The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance

THE ROLE OF DELIBERATE PRACTICE IN THE ACQUISITION OF EXPERT PERFORMANCE Motivational Constraint A premise of our theoretical framework is that deliberate practice is not inherently enjoyable and that individuals are motivated to engage in it by its instrumental value in improving performance. Hence, interested individuals need to be engaging in the activity and motivated to improve performance before they begin deliberate practice. Bloom (1985b) found evidence supporting this implication.His interviews with international-level performers showed that parents typically initiated deliberate practice after allowing their children several months of playful engagement in the domain and after noticing that their children expressed interest and showed signs of promise. The social reactions of parents and other individuals in the immediate environment must be very important in establishing this original motivation. At the start of deliberate practice, parents help their child keep a regular daily practice schedule and point out the instrumental value of practice for improved performance (Bloom, 1985b).With increased experience and the aid of teachers and coaches, the developing individual is able to internalize methods for assessing improvement and can thus concurrently monitor the effects of practice. As individuals get more involved in the activities of a domain, competitions and public performances provide short-term goals for specific improvements. At this point the motivation to practice becomes so closely connected to the goal of becoming an expert performer and so integrated with the individual's daily life that motivation to practice, per se, cannot be easily assessed.Certain naturally occurring events and changes illuminate the relation between practice and performance. Activities in many domains, especially sports, are seasonal because most scheduled competitions occur during a single season of the year. If individuals enjoyed deliberate practice, they ought to practice at a uniformly high level all year. Instead, athletes train much harder during the preseason period and during the season itself; during the off season they often reduce the level of training dramatically (Reilly, 1990a; Reilly ; Secher, 1990).Many individuals who have practiced for a long period of time give up their aspirations to compete and excel in an activity. Without the goal of improving performance, the motivation to engage in practice vanishes. Kaminski, Mayer, and Ruoff (1984) found that many elite adolescents who decided to stop competing remained active in the domain but virtually stopped engaging in practice. Some individuals have had to terminate their professional careers for reasons unrelated to their ability to perform.In a longitudinal study of visual artists, Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi (1976) found that most artists were drawn to painting because it allowed social isolation. However, aspiring painters have to promote social relations with art dealer s, art critics, and buyers to gain notoriety, increase the demand for their art, and generate sufficient sales for full-time artistic activity. Failure to do so forced many of the best artists to take another job unrelated to painting.Once these artists could no longer commit sufficient time and energy to maintain and improve their performance they stopped painting completely because they could not accept performing at a lower level. This finding shows that the activity of painting as such is not inherently motivating but rather the act of producing art that satisfies the artists' subjective criteria for quality. DANCE Abstracts 1. Fink, A. & Woschnjak, S. (2011). Creativity and personality in professional dancers. Personality and Individual Differences, 51 (6), 754-758. AbstractIn this study three different groups of professional dancers (ballet, modern/contemporary and jazz/musical), which considerably vary with respect to the creativity-related demands involved in the respective dancing style, are compared with respect to psychometrically determined creativity, general mental ability and different facets of personality. Results indicate that modern/contemporary dancers, who are often required to freely improvise on stage, exhibited relatively high levels of verbal and figural creativity (as it was measured by means of psychometric creativity tests), followed by jazz/musical and finally by ballet dancers.With respect to personality, modern/contemporary dancers can be characterized as being less conscientious, higher on psychoticism and more open to experiences than the remaining experimental groups. In line with relevant research in this field, this study reveals some central personality characteristics of highly creative individuals which may be considered as important ingredients in the acquisition or actualization of exceptional creative potential. Highlights: > Dancers of different professions differ with respect to creativity and personality. > Modern d ancers score high on openness and psychoticism. Modern dancers show high levels of psychometrically determined creativity. Keywords: Creativity, Personality, Psychoticism, Openness, Dance 2. Martyn-Stevens, B. E. , Brown, L. E. , Beam, W. C. & Wiersma, L. D. (2012). Effects of a dance season on the physiological profile of collegiate female modern dancers. Med Sport, 16 (1), 1-5. Abstract Introduction: A collegiate modern dancer is a unique athlete because in addition to the physical demands of dance, she also has the artistic demands of creating and performing for a season of showcases, or in some cases, multiple showcases.In preparing for her dance season in addition to her academic schedule, a collegiate modern dancer’s training includes rigorous daily technique classes and rehearsals which may alter her fitness level across time. Objective: To determine the effects of a dance season on the physiological profile of collegiate female modern dancers. Methods: Eighteen colleg iate female modern dancers were measured for relative anaerobic power, fatigue index, upper body and lower body strength, aerobic capacity and body composition at both pre and post dance season.Results: At post season, there were significant improvements in relative anaerobic power (pre 7. 43 + 1. 01 W/kg, post 8. 00 + 0. 78 W/kg), body weight (pre 57. 80 + 5. 10, post 58. 72 + 5. 08), and body composition (pre 18. 60 + 2. 03%, post 17. 78 + 2. 49%), and a significant increase in fatigue index (pre 33. 38 + 9. 72%, post 38. 91 + 7. 49%). There were no significant changes in relative upper and lower body strength or aerobic capacity. Conclusions: The demands of a collegiate dance season resulted in improved power and lean mass but greater anaerobic fatigue in these female modern dancers

