Porters Diamond Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Porters Diamond - Essay Example The first aspect is the strategy and structure of firms. He explains that competition makes businesses to increase their innovation and productivity. Second, he describes the demand conditions factor. Here, he explains that firms face pressure due to increased demand, and this forces them to improve their competitiveness through an increase in quality. Third, he illustrates the nature of related supporting industries. Here, he reveals that the distance between such industries with a firm determines the exchange of information and ideas. In factor conditions, he explains that the factors of production are not inherited but created. He completes his model with the element of a government. He illustrates that the government only acts as a catalyst to push companies to competitive performance. However, Porter’s research has various limitations. First, Porter did not explore how culture influences the competitiveness of a nation in his framework. He did not explain how attitudes or social norms of a population towards authority affect the organization of firms. Second, it was incorrect to mention that the strategy and structure of companies are due to economic circumstances rather than culture. Cultural factors are the reasons for the creation of some enterprises such as Japanese business system of Keiretsu. Conclusively, although Porter's framework is incomplete, it is valid. Academics such as Dunning have extended on the framework and have revealed on the merits of the concept in explaining national competitiveness.

Performing well academically and having a social life Essay

Performing well academically and having a social life - Essay Example â€Å"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.† Being a 16 years old sophomore I believe I have faced enough competition in the early academic years. Since my childhood, I’ve been a shy, reserved and quiet person. I don’t interact with people much due to my hesitation while talking to new people. I feel uncomfortable when I am surrounded by a group of individuals and I’ve always tried to stay out of group discussions. These natural personality constraints led me to the isolation from my social circle. I have had a few friends and even their knowledge was limited about my problems, likes, dislikes and issues. These personality traits seem normal and unproblematic to many people. However, I personally feel that these were the factors that affected my academic performance the most. I never wished to take a position in the class in order to avoid prominence and attention from others. I did not take part in class discussions as I felt awkward and uncomfortable speaking in front of all students and the teacher. I kept myself from asking question even if I had some confusion in my mind regarding the topic being taught by the teacher. When I was a kid, I used to avoid interactions with other kids. I kept myself isolated in the parks, play grounds and even in the school. I used to keep my feelings secret and ideas personal. All these traits resulted in inner conflicts arising in me. I felt irritated by the thought that people avoid talking to me. I felt aggressive and angry when people talked to each other and did not involve me in their conversations. Somehow these were the reactions of my responses to them when they started a conversation or tried talking to me which I avoided most of the times. My parents noticed these problems and were constantly making efforts to make me friendly, confident and sociable. At first I found the lectures of my parents and elder siblings completely meaningless. I was extremely disheartened by the way people ignored me while talking to each other. This was the most difficult phase of my life. I lost my hopes of getting good grades, having friends and making my way out of the isolation that I created in the past years. However, the constant struggles of my parents motivated me to talk to them about my issues. I started discussing my experiences, daily activities and secrets with them. Their friendliness, affection and loving nature made me confident enough to share everything with them. The main problem then, was to change myself in front of others. I felt comfortable with my parents but when it came to other people I still felt the same hesitation and shyness. I started motivating myself to take part in the conversations. I started writing a diary of my day to day activities in order to blow out the negative feelings. I used to feel relaxed after writing the diary. I made a plan to encourage myself on speaking in crowds. Firstly, I started asking questions during the class lectures when I found anything confusing. I started taking part in the classroom discussions and academic debates which greatly helped me to enhance my social skills. My class fellows started discussing their academic and other issues with me which again was considered as an encouraging gesture by me. The first effect of this step was a positive apparent impact on my

Data Analysis Chapter Example

Data Analysis Chapter Example This chapter will focus on the results of the data analysis. The first section will discuss the descriptive statistics and in the second section the results of the Heckman two-step approach will be discussed. Descriptive statistics The descriptive statistics of the survey data will be discussed by comparing and characterizing the households that affected and do not affected by the climate change. The sample size used for the analysis is therefore 420 respondents. An uneven distribution of land ownership exists in coastal region of Bangladesh, with a significant proportion of land being owned by large landowners (Alauddin and Hamid 1997). Agricultural survey (1996 ) shows that 54% of families in coastal areas hold only 17% of the total agricultural land (PDO-ICZMP-2003). The majority of the rural population is either landless farmers (who sell their labor or cultivate others land)or marginal farmers (who have less than .2 ha of property) (Opstal 2006). Over the past decade the farmers are declined. Now a day in the coastal Bangladesh fishing is one of the most important economic activities. They are mostly landless or have a small plot of land to use for living purpose. In the study area total land size is changed due to climate change. It appears from the given table which shows the comparative analysis of land pattern before and after Aila. In 2008 the average amount is 157.02 hectare/year and in 2009 it is 99.89 hectare/year. Land is used for different purposes. In 2008, 159 respondents used their land for cultivation i.e they are the agricultural land owner and due to climate change only 75 respondents are the owner of the agricultural land. This amount is decreasing. In last 5 years 62 households lost their land in the study area. The total amount of damaged land is 36911.58 hectares. Most of the people depend on agriculture so this is a great loss for their survive. For this their income is decreased, expenditure is decreased and they have no enough money to buy the agricultural land. From this it is concluded that they live below poverty line. According to a recent (Oct09) study done by the South Asia Association of Poverty Eradication, each affected household has seen their income decrease by approximately 44% as a result of Cyclone Aila. The main independent variable is expenditures by household for a basket of basic needs, which is considered as a measurement of poverty. This expenditure measurement actually represents a poverty threshold value, which is derived from HIES (Household Income-Expenditure Survey 2009) by BBS and is equivalent to US$ 208/capita/year (BBS, 2008). It is referred as Basic Need Cost in the model. In 2009 we get only 84 respondents out of 420 do not live below poverty line. It is estimated by using our expenditure data from primary survey analysis. So due to climate change most of the households live below poverty line. Econometric Analysis Now we would like to continue with figuring out the nature and extent of relationship between agricultural land ownership pattern and poverty of Koyra. Hence, in this chapter we conduct econometric analysis. Variables used in econometric models With a view to identifying the relationship pattern between agricultural land ownership pattern and poverty we ran a number of econometric models. But before we proceed to the operation with econometric models, let us have a look at the variables used in the model. Dependent variable The dependent variable is total land owned by, which is considered to be affected by climate change. This variable indicates how much land was owned by the household in 2009. The values were taken in hectares for the entire household. Independent variables Below we have mentioned the independent variables, with short explanation, that we used in models. Variable household size refers to the total number of members in a household. Education refers to households average aggregate academic schooling year. It is the number obtained by summing up of formal schooling years of all members in a household and then dividing it with the number of total household members. This variable is considered as a proxy for capacity of households. The variable Duration with community refers to the number of years the respondent household living with the current community. Along with the above-mentioned dependent and independent variables, we used the following two independent variables for constructing correlation and regression. Econometric Methodology: We used a Heckman Two Step Model for dependent variable land ownership in order to find out if there is any sample selection bias in the model. This model consists of two processes that are addressed by two different equations: a selection equation and a conditional equation. The first probit equation is a selection process for the households having land-ownership or not. In the second equation the effects of independent variables on land ownership are examined. These processes are related to each other through their error terms which contain the unobservable. If there is no correlation between the error terms of the two equations, there is no need to perform a Heckman two step approach as there is no sample selection bias and an OLS regression provides the unbiased result (Dow and Norton, 2003). The Heckman two-step approach is based on the assumption that the selection equation and the conditional equation are related to each other through their error terms. When there is no relation between the error terms there is no need to perform a Heckman two step approach as there is no sample selection bias and an OLS regression will give unbiased estimators. For such a model, the bottom line in STATA output gives a value for Ï  (rho) with associated p-value. This Ï  is a likelihood ratio indicating the correlation between the error terms of the equations in Heckman model. The correlation between the error terms is indicated in table (Annex) by the selectivity parameter, Ï . The Heckmans lambda is included in the regression to control for the influence of unobserved characteristics of the variables. The regression coefficient of the control factor is an indicator for the covariance of the error terms. In the model the control factor is non-significant. The missing data problem can arise in a variety of forms. We can see that there are missing data in the sample. The number of missing data in is 3, but the problem is more severe for, where the number of missing data is 80. Since the data is missing mainly on the dependent variable, a nonrandom sample selection exists in this case. There is a possibility that due to some common pattern, the respondents did not provide any data. If that has happened, bias could always occur in OLS in estimating the population model. As a result, we use here the Heckman model. Our model is Empirical results This chapter will focus on the results of the data analysis. The first section will discuss the descriptive statistics and in the second section the results