significant effects on the tastes and preferences. Similarly socializing activities that are carried out by the entrepreneurs are the second largest expense in their budgets as they need a lot of networking to carry out the business. But on the other hand low income groups tend to spend a large proportion of expenditure on act ivities such as medical care, socializing and education of their children. The authors have run a regression model using various factors such socio demographics and other factors to find out strongest affecting variable. Aydin (2006) talks about the consumption patterns in turkeys different socio economic classes and finds out that globalization has led to transformation, reconfiguration and reformulations of class structure and this is leading to social shifts from class based politics to identity politics, ideology to lifestyles and mass production to consumption these forces have fuelled the social change hence leading to emergences of new middle class living a new leisure lifestyle. The research reapproved the fact that social class variables had a significant on consumption income had the strongest positive effect of all at the consumption level simultaneously income did not alter the influence of class difference. Education had effected the class differentiation the group with higher education had better living standards thus making education important mediating factor. The analysis in this research paper depicted the class structuration results due to interaction income, education levels, and residential location. Phipps and Burton (1998) did a research where they assume that the household consumer behavior is equal to household utility function and this function is maximized with respect to single budget constrain and incomes from both the partners are pooled. But both the partners have different utility functions; the households comprising of teenagers with incomes add more complication to analysis hence they preferred to avoid it. They found household income, education levels of husband and wife, region, level of urbanization, age and number of children is of great importance to household utility curve. Income earned by the wife is more likely to be used for restaurant food, her clothes and kids clothes. Whereas husbands income is allocated towards transportation, they considered clothing as personal private good and it increased with the levels of income of each individual. Thomas (1993) this paper tries to find out whether all household members share same preferences or they are dictated by any one member of the household. Data taken into consideration is from a survey carried out by Instituto Brasilleri De Geografia they came to a conclusion that when income is in hands of females shares of expenditure increases towards housing, education, health, household services and recreation when males are given the budget they tend to spend excess on health, household service and recreation. Education is considered intervening variable for earning hence increase in consumption, so they exclude education from demand function and include it as a valid instrument for total income. The researchers have come to these conclusions by conducting linear and quadratic models on the complied data. Bonney (1988) previously sociological analyst of British class structure consider males as the only major determinant of the social class position of the household along with time the trends have changed today there is greater involvement of married females in paid work. This phenomenon is making wives extremely important in family budgets and the socio class location of the household, a husbands increase in wage would negatively affect females participation in paid work but on the other hand the increase in wives earning would have smaller but negative effect on their counterparts income. This increases their say in consumption as they are now more economically active. Sommer (2003) discuses that under habit formation it is difficult for the households to adjust to their new income levels this happens gradually if a tax cut is implemented they respond to such policy slowly. But some consumers save a specific amount of income as a precautionary measure to maintain a similar standard of living. Megir (2004) talks about the theory of consumption function that played a vital role in explaining Keynesian demand management. Transitory tax policy or transitory income could have insignificant effect on real consumption though income is more volatile than consumption but the long run marginal propensity to consume out of the income is higher than the short run. Dorlando(2010) carried out a research to investigate the importance of behavioral principals in micro-foundation of Keynes consumption theory. It was concluded that behavioral instead of maximizing principals can be rightfully considered as possible for micro foundation for Keyness work. He said there are chances of cross fertilization of Keynesian approach and behavioral sciences in reference to theory consumption function. This research showed that utility maximization is not the major focus Keynes representation of individuals behavior and many subjective factors are included in the consumption theory lastly the traditional aggregate consumption function is immensely based on maximizing agents. Khan and Dhar (2004) carried out a research on behavioral decision theoretic perspective on hedonic and utilitarian choices and they found out that difference between purchase and consumption of goods and service found out that there is a very thin line which consumer does not even realize and decision making of consumption is merely affected by income, preference and lifestyle of the consumer. Tai and Tam (1997) discussed the lifestyle of females that was changing due to the different socio economic factors such as delayed marriage, smaller family size and single parents have lead to changing dynamics of consumer market as a result the consumer preference are changing and consumption pattern of the families. All these research papers have added a new dimensions to the topic under consideration emphasis on the fact consumption is a vital function of income but there are many other factors that influence the consumption pattern there are incidence when two households with sane income level may have different consumption pattern due to lifestyle, preference and the stage of lifecycle they are in as a household greatly affects the consumption patterns. All these researches try to explore the behavior patterns that are crucial for molding the consumption pattern all these researches have added different key reasons and not a single research as been able to come up with any common behavior traits in the different societies of the world this phenomena indicate that the consumption patterns changing according to society the house hold resides in. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY Research type The research undertaken would be quantitative research a lot of facts and figures would be included they would help to support the arguments that will be established after critically analyzing the results obtained by this research Data type and research period The research would be primary and secondary as a lot of previous research papers have been consulted for reference and further data would be collected regarding the Pakistani economy and how does an average Pakistan person consumes this research would be carried out in 2011 the data under consideration is cross sectional since its both secondary and primary . Sources of data The data would be collected through tailor made questionnaire that would help us to support our arguments and allow us come to a sound conclusion and recommendation at the end of the thesis. Secondly interviews the different retailers of the locality would be conducted to reduce the biases in the questionnaire as people hesitate to provide fair information. Thirdly I would take into consideration my own observation that would facilitate better understanding of the topic as well as its evaluation. The questionnaire was floated in among three various locations where many different socioeconomics groups were prevalent According to the questionnaire analysis the percentage of male and female is in the ratio of 42% and 58% respectively. Almost twenty different casts were targeted they showed that on average a household spends 50% of their income on food and 20% of income is spend on clothing and 10% of income is spend on housing, schooling and about 20 different casts were targeted through the questionnaires that floated among the three different localities respectively (see appendix A) The left over income is utilized by directed it towards saving and entertainment expenditure the ratio of income directed towards savings and entertainment expenditure is about 20% see appendix. In the various interviews that I have conducted, I found out that there is significant difference in the way the different socio economic groups spend their income and their consumption varies accordingly see appendix. The population of Pakistan is mostly humongous with a very s small numbers of minorities that are prevalent in Lahore basically the population trends majorly consists young population. Theoretical framework and variables under consideration Operational definitions Standard of living: It would include income spent on consumer durables, non- durables, health, recreation and entertainment, social services and luxuries goods by the households, larger the amount of the income spent on these goods would indicate that the household enjoys a higher level of standard of living and would be consuming a larger proportion of disposable income. Size of the family: The number of the people living together under one roof and consuming the pooled income i.e. An identical source of income despite the fact whether they are related or not would be considered as a family. Structure of the family: type of household taken into consideration would be nuclear family structure or the extended family structure apart from the two parents or the single parent households, all of these types of households are very common in Pakistan though the recent trends are shifting to nuclear family structure. Location: This would take into consideration the area in which a particular household resides there are three localities under considerations in this research paper, each of these localities would be depicting different socio economics classes in terms of income, standard of living, occupation and sizes and structure of the families living there. Occupation: The means from where the households generates income for consumption purposes this would even account for income generated from assets that a particular household maintains e.g. rent on assets or return on capital and things like credit cards would also be included as they tend to increase the disposable income for the household thus allowing them to attain a higher consumption level. The life-cycle model: it states that save when people are young for their old age they do this to dis-save in their old age as they have no other income sources to support their consumption. Hence this would lead to fluctuations in consumption patterns. They can finance their old age either by selling off the assets that they have accumulated in their young or by saving income. Discussion Economic model of the income spent on consumption was developed by John Maynard Keynes he mastered this area of economics by developing various theories such as absolute income hypothesis, which supports and states that consumption is solely a function of disposable income earned in that period of time in that. Difference between predictions of Keyness and other economists leads to various empirical data sets, in the long run, this led to a number of other theories related to consumption that emerged after Keynes work-most prominently, these were based on relative income (Duesenberry), permanent income ( Milton Friedman ), and life-cycle income (Modigliani and Brumberg). Keynes stated that a change in income will result in a relatively smaller change in consumption; the marginal propensity to consume will be less than one. Keynes also argued that the marginal propensity to consume will be less than the average propensity consumed, which in return stated that consumption declines as a percentage of income as income rises or we can say antagonistically as income increases the consumption decreases. Short-run studies broadly depict the consumption function of this sort, but long-run data showed that the marginal propensities and the average are roughly equivalent. The relative income hypothesis supports consumption related to other households and their past income. Firstly it implies that the proportion of income consumed by the household remains same, assuming that the position of a household remains constant in the long run on the distribution curve. This provides us with the long-run evidence. If the household is placed on the higher side, propensity to consume stays on the lower average. Secondly household is easier adjusted with the rising incomes as compared to the falling incomes this is known as ratchet