Should Beijing really be hosting the Olympics and would you go Explain Essay

Should Beijing really be hosting the Olympics and would you go Explain - Essay Example Since their inception, the modern games have been infused with politics, boycotts, and threats of non-participation. Some people see the games as a way of promoting and legitimizing the host city. Athletes may face an ethical dilemma by participating in a country where there are severe human rights violations. Still, the Olympic idealists hold the standard of de Coubertin and insist that politics and social issues remain clear of the games. These competing opinions on the value and purpose of the games have almost never been as pronounced as they are when we discuss the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The decision to hold the Olympics in China has been met with a series of protests that object to their history of oppression and violations of basic civil rights. While there are legitimate objections to the selection process, the ideals of sport, international cooperation, and cultural interaction makes Beijing an appropriate choice for the 2008 Olympics. The importance of the Olympics and the selection of the host city should not be underestimated. It offers economic advantage to the city in the way of tourism as well as an opportunity to exhibit the city’s and the host country’s best face. The enormous worldwide interest in the games can be seen by the escalating broadcast revenues and the attendant increase in viewership in recent years (see Appendix A). This also opens up the door to give a country an opportunity to present a faà §ade while they ignore the reality that lies just beyond the borders of the games. Will the world see the sweatshops and hardships that lay beyond the broadcasts, or will they only be shown the glossy face of the â€Å"New China† (See Appendix B)? Determining where fact meets propaganda is one of the challenges faced by the IOC, the media, and the viewing public. The biggest objection to Beijing hosting the Olympics is their dismal record on human rights. There has been evidence

Menu planning and product development (Unit 25) Essay

Menu planning and product development (Unit 25) - Essay Example The product development aspect is denoted to be one of the reasons for promoting the existing and new products, which mainly falls into the procedure of recipe testing. This could be the other basic principle of recipe development. Apart from the above discussed principles, evaluation is also regarded as the other prime principle of recipe development. Justifiably, recipes are mainly evaluated to observe the responses and the ways these can be improved for obtaining better results (Butler, 2014; Cole, 2011). The below depicted pictorial illustration provides a better idea about the varied principles of recipe development. The aspects influencing the decisions related to menu planning are often viewed to play imperative role for hotel and restaurant industry. In recent years, it can be ascertained that the taste of the customers/individuals has greatly changed and is incessantly transforming. Thus, it is to be ensured that nutrients and balanced diets are incorporated within a menu to serve customers efficiently. Nowadays, the customers are much concerned towards calorie food contents that require to be taken into concern while making decisions relating to menu planning (Hodder Education, 2014). There lay broad assortment of factors that may influence the menu planning decisions. In recent years, children, elderly people and teenagers have different dietary needs and thus it is necessary to make effective menu planning decisions. In this regard, the diverse kinds of meals, their respective texture and taste are noted to be influencing the decisions of menu planning at large. Apart from these, food gar nishing, kitchen type and capability of staff members are also considered to be the imperative factors influencing menu planning decisions by a considerable degree. Price must also be kept on top most priority as it mainly affects the menu

Factors affecting customer perception of Nestle in Pakistan

