Impact of Campaign Appearances on Key Constituencies

Impact of Campaign Appearances on Key Constituencies Abstract Why do people vote the way they do and what can candidates do to sway the votes of those that go to the polls? Do people cast their votes based on the policies advanced by a candidate, rational self-interest, or political campaigns and the get-the-vote-out efforts (e.g. campaign appearances, advertising, door-to-door canvassing, leaflets, phone banks, electronic mail)? Which one of these influences most the number of votes a candidate gets in elections? Recent studies in voting behaviour point out to an increased importance of get-the-vote-out strategies. The purpose of the present paper is to explore the effects of one type of get-the-vote-out efforts more precisely, local visits by the candidate or incumbent in a certain constituency and the strategies politicians employ in order to increase the number of votes they get. I take as a case study the Romanian 2009 presidential election. I look at whether the abovementioned type of get-the-vote-out efforts made a difference in the number of votes the candidates got. Social scientists have recently started to pay increasing attention to matching in an attempt to infer causation based on experiments that rely on observational studies. In order to test my hypotheses I use matching as a main method. In addition to it, I conducted content analysis on printed and audio-visual media and run several OLS regressions. The results show that only one candidates campaign appearances were marginally significant in statistical terms and did have an effect on the number of votes that candidate got. INTRODUCTION Voting means freedom of expression in terms of political views; in any democracy, it is the ultimate method through which a mature, informed, law-abiding individual expresses his/her decision about how he/she wants to be ruled. It is about representation and participation; it is the assumption that those casting the vote are politically knowledgeable and want to express that knowledge (Popkin vs. Converse, Popkin, 2006). Thus, one of the key elements that candidates to public offices need to bear in mind is the fact that they must persuade the average individual not only to participate in the electoral process (and exercise their Constitutional right to freedom of expression) but also to cast a vote in their favour. The standard literature on voting behaviour lists as factors that influence the voters preferences for one candidate or another, elements such as: the position of the candidate on certain issues and their respective policy priorities, ideological attachments, rational self-interest (which candidates policies best fit the voters private interests) Kim 2009 and Sears et al. 1979, discussants (the political preferences of people one esteems, trust etc.), and charisma (Popkin 2004, Lau and Redlawsk, 2006). However, these elements fail to explain much of the realities in newer democracies, for instance post-communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe such as Romania. Even in old democracies, researchers have started to focus more on political campaigning and advertising as factors that make individuals cast a vote for a particular candidate. The broad category of political campaigning includes: campaign appearances, advertising (TV spots and billboard ads), door-to-door canvassing, leaflets, phone banks, direct and electronic mail. This approach has proven to be a promising stream in voting behaviour research, as many studies conducted in the U.S. show. A somewhat similar study was conducted after the 2000 election in the U.S., by King and Morehouse (2005), their aim being to demonstrate that the Gore Mississippi River trip of August 2000 was paramount in moving voter preferences for this candidate in the states included in the itinerary of the trip this being a more productive campaign scheme than television ads and media consulting services. The natural question that emerges thus is to what extent political campaigning has an effect on voters preference for one candidate or another. The present paper aims at exploring this question by focusing on the case of the Romanian presidential election of 2009. Of all the abovementioned types of political campaigning I decided to take into account the candidates electoral visits in different towns, the main reason being the fact that this the most commonly used in Romania. Therefore, the main research question that this paper raises is: Do campaign appearances have an effect on the number of votes a particular candidate gets in elections? To answer this question I test one main hypothesis: H1: In towns where a particular candidate already enjoyed a high number of supporters, that candidates electoral visit led to an increase in the number of votes he got. Several additional hypotheses are tested, although they do not refer strictly to the core research problem the effect of making appearances on the number of votes a candidate gets in election. H2: Candidates organizing electoral visits in constituencies leads to an increase in the turnout of a particular election. H3: Candidates organizing electoral visits in constituencies lead to an increase in the added number of votes of those respective candidates. In order to test these hypotheses I use matching, a statistical method that compares groups (in this particular case, the number of votes each candidate got in the towns where they made an electoral appearance against the number of votes they got in the towns where they did not make an electoral appearance) on measurable parameters. The mentioned parameter should be as closely resembling (if not equal) as possible. Thus, the paired towns have similar (sometimes even identical) values for the confounding variables, the difference in the number of votes each candidate got being therefore attributed to the electoral visits of that said candidate. While this method has been extensively used in medical or economics researches, recently political scientists started using it on a more extensive basis, especially when it comes to observational or experimental studies. In addition to this, I conducted content analysis in order to identify the towns where the presidential candidates made appearances. I analyzed two national newspapers (chosen based on the total circulation number) and one national TV station. I crosschecked the information derived from the media against the information provided on the personal web pages of the candidates. Furthermore, I ran several OLS regressions in order to test whether the hypotheses hold. In what regards the structure, the paper is divided into four main sections as follows: the first offers an overview of the existing literature in the field of voting behaviour; the second deals with the theoretical background and the methodology employed; the third introduces the data used and presents the analysis, whereas the fourth section discusses the main findings and proposes directions for further research. The novelty that this paper brings consists in applying a relatively new approach in voting behaviour research the effects of political campaigning on voters choice for a particular candidate to a country that previous studies have tackled very little. In addition to this, matching represents an innovative method able to provide a more in-depth and meaningful insight in this particular field, still underused by social sciences researchers. LITERATURE REVIEW, METHOD AND THEORY This chapter will focus on a brief overview of the current literature in the field of voting behaviour with an emphasis on campaign events used by candidates to persuade voters to cast a vote for them, while highlighting at the same time the aspects of the theory that are of crucial importance for the present study, and propose a way to analyze them further. Literature Review Together with voting, electoral campaigns represent the main tool through which citizens in representative democracies assess the suitability of a candidate running for office. This allows that candidates, in their turn, can use the same tool in order to attract a larger and broader audience whose political views they can thus hope to shape into favouring them above all other candidates (Arceneaux, 2010). For the purpose of the present study, it is important to point out from the very beginning, that