Wednesday, November 27, 2019

ACT Writing Prompts The Complete Guide

ACT Writing Prompts The Complete Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips It's pretty scary to walk into a room on ACT test day and with no idea what the essay question you're about to answer is about. Luckily, you don't need to know- the ACT essay prompts only ask about a teensy, tiny category of ideas. And the best part is, you already know all about the topics! Keep reading to see sample ACT Writing prompts you can practice with. More importantly, we also teach you how to gather evidence before the test so you can walk in 100% prepared to answer any prompt they give you. 7 Sample ACT Essay Prompts The idea behind the ACT essay is that it's a fair test of everyone's writing ability because nobody knows the topic or question before the test. In order for this to be true, the ACT actually has to choose from a pretty small sliver of questions (since the topics must be broad enough that all test takers can write about them). See for yourself: here are the three free and publicly available official ACT Writing prompts. Do you notice any common threads? 1. Intelligent Machines (source: ACT.org ) Many of the goods and services we depend on daily are now supplied by intelligent, automated machines rather than human beings. Robots build cars and other goods on assembly lines, where once there were human workers. Many of our phone conversations are now conducted not with people but with sophisticated technologies. We can now buy goods at a variety of stores without the help of a human cashier. Automation is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what is lost when we replace humans with machines? Given the accelerating variety and prevalence of intelligent machines, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of their presence in our lives.Perspective One: What we lose with the replacement of people by machines is some part of our own humanity. Even our mundane daily encounters no longer require from us basic courtesy, respect, and tolerance for other people. Perspective Two: Machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs, and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases they work better than humans. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone. Perspective Three: Intelligent machines challenge our long-standing ideas about what humans are or can be. This is good because it pushes both humans and machines toward new, unimagined possibilities. Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing presence of intelligent machines. 2. Public Health and Individual Freedom (source: ACT.org ) Most people want to be healthy, and most people want as much freedom as possible to do the things they want. Unfortunately, these two desires sometimes conflict. For example, smoking is prohibited from most public places, which restricts the freedom of some individuals for the sake of the health of others. Likewise, car emissions are regulated in many areas in order to reduce pollution and its health risks to others, which in turn restricts some people’s freedom to drive the vehicles they want. In a society that values both health and freedom, how do we best balance the two? How should we think about conflicts between public health and individual freedom?Perspective One: Our society should strive to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. When the freedom of the individual interferes with that principle, freedom must be restricted.Perspective Two: Nothing in society is more valuable than freedom. Perhaps physical health is sometimes improved by restricting freedom, but the cost to the health of our free society is far too great to justify it.Perspective Three: The right to avoid health risks is a freedom, too. When we allow individual behavior to endanger others, we’ve damaged both freedom and health.Write a unified, coherent essay about the conflict between public health and individual freedom. 3. Kid Stuff (source: ACT.org ) Toys are for children, right? Not anymore. In recent years, things that used to be considered "kid stuff" have grown in popularity among grownups. Nowadays, adults regularly play video games, watch animated movies and television show, purchase dolls and other collectible figures, and read comic books for their own enjoyment. Is adult enjoyment of children's entertainment merely a sign of immaturity? In what ways can playing with kid stuff change the way adults understand today's youth? Given that toys, games, and publications that used to be exclusively for children are growing in popularity among adults, it is worth considering the effects and implications of this trend.Perspective One: It's good for adults to be familiar with kid stuff. They'll understand the lives of children better and be more responsive to their needs, interests, and problems.Perspective Two: Adults need to be models of maturity and responsibility. When they act and think like children, kids have no one to look to for guidance.Perspective Three: Children need their own cultural space- their own books, their own toys, their own movies- in which to explore their ideas. When adults start to take over the space, kids lose out.Write a unified, coherent essay about the trend of adults playing with kid stuff. Here are four other prompts that I have constructed, based on the core question and core perspectives I extracted from the official prompts (if you're curious about how I constructed these prompts, check out our article on how to attack ACT Writing prompts): 4. Globalization Many of the goods and services we depend on daily have global sources. Where once you might speak with a customer service representative from across the country about your computer problems, your call now would most likely be routed across the world. In one grocery store, it can be possible to find a mixture of foods from multiple continents. Various pieces of culture can be instantaneously broadcast around the world via the Internet, enabling shared experiences among people of disparate geographic origins. Globalization is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what happens when we replace local interactions with global ones? Given the accelerating rate of globalization, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of its presence in our lives.Perspective One: Globalization requires a shift in the way we think about other people, other societies, and the world. This is good, because it will push humanity towards previously unimaginable possibilities and achievements.Perspec tive Two: Removing geographic boundaries from commerce means that the right people can be chosen for the right jobs at the right price. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone. Perspective Three: The flourishing of a new, global society comes at the cost of local cultures. Less diversity leads to deficits in empathy and creativity, two of the most defining characteristics of humanity.Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing presence of globalization. 5. Information Accessibility At this moment in time, there is more information more readily available to more people than ever before. Smartphones can instantly provide directions to your destination, when even 10 years ago you had to look up directions before you left and/or bring along a map. Researchers from all over the world are able to pool their knowledge to advance their fields more quickly. Many libraries have broadened their collections to include subscriptions to online/electronic databases as well as printed works. Greater access to information is generally seen as a positive advance, but what are the consequences of making so much knowledge available to so many people? Based upon the ever-increasing amount of information in the world and the ever-broader access to it, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of easy access to information in our lives.Perspective One: With increased ease of access to information, we lose the incentive to gain knowledge ourselves. By outsourcing our memories of facts and other information, we are becoming less intelligent.Perspective Two: Greater access to information allows us to avoid memorizing facts and, instead, use our brains for higher-level thinking. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone. Perspective Three: The more people who have access to more information, the greater the chances of collaboration and thus further advances in human knowledge. This is good because it pushes us toward new, unimagined possibilities.Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing accessibility of information. 6. Novelty In the world today, newness is highly valued. Social media apps constantly update to make sure you’re shown the newest information or posts from those you follow. Many of the products we purchase today are purposefully created with short lifespans to encourage consumers to continue to get the newest, up-to-date versions. Subscription services for music and video make it possible to continuously listen to and watch new media. Novelty is generally seen as a positive characteristic, but what are we losing by constantly focusing on the new? Given its increasing prevalence, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of the growing emphasis on novelty in our lives.Perspective One: Change is the only constant in life, and to ignore this is to grow rigid and stagnate. More exposure to new ideas and ways of thinking can only lead to progress for society and for humanity as a whole.Perspective Two: By exclusively focusing on the new, we lose sight of what we already know. Instea d of ignoring the old, we should be focusing more past accomplishments and errors. The only way to move forward is to heed the lessons of the past.Perspective Three: Information, products, and ways of thinking should only be valued if they are useful and reliable, not just because they are new and exciting. New does not automatically equal improved.Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing value assigned to novelty. 7. Job Changes Fewer and fewer people are staying with the same job their entire lives. In the United States, the average person will switch jobs more than 10 times in over the course of his/her life. Some workers will make lateral, or even downward, moves in order to increase personal fulfillment. Others switch jobs in an effort to obtain the highest possible salary. Increasing personal autonomy is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what happens when length of experience is replaced with variety of experience? As the number of jobs people will hold over the course of their lives continues to climb, it is important to examine the implications and meaning of this trend for our lives.Perspective One: Because jobs are no longer a lifetime commitment, people will feel freer to accept a greater variety of positions. This increase in breadth of experience will in turn make job applicants more attractive to future employers. Perspective Two: As the frequency with which people change jobs increases, the loyalty of people to their employers will decrease. This in turn will lead to more fractured company cultures, as employees will only care about what’s best for them.Perspective Three: The disappearance of the stigma associated with frequent job switching will allow employees more leeway with employment decisions. Increased autonomy will lead to increased happiness and job satisfaction.Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing frequency with which people switch jobs. For additional Writing Prompts to practice with, you also might want to consider purchasing the most recent Official ACT Prep Guide, which includes five additional official essay prompts. While you'll see many different topics asked about on the ACT essay section, there is in fact only one ACT Writing Prompt (and three types of perspectives) you have to know. We call these the Core Question and Core Perspectives. This question (and these perspectives) will run through each and every ACT Essay prompt you'll get. The Reasoning Behind The Core Question As you can see, all the ACT writing prompts are about how the world (and the people in it) is (are) changing. All of them boil down to the following question: "What are your views on how humans are changing the world?" or, even more broadly, "What do you think about the way the world is changing?" The ACT frames its prompts this way because ACT, Inc. wants to choose essay topics that all students can have an opinion on, rather than asking about something extremely specific for which some students are more prepared than others. First Global Image from VIIRS by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, used under CC BY 2.0/Resized from original. Read through the two official prompts again (above). Rather than asking about high school life (as the old ACT Writing prompts did), the current ACT essay prompts ask students to consider how changes in the world today affect all humanity, forcing the students to place the issue in a broader context. While the topics may appear to be highly specific at first glance (e.g. "intelligent machines"), the explanatory paragraphs for each prompt make it clear that the topics can be parlayed in a number of different directions (and be accessible to most people). There won't be prompts about issues that mainly affect urban dwellers (e.g. subways), or only affect certain geographic areas (e.g. snow preparedness). Similarly, something like "smartphones," for instance, would never be a topic on its own; rather, it would be an example that could be used for the topic (as with the "intelligent machines" prompt). When writing the ACT essay, it really helps to have strong opinions about the core question ("What do you think about the way humans are changing the world?"), but if you don't, no problem: it's easy to develop opinions! And we're here to give you a head start. In the next section, we're going to give you three basic opinions related to the core ACT essay question. We'll show you how to apply these perspectives to specific prompts and tell you where you can find examples to support them. The Reasoning Behind The Core Perspectives The new ACT prompt has three different perspectives that you need to discuss during the course of your essay. To figure out the three core perspectives, I read and re-read the perspectives for all three of the official prompts, considering them in light of the informational paragraphs that preceded them. I ended up with these three basic opinions: Core Perspective A: The changes caused by [Prompt topic] are not good and have negative results. This perspective maps onto Perspective 1 of the first official ACT sample prompt above, Perspective 2 of the second official sample prompt, and Perspective 3 of the third official sample prompt. My nickname for this position is "conservatism," since this perspective wishes to be conservative and not change things. Core Perspective B: The changes caused by [Prompt topic] will lead to greater (in)efficiency. This perspective maps onto Perspective 2of the first official ACT sample prompt above, Perspective 1 of the second official sample prompt, and Perspective 2 of the third official sample prompt. My nickname for this position is "utilitarianism," since this perspective is all about what will be more practical and lead to the greatest good for the greatest number of people (this is even explicitly spelled out in Perspective 1 of the second official sample prompt). Core Perspective C: The changes caused by [Prompt topic] will yield positive future results because it will lead to improvements for all humanity. This perspective maps onto Perspective 3 of the first official ACT sample prompt above, Perspective 3 of the second official sample prompt, and Perspective 1 of the third official sample prompt. My nickname for this position is "progressivism," since this perspective argues that change = progress = good. Building a Support Bank Now you know that the ACT essay will only ever ask you to discuss one question: "How is the world changing?" If you prepare for this question with diverse evidence before the test, you'll be ready to answer the prompt no matter what it is. To give yourself the most time to write and organize your argument, your thesis should match up with one of the three perspectives given- that way, you won't have to take the time come up with a fourth, completely new perspective and compare it to at least one the three perspectives the ACT provides. But it gets better! The internet (and society in general) is chock-full of theories and arguments about how the world is changing, and whether or not that's a good thing. All you have to do is read up on some of them and develop your own opinions. Opinions on the World Your ACT essay thesis should basically be one of the three perspectives, but you have to support that opinion with evidence- the answer to the question "why?" (or "why not"?). Look over these sets of three opinions and try to think of reasons or examples to support each. The world is changing to be worse than it was before. (because...) The world is changing to be better than it was before. (because...) The world is changing to be more (in)efficient than ever before. (because...) Research and Brainstorming Ideas Unlike with the SAT essay, you can use abstract reasoning to develop your point on the ACT. This means that you don't necessarily have to come to the test pre-loaded with specific examples: if you can't think of a concrete example that will support your point, you can make one up as you go along while constructing your argument. Now we'll look over a few sample internet resources that could serve as support (or brainstorming assistance) for the opinions above. You can use the general ideas from these resources, but you may also find some useful specific examples for when you face your real ACT Writing prompt. News sources such as the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Al Jazeera, Time, The Atlantic, Slate, The Economist, Wired, New York Magazine, Popular Science, Psychology Today, Vox, Mic, and even Buzzfeed News will have information about current events that you can use. If you prefer listening/watching the news, you can always try that as a source of current events information as well watching or listening to television, radio, or podcasts. How Do I Use This Article? Just knowing what the ACT Writing prompts are likely to be about may lead you to think about the way you interact with the world somewhat differently. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open for anything that could be fodder to answer a question about the way the world is changing- anything you learn about in history/social studies, read/hear about in the news, or even encounter in a futuristic novel can be added to your support bank. But, of course, the more effective way to use the information in this article is to practice both planning and writing ACT essays. We have another article with ACT essay tips, which can give you more information on how to practice the actual writing process, but knowing about the prompt types can get you thinking about your own opinions on how the world is changing. After all, you're being asked about this because you have a lot of experience with it, living in the world as you do (unless you are a ghost and don't live in this world, in which case, why are you taking the ACT?). So, using the prompts at the beginning of this article, or another group of questions about issues having to do with change (some items on this list of debate topics, for example), start planning hypothetical writing ACT essay responses. Try reading our step-by-step ACT essay example if you're stumped about where to begin. For each issue, planning involves picking a side, supporting it with one to two reasons or examples, and deciding how to discuss at least one of the other given perspectives in relation to the one you've picked (including arguments both for and against the other perspectives). If you really want to max out your ACT essay score, you should practice planning essays about how the world is changing until you can do it in 8-10 minutes reliably. If you're curious about where that 8-10 minute estimate comes from, check out our ACT essay tips article. What's Next? Check out our comprehensive collection of ACT Writing guides, including a detailed analysis ofthe ACT Writing Rubric that includes explanations and strategies and our explanation of the differences between the old and new ACT Writing Test. Find out how to get a perfect score on ACT Writing. Follow along as I construct a top-scoring essay step-by-step, or check out our list of tips to raise your ACT Writing score. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. 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Saturday, November 23, 2019