Gender Discrimination Essay

Gender discrimination is an important issue in the workplace in today’s world. Female employees are facing gender discrimination in the form of different dimensions. This discrimination is disturbing their performance. The main aim of this study is to see the effect of these gender discrimination dimensions which include glass ceiling, salary gap and discrimination in facilities on the productivity of female employees with the mediating effect of job commitment and job satisfaction. The research is focused on the private education sector. The population frame is the female teachers in the private education institutes. A sample of 130 female teachers is collected for this study. The framework is developed for our study for checking the impact of glass ceiling, salary gap and discrimination in facilities on the productivity of female employees. The hypotheses are developed and after the data analysis some of the hypothesis are rejected and some of the hypothesis are not rejected. The hypotheses that the glass ceiling, discrimination in facilities and salary gap has negative impact on employee productivity is accepted which made us to conclude that these discrimination has a big impact on employee productivity and ultimately organizational performance. This study will give some guidelines to the managers and policy makers in any organization that how to reduce these discriminations. Key words: Gender discrimination, Glass ceiling, Employee productivity, salary gap, discrimination in facilities, job satisfaction, job commitment, Paper type: Research Paper 1. Introduction 1.1 Significance/Rationales of study The study came up with the solutions to the problem of gender discrimination at work place. This study will help the people to be aware of this dominating problem of gender discrimination and its reasons. This study can also identify the positive and negative effects of discrimination on the world of business and personal lives of people. Gender discrimination is a wide phenomenon which is affecting every political, social and economic life. In this era where everyone think that there should be equal rights for men and women, there are some occurrences of people who are being discriminated because of their gender. It is not an issue, which one can easily tolerate or ignore. Gender discrimination is understood as the unequal treatment against people of either sex, but statistics shows that women are the one who are more discriminated just being a female (Lila Adhikari, 2008). Gender issues were first pointed out in 1950s, but it’s been highlighted in organization and management studies in between 1980s and 1990s. In this duration many studies on effect of gender discrimination on employees were conducted. One study shows that gender discrimination is inversely proportional to job commitment and satisfaction which means it reduces the employee’s productivity which ultimately affects the organizational productivity (Zahid Ali Channar, 2011). Many factors have been identified which are responsible for gender discrimination in work place, which are education, promotion, marriage and child bearing and environment. If we look in context of promotion, a wide practice used is glass ceiling, a process by which women are not promoted to high level of jobs (Bell, 2002). Last year report issued by a commission of glass ceiling that shows that there are only 7 to 9 percent of managers that are in senior positions are women at fortune 1000 (kom and catalyst, 2012). 81 % employers dislike to hire a female. 49 % not carefully planning their careers to benefit women and above of all a survey tells that only 1 percent CEOs or even less than 1 percent take it as first concern, the development of women (Mauricio, 2012). 1.2 Problem Statement HRM in any organization is related to staffing, motivating and maintaining the organization (Decenzo, 1998). 50 years ago, due to homogeneity of work force the HRM was very simple, but now-a-days the workforce is heterogeneous. Managing this heterogeneity required such a staff that can create an equitable environment so that no group has any kind of advantage or disadvantage on other group (Wayne, 1995). Heterogeneity in workplace gave birth to gender discrimination, which has become an intense situation in Pakistan and affecting the employee’s productivity (Qaiser Abbas, 2011). An employee perform difficult tasks for the survival and improvement of organization but gender discrimination reduces the employee’s satisfaction, commitment and enthusiasm and increases the stress level which ultimately affects the productivity of an employee (Zahid Ali Channar, 2011). These studies did not discuss that how dimensions of gender discrimination effect the productivity of employee. The dimensions of gender discrimination include discrimination in promotions, discrimination in salary and discrimination in facilities provided. So there is a need to explore the effect of different dimensions of gender discrimination on the productivity of employee. 1.3 Aim of the study This study investigates that how different dimensions of gender discrimination effect the employee productivity. It would be helpful for any organization in the process of policy making which will ultimately increase the productivity of an organization. 1.4 Research Objectives 1) To identify that whether gender discrimination has an effect on productivity of employees in private educational institutes. 2) To explore how the productivity of employees is affected by gender discrimination in promotion, salary and facilities provided in private educational institutes. 3) To examine the results of the survey. 4) To recommend some reformed measures to the policy makers for the future. 1.5 Research Questions 1) What is relation between the employee productivity and gender discrimination? 2) What is effect of gender discrimination in promotion, salary and facilities on the performance of an employee? 2. Literature Review This literature view is based on the evaluation of gender discrimination on employee’s productivity. The gender discrimination now exist most of the organization around the world. Gender discrimination may exist in different dimensions like discrimination in promotions, facilities and Salaries. In simple words gender discrimination can be defined as the unfair treatment or behavior based on gender. It is said to occur when an individual’s decision is based on gender. Gender discrimination was attempted to define by no law. If we look in the perspective of employment, it is giving more advantage to a particular group (Wayne, 1995). This thing results in the decreased productivity of employees. 2.1 Gender Discrimination in Global Perspective The first form of discrimination was found by the universal declaration of human rights (1948). Gender discrimination is now a social disease which is destroying the lives of women around the world. Sen (1991) shows us that if equal treatment and opportunities were given then there should be more 100 million females than are presently alive. Many steps were taken to eliminate the gender discrimination but none of them was proved to be effective. The Beijing conference that documented 12 most prominent areas of discrimination was a big step in eliminating the gender discrimination (UNFPA, 2005). It is proved from the studies that gender discrimination has an influence on the employee productivity. A study shows that if there is a proper policy of gender discrimination there will be a change in employee’s productivity (Naqi Abbas, 2010). 2.2 Glass Ceiling Women in workplace face a wide practice called glass ceiling. This is a practice in which women are ignored when making a promotion policy or promoting an employee. We can see that in every organization the executive posts are held by males. According to a study only 3 percent of the most paid executives are female and these posts are disproportionately held by men (Healy and Zukka, 2004). Women are mostly entrusted in small projects not the big one. They are being kept deprived from international assignment which is keeping away from their promotions. Nick (1991) had conducted the study on international careers of women. His study clearly shows that there is a glass ceiling effect. Women are not being encouraged to do new projects on new markets and they are being kept at junior manager positions. Gender discrimination is not directly related to productivity. The relation of employee productivity and gender discrimination is mediated by job satisfaction and job commitment. Employees who faces policies and practices of gender discrimination show less satisfaction with their job (Ensher et al, 2001). When individuals’ face gender discrimination in workplace they show a low level of job commitment so gender discrimination has a negative relation with job commitment and job satisfaction (Sharon Foley, 2005). Gender discrimination creates tension and reduces the satisfaction of people and it is the study of 139 Hispanic male and female (Sanchez, 1996). The productivity of a happy worker is higher than an unhappy worker (Rabins, 1999,). Employee satisfaction plays a vital role in its productivity and there is a significant relation of job satisfaction with employee productivity (Pushpakumari, 2008). Job satisfaction lead to organizational responsibility, mental health and finally employee productivity (Coomber, 2007). Another study shows us that the organizations who perceive greater gender discrimination report less satisfaction and commitment (Ellen A. Ensher, 2001). The hypotheses are given below: 1) Glass ceiling has negative impact on employee productivity. 2) Glass ceiling is negatively related with employee productivity. 3) Job Satisfaction is positively related with employee productivity. 4) Job satisfaction mediates the relation between gender discrimination in promotions and employee productivity. 2.3 Discrimination in facilities In a workplace an employee is provided with many facilities which helps them to complete their task which include computers, air conditioners, assistant and transport facilities etc. If on a work place if such kind of facilities are provided to a male employee and not provided to a female employee of a same post. The female employee will start to think that the upper management don’t care about them which will increase their stress level and the satisfaction level of that employee cold be decreased which will affect the employee’s productivity. The hypotheses are given below: 1) Gender discrimination in facilities has negative impact on employee productivity. 2) Gender discrimination in facilities is negatively related with job satisfaction. 3) Job Satisfaction mediates the relationship between gender discrimination in facilities and employee productivity. 2.4 Salary Gap Another dimension of discrimination is the Salary gap. Women usually get low pay then men in any job they are appointed. Ashraf and Ashraf (1993) study shows that there is a gap of 63.27 percent in salary in 1979, and in 1986 it decreases to 33.09 percent. This was the decline in every province. Discrimination is not the phenomenon of one or two countries, it exist in most of the developed countries like USA. A study showed that women dietitians in USA earn 45,258 dollars per year while men earn 50,250 dollars per year (Pollard, 2007). Managers at top level in organization mostly prefer their own interest rather than others. They think that superiors who have power on their careers will support them. According to Susan et al (1998) mostly top managers in any organization are the people who are more biased against females and these people save interest of their own. The study shows that job commitment is significant related with productivity, there exist high degree of correlation between commitment and productivity. Individuals that are highly committed proved to be more productive and have higher satisfaction and have no intention to leave the job rather than employee with low job commitment (Varsha, 2012). The hypotheses are given below: 1) Salary gap has negative impact on employee productivity. 2) Salary gap is negatively related with job commitment 3) Job Commitment is positively related with employee productivity 4) Job Commitment mediates the relation between salary gap and employee productivity. 2.5 Gender discrimination in Pakistan Pakistan is also one of the countries where gender discrimination is seen in most of the organizations. We all know Pakistan is a male dominating society and women are being treated unfairly in every field of profession. Gender discrimination has spread its root from public organizations to private organizations. Women are being kept at low level jobs and they are not promoted to high posts due to biasness of top level managers and policy makers. A study by Ghizala Kazi (2011) shows us that no women in the public organizations are in the scale of 20 or more. There are very few women above scale 15. Most of the women are under 15th scale, which shows the situation of discrimination in Pakistan. Many factors for this situation were identified like education, promotion, environment, child bearing and discrimination. If such kinds of discrimination is eliminated than the productivity of these women employees could be increased. There are evidences that the promotion of gender equality leads to a better performance and improved economy of concerned society. The societies who have greater female employment opportunities are less corrupt and have better governance (Klasen, 2006). This is not the end of discriminations in Pakistan. A women employee is also discriminated in Salary, which is a basic right of an employee that he should get compensated according to his work and post. In Pakistan you will see men and women working on same job level but different pay. In the report of poverty in Pakistan it is clearly proved that majority of women are concentrated in low paid jobs with very few opportunity for moving upward (Shah et al, 2004). If we look in the export industries of Pakistan which is a backbone in measurement of economy of Pakistan we will see the similar situation of discrimination. The study of Siddique (2006) surveyed the industries of export that are in Karachi, Sialkot and Faisalabad. The results from this study confirms the gender discrimination and shows that men were getting 20 percent more than then women working at the same post. It was also concluded that adjustment policies and change in labor market has a negative impact on females. To have maximum output from women employee the organizational culture of discrimination should be changed. Organizational culture affects the performance of employee. Organizational environment and culture can make the workplace attractive and supportive for a female employee. Attitudes of peers and support from family are also very significant for the female employee (Irfan, 2009). Many studies have discussed the gender discrimination as a general term but there is need to explore the discrimination in different dimensions and how these dimensions affect the productivity of employees. Gender discrimination has three dimensions which include discrimination in promotions, salary and facilities provided. So this study will be based on exploring the effect of dimensions of gender discrimination on productivity of employees. 3. Conceptual framework In the literature review of this topic the framework has been defined which show the relationship between the variables. Correlation is basically run to analyze the relationship between two or more variable. It also measure that how two variables move in relation to each other. It measures the strength and direction of linear relationship between two variables with respect to each other. The sign of the value shows the direction that whether it is negative or positive. Positive sign shows that the variables are moving in same direction means if one variable is increasing the other variable is also increasing and negative sign shows that if one variable is increasing then other variable is decreasing. The magnitude shows the intensity between variable. If the value is between 0.1 and 0.5 then the variables are weakly correlated. If the value is between 0.5 and 0.7 then the variables are moderately correlated. If the value is between 0.7 and 0.99 then the variables are strongly correlated. The value 1 shows the perfect correlation between variables. Table 5 shows the intensity and the direction of any two variables. Highest value of correlation is 0.753 which is between gender discrimination in facilities and glass ceiling. So the correlation between discrimination in facilities and glass ceiling is positive and strongly correlated. The relationship between DF and EP, and DF and JS, and JC and SG is negative. So it means that if you have more salary gap than your commitment to job will be less but its value is less than any else two variables, so we can say that job commitment will be less but with very small value, and if you have more discrimination in facilities then your productivity will be less. The remaining variables have positive relation with each other. The relationship is significant at 1% which means there are 99% chances that the relationship between all two variables will remain the same if the sample is changes and sample size and population remains same as shown in the table given below. 5.7 Regression This research is to check the effect of gender discrimination dimensions which are glass ceiling, salary gap and discrimination in facilities on the employee productivity. This research also includes two mediating variables job satisfaction and job commitment. Job satisfaction is mediating between glass ceiling and employee productivity and also discrimination in facilities and employee productivity. Job commitment is mediating between salary gap and employee productivity. For this 9 hypothesis were developed. For the purpose of checking the impact regression has been applied. The model has only one dependent variable so there will be one model of regression equation. There will be separate equation for mediating variable to check the mediating effect of variables between independent and dependent variable. In first model we run the regression equation between EP, GC, DF, SG, JC and Job satisfaction. 5.7.1 Regression Equation EP = 4.66 – 0.38GC – 0.86DF – 0.26SG + 0.017JC + 0.167JS The Above equation shows that if all the other variables remain unchanged or have value of zero then the productivity of employee remains at 14.66. It is the fixed value of employee productivity. The coefficient values tell the per unit change in the employee productivity so if we increase the value of GC, SG and DF then the value of employee productivity will decrease by 0.38, 0.86 and 0.26 respectively. If the value of job commitment increases by one then the value of employee productivity will increase by 0.017. The hypotheses of glass ceiling, discrimination in facilities and job satisfaction are accepted. If the value of job satisfaction is increased then the value of employee productivity will increase by 5.10 Kruskal Wallis Test The non-parametric test will be used that is kruskal-Wallis test. Whenever the assumption of levene test is not fulfilled the non-parametric test i.e. kruskal-Wallis test is used. So kruskal-Wallis test is applied to check the level of job commitment in the females who are earning less than 30,000 between 30,000 and 40,000 and more than 40,000. The table given below shows that the asymptotic value is greater than 0.05so test is insignificant. So there is no difference in the average of glass ceiling in all three populations. So we can conclude that there is no significant difference between the mean of all three population p = 0.509, with a mean rank of 73.45 for below 30,000, 65.20 for 30,000 to 40,000 and 73.00 for above 40,000. 6. Discussion This study is conducted to check the impact of gender discrimination on the productivity of employees. The study included three dimensions of gender discrimination that is discrimination in promotions, discrimination in facilities and discrimination in salary. With the help of previous studies it is found that all these discriminations have negative impact on employee productivity which is mention in literature view. The hypotheses were developed for this study. There are 12 hypotheses that are developed. First hypothesis is that glass ceiling has negative impact on employee productivity. This hypothesis is checked after entering the data into SPSS. He results show that glass ceiling does have negative impact on employee productivity. If women are not being promoted to higher job positions and if there is no such policies related to gender discrimination then the productivity of female employee decreases. Second hypothesis was that the glass ceiling is negatively related with job satisfaction. this hypothesis is checked through the correlation. The table 5 of correlation clearly shows that glass ceiling is negatively related with the job satisfaction and result is also significant so this hypothesis is supported. Third hypothesis is that the job satisfaction is positively related with the employee productivity. The table of correlation shows the positive relation between the two variables. So employee productivity increases as the job satisfactions continues to increase and if job satisfaction decreases the employee productivity also decreases. Fourth hypothesis is that the job satisfaction is mediating between glass ceiling and employee productivity. This hypothesis is checked through the mediation test which consists of four steps. This test did not support the hypothesis so this hypothesis is rejected. Fifth hypothesis is that the discrimination in facilities has negative impact on the employee productivity. This hypothesis is checked by regression. Discrimination in facilities has the negative impact on the employee productivity and it is also significant. So this hypothesis is also supported. The sixth hypothesis is that discrimination in facilities is negatively related with the job satisfaction. This hypothesis is supported because the correlation between them is negative in the table 5. So the discrimination in facilities increases then the satisfaction with the job decreases. The next hypothesis is that the job satisfaction plays the mediating role between the discrimination in facilities and employee productivity. This hypothesis is also checked by the mediation test the result is shown in the table 8 which shows that this hypothesis is not supported. It means that job satisfaction is not mediating between discrimination in facilities and employee productivity. The eights hypothesis that was developed is that salary gap has negative impact on the employee productivity. The hypothesis is not supported as it is checked by regression test which is shown in the table 6. It has negative impact but it is not significant means that if gap is more in salary then employee productivity decreases but not significantly. The ninth hypothesis is that salary gap is negatively related with job commitment. The hypothesis is checked with the correlation which is shown in the table 5 of correlation which shows that the relation between these two variables is negative. So salary gap reduces the job commitment of female employees. The next hypothesis that is developed is that the job commitment is positively related with the employee productivity. The relation is checked with the correlation and hypothesis is supported because results show that there is positive relation between salary gap and job commitment and it is significant. It means more job commitment the more employee productivity. The next hypothesis is that job commitment mediated the relation between the salary gap and employee productivity. This hypothesis is checked by the mediation test and it is not supported. The results show that job commitment does not play a mediating role between salary gap and employee productivity. The t test is also applied to check that whether the level of variables is also applicable on the population. The results are shown in the table 9. This table shows that all the values of p are significant so the level is also the same as the population. The level of job commitment is also checked in the three population related to different income groups that is below 30,000, 30,000-40,000 and more than 40,000. For this purpose the ANOVA is applied but for ANOVA the assumption of levene test should be fulfilled that is its value should be insignificant. The table 10 shows that levene test assumption is not fulfilled so the non-parametric test is used. The non-parametric test is the Kruskal-Willis test. This test is applied and the hypothesis is rejected as its asymptotic value is not significant. So it means that the there is no significant difference between the job commitment of females who are earning less than 30000, 30000-40000 and more than 40000. 7. Implication Through this study the impact of gender discrimination is checked on the employee productivity. The productivity of an employee is much important for an organization. So the management should consider the issue of gender discrimination as it is shown that the gender discrimination has negative impact on the employee productivity. As our sector for this research is the private education institutes which are very important sector for a developing countries so the management should consider reforming its policies. The management should make transparent, merit based recruitment and selection, it should also provide the training for better performance of female employee so that they can be promoted, they could be provided similarly facilities and different incentive so that they compete economically with the men as all these discriminations are effecting their productivity. 8. Limitation This study was only focused to the three dimensions of gender discrimination and employee productivity is the only variable that is measured that effect the productivity of organization. This research was only examining the education sector and the data was collected only from private institutions. The data was also 140 and it was collected only from the schools that are in the city area the educations institutes in the village was not collected so therefore the ability of generalizability of our findings were restricted and this can lead us to the biasness of respondents (Paul et al., 2003). 9. Conclusion This study provided an insight that how the dimensions of gender discrimination affect the productivity of employee. The data has been collected from different private education institutes through questionnaire. After the analysis that we have done on SPSS we can conclude that gender discrimination has a negative impact on the employee productivity which ultimately affect the performance of employee. The result of impact of salary gap on the employee productivity is not significant. So if the organizations want to perform well then they should keep the gender discrimination out of their organizations in order to make their female employees perform well which will be beneficial for the organization. 10. References Channar, Z. A. (2011). Gender Discrimination in Workforce and its Impact. Pak. J. Commer. Soc. Sci, Vol. 5, pp. 177-191. Dixit, V. (2012). A Study about Employee Commitment and its impact. European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, Vol. 1, pp. 34-51. Abbas, S. M. (2010). Gender Based Wage Discrimination and Its Impact on Performance of Blue Collar Workers: Evidence. KASBIT Business Journal, Vol. 3, pp. 45-63. Hiau, Joo. Kee. (2008) Glass ceiling or sticky floor exploring the Australian gender pay gap. The Economic Record, Vol. 82, No.59, pp. 408-427. Foley, S. (2005). Perceptions of Discrimination and Justice: Are there Gender Differences in Outcomes? Group & Organization Management, Vol. 30, pp. 421-452. Ashraf, J, and B. Ashraf (1993) Estimating the Gender Wage Gap in Rawalpindi City. Journal of Development Studies 29:2. Ensher, E. A., Grant-Vallone, E. J., & Donalson, S. I. (2001). Effects of perceived discrimination on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behavior, and grievances. Human Resource Development Quarterly, Vol. 12, pp. 53-72. Prudence Pollard, Maxine Taylor and Noba Daher, Health Care Manager; Jan-Mar2007, Vol. 26 Issue 1, p52-63, 12p, 4 charts Ensher, E. A. (2011). Effects of Perceived discrimination on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behaviour and grievances. Human resource development quarterly, Vol. 1. Coomber B, Barriball KL. 2007†Impact of job satisfactions on intent to leave and turnover for hospital based nurses: a review of the research literature†, International Journal of Nursing Studies, Vol. 44, pp. 297-314. Joanne Healy and Zucca J. Linda Mid-American Journal of Business; Spring2004, Vol. 19 Issue 1, pp. 55-62. Sen, Amartya, 1999, â€Å"Assessing Human Development Special Contribution† Human Development Report 1999 (New York: UNDP). Shah, Parveen. Memon, Rajab. A. (2004). Socio-economic and demographic status of rural women in Sindh. Proceedings of the international conference on social sciences: endangered and engendered, Fatima Jinnah women university, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, pp. 98-113. Nick, Foster. (1999) another ‘glass ceiling’? The experiences of women professionals and managers on international assignments, Gender, Work and Organization, Blackwell publisher’s ltd., Vol. 6, no. 2, pp.79-89. United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA), 2004, Programme of Action: Adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo 1994 Wayne, F. Casico, (1995) Managing Human Resource, Productivity, Quality of work life, Profits, McGraw hill Internationals, 4th ed. pp. 61-116. Susan, Trentham. Laurie, Larwood, (1998) Gender discrimination and the workplace: an examination of rational bias theory, Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, Jan, 1998, pp. 1-22. Sanchez, J. I., & Brock, P. (1996). Outcomes of perceived discrimination among Hispanic employees: Is diversity management a luxury or a necessity? Academy of Management Journal, 39 (3), 704–719. 11. Appendices Questionnaire We are students of B.sc (Hons) Accounting & Finance, currently doing a research project on gender discrimination and its Impact on employee’s performance for which the questionnaire is being distributed to collect empirical data. Therefore you are kindly requested to fill this questionnaire. The information will be kept confidential and will be used for only academic Purpose it will take 15-20 min to complete the data. Thank you in anticipation (Strongly Disagree = 1, Strongly Agree = 5) Employee Productivity