the scholarly literature on electoral campaigning and voter behaviour focuses on two main aspects of campaigning. The first deals with campaign appearances and local visits in key constituencies (Holbrook 2002, 1996, Campbell 2000, Shaw 1999, Jones 1998 cited in King and Morehouse 2005), while the second with television advertisements (Shaw 1999, Freedman and Goldstein 1999, Ansolabehere and Iyengar 1995, Finkel 1993 cited in King and Morehouse 2005). The two aspects mentioned above have been deemed as the two most important in impacting voters behaviour in terms of choosing a candidate and/or voting on Election Day. Yet it has been argued by scholars (Fowler et al. 2002 and Joslyn and Ceccoli 1996) that in order for a candidates visit or ad to have a lasting impact on the voter, the specific voter needed to have a previous lingering inclination towards that specific candidate (cited in K ing and Morehouse, 2005). As I have previously mentioned, the literature on elections and voting behaviour, focuses primarily on types of voting or factors that influence voting, i.e. economic voting, instrumental or expressive voting, self-interest voting, issue voting and so on. The focus is thus on who votes (Wolfinger and Rosenstone 1980, Sigleman, Roeder, Jewell and Baer 1985, Verba, Nie and Kim 1978) or on what makes individuals vote. More precisely, the focus is on what are the influences of how individuals vote and how a candidate can persuade voters to cast a vote in his/her favour. Relatively recent studies on campaigning and campaign management (Feddersen and Pesendorfer 1997, Dutta, Jackson, Le Breton, 2001, Thurber Nelson, 2004, King and Morehouse, 2005, Gerber and Green, 2008) illustrate that campaigns usually aim at influencing the reasons individuals have for voting in a particular way, with a strong emphasis on manipulation and appeal to emotions. Still a clear-cut connection between differe nt types of campaigning, the symbolic factor and the rationality of the voter is yet to be found especially in what concerns new democracies, such as Romania. In order to explore the issue of how Romanian leaders carried out campaigns in the last 20 years since the revolution it needs to be pointed out that their main focus was, as mentioned above, to appeal to the emotions of the individual. They achieve this through the symbolic over-flooding of messages (Sears, Hensler and Speer, 1979, Pippidi, 2004) in the printed press and the audiovisual, in the speeches they hold during TV debates and/or rallies, or in their campaign appearances in different constituencies. In the U.S. case (the 2000 U.S. elections); King and Morehouse point out that the Democrats presidential campaign made use of campaign appearances as a tactic to generate positive media coverage. Through these campaign appearances the Democrat candidate managed to energize the base, while it also generated free advertising and appealed more to the local community since is their media reporting the news. King and Morehouse go on to underline that: local newspapers and television s tations are eager to cover campaign events and they tend to approach politics with less cynicism than one finds among the national press corps[1] (King and Morehouse, 2005). Thus they emphasize that candidates should in fact choose key swing states for campaign appearances and attract the local media to generate free coverage both locally and at national level. Although both in 2004 and 2009 Romanian presidential candidates made use of electoral visits in order to gain media coverage, the Romanian media landscape is quite different from the American one. In contrast to the U.S. where local media is powerful and autonomous, the Romanian local media is mainly an extension of the national media. Most national TV stations and newspapers or radios have local versions for most of the towns or counties. Consequently, the news coverage these local media do is still in accordance to the articles printed at the national level at least in the case of high level importance elections. Referring to the pieces of news that voters use to inform themselves about candidates and campaigns, recent research showed that (Baum, 2006) soft news impact to an important degree inattentive individuals by making them change their preferences depending on the cues they get from that type of news. Following the idea presented by King and Morehouse (2005) that local media is and should be used by politicians to get their message across for free during elections to as many individuals as possible, it also follows that candidates should and must tailor their message and their campaign strategies depending on the different societal groups they aim at reaching (Baum, 2005). Since most supporters of parties build their political knowledge and political preferences based on the cues they get from different tabloids or entertainment shows yet still do this on a rational manner (Jerit, Barabas, and Bolsen, 2006) it is all the more clear why Romanian politicians use the sensational factor in their speeches and why they centre their campaign discourse more on rhetoric than ideology and concrete policies. The average voter tends to watch more soft news than hard news, as the former promote a humanized version of politics and politicians, emphasizing the personality and character of a candidate (as well as his/her shortcomings and mistakes). Thus, instead of the policies, the voter ends up identifying with the candidate and vote more based on feelings and emotions rather than ideological attachment or policy preferences. Jerit mentions that even if learning from this medium is largely passive and unintentional, individuals may obtain enough information to function as monitorial citizens (Schudson, 1998) (Jerit et al., 2006). Another relevant aspect involving the literature on campaigning and campaign appearances promoted through national and local media is presented by Zaller. His main argument, that mass communication is a powerful instrument for shaping attitudes and [that] it exercises this power on an essentially continuous basis (Zaller, 1996, p. 18) strengthens the argument made by King and Morehouse (2005) and mentioned above. By meeting with the local press and presenting their platform they insure that even those not present at the rallies or not watching the debates might still find out about what their campaign platform is. Lastly, still on the issue of media and campaign appearances, Natalie Strouds article points out that there is in fact a relationship between selective exposure and political attitudes (the example she gives is that those who watched Fahrenheit 9/11 were significantly more negative towards the Bush administration; not only that, but they also were more prone to start political discussions on the topic, as opposed to those who did not see the film). Thus, those exposed to such means of communication, tend to be more politically active and to engage in political discussions due to the attitude polarization of the extreme media messages. For the present paper, this argument can be interpreted in the light of the local visits made by candidates. Given the trail of articles following the candidates visits, the previous argument supports the statement that visits generated local and national coverage in the press for the candidates. This in turn generated debates between the supporters and even the detractors of those said candidates, ultimately leading to their being moved towards the polls on Election Day. Directly related to turnout though, Powell (1980, 1986) was the first to look at vote turnout in an analysis that span over twenty-nine democratic countries, between 1958 to 1976, in an attempt to answer why is turnout high in some countries and low in others. He found that there are certain mobilizing voting laws: compulsory voting and the fact that the governments assume responsibility for registering individuals on lists for elections, as well as strong-line party alignments (Crewe, 1981, also lists strong-line alignments) that increase turnout. Consequently, for the present study, one can take from Powells study the fact that having a party with strong-line alignments (Romania already has a system where the government assumes responsibility for registering the eligible voters on lists), that has kept a constant line in politics over time, and that enlists as