Economics IA Commentary Coversheet Essay Example for Free

Economics IA Commentary Coversheet Essay November 11 2009 The unemployment rate stands at 7.8% up 0.1% over the quarter and 2.0% on last year. Nearly 29 million people were in work in the period July to September according to the labour force survey (LFS). The number of people employed was up by 6,000 this quarter but down by 490,000 on the last year. The working age employment rate is 72.5% down 0.1% on the last quarter and down 1.9% on the last year. ILO-defined unemployment in July to September was 2.46 million (7.9%) up by 30,000 unemployed on April-June and 629,000 from this time last year. The claimant count for key out-of-work benefits was 1.6395 million in October up by 22,900 on last month, and up 632,700 on last year. Earnings growth over the year to August (including bonuses) was 1.6%, down 0.2% from the previous month. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Yvette Cooper said: The figures show more people in work and a lot more young people taking up our offer of full time education and training, which is welcome news. The fact that unemployment is significantly lower than everyone forecast at the beginning of the year shows the support for the economy is making a real difference. But we know things are still tough for a lot of families, and unemployment is expected to increase further next year. Thats why were determined to do more with an extra 35,000 youth jobs, more apprenticeships and education places so we can guarantee no young person gets stuck in long term unemployment. The figures out today also reinforce the fact that the UK labour market is performing better than most major economies. They show UK unemployment at 7.8%, compared to an EU average of 9.2% and lower than 14 other EU countries including France (10.0%), Ireland (13.0%) and Spain (19.3%), as well as the US (10.2%) and Canada (8.6%). Commenting on the latest statistics, John Philpott, Chief Economist and Director of Public Policy at the CIPD, said: UK unemployment is continuing to rise but at a much slower pace than earlier in the year. While this is not unexpected the fact that the unemployment total remained below 2.5 million in the quarter ending in September is encouraging. However, the relative improvement should not be interpreted as evidence that the labour market is returning to health, with male unemployment and long-term unemployment continuing to rise and youth unemployment now at a record rate despite a surge in the number of young people staying on in education to avoid the dole. Unemployment remained below 2.5 million in the three months to September primarily because there was a rise in part-time employment, temporary employment and contract working, the latter boosting self-employment. This more than offset a continued marked deterioration in full-time jobs for employees. Such a pattern is common in a labour market where overall demand for staff is weak and as the Bank of England reiterated today in its latest quarterly Inflation Report the economic outlook uncertain, with the road to recovery likely to be slow. At such times employers who need to recruit remain wary of hiring full-time staff and it is significant that today’s ONS figures do not show an improvement in the level of job vacancies. This pattern is also normally accompanied by a high rate of involuntary part-time working there are now almost 1 million people working part-time because they can’t find a full-time job. Women continue to be the main beneficiaries of a labour market where opportunities for part-time employment are increasing, while men lose out as full-time jobs are being lost. As a result the CIPD expects the rate of male unemployment to rise well above 10% in 2010, with the proportion of men in work set to fall to a record low. The current pattern of demand for labour is also doing nothing to ease the plight of young people. The latest quarter saw a further large fall in the number of under-25s in work, with the unemployment rate for 18-24 year olds now at a record high. There is little consolation in the fact that the number of unemployed young people remained below 1 million. This is explained by a quarterly surge in the number of young people classed as ‘economically inactive’, which the ONS figures indicate is mainly due to more young people staying on at school or college, almost certainly as an alternative to the dole. This article deals with unemployment in the UK. A person can be considered unemployed when he is involuntarily out of work, however is willing to work at current wage rates. One of the government’s main goals is to achieve full employment, where all people who are able and willing, are working. This is extremely beneficial for the economy because it can be considered working at maximum efficiency, which causes growth and development. A good way to illustrate a countries economy taking into account unemployment would be to use a PPF. The production possibility frontier is the orange line where the economy is working at full efficiency (full employment), using all of its resources. Point X is when the economy is not using all of its resources, and has people unemployed. http://i.investopedia.com/inv/dictionary/terms/ppf.gif Structural unemployment is a possible reason for the large decrease of workers. This specific type of unemployment focuses mainly on the loss of jobs under the condition that the demand for a certain product falls, or there is a shift of production abroad. In the category of disequilibrium unemployment, Demand deficient (Cyclical) Unemployment is most likely the number one cause for the UKs labour force being downsized. Due to the global recession, consumers can afford less goods and services, therefore the aggregate demand decreases significantly (hence the name – demand deficient). If the demand for production has substantially fallen, then naturally the demand for labour will also fall. Demand deficient unemployment can be illustrated using a diagram. Due to the fall in the D of goods and services, demand for labour shifts inwards from D1 to D2. With this, disequilibrium unemployment occurs with the number of workers shifting from Q1 to Q2. When demand for labour is strong, companies don’t hesitate to rise wages, although when demand for labour falls, and wages need to be cut, workers will resist wage cuts, therefore it is very hard for the company to cut wages for a large amount of workers without causing some kind disturbance or complications within the firm. If the company does chose to do this, the labour force will become angry and will want to retaliate somehow, perhaps going on strike. Due to a situation like this, parts of the company will not be producing/working, resulting in inefficiency. Aside from that, it will be very hectic, attracting negative attention from consumers and media, which is of course the company’s last need. In conclusion, the company will not be in control, when this is in fact their main priority, to sustain the stability and optimal working functionality. That is why the company prefers to downsize workers, and keep themselves running as best and as efficiently as possible. In order to deal with demand deficient unemployment the government should impose fiscalor monetary policies to raise aggregate demand and thus raise the demand for jobs. In the short run, when the AD shifts to the right (from AD1 to AD2) this causes and increase in real GDP (shift from Q1 to Q2 and P1 to P2). If AD would continue to grow in the short run, the country would reach a maximum supply. This constant struggle for the country to meet AD by increasing output would cause inflation instead of growth. However if the pressure is relatively small in the SR (short run) then it would be much easier to deal with AD in the LR. Supply side policies are government policies designed to increase output, and should also be imposed in order to cope with unemployment. Using a LRAS (long run aggregate supply) diagram is a good way to show the effects of supply side policies. If the Government were to impose supply side policies, the LRAS curve would shift right from LRAS1 – LRAS2. The price would then fall from P1 to P2 and the quantity (output + jobs) would increase from Q1 to Q2. Conclusivley the Government should investigate the best strategy to decrease unemployment. By imposing appropriate regulations and policies.

