Outline for Dissociation and the Drama of Nothing Essay

This part can be used to introduce the whole concept of the paper. This can be the part where trauma and can be defined, as well as descriptions about dissociation. Facts such as statistics, diagnosis, and treatment can be mentioned here. The Drama of Nothing This section explains the concept involved in the treatment process of the dissociated person. This is a good place to put related literature and studies of how effective using scripts and enactments can bring out the trauma that is dissociated by the client. The Conversational Model This includes the description of the conversational model and how this model can be effective in the dissociation case of the client. Nothing to Be Done The script can be written and described here. Trauma Theory This section can be used as the theoretical framework of the paper, where the theory on trauma can be discussed and how it applies to the paper and to dissociation. The Unnamable This will involve the process of the treatment of the client, as well as the step by step procedure of the treatment. It may also discuss how the theory and the model are incorporated in the play. Conclusion This will consists of the conclusions and the generalizations regarding the topic discussed.

Drug Test Benefits

Recent increases in the use of illegal drugs and problems related to that use have raised a variety of public health and safety concerns. These concerns have led many to propose drug testing as one of the best ways to combat the proliferation of drug use. Although the focus is testing for drugs, it is worth noting that similar calls for increased testing has risen due to the spread of HIV and the threat it poses to those exposed to it. Clearly, these public health and safety concerns conflict with privacy claims of those being targeted for testing. Nevertheless, many view the public safety threat as serious enough to override completely any individual privacy interests. Indeed, public opinion polls indicate that there is widespread support for a variety of testing programs, even those that are random and mandatory. Although drug abuse should not be tolerated in the workplace, care must be taken to limit the extent to which drug testing intrudes on people=s privacy. The idea is to use the technology carefully, with adequate justification, and with enough safeguards and precautions to ensure that testing is done thoughtfully and responsibly. Both the government and private business argue that they have a significant interest in testing citizens and employees for a variety of reasons. First, they can fight the Adrug [email  protected] by weeding out users and stopping drug use. Second, they can ensure safety by revealing conditions that pose a serious threat to co-workers or the public. Third, they test employees so they can maintain a fully responsive and effective workforce. Fourth, they can identify those who will be unable to work in the future. Fifth, it will help reduce the cost of employee health care plans. Finally, drug testing will help maintain public confidence in the integrity and trustworthiness of their operations. Many insurance agencies argue that testing is necessary because it fundamentally causes the healthier employees to pay higher premiums to cover the costs of the coverage for those who are at greater risk levels. All of these arguments provide strong reasons to consider drug testing. In some industries, such as health care and transportation, even casual drug or alcohol use can result in not only increased costs, but also in lawsuits and loss of life. Even if the employee is not chemically dependent, a spouse or family member using drugs or alcohol can mean missed work, extensive personal phone calls and increased dependent medical benefits. Supreme court justice Antonin Scalia found drug testing to be an invasion of privacy and a practice of A needless indignity. @ He states that if a blood test is used, it involves puncturing the skin. If a urinalysis is utilized, the sample must sometimes be gained under direct observation to guard against drug-free substitutions and falsification of results. He feels that there are more effective methods of identifying drug users. For example, a daily observation of moods, behavior, and productivity, can detect drug use and be dealt with immediately. Many employees feel that implementing a drug testing program will prove to the lack of trust between the employer and employee. They feel that this will cause high turnover rates from year to year. It will also lower employee morale and effectiveness while on the job. These problems could be avoided by just utilizing the observance plan mention earlier. Opponents of drug testing also focuses on the limitations of the testing procedures, arguing that the tests are highly inaccurate. One worry is the sensitivity of the tests. Many types of tests procedure inaccurate, innocent parties will be harmed because most tests produce a large number of false positive results, indicating that there has been drug use when there has actually been none. Such false positive results can rise from the use of medications, passive inhalation of marijuana smoke, or the technology employed for many drug tests. Drug testing opposers cite the human error of lab personnel that further implicates the accuracy of results The first two cases on drug testing to reach the Supreme Court were argued in 1988. From the decisions issued the following year, it is clear that the court held that urine tests are a significant intrusion into a fundamentally private domain. Since then, every court that has addressed the issue has found that urinalysis and blood tests intrude on privacy as a search and seizure forbidden under the fourth amendment. Courts have mainly focused on the privacy invasion involved, first, in the process of urination and the manner in which the specimen is obtained, and second, in the individuals interest and safeguarding the confidentiality of the information contained in the sample. While drug tests might also violate the fifth amendment protection of due process and constitutional privacy interests, courts have taken the privacy claims of the fourth amendment to be the most forceful constitutional threat. Some surveys show employees strongly support drug testing because it promises greater safety and harmony at work. However, scores of civil suits in the early and mid 1980's challenged the procedure as an invasion of privacy. The courts have upheld most testing programs, and fewer suits are now being filed. In a study conducted by the society for Human Resources Management, human resource professionals most consistently favored the use of drug and alcohol testing, soliciting criminal record checks, and monitoring visual display, terminal keystrokes and phone activity. While employers may deem these activities as essential to preserve workplace safety and productivity, many employees would argue that they violate their privacy, both on the job and at home. Employees may not be invaded by having to participate in drug tests with the urinalysis. Technology has advanced so that any impairment in a workers performance while on the job due to drugs or alcohol will be monitored on computers. It is called performance or impairment testing by its creators, and is a game-like device that can test judgement and motor coordination through the ability to manipulate a cursor on a VDT screen. The benefits reveal the cause of an employee impairment. Performance tests would offer more privacy to the worker and promote a less hostile environment People have objected mostly to random drug testing, which is mainly limited to government and private jobs that effect public safety, like those at nuclear power plants, airlines, railroads and trucking companies. More than 90 percent of the testing is of job applicants. But most of these same companies also test after accidents and when suspicions are aroused through erratic behavior. Fewer than 10 percent of the companies test randomly or at the time of annual physicals An employer has an extreme amount of influence on an individual to receive some type of treatment for their addiction. They are in the position to provide incentive for accepting treatment, as well as emotional support afterwards, because the job usually is of extreme importance to the addicted individual. The management should offer and accessible health insurance plan so that when the employee needs to receive the treatment that they can easily do so without having to involve several other people Once the addict has received the needed care, their job structure should be altered by management. They should be placed in a less stressful atmosphere. Their amount of work decreases for a certain amount of time, and they should not be placed on a demanding quota schedule that could trigger an emotional swing back toward the addiction The key to this success is having a good prevention program in place to detect problems at an early stage in their development. @If these problems can be detected early then outpatient treatment can be successful,@ says Maureen Whitmore of Occupational Health Services in Larkspur, California. Once a company has invested their time and money in rehabilitation of the employee, there are steps that must be followed to keep the employee from returning to their addiction. First, a peer support group should be provided where open discussion is encouraged in trying to cope with a new life and the new found pressure of work. Second, management should help their employees reintegrate back into the workplace. They will be confused and easily persuaded by stress that might have led to the problem in the beginning. Third, the company should hold AA meetings on-site and provide a crisis number to call in case of an emergency. Fourth, supervisors should be educated to watch for returning signs that the person is under stress. Fifth, management should involve family members and provide lifestyle education. Finally, stress reduced activities should be offered on-site, such as aerobics and fitness classes, and workshops on how to improve interpersonal skills. I feel that employee drug testing in some manner is essential to the performance and effectiveness of an employee in a company. Management needs the assurance that every employee is doing their job without any type of impairment from an outside source. However, I also feel that urinalysis testing is an invasion of privacy. As an employer, I will not be concerned with what types of drugs the employee is taking, but he is impairing the performance of the company. As I mentioned earlier, technology has advanced in such a manner that there will be no need for urinalysis tests. Performance or impairment testing programs will test the employee=s judgement and motor coordination through the ability to manipulate a cursor on a VDT screen. This will provide the employer with accurate information on the abilities of the employee to perform their job. It also keeps the employees addiction private and not for their employers to know. I feel that the increased health insurance coverage and the increased ease of access for employees will help them seek treatment for their addiction. However, there will need to be severe disciplinary actions for those who continually test positive. Once an employee has received treatment, the follow-up plans must be persuaded by management. This should help the employee to receive the needed attention for their problem, and help the company continue to have an effective employee. Drug testing has many benefits and set backs for both employers and employees. Certain types of drug testing are necessary in to days workplace for there to be an increased effectiveness of a company on their industry. However, employees still have privacy rights that cannot be infringed upon. A good and successful detection program and rehabilitation program are essential to the survival of the employee in the workplace. Eventually, the drug addiction will impair their abilities for life.

