Fourty famous studies that influeneced psychology Essay Example for Free

Fourty famous studies that influeneced psychology Essay Born First, Born Smarter This study involves a persons intellectual development in correlation to the order in which they were born in relation to their siblings. Two research psychologists, Robert B. Zajonc and Gregory B. Markus, developed a theory in an attempt to explain the relationship between birth order and intelligence. They conducted this study by gathering information from previous research and applied it to the data they collected themselves. A research project was conducted n the late 1960s that involved testing the intellectual abilities of children born at the end of WWII. They found a strong relationship between the birth order and the Raven test scores. The ones born first scored higher, and the score decreased with the declining birth order. However, the average Raven score for the first born in a two family is only about 5 points higher then that for a last born in a family with nine children. So the more children you have, and the smaller the gap between each child is, the more intelligent each child in succession will be. In Control and Glad of It Researchers Ellen J. Langer and Judith Rodin conducted a field experiment using elderly people in an elderly home to test the outcome of when people are given control as opposed to when people have everything done for them. Langer and Rodins prediction was that if the loss of personal responsibility for ones life causes a person to be less happy and healthy, then increasing control and power should have the opposite effect. Two floors of the elderly home were randomly selected to be observed. One floor was given options for certain things such as there furniture arrangement and which movie they would like to attend. The other floor, was given no such options and had everything arranged and done for them by the staff. The staff was asked to fill out questionnaires about the patients on their floor (the staff new nothing of the experiment). The questionnaires had questions on it to comment about things such as if the patents were sociable, happy, alert, and even how much they visited other patients. The differences between the two groups were incredible. They determined that overall, the increased responsibility groups condition improved over the three weeks of  the study, while the no-control group was doing progressively poorer. They concluded that when people who have been forced to give up their control and decision-making power are given a greater sense of personal responsibility, their lives and attitudes improve, as is true with the opposing side. More Experience = Bigger Brain Mark R. Rosenzweig and Edward L. Bennett wanted to find out if the brain changes in response to experience. Because this experiment involved long periods of observation and even autopsies to observe the changes in the brain, the two researchers couldnt use human subjects, so they used rats for the experiment. Three male rats where chosen to participate and assigned to one of three conditions. One rat remained in the colony cage with the rest of the colony. One rat was placed in an enriched environment and one was placed in an impoverished environment. There were 12 rats in each of these conditions for each of the 16 experiments. The standard cage had many rats and had adequate space with food and water always available. The improvised environment was a slightly smaller cage, isolated in a separate room, where the rat was alone with adequate food and water. Finally, the enriched environment was a large cage filled with many toys and furnished with every luxury a rat could want. The results indicated that the brains of the enriched rats were highly different from those of the impoverished rats. The cerebral cortex of the enriched rats was significantly heavier and thicker then those of the impoverished rats. Also, the study found a significantly greater number of glial cells in the enriched rats brains compared with the rats raised in the dull environment. After 10 years of experiment and research the researchers could clearly and confidently state that there is no doubt that many aspects of brain anatomy and brain chemistry are changed by experience. However, many scientists were skeptical of there findings because there were factors that Rosenzweig and Bennett didnt take into consideration. The enriched rats were handled more which could have been a brain stimulus and the impoverished rats could have been stressed from having no contact with anyone or anything at all. See AggressionDo Aggression One of he most famous and influential experiment ever conducted in psychology history demonstrated how children learn to be aggressive. This study by Albert Bandura and his associates Dorothea Ross and Shelia Ross was carried out in 1961 at Stanford University. The researchers asked for the help of the Stanford University nursery in obtaining thirty-six boys and thirty-six girls raging from ages 3-6. The average age for he children was 4 years and 4 months. Twenty four of the children were assigned to the control group which was the group that wasnt exposed to any model. The rest of the children were divided into two groups: one exposed to aggressive models and one exposed to non-aggressive models, they were also divided by sex. They eventually had 8 experimental groups divided by gender and level of aggression. First, the experimenter brought a child from one of the groups to a playroom with an adult model. The adult model beat a Bobo doll with a fake mallet while the child played with other toys. Another child was brought in after and the adult model ignored the Bobo doll. This went on for all the groups. 1) The children who were exposed to the violent models tended to imitate the exact violent behaviors they observed when left alone with the Bobo doll. 2) Overall, girls were more likely to imitate the verbal aggression toward the Bobo doll, while the boys showed more physical violence. 3) Boys were significantly more physically aggressive then girls in nearly all the conditions. 4) The boys used the mallet significantly more then girls in almost all of the conditions. 5) The control group was generally less violent then the experimental group.6) in cases with a non-aggressive female, the children used hardly any aggressive language. What You Expect Is What You Get This study involves teachers expectancies of pupils and how that affects the students I.Q. gains. Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson conducted a study where they theorized that when an elementary school teacher is provided with information (such as I.Q. scores) that creates certain expectancies about a students potential, either strong or weak, the teacher might unknowingly behave in ways that subtly encourage or facilitate the performance of the students seen as more likely to succeed. An elementary school was chosen and  all the children grades 1-6 were given an I.Q. test near the beginning of the year. The teachers were told that there students were taking the Harvard Test of Inflected Acquisition. This was told to them because this test was supposed to be a predictor for a childs academic blooming. Teachers believed that students that scored higher would enter a period of increased learning abilities. This was also not true. Children were chosen at random to be within the top 20 percentile of this test and the teachers were informed of this. All other children were the control group of this experiment. At the end of the year the children were tested again using the I.Q. test and the children originally chosen for the top 20% showed a significantly increased score then those of the control group in grades one