A Brief Biography of Ted Bundy

In the 1970s, terrorist incidents shocked the United States. More and more girls students suddenly disappeared. While searching for a serial killer, the agent does not seem to be able to find a link to those who carry out all these terrible acts. The similarity of the victims shows that some people are wisely supporting these events. But when he got caught, the United States learned that not all serial killers fit a particular image. Ted Bundy, which is said to be very smart and interesting by many people, spreads his fears throughout America by targeting and killing young women; his future behavior Ted Bundy's biography Ted Bundy is one of the worst continuous killers ever. His antisocial personality and spiritual illness made him feel scared all over the country. After all, Ted left a series of bloody killings including the deaths of 36 young women and crossed the four states. The biggest problem in the hearts of many people is that if people like Bondi are very smart, very clever and praised, he will do such a thing. - Terrorist attacks shocked the United States in the 1970s. More and more girls students suddenly disappeared. While searching for a serial killer, the agent does not seem to be able to find a link to those who carry out all these terrible acts. The similarity of the victims shows that some people are wisely supporting these events. But when he was caught, the United States learned that not all serial killers are consistent with a particular image. Through the history of Tide Bondi, criminal investigators encountered various forms of serial killers. One of the many famous serial killers of the 20th century was Theodore Robert Bundy (Ted Bundy). Ted Bundy is responsible for killing more than Chi Omega. When people think about continuous killers they imagine people who are dirty, crazy, personal and outstanding from others. In the case of Ted, this is not the case. Ted Bondi is a very intelligent person who attended college. Ted Bundy 2 Ted Bundy: Personality comparison between Rollo May and Albert Bandura's theory The purpose of this case study is to test the personality of Ted Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers of modern history. It is said that Ted Bundy insulted and tortured and killed at least 50 women. The possibilities are higher, but real numbers will never be known. Because Ted Bondi refused to keep the real number of his victims and inform the authorities about the exact things.