Gray Wolves In Yellowstone Essays - Yellowstone, Canid Hybrids

Gray Wolves In Yellowstone Essays - Yellowstone, Canid Hybrids Gray Wolves In Yellowstone The reintroduction of Gray Wolves into Yellowstone has had many positive affects such as controlling the populations of large game and taking out the small week stupid ones. Some farmers complain about them killing cattle but who cares what they think. The gray wolf, also called the timber wolf, is the largest of about 41 wild species within the dog family, Canidae, of the order Carnivora. All living wolves are considered a single species, Canis lupus. There are 32 recognized subspecies of the gray wolf. Wolf size varies. Adults range from about five to six and a half feet from nose to tip of tail, from 26 to 36 inches high at the shoulders, and weigh from 40 to 175 pounds. Gray wolves arent necessarily gray but grizzled gray is the most common color they can also be white, black or red. Wolves are distinguished from dogs by characteristics of the skull. At one time the wolf lived throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere. Most wolf populations are in Canada and Alaska, where they are relatively stable. Of the lower 48 only Minnesota has a wolf population large enough to maintain itself. Wolves live in packs. The Forestry Service reintroduced gray wolves to the northern Rocky Mountains as well as Yellowstone National Park in an attempt to re-establish the species after an absence of more than 60 years. Gray wolves were exterminated from the area by the late 1920s. They are designated as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in most of the lower 48 states. The reintroduction program is a cooperative effort with the National Park Service and USDA Forest Service. Late last century, we realized that something was wrong with the ecosystem in Yellowstone National Park. Without the wolves Yellowstone fails to maintain its natural state. It was made clear that the ecosystem in Yellowstone would never function properly until they were back. They decided that the wolf should be reintroduced into the ecosystem at Yellowstone. Many people, thought that this was foolish. The debate over wolves and Yellowstone has pissed off a lot of people, who will continue to rage for years. Why were wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone? Wolves helped restore Yellowstone's ecosystem to a condition that resembles the way used to be. The wolf, is a large predator, and therefor an important part of the parks ecosystem. Once the population recovered, interactions between predators and prey were restored. The wolves select the weakest and most vulnerable members of the populations of deer, elk, bison, and kill them. Such actions enhance the health of the parks game species as well as weeding out the wussies. Even with wolves roaming the parks, visitors will rarely see them. They will be able to understand the importance of the wolf and see how the balance of life is essential. The biological factors resulting from reintroducing the wolf are important. However, the wolf itself is a mystery and symbol to mankind. Today, not everyone feels that same way about the wolf and its surroundings. Many don't know and understand the importance of the wolf and its duty. What you do not know you will fear. What one fears, one destroys.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Analysis of the trends in the consumption patterns of oil Essay

