The Top 10 Unsolved Questions in Economics

The Top 10 Unsolved Questions in Economics There are many problems in the economic world that have yet to be solved, and fortunately, Wikipedia  has compiled a list of the greatest ones to date - from what caused the Industrial Revolution to whether or not money supply is endogenous. Although great economists like Craig Newmark and members of the AEA have taken a stab at solving these tough issues, the true solution to these problems - that is to say the generally understood and accepted truth of the matter - has yet to come to light. To say a question is unsolved implies that the question potentially has a solution, in the same way 2x 4 8 has a solution. The difficulty is, most of the questions on this list are so vague that they cannot possibly have a solution. Nevertheless, here are the top ten unsolved economic problems. 1. What Caused the Industrial Revolution? Although there are many factors at play in causing the Industrial Revolution, the economic answer to this question has yet to be sussed out. However, no event has a single cause - the Civil War was not wholly caused by slavery and World War I was not wholly caused by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. This is a question without a solution, as events have numerous causes and determining which ones were more important than others naturally involves some subjectivity. While some might argue that a strong middle-class, mercantilism and the development of an empire, and an easily moveable and growing urban population who increasingly believed in materialism led to the Industrial Revolution in England, others might argue the countrys isolation from European continental problems or the nations common market led to this growth. 2. What Is the Proper Size and Scope of Government? This question again has no real objective answer, because people will always have differing views on the argument of efficiency versus equity in governance. Even if a population managed to fully understand the exact trade-off that was being made in each case, the size and scope of a government largely depend on its citizenrys dependence on its influence. New countries, like the United States in its early days, relied on a centralized government to maintain order and oversee rapid growth and expansion. Over time, it has had to decentralize some of its authority to the state and local levels in order to better represent its vastly diverse population. Still, some might argue the government should be larger and control more due to our reliance on it domestically and abroad. 3. What Truly Caused the Great Depression? Much like the first question, the cause of the Great Depression cant be pinpointed because so many factors were at play in the eventual crash of the United States economies in the late 1920s. However, unlike the Industrial Revolution, whose many factors also included advances outside of economy, the Great Depression was primarily caused by a catastrophic intersection of economic factors. Economists commonly believe five factors ultimately resulted in the Great Depression: the stock market crash in 1929, over 3,000 banks failing throughout the 1930s, reduction in purchasing (demand) in the market itself, American policy with Europe, and drought conditions in Americas farmland. 4. Can We Explain the Equity Premium Puzzle? In short, no we have not yet. This puzzle refers to the strange occurrence of returns on stocks being much higher than returns on government bonds over the past century, and economists are still baffled by what could truly be the cause. Some posit that either risk aversion may be at play here, or antithetically that large consumption variability accounted for the discrepancy in return capital. However, the notion that stocks are riskier than bonds isnt enough to account for this risk aversion as a means to alleviate arbitrage opportunities within a countrys economy. 5. How Is It Possible to Provide Causal Explanations Using Mathematical Economics? Because mathematical economics relies on purely logical constructions, some might wonder how an economist might use causal explanations in their theories, but this problem isnt quite that difficult to solve. Like physics, which can provide causal explanations like a projectile traveled 440 feet because it was launched at point x from angle y at velocity z, etc., mathematical economics can explain the correlation between events in a market that follow the logical functions of its core principles. 6. Is There an Equivalent of Black-Scholes for Futures Contract Pricing? The Black-Scholes formula estimates, with relative accuracy, the price of European-style options in a trading market. Its creation led to a newfound legitimacy of the operations of options in markets globally, including the Chicago Board Options Exchange, and is often used by participants of options markets to predict future returns. Although variations of this formula, including notably the Black formula, have been made in financial economic analyses, this still proves to be the most accurate prediction formula for markets around the world, so there is still yet to be an equivalent introduced to the options market. 7. What Is the Microeconomic Foundation of Inflation? If we treat money such as any other commodity in our economy and as such is subject to the same supply and demand forces, reason would suggest it would be just as susceptible to inflation as goods and services are. However, if you consider this question like one considers the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, it may be best left as a rhetorical one. The basis, of course, is that we do treat our currency like a good or service, but where this originates doesnt truly have one answer. 8. Is the Money Supply Endogenous? Wikipedia follows up this question with a simple statement: Mainstream economics claims that it is; post-Keynesian economics claims that it is not. However, the issue isnt uniquely about endogeneity, which, strictly speaking, is a modeling assumption. If the question is properly constructed, I think this could be considered one of the key problems in economics. 9. How Does Price Formation Occur? In any given market, prices are formed by a variety of factors, and just like the question of the microeconomic foundation of inflation, theres no true answer to its origins, though one explanation posits that each seller in a market forms a price depending on probabilities within the market which in turn depends on the probabilities of other sellers, meaning that prices are determined by how these sellers interact with one another and their consumers. However, this idea that prices are determined by the markets overlooks several key factors including that some goods or service markets dont have a set market price as some markets are volatile while others are stable - all depending on the veracity of information available to buyers and sellers. 10. What Causes the Variation of Income Among Ethnic Groups? Much like the causes of the Great Depression and the Industrial Revolution, the exact cause of income disparity between ethnic groups cannot be pinpointed to a single source. Instead, a variety of factors ​are at play depending on where one is observing the data, though it mostly comes down to institutionalized prejudices within the job market, availability of resources to different ethnic and their relative economic groups, and employment opportunities in localities featuring varying degrees of ethnic population density.

