Census 2000 Essays - Survey Methodology, Sampling, Demography

Census 2000 The plan for the 2000 census will make an unprecendent effort to contact every living person living in the United States and will contact more people than in any previous census. With statistical methods for nonrespondents, the Census 2000 will be the most complete accounting of the U.S. population ever. Statistical Sampling should not be a partisan issue . It is an American issue. It's about making sure that every American really and literally counts. It's about gathering fair and accurate information that we absolutely have to have if we are going to determine who we are and what we have to do to prepare all our people for the 21st century. We do a census every 10 years. Even the first time, when Thomas Jefferson sent federal marshals on horseback, we relied on the system of going to the households to count these people (Riche 34). As the years continued on and the population grew, It began to be more time consuming and progressively more expensive. In 1970, we started counting people by mail. We asked that Americans fill out the census forms and then send them back for processing (Riche 34). This is the current method in use. We know that the census missed 8 million Americans living in inner-cities and in remote rural areas in 1990 (Clinton par.3 ). We also know that we double-counted 4 million Americans, many of whom had their own home (Riche 34). The census missed 482,738 in the state of Texas; 66,748 of them in Houston alone (Clinton par. 3). With the current method of the census, the problem are not getting solved. Congress concluded in 1990 that the census failed on two grounds: It cost too much and measured two few people (Riche 35). Inaccurate information causes some of the biggest problems. For example, the United way recieves generous grants for very wealthy individuals. If the census is inaccurate, then it has an indirect effect on private investments of peoples' and governments' investments as well (Clinton par. 6). More than half of the under-counted in the last census were children(Clinton Par.4). A disproportionate number of under-counted Americans were minorities. That means some of our most vulnerable populations routinely are omitted when it comes time to providing federal funds for critical services (Riche 35). An inaccurate census distorts our understanding of the needs of our people and, in many respects, diminishes the quality of life not just for them, but for the rest of us as well (FAQ of statistical sampling). The WIC program is a great example. The Congress and the President have had a good success in getting a bypatisan majority to put more money into the program. But the funds, once appropriated, can only flow where they're needed if there is an accurate count of where the kids are (Clinton par.9). So, ironically, no matter how much money we appropriate for WIC, unless we actually can track where the children are, the program will be less than fully sucessful(Clinton par. 9). Hispanic Americans are expected to triple in the next 50 years, comprise almost 100 million residents( Census Report 1994). And interestingly, those populations are located in five of the six largest states of this country--Texas being one of them. Those five states comprise 170 electorial votes, 63 percent. In fact there is another 8 states that have large Hispanic populations. It is very possible that Hispanics hold the key to the future to the electorial college and the presidency. Getting an accurate count for aid is vital to this district which is composed of about 100,000 hispanic (1990 Census). Cost is another problem with the current method. In 1970, using the number of households counted divided into the total cost of census and adjusting for inflation, the cost was 10 dollars per household (Riche 35). The 1990 census cost 25 dollars (Riche 35). The census is very critical to the budget. The cost is staggering-- $4 billion is what expected in the year 2000 (FAQ of statistical sampling). And, again, that includes sampling. So we know if sampling is not allowed for, that cost may even rise another $700 milllion (Riche 35). Thats's a staggering amount, yet at the same-- the repercussions are