Comparison of Batteries

Lead Acid Cell vs. Button Cell Lead acid cells were invented in 1859 by the French Physicist Gaston Plante, and are the oldest types of rechargeable batteries. These types of batteries typically weigh at 5kg, but can range from half a kilogram to over 30 kilograms on the consumer market. Though their chemistry means a very low energy-to-weight and energy-to-volume ratio in comparison to other modern batteries, their ability to supply high surge currents means that the cells maintain a large power-to-weight ratio.This makes them highly desirable for use in large appliances such as motor vehicles, which require the high current provided by this type of battery. In comparison, Button cells are much smaller than lead acid cells. Button cells are shaped as small, squat cylinders usually 5 to 22mm in diameter and between 1 to 6mm in height and weigh little over several grams. The voltage and current produced by these batteries are small and steady, and these properties make them very suita ble for powering small portable electronic devices such as wrist watches, pocket calculators, hearing aids, and sometimes pacemakers.These batteries are usually not rechargeable, and last a long time, though lifespan depends on chemical composition and use. Chemistry Lead acid calls use a chemical reaction in order to produce a voltage between the output terminals. The battery contains two plates, and the discharge process is driven by the conduction of electrons from the negative plate back into the cell at the positive plate. All lead acid sells use Lead Sulfate in their reactions. These chemicals were originally contained as a liquid, but a technique has now been developed in which a gel electrolyte is used, preventing leakage.Negative plate reaction: Pb(s) + HSO? 4(aq) > PbSO4(s) + H+(aq) + 2e- Positive plate reaction: PbO2(s) + HSO? 4(aq) + 3H+(aq) + 2e- > PbSO4(s) + 2H2O(l) Overall reaction: Pb(s) + PbO2(s) + 2H2SO4(aq) > 2PbSO4(s) + 2H2O(l) Button cells are single cells, and are Primary cells, being not rechargeable. Button cells have both an Anode and Cathode separated by a separator contained within a metal â€Å"can†. Common anode materials are zinc or lithium, and there are a range of cathode materials, including manganese dioxide, silver oxide, and cupric oxide.Of notable mention is the mercuric oxide button cell, which was banned due to the toxicity and environmental hazard of mercury. Reaction between silver oxide (cathode) and zinc (anode): Zn + Ag2O ZnO + 2Ag These batteries are dry batteries, and are created with the ideal of a long lifetime. As such, they rarely leak if ever, and boast a steady electricity production over a long period of time. Both Lead acid cells and button cells rely on chemical reactions for the production of their energy.However, where a lead-acid cell would typically use an anode and cathode within a liquid or gel medium, button cells use solid anode and cathodes which react with each other through a separator. T his reflects their uses; where the chemistry of a lead acid battery allows it to produce large amounts of electricity in surges as needed to start appliances such as motor vehicles, the chemistry of Button cells allows for a slow and steady release of small amounts of charge. Cost and Practicality As was reflected upon under the chemistry subtitle, the batteries have been designed, and retain their designs, to specifically fit their uses.Though the size of the lead acid batteries does not allow for the powering of small portable devices such as watches, it maintains its usefulness in larger appliances and uses such as motor vehicles, which require a large amount of electrical energy to start up, but does not require a steady flow of energy. This is reflected in the property of these batteries being able to release large surges of energy. As these are designed for long use and provide large power, the cost for these are quite high, ranging from $100 to $300 each.In comparison, the bu tton cell battery is used for very small applications such as wrist watches and hearing aids. This is reflected in their small, convenience, and ability to provide a long lasting, steady flow of energy. However, this means that they are unable to supply large amounts of energy at a time, and are therefore unfit for use in industry and larger appliances such as motor vehicles. The cost of these batteries is much cheaper than that of the large, lead acid batteries, rarely coming up to above a few dollars. Impact on SocietyBatteries have had a large impact on society since their invention. In particular, lead acid batteries were among the first to be invented. These batteries have had a major impact on society; They have allowed for the powering of motor vehicles, which have become a major component in the lives of many living in developed cities. Though an older model of battery, these batteries continue to hold significant impact on society even today. In comparison, button cells pow er small, handheld portable appliances such as watches and hearing aids.This is asignificant difference from the impact of lead acid batteries. However, both batteries have impacted the life of many in developed societies, generally making life easier, and more convenient for all. Environmental impact Lead acid batteries are extremely hazardous to the environment. Lead is a hazardous metal, and poisonous to both environments and animals, and humans are not excepted. Though the use of lead in batteries is usually very controlled, the production of it is not; of three plants in Australia, two have required strict non-residential zones of 2-3 km.This implies that though all safety precautions are being taken, there is still a danger of contamination and danger to the environment. In comparison, button cells are much safer. Though non rechargeable, their recyclability means the mining of the metals used in batteries is reduced to a minimum. However, the environmental impact of these mat erials is determined by the actual materials used. This was reflected upon in the past, when mercuric oxide batteries were banned for the toxicity and environmental damage caused by mercury. References ttp://www. powerstream. com/Size_SLA. htm http://hyperphysics. phy-astr. gsu. edu/hbase/electric/leadacid. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93acid_battery#Electrochemistry http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Silver-oxide_battery http://batteryuniversity. com/learn/article/types_of_battery_cells http://science. howstuffworks. com/electric-battery-info1. htm http://electrochem. cwru. edu/encycl/art-b02-batt-nonr. htm http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Button_cell#Properties_of_different_types http://www. lead. org. au/lanv3n2/lanv3n2-5. html

Law and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Law and Society - Essay Example He expounded on several approaches to conflict management and then justifies why his movement has chosen the one he calls, â€Å"direct action†. In this regard, the essay will be used to analyze the conflict management approaches presented by Donald Black. Forms of Conflict Management Discuss and define the 3 approaches: From the lecture notes on Law as Social Control, there are three general approaches to resolving conflict are categorized into unilateral, bilateral and through third party. The unilateral form actually focuses on toleration where it was noted that the victim is perceived to be socially inferior or estranged from the offender. The bilateral form is parallel with applying negotiation techniques where both parties are deemed of equal status and seek some form of agreement or arrangement to settle their conflicts that would be amenable to both. Finally, if despite all resolutions techniques have been exhausted and conflicts remain unresolved, the third-party sett lement form requires seeking a neutral third party (not affiliated to any of the offending nor offended parties) to evaluate the issue and arrive at the most appropriate solution. Description of Circumstances for Application of Conflict Management Forms Using Donald Black’s article, entitled â€Å"Crime as Social Control†, the forms of conflict management are: toleration, negotiation, settlement, law and self-help. Self-help was defined by Black (1983) as â€Å"the expression of a grievance by unilateral aggression such as personal violence or property destruction† (p. 34). Law, on the other hand, was noted as a form of governmental social control (Black, 1983, p. 41). His focus was to present law and self-help as forms of conflict management that functions more as social control mechanisms. Using these forms of conflict management in the case of King, from the circumstances relayed in his letter, he clearly noted the application of a rational four step process in his nonviolent campaign in conflict management, to wit: â€Å"collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action† (King, 1963, p. 1). But evidently, the form of unilateral form of conflict management was applied when toleration was upheld for the longest time. King averred that â€Å"we have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights† (King, 1963, p. 3). Since he acknowledged that colored people have been discriminated and prejudiced for so long exemplifying the inferior status socially imposed, this form was therefore eventually rejected as effective and applicable. The bilateral form of conflict management had been applied when King noted that negotiations were apparently tried but proven ineffective. As proven, there were negotiations (or supposedly agreed upon settlements) made between the leaders of the Birmingham’s economic community and the Negro citizens in t erms of removing racial signs in merchants’ stores, for instance. Apparently, these leaders and merchants failed to comply with the promise as few signs were briefly removed but return eventually and others were not removed at all (King, 1963, p. 2). Therefore, ordinary negotiations were proven to be ineffective and were arbitrarily rejected by King. Likewise, the direct action through demonstrations were a call for further negotiations possible seeking third party infusion to resolve the conflict by invoking public protests to make others aware that there is a need to bring justice and equality to the oppressed. This option was regarded as the best course of action for reasons identified and justified below. Law intercedes in King’s quest for conflict resolution through admitting that their direct action do no violate any persisting law or

My abilities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My abilities - Essay Example With reference to our previous conversation, I am very much for the idea of launching F&F's products in the international market. I have analyzed this, and found it to be an extremely viable idea. The international market is much bigger than the local one and the potential for sales and profits is great. Growth rate in many foreign markets can surpass domestic markets and can help in keeping the company's competitive local competitive advantage. Of course, as with any business venture, there are real risks involved, but I believe that with the proper execution and the right marketing strategy, the benefits would far outweigh the risks. Since F&F has already established itself in the local shoe market, I believe that extending this success internationally is but a natural and logical step. A product's domestic success is a good indicator of its chances in the overseas market, especially if similar conditions and needs are present. But what works here may be different in other countries, so each market should be treated individually, screening it for entry options for marketing as well as being sensitive of its cultural implications. I understand your apprehension about making foreign investments (building overseas factories, etc.) so I suggest exporting. This strategy would optimize the capabilities of local factories, and your plan of expanding the operations in Florida will be helpful in this matter. In addition to that, the excess local production capacities can be sold to other markets. My long-term objective is to make F&F the brand synonymous with high-demand, high-quality, luxury sporting goods. F&F is already known for making high-quality products without competition, and this could be our key to success. We must pursue an aggressive marketing campaign to build our brand image since this would maintain our considerable competitive advantage. Upscale markets in the sporting industry is very lucrative. My strategy is to fill untapped markets that desire high-end, high-quality shoes; to know what this market wants and fulfill its needs. Potential buyers are willing to spend more on products if it builds their image and makes them look good. F&F products, being of high quality and fashion would undoubtedly fill the niche for this market. Having no direct competitors makes this goal much easier. The possibility of counterfeit goods is a problem that could not be totally eradicated. However, I believe any potential competition from, say, Chinese imitations will not be great, as the competition is based on quality rather than price. Also, the target market is comprised of discriminating customers and will realize the inherent value of owning the real thing. Good planning should not be overlooked. Formulating a good export strategy by proper market assessment and knowing the right information will ensure that the company makes the best choices and that resources are optimally used. I am aware that taking you up on this kind offer is no easy task. But armed with the proper understanding of international markets and thorough planning, I am confident that we can pull this off. I am enthusiastically looking forward to the opportunity of working for F&F. I look forward to hearing from you soon

