Economic Region - The Lower Mainland Region of British Columbia Assignment

Economic Region - The Lower Mainland Region of British Columbia - Assignment Example The Lower Mainland locale is profoundly incorporated, administration situated livelihood is more moved in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). Monetary action in the Lower Mainland area is required to hold enduring through 2013 on moderate work picks up and unassuming development in lodging movement. The trends in the growth of employment in the Lower Mainland have been stronger than different regions in the area, and ideal with respect to other significant markets in Canada. The Province of British Columbia offers a stable political and monetary environment. The political pendulum in British Columbia never swings too far and it follows a course that means to adjust financial, social, and ecological investments. The economy of the province is anticipated to increase by 79 percent between 2011 and 2041, as GDP goes from $170.8 billion to $305.6 billion, contrasted with 102 percent development in the course of recent decades, complete employment in the Lower Mainland region is anticipated to increase by 57 percent over the advancing three decades including more than 816,000 net new employment. This total development would be the result yearly job expansions averaging, contrasted with a normal of 2.4 percent every year in the course of recent decades, 2.0 percent growth over the advancing three decades. Livelihood is required to increase more gradually in the impending years than it has generally, an obstruction to attaining growth in employment in future will be the capacity of the provincial work power to keep pace with the expanding interest for labourers. The workforce is expected to grow by 1.4 percent every year while along with a 1.5 percent employment increase every year, hence, a declining unemployment rate. Given the standpoint for the supply of, and interest for, employees, the Lower Mainland’s unemployment rate would fall back towards four percent through the following decade, with the area having last encountered this level of unemployment in 2007-2008.  Ã‚  

CUSTOMER & CROSS-CULTURAL EXPERIENCES Case Study

CUSTOMER & CROSS-CULTURAL EXPERIENCES - Case Study Example The laser treatment costs may be less as opposed to the physician model indicating that customers or patients have alternatives to choose from depending on their financial capability. The annual cosmetic surgery procedures are possible to be estimated. For example, in 2001 over 8.5million cosmetic surgical cases were undertaken. Moreover, doctors made more than 125,000 skin operations of non-ablative state. The strategy to effectively market the company is to prioritize on all product cycles but more so innovation and design factors in cosmetic surgery operations. Additionally, the company will be forced to consider legal, political and economic performance of the country (Baumann, Elliott & Hamin 2011). They also need to focus on present market size, market share, activities of competitors. Besides, they should assess the influence of substitute products including LED gadgets and reflect on the negotiating potential of current and prospective clients (Jobber 2012). They should also go on to bid the design and manufacture from the Light Sciences Company of Virginia Beach regarding newer forms of gentle waves. In the long run, it will take advantage of economies of scale and improved bargaining ability than actually creating a manufacturing line. With the position of a CEO, I would invest in research and development of surgical skin treatment, improve client service and take advantage of new design to negotiate with suppliers. I will also motivate the existing skilled personnel to cope with increasing numbers of clients and demands of a good enterprise. Problem 2 Part A: The film shows the significance of combining talents to create a business empire through computer technology. Three guys had exceptional talents of computer software, hardware and security. The strategy used in this film evaluation of innovation and design factors which are specific to the information industry. Exceptional skills are needed in development of a prototype to support current comput er (Jobber 2012). From the student perspective, developing and integrated piece will satisfy user expectation in computer technology. Consequently, free enterprise starts from innovation and design procedures to oversee continuous streams of future income (Baumann, Elliott & Hamin 2011). The team will benefit from patents and copyrights laws that safeguard and uphold their growth in design; inspiration and originality so will the few competitors. There are available substitutes, though not expected to pose a huge threat since invention is unique. In addition, buyers will undoubtedly purchase the product because it satisfies their expectations and desires. There are few suppliers in this industry owing to the cost intensive nature of the operations. Competitive are also few though posing a huge threat to the market share. Continuous investment in technology will humble the effect of competitors. Rivalry between competitors is expected to reduce since entry will be constricted (Bauman n, Elliott & Hamin 2011). Part B: The first stage is the forming stage comprising of an individual’s yearning to bring together colleagues with common interest. They then focus on forming a team, assigning roles and convening meetings. This stage has a lot of learning, autonomy and knowledge exchange. Storming stage consists of combinations of

Theory Of Economic Development And North South Relation Economics Essay

Theory Of Economic Development And North South Relation Economics Essay Globalist perspective which believe that market-oriented system and private firms activate to provide a global economic growth, a huge variety of productions and services at lower prices for consumers, energetic environment protections, convenient working conditions at higher wages, protection of human rights and related with maintaining of democratic governments. This paper aims to answer the question of has globalization reduced the North-South gap in economic development with modernization theory through the lens of trade relation, economic growth and Washington Consensus principles. Liberal Theory of Economic Development and North South Relation Technologic improvement of transportation, communication and information infrastructures has been concluded with a phenomenon mostly known as globalization, and it is an increased connection of people and places around the world. There are many indicators that show globalization of goods, capital, and people; World GDP through trade rate (good and services) increased from %42.1 in 1980 to %62.1 in 2007. FDI increased from %6.5 of world GDP in 1980 to %31.8 in 2006. International claim stock (bank loans) according to world GDP increased from %10 in 1980 to %48 in 2006. Cross-border telephone call minutes numbers on basis of GDP increased from %7.3 in 1991 to %28.8 in 2006. The number of foreign workers has increased from %2.4 of the world population in 1965 to %3.0 of the world population in 2005. The impact of the major movement of goods, services, workers and capital on the North-South economic relations has been differently commented by political economists and different perspectives explanations give distinct results. Question of Is globalization positive or negative for the development of the Southern states? indicates the realities about economic gap between North-South. Modernization theory of liberal approach presents main hints about North-South relation on the basis of global economic structure. Developing nations are poor because they are inefficient in economic performances and they must build open markets and invest in human and physical capital. Globalization is a great opportunity for the developing nations. The invisible hand of a market without limitations redistributes the wealth among the nations, leading to economic growth, more efficient allocation of resources, enhanced civil liberties and peaceful relations between states. Free trade is a win-win situati on when it is seen from the comparative advantage perspective. If all countries were to concentrate on those products they can produce most efficiently and the worlds products would increase and everyones standard of living would rise. Development is usually described as improvement in five areas: industrialization, socioeconomic transformation, economic diversification, higher standards of living and urbanization according to liberals. The goals of development are growth, equity, democracy, stability and autonomy. The top priority is economic growth because it makes possible the achievement of all the other goals with spill over affect domestically and internationally. Since global economic integration sets off growth, it is seen as a positive factor. This cornerstone acts into inequalities between North and South growing, while the global economy is expanding. For explaining the gap between expectations and reality, Liberals emphasized a modernization theory, which suggests that t he causes of poverty are not connected to globalization but they are internally related with least developed countries domestic structure. Domestic economic, social and political structures are the key factors for development so a developing country has to carry out a transition from a traditional society to a modern capitalist economy if it wishes to develop. Modern societies are successful because they are more urbanized, dynamic, flexible and willing to adapt. Namely international trade is a basic component of globalization that eliminates or reduces trade barriers like import tariffs. Trade provides national competitiveness and gives host country comparative and competitive advantages and it promotes economic resilience and flexibility. Chart 1 Limitation on international trade like protectionist approach prevents good products at low level and poverty will increase due to restrictions. So it can be said that developing countries can benefit from expansion of international trade. Ernesto Zedillos words, former president of Mexico, In every case where a poor nation has significantly overcome its poverty, this has been achieved while engaging in production for export markets and opening itself to the influx of foreign goods, investment, and technology. claimed that market-oriented economy with global size would alert developing nations (South) to improve domestic economic structure. Cross-border investment has a critical position for industrialization and speed economic growth. Developing countries that accepted foreign investment moved successfully from non-oil commodity exports to alter manufacturing and services exports. And they have generated the highest sustained economic growth during the last quarter of the twentieth century. From 1989 to 1996, foreign direct investment jumped from just $11 million a year to over $5 billion in Poland; from $3 billion to over $10 billion in Mexico; and from $2 billion to almost $10 billion a year in Singapore. Developing countries which have adopted open economic system developed by an average of %4.5 per year in the 1970s and 1980s, while closed economies developed just %0.7 a year. The fastest developing region of the world was East Asia where grew in real per capita income at an annual average rate of 4 to 6 percent since the 1960s. In China, per capita GDP has nearly increased 4 plus since 1980. Since 1972, the poverty rate in Indonesia has been cut in half. Per capita GDP (in U.S. dollars) increased from $163 in 1980 to $235 in 1997. Brazil, Venezuela and India has been reduced their trade barriers from huge amount of tariffs to low level that market oriented structure needs according to WTO principles. And these arrangements have given them sustainable development. Some of the developing nations of the world have driven IMF projects and they have sustainably developed annually. Transnational companies are min figure of globalization and international trade. TNCs are seen as messengers of modernity for underdeveloped countries. TNCs give underdeveloped and developing countries unobserved amounts of capital, technology, management expertise, marketing networks, jobs and tax revenue. Globalization constitutes an opportunity to climb to the top and TNCs help this process. Competition for foreign direct investment (FDI) will lead countries in the North and in the South to try to provide well-educated labour and high-quality infrastructure. Increasing competition will lead to a greater global efficiency and modernization of the developing country. Liberal theories of economic development argue that the existing international market structure provides the best framework for Southern economic development. The major problems of development are caused by the domestic economic policies of the developing countries. It emerge with creation of market imperfections; reduc ing of the productivity of land, labour, and capital; and intensify social and political rigidities. According to liberals the best way to overcome these weaknesses is related with adoption of market-oriented domestic reforms. Convenient internal policies and the international system will increase levels of trade, foreign investment, and foreign aid and this structure can provide a basis for rapid growth and economic development. According to liberals trade is an engine of growth. Specialization that is adaptable with national comparative advantages increases income levels in all countries engaging in free trade. Specialization also encourages higher levels of capital formation through the domestic financial system and increased inflows of FDI. Chart 2Chart 3 From the liberal viewpoint, the correct international Southern strategy for economic development is to encourage those domestic changes necessary to promote foreign trade, inflows of foreign investment, and the international competitiveness of domestic firms. This strategy means that quit from policies that prevent trade and investment flows like high tariffs and restrictions on FDI inflows. Washington Consensus Washington Consensus was introduced in a period when the Keynesian dominance in economic theory and policy had collapsed after the mid-1970s crisis and it indicates that domestic arrangements through the lens of market-oriented structure constitute economic development for developing countries. There is a geographical dimension in the term Washington Consensus. Its policy prescriptions were primarily issued for the Latin American economies in the 1990s, although they subsequently spread to the rest of the developing and less developed countries. John Williamson attracted attention that market oriented structure should have been constituted for developing countries through the lens of Latin American countries. These policy prescriptions can be summarized in ten titles: 1) The imposition of fiscal discipline. 2) The redirection of public expenditure priorities towards other fields. 3) The introduction of tax reforms that would lower marginal rates and broaden the tax base. 4) The liberalization of the interest rate. 5) A competitive exchange rate. 6) The liberalization of trade 7) The liberalization of foreign direct investment inflows. 8) The privatization of state-owned economic enterprises. 9) The deregulation of economic activities. 10) The creation of a secure environment for property rights. The theoretical foundations of these principles can be easily explained as withdrawal of the state from the economy and restructuring of the unobstructed operation of the market economy. On the contrary of Keynesian deficit and expansionary budget system fiscal discipline should be constituted on public activities for providing balanced budget to prevent crisis. Limited public expenditures should support private entrepreneurs instead of concentrating on public works and redistributive policies. Tax system should be arranged to pave the way for business profits that are locomotive of the economy. In addition financial system should be formed as liberal perspective to construct market oriented economic system. Additionally state should give up economic operation so privatizations of all activities and enterprises of state-owned should be provided with state guarantee that there will not be any violations of property rights on the contrary of protectionist and nationalist structure. Pro tectionist measures should be abolished and free trade must be established with a secure position of movement of capital investment. Namely all of these regulation aim to provide economic growth for developing nations through the example of Latin American countries. Washington Consensus principles have emerged on the contrary of protectionist economic system and it also gave up Keynesian liberal views to establish market basis economy. Consensus principles create a growth opportunity for developing countries with free market advantages like win-win position. FDIs on the hands of TNCs directly reach the host countries with open market rules and this opportunity expose a greater development chance for countries itself.