effect which handles the consumption when there is a decline in the income this is mainly due to habit formation of consumption by the households. The measurement of life time income is an issue of key importance to measure consumption as a function. Permanent income hypothesis states that consumption pattern is directly dependent on the total income and the total wealth which an individual expects to earn over their lifetime. The life-cycle hypothesis on the other hand assumes that individuals that consume a steady proportion of their income and that the present value of their life time income as a measure in a number of financially various areas of life where an individual earns different amount of income at various ages such as, childhood, adolescence , and old age CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS Result generated through software stat graphic Multiple Regression equation y = 0.747966 + 0.152745*location + 0.11217*occupation + 0.100276*size of the family + 0.142338*standard of living + 0.267032*structure of the family The results of the multiple linear regression model to the raw that was collected by the questionnaire, describes the relationship between y and 5 independent variables. The equation of the model that is mentioned below is showing how strong relation each independent variable has with the dependent variable y. y = 0.747966 + 0.152745*location + 0.11217*occupation + 0.100276*size of the family + 0.142338*standard of living + 0.267032*structure of the family In view of the fact that the P-value in the ANOVA table is less than 0.01, there is a statistically there is a strong relationship between the variables at the 99% confidence level. The R-Squared statistic shows that the model as fitted explains 99.0259% of the variability in y. The adjusted R-squared statistic, which is more appropriate for comparing models with different numbers of independent variables, is 23.2334%. The standard error of the estimate demonstrates the standard deviation of the residuals to be at the figure of 0.51929. The mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.373951 is the average value of the residuals. Hence this statistical information ensures that the statistical model that is developed is statistically strong and could be accepted as good model for the research paper. In determining whether the model can be cut down or not, notice that the highest P-value on the independent variables is the figure of 0.2039, belonging to size of the family Since the P-value is greater or equal to 0.10, that term is not statistically significant at the 90% or higher confidence level. Consequently, I could even remove size of the family from the model as this variable has p- value greater than 0.10. Research hypothesis Size of the family affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Occupation affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Structure of the family affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Standard of living affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Location of households affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Discussion of hypothesis Now these research hypotheses would now be discussed in detail so that we now as to what could be the possible reason of these hypotheses to be rejected. Stat graphic was used to generate the multiple regression analysis. Size of the family affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Reject H0 because P value is more than 0.01% The p-value of this particular hypothesis turned out to be 0.2039 which shows that this value is greater than 0.01 hence, Size of family hypothesis gets rejected because of the fact major respondents think and strongly believes on the fact the responsibility of every soul is on Allah hence many respondents said they dont consider the size of their family when they spend their income and many Pakistani head of the families said that they earn for their families to provide them with comfortable life hence they dont even bother with the size of their family this fact is one of the main reasons of Pakistanis high population . This phenomenon is highly prevalent in low income groups. But middle income and high income groups try to spend strategically. Occupation affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant

The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery, by Miguel Ruiz and Jose Ruiz :: Essays on The Fifth Agreement

My life experience might be simple, but I have learned a lot from my life. It is not necessary that someone’s experience has to be a good one to talk about; the point is he should have a passion to learn lessons from it. Every time you go through a bitter experience either in your travels, work, or somewhere else, I would have to say â€Å"Congrats! You have got a story to tell your grandsons someday.† I have learnt a lot of lessons from this life and taught myself beautiful lessons. I taught myself to stand firm, never give up, and do my best. I have taught myself to say â€Å"yes† whenever I feel that I need to refuse, and I have taught myself to say â€Å"no† whenever the temptations are floating around me. I have learned that if I want to live happily, I have to be able to say â€Å"no† as I can say â€Å"yes.† Just by these two simple words, I changed myself and took control over it. â€Å"Be impeccable with your words† (27) is the first agreement that Miguel Ruiz and Jose Ruiz want to make an agreement with their readers in their book, â€Å"The Fifth Agreement.† By words, you can communicate with other people and tell them your opinions. The power of the word should not be underestimated; in some cases, it might be so tender that you can gain people to be in our side, but it might blow like a storm and pull out people’s real feelings. Ruiz in his book says â€Å"you are going to use the word to express the truth in every thought, in every action, in every word you use to describe yourself, to describe your own life story† (39). One should be really careful in choosing the right words in the right times. I worked once in a team of freelancers for a courier company. I faced a problem while programing their website, and the supervisor of the team, who was from the company, asked me to take an immediate action. I replied to her quickly and said â€Å"I cannot do this until I discuss it with my team leader.† Her face turned red, and I just didn’t know what to do, so I looked into my laptop screen pretending I am working. Since then she saw me as a weak team player; whenever she wanted to ask about the project, she asked another teammate instead of me.