Working mothers shoudn't go back to work year aftergiving birth Research Paper

Working mothers shoudn't go back to work year aftergiving birth - Research Paper Example However, most countries limit such leave to six months after which mothers are expected to return to work. Various reasons have been cited that force the mothers to return to work. These include economic reasons as well as loss of work opportunities in case they delay the return. However, the positive impact that delayed return to employment has on the infant, on the mother, on the society, far exceeds the adverse impact of early return to labor market. Thus, working mothers should not return to work for a year after giving birth. Child-birth – the period of transition The birth of a child is a period of transition for the couple as it brings about significant changes in their relationship, responsibilities and preoccupations. Mothers are the primary caregivers of the family and their return to re-employment soon after birth of a child affects several factors – parental well-being, investment in parenting, marital relationship, attitudes towards the work and family, and the infant’s disposition and temperament (Feldman, Sussman & Zigler, 2004). It may be argued that childcare centers could be used when mothers return to work but low quality care can result in maternal insensitivity and feeling of insecurity in the child. The number of caregivers in childcare centers may not be adequate. Parents are better caregivers and feel more secure of their infants’ safety when they attend to the infants themselves. Breast-feeding leads to important and long-term health benefits for the infants and their mothers (Murtagh & Moulton, 2011). It also positively affects the cognitive development of the infants and their health as adults. The American Academy of Pediatrics highly recommends exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months of birth and continued breast-feeding till the infant is 12 months of age. If mothers work outside the home, it negatively influences the duration of breast-feeding. Unsupportive work environments reduce the breast- feeding duration. Adverse impact of early return US based studies find that maternal employment in the first year of life leads to poorer outcomes, later in childhood. In particular, poorer cognitive outcomes have been reported. The adverse effects are pronounced when mothers return to full-time work before the child is one year old (Gregg, Washbrook, Propper & Burgess, 2005). As participation of women with infants in the labor market has gone up, prevalence rate of breast-feeding has declined. In a study based in Taiwan, Chuang et al (2010) find that return to work within six months of giving birth, is a barrier to continuation of breast-feeding. This study was based in Taiwan where maternity leave does not extend beyond 8 weeks. Women were found to stop breast-feeding after this 8-week period during which they were confined at home. Role of legislation in early return Women are being forced to return to work soon after giving birth to the child for economic reasons. In addition, s elf-esteem and a sense of worth are associated with the paid worker status. However, this causes time pressure on family members and adversely impacts the welfare of the children (Smeaton, 2006). Men should be encouraged to perform more active roles in the family and child-rearing. Work-life balance and increasing nursery provision at workplace, part-time work for some months upon return to work should be given due consideration. In the UK before 1990, mothers were paid to stay at home for 18 weeks following child birth. They could return to work anytime up to 29 weeks of child birth. This study by Burgess et al (2008) found that legislation plays a vital role in the work return rates. Most women returned to work at the end of paid leave (18 months) and beginning of unpaid leave. If the partner’

Consumer Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example In this respect, it is especially important in determining its characteristics. In addition, there is also insight it provides with regards to the consumer behavior and likely actions, which allow for the identification of problems and opportunities in marketing the product afterwards. There are at least five stages/steps by which the consumer makes his or her purchases: 1) need recognition; 2) information search; 3) evaluation of alternatives; 4) purchase; and, 5) postpurchase behavior (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel 2008, 140). Some experts add some stages in the process, such as with the model developed by Engle, Kollat and Blackswell, which divided the consumption stage into two - consumption and post-consumption - and adding a unique element in the form of divestment (Verma 2007, 178). All in all, the stages are pretty straightforward and speak for themselves. For instance, need recognition pertains to the actual desire, want or need of a consumer. This is usually the first stage in th e process, but the rest of the stages do not strictly follow the order by which they were outlined here in this paper. The stages as outlined by this paper highlight the fact that consumer purchase decisions are influenced by several factors - both external and internal influences. Personal desires, wants and needs as well as the available information and influencers are just some of these variables. They have to be understood in order to make sense of the complexity of the process. Finally, there is also the fact that consumer decision-making process does not end with the purchase of the product. For product developers, it may as well be an endless cycle that is why understanding the process is crucial in order to identify some semblance of pattern and coherence and make use of it in product development and in marketing. Theory 2: Family Roles influence on decision Making   Certainly, the motivating factors behind each consumer's purchase behavior are unique and different. Howeve r, the role of the family as a single most important variable in the decision-making process for all consumers is the same for most consumers in most purchase decisions. This powerful influence, according to Blythe (2006) is due to three reasons: 1. the parental influence in the case of the children is deeply embedded because it started the earliest and therefore impact the children's perception of everything that follows; 2. the parental desire to do what is best for the children and the family; and, 3. the influence of siblings as role models, particularly when the sibling is older or in some cases the carer or the adviser (138). The above reasons were just the fundamental ones especially when considering the fact that in some families, membership is not confined to the parents and their offspring. Rather, there are also the extended family such as aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. Finally, it must be underscored that within the family or within household, a relationship ex ists, wherein each member has a role and participates in every decision-making process. This relationship, role and participation are underpinned by other issues such as gender and other variables that characterize the interpersonal relations within. Collectively, they can define who

The National Girls and Women in Sports Day Term Paper

The National Girls and Women in Sports Day - Term Paper Example The fact that LSUS has only a single mens sport, being baseball, means that proportionally it would only need one to two womens sports. This would mean that the interest in other sports besides perhaps the top two—basketball and softball—would have to be dismissed. Adding two sports would create enough opportunity for sports participation for the sixty three percent of the student body that is made up of female students, without a difficult strain on funding. This would both be proportional as well as catering to the interest of the female student body. The National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) is a day celebrating the participation and achievement of women in sports, and is celebrated across the United States. It began in 1987, a year after the death of Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman. Hyman died of Marfans Syndrome while playing in a volleyball tournament in Japan in 1986, and in her memorial the national day of recognition and celebration has carried on until the present day. The theme for the 2011 National Girls and Women in Sports Day is â€Å"Title IX at 40: In it for the Long Run†. The day was celebrated on February 1st, 2011.NGWSD is sponsored by the Girl Scouts of America, Girls Inc., the National Womens Law Center, and the Womens Sports Foundation. The organization sponsors and hosts a variety of events around the country, including conventions, workshops, conferences and competitions. It also encourages involvement through donations, organizing local events, and participation in events on a national scale. The early years of the history of the National Association for Women and Girls in Sport (NAWGS) were defined by the formation of a committee that sought to standardize the rules of womens basketball. This committee was formed after Alice Foster of Oberlin College read a paper in 1899 proposing such action. In 1901 these rules were established under the American Association

Lenition and its Accompanying Constraints Essay

Lenition and its Accompanying Constraints - Essay Example Lenition refers to the synchronic and diachronic sound alterations. In lenition, sounds may become weaker or weak sounds assume an allomorphic relation to stronger sounds. The weakening of sounds has been an area of concern for most scholars. Lenition has and continues to draw great literature over the decades. However, the general idea is that it implies some reduction in constriction degree or duration.Two other scholars, Ashby and Maidment (2005), seem to support Odden’s view of lenition. According to Ashby and Maidment, lenition is â€Å"also called weakening† (2005: 141). They go ahead to plot consonants on the scales of strength: a consonant is stronger the more it differs from a vowel, but becomes weaker when it begins to resemble a vowel. The idea of grading consonants on a scale of strength also features prominently in Trask’s Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics. Trask states: â€Å"A shift in character from left to right along any of t he scales†¦may be regarded as lenition†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Trask 2000: 190).The considerations of articulatory efforts may also lead to the concept of lenition. It is generally accepted that what causes the sound alterations that result into lenition is laziness. Scholars also observe that many of the world’s languages have undergone many changes. These changes find relevance in the context of weakening or lenition (Hock 1991: 80). This occurs under the framework of Autosegmental phonology where there is an obvious attempt to scale down lenition to a feature-spreading assimilation.