Analysis of the trends in the consumption patterns of oil - Essay Example The definition of Economics can be classified into three broad categories, namely: (a) Wealth Economics Definition, (b) Material Welfare Economics Definition, and, (c) Scarcity Economics Definition. Of these three, the Scarcity Economics Definition is the pertinent for the present. According to this, economics is a â€Å"science which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and means which have alternative uses† (Robbins, 1935). The study of Economics is divided by the modern economists into two parts, namely; microeconomics and macroeconomics. In macroeconomics, the economy as a whole is analyzed, while microeconomics analyses the economy in terms of its innumerable decision-making units. Microeconomics: The study of supply and demand inside a market is known as microeconomics. Microeconomics is â€Å"the study of particular firms, particular households, individual prices, wage incomes, individual industries, and particular commodities† (Boulding, 1969). Microeconomics offers solution for the problems: what should be produced, how those goods and services should be produced, and, who is allowed to consume those goods and services. It explains the composition of total production- why more of some things is produced than of others. In other words, it analyzes demand and supply for a product or service. The law of demand states that â€Å"a rise in the price of a commodity or service is followed by a reduction in demand, and a fall in price is followed by an increase in demand, if conditions of demand remain constant† (Samuelson, 1962). ... The major factors that influence the demand for a product or service are: price and availability of a substitute good, price and availability of a complimentary good, income, tastes and preferences, price expectations, stock of goods in consumer hands, and, population. Law of supply: Supply is the amount offered for sale at a given price. The law of supply states that "other things remaining the same, as the price of a commodity rises its supply is extended, and as the price falls its supply is contracted" (Boulding, 1969). The supply changes due to: i) costs of production, ii) unavailability of resources (like raw materials for the production), iii) improvement in the means of transportation, communication and technology, iv) political disturbances or war, and, v) the climate, irrigation methods and soil (in the case of agriculture products). Trends in the consumption patterns of oil The availability of oil and its price are linked by the laws of supply and demand. Each day approximately 84 million barrels of oil are extracted from the earth, and approximately the same amount is consumed. The world's rate of oil extraction will begin soon or has already begun to decline, while the demand for oil continues to grow which in turn will produce sharply rising prices for oil. In this study, the Oil Market Report by IEA dated 10th July, 2008 (IEA, 2008) is analyzed. The highlights of the analysis are given below: Microeconomics of oil - Supply and Demand: The oil market is one where small changes to the supply or demand cause large changes to the clearing price. In economics jargon, both oil supply and demand are "inelastic" - they show only a minimal short-term response to changes in

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Cash Flow Management in the Lawrence Simulation Essay

Cash Flow Management in the Lawrence Simulation - Essay Example It is in this situation that crisis has struck. Mayo has defaulted on payments for the weeks of 17 through 30 March. Further news is that Mayo will not be paying anything until the week of 14 April. Lawrence must negotiate with Mayo, Gartner, and Murray in order to speed up payments from Mayo and possibly further defer payments to Gartner and Murray. Borrowing from the bank is to be managed to minimize the outstanding balance and subsequent interest expense. Analysis: Lawrence faces two problems, a short-term cash-flow problem, and a larger and more significant strategic problem involving an unhealthy dependence on a single customer and lack of diversity amongst suppliers. We are tasked with the short-term cash flow problem at hand. If Mayo is allowed to proceed with delays of payment until the week of 14 April, the company will suffer a cash-flow deficit of up to $ 411,000 in excess of the $1.2 million line of credit for the period of 31 March through 13 April. Based on the existing payment schedule, there are no savings in interest expense to be gained by forcing Murray to accept delays in payments. If Lawrence chooses not to attempt a negotiation with Gardner for additional time to meet outstanding payments, the interest expense on borrowing will be $3,821 more than if Lawrence attempts to push Gartner to accept further delays in payment, regardless of the terms offered. Is the relationship with Gartner worth $3,821? How much would Lawrence spend to develop a new supplier?

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Inderstanding Consumer Behaviour Towards Luxury Products Essay Example for Free