of the Heckman two-step approach will be discussed. Descriptive statistics The descriptive statistics of the survey data will be discussed by comparing and characterizing the households that affected and do not affected by the climate change. The sample size used for the analysis is therefore 420 respondents. An uneven distribution of land ownership exists in coastal region of Bangladesh, with a significant proportion of land being owned by large landowners (Alauddin and Hamid 1997). Agricultural survey (1996 ) shows that 54% of families in coastal areas hold only 17% of the total agricultural land (PDO-ICZMP-2003). The majority of the rural population is either landless farmers (who sell their labor or cultivate others land)or marginal farmers (who have less than .2 ha of property) (Opstal 2006). Over the past decade the farmers are declined. Now a day in the coastal Bangladesh fishing is one of the most important economic activities. They are mostly landless or have a small plot of land to use for living purpose. In the study area total land size is changed due to climate change. It appears from the given table which shows the comparative analysis of land pattern before and after Aila. In 2008 the average amount is 157.02 hectare/year and in 2009 it is 99.89 hectare/year. Land is used for different purposes. In 2008, 159 respondents used their land for cultivation i.e they are the agricultural land owner and due to climate change only 75 respondents are the owner of the agricultural land. This amount is decreasing. In last 5 years 62 households lost their land in the study area. The total amount of damaged land is 36911.58 hectares. Most of the people depend on agriculture so this is a great loss for their survive. For this their income is decreased, expenditure is decreased and they have no enough money to buy the agricultural land. From this it is concluded that they live below poverty line. According to a recent (Oct09) study done by the South Asia Association of Poverty Eradication, each affected household has seen their income decrease by approximately 44% as a result of Cyclone Aila. The main independent variable is expenditures by household for a basket of basic needs, which is considered as a measurement of poverty. This expenditure measurement actually represents a poverty threshold value, which is derived from HIES (Household Income-Expenditure Survey 2009) by BBS and is equivalent to US$ 208/capita/year (BBS, 2008). It is referred as Basic Need Cost in the model. In 2009 we get only 84 respondents out of 420 do not live below poverty line. It is estimated by using our expenditure data from primary survey analysis. So due to climate change most of the households live below poverty line. Econometric Analysis Now we would like to continue with figuring out the nature and extent of relationship between agricultural land ownership pattern and poverty of Koyra. Hence, in this chapter we conduct econometric analysis. Variables used in econometric models With a view to identifying the relationship pattern between agricultural land ownership pattern and poverty we ran a number of econometric models. But before we proceed to the operation with econometric models, let us have a look at the variables used in the model. Dependent variable The dependent variable is total land owned by, which is considered to be affected by climate change. This variable indicates how much land was owned by the household in 2009. The values were taken in hectares for the entire household. Independent variables Below we have mentioned the independent variables, with short explanation, that we used in models. Variable household size refers to the total number of members in a household. Education refers to households average aggregate academic schooling year. It is the number obtained by summing up of formal schooling years of all members in a household and then dividing it with the number of total household members. This variable is considered as a proxy for capacity of households. The variable Duration with community refers to the number of years the respondent household living with the current community. Along with the above-mentioned dependent and independent variables, we used the following two independent variables for constructing correlation and regression. Econometric Methodology: We used a Heckman Two Step Model for dependent variable land ownership in order to find out if there is any sample selection bias in the model. This model consists of two processes that are addressed by two different equations: a selection equation and a conditional equation. The first probit equation is a selection process for the households having land-ownership or not. In the second equation the effects of independent variables on land ownership are examined. These processes are related to each other through their error terms which contain the unobservable. If there is no correlation between the error terms of the two equations, there is no need to perform a Heckman two step approach as there is no sample selection bias and an OLS regression provides the unbiased result (Dow and Norton, 2003). The Heckman two-step approach is based on the assumption that the selection equation and the conditional equation are related to each other through their error terms. When there is no relation between the error terms there is no need to perform a Heckman two step approach as there is no sample selection bias and an OLS regression will give unbiased estimators. For such a model, the bottom line in STATA output gives a value for Ï  (rho) with associated p-value. This Ï  is a likelihood ratio indicating the correlation between the error terms of the equations in Heckman model. The correlation between the error terms is indicated in table (Annex) by the selectivity parameter, Ï . The Heckmans lambda is included in the regression to control for the influence of unobserved characteristics of the variables. The regression coefficient of the control factor is an indicator for the covariance of the error terms. In the model the control