Utilitarianism - Justice Essay Example for Free

Utilitarianism Justice Essay A person who is a utilitarian believes in one principle of utility, which is to opt for an action that will bring the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people (Ronsenstand, 2013). It is not a decision made with selfish intentions, as it does not matter who benefits from the decision, as long as it is for the greater good. The utilitarian belief can be a solution to certain moral problems, but there are also problems that may arise from it. One of the problems of the utilitarian theory is that it is hedonistic and ignores individual rights (Sandel, 2009). Utilitarians will often look at the ‘big picture’ to determine the course of action that should be taken. If the decision is made in favor of the happiness of the greatest number of people, then what happens to those who are in the minority group? One example is the death of 6 months old Isis Charm Vas who was thought to be murdered by her babysitter, Ernie Lopez in 2011. Medical examiners failed to take into consideration that the child might be suffering from a rare blood disease. It is often found that in cases concerning the death of children, the law is quick to convict a person just to close the case as it impacts the society emotionally. Similarly, William Dillon served 27 years in prison for murder before he was exonerated from the crime he did not commit. It is not unusual for the law to convict innocent people just to provide closure for the family of the victims and also to give a sense of satisfaction or justice to the society. Society will naturally demand justice for these murders, thus putting pressure on the law to act quickly and often, make costly mistakes on behalf of innocents in the process. These people might sometimes be considered as ‘scapegoats’. Based on these cases, a utilitarian might argue that in general, it might bring a greater good to the vast majority if such criminal cases were brought to a closure, no matter if the person is truly innocent or not. Sacrificing one person is better than the unhappiness of a whole society. Closure reduces the hype around a particular case especially if it concerns children, which plays with the sympathy and anger of the society. The theory of utilitarian might argue that it is more important to restore the faith of the people in the law. If too much time is spent finding exact evidence pointing to the right offender in a case like Isis Charm Vas, the community might lose faith in the law thus creating even more problems in future. If no one trusts the law to provide justice, people might stop abiding the law altogether.

Spatial-temporal Analysis of Land Market in Urban Fringe

Spatial-temporal Analysis of Land Market in Urban Fringe 1. Research context There is a widespread deem that urbanisation is the outcome of the configuration of modern human society. The 19th century, which assumed to be the era of modernization all over the world, has experienced rapid urbanisation. For instance, urban population has increased from less than 14 percent to more than 50 percent of the worlds population during 1900-2000 and if this growth continues, urban population in the world will arrive at 4.72 -5.00 billion in 2030 (increase of 48.61-57.84 percent comparing to the current population) comparing to 6.835-8.135 billion (18.71 percent) increase in total population and 3.348-3.267 billion (2.42 percent) decrease in rural population. Nevertheless, the devastating situation will be at the developing countries, where the urban population growth is forecasted to be 74.17 percent in 2030 comparing to the current population (Zhang, 2008). Interestingly, maximum of this urban population agglomeration is in largest cities, especially megaciites (Li, 20 03) and these megacities are growing at an unprecedented rate. For example, in 1950 there were only 4 megacities, which increase to 28 in 1980, 39 in 2002; and 59 in 2015 (UN 2002). Then the question arises which criteria define the megacities. Some urban geographers tried to define the megacities based on the global economic power or influence. With the exception of Lo and Yeungs (1998) ‘Globalization and the World of Large Cities, which includes Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Cairo and Johannesburg, and more recently systematic work by Taylor (2000), Lo and Marcotullio (2000), Taylor and Walker (2001) and Shin and Timberlake (2000) much of these works (Friedmann, 1986; Sassen, 2004) have either focused on the developed world or merely mentioned ‘megacities in the developing world (Yulong and Hamnett, 2002). However, an extensive debate has still been going on the definition of megacities. United Nations categorize the megacities with population of 8 millions while Asian Development Bank extends the population limit to 10 million along with other characteristics such as complex economy and integrated transport system. Thus, discussion takes into account the ‘population greater than 10 millions as an indicator of megacities. According to the World Population Report 2001 by UNFPA, currently there are 19 megacities such as Tokyo (26.4 millions), Mexico City (18.1 millions), Mumbai (18.1 millions), Sà £o Paulo (17.8 millions), Shanghai (17 millions), New York (16.6 millions), Lagos (13.4 millions), Los Angeles (13.1 millions), Calcutta (12.9 millions), Buenos Aires (12.6 millions), Dhaka (12.3 millions), Karachi (11.8 millions), New Delhi (11.7 millions), Jakarta (11 millions), Osaka (11 millions), Metro Manila (10.9 millions), Beijing (10.6 millions), Reo de Janeiro (10.6 millions) and Cairo (10.6 millions). Still there is a controversy about the geographical extent of these megacities. Even some of these megacities are growing on forming the urban corridors (Tokyo-Yokohama-Nagoya-Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Shinkansen in Japan, Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan in northeastern China; and the Mumbai-Pune development corridor in India) and urban mega-clusters (national capital Region of Delhi, Dhaka, and Metro Manila; Karachi mega-urban region, Bangkok-Thonburi metropolitan region, and Jakarta-Bogor-Tangerang-Bekasi region). This continuing growth of megacities is now the burning research topic of the policy makers as well as international communities (Renaud, 1981; UN, 1993) and different policies are already been applied to counterpart this rapid urbanisations in megacities such as China, Egypt, Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and China have promoted different promotional programs (e.g. dual track urban system) for patronizing the medium size cities in their respective country level (Henderson, 2002; Ades and Glaeser, 1995). Still a comprehensive strategy needs to be initiated in order to counterpart the unprecedented rate of urbanisation and urban agglomeration. 