Chicago riots Essays - Red Summer, Free Essays, Term Papers

Chicago riots Essays - Red Summer, Free Essays, Term Papers HIS-2020G The importance of little factors that can lead up to becoming huge and having great effects on actions. For blacks and whites both the riot was just a built up increase of hostility that has been going on for quite some time. One thing can be said though that the Chicago incidents seem to be the more ruthless and aggressive when compared to others. It may have been because of the blacks resiliency not to lie down and to fight back. A lot of the time it causes even more anger to mix when compared to a nonviolent approach. Nevertheless, the Chicago riots and the incidents that led up to it were huge in status. A young black man named Eugene Williams swam past an unseen line of segregation at a popular public beach on Lake Michigan, Chicago. He was stoned by several white bystanders, knocked unconscious and drowned, and his death set off one of the bloodiest riots in Chicagos history. The reason why the Chicago race riots was crazy because of the Eugene Williams situation and doing that time thirty-eight people died (23 African American and 15 white) and over five hundred were injured. You can relate this back to what going on in present time with the police brutality how they killing African American teens for no reason just because they believe they up to no good. The Eugene Williams situation really set things off thats why Chicago had that big on of riots just like when had one Baltimore with the Mike Brown brutality and Trayvon Martin in Miami, Flordia when he was shot in killed because he had jacket on very late night outside. The white man have to believe that he was up to no good which is not fair and African American should be stereotypes as that. Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed on Aug. 9, 2014, by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. I believe we can both say this both of my reasons relate to what happen Eugene Williams that primary reason of the Chicago race riots just how start it both of the riots in Miami, Flordia and Baltimore of a killing of a teens just because the white men believe they have the right to do that. The Chicago race riot was not the result of the incident alone. Several factors, including the economic, social and political differences between blacks and whites, the post-war sky and the psychology of race relations in 1919, combined to make Chicago a prime target for this event. Although the riot was a spark for several short-term solutions to the racial tensions, it did little to improve race relations in the long run. It was many years before the nation truly addressed the underlying conflicts that sparked the riot of 1919. WWI provided tons of industrial work and over 400,000 African Americans migrated from the South to Northern cities between 1916-1918 alone. The first Great Migration lasted until 1930, The Great Migration was the movement of 2 million blacks out of the Southern United States to the Northeast, Midwest and West from 1910 to 1930. African Americans migrated to escape racism and prejudice in the south, as well as to seek jobs in industrial cities and resulted in a major shift in where African Americans lived in the United States. Many blacks went north during the great migration due to the fact of believing that they would get better jobs and fair treatment in the north. The Chicago race riot caused by hatred for one another of members of different races in the same community which is crazy. The black people had suffered the brunt of the bloodshed, They had also been arrested by police at twice the rate of whites. Many blacks viewed the migration as a well inspired deliverance from the land of suffering. The south could be hostile, but the north could be careful, cold, and lonely. A group of white men threw stones at Williams, hitting him, and he drowned. When police officers arrived on the scene, they refused to arrest the white man. Which bring me back to Trayvon Martin situation when he was shot in