Inderstanding Consumer Behaviour Towards Luxury Products Essay Studying consumer behaviour enables marketing researchers to predict how consumers will react to promotional messages and to understand why they make the purchase decision they do. Marketers realized that if they know more about the consumer decision making criteria, they can design marketing strategies and promotional messages that will influence consumers more effectively. The importance of consumer behaviour made marketers to think of a separate branch in marketing research Consumer research, to deal exclusively for consumer related issues. The current focus of this report is on study of underlying needs and motives in taking purchase decisions, consumer learning process and attitude formation process. The study has been initiated for Club Mahindra Holidays. The purpose of this study is to analyze consumer perceptions of luxury products and the factors that influence his purchase decisions. The objective is to understand consumer behaviour towards luxury products and the steps followed while purchasing it. To achieve the above objectives, we first look at how luxury goods are different from regular goods and then go on to explore some facets and trends of the luxury goods as well as their market and consumers. We will understand the definition of luxury products through secondary research. Post secondary research we will develop few hypotheses which will give us the direction for our next step ie Qualitative Research. We will use interview method in qualitative research which will give an insight into the mindset of the consumers and their purchase steps involved and then follow it up with quantitative research (survey method). Through this we will quantify our findings for the Indian luxury consumer and their buying behaviour. We will analyze the factors that influence the consumers in buying the luxury products. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 4 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Research Abstract Scope: This project is a part of a job assigned to the planning department. This project is an initiative taken to understand the behaviour of consumers towards luxury products. Purchase of a luxury product involves lot of planning and research before taking any decision. There are number of factors that affect an individual?s decision making process as well as his choice about the product. These factors are different for different types of luxury product. A research into these aspects will give us an insight into the mindset of the consumer and will help to study the consumer better. Method: Primary research was done in two steps. ? Qualitative Research – Depth Interview Method ? Quantitative Research – Survey Method 1) Qualitative Research: For qualitative research, few high income people were asked open ended questions which were formulated based on the secondary research and in line with the hypothesis. Depth interview of 10 people were taken which gave an insight into their purchase behavior and their decision making process for a luxury good. Based on this interviews and a further review of the secondary research reports, a final survey questionnaire was prepared. 2) Quantitative Research: For quantitative research, after making the initial questionnaire it was pretested with 5 participants and was improvised. The final sample was 30 with target group being A and A+ socio-economic class people. In June 2009, the survey was conducted to observe the behavior pattern of consumers in buying luxury products. This allowed us to find out about the behaviour of the consumer towards luxury products across various income groups. Also we asked them about what all factors Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 5 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products influence them to buy such products and which brand of products do they feel are luxurious. We also understood the price range that they feel makes the product luxurious. Thus in future while designing any interactive campaign the output of this survey would be of great use for positioning the product as a luxury product. Also some secondary data was mined regarding what exactly influences an individual? s decision. Conclusion: Luxury products are high involvement products which require high thinking and are defined by their exclusivity and brand. They are mostly bought as a symbol of status. People have high emotional attachment with luxury products and are mostly influenced by their family members in decision making as most of the products are bought for family use. These products are also used as a means to gift their closed ones. Endorsing a film star or sport personality does not affect the image of a luxury product to a great extent. Luxury products give a feeling of pride and most of the purchase decision making is influenced by family members especially spouse. This entire initiative was one of its kinds and will help the INTERFACE COMMUNICATION to design its campaigns for Club Mahindra Holidays in a way to advertise them as a luxury club. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 6. Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Acknowledgement I would like to give my sincere thanks to my Industry Project Guide Mr. Nilesh Talreja, Senior Executive, Strategic Planning, Interface Communications and Ms. Nahid Elavia, Account Planner, Strategic Planning for their kind support and guidance during my project and also for providing me with a great opportunity to work with such a valuable organization. I would also like to thank Mrs. Shamla Sathe, Account Planning Head for giving me this great opportunity to work with Account Planning Department. It is her visionary thinking, which has been the guiding force for whole of the division and my report. I would also like to thank Mr. Amit Dhokai, my colleague, who has provided me with the necessary information and his valuable suggestion and comments on bringing out this project in the best possible way. I would also like to thank all the faculties at SIMSR who have helped me directly or indirectly in the completion of this project. I thank Interface Communications (A part of Draft FCB+Ulka) for such a valuable learning experience. Thank you Jitesh A Sanghvi MMS – 137 (2008-2010) K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies Research Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 7 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Sr. No. 1 2 2. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Company Overview Secondary Research Luxury Products: Getting to know luxury 2. 2 2. 3 Difference between regular luxury goods Consumer Behavior: What is Consumer Buying Behaviour 2. 4 2. 5 2. 6 Stages of Consumer Buying Behaviour Types of Consumer Buying Behaviour Consumer Involvement: Causes of Consumer Involvement 2. 7 3 4 4. 1 4. 2 5 6 Models of Consumer Involvement Research Method Primary Research Qualitative Analysis Quantitative Analysis Recommendations Appendix 23 26 28 30 35 59 60 17 19 21 15 16 Page No. 9 12 14 Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 8 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products LIST OF FIGURES CHARTS Sr. No 1. 1 1. 2 1. 3 Particulars Difference between regular and Luxury goods Stages of Consumer Buying Behavior Consumer Involvement Page No. 15 18 20 Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 9 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products COMPANY OVERVIEW. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 10 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products About Interface Communications History Interface Communications is the second agency of the Draft FCB Ulka group. The Draft FCB Ulka group has a 125 year heritage of pioneering concepts which define advertising and a 40 year heritage in India. Interface has grown from a single office to 5 offices in India and is one of the 1st few Indian agencies to boast of a pan Asia network. We are a team of 115 professionals across Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Mumbai. Interface is the first Indian agency brand that has gone beyond India. Interface has opened offices in Malaysia, Hong Kong, China. In 2003 we launched operations in Taiwan, Singapore. Work with some of the best known brands in each country. Business Interface is a second agency that is created to handle large scale clients. We work with some of the biggest brands across sectors from FMCG to automobiles, from real estate to finance companies, from consumer durables to holidays and many more. Majority of our clients are industry leaders and we are proud to be their strategic partners. Our clients have stuck by us as we are a process driven company. We have our share of global proprietary tools to provide a strategic edge to the clients we work with. Some of the more often used tools include: ? ? ? Mind and Mood and Moments The Wheel VIP and ICON Inspite of being process driven we are still a very people oriented organization. Our teams work together like a family and there is at all times a casual and jovial Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 11 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products. work environment maintained. We believe in an open door policy where any employee can express himself/ herself freely. As an organization we believe in constant learning and thus stress on training and development at all times. The Draft FCB Ulka group is one of the only advertising agencies in India to run a 2 month long training program for fresh recruits. This program called ‘The Star One training’ is a rigorous training ground for the future advertising biggies. This program is an annual feature and has been going strong for more than a decade. Draft FCB Ulka and Interface are some of the few agencies to have a very low attrition rate and most of the senior level management have been with the company on an average for more than 15 years which is a long time in advertising which sees constant churn. We at Interface live the values we believe in and for us our mantra is : We provide strategic communications partnership to our clients to help sell their brands today, and build brand value over time Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 12 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Secondary Research on luxury products Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing. Page 13 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Secondary Research: Luxury Products Getting to know luxury Luxury brands have often been associated with the core competences of creativity, exclusivity, craftsmanship, precision, high quality, innovation and premium pricing. These product attributes give the consumers the satisfaction of not only owning expensive items but the extra-added psychological benefits like esteem, prestige and a sense of a high status that reminds them and others that they belong to an exclusive group of only a select few, who can afford these pricey items. The luxury sector targets its products and services at consumers on the top-end of the wealth spectrum. These self-selected elite are more or less price insensitive and choose to spend their time and money on objects that are plainly opulence rather than necessities. For these reasons, luxury and prestige brands have for centuries commanded an unwavering and often illogical customer loyalty. Luxury has never been something easy to define, yet this mystery concept is something highly desired by one and all alike. We look at delving deeper into this mystery and aura of luxury goods by way of comparing them against „regular goods? as well as highlighting the characteristics of the luxury industry. But before beginning with that, lets first attempt to understand some common terms associated in the world of high-end goods : ? Luxury and prestige brands such as Rolex, Louis Vuitton and Cartier represent the highest form of craftsmanship and command a staunch consumer loyalty that is not affected by trends. These brands create and set the seasonal trends and are also capable to pulling all of their consumers with them wherever they go. ? Premium brands are those brands like Polo Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger that aspire to be luxury and prestige brands but their marketing mix strategies are more attuned to a mass market, albeit a luxury mass market. They are also termed as mass-premium brands or mass-luxury brands. ? Fashion brands on the other hand are those that address the masses. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 14 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Difference between regular luxury goods Fig 1. 1 Differences between Regular and Luxury Goods Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 15. Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Consumer Behaviour What is Consumer Behaviour Buying Behaviour is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products. Consumer Buying Behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of the ultimate consumer. A firm needs to analyze buying behaviour for: ? Buyers reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact on the firms success. ? The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a Marketing Mix (MM) that satisfies (gives utility to) customers, therefore need to analyze the what, where, when and how consumers buy. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 16 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Stages of Consumer Buying Behaviour Fig 1. 2 Stages of Consumer Buying Behaviour The above figure shows Six Stages to the Consumer Buying Decision Process (For complex decisions). Actual purchasing is only one stage of the process. Not all decision processes lead to a purchase. All consumer decisions do not always include all 6 stages, determined by the degree of complexity discussed next. The 6 stages are: 1. Problem Recognition (awareness of need)difference between the desired state and the actual condition. Deficit in assortment of products. Hunger-Food. Hunger stimulates your need to eat. Can be stimulated by the marketer through product informationdid not know you were deficient? i. e. you see a commercial for a new pair of shoes, stimulates your recognition that you need a new pair of shoes. 2. Information search-o Internal search, memory. Page 17 Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products o External search if you need more information. Friends and relatives (word of mouth). Marketer dominated sources; comparison shopping; public sources etc. A successful information search leaves a buyer with possible alternatives, the evoked set. Hungry, want to go out and eat, evoked set is o o o o Chinese food Indian food Burger king Klondike kates etc 3. Evaluation of Alternativesneed to establish criteria for evaluation, features the buyer wants or does not want. Rank/weight alternatives or resume search. May decide that you want to eat something spicy, Indian gets highest rank etc. If not satisfied with your choice then returns to the search phase. Can you think of another restaurant? Look in the yellow pages etc. Information from different sources may be treated differently. Marketers try to influence by framing alternatives. 4. Purchase decisionChoose buying alternative, includes product, package, store, method of purchase etc. 5. PurchaseMay differ from decision, time lapse between 4 5, product availability. 6. Post-Purchase Evaluationoutcome: Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction. Cognitive Dissonance, have you made the right decision. This can be reduced by warranties, after sales communication etc. After eating an Indian meal, you may think that you really wanted a Chinese meal instead. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 18 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Types of Consumer Buying Behaviour There are four types of consumer buying behaviour which are as follows: ? Routine Response/Programmed Behaviourbuying low involvement frequently purchased low cost items; need very little search and decision effort; purchased almost automatically. Examples include soft drinks, snack foods, milk etc. ? Limited Decision Makingbuying product occasionally. When you need to obtain information about unfamiliar brand in a familiar product category, perhaps. Requires a moderate amount of time for information gathering. Examples include Clothesknow product class but not the brand. ? Extensive Decision Making/Complex high involvement, unfamiliar, expensive and / or infrequently bought products (Luxury Products). High degree of economic / performance / psychological risk. Examples include cars, homes, computers, education. Spend a lot of time seeking information and deciding. Information from the companies MM; friends and relatives, store personnel etc. Go through all six stages of the buying process. ? Impulse buying, no conscious planning. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing. Page 19 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Consumer Involvement Some consumers are characterized as being more involved in products and shopping than others. A consumer who is highly involved with a product would be interested in knowing a lot about it before purchasing. Hence he reads brochures thoroughly, compares brands and models available at different outlets, asks questions, and looks for recommendations. Thus consumer involvement can be defined as heightened state of awareness that motivates consumers to seek out, attend to, and think about product information prior to purchase. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 20 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Causes of consumer involvement The factors that influences consumer involvement include personal, product and situational. ? Personal Factors Self-concept, needs and values are the three personal factors that influence the extent of consumer involvement in a product or service. The more product image, the value symbolism inherent in it and the needs it serves are fitting together with the consumer self- image, values and needs, the more likely the consumer is to feel involved in it. Celebrities for example share a certain self image, certain values, and certain needs. They tend to use products and services that reflect their life style. They get highly involved in purchasing prestigious products like designer wear, imported cars, health care products etc. ? Product Factors The consumer involvement grows as the level of perceived risk in the purchase of a good or service increases. It is likely that consumers will feel more involved in the purchase of their house than in the purchase of tooth paste, it is a much riskier purchase. Product differentiation affects involvement. The involvement increases as the number of alternatives that they have to choose from increases. This may be due to the fact that consumers feel variety which means greater risk. The pleasure one gets by using a product or service can also influence involvement. Some products are a greater source of pleasure to the consumer than others. Tea and coffee have a high level of hedonic (pleasure) value compared to, say household cleaners. Hence the involvement is high. Involvement increases when a product gains public attention. Any product, that is socially visible or that is consumed in public, demands high involvement. For example, involvement in the purchase of car is more than the purchase of household items. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 21 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products ? Situational Factors The situation in which the product is brought or used can generate emotional involvement. The reason for purchase or purchase occasion affects involvement. For example, buying a pair of socks for yourself is far less involved than buying a gift for a close friend. Social pressure can significantly increase involvement. One is likely to be more self conscious about the products and brands one looks at when shopping with friends than when shopping alone. The need to make a fast decision also influences involvement. A consumer who needs a new refrigerator and sees a „one- day- only sale? at an appliances retailer does not have the time to shop around and compare different brands and prices. The eminence of the decision heightens involvement. The involvement is high when the decision is irrevocable, for example when the retailer does not accept return or exchange on the sale items. Thus involvement may be from outside the individual, as with situational involvement or from within the individual as with enduring involvement. It can be induced by a host of personal-product-and situation related factors, many of which can be controlled by the marketer. It affects the ways in which consumers see, process, and send information to others. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 22 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Models of consumer involvement Learn-Feel-Do Hierarchy Model Buying decisions vary according to the way there are taken. Some decisions are taken with lot of thinking; others are taken with great feelings. Some are made through force of habit and others are made consciously. The learn-feel-do hierarchy is simple matrix that attributes consumer choice to information (learn), attitude (feel), and behaviour (do) issues. The matrix has four quadrants, each specifying a major marketing communication goal to be informative, to be effective, to be habit forming, or promote self-satisfaction. Thinking and feeling are shown as a continuum some decisions involve one or the other and many involve elements of both. High and low importance is also represented as a continuum. Fig 1. 3 Consumer Involvement ? High Involvement / High Thinking Purchases in first quadrant require more information, both because of the importance of the product to the consumer and thinking issues related to the purchases. Major purchases such as cars, houses and other expensive and infrequently buying items come under this category. The strategy model is learn-feel-do. Marketers have to furnish full information to get consumer acceptance of the product. Luxury products fall in this category. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 23. Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products ? High Involvement / High Feeling The purchase decisions in second quadrant involve less of information than feeling. Typical purchases tied to self-esteem- jewellery, apparel, cosmetics and accessories come under this category. The strategy model is feel-learndo. To encourage purchases marketers must approach customers with emotion and appeal. ? Low Involvement / Low Feeling The purchases in this quadrant are motivated primarily by the need to satisfy personal tastes, many of which are influenced by self-image. Products like news paper, soft drinks, Liquor etc., fall under this category. Group influences often lead to the purchase of these items. The strategy model is do-feel-learn. It helps marketers to promote products through reference groups and other social factors. ? Low Involvement / Low Thinking It involves less in thinking and more of habitual buying. Products like stationery, groceries, food etc. , fall under this category. Over a period of time any product can fall in this segment. The role of information is to differentiate any „point of difference? from competitors. Brand loyalty may result simply from the habit. The strategy model is do-learn-feel. It suggests that marketers induce trial through various sales promotion techniques. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 24 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Research Method: The study is classified based on the consumer buying preferences and factors that influence purchase decisions. The research method adopted is exploratory as the research is still in its initial stage and the preliminary information that will be gathered will help in defining the problems and suggest hypotheses. We are set to learn about consumer behaviour across various product categories of luxury. We intend to understand the influence of various factors including family members and friends on purchase decision, emotional attachment with the product, purchase of counterfeit products and endorsing a film or sports personality for luxury product. We also want to understand purchase behaviour for car, planning of holidays and perception of holiday clubs. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 25 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products PRIMARY RESEARCH Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 26 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Primary Research: Methods Primary research was done in two steps. ? Qualitative Research – Depth Interview Method ? Quantitative Research – Survey Method 1) Qualitative Research: For qualitative research, few high income people were asked open ended questions which were formulated based on the secondary research and in line with the hypothesis. Depth interview of 10 people were taken which gave an insight into their purchase behavior and their decision making process for a luxury good. Based on this interviews and a further review of the secondary research reports, a final survey questionnaire was prepared. 2) Quantitative Research: For quantitative research, after making the initial questionnaire it was pretested with 5 participants and was improvised. The final sample was 30 with target group being A and A+ socio-economic class people. In June 2009, the survey was conducted to observe the behavior pattern of consumers in buying luxury products. Purpose Based on the existing data and the findings of the survey, it can be understood what influences a consumer to buy a luxury product and how to reach a consumer. The different perspectives of luxury products from a consumer?s point of view can be understood giving a detailed insight as to how to position a product as luxury product. Consumer? s expectations from a luxury product will help us to understand the modifications needed in a product to be categorized as luxurious product. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 27 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Sampling Sampling procedure: The sample is selected in a random way, but those having a car with nearly worth more than 5lakhs. It was collected through mails and personal visits to the known persons, by formal and informal talks and through filling up the questionnaire prepared. The data has been analyzed by using the graphical method prepared in Microsoft Excel. Sample size: The sample size of my project is limited to 30 only. This is limited due to time constraints. Sample design: Data has been presented with the help of bar graph, pie charts, stacked graphs etc. Limitation: ? Time limitation ? Research has been done only at Mumbai ? Some of the persons were not so responsive ? Possibility of error in data collection ? Possibility of error in analysis of data due to small sample size Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 28. Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Analysis: In qualitative research, a personal interview was conducted of 10 people to understand the perception of luxury products and their purchase decision making process. The layout of the interview was: Warm up General details about the person, his family background, his interests and his lifestyle Luxury Product To understand their perception of luxury products and steps involved in purchasing a luxury product. Car, Holiday Club To understand his perception of a luxurious holiday and his planning process while going on a holiday. To understand his attitude towards clubs and decision making of a car Factors influencing To understand various factors that influence his decision for buying a particular luxury product. For qualitative questionnaire see appendix 1 For quantitative questionnaire see appendix 2 Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 29 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Qualitative Analysis: The Depth Interviews conducted gave some valuable insights into the mindset of the consumer? s perception about luxury products and their decision making process during purchase. Some of the interesting responses based on which quantitative questionnaire was made are as follows: 1) What is your opinion about luxury products? â€Å"Depends, it may be different for different people. DVD, TV and other stuffs would be luxury for me. † â€Å"They are good for show off† â€Å"Luxury products are created by seller. They are not necessities for a buyer but a need has been created by the seller. The way the products are advertised, branded and presented, a need is created to buy it. † â€Å"First and foremost it gives you a satisfaction in life, satisfaction that you are making use of the dreams that are available in the market. It can also be used as a status symbol. † â€Å"If you can afford it one must consider luxury products. What is the point if you can earn so much money and still don’t spend on luxury products? † Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 30 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products Observation: Luxury Products have different perceptions with different people. Some think it is a need created by buyer where as some feel these are products good for show-off. Some consider it as a status symbol. 2) Is luxury a necessity? â€Å"Today a four vehicle has become a necessity. Though a four wheeler is a luxury still it becomes a necessity. Second example is the latest technology mobile phones. We use mobile phones even while travelling, before sleeping, after getting up, checking emails. So whatever you say about these products they have become a necessity. â€Å"It is all in the minds of the people. If they get attracted to the promotions of the product and offers, it becomes a necessity for them. As said earlier, the need is created by the seller. † 3) Name a few luxury products? Expensive Car/Bike Jewellery Club Membership Branded Perfumes Travel Holidays Expensive Car/Bike Big House Jewellery Trendy Mobile Club Membership Travel Holidays. Club Membership Travel Holidays Electronic Gadgets Branded Perfumes Branded Apparels Club Membership Electronic Gadgets Travel Holidays Branded Perfumes Branded Apparels Observation: Club Membership, Travel Holidays and Expensive Car/Bike are considered Luxury products whereas other products like Jewellery, Electronic Gadgets, Branded Perfumes and Branded Apparels are considered semi-luxury products. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 31 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products 4) Can you take us through the entire process of buying this product right from the wish to buy – actual purchase? â€Å"My process to buy a new house started 10-12 years back. I saw an advertisement in the newspaper and then went and saw the house. Once finalised, I took a loan, sold the old house and bought this new house. † â€Å"My old car was giving me lot of problem. So I decided to buy this new car. I wished to buy this a year back. I didn’t want to take loan, so saved money for a year and finally bought this. In this period, the prices went down, so it helped me. † â€Å"I had a car before I bought this new one. It took me 2 years to buy this. It was the European car of the year. I saw the ad in the newspaper and decided I wanted to buy this. Observation: Purchase of a luxury product requires lot of planning and it takes many months to buy such high value products. Proper research and information needs to be obtained about the product before finalising the product. 5) What is your opinion of holiday clubs? Would you consider them as a luxury holiday club? â€Å"If you travel around a lot, than it is worth. It is not a luxury holiday because they have different offers which are affordable by most of the people. † I would consider it as a luxury. Most of these packages are designed in such a manner that you can get discount during weekdays. Weekends are expensive. So those are the times when you have time. † â€Å"They are good and give you the necessary relaxation. I don? t consider them entirely luxury because nowadays most of the people can afford it. † Observation: Opinions about holiday clubs are varied as there is not clear understanding of necessity. There are number of clubs providing cheap holidays and hence clubs seem to be losing on the title of luxury club. Jitesh Sanghvi MMS -137, Marketing Page 32 Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards Luxury Products 6) Would you buy a counterfeit Rolex watch for a cheaper price? â€Å"I am not a watch person so I would definitely go for a counterfeit. But for.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Determinants of Productivity :: essays research papers

