Does money buy votes in congress outline the relationship between Research Paper

Does money buy votes in congress outline the relationship between campaign contributions and voting in congress - Research Paper Example Special interest contributions can flow to politicians who intrinsically value the same policy outcomes, but the contributions may have insignificant political behaviour once a politician is elected in office. One cornerstone of the argument presented in the various studies is the notion that campaign contributions are essentially concerned with affecting election outcomes and that donations are for the most part not meant to buy votes. However, donations are used by various groups in trying to influence ideological positions closer to congress regarding the ideal perception for the interest group (Bronars & Lott, 1995). According to Wawro (2001), efforts to reform campaign finance laws result from the belief that campaign contributions have pernicious effect on politician behaviour with a recent survey showing that 53% of individual believed campaign contributions influence policies of elected officials. ... Therefore, PAC (Political Action Committees) contribute to members of the congress in a way likely for the politicians to vote the way PACs favour even without contributions. PAC donation to friendly members may be construed as cause for the members to vote in a certain way when in fact the member would have voted the same way without the donation. The extensive research on the issues has not produced consistent results that indicate that campaign contributions influence congress members’ voting behaviour (Wawro, 2001). Despite the common knowledge that campaign contributions of interest groups have far less influence that commonly thought; systematic examination of literature reveals various studies that establish connection between monetary donations and votes. Findings from various studies indicate several significant qualifications to the common knowledge that monetary donations do in fact sway how elected representatives vote. The findings are however subject to variation s in model specification because there is less significant link in certain research model specifications such results are nevertheless common in better models. Clearly, monetary donations are linked with voting that favour the donor’s interests; nevertheless, any attempt to conclude autonomous sway on legislators has to fully account for the complexities of the relationships involved. That of great importance is the propensity for PACs to give money to affiliates who are disposed to favour their position; for instance, liberal groups back their own associates who come from liberal constituencies resulting in them voting generously while the opposite applies to conservatives (Roscoe & Jenkins, 2005; US Congress votes on trade, 2011). The pattern suggest that it is the

Problem Formulation and Identification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Problem Formulation and Identification - Essay Example This reduces the cognitive demands involved in making decisions by restricting the range of issues that must be considered. Typically, past experience in similar situations provides guidance in framing situations. Without prior experiences, decision makers must consider a large array of issues to evaluative standards and derive an appropriate interpretation. Computer supported decision making allows to identity the process of determining what knowledge is relevant. It is made in order to act upon the world, to make sure that the future does not look like the past. This process helps to save time and avoid anxiety, delays in decisions and action. Also, computer supported decision making is about making the best decision at given conditions at the moment; it is specifically about process and only indirectly about outcome. In a computer service support organization, decision makers go to great lengths to insure that they have the ability to control key future events, and controllability is factored into their decisions. The main problem is that observed that corporate decision makers usually rely on their "subjective mode" to make decisions, even when extensive, computerized technology is available. Critics explain that because the databases for deriving probabilities and projecting trends consist of records of past events, the probabilities and trends are "backward looking" and therefore of questionable pertinence to decisions that often concern time frames projecting 20 years or more into the future. A decision making expert system allows managers to solve day-to day problems. By the same token, reliance upon data about the past assumes that the world is static; the data are useful only for predicting what will happen if the future looks a great deal like the past, or if identified trends continue (Decision Making Techniques n.d.). For problem identification and formulation, the organization can use balanced scorecard analysis. One first identifies

Music 100 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Music 100 - Essay Example The instrument used at the performance was violin and each was tasked in producing a specific performance and adding value to the day’s performance. Fusing the orchestra with the Chinese traditional instruments gave it a fusion that uniquely displayed diversity in the music world. The group gave an excellent show as it gave an instrument version of the song. As much as many pieces where displayed at the event, our focus will be on â€Å"Heaven Earth Mankind† by the symphony orchestra lead by Dr. Thomas Cockrell. It represented all genre and represented diversity in the performance an analysis of the performance showed how other pieces represented a single genre. The theme being the moon festival, the piece was ideal as a fusion with the Asian instruments gave it an excellent outcome. Other notable instruments where the Harps which played the harmony and the cellos which where tasked in ensuring the rhythm was as per planned. The Cockrell‘s led group utilized the three instrument in ensuring a success to their performance. The most notable of them all was the violin representing each voice category. An excellent event disserved an excellent performance and that is what the symphony orchestra gave. The instruments took turns in providing a breathtaking moment. Just like a sea wave, the violin variably changed the mood. The beginning was a little bit slower maybe to create attention. As the climax approached, the violin became louder and rapid representing a dancing mood. The bridge of the performance saw only the sopranos play their instruments. As the title of the performance suggests, a heavenly mood was engulfed into the room. Some minutes later, the other instruments joint the wagon. Two minutes later, they stopped and before the audience had applause, they picked again and this time they played them rapidly until the conductor signaled the end of the performance. Other pieces