GROUP DESIGN PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Strategic Managemet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic Managemet - Essay Example Information obtained from its official website shows that the company is guided by its cornerstone value which is to â€Å"build a company with a soul.† The operations of the company are shaped by its mission statement which is: â€Å"To inspire and nurture the human spirit—one person, one cup, and one neighbourhood at a time.† Broadly speaking, Starbucks strives to be â€Å"a purveyor of fine coffees in the world while maintaining uncompromising principles.† The company seeks to differentiate itself from other competitors in the coffee industry through provision of finest coffees to the customers. In actual fact, it can be observed that the success of the company can be attributed to its differentiation strategy. This report mainly focuses on the US segment since this company is very popular in this country. It operates its own stores as well as licensed stores. The FY11 Annual report states that the US segment of the company contributed about 69 % of the total revenue raised and this is the reason why this paper focuses on analysing the strategic fit of this particular company in the US. Regulations such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) however have a bearing on the operations of this company. In order to analyse the macro environment of Starbucks, PESTEL analysis will be utilized while Porter’s five forces model will specifically focus on analysing the microenvironment of the organization. There are various external factors that shape the operations of Starbucks and PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental as well as legal factors that impact the operations of the organization and these characterize its external environment in which it has little control of (Armstrong & Kotler, 2004). Appendix 1 at the end of the report summarises the external environmental factors that affect the operations of

Emphysema Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Emphysema - Research Paper Example Trapped pockets of the air block airways leading to a difficulty in breathing. Emphysema is similar to another condition called the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that leads to a reduced airflow into the lungs. COPD is characterized by running out of breath, chronic cough, phlegm, and reduced ability to exhale. Emphysema gets worse with time, with the alveoli becoming larger while decreasing in number (Turino, 2006). As a result, the air sacs are destroyed as they change in structure. The condition greatly reduces the amount of air absorbed by the blood in the lungs. The major predisposing factor to the state includes smoking especially from the age of 35 years, air pollution, and exposure to allergens, genetics and other respiratory diseases such as asthma among other suspected causes. The expiratory flow limitation is chronic and permanent. The limitation results from the airway inflammation and parenchymal cells damage. Progressive airways obstruction which leads to more breathing difficulties. The condition worsens with the inflammation of the airway characterized by the mucosal airway edema and mucous impaction. Emphysema results in the destruction of elastin impairing the ability of the lung to recoil after inhalation. As a result causing the lungs defective expiratory pressure. The airways become weak and narrow and thus there is an increased resistance to airflow. Expiratory flow limitation occurs when the expiratory airflow during spontaneous tidal breathing represents the maximum possible flow rate at operating lung volume. The expiratory flow rate does not rely on the muscle effort but on the ability of the lung to produce enough pressure for adequate exhalation during the recoil tide. In the case of expiratory flow limitation, the lung does not generate enough pressure for sufficient additional due to the reduced surface area and high volume of the alveoli, and the damaged elastin. The

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STRATEGY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STRATEGY - Essay Example As such, the 3D printing industry would hereby be more closely evaluated in terms of the industries seen to be disrupted; as well as the forces influencing the industry. The concluding portion would determine a trend to explain the 3D technology in general. The 3D printing industry has evolved from prototyping to manufacturing Lakhani and Lane (2014). As clearly explained by Lakhani and Lane (2014), â€Å"3D printing was an additive production process that, using varied techniques, repeatedly deposited one thin layer of material at a time that fused, bonded, or adhered to adjacent layers to create an integrated whole† (p. 2). A more comprehensive analysis of the 3D printing industry would be presented through the PEST analysis and the Porter’s five forces framework. including the need for more stringent regulations pertaining to identifying users (purchasers) of 3D printers and for specifically identified purposes. This is relevant to avoid misuse of products being produced from these printers. Likewise, aside from identifying authorized users through proper licensing to conform to government regulations, the possibilities of coming out with diverse products might also increase preponderance of misuse or abuse that could endanger the lives of the public. The economic impact of proliferation of 3D printing includes potential losses of jobs, especially in manufacturing firms that are seen to belong to the industries to be disrupted. Likewise, closing or potential bankruptcy of manufacturing firms would be detrimental to the economy in terms of lesser tax revenues for the government, lesser purchasing power for consumers who lose their jobs, as well as lesser funds to be earmarked for infrastructure and economic development projects. On the positive side, more goods manufactured locally would be made available, making cheaper alternatives easily accessible to the consumers. More interaction is

Summary for each of the reading Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Summary for each of the reading - Assignment Example A woman can try harder to be taken seriously but it totally depends upon the other person weather he takes you and your ideas seriously or not. To be taken seriously means that a person pay attention to and reply to you. It also means that what you think and what you do matters to others. However, it does not mean to be appreciated or to be respected. If a person thinks that your ideas are innocent, senseless or ordinary then he or she is not taking you seriously (Enloes, 2014). This chapter is based on a public conservation that took place on October 26, 2004, during an important UN peacekeeping and philanthropic support operation in Haiti. This event was directed and presented by Carol Cohn. The speech was started by Nadine Puechguirbal who has a PhD in political science. She started talking about the flood that took place in Haiti and how the hurricane destroyed a city named Gonaives. She also talked about how the UN community provided charitable support the people of Gonaives. The people of Gonaives lost their houses and were living in shelters provide by the UN communities. In these very shelters violence was going on against women by the men so that they could get control over the shelters, food and water. These women did not get anything to eat or drink and therefore they started selling themselves to get food. A few cases of sexual violence were also reported in Gonaives. This book mentions that humanitarian communities are working to provide securi ty to the women so that they can protect themselves as well as their shelter and food. The War of Terror is one of the most destructive and enormous combats between different countries of the world that caused massive destruction of societies, beliefs, buildings and financial well-being, trust of the public and other bodies. The war that took place between Iran and US destroyed major instillations within Iran including nuclear research facilities and electric companies. The

Developing Mathematic Thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Developing Mathematic Thinking - Essay Example How many has he left" may prove more difficult for some beginning students than calculating 5 - 3. Another way to categorise questions is according to the level of thinking they are likely to stimulate, using a hierarchy such as Bloom's taxonomy (Bloom, 1956). Bloom classified thinking into six levels: Memory (the least rigorous), Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation (requiring the highest level of thinking). Sanders (1966) separated the Comprehension level into two categories, Translation and Interpretation, to create a seven level taxonomy which is quite useful in mathematics. As you will see as you read through the summary below, this hierarchy is compatible with the four categories of questions already discussed. The teacher used other students to tackle mathematics hence building confidence in them as this gauges the students' confidence and competence with mathematics tasks. With is kind of an evidence, it is used by the teachers to provide the students with feedback on learning and in turn determine the way students are performing in relation to the outcome.3 The teacher gave a complex sum without developing skills about how to tackle such problems. The teacher ought to have used the mental strategy where he would have asked the student to solve addition or subtraction problems

Education level vs. GDP per capital (Analysis) Essay

Education level vs. GDP per capital (Analysis) - Essay Example From the table above, there is less than 5 years of elementary school and the GDP are perfectly negatively correlated. There is a relatively strong correlation between 4 or more years of college and GDP per capita than there is between high school completion or higher and the GDP per capita. This means that those who have less than 5 years elementary education contribute less to the country’s GDP per capita as compared to high school completion and 4 or more years of college. The longer one takes in learning, the higher they contribute to the GDP per capita. From the regression analysis output above, the equation of the model is y = -1129498.874 +583.606*Year. This is to show that there is a significant relationship between the GDP and the education level as years spent in school is part of the model formula. Based on the four years moving average of the country’s gdp above, it is healthy to assume that the country’s GDP is improving exponentially over the years with the forecasted GDP almost meeting the actual GDP (Corder, &, Foreman, 35) Even though the data provides that there is a strong correlation between education level and the gdp, IT is imperative to note that the GDP as it is, is a wide econometric term used to refer to a number of variables. Therefore, the relationship between the educational levels and the GDP may be assumed correct in the light of the data but not in real life scenarios. One is likely to realize that the GDP alone to be strongly correlated to the other macroeconomic factors than just educational level. It is therefore important to conduct anon parametric analysis on the other variable before making a concrete conclusion (Spearman,

Statue of Liberty Essay Example for Free

Statue of Liberty Essay A universal symbol of democracy and freedom, The Statue of Liberty, is a gift of companionship from the France people to the United States people. The Statue of Liberty enlightening the globe was devoted on 28th October, 1886. In 1924, The Statue of Liberty was designated and selected as a National Monument. The meaning of The Statue of Liberty is Liberty Enlightening the World and is an enormous neoclassical monument in New York Harbor on Liberty Island. It was designed by the Frederic Bartholdi and it is a figure of female. The female represents the Roman Goddess of Freedom, Libertas, who puts up with a tablet inducing the law (tabula ansata) and a torch. When you look at it, I can feel it tells me a lots of things: Liberty, freedom, power to take on the world. And win. On the tabula ansata, 4th July, 1776, the American Declaration of Independence date is emblazoned. At the feet of the Statue of Liberty lies a broken chain. The Statue of Liberty is a convivial signal to the immigrants that are arriving from overseas and it is an icon of the United States and its freedom. The height of the Statue of Liberty is 151ft that is 46.5 meters and along with the pedestal the statue reaches a height of 305 ft that is 93 meters . Inside the statue there are 354 stairs that end at the crown from where a nice view of the New York is available (WHC, 2013). The Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation (SOLEIF) founded by the President Ronald Reagan in 1982. This was done to start a classified division attempt to lift resources for the re-establishment and safeguarding of the Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty. The Foundation initially began the renovation of the Statue of Liberty along with the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. This was done because the statue needs refurbishment due to a century of sightseeing and weather pollution. On 4th July, 1986, a three day event was celebrated on the restoration of the statue. This weekend was also named as the â€Å"Liberty Weekend† by the President Francois and President Reagan (NPS, 2013). The Statue of Liberty is an icon and symbol of international friendship, companionship and alliance of the United States and France. It describes the liberty and freedom of the people of United States. The Statue of Liberty is an emblem of warm welcome to the people coming from overseas and abroad. To me Lady Liberty was meant to stand for the opportunity afforded to all who either came here or were born here. All that was required was the willingness to work,strive,and dream of a better day. References NPS (2013) History of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., retrieved from http://statueofliberty.org/Statue_History.html NPS (2013) History of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., retrieved from http://statueofliberty.org/Foundation.html NPS (2013) Statue of Liberty: National Monument New York. National Park Service: U.S. Department of the Interior, retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm WHC (2013) Statue of Liberty. UNESCO World Heritage Centre, retrieved from http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/307