Determinants of Productivity Determinants of Productivity Productivity is the quantity of output formed by one unit of production input in a unit of time. Inputs used in the production of the goods and services are the major determinants of any country’s productivity they are also called factors of production. There are four major determinants of productivity of any country’s economy.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Land: the land itself, and raw materials such as oil and minerals beneath it. The natural resources that is available without alteration or effort on the part of humans. Land as a resource includes only unique fertility and mineral deposits, topography, climate, water and vegetation. Trees grown are not categorized as land because they have been deliberately grown on the other hand Trees in a natural rainforest are a natural resource and thus classify as land. The reward for letting others use land is called rent.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Labor: In order to produce the things, a human resource must be used. human resources consist of the productive aid of labor made by individuals who work—for instance, miners, artists, and professional baseball players. The contribution of labor to the production process can be amplified. Whenever potential workers obtain schooling and training and whenever actual workers acquire new skills, labor’s contribution to productive output will raise. In other words it is human effort, mental or physical. The reward to labor is label wages.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capital: When labor is applied to land to grow wheat, for instance, something else is used. Generally it is a plow or a tractor. That is to say, land and labor are shared with manufactured resources in order to produce the things that we need. These manufactured resources are called capital, which consists of machines, buildings, and tools. Additionally, capital consists of enhancement to natural resources, such as irrigation ditches. Money is used to buy factors of production – it is not a factor itself. The return for investing in capital is called interest.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Enterprise or Entrepreneurship: The fourth factor of production, involving human resources that carry out the functions of raising capital, organizing, managing, bringing together other factors of production, and making fundamental business policy decisions. Determinants of Productivity :: essays research papers Determinants of Productivity Determinants of Productivity Productivity is the quantity of output formed by one unit of production input in a unit of time. Inputs used in the production of the goods and services are the major determinants of any country’s productivity they are also called factors of production. There are four major determinants of productivity of any country’s economy.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Land: the land itself, and raw materials such as oil and minerals beneath it. The natural resources that is available without alteration or effort on the part of humans. Land as a resource includes only unique fertility and mineral deposits, topography, climate, water and vegetation. Trees grown are not categorized as land because they have been deliberately grown on the other hand Trees in a natural rainforest are a natural resource and thus classify as land. The reward for letting others use land is called rent.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Labor: In order to produce the things, a human resource must be used. human resources consist of the productive aid of labor made by individuals who work—for instance, miners, artists, and professional baseball players. The contribution of labor to the production process can be amplified. Whenever potential workers obtain schooling and training and whenever actual workers acquire new skills, labor’s contribution to productive output will raise. In other words it is human effort, mental or physical. The reward to labor is label wages.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capital: When labor is applied to land to grow wheat, for instance, something else is used. Generally it is a plow or a tractor. That is to say, land and labor are shared with manufactured resources in order to produce the things that we need. These manufactured resources are called capital, which consists of machines, buildings, and tools. Additionally, capital consists of enhancement to natural resources, such as irrigation ditches. Money is used to buy factors of production – it is not a factor itself. The return for investing in capital is called interest.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Enterprise or Entrepreneurship: The fourth factor of production, involving human resources that carry out the functions of raising capital, organizing, managing, bringing together other factors of production, and making fundamental business policy decisions.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Is a good one