factor is non-significant. The missing data problem can arise in a variety of forms. We can see that there are missing data in the sample. The number of missing data in is 3, but the problem is more severe for , where the number of missing data is 80. Since the data is missing mainly on the dependent variable, a nonrandom sample selection exists in this case. There is a possibility that due to some common pattern, the respondents did not provide any data. If that has happened, bias could always occur in OLS in estimating the population model. As a result, we use here the Heckman model. Our model is We assumed that is observed if Where and have correlation Results: The results of our Heckman model are provided in Table (Annex). Using as a dependent variable in Heckman regression, we find and the constant term are significant while is insignificant. We also find positive relationship for and with . Considering the absolute values of the coefficients (table), the result shows that is the most influential between the two variables. A typical use of a logarithmic transformation variable is to pull outlying data from a positively skewed distribution closer to the bulk of the data in a quest to have the variable be normally distributed. In regression analysis the logs of variables are routinely taken, not necessarily for achieving a normal distribution of the predictors and/or the dependent variable but for interpretability. The standard interpretation of coefficients in a regression analysis is that a one unit change in the independent variable results in the respective regression coefficient change in the expected value of the dependent variable while all the predictors are held constant. Interpreting a log transformed variable can be done in such a manner; however, such coefficients are routinely interpreted in terms of percent change (Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach by Woolridge for discussion and derivation). Well explore the relationship between the landownership pattern and the per capita consumption expenditure. In this model we are going to have the dependent variable in its original metric and the independent variable log-transformed. Similar to the prior example the interpretation has a nice format, a one percent increase in the independent variable increases (or decreases) the dependent variable by (coefficient/100) units. In this particular model we take log with PCE and the coefficients on and represent the estimated marginal effects of the regressors in the underlying regression equation. So, an increase in the household size by one member increases land ownership by 6.30 hectares and an increase in the household consumption expenditure by one percent increases land ownership by 0.613 hectares. On the other hand, household size is the least influential variable. It is positively related with landownership pattern. So these two variables have greater influence on poverty. We used the Heckman two step models while taking land ownership as a dependent variable in the conditional equation of this model, along with other independent variables, result in model shows that PCE is positively related with landownership. The p value of lambda is 0.193 i.e. 19%. So this is not significant for the model i. e. there is no correlation between the error terms of the two equations in Heckman model. The lambda term is positively signed which suggests that the error terms in the selection and primary equations are positively correlated. So (unobserved) factors that make more observable tend to be associated with higher values of our independent variables in the selection equation. However, since the lambda term is not significant, we cannot come to any such conclusion and hence we conducted OLS. But if we use the OLS we get the following Table 1: OLS Result lnd_owners~p | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -+- lnpce | 58.21023 18.98437 3.07 0.002 20.86622 95.55423 hh_size | 4.660069 6.495749 0.72 0.474 -8.117666 17.4378 _cons | -204.742 97.52465 -2.10 0.037 -396.5819 -12.90203 We present the usual OLS regression in Table 1. As we can see from Table 1, and is both positive, while the former is not significant and the latter is significant. Similarly, the constant term is negative but significant. Table 2 From the above OLS table we consider the independent variables are per capita expenditure, education level, during with the community, household size and asset 2008 and the dependent variable is land ownership pattern of the respondents. In this analysis the model is significant in case of asset 2008 for dependent variable land ownership because in this case the value of P is 0%. We know if the value of P is less than 5% then the model is significant. From the regression we get per capita expenditure, education level, during with the community and asset 2008 is positive. But without asset 2008 all other variables are not significant. Similarly the constant term is also positive but not significant. Results from various OLS regression models are shown in Table 1 and.2. The former shows results when model is run with and while the latter shows results when land ownership is incorporated with other independent variables. Values of coefficient are different for the independent variables in the result tables. Using land ownership (i.e. our measure of poverty) as a dependent variable in OLS regression, we found without one, all the explanatory variables are not significant (Table 2). We also found significant positive relationship per capita expenditure, education level, during with the community and asset 2008 with land ownership whereas it is significantly negative for household size. Annex . heckman lnd_ownership lnpce hh_size, twostep select(lnpce edulevel duringwithcomty hh_size asst2008) rhosigma Heckman selection model two-step estimates Number of obs = 417 (regression model with sample selection) Censored obs = 80 Uncensored obs = 337 Wald chi2(4) = 9.83 Prob > chi2 = 0.0434 | Coef. Std. Err. z P>|z| [95% Conf. Interval] -+- lnd_owners~p | lnpce | 61.28878 20.67387 2.96 0.003 20.76873 101.8088 hh_size | 6.303549 7.203314 0.88 0.382 -7.814687 20.42179 _cons | -286.9731 123.3481 -2.33 0.020 -528.731 -45.21517 -+- select | lnpce | .0682579 .1348031 0.51 0.613 -.1959514 .3324671 edulevel | .0096151 .025462 0.38 0.706 -.0402896 .0595197 duringwith~y | .0161874 .005286 3.06 0.002 .005827 .0265477 hh_size | .007615 .046654 0.16 0.870 -.0838252 .0990552 asst2008 | -1.13e-06 7.34e-07 -1.53 0.125 -2.57e-06 3.12e-07 _cons | -.0686488 .6543009 -0.10 0.916 -1.351055 1.213757 -+- mills | lambda | 181.4302 139.4798 1.30 0.193 -91.94525 454.8057 -+- rho | 0.74328 sigma | 244.09453 lambda | 181.43021 139.4798

