China Housing Bubble Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

China Housing Bubble - Dissertation Example The Chinese government has also secured measures to manage high prices as well as high mortgage rates. The down-payment requisites for second properties were also increased (Dreger, et.al., 2011). For the high housing price areas, the owners were not allowed to more home purchases. The state-controlled mortgage lenders also reduced the mortgage discounts and more measures were installed to be implemented down the road, including increased property taxes. As a result, the housing prices in the cities stopped increasing, but were still very high (Dreger, et.al., 2011). The housing issue was not only an economic issue, but an issue which also refers to the livelihood of the people, especially one which can impact on stability. Families on average income are likely to be able to afford housing. The ratio of house prices is set at an average income more than 18 in Beijing (Wu, et.al., 2010). The challenge for the government is to eliminate the theoretical in-flows, while still maintaining the strong housing growth. However, although increasing house prices may indicate a bubble, is existence is still debatable. In fact, the trends of urbanization, as well as elevated incomes and decreased interest rates may have caused changes in the housing phenomenon. The higher prices of houses may still be in line with the basic elements and may still be within the demands under residential housing (World Bank, 2010). A burst in the house price bubble can present major destabilization in the economy.

Security Risk Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Security Risk Management - Case Study Example In this essay, I am going to highlight a successful Risk Management project undertaken by us in the Kumtor Operating Company, a prime value asset and gold mine of Kyrgyzstan. The company, due to its valuable product and huge future potential, was fraught with many risk factors. External ones included rising Islamic militancy and vulnerability due to close proximity of US forces fighting was against terror at Bishkek. On the other hand, internal risk factors included security of the gold production and storage facilities, corruption, lack of insurance against loss and many such mitigating factors. Our role as security managers was to prepare loss prevention techniques after applying critical risk assessment theories, and using the relevant ones to achieve the aim. Risk Management in our context was to include both external and internal aspects of Kumtor Operating Company. Gold mining in a developing country is always full of many intangible risks owing to a high value product. Unless the management takes a proactive stance in this regards, the losses to the company from the within itself can be monumental. Adding the external dimensions make the costs of losses absolutely prohibitive for the company. Hence, in this essay I have discussed how each aspect of risk was appreciated correctly and resolved after due consideration of all associated factors. The four strategies of Risk Avoidance, Risk Reduction, Risk Transfer and Risk Retention were applied to each existing risk factor after due deliberations, and a detailed Risk Management and loss prevention plan was worked out, discussed with the authorities and implemented after convincing the top bosses of its rationale and effectiveness for allocation of necessary budget. A situation exists today where the losses due to management of mining process have reduced unbelievably thereby directly benefiting t he company both financially and security wise. The loss prevention program thus necessitated to first bring out the specific risk factors relevant in our context. While most such risks could have been dealt with from within the resources, a certain amount of external help would be required sooner or later. Further, after assessing the risks, the most important task was to classify them accurately into four types of risk management strategies. Optimum classification would ensure that the future action plan would be economically most suitable for the company and beneficial in the long run. While some risks can be avoided and reduced, some inherent risks may have to be retained due to adverse tilt of cost vs. benefit analysis. At the same time, some risks would be too heavy to bear and would need to be transferred to an insuring agency. Hence, we now commenced our ground work for loss prevention plan on a war footing. (Risk Management strategies) Kumtor Operating Company Kyrgyzstan is an ex-soviet satellite state that became independent in 1992 and is now called the Kyrgyz Republic. The Kyrgyz Republic is geographically bordered to the North, North West by Kazakhstan, to the South West

