Animal Farm Assignment Essay Essay

â€Å"What methods does Napoleon use in order to gain absolute power and why is he successful?† In the novel Animal Farm, Napoleon uses cunning, treachery, propaganda and a number of other skills to gain, create and maintain power. His efforts to manipulate with lies and powerful vocabulary – in the form of Squealer – are successful, as they confuse the simple-minded animals. When the animals protest, Squealer’s eloquence, combined with the threat of violence makes the animals stop questioning and believe in Napoleon’s leadership. The loyalty and trust the animals have in Napoleon make it easy for him to take advantage of them and rise to absolute power. One of the most important methods Napoleon uses in Animal Farm is propaganda and the spreading of lies. Because Napoleon is not a very good speaker, he uses Squealer, as well as the sheep, to manipulate and convince the other animals whenever they have doubts. With Snowball his competition as leader, Napoleon struggled to make speeches that successfully portrayed his ideas. So, Napoleon trained the sheep to break into their favourite slogan of ‘four legs good, too legs bad’ whenever Napoleon felt the animals needed reassurance. The sheep, however, were not enough support for Napoleon in his efforts to gain control. His main ally was fellow pig Squealer, whose eloquence and ability to ‘turn black into white’ proved the biggest aid in fooling the other animals. With Squealer by his side, it became easy for Napoleon to get exactly what he wanted at the expense of the other animals, who believed the entire time that everything that happened was in their best int erest. For example, at the beginning of Animal Farm, the three pigs Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer start to become greedy by taking all the milk and apples for themselves and they justify this act by saying it’s for the common good of the entire farm. Squealer twists the truth and uses statistics to convince the other animals that it is necessary for the pigs to have these things because â€Å"the whole management and organization of the farm depends on† the pigs. The animals soon come to believe that the pigs are actually being selfless, and not at all greedy. Throughout the novel,  Napoleon broke several of the seven commandments of Animalism. When this happened and animals became suspicious, Napoleon had the commandments altered by adding extra words that would make his actions guiltless. When the pigs moved into the farmhouse and took up residence there, the animals became concerned at the news they were sleeping in beds – which they believed one of the commandments to forbid. When the animals went to check the seven commandments inscribed on the barn wall, it now read â€Å"No animal shall sleep in a bed _with sheets_†. Although no one remembered the commandment had mentioned sheets and the animals were quite puzzled, they accepted these changes to be true. This is an example of Napoleon re-writing history to gain privileges and justify his dictatorial role. He managed to change facts and make the animals believe because they could not remember or think for themselves. Another method Napoleon used to gain control was fear tactics. Napoleon threatened the animals in various ways, both physically and verbally without them realising. The team of vicious dogs that Napoleon had trained to be his â€Å"secret police† were used as an easy way for him to scare the animals on the farm. Whenever another animal questioned Napoleon or even wanted to stand up to him, the simple presence of the dogs would leave them silent and terrified. The mixture of Squealer’s strong words and the growls of his three-dog team were so threatening that the animals would accept any explanation or lie without questioning. For those who even attempted to turn against Napoleon, there were severe punishments. Through the killings and show trials Napoleon eliminates anyone who is likely to threaten his leadership. The others who are killed have angered him in some way and he uses their death as a warning to the other animals not to disobey him. The verbal threat that is made several times throughout the novel is mostly said by Squealer. He constantly threatened the animals that if they didn’t co-operate, â€Å"Jones would come back† and that thought alone scared them into doing anything Napoleon asked. The animals were constantly told how much better things were with Napoleon around and they were so terrified that Jones would come back and make their lives miserable. They did everything Napoleon wanted because they were  fearful of the consequences and what would happen to the farm if they didn’t do as they were told. Napoleon gained complete power through the exiling of Snowball and elimination of competition. When, early on, despite Napoleon’s efforts, Snowball managed to get most of the animals support on the matter of the windmill, Napoleon knew Snowball was a threat to his position. If Napoleon did not do something, Snowball would soon become the unquestionable leader of Animal Farm. So, he god rid of this danger. Using the dogs he had trained in secret, he banished Snowball from the farm. Without Snowball in the picture, Napoleon became the undisputed leader. During the novel Napoleon would turn every situation to his advantage, regardless of whether it hurt others or not. For example, when the windmill topples, he tells the animals that Snowball is the cause and turns every animal against him. From then on he makes Snowball a scapegoat. Whenever something goes wrong, it is immediately blamed on Snowball. This makes the animals feel that they are lucky to have Napoleon instead. It is also an easy way out for Napoleon as it keeps the animals from finding out where the blame really lies. This secures Napoleon’s leadership position as he will not be blamed for anything that goes wrong and this creates the illusion that Napoleon’s ruling is perfect, making him indispensable. Through killing any animals that appose him or threaten his leadership role on the farm, Napoleon strengthens his power over the animals. Napoleon was able to gain such control because he and the other pigs were a lot more intelligent than the other animals on the farm. Because the animals could not read or write, they were very naà ¯ve and Napoleon took advantage of their trust. The animals so desperately wanted the idea of Animalism to work that their commitment and loyalty blinded them to what was really happening. Napoleon’s charisma and intelligence fooled the animals into believing everything he said, although their lives were changing for the worse everyday. In the novel Animal Farm, Napoleon uses any means necessary to fool the naà ¯ve animals surrounding him. His intelligence and charisma made it easy for him  to use propaganda, sneakiness and fear tactics to manipulate his way into power and maintain control over the farm and animals. In the end of the novel, the animals ended up in basically the same position they started because of Napoleon’s ‘reign of terror’.

Rurality in Post Industrial Society

Paper prepared for the conference ‘New Forms of Urbanization: Conceptualizing and Measuring Human Settlement in the Twenty-first Century’, organized by the IUSSP Working Group on Urbanization and held at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Study and Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy, 11-15 March 2002. Paper 14 THE NATURE OF RURALITY IN POST INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY By David L. Brown and John B. Cromartie? Draft 2/15/02 INTRODUCTION Urbanization is a dynamic social and economic process that transforms societies from primarily rural to primarily urban ways of life (Hauser, 1965). Few would dispute this definition, but how useful is it for examining the spatial reorganization of population and economic activities in postindustrial societies where a large majority of people, jobs, and organizations are concentrated in or dominated by urban agglomerations? The essence of this question hinges on our ability to differentiate between what is rural and urban in postindustrial societies. While this may have been a relatively straightforward task during the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries, it has become an exceedingly complex question in the context of postindustrialization. We acknowledge the helpful comments of Calvin Beale, Kai Schafft, Laszlo Kulcsar, and the conference organizers Tony Champion and Graeme Hugo. Brenda Creeley prepared the manuscript. Early social scientists saw urbanization and industrialization as being reciprocally related. One process could not proceed without the other. While most scholars understood that urban and rural were not ent irely discrete categories, relatively clear lines could be drawn to distinguish urban from rural communities and distinct ways of life associated with each. In addition, early social scientists were convinced that the transformation from rural to urban-industrial society would be accompanied by a wide range of negative social outcomes. In fact, this concern is generally credited with motivating the rise of the new discipline of Sociology (Marx, 1976; Durkheim, 1951; Weber, 1968; Wirth, 1938). The social and economic organization of community life has been thoroughly transformed by technological and institutional changes since the mid 20th century. Accordingly, notions of what constitutes urban and rural communities that grew out of the era of industrialization may no longer offer a reliable lens with which to view contemporary settlement structures. They may no longer provide a reliable delineation of what is urban and what is rural, and consequently we may not be able to determine whether the level of urbanization is advancing, declining, or remaining constant. As a consequence, our analyses of population redistribution may bear little connection to the reality of spatial reorganization. The large literature on counter-urbanization, to which we are both contributors, may be missing the mark because it depends on data systems and geo-coding schemes that reflect a prior era of socio-spatial organization. Hence, our purpose in this paper is to propose a multidimensional approach for conceptualizing rurality that reflects the demographic, social, economic and institutional realities of postindustrial society. We agree with Halfacree (1993: p. 4) that â€Å"†¦the quest for an all-embracing definition of the rural is neither desirable nor feasible,† but we believe that social science can and should develop conceptual frameworks and geo-coding schemes to situate localities according to their degree of rurality. Since rurality is a multidimensional concept, the degree of rurality should be judged against a composite definition that includes key social, economic and demographic attributes. This approach rejects the notion of rural as a residual (after urban has be en