Compare and Contrast Research Methods Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Compare and Contrast Methods - Research Paper Example As there are various research methods for carrying out different types of research in all areas such as psychology, public affairs, marketing, business administration and etc., it is important to make wise decision among all available options so that the results can be used in a productive manner (Hopper et al., 2007; Lee, Benoit-Bryan & Johnson, 2010). Since questionnaire-based survey was discussed in detail in the last assignment, five other research methods will be compared with this method to understand their applicability in the real world. The following table is a brief snapshot of the similarities, differences and applications of questionnaire-based surveys after doing comparison with in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective techniques, experimental methods and observation: In-depth interviews and questionnaire-based surveys require the professionals to develop a questionnaire so that they can ask the questions to the respondents in a structured way and any queries regarding the questions can be clarified during the research (Brugger, 2010; Kotnik et al., 2010). As compared to the questionnaire-based surveys, in-depth interviews are time-consuming, interviewee might record the answer according to his/her perception and experts need to learn the skills of conducting the interviews (Milena, 2008; Yaoxiang, & Lihai, 2008). These interviews are ideal for gathering information about the perceptions, attitudes, preferences and behaviors of the consumers. In-depth interview method is frequently used in the fields of psychology, marketing and business administration (Harris & Brown, 2010). Focus groups comprise of eight to twelve respondents and it has a lot of similarity to the questionnaire-based survey such as a questionnaire is developed and tested before carrying out the research, respondents are provided leverage of answering

