Macroeconomics College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Macroeconomics College - Essay Example 1. Exchange arrangements with no separate legal tender - These are countries that belong to a currency union where there is a common legal tender that are used by all the members. An example of this is the Eurodollar of the European Union. 2. Currency board arrangements - a kind of exchange rate regime implemented by the government based on an explicit legislative commitment in exchanging its local currency for a specific foreign currency with corresponding restrictions that ensures the compliance of its legal obligation. 3. Conventional fixed peg arrangements - a country's exchange rate regime that pegs its currency within margins of less that 1 percent as compared with another currency; a cooperative arrangement; or a basket of currencies, "where the basket is formed from the currencies of major trading or financial partners and weights reflect the geographical distribution of trade, services, or capital flows." 4. Pegged exchange rates within horizontal bands - The currency's value "is maintained within certain margins of fluctuation of more than 1 percent around a fixed central rate or the margin between the maximum and minimum value of the exchange rate exceeds 2 percent." 5. ... 6. Exchange rates within crawling bands - The currency is maintained within certain fluctuation margins of at least 1 percent around a central rate-or the margin between the maximum and minimum value of the exchange rate exceeds 2 percent-and the central rate or margins are adjusted periodically at a fixed rate or in response to changes in selective quantitative indicators. 7. Managed floating with no predetermined path for the exchange rate - influence of the monetary authority to the exchange rate is done herein without having a specific exchange rate path or target. 8. Independently floating - Under this the market is the one that determines the exchange rate. The central bank intervenes in the foreign exchange market with the aim to moderate the rate of change and to prevent "undue fluctuations in the exchange rate," rather than imposing a level for it (De Facto Classification of Exchange Rate Regimes and Monetary Policy Framework). It is the responsibility of a nation's central bank to choose the appropriate exchange rate regime for its own country. Economic managers, particularly central bank heads, in a country use this as a tool to maintain economic stability. The importance of having the appropriate and fitting exchange rate regime for a specific country is to protect the country from its susceptibility to create economic problems because of its monetary authority's power. Each type of exchange-rate regimes manifests diverse characteristics and produces different results. Reclassifying the existing de facto exchange rate regimes enumerated above will result into the fusion of the eight regimes into three: floating, fixed and pegged exchange rate. For Hanke

1.a)Looking at the journal article, summarise your understanding of Essay

1.a)Looking at the journal article, summarise your understanding of word of mouth champions as discussed by the authors - Essay Example The answer is obvious that I will consult a friend who is well aware of that product before making a buy. After all, I am buying a cell phone, not a chocolate bar! And according to the authors of the article, ‘ Turning the amplification up to 11’, this friend of mine who talks about the product, knows mostly everything about it and has the ability to convince me to buy the brand that he is recommending is called as the ‘ word of mouth’ champion. In the marketing world, the consumers who communicate the information are divided into three types. One type of people are those who talk a lot to many people about a certain product, the second types are those who can give you loads of information about the product but this happens only when you ask them and the third type of people are those who has the ability to sell the product to you by convincing you about the worthiness of the product. But the champions are only those who are so passionate about the product and its functions that he not only discusses the product with whoever he comes in contact with but also enthusiastically provides you all the information that you need and with his passionate drive, becomes successful in making you to spend the money and buy it. So it is the passion that makes the word of mouth champions not just the ability to talk or give the information. Word of mouth is nothing but a way of telling customers about the product through people who are common people like others and whose words are trusted like that of friend’s. Mouth publicity can be done in numerous ways like discussing with friends,

Learning and Skill Essay Example for Free

Learning and Skill Essay Tymon Muska Intro to Motor Learning Dr Rausch Jr. 11 / 14 / 08 The Skill of Juggling In terms of the type of skill, juggling is a continuous skill as opposed to a discrete or serial. Juggling is a continuous skill because it does not have a distinct beginning or end. Continuous skills involve practicing the movement nonstop and uninterrupted, unless a ball or scarf is dropped. The motor control loop partnered with juggling is the closed loop because feedback and the comparator are present. In terms of breaking down the scheduling for teaching and practicing this skill, one must understand there are several different components to practicing juggling. Similarly, the schedule would be blocked because one must practice a component for juggling and repeat this component until mastered. A blocked practicing schedule also allows the subject being taught to build a feel for the skill, begin to get more confident in performing the skill, and most likely with block scheduling the subject will be more successful in performing the skill, over and over again. I will be using a combination of part and whole practice. This is because teaching the skill in parts is easier for the learner to understand, but when it comes to showing the learner how to put all the movements together, that is where the whole practice comes into play. Using a combination of both types of practices gives the learner a chance to understand each movement, and at the same time get his or her rhythm down without constantly starting and stopping the motion when trying to put the skill together as a whole. Another portion on the practice side of juggling is called massed practice. This type of practice, which I will use, is the best type of practice for a beginner. â€Å"When applied to the length and distribution of practice sessions, a massed schedule will have fewer practice sessions than a distributed schedule, with each massed