Governance Tort and Self Regulation Essay

Governance Tort and Self Regulation Essay Governance: Tort and Self Regulation Essay REGULATION OF BUSINESS Week 6 Recap ï‚ ¨ Control and monitoring of business activities: Governance Concept of governance meaning, elements and what amounts to good governance Corporate governance – internal organisation and management of a company – – – – Key aspects of accountability, transparency Main theories – principle/agent approach Stakeholder theory Corporate governance in UK Cadbury 1992 to UK Combined Code 2010 Key factor – primarily internal control and self regulating codes of conduct. Critique – impact/effect of process Regulation of Business Outline ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ Control and monitoring of business activities: Regulation of Business – Judicial Control ï‚ ¤ Governmental Regulation ï‚ ¤ Self Regulation ï‚ ¤ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ Judicial control (general obligations) Government Regulation (statute law, agencies, penalties, government agenciesminimum standards, buyers choice). ï‚ ¤ Government regulation and relations with business – (tort, customers – protection, standards – prevention – penalties, criminal sanctions, punitive damages). Regulation in Business External focus Mainly governmental Why do governments regulate business activity? Protect the interests parties other than decision makers (3rd parties) How? 1. Compensation for loss, injury, contractual breaches, human rights 2. Information and choice to buyers and consumers 3. Establishing minimum standards of conduct for business in relation to 3rd parties Regulation in Business Compensation ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ Regulating business activity through Compensation: General obligations: Personal injury and property damage are violations of individual rights – â€Å"torts† e.g. Negligence (an unintended act or omission which results in injury) The state sets the standards Individuals may enforce ï‚ ¤ Compensation for loss, injury suffered ï‚ ¤ Compensation forces business to maintain a â€Å"duty of care† ï‚ ¤ Regulation in Business Compensation ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ Contractual obligations: Compensation for breach of promise ï‚ ¤ put the â€Å"injured† party in the position they would be if the contract had been performed ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ Compensation – deterrent i.e. an incentive for companies to act appropriately Is this always enough? Regulation in Business ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ Damages to punish? Court powers Government Regulation and powers Court Power Court power to impose damages in addition to those required to compensate for loss or injury Likely if obligations are breached intentionally or recklessly Punitive Damages ï‚ ¤ Available in the UK? ï‚ ¤ Regulation in Business ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ Compensation – damages for a past event/injury. Government – How to prevent future violations? Control business activity through prevention Statute law (legislation)* (see e.g. Consumer Protection) Government agencies Buyer choice - competition Monitoring activity ï‚ ¤ Preventative process ï‚ ¤ Penalties ï‚ ¤ Regulation of Business ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ Quality Standards Elements to protect buyers from harm complements competition, regulation and disclosure – not always sufficient Quality standards Imposed on suppliers, sellers ï‚ ¤ Procedures ï‚ ¤ Production of goods and services International Governmental Regulation Protection and enforcement domestic, regional, international. Domestic – judicial/government o E.g. Tort law, Consumer Protection Act Regional e.g. European Union o Treaties, regulations e.g. Health & safety, directives e.g. Product Liability Directive International o o International Standards Organisation (ISO) Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – product liability policy ) (harmonisation) Regulation in Business – Business Self Regulation ï‚ ¨ ï‚ ¨ Non-governmental methods of controlling business conduct: Commercial relationships o ï‚ ¨ Corporate reputations o ï‚ ¨ Long/short

Sampleing Under Pressure Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sampleing Under Pressure - Assignment Example A simple randomized sampling strategy was used to provide an estimate of the total number of species inhabiting the ecosystem. Table 1 below shows the summary of the number of species discovered from the forest and their exact population in the sample areas. According to this data, the total number of species identified is 42 % lower than the expected number, which is 42, according to the lab manual. The data also shows that more than a half of the total number of species discovered has a population of greater than three in the whole sampling area. This low frequency number may be accounted by the nature of sampling strategy used, which aimed at getting a diverse and species rich data. To provide an estimated number of the species present in the habitat a cumulative number of new species discovered in each sample was recorded. This cumulative number was plotted against the number of samples as shown in figure 1 below. The slope of the graph shows an increasing number of new species discovered with an increase in the number of the samples collected. This association is not observed after the tenth sample where further increase in the number of samples has insignificant effect on the number of new species found. This is perhaps at this point the number of new species is nearly exhausted. A general rule to determine the total number of species can be formulated from the shape of the plot. For instance, the total number of species can be determined by taking ten samples, doubling the cumulative number of new species and subtracting 10 (the number of samples taken). This rule however, has an error margin of 4.7 percent and still needs further validation. When applied in this lab, the rule gives an estimated number of 40 species, which is relatively closer to the exact number of species in the habitat. There are several sampling schemes that can be used to collect data in different case studies of this nature. For

Democratic Party and Republican Party Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Democratic Party and Republican Party - Essay Example They rather use a self-defending approach, or try to plea to the broadest range of the voters. The republican have some work to do on both sides of the strategies. There are few similarities also between the two rival candidates. Republican candidate McCain from Arizona and Democratic candidate Barack Obama from Illinois; both the nominees of the major parties are fighting to attain support from maximum voters. McCain was in Virginia, looking to turn out the vote in a state that normally votes republican but appears to be siding with Obama. While, Obama was enjoying a lead in national polls, he sought a knockout punch in Nevada, Colorado and Missouri that went for George W. Bush in 2004. Barack Obama's efforts to get the support of the Sunshine State's hugely diverse electorate on Tuesday could prove decisive. Obama has held massive rallies throughout Florida as he seeks to pries the Sunshine State from its eight year republican grip, a move that could wrap up the election in his favor on Tuesday. Obama is ahead in states such as Nevada and North Carolina. Iowa and New Mexico are likely to move into the democratic column and Obama campaign is confident in chances in western states. If he has a good night on Tuesday he could even pick up Georgia, Montana and North Dakota.