EU Subsisdies Order Essay Example for Free

EU Subsisdies Order Essay 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Introduction The European Union introduced the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the 1950s, which was aimed at encouraging better productivity in the food chain to ensure that consumers had a stable supply of affordable food and that the EU had a viable agricultural sector. This was essential in post WW2 Western Europe, where societies had been damaged by years of war and the agricultural sector crippled. The CAP in the pre 1990s period offered subsidies and guaranteed prices to farmers by having the EU buy agricultural products whenever the prices fell below specified support levels, in order to provide a production incentive for food products. This policy was backed by tariffs which offset the difference between European and world agricultural prices in order to prevent the CAP from drawing in large quantities of imports. Furthermore, financial assistance for farming investment was provided to facilitate the restructuring of farming, ensuring that farms developed in size, management and technology, improving efficiency and productivity. (Leguen de Lacroix, 2004) Krugman writes that since the 1970s, the support prices set by the European Union was so high that Europe which would have been an importer of most agricultural products under free trade, was producing more agricultural products than consumers were willing to buy. This resulted in the EU being obligated to buy and store huge quantities of food, and at the 1985, European nations had stored 780,000 tons of beef, 1.2 million tons of butter and 12 million tons of wheat. This forced the EU to adopt a policy of subsidizing agricultural imports to dispose of this surplus stock and production, in order to avoid unlimited growth in stockpiles. (Krugman and Obstfeld, 2006) He further records the CAP as costing European taxpayers a staggering $50 billion in 2002, which does not include the indirect costs to food consumers as a result of higher prices. Government subsidies to European farmers were also equal to about 36 percent of the value of farm output, twice the U.S figure. The EU (European Trade) Commission announced that it would be phasing-out all export subsidies currently granted to exporters in the European Union in 18 December 2005. In this paper, the possible effects of this phasing out of export subsidies will be discussed and analyzed, together with the policy implications and appropriate policy changes that should be made along with the phasing out of export subsidies. A Theory of Export Subsidies Here a theory of export subsidies will be discussed within the field of international economics, in order to analyze the effects of export subsidies in theory on trade and economies, as well as to construct a framework from which the phasing out of the EU export subsidies can be discussed. The application of an export subsidy is just like any other subsidy – the exporters receive a higher price (by the amount of the subsidy) than what is actually paid by the foreign purchaser. Given this price obtainable for the exported good, producer of the export good in question will not sell in the domestic market at any lower price, so, assuming that consumers are prevented from buying from foreign suppliers at lower world prices, the domestic price facing both producers and consumers is driven up by the subsidy. This tells us that the prices faced by the consumer of agricultural products within the European Union are artificially inflated through the use of export subsidies. The application of export subsidies to large and small countries is different in theory. We consider the EU to be a â€Å"large country† with the power to influence world prices (of the export good). In this case, the increase brought about by the subsidy results in a fall in the world price of the export good – which results in a deterioration in the EU’s terms of trade. In the exporting country, consumers are hurt due to the raise in prices, producers gain, and the government loses because it must expend money on the subsidy. Hence an export subsidy must always reduce economic welfare, and will do so to a larger extent the larger is the country since this will result in a greater adverse terms of trade effect. Removal of the EU Export Subsidy One of the main criticisms of the EU CAP is the charge of â€Å"dumping†, or the exporting of goods at prices far below the cost of production, which Oxfarm claims depresses and destabilizes markets for non-subsiding exporters, especially those in the developing world. It suggests that the EU export subsidies should be removed so that such practices would not be so prevalent. However, the EU export subsidies cannot be eliminated without changing agricultural policies which encourage and boost production. Removal of export subsidies without agricultural policy reform would cause a build up of unmanageable stocks of beef, coarse grains and dairy products, which is costly to the Government. The Government would also incur huge losses if these stocks had to be disposed of on the domestic market. Therefore the removal of export subsidies would have to be accompanied by agricultural reform, which could take many forms. An example would be the implementation of production control through strict production quotas to eliminate surplus production due to the export subsidy, stricter than those that already exist through the CAP. Another policy option would be to reduce support prices. The effects of this would be to increase domestic consumption due to the reduced prices consumer have to pay in the domestic market, as well as a reduction in domestic agricultural production due to the lower price producers receive. Hence the need for export subsidies would diminish, as the potential for a build up of agricultural stock would be reduced. According to a study by Stout, Leetmaa and Normile, the elimination of EU support prices, with tariffs to protect agricultural products against import competition remaining in place, the largest impact within the EU would take place in the diary, coarse grain and beef markets. This is expected since these sectors are where the highest levels of price support are found, and for these agricultural products, as domestic prices fall, production and hence exports decline subsequently. This reduction in EU exports would have the effect of driving up world prices, increasing convergence between previously-distorted EU prices and world prices. The same study referenced above also studied the scenario in which the tariffs which protects the agricultural markets from import competition are eliminated. Such a policy initiative would allow the EU to import agricultural commodities at the world prices, in turn driving down the domestic EU prices of commodities, which are currently protected by heavy tariffs. The impact of tariff elimination would be felt the hardest in the markets where import tariffs are the highest, for example, the sugar, dairy, beef, corn and rice markets. According to another study by the OECD, the elimination of export subsidies has major consequences for much of the EU dairy and livestock product markets. As analyzed previously, the removal of export subsidies would lead to falling domestic prices, production and hence exports, as well as higher domestic consumption of these commodities. The study by OECD also documents that unsubsidized exports rise to replace the subsidized exports, as EU domestic price falls and the world price increases. The OECD writes that the consequence of export subsidy elimination for a commodity is an increase in the world price of the same commodity, as pointed out earlier. Here the OECD carries out a more exhaustive study into this effect, concluding that the magnitude of this effect on world prices depends on the importance of subsidized exports relative to the total volume of trade, and might be offset by cross-commodity effects. There effects are illustrated in the diagram below: The OECD also notes that EU meat exports are small relative to world totals and that not all of its export are subsidized. However the EU dairy product export market is a different story, compromising a much larger share of world markets, with most exports being subsidized. Hence the largest impacts would be felt in the diary markets, with world dairy prices increasing as subsidized exports are eliminated. Finally, the OECD recommends that the appropriate policy response together with an export subsidy elimination, which has the fewest market distorting consequences, is to completely abandon price supports, making use of export subsidy eliminations as an opportunity to accomplish such an aim. This is in agreement with the findings by Stout, Leetmaa and Normile. References Leguen de Lacroix, Eugene, ‘The Common Agricultural Policy Explained’, European Communities, October 2004 OECD, ‘A Forward-Looking Analysis of Export Subsidies in Agriculture’, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Oxfarm Briefing Paper, ‘Stop the Dumping : How EU agricultural subsidies are damaging livelihoods in the developing world.’, Oxfarm International Stout, Jim., Leetmaa, Susan. And Normile, Mary Anne. ‘Evaluating EU Agricultural Policy Reform Using the EU WTO Model’, Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, DC