Security challenges within Eurasia (Caucasus and Caspian basin) Essay

Security challenges within Eurasia (Caucasus and Caspian basin) - Essay Example Research shows that the basin holds about 100 billion barrels of gas and oil and stretches about the area of Northern Europe. Considering the size of the basin and its energy potential, the area is a very important for Europe and surrounding countries which are no less interested in harvesting the oil and gas. Furthermore, the region is supposed to be important in the redevelopment of the Silk Road that historically connected Europe and Asia. In this sense, the rout to be used in the transportation of energy resources has remained a security challenge as different countries prefer the use of different routes. NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and EAPC (Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council) countries are greatly interested in the Caspian basin and Caucasus region for the factors stated here above. On the other hand, Russia’s relationship with Central Asian as well as South Caucasus countries is perceived to be motivated toward the redrawing of former Soviet Unionâ€⠄¢s old lines3. In other words, Russia wants the countries in these regions to get into its circle of influence.

What role does social class play Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

What role does social class play - Essay Example Looking at the work of Jane Austen in her novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ it could be said that the novel is one of the most quintessential novels of manners and etiquettes that has effectively and provocatively described the role of social classes in society. Austen has dealt with the issues of manners, education, marriage, principles and upbringing in a society of the elite gentry of the 19th century England. Similarly, one other novel that has also discussed the subject of social class and its role in the society in a different manner is Room at the Top by John Braine. The novel was written in 1957 and has discussed how social class, desires, and the socio-economic struggles can change the entire course of human life, particularly his love and passion. The novel rotates around a story of young, ambitious man who is struggling hard to find his place in the socially escalating society during the postwar Britain (Austen, 1853; Braine, 1957). In the essay, I would like to explore whether or not the social class as presented in the aforementioned novels, has a similar role in the society. Furthermore, I would also like to study what exactly were the reasons behind the urge to get socially equal in the society. Furthermore, the essay would also discuss whether the same techniques (as discussed in the novels) are being used for the socio-economic struggle in the present day societies or not (Braine, 1957). Considering these questions as the basis of my study, I would like to incorporate the essay with various researches and studies from the past in order to gain data and information on the subject. However, I would only stick to the two main novels that I have selected for this essay for discussing social class and its role. With the help of this essay, I would like to study the fundamentals and the concepts that are associated with the subject and in arts and humanities. It  will help me to broaden my horizon, knowledge and understanding

Animal Farm-Power Corrpts Essay Example for Free

Animal Farm-Power Corrpts Essay Animal Farm is an allegorical novel about the Russian Revolution and the resulting political system of the Soviet Union. Through this story which appears to be a simple fable on the surface, we see George Orwell’s beliefs about the nature of power and its seemingly inevitable corruption of noble ideas. Educated authority figures in the book bend the principles of communism to suit their own selfish needs and desires, all the while taking advantage of the uneducated masses, and easily manipulated them through propaganda and persuasion. Through this allegory of communism turned to totalitarianism, Orwell explores the dangers of a political system where leaders have no sense of social responsibility toward their subjects. The first instance of corruption among the ruling class appears shortly after the revolution. The pigs, the new rulers of Animal Farm after the ousting of the tyrant farmer Jones, milk the cows to relieve them from of their discomfort. The animals, remembering how Jones would mix some of the milk into their mash, look forward to at least similar treatment from the pigs. However, the milk soon disappears and it is discovered later that the pigs have mixed it into their own mash without sharing it with the other animals, just as the windfall apples have been consumed exclusively by the pigs. Squealer, the political propagandist for the pigs, justifies this to the other animals by saying that the pigs need the extra brain energy, and then bolsters his argument with some fear mongering: â€Å" Do you know what would happen if w pigs failed in our duty? Jones would be back!† (32). The fact that this incident occurs so quickly after the revolution and at a time when all of the pigs are still present on the farm shows Orwell’s belief that the corruption is not only inevitable in a society where the ruling sector of the population is so much better educated than the rest, but that all of these members of the ruling class were potentially corruptible. As the story moves on Orwell shows us how power is corrupting more. Another of the major instance that occurs after the milk and apples is the ruling class moving in the farmhouse. As the commandment says no animal shall sleep in a bed. Some of the other animals were confused but as usual squealer came with his propaganda.