Shots at Fortune and Life Essay Example for Free

Shots at Fortune and Life Essay Very few people get a shot at Fortune and Life but Margaret Bourke-White simply snapped her fingers and got into both. This very attractive and talented photojournalist made her name in the industry through her pictures for Fortune and Life Magazine. Living during the era when journalism was still way ahead of video productions, her photographs told much of a story with a shot from her lens. Margaret Bourke-White was born on June 14, 1904 in the Bronx, New York to Joseph White and Minnie Bourke. Joseph was of Polish-Jewish background while Minnie had Irish-English blood. (Women in History) Her parents were both believers of a religion called Ethical Culture which was a form of atheism. Ethical culture was very rigid to the point that it only allowed sexual intercourse between married couples for the sole purpose of creating children. (Goldberg 1986 pp. 4-5) In adherence to its philosophies, the couple brought up their children in a mentally stimulating and moral home. (Keller 1996 pp. 8-9) Mr. White was an engineer who was able to develop many versions of printing presses while his wife was totally dedicated in nurturing their children. Minnie was a very strict mother. She limited the children’s exposure to fried food and funny papers. Joseph, on the other hand, was an amateur photographer who was able to pass on his love for still pictures to his daughter. Margaret’s passion for photography began when as a child of eight years, she went with her father to watch the manufacture of printing presses. The marvel of seeing molten iron being poured captivated the photographer in her. (Margaret Bourke White par. 1) However, her total absorption into photojournalism was still far behind her mind. She began her college years in 1922 at New York’s Columbia University in a course for herpetology which is the study of reptiles. However, she met Everett Chapman, an engineering graduate student and got married in 1925. The marriage ended in divorce a year later which was also the time she decided to incorporate her mother’s last name into her own. (Margaret Bourke-White Biography 2007 par. 2) She became the student of Clarence White, a known photography instructor which sparked her interest enough to leave herpetology. She switched courses and schools several times before she finally graduated in 1927 at Cornell University. (Bois 1997) She opened her own photo studio after college at Cleveland wherein she specialized in architectural photos of industrialization. At that time, Cleveland was enjoying industrial progress and she marveled in taking pictures of this era which can be considered as symbols of economic prosperity. â€Å"She romanticized the power of machines through close-ups, dramatic cross lighting and unusual perspectives† that gave people a different view of industrialization. (â€Å"The Photography of Design† 2004 par. 5-6) Her pictures got the attention of well-known publisher, Henry Luce. By 1929, he was able to get her to shoot as staff photographer for the first issue of Fortune Magazine. The assignment was a difficult one that had to focus on Swift and Company’s hog processing plant but her perseverance to be the best made her finish the job well. (Cox 2003) By 1936, Luce introduced the first issue of Life Magazine. The front page photo of Fort Peck Dam that at that time was still under construction was shot by Bourke-White along with her essay inside. Fortune and Life magazines gave her numerous opportunities to see the world for various photo assignments. She was able to capture photos of World War II in Europe including Nazi camps, Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Korean War and the social unrest in South Africa. (Lee Gallery par. 1)