Smith’s Division of Labour Essay -- Essays Papers

Smith’s Division of Labour According to Smith, there are three reasons why the division of labour increases productivity. First, Smith attests that the division of labour increases dexterity within the workplace. By dexterity, Smith means that an individual performing one task repetitively can accomplish that task faster than an individual who attempts to accomplish all tasks by himself. Carpentry is a prime example of Smith’s division of labour. It may take an individual an entire day to complete one chair†¦ to cut, route, and sand the boards. Then to glue, screw, and finish the chair. If the job of making the chair was divided up between different individuals each performing one task, then the number of chairs completed in a single day would increase dramatically. Second, Smith believed that the division of labour saves time. When one man must perform every task, it takes time to move between the different stations necessary to complete the task. Furthermore, changing jobs or tasks within the workplace causes psychological problems. It takes time for someone to adjust to a different task, whereas an individual who only performs one task never has the need to readjust. Take the carpenter for example; after cutting the boards to shape he must then move to route and sand the boards. The adjustment from cutting the boards to sanding the boards is a complete mental transition. Different tools, motions, and locations are necessary in order to sand the boards as opposed to cut the boards. The transition between tasks wastes valuable time and money. Another time-wasting element of the workplace without a division of labour is man’s intrinsic tendency to take breaks between jobs or tasks. The transition between diff... ... process is to make a woolen coat which keeps a day labourer warm so that he, again, can start the chain of economic processes. Within each step of the woolen coat or chair construction, there exists a separate division of labor as well. In order to gather the lumber, there are dozens of separate steps necessary. Someone must cut down the tree, and then one must stack the tree into a truck. After which, one must drive the truck to the lumber yard. Then the trees must be cut into boards. Then the boards must be stacked and watered†¦ it is an endless chain of responsibilities. Again, according the Smith, the most beneficial manner in which to accomplish these steps is to have one individual occupy each step. Therefore, it becomes apparent that there are thousands of individuals whose work goes into making something as simple as a woolen coat or a chair.

Why Rhode Island Was the Most Democratic Colony

â€Å"American† Essay The original thirteen colonies, from groundbreaking Virginia, first settled in 1612, to the bountiful Carolinas originating in the year of 1670. In 1636, twenty four years after the formation of Virginia, the revolutionary Rhode Island came to be. Though settled three-hundred and seventy-six years ago, Rhode Island at that time, still holds similarities to what it means to be â€Å"American† today. America is synonymous with freedom, tolerance of those different, equality, and democracy.Rhode Island can be considered the most American of all thirteen original colonies, because it supported separatist government, practiced religious tolerance, and had a democracy from the start. Rhode Island may never have came to be, if not for Roger Williams. After being exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, for endorsement of a separatist movement, It was he who relocated to present day Rhode Island. At that time, Massachusetts, was a colony ruled by Puritans . These people were anti-separatists, which means that they did not believe in the separation of church and state.Any resident living in Massachusetts, regardless of Religious affiliation was required to pay taxes to the puritan church. The churches only problem was not the requirement of taxes, but also their efforts to control other aspects of the colonist’s lives. Massachusetts had a certain kind of feel to it, and the Puritans wanted to assure that it stay that way. Puritans felt threatened by any kind of act that did not fit perfectly with their view of what life should be like in their colony. For example, If two people were found to be showing any type of affection towards each other in public, they were fined.Puritans were against the practice of ceremonies, or any type of event containing music. They believed that music was an expression not pure enough for their way of life. Puritans refused to celebrate various holidays, such as Christmas. They also would not allow certain staples of religious practice to be involved in their worship. Candles, or religious images were not permitted in church service. Many forms of entertainment were not allowed in Puritan villages. Gambling or other games of chance were outlawed. Plays of any genre were not allowed.Laughing in public was forbidden, because it suggested that devilish or demonic spirits inhabited you. The Puritans worked to control every aspect of a persons life. Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, would have none of it. From the start Williams allowed Rhode Islander’s many freedoms, as well as creating a separatist government, in some ways, the first of its kind. Williams did not require citizens to attend church, and did not let laws interfere with a someone’s personal life. He believed that it was not the churches/governments right to control such things.Though the people of Rhode island did pay taxes, these taxes went to the government, not a state church. The lack of the se laws can be considered very â€Å"American† by modern standards. When looking at the country now, one can see that there is an absence of laws restricting Humans actions and rights, aside from cruel and unjust acts. Each individual has freedom of speech, and is allowed to express their ideas openly. The US does not outlaw many types of entertainment, music, holidays, or public displays of humor or affection. Rhode Island shares this in common with the present day US.The same cannot be said of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Rhode Island was one of only four colonies whose government did not have an official religion. The Carolina’s, Maryland, New York, and Virginia all supported the Anglican church, While Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire all chose to support the congregational church. This proves that Rhode Island was uniquely and unconscionably â€Å"American† for its time. Rhode Island can again be considered â€Å"American† because of itâ €™s practice of complete religious tolerance, this was unheard of in most other colonies in these times.Williams allowed anyone, regardless of religious affiliation to reside in the state. Jews, persecuted by almost every other colony at the time, as well as Catholics were allowed to live in the boundaries of Rhode Island, and not fear punishment or persecution. Even the endlessly persecuted Quakers were allowed in Rhode Island. Quaker views were vastly different than that of leader Roger Williams, but he believed that they should not be persecuted for this difference in opinion. When looking at the views of other colonies, one can see that they did no share the same ideals. Maryland claimed to be religiously tolerant.Created as a refuge for Catholics, one would assume that a place such as this would be tolerant of other religions, the Act of Toleration was passed in 1649, but was not as welcoming as it sounded. While giving freedom to Christians, it also stated the right to per secute all Jews, or atheists with no religious affiliation. Massachusetts was wildly intolerant of not Christians, torturing and killing the Quakers, whom later fled to Rhode Island. All colonies supporting the Anglican church practiced religious tolerance to their fellow protestants, and in some cases even Catholics, but none would accept those who denied the divinity of Jesus.Congregational colonies were even more strict in their tolerance of other religions. Aside from religion, Rhode Island was also tolerant of people that for other reason would not be welcome elsewhere. Those like Williams who had angered the leaders of their previous residence were welcomed there. Anne Hutchinson, whom was also exiled from the Bay Colony is a famous resident of Rhode Island. Her Ideals were far from that or Williams, but still she was welcomed in his colony. Both rich and poor could find a home in Rhode island.It was unlike the sprawling plantations of South Carolina, or Virginia where the poo r were exiled from being â€Å"squatters† on the land, or the large and powerful elites of aristocratic New York, controlling not just the government and economy, but the land as well. Rhode islands practice of tolerance, not only pertaining to religion, but also to the differing of ideals and economic status, again shows that Rhode Island is the most â€Å"American† of the thirteen colonies. A third reason that Rhode Island can be considered the most â€Å"American† colony was it’s voting system.Rhode Island gave all men, who owned property and payed taxes on said property the right to vote. Regardless of Religion, a man had this right. This was unheard of in many colonies at the time. Anglican colonies such as South Carolina and Georgia, also allowed man holding men to vote, but only if they were of protestant religion. Some colonies were even more strict with their voting rights. In the Massachusetts Bay Colony the government could not even be consider ed a democracy. The Freemen held the right to elect the governor annually as well as his cabinet.The freemen however, were few and far between. Only puritans could be freemen, and they were not even eligible until they were declared â€Å"visible saints†. This is when, at church, god inhabits a person, which causes him to convulse, or perhaps speak in tongues. Because of this rule, only few men were eligible to vote in elections. Rhode Islands suffrage law, allowed a vast number of citizens to vote, which in turn made Rhode Island on of the most democratic of the colonies at the time. This again proves that Rhode Island was the most â€Å"American† of the Thirteen colonies.There are those that do not believe Rhode Island was the most â€Å"American† colony of our forefathers. Some may say that the most â€Å"American† colony was in fact Georgia. Evidence supports that this was not the case. Though Georgia supported separatist government, and did not affil iate with any one religion, they did however persecute certain religious groups. Catholics. The Jewish, and Atheists were discriminated against and persecuted in Georgia, because of this, these people did not have the right to vote in any election, only practicing protestants could participate in elections.These shortcomings of the Georgia colony disqualify it from being a truly â€Å"American† colony. Rhode Island can easily be considered the most â€Å"American† colony for many reasons. Rhode Island participated in separatist government, practiced religious toleration towards all religions, and promoted suffrage for a large amount of people at the time. When someone is asked to describe America in three words, one is willing to bet that those three words would be freedom, tolerance, and equality. Rhode island had the right idea hundreds of years ago, and our country has been influenced by these simple ideas ever since.