History Some can argue that the war has been going on since world war 2, when Stalin wanted the farm land In Ukraine and he had found many ways of obtaining their land such as: starving the Ukrainian people of food till they died or gave up their land or they Just killed the villagers, since then there have been many disputes between Russia and Ukraine. Russia has always felt that they had a certain cultural connection with Ukraine because when the Russian empire rose as a great empire its capital was in present day Ukraine. So It Is understandable that some of the Ukrainian people are ad at the Russians.But the more recent conflict which Is still going on started because the east side of Ukraine (which Is the Russian speaking side, many of whom had voted for Hancock) think that Ukraine should not join the European union and protested Hancock removal. So then Russian leaders decided that they should intervene for the sake of Russian speaking Ukrainians, too the west side of Ukraine i t seems like the Russian leaders are ignoring the valid reasons that Hancock was removed for. Some believe that Russian president Vladimir Putting Is using this conflict s a distraction from Russia slaking economy.Escalation Now there was a lot of increase in the violence when people started protesting against Russia. Between February 18 and 20, 103 people were killed and 1419 injured. The vast majority of Russians believe the Ukrainian military shot downplays Airlines flight MI 7, a new poll has shown, underlining how differently the tragedy has been presented in Russia than in the west. Crimean status referendum 2014 was a referendum on the status of Crimea held on March 16, 2014, by the legislature of Autonomous Republic of Crimea as well as by he local government of Soapstone, both subdivisions of Ukraine at the time.The referendum asked the people of Crimea whether they wanted to join Russia as a federal subject, or if they wanted to restore the 1992 Crimean constitution and Cr ime's status as a part of Ukraine. Presently Russia and Ukraine are trying to avoid a big war. So In the conflict life cycle, It Is between escalation and desolation and they are trying to avoid a deadlock. Deadlock but Russia is expecting a peace treaty. Some 70% of the Russian troops believed to have been in Ukraine have withdrawn back across the border, Ukrainian President Petrol Apprehension said, according to the national news agency Cruciform. This is another hope that peaceful initiatives have a good perspective,† Apprehension is quoted as saying during a Cabinet meeting in Kiev on Wednesday. The remarks came several days into a shaky ceasefire deal between Ukrainian forces and pro- Russia rebels, signed last Friday after nearly five months of fighting in eastern Ukraine. The Presidents of Russia and Ukraine are â€Å"broadly satisfied† with the status of the ceasefire, a Kremlin aide said Wednesday. Russian's president has said he is hoping for a peace deal betw een Ukraine and pro- Russian rebels by Friday.Vladimir Putting urged both sides to stop military action in eastern Ukraine, adding that his views and those of his Ukrainian counterpart were very close. We can say that the conflict is De escalating from escalation. Insisting that Russia is in no way a negotiating party in the Ukrainian conflict, Vladimir Putting is nevertheless certain that it is Moscow proposals that are going to advance both sides to peace. Mr. Putting plan is short and leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Take, for example, a point on moving Ukrainian troops away from positions from which towns and cities can be shelled.Taken to an extreme, this could mean rewinding the situation on the ground to a point several weeks ago before Ukrainian advances. Just two weeks ago the discussions centered around when, and not if, the rebels would have to move out of Donates and Alumna's. But Moscow plan will allow them to strengthen their control over the two regional cente rs and other areas. Mr. Putting has often seemed unwilling to negotiate from a position of weakness and the reversals of the past few days illustrate this perfectly. Now it's Petrol Apprehension who has to choose whether to accept something which clearly protects Sieve's enemies in astern Ukraine.Ukrainian government troops say they have repelled an attack by pro-Russian rebels on Donates airport. De escalation THE war in eastern Ukraine has quieted, for now. Its disparate factions have as much reason to keep fighting as to put away their guns. But a ceasefire signed on September 5th in Minsk is so far mostly holding. Ukrainian president, Petrol Apprehension, does not want to fight an unnamable war against Russia, which is the situation he would have been in had he pressed on with Sieve's â€Å"anti-terrorist operation† in the east. His Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putting, is happy to seeDonates and Alumna's turn into breakaway territories that can serve as instruments agai nst Kiev. Russian prime minister Dimity Maddened has said the country will honor all its agreements with the European Union and Ukraine, but will trigger â€Å"protective measures† if a trade pact between the two comes into force early. The Nun and the end of 201 5 in a concession to Russia The Ukraine ceasefire might collapse any day. But if it sticks and the war ends here, it poses the question: who won? In military terms, the answer looks clear: Russian leader Vladimir Putting. In March, the Russian army seized Crimea.Last week, it routed Ukrainian forces in east Ukraine. Ukrainian president Petrol Apprehension asked EX. and Nato leaders for weapons. They said â€Å"there is no military solution to the conflict†. But Putting showed there is – several thousand Russian infantry, fighting as formed units, supported by tanks and artillery. The Russian invasion and the lack of Western support is why Ukraine signed the â€Å"Minsk protocol† – a 12-poi nt peace plan – last Friday (5 September). So what if Putting won Crimea and bits of Donates and Alumna's – he lost the rest of Ukraine. Right? Russian's attack has seen pro-Western feeling soar in the rest of the country.Polls now say Ukrainians want to Join Nato. They also say pro-Western parties will sweep pro- Russia MSP out of parliament in upcoming elections. It depicts the crisis in Putting own macho terms. The truth is that everybody lost. EX. civilians (IMHO), 2,600 Ukrainians, and who knows how many Russians lost their lives. Ukraine lost territory. The EX. and Nato lost credibility. But Putting will go down in history as the biggest loser: He lost the chance to make Russia, one of the world's richest nations in terms of natural resources and culture, and Russian's neighborhood into a decent place to live.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

How effectively did governments in pre-revolutionary societies deal with social and political unrest?