practice session requiring more and or longer practice† (Richard (2007). I’ll use this type of practice with my subjects because it allows the subject to get a good feel for the skill and build confidence. With those two things, the subject becomes more successful at the skill they are performing. When one thinks of juggling, they think of juggling with some type of ball. For a beginner, juggling with a ball can be very difficult. For one, they are heavier so they fall faster. Second, they are solid so they are harder to grab onto. In teaching the subjects I plan to use a simulated practice, â€Å" research investigations of the effectiveness of simulators have been more common for their use as training devices to help people learn how to drive cars, and pilots to fly planes, (Fisher, 2002), than for their use in sports contexts, (Stewart, Do home, Null Meyer, (2002)†. Scarves are perfect for a beginner to start off with because they are light and float in the air longer than a ball would. This gives the subject chance to get the right form and technique down. It will also increase their success rate in completing a juggling pattern, which in turn will lead them to build a higher level of confidence when juggling. Then, one must move to the next component involved in the skill of juggling. In other words, when beginning to learn how to juggle, one should begin without any scarves or balls. Mastering the hand movements and repeating the phrases ‘up, up, down, down’ or ‘throw, throw, catch, catch’ are important so that the student may now incorporate the scarves. The student should practice using one scarf and proceed to using two scarves. Also included in the schedule is the art of a practice. In this case, we would use part practice. In demonstrating the skill, I will first address the class explaining the use of the scarves and the different colors of the scarves and the sequence in which they will be used. I will demonstrate the toss and catch method with one colored scarf. Tossing the scarf up from the dominate hand and catching it with the non-dominant hand and then repeating the skill from non-dominant to dominant. The second step involves having two scarves, one in each hand. Starting with the dominant hand, the subject will toss with the dominant, toss with the non-dominant, catch with non-dominant and then catch with the dominant. The third step in learning how to juggle would involve the third color. Starting with the two original colors used for step one, in your dominant hand and step two in your non-dominant hand. Add the third color to your dominant hand; this scarf will be tossed last. In order to produce a perfect cycle of juggling the pattern goes like this, toss with the dominant, toss with the non-dominant, catch with the non- dominant, toss with the dominant and catch with the dominant hand. It is very important for the subject to keep the color and order of the scarves the same throughout each trial. By keeping the same colors in each hand, it will give the subject a base to go by. It will help them remember which scarf to through and grab and when and perform the skill in the correct order. Using the colored scarves is a form of simulated practice. Simulated practice is a great way to teach beginners a skill, but its major weakness is that it is not realistic in terms of juggling with real balls or heavier objects. For the practice consumption for juggling, we would be using the specificity of practice. The specificity of practice hypothesis has been around since the 1900’s. The theory explains why positive transfer occurs between two skills or skill learning situations, (Thorndike Woodworth 1901). Part practice consists of three different types and we would be using segmentation. Segmentation is a type of part practice in which one part of the target skill is practiced and mastered followed by the practice of a second part in which the first and second would then be put together until the entire skill is practiced. It is important to give the subject feedback on how they are doing result wise and not performance wise. The close loop system involves feedback, whereas an open loop system does not. In human movement, the feedback is afferent information sent by various sensory receptors to the control center. The purpose of this feedback is to update the control center about the correctness of the movement while it is in progress (Richard (2007). There are multiple kinds of feedback a subject’s teacher could give to them after watching a number of trials performed. In this case since my subject is a beginner, I will be using the Summary Feedback schedule which is when the subject has completed his or her trial or practice runs and the teacher gives them intervals of feedback. The specificity of this feedback schedule is called direction, which is strictly used for beginners because it is the easiest to understand and the least overwhelming. After explaining the basic three step method to the class, I will call on subject up and ask he or she to perform the skill and demonstrate for the rest of the class. For the next step, I will split the class up into groups. Each person in the group will have a chance to perform the skill, while being evaluated by their peers in their group. Each subject will perform the task of juggling the scarves ten times, and I will ask the people in the group to give the subject some kind of feedback whether negative or positive after every two trials. The subject juggling has a definite advantage considering he or she will be getting fifty percent feedback during their trial runs. In teaching the subjects how to juggle, my ultimate goal is for each subject to be able to complete a full cycle of juggling without a single error. Due to the time constraints in teaching this skill, the main focus will be on the subjects form in performing the skill and how well he or she interprets the information and que’s given to them to complete the task. Reference Page 1)- Magill, Richard (2007). Motor Learning and Control : concepts and applications,8, 86. New York, NY: The McGrawth-Hill Companies. 2)- Magill, Richard (2007). Motor Learning and Control : concepts and applications,8, 395 396. New York, NY: The McGrawth-Hill Companies. 3)- Thorndike, E. L. , Woodworth, R. S (1901). The influence of improvement in one mental function upon the efficentcy of other functions. Psychology Review, 8, 247 – 261. 4)- Fisher, D. L. , (2002). Use of a fixed based driving simulator to evaluate the effects of experience and PC-based risked awareness training on drivers decisions. Human Factors, 44, 416 5)- Stewart, J, E. , Dohme, J. A. , Nullmeryer, R. T. (2002). Motor Learning and Control : concepts and applications, 8, 416. New York, NY: The McGrawth-Hill Companies.