Original script Essay Example for Free

Original script Essay My character in this scene was Mrs Johnston she was very emotionally upset as her husband left her with seven children and two on the way. She wants her and her family to lead a good life and find wealth my characters function throughout the play is to give birth to the twins and tell the twins that they are brothers. The fact that Mrs Johnstons husband left her and she does not make that much money as she has no job and she is starting a new makes the character stronger and in this scene Mrs Johnston tell the audience this. The other scene that me and my grouped developed is the final scene in the play this is about Mickey (one of the twins) going round to see Eddie (the other twin) they still do not know if they are brothers. Mickey thinks that Eddie is having an affair with his wife Linda. This is the final scene this was from the original script and was the scene when the twins (Eddie and Mickey) both find out they are both brothers and this is also the scene when they both get killed by Mrs Lyons. In this scene there are 5 people involved Mrs Lyons, Mrs Johnston, Eddie, Mickey and the narrator. We looked at the scrip of this scene and read it between us. Even tough there is 5 people involved in this scene there was only 3 people in my group so we had to split characters and lines so that we could include all the characters. As we read the script we took important lines and highlighted them, we had to make sure all these lines were in the performance. For the characters I was Mickey, Fabien was Eddie and Natalie was Mrs Lyons and Mrs Johnston. We all split the important narrators lines. The performance was set up like this: K = Katie N = Natalie F = Fabien K stands on one side of the stage and say the narrators lines then K walks in to Fs office (the block) there is a thought-track of what K wants to happen then it goes back to that is really happening and they have an argument N walks in and tells the twins they are brothers then N turns around and as she turns back she is a different character the contrast changes and her mood as a different person is the opposite to what she was the twins both end up on the floor and N speaks the narrators lines and the brothers get up and repeat the past in a previous scene that had happened earlier in the play. We used still-imagery as the narrator was talking, we would come out of character and say the lines in neutral as there in no view from the narrator this would be done with neutral face expression. The thought-tracking we used was with Mickey (K) imagining what he is going to do when he moves into the office of Eddie (F). We made sure that when a character changed roles that the audience new about it with the change of tone and the different mood that changed when the character changed. We tried to create height with the block we used but also we created heights with our characters as one person would be at one height another person would be at a different one. We changed the tone of voice and accent when the character changed roles. When the narrator was talking at the end of the scene there was the miming of a scene that was earlier in the play. We also had music at the end to signify the end and to show what the play was about and this was the innocence of children and how they do not stereotype and distinguish classes of people. Evaluation I believe that I have learnt a grate deal about the play and the playwright I now understand a lot more about how to uses different drama techniques and use them together to crate different moods and styles. As we watched another groups performance of a scene in which they had developed we evaluated it and took these points into consideration: I believe this was to signify the distance between the two characters as in this scene they are having an argument. Ant the beginning of the scene there was mime I believe this worked well as this built up tension and created the mood as if we knew what was going to happen. Thai used a lot of the scrip in this scene but they added and developed a lot of text into it as this helped the audience understand more. There was a lot of different drama conventions used in this scene there was a few minuets in the middle of the scene when the two characters were having a fight and this was done so that the characters were not touching each other and the were both stood on different blocks there was music played in this section and it was really effective towards me, as the audience. Also there was a monologue done in this scene I liked this as it helped me to understand what was going on and how the character was felling at the time. I believe that more costume and props could have been used in this scene to help the characters develop more gestures. The use of space and height was very good in this play and because of this it was nice to watch and I enjoyed it. In all of the performances they could have been improved with time as we only had a short time to develop and rehearse the scenes we were still using scrips and this put the audience off what is actually happening. More costume and make up would of helped use create are characters more and also if we would of been able to use a stage it would of helped with the blocking and how the scene looked. I believe that the message of the play was that you cannot separate different classes of people as we are all the same inside also that the play had a very suppositious side to it and that fate cannot be controlled. Religion plays an important part in the play as the bible is used many times and signifies if something is said on the bible it will happen. The main context of the play is twins should not be separated and that the innocents of children should not be overlooked as they do not see different colours of skin and a difference of people with money and without money is not significant to them. The play was set in the early 1970 an example of an extract taken from the scrip is this Then of course I found that I was six weeks overdue We got married at the registry and then we had a do We all had curly salmon sandwiches and how the ale did flow; They said the bride was lovelier than Marilyn Monroe And we went dancing Marilyn Monroe was very big in the 1970s and it was also very looked down on if you had a child out of wed lock at this time. I enjoyed developing from this play as I have very strong views about the stereotypical view of people who have wealth. I believe that I began to understand more about the play now that I have preformed the different scenes and developed them with my own ideas. I believe that Billy Russell is a very talented writer and I would be interested in using or watching another one of his play as I believe that he writes most of it from experience and that it has a strong belief in all of the historical contexts his plays are about. I have learnt a lot about new drama techniques and how to use them together I believe that blood brothers was a very good play to use on paper 1 unit 2 as there was a lot to develop from the script and there was a lot to come out in between the lines! W did these brainstorms so that we could understand Mrs Lyons more as she was a completed character.