and two. In grades 3-6 the difference was not so great. The reason for the 1st and 2nd grade development was thought to be because of how younger minds were more malleable then older children and how younger children dont have a reputation from previous school years. I Can See It All Over Your Face Researchers Paul Ekman and Wallace V. Freisen conducted a study about how facial expressions and emotions are a universal language. The first problem with this experiment was that the researchers had to find subjects that had never been exposed to media or magazines because this would enable the subjects to not truthfully identify a certain emotional expression. Ekman and Freisen found a group of people like this in the Southeast Highlands of New Guinea called the Fore people. They were an isolated Stone Age society with not much contact of any other people outside there environment, let alone any media. They had not been exposed to emotional facial expressions other then those of there own people. The two researchers showed there experimental groups of adults and children pictures of different facial expressions of people from the United States and told them a sentence. They asked them to identify by pointing, to the correct matching facial expression. The adults were given three pictures to choose from and the children were given two. There was not much difference between male and female recognition of expressions, however the children did fair a little better in the experiment. This could have been attributed to the fact that  the children only had to choose between two pictures instead of three. The results for both adults and children clearly support the researchers theory that particular facial behaviors are universally associated with particular emotions. The only trouble that the Fore people had was distinguishing between fear and surprise, and this was because these people closely associated fear and surprise as one emotion. Racing Against Your Heart Using their earlier research and clinical observations, two cardiologists, Meyer Friedman and Ray H. Rosenman, developed a model of traits for a specific type of persons behavioral pattern that they believed was related to growing levels of cholesterol and to heart disease. The first pattern, pattern A, had characteristics such as a drive to achieve your goals, a competing personality, multi-tasking that involves meeting deadlines, and extreme alertness. Following this is another type of people, called pattern B. Pattern B is the exact opposite of pattern A. They lacked drive, ambition, desire to compete, and involvement in deadlines. A third set of behaviors developed was called pattern C. This was very much like pattern B but involved anxiety and insecurity. Friedman and Rosenman interviewed about 166 men for there experiment. They first questions they asked them were about there familys medical history, so they could see if they had CHD. While in this interview the researchers cat egorized each man into a pattern A or B category by the way he answered questions, or his tone, or body language. Each subject was asked to keep a log of there diet over the course of a week and blood tests were taken from each of the men to measure cholesterol levels. Friedman and Rosenman matched each man into pattern A and pattern B easily. Each man fit into one of the developed patterns. The researchers found that the men in Pattern A group had significantly higher chances of heart disease and that type A behavior was a major cause of blood abnormalities. However there could be other reasons why Type A had higher chances of heart disease such as, there familys history. More men in the pattern A group had parents with heart disease. Another difference was that pattern A men smoked more cigarettes a day then did the subjects in group B. This study was very important in the history of psychology for a few  reasons. One way was that it proved certain behavioral patterns can cause major heart related illness. Another is that this study began a new line of research and questioning into the relat ionship between behavior and CHD. The largest long-range outcome from this study that has played an important role in creating a new branch of psychology called health psychology. Not Practicing What You Preach This study involves attitudes and actions toward different racial groups. It was determine if what people say is actually what they will do if they come face to face with the problem. Richard T. LaPiere traveled extensively with a young Chinese couple in 1930 and 1931. The couple was very nice and personable and he was glad to be traveling with them. During this time there was a lot of prejudice in the U.S. against Asians. So, LaPiere was very surprised when the Asian couple was graciously accommodated at a very fine hotel that had a reputation for greatly disliking Orientals. Two months later he called the same hotel and asked if they would accommodate a very important Chinese man and they said defiantly not. LaPiere then developed a theory that stated What people say is often not what they do. The study was conducted in two separate parts. First, LaPiere went with his Chinese friends to many hotels and restaurant throughout the U.S. over the course of two years. He took record of how the couple was treated and made sure to first stay out of site of the managers of the establishments to ensure that the couple wouldnt be treated differently in his presence. The second part of the experiment was for LaPiere to wait 6 months after there trip (to make sure the effect of the Chinese couples visit had faded), and then call each establishment that they went to or stayed at, and asked them if they would accommodate a Chinese person. After almost three years, LaPiere had enough information to make a comparison of social attitudes social behavior. Out of the 251 hotels and restaurants they attended, only one refused the couple and LaPiere service because of the couples race. Aside from that instance, all other places accommodated them with average or above average service. When he received most of the letters back with an answer from the hotels and restaurants over 90% of them said they would absolutely not accommodate anyone of the Chinese race. This confirmed LaPieres theory that what people  say, is not always how they will act. The Power of Conformity Research psychologist Solomon E. Asch conducted a study to see if people will give into peer pressure and conform to there friends ideas. A person was let into a room (Subject A) with seven other subjects. These seven people, without subject A knowing, were not participants in the experiment, they were helping the experimenter. Each person was asked which line was longer on a card that was shown to them. Subject A went first and then followed was the seven other subjects and then subject A was asked again. They did this several times until one time, all the other subjects disagreed with subject A and all picked the same one, different form his choice. When the card came back to subject A he picked the one everyone else picked. Seventy-Five percent of the time the first subject will conform to the groups consensus at least once. The powerful effects of group pressures to conform were clearly demonstrated in Aschs study. There are four factors that could have an effect on the reduction of conformity. These factors are social support, attraction and commitment to the group, size of the group, and gender of the group. If you have people on your side you are more likely to stay with your answer rather then conform. Crowding Into The Behavioral Sink The effects of crowding on our behavior are something that has interested psychologists for decades. One man in particular, John B. Calhoun was especially