The Purpose of Copyright Essay -- Property Laws

In today’s ever-accelerating world, we constantly find ourselves in a whirlwind of vague and complicated legal issues. Several of these relate specifically to something we encounter every time we listen to a song, look at a photograph, or read a book⎠¯copyrights. It appears that all these new controversies over copyrights and copyright infringement may be exaggerated or irrelevant. However, these issues pertaining copyright are neither irrelevant nor exaggerated, although this excessive attention constantly being drawn to it is certainly worth noting. The fact that copyrights are creating such an upheaval should not be attributed to over exaggeration. Instead, we must see this as a sign that copyrights as they are currently being maintained are in need of inspection and perhaps revision. Our excessive emphasis on claiming something as our property has caused copyright to act counter to its initial purpose. In order to best understand what the initial intention of copyrights was, it is necessary to look to where it is first expressed in our society. As it turns out, copyrights have been in place in our society since the crafting of the Constitution. Although there were several views as go how to best implement it, ultimately it was Thomas Jefferson’s notion of copyright that was most clearly incorporated into the Constitution. In it, it â€Å"†¦gives Congress the authority to ‘promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries’† (Lethem 63). This inclusion of a copyright for authors and inventors had a clear purpose⎠¯to create an incentive for the mass of typically ordinary people to create and innovate. By securing a pa... ...ss. Carolan, Michael S. â€Å"Constructing the ‘pure’ inventor: individual, collective, and corporate authorship within patent law.† New Genetics and Society. 27.4: (301-310). Helprin, Mark â€Å"Digital Barbarism: A Writer’s Manifesto.† Harper: HarperCollins Publishers. Litman, Jessica â€Å"Creative Reading.† Khan, B. Zorina. â€Å"The Democratization of Invention: Patents and Copyrights in American Economic Development, 1790-1920.† Nber: Cambridge University Press. Lethem, Jonathan. â€Å"The Ecstasy of Influence: A plagiarism.† Harper’s Magazine. The Founders' Constitution, Volume 3, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8, Document 12 http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/a1_8_8s12.html The University of Chicago PressThe Writings of Thomas Jefferson. Edited by Andrew A. Lipscomb and Albert Ellery Bergh. 20 vols. Washington: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1905.

Suicide: My Thoughts :: Free Essays

I have known many adolescents who have thought about suicide. People’s reasons for suicide just cannot be legit in most cases. Some reasons are: â€Å"my girlfriend broke up with me† or â€Å"people make fun of me† or how about â€Å"I don’t have any friends?† Whatever the reason for the thought of suicide, there isn’t a valid one, unless we are dealing in euthanasia. People usually think suicide is the best and only solution to an insignificant problem. They do not think about the consequences or the people they may hurt in the process. So what if you total your car, or if some people don’t like you and you aren’t the most beautiful and popular person there is. It all matters on what you think about yourself. One might think: well how would he know how these people feel? I know because I too thought about suicide at one point in my life. But after evaluating the situation and putting some thought into how I not only would be creating the biggest sin there is, but how I will hurt my family and the ones who love me. I came to grips with reality and realized there are much better things in life than to sit and sulk about stupid, insignificant problems that occurred in my day. So what? That’s life. Suicide is not a solution to any problem. It only makes things worse and more complicated. Depressed people are not the only ones to commit suicide. A person who could seem to be the happiest, most outgoing person you know could kill themselves and you would never be able to figure out why. People just sporadically think that suicide is the best alternative and that it is the end all be all solution to all their problems. But what they don’t think about is that they won’t have anymore problems because they will be dead.