a candidate a charismatic individual has more chances to move voters and persuade them to cast a favourable vote for that c andidate, given that the party has a campaign that ensures its candidate makes appearances in key constituencies. Other similar studies include those made by Jackman (1987), Blais and Carty (1990), Black (1991) or Franklin (1996), but all dealing with turnout and what influences higher or lower turnout either the electoral system, compulsory voting, degree of disproportionality of electoral outcomes, unciameralism vs. bicameralism, postal voting, Sunday voting, number of polling days. While focusing on all the abovementioned factors that influence turnout the referred studies either eliminate or loose sight of the campaign effect on the number of votes a candidate gets. This is why the present paper, following these studies, in an attempt to complete the picture presented by them, focuses on the effect of campaign visits on the number of votes candidates got in the visited constituencies. Another aspect to bear in mind is that the previously mentioned studies were focusing on old democracies, while this paper analyses the election in an East-European new democracy. Method and theory As this paper is using matching as a main methodological tool constituencies where the candidates made appearances are matched with similar constituencies where those candidates did organize electoral visits a closer look it is needed in order for the analysis to be better understood. Method Matching has been proposed as a non-parametric solution to problems of bias that emerge in observational studies (Rosenbaum and Rubin, 1983, 1985 cited in Arceneaux et al. 2006). However, scholars are split between the issue of matching having a bias or not, especially given the fact that it is nonetheless a method that allows for unobserved differences between groups to remain unnoticed. The literature on the topic, to date, focuses on the performance of matching estimators but uses experimental benchmarks, and not observational data (Dehejia and Wahba 1999; Heckman, Ichimura, and Todd 1997, 1998; Heckman, Ichimura, Smith, and Todd 1998; Smith and Todd 2003 cited in Arceneaux et al. 2006). The matching process identifies treated individuals [in this case, towns] who share the same background characteristics as untreated individuals [towns]. It is hoped that after matching on covariates, any remaining difference between groups can be attributed to the effect of the treatment (Arcenea ux et al. 2006). This is one of the reasons why this paper will look at the performance of matching estimators in explaining if campaign appearances generate increases in a candidates obtained number of votes in those constituencies visited but will use observational data instead of experiments. Another aspect to bear in mind when conducting an electoral campaign focused research is the strategic nature of campaigns, for as Arceneaux highlights, selection biases may appear in voter exposure to campaign stimuli therefore creating biased estimates of campaign effects (Arceneaux, 2010). This is why it would prove interesting to look at the campaign trail for each candidate and highlight the strategy used for getting-out-the-vote in the constituencies visited. Yet the present study will not deal with this aspect extensively since the main issue that it addresses remains the ability of campaign appearances to persuade voters to cast a favourable vote for the candidate making the appearance. In terms of time and geographical parameters, the focus here is on the Romanian presidential elections of 2009. In order to counteract the possible matching bias that the literature on the topic mentions (Arceneaux et al. 2006), a comparison between the number of votes the candidates considere d for this study got in 2009 and the number of votes their parties got in the 2008 parliamentary election is introduced as an independent variable (the comparison is made for each of the towns included in the study and their matches). For the purpose of this study it is also of great importance to shortly note the manner in which the candidates lead their campaign. Pippa Norris mentions that most candidates are vote-maximizers, following set patterns when setting their electoral agendas, and that they usually involve putting issues before voters (Pippa Norris, 2004). Therefore, a candidates electoral agenda should focus on issues that are crucial points for the constituency he is running for. For the presidency this means centring their agenda on issues that interest most of the country. Consequently, the agendas should follow the lines of thought of the majority of voters without transforming the speech into pure rhetoric, demagogy or empty promises. As the following sub-chapter will highlight this is usually not the case for Romania and for the Romanian electoral campaigns. Social networks researchers (Valdis Krebs, 2004) suggested that there are certain key facts to take into account when addressing the issue of building the electoral campaign in such a way that will mobilize voters and persuade them to vote for a particular candidate. One is getting a charismatic figure as candidate, someone that could be perceived as a role model. A second one would be using candidate appearances (or party supporters) to get the votes of the undecided this has been a technique also used by the Gore campaign of 2000 (King and Morehouse, 2005), whereas the third would be using campaign appearances to consolidate the faith and votes of a constituency that already supports that particular candidate. For the Romanian 2009 electoral campaign the latter two mentioned strategies were used using campaign appearances to either convince the undecided or consolidate the faith and votes of a constituency though with a higher emphasis on the latter. As far as the present paper is concerned, it is also important to look at the campaign agendas and stump speeches the candidates tailored for each visited constituency. It is noteworthy to point out that, contrary to what Rose and Haerpfer (1994) highlighted for Eastern European voters, voting in Romania is based on socio-tropic evaluations. In Romania, as in most Eastern European new democracies, the main problems governments are faced with are political and economical. Due to the negative views regarding the state of economy, individuals tend to vote economically. In other words, this means that they hold the president responsible for the state of the economy even if to a lesser extent than they view it as the parliaments responsibility. Having in mind the aspects mentioned above, one of the independent variables chosen for this study is the unemployment rate, at county level, this helping pinpoint the level of development of the region. The assumption for that choice was that the better developed the region was, the more people it has employed in different industry branches, the higher the income of the inhabitants is (this may also mean better education for the voters), and the better the ability to assign responsibility correctly and therefore, make more informed decisions when casting their vote.