2. Overall aim and objectives The overall aim of the thesis is to determine the economic value of land at the urban fringe of a megacity in developing country. Based on the aim, the objectives are categorised into two broad areas theoretical objectives and empirical objectives. Theoretical objectives To examine the extent of influence of urbanisation process, and land acquisition and speculation, by both the public and private sectors, on the dynamics of urban agglomeration or urban sprawl. To examine the changing urban spatial patterns of the megacites due to sprawl and to explain them within the framework of different urban growth theories. To examine the nature, characteristics, and dynamics of urban land and the land market within which land assembles, urban renewal, gentrification and development has taken place. To identify different spatio-temporal econometric methods for determining land price. Empirical objectives To develop an economic instrument, considering both spatial and temporal aspects of land, for understanding the dynamics of the land price at urban fringe of a megacity in developing country To determine the extent of influence of environmental attributes on the price of urban-rural interface lands. 3. Methodology In order to attain the objectives, the research will be carried out by following the comprehensive methodology, the structure of which is given below: The detail of the methodology and structure of the chapters to attain the objectives is given below: Objectives Methodology Organizati-on of chapters Objective 1: Definition of urbanisation and urban agglomeration; reasons; challenges; trend of urbanisation in developed and developing countries; growth pattern of different hierarchy of urban settlements; socio-economic, political and physical characteristics of urban settlements; economic, institutional, and political factors of rural-urban migration; government policies and urban politics in the context of urbanisation and urban agglomeration; concept, nature, characteristics and dynamics of megacities; spatial pattern of megacities; cases and consequences of rapid urbanisation and urban space challenges especially in megacities. Literature review of journal, books and reports of different organisations working on urbanisation and urban agglomeration Chapter 2 Objective 2: Urban land economic theories (such as classical theories, neo-classical theories, new economic geographic theories, and new institutional economic theories) in the context of urbanisation and urban agglomeration Literature review of journal and books Chapter 3 Objective 3: Dynamics of urban land market, urban land politics, actors of urban land politics, contemporary urban land regulatory mechanisms and their acceptability in different contexts, planning mechanisms for controlling land conversion or development at the urban fringe, land acquisition process, government strategy for land ceiling standard and land speculation, actors controlling the land market, impact of land use change on the wetlands and agricultural lands at urban fringe and challenges for attaining sustainability. Literature review of journal, books, reports of different organisations, and government policies, strategic plans, rules, and regulations. Chapter 4 Objective 4: Different types of spatio-temporal econometric methods for determining the land price at urban fringe Literature review of journal and books. Software for Spatio-temporal autoregressive analysis Chapter 5 Objective 5: variables or attributes explaining land market at urban fringe, compatible econometric instrument for drawing the equation of land market at urban fring Application of spatio-temporal econometric model for regression analysis Chapter 8 Objective 6: economic valuation of environmental attributes and its influence on the land market at urban fringe 4. Theoretical framework Various factors are attributed to the urbanisation in megacities such as rural-urban migration (Goldstein, 1990; Chan, 1994a,1994b; Rempel, 1996; Ma, 1999), natural population increase and even the government policies (Lo, 1994; Sit, 1995; Lin, 2004; Bloom et al., 2008) on foreign direct investment (Sit and Yang, 1997; Shen, 1999; Shen et al., 2000), expansion of tertiary industries (Lin, 2002) and economic transition (Gu and Wall, 2007). This section explores the reasons behind the urbanisation and urban agglomeration in megacities, and spatial patterns of megacities. Economic development There is a significant positive correlation between the economic development and urbanisation (Henderson, 2003), which can better be explained by the hypothesis of Williamson (1965) (Hansen, 1990). Due to the economic development of the city, the significant amount of industries are concentrated within the city core and this upshots in development of knowledge, skills, and economic infrastructure which leads to development of physical structures such as transport and communications. This physical development make obligatory to the investors or manufacturers to recalculate the cost-benefit analysis of the geographical locations of their industries taking into account the external and internal economies of scale- resulting in urban expansion or deconcentration of industries from the urban core (El-Shakhs, 1972; Alonso, 1980; Wheaton and Shishido, 1981; Junius, 1999; Davis and Henderson, 2003; Barro and Sala-I-Martin, 1991, 1992; Kuznets, 1966; Abramovitz, 1989; Easterlin, 2000). This a rgument is vivid by reviewing different literatures on the economic growth and urbanisation in megacities (Aguilar and Ward, 2003; Firman, 1997; Fanni, 2006). However, the basic assumption of urbanisation is the rural-urban migration. According to the western economists, urbanisation/ rural-urban migration is the resultant of increase in the productivity of agricultural sector and the increasing demand for labour needed by an expanding industrial sector. This economic model was adopted for the western economics, which was later tried to adopt in the urbanisation pattern of the third world countries by Lewis (1994). Nevertheless, the increasing rural-urban migration, despite the high unemployment and underemployment situation in urban areas of developing countries, raises the question of its validity. Later on, comparative evaluation of expected wage rates between urban and rural (by Harris-Todaro migration model), and present value of expected benefits and costs (by Sjaasted migration model) were identified as the key economic factors of urbanisation process. Brueckner and Zenou (1999) and Brueckner and Kim (2001) have incorporate the effe cts of land price escalation due to the migration within the Harris-Todaro model. Furthermore, classical economists (e.g. (Gordon, 1975; Petty, 1683; Yang, 1991; Yang and Rice, 1994; Sun, 2000; Sun and Yang, 2002; Zhang and Zhao, 2004) and neo-classical economists (e.g. Fujita-Krugman, 1995; Helpman, 1998; Lowry, 1966) try to project the ‘division of labor and production, and ‘economies of scale as the basic economic prerequisite of urbanisation respectively. Government policies and urban politics After the economic development, the next significant characteristic of urbanisation in megacities is government interventions or policies (Renaud, 1981; Ades and Glaeser, 1995; Moomaw and Shatter, 1996; Henderson and Becker, 2000; Davis and Henderson, 2003) by sometimes prioritizing the megacities over other cities during decisive policymaking (Fujita et al., 1999). This may cause because of their political significance and interest of the elites and bureaucrats (such as in Bangkok, Mexico City, Jakarta, and Paris, Sà £o Paulo). For promoting economic development in the megacities, the government (either national or local) of concerned countries sometime has taken promotion strategies such as in Shanghai, China (Cai, 1995; Han, 2000; Fu, 2001); Jakarta, Indonesia (Firman, 2000; Goldblum and Wong, 2000; Henderson and Kuncoro, 1996; Kaiser, 1999); Manila, Philippines (Kelly, 2003; Bankoff, 1996; Sidel, 1999); Mumbai and Delhi, India (Valerie, 1999); Cairo, Egypt (Sutton and Fahmi, 200 1); and even in London, Paris and New York (Lever, 1997; Short and Kim, 1999; Tickell, 1998).. However, the impact of dynamic government polices on urbanisation and urban agglomeration is most acute in China such as ‘Socialist Economic theory based urban-biased Hukou system during the ‘pre-reform period (Oi, 1993; Naughton, 1996; Zhang and Zhao, 2004; Chan, 1994a, 1996; Gu and Shen, 2003; Sit, 1995; Harrison, 1972; Murphey, 1974; Ma, 1976; Nolan and White, 1984; Prybyla, 1987; Kirkby, 1985; Kang, 1993; Chan, 1994b; Liu, 1999; Ma and Fan, 1994; Buck, 1981; Parish, 1987; Ofer, 1977; Konrad and Szelenyi, 1977; Ronnas and Sjoberg, 1993; Sjoberg, 1999; Kirkby, 1985; Kang, 1993; Chan, 1994b; Solinger, 1999; Lieberthal, 1995; Fallenbuchl, 1977; Zhang and Zhao, 1998; National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2000; Konrad and Szelenyi, 1977; Ofer, 1977, 1980; Musil, 1980; Murray and Szelenyi, 1984), especially in China (Cell, 1979; Orleans, 1982; Whyte, 1983; Ran and Berry, 1989; Ebanks and Cheng, 1990; Yu, 1995; Tang, 1997; Song and Timberlake, 1996; Lin, 1998; Dong and Putt erman, 2000). Later on, ‘post-reform policy also boosted the urbanisation by encouraging the foreign and private investments in megacities (Banister and Taylor, 1989; Shen and Spence, 1995; Shen, 2002; Shen et al., 2006). However, the national or local government is not solely responsible for urbanisation, urban development as well as urban expansion. Then the question is: Who runs the cities? Government interventions or policies in the urban strategic planning for political significance and interest of the elites and bureaucrats are proverbial in the cities of both developed and developing world (Renaud, 1981; Ades and Glaeser, 1995; Moomaw and Shatter, 1996; Henderson and Becker, 2000; Davis and Henderson, 2003). This is why; urban theorists are focusing on urban politics rather than on economic attributes in formulating state policies for urban development (Sites, 1997; Cockburn, 1977; Castells, 1979; Stone, 1993; 1998). Nevertheless, the influence of urban politics in urban planning priorities in different parts of the world is very complicated because urban politics are viewed from different perspectives. State-centred perspective argued for key role of government, autonomy of the state or the lo cal state and pre-eminence of political attributes in strategic planning (Steinmo, 1989; King, 1995; Thornley, 1998; Evans et al., 1985; Gurr and King, 1987), while coalition politics (Stone, 1987, 1989, 1993; Sites, 1997; Elkin, 1987; Harding, 1994; Gurr and King, 1987; Turner, 1992; DiGaetano and Klemanski, 1993; Orren and Skowronek, 1994) argued for public-private partnership for implementing planning strategies because either for the vulnerability of local government in inter-city economic competition or for the division of labour. This is why; various urban theorists (Park and Burgess, 1925; Dahl; 1967; Wirth, 1969; Jacobs; 1969; 1984; Saunders, 1983; Rae, 2004), who tried to entangle urban politics within their own theories, either failed or misinterpret the urban planning practices. The basic controversy of urban politics lies within two distinct definitions of community power (Polsby, 1980; Harding, 1995; Judge, 1995) power within communities and the power of communities (Harding, 1997). The first is concerned with ‘social production and ‘power to while the latter on is with ‘social control and ‘power over (Stone, 1989). ‘Power within communities, also known as ‘urban regime prompts integration or political coalition of civic groups and public institutions (Dowding et al. 1999; Shefter, 1985; Elkin, 1987; Stone and Sanders, 1987; Mollenkopf, 1992; Turner, 1992; Di Gaetano and Klemanski, 1993; Davies 2001, 2003; Stone, 1989, 2002, 2005; Peck and Tickell, 1995) at different levels of intensity and clarity (Stone, 2005) for economic development and physical regeneration or gentrification (Harding, 1997; Elkin, 1987; Stone and Sanders, 1987; Stone, 1989) and urban growth machines (Molotch, 1976, 1990; Logan and Molotch, 1987; Mo lotch and Logan, 1990). On the other hand, ‘power of communities is more concerned about the acting power of the actors rather than coalitions and is defined by elite and pluralist theories. Beyond the community power debate, another significant factor of citys strategic planning is the politics of globalization (Harding, 1997), which strengthens subnational autonomy and declines national importance (Ohmae, 1993). This can be elucidated by evaluating the role of business sectors on the local civic life of US and European cities. For instance, business-sectors of US cities are remarkably organized, who have strong influence on land ownership and land use planning, taxation and revenue distribution, private credit and public borrowing (Stone, 2005), election campaigns of local as well as national political leaders (Elkin, 1987) and resulting in they are within the governing system. Furthermore, the weaker capital investment by local government has persuaded for effective regime (Davis, 2003). Encouraged by the successful history of urban regime in US, Thatcher government took an ambitious