Factors affecting customer perception of Nestle in Pakistan Research Paradigm: My research is qualitative as well as quantitative. The major portion of the research is qualitative as most of the data is non-numeric, used in theory building, having small sample size and the results are not generalized. The assessment of income levels are covered under quantitative paradigm. Basic information is qualitative in nature but I have operationalised all the variables to measure them quantitatively. I have measured the scores using nominal and ordinal scales. E.g. for measuring the scores of customer perception i have used the Likert scale where score ranges from 1, indicating strongly disagree , to 5, very strongly agree. Therefore in mine research both approaches are moving side by side. My research is deductive as i have stated the problem statement initially and then have broken down the statement into parts research questions. i selected the sample size of 18 and have made a sampling framework and questionnaire, collected the data and analyzed it using SPSS and qualitative methods and have made conclusions. It is interpretive research as i have taken samples data and then interpret it according to peoples thinking, knowledge and preferences, this suggest more flexible approach to data collection. The research is non-experimental as i did not focus on the control or focus group. i have conducted the research for existing group i.e. Social Economic Classes. The survey is conducted in natural setting the sampling technique is the non probability sampling technique , and i have used convenience and quota sampling for this purpose ( see figure 1) The research is mixture of descriptive and exploratory research as it describes the factors affecting customer perception and exploratory as measures the magnitude and direction of relations between variables. The Research Objective This research is significant for Nestle as they can judge the perception of their customers and to judge how customer respond when company launches new variant, nestle can use it for analyzing the acceptability of iron added milk. It can also analyze the product life cycle stages and can make defensive strategies to maintain its position as a market leader like nestle this study is useful for any packaged milk company as it can use it for competitor analysis. Furthermore, any company who want to launch iron added milk in the market can use it for checking customer response and perception of customers. i will analyze the factors that make up customers perception; companies can work on those factors to make their products differentiated from the market. Data Preparation, Reduction and transformation: The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that affect customer perception leading towards purchase decision about Nestle Milkpak with Iron. We extracted some factors from literature review and used those factors in building questionnaire. The extracted factors are customer knowledge, quality, availability, price, promotion, packaging and positioning. These factors lead to customer perception which ultimately leads to the purchase decision of Milkpak with Iron. Each factor is used in multiple questions in order to extract result from different dimensions. For instance, customer perception is operationalised through questions 9 and 14 of the questionnaire. (See questionnaire in Appendix) Coneceptual Framework Detailed Framework Customer Perception Customer Sophistication Customer Knowledge Importance of Iron for body Milkpak Iron Brand Image Quality Packaging Purchase Decision Milk Benefits Promotion The independent variables are; Promotion, Packaging, Quality, Brand, Importance of Iron for body, Customer Sophistication, Benefits, Milk, Customer Knowledge, Milkpak. These variables can affect the level of intensity in the dependent variable Perception which ultimately leads towards another dependent variable i.e. Purchase Decision. The above variables are operationalized through questionnaire using different scales. The summary of operationalization is given below: Factors Question Numbers Operationalization Tools (Scales) Functionality Q14 Ordinal scale Price Q10 Ordinal scale Packaging Q11 Ordinal Scale Availability Q13 Ordinal Scale Benefits Q9 Ordinal Scale Brand recall Q4, Q5,Q6 Nominal Scale Milk and Milkpak usage Q2, Q3,Q7,Q8 Nominal Scale Purchase Q1, Q13 Nominal Scale For data collection i have approached members from three SECs (Socio-Economic Classes) who use milkpak with iron. i divided my samples in two age groups the young one between age of 16 to 30 and the aged group ranging from 30 to 45. The rationale behind selection of these two groups is their influence on Purchase decision. i approached individuals using milkpak with iron. The questionnaire i prepared contained the nominal and ordinal scales. Initial questions of questionnaire are about the usage, purchase pattern and brand recall. The scale used for this purpose is the nominal scale. The last consists of the question which is measured by Ordinal Scale. Analysis: i have made descriptive stats for analysis in the beginning .In the initial questions i have calculated the central tendency and frequencies to find how Milkpak with iron is positioned as well as to find purchase intention and retention level of its users. For the second half of our report i have used inferential statistics. i have stated our null and alternative hypothesis. Then i checked the level of significance and found the correlation between customer