[2] Further on, I looked at previous voting patterns for those constituencies where the candidates made campaign appearances, in order to establish whether there is a recurring pattern in the voting habits of the inhabitants of the area, and if the appearances influenced it one way or another. This is needed to show whether political candidates chose some constituencies with the intention to get those voters to go to the polls and vote for them, the choice being done strategically or not. As mentioned before, this paper will not attempt to deal with the large issue of political campaigning as a whole. It will examine a particular aspect of it candidate appearances, whether it is rallies (events where candidates meet with their constituents), or meetings with the media in a certain constituency. The latter aspect of campaigning is a practice commonly used in Romanian elections, where candidates meet with the local media and thus get free advertising in the local media as well as coverage at the national level. Yet it is unclear if this aspect is at the back of the minds of the candidates when doing it. Theoretical Background for Romania In post-Revolution Romania, too often party members change their affiliation; floating from one party to another, only to adapt to the fact that their former party lost elections or simply because the party no longer meets their needs and political aspirations. Each election, the electorate is faced with incumbents or new candidates who have both tailored their political rhetoric to the current political persuasion of those who have nominated them so that they can secure elections without having a clear and strong ideology. Consequently, politicians are transformed into clients of the parties or party officials and vertical accountability in office is void of its initial meaning (Pippidi, 2004)[3]. This system has been maintained in place by a dual executive that doesnt share power but functions on a servitude basis and on the basis of repetition a bicameral legislative framework, where the two chambers are equal, elected in the same way, with almost identical functions and where both deputies and senators cannot be bound by instructions of their constituencies (Ludwikowski, 1996, pp. 129). All these have been a staple of the post-communist elections in Romania and have eroded the quality of the democratic process. As a consequence, both presidential and parliamentary elections are heavily dominated by populist discourses. In 2009, the main parties having candidates running for the presidential office were the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the Democratic-Liberal Party (PD-L), and the National Liberal Party (PNL). The first one, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), is considered to be the heir of the former Communist Party following the revolution of 1989, and as such maintained itself as the largest and best institutionalized one (Curt, 2007). However, the alleged failures of the 1992-6 and 2000-4 governments placed it on the second position in the preferences of the people. For the purpose of this study, I have chosen to exclude from the analysis candidates of other parties or independent candidates that also ran for the presidential office. That is based on the assumption that their importance in the preferences of the majority of the electorate was secondary compared to the candidates of the three parties mentioned above. DATA DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS This section of the paper focuses on the collected data, more precisely the sources of the data, the method of collection, as well as how it was used further in the analysis. Data Given that before I have mentioned the tendency of the Romanian voter to base political decisions on the state of the economy and on feelings (the persuasiveness of the candidate playing a key role here), it will facilitate the understanding of the analysis to point out that voters also tend to be influenced by other factors (since they dont appear to vote by making evaluations, appraisals or weighting their decision). This is why the speeches of the candidates during their campaign appearances in the thirty towns used in the analysis were centred on aspects such as the economy and the recent economic crisis, family values, wages and the incompetence of the other candidate versus their own competence superiority. By choosing these facts to centre the speeches on, they tackled some of the key aspects that influence the Romanian electorate: the socio-economic background, their social environment, self-interest, the charisma of the candidate, and the fear of change that the elections wi ll bring changes in government that will prove to the detriment of the country. The socio-economic background is important for both the Romanian voter and the candidates since it is a well known fact that most of the Romanian middle class families tend to vote for coalitions or for democrat-liberals, as these give them the confidence that their income will stay at the same level; while the working class families, for example tend to vote for socialists or social-democrats. The social environment also is a crucial factor, since family values are still of paramount importance in Romania. Individuals therefore, tend to vote in high percentages, the same way their parents vote (Hatemi et al., have already shown that parents have a major role in determining the initial political direction of their children especially if the children still live at home which is the case for most Romanians, thus the previous inference gets higher support.) Individuals also tend to focus on only one or two key policy areas (issue publics as they tend to acquire information about candidates and elections based on their interest in particular issues) and inquire only about issues they are primarily affected by or interested in (Young Mie Kim, 2009). Therefore, candidates tailor their speeches based on the issue that is more pressing for the electorate they visit. Seeing things in this light, Feddersen and Pesendorfer (1997) argue that though individuals focus on one or two policy areas makes the electorate as a whole better informed collectively about what the alternatives and best outcomes are, for this particular case, at an individual level, the choice might still not be the best one. On the other hand, yet still highly related to the previous statement, it is not clear if self-interest is necessarily what guides the Romanian voter. On these lines, Sears et al. (1979) highlight that self-interest guides the vote choice together with rational choice and that it is defined as minimizing losses for private well-being. But for Romania in 2009, the former correlation, that self-interest in terms of voting goes hand in hand with rational choice, is not necessarily always the case. What is more important is the security of the job, maintaining lower taxes, the ability to pay-off debts or receiving credits to pay-off debts, free medical care, a welfare state on the lines of the socialist credence. Subsequently, as long as a candidate promises the electorate the fulfilment of these, and appears credible (and here the charisma of the key party leader plays a very important role) in his promises, rational choice reasoning for casting a vote is rarely used. Lastly, I would al so argue that, at least for Romania, candidates, but especially incumbents, use fear of change to influence voters and to move them to polls. Here fear of change is understood in the sense of apprehension towards everything and anything that is new, that might change the previous order, the previous system and its institutions, that might demand for different behaviour. Having all of the above in mind, and going back to the purpose of the paper, to conclude, the main issue this paper looked at was if by making campaign appearances in different constituencies, and using the abovementioned influencing factors, the candidates for presidency persuaded voters and managed to get them to cast a favourable vote; that is to say, if the campaign appearance of a candidate in a particular co

Eco 372 Week 2 Individual Paper

Week 2 Fundamental Macroeconomics October 22, 2012 ECO/372 There are several factors that affect our economy, gross domestic product (GDP), real GDP, nominal GDP, unemployment rate, inflation rate, and interest rates. All of these factors have influences over how we purchase groceries, weather there will be massive layoffs of employees, and decrease in taxes. Gross domestic product is the market value of final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. Which this is commonly considered an indicator of the standard of living within a country.Real GDP on the other hand is measure of the value of economic output that adjust for price changes. Nominal GDP is a gross domestic product figure that has not been adjusted for inflation. Unemployment rate is the measure of the prevalence of unemployment and is calculated as a percentage by dividing the number of unemployed people by the individuals that are currently in the labor force. Inflation rate is the percentage rate of change in price levels over time, usually one year. An interest rate is the rate which interest is paid by a borrower for the use of money that they borrow from a lender.All of these factors are related to our everyday lives and how we manager our money, what we spend our money on, and when we spend our money. Buying groceries sounds like a simple task but when you are on a budget it can be pretty stressful. The cost of groceries affects the government because this is a good