A Two Port Network Biology Essay

A Two Port Network Biology Essay A  two-port network  a kind of  four-terminal network  or quadripole is an  electrical network  circuit or device with two pairs  of terminals to connect to external circuits. Two terminals constitute a  port  if the currents applied to them satisfy the essential requirement known as the  port condition: the  electric current entering one terminal must equal the current emerging from the other. The ports constitute interfaces where the network connects to other networks, the points where signals are applied or outputs are taken. In a two-port network, often port 1 is considered the input port and port 2 is considered the output port. The two-port network model is used in mathematical  circuit analysis techniques to isolate portions of larger circuits. A two-port network is regarded as a black box with its properties specified by a  matrix  of numbers. This allows the response of the network to signals applied to the ports to be calculated easily, without solving for all the internal voltages and currents in the network. It also allows similar circuits or devices to be compared easily. For example, transistors are often regarded as two-ports, characterized by their h-parameters (see below) which are listed by the manufacturer. Any  linear circuit  with four terminals can be regarded as a two-port network provided that it does not contain an independent source and satisfies the port conditions. Examples of circuits analysed as two-ports are  filters,  matching networks,  transmission lines, transformers, and  small-signal models  for transistors (such as the  hybrid-pi model). The analysis of passive two-port networks is an outgrowth of  reciprocity theorems  first derived by Lorentz. In two-port mathematical models, the network is described by a 2 by 2 square matrix of  complex numbers. The common models that are used are referred to as  z-parameters,  y-parameters,  h-parameters,  g-parameters, and  ABCD-parameters, each described individually below. These are all limited to linear networks since an underlying assumption of their derivation is that any given circuit condition is a linear superposition of various short-circuit and open circuit conditions. They are usually expressed in matrix notation, and they establish relations between the variables (Two-Port Networks. (n.d.). In  Wikipedia. Retrieved October 25, 20012, from http://en.wikipe dia.org/wiki/Two-port_network) The experiment is divided into two parts: Part 1 is focused on determining two-port network parameters (admittance and transmission parameters only). The process of measurement and calculations will be briefly illustrated in Theoretical Supplement part. We are aiming to investigate the relationships between the individual parameters and the parameters of two-port networks in cascade and parallel. Part 2 is focused on finding out the transient responses in two-port networks containing capacitive and inductive reactances. Theoretical Supplements: Measurement of Admittance (Y-) Parameters: The equations to determine the parameters are: I1 = y11V1 + y12V2 I2 = y21V1 + y22V2 i.e. [I] = [Y].[V] [Y] = y11 y12 y21 y22 where are the Y parameters of the two-port network. Experimentally these parameters can be determined by short circuiting the ports, one at a time. Hence these parameters are also termed as short-circuit admittance parameters. The following diagrams show the method to calculate the parameters: When output port is shorted (as shown in Figure 2 below): V2 = 0.1 Figure 2 y11 = I1 / V1 y21 = I2 / V1 When input port is shorted (as shown in Figure 3 below): V1 = 0 2 Figure3 y12 = I1 / V2 y22 = I2 / V2 Measurement of Transmission Parameters: The equations to determine the parameters are: V1 = AV2 BI2 I1 = CV2 DI2 Or3 Where [t] is the transmission parameters of the two-port network. Experimentally, the t-parameters can be obtained by short circuiting and open circuiting the output one at a time. The following procedure shows how to calculate the parameters: Output port is open-circuited: i.e. I2 = 0 4 Figure4 A = V1 / V2 C = I1 / V2 Output port is short-circuited: i.e. V2 = 0 1 Figure5 B = V1 / I2 D = I1 / I2 Cascade Interconnection of two 2-port Networks: Considering the 2 networks A and B which are connected in cascade, as shown in Figure 6 below. From this the transmission parameters of the combined cascaded network (N) is obtained. The method is demonstrated below. 5 Figure 6 [t]N = [t]A.[t]B 7 Hence, the following result is obtained. 8 Parallel Interconnection of two 2-Port Networks: Considering the two networks A and B which connected in parallel, as shown in Figure 7 below. The overall y-parameters of the combined network N can be obtained as follows: 6 Figure 7 I1 = I1A + I1B I2 = I2A + I2B V1 = V1A = V1B V2 = V2A = V2B; And H:DropboxCamera Uploads2012-10-25 05.41.34.jpg It can be seen that the overall Y-parameters can be obtained by summing the corresponding Y-parameters of individual networks A and B, when the A and B networks are not altered by the parallel connection. Transient Responses of Two-Port Networks: Damping Ratio  Ã‚ º is defined as the ratio of the actual resistance in damped harmonic motion to that necessary to produce critical damping. It is also known as relative damping ratio. We divide the transient responses into three types on the basis of damping ratio  Ã‚ º, Over damped response ( Ã‚ º > 1), Under damped response ( Ã‚ º Critically damped response ( Ã‚ º = 1). The various conditions stated above are described in detail below. Over damped Response: In this case the roots of the characteristic equation are real and distinct. The solution to the input signal is a decaying exponential function with no oscillations and the transient response will be over damped. The response to the input signal is slow and has no overshoots or undershoots. Under damped: The roots are complex in this case. The transient response will be under damped when  Ã‚ º Critically damped: When  Ã‚ º = 1, the roots are real and equal, and the transient response to the input signal will be critically damped. There will be no oscillations whatsoever. This case is a desirable outcome in many industries. In this experiment, we are mainly using the second type, which is the under damped response. And the characteristic equation is given by: S2 + 2 Ã‚ ºÃƒ Ã¢â‚¬ °nS + à Ã¢â‚¬ °n2 where à Ã¢â‚¬ °n = undamped natural frequency = 1/à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡( LC ) à Ã¢â‚¬ °n à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ (1  Ã‚ º2 ) = damped natural frequency {A484D667-ABED-4193-B38C-40120C378004}  Ã‚ º = damping ratio = Further critical details have been illustrated in the Appendix B of Laboratory manual of Experiment L212. Objectives: To measure the admittance-parameters and transmission parameters of two-port network To investigate the relationships between individual network parameters and two-port networks in cascade and parallel connections To study the transient response of a two-port network containing capacitive and inductive reactances. Equipment: Digital Storage Oscilloscope Function Generator (50ÃŽÂ ©) Digital Multimeter Inductor with 2 inductance steps Capacitors: 22ÃŽÂ ¼F, 100ÃŽÂ ¼F Resistors: 33ÃŽÂ ©, 100ÃŽÂ © (2 numbers), 220ÃŽÂ ©, 330ÃŽÂ ©, 560ÃŽÂ ©, 680ÃŽÂ ©, 3.9kÃŽÂ ©, 4.7kÃŽÂ © (2 numbers), 5.6kÃŽÂ ©, 6.8kÃŽÂ © Bread-board Procedure: Measurement of Admittance-Parameters and Transmission Parameters and to investigate the relationships between individual network parameters and two port networks in cascade and parallel connections Setup A Connect the resistive network A as shown in Figure 8 below. With the network connected in the circuit, apply a sinusoidal voltage of 1 kHz, and amplitude 10 volts from peak to peak at: Port 1 with port 2 open-circuited Port 1 with port 2 short-circuited Port 2 with port 1 short-circuited In each case measure the voltage and current at the input and output terminals The input voltage is measured by observing the peak to peak value on the scope of the oscilloscope while the output voltage is measured with the digital meter. Tabulate the results in Table 1. (all the values measured should be in rms) Figure 8: The resistive network A{DA60CACE-9B44-4522-A111-F57AC9F95897} Setup B: Connect the resistive network as shown in the Figure 9 below. With the network connected in the circuit, apply an identical sinusoidal voltage as in Setup A at: Port 1 with port 2 open-circuited Port 1 with port 2 short-circuited Port 2 with port 1 short-circuited Measure the identical reading as in Setup A in the same way. Tabulate the results in the same Table 1.{0536D217-3D48-4F28-B37B-77F1CB823EEA} Figure 9: The Resistive Network B Cascaded Setup: Connect the networks A and B in cascade as shown in the Figure 10 below. Measure the identical parameters with the identical voltage and applying the voltage at the same positions as was done in the previous two setups A B. Tabulate the readings in Table 1 again.{32E83E0D-6633-4D97-A59B-4374AF22F541} Figure 10: The Cascaded Network of Networks A B Parallel Setup: Reconnect the individual networks A B in parallel as shown in Figure 12 below. Repeat the same procedures above with the same voltage as above to this network. Tabulate the readings in Table 1.{591F8FFC-7083-4E49-88AD-96E019FAD63C} Figure 12: The Parallel Network of Networks A B Table 1: (All values in rms) Results I2 = 0 V2 = 0 V1 = 0 I1 (mA) V1 (V) V2 (V) I1 (mA) I2 (mA) V1 (V) I1 (mA) I2 (mA) V2 (V) Network A (measured) 2.38 3.45 2.52 5.09 3.82 3.45 4.00 5.65 3.46 Network B (measured) 0.72 3.49 3.22 3.27 2.82 3.45 2.89 3.18 3.45 Cascaded (measured) 2.66 3.47 2.07 3.42 1.31 3.44 Parallel (measured) 13.28 11.59 3.46 10.34 12.55 3.46 Questions: The voltages V1 and V2 should not be connected to channel 1 and 2 of the scope simultaneously. Why? It can be observed from the circuit that both the ports V1 and V2 have different grounds. If V1 and V2 are connected simultaneously to channel 1 and 2 of oscilloscope respectively, then the ground terminals of V1 and V2 will be short-circuited as they are connected through the oscilloscope. This would change the circuits configuration and would give us the readings for a completely different circuit which would differ a great deal from the accurate values. What should you do to the readings of peak to peak voltage in order to make them compatible with the currents measured by the digital meter? The relationship between peak to peak values and its respective rms values is: peak to peak voltage = 2 x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡2 x rms voltage The current measured by the digital meter is in root-mean-square value (rms). So it is mandatory to convert the peak to peak voltages to its rms value in order to be compatible with the currents measured by the digital meter. Hence the peak to peak value is divided by 2 x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡2 to so that it is compatible with the currents measured by the digital meter. Compare the theoretical results with the measurement readings recorded in Table 1 for the interconnected two-port networks. Explain any of the differences in the two sets of results. Two kinds of parameters values are calculated and shown in Table 2 and Table 3. With this parameter values we can compare the difference in values of the measurement and theoretical readings. The parameter values in Table 2 shown below are defined as When the output-port is open, I2 = 0 Then: A = V1 /V2 C = I1/V2 When the output port is shorted, V2 = 0 Hence: B = V1/I2 D = I1/I2 And Cascade (theoretical) is obtained by [t]N = [t]A . [t]B Transmission parameters A B C D Network A (measured) 1.36 677.80 0.00094 1.33 Network B (measured) 1.08 1223.40 0.00022 1.16 Cascade (theoretical) (Network A * Network B) 1.62 2450.07 0.0013 2.69 Cascade (measured) 1.68 2625.95 0.00129 2.61 Percentage difference between cascade (measured) and (theoretical) 3.70% 6.69% 0.78% 3.07% Table 2 As it can be seen from the Table 2 above that there are slight differences between the theoretical and experimental results of the transmission parameters of the individual network and the interconnected two-port networks. The difference is observed due to the experimental human errors, tolerance levels of resistors in networks and slight deviation due to the slight inaccuracy of equipment. The parameter values in Table 3 shown below are defined as When the output port is shorted, V2 = 0. Then: y11 = I1 /V1 y21 = I2/V1 When the input port is shorted, V1= 0. Then: y12 = I1/V2 y22 = I2/V2 And Parallel (theoretical) is obtained by Network A values + Network B values Table 3: Admittance Parameters Admittance parameters y11 y12 y21 y22 Network A (measured) 0.00148 0.00156 0.00107 0.00163 Network B (measured) 0.00095 0.00084 0.00082 0.00092 Parallel (theoretical) (Network A + Network B) 0.00243 0.00240 0.00189 0.00255 Parallel (measured) 0.00384 0.00299 0.00335 0.00363 Percentage difference between Parallel (measured) and Parallel (theoretical) 36.72% 19.73% 43.58% 29.75% From Table 3, it can be observed that the difference between experimental and theoretical admittance parameters are quite large. The large difference is due to the same experimental errors and small tolerance of resistors or the existing voltage drop of the multimeter. Measurement of Transient Response of Two-Port Networks: {ECB52EDE-2A5E-423C-AE62-ECF870EBA09C} Figure 13 Connect the circuit as shown in the Figure 13 above with C = 22  Ã‚ ­F Using a storage scope and with the inductor setting at position 1, inject 10V peak to peak square wave at V1. Choose frequency f of the input voltage such that the square waves leading edge simulate a step input with the transient response completed before the next voltage change. The frequency f is chosen to be about 4 Hz. Record the output waveform V2 with the storage oscilloscope. Sketch the waveforms and when the waveforms have been captured, use the oscilloscope cursor to measure the oscillation period T and the voltages Va and Vb as shown in the Figure 14 below. The waveform is shown in Figure i) below. {71B3E9F8-C513-4F5A-9441-0C73C0A0C9B8} V1 Input Voltage V2 Output Voltage Tin Input signal period T Transient Oscillation Va / Vb Transient Oscillation Voltage Ratio Period Figure 14 Repeat the above procedure for the inductor setting at position 2. The waveform is shown as in Figure ii) below. Repeat the procedure for the two inductor settings with the capacitor changed to 100ÃŽÂ ¼F. The waveforms are show as Figure iii) and iv) below respectively. Add a resistor R2 of 33 ÃŽÂ © in series with inductor L as shown in Figure 15 below and select the inductor setting at position 1 with the capacitor = 100 ÃŽÂ ¼F. The waveform is shown as in Figure v) below. Repeat all the procedures with R2 values of 100 ÃŽÂ © and 220 ÃŽÂ ©. The waveform with R2 as 100 ÃŽÂ © is shown in Figure vi) below. All measurements are recorded in Table 4 below.H:DropboxCamera Uploads2012-10-25 06.12.32.jpg Figure 15 Figure a Figure b Figure c Figure d Figure e Figure f Figure g Condition C=22ÃŽÂ ¼F L = 1H C=22ÃŽÂ ¼F L = 200mH C=100ÃŽÂ ¼F L = 1H C=100ÃŽÂ ¼F L = 200mH C=100ÃŽÂ ¼F L = 1H and add R2=33ÃŽÂ © C=100ÃŽÂ ¼F L = 1H and add R2=100ÃŽÂ © C=100ÃŽÂ ¼F L = 1H and add R2=220ÃŽÂ © T(ms) 48.0 19.0 38.5 94.5 80.20 Period = 253.0 Άt1 =130.0 Άt2 =46.00 V2 =2.531 Va(v) 3.00 1.46 0.791 1.80 1.687 1.250 Vb(v) 0.633 0.700 0.408 0.516 0.3750 0.5000 Table 4 Waveform Figures: L:AAADS0001.BMP Figure i) L:AAADS0003.BMP Figure ii) L:AAADS0006.BMP Figure iii) Figure iv)L:AAADS0007.BMP L:AAADS0008.BMP Figure v) Figure vi) L:AAADS0009.BMP Questions: Why are square waves at a higher frequency not used as input? Square waves at higher frequencies are not used as input because frequency is related to time period by the relationship f = 1/T. So as the frequency is increased, the time period will become shorter and shorter. So it will take shorter time for the output power levels to stabilize after the input circuit stops drawing power. Hence the waveform obtained from the oscilloscope will not be clear enough for proper distinction. What causes the step input voltage to become an oscillating output voltage? The oscillating output voltage is caused due to the presence of the two reactive elements in the circuit, the inductor and the capacitor. The effect of charging and discharging of the capacitor and inductor causes the output to become an oscillating voltage. What are the effects of increasing the values of L and C? The undamped natural frequency à Ã¢â‚¬ °n equals to 1/à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡( LC ). If the values of L and C are increased, the undamped natural frequency will reduce simultaneously. Hence the oscillations will become more damped. Thus the number of output oscillations will reduce. Calculate the theoretical frequencies of oscillation and compare with the experimental results. The theoretical frequency is given by the relation ft = 1/ (2  Ã‚ ° à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡(LC)) Hz and the oscillation frequency is given by the relation f = 1/T. Using this relation we can tabulate the values. Figure a Figure b Figure c Figure d T(ms) 48.0 19.0 38.5 94.5 1/T(Hz) 20.83 52.63 25.97 10.58 ft (Hz) 33.93 75.87 35.59 15.92 Percentage difference 38.60% 30.63% 27.03% 33.54% The difference in the values is caused by the tolerance levels of the reactive elements used in the circuit i.e. the inductor and the capacitor. Consider the circuit shown in Figure 13. Obtain the expression for the damping ratio of the circuit.{A484D667-ABED-4193-B38C-40120C378004} Damping Ratio is given by the formula,  Ã‚ º = The natural undamped frequency is given by the relation à Ã¢â‚¬ °n = 1/à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ (LC). Since R2 = 0, R1 = 330 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦ and R3 = 100 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦, deriving the damping ratio of the circuit as shown in Figure 13, the result is:  Ã‚ º = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡(L/C)/860. Obtain the condition for the underdamped response in Figure 13. From the derived result obtained above,  Ã‚ º = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡(L/C)/860. For an underdamped response, the damping ratio, ÃŽÂ ¾, should be less than 1, thus à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡(L/C)/860 What is the effect of adding resistance R2 in the LC circuit? {A484D667-ABED-4193-B38C-40120C378004} According to the formula of damping ratio  Ã‚ º = When R2 is added, the total value of  Ã‚ º increases. Depending on the value of R2,  Ã‚ º 1, even if the number of undershoots and overshoots is reduced, the response will be slower. Conclusion: The parameters of the two-port network, especially the Y-parameters and Transmission parameters (A, B, C, D) were determined experimentally. They can also be calculated theoretically. This experiment is aimed at comparing the differences between the experimental and theoretical values. The relationship between individual network parameters and two-port networks in cascade and parallel connections were also investigated. The results obtained for these were shown in the calculations in the Questions answered previously. Hence if every individual parameter of the networks can be determined, the parameter of the combined system can be determined. Part 2 was focused on studying the transient responses of the experiment. The responses to the change of values in the RLC circuit in the two-port networks were recorded. By varying the values of the capacitor, resistor and inductor, it was observed that increase in the capacitor and inductor values decrease the oscillating frequency and also reduce the number of undershoots and overshoots in the response signal. By adding a resistor in series with the inductor, it was observed that the resistor increases the damping ratio of the circuit but the effect is still dependent on the final damping ratio of the circuit,  Ã‚ º. To summarize the conclusion, all the objectives as stated earlier were met in course of the experiment and a lot of important observations came to light in the area of two-port networks.