measured). The operationalization of rurality should be flexible enough to differentiate urban from rural, while recognizing and appreciating the diversity contained within each category. Our approach to defining 2 rurality involves the material aspects of localities, but we acknowledge the validity of other approaches. As Halfacree and others have observed, rurality can be defined as a social representation. Or as he puts it, â€Å"the rural as space, and the rural as representing space† should be distinguished (1993: 34). We do not propose to debate the relative merits of the material and representational approaches in this paper. Each has a respected tradition in social science. Our sociodemographic approach is inspired by previous work of Paul Cloke, 1977 and 1986, while the social representation approach’s pedigree includes Moscovici, 1981, Giddens, 1984, and many other highly respected scholars. We feel that these approaches are complementary rather than competitive. As Martin Lewis has observed, â€Å"In the end, only by combining the insights of the new geography with those of the traditional approaches may human relatedness be adequately reconceptualized† (1991: 608). However, we emphasize the socioeconomic approach in this paper because of its utility for informing statistical practice essential to the quantitative empirical study of urbanization. Why Do We Need To Know What Is Rural In Postindustrial Society? At the most basic level, urbanization cannot be understood without also examining the nature of rurality. Perhaps it is axiomatic, but urbanization cannot proceed in postindustrial society unless rural people and communities persist and are at risk of â€Å"becoming urban. While there is copious evidence that rural-urban differences have diminished during the latter half of the 20th century, important differences have been shown to persist structuring the lives people live and the opportunities available to them (Brown and Lee, 1999; Fuguitt, et al. , 1989). In addition, what we believe about rural people and communities sets the agenda for public policy. The American public, for example, holds a strong pro-rural and/or antiurban bias that provides continuing support for agricultural and rural programs (Kellogg Foundation, 2002; RUPRI, 1995; Willits, et al. 1990), and quite possibly promotes population deconcentration (Brown, et al. , 1997). However, research has demonstrated that this pro-rural bias is based on nostalgic positive images of rural places, and a misunderstanding of the social and economic realities of rural life (Willits, et al. , 1990). What people value in rural communities is often formed â€Å"at a distance,† through literature, art and music, not through actual experience. As John Logan (1996: 26) has observed, â€Å"A 3 large share of what we value is the mythology and symbolism of rural places, rather than their reality. Accordingly, more reliable research-based information about the social and economic organization of rural areas, their role in national society, polity and economy, and their relative share of a nation’s population and economic activity will provide a stronger bas is for public policy. Bringing beliefs about rural areas into closer connection with empirical reality will improve the fit between rural problems and opportunities, public priorities, and the targeting of public investments. HOW CAN THE NATURE OF POSTINDUSTRIAL RURALITY BE DETERMINED? The Conventional Approach: Rural-urban classification in most national statistical systems typically involves two mutually exclusive categories. In most highly developed societies, (North America, Western Europe, Oceania, and Japan) the rural-urban delineation is based solely on population size and/or density (United Nations, 1999). It is not that government statisticians don’t understand that rurality is a variable not a discrete dichotomy, that the rural-urban distinction is somewhat arbitrary regardless of the population size or density threshold chosen, or that neither the rural nor the urban category is homogeneous. However, given their responsibilities for monitoring basic aspects of social organization and social change, and for providing data tabulations to the public, to businesses, and to other government agencies, the elemental need is to develop a geographic schema that makes intuitive sense, and where between category variability exceeds internal differentiation. It has not been realistic to expect statistical agencies to adopt a complex multidimensional delineation of rurality given the realities and politics of statistical practice in which budget constraints, and competition between stake holder groups determine which items are included on censuses and other large scale public surveys, and which variables are routinely included in tabulations and data products. However, the development of GIS techniques, and new advances in small area data collection and availability suggest that more flexibility and variability in geo-coding may be possible in the future. Hence, while we do not necessarily expect statistical agencies to adopt our multidimensional approach, we believe that it raises important questions about conventional methodologies for assessing the level and pace of urbanization in highly developed nations. 4 OMB’s New Core Based System: A Step In The Right Direction: The public availability of summary tape files from censuses and other nationwide surveys, provides significant opportunities for inquiry by university-based and government scientists into the extent and nature of rurality in postindustrial societies. In effect, analysts can design their own residential categorization schemes to examine various aspects of settlement structure and change. And, innovative research experimenting with alternative categorization systems can eventually contribute to changes in official statistical practice. For example, 25 years of research by social scientists in the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and in academia is ar guably responsible for persuading the U. S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that an undifferentiated nonmetropolitan category is not defensible (Duncan and Reiss, 1956; Butler and Beale, 1994). As early as 1975, ERS was recommending that the nonmetropolitan category be disaggregated according to the degree of urbanization. In a major publication released in that year, Hines, Brown and Zimmer showed that more populous nonmetropolitan counties, especially those adjacent to metropolitan areas, were more similar to metropolitan areas than to their nonmetropolitan counterparts. OMB has now modified its official geo-coding scheme to recognize diversity within nonmetropolitan America. OMB has instituted a â€Å"core based statistical area classification system† that recognizes that both metropolitan and nonmetropolitan territory can be integrated with a population center. The new CBSA classification system establishes a micropolitan category as a means of distinguishing between nonmetropolitan areas that are integrated with centers of 10,000 to 49,999 population, and nonmetropolitan territory that is not integrated with any particular population center of 10,000 or more inhabitants (OMB, 2000). 2 Metropolitan counties contain 79 percent of the U. S. opulation and 21 percent of its land area in the new classification scheme while the 1 In the United States and some other postindustrial countries, two residential categorizations are used: urban vs. rural and metropolitan vs. nonmetropolitan. Some writers use these concepts interchangeably, but even though their respective shares of the nation’s total population have tracked quite closely during recent decades, they are different concepts. What is similar between them, however, is that rural and nonmetropolitan are both residuals that are left over once urban settlement is accounted for. Hence, the rural population includes all residents of places of less than 2,500 and persons who live outside of urbanized areas while the nonmetropolitan population includes all persons who live outside of metropolitan counties (counties containing or integrated with a place of 50,000 persons). 2 Social scientists have also objected to the use of counties as building blocks for the nation’s metropolitan geography, but the new OMB standards have retained counties in the new classification system (Morrill, Cromartie and Hart, 1999). 5 ercentages are exactly reversed for nonmetropolitan territory. The nonmetropolitan population is almost evenly split between micropolitan and noncore based areas, although the former category contains 582 counties while the latter has 1668. The data in tables 1-3 show substantial diversity between micropolitan and noncore based areas, and demonstrate the importance of distinguishing between these two types of counties. To begin with, the average mi cropolitan county has 45,875 persons compared with only 15,634 persons in the average noncore based area. The data in Table 1 also show that micropolitan counties have 43 persons per square mile while only 12 persons live on each square mile of noncore based territory. [Table 1 here] Table 2 compares social and economic characteristics of persons living in various types of U. S. counties. In each instance these data show regular patterns of decline as one moves from the largest metropolitan counties to noncore based counties. For example, almost half of all metropolitan persons have attended college compared about one third of nonmetropolitan residents, but only 31 percent of noncore based adults have been to college compared with 37 percent of persons living in micropolitan counties. Metropolitan workers are more dependent on jobs in service industries while their nonmetropolitan counterparts depend more heavily on farming and manufacturing, although these differences are not strikingly large. Within the nonmetropolitan category, however, dependence on farming is over twice as high in noncore based counties compared with micropolitan areas, and small but consistently smaller percentages of noncore based employees work in manufacturing, retail and services jobs. Similarly, professional, technical managerial and administrative occupations comprise a much larger share of metropolitan than nonmetropolitan jobs, and a larger share in micropolitan than in noncore based counties. Data on earnings per job (displayed in the bottom panel of Table 2) show that noncore based workers earn less than their micropolitan counterparts in all industrial categories, and their earnings are consistently the lowest of any county type in the U. S. [Table 2 here] We have also examined whether micropolitan areas are more â€Å"metropolitan† than noncore based counties with respect to the presence of various services and facilities typically associated with metropolitan status (Beale, 1984). We conducted a mail survey 6 f the heads of county government in a 10 percent random sample of noncore based areas, and in 20 percent of micropolitan and small metropolitan areas. We have only received about 40 percent of the questionnaires from the county executives at this time, so the data in Table 3 are provisional. 