Economic Data Collection and Analysis Essay Example for Free

Economic Data Collection and Analysis Essay From analysing the Data on the Scatter Plot the relationship between the GDP and the Population of Great Britain from 1999-2009 appears to be a moderate positive correlation relationship. Both variables are increasing at a similar rate and following a similar pattern which would indicate this relationship. This relationship would tend to be a positive one as more people are available to the work. Question 3 The correlation relationship between the GDP and the Population represents a strong positive correlation at 0.897922049. This indicates that the two indicators have a close relationship and any change in either of the indicators will be represented by a similar change in the other. This figure is close to 1 which would indicate a perfectly positive correlation relationship. This would indicate that Population was a perfect indicator for Great Britain’s GDP. Question 4 The correlation of determination indicates a variation of 80.6%. This means that 80.6% of variation in Great Britain’s GDP can be accounted to the nation’s Population variation. This is a large percentage and represents the strong relationship between Great Britain’s population and GDP. This figure indicates a proportion of the total variation in the dependent variable, population that is explained by the variation in the independent variable GDP. This figure is easier interpreted compared to the correlation relationship due to its percentage format. Question 5 The Slope of these two indicators is 77.038. This figure means that for every addition to Great Britain’s population, GDP will increase by  £77.03. This Figure represents further the close relationship between Great Britain’s population and GDP. The intercept coefficient of these indicators is -3375.39. This figure indicates that if Great Britain’s population dropped to zero that the nation’s GDP would also fall to this figure. Question 6 Using the Ordinary Least Squares technique I plotted the regression line for this scatter diagram. Using this method the regression line is best fit to this scatter diagram. This regression is in accordance with the data represented in Question 3 and Question 4 shown above. This regression line expresses the relationship between the two variables and estimates the value of the dependent variable, GDP based on a selected value of the independent variable population. Based on the population of Great Britain the standard error of the GDP in the Nation is 41.55%. This indicates how precise the estimation of GDP is depending on the population of Great Britain. Part 2: Question 2: The Data from the scatter plot would indicate the relationship between the Unemployment and Gross National Saving in the United States from 1999-2009 was a negative correlation relationship. This relationship would be negative due to the loss of income expeirenced as workers become unemployed. Question 4: The correlation coefficient represents a strong relationship between unemployment and GNS in the United States from 1999-2009 at -0.857874442. This correlation indicates that both of these indicators are closely linked and influential towards each other. This relationship is a strong negative correlation as forecasted above. Question 5: The correlation of determination stands at 73.5%. This indicates a close relationship between the unemployment and GNS in the United States from 1999-2009. This figure means that 73.5% of the variation in Gross National Saving can be accounted for by the variation in unemployment in the United States during the same period. The percentage format of this figure makes it easier to comprehend. Question 6: The slope of this correlation stands at -1.32 which would imply that the law of diminishing marginal returns is applying. This means that for every additional person in unemployment the GNS will fall. The intercept coefficient of these indicators is 22.143. This figure indicates that if unemployment were to fall to zero that Gross National Savings would change to this figure.