perception and individual factors which make up customer perception. (See our data sheet in annexure) Descriptive Statistics: My first question in survey is about the retail outlet. The rationale for including this question is that i can analyze from which SEC (A, B or C) and age group, the customer belongs. It can help companies to give better understanding from where the target market shops. Companies can apply better promotional techniques on those outlets to have a competitive edge. From the data given below i observed that my target market purchase milk from departmental and general stores. Purchase Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Departmental Store 5 27.8 27.8 27.8 Super Market 3 16.7 16.7 44.4 General Store 5 27.8 27.8 72.2 Retail Store 1 5.6 5.6 77.8 Pharmacy 4 22.2 22.2 100.0 Total 18 100.0 100.0 Second and third question is about the average consumption of packaged milk and Milkpak consumption. These questions help the company to make distribution strategies according to the demand of SKUs Statistics consumption Consumption Of Milkpak N Valid 18 18 Missing 0 0 Mean 3.6111 2.6667 Consumption of Packaged Milk Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 Liter 4 22.2 22.2 22.2 1.5 Liter 3 16.7 16.7 38.9 2 Liters 7 38.9 38.9 77.8 Any other 4 22.2 22.2 100.0 Total 18 100.0 100.0 Consumption of Milkpak Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1/2 Liters 5 27.8 27.8 27.8 1 Liter 6 33.3 33.3 61.1 2 Liters 4 22.2 22.2 83.3 Any other 3 16.7 16.7 100.0 Total 18 100.0 100.0 From the above data i concluded that the average consumption of packaged milk is 3.6 and average consumption of Milkpak with iron is 2.66. Demand for packaged milk SKU is more for 2Liters pack and demand for 1Liter Milkpak pack is more than other SKUs. Question number 4, 5 and 6 are designed to test brand recall and evaluation of advertising campaigns of MilkPak with Iron compared to other brands. Question number 4 evaluates the likability of Ads of milkpak as compared to other brands, fifth question evaluates the add frequency and question number 6 evaluates brand recall. Likability of Ads: Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Olpers 11 61.1 61.1 61.1 Good Milk 1 5.6 5.6 66.7 Nestle Milkpak With iron 5 27.8 27.8 94.4 Any Other 1 5.6 5.6 100.0 Total 18 100.0 100.0 Frequency of Ads Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Hala 1 5.6 5.6 5.6 Haleeb 1 5.6 5.6 11.1 Olpers 10 55.6 55.6 66.7 Good Milk 1 5.6 5.6 72.2 Nestle Milkpak With iron 4 22.2 22.2 94.4 Any Other 1 5.6 5.6 100.0 Total 18 100.0 100.0 Brand Recall Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Today 1 5.6 5.6 5.6 Within Last 7 Days 9 50.0 50.0 55.6 Within this Month 4 22.2 22.2 77.8 More than a month Ago 4 22.2 22.2 100.0 Total 18 100.0 100.0 From the above data i have analyzed that the likeability, Recall and Ad frequency of Nestle milkpak with iron is less than Olpers which is the direct competitor of Milkpak, but is more than other brands in the market. According to the table of brand Recall more than 50% of the respondents have seen the ad in the week the response is taken. Question 7 and 8 measure the usage of Milkpak compared to other brands. Question number 8 is more specific it measures the how many people use milkpak for other uses like for making desserts more than other brands Usage of MilkPak as compared to other brands Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Olpers 7 38.9 38.9 38.9 Good Milk 1 5.6 5.6 44.4 Nestle Milkpak With iron 8 44.4 44.4 88.9 Any Other 2 11.1 11.1 100.0 Total 18 100.0 100.0 Usage of Milkpak for alternative purposes Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Haleeb 2 11.1 11.1 11.1 Olpers 4 22.2 22.2 33.3 Candia 1 5.6 5.6 38.9 Gourmet 1 5.6 5.6 44.4 Nurpur 1 5.6 5.6 50.0 Nestle Milkpak With iron 7 38.9 38.9 88.9 Any Other 2 11.1 11.1 100.0 Total 18 100.0 100.0 From the data and charts given above i have inferred that people use Milkpak more than other brands either for dessert making or for taking milk. Frequency of Milkpak is more than other brands in both cases. Question 13 is about the purchase intention, recommendation and brand switching. For these questions yes is coded as 1, No as 2, dont know as 3. First table evaluates purchase intention. In this table 77% of the Respondents say that they will repurchase the brand. Second table describes that 72% of the Respondents will refer this brand to others. Third table describes the switching trend if respondents will not find this brand. This is alarming for the company that respondents may switch. Company should strive hard to increase its brand loyalty. Purchase Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1 14 77.8 77.8 77.8 2 3 16.7 16.7 94.4 3 1 5.6 5.6 100.0 Total 18 100.0 100.0 Refer Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1.00 13 72.2 72.2 72.2 2.00 