3 However, these preliminary results reveal that central counties of small metropolitan areas are clearly differentiated from both nonmetropolitan categories. In all t welve instances the presence of these â€Å"metropolitan functions† is most prevalent in small metropolitan counties, and least available in noncore based areas. Micropolitan areas, however, appear to be more similar to small metropolitan areas than to noncore based counties. Hence, OMB’s new system seems to be a step in the right direction from the undifferentiated nonmetropolitan residential. It does a good job of distinguishing between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and between micropolitan and noncore based areas outside of the metropolitan category. [Table 3 here] While we applaud the OMB’s new classification system as a step toward recognizing rural diversity, we believe that it is just that, one step. We recommend that social science research further examine the multidimensional nature of rurality in order to enhance understanding of the extent of urban and rural settlement and urbanization in postindustrial societies, and to guide future modifications of official statistical geography. A MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACH TO CONCEPTUALIZING RURALITY IN POSTINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES As mentioned earlier, our multidimensional approach elaborates and extends earlier work by Paul Cloke (1977; 1986). The basic notion is that while urban and rural have intrinsic meaning, both concepts derive much of their analytical power when compared with the other. Low population density, for example, has important meaning in and of itself, but its meaning is further clarified when low rural density is compared with the high ratio of persons to space found in urban regions. 4 Cloke’s objective was to develop a 3 We are now involved in the refusal conversion process and hope to obtain at least a 60 percent response rate. Moreover, attitudes about urban and rural areas are formed on the basis of the attributes people believe characterize such areas, but these attitudes also reflect people’s opinions of how rural and urban areas differ 4 7 quantitative statement of rurality that could be used as a basis for comparative studies among rural areas, and between them and urban areas. He used principal components analysis to identify nine variables associated with rural-urban location. Principal components loading scores were then used as weighting criteria to form an index of rurality. The resulting scores were arrayed in quartiles ranging from extreme rural to extreme non-rural, and each of England’s and Wales’ administrative districts was assigned to one of these four categories. In 1986, Cloke replicated his 1971 index. His second study showed that while most districts were classified in the same rural-urban category in both 1971 and 1981, some districts changed categories over the decade, and the nature of rurality itself was marginally transformed over time. He found that the variables differentiating rural from urban areas in 1981 were somewhat different than those used in the initial analysis. In particular, population decline and net out migration were important rural attributes in 1971, during a period of population concentration, but not in the 1981 analysis after the relative rates of rural-urban population change and net migration had reversed in favor of the periphery. The 1981 revision included 8 variables. Positive variable loadings on five of the eight factors indicated that they corresponded to urban characteristics (high level of housing occupancy, high percentage of workers outcommuting, high percentage of women in childbearing ages, high level of household amenities, and high population density) while negative loadings on the remaining three variables corresponded to rural characteristics (high involvement in extractive industries, disproportionate number of older persons, and distance from an urban area of 50,000 population). It is important to point out at this juncture that neither Cloke nor we are geographic determinists, e. g. , we do not contend that the type of environment people live in has an independent causal effect on their attitudes and behavior. On the other hand, we believe that spatial locality is more than simply a setting in which social and economic relationships occur. Our position is that a person’s place of residence in a nation’s settlement system can shape social and economic outcomes, and can have a profound impact on life chances (Brown and Lee, 1999). While a growing number of social from each other. Accordingly, the public’s overall positive attitude toward rural people and areas is a combination of â€Å"pro-rural† and â€Å"anti-urban† attitudes. 8 scientists agree that space should be incorporated into social theory and research, there is little agreement on the manner in which space enters into social behavior. The debate hinges on the question of whether spatial arrangements are an elemental cause of social behavior, or whether space acts in a more contingent manner. Our position is consistent with the latter view; that space has an important but contingent causative role in social relations. Hence, we see value in distinguishing rural from urban areas because we contend that rural-urban variations in socioeconomic status, for example, can only be understood by taking into account how contingent characteristics of rural and urban places modify the access to opportunities. In other words, we are saying that local social structure contextualizes social and economic behavior. We do not question the existence of fundamental social relationships, but we observe that these relationships are modified by spatial variability in social and economic contexts. Linking back to the status attainment example, education is positively related to income in all locations, but the strength of this relationship varies across local labor markets depending on their industrial and occupational structures. Education matters everywhere, but returns to education are higher in some spatial contexts than in others depending on the availability of well paying jobs and on the nature of the stratification system (Duncan, 1999). Dimensions of Rurality in the United States at the Turn of the Century: Cloke’s approach to defining rurality was largely inductive. His choice of variables was not shaped by a clearly defined theoretical framework for distinguishing rural from urban, although they were suggested by the literature as being important aspects of the sociospatial environment. Neither do we claim that our approach emanates from a wellcrafted theory of rurality, but we do start with a clear premise about four distinct dimensions that comprise rural environments in postindustrial societies. We then choose indicators for each domain that have been shown in the research literature to vary across rural-urban space. The concept of rurality we are proposing involves ecological, economic, institutional, and sociocultural dimensions. In this section of the paper we discuss each of these four dimensions in turn, and propose a set of indicators that could be used to empirically develop a composite measure of rurality. We follow Willits and Bealer (1967) in observing that a composite definition of rurality involves both the attributes of rural areas themselves, and the attributes of persons residing in such areas. Figure 1 shows 9 the four dimensions of rurality, indicators of each dimension, and the contrasting rural vs. rban situation for each indicator. Our approach indicates the attributes that define rurality, and it does so in a comparative framework vis a vis urbanity. [Figure 1 here] The Ecological Dimension: Population size, population density, spatial situation within a settlement system and natural resource endowments are included in this dimension. As indicated earlier, conventional statis tical practice typically emphasizes this approach. Urban vs. rural delineations are usually defined by a size and/or a density threshold, while metropolitan vs. onmetropolitan delineations use size and density criteria to identify central cities and measures of geographic access such as physical distance or commuting to signify the interdependence of peripheral areas. Hope Tisdale’s (1942) influential article provides one of the clearest theoretical statements for the size/density delineation, while central place theory is the primary theoretical basis for considering geographic location vis-a-vis other places in a settlement system (Berry, 1967). The ecological dimension also includes a consideration of the natural environment. As shown in Table 1, 79 percent of land in the United States is found outside of officially recognized metropolitan areas, and 61 percent is located in noncore based areas. While this tells volumes about density, it also indicates that most of America’s natural resources are located in its rural territory. Energy, minerals, land for agricultural production, water, and habitat for wild life are all found disproportionately in the rural sector, and this is an important aspect of the nation’s rurality during the postindustrial era. The Economic Dimension: This dimension concerns the organization of economic activity in local economies. It focuses on what people do for a living, the size and composition of local economies, and the linkages between local economic activities and national and global capital. Until the mid 20th century, rural and agriculture while not synonymous were very closely related, and definitions of rural were heavily influenced by measures of dependence on agriculture and other extractive industries. Rural economies were small and undifferentiated both in terms of establishments and workers, and localities had a relatively high degree of economic autonomy. 