The Ladder :: essays research papers

KICKING AWAY THE LADDER There is currently great pressure on developing countries to adopt a set of â€Å"good policies† and â€Å"good institutions† – such as liberalisation of trade and investment and strong patent law – to foster their economic development. When some developing countries show reluctance in adopting them, the proponents of this recipe often find it difficult to understand these countries’ stupidity in not accepting such a tried and tested recipe for development. After all, they argue, these are the policies and the institutions that the developed countries had used in the past in order to become rich. Their belief in their own recommendation is so absolute that in their view it has to be imposed on the developing countries through strong bilateral and multilateral external pressures, even when these countries don’t want them.Naturally, there have been heated debates on whether these recommended policies and institutions are appropriate for develop ing countries. However, curiously, even many of those who are sceptical of the applicability of these policies and institutions to the developing countries take it for granted that these were the policies and the institutions that were used by the developed countries when they themselves were developing countries. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, the historical fact is that the rich countries did not develop on the basis of the policies and the institutions that they now recommend to, and often force upon, the developing countries. Unfortunately, this fact is little known these days because the â€Å"official historians† of capitalism have been very successful in re-writing its history. Almost all of today’s rich countries used tariff protection and subsidies to develop their industries. Interestingly, Britain and the USA, the two countries that are supposed to have reached the summit of the world economy through their free-market, free-trade policy, are actually the ones that had most aggressively used protection and subsidies. Contrary to the popular myth, Britain had been an aggressive user, and in certain areas a pioneer, of activist policies intended to promote its industries. Such policies, although limited in scope, date back from the 14th century (Edward III) and the 15th century (Henry VII) in relation to woollen manufacturing, the leading industry of the time. England then was an exporter of raw wool to the Low Countries, and Henry VII for example tried to change this by taxing raw wool exports and poaching skilled workers from the Low Countries. Particularly between the

Media Combativness :: essays research papers

The human race has become more combative in the last 30 years (maybe people have forgotten how wars, and feuds start). The stuff we see on the television, in the papers, and magazines has chanced vastly since the Vietnam War. Prior to that conflict you did not see the underhanded side of human nature. I feel that as time has went on we have come to expect the tactics that are used during election years. I see it more and more at a young age we are learning to be arugmentive, for example a toddler will argue that he/she doesn’t want to go to bed and parents argue with them to get them to do what they want them to do, or will give in to their demands. Maybe this has accelerated the combativeness in our nature. We learn at a young age that we need to argue to get our way or to have that feeling of self importance. Now I am not saying that we should all become submissive, if we feel strongly about an issue that is great we can communicate this in a way that is not combative. On the other hand we need to learn to see the others persons thought for what they are, not that we are right and they are wrong. Ok a prime example of the media using their product to encourage this trend is the infamous presidential blow job. Now the way I see it that should have been a matter handle between the man and his wife, not on the nightly news. I still feel that Mr. Clintons actions, while not the best course of action for his marriage on his part, but it was not a matter that affected the way he ran the country or performed his duty to the people he represented. Did the media make that much of a stink over J.F.K’S roll in the hay with Miss Monroe? No, why because it was a matter to be handle between the man and his wife, and the times were different then. Things went down hill when the government allowed the media to cover the Vietnam war without the same rules and guide lines that were in place during the previous wars. Since then we have had Watergate, which yes was an illegal act, but was it a matter to be handle in the press?

Environmental Views of Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) Essays

Executive Summary The Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) is a beautiful 19.6 million acre coastal plain, and is located in the Northeastern part of Alaska. ANWR is home to numerous species of wildlife and one of the largest untapped oil preserves in the United States. There is an immense debate between the opposing environmentalists and the politicians who want to drill for oil on a section of ANWR, which is only 1.8% of the refuge. Environmentalists who oppose drilling for oil in Alaska say the wildlife and the native populations are threatened by drilling for oil in ANWR, even though most of the natives are strongly in favor of drilling. ANWR could save the US from having to import $800 billion worth of foreign oil, creating hundreds to thousands of American jobs, and generate hundreds of billions in royalties and taxes (anwr.com). Three different environmental ethic views will be addressed, Utilitarian, Deontology, and Lockean. The Utilitarian argument is that the greatest function of ANWR will be reached through drilling. It implies that the intrinsic qualities of the land are of lesser value, and that ANWR serves the people better by being given over to the purpose of oil production. Deontology views ANWR rationally. The question is asked: what would a rational person do when developers propose to convert an unspoiled landscape to commercial use? In the Lockean view, man has a right to use property and the various resources of the earth as he wills, to support his life and values. The development of ANWR overshadows the minimal risk of environmentally disrupting the wildlife. The US economy and the citizens of Alaska would benefit from the development, not to mention the wildlife would be monitored and thus receive more attention. Introduction Alaska is surrounded by ocean and mountainous terrain and has one of the most beautiful landscapes in the United States. Alaska is home to the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, in which hundreds of thousands of wildlife reside alongside with one of the largest oil preserves in the United States. Environmentalists are vexed about the possible disruption in the wildlife’s natural habitat and the effects it may have on the Alaskan Natives. Congress is being faced with the challenge of mergin... ...s.org/releases/pr2005/pr031105.html Rodger Schlickeisen. Fight to Protect the Arctic Refuge Reaches Critical Point Refuge Faces Most Dire Threat in Decades. Retrieved April 10, 2005 from http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/arctic/ardrill.html http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/arctic/news/arcticpoll.pdf Retrieved on April 9, 2005 http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_1741573203/1987_Alaska.html "Alaska," Microsoft ® Encarta ® Online Encyclopedia 2005 http://encarta.msn.com  © 1997-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. http://www.globalethics.org/newsline/members/issue.tmpl?articleid=04210222393811 http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&oi=defmore&q=define:Property+Rights N.A. Retrieved April 10, 2005 http://www.jdnews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&St oryID=30570&Section=NIE http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4542853/ http://www.newsviews.info/environment05a.html http://www.savearcticrefuge.org/learnmore.html Retrieved on April 9, 2005 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11332-2004Sep10.html Stephen Segaller. PBS: Extreme Oil (2004). Retrieved April 10, 2005

First modern solar cell

The first modern solar cell In 1954, the first modern silicon cells raised by Bell Labs, then it shown at the National Academic of Science meeting. Moreover, this kind of cell can make 6 percent efficiency. Then, the New York Time come up with that the cell would lead to a source of â€Å"Limitless energy of the sun†. In 1955, the Western Electric created very significant solar cell technologies. The technology start to use in makes solar cells. In 1957, the AT&T telecom company used the â€Å"solar battery' for their cell phones. Hoffman Electronics created about 8 percent efficient solar cell.Thinking about investing in a solar array but concerned about the lifespan of photovoltaic cells? Consider this: the world's oldest solar panel † a 60 year-old crystal ball-like contraption † still works. The panel was built by a British science teacher who wanted to prove the novel idea that sunlight could be converted into electricity. Of course, the panel doesn't produce much electricity-Just 1. 5 volts of electricity in direct sunlight, or enough to power a digital watch. And while todays panels only need indirect sunlight to function, the 60 year-old version requires direct sunlight.Still, the selenium-based panel is surprisingly similar to current models. The half century-old device is the first example of a modern solar panel, but it isn't the first piece of solar technology. That distinction goes to Charles Fritts, who built the first solar cell in 1883. Want to check out the panel for yourself? It's currently on display at Antiques for Everyone, a British antique event.