Communication Barrier Essay

Introduction Effective communication is an important facet and skills are essential in all spheres oflife. Communication is effective when the stimulus as initiated and intended by the sender, or source, corresponds closely to the stimulus as it is perceived and responded to by the receiver† (Tubbs and Moss, 2006), state . In nursing, every day we have to face to face with patient, we communicate with different people and different patients, so we must endeavour to give effective communication and also an important to counsel them from the usage of words, speed delivery of words, pitch modulation and body language. Effective communication is an essential component for organisation success, whether it is the interpersonal intra group organisation or external levels. Effective communication wills an increases patients and health outcomes of authority (Barlett, Grayson et al. , 1984), Reduces the risk of complaint and litigation of authority (Beckmam, 1994). Communication barrier is when person sends and receives messages that are distorted by noise , ccur within context,have some effect,and providesome opportunity for feedback. (Joseph Devito (2009). Communication is a conversional process of sending message. Communication is important in our life,personal relationship and anywhere. Identifying the barrier to communication is the first step to improving effective communication. if it is unable to communicate his deep are certain obstacles, try to use body languages to convey an effective communication. Discuss in the appropriate place. There are many ways to makesure memorable communication. Communication barrier is what makes communication complexs,difficult,frustrated are the barriers we put in the way. When we talk, we tend to erect barriers that hinder our ability to communicate. There are five of these types of barriers to effective communication. Physical barriers are easy to spot – doors that are closed, walls that are erected, and distance between people all work against the goal of effective communication. Physical communication takes place such as in office, ward, hospital, cafeteria and a public place. Second communication barrier is emotional barrier can be tough to overcome. By believing in yourself and what you have to say, you will be able to communicate clearly without becoming overly involved in your emotions. In the third barriers are cultural, different cultures, whether they be a societal culture of a race and religions which can hinder developed communication if different cultures clash. In these are common cases, in work situations, identifying a problem and coming up with a highly efficient way to solve it can quickly topple any cultural or institutional barriers. Another barriers are Interpersonal barriers, which what ultimately keep us from reaching out to each other, and opening ourselves up, not just to be heard, but also to hear others, this can be the most difficult area to change. They are unable to form genuine connections with people because they have too many false perceptions blocking the way. Luckily, the cure for this is more communication. By engaging with others, we learn what our actual strengths and weaknesses are. This allows us to put forth our ideas in a clear, straightforward manner. And the last barriers are gender have become less of an issue in recent years, but there is still the possibility for a man to misconstrue the words of a woman. Different gender had tended to form thoughts differently and this must be taken into barrier of both genders when communicating. (Christopher Smith II, 2010). Way of Overcoming these barrier When you send a messages,you intend to communicate meaning,but the message itself doesn’t contain meaning. The meaning exists in your mind and in the mind of your receiver. To understand one another,you and your receiver must share similar meanings for words,gestures, tone of voice and other symbols.