Dystopia In Film | Metropolis Vs Utopian Art Deco

Dystopia In Film | Metropolis Vs Utopian Art Deco The 1920s in Germany were a transition time, World War I had recently ended, and it was precisely the war that showed the destructive potential of modern technology. Invented and first used by the Germans in 1915, machine guns and poison gas showed the deep split between technology and humanity, it was the first modern war in which machines decided the outcome. In this time in history, it was the embracement of technology in other parts of the world, the Art Deco movement was the Utopian new way of living. After the war in Germany, American modernity became a powerful agent in the economic and cultural modernisation. America represented the New World, since Germany had a lack of national identity, the idea that mass culture might be a secret American weapon, one that would enslave the world by distracting it made sense according to Isenberg (2009, p.182-183). Combining these two facts, the German loss of dignity during the first World War, and modernity rising, it created a certain c omfort for the German culture to accept the modern movement, since it represented the ideal of living in the present which made it easier to forget about the harsh past. At first America was seen as a good idea, but by the mid-1920s Germany faced a stability in politics and economy, which questioned American way of living, its technological progress began to be seen as inhuman. Germany was beginning to feel threatened by America, with its focus on materialism and mechanisation of life, seeing it as a way to kill the human side of humankind. In 1927, the German film director Fritz Lang, created a movie analysing just that, our future with machines and its possible outcome. It was a film created to show the comfort Germany first took in accepting modernity but in a way where humanity would lose it all to it. The Art Deco movement at the time, stood for the modern world and the evolution of people through the new inventions of machines. Metropolis, still believed in this Utopian life but created its own, showing how human and machines can work as long as one important factor is not forgotten, which the modern world seemed to have already done. In comparison to the Art Deco modern views, Metropolis created its own view, which can be seen as its own naà ¯ve Utopian world, but also showed the Dystopia that could occur from this fast modern movement. In order to see how the two go hand in hand, one must look at important elements which happened at this time, the introduction of new technologies which affected almost all the aspects of life. From architecture to fashion, people and their ways were changing, since freedom was now praised upon, everything that used to be taboo or conservative was now in the open. Taking into consideration that the major elements, which make up Art Deco, are present in the film; this is to show how they were used to portray the negative side of this modern vision. We all believe in a Utopian way of life, in perfection, but the consequences are most of the time overlooked, and the film Metropolis was that vision, showing the effects of the new technologies people were praising and how it would forever change people, life and the world. Without further ado, lets see how the film has proven itself to be a masterpiece but most importantly how a purely imaginative vision may have foretold our future, from began as a Utopian idea to what may have changed the fundamentals of humankind. The late teens and early twenties in Germany was a time of rampant inflation, decadence, personal liberty, violence and insecurity. It was followed by the unfortunate rise of the Nazis during the late twenties and early thirties, which saw a severe clampdown on freedom of expression is all walks of life, especially the arts and politics according to Organ (2009). The central theme of Metropolis is that of a separation between working class and higher-ups and the need for a mutual understanding of each is presented both abstractly and directly through the image rather than the word. This theme of workers revolting against domination by exploitative management, their soulless machines, and new technologies, also struck a chord with reviewers and the general public, though many critics in America and Britain objected strongly to this anti-Fordism / anti production-line tale. As such, Metropolis, with its many themes and sub-texts, including the almost obligatory boy meets girl, boy loos es girl, boy finds girl was a controversial film from day one It garnered both positive and negative comment wherever it was shown, and generated much critical discussion in the press upon release according to Organ (2009). In order to understand the importance of the visual work accomplished in the film, on must look at different scenes from the movie where this is proven, such as the opening shot of line upon line, file upon file, of workers marching down the hallway towards the elevator that takes them down into the depths of the citys machines and inner workings. Each worker wears the same uniform, shuffles their feet in the same manner as if they were a military unit, and each slouch and hold their heads down in unison according to Simon M (2010). Such images as workers being fed to a giant monster, masses upon masses of slave labor building the biblical Tower of Babel, and Death itself swinging its scythe indicate the possible fall of this turbulent society in a stark and shocking way not possible through ordinary images or even the written word. They give this story something of a mythic and fantastic property, portraying its message through symbolism rather than realism, exaggeration rather than realism according to Simon M (2010). The pleasure garden in which Freder (the main character) indulges in the most hedonistic of pleasures, providing a stark contrast with the metallic, grimy world of the workers. This fluid and happy-go-lucky world is immediately interrupted by the entrance of Maria and the worker children. Here is the direct conflict and contrast between workers and elites, high and low, heaven and hell. Later on in the film Freder witnesses one of these machines at work, each worker mechanically pushing buttons and pulling levers in uniform, fixed motions. It is as if these workers are themselves machines, as Lang uses the image of uniform, unnatural motion to represent a lack of humanity, hopefully inspiring repulsion in the audience according to Simon M (2010). Such exaggeration is arguably necessary in the case of a silent film in order to make up for the lack of proper dialogue, but it also may add to the raw symbolism of it all, going to every last length t o show the divide between worker and elite. This exaggeration practically defines Metropolis in many instances. Along with the aforementioned portrayals of Freder and Maria, there is the near-comically evil Rotwang, who inspired just about every mad scientist portrayed in popular culture since then according to Simon M (2010). Another important factor is the characteristics of the appearance and behaviour of Rotwang which does not fit the stereotype of a modern scientist, and there are indications that he may be in league with the devil. The personality of the scientist Rotwang belongs to one of the most interesting antagonists of the screen. The possibility of an ambivalent interpretation of his character, he is a scientist, but also something of a sorcerer allied with satanic forces, which gives him greater complexity according to Urgosà ­kovà ¡ (2009). In 1924, Fritz Lang visited New York City, where the big-city architecture struck him, and the luminous cityscape influenced the visual design and electrifying energy for the film. Originally an architect, Lang was a man of unusually sensitive visual perceptions. His films of those years show an expressionistic sense for the plastic and the lighting, which emphasized architectonic lines and conveyed a sense of geometric construction that not only extends to the sets and the depicted milieu but even influenced the positioning of the actors in individual shots. In keeping with the conventions of expressionism, the inhabitants of the subterranean city have no individuality, and the crowd represents a compact mass from which personality projects only as a stark exception and only in a definite rhythm according to Urgosà ­kovà ¡ (2009). The introductory sequences present this social organization in a very attractive light. In a magnificent, gigantic city with gleaming skyscrapers, suspension bridges, and bustling street, people live in comfort and plenty, with every possibility for intellectual and physical development. However, Metropolis is not a city of freedom and equality. Below ground, working for the chosen elite, are masses of nameless workers who have no more value within the social order than a cog in a machine or a tool or production. It is for this reason that the workers revolt and almost destroy the city; only then is there a reconciliation and an equalization of rights for the two strata, the elite and the workers. Lang honestly believed in this idea of reconciliation, and his attitude to a certain extent reflected the German reality, in which there were growing indications of stabilization and attempts to resolve social problems. The uneven lines, contrasts of light and dark, half-shadows and silhoue ttes, which serve to suggest mysterious and menacing actions, events, and emotions. Lang applied these techniques effectively and successfully to one of the varieties of the fantasy genre, what he created to be utopian work, or in modern words influenced the genre of Science Fiction according to Urgosà ­kovà ¡ (2009). What can also be factored is the importance of architecture in the Art Deco movement, where the advanced of technology was introduced, which made the construction of skyscrapers possible. This new way of building up rather than out, gave the illusion that we could reach the sky, giving a high expectation for our future. In the film Metropolis, the main building is the Babel tower, where the legend is told that it was made to reach the stars and on the top it would be written Great is the world and its Creator! And great is Man! but in the sequence of the film where this is explained, it shows how in order for a building or any structure to be built, one must first think of the idea, which is not always possible. Once the idea is put on paper or into small scale, it needs labour to be produced and this is when the hands come in, and it is shown that in order for the Babel tower to be built, it would take a lot of man power and therefore some blood would have to be shed in order for th e man who had thought of this building, could see it built. This is Metropoliss view on the built of skyscrapers, since they were using new techniques, which were not already perfected, and what it would take to build such things, the cost of human lives? That it is great for such ideas to ever be thought up, but is it necessary? At the time yes, since it showed the greatness of man and what he could achieve. When a director creates a film, its main purpose it to communicate a message through visuals and dialogue, which can be expressed in different ways, such as speech, facial expressions and written words. Its main focus is to make the audience feel exactly what the director has in mind, therefore when Fritz Lang created this film, these elements could not be forgotten or not be taken seriously, or else the film would have not gotten so much attention or gained so much success. In a way if unprofessional work had been done, we would not even talk about this movie today, but the push for a different genre in film and the motivation to build a realistic set and using the right lighting, made this film not only a work or art but a movie that will continue to affect people in generations to come. Interiors How does one judge anothers financial status? by the furniture and interior of their home, it is not always true, but when exposed to someone elses lifestyle and home, one can easily put a social status on the other. In Metropolis, the interiors of both the upper and lower worlds are very distinct. The upper shows a high usage of Art Deco elements and the lower is very cold and style-less. The Art Deco elements showed the high class, therefore representing the people who could afford such extravaganzas. The Utopian concept is very much present, from using such interiors, which were very popular with the American style of the time, showing how the exploiters can manage to hide the bad and only show the good, or in other words the output. As seen in the office of Joh Fredersen and in Freders bedroom, all the highest technology was available for their usage. From the bed shape to the lamps, as well as the desk, all the geometric elements can be seen. This was done to show how the upper class were able to live, compared to the lower class, which lived under ground, with not much to rely too, since their living space was limited to brick walls and constant work, were the luxurious Art Deco furniture would serve no purpose to them, since they did not have the time to appreciate it. All these elements were to show, the Utopian life lived by the people who ran the city, compared to the Dystopia it created by asking such a request from other human beings, it analyses the two points of society and how people live. Based on the concept of capitalism and materialism, where it can only be reached by the officers and not the workers, which tends to be a common theme in any point in history. The main point of using such distinct style or interiors and exteriors, was to show the freedom and lack of appreciation from the upper class, since they had everything, they forgot to think about what it took to give them this luxury. It is an important factor in the film, since the whole point is to show, how and why workers would revolt against their superiors, and making such a big contrast between the quality of life between the two made the impact of the workers revolt more powerful, since it showed what they were deprived from and how it affected them. Running a city and taki ng all the profits can only generate unfairness, therefore creating a created desire of unneeded things to people who do not pocess them. If the interior design had not been considered for this movie the different views of both classes would have not been so powerful, and taking into consideration