Hollywood Dominance of the Movie Industry

Hollywood Dominance of the Movie Industry There are many contributing factors to how Hollywood became such a dominant business. Most of these factors rely on the history of Hollywood and how the film companies that founded it adapted. Hollywoods dominance stared to grow in 1915. This was when the foundations were laid for studios such as: Paramount, Fox, Universal, MGM and Warners. These companies would form the core of the Studio System from 1930s onwards. During this time Hollywood promoted itself by promoting the war. January 1916, the Hollywood film community made an alliance with Washington, DC to try and raise awareness of the war through film.  Hollywood was able to get involved in the War effort by making films to educate the community, producing entertainment features with patriotic, morale-boosting themes and messages about the American way of life. After World War 1, Hollywood put a structure in place that would dominate for 40 years and more. Influential producers like Adolph Zukor set up vertically integrated companies. He was part of Paramount Pictures of which he served as president until  1936  when he was made chairman. He revolutionized the film industry by organizing production, distribution, and exhibition within a single company. Zukor was also an accomplished director and producer. He retired from Paramount Pictures in  1959. Also after the war, budgets rose 10 times pre-war levels, so Hollywood then became a national industry. During the so-called  Golden Age of Hollywood, which lasted from the late1920s to the late 1950s, thousands of movies were issued from the Hollywood studios. The start of the Golden Age was arguably when  The Jazz Singer  was released in 1927, ending the silent era and increasing box-office profits for films as sound was introduced to feature films. Most Hollywood films stuck closely to this method -  Western, slapstick comedy,  musical,  animated cartoon and biographical picture. After  The Jazz Singer  was released in 1927,  Warner Bros gained huge success and was able to obtain their own army of movie theatres.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  By the 1930s, most Americas theatres were owned by the Big Five studios -  MGM,  Paramount Pictures,  RKO,  Warner Bros and  20th Century Fox.   These Major studios owned 75% of first-run cinemas. The  studio system  was a means of film production and distribution dominant in  Hollywood  from the early 1920s through the 1950s. Some have compared the Hollywood studio system to a factory. Their product output in 1937 surged to over 500 feature films. By the 1980s, this figure dropped to an average of 100 films per year. During the Golden Age, the studios were remarkably consistent and stable enterprises. The rise of the studio system also relied on the treatment of the stars of Hollywood, who were created and exploited by the studio to reflect their image and agenda. Actors and actresses were bound by contracts to one studio for several years, and the studio usually had all of the power. These stars were loaned out to other studios. Studios also had the power to force actors into bad roles and control their image. [Directors were] to make sure the actors hit their marks while the camera was running (Biskind, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, p.19) However, studio heads realized that they couldnt repeat movie storylines and roles and still make a profit. This resulted in different studio styles as they tried to differentiate themselves from other studios. Falling attendance and the  Paramount  decision broke apart the studio system, depriving the studios of the financial controls that made sure of regular profits, paid the studio overhead, and thereby restructured their factory-based operations. The major studios survived by adapting the system, fundamentally changing the ways they did business and establishing methods (still in use today) that reduced their controls of production. This stopped the system of mass movie production that had occupied Hollywood for decades. Essential to the studios survival was their collective control of distribution, the one aspect of their monopolistic operations not affected by the  Paramount  decision, and their willingness to share control of filmmaking with independent producers, top talent, and talent agencies. Simply stated, the studios became primarily financing-and-distribution entities, reviewing projects that were developed and packaged by the growing ranks of inde pendent producers, then in the event of a green light, leasing their production facilities and providing a portion of the production cost in exchange for the distribution rights-and, frequently, for the eventual ownership of the completed film. The studios themselves began producing fewer, big pictures-biblical epics and big-screen westerns-during the 1950s, precursors of the blockbusters that now rule the industry. The studios shared control of film production not only with independent producers and freelance directors, but also top stars whose marquee value gave them tremendous leverage. And because most filmmaking talent operated freelance by the 1950s, talent agencies like William Morris and MCA (Music Corporation of America) also became a major force in postwar film (and television) production. The major studios initially resisted but soon came to terms with television in the 1950s, selling or leasing their older films to TV syndication companies while revamping their factory-based production operations for telefilm series production. By the 1960s, movies were running nightly on prime time television and the studios were turning out far more hours of telefilm series than feature films. Meanwhile, movie attendance continued to erode, despite rapid population growth, and the studios gambled on high-stakes blockbusters like  Cleopatra  (1963) and  The Sound of Music  (1965) but relied primarily on television to pay the bills. Studio fortunes by the late 1960s were at an all-time low, rendering them prime acquisition targets, and many were swallowed up by large conglomerates like Gulf + Western (Paramount), Transamerica (United Artists), and Kinney Services (Warner Bros.), as well as real estate tycoon Kirk Kerkorian (MGM). The MCA-Universal merger i n 1962 was the first and by far the most successful alliance at the time, due to its savvy integration of film and television operations and its maintenance of at least a semblance of the old studio-based mode of production. After the fall of the studio system and the influence of Television, Hollywood adapted to become New Hollywood, a term used to describe a new generation of directors who had taken inspiration from Europe in the 1960s. These new directors influenced the types of films that were produced, how they were produced and how they were marketed. This impacted the way major studios approached filmmaking. Jaws was devastating to making artistic, smaller films. They forgot how to do it Peter Bogdanovich One of the films that changed Hollywood forever was Jaws. This film raised the bar for New Hollywood. Released in June 1975, at 460 theatres simultaneously, on an unprecedented wave of TV advertising, Jaws was everywhere at once. The film needed only 78 days to surpass The Godfather as the top-grossing movie of all time (at least until 1977, and Star Wars). Jaws  was regarded as the father of the summer  blockbuster film  and one of the first high concept films. Due to the films success in advance screenings, studio executives decided to distribute it in a much wider release than ever before.  The Omen  followed in the summer of 1976 and then  Star Wars  one year later in 1977, cementing the notion for movie studios to distribute their big-release action and adventure pictures (commonly referred to as  tentpole pictures) during the summer.   By making Jaws, Universal spurred the movie industrys recovery with its phenomenal success that spawned a new breed of blockbusters like  Star Wars  (1977),  Grease  (1978), and  Superman  (1978), summer releases launched via nationwide marketing that resulted in record box-office profits and were the dominant, defining products of the New Hollywood. The success of these blockbusters reinforced an economic recovery in the industry that continues today, and it enabled the studios to regain some of their lost authority as well, as they became increasingly adept at transforming blockbuster hits into entertainment franchises-multimedia product lines comprised of movie sequels, TV spinoffs, video games, theme-park rides, soundtrack albums, music videos, and an endless array of licensed merchandise. Hollywoods recovery accelerated during the 1980s, fueled by a range of factors that complemented the studios burgeoning blockbuster mentality. One fact or was the rapid growth of new media technologies and new delivery systems, most notably home video and pay-cable television (i.e., subscription movie channels like HBO), which proved to be as hit driven as the box office. Foreign markets were equally receptive to Hollywood blockbusters, and thus the studios international distribution operations grew steadily during the 1980s, going into high gear in the 1990s, when the fall of the Soviet Union and the concurrent economic reforms in China created a truly global market for Hollywood films. The Hollywood that we know today has been shaped by its history, the drive to produce movies that make a profit. Studios now focus on relying on very expensive blockbusters to remain profitable. Studios now also rely on star power and large advertising campaigns to market every new up-coming movie and attract a huge audience. In conclusion, Hollywood has become the dominant cinema producer in the world and has retained its pre-eminence by changing and adapting to its audiences. It must also be remembered that Hollywood is a business, therefore to survive it has had to make good business decisions to continue making a profit.