Art and Nature in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale Essay -- Shakespeare

Art and Nature in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale In Shakespeare’s â€Å"The Winter’s Tale†, we see a jealous king convinced he is search of the truth. He will expose his wife and her alleged philandering, but his determination to prove this actually changes this search from one for truth to one for myths—creations, false truths. In essence. Leontes runs into the conflict of defining art versus nature, where art is the view of the world he constructs to prove his paranoia true. Nature itself can exist without art, but the art here is the mangled perception through which Leontes will seek to define Nature. In summation, â€Å"The Winter’s Tale† investigates the conflict between art and nature—creation versus enhancement—and seeks to find out if art can exist without any consideration to nature. The idea of altering perception is a fundamental one in â€Å"The Winter’s Tale†, and art is seen as the way to make this alteration occur. While it is clear to the reader from the very beginning that Hermione is in fact innocent, Shakespeare introduces the reader to Leontes’s persistence to clearly show the beginnings of the conflict brewing. Despite Hermione’s clear innocence, Leontes has been written as a character so belligerent to ever see what is universally accepted as true in nature. The result is a conflict clear to the reader—a conflict of nature on its own merit, a question of truth, versus art, where perception is inherently flawed. Shakespeare creates a truly paranoid, conflicted character in Leontes, which works to make his objectivity, his desire to make truths out of falsities, even more apparent. Leontes speaks to the audience passionately upon his discovery, but his passion sounds so melodramatic, especially when we as readers a.. . ...years later, it becomes clear that for all the emphasis put on art, on creation, and on mass production—nature is central to our human experience. We can symbolize this natural connection with art—but the art itself always harkens back to something that elicits an emotional response from the viewer. For Leontes, a statue of his presumably deceased wife, Hermione triggers a sorrowful reaction. Art indeed embellishes life as it does with flowers, but we are always working from some perspective, some emotion, before we are merely creating art. â€Å"The Winter’s Tale† takes on the challenge of investigating whether or not art can in fact breathe outside the womb of nature, and as we witness art break down, and nature hold the characters together, it becomes resoundingly clear that art seeks to react to nature, but that it cannot work without maintaining nature at its core. Art and Nature in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale Essay -- Shakespeare Art and Nature in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale In Shakespeare’s â€Å"The Winter’s Tale†, we see a jealous king convinced he is search of the truth. He will expose his wife and her alleged philandering, but his determination to prove this actually changes this search from one for truth to one for myths—creations, false truths. In essence. Leontes runs into the conflict of defining art versus nature, where art is the view of the world he constructs to prove his paranoia true. Nature itself can exist without art, but the art here is the mangled perception through which Leontes will seek to define Nature. In summation, â€Å"The Winter’s Tale† investigates the conflict between art and nature—creation versus enhancement—and seeks to find out if art can exist without any consideration to nature. The idea of altering perception is a fundamental one in â€Å"The Winter’s Tale†, and art is seen as the way to make this alteration occur. While it is clear to the reader from the very beginning that Hermione is in fact innocent, Shakespeare introduces the reader to Leontes’s persistence to clearly show the beginnings of the conflict brewing. Despite Hermione’s clear innocence, Leontes has been written as a character so belligerent to ever see what is universally accepted as true in nature. The result is a conflict clear to the reader—a conflict of nature on its own merit, a question of truth, versus art, where perception is inherently flawed. Shakespeare creates a truly paranoid, conflicted character in Leontes, which works to make his objectivity, his desire to make truths out of falsities, even more apparent. Leontes speaks to the audience passionately upon his discovery, but his passion sounds so melodramatic, especially when we as readers a.. . ...years later, it becomes clear that for all the emphasis put on art, on creation, and on mass production—nature is central to our human experience. We can symbolize this natural connection with art—but the art itself always harkens back to something that elicits an emotional response from the viewer. For Leontes, a statue of his presumably deceased wife, Hermione triggers a sorrowful reaction. Art indeed embellishes life as it does with flowers, but we are always working from some perspective, some emotion, before we are merely creating art. â€Å"The Winter’s Tale† takes on the challenge of investigating whether or not art can in fact breathe outside the womb of nature, and as we witness art break down, and nature hold the characters together, it becomes resoundingly clear that art seeks to react to nature, but that it cannot work without maintaining nature at its core.

What are the differences between how a child learns and how an adult learns?