interested in it when he conducted this study on crowding and social pathology. It may be hard to believe but rats do have a social side. The reason Calhoun used rats were because he needed many subjects for long periods of time that were willing to crowd together for a while. Humans wouldnt be very good at this. He used a 1014 foot room and divided it into 4 sections. Section one was connected to section 2 by a ramp, section 2 was connected to section 3 by a ramp, and section 3 was connected to section 4 by a ramp. The walls were electrified so in order to get from section 1 to section 4 you needed to go through all the rooms. The rooms were also filled  with shreds of paper, in order for the rats to make nests. The experimenter filled the rooms with rats. They started with about 4 rats and waited or the rats to multiply until they reached 80. When over 80 were reached some rats were removed so they always had a constant number. When the rats got older, they started to fight with each other for space even though it wasnt necessarily too crowded. The two end rooms were soon fought for because they got the most space and privacy so the rat that won the fight always stayed on guard at the end of the ramp for security. Some rats became submissive and others always fought. Some of the rats were very sexually active and some wanted nothing to do with it. Some of the mothers in the two middle pens became inadequate. They often left their children and lost all maternal abilities. One environment where the same thing that happened to the rats might happen to humans is in an overcrowded prison. It was found in a very crowded prison where each inmate has approximately 50 square feet, as opposed to one with more room, there were more cases of homicides, suicide, illness, and disciplinary problems. Crowding also has negative effects on problem-solving abilities. When in a small room thats crowded subjects had a more difficult time listening to a story and putting tighter a puzzle, then did another group with more space and the same tasks. Relaxing Your Fears Away Researcher Joseph Wolpe was a research psychologist specializing in the systematic desensitization treatment of neuroses. The word phobia comes from Phobos, the name of the Greek god of fear. Phobias are divided into three main categories. Simple phobias are phobias that involve irrational fears of animals or specific situations such as small spaces or heights. Social phobias are irrational fears about interaction with others. Agoraphobia is the irrational fear of being in an unfamiliar, open, or crowded space. These are all irrational and all can be treated in similar ways. Systematic desensitization is a behavioral technique that was credited to Wolpe as perfecting and applying it to the treatment of anxiety disorders. Systematic desensitization is the way of unlearning a learned behavior. Reciprocal inhibition is when two responses inhibit each other, and only one may exist at a given moment. There are three steps that a patient must follow in order  to rid themselves of a phobi a. Wolpe says that you cannot be in a complete relaxed state and have an irrational fear at the same time, so the first step is relaxation. He taught the patient to go into a deep state of relaxation whenever they wanted or needed too. The process involves tensing and relaxing your muscles until you have reached a state of complete relaxation. Wolpe also incorporated hypnosis to ensure full relaxation. The next step in the process is for the therapist and patient to develop a list of high anxiety-producing situations involving your phobia. Starting with the least stressful and ending with the most stressful. The final stage is called the unlearning stage. The patient has to go into a deep state of relaxation and the therapist will read off to you your fears of the list. If at any point you feel anxiety the therapist stops you return to your relaxation mode and the therapist will continue. This process continues until the therapist can go through the entire list with you feeling the least bit anxious. The success of their therapy was judged by the patients own reports and by the occasional direct observation. He had a success rate of 91% with the 39 cases he had. The average number of treatment sessions needed was 12.3. Wolpe said that he hasnt had any patient relapse after a complete desensitization recovery. Whos Crazy Here, Anyway? David L. Rosenhan conducted an experiment with sane people going into mental facilities claiming to hear voices, to see if the patients would be immediately released if acting completely sane. Rosenhan questioned whether the characteristics that lead to psychological diagnoses reside in the patients themselves or in the situations in which the observers find the patients. Eight subjects including Rosenhan committed themselves to eight different mental hospitals. Each subject was completely sane and in perfect mental health. When committing themselves to the hospital they complained of hearing voices and all but one where admitted and on record as having schizophrenia. Each patient once admitted, acted perfectly sane and showed no signs of schizophrenia yet were treated as though they did have a mental illness throughout their entire stay. They were given medication which they disposed of and were not treated as normal people. It was as if because they  were in the mental hospital, they were automatically considered to not be a real human being. Rosenhans study demonstrated rather strongly that normal patients cannot be distinguished from the mentally ill in a hospital setting. According to Rosenhan, this is because of the strength of the mental setting has over the patients actual behavior. Once patients are admitted to such a place, there is a strong inclination for them to be viewed in ways that strip them of all individuality. This study surprises me. Im taken aback that these professionals that have worked with mentally ill patients cannot decipher between a truly mental patient and a completely mentally-healthy patient. It is extremely unprofessional that the staff member/nurse did at one of the facilities by adjusting her bra in front of patients as if they werent real people. Thanks For The Memories One of the leading researchers in the area of memory is Elizabeth Loftus at the University of Washington. She has found that when an event is recalled it is not accurately recreated. Instead its whats called reconstructive memory. Loftus defines a presupposition as a condition that must be true in order for the question to make sense. For example, suppose that you have witnessed an automobile accident and I ask you, How many people were in the car that was speeding? The question presupposes that the car was speeding. One experiment done by Loftus was having students in small groups watch a car accident video that was about 1 minute long. After the film ended the students had to answer questions. For half the students the first question was How fast was car A going when it ran the stop sign? The other students had a question that read How fast was car A going when I turned right? The last question for both groups was Did you see the stop sign? In the group that had been asked about the stop sign 53% of the subjects said they saw a stop sign for car A, while only 35% in the turned right group claimed to have seen it. Based on these and other studies, Loftus argues that an accurate theory of memory and recall must include a process of reconstruction that occurs when new information is integrated into the original memory of an event. There is little doubt that in the course of criminal prosecutions, eye witness reports are subject to many sources of  error such as post event information integration.