3 16.7 16.7 88.9 3.00 2 11.1 11.1 100.0 Total 18 100.0 100.0 Switching Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 1.00 14 77.8 77.8 77.8 2.00 4 22.2 22.2 100.0 Total 18 100.0 100.0 Inferential Statistics: In this part i have found the correlation between customer perception and the factors which make up the customer perception. There are five factors which make up the customer perception which i have included in our research. These factors include functionality, price, promotion, availability and benefits. i have used SPSS for finding correlations. For interpretation two important aspects are magnitude and direction of correlation. Coefficient of correlation is the magnitude of correlation and sign of coefficient of correlation determines the direction of correlation. Method of Correlation and coefficient of correlation: my data is not normally distributed so i will use Kendalls tau-b Correlation coefficients range in value from -1 (a perfect negative relationship) and +1 (a perfect positive relationship). A value of 0 indicates no linear relationship Test of Significance: If the relationship is known in advance i can use one tailed but here i dont know the relation in advance so i will use two tailed Probabilities. Flag significant correlations: Correlation coefficients significant at the 0.05 level are identified with a single asterisk, and those significant at the 0.01 level are identified with two asterisks. The data sheet is given below. In this sheet i have included customer perception and factors affecting customer perception. Hypothesis Statement 1: H0 (Null Hypothesis): There is no relationship between customer perception and functionality. H1 (Alternative Hypothesis): There is a relationship between Customer Perception and Functionality. Nonparametric Correlations Functionality and perception: Functionality Perception Kendalls tau_b Functionality Correlation Coefficient 1.000 .431(*) Sig. (2-tailed) . .018 N 18 18 Perception Correlation Coefficient .431(*) 1.000 Sig. (2-tailed) .018 . N 18 18 * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Interpretation: Magnitude: The correlation coefficient between functionality and customer perception is 0.431 which is nearly moderate. Direction: The sign with coefficient of correlation is positive which shows there is a direct relation between them which shows, as Functionality increases perception gets strong Significance: The significance level i defined was 0.05 and table shows the significance level of 0.018 which is less than 0.05 so i will reject our null hypothesis and will say that there is a positive relationship between Functionality and Perception. Hypothesis Statement 2: H0 (Null Hypothesis): There is no relationship between Customer Perception and Price. H1 (Alternative Hypothesis): There is relationship between customer perception and price Nonparametric Correlations Price and perception: Perception Price Kendalls tau_b Perception Correlation Coefficient 1.000 .628(**) Sig. (2-tailed) . .000 N 18 18 Price Correlation Coefficient .628(**) 1.000 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 . N 18 18 ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Interpretation: Magnitude: The correlation coefficient between price and customer perception is 0.628 which is nearly moderate. Direction: The sign with coefficient of correlation is positive which shows there is a direct relation between them. As price increases people perceive, its quality is getting better. Significance: The significance level i defined was 0.01 and table shows the significance level of 0.00 which is less than 0.01 so i will reject my null hypothesis and will say that there is a positive correlation between Price and Perception. Price of Milkpak plays important role in its perception and positioning. Hypothesis Statement 3: H0 (Null Hypothesis): There is no a relationship between Customer Perception and Promotion. H1 (Alternative Hypothesis): There is a relationship between customer perception and promotion. Nonparametric Correlations Promotion and perception: Perception Promotion Kendalls tau_b Perception Correlation Coefficient 1.000 .415(*) Sig. (2-tailed) . .026 N 18 18 Promotion Correlation Coefficient .415(*) 1.000 Sig. (2-tailed) .026 . N 18 18 * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Interpretation: Magnitude: The correlation coefficient between promotion and customer perception is 0.415 which is nearly moderate. Direction: The sign with coefficient of correlation is positive which shows there is a direct relation between them. As promotion increases perception of people get better. Significance: The significance level i defined was 0.05 and table shows the significance level of 0.026 which is less than 0.05 so i will reject our null hypothesis and will say that there is a positive correlation between