Free Essays on Assisted Suicide

Assisted Suicide Thesis: We do not have the freedom of speech unless we have the freedom to refuse to speak. And we do not have the freedom of religion unless we have the freedom to not be religious. So then how do we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness unless we have the freedom to deny any of these? â€Å"Our Life Is Not Our Own If We Cannot Choose When To End It!† Euthanasia: the final analysis in America today many arguments are centered around the right to choose: the right for women to have and abortion, the right for gays to be allowed to raise children or to be legally married, and the right to physician assisted suicide. ( ) These arguments all have something to do with the individual having the right to make this choice, but what if they are unable to make this choice? Say for instance, a man was hit by an oncoming truck, and is being held alive by a machine, what will happen to him? Who will make the decision for him to live or to die? In most case’s it will be the physician. Well you may ask yourself why cant we choose, that is to die? If a person is terminally ill and has a quality of life so low that they do not have the will to go on, ( ) they are not given a choice. Why then are those people not allowed to seek out a painless alternative in their situation? ( ) Though it is illegal many seek out p hysician assisted suicide ( ) or assisted suicide. Most memorable are those involving Dr. Kevorkian. Known as â€Å"Dr. Death† as some headlines read, Dr. Kevorkian has become famous for his many assisted suicides and his suicide machine. ( ) This all may sound fine and dandy, but not everyone agrees with it. Many religions contend and advise against a person seeking suicide of any kind. ( ) In religious views, life is a gift from god and one not to be thrown away or wasted. ( ) It is viewed that by committing suicide of any kind we are di... Free Essays on Assisted Suicide Free Essays on Assisted Suicide Assisted suicide, also called euthanasia (originated from the Greek, eu, meaning â€Å"good, and thanatos, meaning â€Å"death†)( No Author, http:// www.religious tolerance.org), is the act of assisting a person who wants to die. That person may want to die for a multitude of reasons, be it because of a terminal illness, extreme pain and suffering, or because of an illness that will leave the person with some extremely diminished capacity. This topic has become one of great controversy as of late, with the prevalence of the HIV virus, the virus that causes AIDS, as well as the increase of debilitating diseases like Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease. This paper will touch on many points of the issue of euthanasia, as well as a defender of it. At the end of this paper, it will be plain to see by any open-minded individual that euthanasia should be legal. There are several forms of euthanasia. First, there is voluntary (or active) euthanasia. This means that a competent person makes a voluntary request, without changing their mind, to be helped to die. A popular example of voluntary euthanasia was the assisted killing of a patient with ALS by Dr. Jack Kevorkian in 1998. Dr. Kevorkian’s patient was terrified of the advancing illness, and of dying a painful and horrible death in the near future. The patient had Dr. Kevorkian inject him with a series of controlled substances, which caused the patient’s death ( No Author, religioustolerance.org). There is also non-voluntary (or passive) euthanasia, in which case the patient is not able to express the wish, either by incompetence or the incapacity to do so. This is usually fairly simple, such as removing life support, stopping emergency medical procedures, not feeding the patient, causing death, or not delivering CPR when the patient has stopped breathing or the heart has stopped. The third type is involuntary euthanasia. This is when a competent patient is allowe... Free Essays on Assisted Suicide Physician assisted suicide presents one of the greatest dilemmas to the medical profession. Should someone who is mentally competent, but deemed terminally ill, be allowed to engage in physician-assisted suicide? According to the First Amendment of The Constitution of The United States, one has the freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances. The Fourteenth Amendment states, The State cannot deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. The group believes that a terminally ill patient has the Constitutional right to decide whether or not to end his or her life with the help of a licensed medical doctor. There have been many cases over the years where a terminally ill patient who is mentally competent has made the choice to either partake in physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia. Physician-assisted suicide occurs when the physician provides the patient with the means and/or knowledge to commit suicide(Death and Dying,91). Euthanasia is when the physician administers the death causing drug or agent(Death and Dying,92). The most recent case is that of The State of Florida v. Charles Hall. Charles Hall is dying of AIDS and challenged the State of Florida to let him die by a self-administered lethal injection without fear of prosecution(rights.org/ deathnet/open.html). On January 31, 1997, a Judge ruled that Charles Hall could take his own life with the aid of a doctor. Senior Judge S. Joseph Davis, brought in from Seminole County, found that Florida’s strict privacy law and the equal protection clause in the U.S. Constitution entitled Hall, 35, and Dr. McIver to carry out an assisted death without fear of prosecution (Sun-Sentinel, 1A). On February 11, 1997, Charles Hall’s ruling was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court: he no longer has the rig ht to end his own life. He will have to wait unti... Free Essays on Assisted Suicide Assisted Suicide Thesis: We do not have the freedom of speech unless we have the freedom to refuse to speak. And we do not have the freedom of religion unless we have the freedom to not be religious. So then how do we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness unless we have the freedom to deny any of these? â€Å"Our Life Is Not Our Own If We Cannot Choose When To End It!† Euthanasia: the final analysis in America today many arguments are centered around the right to choose: the right for women to have and abortion, the right for gays to be allowed to raise children or to be legally married, and the right to physician assisted suicide. ( ) These arguments all have something to do with the individual having the right to make this choice, but what if they are unable to make this choice? Say for instance, a man was hit by an oncoming truck, and is being held alive by a machine, what will happen to him? Who will make the decision for him to live or to die? In most case’s it will be the physician. Well you may ask yourself why cant we choose, that is to die? If a person is terminally ill and has a quality of life so low that they do not have the will to go on, ( ) they are not given a choice. Why then are those people not allowed to seek out a painless alternative in their situation? ( ) Though it is illegal many seek out p hysician assisted suicide ( ) or assisted suicide. Most memorable are those involving Dr. Kevorkian. Known as â€Å"Dr. Death† as some headlines read, Dr. Kevorkian has become famous for his many assisted suicides and his suicide machine. ( ) This all may sound fine and dandy, but not everyone agrees with it. Many religions contend and advise against a person seeking suicide of any kind. ( ) In religious views, life is a gift from god and one not to be thrown away or wasted. ( ) It is viewed that by committing suicide of any kind we are di...