that is produced and sold within our country; which affects GDP, real GDP, and nominal GDP. This is directly related to consumer spending and in times of a recession consumers pull back on their spending and go into savings mode.When consumers go into savings mode this affect every type of business because production is down and this could cause layoffs. Buying groceries affects households because thousands of people struggle everyday to provide for their families and when the cost of goods constantly goes u p but wages don't this makes it really difficult to live. Massive layoffs affect people's standard of living and that is what the GDP is centered around; as it measures the standard of living in that country.Massive layoffs will definitely affect the unemployment rate and a higher unemployment affects the economy because this means more people are on unemployment so there salaries are down so what they are spending is down. Massive layoffs has a vicious cycle and globally in 2012, 200 million people are without employment and this shows the slowdown in employment growth, which means companies aren't hiring and people aren't spending like the where. Massive layoffs affect the economy dramatically because it has a huge impact on consumer spending which in my opinion makes the world go around.If no one is buying then production is down and that's how layoffs happen, and this affects households, businesses, and the government. Tax decreases can stimulate economic growth because if peopl e are paying less in taxes, they have more money to spend. It has been proven over the years that tax decreases generate economic growth and federal revenue will always rise. From a personal standpoint I always spend more during tax season because I usually get a good return; since I am a single parent and full-time student, therefore, I qualify for various tax breaks.These obviously affect my household because I am more disposable income. Tax decreases can help a business if their taxes are decreased the organization will payout less and have more income. As we compare GDP, nominal GDP, real GDP, unemployment rates, inflation, and interest rates, it is obvious that all of these factors affect us everyday. They show how we spend our money and these factors give indications of recession. Buying groceries, layoffs, and tax decreases are all a reflection of these factors.Daily acts, such as, buying groceries has huge impact on our economy because it is directly related to consumer spen ding, which is a driving force. Massive layoffs affect our households, business, and government because this causes consumer spending to go down. Tax decreases on the other hand has a positive influence on all six factors. Plus it will benefit your household, business, and the government. References Colander, D. C. (2010). Macroeconomics (8th ed. ). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin http://www. forbes. com

Argumentative Essay Topics on Telehealth Reviews & Tips

Argumentative Essay Topics on Telehealth Reviews & Tips The Honest to Goodness Truth on Argumentative Essay Topics on Telehealth Living a human life entails a selection of relationships and membership in a variety of groups. It is crucial to check reviews about essay writing services in order to be confident they can deliver your task before the deadline. To be able to effectively deliver the services staff that are on-call have to be bilingual since we serve a massive population of monolingual customers. There's always time to return and fix sentences to be able to bring a mature, astute voice to your essay. Choosing Good Argumentative Essay Topics on Telehealth In an age when health care costs are rising at a fast speed, strategies to decrease unnecessary spending is essential. Banning child labor will aid in boosting the economy of a nation. Among the most prevalent issues in our world today is the matter of deforestation. Look through the list of topics with care and start making a mental collection of the evidence you are able to use on topics you want. Telehealth may be used to reach patients in their houses through remote monitoring where personal wellbeing and healthcare data is collected from a patient in his house. Seniors who don't reside in the time of information technology might not be comfortable and familiarized with the advanced technologies of smart homes. Telehealth services extend the abilities and knowledge that nurses utilize daily. To guarantee technology interventions are well designed and can meet research-documented user requirements, there's a need to have a more specific, actionable model to give guidance for cities leaders to come up with and design interventions ideal for seniors employing the technology. Argumentative Essay Topics on Telehealth - What Is It? Another matter is the aging process which affects the physical dexterity of older people. A mind-independent rationale is some sort of reason which exists independently of human thought. At length, towards the conclusion of your conclusion, you might reflect on the way the essay compares to something else such as modern occasions or the future. Remember that you may make funny argumentative essays if you do a few things. The legal facet of the second case is that, the nurse failed to obey the legal duty of administering medication. In the event the initial care provided isn't successful a nurse must develop a different plan of action. To begin with, you can want to put new information associated with nursing available for others. 1 specific benefit to telehealth is the variety of patients that could be effectively cared for per nurse. Writing an argumentative essay is a skill that anyone in school should know, even though it can be useful outside the classroom, too. Working to an argumentative essay when you're learning first steps, isn't an easy endeavor to do. The paper can help you advance new frontiers for scholarly und erstanding. When you must compose your nursing research paper for college, you will need to make up an idea which you are able to present in your proposal. To write a great essay on any topic associated with that field students need to have technical wisdom and the capability to express ideas. One of the challenges that they face is to create good nursing research paper topics. It's essential not just to supply the evidence to strengthen your position but also to refute that of your opponents. You have to discover decent evidence to strengthen your ideas in addition to examples to illustrate the evidence. New Step by Step Roadmap for Argumentative Essay Topics on Telehealth Argumentative arguments are simply arguments that are written back on paper. The thing you ought to do as a way to structure an argumentative essay is to set a claim that's debatable. Your paper must include a totally one-sided conclusion stating your own stance is good while that of your opponent is totally bad. You can input ideas into your essay, but be certain they are in direct connection to the facts that you've already given in the essay. You could a lso see concept essays. When you develop this kind of essay, you have to make your claims by your composition so it will be open fordebate. Whether it's an argumentative or expository essay which you are writing, it is crucial to develop a clear thesis statement and a crystal clear sound reasoning. Argumentative essays have to be well-organized. Generally, they are not similar to othertypes of essays. Generally, the argumentative essay has the very same outline as nearly all conventional papers. It is very important to be aware an argumentative essay and an expository essay could possibly be similar, but they vary greatly concerning the quantity of pre-writing and research involved. The Hidden Truth About Argumentative Essay Topics on Telehealth An argumentative essays aim is to convince your reader to strengthen your side of the argument. If you wish to learn what an argumentative essay is, the very first thing you ought to remember is that its principal aim is to convince the audience to accept your perspective. In order to really convince readers of your perspective, the argumentative essay must also appear at the opposing views. It has a specific format that needs to be followed to blow the mind of the reader, and it is especially useful for students as well as the corporate while making strategic proposals.