Sex in Othello and Hamlet Essay -- Sex Gender Feminine Essays

Sex debases men. They begin to struggle when they feel they are losing control of their emotions in any way. For a woman to easily change the way a man feels or the way he acts just by being female and attractive is enough to drive men insane. William Shakespeare's plays, Othello and Hamlet, demonstrate on paper, on film, and in other art forms that female sexuality and beauty are a threat to patriarchal society and that they must be controlled. Showalter affirms this in her essay by quoting David Laverenze's essay, "The Woman in Hamlet." In this essay he asserts that, " Hamlet's disgust at the feminine passivity in himself translated into violent revulsion against women and into his brutal behavior toward Ophelia" (Showalter 222). As men begin to see feminine aspects within themselves they will go to great lengths to not only deny, but also control these undesirable changes. Shakespeare's two plays are a direct commentary of the male insecurity that exists within relationships. Shakespeare's message concerning the male preoccupation with masculinity and their resulting fear of feminine sexuality has been portrayed in film, photography, and drawings. The way the women are represented in each genre clearly demonstrates the power of female sexuality. Though separate in style, each artwork clearly shows how the men of the play see the women as sexual powerhouses. The other genres help to reinforce my analysis of the text. In film we can watch hamlet's facial expressions as he reacts to Ophelia's obvious pull over his emotions. Every picture is taken for a reason in photography. Through each frame we are able to analyze the split second of action the photographer intended to capture. Here we are able to see an emotion or movement w... ...he become and the deeper into his insecurity he falls. Shakespeare's plays, the movies of his plays, and representations of his women through art all work together to create this great social commentary on men in relationships. The plays are obviously extreme since every man who is in love does not kill his lover. The point of the extremity however, is to reveal the gap that may otherwise go unnoticed. Desdemona and Ophelia are far from role models for women. They die and we do not want that. Once again, however their cases are extreme. We learn from them that acting blind to your lover's issues is not what we should strive to achieve. Rather, we should work together to make our sexuality a less foreign object to men. The more comfortable they are with it, the less intimidating it will seem and the more enjoyable it will be for both participants in the relationship.

How Can 1984 Be Read and Interpreted Differently?

How can a text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers? 1984  by George Orwell (1949) is a political novel written with the purpose of warning readers of the dangers of totalitarian government. The book can be read and interpreted very differently by two different readers, especially when they were born in a different time. In this essay the viewpoint of two Western readers, one from 1950 and the other from 2012 will be compared to look at the possible difference they could experience in interpreting the story.First of all, the fear of being watched and controlled is more recognizable for a reader in 1950. During World War II, the media was controlled by the Nazi’s. Radio’s for example, only transmitted positive news for Germany. In order to ensure nobody secretly listened to something else, houses were checked regularly. That was not only to see if people listened to an illegal radio-channel but also to see if they were hiding Jews. When they wer e founded guilty, they were send to a concentration camp immediately. In the book this is compared with Thought Crime and the Ministry of Love.P 21: theyll shoot me in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother they always should you in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother This is a quote from Winstons’ diary. Even writing something in his own private diary, in his own house is a crime since he didn’t obey Big Brother, the Party’s leader. The fact that he scribbled it down so quickly and full of mistakes shows the fear being caught and watched. Second of all, the concern of totalitarian governments was more relevant immediately after World War II.The reader in 1950 could easily recognize the similarities between the totalitarian government of Hitler and the totalitarian government described in 1984. Before World War II Germany was in an economic downturn. Hitler was a magnificent speaker who offered a reason for this occurring; he b lamed the Jews. No one wants to hear that the problem with their country are their own so the German accepted this as an answer. In Oceana the same happened: P 13: â€Å"The hate had started. As usual, the face of Emmanuel Goldstein, the enemy of the people, had flashed onto the screen. The leaders of The Party use the same way to gain power as Hitler did, so readers from 1950 are likely to . For readers in 1950 this is all fresh and easily recognizable and therefore more relevant than for readers from 2012. Lastly, the fear of being spied on and eavesdropped by telescreens and secret microphones was more realistic to a reader from 1950. That is because around 1950 more and more people started to own a television and therefore it became a real possibility that everybody’s house would have a telescreen one day. Nowadays this fear has become a reality, only in a different way.The government is able to control and check a lot of things through cameras and social media and there is little privacy. But to a reader from 2012 this is not strange or frightening, it is absolutely normal. For this reason you could say the actual fear is not realistic because a reader from 2012 doesn’t have to fear it anymore. To conclude, the fear a reader could experience while reading the book in 1950 is more realistic, more relevant and easier recognizable than the fear possibly experienced by a reader in 2012. Therefore, 1984 can be read and interpreted differently by two different readers who were born in a different time.

Chromosomal Disorder

1. Turner syndrome: (X instead of XX or XY). In Turner syndrome, female sexual characteristics are present but underdeveloped. People with Turner syndrome often have a short stature, low hairline, abnormal eye features and bone development and a â€Å"caved-in† appearance to the chest. Description: Turner syndrome (TS) occurs when one of the two X chromosomes in females is either missing or incomplete. The most common symptoms are short stature and gonadal dysgenesis, which can cause incomplete sexual development and ovarian failure and infertility. As of right now, there is no known cause of TS. 2. Klinefelter's syndrome (XXY): Description Men with Klinefelter syndrome are usually sterile, and tend to have longer arms and legs and to be taller than their peers. Boys with the syndrome are often shy and quiet, and have a higher incidence of speech delay and dyslexia. During puberty, without testosterone treatment, some of them may develop gynecomastia. 3. Patau Syndrome: also called D-Syndrome or trisomy-13. Symptoms are somewhat similar to those of trisomy-18, but they do not have the characteristic hand shape Description: Trisomy 13, also called Patau syndrome, is a disorder in which an individual has three copies of genetic material from chromosome 13, rather than two. It can occur in three forms: Trisomy 13, which has a third chromosome 13 in all cells; Trisomy 13 mosaicism, which has a third chromosome 13 in some cells; and partial Trisomy, which has the presence of part of an extra chromosome 13 in the cells. 4. Down syndrome: Description usually is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21 (trisomy 21). Characteristics include decreased muscle tone, stockier build, asymmetrical skull, slanting eyes and mild to moderate mental retardation. 5. Edwards syndrome: Description which is the second-most-common trisomy; Down syndrome is the most common. It is a trisomy of chromosome 18. Symptoms include mental and motor retardation and numerous congenital anomalies causing serious health problems. Ninety percent die in infancy; however, those that live past their first birthday usually are quite healthy thereafter. Some symptoms include clenched hands, feet with a rounded bottom, mental deficiency, underdeveloped fingernails, and an unusual shaped chest. 6. Cat eye syndrome: Description: For individuals with cat eye syndrome, the short arm (known as 22p) and a small region of the long arm (22q) of chromosome 22 are present three or four times, rather than twice. Characteristic features of the disorder include mild growth delays before birth, mild mental deficiency, and malformations of the skill and facial region, the heart, the kidneys, and/or the anal region. 7. Williams Syndrome: Description: Williams syndrome is caused by a deletion of genetic material from portions of the long arm of chromosome 7, a region that consists of more than 25 genes. Researchers have identified a few of the specific genes related to Williams syndrome, but the relationship between most of the genes in the deleted region and the symptoms of Williams syndrome is still unknown. The most common symptoms of Williams syndrome are mental retardation, heart defects, and unusual facial features ,small upturned nose, wide mouth, full lips, small chin, widely spaced teeth . Angelman syndrome: Description: Angelman syndrome (AS) is an example of genomic imprinting, where the deletion or inactivation of genes on the maternally inherited chromosome 15 causes the paternal copy, which may be of normal sequence, to be imprinted and silenced. AS is characterized by intellectual and developmental delays, sleep disturbances, seizures, and jerky movements, but also frequent laughte r or smiling and usually have a happy demeanor