Focal Point Of A Shopping Mall Cultural Studies Essay

Focal Point Of A Shopping Mall Cultural Studies Essay Shopping mall is inevitably the main focal point in many Malaysia city and shopping has become the Malaysian favorite pastime during weekends. Moreover, series of mega sales and discount events have encouraged the act of consumption, turning the shopping center become one of vital element in our lifestyle. The role of shopping center is gradually replacing existing public space in many modern Asian cities where the people do not have public parks or squares to hangout. Instead, a weekend family affair may just spend in the movie theatre or restaurants inside shopping mall. Therefore, shopping center is evolving into a new force whose impact should not be neglected. Nowadays, a new kind of shopping center known as the lifestyle center began emerging in Malaysia. According to International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the lifestyle center features an open-air architecture, typically high-end retailers, may or may not include anchor stores, and has a large concentration of dining and entertainment facilities. The properties are usually well landscaped and offer outdoor artwork, music, and trams or trolleys for on-site transportation. It is intended to support a shopping as entertainment mindset and has become highly popular in affluent communities. We can see the emerge of lifestyle malls in Greater Kuala Lumpur especially suburban Kuala Lumpur such as 1Mont Kiara, The Curve, Jaya One, Wangsa Walk, Sunway Giza, Alamanda Putrajaya and the list goes on. Originated in US, lifestyle center combining the traditional retail functions of a shopping mall with leisure amenities in a town square or main street setting have become common in affluent suburban areas and are now one of the most popular retail formats in US. However, in Malaysia, the professionals are keener to recognize it as Lifestyle Mall since most of them are indoor setting but incorporated with outdoor walking mall. Thus, hereinafter, I will use the term lifestyle mall in describing the Malaysia context. 2.0 Problem Statement The emergence of lifestyle malls poses interesting question for urbanism in Malaysia. Cities in the Malaysia especially Greater Kuala Lumpur are characterized by sprawling suburban, which a pattern of development being criticized by several theorists. According to Jane Jacobs in her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she arguing that modernist planning policies that promoted highway construction has been destroyed many existing inner-city communities (Jacobs, 1961). After that, others writers such as Joel Garreau, Dolores Hayden and Robert Bruegmann agreed that suburban sprawl occurred to the destructive of urban life in America (Garreau, 1991; Hayeden Wark, 2004; Bruegmann, 2006). Furthermore, most of the critics on the rapid suburbanization that occurred in America as well as Malaysia, is the changing of urban and social fabric in several ways, both physically and socially. According to Harriet Tregoning, he states that cars have become necessary to working, shopping and living in suburban cities. The growing dependence on automobiles necessitated by low density, sprawling land use has important implications. People living in more sprawling regions tend to drive greater distance, own more cars, breathe more polluted air, face a greater risk of traffic fatalities and walk and use transit less. One of the most common arguments is that suburban development isolated residential areas from the commercial areas and working places that served them, thus creating sprawling, inharmonious mix of single family houses, shopping centers and office parks across the suburban landscape (Duanny, 2000; Kunstler, 1993). Many of the physical and social elements that constituted the spirit of the city civic art, civic life as well as public realm were lost in the process of spatial segregation (Garreau, 1991; Duanny, 2000; Hayeden Wark, 2004; Bruegmann, 2006). Suburbanization tends to isolate large groups of society preventing the contact between diverse members of the population that is common in more traditional urban settings. According to Fellmann et all, the upwardly mobile resident of the city-younger, wealthier and better educated- took advantage of the automobile and highway to leave the central city. The poorer and older people were left behind. The central cities and suburbs becam e increasingly differentiated. Krueger and Gibbs stated that Suburbanization produces enormous obstacles to the creation of a sense of identity with the neighborhood of residence, since the links generated are minimal and the lack of social ties makes the construction of a sense of belonging to a place very difficult (Krueger Gibbs, 2007). Duany writes It is difficult to identify a segment of the population that does not suffer in some way from the lifestyle imposed by contemporary suburban development (Duany, 2000). From a social perspective, most critics argue that in suburbia, the private realm is privileged over that of the public. Thus, without adequate public space, there is a severe shortage of venues where social interaction can take place because sharing the public realm, people have their opportunity to interact, and thus come to realize that they have little reason to fear each other. (Duany, 2000) The evolution of shopping center development in Kuala Lumpur began with the opening of the first purpose built supermarkets and emporiums such as Weld Supermarket, Yuyi Emporium and so on. The first shopping complex, Ampang Park arrived in 1973, followed by Campbell Complex, Wisma Stephen, Wisma Central, Sun Complex, Pertama Complex, Wisma MPI and Angkasaraya. These shopping complexes are essentially retail developments located within a podium block of a shopping cum office development. Anchor tenants are nonexistent and the complexes have poor amenities and parking facilities. The retail outlets are generally small and the layout design is poor with little pedestrian circulation and inefficient use of space. C:Documents and SettingsyshearMy Documentspublic spacepertama.bmp