Bipolar disorder Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bipolar disorder - Term Paper Example Bipolar disorder falls among the oldest illnesses, which are known. The recognition of the disorder was during the second century and the discovery was in a Turkey’s city. The findings were not noticed and neither were they substantiated up to the year 1650, when Richard Burton, a scientist wrote his book called The Anatomy of Melancholia. The book majorly laid much emphasis on depression. The findings of the scientist are still used today even by fields related to mental health (Brent and Pan, 2008). In the year 1952, a journal article was written that critically analyzed the disorder’s heredity. The article showed that manic depression is capable of being passe own in families that already have patients with the disorder. In 1960’s, several people with bipolar disorder were placed at a given institution and provided with little financial help since the Congress refused to acknowledge that manic depression is a legitimate illness. However, during the 1970â€℠¢s, laws were enacted and besides, standards were put into place to aid the afflicted individuals. Similarly, in the year 1979, National Association of Mental Health was established (Reich, Clayton and Winokur, 1969). During the 1980’s, research was finally capable of distinguishing between childhood as well as adult bipolar disorder. Presently, a number of studies are still needed to unravel the possible causes as well as the probable means of treating the illness (Baloch & Soares, 2010). Generally, bipolar disorder develops when an individual is approaching his late teens although it also develops when individuals approaches their adulthood. However, there are a number of cases commences before the age of 25 (Kessler et al, 2005). In a number of individuals, first symptoms occur during their childhood, while in others, symptoms may develop very late in their lives. Diagnosis of bipolar disorder is done after individuals report their experiences; however, it may also be done after friends, family members and co-workers detect an abnormality. Secondary signs of the illness may be detected by clinical psychologist, social workers, psychiatrist, nurses, and also through clinical evaluation. However, the diagnosis of the condition is dependent on the presence as well as the duration of specific signs as well as symptoms (Sadock & Sadock, 2007). For an individual having bipolar disorder to be diagnosed correctly, it takes roughly 20 years. In approximately 37% of patients, bipolar disorder is usually diagnosed erroneously since it is always mistaken for unipolar depression. Surveys also prove that about 50% of individuals suffering from the disorder fail to take the medications that are prescribed (Brent & Pan, 2008). In general, the problem is not caused by the patient, though impaired judgment offer powerful incentives for skipping the medication. In order to control the disorder, drugs should be used. However, the drugs have side effects, which include g aining of weight as well as cognitive dulling (Young et al., 1978). In about 90% of marriages, that involves partners with bipolar disorder result into divorce due to the diseases adverse effects. Moreover, researchers have made estimation that about 40 percent of individuals having the disorder abuse drugs. Researchers also state that approximately 15 to 25% of individuals ha