Free Essays on French Religion

Religion has played a major role in France’s storied history. The major religions of France are Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, and Islam. During the 1500’s France went through a series of religious civil wars started from the Protestant reformation. The French Protestants were known as Huguenots, The Huguenots and the Catholics fought and by 1520 20% of the French population was Protestant. Many struggles between the Catholics and the Protestants continued, by 1560 the Queen of England allowed the Protestants to meet outside of the city for religious meetings, however both the Catholics and the Protestants viewed this as a sin. In 1562 the religious wars rise up again. The Catholics were hanged in Normandy and the Huguenots or Protestants were hanged in Paris. By 1594 the religious wars of France were over. Catholicism has been the mainstream religion of France for years however during the first French revolution many people were angered at the Catholic Church. The church had taken on the form of a government and was corrupt; the Catholic Church had members in all branches of the French Parliament and was the largest land owner in France. During the war and afterward for a while the Catholic Church was driven underground and stripped of most of its property. The Catholic Church never regained the power over the government that it once held. Today the French population identifies itself as 60% Catholic, 3% Protestant, 10% Islamic, and the rest is made up of Jews, Buddhists, and others. Today’s France is very tolerant of other religions much like the United States gives us the freedom to practice any religion.... Free Essays on French Religion Free Essays on French Religion Religion has played a major role in France’s storied history. The major religions of France are Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, and Islam. During the 1500’s France went through a series of religious civil wars started from the Protestant reformation. The French Protestants were known as Huguenots, The Huguenots and the Catholics fought and by 1520 20% of the French population was Protestant. Many struggles between the Catholics and the Protestants continued, by 1560 the Queen of England allowed the Protestants to meet outside of the city for religious meetings, however both the Catholics and the Protestants viewed this as a sin. In 1562 the religious wars rise up again. The Catholics were hanged in Normandy and the Huguenots or Protestants were hanged in Paris. By 1594 the religious wars of France were over. Catholicism has been the mainstream religion of France for years however during the first French revolution many people were angered at the Catholic Church. The church had taken on the form of a government and was corrupt; the Catholic Church had members in all branches of the French Parliament and was the largest land owner in France. During the war and afterward for a while the Catholic Church was driven underground and stripped of most of its property. The Catholic Church never regained the power over the government that it once held. Today the French population identifies itself as 60% Catholic, 3% Protestant, 10% Islamic, and the rest is made up of Jews, Buddhists, and others. Today’s France is very tolerant of other religions much like the United States gives us the freedom to practice any religion....

90+ Metaphor Examples in Literature That You Need to Know

90+ Metaphor Examples in Literature That You Need to Know The Essential List of 90+ Metaphor Examples in Literature and Pop Culture What figure of speech is so meta that it forms the very basis of riddles? The answer: a metaphor.As Milan Kundera wrote in The Unbearable Lightness of Being: â€Å"Metaphors are dangerous. Metaphors are not to be trifled with.† Yet, paradoxically, they are an inescapable part of our daily lives - which is why it’s all the more important to understand exactly how they function.To help, this article has a list of 97 metaphor examples to show you what they look like in the wild. But if you have a moment to spare, let's learn a bit more about what a metaphor is. NINETY-SEVEN metaphor examples! Get your fix in this post! What is a metaphor?A metaphor is a literary device that imaginatively draws a comparison between two unlike things. It does this by stating that Thing A is Thing B. Through this method of equation, metaphors can help explain concepts and ideas by colorfully linking the unknown to the known; the abstract to the concrete; the incomprehensible to the comprehensible. It can also be a rhetorical device that specifically appeals to our sensibilities as readers.To give you a starting point, here are some examples of common metaphors:â€Å"Bill is an early bird.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Life is a highway.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Her eyes were diamonds.†Note that metaphors are always non-literal. As much as you might like to greet your significant other with a warhammer in hand (â€Å"love is a battlefield†) or bring 50 tanks of gasoline every time you go on a date (â€Å"love is a journey†), that’s not likely to happen in reality. Another spoiler alert: no, Katy Perry doesn't literally think that you're a firework. Rather, these are all instances of metaphors in action. Calvin Hobbes. Image: Bill WattersonDid we miss any of your favorite metaphors? Have more metaphor examples for us? Leave them in the (non-metaphorical) box below and we'll add them right in.

A Study On Factors Affecting Demand Tourism Essay

A Study On Factors Affecting Demand Tourism Essay Noteworthy factors affecting demand categories are the economy with matters ranging from the exchange rate to job losses.Politics,the growth in size of the EU,environment and taxation.Crisis and threats including earth quakes,epidemics and terrorism.Demographic change with a shifting age structure,effects of migration and the rise of educational levels.Technology and it effects on transportation,communication and information.There is the change in consumer attitudes and for the industry itself,product standardization,the growth of information channels,and pricing strategies. The realisation of effecting a holiday is dependent in large part on the individual’s economic position and freedom to make the journey.External factors proving influential to this need would be freedom,fitness,time and money.The behaviour trend comprises of a host of factors including an internal state of mind relating to the motive and inherent abilities.Emerging factors may be useful to examine as they will become somewhat predictable and constant to their evolution.Power for market concerns lies with the consumer.The prospective tourist. The enlargement of the EU is especially important.Its size has grown some 25%,its population by some 20% and the GDP by 5%.The general process of political maturation spanning over twenty years has influenced changing tourism demand.Media coverage influences a seed bed of latent interest in the recently inaugurated members of the community.Most prospective travellers are now able to see the world as their oyster.The holiday destinations therefore have become intensely competitive.Yet barriers to immediate progress remain especially for the countries of Eastern Europe.Here low investment rates,undeveloped infrastructure for the countryside,a poor transport system with third rate hotels and cuisine capped by weak tourism marketing. Image is a vital ingredient to the tourist destination.Their is prevailing ignorance of the ‘newly acquiredâ₠¬â„¢ countries.Destinations are chosen usually by motive matching.Here the enlargement of the EU has remarkably little affect on the consumer.So it is that only a transformation in marketing strategy management is going to improve matters.There will be significant change for the EU in source markets and the upswing of a rising welfare.The impulses undoubtedly come from the South and East with the traditional source markets such as Germany being saturated. Demographic considerations have made their appearance and are now featuring as a focus to online debates and deliberations.Society consists of an older population with increasing life expectancy;and there is a decline in the number of children because of an increased proportion of the population divorcing and living separately.Traditional family patterns are dissolving.Also becoming influential is a rise in educational levels,the changing role of women in society and a more vibrant society due to admixture from migratory patterns.Y et tourists,people,are not going to alter their travel behaviour as they turn 60 or because of retirement.Patterns are adhered to originating from earlier years.Because of this it is possible to cater for future requirements in tourism for such a population.The generation of ‘baby boomers’is likely to be pro-active in their endeavour to engorge themselves on their prospective travel horizons.There will be senior trips accommodating to individual tailoring.Take Germany as an example.The age group of 70-80 will rise more than 50% by 2018.Alterations of family numbers will become slow in maturation but this allows the industry to maintain orientation and supply a strong focus for needs and expectations of destination.Older people are becoming increasingly involved with their younger forebears and this will require adjustment.Factors to consider here are higher spending,longer stays,and other destination choices.The kids trip being a standard incurs its own behaviour patter n.More flight trips and usage of more tour operators.Playmates will be needed so this is another feature that the destination will have to meet.It is clear therefore that the changing nature of demography has impacts that will reflect in tourism demand.

Corporate Ethics and Responsibilities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Corporate Ethics and Responsibilities - Essay Example The result is efficient employment of resources, and the mutual satisfaction of all parties – essentially the natural behaviour of free market forces. Viewed from the utilitarian theory, what should prevail is the greatest good for the greater number. In this case, were capital to be exported from a capital-rich to a capital-needy country, then everybody benefits. The destination country and the corporation benefitted will be able to employ the capital in increased production which will increase employment and provision of goods and services. The investing company will earn income on what would otherwise have been idle funds, and the source country will earn through an increase in duties from exports, or taxes from income abroad. Viewed this way, it is a win-win proposition. Finally, from the libertarian point of view, the choice to export and receive capital to and from other countries is a matter of choice, and the parties involved should be free to choose how to come to terms about the exchange in capital. On the other hand, probably the only drawback to the unconstrained exercise of this freedom is the possible exploitation (e.g., through cheap labour, and so forth) of the destination country and its citizens. As long as proper safeguards are installed, however, this should be susceptible to effective regulation. The capital dealt with here is legitimate capital. Where the â€Å"capital† is in the nature of contraband, or are monies that are subject of control under the anti-money laundering laws, then the above discussion does not apply, and such â€Å"capital† should be sequestered. 2. The freedom to export commodities which have been banned from sale in the United States. – This freedom should be exercised under reasonable constraint, depending on the reason for which the ban was imposed.