Promotion and Perception. Hypothesis Statement 4: H0 (Null Hypothesis): There is no relationship between Customer Perception and availability. H1 (Alternative Hypothesis): There is a relationship between customer perception and availability. Nonparametric Correlations Availability and perception: Perception Availability Perception Kendalls tau_b Correlation 1 .572(*) .013 N 18 18 Availibility Kendalls tau_b Correlation .572(*) 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .013 N 18 18 * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Interpretation: Magnitude: The correlation coefficient between availability and customer perception is 0.572 which is nearly moderate. Direction: The sign with coefficient of correlation is positive which shows there is a direct relation between them. People perceive it as a good brand if its available in their locality or they find it on the stores from where they shop Significance: The significance level i defined was 0.05 and table shows the significance level of 0.013 which is less than 0.05 so i will reject my null hypothesis and will say that there is a positive correlation between availability and Perception. Hypothesis Statement 5: H0 (Null Hypothesis): There is no relationship between customer perception and Benefits. H1 (Alternative Hypothesis): There is a relationship between customer perception and benifits. Nonparametric Correlations Benefits and perception: Perception Benefits Kendalls tau_b Perception Correlation Coefficient 1.000 .669(**) Sig. (2-tailed) . .000 N 18 18 Benefits Correlation Coefficient .669(**) 1.000 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 . N 18 18 ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Interpretation: Magnitude: The correlation coefficient between benefits and customer perception is 0.669 which is nearly moderate. Direction: The sign with coefficient of correlation is positive which shows there is a direct relation between them. As there are more benefits people perceive it as a better product. Significance: The significance level i defined was 0.01 and table shows the significance level of 0.00 which is less than 0.01 so i will reject our null hypothesis and will say that there is a positive correlation between Benefits and Perception. Findings This research is significant for Nestle as they can judge the perception of their customers. Data analysis has given outputs for the factors that were extracted from literature review and then measured through questionnaires. Following results are inferred from the data analysis: Mostly purchases are made from the departmental and general store. Mostly selling SKU of Milkpak is 1 liter while the average consumption of milk per day is 2 liters for most of the respondents. Most of the people like Olpers ad while Milkpaks ad likeability is at 2nd rank. The people, who are not a regular user of Milkpak, prefer Milkpak for desserts. The most important factor among all the independent factors that effect customer perception is Milkpak Benefits. Most of the respondents say that they will repurchase the brand. Most of the respondents say that they will refer this brand further to others. Most of the people are likely to switch in case of Milkpak unavailability. Explanation and Reflection The findings are based upon the following extracted facts: Most of the respondents buy Milkpak from departmental and general store which reflects that Nestle must give special attention to the availability of Milkpak in such stores. The mean usage of milk is 3.6 in which the consumption of Milkpak is 2.6. The average use of milk per day is 2 liters in which 1 liter is of Milkpak. The usage behaviour of Milkpak is 44.4% with frequency 8 as compared to Olpers (38.9% and 7 respectively). Milkpaks ad likeability is 27.8% with frequency of 5 (among respondents) as compared to Olpers likeability and frequency i.e. 61.1 and 11 respectively. The advertisement ratio of Milkpak is 22.2% with frequency 4 as compared to Olpers i.e. 55.6% and 10 respectively. Olpers, stepped into the market by launching a massive campaign featuring some of the biggest stars in Pakistan. Billboards went up at key locations in the major cities, and soon the brand had become a voice above the media clutter-a voice that differentiated Olpers brand from the others. This heavy media campaigning has led Olpers to position it strongly in the minds of customers and to grab market share within few years and is now the biggest competitors of Milkpak. Milkpak must take this position and promotion factor into account in order to retain its customers. 77% of the Respondents say that they will repurchase the brand which shows customer satisfaction and trust towards Milkpak. 72% respondents are willing to refer Milkpak to others which shows high recommendation rate and is beneficial for Milkpak. The only alarming statistics in purchase factor is its loyalty measure and intension to switch to other brands. 