10 Many people continue to view rural areas through this archaic lens, even though local economies have been fundamentally restructured during the past 50 years. Direct dependence on agriculture, forestry, mining and fisheries has declined to less than one in ten nonmetropolitan workers although extractive industries continue to dominate economic activity in particular regions of the U. S. (Cook and Mizer, 1994). There is no denying that economic activities in rural and urban America have become much more similar since World War II. Not only has dependence on extractive industries declined throughout the country, but so has dependence on manufacturing, and most economic growth is now accounted for by services. However, the jobs available in rural labor markets continue to be significantly different than urban jobs. Rural manufacturing is more likely to be nondurable than urban manufacturing, and well paying producer services jobs are seldom available in rural economies. Moreover, research shows that full time rural workers earn less than urban workers regardless of their industry of employment, and that rural employment is significantly more likely to be part time and/or seasonal (Gale and McGranahan, 2001). While these rural-urban differences in employment do not adhere to the traditional farm-nonfarm contours, they show that opportunities available in rural labor markets are clearly inferior to those available in urban America, and that rural and urban areas can be differentiated with respect to how people make a living. Rural economies have traditionally been smaller than urban economies in terms of number of workers, the number and size of establishments, and the gross value of products or services sold. Of the three indicators of rural economic activity, this one has changed the least over time even though the decentralization of urban based branch plants has brought some large employers to particular rural areas. Moreover, rural economies have been much more dependent on one or a few types of economic activity than urban economies, and this too remains an important rural-urban difference. The â€Å"protection of distance† enjoyed (or suffered) by rural economies has clearly diminished in recent decades. Technological changes including all weather roads, the interstate highway system, virtually universal telephone service (now including cell phones), and the internet have greatly reduced rural isolation. This is not to deny that some important inequalities in transportation and communication infrastructure persist 11 between rural and urban areas, but for the most part the effect of physical distance has been substantially leveled by technological advances. Institutional changes, especially the increased mobility of capital, have further diminished rural economic independence. The deregulation of banking means that capital now flows easily to and from metro bank centers and the rural periphery. This has both positive and negative implications for particular rural communities, but the clear result is that rural economies are increasingly integrated within national and global structures. With this change comes a resulting decline of local autonomy and increased dependence on extra-local firms and organizations. This makes rural areas at the same time more attractive sites for certain types of external investment, and more likely to lose traditional employers because of financial decisions made elsewhere. There is little room for sentiment in the globalized economy, including sentiment for rural communities as valued â€Å"home places. † When the bottom line demands it, capital flows across national borders to production sites with low costs and few regulations, locating and relocating according to the demands of the market. The Institutional Dimension: Communities are institutionalized solutions to the problems of everyday life. Accordingly, some social scientists view communities as configurations of institutional spheres including education, religion, governance, the economy, etc. (Rubin, 1969). While we do not necessarily subscribe to this functionalist view of community organization, there is no denying that institutions are a critical aspect of local social structure, and that human beings would have little use for communities if they did not serve recurring needs. Both urban and rural areas have formal institutional sectors. Most places have some form of politics and local governance, organized religion, education, and voluntary and service organizations. Moreover, as discussed in the preceding section, sustenance and economic activity are important aspects of locality. Rural and urban areas are not so much differentiated by the presence or absence of particular types of institutions as by their diversity and capacity. For example, schools, newspapers and churches, are widespread, but most rural communities offer a narrower range of choices as to where one’s children may be educated, where to worship, and/or the media from which one obtains local news. School consolidation in rural America has resulted in fewer and larger schools. Students are often bussed long distances to school. 12 Similarly, while churches are present in most rural communities, the range of denominations and congregations is narrow. Clubs, service organizations, and voluntary associations are also an important part of rural community life, but the choice of organizations to join is constrained in comparison to the organizational choices available in urban environments. Rural institutions also tend to have more limited capacity than their urban counterparts. Rural governments, for example, are often constrained by part time leadership, insufficient fiscal resources, ineffective organizational structures, limited access to technical information and expertise, and limited ability to assess changing community needs (Kraybill and Lobao, 2001; Cigler, 1993). The Sociocultural Dimension: Moral traditionalism is one of the most consistent themes subsumed under the term â€Å"rural culture† (Willits and Bealer, 1967). Rural persons are often considered to be more conservative than their urban counterparts, and data from national surveys indicate this to be true in the United States. Calvin Beale (1995) has shown that 49 percent of rural respondents to a 1993 National Opinion Research Center (NORC) national survey regard themselves as religious fundamentalists compared with 33 percent of urban respondents. Similarly, a much lower percentage of rural respondents believe that abortion should be available for any reason (26 percent vs. 44 percent), and a much higher percentage of rural persons believe that homosexuality is immoral (84 percent vs. 2 percent). Beale also observed that rural voters have been more likely to support conservative candidates in recent elections even though rural persons are slightly more likely than urban persons to describe themselves as democrats. A related idea is that rural conservatism is often associated with the homogeneity of the rural population. Wirth (1938) and ot hers argued that increased population diversity was one of the dominant effects of urbanization, and one of the reasons why informal social control was likely to break down in cities. Ironically, Fisher (1975) and other critics of Wirth, argued that ethnic diversity rather than contributing to a weakening of the social order was a main reason why the strength of social relations did not diminish in cities, and why community was not â€Å"eclipsed† in urban environments. While the association between ethnic and other aspects of population diversity and social and political attitudes is still an open question, research clearly indicates that rural populations in the U. S. , while 13 increasingly diverse, remain significantly more homogeneous than urban populations (Fuguitt, et al. 1989). In addition, the rural population’s racial and ethnic diversity is not spread evenly across the landscape, but tends to concentrate in particular regions and locales (Cromartie, 1999). Hence, even though about one out of ten rural Americans is African American, few rural communities are 10 percent Black. Rather, Blacks tend either to comprise the majority or large mino rity of a rural population or an insignificant percentage. The same tends to be true with respect to other racial and/or ethnic populations. Much has been written to suggest that primary social interaction is more prevalent and more intense in rural areas, and that rural areas have a higher level of informal social control than is true in urban areas. However, these contentions, if ever true, are not supported by contemporary empirical evidence. Copious research has shown that urban persons are involved in regular and intense interaction with family, friends and neighbors, and that community has not been eclipsed in urban America (Hummon, 1990; Fischer, 1975). Moreover, research by Sampson (1999), and others has shown that social networks are quite effective in regulating social behavior in urban locales. Accordingly, primary social interaction and effective social control do not differentiate rural and urban areas in contemporary American society, and are not components of the sociocultural dimension of rurality. CONCLUSIONS How urbanized are postindustrial societies? How rapidly is the remaining rural population being incorporated within the urban category? How do rural people and rural areas contribute to and/or detract from the social and economic well being of highly developed nations? We contend that answering these questions accurately is contingent on the availability of theoretically informed definitions of rural and urban areas. Virtually every developed nation uses population size and density as the basis for its differentiation of urban and rural areas. Areas obtain urban status by reaching some threshold of population size and/or density, and commuting or some similar measure of routine social and/or economic interaction is used to determine whether peripheral areas are integrated with, and hence part of large/dense urban agglomerations. Rural areas are simply the residual—areas that fail to satisfy the urban threshold or lack routine interaction with core 14 areas. We join with many previous scholars in arguing that this approach is blind to the complex multidimensional nature of postindustrial rurality. We believe that the residual approach is inadequate for differentiating rural from urban populations, and for examining social, economic, political, ecological and other forms of diversity within the rural category itself. We have recommended a multidimensional framework for considering the nature of rurality in postindustrial society. Our approach includes conventional demographic measures, and adds information on the natural environment, economic structures and activities, the diversity and capacity of institutions, and a sociocultural domain. Our case is the United States but we believe that the situation we describe in the U. S. is similar to that in most other postindustrial societies. Our paper rejects the notion that rurality is simply a residual that is leftover once urban areas have been identified. The rural as residual approach clearly identifies the extremes or urbanity and rurality (Paris, France vs. Paris, Texas, for example), but it offers no guidance for examining settlements that fall in the intermediate zone between these extremes. We believe that the multidimensional approach to conceptualizing rurality is helpful not only for distinguishing urban from rural but also for understanding the variability of social and economic organization that occurs within both categories. As we have shown, the OMB’s new core-based statistical areas systems is a step toward recognizing important aspects of rural diversity and of focusing attention on the zone between what is clearly urban and clearly rural. We acknowledge that there is a venerable tradition in social science of examining the correlates of city size (Duncan, 1951; Duncan and Reiss, 1956), and that it is possible that rural-urban variability in ecological, economic, institutional and sociocultural attributes may simply be a reflection of inter area differences in population size. If this is the case then the conventional practice of using population size to define urbanity may be sufficient for delineating urban from rural. In contrast, if the other dimensions of social and economic activity are only weakly associated with population size then conventional statistical practice may be producing misleading information regarding urbanization and the conditions of life in rural and urban communities. This important question merits continued examination in future research. 