What made Franklin D. Roosevelt such a powerful leader and one of the Essay

What made Franklin D. Roosevelt such a powerful leader and one of the most highly regarded presidents in American history - Essay Example Because of his strong advocacy, the love of freedom is still alive in America today (InfoUSA 1). As a great leader, Franklin Roosevelt devoted his effort to the service of his country. In as much as critics may highlight instances of failure during his presidency, Roosevelt has a legacy as a strong leader in the country’s history. People generally accept that F. D. Roosevelt remains one of the greatest leaders in the world. He served as the 32nd President of the country. Roosevelt was born in New York. His leadership guided the United States and helped it during hard moments. He has been considered a central political figure throughout the world, as well. Roosevelt laid a solid foundation of leadership as a president during his early age. He was bright during his young age and graduated from Harvard University. â€Å"Roosevelt became very active with the school newspaper.† When he undertook studies at Harvard, he spent most of his time in publishing the school newspaper. After he graduated from Harvard, â€Å"Franklin D. Roosevelt joined Columbia Law School.† Various experiences and knowledge helped him win the Senate seat later (Rosenberg 1). As a great leader, Roosevelt made a number of improvements in society. One of the most significant and remarkable things he did, and probably the most successful one, was that he led the United States recovery from the Great Depression (Rosen 130). The Great Depression was an economic decline in the United States. â€Å"Banks in all 48 states had either closed or had placed restrictions on how much money depositors could withdraw.† Most banks were bankrupted during the Great Depression; thus, people could not take their money. Additionally, unemployment rose and people lost their jobs overnight. People suffered during this period. As economic distress increased in the United States, Franklin Roosevelt was elected to be a new president instead of President Hoover in order to save

Geopolitics of Trade and Development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Geopolitics of Trade and Development - Assignment Example ch media reports analyses geopolitical situations, this study will analyze the Ukraine and Russian crises over Crimea through a comparison of the Canadian news item (The star.com) and an international news item (CNN). Through a realist approach, this paper will thus analyze different manners with which the two media sources reported the situation. A CNN news report on 18 March 2014 by Matt Smith and Alla Eshchenko reporting the situation in Crimea was entitled â€Å"Ukraine cries ‘robbery’ as Russia annexes Crimea.† In a more influencing manner, the paper reported the culmination of events that led to the annexation of Crimea by Russia. By quoting from figures, CNN reported that the voter percentage of 97% for the Crimean residents voted for the nation to join the Russian Federation. Through the opening paragraphs of the article, the paper gives the reader a notion that the action by the Federation of Russia to annex Crimea is a legal situation going by the unfolding of events and the willingness of the Crimean citizens to join the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, CNN gives the readers of the article a perspective of its thought on the reason Ukraine has a right to cry foul over the ‘robbery’ of their territory. The paper offers a stand that appears to be in support of the United States’ policy on the Crimean crisis by citing to the reader the amount of influence the Russian Federation and military had in the voting by the Crimea to join the Russian Federation. The paper thus gives a more holistic approach to the situation by pointing to the reader the plight of the minority in Crimea who are unwilling to join the Russian Federation but lives in Crimean (Matt Smith & Alla Eshchenko, 2014). While narrowing on the situation in Crimea following the annexation of the region by the Russian Federation, the star.com news on 18th March 2014 under the title â€Å"Putin signs treaty annexing Crimea† majors on the economic and military implication of the

The Efficient Market Hypothesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Efficient Market Hypothesis - Essay Example In this way, only information bears the power to move market prices. There happens to be three levels of market efficiency as delineated by Fama (1970) viz. weak, semi-strong and strong. According to Fama (1970), weak form of market efficiency that market prices are affected by a stock's past performance and previous returns. The semi strong form of market efficiency suggests that market prices reflect all the available information. This degree of market efficiency exists when there are no under or over valued securities in the market and when new information affects market prices very rapidly. The strong form of market efficiency elaborates that all types of information, whether public or private, affects market price of securities. Despite the importance of the Efficient Market Hypothesis, its validity is highly debatable in the literature which is discussed in this essay. According to the Efficient Market Hypothesis, stock prices move in negative and positive directions while responding to information and announcement of events. However, there has been staunch concern owing to market anomalies that indicate deviations from Efficient Market Hypothesis such as Holiday effect [e.g. Ariel (1990)], Monday effect [e.g. French (1980)], November effect [e.g. Bhabra, Dhillon and Ramirez (1999)], January effect [e.g. Bhardwaj and Brooks (1992)] and P/E ratio effect [e.g. Basu (1977)]. Critics are also of the view that movements in stock prices also reflect psychological factors and irrationality on the part of investors [e.g. La Porta, Lakonishok, Shliefer, and Vishny (1997), Shleifer and Summers (1990) etc.]. There has also been significant evidence that economic conditions great affect stock returns [e.g. Schwert (1989)]. The following paragraphs examine the Efficient

Prius Essay Example for Free

Prius Essay Analysis of 4P’s – Product, Place, Price, Promotion f. SWOT Analysis of Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Prius g. Competitors Against Toyota Prius h. Target Market of Toyota Prius 3. Objectives a. Corporate Objectives b. IMC Objectives 4. Time Frame 5. Promotion Strategies a. Print Advertising b. Internet Advertising c. Sponsorship Activity d. Exhibition 6. Promotion Budget 7. Appendix 8. References 1. EXECUTION SUMMARY This Integrated Marketing Communications Proposal is a one-year communications plan, which is to be launched in Hong Kong, for the Toyota Prius. It aims to further raise the awareness of the Prius and in turn increase the market share and sale. Market analysis identified the target market, which consists of two groups: private and corporate buyers. Consequently a communications strategy that makes use of various media has been created. Newspaper and car magazines as the print advertisements, the Internet, sponsorship activity and exhibition will be the main media. The Creative strategy is designed to emphasize the unique selling points of the Prius and weaken the target markets objections. The budget (HK$1,000,000) has been allocated for the events and advertisements this year. The majority of the budget will be spent on the 2 two-day exhibition, followed by the print advertising. 