Political And Economic Issues In Kuwait

Political And Economic Issues In Kuwait Kuwait, officially known as the state of Kuwait, is situated in the western Asia and is an Arab country. Kuwait has parliamentary form of government and the city Kuwait serves both as the economical and political capital. It is considered as the 11th richest country in the world in terms of per capita income and has the 5th largest oil reserves. It is one of the major economies of the world. People who live through melodramatic democratic changes and evolutions, whether in Pakistan, India, Spain or Poland, often states a very comparable sequence of emotions and feelings that they face- -firstly they face tufts of hopefulness, then remarkable ambiguity and doubt that is later on followed by jubilation during the evolution itself, settling with the dawdling disenchantment that the unexpected emergence of democracy leads to monotonous customary politics in individuals or even groups are only interested in their own good and self-interest whereas they ignore the society. Most of the people living in Arab world would not accept that they have gone through this set of emotions and feelings. But in the case of Kuwaitis, they have lived out through a very strained out and haggard form of a democratic evolution and transition that is taking place. They have also experienced and gone through the set of emotions described above even though the order in which they might have experienced these feelings would be different. Political Issues The residents or people of Kuwait see that over the years and decades, their parliament has grown from a mere debating society or platform into a proper authoritative political configuration. The same people have seen that matters and talks that were previously whispered and carried out privately found their way in the media and they have seen how with the passage of time, elections have become so competitive and political affiliations have became stronger. These changes took place over a very long period of time and these transitions have been ongoing but still they remained incomplete, which has made Kuwaitis miss the drama and excitement of a proper democratic revolution. Even though the country cant be called fully democratic today but the evolution and transition has been taking place through more than a generation and lifetime but the outcome is still very doubtful as to what will happen in the future. However, even after these differences with the intense democratizers, the experience of Kuwaiti people is not bereft of some acquainted features from other evolutions. Kuwaitis nowadays are effusively and concurrently feeling what their colleagues experienced independently at the start and the conclusion of the process. Even though, Kuwaitis democracy has increased in the recent years especially in the 1970s and 1980s but when we take a look at the Kuwaitis politics, it is moving in an opposite direction, against democracy. Kuwait has always been proud of itself and its political history that is a part of their heritage. There history was made up of ruling families who consulted the general public before making a decision rather than ruling in a very uncontrolled and free manner without considering the rights and will of other people. This arrangement and method of making decisions has also been supported by the social customs of Kuwait such as diwaniyya, which is a customary gathering of Kuwaitis men in order to discuss the political issues and problems. These social customs followed by the people of Kuwait were later formalized as they were made a part of the 1962s constitution of the country. The constitution, even though has been not amended since the day it was issued, allowed an elected parliament that had some authority for decision-making. However, the meaning of the constitution has now changed over time as the meanings of unwritten conventions have also been attached to it. In case of Kuwait, most of these unwritten rules related to the constitution have generally and over the passage of time kept the parliament in check. When this was just not sufficient, the rulers of the country intruded and introduce various new groups to the political process in order to balance against the problematic voters in the core of the country. Later on it could be said that these new groups were the one who had led to the splintering of the current political system of Kuwait. Later on, the parliament was suspended twice, once in 1976 and then in 1986. During these suspensions that took place, a ruling family ruled Kuwait like other monarchies of gulf. There was a lot of pressure by the population to restore the parliament in 1989, which led to the revision of the constitution and an attempt to replace the parliament with a more flexible assembly. This slow surge against democracy was upturned in the 1990s when Kuwait was invaded by Iraq. This incident demanded the need for unity among the countrys population and therefore it resulted in a treaty between the ruling family of Kuwait and the leaders of the country to restore the constitution and the parliament once the country is liberated. Since that time, the people of Kuwait have seen their political life In the later on years, United States compelled the restoration of democracy in Kuwait and the parliament resumed life in 1992 with a new potential and strength. Since that time, the people of Kuwait have seen their political life gradually influence the inviolable parts. The people living in Arab societies usually speak about the red lines in most of their political systems. These are the regions where the freedom of speech and communication come to an end and the offenders or wrongdoers have to face punishment and measures against them. These red lines existed in Kuwait in the past but with the passage of time especially since the last decade or two, these red lights have now transformed into amber lights, which means that the residents of Kuwait are cautious even today but they are no longer intimidated or scared and this has contributed to the growing sense of doubtfulness and ambiguity that we seen in Kuwait today. Another issue faced by the country is the existence of a proper elections system. The current election system of Kuwait is not majority based which means that a member of parliament can easily win a seat without even winning the mainstream of votes in a particular constituency. Changes need to be introduced in this