Family on Film Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Family on Film - Movie Review Example Atticus is a lawyer who does not bend his ideals and principles. Though everyone was discouraging him to defend a black man—because he is already guilty by the mere color of his skin, he was determined to prove the innocence of Tom. Although it was a very unpopular decision, a white man defending a black man accused of raping a white woman, Atticus stuck by his principles; undeterred by the social pressures caused by his unpopular decision. Although he successfully defended Tom and proved his innocence yet lost the case, his social defiance sent a very powerful message to his children. Unlike Atticus, Antonio of â€Å"The Bicycle Thief† was someone who wanted to stay true to his principles but failed to do so due to social pressures. Like Atticus and all decent fathers, Antonio also wanted to provide for his family to the best of his capacity. That is why the bicycle is symbolic in so many ways—income, dreams, hope, escape, and security among others. But because Antonio was hard-pressed in all possible ways, he no longer could stand-by his morals. In the end, he opted to steal a bike, and ended up embarrassing himself not just in front of the whole community, but in front of his son.

Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Argument - Essay Example In return, there has been high agricultural production. Opponents of organic food argue that organic farming methods wastes land since they use less land. Further, they argue that there is no prove that organically produced foods are more nutritious than genetically produced foods. Therefore, there is the need to change some assumptions about genetically engineered crops (Dena and Stave 348). Majority of people who use organic food argue that they do so because they aim to avoid health hazards associated with it. Further, they argue that it is good to practice natural methods of food production since it is perceived that food produced using natural methods is healthy and contain less chemicals such as pesticides. For instance, drawing from an experiment conducted on children in US, the urine of those children who consumed foods grown conventionally had more pesticides residues than the urine sample of those children who consumed food grown naturally. Production of food organically does not destroy soil quality but instead keeps the quality of the soil because it does not involve the use of synthetic fertilizers that makes the soil lose its nitrogen and other important nutrients (Dena and Stave 349-352). In addition, organic food encourages biodiversity in the sense that it does not foster the use of intensive herbicides and pesticides that endanger crop species but instead they use no herbicides and apply less pesticide thus increasing the soil organic matter. Conventional farming use synthetic fertilizers made from nitrogen, which in turn finds its way into lakes, rivers, and other ecosystems thus affecting water surroundings. Contrary, organic farming does not pollute the ecosystem because farmers use fewer fertilizers and in some cases, they do not use any fertilizers. It is significant to note that organic method of farming

E books and its ease and convience in our society Research Paper

E books and its ease and convience in our society - Research Paper Example Ebook readers are conventionally how ebooks are read. They are digital mechanisms with micro processing technology, and operating system, and a screen that function much like computers. For example, book retailers like Amazon have their own book reader known as the Kindle and Barnes and Noble who is another book retailer, have until recently marketed a reader known as the Nook (Smith and Smith 299). The fact that book sellers themselves see the value of marketing a reader for digital books, suggest very obviously that (a) they understand the transformation away from conventional books and that (b), they understand the potential profit of marketing digitized books. There are a number of different types of ebook readers, and they vary with regard to cost but also technological efficiencies. For instance, the two readers mentioned, namely, the Nook and the Kindle are very limited as tools beyond just reading. That is, while they can handle and efficiently display a good range of file fo rmats for reading books, they are limited when compared to the basic functions of a computer. A strong new presence in the market for ebook readers are computer tablets. For instance, the Ipad which was introduced April 2010 had already reached sales of over 3 million units within two months of its release (Ashley 1).

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness Essay - 4

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness - Essay Example The company is present in UK, USA, Honk Kong, China, France, Germany, Netherlands, India, and Singapore along with the warehouses universally present. 1. Impact of Globalization and technology A flawless and integrated movement of services, goods and people round the globe is known as globalization which has made this whole world like a global village. This globalization can be a resultant of opening global economy and increased association and link between trades of different nations. Globalization also relates to the liberalization of the import protocols of countries and welcoming the foreign investments in the foundation sectors of a country’s economy (Wrigley 2000). Globalization acts like magnets to attract the global capital through opening economies of countries to multinational firms. There are several indicators of globalization namely internationalization, liberalization, universalization and westernization. All of these indicators are explained ahead. In the develo ping and the developed countries, globalization has and is still playing a very important role in bringing the world together and opening new horizons for prosperity in different aspects. 2. Two Models for superior profitability (Industrial Organization model and resource based model) For a large company like Aceto Corporation, the industrial organization model suggests that external environment dominant have an impact upon strategic actions of the firm. According to this model it is shown that the industry in which the organization has chosen to compete has a greater impact on the performance than the decisions that the managers take inside the company. There are several industrial properties that determine the performance of the company like barriers to entry, economies of scale, product differentiation, degree of concentration of the firms in the industry and diversification etc. (Veliyath & Fitzgerald 2000). According to the resource based model, the resources of the firm includ e the capabilities, assets the organizational processes the attributes, the knowledge the information that it possesses. All these resources serve as input for the firms. The resources must have four attributes according to the VRIN framework that includes Valuable, Rare, Inimitable and Non substitutable. The resources of Aceto are capable of bringing value to the firm and also serve as a source of competitive advantage. The resources are also unique and cannot be copied. This helps the company to win a sustainable competitive advantage. VRIN Framework By applying this framework it can be determined that whether the source of the resources that Aceto has are helping it to gain a sustainable competitive advantage or not. To serve this purpose the resources must be valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable. According the analysis done it is found out that the items that Aceto sells are sold in a unique way and helps them win a competitive advantage. 3. Impact of Vision and Miss ion statements Mission and vision statements are two very important things that any company or organization focuses upon. These statements assist the companies to build growth, loyalty,

Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Argument - Essay Example In return, there has been high agricultural production. Opponents of organic food argue that organic farming methods wastes land since they use less land. Further, they argue that there is no prove that organically produced foods are more nutritious than genetically produced foods. Therefore, there is the need to change some assumptions about genetically engineered crops (Dena and Stave 348). Majority of people who use organic food argue that they do so because they aim to avoid health hazards associated with it. Further, they argue that it is good to practice natural methods of food production since it is perceived that food produced using natural methods is healthy and contain less chemicals such as pesticides. For instance, drawing from an experiment conducted on children in US, the urine of those children who consumed foods grown conventionally had more pesticides residues than the urine sample of those children who consumed food grown naturally. Production of food organically does not destroy soil quality but instead keeps the quality of the soil because it does not involve the use of synthetic fertilizers that makes the soil lose its nitrogen and other important nutrients (Dena and Stave 349-352). In addition, organic food encourages biodiversity in the sense that it does not foster the use of intensive herbicides and pesticides that endanger crop species but instead they use no herbicides and apply less pesticide thus increasing the soil organic matter. Conventional farming use synthetic fertilizers made from nitrogen, which in turn finds its way into lakes, rivers, and other ecosystems thus affecting water surroundings. Contrary, organic farming does not pollute the ecosystem because farmers use fewer fertilizers and in some cases, they do not use any fertilizers. It is significant to note that organic method of farming

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness Essay - 4

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness - Essay Example The company is present in UK, USA, Honk Kong, China, France, Germany, Netherlands, India, and Singapore along with the warehouses universally present. 1. Impact of Globalization and technology A flawless and integrated movement of services, goods and people round the globe is known as globalization which has made this whole world like a global village. This globalization can be a resultant of opening global economy and increased association and link between trades of different nations. Globalization also relates to the liberalization of the import protocols of countries and welcoming the foreign investments in the foundation sectors of a country’s economy (Wrigley 2000). Globalization acts like magnets to attract the global capital through opening economies of countries to multinational firms. There are several indicators of globalization namely internationalization, liberalization, universalization and westernization. All of these indicators are explained ahead. In the develo ping and the developed countries, globalization has and is still playing a very important role in bringing the world together and opening new horizons for prosperity in different aspects. 2. Two Models for superior profitability (Industrial Organization model and resource based model) For a large company like Aceto Corporation, the industrial organization model suggests that external environment dominant have an impact upon strategic actions of the firm. According to this model it is shown that the industry in which the organization has chosen to compete has a greater impact on the performance than the decisions that the managers take inside the company. There are several industrial properties that determine the performance of the company like barriers to entry, economies of scale, product differentiation, degree of concentration of the firms in the industry and diversification etc. (Veliyath & Fitzgerald 2000). According to the resource based model, the resources of the firm includ e the capabilities, assets the organizational processes the attributes, the knowledge the information that it possesses. All these resources serve as input for the firms. The resources must have four attributes according to the VRIN framework that includes Valuable, Rare, Inimitable and Non substitutable. The resources of Aceto are capable of bringing value to the firm and also serve as a source of competitive advantage. The resources are also unique and cannot be copied. This helps the company to win a sustainable competitive advantage. VRIN Framework By applying this framework it can be determined that whether the source of the resources that Aceto has are helping it to gain a sustainable competitive advantage or not. To serve this purpose the resources must be valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable. According the analysis done it is found out that the items that Aceto sells are sold in a unique way and helps them win a competitive advantage. 3. Impact of Vision and Miss ion statements Mission and vision statements are two very important things that any company or organization focuses upon. These statements assist the companies to build growth, loyalty,