15 Changes in a nation’s urban-rural balance have significance that extends beyond purely academic curiosity. Understanding how variability in spatial context affects opportunity structures and the quality of life contributes to producing flexible public programs that are sensitive to local needs. Misinformation about the social, economic and institutional organization of rural and/or urban areas, and about the size and composition of a nation’s population living and working in rural and urban places will result in misinformed policies. For example, if policy makers believe that most rural persons are farmers, agricultural policies will be seen as a reasonable response to rural poverty and income insecurity. But, of course, agricultural policies will not have much of an effect on rural poverty because most rural persons in postindustrial societies do not depend on farming for their livelihoods (Gibbs, 2001). Or, if research indicates that the size of a nation’s rural population has held constant over time, as is the case in the United States where about 55-60 million persons has been classified as rural since 1950, then significant public investments for rural development will be legitimized (at least from an equity perspective). But, if the measurement of rurality is too permissive, and the population that is genuinely rural has actually declined, then public resources may be targeted to the wrong populations. We realize that the multidimensional perspective we are promoting could not be easily or cheaply built into a national statistical system. But, regardless of its practicality our framework raises important questions about the sufficiency of the size/density conventions used throughout the developed world, and consequently about the state of knowledge on urbanization in postindustrial societies. Moreover, our contention that rurality should not be treated as an undifferentiated residual complements the social representational approach in which rurality is defined by how people imagine community life in everyday discourse. Both approaches focus attention on the complexity of contemporary rural life and its continuing distinctiveness in comparison with urban areas. 16 REFERENCES Beale, C. 1995. â€Å"Non Economic Value of Rural America. † Paper presented at the USDA experts’ conference on the value of rural America. † Washington, DC: USDA-ERS. ______. 1984. â€Å"Poughkeepsie’s Complaint or Defining Metropolitan Areas. † American Demographics 6(1): 28-31; 46-48. Berry, B. 1967. Geography of Market Centers and Retail Distribution. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Brown, D and M. Lee. 1999. Persisting Inequality Between Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan America: Implications for Theory and Policy. † Pp. 151-167 in P. Moen, D. Demster-McClain and H. Walker (eds. ) Diversity, Inequality, and Community in American Society. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ______. G. Fuguitt, T. Heaton, and S. Waseem. 1997. â€Å"Continuities in Size of Place Preferences in the Uni ted States, 1972-1992. † Rural Sociology 62(4) : 408-428. Butler, M. and C. Beale. 1994. â€Å"Rural-Urban Continuum Codes for Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Counties, 1993. † Staff Report No. 9425. Washington, DC: USDA-ERS. Cigler, B. 993. â€Å"Meeting the Growing Challenges of Rural Local Government. † Rural Development Perspectives 9(1): 35-39. Cloke, P. and G. Edwards. 1986. â€Å"Rurality in England and Wales, 1981: A Replication of the 1971 Index. † Regional Studies 20: 289-306. _____. 1977. â€Å"An Index of Rurality for England and Wales. † Regional Studies 11: 31-46. Cook, P. and K. Mizer. 1994. â€Å"The Revised ERS County Typology. † Rural Development Research Report No. 84. Washington, DC: USDA-ERS. Cromartie, J. 1999. â€Å"Rural Minorities Are Geographically Clustered. † Rural Conditions and Trends 9(2): 14-19. Duncan, C. 1999. Worlds Apart: Why Poverty Persists in Rural America. † New Haven: Yale University Press. Duncan, O and A. Reiss. 1956. Social Characteristics of Urban and Rural Communities. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Duncan, O. 1951. â€Å"Optimum Size of Cities. † Pp. 632-645 in P. Hatt and A. Reiss (eds. ) Reader in Urban Sociology. New York: Free Press. 17 Durkehim, E. 1951. Suicide. New York: Free Press. Fischer, C. 1975. â€Å"Toward a Subcultural Theory of Urbanism. † American Journal of Sociology 80: 1319-1342. Fuguitt, G. , D. Brown, and C. Beale. 1989. Rural and Small Town America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Gale, F. nd D. McGranahan. 2001. â€Å"Nonmetro Areas Fall Behind in the New Economy. † Rural America 16(1): 44-51. Gibbs, R. 2001. â€Å"Nonmetro Labor Markets in an Era of Welfare Reform. † Rural America 16(3): 11-21. Giddens, A. The Constitution of Society. Cambridge: Polity Press. Halfacree, K. 1993. â€Å"Locality and Social Representa tion: Space, Discourse, and Alternative Definitions of the Rural. † Journal of Rural Studies 9(1): 23-37. Hauser, P. 1965. â€Å"Urbanization: An Overview. † Pp. 1-47 in P. Hauser and L. Schnore (eds. ) The Study of Urbanization. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Hines, F, D. Brown, and J. Zimmer. 1975. Social and Economic Characteristics of the Population in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Counties, 1970. † Agricultural Economic Report No. 272. Washington, D. C. : USDA-ERS. Hummon, D. 1990. Common Places: Community Ideology and Identity in American Culture. Albany: SUNY Press. Kellogg Foundation. 2002. Perceptions of Rural America. Battle Creek, MI. : Kellogg Foundation. Kraybill, D. and L. Lobao. 2001. County Government Survey: Changes and Challenges in the New Millennium. Washington, DC: National Association of Counties. Lewis, M. 1991. â€Å"Elusive Societies: A Regional-Cartographical Approach to the Study of Human Relatedness. Annals of the Association of Ame rican Geographers 18(4): 605-626. Logan, J. 1996. ‘Rural America As A Symbol of American Values. † Rural Development Perspectives 12(1): 24-28. Marx, K. 1976. Capital, Vol. I. London: Penguin NLR. Morrill, R, J. Cromartie, and G. Hart. 1999. â€Å"Metropolitan, Urban, and Rural Commuting Areas: Toward a Better Depiction of the united States Settlement System. † Urban Geography 20(8): 727-748. 18 Moscovici, S. 1981. â€Å"On Social Representation. † Pp. 181-209 in J. Forgas (ed. ), Social Cognition: Perspectives on Everyday Understanding. London: Academic Press. RUPRI. 1995. 1995 National RUPRI Poll: Differential Attitudes of Rural and Urban America. † Columbia, Missouri: Rural Policy Research Institute. Rubin, J. 1969. â€Å"Function and Structure of Community: A Conceptual and Theoretical Analysis. † International Review of Community Development 21-22: 111-119. Sampson, R. , J. Morenoff, and F. Earls. 1999. â€Å"Beyond Social Capital: Spatia l Dynamics of Collective Efficacy for Children. † American Journal of Sociology 92(1): 27-63. Tisdale, H. 1942. â€Å"The Process of Urbanization. † Social Forces 20: 311-316. United Nations. 1999. World Urbanization Prospects: 1999 Revision. New York: United Nations. U. S. Office of Management and Budget. 2000. â€Å"Standards for Defining Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas. † Federal Register 65(249): 82228-82238. (http://www. whitehouse. gov/omb/fedreg/metroareas122700. pdf. ) Weber, M. 1968. Economy and Society. New York: Bedminister. Willits, F. , R. Bealer, and V. Timbers. 1990. â€Å"Popular Images of Rurality: Data From a Pennsylvania Survey. † Rural Sociology 55(4): 559-578. ______. 1967. â€Å"An Evaluation of a Composite Index of Rurality. † Rural Sociology 32(2): 165-177. Wirth, L. 1938. â€Å"Urbanization As a Way of Life. American Journal of Sociology 44(1): 129. 19 Figure 1: A Multidimensional Framework of Rurality in Postindustrial Society Indicators Rural Areas or Populations Urban Areas or Populations Are More Likely to Be: Are More Likely to Be: Dimensions of Rurality Ecological Dimension Population Size Population Density Situation in Settlement System Natural Environ ment Economic Dimension Dependence on Industrial Activities Size of Local Economy Diversity of Economic Activity Autonomy of Local Economy Institutional Dimension Local Choice Public Sector Capacity Sociocultural Dimension Beliefs/Values Population Diversity Small Low/Scattered Peripheral Rich in Natural Resources Large High/Concentrated Central Lacking Natural Resources Extractive Nondurable Manufacturing Consumer Services Small Workforce Small Establishments Undiversified Low/Dependent Producer Services Professional Services Durable Manufacturing Large Workforce Large Establishments Diversified High Narrow/Constrained Limited/Modest Wide High Conservative Homogeneous Progressive Heterogeneous 20 Table 1: Population, Land Area, Density and Percent Rural by CBSA Category, 19901 CBSA Category U. S. Metro Large Small Nonmetro Micro Non-CBSA 1 No. Counties 3,141 891 606 285 2,250 582 1,668 Population 1,000s Percent 248,709 195,930 171,606 24,323 52,780 26,699 26,081 100 79 69 10 21 11 10 Land Area (square miles) 1,000s Percent 3,536 737 488 249 2,799 625 2,174 100 21 14 7 79 18 61 Population Per Sq. Mile 70 266 351 98 19 43 12 See OMB (2000) for discussion of procedures used to delineate CBSA county types. Source: 1990 U. S. Census of Population 21 Table 2: Comparative Profile of Metro, Micro and Noncore Based Counties, U. S. , 19901 Metropolitan Large Small Nonmetropolitan Micro Noncore Characteristic Educational Attainment Pct. Less Than High School Pct. High School Pct. College Total Total 23 29 48 23 28 49 25 32 43 31 35 34 29 34 37 34 36 31 Industry of Employment (selected) Pct. Farm Pct. Manufacture Pct. Retail Pct. Services 1 13 16 29 1 13 16 30 3 15 18 25 8 18 16 21 5 18 17 22 11 17 15 19 Occupation of Employment (selected) Pct. Manager, Professional Pct. Tech. , Sales, Admin. Pct. Labor2 Earnings Per Job3 All Jobs (000) Manufacture (000) Retail (000) Services (000) 1 2 28 33 24 29 34 24 24 30 28 20 26 34 21 27 33 18 24 36 27 36 15 24 27 37 15 25 0 27 12 16 20 25 12 15 20 27 12 16 18 23 11 14 See OMB (2000) for rules used to identify county types. Skilled and unskilled 3 Nonfarm jobs Source: 1990 U. S. Census of Population 22 Table 3: Presence of Services and Facilities by County Type, 20001 Percent Provided in County Micro 29 71 62 58 91 89 41 64 38 100 45 Service or Facility Scheduled Passenger Air Service Scheduled Inter County Bus Service Local Bus Servic e Museum2 Daily Newspaper National or Regional Hotel Franchise Four Year College Library with Multiple Branches Commercial Television Station3 General Hospital4 N 1 Small Metro 50 91 95 77 95 100 82 64 68 100 22 Noncore Based 11 31 29 23 18 44 11 34 9 74 71 Ten percent sample of noncore based counties; 20% samples of small metro and micro counties. Current response rate = small metro: 41%; micro: 75%; noncore: 42%. Art, science or natural history with focus beyond local county. With local news and advertising. With at least two of four of the following services: emergency room, physical therapy, cardiac care or MRI. 2 3 4 23