part of law but that would mean reducing the reliance on tribal and religious association, which has always hindered the productivity of the National Assembly in getting legislation passed. Kuwait is also facing a problem in terms of lack of pluralism. It is said that no democracy in this world can ever exist without an honest and modern pluralism. This pluralism symbolized by various parties and platforms would help Kuwait to get rid of the individualism that has portrayed the political life of the country for more than half the century. This structural problem need to be resolves otherwise people would resort to pluralism in shape of tribes and sects which is not beneficial for the political structure of the country and if not resolved it would lead to parliament being dissolved over and over again. Apart from these issues, other political issues faced by the National Assembly of Kuwait, includes the rights for women in Kuwait, rights for immigrant workers and the educational reforms. As far as education is concerned, reforms took place that was crucial if Kuwait wanted to compete with other countries in terms of better skills and knowledge. The government gave permission to operate private universities in 2002, which was a big step and led to the development of new and more modernized research universities. Apart from that government also provided funds for students who couldnt afford the fees. However the problem of co-education is still not solved due to the presence of strict and conservative Islamic leaders in Kuwait. Even though a bill has been passed to give students the right to choose that whether they want to study in co-ed or not but the bill have not been approved yet. Rights to immigrant workers are also trying to be granted by increasing the minimum wage and by creating a black list and strict punishments for those employers who mistreat the foreign workers. Human trafficking is also being taken care of by introducing new laws to control it. Even though, Islam provides equal rights to both men and women but the extremists in Kuwait have always tried to suppress the rights of women, as they had no right to vote or stand for any parliamentary position in elections. However, reforms were introduced and women have been given the right to vote and stand in elections now. Women of Kuwait are also allowed to work in the police force now and with the passage of time they might be allowed to be a part of the army as well. However these reforms are not enough as a recent ban has been imposed on women in Kuwait for not working after 8 pm or strict actions would be taken against them. Therefore, these rights are still in a very turbulent stage and needs to be improvised and adjusted according to other countries otherwise Kuwait would never be able to compete with them if it cant treat its own citizens equally. Lastly, protests are taking place in Kuwait on and off over the parliamentary structure of the country. These disputes and marches have further added to the political turmoil that was already present in the country and the opposition has decided to internationalize the issue as it has gone out of control now. Economic Issues Moving forward from the political situation of the country, Kuwait has an open economy and is considered to be wealthy but geographically small, with crude oil reserves of 102 billion barrels and 7% reserves. Nearly half of the GDP of Kuwait constitutes of petroleum, as it accounts for 95% of the export revenue and 95% of the total government income of the country. Though Kuwait is viewed as one of the richest countries of Arab world it still lacks water and le land, discouraging development of agriculture exports of. The country largely being a desert with a minute portion of fertile land can be another reason for the almost non-existent agriculture industry in Kuwait. Kuwait is actively involved in production of petroleum and as oil dominates the world economy, this has benefited the economy of Kuwait in various ways. It is ranked as the third largest oil producing country in the world, the first and second being Saudi Arabia and Iraq. A joint British-American firm initiated exploitation of oil in 1974 after, which the local government seized control of the operations. The profits generated from the production of oil have been dedicated to the modernization of the country by improving the standard of living of the people and the quality of basic education for the residents of Kuwait. As the credit for a large portion of the countrys export revenues goes to the petroleum industry, the damage endorsed by the industry in the Persian Gulf War had significant impacts on the economy of Kuwait as well. To prevent any future oil exhaustion of the countrys oil reserves, a program of industrial diversification and oversees investment was launched by the government of Kuwait in the 1960s, present industries being building of ships and their repair, liquid desalinization, food dispensation and monitoring, building, and manure production. Vehicles, clothing, food, and construction material are the principal imports. Most of the Kuwaits trading activities are conducted with Japan, USA, Taiwan, Germany and South Korea. Though Kuwait is a small country but it has massive oil reserves and this constitutes a major chunk of the economy of the country. The current GDP per capita of the country touched the shocking peak growth of 439% in the 1970s but was proved untenable and was constricted by 58% in the 1980s. During the 1970s, the rise in oil prices benefited Kuwait, which was largely promoted by Kuwait as they were active members of OPEC. The economy of the country faced trauma due to the drop in oil prices in oil prices in the mid-1980 from the triple shock of 1982 Souk Al-Manakh stock market crash and the Iraqi invasion and occupation in 1990. The government-in-exile of Kuwait was heavily dependent on its $100 billion in overseas investments for the payments of reconstruction during the Iraqi occupation Nonetheless the rise in global oil demand aided in registering growth of 91% in the 1990s with diversification classified as a long-term issue for the over exposed country. But by the year 1993, the balance was cut down to half of its pre-invasion level. The end of the Gulf War in February 1991 damaged 749 Kuwaiti oil wells damaged by the Iraqi occupation forces. Though the economy of the country suffered tremendously, it still was able to extinguish the burning