77% of the respondents are of the view that they will switch to other brand in case of unavailability. This vulnerability shows the lack of customer loyalty towards Milkpak and importance of distribution network for packaged milk brands. This problem can be coped by introducing customer loyality programs and better positioning strategies. Relationship of Factors with Customer Perception The magnitude of our all independent variables i.e. functionality, price, promotion, availability and benifits is 0.431, 0.628, 0.415, 0.572 and 0.669 respectively. The correlation range of all the factors with customer perception is moderate. The maximum magnitude is of benefits (0.669) which shows that the perception is affected through benefits the most. For instance, Milkpaks taste, purity, density and nutrition are the factors which the respondents prefer when they have to make decision about Milk and the data shows that most of the respondents are of the opinion that Milkpak provide all of these factors. The minimum magnitude is of promotion (0.415) which shows that Milkpaks advertisement is not that creative. They have to increase their promotional budget in order to position themselves more strongly as compared to the other brands. For instance, Olpers spend a lot on Below the Line (BTL) promotional activities for example, activities like reaching out to the different locations in various cities and having the housewives participate in learning and showcasing milk-based recipes which intends to create and maintain loyalty amongst the brands users. Milkpak must also adopt such promotional activites instead of traditional TV campaigning in order to increase the customer perception and loyalty regarding Nestle Milkpak brand. Limitations and Mistakes Following are the limitations of my report. Time Span People are reluctant to respond Access to data Cost (Paid Articles) Generalizability Lack of Expertise As it is a pilot study and I am not expert, i did not have idea that how i will relate the proposal with the original findings, i found number of lacking in my proposal, so to make it perfect, i had to make some changes in our research questions, conceptual framework and hypothesis as well and finally with come up with this report.

An Examination of the Second Meditation of Descartes :: Essays Papers

An Examination of the Second Meditation of Descartes Baird and Kaufmann, the editors of our text, explain in their outline of Descartes' epistemology that the method by which the thinker carried out his philosophical work involved first discovering and being sure of a certainty, and then, from that certainty, reasoning what else it meant one could be sure of. He would admit nothing without being absolutely satisfied on his own (i.e., without being told so by others) that it was incontrovertible truth. This system was unique, according to the editors, in part because Descartes was not afraid to face doubt. Despite the fact that it was precisely doubt of which he was endeavoring to rid himself, he nonetheless allowed it the full reign it deserved and demanded over his intellectual labors. "Although uncertainty and doubt were the enemies," say Baird and Kaufmann (p.16), "Descartes hit upon the idea of using doubt as a tool or as a weapon. . . . He would use doubt as an acid to pour over every 'truth' to see if there was anything that coul d not be dissolved . . . ." This test, they explain, resulted for Descartes in the conclusion that, if he doubted everything in the world there was to doubt, it was still then certain that he was doubting; further, that in order to doubt, he had to exist. His own existence, therefore, was the first truth he could admit to with certainty, and it became the basis for the remainder of his epistemology. In his "Synopsis of the Following Six Meditations," Descartes writes the longest paragraph by far on the Second Meditation. This is hardly surprising, since it is the one most critical to his methodology -- the one without which, his entire system of reasoning would collapse. In the first sentence of it, he presents exactly that conclusion which, as we have just seen, Baird and Kaufmann discussed: "In the Second Meditation," he says (p. 23), "the mind uses its own freedom and supposes the non-existence of all things about whose existence it can have even the slightest doubt; and in so doing the mind notices that it is impossible that it should not itself exist during this time." He goes on to say that this will enable the mind to distinguish itself from the body. At this point he spends a good deal of space speaking of exactly why he will not attempt to prove the immortality of the soul in this section, though perhaps some of his audience might have expected him to.