Jack Welch Essay Example for Free

Jack Welch Essay Jack Welch joined General Electric (GE) in 1960 and became vice president (1972) and then vice chairman (1979). In 1981 he became chairman and CEO of GE; at 45, he was the youngest person ever to have held that position. Having taken GE with a market capitalization of about $12 billion, Jack Welch turned it into one of the largest and most admired companies in the world, with a market value of about $500 billion, when he stepped down as its CEO 20 years later, in 2000. (Reference for Columbia Encyclopedia) Welch took bold actions to improve GEs ability to compete globally before it ran into serious difficulty. Welch leads two different revolutions in his tenure as CEO. The first revolution had to do with hardware: what businesses GE should be in and what businesses it should divest. Welch quickly changed GEs approach to strategic planning. The matrix approach developed under Reginald Jones was replaced with Welchs Number One Number Two strategy. If a GE business wasnt first or second in its markets worldwide, or couldnt be made so, it would be sold. At the start of Welchs tenure GE administration was built around three hundred separate businesses, a recipe for inefficiency. Welch tore into the ossified corporate structure with a vengeance and by the mid-1980s had overseen nearly 120,000 layoffs and earned the nickname Neutron Jack. The name was derived from the neutron bomb, a weapon designed to minimize heat and blast effect but maximize dispersal of lethal neutron radiation—in effect, eliminating people but leaving buildings and equipment intact. (Reference for The New GE) By 1985, billions of dollars had been made or saved through sales and layoffs. Welch sought opportunities for growth by reinvesting those billions and considered possible takeover targets. Indeed, there were more than 200 acquisitions in his first five years as CEO, the largest being the $6.3 billion acquisition of RCA in 1985. RCAs assets included not only its electronics and defense businesses, but also the NBC television network. This resulted in its becoming the worlds largest manufacturing, technology, and service company, with 1999 revenues of over $110 billion. (Reference for Jack Welch The G.E.Way) The second revolution has to do with software: how to run GEs existing businesses better. Jack Welch firmly believed that top performers deserved to be handsomely rewarded. He established a performance-review program to identify the top 20 percent of employees, who were accorded bonuses, as well as the bottom 10 percent, the lemons, who were typically fired and replaced. (Reference for The New GE) Welch instituted the Six Sigma program at GE. Initially implemented at Motorola and Allied-Signal, the program was developed to maximize the efficiency of manufacturing processes through the minimization of production of defective units. When applied at General Electric it became the largest quality-control measure ever adopted in corporate America. The program required a huge investment in training and tracking but ultimately led to great gains in profit and productivity. (Reference for Jack Welch The G.E.Way) Welch is seeking productivity gains by involving GE’s workers as well as its managers. In September 1988, Welch said to Jim Baughman, the former Harvard Business School professor in charge of Crotonville, Jim, we have got to capture what happens here at Crotonville and push it across the whole company. We have to create an atmosphere where people can speak up to somebody who can do something about their problems. The result was the development of an ongoing series of what GE calls Work-Out sessions, a sort of town meeting for workers and managers to work out problems at the plant or facility level. The key idea is that for employees to become more productive, they must be empowered to make the changes themselves, not to refer problems endlessly upward in the bureaucracy. (Reference for The New GE) By the end of the 20th century GE had developed an electronic-business program; another of Welchs initiatives, the system electronically tied the company directly to suppliers and customers. The e-business was just one aspect of what Welch dubbed the boundaryless company, a company without administrative walls between separate business units and where knowledge applied to one area could be applied companywide. At the time of his retirement Welch had only begun to see his vision of a boundaryless company come to fruition. (Reference for Jack Welch The G.E.Way) Lessons learned * Education-The essential element of organizational success is having educated and well trained individuals that make up the organization. * Change is good.-See Change as an Opportunity. * Get good ideas from everywhere.-New ideas are the lifeblood of business. * Eliminate Boundaries-In order to make sure that people are free to reach for the impossible, you must remove anything that gets in their way. References: Robert Slater. 1993. The New GE: How Jack Welch Revived an American Institution. Mountain View, CA: Business One Irwin Robert Slater. 1998. Jack Welch The G.E.Way. New York: McGraw-Hill Reference for the Columbia Encyclopedia. 2008. Jack Welch. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Welch-JF.html (Retrieved as of October 12, 2011)

Literature Review On Determinants Of Economic Growth Economics Essay

Literature Review On Determinants Of Economic Growth Economics Essay There are numerous of empirical research on economic growth has been done in the past decades. The empirical study of determinant of economic growth by Barro (1991) has been an important reference to future study on the related fields. In this section, a brief review of factors that determine economic growth will be presented. The influences consider here included government spending, inflation, FDI and trade, financial development, and European integration. The size of the government expenditure and its affect on economic growth has been getting much attention in the past study. Ghali (1997) explored his research on the relationship between government expenditure and economic growth by looking at the interaction among the growth rate in per capita GDP and the share of government spending in GDP over the period of 1960-1996. He used vector autoregressive analysis and Granger-causality in his study and found that there is no consistent evidence that government spending can increase Saudi Arabias per capita output growth. This result was contrasted with the two study by Cheng and Tin (1997), Loizides and Vamvoukas (2005). Both study suggested that government expenditure Granger-cause economic growth. Cheng and Tin (1997) emphasize on the granger causality between government expenditure, money supply and economic growth in South Korea for the period of 1954-1994. They applying the same technique as Ghali (1997) and claimed that money supply affect growth as well but money supply doesnt Granger-cause government expenditure. However, the study by Loizides and Vamvoukas (2005) focused on the causal link between the size of the public sector and real per capita income within the bivariate and trivariate frameworks on their sample countries of United Kingdom, Ireland and Greece. They have draw out three conclusions, first, public expenditure Granger causes growth in the short run and long run in all of the sample countries. Second, both bivariate and trivariare framework shows that increase in output would cause growth in public expenditure in Greece. Third, their trivariate model has indicates that causality from national income to public spending in Greece and British. Therefore, the different result from these study lead to a conclusion that in certain circumstances, changes of government expenditure do not necessary cause changes in the economic growth when government spending deliver services in an inefficiency way. Inflation was another controversial debate issues. Malik and Chowdhury (2001) observed the relationship between inflation and GDP growth for four South Asian countries which is Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They employed the co-integration and error correction models to the annual data retrieved from the IMF International Financial Statistics. They established two results : (i) inflation and economic growth are positively and statistically significantly related for all four countries. (ii) the sensitivity of growth to changes in inflation rates is smaller than that of inflation to changes in growth rates. These results have crucial policy implication, that is, although moderate inflation foster economic growth feeds back into inflation by stimulating the economy. Another study by Faria and Carneiro (2001) claimed a divergent view from Malik and Chowdhurry (2001). They have measure the relationship between inflation and economic growth in the context of Brazil which has been undergone severe inflation until recently. This study has constructed a bivariate time series model (vector autoregression) with annual data for the period between 1980 and 1995, they argued that although there is a negative relationship between inflation and economic growth in the short run, but in the long run, economic growth does not affected by inflation. Thus, this result supported the theories of hyperinflation usually associated with economic depress and political and social upheavals and as a result, it is against the perspective that inflations affects economic growth in the long run. In addition to that, foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade were another influence that determined economic growth. Makki and Somwaru (2004) have analyze the role of FDI and trade in promoting economic performance across 66 developing countries, and the interaction among FDI, trade and economic growth by adopting unrelated regression (SUR) method and instrumental variable (3-stage least squares) approach over the period of 1971-2001. They brought to four interesting results. First, the variables of FDI and trade have a strong positive relationship. Second, FDI stimulates domestic investment. Third, macroeconomic policies and institutional stability is the precondition for FDI-driven growth. Fourth, economic growth would facilitated by a lowering inflation rate, tax burden, and government consumption. Similarly, the study of Yao (2006) investigate the effect of export and FDI on economic performance by using Pedrons panel unit root test, and Arellano and Bonds dynamic panel data estimating technique on the sample data of 28 Chinese provinces. This study has stressed on two essential strategies that adopted by Chinese government to explained why China can be success in the long period. One was the export-push strategy that replaced the self-reliance and import substitution strategy and the other was the adoption of foreign technology and international business practices through the uses of FDI. Their data also indicated that openness can boost economic growth if the unforeseen risk can be managed in the proper way. Financial development was the fourth factor. Liang (2006) inquired the impacts of financial development on the pattern of regional economic growth in China. The GMM approach has been employed in his research throughout the period of 1990 to 2001. He mentioned that financial development significant contributes to the economic growth in coastal region but not in the inland regions. Even though the structure and the size of financial sector in China are the same, financial function provided by the financial sector might vary across region. Meanwhile, Ang and McKibbin (2007) included financial liberalization in his observation. This research evaluated whether financial development leads to economic growth or vice versa in the economy of Malaysia. Their analysis was consistent with Liang (2006), which is financial development leads to economic growth. Variety of approaches being used in this study and the empirical evidence asserts that financial sector development in Malaysia can be stimulated through financial liberalization when the repressionist policies have been removed. Moreover, financial depth and economic development tends to have a positive relationship. They also view that economic growth would generate higher financial depth in the long run. Growth effects of European integration will be the last factors we discuss here. Henrekson et.al (1997), estimated the effects of European integration in EC and EFTA on economic growth. Their analysis has been conducted across a large sample of both developed and developing countries. They comprised a dummy for membership in EC or EFTA during 1976 -1985. They addressed that there is a significant and positive effects on economic growth but the effects became smaller and significant when the sample was restricted to 22 developed and OECD countries. The effects do not change for membership in EFTA as in the EC due to the technology transfer instead of investment. All the empirical study by these researchers provided a useful guidance for both domestic policy makers and the development partners. Nevertheless, more prospects might be explored on the determinant of economic growth, especially corruption. As in Malaysia, it is a significant variable that should be tested on.