fire within a years time and restore production. Facilities and refineries were modernized and oil exports outshined there before invasion levels in 1993 with manufacture levels constrained only till OPEC quotas. Higher oil prices aided in the reduction of budget shortfall from around $5.5 billion to $ 3 billion in the year 1999 and the prices were predicted to remain comparatively strong and stable throughout the year 2000. Reforms are being formed and dealt with by the government if the country in a slow and constant manner, the first free-trade zone was inaugurated in 1999 with continued discussions with various oil companies so that they could open up in the northern areas of Kuwait. Focusing on the purchasing power parity comparisons, only 0.288 Kuwaiti Dinars make up 1 US dollar. Mean wages being $27.83 per man-hour in 2009. As for the skilled labor of Kuwait the average monthly income is hiked up to an average of almost 10,000+ dollars per month, which does not include living and other fringe benefits. As Kuwait is a tax-free country all the figures being quoted refer to the actual take home numbers. A target was set by the official of Kuwait to increase oil production by 4 million barrels per day by 2020. In the year 2010, an economic development plan was passed by the government assuring to spend up 10 $130 billion over 5 years to spread the economy away from oil, encourage private sector participation in the economy and attract more foreign investment. An upward trend in the global oil prices during 2011 and 2012 revived economic growth as well as government consumption as the Kuwaiti government qualified a 20% growth in the budget revenue of government, which had led to higher budget expenditures, specifically wage hikes for several public sector employees. As Kuwait had a positive fiscal situation along with a poor business climate and a traditionally discordant relationship with the National Assembly and the executive branch, the government to diversify the economy of the country did little. Conclusion However, in the end we could say that Kuwait has the most liberal political government if compared to other Gulf countries but in order to gain competitive edge over other countries especially the western countries, they need to liberalize more. The basic reason for their wealthy status and high rankings in the world are the oil reserves they have but that is not enough as it is a non-renewable resource, which will exhaust one day. Therefor they need to build competencies in other terms as well. Conclusion However, in the end we could say that Kuwait has the most liberal political government if compared to other Gulf countries but in order to gain competitive edge over other countries especially the western countries, they need to liberalize more. The basic reason for their wealthy status and high rankings in the world are the oil reserves they have but that is not enough as it is a non-renewable resource, which will exhaust one day. Therefor they need to build competencies in other terms as well. Conclusion However, in the end we could say that Kuwait has the most liberal political government if compared to other Gulf countries but in order to gain competitive edge over other countries especially the western countries, they need to liberalize more. The basic reason for their wealthy status and high rankings in the world are the oil reserves they have but that is not enough as it is a non-renewable resource, which will exhaust one day. Therefor they need to build competencies in other terms as well.

Industrial Engineering :: essays papers

Industrial Engineering Industrial Engineering is concerned with the design, improvement, and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, equipment, information, and energy in the most efficient manner possible. Efficiency is one of an engineers major concerns. Being able to complete the job, solve the problem, and put the solution in process are all very important, but making the process efficient allows less waste and more profit. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, and social sciences together with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design to specify, predict and evaluate the results to be obtained from such systems. Their jobs are also concerned with performance, reliability, cost efficiency, quality control, plant design, and management of human resources. Materials engineering and computer engineering are two of the modern examples of industrial engineering. Industrial engineers have the challenge of incorporating today’s leading technological advances with the production of them in manufacturing facilities. Their purpose is to maximize output, while minimizing the costs for materials and production. This is why industrial engineers must have knowledge of product development, materials processing, optimization, queuing theory, production techniques, and engineering economy. Industrial engineers must have adequate skills in computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing. Robots are now providing more assistance than ever for industrial engineers. Industrial engineering can spread into a wide area of fields. An industrial engineer’s knowledge is useful in designing better systems to care for patients in hospitals, reduce air pollution, and for approaching large-scale challenges in enterprises(usually with a team of other engineers.) Industrial engineers will work with biological engineers to improve the environment, reduce wastes, and conserve Industrial Engineering :: essays papers Industrial Engineering Industrial Engineering is concerned with the design, improvement, and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, equipment, information, and energy in the most efficient manner possible. Efficiency is one of an engineers major concerns. Being able to complete the job, solve the problem, and put the solution in process are all very important, but making the process efficient allows less waste and more profit. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, and social sciences together with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design to specify, predict and evaluate the results to be obtained from such systems. Their jobs are also concerned with performance, reliability, cost efficiency, quality control, plant design, and management of human resources. Materials engineering and computer engineering are two of the modern examples of industrial engineering. Industrial engineers have the challenge of incorporating today’s leading technological advances with the production of them in manufacturing facilities. Their purpose is to maximize output, while minimizing the costs for materials and production. This is why industrial engineers must have knowledge of product development, materials processing, optimization, queuing theory, production techniques, and engineering economy. Industrial engineers must have adequate skills in computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing. Robots are now providing more assistance than ever for industrial engineers. Industrial engineering can spread into a wide area of fields. An industrial engineer’s knowledge is useful in designing better systems to care for patients in hospitals, reduce air pollution, and for approaching large-scale challenges in enterprises(usually with a team of other engineers.) Industrial engineers will work with biological engineers to improve the environment, reduce wastes, and conserve

Christian G. Appys Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam :: American History

The Vietnam War, which lasted for two decades (1955-1975), was probably the most problematic of all American wars. US involvement in Vietnam occurred within the larger context of the Cold War between the US and the USSR. It was, and remains, morally ambiguous and controversial. The Vietnam War was slated as both a war against Communism and a war aimed at suppressing dangerous nationalist self-determination. Christian G. Appy's book, Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam, is a graphic and perceptive portrayal of soldiers' experiences and the lasting effects the Vietnam War has had on the American culture and people. Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam, is an analytical work that has three major purposes: 1. to show that those who fought in Vietnam were predominantly from the working class 2. to convey the experiences of the soldiers who served in Vietnam and 3. to offer his own scathing commentary of American actions in Vietnam. After World War II ended, Cold War alignments emerged. In 1946, Winston Churchill spoke against the USSR in his "Iron Curtain" speech. George Kennan's "Long Telegram" introduced the concept of containment, arguing that the US could keep communism from spreading by deterring Soviet expansion at critical points. Critical occurrences in1949 brought American communist fears to an extreme level. The Berlin Blockade and the Berlin Airlift, followed by Mao Zedong's triumph over Chiang Kai-Shek's Chinese Nationalist forces, and the successful atomic bomb tests of the USSR all contributed to the hysteria. America was gripped by paranoia, embodied by Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy Communist witch hunts. The escalation period of the Vietnam War, which lasted for a decade (1955-1965) reflected the Cold War conflict in which the US and USSR avoided direct combat and thus avoided the possibility of nuclear war. Instead, the two superpowers battled though puppet forces. While the US backed South Vietnamese government was weak and corrupt, the USSR backed North Vietnamese government was a proud and group of nationalists willing to fight fiercely for Vietnamese unification and against foreign influence. The US faced an enemy that believed deeply in its nationalist as well as communist cause and hated US, and for that matter any foreign intervention. In Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam, Appy estimates that approximately eighty percent of the soldiers who experienced combat in Vietnam were the sons of blue-collar workers. He presents his definition of

Correlation of the Behavior of Female Waitresses at Sports Bars and the

When we go out to eat or drink at a sports bar, we usually find that a majority of the servers and bartenders are females. Why is this, one might ask. The most obvious reason is that they draw in more male customers to drink beer and eat food. If a male patron were to walk into a sports bar, he would stay longer and spend more money because he would tend to be checking out a server that he considered attractive. Servers usually know this so they tend to expose themselves more and dress accordingly to attract more guys and hopefully to receive larger tips. One bartender interviewed for this project, who works at Buffalo Wild Wings, would climb on ladders behind the bar, to draw attention to herself. She hoped that her actions would result in the customers giving her a larger tip than they would otherswise. Based upon the tips received, this strategy worked. Seeing this interested the writer to look into the topic of how servers use their physical appearance for a better tip . With further research, this was proved true for almost every restaurant investigated. Waitresses go above and beyond from simply applying makeup to changing their hair color, and changing the way they would serve an average customer to fit their needs. The customers also play a role in the tip given, which can usually be determined by the gender, race, age, and connections to the waitress. If customers would tip based on the service provided, then the female waitresses wouldn’t have to flirt or make the guest feel like that need to tip better. Background Review of Literature Many of the sources address the way the waitresses change their physical appearances and the outcomes. However, some also discuss the emotional side of the server or the pr... ... Works Cited Gatta, M. (2009). Restaurants servers, tipping, and resistance. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, 6(1-2), 70-82. Guà ©guen, N. (2012). Hair color and wages: Waitresses with blond hair have more fun. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 41(4), 370-372. Guà ©guen, N. (2009). Menstrual cycle phases and female receptivity to a courtship solicitation: An evaluation in a nightclub. Evolution and human behavior, 30(5), 351-355. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2009.03.004 Jacob, C., Guà ©guen, N., Boulbry, G., & Ardiccioni, R. (2009). Waitresses' facial cosmetics and tipping: A field experiment. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29(1), 188-190. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2009.04.003 McCall, M., & Lynn, A. (2009). Restaurant servers' perceptions of customer tipping intentions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29(1), 188-190.