Quotes From William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet,  one of Shakespeares iconic tragedies,  is a play about star-crossed lovers and their romance thats doomed from the start. It is one of the most famous plays of the English Renaissance, consistently taught and staged at high schools and colleges to this day. As their families feud to the death, Romeo and Juliet—the two young lovers—are caught between disparate worlds. The unforgettable play is filled with fights, secret marriages, and untimely deaths—along with some of Shakespeares most famous lines. Love and Passion The romance of Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the most famous in all of literature. The young lovers, despite their families objections, will do anything to be together, even if they must meet (and marry) in secret. During their private rendezvous, the characters give voice to some of Shakespeares most romantic speeches. What sadness lengthens Romeos hours?Not having that, which, having, makes them short.In love?Out—Of love?Out of her favor, where I am in love.(Benvolio and Romeo; Act 1, Scene 1) One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sunNeer  saw her match since first the world begun.(Romeo; Act 1, Scene 2) Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight,For I neer saw true beauty till this night.(Romeo; Act 1, Scene 5) My bounty is as boundless as the sea,My love as deep. The more I give to thee,The more I have, for both are infinite.(Juliet; Act 2, Scene 2) Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrowThat I shall say Good night till it  be  morrow.(Juliet; Act 2, Scene 2) See how she leans her cheek upon her hand.O, that I  were  a glove upon that hand,That I might touch that cheek!(Romeo; Act 2, Scene 2) These violent delights have violent endsAnd in their triumph die, like fire and powder,Which, as they kiss, consume.(Friar Lawrence; Act 2, Scene 3) Family and Loyalty Shakespeares young lovers come from two families—the Montagues and the Capulets—that are sworn enemies of each other. The clans  have kept alive their ancient grudge for years. Thus, Romeo and Juliet have each betrayed their family names in their love for each other. Their story shows what happens when this sacred bond is broken. What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the wordAs I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.(Tybalt; Act 1, Scene 1) O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?Deny thy father and refuse thy name,Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,And Ill no longer be a Capulet.(Juliet; Act 2, Scene 2) â€Å"Whats in a name? That which we call a roseBy any other word would smell as sweet.†(Juliet; Act 2, Scene 2) A plague o both your houses!(Mercutio; Act 3, Scene 1) Fate From the very beginning of the play, Shakespeare announces Romeo and Juliet as a story of destiny and fate. The young lovers are star-crossed and doomed to ill fortune, and their romance can only end in tragedy. The play unfolds with an inevitability reminiscent of Greek tragedy, as forces in motion slowly crush the young innocents who try to defy them. Two households, both alike in dignity(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene),From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.From forth the fatal loins of these two foesA pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;Whose misadventured piteous overthrowsDo with their death bury their parents strife.†(Chorus; Prologue) This days black fate on more days doth depend.This but begins the woe others must end.(Romeo; Act 3, Scene 1) â€Å"O, I am Fortunes fool!†(Romeo; Act 3, Scene 1)

Tying Together Yin, Yang, Dao, and the Chinese Dream of...

1/ Explain the concepts of â€Å"Yin† and â€Å"Yang†. Using pp. 227 ff in the textbook, try to tie them together with an early understanding of the â€Å"Dao† (â€Å"Tao†) and the Chinese dream of a ‘Golden Age’. The concepts of Yin, Yang, and Dao are beliefs the early Chinese had to better understand the order of nature and its elements. Yang is male energy, and is understood to stand for dry and warm elements in nature, as well as for active and expansive elements. Yin is the female energy, and is therefore the opposite of yang; it is wet and cold, slower and regressive in nature. Furthermore, yang objects (males) are seen as positive, heavenly and more important elements then yin objects (females). Objects in nature may at times have both yang and yin†¦show more content†¦For this reason, the Dao De Jing teaches that a wise human would hold both yin and yang in balance, and incorporate traits, from both, into their lifestyle. Dao also believes in the fact that what goes around comes around, and though someone may not follow the Dao way, nevertheless, in the end, all reverses. Daoism, according to Zhuang-zi, believed that in a world with perfect order and change there is no univers al truth or right way that all creatures must conform to. (Noss and Grangaard 234-241) 3/ Give a brief overview of different variations of Ancestor Veneration. Ancestor veneration was partly the result of a strong relationship based on interdependence of one another. The ancestors deepened on the living to keep them connected to the family, and the memory of them alive. This was done through prayers and sacrifices that were offered up to them. The living depended on their ancestors to provide the family with prosperity and good fortune. Any honor or favor the family received was also received by their ancestor, likewise, the same was true for any disgrace or injury received. Another way a family showed ancestor veneration was through pilgrimages taken by the whole family to their ancestor’s graves where they would leave offerings and restore their graves. Moreover, families also constructed shrines, in their homes, in tribute to their ancestors, and this was the place where sacrifices, prayers, requests and important decisions were presented before the ancestors

Music Therapy Free Essays

Professor Yankee 11/19/12 Music Therapy Why do people use this type of therapy exactly? Well music has been used as medicine for thousands of years and there’s a growing field of health care known as music therapy, which uses music to heal. Those who practice music therapy find benefits in using it to help cancer patients, children with ADD, and others, and even hospitals are beginning to use music therapy to help with pain management, to help ward off depression, to promote movement, to calm patients, to improve communication, to ease muscle tension, and for many other benefits that music and music therapy can bring. A lot of people don’t understand what kind of therapy this is, people have different assumptions about it but it is a real profession that takes a bachelor music degree. We will write a custom essay sample on Music Therapy or any similar topic only for you Order Now Music therapists work with a variety of physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms. It is often used in cancer treatment to help reduce pain, anxiety, and nausea caused by chemotherapy. Some people believe music therapy may be beneficial to the health care of children with cancer by promoting social interaction and cooperation. There is evidence that music therapy can reduce high blood pressure, rapid heart beat, depression, and sleeplessness. There are no claims music therapy can cure cancer or other diseases, but medical experts do believe it can reduce some symptoms, aid healing, improve physical movement, and enrich