initiative to install this US policy within new dimension of urban regeneration partnerships in UK (Berger and Foster, 1982; Boyle, 1985; Ward, 1996; Wolman, 1992) without resolving three questions What will be the role of development coalitions in the city politics as a whole? What types of private-sector act ivities will lead business-sector involvement in the coalitions? How can the activity balance between public and private sector be achieved? (Harding, 1997). Furthermore, some urban scholars attempted to exploit the regime concept in the European contexts (Vicari and Molotch, 1990; Harding, 1994; Kantor et al., 1997; Di Gaetano and Klemanski, 1999; Mossberger and Stoker, 2000; Zhang, 2002). The US policy was not possible to adopt in the UK context because of the powerful role of central government in the urban politics (Thornley, 1998), lack of bargaining power of urban government, reluctance of local business actors in coalitions (Peck and Tickell, 1995; Davis, 2003). This is why; the attempt has been resulted in different collaborative mechanisms, which were explained by different theories such as Rhodes and Marsh (1992) model of policy network analysis by Stoker and Mossberger (1994), integration of regulation and regime theory by Harding (1994) and Lauria (1997). Urban politics in the context of developing countries (e.g. Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan) are almost similar to the politics of UK rather stronger role of national government and local government. Either military government or monarch or autocrats reined most of these countries throughout the major portion of their history after independence and they have a close tie with the business elites and bureaucrats. Eventually, the business elites and bureaucrats are influencing the urban policy agendas behind the scene. Nevertheless, the context of socialist China is quite complicated, which can be categorized within pre-reform era (before 1978) and post-reform era (from 1978 till today). Urban politics during the pre-reform period was solely contracted by the national government. After the reform policy, the national government had decentralize their economic and political powers among the local government and influential actors. H owever, the interesting thing is that ‘a clever fox is hiding inside the reform policy by controlling the property ownership, leaving the economic burden to the local government, strongly linking the vertical tie at the government level. Locational economies of production and class segregation The urbanisation of a city can be a consequence of social division of labour and industrial diversification (Harvey, 1973; Henderson, 2002; Scott, 1986; Weber, 1899; Haig, 1927; Allen, 1929; Perrin, 1937; Florence, 1948; Wise, 1949; Lampard, 1955; Hoover and Vernon, 1959; Hall, 1962; Tsuru, 1963; Sjoberg, 1965; Thiry, 1973; Webber, 1984). This can better be conceptualized by considering vertical and horizontal integration and disintegration of production and labor forces. In case of vertical and horizontal disintegration, the industries or firms try to be concentrated within the core region of a city because various economies of scales (Coase, 1937; Holmes, 1986; Richardson, 1972; Scott, 1983; Pye, 1977) and this was obvious at the earier stage of megacities of developed countries such as New York, London and Paris. On the contrary, when the vertical and horizontal integration of firms or products is strong both in spatial and temporal aspects, geographical expansion of city are more likely to be happened because of internal and external economies of scale (Scott, 1980; Brook et al., 1973; Gilmour, 1971; Abernathy et al., 1983; Piore and Sabel, 1984). Moreover, urbanisation in megacities is dependent on the type of products such as gold and diamond in Rio de Janeiro, coffee in Sà £o Paulo, manufacturing industries in Seoul, tertiary activities in London, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo (Duranton and Puga, 2001; Waley, 2009; Mukherjee, 1990; Banerjee, 1985; Glaeser et al., 1995; Lee and Kang, 1989; Lee et al., 2007; Godfrey, 1999). Locational preference Most of the megacities are located at the coastal areas[1] because of their strategic geographical location which offer the advantages of trade, communication, and living environment (Godfrey, 1995; Vance 1990). Presently, 60 percent (nearly 3 billion people) or half of the worlds population lives within 100 km or 60km of the shoreline respectively (Yeung, 2001; Hinrichsen, 1990) and it is estimated that this population will be doubled within the upcoming 30 years among which coastal megacities will contribute the lion share of population (Li, 2003). Furthermore, the number of coastal megacities will be increased to 36 from the existing 16 at the year of 2015 of them 30 will be in developing countries and 22 will be in Asia (Kullenberg, 1999). Sometimes policy makers prepare the economic development plans giving prime focus on the coastal cities (Yeung and Hu, 1992) because it is comparatively less perilous to promote economic development plans in coastal cities because of its good a nd cheap communication and already established structures and physical infrastructures. On the other hand, capital cities get also locational advantages because of the center of institutions, organizations, information and culture such as Beijing (Yulong and Hamnett, 2002), Metro Manila (Cuervo and Hin, 1998), Delhi, Dhaka, and Jakarta. Colonial influence Most of the megacities were under the different European colonies such as British, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Historically, European colonials developed these megacities for their defensive and trade functions. For example, apprehension about French incursions, the Portuguese founded Rio de Janeiro in 1565 (Godfrey, 1999); before Spanish era (1521-1898), Manila was the entry-port of Chinese, Indians and Arabian merchants (Cuervo and Hin, 1998); Bombay, Calcutta and Madras are trade oriented port cities due to British colonial legacy; New York was used as commercial center by the Portuguese colonial. Land speculation and real estate development Land conversion is a normal part of urban development in both developed and developing world (Pierce, 1981; Lockeretz, 1989; Tsai, 1993; Winoto, 1996; Kustiwan, 1997; Yeh and Li, 1999; Grigg, 1995). Nevertheless, land speculation by real estate developers has been observed at an alarming rate in Mexico City, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Jakarta, Metro Manila and megacities of developing countries (Deng, et al., 2008; Arcadis Euroconsult, 1999; Leaf, 1991, 1993; Akbar and Subroto, 1999; Firman, 2000; Bouteiller and Fouquier, 