2. SITUATION ANALYSIS a. Background Information of Toyota Motor Corporation Toyota is a Japanese car manufacturing company founded by Sakichi Toyoda in 1937. They have four key strategies which aim at customer satisfaction, quality assurance, continuous improvement and reduction of waste. Toyota has manufactured various types of cars such as Corolla and Carmy. After continuous improvement, Toyota is likely to be the best seller in the world this year in terms of sales. . Communication History of Toyota Motor Corporation Crown Motors, the local agency of Toyota, has published various advertisements for its vehicles through newspapers, magazines, TV commercials, exhibitions and sponsorships, etc. However, there are merely few local sponsor activities and exhibitions for Prius and thus it is still new to local drivers. c. Background Information of Toyota Prius Toyota Prius is one of the worlds first commercially mass-produced and marketed hybrid automobiles. It released in Japan in 1997 and then worldwide in 2000. By the end of 2003, nearly 160,000 units had been produced for sale in Japan, Europe and North America. In Latin, â€Å"Prius† means before or first. Technologies applied in the Prius are brand new and advanced ideas so that the Prius suits the name for the series. The Prius has won a number of awards, which are shown below. d. Awards Attained by Toyota Prius †¢ 1997–98  ¦ Car of the Year Japan †¢ 2003  ¦ Scientific American names Toyota Motor Corporation as Business Leader of the Year (Scientific American 50; December, 2003) for its singular accomplishment in the commercialization of affordable hybrid cars. 2004  ¦ Motor Trend Car of the Year  ¦ Car and Driver Magazines Ten Best List  ¦ North American Car of the Year Award †¢ 2005  ¦ European Car of the Year e. Analysis of 4P’s – Product, Place, Price, Promotion The Prius was released locally in 1999. Apart from the large comfortable driving environment, it was the first vehicle that introduced the â€Å"Hybrid Synergy Drive†, which helps the car become exceptionally fuel economical. The distribution of the Prius is mainly located at the six local Crown showrooms. The price of the Prius is around HK$230,000 which is a bit higher than the ther series or Japanese cars because Toyota positioned it as advanced technology vehicle with the features of environmental friendly and fuel-saving technologies. The major promotion channels used were exhibitions, car magazines and sponsorships of environmental protection events. According to the previous brand promotion of Toyota, newspapers, television commercials and the Internet were also used. f. SWOT Analysis of Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Prius i. Strength Toyota is Japan’s largest and the world’s third largest car manufacturer with assurance of reliability and high quality image. Toyota was one of the first manufacturers to introduce the concept of â€Å"Just in Time† production that allows to reduce operating cost and overheads and to respond to customer demand quicker. The yearly budget for RD is set at the highest amongst car manufacturers for various research centres around the world. This willingness to invest has brought Toyota an innovative image and created products such as the Prius. The Prius has advanced technologies which aim at environmental protection. It lets drivers save fuel and thus needs low maintenance cost in the long run at affordable price. i. Weakness Reputation of Toyota is not enough to convince buyers who like to express themselves with their choice of car, thus prefer cars with higher prestige from manufacturers such as Mercedes. Appearance of the Prius may relatively not as outstanding and attractive to potential buyers. According to Wikipedia, the Prius has been criticized for its aesthetics and handling characteristics. T oyotas life cycle assessment shows that the amount of energy required to manufacture a Prius is higher than that of a similar gasoline powered vehicle. iii. Opportunities Toyota’s new hybrid technology has proven very successful worldwide and already created several brand extensions and derived models. Toyota could obtain the benefits of being the first in the market, currently 90% market share in hybrid vehicles. The introduction of new models in growing segments offers opportunities. The Internet also helps the marketing of cars, thus improve communications and reduce operating cost by offering online showroom, online booking of test drives, nearest dealer locator, online purchasing and e-brochures, etc. Increase in fuel prices can also be treated as one of our opportunities as the Prius is fuel-conservative vehicle. iv. Threats Major threat comes from rich and big competitors. Indirect competition comes from alternative methods of transport. Other government incentives are also aimed at reducing the usage of cars, such as the increase in tax. These actions can reduce the number of car purchases and reduce eventual profits. g. Competitors Against Toyota Prius Toyota Prius being an environmental-friendly and energy-efficient vehicle, competitors will be defined as those which have similar technologies in the manufacture of fuel-saving engines. Honda Civic GX and Insight are energy-efficient vehicles but not for sale in Hong Kong. Also, General Motors FlexFuel series and Hybrids series are powerful competitors in the same situation. Hence, Toyota is the local pioneer in this product line. h. Target Market of Toyota Prius The target market can be split into two major categories: B2B customers and private consumers. B2B customers are fleet and corporate buyers, who buy cars either for hire or rental or for company fleets. The environmental features make the Prius particularly interesting for business buyers because of his low operating cost. Private consumer is either male or female and between the age group targeted at 25 and 39 years old. Some of them are likely to be married and with family responsibilities. They are affluent, well-informed and educated adults. They may be of upper middle class. They pursue environmentally-friendly lifestyle. 3. OBJECTIVES Objectives exist on three levels, corporate, marketing and communication, in which marketing and communication are regarded as the integrated marketing communications (IMC) objectives. a. Corporate Objective It can be summarized as shareholder wealth maximization and is ultimately achieved through higher profits and increased sales. b. Integrated Marketing Communications Objectives Toyota Prius is at the growth stage of product life cycle. As the environmental friendly technology of the Prius still being the pioneer in the industry, the objective is defined to be long term. It is important to further raise the awareness of this feature to the public by 30% at the end of this year, which in turn increase the market share aimed at 25% and increase the sales by 25%. It is hoped that by the proposed promotion strategies, it can fully reach the target market and make the potential buyers aware of the Prius. Then, during the events and in the advertisements, we can educate them and explain the technical knowledge and advantages of the Prius, so that they are excited about the Prius and develop the word-of-mouth. It is hoped to motivate buyers to find out more about the Prius by visiting our website to order brochures or a test drive. Visits to exhibitions and showrooms may lead to the act of purchase which is our ultimate goal. 4. TIME FRAME 5. PROMOTION STRATEGIES To promote the Prius, we have considered several means including the use of newspaper and car magazine as print advertising, Internet advertising, sponsoring activities and exhibition. a. Print Advertising i. Newspaper The main objective of newspaper advertisement is to perform the function of teaching consumers in the learning process. The next step is to attract the readers to the exhibitions and showrooms to do the feeling process. In the newspaper advertisement, we use the theme that the Prius only emits leaves but not pollution. It is a fresh car. We have two sets of advertisements. The first one is for advertising the Prius