Governments in pre-revolutionary societies, such as the Autocratic governments of Russia and China obviously did not deal with social and political unrest very effectively if they were unable to stop the impending revolutions in their respective countries. In each case the majority of the population were looking for changes in the way their governments were ruling their country, but in each case their ideas for a better country were not heard by their governments which subsequently resulted in vast social and political unrest. Such unrest eventually led to the downfall of each government system due to their inability to subdue the situation. In Russia as with China under an autocratic rule, the vast majority of the population, the peasants and proletariat, were unhappy with the way their governments were treating them. The peasantry in both countries were severely poor and often starved. This was not helped by the fact that both countries had very poor weather conditions in the winter months that brought food production to a virtual stand still. Peasants often did not own any land and were forced to work for landlords, who paid very little. Peasants were not happy with the current situation and wanted land reforms so they could own land for themselves. Unfortunately these pleas went unheard and so led to much discontent and unrest amongst the lower classes in these societies. The Tsar of Russia and the Empress of China were seen by the common person as a god-like deity selected by right of birth to rule the country as they see fit. It was their divine right, and as such this placed the Tsar and Empress in a social status all of their own, way above anyone else. This could be a reason why they did not even care about the peasants, to them they were nothing. They were too interested in their own problems to worry about the affairs of state. Only when their power was threatened did they listen, in Russia it was when the effects of ‘Bloody Sunday' threatened the image of the Tsar and in China when constant attack from westerners threatened to make people believe that the empress was losing the Mandate of Heaven. In both cases, the resulting reforms put in place by each ruler was a case of too little too late. The effects of their incompetence were too deep rooted by now to be disguised by such minor and insignificant reforms. The Tsar and the Empress were very similar in the fact that they were both stuck in their old ways. The Tsar of Russia was often more concerned with family affairs than the affairs of state and wished to keep the government system the way it was so that he could pass it on to his son Alexei. What he didn't realise was that by not concerning himself with the affairs of state, he was in effect sealing the fate of autocracy in Russia by causing great discontent in the failing incompetent government system. Similarly in China, the Empress resisted western ideas and wished to keep the current system of government. By letting western ideas influence the people, they might have realised how ineffective their current government was and wish to change it. This would mean a complete lifestyle change for the Empress which of course she was not interested in. So in both cases the government's inability to accept change brought about great unrest as the people wanted to modernise, as conditions in other modernised countries were a lot better than their own. The effects of war played a major role in creating unrest in both Russia and China. In Russia, the Tsar had a choice whether or not to continue the wars in which Russia participated but in each case he chose to continue the wars, even though it was obvious that Russia lacked the capability to maintain and supply an army away from home. The choices that he made only created more unrest, which the Tsar did not need. Obviously, if the Tsar simply avoided creating this unrest he wouldn't have had to deal with it, so basically by not creating this unrest is a very effective way of dealing with it, pity the Tsar did not see it this way. Unfortunately in China there was no choice as to what wars could be participated in, they were all in defence. But these wars could have been avoided, especially those with Britain over trade. China's unwillingness to change or modernise was a major factor in causing these wars, if it had been more open to western ideas not only could China have avoided war with Britain, it could have been better prepared for wars later on with Japan. Of course this did not happen and Britain defeat China in many ‘Opium' wars. Ports were opened up for trade and opium and cheap goods flooded in creating unrest amongst the merchants and peasants. China's response was to build up it's military and try to modernise by sending scholars abroad to learn western ideas. This was like shooting themselves in the foot, many of the scholars became accustomed to western ideas and philosophy and concluded that it was more efficient and that for modernisation to occur the whole system of government must be changed. So this was not the best way to deal with unrest, because now there were more educated people with western ideas trying to gain support to change the government. The Tsar's half-hearted attempt to solve the problems the arose after ‘Bloody Sunday' could be credited for pushing the people that bit further into listening to revolutionary ideas that were floating around at the time. The Tsar let the people have a Duma, so that they could have a say in how the country would be run, but he disbanded two Dumas in the first two weeks of their operation simply because they opposed him. Obviously the people did not truly have a say on anything because as soon as they wanted something that the Tsar did not like he simply disregarded it. Going back on his word was perhaps the most stupid thing the Tsar ever did, because now the people realised more than ever that the Tsar did not care about anything they had to say, so movements to oust the Tsar grew in popularity. In both Russia and China, the governments trying to come to terms with political and social unrest did not do a very good job. In most cases they actually contributed to the creation of even more unrest than what was originally being tried to subdue. By trying to control unrest in their respective countries, the Tsar and Empress helped bring about their own demise, so effectively they did not deal with unrest at all.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Chechen Rebels essays

Chechen Rebels essays In the course of Russian history, there has been one territory that has caused a lot of controversy. The area is Chechnya, which is located in southwestern Russia near Dagestan and Georgia. Most of Chechnyas population is Muslim and doesnt like the rule of the Christian Russians because of the practice of Islam in that area. Russia first took over Chechnya in the 19th century and immediately found resistance there. The resistance has lasted over time and reached a high point in the 1990s, and violence is still going on now. Recently there has been a paramilitary group in Chechnya that are extremists and want independence for Chechnya. This group is much like a terrorist organization. Although people are pressing for peace, it looks like the fighting will continue. The first invasion of Chechnya was in the 1830s by Czar Nicholas I (Johnson, 2000: Infoplease.com Timeline of Key Events in Chechnya). He met fierce resistance and many bloody battles where fought. However the Russians were victorious. In 1859 Russia had conquered their land and incorporated the Caucuses into their territory(Johnson, 2000: Infoplease.com Timeline of Key Events in Chechnya). Russia took Chechnya in a time of Russian Imperialism, and they took Chechnya by force and pressed a government and religion on the people that they did not agree with(Johnson, 2000: Infoplease.com Timeline of Key Events in Chechnya). The difference in ethnicity and religion will be the fuel for all of the blood that is to be split up to current day. There was peace for a short time until the early 1900s. In 1917 during the Russian Revolution Dagestan and Chechnya declared their independence from Russia (Johnson, 2000: Infoplease.com Timeline of Key Events in Chechnya). Bolshevik troops were sent in to occupy the area. The occupation period lasted for 6 years. In 1923 the Bolsheviks reclaimed Da...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