Environmental issues and policies in Madagascar Essay

With the world’s population growing constantly and with human needs and desires growing pretty fast, we feel like every year there is less and less room for us to live on and it takes more and more effort for us to calmly and amicably share room and resources with our neighbors. In fact, it is too early to speak about global overpopulation, since there are still vast expanses of yet uninhabited land, to say nothing of the ability of humans, with the help of innovative technological facilities, to promptly acclimatize under extreme conditions. However, in many countries (particularly in third-world countries) some emigrational tendencies that are mostly dictated by economic and social factors, are creating quite a plausible picture of our future world, revealing the most likely and formidable phenomena we may face in future. Some large cities are experiencing serious problems related to rapidly increasing inflow of countrymen who, for various reasons, are forced to leave countryside and look for a better life in cities. Over the past few decades, most economies have been developing in such a way as to provide propitious conditions for rapid urbanization. Industrial development plus numerous revolutionary technological breakthroughs that took place in the twentieth century have resulted in the appearance of large factories. The growing demand for paid workforce has attracted country dwellers, leading to massed withdrawal of human resources from rural areas. In terms of personal affluence, the concentration of social and economic activity in the city has made urban environment more attractive and promising. Although governments of some countries have realized the danger of such economic tilts, most rural lands are still experiencing severe shortage of financial support resulting in persistent skepticism of many people about life in the countryside. It is to say, that it takes a lot of innovative thinking and political will on the part of a government to balance out the local economy, as well as the realization of the fact that harsh mandatory or administrative measures imposed on people to make them stay in rural areas alone will not suffice. It will be not before we manage to create economically healthy and prosperous environment in the village that we shall be able to speak about things in the countryside taking a turn for the better. We have considered the negative of withdrawal of human, financial, industrial and technological resources from the village from the standpoint of rural life. This long-lasting tendency seems to be making it hot for cities too. In many cities, especially in world capitals, unending inflow of immigrants seeking wealthy and prospect, has contributed to rapid and uncontrolled population growth, resulting in tough and fierce competition in the sphere of management and acute contradictions between management and hired staff, entailing collisions of interests, progressive social stratification and environmental deterioration. All this has led to a number of doubtful achievements and hazards, which appear to be making city life far less comfortable than it used to be a short while ago. Today, Mexico city is the world’s largest capital, counting about 22 million people. Mexico is a large industrial city, and it appears to be sharing the fate of most industrial centers of the world, barely coping with the influx of countrymen. The acceptance by the Mexican government of certain trading rules in line with international agreements, a paramount condition of the country’s participation in the WTO, has impacted rural economy, causing a dramatic economic collapse in the agricultural sector, resulting from the imbalance between local prices and those imposed by WTO regulations. This has triggered a new spate of internal migration from the countryside to the city. Unfortunately, problems that the city of Mexico has accumulated by now are not limited to overpopulation. It is not the overpopulation itself that poses most serious difficulties, but also ineffectual measures taken by the city government. To say the least, with the inflow so intensive and so evident, the city’s townplanning committee does not seem to be fully taking into account the migration problem, or they simply fail to keep pace with the time. The city infrastructure fails to keep up with the population increase, so people arriving in Mexico take up residence in shabby makeshift homes on the city’s outskirts or in slum districts. These districts lack water and gas supply, sewage, electricity, services, etc. , and there are no advanced waste disposal systems whatsoever. This has resulted in absolutely unfavorable environmental and epidemiologic conditions. Most of garbage and human wastes remain on or close to the surface of the earth, and large parts of it are carried by winds for miles away and into the city. Unsanctioned dumping may spoil water and cause massed poisonings or outbreaks of infection. This in turn directly affects the quality of the food, increasing the risk of its contamination with harmful substances and bacteria. There is another menacing phenomenon resulting from uncontrolled population growth and topped off by the city’s geographic position. Permanent release of carbodyoxide by factories, coupled with the release of automobile waste gases is putting the city on the brink of suffocation. Statistically, automobile emissions make up about 60% of all emissions, and, considering the increasing vehicle ownership, there seems to be no way to reduce automobile emissions. The realization that internal combustion is the greatest contributor to the accumulation of emission gases in the atmosphere has prompted automobile designers to equip vehicles with catalytic converters, but today there are too few such cars to make the effect palpable. The city is placed on a plateau fenced off with high mountain ranges. The cold air arriving from behind the mountains forms a cap over the whole valley preventing the warm and stuffed city air from getting away. This lack of natural convection contributes to the accumulation of harmful emissions in the area and may turn the whole place into a gigantic gas van. The continuing economic growth, extensive factory development and ever-growing population in Mexico City are aggravating the pollution problem. The accumulation of heavy metals in the air can undermine peoples’ health and result in serious progressive hereditary diseases, increasing the occurrence of cancer, chronic poisoning, high infant mortality, cardiovascular diseases, allergic reactions, innate orthopedic malformations, poor cognition and many other physical and mental abnormalities. Progressive intake of harmful substances directly affects the nation’s genetic makeup, and it is hardly possible now to precisely foresee all consequences of these destructive influences. Active use of depths of the earth, resulting from ever-bulging demand for minerals and oil has triggered rapid and unpredictable underground processes, resulting in unstable aquifers and causing much water to go deeper into the ground, making it less reachable. As long as the city is situated in a seismologically unstable region with an active volcano in its direct proximity, further deterioration of the bed may result in disastrous earthquakes, which, in turn, are likely to wake up the volcano and plunge the whole area into an apocalyptic calamity. Apart from the destruction of the bedrock, destruction of aquifers is fraught with the disappearance of water in some places and appearance of excessive amounts of it in others. This may cause lack of water supply and actual drying out of some areas and lead to unexpected floods elsewhere. The formation of empty spaces in the bed has caused some areas to sink significantly over the past few decades, which increases the possibility of flooding. At the same time, the emptying of the aquifers due to extraneous consumption of water by the growing city has led to a dramatic reduction of natural water resources, threatening to leave the whole city without water in the foreseeable future. According to last estimates, every second the city of Mexico takes 7,250 gallons of water, which amounts to an Olympic-size swimming pool per minute. With the consumption of water so intensive, there is a grave possibility that the amount of water remaining in the aquifers will be insufficient. Needless to say, this is much more serious a threat that inability to afford a car or a TV. In some areas, shortage of water is already tangible, and it has resulted in social upheavals. Changes in bedrock structure and the progressive subsidence of the ground can also result in the destruction of sewer and drainage systems, increasing the risk of contaminating fresh water and thus threatening to impair its quality. As we can see, all the aforementioned threats arise from one major phenomenon – overpopulation. Needless to say, increasingly intensive use of water and resources is attributable to population growth and human thirst for relative prosperity and every individual’s desire to occupy his or her niche in the booming economy. However, this brief outline of most significant problems and dilemmas shows that if we continue to use natural resources in the current fashion, the place we live in will soon become absolutely unlivable. In this respect, the city of Mexico can be presented as a small replica of our entire planet, which, with the same tendencies and phenomena persisting, will soon be confronted with similar problems. There is less and less room for industrial and vehicle emission gases and, like it is with the aquifers under Mexico city, the increasing encroachment upon minerals and oil resources is affecting the earth’s bedrock, creating pre-conditions for unpredictable and destructive earthquakes and massive destruction. With the situation so serious and menacing tendencies so evident, many governmental authorities of Mexico City, as well as state authorities express their concern about the country’s future and come up with lots of ideas, which are likely to prove helpful and effective in overcoming these negative tendencies. Whichever idea is the best, just one thing is evident today, and this is the necessity to create positive incentives and favorable conditions for people to live and work in the countryside in order to stem the growth of city population. As air quality issue appears to be the most evident one, the city government has developed a number of solutions aimed at reduction of industrial and vehicle releases into the atmosphere. By incorporating advanced technological systems and usage of higher quality fuel, it is possible to significantly improve air quality. Recently, a state-of-the-art air quality monitoring system has been implemented, so government officials and specialists have obtained control over air quality. Now every vehicle is required to feature advanced converting devices that are capable to cut down the release of toxic substances. In November 1989, the city Government introduced the so called No Driving Day (NDD), when car owners are supposed not to use their vehicles on certain days. The results of this innovation were a considerable reduction of traffic congestion and gasoline use. The use of refined types of fuel and the installation of waste gas purification and vapor recovery equipment are innovative measures regulated by the Clear Air Act Amendments of 1990. Hypothetically, these measures can be instrumental in reducing the amount of vehicle-related chemicals in the air and thus improve air quality. However, these ideas, though effective theoretically, have proven less feasible in reality. As a rule, advanced technological solutions are something than few people can afford, and most people find it less expensive to bribe authorized inspection employees and use old vehicles than purchasing new automobiles or applying expensive technologies. Not infrequently, the cost of implementing new equipment exceeds the size of fines by far, so people prefer to pay fines rather than spend money on equipment. For this reason, the results of the latest innovations have turned out to be less tangible than expected. The NDD policy has also revealed a number of unexpected actions on people’s side. Instead of increased usage of public transportation, Mexico City dwellers found a way around it by purchasing more vehicles in order to have a reserve automobile to be used on No Driving Days. Actually, this nullified the immediate positive tendencies that showed during initial stages of the NDD policy. Other attempts to limit air pollution include increased vehicle ownership taxation and boosting the price of fuels. The advocates of these measures believed that this would discourage people from using cars and thus reduce the impact on the environment. All these measures have proven less effective than expected, since most Mexico residents simply cannot afford new vehicles, to which the new regulations actually spread, and prefer to use old vehicles without having to purchase new equipment. Now, having discussed a few measures that have been taken over the last several years in an attempt to solve the ecological problem, we can see that they are not always applicable or effective. As there is just one major problem that all these issues stem from – the overpopulation – all efforts to change things for the better must be concentrated on solving overpopulation problem. Although mandatory measures, such as inspections, bans, taxation and can have a temporary effect, there is no way to achieve significant improvement in air and water quality but by using wise economical and political instruments. Once again, in order to encourage city dwellers to move to rural areas, healthy economic environment must be created in agricultural regions. This is only feasible through establishing price standards acceptable for country dwellers and creating an ample ground for agricultural business. In other words, in order to stop the growth of city population, we have to make the village no less livable than the city. Unfortunately, very little is being done to improve life in the country, since it would take a decision by the Mexican government to unilaterally withdraw from the WTO, which can entail a conflict with the USA, the founder of the WTO. Today, the Mexican government still prefers to use doubtful methods of forcing the poor to leave the city – by raiding their encampments, as it did in the late 1990s. 1. Phil Hearse. â€Å"MEXICO CITY – Environmental Crisis, Socialist Solutions. Environment and Urbanization, Vil. 11, No 1, 53-78 (1999) 2. Ramiro Tovar Landa, 1995. â€Å"Mobile Source Pollution in Mexico City and Market-Based Alternatives† Published by the Cato Institute. Editorial and business offices are located at 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W. , Washington, D. C. , 20001