Pertama Complex in Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman is among the first generation shopping complexes in Kuala Lumpur. The second generation of 80s shopping complexes were purpose built shopping complexes such as Sungai Wang Plaza (1978), Bukit Bintang Plaza (1979), Kota Raya (1982), Yow Chuan Plaza (1983), Imbi Plaza (1985), KL Plaza (1985), The Mall (1987), The Weld (1988) and Pudu Plaza (1989). These complexes enjoy good accessibility as they are located on main roads or at busy junctions of arterial or main roads. Ample parking lots are provided and easy entrance and exit points are strategically located for the convenience of shoppers who travel by car. C:Documents and SettingsyshearMy Documentspublic spaceb_1sungeiwang.jpg Sg Wang Plaza, one of the popular shopping centers situated in Bukit Bintang shopping district of Kuala Lumpur. The shopping complexes have much better design and the adoption of a balanced tenant mix has taken stage in the overall planning, leasing and design of the complexes. The size, distribution and layout of the retail lots are also carefully planned and designed. Anchor tenants such as Metrojaya, AEON Jusco, Isetan, Parkson are used as magnets and are purposely located to facilitate the flow of shoppers in the complexes. With rapid economic growth and urbanization in the Klang Valley, a wide range of social and economic factors have combined to influence the trends in shopping center development. The third generation of shopping centers, from the 1990s to the present, has seen the birth of new giants, with the size determine the winner of competition. Mega sized centers with vast retail space, often spanning more than two million square feet and with multiple anchor tenants, multiple mini anchors and a host of shop lots. Huge car parks accommodating more than 3000 vehicles are common, with a network of internal roads and access to main roads and highways. These mega shopping centers are usually located in the suburbs and they include Sunway Pyramid, Mid Valley Megamall, One Utama Shopping Center, and Tropicana City Mall and so on. Perhaps being huge assures success. All the mega sized shopping centers have their individual niche markets and are thriving even facing competition with each others. For example, Sunway Pyramid integrated with its own planned resort Sunway Lagoon. Without exception, all shopping centers must have good or exceptional merchandise mix and strong retail attractions in order to succeed in the face of stiff competition. C:Documents and SettingsyshearMy Documentspublic spacemid valley.jpg Mid Valley Megamall, the Malaysias largest suburban shopping center with 3 anchor tenants located in Bangsar. The trend is moving towards hypermarkets, which may be supplanting some of the old pop and mom style grocery business. Hypermarkets are typically huge stand alone supermarket and department store type retail outlets. Carrefour, Tesco, Giant are mushrooming over the suburban cities throughout Peninsular Malaysia. For example, Giant, the largest retailer in Malaysia are currently operates 107 stores nationwide and there are more stores opening soon. On the other hand, Tesco has operates 36 stores throughout Peninsular Malaysia to date. Giant Hypermarket, the largest retailer in Malaysia is operating more than 100 stores throughout Malaysia. The major factors which have contributed towards the emergence of suburban shopping centers and hypermarkets are due to the suburbanization of residential development. With limited land available for residential development in the city, housing has spread to the surrounding land at the city fringes with vast space of available lands. With provision of road infrastructure, the young, mobile, rich and middle class families who demand for bigger homes and more luxurious features and better quality of living have migrated to the suburbs. Many of these residential developments have taken the form of new townships and self contained neighborhoods such as Subang Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Damansara and the list goes on. Retail followed as families continued to move from central cities to the suburbs. Besides, the increases of female employments also lead to the emergence of suburban shopping center and hypermarkets. More females are entering the workforce which will directly affect the retailing pattern. It is because the addition of household incomes has increased the purchasing power. Moreover, women engaged in full time employment have less time for shopping. Thus, it results the increase of bulk buying and reduction in frequency of shopping trips. However, the shopping has turned into a family affair. Thus, it is essential to provide all in one shopping activities including shopping, food, entertainment and leisure with more emphasize on convenience, comfort and family oriented attractions and entertainment. While suburban malls only served the retail needs of suburban residents, critics began to argue that they eliminated any chance communities have for possessing physical continuity on the urban fabric since they usually located along the main route (Torino, 2005). Developers of suburban malls tend to overlook the role of shopping center as a forum of public gathering and social interaction. However, the suburban malls are not public spaces at all; they are designed for single purpose: consumption. Victor Gruen, the architect of the first modern suburban shopping mall in United States, recognized the breakdown of traditional community bonds are driven by uncontrollable suburban sprawl. Thus, Gruen envisioned the suburban mall to serve as the new town center which is dense, mixed use environments that could take place of traditional main streets and town squares. Gruen realized that the process of suburbanization was weakening the social bonds in a society that was fostered mainly in close knit rural communities and dense urban settlements. (Torino, 2005) Gruens idea was to make shopping malls more pedestrian friendly, which he achieved by putting the entire development under one roof, with stores on two levels connected by escalators