Smoking: I Can Stop Whenever I Want :: essays research papers

Smoking: I Can Stop Whenever I Want Good afternoon, I can stop whenever I want. Does that sound familiar to you? if it does you are probably part of the 80% smokers who are teens. And studies show, that young smokers are likely to start doing drugs, selling drugs, and so forth. Young smokers start smoking at 12 or 13 just to get a taste of what it's like. Some of them find it disgusting and unhealthy and some find it cool usually because their peers introduced it to them. Tobacco use kills about 420,000 smokers each year. Recent studies also indicate that about 53,000 non smokers die each year from second hand smoking. You surprised heh? You shouldn't be, because all of those anti tobacco commercials on Television and on every single pack of cigarettes isn't there for nothing. It's there to prevent all of you teens to get hooked on cigarettes or even think about starting to smoke. Smoking is legal almost everywhere in the world, but it shouldn't be because Marijuana smoking isn't. Cigarettes are addictive and they usually lead the smoker to marijuana use or to other kind of drugs. That's why I think that young teenagers shouldn't start smoking at young age. All of you people out there who think that they can stop whenever they want, well I have news flash for you. 1 out of 10 smokers succeed in quitting smoking in United-States. Everyone thinks that they have an iron will and they keep on delaying the time to stop, I'll just stop as my new year resolution, I'll stop in a month, a week, a year. Smoking is really hard to quit, it's an addictive habit and you really need an iron will to stop it. There are also a few consequences I think I should mention from ciggarette smoking. First of all, as you all know, ciggarette smoking turns your teeth yellow so you can forget about those perfect teeth with the crest smile. The second consequence is, smoking costs around 4 $ a day for a normal smoker which comes up to 2500 $ per year, think what you could do with all that

Visual Codes and Conventions in the Painting: George Robinson Welcomes

Visual texts can be seen to be an attempt by their creators to represent particular ideologies to their viewers. It is the viewer's attitudes and values however, that determine the contemporary meaning of the image. The painting George Robinson welcomes Natives to Wybalenna, is a Colonial document portraying the Christianizing of indigenous people on Flinders Island. Visual codes and conventions employed in the image, such as positioning and framing depict the entwined values of white, patriarchal and Christian ideologies of the 19th Century. However, change in how society identifies itself, also changes the dominant ideology in its culture. Subsequently, the historical context of Post-Colonial attitudes and values in contemporary society, evoke a contemporary meaning in Robinson's painting, one of racial and religious prejudice. The convention of positioning is vital in constructing the Colonial ideology of Robinson?s image. It has the potential to provide the viewer with visual associations, which translate to language in the form of binary oppositions. For instance, the most c...

Homeless in America Essay

Families live, die and are born on the streets of vast cities of United States. Less attention are shown to those who are homeless, people focus more on bigger issues when this is a major problem that has occurred for years. Statistics shows that 1.6 million youth run away from home each year between the ages of 12 and 17. The predominant race for runaways is White non-Hispanic (57%), Black non-Hispanic (17%), Hispanic (15%), and Other (11%) follow (Blaha). Homeless children most likely leave their original homes because of the way of life and the hard pressure due to their living environment and family issues. Homelessness makes children sick, wounds young children, & homeless children often struggle in school. Homeless children are in fair or poor health twice as often as other children. They have higher rates of low birth weighted need special care right after birth for times as often as other children. Also have very high rates of acute illness, with half suffering from two or mo re symptoms during a single month. Despite state and federal efforts to provide homeless children with improved access to public school, at least one-fifth of homeless children don’t attend school. This is because they either have no transportation from the shelters to school or lack of school and medical records makes registration harder. Daily demands off finding food and shelter push children’s educational needs aside. Homelessness and poverty are linked. Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, child care, health care, and education. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources cover only some of these necessities. Often it is housing, which absorbs a high proportion of income, which must be dropped. Being poor mean being an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets. Homelessness and street life have extreme effects on children. Their unstable lifestyles, lack of medical care, and inadequate living conditions increase young people’s susceptibility to chronic illnesses such as respiratory or ear infections, gastrointestinal disorders, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV /AIDS. Children fending for themselves must find ways to eat; some scavenge or find exploitative physical work. Many homeless children are enticed by adults and older youth into selling drugs, stealing, and prostitution. Studies show that at least half of homeless youth has been a victim of physical or sexual abuse. This is hard to believe when first heard, but once one thinks about how much exposure they have to the world, criminals, and offenders the fact becomes more realistic and believable. Some studies have come up with two theories to examine the homeless youth which is the lifestyle-exposure theory and the routine activity theory. In these theories the youth’s proximity, exposure, guardianship, and target congruence are examined. They are more likely to get raped and end up with a sexually transmitted disease. Since they are always on the streets, this gives the predator’s easier access to their prey (the youth). Both the theories, lifestyle-exposure and routine activity theory, are associated together because they both pay no attention to criminal motivation, but focus on how what they do in the everyday lives are related to their exposure to many dangerous people and places. With the youth being so exposed many say this is high potential risk of being victimized. When the theories are combined they include the four concepts which is proximity to crime, exposure to crime, guardianship, and target attractiveness/congruence. The fault in these theories is that they both ignore the sources of criminal motivation. One a child is around a certain area enough, they most of the time adapt the characteristics of the environment and do as they see. If everyone around them is stealing then the child is more likely to steal, if everyone is having sex around them then they might get use to the fact of seeing sex and may not see it as bad. Drug use by children on the streets is common as they look for means to numb the pain and deal with the hardships associated with street life. Studies have found that up to 90 percent of street children use psychoactive substances, including medicines, alcohol, cigarettes, heroin, and etc. The mental, social and emotional growth of children is affected by their lifestyles. There are numerous reasons children chose to run away from home during the early twentieth century: death of parents, abusive home life, broken homes, and poverty. The majority of them go without shelter for varying lengths of time. Because homeless difference between runaway children and homeless children was that runaways chose to leave their home for the reasons above while homeless children were victims of social and economic factors that left and runaway children are too young to work and lack marketable skills, they are often recruited by criminals involved in the illegal drug trade, prostitution, and pornogr aphy. They are either active participants in these activities or serve as recruiters of other vulnerable children. Experts generally agree that homelessness among children is increasing in both rural and urban areas. The causes are social in nature. These children are often homeless along with their mothers and are victims of economic recessions, job loss, and high housing costs. Data on the extent of the problem is inadequate and can be found only in isolated case studies. Children become homeless because of the families. Families become homeless because there is an imbalance between the number of households that live in poverty and the amount of low-income housing availability. If there are more households that need assistance than the housing units can afford then some people become homeless. In some households, some families pay more than the 30 percent which is the required percentage that is required by the federal government for the family to pay based on which they can afford to pa y for housing. In some cases where the family cannot even pay the 30 percent this is when they become homeless. â€Å"In one study referenced by the National Network for Youth, 51% of runaway and throwaway youth responded physical abuse. The Department of Health and Human Services asserts that up to 40% have been sexually molested.†(Blaha) â€Å"Emotional and mental stress also is common. According to the National Network for Youth, 50-56% of homeless youngsters report mental health problems over their lifetime. Staffs at runaway and homeless youth shelters paint an even bleaker picture. According to their data, 63% of the runaways they work with are depressed; 50% have trouble with school; 20% abuse drugs and alcohol; and 17% have been in the juvenile justice system. One survey found that 26% of those in shelters and 32% of those on the street have attempted suicide. A separate survey relates that nearly one-third of shelter youth have attempted suicide at some point in their lives.†(Blaha) Some youth use school as a safe place. It is times where they can get off the streets and actually feel like a regular child. They can get a free meal, they can interact with children their age and not predators. Some are so in to going to school because they see it as their way off the streets. They go to school and take it serious so they can move on to college and get a job so their own children will not end up in the same situation. â€Å"School is a place of safety, structure, and opportunity. Yet homeless children and youth face unique barriers to education. These barriers include being unable to meet enrollment requirements; lack of school supplies and clothing; and poor health, fatigue, and hunger. When these barriers are not addressed, homeless children and youth often are unable to attend school, which prevents them from obtaining the education that is both their legal right and their best hope of escaping poverty as adults.† (Facts about Homeless †¦ ) There are some places that the youth could go for safety, the National Safe Place. The National Safe Place is a program that provides safety and others services for youth in need. The NSP informs and educate youth about other things that they could do rather than be homeless. â€Å"National Safe Place is an outreach and prevention program that is uniquely designed to provide immediate safety and access to services for any youth in need. In partnership with over 360 youth serving agencies and over 10,000 businesses and community organizations across the United States, the Safe Place program educates youth about alternatives to running away and homelessness and provides easily accessible links to service providers. Ongoing data collection indicates that National Safe Place has been successful in reaching endangered youth at risk of abuse, neglect or serious family problems but that expanded program models remain needed. â€Å"(Walsh) In essence, children become homeless because of many reasons such as death of parents, abusive home life, and poverty. Homelessness has a major affect on children in America. This unstable lifestyle makes it difficult to afford things that a child need such as housing, food, and an education. There are many ways that one can help the homeless youth, a person must go out of their comfort zone and just try to help. â€Å"Homeless people need shelter, food and most importantly they need love. One easy way to help a homeless person is paying for a hotel room for the person. It will not benefit them for long but at least the will have a shelter for some days. Many people will not give homeless people money because they are afraid it will be spent wrongly on alcohol, drugs, etc. Not giving a homeless person any money because of that reason is wrong yet if you know without a doubt that the homeless person in question will spend it that way it may be wise to spend it for him on something he really needs, like a roof over his head. Simply give the homeless person the money. Instead of trying to be in control of what and how the homeless person spends the money give them the money and trust that that the person will spend it right. â€Å"(Tucker)