Child learning is built on the concept that children need to be fully guided on what they need to learn, how they will learn it and when it will be learned. â€Å"Pedagogy is the art and science of teaching children† (Knowles, 1984, p. 13). This type of learning promotes dependency of the learners on the teacher or instructor. The counterpart of pedagogy is â€Å"Andragogy† which is â€Å"the art and science of helping adults learn† (Knowles, 1984, p. 13). It is assumed that adults have capabilities to take responsibility for learning so that there is more independence from the teacher or instructor.Curricula for child learning are very much controlled. They are age specific so that children depend much on what the teacher will teach; and it is expected that the teacher will provide all the answers. For adult learners, teachers do not have much control of the curriculum and they are not expected to provide answers but only to guide the adults to find the answers. It is expected that adults have basic knowledge and experience so that their kind of learning is more self-directed. Children are more subject-centered while adults are more performance-centered.When children learn, they are guided by role models and substitute knowledge and experiences of others. Teachers tell them when situations are worth following and when situations are to be avoided. Adults learn by performing in their own environment and problem situations. Children’s learning is enhanced by rewards and punishments. To recognize their acquired learning and also to encourage them to learn more, they are provided with rewards like high grades; good feedback like very good, excellent and even gifts. Adults are more goal-oriented. Their readiness allows them to immediately apply their learning to achieve their goals.

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Ethos, Pathos and Logos Even someone living under a rock has most likely heard of the ongoing debate for and against outsourcing. Outsourcing is defined as enlisting help from an outside supplier or manufacturer in order to increase profit. To make someone gain interest in one’s view on something such as outsourcing, one needs to make a persuasive argument. A good persuasive argument contains three aspects: ethos, logos, and pathos. Ethos is established in the character or displayed character of the writer or speaker.Logos uses logical evidence or reason usually with facts or statistics. Pathos appeals to the reader’s emotions. Thomas Friedman, three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and The New York Times columnist, uses rhetoric to increase the persuasiveness of his pro-outsourcing article â€Å"The Great Indian Dream. † Meanwhile, David Moberg, senior editor and contributor to numerous national publications, uses different examples using the same tools in his anti-outsourcing article â€Å"High-tech Hijack. Articles, such as these for and against outsourcing, use rhetorical persuasion by citing different examples and facts to add appeal to a specific view. â€Å"The Great Indian Dream,† the pro-outsourcing essay, contains several examples of persuasion using rhetoric. Thomas Friedman discusses how India came to be a workforce to compete with, in a logical and easily understood approach. Friedman demonstrates knowledge on the issue by acknowledging the opposing argument that outsourcing can be bad news from a competition point of view, but claims there is a solution.Friedman, citing what an Indian executive once told him, explains how all the United States needs to do to eliminate concern for outsourcing is â€Å"redouble their efforts at education and research†(Friedman). This is a truly persuasive statement because it establishes the character of the writer making him seem unbiased with this simple solution. Pathos is of ten demonstrated with the use of children, animals, and memories to evoke an emotional response from the reader. In â€Å"The Great Indian Dream,† Thomas Friedman applies this technique using his nine year-old daughter and his imagined granddaughter.Friedman adds persuasion to his argument by appealing to the reader’s sense of awe. This is shown through the innocence of a child’s response to questions about where products come from. This emotional response tends to make the example more relatable for the reader. In addition to using children to persuade, pathos can also be seen in the quote taken from Rajesh Rao while talking about how American executives now know proper Hindi greetings. Mr. Rao, a software marketing manager from India, states, †A few years ago nobody in America wanted to talk to us.Now they are eager†(Friedman). This statement attempts to make the reader feel a sense of sadness for the Indians before offshoring began, and a feeling of happiness now that it has begun. The last element of persuasion, logos, provides the greatest depth of logical reasoning for favoring a specific view. For example, Friedman shines a light on the time-zone difference, which allows for a continuous workday between the United States and India. With the chance to develop one’s own company nonstop by working 24 hours a day, who wouldn’t logically make this choice?Furthermore, India contains 555 million people under the age of 25, all raised with a strong emphasis on education. Friedman reveals this image of India which is comprised of so many young and intelligent individuals that make the country the obvious place to go in search of a large quantity of less expensive employees. â€Å"High-tech hijack,† an anti-outsourcing essay, demonstrates the same principles of persuasion in an attempt to influence the reader to oppose outsourcing.David Moberg also gained a great deal of credibility on outsourcing by winning t he Max Steinbeck Award from the International Labor Communications Association and a Project Censored Award for his coverage of labor issues. Moberg cites several respected sources, such as IDC, a private IT research firm, University of California Berkeley, and Economic Policy Institute, which only adds to the persuasion of his argument making it that much more supported. Using highly respected sources and discussing a solution to the problem by means of government legislation displays ethos for his position.Moberg points out a study of the gross overpayment of corporate positions found that â€Å"Executive pay for the 50 largest outsourcers of service jobs increased dramatically in 2003 to 28 percent above the average for large-company CEOs†(Moberg). This alarming number he uses, combined with the rising unemployment rate, renders a sense of contempt in the reader towards these money driven executives. Secondly, Mr. Moberg uses a first-hand example, with the story of Stephen Gentry to express his relatable emotions felt by many.Gentry, a fifteen year technical programmer for Boeing, worked fulltime while earning a computer-science degree and was forced to train his Indian replacements before being fired. After being unemployed for eighteen months, Stephen Gentry describes American corporations as â€Å"so greedy and cutthroat-oriented they don’t care about me, you or anybody else except their bottom line†(Moberg). This quote, taken from an individual with experience in the subject, persuades the reader showing a significant emotional experience caused by outsourcing. Mr.Moberg presents the use of logos while talking about several credible studies regarding offshoring. The first study conducted by University of California Berkeley estimates that 14 million service jobs are vulnerable. This staggering number persuades the reader against outsourcing which is logically the cause of the United States’ high unemployment problem. Both art icles have good examples of persuasion, but both also seem to put their own spin on what facts to omit. Friedman’s position, being positive regarding offshoring, shapes his argument in many ways.First, he fails to mention all the jobs lost in America due to outsourcing, yet he puts a positive spin on the subject by discussing how greatly it is helping India’s economy. Secondly, Friedman also mentions that the United States can simply fix the problem they are facing by working four times as hard towards education and research. According to â€Å"Outsourcing decision support: a survey of benefits, risks, and decision factors a neutral academic,† an academic article by Tibor Kremic, â€Å"The social costs of outsourcing may be difficult to quantify but they can be significant.Outsourcing may result in low morale, high absenteeism, lower productivity, etc. † Friedman leaves this fact out while Moberg seems to stress it. Meanwhile, Moberg, being anti-outsourci ng, fails to mention the great economic impact on India, and instead he focuses largely on the mass unemployment generated solely in America. Friedman also claims the resolution for the problem lies majorly on government legislation and should be fixed through new stricter laws.Whether pro or against the issue, it’s easy to see how a basic argument can be shaped using ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade the reader. By using these rhetorical tools one can appeal to any reader through a basic emotional response. Either emotion or logic can completely lose its appeal however without ethos by the writer. Both readers use pathos and logos well, but when it comes to ethos David Moberg takes the cake. Rhetoric along with using specific facts can be the difference when it comes to persuading the public in favor of a certain view one holds.