1995; Goldblum and Wong, 2000). Spatial pattern of urbanisation in megacities Megacities had grown to become primate cities at the earlier stage of urbanisation (Parai and Dutt, 1994; McGee and Greenberg, 1992). Megacities now present more polycentric spatial expansion of urban centers and sub-centers following a network pattern that tends to sprawl along major highways and/or railroad lines radiating out from the urban core (Aguilar and Ward, 2003). However, megacities have passed over four stages of urbanisation urbanisation, suburbanisation, counterurbanisation and reurbanisation (Champion, 2001; Van der Berg et al., 1982; Klaassen et al., 1981; Schweitzer and Steinbrink, 1998) ‘cyclic model. In case of ‘urban centre hierarchy, the consecutive phases of urbanisation can be illustrated as a diffusive wave of differential urbanisation (Pacione, 2001; Geyer and Kontuly, 1993) ( 5). The first phase (U) explains the concentration of population in the central city due to rapid rural-urban migration, while the second phase (S) shows an increasing population at its urban periphery and decreasing population at the central city. Third phase (D) shows decreasing of population both in central city and urban periphery and the final stage shows increasing of population at both locations. The first phase (U) explains increasing population in Primary city and intermediate city but decreasing population in the small cities. In the second phase of counterurbanisation (C), reversal situation of first phase is happening after a certain time. In the final, changing rate of net migration is falling down in case of all size of cities. However, the population of primary city will continue to growth for a certain time thereafter it will fall. On the other hand, the population of intermediate city will reach to the optimum level while population of small cities are still growing. Megacities in Latin America Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Santiago, and Sà £o Paulo are in suburbanisation stage because of the continuation of heavy concentration of production activities and population in the urban core and expanding towards sub-urban areas or fringe areas (Farà ­a 1989; Sassen 1994; Pereira 1967; Caldeira 1996; Aguilar and Ward, 2003; Gwynne, 1985; UNCHS, 1996; Aguilar, 1999a and 1999b; Campolina 1994; Parnreiter, 2002; Ward, 1998; Vance, 1990). There is different argument about the urbanisation stage of Latin American megacities such as Townroe and Keene (1984) and Gilbert (1993) claim that megacities of Latin America are in counterurbanisation stage as the secondary city growth is underway with a polycentric urban form suggestive of polarization reversal with the growth of intermediate sized cities leading to a more balanced national urban structure. Megacities of Southeast Asian are also in suburbanisation stage because of the fusion of urban and rural functions that is a mix of rural and urban activities in peri-urban areas and known as extended metropolitan region (desakota) (Gingsburg et al., 1991; McGee and Robinson, 1995; Firman, 1996; Forbes, 1997; Murakami et al., 2005). However, Beijing is still quite monocentric, and its CBD continues to contain a large share of the metropolitan areas total employment, largely because of the centrality of various urban amenities, and because of the concentration of government activities in Beijing (Zheng and Kahn, 2008). On the other hand, other megacities of China Shanghai and Guangzhou are shifting their urban spatial pattern from monocentric form to polycentric form. Lagos of Nigeria is still in urbanisation stage and there are no evidence of meta-urban or peri-urban development (Briggs and Mwamfupe, 2000; Yeboah, 2000) rather city growth is contained within clearly defined boundaries. Megacities in Western Europe and United States are the stage of reurbanisation (Antrop, 2000, 2004) such as Paris (Sallez and Burgi, 2004; Cavailhes et al., 2004), New York (Godfrey, 1995; Preston and McLafferty, 1993), and London (Bendixson, 2004). 5. Research Timeframe for initial 9 months Activity schedule Time Frame Oct- 09 Nov- 09 Dec- 09 Jan- 10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 June-10 Conceptualization Discussion on the context, key features and material sources of the research Chapter 1: Theoretical framework on the contextual terminologies on urbanisation and agglomeration Chapter 1: Fixation of aims and objectives, and development of methodology and research structure Preparation and presentation of 100-days viva Chapter 2: (objective 1) Literature review Chapter 3: (objective 2) Literature review 6. Research Timeframe for 3 years Activity schedule Time Frame 2009 2010 2011 2012 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Conceptualization Discussion on the context, key features and material sources of the research Literature Review stage Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Empirical stage Sample size formulation Primary data collection Secondary data collection Data verification, editing and input Chapter 6: Methodology Chapter 7: Data analysis Chapter 8: Objective 5 and 6 Evaluation and conclusion Chapter 9: Findings Chapter 10: Recommendations and Implementation guidelines Chapter 11: Conclusion Final presentation and submission 7. References Abernathy, W. J., Clark, K. B., and Kantrow, A. M. (1983). Industrial renaissance: Producing a competitive future for America. New York: Basic Books. Abramovitz, M. (1989). Thinking about Growth: And Other Essays on Economic Growth and Welfare. New York: Cambridge University Press. Ades, A. F., and E. L. Glaeser. (1995). â€Å"Trade and Circuses: Explaining Urban Giants,† Quarterly Journal of Economics 110, 195-227. Aguilar, A G (1999a). â€Å"Mexico City growth and regional dispersal: the expansion of largest cities and new spatial forms,† Habitat International 23(3), 391-412. Aguilar, A G (1999b). â€Å"La Ciudad de Me ´xico en la Region Centro. Nuevas Formas de la Expansio ´n Metropolitana†. In: Transiciones. La Nueva Formacio ´n Territorial de la Ciudad de Mà ©xico, (eds.) J. Delgado and B. RamÄ ±Ã‚ ´rez, pp. 147-169. Programa de Investigacion Metropolitana-UAM, Plaza y Valdez, Mexico. Aguilar, A. G., and Ward, P. M. (2003). â€Å"Globalization, regional development, and mega-city expansion in Latin America: analyzing Mexico citys peri-urban hinterland,† Cities 20 (1), 3-21. Akbar, D. B., and Subroto B., 1999. â€Å"Northern bandung area development† Unpublished Paper, Department of Regional and City Planning, Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesian. Alonso, W. (1980). â€Å"Five Bell Shapes in Development,† Papers of the Regional Science Associations, 45, 5-16. Antrop, M., (2000). â€Å"Changing patterns in the urbanized countryside of Western Europe,† Landsc. Ecol. 15, 257-270. Antrop, M. (2004). â€Å"Landscape change and the urbanisation process in Europe†. Landscape and Urban Planning, 67, 9-26. Arcadis Euroconsult, 1999. â€Å"Land aquisition and development control† Final Report, National Planning Agency and Land Development Agency, Jakarta. Banerjee, N. (1985). Women Workers in the Unorganized Sector: The Calcutta Experience. Hyderabad: Sangain Books. Banister, J., and Taylor, J. R. (1989). â€Å"China: surplus rural labour and migration,† Asia-Pacific Population Journal, 4(4), 3-20. Bankoff, G. (1996). â€Å"Legacy of the past, promise of