during the exhibition period. Another one is during the period without exhibition. The slogan â€Å"Prius, it’s fresh† is still used in these advertisements to make the whole campaign consistent. Here explains the two designs. The first one is used during exhibition period. It is published in a coloured full page. As the main theme of this set of advertisement is to connect the Prius with a fresh sensation, the main color of the page will be green. A white Prius runs down a green road. At the back of the car is a cluster of leaves. It shows the idea that the Prius would make the place it runs green. At the top left corner we can see the awards that the Prius got in the last few years. They tell customers that even professionals appreciate the Prius much. At the same time, three icons are used to conclude the main features of the Prius: low emission, high energy efficiency and the auto-charge function. The bottom of the page includes information about the exhibition, the venue and the time. At the bottom right corner there is a coupon. People can bring the coupon to the exhibition and get a model of the Prius. The plan is to attract more readers to come to our exhibition and feel the Prius. Another advertisement will be published during non-exhibition period. It will be published in a coloured quarter page. The design of this advertisement will also be used to relate the Prius to a fresh atmosphere. The background of the page is a large piece of grasslands. The back of the Prius is coloured with a pattern of cluster of green leaves. The slogan and three icons are also put in the page to recall readers’ memory that it used to be the Prius’ advertisement. At the bottom of the page is a list of showrooms demonstrating the Prius. We hope that readers who are interested in will go to the showrooms directly to feel how fresh the Prius is. ii. Car Magazine Besides newspaper, car magazine will also be used as one of the printed advertisements. According to the result of our questionnaire, most of the interviewees obtain the car information by the car magazine. It shows that car magazine is the main channel to promote. We have chosen CarPlus ( ) to promote because it is one of the members of South China Media Limited. Car Plus is positioned as the middle-class car magazine and it is suitable for our target group. Also, CarPlus is top three car magazine in Hong Kong. It is believed that after we have post the printed advertisement on CarPlus, it can increase the awareness of the Prius among potential car buyers. The theme is â€Å"Prius integrates with the nature†. The design of the print advertisement divides into two pages. The first page creates a natural environment so grassland is used as the background. Then, the grassland has a blank car shape and there is only a slogan â€Å"Today, Tomorrow†. The print advertisement is made simple and being curious so that it can create stopping power and let the reader to feel interested in the advertisement first. The second page is different from the previous one. The background is green and the car place at the middle. It is to create a fresh look of the advertisement and provide more details. There are several logos describing the feature of the Prius. b. Internet Advertising Internet is one of the most important media channels of automobile products. Based on the questionnaire’s result, Yahoo! is the main search engine of our target group. Therefore, a floating advertisement is used in order to bring awareness of the Prius. When the Internet users open the Yahoo! ebsite, the image of the Prius will appear in the screen, followed by a sound effect which is the sound of car engine. If the user is interested, he/she can click it and it will link to Toyota website. The Internet floating advertisement aims to raise the awareness of the customers and give them a fresh impression about the Prius. c. Sponsorship Activity For sponsorship activity, HK$50000 is spent on the World Widelife Fund (WWF) to promote environment protection. We will sign contract with WWF to makethe Prius the appointed car of the organization. As WWF focuses on nvironmental-friendly events, using the Prius will not only increase the reputation of the organization, but also increase the awareness of the Prius. We will give WWF a special price, near the wholesale price. The objective of this campaign is to connect the Prius to environmental-friendly business. Every time when people see the Prius, they will be able to think of fresh environment. d. Exhibition According to the findings of the survey, it shows that (% of interviewees ) usually visit car exhibition before purchasing cars. In order to raise the awareness of the Prius among our target audience, two exhibitions will be held this year. . Time Two exhibitions which will last for 2 days are scheduled to be held on 29th and 30th July, and 24th and 25th November this year. In order to better allocate the available resources, Flighting schedul ing method will be used. The exhibitions are arranged to be held at these two periods since it is expected that people’s purchasing desire are higher before the summer vacation and Christmas. ii. Venue Shatin New Town Plaza is chosen since it is one of the largest exhibition venues in the New Territories. In addition, the rent ($80,000/day) and space provided (3,600sq. ft) are suitable to carry out the exhibition. As Shatin is a well developed town, many people, especially middle classes, settle there. Holding the exhibitions in Shatin would probably increase the chance of reaching our target audience. The circulation of Shatin New Town Plaza per day ranges from 250,000 to 300,000, estimating 15. 6% of the people shopping there are our target customers, aged from 25 to 39 years old, according to the data from statistics of the Shatin New Town Plaza and Census. iii. Settings of Exhibition For the first exhibition on 29th and 30th July, a press conference will be held together with the exhibition. Chief Executive Officer of Toyota Hong Kong will introduce the main features of the Prius and answer the queries from the mass media and the public. Hence, the press conference allows people to get more information about the Prius. At the same time, overhead projection of the Prius video will be shown on the screen during the press conference and throughout the exhibition to create the feel of high technology. On the second day of the exhibition, there will be a cheque giving ceremony for sponsoring WWF to enhance the image of environmental protection of the Prius. For the second exhibition on 24th and 25th November, a famous artist who loves driving cars and is the representative of â€Å"Environmental Friendly Star† ( ) of Shatin Junior Chamber ( ), Miriam Yeung ( ), will be invited to share the feeling of using the Prius. With the famous artist giving professional opinions, the environmental friendly image of the Prius can be strongly established and strengthened. Background music, like birds singing, will be played throughout the exhibition, so as to create the feel of being in the nature, making people feel refreshing and environmental conscious. In addition to auditory stimulation, visual effect will also be emphasized. Flowers and plants will be used in the exhibition. They are used to enhance the environmental friendly image of the Prius. To strengthen the image, the Prius will be displayed on an artificial meadow with the shape of a leaf. All the above use the idea of classical conditioning since they serve as an unconditional stimulus and gives rise to an unconditional response, refreshing and environmental conscious. Through contiguity and repetition, this unconditioned stimulus will develop an association with the conditioned stimulus, appearance of the Prius, and thus gives rise to the conditioned response, the Prius is refreshing and environmental