Critique of an article using the Scientific Method Essay

The paper Politics and Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean is a research paper authored by Evelyne Huber, Francois Nielsen, Jenny Pribble, and John D. Stephens. This paper is a time series analysis of the impact that politics and policy bring about on inequality in the scope of Latin America and the Caribbean. This research is based on various models consisting of sociological and economic variables, plus the strength of the democratic tradition, as well as the distribution of long-term legislative partisan political power and the social spending to explain inequality variations. As a study that aims to analyze social factors and its effect on the inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean, this research was able to conform to the Scientific Method, despite some instances where there are some unsupported arguments. Basing on the Scientific Method of research, we’ll first know what these researchers wanted to find out. What do these people want to learn about? The researchers’ primary concern was to determine what factors are contributing to the inequality levels in Latin America and the Caribbean. Their initial expectations were political variables such as partisan legislative power, strength of democratic tradition, and the nature of social expenditures were the ones initially determining these inequality levels. Another assumption regarding this matter is that these variables have weights different from the ones in advanced modern/industrial societies. One of their basis for this assumption is that most advanced industrial countries have uninterrupted records of democracy as compared to that of Latin America. These countries were able to establish welfare states that redistribute the income. They’re basing their assumption on previous records like the overall size of welfare states and the structure of taxation expenditures. Closely looking at this matter, we can say that what these researchers wanted to find out was somehow in line with the use of scientific method. They came up with an inquiry which is based on previous data. They also gave their hypothesis as to what they expect about their assumption. In relation to this, their assumptions were given as an answer to their inquiry, and that will be the basis of how they’ll go about with this research. They came up with a set of data gathered from previous information from other studies and published articles. One of the bases that they used was studies which utilized multiple regression analyses of inequality in developing countries. They used this information as a pattern or guide in conducting their own study. One study made by Morley is about the determinants of differences in inequality of income distribution among countries in Latin America. Here, he combined multiple regression analysis with case studies of nine countries. Because of this, he came up with variables which play an important role in his research. These variables include national income, inflation, education, economic reform indices and land distribution. These variables are essential because it can also be used for other researches like this one. Basing on the scientific method, we can say that it this research made full use of the information from previous studies. They were able to gather essential information which they could use in proving their assumptions for this study. However, they may have overused the information and relied on it too much. There is a great resemblance of their research with that of Morley’s, that’s why it ma have resulted to something similar. The point is, they could have altered several aspects in other researches and not just utilized everything from that one into their own. If they are expecting to find something new, then their research should be something new also. Other researches are there for additional information and guide, that’s why they shouldn’t dwell on it always. The researchers came up with different hypotheses on democracy, political parties, social spending, economic development, inflation, demography, ethnic composition, education, foreign direct investment, the informal sector, and land distribution. They were able to give arguments and related studies as to how these factors were able to affect the inequality in Latin America. However, the way they presented these factors and how they reasoned out regarding its effect on the state of inequality in the area is questionable. The scientific method should be based on facts and concrete evidences. Surely, they were able to provide related literature for most of the factors, but in some, they also tried injecting their own opinion without giving any basis for saying that. The scientific method relies on how you will be able to back up your statements by using previous studies or materials from previous researches. If you are to say something without backing it up with concrete evidence, then the information you are relaying is questionable. The research posed a lot of information regarding these factors. But not all of the information that they gave were verifiable by evidence, so the credibility of their statements are somewhat questionable, thus making their research somewhat weaker. The next step of the scientific method involves gathering and organizing data for the research. Here, we see that the researches devoted enough time and effort to come up with sufficient data. Their main sources of information were secondary data from various country’s statistics, and how it was related to that country’s social and economic situation. They utilized various analytical methods in interpreting this data, sorting it in manner where one could clearly see how it affected the inequality for the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. In this part, they were able to stick to the scientific method of conducting a study wherein they properly gathered and sorted the data to be analyzed. As a result, they were able to come up with the necessary information which was interpreted. The results are there in order to verify and support the hypothetical claims that they made earlier on the study. This could either prove or disprove their assumptions. The next part of the scientific method is the discussion of the results before actually concluding the research. The results showed that the assumptions regarding the outcome of the study were strongly supported, wherein politics is really important in shaping the inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean countries. The democratic records were one of the strongest evidence for this, along with the cumulative record of the strength of left-of-center parties in the legislature, as well as the interaction of social security spending and democracy. It has left us with the conclusion that democracy is very important for inequality. This could be quantified in two ways, which are: 1) it allows the leaders who are concerned with the welfare of the underprivileged to let them build organizations in the form of political parties, and 2) allow those parties to establish a support base, and to gain necessary influence in the legislature and be able to use that influence to shape various policies is the direction of redistribution. The conclusion can be well associated with the scientific method, as it summarized the results and mentioned the possible implications of the research. Another problem is whether the research can easily be repeated for the purpose of verification. With all the necessary factors at hand, reproduction of this research may be hard because the political state of a country can be changed, thus affecting the variables it has previously possessed.