Racism In America :: essays research papers

There is surely no nation in the world that holds "racism" in greater horror than does the United States. Compared to other kinds of offenses, it is thought to be somehow more reprehensible. The press and public have become so used to tales of murder, rape, robbery, and arson, that any but the most spectacular crimes are shrugged off as part of the inevitable texture of American life. "Racism" is never shrugged off. For example, when a White Georgetown Law School student reported earlier this year that black students are not as qualified as White students, it set off a booming, national controversy about "racism." If the student had merely murdered someone he would have attracted far less attention and criticism. Racism is, indeed, the national obsession. Universities are on full alert for it, newspapers and politicians denounce it, churches preach against it, America is said to be racked with it, but just what is racism? Dictionaries are not much help in understanding what is meant by the word. They usually define it as the belief that one's own ethnic stock is superior to others, or as the belief that culture and behavior are rooted in race. When Americans speak of racism they mean a great deal more than this. Nevertheless, the dictionary definition of racism is a clue to understanding what Americans do mean. A peculiarly American meaning derives from the current dogma that all ethnic stocks are equal. Despite clear evidence to the contrary, all races have been declared to be equally talented and hard- working, and anyone who questions the dogma is thought to be not merely wrong but evil. The dogma has logical consequences that are profoundly important. If blacks, for example, are equal to Whites in every way, what accounts for their poverty, criminality, and dissipation? Since any theory of racial differences has been outlawed, the only possible explanation for black failure is White racism. And since blacks are markedly poor, crime-prone, and dissipated, America must be racked with pervasive racism. Nothing else could be keeping them in such an abject state. All public discourse on race today is locked into this rigid logic. Any explanation for black failure that does not depend on White wickedness threatens to veer off into the forbidden territory of racial differences. Thus, even if today's Whites can find in their hearts no desire to oppress blacks, yesterday's Whites must have oppressed them.

The Guidance Counselor Essay -- essays papers

The Guidance Counselor INTRODUCTION According to the U. S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook, Counselors are defined as persons who â€Å"assist people with personal, family, educational, mental health and career decisions and problems. Their duties depend on the individuals they serve and the settings in which they work† (169). Examples include Mental health counselors who help people cope with daily life issues such as marital, family, stress management, or addiction problems. These counselors primarily work in private office settings. Rehabilitation counselors help people deal with different aspects of their physical disabilities, these counselors generally work in medical facilities. Employment counselors assist individuals in making wise career choices and most of these counselors work in community agencies. Thus counseling is a diverse field that encompasses an array of situations and settings. This report will center on High School Guidance Counselors. The primary focus will be to discuss the educational requirements necessary to apply for jobs in the field, the needed skills and abilities desired from employers, and the main duties of the job. EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS Requirements vary by state for specific types of degrees and or licenses and certifications that must be held by guidance counselors. Missouri Law requires that all High School Guidance Counselors have secondary counselor certification. Criteria for certification is listed below and was obtained from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Individuals desiring to become guidance counselors must understand that acquiring certification requires an enormous amount of time, dedication, and education. Initial Certification The professional certificate is valid for five years from the effective date on the certificate and is issued to persons meeting the following criteria:  · A valid Missouri teaching certificate  · A minimum of two years classroom teaching experience  · A minimum of one year experience working in a field other than teaching or counseling  · Completion of a course in Education and/or Psychology of the exceptional child worth two or more semester hours  · Completion of a master’s degree with a major in guidance and counseling from a college or university meeting approval of the Missouri Department of Elementa... ...ctices. Bibliography: Works Cited â€Å"Certification Requirements for Secondary Counselor (Grades 9-12)†. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. March 06, 1998 . (November 02, 1998). Chiles, Donna. School Guidance and Counseling. Pupil Personnel Services Recommended Practices and Procedures Manual. Springfield: Illinois State Board of Education, 1983. Ellis, Thomas I. The Missouri Comprehensive Guidance Model. Ann Arbor: ERIC Clearinghouse, 1990. Feller, Richard, & Daly, J. Counselor Role and Educational Change: Planning, Integration, and Basic Skills: Book 5 - Comprehensive School Counseling and Guidance Programs. Fort Collins: Colorado State University, 1992. King, Gloria. Personnel Director, St. Louis Public Schools. Telephone Interview. 27 October 1998. Thomas, Preston. Director of Student Services, Cardinal Ritter College Prepatory High School. Personal Interview. 4 November 1998. Thompson, Rosemary. School Counseling Renewal: Strategies for the Twenty-first Century. Muncie: Accelerated Development Inc., 1992. U. S. Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1998-99 Edition. Indianapolis: JIST Works, Inc., 1998.