As technology progresses more forms of video editing are being introduced

As technology progresses more forms of video editing are being introduced, with this comes the easier and more intelligent way of creating suspense during a film, or for sections and events in a film or on Television. There are a number of factors that influence the way in which suspense is created, these are, camera angles & shots, sound, lighting and finally editing. All of these factors combined create a very professional and effective way of suspense being built up. Camera angles & shots are effective on their own as well as being backed up by sound and lighting. There are many forms of camera angles that are used for different events, for example, a Long Shot (LS) would not be used to show the emotion of someone, to show the emotion and make an effective sequence an Extreme Close-Up (ECU) would be used. The same goes for when a high authority figure is being portrayed. To make someone look powerful a Low Angle Shot (looking upwards at the object) would be used to create a feeling that the viewer is smaller and less powerful that the object that is being portrayed. Sound is used as a form of backing device, which basically supports the camera. There are 4 types of sound, Dialogue, sound effects, ambient sounds and Non-diegetic sounds (especially music). Lighting does more than ‘lighting up and area', lighting is referred to in two manors, Realist light and Expressive light. Realist light is used to simulate reality, it has worked if you haven't noticed it being used, and Expressive Lighting is to set the mood or affect our view of a character or an incident. There are three main points of light, Key light, fill light and back light. Key if the main light source on set, Fill removes shadows and Back defines figures outline. Finally there comes editing, there are two main forms of film editing, they are called Continuity Editing and MTV Styles Editing. Features of continuity editing are the 180 and 30-degree rule, shot/reverse shot for dialogue and match cutting. Features of MTV Style Editing are side-steps traditional narrative, more concerned with establishing mood or feeling. There are a few reasons why people distinguish between the two types of editing, it helps focus attention on the editing process and also opens up helpful ways of looking at short forms like adverts and music video. The Untouchables was set in the year 1930, and America pays heavy price for its experiment with Prohibition. Illegal, yet lucrative business of bootlegging made Al Capone (played by Robert de Niro) the undisputed leader of the Chicago underworld and most powerful man in the city. However, despite his public businessman personality, Capone keeps his supremacy by brutal violence, not caring about the lives of innocent people. After a small girl died in one of such incidents. The Federal Government decided to stop the violence by creating a special task force. The force was led by Eliot Ness (played by Kevin Costner). His debut raid on Capone's warehouse ends up as an embarrassing fiasco, and Ness now knows that he can't rely on notoriously corrupt local police. The rare exception among Chicago cops is old Malone (played by Sean Connery), who lost his career because of his honesty. Ness gets the idea to create a new unit of few, yet capable and reliable lawmen that would battle Capone's all-powerful organisation. He and Malone recruited two more men – Treasury accountant Oscar Wallace (played by Charles Martin Smith) and Chicago rookie policeman George Stone (Andy Garcia) – and they started hitting Capone's operations hard, earning the nickname ‘The Untouchables' by the press that were following them as they started crushing Capone. The extract in which I am examining for the build up of suspense is the part of the film where Eliot Ness and his partner are waiting at the train station for ‘The Bookkeeper'. Eliot Ness and his partner (both being police officers) arrive at Grand Central Station at five minutes to midnight to intercept the departure of ‘The Bookkeeper' who is due to travel on the five past twelve train to Miami. As the police officers take up their ‘ambush' positions the beginning of the suspense sequence begins. By this I mean that with them taking up their positions it in a way makes the viewer think, ‘hey, what's going to happen here? ‘ As the officers take up their positions the sound of footsteps is amplified (made louder and more noticeable) than that of the normal sounds within a train station. There is also the sound of a large group of people speaking and having a general chitchat. The camera movement between these separate events is frequent yet timed in a way to keep the viewers brain in motion. There are a number of low angle shots, which cause the detectives to look vulnerable as if they are in danger. As a mother and her baby enter the shot, wanting to go up the stairs with a big pram and suitcase. The mother is struggling to move all on her own. Elliot Ness sees the mother struggling, and knows that if she doesn't get out of there soon she is danger of being shot. Once the mother and baby enter a lullaby starts playing in the background, as if to exaggerate the innocence of the baby and it's mother. All of the camera shots of the mother and baby are from a bird's eye perspective. As the mother starts to take the pram and suitcase up the stairs, the baby starts crying. As the mother tries to stop the baby crying the camera jumps in a rapid motion between the baby, Elliot Ness and the clock. The clock is showing the time of about two minutes to twelve. You see the mother and baby from Elliot's point of view (from his line of sight), which shows the mother and baby not only to be innocent but very vulnerable to the violence that is very probable to