History of Japan (The II World War and Postwar Period) Essay

History of Japan (The II World War and Postwar Period) - Essay Example The World War II ended in May 1945 in the European land and August 1945 in the Pacific. The war between the United States and Japan was an outcome of several years of Cold War due to the strong economic, political and cultural differences. The War erupted in December only when the Japanese military leaders and the civilian supporters decided to put an end to the Cold Wa. One of the main reasons for the Japanese outburst was their motivation to achieve their goals for autonomy and hence accomplish industrial, economic and political success as a nation and country. The clash between the United States and Japanese governments was driven by strong confrontations of racial and political dissimilarities which led to severe manifestations and penalties. The Americans forced Japan to adopt a racial and ethnic identity which they never wanted. Americans wanted to develop Japan commercially in the nineteenth century with a racial dominance of â€Å"whiteness†. The Japanese were convinced that the West’s military and technologies wanted the feudal nation of Japan to become entirely westernized. On the other hand, the influx of the Japanese immigrants to the West was a source of fear for the Americans that this was a slow and gradual invasion of the Asians into the American land. One of the important factors which led to the Japanese attack of the Pearl Harbor was the dysfunctional democratization in Japan that was going on for several years. The civilian leaders supported the Western-style democratic institutions which diminished the roles of the military and emperors. Bureaucratic politics and status discrepancies among the country also led to the Japanese outburst. Japanese invasions into China and Russia increased Japan ’s strength and the victories brought Japan forward as a strong opponent against the United States (Cashman & Robinson 2007). Japan’s mainland in Asia was increasing and the United States and Japanese elited started seeing each other as stong military and economic rivals. The Japanese troops started occupying the French clony in Indochina and as a response the United States cut off the oil export to Japan in 1940. Japan attack the Pearl Harbor in December 1941 along with two other islands Wake and Guam. In April 1941, US bombers started a bombing raid against Japan starting in Tokoyo. The United States also forced the Japanese-Americans to relocate in various isolated areas. This was followed by different attempts of invasions and fight made by both sides, some successful and other interepted. It was in August 1945 that the first atomic bomb was prepared and dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was the final straw causing the death of 100,000 people and followed by the surrender of the Japanese government. Japan signed a surrender document on Spetember 2nd 1945 (National Geographic, 2001). The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not just an end to the Pacific war but also ended the Tokyo’s dreams of racial reversal (Horne, 2004). Japan has a strong national identity as the first and historically only country which had been a victim of atomic bombing and its dreadful consequences. Japanese had a strong emotionalism which is associated to the atomic bombing victimization and the historic racial prejudice by the Americans. In the early post-war years, the Japanese, although harbouring strong hostility towards the Americans, were not able to bring their voices in front of the world because of many reasons. They were faced with circumstances of unemployment, hunger and no homes, and expressing hostility was the least thing on their mind. There was a sense of fear and many refrained from expressing any views against the

Film review Movie Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Film - Movie Review Example Thesis statement Success in moviemaking demands the incorporation of a good plotline, believable characters and a socio-cultural strong theme, as is seen in the movie Mean Streets. Summary of the Plot Charlie is the protagonist in the film. He works for his uncle, Mr. Giovanni who is the head of a New York mafia gang. Charlie attempts to rise through the ranks of mafia organization, but his Catholic convictions and sense of responsibility towards his friend Johnny Boy dissuade him. Charlie is having a secret affair with Teresa, Johnny’s cousin who is ostracized because she is epileptic. Charlie attempts to secure redemption from the Catholic Church, unsuccessfully. He resorts to succoring Johnny as a way of realizing this redemption. Johnny goes to Michael’s bar, where Michael unsuccessfully coerces him into settling his debts. This leads to a brawl between the two. Later on, Michael and his henchmen trail the Johnny, Charlie and Teresa, engaging them into a drive-by sh ooting. Johnny is shot in the neck and Charlie who is also the driver, in the hand. This causes the car to crush. An ambulance arrives and its paramedics whisk away the three to a hospital (Mean Streets, 1). Dimensions and Criteria for Evaluating the Film Different dimensions can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a movie. The four main dimensions include: the use of sound; composition of the movie; theatrical dimensions of the film image; and the dimensions between artistic traditions and the movie. The theatrical dimension which mainly factors the film image is well seen in the way Scorsese as the movie director uses lighting and its different entities. For example, at an instance, Giovanni as the leader of the New York Mafia gang is depicted against a dark background, in his secret rendezvous. Herein, Giovanni has a cigar in his hand, convincing Charlie to severe his association with his Johnny Boy, since honorable men hang with honorable men. This clearly helps the audienc e identify Giovanni as a villain and his rendezvous as a crime den. There are several criteria that are applicable in evaluating the film. The story, characters, direction and overall effectiveness of the film are some of the criteria that can be used to evaluate Mean Streets. Touching the criterion which is the storyline, Mean Streets is a success because the storyline has complete concomitance with the intent of the movie. It is obvious that the author intended to bring out the aspect of democratization of religion, in the movie. The movie’s storyline brings out this aspect successfully. Charlie is good-willed, despite the rut he finds himself in. The convictions he has for Catholicism is still deeply etched in his person and he resultantly seeks redemption in the Catholic Church, albeit unsuccessfully. He sacrifices himself for his friend Johnny to gain this redemption. The church’s act of turning down Charlie’s noble intent effectively brings out the failure of religion to democratize. This also serves as a clarion call for change. The characters remain believable throughout the movie. Cesare Danova as Giovanni possesses a serious mien which fits the role he plays as the local caporegime. Giovanni sits in his office well dressed and smoking a cigar. He tells Charlie that honorable men go with honorable men. This helps portray Giovanni as the ringleader of the mafia group. At the same time, the same