conscious. The floor plan of the event is shown as below. [pic] It is important to ensure the target audience can experience the full car visually so as to understand more about the Prius. One of the Prius is specially processed to be a partially transparent car, thus people are able to see the internal structure, like the hybrid engine of the Prius. Two normal Prius will be exhibited. People can experience the comfort of the car and professional opinions are given by salesmen at the same time. According to Foote, Cone ; Belding Grid, cars should use the model of Informative (The thinker) since the involvement of the target audience is high and it requires more thinking processes. Therefore, learn- feel- do model is used. Through the exhibition, target audience are able to learn more about the car from the transparent car model and the professional opinions from the salesmen, also, customers can feel and experience the comfort of the car. These settings are used to increase the chance of purchase. Board and decoration will be placed in the exhibition hall. Besides, decoration of trees and leaves will be placed so as to stress the feature of â€Å"environmental-friendly† of the car. The boards will show the features of the Prius and with the emotional appealing graphics. The customers could learn more about the product through the statistics and comparison. iv. Use of Manpower Personal selling in exhibition is very important since cars are high involvement product and more convictions are needed for purchase. Personal selling will be carried by salesmen who are trained to be familiar with the Prius in advance. Salesmen should be able to tell the advantages and features of the Prius and to answer queries from customers. The Prius will be promoted by sex appeal. Three beautifully dressed ladies will stand in front of three Prius respectively. It is used to increase the awareness of potential customers and photographers to take photos for them. Moreover, nine salesmen will be distributed around three Prius, promoting and answering queries raised by people. v. Exhibition Rundown On 29th July, 2006 |11:30-12:30 |Opening ceremony + Press conference | |12:30-15:00 |Exhibition | |15:00-17:00 |Racing queen for photo taking | |17:00-21:00 |Exhibition | |21:00-22:00 |Clearing | On 30th July, 2006 11:00-13:00 |Exhibition | |13:00-14:00 |Cheque giving ceremony of sponsoring World Wildlife | |14:00-15:00 |Exhibition | |15:00-17:00 |Racing queen for photo taking | |17:00-21:00 |Exhibition | |21:00-22:00 |Clearing | On 24th November, 2006 |11:00-13:00 |Exhibition | |13:00-14:00 |Sharing from artist— | |14:00-15:00 |Exhibition | |15:00-17:00 |Racing queen for photo taking | |17:00-21:00 |Exhibition | |21:00-22:00 |Clearing | On 25th November, 2006 |11:30-15:00 |Exhibition | |15:00-17:00 |Racing queen for photo taking | |17:00-21:00 |Exhibition | |21:00-22:00 |Clearing | 6. PROMOTION BUDGET 7. APPENDIX 8. REFERENCES

Carrying A Concealed Weapon, In California, Is A Threat To Society Essa

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Matilda Crabtree, 14, was shot and killed by her father when she jumped from the closet and yelled ‘BOO’ to scare her parents; her last words were, ‘I love you, daddy.†(Rottenberg 87) Laws that regulate carrying concealed weapons (CCW) have been wildly debated in the California and the US. There have mainly been two different types of laws. One is a type of legislation known as â€Å"may need† laws, which issues licenses to people who are in absolute need of carrying a concealed weapon. The other is known as â€Å"shall use† laws, which is a lot more lenient for people and makes it easier for the general public to get a gun. This law gives state authorities to issue concealed weapon licenses to any adult who does not have a felony conviction or history of mental illness. The use of firearms is justifiable only when a person is threatened with serious bodily injury. It does not mean that if a person is stealing your system from your car, you can shoot them. Legalizing concealed weapons to the general public is a direct attack on society’s safety in public places. Too many people will resort to force instead of a chance to runaway; everyone would rather be a hero. At the moment there are 31 states in the United States that permit people to possess a concealed weapon; California is not one of them. Carrying a concealed weapon is a threat to society because there have been too many accidents, concealed weapon laws might cause criminals to act more violently, and finally carrying concealed weapons might stimulate violent confrontation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Shall use† CCW laws do not cut down the amount of gun violence. Even though these laws are pretty recent, studies show that more carefree concealed weapon laws will not decrease the amount of gun related violence. Based on data collected from three states, University of Maryland researchers David McDowall, Colin Loftin, and Brian Wiersema found that the homicide rates did not significantly drop in these states following the adoption of Concealed Carry Laws. Instead, in three of the five cities studied these researchers found a statistically significant increase in the rate of gun related homicides - 74% in Jacksonville, 43% in Jackson, and 22% in Tampa (Ford 65).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carrying a concealed weapon creates a false sense of security and diverts attent... ...nal, even when well-trained police officers are involved. The idea that poorly trained, self-appointed vigilantes are running through our streets looking to become heroes, should not make any of us feel safer. Arming a society does not create civility nor does it produce solutions to gun violence. We cannot solve our society’s disease of violence by arming ourselves with the epidemic. Work Sited Fisherman, Steve (1993, October). â€Å"What You Know About Guns Can Kill You,† Vogue, 32-38. Ford, Liam T.A. (1994, August/September). â€Å"Gunning for Change,† Reason, 64-66 Kirchner, Paul (1994, February). â€Å"Defending Gun Ownership,† Chronicles, available from 934 N. Main St., Rockford, IL. 61103-7061 Reese, Charley (1996, January). â€Å"You Can’t Beat an (Armed) Woman,† Conservative Chronicle, available from Box 29, Hampton, IA. 50441. Rottenberg, Annette T. (1997). Cease fire advertisement. The Structure of Argument. Boston: Bedford Books a division of St. Martin’s Press Inc. Sojourners (1994, March). â€Å"Annie Get Your Gun,† available from 2401 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009. Voll, Daniel (1995, March). â€Å"The Right to Bear Sorrow,† Esquire, 79-83

The risk of depression in elderly individuals Essay