Repetition and Parallelism

There's of Leslies Critical Analysis on Smog Merchants Pollution has been one of the big problems of our world. This has pushed many people who are concern enough to create programs that will help reduce the problem and this Smog Merchants article is technically, one of those. But I don't think marketing the right to pollute will help In any way. It Is more like allowing destruction to come to the environment. In this article, it was implied that firms that are able to reduce pollutants below the levels to which it is entitled receives credits, and they an sell these credits to other firms.The thing is that. First. Why will you sell pollution rights when the name itself states that you're giving someone the capability to pollute noted that the problem you are solving Is pollution itself. Second, a company who cannot reach the goal tends to buy these credits rather than improving their facility and emissions reductions because it is way cheaper. So how can this help when the only thin g it can visibly do is to create firms that are dependent to the credits of other firms that are successful in cutting pollutants in the lowest cost.It has been said that the environment is a free resource, and air Is no doubt a part of it. In number two question, it is being asked â€Å"who implicitly has property rights to the air when the EPA auctions ASS permits† My answer to this would be: everyone, and no. I did not depend on who gets the revenue raised by the auction. Everyone has his right to consume air or use air or whatever you would like to do with air. It is part of the environment and thus, a free resource. The EPA auctions or the allowances aim to reduce the emissions of sulfur dioxide.And firms are allowed to buy and sell these allowances to other firms when left unused. I believe that this doesn't affect the people's rights to the air. The environment is a priceless resource. Since then, people have been witnesses of the priceless generosity of the environmen t. We have been able to survive till this year and generation because of the environment. Why? Well this is where we get our resources starting from foods to clothes to shelters. Only did the presence of companies made us pay for this priceless resource.For me, we do need to give up everything to protect the environment if and only if it is necessary and if it follows a certain action plan. I mean, we cannot Just give up anything unless we're sure It will be for a good cost. People need the environment so much most especially for the continuous production of food. Nowadays, we are strongly aware that the rate of population has Increased and Is still increasing. Without the environment, it would be hard for the people to preserve the remaining resources, to sustain lives, and to continue successful generations.This also Justifies why the environmental quality has an infinite value. In number four question: Don't such regulations amount to Glenn away environmental quality at no charge ? Yes. Basically because allowing firms and individuals to pollute the environment is the same as giving away environmental quality. To Justify this, let me give an example. Let say you have a piece of candy and it is your favorite. You never let anyone touch it because it might get germs or t Off amount of money. You wanted to keep it clean, but letting your friends have it for a taste ruined it.My point is that, if the regulations will allow firms to pollute up to that point at no charge, it would add up in destroying the environment and its quality at no charge as well. To solve this, I think it would be better to charge a price via emissions taxes. At least this can reduce firms or individuals who try to emit pollutants at a very high rate if get monitored well. If this practice continues from this generation to the next, it would probably reduce the amount of pollution since pollutants will be less emitted and polluters will gradually increase their emissions reductions.

Love and Its Tribulations Essay

Love is one of the most sought after things in the world. Love cannot be bought, it can only be found by the lucky few and those who are able to uncover it never want to let it go. In Jane Eyre, our heroine meets Mr. Rochester, who is a possible love interest, when she takes up position as a governess at his estate. There are many things that could hinder their quest for love, like the presence of doubt and suspicion. Other factors that could deter a healthy relationship are their different levels of experience, and their dissimilar personalities. The reason why some relationships do not last long is because of jealousy and distrust. In this case Jane’s rival is Blanche Ingram. It is true that Jane is not envious of Blanche’s mind, but she resents Blanche’s ability to gain the complete attention of Mr. Rochester. It is already evident what Jane’s reaction will be when other, more desirable women, are in Rochester’s presence. Neither of them has publicized their feelings for each other yet they cannot bear the sight of the other with somebody else. Rochester emits his jealousy as well, when Jane receives news of Mrs. Reed’s illness. He does not agree with her decision to leave Thornfield, because he is afraid that she may not return. He is resentful of Jane’s relative’s for the reason that he knows that his bond with her could not compare to her family ties. He cannot compete with that kind of familial connection. He only has money to give, and money cannot buy the time Ja ne spent with her relatives, no matter how badly she was treated. A factor that could complicate a new romance developing is Jane’s lack of experience with men and Rochester’s willingness to take advantage of it. The men she has come across thus far have treated her with cruelty and disdain. For example her cousin John Reed bullied and tortured her from morning until night when she was only a little girl. Jane was never presented with much affection or care by her benefactress, Mrs. Reed. So when she meets Mr. Rochester, she finds herself confused as to what her feelings are towards him. She has never experienced romantic love before, so she does not know if what she is feeling is love or just fondness. And if she does sort out her feelings she would not know how to communicate her emotions to Mr. Rochester. As well, Mr. Rochester is a manipulative man; he enjoys having  power over those around him. This is shown where he misleads Jane into believing that he will marry Blanche Ingram, when his true intent was to marry her. As if he didn’t have enough power over her already, being her employer, provider of her home, and her only source of income. His demanding nature and her poor judgement could be detrimental to the progress of forming a serious relationship. Jane is a stubborn being, and this character trait could lead to discrepancies in her associations with Mr. Rochester. Jane is very much aware of her position at Thornfield manor as the governess. She is completely dependent on Mr. Rochester and she does not like it. This is demonstrated when Jane must leave Thornfield to visit her Aunt, and needs money to fund her journey. Mr. Rochester willingly overpays Jane, but her obstinate nature refuses to take more than she earned. Perhaps the reason for Jane’s cautious-like behaviour can be accounted for by her dismal childhood, which hardened her. She became accustomed to working for everything she received. Mr. Rochester’s abundant wealth and generosity, does not help the situation either. For instance if Mr. Rochester offered Jane gifts, she would not accept them and could even feel insulted by the gesture. Also Mr. Rochester would be offended by her decline, therefore both parties would walk away feeling disheveled by each other’s actions. Their contrasting qualities could inhibit their ability to obtain a functional relationship. These problems will continue to play a role in the downfall of their relationship. Mr. Rochester and Jane have many barriers in their way such as trust issues, differences in experience, and their distinctive personalities. These problems will continue damaging their relationships, unless Jane is able to gain independence from Rochester and they are both willing to compromise for the sake of the other.