Ginzburg essays

Ginzburg essays Proceeding from the following quote, briefly explain Ginzburgs historical model of stylistic change, referring back to Volliet-le-Duc and Gottfried Semper wherever appropriate. A Flower grows in the field because it cannot help but to grow: thus it cannot contemplate whether or not it is appropriate to the field that existed before it. On the contrary, by its very appearance, the flower transforms the general image of the field Ginzburg talks about the formal development of styles and how the modern architecture is grown from the past but isnt necessarily based on the past. These ideas are very much shared by Semper. This growth is singular and linear, based on a preceding proposition, each out growing the latter, but not continuing the old. ...a person making use of the achievements in electricity cannot, under any circumstances, be forced to revert to steam power. Gottfried Semper explains this form of thinking very well in that, we learn from the past, we cannot copy it, as this is a waste but rather we cannot turn our backs on this existing knowledge, and previous epochs. The development and changing of styles is a meshed concept. There is no end or beginning of styles. Ginzburg explains the life of a particular style as a growing organism in that it is born, lives out its youth, matures and lives out its old age, but never dies, but rather atrophies. This is why the actual timing of a style is impossible to track, for there is no death of a style, the life of the style atrophies. Styles cannot be erased because they are not physical elements to knocked down and demolished. So when an epoch forms, there is a trace of the old style, a marking, like a child would have of his parents. Each style has a genetic imprint of its parent, history. A flower grows in the field because it cannot help but to grow... A flower germinates in the grown and is thus, ...