Avoidant Personality Disorder :: essays research papers

Avoidant Personality Disorder From the moment a person is born, his or her personality begins to take shape. In infancy, childhood, and later adolescence, the individual explores a multitude of behaviors. Of all the behaviors, or personalities, the person experiences, one of them will stick with them until the day they die. Unfortunately, each specific personality also contain a personality disorder. Personality disorders can result in anxiety attacks, depression, and to a certain level, suicide. One of the most unique personality disorders is the Avoidant Personality Disorder. The DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) describes Avoidant Personality Disorder as: a persuasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation, beginning by early childhood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following traits: 1.) avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact because of fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection 2.) is unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked 3.) shows restraint within intimate relationships because of the fear of being shamed or ridiculed 4.) is preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations 5.) is inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy 6.) views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others 7.) is usually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in nay new activities because they may prove embarrassing Avoidant Personality Disorder usually starts at early adulthood. The American Psychiatric Association is convinced that an equal amount of men and women experience this personality disorder. According to one other study by Greenberg & Stravynski, more men are being referred for professional help than women (Long). The reason for this is because society usually expects men to be the initiators in relationships with women. People that suffer from Avoidant Personality Disorder display traits such as timidity, shyness, and a withdrawing behavior. Avoidants, people that suffer from Avoidant Personality Disorder, use these traits to hurt others so that they can avoid a close relationship with them. They like to display their hostility in an â€Å"open† manner by insulting people who try to be friendly. The reason for this is so that they can handle feared rejection by becoming rejecting themselves. Avoidants reject other people first so that they are not the first to be rejected. Most of the time avoidants reject people who would have never rejected them in the first place. A victim of this personality disorder is usually affected in one of three ways. First, some avoidants put in considerable time and effort into making themselves attractive to others. They do this so they will at least be liked for their looks, if not for

My First Day at Work

Will Fu Interactive: Core Lab 1 February 2010 Interface, defined by the dictionary as a common boundary or interconnection between systems, equipment, concepts, or human beings. It is what allows two very different objects to share a connection. How can the word interface be applied to exhibits at museums? I quickly realized that answer after paying a visit to the American Museum of Natural History. At the museum, there are these galleries consisting of various taxidermies of animals. Each animal had its own display case and the case was decorated and painted to look as close to its natural habitat as possible. As I stop to look at these animals in their display cases and appreciate the work that the artists put in to emulate its surroundings, I began to feel as if I am in the plains of Africa, standing next to a zebra, or in the deep woods of the Rocky Mountains in front of a Grizzly Bear. I began to imagine what it would be like if I were actually at these places that these animals lived. Then as I walk into the oceanic section, they had the same setup for the marine life. There was this particular showcase that for some reason was so powerful to me that it sent chills down my spine. It was of a whale and a giant squid tangled in a deep-sea battle. The longer I stared at it the more I felt this battle was actually happening in front of me as if any moment, these two animals going to come to life. The reason I chose to talk about these animal showcases is because the way that it made me feel. The animals posed so naturally and the realistic installations served as an interface between me and the deep-sea animals and the wildlife of the jungle. I think these showcases are good examples of interface in museums because it helped me visualize what these places are like in real life.