and fed by two-tiered parking. In the middle of the mall was a town square, which featured a garden court under a skylight, a fishpond, enormous sculpted trees, a twenty-one-foot cage filled with exotic birds, balconies with hanging plants, and a cafà © (Gladwell, 2004). However, Gruens vision of shopping mall failed to function as town centers due to several reasons. In contrast to traditional town centers, which were extroverted, meaning that store windows and entrances faced both the parking areas and the interior pedestrian walkways, indoor malls were introverted: the exterior walls presented a blank faà §ade, and all of the activity was focused inward (Gladwell, 2004). According to Michael Sorkin, the design of shopping malls tends to reinforce the domestic values and physical order of suburbia, r ather than rectify it. In his book Variations on a Theme Park, Sorkin states, Like the suburban house that rejects the sociability of front porches and sidewalks for private back yards, malls look inward, turning their backs on the public street (Sorkin, 1992). Since most malls are located in the middle of vast parking lots set well off the street, what Sorkin refers to as pedestrian islands in an asphalt sea, their physical setting represents yet another crack in the already fragmented suburban landscape (Sorkin, 1992). Another reason why malls have failed to function as the traditional town centers that Gruen envisioned is that they are, by and large, built for a single purpose retail. According to Kevin Mattson, Whereas in cities, towns, and villages, public space invites mixed usage and contains churches, schools, courts, theaters, civic buildings and stores, malls are exclusively commercial. Access and architecture together conspire to make buying and selling the only thinkable activities (Mattson, 2009). Mattson argues that since malls are the only public spaces left in many parts of the country, they must become more like real towns with a mixture of uses: If commerce is not to become the sole activity we engage in when we are in public, malls must offer alternative activities civic, cultural, athletic, political, and recreational that define us as citizens as well as consumers (Mattson, 2009). Many urban scholars have pointed to the obvious fact that shopping malls are not true public spaces, but privatized ones where management ultimately reserves the right to limit access. In his book The Right to the City: Social Justice and the Fight for Public Space, Don Mitchell touches on the idea that malls are exclusive places, where certain groups and behaviors are not welcome (rowdy teenagers, the homeless, and political demonstrations, for example). Mitchell also comments that malls are heavily patrolled by private security forces and are subject to constant surveillance (Mitchell, 2003). Malcolm Voyce has noted that malls do not coincide with the need for an open and democratic public space and that their private nature limits and controls diversity (Voyce, 2006). Private ownership and restricted access, therefore, undermine the shopping malls ability to function as a true, democratic public space. The recent trends mark the emergence of lifestyle malls mushrooming at the suburban Klang Valley. To be named a few: The Curve, the pioneer lifestyle mall in Malaysia; Sunway Pyramid, Jaya One, Wangsa Walk, Alamanda Putrajaya, Axis Atrium, Sunway Giza which are operating; SSTwo Mall, 1Mont Kiara, Subang Avenue, Citta, Setia Walk, Setia Avenue and the list goes on which are on construction to join the lifestyle demand. Therefore, it is not strange that Business Week Magazine has referred the lifestyle malls as the Shopping Center of the 21st Century. The above lifestyle malls share several commons. Design ambience reflecting a main street motif is great emphasized. The developers often cite a large emphasis on food and entertainment, elements that further contribute to the atmosphere of the project. Parking is also a major concern where it is usually arranged in structures or placed underground (Malmuth, 2005). Moreover, the inclusion of mixed uses also can be found in the quality of lifestyle malls. The inclusion of non retail uses is what sets apart lifestyle malls from other retail developments, to the extent that certain developer, such as Sime UEP Brunsfield, will claim that the word lifestyle is meaningless if residential component is not incorporated. The rise of lifestyle mall also raises other important questions, particularly about how and whether the shopping centers also function as public spaces. Perhaps the most important factor leading to the emergence of lifestyle malls, however, and the focus of this thesis, is the recognition of the increasing importance of shopping centers as public spaces in suburban life. Outside of urban centers, suburbia offers very few public gathering places. Therefore, strolling through suburban malls has become the favorite pastime during weekends. It is however important to realize that the main concern of shopping center is still concern about commercial activities. While the fact is, people do not only shop in a mall, they do hangout and socialize in the same time. Besides, there are also critics on the suburban shopping malls that reinforce unsustainable suburban sprawl. Some argue that lifestyle centers represent part of an effort to reduce the effects of suburban sprawl, through the reint roduction of traditional mixed use setting. Other argues that they are only tools to earn since they are privately owned, carefully controlled. Therefore, do lifestyle malls truly represent better forms of public space than conventional malls? Developers of lifestyle malls seem to have realized that improved retail design can act as a forum for social activity as well as a source of increased revenue (Torino, 2005). If so, are they alternatives to malls as models for public space in suburban? Do lifestyle malls represent a new typology of quasi public space? And how public are those lifestyle malls? 3.0 Aim This research aims to examine the emergence of lifestyle malls of their ability to function as public space. 