Definition and Examples of Structural Violence

Definition and Examples of Structural Violence Structural violence refers to any scenario in which a social structure perpetuates inequity, thus causing preventable suffering. When studying structural violence, we examine the ways that social structures (economic, political, medical, and legal systems) can have a disproportionately negative impact on particular groups and communities. The concept of structural violence gives us a way to consider how and in what forms these negative impacts occur, as well as what can be done to curtail such harm. Background The term structural violence was coined by the Johan Gultang, a Norwegian sociologist. In his 1969 article, â€Å"Violence, Peace, and Peace Research,† Gultang argued that structural violence explained the negative power of social institutions and systems of social organization among marginalized communities. It is important to distinguish Gultang’s concept of violence from the term as it is traditionally defined (physical violence of war or crime). Gultang defined structural violence as the root cause of the differences between people’s potential reality and their actual circumstances. For example, potential life expectancy in the general population might be significantly longer than the actual life expectancy for members of disadvantaged groups, due to factors like racism, economic inequality, or sexism. In this example, the discrepancy between the potential and the actual life expectancy results from structural violence. Significance of Structural Violence Structural violence enables more nuanced analyses of the social, cultural, political, economic, and historical forces that shape inequality and suffering. It creates an opportunity to consider seriously the role of different types of marginalization – such as sexism, racism, ableism, ageism, homophobia, and/or poverty – in creating lived experiences that are fundamentally less equal. Structural violence helps explain the multiple and often intersecting forces that create and perpetuate inequality on multiple levels, both for individuals and communities. Structural violence also highlights the historical roots of modern inequality. The inequities and suffering of our time often unfold within a broader history of marginalization, and this framework provides a critical context for understanding the present in terms of its relationship to the past. For instance, marginalization in post-colonial countries often connects closely with their colonial histories, just as inequality in the U.S. must be considered with respect to complex histories of slavery, immigration, and policy. Structural Violence and Health Today, the concept of structural violence is widely used in the fields of public health, medical anthropology, and global health. Structural violence is particularly useful for examining suffering and inequity in the sphere of health. It highlights the complex and overlapping factors that influence health outcomes, such as in the case of health disparities (or inequity) between different racial or ethnic communities in the U.S. or elsewhere. Paul Farmer’s research, writing, and applied work in the field of global health has brought significant attention to the concept of structural violence. An anthropologist and physician, Dr. Farmer has worked in this field for decades, using the lens of structural violence to show the connections between vast differences in wealth accumulation and related disparities in health care and outcomes around the world. His work emerges from the intersections of public health and human rights, and he is the Kolokotrones University Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard University. Dr. Farmer co-founded Partners in Health, an international organization that aims to improve preventable negative health outcomes in disadvantaged – and disproportionately ill – communities. Why is it at some of the world’s poorest countries are also the sickest? The answer is structural violence. Farmer and Partners in Health began working in Haiti in the mid-1980s, but the organization has since expanded to multiple sites and projects around the world. Projects related to structural violence and health include: The aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in HaitiTuberculosis epidemics in Russian prisonsReconstructing Rwanda’s health care system after the 1994 genocideHIV/AIDS interventions in Haiti and Lesotho Structural Violence in Anthropology Many cultural and medical anthropologists are influenced by the theory of structural violence. Key anthropological texts on structural violence and health are: Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor (Paul Farmer)Death Without Weeping: The Violence of Everyday Life in Brazil (Nancy Scheper-Hughes)Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: Migrant Farmworkers in the United States (Seth Holmes)In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio (Philippe Bourgois) Structural violence is particularly prominent in medical anthropology, including the anthropology of global health. It has been used to analyze a variety of topics, including but not limited to substance abuse, migrant health, child mortality, womens health, and infectious disease. Sources Farmer, Paul. Haiti After the Earthquake. Public Affairs, 2011.Kidder, Tracy. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a M an Who Would Cure the World. Random House, 2009.Rylko-Bauer, Barbara and Paul Farmer. Structural Violence, Poverty, and Social Suffering. The Oxford Handbook of the Social Science of Poverty. April 2017.Taylor, Janelle. Explaining Difference: Culture, Structural Violence, and Medical Anthropology. Office of Minority Affairs at Diversity, The University of Washington.