This study aims at investigating whether there is significant difference between depressed and non depressed individuals level of physical activity. The study will involve two groups of participants: depressed and non depressed groups. Depressed individuals will be selected on the criteria that an individual has been in the past diagnosed with chronic or acute depression in any of the hospitals in the location while non depressed participant will be people who have never been diagnosed with depression in their life time. Data from both groups will be collected through time series analysis where the physical activity of the participants will be monitored three times a day at regular intervals during the day. This will be followed by analysis of temporal dynamic for participants between physical activity and depression through investigation of vector autoregressive. Each participant in the study will be required to fill a self- registration form for 3 times of a day. In addition each p articipant will be fitted with accelerometer to monitor their motions to determine their physical activity. The research will be based in name of the location. Time series approach will be used for objective comparison between the two types of the study groups. This will give adequate information on the state depressed individuals and those that are not on the nature of their physical fitness that reflect direct to their physical activities. Mood of the participants will be measured using positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark and Tellegen 1988). The positive affects will include the following terms as related to the study; active, excited, alert, attentive, enthusiastic, determined, proud, inspired, strong, and proud in addition to happiness (Ingram, 2009). On the other hand negative affects will include afraid, hostile, ashamed, guilty, distressed, guilty, irritable, nervous, jittery, sacred, and scared in addition to sadness (Ingram, 2009). Other factors contributing to physical inactivity in both the groups under study will be considered so that a better conclusion on the research question can be reached. Consequent ly, questionnaires will be a rich tool to examine the past history of the two groups under the study so as to be able to get details on their physical activities for a given period of time. The data on physical activities between the two groups of people will be entered and analyzed using various appropriate statistical tools such as statistical package for social scientists (SPSS). The data will be compared between the participants with depression and those without so as to determine whether there is significant difference between patients’ with depression and those without. Further, depression will be investigated whether it affects the physical fitness of a person thus affecting his or her physical activities. Elective period description The elective period will involve data collection from both the group of participants by use of time series analysis and questionnaires. The data that will be collected will then be analysed using various statistical methods in order to compare the findings in relation to the study question. Depression is a condition that is becoming common to populations in the world. It is among the five non-communicable diseases that are prevalent across social class in societies (Bloom et al, 2011). The burden of the condition has continued to increase year and year and it was found recently to be between 10 and 15% globallyThe condition is associated with negative effects to the quality of health and life, which are major determinants of physical activity in patients diagnosed with it (Onat, DelialioÄŸlu, & Uà §ar, 2014). The main symptoms of depression are depression mood and lack of interests in various activities. The depression condition has been linked with physical inactiveness. The physical inactivity has been the major hindrance to depression treatments because of impaired body metabolic processes (Teychenne, Ball, & Salmon, 2008). Therefore, the physical activity presents is an important indicator of depression Depression is caused by environmental, biochemical and genetic factors. Some environmental causes include marital conflicts, stress due to loss of employment, death of a close relative, and other social related issues (Chen et al, 2014). Biochemical factors include depletion of monoamine and hormonal imbalances that might be triggered by environmental factors. Genetic factors have also been linked to depression where some genes mutations that are inherited in family lineages cause heredity transfer of the condition (Chen et al, 2014). The numerous causes has led to increased incidences of depression and so there is need to find ways in which the effect of the condition can be reduced so as to ensure high quality of life and health among populations (Hafslund, Espehaug, & Nortvedt, 2012). It has well been documented that patients with depression experiences physical inactivates. However, much of the studies carried out on the relationship between depression and physical activities have showed inconsistence (Teychenne et al, 2008). People that have not experienced depression experiences decreased physical inactivity that has been related to other causes other than depression. Few studies have been conducted to compare how physical activities differ between these two groups of populations. Physical activity is an important factor in remission of depressed patients (Dinas, Koutedakis, & Flouris, 2011; Azar et al, 2010). Therefore, it is important to study the physical activity in depressed people and compare it with non depressed people. Any significant difference between the two groups will be important in therapeutic management of depression and thus lowering its burden. This research study investigates whether there is significant difference between depressed and non depressed individual physical activities in name of the location of the study. The population has its own characteristics in terms of social, ethnic and economic characteristics. A problem statement/question Physical activity is an important therapeutic consideration in depressed people. However, few studies have been conducted and therefore inadequate data is available to ascertain physical inactivity as one of the factors in depressed people. To contribute more on this data, the research aim to address the question, if there are difference between depressed and non depressed individual’s physical activity. Indication of the importance/significance of the study This study will highly target audience from medical profession, rehabilitation centre who are particularly involved in management of depression, patients suffering from depression, and communities at large. The results of the study will be expected to increase and build on the knowledge on how depression relates to the physical activities thus improving depression management and treatment. The outcome will be important to health profession in making decision on what type of management that should be adapted to depressed patients. Moreover, the results will help policy makers in health care system to develop appropriate policies that will help health care providers to deal with the condition. Therefore, the study will impact positively to health care system. The study will increase knowledge to patients with depression and help them to increase physical activity thus reducing the negative impact of depression. Hence, the study will play an important role in reducing the burden of depr ession globally. Moreover, this study will form the basis in which other similar studies can be conducted and developed. Hypotheses statement Do depressed and non-depressed individuals differ significantly on their levels of physical activities? The null hypothesis will be there is no significant difference between the depressed and non depressed individual physical activities while the alternative will be that there is significant difference between depressed and non depressed physical activity. Detailed work plan In the figure 1 below, the research process will involve reassessment period of two weeks. During the two weeks prior to the study, potential participants will be notified through posters and meetings and the whole procedure of the study communicated so as to prepare them for the whole period. In addition, the period will involve screening of depressed participants as detailed below. At the end of the 2 weeks, a sample of 30 depressed and 30 non depressed participants will be drawn. This will be followed by the research process that will take a period of one month (4 weeks). The actual data collection process will take place in this place and the research tools will be employed at this phase. Data analysis processes will take place for a period of 4 weeks, which will be followed by report completion and submission that is estimated that will take place for 2 weeks. This will mark the end of the research study processed. The project will run for one month (30 days) for both groups of individuals. The data will be collected 3 times a day for the entire period for both self reported reports and questionnaires detailing participants past physical activity. The accelerometers will be inserted to patients for the entire period of the study so as to monitor their movement or motion during the period of the study. A total of 60 participants will form the study sample. 