4.0 Objectives 4.1 To examine the publicness of lifestyle malls. 4.2 To determine the perception of shoppers experiences towards the function of lifestyle malls. 4.3 To recognize the lifestyle malls as a new form of public space in suburban. 5.0 Research Questions 5.1 How public are lifestyle malls? 5.2 How do the shoppers perceive the lifestyle malls role? 5.3 How lifestyle malls represent a new form of public space in suburban? 6.0 Outline of Methodology To answer these questions, a variety of methods will be applied. The overall methods are qualitative. Research which is primarily based on journals, articles and others. Attempt to examine the characteristic of public space in order to identify the function of lifestyle malls as public space in the context of ideas by theorists such as George Varna, Steve Tiesdell, Adam Tyndall, Kevin Lynch, W. Lewis Dijkstra, Jan Gehl as well as Project of Public Space. Interviews with planners and developers, member of Malaysian Association for Shopping and Highrise Complex Management Brief discussion regarding the trend of shopping centers in Malaysia, planning and development of selected lifestyle malls. Surveys of shoppers experience at lifestyle malls. Survey on the perceptions of shoppers towards lifestyle malls as social focus and public space. Observation Observation on the physical design of lifestyle mall, degree to the mixed tenants and how the public use the spaces. 7.0 Structure of the Thesis Chapter 1 Suburban development in Greater Kuala Lumpur, trend of shopping center in Malaysia Chapter 2 Discussion on the role of public space and how lifestyle mall fit into the context of public space Chapter 3 Case Studies Chapter 4 Survey results obtained at each lifestyle malls, observation on the quality of public space, design, level of mixed use, community events sponsored by each lifestyle mall Chapter 5 Concludes with a discussion of results and implications of the research. 8.0 Expected Output The expected output will be: Able to assess whether lifestyle mall in Greater Kuala Lumpur can function as public space. Able to determine that lifestyle mall can be another form of public space in suburban Kuala Lumpur. Able to recognize the characteristics of lifestyle mall that contribute to creation of public space.

Metamorphosis and Heart of Darkness :: Literary Analysis, Kafka, Conrad

Although both Joseph Conrad and Franz Kafka distance their protagonists from conventional society to represent the shallowness of mankind, Kafka does so through internal changes whereas Conrad creates external changes. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad removes Marlow from accepted society to show how challenges man suffers through to survive on their own with the superficiality surrounding them. Kafka exiles Gregor in Metamorphosis to demonstrate the ignorance people have for others physically and mentally different from themselves through Gregor’s transformation and the isolation he endures. Both authors transition their main character into a new environment, and combine the new environments with different behaviors to live with. Conrad’s shifting setting introduces new environments and attitudes for Marlow to cope with. Marlow begins the novel in â€Å"a narrow and deserted street in deep shadow, [with] high houses, innumerable windows with venetian blinds, a dead silence, grass sprouting right and left, [and] immense double doors standing ponderously ajar† (Conrad 45). Nearly all of the surroundings have intimidating connotations, which surprisingly fight Marlow into a comfortably safe and secure standing. Marlow notices the map in the office, and examines it to see just where his travels will take him. After observing the map, he points out that he was not going to the points of Africa that seem welcoming but he â€Å"was going into the yellow. Dead in the centre. And the river was there – fascinating – deadly – like a snake† (45). He already realizes he will have trouble transitioning into the new environment, being surrounded by what seems like death. Because Ma rlow grows accustomed to the urbanized streets of Brussels, the difficulty of the transition to the Congo develops exponentially. Before Marlow knows it, he travels to a land with â€Å"trees, tress, millions of trees, massive, immense, running up high† and they â€Å"made [him] feel very small, very lost† (75). Marlow, already apprehensive of the change to the Congo, shows his loss of confidence in his new environment. Conrad changes the environment to cause his protagonist struggles, and Kafka does the same but through internal contrasts. Kafka’s transformation of Gregor into a disgusting vermin causes doubt within him. These doubts place his family in a position where they lose any love and care they ever had in their son. On what should have been a normal morning, Gregor awoke and â€Å"found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin† (Kafka 3). Gregor's surreal transformation forces him to doubt and deny anything happening around him. Metamorphosis and Heart of Darkness :: Literary Analysis, Kafka, Conrad Although both Joseph Conrad and Franz Kafka distance their protagonists from conventional society to represent the shallowness of mankind, Kafka does so through internal changes whereas Conrad creates external changes. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad removes Marlow from accepted society to show how challenges man suffers through to survive on their own with the superficiality surrounding them. Kafka exiles Gregor in Metamorphosis to demonstrate the ignorance people have for others physically and mentally different from themselves through Gregor’s transformation and the isolation he endures. Both authors transition their main character into a new environment, and combine the new environments with different behaviors to live with. Conrad’s shifting setting introduces new environments and attitudes for Marlow to cope with. Marlow begins the novel in â€Å"a narrow and deserted street in deep shadow, [with] high houses, innumerable windows with venetian blinds, a dead silence, grass sprouting right and left, [and] immense double doors standing ponderously ajar† (Conrad 45). Nearly all of the surroundings have intimidating connotations, which surprisingly fight Marlow into a comfortably safe and secure standing. Marlow notices the map in the office, and examines it to see just where his travels will take him. After observing the map, he points out that he was not going to the points of Africa that seem welcoming but he â€Å"was going into the yellow. Dead in the centre. And the river was there – fascinating – deadly – like a snake† (45). He already realizes he will have trouble transitioning into the new environment, being surrounded by what seems like death. Because Ma rlow grows accustomed to the urbanized streets of Brussels, the difficulty of the transition to the Congo develops exponentially. Before Marlow knows it, he travels to a land with â€Å"trees, tress, millions of trees, massive, immense, running up high† and they â€Å"made [him] feel very small, very lost† (75). Marlow, already apprehensive of the change to the Congo, shows his loss of confidence in his new environment. Conrad changes the environment to cause his protagonist struggles, and Kafka does the same but through internal contrasts. Kafka’s transformation of Gregor into a disgusting vermin causes doubt within him. These doubts place his family in a position where they lose any love and care they ever had in their son. On what should have been a normal morning, Gregor awoke and â€Å"found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin† (Kafka 3). Gregor's surreal transformation forces him to doubt and deny anything happening around him.

Foundations of Psychology Essay -- What Is Psychology, Define Psycholo

When psychology first emerged as a science, the process of explaining the human mind and human behavior began. In this essay we will present a brief synopsis of what psychology is and introduce the reader to the primary biological foundations of psychology that are linked to behavior as well as introducing the reader to the major schools of thought in psychology. In Kowalski and Westen Fifth Edition of Psychology, psychology is define as â€Å"the scientific investigation of mental processes such as; thinking, remembering, feeling, and behavior. Understanding a person requires attention to the individual’s biology, psychological experience, and cultural context.†(Kowalski & Weston, 2009, p. 4). Each component is necessary in formulating who the individual is. As we delve into history, we must be cautious in our analyzation of human behavior and the human mind that we do not contribute our analyzation to a single thought or process as many times it may be a conglomerat ion of events or items that contribute to the overall picture of a person’s psychological process. Furthermore, Kowalski specifies in his writing that â€Å"humans are complex creatures whose psychological experience lies at the intersection of biology and culture.†(Kowalski & Weston, 2009, p. 3). He expounds upon this fact by stating that â€Å"all psychological processes occur through the interaction of cells in the nervous system and all human action occurs in the context of cultural beliefs and values that render it meaningful.† (Kowalski & Weston, 2009, p. 3). The primary biological foundation of psychology is linked to biopsychology. Biopsychology is an extension of psychology that analyzes our brains and the neurotransmitter that are prevalent in our nervous system... ... internalized. Sigmund Freud three elements of id, ego and superego when implemented together explained human behavior even in the most complex form. Psychology has many roles in the greater realm of science, but I will always believe that the most profound role of psychology is to enable humans to have a better understanding of their self and their world. Psychology delves into the deeper levels of the mind and intrigues us with the various theories and observations of our mental and physical capacities and although there are many schools of thought, each school of thought opens our mind to new theories and concepts that stretch our brains to boundaries unlimited! Works Cited Kowalski, R. & Westen, D. (2009). Psychology (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Functional Psychology. (2011). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_psychology

The Effects of Thc, Spice, and Opiates on the Human Body

Ben Vu The effects of THC, Spice, and Opiates on the human body In the modern generation, many kids have experimented with all sorts of drugs. They are looking for a euphoric feeling that nothing else gives them. Some of these drugs have been used for medical reasons and recreational use since the beginning of man. Humans naturally are curious and try many different things to give them the high they are looking for. The most common of these drugs are marijuana, spice, and opiates. Cannabis, also known as marijuana, has over hundreds of different chemicals that affect the human body.Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or THC is the main chemical that gives the user the euphoric high they are looking for. Along with the euphoric feeling, the user also receives relaxation. Marijuana can be used in many different ways such as smoking it in a joint or cooking it in to food or sweets. The most common way of getting high is by smoking it. This can either be achieved by rolling a simple joint or bl unt to smoking it out of a bong or a vaporizer. Marijuana has been so common for many generations that the brain has adapted to have cannabinoid receptors.When ingested, the THC flows from the lung into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream it goes to the brain attaching to the cannabinoid receptors. The most common receptor, CB1, is mainly found in the part of the brain that associates with movement and memory. This explains why marijuana affects the users balance and coordination. While THC is in the brain, it makes the user have short-term memory lost; this is why it is used to treat nausea, pain, and lost in appetite. Other effects on the user’s body include laughter, altered perception of time, increased appetite and heart rate, paranoia and panic