Essay --

When it come to be publicly acknowledged that the United States government planned on using atomic bombs to fight the war against Japan, a group of scientists who had worked on the atomic bomb for many years, felt the need to protest the idea. Leo Szilard who was a head of the group of scientists came up with a petition for the president for his associated scientists to look over. In his petition he asked the President â€Å"to rule that the United States shall not, in the present phase of the war, resort to the use of atomic bombs† (Szilard, par. 1). Szilard’s thoughts mentioned in the petition sought the strength and persuasion needed to sway the President that the use of the atomic bomb was uncalled for because of the shortage of facts presented, their poor reasoning found in the writing, and the failure to communicate the significance that their arguments held in the decision. In the petition Leo Szilard uses pathos over and over to try and sway the President’s view of using an atomic bomb to fight against Japan. While the argument is persuasive, he used the advantage of the alre...

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History of Computer: -important people Allen, Paul G. - Co-founder of Microsoft Corp. Allen left the company in 1985 but remained on the board of directors and as founded or financially supported several innovative computer ventures, including Asymetrix and Starware Corp. He is involved with a variety of other projects, including a Jimi Hendrix Museum in Seattle. Amdahl, Gene M - South Dakota native who helped design the IBM 704, the S/360 series. He was the founder of the Amdahl Corp. Andreessen, Marc - Co-founder (at the age of 22) of Netscape Communications, along with Silicon Graphics founder James H. Clark. Before Andreessen graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign, he had created the NCSA Mosaic prototype with a team of students and staff at the university's National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Babbage, Charles (1791-1871) - Eccentric, English mathematician who is considered to have conceptualized the modern computer a century before technology let it be built. He conceptualized the Difference Engine, a machine that would have computed lengthy scientific tables, but money, labor, and health problems prevented its completion. The Analytical Engine, a more ambitious plan, would have done a wide range of calculating tasks. With it, Babbage recognized the need for an input device, memory, a central processing unit, and an output device, and for this he is known as the Father of Computing. Backus, John W. - Mathematician from Philadelphia who headed the research team at IBM that created FORTRAN, the first machine independent programming language. -important devices/developments Floppy Drive - The floppy drive is always called "Drive A:". A floppy disk can hold 1.5 megabytes of data. That's about 1,500,000 characters or letters (or about 300,000 words). That's more than enough space for the text of a large book. Pictures, however, take up a great deal of room. You could only fit a small number of good-quality pictures (or graphics) on a floppy disk. Hard drive - This drive uses disks that are made of aluminium or glass (and therefore 'hard'). Each disk can store much more information than either a floppy or CD-ROM. Sometimes, there may be several disks in a hard drive. However, the disks in a normal hard drive can not be removed or replaced. Today, hard drives are measured in gigabytes. That's one thousand million bytes. 1 gigabyte is about 11/3 CD-ROM disks. Motherboard - Everything inside the computer is connected to a circuit board called the 'motherboard'.