General Psychology Of Sex And Gender Psychology Essay

General Psychology Of Sex And Gender Psychology Essay The topics I have chosen for consideration of psychological research are language, and sex and gender. The approaches taken will be analysed the topic in general terms and not to focus on one particular aspect at detailed levels. It points to the lack of a conclusive answer which is caused by Psychology as a discipline being relatively young and still in early stages with a lack of adequately strong theories that might assist to connect otherwise contrasting perspectives co existing. The report concludes that different perspectives within psychology can coexist at times, though conflict is frequent throughout. Sex and Gender The Psychology of sex and gender is one the most topical, important and engaging subjects that psychology, it illustrates many of the difficult issues that psychological explanations must address, including the political implications of different perspectives and the challenging of integrating explanations. It has been a controversial topic since the inception of psychology as a discipline and it powerful illustrates some of the diverse approaches with the field. A deliberation of how psychology approaches the analysis of sex and gender discloses four psychological perspectives, these are: Biological sex differences: Explaining the differences between male and female and biological correlates of behaviour. Investigations ere conducted through scientific processes Evolutionary psychology: Explaining the differences in the behaviour between the sexes in terms of behavioural selection for reproductive fitness. Test are conducted empirically Social constructionist theory: Gender differences between the sexes through the study of discourse in various historical, cultural and social contexts and so is hermeneutic. Psychoanalytic psychology: Development and meaning of sexual differences. Studies are largely done through clinical observation. Direct impressions of the four perspectives are objects of knowledge of each of the perspectives are all valid and useful in general psychology of sex and gender,. They pose somewhat different questions, have different objects of knowledge and use different notions of evidences. These perspectives may be complementary, conflicting however the scope for co-existence is not transparent. Given that the perspectives do not share common objects of knowledge, however is there can be an underlying hope for complementary theories in which together they all contribute to a broad understanding. Sex refer to the biological basis of differences between the sexes, where as gender refers to social constructed categories pertaining to these differences. Assigning a sex to humans can sometimes be a complex process, biological characteristics such as genetics and hormonal used to designate male or female, can be unreliable in small proportions of case, due to genetic abnormalities, such as, Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) and Klinefelterss Syndrome ((XXY) (OU, p137) The biological and evolutionary perspectives certainly seem complementary at theoretic level in which both consider biological sex as the fonudation for gender and view conflicts between sexes as biological characteristics that have been cycled through during evolution. Evolutionary psychologists argue that sexual selections and the different optimal reproductive styles of our male female ancestors have results in some differences in the behavioural predispositions of the two sexes. These are seen to particularly apparent in the area of sexual behaviours and attitudes. Buss (1992), found while both sexes reported experiencing jealousy at the though of their partner being involved with another person, there were differences in the focus of their concerned. OU,p145) In humans, unlike in other animals, clear differences in brain structures that correlate with differences in adult behaviour patterns have proven difficult to demonstrate. Nonetheless, imaging studies show some sex differences in brain functioning of Western adults. This is probably due, at least in part, to the brains plasticity.(Giedd et al, 1999) )p140). While some sex differences are clearly established at birth for most individuals, bodies and brained may become gendered over lifetime of use. A explanations would appear to be consistent with research findings from cross-cultural differences in male and females sexual behaviours, which Allen and Gorski, 1990 study has backed (OU, p139) Nevertheless, biological psychology sets out to explain differences with in male and female psychology in terms of chosen physiological features, e.g. dimorphism in brain structures ( Hofman and Swaab, 1991,OU p.139). Additionally the evolutionary psychologists would primarily contend in favour of selected behavioural features such as differences between sexual attitudes between the sexes ( Clark and Hatfield, 1989, OU p.146). Thus, in that respect a conflict is apprent at the level of analysis, hence it is ironic that evolutionary psychology must dependently coinside with biological psychology since, given the intelligible complusions on its capacity to carryout the types of empirical reserach that might could be hoped for (Herrnstein-Smith, 2000,, OU p.141), it is dependent on a particulr amount of certification from the biological perspective, amongst others (OU, 2007, pp.184). From a social constructionist point of view, they regard sex and gender as features that are declared only through discourse and action. These are repercussion, of the individuals behaviour and experience within a cultural, social and historical context. The depth of the conflict is illustrated by a comparison of evolutionary studies that stress cross-cultural stability in particular sexual preferences ( Buss and Schmitt, 1993, OU, p.148, ) and social constructionist ideas such as Sandra Bem, who developed the idea of the cultural lens of musicality and femininity. This lens is a way of perceiving the world that makes behaviour and experiences gendered, this is called the Gender Schema Theory (1994, Holloway et al, 2007, OU p.153). According to the social constructionist perspectives, biological sex is not central to explaining what it is to be a man or a women, rather it is a signpost to which a whole set of us socially constructed gender differences are attached. In this account, social constructionist created discourse about masculinity and femininity are used by individual to create their own gendered subject positions. Whereas the biological and evolutionary perspectives correspond that biological sex consists at the center of explaining gender, the social constructionist perspective categorically rejects that notion, primarly for political reasons. In relation to Sex and Gender, political differences are often exposed when conflicting accounts of differences occur. Gender and sexuality came to be seen, through Freuds work, as having far-reaching implications for the development of it self. It largely correlates the social constructionist, in conditions of its interpretive or hermeneutic methodology. Therefore both the social constructionist and psychoanalytic perspectives dispute with the biological and evolutionary persptetives at the methodological level of understanding. Contrastingly however the psychoanalysis perspective acknowledges that both biological and cultural contributions to its hypothesis make up, though it is not without its share of difference however. Within the perspective, a important critical developments in the psychoanalytic theory sex and gender includes Freuds notion for the symbolic significance of the penis( and penis envy) quickly came under scrutiny from feminist psychologists to scientific practices, through Freud failure to consider the significant of womens genitals. (OU, Horney, 1926, , 2007, p.164). Language and Meaning There are three main perspectives used to examine the complex area of language, these are: Theory Methods Themes. These perspectives focus on different aspects of language including evolutionary developments of languages, the processing of languages and the construction of meaning through interaction. From the study of language and meaning, an evenly conniving combination of possible co-existence, complementory and conflicting aspects can be found when comparing the three principal perspectives. The evolutionary perspective sets out to explore language to understand how are related structurally and historically, how they are used differently by various social and cultural groups and how languages is used to communicate and create meaning. Language is the main medium for communication between humans beings and where we express, explore and pursue those goals that mean most to us . It can be concvied to view the three perspectives as at to the lowest degree co-existent. Their objectives of knowledge are different and one could anticipate their cumulative intentions to contribute to some sort of merged theroy Nevertheless, the possible conflict between the cognitive and social constructionist perspectives is disclosed in how they consider meaning as the object of knowledge. For the congntive view it is something whihc is manufactured internally by the individual before transmission, and subsequently rebuilt by the whoever present viewing. For the social view it is negotiated as a consequence of discourse between individuals, in which meaning emerges as the result of a complex exchange of intentions, interpretations and power-relations. Therefore, there is cause for discrepancy, as to what meaning is and where it comes from (Sperber and Wilson 1986, OU, p100). It therefore approprant to rationalise a claim of conflict since the types of meaning adopted by the two perspectives are themselves contratsting. A major social constructionist disagreement with a formulist cognitive perspective is that cognitive processes cannot be transparently reported. The argument is one that cognitive psychologist have long noted. Talking about early research into the cognitive modelling of language Boden (1977, pp.113ff, et passim) notes that a persons comprhendion of language in a given instance is dependent, not merely from their knowledge of the einviroment surrounding them, but importantly on their understanding of their relationship with who they communicate with. Within the evolutionary perspective there is also a argument as to whether language evolved as an adaptation advantage and was the foundation for other cognitive abilities. Pinker (1994) believes that languages may have evolved through natural selection, perhaps in conjunction with other cognitive abilities, OU, p83) or as a reaction of selection for an ability to form our Metarepresentation (Sperber, 2000, p.86). These are contradictory and conflicting views.. The major differences between psychological methods based on natural science principles and those based those on hermeneutic principles means that preservatives based on these methods may have difficulty achieving more than uneasy coexistence. Psychologists do not always abide on such significant basic principle. The questions they posture can often be hard to extract without abridging the prognostic ability of whatever solution, in comparion to physics or chemisty which can be measured through of year thousands of years evidence, psychology on the other hand as a recognisable discipline has been prenst of litte over a hundread years. A inevitable conclusion is that psychology is characterised by perspectives that are present at more then one level on conflict, co-existenct or complementtory aspects, No perspective on its own can tell the whole story. The perspectives and levels of analysis and explanations cannot just be combined without an account of how they interact.