that the film depended a lot on visual and not words, such things needed to be accentuated to create its full point, to be clear to the viewer, what people were being targeted and illustrated. For her all 7 deadly sins Many biblical references can be seen in this film, one of the most important element in Metropolis is the robot version of Maria, which carries on her all 7 deadly sins. This image of the woman can be interpreted on many levels, one can be to show how women were acting in the 1920s since it was a time where more open behaviours were accepted, their dresses got shorter, they started to smoke and drink in public and freely exposed their sexuality, a way for them to celebrate the modern woman. The emergence of emancipated and sexually liberated women, as well as organised feminist activities in the mid-1920s. The robot Maria, stylised as the New Woman, rips the social fabric asunder, inciting the workers to rebel and seducing them into self-destructive acts. Her punishment, once she is uncovered as an agent provocateur, is to be burned at the stake according to Isenberg (2009, p.181). The most important scene is when the robotic doppelgà ¤nger of Maria , with her twitchy eye, sexually dances in front of the upper class men, this behaviour was meant to distract and manipulate them, done in an exaggerated way, when all the mens eyes are seen, their mouths are open, they become more violent to the point where they all run to the podium on which she dances, she tricks them to be a temptress who is out to deceive those who fall for the illusion of a replica. This nexus of technology, visual pleasure, and fantasy also lay at the core of modern American mass culture, which, according to some cultural critics, had seduced Germany into renouncing its classical canon of high culture according to Isenberg (2009, p.181). This robotic Maria was meant as metaphors, one being the threat the modern woman would have on men and community with her new sexual manipulating techniques, second she represents America and how it first seduced Germany into mass culture, through the same kind of pleasurable ways. The artistic beauty which Lang made the robot, with its glittering female bod y, stylised breasts and inhuman mask instead of a face perfectly represents this theory, it was made on purpose to be sexual, since it needed to represent the power of womans new sexual behaviour and how it could impact communities. She is treated as being a witch when she is discovered to be an imposter, which again shows how this new act is unnatural and dangerous to the evolution of people and if practiced a woman is as good as dead and should be burned alive for her sins of manipulation. The beauty of woman was openly recognised, therefore women seemed to take advantage of this new attention they were getting and getting away with it, showing how soon women could have the same rights as men, since they could manipulate them, showing an unbalance to how people use to live and statuses between men and women were already established. Visual Communication Typography and movie poster Art Deco typefaces are composed of geometric forms, an influence from the geometrical formal language of the Constructivists, but the love for elegance at the time gave it a decorative touch. With this new style of type design, readability sometimes wasnt too clear, since the letters seemed flat and ornamental, where they received additional spacial and graphic embellishments. One characteristic change was type going from narrow to wide, sometimes the lower cases were completely ignored to embrace the thin, long stroked capital letters, but antique and fractured scripts remain the standard despite the eras prevailing tastes. At times they were the mouthpiece of twenties modernism, with its technology, communication, transportation and its dynamism; at other times, of mundane elegance and luxury transposed into a fantastical world of unadulterated glamour that takes precedence over typography according to Stawinski (2009, p.131). This became a graphic language of exotic cultures, whic h embodied themes of modern technology and ways of life. One distinct font of the Art Deco movement, is Broadway; designed by Morris Fuller Benton in 1925: (show type) Comparing it to the font used for the Metropolis title, one can see where the Art Deco elements of type are visible but how they have been altered to create the feel for the movie. This obvious alteration, created a sort of horror feel, but how? The descenders of the M, T, R, P and S have elongated, the bowls of the O have been evenly distributed, the I, L and E have been distorted, an also distorted dot has been added to the I, but all the most important factor is that each letter finishes with a point as can be seen in all the descenders and the arm of the T. These strong angles, visible in all the letters, even on the O since it not perfectly round but mostly choppy lines formed into a circle, have given this title its unique character, where it is only composed of angles, no smooth lines are present, respecting the geometric language of the time but going against elegance. Taking into consideration that Fritz Langs 1927 film Metropolis is a silent film, the written word used in intertitles played a large role in story comprehension. Intertitles are important in silent films, since they need to give the audience information through text, which should be both appealing and readable, to clearly express to the audience what is being visually shown. Metropolis would be particularly hard to understand without the on-screen narration, since the actors faces and movements can express only so much. The font chosen for the Metropolis intertitles is very artistically stylized, which goes against the futuristic city storyline, where a more straight-lined font may have been more appropriate. Even though Metropolis inspired the Science Fiction film style, it was not meant to be one, but rather an art film, therefore it makes sense to use artistic intertitles, as a way to make the movie balanced in the style it was creating. Throughout the films city the same stylise d font it used as well as numbers, which indicate the style used throughout Metropolis, which shows that typography played a big part in the films mood, is was careful placed and used to make sure all the information needed was clear and stylised accordingly. All these traits put together have created an abstract version of typical Art Deco font, but on purpose, in order to catch someones attention, one must stimulate that sense, the way to promote the art form of film was through making a poster for it, what better way to give it an identity and a feel. When a poster is designed, it is composed of information for its viewer, which is also targeted, to inform them of what is happening, this information is read through the usage of words, which is where typography comes in. This powerful tool of type design, is the cherry on top of a poster design, since it is also composed if imagery to trigger another kind of feel, but type when used correctly can automatically create the ambience to describe the art form as a whole. In the case of Metropolis, this alteration of type was used just for that purpose, to trigger the imagination of its viewer, to show something different then the typical Art Deco posters created at the time of its production . Since the films theme was also an alteration of the life views of the time, if a typical Art Deco font had been used, it would have not shown the effect the film as a whole was trying to reach. So going back to 1927, as someone is walking in the streets and sees the Metropolis poster advertising the film on a wall, one can imagine the attention it must have gotten, since everything else around was produced to support positivity and evolution, here comes something scary and negative, therefore triggering the curiosity of people to see why it was so different. In order for a poster or any other sort of advertising elements to be successful, they need to properly represent what it is symbolising, which the one of a kind font used for the title of Metropolis did, it was the introduction to the movie before someone went to the theatre to see. Going to the next visual element, posters are a very powerful advertising tool, since they can be placed literally anywhere, therefore making them reachable to any eyes and to any audience. Typography as said before is one of the most important elements of a poster, since it makes the audience aware of what the poster is about, since it will surely cary a title. The other element is imagery, which is usually the background, and is used to go along with the title, to create a unified theme and helps the viewer reach a conclusion of their own to what the poster may mean. Posters are an art, since they need to work in a way where they need to be noticed at first glance, and briefly inform the viewer with all the important information in a couple of minutes. For such a film as Metropolis, which is in fact a two hour viewing of moving images, the poster had to illustrate all of that into one image, basically giving away the whole movie in a single view. Typical Art Deco posters were colourful, vibrant, energetic, showed a lot of movement, basically they illustrated and embraced the new technologies being introduced. They were drawn and printing with the latest techniques invented, showing people living in this new modernity, such as travel, fashion, drinking and smoking. What used to be taboo, was now in the open and people were showing off this new lifestyle full of luxury and advancement, which had never been seen before. This perfect lifestyle, mostly only affordable by the higher class, was praised upon, everyone had to be part of this new movement, exposing their inner desires, or letting all hell break lose. This new freedom of expression, and new possibilities had to be reflected, mostly through abstract views, such as people were usually drawn through geometric forms, almost not real, like this movement was too good to be true, in a way it showed the fear of people, since it used fantasy images to show what was really going on, things were moving too fast and the population did not really have time to digest all of this, therefore showing people though geometric elements, was a easier way to accept it. The imagery of the Metropolis poster distributed at the time, was duotone, illustrating only buildings in the background and the robot in the foreground, the title of the film at the top and all the information at the bottom. The duotone, was against all the colourful posters at the time, since the movie was showing the dark side of the Utopian philosophy of Art Deco, the robot in the middle represented the most important part of the film, but also to show people how they would evolve, but the answer to how lied in watching the movie. The information at the bottom, gave the regular film info; who directed it, the main actors, music composer, production house and writer. The drawing of the robot used a lot of curved lines, and showed an emotionless face, making it obvious that humans were being interpreted as robots. Conclusion Lets start with the quote The mediator between head and hands must be the heart taken from the film Metropolis, from this analysis it can be said that Art Deco is the head and the hands and Metropolis is the heart. The Utopian idea of Art Deco was a way to celebrate the new world and its technologies whereas Metropolis was the Dystopian view hidden behind this philosophy. It can be seen through all the elements stated, as a warning or a reality to what the world may evolve to be, that without the heart a life cannot function, but without the head and the hands a world cannot evolve. Therefore they both go hand in hand, but never one without the other, that humans may never forget their real values. This is the message that the film portrayed, that there is beauty in evolving, but we must never forget who we really are and our true powers, that if we rely too much on machines (technology) then what is left of us? Art Deco, was a time when everything was changing, the excitement of a n ew life, the embracing of a freedom given to people by machines doing jobs for them. These two art forms, have proven themselves through history and have shaped the world we now live in, but without art, how could anyone in the future know how a community evolved or lived, this is why it is important to analyse all the details of one element and how it fits into the time period it was produced, to better understand its message and value. The naà ¯ve way people were living during the 1920s, was in a way beautiful and pure, they had no worries except live and explore their new identities, Metropolis showed the difference between the high class or in other words the heads versus the lower class, the hands, and how they would live in two different worlds, one above and one below. This shows, that once an idea is conceived, the inventor takes all the credit, whereas the hands who built it, are never recognised for the hard work and risks it took to construct it. People in the higher class would be the only one to appreciate the hands work, since they would be the only ones would could afford it, they would be the only ones who could have the luxury to live in such buildings reaching the stars and afford such extravaganzas in their homes. But where did the workers fit in, in all of this? This is what Metropolis, was showing, that for such a Utopia to exist fairness should be placed between the heads who conceive ideas and the hands who built them, and yes in order to do that, the only power is our hearts. When speaking about art, the philosophy behind it must always be talked about, since it explains why it was created and what it was meant to represent, without one, you cant have the other, which is also another strong point about the quote, since people tend to concentrate on the most important facts but forgetting how it became important. Metropolis also created its own Utopia, where as long as the heart is present and the human side in humankind is never lost, we can live in an harmonious world. The hand shake in the end, also could represent the labour giving in again to capital. Metropolis inaugurated a series of utopias on film that attempted to resolve the difficulties of the contemporary state of society by projecting them into a story with a futuristic setting according to Urgosà ­kovà ¡ (2009).