Form-Meaning Connection Problem in SLA Classroom Essay

Form-Meaning Connection Problem in SLA Classroom - Essay Example Empirical and theoretical literature on FRCS has looked at a wide range of behavioural and cognitive sub processes, beginning with the initial link between a lexical or grammatical form and its meaning(s) to the use of the form by the L2 learner within the classroom. (Felix, 2005) It may seem obvious that a form-meaning connection is a situation in which a form encodes some kind of referential meaning. However, the situation is a bit more complicated. Three distinct possibilities present themselves: The establishment of FRCS is a fundamental aspect of both first and second language acquisition. All but a few L2 learners pursue meaning first, in an effort to communicate and to understand the world around them. Research in a variety of contexts attests to this impulse. This often, though not always, means that lexical acquisition takes precedence over the acquisition of grammatical features of the language. (Bardovi-Harlig, 1995) Indeed, it has been argued that processes involved in the acquisition of the semantic and formal components of words are distinct. Despite the clear importance of FRCS, they have not often been a central focus in SLA research. In the burgeoning research from a Chomskyan perspective since the mid-1980s, syntax has continued to be the centre of the bulk of research from a theoretical perspective. However, this strand of research may be more closely connected to FRCS than it first appears, and there is good reason for that exploring second language syntax to concern themselves with FRCS. (McCarthy, 2001) Current Minimalist perspectives clearly link syntax and morphology (i.e., inflections and allomorphs, which are aspects of FRCS) either in terms of what is called feature checking or in terms of the interface between morphology and syntax for understanding the development of syntax itself (White, 2003). It seems that continued examination of the what, why, and how of establishing FRCS during second language acquisition is a profitable endeavour. Its payoff may be seen in theory and in application. Acquisition And Form-Meaning Connections Following the ideas of others, we adopt the idea that acquisition must consist of multiple, distinct but related processes that together make up what is commonly referred to as the process of acquisition. Given that the concern here is FRCS, three processes associated with their acquisition are discussed. These processes can be considered stages in that an FMC must go through each process in order to be fully acquired. We will refer to these processes/stages as (1) making the initial connection, (2) subsequent processing of the connection, and (3) accessing the connection for use. Making the Initial Connection An FMC is initially made when a learner somehow cognitively

Conflict of Interest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Conflict of Interest - Essay Example The biasness he will show at that point will give rise to conflicts. Moreover, an example may be, if there is some kind of affection between the boss and the employee and as a result the boss gives advantage to that specific employee. In this process unintentionally or intentionally other employees will suffer and this is what conflict of interests is all about. Now there are actually two types of conflicts; potential conflicts and actual conflicts. The potential conflict occurs when there is a divergence between the personal and professional interests of an individual. The above examples are potential conflict based. The actual conflict depends on the situation not on the actions of the individuals. Nowadays actual conflicts are not as common as potential conflicts are. Potential conflict can be considered as a red flag, which means that the person involved in the conflict must be careful with whatever he is doing before it turns out to transform into an actual conflict. As the pote ntial conflict can take the shape of an actual conflict that is why the officials should remain vigilant and they should keep a keen eye on whatever is happening in the organization (Campbell and Keith, 122-126). Conflict of interest has always been an indicator of moral wrongness. Moral wrongness refers to the act of doing something that is morally wrong. It is prohibited and prevented at all cost but if it happens then the consequences are devastating. There are two reasons on the basis of which conflict of interest are considered as an indicator of moral wrongness; 1. If a person who is involved in the conflict of interest does not know what he is doing, this negligent behavior has an adverse effect on the people he is being biased for and for those whom he is not being bias as well. This is morally wrong because every employee should be treated equally according to his rank and any kind of biasness among the employees will be considered morally wrong. 2. If the people who are su ffering don’t know at the moment that a conflict is taking place and the person who is involved in the conflict also doesn’t reveal this to them, then this whole act will be termed as deception. Deceiving someone is also morally wrong. It not only hurts the person but it also disappoints him. If equal effort is being made then what is the reason of this conflict of interest. Let us take the same example given above. It is related to an organization in which an employer hires his wife for a job. Their personal relation will obviously affect their professional life. The husband will obviously be bias for his wife. He will not consider her as an employee and as a result other employees will suffer. The amount of bonuses and promotions she will get will be much more then the amount given to other employees. Apart from this she will also not be fired for her lousy performance but she will be given many chances to improve herself while other employees will be fired at the in stant no matter how hardworking and efficient they are. This act will sometimes be noticed by the other employees and sometimes they will not be able to note that conflict is taking place. The moment they know that their boss is involved in a conflict they will definitely be disappointed and if in some cases they do not get to know then also the boss will be involved in a case of deception. This act of biasness and deception shows that conflict of interest is always an indicator of