attacks.When marijuana is ingested or inhaled the effects appear as soon as the chemicals enter the brain and may last from one hour up to two hours. If it is ingested in food the short-term effects such as short-term memory lost and coordination begin more slowly usually taking up to half an hour to an hour to kick it. The benefits of ingesting it would be that the effects of marijuana would last longer, up to four hours. When smoking marijuana more of the chemicals are being deposited in the bloodstream.It only takes a few minutes after smoking that the user’s heart rate begins to beat more rapidly resulting in the blood vessel to expand resulting in bloodshot eyes. As the THC enters the brain, it causes the brain to release a chemical called dopamine, which in turns gives the user the high feeling. When high the user may experience pleasant sensations, colors and sounds may seem more intense, time appears to pass by a lot more slowly. The user’s mouth begins to feel dry this is known as cottonmouth causing the user to become suddenly very hungry or thirsty.After the euphoric high goes away the user begins to feel drowsy. There are two different strains of marijuana, indica and sativa. Indica strains have more cannabinoids than THC. This affects the user in more of a physical high resulting in an influx of appetite, laughter and a couch lock feeling. This is when the user gets the stoned effect where they do not want to move around. Indica is the most common strain of marijuana that is smoked by the average person. As a result of the higher CBDs indica strains are helpful to those who need sleeping aid and people wit insomnia.Whereas sativa which has a lot more of the chemical THC which gives the user more of a head high than a body high. This strain is prescribed to patients who have anxiety and depression. It gives the user more of a jubilant feeling without the feeling of being couch locked. The smoke of marijuana contains of a toxic mixture of gases and other particulates that are harmful to the lungs. The lungs of someone who smokes marijuana on a daily basis resembles those of a tobacco smoker. Marijuana has the potential to promote lung cancer because of th e carcinogens in the smoke.Nowadays most companies, businesses, and schools drug test for THC. This has caused people to move on to another drug even more dangerous and marijuana, spice. Spice is synthetic marijuana, made to give the user the same high as marijuana. Most people are not aware of what is actually in the spice and just smoke it because they cannot smoke marijuana. The most dangerous thing about spice is the fact that it is not regulated; anybody can make spice in his or her own privacy. Spraying chemicals such as JWH-018 on herbs and plants makes spice.When the government decides to make the chemical illegal producers tweak the chemical just a bit to create a whole knew molecule. Spice affects each user different; one smoker may a certain way and the other another way. Spice is a rarely new drug and scientist are still not certainly sure about how it affects the human body. A few minutes after smoking spice the user have side effects such as nausea/vomiting, severe par anoia, involuntary movements, hallucinations, and prolonged headaches lasting up to days after use.Some cases have shown that teenagers under the influence of spice are unable to speak or move; they are conscious but respond to normal situations in a weird way. User who smoke spice on a daily basis have a high risk of becoming addicted an addiction, which is similar to those of meth, cocaine, and opiates. The effects of spice usually wear off in about thirty minutes to an hour and this causing the user to want to keep smoking more and more. Scientists do not know the long-term effects of smoking spice; this makes it more dangerous because teens are smoking something that has the potential to harm their bodies.Opiates have been used as a pain reliever for over hundreds of generations. Opiates are the common name for any narcotic that was derived from opium. Painkillers such as morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone are all obtained from opium. Opiates the most additive an abus ive substances in the world today. Opiates obtain their powerful effects by attaching themselves in opiate receptors in the brain and body. The effects of opiates include extreme relaxation, euphoria, fatigue, confusion, decreased feeling of pain, and decreased sexual drive.While on opiates they cause the pupil of the eyes to dilate. Other effects include nausea and vomiting if too much of the opiate is taken. Opiates attach themselves to the neurotransmitters in the brain, which control body movement, moods, digestion, body temperature and breathing. They cause to the neurotransmitter to work at a very high rate. The short-term effects can show soon after a dose and lasting up to a few hours. Regular use of opiates leads to a higher tolerance, meaning the user needs more of the opiate to achieve the same effect as before.After a time of increasing tolerance the body becomes addicted to the drug, developing dependent on the opiate to function properly. Death from an opiate overdose usually occur when a user who has been off of opiates for some time again starts to take the same amount of the opiate as they are used to and because the user’s tolerance has gone done the result is an overdose. After repeated use of opiates, long-term effects soon appear. Most addicts who have been using for a long time seem to just ignore their health because they are only concerned about obtaining the opiate.Longtime users may develop collapsed veins, infection in their heart and valves, and liver disease. Due to the fact that opiates decrease reparation rate, pneumonia may occur in longtime users due to respiratory depression and the poor health of the user. When trying to stop the use of opiates, the withdrawal is very dangerous and painful. Withdrawl symptoms can occur as soon as a few hours after the last does. Symptoms include intense craving for the opiate, restlessness, body pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, and cold flashes.