Fixed and random effects of panel data analysis

Fixed and random effects of panel data analysis Panel data (also known as longitudinal or cross-sectional time-series data) is a dataset in which the behavior of entities are observed across time. With panel data you can include variables at different levels of analysis (i.e. students, schools, districts, states) suitable for multilevel or hierarchical modeling. In this document we focus on two techniques use to analyze panel data:_DONE_ Fixed effects Random effects FE explore the relationship between predictor and outcome variables within an entity (country, person, company, etc.). Each entity has its own individual characteristics that may or may not influence the predictor variables (for example being a male or female could influence the opinion toward certain issue or the political system of a particular country could have some effect on trade or GDP or the business practices of a company may influence its stock price). When using FE we assume that something within the individual may impact or bias the predictor or outcome variables and we need to control for this. This is the rationale behind the assumption of the correlation between entitys error term and predictor variables. FE remove the effect of those time-invariant characteristics from the predictor variables so we can assess the predictors net effect. _DONE_ Another important assumption of the FE model is that those time-invariant characteristics are unique to the individual and should not be correlated with other individual characteristics. Each entity is different therefore the entitys error term and the constant (which captures individual characteristics) should not be correlated with the others. If the error terms are correlated then FE is no suitable since inferences may not be correct and you need to model that relationship (probably using random-effects), this is the main rationale for the Hausmantest (presented later on in this document). The equation for the fixed effects model becomes: Yit= ÃŽÂ ²1Xit+ ÃŽÂ ±i+ uit[eq.1] Where ÃŽÂ ±i(i=1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.n) is the unknown intercept for each entity (nentity-specific intercepts). Yitis the dependent variable (DV) where i= entity and t= time. Xitrepresents one independent variable (IV), ÃŽÂ ²1 is the coefficient for that IV, uitis the error term _DONE_ Random effects assume that the entitys error term is not correlated with the predictors which allows for time-invariant variables to play a role as explanatory variables. In random-effects you need to specify those individual characteristics that may or may not influence the predictor variables. The problem with this is that some variables may not be available therefore leading to omitted variable bias in the model. RE allows to generalize the inferences beyond the sample used in the model. To decide between fixed or random effects you can run a Hausman test where the null hypothesis is that the preferred model is random effects vs. the alternative the fixed effects (see Green, 2008, chapter 9). It basically tests whether the unique errors (ui) are correlated with the regressors, the null hypothesis is they are not. Testing for random effects: Breusch-Pagan Lagrange multiplier (LM)The LM test helps you decide between a random effects regression and a simple OLS regression. The null hypothesis in the LM test is that variances across entities is zero. This is, no significant difference across units (i.e. no panel effect). Here we failed to reject the null and conclude that random effects is not appropriate. This is, no evidence of significant differences across countries, therefore you can run a simple OLS regression. EC968 Panel Data Analysis Steve Pudney ISER University of Essex 2007 Panel data are a form of longitudinal data, involving regularly repeated observations on the same individuals Individuals may be people, households, firms, areas, etc Repeat observations may be different time periods or units within clusters (e.g. workers within firms; siblings within twin pairs)+DONE_ Some terminology A balanced panel has the same number of time observations (T) on each of the n individuals An unbalanced panel has different numbers of time observations (Ti) on each individual A compact panel covers only consecutive time periods for each individual there are no gaps Attrition is the process of drop-out of individuals from the panel, leading to an unbalanced and possibly non-compact panel A short panel has a large number of individuals but few time observations on each, (e.g. BHPS has 5,500 households and 13 waves) A long panel has a long run of time observations on each individual, permitting separate time-series analysis for each_DONE_ Advantages of panel data With panel data: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ We can study dynamics à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The sequence of events in time helps to reveal causation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ We can allow for time-invariant unobservable variables BUTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Variation between people usually far exceeds variation over time for an individual à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ a panel with T waves doesnt give T times the information of a cross-section à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Variation over time may not exist or may be inflated by measurement error à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Panel data imposes a fixed timing structure; continuoustime survival analysis may be more informative Panel Data Analysis Advantages and Challenges Cheng Hsiao May 2006 IEPR WORKING PAPER 06.49 Panel data or longitudinal data typically refer to data containing time series observations of a number of individuals. Therefore, observations in panel data involve at least two dimensions; a cross-sectional dimension, indicated by subscript i, and a time series dimension, indicated by subscript t. However, panel data could have a more complicated clustering or hierarchical structure. For instance, variable y may be the measurement of the level of air pollution at station _ in city j of country i at time t (e.g. Antweiler (2001), Davis (1999)). For ease of exposition, I shall confine my presentation to a balanced panel involving N cross-sectional units, i = 1, . . .,N, over T time periods, t = 1, . . ., T._DONE_ There are at least three factors contributing to the geometric growth of panel data studies. (i) data availability, (ii) greater capacity for modeling the complexity of human behavior than a single cross-section or time series data, and (iii) challenging methodology. Advantages of Panel Data Panel data, by blending the inter-individual differences and intra-individual dynamics have several advantages over cross-sectional or time-series data: (i) More accurate inference of model parameters. Panel data usually contain more degrees of freedom and more sample variability than cross-sectional data which may be viewed as a panel with T = 1, or time series data which is a panel with N = 1, hence improving the efficiency of econometric estimates (e.g. Hsiao, Mountain and Ho-Illman (1995)._DONE_ (ii) Greater capacity for capturing the complexity of human behavior than a single cross-section or time series data. These include: (ii.a) Constructing and testing more complicated behavioral hypotheses. For instance, consider the example of Ben-Porath (1973) that a cross-sectional sample of married women was found to have an average yearly labor-force participation rate of 50 percent. These could be the outcome of random draws from a homogeneous population or could be draws from heterogeneous populations in which 50% were from the population who always work and 50% never work. If the sample was from the former, each woman would be expected to spend half of her married life in the labor force and half out of the labor force. The job turnover rate would be expected to be frequent and 3 the average job duration would be about two years. If the sample was from the latter, there is no turnover. The current information about a womans work status is a perfect predictor of her future work status. A cross-sectional data is not able to distinguish between these two possibilities, but panel data can because the sequential observations for a number of women contain information about their labor participation in different subintervals of their life cycle. Another example is the evaluation of the effectiveness of social programs (e.g. Heckman, Ichimura, Smith and Toda (1998), Hsiao, Shen, Wang and Wang (2005), Rosenbaum and Rubin (1985). Evaluating the effectiveness of certain programs using cross-sectional sample typically suffers from the fact that those receiving treatment are different from those without. In other words, one does not simultaneously observe what happens to an individual when she receives the treatment or when she does not. An individual is observed as either receiving treatment or not receiving treatment. Using the difference between the treatment group and control group could suffer from two sources of biases, selection bias due to differences in observable factors between the treatment and control groups and selection bias due to endogeneity of participation in treatment. For instance, Northern Territory (NT) in Australia decriminalized possession of small amount of marijuana in 1996. Evaluating the effects of decriminalization on marijuana smoking behavior by comparing the differences between NT and other states that were still non-decriminalized could suffer from either or both sorts of bias. If panel data over this time period are available, it would allow the possibility of observing the before- and affect-effects on individuals of decriminalization as well as providing the possibility of isolating the effects of treatment from other factors affecting the outcome. 4 (ii.b) Controlling the impact of omitted variables. It is frequently argued that the real reason one finds (or does not find) certain effects is due to ignoring the effects of certain variables in ones model specification which are correlated with the included explanatory variables. Panel data contain information on both the intertemporal dynamics and the individuality of the entities may allow one to control the effects of missing or unobserved variables. For instance, MaCurdys (1981) life-cycle labor supply model under certainty implies that because the logarithm of a workers hours worked is a linear function of the logarithm of her wage rate and the logarithm of workers marginal utility of initial wealth, leaving out the logarithm of the workers marginal utility of initial wealth from the regression of hours worked on wage rate because it is unobserved can lead to seriously biased inference on the wage elasticity on hours worked since initial wealth is likely to be correlated with wage rate. However, since a workers marginal utility of initial wealth stays constant over time, if time series observations of an individual are available, one can take the difference of a workers labor supply equation over time to eliminate the effect of marginal utility of initial wealth on hours worked. The rate of change of an individuals hours worked now depends only on the rate of change of her wage rate. It no longer depends on her marginal utility of initial wealth._DONE_ (ii.c) Uncovering dynamic relationships. Economic behavior is inherently dynamic so that most econometrically interesting relationship are explicitly or implicitly dynamic. (Nerlove (2002)). However, the estimation of time-adjustment pattern using time series data often has to rely on arbitrary prior restrictions such as Koyck or Almon distributed lag models because time series observations of current and lagged variables are likely to be highly collinear (e.g. Griliches (1967)). With panel 5 data, we can rely on the inter-individual differences to reduce the collinearity between current and lag variables to estimate unrestricted time-adjustment patterns (e.g. Pakes and Griliches (1984))._DONE_ (ii.d) Generating more accurate predictions for individual outcomes by pooling the data rather than generating predictions of individual outcomes using the data on the individual in question. If individual behaviors are similar conditional on certain variables, panel data provide the possibility of learning an individuals behavior by observing the behavior of others. Thus, it is possible to obtain a more accurate description of an individuals behavior by supplementing observations of the individual in question with data on other individuals (e.g. Hsiao, Appelbe and Dineen (1993), Hsiao, Chan, Mountain and Tsui (1989)). (ii.e) Providing micro foundations for aggregate data analysis. Aggregate data analysis often invokes the representative agent assumption. However, if micro units are heterogeneous, not only can the time series properties of aggregate data be very different from those of disaggregate data (e.g., Granger (1990); Lewbel (1992); Pesaran (2003)), but policy evaluation based on aggregate data may be grossly misleading. Furthermore, the prediction of aggregate outcomes using aggregate data can be less accurate than the prediction based on micro-equations (e.g., Hsiao, Shen and Fujiki (2005)). Panel data containing time series observations for a number of individuals is ideal for investigating the homogeneity versus heterogeneity issue. (iii) Simplifying computation and statistical inference. Panel data involve at least two dimensions, a cross-sectional dimension and a time series dimension. Under normal circumstances one would expect that the 6 computation of panel data estimator or inference would be more complicated than cross-sectional or time series data. However, in certain cases, the availability of panel data actually simplifies computation and inference. For instance: (iii.a) Analysis of nonstationary time series. When time series data are not stationary, the large sample approximation of the distributions of the least-squares or maximum likelihood estimators are no longer normally distributed, (e.g. Anderson (1959), Dickey and Fuller (1979,81), Phillips and Durlauf (1986)). But if panel data are available, and observations among cross-sectional units are independent, then one can invoke the central limit theorem across cross-sectional units to show that the limiting distributions of many estimators remain asymptotically normal (e.g. Binder, Hsiao and Pesaran (2005), Levin, Lin and Chu (2002), Im, Pesaran and Shin (2004), Phillips and Moon (1999)). (iii.b) Measurement errors. Measurement errors can lead to under-identification of an econometric model (e.g. Aigner, Hsiao, Kapteyn and Wansbeek (1985)). The availability of multiple observations for a given individual or at a given time may allow a researcher to make different transformations to induce different and deducible changes in the estimators, hence to