a patient’s quality of life. Ancient Greek philosophers believed music could heal both body and mind, Native Americans used singing and chants to heal millennia. More formal approaches begin in World War two when hospitals started using music to help soldiers with shell shock. In 1944, Michigan State University established the first music therapy degree program in the world. Music therapists design music sessions for individuals and groups based on their needs and tastes. Some aspects of music therapy include making music, listening to music, writing songs, and talking about lyrics. Music therapy may also involve imagery and learning through music. It can be done in different places such as hospitals, cancer centers, at home, or anywhere people can benefit from its calming or stimulating effects. The patient does ot need to have any musical ability to benefit from music therapy. Most peoples reaction to music is a burst of energy upon hearing an upbeat song or a sense of calm during a soothing classical piece. Music therapy uses this connection between music and mood. It has also been shown to lower amounts of the hormone cortisol, which becomes elevated under stress, and to increase the release of endorphins, the body’s natural â€Å"feel-goodâ₠¬  hormones. Researchers have found that music therapy, when used with anti-nausea drugs for patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy, can help ease nausea and vomiting. A number of clinical trials have shown the benefit of music therapy for short-term pain, including pain from cancer. Music therapy works by stimulating parts of the brain that are associated with music in a person with Alzheimer’s disease, the section of the brain that allows direct recall of memories is damaged. Musical memories, however, are associated not only with the music itself but also with the circumstances surrounding the musical experience. Listening to music can indirectly stimulate the recall of memory fragments that otherwise could not be retrieved. The ability to retrieve some memories can be comforting to people with dementia. In a different manner, music therapy can assist those with Parkinson’s disease. In a person with Parkinson’s, the part of the brain that organizes thoughts and movements into action is damaged. Music with a strong, rhythmic beat can stimulate motor control, movement and coordination. Studies show that gait training that uses music improves walking speed and coordination for people with Parkinson’s. In general, music therapy done under the care of a professionally trained therapist has a helpful effect and is considered safe when used with standard treatment. Musical intervention by untrained people can be ineffective or can even cause increased stress and discomfort. Relying on this type of treatment alone and avoiding or delaying conventional medical care for cancer may have serious health consequences. Besides that there are no real risks or dangers to using music to heal. But how far can music heal you? There was a study that examined 200-300 patients with diabetes participants in a three year study starting this April. Although we do know that music can help vasculature, mental states and mood, there is little to no evidence to suggest that music therapy will help the outcome of diabetes. Perhaps there will be some miraculous benefit for patients suffering from diabetes to engage in extreme music therapy, however previous research indicates that it is not the music itself that determines the benefits, but the emotional responses to the music that is the key. Even though there is little evidence to support that music will help diabetes. Scientific studies have shown the value of music therapy on the body, mind, and spirit of children and adults. Researchers have found that music therapy, when used with anti-nausea drugs for patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy, can help ease nausea and vomiting. A number of clinical trials have shown the benefit of music therapy for short-term pain, including pain from cancer. Some studies have suggested that music may help decrease the overall intensity of the patient’s experience of pain when used with pain-relieving drugs. Music therapy can also result in a decreased need for pain medicine in some patients, although studies on this topic have shown mixed results. Studies have shown that students who take music lessons have improved IQ levels, and show improvement in nonmusical abilities as well. Other studies have shown that listening to music composed by Mozart produces a short-term improvement in tasks that use spatial abilities. Studies of brain circulation have shown that people listening to Mozart have more activity in certain areas of the brain. This has been called the â€Å"Mozart effect. † Although the reasons for this effect are not completely clear, this kind of information supports the idea that music can be used in many helpful ways. What can be improved ? Verbal nonverbal communication, Gross and fine motor movement,Range of motion, Relaxation techniques, Anger management skills, Expression of emotion, Sensory integration, Academic skills, and Leisure skills. We use music to make your life better. Whether you need help socially, cognitively, physically, emotionally, or developmentally, music can help you get better and music therapists trained on how to do that. What’s more interesting, though, is why it works. When used properly, music can be an incredibly powerful treatment tool. And not just because it’s fun, relaxing, and motivating, but because music has a profound impact on our brains and our bodies. First off music is the core function of our brains, we have physiologic responses to music,Our brain is primed early on to respond to and process music. Every time your breathing quickens, your heart-rate increases, or you feel a shiver down your spine, that’s your body responding physiologically to music. Qualified music therapists can use this to help stimulate a person in a coma or use music to effectively help someone relax. Music often has a predictable steady beat, organized phrases, and a structured form. Most country/folk/pop/rock songs, they’re often organized with a verse-chorus structure. They’re organized in a way that we like and enjoy listening to over and over again. Even sound waves that make up a single tone or an entire chord are organized in mathematical ratios–and our brains really like this predictability and structure. Music is in our everyday lives, we hear it in the store, at school, church, music is part of our thoughts, how we speak, even when there’s none around we can still it in our heads. With all these benefits that music can carry, it’s no surprise that music therapy is growing in popularity. Many hospitals are using music therapists for pain management and other uses. Music therapists help with several other issues as well, including stress. While music therapy is an important discipline, you can also achieve many benefits from music on your own. Music can be used in daily life for relaxation, to gain energy when feeling drained, for catharsis when dealing with emotional stress, and in other ways as well. Music therapy has been proven to be an effective form of therapy in a variety of areas for a multitude of ailments. However, there is still much more theorizing, discussion, and research that needs to be done in this area, and that fact makes it all the more interesting. Through technological advances and constantly evolving musical styles as well as cross-cultural influences, this is one form of therapy that will never cease to be innovative and topical. Hopefully, researchers will continue to treat this topic as a serious area of psychology and one that deserves to be molded into a more scientific pedagogy through advancement and refinement of research and therapeutic techniques. I believe there is much more to be discovered about music and its effect on humanity. How to cite Music Therapy, Papers