Heartsaver EAD Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Heartsaver EAD - Personal Statement Example My goals in taking this training were to learn basic lifesaving skills. These included CPR techniques for both adults and children, using barrier devices to conduct CPR, and how to stop someone from choking. I also wished to learn the signs of severe medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest, choking, heart attack, and stroke. I also wanted to learn about the Heartsaver AED, which is also known as an automated external defibrillator. I learned that it delivers a shock to the heart and can save the life of someone who is suffering from a heart attack, as well as learning how to use it. I wanted to be fully prepared to use the device in case I am ever in a situation where someone's life around me depends on it. Also, I wanted to polish my CPR skills. Learning these things was, to me, a way to show my community that I care about their safety and health and want to do my part to help protect it. It is difficult to pick a principle or two that stands out from the others, because they are all equally important to me. It does not matter if a person is having a heart attack or if they are choking: they still need someone fully trained to step in and save their life. I liked this course since I found that it taught me first aid on the four major life-threatening emergencies. References Heartsaver AED. (2008). American Heart Association. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from

The Bane of Living in the Cities Essay Example for Free

The Bane of Living in the Cities Essay When we discuss about living in big cities or small towns, different people have different point of view. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. From my personal opinion, big cities have more advantages as compared to small towns, which I quiet disagree with the topic. There are three points I would like to highlight here on why I said living in big cities brings more benefits. Firstly, big cities have far better quality education from lower to higher education. What I am trying to emphasize here is big cities can provide us with modern and adequate academic environment which I find it is very important as education is the key for success in the future career. Therefore, students in big cities can get several benefits from the modern education offered such as multimedia teaching, electronic library and also internet. see more:advantage and disadvantage of living in the city By contrast, those who are living in small towns cannot take the opportunity as much as in big cities because there are not enough modern facilities provided in small towns. Secondly, we can see that more and more people especially the young people migrate to big cities because they see many opportunities in employment. As we all know, most of the local and international companies are situated in big cities so there are many places that they can work as opposed to small towns. Consequently, they have bigger chances in achieving their dreamed career and also pursue in what they like. In addition to this, most of the jobs offered in big cities have bigger salaries so that is why it is one of the attractions for the young people to live in big cities. Last but not least, people live in big cities can enjoy several entertainments and closer to better services like hospitals. To illustrate, in big cities there are many shopping centers, entertainment parks and also many of the international events are held here. We can enjoy our quality time with our family in the entertainment parks but not for those who live in small towns because there is no such thing there. Furthermore, hospitals are nearer to you in big cities and the services offered are better compared to hospitals in small towns as they are fully equipped with modern equipments and also most of the specialists work there, It is true that despite these benefits of living in big cities, there are certain disadvantages to it. However, when compared both, I tend to see the advantages outweigh the disadvantages so that is why I am more on living in big cities. In a nutshell, no matter where we live it depends on an individual to make the decision to continue living your life.