Music and fantasy Essay

In the beginning of the story, Connie leads the life of a carefree fifteen year old girl. She spends most of her days in town with friends where they meet boys, listen to music, watch movies or go for shopping. When she stays at home, she fantasying about meeting boys and gets in her mother’s way. She is happy when she listens to music and when she is in town with her friends. She is unhappy when she is at home and her mother constantly nags her. Her mother considers her useless, whose mind is always filled with ‘trashy daydreams’. She is like any other middle class teenager. Her world is full of friends, fun, rock and roll music and fantasy. She knows that she is pretty and that is everything to her. She like most teenagers seemingly lives two lives: one that her family sees and the other when is anywhere other than home. She observes the world through the rose colored glasses of youth. Her involvement with boys both real and imagined are sweet and gentle, the way it is in movies and promised in songs. 1. The story is different in the sense that the victim, Connie comes out on her own accord, leaving her home and family behind. The abducted does not force his way in to her house. Rather he seduces her by music, charisma and increasing threats. When Arnold friend appears and ask her to go for a drive, she is flattered that he remembers her. Gradually she notices something fake about him and wants to quit the conversation. But the turn comes too late and by then Friend has her in his hold. She realizes the danger but chooses to give in. She tries to protect her innermost self by falling into a state of trance and distancing herself from her body. The sweet sugary pop music that Connie listens day after day epitomize her naive vision of life, love and sex, this proves very dangerous for Connie. She has a hazy view that any sexually charged interaction with boys is sweet and gentle like it is shown in movies and promised in songs. Thus she is helpless against Arnold Friend, whose disguise has a weird resemblance to Bob Dylan. His actions are that of the vagabond in Dylan’s song, â€Å"It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue†, who comes to lure her into an ominous and uncertain destiny. The Rock’n’Roll music is always present in Connie’s life. She hears music in a restaurant in town. It makes Connie feel good about everything. To her, it is like a church service, something to depend upon. When she is with a boy Eddie, again there is music. Music makes her feel joy and pleasure of being alive. When she is at home, she daydreams about boys and music is always at the background. On a Sunday afternoon, when she is alone at home, she turns on the radio; she is immediately bathed in a glow of slow-pulsed joy that seemed to rise mysteriously out of the music. Music is also present in the form of Ellie Oscar’s transistor radio, the romantic promises and frantic strains of music assist Arnold Friend in seducing Connie at her house. 4. One of the themes of the story is illusion of innocent youth versus the reality of uncertain future. Connie has the illusion of love and life which is crashed by the cruel reality. In the beginning of the story, Connie sees the world through the rose colored glasses of innocent young. She believes the world to be like what is seen in popular movies and promised in bubble-gum rock. She lives in her own dream world. She fantasizes about boys, where all the faces dissolve in to one single face which is not a face but an idea, a feeling mix with music. At the end of the story Arnold Friend appears at her doorsteps and her world of illusion and innocence is invaded with brutal reality. Friend succeeds in seducing her in to an unknown and uncertain destination. Moreover if we consider Friend as a portrayal of Charles Schmid, a serial killer in Tucson, Arizona, then probably she faces the reality of rape and subsequently death. Work Citation: â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates†. 12 July 2007. University of San Francisco †¢ Educating Minds and Hearts to Change the World. 19 September 2007 Joyce Carol Oates â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been†. 4 May 2000. Martina Preis and Corina Naujokat. 19 September 2007. We Could Be So Good Together: Rock And Roll And American Fiction. June 2007. Terry Dalrymple and John Wegner. 19 September 2007.