30 will be depressed patients recruited from outpatient clinic in the name of the hospital. On the other hand, 30 non depressed patients will be recruited from the general population who have never been diagnosed with depression. The participants’ inclusion criteria will involve of age of between 20 and 50 years limit; able to complete the whole study for 30 days through filling self reports and wearing accelerometer for 24 hours the entire period. To determine illegibility of depressed participants they will be screened for depressive symptoms using various depression diagnostic protocols such as Beck depressions inventory (Stulz, & Crits-Christoph, 2010). Similarly, non-depressive patients will be assessed using the same diagnostic evaluator to prevent erroneous inclusion of depressed participant in non depressed sample. The importance of carrying out the assessment before the study is to ensure that participants are placed correctly in the study groups. On the other hand, the participants will be excluded in the study if they have been diagnosed of Psychotic Disorder or Bipolar Disorder; Somatic disorders mainly affecting HPA axis function, or under ANS- Medication, which affects HPA function and vi sual-hearing impairments, and finally pregnant participants will be excluded through carrying out a pregnancy test). The self report will be used to measure depressive symptoms (time analysis series). This will involve a regular measurement at the frequency of three times a day for three months. Self report is an important tool that measures depressed symptoms in a more reliable way thus giving high valid results (Uher et al, 2012). In addition to self report, questionnaires will be used to measure depression symptoms. The data collection will involve self-filled reports and questionnaires. In addition, readings on accelerometers will be monitored in 24 hours and the readings recorded on self-report for 30 days. Questionnaires that will be conducted inform of interviews are expected to give the outcome of the patients depression history and the physical activities. The time series analysis is expected to give details of events and physical activities on time interval that will be recorded in the self-report. The accelerometer is expected to give the results on the motion of the participant throughout the study period. The motion of the participants will be important in determining how active the participant has been during the study. Expected results The outcome of this study is expected to answer the study question. The expected results will be that there is significant difference between depressed and non depressed patients. Depressed patients are expected to show decreased activities while non depressed participants are expected to show increased physical activities thus linking depression to physical inactiveness. Decreased physical is a characteristic of depressed people and therefore, an increase in physical activity in theses people is associated with positive impact of depression by decreasing it. Plan for elective period The research will involve a period of 30 days to carry the actual study by administering questionnaires, monitoring time series analysis, and accelerometer. The other period that will be few weeks will involve data analysis and writing of the project report to finality. This will ensure that the desired objective of the study will be accomplished within the study period. References Azar, D., Ball, K., Salmon, J., & Cleland, V. J. (2010). Physical activity correlates in young women with depressive symptoms: a qualitative study. International journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 7(1), 3.Bloom, D.E., Cafiero, E.T., Janà ©-Llopis, E., Abrahams-Gessel, S., Bloom, L.R., Fathima, S., Feigl,A.B., Gaziano, T., Mowafi, M., Pandya, A., Prettner, K., Rosenberg, L., Seligman, B., Stein, A.Z., & Weinstein, C. (2011).The Global Economic Burden of Noncommunicable Diseases. Geneva: World Economic Forum Chen, J., Li, X., Natsuaki, M., Leve, L., & Harold, G. (2014). Genetic and Environmental Influences on Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents. Behavior Genetics, 44(1), 36-44. Dinas, P. C., Koutedakis, Y., & Flouris, A. D. (2011). Effects of exercise and physical activity on depression. Irish journal of medical science, 180(2), 319-325.Hafslund, B., Espehaug, B., & Nortvedt, M. (2012). Health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression related to mammography screening in Norway. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 21(21/22), 3223-3234 Ingram, R. E. (2009). The international encyclopedia of depression. New York: Springer Là ©pine, J. P., & Briley, M. (2011). The increasing burden of depression. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat, 7(Suppl 1), 3-7. Onat, Åž., DelialioÄŸlu, S., & Uà §ar, D. (2014). The risk of depression in elderly individuals, the factors which related to depression, the effect of depression to functional activity and quality of life. Turkish Journal Of Geriatrics / Tà ¼rk Geriatri Dergisi, 17(1), 35-43. Stulz, N., & Crits-Christoph, P. (2010). Distinguishing anxiety and depression in self-report: purification of the beck anxiety inventory and beck depression inventory-II. Journal Of Clinical Psychology, 66(9), 927-940. Teychenne, M., Ball, K., & Salmon, J. (2008). Physical activity and likelihood of depression in adults: A review. Prev Med 46, 397-411 Uher, R., Perlis, R. H., Placentino, A., DernovÃ… ¡ek, M., Henigsberg, N., Mors, O., & Farmer, A. (2012). Self-report and clinician-rated measures of depression severity: can one replace the other?. Depression & Anxiety (1091-4269), 29(12), 1043-1049. Watson, D., Clark., L., A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54:1063-1070. Source document

What Is Strategic Spatial Planning Environmental Sciences Essay

IntroductionStrategic spacial planning is arguably an attack which rails against the discourse of the scientific rational comprehensive theoretical accounts of be aftering which has and still does keep a big influence in current manners of planning. This short essay will hopefully explicate to contrivers why a strategic spacial planning attack is more contributing in the current context which we find ourselves in. This will be done through replying a set of inquiries which will clear up the attack, its intent and methods, how it differs from rational comprehensive attacks of maestro planning and land usage planning, why contrivers should utilize it, what can be expected from it, and its utility.What is Strategic Spatial Planning?Strategic spacial planning is a method to assist work out complex spatial jobs through making strategic visions and new spacial individualities. Harmonizing to Kaufman and Jacobs ( in Albrechts, 2001 ) strategic systems originated in the US around the 1950 â €˜s due to the demand for quickly altering and turning corporations to be after efficaciously and pull off their hereafters at a clip when the hereafter seemed ill-defined. In Europe, strategic spacial planning dated back to the 1920s and 30s, and was used to direct the activities of others ( Mastop in Albrechts, 2001 ) . From Albrechts ( 2006 ) it can be understood that the word ‘spatial ‘ brings into focal point the ‘where ‘ of things, the creative activity and direction of particular ‘places ‘ and sites