Differences on Reaction Time and Accuracy During Enumeration

Differences on Reaction Time and Accuracy During Enumeration Visual field differences on reaction time and accuracy during enumeration ABSTRACT This experiment tests the difference in performance of reaction time and level of accuracy between visual fields during enumeration. The results show that the left visual field has an advantage over the right visual field for reaction time and level of accuracy. However, the results of the repeated measures t-test found that there was a significant difference between visual fields for reaction time, but no significant difference for accuracy. Results show some support for our hypothesis that there are visual field differences in performances during enumeration. However, this experiment has to be further tested for validity. INTRODUCTION When people are shown an array of items, reaction times have been found to remain relatively constant till three or four items with few errors. However beyond that number, reaction times start to increase rapidly with more errors. This difference is known to be from subitizing and counting. The word subitizing was first introduced by Kaufman, Lord, Reese, and Volkmann (1949). Subitizing is the ability to know the sum of items without counting, with speed and accuracy. However, counting is a slower process, and used for larger array of items. Jackson Coney (2004) study examined 32 psychology undergraduates on enumeration. Their results showed support for differences between visual field on subitizing. There was no effect of gender or from hand used for response of answers. They found that there was a significant effect of visual fields on response times. There was faster reaction times and higher accuracy for the left visual field. They also found there were no significant beneficial effects of visual field on response time beyond 3 items. Participants had lesser errors in the left visual field than the right. Better performance in the left visual field is linked to processing in the right hemisphere. Also, a significant effect between visual field and number of items was found. The left visual field appears to have a better advantage when enumerating 2 to 4 items. They also found a significant effect of number of items, response time increased with number of items displayed. The largest increase in mean response time wa s between 2 and 3 items, and was highly significant. Accuracy also dropped as number of items increased. Nan, Knà ¶sche and Luo (2006) tested 14 right-handed, paid subjects on enumeration with an extra condition of distractors present. Their event related potential (ERP) was also recorded while they performed the experiment. Their results showed that reaction times generally increased with number of targets and distracter items. Further tests showed that there was a significant difference in reaction times between numbers of targets in each condition. Their results do not support the theory of subitizing and counting. In addition, there was no evidence of differences between accuracy rates and number of targets. There was also no evidence of hemispheric dominance in performance in subitizing or counting. This experiment will be examining difference in performance between visual fields, and reaction time on enumeration. This experiment is a modified replication of the Jackson Coney (2004) study, we will only be comparing data from 4 items and only from right handed participants. This experiment will aim to determine if their results of right hemispheric dominance can be replicated. This is useful as it would give a better insight about processes in the brain. My hypothesis is that there will be a difference in performance of reaction times and accuracy between visual fields on the task of enumeration. METHODS Design The independent variable is the visual field of the participant. There are two dependent variables, the response time, and accuracy of reponses. This is a within group design. A repeated t-test was used. Participants All 30 participants were voluntary, and are female psychology undergraduates. Participants were split into left and right handed group, but only the right handed group data were analysed. Apparatus Participants are seated in a cubicle room with adequate light with an Amiga 1200 microcomputer and 1084S monitor. This computer controlled the trial procedure, displaying and timing of stimulus and recorded results. The computer was linked to a monitor outside the cubicle, which displayed error and reaction time scores to the experimenter. Response is indicated by participants pressing 1 of 3 buttons, which correspond to the estimate of 3, 4 or 5 items shown. A chin rest was provided to ensure the participant’s head was 45 cm away and in the middle of the screen. Also, eye movements are tracked using a closed-circuit television system. Procedure Participants are seated in front of the screen and chin rest was adjusted to ensure they are at a relaxed and steady head position. Participants are first shown a blank screen (1000ms), and then a central cross appears for central fixation (1000ms). Stimuli are presented as black dots on a white background (150ms) and the blank screen reappears until they give a response. The whole cycle is repeated again. The number of stimulus ranges from 3-5. They were asked to indicate using fingers to press 1 of 3 buttons. The buttons correspond to 3, 4 or 5 number of items. Half of the participants were told to respond by pressing the button with their left hand and the other half were told to respond using their right hand. This is to control handedness response effects, however the responses from left handed participants are not analysed. Participants were also told to place index finger of their assigned hand above the â€Å"3† button and the other fingers on the other buttons. Before the real experiment started, participants are given 10 practice trial runs, but results are not taken into account and the experimental trial is followed immediately. For each trial, stimuli will have equal chance to be either shown on the left or right of the visual field. The locations of the stimuli are determined by randomly placing them in the slots of a theoretical 44 grid of the screen. Stimuli cannot be placed into neighboring spots in the grid. There are a total of 30 randomized trials. 