Elements of Energy Efficient House

ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY Elements of an Energy-Efficient House You have much to consider when designing and building a new energy-efficient house, and it can be a challenge. However, recent technological improvements in building elements and construction techniques also allow most modern energysaving ideas to be seamlessly integrated into house designs while improving comfort, health, or aesthetics. And even though some energy-efficient features are expensive, there are others that many home buyers can afford. While design costs, options, and styles vary, most energy-efficient homes have some basic elements in common: a wellconstructed and tightly sealed thermal envelope; controlled ventilation; properly DOE/GO-10200-1070 FS-207 July 2000 This house in Illinois has many energy-efficient features, including advanced framing techniques, insulated sheathing, and an advanced ductwork system. It was built by Town and Country Homes as part of DOE's Building America Program. DEP A NT OF ME EN RT ST A AT E S OF M ER This document was produced for the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a DOE national laboratory. The document was produced by the Information Services Program, under the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC) is operated by NCI Information Systems, Inc. , for NREL / DOE. The statements contained herein are based on information known to EREC and NREL at the time of printing. No recommendation or endorsement of any product or service is implied if mentioned by EREC. Printed with a renewable-source ink on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 20% postconsumer waste ICA Photo by Sara Farrar, NREL/PIX07134 CLEARINGHOUSE GY ER sized, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems; and energy-efficient doors, windows, and appliances. Thermal Envelope A thermal envelope is everything about the house that serves to shield the living space from the outdoors. It includes the wall and roof assemblies, insulation, air/vapor retarders, windows, and weatherstripping and caulking. Wall and Roof Assemblies Most builders use traditional wood frame construction. Wood framing is a â€Å"tried and true† construction technique that uses a potentially renewable resource—wood— U N IT ED to provide a structurally sound, long-lasting house. With proper construction and attention to details, the conventional wood-framed home can be very energyefficient. It is now even possible to purchase a sustainably harvested wood. Foundation walls and slabs should be as well insulated as the living space walls. Some of the available and popular energyefficient construction methods include the following: Optimum Value Engineering (OVE). This method uses wood only where it is most effective, thus reducing costly wood use and saving space for insulation. The amount of lumber has been determined to be structurally sound through both laboratory and field tests. However, the builder must be familiar with this type of construction to ensure a structurally sound house. Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs). These sheets are generally made of plywood or oriented-strand board (OSB) that is laminated to foam board. The foam may be 4 to 8 inches thick. Because the SIP acts as both the framing and the insulation, construction is much faster than OVE or stick framing. The quality of construction is often superior because there are fewer places for workers to make mistakes. Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF). Houses constructed in this manner consist of two layers of extruded foam board (one inside the house and one outside the house) that act as the form for a steel-reinforced concrete center. It’s the fastest technique and least likely to have construction mistakes. Such buildings are also very strong and easily exceed code requirements for areas prone to tornadoes or hurricanes. Insulation An energy-efficient house has much higher insulation R-values than required by most local building codes. An R-value is the ability of a material to resist heat transfer, and the lower the value, the faster the heat loss. For example, a typical house in New York might have insulation of R-11 in the exterior walls and R-19 in the ceiling, while the floors and foundation walls may not be insulated. A similar, but welldesigned and constructed house will have insulation levels that range from R-20 to R-30 in the walls and from R-50 to R-70 in the ceilings. Carefully applied fiberglass batt or rolls, wet-spray cellulose, or foam insulation will fill wall cavities completely. Foundation walls and slabs should be as well insulated as the living space walls. Poorly insulated foundations have a negative impact on home energy use and comfort, especially if the family uses the lower parts of the house as a living space. Also, appliances—such as domestic hot water heaters, washers, dryers, and freezers— that supply heat as a byproduct are often located in the basement. By carefully insulating the foundation walls and floor of the basement, these appliances can assist in heating the house. While most new houses have good insulation levels, it is often poorly installed. In general, gaps and compaction of insulation reduce its effectiveness. Photo by Craig Miller Productions, NREL/PIX02452 Air/Vapor Retarders Water vapor condensation is a major threat to the structure of a house, no matter what the climate. In cold climates, pressure differences can drive warm, moist indoor air into exterior walls and Workers install a structural insulated panel. 2 This house in Arizona features a passive solar design with overhangs above the south facing windows. The best windows are awning and casement styles because these styles often close tighter than sliding types. ttics. The air condenses as it cools. The same can be said for southern climates, just in reverse. As the humid outdoor air enters the walls and encounters cooler wall cavities, it condenses into liquid water. This is the main reason why some buildings in the South have problems with mold and rotten wood after they’re retrofitted with air conditioners. A vapor retarder is a material or structu ral element that can be used to inhibit the movement of water vapor, while an air retarder can inhibit airflow, into and out of a house’s envelope. How to design and install vapor retarders depends a great deal on the climate and on the chosen construction method. However, any water vapor that does manage to get into the walls or attics must be allowed to escape. Regardless of climate, water vapor migration should be minimized by using a carefully designed thermal envelope and sound construction practices. Systems that control air and water vapor movement in homes rely on the nearly airtight installation of sheet materials on the interior as the main barrier. The Airtight Drywall Approach (ADA) uses the drywall already being installed along with gaskets and caulking to create a 3 ontinuous air retarder. In addition, seams where foundation, sill plate, floor joist header, and subfloor meet are also carefully sealed with appropriate caulk or gasket material. Consult your local building codes official on the best vapor retarder method to use in your area. Windows The typical home loses more than 25 percent of its heat through windo ws. Even modern windows insulate less than a wall. Therefore, an energy-efficient house in a heating-dominated climate should, in general, have few windows on its northern, eastern, and western sides. Total window area should also not exceed 8 to 9 percent of the floor area for those rooms, unless the designer is experienced in passive solar techniques. If this is the case, then increasing window area on the southern side of the house to about 12 percent of the floor area is recommended. This is often called solar tempering. A properly designed roof overhang for south-facing windows will help prevent overheating in the summer. North, east, Photo by Sara Farrar, NREL/PIX08155 and west windows should have low Solar Heat Gain Coefficients (SHGC). South windows with properly sized overhangs should have a high SHGC to allow winter sun (and heat) to enter the house. The overhang blocks the high summer sun (and heat). If properly sized overhangs are not possible, a low SHGC glass should be selected for the south windows. At the very least, you should use windows (and doors) with an Energy Star ® label, which are twice as energy efficient as those produced 10 years ago, according to regional, climatic guidelines (note: houses with any kind of solar tempering have other guidelines). The best windows are awning and casement styles because these often close tighter than sliding types. In all climates, window glass facing south without overhangs can cause a problem on the cooling side that far exceeds the benefit from the winter solar gains. when compared to other houses of the same type and age. You can accomplish most air sealing by using two materials: caulking and weatherstripping. Caulking can be used to seal areas of potential air leakage into or out of a house. And weatherstripping can be used to seal gaps around windows and exterior doors. Controlled Ventilation Good air sealing alone may reduce utility costs by as much as 50 percent. Since an energy-efficient house is tightly sealed, it needs to be ventilated in a controlled manner. Controlled, mechanical ventilation prevents health risks from indoor air pollution, promotes a more comfortable atmosphere, and reduces air moisture infiltration, thus reducing the likelihood of structural damage. Furnaces, water heaters, clothes dryers, and bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans expel air from the house, making it easier to depressurize an airtight house if all else is ignored. But natural-draft appliances may be back-drafted by exhaust fans, which can lead to a lethal buildup of toxic Weatherstripping and Caulking You should seal air leaks everywhere in a home’s thermal envelope to reduce energy loss. Good air sealing alone may reduce utility costs by as much as 50 percent Ceiling light fixture Electrical wires penetrating vapor barrier Joints at attic hatch Vents from bathroom and kitchen Joints at interior partitions Joints between wall and ceiling Joints at windows Electric meter Electrical service entrance Electrical panel Electrical outlets and switches Plumbing stack penetration Chimney penetration of ceiling Holes through air-vapor barrier Joint between bottom plate and floor Cracks around doors Joint between joists and basement wall Service entrance for cable TV, telephone, fuel, etc. Air leakage can occur in many places throughout a home. 4 Heating and Cooling Systems Stale room air return Specifying the correct sizes for heating and cooling systems in airtight, energy-efficient homes can be tricky. Rule-of-thumb sizing is often inaccurate, resulting in wasteful operation. Conscientious builders and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning contractors size heating and cooling equipment based on careful consideration of the thermal envelope characteristics. Outside air inlet Fresh air supply Air-to-air heat exchanger Exhaust air Heat recovery ventilation. Generally, energy-efficient homes require relatively small heating systems, typically less than 50,000 Btu/hour even for very cold climates. Some require nothing more than sunshine as the primary source of heat along with auxiliary heat from radiant in-floor heating, a standard gas-fired water heater, a small boiler, a furnace, or electric heat pump. Any common appliance that gives off â€Å"waste† heat can also contribute significantly to the heating requirements for such houses. If an air conditioner is required, it’s often a small unit and sufficient for all but the warmest climates. Sometimes only a large fan and the cooler evening air are needed to make the house comfortable. The house is closed up in the morning and stays cool until the next evening. Smaller-capacity heating and cooling systems are usually less expensive to buy and operate. This helps recover the costs of purchasing more insulation, and other energy-efficient products, such as windows and appliances. Always look for the EnergyGuide label on heating and cooling equipment. The label will rate how efficient it is as compared to others available on the market. In climates where summer cooling requirements dominate, light-colored materials and coatings (paint) on the exterior siding and roof can help reduce cooling requirements by up to 15 percent. Carefully selected and placed vegetation in any climate also contributes to reduced cooling and heating loads. ases in the house. For this reason, sealedcombustion heating appliances, which use only outside air for combustion and vent combustion gases directly to the outdoors, are very important for ventilation energy efficiency and safety. Heat recovery ventilators (HRV) or energy recovery ventilators (ERV) are growing in use for controlled ventilation in airtight homes. These ventilators can salvage about 70 per cent of the energy from the stale exhaust air and transfer that energy to the fresh air entering by way of a heat exchanger inside the device. They can be attached to the central forced air system or may have their own duct system. Other ventilation devices, such as through-the-wall or â€Å"trickle† vents, may be used in conjunction with an exhaust fan. They are, however, more expensive to operate and possibly more uncomfortable to use because they have no energy recovery features to precondition the incoming air. Uncomfortable incoming air can be a serious problem in northern climates and can create moisture problems in humid climates. Therefore, this ventilation strategy is only for arid climates. Other systems pull outside air in with a small outside duct on the return side of the furnace. Generally, energyefficient homes require relatively small heating systems. 