identify an otherwise unidentified model (e.g. Biorn (1992), Griliches and Hausman (1986), Wansbeek and Koning (1989)). (iii.c) Dynamic Tobit models. When a variable is truncated or censored, the actual realized value is unobserved. If an outcome variable depends on previous realized value and the previous realized value are unobserved, one has to take integration over the truncated range to obtain the likelihood of observables. In a dynamic framework with multiple missing values, the multiple 7 integration is computationally unfeasible. With panel data, the problem can be simplified by only focusing on the subsample in which previous realized values are observed (e.g. Arellano, Bover, and Labeager (1999)). The advantages of random effects (RE) specification are: (a) The number of parameters stay constant when sample size increases. (b) It allows the derivation of efficient 10 estimators that make use of both within and between (group) variation. (c) It allows the estimation of the impact of time-invariant variables. The disadvantage is that one has to specify a conditional density of ÃŽÂ ±i given x Ëœ _ i = (x Ëœ it, . . ., x ËœiT ), f(ÃŽÂ ±i | x Ëœ i), while ÃŽÂ ±i are unobservable. A common assumption is that f(ÃŽÂ ±i | x Ëœi) is identical to the marginal density f(ÃŽÂ ±i). However, if the effects are correlated with x Ëœit or if there is a fundamental difference among individual units, i.e., conditional on x Ëœit, yit cannot be viewed as a random draw from a common distribution, common RE model is misspecified and the resulting estimator is biased. The advantages of fixed effects (FE) specification are that it can allow the individualand/ or time specific effects to be correlated with explanatory variables x Ëœ it. Neither does it require an investigator to model their correlation patterns. The disadvantages of the FE specification are: (a) The number of unknown parameters increases with the number of sample observations. In the case when T (or N for ÃŽÂ »t) is finite, it introduces the classical incidental parameter problem (e.g. Neyman and Scott (1948)). (b) The FE estimator does not allow the estimation of the coefficients that are time-invariant. In order words, the advantages of RE specification are the disadvantages of FE specification and the disadvantages of RE specification are the advantages of FE specification. To choose between the two specifications, Hausman (1978) notes that if the FE estimator (or GMM), ˆ ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¸_DONE_ ËœFE, is consistent whether ÃŽÂ ±i is fixed or random and the commonly used RE estimator (or GLS), ˆ ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¸ ËœRE, is consistent and efficient only when ÃŽÂ ±i is indeed uncorrelated with x Ëœit and is inconsistent if ÃŽÂ ±i is correlated with x Ëœit. The advantage of RE specification is that there is no incidental parameter problem. The problem is that f(ÃŽÂ ±i | x Ëœ i) is in general unknown. If a wrong f(ÃŽÂ ±i | x Ëœi) is postulated, maximizing the wrong likelihood function will not yield consistent estimator of ÃŽÂ ² Ëœ . Moreover, the derivation of the marginal likelihood through multiple integration may be computationally infeasible. The advantage of FE specification is that there is no need to specify f(ÃŽÂ ±i | x Ëœ i). The likelihood function will be the product of individual likelihood (e.g. (4.28)) if the errors are i.i.d. The disadvantage is that it introduces incidental parameters. Longitudinal (Panel and Time Series Cross-Section) Data Nathaniel Beck Department of Politics NYU New York, NY 10012 [emailprotected] http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/politics/faculty/beck/beck home.html Jan. 2004 What is longitudinal data? Observed over time as well as over space. Pure cross-section data has many limitations (Kramer, 1983). Problem is that only have one historical context. (Single) time series allows for multiple historical context, but for only one spatial location. Longitudinal data repeated observations on units observed over time Subset of hierarchical data observations that are correlated because there is some tie to same unit. E.g. in educational studies, where we observe student i in school u. Presumably there is some tie between the observations in the same school. In such data, observe yj,u where u indicates a unit and j indicates the jth observation drawn from that unit. Thus no relationship between yj,u and yj,u0 even though they have the same first subscript. In true longitudinal data, t represents comparable time. Generalized Least Squares An alternative is GLS. If is known (up to a scale factor), GLS is fully efficient and yields consistent estimates of the standard errors. The GLS estimates of _ are given by (X0à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1X) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1X0à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1Y (14) with estimated covariance matrix (X0à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1X) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1 . (15) (Usually we simplify by finding some trick to just do a simple transform on the observations to make the resulting variance-covariance matrix of the errors satisfy the Gauss-Markov assumptions. Thus, the common Cochrane-Orcutt transformation to eliminate serial correlation of the errors is almost GLS, as is weighted regression to eliminate heteroskedasticity.) The problem is that is never known in practice (even up to a scale factor). Thus an estimate of , ˆ , is used in Equations 14 and 15. This procedure, FGLS, provides consistent estimates of _ if ˆ  is estimated by residuals computed from consistent estimates of _; OLS provides such consistent estimates. We denote the FGLS estimates of _ by Ëœ_. In finite samples FGLS underestimates sampling variability (for normal errors). The basic insight used by Freedman and Peters is that X0à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1X is a (weakly) concave function of . FGLS uses an estimate of , ˆ , in place of the true . As a consequence, the expectation of the FGLS variance, over possible realizations of ˆ , will be less than the variance, computed with the . This holds even if ˆ  is a consistent estimator of . The greater the variance of ˆ , the greater the downward bias. This problem is not severe if there are only a small number of parameters in the variance-covariance matrix to be estimated (as in Cochrane-Orcutt) but is severe if there are a lot of parameters relative to the amount of data. Beck TSCS Winter 2004 Class 1 8 ASIDE: Maximum likelihood would get this right, since we would estimate all parameters and take those into account. But with a large number of parameters in the error process, we would just see that ML is impossible. That would have been good. PANEL DATA ANALYSIS USING SAS ABU HASSAN SHAARI MOHD NOR Faculty of Economics and Business Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia [emailprotected] FAUZIAH MAAROF Faculty of Science Universiti Putra Malaysia [emailprotected] 2007 Advantages of panel data According to Baltagi (2001) there are several advantages of using panel data as compared to running the models using separate time series and cross section data. They are as follows: Large number of data points 2)Increase degrees of freedom reduce collinearity 3) Improve efficiency of estimates and 4) Broaden the scope of inference The Econometrics of Panel Data Michel Mouchart 1 Institut de statistique Università © catholique de Louvain (B) 3rd March 2004 1 text book Statistical modelling : benefits and limita- tions of panel data 1.5.1 Some characteristic features of P.D. Object of this subsection : features to bear in mind when modelling P.D. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Size : often N (] of individual(s)) is large Ti (size of individual time series) is small thus:N >> Ti BUT this is not always the case ] of variables is large (often: multi-purpose survey) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Sampling : often individuals are selected randomly Time is not rotating panels split panels _ : individuals are partly renewed at each period à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ non independent data among data relative to a same individual: because of unobservable characteristics of each individual among individuals : because of unobservable characteristics common to several individuals between time periods : because of dynamic behaviour CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 10 1.5.2 Some benefits from using P.D. a) Controlling for individual heterogeneity Example : state cigarette demand (Baltagi and Levin 1992) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Unit : 46 american states à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Time period : 1963-1988 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ endogenous variable : cigarette demand à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ explanatory variables : lagged endogenous, price, income à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ consider other explanatory variables : Zi : time invariant religion ( ± stable over time) education etc. Wt state invariant TV and radio advertising (national campaign) Problem : many of these variables are not available This is HETEROGENEITY (also known as frailty) (remember !) omitted variable ) bias (unless very specific hypotheses) Solutions with P.D. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ dummies (specific to i and/or to t) WITHOUT killing the data à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ differences w.r.t. to i-averages i.e. : yit 7! (yit à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢  ¯yi.)_DONE_ CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 11 b) more information data sets à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ larger sample size due to pooling _ individual time dimension In the balanced case: NT observations In the unbalanced case: P1_i_N Ti observations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ more variability ! less collinearity (as is often the case in time series) often : variation between units is much larger than variation within units_DONE_ c) better to study the dynamics of adjustment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ distinguish repeated cross-sections : different individuals in different periods panel data : SAME individuals in different periods à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ cross-section : photograph at one period repeated cross-sections : different photographs at different periods only panel data to model HOW individuals ajust over time . This is crucial for: policy evaluation life-cycle models intergenerational models_DONE_ CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 12 d) Identification of parameters that would not be identified with pure cross-sections or pure time-series: example 1 : does union membership increase wage ? P.D. allows to model BOTH union membership and individual characteristics for the individuals who enter the union during the sample period. example 2 : identifying the turn-over in the female participation to the labour market. Notice: the female, or any other segment ! i.e. P.D. allows for more sophisticated behavioural models e) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ estimation of aggregation bias à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ often : more precise measurements at the micro level Comparing the Fixed Effect and the Ran- dom Effect Models 2.4.1 Comparing the hypotheses of the two Models The RE model and the FE model may be viewed within a hierarchical specification of a unique encompassing model. From this point of view, the two models are not fundamentally different, they rather correspond to different levels of analysis within a unique hierarchical framework. More specifically, from a Bayesian point of view, where all the variables (latent or manifest) and parameters are jointly endowed with a (unique) probability measure, one CHAPTER 2. ONE-WAY COMPONENT REGRESSION MODEL 37 may consider the complete specification of the law of (y, ÃŽÂ ¼, _ | Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼) as follows: (y | ÃŽÂ ¼, _, Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼) _ N( Z_ _ + ZÃŽÂ ¼ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¼, _2 I(NT)) (2.64) (ÃŽÂ ¼ | _, Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼) _ N(0, _2 ÃŽÂ ¼ I(N)) (2.65) (_ | Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼) _ Q (2.66) where Q is an arbitrary prior probability on _ = (_, _2 , _2 ÃŽÂ ¼). Parenthetically, note that this complete specification assumes: y _2 ÃŽÂ ¼ | ÃŽÂ ¼, _, _2 , Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼ ÃŽÂ ¼(_, Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼) | _2 ÃŽÂ ¼ The above specification implies: (y | _, Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼) _ N( Z_ _ , _2 ÃŽÂ ¼ ZÃŽÂ ¼ Z0ÃŽÂ ¼ + _2 I(NT)) (2.67) Thus the FE model, i.e. (2.64), considers the distribution of (y | ÃŽÂ ¼, _, Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼) as the sampling distribution and the distributions of (ÃŽÂ ¼ | _, Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼) and (_ | Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼) as prior specification. The RE model, i.e. (2.67), considers the distribution of (y | _, Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼) as the sampling distribution and the distribution of (_ | Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼) as prior specification. Said differently, in the RE model, ÃŽÂ ¼ is treated as a latent (i.e. not obervable) variable whereas in the FE model ÃŽÂ ¼ is treated as an incidental parameter. Moreover, the RE model is obtained from the FE model through a marginalization with respect to ÃŽÂ ¼. These remarks make clear that the FE model and the RE model should be expected to display different sampling properties. Also, the inference on ÃŽÂ ¼ is an estimation problem in the FE model whereas it is a prediction problem in the RE model: the difference between these two problems regards the difference in the relevant sampling properties, i.e. w.r.t. the distribution of (y | ÃŽÂ ¼, _, Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼) or of (y | _, Z, ZÃŽÂ ¼), and eventually of the relevant risk functions, i.e. the sampling expectation of a loss due to an error between an estimated value and a (fixed) parameter or between a predicted value and the realization of a (latent) random variable. This fact does however not imply that both levels might be used indifferently. Indeed, from a sampling point of view: (i) the dimensions of the parameter spaces are drastically different. In the FE model, when N , the number of individuals, increases, the ÃŽÂ ¼i s being CHAPTER 2. ONE-WAY COMPONENT REGRESSION MODEL 38 incidental parameters also increases in number: each new individual introduces a new parameter.