Poverty and Voting in America Essay -- American United States Politics

Review of the Literature: For my topic of research, the dynamics of poverty and voting in America, I used a vast number of sources in an attempt to produce the most accurate and broad discussion possible. The sources I believe to be the most reliable were: 1) the scholarly works (Friedman; Raskin), which were purely scientific and did not include political biases, but rather examined the facts from as neutral a point of view as possible; 2) the government reports (DeNavas-Walt; Dept. of Commerce; Dept. of Labor, McNeil), which also appeared to be politically neutral and created in a scientific fashion. These two types of sources mainly provided statistics on voting and poverty numbers through charts and graphs. The next set of sources came from less reliable media (â€Å"Election†; Loughlin; Wetherell), but still were purely observational and not opinionated. They came from online news sites, so they cannot be considered as academic as the first set, but the type of articles they are leaves little for the author’s own opinion. They also weren’t intentionally targeting a specific political party or ideology. The following set of sources hint of bias in the way they present their information, but the information itself seems scientific (Cervantes; Drum; Piven). These sources integrate some liberal opinions of the information into the material; however, they give seemingly accurate facts. â€Å"America,† James, and Wicker make up the next group of sources, which aren’t necessarily biased, but are more opinionated than factual. Facts are provided, but the authors’ ideas play a large part in these works. They are fairly neutral politically, however, and look at government more as a whole; both political parties are criticize... ...rg. 2005. Center for Community Change. 1 March 2006 . ProjectVote.org. 2004. Project Vote. 1 March 2006 . Raskin, Jamin B. â€Å"Race, Poverty and the ‘Wealth Primary.’† Poverty & Race. 6.2 (1997): 1-5. Shipler, David K. The Working Poor: Invisible in America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. Sood, Suemedha. â€Å"You don’t need a home to vote.† Alternet.com. 26 August 2004. Independent Media Institute. 1 March 2006 . Wetherell, Derrick. â€Å"The Bush 100: Center Releases Report on Bush’s Top Appointees.† Publicintegrity.org. 14 January 2002. The Center for Public Integrity. 12 February 2006 . Wicker, Tom. â€Å"Delivering the Vote.† New York Times. 15 August 1971, E15 (1 page).