10 trials will show 3 items, 10 trials will show 4 items and 10 trials will show 5 items. If an error is made, participants will hear the feedback from an auditory tone. Their reaction and accuracy of responses are recorded. Participants are told to estimate the number of stimuli on screen with priority on accuracy of response over speed. Only data from 4 item displays were analysed. RESULTS Mean reaction time for left visual field is 844.57ms (SD= 5.91ms), and 854.95ms (SD=6.27ms) for the right visual field. The average correct percentage for the left visual field is 84% (SD= 18%), and 86 %( SD=11%) for the right visual field. A repeated measures t-test was conducted to compare visual field and reaction times. There was a significant difference found, t (4) =6.29, p A repeated measures t-test was conducted to compare accuracy between visual fields. There was no significant difference found, and thus we have to reject our hypothesis. We cannot accept the research hypothesis. T (4) =0.172, p Graph 1: shows the mean of reaction times in ms between left and right visual fields. Graph 2: shows the mean of errors in percentage between visual fields. DISCUSSION The results from the repeated t-test for reaction times show that there are significant differences in the mean of reaction times between visual fields. The results from the repeated t-test for accuracy levels show that there a no significant differences in the mean average percentage of correct responses between visual fields. These results are supported by Jackson Coney (2004) study to a certain extent, they found that there was significant differences between visual field on reaction times and accuracy. Our study found that there were faster reaction times, higher accuracy for the left visual field. However the t-test found significant differences for reaction times, but not accuracy of responses. The results are in contradiction of what Nan, Knà ¶sche and Luo (2006) found in their study. They found that there was a significant difference in reaction times between numbers of targets in each condition. They also found no evidence of hemispheric dominance in performance during subitizing or counting. However, we did not analyze data between numbers of objects. We can only conclude that our findings show slight support for our hypothesis, as the overall findings do not fully support our hypothesis that there will be a difference between visual field on the task of enumeration. However, there is possibility that having significantly faster reaction time is due to strategies employed by participants unknowingly. Trick and Pylyshyn (1994) suggested that people use methods to help them estimate number of items, such as using patterns. This indicates that the differences in results could not be due to hemispheric dominance, but because of these strategies. In Nan, Knà ¶sche and Luo (2006) study, reaction times for with 6 items display had shorter reaction times compared to the 5 items. Study by Piazza, Mechelli, Butterworth and Price (2002) tested 9 male participants. Participants were shown a total of 32 different stimuli consisting of black dots on a white background. PET scans were also obtained during the experiment. Piazza et al. (2002) PET scans showed that areas linked to object recognition were activated in both canonical and without canonical arrangements. It suggests that pattern recognition was used in all conditions. These studies suggest that ther e was evidence of participants using pattern recognition to count items. As a result, these data could skew our data as the differences in reaction time could be due to other factors such as pattern recognition that aid in enumeration. Enumeration requires the assimilation of information received from visual stimulus has to be integrated first before it can be understood. According to this theory, the process would speed up if the visual stimulus is presented in one visual field. However, Delvenne, Castronovo,Demeyere and Humphreys (2011) propose an alternative hypothesis. They propose that high level tasks perform better when there is bilateral visual field presentation. Their study found that visual enumeration has fewer errors when the items are shown in two visual fields rather than in a single visual field. This bilateral field advantage is seen when more than four items are shown. The authors suggest that this effect is only seen when the task becomes too taxing for our attention. Further tests should also include results with gender being controlled for, and compare results between unilateral processing and bilateral processing of enumeration. Also, this experiment has threats to external validity as there is sampling bias. It cannot be generalised to the population, because only women participant data was taken into account. Also, if we are testing for visual field differences the results would be skewed if we only take results from the right handed participants. Previous studies such as Bourne and Todd (2004) have shown that handedness does affect hemi field bias in processing. As such, we can propose there could also be a processing bias for enumeration. In conclusion, the results have found that there was significant difference between visual fields for reaction times but not for accuracy of responses. The results suggest that there is some support for our hypothesis that there are differences in performance between visual fields during enumeration. However, further study should be done to check for validity of study. REFERENCES Bourne, V.J. Todd, B.K. (2004). When left means right: an explanation of the left cradling bias in terms of right hemisphere specializations, Developmental Science, 7, 19-24. Delvenne, J.-F., Castronovo, J.,Demeyere, N. Humphreys, G.W. (2011). Bilateral Field Advantage in Visual Enumeration. PLoS One, 6, e17743. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0017743. Jackson, N. Coney, J. (2004). Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition. Brain and Cognition, 9, 53-66. Kaufman, E.L., Lord, M.W., Reese, T.W. Volkmann, J. (1949). The Discrimination of Visual Number. American Journal of Psychology, 62, 498–525. Nan, Y., Knosche, T. R., Luo, Y.J. (2006). Counting in everyday life: Discrimination and enumeration.  Neuropsychologia, 44, 1103–1113. Piazza, M., Mechelli, A., Butterworth, B. Price, C.J. (2002). Are Subitizing and Counting Implemented as Separate or Functionally Overlapping Processes? NeuroImage, 15, 435–446. Trick, L.M. Pylyshyn, Z.W. (1994). Why are small and large numbers enumerated differently? A limited-capacity preattentive stage in vision. Psychol Rev, 101, 80-102