Grades 9-12 Lesson plan on Political Status Of Puerto Rico for a Assignment

Grades 9-12 Lesson plan on Political Status Of Puerto Rico for a foreign language class (Spanish) in Florida USA - Assignment Example It demonstrates the power of the country to manage its foreign relations with other nations or states. 2. Citizenship is defined as person(s) entitled to enjoy privileges granted and all the legal rights by a state to its people who comprise a constituency and is mandated to obey and respect all the laws. They should also fulfill duties and responsibilities. 3. Rights of residents are governed by their ability to exercise their constitutional mandate to participate in political processes such as voting in local and national elections, representing their countries in various activities and functions and actively getting involved in nation building as one people. Importance: It is crucial for students in a foreign language class to appreciate the concept of level of autonomy, citizenship and rights of residents. It will help the students to understand the level of independence of the people of Puerto Rico, and the status of their citizenship in relation to the Jones-Shafroth Act of 191 7. The Spanish students will also appreciate the role of Spanish as a language in creating a holistic picture of what entails the other issues like political participation, judiciary and taxation. II. INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVE(S)/OUTCOMES (What Is to Be Learned) 1. Objective By the end of this lesson, the students will have understood the meaning of Level of autonomy, citizenship and rights of residents. ... LACC.K.SL.2.4: Explain relevant concepts such as ethnicity, nationhood, leadership, and bill of rights and, with guidance and support, avail additional information. LACC.K.SL.2.5: Provide pictures, maps and Google images of people, infrastructure and political settings to descriptions as needed to give significant detail. LACC.K.L.1.1: Show command of understanding Spanish using standardized grammar and usage when writing or speaking. LACC.K.W.1.1: Use a connection of pictures, audio-visuals displays and writing to present and compose opinion pieces, which guides a reader through the topic or the name of the book they are reading. The learners should identify with their favorite audio-visual like the making of a nation, independence struggles and the people of Puerto Rico. 3. Goal 3 Standards Standard 1: Spanish class in Florida can locate, understand, interpret, analyze, keep, and apply information, ideas and concepts found in social science, the symbols, symbols, arts, recordings, video and audio displays, and computer files so as to carry out tasks and/or for understanding. The students will show an understanding and following directions to read a map. Standard 2: Florida students communicate in Spanish and other languages using Information, concepts, symbols, prose, reports, video and audio recordings, graphic displays, speeches and computer-related programs. The students will write, read, and use technical support like projectors to do their activity. Standard 3: Spanish class in Florida use creative thinking skills to produce new concepts and ideas, make the optimal decision that recognizes and solves problems through interpretation of maps, reasoning, and come up with effective methods to lifelong learning.

Why is 21 the drinking age and is it in fact the the real age limit Essay

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Week 7 - Case Study Example This seems to be to be like a secret society of sorts with the requirements being you must be rich and powerful within the world of finance. The fact that these nine people can change the prices, policies and procedures at any time to benefit themselves is wrong when it comes to the public trading arena. While the entire finance world has to goal of making money for their company and themselves, it should not be done to the detriment of the consumer. The consumer needs these products and should have the right to all of the cost information since they are paying for it and they should be entitled to these prices upfront and should be accompanied with an explanation if asked for one by the consumer. In short, there needs to be some oversight and regulations. 2. I do not believe that the secrecy in the derivative market should be allowed to continue. Something should be done to create transparency. I agree that buyers and sellers have a responsibility to learn about how derivatives work, but if the fees are kept secret, that is a problem. How can buyers and sellers be expected to participate if they don’t know all the costs? The trading of derivatives should be transparent in terms of costs and should not be managed by just a few who can make policies and procedures, as well as set the fees, for their own benefit. In any other industry, the costs of the product or service are made public to consumers and then consumers can determine what or if they purchase. There is no reason that the derivative market should be any different. I can understand that the nine people controlling this market would like to keep it so it benefits them and their companies; however, it is not good for the American public. It is taking advantage of people . This seems like it should be illegal. There are laws and regulations preventing this in other industries so why is the derivative market different? There doesn’t seem to be any reason why this market is

Hurricane Hits England By Grace Nichols and Storm on the Island Essay Example for Free

Hurricane Hits England By Grace Nichols and Storm on the Island Essay Hurricane Hits England about a hurricane that came across from the Caribbean and hit the South coast of England (Sussex). In 1987 the poem takes place at night and follows the poet, Grace Nichols, as she talks and questions the hurricane like it were an old friend. Storm on the lsland is set on the top of a cliff on a barren island off the coast of Ireland. It describes the storm and how the village people are prepared for it and have built there houses squat. This shows that there are storms there frequently and it also speaks of no trees to avoid falling branches. Storm on the Island is written in blank verse. This reflects the crashing motion of the storm. It was often used by Shakespeare because it sounds like spoken English, this makes the poet sound like he his talking to the reader. However Hurricane Hits England is written in free verse which gives the poem a relaxed feel. Also breaking it up in to stanza lets you see how the mood changes throughout the poem from questioning, to understanding. Come to break the frozen lake within me the frozen lake being her sense of belonging and home. By not using an article before the title Heaney makes it sound blunt and gives a sense that he is not just talking about one storm in particular but many. To create drama Heaney writes the poem in present tense. Enjambment is used to create the surprise a storm would give when it blows full / Blast like a gust of wind suddenly Blasting in at the start of a new line. Despite the confident start Heaney admits to being scared of the storm it is a huge nothing we fear. Whereas in the first stanza of Nichols uses a very effective metaphor to describe the hurricane howling ship of the wind this creates a ghost like quality to the hurricane this is later backed up by the word spectre. The view of the hurricane changes from stanza to stanza. In the third stanza Nichols questions the like it were an old friend. The mood is then saddened when Nichols describes roots as cratered graves. The island is described as Wizened which at first conjures thoughts of a desolate and barren landscape. There are no stacks suggests there are no crops, but as the hurricane is introduced the view of the island has been change and maybe its not just the ground that is Wizened but also the villagers. The fact the villagers are prepared for the storm is emphasised more so by the lack of trees. He uses the imagery of a tame cat / Turned savage because the sea is usually calm a gentle but can become violent and angry. The fact this is spread over two lines is to use the pause between them as the quiet before the storm. The military theme is carried on when he uses words like dives, strafes, salvos and bombardments to show the distructive power of the storm. While the storm in Hurricane Hits England is show to be an actual person or a one point a God this is meant show that Nichols has not rejected her culture and is still capable of seeing things in terms of her native culture. The poets heart is unchained by the hurricane which breaks the frozen lake in me. There is a clear implication that she has felt trapped in England and by riding the hurricane (a global event, of course) she finds her freedom. Heaneys poem is written in a repetitive and confident way and by using blank verse it reflects his mood that he will survive the storm. Although this changes throughout the poem, halfway through he uses phrases like the thing you fear and exploding comfortably to portray he is scared. While Nichols writes in free and open way which reflect her past in the Caribbean to show this she uses the words the earth is the earth The final lines of Hurricane Hits England are a plea for multiculturalism and a pride in ones own culture. The poet has realised that she can only be free and happy in England if she stops yearning for her own culture and accepts that, that culture is a part of her: she brought it to England with her just as the hurricane has brought a feeling of the Caribbean to England. This is unlike the ideas in Storm on the Island which concern our uneasy relationship to powerful natural forces and the feelings of vulnerability and fear. That we feel in the face of the potentially destructive powers of a storm.