Canadian Trade Balance Analysis :: essays research papers

Canada   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Canadian economy and the United States economy tend to move together because of the amount of transactions that take place within the two nations due to their geographical proximity. With the United States recently experiencing a downturn in the economy, analysts estimate that the Canadian economy will not be far behind. However, in the past 10 years the Canadian economy and especially the trade balance have been very healthy. Current Account   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since 1992, Canada has increased their amount of exports of goods year-in and year-out until slight downfalls in 2001 and 2002. However, between 1992 and 2000 they raised exports from $135 billion to $289 billion, an increase of 114%. Imports of goods also rose consistently over that nine year period from $128 billion to $244 billion. The key fact there though is that imports rose only 90% compared to a rise in exports of 114%. This has allowed Canada to maintain a very healthy trade balance, which has also risen consistently except for a few decreases in 1997, 1998, and 2002. They have not run a trade balance deficit on goods once since 1992.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Canada’s trade balance for services is similar to their trade balance for goods from a growth perspective, but with fewer breakdowns. Both exports and imports of services took very small hits in 2001. Overall, between 1992 and 2003 exports and imports of services rose 105% and 65% respectively. However with services the Canadian economy continually ran a deficit over this 12 year period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Canada’s overall balance of goods and services also rose every year except for 1997, 1998, and 2002. They initially were running an overall deficit in 1992 and 1993 from a larger deficit in services than surplus in goods. The most common trend that is evident is that every trade category dropped in 2001 and/or 2002. There were no real substantial drops and the declines were quickly met with increases in the following years. It is likely that Canada’s economy felt at least some of the effects of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 because they are such a large trading partner of the United States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The statistics indicate that Canada has primarily been an investor abroad, with substantial amounts of cash flows leaving the country. Again, both of these accounts grew almost every year. Between 1992 and 1997, funds received dropped only once in 1993. Likewise, funds invested abroad dropped only once within this time interval in 1996.

A well run business Essay

J. B. Priestley ‘An Inspector Calls’ is a play set in 1912 in the Birling’s family dining room. It was written in 1945 and set in Brumley. It features a typical affluent upper class family who own a well run business. The play starts with a small family celebration in which the daughter, Sheila Birling, is getting engaged to Gerald (a business man of the same class). The head of the family, a very prominent opinionated man, makes several toasts to the couple and lectures them about his knowledge of the world. Everything is going cosily until an unexpected visitor turns up on the Birling family’s doorstep. It’s a very sleek, mysterious inspector. The Inspector brings news of a young girl’s suicide. The Birling Family and Gerald first deny all connections with the suicide until the inspector rigorously questions each one of them and their shameful secrets are revealed. One of the reasons why J. B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ has remained popular is because there is some hope for the younger generation. During most of the play the atmosphere is depressing, drab and sad. The play is based on the inspector accusing each member of helping with the suicide of the young girl. The family all concentrate on how it’s not their fault. They try to blame it on each other and remain in a haze of selfishness. Towards the end of the play the younger generation, mostly Sheila, rise above this haze and look at the consequences. Sheila says ‘But you’re forgetting one thing; everything we said had really happened and if it didn’t end with the girl’s suicide, then lucky for us. But it might have done. ‘ Sheila rises above the dilemma and tries to turn the investigation of the inspector from a depressing and pointless conversation to a well learned lesson. During this Mr and Mrs Birling seem not to care about their harsh involvement with the girl. The younger generation care more and are deeply affected with their participation of the suicide. During ‘An Inspector Calls’ both the children argue with their parents. Eric accuses Mr Birling as ‘Not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble. ‘ Mr Birling disagrees sternly with Eric and makes a point that he has treated him more than fairly. Mr Birling argues back with ‘Your trouble is that you have been spoilt. ‘

Chapter 6 – Planning Capacity

chapter 6: Planning capacity Capacity the maximum rate of output of a process or a system. Acquisition of new capacity requires extensive planning, and often involves significant expenditure of resources and time. Capacity decisions must be made in light of several long-term issues such as the firm’s economies and diseconomies of scale, capacity cushions, timing and sizing strategies, and trade-offs between customer service and capacity utilization. Planning capacity across the organizationAccounting provide cost information needed to evaluate capacity expansion Finance financial analysis of proposed capacity expansion investments and raises funds Marketing demand forecasts needed to identify capacity gaps. Operations selection of capacity strategies that can be implemented to effectively meet future demand. Human Resources hiring and training employees needed to support internal capacity plans. planning long-term capacity When choosing a capacity strategy: How much of a cushi on is needed to handle variable or uncertain demand? Should we expand capacity ahead of demand, or wait until demand is more certain? easures of capacity and utilization Output Measures Are best utilized when applied to individual processes within the firm, or when the firm provides a relatively small number of standardized services and products. For example, a car manufacturing plant may measure capacity in terms of the number of cars produced per day. Inputs Measures Are used for low-volume, flexible processes (custom products). For example a custom furniture maker might measure capacity in terms of inputs such as number of workstations or number of workers. The problem of input measures is that demand is expressed as an output rate.If the furniture maker wants to keep up with demand, he must convert the business’s annual demand for furniture into labor hours and number of employees required to fulfill those hours. Utilization Degree to which a resource (equipment, space, w orker) is currently being used. Utilization= Average Output RateMaximum Capacityx 100% The numerator and the denominator should be measured in the same units. A process can be operated above the 100%, with overtime, extra shifts, overstaffing, subcontracting, etc, but this is not sustainable for long. Economies of scaleEconomies of scale The average unit cost of a service or good can be reduced by increasing its output rate. Why? * Spreading fixed costs same fixed costs divided by more units * Reducing construction costs doubling the size of the facility usually doesn’t double construction costs (building permits, architect’s fees, rental) * Cutting