Digital Marketing Socially Responsible - Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Digital Marketing for Socially Responsible. Answer: Introduction: Vision Statement for the company can be understood as the companys road map, indicating what the company wants to become and guiding transformational initiatives by setting a defined direction for the companys growth (Kirkpatric, 2017) The most trusted name for the design industry- Brand Statement Build an invincible team who foresee the challenges and future trends and work towards it- Team Strategy Build some of the finest designs of the world. I would love to build an image of trust, relationship and loyalty which one embarks on seeing the name C-Design. The company would be the market leader after implementation of the strategy with a high brand recall and good customer retention. Two words should resonate on hearing the name C-Design: Loyalty and Trust. Mission Statement: Be the market leader in the design industry by 2018 and change the outlook of people towards progressive and futuristic designing. The operational areas which need great focus are its product department and the operational team. Both the team have to be on their feet at all times, find new avenues of growth and work towards it. The workforce should be a great influx of experienced and the new found youth. Technology is another parameter where the company should focus on in order to build its brand (Durieux, 2017) Marketing Strategies The marketing strategies were created with the following objectives in the mind: Brand Repositioning New Business Development New Product Development For Brand Repositioning, the company has identified new customer segments Government, Corporate and arts and working towards digital designing while still keeping a focus on the normal designing (Ryan, 2016) The company is moving towards building its name in the digital designing as well, for the purpose of it, the company is coming with new products, like pages, microsite, websites etc. to show their mettle in the digital designing as well. The company is changing its organization structure in order to accommodate better suited individuals for its business development and growth. C-Design has understood that the new school of thinking is the one who is disrupting the entire industry and thus by getting those brains would make them competitive (Zaidi Kumar, 2016) Organization Hierarchy of C-Design In context of the case study, the chart made above describes the structure of C-Design. With Francis Glendele, forming a part of Top management whereas, middle manager is Amanda, who is a senior designer as well the team leader, handling responsibility when Francis and glendele are occupied with too much work. Lower level of management is Van Hong who takes care of designing as well the client servicing. Administrative officer, Holly Main is a temporary employee (intern), rest all other are full time employees. Political No impact Economic Change in economy pushes the business down, and moving towards a digital economy Social People are moving to digital designing Technology Adoption of new tools to stay in the market Legal No Implication Environmental No implication SWOT Internal environment analysis (Includes Brand awareness image, location, skills knowledge, technology, market share etc.) Strengths Experience in the design and communication consultancy Image of a reputed company Experienced team Hub of business location Good brand image Weaknesses Little presence in digital designing Less marketing initiatives Old school thinking External environment analysis (Includes laws regulations, competitors, customers, new technology, skills, partnerships or growth options etc.) Opportunities Various colleges offering degree of design, so a resource pool of candidates Evolution of digital designing, can be beneficial for the business People willing to spend money on designing, in every aspect Threats Growth of cheaper design studios, company inbuilt Excessive competition Growth of digital designing can cause a setback to normal designing Develop HR Strategies Long Term: Work on leadership succession planning Short Term: Hire a team of new and young individuals who can work on the organizational objectives. Cost-Benefit Analysis: Hire a team with average wages; get maximum productivity, doing a positive cost benefit analysis. Resources Current (Identify if strength or weakness) Required to achieve goals (Forecasted) Workforce Moderate strength Recognized names in the industry, but still have to get people from new school of thought Skills Knowledge Moderate strength Adapt the new learning and hire people with relevant skills and competencies Technology/ Software Weakness Have to update and get a good software in sync with the current times Budget Strength In business since 1983, so they have capital, but utilization in technology and workforce is important Recruitment methods procedures Weakness Have to make HR goals in sync with the corporate goals Selection methods procedures Weakness Hire based on the competencies and the gap in the skill set Training and development Weakness Training is essential to keep up with the pace, hence an Training development team has to be in place Conclusion The objective of C-Design is to have business development, new product development and also to rebrand and reposition itself. In order to do so, the company has to think on various levels in order to achieve its objectives. The company has to work on its marketing front to reposition itself, work on the digital designing, as it is the contemporary mode of function, especially when everyone is going digital. Also, the company has to hire some new guys according to the skill set and competencies for the job description, the resource pool has to be ready made in order to fulfil the gap between desired and already have skill sets. Hence, the imperative is on the HR department to choose the right candidates in line with the corporate goals and make the individuals align to their individual goals (Davis Davis, 2017) References: Kirkpatrick, S.A., 2017. Toward a Grounded Theory: A Qualitative Study of Vision Statement Development.Journal of Management Policy and Practice,18(1), p.87. Durieux, C., 2017.Comparison of the impact of formal and informal institutional influences with professional identity on performance outcomes in mission statement organizations: case study of a mission-driven company, Laerdal(Master's thesis). Ryan, D., 2016.Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation. Kogan Page Publishers. Zaidi, Z.Z. and Kumar, R., 2016. Marketing Strategies for Socially Responsible Products-Company Brand Name and Market Scenario: An Industry Cross-Sectional Study.LBS Journal of Management Research,14(1), pp.64-69. Jones, G. and George, J., 2015.Contemporary management. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Davis, P.J. and Davis, P.J., 2017. How HR can create competitive advantage for the firm: Applying the principles of resource-based theory.Human Resource Management International Digest,25(2), pp.4-6.