Examine Malaysias Inflation Rate Economics Essay

Examine Malaysias Inflation Rate Economics Essay Based on the topic given, we are ordered to examine the Malaysias inflation rate over the past 10 years by knowing the factors that contribute the inflation and the measures taken by the Malaysias government to overcome or combat the inflation. In general, inflation  is a rise in the general  level of prices  of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. When the price level increases, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Meanwhile, inflation rate is the annually increase of percentage in the price of goods and services. When the price level rises rapidly, the inflation rate is high, and when the price level ri Examine Malaysias inflation rate over the past 10 years and discuss its trends. Inflation can be defined as one of the phenomena of general price level rises steadily in the long run and no limitations. For the past 10 years of Malaysias inflation, we decided to analyze from the year 2003 until year 2012. The graph shows the inflation rate in Malaysia from the year 2003 to 2012. It can clearly be seen that there has been a highest rate in year 2008 by 5.4 percent while the lowest rate by 0.6 percent in year 2009 then Malaysias inflation rate became normalized to the 3.2 percent in year 2011. According to The Department of Statistic Malaysia, which is one of the department that responsible to analyze the inflation rate in Malaysia was recorded the average 1.70 percent in October 2012. While, in year 2003 indicates the inflation rate was 1.1 percent. After that, the slow growth shows the difference between year 2003 and 2004 was 0.3 percent. It is mean that in year 2004, the rate of inflation increase to 1.4 percent. Then, it rises considerably over year 2005 by 3.0 percent. It is shows that starting in year 2005, the inflation rate increased rapidly from year 2004 which is the difference was about 1.6 percent. Continually in year 2006, it has been a steady increased, with around 3.6 percent rate of inflation. Suddenly, the rate falls by 2.0 percent in year 2007 because of the certain factors that can affect the rate of inflation. Next, the rate rose dramatically by 5.4 percent in 2008 due of the increasing in fuel prices on that time. The rate does not longer because in 2009 it decreased by 0.6 percent. Malaysias inflation rate starts continuously slightly increased to 1.7 percent in year 2010. The rate slowly goes up in 2011 by 3.2 percent. However, the inflation rate in Malaysia was recorded at 1.30 percent in September of 2012. To sum up, the overall years from 2003 to 2012, it shows that the trend for inflation rate over the past 10 years is fluctuated trend. From starting year at year 2003 to 2006, the graph shows slowly increased and achieved the highest rate between these four years in year 2006. After that, the graph drops in year 2007 and rise largely in year 2008. In year 2009, the rate of inflation falls dramatically and starts increased back in 2010 and 2011. But the rate still decreased in September 2012. As a conclusion, the lowest rate was 0.6 percent in year 2009 while the highest rate was showed as much 5.4 percent in 2008. In whatever way, the government has decided to decrease the inflation rate and became normalized in 2011. What may be some of the factors that contribute to the inflation rate trend? In Malaysia, inflation rate shows the fluctuated of the inflation rate trend. It was indicated that the highest inflation rate between years 2003 to 2012 was 5.4 percent in 2008. By the way, during year 2009, the rate was dramatically goes to 0.6 percent and the trend was normalised back to the 3.2 percent in year 2011. By referring the Keynesian theory, the three type of inflation which is demand-pull inflation, cost-pull inflation, and built-in inflation. Based on the inflation rate trend between 2003 to 2012 in Malaysia, there are may be some of the factors that contribute to this inflation trend, such as the factor that can affected the aggregate demand and aggregate supply that nearly can affect the inflation in many ways. For example, quantity of money that government print, the interest rate, the government expenditure, the tax cut, the increasing of Purchase Power Parity and an increase in money prices of raw material and wage rate. In this country, the inflation rate measures a board rise or fall in prices that consumers pay for a standard basket of goods. The highest inflation rate was at 5.4 percent in 2008 because of the increasing in raw material such as fuel prices. When the fuel prices increased, then the firms will decrease their supply of goods and services. This will lead to the increase in price of other goods and services that will contribute to the inflation in the country. This situation proved when the world price of fuel was increase, the price of goods such as household goods will also increase. In addition, the fuel price is decided by the government, however, government must take it seriously when decide to increase the fuel price. This may cause two negative effects towards the consumers. Firstly, for instance, as a big population of Malaysian society owns a car, the increase in a fuel price, will increase the cost of the car users. Secondly, the overall operating cost of doing business in Ma laysia will also increase due to the higher cost of fuel. The quantity of money that the government print will increase the money supply which one of the major factors that contribute to the inflation. This is because the higher the money supplied, the higher the inflation rate. For example, if the government cuts the interest rate, this will cause the quantity of money increase. Since a lot of money in the market, the production of goods will decrease because the demand of the products is higher. Most of government today control their money supply. As more money offered in the market, the highest the inflation especially through printing more bills. The printing of new money allows goods to be purchased without the real exchange. On the other hand, when the money supplied is higher in the economy, this make the consumption and investment also increase and there are more job opportunities and this will encourage the growth of economy in the country. An increasing in money wage rate also contributed to the inflation. As many of labour work in the country, then the higher the wage for one unit of force. Therefore, to increase the output of the country, the more of labour will be used and the higher the marginal cost of labour, the price had to be raised. As the wages are high, aggregate supply in the economy will decrease and this will contributed to the inflation occurs. In addition, the increasing of purchase power parity (PPP) is also one of the factors that contribute to the inflation rate trend. Purchase power parity means the equal value of money. When there were increasing in purchase power parity, consumers demand of the goods and services is also increase. However, the goods and services offers in the market become less. Moreover, the other factors are the increasing in the government expenditure and the tax cut from the government. Firstly, an increasing in government expenditure. Government expenditure can be divided into two, which are operating expenditure and development expenditure. An increasing in the government expenditure can encourage the increasing in the aggregate demand and at this time, the price level will continually increase. Secondly, the tax cut. If the government cut the tax, then demand will increase due to the cut in price of goods and services, the continuous increase in aggregate demand in the economy and have reached full employment will impact, the price level will increase. Hence, any factor that increases aggregate demand can cause inflation. However, in the long run, the government can overcome this problem by increasing the quantity of money in circulation faster than real growth rate of the economy. All of all, it can be said that, all the factors stated above can contribute to the inflation occurs. Based on the inflation trend between the last ten years, the trend shows fluctuated trend over the ten years. Generally, during the past ten years, the inflation is already become lower and moderate inflation after our country faced the high rate of inflation, called hyperinflation during the economic crisis. Hyperinflation is caused by an excessive growth of the money supply and refers to the growth of higher price level and the growth is continuously increased. The rate of inflation in Malaysia may at low or moderate inflation that contribute the fluctuation trend during the last ten years. This trend occur when the money supply growing faster than the rate of economic growth. Measures undertaken There are some measures are undertaken by our government in order to combat inflation in Malaysia. One of the actions taken by our government is supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the market. Small and medium enterprises are important for every country because they can help to boost up a countrys economic growth. As we know one of the factors that cause inflation is demand-pull inflation which means a demand of a good or service increases in the market, but the supply of the particular good and service remain the same due to the number of supplier is limited in producing the product and service. Therefore the price of the product or service will rise as the demand is higher than supply and this will cause the consumers need to pay more in order to satisfy their needs. Hence inflation occurred. In order to solve this problem, our Malaysia government is implementing Special Government Funds for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The main purpose of these funds which provided by our government is to develop and nurturing more small and medium enterprises in our country in order to increase the productivity of products and services in Malaysia. In year 2007, Malaysia has provided 105 Special Government Funds for small and medium enterprises