How the Continuity of Experience Could Disprove Materialism :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

There seem to be three distinct questions about continuity. (1) "Is experience continuous?" (2) "Is the physical world continuous?" And (3) "Are the physical events of the brain which give rise to experience continuous?" Finding answers to these questions that can be integrated without contradiction is a challenge in itself. But before we ask whether our answers contradict, we must respond to the questions. The most ambitious and unwieldy of these questions is without a doubt the second, regarding the continuity of the physical world. This question is the realm of philosophers alone, and it has been debated since the beginning of thought. Heraclitus thought the world was in a constant state of continuous change, while Parmenides thought time an illusion, laid out eternally and unchangingly. Today this debate has become known as that between the "conventional theory of time" and the "block theory of time." (1) New names for the two camps, however, have provided no new answers, and the debate seems interminable. If the question of whether time in the physical world flows at all cannot be answered, it is certainly impossible to determine whether it flows continuously. Philosophy must here bow out to some degree and let psychology have its turn at bat. Aristotle writes: "Whether, if soul (mind) did not exist, time would exist or not, is a question that may fairly be asked; for if there cannot be some one to count there cannot be anything that can be counted..." Aristotle is wise enough not to attempt to answer this question, but instead simply states that the answer depends on whether time exists countably in the absence of a perceiver. (2) Thus the ball is thrown very early in the game into the hands of psychologists and neurobiologists, and the question thus is transformed into the first of the three, regarding experience. William James advocated a model of experience with continual mental states, the "stream of consciousness." He writes: "Consciousness, then, does not appear to itself chopped up in bits. Such words as 'chain' or 'train' do not describe it fitly as it presents itself in the first instance. It is nothing jointed; if flows. A 'river' or a 'stream' are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described." He explains that even when gaps seem to appear in the moments when we are aware of our awareness, such as when a loud noise surprises us, even there exists some sort of mental state and thus a continuity of experience.