happen within the next three to four minutes. At this point there is a considerable amount of suspense that has been built up with the camera constantly flickering between a helpless baby, a struggling mother, a detective poised to shoot people and a clock showing how very little time there is until the gangsters arrive with The Bookkeeper. At this point Elliot, as a natural reaction to help the mother, leaves his ‘ambush' position and runs down the stairs to help the mother take the baby up the stairs. As he runs towards her he hides his gun so not to alarm her that something dreadful is about to happen. As he goes to help the viewer feels a small sense of relief that the mother and baby are going to fine and unharmed yet there is still the possibility that the gangsters are about to arrive at any minute. As Elliot starts helping the mother orchestral yet dramatic music begins along with the sound of a train. When Elliot is about half way up the stairs the dramatic music becomes louder as he stops. As a man enters the station and stands at the door, there is a high angle shot on Elliot, camera focuses on Elliot and the baby and then the people entering the station. Then a man with a strap on his nose enters the station and stands there smiling. At this point very dramatic music starts playing and the lullaby stops; the camera zooms in for an extreme close up of the gangster's eyes and Elliot's face. Elliot draws his gun and shoots this man, as Elliot shoots him he lets go of the pram and the baby and pram start falling down the stairs. There is then lots of shooting and gunshots stand out over all other sounds. The picture starts moving in slow motion, you can hear the prams wheels creaking as the pram starts dropping down the stairs which is the shot twice. You then see the mother screaming but can't hear her. Elliot and his partner shoot and kill all the gangsters and keep the Bookkeeper alive. Elliot's partner then runs across and throws up a gun to Elliot, as Elliot's shotgun was empty, as his partner dives and saves the baby's pram Elliot shoots the last gangster. It is still unknown whether the baby is alive or not. As Elliot's partner saves the pram and chaos is restored to normality the lullaby starts again indicating that the baby is ok and then you see a camera shot of the baby. The sequence between the gangster entering and Elliot's partner saving the babies pram is the climax of the suspense that has been built up by all of the camera's jumping. During this sequence of scenes there has been alot of MTV Style editing that has taken place. This is because of all the jump cuts that have been used between each picture. A study of how suspense is used in an extract from the film ‘The untouchables'

A Basic Guide to the NCAA for Your Children

A Basic Guide to the NCAA for Your Children If youre the parent of a student-athlete, youve probably heard the term NCAA. The NCAA, or National Collegiate Athletic Association, is the governing body that oversees 23 different sports and athletic championships at 1,200 colleges and universities in the United States. It stresses a well-rounded student, who excels at sports, as well as academics and campus life. Recruitment for the NCAA The point at which parents and the NCAA usually intersect is during college recruitment. High school athletes who want to play college ball (or track, swimming, etc.) at Division I, II or III school must register with the NCAA through its online eligibility center. If your child is interested in playing sports at the college level, his counselor and coach can help him navigate that path.   Divisions I, II, and III Schools that are part of the NCAA are divided into Division I, II and III schools. Each of these divisions reflects the relative priority of sports and academics. Division, I schools generally have the largest student bodies, as well as the largest budgets and scholarships for sports. 350 schools are classified as Division I and 6,000 teams belong to those schools. Division II schools strive to provide student-athletes with a high level of athletic competition, while also maintaining high grades and a well-rounded campus experience. Division III schools also provide opportunities for student-athletes to compete and participate athletically, but the primary focus is on academic achievement. This is the largest division in both total participants and number of schools. NCAA Sports By Season Fall Sports The NCAA offers six different sports for the fall season. Arguably, the most popular overall collegiate sport is  football, which takes place during the fall season. Overall, though, the fall season offers the least amount of sports out of the three seasons, as more sports take place during both the winter and spring seasons. The six sports offered by the National College Athletic Association for the fall season are: Mens and womens cross-countryField hockeyFootballMens and womens soccer teamsWomens volleyballMens water polo Winter Sports Winter is the busiest season in college sports. The NCAA offers ten different sports during the winter season: Mens and womens basketball teamsBowlingFencingMens and womens gymnasticsMens and womens ice hockeyMens, womens and mixed rifleMens, womens and mixed skiingMens and womens swimming and divingMens and womens indoor track and fieldWrestling Spring Sports Eight separate sports are offered during the spring season. Out of those eight sports, seven of them are available to both men and women. The spring season offers baseball for men, as well as softball for women. The eight sports offered by the National College Athletic Association for the spring season are: Baseball and softballMens and womens golfMens and womens lacrosseRowingMens and womens tennisMens and womens outdoor track and fieldMens volleyball Womens water polo