with a total amount of RM31.8 billion. For example, our central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia has allocated a total of RM 6.75 billion is small and medium industries 2, RM 2.85 billion in new entrepreneurs and also RM 1.30 billion in food industries. Besides that, Micro Enterprise Fund (MEF) has launched by our central bank in year 2008 and this is to help those enterprises which started up with a small capital and less employers able to operate their business in the business market. Bank Negara Malaysia has approved to use RM4.2 million to help mirco enterprises and there are 241 micro enterprises get benefits from Micro Enterprise Fund (MEF) in year 2008. Through these fund provided by our government, there are more mirco, small and medium enterprises producing products and services in the market. Therefore, productivity of Malaysia will increase and it solved the problems of demand-pull inflation. Moreover, our central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia applied monetary policy to combat inflation. Deposit interest rate is also one of the ways to combat the inflation in our country, Bank Negara Malaysia is responsible to set a most suitable interest rate on a specific time for money saver. For example, when there is high inflation rate in our country, Bank Negara Malaysia will need to adjust the deposit interest rate to higher rate in order to encourage people to save more their money in the bank and indirectly to reduce the quantity amount of money in the market which can prevent the value of our money to become less value. Besides that, since the interest rate has increased, this will discourage investors and firms to borrow money from the banks. Therefore, it will reduce the investment and consumption in the market and consequently the inflation rate will decrease. Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Average interest rate 2.69 2.84 3.51 3.50 3.51 2.11 2.56 2.88 Based on the graph and table above, we can see that as our countrys inflation rate increases, the interest rate offered by the bank increases as well in order to encourage people to save money in the bank to reduce the quantity of money in the market in order reduce the inflation rate. Due to the economic Stimulus Package, the interest rate is still high even though the inflation rate in year 2007 has decrease from year 2006. Conclusion

Louis Vuitton and Gucci: Marketing Mix

Louis Vuitton and Gucci: Marketing Mix Louis Vuitton, a famous French brand, was created by a leather designer named Louis Vuitton (1821-1892). In 1837, 16-year-old Louis Vuitton left his hometown, to Paris to pack for the elite. He opened his first store in London and made the production with high-skilled. Thus make Louis Vuitton become the most delicate symbol of leather traveling articles. A century later, it is a leader in the field of leather goods and also was a favorite in polite society. It includes clothing, shoes, jewelry and so on. (Louis Vuitton inc, 2010). In 1987, Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy merging into prevent LVMH Group. In 1906, Gucci Augustine chi established the Gucci brand and named it after himself. Products of Gucci include fashion, leather goods, and watches. (Gucci inc, 2010) Gucci with its high fashion, sexy style popular around the world. As a symbol of status and wealth, it is a love of rich society. Now, Gucci is Italys largest fashion group. 1.2 Theory 1.2.1 Market Segmentation. Market segmentation can be defined as dividing different groups with similar chrematistic in the market. Business accord different features to product and services for each of them. (Hall et al 2008 p66) 1.22 Marketing Mix In order to market its products effectively and meet its customers needs. Business must consider its marketing mix. (Hall et al 2008 p75) Mastering four main parts of marketing mix plays a vital role in business, product, price, promotion and place. 1.3 Aims The aims of this report are to analyze the information of Louis Vuitton and Gucci to compare their differences. The comparison will focus on their differences in market segmentation and marketing mix, especially in Chinese market . 2. Findings 17 years ago, Louis Vuitton as one of the first luxury brands to enter Chinese market open its first store in Beijing. At that time, none of Chinese can understand why the value of a handbag worth more than 10000 RMB. But with its promotion in China and the growth of Chinese economic, the sales of handbags from Louis Vuitton rise quickly. Reasons of the success in Chinese market are also the reasons for the success of its brand, excellent market segmentation and holding well four parts of marketing market. The successful reasons of Gucci is similar to Louis Vuitton. For example, it launched a series of Chinese customs production. ( Paris Fashionable Clothing Week Day 9, 2010) and using Chinese language in its stores. For Chinese market to design the Chinese style products its its segmentation. In addition, the aim of Gucci is to open more stores in Asia and eastern Europe. (Reuters, Nov, 27) Discussion 3.1 Market segmentation Market segmentations of Louis Vuitton and Gucci are similar. The targets are promoting their brands and meeting the richs needs. The differences are that the price of most Louis Vuittons handbags is higher the price of Gucci and their different styles. à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"High quality and civility are the selling points of Louis Vuitton which focuses on its classical product leather handbags. In the other hand, Gucci adapts to the younger customersà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ demands. Because of the differences of their features and prices, their market segmentations also different. Louis Vuitton targets the customers who are love high quality and noble. The young ladies who are fond of fashion, sex and convenient items will choose Gucci. 3.2 Marketing Mix 3.2.1 Product Product is a main type of marketing mix. Innovation is the secret of Louis Vuitton handbags to maintain its position, it has a series innovation with the change of generation. In order to attract young woman, Louis Vuitton cooperated with artists Stephen Sprouse, thus Epi handbags with colourful style promoted to the market. Now, in order to meet the needs of the younger generation, launch a series of graffiti handbags. (Spring and summer fashion show of LV in 2010) However, Louis Vuitton still continues its style of noble and high quality, its handbags more suitable in semi-formal occasions. Gucci pays a great attention to its design in its development of 100 years. The style of its handbags is convenient and fashion, they are also its unique selling points. But compare the quality between Louis Vuitton and Gucci, the handbags of Gucci worse than Louis Vuitton. The reason is that Louis Vuitton focus on the quality of leather and Gucci pay more attention to its fashion. 3.2.2 Price Another element of marketing mix is price. The pricing policy that a business chooses is often a reflection of the market at which it is aiming (Hall et al 2008 p75) Louis vuitton is more better in leather material, the majority of handbags of Louis Vuitton is more than Gucci. For instance, the price of flower handbag of Louis Vuitton is RMB 17800, the new style of handbag of Gucci is RMB 6800 in 2008. From these comparative results, it can found that the handbag of Gucci is cheaper than Louis Vuittons. The conclusion is that Gucci target the middle class while Louis Vuitton target upper class. 3.2.3 Promotion Nowadays, promotion plays an important role in marketing mix. Gucci and Louis Vuitton focus on the advertising on TV and fashion magazine. Sophisticated fashion magazines are their main promotion media, which help their segmentations become clear and promote worldwide. Such as >. The style of advertising of Louis Vuitton is noble and the feeling of Gucci presented to customers is sexy. Both companies promote their production with popular stars. For example,Gucci show its new style with famous Hollywood in Oscar or Canned movie awards ( 2010 Oscar Movie Award). But Louis Vuitton appears its handbags with famous models even the successful politician because it meet its practical style. Moreover, Louis Vuitton promotes its products with Chinese stars Zhang Ziyi to attracts Chinese market. ( 2010, The Waiting City) 3.2.4 Place Both of Louis Vuitton and Gucci are international brands and luxury goods, it results in their requirements on the choice of stores are very high. Therefore, they open stores in the upscale business district, such as and Champs Elysees. They divide into different level stores to meet different society classes, flagship stores and specialty stores. Flagship stores with higher level, in which not only focused the design of stores but also reflect the spirits of the brand. In this year, Louis Vuitton opens two stores in major city on the same day in China, Shanghai. ( Shanghai Daily, 2010) From this can reflect that the economy and the population of cities also are the important factors to luxury brands while they choosing places. 4. Conclusion According the comparisons between Loris Edition and Guard, getting the conclusion is that these two brands are quiet similar in market segmentations and marketing mix. It can found that differences in their styles and price, which lead their aims are different. The style of Loris Edition is noble and targets a higher line than Guard, particularly reflected in the price of a handbag. The features of handbags are convenient and sexy and it more suitable for middle class. 5. Recommendation According the information mentioned above, the line for Louis Vuitton is sophisticated line and its price is too high for the young even it innovate the new styles to meet the yongs needs. Louis Vuitton can promote its products with lower price to meet the young, it is good for the development of its market segmentation. Gucci needs to care more about its quality of handbags and it can attract more customers to buy it, especially the more richer class.