every bit good as the interrelatednesss between different activities in an country, and important intersections and nodes within an country. This spacial focal point allows for a more effectual manner of incorporating different dockets – such as, economic, societal, and cultural – and their spacial impacts ( Albrechts, 2006 ) . The word ‘strategy ‘ has its roots within a military context ; in ancient conflict ground forcess would work out a scheme prior to the conflict on how best to get the better of the enemy. It is understood that this type of scheme had four basic elements – an accurate apprehension of the existent state of affairs, realistic ends, focused resources in countries where they would be most effectual, and continuity of the action until the coveted result is achieved ( Albrechts, 2010 ) . These elements are strongly rooted in systems of strategic spacial planning. In its entireness, strategic spacial planning is a procedure which is directed at a limited figure of strategic cardinal issue countries. It determines an countries strengths and failings in the context of its chances and menaces ; it scans external tendencies, and the resources that are available. It gathers major public and private stakeholders and allows for a wide and diverse procedure of engagement. It develops a realistic long-run vision along with schemes in order to pull off and act upon spacial alteration. Importantly it is orientated towards determinations, actions, consequences, and execution, in the short, average and long-run ( Albrechts, 2001 ) . â€Å" It is so impossible to understand material topographic points and societal nodes such as ‘the metropolis ‘ , ‘the city-region ‘ and ‘the part ‘ in footings of a unidimensional hierarchy of graduated tables † ( Albrechts, 2010:6 ) . This definition illustrates that strategic spacial planning is non a individual construct or process, but it is a set of constructs, processs and tools that are tailored carefully to whatever state of affairs is presented ( Albrecht, 2001 ) . Furthermore it is a development-led attack and a transformative and integrative, public sector-led, and socio-spatial procedure through which a vision, consistent actions and agencies for execution are produced ; these are so able to determine and border what a topographic point is and its potency of what it may go ( Albrechts, 2006 )How does it differ from MASTER PLANNING and LAND USE PLANNING?In order to understand the difference one needs to understand the principle of land usage planning and maestro planning. Land usage planning is a procedure of be aftering which is concerned with the location, strength, signifier, sum, and harmonisation of land development required for a assortment of spacial utilizations ; such as lodging, industry, diversion, conveyance, instruction, and agribusiness. A land usage program in this case fundamentally embodies a proposal as to how land should be used within a set of considered policy as enlargement and restructuring advancement in the hereafter ( Albrechts, 2004 ) . Traditional land usage planning is a more inactive planning attack aimed at commanding land usage through a zoning system and through ordinances. This harmonizing to Albrechts ( 2006 ) seems unfit for bridging the spread between plan-making, political decision-making and execution. This was one of the grounds why the demand arose for a different type of be aftering – a move off from regulative policy and instruments to a development-led attack which aims to step in more straight, coherently and selectively in societal world and development – strategic spacial planning ( Albrechts, 2006 ) . For Albrechts ( 2001 ) strategic spacial planning is to a certain extent rendered towards an integrated socio-economic class of action that supersedes the mere focal point on land usage planning. For Master Planning on the other manus, Friedman ( 2007 ) found that it is about a universally recognized signifier of planning pattern. His study found that in state after state, metropoliss through their authoritiess are mandated to bring forth maestro programs. Basically within these maestro programs states specify future land utilizations and location determinations. Maestro planning is a wholly inactive pattern and harmonizing to Friedman ( 2007 ) it needs to be rethought as it is out of line with the dynamic flows of globalization. Friedman ( 2007 ) defines master be aftering as being typically municipal programs instead than regional programs, and as being entirely concerned with land usage instead than with the entire spectrum of urban policy issues. They are drawn up by a specialised subdivision of municipal authorities instead than through a wider procedure of collaborative deliberation, and the procedure used to pull up maestro programs and acquiring them approved takes old ages therefore rendering them out-dated by the clip they can be implemented. Besides they are top-down, with comparatively minimal citizen engagement, and in conclusion when it comes to big scale undertakings ; maestro programs are frequently set aside to let for necessary alterations in land usage and circulation forms ( Friedman, 2007 ) . Opposing this, spacial planning is derived non from an functionary, compulsory character like maestro planning but from a function that coordinates instruments closely intertwined with urban policy formation and the design and execution of large-scale undertakings. Spatial be aftering involves a scope of histrions that include communities, authorities functionaries and private stakeholders. The chief intent of spacial planning is non to mandate peculiar land uses – as is in the case of maestro be aftering – but to let for a better coordination of urban policies and large-scale undertaking developments across infinite, to prove alternate policies and designs through revising their societal deductions, and to let for an informed public discourse about them ( Friedman, 2007 ) . In metropoliss such as the new downtown peninsula of Vancouver, maestro planning has been abandoned for systems of spacial planning in which be aftering returns by manner of affecting public hearings, bargaining, and dialogues. The consequences of this passage over a period of 25 old ages are testimony to the viability non merely of the Vancouver theoretical account but besides of the more abstract spacial planning theoretical account ( Friedman, 2007 ) .What are its chief PURPOSES and METHODS?Strategic spacial planning as mentioned earlier is used for complex jobs where governments at different degrees and different sectors and private histrions are reciprocally dependent ( Albrecht, 2001 ) . The theoretical account designs plan-making constructions and develops content, images and determination models which can act upon and pull off spacial alteration. It is about building new thoughts and processes that can transport these constructions through, therefore bring forthing ways of ap prehension, ways of consensus, and ways of organizing and mobilising for the intent of exercising influence in different spheres ( Albrecht, 2006 ) . Both is the short and long term, strategic spacial planning focal points on bordering determinations, actions, undertakings, consequences and execution, and incorporates monitoring, feedback, accommodation and alteration of the result. Its intent therefore is non a new political orientation prophesying a new universe order but as a method for making and maneuvering a better hereafter for a topographic point based on shared values ( Albrechts, 2006 ) . Albrechts ( 2006 ) goes farther on to explicate that the seven chief purposes of a strategic undertaking are – to develop an incorporate advanced attack for the assorted undertaking types ; to develop a to the full operational model based on sustainability ; to develop tools for quality direction ; to broaden the multi-actor/multi-level policy scenes and to measure current scenes ; to circulate the attack ; to develop an educational theoretical account ; and to set up a web of cognition between research workers, professionals, and authoritiess ( Albrechts, 2006 ) . The capacity for these undertakings to present the coveted result is dependent foremost on the system itself and on the conditions underlying it – such as structural restraints, and political, cultural, and professional attitudes towards spacial planning. The planning procedure is non intended to flux swimmingly from one stage to the following. It is a dynamic and originative procedure wherein new positions and facts that arise today may change the determinations made yesterday ( Albrechts, 2010 ) . This illustrates that it is ne'er a fixed procedure but is in a uninterrupted start of alteration from get downing to stop. The visions and frames which guide this procedure are ne'er ‘a given ‘ , instead they are to be constructed. The procedure of picturing is the procedure by which groups develop visions of future provinces for themselves, their administrations, metropolis, or their part that are clear, powerful and realistic. Basically this means that the visions are to be constructed within a specific context and scale sing issues that are of involvement within that infinite and within a peculiar combination of histrions. This is to be done within a method that to the full recognises the conditions of power, inequality, and diverseness. â€Å" The vision describes a metropolis or part as it may look like in the hereafter, and it must appeal to the long-run involvements of histrions who have a interest in the metropolis or part † ( Albrechts, 2010:8 ) .Why do this sort of planning?Strategic spacial planning undertakings conduct an in-depth survey of the country, therefore giving pen chant to the location being affected over anything else. With this these undertakings study external tendencies and the resources available hence leting for a wide and diverse procedure. Besides, by doing usage of this type of planning, contrivers are able to aim a assortment of countries ; including urban, rural, and economic countries ( Albrechts, 2006 ) . In the case of urban countries, strategic urban undertakings are utile as they aim to consolidate, transform, restructure or recycle the urban countries for new and emerging demands from public and private histrions. With respects to rural countries, strategic undertakings are utile as they aim to transform rural and suburban kineticss into a more sustainable and qualitative signifier of development while non burying to heighten the cultural significance of these infinites. Last, economic countries are seen as an of import portion of the attempt to maintain up international economic fight. Strategic undertakings seek to turn away from the old construct of concern Parkss spacial construct and direction to a focal point on the demands of houses that are to be translated into specifically designed employment locations ( Albrechts, 2006 ) .And what can we anticipate from it?This inquiry can be divided into two parts ; ‘we ‘ as contrivers and ‘we ‘ as the populace and private histrions. First, the essay will mean to the reference the latter portion. Strategic spacial planning undertakings are strategic to accomplish visions, ends, and aims from a assortment of policy sectors, and are to incorporate the community being affected. Visions is arguably one of the most of import factors of strategic undertakings as they are expected to be placed within the specific context, topographic point, clip and degree, and are to see specific issues that are of involvement to the different histrions ( Albrechts, 2006 ) . Basically what can be expected from strategic spacial planning undertakings is a critical analysis of the chief procedures and structural restraints which form infinites, which adds into a realistic, dynamic, integrated, and declarative long-run vision. It will supply a program for short-run and long-run actions, a budget, and a flexible scheme for execution ( Albrechts, 2010 ) . In footings of the undertakings eventual execution, it will supply believable committednesss to action battle and a clear and expressed nexus to the budget therefore leting for citizens, private-sector, different degrees of administration, and contrivers to come in a consensus ( Albrechts, 2010 ) . ‘We ‘ as contrivers will anticipate a different set of tools, tools which will steer the contriver on what to anticipate when moving as a strategic spacial contriver. For Albrechts ( 2010 ) , he finds it unthinkable that the contriver should move simply as a impersonal perceiver and chorus from playing a function in the building of visions and images. Alternatively, Albrechts suggests that contrivers should be needfully involved, and instrumental in confirming, explicating and implementing images and visions. This is a logical position, as if contrivers simply observe, there expertness in certain state of affairss are non shared, and their utility would be greatly undermined. Strategic spacial contrivers are to alternatively, challenge their ain ‘mental discourse ‘ which limit their creativeness, and get down afresh therefore leting for their creativeness and resourcefulness to flux and to be used in formulating, designing, and constructing new constructs and discourses ( Albrechts, 2010 ) .How utile is it?Strategic spacial planning is a flexible procedure that trades with complex jobs and is able to repair to a broad scope of jobs, but besides trades with each job unambiguously. This characteristic makes the attack really utile as it applies to a scope of different issues. For illustration ; the metropolis of Barcelona started utilizing a strategic planning attack in 1988 in order to heighten the cooperation between the public and private sector with the hope that the sweeten ing will beef up the place of the metropolis as a campaigner for the Olympic Games ( Albrechts, 2010 ) . The metropolis of Turin which was inspired by Barcelona besides undertook a strategic attack in the mid 1990 ‘s, for Turin this formed the footing for rethinking the potency of a former monopolistic town that had been extremely affected by the rise of the car industry. The purpose for Strategic spacial planning here was to transform Turin into a European city – â€Å" a metropolis of activities and know-how † ( Albrechts, 2010:5 ) . For the metropolis of Bilbao, the vision was to transport the metropolis into the economic, fiscal, and cultural capital of the Atlantic Arc. Last, for Prague, strategic spacial planning focused on incorporating the metropolis into European constructions ( Albrechts, 2010 ) . From this it is clear that strategic spacial planning is applicable to a diverse scope of issues and can accommodate easy to what is required in the context for which it is visualizing, therefore rendering it a utile attack to planning.DecisionFrom the information discussed in this essay the attack of strategic spacial planning has been explained. Through utilizing such an attack to be aftering it can be deduced that infinites can be become more active and synergistic both on a local graduated table – and the sectors within that scale – and on an international graduated table. â€Å" In short, episodes of strategic spacial planning informed by â€Å" relational complexness † constructs which accumulate sufficient power to â€Å" go † efficaciously and have digesting stuff and mental effects should be judged in the long-run in footings of their capacity to enrich the inventive resources, originative energies and administration civilizations through which quality of life and experience of diverse citizens and stakeholders in peculiar topographic points are likely to be enhanced. † ( Healey, 2006:19 )