Symbiotic Ants and Aphids Have a Strong Relationship

Symbiotic Ants and Aphids Have a Strong Relationship Ants and aphids share a well-documented symbiotic relationship, which means they both benefit mutually from their working relationship. Aphids produce a sugary food for the ants, in exchange, ants care for and protect the aphids from predators and parasites. Aphids Produce a Sugary Meal Aphids are also known as plant lice, they are very small sap-sucking insects that collect the sugar-rich fluids from host plants. Aphids are also the bane of farmers the whole world over. Aphids are known crop destroyers. The aphids must consume large quantities of a plant to gain adequate nutrition. The aphids then excrete equally large quantities of waste, called honeydew, which in turn becomes a sugar-rich meal for ants. Ants Turn Into Dairy Farmers As most people know, where there is sugar, there is bound to be ants. Some ants are so hungry for the aphid honeydew, that they will milk the aphids to make them excrete the sugary substance. The ants stroke the aphids with their antennae, stimulating them to release the honeydew. Some aphid species have lost the ability to excrete waste  on their own and depend entirely on caretaker ants to milk them. Aphids in an Ants Care Aphid-herding ants make sure aphids stay well-fed and safe. When the host plant is depleted of nutrients, the ants carry their aphids to a new food source. If predatory insects or parasites attempt to harm the aphids, the ants will defend them aggressively. Some ants even go so far as to destroy the eggs of known aphid predators like ladybugs. Some species of ants continue to care for aphids during winter. The ants carry the aphid eggs to their nests for the winter months. They store the precious aphids where temperatures and humidity are optimal, and move them as needed when conditions in the nest change. In spring, when the aphids hatch, the ants carry them to a host plant to feed. A well-documented example of the extraordinary mutualistic relationship of a corn root aphid, from the species Aphis middletonii,  and their caretaker cornfield ants,  Lasius. Corn root aphids, as their name suggests, live and feed on the roots of corn plants. At the end of the growing season, the aphids deposit eggs in the soil where the corn plants have withered. The cornfield ants collect the aphid eggs and store them for the winter. Smartweed is a fast-growing weed that can grow in the spring in the cornfields. Cornfield ants carry the newly hatched aphids to the field and deposit them on the temporary host smartweed plants so they can begin feeding. Once the corn plants are growing, the ants move their honeydew-producing partners to the corn plants, their preferred host plant. Ants Enslave Aphids While it appears the ants are generous caretakers of aphids, ants are more concerned about maintaining their steady honeydew source than anything else. Aphids are almost always wingless, but certain environmental conditions will trigger them to develop wings. If the aphid population becomes too dense, or food sources decline, aphids can grow wings to fly to a new location. Ants, however, do not look favorably upon losing their food source. Ants can prevent aphids from dispersing. Ants have been observed tearing the wings from aphids before they can become airborne. Also, a recent study has shown that ants can use semiochemicals to stop the aphids from developing wings and to impede their ability to walk away. Resources and Further Reading Cranshaw, Whitney, and Richard Redak. Bugs Rule!: An Introduction to the World of Insects. Princeton University, 2013.