Breaking A Cultural Rule About Gender

It is important to note important terms in this paper such as gender, gender roles and patriarchal society. Gender is a distinguishing form used to differentiate between a male and a female. Although gender is mostly referred by us as sex there is still a noticeable difference between the two terms. This difference is basically more on the fact that gender refers more to a social construction wherein sex refers to a biological condition. Gender roles are most commonly found in a particular social group or system.Gender roles refer to a set of behavioral norms that are usually connected with males or females. Of course, gender roles differ from one place to another. In most countries females are treated almost as an equal to that of males. However, there are still countries which remain rigid with their beliefs that men are superior to that of women and they even support the Platonic view that women are incomplete men. Of course these kinds of beliefs are the primary reasons why many women are enraged and thus many movements are formed which aims to liberate women from their restricted roles in the society.One may wonder why it is the case that even though many feminists movement already emerged, the successes of these movements are still considered limited. On my own viewpoint, I think the reason lies on the numbers of feminists’ movements that emerged. With so many forms of these movements, they find it hard to solidify themselves into one movement which would liberate women once and for all. Due to different beliefs and contrasting viewpoints, women themselves argue with each other as to what they should be fighting about.However, one common belief between these numerous groups of women lies on the fact that the cause of repression and marginalization among women lies within the patriarchal society. Patriarchal society emerged from the belief that fathers should be the one to take good care of the welfare of their family. It is through this that the be lief that men should take the bulge of the responsibility for their community emerged. One can easily see the reason why women consider patriarchy to be the one to blame for their conditions.As for me, the only difference between a man and a woman lies on their biological differences, nothing more and nothing less. It is common knowledge that we are living in a society which is filled with rules and roles. There are things that only men can do as there are things that only women are expected to do. As a woman, the society expects you to be gentle and you should take care of your family in such a way that a woman must make sure that her family is well-feed, properly clothe and the like.Common expectations from men on the other hand lies on the fact that they are physically tougher than women and thus men are expected to act tough. Most men are afraid to show their weaknesses and they seldom cry even though they so wanted to. Men are also expected to take care of his family, though in a different way from that of a woman. The taking care expected from a woman is very minimal as compared to those from men. Women are expected to do the household chores, to cook the food that would feed her family and the like. Men on the other hand, are expected to provide the means or the resources needed by his family.Men should be the bread-winner in their family and this is primarily the reason why a man takes it hard when a woman feeds her family. This kind of scenario is most common in a family where the man can’t find a job and thus it fells on the woman’s responsibility to make sure that their family have the resources they need in order to survive. Most men can’t take this kind of living and their prides suffers great damage. Anyhow, such are most of the common gender rules our society are boxed in. It is from the examples stated above from where I got the idea of what kind of gender rule I should break.As a woman, if you want to be respected by the p eople around you, you should act the way a woman should. Of course there are many ways on which a woman can choose to act but a respectable woman is expected to act with finesse and she should not act loosely if she does not want to be treated like a slut. One can see how unfair it is that men can do what they want without worrying to what it could possibly cause them in most cases. For example, if a girl decides to have two or more boyfriends the society would brand her as a slut.If a guy on the other hand decides to have two or more girlfriends then he is considered great among his peers and it would not do much damage to his reputation as compared to the damage a similar act could inflict upon a woman. If a man was insulted he can easily take revenge by fighting back. A woman, on the other hand cannot do the same thing because it would be unwomanly to act in such a way. Of course women fighting each other are a natural phenomenon on slums and places of such sorts but women who ha d proper education are expected by their society to act in a more finesse manner.It was this kind of experience I would share in this paper. For this project I asked a friend of mine for her help. I asked her to pretend that we fell into a fight and that we should go on with our act for a number of days. This friend of mine which I would hide in the name Anne had been my friend for as long as I can remember and thus we have a common circle of friends. However, Anne is studying from a different school than mine and thus she’s got friends whom I don’t know as I do have mine.Now the scenario we decided to portray is to fool our friends into believing that we really fell into deep hatred with each other and this particular conflict could not be resolved in any way. The reason of the fight would be something really deep that both of us would not want to discuss with any of our friends. To make matters worse I would pretend that Anne has been doing things to me which I canâ €™t tolerate wherein Anne on the other hand would appear weak in front of her friends and she would tell stories of how badly I acted with her. On the first day of our fight nobody really believed that we have been fighting each other.However, as the time moved our fiends slowly got into believing that we really are fighting with each other. Our first approach had been exchange of hurtful words but these did not convince our friends and so on our third day of acting we tried to act a little harsher and thus we ended slapping each other. Of course the slapping happened in a public place of all places and it is needless to say that the experience had been really embarrassing. It had been such a hard task fooling our friends but we finally convinced them when Anne and I got a little physical.There are so many things I’ve expected out of what happened. I expected that some of our friends would side with her wherein some would side with me. However there are also a number of t hings which occurred which I haven’t expected. Some of Anne’s friends from her school convinced Anne to wait for me on my way home and in order not to drop our act Anne let her friends convinced her. It was only through a text message that I’ve escaped from an encounter with her friends. Another thing I did not expect is a friend of mine which I would hide in the name Toby really sided with Anne at first.Toby called me after learning about what happened and he asked me how I managed to act in such a way. He even went as far as to say that he didn’t expect it from me of all people to act in such a way. However, after explaining my self Toby apologized and decided to stay neutral. He later said that what made him act rashly is the fact that Anne had been very pitiful in recounting her story. Of all the things which I’ve expected the only thing which happened is that out group of friends really divided themselves between Anne and me. However, there ar e some who remained neutral and worked themselves hard to bridge the gap between Anne and me.Of the experience I have learned how society treats catfights differently from male fights. Of course if male friends fell into dispute similar thing could also happen (splitting of friends, etc. ). However, male fights are more common than catfights especially if things get physical. My mother winded up with what happened and she really boxed my ears after learning of my fight with Anne. She then went on to lecture that an educated woman does not act in such a way and that it is very childish and unladylike of me to get myself involved in such a fight.Many hurtful things and judgment also befell on me and Anne that I am glad that our acting is finally over. Upon experiencing this I have learned that though women appears to be equal to that of their male counterparts nowadays, such is still not really the case. Men can do most things without ruining their name and reputations wherein a woman would have to endure demeaning words, stares and the like if she decided to act contrary to what was expected of her. In terms of fighting a guy is more justified to defend his self to that of a woman. When you are a guy you can do almost anything and people wouldn’t say a thing about it.You can pick a fight whenever you feel like it and people would only consider it natural some would even went as far as to say that he’s a real and admirable man to be able to handle such a fight and the like. Such things got no place for women and thus catfights are considered as a form of entertainment by some (based from my experience). Besides when I tried to justify myself by asking a friend of mine how is he different from me when he himself fights for what he believes in he answered that he is a man and I’m a woman as if that alone is answer enough.Such is the unfairness of the patriarchal society we are living in today. No wonder many oppose this kind of society. Howeve r, I believe that if women really want to get out of the box society put them into they should do so by giving up the benefits they enjoy in this kind of patriarchal society simply on the basis that they are a woman. Reference: http://www. britannica. com http://education. yahoo. com http://www. infoplease. com