5 Energy-Efficient Appliances Higher efficiency appliances provide a measure of insurance against energy prices and emit less air pollution. Appliances with relatively high operating efficiencies are usually more expensive to purchase. However, higher efficiency appliances provide a measure of insurance against increases in energy prices, emit less air pollution, and are attractive selling points when the home is resold. Home buyers should invest in high-efficiency appliances—such as water heaters, clothes washers and dryers, dishwashers, and refrigerators—especially if these appliances will be used a great deal. Because all major appliances must have an EnergyGuide label, read the label carefully to make sure you buy the most efficient appliance. To help you choose wisely, major appliances with an Energy Star ® label exceed the federal government’s minimum efficiency standards by a large percentage. Energy-efficient lighting helps keep energy bills down by producing less heat and reducing cooling requirements. Fluorescent lighting, both conventional tube and compact, is generally the most energyefficient for most home applications. always done before. They may need more training if they have no experience with these systems. Building and Buying Before you start a home-building project, the building site and its climate should be carefully evaluated to determine the optimum design and orientation for the house. There are energy-related computer software programs that can help with these evaluations. The design should accommodate appropriate insulation levels, moisture dynamics, and aesthetics. Decisions regarding appropriate windows, doors, and heating, cooling and ventilating appliances are central to an efficient design. Also the cost, ease of construction, the builder’s limitations, and local building code compliance should be competently evaluated. Some plans are relatively simple and inexpensive to construct, while others can be extremely complex and, thus, expensive. An increasing number of builders are participating in the federal government’s Building America and Energy Star ® Homes programs, as well as local home energy rating programs, all of which promote the construction of energy-efficient houses. Many of these builders construct energy-efficient homes to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Construction costs can vary significantly depending on the materials, construction techniques, contractor profit margin, experience, and the type of heating, cooling, and ventilation system chosen. Because energy-efficient homes require less money to operate, many lenders now offer energy-efficient mortgages (EEMs). EEMs typically have lower points and allow for the stretching of debt-to-income ratios. State and local government energy offices can be contacted for information on region-specific financing. In the end, your energy-efficient house will provide you with superior comfort and lower operating costs, not to mention a higher real estate market value. The building site and its climate should be carefully evaluated to determine the optimum design. Advantages and Disadvantages Houses that incorporate all of the above elements of energy efficiency have many advantages. They feel more comfortable because the additional insulation keeps the interior wall at a more comfortable and stable temperature. The indoor humidity is also better controlled, and drafts are reduced. A tightly sealed air/vapor retarder reduces the likelihood of moisture and air seeping through the walls. They are also very quiet because the extra insulation and tight construction helps to keep exterior noise out better. But these houses also have some potential disadvantages. They may cost more and take longer to build than a conventional home if there’s a lack of builder familiarity with new construction techniques and products available on the market. Even though the house’s structure may differ only slightly from conventional homes, the builder and contractors may be unwilling to deviate from what they’ve 6 Resources The following are sources of additional information on energy-efficient houses: The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC) P. O. Box 3048 Merrifield, VA 22116 1-800-DOE-EREC (1-800-363-3732) E-mail: doe. [email  protected] om Web site: http://www. eren. doe. gov/consumerinfo/ EREC provides free general and technical information to the public on many topics and technologies pertaining to energy efficiency and renewable energy. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Building Technologies Department MS 90-3111 Berkeley, CA 94720 USA Phone: (510) 486-6845; Fax: (510) 486-4089 Web site: http://eetd. lb l. gov/btp/btp. html Provides information on past and current research in buildings energy efficiency. National Renewable Energy Laboratory The Center for Buildings and Thermal Systems 1617 Cole Blvd. Golden, CO 80401 Web site: http://www. nrel. gov/buildings_thermal Provides information on energy-efficient buildings. Organizations American Solar Energy Society, Inc. (ASES) 2400 Central Avenue, G-1 Boulder, CO 80301 Phone: (303) 443-3130; Fax: (303) 443-3212 E-mail: [email  protected] org Web site: http://www. ases. org A national advocacy organization dedicated to the use of solar energy in buildings. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Buildings Technology Center P. O. Box 2008, MS-6070 Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6070 Phone: (865) 574-5206; Fax Number: (865) 574-5227 Web site: http://www. ornl. ov/ORNL/BTC/ Provides information on research in buildings energy efficiency. Building America U. S. Department of Energy Office of Building Systems, EE-41 1000 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D. C. 20585-0121 Web site: http://www. eren. doe. gov/buildings/ building_america/ Works with the home building industry to produce quality homes that use up to 50 percent less energy without costing more to build. Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) 1331 H Street, NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20005-4706 Phone: (202) 628-7400; Fax: (202) 393-5043 E-mail: [email  protected] org Web site: http://www. bicouncil. org Promotes the use of energy-efficient and passive solar building design and construction. Web Sites Building Energy Software Tools U. S. Department of Energy Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs Web site: http://www. eren. doe. gov/buildings/tools_ directory/ Describes many energy-related software tools for buildings, with an emphasis on renewable energy, and energy efficiency. Efficient Windows Collaborative Alliance to Save Energy 1200 18th Street NW, Suite 900 Washington, D. C. 20036 Phone: (202) 857-0666; Fax: (202) 331-9588 E-mail: [email  protected] rg Web site: http:/ /www. efficientwindows. org/ Provides unbiased information on the benefits of energy-efficient windows, descriptions of how they work, and recommendatio ns for their selection and use. Cool Roof Materials Database Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Web site: http://eetd. lbl. gov/coolroof/ Assists with the selection of roofing materials that reflect instead of absorb the sun’s radiant energy. Energy Star ® U. S. Department of Energy and U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Phone: (888) STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937) E-mail: [email  protected] gov Web site: http:/ /www. nergystar. gov/ Provides lists of Energy Star ®-qualified products, including appliances and windows, as well as information on its energyefficient homes program. Green Buildings Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development Web site: http://www. sustainable. doe. gov/buildings/ gbintro. htm Provides information and links on energy-efficient buildings. (Continued on page 8) 7 Continued from page 7 The Residential Energy Efficiency Database Web site: http://www. its-canada. com/reed/ Provides a wide-range of information on energy-efficient houses, includ ing house plans. The Passive Solar Design and Construction Handbook, M. Crosbie (ed), J. Wiley, 1997. Available for purchase from ASES (see Resources). Residential Windows: A Guide to New Technology and Energy Performance, J. Carmody, S. Selkowitz, and L. Herschong, Norton Professional Books, 1996. Phone: 1-800-233-4830; http://www. wwnorton. com/npb/. Insulation Fact Sheet, U. S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 1997. Available from ORNL in PDF and HTML at http://www. ornl. gov/roofs+walls/insulation/. Print version is available from EREC (see Resources). Zip Code Insulation Database Oak Ridge National Laboratory Web site: http://www. ornl. gov/~roofs/Zip/ZipHome. html Provides information by zip code on the most economic insulation levels for new or existing homes. Reading List The following publications provide further information about energy-efficient home elements. The list is not exhaustive, nor does the mention of any publication constitute a recommendation or endorsement. Periodicals Energy Design Update. Published by Cutter Information Corporation, 37 Broadway, Arlington, MA 02474-5552; Phone: (800) 964-5118 or (781) 648-8700; Web site: http:// www. utter. com. This monthly newsletter contains information for professionals interested in energyefficient building technologies. Product reviews appear regularly. Environmental Building News. 28 Birge Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301; Phone: (802) 257-7300; Web site: http://www. BuildingGreen. com. This bimonthly newsletter covers a wide variety of topics. The Journal of Light Constru ction. Published by Builderburg Partners, Ltd. , 932 West Main Street, Richmond, VT 05477; Phone: (800) 375-5981. This monthly journal often features articles on energy conservation techniques for the home builder. Home Energy Magazine. 2124 Kittredge Street, #95, Berkeley, CA 94704; Phone: (510) 524-5405; E-mail: [email  protected] org,; Web site: http://www. homeenergy. org/. It’s a source of information on reducing energy consumption in the home. Solpan Review. Published by Drawing-Room Graphic Services, Ltd. , P. O. Box 86627, North Vancouver, BC V71 412 , Canada; Phone (604) 689-1841. This bimonthly newsletter features articles on energy conservation for the building industry, including information on new products and energy-efficient practices in residential construction. Books, Pamphlets, and Reports Buildings for a Sustainable America Case Studies, B. Miller, ASES, 1997. Available from ASES or SBIC (see Resources). Building Green in a Black & White World, D. Johnston, Home Builder Press, 2000; Phone: (800) 223-2665; http://www. builderbooks. com. Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings, A. Wilson and J. Morrill, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, 2000; Phone: (510) 549-9914; http://aceee. org/. The Efficient House Sourcebook, R. Sardinsky, Rocky Mountain Institute. Available from SBIC (see Resources). Energy Savers: Tips on Saving Energy and Money at Home, U. S. Department of Energy. Available in PDF and HTML at http://www. eren. doe. gov/consumerinfo/energy_ savers/ or print version from EREC (see Resources). Fine Homebuilding: Energy-Efficient Houses, Fine Homebuilding magazine. Available from SBIC (see Resources). Moisture Control Handbook: Principals and Practices for Residential and Small Commercial Buildings, J. Lstiburek and J. Carmody, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. , 1993. Available from the Building Science Corporation at (978) 589-5100 (phone); (978) 589-5103 (fax); or http://www. buildingscience. com. 8