How to Register for the PSAT 3 Simple Steps

How to Register for the PSAT 3 Simple Steps SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Every autumn, sophomores and juniors have the opportunity to take the PSAT. But how exactly does the PSAT registration process work? Does everyone have the same PSAT sign up date? What does it cost to take the PSAT? Here, we'll teach you everything you need to know about PSAT registration. We'll start with a brief overview of how registration works and then go over the three key steps you need to take in order to register for the PSAT. We'll also touch on how to register if you’re homeschooled or living outside the US before finishing with our toptips for ensuring a smoothPSAT registration process. PSAT Registration: Overview Unlike the SAT, for which you register online through the College Board, you will register for the PSAT through your own high school. Exactly how the PSAT sign up process works will depend on yourschool. Basically, though,here's how it works: schools inform their students when the PSAT registration deadline is, and then give instructions on how to register and pay for the test. The PSAT is offered three times a year in the autumn on a primary date, Saturday date, and alternate date. Your school will select the date on which it will administer the PSAT. Most schools choose the primary date, but some might insteadadminister the PSAT on one of the two alternate dates should the primary date not workwell with the school’s schedule. Here is the 2019 PSAT testing schedule, confirmed by the College Board. For information on future PSAT test dates, refer to our guide. Primary Date Saturday Date Alternate Date Wednesday, October 16, 2019 Saturday, October 19, 2019 Wednesday, October 30, 2019 Many schools will require you to register for the PSAT around September. Unfortunately, not all schools administer the PSAT.If your high school isn't going to offerthe PSAT, you may take the test atanother nearby school that is offeringit. Next, we'll walk through the PSAT registration process and look athow to search for high schools offering the PSAT in case your school doesn't plan toadminister it. How to Register for the PSAT: 3-Step Guide Here, we go over the three steps required to register for the PSAT at your (or a nearby) school. Step 1: Determine Whether Your School Will Offer the PSAT First, you must determine whether your high school will actually administer the PSAT. The easiest way to check this is to use the College Board'sschool search tool,whichlooks like this: With this tool, all you have to do is type in the name of your school and its city, state (if applicable), zip code, and country. Once you click "Search," you'll getan entry with the name and address of your school as well as its assessment and test date. On the drop-downmenu, click "PSAT/NMSQT Fall 2019." (If fall 2019 dates aren't available yet, click "Fall 2018" to see whether your school offered the PSAT last year.) Here’s an example of a school in Houstonthat offered the 2016 PSAT on that year's primary date: If you know for sure your school will not be offering the PSAT or if you’re a homeschooled student, you can instead search for your city, state, and zip code to see which schools around you will be offering the PSAT.This type of search can help narrow down your options, ultimately allowing youto select the school that's most convenient for you. Alternatively, if you don't want to use this search tool, you can ask your counselor whether your school will be offering the PSAT or whether they know of any nearby schools that plan to offer it. Step 2: Find Out Your PSAT Registration Deadline and Test Date Most high schools opt forthe primary test date, which is always a weekday in early or mid-October.However,some schools might choose the Saturday PSAT date or the alternate test date instead to accommodate special schedules or religious observances. To find out when your school will be administering the PSAT, consult your counselor or look at the 2019 PSATadministration date for your school using theschool search tool. Here’s an example of two schools in the same city with different administration dates. One school administered the 2016 PSAT on the primary test date, whereas the other administered the test on the Saturday date: Your school should inform you prior to the PSAT test dates when the examwill take place. If you haven’t heard anything by early or mid-September, talk to yourcounselor. Step 3: Sign Up and Pay for the PSAT Your next step is to register for the PSAT. Simple, right? Here's the kicker, though: PSAT sign up methods vary by school.So while some schools might require you to registerand pay for the test in person, others might require you to go online and register through a website. (You'llnever register for the PSAT through the College Board.) For example, in 2016,this high schoolrequired students to register for the PSAT online and pay for it later in person, whilethis school requires students to register and pay for the PSAT all in person. Whatever the case, your school should offer clear instructions on how to completeyourPSAT sign up.Schools typically hand out or email PSAT registration information to students inthe early fall. If you're planning to take the PSAT at a different school, you'll need to call thatschool or contact one of itscounselors to inquire about the PSAT registration process and see whether the process differs for students who do not attend that school. When registering for the PSAT, you’ll typically provide basic identifying information, including your full name, home address, phone number, email address, grade level, and student ID number (if applicable). The PSAT costs $16 per student,butsome schools might cover all or part of this fee. Likewise, some schools might charge more than $16 in order to compensate for the use of proctors and test administrators. Either way, your school should tell you how much you'll need to pay for the PSAT and how to submit your payment. Most schools accept cash or checks, but what is considered an acceptable form of payment will vary depending on the school. Checks will most likely be addressedto your school (never to the College Board). Finally,if you're alow-income junior, you might qualify for a PSAT fee waiver. To confirmyour eligibility, talk withyour counselor. Only schools- not students!- maycontact the College Board to request fee waivers. If you have any questions or concerns about PSAT registration or paying for the PSAT, it's best to consult your counselor directly. And there you have it: everything you need to know and do in order to register for the PSAT! Want to improve your PSAT score by 150 points? Check out our best-in-class online PSAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your PSAT score by 150 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes your prep program to your strengths and weaknesses. We also feature thousands of practice questions and two official PSAT practice tests. Check out our 5-day free trial: How to Register for the PSAT If You’re Homeschooled If you’re homeschooled, you can still register for the PSAT- you just need to find a school that administers it.Here are the steps to follow: Step 1: Get in Touch With a Local High School Use theCollege Board’s high school search tooltolook for schools offering the PSAT or to confirm that the high school you want to test at will be administeringthe PSAT. The College Board recommends reaching out to schoolsfour months beforethe testtoensure you'll have ample time to work out registration logistics and solidify your test-taking plans. Step 2: Request a Copy of the Official Student Guide From the School This free guide will tell you everything you need to know about the PSAT and even comeswith a full-length practice test. You can alsodownload the PSAT guide from the College Board website. Step 3: Determine Whether You Qualify for a Fee Waiver Generally, those who qualify for PSAT fee waivers are low-income th graders. I suggest reviewing the eligibility requirements and then consulting a counselor at your selected school to determine whether you're eligible. Note that homeschooled students may not request fee waivers directly from the College Board. How to Register for the PSAT If You’re Living Outside the US You don’t need to be a current resident of the US or even a US citizen to take the PSAT. Unfortunately, non-US citizens and non-permanent residents are not eligible for National Merit scholarships, so there's not much incentive for international students to take the exam outside the US. On the other hand, if you're a US citizen (in the th grade or equivalent) who is currently living abroad, you are eligible for National Merit consideration. Here's how you can register for the PSAT abroad: Step 1: Contact a Local School That Offers the PSAT If you’re not sure which schools are offering the PSAT, use the College Board’s school search tool to look for schools. Make sure you start this process early- you should ideally reach out to schools in your area at least four months before the primary PSAT test date. Step 2: Contact an English-Speaking Educator This educator should guide you through the PSATregistration process and help you pay for the exam at your selected school. Step 3: Request a Copy of the Official Student Guide From the School Your school should give you a copy of this guide once you’ve registered for the PSAT. This free test guide contains a full-length practice PSAT in addition to tons of information on what the PSAT is and what kinds of skills it tests. Alternatively, you can download it from the College Board website. How to Request PSAT Accommodations for a Disability Students who have documented disabilities may request special accommodations for the PSAT. Examples of accommodations include braille booklets, large-type test booklets, additional time, and extended breaks. To request an accommodation, ask your school counselor to submit an official request to the College Board Services for Students with Disabilities on your behalf. The process usually takes about seven weeks,so be sure to start early. If you're given any accommodations for your disability withouthaving received prior approval from the College Board, your PSAT scores will be canceled. So don’t dawdle- talk to your counselor as early as possible to secure theaccommodations you need for test day! 5 Tips for Ensuring a Smooth PSAT Registration Process Before you register for the PSAT, follow our five tips below to ensure asmooth and error-free registration process. #1: Start the Process Early Unless your counselor has confirmed your school's PSAT intentions, you can't just assume your school will be offering the PSAT. This is why I suggest starting the PSAT process early, ideally at the end of your sophomore year. During this time, ask your counselor whether your school will be administering the PSAT and when. If you know that your school won’t be offering the PSAT (or if you are homeschooled), start looking for schools in your area that will be offering it, and get in touch with them as soon as possible. Remember, it's necessary to give yourself plenty of time to contact schools, especially if you'll be asking about fee waivers or requesting special accommodations for a disability. #2: Keep Your October Schedule Open Usually, all PSAT dates are scheduled for October, so you'll want to keep your October schedule fairly empty in order to accommodate the PSAT- particularly if your school hasn't yet announced the exact date on which it will administer the test. To avoid conflict, don't schedule dentist or orthodontist appointments on Wednesday mornings, and don't plan any weekend getaways in case your school chooses the Saturday test date. #3: Ask About Fee Waivers Many students fail to realize they qualify for a PSAT fee waiver, which is why we suggest talking to your counselor early in the PSAT registration process about discounts for low-income th graders. Note that PSAT fee waivers apply to all sorts of students, including homeschooled students, US citizens testing outside the US, and non-US citizens testing in the US. There is a caveat, though: fee waivers only cover the actual cost of the exam ($16) and not any additional fees that might be required by the school. So even with a fee waiver, you might still have to pay a nominal fee in order to take the PSAT. As always, check with your school for details. #4: Decide Whether You’ll Take the PSAT as a Sophomore Most students take the PSAT as juniors, but some choose totake the PSAT as sophomores toget afeel for the format of the test and what you’ll be expected to know. The downside?Sophomores are not eligible for National Merit scholarships, which target high-scoring juniors only, so there is no monetary benefit to taking the PSAT as a sophomore. Despite this con, taking the PSAT early can help familiarize you with ;the structure and content of the exam, ultimately increasing your chance of qualifying for National Merit as a junior. So if you truly want to give yourself your best shot at qualifying for National Merit in the future, go ahead and register for the PSAT as a sophomore! #5: Consult Your Counselor for Questions Last but not least, always consult your school counselor if you have any questions about the PSAT, such as when the test is, how to submit your payment, and how to request fee waivers and special accommodations. Ultimately, when it comes to your school, your counselor will be the most reliable PSAT resource available! Recap: How PSAT Registration Works All students register for the PSAT through their high schools or through a local school should their own school not administer the exam. Each school conducts its own PSAT registration process and will explain to students when the test is and how students can sign up and pay for it. Fee waivers are usually available to low-income th graders. If you are homeschooled or do not currently reside in the US, you can still take the PSAT. To register, contact a local high school that’s administering the PSAT and ask whether you can take it there. If you need special accommodations for a disability, you can request these ahead of time through your counselor. Finally, don't forget these five essential tips guaranteed to help your ;PSAT registration proceed as smoothly as possible: Start early and confirm that your school actually offers the PSAT Keep your fall schedule, especially October, relatively empty to account for all PSAT test dates Ask your counselor about fee waivers and see whether you’re eligible for one Decide whether you’d be interested in taking the PSAT as a sophomore Direct any PSAT-related questions to your counselor What’s Next? Need a rundown of the PSAT before you register for it? Check out our in-depth PSAT guide to learn what the test is, how it's scored, and what kinds of skills you'll need to master to achieve a great PSAT score on test day. Want to learn about PSAT scoring? Our complete guide explains everything you need to know about PSAT score distribution, percentiles, and cutoff scores for National Merit consideration. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Brazil Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Brazil - Research Paper Example An uncontacted person or tribe refers to a person or a group of people who live by choice without having contact with connected civilizations of the world. Given the sheer size of Brazil, it comes as no surprise that it contains a very large and rather extensive ecosystem. A variety of habitats can be found throughout Brazil; indeed, there are many species of plants and animals that have not yet been documented and it is not uncommon for new species to be found on a regular basis. Scientists and researchers have estimated that the exact number of plant and animal species in Brazil could easily approach four million (Scaglia, 2010). Some of the animals that can be found throughout Brazil include, but are not limited to, pumas, the extremely rare bush dogs, slots, New World monkeys, and peccaries. Brazil is also home to the largest tropical forest in the world, the Amazon Rainforest, which covers an approximate 1.7 billion acres. The Amazon represents more than one half of the Earthâ⠂¬â„¢s remaining rainforests and is composed of the largest, most species-rich region of tropical rainforest found in the entire world. ... Uranium, petroleum, diamonds, limestone, platinum, and hydro electricity power make up just a short list of the many resources found in the country. The great amount of resources throughout Brazil has â€Å"helped a lot in the enhancement of financial status of the country (Baer, 2001).† Because of the presence of these many resources, not only has Brazil been able to secure a healthy economy, but they have also found themselves to be less dependent on foreign imports, which is something that many other countries in the world are unable to make a claim to. Similarly, Brazil is a country that prides itself on what it is able to export. Coffee, for example, which is not only the choice beverage of Brazilians and the national drink, but it is also one of the greatest exports of the country. Brazil is the number one supplier of coffee to other countries, sending out approximately 2,249,010 tons of coffee each year (Rohter, 2010). Other major Brazilian exports include ethanol, airc raft, automobiles, steel, iron ore, and electrical equipment. These exports, which are on high demand throughout the world, have also helped increase and keep steady the economy of Brazil. Brazil is a country rich with culture and the Carnival is no exception. The Carnival of Brazil is an event that takes place every year forty-six days before the Easter holiday and is thought to be the most important holiday in Brazil. The purpose of the carnival, which dates back to the pre-Christian pagan era, is to say goodbye to all of the bad things in one’s life as a preparation for Christ’s death and resurrection, which is also symbolized in these carnival celebrations (Guillermoprieto, 1990). The Carnival of Brazil is celebrated differently throughout all of the cities of Brazil,