How to Read and Write Byte Streams in Java

Reading and writing binary streams is one of the most common I/O tasks a Java application can perform. It can be performed by looking at each individual byte in a stream or by using a more structured buffered approach. Note: This article looks at reading binary data from a example.jpg file. If you try this code then simply replace the name of the example.jpg with the path and name of a jpeg file on your computer. Byte by Byte The java.ioclass was the first Java api to provide Input/Output functionality. It has two methods that can be used to input and output byte streams (blocks of 8 bits) from and to a file. These classes are the FileInputStream and FileOutputStream. These methods provide a basic method of I/O by allowing a file to be input or output one byte at a time.  In practice its better to use a buffered method for binary streams but its good to look at the most basic building block of the Java I/O functionality. Notice how we place the I/O handling inside a try, catch, finallyblock—this is to make sure we handle IO exceptions and to properly close the streams. The catch block will show any I/O exceptions that occur and print a message for the user. In the finally block its important to close the streams explicitly by calling the close method otherwise they will remain open and a waste of resources. There is a check to see if the FileInputStreamand FileOutputStreamare null before attempting to close. This is because an I/O error could occur before the streams are initialized. For example, if the file name is incorrect the stream will not be opened properly.In the tryblock we can add code to read in the bytes:The readmethod reads in one byte from the FileInputStreamand the write method writes one byte to the FileOutputStream. When the end of the file is reached and there are no more bytes to input the value of -1 is returned. Now that Java 7 has been released you can see the benefit of one of its new features—the try with resources block. This means that if we identify the streams to the try block at the beginning it will handle closing the stream for us. This eliminates the need for the finally block in the previous example: The full Java code listings for the two versions of the byte reading program can be found in Binary Stream Example Code.