costs of purchased materials better bargaining position and quantity discounts * Finding process advantages speed up the learning effect, lowering inventory, improving process and job designs, and reducing the number of changeovers. diseconomies of scaleDiseconomies of scale The average cost per unit increases as the facili ty’s size increases. The reason is that excessive size can bring complexity, loss of focus, and inefficiencies. capacity timing and sizing strategies sizing capacity cushions Capacity cushion=100%-Average Utilization rate (%) When the average utilization rate approaches 100% for long periods, it’s a signal to increase capacity or decrease order acceptance to avoid declining productivity. The optimal capacity cushion depends on the industry. Particularly, in front-office processes where customers expect fast service times, large cushions are vital (more variable demand).For capital-intensive firms, minimizing the capacity cushion is vital (unused capacity costs money). timing and sizing expansion Two strategies: * Expansionist strategy large, infrequent jumps in capacity. Is ahead of demand, and minimizes the chance of sales lost to insufficient capacity * Wait-and-see strategy smaller, more frequent jumps. It lags behind demand. To meet any shortfalls, it relies on sho rt-term operations (overtime, temporary workers, subcontractors, postponement of preventive maintenance on equipment).It reduces the risk of overexpansion based on overly optimistic demand forecasts, obsolete technology, or inaccurate assumptions regarding the competition. This strategy fits the short-term outlook but can erode market share over the long run. Timing and sizing of expansion are related: if demand is increasing and the time between increments increases, the size of the increments must also increase. An intermediate strategy can be â€Å"follow the leader†, so nobody gains a competitive advantage for being ahead of demand, and everyone shares the agony of overcapacity in the other case. inking capacity and other decisions Capacity cushions in the long run buffer the organization against uncertainty, as do resource flexibility, inventory, and longer customer lead times. If a change is made in any one decision area, the capacity cushion may also need to be changed to compensate. For example: Lower volume of production (more capacity cushion) to raise prices or vice versa. a systematic approach to long-term capacity decisions 4 steps: 1. Estimate future capacity requirements 2. Identify gaps by comparing requirements with available capacity 3. Develop alternative plans for reducing the gaps . Evaluate each alternative, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and make a final choice step 1: estimate capacity requirements A process’s capacity requirement is what its capacity should be for some future time period to meet the demand of the firm’s customers (external or internal), given the firm’s desired capacity cushion. Larger requirements are practical for processes or workstations that could potentially be bottlenecks in the future, and management may even plan for longer cushions than normal. Capacity requirements can be expressed in: * Output measure * Input measureEither way, the foundation for the estimate is forecasts of demand, productivity, competition, and technological change. The further ahead you look, the more chance you have of making an inaccurate forecast. Using output measures Demand forecasts for future years are used as a basis for extrapolating capacity requirements into the future. If demand is expected to double in the next 5 years, then the capacity requirements also double. For example: Actual demand 50 customers per day; expected demand = 100 customers per day; desirable cushion = 20%. So capacity should be (100)/(1-0. )=125 customers per day. Using input measures Output measures may be insufficient in these situations: * Product variety and process divergence is high (customized products) * The product or service mix is changing * Productivity rates are expected to change * Significant learning effects are expected In these cases, an input measure should be used (number of employees, machines, trucks, etc) One product processed When just one service or product is processed at an operation and the time period is a particular year, the capacity requirement (M) is: M=DpN[1-C100]D=demand forecast for the year (number of customers served or units produced) p=processing time (in hours per costumer served or unit produced) N=Total number of hours per year during which the process operates C=desired capacity cushion (expressed as a percent) M=number of input units required and should be calculated for each year in the time horizon Many products processed Setup time time required to change a process or an operation from making one service or product to making another. To calculate the total setup time D/Q*s Where D=demand forecast for the yearQ= number of units processed between setups s= time per setup For example, if the demand is 1200 units, and the average lot size is 100, there are 1200/100=12 setups per year. Accounting for both processing and setup times for multiple products, we get: M=[Dp+DQs]product 1+[Dp+DQs]product 2+†¦+[Dp+DQs]product nN[1-C100 ] When â€Å"M† is not an integer and we are talking about number of machines, you can round up the fractional part, unless it is cost efficient to use short-term options, such as overtime or stockouts.But if we are talking about number of employees and we get 23. 6, we can use 23 employees and use a little overtime (in this case, 60% of a full-time person). step 2: identify gaps A capacity gap is any difference (positive or negative) between projected capacity requirements (M) and current capacity. step 3: develop alternatives Develop alternative plans to cope with projected gaps. One alternative is the base case do nothing and simply lose orders from any demand that exceeds current capacity or incur costs because capacity is too large.Other alternatives: various timing and sizing options (expansionist or wait-and-see strategies); expanding at a different location; and using short term options. For reducing capacity, the alternatives include closing plants, laying off employ ees, reducing days or hours of operations. step 4: evaluate the alternatives Evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively. Qualitative concerns The manager looks at how each alternative fits the overall capacity strategy and other aspects of the business not covered by the financial analysis (uncertainties about demand, competitive reaction, technological change, and cost estimates).Some of these factors can’t be quantified and must be assessed on the basis of judgment and experience. Quantitative concerns The manager estimates the change in cash flows for each alternative over the forecast time horizon compared to the base case. tools for capacity planning waiting-line models Are useful in high customer-contact processes. Waiting-line models use probability distributions to provide estimates of average customer wait time, average length of waiting lines, and utilization of the work center.Managers can use this information to choose the most cost-effective capacity, balancing cu stomer service and the cost of adding capacity. This topic will be treated more deeply in the appendix (siguiente resumen) simulation Simulations can identify the process’s bottlenecks and appropriate capacity cushions, even for complex processes with random demand patterns and predictable flows in demand during a typical day. decision trees A decision tree can be particularly valuable for evaluating different capacity extension alternatives when demand is uncertain and sequential decisions are involved.